The Lord of the Lizard Eaters (Saurophaganas maximus) is unreal. I call it Liz E.  The Liz E was discovered in Cimarron County over a century ago. Liz E was immortalized by the Oklahoma Legislature as our very own State Fossil back in 2000. (I have personal thoughts about our elected officials’ flights of fancy that are best left unwritten.)  Liz E was recreated for display by the Noble Museum of Natural History on the campus of Oklahoma University in Norman for all the world to see. Liz E was a great lord because it was the biggest meat-eating dinosaur fossil ever found in Oklahoma. Only it was not. It was not the biggest. It was not a dinosaur. It was never a lord at all.

It was all a hoax. According to the Tulsa World, after some deeper investigation recently by graduate student Andy Danison, of Oklahoma State University (of course), Liz E was found to be composed of a mixture of three different kinds of dinosaur bones. This launched a massive effort to find a real Oklahoma dinosaur fossil to fill the emptiness left to carry on the role of State Fossil. A new dinosaur fossil has been brought forth to assume the honor.

The Earthquake Lizard (Sauroposeidon proteles) was found near Atoka in 1994. Standing nearly 60 feet high, its bones are almost tree sized. E Liz, as I call it, would have been heard and felt as it wandered in search of its next meal. We have been assured this is a complete and genuine fossil. In related news from Oklahoma City, the State Mushroom has been picked.

Petty little lords and worthless golden gods litter the biblical story of redemption’s call to seek the truth found only in the one true God and expressed in Jesus, the true Lord of All. Frauds and shysters masquerading as the genuine thing beckon to us today. Worthless fakes will rob you of your livelihood, your life’s work, and your very soul. Only Jesus shows us the way, the truth, and the life. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Jesus is Lord!  So let’s experience the love and power of God together.

This year the Bicentennial Babies born in 1976 turn fifty. That makes those who are born in the U.S. this year, Semi-quincentennial Babies, which is easier to say than spell. The celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence a quarter-millennium ago is officially being called America250, although other groups are profiteering using similar names. On the back of the one-dollar bill are both sides of The Great Seal of the United States. At the base of the Pyramid, which represents the 13 foundational colonies, are the Roman numerals MDCCLXXVI, 1776. The Spirit of 1776 is what we celebrate each 4^th of July. Sadly, most Americans do not read the Declaration unless required to in school. It is a profoundly philosophical and moral document born out of the writing of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense, which was first published January 10, 1776.

After reading the Declaration of Independence, which just takes a few minutes, I recommend an excellent book called Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters, by Edward J. Larson. You can also find Edward J. Larson on YouTube providing interview summaries of his book. Watch one. The videos are very similar and last about an hour.

The echoes of the Christian principles of liberty, equality, and justice for all permeate the Declaration. Although many of the signers were culturally blind in the “for all” part, this document set the tone and framework for the building of our nation as united states. The unalienable right to pursue happiness called for local representation to voice the concerns and choices of the people to their governing bodies. By 1782, some of the emerging state constitutions enshrined the “for all” principles into law. Those states declared that liberty, equality and the pursuit of happiness for all made slavery obsolete. Freedom includes everyone. Equality elevates or demeans no one. Justice gives preference to no one. History teaches these principles are fragile and easily lost. Be vigilant.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Happy semi-quincentennial.  And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

There was a time some years ago while reading one of my favorite chapters of Proverbs, when a passage seemed to stand out. I know this story because I wrote down my experience. The verses impressed me as something I needed to pay attention to. I am uncomfortable when that happens because it means I am being spiritually convicted. The verses were, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow’—when you now have it with you.” (3:27-28)  One way to prevent Bible verses from convicting your soul is to quit reading the Bible. I know some people who do that. 

As I was walking to the local diner to have lunch later, a man sitting in the shade asked me for some loose change. I’m uncomfortable when that happens. He asked for the change so that he could have some biscuits and gravy for lunch. I think it was a heavenly set up, also known as a divine appointment. I invited him to join me for lunch. What else could I do? He took me up on my offer. As we walked in the diner he asked me what I did for a living. I told him and felt him pause for a second. I gave him the choice to either join me at my table or eat by himself. He chose my table. He ordered biscuits and gravy and a big glass of milk. I encouraged him to order eggs and sausage also. We ate together and he began to relax and tell me his story. He spoke in generalities at first, then a little deeper, and finally as the trust level grew, even more confessions. He guided the conversation, I mostly listened. At the end of the meal, he thanked me two or three times. I prayed for him, said goodbye, and knew I had been changed. (See also Hebrews 13:2)

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Keep reading the Word. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

On these cold snowy days, many find themselves pondering the big questions of life. Questions like: why am I so restless yet bored;  when will I grow up; why was I born at all; or why are my feet always cold? Sometimes the silly questions may reveal the most. The list can be endless unless we take serious time to find the meaning and purpose of our days. Seasons change and so do we. The circumstances of our lives today are in a different place than even five or ten years ago.   

I believe everyone has their own divine purpose for life. I found there are at least three steps to discovery: 1) an openness to the Holy Spirit of God; 2) an understanding of your spiritual gifts; and 3) an honest review of your life thus far. The first step is the spiritual work of prayer, worship and the Word. The second step can be discovered in the many available spiritual gift assessment materials and the spiritual graces that give you joy. The third step may be the most difficult—an honest review of your life. Some find it helpful to write down some key insights. Review your life by decades or significant turning points, starting with your childhood.  How have you changed? Remember the spiritual insights that impacted you along the way. How have you recovered from hard things of the past? How have you spiritually impacted others? Be honest before God and yourself. 

  Try summing up your life purpose in one sentence. Everyone has a uniquely divine purpose for living at this time in history, at their current age, in their current circumstances. How you live that out involves your call from God, your faithfulness today and your vision of tomorrow. This is hard spiritual work. Excuses come easily. It is not too late for you. God has placed you here for a purpose. Discover why, then fulfill it.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Live out your divine life. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

I met a real prophet of God once. I do not believe he thought of himself as a prophet. He just sought to live what Jesus taught. In doing so he influenced the course of America’s history. His name was Will D. Campbell. Born to cotton farmers in rural Mississippi, he was ordained a Southern Baptist minister at 17, served in the medical corps in World War II, graduated from Yale Divinity School, drank moonshine with friends from the KKK and was the only white minister invited by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. A few months later he helped escort nine black students through angry crowds to school in Little Rock. He was in Birmingham in 1963 when the hoses were turned on the people. I met him in the summer of 1999.

Calling himself a “bootleg Preacher,” Will Campbell abandoned the politics of religion, yet he had a profound insight into the ways of ethical Christian living. True prophets of God cannot pastor local churches, theirs is a wider calling. He lived in rural Tennessee where he wrote his stories, believed that Christ died for the bigot and the devoted alike, and sought to bring reconciliation to all people. On his death in 2013, The New York Times wrote, (He was) a preacher without a church who presided at weddings, baptisms and funerals in homes, hospitals and graveyards for a flock of like-minded rebels that included Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dick Gregory, Jules Feiffer and Studs Terkel. Most of his scattered “congregation,” however, were poor whites and blacks, plain people alienated from mainstream Christianity and wary of institutions, churches and governments that stood for progress but that in their view achieved little. We met at a Baptist gathering where he had set up a couple of leather chairs, two small tables and some of his books. He invited me to sit with him, and he asked a lot of questions about ministry in Oklahoma. He autographed a book giving me the challenge to Fight ‘em off!  I took it as an encouragement to stand for the truth, no matter what.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Stand true. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/us/will-d-campbell-maverick-minister-and-civil-rights-stalwart-dies-at-88.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0