11-10-08

Genesis 22:1
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham.....

Never was good at test.
Didn't like taking them.
Didn't like studying for them.
Just didn't like test.
I guess we never outgrow the need to be tested.
Tests aren't designed to promote failure.
Tests are to reveal the truth we know.
Same with God.
When God tests us it isn't about passing or failing.
It is about understanding who we are and where we are in our spiritual maturity.
On somethings I am a wise, old man full of maturity.
On others that I am tested on, I can't even get out of the crib or walk on my own.
I learn.
I don't beat myself up and heap guilt and shame on myself.
I simply agree with God who God shows me I am and then set about the business of allowing Him to change me.

What test are you facing today?
Don't fret...
God is in control....
Embrace the test and then let God show you how to grow.
Painful?
Yes.
Eternal?
Nope, test are temporary........they just seem eternal.

God on you...

mb

Randy Dover

Consummate Guitarist....
Friend.....
Brother in Christ.....
Randy Dover.

He'd suffered with heart problems for years.
Numerous operations that Randy referred to as "Going back on the table".
Randy, more than once, joked that he was living on borrowed time and he didn't know if he could repay it.

Last night a phone call brought the message that Randy had died.
He no longer suffered.
He did not hurt anymore.
His future moved from this side of eternity and slipped quietly through the veil to the other side.
What we claim to believe, Randy now stands in the presence and knows beyond any doubt.
It's true.

I will miss Randy and his laughter.
That craggy face would break into a huge smile followed by this rolling voice of joy.
His eyes would squinch to little slits as he would enjoy a good conversation.

God bless you, Randy Dover.
I know that he already has.

mb

Good Morning

It's a new day .
The national election for our next President is over.
You are either jubilant in the choice that has been made or you are feeling down this morning because your candidate lost.

I heard a lot of people talking about the election and their language was tinged with fear.
"We need to pray."
I agreed with that statement.
Any decision as huge as the selection of our next leader should not be done whimsically or without much thought and guidance from God.

But this morning we need to realize something.
President-elect Obama became President because God allowed it to happen.
Romans 13:1
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

I have no clue as to how this new administration will govern or whether it will be a time of prosperity or economic depression. I do know that for all l the hand wringing and the "woe is us" attitudes, God is in control.
This election did not take him by surprise or catch him off guard.
We need to guard our optimism and keep everything in perspective.
God is in control.
We have a new President.
Our duty is to pray for him that he would come to the realization that his position has been given to him only because God deemed it so. With such realization, maybe he will become a servant-leader.

Our behavior should not nor can it be based as a response to what others say or do.
If you back up prior to the Romans 13:1 verse you read in Chapter 12 - Verse 21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." We are called to pray for this government. I guess the greatest prayer we, as believer's, could pray would "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven."

Maranatha.....

mb

12 Steps of Recovery Serenity Prayer

Power to Change
Power to Live
Purity of purpose

No magic in the steps.
No formula for success.
Christ at the center of the 12.
Christ is the answer.
A changed life.
A changed heart.
But change.....change must take place.
From the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light.


(Video sent to me by Zman).
God bless you...........

mb

Forgiveness

At what point do we cease needing forgiveness?
When do we grow beyond this thing called forgiveness?
Seems as though forgiveness is only for those who are weak or maybe those who aren't quiet as mature in the faith as they should be. Least ways that is the perception of some people.

Maybe there is truth to that thought.
I am weak and, as the apostle Paul suggested, I boast of my weakness. For it is in my weakness that I find God and his strength. In my emptiness, He becomes my fullness. In my loneliness, He becomes the ultimate love. In my blindness, He becomes my vision. Wherever there is a minus in my life, He becomes the plus.

Why can't I recognize this fact instead of carrying around the weight of being a failure for Him.
That it's my failure that brings his power to overcome. It is as simple as recognizing how much I can't and how much he can. Instead of walking around beating myself up, I need to rejoice in all things. Every problem, every situation and circumstance that opens a door for God to work in my life. It begins with the me asking forgiveness for sin that I have done. Confession that frees me to receive everything I need from God. How cool is "zero" crud and stuff and then find out that God has replaced it with his stuff. To be free from the pull and tug of the influence that sin brings to our lives.

Have you outgrown forgiveness?

mb

Did You See Today?

We underestimate God's ability to talk to us.
We tend to walk around with this "I'm not worthy" attitude like it is going to catch God off guard.
God see us and says, "Yep! You're not worthy."
Let's move beyond the worthy thing.
Kind of like the cartoon I saw once.
Jesus is hanging on the cross and at the foot of the cross is this business man dressed in suit, brief case and umbrella. The business man is looking up at the cross and Jesus says to him, "If I'm o.k. and you're o.k. ..........what am I doing up here?"

Verses this morning from Luke 10:23
"How privileged you are to see what you have seen."
We run around looking for something that God hasn't revealed and we miss the very things he is trying to show us.
Dude....let's wake up and be grateful for the things God has placed on our plate.
Our families (what's God trying to show us in them?)
Our jobs (What is God doing in the workplace?)
Our friends (Do we even look for God when we are together and it's not a church function?)

Somehow I have this sneaky suspicion that I miss a lot of what God is saying, showing and doing around me and in me.
Time to open my eyes.

God on you............
mb

What A Night!

Danny Daniels?
What can you say about this man?
He is who he is.
He came last night to Rapha to bring some of his view on Jesus.
30+ years of walking with Jesus has given Danny a unique view of Christianity.

Couple this with Danny's passion for music and you got an interesting mix.
I saw things last night I never thought I would see.
I heard a new/old vision for life with Christ.
I watched a man who is gifted use that gift for the glory of God.

I listened to him as he played Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Never quiet put this song in the category of a worship song.
Danny did.
He changed a word here and a word there to reflect a longing in our hearts to be with Jesus.
Did it work?
How about tears running down the faces of the men who were in that room.

It was a good night and we were all blessed to have been able to spend the evening with Danny.
I pray that God grants him good health and many more trips back this way.
Thank you Danny for sharing yourself with us last night.
God speed....

mb