I can't even imagine...

I have been reading the last few days about Elijah. Starting in 1 Kings 17. As the story goes he was one of God's greatest prophets. God used him to defeat 450 false prophets of the idol Baal. He did some amazing thing for God. However the most amazing thing that happened to him was that he was able to stand before God just like Moses. He appears again in the new testament in Matt. 17 on the Mount of Transfiguration.

"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus."

I can't even imagine what it would be like to stand in the presents of God like all of these men did. I can't imagine the emotions that would go through me in those few minutes. Would I be excited, terrified, or would I be humbled.

The truth of the matter is that one day we will all stand before God and we will all give an account of what we have done in this life.

"By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear." Isaiah 45:23

The worst thing is that there is only one man in human history that was/is worthy of standing before God and be blameless. The bad news is that we murdered him on a cross. The most amazing news is that he died willingly so that he could stand by our side when we stand before God.

Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but through Me. John 14:6

Jesus is my Savior and Lord. I pray that he will guide me, and teach me to walk in this life as he did.

Our kind and gracious Heavenly Father, please guide us in our daily lives to be more like your son. I pray for those that have received your son as their savior, that we may walk in the light so that those who have not received him will see Jesus in us. I also pray for those that are lost. I pray that they will see the light and become your faithful children, In all thing let us give you the Glory and Honor forever, AMEN.

Youth Alive

This past weekend I was able to be a part of the 47th Annual TCC here in DC. For those that don't know TCC stands for Teenage Christian Conference. The theme of this years TCC was "Lord reign in me," and he did reign over the entire event. I know I am 12 years removed from being a teenager, but I helped cook and was also asked to say a prayer for the Exes devo. The day started off well with my daily scripture reading for Proverbs 20. The one that stuck out to me that morning was "The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him." Proverbs 20:7 I thought this was very fitting considering the day that was ahead of me. We went up about 10:30 am and started the fires in the pits so that we could begin cooking burgers for the teenagers. We had about 10 guys at the small park and we enjoyed about 3 hours of fellowship while we cooked. Two of our elders and a few of our deacons were there. It is great to be able to observe Godly men in everyday fellowship. When we got all of the cooking done, we all went to the church to enjoy the festivities. I was asked to pray for the devo, so when we went up front I had the opportunity to listen to about 600 teenagers worship our God in song. That truly was one of the most awe inspiring 15 minutes that I have ever been able to witness. I have sat amongst the group before, but never in front. Wow!!

The speakers for the day did an outstanding job of captivating the young crowd. They were very attentive and interacted very well with the speakers. To top off the entire day we gained a new sister in Christ. God did some great work among the youth of Denver City and all of those who visited. To him be the Glory!

God, I pray that you will continue to work in the lives of our youth and in each one of us. I pray that you will Reign in each and every one of us. Please, be with our youth, make them strong servants for you. Thank You for all of the safe travel! It is in your sons most Holy Name, AMEN!

Miracle

January 18, 2006

The first of the two greatest days of my life. I spent all day by the side of my wife as she went through the hours of labor. When the time came to finally welcome our oldest daughter Madisyn Grace into our lives, everything just seemed so crazy and hectic as the doctor and nurses move around the room. She was finally born at 12:47 am on the 18th. After mom and baby were checked out and deemed okay by the doctor, all of our family came in and met her also. We spent an hour or so with everyone as they all held Madisyn and congratulated Krystal and I. By the time everyone had went home and everything got settled down It was well after 3:00am. It had been a long and exhausting day and Krystal finally got some sleep. As I sat there in the hospital room, the only sound was that of Krystal and Madisyn sleeping. It was then that the most amazing feeling washed over me. I was in complete awe of the fact that I was now a father. She was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my entire life. It was at that moment that I knew I wasn't alone in my pride. I realized that God was also proudly watching as another one of his creations was born. How big is that?

The best part is that I had the exact same experience on 8-9-07 when Serah Faith came into our lives.

I know in my bones that I would do absolutely anything for my daughters. I would take a bullet if need be. Amazingly so will our father, God. In fact, he did something that I don't think I am capable of even considering. He gave up his one and only Son, so that we could live forever with him.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

After that, there isn't anything else left to say!

Father, Thank you so much for the sacrifice you made for us. Thank you for the blessings that you give us daily. Please help us to become better children. In you Holy Name, AMEN

Starting out

First, I must say that this is something that is out of my comfort zone. I do not see my self as a good writer, but I believe that this is a way for me to express my journey with God. I have learned through life experience that being uncomfortable is when we grow the most. So here we go...

I have started out my readings and study in the book of Proverbs. I have read through this book before but I haven't taken the time to study it in depth. The amazing thing about this book is that the Lord laid out just about everything that we face in our daily lives so that simple people like me can understand. This morning I made my way through Proverbs 3. In this chapter is probably my favorite passage in the the bible.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

As one of my good friends Ray always says, "this is the most important lesson you will read on this page today." This passage is our key to life everlasting. My daily struggle is to apply this to my life. If you think about it we are not born with the ability to be selfless. The most selfish creature on this planet is an infant. The journey toward God is tough because we have to go against our nature (me, me, me) and put all of our trust it him. (you, you, you) As for me this is my greatest struggle. I pray for him to help me with that everyday.

Lord, thank you so much for creating me. Thank you for the tools you have given me to lead a fruitful life an become closer to you. Thank you for the blessings you have bestowed on me. Most of all Thank you for your son Jesus. It is in your name I pray, AMEN.