Survey says

I was watching a rerun of Family Feud and a rather interesting question came up for them to find the top 5 answers to: “Where are you most likely to find a sinner?”

First I found that refreshingly daring that they would even bring the topic up. Secondly I knew I was going to be amused and informed by the answers because the top five give us a pretty good cross section of where the culture is at.

The #1 answer was in a bar. So the fact that the majority of people think that, is, de facto, an indication that you are a sinner if you go to a bar. Interesting. Not sure I agree with it 100% either. I presume the fact that casino was another top answer would hold true for them as well.

Two other answers amused me as they revealed some other things to think about. The # 3 answer was church. Now did they mean that we are all sinners and need to be in church or did they mean that all who are in church are hypocrites and are really sinners like the rest of the world out side the church?

Not too surprisingly “hell” came in fourth as a place to find sinners. I thought, “Well good! The vast majority of people still will admit there is a hell, at least on a survey!”

But a reality that perhaps the world doesn’t fully understand is that there was another answer that would have been 100% accurate but never made it to the top 5. It may not be the #1 answer but it is undeniably true: heaven. Heaven is populated with nothing but sinners when it comes to surveying its human inhabitants. The difference is the sinners in heaven made a decision to trust Jesus for their salvation rather than their own deeds. They realized that no one can earn their way into heaven.

Ephesians 2

1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

lessons from the beach 2

This morning I got up early before sunrise. Decided to head over the dune to see if I could catch the sunrise. Got there not a moment too soon. The sun was just making its appearance. It was rising a bit to the south on the eastern horizon.

As I surveyed the beach there was a young mother carrying an infant in a snugly sack. She was headed north and kept looking back as the sun began to crest. At just the right moment she stopped, sat down in the sand, and tried to get her child to engage in experiencing the sunrise with her. I surmise, even at this early age, she was teaching her child about creation: the world she was born in to. I hope and trust that the child will learn about the Creator in the process as well.

How many of us stop and take a moment to wonder at God's creation? Do we have to be on a vacation to catch a sunrise or marvel at a sunset? Do we have to be on a retreat to take time to appreciate how God can speak to us through His creation?
And . . . how many of us take time to share our wonder with the generation that will chase behind us?


Psalm 78
O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old-

3 what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.

Stay close to Jesus
REG

Lessons from the beach

Arrived yesterday for a few days vacation on the Outer Banks. As we got out for a walk on the beach this morning, there were things that had not changed and there was much that had change. As we walked up the steps to trek over the dune to get to the beach it was much the same place where we had stayed 2 years ago. As we stepped on over to the seaward side, that's another story. We could see that the forces of nature had different intentions for the long term shape of the landscape.

I remember two years ago the owner of the rentals where we are staying came in for the weekend. He remarked that nearly 20 years ago when this group of three homes was built, the sand dunes were level with the third story decks. When we were here 2 years ago they were level with the second story decks and now after a few significant storms in 2 years, while the dunes aren’t any shorter, they are significantly eroded and about ½ the thickness from seaside to land side.

Snow fencing used to attempt to inhibit erosions is gone or battered in many areas. The remaining slats on some sections look like lonely soldiers holding their positions desperately waiting for reinforcements to come rushing over the horizon.
As we got to the end of the deck steps stepping onto the beach, it was obvious the last 6 or 8 steps were new. Waking further down the beach we saw more and more stairways to the beach missing or recently rebuilt. Then we began to see the many homes built out over the dunes that had attempted sand bagging.

The sand bags were probably much the same as what was brought in around New Orleans to do emergency repair to the levies. They are about 8 ft long and maybe 3 ft at their deepest; very intimidating to look at. I’m guessing just one would fill a heavy duty pick up truck to its capacity.

They would work well laid on a concrete surface that doesn’t sit on sand. The problem is: you have to lay them on the sand. Anything laid on the sand from concrete to pilings to boulders may be intended to be permanent but the sand gets its marching orders from the sea. The water can shift the sand around and under the bags. Nothing is safe from the sea.

And if those huge sand bags get one rip, one snag, then they become subject to the ruthless pounding surf that at first may only tear a little but with each blow from the waves the tear becomes larger and soon the bag is ripped wide open.

Boy if you want to see a real big picture of denial you could probably go to any coastal area in the world and see how people deny truth. The wise man DOES NOT build his house upon the sand!!!! Snow fencing does not help, sand bagging does not help, breakers do not help and, seawalls do not help. When the stormy seas come, they come and nothing man builds will stand the test of time. Nothing.

The rich man or the foolish man builds anyway. Why? I think because mankind has a track history of wanting to do things in defiance of the brutal truth.

So nature is a material reflection of and/or illustration of God’s truth (And go figure: He’s the one who created both )

Jesus says in Matthew 7:26: But whoever hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand.

There is also another scripture that comes to mind today too. It’s from Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will remain the same.