Blogging has seemed to have taken a backseat to various other interests in my life.  Lately, my daughter had me order her a new computer so we had to clean up the area where it was to be installed, remove the old Compaq from its stand and move it, and then set up the new HP.  To ease some of the transfer of files I adjusted our home network so she could do file sharing with the old computer and she was able to recover her Sim’s files in that way.  WinXP has a wizard built into it to help move email and other computer settings.  I also need to install a firewire card so she can hookup to her video camera.  Before I ordered the new HP I looked at the general specs for it and thought it was supposed to come with the firewire, but it didn’t.  I sent an email to HP to complain but it came back undeliverable. The removal of the older computer means I have to bump the old Gateway I have in the unused bedroom so I can put the Compaq that the daughters used in its place.

My nephew wants the old Gateway so I decided on Wednesday night to reformat the hard drive, reinstall windows 98se, and then find some free antivirus, firewall, office suite, etc. to put on it for him.  It appears the timing is about right as his Mom called last night to say their Dell was freezing up as soon as it booted.  It is probably going to be on my future agenda to finish the Gateway so they can use it while I try and troubleshoot the Dell.  The reformat and reinstall of windows went well except for my having to search for video drivers as the default windows drivers only allowed for one video setting.  The search went well and the new drivers solved that problem but it kept me up about an hour past my bedtime.  There was also an audio driver conflict that needed resolved and a little search on Google took care of that on Thursday night after I took my Mom out to eat on as I hadn’t seen her for a couple of weeks.  Last night I finished installing the software and now need to put a couple of screws back in and give it to him.

Then my plan is to run the recover disks on the old Compaq and reinstall win 98se on it.  The daughters have a lot of excess “crap” on that computer and it’s really running slow.  My wife wants to know why I need the extra computer but it does come in handy if one goes down for repairs.  That will leave me with the original Packard-Bell which I will probably take the CPU, the drives, the audio and video cards, network card, etc. out of and then trash what’s left.  It still works to connect to the internet but doesn’t have much memory and wouldn’t be of much use to anyone.  I can keep the scavenged parts for emergencies with the other computers.  I also wanted to remove the zip drive from the Gateway as a spare but the floppy drive wouldn’t work after I removed the zip drive but did when I put it back.  I know there is good reason and most likely a workaround but it just doesn’t seem worth the effort at this time so I guess I’ll leave it in.

So, that’s where my evenings have been lately besides still battling this cold which seems to fluctuate in intensity.  I suppose allergies are somewhat to blame for some of it but there is a purpose in all this if only I’d seek God intensely enough to figure it out.  Today I need to pay bills, get mine and my children’s taxes finished up, send in the rebates on the daughter’s new computer, and prepare for church tonight.  I’m way behind on reading blogs and want to get caught up soon so forgive me if I haven’t been around for a while!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody

Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List) or use this link (Click Here).  Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!

I know it's been a while.  The Saturday night after my last post I had a very sore throat and by Monday my head was clogged up big time.  I missed two days of work and returned to take care of some pending items that I needed to address but was kind of going through the motions.  By Saturday I was feeling somewhat better, but not 100%.  I had a bit of problem singing during xP on Saturday Night and then the band also played on Sunday Morning (second service) but I still didn't feel totally well.  Sunday evening we went to small group and the group leader wanted to sit around a fire outside, which we did, and on Monday morning (yesterday) I started feeling clogged up again.  Today I have another sore throat!  I'll admit I need some prayer.  I have another follow-up blog ready but don't really feel like going over it and editing it for posting so it will have to wait another day (or two or three or...).  On the bright side, I returned to the Morgantown L/D today with the electrician and I think we have finally solved their nagging electrical problem.  Only time will tell for sure but we seem to have gotten over the hump on that problem.  As for work in general, the budget is so bad they are considering laying off people, at least temporarily, but I think I'm in good shape other than there isn't enough money to complete all my projects.  God IS Good and He'll get me through all this so I think I shall go and rest! Enjoy the rest of the week!

I just realized that today is the last day of my third year on xanga and thus tomorrow will start my fourth year. Time flies when you are having fun.  I’ve met a lot of fine and interesting people here and though many have come and gone, I appreciate each and every one of you that take the time to come here and read what I post and especially those of you who sacrifice your time to comment.  I may not always agree with you, but I do appreciate your efforts nonetheless.  I’ve been working on this blog for several days now but have either been interrupted or lacked the mental discipline to get it finished until today.  Plus, I don’t take this subject, or any concerning Christianity, lightly so I like to give it time to “simmer” before posting.

1 Corinthians 13:
¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

My purpose today is to address some of the excellent comments I received on the last blog but first I wanted to include, as I have done a few times in the past, 1 Cor. 13 which, I believe, is a much overlooked passage of the Bible, in as much as how it instructs us to live before others.  The meaning of God’s love and how we are to live it has certainly been distorted by the modern interpretations and presentations of love which could be better defined as “lust” or “sex” and requires much more involvement of emotions rather than genuine concern for the needs of others.

One theme I perceived (and as always in the impersonal communication through the written word) was that those who were in some way in disagreement with the quote and my use of it seemed to read more into it than either I or the author, I presume, had intended.

Examples:

The first part, “For 35 years, I have been discovering that the world isn't nearly as hostile to the gospel as I thought it would be. It is not nearly as frightening as we have been told it will be” was commented on with “… the passage below is not exactly Scripturally accurate.  God has told us that the real Gospel will not be welcomed by the world (John 15).”  It was my view that the quoter was actually indicting the church for it’s instilling into people’s minds that witnessing is a scary thing to do and was not an attempt to indicate opposition to God’s Word.  Jesus walked the earth preaching the Gospel to many and was not always rejected.  While the world system certainly does not welcome the Gospel, if everyone is going to reject it then why would we have been sent to preach it?  Is it powerless to change lives?  This sort of reminds me of a blog I wrote long ago asking the question of why we think using the Word to prove our point in witnessing will do any good anyways if we are preaching to people who don’t believe in God or in the work of the cross. Why would they believe in the Word written by those they don’t believe in?  Is this why Paul implored us to live our lives before men in an acceptable and honorable manner?  This is not to say the Word is powerless because it is God’s Word but merely to reiterate my previous point about it’s validity to unbelievers and why it’s important that we witness from a lifestyle of love and not condemnation.

The second part of the quote, “Outside the walls of the church there are many people who want to be loved and would love to have a connection with someone that didn't treat them like a prize to be won, but persons to be loved” provoked the following comment, “Well said.  When I see the sin in my heart, how can I judge another?  There is however, a need to teach what is sin and how God regards it as well as how much He loves us.  As I work with people I am amazed to find that many do not see anything wrong with their actions.  In one case a woman is facing several felony counts as the results of her actions with my agency.  One is providing false documents to a government agency.  When I asked her if she would like to talk to me about it, she said she was fine with it.  Without real love, we are not truly winning people to Christ.”  This comment, in my interpretation from knowing the commenter from our internet relationship, seems to address all I said but in a slightly different way. Carol added that love does bring correction, which I didn’t address directly but I assumed was implied to those who really read my statement with a discerning heart.  A couple of commenters indicated their agreement with this comment but went on to appear to disagree with me when, to my understanding at least, this comment was in agreement with me.  It is my belief that we are to teach the world everything that the Word says, nothing excluded, but rather than from a view point of being the stern authoritative experts on God, we are to be the loving servants used by God, at His direction, in His time and in His place, to gently instruct people as to what God’s Word says about sin.  He gave everyman freewill to choose how he wants to live and we cannot, and should not, demand that people accept our interpretations of God’s Word or our individual choice of the lifestyle we lead.  Proverbs 15:1 tells us, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” so we need to remember that a lot of our problems come not from the message we preach, but from our attitudes and therefore the method by which the message is presented.  We can speak with God’s authority, but we need to allow the message to convey that authority and not our demeanor.  I’d also state that a careful study of the gospels will show that Jesus usually reserved His anger and sternest rebuke to those supposedly “religious leaders” who though they were so intelligent and tried to twist His words to make Him look like He was wrong.  (There is still a lot of that in the church today.)

Jen summed it up pretty well when she said, “I think it all comes down to judgment - and what judgment is.  Of course, we must love others as Christ loves us, and that means that we must love all people unconditionally.  Yet, part of loving them a lot of the time is correcting them in their mistakes.  For example, it would be the loving thing to point out (charitably) that homosexual behavior is wrong and sinful to a practicing homosexual.  It is wrong to judge the person, though, as only God can judge.  That being said, it is wrong for people to try to judge other people's intentions and their heart, as only God can do that.  I try to keep this as my guide in talking to others; and above all else, I like to keep in mind that I'm a sinner myself.”

For now I’ll close there and will pick this up again next time as there are still some other comments I’d like to address.

God IS Good!

Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody

Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List) or use this link (Click Here).  Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!

I find it hard to believe that it’s been 11 days since my last blog here.  I did update a couple of the other sites but they don’t require as much thought as what I try and post here.  Maybe that’s it, I don’t want to think!!  At any rate, it’s my plan to blog here today and then get my SIRs as caught up as possible before preparing for tonight’s service which involves learning a new song (For The Cross by Matt Redman) for the regular service set as well as preparing some music for the pre-service prayer set.

The past days have been pretty routine at work.  I did manage to get out of the office on Thursday and Friday with one of the electricians to try and solve a motor starter problem at Morgantown Locks and Dam but we still haven’t been able to put a finger on the solution.  We have a few more ideas and will return to the area soon to try them out.

I’ve been downloading and reading some articles at www.theooze.com .  There is some onyeresting reading there especially if you, like myself, see a big change coming in the Christian’s concept of what church is and what church does.  Here’s one quote I especially like:

“For 35 years, I have been discovering that the world isn't nearly as hostile to the gospel as I thought it would be. It is not nearly as frightening as we have been told it will be. Outside the walls of the church there are many people who want to be loved and would love to have a connection with someone that didn't treat them like a prize to be won, but persons to be loved.” - John Smith (Relocating The Church Outside The Walls - http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=747)

As I’ve stated before it took someone from outside the church to let me know one time just how arrogantly we can preach to others from our pedestals of superiority and I like the way it is summed up above.  A lot of the church does approach the world not as lost souls needing saved, with the loving compassion of the Father, but as prizes to be won to prove their own superior spirituality and to score points with God.  Not everyone is like this, of course, but a lot are and I know I was one of them once upon a time.  People don’t need to be corrected, they don’t need their faults pointed out to them, they need love, the love of Christ and God is love.  If they receive Christ’s love from us, they will get the point as most people are not ignorant morons but are very discerning if we give them the proper chance and pave the way for the Holy Spirit to work.  Those who take one or two verses about chastisement and correction from the Word and build their life’s ministry around them are in for a rather shocking revelation one of these days.   When I think of these kinds of things I always feel more enlightened towards Matthew 7, especially the following sections (NIV):

Judging Others

¹"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
³"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Verse 21 tells us, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” so we seriously need to find out God’s will for our lives, quit fooling around doing what we want to do, and get some serious work done for the kingdom.

God IS Good!

Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody

Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List) or use this link (Click Here).  Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!

I've been working a bit on continuing my "We are not studying the Bible to become scholars but to change our lives" posts but have been pulled in too many directions lately to do it any justice.  I never finished my "Presence Based Church" study either and need to get both of them finished up.  I was reading that book but then started to read the "worship - a way of life" book instead only to temporarily set it aside to read the new Reader's Digest. I need to get my Sunday School  class prepared for this June/July (six weeks) which was why I had switched to "worship..."  I also need to start mentoring the new Saturday Night worship leader so I need to get some things in order there. It seems I have a lot to do but spend so much time doing next to nothing.

I finally finished up the bathtub/shower plumbing on Sunday by unsoldering a couple of pieces for the faucet and then installing them.  All is working well.   One of the clothes lines broke in the basement a while back so I stopped today and got some materials to hang up a plastic coated cable in it's place.  I took care of that about an hour ago to get it out of the way.  I was back to the dam today to meet a couple of contractors to get a few finishing touches done on the generator installation.  I'll go back when the additional materials finally arrive which should be around 4 - 6 weeks. Tomorrow it's back to the office.

God IS Good!

Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody

Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List) or use this link (Click Here).  Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!

The New Bathtub Faucet Washer

We live in an old house.  My wife went to the county seat a few years ago to look up old deeds and coupled with some info from the elderly neighbors concluded our house was built around 1875.  The neighbor lady’s grandmother had built the house and lived in it for a while before building the one next door and moving over there, where the elderly neighbors now live.  This house has no redeeming historical value or features and sometimes just feels like an old house.  So what?

The bathtub faucet has been leaking.  I had this problem once before and took the hot water valve apart and replaced the rubber washed inside it.  It wasn’t an exact fit, but seemed to work okay.  I noticed when I looked in the trap door in the wall behind the plumbing that the tub was built in 1947.  That makes it older than I though I’m not sure if the faucets, spigot, etc. are that old but they are certainly too old to buy parts for.  Anyways, we had developed another drip which I suspected was the cold water faucet.  I have been content for quite a while to let it drip until Sunday when I noticed that the drip was approaching the consistency of a stream and decided it was time to change that washer.  I didn’t want to be contributing to the waste of good water.  The last time I did so, it took me less than an hour so I figured I would have it done in record time.

It was about 1:00PM. The first thing I had to do was shut off the water to the whole house because there were never any shut off valves in the water lines to the tub.  Kathy was in the middle of doing laundry and the time between loads seemed like a good time to shut the water off.  I dismantled both valves and then attempted to match up the washers for them.  I had both a variety pack and a pack of the type I had used the last time, which also contained new screws for holding the washers in place.  The problem was they both seemed to have different sized screws even though they were both identical valves.  I attached one and the screw was a bit tight and the head broke off.  (Oops, Dale, you shouldn’t say things like that!) I had to grab it with a pair of pliers and was finally able to remove it.  Next I went to reinstall it and I found out I had, in the removal process, bent one side of the round nut into which I had to screw another nut inside.  I could find no way in which to get the inside nut started to try and reform the outer nut, even with lots of prayer.  So, it was time to round up Kathy and go to Lowe’s and buy new plumbing hardware for the bathtub/shower (though she wasn’t terribly disappointed as she’s wanted me to remodel the bath for quite a while).  Anyways we went to the store, made our selection, went to the fittings area and bought the required fittings (plus a couple of extras to be safe), got a section of copper tubing and went to the check out.  The new hardware was priced at $119.00 and I had a $50 gift card from a previous purchase so I figured we weren’t doing too badly.  When the lady printed out the receipt she said, “Oh there must be a rebate” as the additional cash register receipt printed out.  Turns out we’ll get an additional $20 back so hey, we are blessed, right?

We got home around 3:30PM and the first thing I did was cut off the lines and solder new shut off valves under the tub so we could get the water turned back on for the rest of the house.  At least then we could use the toilet and Kathy could resume doing the laundry. The first solder joint was kind of difficult so I cleaned the second one a little better and it went well and the water was back on.  So far, no leaks!  Now I could relax a bit and work at my leisure though I was holding out some small hope we could still get to our small group at 6:00PM.  (There’s always great food to eat there.) I removed the old hardware and placed the new valves in the holes and after a little trimming they were a good fit.  The next step involved getting the old pipe that ran to the showerhead out of the wall, which required removing a strip of the plaster and lathing.  No such luck with the strip as large chunks broke off when chipping out the small section.  (Watch that language!) No problem though (except for enormous volumes of choking dust) since the wall has had paneling over it anyways (the paneling has been off because of remodeling the daughter’s room).  I took my reciprocating saw and cut the lathe and removed the pipe. 

I then started to methodically measure and cut the various pieces of copper piping to get them ready to solder together and get everything hooked up.  I cut the longer piece to the showerhead first to be sure I had enough pipe, even allowing a bit extra just in case.  After soldering the first connection I discovered I had bought the wrong fittings.  No problem, Kathy can run to the local hardware store and get me the right ones except, she reminded me, that it was 4:30PM and they close at 4:00PM on Sunday.  So I found the old pipe I had cut off which had a fitting the size I needed, cut it off, and she was off with one of the daughters to return to Lowe’s (about 10 miles away) to return the wrong fittings and buy the correct ones.  While she was gone I continued to measure pipe and get a couple of other preliminaries out of the way in preparation for the installation of the new hardware.  I also used the time as a chance to get something to drink as I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since breakfast and to plot further strategy.

Upon Kathy’s return, I set about soldering the various parts together so I could get them installed.  I proceeded to solder the first piece on the top of one of the valves I had previously installed (the first one that was a bit “shaky”) and all seemed well.  I was then preparing to solder the piece on the top of the second valve when I heard one of the daughters ask, “Why is there water dripping through the ceiling?”  Upon closer examination, the first solder joint I had done must of loosened from the heat of doing the top of the valve and the water was coming out, running down the line, and dripping above the ceiling until it ran through the ceiling tile below. Oh no!!  Now it’s back to shutting off the water for the whole house again.  (More bad language?) It was now going on 6:00PM and time to call and tell the small group we wouldn’t be there.  God bless them, they offered to come and help but the small place I was working in didn’t allow but for one person to get in there so I declined their considerate offer of assistance.

I removed the valve, cleaned the pipe and fitting thoroughly and reinstalled.  I then installed the piece on top of the second valve then turned the water back on.  No leaks so hey, I’m in good shape now.  I hooked these lines unto the bathtub spigots then went to work on the faucet.  I had to solder a fitting on the top to screw into the spigot and a threaded end into which I could screw the faucet itself.  This work went fairly smoothly though when I installed the faucet I thought the pipe could have been a little bit shorter.  Some caulking would fix that problem.  I turned on the shutoff valves and ran some water and no leaks! (Hooray!  Good language! Praise God!) I then started to install the line to the showerhead.

I soldered the fitting on one end and screwed it into the valve body only to find it was a slight bit too short to reach the hole from the old showerhead.  It’s now around 8:30PM and all the stores are closed.  Now what? (Lord help me!) Hmm…maybe I’ve got an old piece in the basement.  Our basement is unfinished and the rafters are filled with various pieces of “junk” I’ve held on to.  I found an old piece of copper pipe I had removed from something or another and it was plenty long enough for my needs.  I very maliciously gloated to Kathy, “I bet that’s one of the things you told me I should throw out!”  She said she hadn’t because it was up and out of the way. (Sorry!)  I got that cut and installed the showerhead.  I then went to the other side (of the wall, not to the dark side) and screwed the handles on the hot and cold-water valves.  Now we were ready for the final inspection!  I returned to the other side of the wall and told Kathy to run the water in the tub and in the shower.  Both were working well and all my solder joints were holding!  But wait, what’s that?  A leak?  A forged fitting that converts the pipe to allow for a threaded fitting was cracked and leaking.  Oh well, (No stress this late in the game.) I thought ahead and bought an extra.  Had I screwed in the fitting too tight and stressed the fitting enough to crack it?  I removed the plastic bag from the extra fitting and upon inspection found it was cracked also!  Now what?  Everything is closed.  (Time to pray again and ask for inspiration.)

The basic operation of the hardware is that when you turn on the taps, the water comes out the faucet into the tub.  If you pull up the handle on the faucet, it blocks the faucet and forces the water to the showerhead.  So what if I removed the line from the faucet and plugged it up, then at least we could use the shower, which we usually use anyways.  I had no idea where I’d get a plug but lo and behold, for some reason, the way the old valve had been connected, it had a plug in it and it was the right size.  After much effort I removed it and installed it in the new valve and there were no more leaks.  It was now around 9:15PM and time to test out that shower!  (Works great and I like the new showerhead!  Praise Him!!)

So, Monday I got a new fitting and will need to solder it on and get it connected to the valve so we can install the new faucet, though it might wait another day or two.  I also need to repair the wall in the daughter’s room, which, thank God, was the last one yet to be fixed from remodeling their room. I had left it undone while deciding whether to install a removable panel for when we remodeled the bathroom. We now have all this nice new shiny hardware and the pressure is on me (both self imposed and otherwise) to get the rest of the bathroom remodeled which will involve a new tub/shower surround, etc.  There’s lots of work to do in an old house, even when just changing the washer in the bathtub faucets.

God IS Good!

Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody

Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List) or use this link (Click Here).  Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!

Therefore, as we consider scriptural passages we will ask, “What is in this passage that I could learn from and apply toward my worship of God?”  We are not studying the Bible to become scholars but to change our lives. (italics mine) – Patrick Kavanaugh (“worship - a way of life” ã2001.  Published by Chosen Books.  Page 68)

I stated that in this blog I’d pick up where I left off last time but my studying of the scripture, as usual, had taken me far beyond what I was intending to say and I want to allow that to simmer some more before I put it all together.  I did find the comments to be interesting and enlightening and I’ll present a couple of them here:

“I definitely know how you feel. I think a lot of times this comes from our being human. You know? I know that when I'm convicted of something I get defensive at first and can't hear the whole of what God (or someone else) is trying to say to me.”  Yes, we need to remember that we are all human and allow room for that when we are ministering. This ties in with the following:

“We need to be patient with each other and most of all not compare our selves to each other because only two things happen....we either become prideful,or jealous.”

“It sort of slapped me in the face. No. More like bonked me on the head like a brick. “  An honest reaction and confirmation that what I said needed to be said.

“The Holy Spirit chooses to work through His Word, so if we do not know it, we are harder to lead and mold into the likeness of Christ.”  Something I’ll most likely get into a bit more in following blogs.

“Though meant with the purest intentions, the mere choice of words can alter the meaning in what we hope to convey.  I hope that came off to be as I intended.”  Yes, if we think too much on it all of our words can start to appear confusing.

“I do beg to differ, perhaps only in how the thought is expressed, that we also read the Bible to change lives.  By that I mean our own lives, not others.”  Carol, I’m not clear on what you’re saying here as you beg to differ but, to me, you are saying the same thing as the quote.

“yes, studying the bible must change our lives...”  Amen.

Thanks for the great comments!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody

Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List) or use this link (Click Here).  Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!

Well, I’ve been intending to blog more often but circumstances keep getting in the way.  I tried several (actually three) different times to express my feelings towards a comment or two I’ve received lately (both here and at another site) but in each case I walked away not wanting to come off as offensive.  As I’ve often stated before, the internet is such an impersonal medium and without the ability to see expression and hear tones, we are left to interpret everything solely on the words used by others, which are often subject to interpretation as we filter those words through our own experiences and biases.  That’s one reason I sometimes hesitate to leave comments as they, too, can be taken out of context and result in something far from what was intended to be stated (and believe me, it’s happened a time or two to me).  I do know that some of you are very discerning and encouraging but there always seems to be those who come along, and maybe acting innocently and with good intentions, leave me wondering if they, out of spiritual arrogance, are just out looking to try and find someone they can “correct.”  It brings to mind a comment I read a while back that stated, “I hope that you will take a deeper look at what I believe and not just evaluate me…”  

Also, as I have stated in the past, if you do feel the need to provide some additional insight, please be sure to read the entire blog until you have at least a basic understanding of what it says.  I seem to receive, and I’ve seen them elsewhere, comments that sound like they are adding additional info or asking a probing question for more information that was already provided in the blog and, more often than not, follows after the information being questioned.  It’s really disheartening to write something you feel inspired about only to have someone read and comment on the first line like the rest of the idea doesn’t exist. 

Now what is this all about?  As usual, God has used this episode in my blogging life to get me thinking over a statement I read several nights ago and have re-read a couple of times since.

Therefore, as we consider scriptural passages we will ask, “What is in this passage that I could learn from and apply toward my worship of God?”  We are not studying the Bible to become scholars but to change our lives. (italics mine) – Patrick Kavanaugh (“worship - a way of life” ã2001.  Published by Chosen Books.  Page 68)

(Think about that and I’ll pick it up there next time.)

God IS Good!

Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody

Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List) or use this link (Click Here).  Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!

I wrote this for my wife’s valentine last year:

I Love You

Some roses are red

Some roses are yellow

But no matter the color

I’m one fortunate fellow

To have a love like yours’

So wondrous and fair

To which no rose that exists

Could ever compare

Yes you do have your thorns

But as the smart gardener knows

If you watch where you grab

Your most precious rose

It’s beauty will shine

For all ‘round to see

And no harm will come

To you or to me

So I take this time

As I so seldom do

To tell you one thing

“I love you!”

©2003 psalmist149

You're Invited!!

I left you last post with “There are some other things I wanted to share about myself but I’m not sure whether it’s the right thing to do or not at this moment so maybe next time?” Well, even though I received some very kind remarks from my Saturday Night Pastor, I decided I didn’t want to come off as blowing my own horn so I won’t post what he said here except for “I become more convinced that an effective ministry comes not through slick techniques, but through a deep connectedness to Jesus.”

The “quandary” (so to speak) we face is in the planning of the Saturday Night service which, as I’ve mentioned before, went from being an outreach, to being an alternative service, and now is returning to it’s outreach roots.  Let’s face it, you’ve got to study the group you are pursuing and present the gospel to them in a way they can relate to.  This takes lots and lots and lots of prayer, praise, thanksgiving, and worship before the throne of God to attempt to receive God’s will and revelation for each and every service, down to as much detail as possible.  Getting back to the “quandary,” where do we cross the line of grabbing the attention of the lost and then allowing the details and presentation to overshadow the message?  There is a lot of talk going around about various ministries and their techniques and how they are watering down the message or selling out to attract numbers but I wonder how many of the critics have ever been involved deeply enough in the planning and presentation of the gospel to different generations to actually speak out of wisdom earned rather than just baseless assumptions generated by a lot of study but not much practical experience?  That’s why the above quote meant so much to me because I know we are making mistakes, but the heart of the Saturday Night Pastor and of the Saturday Night ministry teams is have an effective ministry which leads people into God’s presence where He can minister to them.  We at times want to base our opinions as to whether we are achieving anything for Him by the numbers we see, but it needs to be based on what God sees and man often doesn’t see and that’s the heart.  It’s often easy for us to point out the faults in others while, at the same time, probably not achieving near as much as those we criticize. But enough on that as it’s getting off my subject.

I solved a couple of lingering problems at work today and have a couple of more well on their way to being solved.  God is amazing in the way I see Him working in the situations in my life, which often appear hopeless, and then seeing them turned into complete victories.  Have I told you lately that “God IS Good!”?

God IS Good!

Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody

Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List) or use this link (Click Here).  Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!