I Love You

A couple nights ago I was teaching a class on Lordship. We discussed Jesus' role as Lord of our lives. The theory goes that Jesus had to be one of 3 things: a liar, a lunatic or Lord of all. You will have to either attend Starting Point or ask me personally how that all plays out but it causes some good discussion. During the discussion, the subject came up on loving others. I made the comment that "some people are hard to love." A couple people kind of confronted me on my statement, which is fine by me. I think it came out wrong but it stirred conversation so I did not attempt to correct it. The subject though did stick in my mind. As part of my Bible study today I went to BibleGateway.com and did a word search on the word "love" in the New Testament. In the NIV, the word love is used 258 times in one form or another. I read each verse but the one that really kept haunting me is Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
Now historically for me, this is a tall order. As I get older and spent more time trying to learn about Christ and how He wants me to live, I am learning that I can do this.......if I want to. I have always been a very internally competitive person. I have discovered that this type of personality trait can have a very negative side effect. It makes me judgemental towards others. There are times that I can just look at a person and form an opinion. The biggest problem with that is that the more I get to know people, I find that my first impression is rarely accurate. I have found that usually, I am the idiot, not them.
Not one time have I read where Jesus approaches a person, forms an opinion and then moves on. Even when it says they He "knew their heart," he still took the time to be with them.
If you love someone, you want to know them as well as you can. This requires listening, not talking. I am trying to learn to listen to people. By listening, I am giving myself the chance to get to know them so that I can form an educated opinion of them.
Just 2 verses earlier in Matthew 22:37 it says "Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" I guess that means that if my theory holds true, if I love God, I need to listen to Him.

Are you ready to rumble?

I have been in Zechariah and Luke for the last few weeks. I have been very lazy in my writing but pretty good in my reading. I have found that when I am lazy in my writing, I don't take the time to really read into the scripture. I read it like a catalog and put it down. There is very little effect on my life. Today I read Zechariah 10. Now, Zechariah has been a bit of a struggle for me. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to a "theologically disabled" person like me. I'm sticking it out though because, if the Bible is the inspired word of God, every book can have some application to my life. Maybe I won't get it the first time I read it but maybe when I go back in a year of so, Zechariah will begin to make sense.

Zechariah 10 starts out talking about asking to Lord for rain. "It is the Lord who makes the storm clouds." The people of Israel were a fickle bunch. They would worship God and then over time they would revert back to worshiping "gods." Zechariah reminds them that it is God that brings the rain that waters their crops and, in turn, feeds them. Yet, not unlike us, the Israelites would go back to worshiping whatever god was popular at the time. It's been 2000 years and we have not learned a thing. "God please just give me more money and my life will be good. Then I can live for you." So what happens when we get that big raise at work? We buy a nicer car. We buy a bigger something. Then where are we? Same place. Same faith. Then what do we do? Pray to God again to fix things for us again.

Verse 2 tells us "Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for the lack of a shepherd. My anger burns against the shepherds and I will punish the leaders."

Psalms to Zachariah

I missed my goal of reading 7 days last week by missing two days. I could blame in on being sick but it is hard to blame something that causes you to lay around during your down time on not reading.

This morning I read a little more Psalms and then decided (or was directed) to focus on Zechariah for a while. I am struck by a reoccurring them at the beginning of several Psalms. The writer seems to feel abandoned by God quite often. I really understand how David felt. Just a few weeks ago I felt as far from God as I ever had. With the help of my Elders and Pastor, I remembered that although God may take a step back from a situation to test me, he will never abandon me. He is always there.

As I began to study Zechariah, the second verse of the first chapter is the Lord talking to the people of Israel. God says "Return to me, declares the Lord Almighty, and I will return to you." My God works in amazing ways. His book flows seamlessly and each book just confirms the next. When I was feeling abandoned by God and everyone else, my Brothers reminded me how much God loves me and His timing is beyond our comprehension. When I returned to God, He returned to me and my biggest issue, my schedule, was not only fixed but fixed perfectly.

Michael, your lesson yesterday fit into my life perfectly at a perfect time. Our God is an awesome God and His timing is perfect. We will probably spend the rest of our days trying to figure that out.

Please give me margin!

For the last couple days I have been in Psalms. I think the simple wisdom of how the first chapter opens is amazing. "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked..." If you are anything like me, you are surrounded by non-believers all day. Now, I don't think that most non-believers really try to make you sin intentionally. At least I don't think that is the goal, much of the time. It is not their goal because they usually don't see themselves as sinners. I was having a conversation with a group today that was started by a guy bragging about being an "ex-Catholic." He went on to say, jokingly, that he liked living in sin and debauchery. I replied, "It's not the living in sin that will get you , it is dying in it that will screw you up." Since I just met him yesterday, I didn't really want to start beating him up with a Bible just yet, but at least I know who to start working on. Anyway, how do you witness to someone that thinks it is all funny?
Chapter 3, verse 3 goes on to say "But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head." When I fear talking to someone about God, it is usually because I fear looking stupid or being made fun of. What kind of stupid excuse is that? If God is a shield around me, why should I care what people think of me?
Chapter 4, verse 4 says "In your anger do not sin." This really hit home because I feel like I am at my weakest when I am angry.

It's good to be back.

It was so good to be back at church this week. I have been so hungry, yet I have spent too much time indulging in junk food and not enough time feeding on God's word.

Yesterday there was a reoccurring theme that kept convicting me. It is all about the cross and not about me, my problems or my weaknesses. The enemy had convinced me that I had to spend so much time feeling guilty about my "issues" that there was virtually no focus on God. I know I'm not worthy of His gift, but guess what? God knows it too! People that know me well also know it. God did not send His son to die on the cross to make me feel guilty. He sent Him to pay for my guilt, not add to it. Satan knows my weakness (I guess that should be plural since there are many!) and he hits me in the pity and guilt department with all he's got.

In my study of Galatians 5 today, I read in verse 6 "...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Then onto verse 23 where we are told "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." Note the word "fruit." It is not "fruits." All of the traits given by Paul are one fruit. We don't get to pick and choose which ones we will be good at or want to do. If we are producing real Christlike fruit, we will produce them all.

I am starting to keep a prayer list of my own. It contains certain personal requests I have for God when I talk to Him. The newest one I have is for those that are not able to worship regularly. I'm talking about the people that, because of a career choice or physical issue, just honestly can't be there. I now really understand how those people are targeted by Satan and picked apart from the flock. Now my struggle is not being annoyed with those who don't show up by choice. They have no idea what they are setting themselves up for.

Why am I here?

As I write this I am spending time in praise and prayer. I usually do my praise on Pandora.com and listen to gospel bluegrass music. As I was listening a few minutes ago, an old time favorite of mine came on. The song was "It is well with my soul." As I listened to the words I really prayed for my heart to soften to the point where, no matter the situation I really do want it all to be "well with my soul." As I prepared for the "Take it to the limit" series in my Life Group, I really see how my crowded life takes away from my relationship with God. This praise time really brings it all closer into perspective. My entire purpose really is about Him. Not my family, not church, not the DOC. It is about Him, for Him. I do so many things that are contrary to what I know God wants for me. I pray for strength, wisdom. I really need to be quicker to listen and slower to speak

Conflict Resolution

Galatians 5: 14-17 - "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit desires what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."

Have you ever really wanted to do something but it just seems that you can't get around to it. You just can't make the time. Take for instance studying the Bible. How many times have you made the decision to start studying on a regular basis. "I'm gonna read every day." How long did it last? Did you even get past one week, or a day, or even get started? I'm going to eat healthier and loose some weight.......right after this twinkie!

It is so hard for people to really commit to something. Why? Because we want to be in charge. We want to make the decisions. I don't want to have to actually study the Bible. It would be so much easier if the preacher would just tell me what it says. I don't want to go to the gym to lose weight, I just want to take a pill and go on the Krispy Kreme diet!

I love bluegrass music. A couple years ago, Karen got me a banjo for Christmas. I really tried to learn it but then put it down. A while back I decided to pick it up again and really try to learn it. I even checked into lessons. One day I said a prayer to God that if he would allow me to learn how to play the banjo, I would use it for His glory somehow. (I know, kinda silly but I really meant it.) Wouldn't you know that that was the last day I picked that thing up and it has been several months.

We are told that, as Christians, we will be persecuted. You had better believe that whenever he gets the chance, Satan will try to derail every good plan you make. If it is going to be for the glory of God, Satan will stop at nothing to spoil your plans.

Does that mean that we should stop trying? No way! We know that we will be persecuted. We are told that in 2 Timothy 3:12 "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." If we know it is coming, it should be easier for us to prepare. We trust in Jesus and know that the Bible is the inspired word of God, so why should we be so surprised when life throws us a curve ball just when we thought everything was going our way?

We need to learn to celebrate our trials. If Satan is attacking us, we must be doing something worth attacking. We got his attention!

Back in Galatians 5:6 we are told"....the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

Next time you are under attack, remember to show your faith through loving others. Next time you see me going through a trial, remind me that I wrote this!

Refreshed heart

I have not read Psalms in a long time. I had forgotten how refreshing for the soul it can be. Today I read Psalm 51.

In verse 1 it says "Have mercy on me O God, according to your unfailing love." Unfailing love. That, to me is such a difficult concept to grasp. My love for people is so conditional upon their behavior that I don't understand how God can have an unfailing love. What if God loved people like I do? I know I would not stand a chance to ever see my home in Heaven. I fail Him daily but he is always there to pick me up, dust me off and let me try again.

Verse 18 says "Create in me a pure heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me." This needs to be my prayer every day. Most of the time when I try to walk away from sin, I am only addressing the action of that sin. Where does sin come from? It comes from the heart. Garbage in, garbage out as they say. What you allow your senses to take in, your heart will put out. I think you can fake the funk for a while but sooner or later, a fake is found out for what they really are.

Verses 16 & 17: "You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it, you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are: a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God you will not despise. My actions mean nothing if my heart is not right. I can pretend to be a great Christian, but if my heart is not right with God, it is all a waste of my time.

Change your mind.

I got an e-mail devotional the other day and it was from Romans 12. What really jumped out at me was verse 2. "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." That phrase "transformed by the renewing of your mind" really hit me. I try so hard to change my actions. Without a "change of mind" my actions will never be different than they are right now.

Verse 4 goes on to say "Just as each of us has a body with many members, those members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others."

I really need to have a renewing of my mind, not just for my own benefit, but for the benefit of the body.

I've lost my mind

Ruth Rocks!

Today I read the book of Ruth. As I read, I was not sure why I had chosen this book. By the time I finished, God made it clear, as He usually does. You never know what God has in store for you. I tend to be very short sighted and therefore I don't stop to think that, even in a bad situation, God has big plans for me. We have to look past the present and realize that everything is a small piece to an endless puzzle. Every time I try to trim a piece and make it fit the way I want it to, I screw up the whole picture.

Deuteronomy

My reading has been sporadic this week. it seems as though the more I commit (in my mind) to read, the more stuff that seems to pop up in my life. My heart is good though.

I have been studying Deuteronomy. As I was reading in Chapter 6, verse 24 stood out to me. Moses as talking to the Israelites about the 10 commandments and when had given them. Verse 24 said:

"The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today."

I have a deep love for my God, but what does it mean to fear Him. I don't think it means fear as I know it. It has to be like "awe" or "respect." Maybe I don't "fear" Him as I should. Maybe that is why I am not prospering spiritually or financially.

What is your greatest struggle?

I can't think of a sin that I can't control. I'll never say that I don't sin, I am weak just like everyone. I really think though that every sin I commit is by choice and most of them would be pretty easy to control, if I kept my heart in the right place. I think there may be one exception to that. Hold on though, it's a biggie!

In Matthew 22, the Pharasees ask Jesus what the greatest commandment is. Jesus tells them "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul." That's not really a hard one to try and do. That one is also not my struggle. It is what he said next that has brought me to my knees today. In verse 38 he says "This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the Prophets hang on these commandments."

WOW! I really do have a love for people. But, do I love people? Today I had someone take a strike at me and it made me very angry. It is an attack on me and even more important to me, an attack on my family. My knee jerk reaction is to attack right back. I wanted to say exactly what was on my mind. Neither of these reactions would have been productive and, at least the second reaction, would not have fallen in line with one of God's greatest commandments. You do not attack someone you love.

I guess my question is how do you love someone that is out to harm you and your family? If you go back to Matthew 5:44 we are told "...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." That's not much easier. I can pray though. I ask that you pray for me that I handle this situation in a way that will make God smile.

Don't bite the hand that made you

I have been in Deuteronomy for the past few days. I am stuck on a few verses in chapter 8. Starting in verse 11 it says:
"Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."

Have you ever noticed when thigs are going good, we start to forget about God. We actually start believing that we got to this point on our own. As if we really have control. Yet, what happens when times get rough? Who is the first "person we go running to? That's right. "God please help me. God, please give me. God make the pain go away." We are such needy animals. Remeber Jesus' statement about "the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. Why are we so convinced that we deseve so much. The Son of God had nothing and we want everything.

I have to learn to praise God in the sunshine as well as the rain. He made both with his own hands.

Live by your own words

Yesterday I talked a little bit about how sometimes things just never seem to go our way. Today I have had to live by my own words. I had an interview for a promotion at work. I really thought I had it but unfortunately, they decided to go with another person. I was so disappointed. When the Christian side of me steps back in and beats the tar out of the earthly side of me, I remember that God has a purpose for me and I have to accept that. Romans 8:28 says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Kinda hard to argue with that!

Today I was continuing my reading in Luke. I didn't get very far though. I was really struck by the last four verses in Luke 13. I read through these four verses several times. In these few verses, Jesus is verbalizing his sorrow for the lost in Jerusalem. In verse 34 he says "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing."

I am struck by the wording and how much love it expresses. If I put it in perspective of my own children, I can't imagine them turning their back on me. I would be crushed. Yet, that is what we do to our savior every time we do not follow Him. How happy he must be when we turn our walk around and go to Him. How proud he must be when we help someone who is lost, find their way back to Jesus.

God's heart aches for every lost person.

Luke is the man!

Have you ever felt as though you can do nothing right? Have you ever felt that, no matter how hard you try, you just are not able to do the things that you know you should. If so, rest assured, you are not alone. Being a human really sucks sometimes. Who can we blame though? We are always looking for someone to blame for everything that goes wrong. After all, if we can't place the blame on someone else, the blame has to lie on us! Well, we are to blame for everything. We have screwed up this world so bad that we will never be able to fix it. Sin. Sin is our own doing. Every sin we commit is due to a poor choice we have made. Luckily for us, God knows us better than we know ourselves. Since he knows us so well, he created this thing called grace. Through God's grace, we are saved. We can't do it on our own. For someone like me, that is hard to swallow sometimes. After all, I am a pretty self sufficient guy. HA! Without the grace of God, I would be better off if I had been a microorganism that evolved into an ape and then a human. No hope for eternity. I would just be existing here until I turn back into dust.

Evens God's grace for this world has its limits. Luke 13: 24 talks about the fact that we only have a finite amount of time to make it through the "narrow door." There will come a time that the door is closed and those that don't make it in will be begging to get in, but they will not be allowed inside.

In other words, if you are basing your hopes for eternity on just sliding by and being a good person, you are running quite a risk. In fact, I believe that you are setting yourself up for failure. Luke 13 goes on to say that the "owner of the house" (God) will, at some point, shut the door. He will tell anyone else trying to get in "I do not know you or where you come from."

If you are not giving God all you have, you better get ready to knock at a door that will never again open. We don't know when that day will come, but we know it is coming.

John

I must confess that I have not been studying. It never ceases to amaze me that, even though I know how much more at peace I am with everything around me when I am in the Word regularly, it is still a struggle to make time as often as I should. I thought that by doing this blog, I would be more apt to study my Bible. Unfortunately it has been almost two weeks since I have studied for my own heart and not to prepare for Life Group (my Bible study group.) Well, since God tells us to pick up our cross daily and follow him, I am once again saved by His grace. I have been in John for the last couple days. Today I was reading a prayer that Jesus prayed in chapter 17. Even knowing that he was to be arrested, beaten, spit on and eventually crucified, he starts His prayer "Father, the time has come. Glroify your Son so that your Son may glorify you."
I am so humbled that, in what would be the worst time in anyone's life, Jesus was still asking God to do whatever will glorify the Father.
I went through a time when my favorite song was "Jesus Bring Me Rain" by Mercy Me. For those that don't know it, the song talks about how ....if that's what it takes to bring you glory God, then bring me rain. I thought that it was a good idea to pray that prayer to God. I wanted to suffer for my Lord! Well, if you ever want a prayer answered, pray that one. God will gladly bring rain into your life.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love Jesus with all my heart and it is an honor to serve him, BUT c'mon, how much rain does it take? Forget I even said that, God, I don't even want to know how much!!!!
Seriously though, since I prayed that prayer my finances have been in the toilet (mostly due to my own poor decisions) I can't seem to catch a break on my schedule and get to have Sundays off, my promotion has been on hold for months because of the economy, my ex constantly threatens me with taking back to court for more support. I could go on and on. As you can see, a lot of my issues are financial. All I can say to that is I know that Satan hits you where you are weak. He knows what is going to make me sweat.
What I have to figure out is how to take what Satan uses to make me sweat and use it to glorify God. Time to pray!

I'm Baaaaaaack!

Due to some technical difficulties and a couple days out of town, I have been offline for several days. I have really missed my blog but I did not miss out on some good time in God's word. I have been studying Hebrews for the last few days and look forward to sharing some thoughts. I will write more tomorrow. God Bless.

REWARD!!!!

That word really catches your eye, doesn't it? REWARD!!! This past Sunday evening I had the opportunity to speak to some teens at Red Mountain Youth Camp. I had never really spoke to teens and didn't know what to expect. I remember really looking up to the adults that were involved at camp when I grew up. Well I spoke on having an "extreme faith" in God. I felt pretty good but I found that, with kids, you can't judge your performance on their reaction! It was fun though and I truly hope to get more involved with this camp.
This week in preparing for my Life Group, I have been studying Romans 8 where Paul is talking about how we are in "bondage to decay." I have fallen into the trap so many times trying to figure out "why" things happen in my life. I have always tried to give a logical (or at least reasonable) explanation as to why things happen.
Paul explains it so perfectly. Basically, from the moment we are born, we begin to die. Because man chose to sin, our days are immediately numbered from the moment we take our first breath. God did not want it that way, but without free will, we would have no hope. If you have everything you want, you have nothing to hope for. Once I am in Heaven, I will not need hope any longer. My purpose will have been fulfilled. Until then, I will have hope.
Now, I can choose what to have hope in. I can hope for better health. I can hope for better finances. I can hope that my children grow up healthy and happy. None of these things are guaranteed. Why because I was born. I was born a sinner and I will die that way. My only true hope is that which comes from knowing Jesus.
Read Romans 8. You'll see that "the Law" established by God in the beginning was an unattainable goal. No one can follow all of the rules. We are physically incapable of doing everything right all the time. Jesus came to this world and became the sacrifice that we could never be. A sacrifice to God is supposed to be the best we have to offer. It should be "without blemish." Therein lies our problem. Until we understand that we are covered in blemishes and Jesus, by choice, sacrificed himself because we could never live up to it. In return, he asks that we follow him, worship him and do His will.
He gave up His life for mine. I need to return the favor.

I feel centered

I read yesterday but ended up going to bed and forgetting to do my blog. In just a few hours I have the privilege of sharing my faith and the word of God with some kids at the Red Mountain Youth Camp. Yesterday I prayed before I read (as I often do) and asked for God to give me something that would really center my mind for my talk tonight at the camp. I really felt like I should just stay in Mark where I have been for a while now. I finished where I left off in chapter 14 and then all of 15. As I read about the crucifixion of Jesus, my first thought was that I had really wanted something exciting. I was told that the theme for the camp this week is "Living an extreme life." My sermon title is "Extreme Faith: Teens on Fire for God" and it is about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (do you like the irony of "on fire for God?) As I read about the crucifixion and what Christ went through for me, it became very obvious to me that God had really wanted to make sure that I understood that it is all about Him and what He did for us. It really reminded me that, although I really wanted to motivate these kids, it all boils down to the fact that Jesus, even though he knew how screwed up I am, died for me.

Someone Please explain it to me

Since I finished Colossians, I am back in the book of Mark. Tonight I was in chapter 14. Am I the only one that has ever thought how nice it would have been to live in Biblical times. It would have been so much easier to have a strong faith when you see Jesus turn water into wine. Right? How about when he fed thousands of people with just a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. It had to be amazing to see a man raised from the dead or see a woman that had bled for many years be healed with just the touch of the hem of Jesus clothing.
If seeing miracles could create faith then how could Judas plan to betray Jesus. Verse 10 in chapter 14 says that Judas went to went to the chief priests. They did not have to come to him, he found them. That shows absolute intent on Judas' part.
As human beings, none of us are exempt from temptation. Even Jesus, as a human was tempted by Satan. The big difference is that Jesus could resist temptation. We, are very imperfect. How do we resist? Pray, pray, study the Bible and pray some more. An accountability partner can work wonders in your life. Find a friend that knows you well and cares about your soul. Confess your sins to them and ask them to check up on you to make sure you are not falling back into temptation.
Every generation has their trials, your character comes from how you respond to those trials.

Opportunity

Today I finished up Colossians. Being that I am a big fan of prayer anyway, the first verse was a good reminder. Skip down to verse 5 and prepare to be convicted! "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, make the most of every opportunity."

Wow! Are we always wise in the way you act toward outsiders? I know I'm not. What they see is what we are to them. I work in a prison and what one staff member does to an inmate, we have all done to that inmate. They see us as one single entity, not as individuals, and it is usually not good! It is the same with people that don't follow Christ. If they see you as doing something hipocritical, then we are all, as Christians, deemed to be living two lives. We are called to love people as Jesus loved people. Believers and non-believers alike.

Make the most of every opportunity. That's a hard one. In order to do that we have to be Christ minded. He has to be a part of every facet of our lives.

All of this takes us back to verse 1: "Devote yourselves to prayer...."

Gotta love that Paul!

Today I was reading in Ephesians 3&4. Man! What an awesome couple chapters. I was really swept away by Pauls prayer at the end of chapter 3. "Now to him who is able to do imeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." I think we have a very bad habit of pigeon holeing God by thinking that he has limited power. We talk about our "all knowing" and "all powerful" God, but when we pray to Him or worship Him, we approach Him with our finite minds. We ask for things but we ask once and hope for the best. Over the past few weeks my church was trying to get into a permanent facility. I know many people were praying about it and praying a lot. I heard several people pray the if it be God's will, we will get the building. They also asked that if it is not His will, tell us a resounding NO! Well the answer was no. I, along with many people were very dissapointed. Why don't we realize that our prayers were answered? We asked that God's will be done. Well folks, God's will has (and is) being done!! Just because he does not give us the answer that we wanted does not refute his power. Could we have done great things for Pueblo West with that building? Heck yes! Would it have been great! You better believe it! Does God know things we have no idea about? Yes, He does. I don't know what God has in store for us but I am excited about it!

Oh, by the way, chapter 4 was great too!!!!

Reality Bites

Well, if there is anyone out there that noticed that I have not written in a few days, it is because I took my family camping. We spent a couple days hiking and fishing at O'Haver Lake. If you've never been there, you have to go. It is absolutely beautiful! Dennis is a fishing maniac. He caught quite a few. We also learned that he doesn't really need toys, give him a couple dead trout and he can entertain himself (and us) for quite a while. Anyway, it was a wonderful weekend.

I have to admit, I did not read my Bible while I was up there. I had intended on spending some really indepth time in the word, but time just got away from me. I did pray quite a bit though. One night, as Karen, Dennis, Sarah and I lay in the tent and I was saying our nightly prayers, I thanked God for all of his blessings. Now, this is something I put in almost every prayer but that night, something different came to mind. I usually think of blessings as physical things such as my house, family, toys and so on. After putting the kids to bed and going back outside to sit by the fire, two deer walked through our camp. It was amazing to see such beautiful creatures just cruising by. I was in their world as a visitor. I started thinking that I truly am in this world as a visitor. God blesses us with these moments more often than we realize. Everyday I hear my kids laugh but I don't always remember what a blessing it is to hear them laugh. I don't get that with my oldest son because he lives in California with his mom. Every night I go to bed with my wife, but too often I just give her a kiss and say good night. I don't treasure these moments as blessings the way God intended.

When I got home I immediately took on the laborious task of cleaning up after a weekend of camping. After that I got cleaned up and found a bill that needed to be paid. I fell into the trap of forgetting all the blessings I have and began getting more and more upset with "my reality." There is always far more bills than money so I began to get short with my wife and kids. After all, isn't that the way to solve all of life's problems? Get mad at those around you because that can't fix things any easier than you can! I can be such an idiot.

Luckily, I decided to catch up on my Bible time. God always has a way to put me in my place. As I read Ephesians, I saw in chapter 2, verse 8, God told me "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and it is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

It does not matter how little money I have this month, because "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." God is not concerned with my money, he is concerned with my heart. God is not worried about if bank account if full, he wants my faith to be overflowing. My prayer should not be that my problems go away, my prayer should be that I have the faith to be a Godly husband and father through any trials. I want my wife to be impressed with the faith that I have in God. I want my son to look at me and want to be the Godly father that I modeled for him. Someday I want Sarah to look for a Godly husband because she saw that in her daddy and knows that's the way it should be.

Pack up, look up, He's coming soon

I stole that title from a friend of mine. Thank you Steve! Steve is a friend of mine from when I worked at the Sheriff's Dept. in CA. Actually he worked with my wife and that is where I really got to know him. Ironically Steve and I have ended up following similar paths. When we hung out it was with our wives and other couples. There was usually fair amounts of alcohol involved and if God's name came up, it was probably being taken in vain. Steve is one of those guys that can always make you laugh.
I recently sent out an e-mail to everyone in my address book to invite them to read my blog. It was kind of liberating because many of these people have never heard me talk about my faith in Jesus. I'm not ashamed of Him, or am I? I have never hid my faith, but in this world, if you don't shout it out loud you are ashamed.
Anyway, Steve's response included the phrase you see in the title of this blog. Today I studied Mark 12 & 13. In chapter 13 Jesus is telling the Apostles to guard against false teachings and be on guard for the "end of the age." How should we be on guard? How do we guard against false teaching?
READ YOUR BIBLE!
You have to know the truth before you can identify a lie! Jesus tells us that, to God, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. What does that tell you? Be ready. Pack up, look up, He's coming soon.

Serve or be served

Who doesn't like to be served? That is why we go to hotels, resteraunts or even the drive through at McDonalds. It is nice to be served. I think we as Americans have become nearly obsessed with being pampered and served. So much so that we have forgotten how to serve others. We hear about the "me generation," right? Well, some of us folks that are getting a little older than we would like to admit, are really seeing it and beginning to sound like our parents! Back when I started working here...........! You know what I'm saying?

Well, it's time that we begin serving others with love. You can serve until you turn blue, but if there is no love in it, is there really service (kinda like McDonalds - service with a snarl.)

Today I was in Mark 9-11. The verse that really spoke to me was 10:45 "For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus came to serve. Similar to someone in the military. They serve and in some cases are called to give their life. Jesus served with the PURPOSE of giving his life. He knew what was going to happen to Him. He still served even knowing about what would happen to Him.

Kinda gives the word "serve" a bit of a new meaning.

Faith

Today I was studying the book of Mark. Chapters 5 & 6 to be exact. One word that keeps standing out to me is compassion. Particularly when Jesus saw a crowd and "had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. I would really like to have that kind of compassion for people. That has always been my weakness.

I am also reading Daniel 1 & 3 every day this week in preparation for speaking at the Red Mountain Youth camp on June 14. The faith that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego showed was amazing. They told King Nebuchaneezer that if he threw them into the blazing furnace, their God would save but even if he didn't they still would not bow down to his idols. What an amazing faith. Even if God does not answer my prayers, I will have the faith to follow Him anyway!

What's wrong with me?

Nice title, huh? For those of you that know me, I know what you are thinking. What's wrong with you? Where do we begin, Kevin? I'll tell you what is wrong with me, I have spent my whole life, trying to do everything by myself. I tried to be a teenager myself, I tried to be a Marine by myself, I tried marriage by myself and I have tried several careers, yes, by myself. Why is it that I always think I know what is best for me? Did I make me? I am here solely because Jesus loves me. He wanted me here where I sit right now, for the sole purpose of worshiping Him. I spend so much of my life trying to figure out what it is I want. How can I get promoted at work. How can I afford a camper for my family. How can I ever afford to fix up my Jeep. How can I get Denny into hockey. How will I pay for Kody's next flight out here? Me, me , me. It just doesn't stop. Well, I am trying to stop today. Today I will try to let God make these decisions. I have failed doing it on my own, so what do I have to loose?

Thankfulness

Why are we as humans so slow to be truly thankful for all we have? We are promised nothing and spoiled rotton, yet we never have enough. We always want the next best thing. Our kids have to be better off than we were. Were we really that bad off? I wasn't. I had (and still have, thank God) awesome parents. I could not ask for a better wife. My kids are amazing. My son Kody is an amazing kid. The older he gets, the more I see it. He makes me laugh, but he never has enough. He always wants more, or the next best thing. That frustrates me because, although everyone wants things, he is never happy for what he has, at least not for long. Aren't we all that way to an extent? Why is that? What is missing in our lives that makes us always want to fill that void? God.

Welcome

Hello to all. I have been blogging on MySpace for quite a while now. It has just been my own forum to voice my opinions and realy my thoughts. Since less and less people are going on MySpace and more are moving to Facebook, I decided to have a more general posting site. I am still trying to figure this thing out so I hope you will get involved in it. Please feel free to post anything (clean) that you want. I would love to know what you think, whether you agree with me or not! I will be posting my notices on my MySpace and Facebook. Well, I have to get going as Denny has a Dr appointment and then we are all going ice skating. See ya.