The Adventures of Fric and Frac: Adventure 322: Catalina State Park/Post D

In my belief structure, Christ is worth the risk

Jeff Thune, Pastor of NW Bible church in Tucson, opened his sermon this morning with the observation that he may be living in Seattle rather than Tucson because it had rained steadily Saturday night, and promised to rain continuously throughout Sunday. He implored his congregation to rise above the storm. His message centered around the question "What are you willing to risk in the name of Jesus?" It was really a faith challenge. The text he examined came from Acts 21 where Paul was thrown into chains after returning to Jerusalem and began a time of persecution. The important part was that Paul and his followers had advanced warning, but Paul dismissed the concern of his followers saying, (paraphrase), "I'd be willing to die to advance the cause of Jesus." Pastor Thune then went on to give three examples of biblical figures so entrenched in their faith that they left the outcome of their worldly fate to the Lord. One example was Esther, the Jewish beauty who risked her life to save her people. Her flat expression when she was about to confront the king, "If I perish, I perish." Another was the battle general Joab who after realizing he was surrounded by overwhelming force expressed, "Let the Lord decide as he will." And finally Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who jumped into the fire rather than worship a golden idol. In all three cases, faith, in an uncertain outcome, was placed in the hands of the Lord. It encourages me because in the time I live I don't know (nor do you), and can't imagine the future, but I have faith that a power greater than me has a worthy plan. I take solace in that, and therefore I'm not concerned with uncertainty. I simply surrender to the Lord. One of the fun things Judy and I do on our travels is attend different churches each week. Today, we joined David and Ginny at their church, but over the years we've attended Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Morman, Churches of Christ, Megachurches, Southern Baptist Churches, Black Churches, and an assortment of others. I'm always amazed at the variety (not to mention the splintering truth) of Christian worship we've seen. We even went to a Methodist Church in Austin whose pastoral staff was made up of a lesbians. So, while I'm firmly entrenched in the myth of my own Judeo-Chrsitan upbringing, biased as it may be by my Catholic roots, I'm ever amazed at the nuance of God's truth. You see everyone sees truth through a different lens. Half the world has never heard of Christ. Another big number (Muslims) have heard of Him, but consider Him a lesser prophet. And yet another whole world believes Karmic truths. And that's not to mention the Atheists or Agnostics. What troubles me is why it has to be a contest. What distresses me is the the belief that if you're not one of "US" then your one of the lesser "THEM". How is acceptance possible when each group is so entrenched their truth as to ridicule the other? Even tolerance is double-handed. OK, we say, it's OK if you believe what you believe as long as it doesn't touch me. I can remember when I first started thinking about this stuff. I was ten. I used to climb up to the roof of my grandparents house and gaze west at the sunset. I always asked, "Who am I?; What am I doing here?; What is my purpose?. It wasn't until later that I realized I was just one in a long string of thinkers who contemplated these things. Greater thinkers than me have come to conclusions. Aristotle said, "To be is to do." Sartre said, "To do is to be." And Frank Sinatra sang, "Do, Be, Do, Be, Do". I'm just grateful the Lord has given me the gift of thought. It's risky on His part to let me think for myself; nonetheless, I conclude regularly that life is good, especially today, and more than that, It's through grace that I'm allowed this gift. For that I'm thankful, and in the end, if I perish, I perish.

Selfie of the day: Why does Judy always look better than I do?

Traditional after church breakfast for the Williams' (Judy portion).

After three straight losses, I've tossed the deck.

Though discouraged, I'll enter the fishbowl again tomorrow.

Gateway to the home of David and Ginny Kral with whom we enjoyed another fine dinner along with rousing cheers for our favorite teams. (David, a true Steeler fan, will tolerate lesser teams to a point).

David and Ginny have been enjoying a remodeling project. They're embroiled in the fun of matching paint, choosing flooring, and pacing about as they wait for contractors to show.