Cuban Missile Crisis

It was on this date 50 years ago that President Kennedy addressed the American people and told us that Cuba had Soviet nuclear missiles aimed at the US. For the next week we held our collective breath to see if their would be a nuclear conflagration and many of us would perish. God, in His mercy spared us. Then came hippies, free love, and rebellion.

Black Dog

Some days seem to require more dependence on God's grace than others. This is one of those days. From that perspective, I should be grateful for the black dogs.

Chicken and Coffee...hmmm

Immediately after you take your last breath, God will not base your suitability for heaven on whether or not you supported a fast food restaurant. He won't care whether or not you supported a coffee shop. He won't even ask you if you supported traditional marriage. At the end of the day, God will only look to see if you are clothed in Christ's righteousness. There is one and only one way to be clothed in His righteousness. Understand that God is perfectly holy and can not look on sin. (Habakkuk 1:13). Understand that you are a sinner (Romans 3:23). Understand that the wages of sin is death-physical and spiritual, as in eternal separation from God. (Romans 6:23).  Understanding that Jesus Christ took the punishment that you deserved. (Colossians 2:13-15). Understand that by trusting that He did this for you you are forgiven your sins (John 3:16). Believe that trusting in Jesus alone you will be saved. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Then you are clothed in His righteousness and then you are suitable for heaven. (2 Cor. 5:21).

A couple of thoughts on the sermon this morning.

Great message in church this morning. Pastor Jim is definitely an exhorter.  I need to be at children's clubs this week to help out. Also, in talking about Jesus as a man from Hebrews 5, Jim talked about the problem of evil. A great response to folks giving the typical objection to God (Either He is not good or He is not powerful to prevent evil.) "He is good, He is powerful, He is doing something about evil. He sent His Son to die for us. Had he not done that, He would have had to destroy you to destroy evil!" Great way to initiate Romans 3:23!

A response to the horror of the Aurora shootings

As details of the latest horrific murders-those in a Aurora, Colorado in a movie theater-trickle in, our human nature demands that something be done about the senselessness of it all. We recoil at life being taken, yet happily watch it depicted on the screen. The more graphic, the better!
     One of predictable responses to this atrocity has been the call for more gun control legislation. The outlawing of guns would not have prevented any terrorist attack ever. Mexico, where guns are outlawed is rife with gang activity. One may argue that if all guns throughout the world were destroyed we would happily have no more Columbine/Aurora murders. Wrong! In the entire sordid history of humanity, the common thread is that we have always found ways to harm one another.
     The only solution is a change in the heart of the individual. We read in the scriptures,  " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV)