How best to celebrate my 1,000th post then to focus on Jesus, family and friends.

I wrote my first blog in December of 2007, out of desperation for life and a love for my wife and son.  2 years later in December of 2009, I write my 1,000 blog post out of love for Christ and family.

A lot has changed in life, but one thing has stayed the same.  Jesus has been a constant.  No matter how encouraged or how discouraged I became, Jesus’ love was constant.  I have never loved Jesus or family as I love them today.

I want to take just a moment and say how faithful Jesus has been.  I am unaware of ever a time when Jesus wasn’t there when I called.  In my darkest moments, Jesus was there.  In my brightest God Spot, Jesus was there.  There has never been a finer friend then Jesus.  As my deceased dad would say, “Truly”.

I also want to say, “Thank you to Cora, my bride.”  She has been every bit as faithful and encouraging as Jesus.  She has believed in me when times were good and continued to believe in me when times were catastrophically bad.  She is truly my hero.  I love you, Cora.

To my son, he is a rock.  He is solid and faithful.  He has never said a bad word to me during times of struggle.  He has always given me the benefit of the doubt and accepted me for my passions even at his own expense.  He has given me a beautiful daughter-in-law and two precious grandchildren.  My life is completed in his family.

So in honor of Christ, my family and you (my wonderful blog friends), I crank up memories of life with Christ as a child.  Most of my favorite hymns from my childhood were songs about Jesus.  They included Jesus Loves Me, At the Cross and I’ve Found a Friend in Jesus to name a few.

Click on the link below and reminisce about the earliest days of your recollection of Jesus.

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http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/210

I have found a friend in Jesus,
He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.

In sorrow he’s my comfort, in trouble he’s my stay,
He tells me every care on him to roll.
He’s the Lily of the Valley,
The bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tower;
I have all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
From my heart and now He keeps me by His power.

Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,
Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal.
The bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
While I live by faith and do His blessèd will;
A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.

Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessèd face,
Where the rivers of delight shall ever roll.
The bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

Surf to: http://www.freshc.org for a Fresh Connection…

For more GodSpots – 37stories Enjoy!

How many times will you look into the eyes of a people with fear?

So there was this guy Simon who just happened along…

“As they led him off, they made Simon, a man from Cyrene who happened to be coming in from the countryside, carry the cross behind Jesus.”~Luke

I have wondered what was Simon thinking? He’s coming in from the country and finds himself carrying the cross of Jesus. The Word says, “they made him”. It would be human nature to want to avoid the murderous mob with expectation of not getting involved. Yet Simon not only fails to avoid the mob, but finds himself in the middle of it. Simon likely is thinking this is not going to be good. You have to imagine fear is playing a major part in his mind as he picks up the cross.

As my imaginations consider Simon being forced to pick up the cross, I consider the possibility. As he kneels down at the feet of Jesus he looks up into the master’s eyes and sees a deep loving compassion that few in the world has seen. His heart melts beneath the cross and shoulders the burden of a Christ he has just met. As Jesus is further abused on the walk to “The Skull”, Simon may have winced in pain with the sound of each lash on Jesus’ back.

Somewhere in the walk, Simon likely became a changed man. How could anyone carry the burden of a cross for Jesus and not be a changed man? Have you looked into the eyes of Jesus? Have you picked up His cross. Has your fear of the crowd become insignificant in comparison to the love of Christ?

Sadly, you may have picked up the cross of Jesus only to set it down when you looked into the eyes of the crowd. It’s not too late. Once again, pick up the cross of Jesus and look into His eyes. The love you find will cover all fears and you will shoulder His cross with honor amidst the pain.

“Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you. But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified.”~Peter

I love the thought of kneeling at the cross. Gazing up into the eyes of Jesus for the first time and seeing incredible love amidst the blood and gore. Picking up the cross and putting in on my shoulder as I cry out, “I’m not worthy! Father, forgive me. Holy is thy name! Sing praises to the King. Sing Hosanna. Sing!”

Surf to: http://www.freshc.org for a Fresh Connection…

Quality Carpenter Needed

Guest post by: Marianne

Zechariah describes a prophetic vision of 4 horns and 4 carpenters. Each one would overcome the other in competition. Who is the last one we are waiting for, to complete the prophecy?

Zec 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.

Zec 1:19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What [be] these? And he answered me, These [are] the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.

Zec 1:20 And the LORD showed me four carpenters.

Zec 1:21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spoke, saying, These [are] the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up [their] horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.

In this prophecy, the horns represented the powers that would scatter Judah and Israel, and the carpenters would represent the next empire that would come, and defeat that power.

Horns are powers that scatter and destroy.

Carpenters are builders.

So each power would begin as a horn, and then fall under the next power, or horn.

The incoming power would be the carpenter that would cast out the previous horn.

So each incoming horn acts as a carpenter, a builder.

Throughout history, scholars have watched this prophecy be fulfilled, with one successive event after another. The pattern looked like this until 313 CE:

4 carpenters		Darius- Medo-Persians	Greece – Alexander the Great	Rome	?
4 horns	Babylon	Babylon	Darius- Medo-Persians	Greece – Alexander the Great	Rome

 

Then, it got a little crazy after that. Here is the whole history:

Foreign Empires that ruled in Israel
587 BCE	Babylonian	B
538-333 BCE	Persian	P
333-63 BCE	Greek ( Hellenistic)	G
63 BCE-313 CE	Roman	R
313-636	Byzantine	G
636-1099	Arab (Syrian)	B/P
1099-1291	Crusaders	R
1291-1516	Mamluk (Turk)	B/P
1516-1918	Ottoman (Turk)	B/P
1917-1948	British	R

For the past 1000 years, there appears to be a competition between the Babylonian/ Persian horn and the Roman horn.

Was Zechariah wrong, or just incomplete? The answer is neither.

Apparently, he was generalizing about the 4 powers that would struggle over the land of Israel, until God stopped the conflicts with the last carpenter.

If one visits Jerusalem, one will see the Greek, Roman, and Persian/Babylonian (Islamic) all influence there.

But the clue is in verse 21, about the last carpenter:

…..but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up [their] horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.

Until there is a final casting out of all gentile horns who scatter Israel, the prophecy is not fulfilled yet.

Who would be the last carpenter to cast out all horns?

He cannot be a gentile. He must be Jewish.

It obviously cannot be one of the horns, because the last carpenter cannot be a destroyer, just a builder, and he would have re-gather Israel, not scatter it once again.

The empires mentioned above so far, are not qualified, since they have all scattered Israel.

So, Who is qualified to re-gather Israel into the land forever?

Who is qualified to conquer, cast out all scattering gentile horns, and then build something that will last forever?

Only the Lord God builds the ruined places:

Eze 36:36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined [places, and] plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken [it], and I will do [it].

Amo 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

Amo 9:14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

Who will heaven use for this building and restoration?

Who is the Lord God’s carpenter that we are all familiar with?

Does it not tell us in scripture who will be this last builder?

Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?

 

Only Jesus can fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah and Amos. Only Jesus will be able to remove all horns of human power, and destruction, and scattering.

Only Jesus can bring unity to a hurting land, and suffering world.

Jesus is the last carpenter.

God has a way of speaking to us, if we only listen. I was driving home, and passed a small sign, posted to a tree. It said “Quality Carpenter Needed.” It immediately struck me, that there was only one carpenter I needed in my life.

This is where this post came from.

Listen, and he will speak to you.

Listen, and He will direct you.

Listen, and he will show you the way.

Trust him. He will remove the horns over your life, gather you back to Himself, and rebuild you.

God Spot Verified

From my friend Faith.  What a great name!

My Thoughts:
Jeremiah 10:6
No one is like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.

So…most of you know that this last week was pretty intense for my family. I received the call Friday evening from my parents telling me that my mom had been having chest pains, had been to a cardiologist, and that she would have a heart catheterization (with stints or bypass) on Monday. My entire family rushed to Missouri to be with my mom and dad. My mom was having all the symptoms of a heart attack on Sunday and was taking nitroglycerin. On Monday, the doctor told us that my mom had some anomalies (defects) and 2 clogged and calcified coronary arteries. He told us that he was pretty sure that she was going to have a triple bypass. We rallied, prayed, and hoped for the best.

An hour passed and the doctor came out with a perplexed expression on his face. He said, “She’s fine. Actually she is better than fine. Her arteries have zero plague and no calcification. Being 65, she should have some but she doesn’t. Not only is she plague free, but the abnormalities on the CAT scan just aren’t there anymore. I cannot explain it, and I called 3 other doctors in to look…God must have performed a miracle.”

My mom went home that evening and has had no chest pain or any symptoms. My mom says that all her symptoms went away shortly before they wheeled her into the procedure room and that it was fascinating to watch the doctors freaking out because they didn’t see what they thought they would. They even checked to make sure they had the right CAT scan.

I am praising God because I truly believe He healed my mom…a mighty demonstration of His power. As you pray and listen to God this week, what is God demonstrating to you?

I Could Command, but…

“As Christ’s ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn’t hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary, but I’d rather make it a personal request.

If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account. This is my personal signature—Paul—and I stand behind it. (I don’t need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?) Do me this big favor, friend. You’ll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.”  Paul

It seems Paul had the authority to command this or that to be done.  He chose to allow those who “owed him” the opportunity to do based on their love for him.  He reminded them of the debt, but much preferred they exceed his expectations out of love.

That is much like the relationship we have with Christ.  God created man.  He is in authority over us because He created us.  God has certain expectations of us.  He could command us to do this or that.  Sometimes, I think He does.  But you know, He much prefers we exceed His expectations out of love.

Creation alone is enough justification for authority and the right to tell us what to do, but when God suffered even as His Son suffered on the cross His authority was further authenticated.  As Paul said, “… you owe your life to me”.  As believers, we owe God our life because He created us and doubly owe Him our life as He saved us from eternal Hell and gave us eternal life.

This prompts me to consider: What command has God directed to you and I, that He much prefer we do out of love and exceed His expectations?  I wonder if it is even possible to exceed God’s expectations?

Is it ever wise to do battle with the evil one?

Recent life experiences, dreams and an extended read from a blog by the Bajanpoet of Barbados has got me thinking.  I wonder if it is wise to do battle with the evil one?

In the Word there is the story of a single Godly prophet challenging the prophets of baal.  I figure they were the prophets of the evil one.  Certainly, God’s prophet challenged them with fire from heaven and torched them.  As I recall, it actually cost them their life.

Then, I remember the story about the men attempting to be of God challenging the evil spirits in a man and received a thrashing by the spirits.   I hope I got the story right. 

Yesterday, I spoke words into the comment field of a blog that was obviously evil.  I was offended by his unGodly character and chose to speak kind words, fully expecting kindness to be repaid with venom.  I was not disappointed. 

Now the question becomes, when is it wise to do battle with the evil one?  I may have posted my comments out of distaste, but my motive may have been for the sport of poking the evil one.  I wonder if there is wisdom in poking the evil one for the sport of it?

Ecstatic – Word for the Day

 ”I saw God before me for all time.
      Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side. 
 I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic;
      I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope”.

………………………………………….David

Write the verse on your heart and in your head.  Claim it every 60 minutes.  Be “glad from the inside out”.  BE ECSTATIC!  There is no better place to be than with God right at your side in the land of hope.

Remember.  Life was not easy for David.  He was constantly hunted and death was always knocking at his door.  Yet, he was ECSTATIC!  Living in a land of hope.    Be a little like David today.  God can save. 

Pray with me for healing on marriages.  “Abba.  Father.  Please look down on us and have mercy on struggling marriages.  Use this time of struggle to draw us close to you.  Then, heal our marriages.  Protect us from the evil ones.  Help us pitch our tents in the land of hope.”

Pray without ceasing

Ever tried to pray without ceasing?  I have tried.  I couldn’t multitask good enough.  Good thing I wasn’t a brain surgeon.  It would not have been a pretty sight.

Setting my watch to beep every 60 minutes and remind me to pray has been wonderful.  Praying is something I like to do.  I like to know God is listening and has His ears perked up.  I know He is waiting to hear my praise, worship and yes, petitions for help.

Give it a try.  Set your watch to beep every 60 minutes.  Turn your mind to God and pray as God impresses.  I am expectant to see God’s response. 

My central theme has been healing.  I am praying for healing of others in every way possible, with an emphasis on healing marriages.  Maybe I’m praying for you…

Invoking the “where 2 or more” clause

8:00 beep n pray - 9:00 beep n pray – 10:00 beep n pray – 11:00 beep n pray – 12:00 beep, pray n eat – 1:00 beep n pray – 2:00 beep n pray – 3:00 beep n Daniel drops by.  Let’s pray!

Daniel prepares God for action.  He praises Him for His beauty and faithfulness.  I invoke the “where 2 or more” clause.  It went something like this.  “Father.  I invoke the power of God’s Word when you said, ”where 2 or more are gathered together and ask in my name, I hear and do!” 

I refuse to let the evil one break up a friend’s marriage.  I pray that God do whatever He has to do to prevent the collapse of this marriage.  I openly confess the power is in the blood shed on the cross for my sins and I make petition.  God, please forgive me and bless them with your love.  Amen.

4:00 beep n pray – 5:00 beep n pray – 6:00 beep,  pray and pick up pizza.  The watch keeps beeping.  I keep praying.  What will be the outcome?  Will God intervene?

James Harrison T-Shirt – What will you pay?

How much will you pay for an authentic James Harrison Superbowl record breaker T-Shirt?  I think this shirt may have been worn during the Super Bowl game and James made his record breaking touch down.  I think the guy that has this shirt stole it off his back while he was in the shower.

 Or possibly you’d like to bid on Aretha’s hat she recently wore at the Oh’Bama inaugeration.  She says she’s not sure if she is going to let the Smithsonian Institute have it.

 

And if nothing else you could always bid on Michael Swim Phelps’s hooka pipe.  He says he used bad judgement.  Probably thought the pipe was a bad fit for his teeth.

Or possibly my dirty socks. 

I don’t know.  I guess the Super Bowl brings out the best or worst in me.  Sigh…

 

Which item will bring the best price on ebay?