Pennsylvania

We have been here for 6 months and we are loving the change of seasons and we are redefining the ministry we see God setting before us in this new season of our journey here on earth. Life is vastly different here and we struggle somedays, but we will move forward until we discover our God called nitch here in beautiful Pennsylvania

Time to get back to this blog, it's been way too long and I feel the Spirit leading me in this direction again. I will be blogging from a new location as Mary and I have completed our move to PA! I have been at work for three weeks now and starting to see a routine setting in. We have attended a church in Chambersburg that seems to be promising - at least on the surface. This morning I went to an adult Sunday school there - 45 people in this classroom!? It was a huge social event and out of a 1 hour time frame alloted - they only discussed the Bible for 15 minutes :( very sad. Many of then came to me after the class and asked if I enjoyed the class and hoped that I would come back - come back to what? It is so diasppointing to see people who call Jesus their Lord and yet have no reverence or respect for Him especially on this the Sabbath Day.... My work environment has changed drastically too, at Rucker I worked mostly with people who were at least "Social Christians", here it is a completely indifferent group of people I work with - they have no respect for the Lord or His people and theur language and attitude show it daily. I have been in Matthew for my morning quiet time and this has spoken volumes to me lately: Matthew 10: 16-18. Read it and see if you see what I see....

"Is there not a cause?"

In 1 Samuel 17:29 David asks those around him this question, I see and understand his frustration. The Armies of the Lord, his Lord, are standing around prepared for battle but doing nothing. This philistine Goliath has them terrified and they are unable to move! David however sees Goliath in an entirely different way! He asks his brothers and those around him "who is this uncircumcised philistine, that he should defy the Armies of the living God?" In essence asking those around him - why are you afraid of this man, is he bigger and more powerful than our God? David, even as a young man, knows his God, and loves his God. David says - this has to stop, is there not a cause? David says - I'll fight him, and not only that - our God will be with me and deliver him into my hands!

Back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

My quiet time for the past three or four months has been going thru the New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and now 1 Samuel. Today I finished up Revelation and I am going back to reading the 4 Gospels every month for the next six months. I learned so much and my walk with the Lord was so good when I spent significant time in the Gospels, soaking in the words of Christ! I think for all of us, a close relationship with the Gospels is a close relationship with our Lord. This morning as i read Matthew 4:17 I see the very beginnings of our faith, repentance. I need to repent, every day, especially today - for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

The rising sun...

As I have my quiet time now in the morning, the sun rises just off my left shoulder when I sit in the chair by the window. Every time it reminds me of Jesus. The sun provides for me physically what Jesus provides for me spititually. He says to me: I'm right here, I will provide for you today, you needn't fear or walk in darkness. It is just incredibly awesome.
We had an awesome weekend, did a lot of things - but the best part was the fellowship with believers! Praise be to our Father in Heaven and His Son our Lord Jesus Christ! Mary and I constantly reflect on where He has brought us and what He is having us do here at this time in our lives.
One of the passages I read this morning was Psalm 139:1-24, this Psalm really speaks to me, it comforts me beyond words. Knowing who and how I am, He loves me. There is no place I can go that He is not there. Thank you Lord!

Unity in community

Psalm 133:1-3. As I fellowship with my brothers in Christ I see division and a lack of community amongst them. Each of them believing, loving, and serving Christ - but independently. I know and understand that we each have our own work to do for the Kingdom, but that should be done in context within the bigger community. We are all one body, my ministry includes and encourages your ministry and your ministry includes and encourages my ministry - because it is not ultimately about your or my ministry - it is about Jesus and His Kingdom - the bigger community! We cannot be independent contractors for Christ! I encourage you my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us return to and strengthen our community (the Kingdom) by reaching out in unity of the Spirit and in peace to our fellow believers.
We appear to the lost as a fragmented, broken, dysfunctional group. Each "denomination and congregation" separate from the main, and I believe that the lost think and believe that there is no more main church or body of believers anymore. If I see this as a believer - it must be so? The evil one has separated us long enough, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has called us to be one in Him as he is one in the Father! There are so many references to this in the Bible that I cannot quote them all here right now, I do however - encourage you you to look for them in your daily scripture reading.....

In His name and for His Glory,

Psalm 119:129-136

I have been camping out in this Psalm for a few days now. At first glance this is a very long Psalm and I tend to want to go thru it quickly, huge mistake. This Psalm deserves time to soak it into my spirit, it's like walking into something that is so profound that as I walk into and around it - it takes my breath away and removes any possibility that I may talk and ruin it? The absolute truth and beauty of this Psalm just holds me in it's grip and draws me in. Take some time and read it, slowly, thoughtfully, and let your spirit be refreshed.
As I sit here typing this morning there is a man in my driveway changing out my truck windshield. For the second time in 5 months! Last week as I was driving to work on Thursday morning on 134 east toward the Hanchey Gate, a man on a Harley Sportster was coming toward me in the other lane at a really high rate of speed. About 20 yards in front of me something came off his bike, bounced high off the road, came down on the hood of my car and slammed into my side of the windshield. It sounded like a gun went off in the truck! The dude on the bike never slowed down and there was no way to catch him going that fast. So - $710 later I am having my windshield replaced, again. Part of that $710 is for the two gouges in the hood of the truck where the object initially hit. I'm thinking about getting a metal mesh screen for the windshield, maybe go for a "Mad Max" look with the truck?
My prayer for today and every day is that God's Will be done in each of our lives, I know there are things we want and need - but there is absolutely nothing that we need more than His Will done in our lives today. I pray that we would be attentive to the Holy Spirit as He leads us and guides us into the Truth- and that we would be willing to follow, especially when it gets uncomfortable.
John 14:1-6

Barukh attah Adonai eloheinu melekh ha-olam, she'asani kirtzono
Blessed art thou, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who made me according to His Will

Shalom