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!

Chimney Rock - The Broad River

This past weekend our family had the good fortune to be able to camp along side the Broad River in the mountains of North Carolina. On Sunday morning I got up, grabbed Joshua's Bible, and set up my chair on a rock so as to view the scene pictured above. The sight was phenomenally beautiful and I loved listening to the water rushing down the river.

I opened up to the Gospel of John to chapter one and read: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.

The words and meaning of the above scripture are stunning. Jesus already existed 'in the beginning'. He was with God and He is God. Through Jesus, everything was made that exists. Jesus created the beauty that I had enjoyed this weekend. He created the Broad River, the green trees, and the powerful thunderstorms that we heard on the first day.

John goes on to say that in Jesus is life. We can have abundant and eternal life if we give our lives to Him. Matthew records these words of Jesus.....

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." (Matthew 16: 24 - 25) By giving up our own lives we can have a relationship with Jesus. We can enjoy that abundant life and know that we will spend eternity in heaven with Christ. Death is not the end for those who have surrendered to Christ. "In Him is life!"

John was placed on earth to testify about Jesus so that 'all men might believe' and enter into that relationship with Christ. If we give our lives to Christ we can have that relationship with Him. The Bible says ....

'But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name.' (John 1:12)

The same God who created the awesome natural beauty that I enjoyed this past weekend desires to have a relationship with you and me so that we might become 'sons of God'.

Click Here To See More Pictures From Our Camping Trip

Did God Bless Mother Teresa and Kill John Lennon?

A few weeks ago my wife and I enjoyed dinner out with some close friends. During the meal my friend ask me if the church I attend believes in or teaches what has come to be know as the health and wealth gospel. We discussed that for a few minutes at dinner and the conversation reminded me of a recent sermon that I had heard on that topic. The theme of the sermon revolved around the questions 'Do Christians suffer?' and 'What is God's purpose in suffering?'. This dinner conversation prompted me to create a posting on this topic. Click HERE to read Did God Bless Mother Teresa and Kill John Lennon .

How to tell if a Catholic is driving too fast

Mouth In Motion Before Brain in Gear - 1

* Newsweek front page: 'After Bush, How to Restore America's Place in the World'. How's that for objective news reporting?

* Newsweek front page. What about those of us that think he's doing a good job?

* National headline: 'Stupid Republican Candidates Don't Believe In Evolution'. Give me a break. It's not like they're doubting the Law of Gravity. Macro evolution has never been observed!

* I sure could go for some Cookie Crisp.

* I wonder if Cookie Crisp would pay me to type that?

* Science headline: 'Neptune's Climate is Getting Warmer'. Uh oh! Could global warming be caused by increased solar activity on the sun? (No humans to blame on Neptune.)

* Boston Bank of America employees mistaken distorted fax for bomb threat. Branch evacuated. Bank at Wachovia. They're smarter.

* I sure could go for a Dove bar.

* I wonder if Dove would pay me to type that?

* Latest bandwagon: Going Green. lifehound is a 'green' blog. (I've got a booger dripping out of my nose.) [Bugger corrected to booger 6/13. Thanks Rus.]

* Mini Coopers. Very cool with a bunch of personality.

* Season finale of Lost. Jack and Freckles back in the U.S. I guess they get rescued. Any more reason to watch? 30 episodes to go.

* ABC calls bachelor Andrew Baldwin an 'officer and a gentleman' and then shows him making out with half of the women on the show. (Not that I've ever watched it.)

* At least he picked Tessa. (Really, I've never watched it!)

bragonyourkids.com

Caleb had a great year in Awana this year. He memorized many scriptures. Here he is displaying an award at the Awana end of the year banquet.

Hannah finished 2nd grade and is pictured here with her teacher. She won an award for musical talent and made the principles list.

Josh is on first playing in the all star game. Josh played right field and pitched one inning. He pitched well. At the plate he got 3 hits and walked once. His team (the National League All Stars) won.

The Kids On A Visit To The Zoo