Wanderings

Wanderings

Yearly Archive: 2008

Wanderings > 2008

Saturday Already

May 17, 2008 Church, General

Yup. That it is, and I’m still trying to catch up. Reminds me of the little rabbit in “Alice In Wonderland” – “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date.” At least that’s part of what I get to feeling. But this heat is not when I want to be running around working up a sweat or stress level.

Glad it finally cooled down last night, but can’t wait for the heat wave to end. I kinda melt in the heat – like something just sucks all the energy out of me. Then once the energy is gone, it takes a while to get back up to speed.

Having a hard time finishing a book that I have been reading for the past two months (actually have read two or three other fiction books while trying to finish it). The “problem child” is a book on the Reformation and Protestantism for “Dummies”. I’m no “dummy”, but this is like a college history book. Not althgether boring, but very much full of information.

Jumps from country to country, and by so doing, is not linear (world-wide). Have decided that after I finish the book, it will have to be re-read just so I can put the “world” back together. Amazing stuff about the Reformations (yes, it seems that there was more than one) and world history. Never tied all those British, French, German, Italian, etc. royal families to church history before now. Even in college, the kings and queens were “secular” and they were just battles or wars.

Don’t ask me who the kings and queens were, ’cause to me that’s not the important thing. What I am seeing now is that how they viewed the “Word” is/was what’s important. Thanks to some of them, we have “IT” to read. Reading “IT” has made a major difference in how people have lived and died.

It was as a result of so many of those early “Reformers” that we have a country like America. From those reformation roots sprang “Religious Freedom” and the anti-slavery movement. We live in a land where you and I can write/tell others what we believe about God and not die for it. We can live our lives so that others see a difference, without the fear that we will be punished (even killed) because we believe the Word. Freedom costs everybody something – how much are you willing to pay?

Phishers Again!

May 13, 2008 Faith, General

No, that is not a mis-spelling. Phishing is what the bad guys and gals do. They put out some bait in the form of an email and reel in the suckers. Yes my friends, you too can fall victim to these creeps.

It looks honest enough that most people don’t even give it a second guess. They create the most beautiful bait by stealing the art (graphics) from a real bank’s web site. They then stitch together a beautiful email that you need to “check something” or “update your information”. Why they even include a link right in the email that you “just have to ‘click here’ to update your profile”, or some other inane thing.

When you click on the link, you are taken to the phisher’s website that just happens to look like your bank’s/store’s/credit card/etc. Once again, they have built a phony website that looks just like the real thing. They even have the ability to take your username and password (that you have now given them) and actually enter that on the REAL website, so that you don’t even know that you have been phished.

What brought this on you ask? Well, I got two request with a subject “IMPORTANT – Customer Service Message”. They looked just like the real thing that the bank sends me once a month to tell me that my “Online Statement” is ready. Very good counterfeiting! The clue though was when I ran my cursor over their link, and my mail program showed that the link with to some really weird location – like “Hepjingle.com”.

Sent those emails to the fraud department at the bank – like right now.

Reminds me of people who distort the Gospel message – it looks and sounds good. Just remember, the test is in the Word. That means that you have to read it. I know – it’s so much easier just to listen to somebody’s ideas and go along with them. Check it out – truth is truth.

Lost and Not Found

May 8, 2008 Church, Faith, General

Funny how something like a Bible can disappear. Mine did on Sunday. Had it with my tool bag and someother things that I carried out of the gym, but have looked for it off and on, and no where to be found. Good thing we live in a country where owning a Bible is not a crime. Just pulled out another one and started reading.

Finished James, and spend some time thinking about where to start. Felt that it was time to read through 1, 2 and 3 John again. Enough meat to kick start any day.

Thought about re-reading Philippians, but don’t want to mess with anyone who is going through Bay Hills U. That was a pretty great class. The class that I was with spent three nights going through the course. Most of it sunk in, but some is still getting absorbed. The hardest thing (for me anyhow) was trying to memorize verses that my brain has in another language (King James). Trying to say the three memory verses in NIV was like…well, I really can’t describe it well.

Let’s just say that getting through the class was easy and hard at the same time. I enjoyed going over the basics (again) and getting to meet some new people. Sometimes, I think it’s a good thing to look again at what your beliefs are built upon and how those beliefs ought to be lived out.

Rambling on here and havent’ said a thing about I John 1. More on that next time. For now, just remember that a house is built upon a foundation, not a roof.

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