I will take my children into the Wilderness and there I will speak tenderly to them. I will restore their fruitfulness and turn their valley of trouble into a door of hope. Hosea 2:14-15
I am leaving this afternoon for Wisconsin, Fredrick Wisconsin to be exact. As I mentioned in a previous blog I will be renting out a prayer cabin at the Wilderness Fellowship Ministries, to spend a couple of Days with God. I will come home on Thursday. I will have two full days with God. I have no agenda, and no expectations. I am just going to show up, and see what God has planed for me.
When I fasted for Lent, I had an objective for my fasting. By the time Lent was over, I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t quite accomplish what I wanted to. Click here to read my blog titled, “Left at the Alter.” That is why I am going into the Wilderness with no agenda or expectations, because there will be no disappointment, just quality time along with God.
I will bring my bibles, some worship music, and other miscellaneous reading material. I decided that I will not be fasting on this trip. I will not be eating any huge meals, but I will be bringing food. I am excited because there will be no distractions, kids, TV, cell phone, and the time won’t matter because there will be nowhere else that I will have to be.
I will be coming home on Thursday and leaving on Friday for another camping trip with my family, so I don’t know if I will have time to post a blog on Thursday or not, but I will do my best, otherwise I will post one next Monday.
On a final thought and on a totally unrelated subject, I want to give you a few things to think about. Who is Jesus Christ to you? If you died today, do you believe that you would go to Heaven or Hell, why or why not?
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A note about Lamentations
I just finished reading the Book of Lamentations. It is nice and short with only 5 chapters. In essence it is basically a review of the Laments of Jeremiah’s time as a profit.
In the original Hebrew, the first four chapters in Lamentations are acrostic poems. Each verse in every chapter begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 has 66 verses rather than 22 because it is a triple acrostic: the first three verses begin with the equivalent of A, the next three with B, and so on. This was a typical form of Hebrew poetry. Other examples of acrostics are Psalms 37, 119, and 145, and Proverbs 31:10-31.
We all have our own Lamentations in our lives, some have it more difficult than others, but it’s important to remember that our trials here on this earth only bring us closer to God. Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins? Lamentations 3:39. I like to look at it this way, most of the trials (not all) that we have in life, only come because we didn’t do what God wanted us to do in the first place. If we would listen to God the first time, our lives might not necessarily have less trials, but it would certainly be easier to overcome them.
In the original Hebrew, the first four chapters in Lamentations are acrostic poems. Each verse in every chapter begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 has 66 verses rather than 22 because it is a triple acrostic: the first three verses begin with the equivalent of A, the next three with B, and so on. This was a typical form of Hebrew poetry. Other examples of acrostics are Psalms 37, 119, and 145, and Proverbs 31:10-31.
We all have our own Lamentations in our lives, some have it more difficult than others, but it’s important to remember that our trials here on this earth only bring us closer to God. Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins? Lamentations 3:39. I like to look at it this way, most of the trials (not all) that we have in life, only come because we didn’t do what God wanted us to do in the first place. If we would listen to God the first time, our lives might not necessarily have less trials, but it would certainly be easier to overcome them.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Christianity and Star Wars Episode
Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed Him, for they were all expecting Him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with Him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."
But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed. Then He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." Luke 8:40-49.
Do you believe that if you have the Faith of a mustard seed, that you could command a mountain to jump into the sea, and it would happen? Matthew 17:20 says that you can. Lets think about Star Wars for a minute. The Jedi have special powers, where they can do things; things that would be otherwise impossible without the force. They were able to use the force to pick up there light sabers, to keep rocks from crushing them, and even to change the minds of others. There was almost nothing that they could not do with the help of the force.
Christians are like the Jedi, and we have our own force, God. I can do all things though Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13. With God, all things are possible. Matthew 19:26. Today, there are people who have the faith to heal the sick, make the blind see, make the lame walk and raise people from the dead. These people are out there, and these things are happening every day. Why don’t we see it? Because here in America, with live such plush lives, that we don’t need to rely on God to survive. If we are hungry, we go to the food shelf, if we are homeless, we go to a homeless shelter, if we lose our job, we collect unemployment, and worse case scenario, there is the option of welfare. We have the resources to take care of ourselves even in the most troubling times of our lives. The people who live in the most remote places in the world don’t have a food shelf, a homeless shelter, unemployment, or welfare. They absolutely, must rely fully on God 100% of the time for their survival. These remote places around the world, are the places where the missionaries go. These are the places where real miracles are happening every single day.
These are the things that we take for granted here in the States. We need Jesus to inherit eternal life, but we don’t need God to survive, so how can we possibly have enough faith to receive a miracle, let alone do one. The women in the bible who touched Jesus robe, just new that if she only touched it, that she would be set free from her years of bleeding. This wasn’t a theory that she came up with, it was a fact, she new it. So what happened, she touched Jesus robe, and she was instantly healed. Why? Jesus said that it was her faith that set her free. All she did was believed that it would happen, and it did. Now here’s the best part, we don’t need to physically touch Jesus to be healed, all we have to do is have enough faith in Jesus, and we can do anything, including making the blind see, and the lame walk, and yes, even raising people from the dead. The force is with us, the force of Jesus, and in His name all things are possible.
Yes, we can do these things if we only believe that we can. If there was a legitimate purpose to command a mountain to jump into the sea, and you had enough faith, and actually believed that you could do it, in Jesus name, it would happen. Could we actually pick things up and move them around or stop a ceiling from collapsing on us? If there was a legitimate reason for doing so, and you ask it in the name of Jesus, and it would give glory to God, yes, absolutely, you could do these things.
I do honestly believe that I could do all these things, but my flesh is weak, I could do them if I had enough faith. This has been my struggle for quite some time now, having enough faith to do miracles. If I ask for it in Jesus name, and it will give God glory by doing so, I could do these things, and I believe that with all my heart. So why can’t I do these things? I just simply don’t have enough faith, I am a doubting Thomas. Those of you who know me, know that I have tourettes. Not the kind where I swear, but I have tics. I believe that someday, I will have enough faith to be prayed for, and my tourettes will go away. I will be healed, I will be a living miracle of God. I long for that day, so that I will have an amazing testimony to share with people about the awesomeness, and glory of God. I hope that this blog encourages you to think about what it would take for you to trust God, so much, and have enough faith, where you could do miracles too.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."
But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed. Then He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." Luke 8:40-49.
Do you believe that if you have the Faith of a mustard seed, that you could command a mountain to jump into the sea, and it would happen? Matthew 17:20 says that you can. Lets think about Star Wars for a minute. The Jedi have special powers, where they can do things; things that would be otherwise impossible without the force. They were able to use the force to pick up there light sabers, to keep rocks from crushing them, and even to change the minds of others. There was almost nothing that they could not do with the help of the force.
Christians are like the Jedi, and we have our own force, God. I can do all things though Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13. With God, all things are possible. Matthew 19:26. Today, there are people who have the faith to heal the sick, make the blind see, make the lame walk and raise people from the dead. These people are out there, and these things are happening every day. Why don’t we see it? Because here in America, with live such plush lives, that we don’t need to rely on God to survive. If we are hungry, we go to the food shelf, if we are homeless, we go to a homeless shelter, if we lose our job, we collect unemployment, and worse case scenario, there is the option of welfare. We have the resources to take care of ourselves even in the most troubling times of our lives. The people who live in the most remote places in the world don’t have a food shelf, a homeless shelter, unemployment, or welfare. They absolutely, must rely fully on God 100% of the time for their survival. These remote places around the world, are the places where the missionaries go. These are the places where real miracles are happening every single day.
These are the things that we take for granted here in the States. We need Jesus to inherit eternal life, but we don’t need God to survive, so how can we possibly have enough faith to receive a miracle, let alone do one. The women in the bible who touched Jesus robe, just new that if she only touched it, that she would be set free from her years of bleeding. This wasn’t a theory that she came up with, it was a fact, she new it. So what happened, she touched Jesus robe, and she was instantly healed. Why? Jesus said that it was her faith that set her free. All she did was believed that it would happen, and it did. Now here’s the best part, we don’t need to physically touch Jesus to be healed, all we have to do is have enough faith in Jesus, and we can do anything, including making the blind see, and the lame walk, and yes, even raising people from the dead. The force is with us, the force of Jesus, and in His name all things are possible.
Yes, we can do these things if we only believe that we can. If there was a legitimate purpose to command a mountain to jump into the sea, and you had enough faith, and actually believed that you could do it, in Jesus name, it would happen. Could we actually pick things up and move them around or stop a ceiling from collapsing on us? If there was a legitimate reason for doing so, and you ask it in the name of Jesus, and it would give glory to God, yes, absolutely, you could do these things.
I do honestly believe that I could do all these things, but my flesh is weak, I could do them if I had enough faith. This has been my struggle for quite some time now, having enough faith to do miracles. If I ask for it in Jesus name, and it will give God glory by doing so, I could do these things, and I believe that with all my heart. So why can’t I do these things? I just simply don’t have enough faith, I am a doubting Thomas. Those of you who know me, know that I have tourettes. Not the kind where I swear, but I have tics. I believe that someday, I will have enough faith to be prayed for, and my tourettes will go away. I will be healed, I will be a living miracle of God. I long for that day, so that I will have an amazing testimony to share with people about the awesomeness, and glory of God. I hope that this blog encourages you to think about what it would take for you to trust God, so much, and have enough faith, where you could do miracles too.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Jeremiah
I mentioned before in a previous blog that you may or may not know that the Book of Jeremiah is not written in chronological order. In the words of the “Every Man’s Bible,”
“Some scholars think that during the chaotic times, Jeremiah’s secretary Baruch simply filled up every inch of whatever scarce scroll material he could get. Chapter 36 for example, tells us about one time when a sadistic king burned a bunch of his work, forcing him to rewrite it.”
I really enjoyed Jeremiah, which was the first Book of the bible that I did not read; I studied. I took me over 4 months to read it, but I got so much more out of it, than if I would have just read it trough. Jeremiah was just an average Joe like you or me, and God decided that Jeremiah would be a great profit. When God says that we have to do something, we have no choice but to obey. And I can’t stop! If I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak His name. His word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am weary of holding it in. Jeremiah 20:9
Jeremiah was not a popular profit; he never prophesied anything good for Judah. This book leads to the destruction of God’s people, where they are forced into exile for 70 years, a great book when read in correct order. Anyways, I encourage you to read Jeremiah in chronological order.
a. 1:1-7:15 b. chapter 26 c. 7:16 to the end of chapter 20 d. chapter 25 e. chapters 46-51 f. 36:1-8 g. chapter 45 h. 36:9-32 i. chapter 35 j. chapters 21-24 k. chapters 27-31 l. 34:1-7 m. 37:1-10 n. 34:8-22 o. 37:11-38:13 p. 39:15-18 q. chapters 32-33 r. 38:14-39:14 s. 52:1-30 t. chapters 40-44 u. 52:31-34
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