my Father's Day

"Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer." The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land.
is. 16.4

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
1 john 3.8b

isn't it incredible how Jesus came to fulfill what was written about Him hundreds, even thousands, of years before He was born? our hindsight is 20/20, so our view is much different than what the people in isaiah's era experienced. their oppressor/aggressor vanishing meant that a king or ruler would have to die. guess our understanding isn't much different. Christ had to die, and be raised to life, in order for the devil's work to be destroyed. and what a relief it is to live under the new Kingship!

when i was reading this verse in isaiah, the part that mostly jumped out was this statement, 'be their shelter from the destroyer'. too often i feel that we as Christian are not living up to what we are asked to do. we are wonderful at making up every excuse in the book in order to justify our actions or lack of actions, but the truth remains that we are called to rescue people from the flames. and i am guilty to the 9th degree about making excuses. 'oh i don't know if i should say something.' 'i'm too busy to run over to their house.'

and my prayers can be mighty wimpy, too, 'God, you know the struggle they are going thru; please help them. amen.' if that were the conversation between me and a close friend - that close friend would ask, 'what do you want me to do?' -be specific. 'do you think that is God's best for them?' and hopefully many other question before running off and intervening. i claim that i know Jesus, and the He is a close friend. so why would the be any different than me speaking to a person with skin as opposed to Christ who sits at the right hand of my Father?

my Jesus,
i say that i know You, but i'm so quick to not take Your advice. You are the greatest Counselor ever, and yet often i choose to do as i wish - ignoring the wisdom You've offered me. Jesus, i desire to be a shelter for those who are being tortured/pestered by the destroyer. please give me wisdom and motivation to go out of my way for them. lay heavy on my heart those who need Your guidance, Your grace and Your love. You are the best friend i could ever ask for. You know me inside and out, and yet You want to hem me in, behind and before. that rocks! thanks for this beautiful father's day. this is Your day. let me glorify You today, Dad. i love You.
in Jesus's Name ~ Amen.

*my dad *Cheryl *Burke

Fearing God

"Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary."
isa.8:12-14a

those Words move me. the words of a true comtemporary... 'don't fear what the world fears; fear God and all the He can do.' if only our thinking could be transformed to get a real grip on these words.

all my personal fears - stresses - cares - would all be taken away b/c my faith would trust that God was truly in control. i would be able to simple state my whatever was going on in my mind to the God Almighty, and leave it there - not to make much of it. all i would need to make much of would be Jesus Himself. that would leave a whole lot more time for praising and exclaiming how good He is and how wonderfully He cares for me.

but instead i seem to stumble around the dark = following the world in its pattern of keeping my fears bottled up inside. with the mentality, that i'm a big girl and i can handle it. i'm anal; my mind races with too many thots of 'what if's?'.

my God,
i cry out to You because You are the Lord Almighty. You desire for me to trust You with a trust that is beyond my comprehension. i'm only beginning to understand how deeply You want to be to involved. i ask for You to deepen my the way i regard You as holy and the way i fear You. i want to be free from the worries which drag me down. You are able to take full control. give me wisdom, Father.
in Christ's Name ~ Amen

*Sam *Pantsy *Amanda

The Fool Says...

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
ps. 14:1

ever met anyone like this? someone who always is ragging you for your belief in God? an unbelieving corrupt person? or how about someone is seems to not do anything good or worthwhile?

life can really throw us some interesting twist and turns, but sometimes it throws us a bone. not sure why i'm posting about this verse, but it has been circling my brain - trying to find some meaning in it. so far i've been drawn to pray for my brother thru it. that's about it.

Dearest Jesus,
you are my rock. You've established by faith in You by revealing Yourself to me. and You are a glorious revelation. thanks for opening my heart to seek You, to feel You, to know You more deeply. i love You. and because of this deep love i'm draw to pray for my brother. he seem to be like to fool who says there is no God. and his ways often seem corruptible. but Your ways are perfect, and You desire for him to walk upright before. Please draw him in; let him see the likes of Your light. pull him from the sin which so easily entangles that he may sing Your praises. may he love You with a sincere heart, a faithfulness that is long, and may peace that is beyond comprehension descend upon him like a dove.
in Christ's holy Name ~ Amen

*derrick *deena *jenna

Author of Life and Faith

'You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.'
Acts 3:15

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb. 12:2

Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit, stood before the men who came running to hear the message (v. 11) and gave them a speech which was difficult to hear and hard to take to heart. he told them that they've killed the author of life. then he goes on to tell them that Christ came to turn these men from their evil ways. i recommend reading paul's message in acts 3:11 thru the end of the chapter.

when i read those words i could nearly hear paul giving the message for me. i, in my brokenness, nailed Christ to the cross. and so i, also, 'killed the author of life'. that is tough for me to understand. the Christ whom i love, is the Christ whom i killed. but God, in His great mercy, raised Him from the dead. and i am a witness to that fact thru the Holy Spirit.

and so the Author of life who is alive is also the Author of faith. and that faith reigns in me. every thing i do, everything i think, every part of who i am is the way it is because of this Author. He has affected my life, and i will never be the same.

My Blessed Christ, it is good to remember my past, to see how You've transformed my life into who i am today. i am not sure how Paul knew that You were the Author of life, but that truth was deeply alive in him. and i, too, know that You are the Author of life and faith. i want to thank You for living in me, and for allowing me to abide in You. by being my Author, You pave the way for me to travel. and Your road is the best way, i trust that to be true. my faith is grounded in You; my life is firmly established in You. i am nothing without Your breath of life within me. You've awakened me from the dead - i was stillborn and You chose to revive me. for this, i am forever grateful.
in Christ's Name ~ Amen

*Allison *Linda *Herb

just want to give a shout-out to ganns.

Calm Yourself

Say to him, 'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—
isa. 7:4

for the last week i've been trying (discipling myself) to read the bible at least 3 chapters a day. it's been pretty incredible. not sure i consider myself postmodern or what, but i've been trying to lectio divina method. this is my dumbed down meaning.
4 parts - RMPL (i call it "rumple")
~r - read scripture
~m - meditate - think of other verses relating to the scripture/life lessons
~p - pray the scripture
~l - listen to what Christ is trying to teach you

guess i'm a sucker for those acronym methods of praying - ACTS is the one i've used for the longest time.

anyways.... last night i was reading this verse and it just jumped out at me. ~be careful... keep calm... don't be afraid... don't lose heart... those words seem to calm my fears. and then i remembered joshua 1:9 being a similar verse, tho that verse adds, 'cuz the Lord your God is with you.' good stuff!

prayer people: Amanda, Denise, Mom, Kimberly.

Drugs or Jesus

In my home town
For anyone who sticks around
You're either lost or you're found
There's not much in between
In my home town
Everything's still black and white
It's a long, long way from wrong to right
From Sunday morning to Saturday night

Everybody just wants to get high
Sit and watch a perfect world go by
We're all looking for love and meaning in our lives
We follow the roads that lead us
To drugs or Jesus

My whole life
I've tried to run, I've tried to hide
From the stained glass windows in my mind
Refusing to let God's light shine
Down on me
Down on me

Everybody just wants to get high
Sit and watch a perfect world go by
We're all looking for love and meaning in our lives
There's not much space between us
Drugs or Jesus

Everybody wants acceptance
We all just want some proof
Everyone's just looking for the truth

Everybody just wants to get high
Sit and watch a perfect world go by
We're all looking for love and meaning in our lives
We follow the roads that lead us
To drugs or Jesus

Oh I need You, Jesus
Hallelujah, hallelujah

Tim McGraw