Grade Six was a Long Time Ago!

This morning I won this tee shirt doing what I do best... losing to the mob.
The mob in this case was 100 elementary students at Lacombe Christian School. They and their teachers ganged up on me in an unfriendly game of 100 vs. 1 (like the tv show). I didn't stand a chance. It was Pastors Appreciation Day at the school so this was their way of toying with me. Instead of asking a Bible-related question they turned to the middle school science curriculum. Science was one of my better subjects in school and electronics was one of my hobbies then, but that was 35 years ago! I missed the question. I think maybe 4 of the 100 students missed the question. So I sat down with my other ministry colleagues and cried.
Actually, I exaggerate a little. It was a friendly game and more than 4 students missed the question. And I didn't really cry. I must admit it was actually fun. Several pastors fared better then I and went home with a tee shirt declaring themselves a winner or a toque with the school logo.
For someone who usually celebrates being correct it was a bit humiliating being beat so easily by the mob. On the other hand, the mob is overrated. I mean the real mob, not the grades 5th and 6th graders at LCS. By the real mob I mean the general public.
Most of the mob that I meet have voted with their absence from Christianity that they do not believe the Bible to be correct. It is either too narrow for their spiritual sensitivities or just plain untrue. I can't always answer the questions the world throws at me, but then the gospel is said to be nonsense to the wise of this world. I lose many of these intellectual battles.
But I will stand proudly on the contestant stage and declare my choice that the Bible is God's Word and contains everything I need for spiritual life. Of course, just having and reading a Bible is not the same as believing and obeying it. So add to my affirmative vote for the Bible's authenticity my devotion to its precepts. I get many things wrongs in life. I get many things wrong in my spiritual life as I try to follow God's Word. But I rise above the mob! Not by my superior intelligence or deeper spirituality or greater devotion. Simply because I put my trust in Jesus as my Deliverer, I rise above.
Good...now I fell better.
See you , later. I'm off to go make me a new tee shirt.

Fitness in 2007

Every new year begins for me with a renewed commitment to get myself into better shape. This year will be no different. My membership at the local recreation center will be used to swim, run, lift weights, play a few sports and keep up my juggling skills. The few extra pounds that I carry all seem to concentrate in a couple of body zones--tummy and tush. This year I have to deal with an extra challenge, a hernia that has worsened over the last year and requires surgery. This, of course, changes what I will do for awhile until I am properly healed.

Being healthy is much more than just having my body in shape. Jesus talked about the mind, soul and spirit, also. Therefore my attention is also focused upon getting into better spiritual health. A small Bible study group with which I meet once a week has just embarked upon a set of studies from Abiding Life Ministries. Our weekly meetings will now be augmented by personal daily devotions which engage us with the material. Then our meetings become a time of sharing and mutual ministry based on the spiritual issues with which each of us wrestles. This regular spiritual exercise helps us grow and strengthen spiritually much like my time at the recreation center will helps me physically. If you are interested in Abiding Life Ministries please follow the link that I place with this blog. Don't be surprised if some of the reflections I share here in 2007 come from this material.
All in all I am looking forward to a boost to my health in 2007, both physically and spiritually. My only apprehension is that some spiritual condition may be identified for which the Lord will prescribe surgery, a sort of spiritual hernia operation.