February 12, 2008 Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com Jeremiah 44; lamentations 4; Mark 15:1-20 Yesterday I spent most of the day with Susan, running errands. After I did finances, we ran to Coastal for dog food and to the doctor for a blood test. He was pleased with her blood level. He said that it will be a few weeks before they can evaluate the torn ligament and further treatment. Then it was off to a CE meeting where we talked about breakfast, easter and Awana. Wed night we will head to Melrose to observe their awana club. After that Susan and I took off again to get our watches and my sunglasses fixed. We did a little shopping at safeway and walmart. Then it was home again to finish finances. While we were out, Zac called with the news that his removed intestine was cancerous… they don’t know yet if it is malignant or benign. Pray with us!. This week’s theme verse. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.” The heart of the matter is this: the issues of life flow from the heart. Where your heart is, that is where we will discover what you value. If you really love God with all your heart, you will demonstrate it with your life. If you have a divided heart, or are half-hearted in your devotion to God, other things will always find a way to become more important than spiritual things. Eventually they will even force spiritual things aside. Guard the heart above all things, for as the heart goes, so will go your life. How can we expect God to guide our paths if we don’t trust him with all our heart? It is a cause and effect issue. If you trust him with all your heart, then we will direct your paths. We can not expect God to be a water boy on the sidelines of our daily life, and then ask him to suite up and direct us on a whim. God wants to be a first string starter. Trust him with all your heart. Dear Jesus: I pray that you would take my heart. I want to really love you with all my heart, soul and mind. And I want that to be evident in my daily life. I want you to be more important than anything else, I don’t want to leave you on the sidelines. Forgive me for not putting you on the throne of my life all the time. I now choose to put You first in all things.

February 11, 2008 Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com Jeremiah 43; lamentations 3: 37-66; Mark 14:32- 72 Today is Monday. Yesterday was the Lord’s day. We held our first discovery class in the new kitchen. It was well attended. And a great class. We also had a great service in the morning where I laid out 5 very important laws of the harvest. If you didn’t get to hear that, I’ll upload it some time this week and you should check it out. In the evening we watched a video by kent hovend on the age of the earth… very informative and lots of info. Dave and Barb stopped by for lunch, and we had a great time of fellowship. Tony & Patricia called and I had a good conversation with them. Marcia dropped by some food for us… Susan is not too mobile yet. Pray for her recovery. Trust is the basis of the Christian life. To begin with, you must “believe” that God exists. There are lots of evidences for God’s existence that we won’t cover here, but it is well worth it to check out the facts so that we can be fully confident in Him. Secondly, God’s word is trustworthy. It is historically and scientifically trustworthy. All the evidence convinces us of that. Once we get to the place where we believe God and believe His Word is true, we realize that we still have to trust God for some more personal matters. Can I trust the Principles of His word to be true for my situation? Can I trust that God knows what He’s doing in my life? With all the confusion and difficulty in life, sometimes we doubt it. But we need to realize this: God is too wise to be mistaken. God is too good to be unkind. So when you don’t understand, when you don’t see his hand, trust his heart! This week’s theme verse. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.” Dear Father, help me to trust You. I believe in You. I even believe your Word is true. But sometimes I have trouble trusting you when I have to make daily decisions. Help me to trust your wisdom. I know that you are much wiser than I am. Help me to trust your love for me. I know that you are looking out for my best interest. Help me not to jump in and do things my way out of fear when I know that you are working all things for my good. I will trust you and never be afraid.

February 9, 2008 Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com Jeremiah 42; Mark 14:1-31 Susan is supposed to come home this evening! That will be nice. She looks so much better. Yesterday after music practice, I spent the day working on the message “The Laws of the Harvest.” I’m afraid I’m going to have to work most of today to catch up. Carl and Sonja made it back from Portland, it was good to see them. Dave called and we had a nice long talk, and John stopped in to see me! What a great visit! Love it. More about our cruise… The third stop we had on our cruise was Cabo San Lucas Mexico. This was by far the cleanest, most developed of the three spots. The beautiful cove had wall to wall hotels. We took a taxi around and saw the sights. We stopped in at a glass blowing place! That was impressive watching him make a pitcher. We also stopped at a market and bought a few souvenirs. This week’s theme verse. Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Time is precious. Time marches on so quickly that here I am past the half way point in my life. I don’t feel ready to enter into my “golden years.” Then there’s the condition the world is in. It’s like a roller coaster, sometimes zooming to frightful speeds, and other times lulling us uphill to dangerous heights. Sometimes it seems as if things are getting so bad, that “the end must be near!” That’s why we do church: Because, as life changes, and as the world turns the screw on us, we need each other. Some of us have such frightening and difficult situations to face, and we could use a stabilizing hand. And if you are not in the middle of a life difficulty, you will soon be in one! The church is not just a crutch, it’s a whole hospital! We are there to encourage one another and help each other as we see dark days approaching and we are there to remind one another that “the Day” of His Return is near. Look for it! Dear Lord, please give me the strength I need in the dark days I face. And help me to realize that there are multitudes who are facing much more difficult trials than I. I can’t help them all, but I commit myself to doing what I can. So I will do church, and I will do it with the purpose of looking to lift some weary soul out of the depths of their troubles. Help me to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. I can’t wait for your return. Please come quickly. But in the meantime, help me to be faithful to you and faithful to your people.

February 8, 2008 Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com Jeremiah 41; lamentations 3:1-36; Mark 13. This week’s theme verse. Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Encouragement is something all of us need at one time or another. Sometimes I’m up, and there are sometimes I’m down. And encouragement is needed. That’s another reason we go to church: One of the great goals of church is that I would take an interest in you, and you would take an interest in me for the one great purpose of encouraging each other. When I go to church, one of the burning questions on my mind is, “who can I encourage today?” So I look for people who are down or have a need. I may pray with one or squeeze the hand of another or laugh or cry with yet others. That’s one of the important things about Church. We are to help lift each other up and energize each other so that when we go back out and face the big bad world, we do it knowing that we have some great friends and supporters in our corner. If you don’t have any… maybe you should try being one! It’s amazing how 5 minutes of taking an interest in people gains you more friends than a lifetime of trying to get others to take an interest in you! Reach out and encourage me! Dear Father, I want to be an encourager. I want to make it my purpose and goal for church to reach out and ouch someone who needs a hand up. When people think of me, I want them to see hope and friendship coming. Help me to take an interest in others, even people I don’t know. Guide me to those who need hope and an arm around the shoulders. Help me to always be asking this question, “who can I encourage today?” In Jesus name, Amen.

February 7, 2008 Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com Jeremiah 40; lamentations 2; Mark 12: 28-44. This week’s theme verse. Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Habits are important. A habit is a matter of discipline. We try to develop habits because we believe that some things done repetitiously are beneficial to us, like brushing the teeth, taking showers, paying bills etc. Good habits, even in the small things, result in a “good quality of life” but a bad habit drags us down. The discipline of a habit is often what separates the “haves” from the “have nots.” If you want joy, fulfillment and a good life you must have good habits. That’s why the habit of church attendance is so important. One visit to church may not seem much of a help, and committing to one day a week may even seem like a colossal waste of time. How many of us even remember any of the sermons preached over a lifetime… I can’t even remember last weeks! But like daily meals, the cumulative effect of this habit is shockingly beneficial and the lack of it never impacts us until we wake up one day and realize how far we have drifted without it and the hole it has left inside. Fact: God made us to need the discipline of doing Church. It’s like a daily work out, like brushing teeth, like paying bills… if you don’t do them, at first you don’t notice any difference… but you just wait until the tooth ache! Then you realize how much this bad habit has cost you. Dear Lord, I want to commit to a habit that will slowly and inevitably change my life: being with your people in your house every week. I am making a conscious decision to develop the discipline of hope and fulfillment. Please remove the nagging arguments from my mind that tell me I have better things, and more important things to do when I know that is simply not true. I know that worshiping you with your people is one of the most important things I can ever do. I don’t want to drift. I don’t want to wake up one day with a hole in my heart knowing that, with a little promising habit my life could have been so much better. I choose you!

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