It Was a Dark And Stormy Night

By: Snoopy

Part I
It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, a shot rang out!
A door slammed. The maid screamed.
Suddenly, a pirate ship appeared on the horizon!
While millions of people were starving, the king lived
in luxury. Meanwhile, on a small farm in Kansas, a boy was
growing up.

Part II

A light snow was falling, and the little girl with the
tattered shawl had not sold a violet all day.
At that very moment, a young intern at City Hospital was
making an important discovery. The mysterious patient in
Room 213 had finally awakened. She moaned softly.
Could it be that she was the sister of the boy in Kansas
who loved the girl with the tattered shawl who was the
daughter of the maid who had escaped from the pirates?

The intern frowned.
"Stampede!" the foreman shouted, and forty thousand head
of cattle thundered down on the tiny camp. The two men
rolled on the ground grappling beneath the murderous hooves.
A left and a right. A left. Another left and right. An
uppercut to the jaw. The fight was over. And so the ranch
was saved.
The young intern sat by himself in one corner of the
coffee shop. he had learned about medicine, but more
importantly, he had learned something about life.

THE END

Lukewarm Christianity

I enjoy stimulating conversation.
These only scratch the surface of my thoughts.
First, I am not implying that I am not, nor have I ever been a lukewarm Christian. Most of my 25 years on earth could be categorized as just that.

I hesitate to write my thoughts sometimes, because I imagine they're riddled with theological flaws and errancies, but it's my thoughts. If only I had graduated from Bible college, huh? right..

Revelation 3:15-16 "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

I have a difficult time explaining my frustration with lukewarm Christianity without either feeling and sounding very arrogant or feeling very much like a hypocrite.

This is what I've noticed in my own life, in regards to my often putrid temperature. First, this is how I define lukewarm in my life: I go to church. I sing. I occasionally read the Bible. I pray, if I'm desperate. But my heart is closed. I've decided that I know what I need more than God does, and he's taken a back seat in my life.

If I try to share the gospel with someone in my life when I'm lukewarm, I fall flat on my face. Because the words that come out of my mouth are empty. And they're only my words. I've been spit out, and I'm not allowing the Holy Spirit to be the power behind my words and actions.

When I'm living a lukewarm life and an unsaved person observes me, they don't see anything in my life that they need or even want. It's the most miserable way to live, so it can't be very appealing.

There was a card my youth pastor gave me when I was 17, I think. I still have it.
"The happiest people in this world are those who are children of God striving to be like Jesus.
The second happiest people are those who are pagans living for themselves.
The most miserable way to live is to be a child of God and be living like the world."

Lukewarm Christianity is probably one of Satan's most powerful weapons. I've often felt like I did more harm than good, because of how spineless my testimony was.

I'm done. Just some thoughts.

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:27

Thelma, my living organism.

My beloved scooter has a name. Thelma. That's implying that there will someday be a Louise to join Thelma on her many adventures. Brady.
I found out two weeks ago that Thelma is not just a scooter. She's alive. She had been really feeling under the weather in the mornings, and I was getting pretty concerned for her. I changed her oil, cleaned out her carburetor, replaced her air filter, and some other little things, but she couldn't kick her flu. Then, one day, her fever broke, and she was 'right as rain.' I haven't used that term in a coon's age. There's another one!
She just started taking off with the same youthful vibrance I had grown to love over the summer. It's great to have Thelma back to her old self, but as it grows colder, I fear her flu-like symptoms may return, and I'll need to let her sleep off the winter months. It will pain me to say goodbye for so many months, but love is letting go, and I know that decision will be best for both of us. The springtime reunion will be oh-so-sweet..

Desiring God

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/think-hard-stay-humble-the-life-of-the-mind-and-the-peril-of-pride

The link above is video or audio of the Francis Chan session at the Desiring God conference. If for nothing else, watch it because he's engaging and has awesome humor.

The wealth of information will, Lord-willing, come through my thoughts and actions for quite some time, so I won't go into much detail on the messages. I will say that the Francis Chan message was powerful. It was convicting, challenging, and encouraging. I recommend it. I also recommend his books. I think I already have in a previous blog. I recommend them again.

It was a joy to be able to see Brady and spend some time with him and his family, as well as Matt coming over. It was fun to endure his visit.

God is up to something in my life. Prayer is more real to me than it's ever been, and I can feel God's leading in my life, which is something I've been resistant to for longer than I care to think about.