In Santa Cruz and "In HIS Grip!"

2008-01-31T16:06:00.000-08:00

If we had a swimming pool in our back yard, I'm convinced this is what our dog "Murph" would do!

2008-01-31T16:01:00.000-08:00

Sin separates us from God...but... (Part 3)

Hey all!
We left off last time with some descriptions of those who “conceive evil and bring forth iniquity”, those that “hatch vipers eggs and weave the spider’s web.” These don’t sound like any who are close to God or even want to be close to Him. I did mention that even we as God’s children, can do the same evil, that we are capable of any evil.

I found in Ephesians 4, Paul’s exhortation to us Gentiles, us who are believers and have received God’s grace and mercy, he tells us;

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Paul in chapter 4 goes on to give us instruction like; “Be angry but do not sin”, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger”. That we should not “grieve The Holy Spirit by whom we were sealed for the day of redemption”. And then the last verse, verse 32 says; “And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Wow!

These Jews in Isaiah needed to hear this! But the sad truth is, Isaiah being the great prophet that he was, speaking the words that came directly from God, could not get these people to listen. He goes on in verses 9-15 to talk about their condition, and their state of mind.
Sin Confessed
9 Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.

11 We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.

Notice how verse 9 starts out with “Therefore”, well, as my pastor says and as I’m sure you’ve heard before, you have to ask, “What’s it there for?” It means, “in light of what I’ve just said, check this out!”

Isaiah is saying here (forgive the paraphrasing); “In the previous verses I have shown you and told you about your sin and behavior, and now I’m gonna tell you what the results of that sin and behavior are; for one thing, because of your iniquities, justice is far from us, as is righteousness. We look for light, not THE light. but any other light that isn’t God’s light, and we only find darkness. We look for brightness, but we walk in blackness, and it’s by our own choice, and by our own will!

We’re men and women acting blind, we have our eyes and they work fine, but we have them shut and are bumping into walls as if we had no eyes at all. Here we are in broad day light, the sun is shining, “The Son is shining”, and we have our eyes closed as if in twilight. You are acting now as you did and your ancestors those many years ago when you were in the desert, in the desolate place. You are still muttering and complaining as you did when you were sick of the manna, but you forget that God poured down meat for you and yours in those days. You growl like bears, but you moan like doves. You are as an individual standing in the middle of the desert, all alone, and as far as you can see there is nothing. How do you expect to gain justice, and even more, how are you in your own power ever going to gain salvation?”

12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:

Think of the above verse and the fact that it was a pre-Jesus world, and compare it to our post-Jesus world, which is what we live in now. Isaiah is telling these Jews that their “transgressions are multiplied” before them. This is the idea that one sin is stacked on another, then stacked on another, then stacked on another. There was no salvation! Let’s look at it a different way, it was the picture of their sins being laid out before them, rather than stacks, they were end to end so they could see them, and each one of them testified against them, they screamed at them, they reminded them of how awful they really were. These they could not close their eyes to, these transgressions are with them. Compare that to our post-Jesus world, “As far as the heavens are from the earth, so far has He taken our sins from us!” “He who knew no sin, took on the sins of the world!” “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” Amen? Amen!
The end of verse 12 says; “And as for our iniquities, we know them:” We know them!
Isaiah describes what some of those would be.

13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

So what are the consequences of such behavior? What are the results of acting un-holy in the face of a Holy God? What about our un-confessed sin? Verse 14 and 15 tell us;

14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. 15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

“For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. So truth fails...” I really like how the NASB says it; “For truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness can not enter. Yes, truth is lacking...” I’m not sure exactly sure what this is saying, so I thought I would start off by looking up the word “equity”, here’s what I found; “Equity – Fairness, Ownership, Right in property.” We know that because of their behavior, strong will and choices, that justice has turned from the direction it was headed, toward them, and is now walking away from them. We know that righteousness is standing “afar off”, I get the picture of righteousness standing on hill with a prefect view of this whole scene, and both are waiting to return to their rightful spot.

“Truth” and “Equity”, what is it that those two have in common? We know that “equity” has to do with “ownership”, “fairness”, and “right of property”. Could it mean that we have the “right of property”, that being the truth? That either we had the truth and lost it, or we never had it, but we can take “ownership” of it? I’m getting a picture of truth stumbling and falling in the street, it’s kinda like a scene from the Omega Man, ya know!? He’s standing in the middle of a New York City street, no people, no birds, no sound, only the wind that blows that newspaper and pieces of miscellaneous paper around for effect. He’s alone in a “desolate place”, truth has “fallen”, and because of these people’s state (and even our own at times) they we’re not in right standing with The Lord and therefore could not go in and rescue it, truth, they couldn’t take “ownership” of it, they didn’t see it as “fairness”. But as Isaiah has already told us in verse 4; “No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.”

In our next part we will look at God responds, and that there is A Redeemer!

Father! Thank You for being The “Hound of Heaven”, for finding us when we were so lost. Father thank You for Your word which shows us what we were at one point in our lives, and for saving us from ourselves. We are so sorry Lord when we fall back into these old behaviors. We are so sorry because we know it grieves You Lord. I pray for those who are still walking around as “blind men”, I pray that they would hear Your voices as You draw them to yourself. I love you Father! Amen!

In HIS Grip
Tony

2008-01-31T15:57:00.000-08:00

Sin separates us from God...but... (Part 2)

Hey all!
Wow! Here we are at Part 2...Hey that was kinda easy!
Anyway, in Part 1 we brought together the correlation of who/whom Isaiah (God) was speaking to in the past, and how He speaks the same things to us today. What is sad is that we react, respond, and behave just as the Israelites did those thousands of years ago. We saw that God’s hand of salvation is not shortened and that His ear is not deaf, but because of our sin, and because He is Holy, it causes a separation between us. Does that mean that because we sin He will never hear us? No! He is always open to “I’m sorry Lord!” and “I love You!” He will forgive us 70x7.

We pick up in verse 6 where Isaiah is describing the sin of Israel, and the decline and degradation of sin. He’s just finished saying in verse 4 that they “conceive evil and bring forth iniquity”. He goes on to describe the deep darkness (my words) of sin. This is more to those who are not saved, who have not experienced God’s amazing and saving grace.
Isaiah 59:6-21
Separated from God
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. 6 Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works;

WAYS TO AVOID SNAKEBITE
(Taken from a website called: “Survival IQ” the italics and BOLD are mine)
Follow these simple rules to reduce the chance of accidental snakebite:
Don't sleep next to brush, tall grass, large boulders, or trees. They provide hiding places for snakes. Place your sleeping bag in a clearing. Use mosquito netting tucked well under the bag. This netting should provide a good barrier. (or keep God’s Word close)
Don't put your hands into dark places, such as rock crevices, heavy brush, or hollow logs, without first investigating. (When it comes to sin, how about at all).
Don't step over a fallen tree. Step on the log and look to see if there is a snake resting on the other side. (Step on God’s Word, ask for Wisdom)
Don't walk through heavy brush or tall grass without looking down. Look where you are walking. (Let HIM guide your every step, once in that gait with HIM you can then look up).
Don't pick up any snake unless you are absolutely positive it is not venomous. (Flee from temptation)
Don't pick up freshly killed snakes without first severing the head. The nervous system may still be active and a dead snake can deliver a bite. (Remember who The One is that crushes the head of the serpent!)

The evil things of this world believe that they can wear their evil as a garment, ya’ know, for recognition. They believe that their works of evil are who they are; they cover themselves with its identity. It’s like being labeled in a way. There have been those who are/were evil who have been given a label, or who from fear, the world has seen the works they wear as evil, but the bottom line is, from a Spiritual sense, they are lost and some for eternity. The Charles Manson’s, The Saddam Hussein’s, the Adolph Hitler’s, all of these, unless they had given their lives to Christ are in and will be in eternal torment for eternity.

Identity is a big deal from a worldly stand point. They ask the same question (until they find THE answer), “Who am I? How do I fit in? And what the heck am I doing here?” Not just evil people ask this, people who are lost ask this, and people who are weak in their faith in Christ ask the same questions. I have a son who will be 30 this year, I’ve seen him go up for alter call after alter call. I’ve seen him cry and rededicate his life to Jesus at Promise Keeper events, but for some reason (actually for a couple reasons) he just can’t seem to let go. He has always battled with who he is and where he fits. I’ve told him over and over that his identity is only found in Christ, but again because he hasn’t fully let go, he doesn’t hear it. I know that when my son T.J. finally grasps that, and lets go as many of us have, he will be free, and will realize that he doesn’t need to conform to this world, but that he has been transformed by allow God to finally renew his mind. I have not given up hope on my son “T”, or any of my kids, because my wife and I can see God working, even in their rebelliousness, He has got them right where He wants them and where they will listen to His message of peace and freedom.

Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.

8 The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

Again the word iniquity according to Webster’s dictionary is; “gross injustice, wickedness, sinful, outrageous.”
The word “sinful” struck me as I read the definition once again. But you see that’s the reason...the ONLY reason, it’s sinfulness. Think about back when you were one of those walking in darkness, I know for me, I look back and think of some of the things I did and said, and it amazes me. I remember being at family reunions and sitting with my older cousins as we would out do each other telling jokes, and me beating them all by telling jokes and using language that I think may have even shocked some of them.

I wish I could tell you that I’ve never said another bad word since I got saved, but that would be a lie. The times that I have though have been far and few between, and out of anger. When I have let a few those choice words fly, it’s grieved and embarrassed me, and what’s worse is that it grieves The Holy Spirit. But my point is, these people whose “works are works of iniquity, and acts of violence” and the rest, this is pretty much is all these kind of people know, they haven’t experienced God’s love, or at least not that they are aware of. Does God love these people? Yes! Does He want them to really be His own? Yes!

“Wasting and destruction are in their paths”, Wow, I have to think about that a minute. How much of life did I waste before I really began to walk with God, or at least began to see that there is no other path in life? I was saved at age 13, but I didn’t act saved until I was about 30. I think back to that gap, the things that took place in those 17 years, I ask myself; “Were they all bad years, were they all full of destruction as the text says above?” I have to say no, even in the hard times, there were glimpses of Jesus calling me back to His path. They may not all have been destructive, or full of destruction, but I guess the real question is; “Were they wasteful years?”

When I look back now in my weak moments, or in the moments when a fleeting thought comes to mind that says; “Man! If you knew then what you know now in regards to God’s gift of life and peace and joy! Why did you waste all those years Tony?” or the big one “If you had walked closer to God, your family would be walking closer with God now!”

I prefaced that last line of thought as “in my weak moments” in the “moments when a fleeting thought comes to mind”, the truth is that if I really think about all those years, all that time, it wasn’t wasted, it was growth. God’s plan is perfect for our lives; He takes the bad and makes it good. In my life, He has made up for more than those 17 years in last past 20 years of my life. Even in just the last 5 or 6 years, I have felt more complete in Him than I ever have. He will do the same for the lost, he will do the same for those who are living wasteful and destructive lives right now, if they will just let Him. Believe in The Lord Jesus Christ and you WILL be saved.

Father! Thank You for finding me. Thank You that You are the answer, Your path is perfect. I pray for those that are lost, those that haven’t got a clue of Your great love. I pray that we as Your children will be able to give them a glimpse of who You are as I know You put many in my path even during those 17 years, and even today. You are an awesome God! Amen!

In HIS Grip
Tony

2008-01-31T15:50:00.000-08:00

Sin separates us from God...but... (Part 1)

Hey all!
As I read through Isaiah 59 this morning, I found so much in it that I decided to write it in a few emails. This is kinda new for me, this whole Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 thing, but we’ll see how it goes.

Again the reason I’m sending this to you is not so much to exhort you or to point out your sin, but to share with you how He has pointed out mine, to share with you His exhortation to me, and because I thought it gave a clear picture of what it looks like when we are in our sin and “separated from God.” If you read ahead in the chapter, you will see that “there is a redeemer”, and that we can’t do it on our own. You will see that God has a promise for us and for the descendants before us and the descendants before them.

I’m never quite sure how to break up the text, I’m sure as I continue doing these that it will become clearer to me, but for now, I’ll just interject where I believe the Spirit has led me to. Keep in mind, we are all still growing in the life of God and in the path of Jesus, no one has grasped it completely, or fully understands it.
Paul says in Philippians 3:12-14;

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Then he exhorts us in verses 15-16:

15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

So let’s get into it and see where The Lord leads!
Isaiah 59:1-21
Separated from God
1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.

First we have to think about who Isaiah is writing to, he’s writing to the Israelites. He’s replying to their grumbling. The Israelites are once again complaining that God hasn’t given them enough, that He’s not hearing their prayers. They’re in essence saying that they are in the dark and that God is not rescuing them. The fact is, God has rescued them, He’s rescued them from the bondage of slavery, and not just from Egypt, but from the bondage they have brought on themselves. More importantly, He has rescued many of them for all eternity.

Their grumblings sound like; “Okay, so You brought us out of Egypt, we’re here in the desert, so now what Lord? Where are You? Have You taken Your hand off us, do You not hear our prayers anymore?” We also have to think about who/whom else Isaiah is talking to? When we read Isaiah’s words, which are actually God’s words spoken through His Word to us, we have to face the fact that He (God) is talking to us too. We grumble just like them, we overlook ALL that He has done for us, even Him giving us His only begotten Son, and ask “God where are you Lord? “How come You don’t hear us Lord? How come I don’t feel You anymore Lord?” which really can mean, “How come You’re not doing it my way? Why haven’t you answered my prayer sooner?”
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

Here’s the answer to the Jews (and us). Our sin, when we were unbelievers, had separated us from God, our sin had “hidden His face” from us. Think about what it was like in the garden before the fall, God walked with Adam and Eve. That blows my mind...God walked with Adam, THE God of the universe, the creator of life itself, walked with Adam in the garden, nothing was hidden, it was the purest form of fellowship. But because of sin, Adam and Eve hid themselves from God, because of our sin even as believers, we cause God to turn away because He is still Holy! Even our Savior experienced that emptiness, that darkness on the cross, the One who knew no sin became sin for us, God even had to turn His back on Jesus for a moment. The reality of that moment then and the reality of that moment now, is that it still breaks the heart God. God’s sees our beginning and our end, but He also grieves when we choose our will and not His.

Isaiah goes on to describe their sin;
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.

I would say that if we had a show of hands, most of us are not guilty of our hands being “defiled with blood”, but as for the rest of it, my hand, like yours is raised.
4 No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth.They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.

I have one question; “WHY!?” Why would they (we) not call out for justice, they knew who has it! Why would we not plead for the truth, they know who has it! But it says “they trust in empty words and speak lies”. It seems to me this is one of those pictures of the digression into sin; we don’t call on the Lord and plead for truth, so we begin to listen to empty words of man, which means we stop seeking His truth and begin listening to man’s truth. From that point on we begin to speak what we’re told, which if it’s not from God but from man more times than not we are speaking lies. Then from there we begin to buy into their lies and believe the lies we espouse as truth then spread that which conceives evil, and that brings forth iniquity. The word iniquity according to Webster’s is; gross injustice, wickedness, sinful, outrageous.

James tells us in 1:14-16;
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

I think I’ll stop there and continue on PART 2. Hey, that was easy!

Father Thank You for Your word. Thank You that it is living and breathing. I pray that You would continue to grow me into Your righteousness, that I would not be ashamed of The gospel, that I would receive Your strength and courage to continue to write out what You have shown me in my life, and given me the ability to share with others in my writings. Jesus, it’s all about you Lord! You are our redeemer; you are The One that is the meaning of life. Thanks You Lord for what You did on the cross so that we don’t have to walk in darkness any longer. We’re not like the blind who bump into walls. You have shown us favor! We love You! Amen.

In HIS Grip
Tony

2007-12-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Do we pass "The Test of Loyalty?"

Hey All!
Again Merry Christmas!

I just finished lunch and had a few minutes before I had to get back to it, so I thought I would check to see what Oswald Chambers had to say in his devotional today, and I’m glad I did. I’ve been going through a bit of a “Why Lord?” kinda funk the last couple of days, but am reminded in today’s devotional that “God engineers circumstances”, and once I re-looked at my current “Why Lord?” situation, I could see, understand and say to myself; “Yeah Lord! I can see where You could work this whole mess out!”

THE TEST OF LOYALTY
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God." Romans 8:28
It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberty with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord. Suddenly God breaks up a particular set of circumstances, and the realization comes that we have been disloyal to Him by not recognizing that He had ordered them; we never saw what He was after, and that particular thing will never be repeated all the days of our life. The test of loyalty always comes just there. If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses.
Loyalty to Jesus Christ is the thing that we "stick at" to-day. We will be loyal to work, to service, to anything, but do not ask us to be loyal to Jesus Christ. Many Christians are intensely impatient of talking about loyalty to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more emphatically by Christian workers than by the world. God is made a machine for blessing men, and Jesus Christ is made a Worker among workers.
The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us - "I reckon on you for extreme service, with no complaining on your part and no explanation on Mine." God wants to use us as He used His own Son."

Lord, forgive me for being so self centered at times and not seeing that this circumstance or set of circumstance may not be about me at all, though I will grow from the out-come, help me to see that this may be Your hand working in someone else’s life to bring them closer to You. Help me to not take whatever backlash or thrashing of their disobedience in a personal way, even if it’s directed at me, help me to pray for them, and to patiently watch what You’re gonna do in their lives and in mine.

Father may it not distract me any more than I am already distracted from life in general at times, but that Jesus, You would be the thing that I “stick at” today and tomorrow. What a terrible thing to read; “Our Lord is dethroned more emphatically by Christian workers than by the world.” but Lord how true it is. May we never take you lightly, or see you Jesus, even though you were not only fully God but also fully man, in a way that measures you to a world standard like I’ve seen even in this season of Your earthly birth.

May we always hold you higher than even the thought of what You must have been like as a child, or young man growing up here on earth, that yes even though you experienced some of the things that a child would experience, You are still Creator, Savior, Master, and worthy to be praised!!! Amen

In HIS Grip
Tony

2007-12-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

"A Christmas Letter From Jesus"

Dear Children,
It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just get along and love one another.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town. Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families
8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to a church or charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I AM Jesus and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court.

And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember.
I LOVE YOU, JESUS

2007-12-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

"...who for the joy set before Him..."

Hey all!
On Sunday mornings we’re going through the book of Hebrews, what a rich book! We’re just getting into chapter twelve, and that is where my devotion time started this morning, specifically verses 1 & 2.

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Just an FYI, the “cloud of witnesses” that Paul is referring to are all those saints mentioned in chapter 11. He doesn’t mean that they are up on a cloud watching and praying for us, he means that we are basically in good company.

In verse 2 it says; “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” I never really understood what it meant when he says; “...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross...” My bible study notes says; “His attention was not on the agonies of the Cross, but on the crown; not on the suffering, but the reward.”

I immediately flashed on two scenes from the movie “The Passion of The Christ” one is where Jesus begins to carry His (our) Cross, but before He takes it onto His shoulders, it’s almost seems as though He embraces it first. Then the other scene is where Jesus has made it up to Golgatha, the cross is laid down, and if you look closely, it appears that Jesus is eager to crawl unto the cross and get into position; He knows that the time has come AND He knows what awaits Him when this is all over.

I thought about the fact that Jesus was on this earth for some 33 years, I think we sometimes forget how hard that must have been for Him at times. We think of the Sermon on the Mount, we think of the miracles, we think of His relationship with His disciples, but what about the times when He was alone praying to His heavenly Father, when He would reflect on the fact that this was not His home, that He left His home, He left His throne, He left warmth and comfort of His Father to come here, to endure cold, to endure heat, to see the decline and depravity of what God, and Himself had created here on earth. He was spit on, cussed at, laughed at, attacked physically, tempted in every way yet without sin.

He came here for one single reason, but how many times in when He was alone did He ask The Father if it was time, and The Father said “Not yet my Son!”? The human side of Him might have cried out from time to time; “Abba! Abba! Look what they are doing to Your Son! Listen to what they are saying about Me! I have no place to lay My head tonight, I have no food for tomorrow Abba!” And again, how many times might The Father have said; “Be patient my Son, I AM with you! I AM your bread of life. You will be with Me soon, and will never have to go through this again. ‘You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier’” for just a little while longer.

Jesus was fully God and fully man while He was on this earth, may we never forget the humanness of Him and the suffering He endured for us. May we never forget, that when we go through hard times on this earth, Jesus tells us what The Father may have told Him during His time here;

“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier.”
“I will never leave you nor forsake you!”
“Be still and know that I AM God!”

In HIS Grip
Tony

2007-11-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

What does the word "awesome" really mean?

Hey All!

How often do we use the word “awesome”? And what do we really mean when we use it? Is it kinda like the word “Bodacious!” as in “Cool!” “Radical!” or “Right on!” or do we use it in a more spiritual way like, “That is so awesome what God has done for you?” or “You are an awesome follower of Jesus Christ brother!” or even in our prayers to the Father “You are so awesome Lord!” All of these are pretty much okay, but do we think about the word and what it really means before we say it?

As a righteous example...whoa, there another misused word, but we’ll save that one for another email. As I was saying, as a righteous example check out how Jacob used the word “awesome” in Genesis 28:10-18

10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” 18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.

Now that’s pretty awesome! He was awe struck I’d say. Have you every been struck with “awe”? I looked up the word “awesome” in the dictionary and got definitions like; “Reverential Fear” this is the kind of fear Paul talked about in Hebrews 12:28 when he said:
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may[a] serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
I also found definitions like “Dread mingled with veneration” ...hmmm, veneration, what does that mean? “Verneration is a feeling of profound respect and awe or reverence.” It says up above that Jacob was “afraid” but it was a “reverential fear”, he revered God, and was in reverence of the situation or in this case, the dream he had.

So if I can answer my own question “When was the last time I was ‘awe struck’?” I wanted to share an experience with you that happened to me a couple of weeks ago, now mind you it wasn’t a spiritual “awe struck” moment, but it did make me think about the word “awesome” and what it really should mean to me in my daily life. It was about 4:30 p.m. I was walking my dogs in lighthouse field just enjoying the beautiful California coast line. Now where I was in the field geographically was about 200 yards off the beach on a trail, and like I said I was just strolling along when all of the sudden I heard what sounded like a jet engine...a BIG jet engine.
As turned and looked toward the water, out of nowhere was the thing that was making this BIG noise, it was a jet engine, in fact it was two jet engines, attached to a plane flying less than 500 ft off the beach. This plane was so big that I felt like I could almost reach out and touch it. At first I was confused, and then I realized it wasn’t just an ordinary jet plane, it was a 747 Airliner...that’s right, a 747! Ya’ know with the funny domed top and huge wing span. I swear as I watched it, it was like a close encounter moment...not that I’ve ever had one. My mouth just stayed open as I followed it with my eyes, watching it go out of behind some trees, I just stood there knowing for certain I was either gonna hear a crash or a splash, but fortunately I didn’t hear either, it just banked right and headed toward Monterey and out of sight. I must have asked at least 3 people on the trail that night “Did you see that?” One person said; “Yeah! Pretty scary!” well that really made me think in a post 9/11 kinda way.

I would say from a worldly sense, that sight and that experience was an “awesome” sight, but from a godly perspective that’s nothing, in fact the bible talks of events in the end times, even in pre-tribulation days that are gonna definitely make us “awe struck”. When I think of God’s word and what He says about the “awesome” events in it, and the examples of people being “awe struck”, I know my experience is nothing compared to those. Look at the men who came to arrest Jesus, at the sound of His voice, those men were “awe struck”. What about Paul as he was on the road, the sight was so awesome, that he went temporarily blind. How about the Israelites when right in front of their eyes the waters parted, or even the Egyptians chasing close behind as they went down in to follow, imagine them looking to their left then to their right as they chased and seeing these waters actually parted, and then to have those same waters come crashing down on them. How about the virgin Mary when she was visited by the angel and was told she would bare a Son (The Son).

There are so many examples of God’s awesomeness in His word, too many to count, but what about in your own life, what are some of the awesome things He has done, I mean things that are truly awesome. Do you see His hand in your life on a daily basis? Can you point to situations and say; “Yup! That’s God!” Can you hear His voice, do you hear it like it says in Isaiah 30; “Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”

Please understand, I don’t always hear His voice, and I don’t always look for His hand in things, but you know what? It’s not because He’s stopped talking to me, or He’s stopped working in my life, it’s that I’ve stopped listening and acknowledging that He is in control of ALL things. I think that if we are more “doer’s of the Word” and more “heavenly minded” as my pastor says, we can live a life in awe of Him every day!
May He Bless your day, and may you be Blessed as you seek His face and are awe struck by the Majesty and Glory and Grace of who He is!

In HIS Grip
Tony

2007-11-27T15:12:00.000-08:00

Why I've switched from the NIV to the New King James Version (NKJV)

Hey All,
As we continue to go through the Book of John on Monday nights, our class studied chapter 18 last night and the events that took place in the garden and ultimately to Jesus’ arrest and death on the cross (I can’t wait till next week when we come to His resurrection and all things that take place after).

As we studied and as I read word for word, it donned on me another clear example of why I’ve switched from the NIV to the NKJV.Please understand, I’m not saying that the NIV is wrong or bad, or that you should use one bible over another, in fact I’ve used the NIV most of my Christian life, until I was explained to the differences a couple of years ago. The way it was explained to me was that while the NIV is more like the feel of the words, or an expression of what took place, the NKJV is more word for word, closer to original Hebrew and Aramaic text. Again this is just what works for me, the main thing, is that you are being blessed by God’s living Word.

Take a look for yourself from example below taken out of chapter 18 of the book of John:
The bold type is mine, but notice that all the references to Jesus are in lower case.

John 18:1-6 (New International Version)
1When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.

2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

4Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
5"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.

So for example if I was a baby Christian, or even a non – believer, when I read;

“2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.”

Would I ask myself; “Does that mean Jesus’ disciples or Judas disciples? Those of us who have been believers in Christ for awhile know that Judas did not have disciples, but what about a brand new believer, could that be confusing to him?

But look at NKJV below, keep in mind that bold type is still mine

John 18 (New King James Version)
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples.
3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

See the difference? But that’s not all, one thing I learned last night in class which I would put in the category of “awesome” is, notice in verse 5 and 6 where Jesus says; “I am He” did you notice that in the word “He” the first letter is not only capitalized but it is also in italics,

I didn’t add the italics to the word “He”, in fact according to publishers NKJV (actually according The Writers of The bible) the word “He” was added for clarity.

Here’s what the explanation is from the NKJV: “Words in italic type have been added for clarity. they are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic”

Okay, so why is that so “awesome”?

Re-read verse 5 and 6 as it was originally written by leaving out the word “He” when He says “I am He”

I pray that the great “I Am” would bless your day today!

In HIS Grip
Tony

2007-06-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Ultimate "Father's Day!"

Hey All!
Hope all you dads out there had a nice Father’s day yesterday, and all you moms and children had fun making your husbands/dads feel special too. I know I was blessed, and am blessed! Not only was I blessed by my wife and the phone calls from my kids, but I was totally blessed at church too. As we go verse by verse through the bible, we found ourselves yesterday in Hebrews 1:1-14. Because God is perfect and all knowing, He deemed it appropriate in His perfect timing, to place us there for Father’s day. Please take the time to check out these verses in your bible and you will be blessed too!

Pay close attention as you read to what the writer has to say about the importance of angels, and that Jesus is “so much better”. Notice how The Father talks about The Son, and then as a bonus, the clear picture of Jesus as the Word (found in John 1) creator of the “Heavens” and the “Earth” in verse 10, and the even clearer picture of The Trinity in verses 8-9.

Enjoy and be blessed!

What God says about His Son on Father's Day!

(Note: Comments are mine)

Hebrews 1:1-14
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He (GOD) ever say:
“ You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”?

And again: “ I will be to Him (JESUS) a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”?6 But when He again (referring to Jesus 2nd coming) brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “ Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
7 And of the angels He (GOD) says: “ Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But to the Son He says: “ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” (The “Oil” is symbolic in scripture as the Holy Spirt)
10 And (GOD also says to JESUS): “ You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John1:1-3) 11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; 12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “ Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
As my pastor says; “The bible rocks!”

2007-05-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

"Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation"

As I read today’s Oswald Chambers, a couple of pictures came to mind which I’ll share a little later. Oswald makes the point that God is calling us to “come up even higher”, he calls it a “strategy of elevation”, but he also says that satan has a strategy that he uses too, but rather than use it as way of “spiritual growth”, he uses it in temptation, and he concludes that the “effects are quite different”.
Let’s take a look! Keep in mind the underlines, and added text is my own two cents, my observation on what I think he is saying. Please if you disagree, or have anything to add, email me back!

Oswald Chamber’s “My Utmost For His Highest” March 27, 2007
Spiritual Vision Through Personal Purity (2)
“Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place . . .” —Revelation 4:1
The verse Oswald is referring to here is found in “Revelation 4:1” God is talking to the author John in a vision. In John’s vision God tells him to “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this!” Imagine hearing God’s voice telling you, “Child! Come up here and I will show you things!” Man! Talk about a “strategy of elevation!”
A higher state of mind and spiritual vision can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. If you live up to the highest and best that you know in the outer level of your life, God will continually say to you, "Friend, come up even higher."

Sorry! I need to interrupt here! Be careful not to confuse the “practice of personal character” with the “practice of works”. Personal character is what you become by decisions you make with no real goal in mind than to just be.

The practice of “works” is something you purposefully DO, with a specific goal in mind, namely to win Gods favor to benefit yourself. God ALWAYS looks on the heart, He knows the motivation of it.

There is also a continuing rule in temptation which calls you to go higher; but when you do, you only encounter other temptations and character traits. Both God and Satan use the strategy of elevation, but Satan uses it in temptation, and the effect is quite different. When the devil elevates you to a certain place, he causes you to fasten your idea of what holiness is far beyond what flesh and blood could ever bear or achieve. Your life becomes a spiritual acrobatic performance high atop a steeple. You cling to it, trying to maintain your balance and daring not to move.

Now there are a couple of word pictures for ya! Satan has you duped into thinking that “there MUST be more to IT than this! Maintaining my spiritual growth MUST be harder than this!” And with that thinking, you’ll notice he has you no longer in the church, in the place of learning and worshipping, but outside, teetering “high atop a steeple.” You’ve managed to climb up the downspout, onto the roof, and slowly “work” your way up the steeple, only to stand there forever balancing yourself “daring not move”, for fear you might lose this little bit of spiritual growth that you’ve obtained for yourself.

The longer you stand there, the further from the truth you get, and one day you do a swan dive right to the ground below, right where satan wanted you in the first place.

Now you have three choices from ground zero,
A. Stay right where you are, defeated, wallowing in that whole “it’s too hard, I give up!” state.

B. Try to regain that false character you had, dust yourself off and start climbing that same steeple, only this time satan has you convinced or so “elevated” in your own pride that you take some people with you, you teach them what you know, because after all you’ve been to the top, and they climb with you!

Or finally 3. Surrender to the One who REALLY knows your heart! The One who will “elevate” you when you’re ready and not before! Remember, He wants the best for you, satan want to destroy you!

But when God elevates you by His grace into heavenly places, you find a vast plateau where you can move about with ease.

See the difference? Rather than clinging to a crag on the side of a cliff “daring not move”, God takes you to a mesa, “a vast plateau where you can move about with ease!” I can picture these two scenarios side by side, almost like two cartoon cells you would find in the funny pages of the newspaper. One is me hanging by one hand, fingers gripping that crag in the rock, knuckles white, finger tips bleeding, dangling. And in the other cell, I’m dancing, I’m spinning, I’m truly rejoicing! The awesome truth is; this isn’t the tallest plateau there is, in my heart I know there are higher ones, but I don’t see them, or am I searching for them because I’m not ready for them, only He knows when and if. My character is not about looking to the higher plateaus, but to enjoy and be thankful right where I am for now, until He moves me.
Compare this week in your spiritual life with the same week last year to see how God has called you to a higher level.
Reminds me of that Steven Curtis Chapman song titled; “What about the change?” Can you, can I look back at where we were in our walk with the Lord last year and see that there has been some growth? Can we see a change? Even better, has anyone who knows you are a believer, and knows your struggles, have they come to you and commented on “the change” they see?
Is this change something that should be so profound that you are now ready to stand up and preach a sermon? Or so awesome that you never cuss, or think bad thoughts? I don’t think so because then you would be back in that cartoon cell that says; “I must achieve this, or I must be at this place in my walk AND I must maintain it!” No! It doesn’t have to be a change like that, BUT there should be some change, some fruit!
We have all been brought to see from a higher viewpoint. Never allow God to show you a truth which you do not instantly begin to live up to, applying it to your life. Always work through it, staying in its light.
Your growth in grace is not measured by the fact that you haven’t turned back, but that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually.
“…that you have an insight and understanding into where you are spiritually.”
Have you heard God say, "Come up higher," not audibly on the outer level, but to the innermost part of your character?
"Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing . . . ?" (Genesis 18:17 ). God has to hide from us what He does, until, due to the growth of our personal character, we get to the level where He is then able to reveal it.
Wow! Just think about some of the things God had to hide from Abraham until he was ready to accept them, can you hear him? “What! I’m gonna be a father of a nation?” “You want me to literally take a knife and cut a piece of skin from where?” “Let me get this straight, you want me to take my son up on the mountain and you want me to do what?” But in each of these situations, and because “faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness”, he was ready, by faith, he was ready for what God had for him.
We need to ask God to help us and lead us right where we’re at and to know He won’t give us more than we can handle. He doesn’t give us more “bad stuff” than we can handle, and he won’t give more “good stuff” than we can handle either!

2007-05-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about?"

As a Christian, have you ever asked yourself that question...well not necessarily that question, but have you ever thought, "What if this really is all there is to life?" Or “What really comes after I close my eyes for the last time?”

When I saw this bumper sticker this morning; "What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about?" I chuckled at first, and then I began to think about what it was really saying to, or at least what I perceived it to say.

I must confess to you that there have been times, times when my mind wanders to "the dark side", the side where my flesh lives and thinks, that that thought has come to me, but praise God, it's a thought that is short lived. When it comes and my mind wants to entertain it, I ask God to take it away, The Spirit kicks in, and I pull back, things get clear again and I begin to look around me, I think about my life and where I am, where I was, and one day where I will be. I think of the miracles that I've seen in my family, miracles that happen every day, and I begin to believe again without a doubt, that there is more to this life than just the hokey pokey.

As I thought further about those ‘dark” times in my thinking, it dawned on me again, as it always does when my mind begins to slip, "Where does this thinking come from?" and the answer comes swiftly, this thinking is coming from the one who said in the beginning, “Did God really say...?” the one who hounded our Lord in the wilderness and said things like; "If You are the Son of God...!" and even after all that, the bible says that “he departed from Him until a more opportune time”.

This thinking is the “more opportune time” the bible speaks of! In those “opportune times” we allow our minds to wonder and wander into places they shouldn’t. The enemy waits for us there, in the dark, on the fringe, behind the proverbial trash can in the proverbial dark alley wanting to sell us, among other things, the Brooklyn Bridge. He’s in those dark places where we’re not as strong, tempting us with lies all in the name of curiosity. “I wonder!” your mind says, when in fact you don’t need wonder, ‘cause you know the truth!

So don't be surprised when these thoughts come from way out in left field, and when they do, remind yourself before your mind is “dragged away and enticed” that they are whispers of deceit and temptation, whispers of lies to get you off the path and out of God's Word where The Truth is! They lead you away from fellowship with your eternal family till you find yourself in a corner, by yourself, a place where you will no longer grow in Him, but grow weak and defenseless against the wiles of the enemy.

These are the thoughts that cause you question your faith and cause you to begin looking for answers in books, books on spiritual issues, humanism vs. Christianity, evolution vs. creation, all written by men who want to give you the answers, when the truth is, that by faith, you know the answers, the answers to life and where to find them.

And finally, by faith and with the Spirit of the living God in you, you can fight against these thoughts, these thoughts that throw up walls that ask “Is this as far as life goes?” “Is this really all there is?” and “Is the Hokey Pokey what it’s all about?” We can fight against those thoughts with the truth, the truth that begins with “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth!” found in the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis, and the truth that ends with “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Which is found in the last two verses of the last chapter of Revelation. The truth is this and everything in between!

There are those who rather than get these thoughts once in awhile, live by them, and they accept them as a true belief. They believe this IS all there is to life! There is no God in their life, they can’t see Him, so He’s not there, so they believe. Have you ever listened to a humanist talk? Not only is there no mention of God, but they believe that the ONLY thing we have in this life is each other. They see life as a number, the age at which you will die and from that point? You are no more. They believe it is up to us as a human race to care for and to feed, to nurture and to heal each other, when we know as believers in God and followers of Christ, that it is God who does these things for us and through us.

Pray for them! Pray that they would see this earth and this life as a gift from a creator, for them. Pray that the hidden hope they may have, would have God’s light shine on it, and that they see that hope is Jesus Christ. Pray that they would come to know Him, and from that point on, they would truly be able to enjoy this life, this earth, and that they would look forward to what is beyond it.

2007-05-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

Satan tempts Jesus...he tempts us too!

Hey All!
I know I’ve written on this before, but as I have begun to re-read through the gospels it came up again this morning. In Matthew 4:1-11 we see where Jesus has just been baptized by John, the Holy Spirit had come in the form a dove and had lighted on His shoulder, and God’s voice is heard with Fatherly pride, “This is My Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The bible says that Jesus was then led by The Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He fasted for “forty days and forty nights”, and then He was tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4:1-11
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

“the tempter” will come to us in the “opportune times”, times like when we’re hungry, tired, sad or mad, and even when we’re happy! The Word says Jesus fasted, and after 40 days and 40 nights He was hungry, but He was also God but this didn’t stop the devil from tempting Him anyway. As I think about it, the devil has kind of told on himself to me here, what I mean is, we know that The Word is “living and active” and relevant for us even all these thousands of years later, and with that being said, in these verses the devil shows us HOW he tempts, what techniques he uses, and what he has up his sleeve, let’s look further;

3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Pride is one of his weapons, or one of his “flaming” arrows if you will. He wants to convince us that WE have the power to do anything, it’s within us. He wants us to build OURSELVES up, and then he wants us to prove ourselves, prove that we are something…something without God.

Think of the powerful men of the past, men like Adolph Hitler for example. Adolph fell for the lie after the tempter came to him, after he convinced him that he could have, and in fact that he did have ultimate power within himself. That he could do anything, and sadly Adolph believed him. What’s worse than that is that he acted on the prodding of the enemy, and as he became more powerful he became more confused and deadly.

So what was satan’s benefit in all of this? Let me ask you a rhetorical question; Wwas it a coincidence that he had Adolph kill 6 million Jews? God’s chosen people? The people that God would one day send His only begotten Son to die for (first the Jew then the Gentile)?
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus could have said at that point with a smirk; “I know you know who I AM! And you know that all I have to do is speak My own Name and you would be dust!” But He didn’t say that because again He knew that one day you and I would be reading His Word and that it would speak to us in this way; “God’s Word, His spoken and written Word is more important than anything else in this life!” IF Adolph had been listening to the true and living God I don’t think that tragedy would have happened, but I also believe with all my heart that God saw it coming and had it all figured out before it happened. He is all knowing!

So the devil doesn’t give up there, he goes a step further and uses the word that he loves to use “IF”, actually it’s more of a tactical move. He used this tactic on Eve in the garden, it’s a tactic that causes one to doubt, “Did God really say…?” and “If you’re not sure whether it’s really right or wrong, than just do it anyway!” He more or less tells Jesus “If You are the Son of God, then show me!” I think he must have lived in Missouri at some point, ya’ know the “show me state”.

5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and, ‘ In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
How many times has he told you and me; “Just go ahead and do it! Throw yourself down! Jump off the cliff of reason and oneness with the Lord, to the rocky bottom of sin, it’s not that bad, and besides doesn’t His Word say that you’re already forgiven!?” Or “You can make this decision on your own, you don’t need to get counsel from The Holy Spirit, you don’t need to seek guidance on this one, just go for it!” What are we doing when we do this? Read below!7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
No matter how much you rationalize something, no matter how many scriptures you may dig up and contort to defend your desires, God always has one more that will point you to the truth. When we decide to do something of our own free will, number one, we are out of God’s will, and number two, we are tempting God. We are telling God; “I know the right thing to do, but I want to do it this way, what are you gonna do about it God?”
Satan was trying to convince Jesus that God loved Him (Jesus) so much that even if He jumped of the cliff He would be saved. But Jesus was saying that He knew this to be true anyway, He knew that if He had jumped from that spot, that “angels” would take care of Him, but He wasn’t gonna give satan the satisfaction of even appearing to show doubt by having to prove Himself or God
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
Wow! I wonder if this is what he told Hitler? We’ve heard rumor about rock stars who have “sold their souls for rock and roll”, I wonder if this is what he told Mick Jagger or Snoop Dog? I would think he would almost have to convince them that either God is a wimp, God is only about love no matter what, or that there is no God at all. Then he shows them what they could have with a promise of more. It’s like the cocaine dealer who will give you the first “taste” for free, he’ll let you experience the euphoria, let you go into yourself with the drug, and then before you know it, it’s what you want and at any cost. The good and bad of it is, whether you’re an addict or you think you’ve “sold you soul”, you can always be transformed from that, you can live again, that’s the good, the bad is, you die…for eternity.
Jesus at this point has had enough with him, especially with this last temptation. It seems to be the most destructive, and it’s what hurts God the most. God says in Deuteronomy, “I offer life and death, (please!) choose life!” He says that all He wants us to do is trust Him, love Him, worship Him, accept Him.
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
How many of us are worshipping other gods? How many other things are we “serving” before God?

Father help me to hear You! Help me to discern the what Your will is for my life. May I not become complacent in my life with You. Once again forgive me for the things that cause not to hear as clearly as I need to. Keep me hungry for “every word” that proceeds out of Your mouth through Your Word. Amen

2007-03-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

“Jack Bauer drops the F bomb!”
(PART I)

Interesting title huh?
Hopefully as you read it’ll make sense to you!

We’re studying the 3rd chapter of 2 Timothy at church; Paul begins the chapter by saying;

1 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” 2 Tim 3:1-4

Our pastor pointed out that there are 18 different behaviors (or character traits) listed in verses 1-4, and I’m sure that you will all agree that everyone of them is prevalent in these last days. Pastor Dave also pointed out that all of these behaviors flow out of, or flow from the first one listed in verse 2; “For men will be lovers of themselves…” (Think about it!)

Although each one is definitely not a good thing, and each points to the self-centeredness and depravity of mankind, the one that stood out for me the other day and prompted me to write today was in verse 2 where it says “in the last days” men (and women) will be “blasphemers”. I could write about each one of the others (and I might), but this one reminded me of how we open our mouths at times and nothing but garbage comes out.

In James 3 he says;
2 “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” James 3:2-12

These verses should be especially convicting to those of us who have received God’s free gift (The Holy Spirit), and live by His grace through faith. Do we stumble as followers of Christ? Yes! Are we a perfect man as referred in verse 2? Um! No! But we do need to live our life dependent on Him, striving to be His “spring” of fresh water to those who are thirsty.

Let’s look at this word blaspheme for a minute! Of course we all know what it means to blaspheme, or to use The Lord’s name in vain, but sadly there are some who do it every single day, many times a day, and what’s worse is they don’t even think about what they’re saying or what they are actually doing when they say it.

My Webster’s says; “Blaspheme – show contempt for (God or sacred things, especially in speech)”.

How do you react (even if only in your mind) when you hear someone “innocently” say; “Oh God!” or maybe just “God!” I’ve even seen it misspelled in books…on purpose! “O’ Gawd!” or “Gad!” Here’s another, what do you think about when you hear that infamous phrase used very often, which can only be said in a slow monotone way; “Oh - My - God!” How do you react? Are you offended? Do you shrugg it off as no big deal? Ya’know, I’ve heard young children, 4 and 5 years old say “Oh! My God!” do they know what they’re saying? I’d be willing to bet I know where they heard it first or at least by whom they are not being corrected.

Do these people realize what has just come out of their mouths when they say it? And if they do, why would they say it? What is the reason? Is it so the hearer would get the full effect of what the sayer is trying to convey? Is it to get a laugh or just a chuckle? Or is it ultimately to draw attention to them selves? Are the ones that use phrases like these believers in God? And if they are, are they followers? Are they at all convicted by what they say?

Convict – prove or declare guilty. (Webster’s Dictionary)

So let me ask you another question; What is so wrong with using phrases like these? Using cute little words like “Geez?” or “Gee whiz?” or even “Cheese and Crackers?” In my personal opinion, all three of these are replacement words for the name of our Lord “Jesus”, would you agree? I’ve heard some people go so far as to include the whole holy family into their conversation with a verbal dismay of, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” Again, do they know what they’re saying, or that they even just said it? And what is the argument that a person would have to justify using any of the examples from above? Please let me know your thoughts!

Right about now I can hear some of you saying; “Oh! Geez! Lighten up Tony! I mean really! Jiminy Christmas! It’s the way the world talks these days! And besides, God knows why I’m using this language, it’s just a form of expression, He understands!”

Does He really?

1 “And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain" Exodus 20:1-7

Others of you might even be asking, (becaue I know I would be) “What about you Tony? Are you gonna tell me you never cuss? You’ve never used the Lord’s Name in vain? Are you gonna tell me that since you started following The Lord, that you’ve never dropped the dreaded “F – bomb”?” My answer to you admittedly and sadly is “Yes! I have used some pretty bad language, and very recently too!” In fact just the other day I was soooo frustrated putting this patio table together that some pretty bad words flew out of this mouth, the same mouth which I use for “blessing” I used for “cursing”. Fortunately, I was just out of ear shot of my wife, she knew I was angry and I was swearing, but probably (hopefully) couldn’t make out many of the words, but I wasn’t out of ear shot of God!

The weird thing was, I surprised myself after my tirade! Where was this coming from? I couldn’t understand it as I later sat on the couch contemplating what had happened earlier. I back tracked to the night before and thought about how I was in the God’s Word, and had good time with The Lord, that morning was great, I woke with the Lord on my mind, Cece and I were fine with each other, and then it dawned on me that God was telling me something, no, more like He was teaching me something. He was teaching me that I should have prayed before I began that project, that I need to remember to include Him in everything that I do.

In teaching me, was it God that made me swear? No! But He allowed me to go it alone, which by not asking for His help in the first place, is what I wanted anyway. He allowed me to go beyond the point of frustration to a point of “I CAN DO THIS AND I WILL DO THIS!!!” And after all was done and said, He brought me back to the realization of Himself, and how much I need Him every minute of my life.

Oh! And by the way, here’s a little heads up for you guys out there;

WARNING: Keep in mind that as summer approaches, you too may find yourself putting patio furniture together, but beware, when it says on the box “No tools required!” what this really means is that in the box you’re gonna find a little bag of screws, they won’t be just any kind of screws, they will be “Hex” screws. They couldn’t just put “Standard” screws in the little bag, or even “Phillip” screws in it, No, they have to be Hex screws, and what rhymes with the word Hex, that’s right, Vex, and that’s what it had me that day… “annoyed”. But Hey! No need to worry because also inside the little bag you will find that evil little tool from the devil himself, “the Allen Wrench”, and there is where my frustration began. I’m tell’n ya, whoever invented that tool should be taken out and..….Oops! there I go, see how easy it can happen?!

Anyway! I remember before I really began to follow Christ over 20 years ago, I would get the attention of family members and friends at Bar-b-Que’s and family reunions, by quoting Richard Pryor routines…word for word. Man! Talk about dropping “F-Bombs”, my mouth was foul, but I thought it was funny. You see, in my wordly thinking, Richard Pryor was the funniest guy out there, and he was, but every other word was the F word or the S word. I remember my cousins laughing when I would do a routine, or when I gave ‘em a good joke I just heard, very rarely did they not laugh. But on occasion I would cross that invisible line with what I was saying or a joke I was telling, and they didn’t laugh, in fact it seemed more of a scowl that would come over them. Man! As I think about it now, some of the stuff that came out of my mouth to get a laugh, well quite frankly, I’m pretty ashamed of. But! I remember after I got my life right with God, one of my cousins could actually see the change in me, and even made mention of the way I used to be, and the way I used to talk, and how I talked now, it was pretty cool to hear, I thanked her, and then thanked God and gave Him the Glory and credit.

So where am I going with all this? I know of least one brother in my men’s group I probably lost a few paragraphs back, but that’s okay, love ya anyway bro!

I guess I’m trying to bring home the fact that things have changed! That’s kinda of a “duh” statement I know, but think about it. Remember when ‘Gone with the Wind” came out? Um, yeah, I don’t either, but it was 1939 and the big brouhaha of the day was that Rhett Butler told Scarlett O’Hara that frankly, he didn’t give a “D----“ my dear! Look at where we’ve come to, in the movies, on T.V. and even in news stories that come out these days, the crimes are getting more and more heinous. Forget “global warming”! This world is dying due to deprivation, it becomes sicker and sicker every day.

It’s funny how people will be so conscious of the ecology of the earth and not look at what’s really killing it. How much do you think God is gonna put up with people? How different are we from Sodom and Gomorrah? What was it that made God so angry back in Noah’s day that He would destroy the earth?

5 “Then the LORD[b] saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Genesis 6:5-8

13 “And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” Genesis 6:13

Something to think about! I’ll continue with PART II in a day or so. I welcome any comments or questions!

Lord! I pray that Your Name would be gloified again in this world! I pray that when people say Your name that it would be out of reverence to You Father and not in vuglarity. I pray that people would see that You are the creator, that You love them with an unfathomable love. Your name is wonderful! Amen!

2007-01-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

“Just tell me!!!”

Don’t you hate it when someone eludes that they have a secret? Or that they know something really important but they can’t tell you? Even though sometimes they’d like to tell you, but do to confidentiality or a promise made, they just can’t? No matter how much or in how many different ways you ask, they just can’t tell ya! There are some will end your inquisition by saying one of my favorite lines; “I could tell ya, but then I’d have to kill ya!”

I’ve been pondering this subject for the last couple of days, whether to write or not to write, but I just feel the prodding of the Holy Spirit to get it out there. Now, relax, I’m not going to be sharing any deep dark secrets that I have, or surprise you with some amazing news, on second thought, that may not be true but you’ll have to keep reading to see, and besides if I just came out and told you some deep dark secrets, I’d have to kill ya!

What initially kicked this whole thought process off is probably of no real interest to you, but it got my brain “a think’n”. See, in my business we have regional sales managers; these are the guys who help us out when we have tough questions or tough cases that we’re working on. Anyway, I got notice the other day that one of our regional managers was going to be leaving the area and moving on, that reminded me of other sales managers who over the last 20 years who just left, and most for no real reason that I could tell. Well that memory led me to some hard times, to some hard memories, a time not long ago when the church I attended seem to have pastors leaving left and right, again for no apparent reason. It seemed to me, and I’m sure to others, that these guys were abandoning ship, and what’s worse, not telling us why.

I was pretty close with one of the pastors in particular, but he also was tight lipped about the whole thing, and it seemed as if he had an electric fence around him, and maybe a little sign that read “Don’t ask!” I just wanted to shake him and say “Just tell me!!!” but he never did. The amazing side of this story is that it became very clear, and in short order I might add, that God was in control the whole time. You see, the others and I were looking at that supposed ship abandoning with our finite minds, but we were forgetting that God is infinite, He sees the whole picture. You know the awesome thing about our God is that He turns all things around and makes them good. Every one of the pastor (that I know of), went on to bigger and better things, some got there own churches, others are now a part of other churches and doing amazing things for the Lord, what an awesome God we serve!

But there still seems to be this part in me, and maybe in you too, that wants to know “Why?” I mean, I want to know if the insurance company I’m working for, or the church I’m serving in, has some things that I should know about. Do they know something I (or we) don’t know about? Are we still on the right path with this church? What is the real reason this is happening? Is it paranoia? maybe. Would it be a form of gossiping if we asked? could be. Is it something that we need to trust Lord over? Definitely!

Do you guys follow where I’m comin’ from? Kinda? Allow me take you down a little rabbit trail to see if this helps with a visual. In fact let me take you to 1978, to a little self proclaimed town called “Jonestown” in a South American region called Guyana. I came across an on-line tape recording awhile back, this recording was what would to be the last words spoken by the reverend Jim Jones, and in fact it would be the last words his followers would hear him, or anyone else, ever speak again. The setting from what I could figure by the pictures that were attached with this sound byte, was a big low lit meeting area, possibly a tent or building, there was a small make shift stage with a single chair where upon Jones sat, a few musicians, tambourines and such, and the followers below him on the floor in front. There was a microphone hooked up, so Jones’s voice was loud and clear, in the background I could hear shouts of acclamation from his followers, mixed with cursing and using the Lord’s Name in vain. All the voices seem to agree with what Jones was saying, ‘cept for this one woman who questioned his teaching, and questioned what he was prompting everyone to do. She was adamant, and loud about getting the truth, she was saying in essence “Just tell me!!!”

The truth he was telling her and all the rest was a lie, but for some reason this truth wasn’t making any sense to her. She would say; “Why do we have to do this? Why do we have to take our lives?” his answers were things like “Don’t you see!? We can’t let them come and get us!” but as much as he repeated over and over “Can’t you see?” she just couldn’t. The recording went on for some time, her trying to explain what she was feeling while others cursed her and threatened her. Among the shouting, screams began, I could hear him comforting mothers who were sobbing over their children, he invited children to come up and sit with him, I could hear him assuring people “it’s alright! This is right” Some were encouraging others to just “do it!”, but then after awhile there was less voices, then after awhile even less, and then finally, there were no voices at all. The recording ended with about 90 seconds of the cracks and pops characteristic of an old tape recording, and then silence.

What was missing in these peoples’ lives? What was absent from them that would cause them to follow a man, to follow him all the way to death? God was missing! His message of truth, and life, His Son who is the way the truth and the life, these were missing. These people had no hope, no future, they had no direction, except it seems that one lady, was she a Christian? But she seemed to be the only one who really wanted to know why, she wanted Jim Jones to tell her the truth!

So why would I bring that horrific scene into this? What does this have to do with secrets, or things really important that can’t be told? The truth is you and I as believers have a secret, we have something really important, in fact the Apostle Paul in Ephesians calls it a mystery.

Imagine if Jesus were standing up there on that stage next to Jones, what an awesome picture! Jim is espousing hate and fear, and Jesus is saying; "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus’ arms outstretched, He then places a hand on Jones’s shoulder and says; “This means you too my son.” Can you imagine the battle that was going on in that tent that day? There was something in this woman that causead her to say, “Wait! This is not right!” maybe the Holy Spirit was upon her in that moment, and maybe she was being used in an effort to open the eyes of all those who were blinded by Jones’s theology, maybe she was supposed to make the people think, I know all these years later it’s made me think, how ‘bout you?

Here’s the meat of it guys; there are millions and millions of people who are aimlessly standing in a line waiting for a cup of tainted cool-aid, and praise God we are not in those lines any longer, we now know the truth, and that truth has set us free. They are lost and listening to the “foolishness of men”, men who are ultimately leading them to death, while we stand here holding the antidote to the poison. We are called as one beggar to lead another beggar to the living water of life. We are called according to Ephesians to one hope! We are called to go out and be fishers of men! We are called to be the one standing next to the Jim Jones’s of this world and to share hope and truth. There are millions of people looking to us as Christians and I believe that most are saying “Just tell me!!!” and that is what we are called to do.

In HIS Grip
Tony

2006-12-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

So, What happens when you die?

WARNING: The following story may contain some things that are not for the squeamish (had to do a spell check on that one) as it will discuss death, different ways of burial, and…and…stuff like that, but hey, we’re all adults here rigth!?

Also note, this is not meant to offend anyone, or make light of the subject, if you do get offended, in all sincerity, I apologize and want you to know that was not my intention.

I know, I know, it’s the age old question, a very important one for sure, but none the less, the age old question, “What happens when you die?” Most of you know where I stand on the subject of death, and what happens after (spiritually speaking), but let’s look at it from a non-spiritual standpoint for a moment, let’s look at it from the point of view of …What happens to and with my family when I finally breathe my last breath and are no longer here? When I’m finally home and in the presence of Jesus and my Heavenly Father?…Oops, sorry.

The main reason I’m writing this today is simply share with you an experience that Cece and I had this past Saturday. I know that many of you have gone through this experience, or a similar one, but we never have and I though it was noteworthy. In light of the passing of my Dad in October and a good friend and brother in Christ in November, Cece and I felt that we really needed to think and act on such things as our final Arrangements. Now again, my final (final) arrangements were decided and planned way before this past Saturday.

So we called up our friendly neighborhood funeral home, and for anonymity sake, we’ll call it the XYZ Funeral Home. It’s a nice place and as long as we’re speaking in anonymous language, you may know the place, it’s at the corner of ABC Street, right there where ABC and 123 streets cross. Well anyway we had an appointment this past Saturday with a Mrs. Jane Smith (not really her name, but you probably knew that huh!). She us invited into this very elegant room with dark wood furniture, and we noticed it was sooo quiet, almost too quiet, ya know? We were greeted and seated and asked if we would like a cup of coffee, ummm…I gotta tells ya, I did hesitate for a second when she asked about the coffee, but I figured if I had the caffeinated I’d be okay, I had always heard that decafe was made with…aw never mind! We accepted the offer and she began the process of her fact finding journey into what our wishes were for the main event. As she asked the questions, it caused me to think to myself (as I’m sure Cece too), “What does this all look like on that day?” and “What will it be like to those we leave behind on that day, primarily our kids?” All we could think about was the expression on my dad’s wife’s face as we sat with her in a similar room at a similar funeral home in Reno, Nevada back in October, she was expressionless, dazed, present physically but not really there, ya know!? That is what prompted us to sit down with Jane that day, I couldn’t even imagine Cece sitting in that chair, and in that state (and no, I don’t mean Nevada!)

Fortunately for Lina (my step mom), she and my dad back in 1984 signed up for something called the Neptune Society, at that time they pre-paid for all their final arrangements. Cece and I were able to be with Lina during the hard time after my dad died, and in fact helping Lina with some things that still needed to be handled went relatively smooth, surprisingly where we had the most trouble was with the Veterans Administration, Man! I’ll tell ya, my eyes were opened to reality when it came to what a vet is entitled to after death (actually what his dependent is entitled to) my dad served 28 years, giving his best years to the United States Navy, and what he got, or what Lina got, amounted to squat! That’s a whole different story, Oh Yeah! She was given a flag! Whoop dee doo!!!

Anyway, so there we are sitting across the desk from Mrs. Smith, who by the way was a very nice and very professional gal. We told Jane right up front what we wanted, and what we’ve wanted for some time as Cece and I have discussed it in the past. When all was said and done, when the checks were signed, and we were sent home with copies, and our packet of more information, but above that, when we were sent home with the assurance that everything would be taken care of. The only things that we would need to do now is to choose who we want to officiate, what songs we want sung, and where everyone will get together for potato salad after the service.

As I looked further through the packet we were given, and as I began to ponder all that had taken place on Saturday, I came across some definitions I thought I might share with you. I found these definitions in a little booklet titled the “Consumer Guide to Funeral & Cemetery Purchases”.

Casket/Coffin – A box or chest for burying human remains.

Cremation – Exposing human remains and the container holding them to extreme heat and flame and processing the resulting bone fragments to a uniform size and consistency.

Grave - A space in the ground in a cemetery for the burial of human remains.

Funeral Service vs. Memorial Service – The only difference is either the body is there (Funeral) or it’s not (Memorial). [my own definition].

I was glad that I found these definitions as it took the mystery out of what I thought or imagined in the past about them. I was raised with a lot of TV in my life, and some were scary things like “Creature Features”, “The Outer Limits” and “Tales From The Crypt”, but these definitions put into light what and how things really are. I’ve had many extended family members die, and have been involved in some of their funeral services, but never to this extent, never through this door. Let me give you and idea of what it could cost to die these days (actually what it could cost someone after you die);

Did you know you could spend from as little as $800 and on up to $36,000 for a casket? 36,000 bucks? Well of course that is the crème de la crème, it’s the “Z94 model”, the “Promethean 48oz Bronze casket with interior colors of Green, Red, Blue, or Beige Velvet”. Now remember, according to the definition above, a casket is just “a box or chest for burying human remains.” Man! for $36,000 I could buy that truck I’ve been wanting. Cece and I pondered this after we left, can you imagine spending thousands of dollars on casket, then putting it in a hole in the ground, or “a space in the ground”, and then having a backhoe cover it up with dirt?

Or even worse, spending all that money and having them incinerate it….on purpose?

Good news though, you can also rent a casket; but be aware, they’ve specified in their literature that there is only “one available” though. For only $1295.00, they’ll put you on a waiting list of “availability” for this one casket, Ya know, I’m almost certain it’s not the Z94 Model!? Cece & I went with what they call the “Alternative Container”, basically a hard plastic box about the size of a brick, and that only ran us $125.00. Oh by the way, we’re on the 3 year plan, so “our out the door” (so to speak) came to about $4000 for the both of us.

I would think if you were gonna have one of these containers incinerated; you’d wanna go with one of the “Wood Selections”. They’ve got a “Masterpiece Mahogany” model, with the “Dark Exterior” and the “Rose Tan Velvet” interior; which you can pick up for a mere $23000…Yikes!

Pretty amazing huh! Now again, if I’ve offended anyone, please forgive me, that is not my intention, I’m just say’n, for me, I would much prefer to have a celebration at the church, maybe a nice little slide show, and that definitely before people leave the church that day, they will know exactly where I really am, and exactly how they can get there. I know that none of my kids will need a place to go to talk with me, they can just look up and say “Hey Dad!” They won’t need to worry whether my final resting place is being kept up, or if it’s been mowed, or if 20 years from now it’s turned into a parking lot. They won’t have to hassle with getting out there for Father’s Day, my Birthday, Easter and Christmas, ‘cause I won’t be there. I would like my ashes to be scattered in the mountains, or maybe by the sea shore, although even though I was born in Santa Cruz, I’ve never really been fond of the beach, especially picnics on the beach, ask my wife, she’ll tell ya.

I know that some have a problem with cremation and scattering of ashes, I’m not sure I understand what that problem is, if God is the creator of the universe (and He is), and if he can change the direction of the flow of rivers, and knows every hair on your and my head, and if He were able to find me while I was alive, even in the mists of billions of people, He will surely be able to find me later too.

So back to Saturday, XYZ and Jane, one thing we were very definite on was that we wanted these old suitcases of ours, or as a pastor my wife once knew used to say, “our earth suits” to be cremated, no body to view, no casket, and no mourners, which by the way I didn’t see on their price sheet anyway. We were pretty definite about what we wanted, and we didn’t want any mistakes! You know this reminds me of something funny Cece said the other day, she and I were talking once again about when the time comes and if we find ourselves in the hospital, unconscious, and it’s looking like there is no hope, do we want to be revived? Will we have a DNR (“Do Not Resuscitate”) on file? We agreed that we would both want a DNR, in fact she said, “if I ever even consider getting any tattoo on my body it’s gonna say in big letters, “DNR” right across my heart!” In other words, “Don’t keep me here and don’t call me back, ‘cause I’m goin’ home!” and I agree with her, and Amen to that!

So what is the point to this writing? Again, I think the main thing is just to share with you my experience from Saturday, the experience of talking about and dealing with the final arrangements of my life here on earth. It was amazing, at one point as we were signing the contracts, after going through them line by line of what the process would be with this old shell of ours, I said out loud, “Hey! I’m get’n excited!” There was a bit of a chuckle from Cece, and no real response from Jane, but I got excited as I thought “Hey! We’re not talking necessarily about what these technicians are gonna do with my “earth suit” when there’s no more breath in it, ‘cause when they’re doing whatever it is they do, and when they finally turn out the light, and punch the time clock at the end of the day to go their homes, I will have already been home with Jesus and my Heavenly Father. I will have already begun to see all those that have gone on before me, from my grandma Fia to my cousin Paul, and from my “Daddy Don” to my brother Jim.”

Now that’s something to get excited about!!!

Let me ask you the initial question: So, What happens when you die?

2006-11-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

Oh my God, thank You! The new PlayStation 3 is here!!!

Can you believe it? It’s finally come after all this time!!! I’ve been waiting and waiting! Do I sound excited or what? Wow!
Please, right where you are, say it out loud with me; “Oh my God, thank You! The new playStation is here!!!”

Feel kinda silly right about now? Imagine that hundreds of thousands of people said that out loud (mostly 20 & 30 something guys) can you here ‘em?

“We gotta get down to the Circuit City, we gotta beat the crowd, we need to go now even before it gets there, C’mon!!!”

I have to admit, I’m a bit of a gamer myself, although I haven’t touched my PS2 in several months, I guess cause, I HAVE A LIFE, HELLO! Just kidd’n. But check out the article below.

This is from our local paper this morning:
TOP STORY: Waiting game: PlayStation 3 fever plagues county residents
By Daniel Lopezsentinel staff writer

WATSONVILLE — It's payday for Chance Coleman and others across the country who were brave enough, or maybe crazy enough, to spend two nights camping in front of electronics stores.
Coleman, a 31-year-old Santa Cruz resident, was one of about a dozen people who lined up outside the Target on Main Street in anticipation of today's release of the PlayStation 3.
"It's just worth it," he said of showing up at 8 a.m., 38 hours before Sony's video game console went on sale.
Michael Williams, assistant manager at Target, said Thursday he was surprised by the line of eager buyers.
"They lined up faster than we thought they would," he said.
The store had eight PlayStation 3 consoles; six of which are the $599 model with a 60-gigabyte hard drive. The other two go for $499 and have a 20-gigabyte hard drive.

[So let me get this straight, there are like 50 people camping out in front of a store that only has “eight PlayStation 3 consoles”? WHY?]

Coleman, who was fourth in line, and his friend Billy Maguire of Capitola, who was right behind him, were after the more expensive model, but for different reasons.
Coleman, a "true gamer" as described by his friend, intended to keep the console. Maguire, though, said he planned to sell it online, cashing in on the limited supply and demand.
Some eBay auctions for the console were up to $2,300 Thursday.
Last week one sold on the site for $9,100.

"I'd be happy with $2,500" Maguire said. "That's like two months of rent."

[“$9,100” for something you purchased for $600? These things must be amazing, I mean this guy who’d pay $2500, is willing to give up his rent money for one. ]

The PlayStation 3, which features Bluetooth wireless controllers, online gaming capabilities and extra services including the ability to download high-definition videos, music and games, could be hard to come by even in the world of online shopping.

David Kaun, an economics professor at UC Santa Cruz, said offering a product in limited numbers can often be good business for companies.
"It's probable they are taking advantage of the human demand for this product," he said. "There is this desire to be first."

[Aw! There’s a psychology to this! Hmmm!]

The Associated Press contributed to this report. [And I shortened it a bit!]
Quite an article huh? Now let’s flash back 2000 years, and then do a comparison as to where the world was and where it is today.

“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.” (Mark 2:1-2)

Can you hear ‘em?
“Oh my God, Thank You! The long awaited Messiah has come!!! We must go to Him Now!!!
In Mark 6:30 it says that the “multitudes saw them departing (the Apostles & Jesus), and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him.”

It says in Mark chapter 2, that the house and surrounding area was so crowded that a man who was to be healed by Jesus had to be lowered through the roof. These people were there to see and hear Jesus. They wanted Him to fill them with what He was teaching; they were the serious gamers you might say. And of course you had those who wanted to take what He said and did, and make a quick buck, they wanted to put what they had up for bid on Ebay.

Beware guys and gals! These guys are still out there, and if you have the Holy Spirit, it’s pretty obvious who they are. They are in it not for what the PlayStation3 can offer; “Bluetooth wireless controllers, online gaming capabilities and extra services including the ability to download high-definition videos, music and games”. They are not in it for what Jesus has to offer, the Free Gift of Salvation, Eternal Life, Peace, Hope, Love, but above these, a home with Him and The Father in Heaven. They offer you a great deal, “buy from me for $2500, what I only paid $500 for.” “I can guarantee you a ticket to Heaven, I can guarantee that I will pray for you, and you will be healed! Just write out that check!” Man! I can hear “Pastor Benny” saying those words, can’t you?

What is my point? Why aren’t we as followers of Christ camping out in front of houses of worship? Why aren’t we as excited about the coming of Jesus as we are about the latest game console, or movie coming out? Jesus is coming folks!!! “Perhaps today!” There’s a local church that advertises an event every year called “Alpha”, now I don’t know a whole lot about Alpha, only what I’ve read on the web, and you know how reliable that can be, but anyway, they put out these signs in front of the church that say “Alpha is Coming!!” Ya’ know, that’s always bugged me! I’ve written to the pastor and asked him why isn’t there a sign that says “Jesus is Coming!!!”? I Haven’t gotten a response yet.

The people were excited shouting “Jesus! The Messiah is here!!! He’s over in that house, we must go!!! He’s over on the shore, we must go, and we must get there as soon as we can so that we can hear every word out of His mouth!!!”

Lord! I pray for this kind of desire! I pray that there would be revival like the world has never seen, and I pray that it comes soon. Abba, give us a heart to worship You, to love You as You deserve. You gave us life when we deserved death, You have given us the opportunity to say “Yes” to Your Son Jesus, to follow Him, and to ask Him to come into our lives and hearts with a promise that He will never leave us, and in fact we will be with Him and You Father one day in paradise. Lord! Give me a heart to see people for who they are, Your created loved one. Help me to put my prejudices aside and to see them as ones that You love just like You love me, that You want them to be with You one day too. Help me to see those divine appointments, and that I would allow You Holy Spirit which lives in me, to handle that appointment because I know I am nothing without You. I pray that this email would be used by You to touch a life. As a special request Jesus, give my brother Jim a hug from me!
Amen!

2006-11-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Ted Haggard? How could he do this to his family, to his church, and to God?

Hey All,
I’m sure by now you’ve all heard the story of what that Pastor Ted Haggard did! I’m embarrassed and ashamed of him! How could he do this to his family, to his church? How could he do this to God? Why I never!!! I mean, here’s a guy who has been pastor for over 20 years, he’s head a church with over 14,000 members, and is (or was) the head of the National Association of Evangelicals, he has a great wife and kids, how could he do something so vile and so awful to them. How could he do this to God whom he supposedly has served for most of his life? You know what? He deserves what he gets!!!!

Doesn’t he know what the bible says in Romans 1?
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:21-31) (NIV)

Now that I’ve got your attention!

Wow! That is quite a list! Let me ask you honestly, how could Pastor Ted do these terrible things? How could a man of God be tempted in this inexcusable way? The answer? The same way we are! We ALL “fall short”, we are ALL only a few wrong choices away from ruining our lives, and those lives around us.

As I opened my bible this morning looking for what God might want to share with me, I was surprised at where He took me, the first words I read were from Romans 2:
“Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”(NASB)
Amazingly, these words are the very next words that follow that list from above. Notice that the first word is therefore, as my pastor would say, “You have to ask yourself; ‘What is it therefore?’” What this “therefore” is saying, is that “in light of what you’ve just read, you have no excuse” or “you are inexcusable” as my NKJV reads.

Let’s look at my opening statements again, which by the way were meant to appear as an overreaction and to get your attention, my heart and prayers are with Pastor Haggard and his family. I said that I was “embarrassed and ashamed of him! How could he do this to his family, to his church? How could he do this to God?” I guess the real question is, what does God think of us when we fall? When we have a tendency at times to look at another’s sin, do we forget how the rest of the verses go in Romans 2:2-4? That because we “know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.” That when we who are “mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things,” do we really think we can “escape God’s judgment?” Why do we “show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience?” and we don’t realize “that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?”

I also said something about him deserving “what he gets!!!!” If we were given what we deserved, well the planet would be a lonely place; in fact it would be an empty place, for “the wages of sin is death”. BUT! Because of God’s Son Jesus, God’s great love, His mercy, and because of His grace, not to mention (which I already did above) His “riches of kindness” His amazing “tolerance and patience”, we are all still here, but the fact is, we are not alone! Not only do we have a Heavenly Father who loves us, who has left His Holy Spirit with us, we also have an enemy who hates us. We need to remember that! He’s a “prowling lion, looking for someone to devour!” I think that we like Pastor Ted, forget that at times, and sadly Pastor Ted and everything he stands for and has built, has been devoured. Does God still love him? Has He forgiven him? Will He restore him and his family? Can God use him in the future? Can God use this to glorify His name? All YES!!!!

2006-10-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

"In HIS Grip" So what's up with that?

Hey All,
As I read Oswald Chambers this morning it made me think about my email signature “In HIS Grip”. First of all, some may be wondering, (and some may not care) how I came up with “In HIS Grip”, well I’d like to say it came to me in a dream one night, or that I heard a voice whisper it in my ear, the truth is, I actually stole it from another brother. Now! I’m not even sure that he came up with it on his own; and I only say that to make myself feel better.

So what does it mean? Is it mystery, or some kind of coded message? Is it like from that movie “City Slickers” where Curly says he has the “secret to life”, while holding up his index finger with confidence, oh, and with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, he says “It’s one thing!” Billy Crystal’s character spends the rest of the movie wondering what that “one thing” is, because of course Curly dies before he can tell Billy what it is, that is of course after he sings that famous rendition of “Tumblin Tumble Weed”. Anyhoo, I digress!

Something struck me about this email signature; I’ve seen other great signatures over time (which I’ve also pilfered). I think of one that was kinda cool, “ODC” which actually was the name of a guys band I know, “One Day Closer”. Another was “Perhaps Today!” But I really like “In HIS Grip”, I remember when I first saw it I thought; “Wow! What an awesome picture of our dependency on Christ, what a picture of Him abiding in us and us abiding in Him. It’s the picture of not only Him hanging on to us as we go through life, but us also choosing to hang on to Him, it’s a mutual thing. I want to live life that way (In HIS Grip), I also want to live a life where there is “more of Christ and less of me”, I want to but I’m not always successful.

There are times when my signature may say “In HIS Grip and barely hanging on!” Or as another brother said one time; “Also in His grip, and hanging on for dear life.” Does that mean that God is letting go of me? No! It means I’m choosing to loosen my grip on Him, but why would anyone do that? In my flesh, I want to do it my way, or I’m not sure that God has my back in this one, or I could even be in a state of sin at the time, but ultimately, isn’t that what sin really is anyway, me wanting to do it my way, and not His? We have to remember, He will never let go of you, He will never “leave you, nor forsake you”.

Below, Oswald Chambers quotes part of John 15:16; “I chose you”, the whole verse says; “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” When we said “Yes!” to Jesus, He immediately grabbed hold of us, and promised (through His Holy Spirit) to guide us, watch over us, and comfort us till He comes back for us, and all we have to do is “submit to God’s purpose” which is the title of Oswald’s devotional today.

I love where he says that; “God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, "This is My man, and this is My woman." We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.”

Enjoy the devotional, and ask God to keep you in “HIS Grip!”

Submitting to God’s Purpose

"I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" —1 Corinthians 9:22

A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. Never protest by saying, "If only I were somewhere else!" All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them. Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God.

We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact— ". . . Jesus Christ and Him crucified" ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 ).

"I chose you . . ." ( John 15:16 ). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God, but that He has gotten you. God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, "This is My man, and this is My woman." We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.
Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you "turn aside . . . to the right or the left . . ." ( Deuteronomy 28:14 ). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way."

In HIS Grip
Tony

2006-10-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hey All!
Today’s Oswald Chambers uses words like “captive”, and “captivity”, now before you run away, we need to ask ourselves; what is it that captivates or fascinates us? What is it that we hang on to most in this life? Is it the things of this earth that makes us happy, or that make us rich, or content? Wouldn’t you agree that we are all hanging on to something that makes us a captive to it or that captivates us? For those of us who are children of God, we are to hang on only to Him, for we know that the “things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”. But is it possible for us to hang on to the “train of His robe” with one hand, while holding on to the things of this world with the other? Sadly the answer is “yes”, and even sadder still is that most of us do!

How about those who are children on this world, those who think they belong to this world, and therefore feel that they deserve happiness from it? They see and know that there are two sides. The one side being the “train of God’s robe”, or the “procession of a conqueror” as Oswald puts it, and the other side being the things of this world and what it has to offer. Some hang on completely, and with both hands to this world. Sadly, these are the ones that say, “I don’t need to believe in God, I don’t want anything to do with that whole Christian thing. Why would I waste my time on something I can’t see, or on something that I can’t touch or hear? I only have so long to live and I’m gonna make the best of it!” These are the ones who hear the words “captives, marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs”, and run away because of their shallow understanding of what that truly means.

There are also those who maybe hang on to the world with one hand, and with the other, they hang on to nothing, keeping it free for when the time is right. They wait until they’re ready to grab hold of Christ. This hand they call freedom, just kinda flails in the wind, not really grasping for anything, just kinda there, but what they have to realize is that Jesus’ hand is only inches away, waiting for them to grab hold of the truth, so He can show them true freedom in Him.
In the case of us, those who are children of God, we hang on to the world out of disobedience, pride, ego, and selfishness. If we’ve been walking with the Lord for awhile, we know that He provides our every need, and we know He does want us to enjoy the things He has created for us, but it’s too easy to get out of balance. We need to ask Him to keep us on track with Him, we need to make sure our relationship with Him is first, then these other things become clearer, focused, and pleasurable not only to us, but also to Him.

In the other two cases, those that say they don’t need God, and those who say “not right now”, they are men (and women) of fear. Fear? What is there to be afraid of?

They fear surrendering to the captivity of the Lord because of their understanding of what captivity means to them, in this life, in this world, and in this time. They try to compare their finite mind, and finite logic, with an infinite God. They don’t know what captivity means to the creator of this life, this world, and this time. They question the step of surrender, “What will my family think? Will they accept me anymore?” Compare your families acceptance to the love of God who created you, and loves you without bounds! “Will I have to stop the things I’m doing? Will my life have to change? Can I ask you to look at your life; aren’t there some things that need changing? “You say I have to be a captive, a prisoner, what does that mean? Will I ever experience freedom again?” I’m telling you, there is freedom in the captivity!

God’s Words to us say:
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:30-32 NKJV

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36

“…being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” Romans 3:24

And this verse sums it all up:

“For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave.” 1 Corinthians 7:22

October 24, 2006 Oswald Chambers (My Utmost For HIS Highest)

The Proper Perspective

Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 2:14
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.

The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the "captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ" (

2 Corinthians 10:5 ).

How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, "I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus," or, "I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him." But Paul said, in essence, "I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph."

Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and "we are more than conquerors through Him . . ." ( Romans 8:37 ).

"We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . ." ( 2 Corinthians 2:15 ). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.

2006-10-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

How Will I Know?
October 10, 2006

Hey All!
Here is yet another Oswald Chamber’s that has gotten me excited to share with you, hope it excites you too. Again, his words are in BOLD.

Jesus answered and said, ’I thank You, Father . . . that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes’ —Matthew 11:25

We do not grow into a spiritual relationship step by step— we either have a relationship or we do not.
It’s kinda like either we are (do) or we aren’t (do not)! For example, when we make a commitment to be married, and then actually get married, we are married. You see, God doesn’t invent certain hoops that we need to jump through to gain a “spiritual relationship” with Him. There are some religions that say; before you deserve to get to heaven you need to do this and that first, it’s like God is saying; “You need to show Me that you are worthy to spend eternity with Me” that’s called “works”. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you know what it is we deserve! You’ll see as you read further down that no matter how much we read or do, it doesn’t change our position in Christ one bit.

God does not continue to cleanse us more and more from sin— "But if we walk in the light," we are cleansed "from all sin" ( 1 John 1:7 ).

Oswald tells us that if we obey, then we do have a relationship with The Lord.

It is a matter of obedience, and once we obey, the relationship is instantly perfected. But if we turn away from obedience for even one second, darkness and death are immediately at work again.
Wow! Does that mean “if we turn away from obedience for even one second” that we will lose our salvation, or that we will shortly (if not instantly) die? What I believe it means for us who are children of God, and especially in my own life, is that when I “turn away” in disobedience, and because God is Holy, He also “turns away”. My relationship with Him is temporarily severed until I turn back to Him in obedience, and repentance. He turned His back on Jesus just for a moment as Jesus took the filth of the world upon Himself and became sin in the place of us. If you can imagine the worst thing you’ve ever done, or the worst thing you’ve ever seen or heard of someone doing, all that was placed on Jesus at the cross, and at that moment He was alone!

It’s “darkness and death” to the saved as well as the unsaved, they both are void of relationship with the Father, in that they both have said, “I don’t need You right now! I don’t want You right now! I can do it myself! or I deserve this because I’m a good person!” that’s sin! The Bible says “the wages of sin is death!”

Regarding this separation (which equates to darkness and death) in the case of the saved person, it has to do with separation in relationship and communion with God, which could be for as little as a moment’s time. Whereas in the other case, it means separation for eternity.

All of God’s revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience. You will never open them through philosophy or thinking. Some have a real problem with this, they feel or think that there has to be more to it than just the simple Gospel. Even though the answer is right there, they think maybe if I read this book that just came out, or maybe if I chant these words, or maybe it’s not in this part of the country at all, I’ll find the truth!.

It makes me think of the Greeks of ancient days and how they put much credence into their philosophers and their great thinking men, they considered themselves very wise in their thinking and would sit for long stretches of time trying to figure out the answers, or what is their purpose here on this earth?

Check out what happened when the Apostle Paul was with these great philosophers and thinkers in Acts 17; “Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. (Acts 17:22-25). And then in verses 30 and 31 Paul continues; “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

The point I’m making is this, the Gospel is meant to be simple to understand through faith, why add to it, or make it seem more complex?

But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. Oswald is right in saying that once we obey God, His “sealed truths” will be opened to us. Will ALL of His truths be opened to us? Oswald points that out a little further down. I know that God promises us through His Word in James that “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

And even in the Old Testament when King Solomon asked for wisdom above everything else he could have asked God, he was given it and blessed more than any other king before him:
“Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?” Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.” 2 Chronicles 1:10-12

Let God’s truth work into you by immersing yourself in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can get to know the truth of God is to stop trying to find out and by being born again. If you obey God in the first thing He shows you, then He instantly opens up the next truth to you. You could read volumes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when five minutes of total, uncompromising obedience would make things as clear as sunlight. It’s up to us; do we read read read, study study study, or just simply obey? We need to immerse ourselves into His truths, but where do we find those truths? Are we sure to get them from our pastors or from the T.V. evangelist? Maybe! Are we sure to get them from the latest book that just hit the rack? Probably not! The only true way to know we are getting the truths of God is in His Word.
If your pastor is teaching more from the bible than from the latest book or latest trend, then you’re probably hearing and learning God’s truths, but again the ONLY way to know for sure is to see it and read it for yourselves.

Don’t say, "I suppose I will understand these things someday!" You can understand them now. And it is not study that brings understanding to you, but obedience. Even the smallest bit of obedience opens heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become yours. How can I add to that!

This is very important to understand; Yet God will never reveal more truth about Himself to you, until you have obeyed what you know already. Beware of becoming one of the "wise and prudent." "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know . . ." (John 7:17 ). The whole verse says; “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority (from man)” It can be too easy to believe what we hear from a man for several reasons; maybe because we think of him as being more knowledgeable, or maybe because he’s funny and has a great sense of humor, maybe we like the way the man shares stories, or seems to know what is right for me as a Christian (or even as an unsaved person), and how I should live in this world in this day and age. Even with me, you shouldn’t necessarily believe what I’m telling you just because you know me, or because maybe I sound like I know what I’m talking about.

There is ONLY one way to know for sure what your pastor, your T.V. evangelist, or even what your friends are saying is true when it comes to spiritual matters, and that is for you to see for yourselves in God’s word! How can I rely on something that was written thousands of years ago, how can it be relevant to this day? Because His Word tells me; “For the word of God is living and powerful, (the NIV says “living and active”) and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Hope this encourages you today!

In HIS Grip
Tony

2006-10-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hey All!
Oswald Chambers is so powerful today; I had to send it out!

October 5, 2006 “My Utmost For His Highest” Oswald Chamber’s Devotional

The Nature of Degeneration

"Just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned . . ." —Romans 5:12

The Bible does not say that God punished the human race for one man’s sin, but that the nature of sin, namely, my claim to my right to myself, entered into the human race through one man. But it also says that another Man took upon Himself the sin of the human race and put it away— an infinitely more profound revelation ("He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” Hebrews 9:26 ).

The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, "I am my own god."

"Self-realization" Hmmm? Just for kicks I looked up “realize” and found that one of the definitions says “apprehend, grasp significance” so if we’re talking about “self-realization” we’re talking about a “grasp of significance” of who we are. So what is our significance? There’s a book and study guide titled “Search for Significance”, I haven’t read it, but I know that if I want to know what my significance is, I need to look in THE book for it, it’s in there. I remembered that the first time the word “realized” is used in the Bible is when Adam and Eve realized (what they thought was) their significance, and because of their choices, it condemned all of human race.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" NIV Genesis 3:7-8)

How many of you are still hiding from the Lord? How many are not willing to give up the things of this world, come into the light, and just see what God has for you? How many see that your significance, your importance, is more important than to listen to what God says you are, and how He wants to love you and bless you? How many are still hearing His voice calling to you “Where are you?” and you ignore it, or say “not now God”? Hopefully by the end of this, you’ll see that Oswald is saying that we are nothing without the Lord, in fact he says (as does the bible) that if “I refuse to let Him do so. (to deliver me from the heredity of sin) From that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation.” Does that sound serious to you? Does is sound like something made up? Do you really want to take the chance?

This nature may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper immorality, but it always has a common basis— my claim to my right to myself. When our Lord faced either people with all the forces of evil in them, or people who were clean-living, moral, and upright, He paid no attention to the moral degradation of one, nor any attention to the moral attainment of the other. He looked at something we do not see, namely, the nature of man ("and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man." John 2:25 ).

Sin is something I am born with and cannot touch— only God touches sin through redemption. It is through the Cross of Christ that God redeemed the entire human race from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a person responsible for having the heredity of sin, and does not condemn anyone because of it. Condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let Him do so. From that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. "This is the condemnation [and the critical moment], that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light . . . " ( John 3:19 ).

Let me ask you, how much more clear could this be? We are not contemned to "damnation" because of the sins we commit from the day we were born, but because of Adam’s sin, from the day we were born we were already condemned, BUT, Jesus came and hung on a cross for that sin, for ALL of us, and now it's up to us to recognize or to realize that truth, and to ask Him to come into our hearts and be our savior and redeemer. I asked you above if this sounded serious to you? And if it sounded like something made up? And if you really want to take the chance? My heart for those of you who are receiving this who haven’t turned your life over to the Lord, which rightfully is His anyway, breaks as I think of what you will face when all is said and done. Am I sure that you as an individual will certainly face eternity in heaven or hell? I know what me bible tells me, but I also know that God is the only one that looks on your heart. As the verse in John 2 says up above; “…He knew (and knows) what was (and is) in man!”

If you haven’t asked Jesus into you heart and life yet, will you do it today? Don’t wait too long! Look around you, the world is dark and getting darker by the day, step out of the dark and into His light, stop hiding from God, He doesn’t want to thump you, He wants to love you and welcome you as a new adopted child for eternity.

If you have questions, please email/leave a comment.

In HIS Grip
Tony

2006-09-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

OK! Now I'm really peeved!!!

While walking our dogs this morning, Cece came upon one of the neighbor girls who was headed for school. She informed Cece that her younger brother who is 12 (maybe 13), “got jumped yesterday on his way to school!” And why did young Collin get jumped you might ask? Three 18 year old thugs terrorized this innocent young man because, get this, he was wearing red shorts!!! Yeah! Can you believe it? They got out of their car, pulled a knife on this poor kid, and then beat him up because he was wearing the color red! I know some of you are saying, "Hey Tony! Wake up! This is happening everywhere, it's just beginning to seep ( or ooz) into your neighborhood!"

When my wife told me this it just sickened me, then it made me mad. I had thoughts of waiting in that same spot where he got jumped, pack'n an RPG (missile launcher) which I'd borrow, cause I know a guy, and then when these punks showed up, I’d ask them politely to get out of their car, and then after making sure that they were a good safe distance away and out of danger, I'd blow that hub cap spin'n, too loud base thump'n, attitude written all over it vehicle to smithereens, I don't think I've ever written the word "smithereens" before, much less use it in a sentence...Hmm...Anyway, then I'd tell those juvenile delinquents to "scram". Now, would I or could I really do that? Probably not, but I think that if the Holy Spirit weren’t with me and in me, and it was left up to me, my flesh, and I, I would more than likely try and find these guys and see what wuz up! But of course times being what they are, this would probably be the last email you’d get from me, in fact the next time most of you would see me would be stand’n at the pearly gates high five’n ya as you came on through, know what I mean?

So what can we do when we’re faced with violence like this? I mean as a Christian man or woman? We can’t go around blast’n all the thugs like they would have no problem blast’n us, and we can’t just sit on our hands doing nothing. You noticed in my description of what “I’d” do in this situation, I said that “if the Holy Spirit weren’t with me and in me, and it was left up to me, my flesh, and I, I would….” The key to all of this is the Holy Spirit! He assured me that “Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord”, and then he reminded me of two men who once were thugs like these, Raul Reis and Nicky Cruz (I’m sure there are others). If my God could grab a hold of Raul’s heart who after a lifetime of violence was ready to kill his entire family, and if my God could soften the heart of Nicky, who since he was a kid was a New York gang banger, my God can grab a hold of these three young men and love them like they’ve never been loved before. ONLY the Holy Spirit can make me feel this way, ONLY the Holy Spirit would cause me to pray for these young men rather than retaliate against them.

In this scenario would I be fearful if confronted by these men? Probably yes! “Would I fully Rely On God” for the outcome? Yes! Does that mean I should go down to the beach flats at 12:00 at night and just hang out? No! But if I’m called and led by the Holy Spirit to go down and share the love of Christ and His Good News, I’m more apt to go!

There was yet another shooting in yet another High school in Colorado very recently, this was a drifter who came into town, did his business and died in that town, all in a matter of hours. When I first heard the story it reminded me of Satan and how the Bible describes him as a “roaring lion, looking for someone to devour”, but then it also reminded me of Columbine, and how a young Christian girl would not renounce her faith in Jesus Christ, and for that she was executed. This young girl had the Holy Spirit in her and is now rejoicing and praising God “face to face”. Her legacy will live on until the end of this age. Her bravery is not something we can celebrate by seeing her in parades or personal appearances on television, she is no longer here, but her act of trust, faith, and strength that ONLY comes from the Lord, will always be remembered.

Thank You Father for Your Holy Spirit which You not only left as a “desposit” and “guarantee” until Jesus you come and take us home to be with You, but it’s also our “counselor”, our guide, the person from whom we can draw strength and courage as You remind us of Your “promises” Lord. Father I lift up these 3 young men to You, and ask that you would “grab hold” of their hearts so that one day they would be a testimony of Your saving grace. Thank You for protecting little Collin, I pray that even he would come to know You through this. You are mighty and awesome, and I Love You!
In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

In HIS Grip
Tony

2006-09-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

"The "GO" of Renunciation" what does that mean?
Taken from the Oswald Chambers devotional; "My Utmost For His Highest"

My words are in YELLOW

“The “Go” of Renunciation”? In the back of my mind I kinda knew what the word “renunciation” meant, but I had to be sure before I could even begin to understand what that whole phrase meant, so I looked it up. Webster’s told me first to; “see Renounce”, I went to the word “Renounce” and this is what I found; It means to “Give up, Cast off, disown”.

Okay! So by the title only, Oswald Chambers is telling me to “Go” and “give up”, “cast off” and “disown”, but what? I think as you read through, that by the end you’ll realize what he’s talking about, don’t miss it, it’s good!
September 27, 2006

The "Go" of Renunciation
(Oswald Chambers Devotional; "My Utmost For His Highest")

. . . someone said to Him, ’Lord, I will follow You wherever You go’ —Luke 9:57

Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, "for He knew what was in man" ( John 2:25 ). We would have said, "I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!" Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of "what was in man." If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.

Wow! That’s a pretty heavy first paragraph don’t ya think? What does Oswald mean when he says; “The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended.”? My personal opinion? There is something inside us that causes us to hurt or offends us as human beings; it’s called “Pride”.

One of the main things about our Christian life is that we need to empty ourselves of ourselves, and to be refilled with His righteousness. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a long way to go in that area! Think about it, if we were to let Jesus right this second, point out things in our lives that might be ugly, or dark, how many of us whole heartedly are going to say on a consistent basis, “Yes Lord! Your right, that’s me!” And if we again whole heartedly took the next step and asked Him to remove those things COMPLETELY from us, wouldn’t you think the next time He spoke to us about those things we wouldn’t be “offended”?

Here’s how Jesus answers the man:
Luke 9:58 “And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”. These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, ". . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

“These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do.” Think about that statement for a minute. Jesus is telling the man; “Hey! Are you ready to sleep out in the cold? Are ready to be in danger of wild animals? Can you handle not knowing where your next meal is coming from? How many times have we said; “Yes Lord I will follow You!” because it “was the pleasant thing to do” and didn’t think about the costs? A great example is Peter; he didn’t take into consideration what he was getting himself into before the “cock crowed”, but after the cock crowed and the Holy Spirit got a hold of him, he was then willing to count the costs, and truly follow Jesus even unto death.

Then another man shows up on the scene…
Luke 9:59 . “Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.

Oswald says; “This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father.” That’s a tough decision to make wouldn’t you think? You hear the call of the Lord, but you’ve been with your father all your life. Actually if the man didn’t go back to bury his father who would have really been effected? The father was dead, the young man does want to go with Jesus. Do you think maybe his main thought was that the right thing to do is to go and bury his father, because after all, “if I didn’t go back what would people think of me?” I don’t know! Jesus told him to “let the dead bury the dead!” Do you think the young man knew what that meant?

On the other hand what if he took the approach as some of us do? We wink at God’s Holiness, and don’t take His call on our lives seriously. We say things like “Hey! Wait a second; I thought you were a God of love and compassion! So here’s what I’m gonna do because I know You’ll understand my motives and forgive me, I’m gonna go bury my father and I WILL catch up with you later!” It’s the same tact the devil took with Eve, “Did God really say…?” It’s like; did You really want me to come with You right now? But inevitably he made his choice and didn’t follow Jesus.

Then finally the third man shows up…
Luke 9:61 “And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

The person who says, "Lord, I will follow You, but . . .," is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.

So to answer our original question: What is it that we need to “give up”, “cast off” and “disown”? I think the answer is ourselves!

In HIS Grip
Tony

2006-09-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

"Perhaps Today!"

Complacent – “Self-satisfied, pleased, gratified” Webster’s Dictionary

As we come out of the month of September and away from the barrage of the media’s portrayals which ignite our memories and passions of that fateful day on September 11th 2001. One of the programs I watched struck me more than the others, as I think about it, more vivid in my mind than the planes striking to towers, the smoke and rubble, and even the sight of those huge towers crumbling to the ground as if made of sand, was watching what had taken place months, days, and even hours before. In their normal routines of life were people going about their daily business, kids going to school, men and women going to work, the scenes of our country's leaders as they lead the country in those days prior, but one thing was more emphasized than anything else in this “docu-drama”, it was the complacency of us all!

There as I watched, my screen showed me people just milling around the airport, some in hurry, and some just seemingly there. It showed me that airport procedures and security were lax, as screener joked with passengers letting them through and on their way to their destinations. It reminded me that the country in those days was focused on current events which weren’t very exciting, new comedy shows, and soap operas both on TV, and the ones not scripted that took place in the White House, but in all of this, people just went about their business and never thought that what took place on September 11th 2001 ever would, but it did!

What's the point I’m trying to get at here? That complacency is a bad thing, and that we should always be on the look out, always being alert? I’ll get to my point in a little bit. I wanted to tell you that we just started a 5 week "prophecy series" at church on Sunday nights. The first night was last night, and “Wow!” The gentleman took us to Ezekiel 38 - 39 in our bibles, there he gave us information about “end times prophecy”. He gave us a lesson in current events and geography, for example when Ezekiel talks about the place called "Rosh" it’s believed to be Russia, and when it talks about “Meshech”, “Tubal”, “Gomer” it’s talking about modern day Turkey. “Persia” is Iran, “Ethiopia” or “Cush” is the Sudan, and “Put” is Libya, all very interesting stuff. If any of you guys can go next Sunday night, you should try and make it

But what struck me most about last evening was that after he talked a bit about the “tribulation”, he said that some of us Christians believe in "pre-tribulation" some believe in "mid- Tribulation' and some even believe that we as Christians will go through the whole 7 years tribulation period, but whatever you believe, the fact that you believe in the tribulation means you also believe that Jesus IS coming back! Then he challenged us, this is something I pray I never forget! He said “Take just 30 seconds of every day, preferably in the mornings before you get out of bed, and let these 2 words sink deep in your minds for the day “Perhaps Today!”” Isn’t that great! My pastor says (para-phrase) “No matter what you believe about when the rapture will take place, live your life like he’s coming back today!” I love that! “Jesus in coming back – AND - perhaps today!”

So what does this have to do with complacency? The Bible talks about “complacency” in Proverbs:
29 “Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30 They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. 32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.” Proverbs 1:29-33

If we take this thought of “complacency” and the thought of “perhaps today”, how should we live our life? Should our thought be; “I need to do as much as I can for people today in case Jesus comes?” or “I need to try not to swear today, and while I’m at it, I need to walk as many old ladies across the street as possible today?” or “I need to call my boss and tell him I’m not coming in as I’m going to be fasting and praying all day long, and maybe tomorrow too?” Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying not to swear, or helping old ladies across the street, and there certainly is nothing wrong with fasting and praying, but I think it’s more about being available to God through His Holy Spirit in what He would have you to do today. It’s about watching for those “divine appointments” He has for you today. Turn complacency around to be positive, not a negative! Be complacent (Self-satisfied, pleased, and gratified) in the thoughts and actions of you life that Jesus is coming back, and perhaps today!

Father! It is so easy for me to write these words, and at times it is so hard for me to live them out. I want to be, and love being used by you as an encouragement to my brothers and sisters in You, so I would ask that you help me to live my life in the excitement that Jesus You are coming soon! I thank You for the “knowledge” that You give me from Your Word, and through our pastors. I pray for our pastors as they become more and more passionate to preach and teach Your Word as the world shows more and more proof of prophecy. May we also remember that WE are a “royal priesthood” and that our pastors are no different than us, they are “just one sinner leading another sinner to the bread of Truth”, that we are called to do the same. Give me a heart that shares the same passion that my pastor has when he says that we who are sure of our eternal destiny, that our heart would break for those whose destiny is not sure to them. Jesus we love you, and so look forward to the day of Your return! We pray this in Your name, Amen!

“Perhaps Today!”

2006-09-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

My Very First Blog!

Man! Up until about 6 months ago, I didn't even know what a "Blog" was, admit it, some of you didn't either huh!My "Blog" will include some of things that God has shown me from His Word, some of my own stories, and probably a lot of my own ideas from different devotionals that I subscribe to. But I would say that these comments (or commentaries) will come mainly from Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest" which can be found at: http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php . Look for the link in the "link section"[I will make it very clear when I use my words to describe what I think the author is saying], whether it be Oswald or God. I don't want to be accused of plagiarism, these are just my thoughts and I could be wrong, especially when it comes to the Bible, but the awesome thing is, you can go to His Word yourself and check it out. Please let me know if I'm way off base!I definitely want to put a "shout out" to my brother in the Lord Anthony, who encouraged me to start my own Blog, as well as teaming up with him on his blog.You'll find his blog at: http://questionsoffaith.blogspot.com/ (this LINK is also in the link section) go there and check it out, he'll definitely get you thinking about who we are in Christ!
God Bless you!
In HIS Grip
Tony