Travel Thoughts

This last weekend a friend of one of our girl's invited her to their Trunk or Treat event at a church in Lookout Valley. (named this as it is in the valley at the bottom of Lookout Mtn. Ga/Tn) as I drove her there I noticed the color of the trees and relished it. Beautiful reds, yellows and browns mixed in....wanted to soak it all in as I would be flying out Monday and knew they would be gone soon.

Arriving @ Philly airport on Monday morning with a business friend and on the way to our company's south Jersey headquarters there they were again! Their leaves were popping at the same time. Beautiful.

Setting up this past week's product camp takes about two months of plodding and planning to get ready. From restaurant menus for dinners to making sure the presentations are loaded on flash drives to travel arrangements there are details and more details.

It is always good that first morning to see it all begin and then shocking as it all comes to and end so soon two days later.

I am thankful to God for his holy spirit that guides me to remind me of things, to help me think ahead, to "pop" an idea in my mind that came from nowwhere but will make a real difference in something yet not even happening yet.

It was so good to see our CEO after a terrible year smile and say the worst is over. His leadership has been tremendous. He has one year left till he has to retire (company policy) and our owner is such a special man. Grown up in our business and loves it so. His love and passion for his company have made it special. His love for the Phillies was evident this week.

I love it when John Maxwell says that no one has ever accomplished anything of importance without someone's help. For this training event I depend on caterers, transportation, hotels (love Hampton Inn's Jeanne Wood in Swedesboro, NJ- she is awesome!) company facilities people on set up, tear down, presenters to help educate, and much more.

The things I have learned doing five of these now will help me in putting together any event. Especially those at the church.

But, the best part of the week was reading Don Miller's new book, "A Thousand Miles in A Million Years." Simply wonderful. I urge you to get a copy today.

I am working on a better story now in my life due to Don's book. So should you.

New Commandment's Herb Reese is coming to Chattanooga!

BridgeBuilders is proud to welcome Herb Reese of New Commandment Ministries of Colorado to Woodland Park for a special event on Saturday morning, January 23rd, 2010 from 8:30am until 11:00am centered around the biblical calling to men to care for widows, fatherless, immigrants or distressed persons within the family of the church.

“As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10a

“Do not take advantage of a widow or orphan. If you do, they will cry out to me and I will certainly hear their cry. “ “He (God) defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.” Deuteronomy 10:18

Here is what Herb Reese will be discussing and reviewing:

*The difference between kind gestures and Christ's love.
*The three unique qualities of Christ's love.
*The role of good works in the Christian life.
*God's heart for those in distress.

*An alternate model for smaller churches.
*How to organize teams.
*Recommended policies.
*Suggestions for service projects.
*Frequently Asked Questions.*And more!


There are three ways to register you and your group for this free event.

First, contact Woodland Park by calling 423.899.9186 x102 and registering

or e-mail at men@woodlandpark.org

Last but not least you can register for this free event straight on the web @ this link: http://newcommandment.eventbrite.com/

The Symbol of Freedom

There is a marvelous freedom we have as a Christian, and the symbol for that freedom is the Cross.

Many people, including some of the smartest to ever live, have failed to see this freedom. And those that will not look, seem to say the same thing over and over again, and the symbol for their philosophy is a circle. This circle has no way out, they are stuck. One of the wisest men of the bible, Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes illustrates this circular philosophy when he said, “there is nothing new under the sun, everything is vanity of vanities.” From within this circle there is no way for this truth of freedom to get in or get out.

I heard someone say, “things are no longer black and white, but have become gray. We no longer live in a world where there is just one right answer, but many right answers”. Our search for truth and freedom, when searched from within ourselves or from the wisdom of men, seems to always lead to a relevant truth, or this circular motion of no absolutes. Everything becomes gray and blurred.

This colorless life, this life that is gray and blurred, looks like this: We get up, we go to work, we go home, we eat, we go to bed, and then we do the same thing the next day, then the next, and so on, with no hope or meaning. We go from one activity to the next looking for and end to this drudgery, only to find we need another activity, and then another. This kind of life is like a treadmill that sucks the very life out of us. It’s easy for anyone, including the Christian, to find themselves on this treadmill.

I know, I’ve found myself on this treadmill many times. What’s the answer? I have to refocus, I have to renew my mind, I have to look at the Cross again a little closer, then a little closer. I find no end of what can be discovered there!

The cross is not a gray circular motion, it’s not a treadmill. At the heart of the cross we find a freedom not found anywhere else. This freedom is moving forward, upward and outward with no ends. A freedom of imagination and creativity, a freedom of discovery, a freedom of a continuous change in who we are and who we are becoming. A continuous discovery of truth, an absolute truth, that is not grayed or blurred. The truth always becomes clearer as we read and reread God’s word, and as the Holy Spirit brings color back into our life.

The way of the cross is not a dead end of repetitious actions, but it opens up into a wonderland of possibilities. Our life becomes a journey, a great adventure! The God of the universe is taking us somewhere, He has a plan! And His plan will go on forever. In Galatians 5:1, Paul said, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free”. Christ broke this circle, this circle of dead ends, by being broken for us on the Cross.

The truth of this freedom can only be found in Christ. Look again with me and see…..

Hank, the back pain is better today, thanks for praying brother! God bless..

Grace by any other name

Treatise on Grace by Jonathan Edwards (excerpt)

'Tis common for us to speak of various graces of the Spirit of God as though they were so many different principles of holiness, and to call them by distinct names as such, —repentance, humility, resignation, thankfulness, etc. But we err if we imagine that these in their first source and root in the heart are properly distinct principles. They all come from the same fountain, and are, indeed, the various exertions and conditions of the same thing, only different denominations according to the various occasions, objects, and manners, attendants and circumstances of its exercise. There is some one holy principle in the heart that is the essence and sum of all grace, the root and source of all holy acts of every kind, and the fountain of every good stream, into which all Christian virtues may ultimately be resolved, and in which all duty and [all] holiness is fulfilled.

Grace this weekend was the fact that God saw fit to let my father in law have a small stroke. One that he is going to be fine from, happened why he was at home. Best time of day and with all of us nearby to assist. Have been thinking about how much he means to our family and the impact he has had on me and our children. We are all better for knowing him. I am thankful that he knows Jesus and that he loves Him.

So how is that looking for you as a man? How are you impacting those around you? Can they say that being around you has made them a better person? Do you have any relationships that go deep and not just surface relationships?

I have been praying for different brothers I know without jobs, in a life change and Gary put it real well this past week. (He co-blogs on here with me) He has been suffering from back pain and he said that it is awful hard to focus off of self when you are in pain. So true.

Think about God. Think about your situation, Talk to Him about it. Give the pain to Him, You only have one shot at this fallen world. You and I need to run the race well as Paul encouraged us too. I look at those Christians in the New Testament and even during the tough economic times we go thru now, it is nothing compared to them.

May we enjoy this time, push thru to the next side and take many with us!

The picture above is our new mascot @ Oakwood Christian Academy. He made his debut at the first home game two weeks ago. GO EAGLES! It is good to see the twins enjoying friends and athletics. Fletcher starts keeping the scoreboard this week and Sarah Beth was a whiz working the concession stand last week with her mom. Being six she can almost make you buy anything!

Me? I was just glad to be able to get away from work and make the games. Two this week.

Happy Labor Day ! May God Bless you and encourage you today to get into His Word, see how much He has loved you and I and what we can do while here to make a difference!

Selah.

Wisdom's Source

Proverbs 8

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me,and those who seek me diligently find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields,or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

“And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates,waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Paul wrote almost 1000 years later these words to the Colossian church in the Lycus valley, located in modern day Turkey, that wisdom is found in Christ.

“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

This reminder from Paul, and this wisdom in Proverbs, and the Word that became flesh in John’s gospel, has always been and will always be, Christ. Christ was God in the flesh and is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, and every knee will bow and confess that He is Lord to His glory. Amen.

Being A Man Today- Revisited

The above photo is from Stand In the Gap with Promise Keepers. I am about three screens back. Wonder what kind of turn out will be in Washington on 9/12? Different type of crowd, different motivations, but needed to show concern for direction of our nation.

This week Man in the Mirror asked a question about men today in the churches across America and I thought I would share.

Look at the article and see what you can relate to:

When you look at the men in your church, do you see men leading powerful lives? We all know there is a "men problem." In Matthew 22:29, Jesus, told some confused religious leaders, "The problem is that you do not know the Scriptures and you do not know the power of God." In other words, knowledge leads to power. The journey to biblical manhood has a reference point -- a true north -- the word of God. That's where the power is. So, what does the word of God say about biblical manhood? The journey to biblical manhood can be summarized in many ways. One of the best summaries is Romans 12:2: So do not conform any longer to the beliefs and customs of this world, but be transformed by renewing your mind. Then you will be able to understand what God's perfect will is for your life (paraphrase). Transformation includes a cluster of concepts like discipleship, following Christ, maturity, becoming complete, obedience, spiritual growth, and similar concepts. Biblical manhood is an amalgamation of "transformed" relationships, roles, characteristics, qualities, priorities, purposes, and tasks. All the books in the world still cannot capture the full mystery of what it means to be a man, but here is a snapshot of the kind of men we are trying to produce: He loves God, loves others, builds the kingdom, and tends the culture (the four universal purposes for all men). In his role as a husband and father, he is the family prophet, priest, and king. He must be born again, then equipped with the knowledge of God and his ownspiritual gifts (among other things), then sent to live for Christ through love andservice. Along the way, he learns how to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh, experiencing the fruit of the Spirit -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He becomes part of the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, peace, andjoy in the Holy Spirit. He receives grace that leads to humility and contentment. His growth and transformation qualifies him to be a spiritual leader anddisciple maker. The outcomes of his life match the outcomes that the church needs -- a faithfulwitness, steward, worshiper, worker, husband, father, citizen, teacher, andleader. He is like the man Paul describes in Romans 15:14, "full of goodness, complete in knowledge, and able to instruct one another." This is a picture (panegyric) of a spiritually powerful man. It is the kind of man we want to produce. I'm sure you can think of other desirable outcomes. So what's the point? In your church do you have the vision, determination, and sustainable strategy to produce these kinds of men? To have men in your church living defeated lives is to betray them. Why would God give any church more men if they are not faithfully discipling the men they are already have? So let's get organized. We can do this.

Yours for changed lives, Patrick Morley, PhD

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Christian Classic Etheral Library had this note in my monthly news from them and thought I would share this. Neat.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness by Thomas O. Chisholm

"There is no circumstantial background for Great Is Thy Faithfulness," writes its author, Thomas O. Chisholm. He goes on to say that it was simply the result of his "morning by morning realization of God's personal faithfulness." Chisholm wrote the text in Vineland, New Jersey, in 1923, and sent it to his friend William M. Runyan, who composed the tune. Set to FAITHFULNESS, the text was published in Runyan's Songs of Salvation and Service (1923). "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" is a vibrant testimony to the faithfulness of God, a testimony Chisholm reaffirmed in 1941:

I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that he has given me many wonderful displays of his providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.

Do you see this in your life? Are you going thru something tough right now? Don't give up, don't let up but get more time in the Word, more time letting God know how you feel and most importantly let know close relationships suffer.

Cover it all in the Love of Christ......great is His faithfulness