Musings of a Snickerdoodle

   Speaking on James 1:14:  Temptation finds its strength and source from within ourselves. The brutal truth of our sin, personal sinning, is that it is all in and of ourselves - not only can't God be blamed, but no other (person or thing) can be blamed - it is sad to realize how many still trust the validity of their 'blame shifting' and then add an extra 'perimeter fence' of protection by no longer identifying sin as sin - sinners are encouraged by other sinners to find shelter in their being a victim. The process is ls illustrated by James as being , first, each person being tempted (tested to prove slavery to sin) by their own desire/lust (ἐπιθυμίας - passions, inner cravings and inclinations) - this process of temptation first "lures" (NASB has "carried away") - "lure" is a better descriptive word since it was used of luring a fish with bait and visuals.  Then they are "enticed" (another hunting/fishing term) and so are t...

  It's been a while since I've seen a book I wanted to review.  I was looking at the Moody Publishers Newsroom website and the title of this book caught my eye:  Getting Over Yourself: Trading Believe-In-Yourself Religion for Christ-Centered Christianity.   If I remember correctly, when I was looking at the preview of the book online the chapter titles were a big part of what convinced me that this would be a good read, Here's a little sample of them: 1.LOSERVILLE : Is Christianity for the Cool, Trendy, and Successful? 4. HASHTAG FILTER: The Promise of a Socially Approved Life 5. THIS IS SO BORING: The New Prosperity Cardinal Sin of Settling For The Mundane I love the title of Chapter 5, it's so true! The living a mundane life really does seem to be a sin in our age. It really looked like this guy had a lot of the same thoughts my dad (a pastor) has had on the state of modern 'Christianity', so I ordered the book. Of course, it turned out that the chapter titles...