Have you ever found yourself being drawn into a conversation about someone else?  This can be called gossip; small talk or light chat about others.  It can also be slander; in the same family as gossip but more malicious and based on untruth usually.  It can be rumor; something heard but not substantiated either good or bad. 

Other types of discussion can be more worthy.  We sometimes talk about others to lift them up.  We praise and congratulate and affirm them in conversation also.  Conversations about others can be both positive and negative.

However we talk about people, what exactly are the limits of its value?  What does it accomplish?

Sometimes we find ourselves immersed in conversation about events.  What is going on around us is always important to us.  These conversations drive a lot of the discussion boards on the internet.  A forum I frequent seems to be very top heavy in its discourse on events. 

These events can be about things that are closely personal, community driven, of culturally impacting substance or of worldly import.  The events that are important to someone are as wide as the east is from the west.  If you find yourself wanting to discuss an event you can always find someone to discuss it with you. 

But again what do these conversations actually accomplish?

Then there are those who want to discuss ideas.  These people are a little strange to most of us.  Who hasn’t heard of a think tank?  Some people find significance just in the thinking on a thing.  A conclusion does not have to be reached for thought to find relevance.  This seems to me to be not that praiseworthy. 

But some discuss ideas with the desire to make a conclusion.  Application is the very essence of what the conversation is supposed to glean.  These idea driven conversations can be about a lot of different subjects.  Again, most people will only participate when it is a subject close to their heart. 

I love to talk about God.  I love to talk about what He has done.  But most of all I love to talk about what He wants.  What does he expect of you and me?  How does this particular issue look to Him? 

I read somewhere that small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, but that great minds discuss ideas.  I don’t say this to belittle anyone.  It was just something I read and it made me think about the things we talk about and the ways we conduct our conversations. 

I hope we all get to a place where all we want is to discuss the person of God, the events of God and the ideas of God.  And especially those ideas.  I see it as glorifying Him when we talk about His person, praising Him when we talk of what He has done, but as actually having the means to effect change when we come to the discussion of Godly ideas and reach conclusions. 

(Isa 1:18)  “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Our Lord is asking us to discuss ideas with Him.  I am sure that is what He would want us to do among each other.  I see the discussions about these ideas as the only conversations that have any real impact. So that is what I would love to do.  Discuss the ideas of God.

Love you all 

Tags: Conversation, Discussion, God, Gossip, Relationships, Theology

Dan at Cerulean Sanctum is one of the main blogs I read daily.  His sight is listed on my blogroll but I had to give out a special recommendation for todays posting.  You really should read it.  Go here now.

Love you all

Tags: Cerulean Sanctum

“You sure clean up nice.” 

Ever had that said to you?  I have and if you haven’t you have probably heard it or even said it yourself.  In my case, there are some people that have never seen me except when I am installing cabinets.  I can definitely say that I do look a little different when I go to church, or even out to eat. 

But I am not different.  I am the same person with sweaty, sawdust encrusted work clothes that I am when I have a suit and tie on.  You would probably rather be around me in the suit though. 

We look like different people sometimes due to the clothes we put on.  People do have a tendency to evaluate our worthiness based on what we wear; or to go deeper, in our outer appearance.  Is this fair? 

No, it is not.  As I said, what I wear has no bearing on who I am.  How someone perceives me also has no bearing on who I am either.  Therefore it is okay to wear what I want, do what I want, and look like whatever I want.  Right? 

Wrong.  We are to be examples.  As I said and as you probably know from personal experience, some people have, or get, a wrong opinion about us.  And that does nothing to advance the Kingdom.  When I hear a Christian say that they can just do whatever they want I am saddened.  There are a lot of people watching us that are lost and serving the enemy.  A lot of people that might just be persuaded to look at joining us, if we looked any different than they do. 

I read the book of Titus tonight.  There is a lot of information that Paul gives us in this book about how we should look, to the world.  If you haven’t read it lately, please do so.  But I want to pull out a couple of verses.

Tit 2:7  in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,

Tit 2:8  sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

Show yourself to be an example…so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

This is simply more warfare strategy.  I am not sure if Paul is talking about the enemy of our soul or just about the deceivers he mentioned before these verses.  Either way, when we put any true opponent to shame, and limit the bad they can say about us, we have won a small battle for the Kingdom. Our enemy is all about discrediting us.  

As Christians we sometimes wear the wrong clothes.  We sometimes look just like the world around us.  We should stand out. 

Once when I was in the US Army, stationed in Tacoma Washington, there was a gang that was targeting soldiers.  They had beaten a couple of soldiers bad enough to put them in the hospital.  Our commander warned us to not wear our uniforms off base, if we would be alone. He told us that discretion would be the better part of valor. 

Soldiers also wear camouflage in battle to hide or blend in.  But we are soldiers in another army.  We are soldiers in the Army of God.  Jesus never said to be discreet.  Instead boldness is the very way we do battle.  And our uniform can never blend in because it is pure white.

Act 4:31  And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

Rev 3:5  ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Rev 19:14  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

Are you wearing your uniform?

Love you all

Tags: Acceptance, Appearance, Identity, Kingdom, Service, Spiritual Warfare, Uniform, US Army

I have two goals in mind while writing this today.  The first is to say Happy Birthday Tammy.  I love you and hope you are having a good time.  And hopefully being refreshed also. 

My wife, Tammy, is out of town with some of the ladies from our church.  They go on a trip every year to get away and do whatever women do when they get away.  But today is her birthday and I wanted to let her know that I am thinking of her and also let her know and the world know how much I appreciate her.  I would not be here if not for her, especially her prayers.   And I mean that literally. 

Prayer is the second thing I want to touch on.  Do you pray?  How often?  Do you believe it actually does anything? 

Depending on the theological worldview a person holds, there are a lot of different beliefs about prayer.  For those who believe in the meticulous sovereignty of God prayer is actually only a means to somehow see ourselves as lined up with His will.  It can’t really bring about anything that God has not already brought about.  In this view does it really do anything?

In James 5:16 we are told that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man actually accomplishes a lot.  How does it accomplish anything if all is already decided?

It seems to me that prayer does actually get Gods attention and lets Him know we need or want something.  But if it is to bring something about it must be effectual.  What does that mean?  The dictionary definition in part says effectual means…capable of producing an intended effect; adequate.  So if this is the definition of effectual we must realize that what we ask of God has to be in line with His word and His will or it is not going to be either capable or adequate.  He will not do anything for us that is not lined up with His will. 

Prayer must also be fervent.  The definition of fervent is…

So prayer must also be for something that we really desire: desire with all our heart and spirit.  Something we want so much that we are willing to lay aside the things that take up so much of our time for.  How often do we just throw up empty words to heaven and then get mad or feel forsaken when God could not really tell whether we were serious or not? 

And prayer must come from a righteous man or woman.  And since none are righteous (Romans 3:10), this has to mean that the prayers that God can answer have to come from someone that has the righteousness of Christ applied to them.  Someone covered by the blood of Jesus. 

Therefore it looks like we can conclude that, if we are serving Jesus Christ, if we are one of His, if we are serious, zealous, and passionate about our needs, and if we ask for what is in line with God’s will, we actually have a voice in the Kingdom of God.    

Prayer is one of the most effective weapons we have in our arsenal against the unseen forces that are all around us.  Prayer is a weapon and its proper use is what makes us an effective soldier to be used by God in this battle to the death we are engaged in.  Hence the term, prayer warrior. 

I thank God that my wife, Tammy, is a prayer warrior.  She is in the midst of the fray daily.  The enemy has seen her effectiveness and I know this firsthand.  And if not for her, like I said in the beginning, I would not be here. 

I just want her to know that I am there, beside her, praying with and for her, no matter how tough the battle gets.

Why don’t we all band together in effectual fervent prayer.  And actually do something.

Happy Birthday, Sweet T.  I love you and

Love you all

Tags: Faith, Power, Prayer, Righteousness, Spiritual Warfare, Weapons, Zealous