Calloused Knees

The earth may quake but our spirits won't shake- Honduras, here we come!

2009-05-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

Greetings brothers and sisters!

Wow! Only two days until we leave for our mission's trip to Honduras. One of our young team members had an issue that caused a delay in his passport but it came this week. It is so awesome to see God move mountains.

Speaking of mountains, if you have not heard, there was a rather large earthquake off the coast of Honduras that did a lot of damage. Provided they are still allowing flights into the country, we are still going. While you would expect an earthquake to bring fear, I can honestly say, it brings me extra peace. It reminds me that God is in control and what ever He wills will work for His good.

Jeremiah 29:11-For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Part of that future is to plant and water seeds, which will give God's people a future with Him in heaven. An eternal future, provided by the death of Christ on the cross for our sins.

John 3:16-For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Please keep us and the people of Honduras in your prayers.

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

By His Grace Alone

John Bertic

May the words of Psalm 46 bring you great comfort. Since you will probably wonder like I did, what the word that appears multiple times, "Selah" means, I looked it up. It means to pause and reflect. In this case, pause and reflect that not one run away molecule is outside the control of God.

Psalm 46

1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

6The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

8Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

11The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Trust in God's timing-after all,only it is perfect

2009-04-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 3:5- Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I so love it when God answers prayer in a way that is so incredible and so clearly of His will.

We have been praying for quite some time for an opportunity to move out of our apartment and into a house and patiently waiting for a door to open. As you know, home prices have drastically dropped over the last year. Over the past few months and in particular the last few weeks, mortgage rates have dropped below 5%, which is incredible. However, we were not sure where we would ever come up with a down payment outside of borrowing from our 401K, which really is not that large of an amount given the stock market.

Well, we received an advertisement in the mail for town homes, which sounded too good to be true (I tend to be a little skeptical of offers that sound that way. In all cases, I think it is a good thing to use discernment and be cautious.) We went and looked at them and were amazed by the amount of space and the nice layout given the price. They are brand new and even come with a warranty. The builder is even paying the closing costs. We were prepared to borrow the maximum allowed from our 401K which would have just covered the down payment requirement and my parents insisted on loaning it to us. The down side was that we were going to have to pay a month’s rent at the apartment for breaking our lease early and we prayed about whether that was smart. We sat down and determined the timing of the move and what major monthly expenses would be due. We would not have to begin paying the mortgage until July and since we were moving out at the end of May, the June rent would not be due. So, we decided what would have paid the June rent would cover the fee.

Tara was sharing our excitement with her dad and told him every thing leading up to the move and all the factors that we had to consider. He insisted on gifting us the money for the fees and told us to use the cash for moving expenses. He agreed that this opportunity to own our own home was to good to pass up. Wow, there's confirmation!

So, to put all the exciting things that God has done to make it clear that this is all of His will and His timing, here is a recap of all the blessings that we have seen in a short time in answer to patiently waiting for God’s answer to prayer. We prayed for an opportunity for a mission’s trip for our family. He opened the door to Honduras. We very quickly saw 2/3 of the funds come in for that trip. I did a market research study and was paid the exact amount needed to buy the two kids passports. The children were given an opportunity to work at someone's home and earn a few hundred dollars toward the trip in addition to the other opportunities they have had to raise funds. Benjamin is going to sell lemonade at our church yardsale this weekend. We prayed for quite some time for a bigger home. God opened that door at the same time as the mission’s trip. Rather then thinking the timing for one or the other had to be put off, making it our timing and not His, God has directed our steps all along the way allowing us to grow in our faith. Not the least of which, was having boxes for the move come pouring in without having to go hunt them down. Anyone who has moved knows what a job that can be. The mortgage rates have dropped below 5%. One person commented that my great grandfather did not get rates that good.

We were gifted the funds to cover the fees for breaking our lease. We were loaned the down payment money so that we would not have to pay the fees associated with borrowing from our 401K. And, one of the biggest blessings of all is that a tax credit of $8000 for first time homebuyers just took effect this year and may only last through this year. Prior to this year, the same credit was only $7500 and was actually treated as a loan having to be paid back to the government in installments. This taxcredit does not have to be paid back and we will be able to submit an addendum for our taxes to get the money as soon as we close in May. Those funds will be used to pay back my parents AND to pay off our van. Yeah!!!! No more car payment.

Thanks for your prayers! Thanks for every way that you have helped us to make this upcoming mission's trip possible. Please keep praying. Pray for our health. Pray for travel mercies. Pray for the remainder of the funding. Pray for the children as they learn skits to share the gospel with the people of Honduras. Pray for me and Steve as we prepare sermons that will encourage our brothers and sisters and that for those who are not saved that seeds will be deeply rooted or watered.

May this encourage you to pray without ceasing and to patiently wait on God. Remember, if we are truly praying in accordance with His will, unanswered prayer does not mean no, it may just mean, not yet.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18- pray without ceasing;in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Give thanks especially for His timing. After all, any other timing is not perfect and would miss all the blessings that He has in store for you.

Providence-Even a hospital trip is all part of God's great plan

2009-03-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend was very eventful. So much so, that had it been any more eventful, it would have been in the news. Actually, it was in the news but just not the news that you see on TV. In fact, it was on the news, long before it ever happened. It is part of the good news that has been around for all eternity. The news that God is in control and nothing takes him by surprise.

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. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. [b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

So, what is the news? I will tell you that the news revolves around an unexpected ambulance ride for my youngest son, Jeremiah. Unexpected for him and us, but not the Lord our God. I will tell you that in His great providence, God laid a plan in place that would bring Him so much glory. God is so awesome in His great providence. Some times it takes a while to get to look back and see the good in a situation and once in a while we get to see it right away. This was one of those times where God clearly allowed us to see so much good, so soon. I have no doubt that there is even some glory that we have not seen yet come from all that He allowed this weekend.

I will tell you that Jeremiah is doing well and back home. He was even in church Sunday praising Jesus. For the news that really matters and the news that will hopefully be a great reminder that in every circumstance, it is not by chance and if we will step back and look through the eyes of Jesus, we will see the good, for that news, I invite you to go to http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/teachingjeremiah/

By His Grace Alone

John

What size faith will it take to get one father and 2 children to Honduras for a Missions trip?

2009-02-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

Matthew 17 verse 20 NLT it says:
"You didn't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I assure you, if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."

My children are growing fast but are certainly not as big as a mountain. So, I guess, it would take faith less than the size of a mustard seed to get the 3 of us to Honduras.

There is a group of 7 of us at Terrace Palms Community Church planning a Mission's trip for Honduras from May 30 to June 6. My ten year old daughter Michaela and my eight year old son Benjamin are going along with me. We will be going to feeding centers and where ever else the Lord leads the group. As excited as my children are, I am even more excited at how God has placed this desire on their hearts at such a young age. I truly believe this is a spring board for what the Lord will do with them to lead the next generation to the cross.

Please pray that God will anoint all of us with His spirit. Pray that He receive all the glory for each step that gets us to Honduras. I can tell you where he has clearly put one of the first steps in place. While I have my passport, the children do not. For anyone who may have had to get one, you know that they are not cheap. With all the fees and the passport pictures, they are around $80/each. I was recently called for a research study group that is paying $175 for 3 hours in the evening. That will pay for the kids passports. Praise God for His provision.

The rest of the trip is going to cost approximately $1000/each. One of the members of Terrace Palms has already committed to paying for one of the children. This leaves approximately $2000 that we need to raise for our family.

There is an upcoming fundraiser at our church to help with the remaining costs of all the people not yet fully covered. The fundraiser is going to be a spaghetti dinner, auction and a concert by Matt Hires. Matt has now had two songs play on popular prime time shows. He has also toured with the Dave Matthews Band as well as some other great artists. He has a CD being released later this year that I have no doubt will quickly rise to the top of the charts. If you would like to hear some of his music, you can go to http://www.imeem.com/matthires

The best part of this event is that it is only $5/person or $20/family. That covers both dinner and the concert. This will likely be the last opportunity to hear Matt play live for less than $30+ per ticket(That is my very modest prediction.). The date of this fundraiser is March 6. Please let me know if you are interested in tickets and I will tell you how to get them. Terrace Palms Community Church is located just east of Temple Terrace near 301 and Bullard Parkway.

If you are not local, although traveling to hear Matt is well worth it, please just keep us in prayer. We have to have about half of the funds in by April 1 to secure airline tickets and accommodations.

By His Grace Alone
John Bertic

What Is the Meaning of Life?

2009-02-12T13:03:00.001-08:00

Someone asked me in passing what is the meaning of life. Then tasked me with finding the answer. As soon as they walked away, I knew what the answer was but was not sure how to best articulate it using the only truth, God's word. Life only has meaning if you look for your purpose in it. What is your purpose in it? What is my purpose in it? It is the same answer.

Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

I love that you can Google just about any thing and get a great insight into any topic. The below is rather lengthy and I have only had an opportunity to scan it. What I have scanned has been a huge blessing to my afternoon in reminding me of my purpose and the meaning of life. My prayer is that we can be always ready to provide the answer to our only hope, which is in Christ.

Here are two ends of life specified. 1. The glorifying of God. 2. The enjoying of God.

First. The glorifying of God, 1 Pet. 4:11. "That God in all things may be glorified." The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. l Cor. 10:31. "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; now, man being a rational creature, must propose some end to himself, and that should be, that he may lift up God in the world. He had better lose his life than the end of his living. The great truth asserted is that the end of every man's living should be to glorify God. Glorifying God has respect to all the persons in the Trinity; it respects God the Father who gave us life; God the Son, who lost his life for us; and God the Holy Ghost, who produces a new life in us; we must bring glory to the whole Trinity.

When we speak of God's glory, the question will be moved, What are to understand by God's glory?

Answer. There is a twofold glory: 1. The glory that God has in himself, his intrinsic glory. Glory is essential to the Godhead, as light is to the sun: he is called the "God of glory." Acts 7:2. Glory is the sparkling of the Deity; it is so co-natural to the Godhead, that God cannot be God without it. The creature's honour is not essential to his being. A king is a man without his regal ornaments, when his crown and royal robes are taken away; but God's glory is such an essential part of his being, that he cannot be God without it. God's very life lies in his glory. This glory can receive no addition, because it is infinite; it is that which God is most tender of, and which he will not part with. Isa. 48:11, "My glory I will not give to another." God will give temporal blessings to his children, such as wisdom, riches, honour; he will give them spiritual blessings, he will give them grace, he will give them his love, he will give them heaven; but his essential glory he will not give to another. King Pharaoh parted with a ring off his finger to Joseph, and a gold chain, but he would not part with his throne. Gen. 41:40. "Only in the throne will I be greater than thou." So God will do much for his people; he will give them the inheritance; he will put some of Christ's glory, as mediator upon them; but his essential glory he will not part with; "in the throne he will be greater."

2. The glory which is ascribed to God, or which his creatures labour to bring to him. 1 Chron. 16:29, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name." And, 1 Cor. 6:20, "Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit." The glory we give God is nothing else but our lifting up his name in the world, and magnifying him in the eyes of others. Phil. 1:20, "Christ shall be magnified in my body."

Q. What is it to glorify God?

A. Glorifying God consists in four things: 1. Appreciation, 2. Adoration, 3. Affection, 4. Subjection. This is the yearly rent we pay to the crown of heaven.

1. Appreciation. To glorify God is to set God highest in our thoughts, and, to have a venerable esteem of him. Psalm 92:8. "Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore." Psalm 97:9, "Thou art exalted far above all gods." There is in God all that may draw forth both wonder and delight; there is a constellation of all beauties; he is prima causa [the first cause], the original and spring-head of being, who sheds a glory upon the creature. We glorify God when we are God-admirers; admire his attributes, which are the glistening beams by which the divine nature shines forth; his promises which are the charter of free grace, and the spiritual cabinet where the pearl of price is hid; the noble effects of his power and wisdom in making the world, which is called "the work of his fingers." Psalm 8:3. To glorify God is to have God-admiring thoughts; to esteem him most excellent, and search for diamonds in this rock only.

2. Glorifying God consists in adoration, or worship. Psalm 29:2. "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." There is a twofold worship: 1. A civil reverence which we give to persons of honour. Gen. 23:7, "Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the children of Heth." Piety is no enemy to courtesy. 2. A divine worship which we give to God as his royal prerogative. Neh. 8:6,"they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces towards the ground." This divine worship God is very jealous of; it is the apple of his eye, the pearl of his crown; which he guards, as he did the tree of life, with cherubims and a flaming sword, that no man may come near it to violate it. Divine worship must be such as God himself has appointed, otherwise it is offering strange fire, Lev. 10:1. The Lord would have Moses make the tabernacle, "according to the pattern in the mount." Exod. 25:40. He must not leave out anything in the pattern, nor add to it. If God was so exact and curious about the place of worship, how exact will he be about the matter of his worship! Surely here every thing must be according to the pattern prescribed in his word.

3. Affection. This is part of the glory we give to God, who counts himself glorified when he is loved. Deut. 6:5, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul." There is a twofold love: 1. Amor concupiscentiae, a love of concupiscence, which is self-love; as when we love another because he does us a good turn. A wicked man may be said to love God, because he has given him a good harvest, or filled his cup with wine. This is rather to love God's blessing than to love God. 2. Amor amicitiae, a love of delight, as a man takes delight in a friend. This is to love God indeed; the heart is set upon God, as a man's heart is set upon his treasure. This love is exuberant, not a few drops, but a stream. It is superlative; we give God the best of our love, the cream of it. Cant. 8:2,"I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate." If the spouse had a cup more juicy and spiced, Christ must drink of it. It is intense and ardent. True saints are seraphims, burning in holy love to God [from the Hebrew word saruph, to be burned up]. The spouse was amore perculsa, [an overwhelming love], in fainting fits, "sick of love," Cant. 2:5. Thus to love God is to glorify him. He who is the chief of our happiness has the chief of our affections.

4. Subjection. This is when we dedicate ourselves to God, and stand ready dressed for his service. Thus the angels in heaven glorify him; they wait on his throne, and are ready to take a commission from him; therefore they are represented by the cherubims with wings displayed, to show how swift they are in their obedience. We glorify God when we are devoted to his service; our head studies for him, our tongue pleads for him, and our hands relieve his members. The wise men that came to Christ did not only bow the knee to him, but presented him with gold and myrrh. Matt. 2:11. So we must not only bow the knee, give God worship, but bring presents of golden obedience. We glorify God when we falter at no service, when we fight under the banner of his gospel against an enemy, and say to him as David to King Saul, "Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine," 1 Sam. 17:32.

A good Christian is like the sun, which not only sends forth heat, but goes its circuit round the world. Thus, he who glorifies God has not only his affections heated with love to God, but he goes his circuit too; he moves vigorously in the sphere of obedience.

Q. Why must we glorify God?

A. 1. Because he gives us our being. Psalm 100:3, "It is he that made us." We think it a great kindness in a man to spare our life, but what kindness is it in God to give us our life! We draw our breath from him; and as life, so all the comforts of life are from him. He gives us health, which is the sauce to sweeten our life; and food, which is the oil that nourishes the lamp of life. If all we receive is from his bounty, is it not reasonable we should glorify him? Should we not live to him, seeing we live by him? Rom. 11:36, "For of him, and through him, are all things." All we have is of his fulness, all we have is through his free grace; and therefore to him should be all. It follows, therefore, "To him be glory for ever." God is not our benefactor only, but our founder, as rivers that come from the sea empty their silver streams into the sea again.

2. Because God has made all things for his own glory. Prov. 16:4. "The Lord hath made all things for himself:" that is, "for his glory." As a king has excise out of commodities, so God will have glory out of everything. He will have glory out of the wicked. If they will not give him glory, he will get glory upon them. Exod. 14:17. "I will get me honour upon Pharaoh." But especially has he made the godly for his glory; they are the lively organs of his praise. Isa. 43:21, "This people have I formed for myself, and they shall shew forth my praise." It is true, they cannot add to his glory, but they may exalt it; they cannot raise him in heaven, but they may raise him in the esteem of others here. God has adopted the saints into his family, and made them a royal priesthood, that they should show forth the praise of him who hath called them, I Pet. 2:9.

3. Because the glory of God has intrinsic value and excellence; it transcends the thoughts of men, and the tongues of angels. His glory is his treasure, all his riches lie here; as Micah said. Judges 18:24, "What have I more?" So, what has God more? God's glory is worth more than heaven, and worth more than the salvation of all men's souls. Better kingdoms be thrown down, better men and angels be annihilated, than God should lose one jewel of his crown, one beam of his glory.

4. Creatures below us, and above us, bring glory to God; and do we think to sit rent free? Shall everything glorify God but man? It would be a pity then that man was ever made. (1.) Creatures below us glorify God, the inanimate creatures and the heavens glorify God. "The heavens declare the glory of God." Psalm 19:1. The curious workmanship of heaven sets forth the glory of its Maker; the firmament is beautified and pencilled out in blue and azure colours, where the power and wisdom of God may be clearly seen. "The heavens declare his glory:" we may see the glory of God blazing in the sun, and twinkling in the stars. Look into the air, the birds, with their chirping music, sing hymns of praise to God. Every beast in its kind glorifies God. Isa. 43:20, "The beasts of the field shall honour me." (2.) Creatures above us glorify God: "the angels are ministering spirits." Heb. 1:14. They are still waiting on God's throne, and bring some revenues of glory into the exchequer of heaven. Surely man should be much more studious of God's glory than the angels; for God has honoured him more than the angels, in that Christ took man's nature upon him, and not the angels. Though, in regard of creation, God made man "a little lower than the angels," Heb. 2:7, yet, in regard of redemption, God has set him higher than the angels. He has married mankind to himself; the angels are Christ's friends, not his spouse. He has covered us with the purple robe of righteousness, which is a better righteousness than the angels have, 2 Cor. 5:20. If then the angels bring glory to God, much more should we, being dignified with honour above angelic spirits.

5. We must bring glory to God, because all our hopes hang upon him. Psalm 39:7. "My hope is in thee." And Psalm 62:5. "My expectation is from him;" I expect a kingdom from him. A child that is good-natured will honour his parent, by expecting all he needs from him. Psalm 87:7. "All my springs are in thee." The silver springs of grace, and the golden springs of glory are in him.

Q. In how many ways may we glorify God?

Answer. 1. It is glorifying God when we aim purely at his glory. It is one thing to advance God's glory, another thing to aim at it. God must be the Terminus ad quem, the ultimate end of all actions. Thus Christ, John 8:50, "I seek not mine own glory, but the glory of him that sent me." A hypocrite has a crooked eye, for he looks more to his own glory than God's. Our Saviour deciphers such, and gives a caveat against them in Matthew 6:2, "when thou givest alms, do not sound a trumpet." A stranger would ask, "What means the noise of this trumpet?" It was answered, "They are going to give to the poor." And so they did not give alms, but sold them for honour and applause, that they might have glory of men; the breath of men was the wind that blew the sails of their charity; "verily they have their reward." The hypocrite may make his acquittance and write, "received in full payment." Chrysostom calls vainglory one of the devil's great nets to catch men. And Cyprian says, "whom Satan cannot prevail against by intemperance, those he prevails against by pride and vainglory." Oh let us take heed of self-worshipping! Aim purely at God's glory.

Q. How shall we know when we aim at God's glory?

A. (1.) When we prefer God's glory above all other things; above credit, estate, relations; when the glory of God coming in competition with them, we prefer his glory before them. If relations lie in our way to heaven, we must either leap over them, or tread upon them. A child must unchild himself, and forget he is a child; he must know neither father nor mother in God's cause. Deut. 33:9, "Who said unto his father and mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren." This is to aim at God's glory.

(2.) We aim at God's glory, when we are content that God's will should take place, though it may cross ours. Lord, I am content to be a loser, if thou be a gainer; to have less health, if I have more grace, and thou more glory. Let it be food or bitter medicine if thou gives it me. Lord, I desire that which may be most for thy glory. Our blessed Saviour said, "not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matt. 26:39. If God might have more glory by his sufferings, he was content to suffer. John 12:28, "Father, glorify thy name."

(3.) We aim at God's glory when we are content to be outshined by others in gifts and esteem, so that his glory may be increased. A man that has God in his heart, and God's glory in his eye, desires that God should be exalted. If this be effected, no matter whom the instrument, he rejoices. Phil. 1:15, "Some preach Christ of envy: notwithstanding Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice;" they preached Christ of envy, they envied Paul that concourse of people, and they preached that they might outshine him in gifts, and get away some of his hearers: well, says Paul, Christ is preached, and God is like to have the glory, therefore I rejoice; let my candle go out, if the Sun of Righteousness may but shine.

2. We glorify God by a frank confession of sin. The thief on the cross had dishonoured God in his life, but at his death he brought glory to God by confession of sin. Luke 23:41, "We indeed suffer justly." He acknowledged he deserved not only crucifixion, but damnation. Josh. 7:19, "My son, give, I, pray thee, glory to God, and make confession unto him." A humble confession exalts God. How is God's free grace magnified in crowning those who deserve to be condemned! The excusing and mincing of sin casts a reproach upon God. Adam denied not that he tasted the forbidden fruit, but, instead of a full confession, he taxed God. Gen. 3:12. "The woman whom thou gavest me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat;" if thou had not given me the woman to be a tempter, I would not have sinned. Confession glorifies God, because it clears him; it acknowledges that he is holy and righteous, whatever he does. Nehemiah vindicates God's righteousness; chap. 9:33. "Thou art just in all that is brought upon us." A confession is frank when it is free, not forced. Luke 15:18. "I have sinned against heaven and before thee." The prodigal charged himself with sin before his Father charged him with it.

3. We glorify God by believing. Rom. 4:20. "Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory to God." Unbelief affronts God, it gives him the lie; "he that believeth not, maketh God a liar." I John 5:10. But faith brings glory to God; it sets to its seal that God is true. John 3:33. He that believes flies to God's mercy and truth, as to an altar of refuge, he engarrisons himself in the promises, and trusts all he has with God. Psalm 31:5, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit." This is a great way of bringing glory to God, and God honours faith because faith honours him. It is a great honour we do to a man when we trust him with all we have, when we put our lives and estates into his hand; it is a sign we have a good opinion of him. The three children glorified God by believing. "The God whom we serve is able to deliver us, and will deliver us," Dan. 3:17. Faith knows there are no impossibilities with God, and will trust him where it cannot see him.

4. We glorify God, by being tender of his glory. God's glory is dear to him as the apple of his eye. An innocent child weeps to see a disgrace done to his father. Psalm 69:9, "The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me." When we hear God reproached, it is as if we were reproached; when God's glory suffers, it is as if we suffered. This is to be tender of God's glory.

5. We glorify God by fruitfulness. John 15:8. "Hereby is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." As it is dishonouring God to be barren, so fruitfulness honours him. Phil. 1:11. "Filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are to the praise of his glory." We must not be like the fig tree in the gospel, which had nothing but leaves, but like the pomecitron, that is continually either mellowing or blossoming, and is never without fruit. It is not profession, but fruit that glorifies God. God expects to have his glory from us in this way. 1 Cor. 9:7, "Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit of it?" Trees in the forest may be barren, but trees in the garden are fruitful. We must bring forth the fruits of love and good works. Matt. 5:16."Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Faith sanctifies our works, and works testify our faith; to be doing good to others, to be eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, much glorifies God. Thus Christ glorified his Father; "he went about doing good." Acts 10:38. By being fruitful, we are fair in God's eyes. Jer. 11:16. "The Lord called thy name a green olive-tree, fair and of goodly fruit." And we must bear much fruit; it is muchness of fruit that glorifies God: "if ye bear much fruit." The spouse's breasts are compared to clusters of grapes, to show how fertile she was, Cant. 7:7. Though the lowest degree of grace may bring salvation to you, yet it will not bring much glory to God. It was not a spark of love Christ commended in Mary, but much love; "she loved much," Luke 7:47.

6. We glorify God by being contented in that state in which Providence has placed us. We give God the glory of his wisdom, when we rest satisfied with what he carves out to us. Thus Paul glorified God. The Lord cast him into as great variety of conditions as any man, "in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft," 2 Cor. 11:23, yet he had learned to be content. Paul could sail either in a storm or a calm; he could be anything that God would have him; he could either want or abound, Phil. 4:13. A good Christian argues thus: It is God that has put me in this condition; he could have raised me higher, if he pleased, but that might have been a snare to me: he has done it in wisdom and love; therefore I will sit down satisfied with my condition. Surely this glorifies God much; God counts himself much honoured by such a Christian. Here says God, is one after mine own heart; let me do what I will with him, I hear no murmuring, he is content. This shows abundance of grace. When grace is crowning, it is not so much to be content; but when grace is conflicting with inconveniences, then to be content is a glorious thing indeed. For one to be content when he is in heaven is no wonder; but to be content under the cross is like a Christian. This man must needs bring glory to God; for he shows to all the world, that though he has little meal in his barrel, yet he has enough in God to make him content: he says, as David, Psalm 16:5, "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance; the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places."

7. We glorify God by working out our own salvation. God has bound together his glory and our good. We glorify him by promoting our own salvation. It is a glory to God to have multitudes of converts; now, his design of free grace takes, and God has the glory of his mercy; so that, while we are endeavouring our salvation, we are honouring God. What an encouragement is this to the service of God to think, while I am hearing and praying, I am glorifying God; while I am furthering my own glory in heaven, I am increasing God's glory. Would it not be an encouragement to a subject, to hear his prince say to him, You will honour and please me very much, if you will go to yonder mine of gold, and dig as much gold for yourself as you can carry away? So, for God to say, Go to the ordinances, get as much grace as you can, dig out as much salvation as you can; and the more happiness you have, the more I shall count myself glorified.

8. We glorify God by living to God 2 Cor. 5:15, "That they which live should not live to themselves, but unto him who died for them." Rom. 14:8, "Whether we live, we live unto the Lord." The Mammonist lives to his money, the Epicure lives to his belly; the design of a sinner's life is to gratify lust, but we glorify God when we live to God.

Q. What is it to live to God?

A. When we live to his service, and lay ourselves out wholly for God. The Lord has sent us into the world, as a merchant sends his agent beyond the seas to trade for him. We live to God when we trade for his interest, and propagate his gospel. God has given every man a talent; and when a man does not hide it in a napkin, but improves it for God, he lives to God. When a master in a family, by counsel and good example, labours to bring his servants to Christ; when a minister spends himself, and is spent, that he may win souls to Christ, and make the crown flourish upon Christ's head; when the magistrate does not wear the sword in vain, but labours to cut down sin, and to suppress vice; this is to live to God, and this is glorifying God. Phil. 1:20. "That Christ might be magnified, whether by life or by death." Three wishes Paul had, and they were all about Christ; that he might be found in Christ, be with Christ, and magnify Christ.

9. We glorify God by walking cheerfully. It brings glory to God, when the world sees a Christian has that within him that which can make him cheerful in the worst times; that can enable him, with the nightingale, to sing with a thorn at his breast. The people of God have ground for cheerfulness. They are justified and adopted, and this creates inward peace; it makes music within, whatever storms are without, 2 Cor. 1:4. I Thess. 1:6. If we consider what Christ has wrought for us by his blood, and wrought in us by his Spirit, it is a ground of great cheerfulness, and this cheerfulness glorifies God. It reflects upon a master when the servant is always drooping and sad; sure he is kept to hard commons, his master does not give him what is fitting; so, when God's people hang their heads, it looks as if they did not serve a good master, or repented of their choice, which reflects dishonour on God. As the gross sins of the wicked bring a scandal on the gospel, so do the uncheerful lives of the godly. Psalm 100:2, "Serve the Lord with gladness." Your serving him does not glorify him, unless it be with gladness. A Christian's cheerful looks glorify God; religion does not take away our joy, but refines it; it does not break our viol, but tunes it, and makes the music sweeter.

10. We glorify God by standing up for his truths. Much of God's glory lies in his truth. God has entrusted us with his truth, as a master entrusts his servant with his purse to keep. We have not a richer jewel to trust God with than our souls, nor has God a richer jewel to trust us with than his truth. Truth is a beam that shines from God. Much of his glory lies in his truth. When we are advocates for truth we glorify God. Jude 3, "That ye should contend earnestly for the truth." The Greek word to contend signifies great contending, as one would contend for his land, and not suffer his right to be taken from him, so we should contend for the truth. Were there more of this holy contention God would have more glory. Some contend earnestly for trifles and ceremonies, but not for the truth. We should Count him indiscreet that would contend more for a picture than for his inheritance; for a box of toys than for his box of title deeds.

11. We glorify God by praising him. Doxology, or praise, is a God-exalting work. Psalm 50:23, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me." The Hebrew word Bara, to create, and Barak, to praise, are little different, because the end of creation is to praise God. David was called the sweet singer of Israel, and his praising God was called glorifying God. Psalm 96:12. "I will praise thee, O Lord my God, and I will glorify thy name." Though nothing can add to God's essential glory, yet praise exalts him in the eyes of others. When we praise God, we spread his fame and renown, we display the trophies of his excellency. In this manner the angels glorify him; they are the choristers of heaven, and do trumpet forth his praise. Praising God is one of the highest and purest acts of religion. In prayer we act like men; in praise we act like angels. Believers are called "temples of God." I Cor. 3:16. When our tongues praise, then the organs in God's spiritual temple are sounding. How sad it is that God has no more glory from us in this way! Many are full of murmuring and discontent, but seldom bring glory to God, by giving him the praise due to his name. We read of the saints having harps in their hands, the emblems of praise. Many have tears in their eyes, and complaints in their mouths, but few have harps in their hands, blessing and glorifying God. Let us honour God this way. Praise is the quit-rent we pay to God: as long as God renews our lease, we must renew our rent.

12. We glorify God, by being zealous for his name. Num. 25:11, "Phineas hath turned my wrath away, while he was zealous for my sake." Zeal is a mixed affection, a compound of love and anger; it carries forth our love to God, and our anger against sin in an intense degree. Zeal is impatient of God's dishonour; a Christian fired with zeal takes a dishonour done to God worse than an injury done to himself. Rev. 2:2, "Thou canst not bear them that are evil." Our Saviour Christ thus glorified his Father; he, being baptized with a spirit of zeal, drove the money-changers out of the temple, John 2:14-17. "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."

13. We glorify God, when we have an eye to God in our natural and in our civil actions. In our natural actions; in eating and drinking. 1 Cor. 10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, do all to the glory of God." A gracious person holds the golden bridle of temperance; he takes his meat as a medicine to heal the decays of nature, that he may be the fitter, by the strength he receives, for the service of God; he makes his food, not fuel for lust, but help to duty. In buying and selling, we do all to the glory of God. The wicked live upon unjust gain, by falsifying the balances, as in Hosea 12:7, "The balances of deceit are in his hands;" and thus while men make their weights lighter, they make their sins heavier, when by exacting more than the commodity is worth, they do not for eighty write down fifty, but for fifty eighty; when they exact double the price that a thing is worth. We buy and sell to the glory of God, when we observe that golden maxim, "To do to others as we would have them do to us;" so that when we sell our commodities, we do not sell our consciences also. Acts 24:16. "Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence towards God, and towards men." We glorify God, when we have an eye to God in all our civil and natural actions, and do nothing that may reflect any blemish on religion.

14. We glorify God by labouring to draw others to God; by seeking to convert others, and so make them instruments of glorifying God. We should be both diamonds and loadstones (magnetic rocks); diamonds for the lustre of grace and loadstones for attractive virtue in drawing others to Christ. Gal. 4:19, "My little children, of whom I travail," etc. It is a great way of glorifying God, when we break open the devil's prison, and turn men from the power of Satan to God.

15. We glorify God in a high degree when we suffer for God, and seal the gospel with our blood. John 21:18,19, "When thou shalt be old, another shall gird thee, and carry thee, whither thou wouldest not: this spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God." God's glory shines in the ashes of his martyrs. Isa. 24:15, "wherefore glorify the Lord in the fires." Micah was in the prison, Isaiah was sawn asunder, Paul beheaded, Luke hanged on an olive tree; thus did they, by their death, glorify God. The sufferings of the primitive saints did honour to God, and made the gospel famous in the world. What would others say? See what a good master they serve, and how they love him, that they will venture the loss of all in his service. The glory of Christ's kingdom does not stand in worldly pomp and grandeur, as other kings; but it is seen in the cheerful sufferings of his people. The saints of old "loved not their lives to the death." Rev. 12:11. They embraced torments as so many crowns. God grant we may thus glorify him, if he calls us to it. Many pray, "Let this cup pass away," but few, "Thy will be done."

16. We glorify God, when we give God the glory of all that we do. When Herod had made an oration, and the people gave a shout, saying, "It is the voice of a God, and not of a man," he took the glory to himself; the text says, immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms." Acts 12:23. We glorify God, when we sacrifice the praise and glory of all to God. 1 Cor. 15:10, "I laboured more abundantly than they all," a speech, one would think, savoured of pride; but the apostle pulls the crown from his own head, and sets it upon the head of free grace: "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." As Joab, when he fought against Rabbah, sent for King David, that he might carry away the crown of the victory, 2 Sam. 12:28, so a Christian, when he has gotten power over any corruption or temptation sends for Christ, that he may carry away the crown of the victory. As the silkworm, when she weaves her curious work, hides herself under the silk, and is not seen; so when we have done anything praiseworthy, we must hide ourselves under the veil of humility, and transfer the glory of all we have done to God. As Constantine used to write the name of Christ over his door, so should we write the name of Christ over our duties. Let him wear the garland of praise.

17. We glorify God by a holy life. A bad life dishonours God. 1 Pet. 2:8, "Ye are an holy nation, that ye should shew forth the praises of him that hath called you." Rom. 2:24, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you." Epiphanus says," That the looseness of some Christians in his time made many of the heathens shun their company, and would not be drawn to hear their sermons." By our exact Bible-conversation we glorify God. Though the main work of religion lies in the heart, yet our light must so shine that others may behold it. The safety of a building is the foundation, but the glory of it is in the frontispiece; so the beauty of faith is in the conversation. When the saints, who are called jewels, cast a sparkling lustre of holiness in the eyes of the world, then they "walk as Christ walked." 1 John 2:6. When they live as if they had seen the Lord with bodily eyes, and been with him upon the mount, they adorn religion, and bring revenues of glory to the crown of heaven.

Use 1.-This subject shows us that our chief end should not be to get great estates, not to lay up treasures upon earth; which is the degeneracy of mankind since the fall. Sometimes they never arrive at an estate, they do not get the venison they hunt for; or if they do, what have they? That which will not fill the heart any more than the mariner's breath will fill the sails of the ship. They spend their time, as Israel, in gathering straw, but remember not that the end of living is to glorify God. Eccles. 5:16, "What profit hath he that laboureth for the wind?" These things are soon gone.

Use 2.-It reproves such, (1) As bring no glory to God; who do not answer the end of their creation; whose time is not time lived, but time lost; who are like the wood of the vine, Ezek. 15:2; whose lives are, as St. Bernard speaks "Either sinfulness or barrenness. A useless burden on the earth." God will one day ask such a question as King Ahasuerus did, Esth. 6:3, "What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai?" What honour has been done to me? What revenues of glory have you brought into my exchequer?

There is no one here present but God has put in some capacity of glorifying him; the health he has given you, the parts, estate, seasons of grace, all are opportunities put into your hand to glorify him; and, be assured, he will call you to account, to know what you have done with the mercies he has entrusted you with, what glory you have brought to him. The parable of the talents, where the men with the five talents and the two talents are brought to a reckoning, evidently shows that God will call you to a strict account, to know how you have traded with your talents, and what glory you have brought to him. Now, how sad will it be with them who hide their talents in a napkin, that bring God no glory at all! "Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness." It is not enough for you to say that you have not dishonoured God, you have not lived in gross sin; but what good have you done? What glory have you brought to God? It is not enough for the servant of the vineyard that he does no hurt in the vineyard, that he does not break the trees, or destroy the hedges; if he does not do service in the vineyard, he loses his pay; so, if you do not good in your place, do not glorify God, you will lose your pay, you will miss of salvation. Oh, think of this, all you that live unserviceably! Christ cursed the barren fig tree.

(2.) It reproves such as are so far from bringing glory to God, that they rob God of his glory. Mal. 3:8, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me." They rob God, who take the glory due to God to themselves. 1. If they have gotten an estate, they ascribe all to their own wit and industry, they set the crown upon their own head, not considering that, Deut. 8:18, "Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth." 2. If they do any duty of religion, they look to their own glory. Matt. 6:5, "that they may be seen of men;" that they may be set upon a theatre for others to admire and canonize them. The oil of vainglory feeds their lamp. How many by the wind of popular breath have been blown to hell! Whom the devil cannot destroy by intemperance, he does by vainglory.

(3.) It reproves those who fight against God's glory. Acts 5:29, "Lest ye be found to fight against God."

Q. Who are those who fight against God's glory?

A. Such as oppose that whereby God's glory is promoted. His glory is much promoted by the preaching of the word, which is his engine whereby he converts souls. Now, such as would hinder the preaching of the word fight against God's glory. 1 Thess. 2:16, "Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved." Diocletian, who raised the tenth persecution against the Christians, prohibited church meetings, and would have the temples of the Christians to be razed down. Such as hinder preaching, as the Philistines that stopped the wells, stop the well of the water of life. They take away the physicians that should heal sin-sick souls. Ministers are lights, Matt. 5:14, and who but thieves hate the light? They directly strike at God's glory; and what an account will they have to give to God, when he shall charge the blood of men's souls upon them! Luke 11:52, "Ye have taken away the key of knowledge; ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." If there be either justice in heaven, or fire in hell, they shall not go unpunished.

USE 3.-Exhortation. Let every one of us, in our place, make it our chief end and design to glorify God. (1.) Let me speak to magistrates. God has put much glory upon them. Psalm 82:6, "I have said, Ye are Gods;" and will they not glorify him who has put so much glory upon them? (2.) Ministers should study to promote God's glory. God has entrusted them with two of the most precious things, his truth, and the souls of his people. Ministers, by virtue of their office, are to glorify God. They must glorify God, by labouring in the word and doctrine. 2 Tim. 4:1, "I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead: preach the word, be instant in season, out of season," etc. It was Augustine's wish, "that Christ, at his coming, might find him either praying or preaching." Ministers must glorify God by their zeal and sanctity. The priests under the law, before they served at the altar, washed in the laver; so such as serve in the Lord's house must first be washed from gross sin in the laver of repentance. It is a matter of grief and shame to think how many who call themselves ministers, instead of bringing glory to God, dishonour him. 2 Chron. 11:15. Their lives, as well as their doctrines, are heterodox; they are not free from the sins which they reprove in others. Plutarch's servant upbraided him, by saying, "he has written a book against anger, et ipse mihi irascitur, yet he falls into a passion of anger with me." So is a minister who preaches against drunkenness, yet he himself is drunk; he preaches against swearing, yet he himself swears. Masters of families must glorify God, must season their children and servants with the knowledge of the Lord; their houses should be little churches. Gen. 18:19, "I know that Abraham will command his children, that they may keep the way of the Lord." You that are masters have a charge of souls. For want of the bridle of family discipline youth runs wild.

It will be a great comfort in a dying hour, to think we have glorified God in our lives. It was Christ's comfort before his death: John 17:3, "I have glorified thee on the earth." At the hour of death, all your earthly comforts will vanish: if you think how rich you have been, what pleasures you have had on earth; this will be so far from comforting you, that it will torment you the more. What is one the better for an estate that is spent? But to have conscience telling you that you have glorified God on the earth, what sweet comfort and peace will this let into your soul! How will it make you long for death! The servant that has been all day working in the vineyard longs till evening comes, when he shall receive his pay. How can they who have lived, and brought no glory to God, think of dying with comfort? They cannot expect a harvest where they sowed no seed. How can they expect glory from God, who never brought any glory to him? Oh in what horror will they be at death! The worm of conscience will gnaw their souls, before the worms can gnaw their bodies.

If we glorify God, he will glorify our souls for ever. By raising God's glory, we increase our own: by glorifying God, we come at last to the blessed enjoyment of him.

The second part of our subject is that man's chief end is to enjoy God for ever. Psalm 73:25, "Whom have I in heaven but thee?" That is, What is there in heaven I desire to enjoy but thee? There is a twofold fruition or enjoying of God; the one is in this life, the other in the life to come.

1st. The enjoyment of God in this life. It is a great matter to enjoy God's ordinances, but to enjoy God's presence in the ordinances is that which a gracious heart aspires after. Psalm 63:2, "To see thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." This sweet enjoyment of God is when we feel his Spirit co-operating with the ordinance, and distilling grace upon our hearts. When in the Word the Spirit quickens and raises the affections. Luke 24:32, "Did not our hearts burn within us?" When the Spirit transforms the heart leaving an impress of holiness upon it. 2 Cor. 3:8, "We are changed into the same image, from glory to glory." When the Spirit revives the heart with comfort, it comes not only with its anointing, but with its seal; it sheds God's love abroad in the heart. Rom. 5:5, "Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:3. In the Word we hear God's voice; in the sacrament we have his kiss. The heart being warmed and inflamed in a duty is God's answering by fire. The sweet communications of God's Spirit are the first fruits of glory. Now Christ has pulled off his veil, and showed his smiling face; now he has led a believer into the banqueting-house, and given him of the spiced wine of his love to drink; he has put in his finger at the hole of the door; he has touched the heart, and made it leap for joy. Oh how sweet is it thus to enjoy God! The godly have, in ordinances, had such divine raptures of joy, and soul transfigurations, that they have been carried above the world, and have despised all things here below.

Use 1. Is the enjoyment of God in this life so sweet? How wicked are they who prefer the enjoyment of their lusts before the enjoyment of God! 2 Pet. 3:3, "The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life," is the Trinity they worship. Lust is an inordinate desire or impulse, provoking the soul to that which is evil. There is the revengeful lust, and the wanton lust. Lust, like a feverish heat, puts the soul into a flame. Aristotle calls sensual lusts brutish, because, when any lust is violent, reason or conscience cannot be heard. These lusts besot and brutalise the man. Hos. 4:11,"Whoredom and wine take away the heart;" the heart for anything that is good. How many make it their chief end, not to enjoy God, but to enjoy their lusts; as that cardinal who said, "Let him but keep his cardinalship of Paris and he was content to lose his part in Paradise." Lust first bewitches with pleasure, and then comes the fatal dart. Prov. 7:23, "Till a dart strike through his liver." This should be as a flaming sword to stop men in the way of their carnal delights. Who for a drop of pleasure would drink a sea of wrath?

Use 2. Let it be our great care to enjoy God's sweet presence in his ordinances. Enjoying spiritual communion with God is a riddle and mystery to most people. Every one that hangs about the court does not speak with the king. We may approach God in ordinances, and hang about the court of heaven, yet not enjoy communion with God. We may have the letter without the Spirit, the visible sign without the invisible grace. It is the enjoyment of God in a duty that we should chiefly look at. Psalm 13:2, "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God." Alas! what are all our worldly enjoyments without the enjoyment of God? What is it to enjoy good health, a brave estate, and not to enjoy God? Job 30:28, "I went mourning without the sun." So mayest thou say in the enjoyment of all creatures without God, "I went mourning without the sun." I have the starlight of outward enjoyments, but I lack the Sun of Righteousness. "I went mourning without the sun." It should be our great design, not only to have the ordinances of God, but the God of the ordinances. The enjoyment of God's sweet presence here is the most contented life: he is a hive of sweetness, a magazine of riches, a fountain of delight, Psalm 36:8,9. The higher the lark flies the sweeter it sings; and the higher we fly by the wings of faith, the more we enjoy of God. How is the heart inflamed in prayer and meditation! What joy and peace is there in believing! Is it not comfortable being in heaven? He that enjoys much of God in this life carries heaven about him. Oh let this be the thing we are chiefly ambitious of, the enjoyment of God in his ordinances! The enjoyment of God's sweet presence here is an earnest of our enjoying him in heaven.

This brings us to the second thing:

2nd. The enjoyment of God in the life to come. Man's chief end is to enjoy God forever. Before the plenary fruition of God in heaven, there must be something previous and antecedent; and that is our being in a state of grace. We must have conformity to him in grace, before we can have communion with him in glory. Grace and glory are linked and chained together. Grace precedes glory, as the morning star ushers in the sun. God will have us qualified and fitted for a state of blessedness. Drunkards and swearers are not fit to enjoy God in glory; the Lord will not lay such vipers in his bosom. Only "the pure in heart shall see God." We must first be, as the king's daughter, glorious within, before we are clothed with the robes of glory. As King Ahasuerus first caused the virgins to be purified and anointed, and they had their sweet odours to perfume them, and then went to stand before the king, Esth. 2:12, so must we have the anointing of God, and be perfumed with the graces of the Spirit, those sweet odours, and then we shall stand before the king of heaven. Being thus divinely qualified by grace, we shall be taken up to the mount of vision, and enjoy God for ever; and what is enjoying God for ever but to be put in a state of happiness? As the body cannot have life but by having communion with the soul, so the soul cannot have blessedness but by having immediate communion with God. God is the summum bonum, the chief good; therefore the enjoyment of him is the highest felicity.

He is a universal good; bonum in quo omnia bona, "a good in which are all goods." The excellencies of the creature are limited. A man may have health, not beauty, learning, not parentage, riches, not wisdom; but in God are contained all excellencies. He is a good, commensurate fully to the soul; a sun, a portion, a horn of salvation; in whom dwells "all fulness." Col. 1:19. God is an unmixed good. There is no condition in this life but has its mixture; for every drop of honey there is a drop of gall. Solomon, who gave himself to find out the philosopher's stone, to search out for happiness here below, found nothing but vanity and vexation, Eccl. 1:2. God is perfect, the quintessence of good. He is sweetness in the flower. God is a satisfying good. The soul cries out, I have enough. Psalm 17:15, "I shall be satisfied with thy likeness." Let a man who is thirsty be brought to an ocean of pure water, and he has enough. If there be enough in God to satisfy the angels, then sure there is enough to satisfy us. The soul is but finite, but God is infinite. Though God be a good that satisfies, yet he does not surfeit. Fresh joys spring continually from his face; and he is as much to be desired after millions of years by glorified souls as at the first moment. There is a fulness in God that satisfies, and yet so much sweetness, that the soul still desires.

God is a delicious good. That which is the chief good must ravish the soul with pleasure; there must be in it rapturous delight and quintessence of joy. In Deo quadam dulcedine delectatur anima immo rapitur [The soul, delighted with the sweetness of God, indeed is ravished by it]: the love of God drops such infinite suavity into the soul as is unspeakable and full of glory. If there be so much delight in God, when we see him only by faith, 1 Pet. 1:8, what will the joy of vision be, when we shall see him face to face! If the saints have found so much delight in God while they were suffering, oh what joy and delight will they have when they are being crowned! If flames are beds of roses, what will it be to lean on the bosom of Jesus! What a bed of roses that will be!

God is a superlative good. He is better than anything you can put in competition with him: he is better than health, riches, honour. Other things maintain life, he gives life. Who would put anything in balance with the Deity? Who would weigh a feather against a mountain of gold? God excels all other things more infinitely than the sun excels the light of a taper.

God is an eternal good. He is the Ancient of days, yet never decays, nor waxes old, Dan. 7:9. The joy he gives is eternal, the crown fadeth not away, 1 Pet. 5:4. The glorified soul shall be ever solacing itself in God, feasting on his love, and sunning itself in the light of his countenance. We read of the river of pleasure at God's right hand; but will not this in time be dried up? No. There is a fountain at the bottom which feeds it. Psalm 36:9, "With the Lord is the fountain of life." Thus God is the chief good, and the enjoyment of God for ever is the highest felicity of which the soul is capable.

Use 1. Let it be the chief end of our living to enjoy this chief good hereafter. Austin reckons up 288 opinions among philosophers about happiness, but all were short of the mark. The highest elevation of a reasonable soul is to enjoy God for ever. It is the enjoyment of God that makes heaven. 1 Thess. 4:17, "Then shall we ever be with the Lord." The soul trembles as the needle in the compass, and is never at rest till it comes to God. To set out this excellent state of a glorified soul's enjoyment of God: 1. It must not be understood in a sensual manner: we must not conceive any carnal pleasures in heaven. The Turks speak of a paradise of pleasure, where they have riches in abundance, and red wine served in golden chalices. The epicures of this age would like such a heaven when they die. Though the state of glory be compared to a feast, and is set out by pearls and precious stones, yet these metaphors are only helps to our faith, and to show us that there is superabundant joy and felicity in the highest heaven; but they are not carnal but spiritual delights. Our enjoyment will be in the perfection of holiness, in seeing the pure face of Christ, in feeling the love of God, in conversing with heavenly spirits; which will be proper for the soul, and infinitely exceed all carnal voluptuous delights.

2. We shall have a lively sense of this glorious estate. A man in a lethargy, though alive, is as good as dead, because he is not sensible, nor does he take any pleasure in his life; but we shall have a quick and lively sense of the infinite pleasure which arises from the enjoyment of God: we shall know ourselves to be happy; we shall reflect with joy upon our dignity and felicity; we shall taste every crumb of that sweetness, every drop of that pleasure which flows from God.

3. We shall be made able to bear a sight of that glory. We could not now bear that glory, it would overwhelm us, as a weak eye cannot behold the sun; but God will capacitate us for glory; our souls shall be so heavenly, and perfected with holiness, that they may be able to enjoy the blessed vision of God. Moses in a cleft of the rock saw the glory of God passing by, Exod. 33:21. From our blessed rock Christ, we shall behold the beatific sight of God.

4.This enjoyment of God shall be more than a bare contemplation of him. Some of the learned move the question, whether the enjoyment of God shall be by way of contemplation only. That is something, but it is one half of heaven only; there shall be a loving of God, an acquiescence in him, a tasting of his sweetness; not only inspection but possession. John 17:24, "that they may behold my glory." There is inspection: verse 22. "And the glory thou hast given me, I have given them." There is possession: "Glory shall be revealed in us," Rom. 8:18; not only revealed to us, but in us. To behold God's glory, there is glory revealed to us; but to partake of his glory, there is glory revealed in us. As the sponge sucks in the wine, so shall we suck in glory. 5. There is no intermission in this state of glory. We shall not only have God's glorious presence at certain special seasons; but we shall be continually in his presence, continually under divine raptures of joy. There shall not be one minute in heaven, wherein a glorified soul may say, I do not enjoy happiness. The streams of glory are not like the water of a conduit, often stopped, so that we cannot have one drop of water; but those heavenly streams of joy are continually running. Oh how should we despise this valley of tears where we now are, for the mount of transfiguration! How we should long for the full enjoyment of God in Paradise! Had we a sight of that land of promise, we should need patience to be content to live here any longer.

Use 2. Let this be a spur to duty. How diligent and zealous should we be in glorifying God, that we may come at last to enjoy him! If Tully, Demosthenes, and Plato, who had but the dim watch-light of reason to see by, fancied an elysium and happiness after this life, and took such Herculean pains to enjoy it, oh how should Christians, who have the light of Scripture to see by, bestir themselves that they may attain to the eternal fruition of God and glory! If anything can make us rise off our bed of sloth, and serve God with all our might, it should be this, the hope of our near enjoyment of God for ever. What made Paul so active in the sphere of religion? 1 Cor. 15:10 "I laboured more abundantly than they all." His obedience did not move slow, as the sun on the dial; but swift, as light from the sun. Why was he so zealous in glorifying God, but that he might at last centre and terminate in him? 1 Thess. 4:17, "Then shall we ever be with the Lord."

Use 3. Let this comfort the godly in all the present miseries they feel. Thou complainest, Christian, thou dost not enjoy thyself, fears disquiet thee, wants perplex thee; in the day thou canst not enjoy ease, in the night thou canst not enjoy sleep; thou cost not enjoy the comforts of thy life. Let this revive thee, that shortly thou shalt enjoy God, and then shalt have more than thou canst ask or think; thou shalt have angels' joy, glory without intermission or expiration. We shall never enjoy ourselves fully till we enjoy God eternally.

Index to Thomas Watson

A Memoir of Thomas Watson by Charles Spurgeon

End of quote.

Merry Christmas! Fix your eyes on the event and not the holiday

2008-12-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I realize that this year has been filled with many trials and tribulations, but Christmas is a great time to focus on the mountain tops and blessings that this year has held as well. Of course, the greatest of blessings is that God still reigns and Jesus is alive and intercedes for us. I have been so humbled at the way Christ has shown himself through each of you. We have laughed together, prayed together and even cried together this year. Each of you has been used mightily this year to show that what the enemy intends for evil, God takes and uses it for His good and glory. Through the loss of fellow workers due to layoffs and the loss of friends through their homecoming, each of you committed to praying and gave it to the Lord, the only one who could use it for good. I have seen so many answered prayers. I have never felt so loved as I have this year.

Genesis 50:20- You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

If you are like me and you ever find yourself feeling guilty that you have been blessed with so much while someone close to you may be struggling, fix your eyes on Jesus and reflect on some words that a friend of mine once shared with me. During a time, when I felt like I could do nothing for myself and was depending on others for every thing, a friend reminded me that I was correct. We can do nothing worthy of praise by ourselves and Christ is the one who provides all that we have and need. God does not bless me for myself. It is not about me. It is about Jesus. God blesses us so that others can see that He is alive and that He loves and cares for His children. It is His reminder to the fatherless that He wants to be their father too.

So, commit to making your focus of this next year on the blessings in your life both small and large. Don't be afraid to shout from the mountain tops how you have been blessed. Start with the blessing of Christ and your salvation through His death on the cross. After all, that is the true meaning of Christmas. Celebrate the event and not the holiday. The dictionary defines a holiday as a day on which one is exempt from work ; specifically : a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event. How is it that the most important word of the entire definition should be last when it should be first? After all, what is the event of Christmas? It is the event of a baby born in a manger. Born to live a perfect life and to pay the penalty for our sins that none of us are able or worthy to pay.

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I pray that for those who have not already opened the greatest gift, that this will be the day that they accept the free gift that tops all other gifts. After all, it is the only gift that carries you into eternity.

Ephesians 2:8- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

Merry Christmas!

Nothing is impossible with God!

2008-12-18T04:14:00.000-08:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

Luke 1:37 "For nothing is impossible with God." I could easily have thought of hundreds of titles for today's devotion. However, the words,"nothing is impossible with God" really sum up the blessings in my life. Here we are in the middle of an economic crisis and people being laid off all around us. Perhaps even some of you who are reading this have been laid off or effected by a layoff. Please know that I pray this in no way appears to be filled with pride. I fearfully consider God's word in Proverbs 16:18, where it states, "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling".

Many of you prayed concerning a meeting that the executive team at my company had this week. It turned out that the news from that meeting was favorable for the short term. I don't mean to sound pessimistic by using the words,"short term" and I really am optimistic. I just know that the reality of God's word tells us that there are tough times ahead but for those of us who put our trust in Christ, the final outcome will be glorious. I also know that there have been layoffs as recent as last week here and else where and that any where a company can cut and condense two jobs into one, is very likely to do so. My heart breaks for those who find themselves unsure of where there next check will come and particularly at a time of year where we celebrate the birth of Christ with a celebration called Christmas. However, it all comes from God and He will take care of his children. It just means that those of us fortunate to be employed right now need to be mindful of those who are not and reach out where we can.

Matthew 25

The Sheep and the Goats 31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' End of quote.

This very lengthy lead in brings me to the main point of the title. Since our company was acquired just over a year ago, the new owners decided it made business sense to have all divisions on the same business cycle. Since their annual cycle begins October 1, we had 9 month annual reviews which would include increases as of our pay check beginning December 1. I had heard from others that they had their review in other departments a few days ago. So, I took that to mean be happy if you don't get a pink slip but certainly don't expect a raise.

Well, since nothing is impossible with God, I got both a raise and a promotion to the next level in my position. I had to complete my self evaluation about two months ago prior to the last small round of layoffs and boldly included a request to be promoted expecting to get laughed at as the economy continued to worsen. My present boss has only been my boss since July when the big layoff occurred and they restructured the departments. Since she had no idea of the history behind my accepting this position a year and a half ago and very unlikely would notice that I was the only project coordinator who was not at least at a level 2, I thought what could it hurt to bring it to her attention. While the pay increase is certainly a blessing, the promotion is really huge as it will help me to brighten up my resume and takes me one step closer to project manager.

Thanks for all your prayers! And remember to never quit praying because "For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:37"

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

To Haiti With Katy

2008-12-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I could not resist a rhyme for a title but it absolutley fits. I have yet to go on a missions trip out of the country. In fact, I have never been out of the country. I have had a passport for around 6 years as I needed it for the Navy Reserve in case I got called up to go out of the country. Well, I am being called out of the country. A few months ago when our dear brother, Jim Lancaster, went home to be with our Lord, I was determined to go on a trip by the end of the year. Jim was on more mission's trips then just about anyone else at our church. Well, it was not God's will for this year but it is looking like it is for next year. This now leads to the title of this devotion,"To Haiti with Katy."

Katy is the oldest daughter of our close friends, Kim and Steve Cragg. Hopefully, I will get her age right but I have a hard enough time recalling the age of my children. I believe that she is ten but to meet her and hear her speak of her heart for missions and her particuliar love for Mr. Ed (missionary in Haiti that our church and Katy supports) and the country of Haiti, you can clearly see how Jesus is present and very much alive in her. If we are willing to lay down our lives and let Christ live through us, even at the age of ten, He can and will give us wisdom beyond our years. Below is a blog from the Cragg's website that best explains who Ed is and his ministry, which has become Katy's ministry.

The Ripple Effect

In Summer of 2007, Katy was inspired to make muffins for Mr. Ed, missionary in Haiti. Mr. Ed visited Terrace Palms 2 or 3 times and each time Katy was more and more intrigued by him and his ministry - the kids of Haiti! Mr. Ed's testimony is simple - he went on a short term mission trip to share Christ with the kids. He then realized that they needed more than Christ - they needed food. He spends his time, pouring his life into kids and their families so they can know Christ!
So Katy made and sold muffins - every Sunday morning for about 4 months. She was very determined and not easily swayed to take a break. She even had a name "Sweets to Help Mr. Ed Beat the Heat!" After her hard work, she had raised over $200.00. She counted it over and over and couldn't wait to give it to Mr. Ed for the kids for Christmas was her hope. One Sunday in December 2007, Mr. Ed showed up. Katy and I ran home (I don't know who was more excited me or Katy) to get his money. Mind you it was in a gallon ziploc bag - a few dollars and lots of change. Her face when she handed it over was priceless! His face was shock. He made mention that he would be extra careful that Katy's donation would go directly to the kids.

Well today, Mr. Ed, emailed... a picture of the kids in Haiti holding up the notebooks Katy's raised money bought for them! How priceless! For those of you who ate muffins on Katy's behalf for Mr. Ed. Thank you...

Mr. Ed visited, Katy inspired, TPCC supported, Kids of Hait Blessed, and now you can see their smiles and be blessed... the Ripple Effect.

Mark 8:34-35 (NIV) Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."Mat 10:38 (NIV) ... anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Katy and her family recently visited with Mr. Ed while he was in the states and have begun discussions and the planning of a small group of us going to Haiti in early May. I was going to take my oldest son, Jonathan, who is 11, but he feels as though it is not God's calling for him right now. My eight year old son, Benjamin quickly volunteered after hearing Jonathan decline. It will be low key and we will mostly be spending time with the children to show them the love of Christ. Ben said,"take me, I will play with them."

Please pray for us as we plan this missions trip. The cost itself will be relatively inexpensive as far as the normal daily expenses of being on a trip, as we will be staying at Ed's home. The biggest cost will be the airfare. I have no doubt that when the day arrives, we will have exactly what we need to the penny and not a nickel more. That happens so often in our every day needs and I always thank God for reminding me that He is in control.

Matthew 6:25-27...."Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? My heart's desire is to have t-shirts with Jim's picture for the trip. However, I know Papa Jim would love and very much approve the fund raising slogan, "To Haiti with Katy". We may need to add some thing to the end of this slogan but anyone who knows Katy will know it means an ambassador of Christ is going to Haiti to share the gospel.

Riddle of the day! What two words are missing from the statement, " these are scary times in which we live"?

2008-11-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

More and more we hear people saying,"these are scary times in which we live." We even hear ourselves saying those words or at least agreeing by either verbally or nonverbally replying with any thing other than what should be our response. Today's devotion which is sort of a riddle will hopefully give clear indication or clues of what the rest of that response should be and why. After all for whom are these times in which we live, scary? I would propose that they are truly most scary for non-Christians. Ironically, because non-Christians are blinded and unable to see the truth, they are less likely to see the true context of why these times should be scary for them. Particularly, when it comes to the scriptures in regard to revelations, God's word being played out before our eyes.

We have heard the scriptures that reference the end times just before Jesus' second coming. For those of us whose eyes are opened to the truth, it is rather easy to identify the many things going on in the world that point to the nearness of the end times. Now, I am not saying that the end and Jesus' return will be tomorrow or next week. Although, it certainly could be. After all, every generation since Jesus first coming has lived in the end times. However, there are certainly more and more of the end time signs coming to fruition. Now, you are probably feeling like this is intended to scare you but it is actually intended to do the opposite. After all, in Romans 8:31, God's truth says,"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Yes, these are scary times in which we live...... for nonbelievers. After all, this life is but a vapor for all, which includes both believers and nonbelievers. In James 4:14 we read," Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." We as believers have the benefit of being able to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Philippians 1:21 reminds us, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." So, the next time someone says,"these are scary times in which we live", be sure to add, "for nonbelievers". After all, 100% of people die. It is not man that we should fear for man does not control our eternal destiny.

Take comfort in God's word knowing that He is in control. Any time that you begin to fear any thing other than God, pull up this blog and read some of the below scriptures. He, Jesus, said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Mark 4:40
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” - Luke 12:32

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you. - Isaiah 41:13

“But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” - Proverbs 1:33

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul ... - Matthew 10:28

Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being snared. - Proverbs 3:25,26

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:7

On the day the Lord gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage. - Isaiah 14:3

When you lie down, you will not be afraid, when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. - Proverbs 3:24

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” - 1 Peter 3:12-14
I
n righteousness you will be established:Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear.Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. - Isaiah 54:14

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry “Abba, Father.” - Romans 8:15

So we say with confidence. “He Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” - Hebrews 13:6

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. - Psalm 46:1

“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass.” - Isaiah 51:12

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. - Proverbs 29:25

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, not the plague that destroys at midday. - Psalm 91:4-6

“Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace, you will not be humiliated.” - Isaiah 54:4

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. - Isaiah 43:2

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. - John 14:27

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. - Psalm 23:4,5

The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? ... Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. - Psalm 27:1,3

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:37-39Fear

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” - Mark 4:40

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” - Luke 12:32

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you. - Isaiah 41:13

“But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” - Proverbs 1:33

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul ... - Matthew 10:28

Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being snared. - Proverbs 3:25,26

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:7

On the day the Lord gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage. - Isaiah 14:3
When you lie down, you will not be afraid, when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. - Proverbs 3:24

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” - 1 Peter 3:12-14

In righteousness you will be established:Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear.Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. - Isaiah 54:14

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry “Abba, Father.” - Romans 8:15

So we say with confidence. “He Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” - Hebrews 13:6

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. - Psalm 46:1

“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass.” - Isaiah 51:12

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. - Proverbs 29:25

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, not the plague that destroys at midday. - Psalm 91:4-6

“Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace, you will not be humiliated.” - Isaiah 54:4

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. - Isaiah 43:2

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. - John 14:27

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. - Psalm 23:4,5

The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? ... Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. - Psalm 27:1,3

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:37-39

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

Now hiring: The best paying job guaranteed to survive any financial crisis!

2008-10-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

In uncertain times, many are wondering if their job will survive the financial crisis. Many are wondering, if there is another layoff at their company, will they be included or excluded from the cut. Well, you and I have employment that is guaranteed to never be cut. In fact, it pays better than any other occupation and the payout at retirement is in the form of a currency that will only gain in value as we continue in performing our daily tasks required of our position. Even more exciting is that you get to play the part of a recruiter at this company owned and controlled by God.

Please do not think that I am suggesting that it is performing the job that gets you into heaven. Salvation is by grace alone and not by works that no man should boast. It is our willingness to accept the job by accepting Christ, acknowledging that He died on the cross for our sins, repenting of our sins and accepting the job as a Christian to go out and make disciples. The Great Commission found in Matthew 28 16 - 20 -

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Our job as Christians is the Great Commission.

Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be extremely glad, because your reward in heaven is great! That's how they persecuted the prophets who came before you."

1 Corinthians 3:1-23 - 1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 18Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. 21Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's; 22Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your's; 23And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

I realize that the last scripture reference is lengthy and for many preachers would be the substance of many sermons and not just one. I would ask that you read it one more time and consider this. Not government, not man, not any president holds the key to our final payout. The greatest thing about being a Christian next to your own salvation is the role that you play in the salvation of others, as you allow Christ to live and work through you. Be excited. Your job is secure.

God brings comfort in many ways - He brought mine as a pillow from a friend.

2008-10-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters! This weekend is the men's retreat for the men at Terrace Palms Community Church. I packed last night and placed every thing by the door as not to forget any thing. My wife reminded me last night not to forget a pillow. Since I had every thing but a pillow by the door, surely I would remember to grab a pillow in the morning. The answer to that question is a big NO.

So, I called Tara who was of course willing to drive one up to the church as that is from where we men are heading out this afternoon. I told her no thanks and was prepared to be resourceful and make a pillow out of some articles of clothing and my book bag. If my memory serves me correctly, I forgot my pillow last year and had to do that. Amazing that I can remember that from a year ago but not remember my pillow from last night. Well, I think God wanted me to forget my pillow. Last year's lesson was on being resourceful, while this year's lesson was on being appreciative of friends.

After hanging up with Tara, I recalled that my dear brother Joaquin would be coming from home to meet up at the church. So, I called and asked him to borrow a pillow. Now, I realize that unless he had exactly enough pillows for each member in his family and was to selfish to give up his for me, he would bring me a pillow. God is in every thing. He is even in pillows. We take small things for granted. There are many who on a daily basis not only do not have a pillow on which to lay their head but they do not even have any thing but the ground on which to lay their bodies. I would have been content with any pillow but it was Joaquin's question to me that really touched me.

His response in the form of a question reminded me that when we ask for some thing or pray for some thing, God wants to exceed our expectations and give us more than we could ever dream of. Joaquin asked me,"what kind of pillow do you want?" Now, we joke with each other a lot so I thought that he was trying to be funny but he was being sincere. He wanted to give me more than that for which I had asked. He wanted to know if I wanted a small or a big pillow.

So, what is the ultimate point? If someone asks us for some thing and God has blessed and enabled us to give them what it is they are asking, we should not stop there. We should give them beyond what they are asking. This can apply to both material and spiritual needs of others.

Luke 6:29: If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. You never know what may appear small to you but huge in the eyes of the one who receives God's blessing through your willingness to serve in the smallest of ways.

While looking up this scripture on line, I came across the following story and had to share it. “If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt”Posted April 3rd @ 3:24 pm by Andy Print This Post Here’s your inspirational story for the day. Julio Diaz responded in an unexpected way when a mugger demanded his wallet:He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife. “He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go,’” Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, “like what’s going on here?” Diaz says. “He asked me, ‘Why are you doing this?’”Diaz replied: “If you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me … hey, you’re more than welcome.”The two had dinner together (Diaz had to ask for his wallet back to pay for the meal), and before he left, the mugger handed over his knife to Diaz.

Sounds like a textbook application of Luke 6:“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

16 is My Favorite Number...At Least Until Next Year!!

2008-09-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters! I never truly appreciated the idea of sweet sixteen until now. Of course, as a boy it always seemed to have more of a hidden meaning for girls. Any ways, as of this year it is my favorite number. At least until next year when I upgrade to seventeen. October 2, 1992 is a day that will forever be a part of history or at least my history and of course His story as the beginning of the most wonderful reflection of Christ's love for His bride, the church. If you have not already guessed it, October 2 is the day that I married my lovely bride and God made us one.

Thankfully, He gave her the patience to put up with me. There is only one, whose bride will be more beautiful than mine. That is the bride of Christ- His church. That is you and me if we have given our lives to Him.

Below is a great illustration I found that explains this beautiful relationship created by God. The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church. These are those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal savior and have received eternal life. In the New Testament, Christ, the Bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride (Ephesians 5:25-27). Just as there was a betrothal period in biblical times during which the bride and groom were separated until the wedding, so is the bride of Christ separate from her Bridegroom during the church age. Her responsibility during the betrothal period is to be faithful to Him (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:24). At the Second Coming of Christ, the church will be united with the Bridegroom, the official "wedding ceremony" will take place and, with it, the eternal union of Christ and His bride will be actualized (Revelation 19:7-9; 21:1-2).

At that time, all believers will inhabit the heavenly city known as New Jerusalem, also called “the holy city” in Revelation 21:2 and 10. The New Jerusalem is not the church, but it takes on the church’s characteristics. In his vision of the end of the age, the Apostle John sees the city coming down from heaven adorned “as a bride,” meaning that the inhabitants of the city, the redeemed of the Lord, will be holy and pure, wearing white garments of holiness and righteousness. Some have misinterpreted verse 9 to mean the holy city is the bride of Christ, but that cannot be because Christ died for His people, not for a city. The city is called the bride because it encompasses all who are the bride, just as all the students of a school are sometimes called “the school.”

As believers in Jesus Christ, we who are the bride of Christ wait with great anticipation for the day when we will be united with our Bridegroom. Until then, we remain faithful to Him and say with all the redeemed of the Lord, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

Wow! I pray that each of our worldly marriages can and does reflect a clear image of Christ and his bride and the beautiful marriage that is to come. As I understand it, my earthly marriage pales in comparison to that which is to come. It is hard to believe that there could me a more perfect and beautiful bride then mine. That is enough to make me plead for that day to hurry up and arrive.

The Crown of Life

2008-09-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

Let me first say that the company where I work is Sage Software. I feel like I am on a game show called, "Sage Has Got Talent." I survived the last round and the competition is getting tough. What should I do for my next performance to win over the judges? Do the judges even see the performances or base the winner on some thing else? My flesh sees my professional life in the above light. However, my spirit recognizes that there is only one judge that ultimately matters. The nice thing is the prize or gift to be won is available to all.

James 1:12: "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive THE CROWN OF LIFE that God has promised to those that love him." Jesus spoke of the judgment day when he walked among men. He said "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of' Judgment"

Matthew 12:36. "He that rejected me and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day"

John 12:48. Jesus spoke of a day of judgment on the last day. He said that two kinds of words were important: what we say and what he said. We will be judged by his words and by our words. This means that we need to pay attention to what we say and to what he says in the Bible. But how can we be sure that there really will be a day of Judgment? We can be sure there is a judgment because he proved there would be a Judgment by his own resurrection from the dead. The apostle Paul said, "God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world by righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead" Acts 17:30,31. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to what he hath done whether it be good or bad" II Corinthians 5:10.

We can be sure that there is a judgment day and we can be sure that everyone on earth will be there. The climax of the judgment scene is recorded by John in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. "And I saw a great white throne and him that sat upon it from whose face the heaven and the earth fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of Life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell (Hades) delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works." Revelation 20:11-13.

Here are some clear facts from the Bible about the judgment:

Fact No. 1: Man must give account of himself on the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36; Romans 14:10,12).

Fact No. 2: All of us shall appear at the judgment. (Acts 17:31; II Corinthians 5:10)

Fact No. 3: We're to be judged by how we measure up to the word of God. (John 12:48; Revelation 20:11-13)

Fact No. 4: We need to get ready for the judgment day. (II Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 12:36-41)

Now if Jesus is going to be the judge and his words are going to be the standard or rule by which we are judged it becomes very important that we learn what his words are. In the great sermon on the mount he said, "Not everyone who saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name cast out devils and in thy name done more wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me you that work iniquity" Matthew 7:21-23.

Those who do his will, will not receive this condemnation and punishment. What will you say at the judgment? Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Eight is enough! Or is it?

2008-09-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters! My daily devotion this morning was so refreshing and so filled with practical applications to our daily walk.

But first, I want to share with you what the number of the day would be if I were hosting Sesame Street. It would be the number eight (8) and of course the letter would be "B" for Benjamin. Yes, Benjamin turns eight today one day behind our future daughter-??-???, Kirsten. In some ways, eight seems like a lot and in others it appears small. It is hard to even remember a time when any of the children were not a part of our lives. As parents, we struggle between wanting them to stay little and never leaving home and those days when we think about how nice it will be when they are independent. Of course, they will always be dependent on God.

Today is a day when I would say to Ben,"eight is enough, I am not ready for you to be come independent and leave. Daddy dates are way too much fun." Happy Birthday Ben! So, now to share with you the devotion that I read today. It is a great reminder that it all matters and Jesus is even in the little things.

Servants Do Every Task with Equal Dedication by Rick Warren

“Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.”

Luke 16:10 (NLT) Servants do every task with equal dedication. Whatever they do, servants “do it with all their heart” (Colossians 3:23 NIV).The size of the task is irrelevant. The only issue is, does it need to be done? You will never arrive at the state in life where you’re too important to help with menial tasks. God will never exempt you from the mundane. It’s a vital part of your character curriculum. The Bible says, “If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody” (Galatians 6:3 NLT).It is in these small services that we grow like Christ.

Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him, because he came to serve. It wasn’t in spite of his greatness that he did these things, but because of it, and he expects us to follow his example (John 13:15).Small tasks often show a big heart. Your servant’s heart is revealed in little acts that others don’t think of doing, as when Paul gathered brushwood for a fire to warm everyone after a shipwreck (Acts 28:3).He was just as exhausted as everyone else, but he did what everyone needed. No task is beneath you when you have a servant’s heart.Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks.

The little things in life determine the big things. Don’t look for great tasks to do for God. Just do the not-so-great stuff, and God will assign you whatever he wants you to do. There will always be more people willing to do “great” things for God than there are people willing to do the little things. The race to be a leader is crowded, but the field is wide open for those willing to be servants. Sometimes you serve upward to those in authority, and sometimes you serve downward to those in need. Either way, you develop a servant’s heart when you’re willing to do anything needed.

The waves have passed and I'm still standing on the rock!

2008-09-18T10:30:00.001-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. I was put on a special project that to be honest I was really not looking forward to. However, I prayed through it and while it is still a work in progress, I have gained much ground. Without getting technical, I had a list of over 100 customers that had at some point showed an interest in a certain product for their computer system. I have been given the task of determining where they are in the process and getting them set up and off the list.

My first goal was identify where each customer was in the process because I would then know the next step for each and be able to prioritize. Well, after two weeks, I have touched each customer and at the very least have an idea of what needs to happen next. My boss wanted to have a weekly call between us to be kept in the loop and get updates. We had a very short call yesterday as she was anticipating that there would still be customers left to identify the next step. She was very happy to find out that all had been identified.

My prayer is that God will get all the glory. After all, it was nothing that I did but what He did through me. When we pray without ceasing and ask God to use our work as a mission field, He answers.

2 Chronicles 7:14 14 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.

No matter what waves your day brings, put your trust in the Lord and He will use your day to bring Him glory. If your trust is in Him, once any storm passes, you will find yourself still standing on the Rock.

This is not yesterday!

2008-09-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters! I love music. I especially love music with great biblical truth and background. I look forward to being in the car because that is when I get the greatest opportunity to listen to the radio. Unfortunately, I often get so into the melody of a song that I look past the words. When I stop and listen to some of the amazing scripture that artists have turned into a song in their heart, it is no surprise to me that they have the success they do with their gift.

Over the weekend, I was listening to Brandon Heath's song, "Don't get comfortable" for about the thousandth time. However, I stopped and thought about the words that I was singing along to out of my mouth. Now the song is titled, 'Don't Get Comfortable' and that is how it starts out but the second statement that Brandon makes in his song is what jumped out at me and most applied to where I am in my life. Perhaps you can relate. This is not yesterday! It definitely goes hand in hand with don't get comfortable.

Often times, we get comfortable where we are and even if we are miserable, the idea of having to do some thing about it takes us outside our comfort zone. For example, there are many people who have a job that they really are not happy with but the idea of job hunting and interviewing takes them outside their comfort zone. Plus, while they may not enjoy what they are doing, often they are good at what they are doing. This is only one side of the coin.

The other side of the coin is those who are perhaps happy with what they are doing but God is leading them some place new.

(Isaiah 43:1-3 NKJV) But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. {2} When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. {3} For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

(Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV) "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

(Jeremiah 29:11-13 NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. {12} Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. {13} And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

I am sure that all of us in our flesh pray often for a better financial situation and to have some thing to pass along to our grandchildren. Hopefully, we are also praying in the spirit to leave behind a Godly legacy and to glorify God in all we do and where ever He takes us. There is nothing wrong with praying for the first thing as long as it is attached to the second. After all, God can certainly use our financial situation for His glory if we are being good stewards of what He gives us.

So, what is the point of this blog and today's devotional? If you have been praying for change for any amount of time and still wondering where it is, remember, this is not yesterday. In order to live like you use to dream, you may have to trust that when you step out, God will hold you up. If you make a few mistakes in the process, He will help you back up again because He never gives up on us. The sign for which you have been waiting might be right there in front of you. I think that we often have our own idea of what the sign should look like and in the process we miss out.

I will leave you with a really truth telling fictitious story that I once heard. There was a man who lived in The Keys and a huge storm was coming and he had no vehicle to drive out of its path. All the weathermen warned everyone to get inland. He debated on whether to leave because he could not outrun the storm on foot and so he began to pray to God for help. As the storm started to move in and the water started to rise, along came a huge truck. The driver told the man to get in, to which the man said, "no thanks, God will send me a way out." A while longer the water rose so high that the man had to go to the second story of an abandoned house. Along came a boat with several people. They all pleaded with the man to get on board stating there was plenty of room for one more. To which the man replied, "no thanks, my God will save me from the storm." The boat sailed away and within minutes the storm was so high that the man had to break through to the roof. Amazingly, no sooner was he on the roof then along came a chopper that dropped down a ladder. Someone in the chopper yelled down, "climb up." To which, the man replied, "No thanks, my God will save me." The chopper flew away and the man was over taken by the waves and drowned. When he met God, he asked, "why didn't you save me?" God said,"What are you talking about? I sent a truck, a boat and a chopper."

Remember, this is not yesterday!

Brandon Heath's song, "Don't get comfortable"

comfortable don't get comfortable I'm gonna move this mountain then I'm gonna move you in
yesterday this is not yesterday you were standing on my shoulders now you're standing on the edge you were lookin for a sign all this time...

i am gonna show you what i mean i am gonna love like you've never seen you are gonna live like you used to dream this is your new song

so afraid that you dont have to be afraid even if you make mistakes you know that I'll remain
you were lookin for a sign all this time if you seek you find me everytime

so i am gonna show you what I mean I am gonna love like you've never seen you are gonna live like you used to dream this is your new song

nanananana

can you feel the call of love? is it moving you? to be a child of god? of love? is it reaching you? it's everywhere, the call of love...

i just wanna show you what i mean i just wanna love like you've never seen do you wanna live like you used to dream? then i got a song for you cause I am gonna show you what i mean i am gonna love like you've never seen you're gonna live like you used to dream this is your new song

nanananana

you got a new song

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

Blind Faith - Let Jesus Be Your Eyes

2008-08-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I want to be like Steven Curtis Chapman. No, not rich and famous, but rather one who encourages nonbelievers to pray for blindness. Larry King following an interview with the Chapman family expressed that he was really touched by the Chapman family and wished he had the blind faith that they have. Clearly there is some softening of the heart there and seeds planted. Let's all pray for Larry King to have his eyes fully opened and to realize that it is really not blind faith that we and the Chapmans have. After all, blind faith would be believing in something never seen. Jesus has been seen. He was seen walking the earth and can be seen in our fellow Christians and each of us as believers. It can also be seen in scripture, where Jesus clearly tells us who He is. There is nothing blind about that. Jesus is our eyes to the faith that we have in the only living God.

Matthew 16

Peter's Confession of Christ 13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,[a] the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

Don't be left out-Get the complete picture behind God's truth.

2008-08-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I am not sure what percentage of you just get my email and what percent actually go to my blog. However, it just dawned on me that if you never go to my blog, you are missing out on the complete picture behind each devotion. While I write my own blogs, inspired by the holy spirit, Tara finds the best pictures to go with each one. Yesterday's blog was no exception.

You have to go to my blog at least once and look at the entry for August 7th to truly appreciate this. I am going to get you beyond the rocket science. If you click on the following link, it should automatically take you to a new window where you will see my blog.

http://wwwcallousedknees.blogspot.com/

I have to ask for forgiveness in advance as this is my attempt at what is probably bad humor. My wife would call it a John joke. My assumption is that is not good so if any of you have wives who are friends with my wife and they make this comment to you, it is not good. LOL!

As you look at the picture, you will see three people. The guy driving could be me as I have quite the receding hairline and often go a few days without shaving. However, I would be drinking a soda and not coffee. The passenger to the right of the driver could be Bob accept that he actually listens to me rather than typing on his laptop. Thank you God that he does not have one!

Here comes what may be bad humor. When I first looked at the picture, I thought to myself, there are only ever just two of us carpooling and the picture has a third person in it. Well, the third person in the back could be a depiction of Christ sitting there taking note of the two Christian brothers up front sharing from the heart and encouraging one another with the gospel. So, you are probably asking, where is the bad humor in that? Well, I could not help but think it was a unique depiction of what Jesus would have looked like in the flesh. Particularly, because the bible makes it clear that He was the word made man and not the word made woman. It is also clear that He was a man. Please do not think that I am at all suggesting that He did not come to save both man and woman. After all, He came to save all who would believe in him, call upon His name and accept that He paid the penalty for our sin and died a brutal death in our place upon the cross.

John 1
The Word Became Flesh 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood[a] it.
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.[b]
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent,[c] nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " 16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,[e][f]who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

Carpooling-Much more than an act of convenience

2008-08-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

I was reading from "Our Daily Bread" and the devotion was about friendship. Of course, our greatest friendship should be with Jesus via constant communication in prayer. However, I pondered earthly friendship and the blessing it is. A few weeks ago, I started carpooling with one of our brothers from church, who has become a very good friend of mine.

Looking back, I can recall thinking that carpooling was an act of convenience and an act of someone to keep me awake while trying to wake up and get motivated for a day's work. However, as it is with God, He always has some thing much better in mind for us. He had in mind a friendship.

Thank you God for the blessing of friendships, both old and new!

Work on your friendship with Jesus today. Then, remind a friend how grateful you are for him or her. Thank Jesus for your friend!

John 15
The Vine and the Branches 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
End of scripture.

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

60 Seconds Can Change An Eternity

2008-08-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

This weekend was wonderful! I got some really great time with my wife and children. Tara and I attended a Homeschool Fair in Largo with her second best friend Kim (Sorry, Kim but I am first!) where she spoke at a workshop and had a table for Grace Bound Books, her very own publishing company. Kim and I were tickled by one lady's comment as she briefly stopped to look at Tara's books, as Tara was talking with someone else and did not hear her comments. The lady said, "I have all of them and love them. We are getting ready to start the Olympics one now." We teased Tara that she has a stalker.

The most glorious time of the whole weekend was Papa Jim's memorial service. It was so awesome and such an encouragement. I truly hope that I have touched a quarter of the lives that Jim did.

Our church is not large but it seats over 200 and we had all the seats filled and people standing in the foyer. There were many people who stood up and spoke but there are 3 that most stood out to me.

The first person was a gentleman who had not seen Jim in over 15 years and at that, had very little contact with him but just enough to change his life. He said that when he heard Jim passed away, he had to come and share in the glory of Jim's home coming. The amount of time that Jim shared with him may have not been much more than 60 seconds in relation to eternity.

The second person was a gentleman named Rob who was one of the original members of Terrace Palms Community Church and I believe that he did the sound board for a time before moving to CA. Jim actually invited him after meeting him at work and not even knowing him that long. Apparently, Jim said to Rob, "hey, a friend of mine is starting a church tomorrow. Do you want to come?" Rob was raised catholic, and either thought or replied, "Did he get permission from the Pope?" Jim's invite took merely 60 seconds or less.

The third person is the most wonderful story of all. Jim's niece stood up and shared about a time years ago when Jim told her the importance of a relationship with Jesus and how without it, we are each destined for an eternity in hell. Wow! That is the bold truth. I am sure that Jim told her a little more than that but this was how she summed it up. She also expressed that she thought he was loony. It was not until Jim's memorial that the lights suddenly came on and she asked someone to further explain salvation and why we all need Jesus. Right there at Jim's memorial service, she was saved. So often, we want to share the gospel with others and are afraid. We think all kinds of things and let the enemy keep us from sharing what we know we should. In most cases, that sharing would take little more than 60 seconds. Not even enough time to quantify as a vapor in life and yet we could be holding the key to another person's eternal salvation. I want to encourage you to put this in to perspective. Yes, Jim could have shared with his niece and she thought he was so loony that she avoided him for the rest of her days here. She could have even been offended. But, she undoubtedly watched him every encounter after he shared. No, Jim was not perfect but he clearly walked the walk. It is when we put our words into action that they hold the most weight with people.

Let today be the day that you use your gifts. Let today be that day that you share the truth of Jesus with that certain someone that you have been trying to find the right moment, right occasion, right timing, right etc. etc. The right 60 seconds is now. Do not let the next 60 seconds slip away and miss the opportunity to change an eternity.

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Quality Beats Quantity Every Time

2008-07-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

God always knows what we need and He knew that I needed today's devotion. Whether it relates to your professional life or personal life, quality beats quantity every time. The quality of the friends that I have could not get any better. While I know God makes no mistakes, it is truly easy to see that truth in each of you.

John 14:6

6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Committing to Each Otherby Jon Walker

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)

Today’s guest devotional is provided by Jon Walker –

Truth teaches that the quality of our friendships is more important than the quantity. We don’t need a lot of friends in this life, but we do need a few good ones.

By moving beyond superficial acquaintance with specific Jesus-ones, we become friends who are closer than family (Proverbs 18:24).

This requires considerably more commitment than our standard “to each his own” approach to getting along. Instead, we agree there will be “none of this going off and doing your own thing” (Colossians 3:15 MSG).

We see each other as individuals, unique creations of God and vessels of God’s grace. We “develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results” when we “do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor” (James 3:18 MSG).

Although this describes what a family should be, it’s a stone, cold fact that many people find closer relationships among friends than their blood relatives. But there is a different type of blood relative, sisters and brothers who are grafted together through the blood of Jesus Christ.

His power within us gives us the ability to become companions who stick together closer than a brother, or sister.

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

2008-07-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

I had started my most recent blog Friday and hesitated on finishing it today for what I am sure to most of you would be an obvious reason. Then it dawned on me that not sending this out, would be like not living out my calling or not using my gift. It is today that we need to share Jesus with others and not tomorrow. Sure as I type this I am sad, but nothing would bring me greater joy then to think that maybe one of you or someone you know at work was encouraged by this devotion. Plus, every time I write one of these, I will forever hear Jim say, "I like your emails

I read on line about a man who recently passed away of cancer. He was an inspirational speaker. I had never heard of him until I saw the article about his death.

There were some really awesome quotes of his in the article including a reference he made to squeezing lemons to get lemonade out of them and whether he would still be able to do so as the months went along in his fight against cancer. That really stuck out to me because as you may have noticed I include a quote along those same lines in my email but for me and hopefully for you, the lemonade that we squeeze out of the lemons in life is a reflection of Jesus.

This gentleman had another really ear catching statement that made me stop and think. He said, "brick walls are not intended to be show stoppers but rather to make you realize how badly you want some thing." That is an interesting way to look at a goal that you may have. I would even propose that this is a very accurate way to look at God's plan for your life. You may be heading in a direction thinking that you are going where God wants you to go and then suddenly a brick wall. Maybe, with all your being, you are absolutely certain that you are still suppose to go forward in that direction but there is no door. What to do?

Well, wouldn't it be much more glorifying to God and a great character builder if you could climb that wall? Of course it would be and you can climb it with God's help. Some times we go looking for an open door and maybe what we need is a ladder.

Remember the story of the spies who were trapped at Rahab's house built in the city wall? What would have happened had they just given up rather than just climbing down the wall? So, maybe they went the opposite direction but it still required a ladder.

If you are sure that God has a certain calling on your life and all you see is a brick wall, pray for God to be the ladder over it. Maybe for you, the ladder is there and you are just afraid to climb it. People who work on tall structures wear a harness in case they slip and fall. That way they only fall a short distance and can begin to climb back up. Jesus is your harness belt and will never fail to protect you.

Joshua 2
Rahab and the Spies

1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute [a] named Rahab and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea [b] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. [c] 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death."
14 "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land."
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 Now she had said to them, "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way."
17 The men said to her, "This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. 19 If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear."
21 "Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us."

To those who think that life has dealt them nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

2008-07-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Jim

My heart is heavy and so I give it to the Lord. Our beloved friend, Jim Lancaster is at the doorway to heaven do to some unexpected complications over the weekend. However, for Jesus it was not unexpected and He is right there with Jim prepared to enter when it is time. After all, Jesus made sure that once He became a part of our lives, any doorway that we enter thereafter is always big enough for both us and Him. I did not sleep very deeply last night and woke up several times. On one such occasion, I turned and looked at the clock and recall seeing nothing but ones. It was 1:11 AM. I rolled out of bed and dropped to my knees and began to pray.

I did not pray for just Jim although he was a huge part of my prayer. I prayed for every thing that God laid on my heart. I prayed with thanksgiving and for the needs of others. Jim is the kind of man that regardless of his circumstances, he would be giving thanks to the Lord and praying for the needs of others over his own. And so, I knelt there feeling not just the presence of the Lord but Jim's presence as well knowing that if he were there, he would be in agreement with me. Knowing that as he lay in his hospital bed holding the hand of Jesus preparing to enter yet another door with Him, he too would be praying for the needs of others.

The scriptures of Jesus going to Gethsemane with his disciples just before He went to the cross came to mind. In particular, I recalled how all Jesus wanted was for them to stay awake long enough to pray. No, their prayers would not change the will of God but they would accomplish at least two things. First, their prayers would draw them into fellowship with God and keep them from temptation. For now, they had Jesus right there with them to help them fight temptation. However, soon they would have to rely on prayer for fellowship with Jesus. That fellowship which along with His word helps us fight the good fight against all temptation and to carry on to finish the race that we have started.

Secondly, while their prayer would not change God's will to accomplish His perfect plan, their prayers would be felt and heard by Jesus, so that he would know they cared enough to stay awake and pray with Him as He walked through what he MUST. After all, had He chosen to call down ten thousand angels, we would not be able to enjoy eternal fellowship with God. So, I knelt there praying and believing that Jim could feel my prayers and that he would know that I did not make the same mistake the disciples made.

Jesus in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 18:1)
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. 33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; 34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. 35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. 37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? 38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. 40 And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. 41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.

39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. 40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. 41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

Jim's life is a great testimony to all of us. My wife's grandmother, Marion Thatcher was a very wise lady. Unfortunately, she did not have a great relationship with her daughter, Tara's mom and I am sure there was fault on both sides. However, while we always prayed for reconciliation for them, Marion always felt that for her daughter the reconciliation would come at her passing. To which, Tara's Grammy reminded her that what you do for the living is more important than what you do for those who are gone. Jim has lived his life truly doing for the living so that the living could go on living an eternal life with Jesus. He used his gifts every day to share the gospel.

Reflecting back to the cardboard testimonies, I can see Jim with an update on his. On one side, it would read, "I have a broken body." On the other side, "I have a new body with Christ and the best part is because of the way I lived my Christian life, there are others who too have new bodies waiting for them." Some where at Tampa General, there is at least one doctor, nurse, patient or visitor, who before coming into contact with either Jim or a member of his family had a cardboard testimony that read, "Unsaved." Thanks to the testimony and Godly legacy of Jim, it will now read,"Saved and bound for heaven."

No worries!

"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say?'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was forthis very reason I came to this hour."John 12:27

To those who think that life has dealt them nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

Only One Way to Heaven But More Than One Door With Jesus

2008-07-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! I read a devotional today that so hit home. I have been wondering lately if I am on the career path that God intends for me. I struggle between the great enjoyment that I am getting from project coordination in route to project management and missing the thrill of cleaning up accounts receivable in route to consulting(That is fancy terminology for collections. My wife would say then just say collections.). Both have given me a great sense of accomplishment and achievement. Of course, at the end of the day or the end of my career path what really matters is did I glorify God in whatever I did? So far, I truly believe I have to some extent. But that is ok because although I am not completely like Jesus, I am becoming like Jesus more and more every day in my growth and will not be complete until His return or my welcome into the kingdom of heaven.

Some would say that if I went back to collections in any regard with any company, it would be like going backward. However, if God is at the center of it, then it really just means following His will, which is always a forward direction. After all, His will is that we would glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Believe it or not, it is not all about us. My God given gifts greatly flourished in accounting. Most importantly, many were touched and wondered what made me different and so filled with joy. On the flip side, if God wants me to stay put in my little corner of the world in Project Coordination awaiting to move up to Project Management, as long as He is at the center of it, than that is the course I will take. For now, I will stay the course and just pray for God to open the doors that He wants opened and close those that He wants closed. No matter what door I go through, Jesus will be there with me. After all, once I entered the initial door to salvation by asking Jesus into my life and accepting what he did on the cross for me and for you, he has become a permanent part of my life and will go with me through any other door that leads to building up my character. If Jesus is with you, don't be afraid to walk through what ever door that He has opened for you. Don't worry, He has made sure the doorway is big enough for both of you. He would never leave you or want you to leave Him behind.

To those who think that life has dealt them nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

Below was the devotion that prompted this.

Becoming Like Jesus Is a Slow Processby Rick Warren
This will continue until we are . . . mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him. Ephesians 4:13 (CEV)
*** *** *** ***
Becoming like Christ is a long, slow process of growth. Spiritual maturity is neither instant nor automatic; it is a gradual, progressive development that will take the rest of your life.
Referring to this process, Paul said, “This will continue until we are . . . mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him” (Ephesians 4:13 CEV).

You are a work in progress. Your spiritual transformation in developing the character of Jesus will take the rest of your life, and even then it won’t be completed here on earth. It will only be finished when you get to heaven or when Jesus returns.

At that point, whatever unfinished work on your character is left will be wrapped up. The Bible says that when we are finally able to see Jesus perfectly, we will become perfectly like him: “We can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT).

Much confusion in the Christian life comes from ignoring the simple truth that God is far more interested in building your character than he is anything else. We worry when God seems silent on specific issues such as “What career should I choose?”

The truth is, there are many different careers that could be in God’s will for your life. What God cares about most is that whatever you do, you do in a Christlike manner (1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Corinthians 16:14; Colossians 3:17, 23).

1 Corinthians 10: 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 16:14 Do everything in love.

Colossians 3:17,23
17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

God is far more interested in who you are than in what you do. We are human beings, not human doings. God is much more concerned about your character than your career, because you will take your character into eternity, but not your career.

The Bible warns, “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. . . . Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you” (Romans 12:2 MSG).

You must make a counterculture decision to focus on becoming more like Jesus. Otherwise, other forces like peers, parents, co-workers, and culture will try to mold you into their image.
Sadly, a quick review of many popular Christian books reveals that many believers have abandoned living for God’s great purposes and settled for personal fulfillment and emotional stability. That is narcissism, not discipleship.

Jesus did not die on the cross just so we could live comfortable, well-adjusted lives. His purpose is far deeper: he wants to make us like himself before he takes us to heaven. This is our greatest privilege, our immediate responsibility, and our ultimate destiny.

God Uses Our Physical Bodies Like the Burning Bush

2008-07-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

While I would like to be specific about what it is that led me to today's devotion, all I can say is that God is intending to use me to deliver a message to one of His children. Now, when I first started to ponder what the message is to be, I did not know any thing but that I was to deliver a message. I guess in that sense it is kind of like Abraham when he left in faith not knowing where he was going but that God was calling him some place.

Any ways, I immediately felt like Moses at the burning bush and looked up the scripture in Exodus Chapters 3 and 4. I could not help but think why would the Lord use me to deliver this message when there are so many others much more filled with His spirit. Then, I read Exodus, Chapters 3 and 4 and realized that it is those very chapters that I am to deliver as a message of hope to one of His children who needs to be reminded of the hope he as in Jesus.

Exodus 3
Moses and the Burning Bush 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

I don't know about you but as many times as I have heard the story of the burning bush, I never gave much thought to the significance of the burning bush itself. My focus had always been on the fact that it was God speaking to Moses. However, it is more than that and until now I have always missed it. You see the bush is much like our physical bodies. Let us think about this. This was a bush on fire and yet not burning up. It was a bush like any other with branches and leaves but they were on fire. Any tree that I have ever seen set on fire burned up and the leaves and limbs turned to ashes. This was not the case with this bush. Why, because it was filled with the presence of God.

We to as Christians are filled with the holy spirit which is the presence of God. Therefore, though we walk through trials and tribulations, we will not be burned up.There were three men in the bible in the book of Daniel who were thrown into the furnace and yet their physical bodies did not burn up. Wow! Doesn't that remind you of the burning bush?

Daniel 3

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king."
25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."

What then do we have to fear that our God is so powerful, He could do all the above and more?
To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

2008-07-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

I know that round numbered years or quarter century years are suppose to be the big deal. However, when you have a wife as wonderful as mine, every year and every day are a big deal to celebrate. If you are receiving this email directly from me, it is because I have had the privilege of getting to know you and your wife throughout the years. In huge part, thanks to my wonderful wife and of course God's perfect plan.

So, although you probably do not need me to remind you that you are blessed with the woman that you perhaps call your queen, I am going to any ways. It is important to tell her what she means to you all the time. In fact, it is so important that it is kind of like being set on fire and having to put it out before you become toast. Remember in school when you learned "stop, drop and roll." Well, this is stop, tell her you love her and give her a kiss.

Actually for me, 18 is a very monumental number. You see, I turned 36 this year. I was 18 when Tara and I started dating. That means that we have been together half of my life. I thank God that the second half of my life was better than the first because Tara was a part of it. Find some thing monumental about this year in your relationship. It is there. After all, this is the day that the Lord has made and He makes no mistakes. It was no mistake that He gave you the wife that you have and need.

I was only going to copy verse 24 of Psalm 118, but as I read it, I realized that if you think about your wife as you read it, you will see how each verse applies to your relationship with not just the Lord but your wife as well. Just as His love for you endures forever, so will the love that you and your wife have for each other if you will just keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say: "His love endures forever."
3 Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever."
4 Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."
5 In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
13 I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: "The LORD's right hand has done mighty things!
16 The LORD's right hand is lifted high; the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"
17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
18 The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. [a]
27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up [b] to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

True Greatness is ALL Around Us!

2008-07-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

What is true greatness? If you asked people this question, I imagine you would get a variation of answers. However, my bet is that it would be linked to success and the worldly view of that word.

My devotion today talked about how true greatness is linked to being a servant. Hmmmmm, servant and greatness linked.

To serve (Matt. 20:28)
"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The above speaks for itself, after all there is no more true greatness than Jesus. So, what ever position you find yourself in, if you are serving than you have achieved true greatness. If you are receiving this email from me, it is because I have seen true greatness in you.

Thanks for serving!

To those who think that life has dealt them nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

John W Bertic

The Greatest Reference Letter

2008-07-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I have been deeply touched by the number of people who have taken the time to say bye and to tell me that they have enjoyed working with me. Even more humbling has been the request from one of my friends who asked me to write him a reference letter. Wow! Me worthy of writing a reference letter. If you knew my friend like I do, you would agree that it is he who should be writing a letter for me. After all, what is a reference letter? Well, a reference letter is one that you give to a potential job prospect as part of your package for showing them why they should chose you over other candidates. It is the dream of every interviewer to somehow receive information that they can substantiate to know that the person whom they are about to hire is worthy of the position and qualified for the position for which they are being hired. Part of what the interviewer looks at is who is the person that wrote the reference letter and what makes what they are saying valid.

What if we needed a reference letter to get into heaven? Who would we ask to write it for us and what would it say?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)

According to the above scriptures, it does take a reference letter to get into heaven and only one person is worthy to write it. Thank God that I have my reference letter from Jesus! IF you don't have yours, ask him for it today. But do not be surprised by what it says. Because it will not be about you but it will be for you. It will say some thing like," Father, I died on the cross for him or her. They have accepted that and asked me into their life. I am in them. They have accepted me and therefore have accepted you. Thanks for letting them in! You will be pleased with their eternal fellowship with you."

Life is a Roller Coaster, But If God is Your Tracks, "No Worries"!

2008-07-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

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.

This week has been an emotional roller coaster for all of us. For me and many of you, it started with the horrible news about Papa Jim. I have no update from today other than knowing Jim, he is still trusting in his God and we continue to pray for a miracle of healing. As soon as I know any thing, I will pass it along to you. For some of us, the roller coaster went up around the loop with word of layoffs at the company where I along with many people that I have grown to love and cherish waited wondering who would be let go and who would stay. God is so good though. Through Jim's accident his two words hit me the moment that I heard of layoffs. Those two words for those of us who have put their trust in the one true God are "No Worries."

Please do not get me wrong. Layoffs are never easy and we all hate to see others that we have grown close to and been blessed to work with move on. However, I can say as one who has been through being layed off twice before that if God chooses to move us on, He has some thing else He needs us to do some place else. I use to say it meant a new plan but it isn't really a new plan. It is all part of the same plan that He has always had for us. God never changes. He knew before yesterday, who would stay and who would go. Listen. I have no doubt that for the members of the executive team who had to be involved in deciding the names of those to be let go, it was one of those times that they hated being in their position and were deeply saddened at having to deliver the news. If I could tell them any thing, it would be that they should not feel at all bad in the sense that they did any thing. They can not control the economy. They may have written the names down, but they did not really choose them. Nothing surprises God.

Do you want really bold honesty without any sugar coating? Then here it is. There were in all likelihood two groups of people in the layoff. I do not know how many were in each group but I am fairly certain there were two. There were Believers and non-believers(I pray this group was small.). Now, I am not God and do not know the plans He has for anyone. I do know that His word not mine, says, "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".

He wants this to apply to everyone. However, if we are not His child than we are not part of His plan. That is our choice and is called free will. So, while I do not know the specific plan He has for anyone in either group, I do know what He wants to do. In order to do any thing, He has to soften their heart and get a hold of them. I believe that for those who left us as believers, God needs them some place else to accomplish His plan and through this will draw each of them closer. For those who are not, the roller coaster is God's way of trying to get the non-believers to realize their need for Christ. The tracks that their roller coaster is on will one day come to an abrupt stopping point with no more track left. My prayer is that for them, this time will be used to bring them out of the darkness and into the light. I pray that their roller coaster will find its way to God's track, which is Jesus. Thomas was looking for the tracks and asked Jesus, how to find them. Below are the words of Thomas and Jesus, not mine.

John 14:5-7

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know^[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

In closing, mourn a little while for the loss of the daily companionship of the friends and coworkers that we will all miss seeing every day. Do not feel bad that you are still here and they are not. It just means that God is not through with you HERE yet. In times of troubles and tribulations, remember, "No worries." God is in control.

To those who think that life has dealt them nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

When will it be to late to use your gift?

2008-07-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

Although this devotion is going to appear quite somber, I believe it to be bitter sweet, as it is a reminder to us all of the importance of not putting off until tomorrow to use our gifts that God intends for us to use today. We all have gifts from God that He intends for us to utilize to glorify His name and share His truth with those who are in darkness and bless those in the light.

Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith. Romans 12:6

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

A dear friend, brother, husband, grandfather, mentor, Christian, missionary and man of God and of the word, who most of our children call Papa Jim is in need of our prayers for his surgery at 4PM today. But more than that, he needs us to learn from the great example that he continues to be to each of us. That example is in two parts. The first part is that we should make the most of our gifts every day and we do not have to go over seas to do so. The second part is that the day will come when it will be to late to use our gifts. Hopefully, when that day does come, we will be able to stand before the Lord and hear him say,"well done good and faithful servant, or look at all the people who stand before you who entered the kingdom by accepting the free gift of salvation that came from your sharing of your gifts."

Jim has many gifts. I do not know what all of them are but the Lord and he without a doubt both know. I do know that the greatest of his many gifts next to his ability to love each of us he calls friend with agape, is the gift of art. Jim has the ability to create some of the most beautiful artwork that you will ever see. Let me tell you just two of the many ways that he has blessed Tara and me. Jim created a picture that he made by taking an old photo of Tara's dad and his dad, whom he never met and made it look authentic. It is not often that Tara's dad cries, but when he was presented with the photo that was one of the rare moments of tears. That moment along with other moments has opened up to Tara sharing the Lord with her father and telling him that Jesus loves him no matter what he has done in his life. He has not yet accepted that free gift but there is some definite softening of the heart and planting of seed at work. Jim was also gracious enough to create the most perfect logo for Tara's publishing company, Grace Bound Books.

What is my main point to the above story? Jim knows what his gifts are and he uses them. He does not just use them on just Sunday. He does not just use them on just missions trips overseas or at occasional outreaches. Jim uses his gifts every day to bless others and to share God's truth with those who so desperately need it.

I know that each of you will be standing beside me and Jim's family as we pray for a full healing for Jim. I know that most of you reading this are in fact Jim's family. I know that God can heal Jim and I believe that He will. However, I also know that Jim has shown me by his example that He is a man of God and that he knows and loves Jesus. Jim will want each of us to do what he will be doing and that is to give it over to God and to pray above all else for God's perfect will which will work out His perfect plan. Jim understand that God's plan is bigger than him, you or me. Jim knows that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. God does not want that for just Jim, you or me. I have no doubt that through all of this, as Jim goes through surgery and heals, what ever the outcome, his attitude and heart for God will bring at least one more person into the kingdom.

I will close with a scripture from Job. Like Job, I know that what ever Jim's God chooses to take him through for His glory, Jim will stand strong in his faith and say what ever your will God. None of us deserves God's grace and yet He chooses to give it to us. None of us deserves His blessings and yet He chooses to give them to us. Thank you God for blessing us with Jim and we pray that you will guide the hands of the surgeons during Jim's surgery. We also pray that amongst the many unsaved with whom Jim will come in contact during his stay at the hospital, that through this brief time in Jim's life, you will bring them to yourself and seeds would be planted and grow. Father you know that it is Jim's desire to continue to utilize the gifts that you have given him including his gift of art. You also know what functions of his body he requires to be able to do so. Father, remind Jim that you are most strong when he is most weak. Father, we are asking that you will touch and heal Jim. We pray that the surgeon will be so shocked at the way the spinal cord recovers following the removal of the broken disk that the surgeon will be able to give the glory to nobody but you.

I believe that simply being able to pray is a gift from God. The fact that without a doubt, you are praying along with me, you are using at least one gift from God at this very moment. Don't stop there. Pray without ceasing and go use your other gifts today. Do it before it is to late.

1 On another day the angels ^[a] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."

4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."

6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish ^[b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

End of Quote.

5 Steps Away from CEO but Only One Step from God

2008-06-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

Sue Swenson—President and CEO, Sage Software

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I have to first tell you that it is really not my desire to be a CEO. Now, if God made me a CEO, I would seek the Lord for direction to do all I could to bring Him glory in that position.

So, now for where this subject stemmed and where it is going. In my position at work, it some what helps to know the different chains within different departments in case some thing gets escalated. I was pondering on where I am in the chain of my department and it dawned on me that I am only 5 steps away from CEO status. There is my boss who is a manager, her boss who is a director, her boss who is a Regional VP, his boss who is Senior VP and his boss who is CEO for this division of Sage.

Realistically, it is not a direct route from me to CEO and very rarely does anyone climb the ladder in that way within the same company. In the business world, it requires changing companies from time to time. Sad but true. Only sad , in that the idea that once existed of going to work for a company, remaining loyal, working your way up and retiring there after 25+ years is sort of a thing of the past.

Of course, this is really sad for those seeking worldly success. For those of us seeking Godly success and looking to bring Him all the glory, it is rather exciting. God always provides the next step when you follow Him. We may not always like the next step or wonder how that step gets us where we think we should be but none the less, He does provide it if we follow His will. With that next step comes new people with whom to encounter and show the love of Christ. Give it time and one day they will wonder and want to know how to obtain the joy you have and the peace that is within you knowing that God is in control and sitting on the throne.

The awesome thing is that we are only one step from God. That step is Jesus and to get to that step, we only need ask Him into our lives and at any given time, all we need to do is pray and He is there.

Luke 11:9-10

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Sometimes we get wrapped up in our professional lives seeking worldly possessions and worldly positions of high status. I do not know how many steps you are from the highest position at the company where you work but I do know that if you have accepted Jesus, there are no steps left between you and God. You only need to pray and He is there waiting to answer.

Prayer of Reconciliation

2008-06-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

This last few months has been an exciting time for me and I hope for you as well. I have had my eyes opened and watching while God poured down the rain with blessings and growth. I suddenly feel like I am sliding down from the mountain top back to the valley. God can teach us in the valley but He enjoys having us at the mountain top to encourage others to climb up.

Tara and I share most every thing. There is one subject of discussion that while we occasionally mention it, we never get deep into talking about it. Tara actually blogged about it today. It is the source of rejection that led to what I believe is a testimony to God and how He can and desires to use our trials and tribulations to bring Him glory. The source of rejection is Tara's mother and the testimony to which it led is her book,"Rejoicing In Rejection".

I have prayed for reconciliation between Tara and her mother and have always thought it would take a miracle because it would mean that Tara's mom's heart would have to be softened to the truth. I have also prayed that Tara might recognize any place in the situation where she too may be wrong. While it is difficult for me to see where that is, I could not help but feel that maybe some place there was a need for another attempt for her to ask forgiveness. From Tara's latest blog, it appears that she agrees. For me, the fact that this has been my prayer to God in my private time and Tara had no knowledge of my prayer, it is affirmation that God is moving and tugging at Tara's heart. Maybe, unbeknown to us, He is doing the same thing with Tara's mom. Please pray that this be the case.

Jesus gave us the greatest example of what it means to reconcile when He sacrificed His life for our reconciliation with God.

Colossians 1: 16 and 20.

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Revelation 21:5.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Acts 3: 20 and 21

And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Second Corinthians 5: 17-19.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation

End of Quote.

Nothing is impossible with God. Not even the reconciliation of a mother and daughter is beyond the power of God.

God's Favorite Name Must Be Father!

2008-06-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

This birthday set the bar high for any to follow. I got to spend the day at SeaWorld with Tara, my father in law and the kids. We ate pool side by Shamu where the trainer had her doing tricks within 15 feet from us. My father in law visited from PA and Saturday night we went to see the Tampa Bay Storm play via free tickets when we were expecting to pay for the eight of us.

The only thing that I missed was not getting to see my sisters who live out of town, although I heard from my oldest sister while at SeaWorld and my mom and dad, who live in town, but they too called me. It was just a super busy crazy weekend trying to fit in a whole bunch in a short weekend with Tara's dad.

I have been blessed through my life to get compliments from people on different parts of my life, both personal and professional. Of all the compliments that I have received, I received one this weekend that without question makes the top three. Tara's dad was texting her after he returned home to PA. One of his texts was a little lengthy and I do not remember every bit of it, word for word, but the words that will always remain with me and forever encourage me were,"I wish that I had a father like John." Wow! Talk about a tear jerker. As a Christian, when I hear the word father, I instantly think of God. We are called to be the kind of father that He is to us, which I could never do. That is why I am glad that Jesus is there to do it for me.

I am fortunate that my earthly father has always been a part of my life. He has always shown me unconditional love and been there for me. However, even if my earthly father were to fail me, we have a heavenly father who will always love us unconditionally. So much so that he sent His one and only son to die for us on the cross.

There is truly only one perfect father and he is dad to us all.

THE PERFECT FATHER

I DO know Someone who is the PERFECT Father--God Himself, our Heavenly Father. He meets every qualification for the task--listen to His words and see! "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God...(1 John 3:1 KJV)."

"F"	aithful!
	"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (for he is faithful that promised)(Hebrews 10:23 KJV)."
"A"	lways there!
	"...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5 KJV)."
"T"	rustworthy!
	"...there hath not failed one word of all his good promises...(1 Kings 8:56 KJV)."
"H"	onoring!
	"If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be; if any man serve me, him will my Father honor (John 12:26 KJV)."
"E"	ver-loving!
	"...I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee (Jeremiah 31:3 KJV)."
"R"	ighteous!
	"The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works (Psalm 145:17 KJV)."
"S"	upportive!
	"Fear thou not; for I am with thee. Be no dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold these with the right hand of my righteousness (Isaiah 41:10 KJV)." End of quote. To those who think that they have not had the benefit of a perfect father, they need only look to heaven. You'll have to forgive me if I seem a bit prideful, but as for Tara and I we have earthly dads that are a close tie for second. Who am I that God would love me so much to bless me with them both in my life. To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

Nothing Fancy - He is just the truth!

2008-06-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

The last few months have been filled with excitement for the Bertics. We have patiently and obediently sought for God's direction in all areas of our lives and asked Him to bless our ministries. Of course, in order to have your ministry blessed, you have to be involved in one. We are ALL called to some form of ministry. I had intended for this to be short and then found the below on line immediately after googling "called to ministry".

VOLUNTEERISM OR DISCIPLESHIP

SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 9:35-10:8

The immensity of need overwhelms Jesus. How easy it would be to turn away – to say to himself, “This is too much.” Or, “This is far beyond what I can handle.” In being overwhelmed, he could easily just turn away and ignore the needs he has seen. He has, after all, already spent many days teaching, preaching, and healing. What else could God expect of him? He could have said, “I’ve done my part. I’m done.”

The Workers Are Few

Matthew 9:35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

Matthew 10:8

8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[a]drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Today’s scripture reading is about ministry, the call to discipleship, and empowering the disciples with the gifts they need to meet the needs of their ministry. In this story, Jesus has spent days traveling around from village to village, city to city, teaching and preaching the good news of God’s love and grace, given unconditionally to all. Along the way he encounters people who are in great need – people who are ill; people who are broken in spirit; people who are poor, struggling to make a living; people who are struggling to be loved; people who are oppressed by powers that be; people who have been cast out of community, struggling with the need to belong and be valued.

Yet, Jesus does not turn away. Instead, his response is one of compassion. Jesus begins by recognizing the tremendous needs in the community. He acknowledges the depth of these people’s pain, and with empathy responds to the depth and breadth of their hurt. Jesus, however, also recognizes that he is only one person, one extremely capable person, but alone he cannot meet the needs of all these people. He recognizes here his own limitations. He knows he needs help, help from others to heal the tremendous hurt in these people’s lives and to restore wholeness to community. Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” What Jesus is saying here is that there is great ministry to be done. This ministry is the work of the Lord; it’s God’s harvest. Therefore, all who come to labor in this field, this ministry, are called by God to do whatever is needed to bring in the harvest, to do whatever is needed to minister to the needs of people and the community. Jesus’ response also carries with it the recognition that few will respond to God’s call. He is making a plea here for more to join him in this ministry that he has already begun. Jesus wants others to listen and respond to God’s call for active ministry. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” With that he appoints and anoints his apostles to follow him in carrying out the ministry of God’s appointing.

Several years ago a fellow by the name of Dallas Willard wrote a book about discipleship, and the necessary spiritual disciplines needed to be faithful disciple of Jesus. The book, entitled The Spirit of Disciplines, Understanding How God Changes Lives, points out that the word disciple is used 269 times in the New Testament. In comparison, the word Christian is found only three times. In this author’s eyes, the New Testament is primarily a book about discipleship, written by the disciples, and is meant for the disciples of Jesus Christ. But here’s the clincher. He says, “For at least several decades, the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. One is not required to be, or intended to be, a disciple in order be become a Christian, and one may remain a Christian, without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship. Contemporary American churches, in particular, do not require following Christ in his example, spirit and teachings, as a condition of membership…discipleship is optional.” (p.258)

Initially, I found his view to be a bit far reaching. Out of my own defensiveness (heaven forbid, I should ever be defensive), I dismissed his observation, pointing to the kinds of questions and pledges we, in the U.C.C., ask our members to make. However, since reading that some years ago, I’ve noticed how in our worship life and communal life we stress far more often matters of faith and its importance of faith, than we do discipleship.

So often when we talk about Christian service opportunities in the life of our church, we talk about it them as job openings, slots needing to be filled by volunteers, rather than ministries to which we are called to serve as disciples of Jesus. We may say to one another, “Here’s a need, won’t you volunteer to help meet this need?”

You may ask, “So, what’s the difference?” Volunteers recognize the needs and respond with a willingness to help. And, indeed, we all need to recognize needs for help in our community and be willing to give of ourselves to help meet expressed needs. As I’ve so often said, this community is the most responsive community I’ve ever lived in. In the Fox Cities, and, particularly, in this faith community, there is a huge willingness to volunteer time and resources to meet particular needs. Never, in any community, I’ve ever belonged to have I seen such a tremendous valuing of people giving back to their community. People give generously of themselves to the wider community.

But discipleship is more than being a volunteer. It is a response born out of relationship. When we meet Jesus, each time we meet Jesus, we are transformed by the encounter – sometimes in small ways and at other times in larger ways. But nonetheless we are deeply affected by the meeting and in some way transformed by his spirit, his love and grace for us all. In each encounter, Jesus offers us the invitation to “Come follow him.” Our response to the call is what determines whether or not we are his disciples. Will we accept Jesus’ invitation? Discipleship is our response to a call, the call of Christ to join him in ministry that is appointed by God, ministry in which God anoints each of us to do and for which God empowers us to do, each of us with our own unique gifts to carry out.

Jesus in his ministry proclaims the good news of God’s love and grace. He teaches, he heals the sick, he casts out demons, he releases those who are held captive by society, he welcomes and embraces the outcast, he forgives all who sin and fall short of the glory of God, and he raises the dead. Then he anoints and appoints his disciples to go and do likewise. If we are disciples of Jesus, then we respond to his call to follow in his footsteps. We respond to the call to ministry knowing that he will empower us to do what he asks us to do. (All except raising the dead. I don’t know anyone who’s had much success in that ministry. Even after 27 years of ordained ministry, I can honestly say I still haven’t had one Lazarus experience!)

Discipleship is, as Brennan Manning said in the his book The Signature of Jesus, “living one day at a time, as though Jesus were near; near in time, near in place, the witness of our motives, our speech, our behavior. As indeed he is.” Jesus is ever-present and always inviting us into closer relationship with him, inviting us into closer caring relationship with one another, and inviting us into closer caring relationship with the world. Our response to Jesus, needs to be an active one – one that not only pays attention to his presence and acknowledges his power in our lives, but one that also demonstrates that we are actively listening to his call and willing to respond to his call to ministry, trusting that we will have all that we need to do the work he calls us to do – whenever and wherever we are called upon to be responsive – whenever and wherever we are called.

For many of us, discerning the call may be the biggest challenge. Maybe we are uncertain where our gifts lie or where they would best be used in service to others. But that is where the community of the faithful is of service in helping identify in us our gifts for ministry.

Others of us as disciples discern a call, but dismiss the call because we don’t believe we have the ability to adequately answer that particular call to ministry – be in teaching, preaching, healing, or raising the dead! And indeed we may not, but sometimes we shy away from ministries for which we have passion and desire, because we don’t have believe we have the gifts or that God will give us the gifts we need without even trying or without even testing it out with the wider community as to how we might be able to access the gifts needed to carry out the ministry to which we feel called. In other words, we shut down the possibility of particular ministries, long before we’ve had an adequate opportunity to explore and discern whether it’s a legitimate call.

I once had a church member who delighted in clowning, and she kept wondering how this interest and joy in her life could be a part of her ministry in the church. After many years of deliberation, she was able to develop a clown ministry that provided great joy, encouragement and support to those who were ill or struggling. One of our members discovered in the Unwrapping our Gifts program that he had a gift for teaching and was called to be a part of our new Church School program, plus develop a special learning opportunity for the adults in our church. Some have felt the call to teach. Others have felt the call to ministries of mission and outreach work, while others dedicate themselves to the work of justice making. Many have felt called to share in the ministry of music enriching our worship with their gifts for singing or instruments. Others have felt called to serve with our youth. Some have chosen to answer the call to journey alongside members in our community who are older or homebound or those people who are in the midst of transition or crisis on their life’s journeys. Others have felt called to ministries of hospitality – welcoming, helping newcomers feel comfortable in our faith community, hosting our new members or bringing people together in our faith community in neighborhood groups. Some have been called to ministries of stewardship and leadership – stewardship for the resources with which we have been entrusted, leadership for our programmatic life, stewardship and leadership for our communal life – these folks are visionaries while being grounded in our day-to-day realities. Some are called to artistic ministries – enhancing the beauty of our environment in so many ways. There are many ministries to which Jesus calls us, many opportunities to serve in ministry, God’s ministry, for which God gives us the gifts and empowers us to use them. The question is always, “Are we willing to answer the call to be Jesus’ disciple and follow in his footsteps, carrying on the ministry he already started?”

In closing let me share with you this lovely story about discipleship. It is about an African priest named Zacharias. Zacharias was laid to rest after a long life of serving his church and the people of Kenya. Afterwards, his friend Father Gerry was walking back from the grave to the place where he staying. He encountered another missionary who remarked to him, “We’ll miss him. He went “ki-sabuni” (which is Swahili for “like a bar of soap”). Confused, Father Gerry asked, “Like a bar of what?” She repeated, “Ki-sabuni”. You know. In the house, the bar of soap sits next to the basin, available morning, noon, and night to all – children, adults, the elderly, family and guests all alike. It never discriminates or complains of being used and reused. It is take for granted as it slowly disappears, until someone exclaims, ‘Gosh, the soap is gone!’ Zacharias was that kind of man.” May we, at the end of our earthly lives, go ki-sabuni, having faithfully served one another as Jesus’ disciples in the ministries to which God calls each one of us. Amen.

End of Quote

I almost changed the subject and then realized it only needed an addition to make it a perfect fit. I then added the two words "He is". Jesus wants us to see him as nothing fancy-He is just the truth. Make it your ministry to share this. For those of you already doing this, thanks for sharing it with me.

A toast to what was to have been toast on Father's Day

2008-06-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Where to start? I had the most amazing Father's Day. And not that it really contained any thing that I have not already had for Father's day over the past several years but because I really stopped and noticed all the miracles and blessings around me.

My day started off with the best breakfast. It was toast or at least Jonathan's version of it. JoJo is the official breakfast maker for Mother's Day and Father's Day. He asked me what I wanted for breakfast the night before and I told him toast with jelly. So, he made sure that he was up before me and got busy making my breakfast.He got out the bread, butter and jelly and went right to work, He put the butter on the bread with plenty of jelly. He then realized that he forgot to toast the bread. Because jelly and the toaster are not a good combination, I told him that it was good just the way it was. He even offered to eat it and make me more. Truly though, it was because he forgot one little step that it was an even better breakfast and a great example of Christ's sacrifice for us.

Jonathan is a sleeper. He is almost always the last one to get up and often after being awakened by the sun from the opening of the blinds. Mom usually does that but it is ok because she too likes sleep and she figures if she is up, he too has had enough time to sleep in. However, on this day, he made sure that he was up and ready to make my breakfast.

LUKE 22:39-46 NKJ
39 And coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.
40 When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed,
42 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."
43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
46 Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."

Now, Jonathan was not praying for me but he was honoring me with his obedience to do what he said he would do the night before.

Then, when he realized it was not what I might consider my version of the perfect breakfast, he was willing to sacrifice his breakfast and eat mine, had it been my will. We too are far from perfect and could never do any thing worthy of getting us into heaven. Now, Jonathan's willingness to sacrifice a good meal far pales in comparison to Jesus sacrifice for us, but none the less, for a young boy, it is a huge willingness to sacrifice.

The following is an awesome outline that I found online detailing Jesus sacrifice for us and how it all started in the beginning. Before you read it, I want to close with this thought. Maybe I should have let Jonathan make the sacrifice and eat the bread. However, I think there was an even greater lesson in it for Jonathan and us. The father loved the son but they both understood that the sacrifice of Jesus was necessary for all of us. However, because if Jonathan had eaten the bread, it would have only been me to potentially benefit, where would the love have been if I let him eat it. My request would have been selfish while God's was selfless. Plus I understood that my son made this meal for me and that alone would make it taste so good.

Beginning of quote.

Long before Jesus ever died on a cross, He made a tremendous sacrifice for you and me. Most have heard how Jesus died on a cross and how His death pays the penalty for our sins, but did you know that long before He breathed the last breath before His death, He gave up who He was for you and me?

John 1 tells us that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (verses 1, 14). The Word who was with God and who was God is the One we know as Jesus the Christ. He is the One who made all things and nothing was made without Him (John 1:3). He is the One who created all things “that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16). He is the One who is before all things and who makes all things consist (Colossians 1:17).

The life of Jesus started well before He was known as the man Jesus on the earth. He was the One who spoke to Moses in the burning bush and said, “I AM that I AM”. He declared Himself as this same I AM when He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). I Corinthians 10 tells us that the Spiritual Rock that followed the Israelites in the desert when they wandered was the same Christ (I Corinthians 10:1-4).

Long before Jesus died He made a great sacrifice for us; He gave up who He was as God with all His power and might. Philippians 2:5-8 tell us,

Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery [or something to be held onto] to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to give up all His power and reputation as God to come in the form of a servant and to be clothed with flesh as a man, just like you and me. He made himself like a part of His own creation. He humbled himself to become like us for the purpose of giving us eternal life. He gave up His eternal life so that we could have it. He gave up being with God so that we could live with God forever.

Imagine that the Word, now God in the flesh, Emanuel, Jesus, was for the first time in his life separated from the Father by flesh. He was no longer in the Spirit dwelling with God the Father, but He was on earth where He had to eat and sleep, where He felt pain and got tired, where he could be injured and die. Jesus made a tremendous sacrifice to simply become a man.

It was in this part of His great sacrifice that Jesus was made perfect or complete, being identified with the sufferings of mankind (Hebrews 2:9-18; 4:14-16). He is now able to minister on our behalf in Heaven with understanding and compassion because He lived in the flesh as a man and was tempted by sins as a man is. Jesus made Himself like us so that He could better serve us.

Having the power of God and having made this creation, including all of us, Jesus made Himself a servant of His own creation. Think of the sacrifice of that alone. You make something. It doesn’t do what you tell it to do. It hurts itself and suffers as a result. You made it to share life and love and happiness with it, but it wants no part of it. It turns its back on you and doesn’t love you even though you gave it life and give it all kinds of gifts to support its life. But instead of destroying it, you decide to become a part of it. Then you don’t make yourself like Superman; you make yourself an ordinary human being. You’re not the best looking or the strongest, just a regular guy. As a man you teach the truth about life and why mankind is alive and what we should do to please our Creator and to make a world that lives at peace. You get mocked and threatened and then finally whipped, beaten and killed for what you said. And you did it all knowing that this was what your own creation would do to you. They wouldn’t love you; they would kill you. Would you do it?

Jesus loves you so much that He did this. How can you keep yourself from loving Him for what He has done for you? No one has given more to you than Jesus and God the Father. No one cares for you more, no one wants to give you more, no one wants you to succeed more than they do. How blessed are you that God loves you so much? God humbled Himself to become a man like you and to die for you so that you could know the joy of living an abundant eternal life not in the flesh, but in the spirit, not in the midst of sin but in the kingdom where every tear will be wiped away and there will be no more pain or sorrow or death (Revelation 21).

Jesus became the perfect sacrifice to pay for your sins. He accomplished many purposes in His coming and the first was to learn what it was like to be human. He was human without sinning. He became a living sacrifice for mankind. Then he became an offering for all sin when He had the sins of mankind laid on Him through a terrible beating (Isaiah 53). And finally, He was put to death on the cross, paying the death penalty for sin.

The offer of Christ’s sacrifice to you is this: Jesus says, let Me take your sins for you and I will give you my righteousness. That is a deal you can’t pass up. Make Jesus the Savior of your life. Allow him to take all your sins and impute to you His own righteousness (Romans 4:5-8). Make Him the Lord of your life. Follow His teachings and live by His ways so that your life can be a blessing both to God and to others. Only when all who live turn and live God’s way will there be peace and righteousness, goodness and mercy, prosperity and blessing for every member of society. God wants you to be a part of His family. Jesus gave it all up for you. Accept His offer. You’re won’t find a better one your whole life.

End of quote.

Millions "may" view my blog, but it is enough if it is only "1".

2008-06-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

I was moved by our close friend, Kim's most recent blog about Steven Curtis Chapman's manager being lead by the audible voice of God to update Steven's blog immediately after the tragic loss of their daughter and her homecoming with the Lord. Certain that all of Steven's family, friends and fans would go to his site for word on their daughter, he knew this was an opportunity to share the gospel with the world. I read that and thought, "wow, my blog sharing the truth of the gospel does matter to God."

OK, so I am not Steven Curtis Chapman and do not have quite a million fans. Although, I am close friends with his biggest and certainly #1 fan. Does that count? Maybe or maybe not. But what does count, is that at least one person is reading my blog based on the comments or lack there of. And yes, she is already saved and that is wonderful. If nothing else, it has shown to be an encouragement to at least one person and that is enough for me to invest my time. After all, look at the time that Jesus invested for just me and just you. Besides, ultimately, there is only one comment that we should all desire to hear. It is the one from the Lord, where He looks back at our lives with us and says,"Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Matthew 25:19-30
19 "After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of gold said, 'Sir, you gave me five bags of gold to invest, and I have doubled the amount.' 21 The master was full of praise. 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!'
22 "Next came the servant who had received the two bags of gold, with the report, 'Sir, you gave me two bags of gold to invest, and I have doubled the amount.' 23 The master said, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!' 24 "Then the servant with the one bag of gold came and said, 'Sir, I know you are a hard man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth and here it is.' 26 "But the master replied, 'You wicked and lazy servant! You think I'm a hard man, do you, harvesting crops I didn't plant and gathering crops I didn't cultivate? 27 Well, you should at least have put my money into the bank so I could have some interest. 28 Take the money from this servant and give it to the one with the ten bags of gold. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Thanks Kim for encouraging me to blog on! There may not be a million people viewing my blog, but you are one in a million to me and to God. Thanks Steve for being the biggest fan to SCC so that there would be this connection to encourage me.

Don't Allow Your Brother to Miss the Blessing in His Life - Call Him Out!

2008-06-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

Wow! I really do not know how Pastor Billy determines the final message to deliver once a week. Not because it is difficult to see God at work and find some thing to share but because when you really look at your life and all the things that you encounter every day, there is so much that God does(He is in control of it all), it is hard to determine which of His blessings or teachings to share. If you want to grow in your walk, start a journal if you are not quite at the point of blogging or not sure how it works or even what it is.

I was pondering on a time when a dear, close brother of mine called me out so that I would not miss the many blessings in my life. As I pondered, it occurred to me that God put this blog into work through His perfectly orchestrated plan which started with the gift of a much needed van about three years ago. Actually, it could be traced back even further if you take into account, when we initially met the people who blessed us with such a large gift.

Before I get into the facts of how my brother called me out, I want to clarify some thing as the people who I am referencing will very likely read this. I want them to know that we(We being Tara and I. Don't worry, I am not schizophrenic.) love them with all our heart and appreciate that they heard God's calling and met our need so that it could be shared at such a time as this to encourage the body. They pored themselves out and have shown us agape.

So, about a year ago, I was going through struggles of a financial nature. The struggle was really not as much financial as it was emotional at the hands of the lies of our enemy. You see for as long as I can remember, we have always had exactly what we needed, when we needed it and quite often to the penny. Now, if that isn't an opportunity to see God at work in your life, I do not know what is. However, where I fell prey to the devil was in pondering where quite often our needs were being met by others in the body. Quite honestly, I was feeling worthless like I could do nothing for myself or my family. My brother called me out and reminded me of an important truth with a few simple words. Those words reminded me that God owns it all. He chooses to whom He will entrust His belongings, including His money, and how much of it at different times throughout each of our lives. He even chooses to bless both foolish and unbelieving people with an abundance at times. While only He knows how this works according to His plan, I have a few ideas but that is another sermon.

The point is that whether the needs of you and your family that God meets are done through resources directly from your daily labor, which results in a paycheck, thanks to the good health and every breath that God gave you, or those resources come from another, it all belongs to God and came from Him regardless of the path He used to get it to you. Now, I am not saying that we can or should sit idly by and wait for God to meet our needs, as there are many scriptures that rebuke laziness. However, what I am saying is that if you are doing what God has called you to do and walking in His will, He will meet your needs. For example, we have chosen for Tara to stay at home, where she has a much tougher job then I do. This has meant getting by on one main source of income and not two salaries. Any time a major need, by major, I mean expensive, such as a vehicle, came about, God has always met that need. For me, that is confirmation that we are walking in His will.

Matthew 6

²⁵"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
²⁶"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
³¹"So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I found a great site about finances filled with scripture. I read through it and it does not appear to sell the false idea that if you pray for a Mercedes, God will give it to you. It does talk about how God intends for us to meet one another's needs and not hoard things for ourselves.

http://www.roadmaptoheaven.net/view/?pageID=149091

Let me close with the conversation that my brother had with me when he called me out so that I would not miss the blessings in my life. While I was being fed the lies of the enemy and eating up every bit of it that I was worthless because many of my needs were being met by others, he saw the truth in why God chooses to bless us. Much like the reason that God had the great truths of the lives of people like Moses and Noah written down in the scriptures for us to learn from, He also intends both our blessings and trials to be shared with others as an encouragement or a learning tool. On top of feeling worthless, I also felt like I never contributed to anyone with my gifts or resources forgetting that both are from God. What lead me to this point was the van. The van itself was not paid for but the payments were being made through our friends. Because God takes us all through trials, tribulations, mountains and valleys, He decided it was time for us to take over the payments for the van. We were stressing but prayed about where the extra money would come from or if we needed to let the van go. What I had forgotten to realize was that the money was already coming from God and He was just choosing to change the path through which it came. After much prayer and looking at our budget, I did find a way to make it work. Quite honestly, the van is not the point. So, you are probably asking, then what is the point? The point is God wanted my brother to call me out. Now, the part for which you have long waited, what did my brother say. He told me that if anyone should not worry about how his needs are met, it is John Bertic. He also told me that the body is blessed and encouraged when they get to see how He chooses to meet our needs. Sure, He could do it in a more silent way but then HE would not receive near the glory He is due.

Give Him the glory. Whether you are walking through trials and tribulations and find yourself in the valley or at the top of the mountain basking in the blessings of His grace, give Him the glory and thank him for it all.

You know who you are brother. Thanks for calling me out! What may have seemed like a short sharing of a dinner at McDonald's has lifted me up for months since and could very likely result in eternal hope for others.

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

We are all in prison by sin but Jesus holds the key and all you have to do is ask for it

2008-06-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

A dear brother of ours is in prison. I wrote him a letter of encouragement and realized that it applies to all of us. We all face lies from the devil. We are all persecuted by unbelievers whose hearts are hardened to the truth and do not see what ought to be plain to them. Furthermore, we have all sinned. None of us are any greater or any less a sinner than the other. Sin is sin and without the forgiveness of God through the blood of Jesus and the acceptance of Him as our savior, even what we may view as small sin would condemn us to an eternity in hell. Thank you Jesus for providing the perfect sacrifice so I could live all eternity with you along side all those who choose to accept the same truth.

Here is the letter that I wrote to our brother in prison. Tell me if after you read it, you didn't feel like this also applies to all of us.

You keep reminding the devil that you are a child of God and that with His strength, you can overcome any thing that he throws at you.

1 John 3:1
“See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.”

Romans 8:14-17
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”

Fight those who persecute you by praying for them.

Matthew 5:44
“But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you”

I know that it is tough to overcome, when you are in it, but remember He has already removed you from the real darkness.

Colossians 1:13-14

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption,^[e] the forgiveness of sins.

Remember that our time here is short and we are just passing through. This to will come to pass.

James 4:13-15

13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

Leave the past where it is. The moment that you asked God for forgiveness and accepted Jesus as your savior, God left the past in the past. I have to tell you that like everyone else, I still struggle with sin. However, some of the greatest thorns that I had were in my younger years. While I still have to fight against temptation to overcome it, once I recognized that it was a lie of the enemy, the devil, to believe that my past sins are still some thing for which I need to be forgiven, it got easier to look at the devil and say that is my old man. I have taken him off and covered myself with Jesus. Maybe I am assuming to much as to what you are thinking or how you feel. Some how though, knowing that nothing happens by chance and all is ordained by God, as I look back to my latter teen age years at the peak of my rebellion and sin filled life when I got in trouble and was arrested, I tend to believe it was for such a time as this. It took me years to get beyond the feeling that I was worthless and punishing myself over and over for my past sins. After I accepted Christ and grew in my walk, I truly came to understand that God has forgiven my sins, past, present and future with the blood of Christ. Yes, I stumble, but God helps me back up and reminds me to press on for the prize.

Psalm 103:11-12

11For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Jonathan's State Bowling Tournament-His attitude ranked #1

2008-06-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

I wanted to thank you for supporting Jonathan's trip to the State Bowling Tournament through your contribution to the candy fund raiser and prayer. Above all else, we had fun and he maintained a positive attitude, which both gave glory to God and through perseverance got him through all 9 games on Saturday and Sunday.

Jonathan went into the tournament with a 92 average and his highest game of 142. Saturday afternoon was the team series. He bowled right around his average for all 3 of those games. With each roll of his ball, whether he knocked down all the pins or none of the pins, he always had a positive attitude. Sunday was a much longer afternoon with doubles followed by singles. He and his partner both did really well during doubles but Jonathan was on fire. Playing next to Jonathan were some children who were right around his age or younger. They came from a school where parents pay over $100/ hour to have their kids taught to become expert bowlers. We found that out after the game from JoJo's coach. One of the boys who was younger than JoJo even mentioned to him that his average was some where above 130 and it showed. However, Jonathan realized that for this boy, bowling was his life. Now Jonathan loves bowling, but it is certainly not his life and while he finds joy in it, it is not the source of his true joy.

Jonathan truly understood that his focus was not to be on what other people are able to do but on what is his personal best at the time. He gave his personal best. Forget the average of the children playing next to Jonathan and remember that his average going into this was 92 and personal best was 142.

In the doubles tournament, he bowled a 112, 120 and 147. In the Singles series, every game was above his average. While I watched him, I had to fight off tears. Not because he was doing so well, but because of his attitude. There were frames where he missed plenty of pins, but rather than gloating on it, he moved onto the next frame and left the last one in the past where it was. Realizing that he can only effect the future throws and not the past ones. He was not out there worrying about being better than everyone else. He was out there giving his personal best and having fun. What a great lesson he taught me over the weekend. I have thrown some real gutter balls in my life but God resets the pins and lets me try again. He never gives up on me. He loves me just the same whether I bowl a strike and knock down every pin he wanted me to or I fell at the fowl line and guttered again. All He asks is that I get back up, focus on the next frame and aim for every pin that he put up for me.

I am not sure where Jonathan ranked yet but in my book, he ranked #1 with his attitude of the heart.

My absolute favorite part of the whole weekend came with the car ride home, when Jonathan thanked me no less than 5 times for taking him and spending time with him. He especially appreciated that I showed him a little trust by letting him go up the elevator to the room a couple of times with a friend to get some thing he brought, while I waited in the lobby where we hung out Saturday evening. What I thought was a small thing was huge to him. It made me realize that if Jonathan could be so excited by some thing so small that his earthly father did for him, how much more excited should I be for what my heavenly father has done for me.

Thanks again for all your support!

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember, God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

Pray to Be the Invisible Man or Woman

2008-06-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I had only intended to blog primarily Monday through Friday but we need encouragement every day. However, this will be an abbreviated blog, which I am sure many of you are calling a sermon. Some dear friends of ours, The Konsavages, who many of you know because they are an extended part of our body at TPCC have a family blog that Misti keeps up with just about every day. Her most recent posting was on The Invisible Woman. Below is the link. Please view it before reading on. I promise that I will keep it very short as the video says it all. And yes Kim, even you need to watch the video even though I know you recently saw it. It is full of rich truths that we all need to be reminded of over and over and over. When you go to the link, you will see a small screen for the video. At the bottom of that little screen are buttons. Please click the button on the right for the full screen image. This will keep you from being distracted by the garbage off to the right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YU0aNAHXP0

Good stuff! May it be a constant reminder that it is the things that we do that appear unseen that bring the most glory to God. We just need to do what God is calling us to do and leave the rest to Him. We can only plant the seeds and harvest the fields, it is for God to bring the rain. I was going to copy a scripture reference that I had in mind but God led me to a different one. It is deep but focus on the words "boasteth" and "humble".

1: Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2: The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
3: For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
4: The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
5: His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6: He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
7: His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
8: He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
9: He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10: He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
11: He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
12: Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
13: Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
14: Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
15: Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16: The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
17: LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

Psalms 10:1-18

It is not about us and the recognition for any great works do not belong to us. They should go to the One who paid the price for them and us on the cross. Let's pray that we are all invisible men and women and that people look right through us and see Jesus.

Final thought for every day:

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever share with anyone.

I Pray that You Have Been Rejected!

2008-06-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

Before I get into today's devotion, I want to clarify some thing that I wrote yesterday and when I went back to read it, I realized it came out way wrong. I can't stress, the "way wrong" enough. There was a portion of my devotion intended to express that I have a long way to go to be any where near being the best husband, but it came out as if I thought I were the best husband. Jesus is my example of how to treat your bride and I have a long way to go to ever be there.

Now to my prayer for you. I pray that you have been rejected. Why in the world would I ever pray such a horrible thing for you? Why, because I love you and I want you to share in His glory with me. Jesus said himself that the world hated him and it will hate us for proclaiming His name.

John 15

18"^(Y)If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

19"If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but ^(Z)I chose you out of the world, ^(AA)because of this the world hates you.

20"Remember the word that I said to you, '^(AB)A slave is not greater than his master ' If they persecuted Me, ^(AC)they will also persecute you; if they ^(AD)kept My word, they will keep yours also.

21"But all these things they will do to you ^(AE)for My name's sake, ^(AF)because they do not know the One who sent Me.

22"^(AG)If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

23"He who hates Me hates My Father also.

24"^(AH)If I had not done among them ^(AI)the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.

25"But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their ^(AJ)Law, '^(AK)THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.'

26"When the ^(AL)Helper comes, ^(AM)whom I will send to you from the Father, that is ^(AN)the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, ^(AO)He will testify about Me,

27and ^(AP)you will testify also, because you have been with Me ^(AQ)from the beginning.

The Apostle Paul was also rejected. He tells it best in 2 Corinthians Chapter 6.

6:1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,

"In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you."

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in any one's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

11 We have spoken freely to you, [1] Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 13 In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

Wow! Paul suffered a horrible rejection with beatings and imprisonment. You can read more about this in Chapter 8 of "Rejoicing in Rejection" starting at page 54. Of course, do not be surprised if you find your self reading beyond Chapter 8 in one sitting. If you want to get the most out of reading it, go to page 198 and answer the study questions. For those of you getting this in email form, I have attached a copy in case you do not have yours handy. For those who are reading this on my blog, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will tell you how you to can obtain a copy of this life changing book for you and those you love.

Allow me to share with you a personal experience of being rejected in the work place and how God placed his hedge of protection around me through it all. Because this will end up on my blog and there is no way of knowing who will come across it, I will not use names. However, that said, anyone who knows me, could easily put two and two together and figure it out. So please pray for me because that in and of itself is bold. But I fear God and not man. If He has given me an experience to share, I am going to share it.

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

A year ago, I was blessed with a move to another department via a position that I applied for. What I thought I was doing at the time was attempting to move up the ladder and grow so that I could advance. Of course, as God is accustomed to do, He uses our circumstances in ways we can never imagine. When I accepted the new position, it meant moving to another department in another building. While I would still work with the many great people with whom I had built a relationship over the prior two years, I would not get to see them very often and was going to miss them. So, I sent them an email expressing my appreciation for them and in particular, how they showed me Jesus in the way they treated me and others. Thankfully, there are many people at my work who the spirit made it clear to me were either believers or looking for the reason for my joy.

Now, before I get into what happened next, it is important to know the nature of my prior position. I was in collections for two years at my present company. I would venture to guess that when most people hear the word collector they twinge. However, in business or at least the one that I have the pleasure of being a party to, collections is more about resolving issues with clients rather then collecting funds. If you resolve the issues, the funds almost always follow. A big part of resolving issues is in determining who is the applicable person at both the client's site and internally at the company for which I work. Often, that involves people at a CFO or VP level. I found great success in leaving follow up messages and emails.

So, when I, along with my boss got called into the office of my boss's boss and was told that he needed to speak with me about an email that I sent, I instantly thought he was going to tell me that I upset some VP or CFO. Keep in mind, that in the many years that I did collections both here and else where, there was only about one or two times that I was cautioned about the format of an email. I guess that I have the gift of diplomacy. At first, I was shocked that it was the very email that I sent to my friends as my way of encouraging them and telling them that I would miss there smiling faces. As I said, the Lord had His hedge of protection around me. My immediate boss was and is a Christian. In fact, she recently married a wonderful man who is a pastor. My boss's boss had no clue who was on the email because I had done a Blind Carbon Copy, much like I do with these emails as to prevent that endless response from people. Please do not take that to mean that I do not desire and appreciate your response to me. Once I told him that I had sent it to my friends that I was sure would not be offended by scripture reference, he expressed that his only concern was that someone would go to HR.

Now, I do not know whether it was that bold email that did it, but people began to more openly express their love for Jesus. In fact, I was extremely convicted. One of the people that I copied, I never really knew that he was a Christian until as a gift for my promotion, he gave me a leadership book that uses the scriptures as the proper way to lead. It is called, "On Track Leadership" by John Kramp. It was the most wonderful book. I read it and have thanked him several times since, including recently, when I congratulated him on his engagement and gave him a copy of "Rejoicing in Rejection" as a gift. Then, God totally amazed me and gave me one word of wisdom to share with him. I told him that if you reflect on this word every day of your married life, nothing will ever come between you. That word is "agape". Agape is the unconditional love that Christ had for the church when He died for her. It was not until after I shared that with him that I thought,"Wow, maybe I am growing from being in the word."

So, if you ever find yourself being rejected, praise God for it. On the other hand, if you never find yourself being rejected, ask God, "why not?" I would encourage you to read all of James Chapter 1, but here is a small portion of it. As it applies to today's devotion, we can look at temptation as being tempted to think that being rejected is a bad thing, when in fact, it brings glory to the father when dealt with in a biblical approach.

1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

9Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

10But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

11For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

12Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

End of Quote.

Final thought for every day:

Allowing God to Build Your Inner Circle

2008-06-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

Today's blog is dedicated to Matt and Rachel Hires as they prepare to leave for CA for a short while as God continues to use and grow their ministry. My prayer is that they and all of us will always see every thing that we do, what ever job God places us in as our ministry. It just so happens that Matt and Rachel's ministry has the potential to reach a much larger audience. But they are prepared and equipped for such a time as this. It is by no coincidence(a word that I am not even sure why it exists, since it is a word with no truth behind it) that God is building up Matt's Inner Circle in CA. The same state that tried to enforce legislation to require that parents who homeschool their children have and maintain teacher's certification. I have said it before and will say it again, we parents have the certification to teach our children and it has been granted to us from the highest authority and the text book is found in the scriptures. We teach our children about the Lord and He will equip them with all the knowledge that they need for Godly success. Matt and Rachel know about the Lord and that was not a knowledge that they gained in any public school. That great knowledge came from their parents who laid down their lives for their children and ensured that they received the truth.

Matt and Rachel- We pray that God keeps watch over you and goes before you to make a way. In fact, we are certain that He already has. He has big plans for you and as long as you always remember to stay focused on His plans and not your own, you will achieve Godly success. The world has its own idea of false success in material things like money. Unfortunately, they do not realize that you can not take worldly success with you when you go, but Godly success has its treasure being stored up in Heaven waiting for you. I pray that He continues to fill your "inner circle" with people who not only know this but live by this. Through you both, the world will come to see that home schooled children are by no means isolated and anti-social and what you will be able to share with them through your music is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that came from being grounded in the truth.

Matthew 6:19-24: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The lamp of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be healthy, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and money."

I have already eluded to the idea of allowing God to build your inner circle and hopefully we can all already see its importance. We all need an inner circle to spur us on, encourage us and even rebuke us at times in love. This is all part of accountability to each other. So, who should be a part of your inner circle and what about those who are not in it? I will touch only briefly on who should not be in it and what that means. You are likely asking yourself,"does he actually know what brief is?" I do but have a hard time applying it. Sitting in the front row makes it difficult to fall asleep during a sermon without getting caught and builds a tolerance for long sermons and a desire to hear more.

For those not in our inner circle, we should still constantly reach out to them and pray for them. The idea of an inner circle is that it is those people that you know you can trust to draw you closer to the Lord and be used to help you grow in your walk. If you are doing what God intends, at some point, even people who are not a part of your inner circle and you interact with them on a regular basis, should become a part of your inner circle in a transparent way noticed only to God and eventually to you. Many of the people in my inner circle did not start out that way. Please remember that they had to be equally willing to allow me to become a part of their inner circle. If you do not open yourself up, nobody can force you to do so.

Here is my top three list of those who should be a part of your inner circle and where they should stand in your daily routine of reaching out to them.

3) Friends who know and love the Lord should be a part of your inner circle. Where do you find these friends? You will certainly not find them sitting at home on Sunday believing in Lone Ranger Christianity. They should be brothers and sisters in Christ serving the same true God who are actively involved in the body. Are they or do they have to be perfect? Since that is impossible, the answer is absolutely not. I am blessed that TPCC as small of a body as we are, I have several people that fit into this category. They know how flawed an individual I am and the king of sinners that I am, but they love me any way. By the same token, they to are flawed and know they are sinners and yet I love them, unconditionally. That is called agape love. That is the love that Christ had for the church when He died for her. That is the kind of love that I have the privilege of experiencing in my inner circle. It is not always green pastures and there are times when we challenge each other but we recognize that it is not about us but about Jesus.

Man's chief end is to glorify God, [a] and to enjoy him for ever. [b]

[a]. Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 6:20; 10:31; Rev. 4:11

[b]. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil. 4:4; Rev. 21:3-4

2) Your best friend should be a huge part of your inner circle. It is OK to have more than one best friend but for those of us who are married, our spouses should be our best friend. Matt and Rachel in the newlywed stage of their marriage already get this and are blessed with this. Of course, they had their parents as role models. That is why as parents it is important that we not only talk the talk but we walk the walk.

I found an interesting excerpt on "walk the walk".

Aristotle's followers are said to have discussed philosophy while walking about with him—hence their name: "peripatetics." I suppose they could be have been said to "walk the talk."

For the rest of us, the saying is "if you're going to talk the talk, you've got to walk the walk"—a modern version of old sayings like "actions speak louder than words" and "practice what you preach." Another early form of the expression was "walk it like you talk it." End of Quote.

I am by far the best husband but I recognize that it is when I am not just listening to the words of wisdom from my best friend and wife, whom the Lord speaks to me through but also apply them, that is when God shows me all His beauty from the mountain top. In the scriptures, the mountains were where God did many things to bring glory to His name. God wants us to meet him at the mountain top, but to do so, we need to take our wives by the hand and take them with us to help locate the roots that we use to pull ourselves onward and upward. I found a great site on scriptures about mountains. I will only reference two here but the link is http://www.discoveret.org/tnleaf/scripturereading.htm

We too find God in our mountains.
Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy. (Exodus 19:23)

For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. (Isaiah 25:10)

1) Finally,(yes, I know this word) Who should be the number one person in your Inner Circle? I know that most of you are already saying His name- Jesus. Did you know that Jesus wants to be our Best Friend?

We praise Jesus, worship Him, and serve Him, But friendship is what Jesus wants most of all. Jesus' last message to His disciples was that He wants to be our friend. (John 15:15)

Go to http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=15 to read all of John Chapter 15 but here is the part that most stood out to me as I share this daily devotion with you.

12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

Take this top three list and reflect on it every day. Build your inner circle by not only accepting agape but sharing agape.

May you see my love for you as filled with agape.

Can you Google,"your way into heaven"?

2008-06-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

Greeting Brothers!

OK, so hopefully right off, you are a little concerned with the title and thinking,"Jesus is the only way into heaven." Hopefully, you are wondering,"where is he going with this?" Well, you will have to wait just a minute while I pause with a brief interlude.

Yesterday, I sent what I felt has become my calling to share a daily devotion or nearly daily with the body of Christ at TPCC and whom ever it happened to make it to. As I expected, it was quickly followed by the voice of the liar, we know as Satan. He quickly told me that nobody would want to hear what I was saying, it was goofy, I am out in left field, people are going to want me thrown out of the body and on and on. Well brothers, I also heard the voice of truth. Casting Crowns says it best.

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

Stand with me brothers as I choose to listen and believe the voice of truth- Jesus!

God knows what we need, when we need it. Last night, one of my dear brothers immediately called me out on my request to be called out and he called me. There is a tongue twister for you. Say that ten times really fast. My brother reiterated what I needed to hear and agreed that accountability is needed amongst us men. Real accountability where we tell one another not what we want to hear but what we need to hear. We need to hold one another accountable in a way that reflects Pastor Billy's teachings. Billy does not get up behind the pulpit on Sunday worrying about whom he may or may not offend. He does not get behind the pulpit on Sunday after spending a week praying about how he can tickle our ears with warm fuzzy words about how God is love. Sure, there are times when the Lord puts words in his mouth that do come out warm and fuzzy and encourage us. But, he always gives us the true representation of the real Jesus and not one that he conjured up. Yes, thank the Lord that God is love but he is also a God of grace, mercy and wrath because He is a just God. I was going to copy a lengthy sermon on God's wrath but instead I would invite you to go to the link http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Attributes/attrib_16.htm Here is a small sampling just in case the link does not work and to give you a flavor for how exciting I believe the sermon is.

"It is sad to find so many professing Christians who appear to regard the wrath of God as something for which they need to make an apology, or at least they wish there were no such thing. While some would not go so far as to openly admit that they consider it a blemish on the Divine character, yet they are far from regarding it with delight, they like not to think about it, and they rarely hear it mentioned without a secret resentment rising up in their hearts against it. Even with those who are more sober in their judgment, not a few seem to imagine that there is a severity about the Divine wrath which is too terrifying to form a theme for profitable contemplation. Others harbor the delusion that God's wrath is not consistent with His goodness, and so seek to banish it from their thoughts.

Yes, many there are who turn away from a vision of God's wrath as though they were called to look upon some blotch in the Divine character, or some blot upon the Divine government. But what saith the Scriptures? As we turn to them we find that God has made no attempt to conceal the fact of His wrath. He is not ashamed to make it known that vengeance and fury belong unto Him. His own challenge is, "See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand. For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, I live forever, If I whet My glittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to Mine enemies, and will reward them that hate Me" (Deut. 32:39-41). A study of the concordance will show that there are more references in Scripture to the anger, fury, and wrath of God, than there are to His love and tenderness. Because God is holy, He hates all sin; And because He hates all sin, His anger burns against the sinner: Psalm 7:11." End of Quote.

So, please help me to remain accountable in sharing the true Jesus. That means that you will have to read these regular devotions, which I will do my best to make nearly daily and as interesting as possible. You will also have to check the scriptures yourself to be sure that I have not taken any thing out of context. If I have, call me out on it. Nothing can be more important than being in the word because that is where we get our instructions on how to live for the Lord. If I am committing to you to bring regular devotions and true devotions lead by the spirit, then I have to be in the word and in return, you are getting the word.

I have decided that I am not going to take it upon myself to send these to the whole body. The emails that Susan sends should be for the important business of prayer for urgent needs and major events. Now, I am not saying that accountability and being in the word are not major events but I think that what comes from Susan should be separate from what comes from me. Therefore, for now, I will send this to only the elders and deacons (both current and future). If anyone needs encouragement and prayer, it is each of you. Since I do believe that these should go to most if not all the church, I would ask that if any of the deacons agree, he would be lead by the spirit to put the word out to the body that if they want to be on the email to get regular devotions from me, they need to email me and ask to be added to the list. In fact, my wonderful wife is going to create a blog for me and anyone who goes to it can sign up to get an email every time there is an update.

Now, I will get back to the topic that I hopee has you scratching your head and a bit fearful. Of course, since the interlude itself was an entire day's worth of devotion and a separate sermon, you may want to wait until tomorrow to find out if you can Google,"your way into heaven?"

Well, I am here to tell you that yes, you can Google, "your way into heaven." Hopefully, at this very moment there is at least one elder or deacon, either picking up the phone to call me or call another deacon or elder to say, "John either needs to recant this statement or he is out of the body of TPCC effective this Sunday." Hold on, my phone is ringing. It's Billy. Billy, I hope you do not mind that I plan to type what ever you are calling me about. Billy says that he just called to say,"you now hold the record for being kicked out of TPCC more times then anyone else." No, Billy is not really on my phone, yet and did not really say that. I had you going though, did I not.

Here it is. I Googled, "your way into heaven" for you. In doing so, I found that many people believe to have found some false ideas of how to get into heaven, such as, buying their way into heaven, working their way into heaven or just doing it their way.

I was encouraged that many of the links pointed to Jesus as the way in spite some of the very scary titles. My favorite was a blurb or another sermon on someone getting into heaven their own way. It is long but filled with many great scripture references. Before I copy it, because it is rather long, it speaks for itself so I will say no more after it. I pray that your day is filled with many opportunities to share His truth and God gives you the boldness to do so. Remember there is only one way into heaven and many will only find it through your sharing Jesus with them.

"I'll get into heaven my way!"

No you won't so you can stop lying to yourself. People do all kinds of things hoping that they'll make it into heaven (or that at least they'll escape hell)...
Some of 'em try to live a good life.
Some of 'em worship and pray to Mary and saints.
Some of 'em go to the Kingdom Hall.
Some of 'em listen to Joseph Smith, some to Ellen White, some to Muhammad.
Some of 'em go to Tibet or to spirit guides to find the hidden wisdom.
Some of 'em go to Mecca to throw stones at the devil.
Some of 'em practice voodoo, santeria, and palo mayombe.
Some of 'em crawl on their knees for 10 miles till they are raw and bloody.
Some of 'em open up a prayer book for 5 minutes every week and read what's on the page.
Some of 'em go to an organizational meeting once a week thinking/hoping it commends them to God.
Some of 'em chant to scrolls.
Some of 'em give the Catholic religion all their material possessions and enter a convent or monastery to live the life of an ascetic.
Some of 'em try to help old ladies across the street every chance they get.
Some of 'em try to practice "sensless acts of beauty and random acts of kindness" (that silly slogan people put on bumper stickers).
Some of 'em go along with whatever their parents' taught them. "My mom and dad raised me that way." (that don't mean it's right)
Some of 'em go along with whatever the school system taught them--"A monkey is my uncle? Oh, okay. I believe that. I reject God. A monkey is my uncle, a monkey is my uncle."

All these people got something in common. The Bible calls each one a
THIEF and a ROBBER.

When you want to get into somebody's home, you've got one of two choices. You will either go in the proper way (invited through the door) OR you will break in some other way. A welcomed person will come in through the door. If it is 3 a.m., and you hear a racket from the kitchen window, that ain't grandma comin' over to fix Sunday dinner. That is a thief and a robber. How does the strongman of the house treat a thief and a robber? Does he say, "Come on in my friend. Ravish my wife and destroy my children. Take all my goods and my life."? Nay. The strongman does not consider the thief and robber his friend. The thief and robber is his enemy and the strongman will seek to utterly destroy the intruder. Either come in through the door or else you're a thief and a robber.
John 10:1, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Heaven is God's home. And every home got a door. The Door to God's home got a name. His name is Jesus--
"I AM THE DOOR: BY ME IF ANY MAN ENTER IN, HE SHALL BE SAVED..."
Jesus, John 10:9

JESUS IS the door. If you are trying to get into God's home (heaven) any other way besides the Lords Jesus, He considers you a thief and a robber. Oooh wee! Trying to break into God's home? Talk about a Strongman--God is a THE Strongman! A thief can trick me and catch me unawares but God WON'T be tricked or caught unawares. He won't be overpowered either. He'll be doing the overpowering. God is all powerful. He don't even have to lift a finger to kill you and fling your hind parts into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. God is all knowing. He even knows your very thoughts and intents. He knew 'em all before you were even born. You won't be able to even think about robbing Him without Him knowing it. God is everywhere and sees everything. You won't be able to dig a tunnel and sneak into His home. You can't make "your own path" to get to Him. Even if you try your feeble hardest, you will not be successful. To sum it up--
You will not make it into God's heaven "your way". It will be His way or the lake of fire.

Yes, the Bible says that there is a Door to God's home. His name is Jesus and you must go through Him to get into heaven--
"NO MAN cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME."

--JESUS CHRIST, JOHN 14:6

I hope that Frank Sinatra did not do it the way he sang in, "I Did It My Way". If he did, he is wishing RIGHT NOW that he didn't do it his way.
Okay, let's further explore this. If you wanted to meet Slick Willy (President Clinton)--would you enter the White House "your way"? Mmmm? Or would you get a bunch of buckshot in your hind parts as you attempted it? Let's say you wanted to have fellowship with Britain's Queen Mother. Would you just walk into Buckingham Palace "your way" and truly expect to get in? How about this--you want to get a view of the most secret rooms in the Kremlin. Will you strut in "your way" or will they send you to Siberia? How about Fort Knox? If you wanted to have the riches in Fort Knox, would you make it in "your way" or would you get a bullet through your head as you attempted to steal? Now...
Heaven is the home of THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE. If you can't even walk in the White House "your way", what makes you think you'll get in GOD'S HOME "your way"? Ain't no thief and robber going to be coming in defiling His home. There is no contest between your weakness and God's strength. He knows everything. He's everywhere. He is all powerful. He cannot be tricked. If you try creepin' up into His home uninvited you will be considered the thief and robber that you are. No one can overtake Him unawares and no one is powerful enough to bind Him and spoil His goods. What will the Strongman do to the thief and the robber? He will say unto you--
"...Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41

And He is also going to say this--
Matthew 22:13 "...Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Don't be fooled. God is not mocked by your vain gyrations trying to make it into His home "your way". He has given you THE WAY. His name is Jesus. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way..." God has given you His word. It is called The Holy Bible--King James 1611. You either accept it all and live in accordance with what it says or you will perish. This includes all the people that claim to be Christians and are not. They say, "I believe in Jesus". That ain't enough--the Bible says, "the devils believe and tremble". You must REPENT turning from your wicked ways and you must say "yes" to Jesus.

"I tell you...except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:3
I also hear from people who claim to be Christians, but they do not believe the whole Bible. It don't work like that. You believe and accept it all or you reject it all. God has not given you the option of choosing what your feeble brain likes and don't like in His word. If you call yourself a Christian and your life has continued on as it was before "you became a Christian", you are probably a thief and a robber. You've been deceiving your own self--
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

If you are a thief and a robber when you die, your pleas for mercy will not get you into heaven. Beggin' won't work. You will have rejected Jesus all your life and when it comes time to pay the piper (Satan) for your rebellion YOU WILL PAY. Jesus will cast you screamin', hollerin', and weepin' into your eternal home which is the lake of fire. If you do not enter by the door, God considers you His enemy--
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the WRATH of God abideth on him.

If you love this world and consider it your friend, you are an enemy of God--
James 4:4 ...know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

A child of God won't follow thieves and the robbers. I hear from the thieves and robbers all the time, but I don't know their voice. Jesus said
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. John 10:5

If you are a thief and a robber or if you are listening to the voice of a thief and a robber, IT IS NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU. Believe the Bible, repent, take up your cross and follow Jesus. See our article on eternal life. Thieves and robbers will not make it into heaven. You will not make it in "your way".
ASIDE:

People say, "Yours is a religion of fear." Well my friend, fear is a good thing and you exercise it everyday. Fear keeps you from stepping off of a cliff. Fear keeps you from sticking your hand on a burnin' hot stove top. Fear keeps you from running stoplights. Fear of failure or poverty makes you stay in school to get an education. These temporal fears keep you from temporal dangers. Do these fears hurt you? No, they help you and help the society you live in. The fear of the Lord does much more. It will keep you from the number one gravest danger--being thrown into the lake of fire to be tormented for all eternity. The fear of the Lord will also make you wise. Read about the perfect fear of the Lord--
Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge...
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil...
Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
Proverbs 16:6 ...by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

Fear God and live. Read His word and obey it. Jesus Christ is the Lord. Bow your knee to Him now while you have the opportunity or else you will bow to Him on your way to the lake of fire. If you ain't saved, you have no peace. Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to be fulfilled and He is the ONLY way to escape the wrath to come.

End of Quote and my final thought for every day.

Deacons - Their Role in Revival

2008-06-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Greeting Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

I hope you don't mind what has now become a daily devotion from me. It is keeping me in the Word and truly helping me to grow closer to the Lord and developing a more and more personal relationship with Him and I pray that it
is encouraging you to do the same.

I have had the honor and privilege of attending TPCC for 14 years now. I have only been kicked out once but allowed back in so hopefully that is a good sign. In case there are any new members copied on this, everyone who was a member was kicked out about a year ago, so that we could start a new membership with everyone on board serving one God with the same purpose of glorifying God and enjoying him forever. It was lead by the spirit to ensure that those of us who call ourselves a member of this body understand what that means and the obligation that we are committing ourselves to serve Christ and each other. If He could lay His life down for us, then as believers, we need to do the same for each other.

So, why do I even mention that I have been attending TPCC for 14 years and am once again a member? Well, hopefully it is a good indication that I have been around long enough to see God at work in this part of the body. I have observed many changes, some good and some not so good. However, as God is so perfect at doing, He has worked out the good and the bad in accordance with His perfect plan. Of the changes that I have observed, the most glorious change, which has and is continuing to bring revival is in the willingness of the men to step up and stop letting the women take charge.

Up until a few short years ago, almost every time there was a significant event or an opportunity to share, it could either be traced back to a woman or involved women sharing. There is nothing wrong with women being actively involved in the ministry and helping to spread the gospel. What is wrong is when we, the men of the church, allow them to take charge of every thing and sit idly by. Our children need to see us men actively involved and giving our lives for the church and Christ. God built us men to be stronger and designed us the way He did for a reason. Our wives want and need us to lead. Our boys in particular need us to lead by example.

Enough of the preaching on this subject because for most of the men, they have come to understand this. Next Sunday, is an important day. The members of TPCC have the responsibility and obligation to appoint Godly men into the role of "deacon". Before I say any more, please take a minute to read the few scriptures below about the role of a deacon.

BIBLICAL USAGE OF THE WORD "DEACON"

For practical purposes we can say that the term "deacon" is used in the N.T. primarily in two ways:

1. Deacon refers to Christian workers in general. In the following verses diakonos is translated "minister": Ro. 16:1; 1 Co. 3:5; Ro. 16:1; 2 Co. 3:4,6; 11:23; Ep. 3:7; Col. 1:23; 1 Th. 3:2; and 1 Ti. 4:6. Diakonos is translated "servant" in Col. 4:12. In all of these verses the Greek word diakonos is used, and in each case the reference is to Gospel preachers and
Christian workers in general. In this sense, we see that the Apostle Paul, Timothy, Epaphras, and other preachers were called "deacons." Yea, every Christian is to be a deacon, a servant, in this general sense—a servant of Christ, a minister of the Gospel to a lost world of men, a humble worker in the church.

2. Deacon also refers to a certain office in the church. The work of a deacon, in the general sense of being a servant to Christ and the church, is that of every Christian; but there is also the office of a deacon spoken of in the N.T.—an office with definite and high standards, and an office which only properly qualified and chosen Christians are to hold (Ph. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:13). It is in this sense that the word "deacon" is most commonly used today.

***** We need to pray against the attack of the enemy, which will come against the five men being voted into the office of Deacon. We need to also be mindful that while the rest of us men, may not have the spoken title of Deacon, not only are we still called to be deacons or servants but we owe it to our brothers to support them, pray for them and back them up.

1 Timothy Chapter 3

What sort of men are to be admitted into the clergy. The Church is the pillar of truth.

English (Douay-Rheims)

1 A faithful saying: If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth good work. 2 It behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher, Of one wife.... The meaning is not that every bishop should have a wife (for St. Paul himself had none), 3 Not given to wine, no striker, but modest, not quarrelsome, not covetous, but 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all chastity. 5 But if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of
God? 6 Not a neophyte: lest, being puffed up with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil. A neophyte.... That is, one lately baptized, a young convert. 7 Moreover, he must have a good testimony of them who are without: lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8 Deacons in like manner: chaste, not double tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre: 9 Holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience. 10 And let these also first be proved: and so let them minister, having no crime. 11 The women in like manner: chaste, not slanderers, but sober, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife: who rule well their children and their own houses. 13 For they that have ministered well shall purchase to themselves a good degree and much confidence in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

*** I in no way, shape or form claim to be perfect as only One ever has been or ever will be. I am the king of sinners. However, I have done my best to struggle against the flesh and the busyness that comes after service lets out on Sunday to get to know as many of the men as possible in a more personal way. I know that I could do better and ask that you pray for me on
this. In fact, if you feel that I have not taken the time to get to know you better as my brother in Christ, please call me out on it. That said, like you, I did not know the name of the candidates for the office of deacon until this past Sunday. However, I did recognize the names of the five men and none came as a surprise to me nor did they strike fear in my soul. As each name was read, I thanked the Lord for giving TPCC what I knew was another Godly man to help serve and lead the body. Now, each of these men was already serving the body. Make no doubt about that. What I see making it a public proclamation as doing is allowing us the body to recognize their major roles and reminding us of our obligation to pray for them and support
them. They are the role models that our children, particularly are boys, need. Each of the men mentioned have influenced me and at different times given me the support and encouragement I needed at the moment I needed it. I have no doubt that they have done this for many others.

Acts 6

The Choosing of the Seven

1In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."

5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen Seized

8Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and
Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

11Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."

12So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."

15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

In closing, this last scripture is a clear indication and reminder that those of us who choose to step up into positions of authority and stand firm on the truth, will come up against trials, tribulations and persecution. Over the last few weeks as I have shared more and more of my faith, I have struggled against this growing feeling of depression struggling with this
growing feeling of joy. I then remembered back to a sermon Pastor Billy did a few years back when he mentioned that if every thing is all hunky dory, then maybe you are not really walking in the spirit. For me, this struggle is conformation that I am in deed taking up my cross and following Jesus. The enemy does not like what I am doing and saying. To the five men who have
my vote on Sunday, I say, "remember that Christ also suffered and endured all these things." God is always with us and never leaves us. We need only trust in Him, pray for each other and back each other up. This is why Lone Ranger Christianity or the idea that you can serve and worship God from home is nonsense. If I ever fail to step up where and when you need me, call me out.

To those who think that life has dealt you nothing but lemons, remember God has given us all gifts and once we discover what they are, we can use them to turn the lemons into lemonade. That lemonade is Jesus and He is the sweetest drink that you can ever give anyone.

Calloused Knees

The earth may quake but our spirits won't shake- Honduras, here we come!

Trust in God's timing-after all,only it is perfect

Providence-Even a hospital trip is all part of God's great plan

What size faith will it take to get one father and 2 children to Honduras for a Missions trip?

What Is the Meaning of Life?

Merry Christmas! Fix your eyes on the event and not the holiday

Nothing is impossible with God!

To Haiti With Katy

Riddle of the day! What two words are missing from the statement, " these are scary times in which we live"?

Now hiring: The best paying job guaranteed to survive any financial crisis!

God brings comfort in many ways - He brought mine as a pillow from a friend.

16 is My Favorite Number...At Least Until Next Year!!

The Crown of Life

Eight is enough! Or is it?

The waves have passed and I'm still standing on the rock!

This is not yesterday!

Blind Faith - Let Jesus Be Your Eyes

Don't be left out-Get the complete picture behind God's truth.

Carpooling-Much more than an act of convenience

60 Seconds Can Change An Eternity

Quality Beats Quantity Every Time

Only One Way to Heaven But More Than One Door With Jesus

God Uses Our Physical Bodies Like the Burning Bush

True Greatness is ALL Around Us!

The Greatest Reference Letter

Life is a Roller Coaster, But If God is Your Tracks, "No Worries"!

When will it be to late to use your gift?

5 Steps Away from CEO but Only One Step from God

Prayer of Reconciliation

God's Favorite Name Must Be Father!

Nothing Fancy - He is just the truth!

The Workers Are Few

A toast to what was to have been toast on Father's Day

Millions "may" view my blog, but it is enough if it is only "1".

Don't Allow Your Brother to Miss the Blessing in His Life - Call Him Out!

We are all in prison by sin but Jesus holds the key and all you have to do is ask for it

Jonathan's State Bowling Tournament-His attitude ranked #1

Pray to Be the Invisible Man or Woman

Psalms 10:1-18

I Pray that You Have Been Rejected!

Allowing God to Build Your Inner Circle

Can you Google,"your way into heaven"?

Deacons - Their Role in Revival