Sam I Am ...spiritual adventures of a Christ-follower.

Love is a fascinating thing...

A group of elementary school children were recently asked what they thought about love. Mae, age nine, said, "No one is sure why love happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That's why perfume and deodorant is so popular." John, age nine, said, "It's like an avalanche where you have to run for your life."

Brian, age seven, reasoned, "Love isn't always just about how you look. Look at me. I'm handsome as anything and I haven't got anybody to marry me yet." Erin, age eight, offers what is perhaps the most helpful advice concerning love, "Don't forget your wife's name. That will mess up the love."

Greg, age eight, hit the nail on the head when he said, "Love is the most important thing in the world. But baseball is pretty good too." Love can be rather confusing.

A love letter from a guy named Jonathan to his sweetheart Mary said , "To Mary, the love of my life. There is nothing I would not do to reach your side. I would climb the highest mountain. I would cross the trackless desert. I would swim the widest ocean to be near you, my beloved. With much love and tenderness, Jonathan. P.S. See you Saturday night if it doesn't rain."

John 13:35 makes it clear "Everyone will know that you're my disciples, if you love one another." In a world that lacks true love, watching Christians love one another is fascinating indeed.

It's not what you say but how you say it. It's true. We have a lot to learn about communication. One of the verses most needed is Eph 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

People are really funny in what they hear. This is illustrated in expressions like "your actions are speaking so loudly I can't hear a word you are saying". We need to learn to communicate truthfully, but with love. And loving with truth.

This works both ways. To hear, we have to be open. To be heard, we have to communicate with the heart.


Edwin Friedman says it well. "The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choices words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech."

I want to practice loving truth and truthful love.

Sometimes, something strikes me as funny and here are some defintions that did....

Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realise it was your money to start with.

Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly

Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

Armageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

Sometimes I run across something that is really life changing. This quote from great preacher S.D. Lockridge is like that. Entitled "My King" it states one man's powerful description of who Jesus is to him. Enjoy.


He's My King
By Dr. S.M. Lockridge

The Bible says my King is a seven-way king....He's the King of the Jews; that's a racial king....He's the King of Israel; that's a national King....He's the King of Righteousness....He's the King of the Ages.....He's the King of Heaven....He's the King of Glory....He's the King of kings, and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King. Well....I wonder, do you know Him?.... David said, "The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He's enduringly strong....He's entirely sincere....He's eternally steadfast....He's immortally graceful....He's imperially powerful....He's impartially merciful....... Do you know Him?
He's the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's Son....He's a sinner's Saviour....He's the centerpiece of civilization....He stands in the solitude of Himself....He's august....He's unique....He's unparalleled....He's unprecedented....He's the loftiest idea in literature....He's the highest personality in philosophy....He's the supreme problem in higher criticism....He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology....He's the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion....He's the miracle of the age.... He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him....He's the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Saviour...... I wonder if you know Him today?
He supplies strength for the weak....He's available for the tempted and the tried....He sympathizes and He saves....He strengthens and sustains....He guards and He guides....He heals the sick....He cleanses lepers....He forgives sinners....He discharges debtors....He delivers captives....He defends the feeble....He blesses the young....He serves the unfortunate....He regards the aged....He rewards the diligent....and He beautifies the meek....... I wonder if you know Him?
Well, my King....is the King....He's the key to knowledge....He's the wellspring to wisdom....He's the doorway of deliverance....He's the pathway of peace....He's the roadway of righteousness ....He's the highway of holiness....He's the gateway of glory....... Do you know Him?
Well....His office is manifold....His promise is sure....His light is matchless....His goodness is limitless....His mercy is everlasting....His love never changes....His word is enough....His grace is sufficient....His reign is righteous....and His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable....He's incomprehensible....He's invincible....He's irresistible.
Well, you can't get Him out of your mind....You can't get Him off of your hand....You can't out live Him, and you can't live without Him....The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him....Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him....The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree....Herod couldn't kill Him....Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him. Yea!!!, that's my King, that's my King.
Father..."Thine is the Kingdom....and the Power....and the Glory....Forever"....and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever...and ever...and when you get through with all the forevers, then.... AMEN!....AMEN!

Change is not always good, but change is... Kristen Bell

Jesus needs a fresh hearing - Dallas Willard

I set out to minister to people and God ministered to me through people - Sam Brumit

What is your calling? What is that "thing" that God has called you to do?

I recently read a quote by Frederick Buechner who said "Your calling is where the world’s great need and your great desire intersect.” God has a way of planting in each our hearts the unique mix of gifts, passions, and enough "discontent" to stir each of us toward a calling designed to fulfill His will in us. So what we must do is take the time to reflect in such a way to look at our great Lord, ourselves and our world and ponder what He has called us to do to make a difference. This is a worthwhile search.

"If God is always with us, why is he so hard to find?" asks John Orberg in his book, "God is Closer Than You Think."

Ortberg mentions Michelangelo's painting of "The Creation" in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel where God is reaching out toward Adam. John observes, "If you look carefully at the painting, you notice that the figure of God is extended toward the man with great vigor. He twists his body to move it as close to the man as possible. His head is turned toward the man, and his gaze is fixed on him. God's arm is stretched out, his index finger extended straight forward; every muscle is taut."

He continues "This God is rushing toward Adam on a cloud, one of the "chariots of heaven," propelled by the angels. It is as if even in the midst of the splendor of all creation, God's entire being is wrapped up in his impatient desire to close the gap between himself and this man. He can't wait." Like Adam, Ortberg says, all I must do to touch God is to lift a finger, and he encourages me to seize the opportunities all around me.
"God is still in the business of coming down to earth," he writes, "to this cubicle, this e-mail, this room, this house, this job, this hospital room, this car, this bed, this vacation. Any place can become Bethel, the house of God. Cleveland, maybe. Or the chair you're sitting in as you read these words."

God is as close to us as we allow Him to be. He wants to fellowship with us. He is omnipresent which is a way of saying He is everywhere. If we miss Him, it's because we forget he is in the ordinary moments as well as the times of lightning bolts. I guess the key is to keep our eyes and ears open spiritually so we see and hear God in everything.

I attended a conference this weekend and one of the speakers reminded me of a piece that speaks to the heart of our lives in the Lord's Hands:


It Depends on Whose Hands It Is InA basketball in my hands is worth about $19A basketball in Michael Jordan's hands is worth about $33 million.

It depends whose hands it's inA baseball in my hands is worth about $6A baseball in Mark Mcquire's hands is worth $19 million.

It depends whose hands it's inA tennis racket is useless in my handsA tennis racket in Pete Sampras' hands is a Wimbledon ChampionshipIt depends whose hands it's in.

A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animalA rod in Moses' hands will part the mighty seaIt depends whose hands it's in.

A sling shot in my hands is a kid's toyA sling shot in David's hand is a mighty weapon...It depends whose hands it's in.

Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish sandwiches...Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in God's hands will feed thousandsIt depends whose hands it's in.

Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouseNails in Jesus Christ's hands will produce salvation for the entire worldIt depends whose hands it's inAs you see now it depends whose hands it's in.

So put your concerns, your worries, your fears, your hopes, your dreams, your families and your relationships in God's hands becauseIt depends whose hands it's in....