EXAM TIME FOR BOBBY

No matter how old you get, there's always something to learn.
I'm finishing up my intro New Testament course and am staring down the barrel of an exam.
Time to study hard....
Please pray for me...I'm taking my exam on October 10th in the afternoon.
I better know what "religious and polythesitc syncretism" is ?!^#*:)
Talk to you all soon......

Awana Conference

I went to the Awana conference today. Had an awesome time. I was asked to do a workshop on our newsletters and general communication with homes and clubs, even used this blog as an example. However, the key note speaker (Bob Dobson) was the hight light of my day. He shared a little of his life over the last few years including the tragedy of losing his wife and mother in the same car accident.
While on a trip to Oregon for a time of respbite from pastoring, a young man fell asleep at the wheel and hit their van head on. Bob, his wife, mother, son in law, daugher and his fourteen month old granddaughter were all involved in the accident. Bob suffered numerous broken bones, traumatized neck and back, had his heart stop twice and almost died while in a drug induced coma. When he (Bob Dobson) woke up, he saw a team of nurses and doctors surrounding his be. They warned him that they had bad news, that being his wife and mother had not survived the accident.
It wasn't the tragedy of this man's life that gripped my heart, but his response to those doctors....."The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."
After four years of dealing with this incredible situation, Bob has come out a stronger believer, who's faith has grown in depths which he said he could not imagine. He told me (Commander Bobby) that this event, as tragic as it was, proved to him (Bob Dobson) that God is faithful to His people, and that God is glorified in it, even if we don't understand how. He went on to say that this event has transformed his life into one that is deeply concerned for the eternal destinies of people. He finds himself constantly asking people, even strangers, "do you know where you'll be spending eternity?"
His hope during all this was the LORD Jesus. He gave him the strength to endure the greatest trial of life, surviving the loss of a loved one.
But Bob was quick to point out that the Christian never really says goodbye to other Christians, as in the case of his wife and mother, only "see you soon in our Father's house"
Incredibly, in this great tragedy, God's grace can be seen. Bob's grandaughter did not suffer one scratch. Now she's four years old and beginning Cubbies this month!
 How about you, are you concerned with your eternal destiny? Do you know where you'll be after the last breath of life leaves your body? Are you concerned with the eternal destinies of others?
Come to the cross today........bring some friends with you......because this could be your last day on earth.....

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."  Job 1:21

"My grace is sufficent for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

LOVE"S A VERB!

The Bible describes love as a verb, contrary to the world view of love, which believes it is an emotion cultivated by experience or circumstance. Jesus described the love believers are to have toward not only Himself, but toward fellow man. Jesus describes the active love toward individuals who are in need as ministering not only to themselves, but also unto the Lord Jesus Himself. These acts of charity, such as feeding the poor, clothing them, visiting those in prison, taking in strangers and ministering to their physical and spiritual needs, is the love of God manifested among His people. Jesus goes on to teach that ignoring these facets of the Christian faith is evidence that an individual is in fact unregenerated and therefore unsaved, dismissing those who refuse to manifest love to everlasting judgement into the lake of fire.


Paul describes that of all the spiritual gifts, love is the only one that will follow us into eternity. Faith and hope will disappear when the believer reaches the end of their pilgrimage on earth and finally sees Jesus face to face, but love endures and will accompany the believer into heaven.

Love's character is patterned after God's own love. It stands to reason that since “God is love” (1 John 4:16) it is His example that the believer is to follow. Without God's indwelling love, a “Christian” ceases to be what he claims to be; since the love of God indwells a believer, a lack of love reveals the true heart of an individual in the realm of spiritual standing. An individual could live a life of a martyr, giving everything he owns, even to the point of death, without love it is useless. It is useless because the Spirit of God does not indwell the individual, therefore there is no assurance of eternal life in heaven.

Love is described as the concern of other over self. Love rejoices in the happiness of another and sorrows with them in pain. Love seeks to protect and preserve the integrity of others. Love is long suffering, that is, even in the light of hatred and persecution, a believer loves and manifests that love toward the antagonist. Pride is absent in love, with humility dominating the thoughts and actions of a believer. Love is as simple as providing a cold cup of water to a stranger on a hot summer day, and as profound as a Savior dying on a cross for sins that are not His own. In either case, it is the manifestation of love in real time and in a real way that shows the Spirit filled heart of an individual.

Love among the brethren is also stressed in the scriptures. The apostle John, who has been nicknamed the “apostle of love”, describes a love for one another in the church that elevates itself beyond the temporal and sinful nature of individuals before being perfected in death and resurrection. It recognizes and applies the principal of sacrificial love, as seen in the life and atoning death of Jesus, as it's pattern. It is this love that indwells a believer in the form of the Holy Spirit, that enables them to love those who would otherwise be tolerated or even hated. Anyone who claims to love God and refuses to love his brother is a liar. The Bible commands we love God, but also to love one another.

This type of supernatural love is only available to those who confess Jesus as the Son of God (1 John 4:14). The believer then abides in God and God abides in him and is made perfect through that love, so that in the day of judgement, the believer has no fear, since God's great love has been manifested in our lives on earth.

Are you living in fear.....or are you living in God's love????

I LOVE MEATBALLS

Have you ever eaten something so good...you can't help eating more, even when you're full! Last night we celebrated by brother in law's brithday. He made these incredible meatballs...I couldn't stop eating them. Man was I stuffed!!

But I've had some meatballs in my life that could pass as hockey pucks..they were not so good. Even though meatballs are esentially the same no matter who makes them or how they're made, some are just better than others.
It's the same with "religion"...some seem really good, some not so good.....
But the best religion isn't a religion at all....it's a relationship....a relationship with Jesus Christ.
He's different....walked to His own tune...lived a life like no other....and most of all, was God in the flesh.
He was full of grace and truth.
Everything about Jesus was antiestablishment. He stressed love, relationships, community, reconcilliation, regeneration, faith and forgiveness.
His life was given as a payment for our sins...but it only qualifies to those who believe and trust in Him...

Have you trusted Him yet?

After all, He gave His life for a bad meatball like me......and once you get a taste of Jesus, you'll be full and yet always want more!!!

"I am the living bread which came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is of Myself, which I shall give for the life of the world."

John 6:51

Back to school!!

So back to school time...it reminds me that Awana is beginning next week. I'm prepearing the teaching materials for the Sparks and T&T lesson time. I'm really excited and looking forward to the year. Last year, as some of you know, I had a difficult time getting motivated. That is untill some clubbers gave me some encouraging words. Who knew that God would use the very kids I was ministering to to minster to me.
Well this year, I'm psyched...and ready to rumble.
I'm looking forward to what the LORD has in store for us...though the schemes of Satan will become evident as the Word of God is presented, he doesn't stand a chance, becuase "....stronger is He (Christ) that is in me than he (Satan) who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

See you all next week...you too parents ;)