Corrupt Communication

The other day I was sitting out by the pool in my development memorizing verses ( the only way to memorize is pool side by the way). One of the verses i was working on was Ephesians 4:29 --" Let NO corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifyin, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. " I was stuck with the fact that i could not remember the last day of my life that absolutely NO corrupt communication came from my lips. In verses 3 & 4 of chapter 5 in the same book we are told that ".. Fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness let it not be once named amoung youas becometh saints: Neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks -- Wow this all just jumped out at me and reminded me that i need to keep my powerful toungue under control and watch what i say. I don't struggle with swearing or taking God's name in vain, but some of the offences in these verses are things that everyone struggles with. Let's keep our conversation clean!!!!

At jr camp . . . . definitely stories to come
~scott

I know. . . Long time, no post. . .

This post is also a serious one, so if you were looking for some whimsical whit and jolly jokes. . stop reading.

I just recently read a couple of different articles on self-esteem. Don't worry, i am not going off the deep end of psychology, but was just reading about how much damage the self-esteem movement has caused especially for Christians. The whole concept of self-esteem is quite unBiblical and very destructive to any accurate interpretation of the Bible. The very premise of self-esteem is to promote self-love and acceptance in the mind's eye of the individual. The Bible has a drastically different view. God's Word portrays us as hopeless sinners with no good thing in us. Even the righteous acts we try to flaunt are declared as filthy rags before the holy God of the Bible. Unfortunately, many Christians are beginning to accept the lies of the self-esteem movement. Already the word "sin" is becoming watered down. Robert Schuller, pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in California has misdefined sin as "Any act or thought that robs myself or another human being of his or her self-esteem." This definition is garbage. Scripture clearly shows sin to be the transgression of God's law. Something that is of great offense to Him, requiring a large consequence. However, the popularity of this movement does not surprise me because it was predicted in II Timothy 3:1-2-- "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,"

American Christians will never see revival if we continue to have a lofty view of ourselves compared to God. We deserve His ultimate wrath and it is only by His grace that we do not. Let us see ourselves in our sin and turn to the only one who can, and gloriously has paid the price for our sin, not low self-esteem.

Long day

Wow. All I can say is that I have been way to busy to blog anything of value lately should be good ones ahead...

Wow. A lot has happened since my last post. I was in a car wreck with my brother late last night. I am fine, but he has some blood in his eye. Praise the Lord that he is ok though.

My brother is hilarious. If you have met him, you know what i am talking about. He was joking around

with the EMTs like he knew them. They were pretty much rolling on the floor when he was done.

Andrew even got them to give him a small stuffed dog which Andrew lovingly named "sugar"

Nothing will sober you quite like a car wreck. I am thankful for this opportunity to get some perspective on what really matters. If you are reading this, take a moment to pray for my brother's eye, and to thank God for your health. Also, please reflect on what really matters in this life in light of the next.

I love breakfast! I don't know why, but there is just something about eating in the morning that just makes me feel super happy. Call me weird, but I would rather have a simple, hot breakfast in the morning than a 5 star steak dinner later in the evening (but don't worry, the star steak is my second favorite).

Deep thought: This past Easter, I was struck with a new thought about the Gospel. Being a very "churched" person, I know the Easter story inside and out. But this year God brought a new thought to my attention as only His Word can do. I was discussing God's love with a friend and he pointed out how much we as Christians feminize God. Now don't get me wrong, God IS love. I am not in any way denying that Scriptural fact about Him. However, we do sometimes tend to make Him a little more "cuddley" than necessary. While God is infinitely loving, He is also infinitely wrathful toward sin. This seeming paradox is brilliantly resolved by the person of Jesus Christ. You see, God sent His only Son Jesus to take God's wrath for me. The amazing truth that I came to realize this spring was: The greater I believe God's wrath to be, the greater His love for me becomes. Reading in the Old Testament especially, one might get the picture of a God who does nothing but pour His wrath upon those who disobey Him ( Though this is not even close to the picture painted in the Old Testament). The fact of the matter is that when i get to the New Testament and see that God put Jesus, His most beloved Son, in the way of that incoming wrath it shows me how much God must really love me. With that I am signing off, feeling God's love greater than ever.