Hey all! Well, we've made the move to Colorado Springs. We made the trip Tuesday morning and stopped at Colby, KS for the night. Wednesday we finished the trip and today is my first day off! I don't officially start until the first. Right now we aren't in our house yet because we can't close on in until the 20th. So currently we are staying with the minister's family. We are really excited about the ministry out here and would covet your prayers as we begin. There's a lot of work to do though. Please pray that we keep our sanity as we adjust and make this huge transition. And pray that the minister and I still get along by the end of 20 days. Buzz me an email sometime or give me a call on my cell. We would love to hear from each of you. God bless!
Eph 3:14-21
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Newborn photo
Just thought I'd put up another picture of Aaron... This was the day after he was born.
On to Colorado!
Ok, so I know it has been a long time since I've posted anything up at all. But here are the belated pics of our newest addition, Aaron Reed. He is now 5 weeks old. Christopher really enjoys being big brother, and Timothy has no idea what the little thing is. Timothy's really into climbing right now. Every once in a while we have to save Aaron from being a step.
For everyone's information, we are moving to Colorado Springs at the end of the month! Turns out, a new ministry opportunity opened up for us out there. I received a call about a month and a half ago, a few weeks before the time Aaron was born, about a worship ministry position for a satellite church Sunnyside Christian Church was overseeing. Through continuous prayer we believe God has called us to join the ministry that will begin Meridian Point. You can check out the website at www.meridianpointchurch.com and see all that is going on.
The plan began when Falcon Christian Church approached the leadership at Sunnyside describing their need to reach out to the generation that is so quickly moving into the area. At the time their attendance was anywhere between 40-50 people on the weekends, and they were without a minister. Sunnyside agreed to help and Jay, the small groups minister, felt God's call to pursue this opportunity. Jay contacted me and explained to me the vision of Meridian Point. We both spent a lot of time praying about God's direction and really believe that we have made the right decision.
The church is located in an rural area that is quickly urbanizing. I have seen the plans for expecting over 100,000 new residents to move in within the next 30-40 years. The neat thing is that the plans are having to speed up in order to keep with the pace of those moving into the area. Within the next month we are going to send out 50,000 letters to the residents that are within driving distance of the church about the launch of Meridian Point on November 5th. We are really excited about this and hope that you will join with us in prayer as we begin this ministry. Hope to hear from each of you soon! I'll do my best to keep everyone updated about what is going on. Have a great week!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
New Baby!!!
I know it's been a while since I've posted anything for my faithful few viewers, but now I've come to that part in my life where I just can't keep quiet about something that happened last week....WE ARE PARENTS AGAIN!!!!! Last Thursday at around 3:30 p.m. Anastasia gave birth to our third son! He weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces and was a hair longer than 21 inches. We are so excited about our new baby! Christopher seems to enjoy being big brother to little Aaron, and Timothy doesn' have a clue as to what just happened. He thinks he got a new toy or something. Anastasia is doing great and so is the baby.
Hopefully in the near future I'll post a picture of what he looks like. If you want to see him online, email me and I'll tell you what site to look up and stuff.
Things have been going pretty well for us. Recently I received an evaluation form from the board at my church. Anything like this must be received with humility and an expectation of criticism. This is where we find out just how teachable we are. Everyone needs one of those every once in a while to see how they are doing and what needs to be worked on in our lives. The character traits about myself from other's eyes has shown me a different picture of who I am. Nobody believes there is anything wrong with themselves until you have a lot of people write on paper what it is they don't appreciate about you or problems they have with your work. Needless to say it was a pretty hard thing to swallow. But a majority of what was explained ended up being benificial to my ministry here.
Anyways, keep praying and keep God first. Hope to hear from each of you soon.
Seeking Him
Hopefully in the near future I'll post a picture of what he looks like. If you want to see him online, email me and I'll tell you what site to look up and stuff.
Things have been going pretty well for us. Recently I received an evaluation form from the board at my church. Anything like this must be received with humility and an expectation of criticism. This is where we find out just how teachable we are. Everyone needs one of those every once in a while to see how they are doing and what needs to be worked on in our lives. The character traits about myself from other's eyes has shown me a different picture of who I am. Nobody believes there is anything wrong with themselves until you have a lot of people write on paper what it is they don't appreciate about you or problems they have with your work. Needless to say it was a pretty hard thing to swallow. But a majority of what was explained ended up being benificial to my ministry here.
Anyways, keep praying and keep God first. Hope to hear from each of you soon.
Seeking Him
Friday, June 02, 2006
A lesson from the life of a farmer
For a long time I thought farming was an interesting job, something I could never take up. But what I didn’t realize is that I’ve been a farmer all my life. Being a city man, all I thought farming consisted of was putting a seed in the ground, letting nature do its work, and receiving a crop. But that isn’t all that’s involved. First, the farmer must prepare the soil for the receiving of the seed and know where to plant. Preparing the soil takes a lot of work and quite a long time to do, and bad areas are simply avoided. Farmers till the ground to break up the soil and loosen the dirt so the seed can take root. If the soil is solid the seed cannot take root at all. It might for a while but can’t stand through storms because of shallow roots. And if the ground floods all the plants will wash away. Sometimes the ground is too steep for planting and could cause erosion. All the water or mud will rush in one direction and destroy the crop as well. So the farmer uses a groundwork called “terracing”, in which the farmer creates what looks like giant stairs in the ground to keep the crop from being “washed” away or eroded. After the tilling is finished, farmers spray the fields with pesticides and chemicals to kill off unwanted plants and crop-damaging insects and bugs.
Then, there is planting. Farmers scatter many seeds in rows across the fields. A lot of the seeds don’t make it too maturity because of birds, rodents, and other seed snatchers. Some seeds the ground just won’t accept. A large crop requires an even larger amount of sown seed. If the farmer desires his crop to take root, the previous work to planting is critically important.
After planting there is fertilizing and feeding. This can last all through the summer and up until harvest. Farmers fertilize their crop to feed them, nourish them, and create a larger output from the crop. The better the food for the plants, the better the crop will be. Some fertilizers require some rain to activate it. After activation better crop results are promising. An interesting fact is that the seed, after being planted, must die in order for life to begin.
Weather is also extremely important to the farmer. Living in the city, this issue wasn’t really a big deal because we spent most of our time inside, unless we were planning a trip to a theme park or wanting to make our grass and gardens look pretty. But a farmer relies on the weather for a majority of his success. A lot of their hope for a good crop and income is based on a trust that God will do what is necessary to take care of things. Nature takes its course through the amount of rain and sunlight. Rain is good, but too much rain drowns the crop. Sun is good, but too much sun scorches it. God is the one who brings the growth and most farmers understand that one. The ones I know pray for the weather they need for a good crop during harvest.
Sometimes there are pests that get into the crop as well. Farmers continually go out to their fields to check on their crop as it grows so they can see what needs to be done to nourish and protect it. The more a farmer keeps his field clean of critters and pests, the more likely they’ll have a profitable crop.
When the harvest is ripe, it’s time to bring in the crop and store it away and sell it. The quicker they can get the harvest in they better reduce the risk of losing any crop to the upcoming harmful weather and other continual threats.
This whole process is exactly the way God works using evangelism. Before Seed can be planted, the heart needs cultivating. The kind of heart a person has will determine just how well they accept the seed (Matthew 13:3-23). If the seed takes root in their hearts, it is our responsibility to nourish what was planted as it grows. God causes growth (1 Corinthians 3:6), so it isn’t our responsibility to cause growth to happen. Our responsibility is to plant the seed, nourish, care for, and help protect them (1 Corinthians 3:7, 8). Knowing where to plant is just as important: plant where hearts are ready for the Seed. Scattering seed to the wind is a waste of time, so move on to where the soil is more fertile.
The weather of life is also extremely important, vital to the spiritual growth of any person. Storms are good. They help us grow upward. But too many storms can drown us if we don’t know who to turn to. Sunny days are good. They help us grow outward. But too many “sunny days” can scorch our view of God and get us distracted by being either too busy with work to be done, or by our growing sense of accomplishments. When we receive too much sun we run the risk of burn-out. It’s very important for the “farmer” to pray for them so their hearts can receive what they need to grow spiritually and produce fruit.
When the harvest comes, the farmer must be ready. The quicker the farmer can save their souls from the coming destruction and eternal punishment, obviously the better off all of them will be. No one should want to go to hell and the farmer who cares about his crop won’t let any of the ones under his care perish.
God is into farming. And I just found out… I’m a farmer!
Then, there is planting. Farmers scatter many seeds in rows across the fields. A lot of the seeds don’t make it too maturity because of birds, rodents, and other seed snatchers. Some seeds the ground just won’t accept. A large crop requires an even larger amount of sown seed. If the farmer desires his crop to take root, the previous work to planting is critically important.
After planting there is fertilizing and feeding. This can last all through the summer and up until harvest. Farmers fertilize their crop to feed them, nourish them, and create a larger output from the crop. The better the food for the plants, the better the crop will be. Some fertilizers require some rain to activate it. After activation better crop results are promising. An interesting fact is that the seed, after being planted, must die in order for life to begin.
Weather is also extremely important to the farmer. Living in the city, this issue wasn’t really a big deal because we spent most of our time inside, unless we were planning a trip to a theme park or wanting to make our grass and gardens look pretty. But a farmer relies on the weather for a majority of his success. A lot of their hope for a good crop and income is based on a trust that God will do what is necessary to take care of things. Nature takes its course through the amount of rain and sunlight. Rain is good, but too much rain drowns the crop. Sun is good, but too much sun scorches it. God is the one who brings the growth and most farmers understand that one. The ones I know pray for the weather they need for a good crop during harvest.
Sometimes there are pests that get into the crop as well. Farmers continually go out to their fields to check on their crop as it grows so they can see what needs to be done to nourish and protect it. The more a farmer keeps his field clean of critters and pests, the more likely they’ll have a profitable crop.
When the harvest is ripe, it’s time to bring in the crop and store it away and sell it. The quicker they can get the harvest in they better reduce the risk of losing any crop to the upcoming harmful weather and other continual threats.
This whole process is exactly the way God works using evangelism. Before Seed can be planted, the heart needs cultivating. The kind of heart a person has will determine just how well they accept the seed (Matthew 13:3-23). If the seed takes root in their hearts, it is our responsibility to nourish what was planted as it grows. God causes growth (1 Corinthians 3:6), so it isn’t our responsibility to cause growth to happen. Our responsibility is to plant the seed, nourish, care for, and help protect them (1 Corinthians 3:7, 8). Knowing where to plant is just as important: plant where hearts are ready for the Seed. Scattering seed to the wind is a waste of time, so move on to where the soil is more fertile.
The weather of life is also extremely important, vital to the spiritual growth of any person. Storms are good. They help us grow upward. But too many storms can drown us if we don’t know who to turn to. Sunny days are good. They help us grow outward. But too many “sunny days” can scorch our view of God and get us distracted by being either too busy with work to be done, or by our growing sense of accomplishments. When we receive too much sun we run the risk of burn-out. It’s very important for the “farmer” to pray for them so their hearts can receive what they need to grow spiritually and produce fruit.
When the harvest comes, the farmer must be ready. The quicker the farmer can save their souls from the coming destruction and eternal punishment, obviously the better off all of them will be. No one should want to go to hell and the farmer who cares about his crop won’t let any of the ones under his care perish.
God is into farming. And I just found out… I’m a farmer!
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
For His Eyes Only
A man sat through a church service and then on the way home he fussed about the sermon, he fussed about the traffic, he fussed about the heat, and he fussed about the lateness of the meal being served. Then he bowed and prayed. His son was watching him all the way through this post-church experience. Just as they were beginning to pass the food he said, “Daddy, did God hear you when we left the church and you started fussin’ about the sermon and the traffic and the heat?” The father sort of blushed and said, “Well, yes, son, He heard me.” “Well, Daddy, did God hear you when you just prayed for this food right now?” And he said, “Well, yes, son, He…He...He heard me.” “So, well, Daddy, which one did God believe?”
Has there ever been something that you’ve wanted to hide from everyone’s knowledge, keeping it a secret that only you know about? I’m convinced that one of the best things that could ever happen to us is if our entire life, all the good and the bad, along with all the thoughts we’ve ever had, would be played on a big screen T.V. Then there would be relief from all the pressure we put ourselves through when we appear to be one thing while our hearts are condemning us. No more games, just honesty...people will see us for who we really are and we can just be ourselves. We all appear to be good in front of people, ourselves, and even God. We’ll condemn him because of his fault and keep our faults secret. And yet we all seem to struggle with the same things, we've all done some of the same things.
Hebrews 5:13 and 14 reads, "For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."
God’s Word frees us from those feelings. We only have to deal with ourselves. It’s comforting to know that we don’t have to judge anyone else, but scary because His Word has everything to do with us individually. Sometimes we spend our time looking at grey areas, but God doesn’t have to. He sees all our thoughts and actions. He weighs our hearts. And if He’s the One we’ll have to give an account to, we should live only for His eyes.
God Bless
Has there ever been something that you’ve wanted to hide from everyone’s knowledge, keeping it a secret that only you know about? I’m convinced that one of the best things that could ever happen to us is if our entire life, all the good and the bad, along with all the thoughts we’ve ever had, would be played on a big screen T.V. Then there would be relief from all the pressure we put ourselves through when we appear to be one thing while our hearts are condemning us. No more games, just honesty...people will see us for who we really are and we can just be ourselves. We all appear to be good in front of people, ourselves, and even God. We’ll condemn him because of his fault and keep our faults secret. And yet we all seem to struggle with the same things, we've all done some of the same things.
Hebrews 5:13 and 14 reads, "For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."
God’s Word frees us from those feelings. We only have to deal with ourselves. It’s comforting to know that we don’t have to judge anyone else, but scary because His Word has everything to do with us individually. Sometimes we spend our time looking at grey areas, but God doesn’t have to. He sees all our thoughts and actions. He weighs our hearts. And if He’s the One we’ll have to give an account to, we should live only for His eyes.
God Bless
Friday, February 24, 2006
The Babe
Well, we found out what the baby will be! And no, it is not a girl this time either. We are having another boy, and I am extremely excited about this one too. The due date stands the same. Just thought i'd inform the rest of the world. So now we are looking at names...aren't quite sure yet about what we will call him...hopefully nothing bad or weird. Anyways...another boy!!!
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
The Due Date!
Ok, so there are probably some of you who are kind of curious at to what the due date is for our next child. We went to the doctor Monday for the check-up thingy, and we got to see our baby and hear the heartbeat for the first time! Parents understand that that was something special...the rest of you could probably care less... We don't know what the gender the baby will be yet, but hopefully we will be able to find that out next week. Right now the due date is July 13. We are so excited! Keep my wife and our new baby in your prayers, that there will be no complications, that the baby will grow strong and healthy, and that God will prepare us to be parents of three kids! Life is such an adventure here at our house and it just keeps getting more exciting every day!!
Monday, January 30, 2006
The Steelers!
So here we are, wondering who is going to win the Super Bowl...How in the world did the Seahawks become a great team to make it to the big game? Who would have thunk it possible? But they finally made it! And I believe only to be let down. The Seahawks are a tough team, but the Steelers have made it there before and know what it is like. The momentum and energy of having been in the big game before will most likely give the Steelers an upperhand. At least I hope it does... I'm rooting for the Steelers and no one can change my mind!
I found something neat online that y'all should check out. Here is a neat video after the Steelers won their victory over the Broncos a week ago. It also gave me some encouragement about where prayer can still happen. People have tried to take prayer out of so many things, but prayer out of the NFL would cause a riot. I mean, nobody would want the entire Steelers football team to go after them...
Friday, January 20, 2006
It's late and I can't sleep!
So, here I am, it's late Friday night, my family has all gone to bed, and I am still awake just because. This happens often. I haven't quite figured out why that is. Am I the only person who is like this? No matter how early I get up, by the time everyone else has gone to bed I am still awake because I can't go to sleep. Even when I try to go to bed my eyes just won't close. And no, it is not because of all the caffine I drank in the morning. When I am tired I go to bed but lay there awake for about an hour just because I'm awake. The whole situation is weird. Does anyone else live like this? Am I alone in the universe? Am I some kind of alien and just don't know it yet?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Happy New Year!
I know, it is so late to say something like that, but who cares. Happy New Year! It's nice to be posting something for you to read for the first time this year!
Well, I don't have a bunch of time but here is what is going on in our world right now: Last weekend was the first week of the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign at our church! I am so excited about what is happening out here, the commitment level of our church as we pursue spiritual growth! Anastasia is about 3 months pregnant AGAIN!!! And yes, I do know what is causing that...Christopher and Timothy are growing quickly. Timothy can pull himself up and walk around while holding on to things now. They are just incredible boys! My brother just got engaged a month ago, finally! Life's been going pretty good I guess. God has really blessed us. I'll write more when I have time. As for now, love God because He loves you!
Peace
Well, I don't have a bunch of time but here is what is going on in our world right now: Last weekend was the first week of the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign at our church! I am so excited about what is happening out here, the commitment level of our church as we pursue spiritual growth! Anastasia is about 3 months pregnant AGAIN!!! And yes, I do know what is causing that...Christopher and Timothy are growing quickly. Timothy can pull himself up and walk around while holding on to things now. They are just incredible boys! My brother just got engaged a month ago, finally! Life's been going pretty good I guess. God has really blessed us. I'll write more when I have time. As for now, love God because He loves you!
Peace
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas to all!!!
Here's to you, hoping that you all had a wonderful day! Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
He Crawls!
For awhile now we have been trying to get our second son, Timothy, to start crawling. I don't know why we do this. It is so much easier when the kids stay put, then we know where they are. But they need to advance in their learning so we encourage them to become mobile. We try and get them to talk, then they start talking, and we want peace and quiet. Parents bring it upon themselves.
Anyways, ever since he figured out how to sit up from laying down, he has rolled around in a sitting position across the floor to get where he needed to go. He would fake like he was going to crawl, then sit back up, every time inching his way across the floor.
Today our older son was eating a biscuit in the living room and set it down on his plate on the floor. Timothy decided he wanted it. So he started to move forward. I grabbed the plate and began moving it backwards, and he kept moving forward! He was crawling!! Well, it finally happened. Both of our sons are mobile and it is Christmas time. So much for keeping the presents wrapped!
check out http://natesdevos.blogspot.com/ to continue the story
Anyways, ever since he figured out how to sit up from laying down, he has rolled around in a sitting position across the floor to get where he needed to go. He would fake like he was going to crawl, then sit back up, every time inching his way across the floor.
Today our older son was eating a biscuit in the living room and set it down on his plate on the floor. Timothy decided he wanted it. So he started to move forward. I grabbed the plate and began moving it backwards, and he kept moving forward! He was crawling!! Well, it finally happened. Both of our sons are mobile and it is Christmas time. So much for keeping the presents wrapped!
check out http://natesdevos.blogspot.com/ to continue the story
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
A Weird Reality
You know, Christians pray a lot of prayers asking God to speak to them plainly. It's not a bad prayer. We also ask God to show us who He is. We expect an experience, a moment where God just shines so brightly we can't miss Him. We also want to hear Him, literally with our ears, speak to us so we know what He wants. None of these things are wrong but...
I was reading the other day about Philip and Jesus. Before Jesus went to the cross He spent some time with the disciples, teaching them as much as He could, giving them what they needed to hear before he left them. Jesus was teaching and Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father and that would be enough. Jesus responded with a question: "Don't you even know me?" See, Philip asked a question every one of us ask Jesus about every day, "Show us the Father, reveal Yourself." One-sided questions with only one thing in mind - give us some proof of who You are, Lord, show me why I should believe in You now.
What's sad is that we keep asking to know who He is without doing anything about our request. How often do we meet people and ask them to tell us about themselves then leave their presence? How often do we hang out with our friends and want to get to know them personally and yet never really pay attention to how they respond to issues, or even how they normally dress? Philip was with Jesus a lot, traveling all over the country with Him and listening to Him teach. For some reason He didn't quite understand who Jesus was. Show us the Father!
Jesus has shown us the Father! Jesus said that if you have seen Him you have seen the Father. Do you want God to reveal Himself to you? Look in His word! Do you want Him to speak to you? Listen to His word! We spend so much time asking God to reveal Himself when He already is revealing Himself through His word. We spend so much time wanting God to show us who He is, we read, we pray, but we don't do. We look for Him our own way and miss Him in our daily life because we don't see Him as plainly as we like. Jesus made a comment during a parable that if you want to see Him look at the least. "Whatever you have done to the least of these you have done it unto me." And it's the same if we don't do anything. The people we pass on the road without a home, there He goes. The orphan in the alley or different country, there He sits. The least...
You want Jesus to show Himself? It's love. Later on Jesus tells His disciples that they need to abide in His love. How do we do that? Jesus said that we abide in His love when we obey His commands. What is His commandment? He said that the new commandment is to love one another.
The world doesn't know what love really is and has distorted the meaning of love and defined it as infatuation or lust. Advertisements on the internet with women dressed seductively have signs posted around them, "Find true love today!" What a bunch of balogna! True love is sincere, sacrificial, and completely unselfish. Loving as Jesus did means looking beyond ourselves to the needs of others, and then get over ourselves and go and meet the need. Showing love is being a servant. Jesus said that there is no greater love than one who lays down his life for his friends. Jesus did that on the cross...sacrificial love to the fullest extent.
So, you want the Father to show Himself to you? Abide in His love by keeping His commandment to love one another just like Jesus loves.
I was reading the other day about Philip and Jesus. Before Jesus went to the cross He spent some time with the disciples, teaching them as much as He could, giving them what they needed to hear before he left them. Jesus was teaching and Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father and that would be enough. Jesus responded with a question: "Don't you even know me?" See, Philip asked a question every one of us ask Jesus about every day, "Show us the Father, reveal Yourself." One-sided questions with only one thing in mind - give us some proof of who You are, Lord, show me why I should believe in You now.
What's sad is that we keep asking to know who He is without doing anything about our request. How often do we meet people and ask them to tell us about themselves then leave their presence? How often do we hang out with our friends and want to get to know them personally and yet never really pay attention to how they respond to issues, or even how they normally dress? Philip was with Jesus a lot, traveling all over the country with Him and listening to Him teach. For some reason He didn't quite understand who Jesus was. Show us the Father!
Jesus has shown us the Father! Jesus said that if you have seen Him you have seen the Father. Do you want God to reveal Himself to you? Look in His word! Do you want Him to speak to you? Listen to His word! We spend so much time asking God to reveal Himself when He already is revealing Himself through His word. We spend so much time wanting God to show us who He is, we read, we pray, but we don't do. We look for Him our own way and miss Him in our daily life because we don't see Him as plainly as we like. Jesus made a comment during a parable that if you want to see Him look at the least. "Whatever you have done to the least of these you have done it unto me." And it's the same if we don't do anything. The people we pass on the road without a home, there He goes. The orphan in the alley or different country, there He sits. The least...
You want Jesus to show Himself? It's love. Later on Jesus tells His disciples that they need to abide in His love. How do we do that? Jesus said that we abide in His love when we obey His commands. What is His commandment? He said that the new commandment is to love one another.
The world doesn't know what love really is and has distorted the meaning of love and defined it as infatuation or lust. Advertisements on the internet with women dressed seductively have signs posted around them, "Find true love today!" What a bunch of balogna! True love is sincere, sacrificial, and completely unselfish. Loving as Jesus did means looking beyond ourselves to the needs of others, and then get over ourselves and go and meet the need. Showing love is being a servant. Jesus said that there is no greater love than one who lays down his life for his friends. Jesus did that on the cross...sacrificial love to the fullest extent.
So, you want the Father to show Himself to you? Abide in His love by keeping His commandment to love one another just like Jesus loves.
Friday, November 04, 2005
The Truth is...
It's funny how for years people have been looking for the answer to the question, "What is truth?" Philosophers from long ago have asked the question and sought the answer but never found it. People look at stars, call psychics, perform deductions, but still can't seem to find "truth". Is truth solely a correct answer?
I can remember the first time I lied to my parents. I was five years old and had just gotten home from one of my teeball games. I hit my brother, he tattled, I lied. The truth still came out though. I was wrong and couldn't live with myself for not telling the truth. As I grew older I figured out how to tell "white lies", which are only half-truths, enough truth to keep me out of trouble and punishment. It is still a lie that I was telling. It would be like someone saying that they met your wife somewhere and became friends with her, but the truth doesn't stop there when there is an affair present. The truth is, is that no matter how we try and cover up whatever it is that we have done the truth will still prevail in some way.
I read a story in a book about a carpenter who had been honest all his life. His boss came to him and gave him charge over the building of the next house. The carpenter reasoned to himself that if he would use second grade and report it as first grade, he could skim the profits, and after everything would be finished no one would notice what he did. So he did it. After the house was built, the boss came to him and said, "Joe, you did excellent work! As a token of our gratitude for all the good, hard work you have done with us through the years, we have decided to give you this house!" Its' funny, the truth continues on. And all the lies that we continue to tell over and over eventually become our "home" or our way of life--we have to live in it and live with it! Even though no one else knew about what the carpenter did, he still knew. Every lie we tell we have to live with.
We have all heard it said that the truth never changes. The truth is, a lie does change the truth. And when that happens the truth is no longer a truth.
We have also heard the expression, "Truth hurts." It does. No one likes to hear that they have been wrong. But if people would have done the right thing they wouldn't have been told that what they did was wrong. I read in 2 Timothy 4 that people will get tired of listening to the truth, so they will hire people who tell them what they want to hear. Well, sometimes what people want to hear and what they need to hear are two different things. The truth is, if the truth hurts then something is wrong, and if it deosn't then maybe something is ok. But most of us get defensive when we are told the truth. If we are to learn how to become a better person we need to hear the truth in order to change.
The truth is, Jesus reigns. God is God and we are not. The truth is, there is a heaven and there is a hell. Those who say they don't believe it are simply denying the truth! And even is that isn't enough they will be proven in the end. The Bible says in Matthew 16:27 that Jesus will come and judge each person according to what they have done. So believing is not all there is to Christianity, but proving you believe and love Jesus is also part of it (James 2). He won't judge people according to what they believe but according to what they have done during their life on earth. The truth is, Jesus is coming back again. The truth is, America has hired people to say what they want to hear and we all are suffering from it! The thing Amerca doesn't need to hear is one more comment that excludes the need for morality, truth, honesty, purity, doing what is right, God, respect, and honor. We need to hear the truth!!! There is a right and wrong, deceiving people gets us nowhere in life but earns disrespect, love is not sex but something deeper that looks beyond our emotions and into whole-hearted service, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him!!!
The truth...I found it. We have been looking for it all along and keep running around in circles. Here is the truth. It is written in John 17: 17. Jesus is praying for His disciples before He went to the cross. He said in His prayer, "Sanctify them by the truth; YOUR WORD IS TRUTH." There it is, y'all. The truth is the Word of God, the Bible, God's love letter to us. Are you looking for the truth? I found it and I am telling it to you...it is Jesus.
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I can remember the first time I lied to my parents. I was five years old and had just gotten home from one of my teeball games. I hit my brother, he tattled, I lied. The truth still came out though. I was wrong and couldn't live with myself for not telling the truth. As I grew older I figured out how to tell "white lies", which are only half-truths, enough truth to keep me out of trouble and punishment. It is still a lie that I was telling. It would be like someone saying that they met your wife somewhere and became friends with her, but the truth doesn't stop there when there is an affair present. The truth is, is that no matter how we try and cover up whatever it is that we have done the truth will still prevail in some way.
I read a story in a book about a carpenter who had been honest all his life. His boss came to him and gave him charge over the building of the next house. The carpenter reasoned to himself that if he would use second grade and report it as first grade, he could skim the profits, and after everything would be finished no one would notice what he did. So he did it. After the house was built, the boss came to him and said, "Joe, you did excellent work! As a token of our gratitude for all the good, hard work you have done with us through the years, we have decided to give you this house!" Its' funny, the truth continues on. And all the lies that we continue to tell over and over eventually become our "home" or our way of life--we have to live in it and live with it! Even though no one else knew about what the carpenter did, he still knew. Every lie we tell we have to live with.
We have all heard it said that the truth never changes. The truth is, a lie does change the truth. And when that happens the truth is no longer a truth.
We have also heard the expression, "Truth hurts." It does. No one likes to hear that they have been wrong. But if people would have done the right thing they wouldn't have been told that what they did was wrong. I read in 2 Timothy 4 that people will get tired of listening to the truth, so they will hire people who tell them what they want to hear. Well, sometimes what people want to hear and what they need to hear are two different things. The truth is, if the truth hurts then something is wrong, and if it deosn't then maybe something is ok. But most of us get defensive when we are told the truth. If we are to learn how to become a better person we need to hear the truth in order to change.
The truth is, Jesus reigns. God is God and we are not. The truth is, there is a heaven and there is a hell. Those who say they don't believe it are simply denying the truth! And even is that isn't enough they will be proven in the end. The Bible says in Matthew 16:27 that Jesus will come and judge each person according to what they have done. So believing is not all there is to Christianity, but proving you believe and love Jesus is also part of it (James 2). He won't judge people according to what they believe but according to what they have done during their life on earth. The truth is, Jesus is coming back again. The truth is, America has hired people to say what they want to hear and we all are suffering from it! The thing Amerca doesn't need to hear is one more comment that excludes the need for morality, truth, honesty, purity, doing what is right, God, respect, and honor. We need to hear the truth!!! There is a right and wrong, deceiving people gets us nowhere in life but earns disrespect, love is not sex but something deeper that looks beyond our emotions and into whole-hearted service, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him!!!
The truth...I found it. We have been looking for it all along and keep running around in circles. Here is the truth. It is written in John 17: 17. Jesus is praying for His disciples before He went to the cross. He said in His prayer, "Sanctify them by the truth; YOUR WORD IS TRUTH." There it is, y'all. The truth is the Word of God, the Bible, God's love letter to us. Are you looking for the truth? I found it and I am telling it to you...it is Jesus.
email me for more info
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Finally!!!
Well, here it is...finally!! The long awaited blog that people have been begging me to make for some reason. Actually, they weren't begging me to make it but it is nice to think that I can make someone happy by finally putting one up for them. I have to admit, trying to come up with stuff to write about is an interesting attempt for me to pursue. But I will attempt nonetheless.
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