Firecracker or Dynamite?

Here's a devotional thought that I discovered in my archives today. I wrote it several years ago but the message applies as much today as it ever has...maybe more.

“We preach a dynamite gospel but live a firecracker life.” - source unknown

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens violently erupted after being dormant for 123 years. Incredible power was unleashed. The cloud of ash literally turned day into night. Communities were virtually immobilized. 26 lakes, 154 miles of trout streams and 195 square miles of wildlife habitat were destroyed. Powerful !!! 1,200 feet were ripped off the top of a 9,700 foot volcano.

From the time dynamite was first produced in 1867 by Alfred Nobel until now, we have witnessed incredible demonstrations of power but we’ve only seen glimpses of what the “real” power behind this universe is like. The truth is that we haven’t begun to comprehend the limitless power of an eternal God. Each year on Easter Sunday we celebrate a display of God’s power when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. That same power which raised Christ from the grave is now at work in the lives of those who are followers of Jesus. – Ephesians 1:19,20

The apostle Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” – Romans 1:16 The same power that raised Jesus can save us from our sins. It is the power of God. The word “power” here, is derived from the Greek work, “dunamis” from which we get our English word, dynamite. Human power is limited but God’s creative and saving power is limitless.

The apostle Paul’s prayer was, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings…“ (Philippians 3:10)

The great preacher from the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon, once said, “If Niagara could suddenly be made to leap upward instead of forever dashing downward from its rocky height, it were not such a miracle as to change the perverse will and raging passions of men. Conversion is a work comparable to the making of a world . . . all other labors are child’s play compared with renewing a right spirit in the fallen nature of man.”

Yes, the gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful, it’s dynamic, it’s life-changing but that same power that transformed us from a sinner to a forgiven, child of God is available to us as Christ’s followers to enable us to live holy, meaningful, fruitful lives.

Too many Christians are sputtering through life when we have the resources to live abundantly.

As Christians, we have the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to equip and enable us to live victoriously. He gives us power to:

FORSAKE our fears.
FLEE the temptations that seek to trip us up.
FACE the trials and disappointments that are a part of everyday living.
FULFIL His calling to be Spirit-filled followers and disciple makers of Jesus Christ.

Like the apostle Paul, we should not be ashamed of the life-changing gospel that transforms mankind but we should also live daily . . . empowered by the Holy Spirit who enables us to live dynamite lives . . . not firecracker ones.

THE CHOICE IS YOURS !!!

The Centrality of the Cross

This morning I had the pleasure of leading the communion service at our church. The Lord had been challenging me recently about the centrality of the cross and I shared several thoughts with our people on that topic.

Here is an A-Z listing of a number of things that transpired when Christ took our place at the cross, securing our redemption:

A – His AGONY & ANGUISH provided for our ATONEMENT
B – His BLOOD, His BRUISING and His BROKENNESS provided BLESSING and eternal BENEFITS
C – His CRUCIFIXION brought CLEANSING and a CLEAR CONSCIENCE
D – His DEATH gave us DELIVERANCE
E – His EXCRUCIATING death gave us ETERNAL life
F – Through the FOOLISHNESS of the cross we received FORGIVENESS & FAVOUR with the FATHER.
G – His GRIEF brought us GLORY. Our GUILT was replaced by His GRACE
H – His HANDS gave us HOPE and HEAVEN
I – His INFINITE loss became our INDESCRIBABLE gain
J – Instead of being JUDGED we were JUSTIFIED
K – He was KILLED but I became a child of the KING through His death
L – His LOVE gave us LIFE
M – His MARRING (Isaiah 52:14) brought us MERCY (Mercy there was great and grace was free)
N – His NAILS brought us NIGH and made us NEAR to God
“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)
“Near, so very near to God, Nearer I cannot be; for in the Person of His Son, I am as near as He!”
O – His ORDEAL gave me OVERCOMING power
P – His PAIN provided PROPITIATION, PARDON & PEACE
Q – His QUEST to do His Father’s will led to my QUICKENING (new life)
R – His REJECTION led to REDEMPTION, RECONCILIATION, REST & RIGHTEOUSNESS
S – His SUFFERING, SHAME & SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE provided SALVATION & SECURITY
T – His THORNS lead to TRIUMPH
U – His UNDYING commitment to His Father brought us into UNION with the Godhead
V – His seeming VANQUISHING defeat turned into VICTORY
W – His WOUNDS led to our WORSHIP. Instead of God’s WRATH we became WORTHY in and through Him.
X –
Y –
Z –

Here's your homework! Let me know what to use for XYZ. Thanks and remember to thank Him for the cross!

Big Night For Little Fish

Big Fish (me) just got home from Ottawa where I watched Little Fish (Mike Fisher) have a big game against the Senators' rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. They whitewashed them 7-0 and have now outscored the Leafs 23-2 in their last three meetings.

My friend David Kennedy and I watched from the Senators' Alumni Box as my nephew went in alone on Ed Belfour and lifted a shot over his outstretched body. What an exciting game! It was the first time I'd seen Mike score an NHL goal in person.

CONGRATULATIONS, Mike! On Friday I conducted a chapel for the Sens and had a great response from the guys.

Mike Fisher had a strong game for the Senators, scoring two goals and an assist during a 7-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Scotiabank Place. With 16 goals now, Fisher is just two off his career high of 18 set during the 2002-03 season. Photo: Freestyle Photography/OSHC

Stay In The Secret Place

Every morning I receive an e-mail devotional taken from one of A. W. Tozer's books. Here is today's offering:

"My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up." -Psalm 5:3

Retire from the world each day to some private spot, even if it be only the bedroom (for a while I retreated to the furnace room for want of a better place). Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God's presence envelops you.

Deliberately tune out the unpleasant sounds and come out of your closet determined not to hear them. Listen for the inward Voice till you learn to recognize it. Stop trying to compete with others. Give yourself to God and then be what and who you are without regard to what others think.

Reduce your interests to a few. Don't try to know what will be of no service to you. Avoid the digest type of mind--short bits of unrelated facts, cute stories and bright sayings.

Learn to pray inwardly every moment. After a while you can do this even while you work.

Practice candor, childlike honesty, humility. Pray for a single eye. Read less, but read more of what is important to your inner life.

Never let your mind remain scattered for very long. Call home your roving thoughts. Gaze on Christ with the eyes of your soul. Practice spiritual concentration.

Taken from "Of God and Men" - pgs. 128-129

"Lord, I need all of these practical suggestions. Direct me today to those things that would most enhance my walk with you, and enable me to serve You better. Amen."

Blogger Found Dead

Sad news indeed! When I arrived at work last night I found that my blogging buddy had died! Sure, there was a pulse, but no post. The guy who used to write such profound things had fallen off the bloggin' wagon. Poor thing! Tomorrow I'm conducting a funeral for the guy unless, of course, he comes to life and posts something before I give him the last rites. Come on Brodie! Get writing! It's wrong to hide that talent!

Your blogging mentor,

Big Fish

Check out Brodie's blog at http://www.hopeofhiscalling.blogspot.com
Hopefully he'll get back to his calling!

What Road Are You On?

"I took the road less traveled by and

that has made all the difference."

- Robert Frost

How's Your Vision?

How is your vision? Do you care?

What about those who have never

heard that Jesus loves them?

Who will tell them?

Will you?

Will I?

A Pun(y) Attempt

A pun(y) attempt to be punny...

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot his whole life, which created an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him frail, and with his odd diet, he suffered from very bad breath. This made him.... what?

This is so bad it's good...

- a super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.


And finally, there was a person who sent 10 puns to some friends in hopes at least one of the puns would make them laugh.

Unfortunately, no pun in ten did. Get it? No pun intended!

Sorry friends, I just had to share these.

Patricia's Prayer

Recently one of the young men on the Peterborough Petes lost his special aunt to cancer. I attended the pre-funeral visitation where I picked up a memorial folder concerning this wonderful lady. The following prayer was included. As we've begun another year, my desire is to make this prayer my own as I grow closer to Abba, the God who loves me relentlessly.

Here's Pat's prayer:

Jesus, my Savior, Friend and Lover...
I pray You will gift me with...
Diligence to seek You,
Wisdom to find You,
Understanding to really know You,
Fidelity to follow You,
Friendship to embrace You,
Intimacy to be profoundly in love with You,
Discernment to make life-giving choices with You,
Inner freedom to go anywhere with You,
Commitment to do any ministry with You,
Poverty to be poor with You,
Chastity to love You,
Obedience to do Abba's will with You,
Willingness to suffer with You,
Courage to die with You and...
Happiness with Abba, with You, and Your Spirit
in the fullness of life and love without end.
AMEN

Three Granddaughters

Here's a shot of three of our granddaughters taken between Christmas and New Years. From left to right, Carissa, Daynica and Victoria. Ris and Dee (as Nicole refered to them, belong to Tim and Nicole), Victoria belongs to Brad.

Twin Groaner

I couldn't resist posting this crazy pun. Hope you get a laugh!

A woman has twins then gives them up for adoption. One goes to an Egyptian family and is named "Ahmal" The other is sent to a Spanish family and is named "Juan". Years later, Juan sends his birth mother a picture of himself. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. He replies, "They're twins for Pete's sake!! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal!"

Look Out, I'm Back

Look out! I'm back to the blogosphere from Orlando, Florida where our family spent a wonderful week, compliments of a very generous Christian family. Pictures to follow later.

I've missed my blogging buddies and I've been surfing the net to see what you've written. I've also had to sift through over 350 e-mails. One of those e-mails pointed out the craziness of our English language.

Here are some examples:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present!

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Crazy eh!

Have a great weekend! It's good to be back!

Bye Bye Blogger

Just a brief note to let you know that Pilgrim Scribblings will be taking a brief time-out for about 9 days. The pilgrim (or the scribbler) or both, has not been well and I'm taking a much-needed rest. Thanks for your prayers, fellow pilgrims. May you sense the Shepherd's leading and His goodness as you follow Him.

Be back soon, dear friends!

David

Great Guests, Sick Host

Our son and daughter-in-law visited us on New Year's Day. It was good to see Tim & Nicole and the kids again. We were with them between Christmas and New Years but I spent most of that evening laying down on a bed at my brother Jim's house.

On New Year's Day I wasn't much better. Several times I had to go to our bedroom to have a rest. Tim had brought me home from the hospital the day before after spending a couple of days there with a skin infection on and in my head...cellulitis.

Tim and Nicole gave us this great family picture for Christmas. Josiah (left) and Daynica (right) are twins. Carissa, between Josiah and Tim, turned 10 last month. We love our kids and grandkids and thank God for them.

God's Best In 2006

Dear Friends:

What a year we had in 2005! What an adventure! What a trip! What a venture into the unknown! But God walked with us every step of the way and showed Himself strong, mighty to save and able to keep. We praise Him for revealing Himself throughout the journey. Many times He used friends like you to point towards "home", take our hands and encourage us along the way. What a mighty God we serve!

Carol joins me in wishing you God's best as we launch out into another year. May you know the peace of God and His wonderful provision in ways you've never known before. May His Son, Jesus, become more precious as you trust Him more!

David's Health Update...

As I mentioned in an earlier update, I've spent much of the last week in the hospital. Carol took me back in to Emergency early Thursday morning. The doctors determined that I have cellulitis of the skin (around my face) and treated me agressively with antibiotics intravenously. They admitted me Thursday morning and I was able to come home yesterday (Saturday) around noon. I'll continue to take the antibiotics for another week. Thanks for your prayers over the next few days. I'm still very weak and tired.

While laying on my hospital bed the other morning the Lord gave me a brief poem of praise. I was grateful for the protection of God's angelic hosts who attend to Christian believers in our time of need. Here are the lyrics:

Holy, Holy, Almighty God
Enthroned in glorious splendor on high;
From whence He gives His angels charge
To guard and keep us in all our ways,
For this we offer our endless praise
For this we offer our endless praise.

May you trust Him more as we move into a brand new year.

Gratefully,

David