timewithgod

Bribery is dangerous!  I held my breath as I pulled up to the house where I pick up Johnny, Ashley and Amberley for Awana.  The last few weeks Johnny has not wanted to come because he’s not a running kind of kid and doesn’t want to participate in the games.  His niece, Amberley really idolizes him and doesn’t want to do anything Johnny doesn’t.  Last week I told them “they needed to participate or no candy on the way home.”  That backfired!  Amberley left my car crying… YOU HEEL!  All week long I prayed about it with concern.  To my surprise Amberley not only came, but she came with a good attitude for the first time in weeks and had fun!  Whew, thank you Lord, dodged a bullet there!

Today’s Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 6:1-21; Isaiah 57; Acts 21:1-16

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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4  “3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4  to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

How much is enough?  A multimillionaire was once asked that question… his answer?  “A little more!”  Really?  You would think that after the jackpot got to a million or so, a person would be satisfied and say… “I think I have enough now, I don’t really need more.”  But that’s not the way it works!  We want more!  Why?  Greed is one answer.  And don’t forget about Covetousness.  There are always bigger boats to buy and more expensive toys to acquire.  Another BIG reason is security.  How much material stuff like gold, silver, property, stocks and bonds does it take to make us feel secure?  The more we accumulate, the more security we need in order to pay the bill collectors and replace the stuff we’ve got.  We have a bigger income and BIGGER BILLS!  They say that there are three things that drive the stock market: Greed, Hope and Fear.  Never underestimate fear.  Every investor knows that what goes up can come down 100 times faster than it went up!  Eternal nervous vigilance is necessary to protect what you have.  If we were honest, we would probably rate insecurity and fear among the top reasons for piling on materialism.  When is your bank account big enough?  Uh… never?  Why do you hold on so tight to every greenback?  Fear & Insecurity.  Let’s face it, wealth is so tentative, especially in these tough economic times that we may driven to work 90 hours a week, hoard all we can get, and protect our little Fort Knox with an arsenal of highly trained ninja warriors.  You won’t see a penny from me until you pull my cold, dead fingers off my safety deposit box!  Jesus had a different view.  Don’t hoard your treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, instead lay up your treasures in heaven where, as Peter said, we have an “incorruptible inheritance” that is “undefiled and does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”  The real answer to security is where you bank!  If you depend on your deposits at the Bank of the World, you have reason to be uneasy.  There the value of everything depreciates, the shine on our trinkets corrodes, and Identity Theft threatens to transfer all funds to a foreign account.  The antidote to insecurity is to open an account in the Bank of Heaven.  There your inheritance is safe and secure.  There your riches do not depreciate or disappear.  There you have “exceeding riches” as your reward.  There you can depend on the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy.  There you have the riches of His glory which supply all your needs.  Those riches strengthen the inner man and his inventory is so high the riches are unsearchable.  I pray that the eyes of your understanding would be opened that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.  Need security?  Bank in Heaven.

Dear Father.  I want to find my security in You.  I know you are a solid rock that I can depend on.  I know that on this earth riches may come and go, but you will never leave me or forsake me.  I am depending on a retirement that is out of this world.  Help me to place my trust there, not on things that can never bring stability and security.

My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

I love Tuesday nights!  Every other Tuesday I meet with our two LTDers (Some call it our Long Term Disabilities class, but it is really our Leadership Training & Discipleship class).  I spend three hours in class with Mike & Larry.  Long class?  It doesn’t seem like it.  We cover lots of great material and time just seems to fly!  There are some great books to read, verses to memorize and some great interaction.  I just love the fact that the lights are coming on and the vision is being caught!  And that’s what it’s all about.  Passing on the faith to some guys serious about serving the Lord!

Today’s Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 5; Isaiah 56; Acts 20

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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4  “3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4  to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

Hope.  A man can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without air, but can’t last even 4 seconds without hope!  I always thought hope was a virtue!  Hope is good, right?  Did you know that the Greeks considered hope to be as dangerous as all the world’s evils put together!  In fact Hope was one of the evils that Pandora let out of the box!  Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued that hope, in truth, “is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man’s torment.”  It makes men hang on when there is no rational reason to hang on.  If they had only given up sooner their torment would not have lasted so long.  Is that twisted or what?  I hope that I don’t hope, because if I do hope I’ll end up more hopeless in the end!  Seriously… it does make some sense, but only if you are basing your hope on a phantom or on something that won’t come through.  So, what are you basing your hope on?  The dictionary defines hope as “a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.”  I hope so!  That definition doesn’t do anything to reinforce the idea that hope is good!  How many times do things turn out “good” for you?  Marriage turns sour.  Economy goes bust.  People die.  Cars break down.  You are getting older and more infirm.  I’ve got to admit it; hope that the things this life will come through isn’t too promising.  I might as well hold out the hope that I’ll win the lottery!  Good luck.  You could win the jackpot only to be run over by a Semi five minutes later!  That’s why the Bible calls the Christian’s hope “a living hope… that does not fade away.”  Our hope is not like their hope.  Our hope is based on solid footing.  We believe that since Jesus was resurrected from the dead that we have a place reserved in heaven!  Everything hinges on the resurrection!  If Jesus was not raised from the dead we are the most pitiable of all people.  If Christ is not risen our faith is worthless, useless, and misplaced and we are still in our sins.  We are not forgiven and we are pushing a lie, the biggest lie ever concocted!  But if Christ is risen we have more reason to hope than anyone else on the face of the planet.  Did he or didn’t he?  Only the disciples (and God) know… and they were willing to die for it!  Who would die for what they know to be a lie?  Listen, if, or should I say SINCE, Christ is risen from the dead, he has given us a LIVING HOPE.  This has nothing to do with “I hope so…” nothing to do with an insubstantial phantom of a promise that evaporates like an illusion in the desert.  This is hope based on the rock solid fact of the resurrection.  Bank on it.  No matter what happens in this life, “all things work together for the good of those who love God and… nothing can separate me from the love of God!”

Dear Lord Jesus, I hope in you, and that hope will not be disappointed because you have always come through in the past and always will in the future.  I don’t hope in the circumstances of this life, I do hope in the promised future of eternity.  On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you

All quiet on the Kreiss’ front.  Yesterday was one of those uneventful days in the life of Dennis & Susan Kreiss.  Great isn’t it!  I have to have a few of those.  I did some work on finances… that’s a snoozer.  Then I called up Bank of America and talked to a few loan officers about refinancing our home at a lower rate.  And then I called up Sprint to talk about my phone which is having intermittent problems with the display.  Sometimes it goes pitch dark.  They are sending out a new one!  I did a few things around the yard, and thought about doing a few more, but didn’t.  Worked out.  Spent time with Susan.  Not much happening here!

Today’s Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 4; Isaiah 55; Acts 19

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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4  “3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4  to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

Should I be merciful?  How do we decide if a person deserves mercy or if they should get what’s coming to them?  My nephew once asked a question on Facebook, “Does Vick deserve another chance in the NFL?”  Everyone was dancing around the discussion of his ability and the seriousness or triviality of the crime he committed when I asked, “What do you mean by the word deserve?”  Suddenly the whole conversation changed!  Does anyone “deserve” mercy?  Mercy, by definition is given to those who don’t deserve it.  They committed a crime, offense or sin and deserve to face the consequences of their actions.  To deserve something means we are worthy of it!  No one DESERVES mercy, only the unworthy are worthy of mercy.  Those two words, “deserve” and “mercy” used in the same sentence, are incompatible with one another.  So how do you determine who gets mercy?  It might be complicated.  We might ask, “was it an accident?  Why did they do it?  Is it worth it for me to push the issue or should I let it go?”  And then perhaps the most important question, “what about their attitude?  Is it contrite or arrogant?”  My guess is that we grant leniency to the humble more than we do to the pig headed.  If there were ever a case for “deserving” mercy, this would be it!  Now let’s see how God does it.  He offers us “abundant mercy!”  While we were still SINNERS Christ died for us… while we were ENEMIES he reconciled us… when we were REBELLIOUS he offered mercy to us.  (Read Romans 5:6-8)  His mercy is so great that not only does he offer to let us off the hook for our sins and indiscretions, but in the interest of justice, he also stepped in to pay the price we were destined to pay for them!  And the amazing thing is that mercy is OFFERED both to the contrite and to the pig headed!  My offers of mercy are conditional!  If you want to go toe to toe with me, I’ll take it to the next level.  I’m NOT even going to even offer mercy to a pig headed, rebellious, loud mouthed, ungrateful, arrogant brat!  But God offers abundant mercy to all!  The offer is extended.  God will let you off the hook, scot free – you deserve hell, he’ll give you heaven… but, and here’s where the but comes in… in order to receive this free gift of mercy, you will have to deserve it by realizing how undeserving you are, you must become worthy by grasping how unworthy you are.  You must be humble and contrite before God (who in their right mind wouldn’t be!) and gratefully accept his offer of abundant mercy.  His mercy is offered to ALL, but received only by those who appreciate their need and request it.  Won’t you accept it today?

Dear Father:  I am unworthy of your abundant mercy.  I realize the seriousness of my condition.  Only mercy can get me off the hook and into heaven.  I drop all pretence of worthiness before you, and instead willingly and gratefully accept your gracious gift of eternal life.  Thanks!

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

The empty chair.  Sunday night Bill put an empty chair in our “Bible Study Circle,”  and I asked them “what is the significance of the empty chair?”  These people are so perceptive.  It wasn’t really difficult to figure out.  The empty chair is for someone who’s not here.  I introduced them to the “Prayer of the empty chair.”  We are going to pray that God will fill that empty chair!  The empty chair will remind us that one of our great responsibilities is to reach out to people and see them come to Christ, come to “sit at His feet” and learn… on the empty chair.  So we suggested names of folks we’d like to see fill the empty chair.  While we were still talking Al & Carolyn arrived, and Al sat on the empty chair!  Now it was no longer the empty chair.  We’ll have to get another one.

Today’s Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 3; Isaiah 54; Acts 18

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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4  “3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4  to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

God is good… All the time!  How good is God?  He is ALL good.  There isn’t a bad bone in his body… that is, if he had a body, there wouldn’t be a bad bone in it.  John puts it this way, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5).  James adds, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  (James 1:17).  There is no darkness in God, in fact there is not a hint, not even a faint shadow or variation of his goodness.  God is all good, all the time.  Depend on it.  One thing you can depend on is the consistency and dependability of God.  He always acts according to His character – 100% of the time!  GOD IS GOOD!  Life is tough.  Because of Adam, our great, great grandfather, we have problems.  The original sin messed with the universe.  It paved the way for every bad thing you have ever experienced.  Aging, crime, bills, sickness, hurricanes, arguments, ingrown toenails… you name it, it precipitated it all.  Good from God, Bad from Sin.  God is not responsible for the evils that have found their way into our lives.  God is responsible for every good thing that has ever happened to you!  When bad things happen, Sin deserves the blame, when good things happen God deserves the praise!  But far too often we do exactly the reverse of what we should: We blame God for bad things and praise us for good things!  We say things like “If God were a God of love, he wouldn’t allow all the rape (people did that) murder (people) crime (that’s us doing it again) etc in the world!  Backwards.  And then when good things happen we say, “I’m a lucky guy!” (us).  “I made a good investment decision” (us again).  “It just took a lot of hard work” (you got it – we take the credit!).  1 Peter tells us we ought to bless God because of his abundant mercy, extravagant hope and unbelievable gifts that he heaps upon us!  We have been blessed!  We ought to bless back!  A grateful heart is one of essential keys to a happy successful life.  An ungrateful person is happy only when things are really going his way, and then only for a while.  A grateful person realizes that even when bad things happen, there is still an amazing amount of things to give thanks for!  Health, family, job, house, car, Jesus, the fresh air we breathe, the beauty of nature, Jesus, eyesight, two hands, ability to walk, Jesus… Want happiness beyond imagination?  Pause several times a day, close your eyes for just a moment or two and sink into a state of thanksgiving.  Smile and say, “God you are good!  I thank you for your blessings!”  And then list a few.  “You have been so good to me!  Thanks that every day I come home to a warm house and the smell of dinner cooking… Thanks… and then you fill in the blanks!”  Bless God and the joy will flow.

Dear Father:  Thanks for the death of your Son Jesus.  That you love me so much that you want me as your child!  Thanks for the hope of heaven, that you want me to be in your presence for eternity!  Thanks for transformation, that you have come to live inside me and make me like yourself.  I bless you.

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Boo!  A day early.  Tomorrow hordes of innocent little goblins dressed like cute little princesses and jellyfish will invade the streets to beg for candy.  What you may not know is that on this day several hundred thousand not so innocent American pagans, Druids, and witches celebrate a holy day called Shadowfest, a 2,000-year-old Celtic festival held to honor Samhain, the lord of earth… something Christians should avoid!  Another thing you may not know is that tomorrow is “Reformation Day,” the day when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.  This act triggered the “Reformation” which led to a re-clarification of the Gospel which is so important in our religious heritage.  This is the day when we celebrate that heaven is a free gift!  “Sola fide” – By faith alone & “Sola Gratia” – only by grace. 

Today’s Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 2; Isaiah 53; Acts 17:16-34

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Today’s thought comes from Matthew 28:16-20  “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Are you a trekkie?  If so, you probably speak Klingon fluently and have seen every episode of Star Trek, The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, Voyager and Enterprise… beam me up Scotty!  One of the standard shots in Star Trek is the transporter room where an away team is dematerialized and shot thousands of miles away onto a planet’s surface where they are rematerialized.  If only we could do it for real!  Jesus can.  Jesus can walk on water, walk through walls, disappear in one place and appear in another… and he can “fly.”  It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no its… rererererereerereeee  (sound of record winding down).  Jesus is not just another superhero, Jesus is God almighty, and thus he can do as he pleases.  There is nothing he can’t do!  Can you imagine the disciple’s reaction to the ascension of their Lord?  Right in front of their eyes he floated, flew, ascended, soared into the skies!  Their jaws dropped!  They had seen Jesus do every possible impossible thing!  He had healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the five thousand, given sight to the blind, calmed a stormy sea, and yes he had come back to life from the dead!  Now he was flying!  Pinch me please, is this for real or is it just special effects?  Oh yeah!  They didn’t have special effects back then!  If he was just an ordinary human he couldn’t have done what he did.  Mark, Luke and Acts record the Ascension of the Lord, Matthew does not.  But I’m betting that the doubters who worshiped the resurrected Lord in verse 17, had something even larger to ponder in verse 21!  (There is no verse 21, but that’s when Jesus would have ascended!)  The book of Acts picks up the story and tells us that the disciples went back to Jerusalem to await the promised coming of the Holy Spirit.  Days passed.  Nights went by.  Thomas may have looked at that starry sky, closed his eyes and replayed the ascension of Christ over and over in his mind.  Maybe Peter was there with him, tapped him on the shoulder, “Are you thinking about what I’m thinking about?  I keep reliving the time he walked right through the locked door and showed us his hands and side!  And can you believe the ascension!  We serve an awesome God!”  They may have stood there in silence taking in the moment.  There was no doubt in their minds, “lo I am with you always!”  Anyone who could do all that, could still be here, and he is.

Dear Lord Jesus.  I know that all things are possible with You.  You are here now, right where I am.  When I doubt, Lord, fill my heart with the hope of Your Spirit and the reminder of Your Power.  I await your return with great anticipation, knowing that “this same Jesus, who was taken up into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.  This is the greatest commandment

Bad days.  I try not to have many of them.  Life doesn’t seem quite as good during bad days, and Lord knows that I like to enjoy life, so I focus on rejoicing in the Lord, looking on the bright side, thinking on things that are good, and avoiding the bad stuff.  But every so often a real hum-dinger comes around.  Some of you can relate.  One day you awake, sit up in bed and look around at all the problems staring you back in the face.  You’ve got company!  “Hey!  It’s too early for this!”  You hope they’re just visiting, but fear they’re here to stay.  Yesterday was one of those days.  Finances, family, church… you name it, it happened.  Al came in at just the right time.  He looked like he needed a hug, so I stole one from him.  If YOU are having one of those days, here’s a hug for y’all. 

Today’s Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 1; Isaiah 52; Acts 17:1-15

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Today’s thought comes from Matthew 28:16-20  “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

The task ahead of us is never greater than the power behind us.  The power behind us is immeasurably greater than the task ahead of us!  Lord don’t give us tasks according to our powers, give us powers according to our tasks.  To reach the world!  That is a task and a half.  Whenever I tell the people of the church that our mission is to reach the world with the Gospel of Christ, they smile knowingly.  “Sure thing, I’ll get right on it.”  And whenever I tell the people of the church that our mission is to reach every single person in Roseburg with the Gospel of Christ, the eyebrows come up!  That’s a lot of people!  We’re having a hard time keeping our heads above water!  OK, let’s be honest.  I’d be happy to reach a few hundred with the Gospel… be realistic, how about just four or five new families in church this year… that’s reachable.  Even that seems out of reach right now.  Imagine the Disciple’s thoughts.  There were a few hundred people at most gathered together for prayer on Pentecost… Can you hear the Apostles consternation… “And we are supposed to reach the world?  I’m going fishing!”  And look at us today.  Christians spread across every continent, in every land… amazing.  How did we get from a handful to a FEW BILLION!  The odds are so against that!  That’s how I feel sometimes in my little church, with our modest congregation.  The odds are against us!  The culture war is raging, threatening to shut us down!  Where are the young people!  The economy is down, giving is down!  So many of us are apathetic!  Some, to my grief make horrible life choices.  They choose to be sinful, irresponsible, uncommitted, uncaring and yes, even hostile!  The chorus of voices shout in my head, “IT CAN’T BE DONE!”  The shoulders droop.  The tears drop.  Time to cash in the chips?  How about that still small voice?  “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”  Never count God out!  NEVER!  In quiet confidence Jesus whispers, “ALL power is mine!  The odds are never against me!  I can still heal, transform, revive, regenerate, save, provide, comfort and empower.  No matter what you are facing I’m up to the task.  I can do immeasurably beyond what you can ask or think!  Need abundant life?  I’ve got it.”  Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains you can’t tunnel thru? God specializes in things thought impossible, He does the things no other can do.  Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed, For I am your God and will still give you aid.

Dear Lord God.  We need roots more than we need wings.  When through fiery trials my pathway shall lie,

Your grace, all sufficient, shall be my supply: The flame shall not hurt me; You only design, My dross to consume and my gold to refine.  Teach me to believe that.  Loudly if necessary.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose

Thank God for busy days.  The phone rang incessantly, people filtered through my day like they were coming through a revolving door… thank God for busy days.  After a number of phone calls, one emergency call came in from Dr. John!  I’M HUNGRY!  He shouted!  When can you meet me for lunch.  I ran to Brix where we shared some personal details of our lives.  When I got back Tony was ready for me to dig a ditch so he could fix our septic system.  I jumped on the backhoe and missed 2 pipes, 1 conduit, and only nicked the two manholes that were all in the way!  Carl stopped by… as did a few other folks!  Then it was time to work out at Kyle’s where they were turning a mannequin into a pumpkin head therapist.  Finally it was back out to church for men’s meeting which was awesome!  Wish you were there!

Today’s Scripture reading is 1 Chronicles 29; Isaiah 51; Acts 16:16-40

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Today’s thought comes from Matthew 28:16-20  “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

“Do you have a RED Bible?”  (Thinking… hmmm what color is my Bible anyway?  Blue?  Brown?  Black?)  “EVERYBODY ought to have a READ Bible.”  Ever got caught by that little play on words before?  It’s cute.  The Bible is a BIG book.  There’s a lot to know there.  I have a huge concern for the young people of our day.  There is a tremendous poverty and illiteracy gap among today’s teenagers when it comes to God’s Word.  So many kids today grow up with almost no knowledge of God’s Truth.  It’s a travesty!  They are being taught something, and believe me, it’s not our value system!  They are growing up with beliefs that are hostile to Christianity and out of step with our countries heritage.  We are about to see the largest paradigm shift of world views in US history.  If you listen, you can hear the rasping of the hinges just before the door slams shut on the Christian world view.  Enough whining!  What’s the solution?  Same as it’s always been.  Make disciples, “teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you.”  Previously I suggested that Jesus wants ALL of us to do what he asked his original 12 disciples to do.  Get your own group.  Teach them.  Raise up a dozen disciples who are willing to get their own group and raise up disciples for Jesus.  How do you do that?  It takes maturity.  We must somehow get those disciples to grow up enough to see that their mission is to raise up other disciples.  They must be willing to enter into the intensive training of the twelve!  Jesus put it this way, “When a disciple is fully trained he will be just like his teacher,” Luke 6:40.  That’s a lot of training!  We throw out the net like a fisherman (The net:) “Every individual in your group must come to see himself as a potential leader!”  When you see God working in a life, you pull him aside and suggest that they become “one of the twelve.”  You ask them to become a disciple.  That’s because “Every leader must come to see himself as a discipler of disciples.”  We have a two year training course that will “teach them to observe all things I have commanded you.”  (Or at least get a good start on it!) We teach about Grace, submission to God, and the whole council of God.  By the time a disciple comes out of this course, he should have his own group, and then he will look to find other disciples.  We don’t teach knowledge for knowledge’s sake.  We teach to produce disciples.  Reproduction is the goal.  Are you on the discipleship track?  If not, let me know so I can get you on it!

Dear Father.  I want to be a disciple of yours.  I want to learn the “whole counsel of God.”  I am willing to disciple others.  If you are willing, I will follow you in discipleship and disciple others.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

The rain in SU falls mainly on U.  Yesterday my one big outing was to South Umpqua to referee two soccer games.  I don’t know what the weather was like in Roseburg, but Tri-City always seems to have interesting weather conditions.  As I neared the field, a torrent of vertical rain pelted my car.  By the time I got out, the sun was poking out of a cloud and the rain had stopped.  My first game was uneventful.  No rain, no sun, just clouds.  Then, just as we set foot on the field for the varsity match, the wind whipped up and the rain began.  Since I was running the line close to my bag, I took a detour and grabbed my gloves!  Khumba, in the center, was a bit jealous.  My hands and legs were cold, his must have been colder.  The rain came down!  Then the sun came out.  For about fifteen minutes we had some glorious sunshine.  That was just before MORE rain!

Today’s Scripture reading is 1 Chronicles 28; Isaiah 50; Acts 16

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Today’s thought comes from Matthew 28:16-20  “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Snap, Crackle, Pop!  Winkin, Blinkin & Nod.  Red, White & Blue… what do all these have in common?  They are famous trios.  And there are more of them, dozens more!  The three, stooges, musketeers, blind mice, men in a tub and on and on and on!  I don’t know why, but there seems to be something poetic, balanced & synergistic about the number three.  Maybe it’s because they are all patterned after the original three:  “the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”  It’s what we call the Trinity.  The English word Trinity is derived from Latin Trinitas, meaning “the number three, a triad”.  The word “Trinity” is never used in the Bible.  The first recorded use of it in Christian theology was by Theophilus of Antioch in about 170 AD.  But the concept is there.  Notice the careful wording of Matthew, “Baptizing them in the NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Name is singular!  One name, three persons!  It isn’t three names, it’s ONE.  It’s like a brand.  You can’t have Rice Crispies if you only have “Snap & Crackle” You can’t have the flag without “Red, White & …” The three are one.  And consider this, God created the universe after His pattern to demonstrate that you can find God in the universe.  Time Trio = Past, Present & Future.  Can you tell me at what point future becomes present becomes past?  Time is indivisibly one, yet distinctly three.  Dimensional Space Trio = Height, Width & Depth.  Look at any corner of your room.  At the convergent point, all three are clearly one… yet follow the line across the ceiling and it is distinctive from the other two lines.  You can’t have three dimensional space without it.  Three in one.  And the whole universe is made up of a trinity = Time, Space & Matter.  Matter exists in three dimensional space “traveling” through time… or what some have called the time / space continuum.  (Matter is a trinity as well, but way beyond my ability to explain!).  The universe is not partly composed of space, partly of matter, and partly of time. A trinity is not a trio or a triad, but a tri-unity, with each part comprising the whole, yet all three required to make the whole. Thus, the universe is all Space, all Time, and all Matter!  Man was also created in the image of God!  He is physical, mental and spiritual!  It seems that God worked very hard at leaving his imprint on everything He made!  “The heavens declare the Glory of God!”  If you look for Him, He’s there!  Father, Son, Holy Spirit. 

Dear Lord.  Thanks for revealing yourself to me.  I am grateful for you father, for being my father.  I thank you Jesus for being my savior.  And I thank you Spirit for living within and giving me new life.  I will worship You. 

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Cruise recap: We finally boarded Alaska Airlines for the Flight home. Originally Susan and I had seats on separate rows, but they were able to transfer us to row 7. Across from us was a gal named Kelsie and her husband. I asked what she did… she said she was a Gymnastic teacher from Salem… I asked if she knew a friend mine in Roseburg who was also a Gymnastic teacher. Khumba. She said yes she did! Small World! I referee soccer with him! I did his wedding! We had an immediate connection. I asked her if she attended church anywhere and she said that they are looking right now. The church they went to just lost their pastor and they feel a little out of place. I suggested Keizer Community Church. Pray that they’ll get plugged in. Today’s Scripture reading is 1 Chronicles 26; Isaiah 48; Acts 14 To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml Today’s thought comes from Matthew 28:16-20 “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. How many of you know what your Spiritual gift is? Does it matter? Would you live your life differently if you knew? How do Spiritual Gifts impact us? Spiritual Gifts are not exactly like natural abilities. If, for example, I have a great singing voice, I can belt out beautiful music whenever I’m in the mood. Or let’s say I have a photographic memory. Because I remember everything I see, I can regurgitate it whenever the need for useless information presents itself. But Spiritual Gifts don’t exactly work that way. If you don’t stir up a desire for the Lord, your gift won’t shine! You need to stir up your love and passion for the Lord in order for the Holy Spirit to work effectively through you. And that’s the point of the gifts: they were given to make you an effective minister. One of the errors we fall into in the discussion of gifts is that sometimes we think our gift limits our ministry! “Oh I don’t have that gift! I can’t teach, evangelize, lead, help etc.” But 1 Corinthians 11:4-7 tells us that “a variety of gifts can perform a variety of ministries in a variety of ways!” The gift makes us effective ministers wherever we minister! That brings me to today’s big topic: teaching. You all ought to be teachers. That’s right! Most of us, when we are mature are meant to be teachers. You can bring whatever gift God has given you to the table and use it to teach. Why teaching? Because it’s every Christian’s commission: “Go and make disciples of ALL nations… TEACHING THEM!” There can be no discipling without teaching! And there can be no Christianity without discipleship! You were meant to be a disciple! Once a disciple is grown up he will begin to teach others! Simple huh? Every Christian ought to aspire to have his little group of twelve that he disciples to become disciplers of disciples! To do that, you must meet with them regularly to teach and train them. Get a group… it could be a Sunday School Class or home group. Start teaching. But teaching and fellowship is NOT the objective of your class! Some groups just love to get together. They’ve been doing it for years. They like each other so much that they’d never consider moving out beyond the walls of their little group. No, no, NO! The objective is to teach others to disciple others. Every member of your group needs to consider themselves as a potential leader! Within a few years (?) of training, they need to be mature enough to get out there and get their own group. Multiplication is the aim of the group. So, move out and get your own group! Dear Lord. I need to be discipled! I need to grow up so that I can train others! I want to make training others the goal of my life. Please help me to realize that the greatest contribution I can make to this world and to your kingdom is to invest my life in other people so that they can invest their lives in other people! “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”-