Head-dibs

"Beasts avoid the dangers which they see, and when they have escaped them are free from care; but we men torment ourselves over that which is to come as well as over that which is past. Many of our blessings bring bane to us; for memory recalls the tortures of fear, while foresight anticipates them. The present alone can make no man wretched." (Seneca, Letters, 5 "On The Philosopher's Mean") Our minds are busy. Most of what occupies our minds are out of our control, matters that lie in the past or have yet to occur in the future. If those things were not bothersome enough, we also manage to be distracted by shiny things, with small things that really don't matter, things that keep us from what is most important. Animals have sense enough to flee from harm and man is no animal. So why do we create traps only to knowingly step into them? By focusing on what's already gone or on what has yet to come, we lose the blessings of the present. Worry is th...

The 1971 song “ Getting In Tune ” (written by Pete Townshend) of The Who begins: I'm singing this note 'cause it fits in well With the chords I'm playing I can't pretend there's any meaning here Or in the things I'm saying But I'm in tune As the song progresses, one notices a deep longing from the writer who struggles to find the words he really wants to say. His longing sounds almost spiritual. I've got it all here in my head There's nothing more needs to be said I'm just bangin' on my old piano I'm getting in tune with the straight and narrow He’s tired, dissatisfied with life the way it is: hanging out in the same old places, seeing the same people, pretending that everything’s fine. He thinks the object of his attention is “baby” (a woman), but his dissatisfaction becomes evident in “ The Song Is Over ”, revealing that a woman will not fulfill his deepest longing. When I walked in through the door Thought it was me I was lo...

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27) This is one of the most profound statements of wisdom, and perhaps one of the most difficult to abide. Worry comes so easily yet makes nothing easier. Life gets no longer by doing it. Former Navy SEAL, Admiral McRaven said in his speech to the 2014 University of Texas graduating class what could very easily be the present-day equivalent of our Lord’s timeless words. Admiral McRaven said, “get used to being a sugar cookie.” The “Sugar Cookie” refers to the Navy Seal practice of running the SEAL trainees into the surf for a total drenching, then rolling around in the sand until well coated. The trainees then spend the rest of the day (doing PT, running, etc) in this state of intense discomfort. They must grow accustomed to the grit, the pain, to every undesirable distraction that will cause a man to divert from his mission. When a man quits, he has worried--and he has worried because he ...

Without #forgiveness there would  be no Lord's Table ( Mt 26:28 ). Prepare: Reflect, Repent, Remember @ Calvary Chapel Blythewood

QUESTION: “I read many times in the scripture where laws are given regarding animal sacrifices; yet, I also read many injunctions against killing, including statements where God does not accept sacrifices. Please address this contradiction.” ANSWER: First, anyone who reads should be commended because reading demonstrates the desire to know. When we read we are challenged to think, which is better than merely hearing something and drawing a conclusion without checking out the facts. There are many laws and instructions regarding the animal sacrifices and there are statements of God’s displeasure in them. What God desires is obedience, not sacrifice; but, since man would rather disobey, sacrifice was to remind man of God’s perfection. Remember: from the beginning God and man enjoyed unbroken fellowship until man disobeyed God and brought death by his sin. So that man may keep before him the seriousness of the consequences of sin and the need to be clean before God, God required ...

Today marks the 40th day of Easter, Ascension Day. Eye witnesses recorded the bodily return of Jesus into Heaven. “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11, NKJV) The ascension reminds us that while Jesus walked this earth in time and space, He continues His work on earth while at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. When the world turns to confront its problems, it misses the remedy offered by the death, burial, resurrection and bodily ascension of the Savior. I spoke with a woman recently who admitted she was struggling with sin and was confused, yet while she acknowledged Jesus she would not hu...

Matthew 2:2 and 9 report that magi saw a star and followed it in their quest to find the birthplace of the King of the Jews. Here are a couple of paragraphs that helped me get a better grasp of what they were doing: “The old Polynesians were great navigators. They took bearings by the sun by day and the stars by night. Their knowledge of the heavenly bodies was astonishing. They knew the earth was round, and they had names for such conceptions as the Equator and the northern and South ern tropics. . . . The Polynesians knew five planets, which they called wandering stars and distinguished them from the fixed stars, for which they had nearly two hundred different names.   A good navigator in old Polynesia knew well in what part of the sky the different stars would rise and where they would be at different times of the night and at different times of the year. They knew which stars culminated over the different islands, and there were cases in which an island was named after ...

We read in Exodus 31 that Bezalel's father was Uri, whose name literally means “my light.” A loose translation would be, “fiery light.” This is the same word used in Psalm 27:1 when the psalmist wrote, " The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? " Exodus 37:17-24 contains a partial record of all that Bazalel made for the tabernacle, and the list includes the lamp stand, described in meticulous detail. Exodus 25 tells this piece is to be made of what amount to over 90 pounds of beaten gold; that is, nothing is to be melted and poured into a mould, but formed by hand. While some translate this piece as “candlestick,” it was not a light-giver in the same sense as a candle (which melt away as they give light). This was a receptacle for oil, to be burned in the light-giving. The imagery here is rich, and deep, starting with the understanding that the oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The Scr...

"The Gospels say that women were the first to see the resurrected Christ (Mary first and then to the other women) and then to Peter and then to the Twelve. Later in the New Testament, Paul says that Peter (Cephas) was the first one to see Christ after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:5). Which is correct?" Since men’s testimonies were considered legal (official) in the first century, it is understandable that the apostle Paul would not list the women as witnesses in his defense of the resurrection in his letter to the Corinthians. Jesus did appear first to Mary Magdalene, then to the other women, and then to Peter. Paul was not giving a complete list. The order of the appearances of Christ is as follows: The order of the Resurrection appearances is as follows: Mary and the women (Matthew 28:1-10; John 20:10–18); Peter (1 Corinthians 15:5); Two disciples (Luke 24:13–35); Ten apostles (Luke 24:36–49; John 20:19–23); Eleven apostles (John 20:24–31); Seven apostles ...

This question reminds me of those lateral thinking problems: “A man and his son are in a car crash. The father is killed and the child is taken to hospital gravely injured. When he gets there, the surgeon says, 'I can't operate on this boy - for he is my son!!!' How can this possibly be?” Some evidence has been withheld behind the question, so the problem appears to be more difficult than it really is; for example: Matthew 28:2-5 describes at least one angel who seemed to be the one responsible for rolling the stone, as witnessed by the guards, not the women. “ And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men .” When the women arrive, there is no mention that they see the one who sat on the stone. We do know they see at least one sitting inside t...

Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 15:43-46 and Luke 23:5-53 each state the Joseph of Arimathea took down and buried the body of Jesus. John 19:38-42 says the same thing, only adding one piece of information the others did not: Nicodemus helped Joseph. That’s not a problem, nor is it a contradiction. So what? Well, Acts 13:27-29 says that the Jews and their rulers crucified, took down and buried the body of Jesus. “ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb .”  Ok, so who are the Jews and their rulers? Mark 15:43 shows that Joseph of Arimathea is both a Jew and a ruler, “ Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who hi...

Somewhere in my reading list is Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” (perhaps I will read it sooner than later). This short work is supposed to be the definitive book on war and has been studied for centuries. I will be bringing a treatment of the book at this time; rather, I would like to concentrate on a passage in Matthew’s gospel that is very helpful for followers of Christ who face opposing viewpoints that amount to a different kind of warfare altogether. This is not the kind of warfare that constitutes the arm-wrestling of ideas, and the best debater wins. Instead, this is the kind of warfare that battles for clear thinking on the foundation of truth. Our Lord Jesus Christ has been doing ministry in Galilee with Simon and others. Having already faced opposition at home, a multitude of people were following Jesus despite His withdrawal following the Sabbath controversy (He healed a lame man and people were seeking to kill Him for breaking the Sabbath and for saying He was equal with God). T...

There is one scene in Disney’s “A Bug’s Life” (time travel back to 1998) where the Grasshoppers bully the Ants over food and things get a little rough. Most frightening to the Ants is the Grasshopper, Thumper. He a raving mad-bug. His eyes are bloodshot, teeth are jagged, and his wings are torn. He never speaks (except in the outtakes), but grunts and growls, screams and scowls. When the lead Grasshopper (Hopper, wants to flex a little muscle, he snaps his fingers (?) and Thumper goes berserk. This is the picture that comes to mind when I read Matthew 12:14 which says, “But the Pharisees went out and counseled together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” Not too far before they began plotting, Jesus healed (among others that day) two blind men (Matthew 9:27-30) and a demonized man who was also dumb (Matthew 9:32) was brought to Him. Now, after they plotted to kill Him, we read that they go out, find a man who is demon-possessed, blind and dumb (Matthew 12:22) and bring him ...

English author and statesman Sir Philip Sidney (1554 - 1586) penned the following farewell poem, “Splendidis Longum Valedico Nugis“: "LEAVE me, O Love, which reachest but to dust, And thou, my mind, aspire to higher things! Grow rich in that which never taketh rust: Whatever fades, but fading pleasure brings. Draw in thy beams, and humble all thy might To that sweet yoke where lasting freedoms be; Which breaks the clouds and opens forth the light That doth both shine and give us sight to see. O take fast hold! let that light be thy guide In this small course which birth draws out to death, And think how evil becometh him to slide Who seeketh Heaven, and comes of heavenly breath. Then farewell, world! thy uttermost I see: Eternal Love, maintain thy life in me!" These farewell words are those of the son of the Lord Deputy of Ireland. He served as a royal attendant to Queen Elizabeth I, as an ambassador to the German Emperor and as a soldier who though living primarily in the pr...

FOXNews.com - Scientists: Latest Deadly Quakes Are Just a Coincidence Posted using ShareThis Actually, these are one of many signs of the end-times. Review this checklist found in Matthew 24:4-8: [ ] And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and will deceive many. [ ] And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must occur; but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. [ ] And there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

A student was drifting off to sleep in class again when the teacher finally had enough and pounded the desk. “You know, if you would quit goofing off at night and get a good rest, you will be able to stay awake and in the ‘land of the living.’” The student sleepily replied, “but I’m a superhero at night.” Ok, perhaps this is not the best example of the one who comes swooping down into a desperate situation to bring a victim to victory. Nevertheless, we nowadays are in awe of that masked man (though we know him as an outside observer). Who was he? Where does he come from? (**whoosh**) There he goes. There is a man in the Bible who very closely fits this approximation. His name is Simon, and he comes in a very unusual circumstance at a very unusual time. Unusual, because it is the hero of mankind (as it were), our Savior who is in distress. We don’t know much about the man—he suddenly disappears as fast as he appears; and, something incredible happens to him. “ After they had mocked Him,...

Matthew 27:18 reads, “ For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over .” Jesus was standing before Pilate, hearing all the abuses the chief priests and elders were raising against Him. The governor was amazed that Jesus said nothing in return. What did they want from Jesus that they did not have that they should envy Him? The Merriam-Webster definition of envy is, “the painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another with a desire to possess the same advantage.” An obsolete definition is simply, “malice.” Middle English and old French (envie) and the Latin (invidia), have been understood to mean, “grudge, jealousy, ill-will.” This includes the idea of coveting, craving or desiring. The Greek word used in the passage is pronounced “fthontos” and means, “spite, jealousy.” So what were the people jealous of? What did they covet of Jesus? What was driving their desire that they should turn Him over to be killed? This can cause us to press toward anoth...

One of our children had taken a keen interest in meteorology and at one point, was very careful to spend an exceptional amount of time each day watching the Weather Channel. A recent conversation touched down on the subject of tornadoes and warning systems, in which our brilliant child made the point that if a quick escape from the house were necessary, an extra pair of underwear would be the most important item to take along. One of our other children quickly demanded to know the reason for the choice, to which came the reply, "because if a tornado were to come close enough for me to leave, I would need to change my pants." About three years ago or so, we did have to leave our house under threat of a tornado. Since we were living in a mobile home, we felt that was the best choice. Years before while living in another state, a tornado touched down about a mile behind us and we saw first-hand what happens to homes and trees. When we were under the threat again, we did not...

Keith's recital of Jesus' sermon in the first 26 minutes is POWERFUL! But listen to Keith's sermon about the effectiveness of the Church in the world and what the Beatitude means to the heart after the 26 minute mark.

You know the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words;" or, as Ivan S. Turgenev wrote in his 1862 novel Fathers and Sons, "The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book." Pictures communicate. Back in the old days (young 'uns, listen up) we used to take pictures and put them in large books called "photo albums." From time to time, especially at family gatherings, we would pull out these tomes and as we flipped pages we would point and laugh and enjoy remembering the days gone by together. Most photos captured the joyous moments (birthdays, weddings, parties) and from time to time would contain a few momentoes of other occasions (postcards, newspaper clippings of announcements or special articles). Photos help us remember. The Old Testament book of Ezekiel contains a photo album of sorts. God is reminiscing with Israel: "remember that time . . ." I passed by and saw you there wallowing in your own ...