I like him, but I couldn't resist....

Beautiful, Risky Love

Remember that movie Say Anything? Lloyd Dobler (the nobody) pursues Diane Court (the "most likely to succeed"), but she was not very interested in Lloyd. He continues to pursue her until she falls for him. At first glance, Lloyd did not seem to have much to offer. He gave Diane everything he had and everything he was and when she stopped talking to him he was heartbroken. But as he steadily pursued Diane, she fell for him.

My wife and I recently watched this movie for the first time and it immediately shot to the top of our favorites list. After all, we love a good 80's movie and this is one of the best.

Lately I've been thinking about God and His interaction with us...His "plan" for all of us (Gal. 4:4-7)...and it reminded me a little of Say Anything. Think about it...how much does God pursue you? Yes, we preachers always speak of God's "eternal plan" of salvation, which is very important. Some brave souls may even say that the salvation God offers is personal (Gal. 2:20). But what about on a daily level? Do you even see Him or hear Him? My eyes are focused on the ground but every now and then He takes my breath away.

On the way home from work:

 

Taking out the trash:

I'm not a pantheist, nor do I believe God audibly speaks to me, but I am definitely not a deist. Truly, the heavens declare the glory of God.

But why is it that I'm only struck by this occasionally? Why is it so hard to remember that God is still pursuing me? I don't think I forget...I just don't want to take the risk.

Maybe the risk in our love for God is not that God will cease loving us but that we will find the divine love unfulfilling due to our sin or dysfunctional lives or simply to a lack of understanding as to how God is loving us in our present situation.(John Sanders, The God Who Risks, p. 180).

I think everyone wants the love that God offers, but many don't want to take the risk it requires. Thus, we turn to other sources of comfort and security: food, money, cars, sex, drugs, alcohol, women. Each of these has its proper use, but it should not be in the place of God....they cannot give what God offers, but we'll do whatever we can to get them.

Like Lloyd, God has "put himself out there" for me. Will I put myself out there for Him?

That's my choice every day.

The Deal with Clint Eastwood

Alright, so this blog has little if anything to do with Clint Eastwood, though he is quite awesome, indeed (a man who can play the piano, act, direct, and scare the bark off a tree certainly has my respect). So why is this "a blog about the Bible, motorcycles, and Clint Eastwood"? 1) I love the Bible, 2) I like motorcycles, and 3) Clint Eastwood reminds me of my Dad.

My Dad was by no means a "Dirty Harry" type. Not even a "Man with No Name." He just liked the old Clint Eastwood movies, such as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly trilogy. Whenever I see a clip from those movies or picture Clint with that poncho and hat, I think of Dad watching a Western on a Saturday afternoon.

My Dad passed away last March. He was your typical Western-loving 53 year old man, but he was truly far from typical. He had the purest heart of anyone I have ever known. I learned a lot more about him after he died. I spoke at his funeral. Maybe I'll tell you about that sometime.

I know that everyone (with sense and common decency) shows respect for those who have died, but I also realize that not everyone has or had a father like mine. Strangely, the more time that passes, the more I respect him. Thus, you can expect an occasional post about my Dad:-)

LibriVox rox my sox!

Do you, dear reader, love to read? Ah, I know a sharp person when I see one! But are you stuck in a car for hours each week commuting to work? Well, waste no more time on drab talk-radio.....meet LibriVox!

Granted, a little over the top, but if you drive 40 minutes to work everyday, you'd be excited too. I recently discovered this little treasury of knowledge while looking for audiobooks (vox is Latin for "voice," I think). It has TONS of books that are recorded by volunteers. All the books are in the public domain (that is, they're old--I haven't found any John Grisham, sadly), but there are a lot of them!

Let me give you two reasons I'm lovin' some LibriVox...

Books. I'm a proud bibliophile.

FREE. I'm a known tightwad.

Since they are recorded by volunteers, the quality of the audiobooks is a little "hit-and-miss" at times, plus if the book is really long it may have multiple readers, but I'll sacrifice a little quality for some sweet moolah. I heard about it a little over a year ago, but only recently found out that it contains theological books. I've already listened to The Enchiridion (or, "The Handbook") by Epictetus and now I'm listening to The Wars of the Jews by Josephus (9 hours of audio...might take a while).

Don't get me wrong...I love the smell and feel and experience of reading a book that is in my hands (which is why I haven't bought into the Kindle craze), but I like to make my drive to work as productive as possible. If you're a multi-tasker and love to read, this is the site for you!