Add a Comment

Comment by russ allen on April 15, 2009 at 7:51am

Good morning! How are we faithing this Wednesday? Middle of the week and deep thoughts and pondering thus far. I'm reminded of God's sovereignty and promises in the Word. A Mercy Me song keeps playing in my head, "Finally Home". Sometimes the things we see and read about in the world makes us shake our heads and anticipate finally being home with the Lord. God's handy work on this ol' orb is amazing and wondrous as is his promises. We often struggle with some of the promises because of our human mind limitations. Give and you get more? Turn the other cheek? Where's that line? Is there a line? These are just a couple of things we all ponder sometimes. Right now I say, "blow those pirates clean out of the water", but is that attitude in line with scripture? We could go over and over things like that but at the end of the day we must follow what God tells us in scripture. Do we understand how? Not always. Do we follow easily? Gee whiz, it's hard to adhere to the concepts written down when everything in the physical tells us otherwise. Look at these and think about them;

Eph 4:17-19
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
NIV

1 Peter 4:3-6
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
NIV

Ps 94:8-11
Take heed, you senseless ones among the people;you fools, when will you become wise? Does he who implanted the ear not hear?Does he who formed the eye not see? Does he who disciplines nations not punish?Does he who teaches man lack knowledge? The LORD knows the thoughts of man;he knows that they are futile. NIV

Jer 13:10
These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt--completely useless!
NIV

Zech 8:16-17
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the LORD.
NIV

Do you see these things? Did reading these scriptures bring to mind feelings and thoughts you have? Yep, me too. We all need God or we end up barbarians which always throughout history destroyed themselves. Think about this.
Remember Donna,Tonya and Katie Fulfer. Remember Larry House, remember Stephanie

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for scripture that keeps us grounded and teaches us remembrance of your truths. Lord, forgive us in our failures for we don't intend to drop the ball, we're just clumsy. Thank you Jesus for caring so much that even knuckleheads like us can find peace and hope. Bless our endeavours in Jesus name, amen
Posted by russ allen at 7:11 AM

Comment by Capt.Luka Jazvic on April 15, 2009 at 2:09am

Iwill/we will take care Luka

Comment by Mark A. Duell on April 14, 2009 at 7:46pm

Doug, consider it done brother. I hope he looks above for the strength. When we are weak He is strong.

Comment by Doug on April 14, 2009 at 7:40am

Please continue prayer for one of our firemen (Butch) he has started chemotherapy and really is having a hard time. Thanks, be safe and God Bless

Comment by russ allen on April 14, 2009 at 7:12am

Good morning! How are we faithing? The imagery in the Bible is so interesting. We know when ink was put to parchment and the culture of those times. For example, animal herds were a way of life and big business, especially sheep. They got wool, meat, hides and unblemished ones for sacrifices to God. Sheep are followers. Sheep are gentile and scared easily. My job takes me to places where I get the chance to watch critters and it is interesting. Cows are pretty much dumb but affectionate, horses are skittish but playful, pigs are well, pigs and yet seem intelligent. Sheep are curious and extremely social. Sheep move together. As I watched the herd move about I tried to imagine being in a hillside tending them and fending off predators, keeping them together with the help of my trusty dog. One of these sheep was over by the fence and I imagined having to chase that one down the hill side to keep him safe in the herd. This imagery that so many verses in the Word uses started to come alive and make more sense. Look at these;

Isa 53:6
All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
NAS

1 Peter 2:25
For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
NAS

Matt 18:12-14
"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
NIV

John 10:11-13
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
NIV

1 Peter 5:2-4
Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
NIV

John 10:11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
KJV

These are but a few that use that kind of imagery. Turn to your Bible and search out these references and look for more to see what Jesus is telling us. Look at how God loves us. The sheep know the shepherd's voice, know him on site, will come eventually when called or in enough danger...sound familiar?

Remember Layla Fulfer...remember Fire Chief Larry House...

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for all your blessings. Thank you for the inspiration for your Word to be written down for we would be barbarians without it. Lord thank you that you love each of us and care what goes on. Lord we lift those mentioned, heal and comfort them! in Jesus name we pray, Amen
Posted by russ allen at 6:32 AM

Comment by russ allen on April 13, 2009 at 7:29am

Good morning! How are we faithing? Good weekend for me, lots of good conversation and fellowship, learning, praising, working and reading. I am still and will always be baffled at how some people treat others. I'm reading a book my friend loaned me about "Schindlerjuden". It's the book with all the history and interviews of the people represented in the movie, Schindler's List. I wont go into all the atrocities that took place but suffice to say the horror is indescribable. Think of the kids under 5 or so that grew up in this era. These things were normal for them. How long did it take for them to realize these things are not normal? Mind boggling to say the least. We as followers of the Christ, Jesus, must remember to seek his will and his wisdom so we do not repeat such things. The Word teaches us how to be humble yet strong. It teaches us to use mercy and justice. It teaches us to obey our leaders but not blindly. We are to grow in the Lord and not be swayed by every thing that comes along. As we grow in the Lord we also become an image of God. Not by finger pointing but by love. Recognizing that we are worth something to God and so is every one else is a way for us to not pick at others but to pray for them. They have their journey as we have ours. Their walk is just easy and just as hard as ours. Encouraging them on whenever we can is paramount to showing God's love. Look at this;

Eph 4:14-16
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
NAS

Do you see that? That person that drives you nuts or you don't understand has a purpose somewhere and that purpose may not be you. Your purpose may drive others nuts but it may or may not be for them. Grow in the Lord and listen to his teachings. Your dealings with life are yours and there is someone who can learn from you, likewise we can learn from others. The gifts the Holy Spirit equips us with are for the body of Christ as well as for our own edification. You think about that.

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for friends that help us see things we sometimes can't grasp. Lord help us be good witnesses to others so they ask for you through us. Lord we ask for protection from the evil around us. Lord protect the children from calamity. We ask these things in your holy name, Amen
Posted by russ allen at 6:52 AM

Comment by Capt.Luka Jazvic on April 12, 2009 at 1:41pm

Happy Easter Bob, to all, My prayers to Houston Fire for their loss.
Take care Luka

Comment by russ allen on April 10, 2009 at 7:21am

Good morning! It's Good Friday. The importance of this week and especially this Sunday coming up cannot be missed. This is the weekend we should really think on all the things that happened around 2000 years ago. Our salvation, our justification all revolves around this weekend. As you go about whatever you do, remember what Jesus sacrificed for you. Our entire belief system rests on resurrection Sunday. The crucifixion is when he bore all our iniquities but his overcoming death, getting up and walking out of the grave, that's where we hang our hat. He overcame death and gives it freely to us. Look, we can argue till the crows fly home on specific details surrounding all the events but to what conclusion? It all points to his overcoming death and making a way for us to approach God clean. I am not a great scholar but I know the difference Jesus has made in my life and that is all I need for assurance of the truth the scriptures hold. How about you? Think on this point. Yes life may suck right now but ultimately, what counts?

1 Cor 15:44-49
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
NIV

2 Cor 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
NIV

1 John 3:2-3
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
NIV

See that? Just like the second Adam, born of spirit, Jesus, we become spiritually alive through him. We change. Our countenance changes. We are reborn out of dust to glory in him. By this sacrifice by the Son of God, we are whole again like the first Adam was before the fall. Pray for one another and ask our Lord to heal your hearts. This life will pass but we get to spend forever with him. We get to go where there is no tears or sorrow. Jesus laid it all down so we don't have to. Man o man that's love!

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for all that you have done for us. Lord, help us realize in our hearts that you gave all for us. Lord help us when we feel all is lost and not worth it. Lord help us see beyond the now and have peace because we know this journey is just the start. Lord, thank you for your sacrifice and we honor you this weekend, in Jesus name, Amen
Posted by russ allen at 6:51 AM

Comment by russ allen on April 9, 2009 at 7:31am

Good morning! Wow is this week, this month flying by! Guess that happens with age.
We've talked off and on about words and how they can be both helpful and hurtful. Sometimes shutting up is just as important as speaking. The wisdom needed to pick which one is the key. We find this wisdom in the scriptures. I personally like to imagine myself in the scenes I read about in the scriptures, not as the main characters but someone who was there witnessing it all. Can you imagine the scene when Jesus drove out the merchants fron the synagog? How about when he was before Pilot being accused and he shut up! How about being beat and then carrying that top half of the cross down the street while being spit on? What would I say? It's kinda like a story I heard about a man helping a bar owner whose wife died. The church busy body saw his truck in front of the bar, assumed he was inside getting hammered, confronted him and he just walked away. She's on the phone talking smack that evening about what she saw. Then the man just parked his truck in front of her house that night and walked home! Think about that! Wise and a point made. Things are not what they may seem so we ought not speak with only half the info! Look at these scriptures about our savior Jesus, especially this week;

Isa 53:7-11
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.
NAS


1 Peter 2:23-25
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
NIV

Wow. Jesus did that for you and me. Prophecy before hand and witnessed later and yet if you were on the outside without all the facts, what would it have looked like? How would you have interpreted all those things? Would you speak about these things without all the facts? Think about this.

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the sacrifice of your son for us. Lord, help us be quick to see and slow to speak. Help us realize when we need to open our mouths. Lord help us look beyond the immediate and see the big picture. Comfort us in this walk we walk and assure us of your grace so we may live peacefully and honestly.We lift each other up to you. in Jesus name, Amen
Posted by russ allen at 6:51 AM

Comment by anna m mills on April 8, 2009 at 8:17pm

am so very happy to have this group to be a part of! thank you pastor for starting a group where we can share our faith!

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 122
• 123
• 124
• 125
• 126
• …
• 157
• Next ›
• Page