I Just Want to be Faithful

"One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" Mark 12:28-30

"If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Romans 14:8


I have been reading a new devotional this year, it's a devotional about church history. It's great. I'm not always super great with remembering dates and stuff like that and I never did really great at history in school, but I love the overall story of history. I love to find patterns in what people do and to seek out what made a particular person successful or what had the biggest impact on their life.


As I read through my Christian history devotional the one thing that sticks with me the most is that everyone in that book simply purposed in their heart to be faithful. I haven't read yet about someone who sat down one day and said, "I'm going to be the greatest preacher this world has ever seen!" And there are some big names in this book, names like Billy Graham, Kurt Warner, Keith Green and James Montgomery Boice. The theme that comes up again and again is that these people purposed in their heart to simply be faithful.


I think we have a choice, we can purpose in our heart to simply be faithful to God or we can choose to be faithful to ourselves. At some point, we need to stop and say, "God, I choose to be faithful to you. I simply choose to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and  strength." It doesn't have to be fancy, but it does have to be real. 

I chose a while ago that I will simply follow God and be faithful to Him and not myself, but I proclaim it today; I will simply be faithful to God. I don't care if that means I have to flip burgers or scrub floors for the rest of my life. I don't care if I have to lose my other foot. I choose to simply put my faith in God and accept His will for my life.

Will you join me? Let's see where it takes us.

The Future is Out of My Hands...

The following is an e-mail I wrote to a friend. Normally I would write an original blog entry, but this letter sums up what I was going to write again anyway. I'm not going to include my friend's name, I'll just say he's going through some pretty tough times right now...

"Dear..., 

I am, of course praying for you. I know there a lot of people that are praying for you.

I want to share a passage with you, that I'm sure you know, but it's a verse that gave me great hope when I was going through the decision about what to do with my foot.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:26-28

Specifically, it was verse 28 that brought me the comfort. I was, and you are, looking down a hallway that looks very dark, with not a lot of hope down there. But I had to be faithful; I had to trust that the Bible was true, was accurate, and applied to me. It's not easy, but this is really where the rubber meets the road when it comes to our faith, are we going to trust that God not just knows the future, but He knows the future because He plans the future, and it will work out for His glory.

This is not just the place where you faith becomes more important in your life, but it also gives you the opportunity to make your faith even more real to the people around you. We only have to look to Paul to see an example of this in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

We both have a dark cloud hovering over us, yours seems darker than mine with all that you are going through, and I don't know what's going to happen with my other foot yet. But what I do know is that God loves both of us, God wants what's best for us, and whatever happens, it will work for God's glory, so we should be rejoicing in that."



I hope this brings all of you comfort. This is something that I talked about several times this week as I was out with Coastlands. And that is a huge blessing in and of itself, I had a wonderful week with Coastlands, and I look forward to more weeks in the future.


Also, I get my car set up with hand controls this week so soon I'll be able to drive again!


Thanks for reading!

Overcoming Trouble

"For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
   and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
   and my blessing on your descendants." Isaiah 44:3

I love verses like the above one, while it was originally a promise to Israel, I think it still holds true today. I think where a lot of people get into trouble is when they only look at verses like the one above and always expect their live to be easy. People tend to forget that while God promises us a victorious life, he never promised us an easy life. Look specifically to John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Looking at this verse, we can see that we are actually promised a hard life, but what we need to realize is that our reward won't be here on Earth. You can't live an easy life as a reward for a life you haven't lived yet.


Today's entry is brief, but contains an important lesson, life isn't easy, but we know it can be victorious. I've referenced Romans 8:28 before, but that's where I point to when I need to make sense of something I can't make sense of. All things work for the glory of God, not some things, not even most things, all things. 


This is where I need to keep looking to make sense of what's happened to me in the last year.

Either/Or? Nope, Both/And

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
   But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
   Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." James 2:14-18

First of all, for those of you who follow this blog, I'm sorry it's been so long since my last blog entry. I'd like to say it's because I've been so busy, but I really have no excuse. The only reason I haven't been blogging is because I've slacked off with my devotional time. There is certainly no good excuse to neglect the reading of God's word, in fact what I write about today might touch on this.

Anyway, on to the entry...

This past few months, more than any other period in recent history, I've been the recipient of the generosity of my fellow man. And as I was reading the above passage with my Bible study group last night, I got to thinking of how blessed I've been by people putting their faith into actions.

First of all, I know a lot of people might point at this verse and say exactly what the someone in the passage said; "this passage is obviously saying that it's the works that get you into Heaven, and if you want to believe that, that's fine for you, but I believe it's my faith and since I have that faith, I'm all set." And then you have the other side of the coin, where someone will say; "Look at all the stuff I've been doing, I'm involved in this ministry at church, I do this and that, I've done enough stuff that I'm definitely going to get into Heaven." The mistake that both of these people are making is that it's not an either/or situation, it's a both/and situation.

James is saying that you can't have true faith without it flowing out into your life. I have been blessed with wonderful friends who let their faith flow out into their life every day. I've been blessed with monthly supporters who have continued to support me even when I haven't been able to go out with Coastlands, and I have friends who, even though they can't financially support me, they pick me up and drive me places and make sure I can get to things. In both cases I can see how their faith is being lived out in their actions.

So my challenge to all of us today is to make sure our faith is being lived out in our actions. And I promise I'll be writing more often.

God bless you!

Care Casting

"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." Psalm 55:22

There is one thing that almost always can keep me awake at night, money worries. This is a problem I've had for many years because I've only become very financially prudent in the last couple of years. I opened up two credit cards when I was in college (one of which I'm still paying off) and struggles for years to make payments on time and make sure I had enough money in the bank to cover checks that I wrote.

Granted, these were problems of my own doing. I've never made a ton of money, but I've always wanted to live beyond my means. Fortunately, these problems, while of my own doing, were also problems God gave me the ability to deal with. Dealing with these problems wasn't easy, it meant I had to do without some things I wanted. It meant I had to miss out on things I wanted to do. But it also meant I was able to keep up with my bills while I was on unemployment, even get ahead on some. It's also the reason I was able to keep up with my bills over the last few months of total unemployment.

Of course, I also couldn't have done it without the generosity of my monthly supporters who have continued to support me even when I haven't been going out to schools with Coastlands Consultants.

The bottom line is, it was only when I gave these issues to the Lord when He enabled me to overcome them.

Cast your cares on the Lord today, see what He does!

Some More Wisdom, Please.

"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”" 1 Corinthians 3:19

This morning I was reading through Job 28, where Job is speaking on wisdom. I encourage you to read it and pay close attention to the last two-thirds of the chapter, specifically verses 12-28. this chapter tells us a bit about wisdom and where it comes from, God. It specifically tells us that God has, "looked at wisdom and appraised it;  he confirmed it and tested it."and when God was done, he gave it to man telling us that wisdom is to fear the Lord and shun evil.

How often to we adhere to that definition of wisdom? A lot of people I know think that wisdom is knowing a lot of things, I disagree, I'd say that's knowledge. Let me give you an earthly definition of wisdom...The ability to put your knowledge to use to benefit yourself and others to the utmost. And since the Bible is the best instruction book (I have a friend that says that Bible means Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) on how to benefit ourselves and others, I can see how the fear of God is where wisdom begins. Please note, I'm not speaking of being scared of God, but the obedience.

Today's entry is short, but it's what was on my heart.

Have a great day!

God Is Indeed Bigger Than The Boogeyman

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
   or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
   or weighed the mountains on the scales
   and the hills in a balance?
 Who can fathom the Spirit^[a] of the LORD,
   or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
   and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
   or showed him the path of understanding?
  Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
   they are regarded as dust on the scales;
   he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
   nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
   they are regarded by him as worthless
   and less than nothing." Isaiah 40:12-17

First of all, I know it's been longer than usual between my last entry and this one, my hope is to write an entry every other day, at the outside, and preferably every day, especially since I like to write about what God's speaking to me. If I haven't written for a couple days, that usually means that something else has gotten shoved in there and it's taking my attention away from God, and I don't want that. But also since it's been a couple days, I gave you a long passage of scripture to read. :-)

This passage is a very good passage to read when there is something shoved in between you and God that's taking your attention away from Him. this passage reminds me of just how big God is, just how much He has to do and to what He is paying attention...and still He loves me. The God who created everything by speaking it into existence, the God who has to pay attention to everything that's going on (that's what being omniscient gets you) and the God who works all things out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) and ultimately, His glory, still cares about what's happening in my life.

And unfortunately, I've been a little petty the last couple of days.

You remember, this whole adventure got started by my ankle issues and this blog came into being a week before my right foot was amputated. All this started last May when I went into the hospital, and I haven't been able to drive since. Driving used to be something I loved to do, if I wanted to relax on an afternoon, I'd go for a drive, if I was a bit stressed out, I might take a drive and if I just wanted to get out of the house, I was able to; that's something I haven't done in over six months now. I've been working with Voc Rehab to get myself back to work, and it turns out the person I was working with originally, passed away a couple weeks ago and I've been passed around to 3 different people now since, so I've been set back a month from all that. All I can think about through all this is how it's affecting me, that I can't drive, I'm stuck in the house, blah, blah, waa.

I've decided that, instead of feeling sorry for myself and thinking about how there are things I can't do, I'm going to ponder on God instead. I'm going to think about how big and awesome God is, and how wonderful His works are. I'll drive eventually, I'll get back to my life soon enough, I should enjoy the time off I have right now.

Mixed Bag of Feelings

"Rejoice always" 1 Thessalonians 5:16

I've kind of had a mixed bad the last few days emotions-wise; on one hand, I've been up and about, able to go to church, I've enjoyed Thanksgiving with my family, and I've even been able to take a few steps without the aid of anything, cane or crutch. On that last part, I hope my physical therapist isn't going to yell at me for doing that...

On the other hand, and the thing that really is muddling things is the loss that a family that I'm friends with suffered recently. This family is an awesome family, I was blessed to meet them just over a year and a half ago when I was working with Coastlands Consultants at a school in Connecticut. This family just exudes acceptance and God's love to all those around, and meeting them and learning more about them actually moved me to tears while I was there. This family has adopted several children with special needs, and some with extremely severe needs. A couple of the kids they adopted they saved (this is going to be strong, but these were the words that were used) on the way to the dumpster. These kids they saved were so severely handicapped they were unwanted. The child that just passed was only supposed to live an extremely brief time, but they had 12 years with him.

I know this family is grieving for their loss, but also joyful that this little guy is now walking and leaping and praising God now. I haven't really resolved my feelings, but I wanted to write what's on my heart. Please pray for the family as they deal with this loss, but also rejoice for the life he lived, a life that opened many eyes to the love of Christ, and one that enabled this family to share that love with many.

Let It Snow!

"Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
   wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
 Let me hear joy and gladness;
   let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
 Hide your face from my sins
   and blot out all my iniquity." Psalm 51:7-9

I have almost always loved the snow in winter. I'm writing this while looking out the window at the snow covered ground. I know this is not an opinion shared by a lot of people, but they can write their own blog about how much they hate snow. I love looking out the window at a snow covered vista, not when it's on the road, but I can handle that since I do have a four wheel drive vehicle.

But I digress...

The thing I like most about freshly fallen snow is how clean it looks. And I love that the snow can cover over even the grossest, most dreary looking landscape and make it look fresh and new again. The psalm writer uses imagery like this, but I think it goes even deeper than snow just covering up something bad.

As I said, snow can cover up dreary looking landscapes, a fresh snow can cover up old, slushy, gray/black snow that's full of salt and pebbles and make it look fresh and new. The grace of God can do that for us too, but in a much different way, a way that doesn't just cover up the sins, but takes those sins away. Sure, we remember them, we are sometimes even ashamed by past sins, but the love of God and the sacrifice of His son means that those sins are forgiven, in God's mind, they are no more.

And, while I think it's important to learn from our past sins, and make sure we don't make those mistakes again, I really don't feel that we need to be ashamed of those sins. I think that's just Satan trying to stray our minds away from the love of Christ, and the desire to do His will from now on. I once heard a radio pastor explain it the best I've heard it, he said, "Satan reminds you of your past, Christ deals with your future."

So, enjoy the snow, let it remind you of what Christ has done or can do in your life.

Thanksgiving

"I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30

Just a few Thanksgiving thoughts, I now it's actually the day after Thanksgiving, but I'm still in a thankful mood...

First of all, I'm thankful for things I took for granted last Thanksgiving, I'm thankful I can walk again, a little bit. I'm thankful that I am noticing God's provision even more.

I'm thankful to have been able to see almost all of my immediate family, unfortunately, we missed my sister Tessa. I do love her and miss her, especially this time of year.

And I'm thankful for little things, like I got to see the Patriots win on Thanksgiving.

I'm also thankful for all those people out there keeping the economy going, even if I do thing they're crazy.

Gentleness and More Rejoicing

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1

There are times that I'm not always the nicest person to be with because I don't always react well. Sure, if I'm presented with a challenge, I usually roll up my sleeves and try to work through it, but that's not the reaction I'm talking about. I'm sure that there are people who will read this who know that I do not always react well if I'm told something that rebukes me, or disagrees with me or contradicts me. When that happens, my first reaction is usually one of anger and my first inclination to to strike back. It took me years to realize that, and realize that reaction is wrong.

I haven't conquered this yet, my first reaction usually is still one of anger, but I've managed to temper that a bit. Now, instead of lashing out, more often than not, I just shut up. I've realized that since I don't react well, I shouldn't react at all. So, I'll shut my mouth, try to leave as soon as possible and go process what just happened. That's not the best reaction because sometimes I process a bit to long, but I still think it's better than what I used to do.

Now I'm going to change subjects...I realize I should have put some pictures up yesterday as I now have some pictures on my new foot and me standing on it. Be warned, these pictures were taken on a Saturday morning/afternoon so I'm not all put together, but I wanted to share them anyway...

This is my foot all by itself. I found out at almost the last second that I could customize the color and a design of the socket, so I picked green for the color. I asked them to put a cross on it because I always want to remember the decision I made months ago...that whatever happens, God will be glorified. That cross is actually laminated into the socket, it's a part of my foot.

Here's me standing in the dining room, something I haven't done in a few months, stand without holding onto something. And you can see the dog in the background.

Lastly, this is me in a room I haven't been into in months, the kitchen.

Thanks for reading today.

God bless!

Woohoo!

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
  Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
 Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
  Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100

A wonderful thing happened this weekend...I got my foot! And I was able to walk into church! Now I really feel like things are starting to pick up speed. For the last month and a half, I've felt as though I've been in a kind of holding pattern. I knew I was healing, and that's extremely important, but I also was looking forward to the next step...literally.

I've been able to go places I haven't gone in months, on Facebook, there's a picture of me standing in the kitchen, I haven't been in there in months. I'm not back to normal yet, but just the fact that I can get up and around a bit is huge!

The mechanics are like this, for now; I have the foot on for an hour and a half, twice a day. During the hour and a half time period, I'm to be walking for about twenty minutes, in 4-5 minute blocks. So far this morning, I've gone into the kitchen to get a bowl and toast a cranberry English muffin.

The only bummer I've found so far is that I haven't lost quite as much as I thought I had, but I was only about 5 pounds off, that means I've only lost 78 pounds as opposed to 83. Since I've been weighing myself on one foot, I've had to use my fingertips on the wall to steady myself, and apparently that took 5 pounds off my weight.

People have been asking if it hurts; it only hurts if something isn't right. For instance; if it's slightly askew, meaning I haven't lined it up right with my kneecap. It also might hurt if I need to put some more padding in the socket. My residual limb will continue to shrink and since I need to keep consistent pressure all around, I need to pad my limb with socks, as pressure is supposed to be equally distributed all around what's left of the leg.

If you are praying for me, thank you! Please give thanks for something awesome happening this weekend!

Wisdom

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25

I often try to logic out the things that God has done in my life, or the things that God asks of me, and what I continually find is that I can't. I think there are a couple reasons for this...1-I'm not smart enough, I feel as though I am fairly intelligent, but God is smarter. 2- I can't see the big picture like God can, I can only see a small part, and often not very clearly. 3- God's wisdom is not only wiser than man's wisdom, but different.

I often hear people say things like, "a loving God wouldn't...", or "if God cared about us He would..." I think God both loves us and cares about us, He just does it better than we do.

This entry is going to be very short because it's relatively simple, we can't always see why God does what He does, and if He does make it clear as to why He did something, be happy with that, for the rest, wait until you see Him in Heaven and ask him then.

Let's learn to be content with that.

Prayer and Timing

"In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears." Psalm 18:6

I know sometimes, people think God isn't listening, God doesn't care, or God is too busy with something else that He can't be bothered with them. That is not true. I want to share a couple verses today that speak to prayer, and they're both out of the Old Testament, which is a bit unusual for me.

First of all, if you read this verse, you can see that the author truly believed God heard his cry, God heard his prayer. I just did a quick search on Bible Gateway about heard prayer and got several examples of prayers being heard. So, you can either believe that God hears prayers, or that the Bible just managed to get the examples of when prayers have been heard, I choose to believe that God hears prayers. I believe that, because I've had prayers answered.

Check out this other passage..."A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night." Psalm 90:4

God is outside of time. If God waits a thousand years, it's like no time at all to Him. The same holds true for a hundred years, a decade, a year, a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, a second, since God is outside of time, man-made measurements of time mean nothing to Him.

Our problem is that we're too often like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, saying "I want (insert thing wanted here), Daddy and I want it now!" We want immediate gratification, we're too often not willing to wait even a second for it. We're almost under the impression that since God already knows out hearts, He should already provide our want before we even have to pray for it.

First, I'd be willing to say that God does fill many of our needs before we even know we need something, but since we don't realize it, we don't attribute anything to God. Also, I'm pretty convinced that prayer is mostly for us, not for God, He doesn't need reminding of what we need or want. We pray because the Bible commands us to (see 1 Thessalonians 5:17) and because it changes us, not God's mind.

I've written before about God's permissive will; nothing happens without God's knowledge and without god letting it. He doesn't cause everything to happen (because God cannot cause evil) but He does allow everything to happen. Since God knows everything, and knows us better than we even know ourselves, doesn't it stand to reason that He knows what's best for us?

I'm sorry, I've gotten a bit rambly today, so let me sum up what I was trying to get to...God hears your prayers, God answers your prayers but in His timing, not ours and God's timing is perfect. Remember, sometimes God's answer is "no" because that's not what best for us. But most of all, God loves you.

Listen and Do

“We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.”Job 5:27

This is an interesting verse, it's said by Job's friend, Eliphaz, and if you read Job 4 and 5 you can figure out that it's probably said in a rather patronizing manner. I'm going to encourage you to do something that you should never really do, take this out of context. Take this verse, pick it up, and place it just after anything Jesus said, or Paul said, or Peter said or even James said. Wait...James already said something like this, check out James 1:22-25.

Ironically, I was thinking about something like this while my mind was wandering while I was reading my Bible. One of the things I've learned to do when I find my mind wandering while I'm reading is to start reading out loud. By the way, for anyone writing something important that other people have to head, this is also a great way of proofreading your work. I find reading things out loud force me to focus more on what I'm reading, because it doesn't just involve my eyes doing something, it also brings in my mouth, which forces my brain to engage. But again, I wander...

Think of how many times things would have gone better if you had just listened to what someone told you. I recently have had some success with losing some weight, I still have quite a bit to go, but since I've lost 80 pounds so far, I'm kinda happy. [I know, I did cheat the last five or ten pounds, I just had them cut it off. ;-)] But I only had that success when I decided to listen to what people were trying to say to me, but I also had to change things up, so I went to Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers was great for me, I had people who could help me out by giving me instructions but also provided a way of accountability for me. I know WW isn't for everyone, but I wouldn't be surprised that one of the reasons they're so successful is because they're running on a model that could be called Biblical.

Look at the apostles, they went around in teams, gave instruction, and lived with people to provide an example and accountability. And it speaks on this in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.

To sum up, this is not a commercial for Weight Watchers, I simply used them as an example. What I am trying to say is follow the example of the Bible, read, listen, and do what it says. Ultimately, it will be a blessing to you, it probably won't make life easier, but certainly more rewarding and purposeful.

Scriptural Sword

"And Jesus answered him,  "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"" Luke 4:4

"And Jesus answered him,  "It is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"" Luke 4:8


"for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,'and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"" Luke 4:10,11

"And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"" Luke 4:12


I wish I knew Scripture better.


There are many reasons I wish I knew Scripture better, but the biggest reason is to be able to refute Satan when I am tempted. If you look at the passages I have at the beginning of this entry I have four times when someone quotes Scripture; three times it's Jesus. I can appreciate that Jesus probably is able to memorize better than I am, after all, he's God. And if I had so much written about me, I think it would be easy to memorize it since it's about me and my life.


The third out of four times that scripture is quoted though, it's Satan doing the quoting. That's why I think it's even more important that we know scripture as well as we possibly can; if Satan is going to quote it to us (and he will misuse it) we need to know it so we know when Satan is misusing Scripture. That's kind of a convoluted way of saying "If we know it, it can't be used against us."


Satan is a master manipulator, he knows us better than we know ourselves, he knows what tempts us, and when to throw that temptation in front of us. And it wouldn't surprise me if he gets even greater pleasure when he can use Scripture to tempt us to sin.


The best way for us to know Scripture is to study it. The best way for us to refute Satan is to build a wall of knowledge so he can't break through it. And, according to Ephesians 6:17 it's the one offensive part of the Armor of God. 


So, pick up your sword!

One Month Since Surgery

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

Well, it's been a month since I had my foot amputated, actually almost to the time, too. As i think back on the last month, a few things come to mind...

1- Some things have been harder than I thought, some things not as hard, I guess it's almost evened out in terms of how hard things are. Some things that I hadn't really put much thought into, because I thought they'd be pretty easy, are harder tha I expected, like getting into and out of the car, that's the place I think I've come the closest to falling. But one thing that I thought would be harder would be the want to use my right foot. sure, I've tried to put it down on the floor once or twice, but I thought I'd be trying to use it to balance myself a lot.

2- I've been able to see even better, how god's been providing for me. One of the thigs that was really worrying me as October got closer was how I'd be able to pay my bills, I've spent the last year making sure I was caught up, and even ahead, on my bills, and I know that October was the last month I'd be able to rely on my savings to get me though. But God provided (!) when I was in the hospital, I received a letter from Social Security telling me my Supplemental Security Income was approved. That, combined with what my monthly supporters have continued to send, just about exactly covers my monthly bills.

3- Even though it stinks that I have to go through this, I've been able to see how things have worked out to make it easier. I'm not diabetic so things are healing better than anticipated, physical therapists are very happy with how my leg is shaping up, I even had one tell me the other day that I was in great shape, I'm sure she meant my leg. (It's the only time I can remember someone telling me I was in good shape!) And I've told a few people that if this was going to happen anyway, and from what I've learned about my situation it probably would have, I'd rather have it happen now, while I'm in my thirties, than when I'm in my sixties or even older.

4- I said before the surgery that if giving up my right foot is what it takes for me to have a deeper relationship with Christ, I'm ok with that...and I still mean that. My relationship with Christ has deepened so much over the last month, it's been amazing. I'm closer to God, I feel the fruit of the Spirit more in my life and my quiet time has become a time I look forward to, not just something I feel I have to do.

I'm so thankful that I made the decision that I made months ago; that no matter what happened, God would be glorified in this. That has been key in keeping perspective in all of this. While I don't believe God caused this to happen (see James 1:17) I do believe God allowed it to happen. If God is Omniscient (He can see all) and Omnipresent (He is everywhere) and Omnipotent (He is all-powerful) then nothing can happen without Him allowing it to happen, that's God's permissive will. So, if I believe God allowed this to happen, I have to believe it will work out to my ultimate benefit, because of what Romans 8:28 says; "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"

Don't follow Me

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

I used to think that Paul seemed a bit full of himself when he wrote this verse. As I read the Bible more and as I come to know more about Christ and the apostles, especially Paul, I've decided that this statement is ok for Paul to make. (I know, you were worried, right?) But it's not a statement I would ever make.

I get concerned when people come up to me to tell me what a good job I'm doing handling this situation...because I know I'm not doing much of all except letting God take over. But maybe that's good enough. How often do we let God take over? More than likely, we try to take control, we want to be in charge, and we want to take the credit. As often as someone comes up to tell me what a good job I'm doing, I tell them as quickly as I can that it's not me, it's all God, I don't want the credit.

As I was thinking about this, I started to wonder if that's really true is this blog a good thing to do, isn't it still me writing this blog for others to read? Am I doing it for me? Let me say this as plainly as I can...GIVE THE GLORY TO GOD. I appreciate what people say to me, and I'm happy to keep sharing as long as God gives me something to share, but the second I write this blog to get any fame or glory for myself is the second I want someone to call me on it, and maybe the time I stop.

Let me share a story with you..

The donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride.
He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. “I’ll show myself to them,” he thought.
But they didn’t notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.
“Throw your cloaks down,” he said crossly. “Don’t you know who I am?”
They just looked at him in amazement. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move.
“Miserable heathens!” he muttered to himself. “I’ll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me.”
But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the market place.
“The palm branches! Where are the palm branches!” he shouted. “Yesterday, you threw palm branches!”
Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.
“Foolish child,” she said gently. “Don’t you realize that without him, you are just an ordinary donkey?”

That's me, just an ordinary donkey without God I wouldn't be able to accomplish much more than getting myself in trouble. So, please don't think of me as anyone more special than anyone else.

While I do think it's ok for us to follow Paul's example as he follow Christ's, I don't want people following me; I'm a sinner, I struggle with anger, lust, sloth, gluttony, and sometimes I don't react like I should, I'm not always kind, I should be more patient, loving, and careful. So don't follow me or my sinful example.

Let's walk alongside and follow Christ's example.

Where To Look?

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:10-14

I love to go camping. I'm not talking about the giant motor home-with-all-the-gadgets type of camping, I'm talking about a tent, campfire, and sleeping bag type of camping. I was thinking about this earlier today. I'm not sure why, it's kind of chilly today and the day after tomorrow will be November, but I was just thinking about how I want to go camping but can't right now.

But I probably will be able to next summer.

Yup, that's right, hopefully next summer I'll be bale to do something I haven't done in years because it's been too hard to. I haven't been able to go camping in the last several years because I was worried about my ankles letting me get up off the ground, I've been worried it'll be too uncomfortable and I've been pretty tied to my CPAP machine. I did camp a bit the summers of 2006 and 2007 at Soulfest in New Hampshire and I loved it. I don't know why, but I think things taste good when cooked over an open fire or on a Coleman stove.

Being able to look past what's going on right now has been key in having such a positive attitude as I've gone through my amputation and as I sit at home with no way of getting myself around. That's not going to last forever, I will be able to get out and do things eventually. And that eventually is getting closer and closer. I'm only a couple of weeks away of getting measured for my temporary prosthesis, and about a month away from actually receiving it and being able to learn to walk with it. I can't tell you how excited I will be on that day, when I can walk out to my car, get into it and drive myself somewhere, hopefully to a school where I'll be ministering at with Coastlands Consultants. 

The verse I shared at the beginning of this entry speaks to this, I think. Look ahead, look to the prize. Later in that same chapter (Philippians 3)  Paul writes "...let us live up to what we have already attained" and "But our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ," Look past what you're going through, you will get through it. Look to the future, when you can use it to minister to someone goig through something similar, or the same. Look to when you can see how God brought you through it.

But if you'll be looking for me, I'll be the one in the tent, or maybe the one cooking over the fire.

American's Idols

"They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'" Exodus 32:8

I had a hard time trying to decode two things today...1- If I was going to write anything and 2- What I was going to write about. I ended up doing anything but writing. I watched TV, I watched stuff on my computer, the occupational therapist came, I watched some more TV, I took a nap, played around on the computer, turned the computer off, then I turned the computer on and decided to write about idols.

I find it amazing all the stuff we can find to put in the way of worshiping God, and yes, I do look at this blog as a form of worship. I would say it's worship because it's designed to glorify God.

As we can see from my verse at the start of this entry, the Israelites were pretty quick to put up an idol and so are we. At least I'll claim to. Think of all the stuff we put as an idol that gets in our way; work, kids, TV, music, our home, other people, specific causes, sin, money...feel free to add something else to this list. One thing to take note of is that a lot of those things are good things, it's fine to work to support ourselves and our family, our kids are wonderful gifts (not that I have any, but I hope to someday) but if we let those things take our focus off God, they become an idol.

I don't want to come off preachy, I've put up my own idols, but let's work together to kick idols out of our way, and focus on the most important thing, God.