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“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right, and stopping the leaks in the roof, and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably, and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (London: William Collins, 1970), 172.

“How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the creation of a maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence. To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellow-men are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity: is to say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is “trying His best” to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent.” —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Dyson’s theory of random fate « The Black Informant.

If you watched the CNN special “Black in America”, and listened to the story about Michael Eric Dyson and his brother, then this article may interest you.

Someone said (and I’m paraphrasing):

I’m a Christian, but I don’t believe that only Christians are going to heaven.

Now, I first want to know: Have you even READ and STUDIED the Bible? Then I want to know: If that’s what you believe, why be a Christian at all?

I need someone to explain this to me. smh

The Rebelution: To Say, I Have Known God.

“We must learn to measure ourselves, not by our knowledge about God, not by our gifts and responsibilities in the church, but by how we pray and what goes on in our hearts. Many of us, I suspect, have no idea how impoverished we are on this level. Let us ask the Lord to show us.

“Second, we must seek the Savior… It is [those] who have sought the Lord Jesus till they have found Him—for the promise is that when we seek Him with all our hearts, we shall surely find Him—who can stand before the world to testify that they have known God.”

~ Knowing God, J.I. Packer ~

I am currently reading “Knowing God”. I’ve read it before, years ago, but I really didn’t READ it.  This time will be different.

He ventured forth to bring light to the world | Gerard Baker - Times Online.

This article had me laughing out loud this morning!

Excerpt:

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”

I missed the first 10 minutes…..but here we go.

You know I agree with Joseph C. Phillips.  It’s not that all, even MOST of the black males in prison are innocent.  The best way to stay out of jail is not to commit a crime.  PERIOD.  All this mess about racist laws…ya know what? The law might be racist..I’ll let that slide. But even if it is, you HAVE TO COMMIT A CRIME for it to affect you. This is one more issue that WE could take control of, if we made better choices.

It’s a hot mess that employers view Black men like this. Wow@them taping the interview.  THAT’S the stuff that needs to be seen. This man did what he was supposed to do, and it’s not his fault that he can’t find a job.  Well..except for the whole having babies before you get married thing. But I admire this man….working two jobs to support his family. He’s doing what he has to do. THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.

Butch Warren’s story is great.  He did something that a lot of men don’t: Pursue entrepreneurship. He said, “I tried to take the best from everything I saw and put it together.”   He was told he was raising his kids “too white”.  HOT MESS. That is a self-destructive attitude. I’m not surprised at him being pulled over by the police. That’s not news to black people.

Jonathan Warren: Wow@a dozen black men convicted each week!

OK..color me surprised that D.L. Hughley was a Blood. I do agree with him that being Black makes you a target for the police.  Like him, I’ve started to have conversations with my son about how to talk to police. He’s EIGHT. But I know that teaching him this just may save his life in the future.

Acting White: If I NEVER hear that phrase again, it’ll be too soon.  Another self-destructive attitude.  I’ve had that mess thrown at me, in fact, I still do. But it doesn’t bother me. I’ll BE THAT if it means that I can form a complete sentence and speak in an intelligent manner.  I’m teaching my son to consider reading IMPORTANT. He takes piano lessons. I don’t allow him to listen to commercial radio. His favorite song (as of today) is Christ Tomlin’s “How Great Is Our God”. I am teaching him what it means to be a good husband and father (to the best of my ability). If he ever gets accused of “acting white”, I hope that what I’m teaching him now can help him shake it off.  Education is not a WHITE thing.  And if it is, the WHAT exactly is acting BLACK??

Fatherhood: My brother and I were raised without our father. That wasn’t my mother’s fault. She got married FIRST, then had us.  My father just didn’t fulfill his responsibilities.  I am now raising a boy…without a father. That IS my fault. I didn’t make the right choice.  However, it’s also his father’s fault. Every day that he doesn’t have a relationship with his son, he makes the same bad choice over and over again. No one is keeping him from being a father to his child.

So yes, I’m one of the 70% of single parent homes.  Since I live in this situation, I can say this:  I don’t wanna hear this mess about how slavery affected black relationships.  It’s WORSE now than it was then.  We’ve fallen off from what those before us did.  I don’t buy this mess about how incarceration effects a male’s efforts to be a father.  If you live a life of crime, it will definitely affect your ability to be a father. THINK ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU COMMIT CRIMES.  IT’s nobody else’s fault if you mess up.  So if you have kids and become a criminal, then you haven’t put those children first.  I don’t feel sorry for men who make these choices and then want to blame somebody else for their shortcomings. Now..if you are doing what you’re supposed to do, I’m in your corner.  Might be harsh..but that’s the way I feel.

Coporate america: IS A TRIP.  When I worked there, it was ridiculous. I’ve been targeted because of my race.  But I applaud the men who keep it moving and don’t allow it to dictate who they are.  It’s VERY difficult. I was tempted to get the eyes and neck rolling and get “ethnic” on some folk. It IS a shame that you may be the only black person in the office..and that everyone looks at you as the representative of all black folk.  That’s tough. And then to have your own tell you you’re acting white. UGH!

How black men are portrayed:  It’s a black thing:  when you hear about a crime committed on the news, you think to yourself:  I hope he isn’t black.  That’s the way it is.  That’s what the news talks about. They don’t talk about other races so much….nor do they focus on blacks who are NOT committing crimes. So it give the impression that most black men are criminals, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. Spike Lee said it: Let’s show some BALANCE.  EXACTLY.  Face it: The media STINKS.  And we should not allow our children to get their ideas of manhood from the media!

Rap music: Don’t even get me started. While I like Rap, I don’t like the subject matter of the songs.  To me, these artists are the definition of the word SELLOUT. Up there rapping about being a thug or a gangster, about how much money they have, when most of’em couldn’t be a gangsta if you wrote it on them, and all those material things they flash around are either rented or borrowed.  But they tell our kids that they have to be like them to be cool.  The state of our young people isn’t ALL the fault of these sellouts; Parents are being lax in their duties. I can barely stand to watch these small ckips of rap videos. It’s sickening.

The Hip Hop School…that’s a cool idea.

UGH@Dyson blaming corporations. If they didn’t have willing rappers making this ridiculous music, they couldn’t do a thing.  I will not even dignify Russell Simmons bull with a response. Now..Lupe Fiasco…has earned my respect.  He’s aware of the effect he has on others and decided he didn’t want to be a NEGATIVE.  What if they all did that?

I’m gonna just go on record and say that I have never liked Michael Eric Dyson. I’ve never agreed with much of what he says. To me, he is giving black folk who don’t behave a pass because they’re poor or disadvantaged. Get outta my face with that mess!

Symphony of Scripture » Blog Archive » A.W. Tozer: We Need Men of God Again.

Blogging as I watch.

The genealogical story of the Rands really intrigues me.  I started my own genealogical search, but haven’t gotten as far as these people did. It’s so interesting to me.

Education

Now, what those volunteers are doing, going to GET the kids..that’s what I’m talking about!

The Smiths took an ACTIVE interest in their children’s education.  Instead of accepting the status quo, they made SURE their children got a good education, and stressed the importance of it to them.  They didn’t just send their children to school and expect the school to be responsible for their education.

I don’t think I have a problem with giving kids money for test scores. Everybody needs an incentive.  They’re not getting paid to do homework. But how you gonna ask kids if the incentives are ruining their love for learning? Like they’re gonna say, “yes, I would love learning more if you didn’t pay me!”

Eric Kennedy:  “You have to stay on top of your child.”  AMEN!

Health Care:

Based on personal experience, I know that it’s cheaper to eat unhealthy food than it is to eat healthy food. It’s EASIER to get unhealthy food than healthy food. But how much is our health worth to us??  Do we do what is in OUR power to do so that we can stay healthy?

Another thing:  I’m seeing they pick the worst-case scenarios and then put them up as an example of being “Black In America”.  I don’t think that’s realistic. Three-quarters of us are NOT living in poverty. So what excuse can we use?

Single Parent Families:

I am a single parent. 70% of Black children are born to unwed mothers. I am one of them.  Having said that, that is a problem that WE can take care of.  Nobody forces us to have babies out of wedlock.  NOBODY.  That is a PERSONAL choice.  It doesn’t “just happen”.  And it CERTAINLY doesn’t happen multiple times.

Nevertheless, the kids are here.  This is when Black folk need to stop talking about single parents and actually BEING that village that raises a child.  I’m blessed in that I have a great support system, I know that.  And other single mothers need that SAME support.

Marriage should be encouraged. Out of wedlock births shouldn’t be so ACCEPTED.

Marriage and Dating:

There is a problem when a woman works hard to get an education and do well in her career and then have to hear that her lifestyle is intimidating.  That’s bull.  So should black women not achieve so that we can appeal to a black man who hasn’t done as well?

I haven’t always felt this way, but now I am a firm believer that black women should be open to dating ANY race. I know it’s hard. I’ve never met a man of another race that I was attracted to…but I’m OPEN to it.  Let one come along!

Now, some women have unrealistic standards.  If you are well-educated and making a boatload of money, I don’t think it’s realistic to demand that a man make the same as you.  However..he does need to be adequately educated, be able to SPELL, read a BOOK, have a conversation, do more than play video games and watch football.

I’ma just shut up about the Obama reference.  Yep. Zip my lip.

I do agree that the Black community is more likely to accept bi-racial children than the White community.

Aids:

OK, class.  How does one get AIDS?  Say it with me, UNPROTECTED SEX.  How many times does it have to be stated?  I’m sorry, I’m not buying this miseducation crock.  It’s not miseducation. It’s people thinking that it won’t happen to them or it can’t happen to them, and going on their merry way having unprotected sex and and mulitple partners, and not WORRYING about HIV until AFTER the fact.  That’s a SUICIDAL mentality.  Ain’t enough education in the WORLD to combat that.  Until people take it SERIOUSLY and realize that it CAN happen to them, the statistics will not change.

Violence:

Murder: every 30 minutes in America. 49% are Black. Black people are just 13% of the U.S. Population.

I cannot believe these mothers.  “My son made a few bad choices?”  Man….if my son starts hanging out with the criminal element, I might just shoot him myself. At least it wouldn’t be a fatal wound. smh

It’s like people think these things JUST HAPPEN!  NO. LIfe is tough. You have to make tough choices nearly EVERY DAY.  You have to RAISE YOUR CHILDREN, not just provide the necessities.  My son is EIGHT, and I’m already talking to him about what it means to be a good husband and father.  I don’t walk around with the attitude that my son is such a good kid, he could never do anything wrong. I love him AND I discipline him. He knows there is a way to act and a way NOT to act.  I’m not saying that he will turn out perfect, but if he turns out wrong, it WILL NOT be because I didn’t teach him right.

I’m glad this night is over.  I’ve done too much yelling at the TV and seen too many scenarios that could have been avoided if people would THINK before they act.  Sure, bad things DO happen, but MOST of what happens in our lives is about the CHOICES we make.

YouTube - *New Tye Tribbett. Bless The Lord (Son of Man).

I LOVE THIS SONG. The whole CD is great!

Oh we thank you lord oh
Son of Man son of righteousness
King of the earth for sinners slain

I was Lost in darkness found
Ransomed my heart and I will sing yeah c’mon
We worship you king oh mighty god oh c’ mon sing

Son (son of man) of man
Son of righteousness
King of the earth for sinners slain
I was lost in darkness found
Ransomed my heart and I will sing

You are (my strength)
You are (my deliverance)
You are (the one who rescued me)
You are (my hope)
You are (my redeemer)
Your love has set me free

Bless the lord oh my soul
Bless the lord oh my soul
Bless the lord oh my soul
Bless the lord oh my soul

In the splendor of your majesty
From deep within my spirits sing
Holy, Holy
[x7]
Holy, Holy
Holy, Holy
Ho- oh- ly

Bless the lord oh my soul
Bless the lord oh my soul
Bless the lord oh my soul
Bless the lord oh my soul
[x3]

What God Do You Worship: Part 9-Controlling our minds - Desert Pastor

The gospel is unpalatable to the natural man, for it declares him lost and undone. It declares him helpless. It strips him of his boasted good life and exposes his pitiful boast of keeping the golden rule. It leaves him with no hope except to cry out, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

- John E. Ashbrook