Random Ramblings #41: A Strong Foundation of Grace

grace building blocks

Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — A Cuppa Joe - Random Ramblings from a Fellow Struggler A Strong Foundation of Grace “There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” -Philippians 1: 2 No condemnation, performance (or lack thereof) notwithstanding. God’s grace – His unmerited favor - will endure because It Is Finished doesn’t mean It’s A Continue Reading

Random Ramblings #40: Please Pray for The Game Plan Seminar this Weekend

the game plan

Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — A Cuppa Joe - Random Ramblings from a Fellow Struggler I’d sure appreciate your prayers this weekend, as I will be teaching The Game Plan seminar at a men’s retreat in Atlanta. This is always an honor and a lot of fun as well, and I always look forward to being with other guys who are ready to get honest and serious about sexual purity. Since 1987 I’ve had the honor of working with men like that. I’ve admired their courage in Continue Reading

Random Ramblings #39: Of Presidential Politics & The Affects of Sarcasm

romneyfamily2

Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — A Cuppa Joe - Random Ramblings from a Fellow Struggler And we’re off. The Republican nomination is all but sealed, so the volleys between incumbent and challenger have begun. As always, both have supporters who are passionate and vocal, a combination that sometimes works; sometimes misses. Passion plus politics, after all, equals words, tons of ‘em, and boatloads of attitude behind each phrase. The attitude can over-speak the Continue Reading

Tears of Remembrance On Good Friday

crown of thorns 2

Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — Tears of Remembrance on Good Friday I cried when I saw Schindler’s List, copiously and without embarrassment. The film taught me nothing new about the holocaust, so it didn’t educate me. But it reminded me, via graphic story-telling, of something unfathomable, something that should regularly be remembered and grieved. So weeping was called for. But afterwards I had to ask myself So what? Would crying erase the suffering, much less Continue Reading

Random Ramblings #38: The Hunger Games – Some Practical Afterthoughts

hunger

Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — A Cuppa Joe - Random Ramblings from a Fellow Struggler Last Friday I posted some thoughts on The Hunger Games, a film generating large revenues and no small amount of national discussions. Not having seen it when I posted (it was opening that day) and now having watched it with my family last night, I’m left with some pretty strong impressions. It’s a disturbing story, hands down. Parents especially will find it hard to digest Continue Reading

Random Ramblings #37: The Hunger Games – New Film, Old Concept

hunger

Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — The Hunger Games - New Film, Old Concept Few things grab attention more quickly than a public scuffle. You remember how it went in Junior High. Someone yells “Fight!” and all other business stops, heads turn, crowds gather. We never seem to outgrow it, hence our fascination with public feuds, ongoing debates, or celebrity splits. Say what you like about our evolution from primal to sophisticated, we still love a good brawl. So Continue Reading

Random Ramblings #36: Concerning The Drunk Fruit Flies Study

Poor guy. (Mediterranean Fruit Fly.)

Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — A Cuppa Joe - Random Ramblings from a Fellow Struggler I’ve often thought that when we’re denied one form of sensual pleasure, we are likely to turn to another, and while that’s hardly an astute observation, it’s pretty darned relevant to the sort of work I do. The idea’s pretty simple: The brain craves some sort of reward, a reward often given through illegitimate means like porn, intoxication, etc. It doesn’t have to be Continue Reading

Random Ramblings #35: Weekly Reflections, Lessons and Homework

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Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — A Cuppa Joe - Random Ramblings from a Fellow Struggler It can be interesting and helpful to look at what you’re going through during a given week and ask, “What’s the lesson here, and what’ll my homework be?” Everything we experience is, after all Father-Filtered, in that God allows it with some purpose in mind. (Romans 8:28) So Renee and I are trying, with some success, to break the pattern of reflexively stressing over the Continue Reading

Random Ramblings #34: He Has Chosen Us …

spring morning

Every Friday we’ll take a break from topical posts and will post some random personal thoughts.  — A Cuppa Joe - Random Ramblings from a Fellow Struggler I don’t really believe in “favorite scriptures”, since all of the Word is inspired and profitable (II Timothy 3:16.) Still, there are some that inevitably come to our minds more often than others. One of those, for me, is Ephesians 1:4, a verse that swells me with godly attitude, gratitude and confidence: According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the Continue Reading

How Then Should We Respond? Homosexuality and The Church

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I’d sure appreciate your prayers, as this weekend I’ll be speaking in Atlanta for the Love Won Out conference on homosexuality and the Church’s response. I don’t normally post on this topic since I’ve already written a number of books and articles on it, but today I would like to pass along an article I wrote for the Southern Baptist Voice back in ’02 on the subject of a Biblical response to this difficult issue. It’s a long post, but if the subject is of concern to you, I hope you’ll find this a useful read. God bless, and have Continue Reading