The Stars At Night...

                                                               The Stars at Night


It was one of those evenings we have occasionally. It was clear, no wind, low humidity and a temperature somewhere in the mid forties. I think the cedar pollen was relatively low that night. The air felt good to the skin, the cool air was invigorating to the lungs. I had gone out to  feed the dogs, I sat down and looked up to feed my soul.

One of the advantages to White Bluff, where I live, is that there are no city lights and very, very few street lights. It is dark out here. That night was absolutely perfect for star gazing and my goodness did they ever put on a show. Any direction I turned was a symphony of light... bright to nebulous, twinkling to steady, stacked to scattered. There was so much to see that it was overwhelming and all but impossible to take it in. Soothing, thrilling, and just plain beautiful. It was a "wow" moment.

I was still somewhat mesmerized the next day when I remembered the night. I got on the computer to learn a bit more. One of those stars I guess I saw was Alpha Centauri. It is the closest star other than our sun to Whitney. It is a mere 4.24 light years away. Somewhere up there or out there is Barnard's star, the second closest at 4.6 light years away.( all distances approx. from the covered bridge in White Bluff) The farthest visible star is Star Carnae at 200 light years. The farthest galaxy clocks in at 13.2 billion light years away. A light year is 5,878,499,810 miles. There are between 200 to 400 billion stars in our Milky Way Galaxy.( I know that is a big difference but seriously, when you lose track at 87 billion and have to start counting again, any astronomer might be off by a hundred billion or two.)Do the math, those suckers are long way off. I didn't know I could see so well. The trouble is when we star gaze, we are literally looking back in history, ancient history. By the time the light from those stars reaches my back yard, they may be dead, gone, burned out. I'm seeing light that began its journey to my eyes long before my eyes or even my world was created. Turns out we can all see a long way, can't we?

We see back into history, can any of us see very far into it? No, not really. While I was sitting in the yard a couple of weeks ago about 10:30 PM I was just enjoying the show. I had a dog sitting under each hand, getting an ear rub. One of them decided to "thank" me and jumped up to give a lick--he got me right on my glasses. I took them off to clean with a hem of my tee shirt and noticed I couldn't see any stars. Unable to focus without the proper lenses their awe and beauty were lost to me. There were still there, I just couldn't access them with my weak eyes no longer assisted my glasses. I suppose many of the things of God are like that. We can see back into our history but don't realize that that old stuff is gone. We face circumstances in life where we can't see God at work, but like the stars during the day or when our faith lenses are cloudy, He is still there.  Like starlight, a lot of what appears pretty and nice now, may actually be already gone. And when we can't see into the future, we can always look by faith to Jesus who always gives us enough vision to
 follow Him into it. 

The vastness of the universe I can't begin to comprehend. I just enjoy the show and marvel at its beauty on starry, starry nights. And God is bigger and His love more vast and almost beyond comprehension is this truth: He loves you and me. You won't get that message from the stars but from the One who hung them and named them (Ps.147:4) and demonstrated that love for us that while we were yet sinners, He died for us.  (Romans 5:8) At least a part of eternity should be to gaze into that truth for a few light years and let it sink in.

Deep in the heart,

Cos

A "To Do" List

I finished my "to do" list for the year, unfortunately the year in mind is 2009. Oops, all the official documents in my life say it is 2012 but not one nerve fiber in my body, mind, or spirit will attest to that fact. It can't be. Looking back on 2011 I have to confess that I accomplished nothing...diidly squat, goose-egged, nada, the big "O." Most who read this blog are kind-hearted positive folk who will try to counter that last statement. All eight of you search in vain. There's nothing there. Let me share what didn't happen last year....

I didn't win the Pulitzer Prize for literature. True, I thought I had a better shot in 2010 but no one even nominated me this year. I haven't figured out if this fact should make me try harder, give up or find a more influential group than the eight who read this thing. The Pulitzer process being what it is I'm not sure if anyone I know could even get in the nominating circle. Maybe next year, oh wait, next year is already this year, dang!

I also didn't break 80 on the golf course. Now technically I guess I did break 80 but it was usually by the  14th or 15th hole that I passed it going up. It's also true that I spent little time on the driving range or putting green but I would have thought luck would have had some effect. I also know that those eastern religions with some thing called "karma" aren't true either because I supplied the golf course with plenty of extra balls in her woods and lakes. Such offerings should have brought lots of good karma but nope, not a bit. I have to be lucky or forgetful to break 90 now. I have gotten lots of satisfaction walking the course and finding golf balls. I have actually gone back out on my walks and found balls I had lost a day or two before. That's the only part of my game that has improved.

I didn't get to New York this past year either. Pam and I have been talking about it for years. I can actually see it happening now whereas before it was just a silly hope. In fact, I've saved enough that with only four thousand more dollars Pam and I will go. It may not be 2012 but it's closer.

I also didn't go on a spiritual retreat this past year. There were some real, unavoidable reasons for it in 2011 but the bottom line was I didn't make it. Part of the problem is where I live. You are suppose to go to a quiet place where  you can commune with nature, relax and maybe recreate a little. On retreat you take time to think, pray, and discover anew and afresh who the Lord is and who you are in Him. You see the problem, I live in a place like that all the time! My "retreat" needs to be be street preaching in the hustle and bustle of noisy Houston, LA or New York. Hey, maybe I could go to New York, preach in the streets and use my convention money and call it a spiritual retreat. Well, if I hadn't just put it in a blog maybe I could have....

One other thing I didn't do in 2011. I didn't die. Its not that it was on the agenda or my bucket list but I guess that was one thing I accomplished in 2011. It took a lot of grace for that to happen, too.  I seem to recall some truths taught about dying to self in the context of following Christ. Yeah, that needs to happen better in 2012. The truth is, it is very unlikely that I will win the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 or any year that begins with "20." I am not a good golfer. I may never break "80." There is still a little hope there but it fades with every slice. We will get to New York but the real plans of living life have more to do with visiting family and church members than Broadway. And one day I will die. I don't know if it is 2012 or 2020. I can't see those things but I can see the dying to self, ambition, pride, having to have my way, having to be right and coming more alive to Jesus, His life and His will and joy more than ever. And if that happens more in 2012 then the things that don't happen won't matter any more than they did in 2011.

Gotta go, it's almost Christmas,

Cos

The Sounds of the Season Are Seasoned with Soundness

Quickly now, if you added all the gifts in the little Christmas Carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," how many gifts would you receive? You said 364 which is correct. With the 12 days of Christmas beginning the day after Christmas and extending to Epiphany Sunday (on or near to Jan. 6) in merry ole England you would have a gift each day until next Christmas. Of course, you'd have to sell the golden rings to feed all those Lords a'leaping and maids a'milking. Bummer.

Consider for a few moments the absolute treasure chest which is the church's in her ever expanding library of of Christmas music. Whether ancient or modern, contemporary or traditional, in her hymns, anthems, and songs you find sound theology and captivating beauty in both lyric and melody. The authors and writers have left us emotionally stirred, intellectually stimulated, and abundantly grateful as they help us explore and expound the Eternal. The words and music of Christmas bring to expression every wonder, hope, sorrow, inquisition, resolve, and fulfilment of the heart of man while attempting to express the heart of God revealed in the Babe in a Manger. These expressions range from the haunting to the lilting; from the solemn to the triumphant; from the contemplative to the joyous. A few examples are needed......

In the music of Veni Emmanuel and the words of 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel' we hear, and feel the longing and the haunting hope of men of ages past and present. It is a plaintive prayer for redemption as it both describes the need and prescribes the healing balm. Ransom is called for in verse one, disbursement of gloom in verse two as well as death is requested to be sent away. In our earthly chaos, heavenly order is needed in verse three and unity and peace prayed for in four. In all cases the refrain lifts a bit to rejoice as if it were too much to even hope for yet it's true as the needs are met when "God with us," Emmanuel comes.

Can you not find yourself engaging in deep contemplation with Mary in the stable and asking questions as she must have asked when you hear or sing "What Child is This?" The Lord of the Universe, maker of heaven and earth who with a word spoke the world into existence, now wraps Himself in humanity's flesh and risks His healing of the rebellion of sinful man in the care and love of a teenager. Why does He lie in such a common, lowly place? He does it to plead the for the hearts of sinners. Why? Why? Why? With each question comes a deeper answer and a deeper question 'til all contemplation takes you to the heart of God's love knowing you will never plumb those depths but will grow in awe and wonder in the endeavor.

And rightly so, many of the songs of Christmas are joyous and triumphant. How could they not be full of 'Joy to the World...(why?) the Lord has Come!' The King is here to be received! What does one do with this good news of great joy? O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, come and behold Him born (verb, already happened) King of the Angels. What do we see when we come? We see "Christ, by heav'n adored Christ the everlasting Lord! Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the Incarnate Deity! So first we Adore Him in worship and then we Go Tell It On the Mountain that Jesus Christ is born!

And still, at the end of nearly every Christmas eve service one carol stands out. It is solemn, yet not frightening. It helps one contemplate the mystery of Christ's birth. Most mysteries carry in their unknown nature a distance lest the unknown turn out to be something you wish you didn't know. In this simple melody,  the mystery of the Incarnation and these words draw you in to the beauty, joy, and triumph  of Bethlehem much like a warm fire draws you to its glow. This song is, of course, Silent Night. Written originally in Austria by Fr. Joseph Mohr in about 1816 or 18. The music was added by his school-teacher friend, Franz Gruber,  for the Christmas service at St. Nicholas church in Oberndorf, Austria. Legends grew around the song about a damaged organ and a children's choir. No objective, historical proof exists of these motivations but the song was written for and performed at first by guitar with Mohr and Gruber singing six verses of "Stille Nachet! Heilige Nacht!" at the midnight mass in 1818.

The song traveled and the popularity of it grew despite its simple music and words or maybe because of its simplicity. Ironically, Gruber's name was not associated with the song and the music was thought to be that of Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven, at least by some. By the time the song had truly become famous in the 1860's, Fr Mohr had died. Gruber wrote to music conservatories in Berlin explaining that he had written the music but no one believed him. Finally, an 1820 manuscript of Fr. Mohr's was found and in the upper right hand corner was this note: 'Melodie von Fr. Xav. Gruber.' Finally, Gruber got the credit, we receive the blessing and God gets the glory.

The Church sings because we have a song. It is the song of the ages placed in our hearts because the Singer of creation, grace, redemption, forgiveness, and love has taken up residence there. O Come to my heart Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee.

Keep Singing, use music if you can,
Cos

Hymns or Carols, What's the Difference?

Do you know the difference between a hymn and a carol?  According to Phillip Brunelle, founder and director of VocalEssence in Minneapolis they are not exactly the same. The word 'carol' is derived from the Italian 'carolare' meaning to sing, to dance and thence 'carola' meaning a ring dance. The Italians also broadened  the French word 'querole' or 'carole' to describe tunes used to accompany celebration dances, whether religious or not, mostly not. Carols were originally thought of as circle dance that was accompanied by singing. A hymn had more theological implications originally and was not made for dancing. Later Augustine, the early church theologian, took it even farther using very strict guidelines of theological truth and musical solemnity for a song to reach 'hymn' status.

So are what we sing at this time of the year Christmas songs, hymns, or carols? I guess that depends on who you ask and how strict their interpretations are. One thing we know is that the Christmas carols have stuck around now for 600 plus years. The most enduring ones coming out of European traditions, mostly Latin, English, and German. Again, according to Brunelle, their endurance is attributed to "step wise" melodies which means they go up and down the scale--think "Joy to the World" and "The First Noel." One popular theory is that we sing these songs, hymns and carols every year because of their nostalgia and taking us back to when.....  There is much about the art and science of music I have no clue about but I have a theory, slightly different from Dr. Brunelle's as to why we sing these songs, hymns, and carols:  we can't help it.

We can't help ourselves because God made us that way. Music is universal. In every culture there is something akin to singing, praising, and expressing joy and sorrow through music.  The ancient hymnbook of the Hebrews contains many verses about the messiah. When Mary was told of her conception by the angel and had visited Elizabeth she wrote a song in Luke 1:46ff. When Zechariah recovered his voice after the birth of John the Baptist he broke out in song (see Luke1:67ff) and most of it was about the messiah and not his kid. When shepherds were told about the new born king a choir of angels punctuates the good news toward men with heavenly tunes.

We can't help but sing. But it has become one of the deceiver's great schemes to still our songs, silence our tongues and thus steal our joy. But the church rises up every Sunday and especially at Christmas and shakes our hymnals and overhead screens in the face of the adversary to remind him that he cannot take our joy any more than he could keep Jesus in the grave. God has made us in such a way that the overwhelming truth of His Incarnation, the mercy shown, the salvation given, the righteousness imparted, and heaven opened will be sung.

The way I see it, Christians themselves actually become the hymns, the songs, and the carols of the Incarnation by the way we display this grace God has given. Has your life caused others to want to join the choir and sing the songs of Life?

Keep Singing, use your voice if necessary.

Cos

PS: The rest of the month we'll look at a few Christmas carols and hymns and discover the back story.

The Advent Turkey

"Papaw, is it wrong to not like Thanksgiving?'' Reggie asked his grandfather.
"Well, I think that depends, Reggie, on why you don't like it or if its just certain parts you don't like. Tell me what's on your mind."
"I guess its just parts of it but some of the parts kinda take over the whole day."
"Like what, Reggie?"
"Like lunch, Papaw. We have to get up early to come over here to your house. Breakfast is usually just a piece of toast or cereal and Mom is yelling at us to hurry up or we'll be late. Then we get here and we don't actually have lunch 'til 2:30 and I'm starving and I don't like turkey."
"Well, that is a problem. I think I can fix a part of it. Why don't you and I split a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to tide us over 'til our 2:30 lunch. We'll just make that part of our tradition."
"That'll be great but it doesn't change all that other funny tasting stuff Mom and Gran-up expect me to eat. We eat that red gloop out of a can twice a year. I just don't like it."
"Red gloop?"
"Yeah, its some kind of berry stuff.''
"Oh, you mean cranberry sauce. I think Thanksgiving will survive without your eating the red gloop."
"And I kind  of like that smashed cornbread but that egg gravy is gross."
"I think you mean dressing and giblet gravy. I can take care of that one, too. That egg gravy is a bit much to look at. Anything else?"
"Naw, Papaw, if you can help with those things I'll survive Thanksgiving."
"Well, you need to do more than survive it, Reggie. I mean this is only your ninth Thanksgiving, I've been at this for  sixty-seven years and my ninth one was the worst one. I didn't think I'd survive that one but here I am and Thanksgiving has become about my favorite holiday despite egg gravy."
"You like it better than Christmas?!?"
"Yep."
"Why was your ninth one so bad?"
"I got confused about Thanksgiving and Advent-- know where we talk about getting ready for Jesus' birth and waiting on Christmas-- we light the Advent candles every year at church... all those things...
"Yeah, our family got to light the pink candle last year. It was kinda cool."
"I remember... well, anyway, when I was nine, the first Sunday of Advent happened to be the same weekend of Thanksgiving. I had a part in my elementary school's Thanksgiving play the Wednesday before. We dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians and animals and even food remembering the first Thanksgiving in our land. That all went fine, I was a talking Turkey talking about how thankful people were going to be to have a great feast. But disaster struck that Sunday. I was suppose to talk about the Advent candle of Hope, the first one. I had my two lines memorized and when it came time to talk and when I looked out at all those church people, I just froze. I couldn't remember a word. Finally, my mom gave me a hint and I remembered! Only problem was I remembered my line from school the Wednesday before and told the whole church that "at this special time of year, we all enjoy the Advent Turkey and all the blessings we have been given."
"You said Advent Turkey? Ha, ha, hee, hee ...what did  you do, Papaw?"
"Oh, the whole church started laughing. I was so embarrassed I didn't know what to do except cry. My big brother laughed at me all month. He still makes fun of me for that. But I'll never forget what the preacher did. He asked my family to do the Hope candle again at Advent the next year. I heard a few laughs, expecially from your great uncle Ned, but I got through it just great. Later at the kid's Christmas party the preacher called me over and told me he had an extra ornament to hang on the tree and asked if I would do it. I said sure and then he showed it to me. It was a turkey ornament. Before I could laugh or cry he stopped me and said, 'I know what you're thinking but I thought about what happened last year and I'm not making fun of you. It just that Thanksgiving with the turkey and dressing and pies makes more sense if we remember the things other than food that we should be thankful for. I thought of you and how you  put Christmas and Thanksgiving together accidently last year. So from now on, I'm going to hang this Turkey ornament on the tree to remind myself that the first thing I should do when I think of Jesus' birth is to be thankful. We don't have a thankful candle on the Advent wreath but now I've got an Advent Turkey to help keep me Thankful.

"Papaw, you made that up. I know you...but it is funny...an Advent Turkey...ha,ha,ha
"Reggie, we're getting ready to decorate the tree after the Cowboys game. But I want you to go look in that really old box of Christmas ornaments beside the tree. Unwrap the one in the brown tissue paper and tell me what you find........
"Papaw! It's true, its true!.....

Well, its Advent time again, Turkeys, so be thankful........
Cos

Sitting Room Only--- John 5:1-16

In just a glance you could probably see it but by really looking, gazing deeply into the faces in those crowds,  like Jesus did in Matthew 9:36, you begin to really notice it. Beyond the poverty, disability, and their unsophisticated ways and you see humanity, you see hurt, you see hope, and you see people, like all of us, who need Jesus.

The porch at Bethesda in John 5 was a place like that-- people hurting, disabled, fearful, and yet hopeful that an Angel of the Lord might bring healing to the nearby waters. "If I can get there first," was their only hope, or so it seemed.

We don't look for angels to stir the waters in our lives much anymore, maybe we should. We look for stirrings in our lives in different places now. We look to be stirred by work, reality TV, sporting events, by lotteries, fishing, golf, vacations, whatever.... But like the lame, blind and paralyzed on Bethesda's porch you have to get there first, just ask Ranger fans or Alabama fans. You can get five numbers right but it takes six to win the jackpot. You can make a million bucks for your firm this year and the boss has forgotten by next year. So for people on Bethesda's porch or in Wal Mart or in front of the TV, they are waiting, looking, hoping for a stirring in their hearts, their lives. But the hope is fleeting because the world tells us you have to have great timing or great luck and come in first and first doesn't last long. There is always another game, another sale, another deal, another season, another show and we have to line up again and again, maybe even for 38 years, and hope for first.

But angels don't show up regularly and its hard for crippled humans, whether of body or soul, to move quickly to stirred waters. So for those who rarely or never come in first, Jesus shows up at last, and He's coming to a well near you, probably the one in your heart.

And Jesus shows up asking questions: 'do you want to get well?' The cripple at Bethesda's porch answers that the only way he knows isn't working. Jesus would ask us the same thing--do you really want to get well? Yes, but what I've learned to do, tried to do, and joined others in doing isn't working. We tried making more stuff and became addicted materialists. We tried more work and became workaholics with big mortgages, two marriages and distant kids. We tried self-reliance and became so independent that we lost that part of humanity called community. We tried more leisure and got lazy. We tried to live for ourselves and found ourselves crippled with addictions, syndromes, disorders, greed, empty thrills, inequalities and injustices.

So whaddaudo?

Listen. Listen to what Jesus tells all those faces in the crowd: "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "Come, follow me." "Don't be afraid, just believe." "Everything is possible for him who believes. "Woman your faith is great, your request is granted." "Your faith has saved you, go in peace."

It is true what Dr. Charles  Poole once observed, the porch is never empty. It is SRO. But when Jesus shows up hope and healing, peace and salvation do, too. And be certain of this, Bethesda's porch still exists. You see it in line at Wal Mart, lining the halls of nursing homes, standing in line for a bowl of porridge in a refugee camp, filling stadiums, sitting in hospitals and clinics, and waiting for God knows what in front of countless electronic screens. All these faces in all these crowds have this in common: they, we all need Jesus.

But how does Jesus get to all those porches? Don't worry, He's there. His Spirit is there, His church is there. In fact, maybe the world and the church would be better off if we quit worrying so much about getting the crowds to church and took Jesus to Bethesda's porches. Then all those faces in all those crowds might see something of Jesus in our faces, and we certainly would see His in theirs.

"And remember the truth that once was spoken, to love another person is to see the face of God."
                                                                                                        Jean Val Jean--Les Mes

Cos

An Open Back Door II

Last time up to blog the Rangers had a chance, the Cowboys were a .500 team, and Kim K was still married. Things change. But for the church, often times the changes bring opportunities that we never could have imagined. I am calling these back door opportunities when the front doors of accepted morality, dialogue, political influence, church status, and the given-ness of the relevancy of Christ and His church are closing in our culture. Rejoice! The church has great opportunities for the true power of the gospel and authentic faith in the True Savior to shine like stars in our darkening skies (Philippians 2:15). Back door friends are often the closest anyway.

I had mentioned last time opportunities in the Arts, in the area of civility and manners, and  by genuine relationships in an electronically connected world but one in which people are more disconnected than ever.
Here are a few more back door opportunities........

4. Marriage-- many couples from young to old are now co-habitating. Gay marriage in many opinion polls is accepted by over half the populace in our culture. In light of the mindsets that have called into question the validity of marriage, in practice if not in sentiment, the church has a great opportunity to show the beauty, strength, stability, and benefits of marriage lived out in commitment to God and to one another. Kim Kardashian's 72 day marriage shows what's wrong. Marriage was based on feelings of love and the desire for the fairy tale romance. Christian marriage is based on commitment to God, His truths, and a commitment made by husband and wife to explore life together. In this marriage you are free to discover more about God, yourself, and your spouse. This "till death do us part" commitment frees, stabilizes, secures, and develops its lovers.  Grace abounds, faith grows, and in this commitment is found the soil for true, growing and abiding love. It takes more that 72 days to explore and develop this kind of love. The church has a great opportunity to show it in the lives of Christ's followers. And it doesn't cost $10 million but is worth far more.

5. Consider the back door of faith. Our culture is continually placing its faith, demonstrating its faith in politics, politicians, government programs, Wall street,  new business models, fame, fortune, and consumption of food, drink, entertainment, sports and other lesser gods to be disappointed, disillusioned, and increasingly dysfunctional. How about the church comes along and demonstrates solid, intelligent, compassionate faith in Christ? A faith is only as good as its object. The object of the church's faith is Jesus Christ. It may not always be as flashy, as profitable, or produce cuddly feelings but its Object, Jesus, brings to those who trust Him what they truly has been searching for--joy, hope, peace and love lived out in meaningful,  purposeful,  and what He called abundant living. In the light of this world's instability, sentimentalism, and emotional radicalism, this door is always open.

6. The Values door--Each of the values I list probably has three more to go with them and these values aren't always accepted in our society at all levels but the church can be the guardian and demonstrator of: courage even in the face of ridicule, persecution, misunderstanding, bullying, peer pressure and marginalization. Joy--so many people seek happiness and miss it because it is circumstantial. Joy in the midst of pain or suffering or even in the routines of daily living, points to a more noble calling. The deep, seated peace of knowing that God is in control and will take care of you for eternity brings rest and peace. It shows up as joy for it emanates from within. Peace, in the face of fear, fidelity to truth in a world of compromise, honesty when its easier to cut corners, self-giving, self-sacrifice, commitment to all things excellent, noble, trustworthy and the whole Philippians 4:8-9 thing will stand in sharp contrast with lesser offerings from lesser motivations.

7. The door of risky compassion. This compassion, or love in action, is propped open by sacrifice, generosity, and abandonment of control of the outcome. The church may start a ministry and it may fail. The church may start another church and it may not grow to self-sufficiency. So be it. The church risks because the church loves. Hope and love always have an element of risk. Instead of gambling or riding roller coasters, try starting a church for people who don't like church, or addicts, or prostitutes. Talk about thrilling! The church that does this will lose money from time to time, but never will they lose their investment.

8. A gentle knock on the back door of Biblical literacy will be answered by some. The church has a story to tell. It is the gospel story. We need to learn it well and share it often because so many on our world have no idea what truths are contained in the Bible that can bring them to Life. Our culture at one time knew about Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, Daniel and the lion's den, being poor like Job and what it meant to be in the fiery furnace. I'd be willing to bet the church can find a way to get the truths from those stories out there again.

9. Justice, Justice. Justice! Learn it, live it by word, deed, calendar, and wallet, and demonstrate it.

10. There is a back door into people's lives opened by Christians living lives of assurance and persuasion. With assurance of the future and being fully persuaded that God is present in each encounter, meeting, person, transaction, and adventure, in order to share His life with His children, our relationships and work are thus transformed into venues of sharing His grace and Sovereignty with all.

( Two more and I'll quit. This is turning into a book.)
11.There is a Power door. The church can demonstrate what Tullian Tchivdjian (Billy Graham's grandson) calls non-power. This is surrender to God's Sovereignty and His control. It is what Robert Capon called left-handed power (think Jesus, creator of the universe, dying on a cross)--not a power of physical, military or financial might, but one which allows truth to seep in slowly and deeply into the soul where it can change a rebellious sinner into a lover and follower of God.

12. A door called desire. I believe many would follow a church or a Christian who's desire was truly to be with Jesus and to abandon every thing in body, soul, mind, and spirit that either hampered one's relationship with Him.

Add to this list, subtract from it but by all means go to the back doors in the world and knock. Knock and the doors will be opened.

Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door, and the world's too for that matter.
Cos