Category: Christianity

Prophecy or Hex?

A few days ago on this blog, JRB issued his chilling jeremiad vis a vis the haughty Gators:

Very often in the course of human history, as Ecclesiastes teaches, the wicked are elevated while the righteous are made to suffer. We see in scripture that God favors the oppressed while Satan tempts the evil with dominance over others and the promise of great riches and temporal prestige.

We learned in the enlightenment that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Behold the University of Florida Gators. Dread the day of your judgment.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to try to stay on JRB’s good side.… Read the rest

Run Eyeguy! Run!

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama. And that’s what I did. I ran clear across Alabama.

–Forrest Gump.

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.

… Read the rest

In the Hands of The Man Upstairs

He was a Vietnam vet with more than a few miles under the hood. The deep lines of his stubbly face and the sad, saggy eyes bespoke a hardscrabble life and many nights of facing off against Charlie in his dreams.

His vest, with its sleeves shorn from a regulation BDU, was festooned with a motley assortment of buttons, patches and pins:

“God Bless America”

“God, Duty, Country”

“POW*MIA–You Are Not Forgotten”

His automated wheelchair, likewise, was tattooed with various Marine Corps and patriotic stickers. There were two small American flags, one on each armrest, flying proud and strong.

The cigarettes that had helped keep Charlie at bay all these years had left deep and debilitating scars on his lungs, and the nicotine stained tubing from his supplemental oxygen tank looped around his chair, across his weathered face, and into his nostrils, allowing for short, labored breaths.… Read the rest

Keyboard Koping

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6:27

A patient of mine is suffering from depression and anxiety. He’s trying out a new medication and is seeing a psychologist to learn strategies for coping with the stresses and messes of daily living. I saw him recently and asked him how he was doing.

“Much better, Doc, thanks for asking,” he replied. “Whenever my mind starts to get too full, I just hit the ‘Delete’ button.”

Note to self: Give that a whirl. If that doesn’t work, hit “Esc.”

… Read the rest

20 Second Sermons

I’m proud to be representing African American coaches, to be the first African American to win this. This means an awful lot to our country.

But again, more than anything, I’ve said it before, Lovie Smith and I, not only the first two African Americans, but Christian coaches showing that you can win doing it the Lord’s way, and we’re more proud of that.

–Colts coach Tony Dungy following his victory in Super Bowl XLI

It was short and sweet, the best sermon that I had heard (or seen) all day.

Sometimes, 20 second sermons are the very best kind of all.… Read the rest

Shall We Dance? Part III

From the oldest of times, people danced for a number of reasons. They danced in prayer or so their crops would be plentiful… They danced to stay physically fit and to show their community spirit. And they danced to celebrate, and that is the dancing we are talking about. Aren’t we told in Psalms 149, ‘Praise ye the Lord, sing unto the Lord a new song, Let them praise his name in dance.’ It was king David that we read about in Samuel, and what did he do? He ‘danced before the Lord with all of his might, leaping and dancing’… Ecclesiastes assures us that ‘there is a time for every purpose under heaven.’
… Read the rest

Shall We Dance? Part II

Students are not allowed to social dance or go to dance clubs, bars or other inappropriate places of entertainment.

—Harding University Student Handbook, page 11

Another crowd of souls is led in their wantonness to abandon themselves to clumsy motions, to dance and sing, and form rings of dancers. Finally, raising their haunches and hips, they float along with a tremulous motion of the loins.

Arnobius c. 305 CE

Social dance–a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing.

–Wikipedia

Since the early days of the church, Christians, such as Arnobius, have struggled to make peace with the reality that they must live their lives in material bodies, complete with urges, instincts and natural cycles and rhythms.… Read the rest

Shall We Dance? Part I

dancing.jpgA short survey early on this frosty morning:

If you grew up in the Church of Christ, or some other conservative evangelical denomination, were you allowed to dance?

If not, did you dance anyway?

And lastly, if you have children of dancing age, do you allow them to get out on the floor and shake their little boo-tays?

I’m just asking. And yeah, you can bet I’m heading somewhere with this.

Shall we dance? In Part II, we shall see that some Church of Christ kids already have.… Read the rest

O Say, Can You Sing?*

american-flag-thumb.gifThanks to Jenny V for sending me this video of the crowd at Rhodes Memorial Field House singing the Star Spangled Banner (A Cappella, of course) prior to the Harding v. Henderson State game this past Saturday.

If anyone knows of another athletic venue in the country where the entire crowd sings the U.S. National Anthem in four-part harmony, please let me know.

O say, can you sing? If you’re a member of the Church of Christ, you bet your Bible Belt bottom you can.

*This post is dedicated to those very special Harding alumni who break into hives and apoplectic fits at the site of the Stars and Stripes and/or the singing of the National Anthem and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance anywhere on, or near, the grounds of the Harding Campus.… Read the rest