Scripture Sunday - Psalm 103:2

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits"

We bless God by speaking of His glory and His mercy, His power and strength. We bless Him by singing His

praises (even if your voice is not-so-angelic). We bless Him by recalling the many mercies He has shown us,

and the many blessings that He gives us daily. The very act of breathing is a testimony to His mercy and grace, because we do not deserve to breathe the air that He has made; we do not deserve to see the morning day

after day. And this is because of the guilt that we all, as descendants of Adam, are born with. Yet how richly

has He shown "His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"!

  Therefore, let us remember all the benefits that He has given, and still gives, to us. Let us go to His Word

and see what He has done in times past, and look forward in faith, blessing His holy name. 

PS: Yesterday, I was able to drive with an instructor, and actually managed to drive on the interstate! That right

there is proof positive that God still works miracles! B) Anyway, I'll be going again tomorrow and Tuesday, so

I would covet everyone's prayers for safety, calm nerves, and especially that I don't make any stupid mistakes!

Try-Again Tuesday - Acts 4:12

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved."

There are lots of nice people out there. Lots of people who do good things. And lots of "Spiritual" people.
The (perhaps) inevitable question is, how can God send all of these nice people to hell? Even though I know
that's the wrong question to ask, it still pops up in my mind every now and then.
  The key in responding to this "dilemma" is to then ask the question:

What do they do with Jesus?

  What, indeed? Do they believe Him to be just a good moral teacher? Or better yet, a prophet? Do they believe
Him to be a created being, or Lucifer's half-brother? I will not attempt to refute any of these beliefs here, but
this I will say; that Jesus is God, He is the judge of all people, He has standards, and nobody can satisfy them
completely. And I mean nobody. So, in conclusion:

"But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that by believing you may have life in his name."

We're Back

Yes, we survived the trip! And it was a good one, with lots of good food and fellowship. The memorial service
went very well, with an excellent sermon by our cousin Mark, who is a pastor up in St. Louis. The whole event
was a fitting tribute to a woman who loved and served God.
  This has been just a quick post to say that everything's peachy, God is good, and I am tired.  B)

Update And Songs

As some of you may have seen on Sunny's blog, our grandmother's health has been going downhill for the
past few weeks. I am sorry, but mostly glad to report that she left this world at 3:30 a.m. this morning, and is
now in the presence of her Savior. Praise the Lord, for He is good.
  We will be going down to Florida on Friday, and the funeral will be on Saturday. Please pray for all the
family involved, as it is still hard to see a loved one leave.

  The songs that Blane and I recorded this week are amazingly appropriate, I think, as they are about the
sufficiency of Jesus' blood to save, and the brevity of life. Enjoy.

Make-Up Monday - Proverbs 27:12

"The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple goes on and suffers for it."

We should strive to be prudent people. Much sorrow can be avoided by examining our situations through the

lens of God's word. If any situation requires, or tempts you to compromise on God's standards, you need to

get out.

  In scripture, it is clear that we are to guard our heart, to keep it and our ways pure and pleasing to God.

We have a responsibility before Him to stay away from things that are displeasing to Him and, by definition,

dangerous to us.

  As parents, and to a higher degree, as fathers, this responsibility extends to our families. By God's decree,

fathers are the leaders of the family, and He holds them accountable for how they lead their families.

Do they lead with wisdom and humility, teaching them the word of God? Do they discern danger and heed

warnings, so as to protect their families?

  This responsibility also extends to our brothers and sisters in Christ, our fellow believers. We are commanded

to build one another up in love, and one of the ways we do this is to, if necessary, refrain from doing certain

things or going certain places that would be a stumbling block for them. Another way is to look out for sinful

and destructive behaviors that they may fall into, and go to them, in love, showing them their error with scripture.

  Following this line of thought, I am reminded of the responsibility we Christians have to proclaim the gospel,

to shine the light of the truth, so that those whom God will save may hear and believe, and that all the rest may
be without excuse.

  This is our responsibility, our calling; to be a prudent and holy people in a foolish and fallen world.

Amazing Video

I just found this guy's YouTube channel and had to share this video! (there is a link to the channel on the video)


The "Chapman Stick", as it is called, is a very intriguing instrument. More about it at the manufacturer's site.

Scripture Sunday - Proverbs 19:27

"Cease to hear instruction, my son,

and you will stray from the words of knowledge."

It is the very nature of humans to forget instruction. We need to be almost constantly reminded of
the truth to walk in it. This is just one of the reasons that Christians need to find a good church in
order to truly grow, because we need to hear the word preached. Not just in personal study,
but examined and put forth rightly in the pulpit. We need the interaction, the encouragement, and
the accountability. But even in addition to that, we must still immerse ourselves in the Bible,
studying the truths therein, or we will be out-of-touch, ineffective, unable to properly discern or
defend with scripture. (2 Tim 3:16-17)
  I believe another way of looking at this passage is that "cease to hear instruction" can also mean
"Refuse to accept rebuke". Our flesh doesn't like rebuke, it wants to have its own way. And besides,
"Rebuke is a mean word. It's just not nice!" (said in a whiny voice) Well, about that...

"Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,

but he who rejects reproof leads others astray." - Proverbs 10:17

"A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool." - Proverbs 17:10

"Better is open rebuke

than hidden love." - Proverbs 27:5

So, we need rebuke. It may not be pleasant, but it is an act of love, and one that is needed in the church.

  The lesson of this verse is that we must be in our Bibles, we must be studying the truth to walk in it.
And we must have an attitude of humility, so that if we must be rebuked, we may see our error,
repent of it, and seek to walk again in the truth. 

Sorry about the mess, Blogger is having some problems... it is at times like these when I wonder how
hard it would be to switch to WordPress... B)