The difference between Power and power

There is Power, and there is power.

Power demands and is never satisfied. Power withholds and hoards. Power is convinced there is never enough. Power makes sure everyone knows it is in charge. Power makes others smaller and smaller even as it gets bigger and bigger. Power is scarcity.

power, on the other hand, is expansive. When it grows, everybody grows with it. It supports, shares, and waits. It comes underneath and lifts up. It gives energy, it creates space, and it moves with a spirit of we rather than me.

Power takes. power gives.

Power demands to be god. power makes space for God to be God.

When we are plugged in to Power, we clutch and grab, we scatter and flee. When we are plugged in to power, we open up and give away.

So what are you plugged into these days?

You get to choose.

Source: The Actual Pastor by Steve Wiens

Getting Punched in the Balls

Yesterday morning, I got punched in the balls.

It was Ben. On my way out the door I went in for my ration of morning hugs from the boys. Isaac is easy; even at six, I think he’d be happiest if we were fused together. Elijah, too – though I did have to pry him away from his art project. But Ben is a slippery little guy.  He has endless hugs for his mom, but he rations them for me. So instead of a hug, I got a punch in the balls with a laughter chaser.

This is a universal experience for fathers of sons. If you have sons, they will mercilessly zero in on your privates with intentional and relentless fury. I’m sure it’s somewhere in Proverbs: “One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth; but both will be punched in the balls by their sons.”

When you have gotten punched in the balls, there is no remedy other than time, but there is a universal reaction:

1. Your hands immediately move to protect the vulnerable area from further assault.
2. Your face contorts into a grimace of pain as your head drops back.
3. Your eyes close and your mouth curses.
4. Your hands move to your hips and your knees slightly bend; if it’s really intense, you drop down all the way down to the floor, head in your arms and knees drawn in, the ultimate posture of defeat.
5. When it becomes possible, you briskly walk around, as if doing so lessens the pain, only to find that it deepens before it abates.

The good news is that Ben is four, and the pain didn’t last. As I was leaving, Mary took Ben into her arms and began explaining why it’s a bad idea to punch daddy in the balls.

“Benny, when you get older, you’ll realize that your balls become very sensitive, and it hurts really bad when someone hits you there. And that’s why it’s important not to use your hands for hitting.”

I was laughing as I pulled out of the driveway. As a parent, there are a million conversations like this you find yourself having with your kids.

“And that’s why it’s important to NEVER put a plastic bead in your nose.”

“And that’s why we don’t fart out loud at school.”

“And that’s why we wear clothes when we leave the house.”

Here’s what I want to say: Be careful with your loved ones. Because you know them so well, you know their vulnerable places. You know exactly what to say that would drop them to their knees, and sometimes you’re angry enough to say it. You know how to shut them out, punish them, and make them pay.

Don’t do it. It never helps; it never makes you feel better. It only escalates the violence.

And that’s why it’s important to stop yourself before you let the real missiles fly.

And that’s why you talk about the issues before they become inevitable explosions.

And that’s why you apologize when you have gone too far. Don’t justify yourself, simply say that you realize you hurt them and that you’re deeply sorry.

Because sometimes, we’ll lose it. Sometimes, we’ll say it. Sometimes, we’re so angry and hurt that we don’t feel like we can stop ourselves.

Let’s be kind to our loved ones. Let’s protect their vulnerable places instead of exposing them to more pain. And let’s apologize when we fail to do so.

We can do this.

Photo Source

Source: Steve Wiens

SATAN'S MEETING: (Read even if you're busy)

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.
In his opening address he said,

'We can't keep Christians from going to church.'
'We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth.'
'We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Savior'
'Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.'
'So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.
'This is what I want you to do,' said the devil:

'Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!'
'How shall we do this?' his demons shouted.

'Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,' he answered.
'Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.'
'Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles.'
'Keep them from spending time with their children.'
'As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!'
'Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice.'
'Entice them to play the radio or CD player whenever they drive.' To keep the TV, VCR, CDs, DVD's, and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly.'
'This will jam their minds and break that union  with Christ.'
'Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.'
'Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day.'
'Invade their driving moments with billboards.'
'Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes..'
'Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. '
'Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night.'
'Give them headaches too! '
'If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere.'
'That will fragment their families quickly!'
'Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas.'
'Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death.'
'Even in their recreation, let them be excessive.'
'Have them return from their recreation exhausted.'
'Keep them too busy to go out in nature and  reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead .'
'Keep them busy, busy, busy!'
'And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. '
'Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus.'

'Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause.'
'It will work!'
'It will work!'
It was quite a plan!
The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there. Having little time for their God or their families. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!
Does 'BUSY' mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Moralistic therapeutic deism

Moralistic therapeutic deism is a term that was first introduced in the book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (2005) by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton. The term (abbreviated MTD) is used to describe what they consider to be the common religious beliefs among American youth. It has also been referred to as egonovism. The book is the result of a research project, the "National Study of Youth and Religion," privately funded by the Lilly Endowment.

Definition[edit]

The authors find that many young people believed in several moral statutes not exclusive to any of the major world religions. It is this combination of beliefs that they label Moralistic Therapeutic Deism:

1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

These points of belief were compiled from interviews with approximately 3,000 teenagers.

Authors' analysis[edit]

The authors say the system is "moralistic" because it "is about inculcating a moralistic approach to life. It teaches that central to living a good and happy life is being a good, moral person."^[6] The authors describe the system as being "about providing therapeutic benefits to its adherent" as opposed to being about things like "repentance from sin, of keeping the Sabbath, of living as a servantof a sovereign divine, of steadfastly saying one's prayers, of faithfully observing high holy days, of building character through suffering..."^[7] and further as "belief in a particular kind of God: one who exists, created the world, and defines our general moral order, but not one who is particularly personally involved in one's affairs--especially affairs in which one would prefer not to have God involved."^[8]

The remoteness of God in this kind of theism explains the choice of the term "Deism," even though "the Deism here is revised from its classical eighteenth-century version by the therapeutic qualifier, making the distant God selectively available for taking care of needs." It views God as "something like a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist: he's always on call, takes care of any problems that arise, professionally helps his people to feel better about themselves, and does not become too personally involved in the process."^[9]

The authors believe that "a significant part of Christianity in the United States is actually only tenuously Christian in any sense that is seriously connected to the actual historical Christian tradition, but has rather substantially morphed into Christianity's misbegotten stepcousin, Christian Moralistic Therapeutic Deism."^[10]

CNN online featured an article, “More Teens Becoming Fake Christians” on Kenda Creasy Dean’s new book Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church. (Oxford University Press, 2010). She writes, "The problem does not seem to be that churches are teaching young people badly, but that we are doing an exceedingly good job of teaching youth what we really believe, namely, that Christianity is not a big deal, that God requires little, and the church is a helpful social institution filled with nice people…" She goes on to say that "if churches practice MTD in the name of Christianity, then getting teenagers to church more often is not the solution (conceivably it could make things worse). A more faithful church is the solution…. Maybe the issue is simply that the emperor has no clothes."^[11]

Amazing Sermon from Fifth Reformed