A Baby sent to this world... Why?

So have you ever wondered what God was thinking when he sent his Son into this world? Why in his world would God send his Son into the world full of sin? From the first sin of Man to the sin of Israel that lead to it’s destruction at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, even the sin in the world today. What was God’s plan with a Baby Boy that came into this world in the most unassuming way?

You see God is a jealous God, and his jealously makes him want to rise up in anger against that which separates us from him. That is sin. Our sinful nature is what provokes this jealous anger.

If you read through the Old Testament God’s jealously rises up against the sins of Israel to the point that he wants to beat the sin out of the world. Now think about that. He was so jealous of the sin in the world he destroyed it by flood, Sodom and Gomorra destroyed, Israel conquered by Babylon, all because they refused to listen to the prophets, and heed God’s warning.

What was a Jealous God to do to restore the relationship with the Man he created? Well he sent a little Baby, His Son to save us. II Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. To be sin… That is a powerful statement. What was God thinking? He wanted to rise up and destroy sin, to beat it out of this world. So why would he make his Son be that sin for us?

See, the baby that came into this world in an unassuming way, was beaten and crucified so that the sin that was laid upon him would be destroyed. God used the life and death of this baby to restore the relationship with his people by rising up with out stretched arms on a cross.

This Christmas as we celebrate the Joy that is Christ’s birth, let us not for get the ultimate sacrifice he made for us to restore our relationship with his Father.

Ex 34:14 14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Jealous: Qanna' - jealous (only of God)
jealous: Qana - to envy, be jealous, be envious, be zealous
a (Piel)
to be jealous of
to be envious of
to be zealous for
to excite to jealous anger
b (Hiphil) to provoke to jealous anger, cause jealousy

Angel on a tree... and a new MV

I have said it before, but it is worth repeating. Children are the heart of God, and can convict you sometimes quicker than any Bible verse. If you raise your Children to know their God, their faith will root them to a solid foundation of faith. I again found this out last night.

Well for the past week my daughter has seen on TV the Angel Tree, and keeps asking when we are going to Kroger so we can get her Angel. Well last night she got her chance.

As we walked into Kroger she saw the tree. "Mommy, Daddy, can we get an Angel?” At that point what were we going to say. She proudly carried her Angel "Corissa" (That being the name of the person we were buying Christmas dinner for.) around the store. Such a simple act of unselfishness on her part.... How was I to refuse with my cart full of groceries.

So a memory verse hit me this morning as I read Jeremiah:

Jer 17:10
I the Lord search the heart, and examine the mind, to reward a man, according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.

I notice again that God puts the change of heart first and deeds second. If our heart changes our actions change with it.

First for my Wife... Second just a ramble...

First to my wife:

I LOVE YOU !!!!!!!!!!!

To My wife again:

I LOVE YOU !!!!!!!!!!!

I guess at this point it is ok to tell the world that we are expecting our second child. As we have since we started trying to get pregnant we are putting it all in God's hands. We pray for a healthy boy or girl, and know that with God's help we will deal with what ever comes our way.

Now the Ramble…..

I was walking through the house this morning barefoot (I go barefoot a lot) in the dark and I noticed that every footstep felt familiar. Like my feet knew exactly where to land and landed in the same place as I walked the same path's through my house. Now I know what you are thinking, I am going to talk about being in a rut and getting out of the rut in my life. Well if you are thinking that you would be wrong.

You see as I read through a couple chapters of Jeremiah this morning, I felt each word was familiar. Like my eyes had read them before, and knew exactly what was said and knew exactly what God was placing on my heart.

I walk the house in the dark in bare feet, but the knowledge of the house guided me so I did not stub my toe. I walk through this world of darkness and God's word guides me so I do not fall to the darkness.

Oh how privileged we are to walk in the Light of the Word confident in the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Said: I am the Way the Truth and the Light; no one comes to the Father except through me.

Has it been a week...

Time has been flying recently. I am traveling allot (I am typing this sitting in the Ft Lauderdale airport on my way home), and every time I turn around, another week is gone.

I am tired that is for sure, but having God guide me through and to lean on has been a huge blessing. This past 10 weeks in DC I have learned allot about who I am and learned some things that I didn't like, and if I don't like them I know God doesn't like them. I have also gotten answers to prayers that I have not expected. The biggest thing for me is to be patient. God seems to be telling me not to rush any decisions. There is alot that he and I need to work on together in my life. So I wait, and pray, and the weeks pass. But I am more in love with my God today than I ever have been in my life. My heart is wide open to learning more about my relationship with God, and I pray that the spirit continues to put the fire in my heart.

MV Week 10:

Hebrews 4:12

For Gods word is alive and active. Sharper than any double edge sword, penetrating even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Active he is in my life.

I think I need a good game of Clue JR. with my wife and daughter.

Dweller in the Valley

The word Amalek/Amalekites , means: dweller in the valley.

The Amalekites were the long time enemies of Israel. Exodus 17, Joshua has a war with them, 1 Sam 15 Saul was told to destroy them.

Amalek was the constant hurdle in the way of Israel, sin is our constant hurdle to a true relationship with God. Sins of the flesh can stand in the way of our relationship with God, Only God can deliver us from sin, through our faith. If we do not trust God to deliver us, our sin will prevail. Just like when Moses would lower his arms during the battle with the Amalekites, the Amalekites would prevail.

When we are down in the valley (a low point) of life, our sin will poke us in the side. The valley is where that constant sin will poke the hardest. We must rely on God to help us resist the sin, and bring us out of the valley renewed. To obey God and not sin is better than anything else we can do. So we must “Live by the Spirit” and we can turn away the “Sinful Nature” (Our Amalek) that is constant in our lives.

Memory Verse. Week 9

Jeremiah 29: 11 “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”

The cry of my daughter hit my ears Monday evening just 5 minutes after laying her down for bed. “Daddy can you come up here?”. As I pulled myself out of my chair I figured she wanted more water or to get a new book. When I got to her room I was informed that she had broken her Bible cover. Upon inspection ad through tear filled eyes of my daughter I noticed the pink heart that hangs from the zipper of the case was broken off. Her heart was broken. She loves her bible and pink bible case, and I have to say I love that she loves it so much. I assured my daughter that I would do my best to fix the heart on her zipper. (Knowing on the inside I would be fixing her heart.) Ask my wife how determined I was to get the pink heart back on the bible cover zipper. I even went so far as to use pliers on a simple zipper…..

God works to fix our heart. It is broken and hardened by sin and selfishness. And he is determined to fix it. He peruses us at every turn, and uses every tool he can to mend and fix our broken hearts.

My daughter woke up to a mended heart on her Bible cover. It was not as it was before it was most certainly a new creation; it was not like it was when it was brand new. I smiled and was pleased to see her delight and ask, “How did you do that?”. Aren’t we all new creations in Christ Jesus? Our hearts are made new, but bare the healed scars of sin. But oh how God is pleased when we turn to him and he sees our new heart that defeats sin.

Right hand of Power…

I did a word study this week based on a discussion at DC on Monday. The verse in question:

Mathew 26: 64
64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

The words in question are “right hand” and “Mighty” (some translations use the word Power, instead of Mighty One)

The word Right hand is from Greek: dexioß , translated: Dexios Meaning:
1. the right, the right hand
2. metaph.
a. place of honour or authority

The word Dexios is derived from: Dechomai Meaning:
1. to take with the hand
a. to take hold of, take up
3. to take up, receive
a. used of a place receiving one
b. to receive or grant access to, a visitor, not to refuse intercourse or friendship
1. to receive hospitality
2. to receive into one's family to bring up or educate
c. of the thing offered in speaking, teaching, instructing
1. to receive favourably, give ear to, embrace, make one's own, approve, not to reject
d. to receive. i.e. to take upon one's self, sustain, bear, endure
3. to receive, get
a. to learn

The word Power or Mighty is from the greek: Dunamis Meaning:
1. strength power, ability
a. inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth
b. power for performing miracles
c. moral power and excellence of soul
d. the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth
e. power and resources arising from numbers
f. power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts

I read the versed this way, after doing the word study. God the Mighty Power of the universe received Jesus to the place of honor, and authority in the kingdom, and will send him back with the authority of heaven.

MV Week 8

II Timothy 2: 15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, and who correctly handles the word of truth.

...

I have been with out a computer for the past 3 days because my laptop from work crashed. I will be back in full blogging force soon. I have some ideas swimming around in my head. I will take this weekend to get them into digital form.

I just continue to pray that God will open my heart more and more.

On a tree on a hill, blood was spilled for you an me….

The retreat was awesome. I can honestly say that I am now committed to finishing the DC program. My first spiritual discipline I will work on is solitude…

Be still and know I am God…

Be still and know I am…

Be still and know…

Be Still…

During the time of solitude Saturday morning I started thinking about all the trees, and how all the trees start from little acorns or seeds. One tree, can lead to the growth of thousands of other trees. As a tree grows and sprouts branches that reach out over the ground, it grows leaves, and develops seeds. The seeds at the end of the far reaching branches fall off onto the ground; some seeds are covered by the falling leaves while others are left on bare ground. More trees sprout from the coverd seeds and the process continues until a whole forest of trees is present.

To me as a Christian the most important tree is the one that held my savior at his death. This tree was planted by the sin of man. As it was raised into place, Christ’s arms were spread out wide. Blood from his hands and feet spilled onto the ground. Each drop of blood is a seed of faith. It is up to us to be covered by it, and let it sprout in our hearts. If we do, the seeds of our fruit will be spilled out for others to see. More people will accept the seed of faith from our savior.

Christ’s blood seeded and will continue to seed the souls of many.

My favorite thing shared by one of the men on the retreat:

God has filled you to the top with the Spirit, how much you let out is what matters.

Early Mornings

The past few mornings I have been getting up early and reading the bible. The thing I notice most is how different my day has gone the past 3 days. By starting out on the right note mentally, I am better able to maintain focus on Christ for the day.

Also I have stopped writing in my work book for my weekly reading. Instead I make notes in my Bible. It flows better and I seem to concentrate more on each section of verse that sticks out to me. Part of me wants to try and write a note about every verse, but I know that God is using this time to speak to me in a certain way. I may read Mathew again next year and have different verses stick out to me then that I can make notes about then.

Today for instance, I read through the 7 woes. And the part that stood out to me was, the dressing up for good appearances on the outside, all the while the filth of sin still resides on the inside. One of the biggest things I struggle with is my pride, and the do it on my own attitude. I will not conquer sin with out Christ; I need to let the spirit clothe me from the inside out.

MV Week 7: II Timothy 3: 16-17
All scripture is God breathed, and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

OK.. So we got off easy this week on the MV.

Mathew... Again.. And some Proverbs

Mathew 13:44
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

The hope of heaven is huge to me. What a wonderful thing to know that I will walk with my savior forever. I also hide his kingdom away in my heart, and the memory verses help me do that. Often on days I miss reading the bible I find myself repeating the Memory verses over and over again. Not only are they a treasure of hope in my heart, they are nuggets of truth that help me walk daily in Christ.

Mathew 16: 20
Then he warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

The disciples did not fully understand who Christ was. Jesus is warning them not to say anything about him until they understand. Much in the same way it is better for us not to try and explain scripture to someone unless we understand. The implications of explaining it wrong is big.

Mathew 16: 28
I tell you the truth, so of you who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

Mathew 18: 3-4
I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 There, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Proverbs 11: 2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Sometimes I think, I over analyze my faith, and try to reason it out too much. (This is my adult pride taking over) A child trusts his/her parents to meet their needs and lead them. But as adults we have a hard time humbling ourselves to the leadership of God. Since I have started this class I have noticed that I have just accepted my faith more openly. The days I miss reading the bible I find myself repeating my memory versus over and over.

Proverbs 11: 7
When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing.

I have said to unbelievers; If you die and I am right you loose everything. If I die and you are right, I loose nothing. The saving power is from Christ not ourselves.

Mathew

I am struck in Mathew about the continuing theme of choice, and asking to be saved and walk in the Faith. Jesus described this choice in many ways.

Mathew 6: 24
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

What master do you serve earthly treasure or Jesus? You can not serve both and be Faithful to God. All things of this earth belong to him.

Mathew 7: 7-8
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Ask for salvation and it is given, have faith in what you are given and you will have eternal life.

Mathew 7: 13-14
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Do you choose the wide door or the one true way to eternal life? The narrow door is open to everyone who chooses.

Mathew 12: 30
30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

Are you alive for Christ or do you sit by neutral to his teachings?

Mathew 16: 24-25
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

How deep are you willing to go for Christ? Are you willing to loose it all, even your life to defend your faith.

All the statements by Jesus ask for a choice to be made:

You cannot serve both God and Money.
Ask and Seek
Wide or Narrow
With or Against, Gather Scatter
Risk it all… ?

After reading through the many times that Jesus asks us to make a choice, buried in the middle is one of Jesus’ absolute statements.

Mathew 10: 32-33
32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men; I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

Jesus is our only intercessor to God the Father. No one else can promise eternal life. No one else lived the perfect life. No one else paid for our salvation the way Christ has.

Choose Christ you choose eternal life. Choose your life you die to eternal life. After all Jesus choose to die so that we could have eternal life.

Memory Verse week 6/7....

II Timothy 3:16-17

All scripture is God breath and useful for, teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in rightousness. So that every man of God may be thoroughly equiped for every good work.

Understanding a hard week...

I have realized why it was hard this week. God is challenging me to go deeper than just talking the talk. You can talk the talk and walk the walk. But your walk talks louder than your talk talks. (Did I get it right Greg?)

The Spirit can be in me but does it work in me to reflect outwardly.

I wrestled with this all week. It was not until I pulled out the stuff to bake yesterday that I let my self go. I relaxed, and found peace with the Spirit filling me, and wanting to use me. It didn’t matter that only 2 of the Cinnamon roles got eaten today at class. I baked and cooked dinner for almost 5 straight hours yesterday and just let my self pray and think about this past week. The simple acts of baking for the guys at DC and preparing a meal for my family, made me understand what it means to act on a Spirit filled life. Just as the cookbook leads me and guides me through the process, so does the teaching of Jesus. I have to be willing to get my hands dirty and work to make the Spirit rise. Jesus can put the yeast into my life, but it will remain dormant if I do not let the Spirit fill me with the living water.

Hard Week

Memory Verse Week 5 Gal 5:16
So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

For some reason, a tough one to get stuck in my head. The past ones seemed to stick pretty quick. Maybe God wanted me to meditate a little more on this one.

There is a series of books I have been reading by Bill Bright and Jack Cavanaugh (SP?). They are called the Great Awakenings Series. So far I have read Fury, Fire, and I just stared Storm. They take place in the 18th and 19th centuries and are fictional stories wrapped around historic events. They are a story of revival in the colonies and young country of the United States. They have made me realize that the battle to over come evil has been raging from the beginning...... More later...

Faith leads to….

Phil 2: 5-8

First we have to have faith that Jesus was fully human and fully God. His humanness allowed him to experience all of our wants and needs. He was even tempted as we are. And that he used his power to the perform miracles and defeat death to prove his divinity and give us the gift of salvation.

I have often said that Jesus is the perfect example of a leader. He humbled himself and became human, to come and serve the poor, hungry and the sinners. Even though being fully of God he allowed himself to wash the feet of the Disciples.

Jesus commands us to love as he did, and love one another. He leads us to believe in him and he will fill us with his Spirit. This allows us to be like Christ and humble our selves to serve others. We can lean on his power to carry out his work, sacrificing and serving for love. Faith leads us to works.

I stand in awe that Jesus is the perfect example of how to live. He became human, subject to time, and place. All the time he never fell to the power of temptation and sin. Faith in Christ leads me to strive for that perfection. Faith leads to a changed heart.

Phil 2:5 - Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Faith in Christ and letting him lead will lead me to that attitude.

Our faith in Christ leads to the grace and forgiveness of God. Eph 2: 8-9 Says “and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works so that no one can boast.” So I fall on my knees and thank God for his grace. Christ loved us and died for us. Christ loves us and leads us to the father.

Week 4 Ramble...

If we trust God the Father, he will not lead us into situations that we can not handle. Because we know the Father, once in any given situation we will not fear.

Fearing God to me is to stand in AWE of his power and know that I disappoint him when I sin. Much of the world is loosing that fear, and is turning out of control morally. People are spiritually bankrupt, and have no basis to know true right from wrong. It is up to us as Christian men to step out boldly, with the Fear of God, and the Not Fear that God gives us, and try and reach as many people we can.

Memory Verse: Week 4. II Cor 5: 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
(My daughter loves it when I pull out the Memory cards….She thinks it is great that she gets to tell me where I messed up the verse. )

Week 4 finds me tired. I was talking to one of the guys after class yesterday about the Devil attacking harder at us now because of our hunger to learn more about Jesus. My prayer is that for the next at least 6 weeks my procrastination side does not take root, and I continue in the discipline laid out before me in DC class. I know how Satin will attack in my life, I just have to be on guard and stand strong. EPH 6: 10-11

Stretching to understand, Word and Wisdom...

Lets start with the beginning...

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Prov 8: 23 (Speaking of wisdom) I was appointed from eternity from the beginning, before the world began.

We seek the Word for wisdom that spans the ages of eternity. To understand that God knew/knows before time began, that I would be sitting her typing on my blog is amazing. What is more amazing is that God's Son was ready before time began to save my soul. Jesus's birth right was laid out before him from the begining as God created the world. (Prov 8: 24-31) Proverbs goes on to say:

Prov 8: 35 For whoever finds me finds life, and receives favor from the Lord.

Even the memory verse shows that we are created in God's plan to live in Christ Jesus.

Eph 2: 10 For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God knew our hearts before time began, and put his Spirit in them, and then waited for us to make the Choice. He knew it would take some longer than others, but God is patient.

Hard to fathom, and get your brain around completely, but sometimes we just have to accept and not stretch too far.

As I read through John, I have to say: That if I was a Jew at that time listening to Jesus try to explain who he was, I would be confused also, and miss what Jesus is saying. Jesus stretched their minds to understand who he is. Just as he stretches ours in our daily walk, yet sometimes we forget that Faith should be as simple as a child.

Faith, Obedience, Love

First, I quoted one of my favorite verses wrong today in DC class…. I said it was in Philippians when we were reading Ephesians…

EPH 3: 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

I think God will understand, but just needed to clear my mind.

Two main things learned this week….

1) We are called by God to be obedient to our faith in Jesus Christ, and God will reward our life. In seeking God through faithfully praying, reading his word, and loving others we obey him, and those are the times he rewards our lives. It is up to us to develop the discipline to prayer and read God’s word he does not force us. The greatest command God gave us is to Love…If we obey this love our actions will be of love, and that love will be Christ.

2) Seeking wisdom through the bible is essential for arming my self against attacks by Satan. If I let God guide my study of his word, he will guide me and keep me on the straight path.

I am looking forward to next week already. The guys in the group, all brought such good incite to today’s class that I can’t wait to hear what they have for next week.

Memory Verse for this week is…

Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

My daughter (6 years old) convicted me this past week. As I was reading my bible for DC, she asked what I was doing. So I told her and she asked me to read to her from the bible. I thought she meant her kids bible, but no she wanted me to read from my bible. So I did and she sat there and listened. I realized that I have not been doing all that I can to infuse Jesus into her heart, and my heart broke a bit for me being so apathetic about it. Was I obeying God? Well then we were Lifeway Book Store, and I told my daughter she could buy a book. She picked up a children’s NIV study bible. I told her she would have trouble reading that. She said no Dad I want you to read it to me. My heart leapt for joy. Then I had to get over the sticker shock on the price of the bible, but it was not about the money at that point. You don’t realize how much your children pay attention to you, and they can convict you to move sometimes faster than the Holy Spirit. So now every chance I get I will read to my daughter from the bible. God you are so awesome.

Titus...

Titus is another short letter written by Paul to Titus.

Paul has left Titus in Crete to finish appointing the elders, and finish up dealing with some problems that Paul had to leave behind.

Much on the same lines as Ephesians, it is a letter describing how a Godly person should live and work with in the church. Obedient, even tempered, trust worth, honest, humble.... Paul uses this letter to make sure Titus knows what kind of Elders should be choosen for the churches in each city.

What strikes me though as I continue to read is the word hope... In the New Testament, based on a simple search at Bilblegateway.com the word hope is used around 80 times.

Hope brings about thought of the future, and what better thing to hope for than salvation through Christ.

I fear that many people have lost this Hope. Ether they have believed and fallen away or there is nothing tangible to them so that they believe. I think God works daily in our lives through the Holy Spirit to give us glimpses of heaven. God uses these glimpses to strengthen our hope for heaven. And ether you have the faith to recognize these glimpses as such, or your heart is hardened against them.

God’s promise of the hope of salvation is alive, and there for us to take. As is said in Titus some may profess to believe but have no change of heart. God sees these people and calls them detestable…

Titus 1: 15-16 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

With out the change of heart, and continuing on with our old ways, we gain no sight of the hope promised us. We can profess we have salvation, but only God knows if our hearts have changed.

Ephesians....

I dove full speed into my Discipleship homework last night, by reading Ephesians. I sat on my hotel room bed listening to Mathew West.

I have often thought that, if I was only allowed to read one or two books of the Bible for the rest of my life, Ephesians would be one that I choose.

Paul writing from his prison cell to the church of Ephesus (SP?), had to pack this letter with as much information as he could, and pack he did.

Every time I read Ephesians I am convicted in some way about my walk as a man of Christ. From unity in the church, how I act and speak, lead my family, or stand as a soldier for the word. Paul explains that I can do none of that as Christ did, without God's saving grace.

My favorite verses in the bible come from Ephesians… Eph 6:10-11 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

Christians are in a battle for the moral compass of this earth. The Devil will do everything he can to make us ignore our faith and become idle believers. He will use things of this world to distract us and try and throw us off our game. Eph6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The Devil knows he has lost the battle for the souls of people who believe, but if he can make us idle or make us ignore the moral degradation of society, and thus become idle in our faith. He will go after the souls of the unbelievers that have never heard the word of God due to our idleness….

As a man of God I am convicted to not let that happen.... My simple prayer as I go through this class is for God to: “USE ME”… Feed me your word; help me live your Word outwardly in my life…..

… Side note… Typing this weeks verse from Memory: II Peter 8:13 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever, Amen.

You will have to take my word for it… I forgot one word… Should be “Lord and Savior”…. And, “To him be Glory”… So I will keep practicing…

I wonder what I will learn when I read Titus….

18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

And man will this class push me to grow. Disciple, to have disciplin.... Some thing I have lacked in the past in my studying. Something I pray that God gives me the ability to aquire that disciplin.

God is with me and all the men in this class, we will grow together.

It is ok...

Have you wanted to hear those words before in your life...

Hey it is ok you are mad at....

Hey it is ok you are sad...

Hey it is ok to be happy...

Well I have heard those words over and over this summer in my head, and I know they come from God above.... Why do I know they came from God, because he gave me time to heal.

A little over 2 years ago I wrote these words: You see, God gave us all plenty of time, and it is how we choose to use the time that can make a difference in our lives and the lives of others.

It was the day after my Dad died, I knew I wanted to speak at his funeral, and this was the first sentence that was typed out on the computer. Time Time Time... What was the significance of time... As I sat there with tear filled eyes I thought of all the time my Dad spent just being himself, Wise, Unselfish, Caring, Protecting, and Loving. What I wrote about that day was how he valued the time he had on this earth, and used his time to be what he was Dad.

Well 2 years have passed and now I have a different perspective on time. I also wrote this that same day: Thank you Dad for taking the time. Thank you God for giving us a Dad who took the time.

Right now I can say: Thank you God for giving me the time.

Although I never stopped believing in God over the past 2 years, I defiantly was just working through the motions. Failed attempts to read my bible more, straining to pray, just trying to hear God again in my heart. Music that I loved became noise in the background... But I pushed on just asking every time I remembered to pray, God just move me, help me, feed me something....

I was struggling. I didn't have my Dad to measure up to any more, and I was slipping back into an old pattern of self doubt, I just didn't think I had what it takes to make a difference...

Then one night last spring, my heart broke, not for loosing Dad, but for me... God broke through (As he always does if you let him...) As I laid in bed in tears, my wife trying to comfort me, the words hit me...Softly and Gentle...

It is OK.... What? What do you mean ok.... It is OK.... What to sit here and blubber like an idiot... It is OK... What to loose sleep night after night trying to figure out if I will ever..... Ever what? IT IS OK.... To be mad that you can't turn to your Dad, it is OK to be sad that he won't be there when you walk into the house... It is OK to be happy... Happy what do you mean happy. It is OK to live your life. It is OK to stretch your limits, and be the man God wants you to be....

IT IS OK....

God is amazing... He gave me the time to heal, and he never left my side. All the time he knew as he always did and does that... It is OK....

Now I feel a fire burning that fills me, guides me and tells me every morning, IT IS OK, I am with you.....It is now I know he never left....

God was with Joshua... As he was and is with every believer.... http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=6&chapter=3&version=31

My Faith and Belief in Christ

Jesus was fully human, and sacrificed by dying for us... He Rose again to prove once and for all that not only was he human he was God incarnate, and to also show his power over death and sin.  

Here is why I have faith in Christ.

I took the leap of faith to believe in Jesus,  it is the evidence that I have after the fact the shows me that my leap was worth it.  The Change in my life and how I lead my family and look at other people can only come from having Christ in my heart.   I find myself doing things for others that I would have never done before I believed.  Not because I earn my way to heaven, but becuase the things I do are what Jesus did and would do.

Belief in Christ is a True change of heart.  ONLY GOD KNOWS if your heart has truely changed.  

I also believe that I do not look to other Christians as examples on how to live, I look to Christ as my example.   

Just a quick thought.

God being all powerful and all knowing, knows that his plan is working. How cool would it be to know that all the goals and dreams you have are just going to happen? For me not that cool at all. If it were not for my failures and successes I would not have the faith in Christ that I do.

The awsome power that God is, allows us to fail and get back up looking for him to help us.

Then when we do succeeded he celebrates with us, and is proud of us.

How awsome to have that love and support without question.

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. EPH 3: 17-19

Questions...

Why do we believe a man who was a simple carpenter, can save our souls from eternal damnation? Why do we throw our faith blindly at a man whose only full historic record is in a book that has caused wars, political arguments, and religious strife for centuries? So what is it about faith in God that captivates some and turns away others? Why do some embrace Faith in God and some shun it?

These questions run deep but they are not the questions that most Christians ask themselves on a daily basis. Most questions have to do with everyday issues; from money to family, from alcohol to sex, from sin to forgiveness. And most of the time we turn to other Christian friends to talk about these issues and seek advice. Have you ever wondered how other Christians talk about these issues, and whether the advice you get or conclusions drawn are biblically sound?

I can't say that I have all the answers about faith, but over the next 21 months I will be taking classes at church to complete a Discipleship program that will teach me how to interpret the bible and become a protector of the word. I will then be able to lead other men to become protectors of the word. I plan to post on what I learn, and how what I learn strengthens my faith in God and his salvation.

If you find this blog feel free to post replys. I only ask that you keep the posts clean, and G rated as my wife, daughter, sisters, mother, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, brother and sister in law's, mother and father in laws, and all of God children will be able to read this blog.

Here is to God in all his glory and his Son Jesus Christ.