* My soul weeps*

My friend sent me an email containging a link to http://www.blasphemychallenge.com, there they give you an opportunity to eternally damn your soul, by denying the existence of the Holy Spirit. In echange they will send you some documentary on why God doesn't exist. My soul weeps for these poor misguided people, who now have sent themselves to an eternity of pain and suffering and torment.

Precious and loving God, I pray that you would work in the hearts of those running this atrosity. Open their eyes and hearts to see what they have done to so many. Father God I pray that someone will minister to anyone considering doing this, to recieve a documentary, or who would do it just for kicks. Holy spirit I pray that you would fall, upon a fallen world, and upon a sleeping church who stand idally by without a response. Father wraps us all in your warmth and strength. For its in the precious and wonderful name of Christ Jesus I pray. Amen and Amen!!

*Oh My Soul*




Tonight my soul is troubled. Tonight I can't shake this feeling of dread and doubt and fear. I've been here in my room for teh past hour and a half crying (literally) out to God, he won't show the next move, he won't show me the end. Oh my soul. I've had this feeling since about 4:00, all through dinner I sat pondering what the source of it is, yet I've come up with nothing. Oh my soul. I know this feeling, its haunting grasp takes me back. Back to a time, a very deep and dark time in my life. A time I neither care to remember nor describe, but I know that I have a blessed assurance that one day and soon God will give me peace like a river.


Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
(Refrain)

*God's Will*

So I am sitting this morning in church listening to Wayne Burt give his sermon it was his testimony. In it he talked about how he is 90% deaf in one ear, but loved music. So much ion fact he got a degree in music, he then went on to tell how difficult it was to get into music schools for him. Then he told us about how he was a union musician in Nashville and how we worked with some big time musicians, but because of his hearing loss he had to give up that life. The he made this statement.

"If I had had perfect hearing then I would still be there doing that, and that is not where God wanted me. God knew this, and he knew that he had to take my hearing in order to get me to follow his will."

So ever since then I have been reflecting on the things I percieved as gone wrong in my life, and how many of those things persuaded or pushed me into God's path. How many times God knew that I didn't know the path, but he did. How many times he knew I would never follow him the ways I was going, so he had push me back on track. So the next time something goes wrong, and you think God's forgotten you or doesn't care turn the idea around. Maybe God knows that you wouldn't do his will that way. So maybe God needed to push you back on your path.

*Jesus Loves Me!!!*

As I sat in church this morning. We had the usual pre-Christmas rituals. This morning we lighted the Advent Candles, the choir had their contata. Then the preschool was suppose to sing a song, but only one little girl showed up. So our choir director had her sing Jesus Loves Me with the choir in the background. As I sat and lsitened to this 5 year old girl tell me that Jesus loves her, to be very Wesleyan, my heart was strangely warmed. She got it, the simple truth of the gospel, she didn't need 15 commentary sets, she didn't need to see what the early church fathers said, or what any writer or book said. As she sang I thought back to Mark 10 where Jesus says whoever does not recieves the kingdom of God like this little child will not enter it. She sang that Jesus loved her because the Bible tells her so, that was good enough for her. Ah, if only we could see the world as a child, then and only can we see just how simple the message of Jesus is.

*Walk By Faith, I Still Believe*

I happen to rumaging through some old songs and happened across these song by Jeremy Camp from a few years ago. They came into my life at a time, when I was wrestling with God. Wrestling with my call to Ministry, at the time it was the last "occupation" I would have ever thought for myself. Back 6-10 years ago, I was probably the last person who should ever be telling people about Jesus. I was bitter and angry at the world. I hated everything and everyone, but then begrudgedly on a cold January day in 1999 I went to church. I hated church and God, and was so tired of the "lies" and "desceptions" perpretrated by teh church, all the wanted was my money, my soul be damned, that what I thought they thought. That day you can use all the termanology and cliches you want, but that day I met Jesus. Standing right there in that church, as a man told us how he found Christ, suddenly I began to weep. This man's story was nothing like mine, yet they were the same story. Would I believe you when you would say Your hand will guide my every way. Will I receive the words You say Every moment of every day? Well I will walk by faith Even when I cannot see Well because this broken road Prepares Your will for me. Help me to win my endless fears You've been so faithful for all my years. With one breath You make me new Your grace covers all. Well I'm broken, but I still see Your face Well You've spoken, pouring Your words of grace I will walk by faith!

That day I cut through all the bull and nonsense we humans add to God, and walked straight up to Jesus. He dumped himself on me, covering me, drowning me in the thick red rich blood, so perfect God could not reject it. That day all I knew was God was real, and I needed to know how to get to him. As a youngster I remember walking home and speaking it out loud, "you don't want to be a preacher!" Being so taken aback that I would be stopped in my tracks, shocked at teh word I just spoke. Alway chalking it up to imagination I contiued on up to that day in Wal-Mart, when I finally got tired of fighting it. All that time I still belived, those scattered words and empty thoughts seem to pour from my heart. I've never felt so torn before Seems i dont know where to start But its now, that i feel your grace fall like rain From every fingertip washing away my pain I still believe in your faithfulness I still believe in your truth I still believe in your holy word Even when I dont see I still believe.

Though the questions still fog up my mind With promises i still seem to bear. Even when answers slowly unwind It's my heart I see you prepare. The only place I can go is into your arms Where I throw to you my feeble prayers in brokeness I can see that this is your will for me Help me to know you are near.

*Giving Thanks*

I know that all of you are being bombarded by messages dealing with giving thanks because Thankgiving is this week. But how many of us actually stop and ry to list just a few of the things we should be oh so thankful for. A. I got up this morning. God saw to it, that he needed me on earth today. I am needed and as such have a responcibility to God to do my best to make him proud that he allowed me to live. All to often we ignore the fact that we have he greatest privilage ever. We have a relationship with CHrist Jesus and God. A true and authentic relationship. I'm not just sayin this in passing but I know that Jesus died. The theology behind this fact is so vast that I could write 1,000 books and never scratch the surface, walk into any bookstore adn you'll see what I mean. B. I got to come home and away from the seminary. It is so nice tog t away fom the seminary all the drama, and stress, but can we ever really get away from the theology. Should we ever try, did God ever tell us we could take a break, I say no!

So the next time you hear thanksgiving, stop and reflect on how God has blessed you, we can all come up with thousands of examples.

*You've got me and Jesus!!*

In today's world, we have shifted our lives to the point of total isolation. Whether at work, home, the car, or church. We get up in the morning rush off to work or school, sit quietly and do as we are told (either work or school), rush off to lunch usually by ourselves, if we even get out of the car, we sit in a corner alone so we can rush back, only to finish our day and lock oursevles in our homes ALONE!!! Where am I going with this? As I was driving to the Cokesbury store on New Circle Road, the Stellar Kart song "Me and Jesus" came on, and I began to reflect on all the ways we isolate ourselves to the point that we must fight our wars alone; in particular our spiritual battles. In this Postmodern world we live in today the personal faith, the idea that my faith is just my concern, has become the theology of the day. Nowhere is this found in the New Testament but still it runs wild, like a weed. I know there are dozens maybe hundreds of you out there facing terrible and difficult things each day. Don't face them alone. Reach out to a brother or sister in Christ, its alright we are here to lean on each other. I am here to help you whether through IM, phone call, or by sitting and listening to your troubles I am here for you. For as the Chorus to the song goes, "Someone loves you even when you don't think so don't you know you got Me and Jesus by your side through the fight you will never be alone on your own you got me and jesus!!!!!!!"