In the End we Will Be Judged, not by man

Two well known Christians died this week, Chuck Colson and Voice of the Martyrs Senior Editor Tom White. I don't know much about either man and would not try to say too much about either character, or guilt in anything they may or may not have done. However just from news reports and tidbits I have heard throughout the years it seems that one was a good man who died a bad man, and the other was a bad man who became a good man.
  Tom White apparently committed suicide after being accused of molesting a little girl. Chuck Colson was a Nixon heavy hitter who spent some time in jail, and went on to be lifted up by Jesus to start a prison ministry.
  As I said I don't know much about either man, unfortunately I am sure both will be portrayed in the media in the worst possible light,  deserved or not.  Now it is really hard to say about Mr. White "but look at all the good he did' or " he really cared and loved his family" when he apparently did something so heinous as to touch a young girl. No excuse, no reason just too bad he did not ask for the forgiveness that he should have known was there for him. Personally I do believe his punishment should have been harsh, assuming his guilt, but to be a coward to not face up to it just adds to the disgrace.
 Chuck Colson on the other hand  took his disgrace and turned it, humbly, about service for God. "One of the most wonderful things about being a Christian is that I don’t ever get up in the morning and wonder if what I do matters. I live every day to the fullest because I can live it through Christ and I know no matter what I do today, I’m going to do something to advance the Kingdom of God.”— Charles Colson

 Mostly I hope the world will not just sit back and take a "sound bite" look at these men's lives and condemn Christians in general. We Christians know we are sinners, we are far from perfect, which is why we are so thankful for Jesus. Without him we have no hope, yes even for Mr. White there was hope. And in the end I will not judge either of these men for the one who paid for their sins will.  Just as I hope I will not be judged by men for being a Christian according to these men's worst moments.

E.M. Bounds on Prayer

I just recently started reading a book on prayer called "E.M. Bounds on Prayer" only three chapters, and the foreword so far, and I must say I am impressed with this mans life and thoughts on prayer.
 Born in 1835 on the American frontier with little to no formal education.However in his lifetime he was to become the head of his own congregation, serve as a chaplain in the Union army during the civil war, have two wives(after the first had passed away suddenly) numerous children(three who passed away at a young age), and walked away from a lucrative job including a pension for the sake evangelism. (Read the book to find out about that!)
 He was a man who would wake at 4 am in order to pray until 7 am,then after a breakfast would turn to Scripture and writing, both sermons and books. (the preceding was taken from excerpts from the preface of Hendrickson Christian Classics of the same book)
 Chapter one seems, rightfully so, to approach prayer quite seriously. After all prayer is communication with God All Mighty, All Knowing, the Everlasting God. The first chapter in "On Prayer" is all about the need to communicate, to pray, to Him with the whole being of man. Heart, soul, mind and body.

'Tis not enough to bend the knee,
And words of prayer to say;
The heart must with the lips agree,
Or else we do not pray.

One must prepare about what to pray for, one must think about what to pray for, one must feel, desire, need, want what one prays about. Not in the selfish ways you as the reader are likely to think.( Yeah, hmm what do I really want? What do I really need? I really want world peace.) Those are all well and good but prayer is not about you, it is about God. Pray what you want God to do in your life, pray what His will is for you and the world to do. Pray that He comes and brings world peace as He will. For we have the thoughts of man and He does not have thoughts like ours. So before you pray take time to contemplate, really contemplate, God and His will, then apply it to what you pray for.

 Chapter two is about humility. "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Mt 20:16) This world is all about accomplishments, as measured by other people. We pay grown men  millions of dollars to swing a bat at a ball, and they only connect about one third of the time, for about 160 games a year. I love baseball, but it is also a game played by children. How much more important is God! Without whom there is no life, much less baseball. Compare His accomplishments to that of a baseball player? I think not.  "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it." Job 40:2
We are nothing without God, we are nothing compared to God, and we are nothing without Gods providence. So come and pray not like the Pharisee but like the tax collector. Do not pray for others to hear that they may be impressed, be humble before your God when you come to pray. "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:14

Chapter three is about devotion. Devotion is a word used far to little today or in such a small manner and often in a sarcastic manner. Who would consider them selves truly devoted to their spouse?Maybe they would be devoted to their vocation, or (worse yet) to their avocation. But are you devoted to God? Have you devoted yourself to prayer to God?  E.M. Bounds devoted  three hours a day, waking early for the purpose, do you have that kind of devotion? God gave his only Son to suffer and die for your sins, can you find devotion in your heart to that God? If your not sure perhaps you should read or reread one of the Gospels. May I suggest you read it at one sitting that the fullness of the Gospel not be watered down. Lest I be called a hypocrite by people who know me, I have not yet reached that point where I pray three hours a day, especially not at one sitting. I am fairly close however if all totalled up through the course of a day, and someday perhaps I will find that dedication and devotion as E.M. Bounds had.

  How do you feel about your Church? The bride of Christ.  Are you going to Church? Does your Church preach the Gospel? (If not, may I suggest you find one that does as your soul may depend on it) Are you like allot of Christians who go to church begrudgingly because you were raised that way,  or that you think it's "good enough"?  Are you happy at the end of the sermon because you know its almost time to leave? "Amen!" You think "I'll make the game after all" or "Whew, back to bed" or  just "Thank God that's over with"? Be honest with yourself, because your pastor may not know your answer but God does.
  Which brings me to your pastor, how do you view him? As a self righteous orator judging you from afar spouting scripture and "-ism's"? A judgemental teacher that no one could live up to? A political preacher telling you how to live your life? or, worse yet, a really good story teller? May God forbid you have any of these type of people leading you. For yes they are a leader, for good or bad. And this is why first you should find one that preaches the gospel, and second find one that "connects" with you. The second being purely a luxury. A good pastor is one who is divinely called by God who will share the whole word of God with you. Not simply teach lessons, or preach only the "good news". Being that your Pastor is divinely called by God and is commanded to teach you His word and will be judged by God not only for his actions but also by yours, you should show your pastor the respect he deserves. That being said you should never rely upon your pastor wholly for the Word. Be as a Berean for "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Acts 17:11 Paul who was teaching them the Good News as a pastor, but yet they compared everything he said to Scripture.By the way do you have "great eagerness" for the Word of God? I pray you do.

So after only three chapters on prayer we have preparation, devotion and humility. A good place to start no doubt. God hears all prayers and answers all prayers, even the "foxhole" prayers of atheists. For all the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit has done for me, I choose to pray in the best manner I can and I assume I will be forever learning how to do just that. To God be the glory!

The Valley of Vision, Vocation

Heavenly Father,

Thou hast placed me in the church

which thy Son purchased by his own blood.

Add grace to grace that I may live worthy

of my vocation.

I am a voyager across life’s ocean;

Safe in heaven’s ark, may I pass through

a troubled world

into the harbour of eternal rest.

I am a tree of the vineyard thou hast planted.

Grant me not to be barren, with worthless

leaves and wild grapes;

Prune me of useless branches;

Water me with dews of blessing.

I am part of the Lamb’s bride, the church.

Help me to be true, faithful, chaste, loving,

pure, devoted;

Let no strong affection wantonly dally

with the world.

May I live high above a love of things temporal,

sanctified, cleansed, unblemished, hallowed

by grace,

thy love my fullness,

thy glory my joy,

thy precepts my pathway,

thy cross my resting place.

My heart is not always a flame of adoring love,

But, resting in thy Son’s redemption,

I look forward to the days of heaven,

where no langour shall oppress,

no iniquities chill,

no mists of unbelief dim the eye,

no zeal ever tires.

Father, these thoughts are the stay, prop,

and comfort of my soul.

My attempt at poetry

Lord Feed My Soul


Lord feed my soul
For it has been empty
many years


Lord feed my soul
For it hungers
for You


Lord feed my soul
I hear your Word
and it strengthens me
I read your Word
and it brings me peace


Lord feed my soul
For like an infant I cannot
feed myself

I crave your Word
like a bear craves honey
I share your Word
For all need to hear
Good News


Lord feed my soul
Until someday I feast with You

What is Prayer?

Prayer is our way of communicating with God, much as a child with his father, we can talk with our Father. I am pretty new when it comes to prayer....other than "fox hole" prayers i.e. "God if you'll just do this for me I swear I'll do that." We negotiate with God as if we have something to offer that would otherwise be withheld, that God could not attain otherwise. It is silly on its face, to anyone who has a remote idea as to who God is, or even the concept of a god  (an all powerful being) so even an unbeliever should realize the futility in negotiating with God. So I have learned it is not negotiating.      
  Nor is it demanding. How do you demand something from God? He who has angels worshipping Him. He who has created all things. He who foreknows all things. He knows your demand before you even think it. Yet we are still sometimes foolish enough to demand God do this or that. So it is not demanding.
 Is it asking? Yes of course it is. As I said earlier, much as a child to his father, ask anything of God. He will answer, and much like your father here on earth, often the answer will be no. Why ask if the answer will be no? Well it might be yes. Or it might be later. He will answer, in His time, but He will. Ask for big things, ask for small things He will listen to them all. Most importantly His answer will always be perfect and justified. He will give you what you need and what fits into His plan, nothing more and nothing less. Think of a young child that had just seen an old western, a wild west shoot out, he's really into it, after the movie he goes to his dad and asks for a gun. What kind of father would say yes. An imperfect one of course. Now maybe he would buy his son a squirt gun, or a bb gun when a little older and wiser, and surely he would counsel the child it its responsible use. But to just grant a demand from a child who is in no way ready for what he asks is irresponsible, and I know I have a responsible and just God.
 Is it worshiping? Of course. God is awesome and worthy of our praise. He is the perfect and everlasting God. Everything we do should be to the glory of God, from drinking orange juice (see John Piper) to praying. Everything you and I have, from the clothes on our backs to the money in our pockets to the food on our plates belongs to God, worship Him that shares it with you. I recently started saying grace at dinner with my family, I realize I should be saying it at every meal, I will be praying about this.
 This brings me to being thankful. Is it giving thanks? Amen it is! Now you may ask well isn't that worshipping? I think it is different. We worship God for who He is in all things, we thank God for all things He does. He is at work in your life, most times I think we never notice, and often less times do we thank Him for it.
 Since I became a believer I have had a number of prayers answered, my job location, my Baptism, my daughter's surgery, all powerfully answered. I thank Him for those things, not nearly enough, and I try to do it as often as I pray, I may only say "thank you for all that you have given me" or I may name them out loud, but He knows whats in my heart.
Don't just recite the Lord's prayer, live it every time you pray!

The Lords Prayer :Matthew 6:10-13 "This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Amen!

Read everyline one at a time, think what it means.Think what God is telling you, if you do you may think I have missed something, you may be right.

As part of your prayers ask to turn away from and be protected from your sins and from being enticed to sin. Indeed a tough subject for another day but no doubt important and surely everytime we pray we should be asking Him to protect us and to help turn from sin when it tempts us. For it will tempt us and our spirit is not strong enough to turn from it, but if we ask Him for the the Holy Spirit to guide us, especially in times of temptation, He will give us the strength we need to "deliver us from evil" And times when the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins that we have committed we should pray that Jesus will forgive those sins and keep us from them.

Lastly I would suggest you ask Father God to send the Holy Spirit to guide your life, in Jesus name, for his spilled blood that by grace you may be saved, that I am saved. Amen!

Debra, my wife's, testimony

If you asked me to describe myself I would have told you I was a Christian.

Growing up when I was young we didn’t go to church but my parents got my sister and me a Children’s Bible.  I was 8 years old.  I used to enjoy looking at the pictures while my Father would read to the Bible to us.  I would say I believe in God and Jesus.

One summer when I was a teenager my Mom sent my Sister and I to Vacation Bible School. I can still remember one of the counselors teaching us about Jesus and a passage about how even the demons know of him and shudder. I began to understand the difference between knowing of God and Knowing God. 

I have spent the better part of my life until recently tormented-never sure of what would happen to me when I died.  I would worry about the end time predictions. I would think of having an underground house with stockpiles of food and water and when the Pope died how many more Popes where left before the end of the world came.

 Psalm 38 verses 4-8 describes how I often felt.

              My Guilt overwhelms me-It is a burden too heavy to bear. My words fester and stink because of my foolish sins. I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. A raging fever burns within me and my health is broken. I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.

On mother’s day after almost three years of not making it to church for one reason or another I asked my son if he wanted to go to church. My daughter was still sleeping and my husband was working. We went together. I am not confident I would have gone if I didn’t have someone to go with.  Even my 8 year old son.  He went down to Sunday school .After service I went down to get him. He wanted to stay and enjoy fellowship. I remember feeling emotionally overwhelmed and crying when people came over to talk with me and feeling foolish for crying. I was embarrassed to tell my husband I had gotten so upset.  Everyone was so nice and welcoming. They asked if we were new to Medfield.

A few months after we started all together to church as a family, Pastor Jonathon was offering a church membership class at the parsonage.  Dennis and I signed up to attend. I really needed and treasured our times together. It was a teaching and learning experience.  All of my questions Pastor had the answers in the Bible and the time to listen.  Dennis was talking to Pastor about baptism and knew he was ready and I knew I was not. I still had my old fears. Pastor asked me if I had asked Jesus to come into my life. We prayed together and I asked Jesus to please come into my life and heart and I wanted to follow Him. The next day the Holy Spirit came into my heart and my soul... I have never felt anything so beyond words and wonderful in all my life. I suddenly got it. My entire burden had been lifted off of my heart. I understood everything clearly. Everything that Jesus had come to do for me and for all of us. Jesus came to die for our sins that we may have eternal life it is nothing we can earn .It is a free gift for us to accept by the grace of God.

Psalm 34 verse 4-10 describes how I now am.

 I prayed to the Lord and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a Guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even the strong young lions sometimes go hungry. But those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.

Asking Jesus to come into my life was the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Amen

Testimony on Baptism Day

A Psalm of David
Psalm 22 1:10

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Before my walk with Jesus I was a “good” person. I got up in the morning and went to work, kept to myself, and worked hard. I would come home and watch TV, get on Facebook, have a few drinks and go to bed. The next day I would do it all over again. I was very self-righteous, better than most people, overcame some addictions, I would judge people and wonder why they were not more like me. Even my wife, instead of accepting and loving her, I would try to get her to conform to my needs while not caring for her needs.

So when we went looking for a church to attend as new residents of Medfield, I had an ulterior motive. I would be able to sleep in on Sundays while the family went to church. God had other plans, as did my son Karl, who motivated me to attend by telling me “God is more awesome than you”! Well who can turn that down, so that first Sunday Karl and I went to church. We started attending as a family regularly, and before you know it I was going to Bible study. That first Bible study I realized I was NOT a Christian, and probably not even a good person. I started listening to some podcasts of sermons recommended by Pastor and reading my Bible and slowly it all came together for me.

One day on my route as a letter carrier I sat in my car and said a prayer, not sure of what to say, I simply asked Jesus to come into my life and guide me. And He has!

I went back to Bible study with a thirst for His word and a desire to learn and worship Him! Since I know that Jesus died for my sins I try to glorify His name in all that I do, now days that would have left me empty and worn-out remind me that HE has something better for me. Daily He continues to show me His glory and so I walk with Him knowing someday I will be before Him.