Second chances

Well I know you have all heard the phrase God is a God of second chances, however I don't believe he actually gives us a second chance. I am beginning to think he gives us a "re-direct". Think about it, when you have messed up and done something against His will, He doesn't give you another chance to make that same mess up. He, through his Holy Spirit, re-directs you focus back to him. If you don't re-direct your focus, you are determined to commit the same error. Take the alcoholic, By following the 12 steps, he can be a recovering alcoholic the rest of his natural life, and if he ever gets too close to the alcohol he will fail, because his recovery depends on man made steps. Now when he recognizes his problem and falls before the Lord and repents, has remorse, accepts responsibility and makes restitution, God, through the Holy Spirit will redirect his life wholly and take the man down an brand new path that allows him to never fear of having to go through a second chance, third chance and so on. Now, I think as men(women) we want to believe in a second chance because we see this as another opportunity to do it right, however we are human, and because of sin in the world and in our hearts, those chances are just as likely to follow the exact same path. Look at all the pounds you have lost and regained, it isn't until you change the way you think, re-direct your lifestyle do you actually keep those pounds off. With a re-direction of your life, which includes a daily renewing of your mind, constant focusing on Christ, following his examples, and loving our neighbor we are able to not just have a second chance, but we become a new creation, holy and beautiful to God, victorious in all we do, and realizing this life is but a breath, then eternity comes. I certainly don't have knowledge of all this, it is an opinion of mine from learning many of life's hard lessons. I don't want a second chance, I want to know how to do it right the first time and to quit making mistakes, especially the same ones over and over. I believe the only way is through Christ. Please let me know your opinion, I love to learn. Frank

Perceiving the Power of Preaching | Ligonier Ministries

Perceiving the Power of Preaching | Ligonier Ministries

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A La Carte (8/3) - A La Carte

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Lifting up your friends

Mark 2 tells the story of a man who has been crippled for a while and thinks if he can see this guy they call Jesus the Christ he can be healed. The problem is Jesus is so popular at this time that everyone wants to see and this crippled man cannot get to him easily. So when Jesus comes to the area, he tries to get into see him, and the place is full. Since in those days there were no handicap parking spaces or special places reserved for them it looked like he would be crippled for a while. Luck doesn't walk in the door, but providence takes over. Jesus uses the situation to show us how as friends we can bring those in need to Him and He will have compassion for them and He is glorified by these actions. The mans friends devise a plan to get the crippled man into see Jesus. They lift the man up on a mat and open a hole in the roof and begin lowering the man down into Jesus' presence and when Jesus sees the actions of those faithful having compassion tells them man his sins are forgiven and take up his mat and walk away. The man picked up his mat and walked out to the amazement of all there. Now where would this man have been without the faith of his friends. This challenges me to not only pray for my friends in need but to also see where their need and try to meet if physically, monetarily, or whatever. I hope you will see this in this lesson as well and maybe show me other applications to this scripture. Let me know.

Sidelines?

There are many headlines going on today in the news, Steve McNair, Michael Jackson, Bam in Russia, etc..., but what about me? Do you ever feel like that? I am rather down today, like I am unseen, not being heard, unnoticed. Ever happen to you? No headlines for Frank, just sitting on the side lines. Before you or I start to feel sorrow for our selves, let's look at those unnoticed ones in the Bible. Remember in the Garden with Jesus, when all the disciples were taken after the wonderful dinner with Jesus in the upper room, He takes them to the garden to pray the night before His death. Then he asks Peter James and John to go forward with him, and leaves the other 8 behind to wait until He returns, He takes the three forward and instructs them to stay awake while He goes forward and prays. What about the eight left behind, what were they supposed to do? Do you think their feelings were hurt they weren't included? Were Andrew, Matthew, Thomas and the others not as important in Christ ministry as Peter, James and John? I wonder what their minds were doing at this time. I guess, sometimes we are left to do what the Psalmist instructs over and over, to be still and wait on the Lord. This waiting is hard and we want so bad to be included and be in the game, to make a difference, to feel useful, like we are a part of the team. But, He has a different idea for us, a different position for us to be in, maybe we aren't ready to be used or maybe we just need to wait. Think about these eight, they were with Christ for the past three years, they had seen His miracles, heard His lessons, and even been sent out from Him to perform miracles on their own, they were equipped and ready, yet here they are asked to remain where they are and wait. This wasn't the first time they had been asked to do this, at the Mount of Transfiguration, they had waited. Wait, could they have been absolutely comfortable with their relationship with Christ? Could they really understand His message to them and see His confidence in them. Did they have a knowledge that prevented fear and worry in their lives? I am not there, I do worry and have fear, I don't have that knowledge, however, I know it exist and I will strive to attain it in this life, but am assured in the next I will have full knowledge and these worries will be no more. I am sure these disciples as well struggled, but kept their focus on Christ and He brought them through. We all have moments of doubt and worry, however we have been left His Spirit, His Word and our Prayers to keep our focus on His Promises which never fail. So as I leave you today, and as I address my own struggle today, I want to encourage to look at the only Truth we have and that is the only Son of the one true God, Jesus Christ who is our Savior and Hope. SDG

Recent Deaths

Reflecting on the recent deaths by notables I can't help but wonder what they would tell their fan base now. Would their message be the same? I don't know the status of any of them, but I wonder if Michael would be so quick to grab his crotch, would Farrah still want to be associated with the Playboy empire, and what would Billy Mays pitch now? It is my prayer that these came to know their creator before they died, and certainly now for their families in their time of sorrow. We must be ready though, in season and out to give answer for our lives and how we have lived them. As we said last week, without an advocate on our behalf we don't have a chance. Let's think though for a moment what they might say from the grave to the huge fan base that seem to have placed so much faith in these individuals. What would Micheal's big hit be now? Instead of "Beat It" would he be singing "Get It", would the theme for "Thriller" be different now? "ABC" would be Accept, Believe and Confess? I don't know, he might be singing for God's Glory now, and would want all to know they can be doing the same if they would trust and believe in God. Farrah, would tell all to love the body God gave them, that worship of the female body is the same as idolatry, and Billy Mays would be preaching "Hey I'm Billy Mays and I want you to meet my Savior" on late night infomercials.
We all should reflect now on our lives and consider are we living our fullest for His Glory? I have to do the same examination, I know each day I struggle to keep my focus on eternal things and not the things of this world. I read C.S. Lewis; Problem of Pain again recently and can't help but think of Chapt. 8 and the descriptions of hell he has so vividly explained in this chapter. A couple of thoughts from this chapter that stick out in my mind are listed below;

1. Heaven is a place intended for humans, Hell is not.
2. In heaven we become more human than ever before, in Hell we are banished from humanity.
3. A man who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness.
Ponder these thought as you go through out the day and we will look at this further in the next few post.

I was in court today, and boy it is amazing how unprepared most people are when they come to court. I think they think they will have an opportunity to discuss with the judge their case. I was in civil court so there were primarily monetary damages being sought or marital issues being resolved. On more than one occasion I heard the judge (who was very good) make the statement to the defendants "I am only here to judge the charge brought against you". Therefore their only comment could be 1. yes I owe the debt (or did the offense) or 2. no I don't. If they answered #1, then the plaintiff was awarded some type of relief, if the answer was #2, then a trial date was set with no further discussion. What is amazing about all this to me, and quite interesting was how little the defendants knew about how the system works, which is what brings me to the point of today's blog. Are we really ready for the final judgment? Do we realize that we will not have an opportunity to discuss our crimes with God? We are either in the book or not. Our debt has been paid or is hasn't. This is why I believe the words in the Lord's prayer are so appropriate when he says "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors". We have a debt. Just like those in court today. And most couldn't pay their debt, a few wanted to negotiate their debt, but all had to admit they had a debt. We have a debt too, we can't pay it either, so what will be do? Outside of Christ and His payment in full of our debt we have no hope. Let this sink in. I saw people in court this morning in pitiful shape, they looked horrible, they were on their last grasp of hope to have the debt they owed removed. When they went to speak they were told, "I am only here to judge the charges against you". They had to admit their guilt, there was no savior, no grace, no mercy, only judgment! It was a sad sight. BUT, they do have a chance on the final judgment, an advocate who doesn't lose, who has paid the debt and met the requirements of our penalty. As His child we are debt free, our name is in His book, we will be set free, at last free from all the pain and suffering and worry. No more bondage, just freedom. We will truly trade our soiled, filthy rags for brand new, pure garments for eternity. Are you ready for the final judgment?

Faith re-visited

Well I had a great Fathers Day, got to see both dad's and all my children said they loved me. As I start a new week, I want to revisit this mystery of Faith; I wonder why some have it and some don't, I mean I guess we all have it, just some of us have it in one thing and others have it in many other things. Have you every wondered why you were born the way you are? Or even born in the country you were born into? Psalms 139 tells us we were intricately woven in our mothers womb and each of our steps are mapped out for us. Now if you have been given the faith to believe this statement then a lot of wonder is taken out of your life and days. I don't believe you that believing (possessing knowledge) in something gives you faith in that. For the devil believes and even possesses knowledge of God and Jesus, yet he lacks the faith to act out obedience to that belief, instead he is militant against his knowledge trying to destroy or hurt God's creation. Yet I was blessed to be born into a Christian family, in a free nation, and have been given a saving faith in God (Father) through His Son (Jesus) actively living in me through His Spirit (Holy Ghost) in my body, mind, and soul every minute of every day. There isn't a moment when I am outside the protection of this impenetrable hedge. I know I make many errors each and every day, yet I know that Rom. 8:28 applies to me. I love the Lord, and even the most tragic events in my temporary life here on earth are not tragic when looked through the eyes of Faith. True Faith, comes only from the Creator of this universe. There is nothing outside His control, therefore I will believe each and every promise He has made. I am not a random event, my life is not an arbitrary venture, I am His child and just like my children, they are very much loved by me, and I direct them in their lives, I discipline them, I encourage them, pick them up when they fall, clean up their messes, all imperfectly. I know if I could do it perfectly it would be much better for them, but just as a moon is the reflection of the sun and a much dimmer light, I too hope to encourage through my actions to direct my children to the true light and not the reflection.

I struggle with all this, I don't stand like a rock and forge forward in perfect faith, I fall daily, sometime hourly, I question God's involvement in my life even His love for me. But, you know what is neat about that is that by questioning His love, it reminds me that I do have faith that He is able to keep me from falling, that He is God, He is perfect and my frustration isn't really at Him it is at myself for forgetting (not remembering) who He really is. Then I am comforted by His gentle hand and my Faith is real. Praise be to God. SDG

To answer a question with a question, is this a fair way to enter a discussion? Yet it is a popular means in our society today, especially in conversational talk. We often answer our spouse with another question and then never really reply to their original question. The discussion just seems to advance in other directions. I was confronted with this phenomenon today. I was asked a question to which the answer was known by the one asking. The reason for asking was to promote some unknown agenda that would lead into a lot of negative conversation. Now when I refused to answer the question that was already known, they were shocked and confused. I then answered with a question, see I told you this was common. Now we are at a stalemate I won't answer the question already known and they won't answer my questions as to why they are asking for information they already possess. The psychology surrounding this topic is certainly interesting and I wonder if my toying with it just causes more problems than simply acting ignorant and answering the question already known. I will wait and see if anyone responds to this post with a question that might be the real answer. Have fun, I am trying to keep my focus on things to come. SDG

First blog

wow, who would have thought this forum was out there, to blog your ideas to others across the globe. This is a great way to get advice from others, to offer advice to some, and weep with a few and laugh with you as we go through this event called life. Knowing this is not the end, but only the beginning, leave plenty to be said for our journey. I know is the first statement most people will say when they begin a conversation. But what do we really know? Knowledge, true knowledge will take away all fear, doubt, and other obstacles to becoming what we truly are meant to be. So I will begin my blog by telling what I don't know, which is infinite, first of all I don't know why some of us have amazing faith, and some just have mediocre faith, while others have very little. And what is life, but a journey of faith. Is it not? How do we go through each day without faith, faith that our alarm will go off, that the sun will rise, that coffee pot will work, that our car will work. All of these are measures of faith. What about larger items of faith? Wow, it is incredible when you think about it everything from faith in the chair I sit in, or the toothpaste I use or even in what I believe about eternity, all requires faith. Where does that leave science? And all of it comes back to what you know; now what do we really know? I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ His only son our Lord, who was concieved by the Holy Ghost; born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontus Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He decended into Hell; the third day He arose from the dead; and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; I believe in the Holy Ghost , the Holy Church Universal, the communion of saints; the forgivness of sins; the resurrection of the body and life everlasting, this is what I know, by faith.