God’s word - what an incredible gift!
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
Psalms 119:18
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Psalms 42:1-2
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6
I share these with you because they are some of my favorite scripture. These verses drive me; they fire me up and ignite my passion for God. They also convict me to my core.
It’s my desire and prayer to have a heart like the heart God used to record these verses for us.
I confess my heart is not even close to that, but God is able, and willing.
Thanks for reading and have a blessed weekend.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Just In Time!
How about Maryland’s lady basketball team??!! Down by 13 points at one point in the game, they fought all the way back, and with around 20 seconds left in regulation they had cut Duke’s lead to a slim three points. That’s when Maryland’s freshman guard Kristi Toliver took over. She took the inbounds and drove down the court and with 3.8 seconds left she buried a three with a Duke hand in her face to tie the game and send it to overtime. Then in overtime she hit two clutch free throws to put the game away, and to give Maryland the National Championship. The girl has ice in her veins! By the way – that’s a compliment. It means she can take the pressure and remain calm.
I really enjoyed watching the end of that game a lot more than the guy’s National Championship game. And why not – it’s our story. Only our story was more than winning and losing – it was/is life and death.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
What’s my story? When I was dying in my sin, with no way to save myself, Jesus died in my place. I went from death to life because He stepped up (under great pressure and pain) and took my place, at just the right time.
He did the same for you!
How about Maryland’s lady basketball team??!! Down by 13 points at one point in the game, they fought all the way back, and with around 20 seconds left in regulation they had cut Duke’s lead to a slim three points. That’s when Maryland’s freshman guard Kristi Toliver took over. She took the inbounds and drove down the court and with 3.8 seconds left she buried a three with a Duke hand in her face to tie the game and send it to overtime. Then in overtime she hit two clutch free throws to put the game away, and to give Maryland the National Championship. The girl has ice in her veins! By the way – that’s a compliment. It means she can take the pressure and remain calm.
I really enjoyed watching the end of that game a lot more than the guy’s National Championship game. And why not – it’s our story. Only our story was more than winning and losing – it was/is life and death.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
What’s my story? When I was dying in my sin, with no way to save myself, Jesus died in my place. I went from death to life because He stepped up (under great pressure and pain) and took my place, at just the right time.
He did the same for you!
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Ouch! That Hurts...
This morning as I was shaving I heard Kristin talking to me from the other room. I turned to leave the bathroom to ask what she had said, but when I turned, I walked into the corner of the bathroom door with my forehead. OUCH! I really dislike hitting my head on things, this particular time it was the kind of impact that made your teeth hurt.
Like I said, I really dislike hitting my head on things – but I’m 6’5”, so I have to tell you I’ve done it a lot, and often. A few hours later Kristin, Kendall and I were at the church building. Kristin and I were doing some cleaning, and Kendall was playing and having fun. As I was mopping the back hallway I bumped my head on the corner of this big grey metal alarm box thing that is mounted about six feet off the floor, and sticks out from the wall about 10 inches. (Who puts these things right in the way of guys like me?) In case you didn’t know, it almost always hurts when you bump your head – but especially when you bump the back of your head on the pointy corner of a big grey metal alarm box thing. This time it was the kind of pain that causes you to immediately grab and hold the place where it hurts, while every muscle in you body tightens because of the pain. I know – I really need to be more careful.
Does your head ever get in the way? We are surrounded every day by people who are hurting, and too often we are people who think with our head instead of responding with our hearts. We wonder if they are really in need or just want a pity party. We entertain the thought that if we help we may get taken advantage of. Or if I give these few bucks to them, they may buy cigarettes with it. We plan planning meetings so we can get organized to help those with needs -- yet our hearts seldom get us engaged in helping
We even think too much when it comes to our church family. “I wish they didn’t sing that song. Why do they raise their hands during worship? Should I give them a hug or just shake hands? If I go forward to request prayer, what will they think?” We are way too sensitive to what others think! I know that what others think is important. But not nearly as important as what God thinks. And sometimes – I think we can all confess – we listen to what our head is telling us about a situation, instead of following the Spirit of God as He is prompting our hearts.
Golfers have a saying – “he’s thinking too much.” You’ll usually hear this said about a golfer who has plenty of golf knowledge, but instead of putting the knowledge to proper and practical use, the golfer instead -- while trying to play – thinks so much about all the options of each opportunity he has, that his mind actually deters him from playing well. He is distracted from his objective because of over thinking. What he really needs to be doing is just getting out there and doing what he knows in his heart is right to do.
Well it’s been a few hours since my head got in my way. How about you, does your head ever get your way?
FYI – this is my second post in three days. Please hold the applause, I would like to tell you to get used to it, but you probably shouldn’t. Anyway, thanks for visiting and have a great day.
This morning as I was shaving I heard Kristin talking to me from the other room. I turned to leave the bathroom to ask what she had said, but when I turned, I walked into the corner of the bathroom door with my forehead. OUCH! I really dislike hitting my head on things, this particular time it was the kind of impact that made your teeth hurt.
Like I said, I really dislike hitting my head on things – but I’m 6’5”, so I have to tell you I’ve done it a lot, and often. A few hours later Kristin, Kendall and I were at the church building. Kristin and I were doing some cleaning, and Kendall was playing and having fun. As I was mopping the back hallway I bumped my head on the corner of this big grey metal alarm box thing that is mounted about six feet off the floor, and sticks out from the wall about 10 inches. (Who puts these things right in the way of guys like me?) In case you didn’t know, it almost always hurts when you bump your head – but especially when you bump the back of your head on the pointy corner of a big grey metal alarm box thing. This time it was the kind of pain that causes you to immediately grab and hold the place where it hurts, while every muscle in you body tightens because of the pain. I know – I really need to be more careful.
Does your head ever get in the way? We are surrounded every day by people who are hurting, and too often we are people who think with our head instead of responding with our hearts. We wonder if they are really in need or just want a pity party. We entertain the thought that if we help we may get taken advantage of. Or if I give these few bucks to them, they may buy cigarettes with it. We plan planning meetings so we can get organized to help those with needs -- yet our hearts seldom get us engaged in helping
We even think too much when it comes to our church family. “I wish they didn’t sing that song. Why do they raise their hands during worship? Should I give them a hug or just shake hands? If I go forward to request prayer, what will they think?” We are way too sensitive to what others think! I know that what others think is important. But not nearly as important as what God thinks. And sometimes – I think we can all confess – we listen to what our head is telling us about a situation, instead of following the Spirit of God as He is prompting our hearts.
Golfers have a saying – “he’s thinking too much.” You’ll usually hear this said about a golfer who has plenty of golf knowledge, but instead of putting the knowledge to proper and practical use, the golfer instead -- while trying to play – thinks so much about all the options of each opportunity he has, that his mind actually deters him from playing well. He is distracted from his objective because of over thinking. What he really needs to be doing is just getting out there and doing what he knows in his heart is right to do.
Well it’s been a few hours since my head got in my way. How about you, does your head ever get your way?
FYI – this is my second post in three days. Please hold the applause, I would like to tell you to get used to it, but you probably shouldn’t. Anyway, thanks for visiting and have a great day.
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