Sunday, December 30, 2007

New Years Resolution

Tis the time to make a pact
Upon which most will never act.
A time when we set standards high
To only watch the year go by.
Never seeing them come to pass
Or making a change that seems to last.
This year I've said there’ll be no pact
Upon which I will never act.
Instead I’ve pledged to take each day
And live it in a Christ like way.

Chris Kuntz

Thursday, December 27, 2007

What Kind Of Soil Are You?

In Luke chapter 8, we read about the parable of the farmer sowing seed. It tells us that as the seed was sown, some fell on the path, some fell on the rocks, some fell among the thorns, and some fell in good soil. As I studied this, I came to realize that the soil is you and I, and how we respond to the seed, which is the word of God. As I read on I had to ask myself the following question: As God, (the farmer) sows His seed, (the word) on me, (the soil) what kind of soil does that seed fall on?

I always thought of myself as good soil solely based on my faith in Christ and my service to further the Kingdom of Heaven. However, as I thought about how I don’t read the bible as I ought to, how I find myself being so busy with “church stuff” that I don’t have time to go to bible study, and how I don’t share that seed or word with my family as I ought to, I found that my soil isn’t good after all.

I can be pretty sure that I am not the path, which, are those who hear the word but reject it. I don’t believe that I am among the rocks, which, gets the seed and starts to grow, but dies because the rock prevents roots from growing and therefore has no means of getting moisture. I most likely fall into the thorn category. Thorns can be representative of anything that distracts me from the word of God. Often I find myself wanting to sit down and read the bible only to be distracted with something else I deem important i.e.: church stuff.

I go to church on Wednesday nights for practice and usually arrive around 5:30 and stay until 10:30. Now you would think that would be enough time to do whatever I have to do and still have time to attend the adult bible study from 6:30 – 7:30. But I always seem to find something to take up the time, thinking all along that I am doing well because I’m at church.

Sunday school is another opportunity for me to sit down and soak up the word, yet I find my mind wandering during class to the events of the morning. How things went, what we could have done differently, how and what we will do next week, yadda, yadda, yadda.

There are so many things that grow up next to the word (seed) that seem good, however in the end, they only strangle the word to death.

So my situation is that of thorns and dying seed. I must find a way to cultivate my soil so that the word that falls on me can grow and multiply a hundred fold as the scripture says. I must start to prioritize my life and ministry so that the word has good soil to land on. Life comes from the word and the word from the mouth of God.

I hope you stop to analyze your soil, test it and see if it is good. Don’t assume that it is because in the end you might be disappointed to find out differently. Cultivate your soil by preparing it, make time everyday to read God’s word, attend that bible study you have been putting off, go to Sunday school class, join a home study group that is really studying the bible and not just getting together and talking. Make very opportunity you can so that when the word falls on you, it will take root and grow and multiply.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Foreign Language

I have this attraction to electronics, especially palm pilots and computers. I just get amazed at what they can do, especially some of the new stuff. Since I have this interest in them, I tend to mess with them alot, therefore I have learned how to do quite a bit on them. At work when the computer goes down or is giving them fits, they call me in to take a look at it. At home when we have problems, I am usually the one to try to figure it out. Not that my wife cannot, she works in the IT department at her work, so she if very competent.



There are times however, that the problems start to sound like a foreign language and go beyond my knowledge and I have to call in someone more experienced to help guide me through a set up or repair, or even to understand something more clearly. Tonight was such a night.



We went to mom and dad's for our family Christmas tonight, and while there we lost the Internet connection on their computer. Everything was working up to the computer, the server, the router, the cat5 line. Everything it seemed except for the NIC card. So we ran over to the local electronics store and grabbed a new card, came back home and installed it sure that it would solve the problem, but no luck.



I started getting messages such as: acquiring network address failed: redirecting new IP address:

stuff about the TCPI and the DSN server and blah, blah, blah...........



So now is the time I call in the one smarter than myself.... I just get so frustrated when something that seems so simple ends up being so difficult.



Sometimes I feel this way about the bible and being a Christian. The bible has so much information in it that it can be so difficult to understand almost to the point of being a foreign language. At times I sit down to start reading and I feel as though I am sitting down to an unclimbable mountain, it can be so intimidating sometimes. But the only way to climb the mountain is to put one foot in front of the other and start. So on the days I feel as though I am looking in to the face of a giant, I do just that, I start.

I always hope it will get easier, and maybe some day it will, but the important thing is that I keep trying. It's my hope that one day I will find a method that works for me, and that I will approach and ascend with a steady forward movement. I will trust in the one who is smarter than I am and ask Him to teach me how to move forward.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Red Letter Edition

Yesterday I started something new. I decided to read through the New Testament but only reading what Jesus had to say. I have a red letter edition bible and so it makes it easy to read only what Jesus said.

So far I have found it interesting, it's definitely different, and probably not the best way to read through it, but I am enjoying it so far. He said what he said and meant it, I like that.

I am hopeful to find a few morsels of information to pass on.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

A Friendly Shoutout and Christmas Greetings

About a week ago, I was playing around on my blog site and clicked on the counter at the bottom. It opened another window and took me to the counter web site. I guessed at my login and password and was introduced to a fascinating world of blogger stats. I was amazed to find that I could get a rough idea as to who was visiting my site and how they got there. SOOOOO....... I just wanted to give a shout out to those of you, whom I don't know by the way, that have visited my blog site. I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! God bless you and may His light shine upon you.

Shout out list: Hey, and Christmas Greeting's to.....

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Tyler, Texas
Ranger Texas
Stockton, California
El Paso, Texas
Lansing, Michigan
Adrian, Michigan
Pennsylvania
Ontario, Canada
Appleton, Wisconsin
Saginaw, Michigan
Altoona, Pennsylvania
New York, New York
Corunna, Michigan
Hamden, Connecticut
Kokomo, Indiana
Auburn, Indiana
Las Vegas, Nevada
British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Monore, Louisiana
Huntington, Indiana
Abbotsford, Canada
Hessen, Gladenbach, Germany
San Luis Obispo, California
Southfield, Michigan
United Kingdom
Seattle, Washington
Bakersfield, California
Florida
Marietta, Georgia
Naples, Florida
Mayfield, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Kingsland, Georgia
St.George Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Little Rock, Arkansas
Moorestown, New Jersey
Lafayette, Indiana
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Atlanta, Georgia
Dublin, Ireland
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Darlington, South Carolina
Plymouth, Indiana
Phoenix, Arizona
Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Nairobi Area, Kenya
Brandon, Mississippi
Arlington, Virginia
Zuid-Holland, The Hague, Netherlands
Madisonville, Tennessee
Dallas, Texas
Ames, Iowa
Boston, Massachusetts
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Cincinnati, Ohio
Paducah, Kentucky
Lititz, Pennsylvania
United Kingdom
Denver, Colorado
Ketterling, Ohio
Republic of Korea
Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania
Winter Park, Florida
Riverside, California
Bergenfield, New Jersey
Antilles, Netherlands
Simi Valley, California
Danbury, Connecticut
Manitoba, Altona, Canada
Beyrouth, Beirut, Lebanon
Decatur, Georgia
Andhra Pradesh, Guntur, India
Kingston, New York
T'ai-pei, Taiwan
Bel Air, Maryland
Everett, Washington
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Newport, Ohio
Singapore
Manila, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
Owosso, Michigan
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Reston, Virginia
Modesto, California
Beaumont, Texas
Los Angeles, California
District of Columbia, Washington
Baleares, Palma De Mallorca, Spain
Davis, California
Podlaskie, Bialystok, Poland
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Scotts Valley, California
Tucson, Arizona
South Africa
Miami, Florida
North Webster, Indiana
Maharashtra, Mumbai, India
Limburg, Venlo, Netherlands
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
West Bengal, Calcutta, India
Norwalk, Connecticut

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Celebrating Cultures Around The World

Tonight my family went to watch my oldest son perform in what I thought was their annual Christmas program for his elementary school. I arrived with an anticipation of watching him sing, dance, and play an instrument, and I wasn't disappointed in his fantastic performance. He really worked hard on his songs and sang them around the house a lot, in a differant language mind you. The entire evening was really good, the kids showed how they could sing many different songs in different languages, and they displayed their ability to play an African song using a verity of drums and rhythmic instruments, and it was done well. I was very please right up till the end, when they ended the evening with all the kids shouting HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Now again maybe I am picking on something small to some, but for me this is a big pet peeve. I can't stand it when someone says Happy Holidays at Christmas time. There is a reason it is called Christmas and I would prefer to leave it that way.

It got me to thinking about all the stuff that the public school system will be teaching my kids over the next several years, and it worried me. I must hope and pray that I am teaching them what they NEED to know here at home about God and His son Jesus Christ, and the truth about creation. To help them lay a strong foundation for their beliefs and convictions.

I know it seems like the last few posts have been me picking on people or things said and if I have bored you, I apologize. I just have a few things that just really rattle my cage and I have a hard time not saying anything about them.

On a lighter and more positive note, the other night I was preparing dinner for the family and my two oldest were arguing, and had been all afternoon. This too was getting on my nerves and so I began to explain to them that sometimes even though people are not being nice to us, we still need to show them love and be nice to them. I explained that people were not always nice to Jesus and yet he showed them love and kindness. At that, my oldest said, "Dad, that just made me think of something, even though my brother may be mean to me, I will still be nice to him. Like when you tell me to clean my room, I will clean mine and his too. I think that is what Jesus would do."


I can't begin to tell you just how good that made me feel, I felt like he actually heard me and that it struck a chord with him. The rest of the evening was blissful peace as they got along and treated each other with respect and kindness. Mind you that it only lasted for the night, they were back to normal the next day. However, it is my hope that they heard me that night and they will remember it.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Necessity or Just Nice?

Today at church, we had several things planned. With an impending ice storm heading our way I wondered how things might go. There were fewer than normal there, but still more than I expected. Just about the time Pastor Gary started in with announcements the power went out, and stayed out. Needless to say the power point, band, and lighting cease to exist. Not to mention that after the service we had planned a church Christmas dinner/carry-in.

Well with music, we improvised and cut all band members loose to sit back and enjoy the service, I grabbed my acoustic and we sang with almost a campfire feeling. The message was given with a hushed crowd so they could hear, and candles came out of the wood work so we could see in the basement for lunch. Just about the time the message was coming to an end, the power came back on, and stayed on. We thought the candles were doing such a great job of providing atmosphere, we just kept it that way, no lights for lunch.

Over all, the morning went well. I was pleased to see how people took things in stride and how some sprang into action to make the day continue as planned. While standing in line to get my plate of ham, turkey and mashed potatoes, I had a few people tell me that we should shut the power off more often, I agree.

Amps, electric and bass guitars, drums, power point slides for the message, stage lighting, it's all nice but not necessary for God to move. God was front and center in church this morning, and He never missed a beat. It's good to know that God doesn't rely on such things the way we do sometimes. Thanks God!!

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Religious Beliefs, Politics and Blurring the Lines

Last night Mitt Romney gave a speech in front of a crowd of several hundred and a television audience of millions. I was not able to hear the speech in it's entirety, however I did hear excerpts of it this morning during my workout.

As I was exercising, I heard him say that he believed Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and the Savior of man kind. That got my attention, and so I started listening. I thought he was doing pretty good until I heard a statement toward the end that threw up a flag for me. He said, and I quote, "Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the almighty, has a friend and ally in me," he said. "And so it is for hundreds of millions of our countrymen: we do not insist on a single strain of religion -- rather, we welcome our nation's symphony of faith."

Sounds good doesn't it? Something doesn't sit well with me about this statement, and it's this line, "we do not insist on a single strain of religion -- rather, we welcome our nations symphony of faith." Are we back in the 70's again?? Peace, Love..........

Some would have thought Jesus to be narrow minded when He said "I am the way the truth and the life, and NO MAN comes unto the Father but through me." Symphony of faith?? Mitt, you disappoint me. We can't have it both ways my friends. Either we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that salvation is found in no other, as Acts 4:12 states, or we believe that as long as you have "religion" and live a moral life, we are all brothers and sisters destined for eternity in heaven.

I sat at work this afternoon and listened to AM talk show hosts gush and applaud and praise Mitt and his comments, and the whole time I just shook my head. I will be the first to admit that I am not the smartest when it comes to politics and I'm a novice when it comes to scriptural interpretation, however I believe that there is One God, One Christ Jesus, One Holy Spirit, and One way to heaven, and that we can all too often make a horrible horrible mess out of the truth.

I pray that as a "nation under God", we will build firm foundations of biblical understanding. And upon those firm foundations on which we stand, we will stand with unwavering faith and hope that the truth of God's word will always prevail.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Church resources vrs. everything else












Last night my wife and I had the opportunity for the second time to join a group from church and man one of the concessions stands at the coliseum. We had helped the previous Friday at the first Mad Ants basketball game. Last night was the Casting Crowns "The alter and the door" concert.
I had speculated that we wouldn't be very busy for the concert just due to the fact that most Christians or music lovers like to do things as groups like catch dinner before or after the event.
Whereas sports fans would rather munch and drink at the sporting event while watching the game, boy was I wrong. The Mad Ants game was a slow steady business most of the night. People slipping out during the game to grab a slice of pizza or soda only spending a small fortune.
I was very surprised last night at the concert when hoards of people would flock to the stand and order sandwiches, ice cream bars, pizza, sodas (large ones), candy, popcorn and Cotton candy. I was simply amazed at how much they spent on JUNK. One guy bought 5 ice cream bars, a large soda and 2 slices of pizza and dropped $21.00. I could have bought lunch for a week!
What ever our booth brought in, we got a small (very small) percentage of the sales and it goes toward the church. Great way to make some extra cash for the church or for a fund raiser. So this was basically a secular event verses a Christian event, and here is my problem. The secular event brought in far less money than the Christan event did, and as I stood there taking hand fulls of cash for over priced junk food I had to ask myself, if these people, who most likely go to church, can spend this type of money on junk and over priced (and not so tasty) food, then why are our churches behind in budget and why are our ministries under funded.
After the evening was over I mulled this over in my head and thought about how much money was spent that night at our booth alone, times almost 15 other booths, and dreamed about what could have been done with that money had it been pout toward a ministry or tithing. Now I am not saying these people aren't tithing, that is between them and God. I do know this though, our church has been behind budget all year, our ministries are suffering due to lack of funds and we have had to cut back to bare bones just to operate, and I watched thousands of dollars being spent on junk food.
Now I know that buying food and pop at events such as the ones mentioned kind of go hand in hand, but I also have to ask where our priorities are. Do we really give God our first fruits or are we skimping a little off the top for ourselves as well. One day we will be held accountable for what was given to us and our Master is going to ask us what we did with what He gave us. I hope He likes popcorn and soda.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The Authority of Prayer & Worship

Our second Core Value at UCC is The Value of Prayer.

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there."

In this scripture we see that Prayer allows God to move "...then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

It also shows us that Prayer allows us to move, "..."If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Prayer also allows revival, There is a quote that says:
"You can pray and never have revival but you will never have revival until you pray."

Prayer is a major communication path with God our creator, and to often it is the first thing to slip our daily activities. In the past, I have gotten so busy with life that I have let days go by without talking with God, and then I wonder why I feel so down or discouraged. Prayer is a vital link between God and his creation. When it comes to worship, I have to point out that if we are not praying on a daily, hourly basis, how then can we worship God. We cannot worship that which we do not know!

Prayer affords us the opportunity to come before God and build our relationship as we ask for forgiveness and guidance as we listen for His words.

Monday, November 05, 2007

The Authority of God's Word and Worship

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


So how does this scripture apply to worship? Let me ask you a few questions;

Who is it that you claim you worship?
Is it God?
Is it music?
Is it something else?

If you answered God, I have another question for you. Is it the God of the bible? Is it the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Or is it the God you have come to know and love in your mind? The one you have molded and shaped into what is comfortable for you?

If we are worshiping a God that we have molded and shaped to make us comfortable, then we are worshiping a false God. God is God and he does not change. He is the same today as he was the day Moses walked across the Red Sea floor. By reading and obeying His word, we will discover and gain a better understanding of who God is and His expectations of us.

One of our core values at UCC is "The Authority of Gods Word" We understand that the learning and memorization of His word will enable us to learn how to worship God in Spirit and in Truth which is what the Father seeks, those who worship in spirit and in truth.

So where does truth come from? Truth comes from the Word, and the Word comes from the mouth of God. We can worship God by observing His word and hiding it in our hearts.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

A Call To Arms


For 6 years now maybe a bit longer we have been at war. Our men and women have been serving their country in the face of a brutal and vicious enemy. I am reminded daily of their sacrifice, courage, and struggle. I am reminded that we need to pray for our heroes daily, for their safety, for their strength, for their courage, for their survival. They are fighting for us, you and I. Day in and day out they risk their lives so we can enjoy ours. Some lay awake at night in fear, some in exhaustion, some in anger. Some may go to sleep and not wake up.

They need our prayers, and the reason I am reminded of this on a daily basis, is because my 5-year-old son is their prayer warrior. Every night before he goes to bed he prays for the soldiers. He prays for their safety, that they can fight well and kill the bad guy, and that they can come home safe. He prays that they have enough food to eat to keep them strong, and that ehy can sleep good. He prays for the children that have moms and dads serving in the war, that they come home safe so they don't have to be sad anymore. Our soldiers need our prayers, my son gets that, and he honors that responsibility every night. It's time we do the same.

PRAY FOR OUR TROUPS!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Early Christmas Present

The other day I stopped by the local grocery store with my three boys to pick up a few items.
As we stood in the checkout line the boys started getting rowdy as usual and I was just about to settle them down when an older gentleman came up behind us in line. He saw that the boys were giving me a hard time so he very slowly took his hand and reached around in front of the boys and all of the sudden his thumb started glowing red. He proceeded to give the boys a magic show with this disappearing and dancing red light right there in the checkout while I took care of paying. He was a very nice man, a tad overweight, white hair, white beard, glasses and a nice smile. See where I'm going with this?

I got the grocery's taken care of, said thank you to him and walked out to the car. After getting the kids buckled in and ready to go I thought how nice it was of him to help me out and how when I think of the old stories of Santa Clause, that's the kind of person I think of. As I was walking around the back of the van to get in he passed me in his truck, a red one.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

The Love Of Christ

Today I ventured out and went to church. Sitting around the house and being partially disabled is not something I do well. I had a good day though, the knee held up pretty good and it was just nice to get out and talk to people. We went to church early so I could help run slides, and while we were practicing, Pastor Gary came up and handed me two hundred dollars cash and said someone gave it to him to give to us to help out with bills while I was off work. I immediately had a dilemma. On one hand I greatly appreciate this persons generosity, on the other I almost felt guilty for someone giving me so much when there are so many others in need. Obviously God laid it on this persons heart to give this large gift and there is no doubt it will help pay bills while I'm not pulling in a full pay check.


John 13:33-35 says;

"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

I have found that people are always watching, and when we show love to one another they see the goodness and love of Jesus Christ. I don't want this persons love shown to my family to go unseen. Let this post be a witness to the fact that the love of Christ is alive and well and given in abundance.

Thank you for your Love!

Friday, September 28, 2007

God Creativity


John 21

John Chapter 21

I find this final chapter of John to be an interesting chapter. It is the final chapter in the Gospel of John and one that finds the disciples going back and doing what they did before they met Christ. It starts out with the Disciples sitting around and gathered together at the sea of Tiberias. One thought I have here is why are they sitting around doing nothing? Simon Peter stands and says “I’m going fishing” and the other six of them rise and say they will go with him. I’m unsure as to why the disciples are back at the sea and not out spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. Maybe this fishing trip arises out of hunger, maybe because they are unsure of what to do. If the later is the case, then maybe they are just simply doing what they know how to do. So we see Peter step up and start to lead, but to what and to where?

So as they are out fishing Jesus shows up on the shore and calls out to them “Friends haven’t you any fish?” He tells them to put their nets out on the right side of the boat and they will catch fish. One thought here, first of all Jesus knows they haven’t caught anything because he’s Jesus, second he doesn’t suggest, but tells them to put their nets on the right side of the boat. I just think it’s interesting that they are fishing on the left side (unclean side) and Jesus comes along and tells them to fish on the right side (the clean side) and when they do it Christ’s way, they catch more than they can haul in. When John realizes who it is, he tells the others and specifically Simon Peter. Simon, who has taken off his outer garment puts it back on and dives into the water and swims to shore. Question – Why did he put his outer garment back on? Was it because the water was cold? Was it because he was modest? Or was it a way to cover himself up because he was ashamed that he was caught doing something besides what Christ had told them what to do? It is also thought that he might have been fishing naked, which would have been normal back then, and he simply puts his loin cloth back on before going into the water. The other thought is that he might have tied up the loose parts of his outer garment so that it would not get caught up while he was swimming.

They come ashore and Christ, who had not been fishing, has fish and bread cooking on an open fire. This speaks to the provision of Christ just like the feeding of the five thousand and the wedding feast where he turned water into wine. He invites them to eat and to also bring some of the fish they had caught. During this time Christ begins to ask Simon Peter if Peter loves him. This is interesting because Christ asks Simon three times, the same number of times that Simon had denied Christ. The first time he instructs Simon to feed his lambs, the second to take care of His sheep, and the third to feed His sheep. This is a picture of a well-rounded Shepard. Christ is the ultimate Shepard and He is commissioning Simon Peter to take care of the flock that Christ has gathered.

There is so much more information in this chapter, all the neat rabbit trails of details that could be taken, but these have stood out to me and I thought them to be interesting.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Let Us Kneel

Psalm 95:6

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

This verse tells us to bow down before the Lord. As we worship the Lord, let us consider worshipping with our whole body in response to all that He is and has done.

Worship is something that we do. It is an acceptable attitude expressed such as Abraham did as he bowed down. Worship is purely and solely for the Lord and should be a natural outflow of an inward attitude of our pure affection.

I Corinthians 12:12 The Body

Well I have survived. I made it through the surgery and even watched. I know I said that I was going to be completely out, however, they have some pretty amazing drugs that alter your confidence levels. God is an amazing engineer, even though I only saw the inside of my knee, I realize that everything has a propose, everything works together for a reason. I was amazed that they could take a ligament from another part of my leg and turn it into a new part for my knee. That’s an example of one part of the body replacing or helping another part of the body.

I Corinthians 12:12 says, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ."

As the body of Christ, we ought to be helping one another with their function in the body. Whether that is in the form of assisting, or encouraging, or funding, or praying for them. As the “Body” we need to consider how we effect and work with other parts of the body and recognize what a great God we serve.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Appreciated

I'm not one that likes to be fussed over. I prefer to be the one fussing and taking care of others, that's how I'm made up. I haven't even had my surgery yet and I have had many phone calls asking "How are you?" and "What can I do for you?" I know people care for me and it is nice to know that so many do, it's just hard to know that I will be a burden to those I love even for a day. I suppose that this is the way I have always been. I helped my parents take care of my brother David for most of my childhood, he had Muscular Dystrophy. Even though I would rather have been out playing most of those days, I know that it ingrained in me a concern and compassion for others. I also suppose that others have that ingrained in them as well. So as much as it makes me uncomfortable to have others do for me, I guess it does them good to do something that makes them feel good as well.

So to all of you who have called out of concern and offered meals and prayers, I say an honest Thank You from the bottom of my heart.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Darkside Of The Unknown

WOW, look at this I'm posting, such an amazing thing.

It seems as though shortly,I will have plenty of time to do so. A little over a month ago I asserted myself in a game of touch football and ended up tearing my ACL and damaging my Meniscus. This Wednesday the 26th of September, I enter into unknown territory (aka the Dark Side), the operating room. There they will reconstruct my ACL and take out the damaged cartilage. I will be laid up for a short while, I say a "short while" in the most optimistic way possible.

As many of you know I weld by trade, and I have had the unfortunate opportunity to weld some of the equipment and implants they use in surgery. I have seen things that no man should see, things that should never be allowed to see the light of day. Things that should be outlawed in 50 states. I have told myself that after seeing such instruments of torture, that I would never go into surgery. It appears as though I have been mistaken. I will join the ranks of those able to set off a metal detector even when they walk through naked. I will succumb to the horrifying experience of staples, screws and foreign metal instruments entering my body, some to take up permanent residence. The only good thing is, I will be completely out, let me say that again COMPLETELY OUT. My ears will not be graced with the sound of the bone drill or screw drill. No sir, I will be sawing logs under mans best friend called IV sedation.

See you on the flip side.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Things are not what they seem

So you thought you would check and see if I have posted something new? Fooled ya! I promise a new blog is coming soon. keep checkin!!




You've seen the t-shirts that say things like" I'm with stupid", "I'm the man of the house when my wife is gone." or "I'm the best looking dad on the block next to Stan."

For a long time I've worn a t-shirt that says "I'm not good enough" or some days it says, "I'm not smart enough". Have you ever noticed that you sometimes wear a t-shirt that says something like that?

In September of 2006, I was asked to chair in a planning committee for the first ever United Brethren In Christ National Conference. I was asked to head up the Music and Arts side of the conference and anything that happened in the main session. As I considered this opportunity, I also dawned my t-shirt that read something like, "Why did they ask me? I'm nobody!"

I reluctantly said yes and began a journey that I will remember forever. As time went on I faced some pretty big giants. First of which was logistics. Trying to get a team gathered from various churches to provide music and arts for over 900 people. It started out just being music, then quickly turned out to have drama, video enhancement or IMAG (image magnification) Special music, interpretative dance, professional lighting, professional sound, and the list goes on and on. Now keep in mind I lead music at a church of less than 150 people. We don't use special lighting, professional sound equipment or a lot of drama for that matter. Most of all this was new to me. I had many struggles with God about why I was asked to do this when there were so many other talented and schooled individuals in close proximity to me. However God started showing me what he can do when I am weak.

Over time I saw God provide the best of the best for my team. Things just started to fall into place. Lighting, sound, a top notch drama team, great bands, a fantastic video editing team, great support from friends and family. For the most part God placed into my sphere a team of people that loved to do what they do and were good at it. As the conference approached, I was nervous and excited all at the same time. I knew my limitations and I started to trust that God would take what I could do and add to it to provide something great.

Well God provided above and beyond. The conference went great, we had no major glitches and the ones we did have were handled before anyone ever know they were there. It was, for all technical purposes, a success. God met us in that place and we watched Him do what only He could do as he touched lives, changed and freed hearts.

In Judges we read about a man that has a similar story, and he also wore a self doubt t-shirt. Gideon was a man that God called to deliver Israel from the grasp of the Midiniates. When called, Gideon questioned the Lord saying who am I but the least of these, my clan is the weakest.
Through many tests of God on Gideons behalf, God proved that it was Him calling Gideon to the task, and Gideon reluctantly stood up and took the calling. Now Gideon had 32,000 men at his side, and God does something that blind sides Gideon. He tells him that he has too many men for God to use, so they ask for those who are afraid to leave and 22,000 men left that day. Again the Lord says that Gideon has too many men, and though another test he weeds out all but 300 men for Gideon to use. 300 against the many of the Midian armies.

God gave Gideon specific instruction as to what he was to do to defeat the enemy and that is exactly what happened. With 300 men, Gideon defeated the great army of Midian and freed the people of Israel from 7 years of oppression.

Now was it Gideon and the 300 men that did this great thing? I highly doubt it. 300 men against tens of thousands, the numbers just don't add up. So what was so special about these men and Gideon that they could accomplish such a task? IT WAS GOD!

God took this group of 301 and their willingness to serve and follow Him, and used them to defeat the armies of Midian. God did it through them, not on their own, but with God. The bible tells us that "All things are possible with Christ" ALL THINGS, not some things, not a few things, but ALL THINGS!! We need to believe that and start taking it to heart. We need to stop doubting what can be accomplished when we have Christ on our side. NOTHING IS TOO BIG FOR GOD!! It's not just a nice saying, it's the truth!



I wonder what kind of T-shirt Gideon put on after he saw what God did. I know what kind of T-shirt I am wearing now. One that says:



"All Things Are Possible Through Christ Who Strengthens Me!"



It's time we wake up church and stop playing this silly game of "I'm not good enough". God doesn't need us to be "better" before He can use us. He doesn't need for us to "well versed" in English or any other language before we can pray out loud. He wants us to be available and willing to follow Him when He calls. If we could do it on our own then we wouldn't need Him. When we are weak and and unable to do what He has called us to do , you can bet that you will see God do some pretty amazing work on you and on those around you.


HE will provide your needs, HE will show you the way, HE will help you finish the task. And when it is finished and it has been done by His grace and by His power, then the glory and praise will go to Him and not man, just the way it should be.



What kind of T-shirt are you wearing today?

Sunday, April 15, 2007

With God All Things Are Possible


Tonight Lisa and I watched a movie called "Facing The Giants". It started out a bit slow with less than hollywood acting, but a great story line none the less. There are many movies about underdog football teams that end up on top, but not like this one. This one had a different twist. Most football movies tend to draw on heart and courage to overcome the bigger more powerful team.

Facing the Giants took it a step further by drawing their power and strength from God. The whole movie was about trusting in God, giving Him the glory in the good and bad times. Learning to put your faith in Him and give it your all. The over arching theme of the movie was, "There is nothing impossible with God". Such a great life lesson for us all to remember.

As the movie ended, I found myself wanting to experience what they had. To give everything to God, to give Him the glory in ALL things, and to know that with Him all things are possible.

Every day I need to tell myself that. Everyday, as I start my day out, I need to resolve to give everything I have to God. 110% having nothing left because I gave it all for him. And at the end of the day to give Him all the glory no matter what happens, win or lose.


I'm glad I watched this movie tonight, I think I needed it.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Gratitude in Worship

Since I have been studying biblical worship, One thing has always come to mind. If we really understood what it is that God has done for us, we would not be able to contain the joy. We would be so overwhelmed with it, that I believe it would cause us to dance and sing, to share with everyone the peace and forgiveness we have found.

To often many of us keep that joy to ourselves. To many of us don't seem excited or joyful about what God has done for us, myself included. That causes me to wonder if we truly understand at all. I know sometimes I don't. I can't comprehend the pain and suffering, the separation, the darkness that would befall me if it weren't for Christ. I have accepted Christ as my King and given Him my life, so why don't I share the joy freely with others more?

We have seen that God has a design for Worship. Gods way, confession of sin, and obedience. The next step in His design is Gratitude. Worship is the response of a grateful heart. Throughout the Old Testament, we see people worship God with gratitude for what he did for them. Noah, Abraham, David, Isaac, Israel all built alters and worshiped God with gratitude for either fulfilling promises or blessing them. It is clear through these passages that they were grateful for the deliverance God provided them.

I don't have to be delivered from thousands of roman soldiers, or be delivered from a flood of biblical proportions to have a grateful heart. All I have to do is look around. God has blessed me with a beautiful and loving wife, 3 strong healthy boys, a good church family, a good job, good friends, good parents, a nice house, the freedom that comes from living in the USA. All I have to do is look around, and I will see God's blessings in my life.

I challenge you to take a look around your life and see how God has blessed you. Then worship him with that blessing in mind.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Obedience in Worship

In Genesis 22, we read about Abraham and how God asks him to sacrifice his own son Isaac on the alter. I like this story because it shows Abraham's devotion and trust in God. In verse 3 we read that Abraham sets out the very next morning to do exactly what God asked him to do without question. I can't imagine what he must have been thinking. That's hardly enough time to wrap your mind around what you were asked to do, but Abraham does so.

Now God instructs Abraham to travel to the region of Moriah (in Jerusalem). This is roughly three days worth of travel from where he was. THREE DAYS, that's a long time to contemplate what you are going to go do. Also he instructs Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt sacrifice, which usually entailed some type of ceremony. Can you imagine, traveling three days with your only son, all the while planning to kill him once you arrive.

Once they come to the region of Moriah, Abraham tells his servants to wait here with the donkey. then he says "we will go worship and then we will come back to you."

This sentence has always caught my attention. Abraham was told by God to go and sacrifice his only son, so he goes with the full intention to do so. However, in this one statement, Abraham reveals his trust and faith in God. He says "we will go and worship". Nothing out of the norm here. Then he says, "and then WE will come back to you." That is the part that has always intrigued me. He either knew that God would provide a sacrifice in place of his son, or he trusted God to raise his son from the dead after he had shown his obedience.

As Abraham raised his hand to kill Isaac, God called out and stopped him. He instead provided a lamb for the sacrifice and I can guarantee that Abraham will never forget that worship service.
There are many lessons to pull from this story but I just want to focus on one. We have to be obedient to God in order for our worship to be true worship. Abraham withheld nothing from God. He was willing to give up his only son to the God that he feared, loved and was devoted to. He was obedient, even when it made no sense. We too should with hold nothing from God. He gave it to us, he provided us with everything we have, and it is really His.

Obedience is part of the biblical blueprint for worship. It is among the most important aspects in the building of the tabernacle

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Not All Worship Is Acceptable To God

Genesis chapter 4 recounts the story of Cain and Abel and their offerings to God. Abel was the keeper of flocks and had brought the firstlings of his flock to God as a sacrifice. Cain was a farmer and had brought some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to the Lord. Which one do you think God accepted as a acceptable sacrifice?

As I read through, I was suprised to find that Cain's offering was not accepted by the Lord, and Abels was. As we read last time, blood had to be shed for the covering of sins.

Hebrews 9:22 "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

I'm not sure if this is the reason for Cain's offering not being accepted, but it makes sense. Cains hard work and the ground brought forth the grain and fruit which he offered, and there is obviously no blood involved with grain, so where is the sacrifice and suffering? It could have also been that Cain brought his offering with the wrong attitude or motive.

Abels offering was accepted by God but why?
We can see that he brought the firstlings of the flock out of reverance and faith in God.

Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

An observation of Abel can be that he approached the giving of his offering to the Lord with faith. Faith that God is who He says He is and can do what He say's He can do.

The sacrifice that Abel brought to the Lord was only enough to cover his sins and not to forgive them. A more perfect sacrifice was to come, one that would remove and forgive all sin.

We can learn from Cain and Abel that not all worship is acceptable to God. It must be done God's way and not ours.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Study On The Tabernacle - Sin

I have been doing a study on the Tabernacle and how God instructed us to worship. I have found it very interesting and thought I would start sharing my discoveries.


God's Way and Our Way

It's funny to me that humanity usually tries to figure out a way to justify our sin or absolve it our way. We try the "I'll do better next time" line, or the "Please forgive me Lord" line but then go right back to doing the same thing we just "repented" of. Or we just give it a good ole' sweep under the rug and hope it goes away. That's what Adam and Eve did when they sinned in the garden. They had eaten the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then they realized that they were naked and they were ashamed. So what did they do? As their cheeks were blushing, they grabbed the nearest fig leaf and tried to cover themselves up. Then they heard the Lord walking in the garden so they hid themselves in the bushes. now were up to two acts to cover their sin.

God calls out for them and asks where they are. I think this is funny because although we know that God knew where they were, I think he called out to Adam and Eve to make them realize they were hiding from Him. Talk about adding to the shame. So they come out and God asks why were you hiding? Adam explains their shame due to their nakedness so they hid. you know the rest of the story (Genesis 3:1-13) He blames her, She blames the snake and the buck gets passed. See we haven't changed much since the beginning of time.

Our way simply doesn't work because it only leads down a road of lies, deception, and grief. God has a very specific plan for worship and it starts with forgiveness, and although they may have not understood it completely, he starts to lay it out for Adam and Eve in verses 14-24.

First - God condemns Eve to pain in childbearing and that her desire will be for her husband
For Adam, hard labor for his food and eventually death.

Second- He makes clothing for them and covers them. Now I have always read over this and not given it much thought, but stop here for a minute and think with me. Where did the clothing come from and what was it made of? Verse 21 tells us that the garments were made of skin. Who's skin? This is the first lesson in forgiveness for us. Without blood there can be no forgiveness! God had taken one of the animals (one that Adam named and walked in the garden with) and killed it spilling it's blood. He used the skin of the animal to cover Adam and Eve thus covering their shame. (We will get into this more later, remember don't just read it but think about what it is saying and what it could be referring to.)

Third - God banished Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden. Their sin caused separation from God. Never again would they be allowed to walk with Him in the cool of the garden.

Now the bible doesn't come right out and say it, but we can assume, that they might have helped raise or take care of the animal that God killed to clothe them. We can imagine that they may have been saddened or grieved by the death the animal received that should have been theirs. Sin is costly and when sins are committed, something has to die and blood must be shed to rectify those sins.

So here we are, at separation from God caused by their (our) sin. As we usually do, they tried to cover it up but were unsuccessful. God gives us a hint of what it takes to regain our relationship with Him, and it all starts with forgiveness, but this isn't the full story.

The ultimate message from Adam and Eve is that if we are going to worship God our sin must be dealt with first.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Transcending the Ages

For the past four or five weeks we have been singing a few hymns here and there in our song sets at church on Sunday mornings. We have done songs like:

“There is Power In The Blood”
“Come Thou Fount”
“Amazing Grace”
“What A Friend We Have In Jesus”
“Will The Circle Be Unbroken”

Well this week I really dove deep and put in the Doxology. I know, I know, I either hear
“What were you thinking” or “It’s about time”. Now on this months singing team, we have a diverse age group so I wasn’t sure how it would go over. Obviously the more experienced generation would know it and appreciate it, but why? Is it because of the message of the song, or because they just grew up singing it? The younger generation I knew wouldn’t know it, so it would give me an opportunity to explain it just as I have all the other songs of old that we have been singing.

Well sticking to my style, I didn’t want to do it exactly how it has always been done, so we played it just a tad bit different than usual as to be a little more culturally relevant to the ear. Well I must say that the song is still alive and well today. It is so rich in doctrine when it comes to the Trinity. After singing it a few times, the youngest on tonight’s team (18) asked what the song meant. After explaining it, we sang it a few times more and she made the comment that out of all the songs we had done tonight, it was her favorite. That surprised me just do to the age of the song, the newness of the other songs we were singing, and I really didn’t change it that much. I think it just came down to the fact that the message of the song puts all glory and honor on God just as it should be. After hearing the comments tonight about this song, (and there were many) I’m excited to sing this Sunday. To sing a song that is pure in integrity, with no “I’s” or “Me’s”, it’s just refreshing.

One more thing, The doxology is usually put at the tail end of things, kind of a wrap up song if you will. Take up the offering then sing the doxology. Finish the service then sing the doxology as a way to close out the day. I didn’t put it at the end, in fact it’s just shortly after the middle of the service for this reason; the lyrics.

Praise God from whom all blessing flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above thee Heavenly hosts
Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost


I believe our praise should be continual and never ending, not something we do only we get or give something, but in all circumstances. So we will sing this song in a buffet of praise Sunday morning as we enjoy the rich message of the doxology.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Something Is Brewing

Have you ever had a feeling that something is happening inside of you and you just can't put your finger on it. I'm not talking about a physical ailment rather a deep desire or brewing to see or make something happen. I have this, and I'm not sure what it is yet but I know it's there. My family and I have been through a lot of change this past year. God called me (us) to leave our church and friends of Anchor Community Church, www.anchorpeople.org and go to serve at another church across town, Union Chapel . This proved to be one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made, however it turned out to be the right one.

Shortly after taking the position at UC, I was asked to join the steering committee team for the United Brethren In Christ National Conference. http://www.ub.org/nc/about.html This was also a difficult decision due to the fact that I have never been involved in a planning team like this before, especially of this size. Since accepting the opportunity to serve in this capacity, I have been stretched and have learned a lot. I'm still in the process of planning but it is exciting to be involved in something of this magnitude and importance.

I'm so glad I'm a part of the things I'm a part of right now. The books I'm reading, the meetings I attend, the capacities in which I am serving, they are all pointing me in a direction of action. I find myself getting passionate about making a difference in the lives of those around me. I find myself thinking up ways to convey the information I have in a way that people will understand and want to listen to. I have a deep desire to see people find the truth about Christ and watch Him transform their lives, not modify, but transform!

Lately I have been reading a few books that speak to the position and predicament that the local church finds itself in today. I'm not talking about a building either, I'm speaking of the body of believers. It seems that in today's culture the church is laughed at more often than it is taken seriously, and I ask myself why. Why does it seem that the church of today isn't vibrant and growing like it should be? Why is it when I go to church, I never hear the celebration stories of so and so being saved, or so and so leading this person to Christ?

To me it seems like we are so focused on the inside of the church, we have forgotten that outside the walls of the building there exists this whole other civilization of people that are hungry for the information we know about Christ. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great when I see people from my church come forward during an alter call and get things straightened out with Christ, but why does it stop there? Why don't we go home and strike up conversations with people about what happened to us that day? Why does it always stop at the door when we go home? Where is the transformation? Behavioral modification is not the business Christ is into, but total life transformation!

As I look back at the past 8 months to a year, I see how God has been pulling me in this direction, and He never ceases to amaze me. Even when I thought life was spinning out of control, I can see now it was a perfectly devised plan from my wonderful creator.

Following God is hard, because is goes against everything the world tells us to do. However we are not of this world nor were we created to live here forever. I try to keep that in mind when I feel God tugging on my heart like He has been lately. It always takes faith and understanding that He will always do what is best for me, and that on my own I can accomplish nothing, but through Him, and through His strength, I can accomplish all things.

Praise God!

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Worship In Spirit And In Truth

I've been thinking a lot today about a blog a friend of mine posted the other day titled: "Totally Confused About Worship." It caused me to think about today's view and definition of worship (which has become so generalized) and caused me to challenge my own thought and definition about it. I realized that in the past year, I have been challenged in that area, and today something hit me so I ran with it. Let's see if I can unpack this. Remember I'm learning.

In the Gospel of John, 4:23 Jesus tells the woman at the well "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." That verse popped into my head today and so I started to analyze it.

Let's take the SPIRIT side of it first. In Romans 12:1 it says "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

So what does this say? That we should live a life of righteousness, servitude, holiness, purity, selflessness all in view of the mercy and grace God showed us through His son Jesus Christ? Maybe so

TRUTH: Jesus said He was "the way the truth and the life". I think this is where the intellectual side of worship comes into play. It so often gets pushed out by mindless singing of songs that we don't take the time to listen to, and think about their meaning. If Jesus is TRUTH, then it only makes sense to me that we should be filled with the knowledge of who Christ was, what He did and will do. Truth is light, truth is revealing, truth is trust worthy. Truth is living with the intimate knowledge of who Christ is and what he has done for you.

I have always believed that if people fully realized what Christ did for them and who He is, they would not be able to contain the joy and wonder that would swell up inside them. They would have to let it out or they would burst. It would dramatically effect their life and the lives of those around them.

So I guess to sum it up based on what I have expressed, to worship in spirit and in truth is;

To respond to God with an intimate knowledge of who He is, what He has done in my life, and what He said He will do. To surrender my entire being to His will and to serve Him with a grateful and humble heart.

I know one day we will know exactly what Christ meant when He said "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."

This is what I live for, to worship God my Father, this is what I was created for and this is what you were created for. So let us worship Him with all that we are, with all that we've been given, in response to who He is.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Old Song, Same Message

I grew up singing hymns, and can remember fondly the harmony and power of the voices as those songs were sung. I remember my Grandmothers voice ringing out above all others as she sang to her King with these songs. As time has gone on, hymns have gotten pushed to the wayside by the more "contemporary" genre of music. Thus the battle of music that has been raging in the church. Hymns, contemporary, hymns, contemporary.

Tomorrow we will be singing "There Is Power In The Blood". Like many of the songs today, this song carries a really neat hope filled message in the form of a question and answer. To paraphrase, the songs says:

Questions:
Would you be free from the burden or bondage of sin?
Would you win over evil?
Would you be so pure, that you would be whiter than snow?
Would you serve Jesus by doing His work here on earth?
Would you live everyday praising God and singing to Him?

Statements:
Sin is washed away by the blood of Jesus.
There is an active power in the blood of Jesus Christ.

The blood of Jesus is active in the lives of those who choose to accept it.

As we sing this song along with many other contemporary ones tomorrow, I will sing with the knowledge that although the song may be old, the message is still the same. The blood of Jesus Christ is always active in my life.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

NEVER HAD A DOUBT

Blue is now my favorite color, What a night for the Colts and as always Dungy and Irsay giving credit where credit is due, the good Lord above. What a cool night to live in Indiana. Way to go Colts, Congratulations!!!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Gratitude Worship

Worship is more than an emotion, More than an experience, more than a feeling, more than a service - It is a time of connecting with our creator. An act of worship can simply be praising and thanking God with a grateful heart for all He has done for you.

Thank Him for your family, your career, your possessions, your friends. Thank Him for your friends, your church, your food. Thank Him with a sincere heart for what He has given you.

Thank Him for calling and knowing your name!

Monday, January 29, 2007

Standing Alone



The other day a friend of mine asked me what I thought of this picture. At first I just thought it was a neat picture, nothing really popped into my head. Later that night as I was driving home I started thinking about that picture again, and what jumped out at me was the formation right in the middle. It was standing there all by itself. It appeared to be made of the same material as the large rock face behind it, but something about this formation made it strong and able to withstand the outside forces that shaped everything around it.

My thoughts went from this rock formation to how we as Christian often will find ourselves standing alone against the large face of society. We are made of the same stuff as all other humans, however what makes us strong and able to withstand the outside forces is what we have hidden in our hearts. The words of our Father have been given to us to make us strong. When we hid them in our hearts we will have the strength to stand in the fiercest of storms. Standing alone is hard, but when you do, you will always be noticed and often times admired by those looking from afar. I've met people who thought they were weak and small, but in reality they were strong and mighty, not of their own doing, but because they loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts and it is He that made them strong.




Like this rock formation, we as Christians will all face a time of standing alone in our faith, but just remember one thing. God told Joshua that He would never leave him or forsake him. I believe that is a promise for us as well. One that we can take to the bank. We may stand alone in the physical world, but we will never truly be alone.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

COLTS WIN

YES, YES, YES,

COLTS WIN THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP!!



I must say I had my times of doubt especially with the "almost was" fumble in the last few minutes of the 4th. OK so this is all new for me. I would rather play football or any sport for that matter than watch it on TV. However, this playoff season Lisa and I have sat together and watched football with great enthusiasm. Tonight was no different. We cheered, booed, and yelled during tonight's Colts, Pat's game. I have lived in Indiana for all my life and have never really been proud of any sports program to speak of. I must now say that my head is a little higher tonight after watching our own fight and win a great game.

Coach Dungy made it better when he and owner Jim Irsay gave the glory and recognition to the Lord for their strength and stamina. You can bet that I will be sitting front row of the big screen seating for the big game on the 4th.

WAY TO GO COLTS!!!

Friday, January 19, 2007

Abels Sacrifice

The little things always seem to get by me, when I read the bible. I always miss the little clues that are there that indicate other information. Like tonight, I was doing a bible study on the "worship of the Tabernacle" The study started in Genesis to lay the ground work, and the reading was on Adam and Eve and then Cain and Abel and their offerings to God. God accepted Abel's offering but did not accept Cains. Abel brought as an offering the fat portions from some of the newborn of his flock, and God accepted it. So when Cain brought an offering of grain or a crop offering of his field, God didn't accept it. I didn't get it at first until I read Hebrews 9:22. It states that blood must be shed in order for the sins to be covered. God didn't accept Cains offering because it was of Cains hard work and sweat, therefore of his hands, and there was nothing to be sacrificed to cover the sins.

In Genesis, when Adam and Eve had eaten from "the tree of good and evil", their eyes were opened and they saw their nakedness. They made clothing from fig leaves and hid in the garden from God. When God found them he questions them and then he makes garments of skin to cloth them. This is one of the things I never thought of. Where did the skins come from? Some of the animals had to die to cover the sins of Adam and Eve. And I think they knew that God had to kill or sacrifice some of his creation to cover the sins they had committed. I can see it now, God saying to them both, "See what you have done, see the consequences of your actions. Innocent blood must be shed in order for me to even look at you." OH the guilt and shame

So it started way back then, blood being shed to cover sins. Only thing is, that's all it did was cover the sins. Christ's blood was the ONLY blood that could forgive those sins.

Just thought I would share the little things I miss every once in a while :-)

Friday, January 12, 2007

Extreme




I have recently been watching a DVD called "The Gospel of John". It's an amazing 3 hour movie set to the words of the bible verbatim. As I watched this dramatization, I realized how extreme Christ was. He was an extreme teacher, friend and defender of His Fathers word. He loved people in the most extreme way and let them know it as well. The Gospel of John came to life for me during those 3 hours and my perception of Christ took on new insight.




I want to be extreme like Christ was. I want to love, live and learn in an extreme way like He did. I would highly watching this DVD, it can be picked up at your local Christian book store.




LIVE EXTREME!

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Divine Dust


I have just started a new bible study called "In The Dust Of The Rabbi" I haven't gotten too far into it yet but the title alone has caused me to stop and think about walking closely with Christ. How close did the disciples follow Jesus? Did they walk right beside him keeping pace with him? Did they walk several steps behind? Did they walk right on His heels? I wonder what it must have been like to walk so closely behind Christ that you would have been covered with the dust from His sandals.
Christ takes our sin away, redeems us from unrighteousness and makes us clean and new again. If I'm going to be dirty in any way, I pray that it is the dust from my Masters feet.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

As One!

Tuesday I stayed home from work to tend to my son who had come down with the flu. While making his bed with fresh sheets, I heard a long low rumble outside that seemed to last forever. I glanced up to the sky through his window but didn't see anything. I took one more look and noticed some jet trails. The odd thing was they were all evenly spaced about 6 in all, side by side streaking through the sky. I went outside to see what was going on and realized what I saw was a refueling wing. A large tanker in the middle with about three F-15 fighter jets on either side. If you have never seen a refueling wing in action, you are missing some amazing aerobatics and some stunning acts of being "one". As the large fueling tanker flies steady in the middle, the jets flying along act as extensions of the wings of the tanker. As the tanker turns the fighter jets turn in kind and it looks like one large plane flying through the sky, or like a large "V" of geese. I watched in admiration of the skill and precision it takes to fly this pattern.

As I thought about it later that day, I thought about how we as disciples of Christ, should be just like that formation. Christ being the tanker, we being the thirsty jets. When the Jets need fuel, they fall in line and mimic the movements of the tanker, becoming one with the it. We as disciples of Christ, need what He has in order for us to keep flying so to speak. We should mimic the actions of Christ so as to look like one with Him. I know it may be a simple thing, but I thought it was neat. Planes are one of my favorite things to watch, now when I do, I will always be reminded of how closely I must follow Christ in order to be like Him. Have blessed day.

Monday, January 01, 2007

So It Begins!

Well here it is the first post of the new year. So begins the diets, exercise (both physical and mental) and also begins the process of reaching new goals set for 07'.

As I look back at 2006, I see how God has moved in our lives to place us right where we are. A lot happened during 2006, and I can see a lot coming in 2007. There are new things on my plate, things I have never experienced before, goals I've never set before, and I know it will take the hand of God to help me reach them.
God has blessed my family in many ways, some of which I may never realize. I do know one thing though, He has been gracious to me, my wife and my kids. He has lead us through some very trying times and shown us the way when it was dark. He has always been there for us and I have faith that the future will be no different.

As I continue to lead worship and learn new ways to do so, I am awe struck at how big God is. His design of the universe, the human body, the order of nature is amazing to me. My wife often teases me because I enjoy documentaries about nature and space and the oceans. It may be weird, but I get caught up in the "bigger than me" factor. To think that God created all of this, set all of it in place, thought of all the little details, and caused them to work together to enable life on this planet, and yet knows who I am, just amazes me. I hope that I never lose that. I hope that when I'm 78 years old, I'm still humbled that I am an interest to God. It keeps me in my place. I hope your New Year is filled with awe inspiring moments. Moments that cause to stop and think about God and His love for you. Take time to stop and smell the roses so to speak.