You ever have one of those kinds of relationships or friends who, if you did not take the initiative, you'd never talk? Well, i mean, some may just not be interested in talking to the other person, thats cool. But I mean the ones who are just too darned busy to take time out of their busy schedule to not call you, but just drop a simple email from a computer that they spend approx. 4 hr/day on anyway. Anyway, Shabana called me tonight and brightened my dim life. I also got a chance to wish her happy birthday! So happy Birthday Shabana!
Vball tonight was good but some of it sucked. I think some of the players were also playing 'see who can be the funniest' while playing vball. Each time someone threw the ball to the server he had to either bomb it at him or throw it at the wall above him or make him miss or whatever. It was frustrating to want to play semi serious games and then have them just fool around. Not only that but new comers want to make their own versions of the rules of the game. Whatever, right?
sigh
what else?
I got a letter from Logesh Manoharan who is in India. He is my boy through Compassion International. His letter said:
Dear Sponsor MR. JEFFREY MYERS:
LOGESH MANOHARAN writing this letter. I am fine. Hope you are also fine there. I am studying IIIrd standard. I like studying all the subject. I score 100 marks in all the subject. I like playing Cricket. During the evening I go the park to play in the swing. My Father name is T.N.Manoharan. He is daily wager. My Mother name is Chellammal. She is working in Textile company. I have one elder brother. His name is Anand. I have one elder sister, Her name is Tharani. Thanks for your letter. Write about you pray for me. My parents express their thanks to you. I am praying for you.
Your Loving sponsored son,
LOGESH MANOHARAN
It is humbling to have a child on the other side of the world in the conditions that he lives in telling me that he will pray for me. His father make 21$/month when he works!
How does one really determine where God's wants them and what His will really is for them? Is it just doing what we really want to do and then convince our selves it's God's will? Still searching on that one.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Ellen
Ellen called ------------ very depressed. She said she had nearly attempted suicide two months ago. As she talked, Ellen made it clear that she was willing to try again. She kept saying that there was no hope. She stated that she had prayed that God would change her many times, but her fears only got worse. Though she has a steady job, all interaction with people scared her. About a month ago, a friend offered to drive her to a therapist, but on the way, Ellen said she couldn’t go through with it and made her friend bring her back home. Despite a lengthy conversation with --------------------, Ellen resisted suggestions that there were alternatives and would not agree to a "Contract for Life." --------- determined that an intervention was necessary. Local officials were contacted. After they assessed Ellen, she was admitted to a hospital for treatment.
Pathetic
I have just read something and all I can say is, "pathetic, you are truly pathetic, and at the same time content in your little world of supporters". So all in all i guess thats ok, right. if someone is content no matter how pathetic one may think they are.. as long as they are content that's all that matters .... to them anyway.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
The funny thing is
There is one thing that is true no matter what else happens in the world, life goes on. I have to convince myself now that I can either hang on something that happened and in effect live for the past, or look fwd to what is yet to come and deal with the present. Now if only i member that
John 12:26
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
If only
I look beyond the empty cross forgetting what my life has cost and wipe away the crimson stains and dull the nails that still remain More and more I need you now, I owe you more each passing hour the battle between grace and pride I gave up not so long ago So steal my heart and take the pain and wash the feet and cleanse my pride take the selfish, take the weak, and all the things I cannot hide take the beauty, take my tears the sin-soaked heart and make it yours take my world all apart take it now, take it now and serve the ones that I despise speak the words I can't deny watch the world I used to love fall to dust and thrown away
Quote
Came across this and it made me think.
"Most people only make one mistake in life - They fail to give there life to the Lord - Everything else, is the result of there first mistake."
"Most people only make one mistake in life - They fail to give there life to the Lord - Everything else, is the result of there first mistake."
Monday, September 13, 2004
My life?
You ever have someone try to run your life when you didn't want them to? It works for me and I am now telling you. Say to them, "Get a life dude, go away!".
Oh, there's other people?
One of the best thing about haveing 164 first cousins... Oh there are other people in the world?
Alcohol and Christians
Alcohol and Christians-Do they mix, should they mix? I've been told that they do mix and they should mix. But I think that they do not mix and they should not mix. Alot of people use scripture to see how much it allows them to do. They use it to draw the line for them and then see how close to the line they can get. But what the heck, right, if we go over the line that scripture allows, then grace kicks in and we're cool anyway. That's not how it works! It seems that some people think that the Christian life is like the perfect machine with all the right saftey features. "I'm allowed to do this to this extent but no more. But in the event that I go past the line allowed by God, , the saftey feature of grace will kick in and i'm safe anyway". That seems to be the mind-set. But it's not true. All the scriptures that say that Jesus drank wine and all that are null in this day and age. And especially null after reading 1 Thessalonians 5:22 "Avoid even the appearance of evil". To put it in context, think of it like this- You walk into a party and see everyone holding a can of Miller or a bottle of Mikes Lemonade, do we think Christian? Most would say not. My point is that Jesus said that we will be recognized as Christians by how we behave/act or something to that effect. I think that we would be stating that Christians can't have fun without be intoxicated. And to disagree would be crazy because if it were no so, then why alcohol, why not soda. The answer must be because alcohol has an affect on the body that soda cannot have. Therefore intoxicating. Sure, maybe not serious intoxication but an effect none the less. The reason why I even brought up the subject is because this past week instead of going to church, a bunch of kids were supplied with alcohol by a 26 year old dim-wit and most of them helped themselves to it. Now the reason for the subject is if it were ok for Christians to drink. Then why should I be concerned for the kids? Just for the reason that they are not 21? I don't think that is the problem here. (actually the whole prob was peer pressure) but that's beside the point. If alcohol is ok for Christians, then why not drugs too?? They have the same effect to some extent.
I prayed a collective prayer for anyone who uses the Bible to support their 'social drinking'. I think it is more of a 'giving into the peer pressure' of their unsaved or backsliding friends. I don't think there is anyone who would disagree that alcohol is the biggest destroyer of familys, of lives, etc. It's just wrong!
I prayed a collective prayer for anyone who uses the Bible to support their 'social drinking'. I think it is more of a 'giving into the peer pressure' of their unsaved or backsliding friends. I don't think there is anyone who would disagree that alcohol is the biggest destroyer of familys, of lives, etc. It's just wrong!
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Home on the Range
That's where dinner was tonight. We had hot roastbeef and chicken. then we turned the range off. :)
Back from vaca. It was a pretty good vaca. Good volleyball and good fishing. Oh yeh, and good nappin. I got my share of afternoon naps in too.
But after a long vaca. I'm still not back to my normal self. I'm not sure what's wrong with me, maybe just my time of the month.... oh wait, that is the girl's excuse.
Back from vaca. It was a pretty good vaca. Good volleyball and good fishing. Oh yeh, and good nappin. I got my share of afternoon naps in too.
But after a long vaca. I'm still not back to my normal self. I'm not sure what's wrong with me, maybe just my time of the month.... oh wait, that is the girl's excuse.
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
The Passion
The Passion of the Christ came out on DVD today. I haven't seen it yet. For some reason I didn't go get it yet, but I will sooner of later.
Volleyball
Volleyball rocked tonight! It was better than last week. Only half the ppl showed up but hte other half were in OC soakin up the rays. *jealous* . But i'm waiting patiently, i'll take the next week off. Can't promise I'll be on the beach.. but ill be in OC anyway.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Air Pics
Thursday, August 26, 2004
110 Questions
For the sake of my boredom, I stole this from someone elses blog.
QUESTIONS...
1. Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend: No
2. Do you have a crush: No
3. Do you love anyone right now: Yes
4. Have you ever been in love: Yes
5. How many people have you kissed: a few
6. Who was your first kiss: my first gf
7. How many hearts have you broken: Alot?
8. How many people broke your heart: idk
9. So what is your bf/gf/crush like: I just said i dont have either
10. Do you go by looks or personality: Both, in that order
11. Ever kiss a friend: Yes
12. Are you still friends: Yes
13. Do you smoke: Nope
14. Do you smoke weed: Nope
15. Ever trip on acid: Uh...no
16. X?: No thanks
17. Crack, heroin, anything else: No
18. Beer good or beer bad: Bad
19. Are you the sissy who drinks wine coolers: Nope
20. Prefer beer or liquor: Liquor.. when I drank
21. What kind of cigarettes do you smoke: I dont
22. Are you a virgin: Yes
23. If no, when was the last time you got some:
WOULD YOU...
24. Bungee jump: Yes
25. Sky dive: Yes
26. Swim with dolphins: Yes
27. Scuba dive: Yes
28. Go rock climbing: Yes
29. Eat shit for $1,000,000: hahah right.. NOPE
30. Turn your back on your friends for personal gain: No
31. Steal a friend's boyfriend/girlfriend: Nope
32. Cross-dress: haha .. No
33. Lie to the police: Probably
34. Run from the police: Yes
35. Lie to your parents: Maybe...:)
36. Walk up to a stranger and kiss them: No
37. Be an exotic dancer: No-scary thought
38. Walk out of a restaurant without paying: No
EITHER OR...
67. Rock or rap: Rap
68. Rock or pop: Rock
69. Rock or punk: Punk
70. Rock or metal: Rock
71. Rap or pop: Rap
72. Rap or r&b: Rap
73. Rap or metal: Rap
74. Pop or emo: What the sniff is emo
75. Pop or metal: Pop
76. R&b or metal: R&B
77. Linkin park or limp bizkit: Limp Bizkit
78. Tool or korn: dunno either of them
79. Selena or jennifer lopez: dont know them too good.. prob JLo
80. Hot or cold: Cold
81. Winter or summer: Winter
82. Spring or fall: Fall
83. Shakira or britney: Shakira?
84. Icp or eminem: Eminem
85. Marilyn manson or rob zombie: whatever
86. Kittie or garbage: ??
87. Mtv or vh1: Don't own a TV
88. Buffy or angel: Buffy
89. Dawson's creek or gilmore girls: See 87
90. Football or basketball: Football
91. Summer olympics or winter olympics: Winter...?
92. Skiing or snowboarding: Don't do either after getting hurt too many times
93. Rollarblading or skateboarding: Rollerblading
94. Black or white: Black
95. Orange or red: Orange
96. Yellow or green: Yellow?
97. Purple or pink: Purple
98. Slipknot or mudvayne: Slipknot,... maybe
99. Hot topic or pac sun: Not sure
100. Inside or outside: I'm on the beach
101. Weed or alcohol: Alcohol, if i had to choose
102. Cell phone or pager: Cell
103. Pen or pencil: Pencil!
104. Powerpuff girls or charlie's angels: Charlie's Angels
105. Scooby doo or dino: Scooby Doo
106. Dragon ball z or pokemon: Im not a dork
107. Star wars or star trek: sorry there too
108. Tattoos or piercings: Peircings
109. Prep or punk: Punk
110. Slut or whore: me? Haha, interesting
QUESTIONS...
1. Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend: No
2. Do you have a crush: No
3. Do you love anyone right now: Yes
4. Have you ever been in love: Yes
5. How many people have you kissed: a few
6. Who was your first kiss: my first gf
7. How many hearts have you broken: Alot?
8. How many people broke your heart: idk
9. So what is your bf/gf/crush like: I just said i dont have either
10. Do you go by looks or personality: Both, in that order
11. Ever kiss a friend: Yes
12. Are you still friends: Yes
13. Do you smoke: Nope
14. Do you smoke weed: Nope
15. Ever trip on acid: Uh...no
16. X?: No thanks
17. Crack, heroin, anything else: No
18. Beer good or beer bad: Bad
19. Are you the sissy who drinks wine coolers: Nope
20. Prefer beer or liquor: Liquor.. when I drank
21. What kind of cigarettes do you smoke: I dont
22. Are you a virgin: Yes
23. If no, when was the last time you got some:
WOULD YOU...
24. Bungee jump: Yes
25. Sky dive: Yes
26. Swim with dolphins: Yes
27. Scuba dive: Yes
28. Go rock climbing: Yes
29. Eat shit for $1,000,000: hahah right.. NOPE
30. Turn your back on your friends for personal gain: No
31. Steal a friend's boyfriend/girlfriend: Nope
32. Cross-dress: haha .. No
33. Lie to the police: Probably
34. Run from the police: Yes
35. Lie to your parents: Maybe...:)
36. Walk up to a stranger and kiss them: No
37. Be an exotic dancer: No-scary thought
38. Walk out of a restaurant without paying: No
EITHER OR...
67. Rock or rap: Rap
68. Rock or pop: Rock
69. Rock or punk: Punk
70. Rock or metal: Rock
71. Rap or pop: Rap
72. Rap or r&b: Rap
73. Rap or metal: Rap
74. Pop or emo: What the sniff is emo
75. Pop or metal: Pop
76. R&b or metal: R&B
77. Linkin park or limp bizkit: Limp Bizkit
78. Tool or korn: dunno either of them
79. Selena or jennifer lopez: dont know them too good.. prob JLo
80. Hot or cold: Cold
81. Winter or summer: Winter
82. Spring or fall: Fall
83. Shakira or britney: Shakira?
84. Icp or eminem: Eminem
85. Marilyn manson or rob zombie: whatever
86. Kittie or garbage: ??
87. Mtv or vh1: Don't own a TV
88. Buffy or angel: Buffy
89. Dawson's creek or gilmore girls: See 87
90. Football or basketball: Football
91. Summer olympics or winter olympics: Winter...?
92. Skiing or snowboarding: Don't do either after getting hurt too many times
93. Rollarblading or skateboarding: Rollerblading
94. Black or white: Black
95. Orange or red: Orange
96. Yellow or green: Yellow?
97. Purple or pink: Purple
98. Slipknot or mudvayne: Slipknot,... maybe
99. Hot topic or pac sun: Not sure
100. Inside or outside: I'm on the beach
101. Weed or alcohol: Alcohol, if i had to choose
102. Cell phone or pager: Cell
103. Pen or pencil: Pencil!
104. Powerpuff girls or charlie's angels: Charlie's Angels
105. Scooby doo or dino: Scooby Doo
106. Dragon ball z or pokemon: Im not a dork
107. Star wars or star trek: sorry there too
108. Tattoos or piercings: Peircings
109. Prep or punk: Punk
110. Slut or whore: me? Haha, interesting
Confusion
If someone insinuates that they want to be a father figure you think you'd expect certain things. Well, here is what I would expect from someone who 'voluntarily' assumes that they have a responsibility. I would expect something OTHER than ONLY telling when I do something they don't think is right. You see, if i'm doing something that they wouldn't think is right, I would already know and for that reason not tell them. But oh well, i'm prob not makin sense. Idk, I mean, if they only time a person makes the effort to talk to me is when they are telling me I should stop doing things, "THAT SUCKS"! But then again, maybe it's me.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Death
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Volleyball
Volleyball tonight was fun, I might just play two hours next week though.
I am looking fwd to my vaca in OC Labor Day week more than I have in any of my 26 years of going down there.
A vaca for me is just bummin n chillin.. nothing planned no schedules or deadlines.. sleep till 10 stay up till 2-3 a.m. .. So if you plan a road trip.. IM OUT! ! ! haha
I am looking fwd to my vaca in OC Labor Day week more than I have in any of my 26 years of going down there.
A vaca for me is just bummin n chillin.. nothing planned no schedules or deadlines.. sleep till 10 stay up till 2-3 a.m. .. So if you plan a road trip.. IM OUT! ! ! haha
Monday, August 23, 2004
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Hit & Run
Well at least my night was not boring and dull. I got wacked by another car tryin to flip a B ! Well at least I gave those puerto Ricans a good scare, even tho I really dont have the connections that I insinuated. But after chasing them for 5 blocks and cutting them off. they were docile little creatures.
Life-how strange
Life is pretty strange. It's been almost one month past 7 years since my parents were gone. It's weird though, I mean, while I would want it no other way, there is still the side of me that wishes something were different. Tonight, i missed them like i'd miss my left arm if it were cut off. Other times i forget to think about them. I guess it depends on when I would want them to be there. I think back at how selfish I was even while my dad was on his death bed. I still wanted to go out and hang w/friends. But thats how i was, I learned from that. But why would i have had it any other way, none of us really thought that he would really die, did we? Naive as we were we never lost faith and never thought that he was going to really die. the comfort in all of this? God, he has got it all under control and it was all planned from the start.
JF
JF
Saturday, August 21, 2004
that rock and hard place thing
You know how they say you're between a rock and a hard place? Well I feel like I'm there. It's one of those things where I know what I want to do, but i'm not sure what I should do. But, I'll prob do my normal thing and just not do it just because it's easier not to. That is one trait about me that I don't particularly care for. I'm not sure where that actually developed from, but I have my suspicions.
Friday, August 20, 2004
Sense ??
Picture a tornado like you see in story books. at the top its a really big circle of air. then at its gets down to the bottom it gets narrower and faster and faster. I'm thinking my life is like one of those tornados and im getting to the small swirly part!! Like its big and grand and just coasting along up high. but come back down toward earth and its gets faster and more furious and prone to do damage!
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Moods
You ever deal with someone that their moods changed so much in a short period of time that you eventually became reluctant to do/say certain things (that they would normally be receptive to) because you were not sure the current mood? One day they laugh, the next they stare as though you committed the un-pardonable sin. One day that say 'thanks for the help' the next they say 'why do you always butt in my work'. Go figure.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Call off the alert!!
It's amazing! I only put these black socks in the wash twice a year practically because they always disapear. And, once again they have disappeared.. but fret not,, i've found them. You see with 9 peoples wash being done by one person, its easy to lose things such as my "Sunday Socks".
call off the alert.. i've found them.
call off the alert.. i've found them.
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Vote Democrat = Hate America?
Well, that is a harsh statement and the Christians who support Democrats will be offended. I am not the most well informed person when it comes to politics and I know that most people at partisan when it comes to elections anyway. You see, it's bad enough the things that John Kerry says and I won't get into that. It is more what his supporters do, no I don't mean his cronies. I mean the radical demonstrators that plan to disrupt the Republican National Convention in New York. Tom Hayden for one. First off and briefly he is asking for volunteers to disrupt NJT during the convention and shut it down. Then he is asking for 6 million volunteers to flood Madison Square Garden area. Is the man really insane? All this plus more that he is planning while he is well aware that al qeada is planning to detonate an Atom Bomb-a nuclear bomb in Madison Square Garden during the convention! A bomb similar to Hiroshima! The CIA has plausible reports that al qeada does indeed have a 10 kiloton nuclear bomb and they also have reason to believe it is infact in NY already. The fact is, there was such a bomb stolen from Russia, (which has several of them). So, if Tom Hayden knowing that possibility of an "American Hiroshima" still wants to clog NY with people, I would hope that is reason enough for his arrest at least until after the convention. (oh wait, that wouldn't be being tolerant!!)
In summary, this is what people will do for the Democratic party and for a man who is not fit for command. And now I only ask Christians this question, but are you still going to vote Democrat (if indeed you do vote)?
Ok, so maybe al qeada's plan will be foiled. What if there is just a bomb scare or other event that calls for evacuation. Madison Square Garden and NYC would be mayhem with just an extra 600,000 people! Tom Hayden, John Kerry, and all the other Democratic party supporters, "Get to know Jesus Christ as your Savior. Hell is a terrible place".
In summary, this is what people will do for the Democratic party and for a man who is not fit for command. And now I only ask Christians this question, but are you still going to vote Democrat (if indeed you do vote)?
Ok, so maybe al qeada's plan will be foiled. What if there is just a bomb scare or other event that calls for evacuation. Madison Square Garden and NYC would be mayhem with just an extra 600,000 people! Tom Hayden, John Kerry, and all the other Democratic party supporters, "Get to know Jesus Christ as your Savior. Hell is a terrible place".
Monday, August 16, 2004
Dirty Word
I'm beginning to think 'tolerant' is a dirty word. So many churches today and so many Christians today think that we have to be tolerant of everyone. "They are entitled to their own opinions and beliefs so we have to be tolerant of them" they say. Well that's not true. If we do not speak out against something that we disagree with when given the chance, the assumption is made that we are for it, when in reality we may just be 'tolerating' it.
The first century Christians at Ephesus actually got it, they knew what it was all about. In Revelation 2;2-3 Jesus himself said to the church at Ephesus, "I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary." We will notice when we read the next verse, 4, that Jesus says they have all that but they have left their first love. The point being, Jesus Christ himself commended that church for being intolerant of things that were clearly against the Truth of God's Word! And nothing has changed on His part since then.. it is the so-called Christians and the Church as a whole that is falling back and slacking and starting to think that we have to be tolerant of every religion and lifestyle. So who do we roll with? Jesus Christ saying 'be intolerant' or the 21st century professed Christians and left wing politicians saying 'we must be tolerant of everyone'. I choose Jesus Christ, how about you????
The first century Christians at Ephesus actually got it, they knew what it was all about. In Revelation 2;2-3 Jesus himself said to the church at Ephesus, "I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary." We will notice when we read the next verse, 4, that Jesus says they have all that but they have left their first love. The point being, Jesus Christ himself commended that church for being intolerant of things that were clearly against the Truth of God's Word! And nothing has changed on His part since then.. it is the so-called Christians and the Church as a whole that is falling back and slacking and starting to think that we have to be tolerant of every religion and lifestyle. So who do we roll with? Jesus Christ saying 'be intolerant' or the 21st century professed Christians and left wing politicians saying 'we must be tolerant of everyone'. I choose Jesus Christ, how about you????
Reality
You ever have something happen, or someone say something that must booted you back into reality?? I mean you could be goin along fine and think everything is cool and then be reminded that other people also have their own opinions and sometime share them harshly so that they blow whatever you were thinking, right out of the water!! It's a good thing and a bad thing-so I'll take it as it comes. But I guess the worst part about it is if you wer genuinely trying to help someone and they blow you off with an attitude. Oh well, just get back up and brush yo self off!
Left work a few minutes early today. It's amazing how much 10 minutes at the end of the day are valued when you get to leave early. It makes the evening last longer or something.
It's amusing-my boss was repremanding me about how I handeled another employee. I told my boss, "All you have to do is say the word and I won't get involved in his business again" I told him, "Any given day he is 50% more productive because of me, but if you think im that much of a hindrance, just tell me and he's all yours!". To that my boss said,, "Hmmm I don't know now, maybe I shouldn't say anything".. I just laughed and told him thats what I thought. Humorous to say the least.. My boss is a funny man..
Sometime I think we should have the right to smack certain people upside the head. e.g. those who constantly try to change me!! That pisses me off.
Left work a few minutes early today. It's amazing how much 10 minutes at the end of the day are valued when you get to leave early. It makes the evening last longer or something.
It's amusing-my boss was repremanding me about how I handeled another employee. I told my boss, "All you have to do is say the word and I won't get involved in his business again" I told him, "Any given day he is 50% more productive because of me, but if you think im that much of a hindrance, just tell me and he's all yours!". To that my boss said,, "Hmmm I don't know now, maybe I shouldn't say anything".. I just laughed and told him thats what I thought. Humorous to say the least.. My boss is a funny man..
Sometime I think we should have the right to smack certain people upside the head. e.g. those who constantly try to change me!! That pisses me off.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Still Alive
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Tolerant??
Some things such as 'same sex marriage' is just stupid. We as Christians are NOT called to be tolerant of that kind of thing. Teaching evolution in schools? Nah, sorry no tolerance there either. If you disagree I suggest since you can't comment here, read this book and maybe you'll change your stubborn mind.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Books
Been reading a Jay E. Adams' book "Competent to Counsel". Some pretty ineteresting and enlightening things in the book so far [up to chapter 4]. Never heard of 'Nouthetic Counseling" before but it makes total sense.
Thanks to Pastor Clark, I now own my copy of the coveted.. no wait wrong word.. umm long desired Amplified Bible.. After just 1 hour, I love it already. He also recommened the NLT Study Bible. I'll have to pick it up sometime. I referenced my new Amplified Bible in my daily Bible study and actually posted in my God's Word blog. Take note that is prob the only time you'll see that link on this blog so if your interest is peaked................
JF
ok ok, so i overdid it with the links.. so what? :)
Thanks to Pastor Clark, I now own my copy of the coveted.. no wait wrong word.. umm long desired Amplified Bible.. After just 1 hour, I love it already. He also recommened the NLT Study Bible. I'll have to pick it up sometime. I referenced my new Amplified Bible in my daily Bible study and actually posted in my God's Word blog. Take note that is prob the only time you'll see that link on this blog so if your interest is peaked................
JF
ok ok, so i overdid it with the links.. so what? :)
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Unsaved Physicians
If we as Christians believe that God is the center of our universe and has created all things and can repair all things. And we as Christians believe that God is supreme and reigns over any and every othe power in the universe. Then why when the average Christian is physically ill, has ailments, needs a counselor, etc. go to someone who does not even acknowledge the existence of our God let alone worship and put their dependance for successs in him??
"From the above text you may assume certain things about the writer. This is to set them straight. I do not condone doctors, medicine etc. in anyway. The post was to say, hey we believe in God, but we're putting our needs in the hands of an unsaved, ungodly man"
"From the above text you may assume certain things about the writer. This is to set them straight. I do not condone doctors, medicine etc. in anyway. The post was to say, hey we believe in God, but we're putting our needs in the hands of an unsaved, ungodly man"
Pull the trigger?
I think that more people than we realize have been at the point of pulling the trigger. The one key thing that keeps people from doing that is the realization that every single thing that affects us [good or bad] passes through God first AND everything that happens is somehow going to be for the good of us. Everything, no exceptions. So the next time you wish something could be different... think again.
Thursday, August 05, 2004
OSAS??
For some reason it seems that OSAS teachers are much more interested in convincing people of their way of teaching instead of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The thing that I don't think they realize is that a person cannot change a person's heart. A person's heart has to be changed by the Holy Spirit and that change can only take place when a true repentant attitude is prevalent. ****
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Next?
Well, Vision Fellowship has taken place on Saturday night and all went well! Better than well! And I am planning our next event, another Vision Fellowship DJ Led Worship? No, well not as of now anyway,, what is it? Not telling now anyway, stay tuned for more details!
Monday, August 02, 2004
Sunday, August 01, 2004
Day after Vision Fellowship
Well it is the day after. And as usual no one came down or up from anywhere else, BUT God was there in Spirit and that's all that matters. I'm not sure what happened to Frankie Vibe but he wasn't there either. Maybe he only go if he could spin, or maybe he just couldn't make it. Anyway, we had about 15-20 neighborhood kids come in and hang out for awhile. They really did not know what was going on, I think they didn't know what they were taking part in until we prayed at the end.. they just stood there gazing probably wondering what they got themselves into! ha :) But one of the kids gave an email address and wants to know when our next one is. God is great!
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Almost the weekend
Well work is slow but work is good because the boss man is cool. Much relaxin time and just sittin on the bench and being an ear for him! thats cool. most of the time! Saturday is approaching fast and a few more details have to be worked out but all will be ok!
Actually I just checked the tastyfresh boards and Frankie Vibe says he will see me on Saturday and asked if he could help out in spinning.. Sadly we cannot put him in to spin this time.. but there is always a next time!!!
Actually I just checked the tastyfresh boards and Frankie Vibe says he will see me on Saturday and asked if he could help out in spinning.. Sadly we cannot put him in to spin this time.. but there is always a next time!!!
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Church tonight
Church tonight is a study in Revelation 20, 11-20 "the great white throne" Judgment. I think that that is a subject taht alot of ppl dont want to hear. But tonight. we hear it! The truths and the lies exposed! There will be a judgment and we will be seperated some to Heaven, so to hell! Maybe I'll blog when I get home from church. I probably will but it will most likely be on my other blog (address not yet posted). I started a new blog today, It's a blog/journal on my studies in God's Word and how they apply to my life and my situations. I may someday post the address or if anyone actualy cares what I read, ask for it.
jF
jF
Monday, July 26, 2004
A long time
Its been forever since I last posted but I have some legit reasons.. well maybe sorta legit.. ok maybe none at all. But im back. Partly from planning VF DJ Led WOrship for July 31. Email or IM me for more details!
Congrats to Shauna N. for getting her job @ King College as RD and a few other titles! I pray that the Lord is with you and gives you wisdom and guidance as im sure you need that from time to time :)!
Congrats to Shauna N. for getting her job @ King College as RD and a few other titles! I pray that the Lord is with you and gives you wisdom and guidance as im sure you need that from time to time :)!
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Well, the date is confirmed for August 7 and the DJ is available. Now the big Q who has it in their heart to lead worship for us ? There is a vacancy for a worship leader and we are in prayer for God to give us a leader with a heart for Him. But we are not worried because He will provide! I have to call Tom B. @ Mayfair/Tacony Lodge tomorrow to reserve the building.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
So the house was sold today. And how convenient the oriental guy who bought it lives in Brooklyn. That should be great when we need to get ahold of him. As long as he doesn't jack the rent up I'll be happy. The fish are happy too because they get to stay. Speaking of which does anyone want a red eared slider turtle? I got a new painted turtle on Sat. and now i need to find a home for the other one.. if you want him let me know or come get him! You have three days before he becomes soup.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Thursday, July 08, 2004
I also learned that you cannot make someone be your friend. If it don't work out maybe it's the way God wants it. BUT, hold on to the ones who are your friends and don't turn away new ones because true friends are hard to come by! But the truest of true friends is Jesus. He never let me down yet, if you don't know him, get to know him.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Monday, July 05, 2004
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Why does everyone in the "Greatest nation on God's green earth" refuse to mention God or Jesus Christ in the public square. I mean don't we think He deserves a little bit of credit for something??
The Mayflower Compact-The first government document in this land says that:
"Those people came here to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ"
Of the 56 that signed the Declaration of Independence 27 had seminary degrees!
Government proclamations on July 4th said "People of America we need to stop and thank God Almighty for what He has done in this nation that he has raised this nation up to propagate the Gospel across the world"
Why is it not a religious holiday anymore.. it was.. for 150 years after the Declaration of Independence!
*Shrugs*
The Mayflower Compact-The first government document in this land says that:
"Those people came here to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ"
Of the 56 that signed the Declaration of Independence 27 had seminary degrees!
Government proclamations on July 4th said "People of America we need to stop and thank God Almighty for what He has done in this nation that he has raised this nation up to propagate the Gospel across the world"
Why is it not a religious holiday anymore.. it was.. for 150 years after the Declaration of Independence!
*Shrugs*
***I have had friends who like to pick and choose what part of the Christian life they wanted to be involved in. Like, ok, let's see, oh that part of it would make me change so i can't do that. And oh, no I want to be a Christian but I can't give up that. I mean people did it in the Bible so I'm sure I'll still get to Heaven. And that, oh, God will understand, I'm addicted, God understands and won't hold it against me. I'm forgiven, I'm saved, God chooses my life now, God took my freewill all I do is His choice now. But the Bible mentions that Paul did something like 'this' once so if God forgave him, he'll forgive me too. I'm a Christian,I just don't hold alot of your values but I'm sure God will still take me to Heaven. Faith in God? what do you mean, I'm saved, why do I need faith in God. I'm going to heaven anyway, what difference does it make. Oh, sin isn't that bad once you are saved. Once you are saved you can never go to Hell for sinning, you will just lose some rewards in Heaven, but no hell no matter what you do !!!! ***
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Ok, believe it or not, all that I just typed I have actually heard. I do not agree with it but people really do believe that way!! It's time to pray for them.
_____________________________________
Ok, believe it or not, all that I just typed I have actually heard. I do not agree with it but people really do believe that way!! It's time to pray for them.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Monday, June 28, 2004
September 11, 2001 terrorists flew planes into an American land mark and killed 3,000 people. The nation vowed to "Never Forget" and countrieds around the world pledged trillions of dollars in the vengance of the 3,000 that were killed. It was considered the worst terrorist attack in american history. People wrote songs, poems, books, etc about it and made millions! President Bush as set out to wipe out terrorists in the world and many nations are helping him. thousands of coalition soliders are being killed for their countries and for freedom. Many homes are being ruined and broken. People are comitting suicide because they cannot take what they go through in the foreign countries that they are stationed in. All this for 3,000 innocent lives that America vowed to "NEVER FORGET"! But it seems that we force ourselves to forget and overlook that staggering FACT that 30,000 children die from hunger EVERYDAY! 30,000 children a day die in this world every day because we are spending too much time and money on a controversial war in comparison to what our great nation spends on feeding hungry children around the world!! We go nuts and spend trillions on a war that many argue shouldn't have been faught and we let innocent children who never had a chance, die because we "Always forget" , we force ourselves to forget about them! The majority of the people in the Trade towers were adults who had lived a good life for a decent amount of years and had the oppurtunity to choose what direction their life was going in or at least had a chance! The kids in these third world countries are living in poverty at the fault of someone else and everyone turns their head! What's wrong with us?
Matthew 25- “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me.”
Matthew 25- “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me.”
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Sunday, June 20, 2004
I leave for Creation on Monday. So I won't blog for a week but I have an excuse.. I have mixed emotions about going this year!
Kelly and Debra aren't going. That's too bad, its sad. Keep Kelly in your prayers, she needs God's healing touch very badly. Keep in prayer that the very same God who made her body will bring it back to perfect health again! That prayer is based on the righteousness that Jesus Christ gives us through Him!
AHHHH a whole week of doing what I want!
Kelly and Debra aren't going. That's too bad, its sad. Keep Kelly in your prayers, she needs God's healing touch very badly. Keep in prayer that the very same God who made her body will bring it back to perfect health again! That prayer is based on the righteousness that Jesus Christ gives us through Him!
AHHHH a whole week of doing what I want!
had probs getting my computer to sign on for awhile. but now its all cool.
getting ready for creation, its pretty cool tho because im only prepin for 4 of us instead of the whole 20 or so as usual! 4 go up on Monday and the rest on Tues. thats cool tho.
Should I point out everything I don't like in other people and say I won't be like that? No, that would mean I am trying to make you think something of me that I may not really be. I am who I am if you don't think so, maybe you don't know me well enough.
I'm hungry. time for breakfat.. first time i blogged in the A.M. i think!
getting ready for creation, its pretty cool tho because im only prepin for 4 of us instead of the whole 20 or so as usual! 4 go up on Monday and the rest on Tues. thats cool tho.
Should I point out everything I don't like in other people and say I won't be like that? No, that would mean I am trying to make you think something of me that I may not really be. I am who I am if you don't think so, maybe you don't know me well enough.
I'm hungry. time for breakfat.. first time i blogged in the A.M. i think!
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Do your parents ever hit you?
Do your parents ever argue?
Do your parents realize the importance of staying together at all costs?
Do your parents love you?
Do your parents love each other?
Do your parents live together?
Do your parents know you?
A father told his son; "The reason why I have been faithful to your mother for 25 years is because, one, because I love her dearly, and two, because I know that if I were to screw this up, it would follow my kids and grandkids"
That was a wise father indeed!
Do your parents ever argue?
Do your parents realize the importance of staying together at all costs?
Do your parents love you?
Do your parents love each other?
Do your parents live together?
Do your parents know you?
A father told his son; "The reason why I have been faithful to your mother for 25 years is because, one, because I love her dearly, and two, because I know that if I were to screw this up, it would follow my kids and grandkids"
That was a wise father indeed!
Politics in a church are not good, although they are probably in every church in America. Some pastors can make a point or stress and opinion and then spend alot of time backing and supporting their statements that they get off base to the truth of God's word. (and btw, that statement is not directed at either of my two loved pastors).
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
It's amazing; A person could argue with themselves and try to justify themselves or make themselves feel good about something, merely because of another person. But then again isn't that what our conscience is for? If a person's conscience were to bother them wouldn't that be an indicator of sin? Or at least wrong doing? idk. But it is amusing.
1Peter 3:15-16 "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
That's a good reminder for me to watch how I talk about fellow Christians let alone how they talk about me.
!!39!!
1Peter 3:15-16 "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
That's a good reminder for me to watch how I talk about fellow Christians let alone how they talk about me.
!!39!!
Monday, June 14, 2004
He can't remember
The times that he thought
Does my daddy love me?
Probably not
That didn't stop him
From wishing that he did
Didn't keep him from wanting
Or worshipping him
He guesses he saw him
About once a year
He could still feel the way he felt
Standing in tears
Stretching his arms out
As far as they'd go
Whispering dad
I want you to know
I love you this much
And i'm waiting on you
To make up your mind
Do you love me too?
How ever long it takes
I'm never giving up no matter what
I love you this much
He grew to hate him for what he had done
'cause what kind of father
Could do that to his son?
He said 'damn you daddy'
The day that he died
The man didn't blink
But the little boy cried
I love you this much
And i'm waiting on you
To make up your mind
Do you love me too?
How ever long it takes
I'm never giving up no matter what
I love you this much
Half way through the service
While the choir sang a hymn
He looked up above the preacher
And he sat and stared at him
He said
'forgive me father'
When he realized
That he hadn't been unloved
Or alone all his life
His arms were stretched out
As far as they'd go
Nailed to the cross
For the whole world to know
I love you this much
And i'm waiting on you
To make up your mind
Do you love me too?
How ever long it takes
I'm never giving up no matter what
I love you this much
The times that he thought
Does my daddy love me?
Probably not
That didn't stop him
From wishing that he did
Didn't keep him from wanting
Or worshipping him
He guesses he saw him
About once a year
He could still feel the way he felt
Standing in tears
Stretching his arms out
As far as they'd go
Whispering dad
I want you to know
I love you this much
And i'm waiting on you
To make up your mind
Do you love me too?
How ever long it takes
I'm never giving up no matter what
I love you this much
He grew to hate him for what he had done
'cause what kind of father
Could do that to his son?
He said 'damn you daddy'
The day that he died
The man didn't blink
But the little boy cried
I love you this much
And i'm waiting on you
To make up your mind
Do you love me too?
How ever long it takes
I'm never giving up no matter what
I love you this much
Half way through the service
While the choir sang a hymn
He looked up above the preacher
And he sat and stared at him
He said
'forgive me father'
When he realized
That he hadn't been unloved
Or alone all his life
His arms were stretched out
As far as they'd go
Nailed to the cross
For the whole world to know
I love you this much
And i'm waiting on you
To make up your mind
Do you love me too?
How ever long it takes
I'm never giving up no matter what
I love you this much
Saturday, June 12, 2004
“Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord”. Mac Powell said it best when he said; “Those words that were spoken and written by the Apostle Paul apply just as much to our lives today as they did 2000 years ago when he wrote them. That in our lives no matter where we could go, or who we could meet or what we could see or what we could earn or be given to us or accomplish, there is nothing in our lives that well ever even come close to the greatness of knowing Jesus Christ our Lord.”
And as the familiar song goes, “I’ve heard all the stories; I’ve seen all the signs; Witnessed all the glory; Tasted all that’s fine; Still nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord! I see all the people; wasting all their time; Building up their riches; for a life that’s fine; -- I find myself just living for today; Cause I don’t know what tomorrow’s gonna bring; So no matter if I rise or fall I’ll never be alone, oh no; Because, Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord!”
Sometimes it seems like our journey as followers of Christ is characterized by our ability to let go of things that were never in our control in the first place. Yet scripture encourages us to hold firmly to our faith. Ironically, we are unable to accomplish either goal in our own strength. It is vitally important that we have complete dependence on God for anything and everything.
Knowing our Lord Jesus Christ and knowing of Jesus are two different things. There are billions of people that know of Jesus, every demon that exists knows of Jesus and is terrified. Many people who call themselves Christians also know of Jesus and are content with just knowing of Him. But when we come to the realization that we need to put our complete dependence in Jesus Christ and live by His every word, it will have a profound impact on our lives.
There is nothing that this world could ever produce or imagine that could ever come close. . . to the greatness of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason for that statement could be broken down into one simple sentence; “Those who never know the Lord will not enter the kingdom of God”.
Matthew 5:20, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven”.
Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 18:3, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”
Matthew 19:23-24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those verses are all great reminders that, contrary to popular belief there are people who will not go to Heaven. There are many who say, “Lord, Lord” but never experience the greatness of really knowing Him.
If we truly know the Lord we will also love the Lord. John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” How many of us do what we want instead of what Jesus commands and still claim to love Him? It was once said “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable!” How true it is though, we go to church and learn valuable Bible truths, then we walk out of church and from the very car we drive to the smallest thing at home, we take our own course of action and see the Bible truths we just learned as just ‘mere suggestions’. It ends up being a life of justification of why we act differently than the Bible teaches.
I guess it comes down to ‘where do we harbor what is great to us?’ Do we harbor it in Jesus Christ or in a house, a car, a person, a job or a host of other things that can become idols to us? The greatness that we harbor must be in the Son of God, Jesus Christ! There is greatness in knowing His son. That greatness begins with getting rid of looking out for ourselves and making sure we have everything we want and put that emphasis on knowing Jesus more intimately. It is a relationship, a bride and groom relationship. Now what relationship would be healthy if both parties just knew of each other? We want a healthy intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and the only way to have that is to rid ourselves of anything that is not in God’s will. It’s called radical amputation! These are things in our life that are luxuries, or just plain ‘not God’s will’ that we convince ourselves are ‘ok’ because we just want to have them. When we truly know the Lord we will have no desire to have these ‘questionable’ things. When we truly know the Lord we will not have to justify things and find scripture that ‘allows’ us to do or have something. Instead using the scriptures to back up our course of action to abstain from world influenced policies, forms of entertainment and convenience.
Many times we are tempted to do things that are contrary to God’s will in the name of convenience, or to avoid persecution. James 1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance”. James is telling us that when, not IF, when we are persecuted for our faith in Christ, consider it pure joy. We are not to avoid doing what’s right or do something that is wrong, just so we aren’t persecuted. It’s called witnessing for the Lord and sharing our faith. When we truly know the Lord, we will understand that we cannot compromise our faith so that we do not get made fun of, receive a citation, or even get fired at work. A great Bible example is Daniel 3:13-15 13Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Those three were promised death by burning if they did not bow to the image that Nebuchadnezzar had made. Think how easy it would have been to just bend their backs to avoid death. The reason they did not is because they had faith in God, the truly experienced the greatness of knowing God! Listen to the response that they gave to the king; “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” They stood up for their faith because they knew God and were witnessing and proclaiming the greatness of Him. So before we sign that policy, passively agree, or compromise scripture to avoid persecution we must think back to the decision that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego made and the mighty faith they had in a mighty God! They could have diluted what was really taking place and said “it is only bending our back, it is not worshiping”, But they chose not to. We could dilute our chance to witness for Christ and not compromise by saying things such as “it’s only a strap on my waist, I don’t depend on it for protection” when talking about a seatbelt. Or “it’s just so I can get a decent car, I would never claim insurance” when talking about insurance policies, all the while disregarding what we actually agreed to.
When we truly know the Lord, we will marvel over the greatness of it. Nothing can come close to the greatness! We will forget all the compromises that we previously made and give God the benefit of the doubt. When there is a doubt about something being scriptural or not, we may dwell on it for awhile and eventually convince ourselves to justify what we want instead of God’s will. That is a sign that we do not really know the Lord. The most important decision that we could ever make is to commit all, surrender all, and give up everything to the Lord Jesus Christ! There is nothing worth holding onto that is not in God’s will.
Knowing the Lord and living by the Word of God is so vitally important it
cannot be overstated! Psalm 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” It seems that more and more young people are throwing solid teaching to the wind and doing their own thing and calling it truth. Does what we do have to be justified as being right, or is what we do a witness for Christ and a statement of truth? If we spend more time justifying our actions and decisions than we do witnessing for Christ by our actions and decisions…. We do not know the greatness of knowing the Lord!! There is work in order indeed if that be the case.
No compromise, no luxury of convenience that is objectionable, nothing is worth sacrificing truly knowing Christ. We may feel like we know the Lord and say we love Him, but if there is an idol in our life or we habitually sin or we have or do something outside of God’s will, we do not really know the Lord Jesus Christ like we say we do.
1Corinthians 8:13 “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” If our choice or possession or policy (that was originally doubted) causes our brother in Christ to fall into sin because he also does it, “get rid of it and never visit the thought of it again” is what Paul is saying! You see, it does not matter that it is only I that is doing something. It actually affects a lot more than just me if I make questionable choices. There are a lot of choices in the Christian life and in all of our decisions it is of dire importance that we give God the benefit of the doubt! We may lose possessions, money, friends, or anything but will be blessed because it was for the glory of the Lord! Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Humans by nature are stubborn. And when it comes time to choose between right and wrong, life and death, blessing or cursing, we stubbornly choose the worse of the two because it is camouflaged as truth! But if we are truly seeking God’s will and chasing after the heart of God with all we have, we will find it and we will be righteous through Jesus Christ.
Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord! When we reach the place of truly knowing the Lord Jesus, there will be a revival in our life. We will no longer doubt what God can do for us. We will have complete faith for healing, protection and guidance. There is no end to what God will do for us when we truly know, love and worship Him!
Psalm 18:1-3, “I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” Are they just words in your life, maybe good suggestions for living, or are they the words that you live by? God has to be number one in our lives there is no other way to live.
What It is a lot easier for a person to pull you down than for you to pull them up! Give up those who could pull you down. It’s time to be real, be honest and do it for your sake and the glory of God! What about the company that we keep? Do our close friends represent a life that really knows the Lord Jesus Christ? You may have good morals but if you keep bad company you will soon compromise them because the Bible says so. 1Corinthians15:33, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Philippians 3:8, Paul says, “I consider everything a loss in comparison to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” Paul has come to the realization that next to the great privilege of knowing Jesus Christ, everything else is trash!
Luke 12 tells the story of the rich man who bragged about his riches and how he would kick back, relax and just take it easy. He planned to just live it up and enjoy all the things that he had accumulated. Verses 19-21 tell the rest of the story, "And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Wouldn’t we rather be rich toward God than to be foolishly focused on material possessions or distracted by a relationship that keeps us from enjoying all that is ours in Jesus Christ? A rich person in the Bible is sometime thought of as someone who is far from us. But when we focus more on our money, making it and spending it and our spiritual life lacks, we are included in the category that the Bible calls rich. At that point all the verses that make reference to ‘the rich man’ now apply to us. Time for changes indeed! A popular belief is that those ‘rich man’ verses only apply to Bill Gates and Donald Trump, but it is more of an attitude toward money and possessions than the amount that we have. Just consider! The very Creator of the Universe, The King of Kings, Almighty God wants to fellowship with you. He wants you to know Him and He wants you to enjoy the riches of His grace! Eph. 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. Now what could be greater than that?
A major step in getting to know God more intimately is resisting temptation and not giving into even the subtle suggestions of the devil. Many things that we do that are questionable started out as mere suggestions from the devil, a.k.a. major temptation. The next step was easy because if it looks good to this generation, generally we go for it! This more than any other is a generation out looking for pleasure and fun. Looking out for ourselves and at all costs satisfying ourselves. In our pursuit for pleasure, we have turned away from our Glorious God, the only One who can forever satisfy us. In fact, He is a fountain of living waters in which He longs to quench our every desire. Yet so many of us have turned away from Him, and tried finding pleasure in worldly things. Money will never satisfy. Sex will never satisfy. Cars, big houses, a simple life, volunteering, alcohol, drugs, the American dream: nothing can satisfy us except God. In fact, all things except God are "broken cisterns that can hold no water." We are fooled by pleasures that don't last. The things that we spend our time on and consume are the water we drink. Just as Jesus told the woman at the well that He could give her ‘living water’, He is offering us that same ‘living water’. We seek after bitter water when we spend our time in addiction, luxury, money and a host of other potential idols. We must replace the consumption of the bitter dead water with the Living Water of God’s word and God’s Truth!
I think that shedding light on the Devil's deceitful tactics can greatly help us in resisting him. We must realize that sin is anything we try to satisfy the longing of our soul with other than God. It’s time we drag our sin out into the light where it will die because sin loves the darkness! The pleasures of sin don't last. Only God can satisfy the desires of our heart. You'll never be satisfied with just dabbling in sin, just sipping the cup of sin. Sin begins as a pet, but quickly becomes your master. It will never have lasting satisfaction! We become tricked into thinking that if we dive deeper into the worldly things we pursue for pleasure, they will satisfy us. Yet, pretty soon we are drowning. The sin took a firm grip of our life and we are left wondering what happened. We can't allow the Devil to trick us into thinking that anything other than God can satisfy our soul. Many times we justify the things of the world that we do saying, “I am not depending on these things to satisfy my soul”. But that also is a tactic of the devil to get us thinking that these things are not harmful to us. “I am strong, I can stand up to this, it will not master or affect me, I am firm in Christ”. They are all haughty self assured statements and we are setting ourselves up for a big fall if we believe that! Knowing the Lord also includes resisting the devil. We cannot be a friend of the devil and claim to be a friend of the Lord. Revelation 3:16, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” With God you cannot even be lukewarm you are either for Him or against Him.
Never forget that God is a fountain of living water and He longs for us to come and quench the longing of our soul in Him.
King David was “A man after God’s own heart”, in other words he sought after the heart of God. King David had things in perspective in what he had to say about God: "Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth." (Psalm 73:25) "On You I wait all the day." (Psalm 25:5) "In Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16:11) "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."(Psalm 37:4)
David did not desire anything on earth. His sole desire was for God. The one thing he asked for was to be in the presence of God. David knew that in Christ alone is where we find the fullness of joy.
We can't help but talk about what we are in love with! Be it a boyfriend or girlfriend, a video game, a favorite band, sports, money or Jesus Christ. What do we spend most of our time talking about? Is it sports, money, or a person? That is a sure indicator of what we really love. Only 2% of professing Christians share their faith regularly, talk about forgetting our First Love! Are we in that 2% of Christians? Do people point out that we are a Christian when we are around them, or do our language, tolerances, actions, and our disposition reflect more of the world than Christ? It’s time for a spiritual inventory.
Hebrews 11:25-26 “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Take a lesson from Moses, he knew that sin was unfulfilling and fleeting. Although it promises great things it will always leave us hanging in the end. As you might say to a friend, “Don’t leave me hangin”, it is impossible to say that to sin, although we say it every time we accept that it will make us contented.
Knowing our Lord, Jesus Christ is more than just frequenting church and doing good deeds. It is an intimate relationship with Him. "Have you discovered Jesus Christ as your treasure which you value more than everything else? The answer to this question is life changing, "because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:21). Every professing Christian will say ‘yes’ to that question, but statistics show that that is not true. “Only 2% of professing Christians share their faith regularly.” We talk frequently about what we are in love with. What do we talk regularly about?
In closing think about this: There are actually things that can and will keep a lot of people on this earth, out of heaven. These are people who professed and believed that they were saved and going to heaven. What will go wrong then, that they not make it to eternal life with Jesus Christ? They didn’t choose to know Jesus on a personal intimate level. They knew of Jesus and claimed they loved Him and that he was their personal savior. But when everything comes to an end there will be those who chose life and those who chose death. It is all a choice and our choice must be in Jesus Christ. When we think about the seriousness of our decisions and that they could land us in hell, they take on a whole new meaning. It is not just ourselves that we affect with unwise unscriptural decisions either. There are people, young people who look up to us and take everything we do as right and acceptable. How horrible would it be if we misled a young Christian with a decision that was not in line with scripture? Matthew 18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” You see, it could be a decision now that we know is wrong but will change it later. That decision could lead a young Christian down the wrong path. A son said to his father, “Dad I know this is probably not the best thing but this is how I want to do it for right now”. That son was soon to leave the truth of God and build his faith in God around what suited him best. We must be strong, standing firm, not wavering for our own sake, for the sake of those who look up to us, but ultimately for the glory of God!
“Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord!”
Lord grant us the ability to throw down our idols, to break off unscriptural fellowship, to put you first, to realize that everything we do affects us in one way or another. Dear Lord, the truth is that nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, help me to hold that at the forefront of my mind, to use it as a weapon of truth. Sure Lord, I know that there are a lot of things that I could do or things I could have, but when in comparison to the sheer magnificence of You and the fact that those things of the world would not bring glory to You, they are worthless. Lord let us all come to the realization that nothing will ever compare to You and nothing in this world is worth compromising our faith in You.
My thoughts
JF
June 10, 2004
And as the familiar song goes, “I’ve heard all the stories; I’ve seen all the signs; Witnessed all the glory; Tasted all that’s fine; Still nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord! I see all the people; wasting all their time; Building up their riches; for a life that’s fine; -- I find myself just living for today; Cause I don’t know what tomorrow’s gonna bring; So no matter if I rise or fall I’ll never be alone, oh no; Because, Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord!”
Sometimes it seems like our journey as followers of Christ is characterized by our ability to let go of things that were never in our control in the first place. Yet scripture encourages us to hold firmly to our faith. Ironically, we are unable to accomplish either goal in our own strength. It is vitally important that we have complete dependence on God for anything and everything.
Knowing our Lord Jesus Christ and knowing of Jesus are two different things. There are billions of people that know of Jesus, every demon that exists knows of Jesus and is terrified. Many people who call themselves Christians also know of Jesus and are content with just knowing of Him. But when we come to the realization that we need to put our complete dependence in Jesus Christ and live by His every word, it will have a profound impact on our lives.
There is nothing that this world could ever produce or imagine that could ever come close. . . to the greatness of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason for that statement could be broken down into one simple sentence; “Those who never know the Lord will not enter the kingdom of God”.
Matthew 5:20, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven”.
Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 18:3, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”
Matthew 19:23-24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those verses are all great reminders that, contrary to popular belief there are people who will not go to Heaven. There are many who say, “Lord, Lord” but never experience the greatness of really knowing Him.
If we truly know the Lord we will also love the Lord. John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” How many of us do what we want instead of what Jesus commands and still claim to love Him? It was once said “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable!” How true it is though, we go to church and learn valuable Bible truths, then we walk out of church and from the very car we drive to the smallest thing at home, we take our own course of action and see the Bible truths we just learned as just ‘mere suggestions’. It ends up being a life of justification of why we act differently than the Bible teaches.
I guess it comes down to ‘where do we harbor what is great to us?’ Do we harbor it in Jesus Christ or in a house, a car, a person, a job or a host of other things that can become idols to us? The greatness that we harbor must be in the Son of God, Jesus Christ! There is greatness in knowing His son. That greatness begins with getting rid of looking out for ourselves and making sure we have everything we want and put that emphasis on knowing Jesus more intimately. It is a relationship, a bride and groom relationship. Now what relationship would be healthy if both parties just knew of each other? We want a healthy intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and the only way to have that is to rid ourselves of anything that is not in God’s will. It’s called radical amputation! These are things in our life that are luxuries, or just plain ‘not God’s will’ that we convince ourselves are ‘ok’ because we just want to have them. When we truly know the Lord we will have no desire to have these ‘questionable’ things. When we truly know the Lord we will not have to justify things and find scripture that ‘allows’ us to do or have something. Instead using the scriptures to back up our course of action to abstain from world influenced policies, forms of entertainment and convenience.
Many times we are tempted to do things that are contrary to God’s will in the name of convenience, or to avoid persecution. James 1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance”. James is telling us that when, not IF, when we are persecuted for our faith in Christ, consider it pure joy. We are not to avoid doing what’s right or do something that is wrong, just so we aren’t persecuted. It’s called witnessing for the Lord and sharing our faith. When we truly know the Lord, we will understand that we cannot compromise our faith so that we do not get made fun of, receive a citation, or even get fired at work. A great Bible example is Daniel 3:13-15 13Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Those three were promised death by burning if they did not bow to the image that Nebuchadnezzar had made. Think how easy it would have been to just bend their backs to avoid death. The reason they did not is because they had faith in God, the truly experienced the greatness of knowing God! Listen to the response that they gave to the king; “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” They stood up for their faith because they knew God and were witnessing and proclaiming the greatness of Him. So before we sign that policy, passively agree, or compromise scripture to avoid persecution we must think back to the decision that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego made and the mighty faith they had in a mighty God! They could have diluted what was really taking place and said “it is only bending our back, it is not worshiping”, But they chose not to. We could dilute our chance to witness for Christ and not compromise by saying things such as “it’s only a strap on my waist, I don’t depend on it for protection” when talking about a seatbelt. Or “it’s just so I can get a decent car, I would never claim insurance” when talking about insurance policies, all the while disregarding what we actually agreed to.
When we truly know the Lord, we will marvel over the greatness of it. Nothing can come close to the greatness! We will forget all the compromises that we previously made and give God the benefit of the doubt. When there is a doubt about something being scriptural or not, we may dwell on it for awhile and eventually convince ourselves to justify what we want instead of God’s will. That is a sign that we do not really know the Lord. The most important decision that we could ever make is to commit all, surrender all, and give up everything to the Lord Jesus Christ! There is nothing worth holding onto that is not in God’s will.
Knowing the Lord and living by the Word of God is so vitally important it
cannot be overstated! Psalm 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” It seems that more and more young people are throwing solid teaching to the wind and doing their own thing and calling it truth. Does what we do have to be justified as being right, or is what we do a witness for Christ and a statement of truth? If we spend more time justifying our actions and decisions than we do witnessing for Christ by our actions and decisions…. We do not know the greatness of knowing the Lord!! There is work in order indeed if that be the case.
No compromise, no luxury of convenience that is objectionable, nothing is worth sacrificing truly knowing Christ. We may feel like we know the Lord and say we love Him, but if there is an idol in our life or we habitually sin or we have or do something outside of God’s will, we do not really know the Lord Jesus Christ like we say we do.
1Corinthians 8:13 “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” If our choice or possession or policy (that was originally doubted) causes our brother in Christ to fall into sin because he also does it, “get rid of it and never visit the thought of it again” is what Paul is saying! You see, it does not matter that it is only I that is doing something. It actually affects a lot more than just me if I make questionable choices. There are a lot of choices in the Christian life and in all of our decisions it is of dire importance that we give God the benefit of the doubt! We may lose possessions, money, friends, or anything but will be blessed because it was for the glory of the Lord! Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Humans by nature are stubborn. And when it comes time to choose between right and wrong, life and death, blessing or cursing, we stubbornly choose the worse of the two because it is camouflaged as truth! But if we are truly seeking God’s will and chasing after the heart of God with all we have, we will find it and we will be righteous through Jesus Christ.
Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord! When we reach the place of truly knowing the Lord Jesus, there will be a revival in our life. We will no longer doubt what God can do for us. We will have complete faith for healing, protection and guidance. There is no end to what God will do for us when we truly know, love and worship Him!
Psalm 18:1-3, “I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” Are they just words in your life, maybe good suggestions for living, or are they the words that you live by? God has to be number one in our lives there is no other way to live.
What It is a lot easier for a person to pull you down than for you to pull them up! Give up those who could pull you down. It’s time to be real, be honest and do it for your sake and the glory of God! What about the company that we keep? Do our close friends represent a life that really knows the Lord Jesus Christ? You may have good morals but if you keep bad company you will soon compromise them because the Bible says so. 1Corinthians15:33, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Philippians 3:8, Paul says, “I consider everything a loss in comparison to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” Paul has come to the realization that next to the great privilege of knowing Jesus Christ, everything else is trash!
Luke 12 tells the story of the rich man who bragged about his riches and how he would kick back, relax and just take it easy. He planned to just live it up and enjoy all the things that he had accumulated. Verses 19-21 tell the rest of the story, "And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Wouldn’t we rather be rich toward God than to be foolishly focused on material possessions or distracted by a relationship that keeps us from enjoying all that is ours in Jesus Christ? A rich person in the Bible is sometime thought of as someone who is far from us. But when we focus more on our money, making it and spending it and our spiritual life lacks, we are included in the category that the Bible calls rich. At that point all the verses that make reference to ‘the rich man’ now apply to us. Time for changes indeed! A popular belief is that those ‘rich man’ verses only apply to Bill Gates and Donald Trump, but it is more of an attitude toward money and possessions than the amount that we have. Just consider! The very Creator of the Universe, The King of Kings, Almighty God wants to fellowship with you. He wants you to know Him and He wants you to enjoy the riches of His grace! Eph. 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. Now what could be greater than that?
A major step in getting to know God more intimately is resisting temptation and not giving into even the subtle suggestions of the devil. Many things that we do that are questionable started out as mere suggestions from the devil, a.k.a. major temptation. The next step was easy because if it looks good to this generation, generally we go for it! This more than any other is a generation out looking for pleasure and fun. Looking out for ourselves and at all costs satisfying ourselves. In our pursuit for pleasure, we have turned away from our Glorious God, the only One who can forever satisfy us. In fact, He is a fountain of living waters in which He longs to quench our every desire. Yet so many of us have turned away from Him, and tried finding pleasure in worldly things. Money will never satisfy. Sex will never satisfy. Cars, big houses, a simple life, volunteering, alcohol, drugs, the American dream: nothing can satisfy us except God. In fact, all things except God are "broken cisterns that can hold no water." We are fooled by pleasures that don't last. The things that we spend our time on and consume are the water we drink. Just as Jesus told the woman at the well that He could give her ‘living water’, He is offering us that same ‘living water’. We seek after bitter water when we spend our time in addiction, luxury, money and a host of other potential idols. We must replace the consumption of the bitter dead water with the Living Water of God’s word and God’s Truth!
I think that shedding light on the Devil's deceitful tactics can greatly help us in resisting him. We must realize that sin is anything we try to satisfy the longing of our soul with other than God. It’s time we drag our sin out into the light where it will die because sin loves the darkness! The pleasures of sin don't last. Only God can satisfy the desires of our heart. You'll never be satisfied with just dabbling in sin, just sipping the cup of sin. Sin begins as a pet, but quickly becomes your master. It will never have lasting satisfaction! We become tricked into thinking that if we dive deeper into the worldly things we pursue for pleasure, they will satisfy us. Yet, pretty soon we are drowning. The sin took a firm grip of our life and we are left wondering what happened. We can't allow the Devil to trick us into thinking that anything other than God can satisfy our soul. Many times we justify the things of the world that we do saying, “I am not depending on these things to satisfy my soul”. But that also is a tactic of the devil to get us thinking that these things are not harmful to us. “I am strong, I can stand up to this, it will not master or affect me, I am firm in Christ”. They are all haughty self assured statements and we are setting ourselves up for a big fall if we believe that! Knowing the Lord also includes resisting the devil. We cannot be a friend of the devil and claim to be a friend of the Lord. Revelation 3:16, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” With God you cannot even be lukewarm you are either for Him or against Him.
Never forget that God is a fountain of living water and He longs for us to come and quench the longing of our soul in Him.
King David was “A man after God’s own heart”, in other words he sought after the heart of God. King David had things in perspective in what he had to say about God: "Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth." (Psalm 73:25) "On You I wait all the day." (Psalm 25:5) "In Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16:11) "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."(Psalm 37:4)
David did not desire anything on earth. His sole desire was for God. The one thing he asked for was to be in the presence of God. David knew that in Christ alone is where we find the fullness of joy.
We can't help but talk about what we are in love with! Be it a boyfriend or girlfriend, a video game, a favorite band, sports, money or Jesus Christ. What do we spend most of our time talking about? Is it sports, money, or a person? That is a sure indicator of what we really love. Only 2% of professing Christians share their faith regularly, talk about forgetting our First Love! Are we in that 2% of Christians? Do people point out that we are a Christian when we are around them, or do our language, tolerances, actions, and our disposition reflect more of the world than Christ? It’s time for a spiritual inventory.
Hebrews 11:25-26 “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Take a lesson from Moses, he knew that sin was unfulfilling and fleeting. Although it promises great things it will always leave us hanging in the end. As you might say to a friend, “Don’t leave me hangin”, it is impossible to say that to sin, although we say it every time we accept that it will make us contented.
Knowing our Lord, Jesus Christ is more than just frequenting church and doing good deeds. It is an intimate relationship with Him. "Have you discovered Jesus Christ as your treasure which you value more than everything else? The answer to this question is life changing, "because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:21). Every professing Christian will say ‘yes’ to that question, but statistics show that that is not true. “Only 2% of professing Christians share their faith regularly.” We talk frequently about what we are in love with. What do we talk regularly about?
In closing think about this: There are actually things that can and will keep a lot of people on this earth, out of heaven. These are people who professed and believed that they were saved and going to heaven. What will go wrong then, that they not make it to eternal life with Jesus Christ? They didn’t choose to know Jesus on a personal intimate level. They knew of Jesus and claimed they loved Him and that he was their personal savior. But when everything comes to an end there will be those who chose life and those who chose death. It is all a choice and our choice must be in Jesus Christ. When we think about the seriousness of our decisions and that they could land us in hell, they take on a whole new meaning. It is not just ourselves that we affect with unwise unscriptural decisions either. There are people, young people who look up to us and take everything we do as right and acceptable. How horrible would it be if we misled a young Christian with a decision that was not in line with scripture? Matthew 18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” You see, it could be a decision now that we know is wrong but will change it later. That decision could lead a young Christian down the wrong path. A son said to his father, “Dad I know this is probably not the best thing but this is how I want to do it for right now”. That son was soon to leave the truth of God and build his faith in God around what suited him best. We must be strong, standing firm, not wavering for our own sake, for the sake of those who look up to us, but ultimately for the glory of God!
“Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord!”
Lord grant us the ability to throw down our idols, to break off unscriptural fellowship, to put you first, to realize that everything we do affects us in one way or another. Dear Lord, the truth is that nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, help me to hold that at the forefront of my mind, to use it as a weapon of truth. Sure Lord, I know that there are a lot of things that I could do or things I could have, but when in comparison to the sheer magnificence of You and the fact that those things of the world would not bring glory to You, they are worthless. Lord let us all come to the realization that nothing will ever compare to You and nothing in this world is worth compromising our faith in You.
My thoughts
JF
June 10, 2004
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Monday, June 07, 2004
Ok, so the forum has been abused! but hey we all make mistakes. I just get a kick out of that fact that people read the rules, post contrary to them and then want an explanation of why I had to remove their post. Oh well. Some people just don't get it and some people just want to start controversy!!
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Sometime I think I am the only blogger that actually blogs anymore.. I saw one that hasn't blogged in almost a month!! But maybe they actually got a life,, i'll get in line.. BTW for anyone who reads... Sunday night June 6th I think.. come sing praise & worship if your heart desires.. 630ish is cool !
JF
JF
I went out tonight.. woohoo,, im not a hermit anymore! I went bowling and bowled 4 strikes and 3 spares.. but thats all.. i was bowling on someone elses game. I think it's uncool to push your religious beliefs on another person. A mutual discussion, yeh, but to get a person on a position of no retreat and then push your compromises on them.. that aint cool! Oh yeh, and btw, I cant bowl with real bowling shoes on.. i have to wear sneakers.. or actually tonight I wore my Sketchers.. the last time i bowled the guys watched me and kicked me off for not wearting hte right shoes.. they were uncool also! But hey thats the rules i guess.
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