My Online Faith Journal

     For whatever reason, I'm not feeling that great today.  I don't know if it is because I didn't sleep well or what.  I have been trying to keep to my commitments with my diet and losing some weight.  Maybe I am a little grumpy because of that.  Overall, I have now gone down about 12 units of insulin that I use to take that I don't need to take anymore.  Part of that is because I am not eating as much and part of it is because I am eating more healthy.  I've lost about 6 pounds so far.     I am reminded of the fact also that there is plenty of positive things to focus on today even though my mood may not be great.  The next couple of days the sun is suppose to be out and it will be warm and sunny.  The kids are out of school for the next 5 days.  I have all the promises of God to rely on and to focus on.  God loves me and so does my family.  Lots of positive and not many negatives.  Even though my computer at work died and that put a dent in my schedule, I am g

   Here in North Carolina today it is rainy and overcast.  This is suppose to clear up sometime Monday afternoon and then be great weather the rest of the week.  I am really looking forward to some sunny weather.  I had a dream last night that the house we use to live in when I was a kid had a fire in it.  For some reason, I thought the whole house would burn down, but after a long time the fire was put out.  However, it destroyed the floor between my old bedroom and downstairs.  While looking at the damage, I commented to someone, I think it was my mother, that this would be a good time to remodel the house.  It seems like even in my dreams, things are changing.   That house on Elmgrove Road is still there and looks much the same as it did when we lived there.  I drove by it a few weeks ago to take a look.  In fact, much about the old neighborhood looks the same except the area around it has changed.  Use to be that there was a bridge at the very end of our neighborhood.  I called i

  I was reading through Jeremiah 26 the other day and felt compelled to write about the scene that this chapter talks about.  Jeremiah was told by God to go to the courtyard of the Temple to give a message to the people.  At this point, Jehioakim is king of Judah.  He was one of the last kings of Judah.  Babylon had already attacked and taken captive some of the most brilliant people of the land.  Things are looking pretty grim and it should be obvious at this point who was telling the truth and that Jeremiah should be listened to.  Jeremiah goes into the temple and tells the people to listen to God and to repent of their evil ways.  In response, the people say to Jeremiah "You must die".  Jer 26:8.  The elders of the people go up to see what Jeremiah is saying before a full riot breaks out.  In the midst of this harsh and large crowd, Jeremiah stands his ground.  He tells them to change their ways and then adds about himself "As for me, I am in your power, Do to me wh

     There are a lot of interesting studies out there looking at the various names of God.  One thing that we did when I was in a group that studied the Lord's Prayer was look at the prominence that Jesus gives to His Father's Name.   You may remember that the Lord's Prayer, for example in Luke 11 starts by saying, "Our Father, hallowed be your name."  Jesus mentioned his Father name as a priority in prayer.  The idea of "hallowed" means respect, revere, honored.  Jesus was concerned that his Father be honored.      As it turns out, God the Father also mentions that he deserves as our creator and redeemer honor and glory.  When Moses was calling out the Israelites from Egypt, God mentioned that he would have the Jews leave Egypt in a way that would demonstrate God's power and glory.     God says to Moses, "And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."  Exodus

  A few years ago, when I was a pastor of a church in West Virginia, we did a study called EKG: The Heartbeat of God by Ken Hemphill.  Ken use to be the President of the seminary I went to in Ft.Worth and is also the author of several books.  In this study, Ken points out the importance that Jesus and the Bible emphasize the Kingdom of God.  For example, when Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you."    The word "seek" is the same word that Jesus would use in Matthew 7:8.   It means a continual and constant seeking.  It has a lot to do with priorities.  In the verses before Jesus said this he was talking about people who were very worried about worldly priorities, what to wear, what they would eat and things like that.  They were, in a sense, worried about their own kingdom, while Jesus was singular focused on God's kingdom.   This is the same kingdom that Daniel mentioned to Ki

  I've been thinking a lot about changes I need to make in my life to help me feel better, less depressed, less burned out and more in charge of my future.  To tell the truth, for the last 6 months I do feel like I have been burned out.  I wake up exhausted and drag my body out of bed like I'm 89 instead of 42 years old.  I dread this feeling and wish it would stop.  Knowing that my body, mind and spirit are all linked together, I decided to go on an exercise program and start to eat better.  Having said that, I will confess this is probably the 30th time I have vowed to make changes only for them to last a few days or weeks.  I start off well, but then simply don't have the energy to continue.  Life gets busy and I forget or don't want to lift the weights or go walk or do what I know I should do.  Maybe I try to do too much too soon.  I started on Sunday and today is Tuesday and I have already exercised with weights twice and gone walking once.   I say mind, body a

  I got a new commentary of Jeremiah the other day in the mail, so I decided to do a study of this book.  Jeremiah isn't an easy book to understand.  A lot of it is not in sequence and Jeremiah seems at times to be very depressed.  In looking at Jeremiah 1 we see Jeremiah's call and commission into a ministry that spanned 5 kings and about 40 years.    In summary of Jeremiah's call and commission, I came to these conclusions: 1. Jeremiah's call and commission was not his choice.  Jeremiah actually was a priest through heritage and not a prophet.  But, God said that he chose Jeremiah before he had actually existed.  That is consistent with what it says in Psalm 139:15,16, where it tells us that God seems all our days when as yet one of them has been.  It is an awesome thing to realize that not only is God not surprised by whatever happens to us, but saw it before we were born or existed.  God saw Jeremiah before he existed and he also sees you where you are and me wher

  I've started reading through the book of Acts again and noticed that in chapter one of Acts Peter indicates to the other disciples and to those gathered that Judas betrayed Jesus and led others to arrest him.  He says that there needs to be a witness to take his place as an apostle.  It then says in Acts 1:24-25 "And they prayed and said, "Thou Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast chose."  Meaning, the two men they set forward, Barsabbas and Matthias.  So, by lots Matthias was chosen and numbered among the 12 apostles.  Having said all of that, Paul also calls himself an apostle of the Gentiles, so is he now number 13 or is Matthias not to be counted?  I wonder since it doesn't appear that God specifically told Peter to bring this up if this is another case of Peter jumping the gun?  Remember, this is Peter before Pentecost that we are talking about.  It would not be the first time that Peter would do that.  Furthermo

1 [a]Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 10:1; NIV   There are many verses, particularly in psalms, where the psalmist indicates that God appears to be silent or hidden to him.  Keep in mind that this is David who wrote many of these psalms, not just for him personally, but for all of Israel.  It appears to be an experience that was common to David.  I am glad these verses are there because at times I struggle with understanding what God is up to or why he does not act.   If you've ever prayed for someone to be saved and seen them walk further and further away from God.  Or if you have struggle with unemployment only to see jobs go to other people less qualified.  If you've struggled with understanding why these prayers have not been answered these verses are for you.  What do you do though when God appears to be silent?    I have had times when I have prayed for a job only to have to wait and wait and wait.  Not only

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come."  Holman Christian Standard 2 Corinthians 5:17    I was telling someone today that I really kinda regret putting up a message on the blog about thorns because it seemed this week has been full of them.  I am tempted if this trend continues to only talk about positive things.  It is much easier to write than to live out dealing with thorns.  It is much easier to sit and talk about how God is going to bring good out of bad than to actually experience some of it.  If pain is God shouting then he has been screaming at me all week.  With that in mind, I may have to be more careful about what I actual say on this blog.    Seriously though, I was thinking about how we are in process.  As a chaplain friend use to say to me, that sanctification is both an event and a process.  In one case, we are as saved as we are going to be.  In God's eyes, the new creat

Paul plead with the Lord three times that he would take away what Paul termed "a thorn in my flesh." When he did, God responded, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor 12:9   I want to say right up in front that in writing this verse, I am in no way comparing myself to Paul, the great apostle.  His problems were far more vast and spiritually great than any of mine.  It is a verse that goes through my mind sometimes when facing various trials.  Since today was a pretty bad day, it was a verse I thought of.  It is snowing as I write this, which is beautiful to watch, but not when your on the road.  I have been sick for about a week and a half and am tired of that and I had some difficult clients today who I am not sure how to help.  So, thorns have, in a manner of speaking, been on my mind.    Back in 2001, I have a bad cough much like I have had this week.  I went to the doctor and he ran a series of tests.  A blood tes