Your prayers for a dear friend.. Joe Magel RIP
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Posted:Feb 13, 2007 2:20 pm
Last Updated:Feb 15, 2007 1:49 pm 2540 Views
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Today I picked up my phone to learn of the death of a dear principal friend- Joe Magel. He had gone out in the bitter cold last night to walk the and never returned home. They found his body on the sidewalk. Poor Joe had succummed to a heart attack a few years ago and survived until last night.
May the Good Lord grant him eternal rest. May our prayers on earth comfort the family in this huge loss. Joe was a young 59 year old who had served in administration for years. He was a very Christian man in a public school system-- but always managed to bring his Christian philosophy to every human situation he encountered.
Lord I just lift this man up and ask you to bring him close to you. Lord please care for his dear wife Barbara and the . May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
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Reflection on the Sunday Sermon...Father's and Mother's role in spiritual formation
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Posted:Feb 11, 2007 6:34 pm
Last Updated:Feb 15, 2007 6:43 am 2496 Views
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The pastor made some incredible research findings today. He said that the people who greatly influence the spiritual formation of our are #1-- Mothers; #2 Fathers and #3-- grandparents.
I found this most interesting. My own no longer attend church. I suppose the fact that my ex wife was not a church goer after the marriage dissolved, and the fact that her father was in his own words an atheist-- contribute greatly to this. But I must also reflect on my own contribution to my two boys' lack of much of a spiritual outlook on life. I know at times I have been very assertive about it and this may have in turn turned them off. I also think that in the few occasions we get to eat together now-- I say a prayer at the meal-- they simply put up with it. But-- it does make me feel somewhat responsible knowing the statistics that I can still have some kind of a role inspite of my age and inspite of where they are on the journey.
WOW......... another thing was their peers. That ranked much lower down on the list than I had thought. I think it was around 6th place in terms of their religious influence.
So MOMS AND DADS out there.... you have much to offer your in preaching the word of God to them! You have an awesome role! Don't let the occasion slip by!
God bless to all!
Chris
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Last night I had the strangest dream.........
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Posted:Feb 6, 2007 7:42 am
Last Updated:Feb 28, 2007 7:48 pm 2591 Views
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It's about two weeks or so now that I had an incredible dream. I know that many of my dreams refer back to the time I was in the seminary and the characters in the dream are some of the people I knew at that time.
But in this particular dream I was seeing real blood flowing from what I think was a cross. It had to be the blood of Jesus. It certainly has had me thinking in the last few weeks. Has anyone else had a dream of this nature? I would love to know. I would also like to know how others would interpret this dream.
I do believe that God speaks to us in many forms. Through others, through events in our lives and in a direct way like this. I praise Jesus for His work on the cross for me. Perhaps I have not been appreciative enough of this great act.
God bless to all!
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Please pray for some good results from my cystoscopy
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Posted:Feb 1, 2007 2:43 pm
Last Updated:Mar 1, 2007 5:22 pm 2773 Views
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Well today I had to go to hospital for a cystoscopy-- thankfully I was sedated so the procedure was not nearly as painful as I had imagined it to be. The poor old bladder is just not performing all that well these days so they had to take a look and see what is going on inside there as the prostate is quite enlarged.
I see my doctor about it all in a few weeks-- but I would certainly appreciate a prayer from all my friends as I truly would hate to have more surgery.
Thanks to all in advance!
Chris
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The earth is the Lord's...........climate change for real?
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Posted:Jan 30, 2007 9:58 am
Last Updated:Feb 8, 2007 7:31 am 2338 Views
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One of the hot topics today is climate change. Judging from the severity of the storms we are having, one cannot easily discount this theory of many scientists. The predictions of what will happen to our earth are quite mind boggling. I just wonder what people on this site think.
A few years ago I chatted with a construction superintendent about green house gases. He claimed that the during the ice age we had a similar change in climate-- but then there were no carbon emmisions. Many others think that the crisis is not a crisis at all--- and that we should just simply leave things alone.
But hardly a day goes by without a great weather catastrophe somewhere on the globe. And then there is the fact that each day thousands more people purchase more cars and use more planes adding even more poisons to the earth. So where does this leave us?
Yes, scripture does tell us that the earth is the Lord's. But then why are so many people starving and without the basic needs? Why is there no shelter for so many homeless? Why do the laws of the land seem to work against the homeless and the poor?
I think Christians for the most part do subscribe to the belief that they do share this planet with God-- that we are simply his stewards. When it says in scripture that "God gave man dominion over the earth" it does not mean that it is ours to squander and waste. Perhaps in the past we have pillaged mother nature and killed with reckless abandon the animal kingdom for our own narcissistic needs. Look at all the mining and drilling that has occured to secure natural resources-- and then the consequences that came from that. I recall some years ago while attending a university class on Aboriginal peoples a story of the native person kneeling down to thank his creator after taking some roots for his sustenance. And in contrast to that how the earth is gauged ea h day for oil and gas by the big oil companies with hardly a word of thanks to our Creator and giver of all resources.
But surely in this day and age Christians are becoming more and more mindful of the need to conserve and consume less, give more to those in need, and take a good hard look at how we personally can contribute to a world that truly belongs to God.
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A prayer for the American troops in Iraq...
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Posted:Jan 17, 2007 8:17 pm
Last Updated:Jan 26, 2007 12:15 am 2422 Views
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I have been called to prayer this evening because I feel greatly for the many American men and women serving in Iraq who have gone there with much courage and zeal to serve the cause of peace.
I know that the decision to serve in Iraq was not their call; I realize that the additional troops being summoned at the moment to Iraq was also not their call. But my prayers and my heart goes out to them and their families this evening. I pray that the Lord will write straight where He sees the crooked lines. I pray that the Lord will make some good out of this tragic war; that He will use the goodness of these brave men and women and their exemplary lives to somehow offeset the damage that this war has done.
We cannot bring back the past. There is no use in blaming and hurling insults on those we continue to disagree with. What has been done has been done. Now is the time for healing. Now is the time for forgiveness. Now is the time for bringing about a course of action that will end the conflict and return Iraq to some kind of normalcy. And now is the time for those young men and women in the military to come home and bring joy to the hearts of their loved ones. Lord I pray that your ears would be attentive to my prayer. I pray that a mighty work be done in that great country. And Lord I pray that you will spear the lives of many in that land and bring peace to a region that so longs for the peace that only you can give it.
Amen
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Free at last, free at last... Martin Luther King
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Posted:Jan 15, 2007 9:06 am
Last Updated:Jan 15, 2007 5:09 pm 2300 Views
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Today is Martin Luther King Day. An American who has truly inspired people around the world with his love for humanity and his conviction of conscience.
I salute the people of the United States in their making of a great King of this magnitude-- a king who put God first and Jesus beside him. I have always acknowledged this man as a prophetic voice from the Lord. When the Vietnam war was in progress he used his power and influence to vocalize dissent for that war. He was convicted with his conscience to speak out against the nation's authority. He used the tools of the bible and the authority of his conscience to say publicly that he did not want to study war no more.
May the Lord continue to raise up prophetic voices throughout our troubled world to renounce war as a means of solving problems; may He enkindle within them the conviction of conscience to speak out against governments and corporations that have NO conscience in waging war with little or no regard for the conseguences of those actions. May the spirit of Martin Luther King be ever more fully alive in our world. And may God truly bless the Baptist Church for housing such a remarkable man of Christ!
God bless to all!
Chris
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Prayer request
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Posted:Jan 6, 2007 7:33 am
Last Updated:Jan 19, 2007 3:51 pm 2471 Views
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I have a friend who is completely unchurched-- she considers herself to be an atheist. Her mother is dieing of cancer. Her is gay and has been diagnosed with HIV and she has been diagnosed with MS. She has recently had a pre-stroke because of all the stress. Please pray that her heart will be opened up to the LORD and that she would realize that there is hope and that there is a GOD who truly cares for all of us. There is the story of the GOOD SHEPHERD who leaves the 99 to go out for the one lamb who has been lost. I pray that all who read this will take the time to offer a small prayer for this cause. I find it so tragic. But I know there is healing out there and I know there is a GOD who truly cares.
Lord I just lift this tragic story up to you and ask for your mercy and your compassion, your guidance and your healing hand.
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Does BigChurch have ANY moral principles?
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Posted:Jan 3, 2007 12:30 pm
Last Updated:Feb 8, 2007 8:16 am 2469 Views
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I recently complained to BigChurch about them deducting 400 points for sending ONE message to a member-- who incidentally did not even get back to me. I received an email saying that I had sent TWO messages, not one. The truth is-- as it happens so often on this site-- the secret number kept disappearing and after many attempts I finally sent the message. My message to to this person was clearly ONE message. And for that matter why would I send two to someone who had not even sent me a message in return.
But BigChurch sent me this message when I wrote back to them complaining that they were most unfair about it:
Dear Member
Thanks for contacting customer support,
We are sorry for your inconveniences. Once you had used your points for sending the email, you are not able to get the points back.
Please feel free to contact us for any further questions or comments.
Thank you,
Eddie H.
BigChurch Team Support
I don't know if anyone else has had similar issues with this company, but frankly, I am not impressed. The majority of members on this site are very honest and upright people. It was for that reason that I joined this site intending to perhaps meet someone-- and in the meantime share my thoughts and opinions on the blog. Has anyone else had similar issues ?
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How do you say Happy New Year in Christian language?
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Posted:Dec 31, 2006 4:53 pm
Last Updated:Jan 1, 2007 8:23 am 2279 Views
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I just wanted to express my wishes of a Happy New Year to everyone. It has been so wonderful to reconnect with so many members after a short time away from here. It just seems like one big happy family!
Today at church the sermon was about the Old Testament sacrifice of the first born animal and the bloody offering-- of course culminating on what Jesus did for us on the cross. I used to complain about the sprinkling of holy water by the priest some years ago while attending the Catholic Mass-- but Ohhh boy when you think that they sprinkled the blood of the lamb or other animal over the people-- I doubt I will ever complain again about that one!
Yes Jesus truly is the reason for the season and the reason for the New Year. Without Christmas there would be no New Year or anything else to celebrate. Let us rejoice in the Lord with each other and say Thank you to HIM for His birth and death upon the Cross.
A blessed New Year to all!
Chris
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