Bilbo B. wasn’t exactly gifted for an adventure… he simply went along with a game-changing calling.

Here’s my go at the Gospel:

God created the world. He also created man in his image. When he created man, he gave us a gift: free will, or the freedom to make choices. “The fall of man” occurred in the Garden of Eden shortly thereafter when Adam and Eve exercised their free will and sinned, following the instruction of satan disguised as a snake, and disobeying God. Therein lies the problem – the wage for disobedience or sin is death and eternal separation from God. We, as humanity, have royally messed up. Since Adam and Eve, all of humanity has fallen short… we’re all sinners in need of a Savior… there is no other way.

Fortunately, our God is a loving God. So, he sent his son, Jesus, to live a perfect, sinless life on earth in the flesh as a man and to die on a cross as a substitute for our sin, thus providing an opportunity for us. Again, there is no other way. Jesus didn’t come into our world to make bad men good. He came into our world so that dead men can live. Thankful.

Jesus reigns in heaven at this time called the church age and offers us forgiveness for our sins. When we repent from our sins and believe in him we all can have eternal life… If that is our choice. Here’s another cool part of the story: when we belong to God and are a part of His family the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Our human body actually becomes a temple where our living God dwells.

Can you dig it? Or maybe I should say can you feel Him within?

How would you explain the Gospel?

Image courtesy of Jim Pennucci on creativecommons.org

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ET’s communicator… more than the average Carrier Pigeon…

Remember ET? What a cute movie that blockbuster was! An acclaimed and timeless story of friendship, it takes the tenderness of children, the imagination of a genius, and the love of God and blends them in a memorable story that sets our souls ablaze.

The story is pretty straightforward: a “foreigner” comes to a strange land and accidentally gets left behind by his people. Maybe that was a part of his calling or whatever, but the little guy didn’t really jive with all of the locals and gets homesick, so he tries to reach his kinfolk to come get him.

Let’s pause right there: So how DO we know when the current events are in fact God’s will?

Should ET have just stayed here on planet earth and done his best to fit in? He was picking up on the language quickly from the 5 year old Gerthie (played by Drew Barrymore!) as she watches Sesame Street. Or was ET’s illness a sure sign that he needed to make that call so his tribe could come and fetch him?

Discerning God’s will can be confusing sometimes. If “What If” is a mystery this part of our calling doesn’t have to be.

ET connected with Elliott, the 10 year old boy who was his best earthly friend. Their psychic connection was pretty weird (remember, this is just the movies…). It reminds me of how we can connect with the Holy Spirit. ET is inspired to make a communication device while reading a Buck Rogers comic strip. So he needed something a little more jazzed up than an ordinary carrier pigeon, which would routinely suffice around these parts…yes, this device was no ordinary string and two cans… it was a souped up coffee can gadget including a “speak and spell” toy and an umbrella lined with tin foil. Oh snap!!

So I’ve been talking with lots of friends about spiritual connections and the Holy Spirit and what not… it seems not everyone feels or experiences this link. Possibly, if they’re believers, they have experienced the connection but just didn’t recognize it. I know, for me, that I can point to several occasions where I felt or experienced a strong connection. There are many instances where I feel connected, inspired and lead to God’s will though the Holy Spirit, almost daily.

Woe is me to the feeling of being spiritually depleted or empty. Looking for something more but simply having the empty feeling of missing breakfast when midday rolls around. ET connected the dots when he made the call. ET phoned home and completed the circuit. Formed the connection. From that point on things started to happen. ET turned deathly ill right before the spaceship showed up to give him a lift. Time to split the scene and high tail it out of there like the Clampetts hitting oil and heading for Beverly Hills…

Change happens when we recognize the need to improve our situation, and then take action. (Click To Tweet) – This is critical when compelled by the HS. That’s doing things right, and doing the right thing.

So like I feel connected a lot, and in many different ways. It makes me wonder when people who are believers say they don’t frequently or have never experienced a connection with the Holy Spirit whether:

• something is separating them from the Holy Spirit, like sin, or
• maybe they don’t know what to look for, or
• maybe deep down in their heart they don’t believe.

When we believe and are baptized we receive the Holy Spirit. He dwells within us at this point…

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Francis Chan poses the question in his compelling narrative on the Holy Spirit, “Forgotten God” – “If it’s true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, then shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?”

Seriously, it does seem a bit out of whack… the discrepancies we certainly can’t remain oblivious to between someone who is filled with the Spirit vs. those who are not.

I’m certainly no expert on the Holy Spirit and I’m not clear anyone else is either. Chan does an excellent job of deciphering the mystery, much better that I would ever claim to be capable of. However, I do believe Jesus was telling the truth when He said He was sending another “Counselor” who would be just like Him. So, as Chan points out, what could be more appealing in our world today… Jesus standing beside us or the fire of the Holy Spirit alive within us? Jesus came and went with a purpose… it baffles me why so many only chose to accept a portion of the Good News.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:7-8

The Q: How do you feel connected with the Holy Spirit? Do you feel His presence in your everyday life?

Image courtesy of Mattingly23 on wikipedia.com

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Fall means it’s time to get fired up about revival around church. The masses return from summer break filled with a renewed interest in good, structured activities for the family. So what does a fire have to do with revival, or renewal? We generally think of a fire as a bad thing, unless we’re in the wilderness using it for warmth, or to cook, right? Fires also may have a productive role in forest ecology. Indeed, fires are vital to the continued existence of many plants and animals found in the woods.

Wikipedia says, “Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and conifer forests, have evolved with fire as a necessary contributor to habitat vitality and renewal. Many plant species in naturally fire-affected environments require fire to germinate, establish, or to reproduce. Fire suppression not only eliminates these species, but also the animals that depend upon them. Finally, fire suppression can lead to the build-up of flammable debris and the creation of less frequent but much larger and more destructive wildfires.”

What about the brazen, out-of-control wildfires?

Unfortunately they happen. Much like good and evil in the world today there are wicked bad fires that come on like the temper. Yep, fire can destroy lives and wipe out happy homes. Some fires are bad, but the idea that all fires are bad news is utter fallacy.

The 3 elements of a good fire?

Fuel. Kindling to big wood. Think wisdom here. Oh bananas. Jesus brought the fuel for the fire. It’s pure and simple – truth, love and grace. Of course it has to be seasoned… yep, and fall is just the season to do it! Lots of changes occur in the fall – the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter. The fall is a season of color too! All of the colors of a good fire show up in the autumn foliage. Just think about it… this fire is sounding better already, right?

Oxygen. O2 breathes life into a fire like a sense of community brings people together. This makes me think of the Holy O, or Holy Spirit:

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

Spark – an idea. God has this one. The idea came up in Genesis. God brought human life into existence, making him from dust and then breathing life into his nostrils. The Lord spoke combustion, and the rest is history.

The good fire is about renewal, a positive change. When change occurs, wise people find new avenues to constructive ventures. Stubbornness and lack of hope holds others back from the best that God has to offer. Is the perceptible chill sneaking up the spine?

“A good, warm and inviting fire, fueled with the deep, enduring love of Jesus, fanned by the breath of the Holy Spirit, and ignited by the crisp spark of God’s word on the tip of our tongue…” from my book “All Sorts And Conditions Of People: The 7 Essentials Of Extraordinary Relationships.”

What say ye? On board with the good fire, the fall, and revival?

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Photo courtesy of Muy Yum at flickr.com

When I was growing up and while I was in college I worked in a few restaurants. It was funny trying to figure out who really ran a restaurant. It was a lesson in perspective. It seemed to depended on what time of day it was…

• Early in the day, like in the morning, the owner ran the restaurant. He signed the paychecks, and brought it all together.
• Later on, the restaurant manager ran the restaurant. He answered the phone, booked the reservations and big parties, and dealt with any customer complaints or issues.
• At night, the chef ran the restaurant. Ultimately, the chef controls the flow in the restaurant at night. He’s the one making the food and striving for perfection with each dish prepared. He also figures out how to deliver 4 different meals to the same table at the same time.

My point in this post is this: In any restaurant, there are at least 3 key players… the owner, manager and the chef. No one person can fulfill all three of these posts at any one time, unless the restaurant is very small.

So who is running the restaurant? If you thought it may be someone else, you would be correct. Ultimately, the customer drives business, right? They’re the ones who flock in to order the Dover Sole when it’s offered as a special, request a certain waiter and table for a special occasion year after year, and tell 2 friends… who tell 2 friends… and so on… and so on… whoa, wait! That was a shampoo commercial, right? Anyway, I think you get the picture…

The restaurant business is demand driven and service oriented. It’s all about the right location, menu and vibe. A recent survey of the success rate of startup restaurants suggests that one in four is going to fail. That’s high enough to make bankers hesitant to lend to these operations. Their experience tells them that, as a whole, restaurants are risky business. They’re saying that 25% of the loans they make go south.

The 3 key people involved with running the restaurant look to each other for support as a team to make it happen. If they nailed down the location, menu and vibe they’ve got a chance. A solid business plan and financial backing gives them an ever greater opportunity. Then, imagine the customers came too! Yep yep yep, that’s success! But even with all of that there aren’t any guarantees. The bankers have found, like we all know in life, that sometimes our greatest disappointments come from expectations that aren’t met. In our world that continually changes we can count on one thing with absolute certainty:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Yesterday I paused to focus on all of the people and blessings that I have today to be thankful for. I’m so thankful for my family; a strong, healthy relationship with a beautiful, loving woman; the gift of writing; and many more. I’m most thankful for what Jesus did for me so I can have a relationship with Him. I’m thankful for the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life, and for His guidance. God’s word is as relevant today as it was so long ago when it was written.

Who’s running the restaurant? Ultimately, it all comes back to Him. Praise God for another glorious day! And so many excellent restaurants to choose from 🙂

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Just lending a hand with the living water

I don’t find water to be especially tasty. I know I need water to survive, but I wouldn’t include drinking a glass of water as “bucket list” material. This all changes for me if I am very thirsty, like when I’m out for a long run. While I might opt for a refreshing frosty glass of iced tea when I’m chilling or just hanging out, after my run I am ready for water. Preferably cold, but I will drink it however it comes when I’m parched. After a long, hot run, when I’m drenched in sweat and ready to flop, please just give me the water. Think of it this way: In my time of need, I am most satisfied by that which I need the most. (Click To Tweet)

In the book of John, Jesus mentions the living water twice, and we learn that it has a connected, dual meaning:

• As Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well, He reveals where we find satisfaction for our thirsty souls.

“whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13

Quenching the thirst. Not just for one, but for everyone. The woman that Jesus was speaking to at the well was a Samaritan, the mixed race that was hated by the Jews. This is an excellent verse related to unity… that the good news of the gospel is for everybody. Thirsting after God is like a hunger deep down inside, from the soul. If we yearn for satisfaction, eternally speaking, this is the only place to find it. Deep inside our core it lives and breathes, when we accept it. All of it. We humans need this, to be fulfilled, the same as our physical bodies need water to survive. The parallel isn’t just a coincidence, it’s a vital part of the lesson. Scratch that… it is the lesson.

And, the second instance of Jesus teaching about the living water…

• Maybe think of this as the babbling brook, or the real prosperity message.

Jesus said… “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:37

You know, I sort of doubt that it’s pure coincidence that certain parts of the Bible just got stuck together. This second part of the living water is also profound in regards to unity.

Jesus spoke these words at a time just prior to his arrest and persecution. I think that’s relevant for the obvious reason that He wanted the thought to be fresh, so when the Holy Spirit showed up the people would be able to grasp the connection. My Bible highlights the second meaning of living water, the presence of the Holy Spirit in all who believe. That’s the low down, part II. As the living water satisfies our soul, it’s like a breath of fresh air… we exhale with the presence of the Holy Spirit to replenish others. So the Holy Spirit lives within us when we believe, and we have the opportunity to live eternally through the same living water. Getting thirsty?

Looking closely, again, to the place this verse shows up in scripture, and how it relates to unity: people were asking questions, and there were those looking for opportunity to trip Jesus up in their own self-righteous and narrow-minded pursuit. For me, the most troubling part of this living water passage and its place in the Bible is that the people who were persecuting Jesus were religious people.

Pause here and think about oneword… “living” … in both of these passages, living rings to the tune of eternity. Our soul yearns for this, and we’re depriving a thirsty need whenever we resist quenching it. This serves as a parchment to us individually, where we most need a direct, personal relationship with Jesus… and where we may try to substitute a network of defiance to togetherness. This is, I believe, maybe the most resounding fact related to truth and parallel to our need for unity in our world today:

“Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms.” C.S. Lewis (Click To Tweet)

The vibrant message here is one of submission. That’s the low down on the living water, that we get there by submitting to Him, wholeheartedly and obediently. That’s the thing about Jesus… when it comes down to the living water, it’s pretty black or white, all or nothing. There’s just no way around it. If you’re thirsty, there is fulfillment. Just head for the well, where He’s waiting. He won’t disappoint you.

Are you feeling thirsty?

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Plug ‘er In !!!

I can’t imagine there will ever be a writer that could come along and replace William Shakespeare. Much like Beethoven and Mozart, the two great composers of music, the written word just seemed to flow from this Bard fellow…

I never really put much thought into this until recently. Sure, I waded through Theatre Appreciation at the University of Florida. Yea, I remember it well… but it didn’t really move me back then… I took the class for cultural enrichment as an easy elective… classical music, on the other hand, I loved (and likewise, Music Appreciation), but the written word just did not move me all that much in that day and time.

This is the meaningful part… at least to me… and I’m hoping it might inspire you…

I didn’t pick up on this writing thing until much later. Somewhere along the way everything changed. For me, it wasn’t just all of a sudden… it was a gradual transformation. One that I can point to a number of events that moved me in a different direction. Most notably, it was through the power of the Holy Spirit that I was given a gift… a passion… much like that fruit of the Spirit thing… it’s like plugging a lamp into a light socket… the instrument… vehicle… or tool… sort of “comes alive” if you will.

That seems to be what’s sort of transpiring with me at the moment with the Holy Spirit… and with Shakespeare’s poetry… I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to write any poetry, haven’t tried that one just yet… but I am curious and it does speak to me like never before.

So I thought I would write about it… thinking maybe it could help move someone else to follow the Holy Spirit wherever they’re being lead…

Here’s a piece of one of Shakespeare’s sonnets… it’s a love one (hee)… yep, that’s me! It’s believed that through the Sonnets that Shakespeare “unlocked his heart.”

Here’s Shakespeare’s 18th Sonnet…

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

This passage just breathes with love and life to me… stability… and carrying forward our themes of memories connected to everlasting and the perfect eternal beauty… this whole image is more precious than summer… and the crescendo of the exegesis, or interpretation of complexion… the dual meaning, in my perfect example anyway, of inner AND outer beauty…

A form of poetry, the Sonnet, as written by Shakespeare, includes a collection of 154 poems themed on the passage of time, love, beauty and morality.

Foreshadowing… if you know theatre (and me) you know where this is all leading to… Shakespeare… who wrote love and drama in the form of comedy, history and tragedy like no other… and finally… the last romances… blending this with a twist of lemon… toss in a few monkeys, a dash of adventure, and a pinch of sage… you’ve got the recipe for a really good chapter!

Q: Do you feel the Holy Spirit leading you anywhere in particular at this time?

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Marinating can lead to preservation

I love Francis Chan. It’s been a long time since I wrote about him… I shared a funny story about my encounter with “Chan” at a gas station one day… heehee “Hey look, it’s CHAN!!!

Peace and the Holy Spirit…

I’m bringing up Francis today as he wrote a book about the Holy Sprit. The book is Forgotten God. It sits on my nightstand so I guess it’s kind of like the Bible to me. I don’t feel like I really knew the Holy Spirit before I read this book. I would highly recommend it if you want to get to know the Holy Spirit.

Whenever I think about finding peace I think of the Holy Spirit…

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Peace… the world defines it as a lack of conflict. That’s nice and I’m all for that, but it’s not really what true peace is all about. Yep, I can turn my back on conflict, but that doesn’t live the life that Jesus is teaching me… and doesn’t lead to true inner peace or build a sense of community.

“The end result of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives is deep and lasting peace.” That’s from the concordance to my NIV Study Bible. This peace actually comes from the Holy Spirit… that’s what Jesus was saying when he said “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

This single verse is pretty amazing and one worth marinating in for a while…

it will make you want to get to know the Holy Spirit more…

it will help you find peace in a chaotic world…

it will help relieve your fears….

it will help restore your heart to a healthy condition.

… all through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I want to get to know the Holy Spirit better…

… and I want to marinate in this for a while… because marination can lead to preservation!

Please share any interesting tidbits about the Holy Spirit that come to mind…

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Is your tree bearing fruit?

Are you one of those sappy, sentimental people who lives for making beautiful memories? I know I am! To me, good memories are the lifeblood of living in the positive… they provide vitality to everyday events… events that we may take for granted or completely miss if we don’t know how to be ready for them.

How to make a perfect memory? Well, I believe you can’t really plan one… you have to be ready for one.

Here are 2 easy suggestions…

• Build margin into your day. Easier said than done? Maybe. That depends a great deal on your priorities… each and every one of us could fill up our days to overflowing with to-do items, for sure. Identifying the most important and significant priorities will allow you to build an appropriate level of margin into your day… that way, when an opportunity to savor a perfect memory comes up, you’re ready. How do I build more margin in my life? Michael Hyatt’s blog post from yesterday shares some excellent ideas.
• Being readily available with a fruity outlook. A fruity outlook? Yep, you heard right… a fruity outlook! If you maintain living in the Fruit of the Spirit… with a life centered on Him and abundant with joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… then you have a fruity outlook.

How do we get that fruity good stuff?

Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15: 4-5

How we live our lives is paramount to creating spontaneous and beautiful memories… because living a life of loving Jesus… for Him… remembering Him… and growing in Him is the way to the Fruit of the Spirit… and to fabulous, breathtaking memories!

I believe that if we just do these 2 things we’re set up to make perfect memories… and to live a life of exuberance!

Do you have margin and a fruity outlook today? How do you build these in your life?

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The Harvest: the cozy warmth and inviting flame of one of God's love stories

This Is A Love Story, one of a joyful harvest. Blossoming to a beautiful tree from a tiny seed…

This Is A Love Story…
of how God relentlessly pursued one man.

As with any good love story, this one is filled with drama…
romance…
suspense…
good and evil…
betrayal…
deception…

it is also filled with beauty…
joy…
peace…
goodness…
patience…
kindness…
faithfulness…
gentleness…
and self-control…
and, of course, lots of Love!

This Is A Love Story of how our Heavenly Father pursued every stitch of my existence… heart, mind and soul…

To my wonderment, perhaps the most amazing part of this love story is how God kept me here in our fallen world. I look back at some of the turbulence and can’t imagine one surviving without it being God’s will…

and intermittent with extremely stormy weather came some of the most incredible blessings…

once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that just kept coming…

and the amazing feeling of God’s grace and the peace delivered through the presence of the Holy Spirit…

feelings so powerful they’re virtually indescribable.

This Is A Love Story of how a whimsical little boy is caught in a tug-of-war between good and evil…

and how God won!

The Harvest?

This story is still unfolding like the life cycle of a tree… seasoned wood turns to ashes in a good fire… creating fertile soil for the next seed to grow…

and so the season… the cycle… and The Harvest continues…

sowing the seed…
taking root…
the vine and the branches…
chopping wood…
curing…
and the warm cozy fire…

and when the fire goes out is the harvest over?

When there is oil in the lamp, the fire keeps burning bright…

and so the cycle starts over… and the harvest is never ending…

This Is A Love Story that is still unfolding…

thank you for following this story, to God goes all the glory 🙂

I’m writing today as a contributor to the Christian Writers Blog Chain. Our theme for this month is The Harvest. Christianwriters.com is an excellent place to network if you’re a Christian writer or author.

Christian Writers Blog Chain

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the tribe has spoken

The second season of Survivor I nearly applied. The application was printed out, my video for the submittal was in the making, and the deadline was on the radar screen. I was hooked on the TV show and thought it would be fun to participate. Now I’m not so sure about Survivor. Though I would try Wipe Out in a heartbeat!! While Survivor remains very popular in our culture, and I still watch it occasionally, I must admit I don’t see much in this show that would entice one to be a good Christian.

So I came up with an alternative reality show: “The Fruity 1”

The Fruity 1 would survive on this TV show by being the most like Jesus, as determined by how much they resemble the virtues described as “the fruit of the Spirit.”

The reward: Maybe a humongous mansion in Heaven, and for eternity, right down the street from Jesus’ crib.

Here’s how the contest might go…

Day 1: ok, so Probst (he’s cool so we’ll let him host this one too) starts them off with an easy one, a question… What’s the theme of the greatest commandment in the Law? Hint: It’s a 4-letter word that comes up quite often at I’m Just Thinkin’… if you guessed L-O-V-E you’re absolutely correct! Most of the players in the game of The Fruity 1 move on to Day 2.

Day 2: A seesaw is set up in an open area surrounded by rainforest (the rainforest has no purpose in this challenge other than this is a Survivor spoof!). Each contestant takes a turn balancing the seesaw, standing with one foot on each side of its pivot point. A barrel full of monkeys is brought out… big apes, representing hardships are placed on the left side of the seesaw, while small chimps, representing prosperity or good times, are placed on the right side. The test: can the Survivors balance “the seesaw of true J-O-Y” irregardless of how the monkeys stack up (i.e., their circumstances) ???

does 1 really want to be this fruity?

Day 3: Editorial Note: Three additional contestants bail out of the competition voluntarily at this point… it seems they have realized what the competition, and “the fruit of the Spirit” is actually all about, and have decided that they’re really not all that interested in it. Instead of wanting to follow Jesus, they would rather enjoy themselves here on earth, live in sin and roll the dice on whether this God thing is for real… i.e., they have opted for that which is seen instead of that which is unseen… and if they get to Heaven they’ll settle for living in a shack without air conditioning or screen windows… P-E-A-C-E be with you my friend!!

Day 4: Each 1 is lowered into a quicksand pit and pulled out just before the tip of their nose vanishes… as you may be aware, a survivor in quicksand will be the one who can remain still the longest, and thus the test for P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E… the Survivor with the shortest time on the clock is out of the running.

Day 5: The remaining contestants are each given Immunity – a hall pass today to continue on… because God shows us the ultimate example of K-I-N-D-N-E-S-S 🙂

steer clear of rogue narwhals

Day 6: The tribesmen are taken out on a Zodiac boat, and, miles from shore, a rogue narwhal shows up and punctures the Zodiac, sinking it. “Ok, now what? How can God possibly turn this situation out for our good?” some of the group members question. Others remember Romans 8:28: “For we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” And along come a group of dolphins, and the peeps are towed piggyback to shore. Oh My G-O-O-D-N-E-S-S 🙂

Day 7: After spending the day in the desert, Probst asks the contestants to follow him to Canaan, the land of milk and honey. However, a group of natives (i.e., “gossipy spies”) insight rebellion and try to talk the contestants out of it, suggesting that they can’t possibly overcome a formidable foe that lies ahead. (I know, this is SO Old Testament!) Do they follow??? And display F-A-I-T-H-F-U-L-N-E-S-S???

Day 8:  The competition gets rough as each contestant is taken to an open circle where they stand next to a pile of stones. In the center of the circle, a slitherly snake appears… the image of the evil one… no instruction is provided to the Survivors… what happens next?? One of them sends a stone sailing at the snake… a direct hit… and is eliminated from the game (you see, while it’s tempting to try to take out the devil, he really has no power over us that we can’t take on with God on our side – so we should always emulate G-E-N-T-L-E-N-E-S-S).

Day 9: The final test… though the game has ended, the real test has just begun for the winner, who now must do their best to live by The Word every day of their life-in-the-flesh to receive the sweet crib in Heaven. Will they have the S-E-L-F C-O-N-T-R-O-L to do it?

What do you think, would you ever consider Survivor? How about Wipe Out? Or maybe The Fruity 1?

The post The Fruity 1 first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

The post The Fruity 1 appeared first on I'm Just Thinkin'.