Weekend Wishes

Kopp Disclosure

(John 3:19-21)

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    It was inevitable; and I'm not talking about the Mormon taking on the, uh, whatever for the White House.

    After over seven years of staff stability at First, our dearly beloved Jeremy accepted a call to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to do something kinda like he was doing here but without doing some of the stuff that he really didn't feel called to do here so he could accept their call to do something there more in line with what he feels called to do.

    Or something like that.

    So we're searching for someone who can never replace him.

    Let me put that another way.

    We're searching for someone who will build upon the best of what he had/did/is for the future.

    Or something like that.

    Of course, being the church's undershepherd, I know what the search committee is thinking/discerning/deciding; and, inevitably, people will think it was my idea no matter how untrue it is if you know, as Bubba used to say, what is is.

    But, uh, while that was/is inevitable, that's not the inevitability that I'm gonna talk about.

    Here it is.

    As soon as Jeremy left, a well-meaning fellah cornered me and said, "You should..."

    I'm used to people shoulding on me.

    It's a vocational hazard.

    Moretheless, We should be and do what He called and gifted us to be do and do.

    Read Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 for more on that.

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    Staying with politics often masquerading as spirituality, one of the greatest current influences on/in my noodle wrote this in response to the last two KDs: "I have been praying for a long time, daily, that God in His grace and mercy will bless this country."

    He went on, "America is not the Kingdom of God; never has been and never will be until and unless all sin in all of us is gone."

    Well, uh, yeah, that's true to Biblical revelation.

    Continuing, "To the extent that America was built on Biblical principles, we have been blessed; in spite of internment of the Japanese, slavery, Jim Crow, eugenics, massive abortion, etc."

    Ouch in a prophetic kinda way.

    Steamrolling along, "We still have a relatively great but diminishing measure of freedom...Maybe God giving us BBPBHO...[The KD title is catching on!]...was a sign both of His judgment and His grace: 'this is a glimpse of the direction the US will go when you get what you deserve and don't cry out for mercy - cry out for mercy so instead I will pour out my blessings on this country.'"

    Whoa.

    Concluding, "I am very interested in politics, and at the same time am very turned off if not scared by politicians who portray themselves as saviors...I was not happy when BBPBHO was elected..., but I still consider the possibility that God gave him to us in answer to our prayers for His grace and mercy on our country."

    Deep.

    Selah.

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    Moving from politics to spirituality, I've already picked the Packers to win their second of three consecutive Super Bowls.

    I think the Bengals will win this weekend; and EEEEEEEli's Cooooooomin'!

    The rest of the favorites will win; however, I'm really hopin' for an upset of Biblical proportions - a David-over-Goliath-virgin-birth-resurrection-of-the-dead kinda upset - in one game because it will force America to deal with what we've seemed to ignore/insult/abandon in recent days to our increasingly obvious demise.

    Salt.

    Stings on an open wound but saves you from...

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Blessings and Love!