Posted on

Following God Into The Unexpected

Where God Leads We Must Follow

Sometimes God does things that catch you completely by surprise. When times like that happen, what do you do? You follow, of course.

Sedalia, Missouri

That is exactly what has happened to us over the last few months. God has caught me completely off guard with something that seemingly came out of the blue. And as crazy as it seems, and as hesitant as I have been through the process, I really have no other choice but to follow and trust his leading.

A few months ago, I would have told you that we were in a position in our lives that was long term, and right in the center of God’s will for my family and for my ministry. Little did I know that he had something new and different in store.

Last spring, someone emailed me a link to a church seeking a new minister, thinking I might be a good fit. I immediately deleted it, and gave it no thought at all. But a few months later, during the early part of summer, I received a call from a good friend who attends this church, who also thought that I might be a good fit for this ministry. Now we have had two instances of God bringing this to my attention. Was I supposed to pursue this?

Posted on

Memorize Scripture: Psalm 119:85-88

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

The first half of this eleventh stanza was pretty bleak and full of despair. But as it comes to an end, the psalmist seems to turn a corner. Take a look at the latter half of this passage in Psalm 119:85-88:

Psalm 119:85-88

The psalmist seems to be very depressed. In the first half of the stanza, he wrote of his persecutors and enemies with a bleakness that isn’t matched elsewhere in Psalm 119. And this second half still carries some of those low notes. His enemies have dug pitfalls for him, in order to trap him. He is being persecuted without cause, to the point where he feels like he has nowhere left to run, perhaps even to the point of death.

Those are difficult statements to read, or to hear. But these are probably not foreign thoughts to our own thinking either. In our case, especially in western culture, persecution may not come from specific people, although that is becoming more and more likely, I believe. Our culture has become, and is continuing to become, increasingly intolerant of Christianity. You can see this in the blatant attacks from those who oppose Christianity against those who stand upon their convictions and the principles of our faith.

Posted on

Coffee Break – 08.13.2018

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

On this day in history: In 1889, a patent for a coin-operated telephone was issued to William Gray. In 1934, Al Capp’s comic strip L’il Abner made its debut in newspapers. And in 1942, Walt Disney’s Bambi opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, NY.

Coffee Break

Today Is National Filet Mignon Day!
This is a day I can totally get behind!

Buying Your First Home Coffee Roaster – Roasting your own coffee is a great step forward in your coffee journey. I roasted for years using an air popcorn popper, but a couple of years ago, I purchased a Behmor 1600+, and haven’t looked back. It’s an excellent home roasting option.

How To be A Well Dressed Man – There is no reason why you shouldn’t dress well. Or, as Antonio says, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be the best dressed man in the room. And it’s not as hard as you might think.

What’s The Worst Taste In The World? – I think bell peppers top the list, but this article disagrees.

Toxicity Comparison (This Little Will KILL You) – This might be a little morbid, but is also extremely fascinating.

Posted on

Memorize Scripture: Psalm 119:81-84

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

The eleventh stanza of Psalm 119 is perhaps the most bleak portion of the entire chapter. You can see what I mean in Psalm 119:81-84:

Psalm 119:81-84

At this point in Psalm 119, we are almost to the halfway point, and it seems as if the psalmist is in his darkest moments. And yet, the end of this dark and hopeless stanza gives us a glimpse of hope yet to come, which we will look at more closely next week.

This passage, in verse 84, is the first verse that does not contain one of the terms used for God’s Word throughout Psalm 119. I think that is significant. Very often, in our darkest moments, we can easily lose sight of what God may be doing, feeling bleak despair and hopelessness. That may be where the psalmist finds himself as well, losing sight of the promises of God due to the dark circumstances facing him at this moment.

These four verses contain a lot of information about those who are persecuting the author, and causing his distress and suffering. These enemies of this man of God seem to be completely occupying his thoughts. I know this is true for me, and I suspect it is for you as well. When things are going wrong, they consume our minds, they are all we can think about, and we worry ourselves to the point of exhaustion in the process.