PROVERBS 19:20

Friday, July 27, 2007

Good Advice on Scripture

"Don't just read the Bible, let the Bible read you."
Arthur the Intern, Woodlands UMC

Ideas of posting great quotes, Jason over at post-methodist.

Labels: quotable

posted at 9:11 AM
2 comments

Commitment - Complete Surrender, You Say Tomato, I Say ....

My hero, Jason, over at post-methodist, posted the following quote by John Maxwell:

Commitment is the Key

“Until I am committed there is a hesitancy, the chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit myself then God moves also and a whole stream of events begin to erupt. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons and material assistance that I could have never dreamed would come my way begin to flow toward me… the moment I make a commitment.”

In reading a recent Oswald Chambers reflection, I noticed similar sentiments echoed:

THE ACCOUNT WITH PURITY-July 26th
"Out of the heart proceed . . ." Matthew 15:18-20
We begin by trusting our ignorance and calling it innocence, by trusting our innocence and calling it purity; and when we hear these rugged statements of Our Lord's, we shrink and say - But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart. We resent what Jesus Christ reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme Authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust His penetration, or do I prefer to trust my innocent ignorance? If I make conscious innocence the test, I am likely to come to a place where I find with a shuddering awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I shall be appalled at the possibility of evil and wrong in me. As long as I remain under the refuge of innocence I am living in a fool's paradise. If I have never been a blackguard, the reason is a mixture of cowardice and the protection of civilized life; but when I am undressed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis.
The only thing that safeguards is the Redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will hand myself over to Him, I need never experience the terrible possibilities that are in my heart. Purity is too deep down for me to get to naturally: but when the Holy Spirit comes in, He brings into the centre of my personal life the very Spirit that was manifested in the life of Jesus Christ, viz., Holy Spirit, which is unsullied purity.

Recent sermons have also spoken of complete surrender to Christ. With all these "signs," you would think God was trying to tell me something. I pray every day that I can walk completely in His way and stop holding back the little control that I think I have. I posted about this back in April of this year here.

We all have our weaknesses, but the one common stumbling block for most Christians, at one time or another, is the control issue. With the help of Christ, and my loving wife, I strive each day, to wake up and surrender to Him. What will you do?

Labels: faith journey

posted at 7:00 AM
0 comments

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Hole Hearted or Whole Hearted?

For some reason, I have had Extreme's song, Hole Hearted on my mind. I sing it, listen to it, etc. Now when the song was written, I am not sure if it was meant to have the spiritual twist that I am attributing to it, but then again, I am not sure How to Save a Life by The Fray was either, yet I hear it on KSBJ every now and then. Anyway, the purpose of this post is to get you to think: are you complete, fully surrendered to Christ, a new person? or do you still have that hole in your heart that you are trying to fill with everything but Christ?

Labels: minstry through music, spiritual revival

posted at 10:46 PM
0 comments

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Are We Are Made For Worship or Is Worship Made For Us?

I was having a discussion the other day with a friend about personal experiences at church. She made the comment that she has to go to a church where the pastor/minister/priest speak to her, convict her and move her. I believe that if you go to church for the main reason we go to church, to praise and worship the Lord, that no matter the church, all falls into place because God will convict me as He sees fit and move me through the sermon, etc. That is the wondrous gift we receive from Christ.

This discussion wasn't really about right or wrong, just differences.

The big question to the readers: How do you approach your Sunday service of choice? Do you church hop until you find what you are looking for; or do you work through the church you're attending, letting Christ work on, through, and despite you?

Labels: faith journey

posted at 9:40 PM
4 comments

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Holy Spirit - Unmovable

In taking the lead of Jason over at Post Methodist. I figured I would post a quote from a book I am reading entitled Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit by Charles F. Stanley.

"The Holy Spirit cannot be manipulated. You cannot make the Holy Spirit do anything. You cannot fill yourself with the Holy Spirit, no matter what formula or method or series of works you perform. You cannot govern the Holy Spirit. Neither can you eliminate the Holy Spirit from your life.

God imparts His Spirit to those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. The work that the Holy Spirit does in our lives is His work, done at His initiative, motivated by His love and divine purpose for our lives. The Holy Spirit manifests Himself as He desires in our lives." (p. 6)

That explains a whole lot right their. As new Christians, and old ones struggling to find their way again, we have to realize that God will work in our live as He sees fit. He will motivate and touch us; mold us and fashion us, as a pottery molds and fashions clay. And if we have completely surrendered, His work will be fully realized within us, through us, and despite us.

Labels: Holy Spirit

posted at 7:15 AM
0 comments

Monday, July 16, 2007

Good-bye MaMaw :(

This may seem a little dated, but to me, it is always in my heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lois Brazan Durocher
Born: December 24, 1916
Died: June 23, 2007

From left: my daughter, me, my niece, and MaMaw (my dad's mother)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was not until, as with every funeral I have had to attend in the last few years, that I was there, at the viewing, that it really hit me. My grandmother, MaMaw, had passed. She had been sick. Had what they call "geriatric leukemia." As my wife put it (being the RN she is), "Geriatric leukemia is a term used by doctors that really means you're old and your blood is not replicating like it should. It is similar to leukemia in nature, but occurs for a different reason."

Whether she was right or not, I am not going to argue it. My MaMaw had lived a long, fulfilled life. She had been sick, not only with "geriatric leukemia," but arthritis. Face it, she was old. She had bore 5 children and had seen 11 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren (give or take a few, who is really counting?). She had lived through the great depression, 6 or so wars, quite a few hurricanes, and a genuine, but ornery husband, yet in all that time, she still managed to smile.

Each of the family members can tell you different things about her: how great her cooking was, how she was dedicated to attending mass just about everyday (as long as I could remember), she took care of her children. Stories of joy and sorrow.

One thing is for certain, she has touched many lives and she will be missed for years to come.

Labels: death and life

posted at 10:51 PM
3 comments

Long Time Gone

I know it has been a while since I have posted. I great deal of that stems from God working on me in my life. Some things I am working through are wonderful things, others...not so much. As I can, I will post, but not sure how or when. I appreciate everyone who has ever responded to my posts. I hope that I, with the help of the Lord, will be able to continue to some degree in the future.

Labels: updates

posted at 10:48 PM
0 comments