Not High School Musical or Camp Rock! Seriously, there has been way too much Disney Channel in this home. But, my chance to escape was with High School students enjoying the wonder of God’s Creation in the Durango, Colorado area and learning in His Word. It was awesome and I have yet to fully recover. In fact, I debated posting because I am still wiped out. It was full of activity at 12,000 feet up and I have been reflecting on how He worked on me with those students, so I have not gotten the rest that I need. And although I was able to help Greg with his posting (you can read the play by play at his blog), I didn’t have the opportunity to blog while I was there. But here is some stuff that I took away from camp:

• My friend Fred and I were in charge of team building activities. We made a good team taking a couple of each to make our own and it was so cool. I really enjoyed Fred’s Blind Faith Obstacle Course and Self Control Gum activities. It was fun to work on those with him.
• Speaking of which, Fred is a total Levite. Dude is strong! He could put the giant grill together in about 5 minutes and I marveled at his abilities. It was such an honor to serve along with him.
• It was awesome to serve along with my daughter who was babysitting Greg’s daughter. I was so proud of her.
• The students were stellar. They were digging all the messages that they were taught and got along so well. God was pouring into them and they were loving it.
• I love my guys from Two Days Til Tomorrow. One of the highlights for me was when they got together in front of the condos and just started playing worship songs with a bunch of the students singing along. It was an incredible site that was made even better when a woman who was also staying there walked by and asked me, “Are you a part of this?” When I told her that I was she said, “That is so wonderful, good for you guys.” Man, was my heart filled with joy.

Finally, I got to get up in front of the group and present a couple of our team building activities and it was awesome! I hate to overuse that word “awesome”, but there is really no other word to describe it. On the day of our hike, I reminded the students how it represented our walk with Christ and how we should support each other the entire way. I dug into the book of Romans for this:

We who are strong must be consderate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. Romans 15:1-2 (NLT)

Being in the advertising business, my favorite activitiy that I got to lead was the “Commercial for God”. We gave the students up to 2 minutes to do a commercial that would sell God to somebody who had never heard about His glory and the students nailed it. They had a blast, but more importantly, they brainstormed ideas that would help them in conversations with their friends that don’t yet know Christ. Again, awesome.

And although we had a blast with the activites at the ski resort, hiking in the mountains and white river rafting, it was very spiritual and reminded me of the believers in the book of Acts:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Acts 2:42 (NLT)

God is working in me BIG TIME and I just have to thank all the students, pastors and adults that were there. I think everybody had pretty much the same take away and I makes me even more anxious for each Sunday and next summer. What a way to start the new school year. Big things are coming. I will keep you posted.

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As Christians, we’ve all had the conversation with other Christians. It is the “my Church is better than your Church” conversation. Now, we would never say that, but it begins as, “This weekend was incredible at my Church. Pastor Soandso said…”. At which point, your friend says, “Well, my Church was even more incredible…”. The fact is, we are all one Church and that is why I was so excited when I found out about the One Prayer series.

Now that we are half way through the One Prayer series, I thought it might be finally time to write about it. Actually, I knew this series was coming a month before it did and I wanted to blog about it then, but teachiing and summer got a hold of me and I was unable to. It is incredible to participate in this with Palm Valley Church, along with so many other churches around the world. I can’t explain it as well as Craig Groeschel:

All of which leads me to this: In my Daily Read a couple of days ago, I came upon Acts 10 and 11, where Peter is summoned to Caesarea where the Holy Spirit comes upon the Gentiles, whom the Jews believe should not be a part of this new church. When Peter arrives back in Jerusalem, he’s getting the business from the Jewish believers and he responds with the best comeback ever:

“And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” Acts 11:17 (NLT)

Yep, we’re all in this together folks. This series and movement is incredible. Building churches in other nations, uniting established churches around the world and learning from other great teachers from around the country. Now this is God-sized vision and it is fun to be along for it all. It is awesome to, as the One Prayer website explains it, “Refocus our understanding of the Church as a body of believers instead of a physical location.”

So, what’s your One Prayer? Good stuff…

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As I mentioned in my previous post, having patience can have its benefits, as it did with Paul in the most recent read. Previously in the Daily Read, Paul is let out of prison in Jerusalem to go back to Rome. He is shipwrecked and has a tumultuous trip, yet it all pays off for him when he reaches Rome. The Romans want to hear the Word and Paul saves many:

“Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” Acts 28:28

He ended up staying in Rome teaching anybody who wanted to listen. Sounds like a great life on earth to me. So even when times are tough, we can look to God and know that it will get better according to his plan. But, we can not know joy if we do not know despair or frustration. It’s all a part of living. Read on…

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If you have been checking back for a post lately, you will have to practice the theme of the last passage, patience. As we enter the Christmas season, everything seems to kick into high gear: work, kids’ school, finishing soccer, celebrations, church activities, etc. I never get discouraged, though, because just like God, the Bible is always there and I know that I will accomplish my goal. Also, thanks to Eddie for checking in and sharing support in the last post. It is up to me to get on my studying and I will get it done.

Previously in the Daily Read (Acts 23-25), Paul is held by the Israelites for preaching the word of God. Not really charged with anything, he is held in captivity for two years until King Agrippa comes to power because Felix and Festus don’t know what to do. Recently, I can totally relate to this as I am not sure what God has planned for me. But, I continue to remind myself that I must remain patient to find out what He has in store for me. Fortunately, I don’t believe that I will have to remain in prison for two years to know my fate. Keep the faith and remain steadfast, just like Paul did. Read on…

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And I fall further behind in reading! It has been tough with all of the activity and illness around the house, but I am going to catch up. Interestingly, I was noticing earlier an overall decline in post in the blogosphere. It’s just that time of the year where we all get crazy busy, but I am not going to let that stop me. Pray for me to continue in my quest and catch up to where I need to be. And know that I will…

Previously in the Daily Read (Acts 20-22), Paul (otherwise known as Saul, the reformed man who saw the light, literally, and turned to teaching others about the Word) has traveled throughout the land converting many to the Lord and as he heads back to Jerusalem, he knows that his end is near. The Jews in there are conspiring to kill him and he is alright with the fact that he will die serving the Lord.

Not only is he brave, but I love the fact that he is going against the grain of what everybody thinks he should do to do what was right. Disciples wept for him and pleaded for him not to go to Jerusalem. Do you know how easy that would have been? IF YOU GO TO JERUSALEM, YOU ARE GOING TO DIE! Think about it for a minute, would you go? No way! But Paul did because he knew that he would be entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Even while he was being carried away from the mob, he turned to them:

The he said: “The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.  You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” Acts 22:14-16

I know that I will probably never face the challenge that Paul did. But, I know that I will face many and I will remember his story and how I must stand up to the challenge, do what is right by the Lord and go against the grain, even when it doesn’t seem like the right thing to do at the time. I have done it before and I will do it again! Awesome stuff. Read on…

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Just last week, I posted that a bit of the bug was hitting me and that it was not the stomach flu. HELLO! It has arrived. Not so bad for me, but the girls are like Linda Blair on Halloween. The plumbing is working overtime as the mad rush to bathroom is hitting our household. Pray for us as we deal with calling Ralph on the porcelain telephone. Thus, not much catching up today, just one post for now.
Previously in the Daily Read (Acts 17-19), Paul and his companions travel all over the land to preach the word. Some of it is good as some come to believe. But, there is also resistance and riots from those that are afraid to make the change. In all of this, right in the middle, Paul has a vision:

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Acts 18:9-10

Unless we go to a mission to a part of the world that is totally adverse to the Word, most of us will not be subject to the persecution that Paul encountered. Yet, we can all encounter these feelings of being scared in losing friends, alienating co-workers, etc. But remember that he is with you and the Lord can give you the courage to keep on spreading the Word in the right way that your intended audience needs to hear it. Keep it up! Read on…

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It is funny to be writing about Thanksgiving when the post is for November 15, but with the celebration of the birth of Jesus coming quickly, I have resigned myself to get caught up on my reading. As I have mentioned before, daily Bible study is sometimes difficult, it is such an important mission and I am eager to get on track. With that being said:

Previously in the Daily Read (Acts 14-16), Paul and Barnabas traveled through many lands saving both Jews and Gentiles. They also resolved the situation of Gentiles being saved. But, in Chapter 15, they have a disagreement and part ways. This brings up a very important topic: disagreement.

They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. Acts 15:39-40

There are times in our lives that we will disagree with our brothers and part ways like Paul and Barnabas. These times are very difficult and we must remember that it is not about us, but about Him. His plan for us is not always the easiest and we must learn from these challenges. We must also know that he has a plan for us, as well as those around us. We are not so important that the people around us need us. We all need only the Lord to guide us.

So even when it is difficult to separate from those around us, we can know that divided we will do even greater things according to his plan. We then need to pray for ourselves and our brothers to do what is right according to the plan and keep on doing it. In the end, it is always for the best. Read on…

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Previously in the Daily Read (Acts 11-13), we see Peter defend his preaching to the Gentiles, the works in Antioch and great work by Barnabas and Saul. But I focus today on Peter’s miraculous escape from prison.

King Herod, having seen what joy the Jews took in the death of James, took Peter to prison and planned on killing him as well. But, the believers didn’t want to see this happen:

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for Him. Acts 12:5

What happens? An angel comes into the heavily guarded prison, releases the chains on Peter and sets him free.

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.” Acts 12:11

The power of prayer! There is no mention of Peter’s prayers, just those of the church. I have been praying for a long time, but I will admit, it was mostly for the Lord to guide me and my immediate family. But like sales, there are powers in numbers. The more prayers you have, the better off you are. As I mentioned in my previous post, let us not only pray for our pastors and ourselves, but our fellowship and those that really need it. Like the Garth Brooks song, “We can thank God for unanswered prayers”, but we can also thank Him for those that he does. Let’s go out today and pray for somebody who really needs it.

Read on… & pray!

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So not only am I terribly behind in my reading, but the illness bug has hit the household. Fortunately it was not the stomach flu that is going around, but I have had a killer cold and Carrie has strep throat. Thankfully the girls have not been bitten by it. I am feeling better tonight and hopefully the days off for the Thanksgiving holiday will give me the chance to get a few reads in.

Previously in the Daily Read (Acts 9-10), Saul is converted from disciple killer to disciple and Peter is summoned by the Lord to visit with Cornelius, which I will touch on for this post. Peter was a Jew, Cornelius a Gentile. At the time, this was not good:

Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” Acts 10:27-29

Cornelius was a generous and God-fearing man. God wanted him and his people to receive the Word of Jesus from one of the Apostles. Cornelius told Peter about his vision and how God had summoned him.

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Acts 10:34-35

Peter went on to tell all of these people about Jesus and how they might be saved. The Holy Spirit filled them and they were all baptized.Talk about powerful stuff. These were not people that were supposed to be associating. But the power of the Lord brought them together.

Which leads me to my thought, how can people who consider themselves Christians hate others that are not like them? One of the criticisms that you will hear from people that don’t want to attend church is that church goers are so judgmental and that can be true at times. But why is that? It is not for us to judge. We must love all people and let them make the right choice. Peter did. He came in, gave the Word and everybody got on board. I love this read as it is the perfect illustration of how we should do things.

The ironic thing is that just before I sat down to post, the TV show Nightline did a story on Stephan Baldwin, the actor who has begun a youth ministry. Of course they had to have some woman on that had written a book about how young people are being taught to hate those that don’t follow the commandments and the Word, in particular, homosexuals. Stephan answered perfectly saying that he will share his faith and testimony with anybody and it is for them to decide, and not for him to judge because the only one that can do that is God. Good job, my man! Well said.

Read on…

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First of all, let me say that there is so much to write about in these passages, that it is difficult to write about one story. As I have mentioned before, after the death of Jesus, his Apostles went to work and were getting the job done! With that being said, I cannot encourage you enough to dig in and find out all the good works that were being done in these passages. I say this because my heart wants to comment all day long on these great works, but my body and the time that have won’t allow it. So pray for me to do my best to talk about what is most relevant. I kind of feel like I am the ESPN SportsCenter of the Bible…

Previously in the Daily Read, Stephen tells the Jewish people what they have done in killing the Savior, gets stoned to death for it and asks for the forgiveness of those that are doing it. There is also a mysterious figure in Saul, the Apostles flee and spread the Word everywhere and the sorcerer Simon tries to buy his way into the Good Works and finds out that it is not like that. But the story I felt that I need to touch on tonight is that of Philip and the Ethiopian.

Philip was instructed by the Spirit to head south from Jerusalem to Gaza where he ran into an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of the treasury of the queen, and was told by the Spirit to go to his chariot and stay near it.

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. + “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:30-31

After reading the passage, Philip explained what the prophet was saying about Jesus and his death that had just happened. Remember, this was a high ranking Ethiopian official getting the explanation from a regular guy off the side of the road coming from Jerusalem.

After understanding the passage that Philip had explained to him, he had the chariot pull off so that Philip might baptize him.

When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:39

Now this brings up two points:

1. This is how I feel about this site. I am attempting to Philip on the side of the road helping those that are having a hard time interpreting what the Word says to find its meaning. I don’t know who might come across this on the Information Superhighway, but it is my hope that somebody who is trying to find applications in the Word of God might get something out of what I am writing. It is my attempt to put His Word into language that our generation can understand and put into to use. Although it might not be today, tomorrow or the next day, as long as this site is live, somebody who needs it might find it and that makes it worth doing.
2. You never know who you might touch with the Word of God. Philip found somebody on the side of the road. And after he had done what he was called upon to do, he disappeared. Keep doing right on others and bringing out his Word in all that you do and you don’t know who you might touch. Your actions and words speak volumes. If you live the life of Christ to the best of your ability, you may not be aware of who it might touch.

Just a small portion of this passage and so much to write about. And just my interpretation. Who knows what you might find. Read on…

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