Reb Rev's Blog

No matter what cellular company you use – sooner or later – you will run
into coverage issues.

As many cell towers as there are, it always seems we will spend some amount
of time in a place in a place where coverage is lacking.

I’ve noticed there is a correlation between the amount of battery usage and
the strength of the signal. When the signal is low, the battery will drain
very quickly.

This same truth applies to our spiritual life. The further get away from
God (the source of our strength) the more quickly we become drained.

Quite often, when we have a week signal with our cell phones, there isn’t
much we can do about it right then. However, the psalmist shares his cry
with us in Psalm 22:19, “But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My
Strength, hasten to help Me!” That same prayer will work for you and I!

My prayer this week is each of us will be closer to the Source of strength
each and every day, and when you are feeling drained you will call on His
name.

“ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” – Ephesians 2:4-5a

Based on personal experience and the recent of experience of others, I was thinking of the rescue of “ditch dogs.” Those are the dogs some people just don’t want and for reasons I’ll never comprehend, they just throw them out in a ditch someplace for whatever to happen to the poor animal.
These stories which have a happy ending always wind up with some kind-hearted person picking the dog up, feeding the often emaciated animal, usually picking dozens of ticks off of it, and giving it a loving home that critter never could have before imagined.
Sure that dog will get dirty again, there will be more ticks, but because of the love of the master, that won’t be the way of life for that dog any longer.
God does the same for us. When we are thrown aside, beaten, dead in our sin, He picks us up, loves us, cleans us up, and gives us a life we could never before imagine. Are we perfect? No. Will there be slips and falls along the way? Absolutely. But, the Master loves us and that won’t be our way of life any more.
Sadly, some of those ditch dogs just won’t let you get near them. If we could just make them understand the love of a home. If only they could understand. If we could only speak dog, we could tell them. That was the point of Christ’s coming to earth, to tell us of the Father’s love in a language we can understand. Now it’s our job to share the good news.

“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”– I Peter 1:8-9

What song is your theme song?
What kind of car are you?
What dessert are you?

Have you seen these tests on Facebook and other social media?

There is one now which tells you about your personality based on which one of ten doors you select.

Yes, I take them too, and some of them are amazingly accurate. Or, at least seem to be.

I have discovered something though. None of the personality test results say, “Hey, you’re a jerk, cool it!” Or, “People really can’t stand to be around you, you should lighten up!”

There are days my results should say those things.

God’s Word isn’t a Facebook game, and it does give us a reality check as to our actions, our attitudes, and our motivations.

The verses preceding those quoted above challenge us to have faith and to add to it:

–          Virtue

–          Knowledge

–          self-control

–          perseverance

–          godliness

–          brotherly kindness

–          love

So, the “Eight Question Test” for today is, “Do you have faith?” “Do you have virtue?” And just go down the list.

The source of all these is found in Christ. The closer we get to Him, the more of these we will have, and the more like Him we become. It’s a challenge and it is definitely a process, but, it is a test worth taking every day – no matter what your theme song is or what kind of tree you are.

My prayer for us this week is that we will grow in our Christ-likeness every day.

“The Samson Syndrome – What You Can Learn From the Baddest Boy in the Bible” by Mark Atteberry was as much a pleasure as “The Solomon Seduction.”

In this offering Atteberry breaks down the life of a famous failure from the scriptures – Samson. Chosen by God, and given a call to deliver God’s chosen people, Samson serves self and never gets around to fulfilling the calling on his life.

Atteberry breaks the material down into twelve tendencies for the modern man – like “The Solomon Seduction” it is geared toward men, and (again) there is much content female readers could benefit from as well.

Some of the tendencies the author identifies and explores

• Strong Men Tend to Disregard Boundaries
• Strong Men Tend to Struggle with Lust
• Strong Men Tend to Ignore Good Advice
• Strong Men Tend to Use Anger as a Tool
• Strong Men Tend to Have Big Egos
• Strong Men Tend to Take too Much for Granted

All of these are backed up by examples from the life of Samson.

In each section, Atteberry provides warning signs and signals of the condition as well as ways to remedy and return to closer walk with God.

Also included in the book is a study guide for use in small groups.

“The Samson Syndrome” is a timely work and well worth the read by any man who is concerned about the temptations in the world today. It, too, will guide you back in repentance, or keep you on track. I recommend it.

(I will be posting a few of these book reviews as a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger Program J