Light in the Darkness

A friend came up this morning and told me I need to post something. Apparently I have been quiet for too long. I told him I’ve been too stressed to write lately. Let me just say I hope January is not what the rest of the year is going to be like for me. Twenty six days into the year and it seems like everything is crashing down. The last week of December my car broke down and it would be cheaper to replace it than to fix it. God came through and found a very affordable replacement for me, but the unexpected coming up with enough cash to replace a vehicle put a little strain (stress) on the finances.
I’m starting online classes. The last two weeks have been nothing but a big stressball as I tried finding out what books were needed, getting the cash to get them, and praying that they arrived in time for me to read them before the reading assignments were due. Then my DVD lectures didn’t arrive, so I have to get that handled. Plus worrying about how I’m going to do in school and how I’m going to balance time between family, work, school and church.
I had a lot of unexpected extra responsibilities come up at church and a strain in a close friendship at the same time. Needless to say the last three weeks have been hectic.
Now I’m done with my sob story and will move on to the important stuff. Where does Jesus fit into all this? As we go through our lives, many times we seem to get overwhelmed by the world. Jobs, school, family, hobbies even church and religion in itself will come between our time with Jesus. We have to remember that Jesus promised to take care of us. Matthew 6:26 ask us are we not more than the birds of the sky and our Lord takes care of them? If we seek first the kingdom of God, God will take care of everything else.(Matthew 6:33)
Yet when we feel that the sky is falling down on top of us, what can we do? As the stress has built up I have deepened my prayer life. As I talk to Jesus and give my burdens to Him, He reminds me of the many blessings he has given to me. The blessings always outnumber the trouble. Once you pray and thank God for all your blessings you realize the treasure you truly have. When you ask the Lord to help you through the problems you are facing, you feel relief knowing that He will live up to His promise to take care of you.
The other thing that has helped me is starting a very aggressive reading of the bible. Everyday as I read and study the bible God shows me something to help me. For example yesterday as I read 2 Samuel 22:29-37 God spoke to me and reminded me He was there and would never forsake me (Hebrews 13:5-6)
So hopefully I will be back to posting more regularly soon.
MSW

And I leave you with 2 Samuel 22:29-37

29 You are my lamp, O LORD;

the LORD turns my darkness into light.

30 With your help I can advance against a troop;

with my God I can scale a wall.

31 "As for God, his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

32 For who is God besides the LORD ?

And who is the Rock except our God?

33 It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way perfect.

34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

he enables me to stand on the heights.

35 He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 You give me your shield of victory;

you stoop down to make me great.

37 You broaden the path beneath me,

so that my ankles do not turn.

Everything

I love this video. I cry every time I watch it. I have found hundreds of skit versions and three video versions of this skit. It starts with our walk with Jesus then it shows how we let relationships come between us and Christ. Then it moves on to money, status, alcohol, depression and finally we run back to Jesus who will help us fight off the evils that tempt us. I Hope you enjoy this version. I'll also post the lyrics below the video.
MSW

Find me here, speak to me
I want to feel you, I need to hear you
You are the light that's leading me to the place
Where I find peace again
You are the strength that keeps me walking
You are the hope that keeps me trusting
You are the light to my soul
You are my purpose
You're everything
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this
You calm the storms and you give me rest
You hold me in your hands
You won't let me fall
You still my heart, and you take my breath away
Would you take me in take me deeper now
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this
Cause you're all I want,
You're all I need
You're everything.. everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything.. everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything.. everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
Everything.. everything
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better any better than this
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this

The Punishment Due Us

What is the worst punishment a man can have for doing wrong? Our criminal Justice system has many punishments in it. They range from community service, fines, jail time all the way up to even capital punishment. Let’s think about the jail time for a minute. You have done wrong and now you must be punished. You are locked up and separated from your friends and family. You can no longer see the ones you love whenever you want.
Even worse than that is the punishment that is due all of us. In Genesis 4:13-14 we are told of Cain’s punishment for slaying his brother. Cain tells God his punishment is more than he can bear. What is his punishment? He is to be put out of the presence of God. Cain can not stand the thought of no longer being in the presence of God. While Cain gave into flesh and did not give God the offering he should he still loved and worshipped God. Now because of his sin he is lost and sent out of God’s presence.
You and I are on that same trail 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, and Revelation 21:8 all give a list of those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. We all fall somewhere on those lists. The alternative to the kingdom of God is hell and eternal separation from God.
Think about that for a minute. We all have times we fail and feel we are separated from God. Now imagine that separation is eternal. Cain said my punishment is too much for me to bear.
We do not have to suffer the same fate as Cain though. We can be forgiven and not only have an eternity with God, we can have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus. All we have to do is admit to God that we are a sinner, understand that through the blood of His Son we have been washed and sanctified. Completely forgiven of our sins, we can live a life walking with Jesus and knowing that we will never be separated from God.
MSW

The Rooster

Yesterday I was lying in bed thinking about a discussion on freewill that had been going on. That got me thinking about my grandmother. I know my mind works weird.
Anyways, my grandma Cill used to have a pet rooster. It would ride on her shoulder as she worked in the yard. This rooster trusted and loved her. Most roosters are mean and see humans as trying to control THEIR barnyard. It is their natural tendency to either attack or run from humans, but this rooster, after learning that my grandmother cared for it, would come to her and trust her.
We are like that rooster. Our natural tendency is to do everything for ourselves and if someone tries to control our lives we get defensive and attack or we run the other way. Yet when we learn that Jesus loves and cares for us, many of us will choose to obey. Then through the help of the Holy Spirit, we come too fully and trust and obey. Even though it goes against our nature to ask for help we choose to ask for God’s guidance.
Our choice to go against our very nature and worship God and follow Jesus brings Glory to God. By freely choosing Jesus over our sin nature we lead an example to those who have not yet conquered the world’s hold over them. Plus when we turn our lives over to Jesus He then helps us to overcome the world through His Holy Spirit.
MSW
By the way I’m not sure if the chicken escaped the dumplings or not. Maybe one of my aunts or uncles will see this and let me know.

LORD, You have treated Your servant well,
just as You promised.

Teach me good judgment and discernment,

for I rely on Your commands.

Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep Your word.

You are good, and You do what is good;
teach me Your statutes.
Psalm 119:65-68 HCSB

Lord Prop Us Up

I received this in an email yesterday and thought I would share it here


Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old deacon who always prayed, 'Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side.' After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently.

He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this... I got an old barn out back. It's been there a long time; it's withstood a lot of weather; it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years.

It's still standing. But one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit.

So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.

Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time.

I've withstood a lot of life's storms. I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times.

Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't . So we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side, so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord. ''

It's so wonderful that we have Jesus to lean on.

Hamas

While Israel is fighting Hamas, it is nice to know God is still at work converting people to Christianity.
Voice of the Martyrs' Persecution Blog pointed me to a Fox News story about Mosab Hassan Yousef, The son of one of Hamas Founding members. It tells a little about his conversion to christianity.
Praise God on how he is working on some in the Middle East. In David Jeremiahs' Book What in the World is Going On he tells of a Muslim who had Jesus appear to him in a dream. This then led him to an Egyptian Christian who gave him a bible. The authorities found out and sentenced him to die. On the day he was to be executed no one showed up. They came to him later and said away you demon and set him free. He later learned on the day he was to be executed the executioners son died.
Jesus is still working on lost souls in the Middle East.
MSW

New Year Prayer

It's 2009, Happy New Year! For the second year in a row I brought in the year with the youth of my church. A minute before midnight we knelt before the altar and prayed in the new year. This is such a powerful way to bring in the year. Talking with God about the last year and the upcoming year. It was extra special for me this year as I have two of my own girls in the yourh and my wife came to the church with my son to join us for praying in the new year. So I got to bring in the new year worshipping God with the youth and my family. Thank You Lord for that blessing.

Lord I thank You for the blessings You have given me in the last year. Father I thank You for the trials and lessons You have given me. Some of them Lord, I did not think I could make it through, but You were always there proving the promises You gave in Your Word. I realize now they strengthened me and prepared me for the plans You have in the future. Father I pray You will be there in the next year to lead me and show me the way. I pray that when You call I will move with out hesitation. Father thank You for allowing me to bring in the year with the youth and with my family at Your altar. May we all serve you faithfully in the upcoming year. I pray these things in Your Sons name .In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
MSW