Category: Daily Post

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Vote for Christos

Ah, it’s election day!  I have been waiting for this for months.  Finally, the phone calls will stop.  “Hey, I’m Bill the farmer and I support Joe Bob for..”  or “Urgent, This election Day is in 48 hours, make your decision…”.  Man, does anyone really listen to all of that telemarketing?  Seems like a waste of money to me.

But anyway, it is election day, and please no matter who you support, get out and cast your vote.  Voting is such a blessing, and we should not abuse it by neglecting it.

At the same however, make sure you are casting your real vote for the Christos Party, or the followers of Christ.  If I received a phone call with this content I would probably listen::

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 2 Peter 1:5-11 (New International Version © 2010)

Now that’s a great campaign speech. That’s the sort of people we want to vote into office and that’s the way we are reminded to live our lives. So lets execute on those campaign promises, possess those qualities in increasing measure and confirm your election!

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All Saints Day

Well its November 1, All Saint’s Days, or All Hallows Day- the actual reason we have Halloween or All Hallows Even.  I am not much of a Saints guy – neither the New Orleans variety or the granting sainthood variety, as I think we all,  everyone of us, have fallen short of the glory of God.  However, we all have an opportunity to become saints or followers of Him.

8-9You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation. (1 Peter 1:8, The Message)

Yep, keep on believing and your will get total salvation.  Salvation for all who believe, so that all of those who believe can become saints!  Now that’s an All Saint’s Day I can celebrate!

14-16“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16, The Message)

Enjoy All Saints Day by being a light to all those around you!

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Happy Halloween

It’s seems like it was just Easter, but here is it Halloween.  ( we know who is coming right around the bend!)

The amazing thing about Halloween to me is the growth of adult costumes.  I remember trickertreatin’ ( that’s is one word correct?) when I was a young lad and remember just one home where the adults would be in costume.  Now it seems that is so much the norm.  A few weeks back we received the costume advertisement with the Sunday paper and I was amazed that there was like 2 pages of children’s costumes and 4 pages of adult costumes.    I guess we do like to dress up and pretend to be something else.

So in the spirit of putting on costumes, I thought it might be good to remember to continually dress up your own spirit and not let it pretend to be (or become) something else.  There’s a verse in Ephesians that talks about putting on the costume of a Roman soldier ( spiritually of course).  That’s a good one to consider as we approach the dress up and eat lots of candy holiday.

13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:13-18 (New International Version)

Get out your orange and black, celebrate another year of bountiful harvest, give and get as much candy as you possibly can and make sure you have your toothbrush handy to keep those teethers from decay!  And most importantly “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”

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Out of Pattern

It’s so amazing how easy it is to get distracted.  This morning in my hotel room, as I woke I laid out a schedule of the things I needed to do before heading over to the office.  It was the perfect schedule, and one that included study and this daily post.

Also, when I travel sometimes I over estimate the personal work I can accomplish in my hotel room at night.  This trip was no exception, however, I found my nights dominated by my work more then my personal work.  So this morning I had several things still to get down before I headed out.

So much that as I was walking out the room door I realized I had not taking any time to study and to write this post.  I had become so caught up in the simple tasks that I was trying to accomplish that I bypassed one of hte most important for getting my day going.  Wow!  How easy it is to be caught up in things and completely miss and forget the important stuff.  So this morning is quite a lesson to me on how important staying close to study really is and how easy it is to get out of practice and out of pattern.  That’s why this blog is named what it is.  Everyday we must buffet our bodies, (including our minds), and make our bodies and our minds our slaves, versus the other way around.

So, I hope that my about face in the doorway, and this post keep you in a pattern of study today, and that it’s a subtle reminder of the importance of staying close to him.

4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 (New International Version)

15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. Psalm 119:15

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Stormy Stormy

With all the crazy weather going on all over the U.S. this week, I can’t help but mention something about storms.  It’s pretty amazing that the weather watchers can predict this odd type of behavior and the approaching storms with relative accuracy.  They told us on Sunday that Tuesday would be an incredible day.  That’s really an impressive thing, and a blessing as it allows us to prepare as much as we can, for whatever weather is sending our way.

Wouldn’t it be nice it the storms of life were predicable like that.  What if you had “the Life Weather Channel”, where two people would tell you that an angry co worker was heading your way, or that the car was going to break down on Thursday, or that whatever day altering event was on the horizon.  But alas, we have not.

What we do have are promises from God to help us prepare and endure the unpredictable.  Check it from Isaiah

10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (New International Version)

and 2 Corinthians

 My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
   My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, The Message)