Thursday, September 29, 2011

New Phone Scam

It was an odd sort of phone call that I received this afternoon. I recognized that it was a new scam quickly. The male voice with a thick accent told me that I had been awarded a government grant of seven thousand dollars.

Interesting! I had not applied for a government grant. As a mayor I know all the rules and red tape for getting government a grant. I began to ask questions about what was the grant for and what department it was from and what program. No answers. Then he want to know my name, social security number and bank routing number for sending the grant money to my account.

I said, “What you don’t know my name?”

He hung up.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Available

Though out the bible we see that men and women who had an awareness of the presence of God. They listened and made themselves available to be used by God for a mission.


Abraham listened to the voice of God and moved to a new land. Moses liste4ned to the voice of God and returned to Egypt to lead the Hebrews back to that same land. Deborah listened to the voice of God and led the Hebrews to victory and a return to faith.


It matters not what our talents might be. What really matters is our availability. All of the spiritual gifts and natural abilities are  they are wasted unless we make them available to God. Long ago I resolved be available to God and be content with what ever God called me to do. 

Monday, September 26, 2011

Still working it out

In Philippians 2:12 Paul tells us to “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

This verse has often puzzled me since he also says that salvation if a free gift God though grace.  What does it mean for me to work out  my own salvation?

Here is the rub, I carry around within me a lot of baggage that hinders my acceptance of this free gift of grace. Things like anger, fear, selfishness, and hatred of those different than me. So working though my salvation means letting  go of my anger toward someone and forgiving them even if they do not ask for it. It means letting go of those things that I covet.  It means relinquishing control of situations that make me anxious.

God invites me to work out my salvation by letting go of things I want to control and allowing God to do some cleaning in this earthly tent that I call my life.