What's a Crook?

I've always heard of criminals referred to as crooks.  Recently, I was studying the role of the elder or pastor as shepherd and was struck with this thought.  Jesus is the Chief Shepherd according to 1 Peter 5:4.  Not only has He ordained leaders of the church to shepherd, but He has also ordained the governing authorities (Romans 13:1).  When someone is caught breaking the law, it is God's mercy at work.  Through the governing authorities, He is catching the wayward with the crook of the staff and pulling them from a destructive path.  Unfortunately and far too often, many crooks harden their hearts and view this as punishment and not mercy.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and His desire is that all would turn from our sins and turn our hearts toward Him.

2 Peter 3:9

⁹ The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

The Marks of a Fool

Last week, I caught part of a radio program about fools.  Fool is not a word we hear too much about these days. The guest on the radio program (Jan Silvious) has written a book titled Fool-Proofing Your Life. I have not read the book, so I am limited as to what I will write here.  I do, however, want to share what she suggested as the three marks of a fool.  1) A fool is never wrong (in his own mind). 2) A fool uses anger to control. 3) A fool always follows his own heart.

Something rings true about this three-part definition.
Once we identify a fool in our lives, we would do well to follow the instruction given in Proverbs concerning our interaction with him or her.

Here's a link to her book: http://www.amazon.com/Foolproofing-Your-Life-Effectively-Impossible/dp/0307458482/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309318068&sr=8-1

Maybe the Best Free Download You Will Find

In the midst of a hectic week, I visited the Rabbit Room and glanced at Pete Peterson's review of Josh Garrel's lastest album. The word FREE caught my eye, so I commenced with a download. I don't remember ever hearing of Josh before, but with two days of 5 hours in a car ahead of me, I figured it was worth a shot. Wow! What a shot!

Love & War & The Sea In Between is lots of things, but easy to describe is not one of them. So let me fire off a few descriptors: 18 tracks, eclectic, atmospheric, joyful, intense, lyrically-solid, haunting at times, fresh.

If you have enjoyed the music of Norah Jones, Coldplay, Doug Burr, Bob Dylan, The Church, Dave Matthews, Johnny Cash... ok, do you see where I'm going? You'd never list those artists together, right?

Do yourself a favor and get it while you can (for free). Listen to it three times, and you'll be back at Josh's website leaving a tip!

After a few listens, let me know what you think.