This is My King

I will just let the video speak for itself. Check it out! It is only a little longer than 3 minutes.

Sad, but True

“The only Bible the world reads is the daily life of the Christian. And what the world needs now is a revised version.” - Unknown.

Any thoughts?

MV #3

Psalm 111:2:

Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.

Or, for convenience, I like to say, "The works of the LORD are great, they are studied by all who delight in them."

This verse makes me realize that reading the Word isn't enough; I must study it. Those who delight in his works, study his works. This is not only referring to the Old Testament, but it can refer to all of God's works.

My reading can be a mile long in width, but only an inch thick in depth. Reading is the width but studying is depth. This verse will be a helpful reminded to...

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15, KJV).

The Greek word for "study" is spoudazō. It can be defined as to be diligent, to endeavor and labor, and to study.

This doesn't mean that I go and lock myself in my room all day to study, but I should be diving into the Word and studying it.

I need to be diligent and labor in the word because I delight in the works of the Lord.

Remembering Pastor Ralph Arthur

Pastor Ralph is finally home. He finished the race and he fought the good fight. He persevered until the end and did it with such joy that depicted the love of Jesus in such a unique way. Ralph will truly be missed. There are several words that come to mind when I think about him, but I will only mention a few: loving, compassionate, and faithful.

These are the ministries that Ralph served as overseeing pastor :

• Hospital Visitation Ministry

• James 1:27 Convalescent Ministry

• Men's Cancer Support Fellowship

• Women's Cancer Support Fellowship

• More Than Conquerors Disabilities Fellowship

• Simon's Hand Ministry (food)
  

• The Lord Cares Bereavement Fellowship

Wow. Count them! There were 7 ministries that Ralph was faithfully committed to. It could easily be said that he had a heart of gold, but to think about it, he didn't have a heart of gold, he had a heart full of Jesus!

He says in his bio page that he suffered 12 years of drug and alcohol abuse. If any of you knew Ralph, you couldn't even image that happening. This just shows how much the Lord worked in his life by taking his sinful heart and replacing it with His. He said:

Those things that I seemingly could not let go of no longer had a grip on my life. I started attending Harvest and have never looked back, except to give thanks to God for giving me a new life in His Name.

Michelle and I were just talking to him on Wednesday night after the service as he walked by with his usual smile. Man, I am going to miss that. Sometimes I put service projects together for the high school ministry and I would always go and contact Ralph because I knew he would have something for me. Actually, the last time I contacted him was about a week ago. I never though that it would be his very own family that would be the ones who would need help.

I remember one night after Day7 that I went up to the stage after service and asked Ralph if he had any service projects for the high school students. He replied with such joy and excitement and expressed how he was so proud of me for wanting to lead up a service project. He shared how he was excited that a young man wanted to be used by the Lord. It was very encouraging to be lifted up and encouraged by him. I am not sure, but I think he might of prayed for me as well.

He leaves behind his wife and five children. The ministries that he used to run so effectively are all now applicable to his family. May the Lord be with them.

To Recap:

To reflect on his life and ministry: He was a man who made hospital visitations, ministered to orphans and widows in convalescent homes, comforted cancer patients with hope, graciously ministered to people with disabilities, ran a food ministry, comforted those who were suffering the loss of a loved one, faithfully attended Day7 as an extra service of ministry, and always loved those who he came in contact with. I am sure the list could go on and on. I do not know much about his personal life, but I am positive that he was an amazing husband and father.

His favorite verse was:

I love the LORD, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live (Psalm 116:1-2).

And he did just that, he called upon him as long as he lived, Amen. What a great example that he served. He is truly irreplaceable. May we all learn by his life and legacy.

Horses and God's Sovereignty

Well I am back on the farm in Norco. That is, I am house sitting for Phil's family and they a bunch of animals. You can get the full info by clicking on my previous post. So anyways, I have to take care of three huge horses. It is so interesting to be around them and gaze upon their strength and size.

In Job 39, God is listing all sorts of things that display his power in creation. He is asking Job, "Where were you when I formed this?" or in other words, "Did YOU make all of this?" He did this in order to show his infinite wisdom, power, and sovereignty.

Here is Job 39:19-25:

19 Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? 20 Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying. 21 He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. 22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword. 23 Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin. 24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. 25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

I must answer "No" to all of his questions at the beginning of these verses and admit that He is the creator, and I am not. He is the potter, I am the clay.

No wonder why I am sometimes nervous while standing next to the horses: their snorting is terrifying (v.20), they laugh at fear and wont turn away from the sword (v.22), they fiercely rage (v.24), and they can smell war (v.25). Wow!

So next time I complain about what God is doing, all I have to do is look at the horse and here Him say, "You see that beautiful and powerful horse that isn't scared of anything? Ya, did you make that?"

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made (Romans 1:20).

The Lord is so powerful and I have to remind myself that he is in control of all things. Good thing I have a constant reminder because all I have to do is look at his creation. It can be as simple as looking at a horse!

Mr. Piper and Mr. President

Whew, John Piper goes off on the relationship between the President and abortion. Read his blog, Being Pro-Life Christians Under a Pro-Choice President. Two of his most crucial points that he addresses directly to the President are:

Are you willing to explain why a baby's right not to be killed is less important than a woman's right not to be pregnant?

And if you say that everything hangs on whether the fetus is a human child, are you willing to go before national television in the oval office and defend your support for the "Freedom of Choice Act" by holding in your hand a 21 week old fetus and explaining why this little one does not have the fundamental, moral, and constitutional right to life? Are you willing to say to parents in this church who lost a child at that age and held him in their hands, this being in your hands is not and was not a child with any rights of its own under God or under law?

Thought provoking for sure. Any thoughts?

MV #2

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:3-7, ESV).

A wonderful truth is that our theology should produce a doxology, which literally means "the glory of God." It is an expression of praise to God. The theological truths in this passage definitely produces a doxology, which is why I wanted to memorize it. I can't read this without having some type of gratefulness to the Lord. These verses vividly display the process of death to life that each Christian goes through. I was so blessed by reading these verses because they make me think about how the Lord has called me out of darkness and into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). I wanted to memorize these verses so I can continually recite the gospel to myself from scripture.

Look at the comparison:

Old Life in Sin	New Life in Christ
foolish	wise
disobedient	obedient
led astray	found
slave to passions/pleasures	slave to righteousness
spent in malice and envy	spent in compassion and care
consumed with hate	consumed with love

Isn't the "but" in this verse so sweet? I was full of sin, BUT God saved me according to his own mercy. He did this by the washing of regeneration (being born again) and renewal of the Holy Spirit. This was poured out to us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. We are justified by grace and become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Wow.

What a sweet section of scripture.