Handfuls of Doxology

What you stand against will reveal what you truly stand for. Taking a stand is never easy. When we do, we must be ready to speak often and speak plainly about our position. Doing so will expose what it is we are really standing against and standing for. I often feel the urge to cry out against what I consider nonsense and am frustrated by so much around me. Especially within the "Christian Church" community. I have both reacted and responded to that urge in the past. Some will understand the difference between reaction and response better than others. Being a slow learner, and learning the lessons I have, the way I have (the hard way), I am getting pretty good at the self-evaluation part of the process. It usually goes something like this with me. _____________________________________ Self, A) Is my frustration due to the Gospel being compromised, dismissed, or abandoned? If so, pray and proceed to "B". If not, get over it. B) Is the

(Disclaimer: If we disagree, we must do so well.  We must not be ugly about it.  My confidence is in Christ and Scripture and that is where I stand.  I hope my spirit is communicated as one of only concern and grief for what I see, not anger or judgement.  My desire is for Christ to be glorified and the Gospel to go forth.) Here's the scene: these uneducated but spirit filled men were were simply living in light of all that they had seen and heard from Jesus. It wasn't long ago He was crucified, buried, and rose again, appearing to them all and then ascended before their eyes.  It was then He told them about this very power - His power that they would receive.  He said "You will  be my witnesses"  and that is what they are doing.  Now they because of that witness they find themselves being threatened and commanded not to speak these things anymore.  They know the penalty for disobedience here.  We know the rest of the story.  All of these men will die badly. 

Greetings Tracy.   It's Tracy. 2019 Tracy, to be exact. You're probably wondering how this is possible.  Last thing you remember it was January of 2015 and you were posting on this blog after nearly six months of forgetting you had it, full of hope and promise of what the new year had in store and all that was ahead of you.  In some cases not much has changed. For instance, it's now been over four years and you just now remembered you had a blog. We really should keep a Post-It somewhere. There are, however, many things that have changed since you last penned your thoughts on these digital pages.  Back then you were still settling into a new city, a new ministry, and still trying to figure out your place in all of it.  Your last post spoke of how you didn't know what was ahead, but you knew that God was in control .  I can assure you, as you wrote it then, you had no clue the gravity and truth of both of those statements.  In a million years you would have never