What is the big deal!

The title of this blog should be linked so you can read the article in question, but just incase here it the link HERE
I realize that this is probably a very debatable subject; truth is though I do not understand the over reactions. My subject J. Crew. For those of you who have not heard or read the article yet; let me fill you in. J. Crew has put out an ad that shows a mother spending some time with her child; that has painted toes. No big deal right? So, why all the talk? The child is a boy and his toes are painted pink. There have been several articles over this, but the only ones I have read are on Foxnews and Yahoo. There are those that say that this ad is horrible and is a danger to the child. I have this to say... What?! Their whole argument is about gender identity and that she is pushing her son to be something that he might otherwise naturally not be if encouraged in masculine activities. Who is to say he is not. You cannot make assumptions off of one photo. Anyways I think that the negative views are crock and they are grasping. Is it that his toes are painted? If so, they are saying that every man out there that goes and gets his nails manicured has gender identity issues. Or, is it that the toes are painted pink. So, every man who likes the color pink or wears a pink shirt has gender issues? Pure grasping is what I see from them. I say this for several reasons, first of all when I was a child the only sibling I had to spend my play time with was my younger sister. My sister and I spent great deal of my play time with her playing with toys that were defiantly not for boys. Such as Barbie dolls, my little pony and dress up. I will tell you this none of that made me have gender identity issues. In fact it helped to reinforce who I was. For those of you who know me I am not some small dainty guy walking around lol. I also learned things such as braiding hair and applying nail polish. What I see in this picture is a mother having a playful time with her little boy and honestly I believe it is very healthy for a boy to spend time with mom doing feminine things. Now I have to say if the picture showed a father with his daughter getting dirty, playing in the dirt or some other masculine activity there would have been nothing said. A boy playing with dolls, playing dress up or painting toe nails does not cause them to be gay or have gender identity issues. All the times I spent playing with my sister as a child just helped me in the long run. Most of all since I have 3 little girls! I swim in estrogen every day. But, as a father I am able to do things like paint toe nails and braid hair. I say to these people give it up and stop criticizing people. If they want to point fingers at gender identity issues point at all the dead beat dads out there that walk away from a woman with a boy or the father that never has anything to do with his boy child. Anyways that is my rant for the day; I am just tired of people putting down others, who cares if they turn out a little different than the norm. Let people be who they are and rejoice that they at least know who they are; the world would be so much happier. Someone identifying with another gender better or being gay does not make them a bad person.... it makes the human and everyone is different.

Been A While

Okay, it has been a while.. okay so it has been a long while..< roles eyes >. I have not fallen of the Earth, yet, but I have been spectacularly busy. So, all of it has not been so spectacular. It seemed the holidays got here went as quickly as they came and the new year hit and BOOM! Yup I got busy. School,life, kids, wife and friends. I regret to say that one of those has now fallen of my list (school), yeah I think that I just need a break from that for a while and focus on some of the things I enjoy.
While this blog will continue to focus on God and faith, I am going to be expanding it to cover much more. How much more? Life! Kind of vague I know, but it will be fun. Some of the things you will see on here are some of my crazy philosophical ideas, our snakes and their breeding, also our breeding of rats and mice, book reviews and things happening in the life around us and in the world. Yeah it is going to be interesting!
I do hope everyone will enjoy this new approach i am doing; I also hope that it will bring more comments and discussions.

Satan and Demons Lecture

This is the second part of my teaching series over Angels, Satan and Demons, Heaven and Hell

Lesson On Angels

This is the first part in a four part lesson I am doing with the youth group at my church. The four parts will be "Angels" "Satan and Demons" "Hell" "Heaven"

I am linking the first video in the series to the title of this blog click on it to take you there, however you can follow the link to my Youtube page and see the rest right now it is in 6 parts. The last 15 is still missing since my video ran out at that point. I will be rerecording this here shortly from my office. So enjoy watch al pass on to as many as you can. Don't forget to comment!

Question: How do you help someone that won't talk, other than prayer?

The best thing that anyone can do for someone who does not initially open up (which is the case with most people) is to befriend them. This may seem like a simple act, but I assure you that this is not always an easy task. In each case that Jesus talked with someone He was able to connect with them in a personal way. He knew who they were and where they came from and what was important to them. This was the same in Paul's ministry to those he went to; he was always in a place for an extended amount of time. The thing that is most important is to be the example in each and everything you do, making sure it glorifies God. Take the time to get to know the people you want to help. Hang out with them, do things they are interested in as long as it does not compromise your faith and God. The reward will be great you will gain a friend and you may find out you were the one blessed. God relationship with us is a personal relationship and so should the relationships we make. I once read a story in a book about a person who was ministering (helping) to people and one of the people asked him with much concern; "If I never become a Christian will you still be my friend") We are called by God to lead people to the Most High God, we do not abandon those who do not understand our ways, we continue to be a light for them.

Your Grace is Enough

We sing the words “ Your Grace is Enough” but do we really believe what we are singing. Do we understand that His grace is enough, do we know that His grace is efficient for us as Christians? ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”’ 2 Corinthians 12:9. There is a underlying truth here that we often overlook. As Christians in order for us to experience the grace God gives us freely; we have to be in a state of weakness. We as humans have this inherited idea to make ourselves look great as possible. We do all we can to fool the world around us and ourselves that everything is okay and we have no weakness. Most call this pride and this can be most damaging to the Christian heart. How can God work with a prideful heart, how can God bless you in your pride and lies? Paul understood this when he talked about God’s grace. Paul even says that he will boast about his weakness. Does this mean we walk around with our head hung down and have this defeated look on our faces all the time? Not at all! As a Christian you are a child of the Most High God. Walk with the joy He has given you. I think that a great example of this is Hezekiah; he was the King of Judah he could not walk around looking weak and defeated. He did not even act this way when Sennacherib threatened to destroy Judah. Hezekiah could stand strong against his enemy because he knew where his power and protection lay. Before the Lord Hezekiah was a different man in Isaiah 38:3 we are told that Hezekiah “Wept bitterly” before the Lord. A man broken, a man weakened, a man that knew where God’s grace was greatest. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6. What Paul is telling us is that God’s grace is made perfect in our humility. Humble yourself before the Lord, you have nothing to boast about. All that you have has been given to you by God. Paul tells us that God had put a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble. Stop trying to fool yourself and the world, accept God’s grace. For His grace is enough. Do as Hebrews tells us in 13:9 let your heart be strengthened God’s grace not by earthly things. We put so much value on what we have, what we are or what we can do; pride is what all this equals. You want value, you want to know what you can really do, you want to let yourself and those around you who you are? Humble yourself before God keep your heart humble and let God’s grace rain down on you. His grace is sufficient, but will you let it be efficient for you?

Giving the Honor

Wow what a great start to summer. There have been tons of exciting this happening around here this summer. As it is said ‘we have hit the ground running’. With summer in full swing, the hear sweltering and water bringing enjoyment; there is much to be thankful for during this time of year.
I know that it has been a few weeks since my last post, but I assure you that I make no excuses for the lapse in time, I have been having a great time enjoying the summer with my family and friends.
Throughout the year there are many times to be thankful for what you have and the things you receive. However there just seems to be something spectacular about the summer months. Besides the heat being brutal, giving everyone a sunburn at one time or another, the work that is needed to keep up a yard or the work you talked about getting done all winter. We endure all this during the hot months, but at the same time we enjoy all the opportunities that come along with summer. The days spent at the water parks, baseball games, a day at the pool and the awesome food that accompanies group gathering cookouts and dinners. We enjoy the vacations and the stay-cations that summer brings. So, how is it that we so often forget to give the thanks and honor where it is due. Everything we have and enjoy is because God has giving it to us. We enjoy the ability to work in our yards and tend our gardens, when they grow and produce good fruit we say “we worked so hard in keeping it alive” when in fact God is the one that gave the plants life and your ability to work your gardens. Give Him thanks and honor for that gift. You go on vacation and have a grand time and you may tell someone “ we had to save all year to make vacation happen this year” give thanks to God that you had the job to be able to save for your family vacation. The time spend outside by the pool or on the baseball field give God the thanks for the ability to be there and the family or friends you enjoy it with. Those cookouts you have on Saturday nights, give God the thanks for having a place to entertain and the give thanks for the friends that He has blessed you with to have in your life. Often we get so tied up in what we are doing and how hard we worked to accomplish something, that often God gets set to the back burner in honor being given.
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Take time today and give God the thanks and honor for what you have and the love that He gives you.

I'm Making My Way

Do you ever stop and wonder; where am I headed? What am I doing with my life that makes a difference? There are many questions we could ask ourselves, but they all have the same answer. Who are you making your way for in the life you are given? You may answer; I am doing everything for my family. I work hard for them and give them everything they need and want. You may say; my kids are my life and hope, everything is for them and their future. These are all noble statements and things that everyone should do for the greater good. Taking care of your family and children is a universal truth and a widely excepted one at that. Okay, so who should we be living our lives for everyday? What should be our motivating factor? The answer is simple, but the doing is very difficult. God. Nothing else even needs to be said. Jesus says “It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We may need the bread of this world to survive this earthly life, but our life and soul depends on how much time with spend with the words that come from God’s mouth. These words that come from the mouth of God, are none other than the very Bible. God has given everything we need to deal with this life in this book. You may be saying to yourself that it does not cover every subject known to man. The truth in this is that everything falls under some subject in the Bible. This is why we need to spend time daily learning and reading God’s word. Not only does it strengthen our relationship with the creator, but it gives us the very substance to survive our daily lives. By gaining more understanding and investing in our relationship with God, we are investing in more than we could imagine. When you are making your way with God as your leader and instructor; the other things that are important to you like your family and children will automatically be blessed by your obedience. When those things of life get you down and you are broken as Hezekiah was when he learned of his soon to be death. When you weep against the wall as he did and ask God to pull you out of the depths of sorrow and pain. Or when it is the blessings of life as it was for Abraham when God provided a sacrifice for him. Making your way with God may be a great challenge at times and may bring sorrow and pain. The great thing about making your way with God is that you are making your way with the creator of it all. He knows the path because he laid the foundations of the earth. (Job 38:4)"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand.” We do not understand, but he does. Live your day for God; fill your plate with His word and the rest will fall on the plate where it needs to be; but you can bet it will not fall on the floor as crumbs from a table.

What Do We Do With Sin

What do we do with sin? A simple enough question, right? You may be thinking, well duh, you repent, you do away with the sin or try to overcome the sin. Okay, this works great when the sin is your sin and you have the ability through Christ to deal with the sin. What if the sin belongs to another person; what do you do then? This becomes a completely different scenario when you start to talk about other peoples sins. Now, before we get started I am Not telling you that you should make a habit of seeking out others sin. Seeking out other people’s sin is not what we are called to do; by Christ. At the same time though we have a great responsibility as Christians to other people see sin for what it really is; that sin is part of a fallen world. I am going to take a guess here, but I am willing to say that most if not all people hate to be told they have done something wrong or committed a sin. Most of the time the response goes something like this; “ who are you to tell me what I am doing wrong, look at your own problems and stay out of mine.” We have gotten it into our heads that we have this right to be living in sin as long as we can justify the sin. I hate to tell you but no matter what the sin is, there is no justification for the sin; stop thinking there is no justification. As a Christian you have the responsibility to let another Christian know they are headed down a road of destruction. I believe the reason most people do not like others to tell them what they are doing wrong, is that most of the time it is done in such a harsh or hateful manner. How exactly are we to approach and deal with other people’s sin. By being Christlike of course. Never once did you see Christ be hateful in showing someone their sin. A great example is how Jesus deals with the adulterous woman in (John 8:1-11). Jesus met her where she was at, on the ground broken, accused and humiliated. What did he say to her? “Then neither do I condemn you, Go now and leave your life of sin.” There was no, how dare you, you evil sinful person or you are living in sin and going to hell. When the disciples began their ministry the followed this example. There are four easy steps to follow when talking to someone about their sin. 1. Patiently Listen - James 1:19 says “Let every person be quick to hear”. Get to know the person see why they are the way they are and the reason they do these things. Most of the time it is because they do not even know better or somewhere in their past someone important to the justified their actions. You cannot help anyone if you do not take the time to understand them. They will only look at you and say “who do you think you are.” 2. Personally Repent - The sins you commit are no less than anyone else's sin. (Luke 13:5) “I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” There is no way you can help someone with their sin if you are committing the same sin. Unless you understand that you are without a doubt a person in need of redemption you can help no one. Another question to ask yourself is’ what are my motivations? Do you really care about this person or persons; or do you just want them to disappear and be silenced. Luke 7:47 says “ he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 3. Gently Instruct - (2 Timothy 2:22-25) “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone..correcting his opponents with gentleness.” We are to be kind in approaching someone and telling them they are living a destructive lifestyle. We also have to be careful that what we are calling a sin is a sin. There are plenty of times that people will say something is a sin and there is no biblical background saying it is a sin. For example, someone would say having an alcoholic beverage would be a sin or that dancing is a sin. There is no biblical basis on these matters. Sure, we are told to be drunk is a sin, but having a drink of alcohol is not. Be gentle and understanding in how you approach people. 4. Mercifully Pursue and Then Engage the Heart - “Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 22–23). We are told not to hide in the shadows or to be rude, but to move boldly into confusing, high-stakes situations with the gospel of God’s mercy. (1) Stay with people do not give up on them, continue to love them in mercy and show them where their mistake lies. Help them not to just see then understanding of the sin with their minds but with their hearts so that they may remember and cherish the gospel of God’s forgiving, redeeming, and merciful plan of salvation.


John Freeman Christ and Sexual Sin http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/christ-sexual-sin/
This 4 step guide is John Freeman’s message in the above link. I only added to his ideas.

Misguided Devotion

Have you ever known anyone who did something in the Lord’s name, but you knew that what this person had done could not have been what God would have wanted? Often these types of acts are done with a complete lack of thought. There is a story of a man in the bible; his name is Jephthah and he was a judge of Israel. Jephthah was not an evil man, in fact he was a man that God moved upon when the Israelites fought the people of Ammon. I gather he was a man devoted to God and wanted to please God. The problem with Jephthah I believe is that he got a little excited and made vows to God that he did not think through. In Judges 11:30-31 Jephthah makes a vow to God; he tells God that he will sacrifice the first thing out his door to meet him, if God would deliver Israel from the people of Ammon. This vow does not sound to bad at first, but the problem arises after the battle when Jephthah gets home. I believe he truly thought an animal would be there to greet him, however this was not the case. A person greeted him at his door and it was his daughter, not just any daughter; his only child. What a foolish vow to make to God. Now there is much debate over what Jephthah actually did to his daughter. In God’s law human sacrifice was strictly forbidden, but I believe that Jephthah was not to knowledgeable on God’s law. If he was I think he would have offered silver in place of his daughter. Some say he sacrificed her others say that he sent her to the sanctuary to live out a life of virginity. Either way his vow cost him and his daughter greatly. I am not telling you to never make a vow to God to show your love or devotion to Him. What I am saying is when you do make a vow to God be sure it is one that He would have you do and that it does not go against what God has commanded. We often make silly promises to God that He knows and we know that we will never be able to keep. A vow to God should never been done in haste, it is always best to think it through and most of all pray to God about your offering. Sometimes or promises effect others in ways God would not want.

Breath

I am going to start off by saying that some of what I am about to write is not all from my thoughts, I found the information to be very cool and uplifting.
Over the past few days I have either read or heard people speaking about the Holy Spirit and/or the Spirit of God; I found some very profound statements. Before I get off into some of those statements I would like to ask you about the Holy Spirit. What is the Holy Spirit? Conventionally most would say the Holy Spirit is what resides in us after our conversion, others may say the Holy Spirit is our comforter, still others would say that the Holy Spirit is our conscience. While all these are true statements I believe there is so much more to the Holy Spirit and the work He does.
This week I learned the word “pneuma” the Greek word for the spirit. However I soon learned that there is so much more to this word then just this one meaning and that it was used in various forms in the Greek language. Then I looked up the word in the Hebrew for spirit and learned “ruach”. Now here is where it gets interesting. The word pneuma is used for Holy Spirit and the word ruach translates Spirit; referring to the Spirit of God. Both of these meaning “breath”. The sacred name for God in the Hebrew is YHVH. Unpronounceable if you try to speak the letters, but take a deep breath and exhale and you can hear these letters. Genesis 1:2 “ Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God (ruach) was hovering over the waters.” (I added emphasis) Genesis 2:7 “ And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed (ruach) into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (i added emphasis) Acts 2:2 “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind (pneuma) came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (I added emphasis). Now here is the statement that got me to thinking about these verses. “What is the first thing a baby must do after it is born? Take a breath. What is the last thing you do before you die? Take your last breath.” I think you are beginning to see where I am going with this. What if the very first thing a baby does to live is speak the very name of God “YHVH” (remember just breath), and the very last thing you do is speak the very name of God “YHVH”. For you to receive the Holy Spirit you have to cry out to Jesus, the name of God. I do not care if you are a believer or not just as it says in Romans 14:11
“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”

Every breath you take you acknowledge God, before you even knew how to speak you spoke His name. Take a moment get on your knees and thank God for the breath He has given you. (Do not sit there and think this is a good idea, literally get on your knees and no matter where you are and thank Him.) What will you do with your breath today?

Have You Been Measured

Wow what a busy time of the year for me and my family. School is about to wrap up for all of us; Ruth Ann and I have finals over the next few weeks and Zach will be out for the summer. One of the reasons I have not posted in about a week or there about, no making excuses just stating the facts. However along with looking over why I have not made a post in the last few weeks I began to wonder. What do I measure myself against and is what I measure myself with the right things? Here is just a few pondering ideas I explored.




There is an old saying, you have been weighed, you have been measured and been found wanting. I think that this is a great statement to make about the Christian life. Let me ask, when was the last time you spent time reading God’s law? When was the last time you spent time in Church? When was the last time you spent time with those friends you use to hang out with all the time? Think on these question considerably before reading more.
I have found not only in my Christian walk, but in others walk also; we tend to run away from the very thing that is going to make us question our life style. We will make excuses for the things we do, not only do we make these excuses, but we try to justify them by measuring them against the rules of the world. Sometimes we even use the Bible to justify our misconstrued ideas. All the while straying from God and the people that will tell us that we are wrong. This is our human nature; we do not like to be told we are doing something wrong. Now I am not saying that every time someone tells you that you are doing something wrong, that you are doing something wrong. Remember people are human too and will make the same mistakes about life as you yourself will. Take a look in Job and see what advice his friends were giving him; they were totally off base on why God was allowing these things to happen to Job.
What we need to do is stop running and face the Law of God. Weigh yourself, measure yourself against His Law. You know what you will find? You will be found wanting. What do I mean by wanting? You will be found lacking. You may say well that is not a very good message to put out and you may even stop reading. I encourage you to read more. Romans tell use in 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”; if you read more you will find there are many passages telling us that when we measure ourselves against God’s Law that we will always be found wanting. What is the joy in that you may ask? The joy is that if you read and if you measure yourself against God’s Law you find yourself wanting... wanting Jesus, because you will see that even though we find ourselves short and so does God; that there is a hope and joy that can be found in the Law. It will lead you to Jesus and the salvation that comes in accepting Him. For the believer you will find a renewal in the promises of your salvation. So, do not be afraid to weigh, measure yourself and find yourself wanting. Take great joy in God’s Law just as the Psalmist. Psalm 119:97.

Holy holy holy

Just how holy is God? Do we really understand or comprehend this very statement out of Isaiah? Sure we sing the old hymn; Holy holy holy, merciful and mighty. When we say this or sing this are we giving it the reverence that is deserved? Just how important is this statement? To look at the text we have to understand a little about how the Jews show importance to a word. In the English language we have many different types of punctuations that allow the reader to understand the importance of something. For those writing in Hebrew, although they have many of the same punctuations, they used a repeating of a word to show just how important the message or word was. You often see Jesus saying; Amen Amen, or Truly Truly. Show what He is about to say is of some extra importance. In all these cases though the word is only repeated two times, here we see the word repeated three times. Not only is the word holy repeated three times but the words come from a Seraphim angel. This is no ordinary Angel, these are angels that are in the very presence of God. You may be asking yourself; OK so how does this show how holy God is? Let us take a closer look at these angels to get a better understanding. In (Isaiah 6:2) 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. These angels say it all in this description; what gives it away that God is Holy holy holy? Here it says that the Seraphim has two wings that are for nothing but to cover their faces while in the presence of the most high God. These are beings that God created to stand in His presence and they are equipped with the very thing to keep them from seeing all of Gods glory. We know from Moses that no one can look upon the face of the Lord and live. Here we see that this includes any being in the presence of God. We have the repetition of Holy three times and the very make-up of Seraphim angels to give us a small understanding of just how holy of a God we serve. We are not able to understand all the things of God, we are not meant to be able to comprehend all things of God. God does give us great insight into His nature and who He is and how Holy Holy Holy he is. The next time you kneel to pray or lift your voice up in praise, humble yourself low and shout to the heavens for it is being sent to a holy holy holy God.

The Days After

Easter has passed for another year, you went to Church, had lunch with family and friends and watched the children hunt eggs. At the end of the day you were probably think; wow, I am glad that is over and done for another year. That is what you think anyway. For us as Christians I believe that the work is really just beginning. Easter should be a time of renewal for us, a time to reflect on what Jesus really did for us on the Cross. To make sure we do not get too caught up in the worldly things of the season. A renewal of rejoicing in our Salvation in Jesus, that out of all the religions in the world that we serve the only living God. After Jesus arose from the grave His work was complete. Sin had been defeated and even though it has not come to pass for us the battle has been won. The days after Jesus arose He knew that His followers would need a little bit of a confirmation that He is alive. Jesus spent the next 40 days visiting people and still performing miracles. Then at the end of those 40 days He gave His disciples and us a commission to continue the work He had started.
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Jesus gave us a job to do and during Easter I believe we should take hold and remember not only what He has done for us, but also what He has commanded us to do in obedience to Him. However as with all things with God He gave us yet another promise. That we do not have to go it alone. He tells us that He will be with us always. Not only this but that He sent us the Holy Spirit to help us along.
So rejoice not only in the spring of the year, the resurrection of Jesus, but also in the promise that He is with you and always will. Begin the work He has commanded you and be renewed.

What a Friend We Have

I know many of you have heard at one time or another the song or someone say "What a friend we have in Jesus". The question you have to ask is do we really know what kind of friend we really have. Here are a few points in Jesus' friendship to us.

1. He is a friend that intercedes for us in Prayer.
(John 17:15) 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
(John 17:17) 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
(John 17:21) 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
(John 17:24) 24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

2. He is a friend that leads us by experience and protects us.
(John 10:27-29) 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

3. He presents us blameless before God and the accuser.
(Revelation 12:10)“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.

Now that is a true friend. When was the last time you even did a small part of this for someone you call a friend. You; yourself cannot present anyone blameless but you can lead them to the one who can. You may not be able to lead a friend down the right path but you can lead them to the one that leads you. The one thing you can do is send up your prayers for your friends. If you pray for them let them know you are praying for them; even get them and pray with them over them.

No greater love than this than he who lays down his life for his friend.

Letters from war

My fellow Christians; there is a war raging all around us. I am not just talking about the Wars that are all around us in the world today, but with all these wars going on here on Earth; you know that there must be an even greater spiritual battle raging. Now that I have mentioned battles on a broader range, let me talk about the more personal battles raging. I am sure that somewhere in your life that there is a battle raging. Maybe it is an illness, a person, a commitment or financial matters. Now why these things may seem to be earthly things I assure you that they very well may be spiritual. All off these are seen in the Bible as spiritual in one way or another. First you see illness throughout the Bible but you see it as a spiritual battle in the book of Job. A test for Job; but a battle to be fought. His letter from war were tears and heartache lifted up to God, a man who knew the battle ground on which he stood. Second a person that is causing you trouble, pain or sorrow; fear not you are not the first and will not be the last. It is a battle that can be won through love and prayer. Think about Isaac's sons Esau and Jacob. Could there have been more hatred between two people? A brother who stole his fathers blessing and a brother mad with rage almost killing his brother and running him off to a distant land. However in the end Jacob goes to his brother and apologizes and knows that for him to prosper he must reconcile with his brother. His letter from war; a battle with God and a new name. Maybe the battle is a commitment that you are afraid to make to God or something. Do not fret to much about this struggle because you are not the first. Moses struggled with God's request to free his people, Peter struggled with staying faithful to Christ, and Jonah feared going where God would have him. Their letters of war were ones of submission and the joy that comes from obedience; even if it takes a little nudging. Third on finance; it may be a battle in giving back to God what is his, it may be that you are overwhelmed with the cost of living. Continue steadfast in prayer and do not let the enemy defeat you. The Bible says, “Where ever your treasure is so shall you heart be.” Be sure that your treasure is found in Christ. The letter from war you will write will be one of victory and rejoicing in the Lord.
There is a constant war raging for us as Christians. Condemnation for our beliefs, countries where if you speak of the Gospel you are punished or killed. Pray for these people that are out there following God and on the front lines of the battle field. Because the letters they send home from war; are ones stained with blood and sacrifices that we may never know.

Mission Trip

Hey everyone. It is good to be back in the states, but I am excited about getting back on the mission field. I spent my spring break in San Miguel, Mexico. Not the nice city but the one in Choa Mexico. In one word I would have to say Amazing; that is the way the whole trip was for me. There was tons of driving on long roads that seem to not lead anywhere, but we made it to the desert. I had a lot of anxiety before going on this mission trip and I spent many nights in prayer about the mission. My main concern was about the dangers that are going on in Mexico right now and me being able to eat the food without getting sick; plus a few other things. I have to be honest I made this commitment to go on the mission trip with much excitement, but as the time got closer I felt like there were things that were signs that maybe I should not go. Then after prayer and talking with friends it was very apparent that God was wanting me to go on this trip not matter what excuse I made to why I could not. With that said I am so glad that I was obedient to God and went; I was immensely blessed by this trip. Now a little bit of information about our trip into Mexico.
We headed into Mexico on Saturday morning and made it to the border about 3pm, we made our last calls to home and headed into Mexico. I should have known from the start what an amazing trip this was going to be. We were not 20 minuets into Mexico when Tony the guy guiding us to our location stopped at a church and dropped off a washer. The blessing was about to come to us. We went in to see the small church and there was a praise team doing a bible study. They asked if they could pray over us; they did and even though I could not understand most of what they were saying it showed me just how big the body of Christ is in the world. The prayers they prayed for us were filled with the power of the Spirit and you knew that their prayers were blessing to us. Our first night in Mexico was spent at a small church in Muzquez; what they call a city in that area. We were feed some great food there and we all spent the night on the roof of the church.
Our second day we spent most of the day on the road traveling through the mountains down long stretches of road. We made it to San Miguel about 1pm and got unloaded and made ourselves familiar a little bit with the town. Did a little work and made some dinner then spent the evening till sun went down; because there was no light or electricity in the area. We made plans for the next day for work; painting, working on the little church in one of the neighboring villages, and of course food for the next day since I was one of the cooks.
On the third day we started out bright and early or at least I did along with the other cook. The day was spent pretty much doing work in the areas that we had planned and preparing the food for the days to come. Later in the afternoon I got to travel to the other village, expecting to take pictures, but I ended up with another blessing in getting to work with some of the local men and then getting feed one of the better meals I had on the trip; fresh goat and rice. The day ended with continuing with work and we made it early to bed one because of it being dark and mostly because we were tired.
On the fourth day some exciting things happened. First The other cook and I got right to work on preparing food for the whole village. To me though the most exciting part was preparing lunch for the school there. The kids were so excited and it was lots of fun to feed the kids and get to see them in a school setting. Later that evening we feed all the village deer, hog, and other wild meats. This was really great combined with the service that was done also.
All in all the trip was great, I was ready for a bath and inside toilets and the absence of sand. It was so relaxing though not to have to be worried about e-mail, bills, or the craziness of American life. It makes me really appreciate the things I have and the luxuries that we have. I can not wait till our next mission.

I Long

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1)
Have you ever wanted something so bad that you could taste it or feel it. You know what I am talking about; it is that feeling you have when you are sixteen and you are about to get that first car. You can picture yourself driving down the road, playing your music louder than your mother ever let you play it in her car. Maybe it is to you like that very first date, now that is something you can feel; you feel nervous, at times you think that you are going to get sick, but under all those confused feelings there is excitement and you daydream about how the date will go. However when you get to drive or go on that first date, it is usually not like anything you pictured it would be when you were thinking about the driving or the date. This is very much how it is when we are longing for God. We have in our minds how things are going to be when we become a new Christian, get in God’s will or sit down and pray. I would say that most of the time it is not even close to the way we pictured things would be when we seek after God. I love this verse though; as the deer pants for streams of water. That deer is not just wanting a drink of water, this deer is down right thirsty and the deer knows without this stream of water he is not going to survive. Much like us, if we do not pant after the author of salvation we are going to thirst that cannot be quenched, no matter what we trying to put in the place of God.
This verse has spoken to me this week; I have not had much time to do my bible readings as I like to do during the week. Mostly because I have filled my time with other things, not terrible things just things that I have not done in a while like getting out and enjoying this great weather with a walk or working in the yard. It is just that time for schedule adjustments as the days get longer and warmer. My soul has been panting for my time with God. I know that many of you have very busy lives; work, kids, school and other activities. I encourage you though take a moment this week and give your soul a drink of the living water. I believe you will find yourself renewed with a new energy and outlook on the events happening in your life.

Are You Small Enough

It has been several years back when I was going through a very hard time in my personal life that I asked God; are you small enough. This time in my life was during a time of confusion, hurt and a mountain of heart ache. I would hear from people all the time that they were praying for me and that God was bigger than my problem and my hurt. I cannot take credit for all of my hurt and problems at this time, but I was part of the problem. I would say to myself and to God when others would tell me that God was bigger than my problem; “God I know you are big and awesome, but I really need to you to be small enough for me.” Many times when we think on God it is on a grand scale, we think of things as Creator, Life Giver, Author of Salvation and I AM. These are big things and I praise Him for being all those things. Often though in the mists of our pain and hurt we forget that He is Counselor, Comforter and most of all Savior. A counselor is someone I can talk to about my hurt and pain, a comforter is someone that can hold me and hug me and just be there when the hurt and pain become to much to bear, lastly and most importantly as a Savior God tells us that He was once a baby, a child and a man He knows my hurts and pains. Most of all He knows how to free me from them. When I asked this thing of God; if He was small enough. He did not answer me right away, instead He was each of these things all the way through my hurt and pain, even when I was not doing as He would like for me to have done He was still there being it all. The answer is yes God is small enough, He became small enough to dwell within a baby; the Creator of it all packed into a baby. Now that is being small enough just for us. I do not know where you are at right now, maybe you are good right now and God is blessing you with a time of peace. Maybe though you are in a world of hurt, pain and trouble and need a comforter, counselor and Savior. Things may just be in the beginning stages of the hurt you will have to go through, but let me tell you there are blessings and peace to be had and found in your hurt and pain. All you have to do is be willing to go to God and lay it at His feet and say “Daddy I need help”. Jesus says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. Is it not awesome to know that we have a God that meets us right where we are and is willing to take on our burdens and let us rest why He solves the problems.

Passing it On

I hope that everyone enjoyed the Podcast that I posted this weekend. I am going to try and post a Podcast each week, hopefully I will get a little better each week at the sound control. If you had difficulty in hearing it or anything else please let me know.

I am going to be looking at a few verses out of Deuteronomy 6:1-2, 5-8

I think sometimes that we forget just how important it is for us to take the time to study God’s word. In these verses we find out that obeying God is not just for out benefit, but also for the benefit of others.
We as parents have the responsibility to pass the commandments of God and the love that he has for us. Showing our children the promises that God gives us for obeying His commands. In today’s world of passing the buck so to speak onto someone else for the teaching of our children, we have made ourselves as parents a little powerless. Yes, we depend on our school systems to teach our children the knowledge they will need to graduate to a knowledge level that has been set by the state. However we can not depend on them to teach our children morals and values, especially those of the word of God. That is our place to teach and the only thing that a school should be doing, which many do not, is to reenforce those values. We will leave all of that talk for another blog post. Let us take a look at what God says we are to do and the promise He gives us in doing so. First we are to take the teaching of the law commands from God and learn them ourselves. We cannot teach our children anything if we do not take the time to study God’s word; bottom line you cannot teach what you do not know. Next we are to take these teachings and teach them to our children so they can teach them to their children and so on for generations to come. How is that for immortality for you? By following these commands God’s gives a promise of a long life. What are these commands that God give us? The one mentioned here and is later quoted by Jesus as being the greatest commandment is Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Moses goes on to say, that we are to write these commands upon our hearts, we are to impress them upon our children. It is interesting here that Moses do not just use the word teach, but impress our children. When you are impressing something on someone you are not just teaching them but you are also showing them by doing the very thing you are teaching. In other words you have to live these commands in order to truly teach your children. We are to talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk on the road. Think to yourself when was the last time you were sitting down and home and talking to your children about God and word? Most of the time I think it is safe to say the TV is doing most of the talking. How about when you are going somewhere? Whether it is taking your child to school in the morning or you are running to the grocery store, have you talked with them? You may say “awe my kids do not really listen when I start talking about these things” or “my kids learn these things in Sunday school, I am good Christian and we attend church regularly. Once again these scriptures tell us that it is our responsibility to teach our children. We are going to be the ones God holds accountable for our children and the legacy we leave them. We are also told to think on these commands when we lie down and when we get up, tie them on our hands and write them on the frames of our homes and on our gates. You may be thinking to yourself that is all a bit eccentric don’t you think? No the point is that we are to surround ourselves with the very word of God, to protect us and our family from the enemy that is our to destroy us and our family. It is very interesting how this is very similar to the command Paul gives us in putting on the armor of God, we are to cover ourselves with His word. I hope everyone has a great day and finds the time to read a little scripture sometime today.