The Little Polar Bear

A young polar bear goes up to his father and asks, "Dad, am I a brown bear?" The dad replies, "No, son, you are a polar bear." "Oh, O.K." says the young polar bear. A few minutes later the young polar bear comes to his dad and asks, "Dad, am I a black bear?" "No, son, as I said before you are a polar bear." "O.K. dad." the young polar bear replies. It was not too long that the young polar bear asked his father again, "Dad, am I a grizzly bear?" Exasperated at his son's constant questioning, he says, "No, I told you you are a polar bear. Why do you keep on asking me what kind of bear you are?" The son replied, "I'm freezing!"

Ministerial Schizophrenia

I am reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala. God did some great work through Jim with a small church in the Bronx. Concerning preaching, he says this:

"...People are not put off by honesty. I didn't have to keep up a ministerial front. I could just preach God's Word as best I knew and then call the congregation to prayer and worship. The Lord would take over from there...."

"...I didn't need to play the preacher. Jesus called fisherman, not graduates of rabbinical schools. The main requirement was to be natural and sincere. His disciples had to depend totally on the Lord and His power. In the same way, I had to stop acting ministerial - whatever that was. God could only use Jim Cymbala the way he is. What a breakthrough that was for me as I learned to trust in God to use my natural personality. God has always despised sham and pretense, especially in the pulpit. The minute I start trying to effect a posture or pose, God's Spirit would be grieved."

Things That Make Me Go "Hmmm"

My dad is on the list for a heart transplant. In a sense, I guess I am praying for someone to die.

My good friend just bought a funeral home. In the same sense, I guess I am praying for lots of people to die.

I pray for the military to be successful in their campaign over in Iraq against the terrorists trying to destroy that country. The only way to defeat them is to kill them.

My prayers have never contained so much death in my entire life!