tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186093722024-02-18T21:51:27.095-07:00Worship is a LifestyleWhat is the first thing you think of when you hear the word "worship"? It is more than music and song, it is a lifestyle that brings honor and glory to God.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-73681132509810598612012-10-30T08:48:00.002-06:002012-10-30T08:48:24.656-06:00blog is movingJust wanted to inform you that this blog is moving to worshipunrated.com. It's a ministry that I've begun. Right now it's still being developed and changed to fit my style. But it is already live for blog posts. Feel free to check it out! Know that this change is immediate though. I won't be posting things here anymore. Cheers!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-24142515136713265572012-10-23T12:17:00.001-06:002012-10-23T12:17:22.811-06:00bombs of encouragementWhen is the last time you've read Romans 8? The family of God is plagued with people who desperately need encouragement in life, living, and leading. There's a huge number of people who are trying to identify their lives with Christ, and yet a majority of books and blogs that are out there are hurting the church instead of encouraging them, spurring them on toward love and good deeds. Sometimes Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-13296921018538659472012-10-02T10:24:00.001-06:002012-10-02T10:24:13.313-06:00an heir
How many believers understand that we are heirs to receive all that God has? God has made us heirs. He adopted us through the death and resurrection of His Son. All that God has we will receive. How does that make you feel?
I still struggle with some earning issues, as though I am some kind of slave to God. Not a good slave, but one who feels like love or appreciation must be earned. I do Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-25905812698968122252012-09-20T10:12:00.001-06:002012-09-20T10:12:15.901-06:00miracles todaySomething that keeps jumping out at me in Scripture is faith. It's everywhere. It seems to be very important. We downplay faith a lot in our lives and substitute the word "faith" in place of "religion" because it sounds better. We talk a lot about our own faith and its difference between the faith of others. We say our faith is important to us and is the reason why we live a certain way. When we Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-41235745510441628562012-09-14T11:00:00.003-06:002012-09-14T11:00:30.855-06:00tearing down the wallWe have a hard time keeping it real, don't we? We change our demeanor and message based on who's listening. We like a good image of ourselves too. That's a problem. It's a big problem. We're fake when we do it.
I'm in Galatians 2 and Paul talks about going to the apostles to tell them about the message he's been preaching, the leaders agreed, and others disagreed. Paul seems to mention Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-23894468871800528282012-09-11T15:00:00.000-06:002012-09-11T15:00:11.587-06:00finding satisfactionThis might not have anything to do with finding satisfaction, but a lot of us are looking for it. If you're anything like me, most of the reasons I do what I do is to find satisfaction. My work doesn't get published or printed until I find satisfaction with it.
Our lives are consumed with a quest for satisfaction, and we look for it in just about everything. What we don't find satisfaction in Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-44966004010525177672012-08-28T10:07:00.001-06:002012-08-28T10:07:16.450-06:00getting startedBack in the day, dad had a little blue honda civic hatchback made in 1983. It was the car that took him to work every day. Eventually it became my first car. Do you remember those? Have you ever seen one? Imagine a Geo Metro but smaller. This car could fit in a Metro. It might be able to fit in your bedroom closet. It was a four-speed manual drive car that could easily change lanes by driving Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-60426372998799874082012-08-09T16:19:00.000-06:002012-08-14T09:56:14.053-06:00thoughts of anxiousnessPhilippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(NIV)Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you willAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-44461653816952022552012-08-06T10:37:00.002-06:002012-08-06T10:37:41.675-06:00A Different GospelI miss this. Sitting down to take time out and journal really relaxes my soul. Lately things have gotten so busy at the church that I just haven't had time to write about what I've read. Now I've finished Galatians on my own, but I don't want to forget what God has taught me and feel the need to share with you His grace in this letter.
Our church is now going through The Story by Zondervan. If Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-27220873305893566502012-07-25T15:03:00.000-06:002012-07-25T15:03:17.863-06:00Made to MirrorThere are so many examples that we can pull from that help us gain a better perspective on worship and the reason God made us. First off, He made us to worship Him.
Lately I've been reading a book on worship by Tozer. He's quite the amazing man of God. It's encouraging to hear words from men who have had an undying pursuit of what God desires. Tozer's example on being a mirror to reflect God's Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-4133950421382246362012-07-04T09:33:00.002-06:002012-07-04T09:33:48.904-06:00Sent On A MissionThere's always been something special about being sent on a mission. It makes us feel important. Growing up, we would play like we were soldiers getting order from our commander to perform some crazy task. My kids play the same way. When they watched Toy Story, they had to have to Buzz Lightyear that would perform a secret mission and then "rendezvous with Star Command."
Now that I'm olderAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-86550021482020642332012-06-21T10:07:00.001-06:002012-06-21T10:07:08.482-06:00Be PreparedThis makes me think of that song from Disney's The Lion King. That crazy uncle Scar sang it to all his hyena friends, the traitor. But there's a message from that song we can take, in a way. It's kind of a stretch to say so, but in his preparation to successfully take over the kingdom from his brother, he was getting them ready for the job to be done and what his evil reign would look like. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-86665940273235787542012-06-11T11:27:00.000-06:002012-06-11T11:27:24.200-06:00Difficult Times Will ComeMoving on to chapter 3 in 2 Timothy. It's a continuation of everything else that moves Timothy into an understanding that it's not going to be easy to convince people to pursue the things of God rather than the things of the world, youthful lusts.
Paul begins prefaces the list of things men will do with an interesting statement: "in the last days difficult times will come." It makes me Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-82041870281842490962012-06-07T10:50:00.001-06:002012-06-07T10:50:36.038-06:00A Useful Vessel Part 2This is a continuation of yesterday's post. It was getting pretty long so I decided to cut it in half. And there was a lot to take in yesterday too. Here's the passage I'm going through again:
Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-87400987353723617782012-06-06T12:13:00.003-06:002012-06-06T12:13:33.419-06:00A Useful VesselInteresting title, but appropriate.
I'm still in 2 Timothy 2. It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but this just took some time to grasp for me. I've been trying to apply it to my life and have been watching it slowly take over and create a newer lifestyle. It's like getting the long-awaited update to the software that runs my being. But I'm using dial-up instead of something faster, so Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-66999602129181846112012-05-25T09:41:00.000-06:002012-05-25T09:41:55.747-06:00ApprovedRemember when you got your first loan? Were you able to get it? I wasn't. I had to have a co-signer. Then I remember the day that I finally got approved. Now I'm wishing I'd had better sense not to get a loan. But there was something great about getting approved. It was a feeling of, "I've arrived," or, "I'm an adult." I know it's weird but that's what it felt like. The same thing is true ofAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-42854209779598962552012-05-14T10:59:00.003-06:002012-05-14T10:59:53.912-06:00Not ImprisonedThere are so many things that hold us back from sharing our faith with our friends. Fear of rejection, lack of confidence, to name a few. I believe that what it really comes down to is our commitment to Jesus, our conviction of the Truth in our lives being surrounded by the lies of the world.
A few days ago I posted "An Invitation To Suffer" and this post kind of gleans from that one a little Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-60777455563363603552012-05-09T09:50:00.001-06:002012-05-09T09:50:27.521-06:00An Invitation To SufferDoesn't the title mess you up a little? In 2 Timothy 2, that exactly what Paul extends to Timothy.
A couple posts back I mentioned the reason and motivation for our behavior as Christians: because of the promise of life. Here, at the beginning of the next chapter, Paul encourages Timothy with a greater invitation to do something all of us are afraid of happening to us.
Suffering isn't our idea Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-37119321152182010132012-05-08T13:49:00.000-06:002012-05-08T13:49:08.248-06:00Mercy And Testing1 Kings 21-22
This is an interesting account of Ahab, once king of Israel. Let's start with this:
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-69937164714345622012-05-02T10:37:00.000-06:002012-05-02T10:37:04.405-06:00Beginning Real Marriage
My wife and I are beginning Real Marriage together, by Mark and Grace Driscoll. Already we are beginning to see God working in our lives as we begin just the first chapter in the book. This is going to be a refining moment for us both. If you've read the book or haven't, please keep us in your prayers. The enemy will fight for whatever stronghold is left as we grow closer together and together Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-23346939081334508152012-04-30T11:12:00.001-06:002012-04-30T11:12:35.703-06:00Prayer Is About RelationshipMy wife went to a women's prayer seminar this past weekend at our church building. She came back with something that stuck with me. I've known for a long time but have just ignored it and needed a reminder of what God is looking for in prayer. She said, "Prayer isn't necessarily about asking God for stuff, or even about Him answering them. It's about relationship."
That kind of hit home with me Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-57192100436364252012012-04-25T11:37:00.002-06:002012-04-25T11:37:21.419-06:00"Hi! How are you?"For what purpose do you greet others? When you shake their hands or say, "hello," what's the reason behind the greeting? Most of the time it's driven by politeness out of common courtesy toward the one you make eye contact with. But when we say, "How are you?" in that casual form, are we really ready to listen to what they're going to respond with? Secretly I'm always hoping that they say, "GreatAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-53241208759624895922012-04-23T14:14:00.000-06:002012-04-23T14:14:02.945-06:001 Timothy 6Alright, take a moment and read 1 Timothy 6:3-21. I've been stuck on this for the past 5 days, trying to get a better understanding on it.
Serving as one of the pastors at a church, it's extremely important to me to be setting a good example to follow and to be teaching the truth of the Bible (there is no falsehood in it). This section had me for awhile because it seems as though Paul is tellingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-51606895338685890492012-04-18T10:14:00.001-06:002012-04-18T10:14:21.604-06:00The Witness Of Us All"All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18609372.post-24055339233069062952012-04-16T11:20:00.000-06:002012-04-16T11:20:00.917-06:00Keeping In CheckThere's a statement that I won't forget that Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:44, "Each tree is recognized by its own fruit." We can tell what kind of tree it is by the fruit it produces. So we can with people. If we want to know what someone is like, look at the fruit they produce. 1 Timothy 5:24-25 has something to say about this too.
The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place ofAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04875325262890843919noreply@blogger.com0