In Advance

In advance 

Recently we had a sermon at Real Life about God’s plans.  I’ve been thinking about that since Monday night.  See God is not confined by time like we humans are.  Before creation he has seen it all.  From Genesis to Revelation if you study the Bible, God has had plans for the world and he has accomplished them.  Whether it is prophecy from the past or for the future he has plans and he fulfills them regardless of what humankind does.  See I want to start you off with something simple here.  Psalm 102:18 “Let this be recorded for future generations, so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord.”  Simple statement that God’s Word will be passed down so those in the future can praise him.  Pastor Micah showed us in Micah 5:2 that 700 years before it happened Jesus birth was predicted.  “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah.  Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.”  See in Matthew 1:23 it references Isaiah.  “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, which means God is with us.”  So one of you may ask what does all this mean.  Jesus Christ is not still a baby.  You are going to hear people say thank you baby Jesus.  He’s not a baby anymore!  God had a plan that stretched through time and without Christmas you can’t have Easter.  Jesus was on a rescue mission that started when sin entered the garden through Adam and Eve.  For the Christian we have Immanuel or God with Us in our hearts.  That means we have a God who is not confined by time who has already seen our best and worst day and he has already overcome it all.  When we sing hymns like Victory in Jesus we already have that through the work on the cross.  Even as far back as Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  God has hope and a future for you.  Been thinking a lot about this non linear thing and it changes a bit the way you pray and trust God with a problem because he’s already been ahead and seen the end.  To you at the moment it may seem like a giant and you’re praying for a way to resolve it and he already has but he wants your focus on him.   If you go through it or around it that’s not the end goal; drawing closer to God is the end goal.  God wants your heart.  That’s the plan.  It’s always been the plan.  If you follow the people of Israel out of Egypt, God wanted a special people set apart for him.  

Hark the herald angels sing by Chris Tomlin this is the gospel in a Christmas Carol pay attention to the lyrics 

Strange way to save the world by 4 Him

Not that far from Bethlehem by Point of Grace 

Emmanuel by Amy Grant and Anthem Lights

El Shaddai and Thy Word by Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith

For a dream by Phillips Craig and Dean 

What did he die for by Twila Paris 

Blessed Messiah by DeGarmo and Key

Victory in Jesus by Bart Millard

Dying to reach you by Point of Grace 

Renew

I have a t-shirt that has the comic book hero Ghost Spider or aka Spider-Gwen and she is rummaging through a box of comics and it says “Can’t wait till Gwensday.”  See Wednesday is new comic book day however this blog is about other new stuff.  For  the Christian, God makes us new.  

God wants to renew us from the inside out.  He looks at our hearts first.  I read this cause and effect verse about renewing that got my attention.  Colossians 3:10 says this.  “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like him.”  This involves spending time in the Bible and singing and praising God.  It’s cause and effect in a lot of ways.  See today I left for work and I could have listened to any music on my MP3 player but I chose Christian music because I was about to start my job and a foul mood would accomplish nothing good.  I’ve gotta have the right mindset.  Colossians 3 is all about fixing your eyes on Jesus.  See I as a security guard try to make dealing with me as painless as possible and I try to be helpful.  If my mind is in the wrong place I can’t do that.  We need to be renewed and changed and sometimes that is a moment by moment battle.  But Paul gives us marching orders because we are at war in regards to what we think. 

Colossians 3:16-17

“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.  Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

Fix your focus and be renewed!  

In this blog I try to provide scripture and music to fix your heart on God.  Maybe the music isn’t always your favorite but I try.  We are called to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  I once asked my wife if I was adding too much music and being the wise woman she is she told me “You just leave links to it and it’s up to the reader whether they click on it or not.”  She’s right I can’t make you read the blog or listen to anything it’s all your choice.  That being said though I hope you invest the time and draw closer to God.  

Memoir by Audio Adrenaline 

Think on these things by Petra

Mind’s eye by DC Talk

Secret Hideaway by 4 Him 

What a friend by Kathryn Scott

All things new by Steven Curtis Chapman 

The Crippler

Unbelief and fear are liars but they can cripple you.  Being a wrestling fan I’ve seen a lot of submissions.  Moves that cause one to tap out or give up.  Gideon faced it.  Some people I’ve heard give him a bad reputation and not the Joan Jett song variety.  Gideon was not completely wrong in his tests because he came face to face with God who met his fear and unbelief called them liars and said “Gideon you can trust me.”  All through the Bible you can see God meeting us at our point of need and sending those trolls fear and unbelief packing.   None however is more evident however than what we find in John 20:24-29. 

“One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came.  They told him.  ‘We have seen the Lord!’  But he replied.  ‘I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.’  Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them.  The doors were locked; but suddenly as before, Jesus was standing among them.  ‘Peace be with you,’ he said.  Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and look at my hands.  Put your hand into the wound in my side.  Don’t be faithless any longer.  Believe!’  ‘My Lord and my God!’  Thomas exclaimed.  Then Jesus told him, ‘You believe because you have seen me.  Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.’”

There’s a few things I want you to notice here.  Jesus went through locked doors after being raised from the dead.  He waits eight days after Thomas made his proclamation.  Now pay attention to that for a second because Jesus had appeared to a few people already and Thomas had a chance to see and hear some things since he had said what he did.  Things have been ruminating around in his brain.  Now grasp this for a second.  Jesus has healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead and so much more yet Thomas is still having problems believing.  So Jesus leaves the marks of his death which yes he could have healed but he didn’t because Thomas needed to believe.  It was a pivotal moment for Thomas.  But the chapter doesn’t end because Jesus said “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”  Then in my best infomercial voice “But wait there’s more!”  Because verses 30-31 give us more depth into what Jesus told Thomas.  See Thomas plays a bigger role than we seem to give him credit for.  He’s all of us who need God to tell Fear and unbelief to go jump in the Marianna Trench.  But then there’s the others who believe without seeing.... “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.  But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”

See in Mark 9:24 a man asked Jesus to help him in his unbelief.  That’s what Gideon and Thomas did.  When we first come to God for salvation we ask a lot of questions of God typically and he meets us at those stages then we continue to have to trust him day by day moment by moment it’s a growing process.  I ask my wife and parents questions because I don’t know everything and I have to trust the responses I get.  The principle is the same.  Trust God he has been proving and providing for longer than you have existed.  

"Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him.  God is our refuge."  Psalm 62:8

Years ago I was at Beach Reach 1996 where during spring break we tried to reach students for Christ.  I was very scared at the time and this friend of mine Rhonda said something that I have held onto for years and I'm going to share it with you.  I don't know who originally said it but she passed it on to me.  "Fear knocked at the door; Faith answered and there was no one there."  

Friend of a wounded heart by Point of Grace

Do I trust you medley by Twila Paris

I believe by Wes King

We Believe by Newsboys 

Everyman by Rich Mullins 

Fear is a liar by Zach Williams  This is one of my wife's favorite songs.  

Desert Rose by Whiteheart   So the minor history lesson here is.  I discovered this song years ago in the 90's at Skateland West in Annaville, Tx I probably requested it be played more than anyone and it was the reason I became a White Heart fan.  

Rejoice in God's forgiveness

Rejoice in God’s forgiveness 

We sometimes forget the great debt our sin caused us before God.  But we have victory through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.  Not many people today have really heard or paid attention to the third verse of the old hymn It Is Well With My Soul.  I want you to read the words and then consider some scripture.  

“My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought 

My sin, not in part but the whole

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more 

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord Oh, my soul.”

God didn’t forgive just one of our sins but all of them and this is a reason for Thanksgiving.  

Psalm 32:1-2. “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!  Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty.”  

Colossians 2: 13-15 “You we’re dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away.  Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.  He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.  In this way he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities.  He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”  

There was so much going on that day at Calvary that no one could conceive the spiritual war that was being waged.  See before the cross Jesus and Pilate had a conversation where Pilate was scared of who he was talking to.  In John 19:7-11 there was spiritual warfare being played out.  

“The Jewish leaders replied, ‘By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.’  When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever.  He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him.  ‘Where are you from?’  But Jesus gave no answer.  ‘Why don’t you talk to me?’  Pilate demanded. ‘Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?’  Then Jesus said, ‘You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above.  So the one who handed me over to you has the greatest sin.’”

At any point Jesus could’ve stopped the whole thing but because of love he still went forward with the cross to forgive not one but all of our sins.  It was nailed to the cross and we bear it no more.  We have somewhere to turn for forgiveness.  You the reader come to the blog for hope I send you to the cross where blood was shed for your sins.  

How great is the love by Meredith Andrews

We are the reason by Avalon

No need to explain by Geoff Moore and the Distance 

Once and for all by Whiteheart

Because you are by Point of Grace

O, Praise the name by Hillsong

At the cross by Chris Tomlin 

Shaken by Rachael Lampa 

Closer

Closer 

  If some of you have ever read my introduction to the email portion of the blog you know that this originally all started out as a Bible study at Denny’s at midnight with me and two other people.  Then it came down to just Marion and I.  The online part has been going on for 6 years now.  There’s been a goal and a prayer of mine that God will use it to draw the reader closer to himself and that what I share will be about glorifying God.  I’ve had some say that was too serious.  I’ve even had people ask to be removed from the blog.   Never been given a reason why.  Not always easy to deal with when it happens.  It is designed for the busy person and I don’t know who all even bothers to read it.  I simply know we’re on a journey and God is at work.  I know his word does not go forth without accomplishing his purpose.  I pray for the readers.  I simply share what God brings me to and trust him to do the rest.  

I was reminded this week while reading Peace: Five Minutes with Jesus by Shelia Walsh that the times when you don’t think you need to read the Bible is exactly the time you do.  It’s easy to get caught up in things and not do so.  That’s a warning sign.  Like DC Talk said “Warning signs are like flares in the night.”  See in good or bad times God wants us to be in his word he wants to talk to us and draw us closer.  Paul said it best.  

Colossians 1:9-14

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you.  We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every good kind of fruit.  All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.  We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.  May you be filled with joy always thanking the Father.  He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people who live in the light.  For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”  

God wants his best for you.  Paul wanted God’s best for his churches and I want the best for those reading the blog.  To be closer to God is the best thing for any of us.  

Numbers 6:24-26  "The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance on you, and give you peace."

Wishes by Out of the Grey

Deeper by Parachute Band

Deep calling deep by Margaret Becker

Take me in by Kutless 

In the light by DC Talk

In the Kingdom by Whitecross 

Light of your face by Misty Edwards 

When life gets broken by Sandi Patty and Heather Payne

I See You by Michael W. Smith

Spiritual vitamins

Spiritual vitamins 

  Had a friend Chris, once describe the blog as being a weekly dose of spiritual vitamins and I want to give you a few for your week.  I want to show you some things God does for his people.  

Psalm 68:5-6 “Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.  God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.”  

I want you to think on that for a bit. Father to the fatherless.  God can show you love that your earthly father may not have shown you.  He puts the lonely in families see when you become involved at your local church people begin to pray for you and care for you.  If you give me half a minute I can come up with about five people who would pray for Marion and I if I simply ask.  A prisoner can still be in jail but can be set free by God’s love.  Don’t believe me think about your sinful state before becoming a Christian because you were in a prison of sin with no hope.  

Do you want to draw closer to God here’s some help with that.  

Psalm 69:32-33 “The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.  For the Lord hears the cry of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.  

There’s your hope God hears you and cares.  

Glory to the king by Darlene Zschech and Hillsong

What love really means by JJ Heller

Father I never had by Joel Engle

Facts are facts by Steven Curtis Chapman 

Nothing to hide by Geoff Moore and the Distance

Resurrecting by Elevation Worship

Still here

Still here

Recently Pastor Micah said during a sermon that Philippians is the book of joy.  So I’ve been slowly working through it because hope is associated with Joy and this blog deals heavily with hope.  There’s a section in chapter one that has to me been preached on a lot but I feel there’s a perspective that is often missed.  That perspective is “why are we still here”.  See as Christians we long to go home to Heaven and be with the Lord and that’s not a bad thing.  Before we read the passage I want you to consider the Apostle Paul’s situation.  He’s in jail.  But he continues to write and encourage the churches.  Most of us won’t write anything on a regular basis unless we’re writers.  But here’s a man in chains having every reason to be complaining but instead he’s using the time to encourage.  He brings a sort of paradox in Philippians 1:20-24.  

“For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past.  And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.  For to me, living means living for Christ and dying is even better.  But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ.  So I really don’t know which is better.  I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.  But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.”  

Most preaching I have heard on this talked a lot about wanting to be at home with God in Heaven and that’s a great thing don’t get me wrong.  But I want you to approach for a moment with Paul’s perspective.  Jail isn’t a great place to be for any one.  Maybe that’s not where you are but your situation is grim or bleak.  Maybe you’re just having a bad day.  Maybe you want to be home in Heaven and I don’t blame you one bit.  But you’re still on earth.  So look at it this way.  God has you still here, you’re not dead yet.  One word: Opportunity!  The Westminster shorter Catechism asks students a question.  Q.  What is the chief end of man?  A.  Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.  See Paul if he were still here on earth God wasn’t done with him so he continued to encourage others.  God still has you here so I bring these questions to you.  Are you drawing closer to God in the meantime and are you pushing people closer to God?  Are you glorifying God in your mortal body?  If not.  What are you waiting for?  Paul and every hero of the faith in the Bible have laid down the gauntlet as it were.  God’s Word is in the Bible and the question is what are you going to do.  Living for Christ is not easy.  Never has been never will be.  Are you leveraging your time and talents God has given you to change the mission field around you?  

Behind the scenes note.  I usually start work on the blog on Mondays when it's slow at my job.  I thought I had the blog all ready to post and today is Saturday.  Then I was working out and listening to my mp3 player when I heard a song that was very new to me.  See sometimes I go to Half Price Books and I personally prefer music sung by a female artist.  Well I had bought this cd by this female trio called Carried Away and I heard one of their songs and paid attention to the lyrics.  I want to show you the reason why I originally bought the cd.  In the liner notes is the groups mission statement.  "We desire to encourage this generation to want more than a mundane life, but rather seek and intimate relationship with God; one that seeks purity and holiness and to realize the temporal things the world offers are nothing in comparison to capturing the heart of God.  We want to challenge ourselves and others to come to the point where, without compromise, we can truly say to Him `I want you'"  That's why I bought the cd and I remember the day we got it I read that to Marion and said "I want to listen to this because of what that says."  

Crucified with Christ by Phillips Craig and Dean 

More than Gold by Geoff Moore and the Distance 

Heart’s Cry by Steven Curtis Chapman 

Draw me close by the Katinas 

True believers by Phil Keaggy   The guitar work will blow you away.

Smile by Carried Away

When all is said and done by Geoff Moore and the Distance  This is the song I long to have played at my funeral.

The Plan

The Plan

Diets, businesses, Wars, cooking, fighting they all tend to require a plan.  If you grew up around the 1980’s like I did you quickly became aware of this one line spoken by Hannibal Smith on the tv show The A-Team.  “I love it when a plan comes together!”  Even WWE Star Brian Kendrick refers to himself as “The Man with a Plan.”  See there are good and bad plans but I want King David to show you one of the best plans ever.  

Psalm 62:5-8

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.  

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.  

My victory and honor come from God alone.  

He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.  

O, my people, trust in Him at all times.  

Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.”

Refuge, Rock, salvation, hope, fortress, victory and honor, a place to pour out your heart.  If you’re one of those people who weighs out the pros and cons of a plan before implementing it well there are no cons to this plan.  It’s all for your benefit.  We all need this.  

Pour out your love by Cheri Keaggy

God and God alone by Steve Green 

Lift my life up by Unspoken

My life is in your hands by Kathy Troccoli 

Rock of Ages/ I stand Amazed by Guy Penrod

Through it all by Sandi Patty

Greetings

Greetings 

I often can be heard being goofy and saying “Greetings and salutations and jalapeños.”  The apostle Paul had a signature greeting from Ephesians to Philemon in almost every start of each book he starts with this at about verse 2-3 of chapter one of each book.  Philippians 2:2 “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”  In 1 Timothy 1:2 it’s a little different.  “I am writing to you Timothy, my true son in the faith.  May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace.”  He greets these people with gifts from God.  We’ve been going through a series at Real Life about the power of words called Sticks and Stones and seeing Paul’s greetings it got me thinking.  When you interact with people do you bring God’s grace, mercy and peace along with you?  Hmm maybe we should rethink our greetings and interactions.  

Omega by Rebecca St. James

May the words by Christy Nockels and Jana Long

Acceptable by Charmaine 

Let my words be few by Phillips Craig and Dean 

Trust issues

Trust issue  There’s a line in the song Born To Be by Geoff Moore and the Distance and it says “It all comes down to a matter of trust and you don’t know what you got till ya let it all go.”  Also in the song Independence Day by White Heart it says this “Freedom came when I gave it all away”. I told you recently that a lot of these blogs start with prayer and sometimes it’s a verse or a part of a song that sparks me to write.  This time the verses brought the songs to mind.  See I want to show you the end of Psalm 52 and show you the importance of the word trust.  Trusting God changes things.   Psalm 52:8-9 “But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.  I will always trust in your unfailing love.  I will praise you forever O God, for what you have done.  I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people.”   I don’t speak a lot about this but the first girl I ever dated lied about a lot of things and it created trust issues for me.  I became afraid of women hurting me I didn’t trust that a human being could love me much less God.  But over time God changed that in me.  David makes a comparison here of being like an olive tree thriving in the house of God.  Now think about this for a moment because the olive tree it doesn’t worry at all.  The only time a tree worries is if it’s being depicted in movies like Ferngully or the blue people Avatar movies.  Trees don’t worry!  So that brings us back to the word trust David mentioned twice.  David trusted in God’s unfailing love and his good name.  Two unshakable, unchanging features of God.  Now I want you to catch this because when he uses trust he becomes like the olive tree and stops doing what humans do and that’s worry. His trust issues go away.  I told the readers of the blog recently one of the most important verses you need to remember is 1 Peter 5:7. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”    See we’re back to that unfailing love that David mentioned.   Another observation here.  I was home schooled from fourth grade on and one thing my mom insisted on was memorizing scripture.  One of the first things my sister and I had to memorize was Psalm 1.  The more I thought about David’s life as shepherd, king, warrior, writer, singer, harp player and more it hit me that he was talking about an olive tree.  This guy has seen a lot of trees.  But I want you to look at Psalm 1:1-3 and consider other things he says about people and trees.   Psalm 1:1-3. “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.  But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.  Their leaves never wither and they prosper in all they do.”  I want you to consider this as well. The verses talk about the trees or the godly being by the riverbank.  Now think for a minute because years upon years later Jesus called himself the living water.  Riverbank, godly person next to it, Living Water in it.  Olive tree in God’s house thriving.  King David being called a man after God’s own heart.  I don’t know about you but some of these pieces are all connected.  Pass me some more LEGOs.   Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.”   Here’s David’s son Solomon reminding us about God’s good name and the power it holds.   Martin Luther latched on to this years ago.   “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.”   David in two verses shows us every reason to trust God.  He even connects it to thriving.  So what do you do with your trust issues.  I’ll be honest when I have issues I want them to turn into subscriptions to comic books but when it’s a trust problem I want to trust God.  Things go better when I trust God.  Rich Mullins had something to say about the house of God and I want to leave you with this.   “And the moon is a sliver of sliver like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter’s shop, and every house must have it’s builder  And I awoke in the house of God  Where the windows are mornings and evenings  Stretched from the sun  Across the sky north to south  And on my way to early meeting  I heard the rocks crying out  I heard the rocks crying out  Be praised for all your tenderness  By these works of your hands” Independence Day by White Heart  Born to be by Geoff Moore and the Distance  The Color Green by Rich Mullins  Your great name by Natalie Grant  Your name by Phillips Craig and Dean A Mighty Fortress is our God by Sheila Walsh Audience of one by Michael Hill

Each Day

Each day

Psalm 42 starts out a bit depressing and it’s a Psalm of the descendants of Korath and it says it’s for the choir director.  Part of the psalm sounds like the basis of the old hymn Count your blessings.  Maybe you’re having a rough day or week but the author gives us some stuff to latch on to.  Verses 5-6 and then 11 are just what you need to change your perspective.  They say the same thing.   “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God!  I will praise him again— my Savior and my God.”  98% of the battle of the mind is what you focus on.  Like every good Psa from G.I.Joe cartoons “and knowing is half the battle.”  The other 2% is refocusing.  Then if you read the chapter I want you to look specifically at verse 8 because this is where you can say mic drop and walk away.  Once you’re refocused you realize what a reality this verse is. 

“But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,  and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.”  

Blessed assurance by Shine like stars

Count your blessings by Guy Penrod 

Overflow by Shine like stars   If you have never heard this song you seriously need to pay attention to the lyrics because it reminds you that everything comes from God.

You make me brave/Oceans by Caleb and Kelsey 

Fierce by Jesus Culture

10,000 reasons/ What a beautiful name by Caleb and Kelsey

Heard a song this week new to me I’m including just because of how good it is.  

Make me over by Natalie Grant 

Where is it?

Where is it?

I find it sad to see how many people turn to things other than prayer to deal with problems.  I’ve been guilty myself.  I relate to Po from Kung Fu Panda.  When I’m stressed I eat stuff I know better than to eat.  It’s easy to do for a diabetic.  I was driving to work tonight for a four hour shift knowing I needed something for the blog for this week.  I was praying before reading my Bible.  Psalm 33 is amazing but there were a few parts I wanted to bring to your attention.  See Peter Parker aka Spider-Man has built his life around a word but most specifically a phrase.  “With great power comes great responsibility.” I do a weekly Bible study blog that you the reader have given me your trust to bring you hope.  I have to be responsible to acquire and present that to you.  I could as some have thought I do build a whole blog around comics or anything else but I would fail you the reader.  So in order to give you hope I have to present it to you from God’s Word where true hope can be found.  

Complaining is easy but praising God is the hard part.  But here’s reasons why you need your attention shifted.  

Psalm 33:1-5. “Let the Godly sing for joy to the Lord; it is fitting for the pure to praise him.  Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre; make music for him on the ten-stringed harp.  Sing a new song to praise him; play skillfully on the harp and sing with joy.  For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does.  He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.”

Now maybe like me you can’t play an instrument or sing too well God is interested in your heart and you can still sing along to music.  As I type this I have one song in mind to go with the blog.  Part of the reason I leave links to music is because it is also an act of worship.  Minor detail but a lot of blogs have started with a song lyric or Bible verse.  I promised you hope and though we live in a broken sinful world the above verses said God’s unfailing love fills the earth.  Too often we want to present scenarios and say “How could a loving God allow this or that.”  We forget that he allows us to make choices and this world has been slowly going bad since sin entered the world.  We have the choice to follow God or choose evil and too many people take the wrong choice.  Maybe you doubt the part about unfailing love filling the earth but honestly that has been the message of the cross for over two thousand plus years.  We are sinful creatures no chance of redemption but then you get to one of my life verses.  Romans 5:8 “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”  There is so much hope and love captured in that one verse.  

To give you the reader hope I will always point you to God’s Word and to the cross.  

But the last part of this chapter says it better than I can.  

Psalm 33:20-22.  “We put our hope in the Lord.  He is our help and our shield.  In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.  Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord for our hope is in you alone.”  

So one of you may ask knowing all this what is the point?  The point to this whole post and if this were a wrestling promo I’m going to give you your “go home line.”  As Christians we have hope.  In the Green Lantern comics there is a light spectrum to the power rings and they represent things.  The Blue Lantern corps signifies Hope. As Christians we are to spread hope found in Christ to other believers to encourage and to non believers to show them the way to Christ.  What are your spreading?  

I’m going to introduce you to my all time favorite song by Sandi Patty because the entire song talks about things found In the Name of the Lord and hope is one of them.  

In the Name of the Lord by Sandi Patty 

Make a joyful noise by Kim Hill

Made to worship by Chris Tomlin 

Jesus is the answer by Michael W. Smith 

We wear his name by Newsong

If we’re His by Lisa Bevill   New song I heard for the first time this week.  

Praise Song by Third Day

No Vacancy

No vacancy 

My dad taught me something years ago and I quote it a lot.  I just had a mess of a week.  Not every night when someone crashes into your parked car in your driveway.  I find myself praying a lot about the car being worked on, the motorcyclist who hit it and other things stressing out my wife and I. Sunday night I needed some reminders.  So for those reading waiting for what my dad taught and “for the thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home.”  Here are three fundamental facts.  

1.  There is a God

2.  You are not him

3.  There is no vacancy 

See part of my world has been falling apart and I’m having to pray and trust God a lot.  But Sunday night I was at work reading Growing in the Seasons of Life by Chuck Swindoll when I was pointed to Psalm 115:3.  “Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.”  Chicken Little said “The sky is falling.”  He was wrong.  Psalm 19:1-6 says an emphatic NO! 

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.  The skies display his craftsmanship.  Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.  They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.  Yet the message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.  God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.  It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.  It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.  The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end.  Nothing can hide from its heat.”  

See as I drove to work much too early in the morning I was praying a lot.  I remembered that God went before Israel as a cloud and a pillar of fire.  God always surrounded his people.  And He is non linear he already knows what and when and how.  I needed to remember he was still on his throne and he was not leaving any vacancy.  He’s still in control.  Doesn’t always have to make sense to us and until we reach Heaven it probably won’t.  I just pray that I respond how he wants me to.  Because I may say the sky is falling and He says it’s still where I left it.  Sun comes up, moon tags in.  Nope the sky is still there.  

“Though the winds may blow 

And though the floods may grow 

I shall not be moved

Because I am on the Rock!”

Psalms 24:1-2

“ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.  The world and all it’s people belong to him.  For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.”  

God of angel armies by Chris Tomlin 

How great is the love by Meredith Andrews 

My deliverer by Rich Mullins 

I am on the Rock by Petra 

You are God alone by Phillips Craig and Dean 

Glory to the King byHillsong Worship

So most all the songs here lyric wise have something to do with the blog posted.  But the last song here has been one I rediscovered after years and it is here because the song is so great I wanted to share it with others.  And one night Marion reminded me I just put links up for you the reader if I put a little or a lot it’s still your choice to read or listen.  It’s a blog designed for busy people and you get out what you invest into it.  I just have to be willing to post it.  

Only Jesus/ Calvary’s love by Steve Green

Minor note if I ever quote a song in the blog I will leave a link to it.  Unless it’s a secular song I won’t do that.  As Sean Connery said “Here endeth the lesson.”  

Living Water

Living water

In John 4:10 Jesus tells the Samaritan Woman he can give her living water.  And in verse 14 he says this “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again.  It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them giving them eternal life.”  This portion of scripture came to mind as I read John chapter 2:1-12.  I want you to see something here that fits this all together.  

“The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee.  Jesus’ mother was there and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.  The wine supply ran out during the festivities. Jesus’ mother told him.  ‘They have no more wine’.  

‘Dear woman, that’s not our problem.’  Jesus replied.  ‘My time has not yet come.’  

But his mother told the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’  

Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing.  Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons.  Jesus told the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’  When the jars had been filled, he said,  ‘Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.’  So the servants followed his instructions. 

When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.  ‘A host always serves the best wine first,’. He said.  ‘Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine.  But you have kept the best until now.’  

This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory.  And his disciples believed in him.  

After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers and his disciples.”

I want you to think about something here.  We as Christians are called vessels and people at first don’t see changes in us and then when the Living Water, Jesus himself changes us that’s when we become vessels of honor.  What kind of liquid comes forth when people see you?  

Psalm 23:5 says “You prepare a feast before me in the presence of my enemies.  You honor me by anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings.”  See the living water God puts into us should overflow and splash out of the vessels that we are. In Jeremiah 18:1-17 God shows the prophet a lesson in pottery and clay.  God is constantly at work on us and our lives much like the vessels for water at Cana shaping us to be the people he wants.  See if God is not changing you then you seriously need to step back stop and ask questions about your salvation because you may still be an empty water jug.  Jesus also said this about our salvation.  

John 3:5 “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.”

Here is more about us being vessels.  

2 Corinthians 4:5-7

“You see, we don’t go preaching about ourselves.  We preach Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.  We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.  This makes it clear that our power is from God, not from ourselves.”  

Romans 12:1-2 gives us our flight path and contrary to Peter Pan and Captain Kirk it is not “Second Star to the right and on till morning.”  

“And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice— the kind he will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship him.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good pleasing and perfect.”

God wants us transformed into willing vessels to be used by Him.  

In the words of Optimus Prime “Autobots transform and roll out.”  

Where the Thunder roars by Whiteheart 

Acceptable by Charmaine 

Carry your love by Caedmon’s Call

Change me Lord by Shannon Wexelberg

Still useful

Still useful 

Sometimes my brain latches on to things.  We as humans are often stupid and make bad decisions.  Traffic in Corpus Christi can be a good example of that.  In the book of Judges you can find the story of Samson.  This guy messed up almost as many times as Peter did.  In Judges 13:6-7 we learn of what he was supposed to be.  “The woman ran and told her husband, ‘A man of God appeared to me!  He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see.  I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name.  But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son.  You must not drink wine or any alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food.  For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”  

Samson was a guy that messed up a lot but I want to show you something that my brain missed so many times reading before because Samson as flawed as he is somehow ends up doing what he is supposed to and it defies all logic.  He’s like Captain Kirk on Star Trek the Wrath of Kahn.  Samson just looks like he’s on a collision course with stupidity.  

Judges 14:1-4 “One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye.  When he returned home, he told his father and mother.  ‘A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye.  I want to marry her.  Get her for me.’  His father and mother objected.  ‘Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe among all the Israelites you could marry?’  They asked.  ‘Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?’  But Samson told his father.  ‘Get her for me!  She looks good to me.’  His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at the time.”

Now my first thing I want to say here and I speak from personal pain and experience when your family and friends warn you about a man or woman you’re interested in and tell you to stay away.  Do it!  Stay away!  Samson was about to embark on a path of destruction.  

Now that being said I am also in no way shape or form condoning or encouraging Samson’s approach to getting a mate.  If women complain about men now they would have plenty more reasons to complain about his attitude.  

But here’s what caught my attention reading this.  In verse four it says his parents didn’t realize God was at work in this.  So here’s a guy being stupid and making bad decisions and somehow God uses it.  You yeah you the reader I’m talking to you directly.  God used David, Peter, Gideon, Sarah, Abraham, Jacob, Elijah, Jonah and more they made bad choices like you and me.  God in his mercy used them still.  The question is with all your mistakes and mine and so much we’ve been forgiven of are you still willing to repent turn to God and like Isaiah say “Here Am I Lord send me.”  

Samson is a redemption story.  The Philistines meant so much harm and did so much wrong to him and the nation of Israel but God used it for his glory.  It reminds me of the story of Joseph in Genesis 45 when he reveals his identity to his brothers because all the harm his brothers did to him God ended up using it for good.  

See with all our sins and mistakes God ends up using us as flawed as we are to show our need for salvation and redemption.  

Years ago David Meece said it correctly in revealing our need for a savior.

“And we were the reason that he gave his life.  We were the reason that he suffered and died.  To a world that was lost he gave all he could give to show us the reason to live.  

I finally found the reason for living it’s in giving every part of my heart to him.  In all that I do and every word that I say I’ll be giving my all just for him.  For him.”  

Who you are by Unspoken 

We are the reason by Dave Meece 

Here I am by Rebeca St James

Diamonds by Hawk Nelson 

Heat it up by Degarmo and Key

Blessings by Laura Story

For a dream by Phillips, Craig and Dean