I'd rather make a mistake and learn from it
then never learn anything.
The trouble is many times we make a mistake,
and never learn.
The trouble is we lock up after a mistake,
trouble is we go in self defense mode.
So God teach me to learn,
teach me to stay free in the midst of errors,
teach me to learn from you.
God lead us,
God bless us,
God refresh us in this busy time.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Waiting on Advent
Today's devotion from Goshen College:
NOV. 25 - WAITING ON ADVENT
By Jim Brenneman, president
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 64:1-9 (NRSV)
Scroll down for complete Scripture.
----------
DEVOTIONAL:
"Tear open the heavens and come down!" With these blunt
and fierce words, the prophet Isaiah literally begs God to
make Advent come to pass, now. God's people had waited for
years in exile without sensing God's presence. Isaiah
beseeches God to shake up the world, make the mountains
quake, and frighten all their enemies (64:1-3). Instead,
Isaiah gets silence.
Have you ever felt like Isaiah, or the people of his day,
wondering where in heaven or on earth God is? Have you ever
tried to pray and felt nothing, saw nothing, sensed nothing,
for a long, long, time? Or felt the sad weight of Bob
Dylan's song, "Knock, knock, knocking on heaven’s door," and
no one answers? If so, you’ve entered Advent-time!
We want a loud and noisy Advent with jingle bells. We want
God to enter boldly into life's malls in a bright red suit
for all to see and hear. Instead, God breaks open heaven’s
doors and comes down through the back door of life in
hovels, cow-cribs, and swaddled clothes. God comes all the
way down to the cross, to the grave. We think we want
Almighty God tearing heaven to pieces to display God's
power. Instead, we get what we most need, God-with-us, our
Savior. The hidden God is made known to us each and every
time we open ourselves up to God’s loving forgiveness. Such
an Advent is always worth the wait!
----------
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 64:1-9 (NRSV)
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence --
(
(as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil -- (
(to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence! (
(When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
(
(From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,(
(no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him. (
(You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.(
(But you were angry, and we sinned;
( because you hid yourself we transgressed. (
(We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
You hear none of this
Acts 27
10 And said to them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be disastrous, with much damage, not only to the cargo and ship, but also to our lives.
11 But the centurion believed the pilot and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
...
14 But not long after there arose a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster.
15 And when the ship was caught, and could not make headway into the wind, we let her be driven along.
...
20 And when neither sun nor stars appeared in many days, and no small tempest lay upon us, all hope that we should be saved was abandoned.
21 Then as they had been long without food, Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Men, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete, and incurred this damage and loss.
22 But now I encourage you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost.
23 For this night there stood before me an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
24 Saying, Do not fear, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God has given you all those who sail with you.
25 Therefore, men, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be exactly as I was told.
26 Yet we must be cast upon a certain island.
...
34 Therefore I urge you to take food; this is for your strength. Not a hair shall perish from the head of any of you.
35 And when he had spoken thus, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
36 Then they were all of good cheer, and they also took some food.
37 In all, there were two hundred and seventy-six of us in the ship.
...
40 So they cast off the anchors, and left them in the sea, and loosening the rudder ropes, they hoisted the foresail to the wind, and made for the beach.
41 But striking a sandbar, they ran the ship aground; and the bow stuck fast, and remained immovable, and the stern was broken apart by the violence of the waves.
42 And the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away, and escape.
43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that those who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:
44 Then the rest should follow, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safely to land.
Chapter 28
1 And when they had escaped, then we learned that the island was called Malta.
2 And the native people showed us unusual kindness: for they kindled a fire, and welcomed every one of us, because it had begun to rain and was cold.
3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4 And when the natives saw the creature hanging on his hand, they said to themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, and though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow him to live.
5 And he shook off the creature into the fire, and suffered no harm.
6 They expected he would have swollen up, or suddenly fallen down dead: but after they watched a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
I could never do that. You notice how many times Paul is 1 inch to the edge. How Paul was saved by destruction only to have to be saved again. That would be really hard. I would be questioning so many things. God why did you tell me about the storm if you knew they wouldn't listen, why did you save me only to be bitten by a poisonous snake, why did you send me to Rome you knew i was going to be in ship wreck. Yet you hear none of this.
God teach us to trust.
God lead us.
God bless us.
10 And said to them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be disastrous, with much damage, not only to the cargo and ship, but also to our lives.
11 But the centurion believed the pilot and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
...
14 But not long after there arose a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster.
15 And when the ship was caught, and could not make headway into the wind, we let her be driven along.
...
20 And when neither sun nor stars appeared in many days, and no small tempest lay upon us, all hope that we should be saved was abandoned.
21 Then as they had been long without food, Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Men, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete, and incurred this damage and loss.
22 But now I encourage you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost.
23 For this night there stood before me an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
24 Saying, Do not fear, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God has given you all those who sail with you.
25 Therefore, men, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be exactly as I was told.
26 Yet we must be cast upon a certain island.
...
34 Therefore I urge you to take food; this is for your strength. Not a hair shall perish from the head of any of you.
35 And when he had spoken thus, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
36 Then they were all of good cheer, and they also took some food.
37 In all, there were two hundred and seventy-six of us in the ship.
...
40 So they cast off the anchors, and left them in the sea, and loosening the rudder ropes, they hoisted the foresail to the wind, and made for the beach.
41 But striking a sandbar, they ran the ship aground; and the bow stuck fast, and remained immovable, and the stern was broken apart by the violence of the waves.
42 And the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away, and escape.
43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that those who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:
44 Then the rest should follow, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safely to land.
Chapter 28
1 And when they had escaped, then we learned that the island was called Malta.
2 And the native people showed us unusual kindness: for they kindled a fire, and welcomed every one of us, because it had begun to rain and was cold.
3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4 And when the natives saw the creature hanging on his hand, they said to themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, and though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow him to live.
5 And he shook off the creature into the fire, and suffered no harm.
6 They expected he would have swollen up, or suddenly fallen down dead: but after they watched a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
I could never do that. You notice how many times Paul is 1 inch to the edge. How Paul was saved by destruction only to have to be saved again. That would be really hard. I would be questioning so many things. God why did you tell me about the storm if you knew they wouldn't listen, why did you save me only to be bitten by a poisonous snake, why did you send me to Rome you knew i was going to be in ship wreck. Yet you hear none of this.
God teach us to trust.
God lead us.
God bless us.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
John 14
John 14 (WEB)
13 Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.
I find that neither God's resources,
or his ability to give his gifts,
is the limiting factor.
It is my ability to ask,
I seem to forget to often.
So God teach us to ask,
teach us about what to ask for,
teach us about you,
God lead us
bless us.
13 Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.
I find that neither God's resources,
or his ability to give his gifts,
is the limiting factor.
It is my ability to ask,
I seem to forget to often.
So God teach us to ask,
teach us about what to ask for,
teach us about you,
God lead us
bless us.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Some things come back at the stangest of times
I distinctly remember in grade 8,
when I decided that if I was a Christian,
then I needed to stop centering my life on other things.
That's when I had the most direct attack on my self worth.
Don't remember the words.
I distinctly remember that no matter what was said,
no matter who said it I really didn't care.
It sort of surprised me at first, and I couldn't have done it with out God.
And I remember how God showed me how to turn it around.
I said something completely unrelated,
something that the parties involved would be interested in.
They where left silent and the day moved on.
And really that's how it should be,
It should not matter what other people,
that have harm intended say.
But the words of someone,
who cares about our life,
should cause us to think.
God teach us to be thankful.
God Bless us
God Lead us
when I decided that if I was a Christian,
then I needed to stop centering my life on other things.
That's when I had the most direct attack on my self worth.
Don't remember the words.
I distinctly remember that no matter what was said,
no matter who said it I really didn't care.
It sort of surprised me at first, and I couldn't have done it with out God.
And I remember how God showed me how to turn it around.
I said something completely unrelated,
something that the parties involved would be interested in.
They where left silent and the day moved on.
And really that's how it should be,
It should not matter what other people,
that have harm intended say.
But the words of someone,
who cares about our life,
should cause us to think.
God teach us to be thankful.
God Bless us
God Lead us
I am most definitly going crazy school needs to end soon
The grass always seems green on the other side.
No matter what choice is made there are sacrifices made.
I'm trying to rap my mind around that,
It's not easy.
One thing I do realize, is how much we need God.
Come to the point that, what every you have in mind God is just fine,
and if necessary drag me along lol.
If it leads me away from everything I've worked at,
if it puts me in hard situation,
just give me the strength, and that's fine.
I seem so often to be blind to your work.
Most of the time we are just told the popular,
the fashionable choices.
Oh God
Help us realize how lucky we are.
Bless us,
Lead us,
No matter what choice is made there are sacrifices made.
I'm trying to rap my mind around that,
It's not easy.
One thing I do realize, is how much we need God.
Come to the point that, what every you have in mind God is just fine,
and if necessary drag me along lol.
If it leads me away from everything I've worked at,
if it puts me in hard situation,
just give me the strength, and that's fine.
I seem so often to be blind to your work.
Most of the time we are just told the popular,
the fashionable choices.
Oh God
Help us realize how lucky we are.
Bless us,
Lead us,
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Mind jabbering
It's here that I'm wrestling with my thoughts
trying to make sense of the mess.
There is some order some sense,
I find beneath this, when at today's end.
I find it's trouble looking straight.
I find what I can't let go.
what I've always done.
Why is it these words that I'm stuck with?
These actions and reactions,
I've overdone and overused,
yet it seems it's all I do.
I need a new angle, a fresh look.
God can give me more.
Maybe I can do something different.
Maybe there is something for me.
I find nothing for me in talk.
I find myself silent, is this me.
I am still struggling, still searching.
Am I to forget about all these words,
No matter in the end anyways,
God takes care.
Maybe that's it,
just need to get that through my head.
Oh God.
Is there something here I need to do.
Is there something that I've messed up,
that you've given me a second chance.
I pray God help me, and I will try my hardest to do it right.
I don't want to retrace these steps.
These words end up being just words,
and they need your holy touch to work.
So touch my life, and touch those around me.
Reach in us and pull out the best.
I thank you that this has given me some rest,
restored my life, I can think again.
trying to make sense of the mess.
There is some order some sense,
I find beneath this, when at today's end.
I find it's trouble looking straight.
I find what I can't let go.
what I've always done.
Why is it these words that I'm stuck with?
These actions and reactions,
I've overdone and overused,
yet it seems it's all I do.
I need a new angle, a fresh look.
God can give me more.
Maybe I can do something different.
Maybe there is something for me.
I find nothing for me in talk.
I find myself silent, is this me.
I am still struggling, still searching.
Am I to forget about all these words,
No matter in the end anyways,
God takes care.
Maybe that's it,
just need to get that through my head.
Oh God.
Is there something here I need to do.
Is there something that I've messed up,
that you've given me a second chance.
I pray God help me, and I will try my hardest to do it right.
I don't want to retrace these steps.
These words end up being just words,
and they need your holy touch to work.
So touch my life, and touch those around me.
Reach in us and pull out the best.
I thank you that this has given me some rest,
restored my life, I can think again.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A call for everyone
Text of Remarks by President-Elect Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008, Chicago, Ill.
"....
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves –- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time –- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth –- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes, we can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/barack-obama.html
Saturday, November 1, 2008
a choice is made
I find once again words fail and I can't describe what I'm trying to say.
I find so many times, when choice has to be made
they choose to keep pride, keep their image, keep their idea of life
over other people. My question what is really important?
Is my money, my image, my pride worth more than you?
I remember in high school I had a team project,
where one team member gave me work that was lacking in almost every respect.
So I fixed it and handed it in.
When later asked if he was still my friend I said it didn't change things in my mind
I was surprised by the question.
Was it the right thing to do I have no idea.
Maybe there was something else at work.
God Bless us
God Lead us
God Give us strength
I find so many times, when choice has to be made
they choose to keep pride, keep their image, keep their idea of life
over other people. My question what is really important?
Is my money, my image, my pride worth more than you?
I remember in high school I had a team project,
where one team member gave me work that was lacking in almost every respect.
So I fixed it and handed it in.
When later asked if he was still my friend I said it didn't change things in my mind
I was surprised by the question.
Was it the right thing to do I have no idea.
Maybe there was something else at work.
God Bless us
God Lead us
God Give us strength
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