Reflection

This is a picture of our oldest daughter being baptized.  Before I go on, it would be good to explain what baptism is for those who may not know.  Baptism is the immersion of a believer (in Jesus) in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, as well as the believer’s death to sin, burial of the old life, and resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

The thing that stands out to me about the picture is her reflection in the water.  So why the reflection?  What is so important or impressive about a reflection in the water?  In reality there is nothing magical about the reflection.  But I see it as a symbol of what baptism is all about.  Baptism isn't what saves a soul,  but rather it's a symbol of salvation.  The reflection to me is a last look at her old self.  Her lost soul.  Her separation from God.  Because once she accepted Jesus as her savior, all that went away.  She is now child of God, forgiven of her sins and eternally united with Him.  Praise be to God for his gift of salvation.

Help me just to live it, Lord!

This morning I read one of the best articles I've seen in a while.  Something about it just grabs me each time I read it.  The feeling is hard to explain.  It's like God is speaking to me in His still, small voice.  The tone of the article is peaceful and thought provoking.  Again, it just sends an awesome feeling through my soul.   

The article focuses on the presence of God in Heaven.  What will we say?  What will He say?  When we can see with glorified eye his oceans of mercy, how much more glorious will He then be?

"When all the questions are answered . . . when the threads of our doubts and hardships are seen as the finished tapestry of his sustaining grace . . . when we look over all our decisions and moves and steps . . . when we see, for the first time, the ocean of his mercy with glorified eyes, what will we say about him? What else could we say but that he is beautiful?"

As believers, those who confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we need to think about this.  Our promise of being with God, forever.  The absolute awesomeness of this truth.  Do we ever really think deeply about this?  Do we take the time?  For me the answer is not nearly enough and not with depth I should.

"And knowing that now, living in the imagination of that coming Day, the prayer of our hearts becomes simple. That is what this vision does, after all. It unclutters. It reminds us of what really matters. It makes us desire, with the intensity of heaven, for God’s word to go forth in all the world. We will see him one day. We will live forever in his love. And we want others to experience this same joy that he has welcomed us into."

"Therefore, we pray, “I want to take your word and shine it all around. First help me just to live it, Lord. And when I’m doing well, help me to never seek a crown, for my reward is giving glory to you.”

Does this vision, the vision of being with God forever, unclutter our hearts?  Does it reveal what is really important in our lives?  For me, I want it to.  Deep down in my soul, I really want it to.  But when that alarm clock sounds on Monday morning, will that desire still be there?  Or will the rush of life sweep it away?  So I ask, "First help me just to live it, Lord."  Help me to live with eternity in mind.  Knowing that I will one day give an account for my life here on earth.  Praise be to God for the saving Grace of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

You can read the full article on the Desiring God website.  Just click the link below.

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-will-we-say

Draw Closer

Hebrews 2:1- "Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it."

We need to draw closer to the scriptures and the faith proclaimed in them.  Hebrews 1 tells us of the supremacy of Jesus, therefore we must pay closer attention to Him.  He is the way, the truth, the life.  Below is a prayer from the Valley of Vision.  The prayer is for a deeper intimacy with the scriptures.  Enjoy and think upon it as you read Gods word.

O GOD OF TRUTH,

I thank thee for the holy Scriptures,
    their precepts, promises, directions, light.
In them may I learn more of Christ,
  be enabled to retain his truth
  and have grace to follow it.
Help me to lift up the gates of my soul
    that he may come in
  and show me himself when I search
    the Scriptures,
  for I have no lines to fathom its depths,
  no wings to soar to its heights.
By his aid may I be enabled to explore
    all its truths,
  love them with all my heart,
  embrace them with all my power,
  engraft them into my life.
Bless to my soul all grains of truth garnered
    from thy Word;
  may they take deep root,
  be refreshed by heavenly dew,
  be ripened by heavenly rays,
  be harvested to my joy and thy praise.
Help me to gain profit by what I read,
  as treasure beyond all treasure,
  a fountain which can replenish my dry heart,
    its waters flowing through me as a perennial river
    on-drawn by thy Holy Spirit.
Enable me to distil from its pages faithful prayer
  that grasps the arm of thy omnipotence,
  achieves wonders, obtains blessings,
  and draws down streams of mercy.
From it show me how my words have often been
    unfaithful to thee,
    injurious to my fellow-men,
    empty of grace, full of folly,
    dishonouring to my calling.
Then write thy own words upon my heart
    and inscribe them on my lips;
So shall all glory be to thee
    in my reading of thy Word!

The Gospel

This weekend as we wrapped up our series on Heaven, our pastor told two stories that were very sobering.  One was of a man who had a dream his name was not in the book of life.  How sad, but how awesome of our God to share this with this man.  The other was of a missionary from the UK who was on mission here in the US.  The missionary was so excited he received his green card. Wondering what the big deal was, our pastor asked.  The guy said that not having a green card was like a ticking clock.  If his visa expired, he would have to go home.  The people need the Gospel and he was here to share it.

Two great visions for us a believers to think on.  There are lost people in need of the Gospel and we have a ticking clock on the time we have to share it.  In the next service I was able to share the Gospel with about 50, K-2 graders.  This is easy, very important, but easy.  I was challenged to share with my co-workers, neighbors, and possibly to those far away.  As believers we should think about this everyday:  John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.  It takes a love of God and a love of people, to see them saved for His Glory.

Below is a video for those who need to hear the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ saving grace.

You're All I've Ever Needed

During a recent "Night of Worship" at our church, Bay Area First Baptist Church, a song by Michael W. Smith spoke to my soul.  The song is Draw Me Close, specifically the line "You're all I've ever needed" really worked on me and confirmed much that God has been challenging me with over the past few months.    For the first time in my professional career, I've been challenged by the lack of success.  Not to say that I haven't experienced ups and downs and your everyday challenges, but for the most part everything has gone well.  Since January my group has been severely challenged due to a poor strategy by the group that brought me in.  I take things very personal, so this has been extremely stressful for me.  When we moved to Houston, both Julie and I felt this is where God was leading us.  So for me to be stressed, not trusting Him was contrary to what we know God means for good.

I know I've mentioned this before, but it is worth repeating.  I've tried to find joy in being successful playing golf, running, in my career, and other things in this world.  This also has been discouraging as I'm not as "successful" as I would like.  So God being God has been working on me and this line "You're all I've ever needed" confirmed my convictions.  Romans 8:6  "For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."  This is the answer to my struggles.  He is life and peace, nothing in this world can take that place.  He promised to those who trust in His Son Jesus, eternal, abundant life (The abundance is not health, wealth, and prosperity).  That life starts at accepting Him as savior, John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."  The thief was trying to steal my joy.

So my prayer is that through His word, through prayer, through encouragement from my amazing wife and through partnering with the body of Christ God has placed us in, I will find life and peace.  And that is my prayer for you, fellow believer.  Trust in Him, not the world.  And for you, non-believer, I pray you will find eternal life in Christ Jesus.

He is Greater

Sitting in the lobby at church tonight I logged into my blog.  As an "inspirational" link I have the Love Your Guts site and what a true inspiration it is.  I went back to October 2007 and July 2009 and read the sweet words Sarah wrote about the birth of Gracie, Judah, and Jilly.  I literally have tears in my eyes as I write this.  Such sweet memories and an amazing testimony.  Below is a post she wrote 3 days after Gracie was born.  I hope it is as encouraging to you as it is for me.  Jesus is greater than anything we can imagine.  

Inexpressible

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Where to even start? I have so much going through my mind and somehow am going to try to convey what is on my heart. I should go back to way back when i was a kid and life was just so simple. No worries, just living the life. So many memories. I have been truly blessed with so many things in my life that i have absolutely not one thing to complain about. There is so much truth in the word of God and I pray with all of my heart that if you don't know Jesus that you will at least open your heart to listen to His sweet voice. I can promise you that He will NEVER let you down. Things won't always be picture perfect, as my journey has shown you, but a heart that is full of joy and peace that can only be filled with the Lord Jesus is something that can never be fulfilled any other way. As my journey has shown you, there have been many times that I have struggled to feel God's presence and His love and yes, it has been very hard at times. However, the power of prayer and the living, active word of God will overcome those feelings every single time. I am a true testimony to that. Take these last few weeks for example. They have literally been a blur...I don't remember much. I have noticed a decline in my health. I am weak and move slower. I have had many questions with not a lot of answers. 

My best friend and sister, Julie was pregnant and I so badly wanted to meet Gracie and to be here when she was born. She was due November 1st, but wanted to have the baby October 15th. As soon as she told me, I started praying that Gracie would come October 15th and wouldn't you know, she did? Now, tell me that's not a God thing?! It was a whirlwind...she called me Monday morning to tell me that her water had broke, so I got in the shower and Dad helped me pack. I got my pink walker and off with Jerri and Bill to D.C. I go. The other crazy thing is that my cousin Cassie goes into labor the same day and has her little girl. What another God story! My cousin Cassie and Emmy were born the day after me. So of course, we've been attached since birth. I met Julie when we moved over to the Beverly Hills area (her house was right behind mine between the dirt hill). Then the inner-circle began. Julie, me, Cassie and Emmy were inseparable. When we got the call that they were moving to Cincinnati after the 5th grade, we were all devastated. But, true friendships and family never end. To this day all three of our families are as close as can be and have shared some great, great memories and will continue to do so. Now maybe you can understand how crazy/special it was that Gracie and Alaire were born on the same day! 

The word cancer can seem so scary sometimes, but to me it has become one of the greatest blessings of my life. I hope that all of you can experience the power of the the greatest love that has ever been and will ever be in existence today and forever: God's love. 

Julie, Hutch and Gracie are finally on their way home from the hospital, so I must sign off so I can get ready for their arrival. Oh the joy of a baby! 

Love your guts! :)
sarah

Know Before Whom You Stand

Da Lifnei mi atah Omed (Know Before Whom You Stand).  This statement spoke to me this morning.  In todays message, our pastor mentioned this phrase and how in many synagogues this is written on or above the doors of the Aron Ha-Kodesh (the Holy ark in which the Torah scrolls are kept).  I drifted away from the message and started mediating on this.  Being completely transparent, I came to the realization that I don't grasp this.  And I would have to say in the American church, most of us do not.  One example, Bibles are a dime a dozen in America.  There are an average of 4.7 per household, but I would say that number is twice that in the home of "church attenders".  I counted 14 in our house, but I bet we have more.  This is not a bad thing, but if you are like me you take for granted that you have access to God's Holy Scriptures any time you want.

My prayer is this: that I will grasp this amazing reality.  That when I open the Scriptures, that I am reading the very Words of God.  That when I enter church to worship, that I am in His presence.  And ultimately, that every hour of every day that I am in his presence.  Because that is reality, He is omnipresent.  He is everywhere at all times.

Here is a great link to expand more on this: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Da_lifnei/da_lifnei.html