“A Great Physician”

An Old Problem

“We’ve never done it that way before. We always do it this way.” When we love our comfort zones, why force a new normal?

We never know whose life may be saved.

Meet Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor. When Dr. Semmelweis was born in 1818, 1 out of 6 mothers died during childbirth. The cause was blamed on a disease known as “childhood fever.”

Dr. S found that a doctor’s daily routine began by performing autopsies. After cutting on dead bodies, without stopping to wash their hands, doctors went to the hospital.

They examined mothers in the maternity ward, thus passing on horrible germs.

“Who’s Got Your Back?”

A Real Dream

Years later, I still remember the dream.

A noise in the basement woke me. I flipped on the light at the top of the stairs and wiped sleep from my eyes. The old pine boards creaked with every step.

At the bottom I turned and saw a man.

The devil’s nondescript body lacked a red suit, pitchfork, pointy tale, sharp beard, and horns. But the evil oozing forth erased all doubts about his identity.

Satan spoke. I’ve forgotten his words, but I'm sure whatever he said was a lie.

“Cheering for the Other Team”

Good News in the News

Two recent basketball games in Texas made the news. Which one did the media highlight more?

#1: In college hoops, the Texas-Baylor game was overshadowed by a fight. Seven players were ejected (four from Texas, three from Baylor) for their role in the scuffle.

#2: In high school, the Vanguard College Prep boys in Waco hosted a game against Gainesville, a youth correctional facility for felony offenders.

The Gainesville basketball team consists of those rewarded for good behavior. Students not on the team can’t leave the school to cheer on their classmates. Few parents make the trip, so the Gainesville fan section often remains empty.

Then, Ben Martinsen and Hudson Bradley from Vanguard came up with a plan.

“Overwhelmed or Underwhelmed?”

Meeting a Celebrity

She could not wait to meet Kirk Cameron. The Hollywood star was at an area bookstore to sign copies of his new book.

As a teenager, she’d diligently followed his acting career. His magazine pictures and posters covered the walls in her room. Now a Christian, Cameron was using his celebrity platform to promote his faith in Jesus.

Waiting in line, this wife and mother planned what to say when she met him. She rehearsed it several times. When she stepped before the actor, he smiled and said hello.

In response, her body shut down.

Knees turned to jelly. Throat closed up. Mind went blank.

“Fifty Shades of Grace”

A Message from James Watkins

I like how James Watkins talks about Fifty Shades of Grey. With his permission, I am reprinting his February 10 post.

Fifty shades of grace

Someone asked me, why am I so bent out of shape by the best-selling book and now major movie, Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s certainly not because I hate sex. I’ve written three books celebrating sexuality and lifting up the sex act as the highest form of intimacy and pleasure on earth. It’s because I am so pro-sex that I am so anti-Grey!

The apostle Paul writes: “As the Scriptures say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband (Ephesians 5:31-32).

Throughout the Bible, sexual intercourse has been used as a symbol for the unity and intimacy that God wants to have with himself and his people. (He used circumcision as a symbol of faithfulness to him! And called unfaithfulness to him “adultery.”) God is so pro-sex that the Bible devotes an entire book, The Song of Solomon, to the celebration of sexual pleasure—with some pretty graphic images!

I believe that’s why God gave us strict and detailed commandments on how sexuality is to be expressed. And that’s why I believe the enemy tries so hard to degrade, demean and devalue sex. We see it in porn, in child sex trade, sadomasochism, and many, many other perversions of God’s original design.

So, that’s why I’ve spoken out so strongly against Fifty Shades of Grey. (I suspect the sadistic main character’s name, Christian, is a not-so-subtle attempt to further sully the name of Christ—and sex.)

But here’s the good news! God’s grace has made a way for everyone—no matter his or her sexual past—to experience a relationship with him that far exceeds any earthly symbol. (Sex is just an pale preview of what pleasure awaits Christ’s followers in heaven.)

Click to learn how you can experience God’s love and fifty shades of grace!

Copyright © 2015 James N. Watkins from www.jameswatkins.com

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know Fifty Shades of Grey has pulled my chain. I'm offering this essay to use free on your blog or Facebook as long as a) you don't make any changes and b) include credit line. I strongly believe this book and film are part of campaign of the enemy to drag God and his wonderful gift through the gutter. Thanks for spreading Fifty Shades of Grace! 

Thank you, James Watkins, for sharing your thoughts with us.

What about you? What would you add to the conversation?

David

“Letting Squeaky Wheels Squeak”

Constructive vs. Destructive

Constructive criticism is like cough medicine. Not pleasant, but good for us.

If a problem should be addressed or a task could be done better, this info is gold. Even if it comes wrapped in a complaint, the goal is to help us improve.

Destructive feedback is like brushing one’s finger against an electric hedge trimmer while it’s on. (Not fun. I have the scar to prove it.) It hurts badly and doesn’t help the situation.

Some negative people are “squeakaholics.”

One drop of oil on their squeaky wheel is too many, but 1,000 drops are not enough. No matter what we fix now, later they’ll return about something else that’s broken.

My snarky side wonders if, in heaven, such people will fuss that the streets of gold are too shiny.