Mon, Jul 30th - 9:55AM

Hey

    Here I was thinking about posting something wondering why mature Christians seem to be having the hardest times (and not really sure how to say that) and Teri gives the answer on Lee's blog! Does God have a right to put us through a trial just to show how a mature Christian responds? Of course.

JOB 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

 9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

 12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

Mon, Jul 23rd - 10:34PM

Hey

Looking around the site lately I can see why very few people made a list of 5 personal things about themselves. The lists might have included

1. I leave rude comments on other people's blogs

2. I see conspiracy theories everywhere

3. I take over other people's blogs

4. I call people Satan

5 I am Satan

If you don't know what I'm refering to, be glad.

Just imagine an unbeliever. He saw a glorious sunrise this morning and felt challenged to explore the idea of God. We live in the internet age so he goes online, Googling something like christian blogs. Oh, look what comes up. It would be great to be part of a united group of people. Loving and supporting one another. Lets try it.
Oh my.  I wonder what the Buddhists have to say.

1 Corinthians 8:11So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Fri, Jul 20th - 9:36AM

Comment (3)

Mon, Jul 16th - 6:38PM

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Dal­lan For­gaill (translated from the Irish by
Ma­ry E. Byrne, Versified by El­ea­nor H. Hull)

This is an 8th century Irish hymn recently recorded by both contemporary singers Ginny Owens and Rebecca St.James. Yes, many popular Christian musicians, and their audiences, appreciate old hymns.

I am off to the mountains for a day or two retreat by myself. God Bless!

Thu, Jul 12th - 10:01PM

Hey,

    The below lesson on walking on water was for a restarted college group. We had stopped hosting ours because attendence and enthusiasm was down. It seemed like it had run its course. Any study that goes three years has done very well. I'm sure some could name a study that went much longer, but I bet each could name several that went much shorter, or maybe that's just here in California. One of our elders decided to start it back up, but it is already lagging again and they are talking about cutting it short. While I'm not happy that there isn't a college group available to kids right now, I was relieved to see that I hadn't given up on the study too easily. I think I made an accurate assesment of the situation.
   The study went fine. The beach setting and the long day didn't really lead to a lively lesson. I taught that morning on service in adult Sunday School. It was my first teaching adults in a long time, and I'm not secheduled again anytime soon. I used a lot of stuff that I have already printed here but let me remind of my two favorite quotes.

"The primary relationship of a servant is with the Master and not with those served" G Campbell Morgan.
This is what to remember in order to survive being a servant. You will be attacked and overused. Chances are the job will often be thankless and hard. If you go in expecting recognition or reward from the people around you, you will be disappointed. Service needs to be out of love for God alone. Blessings to any fellowship that manages to appreiate its servants.

"The best test of a servant's heart is how you act when you are treated like one" Unknown.  This one is painful. I have seen more rection to this sentence than any other one I can remember. It is completely expected that if I say "They treated me like a servant" you would agree that I was wronged. Even while we are claiming to be God's servants. I have been humbled and shamed by this point for a few years now. I am trying to come closer to passing this test.

The Lord's Prayer starts with After this manner therefore pray ye:
                                                Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 
                                                Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Truely knowing God must result in praise and worship (Check out Lois' Blog for praise) The focus of our prayer should be God's will and His Kingdom, far before our wants or needs. If we start with desiring God's kingdom, our service will follow.

Sun, Jul 8th - 12:37AM

Hey,

   I am doing a "guest shot" in someone else's college group tomorrow night. They want a devotion at the end of a long day at Pinecrest Lake. I was grumbling about have to talk with everyone worn out and looking past me at the lake when I got this idea.

Matthew 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 
 27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 
 28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 
 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 
 31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" 
 32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

    Imagine the lake stirred up by the wind. Waves on a lake are different than in the ocean. they don't come rolling to the shore. They crash randomly against each other. Jesus finally stopped talking to his Father around 3:00AM and went looking for his followers. They were quite a ways out from the shore, being tossed by the waves. Jesus started walking out to them.
    A few chapters back Jesus had simply stopped the waves with a gesture. But He had a different agenda this time. Mark 6 tells us that Jesus was "about to pass by them". He doesn't mean that Jesus almost missed them in the dark. The word used there sounds more like He was about to pass in front of them, To display his power over the waves. He wasn't going to stop the storm this time, He was going to overcome it.
    Peter asks Jesus to invite him out. Why? Maybe he was still smarting from the last time that he had acted too hastily. Maybe he had the words "Peter, you don't have to run into action every time, I'll tell you what to do" still ringing in his ears. He asked and waited for the invitation.
    It is usually taught here that Peter was fine until he took his eyes off of Jesus. And that is a good conclusion. And a good principle to follow. But I don't think that is what happened. I doubt Peter stepped out of the boat looking longingly at Jesus until he got distracted. I imagine he was looking very carefully at his feet in the water, watching in amazement how the water was suddenly solid enough to hold him. I think he watched his feet until he looked up, either wishing he was closer to Jesus, and safety, or further from Jesus and still had some water walking time. When he looked up however, he "saw the wind". And it scared him.
    Peter was fine as long as he was in the moment. He was doing the unthinkable, until he started wondering about his progress. Have you ever been in the midst of a storm, getting through each day, until you started wondering when it would end? Am I making progress? Is this almost over?
    There is so much to learn in a storm. After all, Jesus could have made the storm go away. If it is continuing, it must have a purpose. The challenge is to go through the moment. Watch God work. Learn the lessons. Don't check your progress. Just go through the test. We can't be certain about the future but we can know that He is with us in the moment. Don't hurry through a storm, see what God has for you in it.
    The rest of the apostles dstayed in the boat. They learned nothing except that others could overcome the storm. Despite his sinking, Peter was the only one who got the lesson. He is the one who walked through the storm instead of trying to hide from it. The rest of his life, Peter would have that image of his feet, standing on the waves. And the knowlege that, with Jesus, he could withstand the storm. 

Sat, Jul 7th - 10:49PM

Hey

Sorry for the absence. We had some phone line problems. Yes, we are still dial up. No other way reaches us here yet.