IronMen

Sitting in the Light ... by Charles R. Swindoll

2010-06-14T08:46:00.000-05:00

"You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is required. The stars neither require it nor demand it" (Annie Dillard).

A lot of things in life are like that, aren't they?

A piano sits in a room, gathering dust. It is full of the music of the masters, but in order for such strains to flow from it, fingers must strike the keys . . . trained fingers, representing endless hours of disciplined dedication. You do not have to practice. The piano neither requires it nor demands it. If, however, you want to draw beautiful music from the piano, that discipline is required.

A child plays at your feet, growing and learning. That little one has incredible potential, a hidden reservoir of capability and creativity, but in order for those possibilities to be developed, parents must take time . . . listen, train, encourage, reprove, challenge, support, and model. Moms and dads do not have to do any of that. The child neither requires nor demands that we do so. If, however, we hope to raise secure and healthy offspring, those things are required.

Time spreads itself before us, directionless and vacant. That time can be filled with meaningful activities and personal accomplishments, but in order for that to occur, you must think through a plan and carry it out. You do not have to plan or follow through. Time neither requires it nor demands it. If, however, you hope to look back over those days, weeks, months, and years and smile at what was achieved, planning is required.

What is true of the stars, a piano, a child, and the days ahead is especially true of your mind. It awaits absorption. It will soak up whatever you feed it: imaginary worries, fears, filthy and seductive thoughts, hours of television, and selfish greed . . . or good books, stimulating discussions, exciting risks of faith, the memorization of Scripture, and learning a few new skills. You can even take a course or two that will stretch your mental muscles.

You do not have to pay the price to grow and expand intellectually. The mind neither requires it nor demands it. If, however, you want to experience the joy of discovery and the pleasure of plowing new and fertile soil, effort is required.

Light won't automatically shine upon you, nor will truth silently seep into your head by means of rocking-chair osmosis.

It's up to you. It's your move.

If the splendor of the stars is worth sitting outside in the dark, believe me, the joy of fresh discovery is worth sitting inside in the light.

Pray for Revival .. by Pastor Graham

2010-06-09T14:14:00.002-05:00

And he [Jesus] said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?”

-- Matthew 26:40

Have you ever noticed how often our self confidence leads to a lack of dependence upon the Lord in prayer?

You and I get so busy that we take our eyes off him and when our focus is off the Lord, we are set up for spiritual failure. If you don’t believe me, ask Simon Peter. Remember before his arrest, when Jesus found Simon Peter sleeping rather than praying? Well, at that moment, prayerlessness was Peter’s downfall.

I believe prayerlessness is one of the biggest issues facing the American church today. We know we need a cultural revolution and that we are headed for disaster unless God’s people return to him. But too often the church tries to fight the cultural battle with physical weapons.

So let me remind you that the agenda of the church is not just stopping abortion, or the gay agenda, or the demise of the culture through the media.

Even though we want these things to stop, the only way we will win these battles is on our knees in prayer. The only way America will change is one life at a time… one heart at a time. And that means God’s people must be in prayer.

Let’s get our eyes off ourselves and back on God. Without him we can do nothing.

THE ONLY WAY AMERICA WILL CHANGE IS ONE LIFE AT A TIME… ONE HEART AT A TIME.

The Chapel: Where Man Covers His Mouth... by Max Lucado

2010-01-28T09:30:00.000-06:00

“I am not worthy; I cannot answer you anything, so I will put my hand over my mouth.” (Job 40:4)

The phrase for the chapel is “Hallowed be thy name.”

This phrase is a petition, not a proclamation. A request, not an announcement. Hallowed be your name. We enter the chapel and beseech, “Be hallowed, Lord.” Do whatever it takes to be holy in my life. Take your rightful place on the throne. Exalt yourself. Magnify yourself. Glorify yourself. You be Lord, and I’ll be quiet.

The word hallowed comes from the word holy, and the word holy means “to separate.” The ancestry of the term can be traced back to an ancient word which means “to cut.” To be holy, then, is to be a cut above the norm, superior, extraordinary. Remember what we learned in the observatory? The Holy One dwells on a different level from the rest of us. What frightens us does not frighten him. What troubles us does not trouble him.

I’m more a landlubber than a sailor, but I’ve puttered around in a bass boat enough to know the secret for finding land in a storm … You don’t aim at another boat. You certainly don’t stare at the waves. You set your sights on an object unaffected by the wind—a light on the shore—and go straight toward it. The light is unaffected by the storm.

By seeking God in the chapel, you do the same. When you set your sights on our God, you focus on one “a cut above” any storm life may bring.

Like Job, you find peace in the pain.

Like Job, you cover your mouth and sit still.

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). This verse contains a command with a promise.

The command?

Be still.

Cover your mouth.

Bend your knees.

The promise? You will know that I am God.

The vessel of faith journeys on soft waters. Belief rides on the wings of waiting.

Linger in the chapel. Linger often in the chapel. In the midst of your daily storms, make it a point to be still and set your sights on him. Let God be God. Let him bathe you in his glory so that both your breath and your troubles are sucked from your soul. Be still. Be quiet. Be open and willing. Then you will know that God is God, and you can’t help but confess, “Hallowed be thy name.”

From The Great House of God
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1997) Max Lucado

Service Opportunity!!!

2010-01-04T14:19:00.002-06:00

We have an opportunity to serve some very deserving folks on Jan. 16th. We will be preparing and serving a meal to the Ronald McDonald House of Ft. Worth. We need all the help we can get! Please contact me and let me know if you can attend and be a part of the blessing. We want to be a blessing to these awesome people. They are all going through some very difficult times right now and a good hot meal is always appreciated!

Email (stacey@pmiair.com) or call me (214-415-9568) to let me know you can come!

Please don't miss this opportunity to be a blessing!

www.ftworthrmh.org

STP, an IronMan

Christ In Me ... by Max Lucado

2009-12-11T10:45:00.000-06:00

Like Mary, you and I are indwelt by Christ.

Find that hard to believe? How much more did Mary? No one was more surprised by this miracle than she was. And no one more passive than she was. God did everything. Mary didn't volunteer to help. What did she have to offer? She offered no assistance.

And she offered no resistance. Instead she said, "Behold, the bond- slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

Unlike Mary, we tend to assist God, assuming our part is as important as his. Or we resist, thinking we are too bad or too busy. Yet when we assist or resist, we miss God's great grace. We miss out on the reason we were placed on earth-to be so pregnant with heaven's child that he lives through us. To be so full of him that we could say with Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." (Gal. 2:20)

What would that be like? To have a child within is a miracle, but to have Christ within?

To have my voice, but him speaking.
My steps, but Christ leading.
My heart, but his love beating
in me, through me, with me.
What's it like to have Christ on the inside?

To tap his strength when mine expires
or feel the force of heaven's fires
raging, purging wrong desires.
Could Christ become my self entire?

So much him, so little me
That in my eyes it's him they see.
What's it like to a Mary be?
No longer I, but Christ in me.

From Next Door Savior

Dealing with Difficult Relatives ... by Max Lucado

2009-11-25T12:28:00.001-06:00

Does Jesus have anything to say about dealing with difficult relatives? Is there an example of Jesus bringing peace to a painful family? Yes, there is.

His own.

It may surprise you to know that Jesus had a difficult family. If your family doesn’t appreciate you, take heart, neither did Jesus’.

“His family … went to get him because they thought he was out of his mind” (Mark 3:21).

Jesus’ siblings thought their brother was a lunatic. They weren’t proud—they were embarrassed!

It’s worth noting that he didn’t try to control his family’s behavior, nor did he let their behavior control his. He didn’t demand that they agree with him. He didn’t sulk when they insulted him. He didn’t make it his mission to try to please them.

Each of us has a fantasy that our family will be like the Waltons, an expectation that our dearest friends will be our next of kin. Jesus didn’t have that expectation. Look how he defined his family: “My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants” (Mark 3:35).

When Jesus’ brothers didn’t share his convictions, he didn’t try to force them. He recognized that his spiritual family could provide what his physical family didn’t. If Jesus himself couldn’t force his family to share his convictions, what makes you think you can force yours?

Having your family’s approval is desirable but not necessary for happiness and not always possible. Jesus did not let the difficult dynamic of his family overshadow his call from God. And because he didn’t, this chapter has a happy ending.

What happened to Jesus’ family?

Mine with me a golden nugget hidden in a vein of the Book of Acts. “Then [the disciples] went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.… They all continued praying together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers” (Acts 1:12, 14, emphasis added).

What a change! The ones who mocked him now worship him. The ones who pitied him now pray for him. What if Jesus had disowned them? Or worse still, what if he’d suffocated his family with his demand for change?

He didn’t. He instead gave them space, time, and grace. And because he did, they changed. How much did they change? One brother became an apostle (Gal. 1:19) and others became missionaries (1 Cor. 9:5).

So don’t lose heart. God still changes families.

From He Still Moves Stones
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado

Great song and message!

2009-10-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

Take it Easy ... by Charles R. Swindoll

2009-10-20T11:19:00.003-05:00

Proverbs 22:6

Maybe it's because I just had another birthday. Maybe it's because I'm a granddad several times over. Or maybe it's because of a struggling young seminarian I met recently who wishes he had been higher on his parents' priority list than, say, fifth or sixth. He was hurried and ignored through childhood, then tolerated and misunderstood through adolescence, and finally expected to "be a man" without having been taught how.

My words are dedicated to all of you who have the opportunity to make an investment in a growing child so that he or she might someday be whole and healthy, secure and mature. Granted, yours is a tough job. Relentless and thankless . . . at least for now. But nobody is better qualified to shape the thinking, to answer the questions, to assist during the struggles, to calm the fears, to administer the discipline, to know the innermost heart, or to love and affirm the life of your offspring than you.

When it comes to "training up the child in the way he should go," you've got the inside lane, Mom and Dad. So---take it easy! Remember (as Anne Ortlund puts it) "children are wet cement." They take the shape of your mold. They're learning even when you don't think they're watching. And those little guys and gals are plenty smart. They hear tone as well as terms. They read looks as well as books. They figure out motives, even those you think you can hide. They are not fooled, not in the long haul.

The two most important tools of parenting are time and touch. Believe me, both are essential. If you and I hope to release from our nest fairly capable and relatively stable people who can soar and make it on their own, we'll need to pay the price of saying no to many of our own wants and needs in order to interact with our young . . . and we'll have to keep breaking down the distance that only naturally forms as our little people grow up.

Time and touch. Listen to your boys and girls, look them in the eye, put your arms around them, hug them close, tell them how valuable they are. Don't hold back. Take the time to do it. Reach. Touch.

When you are tempted to get involved in some energy-draining, time-consuming opportunity that will only increase the distance between you and yours, ask yourself hard questions like, "Could my time be better spent at home?" and "Won't there be similar opportunities in the years to come?" Then turn your attention to your boy or girl. Hold nothing back as you renew acquaintances.

Take it easy!

The two most important tools of parenting are time and touch.

Keep It Simple ... by Charles R. Swindoll

2009-09-29T13:13:00.003-05:00

Micah 6:6-8

Micah isn't exactly a household word. Too bad. Though obscure, the ancient prophet had his stuff together. Eclipsed by the much more famous Isaiah, who ministered among the elite, Micah took God's message to the streets.

Micah had a deep suspicion of phony religion. He saw greed in the hearts of the leaders of the kingdom of Judah, which prompted him to warn the common folk not to be deceived by religious pretense among nobility. In true prophetic style, Micah comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable. He condemned sin. He exposed performance-based piety. He championed the cause of the oppressed. He predicted the fall of the nation. And he did it all at the risk of his own life.

But Micah didn't just denounce and attack, leaving everyone aware of the things he despised but none of the things he believed. Like rays of brilliant sunlight piercing charcoal-colored clouds after a storm, the prophet saved his best words for a positive message to the people, and I am pleased to say that he did it with simplicity: "With what shall I come to the LORD and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" (Mic. 6:6-7).

Micah's words state exactly what many, to this day, wonder about pleasing God. Teachers and preachers have made it so sacrificial . . . so complicated . . . so extremely difficult. To them, God is virtually impossible to please. Therefore, religion has become a series of long, drawn-out, deeply painful acts designed to appease this peeved Deity in the sky who takes delight in watching us squirm.

Micah erases the things on the entire list, replacing the complicated possibilities with one of the finest definitions of simple faith: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Mic. 6:8).

God does not look for big-time, external displays. He does not require slick public performances.

What is required? Slow down and read the list aloud: to do justice . . . to love kindness . . . and to walk humbly with your God. Period.

Faith is not a long series of religious performances or a pile of pious things.
All God asks for is simple faith.

Believe ... by Max Lucado

2009-09-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet, “saying again and again, ‘My daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed and will live’” (Mark 5:23).

There are no games. No haggling. No masquerades. The situation is starkly simple: Jairus is blind to the future and Jesus knows the future. So Jairus asks for his help.

And Jesus, who loves the honest heart, goes to give it…[He] turns immediately to Jairus and pleads: “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (v. 36).

Jesus compels Jairus to see the unseen. When Jesus says, “Just believe … ,” he is imploring, “Don’t limit your possibilities to the visible. Don’t listen only for the audible. Don’t be controlled by the logical. Believe there is more to life than meets the eye!”

“Trust me,” Jesus is pleading. “Don’t be afraid; just trust.”

From Fear Not Promise Book

Just What I needed ...

2009-07-31T14:16:00.002-05:00

Thank you HS for working and speaking to us in just the right ways!

I got a call today from a fellow IronMan and I REALLY NEEDED IT!!! Thanks SB for listening to the Spirit because I needed your call today.

I am constantly amazed at the way the Spirit works on our behalf. Sometimes you feel that nothing is working out right and at just the right moment, God reveals himself by the Spirit thru a fellow brother!!! Have you had this experience before?

I pray you have and that you can be that encouragement for a fellow IronMan, even TODAY! Look for these opportunities and pray to the Spirit to lead you to them. Ask the Spirit to give you the words that are necessary to speak life to others. This is exactly what happened to me today and I am so thankful for it! Praise God!

STP

My Struggles are About Him ... by Max Lucado

2009-07-06T10:09:00.001-05:00

What about your struggles? Is there any chance, any possibility, that you have been selected to struggle for God’s glory? Have you “been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29)?

Here is a clue. Do your prayers seem to be unanswered? What you request and what you receive aren’t matching up? Don’t think God is not listening. Indeed he is. He may have higher plans.

Here is another. Are people strengthened by your struggles? A friend of mine can answer yes. His cancer was consuming more than his body; it was eating away at his faith. Unanswered petitions perplexed him. Well-meaning Christians confused him. “If you have faith,” they said, “you will be healed.”

No healing came. Just more chemo, nausea, and questions. He assumed the fault was a small faith. I suggested another answer. “It’s not about you,” I told him. “Your hospital room is a showcase for your Maker. Your faith in the face of suffering cranks up the volume of God’s song.”

Oh, that you could have seen the relief on his face. To know that he hadn’t failed God and God hadn’t failed him—this made all the difference. Seeing his sickness in the scope of God’s sovereign plan gave his condition a sense of dignity. He accepted his cancer as an assignment from heaven: a missionary to the cancer ward.

A week later I saw him again. “I reflected God,” he said, smiling through a thin face, “to the nurse, the doctors, my friends. Who knows who needed to see God, but I did my best to make him seen.”

Bingo. His cancer paraded the power of Jesus down the Main Street of his world.

God will use whatever he wants to display his glory. Heavens and stars. History and nations. People and problems.

Rather than begrudge your problem, explore it. Ponder it. And most of all, use it. Use it to the glory of God.

Through your problems and mine, may God be seen.

From
It's Not About Me
© (Thomas Nelson, 2007),
Max Lucado

It's ON!!!

2009-07-01T09:07:00.003-05:00

IronMen, It's ON!!! Just read 1 Kings 20:29!

"For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was JOINED."

Sometimes you have to quit talking and take action! This is the way I feel about IronMen and specifically our IM EDGE on Thursday mornings. We are moving EDGE to Vinny's on 114 in Trophy Club as the first effort to ENGAGE THE BATTLE FOR LOST SOULS!

It's ON, if you will!

We are refocusing our mission for IM EDGE to reach all the men of Trophy Club for Christ. We want to take over the town for Christ and I believe the best way to do that is to reach the men! So, the BATTLE IS ON!

Will you join the battle? We need strong men of God to join and bring their friends. We need strong men of God to engage their neighbors and build relationship with them that will revolve around Christ. This call is not for the weak or the faint of heart, this call is for IronMen!!!

Are you IN? The BATTLE IS ON!!! See you Thursday morning!

STP, an IronMan

Criticism ... by Charles Swindoll

2009-06-10T08:54:00.004-05:00

Looking for a role model on how to handle criticism? It would be worth your while to check out the book of Nehemiah. On several occasions this great-hearted statesman was openly criticized, falsely accused, and grossly misunderstood. Each time he kept his cool . . . he rolled with the punch . . . he considered the source . . . he refused to get discouraged . . . he went to God in prayer . . . he kept building the wall (Nehemiah 2:19-20; 4:1-5).

One of the occupational hazards of being a leader is receiving criticism (not all of it constructive, by the way). In the face of that kind of heat, there's a strong temptation to "go under," "throw in the towel," "bail out." Many have faded out of leadership because of intense criticism. I firmly believe that the leader who does anything that is different or worthwhile or visionary can count on criticism.

Along this line, I appreciate the remarks made by the fiery president of a past generation, Theodore Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually try to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

To those words I add a resounding amen.

A sense of humor is of paramount importance to the leader. Many of God's servants are simply too serious! There are at least two tests we face that determine the extent of our sense of humor:

the ability to laugh at ourselves
the ability to take criticism

Believe me, no leader can continue effectively if he or she fails these tests! Equally important, of course, is the ability to sift from any criticism that which is true, that which is fact. We are foolish if we respond angrily to every criticism. Who knows, God may be using those words to teach us some essential lessons, painful though they may be.

Isn't this what Proverbs 27:5-6 is saying?

Better is open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

And let me call to your attention the word friend in these verses. Friendship is not threatened but strengthened by honest criticism. But---when you are criticized by one who hardly knows you, filter out what is fact . . . and ignore the rest!

Nehemiah did that . . . and he got the wall built.

Focus on the Task at Hand ... by Max Lucado

2009-05-18T09:13:00.001-05:00

Life is tough enough as it is. It’s even tougher when we’re headed in the wrong direction.

One of the incredible abilities of Jesus was to stay on target. His life never got off track. Not once do we find him walking down the wrong side of the fairway. He had no money, no computers, no jets, no administrative assistants or staff; yet Jesus did what many of us fail to do. He kept his life on course.

As Jesus looked across the horizon of his future, he could see many targets. Many flags were flapping in the wind, each of which he could have pursued. He could have been a political revolutionary. He could have been a national leader. He could have been content to be a teacher and educate minds or to be a physician and heal bodies. But in the end he chose to be a Savior and save souls.

Anyone near Christ for any length of time heard it from Jesus himself. “The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them” (Luke 19:10). “The Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people” (Mark 10:45).

The heart of Christ was relentlessly focused on one task. The day he left the carpentry shop of Nazareth he had one ultimate aim—the cross of Calvary. He was so focused that his final words were, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

How could Jesus say he was finished? There were still the hungry to feed, the sick to heal, the untaught to instruct, and the unloved to love. How could he say he was finished? Simple. He had completed his designated task. His commission was fulfilled. The painter could set aside his brush, the sculptor lay down his chisel, the writer put away his pen. The job was done.

Wouldn’t you love to be able to say the same? Wouldn’t you love to look back on your life and know you had done what you were called to do?

From
Let the Journey Begin:
God’s Roadmap for New Beginnings

Faith of Elijah...

2009-05-08T09:44:00.002-05:00

"So he did what the Lord had told him" 1 Kings 17:5.

Sounds like a simple statement, right? Well, what exactly did the Lord tell Elijah to do? Look back a few verses. The Lord told Elijah to prophecy that there would be neither dew or rain for the next few years except at His word. He also told Elijah that He would take care of him by moving him east of the Jordan and he would "drink from the brook and have ravens bring him food".

Wow, that is a little strange, don't you think! What a calling.

Not always do we understand the ways of God and why He does things they way He does. I would assume that Elijah must have had some wonderment in how this would play out. Do you think he questioned God about this new environment? Do you think he was a little unsure?

I know I would be. When God gives a call, he does not always lay out every detail the way we might want. We must have faith! We must be able to act on the calling even if we don't understand it completly.

Elijah had faith and acted. "So he did what the Lord had told him." I pray that I can have this kind of faith when God calls me. Have you been in this situation before? It is not easy and we can second guess God so much. It takes a real faith to just go!

Look at the next verse, verse 6. "So the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land."

Some time later - that is a little vague but it implies that this raven feeding thing went on for a while. Wouldn't that get old? Wonder if there was any variety in the feedings, or did the ravens supply the same old thing, day by day? I know I like a little variety in my meals.

The story goes on... God tells him to move again and that he will provide food for him via a widow. Look at verse 10 - "So he went to Zarephath."

Elijah is a man of faith and we see it in his actions. What do our actions say about us? Are we people of faith? When God says go, do we go? Are we listening? Are we willing to let God work out some of the details or do we need it all laid out before us?

I want to be more like Elijah and have the faith to act! Elisha wanted this also. Check out 2 Kings 2:9. What a great verse and one of my favorites! Elijah asked Elisha what he could give Elisha before he was taken away? Elisha asks, "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit." It is obvious that Elisha wanted his faith to be like the faith of Elijah.

I want that also!!!

Jesus Heals a Blind Man ... by Max Ludado

2009-04-20T10:48:00.000-05:00

“As [Jesus] passed by, He saw a man blind from birth” (John 9:1).

This man has never seen a sunrise. Can’t tell purple from pink. The disciples fault the family tree. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” (v. 2).

Neither, the God-man replies. Trace this condition back to heaven. The reason the man was born sightless? So “the works of God might be displayed in him” (v. 3).

Talk about a thankless role. Selected to suffer. Some sing to God’s glory. Others teach to God’s glory. Who wants to be blind for God’s glory? Which is tougher—the condition or discovering it was God’s idea?

The cure proves to be as surprising as the cause. “[Jesus] spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes” (v. 6).

The world abounds with paintings of the God-man: in the arms of Mary, in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the Upper Room, in the darkened tomb. Jesus touching. Jesus weeping, laughing, teaching … but I’ve never seen a painting of Jesus spitting.

Christ smacking his lips a time or two, gathering a mouth of saliva, working up a blob of drool, and letting it go. Down in the dirt. (Kids, next time your mother tells you not to spit, show her this passage.) Then he squats, stirs up a puddle of … I don’t know, what would you call it?

Holy putty? Spit therapy? Saliva solution? Whatever the name, he places a fingerful in his palm, and then, as calmly as a painter spackles a hole in the wall, Jesus streaks mud-miracle on the blind man’s eyes. “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (v. 7).

The beggar feels his way to the pool, splashes water on his mud-streaked face, and rubs away the clay. The result is the first chapter of Genesis, just for him. Light where there was darkness. Virgin eyes focus, fuzzy figures become human beings, and John receives the Understatement of the Bible Award when he writes: “He … came back seeing” (v. 7).

Come on, John! Running short of verbs? How about “he raced back seeing”? “He danced back seeing”? “He roared back whooping and hollering.”

From His Name is Jesus

He Did It Just For You ... by Max Lucado

2009-04-14T07:59:00.000-05:00

When God entered time and became a man, he who was boundless became bound. Imprisoned in flesh. Restricted by weary-prone muscles and eyelids. For more than three decades, his once limitless reach would be limited to the stretch of an arm, his speed checked to the pace of human feet.

I wonder, was he ever tempted to reclaim his boundlessness? In the middle of a long trip, did he ever consider transporting himself to the next city? When the rain chilled his bones, was he tempted to change the weather? When the heat parched his lips, did he give thought to popping over to the Caribbean for some refreshment?

If ever he entertained such thoughts, he never gave in to them. Not once. Stop and think about this. Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort. With one word he could’ve transformed the hard earth into a soft bed, but he didn’t. With a wave of his hand, he could’ve boomeranged the spit of his accusers back into their faces, but he didn’t. With an arch of his brow, he could’ve paralyzed the hand of the soldier as he braided the crown of thorns. But he didn’t.

Want to know the coolest thing about the coming?

Not that he, in an instant, went from needing nothing to needing air, food, a tub of hot water and salts for his tired feet, and, more than anything, needing somebody—anybody—who was more concerned about where he would spend eternity than where he would spend Friday’s paycheck.

Not that he kept his cool while the dozen best friends he ever had felt the heat and got out of the kitchen. Or that he gave no command to the angels who begged, “Just give the nod, Lord. One word and these demons will be deviled eggs.”

Not that he refused to defend himself when blamed for every sin since Adam. Or that he stood silent as a million guilty verdicts echoed in the tribunal of heaven and the giver of light was left in the chill of a sinner’s night.

Not even that after three days in a dark hole he stepped into the Easter sunrise with a smile and a swagger and a question for lowly Lucifer—“Is that your best punch?”

That was cool, incredibly cool.

But want to know the coolest thing about the One who gave up the crown of heaven for a crown of thorns?

He did it for you. Just for you.

>From His Name is Jesus

The Cross ... by Max Lucado

2009-03-30T08:24:00.000-05:00

The cross. Can you turn any direction without seeing one? Perched atop a chapel. Carved into a graveyard headstone. Engraved in a ring or suspended on a chain. The cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. An odd choice, don’t you think? Strange that a tool of torture would come to embody a movement of hope. The symbols of other faiths are more upbeat: the six-pointed star of David, the crescent moon of Islam, a lotus blossom for Buddhism. Yet a cross for Christianity? An instrument of execution?

Would you wear a tiny electric chair around your neck? Suspend a gold-plated hangman’s noose on the wall? Would you print a picture of a firing squad on a business card? Yet we do so with the cross. Many even make the sign of the cross as they pray. Would we make the sign of, say, a guillotine? Instead of the triangular touch on the forehead and shoulders, how about a karate chop on the palm? Doesn’t quite have the same feel, does it?

Why is the cross the symbol of our faith? To find the answer look no farther than the cross itself. Its design couldn’t be simpler. One beam horizontal—the other vertical. One reaches out—like God’s love. The other reaches up—as does God’s holiness. One represents the width of his love; the other reflects the height of his holiness. The cross is the intersection. The cross is where God forgave his children without lowering his standards.

How could he do this? In a sentence: God put our sin on his Son and punished it there.
“God put on him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God” (2 Cor. 5:21 MSG).

From His Name is Jesus© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2009) Max Lucado

Fallibility, Part One ... by Charles R. Swindoll

2009-03-20T09:56:00.002-05:00

Psalm 119:89-96

Ever since I was knee-high to a gnat, I have been taught about and have believed in the infallibility of Scripture. Among the upper echelons of doctrinal truths, this one ranks alongside the Godhead, the deity of Christ, and salvation by grace. We may fuss around with a few of the events in God's eschatological calendar or leave breathing room for differing opinions regarding angels and local church government. But when the subject turns to the infallibility and inerrancy of Holy Writ, I'm convinced there's no wobble room. Can't be. Take away that absolute and you've opened a hole in your theological dike that cannot be plugged. Given enough time and pressure, it wouldn't be long before everything around you would get soggy and slippery. Make no mistake about it; the infallibility of Scripture is a watershed issue.

But wait . . . let's stop right there when it comes to infallibility. Before I make my point, allow me to quote Webster's definition:

Incapable of error . . . not liable to mislead, deceive, or disappoint.

While that is certainly true of Scripture, it is not true of people. When it comes to humanity, fallibility is the order of the day. Meaning what? Just this: there is not one soul on this earth who is incapable of error, who is free from fault, who is unable to make mistakes, who is absolutely and equivocally reliable. Can't be. Depravity mixed with limited knowledge and tendencies to misunderstand, misread, misquote, and misjudge should keep all of us free from two very common mistakes: first, deification of certain individuals (including ourselves); and second, disillusionment when we discover fault and mistakes in others.

Just as biblical infallibility assures us that each page is incapable of error or deception, fallibility reminds us that each person is capable of both. The implications are equally clear. When it comes to the Bible, keep trusting. When it comes to people, be discerning.

This includes all people. I don't have space enough to complete a list, so I'll be painfully general and mention one group. I choose this group only because it's the one we tend not to question: those professionals whom we trust with our bodies, minds, and souls---namely, physicians, psychologists, and pastors. What influence these men and women possess! What good they do! How necessary they are! Most of us, if asked to name 10 people we admire and appreciate the most, would include two or three from this category. How gracious of God to give us such splendid individuals to help us through this vale of tears! Yet each one has something in common with everyone else---fallibility. Those whom we most admire remind us of that from time to time; nevertheless, everything in us cries out to resist such reminders. Of the three, I believe it is the minister whom people tend most to place on a pedestal.

It is certainly an unscriptural practice. The Berean believers are commended for listening to Paul then "examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). Apollos and Paul are referred to merely as "servants through whom you believed" (1 Corinthians 3:5) and later given a rather insignificant place:

So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:7)

It's easy to forget all that, especially in a day when we hunger for spiritual leaders whom we can respect and follow. Put flawed human beings on a pedestal and they are bound to topple, fail, and disappoint, but God's Word is holy, inerrant, and totally reliable. To Him be the glory.

Two lessons from Charles Swindoll...

2009-02-24T09:41:00.002-06:00

Take Timeby Charles R. Swindoll
Matthew 11:28-30

"I like that, Dad." I remember those words. It's like they were said to me yesterday.

Actually, they take me all the way back to the late 1970s. In '71, Cynthia and I moved our family (four children, ages 1 through 10) from a sleepy, casual bedroom community outside Dallas, Texas, to rapidly growing Orange County in Southern California. Almost before we knew it, we had entered the fast-lane life of the West Coast, doing our best to keep up. As time passed, we found ourselves doing double-time driving freeways, leading an expanding church with a multi-person staff, hauling busy kids to and from school, mixed with holidays and birthday celebrations, sleepovers, and endless ball games. My publishing world had suddenly exploded, which resulted in too many trips around the country and not enough down time to rest my spirit and calm my nerves and be with those I loved the most.

Mother's Day was fast approaching, so my older son and I dropped into the local Hallmark store to find a nice card for Cynthia. As I thumbed through numerous Mother's Day cards, he wandered back to the section where the posters were displayed. Before long he asked me to join him. He was standing before a large poster portraying a serene scene. A well-worn fishing boat was out on a lake. It was early dawn, with the sun peeking over the horizon. Its warm rays reached across a deep blue-gray sky wrapped in lacy white clouds. Two thin lines were in the water---one hanging from a pole held by a father, sitting in the back by a little outboard motor, and the other held by his son, sitting at the other end. Their corks made gentle ripples on the water's glassy surface. You could feel the closeness. You could hear the easygoing conversation as father and son savored the morning together.

Two simple words appeared at the bottom of the poster. They stung as I read them:

TAKE TIME.

"I like that, Dad," said Curt. I reached an arm around the broadening shoulders of my growing-up teenaged son, looked at him, and then looked again at the poster. "I do, too, son . . . I do, too." He didn't want to buy it. I realized he simply wanted me to see it. To think about it. I did. In fact, it was a needed wake-up call to this too-busy dad, whose son had hurriedly come into the store looking for something to buy for his mother, but who left slowly, far more concerned about his dad.

How easy it is for you and me to get caught up in a "hurry-worry sindrome," doing too much, driving too fast, eating too quickly, juggling too many things. It all seems ultra-important at the moment---but later we realize much was done at the expense of cultivating deeper and more meaningful relationships with those we love the most. Being held hostage by the tyranny of the urgent is not how we were meant to live.

Knowing how prone we are to this, Jesus offered a very sincere and gracious invitation. You may have read it before . . . but this time, linger over it. Turn the words over in your mind; let them seep in.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

I suggest you accept Jesus's invitation---today. Come to Him. Tell Him how weary and over-burdened you are. Pull that heavy backpack loaded with all your stuff off your shoulders and drop it at His feet. Do it now. Then enter into His rest. Relax for a change---take an extra several minutes to enjoy His presence . . . embrace His peace. Before you turn in tonight, curl up alongside those who mean the most to you and tell them how much you love them, how valuable they are to you.

The Secret to Staying Balanced, Part Twoby Charles R. Swindoll
Exodus 18:19-25

Thanks to Moses's father-in-law, Jethro, the great leader was able to confront a long-standing habit, which was wearing him down. Working so hard that you never have a break will wear anyone down, as we saw in a previous devotional. I commend Jethro for telling his son-in-law the truth. He didn't stutter: "The thing that you are doing is not good" (Exodus 18:17).

Before any need for change can be recognized, we have to face the truth. Thankfully, Moses did just that. Rather than arguing, he listened and did the right thing. He shared the burden of leadership. As you read yesterday, he "chose able men . . . and made them heads over the people" (18:25). The act of delegation works best when those who are given a share of the load are qualified to handle those responsibilities. What a relief that must have been to Moses! As a result, he finally took time to relax.

I hope you didn't miss something very important that Jethro said to Moses. He urged Moses to do this "so it will be easier for you . . . then you will be able to endure" (18:22-23). Working smarter is the ticket, not working harder. And the ultimate payoff: you'll "endure"!

I'm convinced that one of the reasons Moses remained so productive and healthy right up to the very end of that last 40-year segment of his life was that he learned the importance of delegating his heavy load of responsibility. Doing that allowed him sufficient time for R & R---rest and relaxation. We can all learn some vital lessons from ol' Moses.

By the way, he lived to be 120---healthy to the very end. His epitaph?

Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated. (Deuteronomy 34:7)

Every time I read that, I smile.

The Place He's Preparing ... And the Way to it - by Charles R. Swindoll

2009-02-10T08:58:00.001-06:00

February 10, 2009

John 14:6
Look again at what Jesus explained to His disciples during their last supper together:

"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3)

While these words mean a lot to us today, they confused those who first heard them. After all, they expected Jesus to overthrow the Roman government, releasing the people of Israel from that long-standing domination, and to establish His kingdom on earth. But at that time, they heard that He was going to a cross, and He was going to die, and that meant they'd be left without Him . . . and this information came at the tail end of their investing 3 1/2 years of their lives with Him, anticipating all the above.

And on top of all that, He told them not to be troubled? And then He told them He was leaving and returning to His Father? He went on to say that they knew the way He was going. It was at this point Thomas must have waved his hand and interrupted Him with words to this effect: "Lord, we don't get it . . . and we don't understand the way!"

Jesus's response was clear and concise. It represents one of the most important statements He ever made. He said this to all of them: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6).

As important as His returning to prepare a heavenly home for us may seem, there is something far more basic than that. And that is being sure that we're included in that eternal place He's preparing. To the surprise of most people, it has nothing to do with becoming religious or trying our best to be good or working very hard to earn a place on His roster. No, that's not it at all. Having a place in heaven after we die has everything to do with this one factor: our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Look again at His words. He, alone, is the way to God. He, alone, personifies the truth. He, alone, is the source of eternal life with the Father. Without the way there is no going. Without the truth there is no knowing. Without the life there is no living. And so, without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ there is no forgiveness of our sins, there is no hope beyond the grave, there is no home prepared for you in heaven.

Yes, the way that leads us into heaven is that narrow. To come to the Father and enjoy the place that's prepared, it must be through faith alone in Christ alone . . . Jesus Christ plus nothing. If Jesus's final words to His disciples at their last supper mean anything, they mean that.

Make sure that you not only understand this, but you also accept it, personally. Just as He has left the earth to prepare an eternal home for us, He urges you and me to prepare our hearts by receiving Him. He becomes the key that will unlock the door to your new home in heaven and allow you entrance.

Thankfully, I have trusted Christ . . . have you?

Copyright © 2006 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

What's Important?

2009-02-05T08:44:00.002-06:00

What is important to you? What do you spend your time working on, developing, growing and investing in? To what does your time go?

As we have been studying King Solomon on Thursday mornings, we have learned from Solomon what is important. Throughout 1 Kings 1-12, we see Solomon going through his stages of life. We see him becoming King and following in the footsteps of his Father. The throne was given to him and he took it. He asks God for wisdom and he receives it and so much more. He amasses wealth and things far beyond what anyone has ever done. Just take some time to read about his wealth and the parties he throws in 1 Kings. This is the originial "party animal"!

Through all this, Solomon is brought back to what is important toward the end of his life. You can read this in Ecclesiastes 1-2. Look at 1:16, it reads: "I thought to myself, Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge. Then I applied myself to the undersanding of wisodm, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind."

So what is important? What is important to you?

Hopefully, knowing God and being known by God is the utmost important thing in your life. Next, I hope loving your wife and kids. Then the other things in life come.

Spend time today loving your wife and kids like never before. Invest your efforts in them and it will bring dividends that you cannot find anywhere else. This is an area that cannot be affected by the stock market. Your return on investment will be off the charts!!!

I know of a man that today is totally separated from his wife and kids. He has lived in this country for 15 years and yesterday, out of the blue, he was taken from his job and send to jail to be deported in a couple of weeks. No questions asked, no was to get out of this. His wife and kids will be able to stay, but he cannot. If you asked him today, I am sure he knows what is important to him, his wife and kids!

Don't waste anytime, love your wife and kids like it is your last day.

Praise God that he loves us and allows us to figure out for ourselves what is important. Let's don't wait any longer to invest in the right things!

STP, an IronMan

Eyes on the Father ... by Max Lucado

2009-01-20T08:58:00.000-06:00

When the restaurant waiter brings you a cold hamburger and a hot soda, you want to know who is in charge. When a young fellow wants to impress his girlfriend, he takes her down to the convenience store where he works and boasts, “Every night from five to ten o’clock, I’m in charge.” We know what it means to be in charge of a restaurant or a store, but to be in charge of the universe? This is the claim of Jesus.

There are many examples of Jesus’ authority, but I’ll just mention one of my favorites. Jesus and the disciples are in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. A storm arises suddenly, and what was placid becomes violent—monstrous waves rise out of the sea and slap the boat. Mark describes it clearly: “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped” (Mark 4:37 NIV).

It’s very important that you get an accurate picture, so I’m going to ask you to imagine yourself in the boat. It’s a sturdy vessel but no match for these ten-foot waves. It plunges nose first into the wall of water. The force of the waves dangerously tips the boat until the bow seems to be pointing straight at the sky, and just when you fear flipping over backward, the vessel pitches forward into the valley of another wave. A dozen sets of hands join yours in clutching the mast. All your shipmates have wet heads and wide eyes. You tune your ear for a calming voice, but all you hear are screams and prayers. All of a sudden it hits you—someone is missing. Where is Jesus? He’s not at the mast. He’s not grabbing the edge. Where is he? Then you hear something—a noise … a displaced sound … as if someone is snoring. You turn and look, and there curled in the stern of the boat is Jesus, sleeping!

You don’t know whether to be amazed or angry, so you’re both. How can he sleep at a time like this? Or as the disciples asked, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38 NIV).
The very storm that made the disciples panic made him drowsy. What put fear in their eyes put him to sleep. The boat was a tomb to the followers and a cradle to Christ. How could he sleep through the storm? Simple—he was in charge of it.

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:39–40 NIV)

Incredible…Is it any wonder the disciples were willing to die for Jesus? Never had they seen such power; never had they seen such glory. It was like, well, like the whole universe was his kingdom.

It’s only right that they declare his authority. It’s only right that we do the same. And when we do, we state without question: The ruler of the universe rules our hearts.

From For These Tough Times: Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado

Handyman Fence Work at Fortress!

2009-01-12T15:21:00.005-06:00

I am proud of service projects always, but this is very special! A small group of IronMen went down Friday night and Saturday morning to build a new fence for Fortress YDC. The scope of the project was not huge, but still it is very beneficial when you do something that benefits kids! Thanks to the men that helped me in this endeavor, you guys are the best!

See these pics below of the complete job and some pics from today and the kids enjoying their new play area!

Must Read article ...

2008-12-23T13:50:00.001-06:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

Click this link and read this article. It will amaze you! Coach Hogan, a real IronMan!

The Arrival ... by Max Lucado

2008-12-15T14:23:00.001-06:00

God had entered the world as a baby.

Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.

The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor.

A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor; perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear him—so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.

Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can’t remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasn’t figured it all out. The mystery of the event puzzles him. But he hasn’t the energy to wrestle with the questions. What’s important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes he remembers the name the angel told him to use … Jesus. “We will call him Jesus.”

Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph’s saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. “His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:33)

He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!

This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.

Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren’t looking.

Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

From
God Came Near

Leave your enemies in God's hands ... by Max Lucado

2008-12-08T07:57:00.000-06:00

Some years ago a rottweiler attacked our golden retriever puppy at a kennel. The worthless animal climbed out of its run and into Molly’s and nearly killed her. He left her with dozens of gashes and a dangling ear. I wrote a letter to the dog’s owner, urging him to put the dog to sleep.

But when I showed the letter to the kennel owner, she begged me to reconsider. “What that dog did was horrible, but I’m still training him. I’m not finished with him yet.”

God would say the same about the rottweiler who attacked you. “What he did was unthinkable, unacceptable, inexcusable, but I’m not finished yet.”

Your enemies still figure into God’s plan. Their pulse is proof: God hasn’t given up on them. They may be out of God’s will, but not out of his reach. You honor God when you see them, not as his failures, but as his projects.

God occupies the only seat on the supreme court of heaven. He wears the robe and refuses to share the gavel. For this reason Paul wrote, “Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. ‘I’ll do the judging,’ says God. ‘I’ll take care of it’ ” (Rom. 12:19 MSG).

Revenge removes God from the equation. Vigilantes displace and replace God. “I’m not sure you can handle this one, Lord. You may punish too little or too slowly. I’ll take this matter into my hands, thank you.”

Is this what you want to say? Jesus didn’t. No one had a clearer sense of right and wrong than the perfect Son of God. Yet, “when he suffered, he didn’t make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly” (1 Pet. 2:23 GOD’S WORD).

Only God assesses accurate judgments. We impose punishments too slight or severe. God dispenses perfect justice. Vengeance is his job. Leave your enemies in God’s hands. You’re not endorsing their misbehavior when you do. You can hate what someone did without letting hatred consume you. Forgiveness is not excusing.

Nor is forgiveness pretending. David didn’t gloss over or sidestep Saul’s sin. He addressed it directly. He didn’t avoid the issue, but he did avoid Saul.

Do the same. Give grace, but, if need be, keep your distance. You can forgive the abusive husband without living with him. Be quick to give mercy to the immoral pastor, but be slow to give him a pulpit. Society can dispense grace and prison terms at the same time. Offer the child molester a second chance, but keep him off the playgrounds.

Forgiveness is not foolishness.

Forgiveness is, at its core, choosing to see your offender with different eyes. You don’t excuse him, endorse her, or embrace them. You just route thoughts about them through heaven. You see your enemy as God’s child and revenge as God’s job.

By the way, how can we grace-recipients do anything less? Dare we ask God for grace when we refuse to give it? This is a huge issue in Scripture. Jesus was tough on sinners who refused to forgive other sinners. In the final sum, we give grace because we’ve been given grace.

From
Facing Your Giants

Forever Home ... by Max Lucado

2008-11-10T08:48:00.000-06:00

For the last twenty years, I’ve wanted a dog. A big dog. But there were always problems. The apartment was too small. The budget was too tight. The girls were too young. But most of all, Denalyn was unenthusiastic. Her logic? She’d already married one slobbering, shedding beast, why put up with a second? So we compromised and got a small dog.

I like Salty, but small dogs aren’t really dogs. They don’t bark; they yelp. They don’t eat; they nibble. They don’t lick you; they sniff you. I like Salty, but I wanted a real dog. A man’s-best-friend type of dog. A fat-pawed, big-eating, slurp-you-on-the-face type of dog you could saddle or wrestle or both.

I was alone in my passion until Sara was born. She loves dogs. And the two of us were able to sway the household vote. Denalyn gave in, and Sara and I began the search. We discovered a woman in South Carolina who breeds golden retrievers in a Christian environment. From birth the dogs are surrounded by inspirational music and prayers. (No, I don’t know if they tithe with dog biscuits.) When the trainer told me that she had read my books, I got on board. A woman with such good taste is bound to be a good breeder, right?

So we ordered a pup. We mailed the check, selected the name Molly, and cleared a corner for her dog pillow. The dog hadn’t even been born, and she was named, claimed, and given a place in the house.

Can’t the same be said about you? Long before your first whimper, your Master claimed you, named you, and hung a reserved sign on your room. You and Molly have more in common than odor and eating habits. (Just teasing.)

You’re both being groomed for a trip. We prefer the terms maturation and sanctification to weaning and training, but it’s all the same. You’re being prepared for your Master’s house. You don’t know the departure date or flight number, but you can bet your puppy chow that you’ll be seeing your Owner someday. Isn’t this the concluding promise of David?

“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6 nkjv).

Where will you live forever? In the house of the Lord. If his house is your “forever house,” what does that make this earthly house? You got it! Short-term housing. This is not our home. “Our homeland is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20).

We, like Molly, are being prepared for another house.

Don’t quench, but rather, stir this longing for heaven.

God’s home is a forever home. “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6 nkjv).

From
Traveling Light
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado

Judas ... by Max Lucado

2008-10-31T13:46:00.001-05:00

If God has called you to be a Martha, then serve! Remind the rest of us that there is evangelism in feeding the poor and there is worship in nursing the sick.

If God has called you to be a Mary, then worship! Remind the rest of us that we don’t have to be busy to be holy. Urge us with your example to put down our clipboards and megaphones and be quiet in worship.

If God has called you to be a Lazarus, then testify. Remind the rest of us that we, too, have a story to tell. We, too, have neighbors who are lost. We, too, have died and been resurrected.

Each of us has our place at the table.

Except one. There was one at Martha’s house who didn’t find his place. Though he had been near Jesus longer than any of the others, he was furthest in his faith. His name was Judas. He was a thief. When Mary poured the perfume he feigned spirituality. “The perfume could have been sold and given to the poor,” he said. But Jesus knew Judas’s heart, and Jesus defended Mary’s worship. Years later, John, too, knew Judas’s heart, and John explained that Judas was a thief (John 12:6). And all these years he had been dipping his hand in the treasury. The reason he wanted the perfume to be sold and the money put in the treasury was so that he could get his hands on it.

What a sad ending to a beautiful story. But what an appropriate ending. For in every church there are those like Martha who take time to serve. There are those like Mary who take time to worship. There are those like Lazarus who take time to testify.

And there are those like Judas who take, take, take, and never give in return. Are you a Judas? I ask the question carefully, yet honestly. Are you near Christ but far from his heart? Are you at the dinner with a sour soul? Are you always criticizing the gifts of others yet seldom, if ever, giving your own? Are you benefiting from the church while never giving to it? Do others give sacrificially while you give miserly? Are you a Judas?

Do you take, take, take, and never give? If so, you are the Judas in this story.

If you are a Martha, be strengthened. God sees your service.
If you are a Mary, be encouraged. God receives your worship.
If you are a Lazarus, be strong. God honors your conviction.
But if you are a Judas, be warned. God sees your selfishness.

>From
Cast of Characters

God is near!

2008-10-20T13:17:00.001-05:00

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage?
His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone.
He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it.

He cannot cry out for help to anyone.

Once he survives the night, he is a man.

He cannot tell the other boys of this
experience because each lad must come
into manhood on his own.

The boy is naturally terrified.
He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts
must surely be all around him. Maybe even
some human might do him harm. The wind blew
the grass and earth, and shook his stump,
but he sat stoically, never removing the
blindfold.

It would be the only way he
could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night, the sun
appeared and he removed his blindfold.

It was then that he discovered his

father sitting on the stump next to him.

He had been at watch the entire night,
protecting his son from harm.

We, too, are never alone.

Even when we don't know it,
our Heavenly Father is watching over us,

sitting on the stump beside us.

When trouble comes, all we have
to do is reach out to Him.

If you liked this story, pass it on.
If not, perhaps you took off your
blindfold before dawn.

Moral of the Story:
Just because you can't see God,
d oesn't mean He is not there.

'For we walk by faith, not by sight.'

2 Corinthians 5:7 ~

Martha ... by Max Lucado

2008-10-16T14:48:00.001-05:00

Every church needs a Martha. Change that. Every church needs a hundred Marthas. Sleeves rolled and ready, they keep the pace for the church. Because of Marthas, the church budget gets balanced, the church babies get bounced, and the church building gets built. You don’t appreciate Marthas until a Martha is missing, and then all the Marys and Lazaruses are scrambling around looking for the keys and the thermostats and the overhead projectors.

Marthas are the Energizer bunnies of the church. They keep going and going and going. They store strength like a camel stores water. Since they don’t seek the spotlight, they don’t live off the applause. That’s not to say they don’t need it. They just aren’t addicted to it.

Marthas have a mission. In fact, if Marthas have a weakness, it is their tendency to elevate the mission over the Master. Remember when Martha did that? A younger Martha invites a younger Jesus to come for dinner. Jesus accepts and brings his disciples.

The scene Luke describes has Mary seated and Martha fuming. Martha is angry because Mary is, horror of horrors, sitting at the feet of Jesus. How impractical! How irrelevant! How unnecessary! I mean, who has time to sit and listen when there is bread to be baked, tables to be set, and souls to be saved? So Martha complained, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me” (Luke 10:40).

All of a sudden Martha has gone from serving Jesus to making demands of Jesus. The room falls silent. The disciples duck their eyes. Mary flushes red. And Jesus speaks.

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42).

Apparently Martha got the point, for later we find her serving again.

“Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:2–3 NIV).

Is Mary in the kitchen? No she is worshiping, for that is what she loves to do. But this time Martha doesn’t object. She has learned that there is a place for praise and worship, and that is what Mary is doing. And what is Mary’s part in the dinner? She brings a pint of very expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus’ feet, then wipes his feet with her hair. The smell of the perfume fills the house, just like the sound of praise can fill a church.

An earlier Martha would have objected. Such an act was too lavish, too extravagant, too generous. But this mature Martha has learned that just as there is a place in the kingdom of God for sacrificial service, there is also a place for extravagant praise.

>From
Cast of Characters
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) Max Lucado

Your Place in God's Band ... by Max Lucado

2008-10-06T13:52:00.000-05:00

Two of my teenage years were spent carrying a tuba in my high school marching band. My mom wanted me to learn to read music, and the choir was full while the band was a tuba-tooter short, so I signed up. Not necessarily what you would describe as a call from God, but it wasn’t a wasted experience either.

I had a date with a twirler.

I learned to paint white shoe polish on school buses.

And I learned some facts about harmony that I’ll pass on to you.

I marched next to the bass-drum player. What a great sound. Boom. Boom. Boom. Deep, cavernous, thundering.

And at the end of my flank marched the flute section. Oh, how their music soared. Whispering, lifting, rising into the clouds.

Ahead of me, at the front of my line, was our first-chair trumpet. He could raise the spirit. He could raise the flag. He could have raised the roof on the stadium if we’d had one.

The soft flute
needs
the brash trumpet
needs
the steady drum
needs
the soft flute
needs
the brash trumpet.

Get the idea? The operative word is need. They need each other.

By themselves they make music. But together, they make magic.

Now, what I saw two decades ago in the band, I see today in the church. We need each other. Not all of us play the same instrument. Some believers are lofty, and others are solid. Some keep the pace while others lead the band. Not all of us make the same sound. Some are soft, and others are loud. And not all of us have the same ability. But each of us has a place.

Some play the drums (like Martha).

Some play the flute (like Mary).

And others sound the trumpet (like Lazarus).

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were like family to Jesus. After the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, they decided to give a dinner for Jesus. They decided to honor him by having a party on his behalf (see John 12:2).

They didn’t argue over the best seat. They didn’t resent each other’s abilities. They didn’t try to outdo each other. All three worked together with one purpose. But each one fulfilled that purpose in his or her unique manner. Martha served; she always kept everyone in step. Mary worshiped; she anointed her Lord with an extravagant gift, and its aroma filled the air. Lazarus had a story to tell, and he was ready to tell it.

Three people, each one with a different skill, a different ability. But each one of equal value.

From
Cast of Characters
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008) Max Lucado

He is Waiting i the Midst of the Storm... by Max Lucado

2008-09-29T08:30:00.001-05:00

Peter knows he is in trouble.

The winds roar down onto the Sea of Galilee like a hawk on a rat. Lightning zigzags across the black sky. The clouds vibrate with thunder. The rain taps, then pops, then slaps against the deck of the boat until everyone aboard is soaked and shaking. Ten-foot waves pick them up and slam them down again with bonejarring force.

These drenched men don’t look like a team of apostles who are only a decade away from changing the world. And you can be sure of one thing. The one with the widest eyes is the one with the biggest biceps—Peter. He’s seen these storms before. He’s seen the wreckage and bloated bodies float to shore. He knows what the fury of wind and wave can do. And he knows that times like this are not times to make a name for yourself; they’re times to get some help.

That is why, when he sees Jesus walking on the water toward the boat, he is the first to say, “Lord, if it’s you … tell me to come to you on the water.” (Matthew 14:28)

He is aware of two facts: He’s going down, and Jesus is staying up. And it doesn’t take him too long to decide where he would rather be.

Perhaps a better interpretation of his request would be, “Jeeeeeeeesus. If that is you, then get me out of here!”

“Come on” is the invitation.

And Peter doesn’t have to be told twice. It’s not every day that you walk on water through waves that are taller than you are. But when faced with the alternative of sure death or possible life, Peter knows which one he wants.

The first few steps go well. But a few strides out onto the water, and he forgets to look to the One who got him there in the first place, and down he plunges.

Peter’s response may lack class—it probably wouldn’t get him on the cover of Gentleman’s Quarterly or even Sports Illustrated—but it gets him out of some deep water:
“Help me!”

And since Peter would rather swallow pride than water, a hand comes through the rain and pulls him up.

The message is clear.

As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don’t need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won’t be taken half-heartedly.

But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on him, for he is waiting in the midst of the storm.

From
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado

What does it mean to dwell with your wife with understanding?

2008-09-25T10:44:00.001-05:00

The apostle Peter wrote: Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).

Living with your wife with understanding first of all involves mutual submission. Prior to commanding wives to submit to their husbands the apostle Paul taught that we are to submit to one another in the fear of the God (Ephesians 5:21). Submission is thus the responsibility of Christian husbands as well as of wives. Though not submitting to his wife as a leader, a believing husband must submit to the loving duty of being sensitive to the needs, fears, and feelings of his wife. In other words, a Christian husband needs to subordinate his needs to hers, whether she is a Christian or not.

In 1 Peter 3:7 Peter specifically notes consideration, chivalry, and companionship. Let's look at each of these qualities in turn.

Be Considerate
"Understanding" speaks of being sensitive to your wife's deepest physical and emotional needs. In other words, be thoughtful and respectful. Remember, you are to nourish and cherish her (Eph. 5:25-28). Many women have said to me, "My husband doesn't understand me. We never talk. He doesn't know how I feel or what I'm thinking about." Such insensitivity builds walls in marriages. "Live with your wives in an understanding way" is another way of saying, "Be considerate." It isn't what you get out of marriage but what you put into it that brings glory to God. Do you know your wife's needs? Have you discussed them with her? Have you asked her what kind of husband she wants you to be?

Be Chivalrous
By God's design, a wife is to be the special object of her husband's love and care. As "a weaker vessel" she is under his authority and protection. "Weaker" doesn't mean weaker spiritually or intellectually, but physically and perhaps emotionally. Scripture indicates that in several places. For example, in Jeremiah 51:30 we read, "The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, they stay in the strongholds; their strength is exhausted, they are becoming like women; their dwelling places are set on fire, the bars of her gates are broken" (cf. Isa. 19:16; Jer. 50:37; Nahum 3:13). Babylon's army was compared to women because it was afraid, without strength, and defenseless.

It's not a negative thing for a woman to be a weaker vessel. In making the man stronger, God designed a wonderful partnership. One way a husband can protect and provide for his wife is to practice chivalry. Whatever happened to the custom of opening the car door for your wife? Some husbands are fifteen feet down the driveway while the wife still has one foot out the door! Look for ways to be courteous that you know she will appreciate.

Be a Companion
"Giving honor" is another way of saying, "Treat your wife with respect" while "grace of life" is a reference to marriage. "Grace" simply means "a gift," and one of the best gifts life has to offer is marriage. Thus when Peter says to give her respect as a "fellow heir of the grace of life," he is commanding husbands to respect their wives as equal partners in the marriage. Another way to win her to Christ is to cultivate companionship and friendship. That necessitates sharing your life with her and developing mutual interests. Think about things you can do together. One of the secrets of a happy relationship is finding commonality.

These aren't mere casual suggestions. According to Peter, your applying them has a direct bearing on how your prayers are answered. Since those prayers would include petitions for her salvation, don't neglect being considerate, chivalrous, and a companion to your unsaved wife.

Adapted from Different By Design by John MacArthur.

He Wants to Comfort You ... by Max Lucado

2008-09-08T08:43:00.000-05:00

My child’s feelings are hurt. I tell her she’s special. My child is injured. I do whatever it takes to make her feel better.

My child is afraid. I won’t go to sleep until she is secure.

I’m not a hero. I’m not a superstar. I’m not unusual. I’m a parent. When a child hurts, a parent does what comes naturally. He helps.

And after I help, I don’t charge a fee. I don’t ask for a favor in return. When my child cries, I don’t tell her to buck up, act tough, and keep a stiff upper lip. Nor do I consult a list and ask her why she is still scraping the same elbow or waking me up again.

I’m not a prophet, nor the son of one, but something tells me that in the whole scheme of things the tender moments described above are infinitely more valuable than anything I do in front of a computer screen or congregation. Something tells me that the moments of comfort I give my child are a small price to pay for the joy of someday seeing my daughter do for her daughter what her dad did for her.

Moments of comfort from a parent. As a father, I can tell you they are the sweetest moments in my day. They come naturally. They come willingly. They come joyfully.

If all of that is true, if I know that one of the privileges of fatherhood is to comfort a child, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me?

Why do I think he wouldn’t want to hear about my problems? (“They are puny compared to people starving in India.”)

Why do I think he is too busy for me? (“He’s got a whole universe to worry about.”)

Why do I think he’s tired of hearing the same old stuff?

Why do I think he groans when he sees me coming?

Why do I think he consults his list when I ask for forgiveness and asks, “Don’t you think you’re going to the well a few too many times on this one?”

Why do I think I have to speak a holy language around him that I don’t speak with anyone else?

Why do I not take him seriously when he questions, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)

Why don’t I let my Father do for me what I am more than willing to do for my own children?

I’m learning, though. Being a parent is better than a course on theology. Being a father is teaching me that when I am criticized, injured, or afraid, there is a Father who is ready to comfort me. There is a Father who will hold me until I’m better, help me until I can live with the hurt, and who won’t go to sleep when I’m afraid of waking up and seeing the dark.

Ever. And that’s enough.

From
The Applause of Heaven

Perfect Love ... by Max Lucado

2008-08-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

Isn’t it good to know that even when we don’t love with a perfect love, he does? God always nourishes what is right. He always applauds what is right. He has never done wrong, led one person to do wrong, or rejoiced when anyone did wrong. For he is love, and love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6 NASB).

God passes the test of 1 Corinthians 13:6. Well, he should; he drafted it.

So where does this leave us? Perhaps with a trio of reminders. When it comes to love:

Be careful.

Until love is stirred, let God’s love be enough for you. There are seasons when God allows us to feel the frailty of human love so we’ll appreciate the strength of his love. Didn’t he do this with David? Saul turned on him. Michal, his wife, betrayed him. Jonathan and Samuel were David’s friends, but they couldn’t follow him into the wilderness. Betrayal and circumstances left David alone. Alone with God. And, as David discovered, God was enough. David wrote these words in a desert: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.… My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods” (Ps. 63:3, 5 NIV).

Be prayerful.

What if it’s too late? Specifically, what if you’re married to someone you don’t love—or who doesn’t love you? Many choose to leave. That may be the step you take. But if it is, take at least a thousand others first. And bathe every one of those steps in prayer. Love is a fruit of the Spirit. Ask God to help you love as he loves. “God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love” (Rom. 5:5 CEV). Ask everyone you know to pray for you. Your friends. Your family. Your church leaders. Get your name on every prayer list available. And, most of all, pray for and, if possible, with your spouse. Ask the same God who raised the dead to resurrect the embers of your love.

Be grateful.

Be grateful for those who love you. Be grateful for those who have encouraged you to do what is right and applauded when you did. Do you have people like that in your world? If so, you are doubly blessed. Be grateful for them. And be grateful for your Father in heaven.

>From
A Love Worth Giving

Discipleship

2008-08-19T16:27:00.002-05:00

"Who are your men?"

This is a question that a friend of mine would ask me from time to time. What he meant by this question is:

Who are you discipling, how is that relationship going, and how are they doing in their spiritual walk.

I believe this is a very good question for all of us to answer. One of the most important roles for us as men is to disciple other men. These may be men of your same age or younger (and in some cases older), they may be in your church or a neighbor, and they may simply be an acquaintance or a really close friend.

I have been really encourage by IM EDGE lately because there have been a few discipleship relationships formed because of it. I encourage you to come to EDGE on Thursday mornings and experience this for yourself.

The point is that we need to be about Discipleship! This is one of our most important jobs as a man and a leader. Think about this today and ask yourself, "Who are your men?"

STP

Take Every Thought Captive... by Max Lucado

2008-08-11T09:22:00.000-05:00

Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions.
Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum.
Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime.
Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse.
Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery.
Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement.
Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear.

Could that be why Paul writes, “Love … keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5 NIV)?

Some folks don’t know we have an option.

Paul says we do: “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

Do you hear some battlefield jargon in that passage—“capture every thought,” “make it give up” and “obey Christ”? You get the impression that we are the soldiers and the thoughts are the enemies.

It was for Jesus. Remember the thoughts that came his way courtesy of the mouth of Peter? Jesus had just prophesied his death, burial, and resurrection, but Peter couldn’t bear the thought of it. “Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that.… Jesus said to Peter, ‘Go away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important’” (Matt. 16:22–23).
See the decisiveness of Jesus?

What if you did that? What if you took every thought captive? What if you took the counsel of Solomon: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Prov. 4:23).

You are not a victim of your thoughts. You have a vote. You have a voice. You can exercise thought prevention. You can also exercise thought permission.

Change the thoughts, and you change the person. If today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions, what happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love? Will standing beneath the downpour of his grace change the way we feel about others?

Paul says absolutely! It’s not enough to keep the bad stuff out. We’ve got to let the good stuff in. It’s not enough to keep no list of wrongs. We have to cultivate a list of blessings. The same verb Paul uses for keeps in the phrase “keeps no list of wrongs” is used for think in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (RSV). Thinking conveys the idea of pondering—studying and focusing, allowing what is viewed to have an impact on us.

Rather than store up the sour, store up the sweet.

>From
A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado

God Believes In You... by Max Lucado

2008-08-04T13:33:00.000-05:00

The tale involves a wealthy father and a willful son. The boy prematurely takes his inheritance and moves to Las Vegas and there wastes the money on slot machines and call girls. As fast as you can say “blackjack,” he is broke. Too proud to go home, he gets a job sweeping horse stables at the racetrack. When he finds himself tasting some of their oats and thinking, H’m, a dash of salt and this wouldn’t be too bad, he realizes enough is enough. It’s time to go home. The gardener at his father’s house does better than this. So off he goes, rehearsing his repentance speech every step of the way.

But the father has other ideas. He “had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”

We don’t expect such a response. We expect crossed arms and a furrowed brow. At best a guarded handshake. At least a stern lecture. But the father gives none of these. Instead he gives gifts. “Bring out the best robe … a ring … sandals.… And bring the fatted calf … and let us eat and be merry” (Luke 15:11–23 NKJV). Robe, sandals, calf, and … Did you see it? A ring.

Before the boy has a chance to wash his hands, he has a ring to put on his finger. In Christ’s day rings were more than gifts; they were symbols of delegated sovereignty. The bearer of the ring could speak on behalf of the giver. It was used to press a seal into soft wax to validate a transaction. The one who wore the ring conducted business in the name of the one who gave it.

Would you have done this? Would you have given this prodigal son power-of-attorney privileges over your affairs? Would you have entrusted him with a credit card? Would you have given him this ring?

Before you start questioning the wisdom of the father, remember, in this story you are the boy. When you came home to God, you were given authority to conduct business in your heavenly Father’s name.

When you speak truth, you are God’s ambassador.

As you steward the money he gives, you are his business manager.

When you declare forgiveness, you are his priest.

As you stir the healing of the body or the soul, you are his physician.

And when you pray, he listens to you as a father listens to a son. You have a voice in the household of God. He has given you his ring.

God believes in you. And, I wonder, could you take some of the belief that he has in you and share it with someone else?

You and I have the privilege to do for others what God does for us. How do we show people that we believe in them?

Do not withhold encouragement from the discouraged. Do not keep affirmation from the beaten down! Speak words that make people stronger. Believe in them as God has believed in you.

>From
A Love Worth Giving

Great Verse!!!

2008-07-17T09:16:00.003-05:00

"...The God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." Romans 4:17

I just love this verse! It describes the power of our God in a single sentence. This is what he does for each of us when we give our life to him. This is a one sentence verse that you could share with someone that is struggling and might be just what they needed to understand. This could also be a verse you write on a note card and post it on the mirror in your bathroom so that you could read it every morning.

So powerful because we have all been there, dead in our sin and in need of a Savior. That is our God! That is who we serve. He takes the dead and makes it alive, the old to new, the depressed to rejoicing and so on! There is so much that goes into this process of change, but we serve a God that does it!

Take this verse with you wherever you go today and let it rain over you in your dealings with anyone and everyone you meet!

STP

Serve One Another ... by Max Lucado

2008-07-01T11:26:00.001-05:00

Jesus “set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion” (Phil. 2:7–8 MSG).

Let’s follow his example. Let’s “put on the apron of humility, to serve one another” (1 Pet. 5:5 TEV). Jesus entered the world to serve. We can enter our jobs, our homes, our churches.

Servanthood requires no unique skill or seminary degree. Regardless of your strengths, training, or church tenure, you can …

Love the overlooked. Jesus sits in your classroom, wearing the thick glasses, outdated clothing, and a sad face. You’ve seen him. He’s Jesus.

Jesus works in your office. Pregnant again, she shows up to work late and tired. No one knows the father. According to water-cooler rumors, even she doesn’t know the father. You’ve seen her. She’s Jesus.

When you talk to the lonely student, befriend the weary mom, you love Jesus. He dresses in the garb of the overlooked and ignored. “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40 MSG).

You can do that. Even if your sweet spot has nothing to do with encouraging others, the cure for the common life involves loving the overlooked. You can also …

Wave a white flag. We fight so much. “Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from?” asks the brother of Jesus. “Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside
yourselves” (James 4:1 MSG). Serve someone by swallowing your pride. One more aspect of servanthood…..

Every day do something you don’t want to do. Pick up someone else’s trash. Surrender your parking place. Call the long-winded relative. Carry the cooler. Doesn’t have to be a big thing. Helen Keller once told the Tennessee legislature that when she was young, she had longed to do great things and could not, so she decided to do small things in a great way. Don’t be too big to do something small. “Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort” (1 Cor. 15:58 MSG).

A good action not only brings good fortune, it brings God’s attention. He notices the actions of servants. He sent his Son to be one.

When you and I crest Mount Zion and hear the applause of saints, we’ll realize this: hands pushed us up the mountain too. The pierced hands of Jesus Christ, the greatest servant who ever lived.

From Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot

Choosing the Uncommon Life ... by Max Lucado

2008-06-23T13:57:00.000-05:00

One can’t, at once, promote two reputations. Promote God’s and forget yours. Or promote yours and forget God’s. We must choose.

Joseph did. Matthew describes Jesus’s earthly father as a craftsman (Matt. 13:55). He lives in Nazareth: a single-camel map dot on the edge of boredom. Joseph never speaks in the New Testament. He does much. He sees an angel, marries a pregnant girl, and leads his family to Bethlehem and Egypt. He does much, but says nothing.

A small-town carpenter who never said a Scripture-worthy word. Is Joseph the right choice? Doesn’t God have better options? An eloquent priest from Jerusalem or a scholar from the Pharisees? Why Joseph? A major part of the answer lies in his reputation: he gives it up for Jesus. “Then Joseph [Mary’s] husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly” (Matt. 1:19).

Mary’s parents, by this point, have signed a contract and sealed it with a dowry. Mary belongs to Joseph; Joseph belongs to Mary. Legally and matrimonially bound.

Now what? His fiancée is pregnant, blemished, tainted … he is righteous, godly. On one hand, he has the law. On the other, he has his love. The law says, stone her. Love says, forgive her.

Joseph is caught in the middle. But Joseph is a kind man. “Not wanting to disgrace her, [he] planned to send her away secretly” (v. 19 NASB).

A quiet divorce. How long would it stay quiet? Likely not long. But for a time, this was the solution.

Then comes the angel. “While he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit’ ” (v. 20).

Mary’s growing belly gives no cause for concern, but reason to rejoice. “She carries the Son of God in her womb,” the angel announces. But who would believe it? Who would buy this tale? Envision Joseph being questioned by the city leaders.

“Joseph,” they say, “we understand that Mary is with child.”

He nods.

“Is the child yours?”

He shakes his head.

“Do you know how she became pregnant?”

Gulp. A bead of sweat forms beneath Joseph’s beard. He faces a dilemma. He makes his decision. “Joseph … took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matt. 1:24–25).

Joseph tanked his reputation. He swapped his reputation for a pregnant fiancée and an illegitimate son and made the big decision of discipleship. He placed God’s plan ahead of his own.
Would you be willing to do the same? God grants us an uncommon life to the degree we surrender our common one. “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life” (Matt. 16:25 NLT). Would you forfeit your reputation to see Jesus born into your world?

From Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot

ANNOUNCEMENT... IM EDGE!!!

2008-06-04T16:49:00.002-05:00

I want to announce the new studies for IM EDGE from now through '09. Here is the rundown:

Starting June 12th:
Blood, Sweat and Tears...a 12 week study on the life of King David!

Starting September 4th:
Here Come the Kings... a 12 week tudy for the OT Kings!

Starting January '09
In depth study of the Gospel of Mark

I am so excited about this line up! I believe this is God-inspired and God-directed! Please come and join us on Thurday mornings at 6am at LCCOC for these great studies and let's just see what God has instore for us!!!

Open Arms ... by Max Lucado

2008-05-27T08:47:00.001-05:00

If you ever wonder how in the world God could use you to change the world, look at the people God used to change history. A ragbag of ne’er-do-wells and has-beens who found hope, not in their performance, but in God’s proverbially open arms.

Abraham- God took what was good and forgave what was bad and used “old forked tongue” to start a nation. Moses- would you call upon a fugitive to carry the Ten Commandments? God did. David- his track record left little to be desired, but his repentant spirit was unquestionable. Jonah- God put him in a whale’s belly to bring him back to his senses. But even the whale couldn’t stomach this missionary for too long.

On and on the stories go: Elijah, the prophet who pouted; Solomon, the king who knew too much; Jacob, the wheeler-dealer; Gomer, the prostitute; Sarah, the woman who giggled at God. One story after another of God using man’s best and overcoming man’s worst.

The reassuring lesson is clear. God used (and uses!) people to change the world. People! Not saints or superhumans or geniuses, but people. Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all. And what they may lack in perfection, God makes up for in love.

Jesus later summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told about a teenager who decided that life at the farm was too slow for his tastes. So with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends, and long unemployment lines. When he had had just about as much of the pig’s life as he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home; all the while rehearsing a speech that he planned to give to his father.
He never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father, who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness. And the boy’s weary body fell into his father’s opened arms.

The same open arms welcomed him that had welcomed Abraham, Moses, David, and Jonah. No wagging fingers. No clenched fists. No “I told you so!” slaps or “Where have you been?” interrogations. No crossed arms. No black eyes or fat lips. No. Only sweet, open arms. If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look at those he has already used and take heart. Look at the forgiveness found in those open arms and take courage.
And, by the way, never were those arms opened so wide as they were on the Roman cross. One arm extending back into history and the other reaching into the future. An embrace of forgiveness offered for anyone who’ll come. A hen gathering her chicks. A father receiving his own. A redeemer redeeming the world.

No wonder they call him the Savior.

What a Morning!!!

2008-05-15T08:27:00.002-05:00

IRONMEN EDGE this morning was amazing!!! It is truly a regular occurance on Thursday mornings that God just amazes me.

We have been studying Nehemiah and this week each person took a chapter to summarize. The focus of the summarization for each chapter was to think about the principles in the chapter that can help us deal with changes that we need to make in our lives, example: sins.

That was a great discussion! If that wasn't enough, CD shared a story from his past that was absolutely moving! God is soooooo good and he hits me right where I need it every time. I trust that he did for each of us.

It is so special to be in a room with other men and discussing the things in our lives that really matter. There is such strength in that! Thank you Lord for the incredible men then of the EDGE!

STP

Service!!! Romans 13:14

2008-05-08T09:37:00.003-05:00

In the ERV, this verse reads like this:
"Be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ!"

In the NIV, this verse reads like this:
"Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ."

In the Message, this verse reads like this:
"Dress yourselves in Christ."

I love this verse! This is a very convicting verse. When others see me, what do they see? Do they see someone that is selfishly looking out for #1 or do they see a servant with Christ as their leader? I sure hope it is the latter. I cannot say that it is always that way, however.

Just simply thinking about the things that I do, that is very convicting. There is sin in my life that I am not proud of. I know that when others see that, they don't see Christ. They see my selfish nature just as the rest of the verse says. Oh, how I strive to keep this in the forefront of my mind at all times.

This is my new goal/mission:
I want to be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when other people see what I do, they SEE CHRIST!

I hope all us IronMen could live this way! What a change this would make in the world!

SERVICE:
In an effort to do the above mentioned goal/mission, I sent out an email to the IronMen on Monday asking for help rounding up some furniture for a great family that we are helping. What a response!!! Within 30 minutes, I had numerous men offering furniture of all types. Last night, we picked up and delivered a couch, love seat, otomon, and a TV to this wonderful family. They were so overjoyed!!! On Friday, we are going to pick up a table and 6 chairs for their dining room.

This was such a great thing and I am so proud of the IronMen! Keep on Sharpening each other!!! You guys are great!

STP, an IronMan

IM Golf Retreat was a success...

2008-04-24T16:10:00.007-05:00

We had a great time at Garden Valley GC. We had 25 golfers and a few others that joined for the fellowship. I believe all had a great time espcially Friday night! The Spirit was working for sure!!! Thanks to all who came and participated!

Here are some pics for your enjoyment:

Peppermint Patty? No that's just our minister!

The cooks, extrodinaire!!!

There is only one real golfer in this group!

Hanging out after share time!

Hey, what are we doing, let's play some golf!

God is Good!!!

2008-04-08T08:09:00.002-05:00

IronMen, do you remember the baby (Kanyon) that we prayed about 1 year ago. He was a cousin of Paige's and he struggled so very much the first months of his life. He had a beautiful twin sister that died early on and he kept on fighting.

NOW HE IS A YEAR OLD!!! Don't tell me that God doesn't work miracles!

This little one is a prefect example. Check out this family's blog. The mom is asking anyone that wants to to leave Kanyon a message on his birthday so that she can print them out for is baby book. Last i checked, he had 96 comments! Wow. This story is one that will forever change you and your heart!

http://www.thephillipsphamily.blogspot.com/

Romans 1:11-12

2008-04-04T09:11:00.002-05:00

"I want very much to see you and give you some spiritual gift to make your faith stronger. I mean that I want us to help each other with the faith that we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you." ERV

What a great attitude! I would only hope that we would have some level of this attitude that Paul had. He understood that we are all in this together; we all want the same goal: To bring as many as we can to the Kingdom!

We else is there? When we come together, do we come to serve or to be served?

As IronMen, I pray that we can have an attitude of service and an attitude of helping each other draw closer to the Lord. May we have a heart to bring more and more with us to the Kingdom.

Check this site out...

2008-03-19T07:53:00.000-05:00

http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

Pretty amazing stuff!!!

Understatement!!! Joshua 10:14

2008-03-10T07:45:00.002-05:00

What an understatement! Joshua 10:14 says this: "Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!" Well I guess so. Look at verse 11:

"As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites."

Then check out verse 12-13:

"On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the prescence of Israel: O sun stand still over Gibeon, O moon over the Valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood still and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day!"

I believe it is an understatement to say that the Lord was fighting for the Israelites that day. What an amazing reminder of the power of our Lord!

Does he only fight for the Israelites? Does he fight equally as much for you and me?

He is constantly battling for our souls. Who knows was spiritual battles are going on at all times. This is so reassuring that we serve the one and only God, the God of the universe. As if we needed more proof!

Now, I just wish that I could take a lesson from the faith journey that Joshua has been on throughout his journey and live a life symbolic of the power of my Lord and Saviour.

STP

Nehemiah 5 ... IM EDGE Discussion 3 6 08

2008-03-06T08:57:00.002-06:00

Wow, what an amazing chapter! This chapter did not seem like anything special when I started reading it, but wow it is great. Praise God for that, he always delivers.

The basis of the chapter is the internal opposition that Nehemiah encounters while finishing the wall. All the opposition up to this point has been external and now it turns internal.

QUESTION: Which is more difficult to handle, internal or external problems?

QUESTION: What causes internal problems?

Well, i think the internal is more difficult to handle for many reasons. Let's take this to our lives and apply this to our situations. I know if there is a problem between Paige and I, it is much more significant and difficult than if there is a problem with someone that I don't have much of a relationship with. Internal stuggles have much more at stake than external struggles, normally.

What caused this internal struggle? Famine in the land had a lot to do with it, the King's taxes were high and they were charging each other interest when they sold things to their fellow Jew. This is where my interest peaked.

This does not sound like a bid deal in our world since we pay interest on just about everything we buy and we charge interest on most things we sell. However, Exodus 22:25 states: "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interst." The people in Jerusalem at this time were needy and their fellow brothers were taking advantage of them, so much so that some of them were having to sell their children into slavery to get food.

The Jews at this time had forgot this mandate (Exodus 22:25) that God told his people from the very beginning. In chapter 8 we find out that they reinstituted the festival of booths, another thing they had fogotten. Chapter 8 says they had not celebrated this festival since the time of Joshua.

So my question is this: What internal struggles in our lives are a result of foundational principles that we have drifted away from?

When we have the internal struggles (either with self, wife, children, church, etc), are there some foundational principles that we need to reevalute that could answer the problem?

Do we often share things with our brothers expecting more in return or do we share without expecting? Do we give to get back?

Why did God give them this mandate in Exodus anyway?

Lend me your thoughts?

STP

Heaven's "Whoever" Policy... by Max Lucado

2008-02-29T16:04:00.001-06:00

“. . . whoever believes in him shall not perish . . .”

Some years ago I took a copy of God’s “whoever” policy to California. I wanted to show it to my Uncle Billy. He’d been scheduled to visit my home, but bone cancer had thwarted his plans.

My uncle reminded me much of my father: squared like a blast furnace, ruddy as a leather basketball. They shared the same West Texas roots, penchant for cigars, and blue-collar work ethic. But I wasn’t sure if they shared the same faith. So after several planes, two shuttles, and a rental-car road trip, I reached Uncle Billy’s house only to learn he was back in the hospital. No visitors. Maybe tomorrow.

He felt better the next day. Good enough to come home. I went to see him. Cancer had taken its toll and his strength. The recliner entombed his body. He recognized me yet dozed as I chatted with his wife and friends. He scarcely opened his eyes. People came and went, and I began to wonder if I would have the chance to ask the question.

Finally the guests stepped out onto the lawn and left me alone with my uncle. I slid my chair next to his, took his skin-taut hand, and wasted no words. “Bill, are you ready to go to heaven?”
His eyes, for the first time, popped open. Saucer wide. His head lifted. Doubt laced his response: “I think I am.”

“Do you want to be sure?”

“Oh yes.”

Our brief talk ended with a prayer for grace. We both said “amen,” and I soon left. Uncle Billy died within days. Did he wake up in heaven? According to the parable of the eleventh hour workers, he did.

Some struggle with such a thought. A last-minute confessor receives the same grace as a lifetime servant? Doesn’t seem fair. The workers in the parable complained too. So the landowner, and God, explained the prerogative of ownership: “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” (v. Matt. 20:15 RSV).

Request grace with your dying breath, and God hears your prayer. Whoever means “whenever.”
And one more: whoever means “wherever.” Wherever you are, you’re not too far to come home.

From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope

IM EDGE changed to Thursdays

2008-02-26T21:29:00.003-06:00

IronMen EDGE has been moved to Thursdays till further notice. We would love to have you join us @ LCCOC on Thursday mornings @ 6:10am. Come and see what the Lord has in store for you.

We need to Know!!!

2008-02-13T08:45:00.002-06:00

Remember to let us know if you are going to attend the IM Golf Retreat on April 11-12 in Lyndale, TX (Garden Valley Golf Course). We MUST know by Feb. 15. That is two days away! Please contact me at stp@pmiair.com or 214-415-9568 or Ryan Merriman at 817-874-2836 or ryanmerriman2000@yahoo.com .

This is going to be a great outing and we would love to have all of you there!

STP, an IronMan

It's Going to be Okay... by Max Lucado

2008-02-05T09:35:00.000-06:00

Bill Tucker was sixteen years old when his dad suffered a health crisis and consequently had to leave his business. Even after Mr. Tucker regained his health, the Tucker family struggled financially, barely getting by.

Mr. Tucker, an entrepreneurial sort, came up with an idea. He won the bid to reupholster the chairs at the local movie theater. This stunned his family. He had never stitched a seat. He didn’t even own a sewing apparatus. Still, he found someone to teach him the skill and located an industrial-strength machine. The family scraped together every cent they had to buy it. They drained savings accounts and dug coins out of the sofa. Finally, they had enough.

It was a fine day when Bill road with his dad to pick up the equipment. Bill remembers a jovial, hour-long trip discussing the bright horizons this new opportunity afforded them. They loaded the machine in the back of their truck and secured it right behind the cab. Mr. Tucker then invited his son to drive home. I’ll let Bill tell you what happened next:

“As we were driving along, we were excited, and I, like any sixteen-year-old driver, was probably not paying enough attention to my speed. Just as we were turning on the cloverleaf to get on the expressway, I will never ever, ever forget watching that sewing machine, which was already top-heavy, begin to tip. I slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. I saw it go over the side. I jumped out and ran around the back of the truck. As I rounded the corner, I saw our hope and our dream lying on its side in pieces. And then I saw my dad just looking. All of his risk and all of his endeavor and all of his struggling and all of his dream, all of his hope to take care of his family was lying there, shattered.

“You know what comes next don’t you? ‘Stupid, punk kid driving too fast, not paying attention, ruined the family by taking away our livelihood.’ But that’s not what he said. He looked right at me. ‘Oh, Bill, I am so sorry.’ And he walked over, put his arms around me, and said, ‘Son, this is going to be okay.’

God is whispering the same to you. Those are his arms you feel. Trust him. That is his voice you hear. Believe him. Allow the only decision maker in the universe to comfort you. Life at times appears to fall to pieces, seem irreparable. But it’s going to be okay. How can you know? Because God so loved the world. If God can make a billion galaxies, can’t he make good out of our bad and sense out of our faltering lives? Of course he can. He is God.

From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope

IM Golf Retreat update

2008-01-30T16:51:00.000-06:00

The date is set, April 11-12. We will be going to Garden Valley Golf Course in Tyler on Friday the 11th for a round of golf, spend the night there, and play again on Saturday morning the 12th. We will have some great fellowship time on Friday night. This is the second retreat of its kind and the last one was GREAT! The cost will be around $150 each player (this will be for two rounds of golf, room for one night and meals).

WE NEED CONFIRMATION FROM YOU THAT YOU ARE GOING TO ATTEND BY FEB. 15!!! Please contact Stacey or Ryan Merriman if you want to play and to turn in you money!

Stacey Pearson 214-415-9568 cell or stp@pearsonmechanical.com
Ryan Merriman 817-874-2836 cell or ryanmerriman2000@yahoo.com

This is going to be a great event! Please make plans to join us!

On a Personal Note...

2008-01-21T10:42:00.000-06:00

I try not to have to much personal things on this blog simply because I am the author of it. I try to make this blog about the IronMen as a whole and not my personal life blog.

However, I must share some person info now. I want to praise a wonderful woman, my wife Paige. She has just spent an entire week serving others with her time and efforts. We had my daughter Emaline's 2nd birthday parties (yes we had two, one for friend and one for family) this weekend and my wife did such a great job. She has spend the entire week and more preparing for these parties. On Saturday, we had Emailine's friends and their parents over to the house for a party and it was great! On Sunday, we had our families over to the house for another party and again, it was great! She has put so much effort into these events so that Emaline would have the best day possible. I know that she accomplished this goal!

She is so amazing to me for many reasons. She is so talented and creative (ie... "E" birthday cake, "E" cookies, etc)! She can make or do so many amazing things (ie... we had "E" parties for Emaline. What a great idea and what a great outcome!).

Paige has impecable character! I heard the other day on the radio that following the rules and doing what your are supposed to is a sign of character. Well, if you know Paige, you know that she will NOT break the rules on anything! Oftentimes I give her a hard time about it (ie.. turning right on red even when it says not too...) but I now realize that is a sign of her incredible character! Her richness runs so deep and she is so caring/compassionate. We have some amazing kidos and that goes directly to her and the great role model she is and the intentional time that she spends with them.

There is not a day that goes by that I am not amazed at the monumental blessing that I have in such an amazing woman to spend my life with. I could not handle life without her, no doubt!

I definitely "out kicked my coverage" in marrying Paige!!! I love you so much!

STP

IM EDGE 1/15/08

2008-01-17T14:17:00.000-06:00

We had a great discussion about Nehemiah on Tuesday! First, a little fun thanks to Joel:

Who is one of the only people we know that was smaller than Zacheus?

Knee-Hi-Miah (Nehemiah)! Ha, Ha!

Ok, now that we got the corny joke for the week out of the way, on to the guts.

Nehemiah is an amazing character. One interesting fact is that he was not a religious leader or prophet. He was a cupbearer to the King Artaxerxes and the first part of the book is Nehemiah's own person recollections of what happened.

As he worked for the King, he came to realize through a brother, that the Jewish remnant was in peril. The Jewish remnant was the people that were left after the Babylonians took over Jerusalem years earlier (around150 or so!).

Amazingly, Nehemiah get this news and he is extremely troubled and mourns, fasts and prays for "many days" (actually about 3 months!!!). It is really amazing that he has this reaction when the destruction happened so many year before. Joel explained that a good example would be if we were deeply troubled that President Lincoln died. Well, that happen many years ago and that does not affect us today. But, for Nehemiah, God turned his heart to this issue and he had compassion for his people.

What things in our lives is God leading us to? What are we going to do about it? Will we have a heart that is responsive to God's leadings?

Nehemiah was responsive to God's call and he did not worry about the obstacles that were in his way. He new that he had a divine job to do and he did it! The mark of a good leader is that leader knowing who is in control of the situation!

Stay Strong, PLD
STP, an IronMan

A Friend in High Places ... Max Lucado

2008-01-11T15:49:00.000-06:00

God has put all things under the authority of Christ.(Eph. 1:22)

Christ is running the show. Right now. A leaf just fell from a tree in the Alps. Christ caused it to do so. A newborn baby in India inhaled for the first time. Jesus measured the breath. The migration of the belugas through the oceans? Christ dictates their itinerary. He is
the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. (Col. 1:15–16)

What a phenomenal list! Heavens and earth. Visible and invisible. Thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. No thing, place, or person omitted. The scale on the sea urchin. The hair on the elephant hide. The hurricane that wrecks the coast, the rain that nourishes the desert, the infant’s first heartbeat, the elderly person’s final breath—all can be traced back to the hand of Christ, the firstborn of creation.

Firstborn in Paul’s vernacular has nothing to do with birth order. Firstborn refers to order of rank. As one translation states: “He ranks higher than everything that has been made” (v. 15) Everything? Find an exception. Peter’s mother-in-law has a fever; Jesus rebukes it. A tax needs to be paid; Jesus pays it by sending first a coin and then a fisherman’s hook into the mouth of a fish. When five thousand stomachs growl, Jesus renders a boy’s basket a bottomless buffet. Jesus exudes authority. He bats an eyelash, and nature jumps. No one argues when, at the end of his earthly life, the God-man declares, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18).

The Christ of the galaxies is the Christ of your Mondays. The Starmaker manages your travel schedule. Relax. You have a friend in high places. Does the child of Arnold Schwarzenegger worry about tight pickle-jar lids? Does the son of Nike founder Phil Knight sweat a broken shoestring? If the daughter of Bill Gates can’t turn on her computer, does she panic?
No. Nor should you.

From Next Door Savior

2008 IronMen EDGE Resolutions

2008-01-03T08:15:00.000-06:00

IronMen, hope all is well in your world. We will start the IM EDGE meeting on Tuesday mornings this next week. Please make a point to come and be a part of this great time. We meet at 6:10am at LCCOC.

We are embarking on a new year and new commitments. As we have been talking about at EDGE lately, we want to be more intentional in our walk with the Lord. So, I want you to consider commiting to a couple of things for the new year:

1. Spending at least 15 minutes each morning in quiet time with the Lord. (praying, reading, etc.)
2. Having meaningful prayer time with your wife at least 3 times a week.
3. Giving up one meal a week to spend that time with the Lord.

These 3 things are minimums, you can obviously do more, and hopefully we will. The goal would be to increase these or add to this list in 3 months or so.

This idea comes from Richard and the experience he had in Waco. We all agreed that his experience was incredible and we wanted to be a part of something like that. This would be a lesser version that we could start out with. Please come this next Tuesday and we can discuss this more and talk about other ideas of how we can be more intentional with the Lord in '08.

Stay Strong, PLD

The Awaited One... by Max Lucado

2007-12-26T09:42:00.000-06:00

We were a wreath of Light around the stable, a necklace of diamonds around the structure. Every angel had been called from his post for the coming, even Michael. None doubted God would, but none knew how He could, fulfill his promise.

I’ve heated the water!”

“No need to yell, Joseph I hear you fine.”

Mary would have heard had Joseph whispered. The stable was even smaller than Joseph had imagined but the innkeeper was right- it was clean. I started to clear out the sheep and cow, but Michael stopped me. “The Father wants all of creation to witness the moment.”

Mary cried out and gripped Joseph’s arm with one hand and a feed trough with the other. The thrust in her abdomen lifted her back, and she leaned forward.

“Is it time?” Joseph asked.

She shot back a glance, and he had his answer.

Within moments the Awaited One was born. I was privileged to have a position close to the couple, only a step behind Michael. We both gazed into the wrinkled face of the infant. Joseph had placed hay in a feed trough, giving Jesus his first bed.

All of God was in the infant. Light encircled His face and radiated from His tiny hands. The very glory I had witnessed in His throne room now burst through His skin.

I felt we should sing but did not know what. We had no song. We had no verse. We had never seen the sight of God in a baby. When God had made a star, our words had roared. When He had delivered His servants, our tongues had flown with praise. Before His throne, our songs never ended. But what do you sing to God in a feed trough?

In that moment a wonderful thing happened. As we looked at the baby Jesus, the darkness lifted. Not the darkness of the night, but the darkness of the mystery. Heaven’s enlightenment engulfed the legions.

Our minds were filled with the Truth we had never before known. We became aware for the first time of the Father’s plan to rescue those who bear His name.

From An Angel's Story (originally published as Cosmic Christmas) Copyright (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2002, 2004) Max Lucado

Campout Pics

2007-12-06T10:59:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pics from the campout. Thanks to Alan for taking these!

Campout was GREAT!!!

2007-12-04T13:04:00.001-06:00

We had a great weekend at the campout in Morgan Mill, TX at Bent Tree Ranch. I have been told more than once that this was our best campout yet! It was possible because so many IronMen helped organize and participated. We had about 35 total people, 10 or of those were kids and they might have had the best time of all!

We shared with each other what it means to be an IronMan, how we can be better about leading our families, about our natural instincts and roles as men, and we learned about leadership from Joshua. I sure hope at least one of these discussions was beneficial for all those that attended.

Special thanks to Lane and Ryan for helping coordinate the food and drinks for the weekend. Thanks to Joel for sharing with us and helping me coordinate the spiritual side of things. Jim, we sure appreicate your generocity in letting us take over the ranch for a couple of days. It could not have been done without you guys!

We also got to ride horses, learn to rope from Bennie Peek (pro team roper), have quiet time in the woods, play football and roast marshmellows. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was finally getting to have a bonfire. The fire was awesome and we all enjoyed it!

Thanks to Alan Phillips for taking pictures (we will post them soon); Ken Boggs, Jeff Rackley and Bob McKinnon for preparing breakfast and lunch! Special thanks to our IM Comedian

Thanks to all IronMen that were in anyway involved. We look forward to next year's campout!

Stay Strong, PLD.

STP, an IronMan

The Journey ... Max Lucado

2007-11-21T09:39:00.000-06:00

I drove the family to Grandma’s last night for Thanksgiving. Three hours into the six-hour trip, I realized that I was in a theology lab.

A day with a car full of kids will teach you a lot about God. Transporting a family from one city to another is closely akin to God transporting us from our home to his.

A journey is a journey, whether the destination be the Thanksgiving table or the heavenly one. Both demand patience, a good sense of direction, and a driver who knows that the feast at the end of the trip is worth the hassles in the midst of the trip.

For me, six hours on the road is a small price to pay for my mom’s strawberry cake. I don’t mind the drive because I know the reward. I have three decades of Thanksgivings under my belt, literally. As I drive, I can taste the turkey. Hear the dinner-table laughter. Smell the smoke from the fireplace.

I can endure the journey because I know the destiny.

For some of you, the journey has been long. Very long and stormy. In no way do I wish to minimize the difficulties that you have had to face along the way. Some of you have shouldered burdens that few of us could ever carry. You have bid farewell to life-long partners. You have been robbed of life-long dreams. You have been given bodies that can’t sustain your spirit. You have spouses who can’t tolerate your faith. You have bills that outnumber the paychecks and challenges that outweigh the strength.

And you are tired.

Let me encourage you with a parallel between your life’s journey and the one our family took last night.

It’s worth it.

As I write, the Thanksgiving meal is over. My legs are propped up on the hearth. My tablet is on my lap.

I have every intention of dozing off as soon as I finish this chapter.

The turkey has been attacked. The giblet gravy has been gobbled. The table is clear. The kids are napping. And the family is content.

As we sat around the table today, no one spoke of the long trip to get here. No one mentioned the requests I didn’t honor. No one grumbled about my foot being on the accelerator when their hearts were focused on the banana splits. No one complained about the late hour of arrival.
Yesterday’s challenges were lost in today’s joy.

God never said that the journey would be easy, but he did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.

Remember this: God may not do what you want, but he will do what is right … and best. He’s the Father of forward motion. Trust him. He will get you home. And the trials of the trip will be lost in the joys of the feast.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll close my eyes. I’m a bit tired from the journey, and it feels good to rest.

From In the Eye of the Storm Copyright (W Publishing Group, 1999) Max Lucado

Is Your Thermostat Broken?

2007-11-14T09:34:00.000-06:00

Ironmen Edge 11/13/2007

Have you checked to see if your thermostat is working correctly? That may seem like the wrong question to ask your self when you woke up Tuesday morning, but it was the one posed to us yesterday morning by Joel. Ironmen Edge is fortunate enough that we do have two HVAC experts who study with us during this time, so they were able to walk the rest of us through how a thermostat is supposed to work. Joel also illustrated that women are a thermometer and that men are thermostats. Meaning that women, can tell the thermostat when things are getting overheated or too cold in our households and that the man of the household, or the thermostat, we have the ability change things to make the household live able again. Now, you may be asking yourself at this moment what in the world do you mean. What we really mean with this whole correlation is that as the man of the house we are to be leaders in our home and set the spiritual temperature of our home.

Let's look at Ephesians 5:23 "A husband is the head of of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church." 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. He died to make the church holy. He used the telling of the Good News to make the church clean by washing it with water. Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty." 5:28" And husbands should love their wives as the love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself, because no one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it."

As men we are the head or the leader of our household. We can change the climate of our spiritual households. As we talked about how all this works out in our on families we noticed that by being in tune with our wives we can function as a proper thermostat in unison with the thermometer. By paying attention to the thermometer we can sense when things are getting too hot or too cold. And that the best way to adjust our home temperature is through prayer. Che added to this with a prayer that his family has been praying and uses to set the temperature of his household. Psalm 89:11 - Lord, teach me your ways, and I will live and obey your truths. Help me make worshiping your name the most important thing in my life." With this prayer they have been able to focus on the most important thing in this world and that is worshiping your name.

In summary, we found that we all have ways to adjust the temperature of our households and that if that means being prayerfully consistent, paying attention to our families needs, and placing our love, our faith, and all of our worship in Jesus name we are able to set the stage for family that is ready and willing to follow what ever God calls us to.

An Ironman,

Ryan

Campout Instructions

2007-11-12T21:43:00.000-06:00

IM Campout is right around the corner. We will meet at LCCOC at 5pm on Friday, Nov. 30. We will carpool to Bent Tree Ranch and we should arrive around 7pm. Dinner will be provided by Hard 8 BBQ as we arrive. Here are directions to BTR:

Take I-20 west from Fort Worth proceed thru Weatherford approximately 20 miles, exit south on highway 281, exit # 386, proceed south approximately 15 miles to Morgan Mill, at the Baptist Church turn west on 1188, go west 1 mile to the top of the hill, turn south on county road 132, proceed 2 miles to the ranch on the right side of 132, you will see the name of the ranch over the gate, the entry has white Austin stone columns.

Here is what you should bring:
1. Tent
2. Money for dinner (approximately $10- $15)
3. Bug spray
4. Bible
5. Games (cards, football, baseball and glove, etc)

PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING. I HAVE TO HAVE A NUMBER FOR DINNER! MY CELL 214-415-9568!

Kids are welcome if their father is present.

Please come and join us, we would love to have you!

Edge 10-24-07 - " Taking up his Cross"

2007-10-30T08:55:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday we had another great EDGE meeting at the church. Joel challenged us to really think about Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."

During our conversation we all talked about this statement being a struggle for all of us. Do we really deny ourselves and pick up the cross and follow our savior? What does this mean? If we declare Jesus is the son of God, died for our sins and were baptised is that enough? We all felt that in order to truly follow this verse we must look at Luke 9:23. Although this verse is only one word different, it changed the way we all thought about Matthew 16:24. What if I was to tell you you must follow Matthew 16:24 and make sure you follow it DAILY? Wow!

We as Men and Women of Christ can not only "Do Church" and Proclaim to be Christians when it is convenient to us. We must make it a way of life; a conscious effort to deny ourselves immediate gratification and choose the daily pleasures that can be found in walking in HIS footsteps. Although they are not ovious, I bet if you look back at each day you can find a way you have been blessed daily (This was Ryan's wisdom).

This is difficult to do and was a unanimous struggle for all of us. I know that I personally struggle to keep my stride. I do think that this has been a great week for me in my walk and I know it is because my edge was sharpened on Wednesday. I hope more of my brothers attend on Wednesdays so we can keep each other sharp.

Lane
An Ironman!

IM Service Opportunity

2007-10-17T09:37:00.000-05:00

This is a message I got from Michael Thames yesterday:

Stacy, pray all is well! This is short notice, but we are seeking some folks to help us move garage sale items from our location to Southside church this Friday. Is this something you could email out to the Ironmen? We could use help anytime Friday for set-up and moving and possibly Saturday afternoon for clean-up and taking things back to Fortress.

Please let me know if you can help out and I will let Michael know. Thanks IronMen for all you do.

SHARPEN THE EDGE!

When we miss the target... by Max Lucado

2007-10-08T16:11:00.000-05:00

Read the first verse of Matthew’s gospel. Jesus knew David’s ways. He witnessed the adultery, winced at the murders, and grieved at the dishonesty. But David’s failures didn’t change Jesus’ relation to David. The initial verse of the first chapter of the first gospel calls Christ “the son of David” (Matt. 1:1 KJV). The title contains no disclaimers, explanations, or asterisks. I’d have added a footnote: “This connection in no way offers tacit approval to David’s behavior.” No such words appear. David blew it. Jesus knew it. But he claimed David anyway.

He did for David what my father did for my brother and me.

Back in our elementary school days, my brother received a BB gun for Christmas. We immediately set up a firing range in the backyard and spent the afternoon shooting at an archery target. Growing bored with the ease of hitting the circle, my brother sent me to fetch a hand mirror. He placed the gun backward on his shoulder, spotted the archery bull’s-eye in the mirror, and did his best Buffalo Bill imitation. But he missed the target. He also missed the storehouse behind the target and the fence behind the storehouse. We had no idea where the BB pellet flew. Our neighbor across the alley knew, however. He soon appeared at the back fence, asking who had shot the BB gun and who was going to pay for his sliding-glass door.

At this point I disowned my brother. I changed my last name and claimed to be a holiday visitor from Canada. My father was more noble than I. Hearing the noise, he appeared in the backyard, freshly rousted from his Christmas Day nap, and talked with the neighbor.

Among his words were these:“Yes, they are my children.”“Yes, I’ll pay for their mistakes.”
Christ says the same about you. He knows you miss the target. He knows you can’t pay for your mistakes. But he can. “God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins” (Rom. 3:25 NLT).
Since he was sinless, he could.

Since he loves you, he did. “This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:10 NLT).

He became one of us to redeem all of us. “Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters” (Heb. 2:11 NCV).

He wasn’t ashamed of David. He isn’t ashamed of you. He calls you brother; he calls you sister.

The question is, doyou call him Savior?

From Facing Your Giants

God's Part, Our Part... Stacey Pearson

2007-10-02T21:16:00.000-05:00

God is doing his part! Are we doing our part? Am I doing my part?

Jeremiah 29: 10-14 MSG
"I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out, plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen.
When you come looking for me, you'll find me.
Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."

I know that God is doing his part, I just wonder if I am doing my part! God is so faithful that he gave Jesus to die for us and when this was written, it was much more difficult to pursue God. We have the HS in our hearts as a "deposit" and we can connect to that power anytime we want. Are we doing it, am i doing it? What does it take for me to "want it more than anything else"? Am I desperate for the Lord on a daily basis? Is my faith this real?

These are questions that come to my mind when I read this text and these questions pierce right through me. How about you?

In Pursuit,

STP, an IronMan

An Unearthly Love... Max Lucado

2007-09-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

Your goodness can’t win God’s love. Nor can your badness lose it. But you can resist it. We tend to do so honestly. Having been rejected so often, we fear God may reject us as well. Rejections have left us skittish and jumpy. Like my dog Salty. He sleeps next to me on the couch as I write. He’s a cranky cuss, but I like him. We’ve aged together over the last fifteen years, and he seems worse for the wear. He’s a wiry canine by nature; shave his salt-and-pepper mop, and he’d pass for a bulimic Chihuahua. He didn’t have much to start with; now the seasons have taken his energy, teeth, hearing, and all but eighteen inches’ worth of eyesight.
Toss him a dog treat, and he just stares at the floor through cloudy cataracts. (Or, in his case, dogaracts?) He’s nervous and edgy, quick to growl and slow to trust. As I reach out to pet him, he yanks back. Still, I pet the old coot. I know he can’t see, and I can only wonder how dark his world has become.
We are a lot like Salty. I have a feeling that most people who defy and deny God do so more out of fear than conviction. For all our chest pumping and braggadocio, we are anxious folk—can’t see a step into the future, can’t hear the one who owns us. No wonder we try to gum the hand that feeds us.
But God reaches and touches. He speaks through the immensity of the Russian plain and the density of the Amazon rain forest. Through a physician’s touch in Africa, a bowl of rice in India. Through a Japanese bow or a South American abraço. He’s even been known to touch people through paragraphs like the ones you are reading. If he is touching you, let him.
Mark it down: God loves you with an unearthly love. You can’t win it by being winsome. You can’t lose it by being a loser. But you can be blind enough to resist it.
Don’t. For heaven’s sake, don’t. For your sake, don’t.
“Take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18–19 MSG).

This is powerful

2007-09-14T16:19:00.001-05:00

When you can, make the time to listen to this audio. It is from Max Lucado and is awesome! This will remind you of the Love of God. Here is the link:

http://maxlucado.com/316/events/radio/

Stay Strong, PLD

STP, an IronMan

IM Campout date set!!!

2007-09-06T15:33:00.001-05:00

IronMen, we will have another campout Oct. 19-20 at Bent Tree Ranch near Stephenville. We will most likely meet at the church at 5pm on the 19th and carpool down to the best BBQ in the southwest (Hard 8 in Stephenville). After dinner, we will head to the ranch and have some great times together the rest of the night and the next day.

Bring your kids if you desire, they are welcome. Ask around to some others that have been to the campout in the past and you will see that these events are great times!

Let me know if you plan on attending. thanks and stay strong, PLD!

STP, an IronMan

UNT Football anyone???

2007-08-29T14:25:00.001-05:00

I would like to know how many of you would be interested in going to a UNT football game with a group of IronMen. If you would be interested, please leave me a comment on this blog or email me at stp@pmiair.com . The dates that i am looking at are Oct. 27 or Nov. 10. Please let me know if you are interested.

PLD, stay strong!

STP, an IronMan

Dinner was Great!

2007-08-24T15:51:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much to all that help prepare, serve and clean up the dinner on Wednesday night. I believe it was a success. Special thanks to Ryan and Angie for their hard work in cooking the meal, even if Ryan skipped out on us. I really appreciate the volunteers that helped to make this night a success!

PLD
STP, an IronMan

Guilt and Grace... by Max Lucado

2007-08-21T16:18:00.000-05:00

Sometime ago I read a story of a youngster who was shooting rocks with a slingshot. He could never hit his target. As he returned to Grandma’s backyard, he spied her pet duck. On impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck was dead. The boy panicked and hid the bird in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching.

After lunch that day, Grandma told Sally to help with the dishes. Sally responded, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So, Johnny did the dishes.

What choice did he have? For the next several weeks he was at the sink often. Sometimes for his duty, sometimes for his sin. “Remember the duck,” Sally’d whisper when he objected.

So weary of the chore, he decided that any punishment would be better than washing more dishes, so he confessed to killing the duck. “I know, Johnny,” his grandma said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave out of you.” (Steven Cole, “Forgiveness,” Leadership Magazine, 1983, 86.)

He’d been pardoned, but he thought he was guilty. Why? He had listened to the words of his accuser.

You have been accused as well. You have been accused of dishonesty. You’ve been accused of immorality. You’ve been accused of greed, anger, and arrogance.

Every moment of your life, your accuser is filing charges against you. Even his name, Diabolos, means “slanderer.” Who is he? The devil.

As he speaks, you hang your head. You have no defense. His charges are fair. “I plead guilty, your honor,” you mumble.

“The sentence?” Satan asks.

“The wages of sin is death,” explains the judge, “but in this case the death has already occurred. For this one died with Christ.”

Satan is suddenly silent. And you are suddenly jubilant. You realize that Satan cannot accuse you. No one can accuse you! Fingers may point and voices may demand, but the charges glance off like arrows hitting a shield. No more dirty dishwater. No more penance. No more nagging sisters. You have stood before the judge and heard him declare, “Not guilty.”

From In the Grip of Grace

Two Awesome verses from Jeremiah

2007-08-09T12:56:00.001-05:00

Check out these two awesome verses in Jeremiah:

24:7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

31:33-34 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach is neighbor or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord', because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.

I love the picture of God's faithfulness in these scriptures. In the midst of struggle and turmoil, God has a plan!!! We never have to doubt that.

PLD
STP, an IronMan

God Give Rest ... by Max Lucado

2007-07-30T14:51:00.000-05:00

The teaching I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light. Matthew 11:30

Paul had and interesting observation about the way we treat people. He said it about marriage, but the principle applies in any relationship. "The man who loves his wife loves himself" (Eph. 5:28). There is a correlation between the way you feel about yourself and the way you feel about others. If you are at peace with yourself - if you like yourself - you will get along with others.

The converse is also true. If you don't like yourself, if you are ashamed, embarrassed, or angry, other people are going to know it...

Which takes us to the question, "How does a person get relief?"...

"Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28)... Jesus says he is the solution for the weariness of soul.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Headed Homeward... by Max Lucado

2007-07-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

Aging is God’s idea. It’s one of the ways he keeps us headed homeward. We can’t change the process, but we can change our attitude. Here is a thought. What if we looked at the aging body as we look at the growth of a tulip?

Do you ever see anyone mourning over the passing of the tulip bulb? Do gardeners weep as the bulb begins to weaken? Of course not. We don’t purchase tulip girdles or petal wrinkle cream or consult plastic-leaf surgeons. We don’t mourn the passing of the bulb; we celebrate it. Tulip lovers rejoice the minute the bulb weakens. “Watch that one,” they say. “It’s about to blossom.”

Could it be heaven does the same? The angels point to our bodies. The more frail we become, the more excited they become. “Watch that lady in the hospital,” they say. “She’s about to blossom.” “Keep an eye on the fellow with the bad heart. He’ll be coming home soon.”

“We are waiting for God to finish making us his own children, which means our bodies will be made free” (Rom. 8:23).

Are our bodies now free? No. Paul describes them as our “earthy bodies” (Phil. 3:21 MSG). Or as other translations state:

“our lowly body” (NKJV)
“the body of our humble state” (NASB)
“these weak mortal bodies” (NLT)
“our vile body” (KJV)
“our simple bodies” (NCV)

You could add your own adjective, couldn’t you? Which word describes your body? My cancerous body? My arthritic body? My deformed body? My crippled body? My addicted body? My ever-expanding body? The word may be different, but the message is the same: These bodies are weak. They began decaying the minute we began breathing.

And, according to God, that’s a part of the plan. Every wrinkle and every needle take us one step closer to the last step when Jesus will change our simple bodies into forever bodies. No pain. No depression. No sickness. No end.

This is not our forever house. It will serve for the time being. But there is nothing like the moment we enter his door.

From Traveling LIght

IM Breakfast tomorrow

2007-07-20T13:42:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder, IM Breakfast is tomorrow at El Concho Cafe at Hicks Airfield in Ft. Worth. The address is:

171 Aviator Dr.
Ft. Worth, TX 76179

Phone number: 817-439-1041

Call me if you have any questions at 214-415-9568. Thanks men and I hope to see many of you there.

Stay Strong, PLD!

VBS is successful

2007-07-12T08:52:00.000-05:00

The IronMen want to give a special shout out to the VBS crew and participants. This year's VBS at LCCOC was a great success that wrapped up last night. The Galilee village was taken down last night and all the villagers were sent home, though not without powerful memories and newfound realization of who Jesus was and is today! Thanks to all the kids that came to "Galilee by the Sea". I hope that you had a great time! Thanks also to all the workers that helped in so many ways (there were more volunteers than ever before).

Special tribute to Paige, Rhonda, Kelli and Lane! You guys are awesome and yall did a great job. Yall worked together so well and i know you were a blessing to each other. Because of your hearts and efforts, the gospel was spread a little more and the amazing message of Jesus was shared in "real" ways to the kids and their parents. Now we can get ready for next year!!!

STP, an IronMan

Diving into Life Headfirst... by Max Lucado

2007-07-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

Steve Lyons will be remembered as the player who dropped his pants.

The White Sox were playing the Tigers in Detroit. Lyons bunted and raced down the first-base line. He knew it was going to be tight, so he dove at the bag. Safe! The Tiger’s pitcher disagreed. He and the umpire got into a shouting match, and Lyons stepped in to voice his opinion.

Absorbed in the game and the debate, Lyons felt dirt trickling down the inside of his pants. Without missing a beat he dropped his britches, wiped away the dirt, and … uh oh … twenty thousand jaws hit the bleachers’ floor.

Within twenty-four hours of the “exposure,” he received more exposure than he’d gotten his entire career: seven live television and approximately twenty radio interviews.

Fortunately, for Steve, he was wearing sliding pants under his baseball pants.

Now, I don’t know Steve Lyons. I’m not a White Sox fan. Nor am I normally appreciative of men who drop their pants in public. But I think Steve Lyons deserves a salute.

I think anybody who dives into first base deserves a salute. How many guys do you see roaring down the baseline of life more concerned about getting a job done than they are about saving their necks? How often do you see people diving headfirst into anything?

Too seldom, right? But when we do … when we see a gutsy human throwing caution to the wind and taking a few risks … ah, now that’s a person worthy of a pat on the … back.

So here’s to all the Steve Lyons of the world.

Here’s to the Miracles, a choral group out of Memphis, Tennessee, made up of the mentally retarded and the stout-hearted. Just see if you can listen to them and still feel sorry for yourself.

Here’s to the hero of the San Francisco marathon who crossed the finish line without seeing it. (He was blind.)

Here’s to the woman whose husband left her with a nest of kids to raise and bills to pay, but who somehow tells me every Sunday that God has never been closer.

Here’s to the single father of two girls who learned to braid their hair.

Here’s to the grandparents who came out of retirement to raise the children their children couldn’t raise.

Here’s to the foster parents who took in a child long enough for that child to take their hearts—then gave the child up again.

Here’s to the girl, told by everyone to abort the baby, who chose to keep the baby.

Here’s to the doctor who treats more than half of his patients for free.

Here’s to the heroin-addict-turned-missionary.

Here’s to the executive who every Tuesday hosts a 5:30 A.M. meeting for Bible study and prayer.

Here’s to all of you reckless lovers of life and God, who stand on first base because you paid a price to get there.

So what if you forget about pleasing the crowd and get caught with your pants down? At least you’re playing ball in the pros.

Most of us aren’t even in your league.

From In the Eye of the Storm

Learning to Listen...by Max Lucado

2007-06-27T14:50:00.000-05:00

Equipped with the right tools, we can learn to listen to God. What are those tools? Here are the ones I have found helpful.

A regular time and place. Select a slot on your schedule and a corner of your world, and claim it for God. For some it may be best to do this in the morning. Others prefer the evening Others prefer many encounters during the day.

Some sit under a tree, others in the kitchen. Maybe your commute to work or your lunch break would be appropriate. Find a time and place that seems right for you.

How much time should you take? As much as you need. Value quality over length. Your time with God should last long enough for you to say what you want and for God to say what he wants. Which leads us to a second tool you need—an open Bible.

God speaks to us through his Word. The first step in reading the Bible is to ask God to help you understand it.

Before reading the Bible, pray. Don’t go to Scripture looking for your own idea; go searching for God’s. Read the Bible prayerfully. Also, read the Bible carefully.

Here is a practical point. Study the Bible a little at a time. God seems to send messages as he did his manna: one day’s portion at a time. Choose depth over quantity. Read until a verse “hits” you, then stop and meditate on it. Copy the verse onto a sheet of paper, or write it in your journal, and reflect on it several times.

Will I learn what God intends? If I listen, I will.

Understanding comes a little at a time over a lifetime.

There is a third tool for having a productive time with God. Not only do we need a regular time and an open Bible, we also need a listening heart. Don’t forget the admonition from James: “The man who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and makes a habit of so doing, is not the man who hears and forgets. He puts that law into practice and he wins true happiness” (James 1:25 PHILLIPS).

We know we are listening to God when what we read in the Bible is what others see in our lives.

Paul urged his readers to put into practice what they had learned from him. “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do” (Phil. 4:9 RSV).

If you want to be just like Jesus, let God have you. Spend time listening for him until you receive your lesson for the day—then apply it.

From Just Like JesusCopyright (W Publishing Group, 1998, 2001) Max Lucado

Amazing Situation

2007-06-21T12:46:00.000-05:00

I am totally amazed a the power of water! As most of you know, there was some major flooding in the Trophy Club area this past week. There were two families in perticular that were heavily affected by the flooding and they lost almost everything.

We took a group of guys and gals over to their houses last night to try to help out in the clean up process. Here are some pics of the damage:

The water rose over 5 feet above a nearby bridge. Wow! I cannot believe what must have been going through their minds as the water was rushing closer and closer to their house. I cannot imagine what is going through their minds today as they continually have to deal with the clean up process, the paperwork that must be done with the state, and all the loss that they continually find.

My heart goes out to these families so much and i just hope that we were able to be God's hands and feet to touch their lives and make a difference. They are wonderful people and i pray that God's love is so abundant that they may not question Him at all.

Thanks to all the men and women that participated in this great time. You guys are awesome and just as Joel's said the other day, it is equally amazing that there are so many loving and caring people that are willing to help in times like this. I truly appreciate all of you and i saw God's hands doing some dirty but so rewarding work yesterday!

Stay Strong, PLD!

Quiet Heroes... by Max Lucado

2007-06-07T08:39:00.000-05:00

Quiet heroes dot the landscape of our society. They don’t wear ribbons or kiss trophies; they wear spit-up and kiss boo-boos. They don’t make the headlines, but they do sew the hemlines and check the outlines and stand on the sidelines. You won’t find their names on the Nobel Prize short list, but you will find their names on the homeroom, carpool, and Bible teacher lists.

They are parents, both by blood and deed, name and calendar. Heroes. News programs don’t call them. But that’s okay. Because their kids do … They call them Mom. They call them Dad. And these moms and dads, more valuable than all the executives and lawmakers west of the Mississippi, quietly hold the world together.

Be numbered among them. Read books to your kids. Play ball while you can and they want you to. Make it your aim to watch every game they play, read every story they write, hear every recital in which they perform.

Children spell love with four letters: T-I-M-E. Not just quality time, but hang time, downtime, anytime, all the time. Your children are not your hobby; they are your calling.
Your spouse is not your trophy but your treasure.

Don’t pay the price David paid. Look ahead to his final hours. To see the ultimate cost of a neglected family, look at the way our hero dies.

David is hours from the grave. A chill has set in that blankets can’t remove. Servants decide he needs a person to warm him, someone to hold him tight as he takes his final breaths.

Do they turn to one of his wives? No. Do they call on one of his children? No. They seek “for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel … and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her” (1 Kings 1:3–4).

I suspect that David would have traded all his conquered crowns for the tender arms of a wife. But it was too late. He died in the care of a stranger, because he made strangers out of his family.

But it’s not too late for you.

Make your wife the object of your highest devotion. Make your husband the recipient of your deepest passion. Love the one who wears your ring.

And cherish the children who share your name.

Succeed at home first.

From Facing Your Giants

Jeremiah 31:31ff

2007-06-01T16:08:00.000-05:00

Listen to these words from Jeremiah 31:31-34:

31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD.
33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

I am amazed by this prophecy. I think this is so powerful that in the midst of the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, God is telling them about the new covenant in Christ. God is so good.

While studying Jeremiah, the question has come to my mind many times: Why is God so harsh with the people by sending them into captivity for 70 years? That is some peoples entire life time.

As a step back and look at the situation and read more of the book, I realize that many times God has given them the opportunity to avoid this situation and also many times he has made the promise to bring them out of the captivity (29:10ff). So, I see that it is almost like the parent/child relationship that we deal with. We don't like to discipline our children, but we know it's the only way they are going to learn some lessons. The fact that the captivity is 70 years seems like and eternity to us but to God it is but a glimpse of time. My human eyes and mind may not understand, but from God's perspective, it is another situation where he is preparing his people for Christ to come.

I see the difference in the way God deals with his people in the OT vs. the NT. However, one thing comes to mind: even though He seems more "harse" in the OT, He continually gives his people chance after chance to avoid the problems. Then, just like me and you today, they still do things their way. God has to discipline them like we do our children.

His love is just as immense in the OT as it is in the NT. I love this study because it is showing me again how amazing God is and how faithful he is! Praise God!

Stay stong, PLD!

Peace for Anxious Days...by Max Lucado

2007-05-14T11:05:00.000-05:00

When my daughters were single-digit ages—two, five, and seven—I wowed them with a miracle. I told them the story of Moses and the manna and invited them to follow me on a wilderness trek through the house.

“Who knows,” I suggested, “manna may fall from the sky again.”

We dressed in sheets and sandals and did our best Bedouin hike through the bedrooms. The girls, on my instruction, complained to me, Moses, of hunger and demanded I take them back to Egypt, or at least to the kitchen. When we entered the den, I urged them to play up their parts: groan, moan, and beg for food.

“Look up,” I urged. “Manna might fall any minute.”

Two-year-old Sara obliged with no questions, but Jenna and Andrea had their doubts. How can manna fall from a ceiling?

Just like the Hebrews. “How can God feed us in the wilderness?”

Just like you? You look at tomorrow’s demands, next week’s bills, next month’s silent calendar. Your future looks as barren as the Sinai Desert. “How can I face my future?” God tells you what I told my daughters: “Look up.”

When my daughters did, manna fell! Well, not manna, but vanilla wafers dropped from the ceiling and landed on the carpet. Sara squealed with delight and started munching. Jenna and Andrea were old enough to request an explanation.

My answer was simple. I knew the itinerary. I knew we would enter this room. Vanilla wafers fit safely on the topside of the ceiling-fan blades. I had placed them there in advance. When they groaned and moaned, I turned on the switch.

God’s answer to the Hebrews was similar. Did he know their itinerary? Did he know they would grow hungry? Yes and yes. And at the right time, he tilted the manna basket toward earth.

And what about you? God knows what you need and where you’ll be. Any chance he has some vanilla wafers on tomorrow’s ceiling fans? Trust him. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:33-34).

From Every Day Deserves a ChanceCopyright (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007) Max Lucado

Campout was a success!!!

2007-05-10T15:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone that came to the campout last weekend. We had a great time and we were really uplifted! I know that all that attended enjoyed a break from their busy schedules to relax in the country and be filled with God's word. Here are some pics for you to look at:

Stay Strong, PLD!

More Prayers are needed...

2007-05-09T15:14:00.000-05:00

Please keep praying for little Kanyon, RIGHT NOW! He was moved to Dallas over the weekend and had a rough transistion. He is fighting an infection now and awaiting 2 more surgeries once the infection is cleared up. He needs us IronMen. Time to "mount up"!!! See the family's blogsite for the whole story at www.thephillipsphamily.blogspot.com . Thanks for your support men

Stay Strong, PLD!

Directions for Campout

2007-05-04T07:47:00.000-05:00

Directions To Bent Tree Ranch

Take I-20 west from Fort Worth proceed thru Weatherford approximately 20 miles, exit south on highway 281, exit # 386, proceed south approximately 15 miles to Morgan Mill, at the Baptist Church turn west on 1188, go west 1 mile to the top of the hill, turn south on county road 132, proceed 2 miles to the ranch on the right side of 132, you will see the name of the ranch over the gate, the entry has white Austin stone columns.

Get Out and Grow Campout info

2007-04-23T16:13:00.000-05:00

Some info about the Campout that you need to know:
1. Bring bug spray.
2. Bring a tent if you have one and sleeping materials (pillow, sleeping bag, etc.)
3. The only money you need is for your dinner Friday night at Hard 8 Bar-B-Que.
4. Bring your son or daughter if you want to. They will be an added delight.
5. We have a great guest speaker named Kenny Lybrand. He has some great things to share!
6. We should be done by 3pm or so on Saturday so you can get back to your house for dinner.
7. Bent Tree Ranch is about and 1.5 hour drive from Trophy Club (depending on traffic).
8. Bring drinks for your family for Friday and Saturday.

Agenda:
Friday, May 4th

5:00 pm Meet at LCCOC for carpool and directions

7:00 pm Arrive at Hard 8 Bar-B-Que for dinner

9:00-10:00 (Bent Tree Ranch) Session #1 “ How do I Make The Right Decision?”

Saturday, May 5th

6:30 am Rise and Shine breakfast, prepared by world class country chef Jim Pearson

7:30-8:30 am Session #2 “Christian or Disciple?”

8:30 am Break

10:00-11:00 am Session #3 – “Learning to Forgive”

11:00 am Break for lunch, prepared by world class country chef Jim Pearson

12:30 – 1:30 pm Session #4 and wrap up “God’s Amazing Grace!”

Please let me know if you are going to attend and if you have any more questions!

Thanks and PLD!

The Cradle of Hope... Max Lucado

2007-04-04T10:04:00.000-05:00

Christ rose first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will become alive again.
1 Corinthians 15:23 TLB

Let’s go to the tomb, for Jesus lies in the tomb.

Still. Cold. Stiff. Death has claimed its greatest trophy. He is not asleep in the tomb or resting in the tomb or comatose in the tomb; he is dead in the tomb. No air in his lungs. No thoughts in his brain. No feeling in his limbs. His body is as lifeless as the stone slab upon which he has been laid.

The executioners made sure of it. When Pilate learned that Jesus was dead, he asked the soldiers if they were certain. They were. Had they seen the Nazarene twitch, had they heard even one moan, they would have broken his legs to speed his end. But there was no need. The thrust of a spear removed all doubt. The Romans knew their job. And their job was finished. They pried loose the nails, lowered his body, and gave it to Joseph and Nicodemus.

Joseph of Arimathea. Nicodemus the Pharisee. Jesus had answered the prayer of their hearts, the prayer for the Messiah. As much as the soldiers wanted him dead, even more these men wanted him alive.

As they sponged the blood from his beard, don’t you know they listened for his breath? As they wrapped the cloth around his hands, don’t you know they hoped for a pulse? Don’t you know they searched for life?

But they didn’t find it.

So they do with him what they were expected to do with a dead man. They wrap his body in clean linen and place it in a tomb. Joseph’s tomb. Roman guards are stationed to guard the corpse. And a Roman seal is set on the rock of the tomb. For three days, no one gets close to the grave.

But then, Sunday arrives. And with Sunday comes light—a light within the tomb. A bright light? A soft light? Flashing? Hovering? We don’t know. But there was a light. For he is the light. And with the light came life. Just as the darkness was banished, now the decay is reversed. Heaven blows and Jesus breathes. His chest expands. Waxy lips open. Wooden fingers lift. Heart valves swish and hinged joints bend.

And, as we envision the moment, we stand in awe.

We stand in awe not just because of what we see, but because of what we know. We know that we, too, will die. We know that we, too, will be buried. Our lungs, like his, will empty. Our hands, like his, will stiffen. But the rising of his body and the rolling of the stone give birth to a mighty belief: “What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us” (Rom. 6:5–9 MSG).

From When Christ ComesCopyright (W Publishing Group, 1999) Max Lucado

Please Pray again...

2007-03-29T10:40:00.000-05:00

I am asking for your fervent prayers for the Phillips family again. They are the family that had the twins extremely premature. Last night, the girl, Jade, passed way and that leave Kanyon the boy still fighting for his life. He is so small and fragile. Please pray that God will allow him to survive and for peace and understanding for the parents, Jaymie and Kory. They are incredible folks and we love them tremdously!

Please Lord hold Kanyon's hand and pull him through!!!

I will speak to you in your language... Max Lucado

2007-03-27T23:06:00.000-05:00

Pilate wrote a sign and put it on the cross.

It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. John 19:19

The framer of our destiny is familiar with our denseness. God knows we sometimes miss the signs. Maybe that’s why he has given us so many. The rainbow after the flood signifies God’s covenant. Circumcision identifies God’s chosen, and the stars portray the size of his family. Even today, we see signs in the New Testament church. Communion is a sign of his death, and baptism is a sign of our spiritual birth. Each of these signs symbolizes a greater spiritual truth.The most poignant sign, however, was found on the cross. A trilingual, hand-painted, Roman-commissioned sign.

Every passerby could read the sign, for every passerby could read Hebrew, Latin, or Greek—the three great languages of the ancient world. “Hebrew was the language of Israel, the language of religion; Latin the language of the Romans, the language of law and government; and Greek the language of Greece, the language of culture. Christ was declared king in them all.” God had a message for each. “Christ is king.” The message was the same, but the languages were different. Since Jesus was a king for all people, the message would be in the tongues of all people.

There is no language God will not speak. Which leads us to a delightful question. What language is he speaking to you? I’m not referring to an idiom or dialect but to the day-to-day drama of your life. God does speak, you know. He speaks to us in whatever language we will understand.

There are times he speaks the “language of abundance.” Is your tummy full? Are your bills paid? Got a little jingle in your pocket? Don’t be so proud of what you have that you miss what you need to hear.

Are you hearing the “language of need”? Or how about the “language of affliction”? Talk about an idiom we avoid. But you and I both know how clearly God speaks in hospital hallways and sickbeds.

God speaks all languages—including yours. Has he not said, “I will ... teach you in the way you should go” (Ps. 32:8 NIV)? Are we not urged to “receive instruction from His mouth” (Job 22:22 NASB)? What language is God speaking to you?

And aren’t you glad he is speaking? Aren’t you grateful that he cares enough to talk? Isn’t it good to know that “the LORD tells his secrets to those who respect him” (Ps. 25:14)?

Think a word of thanks to him would be appropriate? And while you’re at it, ask him if you might be missing any signs he is sending your way.

From He Chose the NailsCopyright (W Publishing Group, 2001) Max Lucado

Prayer Request... Urgent!!!

2007-03-26T14:25:00.000-05:00

I wanted to ask for your prayers for some family friends of mine Kory and Jaymie. They were supposed to have twins in July and last night Jaymie gave birth to both. They are extremely small and will be evaluated more as the day goes on. This is a very difficult situation as you can imagine. Please lift them up in your prayers! thanks so much.

STP, an IronMan

IronMen Campout set

2007-03-21T22:55:00.000-05:00

We have set a date for our second IronMen "Get Out and Grow" Campout. This will take place May 4-5. We will meet at the church Friday, the 4th, in the afternoon. We will drive to Stephenville to eat dinner at Hard 8 Bar-B-Que. After a great filling dinner, we will drive to Bent Tree Ranch where we will have some devotional time and some quiet time in the country. Then, in the morning, we will rise early to greet the sun and share in the beauty of a country sunrise. Saturday will be filled with devotional time and fun activities.

Please make plans to attend this event, it is going to be great! We have a guest speaker lined up and I know that you will love him. His name is Kenny Lybrand and he has some great things lined up to share with us.

If you have any questions, please let me know. My email address is stp@pmiair.com.

PLD
STP, an IronMan

Words of Wisdom

2007-03-08T10:44:00.000-06:00

Every year Kelli's grandparents give me a desktop "Life's Little Instruction Calender." As I remember to rip off the daily message, I keep the ones that are significant and look through them time to time. I found a couple that are pretty wise and I want to share them with you.
1) You can't make good deals with bad people.
2) Don't forget that contentment is the greatest wealth.
3) Remember, the direction of your life is more important than its speed.
4) Children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get.
5) Spoil your spouse, not your children.
6) If you save money even on a little income, your success is almost assured.

Number three is the thought that I need to remember as I live day to day. I wonder how different my life would be if I actually follower these six instructions?

Ironmen softball started on Monday and we started off with a bang. Well, not quite! We lost our first two games. It seems that we always have a tough first week every season. Although we lost the game we won the battle in the end. We have been playing for several years now and we do not have to ask the other team to pray with us. They know that no matter the outcome we will meet on the pitchers mound and Pray. If you read this e-mail and want to be a part of Ironmen softball you are welcome to join the team!

Hope you all have a blessed week,
Lane Ladewig
*An Ironman*

Work day at Blanca's house

2007-03-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

Well, we had a successful workday at Blanca's house. Blanca is a great woman that was in need of some repairs and fixing up on her house. You see, Blanca is now a widow as her husband died around Thanksgiving from cancer. He was the main financial source for the family and therefore she cannot afford her house anymore. In order to sell her house, she needed to do some fixing up so that it would have a better chance of selling.

This is where the IronMen came in.

We were able to raise money for our supplies and we also had $277 left over to give Blanca as a cash gift. We painted 3 rooms, the hallway and kitchen. We repaired the vent-a-hood with some excellent carpentry work. Thanks to Green Works landscape, we leveled the area around the foundation and added some sod. Wow, it looks so much better. Check out these pics: