Who Likes Shopping?

Honestly, I really like buying. I just hate shopping. I went to Best Buy a couple of days ago to buy a tv stand. Granted, it is Christmas time and the store was crowded but it was a zoo. You couldn't carry on a conversation with the person next to you because the music was so loud. The store clerks were circling like buzzards evaluating the spending potential of each customer. The aisles, if you could call them that, were so full of merchandise that you could hardly get through the store.

At first, I liked being left alone. I could look for the tv stand that I wanted without having a clerk hover over me. Then, I couldn't get the attention of any of them to buy the item I wanted. I wandered around for a while and left the store.

So, I go to Circuit City. The parking lot was practically empty. I knew this can't be good. I got a clerk right away but they wanted $20 more for a very similar item. I'm sorry, but something inside me won't let me pay more even if it is more convenient.

I got nothing after all was said and done. I had all the pain of shopping but none of the good end results. I told my wife about my experience and she told me how we could do without the tv stand. At least I was happy about this.

This is the reason I do more and more shopping on line. I can look at the items within a few minutes and make my purchase. I get the good result with a very minimal bad activity.

Generally, women like to shop. This has never made sense to me. Shopping wears me out. It is not normal to like shopping. This is one of the reasons I have wondered if women were of the same species as men. Think about it. Who really likes to shop?

Do We Really Have Freewill?

I just finished reading a book entitled, "Thirteen Things That Don't Make Sense." I think it should have been called, "Two Things That Don't Make Sense, A Couple of Erroneous Conclusions and A Bunch of Stuff We Don't Understand."

My definition of something that doesn' t make sense is observations which do not support what we already know. For example, the fact that the universe is expanding with increasing rapidity while entropy would declare is should be slowing is something that doesn't make sense. The continuance of homeopathic medicine while there is no evidence to support why it works doesn't make sense. I appreciated the author's elementary explanation of these phenomena.

However, his declaration that we do not have freewill disturbed me. At least, he expresses his own feelings that this disturbed him, too. The conclusion is made through abnormal observations. People with "Alien Hand" will find that one hand will move beyond their control. It can even strangle them to death. It seems to be programmed to do something other than the will of the owner. The fact that the brain can be stimulated to move the body gives evidence to the effect of an outside influence which takes away the freewill of the owner.

The scientist doing this study seem to say that we are all programmed to do what we do. We are not responsible for any of our actions. We simply follow our predisposed programming.

This blog must have been programmed into who I am. I seem to think I am responsible for it but it is merely programming. All of my experiences add to this programming. I am a sum of all that I am both genetically and experientially.

There is some truth to this. I know that experiences and genetics play a part in our actions. No one can deny this. Yet, there are so many other people who defy their heritage and environment to become something else.

I have met thieves who would no longer steal anything. Their whole lives were changed when they met Jesus as Savior. They gave their hearts to Him and their desires to steal were "stolen" from them. They are perfectly happy being something other than their programming.

Honestly, I think many scientist exhibit a type of faith that exceeds the religious. They seem to find what they are looking for and create systems of belief which support their own conclusions. When they discovered that the universe was expanding rapidly, they created "dark energy." They believe it exists though no one has any proof. (Strange but they claim my conclusions that God exists are unfounded yet, they have very similar beliefs because "it must be so.")

God loved mankind so much that He gave him freewill. He allows us to get in as much trouble as we would like. He also gives us the freewill to come back to Him. I cannot see this as programming. My observations is that God comes for me at times I have had no thoughts of Him. That just doesn't compute.

I Hear God

I liked the movie "The Sixth Sense." I loved when the little boy said, "I hear dead people." Sometimes I think people look at me the same way when I say, "I hear God."

Many people tell me that they have never heard God. I wonder why. I haven't had that problem and have a hard time relating to their frustration. I wonder if they have heard God but think the experience is different than what really happened.

My experiences may not match others. I have never heard God audibly so that it could be recorded with a microphone. However, I have heard Him clearly. I have always counted on Him speaking to me in a way that I would not be confused with who was speaking to me. I never want to wonder whether or not I have been speaking to myself and claiming it was God.

Many times I have had to get away by myself. There have been times when I have prayed all night and God spoke to me. He spoke words into my mind and heart. I knew they came from Him because I was at peace with His message. Some of the things He has told me did not come to pass for years. Others, I needed to act on right away.

God often speaks to me in tough times. I think that is because I am more open to Him during those times. I know that He has allowed me to walk through these tough times and He has a solution to my problem. I am willing to do anything He asks. His words to me are more important than the solutions He has. I know I am not alone. I know He cares again.

Sometimes God speaks to me through others. I have listened to other preachers give messages that I know were for me. I hear their words audibly and God's message in my heart at the same time. Again, I count on that peace that passes all understanding which indicates that I have just heard from God.

The Bible gives me God's word. I have found that reading the Bible consistently and progressively allows me to hear God exactly when I need to. I have been amazed that a concern I am currently having is answered by God's Word on the very day I need the answer. I have had so many of these that it makes no sense to call them coincidences.

I have had God rebuke me with His words too. I had been away from the Lord for a long time. He came to me in my apartment while in college. He brought me to a point of despair and restored hope in me one night while there was no one else around. I repented of the things I had been doing. I told Him that I never wanted to forget that night because I never wanted to come back here (the place of departing from Him) again. Immediately, He told me to pour out all my liquor. I told Him that I didn't want to waste anything so I would just drink all of it that night. He wouldn't have it. I poured it out and never drank again. (This is my story, not yours. You have to do what God wants you to do.)

I have called people "spiritual snobs" and God has told me I needed these spiritual snobs. I have begged God for things and He has plainly said, "No!" I have asked for things and He has promised me more than I have asked. The fact that He speaks to me is more important than the answers.

I want people to hear God. I know He wants to speak to them. I will be discussing this in a sermon series soon. Until then, I want people to listen. Do you hear God?

Take a Breath

I stopped using Verizon. My DSL service wasn't that fast. I tried to convince myself that it was but I watched a download with Cox service and I had to admit it just wasn't as fast. So, I decided to drop Verizon altogether and go with Vonage for my phone service and Cox for my internet. I am very happy with both decisions. I am getting better performance for much less.

Then, I get a bill from Verizon for service that I no longer have. I called and they said I had no bill. I thought it must be one of those computer generated mistakes and forgot about it. Today I got a letter from a collection agency. They said I was delinquent in my bill to Verizon.

I contacted Verizon to verify when my service ended but the customer service representative wouldn't give me that information. He first told me to contact the collection agency. They had told me to contact Verizon. He then would not give me the information. Can I say I was a little miffed?

I decided to go online to see what others were saying about their service with Verizon. Of course, that led to so many people complaining about whatever service they had.

Do I feel entitled to good service and accurate billing? Should I? Would accurate billing and disclosure of my own billing information actually mean that companies would have to hire competent individuals who would cost so much that I could no longer afford the service?

I spent a lot of energy talking very hard to people who had nothing to do with my problem. It really doesn't matter much in the great scheme of things anyway. Sometimes the best response to an affront is to take a breath.

Tomorrow I will call Verizon. Who knows, maybe I really owe them the money. If I do, I will pay and wish I had never spent such energy thinking I was right.

Yes, I just took another big breath. Things already look better.

A Lesson Learned

I just watched two commercials on tv supporting Windows Vista. It seems they told several subjects that they were exposing them to the newest Windows operating system called Mojave. These people said they like it. I think Microsoft wants us to believe that all the negative talk about Vista is unfounded. If we would open our minds, we would like Vista.

I didn't interpret this ad positively. The subjects could not have known much about computers or they would have recognized the operating system as Vista. Evidently, they were not given very long to use the system or they couldn't have made the ad while they were still in the room. My conclusion is:

If you don't know much about computers and you don't use it for very long, you will love Windows Vista!

Obviously, I am frustrated with Vista. I don't like the fact that Microsoft put out an operating system that doesn't run much of the software I like. They have essentially said: We are so big now that we don't have to listen to the customers anymore.

However, this attitude is not exclusively Microsoft's problem. I think the Church has often done the same thing.

The Church has preached a message of what people have done wrong without emphasizing that God came to people who had done things wrong. The gospel message is not one in which we say to people, "Just deal with it," but one which we must listen to the people so that we can get the opportunity to share our message. The Church must understand why people are who they are in order to know how to present the message. The Church must share this message with compassion and mercy.

There are times when it must be said, "Thus saith the Lord," for sin will always be sin. But God's love will always overcome the shortcomings of everyone who comes to Him.

It is so easy for me to sit in my office preparing sermons without regard for those who will hear them. I have not walked in their shoes. My messages can easily be interpreted as, "If you don't know much and don't follow me very long, you'll really like my messages."

God continues to confront me with my need for His mercy. I must respond by giving mercy to others or I never understood that mercy. I cannot be one who does not care about those whom He came to love into His kingdom. Since God never says, "To Hell with you!" neither can I.

I guess the lesson I have learned from these ads has made a positive impact on me. Maybe Vista isn't all bad after all. . .not!!!

Breaking News or Making News?

I am from Texas and, therefore, watch news about my home state. The most recent has been the coverage of Hurricane Ike. Many people have evidently lost their lives and the flooding damage will run in the billions. These deserve news coverage.

The speculation, however, gets to me. Of course, more time is spent on worst case scenarios than what is likely to happen. Reporters are placed in harms way to show the extent of the damage or the ferocity of the storm. One "expert" after another prognosticates where the storm will go, what the storm will do and what that will mean for the economy.

I have a crazy idea. Why not just report what we know? Why not give a greater picture of the storm? Show the places where the things are good along with where the things are bad. Don't put the reporters in dangerous places. After all, you really can't show how bad it is on a television screen anyway. Videos of an event are just not the same as being there.

Unfortunately, the media has always flourished when the news is bad. "If it bleeds; it leads," is the mantra of nightly news. People seem attracted to destruction. "You, too, can own the dvd of the end of the world as reported right here!"

Maybe the media got their cue from preachers. We have been telling the world that it was doomed for a long time. The greater our ability to say that bad things are coming; the greater our crowds. Of course, we have reversed that trend to go in exactly the opposite direction. Now, preachers are telling everyone that God is going to make them stinking rich. It brings more crowds than the disaster stories. Will the media pick up on this too?

Both preachers and the media need to tell the story more accurately than to sensationalize just for the sake of drawing a crowd. Speculation and sensationalism is making news rather than breaking news. This may make both sermons and news programs much shorter.

Buying Back My Wrongs?

I ride a bicycle to work almost every day. One day of the week I have an early breakfast meeting and it just isn't practical. I leave my car at the church every day except that one so that I can still go to the hospitals or meet any emergency.

Some days the car is never started. It burns no gas this way. It emits no harmful emissions. It saves money. I get exercise. I have lost ten pounds doing this. I think everyone has benefited.

I hear that some people use a great deal of energy and somehow buy back "green points" or something like that. This solution to our energy and environment problems gives those who are wealthy an opportunity to keep their lifestyles as they would like. Then, they can demand that the rest of us be as "green" conscious as they are. Who are they kidding?

This sounds like I can do anything that I want to as long as I have some method of buying back my wrong decisions. I can't imagine telling the police, "Yes, Officer, I did just run that red light but I promise I will stop twice at the next one." Surely, this will make everything alright?

The better decision is to not do the wrong things in the first place. I can't buy back my wrongs anyway. I can pretend that this makes a difference but it does not take these wrongs away. It just makes me feel better about myself. However, this is a false absolution. The effect of the wrong is still there.

Maybe we get the idea from our faith. Do people think that they can do anything they want to if they follow it up with a lot of good things? I certainly don't think so.