Kid's drama from July 21

Our kids worked hard to get this ready. They did a great job. Much thanks to Tracey Hedrick and Barb Walls that worked with them all week. This was July 21

Spiritual shortsightedness, some thoughts from Psalm 89

Psalm 89 is a Psalm of Ethan the Ezrahite. This is a psalm about God's promises and loving kindness. God had promised to have a descendant of David on the throne forever.  However, the author looked around and saw the city of David destroyed and no king was on the throne. Was it possible that God had forgotten His covenant with His people? In no way.

God's faithfulness had been seen from generation to generation. His people had seen His glory, the nations had seen His glory, His works demonstrated His glory, and creation itself demonstrates His glory. Ethan knew what God's Word said, but current events made him question his faith. 

Do you ever feel this way? If so you are in good company (like Moses, Elijah, Habakkuk  Peter, and many others). The ultimate fulfillment of God's promise is found in the person of Christ Jesus. He is the Son of David and the Son of God and He will reign forever. Surely, the faithfulness of God never fails.

We must be cautious to not judge the plans and intentions of God by current events. Cling to the words of 2 Corinthians 1:20, "For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us." 

I like many of you look around this world and I see wars, I see poverty, I see injustice, I see evil, but I know my God is faithful. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus. 

Here are this week's texts

July 30, 2013                  Job 22–24, Acts 22:22–23:10, Ps 89:6–11, Prov 19:1–2

July 31, 2013                  Job 25–28, Acts 23:11–35, Ps 89:12–20, Prov 19:3–4

August 01, 2013            Job 29–30, Acts 24:1–21, Ps 89:21–26, Prov 19:5–6

August 02, 2013            Job 31–32, Acts 24:22–25:12, Ps 89:27–33, Prov 19:7–9

August 03, 2013            Job 33–34, Acts 25:13–26:11, Ps 89:34–43, Prov 19:10–12

August 04, 2013            Job 35–37, Acts 26:12–32, Ps 89:44–52, Prov 19:13–14

August 05, 2013            Job 38:1–40:2, Acts 27:1–12, Ps 90:title–3, Prov 19:15–16

August 06, 2013            Job 40:3–42:17, Acts 27:13–44, Ps 90:4–10, Prov 19:17–19

Great quote from Bonhoeffer and this week's texts

I was thinking about this quote this morning. Bonhoeffer lived through the rise of the Nazis in his beloved Germany. He witnessed how little by little his society was taken over by evil. Most that proclaimed Christ did nothing to stop this rise. Some joined the Nazis; however, most remained silent. Their silence began because it was graduale. Hitler did not begin his rise to power with atrocities, but with words laced with honey. The atrocities came soon enough, but in the beginning it was easy to write off some of the rhetoric as politics.  

As time progressed they remained silent out of fear. Fear for the loss of their money, loss of their reputations, and loss of their lives. While they reminded silent Hitler and his evil regime rose to great power. 

What evil is going on around us right now? How often do we remain silent thinking it is not our role to speak up or there is nothing we can do about? I am not talking about any specific event, political party, or issue right now, I'm speaking in general. As a Christian what in our society, our lives, and our entertainment is evil? What are you doing to stop this evil? When is the right time to speak or to remain silent? When is the right time to act or remain in the shadows? 

I have so much on my mind this Monday morning. I am praying for several individuals and for some national issues as well. I trust you are as well. 

Here are this week's texts:

July 22, 2013            Job 1–3, Acts 17:22–18:17, Ps 86:title–4, Prov 18:4–6

July 23, 2013            Job 4–6, Acts 18:18–19:10, Ps 86:5–11, Prov 18:7–9

July 24, 2013            Job 7–8, Acts 19:11–41, Ps 86:12–17, Prov 18:10–11

July 25, 2013            Job 9–11, Acts 20:1–12, Ps 87, Prov 18:12–13

July 26, 2013            Job 12–14, Acts 20:13–38, Ps 88:title–4, Prov 18:14–15

July 27, 2013            Job 15–16, Acts 21:1–14, Ps 88:5–10, Prov 18:16–18

July 28, 2013            Job 17–19, Acts 21:15–36, Ps 88:11–18, Prov 18:19–21

July 29, 2013            Job 20–21, Acts 21:37–22:21, Ps 89:title–5, Prov 18:22–24

Placing ourselves into the story

On this date 407 years ago Rembrandt was born. He was an interesting man that painted some of the greatest masterpieces ever seen. I think his giftedness is shown more in his biblical paintings in which he shows emotion and draws the viewer into the story. That is a gift that few in history have had. 

One of the things that he did often was include himself as a character in his paintings. For instance in The Stoning Of Stephen he is seen behind the ones that are stoning Stephen. 

In Raising Of The Cross he painted himself in the background in the clothing of  his day. He understood correctly that his sins contributed to putting Christ on the cross. 

In Joseph Tell His Dreams To Joseph he depicts himself as the old patriarch. 

In The Prodigal Son In A Brothel he is the prodigal son (and his wife is the woman) 

In The Return Of The Prodigal Son he portrays himself both as the younger son and as the father. 

While none of us have the ability to paint like this master, we do have the ability to put ourselves in the story we are reading. I pray we can do this often. 

Here are this week's texts:

July 15, 2013            Neh 7:4–73, Acts 13:42–14:7, Ps 82, Prov 17:15–16

July 16, 2013            Neh 8–9, Acts 14:8–28, Ps 83:title–7, Prov 17:17–19

July 17, 2013            Neh 10–11, Acts 15:1–21, Ps 83:8–18, Prov 17:20–22

July 18, 2013            Neh 12–13, Acts 15:22–41, Ps 84:title–4, Prov 17:23–24

July 19, 2013            Esther 1–2, Acts 16:1–24, Ps 84:5–12, Prov 17:25–26

July 20, 2013            Esther 3–6, Acts 16:25–17:4, Ps 85:title–4, Prov 17:27–28

July 21, 2013            Esther 7–10, Acts 17:5–21, Ps 85:5–13, Prov 18:1–3

July 22, 2013            Job 1–3, Acts 17:22–18:17, Ps 86:title–4, Prov 18:4–6

CIY 2013

The Forgotten 4th Verse of America's National Anthem "The Star Spangled ...

Notice the last few lines:
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us as a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spandled banner in triumph shall wave
O're the land of the free and home of the brave!

We are blessed in many ways, I pray we never forget where are blessings originate. James 1:17

Time

We all have the same amount of time in any given day. It is how we use that time that makes the real difference. As we go through different stages of life how we spend our time changes. We go from play to study, to work, to amusement, and hopefully to retirement. However, no matter what stage of life we are in there is a constant principle: don't waste time. God intends for every stage of life to have meaning and to be used for Him. No doubt we will give an account of how we have used the precious gift of time. 

We must keep our priorities in order if we are going to use our time well. God must come first. Do you set aside time for prayer and study in God's Word? If not what does that say about your priorities? When you have some free time how do you use it? Does God play a part in this part of your life? 

God gives us all we need to do for any given day. No more or less is expected of us. If we seek to do more than what God has for us to do we will burnout. If we seek to do less than what God has for us to do we will not find fulfillment. Thus we must make a conscious effort to seek the will of God for each moment. We do this through prayer, studying Scripture, and through the wisdom of others. As you approach this week seek the Lord's will for your time and seek opportunities to bring others closer to God through your words and actions. 

Here are this week's texts:

July 08, 2013            2 Chron 35–36, Acts 9:31–10:8, Ps 79:5–13, Prov 16:31–33

July 09, 2013            Ezra 1–2, Acts 10:9–33, Ps 80:title–4, Prov 17:1–2

July 10, 2013            Ezra 3–6, Acts 10:34–48, Ps 80:5–10, Prov 17:3–4

July 11, 2013            Ezra 7–8, Acts 11:1–26, Ps 80:11–19, Prov 17:5–7

July 12, 2013            Ezra 9–10, Acts 11:27–12:19, Ps 81:title–5, Prov 17:8–10

July 13, 2013            Neh 1–3, Acts 12:20–13:12, Ps 81:6–9, Prov 17:11–12

July 14, 2013            Neh 4:1–7:3, Acts 13:13–41, Ps 81:10–16, Prov 17:13–14

July 15, 2013            Neh 7:4–73, Acts 13:42–14:7, Ps 82, Prov 17:15–16

My cute little girl loves the carpet cleaner, my bulldog not so much

Members of the military return home to reunite with their families

Making a difference

I often wonder what difference can we make when are presented with such large issues that our country and world are faced with today? The following account brings me hope (I read this in "Adventures In Missing The Point" by Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo.) 

Over two decades ago a group of students from Eastern College had a research assignment to address this question: "How could a small group of Christians effect micro-social changes in society?"  To answer this question they focused on the small, impoverished nation of the Dominican Republic. 

They began by buying stock in Gulf & Western, a very large company that had great influence in the Dominican Republic. The company owned hotels, resorts, lots of land, and was the major sugar producer for the area. Each student bought one stock of the company, and thus were entitled to attend the annual stockholder's meeting.

During the meeting the students took turns reading passages from the Bible and asking for the company to take its social responsibility seriously. Specifically, they asked for the wages of the sugar workers to raised and to provide medical and educational services for the people. Their expectation was that the company and its shareholders would either laugh them out of the building or throw them out. Neither of these things happened. Rather, the company listened and over several months negotiations were made between the company and several organizations that were passionate about  helping the people of the Dominican Republic. 

As a result, the company partnered with Mt. Sinai Medical Center of New York to provide medical services for a portion of the island. They also committed to grow more crops than just sugar as to provide food for the local population. Furthermore, they committed to start a university to train teachers, lawyers, nurses, and engineers. Over the next five years the company spent $500 million on these programs. This created a radical change for this small country. While there are still many battles to be won, this was a tremendous first step. 

What difference can you and other Christians make today?

Here are the texts for this week.

July 01, 2013            2 Chron 17–19, Acts 5:33–6:15, Ps 78:29–37, Prov 16:14–16

July 02, 2013            2 Chron 20–21, Acts 7:1–16, Ps 78:38–42, Prov 16:17–18

July 03, 2013            2 Chron 22–24, Acts 7:17–43, Ps 78:43–50, Prov 16:19–20

July 04, 2013            2 Chron 25–27, Acts 7:44–60, Ps 78:51–56, Prov 16:21–22

July 05, 2013            2 Chron 28–29, Acts 8:1–25, Ps 78:57–63, Prov 16:23–25

July 06, 2013            2 Chron 30–32, Acts 8:26–9:9, Ps 78:64–72, Prov 16:26–28

July 07, 2013            2 Chron 33–34, Acts 9:10–30, Ps 79:title–4, Prov 16:29–30