I'M TIRED...

I'm tired of rising gas prices. Or more to the point, I'm tired of the reasons that are given for rising gas prices.

Rising demand globally plus stagnant supply ... ok, I know that if demand increases while supply stays the same, that creates a shortage and prices go up, but how can a Scottish strike possibly cause a shortage at the local shell station that same day?

The truth is that prices are the way they are because oil is traded on the commodities market. Investors speculating on whether or not oil will be flowing as freely tomorrrow as it is today are causing the prices at the pump to skyrocket. If oil-related bad news (such as a Scottish labor strike at a refinery) surfaces, investors buy commodities today in hopes of selling tomorrow for high profits. How does the market reflect increasing demand for oil commodities? The price rises. As the prices of a barrel of oil rise, gas prices tend to rise also.

How do we deal with it? Take oil off the commodity market. Or better yet, do away with the commodity market altogether. Let billionaires find another game to play.

ON THE ANVIL (by Max Lucado)


UpWords from Max Lucado
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Week of April 25
Anvil Timeby Max Lucado
On God's anvil. Perhaps you've been there.

Melted down. Formless. Undone.
Placed on the anvil for...reshaping? (A few rough edges too many.)
Discipline? (A good father disciplines.)
Testing? (But why so hard?)

I know. I've been on it. It's rough. It's a spiritual slump, a famine.
The fire goes out.
Although the fire may flame for a moment, it soon disappears.

We drift downward. Downward into the foggy valley of question, the misty lowland of discouragement. Motivation wanes. Desire is distant. Responsibilities are depressing.

Passion? It slips out the door.
Enthusiasm? Are you kidding?

Anvil time.

It can be caused by a death, a breakup, going broke, going prayerless.
The light switch is flipped off and the room darkens.
"All the thoughtful words of help and hope have all been nicely said. But I'm still hurting, wondering....."

On the anvil.

Brought face to face with God out of the utter realization that we have nowhere else to go.
Jesus in the garden.
Peter with a tear-streaked face.
David after Bathsheba.
Elijah and the "still, small voice."
Paul, blind in Damascus.

Pound, pound, pound.

I hope you're not on the anvil. (Unless you need to be, and if so, I hope you are.)
Anvil time is not to be avoided; it's to be experienced.
Although the tunnel is dark, it does go through the mountain.
Anvil time reminds us of who we are and who God is.
We shouldn't try to escape it. To escape it could be to escape God.

God sees our life from beginning to end. He may lead us through a storm at age thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty.
An instrument is useful only if it's in the right shape. A dull ax or bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we.
A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God.

Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you're still worth reshaping.

From On the Anvil:Stories On Being Shaped Into God's Image
This is a new edition of Max's first book. It contains an updated forward, written by him, as well as thoughtful questions for each chapter.

© (Tyndale House, 1985, 2008) Max Lucado.

I just read an article on Yahoo where President Bush, when asked what he saw in Pope Benedict's eyes (in reference to the President's statement that he saw Putin's soul in the Russian president's eyes), said he saw God.

If you look up the word "pope" in a thesaurus, one synonym it will throw out is "holy father."

Jesus said "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven." (Matthew 23:9 NASB).

Brian

US MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD WILL BE WEAPON IN ANTICHRIST'S FUTURE EMPIRE

The headline says it plainly: the missile defense shield will be a weapon in the future. I am not saying that President Bush is the Antichrist or will be. I am no speculating who the Antichrist is. I have no idea, to be honest, nor do I worry about it. My future is secure because I have put my faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

There are those who are reading this, however, that do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If you are one of those, then you can do something about it: put your faith in Christ!

The Bible says that we are all sinners, that we were born that way because of the curse that Adam's sin carried through to us all. The Bible also says that the wages of sin is death. This means that the cost of having unforgiven sin in your life when you die is eternal separation from God in the next life. You would be in hell.

But the Bible also says that those who place their trust in God's Son, Jesus, can be sure of their future. Jesus said to the criminal who asked Him to remember him in His kingdom, "today you will be with me in paradise."

Right now, pray to God for forgiveness for your sins. Ask Him to change your life, see things from His perspective, and start doing things His way.

Call 1-800-Need-Him to speak to someone waiting to pray with you. They're 24/7.

Brian.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD REPORTS INCREASES IN NUMBERS OF ABORTIONS, REVENUES

I just read this article on Crosswalk.com. Read it, please.

Brian

Have you ever asked yourself "how can I be an effective door-to-door minister?" Probably not. I know I didn't. My first experience with ministry was driving a van for a downtown shelter. Every other Sunday or so, I picked up whomever wanted to come to church from the shelter and drove them back afterwards. Then my wife and I went to L.A. and spent a week at the Dreamcenter. Being there opened my eyes in many ways. First, that God was working to reach everyone everywhere. Second, that there are so many needs in the world to limit yourself by tackling just a couple. Third and most important, all God wants from us is obedience and our best effort (He'll take care of the rest.)

Only until recently did I realize it's not my responsibility to save the world. Jesus Christ did that already. He's provided the way through His work on the cross. By taking that responsibility for myself, I burned out very quickly and our ministry disbanded. We moved out of town. That was almost four years ago.

Now I know my biggest mistake was trying to do God's work for Him, to "help" Him (as if He needed it) by pushing for results. All along He just wanted me to show up, give Him my best, and leave the rest to Him.

Jesus said He came to give us abundant life. He wants us to live. I'm not saying to live for yourself. No, Paul said to live is Christ, to die is gain. In other words, our lives are His. We are His vessels. What I am saying is you have to love it. The ministry has to be part of you, or rather, a showing of the work of Christ in you.

Operating in ministry under anything else than God's love and power is just flesh and therefore sin.

I was reading some older posts for this blog and came upon the one I wrote about Trenton Duckett. There's a website, helpfindtrenton.com, that has updates and so forth. I pray something happens for this family. Not knowing is hard.

Brian