Profound and Sometimes Preposterous Ponderings of Pete

I am going to touch on a subject here that is extremely controversial.  I would ask that if you read this, please read it carefully, regardless of your position.  I am a Bible believing born-again Christian who believes that the Bible is the truth and that it clearly delineates sin.  I am also a redeemed sinner.  I believe that God is the judge and not me nor you. I believe that homosexuality is a sin.  That does not mean that I hate homosexuals,  I do not hate adulterers, porn addicts, thieves, liars, etc.  All of which are sins too.  I do not judge them.  Again, that is God's job not mine. All that being said, I read today an article about the United Methodist Church "Coming Out" and it saddens me to see main stream protestant Christian churches allowing people, who are openly and proudly practicing homosexuality, to be leaders in their churches.  The Bible, which these denominations state they believe, is clear on the matter and i...

"Don't judge me"! That is a rallying cry, For many who debauch, steal, and lie. But as with many a popular prate, the guilt weighs heavy upon their pate. I do not judge but observe with clarity, the criers of bejudgement dwell in desparity. Deep down they know what they do is wrong, But absence of God is their freedom song. So at them too do I finger point? If so then where does love anoint? We are taught to always love one another, to treat our neighbor as sister or brother. I prefer to leave soul seeing to God, and not beat people with a Bible rod. But I will tell you if what you do is sin, regardless of your belief, or liberal din. Not because I think that I am better, but because of love found in red letter. He died not just for me to be free, but also for you if only you see. Judgement is God's and God's alone, and not for my self righteous hone. So cry not aloud that you I judge, when speaking to you love free from grudge.

A mighty oak falls, Nesting birds fly to new homes, Acorns left to grow.

Pastor Jodi Van Rhee of the Adventure 4 Square Church in Draper, Utah gave a wonderful sermon today which God had give to her to give to us. For those of my readers who don't know, her husband of 28 years, Eric, died 2 weeks ago.  We deeply loved Eric and Jodi, still do, and are mourning the loss.  Jodi told the congregation not to apologize for grieving the loss of Eric.  There were other things that God had for us but I am not addressing those here.  I remember when our daughter Rachael died, several people told us that they felt that they did not have the right to grieve about her.  The right?  We told them that grief is not a right but a part of being human. It is a part of life. It is a gift.  Rachael touched people who were and were not related to her.  They loved her deeply as did we, her family.  How wonderful for us to know that our daughter was the kind of person that would evoke a deep grief in those she left behind.  It means...

Ever been drowning in a sea of debt? Some of it built by you, and much of it due to circumstances beyond your control?  No matter what you do, it does not help and you can't seem to climb out of the hole. You are in danger of losing everything - your house, your vehicles, your utilities, things that are necessities.  You want to scream and shout and at times, maybe you do?   You go through the processes (sometimes lengthy and often tedious) of getting disability, food stamps, and government assistance all the while feeling ashamed because politically you have spoken against the abuse of these systems and feel like a hypocrite even though you legitimately need to use them. Yet somewhere deep down inside, there is a tiny spark of hope that it will all be OK? Or maybe you are disabled, can't work, you want so much to provide for your family but you can't. If you are a man you feel as though you failed to be who and what you were raised to be and maybe as a woman your abil...

Today, a good man, a godly man died.  Pastor Eric Van Rhee of the Adventure Four Square Church in Draper, UT.  There will be many people speaking or wanting to speak at his funeral and so I will speak my tribute here.  Eric was my Pastor, he was my brother in Christ, but most of all he was my friend and I loved him dearly.  He accomplished many things for God and in every way put God, his family, and his church family first.  There are 5 things that Eric did for me that I need to say here. 1. He restored my faith in the church. 2. He showed me that even as a Christian who screwed up royally, and I did, I can be used by God. 3. He taught me how to love the Word of God and how to study it. 4. He restored my faith in myself and helped me to see who I was in the church. 5. He stood next to me and watched with me as my daughter breathed her last breath. He did so many other things for God and for our church and for the 4-square church in America, but the...

One of the things I struggle with is worry. I wake up in the night with thought bombs and can't get back to sleep.  I know what Christ said about worrying and what Paul says about being anxious for nothing. I have jokingly said when nothing comes in I am anxious.  God has been working very hard with me on this point of late.  The problem is, that along with the revelation, he tests me.  I freely admit that I have failed these tests many times.  So he keeps schooling and testing.  I am up to a D+/ C-.  C-! I have a Masters in Physical Chemistry which is the Physics of Chemistry and yet, in the important stuff, God's school, the best I can do is a C-.  Which by the way, is an average. Believe me, it is not for a lack of trying.  It frustrates me, my wife, my family.  I get overwhelmed, and grumpy.  It is not something I like about myself, and honestly, without the Holy Spirit, a saint of a wife, and understanding children.  I wou...