Many times in deep despair,

I go to God in fervant prayer.

Lord, I ask why it's been so hard?

I've been trying you, Son. Trying you hard.

Lord, I ask did I pass the test?

You've done well, but not your best.

Lord, I ask what You'd have me do.

Study to show thyself approved.

Lord, I ask please help keep me safe.

You must obey Me and increase your Faith.

Lord, I said, it's so hard to cope.

You will survive if you also have Hope.

Lord, I thank You for blessings from above.

Show me you're glad by showing others Love.

Lord, I thank you for your most righteous Son.

He's your Saviour, your brother; yes He is the One.

Lord, I thank you for your Mercy and Grace.

Just keep running son, finish the race.

Lord, I thank you for your holy Kingdom.

You will be rewarded in the end, when He comes.

Lord, I thank you for blessing us with your own Word.

You must share it with others, with all of the world.

Lord, please bless me and watch me each day.

I have, and nothing will harm you come what may.

Lord, please forgive me when I fail thee each day.

Always get back up Son, and follow the way.

Lord, I pray for my friends who have also been down.

Your prayers have been heard, but I'll not answer now.

Lord, bless me tonight as I lay down my head.

Remember there are others who do not have a bed.

Lord, in the morning please wake me again.

If I do, then arise, give thanks and begin.

It's through Your Son's name that I ask all these things.

He's your Lord, your Saviour, He's King of All Kings.

Amen

A Pearl of Great Price

Matthew 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Matthew 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Matthew 13:51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

I can remember a long time ago - when I was still young and immature, I loved playing video games. Actually, I'm still immature and still love playing video games. :) However, I specifically remember playing games only to get 'stuck' on a very hard part that I simply couldn't get past, and so for a long time, the game was useless to me. I was consumed with thinking about the game, and how to get past the difficult part. I would fall asleep each night thinking about the game, spend my time in class thinking about the game, sit in church thinking about the game..... well, you get the picture. I was consumed with the game. It wasn't until I discovered that I could go to the mall and visit the local electronics software game shop and buy (you guessed it) a hint book. My troubles were solved. I plopped fifteen bucks down for the answers to my problem. I could not wait to get home from the mall and fire up the computer and spend the next several hours easily going through the rest of the game. I had the answers to all the games puzzles, and this was real game play.

My point? Consuming addiction has and can get the best of me at times. But what I'm thinking about is this: How can I get totally consumed with all the right things? How and where can I find something so wonderful that I lay awake at night thinking about it? Where can I get that special something that occupies my mind, and that will not allow anything else to creep in and distract me? What is it that should consume me most of all, that I'm willing to work for, to save up for, and to sacrifice for - so that I can have it? Not only that, but what do I do with it once I have it? (that's a whole 'nother subject that I can talk about some other time) :)

Jesus told His disciples what it was that should be very important to us - the kingdom of heaven. At that time, during Jesus' earthly ministry, Jesus preached that "the kingdom of heaven was at hand". ( Matthew 10:7 ) People were expecting something, they were 'hungy' for change, the time was right for Jesus to come and preach His kingdom message to the masses. And, once people heard Jesus' words about it, some left all to obtain it. Some left their families, their jobs, their location to follow Jesus. Some saw Jesus for who He really was, and praised God that they were there - at just the right time to be witness of our Emmanuel. Think about what all people gave up. Look what the apostle Paul says that he at one time had, but gave it all up:

Philippians 3:4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

What a great example of a 'Christian' to leave everything, and live the rest of His life for Christ. Whatever situation I am in, I need to remember and think about my daily sacrifice and if it measures up to the examples found in His word. Is His kingdom so important to me that I'm willing to sacrifice my time? Whatever God has blessed me with; my family, my job, the money he blesses me with through my job, and most importantly my time, I need to be willing to give Him the glory for His blessings, and I need to look at it as His, and not mine. And I need to learn how he wants me to use His 'stuff'. More than that, I simply need to be willing to place more importance on his Kingdom, than I do on my video games. I'm ashamed to say that I spent about six hours the other day on a silly game - wasting my time when I could'a been doing something for His kingdom. There's probably an inumerable list of things I could have been doing but instead it was all about me, myself, and I.

Am I listening to what God is saying in His Word?

Jesus - the Word of God

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

I started trying to do a word study on the names of Jesus - as found in the bible, and quickly realized that it could take a really long time. Some scholars have claimed to have found over 700 unique references to Jesus, although I'll have to take their word for it. In just a very brief time, I have come across a whole lot. From time to time, I may try to tackle a few here and there. One of my favorite passages popped into view and so I wanted to read and study this for a while. I've heard it said before that if you substitute the word JESUS for THE WORD, then it can also be understood in a whole new way. Try it:

John 1:1 In the beginning was (JESUS), and (JESUS) was with God, and (JESUS) was God. 2 (JESUS) was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through (JESUS), and without (JESUS) nothing was made that was made. 4 In (JESUS) was life, and (JESUS) was the light of men. 5 And (JESUS) shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of (JESUS), that all through him might believe. 8 He was not (JESUS), but was sent to bear witness of (JESUS). 9 (JESUS) was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 (JESUS) was in the world, and the world was made through (JESUS), and the world did not know (JESUS). 11 (JESUS) came to His own, and His own did not receive (JESUS). 12 But as many as received (JESUS), to them (JESUS) gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in (JESUS) name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And (JESUS) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld (JESUS) glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Woah! That's pretty cool. It really helps me to understand this passage easier. Imagine, Jesus was there - with God during the creation! Notice again, back in verses 1 and also in 14 that Jesus was the word of God - and that he lived among us. The word of God lived among us. The Word was God, and lived among us - Matt 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Think about it further and deeper. The Word of God came to live with us. Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. And then also Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So then, in Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Sum it up - Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus came to the world and we should receive him, and we should believe Him, and we should have faith in Him. Our faith comes from hearing His words, and His words are found no where else but the Bible.

Remember Jericho

Joshua 6:1 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in."
Joshua 6:17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury."

Here's another wonderful Bible study taken from the Old Testament. More than anything, - or - a large part of this story speaks to me of the character of God, and how His people responded. Here we can read how God told His servant Joshua what to do, and then we can see how he followed. Such a great example is Joshua. It is also a reminder to me that God's ways are not our ways. Things of God sometimes don't make sense to me - and sometimes they are simply not meant to make sense to me. Sometimes, I'm simply to have faith in Him and obey rather than to question Him on everything. That is hard to do because I am human and He is God. But, when we can give up ourselves to follow God, He is faithful and will bless us. This I must put much greater effort in than spending time trying to figure out the "why". Why, why, why? I dunno - I gotta stop asking myself why, and just do, do, do.

What I've been struggling with, and so this story is constantly before me, is pretty clear. The question I want myself to consider is this: Does God bless faithful obedience? Does God punish faithless disobedience? Let's read this story found in the next chapter:

Joshua 7:1 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel. (But Joshua did not know this and sent men to the city of Ai to capture the city - but God was not with those men and they were chased back to camp and could not take the city)

Joshua 7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!'"

Joshua 7:19 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me." 20 Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath." 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

If you'd like further reading on God's dealing with His creation in disobedience, then read this story: Numbers 16 which I talked about earlier in a blog posting: What motivates You?

There's no doubt in my mind that in the Old Testament, He did in fact bless faithfulness and punish disobedience. Does God still do that today? Your thoughts are welcomed. Let's study this together if you like. My mind is not made up but I am humbly seeking His will and I believe it is revealed to us in His holy scriptures. In my humble, human opinion I start asking these questions:

• If I am faithful to Him, am I blessed in this life or the life to come?
• If I am disobedient, am I punished in this life or the life to come?
• If I sin, and continue in sin, and do not repent, does God try to "wake me up"?
• If so, how does He do it?

I attribute my "bad luck" with God's way of getting me to repent and seek Him and rely on Him.

Boys, Get A Rope.

Examine the picture for a moment, and then think on these things:

Rope can be bendable, stiff, soft, brittle, strong, or weak. Rope can be stretchy, can sink or float, can burn or is fire resistant, can tangle and fray. Rope can be used for good or for bad. Rope can be used to bind or to loosen. Rope can be used to kill or to set free. Rope can be used to move objects or to restrain objects. Rope can be used to rescue or to abandon. Rope can be used to trip or to snare us. Good rope is made up of many strands. Bad rope is made up of few strands. Rope can be rugged and take a lot of punishment, but also benefits from care.

When the life of someone you care about or the security of all your worldly possessions depends on the integrity of a rope, it's better to have a strong, dependable rope that's in good shape and care, rather than relying on an old, worn, brittle, frayed rope. Take care of your rope, and it will take care of you.

I met with several of my Christian brothers last night as we were all 'tied up' discussing several issues that tend to bind us up, that 'trip' us in our Christian walk. I've heard it said before, and felt it was relevant. So I reminded the guys that when we're together, we are much stronger than we are when we're alone. When we're at work, in our office, at school, out to eat, anywhere that we can name where we are alone or away from our Christian influences, we can become tempted and be 'tripped' up so much more easily than when we're 'bound' together.

Think of our lives, our purpose, our responsibilities toward each other, and I'm reminded of our group as being like a rope. Guys, we're tied and wound up together in this Christian life. Separately, we're weak. But together, we're strong. We can handle so many things together, that would absolutely destroy us when we're apart. Take it further, and our group could be only a small portion of the larger rope. As you've already read, and seen and studied the picture, Rope is made up of many single strands of thread called yarn, which are in turn twisted together into larger strands, which are in turn twisted into larger strands called Rope. When one single strand is broken, the other strands help to carry the load. Our lives should be the same way. When we're hurting, we need to let our brothers know, so that we can help to carry the load. And together, we can pull ourselves out of any situation. Together, we can pull down any walls. Together, we can lift anyone up from out of the pit. Together, we can bind up the devil; we can tie him up to a tree. Together, we can loosen the strangle-hold of hate we have for others by learning to become soft and bendable. Together, we can pull the rocks and trees and stumbling blocks that are before us. But apart, we can do nothing.

Let's take care of what we have brothers. Let us nurture it, care for it, untangle it, straighten it, and soften it. More than that, let us add to it by tying more and more to us, so that we can continue to grow and become even stronger. Think of all the people you know who are by themselves. Let us help to save them. Let us give them the chance to make it - together.

The DISC "C" Personality Type

I learned something about myself, that I never really knew. Or maybe the thought crossed my mind, but didn't fully know or realize it. This morning, in our new Married class in church, which focuses on building better marriages by learning to become a better person, I learned a lot about myself that I didn't know. Why do I act a certain way? Why do I interact with others a certain way? Why do my emotions get the best of me sometimes? Why do I treat my wife and kids the way I do. Why do I work the way I do? I was so interested after our class, that I wanted to know further about me, so I did a quick little research, (a major personality characteristic of the "C" type personality) and my eyes were opened a little further. Now it's been said that most people are hardly ever 100% single personality, but they share some other personality traits, and this further makes everyone unique. In fact, those of you who are familiar with the DISC behavioral style analysis ( I found my information here: http://www.wittcom.com/what_is_DISC.htm ) might be interested to know that I was about 60% "C" type and 40% "S" type. So you can understand a little bit more about me, I'll share with you my findings:

• I have a strong desire to be right - (C)
• I spend a long time in research before I can make a decision - (C)
• I feel as though I am accurate and that my decisions are logical - (C)
• I am a stickler for rules and regulations and guidelines - (C)
• I am interested in boiling a solution down to its finest detail - (C)
• I prefer to work alone - (C)
• I have very high standards for myself, and wish those same qualities on everyone else - (C)
• I am a perfectionist at certain things. - (C)
• I respect the way things have always been done, and I am slow to change - (S)
• I work hard — often behind the scenes — at creating a stable, harmonious environment - (S)
• I dislike conflict and sudden change - (S)

I am motivated by:

• being right, or finding the right answer - (C)
• having access to information and data - (C)
• having the time to investigate the problem - (C)
• being dealt with in a reserved and courteous manner - (C)
• Working in a stable, harmonious environment where I can complete one task at a time - (S)
• Having clearly defined — and unchanging — rules and expectations - (S)

I am deflated when:

• I deal with sudden or abrupt change - (C)
• I am required to socialize - (C)
• I am required to deal with emotionally charged situations - (C)
• I lack the time to process information or to evaluate the consequences - (C)
• I work in a manner that lacks quality control, organization, or regulations - (C)

When I am stressed I can:

• suffer from analysis paralysis - (C)
• get bogged down in the details, never coming to a conclusion - (C)
• withhold information and become stubborn - (C)
• become overly critical, of myself, and of others - (C)
• give ideas, instead of selling ideas - (C)

Here's a few things that I can work on to be a better person:

• Become more open to other people's ways of thinking and communicating
• Learn when it is appropriate to settle for good enough
• Gain perspective on the consequences of being wrong
• Know that I don't have to know everything before voicing an opinion or making a decision

I'm telling you guys, it would be helpful if we all could really open up further, so that we can learn each other's strength's and weaknesses - in an effort to better understand each other. Now I know why I am what I am, and now you also know.

Forty-three Minutes

Matthew 7:6 "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."

Matthew 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Matthew 10:14 "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet."

John 1:11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

John 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day."

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
(The New King James Version)

I had heard an interesting story on the radio a few months ago, back in January. It was a complete setup. An experiment created to see the reactions of busy people, in a busy world, who had the chance - the opportunity to stop for a moment in their busy lives, and listen to beautiful music. The setting was in our nation's capital city of Washington DC. And the target audience was mostly White-collared workers, en-route to their high paying capital offices, working for the nation's high class VIP's. The Washington Post created the experiment with the goal in mind to publish their findings. What the Washington Post wanted to find out is would the typical Washingtonian stop for a few minutes of their busy lives, their busy morning to hear some beautiful music? But more than that, it was a test to see if busy, modern day people would recognize one of the best classical violin players in the world. A child prodigy, Joshua Bell, now 39 is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso playing to crammed symphony halls most every week. The Post was trying to test if the context, or the
place at which Bell played, and in such a busy and inconvenient time, affected the outcome. Or what the perception of the people would be in hearing such fabulous classical music, by such a famous classical player, and if he would even be noticed, or appreciated. Also at stake was the people's priorities. It was set up purposely at a very busy time, in a very busy place only leaving literally seconds for people to first of all notice the player, the beautiful music, determine if it was convenient enough to leave a few bucks in his open case, or simply walk on by without any contact, or best of all, if people were even willing to stop for a few seconds, for a few minutes and listen.

Before the event took place, the possible outcome was asked of a famous conductor who had guessed that there would even be a need for crowd control. When the conductor was asked how much money he felt the undercover classical player might earn, he was confident that he would
earn a whopping $150. The conductor also guessed that at least 30-40 people would recognize the famous musician for who he was. And he figured that at least 75-100 people would be moved enough by the music to stop, and listen for a few minutes. Turns out, the famous conductor was quite wrong.

In the 43 minutes that Bell played, only seven people stopped and stuck around to hear Bell play, for at least a minute. Twenty seven people gave some money for a total of $32 plus change. The rest of the people who were counted, a total of 1,070 people who hurried by, never stopping, practically oblivious to Bell, and the music he played. Pretty humbling if you ask me. For someone like Bell, who is used to playing to the crowd, who is used to being recognized, as long as he's in character, in the right context, normally after his performances, was practically ignored for an hour of soul pouring performance.

The Post writer asked the age old question. "If a great musician plays great music but no one hears, was he really any good?"

This story for me had so many similarities to the life of Christ and how only a few stopped to listen. If the people had only realized who was among them, the famous Joshua Bell, whom they had heard many times in their evenings of concert goings, they would have surely stopped, listened, even asking for an autograph. The same could be said about Jesus. If the people had really known who was with them, the son of God, the creator of the universe, the savior of the world, if only they would have known, they would have treated Him differently. The beautiful music that Bell played seemed so familiar with some, while others were simply too busy to even recognize the same song they heard the week before. The beautiful words that Jesus spoke to the people, only a few realized the worth of such wonderful words, while others paid no attention to His comforting and peaceful words. The instrument on which Bell had played was a priceless antique. Christ's sacrifice was truly one-of-a kind, yet only a few knew and saw it's worth. Many other parallels could be drawn. but I invite you to read the article for yourself if you have time, or for a shorter amount of time, listen to the NPR broadcast of the short story they did on this Pulitzer winning article by the Washington Post.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9521098

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html?referrer=emailarticle

Are you listening to what God is saying in His Word?