Friends In Need

I have a friend in Haiti. She is the daughter of one of my heroes. Her name is Annette Hala.
She is there working as a missionary in an orphanage. Her sister, April, is keeping us posted on Annette via Facebook. Annette is alright.
She and her fellow missionaries need our prayers, as do the children in their care.

Wayne Hala is Annette's dad. He was the pastor of the church I attended in Iwakuni, Japan. He is in the top 3 of my list of heroes. Please keep the Hala family in your prayers.

To Wayne, Melody, April and Annette: I love you and am thankful for you. May God bless you and keep you.

Father, thank you for my friends. Please keep Annette safe, and guard her mind and heart. Strengthen her faith. Thank you for your mercy. Comfort her family and give them peace.

Believe It or Not

There is always a scripture verse or a famous quote on the front of the bulletin we get at church every Sunday. Today, there was a scripture verse. Habakkuk 1:5.

Habakkuk 1:5 says: Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.

The context of that is that there would be a nation coming that would defeat Israel.

It made me think. If we were to have a modern day prophet come to the United States and preach that God was sending another nation here to exact His judgment on us, we would probably laugh at him and dismiss him as a lunatic. He'd be largely ignored. Nobody would believe him.

There are some things people just aren't going to believe, or don't want to believe.

In John 14:6, Jesus says very plainly that He is the only way to salvation.

That's a very unpopular thing to say in a lot of 'christian' churches today. It's a very unpopular thing to say to those who say they don't need to identify with a religion to go to heaven. "If you are a good person, and treat everyone else with respect, then you'll probably go to heaven." Sounds good and reasonable, right? This is why there are those who don't want to believe the truth. The thought that there is only one way is unreasonable to them.

We would drive ourselves insane if we tried to make anyone believe something they don't want to believe. If someone doesn't believe after already hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, chances are, they aren't going to. The Holy Spirit may draw them, God may change their heart, but apart from that, they are going to believe what they choose regardless of what is told them. (Luke:16:19-31)

But don't lose heart. There are those who will believe. For all those who refuse the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus, there will be those few who are willing to receive it. Those few are worth the aggravation.

Read Isaiah 55:10-12.

Just Wondering

If I were to suddenly gain the powers of Superman, would I use them responsibly or would it corrupt me?

If I had the ability to hear the thoughts of others, would I want to know what they really think of me?

If I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, would I make different choices? Would it change who I am now?

If confronted with some real persecution, would I have the courage not to deny Christ Jesus?

If I were President of the United States, would I break under the pressure, or would I stand firm on the principles and precepts of God?

If I knew today were my last day on earth, how would I conduct myself?

Just some of the silly thoughts that run through my little brain.

Christmas

I heard a song that talked about Jesus. It talked about the religious scholars of His day. About who Jesus is and who it was that they expected. A phrase from that song sticks out in my mind. "Their wildest dreams simply weren't wild enough."

There is an adjective(thanks Jena)that I like to use when describing God: Unexpected.

It started way back in the garden. (Genesis 3:14-15, 3:21) Ever since the fall, the whole law and the prophets pointed to this one event. The most significant event in all of history. The arrival of our Messiah.

The prophet Isaiah told us who our Messiah would be. Immanuel. God with us.
(Isaiah 7:14)

People were expecting some great warrior king. The thought of a homeless guy who was thought to be crazy by even His own family never entered their minds. They were looking for a great leader. They got a humble servant. They were expecting a thunderous entrance and an overwhelming victory. They got a baby wrapped in swaddling bands laying in a manger surrounded by shepherds. (Luke 2:1-19)

Not what they expected at all.

So, who is He? According to the first chapter in John's gospel, He is the very Word of God wrapped in flesh.(John 1:1-14) Is that all? Is he simply the embodiment of all God had spoken? A walking bible?

He is WAY more than that. Read Colossians 1:13-17.

I would like to, if I may, share with you a poem I wrote a while back. It's based on what I call the Old Testament gospels. Messianic prophecies.


The Arm of Salvation (Isaiah 59)

The scene was so sad
His beloved gone wild
His people gone mad
Watching evil and condoning
Then wanting light
They find themselves groping and growling and moaning
Sins are known
So much they have sewn
Truth has stumbled in the street
Justice walks away in defeat
Righteousness watches from afar in shock
But God is here and made a way
That which stumbled is now a stumbling block
God said ‘No More’
He put on flesh
And dressed for war


Merry Christmas! Jesus, indeed, is the reason for the season! Let us join in giving thanks and praise to our great God and Savior, and looking forward to when He comes again...the way He was expected to the first time.

I wonder what Christmas II will be like in Heaven. :)

Thanksgiving

Here we are again. This year went by so fast. They say the older you get, the faster time goes by. It's starting to move by pretty quick for me these days.

This is the time of year we are supposed to stand back and kind of take stock. To look back and think of things for which we are thankful.

Here are a few of mine:

Wise and loving Father, Great and Mighty King, thank you:

for my salvation. I am secure in You forever.

for my wife. She has taught me how to trust again.

for my friends. It is good to be surrounded by people who make you feel loved.

for the children I have been privileged to watch grow into adults. We don't have children, so it is nice to have friends and family who do. We can worry about them, cheer for them, feel disappointed for them, pray for them and be very proud of them, as if they were our own.

for my dogs. It's good to feel like a rock star when I get home. :)

for the trials. I have learned from them, and have come to a deeper understanding of You through them.

for a job that I enjoy.

for the times that I can look back on and understand that it could ONLY have been Your hand moving. I am overwhelmed with emotion and a sense of awe when I look back.

for the sun sets and sun rises. So much beauty, such a work of art that You have created for us to enjoy, and cause us to burst into praises of You.

Thank you is not enough. But words are so clumsy. Thank you for the forms of art you have created within us that we might give it back to You with a thankful heart.

1 Chronicles 16:8, 16:34
Psalm 9:1, 28:7
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Overwhelming Redemption

God is so amazing. The expression of His love for us in Christ Jesus is almost too much to handle. It is impossible to wrap my brain around it.

I am a lot of things to a lot of people. The thing that I see myself as the most is a disappointment. I let people down. That's what I've always been best at. That's how I see it, anyway.

The one I think I have disappointed the most is God. I fall flat on my face every day. I deny Him with my actions. I honor Him with my lips, but often, my heart is far from Him (Matt. 15:7-9 & Isaiah 29:13-14). But it's not just me. It's all of us. We have all fallen short (Romans 3:23).

There is one person in the bible that I love to read about. Simon Peter. His story is so wonderful. His is the story that makes God's grace so real for me. Peter is the one who helps me accept that God does love me and that God's mercy's really are new every morning.

Jesus had several conversations with His hard headed disciple Peter. There is one conversation that Peter would never forget. A memory that haunted Peter, yet one that he treasured.(Luke 22:31-32 & Matthew 26:31-34)
In my own words:
Jesus: "Peter, Satan wants to break you. I have prayed that you will be able to handle it and be even stronger when it's all said and done."
Peter: "I'm ready to take whatever comes. I'm following you no matter what no matter where."
Jesus: "Before the rooster crows, you will have denied me three times."
Peter: "Never happen."

Peter did deny that he even knew Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75). I can see in my mind's eye. That moment. That horrible moment. That eternal moment when time stood still. That moment after the third denial and the rooster crowing and our Sovereign Lord turning and looking right at Peter. That moment when their eyes locked, and they were the only two men on the planet. That moment....oh, that eternal agonizing moment. Defining. That is what I would call a moment like that.

But wait, there's more...

Jesus took up His life again (John 10:17-18) and when the women came to find the stone rolled away, an angel greeted them. He said to go tell the disciples and Peter. (Mark 16:1-7) Wow! ...and Peter. That is significant. That is something to chew on for a while. It is, for me, pregnant with meaning.

And then when two of the guys were leaving Jerusalem, they had an encounter with Jesus, and according to them, Jesus had appeared to Simon Peter. (Luke 24:34) I would love to know what was said in that conversation.

Oh, man! The gospels present us with such a wonderful picture of redemption in Simon Peter. We are forgiven! (Romans 3:24-25) Forgiven and clean before our God! (Romans 8:1)

Sorry to ramble so. It is just overwhelming to think about. I have failed so many times. I find it so hard to forgive myself for my failures. When I read about Peter, I am strengthened. I can once again take hold of the hope that is held out by our Great King. I can encourage others with this very story.

Standing Firm

I was hit with a thought today while I was discussing some of the news of the day with some co-workers over lunch.

We were talking about the current political climate. I don't mind saying that I am very much a conservative where politics are concerned. But I am a Christian first and foremost.

I began thinking that the United States may soon become a country where Christianity is not welcome. Christian views and literature are already banned from most public schools and government facilities. Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all surprised by this. Jesus said that the world would hate those of us who follow Him, because they hate Him. (John 15:18-21)

I have always told my wife that if the United States ever turned against Israel, we were going to move to Israel. The thought I was hit with today at lunch was that if our government in the United States does turn against Israel, we have an obligation to stay here. A duty to set aside our pride and political views for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. After all, that is where our true citizenship is.

We should stay and endure whatever we must endure for the sake of Christ Jesus, for the furthering of His Kingdom. Because of what the bible teaches about shining our light so that the ones who are groping in the darkness can see the hope that Jesus holds out. Because of what suffering accomplishes in us. (Romans 5:3-5)

There is a selfish reason that I had as well. When everything is said and done, and we are in Heaven, standing in abject awe of our King, we will hear the words from His mouth. "Well done" Wow!

There are some promises that He made as well. There will be an award ceremony.
Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17,2:26, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21, and best of all 21:7. Take a few minutes and check those out. Very exciting!

God is AWESOME!