So does anyone have an opinion?
Would you consider this baptism legitimate, if they didn’t use water?
Why or why not…

 
OSLO (Reuters) – A Norwegian church used lemon-flavored cola instead of water in a baptism ceremony after its taps were temporarily turned off because of freezing temperatures, daily Vaart Land said Tuesday. Priest Paal Dale from the town of Stord, about 150 miles west of the capital Oslo, improvised during a recent cold-spell by dabbing the lemon fizzy water on a baby during a baptism ceremony, it said. “It had gone flat,” Dale was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “Only the lemon smell made this unusual.” Dale said the child’s family were informed about the switch only after the ceremony because the priest “had a need to inform” them about the lingering lemon scent. “They didn’t say much, but I assumed they smelled the aroma as well,” Dale told Vaart Land.
(Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa)

OK, this just goes to show that Jesus can use anyone.

I am sorry, this was very serious and sincere at the time.
But I could not resist… look at that hair!
The one looks like the Great Gazoo’s wife.
I know, I know, one day someone will post a picture of me and my hair (what’s left of it), and laugh.
But… look at that hair!

Thankfully, Jesus does not judge us by our hair.
He judges us by our heart.
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. [1 Samuel 16:7]

And if these ladies were sincere, which I’ve no reason to doubt, then the Lord did use them…
Hair and all!

 
OK, here is my question.
Why do so few people leave comments on my blog?
I know that we have between 30 and 40 visitors a day.
Am I that intimidating?
I would really love to hear from you.
Even if you just say “hi”.

There are “ways” of getting people to leave comments.
But this is no time for monkeying around.
So here’s your chance to have some input.
Just a question, with lots of possible answers.
Tell me what you think!
 

Why can’t you tickle yourself (but others can)?

“A Christian by Any Other Name” by Lisa Miller (Article in Newsweek, March 16, 2009)

“Ward Brehm doesn’t call himself a Christian. “I just call myself a follower of Jesus,” says Brehm, a Minneapolis businessman and former chairman of the U.S.-Africa Development Foundation. “It’s a huge difference.” Christian definitions used not to matter so much. People used to be Methodists or Lutherans, Episcopalians or Baptists. Each denomination had its own culture, its ownjokes. A Congregationalist friend once defined himself to me this way: “We’re the ones who fold up the chairs after church to make room for the basketball court.” Outsiders could—and did—make assumptions about their neighbors’ personal habits and politics based on denomination. The United Church of Christ was left-wing. The Southern Baptists leaned to the right. Methodists, Episcopalians and Lutherans fell somewhere in between.

Then, in the 1980s, as nondenominational churches became the fastest-growing segment of American Christianity, a number of Christians cast off their labels. But with this freedom came a challenge: what should this new generation call itself? Initially, some chose “born again,” but after Jimmy Carter and Jerry Falwell, the media always used the term with derision. “Evangelical” eventually came into fashion, but that had disadvantages, too. What kind of evangelical? A conservative evangelical, allied with the powerful religious right? Did that mean fundamentalist? A progressive evangelical? Over the past several years, as evangelicals strained to define themselves and the media strained to comply, Christians fell into narrower and narrower niches—until at last the niches were as narrow as the denominations once were. Continue reading ‘“Jesus Follower” in the news’ »

Thanks for sending this prayer Bob, may many Jesus-followers be encouraged to prepare for the daily battle using this prayer:

Good morning Lord, Thank You for assuring me of victory today, if I will but follow your battle plan. So by faith I claim victory over__________( things that you know you will face today).

To prepare myself for the battle ahead, by faith I put on the belt of truth. The truth about You, Lord-that You are a sovereign God who knows everything about me, both my strengths and my weaknesses. Lord, You know my breaking point and have promised not to allow me to be tempted beyond what I’m able to bear. The truth about me Lord is that I am a new creature in Christ and have been set free from the power of sin. I am indwelt with the Holy Spirit, who will guide and warn me when danger is near. I am your child and nothing can separate me from your love. The truth is that You have a purpose for me this day- someone to encourage, someone to share with, someone to love. Continue reading ‘morning prayer’ »

When Texas pastor Jim Denison was in college, he served as a summer missionary in East Malaysia. While there he attended a small church. At one of the church’s worship services, a teenage girl came forward to announce her decision to follow Christ and be baptized. During the service, Denison noticed some worn-out luggage leaning against the wall of the church building. He asked the pastor about it. The pastor pointed to the girl who had just been baptized and told Denison, ‘Her father said that if she was baptized as a Christian she could never go home again. So she brought her luggage.’ (Raymond McHenry, Stories for the Soul (Hendrickson, 2001), p. 48)

This story shows the seriousness of the decision to follow Jesus. For me it was easy, my family encouraged me to follow Jesus. But would I have made this decision if I had faced rejection like this? I wonder whether the ‘ease’ with which my decision was made makes me less serious in following it through. I wonder whether an ‘easy’ decision to follow Jesus can actually lack depth and conviction. I wonder whether the relatively small cost of following Jesus for me makes it less passionate, less intense. I can drift through my walk with Jesus, not much is at stake. The idea of ‘packing my bags’ makes me think about how much of myself I am investing in following Jesus. Have I packed my bags? Is my whole heart and life invested in being a Jesus-follower?

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden
to work it and take care of it. [Genesis 2:15]

“Practicing the presence of Christ means being a living example of the life of Jesus. This raises the stakes enormously. It means that our lives need to become increasingly aligned with the example of Jesus. It doesn’t require sinless obedience – as if that’s possible anyway. It means, though, increasingly becoming people of justice, kindness, mercy, strength, hope, grace, generosity, and hospitality.”

(A quote from Michael Frost’s Exiles, p.64)

“I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.” – Napoleon

We’re looking at doing this at Crossroads this April!
Check it out, and then read below for more information!

Continue reading ‘faith in action’ »