Nothing Like a little relaxing on Father's Day

...Around, a campfire, and some DELICIOUS grilled Chicken.

Thank you to my friend. The original, woodsman extraordinaire , for a wonderful afternoon!

We probably stayed too late, so I hope that was not a burden. So I say...

"Too late I have stayed, forgive the crime. Unheeded flew the hours. How noiseless falls the foot of time, that only treads on flowers."


God Bless!

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Here there by Thy great help I've come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be

Let that grace now, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here's my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for thy courts above.

"...Proper respect"

1 Peter 2:17

“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

Respect, for many decades now is something that has been escaping from our society like air from a life raft on the water.

Young people seldom show respect to their own parents let alone their elders that are around them. Not just young people but grown adults often have a hard time respecting each other this day and age.

I’m sure you’ll remember the event recorded in the Old Testament of Joseph of old. How one of the Officials that served the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt was a man named Potiphar. Joseph served under Potiphar. Now Potiphar was a smart man, and saw that the LORD was with Joseph and blessed everything Joseph set out to do. So Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his household, and everything he owned. He trusted Joseph so much that he let Joseph take care of his house and EVERYTHING in it. Now when Potiphar’s wife tried to temp Joseph to do evil. Joseph refused her saying…  

“With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. ⁹ No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Joseph had respect for his master. He honored his master…. Because he feared God.

I think one of the main reasons we have a lack of respect in our world today, is because “we have forgotten God.”

In the scripture reference the Apostle Peter (the Rock) tells us to “Show proper respect to everyone.” And we as human beings, as young and old people should ask ourselves the question …WHY should we show proper respect to everyone? 

We as believers in Christ have a profound answer to that question. A few verses back in 1 Peter 2 we see...

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ¹⁵ For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. ¹⁷ Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

The God of heaven and earth desires that we (his special possession) lead by example, that we may “silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.” That they may know we are His disciples by of our Love.” 

Our Lord Jesus, when he was on this earth walking and talking, preaching and teaching, told us…

“¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

That “light” that Christ refers to… is HIM, living inside of us. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” For those of us who believe… We have the third person of the Trinity living inside of us. We are sealed with His Spirit.

So… “for the Lord’s sake” as Peter has stated “Live such good lives among the pagans” that even though they accuse you, and say all kinds of things behind your back to build themselves up, and to tear you down with their words… that when they see you doing good. Weather that is helping someone at work, or small acts of kindness, helping someone in your family. Or helping someone in need, or forgiving someone who has wronged you…whatever that good work is that the “holy spirit has prepared for you in advance to do”

…That you DO IT… and when they see you do it. They will see Christ in you, who desires Mercy more that Sacrifice. They will see Christ in you, who desires that “none should parish, but that All should come to repentance.”

So let the light of Christ that is in you, shine in your heart, so that it gives light to everyone in the room. Then “showing proper respect to everyone” will come naturally. And God will be praised!

Quotes, Quotes, Quotes!!!

“Christianity is a mind altering Reality.” – Alistair Begg

“I believe in Christianity much like I believe in the rising sun. Not because I can see it, but because by it, I can see everything else.”  – C.S. Lewis.

Scottish quote -(McLoud)

“Human thought processes, and human presuppositions and assumptions, and human logic, are hostile to God. The distortion of sin, the anti-God bias has come in at the level of understanding and intellect. By nature we think crookedly. We think in an ungodly way. “

“There is no road from man’s intellectual and moral perception to a genuine knowledge of God. The only way to knowledge of God is for God freely to place Himself within the range of our perception, and renew our fallen understanding. Hence, if we are to know God and have any adequate basis for our Christian understanding and experience, revelation is indispensable.”  -Bruce Milne

3 

I have not learned wisdom,

    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

- Proverbs 30:3-4

"A heart of flesh"

I still have the heart within me to raise livestock, and to be the farmer/rancher that I would love to be! I thank God for my few goats that I have, and for the little Chicken's we have been able to keep on our property. And I know that if the Lord wills it, someday I'll have those things that are in my heart. The land, the animals.  But my heart should not fix itself onto those things, and thankfully it has not! Rather, I have given that dream over to Him. Knowing that His timing is not MY timing. I still am required to fix my eyes, and my heart on Him. With the Heart of flesh that he gives me. And the Spirit that he provides.

I love the word picture used here, a heart of stone, traded out for "a heart of flesh". I hear that and picture open heart surgery. With the idea, and knowledge that the flesh is very sensitive to the touch, and can wound easily. I imagine a heart that is figuratively, and literally LIVING, and almost breathing the Spirit of God. Alive in the Spirit. Sensitive to the touch of the Holy Spirit.

Ezekiel 36:24-27New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

24 ‘“For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

"Work with your hands"

It is such a great reminder we get from scripture. When I am worrisome about my life, and my endeavors. I feel a tremendous comfort in knowing that my Lord, is watching over my everyday endeavors... and my long road as well, and I can trust in Him to bring to fruition, any and all of my hopes, and aspirations in life.

All I have to do right now, is put my faith in Him, trusting, and seeking Him first, "...and all of these things will be added unto you." Not to think that I will be wealthy, or have lots of things as the world might think. But that He will bless me with His blessings! Which are far better, than I can imagine!

I love the Scripture that helps me look at what is in front of me, TODAY.. and do what I have before me, as unto the Lord!

"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;"    - 1 Thessalonians 4:11 KJV 


...Thy will be done!

What's important?

So I've been pondering what to post, and came to the conclusion ..post whats most important!

Lately I've increased my scripture reading, and study. At this point I've managed to read through the New Testament one time, and am half way through my second time. I simply know that with out the Word being pored over me, and into me, I will have an even harder time knowing the mind of God, and the will of God in my life. But when I am in His word, his Spirit "teaches me all things". -John 14:26


"For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."  - 1 Corinthians 2:11


When you know the mind of God, from reading His word... you begin to see this life through His eyes, and everything starts to make  a lot more sense! I love the quote from C.S. Lewis.

"I believe in Christianity much like I believe in the rising sun. Not because I can see it, but because by it, I can see everything else.”  – C.S. Lewis

Just some food for thought!