BagHat

Jake trying to teach Samuel some of his musical skills:

Reed

Please pray for our friends Tyler and Amy Bishop. Their son, Reed, has been diagnosed with opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome. For a better understanding of this condition go to www.omsusa.org.

Why does God allow hard circumstances (like a sick child) to come into our lives? I'm sure there are many reasons that I don't know about because God's ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts (Is 55:8-9). But, here is one verse from the Bible that is clear to me-- 2 Corinthians 1:8-9- "...we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead..."
So God allowed something to come into Paul's life that was above his strength. God allowed something to come into his life that was an immeasurable burden. Why? So that he would not trust in himself but that he would trust in God Who has the power to raise the dead. "I lift my eyes unto the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord Who made the heavens and the earth"--Psalm 121:1-2.
So I'm not saying this is the only reason God has for allowing hard things to come into our lives, but it is clear that sometimes things come into our lives that our more than we can handle ("above strength")...But it is never more than God can handle! And those circumstances can teach us to trust God, the Creator of all things!

Tyler and Amy: We love ya'll! "This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life." --Psalm 119:50. "Your words were found and I ate them and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart"--Jer 15:16

Word of God --------> heart of a child

Mamma caught me and Samuel reading our Bibles.

Ephesians 5:1--"be IMITATORS of God AS DEAR CHILDREN"

Children are imitators and they will imitate you mammas and daddies...Live a life worth imitating and pray for me that I would do the same.

Luke 6:40--"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be LIKE HIS TEACHER." Lord, Help!!

2 Tim 3:15--"FROM CHILDHOOD you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

To all parents:
Teach your children the word...talk about the word all the time (Deut 6:6-8). And lets pray for one another that God would make our children wise for salvation throught faith as we plant seeds of God's word in their hearts. Lets also pray that God would have mercy on our failures and weaknesses in this area.

To those who don't have children yet but may in the future if God wills:
Get ready now! This is just one of the many many reasons to "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Col 3:16).

Bob

Come on Keely!

So, Keely is due in 2 weeks, Sept 18th. Whoot Whoot!!! She could come two weeks early or two weeks late so she could come today or in October..crazy! I have found comfort in Gal 1:15, Paul knew God as the one who "separated me from my mother's womb." So unless the Lord shows us differently we rest in His perfect timing to begin labor. Waiting on Keely is a good reminder for me of how I need to be waiting and watching for Christ to return. I have Keely's clothes ready, sheets washed, everything organized in a little box for labor, I TRY to keep the house clean (although not a very realistic idea with Samuel and Ryan) ;)...etc, the point is I believe she is coming and I am actively waiting. I desire to be like this with Christ, because He said in Revelation that He is coming quickly. Rev 22:7,20
Jesus-please work it in us to be like the servant who is found watching. "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching." Luke 12:37
Luke 12:40 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Mar 13:37 "And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"
Three things I see I need to be doing considering He is coming (I'm sure there are many more)
Preaching the gospel
Mat 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Encouraging the body of Christ
Heb 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some; but exhorting: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.
Living holy and godly, looking for and hastening the day of the Lord
2 Peter 3:10-12 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
Its so easy to believe that Keely is coming quickly because I have many reminders..28 pounds, messed up back, can't breath, kicks in the ribs, and so forth. But I pray that it would be just as real to me of Christ coming quickly!

Lydia

"..surely I am coming quickly." Jesus - Rev 22:20 EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS!

Water Well

Persecution in Somalia

Workers killed for refusing to renounce their faith
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)– Christians in Somalia faced a tense day Thursday, August 13, amid fresh reports that fighters of the country’s main Islamic insurgent group al-Shabab beheaded four Christian aid workers for refusing to renounce their faith in Christ.

International Christian Concern (ICC), a major advocacy group investigating reports of religious persecution, told BosNewsLife that al-Shabab members killed Fatima Sultan, Ali Ma’ow, Sheik Mohammed Abdi and Maaddey Diil after kidnapping them on July 27 in the coastal town of Merca, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the capital Mogadishu.

“The Islamists kidnapped and eventually beheaded the Christians after they refused to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ,” ICC said. The four Christians had reportedly been working for a local non-governmental organization that helps orphans in southern Somalia.

ICC said that on August 4, an unidentified junior al-Shabab militant notified families of the victims that the four Christians had been beheaded for apostasy. He allegedly described the Christians as promoters of “fitna,” a Muslim term for religious discord.

The militant, who called himself “Seiful Islam” (“the Sword of Islam”), told the families that the bodies will not be given to them “as Somalia does not have cemeteries for infidels,” ICC quoted the statement as saying. “All the four apostates were given an opportunity to return to Islam to be released but they all declined the generous offer,” a witness of the beheading allegedly said.

MORE THREATS
The reported killings of Christian aid workers came shortly after al-Shabab declared three United Nations agencies working with the country’s U.N.-backed transitional government as “enemies of Islam” and said their operations in Somalia have been shut down.

Al-Shabab also claimed responsibility for other attacks against the Christian minority in Somalia, which has been plagued by widespread lawlessness and anarchy. Earlier last month, al-Shabab beheaded seven people in the southwestern town of Baidoa after accusing them of converting to Christianity and spying for the transitional federal government of Somalia, Christians said.

In 2008, fighters of the group killed more than a half dozen Somali Christians, ICC added.

Matthew 7:11---If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

I love how at the end of the video Lydia says "God longs to give good things to those who ask Him" and then Samuel says "daddy,daddy,daddy, I want more"




Happy Birthday Samuel!

North Korea

AP Exclusive: North Korean defector killed for going back with 20 bibles to spread Gospel
Jul 04, 2010 11:49 AM EDT
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Like most North Koreans, Son Jong Nam knew next to nothing about Christianity when he fled to neighboring China in 1998.

Eleven years later, he died back in North Korea in prison, reportedly tortured to death for trying to spread the Gospel in his native land, armed with 20 bibles and 10 cassette tapes of hymns. He was 50.

His story, pieced together by his younger brother, a defector who lives in South Korea, sheds light on a little-discussed practice: the sending back of North Korean converts to evangelize in their home country — a risky move, but one of the few ways to penetrate a country that bars most citizens from outside TV or radio and the Internet.

Little is known about the practice, believed to have started in the late 1990s. Missionaries won't say how many defectors they have sent back, citing their safety and that of the defectors.

"It's their country, where people speak the same language. They know where to go and where to escape," says the Rev. Isaac Lee, a Korean-American missionary in Seoul who has dedicated his life to spreading Christianity in the North. "But I agonize a lot whenever I have to send defectors to the North as I know what kind of punishment they would get if arrested."

Officially, North Korea guarantees freedom of religion for its 24 million people. In practice, authorities crack down on Christians, who are seen as a Western-influenced threat to the government. The distribution of bibles and secret prayer services can mean banishment to a labor camp or execution, defectors say.

For North Koreans, a personality cult surrounding the country's founder Kim Il Sung and his son and current leader Kim Jong Il serves as a virtual state religion.

"Kim Jong Il is above the country's law ... and in North Korea what he instructs is like Jesus Christ's words in the Bible," says Son Jung-hun, a human rights activist who has become a devout Christian since his brother's death.

It was into this world that Son Jong Nam was born on March 11, 1958.

He served in the presidential security service for 10 years until his discharge as a master sergeant in 1983. In those years, he was ready to dedicate his life to fighting the "American imperialists," his brother says. Son worked at an army-run performing arts center after his discharge.

The first twist in his life came in 1997.

His wife, eight months pregnant at the time, was arrested for allegedly saying Kim Jong Il had ruined the economy and caused a mass famine. Interrogators seeking a confession kicked her in the stomach, forcing her to discharge blood and have a miscarriage, Son's brother says.

Terrified and disillusioned, Son, then 39, fled in January 1998 with his wife and their 6-year-old daughter to the Chinese border town of Yanji. His younger brother had already arrived the previous year, fleeing what he says was a false charge of being involved in the illegal export of strategic items.

Son's wife died of leukemia seven months later.

That's when the next twist came.

Son grew closer to a South Korean missionary, who had talked to him about Christianity and North Korea, while sheltering and feeding him and his family after their arrival in China.

Their meeting was not unusual. South Korea has a large Christian population, and hundreds of South Korean, American and Canadian missionaries work undercover in Chinese towns near the North Korean border, say Seoul-based activists specializing in North Korean human rights issues.

They hide bibles in shipments of food, clothing, bicycles and other aid bound for North Korea. They release balloons imprinted with the Gospel of St. Mark and let winds carry them across the border. They help North Koreans flee and teach them about Christianity. And sometimes they send them back.

One missionary, Korean-American Robert Park, made headlines after he crossed into North Korea last Christmas, shouting that he brought God's love and carrying a letter demanding Kim's resignation. The 26-year-old was arrested and later released in February.

The South Korean missionary who converted Son disguised himself as head of a timber mill. Son's brother never met the missionary; he says his brother wouldn't let him or even reveal his name, because of concerns about the missionary's safety.

After becoming a Christian, Son began helping the missionary try to convert other North Koreans hiding in China.

"My brother said he realized the Kim Jong Il regime is hypocritical, and living in accordance with what the Bible says is what we have to do," the younger Son says. "Christianity can come upon innocent people like my brother so fast."

In January 2001, Son was arrested by Chinese police for allegedly trying to convert North Korean defectors in China, which bans foreigners from proselytizing. He was deported home in April, where he was detained and tortured, leaving him with a limp, his brother said. He lost about 70 pounds (32 kilograms) in captivity.

"He was beaten in the head with clubs and given electric shocks," his brother says, his eyes welling up with tears.

Son was released in 2004 and sneaked across the border to Yanji to see his daughter, who had been left in the care of a Chinese missionary. He soon decided to return to North Korea to proselytize.

"I repeatedly urged him to change his mind, but he told me he has something to do in North Korea," says his brother, who was living in Seoul by then but returned to China briefly to see his brother.

Son headed back with the bibles and tapes. Little is known about how he evangelized, though his brother says Son worked at a state-run defense institute and was allowed to travel freely.

It's unclear whether efforts such as Son's have met with much success. Lee, the Seoul-based missionary, claims his Cornerstone Ministries International has 135,000 members in North Korea.

But experts such as Kim Soo-am at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul are skeptical of purported active underground church movements. "They know they would get severely punished," he says, adding that he thinks many North Koreans aren't even aware of religion as an option.

Son was arrested again in January 2006 after police found bibles at his home in the northeastern city of Hoeryong. He was also charged with spying for the United States and South Korea and sentenced to public execution by firing squad.

His brother launched an international campaign to save him. That apparently led his captors to switch to a less public method: torture. "There are many ways to kill people in North Korea," says his brother.

He died in a prison in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, in December 2008.

"He told me his dream is to build a church at a good Pyongyang location and work as a pastor there," his brother says. "I thought the religious faith completely changed his fate."

His death went unannounced, at least outside North Korea. It was not until nearly a year later — when a fellow inmate who had been released managed to call in November 2009 — that the younger Son learned his brother had died.

Endure Hardships

This excerpt is taken from the biography of a missionary to China in the early 1900s:

"The trials of everyday life were a test in themselves. The bitter winds of winter gave way to the steady, gray rain of the spring. His bare quarters seemed permanently damp. Now and then he was simply tired of the dirt. It was not just the mud and the result of the Lisu spitting everywhere; having his bedding infected with lice and bedbugs irritated him. And after several months of a rice diet, his whole body craved a change of food--something sweet, or some butter and cheese.
His legs were still swollen from earlier travels and before getting off his mattress in the morning he usually had to bind them to relieve the varicose ulcers.
After some of his journeys on foot around the mountain villages every bone seemed to ache, every muscle felt stiff. Who was to know, anyway, if he lay in bed half the day? His diary reveals his struggles:
January 1, 1916. Must watch against getting up to late, these intensily cold mornings. The indwelling Christ is my successful weapon against all sin these days--Praise Him!"

"They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented--of whom the world was not worthy" --Heb 11: 37-38

Let us follow in the example of this man who was a missionary to the Lisu tribes in China and the example of these suffering saints in Hebrews. "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps" --1Pet 2:21
"Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking..." --1 Pet 4:1


Side note:
Consider the obstacles in the way of this man getting up early in the morning to seek God...and yet he endured hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus! Lets quit being sissys, whining about how hard it is to get up in the morning and how we aren't morning people...excuses! "endure hardships as a good soldier of Christ"!
"My voice you shall hear in the morning, in the morning I will direct it to You and I will look up" --Psalm 5:3

Jesus Prayed

Luke 6:12--- Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Mark 1:35--- Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

Luke 5:16--- So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Matthew 26:39-41--- He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed....then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What, Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation...."

Luke 11:1--- It came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord teach us to pray..."

BE IMITATORS OF GOD! Eph 5:1

baptism

This is a video of Jake Benton being baptized. The story is....hope this is accurate... Jake has been a friend of Clay and Blaine since before they were born again. Clay asked Jake, 'how can someone be saved from the wrath of God'. Jake did not know, so Clay shared Acts 16:30-31--"he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved'...then they spoke the word of the Lord to him...". So Clay met up with Jake and walked him through the word, preaching the gospel to him. The next night, at a college meeting, the gospel was shared again and Jake believed. So, like the Ethiopian in Acts 8:36-37 and the jailer in Acts 16:30-33, Clay and Blaine took him the same hour of the night and baptized him. Praise the Lord!

To Jake:
"Today you have proclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice. Also today the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken."
---Deut 26:17-19
"For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." --Hebrews 10:37-39
"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy...." ---Titus 3:3-5

To all:
Seek first the kingdom of God....the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground...the seed is the word of God. (Mt 6:33, Mk 4:26, Lk 8:11)

"The word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region...The word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed..." --Acts 13:49, Acts 19:20

What are you laboring for??

Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. --Proverbs 23:4-5

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life... --John 6:27

God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence... --Heb 6:10

THE MOUNTAINS MELT LIKE WAX AT THE PRESENCE OF GOD!!! --Psalms

SEEK HIS PRESENCE CONTINUALLY!!! ---Psalms

Acres4Life.org

Ecc 5:8-9--- "If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them. Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field."

Is 58:6-8--- "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard."

Is 61:1-3--- "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to [those who are] bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

Wisdom and Understanding

Proverbs 2:1-9

If you:

Receive---> His words
Treasure within you--->His commands
Incline your ear to--->Wisdom
Apply your heart to--->Understanding
Cry out for--->Discernment
Lift up your voice for--->Understanding

Seek her (His words,commands,wisdom,understanding,discernment) like hidden treasures!

Then.........
You will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom and from His mouth comes understanding.

Then.........
You will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.

Proverbs 3:13-15---Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man [who] gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

Wisdom, a Snot-Nosed Boy, and a New Song

"the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils." --Psalm 18:15
That's how powerful God is! What can you do with the blast of the breath of your nostrils?

"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." --2 Chron 16:9
Strong support from the God who can lay the foundations of the earth bare with His nostril breath?!?! Praise God!




Snot-nosed boy




This is a song Jake and Carrie put together...it was the first time for them to play it together. These are the verses in the song:

Psalm 47:6-"Sing praises to God, sing praises; Sing praises to our King, sing praises."

Psalm 42:8-"The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life."

Psalm 113:3-"From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised."

Notice the ridiculous stare at the end? They were mocking a past video of them singing a song together when the real stare occurred...which we gave him a hard time about. Praise the Lord, we can sing praises to our God!

Consider This!

There are a lot of teachers, philosophers, and religions in the world....How do you know what to believe?

Consider this: There were a lot of men in the 1st century who were absolutely convinced that Jesus was God in the flesh who came to save sinful men by taking the punishment on Himself that sinful men deserve (they were convinced to the point of being willing to suffer and die for it). "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6). So they believed that Jesus was God and that whatever He said was truth.... Why? What convinced them?

While Jesus was on earth...He claimed about Himself "they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." So He claimed that He was going to be the One who would die but then rise from the dead and live forever...As was prophesied many years before! So, did it happen? Is that what convinced these men of the 1st century that Jesus' teachings were truth? Consider these verses very carefully:

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you. So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me." ---Mt 28:1-10


"Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand [here], and put [it] into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed [are] those who have not seen and [yet] have believed." And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. ---John 20:24-31

These are eyewitness accounts of Jesus rising from the dead! So then, why were these men so convinced that Jesus was who He said He was? Consider these verses very carefully (think!):

"Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." --Acts 1:21-22

"This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses." --Acts 2:32

"But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses." --Acts 3:14-15

"they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead."
--Acts 4:2

"If we this day are judged for a good deed [done] to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole."
--Acts 4:9-10

"And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." --Acts 4:33

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand [to be] Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and [so] also [is] the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him." --Acts 5:30-32

"And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, [even] to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God [to be] Judge of the living and the dead." --Acts 10:39-41

"And though they found no cause for death [in Him], they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took [Him] down from the tree and laid [Him] in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.
--Acts 13:29-31

"Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ." And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas." --Acts 17:2-3

Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, "What does this babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods," because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection."
--Acts 17:18

"he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." --Acts 17:30-31

"The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. --Acts 22:14-15

"When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive." --Acts 25:18-19

"declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead" --Romans 1:4

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time."
--1Cor 15:3-8

Consider the eyewitness accounts of Jesus' resurrection...there are many teachers, philosophers, and religions in the world... I believe the one who rose from the dead and left eyewitnesses of the event!

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

The One-anothers

Have peace with one another...Mark 9:50

Wash one another's feet...John 13:14

Love one another...John 13:34

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love...Romans 12:10

Outdo one another in showing honor...Romans 12:10

Be of the same mind toward one another...Romans 12:16

Be like-minded toward one another...Romans 15:5

Receive one another, just as Christ also received us...Romans 15:7

Instruct one another...Romans 15:14

Greet one another with a holy kiss...Romans 16:16

Care for one another...1 Cor 12:25

Serve one another...Galatians 5:13

Bear one another's burdens...Galatians 6:2

Bear with one another in love...Eph 4:2

Be kind to one another...Eph 4:32

Forgive one another...Eph 4:32

Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs...Eph 5:19

Submit to one another...Eph 5:21

Teach and admonish one another...Col 3:16

Comfort one another...1 Thess 4:18, 5:11

Edify one another...1 Thess 5:11

Exhort one another daily...Heb 3:13

Consider one another in order to stir up love and good works...Heb 10:24

Confess your sins to one another...James 5:16

Pray for one another...James 5:16

Have compassion for one another...1 Pet 3:8

Be hospitable to one another...1 Pet 4:9

Minister gifts to one another...1 Pet 4:10

Be submissive to one another...1 Pet 5:5

Have fellowship with one another...1 John 1:7

Come on church...Don't miss this!

Job 23:8-12

Job 23:8-12---->
"Behold, I go forward but He is not there, and backwward but I do not perceive Him;" ---ever felt like that?

"on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him, He turns to the right hand but I do not see Him."
---ever felt like this? How did you respond to this season of life where you couldn't hear from or see God?

"but He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold" ---Do you believe God knows what He is doing? Or did you give up on seeking Him because you could not see or hear Him? Prov 25:4, 1 Pet 1:7

"My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and have not turned aside." ---Was this your response?

"I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food."
---Did that season of life make you hunger more for a word from God? or did you lose the hunger altogether?


Psalm 143:7---"Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit."
If I don't hear from God....Do I consider myself "like those who go down to the pit" (aka: a dead man!). Is hearing from God that important to me? "He who is of God hears God's words; therfore you do not hear, because you are not of God."--Jn 8:47
Psalm 143:8---"Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You."

Fellowship

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. ---1 John 1:3

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. ----Heb 10:24-25

exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ----Heb 3:13

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. ----Eph 4:15-16

Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity! [It is] like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, [even] Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, [and as the dew] that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, [even] life for evermore. ----Psalm 133



We have had a lot going on lately (out-of-town, weddings, sickness, and other events). But we are going to be back in town Saturday and we are hungry for some fellowship with others who love Jesus! So all you who read this and love Jesus....let's get together!!!

Platt

Sow in Tears

Paul Washer

Purser Family

Paul brings up an important lesson here for married couples:
"love...like Christ loved"! "let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ"!
So then, we should love our spouses like Christ loved us. Jesus loved us when we were wretched--good-for-nothing--enemies. His love had nothing to do with our works...we did not love Him first...He loved us first! If God deals with us according to our actions we will spend an eternity in hell, but instead He demonstrates His love for us by sending His Son to take our punishment even while we were still sinners. Husbands and wives should love their spouses with the same kind of love---not based off their works or actions, not conditional, but unconditional love! Husbands and wives should live out the gospel towards one another..."let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ". Lord help us!


Piper Purser solo

Grish-man

"I the preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and inded, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered." --Ecclesiastes 1:12-15

People give their lives for a variety of different things....There is no limit to the amount of things you could give your life for, "what is lacking cannot be numbered". So then what do you do? How do you pick what to do to make your life count for the glory of God when there are so many options? "approve the things that are excellent" (Phillip 1:9-11)! Look to the Scriptures and see what are the most important things to be about.
"Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life" --John 6:27. There is labor that has only temporary profit and there is labor that has eternal profit. Seek God on how to labor for eternal things and do that!


Random video of my son Samuel and Jay's daughter Freely

One Hope

RUN

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." --1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Chan

Randy Phillips and Hunter Hanson at the campout

Here's a couple of videos I got at the campout we went to this weekend. It was great...very encouraging...awesome fellowship!


This is Randy Phillips...We met on campus at Mississippi State University about 5 years ago. Absolutely love this family.



This is Hunter Hanson...We also met on campus at Mississippi State University...I am encouraged by Hunter's sincere and pure devotion to Christ!

This is Carrie Kirk, Jake Walker, and Jake Crouch....Carrie has been learning how to play the Mandolin so she brought it to the house so we could hear.



The lyrics to the song they were singing:

"You gave me hope
You made me whole
At the cross
You took my place
You showed me grace
At the cross where You died for me

And His glory appears
Like the light from the sun
Age to age He shines
Look to the skies
Hear the angels cry
Singing Holy is the Lord"

The part of the song that says "You took my place, You showed me grace at the cross where You died for me" reminds me of Barabbas in the Bible:
Matthew 27:16--"at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas". Pilate was accustomed to realeasing one prisoner, whoever the Jews requested. There was one named Barabbas who was a murderer. Pilate suggested that the King of the Jews, Jesus, be released....but the crowd demanded: "crucify Him!", the innocent One, and they asked for Barabbas, the murderer, to be released instead. "so Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified" (Mark 15:6-15). We are Barabbas! We are prisoners, murderers, sinners who deserve death...But Jesus has taken our place, He showed us grace at the cross where He died for us!


--Lydia Sullivan

Be a Man!

So what is a "man"?
"...be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn..." ---1 Kings 2:2-3

"Watch, stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong" ---1 Cor 16:13

"...till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ..." ----Eph 4:13

Rob and Rollins

ourbrothersburden.org

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE WATCHING! These next videos are very hard to watch...Please prepare yourself. They are videos of Christians being persecuted in Orissa, India. It is gruesome. But it has stirred me to pray for all Christians, including myself, that we would be brave in persecution and that we would honor God in our sufferings! Parents: You watch the videos first before allowing your children to watch it (you probably won't allow them to watch it). Check out ourbrothersburden.org

God WILL give you more than you can handle

There is a saying that I've heard frequently since I started following Christ: "God will never give you more than you can handle". Is this true? There is a verse that says, "God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able" (1 Cor 10:13). But this verse is talking about God giving us a way of escape from temptations. So, will God give us more than we can handle? I say yes. Consider this:
2 Corinthians 1:8-10--- "...we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us..."
So God brought something into Paul's life that was "above strength". Why? So that he would not trust in himself but "in God Who raises the dead".

If I'm training a powerlifter who can lift 350 pounds, and I only give him 135 pounds to squat, he doesn't need me. I would just be sitting there counting reps. But, if I give that powerlifter 375 pounds to squat, now he needs me to help him. He may not realize he needs me until he gets under the weight and it feels too heavy. God does this...He gives us things that are above our strength so that we will trust Him and cry out to Him for help.

By the way: Humility...God reveals to us how small, frail, weak, helpless, and useless we are, while showing us how huge, strong, powerful, and mighty He is! Seeing this helps us to understand Jesus' words "apart from Me you can do NOTHING" (Jn 15:5). All of a sudden everything is above my strength and I NEED JESUS!!! The Lord said "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor 12:9).....So thank the Lord for giving us more than we can handle so that we might learn to trust Him and so that His strength would be clearly seen! And thank the Lord for revealing to us that we are NOT sufficient of ourselves to do anything, but that He can make us sufficient by His power (2 Cor 3:5)! We need HIM to live, move, breath, and work! We need HIM for everything!

More examples: Judges 7--God gave Gideon a task that was more than he could handle so that HE would get the glory. "the people who are with you are too many for Me to deliver the midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me'".
Exodus 3 and 4-- God called Moses to a task that was above his strength, but declared to him, "I will certainly be with you".
Romans 4:16-25-- Abraham was given a promise that he would have a child and be a father of many nations even though his body was old and dead and his wife's womb was dead. This was above Abraham's strength, but he was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God!
I don't have time to tell of Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets (especially Daniel in the lion's den)!

So let us stop striving for comfort by blocking every hard thing that may come into our lives that seems like it is more than we can handle....But instead, cry out to the Living God!
Let us stop living lives that our flesh can handle...instead let us step out on God's word and learn to trust in the God Who raises the dead!
Let us stop complaining about the lot God has given us...but instead be content because He will not leave us nor forsake us!
Let us stop using common sense, walking-by-sight arguments to excuse us from obeying God...but instead be doers of His word while expecting God to give me things that are above my strength so that HE GETS GLORY!!!

Please leave a comment if you have any added thought...especially if you think I may be seeing this incorrectly.

China?

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/metro/2010-03/17/content_9602273.htm

Go to the website above to see an article from China Daily (China's official English language newspaper). It's the testimony of a university student who converted to Christianity.

Now if you've been following China for any length of time you might be picking your jaw up off the floor. Get this:

The official and highly controlled newspaper of the Communist government is featuring a story of a religious conversion of an exceptionally bright university student who found meaninglessness in existence apart from God.
He was given a Bible by a colleague, and the reader is not led to believe this is a bad thing.
He converted to Christ after reading it and now is experiencing fulfillment.
And he's now happily attending an unregistered church (i.e house church).
Whoa.

We know the church is unregistered because yesterday the China Daily ran an article on house churches that are thriving in Beijing and featured that church. In fact, this particular unregistered church has actually been allowed to purchase property for a church building.

This doesn't discount the fact that persecution still occurs in China. But we need to let this news soak in. This little article is huge. God is doing something incredible in that great nation.

Keep praying. (I got this article from desiringgod.org blog)

Francis Chan

"Let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, so that they will not be unfruitful" --Titus 3:14



"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it."

Great High Priest

Hey guys....I was really stirred up this morning when reading through Hebrews. Over two-thousand years ago Jesus was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, so that He by the grace of God might taste death for everyone (Heb 2:9)! And we have a promise, in John 14:1-3, that Jesus is coming back one day to recieve us to Himself! But what about now? What is Jesus doing now? What has He been doing for the past two-thousand years? "the the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God."--Mk 16:19...Over a month later: "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God.."--Acts 2:33... A little while later: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." --Acts 7:56...A little while later: "Christ Jesus is the one who died; more than that, who was raised; who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."--Romans 8:34... So then, Where is He now? At the right hand of the throne of God! What is He doing? "interceding for us"...Because Jesus is at the right hand of the throne of God and He always lives (that means forever..He is alive right now..He will never die) to plead on our behalf, we can be saved to the uttermost..completely..to the very end!!--Hebrews 7:23-25. Praise the Lord, Jesus is alive!! And He has become our Great High Priest who has entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb 9:24). He was murdered for our sins (taking the wrath of God), buried, risen from the dead on the third day, ascended on high, and now He ever lives to intercede for us...so we can be saved ETERNALLY, Kept by God's power...in other words: We cannot lose this salvation, if Jesus is our High Priest!!
Listen to the words of the song below...See if you can find the many Scriptures that back up these words.

Lazy Sloth

Calling all boys: "act like men"!!---1 Cor 16:13

Quit being boys, be men! Quit being soft, be soldiers! Work! Work hard! Be diligent! Stop being lazy! Stop being sluggish! Stop being slothful! Laziness is sin! It will kill you! It will kill your walk with God!

Prov 6:6-11- "Go to the ant you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?" A man doesn't need someone one constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure he is working hard.

Proverbs 13:4- "The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich." A desire is not enough...you need diligence.

Proverbs 20:13- "Do not love sleep"

Proverbs 12:27- "The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man's precious possession." A lazy man may seem diligent because he went "hunting", but he won't cook it. Diligence is a precious possession...Do you possess it?

"Of Whom The World Was Not Worthy"

The letter below was written in 1535 by William Tyndale. He is writing from prison, having been detained for believing the Scriptures and translating them into the English language. Let us believe, as he did, that Christ is worth our sufferings! He is WORTHY! Let us seek to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowhip of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). Let us even rejoice to be partakers of His sufferings (1 Peter 4:13).

"I beg your lordship, and that of the Lord Jesus, that if I am to remain here through the winter, you will request the commissary to have the kindness to send me, from the goods of mine which he has, a warmer cap; for I suffer greatly from cold in the head, and am afflicted by a perpetual catarrh, which is much increased in this cell; a warmer coat also, for this which I have is very thin; a piece of cloth too to patch my leggings. My overcoat is worn out; my shirts are also worn out. He has a woolen shirt, if he will be good enough to send it. I have also with him leggings of thicker cloth to put on above; he has also warmer night-caps. And I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in the evening; it is indeed wearisome sitting alone in the dark. But most of all I beg and beseech your clemency to be urgent with the commissary, that he will kindly permit me to have the Hebrew Bible, Hebrew grammar, and Hebrew dictionary, that I may pass the time in that study. In return may you obtain what you most desire, so only that it be for the salvation of your soul. But if any other decision has been taken concerning me, to be carried out before winter, I will be patient, abiding the will of God, to the glory of the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ: whose spirit (I pray) may ever direct your heart." Amen W. Tindalus

"Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented--- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith...." Heb 11:36-39

The Ends of the Earth

Isaiah 49:5-6--- "the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel is gathered to Him.....indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'"

Reasons to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth:
-Christ has been given the nations, the ends of the earth, as His inheritance. Psalm 2:7-8, Revelation 5:9...And we have been given the task of taking the message of the cross to the nations (2 Cor 5:18-21)...Anything less than ALL nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues is too small for Jesus!!
-How will they believe in Him in whom they have not heard? Romans 10:13-14.... and if they do not believe Christ they will not be saved from the wrath of God! John 3:36
-Because He told us so...Mt 28:19-20, Mark 16:15.

"All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your Name" Ps 86:9

Created in Christ for Good Works

This video reminds me that it is easy to forget these things happen in our world and become numb or passive to it. Remember what the Lord has called us to:
"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
"in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works"
"those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works"
"let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful."
"as we have oppurtunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Let us walk as ambassadors for Christ. He was compassionate towards us, so let us be full of compassion towards others. He was gracious towards us, so let us be full of grace towards others. He loves us, so let us love others.

"open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy."-- Proverbs 31:8-9

"Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, 'Surely we did not know this,' Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?" ---Proverbs 24:11-12---- We cannot say we didn't know.

Soldier

This is Chris Murray. In this video he mentions obedience, discipline, and self-control. Something I enjoy about Murray is that he has a soldier-like mind-set (by the way, he's about to go to boot camp so it fits him). This is a good thing..."let us endure hardships as a good SOLDIER of Christ Jesus. No one engaged in warfare gets entangled with civilian pursuits that he might please Him who enlisted him as a SOLDIER"--2 Timothy 2:3-4. Soldiers understand that it will not be easy...so they learn to endure hardships. Too often we crumble and give up when it gets hard. "You must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God". Being a soldier is not just a feel-good-fest as many feel-good-preachers would have you believe...NO! You must fight! And it will get hard!

Am I a soldier of the cross? A follower of the Lamb? And shall I dare to own His cause or blush to speak His name?
Should I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face, shall I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend of grace to bring me on to God?
Sure I must fight, if I would reign. Increase my courage Lord. I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by Thy word!

A soldier is not entangled in civilian pursuits! He is not entangled with the affairs of this life. His life is consumed with training and fighting, training and fighting, training and fighting. So he has no interest nor time for the things of this world.

In Philemon, Paul addresses Archippus as his "fellow soldier" (Philemon 2). Do we see ourselves this way? Are you training? Read the word, memorize the word, study the word! It will equip you to fight (2 Tim 3:16-17). Are you fighting? "Fight the good fight of faith"! Are you fighting well? "I do not fight as one beating the air"... so then, it is possible to fight badly. In other words, your fighting but your not landing your blows. "I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should become disqualified". Are you preaching the gospel? Are you making disciples? What I mean is: Are you making soldiers for Christ? Are you making soldiers for Christ who become equipped to make more soldiers for Christ? Lord,help us to fight!! Are you praying in the Spirit?---Ephesians 6:18 ( the context on this verse is war against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places). Are you pulling down strongholds, and casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ (2 Cor 10:3-6)? Are you prepared for that? Lord, make us soldiers!

Pray for me, that I would be a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

PS: Satan, who hates you, wants to steal, kill, and destroy your ability to fight and your effectiveness in fighting. How could he be trying to do that in your life? Too busy? Not training? Light training? Depending on your flesh (usually revealed by a lack of prayer in my life)?

Lunch with Lemonier

This is my bro, Eli Lemonier.

Psalm 141:1,8---LORD, I cry out to You; Make haste to me!....In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute.

Psalm 84:1-2---My soul longs,yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Psalm 63:1---My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You...

Isaiah 26:8-9---The desire of my soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You. With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early...






Random video of Samuel...I absolutely love this little guy!!

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart"--Jer 15:16

This is a video of a village in Malawi rejoicing because they have just received God's written word! "my tongue will sing of Your word, for all your commandments are right"--Psalm 119:172

Something similar happened to Ezra and the Israelites in Nehemiah 8:5-6, "Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people...when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground."
Wow...Is this your response to the living and powerful Word of God? Has it ever been? If not, test yourself: "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."--John 8:47
Or maybe you have loved and rejoiced over the Scripture of truth in the past, but that hunger for the truth has faded? Remember:
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Christ, our Passover!

1 Cor 5:7---"...Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." Our Passover? What does that mean? Exodus 12:13,23---"When I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you...When HE sees the blood the Lord will pass over and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses." Did you catch the meaning? The wrath of God abides on men...God will destroy men because of there sin (John 3:36). But if we have Christ as our passover Lamb, Who was sacrificed for us, taking the wrath from God that we deserve, we will be saved from death!!!
I like what Clay said about the snow. After snow falls, all you see is beautiful white. All the dirt is covered. "though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow"---"These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Is 1:18, Rev 7:14) It is the blood of the Lamb that makes our sins white as snow.
"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood"!!!! Praise God!!!

Also included: a little side lesson from Samuel to "to good and share for with such sacrifices the Lord is well pleased" Heb 13:16. I'm not sure he was a very cheerful giver though. =)

Brothers

Blaine...AKA BL (brother-n-law)...Love you bro, I'm praying that you would take up your cross daily (that means you die daily) and follow Jesus! Blaine's right..Proverbs 14:12 says that there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death. So what do I do with that? Truth: there will be things in my life that seem right to me, feel right to me, look right to me, sound right to me, but it only leads to death. So then I pray that we will all be like Jesus who was in the garden of Gethsemane, praying in agony, troubled, deeply distressed, exceedingly sorrowful, sweating great drops of blood, asking that, if it was His Father's will, that this cup would be taken from Him, NEVERTHELESS NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS BE DONE. To Jesus this way (drinking the cup of His Father's wrath) did not seem good, did not feel good, did not look good, But He declares...NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS BE DONE!! "Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name be glory"!! Luke 22:41-44, Mark 14:32-36



Chase Watson..good word bro...Great to see God conforming you into the image of His Son!



Jake Crouch...my cousin-n-law...Hilarious!
This is an interesting song. Reminds me of a question: Are you ignorant of satan's schemes? (2 Cor 2:11).. The devil is here to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn 10:10). How is satan trying to do that in your life, your training, your witnessing, your marriage, etc.? Are you unaware of his schemes?

Study the Word

"Ezra set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel" --Ezra 7:10. Study the Word about what we should be doing!

"The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them."--Psalm 111:2. Study the word about who God is and all His greatness!

"The heart of the righteous studies how to answer"--Proverbs 15:28. Study the word to be able to give an answer.

We need God to change our hearts to desire and love His word. We need Him to work a hunger in us to study the Scriptures. BUT...if the desire is not there, what do you do? Disobey by ignoring His words? NO!! Persevere!! God is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him! "I will run the course of Your commandments for YOU shall enlarge my heart"

The gospel and a new baby

"shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace"--Eph 6:15. Be consumed by the gospel!! .






I got this one from Dustin Cook's blog (Burningforrevival.blogspot.com)

country music culture

Sorry for the bad visual.

Samuel likes snow

My son, Samuel, I love him so much!

"Come now let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow"

"Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow"

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. "

The Blizzard

This was an intense snowball fight between me, my wife Lydia (the one with the rocket arm), the Blizzard (also known as Jake Walker), and his fiance Kara "soon to be" Walker.

Jake and Kara have been a real joy to be around. I met Jake a little over a year ago....is that right Jake?....and soon after met Kara. We (me, lydia, jake, and kara) started meeting up once a week and studying the Scriptures on marriage and other related topics. One thing encouraging about them is that they really seem to be coming to God's word with a blank slate. What I mean is.....They are trying to come to God's word with no preconceived notions about marriage, being a husband, being a wife, children, money, etc.... " Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on you own understanding" (Prov 3:5) So then trust God, believe His word, and don't be led by your common sense. "the thoughts of man are futile, blessed is the man whom You instruct O lord" (Psalm 94:11). It has been said often that God gave us common sense and we should use it...But I disagree. God has said "don't lean on your own understanding" and "the thoughts of man are futile" If Gideon would have used common sense he would have never went to war with only 300 men. If Joshua would have used common sense he would have never walked around the walls of Jericho. If David would have used common sense he would have never faced off with Goliath. The 10 men who spied out the promised land did use there common sense and suffered the consequenses of missing out on the Lord's promise! The thoughts of man are useless!! Lord, instruct us...open our eyes to Your Word...help our unbelief!!

Jake and Kara: Keep seeking the Lord! "Send out Your light and Your truth, let them guide me."

First Blog

The fam!!