Big Christmas

Well, it's Thursday morning and I'm off to Lester, IA to get together with my mothers side of the family for Christmas. It's going to be a big one. Last year we were missing a few and we had 115. This past year has seen some marriages and births, so we should have even more.

My mom, dad, and I will be on the road for around 9 hrs each way, so prayers would be appreciated.

God bless.

Great Grandkids

Grandkids + Spouses

FAITH TO WAIT

By Dr. James MacDonald

“They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength” Isaiah 40:31

I used to find it hard to get the significance out of the Christmas story because I was always focused on the individual participants: the shepherds, the wise men, Mary, and the others. But I came to understand that really there is nothing significant about any of those common, ordinary people. Their significance is in their proximity to Jesus Christ.

It’s no different today. There’s nothing significant about you or me. We’re not important in any way except as we align ourselves with Jesus Christ the Lord in the building of His kingdom. That is where our joy and fulfillment is found in this life.

Read More Here:

Everything That Can Go Wrong Listed

FULLERTON, CA—A worldwide consortium of scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers is nearing the completion of the ambitious, decade-long project of cataloging everything that can go wrong, project leader Dr. Thomas R. Kress announced at a press conference Tuesday.

"We are mere weeks from finishing one of the most thorough and provocative scientific surveys of our time," Kress said. "The catalog of every possible unfortunate scenario will complete the work of the ancient Phoenicians and the early Christian theologians. Soon, every hazardous possibility will be known to man."

"And listed," Kress added.

Kress, a professor emeritus of mathematics and statistics at California State University and the author of several works on probability, would not say how many scenarios of error, peril, and misfortune exist. However, the list is widely believed to include hundreds of trillions of potential scenarios, from "cement truck with soft brakes cutting swath of destruction across quiet suburban subdivision" to "snagging shirt cuff on door latch."

"You know that thing when you don't invite an annoying friend to your party, and then, on the night of the party, an acquaintance from work brings that friend as a date?" said Project Awry researcher Hideko Manabe of Kyoto University. "That's on the list."

Manabe added: "I believe it's right after 'neglecting the maintenance of reactor cooling system, leading to core meltdown.'"

The November 2003 issue of Scientific American included an excerpt from the inventory, which read in part, "Knocking a cup of coffee off a counter with a light jerk of the wrist; breaking a tooth while comically pretending to bite down on the Great Pyramid of Giza; lowering lifeboats into the water when they are only filled to half capacity; tripping on cable and falling to floor with broken ankle while angrily storming off set of 24; building shanty on hillside instead of floodplain in anticipation of monsoon season, then getting buried in erosion-triggered mudslide anyway."

So numerous are the conceivable disastrous scenarios that processing them requires two gymnasium-sized supercomputers, one at the University of Pittsburgh and the other at Moscow State University. According to Kress, the supercomputers process and cross-reference all of these potential "wrongs" 24 hours a day, at a rate of 6 trillion calculations per second.
During a recent tour of the facilities at the University of Pittsburgh, the scenarios were projected onto a large screen as they were processed.

"Accidentally breaking off hand of Infant Of Prague statuette while gently trying to clean it with cotton swab and soapy water," the projection screen read. "Briefs get wedged in area between bureau drawers and base unit, making it difficult to dislodge them; sleeping with neck twisted awkwardly, resulting in headache; absent-mindedly discarding bus ticket with tissue; placing fingers too close to prongs while plugging in night-light, resulting in mild electrical shock."
Once the list is completed, the long task of codifying and categorizing everything that can go wrong will be undertaken. While some have questioned the list's utility, Popular Science writer Brian Dyce said it could have widespread applications.

"Within a decade, laypeople might be able to log onto the Internet or go to their public library and consult volumes listing the myriad things that could go wrong," Dyce said. "It could prove a very valuable research tool or preventative stopgap. For example, if you're shopping for a car, you can prepare yourself by boning up on the 98,627 bad things that could happen during the purchasing process. This project could have deep repercussions on the way people make decisions, and also the amount of time they spend locked in their bedrooms."

Word of God

The following excerpt was taken from a newsletter I received today. I would love to get your opinion on this. Many forget, or have never learned, that the Bible is not just a theological book. It has a self-contained, supernatural power. The Epistle to the Hebrews records, "The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (4:12, KJV).Do you think the Bible has a supernatural power? What do you think the writer means by "self-contained"?

I guess I've never looked at the book as having any supernatural power. When Hebrews 4:12 says "The word of God...", I didn't think that meant the physical book , but rather the words God has spoken or inspired. I realize that the Bible is an inspired book...and I do believe there is power in the words...but is there power in the book?

Can you tell I'm kind of thinking out loud here? :-) Maybe I'm misunderstanding the author. I'd love to hear how you read it and what your thoughts are on it.

Reason for Christmas

Many men throughout world history have wanted to become gods, but there has been only one God who wanted to become a Man.

Consider for a moment what it meant for our Lord Jesus to come to earth as a man to secure the salvation of mankind. The King of heaven left His throne and took a stable for a nursery. The very Son of God was hunted by a tyrant king and became an infant exile in Egypt. The owner of heaven and earth was born into poverty and lived without earthly wealth and luxury. The source of all wisdom and knowledge was treated as the greatest of fools.

Holy and without blemish, young Messiah was assaulted by every temptation Satan could thrust on Him, yet He resisted each one to its fullest force. The King of creation willingly subjected Himself to all of what it means to be human-pain, hunger, thirst, sorrow, physical exhaustion, the full range of human emotions-yet did so without sinning.

In an unfathomable act of selfless, sacrificial love, God left heaven's glory to die in sinners' stead. He offered mercy to a people who deserved only His wrath. He stooped to accomplish that which we not only could not do, but also would not do. In love, the God of the universe stepped from eternity to intervene in human history and save those wholly unable to save themselves.

In a word, the lesson we learn from Christmas is love. Christ's love (love that was manifest in His coming, in His life, and in His death) is a love that sacrificed. In the Advent of Jesus Christ, we see a love that sought, not its own needs, but the needs of others. We see a love that considered, not what it would lose, but what others would gain. We see a love that so emptied self that others would be filled; a love that so humbled self that others would be lifted up.

The Christ of Christmas gave to the very end, ultimately forfeiting His own life, so that sinners would find salvation. That's what happened when God became a Man-and that's what Christmas is all about.

Entire Article can be found here.

Satire

Santa Signs Legislation To Help Special-Wants Children
December 14, 2005 Issue 41•50

NORTH POLE—Kristofer Kringle, an international toy distributor popularly known as "Santa Claus," approved elf-penned legislation Monday that grants greater benefits to often-neglected "special wants" children. "Old policies failed to reward the world's children for dreaming big, but no longer—children with special or unusual wants shall see them all fulfilled on Christmas morning," Kringle said, in an announcement met with strong support from parents of the developmentally entitled. "My children were all born with special wants," said Glenda Froman, mother of three. "After years of whiny suffering, they'll finally have their wish: Xbox 360s in every room, matching ponies, and a rocket-powered bicycle they're allowed to fly inside the house."

Spiritual Handoff

In Touch Daily Devotional
by Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Timothy 1:3-7
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; 4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; 5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. 6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

People go to great lengths in order to ensure that property and wealth are bequeathed to favored family members or charities. Some people tragically spend so much time preparing for material possessions to be passed down after death that they overlook what their life could impart now.

The Christian’s most vital asset is faith. While belief involves personal choices, our children and friends can receive from us an inheritance of righteous principles and a model for godly living.

A faith worth passing down is based on biblical truth and the confident conviction that God is who He says and will do all He promises. That is to say, we ourselves must experience a growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to share it with others. We cannot hand down principles we have only read or heard about from someone else — it simply will not work.

A question we should ask ourselves is, Am I comfortable dying with the faith I have lived by? Many people pick and choose religious philosophies to guide their life but discover in their final hours the fallacy of a self-centered perspective. A faith worth passing down can face the end of life with the knowledge that we are eternally secure in the living God, whose Son died at Calvary for our sins.

A faith legacy is the greatest wealth we can bequeath to those who come after us. Unlike money, a good example cannot be squandered. We can begin now to touch future generations by passing our faith on to those around us.

Are you thankful for what has been handed to you? Are you being careful to hand it down to those who look up to you and respect you?

Choking

Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, ... choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

"Cares of this world"...what are they?

Are they the same for you as they are for me? Some of them probably are. Some of them probably aren't.

Think of something that you care for. It can be anything. Has that thing ever took precedence over your relationship with God? Has that thing ever robbed you of your desire to dig deeper into God's Word?

Picture that thing, in your mind, choking you. Maybe it's just choking you a little bit. Maybe you can still take shallow breaths. Maybe this thing just barely has it's hands on your throat. It doesn't matter. God's design is for you to be able to take deep full breaths of His Word-- of Him.

I know I can think of lots of little things in my life that, while not bad in and of themselves, have a tendency to choke out my desire for communion with God. In fact, some of these things are often considered good things, but taken in too great of quantities, can have negative side effects.
Too often I get caught up in the little things in life. I using the term "little" here to mean: Anything that's of no eternal consequence. We are here for one purpose--to glorify God. We're not here to make more money. We're not here to get married. We're not here to go to church, to get a good job, to go to school, or to become famous. I'm not saying all those things are bad, they're just not our purpose.

Let us strive to put our God at the top of our list. Everyday, all day.

The Forgiveness of God

Last night I was reading in my daily devotional, (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers) and November 19-21 really struck me. I was going to try and paraphrase it here, but I'm afraid I won't do it justice, so I'll type the 20th verbatim and fill in thoughts from the others. Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is uncounscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enourmous cost to God that made all of this ours.

Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost of God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive--He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God's forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.

Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held in a vice, constrained by the love of God.The love of God means Calvary--Nothing less. The only basis for which God can forgive is the Cross of Christ.

Do you ever forget the price? Do you ever let the thought that you "deserve" it creep into your mind? Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the Word of God and makes the Cross unnecessary. God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of the death of Christ is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the mercy of God. Jesus hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.

Come alongside

I was going to write some stuff that's been on my heart lately, but I found this article on Crosswalk, and it struck a chord with me. The last part of the article talks about vulnerability. It's so true. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

As you read, don't just think about how others can serve you...think about how you can change to better meet the needs of others.

God bless

Coming Alongside Single Christians
Wendy Widder
Author

God understands humanity. He knows that we are so very weak, in spite of our best efforts to be strong. God has showered us with promises that ought to be enough to send us anywhere, to do any job. But the truth is, we don’t. We freeze in fear. Thankfully, God in His mercy doesn’t zap us for our timid resistance. Instead, in His compassion, He dispenses grace beyond what we even thought to ask.

God’s grace is like manna. You remember the small loaves of bread God supplied for the Israelites morning after desert morning. Do you remember how He supplied it? Just what they needed, just for the day. God didn’t let them stockpile manna in the pantry. Every morning, the wanderers awoke to little loaves outside their tents. If they tried to store it up, it rotted. If they didn’t bother to gather any, they went hungry.

God always provides the sustenance to press on through the wilderness. Somehow, in my wilderness experiences, He manages to give grace that lets me take another step. If I look at the miles stretching across the sand, I am engulfed in fear. There is no way I can make it. But if I look at the loaf in front of my foot, I can take the next step. There’s manna for the moment. And there will be manna for tomorrow’s moments, too. When I get there, He’ll provide.

Singles often wander in the wilderness of broken relationships, with fear as their companion. Having been deeply wounded by the rejection of someone they loved, they greatly fear future relationships. It’s hard to even think about getting close to anyone in a dating relationship again. There are no guarantees about how things will turn out, so facing the risks can be a Herculean effort. Fortunately, for those who muster the guts, there are guarantees of grace loaves at their feet.

One of the greatest sources of manna in my life comes from people around me. While everyone needs encouragement, singles especially need people who will walk with them. Regardless of the road – relationships, careers, habits, involvements – as a single adult, I don’t have the built-in support system provided by a spouse. I don’t have a constant someone to recognize the difficulties I face and help me find my way through them. It’s a matter of survival for me to have friends who can lend faithful support and encouragement. Like fearful Moses needed Aaron, I need constant encouragements beside me, friends who see the things that make me afraid and help me move right through them. They are friends who become what Isaiah might call “pools of water” in the desert (Isaiah 41:18).

There was a time in my life when I wasn’t willing to let people walk so closely with me. In fact, when I was in college, I nearly lost a dear friend who was frustrated with my lack of vulnerability. I wouldn’t even let the people closest to me see where I struggled, much less ask for any help.

Somewhere along the way, I learned better. I look around at several key friends now and can only imagine how horrible it would be to walk tough roads without them. They have been “gifts of Aaron” to me when I perhaps would have shrunken back from divine direction. Friends like this don’t lurk behind every corner, but they are worth looking for. They are worth every ounce of vulnerability I can squeeze out, because they are the ones who push me forward when I cower in fear from the risks of relationships, new ventures, and changes.

Lay Hold of the Promises of Scripture

Romans 15:13
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Read that verse a few times. Read it slowly. Put the emphasis on different words as you read it.

There were a few things that stuck out to me. First off, God is a God of hope. He is a God of confident expectation, and he can fill us with all joy and peace.(I believe the word "all" is one of the most missed words in the Bible.)

There is a qualifier though. There is an "our part". Our part comes in our belief that we can abound in our confident expectation through the power of the Holy Ghost. Notice we don't believe we can abound in our own strength, but only through the Holy Ghost can we have all joy and peace.

This is a promise people. A promise from God. Do you doubt it? Do you read that and think, "yeah, but I'll never be able to do that. I'm too weak. My faith isn't strong enough."? If you think like that, stop. That's satan whispering in your ear. Lay hold on the promises of God firmly. Know that the Bible is true and that when God makes a promise it is beyond any earthly promise you could ever imagine.

This is what Strongs Concordance says about peace:
Peace: of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.

Would your attitude change today if you remembered and thought on the promise that your salvation is assured through Christ, and that you have nothing to fear here on earth? If the Holy Ghost is present and working in your life, then you can lay hold on that promise.

Let us press toward the mark of the prize brothers and sisters.

Yep...I'm an engineer

You Are 85% Left Brained, 15% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Fight!

2 Corinthians 10:4-5. "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (KJV).

We're in a war. It's a spiritual war, and the stakes are for eternity. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, says that our weapons are not carnal.(carnal is something that's governed by human nature as opposed to the Holy Spirit) If we're fighting our spiritual battles with our own will power, we're not even using weapons. They're certainly not the weapons that can pull down strong holds, cast down imaginations, and things which exalt themselves against God. By ourselves and with our own will, we certainly can't bring every thought we have into captivity to obedience to Christ.

It is only through God. If we're going to fight a spiritual battle, we need spiritual weapons.Eph 6:14-18 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--God has given us these seven (I'm sure you could think of more) weapons with which to fight our battles. If these are used as God intended, we should never lose a battle.1. Truth: I've heard a lot of people say this is the Word of God. While the Word of God is certainly truth, I don't think that's the meaning Paul had in mind when he wrote that. The word of God is refered to later in the passage as the sword of the Spirit. I think the truth Paul meant here is more akin to honesty. In order to be affective on the spiritual battlefield we must first and foremost be honest with ourselves. We must be willing to acknowledge our faults if we are to effectively overcome. Who among us has not, at some point, rationalized or justified, a sin we've committed? Who has not struggled, at some point, with being truly honest with themselves about why they are struggling with a particular sin? Let's set aside our pretenses and gird our waist in truth, for until you are willing to do that, you will never come openly to God and let him equip you fully for the battle.

2. Righteousness: According to Strongs Biblical Concordance--integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting. This is the piece of armor which guards our hearts. While I believe our whole Christian life is a refining process to make us more righteous (Romans 8:28-29), it is only through Jesus Christ, and His imputed righteousness, that we can truly ever lay claim to the promises of God.

3. Gospel: The glad tidings of salvation through Jesus Christ. I think it's significant here that it says "...preparation of the gospel...". We are to prepare ourselves with the gospel of peace. We are to have our face in God's Word, reading about the life of Jesus. If our life is about the emulation of Jesus, don't you think we should know as much about Him and His teachings as we can?

4. Faith: the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

5. Salvation: I think it's interesting that this is equated to our helmet. I know one of the ways that satan tries to get at me is by whispering doubts in my ear. In other words, he tries to get in my head by saying things like, "God can't really love you. You didn't repent right. God can only forgive so much. God's mercy can't really endure forever." You can fill in your own I'm sure. The truth is, the believer has been promised salvation. We have God's promises in a faithfully preserved book called the Bible, and we need to rest in those promises.

6. Word of God: The Bible. Our only offensive weapon in this war for our souls. Jesus beautifully modeled how to use this weapon effectively against satan in Matthew 4.

7. Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit: It's significant that it says "in the Spirit". James 5:16 says this: "...The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." But wait, Isaiah 64:6 says, "...And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;" Romans 4:24-25 beautifully reconciles those two scriptures. "but also for us. [Righteousness] shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification." The person who prays "in the Spirit" is the one who has accepted Jesus' blood as an atonement for their sin. To them has been imputed the cloak of righteousness, so that when they come before God, God see's Jesus Christ and His righteousness and not our own filthy rags.Let's use these spiritual weapons effectively and strive to take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ! I pray that everyone of us may someday stand before the throne and say what Paul said in his second letter to Timothy. 2Ti 4:7 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

50,000 strong

As a celebration of just passing 50,000 hits on my blog since April 24th(that's when I started keeping track), I'd like to sincerely thank everyone who regularly reads my posts and especially those who comment. Your thoughts and suggestions have helped me to grow in my walk with the Lord in ways many of you will never know.

Thanks for your accountability. God bless you all