SteveH's blog

Divine amnesia????

Submitted by SteveH on Thu, 10/27/2011 - 12:00am
Have you ever heard a Christian talk about being so grateful that God throws our sin into the sea of forgetfulness?  Ever been able to find a passage about that sea?  Does our salvation give God, who is omniscient, amnesia?
 
If so, how can I know something that God does not know?  I remember my past sins; from yesterday and from two decades ago.  In fact, I have a journal that lists some of them as records of prayer answered.  Recounting my sin before God in the context of extreme gratitude during prayer has proven a very powerful incentive for the forgiveness of others – mind you religious self loathing and prayers of self flagellation are counter productive.  My hunch is that pretending that we know something that He doesn’t is equally counterproductive.
 

Premeditated murder and forgiveness...

Submitted by SteveH on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 12:00am

The Casey Anthony trial has had us all thinking hard about unconscionable acts of human nature. During my roaming thoughts provoked by the trial I was thinking about premeditated murder; I know, nice pastoral thought right? Well I was just amazed at how unimaginable it would be for me to actually plan a murder in advance. Then the Holy Spirit spoke into my thoughts and said “Really? Unimaginable? You premeditate murder often. And you follow through!”

It’s just clearly wrong...

Submitted by SteveH on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 12:00am

 In my house I’m known as the “Finisher”.  Meaning that long ago and without my input, I was appointed as the one who would finish all the “almost empty shampoo bottles, or almost-gone soap, or whatever”.

La Don and I went parking...

Submitted by SteveH on Wed, 07/06/2011 - 12:53pm
Do you remember “parking” as a teen or young adult?  I do...fondly.
 
Recently La Don and I were traveling back home from a retreat at the beach with our church staff.  We were taking our time because we would be passing our son’s school on the way and wanted to surprise him by picking him up from school in lieu of riding the bus.  To that end we ran out of things to do on the way and ended up at his school an hour and a half early.
 
A few days at the beach relaxing with good people and reconnecting to each other made us realize once again why we like each other so much.  The day coming home had been filled with rich conversation and periods of comfortable silence just holding each other’s hand.  We shared things in common like good seafood and antiques shops; her for the furniture and dishes and me for the old books.  Many smiles were exchanged and tender touches.  Funny as it sounds, we were feeling more like boyfriend and girlfriend than husband and wife.  This made the hour and half alone in the car with nothing to do but follow the natural course of the day all the more opportunistic.
 

Ever wonder why so many people suffer from chronic halitosis (bad breath)?

Submitted by SteveH on Sun, 04/17/2011 - 1:24pm

I was noticing a box of baking soda the other day. I have always known this, but the quarter just dropped on the implications. Baking soda is often used to absorb unwanted odors. So that means that baking soda has this world renowned odor absorption capacity.

Let me help you make the connection, how many people brush their teeth with this miraculous odor absorbing powder; millions. Where are these boxes of tooth whitening odor absorbing powder? Right, the room with the toilet in it, where the special powder absorbs all that...well you get the point.

 

My dog wants me dead!

Submitted by SteveH on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 5:15pm

I’m serious.  The way he looks at me gives me the creeps.  I go into the kitchen alone and begin to prepare a plate of food.  When it’s heating in the microwave I turn around and there he is.  He slipped in to the kitchen behind my back and is just sitting there, plotting.  I know what he’s thinking.  DING!

Sexual Frequency...

Submitted by SteveH on Wed, 03/30/2011 - 5:17pm
Taking my cue from magazines in the check-out line, I knew the title would get your attention – you deviant you.
 
Actually that’s the problem; sex is so connected to our relationship with God and sin has so corrupted the beauty of it, that the mere attraction to the topic elicits a sense of deviancy.  So sad!
 
But on a more practical note; in studying for a recent sermon I was reminded of sexual beauty in 1 Corinthians 7: 1-9.  Furthermore, in light of the most common marital frustration – sexual frequency, this passage has particular practicality. As a licensed therapist I know all too well how relevant the Apostles ancient teaching is.
 
Paul says that the wife’s body is not her own but through the marriage covenant her body is submitted to her husband.  However, the immediate counterbalance is that the husband’s body is not his own but through the marriage covenant his body is submitted to his wife.  This mutual submission is offered in the context of discussing sexual relations and fits perfectly in the greater context of the mutual submission principle found in Ephesians 5:21.
 

The Irish Korean Dry Cleaner...

Submitted by SteveH on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 4:23pm
I stopped in to my dry cleaners this morning to drop off a couple garments.  And as usual the clerk greeted me personally with way more enthusiasm than the average human.  I understood every fourth word and gathered that in spite of her jovial monologue she was disappointed that I was not wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day.  When the quarter dropped I appeared shocked and with tongue-in-cheek said “I didn’t know you were Irish.”  Addled, she attempted to persuade me she was Korean.  Equally addled that she did not get the joke, I waxed more sincere and emphasized my admiration for the Asian cultures in general and in particular the amazing Japanese response to their current tragedy.  Brushing aside my compliment, she launched right into exhorting me regarding the recent rash of world tragedies pointing to the soon return of Jesus Christ and the need for the human race to wake up and receive his saving grace.  Even with every fourth word the message was clear; there is a slow train of judgment coming round the bend, when are we gonna wake up.  Take it from the Irish Korean Dry Cleaning Prophetess; no one gets out of here alive, time is short; settle things with God.

Imagine...not Lennon style, Steve style...

Submitted by SteveH on Mon, 01/24/2011 - 1:00am

Jehovah God is perfect, and that includes all His plans.  I believe that God instituted the plan of tithing as one of the very first laws to connect earth with heaven in tangible worship, and to insure that the most legitimately vulnerable would be cared for.  I believe that this perfect plan was to result in the “temple” or “church” being what the prophet Malachi called the “storehouse” for the community – of faith first, and then the community at large.

An apology to the MD Senate...

Submitted by SteveH on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 1:00am

Along with several other ministers, I am invited to open the State Senate session one or two times per year. On one particular occasion I just had to apologize. Here is what I said to the legislative body.

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