Walking with Jesus

  Psalm 139:1-10 : "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.   If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me."      To be known by God ... to realize that God understands who we are and still loves us. He knows our sins, our secrets, our shames, our shambles... and He still gave His only Son to die for us on the cross...

  Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.     This song has been my prayer today, my  plea. I am counting on the reality that God alone is able to speak the words my heart so desperately long to hear. Only He can fill the empty place that lies behind the fullest or the emptiest of lives. We are all incomplete, partially immortal, frustrated in our lack, created to be made whole by Jesus. Some of us just know our need better than others. We see the fraying edges of our lives, the hem of our very selves unraveling like the fringe of an old blanket.   Take a moment and watch this video. Listen to the words. Listen to the cry of a heart in need of God's redemption. That heart is yours. It is mine as well. Maybe (in its longing) it is something like God's heart for us as well. It belongs to all of us. God knows who we are. He feels our pain....

. How shall we sing the LORD’s song In a foreign land? ~ Psalm 137:4 Psalm 137 is a lament of Israel while in exile in Babylon. They are being taunted because Jerusalem, the central symbol of their Kingdom lies in ruins. "Hey, Jew, tell us about your great kingdom! Ha! Ha!" To which they reply, "God, show your mercy to us and bring down judgment on those who stand between you and the glory you deserve."   Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever feel like the hardships and persecutions in your life are keeping God from receiving His glory? Often we feel frustrated in life for selfish reasons, but there are times when our hearts are right, when we want God to bless and restore for His glory. In those times, we struggle with the question, "How can I sing praises to God when my life is in exile from his presence (blessings)?"   Israel's response was to pray for God's glory to be manifest in the destruction and punishment of God's enemies. I think t...

 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.