My Online Faith Journal

     I passed a sign out in front of the Seventh Day Adventist church near our home the other day.  It says, "To Whom Do We Owe Thanks?"  Normally, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to church signs, but this one got me to thinking.  We talk about this time of year that we have a lot to be thankful for or at least some of us do.  But, sometimes we neglect to say to "whom" we owe our thanks.  More than that even, we sometimes are only talking about the temporary things of this world instead of things like eternal life.       The longer I am a christian, the more amazed I am by the grace and patience of God.  I am amazed that God puts up with how slow I am to respond to him and to learn lessons of grace.  Not only that, but how many times I go backwards instead of forwards.  It is amazing that God forgives us, even the best of us.  It is amazing that he wants to have a relationship with us all.  In working in mental health, I have some clients that I get alo

    I don't mean to make this sound like I am doubting God or the goodness of God.  I do believe that God is good.  I sometimes have trouble reconciling some views of God in the Old Testament with what I know of Him in the New Testament.  There is a lot of brutality in the Old Testament.  Anyone who doesn't see that must not have read much of it.  One example that I have been pondering over is what happens to Achan in Joshua 7.     Achan was one of the ones who paraded around Jericho and was there when the walls fall.  He was told along with the others that they were not to take spoil for themselves, but to destroy everything.  It seems that this was too difficult for him and he took several things some silver and some gold and a mntle from Shinar.  He hid them in this tent after the rout of Jericho.  We don't know if he told his family or not, but it seems unlikely to me that he could have kept the news to himself.    So, the next battle comes along and Israel is defeate

"My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold, I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God."  Psalm 62:5-7     Most christians have times in their lives when it doesn't appear that God is saying much or they struggle to understand God's will for they're lives.  I've had several long periods where God seemed distant and others times when he seemed as close as a person could be.  What do you do when it seems God is hiding and is unwilling to be found?  Even when you feel the need for a direct word from God so you can make a choice or decision.    I find that when I really want to hear a word from God it often seems it is at that specific point that God seems harder to find.  It really causes me to seek after him.  Like trying to find a treasure a mile under water.  At the very moment I want God to shout, He whispers.  It's

     So, I am trying to lose a few pounds and get my blood sugar under better control.  In the process of doing that, I am also going to they gym and working out.  I've gone 6 weeks so far and lost about 7 pounds.  It is difficult!  Especially the first two weeks or so I thought I might die.  But, now I actually look forward to it.  The hard part for me now is eating right.  It is so easy to eat something, especially as a snack that is unhealthy.     Yesterday, we had someone bring some snacks to work.  Some of my favorite all time chocolate bars "Crunch" bars and Kit Kats and stuff like that along with a lot of bread and stuff.  I had to walk past that all day long.  I thought to myself, "Why is it that saying no to yourself is so easy in some cases and so hard in others."  "No" seems to be the first word every child learns as they learn to assert their indpendence.  But, saying "no" and practicing some self-discipline at times seems to be

   In Joshua 3:4 it says that the officers of the Israelites went through the camp and told the people who were preparing to enter into the promise land "you have not passed this way before."  In other words, for fourty years they have been wandering around in the desert under the leadership of Moses.  But, now Joshua is taking the helm and a new way is being forged.  No more wandering in circles, now it's time to claim what is yours.    A lot of us growing up in churches have heard the story of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea.  But, there was also another parting, perhaps less dramatic, the parting of the Jordan River.  It is also mentioned in these verses in Chapter 3 of Joshua.  God parts a sea at the beginning and now here at the end, another body of water parts.  Have you ever wondered why?   You might say "Well, isn't it obvious, they needed to get to the other side!"  But, that really isn't the point.  There are places where it would have

      I met a really rich lady the other day living in a trailer park.  You might be surprised by that since most rich people live in nice, big  houses, but yes she is rich.  She made a statement to me while we were visiting that proves it.  She said all she had was Jesus.  I thought to myself, "Then your better off than most people who don't have him."  To truly have Christ and to know Him is what it means to be spiritually rich.  This is what Paul said about this. "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8    So, while the world would look at this lady and see someone who is near destitute, spiritually she has something far more valueable than gold or material possessions.  While it may appear that she is very alone, she is actually never alone.  Paul said he count

   When I was a teenager, our youth group had an informal bible study that was led by a guy named Jim on Wednesdays.  We would meet at people's houses and have refreshments and Jim or someone would lead a study.  I remember first really feeling inspired to read the Bible through that Wednesday study.  I remember telling Jim one day that he should do a study on the book of Job.  He told me instead that I should do it.  So, I told him I would.  A few weeks later, I led the study.    The thing that amazed me about the book of Job is that in the first two chapters it looks like God and Satan are making wagers on if Job will cave in or not and curse God.  First, God allows Satan to take away everything except his health.  Then, God allows Satan to take away his health, but not to kill him.  It tells us that Job was inflicted with painful sores and boils.  If you just look at the first two chapters, God looks kinda juvenile.    But, the book does draw attention to an important issue,