Well, I have been pretty much absent for the past few weeks. There have been some personal issues that have restricted me but there were also some very significant issues related to this site. Particularly, I was able to acquire the chiefshepherd.com domain. I already owned the .net version and that is where the system has resided for the past year or two. Now, I am working to make BOTH domains point to the same site. That is significantly more difficult than it seems on the  surface but it is almost done.

The BIG difference is that the new site will have a new look and theme. I hope you like it! It seems much easier to read and it loads faster. There are also some minor changes that, hopefully, will make your visit here more pleasant. Everything (existant and new) should be intuitive – it should work as you would expect. If you are not sure what something does, just TRY IT! You will not break anything here or on your computer <grin>.

For those of you who have registered on the .net site, you will need to complete another registration for the new site (sorry, but I cannot find any way to avoid that). However, I have started the process and you should receive an email with instructions. Basically, you should not have to do much more than click on the link in the email.

For those of you who have subscribed via email or RSS, I don’t know what the effect will be. Please let me know if you do not receive any updates within the next few days. I will be adding new articles and they should appear as they normally would. If they do not, please visit http://chiefshepherd.com and click on one of the subscribe links.

Alternately, if you have any difficulties that you can not seem to fix, use the links on the Contacts page http://chiefshepherd.com/contact-us/.

It seems “religion” is becoming an ever more popular topic of discussion among politicians and the stars of movies and television these days. But, invariably, when their conversations turn to matters of faith, there’s a glaring omission in their professions. They firmly believe that “good” people who live “good” lives, loving and caring for others, are going to get into heaven. As if to validate their beliefs, a growing number of them are very active and vocal in charitable endeavors. But you seldom, if ever, hear any of them mention Jesus. It seems very few of them have any room for Him in their varied systems of belief.

The fact is, this questioning, or at least omitting of the New Testament doctrine of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ seems to be spreading. The words vary, but the central theme remains, “How can God (at least the one Christians worship) say He is love and then condemn so many people to Hell on a technicality? Isn’t that just plain hypocritical!” I don’t doubt that some of you may have heard similar statements from friends or relatives and are struggling to give an answer. We’ve struggled to give those we love an answer too. What follows are the results of that struggle, prefaced by three things God set as the anchor points for His response: Read the rest of this entry »

In November ’08, I converted my laptop & desktop from Windows XP to Ubuntu Linux. Over the preceding weeks, I had become more and more concerned about some security issues in Windows. I finally decided to do something about it.

Look at this screen shot of my NEW desktop:

Pretty AWESOME isn’t it! This on my little Dell laptop. The actual resolution is 3360 x 1056 (unbelievable!)

You may not be able to see the entire photo (click on the image to see the larger image) – When I am using my laptop, I have to scroll to see the right half of the desktop.

Windows XP runs INSIDE Ubuntu Linux:

Update Dec 30, 2009: With the current version of Ubuntu (9.10) and Wine, I can now run my OnlineBible program (newest version 4.02) on my Ubuntu Linux! And, it is FAST!! I no longer need to run Windows at all! See a new post on my RayWaldo.com site for additional info.

BTW, YES, that *IS* Microsoft Windows XP running INSIDE of Ubuntu! I used the Sun Microsystems “Virtual Box” program (free for personal use) to create a virtual computer onto which I installed the copy of XP that I was previously using on the laptop.

This virtual machine runs XP at about the same speed as before but since I don’t need very many programs and extra junk installed, it feels very quick (not as quick as Linux, but quick as normal winDOZ.) <grin>

Windows ONLY programs Read the rest of this entry »

Life is so full of uncertainties. Wouldn’t it be great if there were at least a few things we could count on? Some constants to give us a reliable foundation for the beginning of each new day? Well, Jesus assures us there are. Unfortunately, not all of them are good:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

Haven’t you found that to be true? In my sixty odd years of living, I’ve yet to come across a day that didn’t have MORE than enough trouble in it to keep me well occupied. Even on the best of days, little nagging things will go wrong.

And our response to those troubles is equally consistent. We worry. And we are so terribly good at it. I’m reminded of English class and how we used to conjugate all the various forms of a verb. Well worry is a verb and we’ve leaned to worry in a way that has all the verb forms covered: Past, present and future tenses; singular and plural; first, second and third person; we do them all. And no matter what form our worrying takes, it is so insidiously destructive. Literally billions of dollars are spent every year treating the physical and emotional damage we do to ourselves through our worrying. The list of ailments being attributed to worry, including some forms of cancer and heart disease, grows daily. Despite this growing evidence against worrying and the clear instructions of our Savior to avoid it, we continue to make it one of our constant companions of every day.

In His instructions against worry (Matthew 6:25-34), Jesus tells us to look at the evidence of the Father’s faithfulness in the world around us. Birds that don’t plant or harvest, but are fed. Grass that does not labor or spin but is clothed in splendid beauty. Then Jesus asks us this simple but awesome question, “Are you not much more valuable than they?” Read the rest of this entry »

“We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert to whatever God will do next.” Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 3 & 4 (Message Translation).

It seems like everyone we know has spent their share of time over the past year “hemmed in with troubles.” Many of them spend a lot of time worrying about what they should do next and how things will turn out. Perhaps you’ve done the same. I know we have. But, thank God, there is a better way. Take a look a Paul’s approach in the midst of his own troubled times. Instead of worrying “what can go wrong next” Paul confidently anticipates “whatever God will do next.” He takes his eyes off his troubles and puts them on God. He anticipates God’s response to his situation and when it comes – gets in line with it.

I’m reminded of an example Zig Ziglar uses in his motivational lecture “My Spiritual Journey.” Mr. Ziglar shares, “The Israelites looked at Goliath and thought he was too big to hit. David looked at Goliath and thought he was too big to miss. It’s all a matter of perspective. The Israelites compared themselves to Goliath and believed they had no chance against him. David compared Goliath to God and believed he was way too small to have any chance against God. It’s not problems that are in the way of our progress, it’s our perspective of those problems.”

The Chinese word for crisis is two symbols. One is the symbol for danger. The other is the symbol for opportunity. If you have your eyes on the problems, all you’ll see is the danger. But, if you can focus yourself on the Lord, He’ll open your eyes to the opportunities.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

This is a follow-up post to the article, “Jesus – right on time.”

(See the “James On Trial” site for more on this title… http://james.cdntoday.com/2009/09/looking-wisdom/)

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2Pet 3:18)

Several years ago, I did an in-depth study of the Book of James. I ended up teaching and preaching for a full year on the series! (If you would like the outlines, I can make them available later.) One of the primary concepts that I developed through that study was concerning the acquisition of wisdom.

I do NOT believe that God “sprinkles wisdom dust” on our heads. I believe that there is a PROCESS through which we develop wisdom. Here is my take on that line of intellectual development:

1. Knowledge is the accumulation of “facts” (or presumed facts)
2. Understanding is the comprehension of those facts
3. Wisdom is the application (in life) of our understanding of the facts that we have accumulated

Most of the education today (up to and often throughout undergraduate studies) is simply sharing “facts” from a book (or from a teacher’s brain) to a student. Then a test is given where the student is expected to repeat the “facts” that he/she has been “taught.” Usually, an objective test (multiple choice, etc) is used to evaluate this. Some very talented & caring teachers make it their business to move from the sharing of facts to encouraging/forcing their students to think through an issue and develop an understanding of the facts that they possess. To evaluate such comprehension generally requires a subjective test (such as essay writing.) Since this is much more difficult to develop and to grade, many teachers revert to “teaching facts.” I do not believe that our schools/colleges/universities are equipped to teach wisdom.

Actually, it is my educated opinion ^(note1) that wisdom CANNOT be taught! In every case, wisdom must be learned through experience. But someone already has their “hand in the air” wanting to correct me using James 1:5 as the proof that Godly wisdom is given by God. But, like so many Scriptures, this one can be misconstrued if taken out of context.

James wrote this portion of the Bible to answer the ancient question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” In verse 2, he told Christians everywhere to “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Well, DUH! This guy’s got it wrong from the gitgo! Who, in his right mind, can possibly be happy when everything is going wrong? And, in that day, “going wrong” often meant “facing death.”

But James gives a reason for being joyful in such severe trials, “BECAUSE.” (Not like my mom used to answer, “Because I SAID so!”) Rather, this “because” explains things… “because… the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (or “patience” if you read the KJV.) Well, if I wanted patients, I would have become a doctor! <grin> But bear with me (actually with James) here for a minute: Verse 4 says that “perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Let me reverse-analyze James’ thinking here:

1. We NEED/WANT to be mature & complete (v.4)
2. To get there, perseverance must be finished
3. But, to acquire perseverance, we must face trials of many kinds & our faith must be tested (vv 2,3)

Did I get all of that right? If so, then it appears that when we get patience/perseverance, it is NOT because God sprinkled it down from heaven upon our heads – it is the result of our having undergone severe trials that test our faith. And, as we put that patient attitude to work, we move further along in the PROCESS of becoming mature & complete.

Now, I have not forgotten about verse 5 here. After moving through the “patience process,” at some point, we should reach maturity & become “complete, not lacking anything.” Now, does it seem strange to you that the very next verse says, “If any of you lacks…”? If I read that correctly, when you finished with your trial, you should have become “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (at least in reference to that situation). How can you then say, “I am mature and complete, not lacking anything, EXCEPT I lack wisdom”? The only answer to that dilemma is that you are NOT mature and complete and you did NOT pass the “testing of your faith.” So, when you ask God for wisdom, He sends you back around the mountain for another “dose” of trials. He does not find fault, just “generously” allows you to retake the test!

That answers another question: “Why can’t I ever catch a break? Why do I just keep going around in circles and never get ahead?” The answer is, “You didn’t pass the test (of your faith) last time so you have to re-take it. You went through verses 2, 3 & 4 but you still LACK something so you must go back to verse 2 again!

Note1: Ray Waldo holds a Master of Education degree in Educational Psychology earned at Mississippi State University.

Note2: Robin Sampsom has written a nice article on this. Read it at http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/when-trials-comes-rejoice/

In Colossians 3:12-14 Paul calls upon us (as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved) to clothe [ourselves] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. The word “clothe” is used to require that we “put on” some things that may not “fit” properly at first. We may need to go on a diet & restrict the things that we allow to enter our bodies. We may need to “exercise” some in order to fit into these new “garments.”

But since we are God’s CHOSEN people & since we are “dearly loved,” the sacrifice should not be too great. The purpose is to get us into shape so that we can LIVE a life of LOVE. If you would like to see the outline for a message that I preached today on this subject, you can download it after the break. Read the rest of this entry »