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  • PART 2 OF: JESUS HAS GONE TO THE DOGS!

     

     

     

    Of Good Masters and Bad Dogs


     

    "God helps those who help themselves."

    Benjamin Franklin

     

     

    Excellent <3 I also would like to add that she admitted to being a dog. And like most human beings - puffed up with pride- they would walk out, curse Him, etc. Instead she pointed out that she is a dog, but even dogs masters allow them to eat crumbs. So not only does she admit she is as lowly as a dog in His eyes. But that he is still her master regardless.

    This was absolutely genius<3

     

    Thanks Ann, for a very thought provoking comment!

     

     

     

     

    "God helps those who help themselves."  If there is a phrase which defines American culture better I can't think of it.  To this day there are Americans who will swear Benjamin Franklin's words actually come from the Bible.  No matter how many times it's preached against Franklin's phrase is basic to the American identity.  "It may not be in the Bible, but it should be," is a very common response I've heard.  What we do not understand is what underlies our American identity isn't Christianity, but rather Enlightenment philosophy.  So powerful is it's grip on our imagination we would stand before both God and humankind and say,  "It may not be in the Bible, but it should be."   We are a self-willed people, and we are very proud of it.  

    The problem is we impose our cultural bias everywhere we go.  We aren't being malicious or imperialistic, we are simply being Americans.   So when Ann, GorgeousNightmaree says,

     

    "So not only does she admit she is as lowly as a dog in His eyes. But that he is still her master regardless."

     

    We don't give it a thought at all, but we should.  Let me say first, Ann is a young lady, not yet 20.  Age is not a problem, I'm 30 years older than Ann, and there is still so much for me to learn.  Ann, I hope you do not take the post as an attack, condescending, or as some old guy "putting you in your place."  None of those are in any way true.  In fact people who make me think, as your comment has, are my teachers.  The highest praise I can give is, "You make me think."  Ann you are my teacher, and I hope I can, in some small way inspire you to think about what is here.

    Ann let's look at the two statements I've isolated above.  First you say, "So not only does she admit she is as a lowly dog in His eyes."   There is nothing wrong with that statement.  But why does she accept Jesus' calling her a dog?  It all starts with this verse from Genesis:

     

     

     "he [Noah] said, “Cursed be Canaan!
       The lowest of slaves
       will he be to his brothers.”

     

    Genesis 9:25

     

    Jesus isn't putting her down, per se, he is giving us a word picture worth several thousand words.  When the Jews came out of captivity in Egypt, God gave his people a command regarding the Canaanites (along with many other groups living in the region of Palestine).

     

    "Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite."

    Exodus 34:11

     

    "but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you,"

    Deuteronomy 20:17

     

    The Canaanite woman is from among a people group condemned by God.  We might argue that Jesus is perfectly justified in not helping an enemy of God and his people, but that is a moot point.   Jesus doesn't help the woman, because he can't help her.  What comes next is of highest importance to understand.  Jesus has to keep all of the covenants made between God and humankind, and he has to do it perfectly.  God commanded (Jesus is God in the flesh) the destruction of the Canaanites, and there is nothing in Scripture which removes, mitigates, or defeats God's decree against them.   When we meet the Canaanite woman we meet a person who is among the most cursed people groups.  She is completely, utterly, and irrevocably cut off from God.  Jesus is telling the absolute truth to her when he tells her he can't help her.   Now we know that Gentiles, including Canaanites, will eventually be allowed to partake of salvation, but that is after the death and resurrection of Jesus, which opens the way of salvation for us all.  For now Jesus must keep the commands as they've been given.  Once he has completed all the requirements of the covenant then the covenant is set aside.  Jesus is laying the groundwork for the new covenant, but until his blood is shed, the way to God is closed to this woman.  

    Today many would use this story to show what a terrible person the God of the Bible is.  Of course these same people, who condemn the God of the Bible don't even think about their own responsibility toward God.  It may be true that God doesn't make junk, but God didn't make me a sinner.  Humanity may have started out with considerable worth in God's sight, but we emptied ourselves of any value, with our sin.  I know the argument that humans are of infinite worth, but that is a terrible fallacy.   No one in Jesus own day would have believed such a thing.  Life was cheap in time of Jesus.  It is on account of Christ that our estimation of humanity rises.  But we've started putting "the cart before the horse."  Sinful humanity (Romans 3:10-18) is of no value to God.  God gives us the value of his Son, Jesus.  We are not in any way shape or fashion of any value, or very little anyway.   I know in this day and age when everyone is so concerned with building self-esteem that what I'm saying seems like blasphemy to some.  But the truth is God gives us the inestimable value of his own Son even though we are in no way worthy of it.  We are not worthy because of any intrinsic value we have.  We are made worthy when God bestows upon us the worth of Jesus.  We build ourselves up with self-esteem without realizing that worth cannot possibly come from ourselves.  

    We've seen a growing trend among many Christians to reject Hell, because God is too loving to send people to Hell.  God is plenty loving, but if I go to Hell it is because I've rejected God's love.  If I go to Hell it's because I have not allowed God to place on me the worth of Jesus Christ.  No one has any problem with the idea of throwing away garbage on a trash heap, or burning it up in a furnace, but because of an over developed sense of value we refuse to see the truth about our sin.  Well when you see the story of the Canaanite woman you're getting a heaping dose of reality about sin, and how worthless it makes us to God.  Cursed indeed!

    And this leads to the second part of Ann's statement I've isolated above:


    "But that he is still her master regardless."


    If Jesus were this woman's master he could have helped her.  She does after all use all the right words, and approaches Jesus in a humble way, so Jesus should help her.   Let's look at how our Canaanite woman approaches Jesus:

     

    "And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!"...

    ...Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

    Matthew 15:22, 25

     

    That should have worked!  After all blind Bartimaeus used exactly the same words when he cried out to Jesus for help.

     

    Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.   And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
    Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
      So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
    Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
    And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
    So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

    Mark 10:46-51

     

    Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus in exactly the same way the Canaanite woman cried out to Jesus.  She even bowed down before him and worshiped.  Yet Jesus says to Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?"  The Canaanite woman says exactly the same thing to Jesus, but he tells her he can't help her.  The difference is Bartimaeus is a Jew and because of that he has access to Jesus.  

    There is another reason Jesus doesn't help the woman other than the obvious, that she is a cursed Canaanite.  The pagan religions used incantations in the worship of their gods.   Now we're not talking about the impersonal power of magic found in the world of Harry Potter.  The magic I'm talking about are words and phrases meant to appease and please a deity; to manipulate the deity into doing whatever someone wanted.  Magic wasn't an impersonal force, but an attribute of deity.  To the pagan mind when Jesus performed miracles he would have been saying the right things and the god would work on his behalf.  So when the Canaanite woman approaches Jesus she is coming with the power words she thinks she needs to manipulate him to get the magic from him (if she thinks he is deity), or from the god he serves.  God isn't manipulated by a standardized pagan religious formula of right words and actions.  There isn't anything we can say or do to manipulate what we want out of God.  Oh, I know we have our share of Christians who think they have to say things a certain way, say certain canned prayers, and do a series of religious behaviors in order to manipulate God, but that stuff doesn't work.  God cannot be manipulated, and he condemns witchcraft (manipulation) of every kind.  

    But back to the main point, answering Ann's comment.  This Canaanite woman can't acknowledge Jesus as her master.  Again, she is cut off from relationship with God.  And even if she'd been a Jew what makes Jesus master and savior is God.   Jesus teaches us this:

    No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

    John 6:44

     

    Even coming to Jesus and receiving him as master and savior is a gift of Father God.  We do not approach God, he calls us to his Son.  The Canaanite woman came to Jesus because she'd either heard him preach, or someone told her what Jesus was preaching and doing.  God always must instigate our relationship with him.  We don't even have it in us to go looking for God on our own.  The Canaanite woman, like everyone else comes to Jesus on God's terms. 

    When the Canaanite woman approached Jesus she was attempting to help herself, not unlike we Americans, who believe, "God helps those who help themselves"  She tried to use her religious mojo to voodoo her way to what she wanted by using the proper power words, but Jesus could do nothing for her.  Still, in the end she did receive her daughter's release from demonic possession.  What broke down the walls of separation between her cursed hide and the savior of the world?  The gift of faith, given her by Father God.  She could have packed up her bag of religious words and deeds and gone to the next deity.  But she was convinced Jesus was the only answer she ever needed.  She doesn't pack up and try a nicer god, she sticks with Jesus, and is willing to pursue him until she gets what she believes only Jesus has to give.  She shows her faith isn't in her words or deeds, but in the person of Jesus himself.  She isn't trying to manipulate him, she has no problem with her status as a dog before God.  If she has to she'll act like a dog and get her miracle one crumb at a time.  Her unwavering faith in Jesus is what opens every door to her. 

    The message is that faith in Jesus can overcome even the worst of sins and reputations.   We can have full access to the living God.  No matter how cut off and worthless we are because of our sin, an unwavering faith in Jesus brings freedom to us.  It isn't what Jesus can do for us, but just having Jesus himself.  Jesus isn't a self-help guru.  Jesus doesn't help those who can help themselves, Jesus has to do it all himself from first to last.  We can't make Jesus our master, Father God has to invite us in.  And thanks be to God for his prevenient grace, which always pursues us.  It is not God's will that any perish, but that all people come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.   And just as Jesus took care of a woman from among a race of dogs, he can overcome all of our sinful brokenness.  Jesus is able to save to the uttermost!!


     


     

     

     

     

  • WHY I BLOG

     

     


     

     

     

     

    I started my first Xanga on November 15, 2005.  I've had 7 or 8 different Xanga sites since that time.  I started blogging here as ministry to guys struggling with SSA (Same-Sex Attraction).   Today I'm on Xanga for very different reasons.  I blog to hopefully provoke thought for my readership, and to have my readership provoke me to thought.   That's it, that's the whole reason I'm on Xanga.  I blog for people who already share most of my beliefs.  I learned a long time ago that if people don't share a lot of common ground they aren't at all interested in what I have to say, and they aren't moved to think. 

    Because I'm a Christian people think I should have to put up with every nut case and troll spaz on the net.  Sorry, I don't agree.  I'm perfectly alright with anyone and everyone talking about whatever they want on their Xanga site, so long as that content isn't harming anyone else.  I'm perfectly alright with atheists putting forth their opinions about religion, even if it's hateful.   I believe people should be allowed to be RepubliCONS and Dem'r'rats, and talk about politics on their blogs.  If folks want to be pro-abortion or pro-life, by all means share your stories, from your perspective.   Want to talk about cats and dogs on your site?  Whatever tickles your fancy.   I believe in freedom of speech, so long as that speech doesn't violate the rights of others.

    This is my Xanga, and I'm not going to talk to atheists, pro-abortion activists, LGBT activists, political activists, whatever activist.  I'm sorry I don't care if anyone likes it or not.  I don't care if people think I'm closed minded, because I don't want them shoving their agenda on my comments page.  I care about provoking thought in my fellow Christians, and having my fellow Christians provoke thought in me.  I only visit the sites of people who provoke thinking for me.  If you want something else, go somewhere else.  I don't care if people think I'm mean, or being unchristian. 

    If you have something thought provoking to write on the topic posted on my site, then I'm interested in what you have to say.  You want to flame, slam, belittle, shame, put down, or otherwise demean something in a post, then move right along down that internet highway.  You may disagree with me, and I actually invite you to, but it had better be to the point and constructive.  

     

    If you do not like my stance then please, by all means, unsubscribe, un-friend, and/or block.  I'm fine with it.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • I'M NOT WASTING MY TIME...

     

     

     

    Why Would You Think I'd Let You Waste It?

     

     


     

     

     

     

    I earned myself a reputation as a passionate, throw down the gauntlet, get up in your grill kind of Xangan.   I could be down right trollish when I wanted to be.  As I've said repeatedly I had an agenda to serve, but I don't now.  I learned fairly quickly that social media isn't a good place to do real outreach.   Face to face relationships are how God really desires for us to interact with our fellow Christians and the hurt dying world around us.  So I'm not back on Xanga so I can "reach the lost".   I learned the best I can do is reach out to people who are fairly like minded.

     

    I WON'T BE CONVERTED:  

    Had a Roman Catholic who wanted to talk to me about being Roman Catholic.  I am not a Roman Catholic and will never be a Roman Catholic.  If the Roman Catholic church had reformed, when it should have, a lot of things would be different, but Roman Catholic church you didn't so sorry bout your luck.  No one is going to stump for the Roman Catholic church, Baptist church, Methodist church, and etc., and etc.   DON'T WASTE MY TIME OR I WILL BLOCK YOU!


    I WON'T ENGAGE XANGA ATHEISTS:

    No one comes to Xanga to change their current position, even if they claim they're open.  I love my friends who are atheist/agnostic.  I love spending time with them and sharing coffee with them, but we have very civilized conversations.  I'll admit it was a bit rocky at first, but then I confronted them, and they learned to respect me, for the good things God does in and through me.   I'm not dealing with the trolls on Xanga who call themselves atheist/agnostic.  I don't care if I'm perceived by the Xanga atheist trolls as being closed minded.  They've spent plenty of my time showing how closed minded they are, so I'm saving time.   NO XANGA ATHEIST TROLLS EVER!

     

    I WON'T ENGAGE XANGA RELIGIOUS TROLLS!

    You know, people like Curtis "lobo".   I don't have to give them the time of day, because it's a waste of time.  I don't get putting up with Xangans who only exist to harrass and berate.   How is it being open minded to put up with people like these Fred Phelpses in training?   NO XANGA RELIGIOUS TROLLS EVER!

     

    I'M NOT PUTTING UP WITH THE "I'M NOT  RELIGIOUS BECAUSE CHRISTIANS ALL SUCK" TROLLS

    People like @Lovegrove who I asked to unsubscribe from my site.   Seriously, I know Christians can be butt holes.  I used to be gay, and received crap from religious people my whole life.   No one is responsible for my relationship with God but me.  I'm born again, despite the best efforts of religious people, but Jesus is the reason I'm born again.  If you don't like my point that's just fine, but stop avoiding the point I'm making, and stop trying to interject a new point; A MOOT POINT, into the discussion.  "Hey, Lonnie don't you know 'what happens in the Bronze Age stays in the Bronze Age?'"  No matter how clear you make the point people like this avoid the point and keep attempting to impose their own point on the discussion.     HERE'S MY POINT, TROLL:   DRAG THAT POINT, THE HEAD IT SITS ON, AND THE REST OF YOUR SORRY CARCASS OFF MY SITE.  

     

    Don't like what I've got to say, that is just fine!  You found your way in, so find your way out.  BUT YOU DON'T GET TO WASTE ANYMORE OF MY TIME!

     

    Now, if you don't agree with me, and you want to disagree with me, without flaming or trollish antics I'm open and listening.  I learn more from those who disagree with me than I do from those who agree.  There is no age limit for my teachers.  If you make me think you are my teacher, and you will find me most grateful.  My greatest hope is to provoke thought for you as well.  

     


     

     

  • A BAD PENNY RANT!!!!

     

     

    Want To Shut An Atheist UP??!!


     

     

    1.  Christians SHUT UP!!!

    2.  LISTEN UP!!

     


     

     

    OH MY FLIPPEN! FRITA! FRATA! BLAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

     

    That's what my expletives look like...AND  why am I cussing up a storm???!!!   My fellow Christians pissing and moaning about the bad atheists on Xanga!   Here's a clue...THEY'RE ATHEISTS, what do you expect from atheists???   You're not dealing with Sunday School teachers for cripes sake!!!   All you have to do is shut them up!!   Don't you know how to shut an atheist up??   I know exactly how to shut atheists up, and I've done it on many occasions.   And what's more... atheists learn very quickly to get on my good side.  Do you know why Christian hating atheists learn to stay on my good side??   Because I have a voice that carries a long way.  I don't have to yell to be heard, so when I start yelling it's louder than a bull horn.   And when I start yelling the atheists know they are gonna look really, really, REALLY BAD!!  

     

    HOW TO SHUT AN ATHEIST UP!

     

    1.  Christian SHUT YOUR MOUTH!:  Let the atheists talk and tell everyone around about how stupid and even evil religion is.   When one is done, then you speak, and this is what you say,  "Are you finished?"  If one atheist is finished, then look around at the other atheists, and ask, "Anyone here have anything else you'd like to add?"   When everyone has verbally slapped you around, and they're grinning like the cat that got away with eating the canary, you get to have your say so now.  

     

    2.  ASK A QUESTION, BUT ASK IT THE RIGHT WAY:  "Wow, you've really got a lot against us Christians, and you all sure sound like you are just as good and moral as us Christians.   But you know I have a question I'd like to ask, "Why are there so many hospitals named after Christian saints and Christian denominations, but I've never heard of "Friedrich Nietzsche Memorial"  or "Hitler Children's Hospital" or "Pol Pot General Hospital", for that matter???"  

    AND THAT REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING ELSE...Why don't I ever see you at the homeless shelter; hospital; jail; nursing home where I and my fellow Christians have been serving for years now??   Tell me which hospital, homeless shelter, jail, nursing home will I find you serving and helping??  I want to come and see all the good works you atheists are doing!!"   

    AND THIS REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING ELSE...  Just last week I had a girl/boy all strung out, and threatening suicide, at about 1:30 AM, and we had to run out to offer help and counseling.  You atheists have sure showed me how much better than me and my fellow Christians are, so, here I'll tell you what, take this napkin here and write down all your phone numbers for me, and when I have another strung out suicidal kid to deal with I'm gonna call you up, you go with me, and you can show me how superior you atheists are at offering hope and comfort!"   Well?  Come on!!  Everyone write down your name and phone number for me, so I can call you...  WHAT'S THE MATTER GUYS?!?!?!  WHERE'S ALL YOUR SUPERIOR CARING ATHEIST WAYS??"  

    By the end of that little verbal display you'll be naturally pretty worked up, and I find I've got the full attention of everyone around us.   Oddly, for some reason, the atheists always look like all the blood has run out of them.  They look like someone kicked their dog.  They look like someone has streaked a blackboard with long fingernails...

    3.  ATHEISTS TALK BUT THEY DON'T WALK:  So why don't you Christians know how to shut the atheists up???  Shall I tell you why you don't know what to do??   Because you aren't doing anything but talking just like the atheists, that's why!   Christians walk the walk, just as Jesus walked the walk.

    “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’" 

    Matthew 25:37-40

     

    4.  CHRISTIAN JUST SHUT UP AND DO IT!!!:  If you aren't doing for "the least of these my brethren and sisteren," THEN SHUT YOUR FOOL MOUTH!!!   You are no different than the atheist anyway, so stop proving them right with every foolish word out of your mouth.  Go and obey Christ:  Start visiting hospitals, jails, nursing homes, shelters and soup kitchens, and pour out your life in service.  DO WHAT JESUS SAYS AND JUST SHUT UP.  When the Atheist starts in on you then SHOW the atheist(s) Christ.  If you aren't going to obey what Jesus Christ tells you to do, I. E. "go to the least of his brethren and sisteren," then stop talking, and stop calling yourself a Christian, and just take your lumps from the atheists, because the atheists are 110% RIGHT ABOUT YOU!!!

     

    5.  CHRISTIAN "DO" BEFORE YOU "SAY":  If you have a coworker, boss, employee, neighbor and etc. who are atheists, LGBT, heathen, pagan, witch, or any other type of "sinner", then first SHUT UP!   Don't say one flipping word about Jesus Christ, no matter how they attack and malign you, or wrong you.   Listen very carefully to them, and learn about them:  When is their Birthday, what are their favorite colors, flavors, styles, collectables, whatever they like and enjoy?   Learn all you can about them, and before you ever say anything about Jesus Christ you BLESS THAT "DIFFICULT" PERSON WITH A MINIMUM OF 4 GOOD DEEDS.   THEN YOU DO A FIFTH AND FINAL THING...  You put together a party for that person, you get everyone involved, you buy the cake, a gift that you know they will love, and you decorate...MAKE IT AS SPECIAL AND WONDERFUL AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN!!   And when it's all said and done, YOU SAY..."Now I would like to take you and your significant other to lunch or dinner with my own significant other, and you pick the place!"   During dinner you may speak of what Christ has done for you and yours, SAY NOTHING ABOUT THEM OR THEIR SIN.   When the meal is over say something along the lines of this:  

    "Thank you so much for letting me do this for you.  The first time I met you this idea came to mind.  I've been praying to God for you, and I've been planning this, because I know God wants you to know how much he loves you.  But you know who got the most out this celebration today??  ME!!  Because as I've prayed and as I've planned this day God has blessed me with such a love for you, and all I want you to know is that not only does God love you, but I love you too!!!"

     

    By the time you get to that last statement God will have indeed filled you with a love for that person you never thought you could have!   And how do I know you will have a love beyond what you ever thought you could???!!!!   BECAUSE I'VE BEEN OBEDIENT!  AND GOD CAN'T FAIL!!!

     

    BUT IT ALL STARTS WITH YOU CHRISTIANS SHUTTING UP!

     

     

    End Rant!




  • JESUS HAS GONE TO THE DOGS!

     

     

     

     

     

    "Life is a banquet! And most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death!"

    ~ Patrick Dennis

     

     

     

     

     

    From Wonder to divine bread!

     

     

     

     

    "He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”  “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment."

     Matthew 15:26-28

     

     

     

    I used to hate the story of the Canaanite woman, found in Matthew 15 and Mark 7.  I thought it made Jesus look shallow and capricious.  I even said to God, "Faith without works is dead,"  what faith action did the Canaanite woman make?"  It looked to me like, if you want something from God all you gotta do is give him a snappy comeback and he'll give you whatever you want.  I told God, "You know if you'll just say this "__________", then I can give you the snappy retort I've been working on.  Then I can get you to give me $10 million, a mansion, and a new Ferrari."  God never made the statement I'd thought up for him, and if he had  I'd have been terribly surprised and disappointed.  Still to say the woman's retort was somehow "great faith", strikes me as stuff and nonsense; the evidence is decidedly lacking.

    One night while house sitting for friends, God drew me back to the text, and a little movie downloaded into my brain.  There was a large family sitting around a dining table eating and a little dog running from person to person begging for little morsels of food, and in that instant I understood the woman's faith action.  Her response, snappy though it may be, is filled with action.   But most people in the 21st Century are focused on Jesus calling the woman a dog.  How does a loving God call a human being a dog?

    God didn't create humans, in his own image and likeness to then call them dogs, but God didn't choose our sinful behavior.   Jesus is telling it like it is, but that isn't going to be good enough for the mindset of 21st Century American culture which abhors judgment more than personal behaviors which earn us, rightfully, the derogatory label "dog".   It is true that "God so loved the world he gave his only Son," but God's love doesn't blind God to the truth of our sin.  God didn't send his Son into the world, because the world is lovable or worthy.  God sent his Son into the world to bestow upon us love, mercy, and grace we do not deserve.  God sent his Son into the world to give us the worth we've stripped from ourselves with our sinful behaviors. 

    The Canaanite woman would know that a Jewish Messiah, Noah, pronounced a curse upon Canaan, the patriarch from which her people derive their national/cultural identity.   She would also know that centuries after Noah's curse, the God of Israel cursed her people, because of their wicked treatment of the Jews.  Jesus isn't being mean, he's being truthful, and the Canaanite woman doesn't argue with him.  What a mean person Jesus is, and how dare he tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the Canaanite bitch. 

    Jesus isn't a nice person, he is the loving creator come to restore the image and likeness of God, and thus the worth he first gave his creation.   Stop trying to confuse us with the truth Jesus!  It doesn't matter if it looks like a dog, barks like a dog, bites like a dog, returns to its vomit like a dog, YOU are a cruel hateful man calling a dog a dog!!  Never mind the woman's daughter is demon possessed!!  Repent Jesus and stop being a judgmental douche!   Better yet, just condemn Jesus and throw the evil Holy Bible in the dumpster!   Then we shall all hike our legs and wiz all over the truth which calls us, truthfully, dogs, cause it makes us feel bad!   And making us feel bad is the greatest sin of all, right?!

    Funny the Canaanite women accepted the judgment of Jesus, and pleaded her daughter's case.   No matter how she appeals, Jesus cannot give her what she wants, because she truly is a dog, and Jesus must obey Father God in all things.   Jesus can only go the lost people of Israel.  More than a decade later God will send, first Peter, and then Paul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.  She'd just have to wait.  But the woman would simply not be put off.  Dog or not she knew Jesus was the answer, and she wasn't settling for anything less than Jesus.  And when the Canaanite woman retorts,   “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table...”  she is, effectively saying, "Fine Mr. Jesus, we'll do things your way.  If you won't heal my daughter directly, then my daughter and I follow you around.   When you go to heal an Israelite I will push my daughter as close as I can so that some of the healing power may spill over onto my daughter!!  You won't give me a whole immediate healing?!  I will take a little bit here and a little bit there, until I have enough for a whole healing."   Great faith indeed!  

    Faith in Jesus, overcame the law of Moses  Faith in Jesus overcame the curse of the Jewish Messiah, Noah.  Faith in Jesus overcame the very curse of God, rightfully earned by the long history of wicked treatment of the Jews.  Faith in Jesus completely changed her status from dog to equality with the children of Israel.  Faith in Jesus completely overcame everything which stood in the way of the healing she desired.   "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."  The hungry don't get filled, because they are worthy of righteousness, but because they hunger and thirst for Jesus. 

    And what does Jesus hunger and thirst for???


    “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."

    John 4:34

     

    Jesus has gone to the dogs!  Where else would Jesus be?! 

     

     

     

    So, praise be to God!  THAT DOG WILL HUNT!!!  shocked

     

    laughing

     

     

     

     

     

  • ON THE START OF MY 48TH YEAR

     

    *** First posted 1/1/12 ***

     

    There Are Worse Things Than Getting Older...

     

     

     


    A 48 year old fixing a faucet.

     

     

        “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

    ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

     

     

     

    Happy New Year!  My birthday isn't the first of 2012, but the thirty-oneth of December.   I spent the morning and early afternoon finishing up my visit to my cousin and her husband, and drove home.  I got home at about 7:00 PM on Saturday, so I spent a lot of my day in transit.  I've had 47 birthdays before, and there is little new, so traveling was actually a nice change for once.   I have two short years left before the big FIVE-ZERO, but I've learned quite a bit in my short 48 years of life.  I'll share eight of the greatest things God has taught me in 21 years of being a believer...

     

    • Jesus really does overcome our sin and our sin natures.  He does this by taking us to death on the cross with him.  When Paul writes, "It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me," he isn't kidding, he is dead serious.  God gives us a new nature, one born of his own Holy Spirit.   Die daily to self, build up the new inner person, allow Christ to indwell you through the Holy Spirit, and Christ living in you will overcome your nature.  Jesus says, "...I have overcome the world."  Invite Jesus to enable you to die, and then invite him to live his life in you.   Try it, and see what you get.   "...We know it when we love God and obey his commands. 3 Here is what it means to love God. It means that we obey his commands. And his commands are not hard to obey. 4 That's because everyone who is a child of God has won the battle over the world. Our faith has won the battle for us.  5 Who is it that has won the battle over the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."  1 John 5:2-5 (NIV Reader's Version)


    • If you screw up, God can and will fix it.   I do not know what it will cost for God to fix it when you screw up, but when you screw up ask God to fix it, and see what you get.   I'm not you so I can't tell you how God will deal with you when you screw up.  It may be the worst sin in the world, from your perspective, but God can fix anything we screw up.  It may cost you something, it may cost you a lot, and it is assured you will be humbled.   God will fix your screw up, if you will only ask, and willingly do whatever he tells you to do.

     

    • God still speaks.  Yes, he speaks most often through his written word, but sometimes there isn't a verse of Scripture from which to speak.  God isn't going to give you some new revelation; you're not going to be adding to the Bible.   How do I know God still speaks to us, even outside the Bible?  Simple, because the Bible tells us so...  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."   John 10:27.   You may say, "Today God only speaks through the Bible," but you are only depriving yourself of God's voice.   Only a fool would dare tamper with the word of the living God in such a way.  Do not attempt to limit God, for you only succeed in limiting his power in your life.  God still speaks, but are you listening?


     

    "...early Christianity was not a 'religion of the Book,' but rather 'the religion of the Spirit and the living Christ'"

     

    ~ The Biblical Canon, page 33.

     

    "I think that, for the most part, evangelicals have taken the easy way and chosen to chase the Holy Spirit into the Bible."

    ~ Roger E. Olson, Professor of Historical Theology

     


    • Hatred wins nothing.  Christians may say, "Hate the sin, but love the sinner," but these "christians" are almost always dishonest (I can say, without fear of correction, that everyone I've met who used that quote was lying!!).   Those I've met who said, "Hate the sin, but love the sinner," showed they only loved hating the sin, if not blatantly hating the sinner as well.  Jesus tells us to love our enemies, because when we love our enemies God is able to show us they are really just a reflection of ourselves.   The only way to overcome hate is with love.  Jesus says of our enemies:  43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.  He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."   Do you see that?  Jesus says,  44 "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven."   Loving our enemies proves we are the children of God!   And what is the last statement Jesus makes,  "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."   Jesus absolutely connects love for enemies with the perfection of God!   Jesus isn't making an empty statement, he's commanding us!!   Of course it is impossible for us to be perfect, so Christ makes us born again, and then indwells us, so that he may perfectly love as our heavenly Father does in and through us.  Still angry about 9/11?  Still angry with Muslims?   Still itching for revenge against the people's the United States has made war against?   What does Jesus tell you to do?   What is Jesus' command?  What is the proof Jesus requires of those who are God's true children?

     

    "Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

     

    "The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

     

    “That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.”

     

    ~ Martin Luther King Jr.


    • God heals your relationship first with himself, then with those in his and your born again family; the Church.  Finally he pours out his Spirit upon us that we may offer healing and wholeness to a hurt and dying world.  Don't shove your own relationships under the rug, in the name of "helping others".  Allow God to reach in and begin fixing you, your relationship to him, and then the relationships in the Church.  The family of God is where we learn to love; our Christian brothers and sisters are the guinea pigs, before we approach a hurting sin filled world!  laughing  Today nearly everyone in the Church is as broken and dysfunctional as the world.  How can the broken and dysfunctional fix a broken and dysfunctional world?!   Reaching out to the world is a part of your growth and healing, but get some house cleaning done in your own house, before tackling the world's mess.

     

    • Jesus Christ's own definition of a Christian is "one who is obedient".  Don't believe me?  Then you've not been reading the Bible, because Jesus is very clear.  Jesus own words:  31 "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:31-32.  Honestly, how much more does Jesus have to say?   Jesus says, *IF*, **IF**, NOTICE JESUS SAYS,  "IF"...."If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples."   What do you think it means "IF" you don't hold to his teachings?!   "IF" means, "IF you don't hold to my teachings, you are not really my disciples!!"  1) Die daily to yourself, your ways, your selfish desires and pursuits, "put off the old self along with its deceitful desires..."  2) "Put on the new self, created to be like Christ".  3) Ask God to enable you to obey him, and 4)  Obey the teachings of Jesus.   Which teachings of Jesus do you obey??   Start with:  "Love God and your neighbor as you (already) love yourself."   "Do to others what you would like them to do to/for you."   "Love your enemies." (see above.).   "Love one another; just as I have loved you, you must love one another."   "Go into all the earth and make disciples of all nations."   Obey these lessons, and God will give you understanding as to how to keep all the others.  

     

    • Give of your income and of your time in service.  Don't give me any of this nonsense about tithing isn't for the Church.  I'm not talking about keeping a law!  I'm talking about a very central part of God's own character.   The greatest verse on giving in the Bible is not in the Old Testament.   The Christian gives because of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,..."  God gave ALL of his wealth; God gave ALL of his treasure!  For what could God give or create which would equal the value of his only Son??!!   Giving isn't law, it is the heart of God!   Start out with 10%, but don't ever stop there!  Give offerings to any in need, and it doesn't have to be an established ministry of some kind.  You can give offering to a homeless person in need.  You can give offering to a family whose house has burned down.  You can give offering to the person who has a flat tire and no spare!   It is God's heart to give and this is the only reason you ever need to give.  Do you want to know and have God's own heart beating within you?    THEN GIVE TO STRANGERS WITHOUT EXPECTING ANYTHING BACK, AND WITHOUT ANY STRINGS ATTACHED!!!   10% is only the beginning...

     

    • Temptation is not sin.  I'm tired of hearing "christians" whining about their struggles and temptations.  Being tempted or having a terrible thought, pop unannounced, into your head is not sin.   If you pursue the temptation, and/or allow the thought to take root and become your thought, then you are in sin.   "Everyone born of God overcomes the world..."  "If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation; the old has passed away.  Behold everything is made new."   "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."  "But we have the mind of Christ."  "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."   Get it?  GOT IT?  GOOD!!  Temptation is going to be there for the rest of our lives, but that doesn't mean we have to accept it, or allow it to define us and control us.   Satan doesn't have a weapon to use against you if you are in Christ; a Christian.   The Holy Spirit once told me to listen to the language of temptation.  I'd always thought pictures would pop into my mind and that was the extent of most temptation, but as I obeyed the Spirit, and actually listened I learned something very important about temptation.  Temptation is a backhanded accusation.  Indeed a picture would suddenly pop into my head, but then I carefully listened, and sure enough there was a snide whisper along with the picture.  I could hear, "You know this is what you really want,"  or  "Take this, you know it belongs to you."   NO!  Sinful thoughts do not belong to me!  Why don't sinful thoughts belong to me?   "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has passed away..." 2 Corinthians 5:17.   I am a new creation in Christ, and I DO NOT think sinful thoughts any longer.  Sinful thoughts do not come from the new nature born of God's own Spirit.  The Holy Spirit indwells my new born spirit, and it is impossible for such thoughts to begin in my mind.   Ephesians 4:22-24:  22 "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.    NOW SEE HERE!  If you can't "put off your old self,"  why does the word of God say you can!?!?  If you are stuck with a messed up sinful mind then why does God's word tell us, "...be made new in the attitude of your minds..."???!!!  If all you are is a "sinner saved by grace," and you have no choice but to sin, then why are we told "put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."???!!!  IT IS IN THE BIBLE BECAUSE GOD HAS MADE YOU A NEW CREATION, AND THE OLD HAS TRULY PASSED AWAY.    1) Put off the old self.   2) Renew your mind with God's holy truth.   3) Put on the new self, created BY God, TO BE LIKE God, and walk in the Spirit, so you don't sin against God!   IF IT ISN'T POSSIBLE THEN GOD IS A LIAR!!!   And we know God is not a liar...."Let God be true, and every man a liar."   If you aren't going to believe the truth: A) that God has made you a new creation, B) seated you with Christ (right now), and that C)  because God has given you a new, born again spirit, made to be like Jesus Christ; and that God is right now conforming you to the image and likeness of Christ; and God has created you anew, so that you overcome the world...then perhaps, just maybe?, could it be possible?, you might want to consider... you do not have faith in the overcoming power of Jesus Christ and that would leave you:

       D)   Dishonoring God!  Doubting the power of God's grace!!  Denying the sovereign power of Christ to overcome sin!!!  

     

     

    JUST SOME THOUGHTS 


     

     

     

     

     


  • GOOD WILL TOWARD MANKIND

     

     

    I'll Be Working

     

     

     

     

           I had a lady in the checkout line at about 4:30 AM Friday morning get her panties all in a bunch.   She wasn't upset over merchandise shortages, sale prices not scanning, or because we didn't have her brand of cigarette.  No she was upset because I would be working on Christmas.   Mind you, I'm not the least bit upset, and more about that in a moment.   First let me also tell you about an email all of our stores received from Corporate.   We made the "naughty" list at the American Family Association or AFA.  The AFA sent out a poisoned Christmas message to boycott my company this holiday season.  It seems my company is politically correct and only allow our associates to use holiday greetings like, well, like, "Holiday Greetings", or "Happy Holidays".   This was news to us, because we are absolutely allowed and actually encouraged to say "Merry Christmas".  Every year I wear my "Merry Christmas" tie, and my decorated moose antlers.  And I go a little further, with the holiday greetings, and say, "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays" in the same holiday wish.  I throw in the Happy Holidays to flush out the "Christmas Nazis".   When I say the Happy Holidays part they pounce on me verbally.   Everyone in line gets a great education about what true evil looks like when these "christians" start spewing anger, and hatred toward anyone who dares say anything other than "Merry Christmas".   I give people one little phrase and they bite; pumping out more venom than a rattle snake.  

           As I said, I am working this Christmas.  I'm looking forward to it.  Why would I, a professing Christian, be glad I am working instead of being where I OUGHT to be?   First off I have a job!  I am very happy and thankful to have a job this year.   But of greatest importance: I'm a Christian.  Who else, besides a Christian, do you want folks to meet?   Do you want a pissy atheist to face the harried, tired, hurting, lonely and stressed Christmas shopper?   Who else is going to give folks "Good will toward mankind?"  I'm keeping Christmas by allowing the Holy Spirit to show God's good will toward the corner of the world he's put me in.

           Do you think I'm somehow unaware of the part I play in the evil plan of the "money grubbers"?   I'm aware of how materialistic Christmas has become, and that my working on Christmas is in service to corporate America.   It doesn't matter, because wherever I am Christ is, and Christ overcomes the world.   I'm not looking to make money, I'm looking to serve people, and offer a warm, loving, funny, Christ filled guy who helped bring a smile to what may be a bleak and lonely time.   Honestly who else should be in front of these folks?   The problem isn't that my company took "Christ" out of Christmas.   Only Christians can truly take Christ out of Christmas.   Keep Christ in Christmas, by simply allowing him to shine through.  Serve wherever you are, and so honor and promote the power of Christ to overcome the world.  I can't express to you how much I am looking forward to working this Christmas!  I'll be praying, loving, and serving, just as Christ would have me behave.   What, honestly, should a fellow Christian expect of me at Christmas??   

     

    How will you be serving, loving, and shining so the world can see Christ in Christmas?

     

         

  • BORED

    Stole this from @LKJSlain.  I'd like to thank the beer for making this possible.  After the beer, I'll probably want to give it back to Lisa.

     

    Are you younger than 18?
    30 years older

    Would you change your eye color if you had the chance?
    Deep blue, rather than mud brown...YEP

    Who was the last person you said ‘I love you’ to on the phone?
    My friend Shawn.  I've never had any problem telling people in my life I love them, males included.

    Do you like to make the first move?
    No, but very often people like it when I make the first move, because I focus completely on them.  When I make the first move I'm almost always asking someone about themselves.

    What song are you listening to?
    Raphael Saadiq "Stone Rollin" Next on the play list is Gavin DeGraw "I'm Not Over You", then Adele's "Someone Like You", then it's Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good".  Then on the list are Goldfish's "Fort Knox" and Maxwell's version of "This Woman's Work", and finally "River" by Joni Mitchell...  Can you say ECLECTIC? 

    Who/What do you think is overrated?
    RepubliCONS and Dem'r'rats. 

    What’s the ideal height you’d like your boyfriend/girlfriend to be?
    Don't care...

    Have you ever cried over someone?
    Yes, but it's been years.  It worked out alright in the end.

    Do you prefer summer or winter?
    Winter, but I'd rather have Fall.

    Name a celebrity you think is hot?
    Are they putting celebrities in ovens these days?  Good! Most of them are way undercooked.  They keep talking!  Cook em' some more so they shut up.

    Do you enjoy shopping?
    only for shoes and books it seems.

    Do you prefer long or short hair on the opposite sex?
    Whatever works well with her face.

    Do you drink alcohol?
    I'm knocking back a Dos Equis Amber right now.  TASTY  (@ 10:47 PM Thursday Dec. 15)

    Do you smoke?
    With gasoline and a match, quite well.

    Do you think the world will actually end in 2012?
    No.  For some it will be a good year, for some it will be a bad year, for some 2012 will be the end.  Same as every other year.

    What is your favorite animal?

    Dogs

    What piercings do you have?
    Ears, but I haven't had an earring in since the 90's

    Do you have a tattoo, if not do you want one?
    No, and even if I did you'd never be able to see it through the trees...I'm kinda fuzzy, cept for my head.

    Do you think the opposite sex is confusing?
    No, I have two ears, and I use them. 

    If your ex phoned you, would you be surprised?
    Very

    Do you enjoy hugs?
    I'm a hugger

    Ever hugged a tree?
    Nope, not a tree hugger.  I've hugged a few 'tree huggers' does that count?

    Do you talk really fast when you’re excited?
    I don't think so

    Are you a fast typer?
    I can be, if I'm copying another written work.

    Would you prefer beautiful eyes or a beautiful smile on your partner?
    hard to say.

    Is music one of the greatest things ever created?

    DUH?!

    Do you enjoy sneezing?
    No, it burns, but it beats not sneezing if I have too sneeze.

    Are you allergic to anything?
    Lots of things.  24/7/365.  Sucks to be me!

    How tall are you?
    5'11"  I've actually lost an inch...again, sucks to be me.

    How tall is the person you currently like?
    Not applicable

    Name a movie you like?
    HUGO.  If you haven't seen it, you should.

    Do you still hold your moms hand?
    No, that would be weird. 

    Do your cheeks ever ache from having to fake a smile sometimes?
    It always hurts when I fake smile.  I look like an insane person, but it always gets laughs.

    Do you get irritable if you’re too hot?
    Yes

    Are you still friends with your ex?
    No, I'm not the "still friends" with an ex kinda guy.  If you're my ex there is a good reason for it.

    Do you still have feelings for your first love?
    Can't remember the first love..., but if I remember them I may find I still have feelings.

    What’s your favorite genre of music?
    Do NOT like Country, but I have all kinds of music I love, mostly R&B, Blues, and Rock.

    If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
    On a beach.  I have no allergies on the beach.

    What color are your nails painted?
    puce...What a fricking lame question.  No nail color ever, unless I smash a finger, then black and blue.

    Do you have an embarrassing memory that you cringe about till this day?

    "An" embarrassing moment?  How about dozens of embarrassing moments which still make me cringe.  Sometimes people think I'm having a grand mal seizure, but I'm just cringing dozens and dozens of times...same difference I guess.

    Are you shy at all?
    Put me in a room full of strangers and I won't open my mouth...I know shocking right?

    Are you secretly jealous of any of your friends?
    Don't get jealousy, and I never have.  Why would I want what someone else has?  I know God has something planned for me, why settle for what someone else has when I can have my own??

    Are you selfish?
    I start there, but by God's grace I can't stay there.

    Do horror movies scare you?
    I can't believe people do the stupid things the victims do in those movies, so I can't stand watching them.

    Could you date someone who was shy?
    I don't think a shy person could stand being in my life for very long.  I  can't be shy, and I love embarrassing shy people.

    Do you think you have a good sense of humor?
    My sense of humor ROCKS...literally.  People throw rocks at me when I'm trying to be funny.

    What is your favorite drink?
    Sweet ice tea with lemon, black coffee, water.

    Name one habit you have?
    Drinking beer and doing totally moronic and lame surveys, apparently.  One I really must break.

    Do you smile at strangers?
    I'm a retail manager so I can smile and kiss butt at the same time.

    Do you believe that things will get better in time?
    Some things will, some things will get worse.  Such is life

    Do you enjoy roller coasters?
    LOVE ROLLER COASTERS

    Does jealousy ever get the best of you?
    Never.  Jealousy is completely wasted effort.

    Do attention seekers annoy you?
    No, if they do it well I usually like it.

    Do you prefer to drink regular water or do you enjoy flavored waters?
    Straight water, cold.

    Do you actually pay attention to things like which sock you put on first?
    Retarded much?

    Does it bother you when people put phony information on their Facebook account, such as “Goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry”?

    Why would I care?  I won't be rushing over to their houses to fact check.

    Do you talk on the phone often?
    Nope, I'm too busy fact checking FB pages for lies.

    Do you use “whilst” or “while”?
    While.  What damaged bot came up with these questions?

    What shows on television do you think are absolute garbage?
    Everything on MTV.  What happened to music videos?

    Do you sing when you’re home alone?
    Yep.  What's worse, I sing when not alone...MUUUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Do people say you have an accent? If so, what kind?
    Southern, until I don't want to have an accent, and then I don't have any accent at all.

    Do racist jokes bother you, or do you not particularly care?
    Yes, stupidity always bothers me

    Is there a story about you as a child that makes you die of embarrassment every time your parents tell it?
    No, I always enjoy the stories, and people always laugh, so what's not to like?

    Are you a Harry Potter or a Twilight person? Or do you not follow either?
    I like the Harry Potter series.  I read half the first Twit-light book and it was so bad I wouldn't finish it.

    Do you ever take baths?
    No, who wants to sit in their own filth?  I've only taken showers for over 20 years.

    Do you enjoy intelligent conversations or are you not one to have them?
    Recharges my batteries.  I love long intelligent conversations over coffee.

    What kind of soap do you use, bar soap or liquid soap?
    Doesn't matter it all dries my skin out.

    How do you feel about Oreos?
    Don't like feeling up cookies.  Seriously, who came up with these questions?  "Inbreds Am We"? 

    I need more beer... 

    Do you feel like you’d do well teaching someone, why or why not?
    I'm a good teacher, and I enjoy doing it.  I keep trying until I find the way a person learns.  If I can't teach you, then you may be brain dead.

    Do you call it soccer or football?
    I don't call it anything. I don't enjoy watching it and change the channel.

    What do you like on your toast?
    Butter and strawberry preserves.

    Do you eat a lot of fast food?
    I like Panera and Jason's Deli so it may be fast, but it isn't like Mc Nasty's

    What kind of makeup did you put on today?
    I scrubbed my face, I scrubbed my butt, what more do you want?

    Do you like popcorn chicken?
    No

    Have you ever played a card game for real money?
    Yes, Poker in college kept me fed on many occasions.

    When ordering sushi, what do you usually get?
    Cooked shrimp, White Tuna, Yellow Fin, Red Snapper.  I don't usually go for the rolls. 

    Are you currently sick or healthy?
    Allergies are kickin my butt right now.

    What day is your favourite TV show on?
    Thursday: The Big Bang Theory

    Do you prefer Italian or Ranch salad dressing?
    Ranch.  But I'd much prefer a vinaigrette

    Why did you decide to wear your hair the way you did today?
    I did not make the decision my genes did.  My only choice is to keep it shaved.

    Do you know anyone with a star tattoo right by their hip bone?
    "Alright everyone drop trow!!"

    Ever been to a real haunted house?
    Who needs ghosts when I'm around?

    Other than yours, whose house did you last fall asleep at?
    I stayed at a friends house last time I was in FL.

    Why are you on the computer right now?
    Bored but I have cold beer.

    Would you prefer to drive a car or a truck?
    I like the car I'm driving, but most of my life I've driven trucks.

    Is your wallet full of change?
    No change pocket in my bill fold.

    Where do you find you take most of your naps?
    sofa

    If you could see any band live, living or dead, which one would you pick and why?
    The Beatles.  Who in their right mind wouldn't want to see The Beatles???

    Have you ever played Angry Birds? Are you any good at it?
    Yep, and I don't have any comparison.

    When was the last time you were so drunk you threw up?
    Eve of the Kentucky Derby, in Louisville, KY. 1990

    Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
    Yes, they'd find alcohol, but well within legal limits, and I'm sitting at home anyway.

    What can you not wait for?
    What choice do I have but to wait?   Stupid much???

    Would you rather live without music or without the tv?
    TV

    Who was the last person you rode in a car with?
    My mom.

    Are you more conceited or self-conscious. Be honest.
    Self concious

    Whose hoodie or jacket did you wear last that wasn’t yours?
    Never have worn anyone else's hoodie.

     

    WHERE'S THE FRICKING BEER????

     

     


  • RULES TO LIVE BY?

     

     

    Or Ruled By The Spirit of Life?

     

     

     

    “The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion, but, on the contrary, of its liberality and humanity. It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted; precisely because most things are permitted, and only a few things are forbidden.”

     ~ G. K. Chesterton

     

    "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law;"

    Romans 3:20

     

    "For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law."

    Romans 3:28

     

    "You foolish Galatians [American Christians?]! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.   I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?"

    Galatians 3:1-3

     

     

     

    I'll confess it perturbs me when someone starts saying things like, "If Christians really want to please God we need to have a Kosher diet, wear the right clothes, have worship services on Saturday," and other such utter nonsense.   I want to shout, "You foolish people!  Who has bewitched you?!"   When I see certain Pentecostal women walking around with their hair piled up on their heads, long dresses/skirts, and no makeup I want to say, "This is what you call 'holiness'?  Really?"   The living God comes to earth, takes upon himself the sin of the world, and then dies, an innocent man, on a cross as a criminal, and you think "keeping" the law is pleasing to God?!  

    Why do people choose law over Jesus Christ?   Why do believer's saved by grace suddenly attempt to become keepers of the law when Scripture so clearly tells us grace is a gift not a work?  Grace can never be earned, grace can never be deserved, grace can never be purchased, grace cannot come from human willpower or effort.

    "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  (Bold print is my addition)

    Ephesians 2:8-10 

     

    The law appeals to the flesh, and it is the flesh which tries to keep it.  God knows better than our flesh.  God knows we cannot keep his law.  I'm not saying we don't need to follow rules.  Rules which ask people to "stay off the fence," so they don't fall into a wild animal's cage and risk maiming or death is a good rule.   "Men, go have pieces of your penis sliced off; and/or woman don't cut your hair, and/or worship on Saturday, or God won't accept you," are terrible rules.  if you claim to be a believer saved by God's grace, then live by the Spirit.  Live in daily communion with God's Holy Spirit, this will please God and by this you will keep the law of the Spirit of life. 

     

     

    "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God"

     


  • IF YOU'RE NOT A THIEF DON'T ACT LIKE ONE

     

     

    A Retailer's Christmas Wish List

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    This isn't an exhaustive list, and if you think of something I miss, please remind me, and I'll happily add it to the list

     

    A Retail Manager's Christmas Wish List

     

     

    1)  Keep your receipts.  You may think you won't need it, but there are lots of good reasons to hang on to that slip of paper.  You never know what you'll have to return.  All of us have "gates" which sound an alarm when a hidden tag hasn't been deactivated at checkout.   Occasionally, a "tag" from another company will set off the alarms in my company's store.  Store personnel will ask to see receipts for all of your purchase.

    2)  If you have to return something BRING THE RECEIPT.   One of the most common scams thieves use is to take merchandise off the shelf in my store and attempt to bring it to me for store credit.   Many of us won't give refunds for items over $20 without receipt.   It is not our fault you didn't keep your receipt, you are at fault.  If you want to attempt to return something, without receipt, then return the item to the store where you made the purchase.  If you purchased the item at the GAP in the XYZ Mall, return it to the GAP at that Mall.  Don't try to return the item at the GAP in the ABC Mall.  (I do not work for THE GAP, btw).  All big retail stores can check our inventories to see the movement on an item, and if no one has purchased that item in my store for 3 weeks, and you bought it last week, you look like a thief.   If you return to the store where you purchased there is always a chance, a small one, but a chance staff might remember you, and getting a refund will be easier.   Many companies require a refund check be sent to you from the corporate headquarters.   It can take 2 weeks or more for you to receive a refund check.  GET OFF YOUR CELL PHONE IF YOU WANT A REFUND FROM ME WITHOUT A RECEIPT.  Thieves act like they're in a hurry, and use the cell phone to make statements like, "I had to return such and such, to the store, but my lunch is over and this guy is taking all day getting me my money."   I'm not kidding about this one.   Chances are if I'm holding you up, I'm waiting for my own store security or one of my fellow managers is calling the police.  You may find yourself being really late.  GET OFF THE PHONE!  You are not only being rude, but you are using a favorite tactic of thieves, and you may be causing yourself some trouble.  

    3)  If I deny you a refund, because you don't have a receipt, don't act like a jerk thinking you're going to make me do what you want.   You are at fault, suck it up, and accept your consequences.  Act like a jerk, we will remember you, and we'll be looking for any reason and justification to kick you out of our store, permanently, if possible.  It is true, "The squeaky wheel does get the grease," but it is also the first one to be changed!   If you are going to abuse someone in my store it had better be me, and not my clerks.  I'm paid to put up with customer abuse, and I'll take it.  You abuse my clerk and I WILL NEVER FORGIVE OR FORGET.   All sins against me may be forgiven and forgotten, but do not abuse one of my employees.  I say this as a manager, not as a Christian.  As a manager, for a large retail company, I have a responsibility to remember those who cause trouble, and I'm good at it!

    4)  It is Christmas.  There are going to be long lines, so don't do your Christmas shopping if you don't have the time to stand in a long line.  We are not at fault because you thought you should be able to get in and get out in less than 30 minutes.  Shop when you have the time to wait in long lines.   Again... Don't abuse store staff, because we are crazy busy, and you've had to wait.   Take the time in line to learn and practice patience and good will.   You will be a better person for practicing patience.  

    5)  If you walk out and you set off the alarms at the "gate", don't make me chase you out of the store.  You have to come back, so we can check your bags and deactivate the tag.  It's gonna happen, and if you are an honest person, then you shouldn't mind.  

    6)  If you have small children leave them at home, or make only short shopping trips with them in tow.   You may be the most honest person in the world, but I can assure you the average 2 to 5 year old doesn't naturally know not to steal.   Have you taken the time to purposely teach your children not to steal?   The reason I do not steal is because my parents drilled honesty into my head.  I WOULD NEVER EVEN THINK ABOUT STEALING EVEN A PIECE OF CHEWING GUM... My parents threatened a slow, painful, shame/guilt filled death, were I ever caught stealing.   Honesty isn't an accident, it is a learned behavior.   Have you taught or reinforced honesty with your children today??  If you haven't taught and reinforced honesty leave the rug rats at home.  

    If you are shopping with the kiddos keep them with you.  Not only do they steal, but they open packages, and wreck toy/candy departments at the speed of light. 

    7)  KEEP YOUR SALES RECEIPT!!

    8)  Ladies leave the ginormous purse at home.  If you don't want us to watch you like a hawk then leave the "luggage" at home, and carry the essentials in a small purse, wallet, or clutch.  You will save time paying and keep the line moving if you don't have to search a room sized handbag for money, cards, and I.D.   You will also save your arms, back, legs and feet from the added weight of purchases and purse.   If you use a shopping cart, DON'T put your purse in the top shelf/seat of the cart, and then, carelessly, lay small items on top of your purse.  You may find yourself escorted out of a store by the police in handcuffs.   I've seen ladies carelessly lay items on top of their open purses.   Store personnel see an open purse and you dropping items into it and you are busted.   There have been many women found guilty of shoplifting, because they were careless about piling items on top of or underneath their open, gigantic luggage.   I can't believe the number of women who are arrested for simple thoughtlessness.  Just try to get a job with a shoplifting conviction on your record!!  DO NOT EVER LAY ITEMS ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR OPEN HANDBAG OR BACKPACK.   In fact if you are carrying a backpack, many stores will require you leave it at the entrance of their store.   Store personnel are not responsible for your lost backpack, if you have to leave it at the front.   USE YOUR HEAD....Leave the backpack and Cadillac sized purses at home when Christmas shopping.  

    9)  HAVE I SAID KEEP YOUR SALES RECEIPT??...IN CASE I HAVEN'T.....  KEEP. YOUR. SALES. RECEIPT!!!!!

    10)  Keep your hands where we can see them.  You put your hands into your coat/jacket pocket or into your purse, and we're watching you like 13 year old boys watch porn!   When you first walk into a store, take your right glove and put it into your right jacket/coat pocket.  Then take your left glove and put it into your left jacket/coat pocket.   Why do this???   Ever try to put something in your pocket when you've got a glove wadded up in it??   Whatever you attempt to put into your pocket comes springing right back out.   If I see you push your gloves into each pocket I feel a lot better about it.   In any case keep your hands out of your pockets while you are in a store.

    11) Watch your posture and body language.  If you look around a lot, you'll draw our attention the way garbage draws flies.  Stand away from shelves, keep your hands down, and if you are with other people, don't clump up.  When we see a clump of people standing in an aisle or in front a merchandise display we think you are blocking our view.   If you are in a clump and we see hands going into pockets or coats, YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!   Do not clump up, and do not stand in the same place for a long period of time, we will be watching you, and so will our cameras!!  These are the behaviors of thieves.  Do remember we have cameras, and most of our employees don't even know where they are in our stores.   Do not stand shoulder to shoulder close to a display so that your shoulders are touching, forming an angle.   What I'm talking about looks kinda like this  < [ .  Think about standing shoulder to shoulder facing the shelf or display.   By standing this way no one can see around you.  Wear big enough coats and you can strip a display in moments.   Keep space between you and others so we can see what you're doing and what you have in your hands.  

    12)  TEENAGERS ARE THIEVES.   It used to be that racial profiling was a problem.  (Some personnel in some stores still do racial profiling, and these are BAD employees.  Racial profiling means only a small group of people are being watched.  Good employees watch EVERYONE!!)  As I was saying, TEENAGERS ARE THIEVES.   Now we all know not all teenagers are thieves.  BUT teenagers, in a group of teenagers, are more likely to engage in risky, dangerous, and other unwise behaviors.   Teens who are alone or with parents may be the most honest people in the world.  It isn't even that a teenager is a "bad" kid, it is the intense immediate peer pressure brought to bear by one or several teenagers on that one "usually" honest teenager(s).  "I dare you!!..." or something like it, is like catnip to pussycats;  IRRESISTIBLE!!! Teenager's brains are not fully developed.  There is solid scientific evidence, which shows teens are prone to riskier behaviors, because the part of their brains used for complex decision making are underdeveloped.   In short teenagers are bad decision makers, who are easily influenced by peer pressure.  Thus:  ALL TEENAGERS ARE THIEVES!   (Please don't bother crying at me about how "unfair" I'm being...I'm sorry, but science is on my side, so go cry "foul" to someone who doesn't have the facts).   Parents accompany your kids to Christmas shop.  This is one Christmas tradition to keep "a family affair."  

    13)  Make frequent trips to the car to lock purchases up in the trunk.  This keeps your hands free, and gives retailer's fewer worries and headaches.   If you have to lug around bags, then tie the tops of those bags closed.  Make it difficult to get them open, and you might save yourself a lot of suspicion and perhaps some embarrassment.  

    14)  Don't get mad if store personnel stop and ask you questions about your purchases.  When I carry a bag from one store to another store, before I leave, I usually offer my receipt and allow them to look into that other store's bag.  It only takes a moment and lets them know they have an ally as well as a customer.  If you are an honest person you won't mind going a little out of your way to prove it.   I don't expect anyone else to do this, but if I see someone steal something I'll follow them to the front of the store and say something like, "Excuse me, but don't you want to pay for that item you stuck in your pocket earlier?"   Why do I do this??   My telling store personnel that I saw someone stealing is meaningless, unless I were a police officer.  Store personnel must see the theft, in most cases to stop the shoplifter.   As a retail manager I don't mind helping my comrades in retail out, if I can.   

    15)  BE NICE!!  This is a holiday season, but retail and other service workers are harder pressed, overworked, and kept away from their families and friends, ALL so you can enjoy giving your family and friends gifts.  Mistakes are going to be made; registers go down while ringing the sale; coupons will be forgotten; stuff will have hidden damage; items on the sale/clearance table or rack may not have belonged on the sale/clearance table or rack, and etc.   Most of us are really doing our best.  We have the same family issues, financial issues, dearly departed loved ones, sick kiddos at home... JUST LIKE ALL OF YOU DO.   Please extend to us the same courtesy, kindness, and smile we honestly do endeavor to give you.   Please don't treat my employees like they are second class citizens.   I've said for years that everyone, right out of school, should have to wait tables or work retail for a year, before pursuing any other line of work.  Everyone from newspaper columnists like George Will, to the Supreme Court Justice, and the CEO's of the largest banks and corporations should have worked as a server or in retail.   Waiting tables and/or working in retail will make you a more humane human being.   I can always tell the people who come into my store who wait tables or work in retail... I CAN SPOT THEM BECAUSE NO ONE BEHAVES LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAS WAITED TABLES OR CLERKED IN RETAIL.   And I want all my fellow servers to know, like all my comrades in service industries, I will be among the easiest and nicest person you'll serve today.  I will always tip you much better than average.  I will always patiently wait for you, understand when you are "in the weeds."  I will always say please, and thank you, and I'll always smile at you when I do....

     

    And to all my fellow servants, in every service industry:  You are among my most favorite people on the planet.   You don't hear it very often, but I want you to know, from someone who "knows";

    YOU ARE GREAT PEOPLE!!  

    I am proud to stand with and serve with you!!    God bless you, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year...and I PROMISE... IT'LL BE OVER SOON!!

     

    And one last thing.... KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS!!!