Shalom.
I found the following to be a blessing. It is from Newmanmag.com's DAILY TUNE-UP section. The information in the entry is a reminder for me about the type of husband, friend, father and son I need to be.
The eternal One who established His kingdom in men two millenia ago is fully capable of producing it in us today. All we need is undiluted, uninhibited Jesus. All we need are hearts that will not be satisfied with something or someone less than Him.
If we argue church government and peripheral doctrines, we will miss completely the true purpose of the church, which is to make disciples of Jesus. Some of you want a pastor; others want elders. Still others will not budge without a deacon’s board. A few of you will be unsatisfied until apostles and prophets function interdependently.
Let me make it plain: God is not raising up “ministries”; He is raising up bondslaves. After we recognize that the goal is not ministry but slavery, we will begin to see the power of Christ restored to the church.
The pattern for leadership in the years ahead is simple: Leaders must be individuals whose burning passion is conformity to Jesus Christ. Is this not becoming the very passion of your heart, to possess the likeness of Christ? The issue with our churches is not merely one procedure over another; the issue is, will we become people who are seeking hard after Christ?
—Francis Frangipane
Lord, the church needs leaders who are seeking God, not their own promotion. Give us shepherds who are willing to serve as bondslaves of Christ.
Francis Frangipane, The House of the Lord (1991), 37–38.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
When Being Too Smart Is A Bad Thing
Shalom.
I found this gem at NewManMag.com and thought I would share it with those in the "blogosphere."
The Pharisees possessed great knowledge of the Scriptures without knowing the spirit of them; therefore, their ministry produced death. It pulled and pushed people away from the heart of God rather than drawing them to Him. They separated people from God with their legalistic knowledge, representing God as they perceived Him—with their heads and not their hearts.
Jesus declared, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4, NKJV). Notice He did not say "proceeded." That would be past tense. The Scriptures alone are what proceeded out of the mouth of God. He said "proceeds," which is present tense. We must know the Lord of the Scriptures to know what is proceeding out of His mouth today.
Jesus said in John 16:13, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth" (NKJV). With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can know what Jesus is saying.
You may ask then, "What good are the Scriptures?" They are guidelines to assist and direct us. They are God-breathed, and when quickened by the Holy Spirit they become alive in our hearts and not just in our heads. They are the standard we use to confirm that we have heard from the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit will never speak contrary to the Scriptures. But we can get hung up when we limit what the Holy Spirit can say or do to that which fits into our mental understanding of the Scriptures. This was the error of the Pharisees.
—John Bevere
Lord, please guard my heart for the legalism of the Pharisees. I want to teach others the spirit of Your Word, not the letter of the law.
John Bevere, Breaking Intimidation (1995), 172–173.
I found this gem at NewManMag.com and thought I would share it with those in the "blogosphere."
The Pharisees possessed great knowledge of the Scriptures without knowing the spirit of them; therefore, their ministry produced death. It pulled and pushed people away from the heart of God rather than drawing them to Him. They separated people from God with their legalistic knowledge, representing God as they perceived Him—with their heads and not their hearts.
Jesus declared, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4, NKJV). Notice He did not say "proceeded." That would be past tense. The Scriptures alone are what proceeded out of the mouth of God. He said "proceeds," which is present tense. We must know the Lord of the Scriptures to know what is proceeding out of His mouth today.
Jesus said in John 16:13, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth" (NKJV). With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can know what Jesus is saying.
You may ask then, "What good are the Scriptures?" They are guidelines to assist and direct us. They are God-breathed, and when quickened by the Holy Spirit they become alive in our hearts and not just in our heads. They are the standard we use to confirm that we have heard from the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit will never speak contrary to the Scriptures. But we can get hung up when we limit what the Holy Spirit can say or do to that which fits into our mental understanding of the Scriptures. This was the error of the Pharisees.
—John Bevere
Lord, please guard my heart for the legalism of the Pharisees. I want to teach others the spirit of Your Word, not the letter of the law.
John Bevere, Breaking Intimidation (1995), 172–173.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
An Enchanted Afternoon
Shalom.
My daughter participated in her first dance recital today. Her performance was superb, for a three-year old. :-) I took her to the dress rehearsal on Friday, where her performance was less than spectacular (click here for dress rehearsal), even for a three-year old.
She more than made up for it at the actual recital. We arrived at the venue (which was Hatboro-Horsham High School) for the recital about a half our early. I wanted to get a parking spot that was close to the building and to the exit. And I wanted to make sure that we were well situated before the performance. We were so situated that an usher had to ask us to leave the auditorium because we entered too early. The recital didn't start until 12pm, however, we were i the auditorium at about 11:45am, but no one indicated that we were allowed to enter the auditorium. My daughter had to enter at the side entrance since she was one of the performers, you know. My mother, brother, in-laws, niece and friends were in attendance. We waited through 14 other performances before the main attraction -- my daughters group. They were dressed so beautifully. Their outfits were very pretty and had a sparkling effect. Their teacher was off stage "helping" them get through the routine.
I had wondered during the time when she attended her weekly classes how she would handle the recital. I wondered would she be scared? Would she just freeze in front of the audience? Would she run off the stage crying? Well, needless to say, she did nothing of the sort. She was a true performer. :-)
I was so proud of her. I was all smiles as I saw her following the direction of the teacher and not her fellow classmates. It was the beginning of something special. I am looking forward to my other daughter joining the dance school.
By the way, information about the dance school can be found here: Dance With M.E.
Blessings.
My daughter participated in her first dance recital today. Her performance was superb, for a three-year old. :-) I took her to the dress rehearsal on Friday, where her performance was less than spectacular (click here for dress rehearsal), even for a three-year old.
She more than made up for it at the actual recital. We arrived at the venue (which was Hatboro-Horsham High School) for the recital about a half our early. I wanted to get a parking spot that was close to the building and to the exit. And I wanted to make sure that we were well situated before the performance. We were so situated that an usher had to ask us to leave the auditorium because we entered too early. The recital didn't start until 12pm, however, we were i the auditorium at about 11:45am, but no one indicated that we were allowed to enter the auditorium. My daughter had to enter at the side entrance since she was one of the performers, you know. My mother, brother, in-laws, niece and friends were in attendance. We waited through 14 other performances before the main attraction -- my daughters group. They were dressed so beautifully. Their outfits were very pretty and had a sparkling effect. Their teacher was off stage "helping" them get through the routine.
I had wondered during the time when she attended her weekly classes how she would handle the recital. I wondered would she be scared? Would she just freeze in front of the audience? Would she run off the stage crying? Well, needless to say, she did nothing of the sort. She was a true performer. :-)
I was so proud of her. I was all smiles as I saw her following the direction of the teacher and not her fellow classmates. It was the beginning of something special. I am looking forward to my other daughter joining the dance school.
By the way, information about the dance school can be found here: Dance With M.E.
Blessings.
Friday, May 9, 2008
House: 1 Me: 0
Shalom.
The task of remodeling our new home continues. I took three days off of work to remove the enormous amount of existing wallpaper in the house. After three days of scraping the existing the wallpaper from the walls, I can testify that wallpaper is evil! I don't know who created wallpaper, more specifically, the glue, but they must have had a sadistic nature. (Of course I am joking.) However, once you have had to deal with multiple layers of wallpaper and glue on top of wallpaper that has been painted over (several layers), you may come to the same conclusion.
I hired some helpers and it took us three days to scrape wallpaper on the first floor and some of the second floor. We are still not complete. We have the third floor hallway, the remaining second floor rooms, and the second floor hallway. Thankfully, the third floor rooms do not contain wallpaper. And once all the wallpaper has been scraped, we will roll it up along with the carpet.
This house has seen many repairs and experienced quite a bit of damage in some areas. The damage is not extensive, just typical for a house that sat uninhabited for a year and through repairs/remodeling not done the proper way.
We are working to get estimates to remove asbestos from the old boiler, radiator pipes and a heater tank. I never would have guessed that I would be dealing with asbestos. Having asbestos removed by an asbestos abatement company is a pretty penny. We have heard suggestions that it would be cheaper to remove it ourselves or have someone else remove it. My concern is that the disposal must be done environmentally correct. I do not want to damage this earth any more than it already has been.
We are obtaining other quotes for different work that needs to be done. That process is a learning experience. The individuals I met while obtaining the quotes seem like good people and they love what they do. Some of the quotes were reasonable, other seemed a bit higher than what I was expecting. I hope to have made my decisions by next week.
I hope to have some photos posted soon.
Blessings.
The task of remodeling our new home continues. I took three days off of work to remove the enormous amount of existing wallpaper in the house. After three days of scraping the existing the wallpaper from the walls, I can testify that wallpaper is evil! I don't know who created wallpaper, more specifically, the glue, but they must have had a sadistic nature. (Of course I am joking.) However, once you have had to deal with multiple layers of wallpaper and glue on top of wallpaper that has been painted over (several layers), you may come to the same conclusion.
I hired some helpers and it took us three days to scrape wallpaper on the first floor and some of the second floor. We are still not complete. We have the third floor hallway, the remaining second floor rooms, and the second floor hallway. Thankfully, the third floor rooms do not contain wallpaper. And once all the wallpaper has been scraped, we will roll it up along with the carpet.
This house has seen many repairs and experienced quite a bit of damage in some areas. The damage is not extensive, just typical for a house that sat uninhabited for a year and through repairs/remodeling not done the proper way.
We are working to get estimates to remove asbestos from the old boiler, radiator pipes and a heater tank. I never would have guessed that I would be dealing with asbestos. Having asbestos removed by an asbestos abatement company is a pretty penny. We have heard suggestions that it would be cheaper to remove it ourselves or have someone else remove it. My concern is that the disposal must be done environmentally correct. I do not want to damage this earth any more than it already has been.
We are obtaining other quotes for different work that needs to be done. That process is a learning experience. The individuals I met while obtaining the quotes seem like good people and they love what they do. Some of the quotes were reasonable, other seemed a bit higher than what I was expecting. I hope to have made my decisions by next week.
I hope to have some photos posted soon.
Blessings.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
A New Challenge Is Upon Me...
Shalom.
I am embarking upon a challenge that will stretch me physically and mentally. We purchased a home that is about 5,000 square feet and the house was in pretty good shape. It was a foreclosure and sat vacant for about a year.
My wife and I happened across the house in March of 2008. We saw the house and liked it. We put a bid in and the bid was rejected. We had requested a $10,000 credit based upon the results of a home inspection. (By the way, make sure when you are about to buy a house, that the contract includes an escape via the home inspection.) So, we returned from vacation and the house was put back on the market for less (yes, LESS) than our offer price. Well, needless to say, we pursued the property again. This time our initial offer was countered and we agreed to the counter offer. We thank God that the house came around again.
Now, we are in the process of remodeling the kitchen and two bathrooms. We are removing the plethora of wallpaper in the house and painting the walls where there was wallpaper. We are removing the 16 trees that are on the property and adding a quarter bath next to bathroom. That way, people can eat and not be slowed down too much by having to relieve themselves. The work will be very involved and detailed, but when the work is complete, what a home it will be!!
This process is teaching me that I still have a ways to go when communicating with my wife. We thought we understood each other concerning a change for the side yard of the house. She was saying one thing and I was hearing another. :-)
The fixing up of the house is keeping me very busy. I am trying to keep up with my life outside of the house, but believe me, it is a challenge.
When this season has passed, I will be taking a vacation!!
Blessings.
Jason
I am embarking upon a challenge that will stretch me physically and mentally. We purchased a home that is about 5,000 square feet and the house was in pretty good shape. It was a foreclosure and sat vacant for about a year.
My wife and I happened across the house in March of 2008. We saw the house and liked it. We put a bid in and the bid was rejected. We had requested a $10,000 credit based upon the results of a home inspection. (By the way, make sure when you are about to buy a house, that the contract includes an escape via the home inspection.) So, we returned from vacation and the house was put back on the market for less (yes, LESS) than our offer price. Well, needless to say, we pursued the property again. This time our initial offer was countered and we agreed to the counter offer. We thank God that the house came around again.
Now, we are in the process of remodeling the kitchen and two bathrooms. We are removing the plethora of wallpaper in the house and painting the walls where there was wallpaper. We are removing the 16 trees that are on the property and adding a quarter bath next to bathroom. That way, people can eat and not be slowed down too much by having to relieve themselves. The work will be very involved and detailed, but when the work is complete, what a home it will be!!
This process is teaching me that I still have a ways to go when communicating with my wife. We thought we understood each other concerning a change for the side yard of the house. She was saying one thing and I was hearing another. :-)
The fixing up of the house is keeping me very busy. I am trying to keep up with my life outside of the house, but believe me, it is a challenge.
When this season has passed, I will be taking a vacation!!
Blessings.
Jason
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Discerning the Process of A New Day
Shalom.
Pastor Willie Blakely brought forth a needful word on Sunday, April 20th.
The message from the Lord was about truly realizing that we need Him to properly live this life; that we need to direct others to Him (and not us) so that they may properly live this life. We need Him to carry out His will for our life while on this earth. We can no longer waste any more time trying to figure things out, or trying to seek others for advice, affirmation or agreement. We need to hear the truth, read the truth, speak the truth and live the truth. We have to either take God's Word as being true and powerful, or not. We have to be all in.
Pastor Blakely took his text from Isaiah 43.
Pastor Blakely informed us that God is trying to make His people realize that he is doing something new and trying to change our way of thinking so that we can move past our limited human thinking. We need to take the limits off of God and let Him be God. We have to realize that this life is not about us anymore. We have a higher purpose. And we don't have to worry about the devil derailing that purpose because we are more powerful than him. Once we really believe that and CHOOSE to operate in it, we will be in a totally different place spiritually. We would advance further along to where God can begin to really use us. We need to really see what God is trying to show us and wants us to see concerning our lives and His divine purpose.
We were reminded that God is not really interested in our gift. (He will use our gift because we are available at the time it is needed.) God is more interested in our character and that we do what is right. We cannot think of ourselves as not needing healing, mercy, repentance or forgiveness. We cannot get caught up in thinking of ourselves higher than we ought to. With that kind of thinking, we are setting ourselves up to fall and that could extended into the lives of the people that are rightly connected to us. Or, if we are in a leadership position, we could be leading God's people away from God instead of toward God. That would be a very terrible thing for all involved.
For those that have accepted Christ as their personal savior, this life is truly about doing God's will. We need to be in a place where we are more concerned with His will for our lives than anything else. We have to always remember that relationship is more important than religion. I don't think we can ever not need to be reminded of that fact.
Blessings.
Pastor Willie Blakely brought forth a needful word on Sunday, April 20th.
The message from the Lord was about truly realizing that we need Him to properly live this life; that we need to direct others to Him (and not us) so that they may properly live this life. We need Him to carry out His will for our life while on this earth. We can no longer waste any more time trying to figure things out, or trying to seek others for advice, affirmation or agreement. We need to hear the truth, read the truth, speak the truth and live the truth. We have to either take God's Word as being true and powerful, or not. We have to be all in.
Pastor Blakely took his text from Isaiah 43.
Pastor Blakely informed us that God is trying to make His people realize that he is doing something new and trying to change our way of thinking so that we can move past our limited human thinking. We need to take the limits off of God and let Him be God. We have to realize that this life is not about us anymore. We have a higher purpose. And we don't have to worry about the devil derailing that purpose because we are more powerful than him. Once we really believe that and CHOOSE to operate in it, we will be in a totally different place spiritually. We would advance further along to where God can begin to really use us. We need to really see what God is trying to show us and wants us to see concerning our lives and His divine purpose.
We were reminded that God is not really interested in our gift. (He will use our gift because we are available at the time it is needed.) God is more interested in our character and that we do what is right. We cannot think of ourselves as not needing healing, mercy, repentance or forgiveness. We cannot get caught up in thinking of ourselves higher than we ought to. With that kind of thinking, we are setting ourselves up to fall and that could extended into the lives of the people that are rightly connected to us. Or, if we are in a leadership position, we could be leading God's people away from God instead of toward God. That would be a very terrible thing for all involved.
For those that have accepted Christ as their personal savior, this life is truly about doing God's will. We need to be in a place where we are more concerned with His will for our lives than anything else. We have to always remember that relationship is more important than religion. I don't think we can ever not need to be reminded of that fact.
Blessings.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Forget In Order to Identify
Shalom.
Minister Anh Brown allowed the Lord to use her to bring forth a simple, yet potent and timely word.
Her scriptural text was taken from Philipians 3:13.
The preacher for that day talked to us about forgetting our past so that we can identify who we are in Christ. We need to forget so that we are not hindered in identifying who we are. It is so important that we rely on God for everything. We cannot let our accomplishments or failures take the credit for who we are. And we don't want to use those accomplishments or failures as a crutch. We need to stand on God's word and trust in God with our whole heart. The former things are a hinderance, a weight that prevents us from moving like we should and where we should, for God and in God. (I know I need to let go of some things and truly embrace the possibilities in God.)
The preacher informed us that we need to learn to walk in the spirit. And she offered up a great definition for how someone actually walks in the spirit. And you might think is was something deep, but it wasn't. The way one walks in the spirit is by denying self. Yup, that is it. Simple, yet profound, huh? That is something which is easier said than done because of our self-preservation mindset. Imagine the freedom we would have if we stopped being so concerned with us all the time. We are upset about what this one said about us, or what that one did to us five years ago, five days ago or even five minutes ago. Imagine the lives we could touch by getting over ourselves and allowing God to rule our thoughts, our movement, our actions. As the preacher said, by allowing God to be responsible, it releases the pressure off of us. And that is a wonderful thing! ^_^
Blessings.
"Jesus plus nothing is all you need" -- Pastor Willie Blakely
Minister Anh Brown allowed the Lord to use her to bring forth a simple, yet potent and timely word.
Her scriptural text was taken from Philipians 3:13.
The preacher for that day talked to us about forgetting our past so that we can identify who we are in Christ. We need to forget so that we are not hindered in identifying who we are. It is so important that we rely on God for everything. We cannot let our accomplishments or failures take the credit for who we are. And we don't want to use those accomplishments or failures as a crutch. We need to stand on God's word and trust in God with our whole heart. The former things are a hinderance, a weight that prevents us from moving like we should and where we should, for God and in God. (I know I need to let go of some things and truly embrace the possibilities in God.)
The preacher informed us that we need to learn to walk in the spirit. And she offered up a great definition for how someone actually walks in the spirit. And you might think is was something deep, but it wasn't. The way one walks in the spirit is by denying self. Yup, that is it. Simple, yet profound, huh? That is something which is easier said than done because of our self-preservation mindset. Imagine the freedom we would have if we stopped being so concerned with us all the time. We are upset about what this one said about us, or what that one did to us five years ago, five days ago or even five minutes ago. Imagine the lives we could touch by getting over ourselves and allowing God to rule our thoughts, our movement, our actions. As the preacher said, by allowing God to be responsible, it releases the pressure off of us. And that is a wonderful thing! ^_^
Blessings.
"Jesus plus nothing is all you need" -- Pastor Willie Blakely
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