BOB'S BENT STORIES

BOB'S BENT STORIEShttp://heretothere.blog.co.uk/Stories to encourage us to become more and more like Christ. en-UShourly82000-01-01T12:00+00:00BOB'S BENT STORIEShttp://heretothere.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/15/9fed57afda9a7efea10053f74e8916_160x200.jpgGod-Marthttp://heretothere.blog.co.uk/2008/04/28/god-mart-4107392/2008-04-28T21:28:47+02:00 I was a stranger, one who didn't know his way around the Christian neighborhood. My name is Alfonso. I was born like everyone else in the U.S. and grew up like a normal kid, playing baseball and football and getting into trouble at school. After about 21 years of being a wild stallion, I came to the conclusion that Christ was the One and only God to be worshipped. Sure, there were others--I'd checked them out and read some of their claims. It was interesting but it didn't change my life. Christ did. That was enough for me. It all seemed so simple in the beginning. Then one day at church Pastor Don called me up from the congregation with a bunch of others and said, "Alfonso, you need to be filled with the Holy Ghost and power." That sounded true so I told him to pray away. Before long I was on the ground (Don must have thought I could receive more laying down because he shoved me over with the other people). Next thing I knew people were making strange noises, crying, yelling, laughing and hooting it up. I'm shy so I just lay there and remained quiet. When Don saw me he told the crowd that I was in a spiritual rest and God was healing me and setting me free from my inhibitions. "Oh, I didn't know that. Cool." Then I met Pastor Ann. She told me I needed to be straightened out. My faith was built on invalid input. She said the Way to Christ was through her church, the universal all inclusive church, so I did what she said. After a few months there I thought maybe it was time to get a 2nd opinion. It seemed like every week something was changing or being added or taken away or a new "word of the Lord" would come and to get us on track. I never knew God ran the church on a track but I guess He does. I checked out the yellow pages and found there were many more choices than Pastor Ann's and Pastor Don's churches. There were 100s. Actually, there were over 30,000 denominations I could choose from. A new revelation: The church has become Wal-Mart. It doesn't matter what you want, the church has it. There are more departments and specials than you can shake a stick at, if you are into shaking sticks. I've met some people who hold sticks and find water under ground, but I hear that's from the demons! Better stay away from the sticks. So I went down to God-Mart and you wouldn't believe all the things I've found. You can believe almost anything you want and find confirmation at the store that it's real, valid and true. There's a retro department so if you should take something off the shelf and not get it to work correctly you can just go back in time and have it updated and upgraded and make it appropriate for today and give it another try. There's even a 2nd-hand department. If you don't want to go to the trouble of breaking in what you put on, you can have someone else do it for you and then take it from them and make it your own. The part I liked best was the recycle department. It was in there I found what Pastor Don was talking about and Pastor Ann too. Those things they told me, I found out, had been around for at least a 100 years and had just been updated with new music, modern words and people that looked just like the people on TV and in the movies. They are so cool with their trendy clothes and body art--it just makes me more in love with God to know such cool people follow Him and I can follow Him just like they do. I can be myself. As time has gone by, lots of it, I've been to God-Mart a lot. One of the things that's so wonderful is you can take things back and exchange them. I went to one church where Pastor Hurley would get a word of knowledge about people in the audience having a back ache. With 2500 people in the audience that was a safe call and he'd have them come up for prayer cause he said God wanted to heal all of them. He'd pray and sway and then say, "Be heeeeeeealed" and then tell them to jump up and down. Actually they didn't have to jump down--gravity did that part. Then he'd have 'em wave their hands and before long everyone in the building was cheering and clapping. The folks would then be sent back to their seats and we'd give our tithes. I thought it was kind of strange that every week many of the same people would get healed again. I stayed with them for a while but I took it back for an exchange. I was in the Hip and Young department for a long time but that seemed pretty weird because I had gray hair and was nothing like the "real" Hip and Young that were there. I decided I needed to move out and that's when I found the Middle-Aged Spread department. Those guys know how to love God. When you go in there they just kind of kick back and let their pastor, Pastor Tom, teach them everything they need to know about life and Christ. They study the Word like you wouldn't believe and have seminars and retreats all the time so they can stay on the edge. You can only stay in that department for so long, though, because eventually you get so fat you can't even walk around anymore. Yep, whatever you need, you can get at God-Mart. We all know there isn't really a God-Mart, but when you look at post Reformation religion, you find it's starting to become that way. Whatever you want to believe, there's a denomination, a building program and a place for you. If you don't like the one you are in, it's easy to just leave and find a new one. The challenge of course is finding the one that believes the way you believe. One solution many of my friends have found is to just not go to church at all. That way they don't get caught up in the politics and building programs and they have their Sundays off as a true day of rest. Let's face it--getting the kids ready and then racing off to Sunday School and church can be a chore. Another solution is to just settle for what you got and make the best of it. "They don't really teach all I think is correct, but they are good people and my kids are happy." "Besides, as long as they believe in Jesus that should be enough for anyone." Jackie and I have gone to the God-Mart churches I mentioned in real life. Names are changed, obviously, but the churches were real and the events true. We played God-Mart for 35 years and have recently turned in our God-Mart card and converted to Orthodoxy. A couple of years ago I had this strong urge in my soul to become more and more like Christ. I've failed so far but I'm trying. Yes, I know about doing things in God's strength. Anyway, this desire started to chase me in a direction I'd never been before in 35 years of church hopping and planting. It chased me away from the Protestant religion completely. Not Christ. It chased me to Orthodoxy. When I told Jackie she was skeptical, to say it mildly. She thought I'd lost my mind at times but then we kept praying and seeking and asking questions and challenging Priests about their thoughts until we finally came to the conclusion that it was us that needed to change--not the Church and not the Priest. We'd been judges for 35 years--"I didn't like the sermon" or "The worship was good this week--they got a new leader for the team." I found that I wanted worship to be this way or that way and the preacher to say it this way or that way which basically amounted to being nothing more noble than self-love. Worship isn't for me--it's for God. What difference should it make how I want it? The question should always be: "Is this what God meant when He said to worship in Spirit and truth?" The Protestants can't even decide amongst themselves what that means. To a charismatic it may mean speaking in tongues and to a Baptist it may mean singing one of the old hymns that gives you goose bumps. What's up with that? For many others it's about the fog machine, the lights, the decibels of the music and if the jeans have holes in the correct places. I'm not questioning sincerity. I just want "Spirit and Truth" to come to the front of what we are doing. It's not a problem in the Orthodox church. They claim by the historical documents they've hung onto since the 1st century that the Apostles told them what it meant and how to do it so that's what they do. Their worship service is not hip; it is not retro; there are no exchanges made and it's hard to get fat because they insist on fasting about half the time. They haven't signicantly changed their services since the 300s. Of course like any church, there are those who just go for the appearance so it certainly isn't the perfect church you are looking for. But it's sure different from any Protestant church you've been to. What's this have to do with becoming like Christ? For me, I found a whole new set of tools I can use to address the inadequacies in my life, the things that hinder my walk with Christ and attaining to His fulness. Will I make it? Will I get there? I'm just happy being able to call myself an "unprofitable servant" at this point. And you know what I think? That's what we'll all call ourselves the day we meet Him face to face--if we have any sense, that is. So maybe there is progress being made. Well, that's long enough for this story. Hope I didn't offend you. It's my sincere goal to share with you the things I am learning so that we can all put off the works of the flesh and put on Christ. Oh, one more tid bit. For you former DTS students who know some of our secrets, when we were received into the Orthodox church they said to pick a Christian name from among the saints. Guess who I found? Saint Rufus. He was described as a fesity red headed guy who was martyred for his faith. Rufus lives! Blessings to you all... Bob (Rufus) <img class="smiley" src="http://www.blog.co.uk/srv/tinymce/jss/plugins/blogdeemotions/smilies/icon_wave.gif" border="0" alt=""> <a href="http://heretothere.blog.co.uk/2008/04/28/god-mart-4107392/#comments">Comments</a> I was a stranger, one who didn't know his way around the Christian neighborhood. My name is Alfonso. I was born like everyone else in the U.S. and grew up like a normal kid, playing baseball and football and getting into trouble at school. After about 21 years of being a wild stallion, I came to the conclusion that Christ was the One and only God to be worshipped. Sure, there were others--I'd checked them out and read some of their claims. It was interesting but it didn't change my life. Christ did. That was enough for me. It all seemed so simple in the beginning.

Then one day at church Pastor Don called me up from the congregation with a bunch of others and said, "Alfonso, you need to be filled with the Holy Ghost and power." That sounded true so I told him to pray away. Before long I was on the ground (Don must have thought I could receive more laying down because he shoved me over with the other people). Next thing I knew people were making strange noises, crying, yelling, laughing and hooting it up. I'm shy so I just lay there and remained quiet. When Don saw me he told the crowd that I was in a spiritual rest and God was healing me and setting me free from my inhibitions. "Oh, I didn't know that. Cool."

Then I met Pastor Ann. She told me I needed to be straightened out. My faith was built on invalid input. She said the Way to Christ was through her church, the universal all inclusive church, so I did what she said. After a few months there I thought maybe it was time to get a 2nd opinion. It seemed like every week something was changing or being added or taken away or a new "word of the Lord" would come and to get us on track. I never knew God ran the church on a track but I guess He does. I checked out the yellow pages and found there were many more choices than Pastor Ann's and Pastor Don's churches. There were 100s. Actually, there were over 30,000 denominations I could choose from. A new revelation: The church has become Wal-Mart. It doesn't matter what you want, the church has it. There are more departments and specials than you can shake a stick at, if you are into shaking sticks. I've met some people who hold sticks and find water under ground, but I hear that's from the demons! Better stay away from the sticks.

So I went down to God-Mart and you wouldn't believe all the things I've found. You can believe almost anything you want and find confirmation at the store that it's real, valid and true. There's a retro department so if you should take something off the shelf and not get it to work correctly you can just go back in time and have it updated and upgraded and make it appropriate for today and give it another try. There's even a 2nd-hand department. If you don't want to go to the trouble of breaking in what you put on, you can have someone else do it for you and then take it from them and make it your own. The part I liked best was the recycle department. It was in there I found what Pastor Don was talking about and Pastor Ann too. Those things they told me, I found out, had been around for at least a 100 years and had just been updated with new music, modern words and people that looked just like the people on TV and in the movies. They are so cool with their trendy clothes and body art--it just makes me more in love with God to know such cool people follow Him and I can follow Him just like they do. I can be myself.

As time has gone by, lots of it, I've been to God-Mart a lot. One of the things that's so wonderful is you can take things back and exchange them. I went to one church where Pastor Hurley would get a word of knowledge about people in the audience having a back ache. With 2500 people in the audience that was a safe call and he'd have them come up for prayer cause he said God wanted to heal all of them. He'd pray and sway and then say, "Be heeeeeeealed" and then tell them to jump up and down. Actually they didn't have to jump down--gravity did that part. Then he'd have 'em wave their hands and before long everyone in the building was cheering and clapping. The folks would then be sent back to their seats and we'd give our tithes. I thought it was kind of strange that every week many of the same people would get healed again. I stayed with them for a while but I took it back for an exchange.

I was in the Hip and Young department for a long time but that seemed pretty weird because I had gray hair and was nothing like the "real" Hip and Young that were there. I decided I needed to move out and that's when I found the Middle-Aged Spread department. Those guys know how to love God. When you go in there they just kind of kick back and let their pastor, Pastor Tom, teach them everything they need to know about life and Christ. They study the Word like you wouldn't believe and have seminars and retreats all the time so they can stay on the edge. You can only stay in that department for so long, though, because eventually you get so fat you can't even walk around anymore. Yep, whatever you need, you can get at God-Mart.

We all know there isn't really a God-Mart, but when you look at post Reformation religion, you find it's starting to become that way. Whatever you want to believe, there's a denomination, a building program and a place for you. If you don't like the one you are in, it's easy to just leave and find a new one. The challenge of course is finding the one that believes the way you believe. One solution many of my friends have found is to just not go to church at all. That way they don't get caught up in the politics and building programs and they have their Sundays off as a true day of rest. Let's face it--getting the kids ready and then racing off to Sunday School and church can be a chore. Another solution is to just settle for what you got and make the best of it. "They don't really teach all I think is correct, but they are good people and my kids are happy." "Besides, as long as they believe in Jesus that should be enough for anyone."

Jackie and I have gone to the God-Mart churches I mentioned in real life. Names are changed, obviously, but the churches were real and the events true. We played God-Mart for 35 years and have recently turned in our God-Mart card and converted to Orthodoxy. A couple of years ago I had this strong urge in my soul to become more and more like Christ. I've failed so far but I'm trying. Yes, I know about doing things in God's strength. Anyway, this desire started to chase me in a direction I'd never been before in 35 years of church hopping and planting. It chased me away from the Protestant religion completely. Not Christ. It chased me to Orthodoxy. When I told Jackie she was skeptical, to say it mildly. She thought I'd lost my mind at times but then we kept praying and seeking and asking questions and challenging Priests about their thoughts until we finally came to the conclusion that it was us that needed to change--not the Church and not the Priest. We'd been judges for 35 years--"I didn't like the sermon" or "The worship was good this week--they got a new leader for the team." I found that I wanted worship to be this way or that way and the preacher to say it this way or that way which basically amounted to being nothing more noble than self-love. Worship isn't for me--it's for God. What difference should it make how I want it? The question should always be: "Is this what God meant when He said to worship in Spirit and truth?" The Protestants can't even decide amongst themselves what that means. To a charismatic it may mean speaking in tongues and to a Baptist it may mean singing one of the old hymns that gives you goose bumps. What's up with that? For many others it's about the fog machine, the lights, the decibels of the music and if the jeans have holes in the correct places. I'm not questioning sincerity. I just want "Spirit and Truth" to come to the front of what we are doing.

It's not a problem in the Orthodox church. They claim by the historical documents they've hung onto since the 1st century that the Apostles told them what it meant and how to do it so that's what they do. Their worship service is not hip; it is not retro; there are no exchanges made and it's hard to get fat because they insist on fasting about half the time. They haven't signicantly changed their services since the 300s. Of course like any church, there are those who just go for the appearance so it certainly isn't the perfect church you are looking for. But it's sure different from any Protestant church you've been to.

What's this have to do with becoming like Christ? For me, I found a whole new set of tools I can use to address the inadequacies in my life, the things that hinder my walk with Christ and attaining to His fulness. Will I make it? Will I get there? I'm just happy being able to call myself an "unprofitable servant" at this point. And you know what I think? That's what we'll all call ourselves the day we meet Him face to face--if we have any sense, that is. So maybe there is progress being made.

Well, that's long enough for this story. Hope I didn't offend you. It's my sincere goal to share with you the things I am learning so that we can all put off the works of the flesh and put on Christ. Oh, one more tid bit. For you former DTS students who know some of our secrets, when we were received into the Orthodox church they said to pick a Christian name from among the saints. Guess who I found? Saint Rufus. He was described as a fesity red headed guy who was martyred for his faith. Rufus lives! Blessings to you all...
Bob (Rufus)

Comments

]]>Its desire is for you...http://heretothere.blog.co.uk/2008/04/07/its-desire-is-for-you-4010800/2008-04-07T16:48:52+02:00 I wanted to be in control. The problem was, the person in control was much stronger than me. He wasn't the smartest guy around but he seemed to be able to keep things going at a good pace and in the right direction. But I wanted control. I wanted the honor. I wanted the glory. I was tired of being a nobody in his kingdom. You see, the one in control was the king. He was a good man and he took good care of the peasants. He was fair to them and the taxes he charged were used wisely. But I wanted control. I decided that I was going to win the heart of the king. I'm the most beautiful woman in his kingdom and I will use my beauty to beguile him. Every Monday the king came to our village and greeted the people so I dressed in my finest clothes and set my trap. I waited for him at the gates and when he came, I faked a fall right in front of his entourage to get his attention. My plan worked perfectly. When he saw me on the ground, helpless, he was moved in his heart to offer aid. The king stopped his horse and got off to help me. I knew when he saw me he would be taken by my beauty. It is said that with my eyes I can cause a man's heart to stop beating. When he saw the faked pain in mine, I had him. He extended his hand to me, lifted me from the ground and asked if I was all right. "Yes, your highness, I am fine. You are so noble and kind to help an unworthy peasant as myself." The king was my captive but I knew I had to be wise to bring my plan to completion. I wobbled a bit and he reached out to steady me. When he put his strong hands on my shoulders, I could feel his strength becoming mine. While it was highly irregular for a king, any king, to be seen with a peasant, this king pursued me. He had me brought to the palace and I was pampered and prepared to become his queen. My appearance had taken his heart captive and my promise of giving him a life beyond his dreams won his mind. The king belonged to me. We would reign together. I would let him believe that he was in control, but I would have my way with him and his kingdom. After I became his queen, we did reign together. When the peasants had a problem, they would come to his throne and we would make sure that they found justice. We worked well together, but I wanted control. My plan was perfect. I would ask the king to allow me to control his kingdom for one day. I dressed perfectly for the occasion and my appearance was that of an angel. When he looked upon me he was unable to resist my petition. The next I was to control the entire kingdom by myself. With control now in my grasp, I would have my own way with the king. In front of the king's court and all the people, he awarded me the control of his kingdom for a day. It was glorious. I met with the people and listened to their petitions and problems and granted them the desires of their hearts. Some of the nobles were given large parcels of land and authority they'd not had before. I'd easily won the hearts of the people with my gifts and promises of a better life. Later in the day I had the royal guards summoned to my throne. I gave the order that the king, who was in my chambers , was to be arrested and executed immediately. The guards, knowing I was in charge, did exactly as I said. When the king was brought before me I could see in his eyes that he had been thoroughly deceived He begged me for mercy, but I wanted control. He offered me half of the kingdom, but I wanted it all. By giving away his kingship for just one day, it cost him his kingdom and his life. If you're wondering if this is a true story, it is and it isn't. There is a legend of a queen who did this very thing though not exactly as I wrote it. But the results were the same: The queen was given the authority to reign for a day and her first order was to have the king executed. Are you wondering how this story is supposed to help you in your pursuit of being conformed into the likeness of Christ? Let's go back to Genesis 4:7 and see what it has to say about our “queen.” If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. Before Cain murdered his brother that is what God said to him. The queen wanted the king's authority, but as long as the king guarded his heart, she could not get it. But the king looked at the beauty of the peasant who would be queen and he let his guard down and was overcome by her depeption and appearance. Sin is like that beguiling queen: it looks good but beyond the appearance there is the reality of its life-taking ability. Many of us in America have been brought up to believe “we are saved by grace,” which is certainly true. We are also taught that forgiveness comes from God and it's almost automatic. What we aren't taught is that sin is serious and it can take our lives away from us. Once we give ourselves over to habitual or purposeful sin, it's very difficult to find the way back to where you've fallen off. A verse not many of us like to recall is this: Heb. 12: 16-17 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears. Once sin works its way into our hearts and we lose control, we may find ourselves like Esau--repenting with tears (crying out for mercy) but unable to find the way back. I'm well aware that many believe that salvation is a one-time confession and that's it. You are welcome to believe what you want. I know "Christians" like Esau who were very sincere who today wallow in sin and denial of His grace. My point is to warn you and to warn myself: Sin has consequences and to give your heart to sin in exchange for God's blessing is a dangerous thing to do. Heb. 10:26 - 27 says it this way: Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. We don't have to suffer the fate of Esau and we don't have to "continue sinning." There is grace and mercy from God to prevent this. Sin crouches at the door, waiting for our attention so that it can pounce on our hearts and plunder them. Sin struggles using various methods to conquer our hearts and establish itself upon that throne. Once in power, it can very easily hold a person captive for the rest of their lives. This need not be so. We are to stand guard over our hearts and use all the tools we have to resist the temptations that come to us. What tools? We've been talking about one since January. The first thing we are to do is to make the commitment to take up the challenge by God to become made into the likeness of Christ. Once we take that up, we have direction and purpose for our lives. We can fight sin by fasting. While fasting is not a fashionalbe thing in our culture of instant gratfication, it has been used since the 1st century to do battle with sin. How? Well, think about it. When we fast, we deny ourselves and when we deny ourselves we have the power to obey God. Fasting teaches us to say “no,” even if it is something as simple as a dessert at a meal or meat for a week or whatever you do. Once our physical bodies get used to who's in control, it's easier to resist its passion for sin. Fasting is a tool that has been used by the Church for centuries. It's a shame that most of America ignores this valuable tool in the struggle against sin. David said in Psalm 101:3 that he wouldn't set anything wicked in front of his eyes. Self-denial is another tool in our battle with sin. How easy it is for me here in Florida to put things in front of my eyes I don't need to see. For example, I ride my bike over to the beach to go surfing. When I get to the beach it's not unusual for there to be a lot of very good looking girls that are wearing next to nothing. If I want to, I can allow my eyes to take in all the skin they want. But what I've found to be better than that is to remember what David said and to not look. I know, I've heard the teaching that a girl's body is not sinful and it's a creation of God and blah blah blah. But you know what? I don't need to see other girls' bodies because it's not good for my brain. And it's not good for yours either if you are a normal man/boy. It will invite and encourage thoughts and fantasies you don't need. Fasting and self-denial are a couple of things you can do in preventing sin to get you. But what do you do if you crash and burn? You confess your sins and you repent. In the Protestant culture of America, confession is something we don't think too much about. When we sin we might go to God and apologize (on a good day) and quote 1 John 1:7-9 to Him. I wonder why we quote Scripture to God when we are confessing? Don't you think He knows them already? Anyway, that's not the type of confession I'm talking about. I'm talking about the kind where you go to your Priest and confess your sin to him and ask for his prayers. I'm an Orthodox Christian and I have a priest who will listen to me. More than likely, you aren't, though I think you should be. What can you do? Go to your pastor and tell him what you did. Why? Because when you say out loud to another person the sin you did, it is humbling and you can get help. If you conceal your sin by only confessing to God, you deceive yourself if you think you are going to get past it. Oh, I guess you might but chances are it'll become a habit. Habitual sin becomes a habit when you allow it to live with you in secret. Bringing sin into the light allows it to be dealt with. And if you are fortunate, the person you confess to will be totally honest with you and maybe even chew you out for being so stupid or disrepectful of God's grace in your life. When we sin, we bring pain and shame to Christ. Well, that's the story for now. I've been asked why I write things like this and it's quite simple: It's how I learn. When I read a book, it kind of sets in my brain. If I sit down and write out what I think I just read and then reread it, I find it helps to clarify what I've heard or learned. I hope these stories help you in your pursuit of God. They help me and that's why I write them. Blessings to you all.... <a href="http://heretothere.blog.co.uk/2008/04/07/its-desire-is-for-you-4010800/#comments">Comments</a> I wanted to be in control. The problem was, the person in control was much stronger than me. He wasn't the smartest guy around but he seemed to be able to keep things going at a good pace and in the right direction. But I wanted control. I wanted the honor. I wanted the glory. I was tired of being a nobody in his kingdom. You see, the one in control was the king.

He was a good man and he took good care of the peasants. He was fair to them and the taxes he charged were used wisely. But I wanted control.

I decided that I was going to win the heart of the king. I'm the most beautiful woman in his kingdom and I will use my beauty to beguile him. Every Monday the king came to our village and greeted the people so I dressed in my finest clothes and set my trap.

I waited for him at the gates and when he came, I faked a fall right in front of his entourage to get his attention. My plan worked perfectly. When he saw me on the ground, helpless, he was moved in his heart to offer aid.

The king stopped his horse and got off to help me. I knew when he saw me he would be taken by my beauty. It is said that with my eyes I can cause a man's heart to stop beating. When he saw the faked pain in mine, I had him.

He extended his hand to me, lifted me from the ground and asked if I was all right. "Yes, your highness, I am fine. You are so noble and kind to help an unworthy peasant as myself." The king was my captive but I knew I had to be wise to bring my plan to completion. I wobbled a bit and he reached out to steady me. When he put his strong hands on my shoulders, I could feel his strength becoming mine.

While it was highly irregular for a king, any king, to be seen with a peasant, this king pursued me. He had me brought to the palace and I was pampered and prepared to become his queen.

My appearance had taken his heart captive and my promise of giving him a life beyond his dreams won his mind. The king belonged to me. We would reign together. I would let him believe that he was in control, but I would have my way with him and his kingdom.

After I became his queen, we did reign together. When the peasants had a problem, they would come to his throne and we would make sure that they found justice. We worked well together, but I wanted control.

My plan was perfect. I would ask the king to allow me to control his kingdom for one day. I dressed perfectly for the occasion and my appearance was that of an angel. When he looked upon me he was unable to resist my petition. The next I was to control the entire kingdom by myself. With control now in my grasp, I would have my own way with the king.

In front of the king's court and all the people, he awarded me the control of his kingdom for a day. It was glorious. I met with the people and listened to their petitions and problems and granted them the desires of their hearts. Some of the nobles were given large parcels of land and authority they'd not had before. I'd easily won the hearts of the people with my gifts and promises of a better life. Later in the day I had the royal guards summoned to my throne. I gave the order that the king, who was in my chambers , was to be arrested and executed immediately. The guards, knowing I was in charge, did exactly as I said. When the king was brought before me I could see in his eyes that he had been thoroughly deceived He begged me for mercy, but I wanted control. He offered me half of the kingdom, but I wanted it all. By giving away his kingship for just one day, it cost him his kingdom and his life.

If you're wondering if this is a true story, it is and it isn't. There is a legend of a queen who did this very thing though not exactly as I wrote it. But the results were the same: The queen was given the authority to reign for a day and her first order was to have the king executed.

Are you wondering how this story is supposed to help you in your pursuit of being conformed into the likeness of Christ? Let's go back to Genesis 4:7 and see what it has to say about our “queen.”

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.

Before Cain murdered his brother that is what God said to him.

The queen wanted the king's authority, but as long as the king guarded his heart, she could not get it. But the king looked at the beauty of the peasant who would be queen and he let his guard down and was overcome by her depeption and appearance.

Sin is like that beguiling queen: it looks good but beyond the appearance there is the reality of its life-taking ability. Many of us in America have been brought up to believe “we are saved by grace,” which is certainly true. We are also taught that forgiveness comes from God and it's almost automatic. What we aren't taught is that sin is serious and it can take our lives away from us. Once we give ourselves over to habitual or purposeful sin, it's very difficult to find the way back to where you've fallen off. A verse not many of us like to recall is this:

Heb. 12: 16-17 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

Once sin works its way into our hearts and we lose control, we may find ourselves like Esau--repenting with tears (crying out for mercy) but unable to find the way back. I'm well aware that many believe that salvation is a one-time confession and that's it. You are welcome to believe what you want. I know "Christians" like Esau who were very sincere who today wallow in sin and denial of His grace. My point is to warn you and to warn myself: Sin has consequences and to give your heart to sin in exchange for God's blessing is a dangerous thing to do. Heb. 10:26 - 27 says it this way:

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.

We don't have to suffer the fate of Esau and we don't have to "continue sinning." There is grace and mercy from God to prevent this.

Sin crouches at the door, waiting for our attention so that it can pounce on our hearts and plunder them. Sin struggles using various methods to conquer our hearts and establish itself upon that throne. Once in power, it can very easily hold a person captive for the rest of their lives. This need not be so. We are to stand guard over our hearts and use all the tools we have to resist the temptations that come to us. What tools?

We've been talking about one since January. The first thing we are to do is to make the commitment to take up the challenge by God to become made into the likeness of Christ. Once we take that up, we have direction and purpose for our lives.

We can fight sin by fasting. While fasting is not a fashionalbe thing in our culture of instant gratfication, it has been used since the 1st century to do battle with sin. How? Well, think about it. When we fast, we deny ourselves and when we deny ourselves we have the power to obey God. Fasting teaches us to say “no,” even if it is something as simple as a dessert at a meal or meat for a week or whatever you do. Once our physical bodies get used to who's in control, it's easier to resist its passion for sin. Fasting is a tool that has been used by the Church for centuries. It's a shame that most of America ignores this valuable tool in the struggle against sin.

David said in Psalm 101:3 that he wouldn't set anything wicked in front of his eyes. Self-denial is another tool in our battle with sin. How easy it is for me here in Florida to put things in front of my eyes I don't need to see. For example, I ride my bike over to the beach to go surfing. When I get to the beach it's not unusual for there to be a lot of very good looking girls that are wearing next to nothing. If I want to, I can allow my eyes to take in all the skin they want. But what I've found to be better than that is to remember what David said and to not look. I know, I've heard the teaching that a girl's body is not sinful and it's a creation of God and blah blah blah. But you know what? I don't need to see other girls' bodies because it's not good for my brain. And it's not good for yours either if you are a normal man/boy. It will invite and encourage thoughts and fantasies you don't need.

Fasting and self-denial are a couple of things you can do in preventing sin to get you. But what do you do if you crash and burn? You confess your sins and you repent. In the Protestant culture of America, confession is something we don't think too much about. When we sin we might go to God and apologize (on a good day) and quote 1 John 1:7-9 to Him. I wonder why we quote Scripture to God when we are confessing? Don't you think He knows them already? Anyway, that's not the type of confession I'm talking about. I'm talking about the kind where you go to your Priest and confess your sin to him and ask for his prayers. I'm an Orthodox Christian and I have a priest who will listen to me. More than likely, you aren't, though I think you should be. What can you do? Go to your pastor and tell him what you did. Why? Because when you say out loud to another person the sin you did, it is humbling and you can get help. If you conceal your sin by only confessing to God, you deceive yourself if you think you are going to get past it. Oh, I guess you might but chances are it'll become a habit. Habitual sin becomes a habit when you allow it to live with you in secret. Bringing sin into the light allows it to be dealt with. And if you are fortunate, the person you confess to will be totally honest with you and maybe even chew you out for being so stupid or disrepectful of God's grace in your life. When we sin, we bring pain and shame to Christ.

Well, that's the story for now. I've been asked why I write things like this and it's quite simple: It's how I learn. When I read a book, it kind of sets in my brain. If I sit down and write out what I think I just read and then reread it, I find it helps to clarify what I've heard or learned. I hope these stories help you in your pursuit of God. They help me and that's why I write them. Blessings to you all....

Comments

]]>...they shall see God.http://heretothere.blog.co.uk/2008/03/30/they-shall-see-god-3970167/2008-03-30T23:17:16+02:00 Fred Farkle is a guy that Gordy McDonald introduced me to many years ago. Fred is a bit of a duffus, or a least he was. After hearing about what's been going on in his life, I thought I'd take some time to let you get to know him too. By the way, he is not related to Fred the Fish. Fred is your average guy living in America. He's surrounded by an overwhelming crush of people in pursuit of shiny things that promise life but deliver frustration. Fred was one who chased after the shiny things too, but one day he realized that the things that shine and caught his attention didn't always bring the happiness they promised. He'd had his share of fun things: couple of nice sailboats; camper; big house; cool cars and on and on and on. All the while he was gathering up all this great stuff he found it was getting more and more diffcult to be that free and easy spirit he once was. Fred spend the first 21 years of his life as a non-believer in Christ. Oh, he had an inkling that there was a Jesus, but he wasn't sure if Moses and Jesus were the same person. When the kids in Sunday school laughed at him when he voiced that, it set him back a few years. After Fred beat his head against the wall for many years and found it hurt, he turned to Christ and was "saved." That's what his friends told him anyway because he wasn't really sure what had happened. He did know something was different because the drugs he used were losing their hold they had on him. In fact, after one difficult journey on LSD he vowed that would be the last time he would let drugs rule his life. He's stood firm in that decision for 38 years now. Fred hung out with some wild Christians in those early years. After every church service a group of them would invite him to go forward to the altar and tarry for the Holy Spirit. Fred wasn't sure what a "tarry" was but he'd go up anyway and listen to his friends wail and cry in "tongues." He thought it was pretty cool. As Fred grew in his faith, he bounced around a number of churches and organizations and was generally well-liked wherever he went. Most people like a duffus--they aren't too threatening. Fred tried about every flavor of American Christianity he could find. He avoided the Catholics because everyone told him they were the anti-Christ. He wasn't sure if that was right or wrong, but why take a chance when there were so many other venues to visit? Fred did it all. He had been a 4 Square, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, non-denominational Charismatic (there are many types of those and he tried about all of them from confessing new cars and perfect health to the more conservative approach), Assembly of God and others. What Fred found was the same thing as me: None of them seemed to have the fit he was looking for. Fred would be happy for a while and then he'd start his wondering and wandering to the next expression of faith. He found out that he was "eternally sealed" in one place and "Dangling over hell's fire" in another. At one church he had no choice about being there because it was all predestined. Then another one told him he'd have to choose what to do because God left everything up to us. It seems that the unity Jesus spoke about was somewhere else. All the while Fred had in the back of his mind that he wanted to be like Jesus and just live his life for Him. Now, that's a good thing to have as a goal and with that kind of goal, Fred made some good progress. I ran into Fred the other day and he told me he'd learned something about becoming like Christ that might interest me. He's read my Blog I guess cause when he mentioned to me what was going on my interest was piqued. He told me he'd been listening to an old Eric Clapton song and one of the lyrics went like this: "I don't care how much it costs, I don't even count the loss. I just want to see your face again." That's an awesome line, I'll have to admit. Fred asked me, "Bob, are you willing to not count the loss that it will cost you to follow Christ whole heartedly?" I'll have to admit, it made me pause. "Sure, Fred, I'm willing. How about you"? Of course he was. Here's the little didley Fred shared with me. "Bob, there can be no vision of God without purity of heart. Jesus said 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.'" I hid my disappointment. I thought he was going to give me some kind of secret code he'd found in the Scriptures. Everyone knows they are there for the really spiritual people to find. I can't seem to find them and I was hoping Fred would get me started. Everyone knows the Bible verse he quoted to me--it's from the Beatitudes. Anyway, Fred continued and said, "It's really simple, seeing God." "Really? It hasn't been that simple for me." He went on and shared this: "We believe things because of our reasonings. If something makes sense and is in the realm of possibility, we believe it, right?" "Yea, that sounds right." "So," Fred continued, "why is it we find ourselves unbelieving when it comes to spiritual realities." "I dunno. Maybe we are slow." "It's true you are slow, but that's not the problem. The problem is the passions within us that fight against purity." "You want to see God but you spend all your energy trying to get enough money up to buy some shiny thing that dazzles you." "You get sidetracked by them ." "And, you are so busy checking out the girls coming into church you can't concentrate on Christ." "Plus, you say you love God but when it comes time to pray you seem to be too busy with other things." "Let me make this simple: I'll give you a list": You point in judgment of others instead of praying for their spiritual needs You are always out to prove you are right instead of being non-argumentative You're prone to wanting service for yourself instead of giving yourself to serve others Instead of promoting others, you are out to be number one You want recognition instead of confessing your unworthiness before God When someone is promoted above you, you are offended instead of rejoicing at their good fortune When's the last time you prayed for your enemy? Are you still trying to be "cool"? "Do you wanna keep going with this list or are you catching on"? "Yea," I said, "I think I'm catching on. All these things seem to come out of pride and pride always lifts up self. What do you do with that"? Fred was quick to respond. "Humility, Bob. We are to humble ourselves. Remember what Jesus told the servant to say after he had done everything his master had told him to do, including cooking and serving dinner after working all day in the hot sun?" "Refresh my memory. I might have missed that verse." "I am an unprofitable servant." "That's what he was to say." "Hmm. Interesting." "That's the beginning to seeing God. When we see ourselves as God sees us; repent of our pride and then humble ourself, our vision begins to clear up and we will then see God." I had to admit, Fred Farkle wasn't as big a duffus as I thought he was. The whole time he was going on with that list he had a tear in his eye. That told me right there that I had a real friend in Fred and Fred and I were going to have more discussions about all this. Next time we play tennis, I might even let him beat me to show how humble I'm becoming. <a href="http://heretothere.blog.co.uk/2008/03/30/they-shall-see-god-3970167/#comments">Comments</a> Fred Farkle is a guy that Gordy McDonald introduced me to many years ago. Fred is a bit of a duffus, or a least he was. After hearing about what's been going on in his life, I thought I'd take some time to let you get to know him too. By the way, he is not related to Fred the Fish.

Fred is your average guy living in America. He's surrounded by an overwhelming crush of people in pursuit of shiny things that promise life but deliver frustration. Fred was one who chased after the shiny things too, but one day he realized that the things that shine and caught his attention didn't always bring the happiness they promised. He'd had his share of fun things: couple of nice sailboats; camper; big house; cool cars and on and on and on. All the while he was gathering up all this great stuff he found it was getting more and more diffcult to be that free and easy spirit he once was.

Fred spend the first 21 years of his life as a non-believer in Christ. Oh, he had an inkling that there was a Jesus, but he wasn't sure if Moses and Jesus were the same person. When the kids in Sunday school laughed at him when he voiced that, it set him back a few years.

After Fred beat his head against the wall for many years and found it hurt, he turned to Christ and was "saved." That's what his friends told him anyway because he wasn't really sure what had happened. He did know something was different because the drugs he used were losing their hold they had on him. In fact, after one difficult journey on LSD he vowed that would be the last time he would let drugs rule his life. He's stood firm in that decision for 38 years now.

Fred hung out with some wild Christians in those early years. After every church service a group of them would invite him to go forward to the altar and tarry for the Holy Spirit. Fred wasn't sure what a "tarry" was but he'd go up anyway and listen to his friends wail and cry in "tongues." He thought it was pretty cool.

As Fred grew in his faith, he bounced around a number of churches and organizations and was generally well-liked wherever he went. Most people like a duffus--they aren't too threatening. Fred tried about every flavor of American Christianity he could find. He avoided the Catholics because everyone told him they were the anti-Christ. He wasn't sure if that was right or wrong, but why take a chance when there were so many other venues to visit? Fred did it all. He had been a 4 Square, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, non-denominational Charismatic (there are many types of those and he tried about all of them from confessing new cars and perfect health to the more conservative approach), Assembly of God and others. What Fred found was the same thing as me: None of them seemed to have the fit he was looking for. Fred would be happy for a while and then he'd start his wondering and wandering to the next expression of faith. He found out that he was "eternally sealed" in one place and "Dangling over hell's fire" in another. At one church he had no choice about being there because it was all predestined. Then another one told him he'd have to choose what to do because God left everything up to us. It seems that the unity Jesus spoke about was somewhere else. All the while Fred had in the back of his mind that he wanted to be like Jesus and just live his life for Him. Now, that's a good thing to have as a goal and with that kind of goal, Fred made some good progress.

I ran into Fred the other day and he told me he'd learned something about becoming like Christ that might interest me. He's read my Blog I guess cause when he mentioned to me what was going on my interest was piqued. He told me he'd been listening to an old Eric Clapton song and one of the lyrics went like this: "I don't care how much it costs, I don't even count the loss. I just want to see your face again." That's an awesome line, I'll have to admit. Fred asked me, "Bob, are you willing to not count the loss that it will cost you to follow Christ whole heartedly?" I'll have to admit, it made me pause. "Sure, Fred, I'm willing. How about you"? Of course he was.

Here's the little didley Fred shared with me. "Bob, there can be no vision of God without purity of heart. Jesus said 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.'" I hid my disappointment. I thought he was going to give me some kind of secret code he'd found in the Scriptures. Everyone knows they are there for the really spiritual people to find. I can't seem to find them and I was hoping Fred would get me started. Everyone knows the Bible verse he quoted to me--it's from the Beatitudes. Anyway, Fred continued and said, "It's really simple, seeing God." "Really? It hasn't been that simple for me." He went on and shared this: "We believe things because of our reasonings. If something makes sense and is in the realm of possibility, we believe it, right?" "Yea, that sounds right." "So," Fred continued, "why is it we find ourselves unbelieving when it comes to spiritual realities." "I dunno. Maybe we are slow." "It's true you are slow, but that's not the problem. The problem is the passions within us that fight against purity." "You want to see God but you spend all your energy trying to get enough money up to buy some shiny thing that dazzles you." "You get sidetracked by them ." "And, you are so busy checking out the girls coming into church you can't concentrate on Christ." "Plus, you say you love God but when it comes time to pray you seem to be too busy with other things." "Let me make this simple: I'll give you a list":

You point in judgment of others instead of praying for their spiritual needs
You are always out to prove you are right instead of being non-argumentative
You're prone to wanting service for yourself instead of giving yourself to serve others
Instead of promoting others, you are out to be number one
You want recognition instead of confessing your unworthiness before God
When someone is promoted above you, you are offended instead of rejoicing at their good fortune
When's the last time you prayed for your enemy?
Are you still trying to be "cool"?

"Do you wanna keep going with this list or are you catching on"? "Yea," I said, "I think I'm catching on. All these things seem to come out of pride and pride always lifts up self. What do you do with that"? Fred was quick to respond. "Humility, Bob. We are to humble ourselves. Remember what Jesus told the servant to say after he had done everything his master had told him to do, including cooking and serving dinner after working all day in the hot sun?" "Refresh my memory. I might have missed that verse." "I am an unprofitable servant." "That's what he was to say." "Hmm. Interesting."

"That's the beginning to seeing God. When we see ourselves as God sees us; repent of our pride and then humble ourself, our vision begins to clear up and we will then see God."

I had to admit, Fred Farkle wasn't as big a duffus as I thought he was. The whole time he was going on with that list he had a tear in his eye. That told me right there that I had a real friend in Fred and Fred and I were going to have more discussions about all this. Next time we play tennis, I might even let him beat me to show how humble I'm becoming.

Comments

]]>FRED THE FAST FISH...http://heretothere.blog.co.uk/2008/03/05/title-3822367/2008-03-05T22:15:44+01:00 One thing I just don't enjoy doing is fishing. But I love snorkeling and seeing the brilliant and bold colors of reef fish. I've gone diving in Cozumel, Thailand and of course here in Florida. The colors and the way a school of fish move through the water show God's creativity and order. Humans used to be like that too. They were not tainted by sin and their color was pure. They lived together and didn't even think about living independently. As they say in Star Trek: "The good of the many outweighs the good of the one," or something like that. <a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83fssDBKrI/AAAAAAAAAVI/ALde__PJuUY/s1600-h/fredfish1.jpg"><img src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83fssDBKrI/AAAAAAAAAVI/ALde__PJuUY/s320/fredfish1.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a> But humans aren't the only ones that have messed up. There was this fish I knew, Fred, and old Fred was awesome. He was the brightest yellow, blue and green I've ever seen anywhere in or out of the water. When he swam by you couldn't help but take notice of him and be completely inspired by his movement and beauty. He fit into his environment like a hand in a well-tailored glove. Fast. Fred was also very fast. Sometimes we'd call him "fast Fred." He's not to be confused with my old surfing buddy, Fast Fred Fleury. That Fred was fast too but it wasn't in the same way as Fred the fish. Fred swam with great ease and made his way through the water with very little effort. One reason for that was he never brought along with him anything that would slow him down. When he was hungry, he ate. When he was tired, he slept. When he was inspired, he could fly over the water for at least 10 feet (3 meters). That was one of his tricks for avoiding becoming shark food. Friendly. He was well-liked by all the reef dwellers. He was quick to swim ahead of the school so he could alert them to any danger and always willing to lead a predator off on a wild chase. No fish could catch Fred. Yep, all the fish on Reef Row loved Fast Fred. He<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83f88DBKsI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/Y7VzzHGr_38/s1600-h/fredschool.jpg"><img src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83f88DBKsI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/Y7VzzHGr_38/s320/fredschool.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a> didn't use the others in his school for his own advantage and would never even think about leading them into some place where they could get into trouble. He always put the other fish first. One of the sayings the younger fish used to repeat day after day was, "Fast friendly Fred always puts the other fish first." It helped them with their pronunciation. If you know anything about fish, you know they have problems with their "f's." You would think that Fred wouldlive to an old age and then transition on to wherever it is the righteous fish go. But that wasn't to happen. One time Fred was out swimming around and noticed a boat above the reef. Boats were fairly common and it was equally common for people to dive around the reef and watch the sea life. This time Fred noticed something flat and shiny attached to a string running through the water. Fred was curiousabout this new thing he hadn't seen before so he swam up next to it--it wasn't moving very fast at the moment--and Fred noticed another fish in the shiny object. Of course there are no mirrors on the reef so what Fred saw was a reflection of himself but he didn't know any better. He was impressed. He winked at the reflection and it <a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83hncDBKtI/AAAAAAAAAVY/B3G10DFmSmw/s1600-h/fredfish2.jpg"><img src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83hncDBKtI/AAAAAAAAAVY/B3G10DFmSmw/s320/fredfish2.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a>winked right back at him. He raced to the other side and blew some bubbles and sure enough, the reflection did the same thing. He was thinking that this was a very smart and handsome fish. Racing over to the other side, he moved up to the reflection and gave it a gentle nudge with his mouth and then realized that what he saw was actually himself. Now this was quite a revelation. Fred, even though he had everything he would ever need and was completely and perfectly happy swimming around the reef, thought he needed this shiny thing. Suddenly, it sped away and disappeared into the boat. Fred was sad when he saw the boat motor away with the bright and shiny thing. Fred swam back down to his reef and saw all his old friends in the school, but he didn't really want to hang out with them. They were so common and didn't shine nearly like the shiny thing attached to the string. Fred thought about the shiny thing a lot. He wondered if there were some way for him to have one of his own. He could somehow keep it with him underwater and show it to his friends. Boy, would they jealous if he had one of those. If he had that shiny thing, he'd not need anything because no one had a shiny thing like that one. He worried about that shiny thing for days and grew more and more somber to the point of becoming depressed. <a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83iw8DBKuI/AAAAAAAAAVg/YO60739tLNI/s1600-h/Smurfs_Vanity_Smurf-Statue.jpg"><img src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83iw8DBKuI/AAAAAAAAAVg/YO60739tLNI/s320/Smurfs_Vanity_Smurf-Statue.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a>He had to get himself a shiny thing. If he could, he'd be happy again. His world would make sense with a shiny thing hung around his neck. The shiny thing obviously had great power and he needed its power in able to get his life back to normal. So, he made it his quest to get the shiny thing. A few days later, as he lulled around the reef, the shiny thing came whizzing by him. Like a flash, Fred's energy returned and he bolted for the shiny thing. He would make it his own no matter what. He was fast Fred again and nothing could out swim him at Reef Row. He began to catch up to the shiny thing and his mind was filled with thoughts of what he'd be able to do once he caught it and made it his own. He'd be more powerful than any of the other fish. He could impress that cute little red fish down by the large cave with his very own shiny thing. People would see him--he'd stand out in any crowd. He'd forgotten, I suppose, that the colors God gave him were brighter than any shiny thing and they brought great joy to those around him. That wasn't important anymore. The only pursuit of importance right now was to get the shiny thing and to make it his. Fred finally caught up to the shiny thing and, opening his mouth wide, he grasped it. It slid down his throat and he about exploded from the joy that the possession of the shiny thing had given him. Now he was someone special. Now he could go where he wanted; do what he wanted; stay where he wanted. He was his own fish and there were no others on the reef like him. As Fred started to swim back to the reef, he felt a strong jerk in his mouth and he was turned completely around. "What was that?" he thought. He tried to turn back toward the reef, but the tug came again and he felt himself being pulled toward the boat. He swam to the left and he swam to the right. He swam straight down and straight up but all the while he was being drawn closer and closer to the boat. After a furious struggle, he began to tire. The thought of the shiny object wasn't on his mind now. In fact, he'd completely forgotten about it. He was exhausted and could do nothing about the direction he was being pulled. He had lost control. Finally, he was along side of the boat and a net dipped down into the water and he felt himself being lifted up. There was nothing he could do to help himself. <a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83jasDBKvI/AAAAAAAAAVo/Pm9uxh-5y4E/s1600-h/lure.jpg"><img src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Ov7FBvMdqTM/R83jasDBKvI/AAAAAAAAAVo/Pm9uxh-5y4E/s320/lure.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a>A hand grabbed him, pliers were put down his mouth and then with a twisting and cutting motion he felt something come out of his throat--it was the shiny thing. It was no longer shiny, though. It was red with his blood. The hand put him on the deck of the boat and all Fred could do was twitch around and lay there, gasping for a breath of air. As he lay there, slowly dying, the once bright and beautiful colors that had once identified him to all on the reef as Fast Fred, began to fade to a dull and lifeless gray. I don't know. I don't know if Fred somehow got away or if he gave up the colors God gave him to the lifeless gray of death. It's not a very happy ending for such a happy fish. We all started out like Fred, didn't we? Psalm 139 says it this way: You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous,how well I know it. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way we forget how "marvelous" God's workmanship is and we begin to pursue the shiny thing that makes us think we are missing something. It's in that fatal, life sucking pursuit that the beauty and color God has made us begins to fade until we become like those all around us who have forsaken God for shiny things: Dull, lifeless shells of what they once were. Because we look like them, we somehow think that it's OK. We look in the churches, and they are full of gray people. We look in the gym, and they are gray--buff too. We look in forbidden relationships; we look in monetary security; we look in the halls of happiness and find that they are hopeless; we look in the comfort of drugs and alcohol and find they too become gray after the initial light up. It's all gray: Americans, Russians, East, West, North, South, no matter where you go--it's gray. Man, am I feeling depressed. Isn't there a way out of this mess? I guess that depends on you. Do you have the strength to make a super fish twitch and flop yourself out of the clutches of the shiny thing and back into the ocean where your colors were so vibrant? How on earth will you do it? You knew we'd get to that, didn't you? You knew I wouldn't leave you hanging? OK, I'll tell you. It's a one-word solution and it will take every bit of strength you have to put it to work so that you can re-light your color. Tithe? No. Sell everything? No. But maybe later. Faith? Increase your faith? Believe with all your might? No. Those are all good things, but none of those lead you back to the color of the Lord. (Yes, that is a lyric from an old song, if you were wondering. That old song helped propel me toward Christ.) So what is the one-word secret that will get you off the boat and back onto the reef? REPENTANCE. There you are. Now you have it. Mystery solved. Just think of Fred. When Fred saw the shiny thing, he became curious. Everyone knows that "curiosity killed the cat," but very few of us know that curiosity causes catastrophic collisions for Christians chasing shiny things. My old friend, Saint James (not the Monopoly place) said it like this: James 1:14 - 15 Temptation comes from our own desires, (sounds kind of like "curiosity") which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. I'll tell you this: That last sentence about "birth to death" is one of the scariest parts of Scripture I know. Christians, people who know better, look shiny things in the eye, chase them down, become impregnated by their deception and give birth to their own deaths. If only they'd been smarter than Fred. If only they'd spin around on their tail flipper and swim back to the reef where they belong. You see, when shiny thing catches our eyes, we have a choice. We can pursue it, or we can "repent," which means "to change our mind; to turn 180 degrees and go in the other direction. Repentance is much more than just a change of mind and direction. It's also an action. It requires physical exertion. It demands we struggle against the shine. Do you know how many Christians day in and day out look at pornography on the web? Over a 100? Over a 1000? Probably over a 1,000,000. And why don't they turn it off? Because they say something lame every time after they look at it like, "Oh, I'm sorry God. Help me be stronger." The prayer is good. but if there's no action with the prayer, well I don't give it much chance of being answered. What did David say to do: Psalm 101: 3-4 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar...I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. Do you think those who gaze at pornography would still be gazing if they had taken their computers and thrown them down the stairs as they were praying for strength? When you see your brand new $1000 state of the art computer bouncing down the stairs it will cause you to pause and probably consider the insanity of your choices. Do you think they would be "giving birth to death" if they'd rejected perversity by confessing it to their Priest/pastor? How would you feel talking to the Priest about the porn you watched just prior to coming over to see him? A little embarrassed maybe? Ashamed? Do you think that kind of action would help you quit? I do. Action. It's got to be there or we all die on the deck of the boat, fading out to a pathetic, luke-warm gray. Well, I guess you get the point by now. I hope you enjoyed the story of Fred and will use his example as motivation to not chase after shiny things. They have hooks you know! <img class="smiley" src="http://www.blog.co.uk/srv/tinymce/jss/plugins/blogdeemotions/smilies/icon_wave.gif" border="0" alt=""> <a href="http://heretothere.blog.co.uk/2008/03/05/title-3822367/#comments">Comments</a> One thing I just don't enjoy doing is fishing. But I love snorkeling and seeing the
brilliant and bold colors of reef fish. I've gone diving in Cozumel,
Thailand and of course here in Florida. The colors and the way a school
of fish move through the water show God's creativity and order.

Humans used to be like that too. They were not tainted by sin and their color
was pure. They lived together and didn't even think about living
independently. As they say in Star Trek: "The good of the many outweighs the good of the one," or something like that.

But humans aren't the only ones that have messed up. There was this fish I knew, Fred, and old Fred was awesome. He was the brightest yellow, blue
and green I've ever seen anywhere in or out of the water. When he swam by you couldn't help but take notice of him and be completely inspired by his movement and beauty. He fit into his environment like a hand in a well-tailored glove.

Fast. Fred was also very fast. Sometimes we'd call him "fast Fred." He's not to be confused with my old surfing buddy, Fast Fred Fleury. That Fred was fast too but it wasn't in the same way as Fred the fish. Fred swam with great ease and made his way
through the water with very little effort. One reason for that was he never brought along with him anything that would slow him down. When he was hungry, he ate. When he was tired, he slept. When he was inspired, he could fly over the water for at least
10 feet (3 meters). That was one of his tricks for avoiding becoming shark food.

Friendly. He was well-liked by all the reef dwellers. He was quick to swim ahead of
the school so he could alert them to any danger and always willing to
lead a predator off on a wild chase. No fish could catch Fred. Yep, all the fish on Reef Row loved Fast Fred. He didn't use the others in his school for his own advantage and would never even think about leading them into some place where they could
get into trouble. He always put the other fish first. One of the sayings the younger fish used to repeat day after day was, "Fast friendly Fred always puts the other fish first." It helped them with their pronunciation. If you know anything about fish, you know they have problems with their "f's."

You would think that Fred wouldlive to an old age and then transition on to wherever it is the
righteous fish go. But that wasn't to happen. One time Fred was out swimming around and noticed a boat above the reef. Boats were fairly common and it was equally common for people to dive around the reef and watch the sea life. This time Fred noticed something flat and shiny attached to a string running through the water.

Fred was curiousabout this new thing he hadn't seen before so he swam up next to it--it wasn't moving very fast at the moment--and Fred noticed another fish in the shiny object. Of course there are no mirrors on the reef so what Fred saw was a reflection of himself but he didn't know any better. He was impressed. He winked at the reflection and it winked right back at him. He raced to the other side and blew some bubbles and sure enough, the reflection did the same thing. He was thinking that this was a very smart and handsome fish. Racing over to the other side, he moved up to the reflection and gave it a gentle nudge with his mouth and then realized that what he saw was actually himself. Now this was quite a revelation.

Fred, even though he had everything he would ever need and was completely and perfectly happy swimming around the reef, thought he needed this shiny thing. Suddenly, it sped away and disappeared into the boat. Fred was sad when he saw the boat motor away with the bright and shiny thing.

Fred swam back down to his reef and saw all his old friends in the school, but he didn't really want to hang out with them. They were so common and didn't shine nearly like
the shiny thing attached to the string.

Fred thought about the shiny thing a lot. He wondered if there were some way for him to have one of his own. He could somehow keep it with him underwater and show it to his friends. Boy, would they jealous if he had one of those. If he had that shiny thing, he'd not need anything because no one had a shiny thing like that one. He worried about that shiny thing for days and grew more and more somber to the point of becoming depressed.

He had to get himself a shiny thing. If he could, he'd be happy again. His world would make sense with a shiny thing hung around his neck. The shiny thing obviously had great power and he needed its power in able to get his life back to normal. So, he made it his quest to get the shiny thing.

A few days later, as he lulled around the reef, the
shiny thing came whizzing by him. Like a flash, Fred's energy returned and he bolted for the shiny thing. He would make it his own no matter what. He was fast Fred again and nothing could out swim him at Reef Row. He began to catch up to the shiny thing and his mind was filled
with thoughts of what he'd be able to do once he caught it and made it his own. He'd be more powerful than any of the other fish. He could impress that cute little red fish down by the large cave with his very own shiny thing. People would see him--he'd stand out in any crowd.

He'd forgotten, I suppose, that the colors God gave him were brighter
than any shiny thing and they brought great joy to those around him.
That wasn't important anymore. The only pursuit of importance right now
was to get the shiny thing and to make it his.

Fred finally caught up to the shiny thing and, opening his mouth wide, he grasped
it. It slid down his throat and he about exploded from the joy that the
possession of the shiny thing had given him. Now he was someone special. Now he could go where he wanted; do what he wanted; stay where he wanted. He was his own fish and there were no others on the reef like him.

As Fred started to swim back to the reef, he felt a strong jerk in his mouth and he was turned completely around. "What was that?" he thought. He tried to turn back toward the reef, but the tug came again and he felt himself being pulled toward the boat. He swam to the left and he swam to the right. He swam straight down and straight up but all the while he was being drawn closer and closer to the boat.

After a furious struggle, he began to tire. The thought of the shiny object
wasn't on his mind now. In fact, he'd completely forgotten about it. He was exhausted and could do nothing about the direction he was being pulled. He had lost control. Finally, he was along side of the boat and a net dipped down into the water and he felt himself being lifted up. There was nothing he could do to help himself.

A hand grabbed him, pliers were put down his mouth and then with a twisting and cutting motion he felt something come out of his throat--it was the shiny thing. It was no longer shiny, though. It was red with his blood. The hand put him on the deck of the boat and all Fred could do was twitch around and lay there, gasping for a breath of air. As he lay there, slowly dying, the once bright and beautiful
colors that had once identified him to all on the reef as Fast Fred, began to fade to a dull and lifeless gray.

I don't know. I don't know if Fred somehow got away or if he gave up the colors God gave him to the lifeless gray of death. It's not a very happy ending for such a happy fish.

We all started out like Fred, didn't we? Psalm 139 says it this way: You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous,how well I know it.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way we forget how "marvelous" God's workmanship is and we begin to pursue the shiny thing that makes us think we are
missing something. It's in that fatal, life sucking pursuit that the beauty and color God has made us begins to fade until we become like those all around us who have forsaken God for shiny things: Dull, lifeless shells of what they once were. Because we look like them, we somehow think that it's OK. We look in the churches, and they are full
of gray people. We look in the gym, and they are gray--buff too. We look in forbidden relationships; we look in monetary security; we look in the halls of happiness and find that they are hopeless; we look in the comfort of drugs and alcohol and find they too become gray after the initial light up. It's all gray: Americans, Russians, East, West,
North, South, no matter where you go--it's gray.

Man, am I feeling depressed. Isn't there a way out of this mess? I guess that
depends on you. Do you have the strength to make a super fish twitch and flop yourself out of the clutches of the shiny thing and back into the ocean where your colors were so vibrant? How on earth will you do it?

You knew we'd get to that, didn't you? You knew I wouldn't
leave you hanging? OK, I'll tell you. It's a one-word solution and it
will take every bit of strength you have to put it to work so that you
can re-light your color. Tithe? No. Sell everything? No. But maybe
later. Faith? Increase your faith? Believe with all your might? No.
Those are all good things, but none of those lead you back to the color
of the Lord. (Yes, that is a lyric from an old song, if you were
wondering. That old song helped propel me toward Christ.) So what is
the one-word secret that will get you off the boat and back onto the
reef? REPENTANCE. There you are. Now you have it. Mystery solved.

Just think of Fred. When Fred saw the shiny thing, he became curious. Everyone knows that "curiosity killed the cat," but very few of us know that curiosity causes catastrophic collisions for Christians chasing shiny things. My old friend, Saint James (not the Monopoly place) said it like this: James 1:14 - 15 Temptation comes from our own desires, (sounds kind of like "curiosity") which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

I'll tell you this: That last sentence about "birth to death" is one of the scariest parts of Scripture I know. Christians, people who know better, look shiny things in the eye, chase them down, become impregnated by their deception and give birth to their own deaths. If only they'd been smarter than Fred. If only they'd spin around on their tail flipper and swim back to the reef where they belong. You see, when shiny thing catches our eyes, we have a choice. We can pursue it, or we can "repent," which means "to change our mind; to turn 180 degrees and go in the other direction.

Repentance is much more than just a change of mind and direction. It's also an
action. It requires physical exertion. It demands we struggle against the shine. Do you know how many Christians day in and day out look at pornography on the web? Over a 100? Over a 1000? Probably over a 1,000,000. And why don't they turn it off? Because they say something lame every time after they look at it like, "Oh, I'm sorry God. Help me be stronger." The prayer is good. but if there's no action with the
prayer, well I don't give it much chance of being answered. What did David say to do: Psalm 101: 3-4 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar...I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.

Do you think those who gaze at pornography would still be gazing if they had taken their computers and thrown them down the stairs as they were praying for strength? When you see your brand new $1000 state of the art computer bouncing down the stairs it will cause you to pause and probably consider the insanity of your choices. Do you think they would be "giving birth to death" if they'd rejected perversity by confessing it to their Priest/pastor? How would you feel talking to the Priest about the porn you watched just prior to coming over to see him? A little embarrassed maybe? Ashamed? Do you think that kind of action would help you quit? I do. Action. It's got to be there or we all die on the deck of the boat, fading out to a pathetic, luke-warm gray.

Well, I guess you get the point by now. I hope you enjoyed the story of Fred
and will use his example as motivation to not chase after shiny things.
They have hooks you know!

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