Changes in Life

"The only thing permanent in life is change." A greek philosopher who lived 600 years before Christ said that. How true, how true. Everything around us is changing and changes from one day to the next. Some try to avoid it, run from it, don't subject themselves to it, stay the same old same old, make change only when they go to the vending mechine. Or youcan cope with it. Christianity is about change. You change or as Paul mentions, transform your way of thinking about life, self and God (Romans12). We take off the old way of life a change into a new life (Ephesians 2). Playing it safe, avoiding change, staying in your comfort zone, will make us as Christians weak and unable to live effectivily for the Lord. Peter had to change his way of thinking about Gentile Christians, and Paul had to remind him of that change in Galatians. Paul had to change in order for God to use him effectively. All of us have to change, change is apart of life, espcially the Christian life. We must understand that our ability to cope with change does not depend on our personalities, our enviornemnt, or whether or not we enjoy change, it depends on our proper foundation, something solid(Matthew 7:24-25), God. Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." NIV. God doesn't change. And that means that His love for us will never change, His Word will never change and His purpose for us will never change. So the next time you experience change in your life cope with it by understanding that God is that solid foundation on which to stand. You can cope with whatever life brings your way.
Isn't that great news?

Coaching

We had our first practice last night.
I think I am going to like coaching.
We practiced for a little over an hour.
We practiced catching with bare hands, then with gloves, then grounders.
Then the kids were ready to try out hitting off the tee.
We have some really good hitters.
I think some switch hitters too.
I finally talked to them about running the bases: run to first base first, etc. I told them when I say run home you don't run off the field and to your house; you run to home plate.
Then we all ran the bases together.
It was a lot of fun and think the kids had a great time too.
Can't wait til next practice.
We get the kids on the field and get them to see what it is going to be like in a game.

T-Ball

I remember playing T-ball as a kid.
I loved the game.
I now find myself coaching a T-ball team.
Oh, what fun it is going to be.
I have to remember to teach the kids the basics.
Remember run to first base first, then second, then third, then home plate.
Now when I say run home I don't mean you go running to your house.
It looks like it is going to be fun for the kids.
I know mine is excited and can't wait.
It will be here before we know it.

What A Weekend!

Wow, what a hot weekend. Easter Sunday it was 101, today was 100 and tomorrow is to be the same.
We had a wonderful weekend.
I enjoyed family comming down and visiting us.
We had a good turnout at worship.
It really felt like worship.
I preached on being blinded by the temporary that we don't see the eternal.
Jesus is eternal.
Not even death could hold the eternal Son of God.
What hope we have because we serve a risen savior.
We had a wonderful meal.
Ate to much as usaual.
The boys enjoyed a big Easter Egg Hunt.
I believe we had over 100 eggs and 6 or 7 dozen confetti eggs.
The confetti eggs were so much fun.
That evening enjoyed worship and invited the congregation to help get rid of our leftovers.
Even though our families went home we enjoyed our evening meal with our Christian family and it was a great time together as always.
I really enjoyed this weekend and hope that everyone had as much fun as I did.

A Solid Hope by A.W. Tozer

"1 Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ frm the dead."

Brethern, we have been born of God and our Christian hope is a valid hope! No emptiness, no vanity, no dreams that cannot come true. Your expectation should rise and you should challenge God and begin to dram high dreams of faith and spiritual attainment and expect God to meet them. You cannot out-hope God and you cannot out-expect God. Remember that all of your hopes are finite, but all of God's ability is infinite!

Now, brethern, what is it that makes our Christian hope a living hope and gives it reality and substance for the future?

The answer is clear and plain - the ressurection of our Lord Jesus Christ is God's gracious guarantee of our blessed future.

I dare say this to you, my friends - your Christian hope is just as good as Jesus Christ. Your anticipation for the future lives or dies with Jesus. If He is who He said He was, you can spread your wings and soar. If He is not, you will fall to the ground like a lump of lead.

Jesus Christ is our hope and God has raised Him from the dead and since Jesus overcame the grave, Christians dare to die.

Thank You, Father, that my hope is not a vain hope but rather hope in Jesus Christ. What a sure hope! Amen. "
From Tozer for Today: Tozer on the Almighty God.

Other wonderful books by A.W. Tozer that I recommend and enjoy:
The Pursuit of God
The Attributes of God (Two Volumes)
The Best of A.W. Tozer (Two Volumes)
Of God and Man
Jesus, Author of Our Faith
Men Who Met God
The Pursuit of man (formerly The Divine Conquest)

Which you might ask is my favorite book by A.W. Tozer? It is The Pursuit of God

Wisdom From Albert Einstein

As the hydrogen bomb was being developed, Eistein was asked about how the Third World War would be fought. Einstein answered that he had no idea what kind of weapons would be developed for the next war, but he could assure his questioner that the war after that would be fought with stones.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses

I have been watching the demonstrations, marches, people making their voices heard.
Practicing the freedom to assemble, the freedom to express.
People have many different oppinions on the issue.
We have to remember America is an immigrant nation.
I am Irish, Scottish, English, Native, American.
I am thankful to my ancesters who come over to America.
We have to remember how we were built as a nation.
I want to close with a quote and a question for thought.

On the statue of Liberty it says:
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teaming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest toss to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Have we forgotten our roots, who we are and what our nation is about?
Let us not forget.

It has been a beautiful Sunday. It is in the low 90's and I love it. This morning was wonderful as we shared in communion. I don't know about you but when I was young the church I went to made communion or the Lord's Supper a special occassion. It felt sacred. It was something that you looked forward to during the week. I remember when it was time for communion the men would dim the lights and we would partake as a family in the rememberance of Jesus death. Is it easy for the Lord's Supper to loose its meaning? Is it easy for us to loose focus on what it is about? If so why? The first part of my sermon we looked at the death burial and resurrection. I mentioned that the body was peiced for our transgressions. Without Jesus submitting to God's will and giving himself (the body) for us we would be lost. Then we sang: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross and took the bread. Then I mentioned the blood and what it does for us as Christians, saves us cleanses us, makes us whole. More than that it imakes us a part of the family of God. That we don't gather together as Christian individuals to take the Lord's Supper that we take it together as a family. How wonderful to be apart of the Family of God. The blood makes us part of the the family of God. We then sang: God's Family and took the fruit of the vine. Afterward I talked about Seperate and Apart from the Lord's Supper. I talked about giving, our blessings that we have in Christ and from Christ, many blessing, and the attitude we have in our giving. We then sang Count Your Blessing and gave our offering to God.
It was a wonderful Lord's Day.
I hope that communion will be something we look forward to during the week.
I hope that each time that we take it that it will remind us of God's love (sacrifical love) and who we are in him that we are apart of His family.
I hope that each time we take of the meal we will be strengthened in our faith and relationship with God and His son.