Walking with Jesus

 NT Reading: Ephesians 5:1-17 (Congregation’s version is Good News). v.10 “Try to learn what pleases the Lord.” v.17 “Try to find out what the Lord wants you to do.” What pleases God? What makes God happy? What is it that puts a smile on the divine face? What fills his heart with joy? As a Christian, as a follow of Jesus, I want to know. Ephesians isn’t the only place we are instructed to please the Lord: Proverb 16:7 , Psalm 104 , Hosea 6 , Malachi 3 , 1st Thessalonians 4 , 1st John 3 , and both Corinthian letters encourage us to focus on pleasing God; Colossians 1 instructs us to please God in all respects; and 2nd Timothy 2:4 states, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” This is only a sampling of the many places the Bible refers to figuring out what pleases God and then doing it. Pleasing God is perhaps the most important thing we can do. That’s quite a claim, so let’s thin...

The fire fails and flower fades. Another saint doth pass away. For us, those who are left behind Our mourning is by salt refined. For, tears of loss with joy are mixed As we await eternal bliss.   Reunion hymns and chorus high Await us in the by and by. No loss is long for those in Christ. For, by his blood he paid our price That power of sin and death grow dim. None truly die who live in Him.   Oh victory, sweet victory! For, saints are saints, wher'er they be.

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible Study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith...

Read 2 Timothy 3 There have been some in every generation who have believed they were living in the last days (v.1), but the evidences for the end of the age in our own times seem particularly compelling. We live in a day when light and dark are being divided. The church seems to be in a season of preparation and cleansing. Opposition to authentic, transformative Christianity is everywhere. For those who truly love God, it is becoming more and more difficult to be a casual follower of Jesus (especially in traditionally comfortable cultures such as our own). Even in our congregations, the division is happening. So many of us walk in unrepentance and sin, while others refuse to say anything about this hypocrisy for fear of causing disunity, pain, or embarrassment. Believe me, I understand the temptation. It's difficult to be honest about sin in others, because I must first be honest about my own sin as well. So, we are satisfied to have everyone just get along, as if the ch...

Philippians 4:4 says, " Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" (NASB) The book of Philippians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Philippi, the first European church mentioned in the book of Acts. That story occurs in Acts 16 . Paul and Silas had been visiting the churches established earlier when Timothy joined them. From there they wanted to take the gospel further into Asia, but God would not let them go. Instead, the Lord sent them across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia, which is in modern day Greece. They ended up in Philippi, a major city in the region and a Roman colony with almost no Jewish presence. Since there was no synagogue, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and (apparently) Luke went to a place of prayer along the river and shared the gospel with the women who met there. Some of them believed and a congregation of Christ-followers was established. You may remember the story of the slave girl with a spirit of divination who followed along af...

Just wanted to let you know that I've posted my first post at http://gospiritdeep.blogspot.com/ . Walking with Jesus will still be my blog for our family,and I would love for you to keep reading it. Simply get me your email (comments will not be published) and then answer the invitation I send you via email. I will be making this blog private soon. After that you'll have to follow me at GoSpiritDeep . I would rather not have to split my glog, but doing so will help me present a more ministry focussed face to the world without exposing my family to the predators who are ever present out there.  GoSpiritDeep will be a Bible Study blog, and the sermons and reflections I used to post here will now appear there first. I'm not sure where the political, cultural, and other ideas will go. Perhaps I'll have to be more explicit in the biblical foundations for those posts? Olivia has already privatized her blog, so I'll sum up both our thoughts in he...

Read Matthew 1 1) Family matters. Where Jesus came from was important. Without the lineage of Joseph (notice it was both adopted and valid), Jesus would not have been counted in the royal line. Without Joseph, Jesus would not (perhaps even could not) have been Israel's king. Joseph and Mary may have seemed like ordinary folks, but in reality they were the royal key to the Kingdom. 2) Marriage matters. Joseph and Mary belonged to each other according to God's Word. Even as Bathsheba was always "of Uriah," so marriage is a permanent state of being joined together. This is a hard teaching in our culture, but we need it desperately. Whenever possible, our children need the validity and security of married parents. 3) Love matters. Joseph, "her husband" already, loved Mary. So, he took time to think. Rather than act rashly, he was open to the LORD's voice. And, when he heard GOD speak, he listened to what God said. Where would we be if Joseph had NOT...

Dear friends, family, and blog followers; I want to let you know that I will be changing my blog's status to private in a short time, perhaps in about a week. I am contemplating a less personal Bible study blog, which will be public at http://gospiritdeep.blogspot.com/ , but I'm going to be removing this blog from general readability. There are many of you who read my blog faithfully, and I want you to stay up to date. Please leave me a comment with the email address you sign into when you read "Walking With Jesus" and I will add you to my allowed readers list. [I will not publish your comment.] You will receive an email inviting you to read my blog, simply accept the invitation and you're all set. In today's culture, there are so many reasons for this move that I doubt I need to amplify them for you. The most important is protecting our family's privacy. We've been very transparent on our blogs, and come to realize that this could open a bad do...

My brother is a scientific sort of guy, so one of the first thoughts I had after I recovered from hearing this (right after lots of God-praise) was: "I need to post this for Kevin." Of course, even if you aren't Kevin, I want you to listen to this as well. I heard it on the car radio while I was running errands, and it shook me to the core. I actually sat in the parking lot at the recycling center weeping over the goodness of God that we should live in an age when we can hear the praises of creation. The video clip is long, but you'll be glad it is.     Ps. 148:1 Praise the Lord !   Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! 2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light ! 4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!   5 Let them praise the name of the Lord , For He commanded and they were created. 6 He also...

Amazing Grace . This movie is one of our favorites. It can be difficult to watch because it is real, but it is also very inspiring. It addresses the 20 year struggle by British Parlimentarian William Wilberforce to end the British Slave Trade. You can read more about his life here . Mr. Wilberforce was also a major force in the general struggle for the reformation of society based on biblical truth. He's one of thos men I look forward to meeting.    Of course, all of the efforts of men and women like William Wilberforce only made slavery illegal (The international trade in slaves in the United Kingdom ended in 1807, but slave ownership was not outlawed until 1833, only weeks before Wilberforce's death.) It is estimated that there are as many as 27 Million (That's 27,000,000 ) persons in slavery TODAY. There are several groups and governmental agancies working to stop this criminal activity every day. Perhaps we should be part of that effort?

Ok, so Olivia already posted this, but I wanted to as well....  

Mark 3     Read it again. There are some real hidden treasures in this chapter.   v.4 - Jesus equates healing with doing good and saving life. What then is to be equated with doing evil and killing? It seems the answer is "not healing." The people kept silent and their doing nothing angered (v.5) and grieved God.     v.11 - The demons knew who Jesus was better than anyone. Make no mistake: Jesus has power and authority. he is no mere teacher of morality.     v.14 - When Jesus calls us, he intends for us to (A) "be with Him" and (B) be sent "out." When (not if ) He sends us out, it is to (1) preach, (2) heal, and (3) deliver from spiritual bondage.     v.27 - What are the "goods" Jesus wants to plunder form satan? Well, we are . Without Jesus, we all belong (legally and spiritually) to the devil.   v.35 - Want to be related to the King of kings? Want Jesus to not only know you, but claim you as kin? Then w...

Ahava and Olivia are featured in today's Abilene Reporter News .   Olivia has the relevant portion of the article in her update today . But, some of you only read my blog, so I wanted to be sure and let you know.   Thank you for your continued prayers and belief for our family.   My daily goal is to trust the Lord, try to focus on praising Him for His blessings, see things from His perspective, and wait upon His providence because He has been so faithful.

I haven't recommended a movie in a while. I've seen some good ones, but just haven't thought about it with everything we have going on now that Ahava is home. However, Olivia and I just watched this movie, and I wanted to encourage you to watch it. It is a story about two childhood friends, reunited by tragedy after several years apart. It is a story about learning to give and to forgive. It is a story about remembering the greatest truth of God's love for us... it is unconditional. 

Two Years...     It's amazing how often I think of you, especially now that Ahava is here. I see you in your sister's face; I hear you in her laugh. The reality of HER makes the reality of YOU that much more potent. I believe you would have made a great big brother. Someday you'll get the chance. Please tell Jesus 'hello' & give Him my thanks. I'm so glad I got to be your daddy.   "Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” 2 Samuel 12:23b

We're keep our Ahava updates going on Olivia's blog. But, I couldn't help but share a few of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks. She is 300 days old today! Happy 300-day Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!!!   This is Ahava! She is doing so great! Yeah, she's got some attitude. (Actually, she's a super sweet little girl)      I can't believe how big she is either. We're so proud of our little miracle.     Just  Beautiful! Thank you, Jesus!!   Start HERE for a good run of Olivia's updates. (click on 'Newer Post' at the bottom of each page)   

[Read Mark 2 here ] Jesus preached the word; (v.2) he used the Hebrew Scripture to tell people who God is. Jesus forgave sins (v.5) and healed (v.12) to show people who God is. Jesus taught them (v.13) and called them to follow his example (v.14) to challenge sinful people with the holiness and love of God. (v.17) Jesus prophesied (v.20) to explain how God was doing a new thing. Jesus clarified (v.25) the errors of tradition to display God's purpose in creation. (v.25) All these things were the Gospel as Jesus lived it. His life was the Gospel: God with us. How then can we say we are sharing the Gospel if we offer less than the Master, less than our very lives? Jesus did not lay his life down only at Calvary, but each step of his journey on the way to that hill. How then can we be satisfied with some future martyrdom [if we even aspire to that and not simply our own comfort] which may or may not ever happen? Is God satisfied with theoretical sacrifice? Or,...

My Christian faith influences every area of my life. If we are honest about who we are before the Lord, then it cannot do less. There are some regular marks of Christian faith in my life, which might be expected in any Jesus follower. These include church attendance, Bible reading, journaling, tithing, and faithfulness in my marriage. However, there are some specific examples of how my daily life is shaped by my faith which may be particularly distinguishing, and I will attempt to illustrate those.   (Of course, let's not forget that I'm still very much a work in progress. I mess up. I fail. I act like a jerk. I'm trying to be like Jesus, I'm not him.) There are some particular beliefs, behaviors, and choices in my life which are motivated by my confidence in the reality of Jesus and my desire to become more like Him. These are my religious parameters for daily living, understanding that ‘religious’ refers only to my efforts to please and glorify God with my ...

I was raised in a culturally Christian home. We went to church fairly regularly (unless we had something better to do). We prayed at my grandmother’s house, before holiday meals, and sometimes after we three boys had gotten into a fight. We were encouraged to be hard-working, moral kids because that’s what God wanted. We went to Sunday school because it was good for us. And, eventually we all made a confession of faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That was about all there was too Christianity in our family. Mission accomplished. Yet, even in my own conversion experience, God was already planting the seeds that would set me apart from the rest of my family and make me a missionary in my own household. I remember the tug of the Holy Spirit beginning to work on my heart the Sunday after my 10 th birthday. We were attending a Bible church, so I knew the gospel. What I didn’t know was whether or not I was prepared to hand the rest of my life over to God. Week after week, I strug...