The beginning...

Ok, so where do we begin then? Who can tell me how and why America was founded? What was the intent of the majority of the original inhabitants of America? What were the first reasons for settlers traveling from Europe, mostly, to inhabit this land? What were the first 'charters' or allowances of the rulers over those settlers as they left their homelands, endorsed by governments for a purpose and 'inked' in documents as their mission, intention in the new land? How did these charters become the original documents by which this land was developed, under law, and became the basis for what America was and was to remain?

Very interesting questions, hmmm?

Most of us learned about these things when we were in gradeschool. I am 57 years old and clearly remember the stories of Christopher Columbus, the Puritans, the Pilgrims, Miles Standish, the Declaration of Indendence, Revolutionary War and 1776 as well as the Constitutional Congress, Federalist Papers, Amendments to the Constitution and the development of our country from the early 1800's to the present day.

However, many of you are not my age and may not even remember your American History from gradeschool. Let's see what meaning this information may have of relevance to our national focus, er, our Godly focus that leads to national focus.....

"The battle today is over lordship. This issue of politics today is the issue of sovereignty. Who is the lord of all of life to whom man must give his total allegiance, Christ or Caersar? The answer to this question is the difference between liberty and slavery, justice and tyranny." Volume 1, God and Government, Gary Demar, page x.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certan unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Declaration of Independence....

This is a good beginning... stay tuned... please contribute your ideas.

Love you

Bill/Dad

A new journey... Christian Reconstuction

Good morning, all. Praise be to God for His providence, mercy and grace for such a one as I!

I hope all is going well for you and I pray that God is showing himself alive and active in your lives.

I am going to take a new journey in this blog, hoping to share what has been going on in my heart and head as I have been doing some reading over the past few years.

The thoughts started several years ago as I went to my place of voting here in Dennis, MA during a MA election. I noticed that for the seat of Senator in my District, there was one name, no opponent, just John F Kerry, D, Senator. I was shocked and immediately got a burr under my saddle and determined to get involved in the process to 'effect change'.

Well, suffice it to say that my journey was quite hectic and harrowed. I chose not to get 'directly' involved in running for office (presently), but my interest was piqued and I began to read some things about our country, the intent of our Founding Fathers and, most importantly, our Christian heritage and governance. Those of you who know me best are now thinking; "Oh, my, here we go, Dad/Bill is now going nuts on something else." and your thoughts are quite correct.... Bill/Dad is now going nuts on something else!!

That is what this blog will now become, an education and call to become active in Christian Reconstuctionism or a similar construct to 'get our country back'.

Come on along on the ride......

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 "4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Love you;

Bill/Dad

Subject: A little James Taylor Devo. :-)

For the next few days, I thought we’d spend some time concentrating on the Holy Spirit….

James Taylor sings a wishful song of romance and promise entitled You've Got A Friend and the lyrics are below: (sing along if you know the tune)

When your down and troubled, And you need a helping hand And nothing, whoa nothing is going right. Close your eyes and think of me And soon I will be there To brighten up even your darkest nights. You just call out my name, And you know where ever I am I'll come running, oh yeah baby To see you again. Winter, spring , summer, or fall, All you have to do is call And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah. You've got a friend. If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds and that old north wind should begin to blow Keep your head together and call my name out loud And soon I will be knocking upon your door. You just call out my name and you know where ever I am I'll come running to see you again. Winter, Spring, summer or fall All you got to do is call And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?People can be so cold. They'll hurt you and desert you. Well they'll take your soul if you let them. Oh yeah, but don't you let them. You just call out my name and you know wherever I am I'll come running to see you again. Oh babe, don't you know that, Winter Spring summer or fall, Hey now, all you've got to do is call. Lord, I'll be there, yes I will. You've got a friend. You've got a friend. Ain't it good to know you've got a friend. Ain't it good to know you've got a friend. You've got a friend. The only person who can fulfill the hope of these lyrics is the Holy Spirit.

From the Amplified Bible John 14:16 records Jesus as saying, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever”

Reflection: Consider the lyrics once again, this time focusing on the ‘forever’ Holy Spirit as your Friend. Are you in the habit of calling out to God’s Holy Spirit in your times of need? Do you call ‘out loud’? If you know the hymn “What a Friend We have in Jesus”, alternate these songs in your mind now and for the rest of the day.

From Bill in response....

Amen... you wouldn't believe how applicable this is to what I have been reading and meditating about. Read my blog from Monday... (if you dare, lol).

You know that I was a huge James Taylor fan when younger. His songs are very piercing relative to life and love and survival. Many times since becoming a Believer, I have heard his songs in a different light, thinking sometimes that he may have been a Believer as well. Knowing a bit about his life, I believe he was addicted to drugs for awhile and, of course, we know of his divorce from Carly Simon, etc. But, who are we to judge? While he was a drug addict, I was a lustful and uncontrollable youngster only focused on myself, but the redeeming mercy and grace of God through Jesus Christ has saved me and I pray that God has allowed him to see Christ ...

now, life is illuminated through Him and truth is evident in all of life, including songs written by James Taylor back in the 60's and 70's (ions ago, eh).

Indeed it is the Holy Spirit that is our true friend. He will 'brighten up, even our darkest night.' and 'I'll (he'll) come runnin' and 'keep your head together and call my (His) name out loud, soon I'll (He'll) be knockin' on your (our) door.'

This is most poignant; Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend? People can be so cold. They'll hurt you and desert you, they'll take your soul if you let them. Oh yeah, but don't you let them. You just call out my name ....

Isn't this a true observation of life as it is? People are so challenging, they are so needy, they are so influential in our life. We can't depend on all people. Even the closest and most loving of the people we associate with are human beings and can't be depended upon to have our best interests at heart. We know this because we know ourselves. We know this because all of us have been deceived and disappointed by our loved ones. And I have observed that the closest and most revered of our acquaintances can ... 'take your (our) soul if you let them... oh yeah, but don't you let them'.

Just call out His name, Jesus, and you know wherever He is (all around, everywhere as well as in our hearts), He'll come runnin' to see us again, to minister to us again, to comfort us again, to remind us of all things again.........oh, yeah, yeah.... you've got a friend.

Thanks be to God!!!! We've got a friend. You are amazing, God.....

Love you;

Dad

He's baacckkk - again..

Good morning. It has been awhile, but, same old, same old. So much has gone on since my last post, that it would take way too long to catch up, so, instead, I'll just go into what is spiritually on my mind this AM.

We are so blessed to be saved by God through faith in Jesus Christ!! There is no other way and I hope that we are continuously exhibiting this redeemed life and witnessing to the truth of the Gospel message whenever prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so.

Ok, then.... I have been reading for our church Sunday School, the Purpose Filled Life study; "Growing to be Like Christ". We got into Chapter 2 and were discussing the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is a magnanimous study, but just this morning, I was reviewing one of my most pointed scriptures relative to my life in Romans, Chapter 7 and into Chapter 8 as well;

Romans 7:21 “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

5b but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

6b but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace

9 You however are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through this Spirit, who lives in you.

13b but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Now there's alot of spiritual 'MEAT' in these passages, but suffice it to say that we all are struggling with our body's desires and our dedication to be godly. God has given us a way of escape, a way to live for Him and for others, and it is in that last verse up there...

13b but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Self control through the power of the Holy Spirit = VICTORY……

Go figure....

Love you

Bill/Dad

"John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

Just being a person... redeemed of course...

Happy Monday, all. Looks like I'm becoming a Monday poster.... lol.

All is well. Normal, of course, running the rat-race, family, work, relationships, basketball (final four you know) and hoping, soon, to get to play some golf... ha.

But... constantly on my mind and heart is .... tada... The Lord. I am constantly thinking of Him, of Jesus and of my life in Him as a redeemed sinner who has no right to be called a child of God, a priest; His!! Yet, my thoughts, actions, words and demeanor do not accurately reflect who I am in Him. It is enough to drive me nuts.

I was drawn to David's Psalm 51 this AM as I was confessing my inner turmoil. It enlivened me, again, to how we are all the same and it is God's redemption, God's mercy and God's grace that allows me (us Believers) to have any value, any worth, any validity to represent Him on this earth.

Psalm 51

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

He will and He does....

Love you

Bill/Dad

Interesting; just yesterday afternoon Anne and I were listening to a few CD's in her car and one of the Christian compelation CD's had Gary Chapman's (Amy Grants' first husband) song on it, "A Man After Your Own Heart". It really touched my heart.........

"Oh God, Father in heaven and earth I call to You like deep calls to deep over water. Show me Your endless measure of grace. Let tender mercies shine once again from Your holy face. Deep in my soul there's a craving to please the One who has saved me. O God, though I have fallen so far You know that I'm still a man after Your own heart.

I am driven by rivers of pride. You are my rescue the Maker and Keeper of my life. Lead me by the still waters again. Use me in spite of the prodigal child that You know I am. Just as a deer runs to water, so does my soul to You, Father. O God, though I have wandered so far You know that I'm still, a man after Your own heart. I'm still a man after Your own heart."

Are you?

Gotta Post Something... JK

Hey all;

I have been blessed to be inspired (complex sentence, but true) to do some real Bible diving; reading Romans and Ephesians and a bit of Old Testament and posting my thoughts in my journal, etc. But, I haven't felt inspired to add these thoughts and Scriptures to this Blog for a week now..... so, I better post something as I know you all (who?) are missing hearing from me. (well, good imagination anyway, lol).

Well, I was just reading an eNewsletter I have been receiving from Made to Matter, a work oriented devotional that, I believe, sprang out of the Park Street, Boston church when there was a ... yeah, I remember now, Marketplace Ministry headquartered there. If I'm off on this, sorry.

But, Randy Kilgore is a prolific writer and clearly has a gift to write on this important ministry... so here goes;

So, Who's Right?

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! -Ezekiel 13:3

Jeff is facing a crisis of conscience at work. Looking for answers, he's been cruising the websites and blogs specializing in workplace faith issues. The trouble is, he's finding contradictory answers to his questions. So whose advice should he follow?

With the proliferation of websites, blogs and self-publishing, Christians are bombarded by people teaching them how to live out their faith at work and at home. Often the people... continue reading..

http://www.madetomatter.org/

Love you...

Bill

Life is grande

How much the Father loves us!! Even while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

Sunday School yesterday was delightful. It was the first time for us with this new group and they were lovely folks, similar in age and experience to Anne and me. We're studying Ephesians and the specific verses were; 14-20

"14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

What do you think is the most important part of the verses above?

We must Believe in Jesus Christ!! We cannot achieve the 'glorious riches', 'strength', 'power' ... in our inner being, nor have 'Christ dwell in our hearts through faith' and all the other wonderful attributes of a life of faith without believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior; the one who sacrificed himself to attone for our sin and allows us to enter into the inner sanctuary of a close and personal relationship with the God of the universe.

This is where the rubber-meets-the-road; we cannot partake in the life of God without surrendering to Him and believing the message of the Gospel; "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father, but through me." John 14:6

Come to the Father. How? Ask me!!!!!!

Love you....

Pure in heart... am I?

I'm in a bit of a funk this AM. Thinking about my sinfulness and the difficulty of being less than pure, tempted over and over throughout the day; succumbing and falling deeper and deeper into shame, but.... I was immediately encouraged as I confessed to God and was guided to the Word when I saw Sharra's Facebook entry;

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Wow, miraculous that I would be guided to that, just by spending a short time seeking Him and following the inspiration to His Word.

Verse 1 states; "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." Whoops, that is just what I was lamenting; how impure I am. But, I am part of Israel through Christ. I am pure in heart because I believe in Jesus Christ as God's redemption for the lost; you and me!

The book goes on to identify the 'envy' felt by David toward the 'arrogant' (non-believers) as he speaks to God in this Psalm. He speaks of their 'apparent' peace and contentment in their sinfulness, but, they are not so and will receive their 'just' reward, similar to the way the flower fades and dies.

The bottom line for me in this is that God is our EVERYTHING and we are His people on this earth; redeemed, forgiven, enlivened by His Spirit and priests for Him.

Let's not let Satan convince us otherwise and let's maintain our focus on Him and His word to respond to His promptings for loving Him and others as ourselves. In this is the whole law.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2073&version=31

Love you.......

Romans 11: 32 For God has bound ALL men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[i] knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

34"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"[j]
35"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"[k]
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 12
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Wise Long-term Investing

Another post from my friend, Bob McCook

Monday Morning
Challenging the way we think about the coming week

March 9, 2009

Wise Long-term Investing

Matthew 6:19-21 Don’t pile up treasure on earth, where moth and rust can spoil them and thieves can break in and steal. But keep your treasure in Heaven where there is neither moth nor rust to spoil it and nobody can break in and steal. For where your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there too.” JB Philips

I must admit that when I looked at this command, I assumed Jesus was anticipating economic scenes like today… and then I laughed. Few are bragging about their wise investments. The mail or Wall Street Journal or the internet brings the news of painful losses and hopelessness for our earthly future… unless you know Jesus.

We, who are in Him, have hopefully learned the lessons of wise and unwise investing. Even if you invest your money well, it will remain behind. Don’t you agree that only those who hold their “riches” with outstretched open hands have a peace beyond measure? Paul writes to Timothy these words, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Our contentment means nothing apart from Jesus. It’s just words.

You might think it unfair of me to write these words at this time. Perhaps you are right. With an economy going south, unemployment rising, and record government spending, perhaps I should be offering prayers for our economy but not today. God is in charge. No matter the end result, if we are “in Christ” we will not mind the outcome; it will not separate us from Him. He is faithful and has prepared a way out for His Children.

No one ever said that being a follower of Jesus Christ is safe or without risk. Words like safe, risk, trust or contentment have new meaning in the Kingdom of God. We are to risk everything for His sake. Live without fear as though He died yesterday and is returning tomorrow. Avoid risks like “sure-thing” investing but hold contentedly to Jesus’ hand. This is one investment that cannot fail.

Bob McCook
PO Box 634
West Chester, PA 19381
484-614-0367cell
610.429-4076 office
bmccook@priorityone.org
http://www.priorityone.org/
Ministering to men since 1982

I love how one Christian woman responded when asked what she did for a living. She said, "I am a missionary for Jesus Christ, cleverly disguised as a checkout clerk at Kroger's."
Doug Spada, hischurchat work.org 2009

Be strong and very courageous - in Him!!

Joshua 1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua 3:15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Joshua 4:24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."

Hmmm, I am amazed when I go back and read these accounts in the Old Testament. We may have a faint memory of these stories from our Sunday School days, but, when re-read as an adult, they are so much more real and effective.

God's plan for His Chosen Ones (Israelites -which equals Believers in Christ today) is continuing to be played out here. Moses has died, Joshua chosen as the new leader and the Promised Land is in the process of being given to them.

God says; "Be strong and courageous!" and do what I told you to do.

1. Obey the Law of Moses

2. Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth... meditate on it day and night (hello!!)

3. Have the Ark of the Covenant brought to the waters edge

4. Believe and have the Priests walk into the water

5. Send 40,000 soldiers

Later they became successful. WHY? "...so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."

Why is America unsuccessful today? We took God out of our nationalistic lives. We took the 'Law of Moses' out of the schools and public places. We made Belief in God, especially through a belief in Jesus Christ, unlawful to profess in government activities (except in the halls of Congress, believe it or not..., but do they Believe?).

We hear alot about 'taking our government back' these days.

Let's start here.......... Believe, meditate on His Word, trust Him......

Be strong and very courageous!!

Amen, love you...

Bill/Dad

Wisdom.... the fear of the Lord

Job 28:

20 "Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air.
22 Destruction and Death say, 'Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.'
23 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,
26 when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.
28 And he said to man,

'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.' "

Job 42:

1 Then Job replied to the LORD:
2 "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.'
5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

Bill’s added……. “Repent and do good….”

Eternal Life - Knowing Him

In John 17, Jesus is validating his mission and his being sent 'from the Father'.

"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples 6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours."

I am greatly impacted each time I read the Scripture above because it validates the real TRUTH about life and LIFE (life as God intended)!

God granted Christ authority over all people. God, our creator, grants this authority to His Son. He has authority to give eternal life to all that God intends to give eternal life. Hello!! Pretty clear, huh? Any questions??

What is eternal life? TO KNOW GOD AS THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST WHOM HE HAS SENT. He means clouds and angels and pristine and white and cool and.......... no, Eternal Life is to KNOW God and KNOW Jesus Christ.

Who do you know the best? Your best friend? Your spouse? Your brother/sister, boyfriend, huh? Eternal life (heaven, eternity, everything) is to KNOW God and Jesus Christ. To really know them.

Paul's, Peter's and John's exhortations to us in many areas of their letters to the churches are to KNOW God; a relationship with HIM...

How? Again, read the Bible, Christian oriented books, listen to wholesome Christian radio, talk about your faith with your Believing friends. Get to KNOW Him and your Eternal Lifing (my phrase)... haha, LIFE - ing.

How did they get there? By Believing in Christ. By Believing His words, which is 'obeying' what Christ said; Believe in God, believe also in me.

There we go......

Love ya

Bill/Dad

Well... A New Energy for Those I Love

Good Morning!!

Whew, Anne and I have been at it over the last week or so. What do I mean? We've been working, traveling, attending basketball games (of course) and, most importantly, visiting with people we know and love. Yup, that's what's got me invigorated... the people we know and love.

I'm not going to delve deeply into it, but, I have been energized to challenge all of you to participate with me.

This may be violating some copyright issues with the Rick Warren Ministry, but I intend to contact them to ask if it's OK, but................

I challenge you!! Do this with me and your life will never be the same, guaranteed. (get that G?).

I am going to read through Rick Warren's book, "The Purpose Driven Life" and I am challenging you all to read it with me. We will sign the commitment sheet, we will read a chapter a day and we will complete the requirements at the end of each chapter. I am asking you to commit to it with me, to stay on track and to respond each day with an email to me that you are on track. I don't want to coerce anyone to do it, but, I know that when committed, we can do it together and grow in the knowledge of God.

Please email me and I will forward the first chapter to you. We will begin on Monday, 2/23/09.

Please, my loved ones, commit to doing this with me. It will change your life to the better!!!!!

No coersion, but, come on Anne, Mom, Dad, G, Robin, Sha, Robert, Taypo, Damian, McKenzie, Matt, Reilly, Fab????

Bill/Dad

A letter response to a friend of mine;

I am inspired by the letter below. Indeed, I believe you are right and that this type of consideration is important.

As I was reading I kept thinking of the 'prompting of the Holy Spirit' in each Believer's life. I believe that regular Bible reading and study/meditation are critical to the Spiritual conviction of the Believer, including what you have identified as 'socially acceptable sins' below.

I believe the Holy Spirit is working in each Believer's life and each of us is responsible for our response to Him, for instance, I participate in a few of the 'sins' you identify below. I am constantly reminded to, not, waste my time in senseless things like; watching too much tv and sports (in particular), but to use my time more wisely by reading and/or planning for Chrisitian outreach. And, to not criticize (gossip about) others, but to recognize their need for a Savior and being prompted to pray for them vs gossip about them. You see, it is the Holy Spirit that reminds, counsels and guides me to do those things. I believe it is a connection to the Lord through my devotionals and consistency in reading the Bible and fellowship that reminds me to........... obey Him.

We are to encourage those that are not Believers to become Believers. We are encouraged to love our fellow Believers and work within our gifted areas to set the example for our brothers and sisters to 'grow in the knowledge of God'. I recently have been reading a wonderful book by Gary North, "Backward Christian Soldiers" and one thing that jumped out to me was; "The prophets also reminded them of the warnings of Deuteronomy 28. there would be judgments from God: in economics, agriculture, civil government, military strategy, foreign policy, religious worship, and family relations. There is no escape. Sinners must repent.

In other words, the Old Testament prophets closed the escape hatches. They would not let the sinners off of God's hook in any area of life. They told them that God's judgement is comprehensive because men's sins are comprehensive.

But we must never forget what kind of judgement the prophets preached: judgment unto resporation. God had them preach judgement unto destruction to the pagan nations around Israel (except for Jonah, when he preached in Neneveh). What we, too, must preach, is judgment unto restoration." pg 43, Gary North, 1984, Institute for Christian Economics.

Judgment unto restoration is the message.........

In Him.

Where the heck have you been??

Alright, I admit it... I've been a slackard, McFly.... No really, I have been ignoring my devotional time. I don't know exactly why it happens (I do have a bit of an answer I may share another time), but, I believe I am normal and that, at times, each of us slips into our little 'worldly' place. Hmm?

Regardless, I have been drawn back to write and to share.

God is awesome. Just read the beginning of the Bible; Genesis 1.... "in the beginning, God created...." and the rest of the story unfolds from there.

We are new creations in Christ which is what happens according to the New Testament accounts of Christ's walk on earth. When we believe on Him and maintain our faith in God's reclamation of us through Christ, it is our faith in Him that assures our place in Heaven's eternity.

"8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2.

It is our appreciation and thankfulness to God that draws us into a life of faith, love, compassion and service. It is the Holy Spirit that indwells us and continuously reminds us of God's mercy, Christ's sacrifice and our need for God's intervention in our lives and work. We are to 'put on Christ.' It is God that is doing His work in and through us. Praise Him!!!

Look into this life by reading the Bible, maintaining close accounts with God through prayer, recognize the truth about yourself and your need for God's mercy, love others as they are just like ourselves, and, grow in the knowledge of God.

Amen

A Funny Thing Happened...

I have been in a bit of a spiritual funk over the past week. You can see it if you look at the time between posts. I have been focused on the Lord and relatively obedient (other than being a little grumpy), but, I have not been able to read the scripture and meditate as well as I had in the past weeks..... what was going on, I wondered.

Not reading the Word, that's what has been the primary deterent. Anne and I have had early morning work with her telephone triage work 6-8 AM two days last week and last Sunday we didn't go to church because we were doing the same work from 12-5 PM and wouldn't be back home in time for the job, so.... mainly, for those reasons, I have not been primarily focused on my devotional. But, it's not just that. Even when I had the time, I would find something else to focus on; my email, the web news, something, anything that would waste the time. Why, I wonder.

Yesterday, we made it to church, thankfully. Pastor Fran was in day two of preaching on Ephesians as the entire church is on a mission to study Ephesians through the sermon and small groups, etc.

One of my favorite themes is "Knowing Christ, knowing God" and I have often cherished how Paul and Peter and others refer to growing in the knowledge of God. Yesterday Ephesians 1:15-23 was the Scriptural reference and, once again, this verse hit me in the heart; "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." As Fran expounded on these verses, an almost uncontrollable urge came upon me, right during the sermon, to speak up and say something. I tried to not have it overtake me, this urge, but I became more and more convicted that I had to speak up.......... and I did. I raised my hand and Fran saw me. I am not accustomed to doing that in church and we are very new to this church, but I had to do it!!! I said, "May I say something, please?" I wasn't sure how Fran would respond, but, he later told me that since he had known me and my heart that he decided to let me speak. I don't remenber everything that came out, but, I said something like; Are you listening to this? Can you hear what he is saying? This is the truth!! You people have to change your lives!! I also apologized a few times in there because of the fact that folks don't know me as well, but I was compelled to speak.

It was like something had washed through me. I was incredibly emotional. I was trembling and ... spent, actually. Fran said; "The words of the Lord." and continued on with his sermon, seemingly, with an increasingly spiritual fervor.

I was somewhat embarassed. I didn't want folks to come by and thank me or praise me or recognize me for anything or in any way. But, a few did come by and were very encouraging, all of them validating that it was the right thing to do and that the church was very receptive to 'things' like that. A young girl came by and spoke to me about how she was someone who sketches alot and while I was speaking she had sketched the graphic above. I asked her what she thought it meant and she said, "A dove or the Spirit, even a 'big hug'" Wow, I was overwhelmed.

Much more went on......... I know it was the Holy Spirit. I know that it was a special moment from the Lord to validate that He is in us, alive in us and we are His!!

I pray "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."

Amen

Bill/Dad

Why do they hate us?

I have asked and answered this question for a few years now; 'Why do people hate President George Bush so much? I mean he seems like such a sincere man. He has protected our country from attack since 9/11 and , most recently it has been revealed that he and his wife have visited most of the soldiers and families of wounded and fallen Americans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, why do they hate him so much, especially the media, Democrats and liberals?

Matthew 10:22 "All men hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

Remember when Candidate Bush said his greatest hero was Jesus Christ? There's the answer, they hate him because he is a Believer in Jesus Christ!!!!

Amen

Dju Ever Just Thank Him?

I am sitting in my living room trying to pray (which I have had a problem with lately) and all I can do is thank Him. It feels so good, to go thru the list of reasons to be thankful and it's all because of the Father!!

To be born, to be Born Again, to have my faithful wife, to have loving parents, each of my children and grandchildren, the spouses and loved ones of my children, my job and my boss, America!!!!!!

What do we have to be sad for, hopeless of, afraid of, anxious about?

'The world will persecute you, but fear not, I have overcome the world'. Jesus Christ.

A Blessed Opportunity

I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to share the following with a friend from college some 34+ years ago.

I am so thankful that you would take the time to communicate and share these things with me, ______ Truly.

As I read your email, I am brought back to the many things I have experienced as well over the past 30+ years. I certainly haven't been through the trauma you seem to have experienced, but if I look deeply into my private life, I must say, I have been living a similar tale.

I mentioned earlier that one of the most revealing things that happened to me upon becoming a Believer that Jesus Christ is the Messiah was that I recognized how much of a liar I was to God, myself and the world. I also began to recognize more and more what a lustful man (and many other private undesirable traits) I possessed as I read Jesus' words regarding His life and the type of life we ought to lead as His children regarding this type of behavior. I wrestled with these things for quite awhile, believing that I was unworthy of His love because I couldn't stop thinking selfish and other, OK, I'll use the word; sinful, thoughts that were in my mind. I also couldn't stop sinning in my life, whether it was flirting with every girl I saw or lying whenever I was put on the spot or having judgemental thoughts about others. I was a mess.

But, I stayed in the Bible. I tried as hard as I could to read a little of it every day and to speak to God, being honest and up front and asking Him to help me to understand and change. Over time, I began to realize that I was normal, that's right NORMAL!! The Bible says it quite clearly; "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." and there is a beautiful discourse in the letter of Paul to the folks in Rome. It can be found in Romans 7:7-25 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%207:7-25%20;&version=31; Where Paul, the apostle that revealed the Gospel (the good news about the coming of the Messiah) to the Gentiles, speaks about how he is the chief sinner and how he wants to do good, but sin is always there with him; it is a battle for the ages. This helped me realize that we are all under sin. We are all the same in that we have temptations and histories and experiences that make us who we are, but, we don't have to remain there. God sent Jesus Christ here to reveal this to us and to tell us that HE is the answer. HE is the truth. HE is the one that stood in our place and took all of the sin upon Him. HE was judged for that, according to God's promise that we would be judged, but He told us that if we believe in Him as the Messiah, we would be forgiven and would enter into the Kingdom of God and be with Him forever.

Not only are we saved for eternity because of His sacrifice, but, we are forgiven for all of our sin. You know the worst sin of all is "not believing that Jesus Christ is the Messiah" That's the biggy. We aren't able to get past that one, but when we do, really look at Him, read about Him, give that investigation our full focus and make that decision to Believe, even if it's just the best we can do at that moment, He comes into our inner lives and saves us. He pulls us out of the muck that we have made of our lives and He transforms us into real people. Into the people He wanted us to be before we messed it all up with our worldly beliefs and lifestyle.

From there it is a process of 'not being conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds.' We have to relearn real life. You'll hear evangelical Christians talk about being born again and that term grates at us because it has been so piloried in the press, but it is actually very true as Jesus tells us in John 3 that "we must be born anew in order to enter into the Kingdom of God." Born anew, not like when we were born of our mother, but, born of the spirit in newness of life. After making the decision to believe in Him, I have experienced that forgiveness, that renewal, that transformation into a new life in Him.

I am still the same person. I believe God allowed me to be who I was, to make the decisions I did and experience the things I experienced. Why? For His purposes. So that once I was renewed I would be able to see that my life was an experience I needed to get back into the right perspective and use it now to empathize with others, to understand how all of us have our private lives that are lived outside of this relationship with Him and that the need of all of us is to turn back to God or turn to God for the first time. But, it's all about Him. He created us. He created this world. He created this universe. We know in our sinful hearts that is true and that it is man (woman) that has messed things up. We think we can control things. We are so prideful that we think we can effect the environment, we can stop Sarah Palin's daughter from having sex with her boyfriend or that we can save the whales. Who do we think we are? Selfish, sinful, prideful, jealous, power-crazy, lustful, greedy, dishonest, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. But what is He calling us to be? faithful, good, knowledgeable of Him, self-controlled, persistent in our faith, love our brothers and be kind. The fruit of His Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness.. against these things there is no LAW of how to be. We can be these things through our faith in Him and His working in us to become more like Him.

Whew!!! I know this is lengthy, but, it is the truth. It is what I have experienced and know is the truth. I am not complete. I am in the process and by His will and good pleasure I will continue to grow as a redeemed man with all my frailties and faults and, yes, sinfulness, still.

There is a beatiful song that drives me deep into myself and the appreciation I have for what God has done for me. It is called 'Come to Me', I believe, and at the end she states, 'come to Him, come and find your rest, come and find your peace, come and find your Joy... He is waiting here for you, He is waiting here for you with open arms. To hold you, to embrace your heart, to love you.... He is waiting here."

Anyone can start right now. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%201&version=31

Love you, _______.

Bill

A God-given Opportunity

I have been using Facebook as a way to reach out to my family and friends and their friends and their friends, etc, etc.... man, social networking; a very interesting dynamic.

I was able to link up with a Jewish woman whom Anne and I knew in college. We have begun to communicate and last night she began asking me some tough questions.... I'm going to publish a portion of the abridged version....

"One of these days I'd like to talk to you about what the differences are between being a "Christian" and other Christian religions."

Bill's response... "All Christian faiths were established on the authority of the Bible. In Christianity, the New Testament is considered the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesizes about the Messiah and Jesus Christ is that Messiah. The confusion comes about because there are various denominations in Christianity; Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Church of Christ, Latter Day Saints or Mormons and on and on. The differences in each denomination normally have to do with whom or where the denomination was established and a few differences in worship. In the majority of cases the bottom line is to 'Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and this is the same, to love your neighbor as yourself.' The other predominant belief is that Jesus Christ is the Messiah; the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Jewish Old Testament."

I consider it a blessing to have this opportunity to commune with others and all this from Facebook, go figure.

Love you all;

Bill/Dad

The Great Commission: starting where you are in your life mission

by Rick Warren

Everybody’s life mission is unique, and only you can fulfill your life mission. The moment you become a believer, the moment you step across the line and give your life to Jesus Christ, God has an assignment for you.

Many of the parts of your life mission are unique, but there is one part of your life mission that we all have in common.

It’s this: God wants you to tell other people about what’s happened to you. He wants you to share your testimony, your lifestyle, and your witness.

In other words, He wants you to share the Good News. The Bible says it like this in Acts 20: "The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to tell people the good news about God’s grace."

Once I become a Christian, a major part of my life mission is to invite people into God’s family.

Jesus said in John 20:21 - "As the Father has sent Me, so am I sending you.”

What has He sent us to do?

Read the rest of the article here

Everything is new why not......

New Year, everything is new; diet, exercise, job focus, relationships.... Ah relationships, why not renew or establish the greatest relationship,

The relationship with your Creator?

2 Corinthians 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Read John 1

Happy New Year

Love you

Bill/Dad