A Level Path

Most of you know by now that Paul David Tripp is one of my favorite modern theologians. I began to encounter him years ago, and since then have loved every book he has written. He even shows up quite a bit on the GriefShare videos that I show in my Monday classes. Today I started back into A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble. What a wonderful reflection he wrote on Psalm 27:11: "Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies."

Tripp believes that the life to which God has called us really is a very straight line and a "level path." The problem, of course, is that as sinners, we mess up and take numerous detours instead of following the clear directions that God has given us. Is it any wonder that we get lost or hurt on the path to heaven? Tripp states that we have two problems:

"First we get diverted because we are impatient. The trip to where God is taking us is not an event; it's a process. And the process isn't easy. God's road takes us through the heat of the sun, through storms and cold, through the dark of the night, through loneliness and confusion. So we get tired and impatient and begin to convince ourselves that there is a better way. But, that isn't all.

We get diverted because we are disloyal. Our hearts aren't yet fully committed to God's glory and his kingdom. We are still attracted to the shadow glories of creation, and we still carry around in us allegiance to the small-agenda purposes of the kingdom of self. So in our impatience and disloyalty we see pathways that appear easier and more comfortable, but they only ever lead to danger."

Doesn't this ring true? Don't we get impatient waiting to see God's good providence unfold, and then attempt to speed things up or change them to suit our ideas of what would be best? And the kingdom of self? Ouch, that really hurts because it's so accurate. And all this happens on our good days; tomorrow's post will shed light on what impatience and disloyalty looks like when trials and afflictions disrupt our lives...

Words for the Weekend

“Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away.

There is trouble in the getting of it. There is the anxiety in the keeping of it. There are the temptations in the use of it. There is the guilt in the abuse of it. There is the sorrow in the losing of it. There is the perplexity in the disposing of it."

J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion

Cooking With Gas

I am SO sorry I didn't see this "odd news" article before Thanksgiving. I could have saved so many of you the hassle of cooking your turkeys in the traditional way! There is a book entitled Manifold Destiny, a manual to instruct you how to cook using your car's engine. I am not kidding! This story was in USA Today.

"The book explains how to prepare, foil wrap and tuck an uncooked dinner into various places under your car's hood so that your casserole or roast is sizzling hot and waiting when you arrive. The book by Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller includes recipes for such delectables like "Impressive Veal Impreza," "Prius Pork" and "Ford F-150 Hot Texas Wieners," but the question is, is it possible to tackle a whole turkey dinner? The answer is yes...and, um, no. Cooking a 20-pound turkey might be a bit of a challenge under a car engine, even if you were driving from Omaha to Memphis. But a breast, complete with potatoes, shouldn't require much more than 220 miles, or Charlotte, N.C., to Atlanta. "

The article also suggests fully reading the book, because while "cooking on an engine isn't all that complicated, you do need to know a few do's and don'ts to keep from losing fingers or setting the car on fire, which can ruin your dinner party."

Maybe next Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2009

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

The Story Behind The Song

The hymn most associated with Thanksgiving is "We Gather Together," written by Adrianus Valerius in 1597. The occasion for the writing of this hymn was the Battle of Turnhout. At this time in history the Dutch were fighting against the Catholic King Philip II of Spain, who had forbidden the Dutch people to gather for worship. After the victory by the Dutch, Valerius wrote this hymn to celebrate their freedom to now worship God.

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to His name: He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

As we gather together this Thanksgiving let us remember the many blessings that our God has bestowed upon us. May His name be ever praised!

The BIG 100

Today is an anniversary of sorts. It is the 100th blog post of CandyceLand. Who would have thought I would have continued this long? This is all the more amazing since at least twice a week I ask myself (and Steve!): "Why am I doing this?" "Is anyone reading these devotionals?" "What was I thinking when I started this?" "How can I escape this madness?"

Here are some of the logistical challenges of sustaining this blog six days per week:

1. Finding a topic. Truly a nightmare sometimes.
2. Finding a title. Ridiculously difficult.
3. Finding an image. Would you believe that it often takes much, much longer to find an image than to write the post itself?

SO - as a present to myself on this most auspicious occasion of the "100th" blog post, I am calling for a moment of silence, while I go search for a title and image. HELP!

1,189 Prayers

YEAH for me! I just finished editing A Book of Prayers: A Prayer for Every Chapter of the Bible by Stephen C. Magee, an author I am somewhat acquainted with. :-) While I was excited to be finishing this project, it was even more thrilling to be ending with the book of Revelation. O what future glory is shown to us at the end of the Bible! I thoroughly recommend that all of you today read Revelation 21 (too long to print here) and then meditate on this prayer based on that wonderful chapter:

"Great God and King, we long for the new age that is coming. What a joy it is to contemplate what we will soon see: the new heavens, the new earth, the holy city, the glorious bride, the perfect Husband, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain. We are so thoroughly blessed by Your wonderful love. You will dwell with us forever. Can it be that death shall be no more? Yes, You are making all things new. You will bring all Your gracious plans to the most perfect fulfillment. There will be a complete separation of the righteous and the wicked. O God in heaven, embrace us forever in Your perfect grace. Keep us in Your holy new Jerusalem. Knit us together in love even now. This new city is surely coming with all of its beauty and wonderful glory. What gates! What walls! What streets of gold! What light is there forever! What a temple is ours in Christ the Lord! We thank You, O Lord, forever and ever."

Amen and Amen!

Words for the Weekend

“It’s no wonder that self-help books top the charts in Christian publishing and that counseling offices are overwhelmed. Our pride and our neglect of the gospel force us to run from seminar to seminar, book to book, counselor to counselor, always seeking but never finding some secret to holy living. Most of us have never really understood that Christianity is not a self-help religion meant to enable moral people to become more moral. We don’t need a self-help book; we need a Savior. We don’t need to get our collective act together; we need death and resurrection and the life-transforming truths of the gospel. And we don’t need them just once, at the beginning of our Christian life; we need them every moment of every day.”

Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, Counsel from the Cross (Of First Importance)

One Tough Cookie

I propose that from this day forward Friday will be designated the "odd news" day for CandyceLand. I am so amused by some of these stories that I find throughout the week. The feature story today focuses on a new study that has been released in Great Britain, officially entitled: "The Biscuit Injury Threat Evaluation."

"An estimated 25 million adults have been injured while eating during a tea or coffee break - with at least 500 landing themselves in a hospital, the survey revealed. Hidden dangers included flying fragments and being hurt while dunking in scalding tea through to the more strange reports of people poking themselves in the eye with a biscuit cookie or falling off a chair reaching for the tin. One man even ended up stuck in wet concrete after wading in to pick up a stray biscuit. It also revealed 28 per cent had choked on crumbs while one in 10 had broken a tooth or filling while biting a biscuit. More unusually, three per cent had poked themselves in the eye with a biscuit and seven per cent were bitten by a pet or "other wild animal" trying to get their biscuit."

Oh my. These are indeed surprising statistics, but I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles. :-)

Why?

Trusting in God seems so easy sometimes, particularly when life is going well, the job is satisfying, the kids are thriving, and the bank account looks well padded. Trusting in God seems so difficult, though, when a major crisis strikes, shaking us to the core. We feel as though we are falling into an abyss, with no one to catch us. This is where faith needs to be supported by right thinking.

Below is an excerpt of an email I received yesterday. It gives us solid instruction in the way to consider our God and how He normally deals with His saints who are afflicted:

"'Get solidly in your mind who God is," said Dr. E.V. Hill. 'He is not a smart man somewhere who finished from Yale or Harvard who is trying to figure out day-to-day problems for people... He is the eternal I AM. He is the eternal last word. And He is love.

So when He does something or permits something to happen, you are the one who has to wade through all of this human thinking of what God should have done. God is the Answer. It has been my experience that if you continue to have faith and continue to stay at your post, God somehow will explain it to you. He doesn't have to, but I've seen it over and over. I've seen people come up to me and say, 'Pastor, it's been a long time, but I'm beginning to see now. I'm beginning to see.' God is the answer to every question and every need."

I think the idea that we will have all the "WHY?" questions answered is hopeful, but I'm not convinced that the timing will necessarily be this side of Heaven. I also believe that when we do arrive in Heaven, we might not care anymore. We will probably be so happy in Jesus and full of gratitude to see our loved ones that the "Why's" won't matter one little bit. And that is good news, indeed.

More Anxiety

Yesterday we began a discussion of why everyday anxiety can be sinful: the first reason presented by Jerry Bridges is that it implies a basic distrust of God. If God says in His Word that He will provide for our every need, then we should believe Him and put away our fretful thoughts. The second reason, according to Respectable Sins, is this:

"Anxiety is a sin also because it is a lack of acceptance of God's providence in our lives. God's providence may be simply defined as God's orchestrating all circumstances and events in His universe for His glory and the good of His people. Some believers have difficulty accepting the fact that God does in fact orchestrate all events and circumstances, and even those of us who believe it often lose sight of this glorious truth. Instead we tend to focus on the immediate causes of our anxiety rather than remembering that those immediate causes are under the sovereign control of God."

During class we discussed how this kind of perspective really does change our levels of frustration if we truly believe this biblical principle. One of our members described her attempt to arrive at our study. Going through the drive-thru for coffee, she discovered she did not have her wallet with her. She returned home, looked everywhere, but couldn't find it. She then searched her car, and yes, there it was! Because she had just read this chapter, she was able to laugh it off and understand that for some reason, God wanted her to see how she is "normally" frustrated by such events. She experienced a "new" way of dealing with an unexpected delay.

How good would it be if we could grasp this belief in the fact that God is in control of every aspect of our lives, even the most mundane, frustrating, and anxiety-producing events that greet us every day? How much anger and rage and high blood pressure could we relieve by just believing that God has a purpose for everything? I'm guessing a lot...

Anxiety

The good part of teaching is that I learn a lot about myself. The bad part of teaching is that I learn a lot about myself. This week's lesson in Woman's Study, for example, is all about me. I think that Jerry Bridges (in Respectable Sins) must have had access to my thoughts while he was writing his chapter on Anxiety, Worry, and Frustration. It might sound as though I am making light of this sinful behavior of mine, and in a sense perhaps I am. But that is exactly his point: anxiety seems to be one of those sins that we don't hesitate to confess to the world. I would never write on a blog that I was a liar or a thief, but somehow it's not all that 'embarrassing' to admit to being a worrier. The focus of this chapter is to expose that our anxieties are not just "normal" reactions to life events, but that they are indeed both sinful and serious:

"We should never accept them as just part of our temperament any more than we would accept adultery as part of our temperament. Keep in mind that even though anxiety and frustration may not be as serious as adultery, they are still sins. And all sin is serious in the eyes of a Holy God."

Why is anxiety not just a reasonable reaction to bad situations in our lives? Why is anxiety sinful? Bridges outlines two basic reasons. The second will be the topic of tomorrow's post, but here is the first.

Bridges believes that anxiety is simply a distrust of God. In Matthew 5:25-26, the famous "birds of the air" and "lilies of the field" passage, God mentions anxiety six times. His prohibition of this behavior is not a suggestion, but a commandment. We are to bring our requests to God, and then leave the results to Him. As Bridges points out:

"When I give way to anxiety, I am, in effect, believing that God does not care for me and that He will not take care of me in the particular circumstance that triggers my anxiety of the moment."

Our Father loves us, and we can trust Him. If we would just repent of this sin of anxiety, we would not only be obeying God but relieving ourselves of great mental torment. Definitely a win-win situation. More on this tomorrow...

Some Thoughts on Punctuation

I recently came across a different way of looking at our trials and afflictions. While we know that everything that happens to us is for our good and God's glory, it usually doesn't feel especially good or glorifying. What if we still can't make any sense of the particular events that are distressing us? Here is a suggestion from Dr. Joseph Stowell:

"If you look at your problem and then look at God, you always end up throwing stones at God for the problem. If you look at God first and look at your problems through Him, through His sovereignty—that He is in control of everything, that He has permitted this in your life for a reason, that He is a just God, that He will settle the score for you—you will see that He is an all-powerful God who can turn this situation to that which is good and right.

So the way to avoid the vulnerability of these nagging questions that distance you from God and make you liable for Satan's attack in the midst of your despair is to really focus on what you know to be true about God and to live in the exclamation point of that truth, not in the question marks of what you don't know about your problem."

How true. God has not left us alone. Among innumerable other blessings, He has given us His Word which reveals to us His magnificent character. The Bible tells us so much about God, and yet we don't naturally flee to it when we are hurt or troubled. Perhaps we should pray to be equipped with eyes to see His exclamation point rather than all our question marks.

Great Quote #12

What is your only comfort in life and death? (Question 1)

“That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.”

The Heidelberg Catechism

Cha Sa-soon

I just could not resist mentioning the following 'odd' news story that appeared on the AP last weekend. As the old joke says, if you look up "perseverance" in the dictionary, you will see the picture of....Cha Sa-Soon. Here is why:

"A woman in South Korea who tried to pass the written exam for a driver's license with near-daily attempts since April 2005 has finally succeeded on her 950th time. The aspiring driver spent more than $4,200 in application fees, but until now had failed to score the minimum 60 out of a possible 100 points needed to get behind the wheel for a driving test. She told the Korea Times newspaper that she needed the license for her vegetable-selling business."

Wow. How many pounds of carrots will this woman need to sell to re-coup that amount of money? Isn't it amazing the amount of determination needed to continue to reach this goal, with little hope of success? And would you want to be the one to actually teach her how to drive a car, now that she has passed the written portion of the test? :-)

Shalom

Ed Welch believes that "Everyone knows at least one Hebrew word, the word shalom. Like the Hawaiian word aloha, you hear it in greetings, partings, and blessings. It is usually translated as peace, but it means much more. Jammed into this one word is everything good: peace, prosperity, freedom, love, harmony, completeness, health, contentment, well-being, safety. Nothing that blesses a life is missing. This is shalom. This has been our quest."

Our quest ever since Eden, that is. Since that day when Adam and Eve breached "shalom" with God, mankind has been striving to regain peace. Everything in this world changed as a result of that disobedience. Peace with God was gone, replaced by fear and anxiety. We struggle, search, and hope that one day peace will be restored to our lives and to our world.

But we always look in the wrong direction; we look outward, not inward, for the root cause. Welch continues to make the case that WE are what's wrong; "It is always our government, our bosses, our parents, our spouses, or our genetic code. Rarely does anyone answer the question, 'What is wrong with the whole world?' with 'I am.' We blame-shift, judge, and find fault in others while we pardon ourselves. When we see such arrogant behavior in others, we are outraged. But in ourselves, it somehow seems like we are doing justice. We have been wronged and we are trying to make it right, by yelling, belittling, ignoring, by hating... When we are quick to judge others rather than look at our own hearts, we are electing to live outside of the kingdom of heaven, and outside the kingdom there are only false hopes of peace."

So the old 1955 song "Let There Be Peace on Earth, and Let it Begin with Me" was really theologically astute. If we want to make progress in our lives and in our world, we need to start with our sin and end with Christ, for in Him is true Shalom.

Believing What You Teach

For a while now I have noticed that my "best" times of the week are when I am teaching. Most of you know that I facilitate two sections of GriefShare and two sections of Women's Study. I always feel the most sure about God when I am encouraging others to put their trust in Him. However, I have also observed that within minutes of finishing these groups, I can personally fall back into the very discouragements that I have just exhorted others to put aside! What's with that?

Providentially I came across an explanation for this toward the end of Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest. The author states this:

"I recently taught a seminar that was thirty hours of classroom teaching in five days. During breaks, students would ask if I was tired. I replied that it is a lot easier - and more blessed - to speak for a week than to listen. For better or worse, they seemed to believe me, especially by Friday. The reason I can get energized over the course of a week is the same reason preachers like to preach: When I speak the truth, I am built up in my faith. I demonstrate my certainty in the promises of God. In short, I see that I really believe what God says."

I have never "taught" so much in my life. My week consists of prep for these four classes, doing the four classes, and writing this blog six days a week. The rest of the time I love to help out people in need and organize mercy ministries for our church. I am thankful for the opportunity to do what I love. And despite my moments of doubt, God blesses me with assurances that He is faithful...especially when I am assuring others of His faithfulness to them.

On-line Church

On the way to church Sunday night we noticed red signs on the side of the road that said "Check out the next level of church!" We took down the web address, but forgot about it until today when I came across an interview on cnn.com with the pastor of this same on-line church. Apparently the "next level" refers to all worship done via the computer. The title for this video piece was "Community and Communion in Cyberspace."

The first question asked was this: "How do you create the experience of worship in front of the computer?" The answer given is that the founders of lifechurch.tv were "...blown away by how people could worship along and have genuine community and connect in a very real way in an online church."

Second question: "What about the sacraments?" Answer: "We had to explore the best options, and what we actually do is have viewers go find some juice and crackers, and then participate in the Lord's supper with us."

Oh my. So much could be said about this. This seems like the latest development in the marketing of Jesus. How much more seeker-friendly can a church be? Just stay in your jammies and push pause if the phone rings or you get hungry for a snack. But at what cost? I don't deny that someone might hear a very good message through some on-line preaching, but isn't there too much in our lives already that is detached and impersonal? Can you imagine Christ instituting the Lord's supper via the internet?

What's next? Thanksgiving dinner where everyone eats in their own homes, but enjoys on-line fellowship as much (or as little) as they want? That's one way to avoid the annual holiday arguments with family members. :-)

Unity in Prayer

Our church distributes prayer booklets every month to those wishing to participate in a combined effort of daily prayer. This is available in pamphlet form, or, alternatively, can be sent via email every morning. I have chosen the latter, and have greatly appreciated the prayers that have been written by Matt Parks, an elder at EPC, who bases these on The Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostle's Creed. I am presenting a sample below, so if anyone would like either the print (30 days) or email (every morning) versions, simply comment below or send me an email. candymagee@gmail.com

Prayer of Adoration, Confession, and Supplication

Adoration based on the Apostle’s Creed: “…the forgiveness of sins…”

Confession based on the Ten Commandments: “And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Supplication based on the Lord’s Prayer: “For thine is the kingdom…”

Merciful Father,

How blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man against whom You count no iniquity! You do not deal with him according to his sins nor repay him according to his iniquities, but as far as the east is from the west, so far have You removed his transgressions from him. What could accomplish such a great salvation? Only the death of Christ for sinners, for without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins and the blood of bulls and goats was not enough. But because Christ has shed His blood for us, our sins are truly and fully atoned for. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There can be no need to assume a false righteousness; no reason to withhold confession of sin. But still my pride and folly resist. My bones waste away and my strength is dried up, but I continue in lies and presumption. I withhold the word that will vindicate my neighbor and bury deep the word that will convict me. I love the darkness that hides the lie and hate the Light that reveals the Truth. I have gossiped, flattered, and slandered. I have made promises without sincerity and taken oaths lightly. This is not the way of Your kingdom. Your Son is the Truth and bore witness to it perfectly and completely. He is now in the place of all-surpassing truth awaiting the day when it will fill all the earth. Today, He is sending His Word forth, accompanied by the Spirit, to build that glorious kingdom. Establish His work and extend Your dominion. Let all the world know that You are Lord.

Great Quote #11

"The man who is about to sail for Australia or New Zealand as a settler, is naturally anxious to know something about his future home, its climate, its employments, its inhabitants, its ways, its customs. All these are subjects of deep interest to him. You are leaving the land of your nativity, you are going to spend the rest of your life in a new hemisphere. It would be strange indeed if you did not desire information about your new abode. Now surely, if we hope to dwell for ever in that "better country, even a heavenly one," we ought to seek all the knowledge we can get about it. Before we go to our eternal home we should try to become acquainted with it."

J.C. Ryle

Adversity and Power

I found a surprising new source for great quotes today: Facebook! My friend Liam posted this one:

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
Abraham Lincoln

What an insight by President Lincoln! People can withstand much affliction - history abounds with wonderful examples of triumphant suffering. But in a sense, these people really didn't have much choice. They didn't possess the power to say "Poof" and their affliction would disappear. But what if there were one that had the power to "poof" and immediately bliss would be restored? I think I have found one such Person:

"When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, 'Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him." (John 17)

Jesus had authority over all flesh; he had the power to be instantly restored to his heavenly abode, free from all pain and suffering. Instead, he chose adversity, he chose the cross, he chose us.

Room With a View

By now most of the regular readers of this blog know that I am attracted to weird news stories. I have even discovered that on yahoo.com there is a section devoted to "Odd News." What fun I have sometimes reading the wide variety of stories that they post! Here is one about how to spend LOTS of money:

"A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project. The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost 3 million euro ($4.4 million) for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island. During their stay, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and travel around the world every 80 minutes. They would wear velcro suits so they can crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman... More than 200 people have expressed an interest in traveling to the space hotel and at least 43 people have already reserved rooms."

I hardly know what to think of this proposal. On the one hand, how cool would that be to see God's creation from such great heights? On the other, how crazy is it to spend 4 million dollars for 3 days in a hotel?

All in all, I think I'll just wait for the time when God will say to me: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth!" (Isaiah 65:17). I will then have the best room, the best view, and the best robes of righteousness for all eternity. It will cost me nothing, but I'll try to remember the great cost to my Host - the cross.

The Remedy for Cancer of the Soul

Yesterday's post from Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate demonstrated the cancerous nature of sin. Left untreated, sin doesn't normally get better on its own, and it very often spreads to others. This is pretty negative news for most of us. So what's the cure? What's the best way to heal cancer of the soul? It's the gospel, of course.

We are very used to hearing ministers preach the gospel to us, but in our battle with sin, we must preach the gospel to ourselves. No pastor can be with us 24/7; no pastor can know the secret thoughts of our minds; no pastor can do battle for us. But God can! We need to daily acknowledge our sin, turn away from it, rely on the Holy Spirit for help, and believe that God has forgiven us already. Knowing and understanding and believing that Christ died on the cross to rid us of both the penalty and the power of sin will allow us to move forward in hopeful expectation of progress in our constant struggle with sin.

Bridges reminds us of the great hymn "Rock of Ages," which so poetically displays this beautiful picture of the "two-fold aspect" of Christ's great work:

Let the water and the blood,
From thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Yes, the bad news of sin is very serious, but the cross is the double cure. Preach it, sisters (and brothers)... to yourself... every day.

The Malignancy of Sin

We are now in our 7th week of reading and discussing Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate in the Tuesday Women's Study classes. One chapter in particular has made a deep impression upon me. It is entitled "The Malignancy of Sin." Basically, it lays out the danger of tolerating and denying the sins that we commit each and every day. Here is the section that has gripped me:

"Sin is a spiritual and moral malignancy. Left unchecked, it can spread throughout our entire inner being and contaminate every area of our lives. Even worse, it often will 'metastasize' from us into the lives of other believers around us. None of us lives on a spiritual or social island. Our attitudes, words, and actions, and oftentimes even our private unspoken thoughts, tend to have an effect on those around us."

Within this one paragraph there are at least two pretty scary insights. First, like cancer of the body, sin rarely gets better on its own. If not treated, it will get worse. If not dealt with, our lives can be ruined.

Secondly, unlike cancer of the body, sin can spread to others. I don't know of any physical cancer that is contagious (although I could be wrong). Obviously we catch the flu and colds and lots of other diseases from others. But sin is almost always contagious. Bad company certainly does corrupt good morals.

So what is the treatment for this awful disease of sin? That is the subject of the next chapter, and the next blog post. Stay tuned for the good prognosis!

Drive-thru Prayer

We have drive-thru pharmacies, fast food restaurants, and banks. It was only a matter of time before there was drive-thru prayer! A church in Arizona now offers such a service. The local newspaper describes it in this way:

You pull up, tell the church members what's on your heart and they pray for you right there, while you are sitting in your car. "This is the first drive through prayer I have ever been to," said Darcel Williams, one driver that came to the prayer drive-thru. "That's why I came. I wanted to see how it was done."

Hmmm. I'm sure that many might think that this is an awful concept- making prayer seem trite or impersonal. But I'm thinking of passages like these:

Brothers, pray for us.

Pray without ceasing.

I desire then that in every place the men should pray...

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

While the drive-thru may seem crazy, imagine this scenario. Your pastor is working late one night in his office. A stranger needing someone to listen to him and pray for him is walking by. He sees the light on and knocks on the door, introduces himself and begins to tell his story. Would you expect your pastor to refuse to talk with him? Of course not.

I know it is a little bit wacky for someone to drive-thru when he could park his car and go inside. Then again, your pastor would take a cell phone call from a stranger in a car, wouldn't he? How is that different from a conversation with someone at a drive-thru? I have heard many testimonies from people who say they use their commute time for prayer. Why not stop and pray with someone? And the good news is:

"We promise not to ask if you want fries with that," said Roger Storms, the Chandler Christian Church's pastor.