My Online Faith Journal

      As I was driving down the interstate today, I saw a commercial bus that has the motto "Travel with the Cross".   I thought about what this motto means and what it means as a believer to "travel with the cross".  It reminded me of scripture where Jesus told his disciples to take up their cross and follow him.  In a word, it means "surrender".  Surrender my will over his, my time over his timing, my goals over his goals for me.  The cross signifies surrender and also sacrifice.     When we talk about sacrifice, I think of giving things up, but when we talk about sacrifice for Christ we should remember it is in order to gain what Christ has to give us.  If our hands are full of our own goals and desires then they are too full to grab a hold of what he wants for us.  We have to trust God that He is indeed good and knows what is best for us. I think that is the true issue, is one of trust.  Do I trust God enough to let go?

Jesus said; "For this reason you be ready too for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." Matthew 24:44    For about two months now a group led by Harold Camping has been claiming that today is the today of the rapture.  He marks a date in October as the date of the second coming.  I'm not really sure how he came up with those numbers.  But, the sad thing is that some people actually believed him and sold house and property and left jobs and followed him to tell people of Jesus' return.  This is despite the fact that Jesus himself said that he didn't know the date or hour.    There were believers in Paul's day in Thessalonians who were confused about this issue also.  They had become lazy and sold houses and businesses and sat around waiting for his return.  Paul wrote some of 1 Thessalonians dealing with this.  For example:    Now as to the times and the epochs breathren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.  Fo

"God gives us just enough to seek him, and never enough to fully find him.  To do more would inhibit our freedom, and our freedom is very dear to God."  Ron Hansen.     At first this comment in Philip Yancey's book "Reaching for the Invisible God" shocked me.  He says "God is shy."  What he means by that is that "God is shy to intervene."  And when you think about it it really is true.  God allows many things to happen on this planet that must make him unhappy.  An abused children for example or father who abandons his children.  Sometimes God does intervene in miraclous ways such as with the Israelites being led out of Egypt.  But, first we should remember that that was after 400 years of enslavement.     We might pray for a particular couple to be reunited only to hear that months later they divorce.  Or maybe for a wayward child to return to God only to hear they died of a drug overdose.  The extent to which God allows us to make choic

   I had to go see a client today at Central Regional Hospital in Butner, NC.  I asked the man who was escorting me back to see how many patients were in the hospital.  He commented that there was about 500 last he heard.  He said that many people stay there for a long time at the mental hospital.  One man is said to have been there since the late 70's.  I know the hospital sure is huge.  I had to pass through three locked entry ways before I saw the person I came to visit.    One of the hardest things about my job is seeing the young people effected by the abuse and neglect of others.  I'm not sure about the particular person I came to see today, if what he has been experiencing is the result of abuse or simply mental illness.  I'm just not sure, but I know a lot of the problems I have been seeing lately stem from abuse and emotional and sometimes sexual abuse that occur.  Sometimes from a brother, parent or trusted extended family member.  We live in a culture where man

"Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Eph 4:23-24     When I think about this passage, a number of thoughts come to mind.  Paul uses this phrase in his epistles a number of times to "put on" or "put off" like a person puts on clothing.  I actually used a jacket to illustrate that one time in a sermon.  We need to make a conscious choice to put on one and to take off another.  Even as believers, we can remain in the flesh.  It is a daily decision, to cling to Jesus and to let go of the things of the flesh.     You notice that Paul emphasizes "the mind" in verse 23.  It basically is challenging me that I need to change the way I am thinking and to adopt a biblical view of my world, of who I am and who God is.  When we adopt this new way of thinking it is renewing.  For example, the Bible tells me  God loves and cares for me.  It