Reflections on my life from my perspective.



Friendship Needs

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9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their
work:
10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity
the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
-Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

There are many great needs in our culture today. People need shelter, food, clothing, medical attention, medical insurance to pay for their medical attention, peace, hope, love and the list goes on and on. More and more I am discovering that one of the greatest needs in our present society is that of Friendship. Recent statistics regarding loneliness show that in 1950 only 10% of American households had just one person; by the mid-1990s that number has risen to almost 25%. Loneliness has even been shown to have a negative affect on a person’s health. Lonely people are four times more likely to develop heart disease and overall death rates rise considerably, as much as ten times, for those who live alone compared to people of the same age who live with friends or family. But I think it’s the soul that probably suffers the most. God did not create us to be alone. We are created in His image, and therefore created to live and move and breathe in community with others. God created a unique need inside everyone for friendship. Are you freely giving friendship to others? Is this a church known for offering friendship to those in the community?


Too Many Choices

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What a fascinating world we live in. Last week advertisers paid more than $2.6 million for thirty seconds of airtime during Superbowl XLI. But who can blame them? With an average of 3,500 emotionally-inducing advertisements bombarding Americans each day, you got to go big to stand out from the crowd. We now have more consumer choices than any other time in the history of the world, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Consider these thoughts from Skye Jethani,

We find ourselves in a culture that defines our relationships by our purchases. As the philosopher Baudrillard explains, ‘Consumption is a system of meaning.’ We assign value to ourselves and others based on the goods we purchase. One’s identity is now constructed by the clothes you wear, the vehicle you drive, the music on your iPod. In short, you are what you consume….No longer merely an economic system, consumerism has become the American worldview-the framework through which we interpret everything else, including God, the gospel, and church.

(Leadership Journal, Summer 2006, page 29.)


In this day and age it’s easy to loose our focus and alter our priorities. How do we choose? How do we deal with our ever expanding “choice” anxiety? A great place to start is with these simple words written so long ago,

Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10, NIV)


New Articles

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I've decided to post some articles that I've written in the last few months. Hope you find them encouraging and challenging.

Here's the first one.....

The Road to Redemption

For many of us life has not turned out to be very easy. For some it’s actually become downright difficult and hard. The Bible suggests that we should rejoice in all circumstances, but too often rejoicing feels like an impossible task on this lonely, dark and cold planet. We are offered a reminder today that our role as the Body of Christ is to dispense joy and hope and redemption in this world. We are called to be light in darkness. We are recruited to be Christ’s ambassadors of friendship and reconciliation. As a way of responding to God’s call and challenge this week, consider trying just one of the following five suggested paths as you help others down the road to redemption.

Five Possible Paths on the Road to Redemption-

1. Donate some canned goods to a local food pantry or give some clothes to a local outreach ministry.

2. Go visit with people in the emergency room waiting room of a local hospital.

3. Forgive someone who has hurt you.

4. Offer to baby-sit one of your neighbor’s children so that they can have a night out (you could even throw in some free movie tickets if you want.)

5. Secretly give some money to a co-worker who is struggling financially.


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