The Great Separation

I'm Leaving.

Not on a jet plane. - Hey, I'm going to be gone till the end of next week. I'm going on a mission trip to Tampa.

So actually I'm not going very far. But you know what? There is mission work to do in your backyard too.

Anyway. I've invited a guest to blog in my place while I'm gone. I've mentioned him before. He's my great friend, Caleb. He's married to another friend of mine, a life long friend, Sara. They just had a beautiful girl named Hannah. And Lord be praised they're pregnant again!

So Caleb is going to guest blog for me. Go easy on him. This will be his first time blogging.

A Quote for Today.

Convicted. - Early this week I read this and knew that, yeah, I have to work on this in my life.

The quote goes well with the this week's scripture.

"I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord." Jeremiah 1:8

God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally - "Thy life will I give unto thee for a prey." That is all God promises His children. Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are a matter of indifference, we have to sit loosely to all those things; if we do not, there will be panic and heartbreak and distress. That is the inwardness of the overshadowing of personal deliverance.

Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will begin to grouse and to indulge in the discontent of self-pity - Why should I be treated like this? If we are devoted to Jesus Christ we have nothing to do with what we meet, whether it is just or unjust. Jesus says - Go steadily on with what I have told you to do and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance. The most devout among us become atheistic in this connection; we do not believe God, we enthrone common sense and tack the name of God on to it. We do lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts.

Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest": June 27

I was reminded of this devotion today because... well, today did not go as planned. A job that should've taken me two to two and half hours took me seven because of machinery breakdown. So most everything else I needed to accomplish today ahead of leaving Sunday on my mission trip is still waiting.

Relying fully on the knowledge that my heavenly Father knows what is coming down the pike and has provided a way for me to get through it and even grow is sometimes a hard thing for me to do. Feelings tend to get in the way.

But the knowledge, there in the back of my mind, in the depth of my soul, remains.

Why Florida is the Lightning Capital of the World.

Gravy. - I saved this picture from yesterday when I was checking on the weather. All those little boxes are lighting strikes here in mid-Florida.

Click on the pic to enlarge.

I grabbed the pic from my favorite weather site. Weather Underground.

This is just mid-Florida. At the time I grabbed the photo we were averaging 120 strokes a minute across the state.

Electrifying!

And why when I see a lightning flash my reflex is to start counting to figure out just how far away it is.

Superman: Deadbeat Dad.

I need a superhuman bladder. - Just saw the "Superman Returns" movie. As I score movies with coffee cups, I give it 2.5 coffee cups out of five.

Course I could give it less coffee cups and not have need for a superhuman bladder.

Did it have enjoyable parts? Absolutely.

Was it too long? Absolutely. It took super-human strength to sit through the last hour with an overfull bladder. I would have gotten up, but I was in the middle of the row and I hate it when others cross in front of me. Not only that, but I kept thinking, "This has got to end soon."

Did I enjoy it. Yeah. But I enjoyed, "The Lake House," a lot more.

I think one of the things that bugs me the most, and it absolutely bugged me about Superman 2, was that this Superman, wasn't so super. A tarnished man. And of course that comes out in this movie with the 'love' child of Superman and Lois.

Of course I know that Christ is the only one perfect and above sin, but is it wrong to want our hero's to be, well, heroic? I don't think so.

Which reminds me of the question my brother asked after the movie, is someone going to make Superman pay child support?

[addendum 2006.06.29]

You know, I was thinking some more and the whole Superman being a peeping-Tom and ease dropping on Lois and the guy she was shacking up with is kind of creepy too.

Refrigerator Poetry: Delicious Blue Color

Stickin' it to the.... - I got this idea from Rebecca, at Rebecca Writes. She had a cool post titled, A Little Word Play, with a pic of her fridge.

And it occurred to me that, hey, I've got some of those magnetic words squirreled away somewhere. I ought to get them out and put them on my fridge.

Then it occurred to me that, hey, there could be a reoccurring post for TGS in this sticky poetry thing.

And so, here is the first of I don't know how many or how often reoccurring Refrigerator Poetry Pics (click on it to enlarge).

Congratulations Caleb, Sara, & Hannah!

Let's celebrate! - Is there anything more exquisite in all of God's creation than the miracle of life?

To two of my best friends, Caleb and Sara, Hannah (pictured) was born on February 11 of this year.

It is with great wonder and joy that I announce that Hannah now has a brother or sister whom will grace the light this world in the near future!

May our Father, continue to bless you're family, Caleb and Sara!

Round Up of Christian Persecution News 2006.06.26.

They hate you because of me - Beaten and raped for converting from Islam to Christianity in Pakistan. That is the story of one young woman which Compass Direct reported on last Friday: WOMAN RAPED FOR LEAVING ISLAM. It's a heart wrenching tale.

Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service, has this report: Persecution report by province in China released today.

China Aid Association (CAA) has today released a report regarding cases of persecution against Chinese House churches by province in China in the past 12 months. The inconclusive report lists the main persecution events in different provinces in China from May 2005-May 2006.

According to the report, in the past 12 months, at least 1,958 Chinese house church pastors and Christians in 15 provinces were arrested.

Also with ASSIST News Service in Pakistan, Sheraz Khurram Khan reports on the stabbing murder of Abdul Sattar who was in police custody: Pakistani accused of blasphemy stabbed to death.

A Pakistani accused of making blasphemous remarks against Allah and the Prophet Muhammad was stabbed to death in a frenzied attack by two men in front of Muzafargarh district and sessions court on Friday, June 16.

According to a press release sent to ANS by a group called At any Cost Jesus Mission, the killers, later identified as Imran and Iqbal, attacked and stabbed Abdul Sattar to death with frequent strikes of knives despite being escorted by police for a court hearing.

"The police officers with Abdul Sataar were also attacked and injured by knife but failed to save Abdul Sataar," said the press release.

Abdul Sataar was detained in police custody under Pakistan blasphemy law. He was accused of passing derogatory remarks against Allah (God) and His Prophet Muhammad.

Remember to pray for Christians around the world.

The Great Separation continues.

For further information on Christian persecution around the globe the Persecution Blog is a good source.

Scripture for the Week: Isaiah 41:10.

Stand in it. - When we make Christ our Lord and Savior, accept the free gift of His blood and death for our sins, we are saved from eternal death and given access to the Holy of Holies. We become quite literally the children of the Most High God.

Only that reality does not mean that as children of God we will not face difficulties, trials, or sufferings.

To one degree it may mean that we will suffer more. And surely as the End of Days draws to a close that will be the case for the Redeemed.

But what this reality in Christ means is that we need not fear; though we feel alone we are not alone; though our strength is insufficient our Father's is beyond sufficient.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

The Great Separation continues.

Wang Zaiqing in Jail for Distributing Bibles.

They hate you because of me - A physically disabled Chinese House church pastor is sitting in jail for printing and handing out Christian materials and Bibles in China.

I hit this Christian persecution news item via this article on FreeMarketNews.com.

Here's the press release from ChinaAid.

(photo: Wang Zaiqing) CAA learned that a well-known disabled Chinese House church pastor was formally arrested May 26, 2006. Forty-Three-year-old Pastor Wang Zaiqing was accused of illegally printing and distributing Bibles and other Christian literature.

According to a reliable source, May 26, Pastor Wang’s wife, Zhang Hongyan, received the formal arrest warrant issued by the Domestic Security Protection Squad of the Public Security Bureau of Huainan City, Anhui Province. The arrest warrant said Pastor Wang was suspected of “being involved in illegal business practices.” He is now being held at No. 1 Detention Center of Huainan City.

Quote for Today.

You said it girl! - Here's a quote I happened upon today that I thought was worth repeating:

“Government has no right to stand between the individual and the Almighty.”

- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, June 14, 2006, in a speech at the Southern Baptist Convention.

I like this woman. I really do.