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Comment by russ allen on May 23, 2012 at 7:20am

   Good morning! How are we faithing?  It's hard today to concentrate on writing because my buddy's son just passed away. I know what is ahead and man o man... I would like to ask everyone today to remember my friend and his family but also to look out beyond our own deals and see what is happening out there.  People are hurting in ways we don't see and sometimes that person who is acting like an idiot may be pain and we forget that they may be lashing out at who is in front of them and not us as the focus per say. Taking on Jesus and showing that heart full of peace and love may be exactly what that person needs at that point. As that person acts in this manner, pause and watch and listen, you may see something that requires a calm loving response which is exactly how Jesus dealt with situations. Sometimes a riled response is necessary but more often than not a loving word or a kind gesture is much better served.


  Heb 4:14-16
  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.   For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.


Heavenly Father,
  Thank you for your loving kindness that covers us. Lord we ask for peace and love for those who are hurting. We ask for wisdom to see truth and the courage to act in a loving manner even when we want to lash out. Lord comfort those in despair, in Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 22, 2012 at 8:15am

 Good morning!  How are we faithing?  Those who are saved try to improve and try not to sin. Those on the outside see Christians as hypocrites because they indeed sin. Christians try to walk the walk they see in the Word. Non Christians walk the walk by anything but the Word. So who is better? I don't think better is the question even though I hear that all the time. "Christians think they are better than me" is not unusual to hear and they are some I'm sure who think that but lets be serious. The truth is that Christians are declared not guilty but they are not perfect.  By Jesus bearing all sin on the cross, those who believe and accept the free gift of grace are redeemed.  My stature in church, my deeds for and in the church are but filthy rags compared to the sin less life Jesus led. No where in scripture does it say that saved people are better than non saved. Better off yes but we are men and we sin like men and we are not better than other men. Are you getting this? This is why we share Jesus when ever we can because everybody can be declared not guilty through Jesus. I just can't shut up about it. I don't want to see anybody endure hell. I want people to find the peace and joy inside I have found. Wake up people and see beyond ourselves to a grace here and hereafter....



Eph 4:31-32
  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice:   and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you.




Tit 3:1-7
  Put them in mind to be in subjection to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready unto every good work,   to speak evil of no man, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all meekness toward all men.  For we also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.   But when the kindness of God our Savior, and his love toward man, appeared,  not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,  which he poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior;  that, being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.


Heavenly Father,
  Forgive us please when we get uppity. Help us recognize where we've been and help those receive what we have received. We ask for wisdom and your eyes to see the real needs of others.  Lord we love and honor you. Put your words on our tongue and let us not cause harm because of our humanness. In Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 21, 2012 at 7:34am

 Great morning! How are we faithing this fine day? Completely blank and at the same time so many thoughts rolling around. Sometimes it's hard just to concentrate on one thing. Don't you have those times where you are thinking about everything and nothing in particular at the same time?  I saw men give their life over to Messiah this weekend. I talked to an elderly Lady who wasn't to sure about her place with God but left knowing her salvation was complete because of the Word and what it tells us. I listened to some great music outside in the heat Saturday and got to share what God has for us all. Restless sleep and body aches kept me up off and on all night.  All of that and I still am at peace with the Lord. I still believe that without Jesus I would be a miserable existence of a man.  The more I learn, the less I am and the more Yeshua is. I need a savior just as you do. I may improve but the improvement just points me more and more to a savior that loves me.  As this day unfolds, remember who is and was and will be for without him, we are all just dirt revived for a season.


Rom 5:1-8
  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus the Messiah. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace by which we have been established, and we boast because of our hope in God's glory.  Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.   Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.   For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, the Messiah died for the ungodly. For it is rare for anyone to die for a righteous person, though somebody might be brave enough to die for a good person. But God demonstrates his love for us by the fact that the Messiah died for us while we were still sinners.



Heavenly Father,
  Thank you for your grace that saves even someone as messed up as me. Lord we ask for wisdom and courage to stand for what we believe regardless of what flies at us. Lord, take our frustration and sadness away. Allow us to do your work with enthusiasm and stable mindsets so we can present you honorably. Help us understand your Word so we can apply it to our lives. In Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 16, 2012 at 7:14am

Great morning! How are we faithing? I have considered the loss people experience when their house burns down with all their belongings. I also consider the loss of a loved one prematurely that many have experienced. While painful and tough to overcome, putting it in it's place speeds up recovery and also keeps us focused on what truly matters. As Solomon said, "nothing is new under the sun", it behooves us to consider that quote and really burn it in our psyche because when the maladies of this physical life on earth befall us we will be better prepared to deal with the emotional responses that eventually come, also that we are not the only one to endure these things.  Remembering that the grief or whatever one deals with is indeed temporary when one looks to what Jesus is all about. Then that person can do what is necessary and thus faith, courage and strength is built  rather than becoming  a victim. 


Php 3:7-9
  But whatever things were assets to me, these I now consider a loss for the sake of the Messiah.   What is more, I continue to consider all these things to be a loss for the sake of what is far more valuable, knowing the Messiah Jesus, my Lord. It is because of him that I have experienced the loss of all those things. Indeed, I consider them rubbish in order to gain the Messiah  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through the faithfulness of the Messiah, the righteousness that comes from God and that depends on faith.

Heavenly Father,

   Thank you for your strength in our storms. Thank you for teaching us what is important. Lord forgive our unbelief and our lack of faith. Lord, we love and honor you and do seek your face in what we do. Lord thank you for your Word that without we would all fail. Bless those who are hurting, In Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 15, 2012 at 7:36am

Good morning! How are we faithing? I see more and more stories about Christians condemning people for this or that sin. While recognizing sin and informing others about it may be pertinant, our job as we've talked about before is not to condemn the person but the action in question.  I saw some photos of protesters for and against an issue and both have every right to protest pro and con for any issue, after all, this is America.  I also saw both sides of the issue pointing fingers and hurling gross names at each other. Neither is right and yours or my side doesn't matter. When you or I develop disdain for another human over an issue we have stepped out of the grace of God and into an area where one couldn't tell good from bad. It would all seem ridiculous from a disinterested party. We as a society do have to be concerned over an action that is considered evil and laws must be enforced in order to live in a safe environment, we do indeed reap what we sow but we have got to stop dismissing people and not sharing Jesus because of a sin committed. Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. Enemies may not mean a war like footing but anytime two are opposing over any issue, that is an enemy. Has a Christlike love ceased because of an infraction? It better not! All have fallen short. We must don that Christlike demeanor of forgiveness and love. Please understand that Jesus knows when you have been hurt badly and understands the struggle to forgive heinous acts against you but the forgiveness rule still applies so seek out God however you need to in order to forgive. Remember;


 Rom 8:1-4
  Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.   For the Spirit's law of life in the Messiah Jesus has set me free from the Law of sin and death.   For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did. By sending his own Son in the form of humanity, he condemned sin by being incarnate,   so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to human nature but according to the Spirit. 




remember the lost....




Heavenly Father,
  Thank you for your forgiveness for what I have done. Thank you for loving me regardless of my nature. Lord, please help me forgive likewise. We want to live upright with your love and kindness with you always on our minds. We want to be holy as you originally designed us to be. Lord, help our faith. Help us see things as you see them, in Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 14, 2012 at 7:00am

 Great morning! How are we faithing? It is time to stop fretting over ourselves.  All this is not about you...or me.  Our Savior Jesus is what matters. We had better start paying attention to what the Word tells us and less on CNN,FOX and the AP. There are prophecies in the old testament that have and are coming true. Ezekiel spoke of future events and one that comes to mind is the land of Israel being desolate with the ground not yielding anything of value. Mark Twain even stated back in the 1800's after a visit to the land of it's utter waste and how nothing was growing other than weeds.  Then after 1948 when it became Israel, it started producing and now it supplies Europe with food. You think we are not in the last days?  Only a blind heart hardened person could deny this truth. Yes we work and plan for the future but we had better be ready to show the lost, Jesus.  Nor church, not denomination but the savior. I am convinced daily of how I fall short and need a savior. Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun so why are we scratching and digging to do what evaporates eventually? We get butthurt over things that effect our comfort or our view on "how" rather than who? Silly when we think of the people dying without Jesus. They go to hell because we are inconvenienced?  I can't let that happen in my field of view...how about you?


Joh 3:17-21
  Because God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.   Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God's unique Son.   And this is the basis for judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil.   Everyone who practices wickedness hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his actions may not be exposed.   But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may become evident that his actions have God's approval."

Mat 9:12-13
  When Jesus heard that, he said, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick people do.   Go and learn what this means: 'I want mercy and not sacrifice,' because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners."


Heavenly Father,
  Give us a heart and desire to show your grace to a lost world. Let us not get distracted by sin but address the sinner. Lord we ask forgiveness when we get haughty and ask for courage to speak boldly to the people dying in this world.  Grant us resources to reach out for the needs around. Lord thank you for your love and peace that is bigger than our temporary woes as humans. Lord, open our eyes with wisdom to speak and act holy. In Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 11, 2012 at 7:25am

Good morning! How are we faithing?  Check this out.  This chapter just struck me this morning. What do you think? Any parallels to today? See history repeating? We better pay attention...





Hab 1:1-17
  The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk perceived.   "How long, LORD, must I cry out for help, but you won't listen? I'm crying out to you, 'Oppression!' but you aren't providing deliverance.   Why are you forcing me to look at iniquity and to stare at wickedness? Social havoc and oppression are all around me; there are legal conflicts, and disputes abound.   Therefore, the Law has become paralyzed, and justice never comes about. Because criminals outnumber the righteous, whenever judgments are issued, they come out crooked."   "Look out at the nations and pay attention! Be astounded! Be really astounded! Because something is happening in your lifetime that you won't believe, even if it were described down to the smallest detail.   Watch out! For I am bringing in the Chaldeans, that cruel and impetuous people, who sweep across the earth dispossessing people from homes not their own.   They are terrible and fearsome; their brand of justice and sense of honor derive only from themselves!   Their horses are swifter than leopards, and more cunning than wolves that attack at night. Their horsemen are galloping as they approach from far away. They swoop in like ravenous vultures.   "They all come to oppress—hordes of them, their faces pressing onward—they take prisoners as numerous as the desert sand!   They make fun of kings, deriding those who rule. They laugh at all of the fortified places, constructing ramps to seize them.   Then like the wind sweeping by they will pass through—they're guilty because they say their power is their god."   "Haven't you existed forever, LORD my God, my Holy One? We won't die! LORD, you've prepared them for judgment; Rock, you've sentenced them to correction.  Your eyes are too pure to gaze upon evil; and you cannot tolerate wickedness. So why do you tolerate the treacherous? And why do you stay silent while the wicked devour those who are more righteous than they are?   You have fashioned mankind like fish in the ocean, like creeping things that have no ruler.   "The adversary captures them with a hook, gathering them up in a fishing net. He collects them with a dragnet, rejoicing and gloating over his catch.   Therefore he sacrifices to his fishing net, and burns incense in the presence of his dragnet, because by them his assets increase and he gets plenty of food.  Is he to continue to empty his fishing net? Will he ever stop killing entire nations without mercy?"


Read on in Habakkuk.

Heavenly Father,
  Open our eyes. Sharpen our minds. Renew our faith. In Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 10, 2012 at 7:33am

   Great Morning! How are we faithing? You know, when a person picks verses out of the Bible to justify their thoughts or beliefs and they are contrary to the whole council of God they are rapidly approaching their own demise. I heard an old tune from the 90's and was listening to what was said. The singer said Jesus was the only son and then said he believed he could not be saved. What? How did he come to that conclusion? He would admit Jesus is Gods son and not believe him when he said we could be saved by the belief and confession of that son Jesus.  Is that selfishness? Self absorption?  Did he miss the grace of the Word or did the lyric just fit?  Bothers me that any perish and even though it is by choice I still have to scream from the mountain tops, wake up! It's for you just like it's for the apostles and any other saint that ever lived. All have fallen short of the glory of God but even though we are sinners, Jesus came so we might be saved.  Do we agree with all dogmatic ideas? Of course not. Do we have to tow the line and if we don't we loose that grace and salvation? Of course not because if that's the case, we're all doomed and this faith is futile. What's that sum total of good verses bad that is the plateau? Where do we finally earn enough? The fact is we can't. You can't do enough good to outweigh the bad. By grace we are saved, not by works lest anyone should boast. And those of you boasting, cut it out.



2Ti 3:14
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and found to be true, because you know from whom you learned it.



Heb 11:1 
Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.

Remember Abby's Mom...

Heavenly Father,

  Thank you for your Word. Thank you for offering salvation . Thank you for assurance we have it. Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, let us see truth. Let us see to the hearts of the lost. Put the words in our mouths that heal and not hinder and harm. Teach us to be your disciples. We lift those in physical peril today. Comfort  and heal, in Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 9, 2012 at 7:08am

 Good morning! How are we faithing this hump day?  I am struggling with things. I talked to a friend last night, rather listened to him, and I saw where I was years ago. I saw the enthusiasm when he realized how God is working in his life. I saw the eyes of delight when he recognized the Holy Spirit working in himself.  His smile was so big because his doubt was diminished. He made one step closer to refuting past mistakes and hurts that still haunt him.  The peace that passes all understanding is truly a wonderful thing and it settles issues inside that many times isn't even verbally available. Sometimes we just know that we know. We need to keep encouraging one another to press on with this salvation and to not let this world captivate and sway us and our thinking.  It is all to easy to become entrapped by social and physical things of this world and many times to our own detriment. Keep the Word of God close to your heart and it will come forward in times of need. Keep reading and seeking because as you eat the Word daily and ingest it becomes nourishment for our marrow. Yeah the stuff that comes back to our memory can paralyze us from time to time but as soon as you recognize it, pray. Remember what the Word says...



Eph 2:13-17
  But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ.   For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition,   having abolished in the flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace;   and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:  and he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh:  for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.

Remember Vera Redden...remember Sandy Hall...

Heavenly Father,

   Please forgive our weakness and our frailties. We want to operate upright and honorable but sometimes we just get tripped up by the physical. Lord, grant us the wisdom to see things as they are and not as they appear. Teach us to stand firmly and without doubt of our place in you. Touch these mentioned and thos on our hearts, in Jesus name, amen

Comment by russ allen on May 8, 2012 at 7:19am

  Good morning!!! How are we faithing? We as believers were given a promise and it has come to fruition. We were promised the Holy Spirit and when we accept Jesus as messiah, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us. The people prior to messiah didn't enjoy this gift. They relied on prophets only for wisdom and the Word from God. They had a temple and an altar that only a priest could approach. Now our bodies are the temple and our altar is where ever we humble ourselves to the Father.  Before we were not real sure where we stood as far as good deeds vs evil ones. We were not sure if we even could earn a trip to heaven. Now we know that through Jesus Christ we earn that trip and not out of anything done by us, except to believe. After that we do indeed get a little better but not "holier than thou" but because the Holy Spirit that now dwells in us, reminds us of God's laws not as judgement but as a holy way to live. Yes we can drown out that small still voice by ignoring it and being selfish but it's still there, we need but listen. We obey the laws of God out of love and not out of compulsion. There times when we do obey for obeying's sake and because we know God's way is always a better way but that is out of this love for our savior and a trust that is just beyond comprehension. Not following blindly at the request of any man but at what the Word says. Just think on this and remember;


Joh 14:16-17
  I will ask the Father to give you another Helper, to be with you always.  He is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. But you recognize him, because he lives with you and will be in you.

Eph 1:13-14

  You, too, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed in the Messiah, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until God redeems his own possession for his praise and glory. 

Remember Fred Gee...

Heavenly Father,

   Thank you for your truth in your Word. Thank you that your Holy Spirit prompts us when we stray. Lord, open our ears to your Word and ways. Help us recognize that voice so we can improve. Lord we ask for wisdom and courage to face this world honorably. Bless those seeking and tie our tongues when they need to be. Open our mouth with your words in Jesus name, amen

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