Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe (p. 143). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. . (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book The myth that Larry is dealing with in this section is the belief of some good people “that God only leads us to the mountaintop and that long-term valleys always mean a wrong turn.”   He goes on to say, “The problem with assuming that every deep and extended valley must mean a wrong turn is that it ignores so much biblical evidence to the contrary. Sometimes a valley does mean a wrong turn, but just as often (if not more often) it means something altogether different.”   He then says, “Some valleys are God sent me here valleys. Their distinguishing trait is obedience that appears to have backfired. Whenever doing the right thing is what puts us into a valley or keeps us there, it's a good bet that we're right where God wants us to be, even though we'd alm

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe (p. 134). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) My dad was a minister and he used to give out different statements that have stayed with me through out my life.   One of them was, “Too high expectations brings about frustrations.”    And that is so true.   The key words are “Too high.” And in this thought by Larry, the word, “Unrealistic” is the key word. He goes on to say, “Be it a marriage, a purchase, a business partner, a vacation, or our walk with God, unfounded and unrealistic expectations are always a recipe for confusion and disillusionment.”   He then says, “When we assume, imply, or promise that God is supposed to bring us good luck and lots of success, we're set up for deep disappointment and spiritual cynicism. Even worse, we risk turning the King of kings into little more than a good-luck charm.

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe (p. 108). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I hope you realize this.   If not read on. Larry says, “We assume it can be placed into any situation and it will tell us the moral temperature— too hot, too cold, or just right. But that's not how our conscience works. It isn't a spiritual thermometer. It's a spiritual thermostat. The difference is important. Thermostats don't define hot or cold. They reflect our definitions of hot and cold. We set them to respond however we like.” We are going through a very hot week here in Los Angeles where we live.   Our  thermometer is telling us that we are having highs over 100. Now to be comfortable in our house we set our thermostat at the temperature that we want.   A  thermometer doesn't define hot and cold. We define hot and cold. And as Larry s