From the MacArthur Study Bible (Psalm 62):

Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be greatly moved.

How long will you attack a man?
You shall be slain, all of you,
Like a leaning wall and a tottering
fence.

They only consult to cast him down
from his high position;
They delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly. Selah.

My soul, wait silently for God
alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my
salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my
glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, you
people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Surely men of low degree are a
vapor,
Men of high degree are a lie;
If they are weighed on the scales,
They are altogether lighter than
vapor.
Do not trust in oppression,
Nor vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.

God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.
Also to you, O Lord, belongs mercy;
For you render to each one
according to his work.

(Will I ever have the opportunity to meet John this side of eternity? I believe the answer is
a definitive yes...)

Christ's Parables in the 4 Gospels

A Thorough (but not exhaustive) List:

1. The House on the Rock: Mt. 7:24/ Lk. 6:48
2.The Sower: Mt. 13:3/ Mk. 4:1/ Lk. 8:4
3. The Weeds: Mt. 13:24
4. Mustard Seed: Mt. 13:31/ Mk. 4:30/ Lk. 13:19
5. The Yeast: Mt. 13:33/ Lk. 13:21
6. Hidden Treasure/The Pearl: Mt. 13:44
7. Parable of the Net: Mt. 13:47
8. The Lost Sheep: Mt. 18:10/ Lk. 15:3
9. Unmerciful Servant: Mt. 18:10/ Lk. 15:3
10. Workers in the Vineyard: Mt. 18:23
11. The Two Sons: Mt. 21:28
12. The Wicked Tenants: Mt. 21:33/ Mk. 12:1/ Lk. 20:9/ (*Isa. 5:1)
13. The Wedding Banquet: Mt. 22:1/ Lk. 14:16
14. Ten Virgins: Mt. 25:1
15. The Parable of the Talents: Mt. 25:14/ Lk. 19:12
16. Sheep and Goats: Mt. 25:31
17. The Growing Seed: Mk. 4:26
18. The Lighted Candle: Mt. 5:15/ Mk. 4:21/ Lk. 11:33
19. The Good Samaritan: Lk. 10:30
20. The Rich Fool: Lk. 12:16
21. Barren Fig Tree: Lk. 13:6 (*compare Mt. 21:19/ Mk. 11:13)
22. The Lost Coin: Lk. 15:8
23. Prodigal Son: Lk. 15:11
24. Shrewd Manager: Lk. 16:1
25. The Rich Man and Lazarus: Lk. 16:19
26. Unprofitable Servants: Lk. 17:7
27: Persistent Widow/ Unjust Judge: Lk. 18:2

Coral Ridge Ministries: A List from 11/5/00

This traces back to when I was more involved with Christian political activism.
(But the concerns on the table are still quite germane):

A sampling of what the ACLU finds worth defending- and worth opposing:

Supports:

-legalized child pornography
-legalized drugs
-tax exemptions for Satanists
-legalized prostitution
-abortion on demand
-forced busing
-ideological tests for court appointees
-automatic entitled probation
-public demonstrations for Nazis and Communists
-legalized polygamy

Opposes:
-legalized, voluntary school prayer
-sobriety check points (?)
-tax exemptions for churches
-religious displays in public places
-medical safety reporting (AIDS, HIV, STDs)
-parental consent laws
-education vouchers and home schooling
-government ethics committees
-prison terms for criminal offenses (?)

(?)

Principles of Intercessory Prayer

(Early on in my Christian ministry, I compiled this enumeration of several Biblical precepts for effectual, life-impacting, God-moving prayer:)

Intercessory Prayer:

Is:

1. Not common prayer
(or recited prayer)
2. Not "conversational" prayer
("Dear God, please help uncle Sam")
3. Not companionable prayer
(you lift me up, and Ill do the same, bro)

*although all of the preceding notions
can have their connotative place within
one's prayer dialogue, they each serve as a
sort of rudder to steer our souls into a deeper
rapport with Jehovah God, through the Blood
of the Lamb, and the power of the Spirit.

And here's the other side of the equation...

Intercessory Prayer:

1. Is compassionate prayer (we are moved in our
spirits, whether for people, places, or countries;
moved, primarily, out of the overflow of our hearts)

2. Is created prayer (giving birth to the impossible
improvisations that emerge when God's Spirit is conjoined
unto our thoughts and intents, rightly dividing our motives
and aligning our allegiances)

3. Is combative prayer (spiritual strongholds are
summarily exposed and defeated, as discernment
is provided unto the sympathetic intercessor)

The Case For a Creator

Many of us in the Christian world take delight in expanding our horizons in areas that may not derive from our main points of expertise. Certainly, we find ourselves terminologically confounded, at times, when a given inquiry into a discipline is met with arcane esoterica and argumentations with which we simply can't identify.

And it probably would be an understatement that the realm of science, and all of its subsets, can often prove to be an academic impasse which obstructs many a lay theologian from conceptual clarity. This said, Lee Strobel, in back-to-back-to-back fashion (and there is now one more "The Case For..." installment, which I can't wait to absorb!) has reached a zenith which is demonstrably one of the most profound lay handlings of Creationism I've ever encountered. With terminology which doesn't shirk its scientific associations, Lee once again has used his journalistic abilities to assemble a fascinating expose on many advanced scientific criteria which undergird the Creation model.

Remember to read The Case For Christ and The Case For Faith, as well!
(All highly invigorating reads...I'm a big fan!)

Blast From the Past (An Old Battle Prayer):

B.L.A.S.T. Prayer:

1. Blood (1 John 1: 7-9)
-confess your sin, +
-claim God's forgiveness

2. Lord (Romans 12: 1-2)
-give Jesus every area of your life*
-acknowledge Jesus as your Lord
(*repentance)

3. Authority (1 John 4:4)
(Matthew 18:18/ 28:18-20)
(Colossians 1:12-14)
(Ephesians 6)

-order spiritual forces of evil out of your life
(through the Authority of Jesus)

4. Spirit (Luke 11: 9-13)
(ask the Holy Spirit to):
-strengthen you
-refresh you
-fill you with His enduement

5. Thanks (1 Thessalonions 5:18)
(Philippians 4:6,7)

(note: don't look at your feelings to
see how you're doing; instead, thank
God for what you know is objectively
true. Thank God for everything you
can think of)

-Thanksgiving is a wonderous
anti-depressant!

Investing Meaning Amidst Drabness

Some days we simply have no other choice but to gin up, or manufacture, as it were, a credible series of creative efforts just to keep our morale above water.

Such scourges are universal to the human lot; but we deal with the melancholy with divergent tactics and tools. I've found much repose over the years shaking up my surroundings with fresh efforts to foster new experiences and broaden my genuine friendship base.

I could say abundantly more about this subject; but to those friends, old + new, who may feel enmeshed within the fleeting doldrums, or the frustrating frivolity of stagnant living, I simply wish you authentic peace + hope, as your search for meaning and purpose unfolds...

Warmly,

RCC

The Off-Balance Plight of Performance Artists....

By nature, performance artists of any kind have a sort of je-ne-sais-quoi to our demeanor and personal intentionalities. We don't often say, in such straightforward terms, "I'm bored," or "I want to go on an Alaskan cruise," or "I'm really lonely and need a friend." The creative type, and perhaps the visual artist would bow out of the equation, always seeks to rupture time and space with his or her x-factor of 'intentional creation.'

It is not necessarily a pretentious undertaking; but, if truly borne out of the interwoven crucibles of: 1. a quest for meaning and purpose, and 2. the pain that ensues as we are driven out to sea (if you catch my drift) to find such meaning and purpose- a thinker, an actress, a musician (and yes, I'll say a visual artist, but I'm thinking of those who grapple with active performance and word experimenting, primarily) must continually die to old methods and forms.....

Because our quest is always renewed. It isn't erased, but as we learn wherein lie the boundaries between our necessary daily affairs, and the Muse which governs our ineluctable thirst for uniqueness, we constantly go between unconscious and conscious modes of living. Every time a born artist tries to get comfortable, he gets uncomfortable. It's a tenuous tight-rope walk to make a new song, sometime the merits of which seem so sketchy, as napkins turn into notebooks, which aspire to turn into a self-funded compact disc, or well-crafted uploaded tracks, and so forth.

As a madcap writer and musical visionary, I invite you to come grapple with me as we intentionally recreate our horizons. I can assure you....the sojourn ahead is filled with delight.