tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63709896184166863152024-03-13T14:36:14.930-07:00Of Another KingdomBondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-46831209363004370162022-03-21T11:04:00.002-07:002022-03-21T11:04:57.839-07:00The Presence of God<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <b>The Presence of God</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The face of those that meet with God. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I like to smile at people, even with these masks, people who are of the Lord or who are sensitive to spiritual things receive my smile because it comes out of Jesus and the Holy Spirit within me. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s some days that I don’t smile but it doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit has left. It may mean that I am not feeling well physically or it may mean that there is a barrier of sin or lack of meeting with God‘s presence. The Christian life is not all mountain high experiences. In Psalm 25 we see that David humbles himself and asks the Lord to forgive him or pardon his sin. David understands to be led by God and to receive his teaching and understanding that he/we must come to God in humility. David desires, as we should, the Lord’s steadfast love and faithfulness. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.” </span><span style="font-size: large;">Psalm 25:9-15 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">DEFEATING TEMPTATION</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Temptation is not sin. Sin is yielding to temptation, it is acting on the temptation that comes our way. It is both a noun and a verb. People don’t like to talk about sin. It’s like a flashlight coming on And all the little roaches scurry to get out of the light. Sin brings to mind those things that we know are not right. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The word, sin, immediately paints a picture in my mind of something I don’t want to have anything to do with. For somebody who has not come to know Jesus, the word, sin, does not have that infectious, grimy ugliness that separates us from a close relationship with our creator. But God gave us a moral compass which to follow. However, the pressures of peers, or the dullness of our consciousness lets us keep repeating what we know deep down is wrong. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:12-15 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sin means missing the mark of what God requires. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">You have to love the Mirriam Webster definition of “Sin”, “a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God.” Vitiated means “faulty or defective” so, a faulty or defective state of human nature. We ALL were born, and we ALL were born with this sinful human nature. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, most Christians know this verse but don’t know the next except by experience, </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” Romans 3:23-24 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sin means missing the mark of what God requires. It’s like a dartboard in which anything but a bull’s-eye is a miss. That may seem stringent but it is the portal in which we enter into the presence of God.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Jesus said, as recorded by Matthew, “"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">REVERENCE</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">David writes, “Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.” </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Amplified Bible says it this way, “Who is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]? He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose.” Psalms 25:12 AMP</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This fear is not meaning to be afraid but to reverence, or hold in awe, the Lord. It is this man, woman or child, that God will instruct in the way that “He” has for him. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is another familiar verse that we often point to, 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.” That makes us feel good and reassures us of our future…</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">BUT we fall short of this “promise” if we don’t take it in context with what follows, </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” </span><span style="font-size: large;">Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV</span></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/101c0980-a287-423e-be2c-f16ce5d0399b" /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">HUMILITY</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Humility - you do not need to be perfect in order to hear God’s guidance but you do need an attitude of humility; simply put: ‘He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way’ (Psalm 25:9, MSG). ‘God-friendship is for God-worshippers; They are the ones he confides in’ (Psalm 25:14, MSG). MSG is not monosodium glutamate but the Message Bible🤣</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The following quote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” has been attributed to C.S. Lewis or Rick Warren. I’ve met Rick and he would give Lewis credit… even if it was himself. Try this yourself, a humble move and take the glory and spotlight and point it to Jesus.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” Psalm 25:9</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Nicky Gumbel, of the Alpha course said, “When we try to force our own agenda or strive to do what we want to do, there is a sense of spiritual discomfort.” We cannot experience the presence of God when our agenda is more important than His. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">RELEASING GOD’S GIFTS</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Every day we are each given gifts from God including the very breath that we breathe. The sun warms her skin, coffee that awakens her mind</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.” Exodus 35:21 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We came into this world with nothing and nothing will we take out of this world. Why, why, why is it we strive to get more stuff? Flashier cars, bigger houses, blotted bank accounts… don’t miss what I’m saying; there is nothing wrong with wealth. Some of you may be saying, I’d love a car that works and I can park it in a “house” meant for it, or for a job, or for some security. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” 1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It is one of life’s mysteries. Why are they sick or why are they rich and I’m not? Why do good thing happen to bad people? Why can’t I have…</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">EVERYONE that reads or hears this is rich. We have clothes to wear, probably a cell phone, computer or both. We have eaten in the last 24-hours. So, we are richer than 75% of the world! Paul goes on to write to Timothy about us because we are rich:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">PRESENCE THROUGH GOOD WORKS</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Another verse that people hold to is: Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Again, we fail to grasp the whole context of Paul’s important message that follows those two verses in verse 10:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Good works are born out of love for others, thinking of others more than thinking of ourselves. James writes this about the pendulum of all faith and no works or of all works and no faith. “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” </span><span style="font-size: large;">James 2:14-20 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Paul writes further showing examples of Abraham and the prostitute, Rahab (there us a wide continuum of population), “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” James 2:22, 24, 26 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It isn’t either/or, it is both, in unison. The Bible (or Word) says “we love because He (Jesus) first loved us”. We have faith through grace and practice love and good works out of Christs love for us and what an amazing thing He has done for us. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">RADIATING THE PRESENCE OF GOD</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">When the people of Israel finished the plan given to Moses of the tabernacle it was set up and when fully erected, the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle like a cloud by day and fire by night. When Moses was able to go into the tent of meeting with God, he would come out with a veil covering his face because his face gleamed so much that people could not stand to look at him. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">When we put away the traditions of men that weighs down the church and look into the eyes and words of Jesus directly, we are personally transformed. That transformation comes thus:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:9-10 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Being a true follower of Jesus is about a relationship with Him. He, our Creator, made us for relationships. That is why Jesus said in reply to this question: ““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”” Matthew 22:36-40 NKJV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The walk of following Jesus is daily staying so close to Him that His image is all that is seen. When we step out of that closeness our imperfections show. Staying in close communion with the Lord makes our reflection as clear and clean as it can be revealing the presence of God. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We practice not a religion but this relationship as a new creation with the Holy Spirit that Jesus gives us to comfort us, convict us and guide us. True followers of Christ are never alone for Jesus sent the Helper (the Holy Spirit). Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father and Jesus is our advocate as we pray in His Name. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”” John 14:15-17 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Apostle writes, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” </span><span style="font-size: large;">2 Corinthians 3:16-18 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">CHRIST RETURNS WITH HIS PRESENCE</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."” Mark 1:15 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Christ died for our sin and sinful nature and that is the gift He made provision for. But each person must exercise their free will and either accept the blessed gift or reject it. We must repent of our sin, believe with our heart, mind and soul of Christ’s death and resurrection and follow Him all the days of our life. It is not easy but it is when we will have life in this world and the next with Jesus rather than apart from Him for eternity. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."” Acts 1:8-11 ESV</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><img src="blob:https://www.blogger.com/077b5952-0db3-47f6-8cc8-f7ffe3943fb9" /></p>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-77299481643552271972018-12-23T13:26:00.000-08:002018-12-23T13:26:59.275-08:00My dear follower of Jesus, a blessed and convicting Christmas. Many people think it should be “merry” but Christmas is the fulfillment of prophecy of God’s gift to each of us if we receive. Amazement, gratefulness, praising... now what to DO next?<br />
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In Romans 12, Paul shares with us what we should do with and to the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives you supernatural gifts that you are to use. What are you going to unwrap this Christmas that is better than a supernatural gift of power?<br />
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Spend time in this chapter of the Bible during the break. As you do, drill down to what YOU are to do here, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”<br />
Romans 12:9-13 ESV<br />
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May CHRISTmas radically change YOUR life.<br />
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<br />Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-62471486546652961422018-11-19T08:58:00.000-08:002018-11-19T08:59:44.707-08:00My Burning Bush<span style="font-size: large;">It has been a long time since I wrote to this blog. The older I get the clearer some things get and yet others seem blurred like my hearing of soft voices in a crowded room. Two days ago while I was taking the dog out I saw what I believe was the physical presence of God’s Spirit, if not God Himself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I read Isaiah and Ezekiel, I see that they heard the voice of God. We are now “so educated” that everything is explained away by “the laws of nature”. Since, I believe that the Triune God created the universe and all that is in it, it, nature, must bow to its creator as we must. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Early morning out with our dog, Lucy, when I heard and saw a great wind pummeling the tops of a couple of 100+ foot tall Douglas Fir trees; then all the sudden it stopped dead quiet. I whirled to my right where a couple of tall firs whipped but all the other trees were still. Then as quickly as it started, it shifted to a couple of trees right in front of me and everything else was calm. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I cried out, “Lord, is that You? Speak, your servant listens.” At that, the whole line of huge Douglas Fir waved back and forth east and west, churned and stopped. Then right in front again the two trees rocked back and forth south to North so much so I wondered if they would crack and hurl themselves on to me. The message was clear, “I am with you and my power is greater than everything else. Fear not.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I can’t see God or the wind but I do see what it does. I do hear His voice...</span><br />
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Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-69947257857478652212016-03-28T16:32:00.000-07:002018-11-12T22:17:14.371-08:00Who would give their life for you?Who would give their life for you?<br />
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Walking into his cell in Aushwitz is unforgettable. Here is a taste from: http://auschwitz.dk/Kolbe.htm<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">The deathcamp Auschwitz became the killing centre during WWII where the largest numbers of European Jews were murdered by the Nazis. One Christian man who died here became a martyr to the truth of evils of Nazism - a true hero for our time, a saint who lived what he preached, total love toward God and man ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.fatherkolbe.com/" target="_blank">Maximilian Kolbe</a> was a Polish priest who died as prisoner 16770 in <a href="http://auschwitz.dk/Auschwitz.htm" target="_blank">Auschwitz</a>,<span style="color: white;"> on August 14, 1941. </span>When a prisoner escaped from the camp, the Nazis selected 10 others to be killed by starvation in reprisal for the escape. One of the 10 selected to die, Franciszek Gajowniczek, began to cry: <i>My wife! My children! I will never see them again!</i> At this Maximilian Kolbe stepped forward and asked to die in his place. His request was granted ...</span></div>
As moving as Kolbe's sacrifice was and a reminder that those who are secure in the salvation and hope found in Jesus, it pales to when if is your own personal salvation and hope. You move from a spectator to a player on the field of life. Following Jesus is not about church going to check off a "duty" or practice on Sunday. It goes beyond helping widow, orphans and the needy. It isn't about religion, a title, or a platform to judge.<br />
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<br />Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-30587546472871879972015-11-23T09:04:00.001-08:002015-11-23T17:00:56.073-08:00It goes without saying…<div><br></div><div><br></div>Recently I was with one of the residents from the Courtyard, a place where Christian students can grow in their faith in their independence from mom and dad and in how now should they live. Time in a car either with college students or your children, especially when they're young, yields interesting tidbits of information. As I was letting this young man off at the Courtyard, he turned to me and said, "It goes without saying… Pause well maybe… my time here at the Courtyard (eight weeks so far) has made a tremendous impact on my spiritual growth." He took the time to thank us for providing this important place for him... for his fellow residents, too. <div><br></div><div>It didn't surprise me what he said, as I often witness residents growth in these college students' lives, in general and also their spiritual walk with God. But what I did take away from this brief encounter what is the phrase that I had not heard for a while "it goes without saying".</div><div><br></div><div>That little phrase as been running around my head for a day but seemed like a week. I have heard it many times in the past and fewer times in the present and I'm not sure if it is because people are not using that phrase or they're just doing it, 'letting it go without saying' anything about what they're thinking, what they're feeling, what moves them to action to change themselves and transform the world.</div><div><br></div><div>So, I am trying to check myself to determine if I ever 'let things go without saying'. Do I ever let things go without saying with my wonderful wife, Kim, or our children, especially because they're adults and away from home.</div><div><br></div><div>Do I ever approach Jesus or my heavenly Father, with an attitude of "it goes without saying"? Thanksgiving is this week and I believe Americans, in general, do not practice a heart of gratitude about their lives. Husbands and wives get in a rut and let many things 'go without saying' how much they appreciate the other; how much they appreciate the love and respect of the other. Children, today, use the words 'thank you' as if it were the most common thing in the world to say... "It goes without saying", so why bother. </div><div><br></div><div>"It goes without saying…" is a kin to somebody else will do it; somebody else will tell of its importance, somebody else will support the work being done, somebody else will give their time and energy to invest in others.</div><div><br></div><div>This Thanksgiving, and every day going forward, let our speech be filled with positive things said to family members, spouses, friends, a wait-person, a receptionist, fellow workers or students; those things that, a day earlier, we would have lived out the phrase, "It goes without saying..."</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEius6m2CZ0JvBEXFzjxrojKTS4rI-riGXTdqrJ16MKyzscjc5cw3lUxETwoaIMHG3K4Sr192unGuv3onOSxz0GZ7V1YBLYgkcCJYhaLfOuiewtJyYs-4VAVYpfKJ4qNGE6x7KWRQzDRb9A/s640/blogger-image--683285444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEius6m2CZ0JvBEXFzjxrojKTS4rI-riGXTdqrJ16MKyzscjc5cw3lUxETwoaIMHG3K4Sr192unGuv3onOSxz0GZ7V1YBLYgkcCJYhaLfOuiewtJyYs-4VAVYpfKJ4qNGE6x7KWRQzDRb9A/s640/blogger-image--683285444.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>The COURTYARD. www.CourtyardLife.org</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-74780517756521032412012-10-12T15:17:00.001-07:002012-10-12T15:18:27.900-07:00Distracted<span style="font-size: x-large;">Distracted</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If your life is anything like mine, it is filled with distractions that take me off a planned course or out of a peaceful slumber. Ringing phones, barking dogs, visitors, flickering lights, or even a rumbling stomach can take your focus off one thing to the urgent beckoning of another. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After 75 days, the rain is falling once again and there are power outages, plugged street drains, and accidents caused by slippery, oily roads. Some of these things are expected or at least should be. But what struck me the most today was the word and the meaning of "Distracted".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When there is music playing in the room, I find it difficult to write because my mind follows the tune and the words even as the room now is filled with a woman singing Hosanna in Mandarin. Random thoughts flood into my mind. Tilley, the faithful Yorkie sits on the top of my recliner as I lay out resting my back and she proceeds to lick my ear... she is informing me she wants or needs to go outside. I must be easily distracted because even the thought of my hot chocolate cooling too fast before I drink it, causes me to pause and decide on what I'm going to do in the next few seconds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You probably didn't even notice I stopped and took a slow draw on my Starbucks mug from Amsterdam. Each and every day, our life is filled with distractions, some good, some bad, some annoying, and some just plain irritating. Today, Americans like myself pack our days with so much in them, even good or fun things, that we race at a self-imposed speed to get it all done and we forget the real reason why we are doing whatever it is we are doing. We many not even have enjoyed it and if it was vacation that finished without a relaxing awe... that is just plain wrong.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the busiest schedules are moms that care for the house & children (not to mention working a job to make the ends meet). As a working dad up until 8 years ago, I had a busy schedule with my job, but it was fairly organized and the 10 hours or so were accomplished with the end in sight and a drive home to the family. But for my lady, that was a different story, I won't even try and go into all the things that Kim did, but the results are three fine, grown, mature, wonderful children prepared to create a legacy that far exceeds anything that I did at work. Though I was involved with our children and desired even more as they grew up, Kim deserves the medal of honor for going beyond the call of duty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In every one's life, distractions come and how we cope with them varies to the types and intensity of the distractions themselves. The world is full of distractions and marketers jobs depend on turning a distraction into a sale of whatever product they are hocking at the moment. Radio, TV, billboards, magazines, newspapers, the Internet... everything is vying for your attention and we succumb and are drawn in because of our flawed self nature. We want a new iPhone 5; we want a new 50" LCD TV to watch the game on... We want.... We need... We have to have... Can't live without...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ever noticed that the one most important thing, or at least should be, is the easiest for us to ignore? No matter if you are Billy Graham or the President, or a homeless alcoholic, we all need God in our life more and more. When was the last time you were distracted by God to do something or think about something; and did you?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We ALLOW and even WELCOME some distractions to cover up how we feel or where our life is heading, but almost always those are distractions from the world and not from God. We tend to hide from God or count it as indigestion because we don't know His voice spoken directly, through others, or even in some media like music; we are going so fast at our lives that we run right through Jesus trying to get our attention. We fail to walk slowly and see people for who they really are with eyes like Jesus; we don't want that type of distraction, we want to be entertained.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When it is all said and done, people are waiting to be loved and you just look the other way. Not this distraction, only the distractions that I want. Not God, not People; can't someone else do it because I don't have time, energy, talent, or right shoes. You and I are really great at making up excusses but Jesus said this when asked which of the commandments was greatest:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><i>"YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' " On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." </i></b></span> Matt 22:37-40 NASU</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We wonder what is wrong with the world and the answer boils down to these two principles; Love God above all else and love others in the same way. This type of love that loves beyond even beyond loving our self, isn't easy and is impossible without the Holy Spirit working through us. But these two things we avoid doing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe next time you pray, you will ask God to distract you from the immediate thing you are doing to STOP and know Him and do as he asks. I can't think of a better distraction than one from the Creator of the Universe; one who loves me more than anything else. And the good thing is that He never gets tired of us showing Him how much we love Him. Get distracted by Jesus as soon as you can.</span><br />
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Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-67456120940315094012012-09-18T17:46:00.001-07:002012-09-18T17:48:26.656-07:00<h2>
When All Else Fails</h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is a lot of political ads and talking heads trying to make their opinions and views known, but this is where I'm at with all of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I care less about who the next President will be because God already has that taken care of; but I still need to vote. Check this out...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Daniel 2:20-23</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>For wisdom and power belong to Him. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>21 <u>"It is He who changes the times and the epochs;</u></i></span><br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;"><i>He removes kings and establishes kings;</i></span></u><br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;"><i>He gives wisdom to wise men </i></span></u><br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;"><i>And knowledge to men of understanding. </i></span></u><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>22 "It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i> He knows what is in the darkness,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>And the light dwells with Him. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>23 "To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>For You have given me wisdom and power;</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>For You have made known to us the king's matter." </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is more important that I am friends with God and close to him than it is for me to be friends with athletes, stars, heroes, the famous, the rich, the powerful because nothing comes close to the Creator God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don't have to do everything, I just have to do what God tells me to do. Everything around me can crash in, but if I really, really trust in an omnipotent God, than what else do I need? Countries and currencies can fall, but the Name of the Lord will endure forever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When all else fails in your life, God never will. </span><br />
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Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-43867788902551926032012-08-17T08:51:00.003-07:002012-08-17T09:02:28.094-07:00He removes kings and establishes kings<span style="font-size: large;">There is great peace of who shall run America in the future when you understand that the God of Heaven is the one who "He removes kings and establishes kings". It does not matter if they are a good or bad ruler; if they are a coward or a warrior; if they have fiscal control or loose pockets and least of all, if they are of the Republican, Democrat or Independent party.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In 586 B.C. God gave the power, authority and victory to King Nebuchadnezzar over Jerusalem and all of Judah. The captives were taken back to Babylon. God did this because the people of the land had turned their hearts away from God and to false gods including consumer materials, sexual abandonment, and many things other than the one True God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This, fall, God will give to America who HE wants that America may once again recognize that HE alone is great enough to decide what is best for us. All the campaigning in the world cannot come close to God's ability to orchestrate the outcome. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Nebuchadnezzar desired to give Daniel praise and glory, Daniel sidestepped it and reflected all the glory to His God, My God. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Daniel proceed to interpret a vision for Nebuchadnezzar, but said this to the King</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For wisdom and power belong to Him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"It is He who changes the times and the epochs;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He removes kings and establishes kings;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">He gives wisdom to wise men </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And knowledge to men of understanding. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> He knows what is in the darkness,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And the light dwells with Him. Daniel 2:20-22 NASU</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Daniel was placed high in the government, as was his three young friends; not as king, but in public service. We need people in government that serve not for money or man's praise, but unto the Lord of Hosts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What can be do? We can humble ourselves and pray. God's chosen King (a man birthed from an adulterous act" said this: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place." 2 Chronicles 7:12-15 NKJV</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is never too late to pray.</span></div>
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Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-80879396828566685002012-08-13T18:27:00.000-07:002012-08-13T18:27:12.508-07:00My hero, Daniel<span style="font-size: large;">It has been a long time since I sat down to write; for those that follow this blog, thank you for checking back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Heroes are few and far between these days; real heroes. Real heroes are those ordinary men that step up to do extraordinary actions. These are not stars as their actions are not for fame; real heroes are not saving the world in one hour on some television show, heroes leave a legacy of accomplishments not entertain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reading the book of Daniel again today, there are a couple of points that forever influence me to live bolder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. Daniel resolved to not eat the Kings rich food, but to ask God to bless him and his 3 friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. The walk that is set apart for God is better when joined by buddies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. God doesn't share His glory; Daniel did not accept God's glory, but directed everything back to Him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. It isn't wrong to find favor in God's eyes or those that He places in positions of power & authority.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are others, but these are in the first two chapters. To live a life for God is to live it for nobody else.... not even self. Whose your life being lived for? What is important in life to you? Where are you going to spend your time, energy and resources? When are you going to bow your head and your heart to your Creator? </span>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-44393873086242242582012-04-17T17:48:00.000-07:002012-04-17T17:48:57.176-07:00A New Time<span style="font-size: large;">Time is the most precious thing that we consider ours; without it we cannot enjoy loved ones, read, eat, or even breath. Many things are measured in time; MPH, beats per minute, lunch time, day we are born and the day we die. Isn't it interesting that we have no ability to make more time; if we waste a few minutes here or there, so what? SO WHAT, I mean if those were your last few minutes would you waste them? We only have so many minutes. I looked up how many a computer thinks I have... 557,206,220 seconds left according to deathclock.com WOW, that's only 17.5 years left. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj459aLqdpkP6h-o7NunGZGa8t-P27tVWWFOeZE2C-NqZMX26Jhkuf-zgXEH006SkNX5lB_sW5sU2LTEn1f7KpPQL7Zr9pKrtXsjpf8xCjRFh5qUkXbofXGRZMCUcvCQS3imhJTKY5b8Zk/s1600/Summer+Palace+canal,+Beijing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj459aLqdpkP6h-o7NunGZGa8t-P27tVWWFOeZE2C-NqZMX26Jhkuf-zgXEH006SkNX5lB_sW5sU2LTEn1f7KpPQL7Zr9pKrtXsjpf8xCjRFh5qUkXbofXGRZMCUcvCQS3imhJTKY5b8Zk/s320/Summer+Palace+canal,+Beijing.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">Well, at first that seems really disturbing, but then again, the way things are going and my physical condition, I'm not sure I need more than that. Here is what I know for sure, only God knows when I will die. My life is in His hands and not mine. He doesn't look at things the same way we do and I know that my life here is only a time of refining my character and making my decision who I am and whose I am.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A "new time" started many years ago, 49 years ago, I was born again into the Kingdom of God. Not all, but most, of that time has been spent in humble service to my King. Like many a wayward child, I had my moments of wanting my own way, but soon came to my senses and asked for my King's forgiveness which He did not withhold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We rarely use the time we have well and waste so much of it. I encourage you to love the Lord God, Creator of this earth with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as you do yourself. If you really love someone, you will make sure they know that the straight path into the Kingdom of God is Jesus Christ and there is no other way. The path is straight and it is narrow, but it leads to a life that never ends in "A New Time".</span>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-69483692366731194162011-07-26T10:35:00.001-07:002011-07-26T10:35:43.684-07:00Taking a Break But Have Hope<span style="font-size: large;"><b>For you that have been following my blog, thank you. I will be away from access for a period of time and need to take a pause on writing. I will let you know when I have resumed writing, but for now, thanks for following.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>For a short last entry, let's look at hope. No other emotion can sustain life more than hope. Anger and revenge can motivate you only so long; self-confidence in your own abilities will go along way; but HOPE is a driving emotion that propels beyond human ability through the toughest of circumstances.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I have a friend whose college-age son has a brain tumor that continues to return; often times with great speed. Assisted in prayer by her friends and hope in Christ, as the great healer, Hope continues to hold her up as she faces the hospitals and the news that is often negative.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Men and women who have found themselves in the most desperate situations of peril have survived due to hope; usually hope in God. These are life changing, life enduring times where there is no where else to turn. It is then that we turn to our Creator; even the most devout atheist and agnostic call out to God when "all else fails" them. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hope can take us miles beyond what we can normally walk; Hope can sustain us with joy through years of chronic pain; Hope can enable us to get through the loss of a child, a sibling, a parent or friend. Lack of hope can take us to suicide, depression or unhealthy habits - searching for some meaning in life. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hope is not a man-made emotion; it is built in everyone by our Creator, but some have never accessed it. They see no future; see no life beyond this world... but there is; there is another Kingdom that springs with hope.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hope is what drives me through every day; Faith is what allows my hope to be so real. <i style="color: yellow;">For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it</i><span style="color: yellow;">.</span> Rom 8:24-25 NASU Knowing that those that place their faith in Christ will spend eternity in a place prepared for us is my sustaining hope.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. </span> <i style="color: yellow;">For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.</i> Heb 11:1-3 NASB </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>If you are going though a difficult time, your faith in Christ can sustain you. Don't worry that it is a crutch; those that are broken need help to heal. The best time to place your trust, faith and hope in your Creator is right now; you will grow in Him and when the difficult time comes like a storm... and it will come, you will be ready to hold tight to the Savior of the World.<br />
</b></span>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-33447272092088487472011-06-07T07:35:00.000-07:002011-06-07T07:35:41.684-07:00To those that have ears<i><span style="font-size: large;">Spring is an amazing time here at Selah; that is what I call the 5-acres that we live on. "Selah , a technical musical term probablx showing accentuation, pause, interruption"* This is life here; one of our many resident does had her fawn this week and she is keeping the little spotted one protected. </span></i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYP-_mShJrwUP17FF31S42VC7nq-n6y8N9NLD6MbNRODE87gB1j9x9z2vcdknhSuqJXc9CYWuk_UxNdXFHaggKyrTrT6zo6G_klPy_E_SR9ieHG7_2wOIL38ZG8xkKlklFZtNx3LHhLyE/s1600/DSCN0700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYP-_mShJrwUP17FF31S42VC7nq-n6y8N9NLD6MbNRODE87gB1j9x9z2vcdknhSuqJXc9CYWuk_UxNdXFHaggKyrTrT6zo6G_klPy_E_SR9ieHG7_2wOIL38ZG8xkKlklFZtNx3LHhLyE/s320/DSCN0700.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last year's set of twins</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: large;">She is always close by, but during the day the fawn is told to stay and be quiet; concealed in the tall grass and clover and shaded by the tall fir trees. The mother doe chases other deer away and lays in the open where she has view of the life she has carried for 5-months. To protect the young fawn, she must draw attention to herself and hope to lure any predator away knowing her speed is her defense. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">About half of the property was worked to remove noxious weeds and was planted with five kinds of clovers, some alfalfa and several grass species last fall. Now the crimson clover is finishing its bloom, some of the wild flowers are showing color and the field is alive with flora and fauna. </span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwr4RFKvXKy3rt2qASox5JTSNJup3q75AthIl7nGJNNJ7WNhXcKQsLxAg64YIQplf0jq1jQTKWL04uGX1z5Db9LGVK4A6i-2P_W6q7Ra0aMt4oxkQWpYMhRkCbyaA7qX028Ky7MOR2DEQ/s1600/crimson+clover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwr4RFKvXKy3rt2qASox5JTSNJup3q75AthIl7nGJNNJ7WNhXcKQsLxAg64YIQplf0jq1jQTKWL04uGX1z5Db9LGVK4A6i-2P_W6q7Ra0aMt4oxkQWpYMhRkCbyaA7qX028Ky7MOR2DEQ/s1600/crimson+clover.jpg" /></a><i><span style="font-size: large;">Like the field, my life has been through some cultivation to bring it to the place it is and even still, like the field, it requires spot treatments to take out the noxious things in my life. When I was young my faith was my own, but it was guided by my parents' example and the listening and reading of the Bible. There is no one that can argue with me that my experience is as the children's song lyric "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so"; you can't convince me it isn't real and true.... for me.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Life has had its time to have weeds in it; I'm not proud of those weeds or those times, but they are part of me as are the times that I've been plowed, ground, leveled, ripped, turned, and other preparation. Like the field, my life was being prepared for the harvest. Even so, a field that is all prepared and not carefully planted will turn to weeds and revert to chaos quickly. My life's field was carefully tended by my own submission and a Master Gardener that knew just what needed to be seeded into my life.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>So as my example, I look at Jesus Christ and realize that He taught many and His message was clear; to those that have ears, let him hear. Jesus taught the people the way they understood; most were familiar with the farming life and communicated in stories like this one: </i><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."</b> </span> <span style="color: orange;">And He [Jesus] was saying, </span><b><span style="color: red;">" He who has ears to hear,let him hear."</span></b> Mark 4:3-9 NASU <i>[ ] emphasis mine<br />
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One seed dies, is raised up into a plant and produces 30, 60, and 100 times itself. In other words, by our self we are a single grain seed, but placed in the right hands and planted, nurtured and harvested, our life can bring life to a great increase. Most of us want our lives to count for something.</i></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">I have a friend who wants to be remembered when he is gone so his thought was to have his name on a building. I must admit that is a cool thing and is bigger than a tombstone, but as I've watched the local university change the names of the coliseum, the stadium. the library, on and on, it matters who has given money to maintain the building or step up to the plate; in other words, it is about your family paying to keep the family name remembered. It isn't about what you did, but what you do with your money. WOW, what a saddle to burden your family with.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>For me, it is about people. Not everyone that Jesus taught came to a saving faith in Him and His Kingdom. They had ears, but if they heard, they did not submit and yield their life to Him. Those that did and those that do, continue to change the world. So, I follow, submitted, knowing that what I do is important because of this logical directive by the Apostle Paul: </i><b style="color: orange;">"for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!""</b> Romans 10:13-15 NIV</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>So from Selah and to all the earth, this is the legacy that I continue to touch lives. My words are only to share that I have experienced life in Christ and it has made all the difference in the world... I have hope; I'm far from perfect; I am loved and there is so much more.</i><br />
<b style="color: orange;">"'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house."</b> Ezekiel 3:27 NASU<br />
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<i>Take some time today and experience your own Selah, <u>pause</u>, and chew on words of freedom that will set you free from the burdens that weigh you down. </i><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*(from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)</span><br />
</span>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-71227981425611374502011-05-15T17:27:00.000-07:002011-05-15T17:27:47.452-07:00How does God rank sin?<i><span style="font-size: large;">When I was about seven or eight I remember I went in to Cent-Wise Drug store and shoplifted a Matchbox car because I didn't have the 99 cents. It ate at me so much that within hours I had told my parents and had them drive me back to town so I could confess my sin to the store clerk and give back the car. It would have been easier to just sneak it back to its display, but I needed to apologize. I never shoplifted again. </span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNyiiO7FXAJYffqof0m6J8XBcyPsmz-Q4u6ZA_Pq0wJNDt3k4Wrz9EdOxX7wnxomWQI7h8HdRjx1I7aRzHxkULz81nsoCWFNCL0CZjmaB365H0AgdMLaJ0jXPSJNCE4YjYi9N4NeyWrM/s1600/774px-Lesney-matchbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNyiiO7FXAJYffqof0m6J8XBcyPsmz-Q4u6ZA_Pq0wJNDt3k4Wrz9EdOxX7wnxomWQI7h8HdRjx1I7aRzHxkULz81nsoCWFNCL0CZjmaB365H0AgdMLaJ0jXPSJNCE4YjYi9N4NeyWrM/s320/774px-Lesney-matchbox.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></i></div><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now, I have not been perfect in the last 46 years or so, but am I without sin? no way; daily I have to consider my stand before a perfect, holy God.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ever wonder how God ranks sin? Which sin does He think is the very worst and which one is... not so much?</b></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Do you think God has something like felony or misdemeanor categories?</span></i><br />
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<ul><li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Murder... that's a big one. What if they deserved it.... just because?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Adultery.... was once pretty big; punishment was being stoned (not with grass) to death, but with real rocks.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Stealing - music, taxes, from banks, fruit at the market, pillow from the plane, phone from a car......etc. is there levels of stealing like hotels one to five stars?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Telling a lie or bearing false witness - that has some heavy implications.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">not honoring your mom & dad... punishment was same as Adultery </span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Prostitution? Isn't that legal in the Netherlands now.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Dishonest weights equates to dishonest business practices.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Homosexuality, pornography, sexual practices; these are things that are kept quiet.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">How about idol worship; not the carved wood or stone or gold images (not at these gold prices)? No today having other gods and idol worship is anything, beyond God, that you spend your time and money on... cars, work, beauty, guns, sports, etc. etc. Worshiping another God at times was a death sentence. </span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Taking the LORD's Name in vain - Swearing. Just because some people have a limited vocabulary doesn't mean it is right.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Keeping the Sabbath holy, in other words, setting one day aside to rest and contemplate the God who created the universe and holds it all together. </span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">ooh, keeping up with the Jones....You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. This puts a damper on "Desperate Housewives" on TV. The ads for it are enough to make my skin crawl.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: large;">Excesses of Drugs? Alcohol? Suduku? Food? Sex?</span></i></li>
</ul><i><span style="font-size: large;">I could go on and on, but let's start with these. You could number them from one hundred to minus 50; worst sin is #100. I'd leave room for the really, really bad ones at 110! It might look like this thermometer! Our "sin-o-meter", oh, I even found one at <a href="http://agnesotnsource.blogspot.com/2006/04/sin-o-meter.html">by Agnus of Texas</a>! Now, how would God rank them?????</span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5sb4ZTpgIHUmVhl3AI3PozE964FRt-WaECjZ4R_1eH9GwuMIS4XaGz8eZBc5_yns6OfCqLB2ftoS7sQP8x3DCvfycIVNUEdwqNrRKhJbdKEdsVFmzDewVTs3ionZpmXWGOf4PKRMnWQ/s1600/Thermometer.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5sb4ZTpgIHUmVhl3AI3PozE964FRt-WaECjZ4R_1eH9GwuMIS4XaGz8eZBc5_yns6OfCqLB2ftoS7sQP8x3DCvfycIVNUEdwqNrRKhJbdKEdsVFmzDewVTs3ionZpmXWGOf4PKRMnWQ/s320/Thermometer.gif" width="213" /> </a></span></i></div><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">First of all, I'm not God and I can't answer for Him, but this much I believe, SIN IS SIN. SIN is missing the mark, so each of the above are sin and they are all sin. God's word doesn't distinguish between one and another, however, one might consider that a mark missed that impacts someone else like, Rape, or Murder, are worse. BUT God doesn't say that. God says He can not look on any SIN. He also sent Jesus to wipe away all our sin and He did it once and for all (all sin, all people).</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Our movies, magazines, books, TVs, phones, computers, etc. all glamorize these things and that makes us feel better about our lives. If it is "everywhere" and "everybody is doing it? does that make it less on the sin chart?</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Bottom line is we are all guilty of sin and there is only one way to be freed from sin.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God</span><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">," Rom 3:23</span><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"> NKJV</span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</span></i>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-70038855587631794322011-05-14T17:12:00.000-07:002011-05-14T17:44:45.898-07:00Living Out Loud<i><span style="font-size: large;">I've always been impressed with Joseph; not the Joseph of Mary, the mother of Jesus, but Joseph the self-righteous shepherd boy that God gave dreams and he felt he should share them. So what if they put his ten older brothers down and his father at the same time; that makes for a great family dinner time conversation.... "all of you are going to bow down to me". I'm not sure if it was before this or after that his father gave him a precious cloak made with many royal colors. Hey, in the desert, why hide your favoritism of one son over another. Speaking of which, I don't recall daughters, but that is for another time.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, what has always impressed me is that Joseph lived OUT LOUD. Everything we know about him was OUT LOUD. He is hated by his brothers, cast into a pit, sold to caravaning merchants as a slave, bought by Potipher who is close to the Pharaoh (his captain of the guard) and then Joseph rebuffs the Potipher's wife's advances. This lands him prison where he does his time.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now, I have always wondered, after a month, then a year pass, and until he is summoned by the Pharaoh was he daily praising the Lord and worshiping and not anxious about the injustice of his imprisonment? I mean, isn't this where the proverbial "rubber hits the road"? </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">OK, it says that "the Lord was with him...", I get it, but my humanity wonders if my spiritual discipline would sustain me in the long rough times. Then to add to it Joseph interprets a pair of dreams that come true and the cup-bearer is given back his job and the Baker looses his head. The cup-bearer forgets to tell the Pharaoh of the unjust imprisonment of Joseph and he cools his heals a "full two years". I would be feeling pretty alone at this point if it were not my faith that God is and always has been in control. </span></i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbThGIaW16ZXb8aLTscaHPbUsrfJCebVNrCjUIhfPl0qgEQtfcq61E6DcXu80GSJA6KIMzMP00XwzrC-Dy5iBKall_iciNGRRLfAw8aSgCANumXGBnApjynZ9ftxl5f28X63X9oHqa3WA/s1600/Whirlpool+Galexy+M51+from+Hubbel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbThGIaW16ZXb8aLTscaHPbUsrfJCebVNrCjUIhfPl0qgEQtfcq61E6DcXu80GSJA6KIMzMP00XwzrC-Dy5iBKall_iciNGRRLfAw8aSgCANumXGBnApjynZ9ftxl5f28X63X9oHqa3WA/s320/Whirlpool+Galexy+M51+from+Hubbel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) and companion galaxy</h3></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Even in prison he is living OUT LOUD! Here is a shepherd boy, learns some management skills on the job, falsely accused of rape, can interpret dreams and when he gets his big break before Pharaoh, what does he say? </span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br style="color: yellow;" /><b><span style="color: yellow;">"<u>I cannot do it,</u>" Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."</span></b> Gen 41:16 NIV</span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Humble, knowing that God does not share His glory, Joseph is a tool in God's hand and acts accordingly to save a nation, his family, and a brother he has never seen? No, though that comes later, Joseph acts as the servant of the living God; not as a puppet, but as a committed bond servant willing to give up everything. Joseph interprets both Pharaoh's dreams like before, God gave the dream and interpretation, all things belong to God. And who but a man surrendered to God can do as Joseph did?</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Then Joseph goes on to be second in command of the greatest civilization of the time and he helps them survive. He didn't pour over research or take classes in political science, Joseph did what God called him to do; live OUT LOUD FOR GOD! BE SOLD OUT TO HIM AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST.</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lVQR_Ly8c7rZxcDOF15Bc0Kfohl9IXeKpfnJIJ0oPosUBvhFZ3l7sbkhb5b9rOy_aVuSWVyxqOVMxx_WFVPIxLDK9z0iwm0UxiXnOc-jZH221r5TppMgbIMjJmVw3dP1FHMUFHa98eA/s1600/A+Reflection+Nebula+in+Orion.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lVQR_Ly8c7rZxcDOF15Bc0Kfohl9IXeKpfnJIJ0oPosUBvhFZ3l7sbkhb5b9rOy_aVuSWVyxqOVMxx_WFVPIxLDK9z0iwm0UxiXnOc-jZH221r5TppMgbIMjJmVw3dP1FHMUFHa98eA/s320/A+Reflection+Nebula+in+Orion.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>A Reflection Nebula in Orion</h3></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: large;">It isn't the last time that God uses a shepherd boy because of his heart. You will never be rich enough, smart enough, strong enough, skilled enough, or fashionable enough to replace what God can do with raw, devoted, available, honest lives that He sees are so rare and ready to be molded.</span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lVQR_Ly8c7rZxcDOF15Bc0Kfohl9IXeKpfnJIJ0oPosUBvhFZ3l7sbkhb5b9rOy_aVuSWVyxqOVMxx_WFVPIxLDK9z0iwm0UxiXnOc-jZH221r5TppMgbIMjJmVw3dP1FHMUFHa98eA/s1600/A+Reflection+Nebula+in+Orion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Credit: NASA/ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI).</a><i><span style="font-size: large;"></span></i>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-37930281279302385802011-04-25T08:55:00.000-07:002011-04-25T08:55:20.552-07:00Sacrifices are Messy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Walking through the American Veteran's Cemetery at Maastricht on Easter, I once again considered the blood and carnage of war and the thousands of bodies that lay in honor in the land they had fought to liberate from evil. Their deaths were not in vain, but Maastricht was the first town in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe was freed from the oppression and savagery that Hitler had devised. Though over 17,000 Americans were once buried here, around half were repatriated to America for their "final" resting place. Christ's victory over death also provides hope for the fallen. Not to be forgotten were many thousands of British soldiers as well that Operation Market Garden on September 17, 1944 cost. </i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Books, movies and personal witness have over and over told of the suffering, the blood shed, the loss of life and limb for the purchase of freedom. Mel Gibson's life is a shambles; few would argue with that statement, but the film, <u>The Passion of Christ</u>, was spot on of the messiness of the sacrifice of Christ's humanity. But <u>The Passion</u>, or any other medium, can not express the divine dimension that went on during that Passover weekend that culminated in the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus' call to His Father to "let this cup pass from me" was not His inability to endure the human dimension, but the divine one; the gathering of ALL SIN, past, present and future were placed on Him and He would be separated from His Father; that was His sole purpose. His purpose was being about the Father's business and doing exactly what He was told to do. Jesus did not want to face that separation even for a short-time. The sin Jesus took on Himself for you and for me is enticing, but in the end, demands a payment. Jesus changed all that; He paid the price.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Hundreds of soldiers' bodies have yet to be known even 60 years later, but they will still rise in the end. Wars are filled with sacrifices that are messy and the war between good and evil is no exception. There was a price to pay and a willing Man of God to pay it.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Christ's redemption gift reminds us that we have been bought with a price and we are no longer our own. The soldiers' crosses remind us that good people gave of themselves the ultimate sacrifice, messy and permanent for freedom and redemption; may we not forget either sacrifice. Our obligation is not just of a human perspective but also a divine one.</i></span><br />
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</i></span>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-48569320920346694422011-04-23T08:49:00.000-07:002011-04-23T08:52:28.912-07:00The Disconnect in the World<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow is Easter and I'm ready for the joyous celebration! Glory in the Highest, HE IS RISEN. I'm on a river in Holland headed for God's creation of flowers and in the process seeing a number of man's attempts of drawing attention to himself. From man's perspective, there are beautiful buildings, glamorous gardens, magnificent statues, unbelievable works of art and don't forget the Belgium waffle and Belgium chocolate. I have seen the latter in forms that you would blush around your children. It was interesting that the most recognized statue in Brussels is Mannikin Pis, a little boy urinating. But the little ducklings just out for their first swim and the swan plucking out its own down to prepare the nest of two of her eggs; now there is life and beauty that man has yet to match.</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Europeans know how to celebrate Easter; not just in their days off, but they decorate everything and prepare for the economic ring of the cash register, then close EVERYTHING on Easter. We have seen homes and hotels decorated in every window with eggs, bunnies, and everything that is far from HOLY. I'm sure that I probably missed the holy preparation for Easter, but the churches I've walked in are beautiful, ornate, hallow, empty and missing the Spirit of the Risen One.</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I was watching a video called <u>Easter, the Promise Kept</u> this morning as the ship we are aboard has nothing scheduled for the most influential day of history, the day that hope, forgiveness, and when death was conquered by Christ's resurrection. The ship's staff were more than happy, they put it on a TV for us and then to my surprise, to announce a viewing. What surprised me even more is they asked if they could keep it and run it on Easter at 3:30 when most of the entire ship's guests would be on board; not just on the lounge, but available in every room of the ship! Praise the Lord alone for opening hearts and saving souls.</span></i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In considering the movie, I was struck by this passage later in my reading: </span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red" style="color: #cc0000;">“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red" style="color: #cc0000;">like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red" style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.</b>” </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">Luke</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">21:34-36</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> NLT</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="red" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><i>I understand the part about not letting your heart be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, BUT what about "the worries of this life"? There are times I am so guilty about letting my heart be dulled by "the worries of this life". It is good to get away and take a look from a distance of your own life and what it is filled with. It is easy for me to see the disconnect of the world when I see how God has been put in his place.... no let me rephrase that, see how people have forgotten about God and all that He has done by being dulled by "the worries of this life". I look at my life and I can momentarily have my mind crammed full of the world and only because of my love of Christ and that my chains He has broken to set me free, do I quickly come back to Him.</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red" style="font-size: large;"><i>Generations here in Europe have had their hearts dulled by the carousing and drunkenness and the worries of this life; America isn't far behind them as I see what they/we are doing and the change that is occurring. The disconnect in the world has come because we have not listened to some of Christ's last words as He spoke to the people of Jerusalem. </i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red"><i>Look at Jesus' words again</i>: "</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red" style="color: #cc0000;">Don’t let that day catch you unaware,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red" style="color: #cc0000;">like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red" style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”</b> </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><span class="red" style="font-size: large;"><i>I pray that I might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man. I pray that for you as well. Celebrate Easter as the first Christians did, in gratitude, joy, humility, and the hope that He has promised. He is Risen....He is Risen INDEED! </i></span></span><br />
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</span></span>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-64225724423985411802011-04-15T13:15:00.000-07:002011-04-15T13:15:47.535-07:00Lost in France<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>If you are wondering why it has been so long since I last posted a blog, it is because, the hands of the clock move even if I don't. My bride and I are lost in France currently while someone rips and polishes our house. Our goal for nine days was to just unwind and be a couple experiencing some back roads of France together. We have done that and have new roads yet to discover. Thanks to our friend, V, we have a Garmin and when she works (ie, we figure out how to properly program her) she does pretty well. Sometimes her lefts, rights and go for it's are not the easiest to follow and thanks to her, we have found some single lane paths through mustard fields and grain fields, beside cozy rambling brooks and tree-lined tunnels or mini-Arch de Triumph. We've seen more back roads and no toll-"free-ways" today than most Frenchmen see in their lifetime. Our goal is to get lost and still find ourselves eating good bread, cheese and a little red wine.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoVubgdgG9X86MENoYmXmNZfCm5KVEdgUiiH1qXDuQ-_HAlqvLUVbYdzZG2WkdIFVh0eKHB73l2IwVeu1T-A7LQ_u7cdXjlW89RfqB4DZKI58nOG6laGeQoqTCpEmwEzVhPSAWz7wH4c/s1600/DSCN0812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoVubgdgG9X86MENoYmXmNZfCm5KVEdgUiiH1qXDuQ-_HAlqvLUVbYdzZG2WkdIFVh0eKHB73l2IwVeu1T-A7LQ_u7cdXjlW89RfqB4DZKI58nOG6laGeQoqTCpEmwEzVhPSAWz7wH4c/s320/DSCN0812.JPG" width="240" /></span></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">A barn we found that has been out of use for a while</span></i></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>So that is what has happened from Beaune to Ribeauville, France. We drove over a 1000 meter pass with a bit of snow along the roadside and the chairlifts standing quiet. We stop in little villages that tourist never venture in and the locals speak NO English. We have managed to eat the plate de jour a few times, order Pain Chocolates and Pain Raisins for breakfast without damage the international relations between France the the U.S. We find ourselves in the French culture, ordering cafe au'lait or just cafe straight up for a morning and afternoon hit. We been waking a fair bit, but I see not balance of the calories consumed and the calories burned, so I have to trust God's grace to burn them off in my sleep.</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDA244XMYPp0uk0qaJJ0vzzoKhth_D1AngvKcmgAvB75f30Nepi86c4kb7VyZsfytvbWQKohjnebb7ety3jBRdF5StP0oVNvhWQapHmphyphenhyphenXJnNMrqiNN7HG20LVoYDMwR2bgRhvhQz84/s1600/DSCN0808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDA244XMYPp0uk0qaJJ0vzzoKhth_D1AngvKcmgAvB75f30Nepi86c4kb7VyZsfytvbWQKohjnebb7ety3jBRdF5StP0oVNvhWQapHmphyphenhyphenXJnNMrqiNN7HG20LVoYDMwR2bgRhvhQz84/s320/DSCN0808.JPG" width="320" /></i></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>After driving over the beautiful mountain range and seeing the sleepy houses that line the roads, many standing hundreds of years and often ready for some new roof tiles, we wound down to lower plains. One of the many villages had a sign for frommage direct and we jumped at the opportunity to get further off the beaten path. Buy the cheese from the dairy; we bought fresh munster cheese (nothing like munster in America) in Munster at this beautiful dairy farm with a very high standard of cleanlyness. Next was going in to pet the bull calves ready to be sold off; they were so fun and I'd love to have a half dozen back home.</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQghL6rRJQGQbw7iNgtjdzG5OdKEECG4x0T8ahm8cZoQcX0TczX_WiESQG2lFJvWRJfsXVtFgQtDtUT5q819YUdb94CChu5yuJrtK9lNFByvns68jULsPSH6P8P9SyTEgq06mjZiajkxI/s1600/Calf+in+Munster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQghL6rRJQGQbw7iNgtjdzG5OdKEECG4x0T8ahm8cZoQcX0TczX_WiESQG2lFJvWRJfsXVtFgQtDtUT5q819YUdb94CChu5yuJrtK9lNFByvns68jULsPSH6P8P9SyTEgq06mjZiajkxI/s320/Calf+in+Munster.JPG" width="239" /></i></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>The fields that we had experienced from the Loire valley to Burgandy were half mustard seed in full bloom of yellow and the other half of wheat in dark green (it was a U of O dream) and we couldn't believe that there was such a need for mustard as we saw thousands and thousands of hectars of blooming mustard.... it was beautiful.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>While in Munster, we picked up a loaf of fresh bread, some girkens (little pickles), olives, apples, and some local red wine. After our three-course "plate de jour", our groceries would serve up as our dinner and an early rest in bed. OH, the munster was stinky, but once aired, it was very good. </i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>We have been driving an Opel diesel car and it has done very well. It fits our needs well, but diesel runs 1.45 euro/liter, so between fuel and toll roads the first couple of days of chateau viewings, we will walk much of tomorrow. Exploring is on tap and trying to interface with more and more locals. We have found the Alsatians very friendly, and as a whole everyone in France has been very hospitable even with our lace of language skills.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Yesterday in Beaune, the "capital of Burgandy", we saw a hospital that dates back to the 15th century, it was called the Hospice of Beaune, but better know as the Palace of the Poof. It ran until 1971 as a hospital that cared for the poor and rich alike, side by side. It was amazing to see and we didn't even know it was there except we were lead by our hearts to explore the city and see what was in it. This multi-paneled painting done by Wagner 1399-14something was incredible to see the detail and grasp of man's choice.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>We have seen a number of churches, but unfortunately, they are now memorials to a faith that was once very vibrant. The buildings lack people and the Spirit of God in them and it isn't improving with the future generations. Past generations knew of the Master and the transformation of lives; those lives willing to care for the poor, tend the sick and comfort the helpless. I don't know what it will take, but God does. People can be so blind to how much they are loved by the God that created them. </i></span><br />
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</i></span>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-56504184144036452422011-03-27T22:43:00.000-07:002011-03-27T22:56:53.304-07:00Crazy Times and the World Seems to be Crashing<span style="font-size: large;"><i>We are living in crazy times and the world seems to be crashing on many fronts, politically, financially, environmentally, morally, and spiritually. Fear, greed, poverty, wealth, oppression, power, hate, lust, addictions, jealousy, sickness, and unrest are just a few of the drivers, not to mention natural events. Many seem to want to hide from it all as unrest surrounds us in the news and discussions. As bad as it seems, it's going to get worse. I'm not a dooms-day type person. I only know it will; the book of Revelation says so, and I believe it all to be true.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">"Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"</span> Revelation 6:15-17 NIV</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">This picture may be how you are feeling right now; ready to be crushed beneath the giant rock. "I can't keep holding this thing up for much longer!!!" The reality is that we have so little power over anything. We pretend that we are in control, but we control so very little. Today, a sweet Japanese young woman spoke telling how she was wondering the streets of a town they had just moved to when a woman approached her to tell her of a nearby church where she could learn English. With her mother's encouragement she attended and later, as she told it, the Holy Spirit moved her even though she didn't understand all the words that were spoken of Jesus' love for her. Oh, the pain and suffering in Japan; though this woman's family and friends are "safe", she says they don't yet know the peace that she has in Jesus Christ. I cried listening to her thank us for praying as she knows, she said, that our prayers change things in Japan. This is faith that I wish everyone who heard her would embrace.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Over and over I see it, read about it, and have experienced it; though you don't have all the answers, faith in the one true God, is enough to sustain the weight of the crushing world around us.</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexs4EMQ_GsvNyVsOWvk5iFC49X-7hKvLG3rEL6Dla-4lGWBbdlhcvOGLGwppFMkxEt0LNsYD2KSFoXVq-MeDAFinqnYVZ7_Hnm3R4eeHjoY7ZDfEDZz4_ukmPCzl-gFXl1AYlW6SLAUk/s1600/John+%2526+Dave+July+2006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexs4EMQ_GsvNyVsOWvk5iFC49X-7hKvLG3rEL6Dla-4lGWBbdlhcvOGLGwppFMkxEt0LNsYD2KSFoXVq-MeDAFinqnYVZ7_Hnm3R4eeHjoY7ZDfEDZz4_ukmPCzl-gFXl1AYlW6SLAUk/s320/John+%2526+Dave+July+2006.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My two best friends (other than Jesus & my wonderful wife)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: large;">It may be a crazy time in the world and in your life, but going though the tough stuff in life is easier when you have friends to help carry you, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Even distance does not stop prayer, cards, calls, and words of encouragement or an ear to listen when all seems lost. I've found crying together is better than crying alone as a friend leans in to hand you a tissue and lift your spirit. Even when my friends are miles away, I am never without Jesus. My closest friend on earth is my gracious loving wife. She is my greatest cheerleader, supporter, </span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;">critic </span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;">and so much more; I need all these gifts from her and the love she shows me every day is really unfathomable. I know that God crafted her with me in mind. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">My friends have also been crafted, but in a different way. I just know that when I need them, they will be there in anyway they can be. I have often commented that you should be able to name your pallbearers while you are still alive; those men that will carry you even when you are alive. These two guys would be leading the pack and I know I have a number of others that would grab a handle when called on. I am very thankful for them all.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>So, in this messed up world, get your life squared away by living like Jim Elliot said long before he was speared to death trying to share Christ's love, </i><b><b><h3>"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."</h3></b></b></span><i><span style="font-size: large;">Elliot's peace and purpose was placed in something greater than what the world has to offer; it was placed in Christ and real hope that conquers the fears that come our way, even the fear of death. Once you get this part of your life squared away by asking Christ to be your master, then and only then, can you love your neighbor more than yourself. When you do that, it doesn't matter if the world is circling the drain; you are given peace that is from the creator of the world with confidence that what He has made, He is in control of.</span></i><br />
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Jesus is speaking,</i> <span style="color: red;">"But when the Father sends the Counselor as my representative — and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit — he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you. I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again."</span> John 14:26-28 NLT<br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-37313414670165679702011-03-20T16:29:00.000-07:002011-03-20T16:29:41.745-07:00<div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>With AARP just waiting for a reply, I continue to enjoy the wife of my youth, my first wife, and my children. I feel that I am a very blessed man and I have many worldwide experiences in places and people that I cherish from the chair I write. I have witnessed world strife, terrorism, and wars but even in the midst of danger, I have hope that is anchored in Christ and the plans He has for me. </i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinxToUPvi4COdXS2nZpi87CXwrq97Jz69OaV41Arf7Wu1D5QQAFoLVSUCQILVMUj1PTqvW7k4rWuJxvz7Auc-b3RMEWHzbYuXQzi9tmUN2pwAn4pYebrCkGL3hfioFNHI6ckqTA3j6Sg/s1600/John+eating+very+very+hot+Tom+Yum+soup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinxToUPvi4COdXS2nZpi87CXwrq97Jz69OaV41Arf7Wu1D5QQAFoLVSUCQILVMUj1PTqvW7k4rWuJxvz7Auc-b3RMEWHzbYuXQzi9tmUN2pwAn4pYebrCkGL3hfioFNHI6ckqTA3j6Sg/s320/John+eating+very+very+hot+Tom+Yum+soup.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very Hot Tom Kha Soup in Thailand</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Some folks reading this blog like to hear the personal parts so to that end here is one. I love to cook and I love to eat. Taste and presentation are both important and the small herbs and spices make all the difference in my enjoyment of the ordinary to the very fine. The food's texture, smell, feel, and freshness is also extremely important. A favorite challenge is to eat a new food and try and guess what is in it and how it is made. Cooking without a recipe is like painting on a blank canvas without any sketch lines. I have a dear friend, John, that is a foodie and as a chemist, he takes analysis to a molecular level ;-)</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>We are going to be traveling to Europe soon and the bread, cheese and wine combination in one of the countries is calling my name. We plan to stop in small towns and meet the people and savor the local fare. Many thanks to dear friends that got us a Garmin so we could get lost and yet meet up with them on time. This is some vacation time and time to explore new and diverse regions of the world. There are many things to hold us where we are and many that have us travel.</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Here is a newspaper quote from today:</i> "A big difference, right now, is how interconnected we are. We can view these horrifying events in Japan online within minutes of their happening. Thanks to YouTube and smartphones, we can watch a tsunami wave devastate a town as if it were happening across the street and <a href="http://bit.ly/dQjL13">check a nuclear reactor's status on Twitter</a>. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The world learned of the Chernobyl disaster, mind you, two days after it occurred, after tracers picked up radioactive elements on the clothing of nuclear reactor workers -- in Sweden. A day later. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">That kind of relentless, disturbing news can prey on our psyche, and -- if we're not careful -- our pocketbooks. Worry affects our ability to make judgments and, ultimately, decisions -- even financial ones, experts say. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's why you need to take some steps these days to ground yourself before you make any wholesale changes to your retirement investments or escape from all this with a shopping spree." Oregonian 3/20/11</span></div><blockquote style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Today's news discusses the affect that global unrest in Libya, Yemen, and Egypt along with tsunami and earthquake damage in Japan; the threat of radioactivity, and even local crime or events can shake a person's mental status. It is true and yet, I for one, know that my prayers to an all knowing and all powerful God, those prayers can affect much in ways through God's hand than if I had not prayed them. This is not to say God requires my prayers, but that He has directed us to pray and He listens. Something that is not on the same level as these disasters and political changes is a small book, recently released, called <u>Love Wins</u>.</i></span></blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>For a number of years I have enjoyed the ministry of Rob Bell through the Nooma video series. I own a number of the DVDs and one year, as a family, we sent the ministry financial support. But the words we speak (or write), mine included, can and will follow us determining the influence and impact that we have in this world. Though I once considered Bell to be cutting edge in communication of faith, I better understand the position he takes; a position that I can't agree with. My words here are more to state my position than to criticize his.</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I wanted you to know that I am greatly disappointed in the position Rob Bell has taken. Although I have not read the book, <u>Love Wins</u>, and will not, his interview on MSNBC <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg-qgmJ7nzA&feature=related">YouTube</a> was sufficient for me to hear that he does not see the gift of the sacrifice of Christ as the point of transformation and that a person's decision is made in this life, not available postmortem. I believe his assertion is both a danger to those who might think that they will have a second chance and profoundly post-modern in his inclusive universalist hope.<br />
Though I am far from a theologian, I find his comments hermeneutically unsound and his desire for God's love to over-ride God's justice (or any other part of God's character) totally unfounded.<br />
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I find Bell's position most unfortunate in so many ways. After researching Bell further during a discussion with my pastor, I have not utilized the Nooma series and find myself now with a box of DVDs that are worthless because of his stance. Though my pastor did not agree with me, we agreed to use watchful eyes and accurate teaching to bring this to light. </i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>So before you stop reading as if this doesn't have anything to do with your life, let me say this as firmly as I can. Everything matters about what decision you make while you are alive on this earth; who you say Jesus is to you?</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.</span><i><span style="color: yellow;">"</span> </i></span><span style="font-size: large;">Hebrews 9:27-28</span><span style="font-size: large;"> NKJV <i> </i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>It doesn't say all; it does not say you get a second chance. Let's just say, I wouldn't bet the farm that you will get a second chance after death to decide to love God... God doesn't change, He has always loved you.</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><br />
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved . For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved ."</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Romans 10:9-13 </span><span style="font-size: large;">NIV</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>God's love is such that He sent Jesus to live among us; He has revealed it to us in specific and general revelation (see Psalm 19). If Bell's position is right, why have millions of people risk everything in order to share the gospel? Why did Jesus come and sacrifice Himself to take on the sins of the world past, present and future for you and me? Why did Jesus command us,</i><span style="color: yellow;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"Then Jesus came to them and said,</span> <span style="color: red;">"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."" </span>Matthew 28:18-20 NIV</span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Don't be fooled, the decision is yours to make but you must make it before your earthly body dies for love to win.</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saigon Street = Life Decisions</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><i>If I were to write a book it would be more aptly titled, <u>God Wins!</u> Of all the denial in the world it does not change the fact that God wins.</i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<div id="refHTML" style="font-family: inherit;"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-54993550834082379312011-03-11T10:41:00.000-08:002011-03-11T10:41:38.279-08:00A Farmer of the King<div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DBHRKlzLjevrlslku8OWaLJIq3gVJZCFbLm6HAJ6abcNkOYnCPmmZ5MWylHmoBx2UtAYPhthkDHWUAHR1gkbnK5Zym7qWrXQbOrSWEsjvStKwBjNDsPoF96GICBLXKGUS1Oy6zWEvJM/s1600/Walt-at-2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DBHRKlzLjevrlslku8OWaLJIq3gVJZCFbLm6HAJ6abcNkOYnCPmmZ5MWylHmoBx2UtAYPhthkDHWUAHR1gkbnK5Zym7qWrXQbOrSWEsjvStKwBjNDsPoF96GICBLXKGUS1Oy6zWEvJM/s320/Walt-at-2.gif" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Check out the phone on the right!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: large;">I recently celebrated another birthday, long past this picture. Age has certain privileges, one of which is the wisdom that experience brings. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Confucius is quoted of saying: "By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” I have tasted these three and also a fourth. James, the half-brother of Christ writes: </span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting..."</span> James 1:5-6 NASU</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I have walked 48 years with Christ on a road, working out my faith and salvation, yet I know that salvation was and is a gift God so desires to give so we can have an un-restricted relationship. He has also given me wisdom both in times of need, and in my walk in general. It is not my abilities that are tested, but the power of the third member of the Triune God, in me.</i></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">It is difficult for me to describe the Kingdom, but I know the King; He is my Father, my sovereign, my God. He is perfect in every way; His character never changes. He is all loving, all powerful, all knowing, not bound by time or space, righteous and pure; His is just and jealous, demanding, and forgiving. Yet in these and many more attributes, He remains loving and merciful, just and demanding all at the same time. No one attribute over-rides the others but are held in unity and harmony. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">His Kingdom, as we see it on earth is not perfected or complete, yet it remains. It is the very thread that makes up the fabric of the universe. Those that are followers of Christ and by Him have been transformed to be heirs of God's family, dwell in this universe while living on the earth. I, like others in the Kingdom, face an evil foe who desires our glory, but glory belongs to none other than the King of Glory, Yahweh. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">The Kingdom is filled with many and Yahweh is the judge and ruler of those subject to Him. As in Middle Ages, there are those that sit just inside the gate, those that tend the gate, those that are more like Knights, and many who shepherd the flocks and plant and harvest the fields. Yahweh God loves all of his subjects equally, but some choose to receive the power from Him and answer the King's call to their station in life.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"And now let the voice ring out with great gladness—we won ones may be the pathway back to God for the others. That is His earnest desire. That should be our dominant ambition. For that purpose He has endowed us with peculiar power.<br />
There is one inlet of power in the life—anybody's life—any kind of power: just one inlet—the Holy Spirit. He is power. He is in every one who opens his door to God. He eagerly enters every open door. He comes in by our invitation and consent. His presence within is the vital thing.<br />
But with many of us while He is in, He is not in control: in as guest; not as host. That is to say He is hindered in His natural movements; tied up, so that He cannot do what He would. And so we are not conscious or only partially conscious of His presence. And others are still less so. But to yield to His mastery, to cultivate His friendship, to give Him full swing—that will result in what is called power. One inlet of power—the Holy Spirit in control." (<u>Quiet Talks on Prayer</u> by S.D. Gordon 1904) <i>This powerful book can be read at <b><a href="http://www.odbconline.org/media/Quiet%20Talks%20on%20Prayer%20by%20S.D.%20Gordon%20%201904.pdf">Quiet Talks on Prayer</a></b>.</i></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: large;">The unfortunate truth is that in our world, there are wolves in sheep's clothing, calling themselves by a name and tarnishing what the name once stood for. Case in point in our media today, the Westboro Baptist Church which is not even remotely connected with any Baptist conventions or associations; nor do their members (71 in 2007) resemble Christ's love of people. Yet some have referred to them as Christians. The term, "Christian" has been bastardized to both extremes like Westboro Baptists on one end and the dilution by the hordes of Americans that consider themselves "Christian" as a default religion, because they are none of the others, on the other end of the term. Therefore, the actions of those that call themselves "Christian" but do not follow God's Word in speech, action, and deed, has tarnished the term. Today, I will often refer to myself as a "follower of Christ" rather than be confused with the world's dilution of "Christian".</span></i></div><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0KqQ6sYQkKvWVaXqPGGW3ODKuSgHHCpeBmUfHC7-iFM5n_K6MaJzP_eXHvrAx7-6MoI9xi71dAnNIjPWNCyHt5NsInCcBF6ozSTlu8TJDvRLssZlBvFFp0lrmAfF2pRA2_T0LxtPkws/s1600/Wheat.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0KqQ6sYQkKvWVaXqPGGW3ODKuSgHHCpeBmUfHC7-iFM5n_K6MaJzP_eXHvrAx7-6MoI9xi71dAnNIjPWNCyHt5NsInCcBF6ozSTlu8TJDvRLssZlBvFFp0lrmAfF2pRA2_T0LxtPkws/s200/Wheat.gif" width="200" /></a><i><span style="font-size: large;">As I said, the Kingdom of God is difficult to describe, but I know I am part of it. To that end, I will work the fields, not in my own strength, but in the power and strength of my King. The Apostle Paul wrote: </span></i><br />
<div style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;">"As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." </span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"</span> Romans 10:11-15 NIV</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">So I live in a Kingdom, that is in the world, but no tof the world; I live in a body that has been called a "tent" that is fading away: </span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands."</span> 2 Corinthians 5:1 NIV </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.".</span> 2 Peter 1:12-15 NIV</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: large;">My tent is broken and worn, but I shall use the assets of His that I steward over to bring honor and glory to my King.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"He</span> [Jesus]<span style="color: yellow;"> told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves."</span></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Luke 10:2-3 [observation, mine] NIV</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>While I live, and as I was born again, I shall be a most dependent farmer waiting instructions and obeying.</i></span><br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-15589527015511219432011-03-06T13:55:00.000-08:002011-03-06T13:55:11.726-08:00The End of the Age<i><span style="font-size: large;">We have three, what I consider to be, exception children; all of which shall eclipse their parents in ways too numerous to count. May I share with you as minute slice of how wonderful God has designed them and the processes they are in; our son is getting his PhD in Astrophysics. He thinks, talks, teaches and works on things beyond our galaxy. My wife and I look at each other in wonder, knowing that he probably didn't get this from either of us and it had to be an extra touch from Heaven. I have often suggested he discover the "warp drive" that would give all Star Trek fans hope for the future. He smiles at his father.</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_FwFISi6Bvixm4ScNt0wQFCZ8JHMm9OxeZBYmYoGwELEqI822r-44_EoQ6CoK2SSxQzRT7F2ze33MQaCqK_54hqUZhUdgDnq5o29tOMbU-nq2OxoZocOVBE9HBScr6ct3zBaTA0V9e8/s1600/hubble-eagle-nebula-wide-field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_FwFISi6Bvixm4ScNt0wQFCZ8JHMm9OxeZBYmYoGwELEqI822r-44_EoQ6CoK2SSxQzRT7F2ze33MQaCqK_54hqUZhUdgDnq5o29tOMbU-nq2OxoZocOVBE9HBScr6ct3zBaTA0V9e8/s320/hubble-eagle-nebula-wide-field.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hubble Photo of the Eagle Nebula</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: large;">There are certain mysteries that the universe has, man </span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;">will </span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;">always pursue; and, not to disappoint them, there are many mysteries which they will never understand or their explanations they theorize shall fall short of the truth. Though this will not dissuade them, which I am grateful, their theories require more "faith" than I could find. There is neither a tree of all knowledge that is available nor should we ever be so contemptuous to not believe that God's design and His creation of the universe is fathomless and beyond our grasp as mere mortals.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>There are many Christians that follow the notion that they can hasten the end of the age and bring back Jesus by making sure that everyone on the planet has had a chance to hear the gospel; a notion of which I respect, but can't quite agree with. I see this as only difference of opinion on a minor theological interpretation. This is the text of Scripture that they hang the task of worldwide evangelism on.</i> </span><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" </span><br style="color: yellow;" /><span style="color: yellow;">Jesus answered:</span> <span style="color: red;">"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."</span> Matthew 24:3-14 NIV<br />
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First of all I am on record that I believe every word of this statement by Jesus Christ regarding the end of the age. Some people have said that the rise in earthquakes, unrest in the world, and other markers are ushering in the end times. Frankly speaking, to me it doesn't matter if it is or not; I am and will live my life as if He can and will return at any moment (regardless and in spite of any "predictions"). </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>What I question is not Christ's teaching to His disciples and thus to the entire world, but the notion of man's total responsibility for bringing about the results and therefore the end of the world as we know it. Should this notion be true, it puts the return of Christ, which will happen, on the backs and responsibility of man and not on God's sovereign knowledge and timing. I remain in the camp that we should endeavor to be about the Father's business and share the Gospel; as we are doing this, whether I live to see it or not, the Father will again send the Son back for His bride, the Church [this includes the living and dead follower of God's Son]. The commission and power that Jesus gave was this: </i> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"Then Jesus came to them and said,</span> <span style="color: red;">"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."</span> Matt 28:18-20 NIV<br />
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<i>Please do not get me wrong, I applaud and support the work that is being done by every true follower of Christ to reach out to the lost wherever they may be found in every nation, people group and tribe and I also believe that God grants supernatural power to accomplish His love of mankind. It is not God's desire that any man, woman or child not choose to love Him, but for this, He has given a choice. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The end of this world as we know it is true and yet I don't know or understand how all the events will unfold, Christ's roll-out of the future is sure:</i><br />
<span style="color: red;"></span> Matthew 24:30-31 NIV</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>For now, I am content to follow King Solomon's wisdom:</i> <br />
<span style="color: yellow;">"Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God."</span> Eccl 2:24-25 NKJV </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvQQ-3A5PQ9u1w60C8fTfcsiHEEH0NbneK6_AbEZqXEv4o_4hIHqYSxX96h-AJzCHJYPUoUSPYADqSIPUDMJNCBOFQhEtOqSsn9D-jveNDO6waDf-Hzufstp6vAposyVARuNkpGiUIow/s1600/Girls+Grad+Pic..bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvQQ-3A5PQ9u1w60C8fTfcsiHEEH0NbneK6_AbEZqXEv4o_4hIHqYSxX96h-AJzCHJYPUoUSPYADqSIPUDMJNCBOFQhEtOqSsn9D-jveNDO6waDf-Hzufstp6vAposyVARuNkpGiUIow/s320/Girls+Grad+Pic..bmp" width="248" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our twin daughters</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><i>One daughter brought me a wonderful apple pie made from scratch by her; we ate last night and enjoyed the company of good friends. My other daughter travels through Israel; experiencing things for the first and second time. My wonderful wife prepared a feast with friends and today I go to worship the King Almighty and hear of His great love for me and forgiveness that I so desperately need and before I leave the building, I shall join with God in communion at His table. Yet, an hour scarcely passes that I do not consider the remaining lost of this world and I pursue the opportunities that unfold before me. For I breath and live at His pleasure and when I draw my last air, my pleasure will be to be in His presence for all eternity.<br />
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<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-14598582553541201932011-03-01T23:04:00.000-08:002011-03-01T23:04:47.563-08:00Wake up before it is too late<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5GLi-pjdjBsBHyegYVQarL1510DAYjQCv9bpTzngA4DxKGCvCjKGeVh89HviHsNSPKREqW-i00EiuZTQOGb-W9G7eMvc3Qr7kZdQ94L6DS1cMa-G2B1vubPWKHCLc5OyMKsqAfXIH-o/s1600/Mom+G..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The older I get the more amazed I am at the past and how it is both remembered and how it is forgotten. Today is my mom's 88th birthday and after having a lovely dinner of excellent Chinese food (American style), we continued our evening of conversation. I asked her about events over 50 years ago and they were still vivid in her mind, both of warned danger and of experienced absence of the same. So much of our life is shaped by the warnings by others or the anxious thoughts we have. "What if this happens?" The reality is 90% of those things don't happen; possibly because our senses are heightened to the possibility.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNVBMsQctMN-LymJsqLKTxx1H32HOF52WQcz3D2XzyVegMt4xdu_I1BVxvSXeNTcrxt03_LIinNdiJIPFw8KI3TbjWlS2agJh1tOGVpwHYduvnvsS5rf4GnNBbXuEyfoIWefMQb1ACKg/s1600/Mom+G.+at+88.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNVBMsQctMN-LymJsqLKTxx1H32HOF52WQcz3D2XzyVegMt4xdu_I1BVxvSXeNTcrxt03_LIinNdiJIPFw8KI3TbjWlS2agJh1tOGVpwHYduvnvsS5rf4GnNBbXuEyfoIWefMQb1ACKg/s320/Mom+G.+at+88.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy 88th birthday, Mom</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Other powerful life shaping catalysis are expectations. They come in all styles and shapes, both good and bad. Dreams, like the "American Dream" or dreams of fame, fortune, and/or power can drive a person to do many amazing and even dangerous, morally corrupt, even criminal acts, all to reach the allusive dream that is just over the next hill. You know where it is... at the end of the rainbow. </i></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>There are expectations laid down by bosses and work that drive us and we in turn use our "position" to abuse our families, friends and character to meet the corporate bottom line and keep our job. Some of us, both men and women, love and crave the accolades that achievement in work can bring. I have seen this in the youngest salespeople who desire to climb the proverbial corporate ladder, only to find the last rung and realize there is nothing lasting at the top. I have seen even pastors who shepherd their flock get trapped in the expectation of tradition, church boards, denominations, and even fall prey to the evil voice that size matters and their measure in man's eyes is the Sunday morning count, the production quality of their service and the cathedral/building size. They, too, find that when it is finished, their trail has left their own children far from a walk with Christ because there was not time for them, only expectations, heaps of expectations of them and their entire family. Christ said,</i> <span style="color: red;">"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world , yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"</span> Mark 8:35-37 NIV </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>In our American society filled with some very small churches and some very large ones, we might ask, "What good is it for a man to gain a big congregation, yet have his family crushed... his character smashed... his marriage neglected and trashed ? I'm not singling out pastors, but this conviction is on every person great and small in a society that materialism has become their god. We have attempted to make the one true God conform to our image; the image we want Him to be. How pathetic to think we can turn the table on an Almighty God. It is time we stop trading the important values of life to chase the dreams and expectations of ourselves or others. </i></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>We have lost the time honored values of family, friends, faith, trust, virtue, and character. We have traded these things for bigger houses, newer cars, better jobs, more toys, more, more, more of more. Where are the hopes that a little girl might someday become a wonderful, loving mom and wife? Where are the hopes that dad could be at every game and teach his children how to enjoy each others' company, to laugh and play? We have chosen "stars" on TV and pay them with ridiculous sums of money rather than value heroes in real life. Think about it, there are very few heroes in our lives today; only fakes and athletes (real good role models).</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Parents expectations can be another area of good or disaster, utter disaster. We take our young children and fulfill <u>our</u> dreams through them; or we seek their achievements so we will look better or feel better about ourselves; often times, their desires are second to our hopes and dreams. We push our children to the brink of their abilities and sometimes beyond; </i></span><br />
<div style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sept. 6, 2007 -- There is a sharp rise in suicides across the board in teens, says the CDC.</span></div><div style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;">They are up 76% in girls aged 10-14, up 32% in girls aged 15-19, and up 9% in boys aged 15-19. It's the biggest spike in 15 years, the CDC's latest teen-suicide statistics show.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: purple;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;">Reported by</span> <a href="http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/Suicide-and-Suicidal-Behaviors-Among-College-Students.html">www.stateuniversity.com</a>, <span style="color: purple;">January 24, 2011, "Nearly 1,100 suicides will occur on college campuses this year. Many more students think about suicide or make a suicide plan. In the past fifty years, the suicide rate for those age 15-24 increased by over 200%. About 12 people aged 15-24 will commit suicide today – that is one about every two hours.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;">Caucasians account for over 90% of all completed suicides."</span></div><div style="color: purple;"><br />
</div><u><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Our expectations and dreams are killing our children... they are killing us. </b></i></span></u><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>It is time Americans revolted within themselves and banished the evil, vile, demon of materialism out of their lives and re-calibrate their goals of life. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>2000 years ago, Jesus addressed people headed down the same path; we are just like them, but on the freeway.</i> <span style="color: red;">"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. </span><br style="color: red;" /><span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">"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? <br />
</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If 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? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."</span> Matt 6:24-34 NIV</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Jesus gives us a strong warning about our reality. He will judge and the outcome may be very different than what you thought. Listen to His words:</i> <span style="color: red;">"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"'</span></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Matt 7:21-23 NIV </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Here is another reality check for our lives: Jesus, the Son, again speaking,</i><br />
<span style="color: red;">"For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."</span> John 3:34-36 NIV</span><br />
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</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><i>My best friend is about to be a grandfather for the first time. I am so happy for him. Children are a gift from the Lord, but we, like His disciples get caught up in the doing and forget to just be with the children. We need to be grateful, satisfied, content, eager to please our Heavenly Father. Look at this: </i> <span style="color: yellow;">"Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said,</span><span style="color: red;"> "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." <span style="color: yellow;">When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there."</span></span> Matt 19:13-15 NIV</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Wake up before it is too late; the dream you are chasing is robbing your soul. The expectations you are trying to live up to will weary you to death and if you ever achieve them, you will see how futile the effort has been... and for what? </i><br />
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<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-68632945025477676872011-02-24T11:24:00.000-08:002011-02-24T11:24:43.189-08:00I know His voice<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Showing my age, I remember the commercials of a guy with with an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other; both telling them contradicting advice. I don't remember what the advertisement was for, but even the Simpsons (which I don't watch) pick up on this image as has Apple and many other companies. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Like the picture, the guy can see the little images and choose which voice he wanted to obey. In reality, we hear the voices, but don't always know the source. In 1977 a movie came out that caused some ridicule from the churches, "Oh, God" , staring John Denver and George Burns; the church could not picture George Burns as God. Watch a minute of the movie at this You Tube link.<b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exGd6IC8dKY"> Oh, God</a> </b> I'm not defending or promoting the movie, but unlike the movies of recent years of naughty angles, etc., this one did have a message (if you could get beyond the actors).</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42a6kLvssCT4sE5PeIG6lDXPQgMaT6ludWMs0a9UcJWoeUTBI8VW8xTmqiUv6w29pio_KoUDazFu5sdXKKLnf8Dg6Fp0NcnoezhtGeALYL99EAtKwTiz5pWiK1QUyQG3P5Hk0asIO5mo/s1600/Oh%252C+God.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42a6kLvssCT4sE5PeIG6lDXPQgMaT6ludWMs0a9UcJWoeUTBI8VW8xTmqiUv6w29pio_KoUDazFu5sdXKKLnf8Dg6Fp0NcnoezhtGeALYL99EAtKwTiz5pWiK1QUyQG3P5Hk0asIO5mo/s1600/Oh%252C+God.jpg" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Last night I was reflecting on a young man, a friend, who was confronted with the fact that he didn't know God's voice or at least wasn't sure when he heard that small voice telling him what to do. There were no images sitting on his shoulder like the commercial. He narrowly escaped a perilous trap.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Jesus instructed us about His voice; here are a couple of passages of the Bible, God's message to us: </i><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">"Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, <span style="color: red;">"</span></span><span style="color: red;">You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." </span> <span style="color: yellow;">Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?""</span> <i>John 18:37-38 NASU</i><br />
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<br style="color: red;" /><span style="color: red;">"The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."</span> <span style="color: yellow;">Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.</span> <i>John 10:3-6 NIV Jesus often referred to those of us that follow Him as sheep and that we know His voice; if others called, we would not follow. But knowing His voice takes practice and it takes concentration to listen and block out competing voices that want to harm the "sheep".</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Growing up on a farm with animals and doing my pre-vet work, I learned a few things about sheep (the real ones). They are not the brightest of animals, they are defenseless, if stuck on their back - they can't get up on their own, they smell, and their gestation period (pregnancy) is five months. They need to be cared for, sheared, their feet dipped to prevent infection, their tails docked (cut short), and many other necessary things. Christ's figure of speech of portraying us as sheep is quite accurate in the animal kingdom; we need a watchman or shepherd.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>But Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, not only wants us to know His voice and follow Him, but He has a deep concern and love for those outside of the fold. In this passage Jesus again was using sheep as a figure of speech but of mankind. Jesus talked in "parables" or stories because in the culture that was the communication style and the people understood because they related to the story and remembered them. </i><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">"Then Jesus told them this parable:</span> <span style="color: red;">"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep .' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.""</span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Luke 15:3-7 NIV I found this video clip for kids, but in this way, I never want to grow up; take a look by clicking the link: </i></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyWZeOlaRo4">One Lost Sheep</a></i></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT_zcum2Nx2vORIKiguIXJ2Jl0Esxq1498XhMjZFXBGJM0vtcDd4Jkhuh4y319Li4a2FNxh4isHSOfBVV-WCCQsIIm2DbJaMUazpDoewfMNXyd3S9BGRUgLCH7sBaZWoW7kCLuTWqF_o/s1600/Lost+Sheep.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT_zcum2Nx2vORIKiguIXJ2Jl0Esxq1498XhMjZFXBGJM0vtcDd4Jkhuh4y319Li4a2FNxh4isHSOfBVV-WCCQsIIm2DbJaMUazpDoewfMNXyd3S9BGRUgLCH7sBaZWoW7kCLuTWqF_o/s320/Lost+Sheep.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Bottom line is that we were created by a God Who loves us and wants to care for us. He has given us a free will to love Him or not, but He calls to us and searches for us and sent Jesus to walk the face of the earth that we might know Him and hear His voice. We were created to be a part of His Kingdom, not of this earth alone; the choice to follow Him is ours. </i><br />
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<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-37140834542959768272011-02-16T08:57:00.000-08:002011-02-16T08:58:09.796-08:00Seeds to Harvest - Innocence Lost and FoundThe innocence of a child is precious and when it is lost or is stolen it is not just a loss for the child, but for all mankind. I think that is why I like snow, it reminds me of my childhood and of innocence even as an adult. It is white, soft, cool, clean and sent from a gracious God from the heavens. I was never one who saw heaven like the middle ages picture of fat little angelic beings playing harps on clouds; that may have been the dream of those back then when life was extremely hard. I see it for what it is, that which God has made for me; I don't pretend to dream of what it will be or think heaven is for all "good" people, only those that answer God's call.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFV_aRknvXh4HtwEujrXkJQgFeLUrsJUqF_aUWmNNVeI6ZlBljDJGqddUhZFo_C5fYuIB7jeMZ09KJHWJoyRL9OpfwIDAz32XnTeflaTpeFWxtoejftPTgZIRn7xjnj9f0OSppE3iKiKE/s1600/image358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFV_aRknvXh4HtwEujrXkJQgFeLUrsJUqF_aUWmNNVeI6ZlBljDJGqddUhZFo_C5fYuIB7jeMZ09KJHWJoyRL9OpfwIDAz32XnTeflaTpeFWxtoejftPTgZIRn7xjnj9f0OSppE3iKiKE/s320/image358.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Ready, but not finished, my life is as fragile as the snow and will remain as long as my gracious LORD desires; in some ways I am like a snowman crafted by the hands of God. In other ways, simply a tool in His hands that is happiest when used and used up. I relish the strong hands of God grasping me and thrusting me into work He has to accomplish; yet I know He could speak it done and I am used only at His pleasure. He cleans me off, sharpens me against the grinding wheel, coats me with oil over the paint that is the blood He shed that made me new, made me His.<br />
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As a gardener, I love to dream of selecting the exact seeds, planting the seeds, watching them break through the soil and picturing the end results, the fruit or flower. The smell of rich, clean, soil is a reminder of the earth in which I was created and that which I will return. How precious a life that is filled with dreams, of use, of giving rather than taking; so many people are alive, but seem like walking dead. It is so overwhelmingly sad to witness those whose innocence have been stolen or sold to the things of this world. Yet how overwhelmingly joyous to be just a small part of those who regain their innocence and become as a child in the hands of their Creator again.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9hI-I0Jd8R34QsXsMj4lBP6FuwEhIumq8dtCNyOxfPUZfUvDuP3ijLmJqUZjM5cisRO3zmnAVqjQfLHmVLeLUcHVxR43sVqAL94FE2kDuJr6R1xDv-JHc8nht8jlL5bWY5XUrsvqctA/s1600/image265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9hI-I0Jd8R34QsXsMj4lBP6FuwEhIumq8dtCNyOxfPUZfUvDuP3ijLmJqUZjM5cisRO3zmnAVqjQfLHmVLeLUcHVxR43sVqAL94FE2kDuJr6R1xDv-JHc8nht8jlL5bWY5XUrsvqctA/s320/image265.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />
I have been enjoying several books and highly recommend an updated English version of the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a'Kempis which can be found at: <a href="http://www.sandroid.org/GutenMark/wasftp.GutenMark/MarkedTexts/imitation.pdf">The Imitation of Christ, 2003</a>. There is something to be gained from the writings of several classics like this one. The depth of devotion and separation from the trappings of the world are heard in the words of this wonderful treasure and of the mystics. Though I question some of the mortification of the time, the call of Christ is upon us all that we are to be in the world, but not of the world. Here are His words to the Father: <span style="color: yellow;">"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world , even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."</span> John 17:15-19 NIV<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FlNBOkktC2s/TVv9uGTY_PI/AAAAAAAAACs/s1600/image358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>This week I've received several electronic messages that have brought tears to my eyes, one from a grateful mother and one from a grateful college student. Their words testify of God's redeeming work that is being accomplished through simple tools like my wife and I. We are humbled and strengthened. The bends and dents that come with the task are now cherished and borne with a sense of honored purpose. I know that when I do see Jesus face to face, He will restore me in His image; until then, I am ever more encouraged to stay the course which He opens before us. We do not walk alone, but follow the Creator of the universe that knows all things and has all power; we follow Him that never changes, never lies, never stops loving me, and will never leave me. This is the hope that drives me to the finished line. <span style="color: yellow;">"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."</span> John 4:34-38 NIV<br />
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There is much to do, much to spend time on our faces seeking after the will of the Father for; I brought nothing into this world and I will take nothing out... except the knowledge that those that I have helped, I will see them again. My heart is patterned after the Father's, that all would come to know Him through Jesus Christ, His Son.<br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370989618416686315.post-19346759452554292972011-02-08T21:46:00.000-08:002011-02-08T21:46:30.997-08:00Part of a Different Dimension<i><span style="font-size: large;">Last night, I pondered the things of the universe like the number and names of the billions of stars and the placement and shape of each grain of sand; more importantly, I pondered the God who created it all and holds it all together. He alone knows each of the names of the stars and each particle of sand on the shore. Lofty thoughts for a simple man, but experiencing God in a close relationship is so much more than simple knowledge.</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7O-lNSFTGAtmoTD_phezy2zabmMzuxV9Ia-u1ZJsu42TSCAn-Ht7CESzMXtBbmfso9oZ7yhrc8DI1NOq5OXIUfCSZ9UCq3pNoET4KG52hKDHe9P7C8CTYvl17BmzgMKLNMhQxIJ_l5Q/s1600/Haystake+Rock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7O-lNSFTGAtmoTD_phezy2zabmMzuxV9Ia-u1ZJsu42TSCAn-Ht7CESzMXtBbmfso9oZ7yhrc8DI1NOq5OXIUfCSZ9UCq3pNoET4KG52hKDHe9P7C8CTYvl17BmzgMKLNMhQxIJ_l5Q/s320/Haystake+Rock.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></i></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: large;">To explain that statement let me share a few excerpts from Henry & Melvin Blackaby's book, <u>Experiencing the Resurrection</u>, lest you think I am alone in my passion. In today's society, as in the time of Christ, the question is the same, "what is Truth?" The pendulum continues to swing down through the millennia of the degree of which there is absolute Truth. However, I share the same position as the Blackabys on this point, "The key is not to "discover" truth, but to come with an open heart, into which the Holy Spirit will reveal truth. And that truth will set you free."</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">The pursuit of knowledge is rampant in our world with a belief that knowledge is power. Though it may provide for a position of power among those that have less knowledge, it is not real power. This search for knowledge is a religion all its own and is no more than simple gnosticism of 2000 years ago.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand, those that desire absolute Truth come empty handed except for their open heart and desire to yield all that this life has in exchange for the treasure of God. Through the Holy Spirit, God reveals Truth that is to be experienced by daily living.... these that seek God's Truth are the souls that tap into the ultimate renewable power source. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately, the vast amount of Christians, at least those in western culture that I have witnessed, are living a life with only a fringe of the vastness of experiencing Christ; they never venture beyond simple knowing about Him, believing Who He is ( but even the demons do that). Until we embrace Him and the power, placement, and potential that He want's to (and has) bestowed on Christ followers, we are like runners in the race that never move their legs; we are in the race, just not doing anything or going anywhere.</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUdJn8AAe5oqKXUxL1bMIbfA1ZSwkSow91VV0xjx60RTLBzoWgvhyphenhyphengx84Lw4Xi2aXfFaL1fQAIDKWBg46NB62aesgpaVdiHyqQP4VmyaN0TQtlivpy5nVHGXP8KcMRYESyJaiQcOEQ9g/s1600/Coast+Tree+020811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUdJn8AAe5oqKXUxL1bMIbfA1ZSwkSow91VV0xjx60RTLBzoWgvhyphenhyphengx84Lw4Xi2aXfFaL1fQAIDKWBg46NB62aesgpaVdiHyqQP4VmyaN0TQtlivpy5nVHGXP8KcMRYESyJaiQcOEQ9g/s320/Coast+Tree+020811.JPG" width="314" /></a></span></i></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Wind battered Tree at the Coast</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Blackabys pen, "When you become a Christian [Christ follower, more than just a label], you're set in a wholly different dimension in which you can see what others don't see. As Jesus told His disciples, </span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kindom of heaven, but to them it has not been given"</span> (</span><i><span style="font-size: large;">Matthew 13:11)." [clarification mine]</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Allow me to paraphrase, from their book, a nugget and expand from their next thought. Since we, who want to be more than religious activity doers, we must use what God has given us through Christ, through His death on the cross, and through the power and hope of His resurrection. It is then that we have the capacity to detect and participate in the activities of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in another dimension: His Kingdom here on earth. If we are experiencing less than this, we are simply like the world, ignoring God until we need Him to help us; save us from another problem; or how religious 'christians' most normally pray: give me, give me, bless me, bless me, help me, help me... until I need you later. My God is more than a geni in a lantern waiting to be rubbed. He is a God who made everything and yet He wants to have a relationship with you and me. Why does God, Who is so big and incredible, want us? Because He loves us and wants us to love Him.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">This is what this God communicates to us:</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us."</span> </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">Acts 17:24-27 NIV</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">"you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."</span> </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">Jeremiah 29:12-13 NIV<br />
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<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Bondservanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01306807155687610836noreply@blogger.com0