Raw Scripture - Entry 4

The writings of Paul from the book of Romans .....

"For salvation that comes from trusting Christ - which is what we preach - is already within easy reach of each of us; in fact, it is as near as our own hearts and mouths. For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord, and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation."

(Romans 10: 8 - 10)

The God Who Is Waiting - # 3

I recently read in my Bible about King Rehoboam (of Judah). The writer of 2nd Chronicles says "... when Rehoboam was at the height of his popularity and power he abandoned the Lord, and the people followed him in this sin." (2 Chronicles 12:1) As my son Joshua likes to say 'typical, typical, typical'. We (I) are so much like Rehoboam. When things are going great in our lives we 'abandon the Lord'. We fill our 'time and attention vacuum' with the blessings of life and put God in the back seat. We forget about Him. But then, when something goes wrong, we cry out to God.
Our nation behaves the same way. In an effort to be inclusive we try to sanitize our country by removing God. We can't mention Him in the public schools or in the public forum, but as soon as a national crisis occurs our leaders ask us to pray to God for His help. During the Cuban missile crisis President Kennedy encouraged Americans to go to church and pray for the nation. (Pictured is President Kennedy with pilots who flew reconaissance missions over Cuba.) After 9/11 President Bush called for a national day of prayer.
Fortunately, God does not hold this immaturity against us. 2nd Chronicles records that Rehoboam had a period of repentance. The historian records "When the king humbled himself, the Lord's anger was turned aside". (2 Chronicles 12:12) The Bible teaches that God is patient, kind, and gracious. He sent His Son Jesus down to earth to die on the cross, in our place, as payment for our sins. The Hound of Heaven always pursues us. Have you given your life to Him?

The God Who Is Waiting - # 2

Psalms 17 continues in that vein. The Psalmist, in a prayer to God, says "Show me your strong love in wonderful ways, O Savior..." God DID show His strong love for us by sending his only Son to die on the cross for our sins, in our place, on the cross. Jesus DOES show his strong love for us daily by being our advocate before God. The Bible says that He is constantly making intercession to the Father on our behalf.

Filled with the Holy Spirit the writer of Psalms penned his response to the God who loves us. He wrote "But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing you and knowing all is well between us." The most important thing to the writer was not the pursuit of wealth or earthly distractions but the pursuit of a relationship with the Creator of the universe.

On average we are granted between 70 and 80 years on this earth. Those who have given their lives to Christ will spend eternity with God. Yet, we spend so little time pursuing that relationship!

(Quotations from the Psalms are from The Living Bible.)

Notes From The Road - July 2007 Trip To Cape Cod - # 4

Here is another entry about our vacation on Cape Cod.....


This past Saturday we had an enjoyable day with great weather in Harwich at Bank Street Beach (pictured above). (I think the town of Harwich is one of the great secrets of Cape Cod. It is quaint, beach accessible, but not overcrowded.)
Sunday was spent relaxing at Beth's house and playing games. The competition involved Settlers of Catan and Nerts. We said goodbye to Chris and Robin who headed back to Rhode Island.

On Monday the ladies decided to do some shopping at the Christmas Tree shops and other outlets nearby. The men went to Two Brothers Pizza for lunch and then had some rounds of Settlers of Catan. (I won my first game due to a strategically placed wood port.)

The God Who Is Waiting - # 1

One of the great challenges of our generation is the ease with which we can distract ourselves with amusements. We have television, the Internet, professional sports, movies, etc. These distractions can sidetrack us from the more important things: relationships.

The greatest relationship that can be hampered by our propensity for self amusement is our relationship with God. The Creator of the universe desires to have an intimate, personal relationship with us. We need to make it a life priority to pursue a relationship with Him. First, we must turn our lives over to Christ. Then we must seek Him on daily basis in prayer, scripture meditation, and fellowship with other followers.

Living a life connected with God through His Son Jesus Christ is a great life of peace and purpose. The Biblical writer of Psalm 16 knew the joys of walking with God. He wrote: 'The Lord himself is my inheritance, my prize. He is my food and drink, my highest joy!' He then wrote words of direct praise to God: 'You have let me experience the joys of life and the exquisite pleasures of your own eternal presence.'

Notes From The Road - July 2007 Trip To Cape Cod - # 3

Here is another post from the road ....

We made our trek from New Jersey to Cape Cod on Wednesday and arrived at the home of Jennie's sister Beth. Jennie's brother from Rhode Island also arrived and we had a fun, family reunion. Beth's family has been going through a phase of playing a very fun game called Settlers of Catan. They've played 115 plus games since November. My nephew Jesse and I played a game with the twins. The game was cut short due to dinner but I was winning at the time with five settlements and the longest road.

On Thursday I was able to golf with Jennie's brother-in-law Terry, her brother Chris, and Chris's girlfriend Robin. After golfing we had lunch in the clubhouse and I had my first stuffed quahog of the summer. We played another game of Settlers of Catan. Although I lost, again I had five settlements and the longest road. Thursday night for dinner we ate at Seafood Sam's. I had crabcakes and also stole some of Jennie's fried scallops. We finished the evening with homemade ice cream from Twin Acres!

Raw Scripture - Entry 3

From the Apostle Paul in the New Testament ...

"...we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; yet now God declares us 'not guilty' of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins" Romans 3, The Living Bible

Notes From The Road - July 2007 Trip To Cape Cod - # 2

Here is an insomniac posting from New Jersey. (We haven't made it to the Cape yet!)

We had a fun day today with the kids and their cousin Erin. We took them to a local mini amusement park called Bowcraft. It has roller coasters, kids rides, etc. The kids had a great time. The place wasn't very crowded so you could get on a ride and stay on without having to get back in line. Both Caleb and Joshua threw up, but that didn't stop them from getting back on the rides! Hannah dragged me onto the kiddie hot air balloons and spun our car around so fast that my stomach started getting upset. I also went on the bumper cars with the kids and some punk kid yelled 'get the old guy'!

Overall it was a fun day!

Two Ministers, a Priest, and a Rabbi Walk Into A Bar ...

Four clergymen in New Hampshire were sitting at a bar arguing over whose religion was most closely aligned with God's will. The discussion got heated until the wise bartender suggested using one of God's creations as a test. The four clergymen, following the bartender's advice, went into the woods and found a papa bear. Each clergyman was to perform a spiritual practice from their religion with the bear. The clergyman with the most favorable results would be the winner.
The bartender was amused as each clergyman re-entered his bar to share the results. Each clergyman gave his report. The catholic priest had a smile on his face as he reported his attempt to serve communion to the bear. After the bear had consumed the wine and bread he held two paws up to heaven. The Lutheran minister also seemed pleased with his results. He read some portions from the New Testament book of Romans to the bear and he had raised one paw upwards to heaven.
The Baptist minister had a serious look on his face and a black eye. He reported that the bear had not respond favorably to a full immersion baptism. The Jewish rabbi was barely alive. His clothes were shredded and his body was covered with bite marks, scratches, and blood. By this time the bartender was overflowing with curiosity. He queried the rabbi on his attempt. 'Which Jewish rite did you attempt, Rabbi?' he asked. The rabbi answered solemnly, 'circumcision'.

Blond Jokes From My Nephew

How do you give a blond a headache?

Give her a bag of M&Ms and tell her to put them in alphabetical order!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Why did the blond working in quality control get fired from the M&M factory?

She threw away thousands of M&Ms that were printed with Ws instead of Ms!

Raw Scripture - Entry 2

The Apostle Paul in the New Testament Book of Romans...

"No one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God's laws, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying them; his laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners. But now God has shown us a different way to heaven - not by be 'being good enough' and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way(though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us- declare us 'not guilty' - if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins." Romans 3 The Living Bible

Notes From The Road - July 2007 Trip To Cape Cod - # 1

Hi guys! We are taking our annual family trip up to the northeast. We left on Saturday. We stopped and slept in Winchester, Virginia Saturday night and then drove to Summit, New Jersey on Sunday morning. We have enjoyed a nice visit with Jennie's sister Sue's family (Summit) on Sunday. Today (Monday) we are heading to the Cineplex. Most of us are going to see Transformers. Jennie and Erin will be seeing Evan Almighty.

Raw Scripture - Entry 1

From the Apostle Paul recorded
in his letter to the church in Rome ....

"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God's powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. This message was preached first to the Jews alone, but now everyone is invited to come to God in this same way. This Good News tells us that God makes us ready for heaven - makes us right in God's sight - when we put our faith and trust in Christ to save us. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith." (Romans 1:16-17 - The Living Bible)

Life Hound Readers Conference - D.C. - Entry 1

The first ever Life Hound Readers Conference early this month was a tremendous success! In this series of postings I'll share pictures and anecdotes from the conference. I hope you enjoy and will consider attending the next Life Hound Readers Conference.

Pictured right is Goob from California. Goob is taking a picture of the National Cathedral. More to come!

Overwhelming Problems

There are times in our lives when we go through seasons of anxiety. We begin to crush under the weight of what seem like insurmountable problems. These may be: failures at work, relationship disappointments, spiritual doubt, the success of evil in the world, fatigue, etc.

This picture shows the remains of a wall built in Jerusalem during the time of King Hezekiah. The wall was intended to protect Jerusalem during a siege by Assyrian King Sennacherib.

The Jewish historian, Jeremiah, in approx- imately 550 B.C., recorded a season of doubt exper- ienced by Hezekiah, King of Judah, when his kingdom was threatened by this brutal Assyrian king. The Assyrians were a great civilization growing in power and in reputation for acts of brutality and cruelty. Jeremiah records an instance when an Assyrian general sent a threatening letter to King Hezekiah. The letter promised Hezekiah that Jerusalem would soon be conquered and destroyed.

How did Hezekiah respond? The Old Testament records that he read the letter, went into the temple of the Lord, spread the letter out before the Lord, and uttered a prayer of supplication. What a great example that Hezekiah sets for us. Those burdens that we carry should be written down on paper and then laid out before the Lord! We can lay our problems at the foot of Christ's cross, turn them over to Him, and let Him fight our battles.

Our loving, but powerful and capable Savior, who loved us enough to die on the cross in our place, for our sins, will manage all our troubles for us. He will carry us through our difficult times if we give our burdens to Him. Entering into a relationship with Christ has eternal benefits, but there are earthly benefits as well!