Moved

Just a reminder: I've moved.

You haven't heard from me here on Blogspot because I have moved to my own domain name, aaronhouseholder.net.

FeedBurner

If you subscribed through FeedBurner & are receiving this via email, then you will need to subscribe to my new site the same way. Go to my site. Enter you address. Click "Subscribe." Respond to the verification email. You're done. Every new post I write will be delivered right to your inbox.

RSS

If you subscribed to my RSS feed through the reader of the choice, then please redirect to my new site as well.

Either Way

Both are great ways to set it & forget it.

Please come join me there for greater content & features. You'll have all my old content, plus all the new stuff I try to post about once a week.

Thank you so much for walking through life with me.

In Christ,

Aaron

Not a Dotcom

"I'm not a dotcom sorta guy," I told my Techese-fluent friend, Chris De Jabet.

"I'm more of a dotnet," I said. The idea of a network of friends like you stopping by whenever they'd like holds more appeal to me. The "net" truncates "network", you know. Not that any of those suffixes matter much anymore, but that is how it started when Al Gore invented the internet.

Yes, I am moving. Blogger has been a great start, but the move to a Squarespace journal format allows my own domain name & much more functionality. I'll add photo galleries & other items as time allows in the future. Right now my site looks plainer than a shoe box, but that will change too.

Please join me at aaronhouseholder.net, Reader Friends, to continue the journey together. I'll keep writing. You keep stopping by or subscribing. The same subscription services, other than Google Friend Connect, are available now on my new site.

Will you join me?

By the way, I did purchase other domains, including dotcom, but I prefer being a dotnet sorta guy.

Watching You

Lord, forgive my failures in Fatherhood. Make me into the father you desire & my children deserve. Give me strength to serve when I am tired. Give me courage to do right when it is tough. Give me restraint to hold my tongue & harness my actions when I am angry. Give me wisdom to discern their growing hearts. Let me love them, the three precious children you have entrusted to me, as sacrificially as you love me. Amen.

Terrifying Power

Does this photo terrify you?

I get the willies just looking at it. I wouldn't want to walk there much less ride my mountain bike. Take note that his wheels are not on the ground. And that "ground" is only a narrow ledge.

These are the Cliffs Of Mohan where one false move sends you 600 feet to the Irish rocks & Atlantic waves below.

Crazies - that is riders - exult in "riding the edge." Navigating the terrifying treachery of this trail includes jumping four foot gaps & riding along four inch ledges. I question if they are riding the edge of sanity.

Terrifying.

Flashback nearly 2000 years from Irish Cliffs to dusty Nazareth. Mark 6:1-6. Jesus goes back to his hometown synagogue the first time as a Rabbi. He is initially welcomed. Miracle making, powerful preaching rock star of his day. Yet, familiarity with "the carpenter" & contempt for "Mary's son" with no mention of his earthly father allowed his hometown crowd to label & dismiss him.

Mark 6:5 offers terrifying truth, "He could not do any miracles there except lay his hands on a few sick people."

The previous chapter plus, Mark 4:35-5:43, delivers a potent story trio with one purpose: displaying Jesus' awesome power. Jesus' power over nature, 4:35-41, calming the storm. Jesus' power over evil, 5:1-20, casting out the legion of demons. And 5:21-43, Jesus' power over sickness & death. Yet, here in his own hometown we learn the power of unbelief.

Mark 6:5 is one of the boldest statements of the Gospels. It tells us something Jesus will not to.

Jesus is God in flesh. Omnipotent. He CAN do anything. Yet Jesus chooses to limit his limitless power in accordance with the faith of people.

Terrifying.

Mark 6:6 reports of Jesus, "And he was amazed at their lack of faith." The only other time Jesus is said to be amazed in the Bible is by the faith of the Centurion who believed Jesus could heal his sick servant from a distance by word alone (Luke 7:9). Yet, the LACK of faith in his hometown amazes him.

What about you?

What do you think God can't do?

He can't change me. I'll have this habit forever.

He can't change them. They will always be that way.

He can't change the situation. I shouldn't even pray about it.

Do you realize that your lack of faith may be THE very reason he has not changed "it" whatever it is?

Terrifying.

You have power to stop the very thing that you need. You hold the keys to terrifying power. The power of unbelief.

Confess. Repent. Ask for faith.

May we live by faith fearing only of the holiness of God with no fear of our own faithlessness.

Humility Welcome

A dear Friend just delivered a great line that I must share.

"We welcome humility."

Let that marinate on your mind.

Profound.

We welcome humility because Jesus lived it & calls us to live it as well. Love one another. Honor one another. Serve one another. Lay down your life. Be honest. Confess your sin. Share your life. And you can think of many more.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the...

Did you guess, the humble?

Yes, God gives grace to the humble.

Liar Liar

Have you told a little white lie? Did you just lie about that?

How about the boldface lie? So completely unbelievable.

I've named a few more lies for us to consider.

• The 7-11 Lie: Lying for convenience.
• The Avis Lie: Lying to sound like you tried harder.
• The BK Lie: Lying to get it your way.
• The Awning Lie: Lying to shade the truth.
• The Chiropractic Lie: Lying to gain better position or posture.
• The Rebound Lie: Lying when a shot at the truth didn't work.
• The Hopscotch Lie: Lying by skipping the truth.
• The Underpants Lie: Lying to cover your backside.
• The Bluelight Lie: Lying about what you paid for something.
• The Airbrush Lie: Lying to make yourself look better.
• The Plastic Surgery Lie: Lying by exaggerating the truth.
• The Dirty Diaper Lie: Lying when everyone knows you are.
• The Spandex Lie: Lying by stretching the truth.

You may have some other creatively named lies to contribute through comments below. Please do. Our creativity is a gift.

Truth, however, is always the BEST gift.

The LORD detests lying lips,

but he delights in men who are truthful.

Proverbs 12:22

Difference Deference

ToMAYto. ToMAHto.

Difference. Deference.

God made me me. He made you you. He does nothing by accident. He makes no mistakes. Differences are His design. Without them a sad sameness world it would be.

Differences teach us. We do not need to homogenize our differences. We do need awareness where our differences may be an offense or threat to others. Christlike love compels me to humbly temper my differences in deference to others. I seek to honor others above myself. I strive to love others as I do myself.

Differences teach us. Awareness. Humility. Ourselves. Communication. Acceptance. Forgiveness. Cooperation. Variety. Unity. Functioning together as the Body of Christ.

I can do the relational math.

Different + different = bad deal.

Different + different = disturbingly difficult.

Or, as a Christ follower, the same equation comes out... different.

Different + different = God’s design.

Different + different = mutually beneficial.

A symphony has different instruments playing different parts in one composition led by one conductor. Differences are unified. Each instrument playing it's own part in it's own time. At other times that instrument is silent in deference to others.

A good meal has different dishes with different ingredients coming together to be pleasing as whole. Chili powder, caustic alone, is tasty when combined into the dish that bears it's name. Sugar, tasty alone, is even better when combined with other ingredients to bake your favorite desserts.

A human body has different parts with different functions that work together as a unified whole. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Verse 12 states, "The body is a unit, though it is make up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ."

Rather than complain or ignore or avoid differences - particularly within local church bodies - let us celebrate & appreciate & embrace differences. Differences are God's gifts to be used to bring glory to His name & growth to His Kingdom.

It takes maturity. It takes humility. It takes deference.

It offers unity. It offers peace. It offers joy.

Difference deference.