I recently watched the movie about the end of the apostle Paul’s life called, “The Apostle Paul”, which just came out on DVD. Although I usually like action and sci-fi movies a lot, this film was captivating to me for a number of other reasons. One of the main things that struck me was being reminded of people from the time of Christ paying a great price for their faith. Most Americans don’t really relate to suffering for their faith because in America we may possibly get ridiculed for our belief, but rarely do we pay any significant loss of property or bodily harm. There are exceptions, but few.

If you haven’t read the first part of this subject on God’s “Unfailing Love”, please do so as it will make more sense starting from the beginning. We are dealing with the “Myth” of God having “Unconditional” love rather than “Unfailing Love“. As I already stated, the concept of God having and extending unconditional love to humanity is a creation of the 20th century and it is found nowhere in the Bible.

Have you ever wondered why God seems to bless others more than you? At times, I know I do. Sometimes it seems I put more effort and heart into seeking God than those around me yet they seem to get more blessings.  They seem to get more from reading scripture, more from being generous, more from prayer and just about any other Christian discipline.

I have traveled a considerable amount over my lifetime and I have learned a very important lesson when it comes to packing my suitcases. If you pack a suitcase too full you may find it in pieces…..leaving you few options. You can put a special strap around it and hope the TSA inspectors put it back on correctly which, from my experience, is highly unlikely.  The second option is to unzip the “expansion” portion of your suitcase, which many people don’t use or realize they have. The problem with this technique is now your suitcase is overweight and you’re going to pay through the nose for the extra pounds and the baggage handlers will not g be kind to your bag. Here is my simple advice. Pack the suitcase for the designed volume and no more.

Being honest, Father’s Day is somewhat lacking in comparison to Mother’s Day both in focus and expense. When I worked in restaurants in my early days of employment Mother’s Day was the biggest day of the year. Families would reserve spots in restaurants far in advance or they wouldn’t get a table. Father’s Day, on the other hand, was pretty much the same as any other day. If you look at stores that have things for Mother’s Day, they stock up early and do huge promotions whereas Father’s Day ….not so much.

I don’t think this terminology is used much anymore, but as I was reading a portion of scripture the phrase came flooding into my mind because it rightly reflects how often we are “Thick Headed” and motivated by what’s in front of us rather than by what’s best for us. It also reflects the idea of inflexibility and the way many of us get trapped in a thinking process that we can’t seem to adjust or change for the better. So much of what Jesus taught in his three and a half years of ministry was trying to expose this mindset and heart condition that kept people imprisoned to a patterns of living that were both harmful and sad.

Life has a way of challenging our ability to not only navigate but also manage life events. All of us desire a life that’s free of trial or at least with limited conflict or trouble. What we discover in life are troubles all around us, and it’s our job to learn to navigate through those challenges the best we can. We soon discover that often the challenges that come our way are bigger than our abilities. We either learn to discover the knowledge and wisdom that we need or we suffer for it. These troubles should encourage us to pursue knowledge and wisdom outside of ourselves before crisis or challenge come our way, but all too often we are not taught at a young age to do so. The basic principles of development are often very hard to correct through learning when someone is older. I know this by experience!

In this world most things are anything but reliable. Whether we look at the stock market or the price of gas, it seems everything is in flux and this can cause great anxiety in most of us. Whether it’s a product or a relationship it seems everything and everybody is beyond the value of our personal trust. But what if we could discover something that was so reliable that each person, regardless of the station in life they find themselves, or the country they live in, could find that something or someone to give ourselves over to 100%?  Wouldn’t we grab the chance of such fulfillment, regardless of the cost? I believe there is is only one thing, or one person in the universe, that is worthy of that kind of trust.

Reading through the Psalms, I find great encouragement in discovering how King David related to God. We need to read and investigate how others have followed God, and even more importantly, how God defined their relationship.

So much of Christian experience today is centered on the knowledge that God loves us and wants to heal our brokenness. As this is part of his intention, it often is short-changed by a lack of true experience.