Famous Atheist Now Believes in God

Hey, we scooped the news! For those of you who were at New Life last Sunday, we talked in the morning sermon about Antony Flew recanting his atheism. This is the AP story available at ABC.

Our God is an awesome God. Too awesome to deny.

Conservatives Are Trying to Put Religion Back Into the Christmas Season

See the story here: AP news via Tampa


This is a great example of a story where you feel like you are forced to pick sides, but there is no need to. The real solution lies in a revised understanding. Should Christians water down their Christian expresions for the sake of a minor percentage of the population? No. But should they advocate only shopping at places that put up Merry Christmas signs? That is utterly ridiculous. To all of the embarrassing Christians out there who are well intentioned and horribly off base, "Please step out of the boat. You are not doing us any good. Writers like this one will broadcast your vain attempts and non-Christians will find yet another reason to hate us." Thankfully, the writer has included some Christian commentary to show that we all don't think this way.

The problem is that even Christians reduce some issues to matters of social justice. Christ can't be contained by the removal of his name. He lives. Happy Holidays doesn't.

Our real message to the PC establishment must be this. "You can attempt to water down the outward expressions of our holiday with politically correct lingo, but you cannot keep us from overflowing with joy because of the Jesus who lives our hearts. We will be filled with the Christmas spirit because we are overfilled with the Holy Spirit. Where we walk, He walks. What we speak comes from Him and his Word. We can't contain Him nor his celebration. You [PC people] would get more out of Christmas if you knew Christ yourself. By the way, can I buy your lunch? I love you and I want to do something for you."

Just one year, I would like to see what would happen if all the Christians picked a day prior to Christmas to take off of work and school and to serve their community. Let's call it December 22. All Christians could take December 22 and repaint the orphanages, feed the hungry, buy gifts for the poor, decorate trees for the elderly, wash cars, fix roofs, give money, and just bless people. Every person in every hospital and care center would receive a visit. Can you imagine an outpouring of the real spirit of Christ that would precede the real celebration of our Lord? It might, it just might, be the best Christmas ever...since the first one. A real celebration befitting a King would include our gifts of service in His name.

O Christmas Tree!

We did it! Saturday we set off in search of the perfect Christmas tree, a Lamb family tradition.

I told this story Sunday in my sermon, but left out some of the details. For those of you who missed it, I’ll bring you up to speed.

First, you have to know that I have a love/hate relationship with the annual tradition. I normally dread it and complain about it because it normally takes hours upon hours in the cold or rain or snow or in two out of the three elements. The reason it takes hours is not because of me.

I love my wife. I do. She’s wonderful, talented, cute…but she’s picky and when it comes to the tree, picky is only the beginning. She must have the perfect tree. She will have the perfect tree. We don’t take leaning trees nor trees with bare spots nor anything that is not a Frasier fir. It must fit perfectly with the decor of the family room where the tree will sit and we never seem to get the same kind of tree year to year. What she wants is in a continual state of Christmas flux. I was very scared this year when we set out and she said, “I know exactly the kind of tree I want. We need a taller thin tree, but full, so that it will fit alongside the sofa near the game closet. I have a picture of it in my mind.”

Fear. Much fear.

We arrive at the first lot, which is always the lot where we found the perfect tree the year before. Our thinking, however misguided, is that they must cut trees from the same tree farm that we got last year’s wonderful tree. This mentality is the same ridiculous one that guides lottery players to go buy tickets from the location where a big winner was picked. The perfect tree could turn up anywhere. There’s only one, after all.

I get out of the van and go lift the rear hatch. The kids have scuttled out into the labyrinth of trees and my wife has followed. I pick up my heavy coat, put on my leather gloves, close the back hatch and start walking toward the trees. As I reach the front of the van, she is walking back toward me.

“We found it,” she said, without warning me. “I think we found it. Come take a look.” In two minutes, I had spun the tree every which way, displayed it from every angle and by some act of God, with the angels rejoicing (singing Hosanna in the highest) my sweetheart said, “Let’s get it.” And we did.

I didn’t initially admit to her that I was somewhat let down about the whole thing. It had just been too easy. There was no pain involved. I wouldn’t have to lift 50 trees and stick my arm with 50 sets of needles. How can a tradition that requires so much effort normally be relegated to a simple business transaction? We found what we were looking for and we got ready to leave. I was happy, but sad.

To get the tree home we had to tie it on the roof of the van. The gentleman who was helping us said, “You gonna need some twine?” Sarcastically, my beloved said, “While you are up there, you could probably just reuse what he didn’t cut off last year.”

Sure enough, as I looked up on the roof rack, there was a part of last year’s twine, still attached. I reached up to cut it off with my pocket-knife and poked my finger with the point of the knife. I was happy again. I guess I had gotten some pain after all.

The tree is decorated now and it looks just perfect.

Devotional time with God.

There are many ways to run your devotional time with God and I can offer you dozens of ideas if you are interested. But the centerpiece of it all should be Scripture and prayer. Reflection is key. Periodically on this site you'll find Scripture references and some thoughts on those passages that can supplement your daily time with God, but there are many others as well. I have found several great devotional books at Lifeway and Family Christian Stores. Also, there are some websites with great writers who can also give you food for thought and well-researched application of the passages you read. Here is the link of a blog writer that I read from time to time Bibleskool. He runs a blog called Coffeehouse that can be reached through another website called Blogs4God.

Colson States Need for Teen Apologetics (NEWS)

Go here. Great article. Worldview Boot Camp

Ooooh, baby!! The Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. Can you say Chick magnet? Mom had one of these in blue from 1977-1984.

Confidence (DEV)

2 Timothy Chapter 1

He was distressed over the filth on the vehicle. It had been weeks since he had enough time on a Saturday to wash the car, and it showed. Some kid had drawn "wash me" in the grime on the back hatch and there were kid pictures on the sides of the car, where a pallet of dirt had become a six-year-old's art gallery. It was time for the sponge and a hose.

Stuart started with the roof and he even used a step-stool so he could reach every spot. His curious pattern made certain that he would cover everything twice. He used a toothbrush to get the tough spots on the old alloy wheels. He wiped inside the door frames with a rag and Armor All. When he was done, the car was spotless. It was something of which to be proud.

His kids, though they didn't like the grime, thought that washing it was a waste of time. They just couldn't appreciate Stuart's old station wagon. It was old. It had fake wood on the bottom half of all of the doors and quarterpanels. It was uncool in every way.

Periodically they would implore him to part with it. "Dad. Can't we get rid of that car?"

It was at this point that Stuart would expound upon the dozens of virtues to this particular model of station wagon. He would go on and on about the high miles, the low maintenance, the variety of jobs it could do. He could quote all of the dealer's statistics from out of the showroom brochure that he still had in a file down in the basement. Finally, he would end with, "It's paid for and I don't want to spend any more money." The kids could never find a good argument to counter that point. They just wanted a better way to get around town even though the station wagon was adequate.

Surrounding us right now are all of the world's "better ways." There is the better way to lose weight. There is the better way to invest your earnings. There is a better way to shop, a better way to exercise and dozens of better ways to cook your food. But there is no better way to live than in living your life for God. You do not have to be, nor should you be, humble to the point of sheepishness when it comes to talking about your faith. You should be proud of your faith in a humble way.

Paul instructs Timothy from a prison cell in today's Scripture passage. His words are eternally useful. Paraphrased, they go something like this: "We are going to suffer humiliation and appear foolish at times for the sake of our faith. But Christ was disgraced beyond belief for us and he CONQUERED DEATH...so the joke is on my captors. When you are disgraced, remember that God doesn't want you to cower down timidly. You have the power of the Holy Spirit at your side and you have love and self-discipline, which they do not. The playing field is not level. We win in the end!"

Can you live that out today? Can your faith stand firm in the midst of an entire world screaming out false hope about better ways? Can you know that their hope is false hope, fleeting hope, losing hope? Pray for courage today, and for the ever-present knowledge that Jesus Christ stood and still stands for the best way of all.

Nothing like a sunset photo. This car is actually in excellent shape, and currently available if you are the high bidder on ebay. It's at $510 as we speak. 

Rejected (DEV)

Imagine this: You have a spouse or a good friend who lives with you. You walk into the kitchen one morning and you say, "Hello" or "Good morning!" or some other such pleasantry, to which they reply,

"I don't wish to speak with you today."

So you give her the benefit of a doubt. "Maybe she is just having a bad day," you think. "I'll leave her alone and check back tomorrow." Tomorrow morning comes. You walk into the kitchen.

"Hi, there!," you say with your most cheerful smile.

"I'm not interested in speaking with you," she says. "I don't care what you have to say. I'm not curious about your thoughts. Leave me alone."

You become, well, incensed. This was a person who said they were your friend through thick and thin. She may have even pledged her life to you at one time or another. But now she is rude, hurtful, and uncaring.

"Okay, I'll come back another day," you mutter disappointedly, with tears in your eyes.

Day Three: You give it one more try.

"Are you ready to talk yet?"

"No," comes the simple reply. Your relationship has been, for reasons you can't comprehend, cut off.

Now, switch roles for a moment. Every morning you awake and someone walks into your room and wishes to have a little communication with you. He lives in your house and in your heart. He's longing to talk, to converse, to commune with you, because you are a special part of His life. He has a relationship with you. Yet some days, or even daily, you may tell him, "No. I don't care what you have to say. I'm not interested in your thoughts. Come back when I'm in trouble."

This is what it is like ignoring your daily prayer and devotional time with God. For many of us, thinking of it as exercise or study or discipline may not be the picture we need. Think of it as the time when God speaks to you and you tell God what is on your mind. If you can make a mental shift and get the idea that Jesus and you are in a real relationship, you will begin to want to spend time with Him. After a while, you'll guard your time with Him like a pit bull holding a chew toy.

"No one can get my time with God away from me," you'll think. It won't be a matter of hurriedly finding time to meet, because everything else on your schedule will need to step aside for this very basic need of yours. Like living, like breathing, like coffee in the morning, like lunch at noon, your time with God becomes that other meal time. You'll crave it as you do time with your spouse or a good friend.

Don't believe me. Give it a try. Step up your commitment to spending time with Jesus. It will become the cornerstone of your day, upon which all other events and relationships stand. Toss out all of your feelings about how difficult it has been before and look forward with expectancy to what fruit this new conversation will bear.

Most days I include an extended reading passage, but for today I leave you with one verse, and really only the last half of the verse is what you should focus on.

Matthew 28:20