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Have You ever spent time alone with God in prayer and not said one word? Not waiting for His voice necessarily . Just kneeling to profound to talk. Absorbing yet not understanding what's going on. Alone with your thoughts of Him. With Him. No time limit. Not rehearsed. In Awe. Not making sense. Floods of knowing words do not mean a thing right now. Struck dumb in awe. Afraid this will too will be fleeting. Wanting to carry that around all day with you. Just walk and work and play with that moment in your head. All the day. Later seeing someone you know you should ask Forgiveness from. And in humility confess to the other. Hands in theirs Tears in the eyes. Words are not good enough it seems all over again..

[Read]Psalm 36:6 ... all creation groans..... The more I sit at His Feet, the more I see the care and love for what I care and love.

We have a couple new members who are enthusiastic and passionate to change their lives drastically from their former ways. As a result they are scrutinizing EVERYTHING that goes on in the church. We found the children't story has gotten a little out of hand - taking up too much of the service, particularly. So we decided to make guidelines for the story tellers. Mostly that they should keep it brief and have a spiritual lesson if not a bible story. This Sabbath the adult told of a real experience of two boys over a Blue Jays had that was signed by Robbie Alomar. His special best friend grabbed his precious hat and ground it into the mud with his foot. He ended up with his hat being washed but he wouldn't talk to his friend for 10 years. . . . they found forgiveness and lost all those years over being unforgiving that long. This upset the aforementioned member and said the Spirit has been convicting him about these secular things coming into the curch . I felt the story was very appropriate and wonder what you all think.

Recently I was party to a strange but interesting conversation. I have recently read Nikola Tesla's autobiography entitled, "My Inventions." Tesla had extraordinary powers of intuition and visualisation as well as an enhanced sense of hearing. He desired to use his inventions for the betterment of the world. Even his "death ray" device was intended as a defensive weapon in the light of the newly-formed and threatening Third Reich. His greatest idea was the transmission of wireless power. He foresaw back then wireless communication which would include images and dissolve the problem of distance that they faced back in his day. Occultism raged during his time. He mentions once nearly tossing out a delegation from Henry Ford for some occultic suggestion within a business proposal. He felt that occurrences deemed to be occultic would eventually be explained through science and did not believe them to be spiritual. This discussion morphed into one of dimensions. It brings to mind a talk by Rob Bell where he pictured that in a two-dimensional world if you stuck your 3-dimensional hand into the plane of existence of someone in a two-dimensional world, all that person would discern of your hand would be a line. Your fingers would appear to them as 5 lines. But you with your 3-dimensional existence know for certain the appearance of your hand. God inhabits a dimension that is beyond us, where time and matter are different and transcend what we are able to understand. He calls us just to believe and trust what He tells us in His word. It sounds spacey but scientifically-speaking, Why not?

9 Traits of Church Bullies By Thom Rainer ........... “Church bullying is epidemic in many of our congregations.” Church bullies are common in many churches. They wreak havoc and create dissension. They typically must have an “enemy” in the church, because they aren’t happy unless they are fighting a battle. They tend to maneuver to get an official leadership position in the church, such as chairman of the elders or deacons or treasurer. But they may have bully power without any official position. Church bullies have always been around. But they seem to be doing their work more furiously today than in recent history. Perhaps this look at nine traits of church bullies can help us recognize them before they do too much damage. . 1. They do not recognize themselves as bullies. To the contrary, they see themselves as necessary heroes sent to save the church from her own self. . 2. They have personal and self-serving agendas. They have determined what “their” church should look like. Any person or ministry or program that is contrary to their perceived ideal church must be eliminated.. . 3. They seek to form power alliances with weak members in the church. They will pester and convince groups, committees and persons to be their allies in their cause. Weaker church staff members and church members will succumb to their forceful personalities. . 4. They tend to have intense and emotional personalities. These bullies use the intensity of their personalities to get their way. . 5. They are famous for saying “people are saying.” They love to gather tidbits of information and shape it to their own agendas. See my previous post on this one item. . 6. They find their greatest opportunities in low-expectation churches. Many of the church members have an entitlement view of church membership. They seek to get their own needs and preferences fulfilled. They, therefore, won’t trouble themselves to confront and deal with church bullies. That leads to the next issue, which is a consequence of this point . 7. They are allowed to bully because church members will not stand up to them. I have spoken with pastors and church staff who have been attacked by church bullies. While the bully brings them great pain, they have even greater hurt because most of the church members stood silent and let it happen. . 8. They create chaos and wreak havoc. A church bully always has his next mission. While he or she may take a brief break from one bullying mission to the next, they are not content unless they are exerting the full force of their manipulative behavior. . 9. They often move to other churches after they have done their damage. Whether they are forced out or simply get bored, they will move to other churches with the same bullying mission. Some bullies have wreaked havoc in three or more churches.

I think the story was very appropriate. Relationships between friends – and arguments that can injure the relationships – are very important to God. Not everyone is going to be touched in the same manner by the same story. Sometimes new [and old] members can be overzealous and critical. Probably the best way to deal with them is to thank them for their input.... smile, and continue with the guidelines that are in place for the children's stories..

It just might be because Obama inserts himself into what he considers wrong doing if it concerns black or Muslim,but is strangely silent if it concerns Christian. From the very beginning of his presidency he began by saying a white cop had behaved stupidly dealing with what he thought was a black intruder. Even admitting he knew nothing of what had happened the white cop still behaved stupidly.He has continued to do so

"Gay" would be better... "GFC" sounds too much like "KFC", and I'd feel like I was conversing with a chicken...

A minister who was very fond of pure, hot horseradish always kept a bottle of it on his dining room table. Once, at dinner, he offered some to a guest, who took a big spoonful.The guest let out a huge gasp. When he was finally able to speak, he choked out, "I've heard many ministers preach hellfire, but you are the first one I've met who passes out a sample of it."

Why would I film a black officer? We all know black officers are immune from the corruption that exists police departments accross the country !!! I think there was a study that said black officers usually let black suspects off. I would definitely film a Native American officer if he couldn't prove his Native American Hertiage. For example if he was claiming to be Cherokee and could not prove the 1/32 Cherokee in his lineage then the camera would have to come out.

A question by the pastor of the church where I am a member. http://www.chadnstuart.com/2015/04/a-sincere-inquiry-to-those-opposed-to-womens-ordination/

As we can see, the vision of the 4 Beasts rising out of the sea of people occurs during the time of the end. Within this relatively short time period the sacrifices are ended, and, 1290 days later (3.6 years), the abomination of desolation is set up to be worshipped. Although some believe that 1290 days=1290 years, it's the same ruler who ends the sacrifices and sets up the abomination of desolation. He must be a long-liver indeed. Daniel was given visions of the Time of the End, a period where all have been resurrected in order for them to make an informed choice as to whom they will serve. (The 144K are resurrected 1K years earlier.) Likewise, the book of Rev is about End Time events, not history. Many believe the Time of the End first started when Nebuchadnezzar began his reign several thousand years ago, but I believe that they have been misled. Time of the End refers to a much shorter time period, just a few years in length, which occurs, believe or not, during the Last Days of planet Earth, probably less than 7 years in duration. Was there ever a time in history when Nebuchadnezzar wielded this kind of power? His first kingdom was far from being a superpower, rather, it was just a small country about the size of Texas. The message to Nebuchadnezzar was to inform him that during the time of the end he would be the ruler of the entire inhabited world for a brief time. huh?

I will share my impression of the aqua. You don't have to have seas to have sea creatures. Couldn't the fair land have large bodies of water here and there like a Lake Tahoe or a Lake Superior? Very freshwater lakes fed by the River of Life from His Throne. Or not. Huge ponds fed by tributaries and streams with little creaks running on your property out in the country. Huge Lakes as big as states with little islands as big as counties with small lagoons and beaches. Flipper can still have a home!

Makes it easier for me to see the logic in this scripture. 25"He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal....John 12 God is Love! Jesus saves!

i believe in good cops and I'm still waiting for one to stand up and say "NO WE WONT HELP COVER THIS UP!" . ..Breaking ranks.. uhhh... in the cop culture if you break ranks and be honest and stand up u will be ostracized and you can lose everything! A Good Cop stands up when evil is done!!!!!!!!!!! Not just go by the rules. Not just restraining him/herself when it gets bad (though it helps). Good Cops see thugs as humans and need protection under the law when the other cop goes psyco . Good Cops will serve and protect.One bad apple in the barrel ? The barrel itself is bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where are they? "Dispatcher,we need a new barrel."

Well thank you Stan! Yes it is a profound point. I should see that point driven on every line. It is not about making ourselves comfortable.It is about lifting up Jesus and His non condemnation to all. His sacrifice and love must be reflected. When we as a Church do that,we will see people's lives change. Although it may not always look what we think it should. Simply just towing the line and doing everything right i.e sabbath keeping or getting married to a woman can be all works without a new heart overflowing with God's love. Oh it looks good. All the new members who 'don't drink don't smoke or chew or go out with girls who do'. Laodicean looks great on the outside. It comforts us to see people doing right and abiding by our rules.

I have missed him and often wondered what had happened to him. He was a good man and did good work. His posts here on CA were appreciated by me. NOTE: I do not think that he actually had a PhD. He told me once that he was actually ABD. In any case, he did good work and will be missed.

Well many think Gays are the enemy. Enemies of our Morals and Theology and Church and Marriage. "Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. Luke 6:35

Good to know that others have a similar perspective. I wish our leaders well as they wrestle with these issues. My prayer is that we are able to find a healthy solution that will move the whole church forward. It's funny how we wrestle with issues after society and moved on to something else. In the 2025 session perhaps the LGBT issue will be center stage. I have visions of you sneaking into the president's office, sitting in his chair, feet on the desk, drinking a bottle of Kadem Concord grape wine and blaring BIg Daddy Weave. Of course that's what I would do.

Heather has a long journey ahead of her as well as her family. Hopefully, Heather and her family will be remembered everywhere in prayers throughout her recovery.

Dwight was one of the 'good guys', and he went way to young.

I have a somewhat different perspective: 1) General Conference officials, generally, are elected to administer the Church. Let them do that job and not compete with local pastors for pastoral care.. 2) Let the administration of the Church be decentralized to lower levels. There are few administrative decisions that need to be made on the world level. 3) If a General Conference, as currently held, costs 10 - 15 million dollars consider how there might be other ways to hold it that cost less. 4) Turn the mission of the General Conference to less in telling people what to do and more to providing support, resources and help AS REQUESTED. NOTE: I am reminded of a recent speaker, from the General Conference, who spoke at a public meeting at the church I attend. This organization of the GC provides some materials that are available to the Adventist public at large. A suggestion was made to the speaker that it might be of value to the denomination if those materials were more easily available and if that agency were to develop materials on current subjects of interest to our members. The response was clear and to the point: Their primary purpose was to provide materials to General Conference officials, not to the Adventist public.

I'm not sure if I want a permanent dwelling place in heaven - at least for the first few trillion years. I dream of being a heavenly vagabond. No sea or sea creatures here on earth? No problem - I'm confident that somewhere in the universe there will probably be a planet that's all ocean and no land. Can you imagine looking up at a particular star in the sky and travelling at the speed of thought (I don't think the speed of light will be a barrier to us)? We wouldn't need to hypothesize what happens in the center of a star or a black hole; we could just go check it out. I wonder if we will be able to travel through time. It would be cool not only to explore different places, but exploring different eras would be just as cool.

If you're still hankering for a heavenly or New Earth salt -water lake with creatures in it then have a fly over to Israel and waddle into the Dead Sea. Here's a few pictures of the water creatures you'll find there.....