Thirsty Thursday: Nice People
My post today is coming from gate B17 at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. I am waiting to board my flight back to Fresno and that is what inspired this post. It all started this morning when I got ready to head to the airport. And it didn’t start to good.
I woke up about 1 hour later then I had planned to catch my flight at 8:57am to Las Vegas. I woke up at 7:15am and had a 20 minute drive to the airport [without traffic] which turned into more like 35 because of traffic.
I then had to top off my rental car with gas so I would not incur a charge of $6.50/gallon for the rental company to fill it up. This just added to my lateness. However, I was not really worried the whole time. I woke up feeling refreshed from the extra hour I slept and knew if I worried it would not get my anywhere faster.
I made it to the rental complex, which is about 2 miles from the airport. I then had to wait in line for a receipt that took about 10 minutes. Next was the shuttle to the airport and then finally meeting my fate at the check-in desk to see what time I would get to Fresno and the extra cost that would take.
I walked up to the desk and the younger guy at the counter asked how I was doing. I replied with a sigh, “Oh I am OK”. I proceeded to tell him I woke up late and my flight was scheduled to leave at 8:57am. The time was currently 8:45am; you do the math.
I did not expect the response I got. It was a very nice, “so you are flying direct to Fresno then right?”. I thought he was kinda joking, but he set it all up and I did not have to pay another penny! As I got ready to leave the counter the attendant just smiled and said, “you can be happy you slept in today”.
This just made my day! I knew that worrying would not make the situation any better and it worked out better then I could have ever expected it to. So if you are worried about something, take heart and know that it is out of your control!
Spurgeon
–
on truth:
truth is one and the same in all eras, but falsehood changes its shape and comes and goes like the fashions of dress.
i suppose you have met, in your pastoral work, with the great evil of questioning fundamental truth. brethren have always differed on minor points, and it has not been unusual for us to meet each other and discuss matters of doctrine upon the basis of the Holy Scripture. all were agreed that, whatever Scripture said, should be decisive; and we only wished to ascertain what the Lord had revealed. but another form of discussion has now arisen: men question the Scriptures themselves.
to some, the teaching of Scripture is not of final authority: their inner consciousness, their culture, or some other unknown quantity is their fixed point, if they have a fixed point anywhere. the fount of inspiration is not now within the Book and with the Holy Spirit, but within man’s own intelligence. we have no longer, ‘thus saith the Lord,’ but, ‘thus saith modern thought.’
unless we have infallibility somewhere, faith is impossible. the true faith teaches us facts which cannot be questioned. where is faith to build if there be no rock and nothing left us but shifting sand?
i see the spirit of compromise concerning holiness and sin, truth and error, far too prevalent. the spirit of compromise comes not of the Spirit of God, but of the spirit of the world.
if the Gospel does not attract men, nothing will; i mean, nothing which can do them good. personally, i have no reason to doubt the attractiveness of the old, old Gospel.
…in large towns a practical atheism is supreme. why is this? the ministers have done it. they preached the people out of their faith in the Scriptures; they taught them to be doubters. the most mischievous servant of Satan that i know if is the minister of the Gospel who not only doubts the truth in his own soul, but propagates doubt in the minds of others by his criticisms, innuendos, and triflings with words. some ministers believe nothing except that nothing can be believed.
C.H. Spurgeon An All-Round Ministry pg. 285-298 selections, some emphasis added
[HT: Gene Pensiero]
Election Thoughts
A friend of mine wrote a status update on Facebook that was very thought provoking especially given the canidates for the presidency.
“If you put your faith in the government to solve your problems, what does God get?”
What are your thoughts on this with how it relates to our responsibility to the government [give to Cesar what is Cesar's] and being a follower of God?
Monday Fun
Here is a taste of a great website that has pretty funny pictures. Check more out for yourself at www.failblog.org
Where Do I Need To Be Content
Today I read a post by Adam that challenged me in the area of being content. I have come to a point where I am content with my finances and “toys” that I like to buy. This is mostly because I have a house now. But, there is one area that I struggle with through the ebs and flows of life.
This is in the area of relationships [specifically girlfriend]. At this moment in time I am glad I don’t have a girl fiend because I am traveling a lot. This allows me to just focus on work and not having to sustain a relationship too.
However, I also feel the pressure of society saying [non-verbally] you should be married already. This is confirmed by nearly all my friends I graduated with either engaged or married. Now, I have come to peace with the fact that God’s timing is perfect and he has the girl. But, having that patience just gets old after awhile.
I have been blessed to have an amazing group of friends. I have also been blessed to see them develop in their marriages. They have been a great example of what a Godly marriage should be like and honestly, I want to experience that. I want to have someone to do life with and care about. I also know I need to trust in God’s perfect plan and know that through contentment I will find peace.
I know God is using this time when I am single to shape me into the man that is ready to support a wife. Now I must be content with that.
My Intro To Victor Valley HS
Well, today I set off to Victorville, CA enroute to Victor Valley High School to meet with some students. Everything went as planned during travel and arrival. I was at Victor Valley during the lunch period and met a few students.
As I was finishing up some computer work I could sense the tension in the hallway outside the career center building. That could have been from the yelling and people running past the door to stimulate these spider senses. [wow that did not come out as cool as it sounded in my brain]
Within 30 seconds the running and yelling dies down and then it happened. It was like the calm before the storm. People by the 10’s are sprinting by the career center. The yelling was almost deafening and the tension was out of control.
I soon see neon green shirts come sprinting in with the students. These were the campus security. As this all develops the security are yelling at students to stop as they try to break up the fight. I don’t see much of this, but I did see a security officer grab a student by the backpack as he was running into the fight and pull him down to the ground.
This melee lasted for a solid 2 minutes. Then the door to the career center was closed to prevent the residue from the pepper spray entering the room! Yes I did say pepper spray. So this was my eventful afternoon up in lovely Victorville, CA.
