More on Israel's War

Violence Escalates
The Washington Post features a photo spread of the war in the East. As the intro message warns, some pictures are graphic, but they made the situation more real in my mind. If you're grappling with the event half the globe away like me, take a look at the photos with captions.

Even So...
I once heard a minister say that she had prayed for God to delay His coming so more souls could be reached. But then she was convicted because it seemed contrary to a belief in His sovereignty and faith in His perfect Will. I thought about that. I guess the answer is that we should live every day as if He were coming that night. But it's so easy to get tangled in day-to-day life. The world is too much with us...

Source: The Washington Post

Source: CNN, Getty Images

War in the East.... End of the End Times?

O I Want to See Him
Do we really believe God is coming soon? I'm curious. We are supposed to, right? I realized tonight how off my filter is for that. I see the headlines about war in the Middle East, subconsciously murmur "oh, that again" and keep moving. I'm being honest. Since that region has such a long history of violence, it doesn't affect me anymore.

When the Roll Is Called...
I'm not alone (it's just that much sadder since I'm an Apostolic who should realize the significance). As of 10:30 p.m. tonight, the escalation of war in the East is not the top story on any of my frequented news sites. I had to go to FOXNews for a cover story. I definitely wouldn't have even known it had I not spoken with my pastor's wife tonight. She and my pastor have grave concerns and understand the Biblical implications.

Won't We Have a Time?
Meanwhile I'm still trying to fathom it. I know I've touched on this before, but is a disconnection from the realization that the Lord is returning soon a generational deficit, a lack of spirituality personally, or a sign of our materialistic American culture and complacency with current life as we know it?

Tobacco Fatalities and Maque Choux Recipe

The Good
A great site passed on to me today:

Ban Comic Sans

I’m applying for charter membership. Ick re: comic sans font.

The Bad
Perhaps you saw this headline on MSN:

Tobacco Expected to Kill 1 Billion People this Century

Disturbing, isn’t it? You’d think that percentage would be down based on all of the scientific evidence we have today, but health officials actually project the fatality rate will be ten times worse than the last century.

And the Tasty
I’m on the road this week for work, and one of the highlights is getting to sample the local cuisine. Woo! Tonight we ate at the Blue Dog Café in Lafayette. The big draw is the art work of George Rodrigue. But I had Chicken Bayou Teche—basically a chicken breast stuffed with seafood and topped with bacon rotel sauce. Yummy.

One standard side item was maque choux. This is basically a Cajun corn dish. Since the subject came up, someone at the table shared their secret recipe. I thought I would share it:

Boil corn on the cob. Scrape all the corn off and squeeze out all the juice. Add the cajun holy trinity (sautéed onions, bell peppers, and celery). Add crawfish (optionally) and any crawfish juice from sautéing the crawfish. Add seasonings and let simmer till ready.

Blue Dog Artwork by George Rodrigue

Blood Drive Time: The Church Takes on Community Service

The Church's Place in the Community
Have you ever observed that churches sometimes resemble little fiefdoms? I understand that there are general guidelines for our respective organizations, but beyond our mutually shared doctrine, each church's identity is largely determined by its leader, its people, and certainly its community. (FYI - Get the Because of the Times(?) tape where Bro. T.F. Tenney spoke on the need for pastors to be in covenant with the land, i.e. their city/town.)

What I mean is this--no two churches are exactly alike because no two communities are exactly alike. I think that's a big reason that each church has its own feel. And I've always been interested to see the church's role in the community it serves.

Long Story Short
This morning a lady spoke to our church and asked for blood donors. We're doing a large blood drive, I suppose for the sake that it serves a very real need and because it's a way to be involved in our community(?). I'm trying to psych myself up for it. I've only given blood once and almost passed out, so I’ve been a big baby about it since then. So while the blood drive lady was speaking, the selfish side of me screamed No, but I claim to believe in the importance of helping those in need, so my guilt is hopefully getting the better of me.

Report Card
Meanwhile I'm wondering if the Oneness movement has even scratched the surface of its challenge to be community minded and involved? I understand that Rev. Matt Maddix spoke this week at our Louisiana Camp from the pure religion text and preached very urgently about the responsibility of the church at large to those outside its walls.

I said individual churches resemble fiefdoms in the way they each are different and have their own unique relationships with their towns/cities. My discussion topic today, should you choose to accept it, is: to what degree should a church serve its community? Obviously we begin with a spiritual appeal, but to what degree do we need to serve our community beyond that? Is the “everything else will take care of itself after spiritual needs are met” concept outdated? Or is “community service” in the sense of canned food drives, soup kitchen service, etc a generational thing? I realize that each fiefdom, or individual church, will have its own formula. But as a whole, where is the Oneness movement with community service?