Chris's Musings

Had to share...  read this part of his last speech to his peeps in Ephesus before sailing to Jerusalem. "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." - Acts 20:22-24 Seriously. Compared to Paul's determination to finish out the race God set before him, I feel like such a slacker :-).  Bummed knees a week before a race (which has been the physical reminder God has given me this week about "finishing the race" - in this case a literal race) are nothing compared to being stoned, beaten, or put in prison for the gospel.  I will say that it motivates me to look past some of my own puny obstacles and see the gospel and grace as

I was reading the story in Acts about Paul's trip to Ephesus, a story I've read many times before.  This morning, a thought popped in my head that I want to think over. When Alexander the silversmith was discussing with his business partners the economic threat that the Way presented to them, he made this statement:   "There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of our great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty." (Acts 19:27).  In a sense, he urged them that if the gospel was allowed to continue to permeate Ephesus and the region of Asia, then their goddess would be stripped of her fame and reduced to nothing.  And as a result, they took action to make sure that didn't happen.  They started a riot. The thought that popped in my head was this:  it is very likely that when God is at work in a

"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." - 1 Corinthians 1:10

Last Sunday before I headed to my church to sing at UpStreet, I spent a little bit of time just meditating over life and hanging out in 1 Corinthians 13 for a while.  I found myself there again this morning, because God really spoke to me in that time and I wanted to keep my mind on those thoughts and really let Him work on me more. I started out because, honestly, I can actually from time to time act in ways that are not very loving.  I know that's probably a shock to some of you (okay, not really :) ) but it's true.  So, where better to go and meditate than a passage devoted to defining love. The one verse that really caught my attention had these phrases.... (Love) Always protects Always trusts Always hopes Always perseveres (I'm reading this from my note card right now). I know that this passage is often read at weddings, but the context in which this letter was written was anything but matromonious.  This Corinthian church was rife with problems... massive sexual

I've been a little deep lately in my blog, and I feel like I need a little balance here.  So today, I start up a series of blogs entited "Worthy and Unworthy" - in which I rate things as "worthy" or "unworthy" (based on nothing other than my opinion, of course).  Feel free to disagree with me if you wish... I probably won't get offended :-) So let's get this started: Ketchups  This is a topic that my friend Josh Adams has brought to some attention, with a discussion on his Facebook page about the fact that he will actually bring Heinz ketchup into a place if they serve something else.  While I'm a huge fan of Heinz, I do think there are other worthy ketchups. Worthy! Heinz - The original and still the best.   McDonalds - I don't know what it is, but their ketchup and fries form a powerful duo. Whataburger - This ketchup that Whataburger own-brands is some really amazing stuff.  It's got a kick that you don't see in

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side - Psalm 3:5-6 This morning, this analogy (better than the one I had the other day) came into my head.  It sort of came from the psalm I read in my quiet time this morning, and it sort of relates to this whole waiting thing. Suppose that the challenge that you are facing is like a season with your church league basketball.  I played with my Bible Study class in the Second Baptist league when I lived in Houston (It's obviously more exercise for me than real competition if you've ever seen my game).  Suppose you're a team like mine looking for the elusive goal of the league championship, and you're up against the best team in the league... one where a couple of guys played some college ball and really shouldn't be in "church league" if you know what I mean.  Do you think that my team of 10 guys that were pulled at th