“I believe the promises of God enough to stake an eternity on them.” G. Campbell Morgan
What are you staking your eternity on?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Humor
It is interesting how we use humor to deal with that which is most painful. Yet, that is what wew do. Rachel and I will often joke about being “nuts.” I think it is because if we cannot laugh, then we will spend most of our time crying.
Truth is, life is painful. We live in a fallen world, seperated from our Maker because we chose to sin against Him. We were warned of the consequences, but as is always the case, we disobeyed. It’s like the sign on the park bench that says, “Wet paint;” we just have to reach out and touch it just to see if it really is wet. What do we think, that the owner of the bench is secretly trying to keep us from enjoying sitting on his bench? Who does he think he is anyway?
It really is an old story. Back in the beginning, in the Garden, God told man he could eat from any tree in the Garden except the one called, “The knowledge of Good and Evil.” So the woman was deceived and the man? He chose to deliberately disobey God. Who did He think He was anyway to try and keep us from enjoying eating from His forbidden tree? Was He trying to keep us from something enjoyable? Who did He think He was anyway? So, now we live in a world of our own making and when things go bad guess who we blame?
Yet something wonderful happened. The one who made us came and lived among us. He told us of His great love for us, then demonstrated it by taking our punishment for disobeying Him. Then He rose from the dead and returned to Heaven. Instead of condemning us to an everlastting punishment, He extends to us forgiveness to us and invites us to live with Him simply by believing and accepting what He did for us. That’s all, just by believing.
Jesus makes life worth enduring. Most of us are broken somehow. Most of us have some kind of pain. Almost all of those who post comments here at this site have been hurt, beating, aboused, abandoned, used, and bullied by some one at one time or another.
The abundant life Jesus promised comes from believing Him. Sometimes we are delivered out of the trials; sometimes we are delivered through the trials. Jesus never promised a pain free life; but He did promise to be with us always. And that’s good enough…
Truth is, life is painful. We live in a fallen world, seperated from our Maker because we chose to sin against Him. We were warned of the consequences, but as is always the case, we disobeyed. It’s like the sign on the park bench that says, “Wet paint;” we just have to reach out and touch it just to see if it really is wet. What do we think, that the owner of the bench is secretly trying to keep us from enjoying sitting on his bench? Who does he think he is anyway?
It really is an old story. Back in the beginning, in the Garden, God told man he could eat from any tree in the Garden except the one called, “The knowledge of Good and Evil.” So the woman was deceived and the man? He chose to deliberately disobey God. Who did He think He was anyway to try and keep us from enjoying eating from His forbidden tree? Was He trying to keep us from something enjoyable? Who did He think He was anyway? So, now we live in a world of our own making and when things go bad guess who we blame?
Yet something wonderful happened. The one who made us came and lived among us. He told us of His great love for us, then demonstrated it by taking our punishment for disobeying Him. Then He rose from the dead and returned to Heaven. Instead of condemning us to an everlastting punishment, He extends to us forgiveness to us and invites us to live with Him simply by believing and accepting what He did for us. That’s all, just by believing.
Jesus makes life worth enduring. Most of us are broken somehow. Most of us have some kind of pain. Almost all of those who post comments here at this site have been hurt, beating, aboused, abandoned, used, and bullied by some one at one time or another.
The abundant life Jesus promised comes from believing Him. Sometimes we are delivered out of the trials; sometimes we are delivered through the trials. Jesus never promised a pain free life; but He did promise to be with us always. And that’s good enough…
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Words of Wisdom from Mike MacIntosh
Now when [Jesus] got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
Matthew 8:23-26
I love music. Back in the early 1970's, I helped my pastor, Chuck Smith, start an outreach called Maranatha! Music. Contemporary Christian music didn't exist, and we were able to help get it started. It was an exciting time of ministry. I'll never forget that Monday afternoon, though, when Chuck sat down with me in my office and told me that he thought it was time for me to leave.
What? Leave? Sure, I'd asked to leave a few times before, but he'd never actually agreed! I only made $75 a week; I had no savings account. Christmas was coming, and I had a wife and three kids at the time. I bawled like a baby. I felt like such a failure, like there was so much more I could have done in the three years I'd been involved. But Chuck said lovingly, "Mike, you've done a good job. We'll give you a month's salary so you can get prepared to go to San Diego."
It's hard to move. It's hard to change. But had my pastor not taken the step to clip the umbilical cord for me, I would have missed out on all that the Lord has done here in San Diego. The Lord needed to shake things up in my life so that many others would be saved.
We all experience storms in our lives. We see here in Matthew 8 that the disciples literally feared for their lives when "suddenly a great tempest arose" and threatened their boat. That word, "tempest," literally means, "a shaking, a commotion, or an earthquake." And notice it hit "suddenly." The disciples were caught off-guard, and reacted with swift panic, crying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But what was a surprise to the disciples was no surprise to Jesus. Not only did He know the storm would hit before they ever stepped foot in the boat, but He also had the power to calm it.
You see, God uses storms in our lives to shake us. We like to be in control, but storms remind us to "let go and let God." He wants to stretch our faith, to get us outside our comfort zone, and to demonstrate His power in our lives. Sometimes we can see the storm coming, and sometimes we can't. But we must always remember that Jesus is in control, not us. Storms do not surprise or intimidate Him.
Today, Jesus has the power to calm every storm in your life. In those moments when you feel overwhelmed by the waves crashing around you, and the winds blowing against you, trust Him to bring a great calm.
Matthew 8:23-26
I love music. Back in the early 1970's, I helped my pastor, Chuck Smith, start an outreach called Maranatha! Music. Contemporary Christian music didn't exist, and we were able to help get it started. It was an exciting time of ministry. I'll never forget that Monday afternoon, though, when Chuck sat down with me in my office and told me that he thought it was time for me to leave.
What? Leave? Sure, I'd asked to leave a few times before, but he'd never actually agreed! I only made $75 a week; I had no savings account. Christmas was coming, and I had a wife and three kids at the time. I bawled like a baby. I felt like such a failure, like there was so much more I could have done in the three years I'd been involved. But Chuck said lovingly, "Mike, you've done a good job. We'll give you a month's salary so you can get prepared to go to San Diego."
It's hard to move. It's hard to change. But had my pastor not taken the step to clip the umbilical cord for me, I would have missed out on all that the Lord has done here in San Diego. The Lord needed to shake things up in my life so that many others would be saved.
We all experience storms in our lives. We see here in Matthew 8 that the disciples literally feared for their lives when "suddenly a great tempest arose" and threatened their boat. That word, "tempest," literally means, "a shaking, a commotion, or an earthquake." And notice it hit "suddenly." The disciples were caught off-guard, and reacted with swift panic, crying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But what was a surprise to the disciples was no surprise to Jesus. Not only did He know the storm would hit before they ever stepped foot in the boat, but He also had the power to calm it.
You see, God uses storms in our lives to shake us. We like to be in control, but storms remind us to "let go and let God." He wants to stretch our faith, to get us outside our comfort zone, and to demonstrate His power in our lives. Sometimes we can see the storm coming, and sometimes we can't. But we must always remember that Jesus is in control, not us. Storms do not surprise or intimidate Him.
Today, Jesus has the power to calm every storm in your life. In those moments when you feel overwhelmed by the waves crashing around you, and the winds blowing against you, trust Him to bring a great calm.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Update on Floyd
Floyd recovering so well, the doctors said that he could come home. While he will need some speech therapy, he is expected to make a full recovery. Thanks for praying!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Prayer Update
My friend Floyd, appears to be slowly regaining his ability to talk. Thank you all for praying.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Prayer Request
My very good friend, Floyd, has had a stroke that has left him unable to speak. He is a committed Christian. Please pray that he will regain the ability to speak and that this will cause no lasting damage.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Defeat of the United States of Rome
The following is taken from an excellent blog (that I don't always agree with, but I always respect) http://defendingcontending.com/
Martin Llyoyd-Jones (1899-1981) offers a sobering warning from the grave:
If the West goes down and is defeated, it will be for one reason only: internal rot . . . If we continue to spend our lives in jollification, doing less and less work, demanding more and more money, more and more pleasure and so-called happiness, more and more indulgence of the lusts of the flesh, with a refusal to accept our responsibilities, there is but one inevitable result—complete and abject failure. Why did the Goths and Vandals and other barbarians conquer the ancient Roman Empire? Was it by superior military power? Of course not! Historians know that there is only one answer: the fall of Rome came because of the spirit of indulgence that had invaded the Roman world—the games, the pleasures, the baths. The moral rot that had entered into the heart of the Roman Empire was the cause of Rome’s “decline and fall.” It was not superior power from the outside, but internal rot that was Rome’s ruination. And the really alarming fact today is that we are witnessing a similar declension in this and most other Western countries. This slackness, this indiscipline, the whole outlook and spirit is characteristic of a period of decadence. The pleasure mania, the sports mania, the drink and drug mania have gripped the masses.
Martin Llyoyd-Jones (1899-1981) offers a sobering warning from the grave:
If the West goes down and is defeated, it will be for one reason only: internal rot . . . If we continue to spend our lives in jollification, doing less and less work, demanding more and more money, more and more pleasure and so-called happiness, more and more indulgence of the lusts of the flesh, with a refusal to accept our responsibilities, there is but one inevitable result—complete and abject failure. Why did the Goths and Vandals and other barbarians conquer the ancient Roman Empire? Was it by superior military power? Of course not! Historians know that there is only one answer: the fall of Rome came because of the spirit of indulgence that had invaded the Roman world—the games, the pleasures, the baths. The moral rot that had entered into the heart of the Roman Empire was the cause of Rome’s “decline and fall.” It was not superior power from the outside, but internal rot that was Rome’s ruination. And the really alarming fact today is that we are witnessing a similar declension in this and most other Western countries. This slackness, this indiscipline, the whole outlook and spirit is characteristic of a period of decadence. The pleasure mania, the sports mania, the drink and drug mania have gripped the masses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)