At the public library, the computers are located in a line of stations, or stalls.  They are separated by panels for privacy, leaving a space at top and bottom.  I sat down to check my e-mail and further waste some time surfing the internet.  For whatever reason, the guy next to me had his foot intruding over into my area.  Since I did not want to roll my chair over his toes, I tried to gently push his foot out of the way.  I was sure he was not aware of the intrusion into my space.  His foot moved, and my foot moved, and soon he was out of the way.  It was then I noticed the grain of the partition.  For whatever reason, at the moment it caught my interest.  I ran my hand along the bottom several times, feeling the texture.  As I did so, a good bit of commotion commenced next to me.  Wondering what was happening, I looked through the cracks to see what was going on.  It was then the guy next to me slid a badge across the floor, and told me I was under arrest.  What did I do?  I attest that I am innocent.

And, if you believe this story, I have some holy water and slivers from the cross that you would probably like to buy.

What to make of the salacious story of Senator Larry Craig...

Surely it is a fortuitous event for his political opposition, who will continue to delight at his self implosion and meticulous destruction like a little kid picking off the digits of a daddy long-legs. 

Perhaps he is innocent?  Not so long ago I was the victim of an overly zealous traffic cop who insisted upon giving me a ticket for slow-rolling a stop sign.  But I did not plead guilty, as did Craig.  I wrote upon the citation that I was innocent, and showed up in court to defend myself.  This Senator, even with a bunch of slick lawyers at his disposal, admitted guilt, accepted sentence, and paid a fine.

Why does the public seem so quick to forgive the sins of a liberal, yet equally fast to condemn those of a conservative?  I think it is because the liberal approach, at least here in America, is to relegate matters of morality to almost an exclusively private interpretation.  How dare you say that a particular behaviour is wrong?  So if you stand for little or nothing, how can you fall?  Thus, moral neutrality seems to have its advantages in the political arena.  Larry Craig has positioned himself as a social conservative.  Now it appears his walk does not equal his talk.  Most of us have a hard time remembering that it is still true that the validity of a message is not dependent upon the fidelity of the messenger.  The gospel is still true, even if the preacher is a rascal.

I guess the question most in my mind is what level of moral bankruptcy would bring a man to want to have sex with a stranger in a public bathroom?  Perhaps this can be defended.  I will try:

Society is so unfair with it’s disapproval that such people have been forced to secrecy, to lurk in the shadows and toilet stalls.  Well, I’m sorry, but the presence of a commode and the smell of a public restroom just does not facilitate romance to any normal human being.

Whom are they hurting?  So what if such behaviour offends the sensibilities of another?  It is two consenting adults.  They can have consensual sex without it being a crime.  Excuse me, but it is called a “public restroom” for a reason.  You are there for a singular purpose- not to be propositioned, or for the delight of some voyeur.  And I certainly do not want my son or grandson to be subjected to such a person.

Enough talk about toilet morality.  I think it is a great shame that human beings would take such a wonderful and fun gift of God, human sexuality, to make it so unrecognizable and ugly.

The news media will continue to meticulously explore this matter.  If the Gentleman From Idaho has a propensity for bathroom sex with strangers, then such pattern of behaviour will be, (ahem…) exposed.  If he is guilty, then for the sake of what is supposed to be an office of dignified service, resign!  If he is truly not guilty, then he needs to make his case, verbally and clearly.  And of course, as long as William Jefferson continues to have a seat in the U. S. House of Representatives, lots of people in Washington need to stay off their high horses.  

*Immediate forgiveness of sin, no matter how much or how bad.  Of course, this in no way wipes out any debt owed to society, or linear consequences in this life.
*Transformation of relationship with God.  He now lives within your heart, an ongoing presence and guide.
*Transformation of character.  It is potentially profound, but begins in infancy at the moment of conversion.
*Beginning of an intense personal spiritual warfare, as Darkness intends for this new Christian to fail miserably.
*We now have a new brother/sister in Christ.  It is the responsibility of fellow believers to take this person under wing.  He must be loved, discipled, and taught.

A big thanks to Richard Ezell, a fine Baptist preacher, for passing along the following story as part of the sermon entitled Usefulness: The Impact Virtue.
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She wanted to help, and so, because she was a nurse, she joined eighteen other medically trained people and journeyed to a poverty-stricken third-world country to help alleviate suffering.

After working sixteen hours every day for two weeks, the clinic doors closed. Utterly exhausted, she headed toward the bus for home. Glancing up, she saw hundreds upon hundreds of sick and injured people waiting outside the clinic for treatment they would never receive. She began to weep.

"What's wrong?" asked the nurse walking along with her.

"We haven't even made a dent in the need. What's the use? Have we done any good at all?"

As she turned to enter the bus, a hand tugged at her sleeve. There stood a man she scarcely recognized. Several days before his face had been distended and grotesque from a number of abscessed teeth, his feet so swollen with edema that he couldn't put on his shoes. They'd given him antibiotics and later pulled the abscessed teeth. Now he stood before her—smiling, pain free, with shoes on his feet. He smiled widely, thrust a small bouquet of flowers into her hand, and said simply, "Thank you for saving my life."

As the two nurses boarded the bus, the one said to the one who had been crying, "It looks like you made a difference for that one."

On the bus, the young nurse glanced out at the now dark harbor as a single light came on. Then another. And another. Until the other side of the harbor was ablaze with light. God whispered to her heart, "This is how you make a difference—by treating my little ones—one person at a time."

I will do my best to explain the mind of the average male.  It is complicated.  It would be nice to be simple and single minded.  For whatever reason, and we may call it a gift of creation, the man is deeply introspective yet absolutely considerate.  And this is especially true in relation to his counterpart. 

Words are limited in seeking adequate description of such a multi-faceted and truly fascinating subject, the genius of the male.

The advancements of micro nanotechnology come to our rescue.  I will not labour you with the details, but scientists have designed and produced a photographic machine that reveals a video image of a man's mind.  Speaking for men and women everywhere, gratitude goes out to these tireless servants and their wonderful contribution to humanity.  And, especially on behalf of males, I say "Thank you!". 

The Mind Of A Man

A final suggestion: Don't try to understand it....just appreciate it. 

Recently I spent a Saturday hiking a wonderful little section of the Benton McKaye Trail. The trail itself traverses across most of extreme north Georgia for over 200 miles. It is named in honour of the founder of the Appalachian Trail. The effort for the day was modest, being a 4-mile-slice leading up a nameless mount and then down a relatively steep grade to the Toccoa River. Crossing the river and the gourge, at that point, is a 270 foot swinging bridge.

Joining me was a friend from church, Clay, and his buddy from work, Roquesh. I really like Clay, especially because his wife is a professional cake and dessert maker. She has known for some time that I am quite happy to help her dispose of overruns of cookies and wedding cakes. Roquesh is from India and devoted to his Hindu faith. We had some interesting conversations about Jesus and Krishna, heaven and reincarnation, motels and 7-11's. He was good natured and it was fun. I found it interesting that Roquesh met his wife on a social networking site called match.com. She is from Indian descent, and a Hindu, from Zambia. I asked if her dad owns a motel there? Fortunately, he smiled and continued the conversation.

Here's some photos along the trail and bridge.

Clay and Roquesh tiptoed across logs to explore the rivers edge. I kept the camera rolling, hoping to catch one or both as they plunged into the water. I was disappointed.

EXPLANATIONS
I've been a bit missing here on t-Blog, and for several reasons.  This has been my home for over 2 years, & I continue to believe it is the best blogging format for semi-serious bloggers like myself.  However, I admire those of you that can keep up the intensity of writing something of interest on a daily or semi-daily basis.  At times my mind and interests wander, and I find I have not set here and connected in several days.  Inevitably I get to missing the experience, and the friends here at this place.  And I know that sounds strange; you guys that I have never met and know so little about, yet I enjoy your company.  Someone inferred that I do not like a fellow blogger because of our strong differences in some recent posts.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I am energized from healthy exchange.  It is good for me to be challenged to present an answer for what I believe.  Such is among the best of what blogging is about, in my opinion.

So, here is my personal re-commitment to this venue.  My intention is to try to post consecutively for the next several days.  Admittedly some of it may be rubbish.  Like I say, I am not a daily journalist.  However, a reason I blog is because I think I've got something that needs to be said, if for no other reason than to get it "off my chest".  I like for you to read, and comment, but that is really not an absolute.

A NEW PROJECT
I've been working on an audio sermon collection at Podbean.  Here is a link to my personal sermon website, with great creativity called pdave.  I've devoted countless hours trying to get this thing going.  It is not all that intuitive, and I'm rather slow catching on to the demanded and precise logic required of even basic website design.  The requirement has been to transfer sermons to mp3 format and upload them to the PodBean website.  From that point, the requirement is to wander the website in a slow process of design.  Actually, it is all rather interesting.  Then again, it does not take much to excite me.

The intent is to put about a dozen sermons onto the general site, readily accessible.  They will be of varying subjects, practical of nature.  I also want to list about a half dozen of whatI will call "Five-Minute-Message s".  I understand that many people are not really into church and the Christian faith, and proably will be hesitant to sit down and listen to a long sermon from a "country preacher".  And others will simply be like myself, of the "ADD mentality".  These shorter sermons perhaps will do the trick, and get a few hits along the way.

FIRST FIVE-MINUTE-MESSAGE
As a matter of fact, check out my first 5-Minute-Message.  It is entitled Honesty.  It concerns our need to be persons of integrity.  And it includes an interesting account of a moral dilemma faced during our recent state High School Basketball Championships.  All in five minutes.  Well...since we are dealing with honesty, it is more like five minutes and 22 seconds.

SPRUCING-UP PASTORDAVE
One more thing- I'm in the midst of some nip-and-tuck work on my t-Blog site.  The links will be updated.  Removed an offensive blinkie at the bottom, and replaced it with what looks to me to be a pretty neat webplayer.  I'd like to put it into the side column, but just can't seem to make it fit.  Any help would be appreciated.

UPCOMING SUBJECTS
Blog on, my friends!  This week we will discuss bad motels, a recent encounter with Elvis (I am telling the truth!), a respectful post about my visit to the Clinton Presidential Library, and who knows what else.  Come on back!

The knock came at the door early Saturday morning.  I swung open the door, ready to launch a verbal assault upon an inconsiderate neighbour.  Imagine my surprise when it was Jesus.  Quickly I changed my demeanour from scowl to smile.  He readily accepted the invitation to come in.  The house was a mess, but from the first I discerned he had no interest in such matters.  Thus, clumsily, I began the conversation.

Funny to see you here.  I mean, don’t get me wrong.  I’m glad you’ve come.  It’s just, it’s just I would think you would be more interested in talking with the neighbours next door.  I mean, they’re a real mess. 

He just looked at me, and said nothing.  That made me more than a bit uncomfortable. 

I’ve had a real problem with these people.  How dare they flaunt the Law of God, and ridicule the institution of marriage with such sinful lifestyle?  They shack up, and don’t seem to care about their offence toward a godly neighbour.  I’ve made sure to talk with others in my church about the sins of these people.  Fornicators!  Whenever I see them, out in the yard or at the mailbox, I make sure they can tell by my facial expression that I am not happy.  And, when God so leads, I fully intend to talk with them about their problem.  They may not listen, but they need to hear what I have to say.

“PDave, do you love your neighbours?”

He called me PDave… Jesus must read my blog!

Well, I want these people to repent of their sins.  And I want them to go to church.  Think what a testimony they could give!  And they could tell of how I lived next door and I lead them to the Lord-

“Do you think your judgments, and your intended confrontation, will make them change their ways?”

Maybe not.  But it will sure make me feel better.

“Who said this is about you?”

It’s not about me?  Right, it’s not about me!  I remember.  J-O-Y: Jesus, Others, Yourself.  That’s right, isn’t it Lord?

“PDave, do you think your neighbours are persons of value, as they are right now?”

I don’t like how they act.  Or what they do.  You gotta admit they are lowlifes, to do what they are doing.  And, no shame.  I’ll just tell you right now, I don’t care for them.

“I guess you should know what I think about them.  Let’s see-  I have carefully and lovingly made them in my image.  I died upon a cross for them.  And, I very much want to spend eternity in fellowship with your neighbours.”

I’m thinking they are not very attractive, or likeable.

“So, PDave, you don’t like them?  You know what I think?”

Silence.

“I love them.  Not just as they may become, but as they are this very moment.”

I guess that’s why He’s God.  I’m sure glad I’m not God, having to put up with such riffraff.

“I’ve a question for you, PDave.  Why do you think your neighbours engage in this behaviour?  And, why do you think they seem to have a lack of respect for your faith?”

I think it is because they hate God, and like to irritate me.

“They don’t hate me.  They don’t even know me.  The only things they think they know about me is what they have come to see in people like yourself.  And, they are not seeing a very good reflection of God, right now.”

I’ve told those folks at church they need to straighten up.  If they would go to church a little more regularly, and pay their tithes better, then worldly people like these fornicators would know we love Jesus.  And they might get saved.

“I’m concerned they are going to go thru life without experiencing my love.  And, that’s why I’ve put you here.”

What?

“It is not by accident that you live here, and have these people as your neighbours.  I want you to be their friend.  That’s why I’ve put you here.”

Wait a minute, Lord…

PDave, Your neighbours are very much like you.

No way!

“They want to love and be loved.  They want to be at peace with life.  They want to be happy.  They need exactly what I have to offer.”

Judgement.  That’s what they need.  Let ‘em taste a bit of your anger, and they will change their ways.  I’ll tell ‘em.

Passing judgment is not your job.  There’s already quite enough judgment going around.  Your job is not to judge them. 

Whose job is it?

“Mine”

Well, what’s my job?

Jesus smiled.  And I could tell, by his sigh, this was going to be a long conversation.