Fourth of July is here again, and we take a day to celebrate our nation’s birth. As I consider our Nation’s ‘Independence’, I find myself focused on our individual struggles for independence. My pastor ministered this Sunday about community in our churches, and about reconnecting. But in America, we don’t want to reconnect; we want to be self-sufficient. We do not want to ‘need’ anyone. When we are young, we want to be older so we can do things for ourselves, and when we grow old, we do not want to be a ‘burden’ on anyone. We want to be independent. It has been said that no man is an island, but if we could find a way, we would change that in America…
Tag: Car
Who are you to judge… yourself?
Romans 9
20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
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Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10). When we speak against our fellow Christians, we become evangelists for Satan. This concept is easily understood by the Church when applied as a deterrent for gossip or other externally directed accusations. Interestingly, we seldom if ever consider the implications when we are accusing ourselves. Most likely, I suppose, this is due to the fact that we know already or at least we seem to think we know, whether or not our accusations have merit, and therefore become not only our accuser and also our own judge.
I made it!
I started riding the bus to work a few weeks ago. It saves us over $120 a month in gas – which is cool – but it takes me an hour and a half to get to work – which is not cool. So, I noticed every bus has a bike rack on the front so you can ‘bike-n-ride’. I got to thinking maybe I could take my bike to work in the morning and ride my bike home. So I tried that almost two weeks ago. My thought was this, sure its 100 plus degrees outside, but I can get on the bus any time I get too tired, right?
So my first real attempt was no too bad; I made it about 8 miles before I got on the bus (oh, it’s 18-19 miles to work). My second attempt I made it 14 miles. But yesterday, I made it all the way home – in all I put 23 miles on my bike yesterday. I had to ride up to Union Hills from my house (about four miles) because my bus already had two bikes on it (they only carry two). I could have waited 30 mins for the next bus, but I chose to cycle instead.