Mighty To Save

A few weeks ago my family visited a different church. As we were walking in, late unfortunately as usual, there were kids standing across the front of the stage singing "Mighty To Save." My wife, recently got a Michael W. Smith CD, A New Hallelujuah, which has the song on it. It is a really powerful song. My daughter, Emma, really loves it. A lot of the times she will say, "Play the song that the kids were singing." Sometimes she and I go for a ride to pick up dinner and we listen to the song and sing the words out loud. What a great feeling to hear your little girl singing a song about the vast greatness of our Lord.

I am trying to imagine the songs the little kids might have liked to sing whose parent decided that because of losing a job, the fear of losing their home, the dreadful thought of not being able to provide for their family led them to believe that life was not worth living and took the lives of their family and then their own life. I keep reading this on the news and I just go numb. It is hard to imagine a person manifesting a fear so great, so horrific that the idea of ending the lives of your little children is the best alternative available.

My God help us who know you and believe in what you have done for us to get off of our rears, to push out of our comfort zones and share the Good News that our burdens are not for us to bare and that you and you alone are the answer that we are all looking for in this world. God I pray that you use us Christians to go out and hug our neighbor who is hurting and comfort the strangers in need. Please Lord prepare us to know what to say and when to say it. Help us to seek out those who are on the verge of drastic measures.

Everyone needs compassion

A love that's never failing

Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness

The kindness of a Savior

The hope of nations

Savior, He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever, Author of Salvation

He rose & conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me

All my fears & failures

Fill my life again

I give my life to follow

Everything I believe in

Now I surrender

Shine Your light & Let the whole world see

We're singing For the glory Of the risen King

Jesus,You're the Savior

You can move the mountains

Lord You are mighty to save

You are mighty to save

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. He can rise superior to every condition through the strength that Christ gives.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

4:10-19 It is a good work to succour and help a good minister in trouble. The nature of true Christian sympathy, is not only to feel concern for our friends in their troubles, but to do what we can to help them. The apostle was often in bonds, imprisonments, and necessities; but in all, he learned to be content, to bring his mind to his condition, and make the best of it. Pride, unbelief, vain hankering after something we have not got, and fickle disrelish of present things, make men discontented even under favourable circumstances. Let us pray for patient submission and hope when we are abased; for humility and a heavenly mind when exalted. It is a special grace to have an equal temper of mind always. And in a low state not to lose our comfort in God, nor distrust his providence, nor take any wrong course for our own supply. In a prosperous condition not to be proud, or secure, or worldly. This is a harder lesson than the other; for the temptations of fulness and prosperity are more than those of affliction and want. The apostle had no design to urge them to give more, but to encourage such kindness as will meet a glorious reward hereafter. Through Christ we have grace to do what is good, and through him we must expect the reward; and as we have all things by him, let us do all things for him, and to his glory.

Off to a good start

Goodness. It has definitely been a while since I last stopped to put my thoughts into the blogosphere. I suppose the traditional reflection upon the year we just put into the books would be in order.

Many would probably characterize 2008 as a bad year. A year that had lots of awful memories. The residential market has plummeted. Gas was over $4 a gallon. The stock market spiraled. For many people, this past year was not good at all. People I know have been laid off. Others are concerned that their jobs will be lost. It is looking kinda bad.

I have the luxury of not feeling the brunt of such a rough situation. Somehow, I don't believe this is a time to sit back and hope for the best. It is a time in which many are desperate for answers. They are wondering why their "Secret" is no longer their ticket to heaven. They are starting to realize that perhaps there is more to life than making tons of money and having it all. I believe it is time to become more educated on the word of God and more in tune with my beliefs so that I might be a witness to others who find themselves falling into darkness and looking for a way out.

This past year, I discovered that there really is no such thing as luck. I have spent a good deal of my life believing that despite being born on Friday the 13th I have been very lucky. I learned that all that I have and all that I am has been given to me by God. And this past year, I have been very blessed.

I got a new job at a brand new bank that does not have any bad real estate loans, actually wants to make loans and was formed on Christian principles. I actually go to Bible study every Tuesday with 4 to 5 of my co-workers in the bank offices. The bank I was at is in severe financial trouble and will most likely be shut down by the federal reserve and sold to another bank. If I had to guess, my job would have been lost if I was still at that bank. I thank the Lord nearly every day for putting me in my new job.

My friend who had lymphoma is now almost 100% back to normal. He starts going back to work full time next week. Our friendship has continued to grow and I am very thankful that I was allowed to be a part of his life this past year. I don't thank the Lord enough for my good friend and I am looking forward to sharing another year with him and his family.

My parents made it possible for my family to spend a wonderful week in Branson and Springfield. My family grew a lot during that week and I believe some of our dreams were re-invigorated and our principles and values were reinforced. I was also reminded of the wonderful power and majesty of the Lord and was in awe of his creations.

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with my wife in creating a discipleship program at our church. We both learned so many things about ourselves and each other. New talents were discovered, our confidence grew and our desire to serve the Lord grew as well. I am beginning to have a firmer understanding of my beliefs and what God wants from me in this world. I hope to spend this next year doing what I believe God wants me to do.

I will have to admit that at times I start to think about luck a little bit. I start thinking I am so lucky to have the wonderful wife and wonderful daughters that I have. I thank God every day for my family. God has blessed me with two incredible little girls who make me laugh and learn every day. The times we have spent together this past year have truly been blessings.

I have to say, though, one of the biggest blessings in my life is my unbelievable physique. Ok, just kidding. It is actually my wife, Amy. She has taught me so many things this past year. She has inspired me to become more involved and to think deeper about what God expects from me. Unfortunately, I have probably pushed her to her limits of sanity one too many times. I am starting to think this Men from Mars Women from Venus thing is for real. Through my wife's encouragement, knowledge and patience, I have become a better man and a better father this past year. I hope that I have become a better husband.

So here we go. Another year. Will it be another minuscule advance towards some point in the future or will it be the final days or minutes before the return of our King? I can't wait to find out.

Luke 24:13-16 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

Give Love

My youngest daughter, Caitlin, turned 3 a couple weeks ago. Caitlin loves pink things, princess things, dresses, brushing hair and playing with baby dolls. She even tells us that her hair is pink. So for her birthday we decided to let her get a makeover in Cinderella's Castle at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and then have breakfast with Cinderella at her Royal Table. Caity had a great time and she truly did look like a princess. You coud really tell that she was enjoying having her hair done and picking out make-up and having her nails done. She was a real cutie.

I should probably tell you how the morning started, though, so my story will make a little more sense. I often tend to get overheated when I am outside in the heat for a long time, like at places like Disney World. I usually get a really bad headache and then eventually get sick. If I am very careful I can sometimes avoid getting the headache or attack it with medicine as soon as I feel it coming on. Often you hear about Satan having a hold on you. Well, I am convinced that Satan and his merry men use my headaches to keep my focus away from God. The last thing I feel like doing when I have one of those headaches is dealing with a lot of people in a hot crowded theme park. It really gets me down, but more importantly to me, it really gets my family down.

About a year ago, I decided to stop taking the daily medication that my doctor was giving me to reduce the frequency of migraines that I was having. Eventually, I stopped taking the awesome prescription medication that is available for migraines. I did this for a few reasons. 1) I was not comfortable with continually putting these strong chemicals into my body and although they worked great, I was not sure that the frequency was really becoming less. 2) The migraine pills are really expensive and they have only been approved for 9 doses per month. This costs $50 at best sometimes more. 3) I had been praying that God would help me overcome my headaches.

To make a long story short (I know that is pretty rare for me), I have been doing better, but the summertime in Florida really takes its toll on me and it becomes harder and harder to avoid getting sick.

So here I am, getting ready for my little girl's big day with Cinderella on her 3rd birthday and all I can think about is "what can I do to avoid getting sick today? I can't get sick. I have to control my headaches. I have to control my situation so I can not get overheated." Suddenly, I am hearing a new Third Day song in my head and God turns the volume up.

If you give love
I’ll return the love and you will see
So much more than you gave away
If you give love
Give it to me

God told me to stop trying to control things. Stop thinking you have any control whatsoever as to whether or not you get a headache today. God said to me, "You do what I have commanded you, by giving love to anyone and everyone you come into contact with today, and I will take care of you. Give love and I'll return the love and you will see so much more than you gave away.

You can't begin to understand how awesome it felt to realize that God was in control of my headache situation. I didn't have to worry about letting my family down by getting sick and being a bump on a log. I just needed to keep my focus on God and doing what he commanded me to do.

By the way, have you ever been to Disneyworld during the week before school starts in AUGUST in ORLANDO. The Humidity, Heat, Lack of Respect for Personal Space and yes, Body Odor is at an all-time high. Me not complaining about the circumstances at Disney is like Chandler Bing not being able to make a joke about the things his friends say for one whole day.

I was not concerned. God had given me the greatest feeling. A feeling of lightness and joy. It was unbelievable. My first challenge awaited me in the hotel room as I stepped out of the shower. It was 7:15am and I needed to find a place that sold ladies underwear in 30 minutes and on my first trip out I bought little ladies underwear instead. Apparently there is a difference.

I found myself making special efforts to give encouraging words to people that I did not know. The clerk at both drug stores, people working at Disney, other people in the park. It was a great experience and let me tell you, God returned the love to me like you won't believe. The sky was a little overcast and there were periodic light rains. The crowd really wasn't that bad. The waits in line were not bad either. And I thoroughly loved spending the day with my family (in-laws too). I think I thought about having a headache probably 3 times that day, which itself is a miracle. I also felt good enough to ride a rollercoaster, Space Mountain, with my wife and father-in-law. This was particularly important to me, because I really wanted to hear my wife laugh and have a great time. For some reason, she thinks it is funny when I ride a roller coaster, and now that I think of it, her dad was laughing pretty hard too, and so were the 3 people behind me on the roller coaster. I didn't care. I felt great and I was giving love.

My daughter had a great day and apparently she felt like cutting loose, too. When we got back to the hotel, she got to open up some of her birthday presents. One of which was a Disney Princess Electronic Keyboard. Here is what happened:

My wife got me a really cool book by John MacArthur called "Scriptures to Live By." These two verses are excellent:

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Psalm 133:1

"New commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35

Give love and I'll return the love and you will see so much more than you gave away.