Oh,look, the CHURCH is on FIRE.......

As fire crews rushed to the location, they knew the blaze would be bad - they could see the flames blocks away.

"When we made the turn on Broadway to go west, you could see smoke rolling up and we knew it was a bad one," said fire Capt. Martin Peplinski.

That was an understatement.

Before the first drop of water landed on the church, fire had broken out of the roof, sending flames shooting in the air.

For 4 1/2 hours, the firefighters battled the massive blaze. Less than a half an hour into it, though, most of the efforts concentrated on keeping Guildhall, the adjacent parsonage, the Lumberman's Hall from meeting the same fate.

Overloaded wiring had started the blaze in the roof, where it smoldered and grew, eating away at the huge support beams before the first smoke was visible.

Winona police served as both crowd control and taxi cab drivers that morning.

Literally hundreds gathered to watch the blaze, many with camera in hand.  Downtown roads became clogged with folks out for a scenic Sunday drive.  And a few youngsters needed to be grabbed by the collar as they got a little too close to the firefighting activities.

The above is an excerpt from an actual newspaper article chronicling the devastating fire that destroyed a beautiful and historic house of worship.  We, as members of First Baptist Church of Thomasville, Georgia, know first-hand the aftermath of a flame-ravaged church.  In 1982 a tremendous inferno engulfed First Baptist Church, taking as its victim the entire church sanctuary and all that lay within.  It was a sudden and forceful blow to the faithful of this historic congregation.  In the blink of an eye - it seems - the hand of fate had dealt a deadly blow to this family of believers, and from that point, history would take a wide and significant turn.

And in both cases - with both church fires - the one absolute commonality was that large crowds gathered to bear witness to the carnage.  Witnesses, mostly at a safe distance, allowed the images of the fires to be fully seared onto the canvas of their memory.  People poured in from miles around - some driving to the scene in their cars, leaving work and responsibilities to witness the incident.  Some enterprising entrepreneur could have captured a bundle of cash by providing folding chairs for a "reasonable price" - thus making the vigil of "witnessing the event" more comfortable.  And why did they come?  Some for love, some for curiosity, some out of disbelief, some because they couldn't stand not to be witnesses to the unbelievable destruction of a physical icon that had long stood in their midst, spanning beyond the years of their own earthly existence, and some simply to see how it all would end.  Leonard Ravenhill was once quoted as saying, "There is no need to advertise a fire."  It's kind of like in the movie Field of Dreams, if you make it, they'll come. 

And time, from that point forward, was marked - as so often happens in recording historical events (especially calamities) - by the exact moment in which these churches met their ultimate demise.  "We went on that mission trip 2 years after the fire." or "Daddy passed away the same year as the fire." might well have been spoken phrases in which the memorable devastation was used as a point of reference.

We've all witnessed fires, but very few of us have actually crossed the witness line to become actively involved.  We stand at a safe distance, preferring to remain in an ambiguous line of onlookers.  We would be intimidated and shrink back from the opportunity to "man the pumps and haul the hoses."  After all, that's work that is best suited for the professionals - those who are hired to take care of such matters.  And so often, fires that rage out of control are far too big for the handful of professionals, and the fire leaves in its wake complete loss and devastation.

Now shift your minds on the KIND of fires that overtook these churches - not fires that are "a rapid, persistent chemical reaction that releases heat and light, especially the exothermic combination of a combustible substance with oxygen."  No, think about the fire of the human spirit - most specifically the spiritual fires that burn within the very chest of a believer.  Two completely different kinds of flames, with striking similarities in the area of "attending witnesses." 

What do I mean by that?  Well, if it's not obvious, let me explain.  How many of us have seen individuals, groups, entire bodies of believers on fire with the zeal of the Lord, and we choose to witness the event from a safe distance without getting actively involved?  Sadly, most of us have been there only to witness how the thing will end.  Haven't we all learned that you just can't go around like that getting your head all full of fire and passion in the church?  Pry a little deeper into the spiritual mind, and you might be surprised to note that most Christians actually hope that such a "pentecostal fire" will burn itself out - leaving nothing in it's path but a scarred remembrance for future zealots to know the path of destruction that awaits anyone who gets "carried away" for the Lord.  And at day's end, the devil dances and shouts with with a frightening roar at the apathy that he has successfully sewn into the hearts and minds of God's children, into the very midst of the "Jesus Freaks."

But friends, we as God's "freaks" MUST find ourselves ablaze with the all-consuming fires of Pentecost, so that the fires of eternity and damnation can be diminished to the fullest extent of our faithfulness.  "Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry?  Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die?  Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand?  Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you damned?" (Leonard Ravenhill).

And the task of "tending the fires" cannot be left in only the hands of the professionals - those hired to attend to such tasks.  No, in this unified endeavor, we MUST cross through and go beyond the line of witnesses and onlookers and don the armor of the Lord in order to ensure that nothing disrupts the flames of our God.

Read these indicting words of William Booth:  "Not called! did you say?  Not heard the call, I think you should say.  Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin.  Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help.  Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there.  And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world."

Set my soul afire Lord, set my soul afire.  Make my life a witness of Thy saving power.  Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word.  Set my soul afire, Lord, set my soul afire!

Set my soul afire, Lord, for the lost in sin.  Give to me a passion as I seek to win.  Help me not to falter, never let me fail.  Fill me with Thy Spirit, let Thy will prevail.

Set my soul afire, Lord, in my daily life.  Far too long I've wandered in this day of strife.  Nothing else will matter but to live for Thee.  I will be a witness, for Christ lives in me.

Set my soul afire Lord, set my soul afire.  Make my life a witness of Thy saving power.  Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word.  Set my soul afire, Lord, set my soul afire!

Remember, it only takes a spark to get a fire going.

Selah (סֶלָה )

WHY am I blogging?

Though I am sure that I am NOT the first one to contemplate the question of blogging within a blog, I'm going to boldly strike out on this pursuit and delve into my personal motivations for casting my private thoughts and feelings into a virtual "sea of ideas."  Am I different from most or all bloggers?  Does blogging afford me the opportunity of sharing my feelings without fear or worry of retribution of any sort?  Is blogging akin to ego centrism - where one basks in the glory of personal thought and wisdom?  Is blogging necessary?  Is there anyone who really needs to hear from me?  Does blogging have the ability to make me (or anyone else) happier?

According to John M. Grohol, Psy.D., writer for World of Psychology, blogging CAN make you happier.  Taiwanese researchers (Ko & Kuo, 2009) administered a 43-item self-report survey to 596 college students who were mostly between ages 16 and 22 and female (71 percent).  The college students were young adults who had blogging experience, and specifically with blogging for the purpose of keeping a personal journal.

The researchers found support for deeper self-disclosure from bloggers resulting in a range of better social connections.  These included things such as a sense of greater social integration, which is how connected we feel to society and our own community of friends and others; an increase in social bonding (our tightly knit, intimate relationships); and social bridging — increasing our connectedness with people who might be from outside of our typical social network.

They also hypothesized and found support from their data that when these kinds of social connections increase or grow deeper through blogging, a person will also feel a greater subjective sense of well-being or happiness.

This research is consistent with prior research on personal writing (usually more privately, though) that finds that when people share their innermost thoughts of their moods or feelings with others through writing, they may gain greater social support and improve their social relationships and feelings of connectedness.  There isn’t a whole lot of research into blogging, so this study is a valuable contribution to our knowledge and understanding of this behavior.

The researchers also reminded us that since most people who read personal blogs are a person’s own friends and family, it’s likely that self-disclosure on those blogs will help them improve these existing relationships.  Not only does blogging not diminish or interfere with existing social relationships, the researchers argue, but it enhances them and has the ability to actually improve them.

I’ve seen this time and time again with some of my friends’ blogs — they share feelings and thoughts that I’d have a hard time getting from them in person.  Especially since many times people blog as they’re going through an emotional or difficult situation in their lives.  It’s so much easier to blog about it as it’s happening than to try and call and talk to a half dozen close people by phone, repeating the same information and feelings time and time again (which can result in an emotional drain).

Blogging, for me, is somewhat of a spiritually transcendental activity.  It draws me into a spiritual journey in which I seek the communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit.  Here, let me cast a few "visual analogies" into the mix to see if I can conjure some applicable "images."

Blogging is like calling into a wide canyon and listening for the softer sound of an echo.  In this, the echo has a greater resounding truth than the initial cry.  Blogging allows me to herald my innermost thoughts and feelings, but it's the echo of His voice that speaks the truth for me.  David's Psalms would have made excellent blogs, for it was in his private contemplations that he knew and understood the still small voice of God - the truths that echo across the plains of time with undiminished clarity.

Blogging is like a message in a bottle.  In casting our thoughts and feelings into the waves of earthly babble, who do we expect will process our renderings?  It's the same response yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  Blogging is not like casting our cares upon the wind, or broadcasting our seeds upon the blustering rants of daily existence.  No.  Blogging is (and should be) prayerful - meditative - spiritual.  Through blogging I am casting my cares upon the Lord, who echos my groanings with a decisive voice of grace, mercy, and provision.

Blogging is cathartic.  The writing of a blog for me is somewhat laborious, for the physical nature of my being hardly keeps time with the spiritual/emotional nature of my being.  But typing my thoughts - as quickly as I am able to do so - and going back over them to make sure they convey some intended message, is like placing my earthly petitions before the throne of God.  In that sense, blogging is (for me) therapeutic, liberating, beneficial, healing, energizing, invigorating, restorative, curative, emotive.

Blogging is appointed.  I save this one for the last for it's the MOST important.  Bro. Dan Spencer dedicates quite a bit of pulpit time in bringing forth the message that we - as the church - have got to increase and galvanize our message to the world that Jesus Christ is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.  Because we are living in a dark time and in a dark world where the fields are white and ready for harvest, we must increase our boldness in sharing the good news of Christ through our lives, our words - our living testimony.

And that is my prayer, dear friends.  May my ramblings rise before the throne and become as sweet and fragrant exaltations to my heavenly Father.

May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my defender.  Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.  Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray.  My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up and see Your face.

Selah (סֶלָה )

....... y elogiamos a Dios de usted diariamente .........

Friendships - just like the people that make them - come in all different sizes, shapes, and styles.  Because of the unique chemistry that forms the elemental constructs of all friendships, quality friendship is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.  And friendships don't just happen - like any relationship, friendships take time and energy, but the perpetuity of the "blessings outflow" connected with deep and abiding friendship pays exponential dividends to those who dare to engage themselves in such matters of the heart.

As I prepare, in 2011, to mark almost FIVE decades of Earthly existence (two score and nine to be exact), I realize that I have had, over the length of my lifetime, many relationships with different people - as a son to my parents; as a sibling to my brother; as a colleague at the workplace; as a mate to those who went to school with me or those that I met randomly; as a fellow-believer in the community of my church; as a father to my THREE wonderful kids (Lauren, Matthew and Nick) and, as a partner to my beautiful wife Jami.

With these different relationships have come unique lessons about how to sustain each of them.

I have realized that three things apply to all these relationships:
a. Have a strong reason to sustain that relationship.
b. Act on goals to strengthen that relationship.
c. Trust those in the relationship to do the right thing.

But, that's not entirely it either.  The most important element for the sustenance of ANY relationship is a "sold out", "abiding in", "hope for the future" relationship with Jesus Christ.  Our capacity to love anyone on our own is thwarted by our inability to love anyone "larger" than our own hearts.  Loving others, however, through the heart of Jesus Christ magnifies and expands our potential to love others in proportions that race beyond the confines of the entire universe.  It is safe to say that loving THROUGH Christ guarantees that our Earthly relationships will transcend all space and time for the purposes of all eternity.

And just what is it that has friendship so completely in my heart and mind?  The answer to that question lies in the fact that we have just had the opportunity to spend GLORIOUS time with our forever friends - the Louderbacks.  Being with them - after not seeing them for a couple of years - has been so sweet and wonderful.  Because the path that connects our friendship twists and turns through the very heart of God, we have never felt "apart" or "disconnected."  We know - beyond any measure of doubt - that God brought this awesome family into our lives for all the seasons of mortal existence.  Why?  Because He knows the deepest desires of our hearts.  Because our friendship with the Louderbacks was in His heart from the very beginning of ALWAYS.  Thank you, Lord Jesus, for these dear and special friends.  Bless their work as missionaries, and may the truth of your Holy Word spread forth from their mouths and lives until ALL shall know Him.

It won't be long Louderbacks, before we hop on a plane and make our way to the shores of your mission field.  And until that time - and forever more - may God bless and keep you.

Mayo la subida del camino para encontrarle,
Mayo el golpe de viento en su espalda,
Mayo el brillo de sol cariñosamente en su cara,
Mayo la caída de lluvias suavemente en sus campos,
Y hasta que nos encontremos otra vez,
Mayo asimiento de Dios usted en la palma de Su mano.

Selah (סֶלָה )