Share your Significant Scripture with me below…
As you’ve been reading your bible this week, what portions of Scripture have influenced you and done its ordained work in your life. What transforming work has taken place as a result of the sufficient word of God?
“I sought the LORD, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.” (Psalms 34:4-7 NASB)
Today marks the twenty-sixth year of the day I committed all my earthly affections to Teresa Renee Culberth. I have never taken that commitment lightly. The reality of twenty-six years from the vantage point of a twenty year old young man could never comprehend the sober reality of what things this young couple would face in the coming years.
The Lord has been kind to this man I look at in the picture. This man deserves nothing but the full force of the righteous wrath of God. Yet, the Lord established a covenant, sealed it with His own blood, and took the punishment for them both, rescuing them from certain destruction.
In my undeserving spiritual condition, I live with great joy. In my complete inability to do anything to please the Lord unless the Lord saves me, I live with great joy. In all ways I am fully deserving of being left and abandoned, yet I live in great joy.
From the vantage point of the forty-six year old man looking at that same man in the picture, I say I want to live out the remainder of my days…
I want to learn from that 20 year-old young man. I want to learn from his mistakes. I want to take notes from him and be reminded of how important it was to him to marry this woman.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
I would like to announce the wedding anniversary of me to Teresa Renee. The anniversary will take place on December 20, 2012. It will be the 26th year of remembrance of a grand and glorious day.
This is the actual picture used in our hometown newspapers of Clovis, New Mexico and Trinidad, Colorado.
This photo was taken with cutting edge photography in 1985. It was taken with actual 35mm film that was developed in a photo lab somewhere in New Mexico.
Here are a couple of random observations of this 46 year old man looking at that 20 year old goober standing next to that beautiful 19 year old.
Let’s address the obvious then move on from there. First: “how does a goof (that’s an 80’s term of endearment) like that get a babe (that’s 80’s lingo) like that?” (***disclaimer #1*** I’ve never referred to Renee as a “babe” in fear of being beaten to a pulp. ***disclaimer #2*** Renee has never beaten me to a pulp. ***disclaimer #3*** she could if she wanted to, I think. *** disclaimer #4*** I’ve always thought a night on the couch as extremely uncomfortable. ***disclaimer #5*** We have since bought a more comfortable couch. ***disclaimer #6*** someone should stop me now, we still don’t own a blanket that keeps me warm out here. I should have retrieved a pillow before I wrote this.)
Now on to a few more observations.
But look who I’m still standing next to as we announce our upcoming wedding anniversary.
This morning at Eastside Baptist Church, Twin Falls, Idaho. A look at Malachi 2:17.
You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?” Malachi 2:17 (NASB)
This past week at theBridge:
Monday, December 10:
Tuesday, December 11:
Thursday, December 13:
Friday, December 14:
Podcast Update: I still have much to learn about the uploading of a podcast to theBridge, but I’m making progress on podcast content. Also, this past week, I purchased my first podcasting equipment. I decided on the digital recorder by Roland to be my first purchase. The Roland R-05 was my choice for two reasons. 1) It had a strong review for the price range I was looking in. 2) I could purchase it locally at the Music Center, downtown Twin Falls on Main Street. I could have bought it for about $15 cheaper online with free shipping. I chose to make this purchase a local one though. I have begun looking into a small sound mixer to produce the podcast, but that will come later. I most likely will not be ready for podcast production until the second quarter of 2013.
And they were in terrible distress. Judges 2:15 (ESV)
Early this morning, like many of you, I heard the reporting of a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut. There is little to say about this and offer up much of a thought. I have been in prayer and of a deeply troubled spirit. I’m in wonder about how the surviving children of Sandy Hook Elementary School are doing right now. I’m groaning in my heart for the parents of all. I’m sure the parents of the children who have been massacred are in great, unspeakable pain. May the Lord meet them in their cry of distress.
I will transport the children home on my school bus in about an hour. I will do so with a sober mind.
Church, it is time to be the Church.
___________________________________________________
*updated thoughts (1:48pm Mountain Time)*
May the Spirit of the Living God fall fresh upon…
___________________________________________________
*Some thoughts on the close of this day of tragic news… (7:45pm Mountain Time)*
Like you, I have been praying, thinking, and considering. There are too many unknowns at this point and the media news has been difficult to discern. I have preferred to leave my media consumption to a minimum, mostly reading direct manuscripts and quotes form law enforcement. Politics have been quick to beat the drum of gun control and speculation. This doesn’t seem like the right day for that conversation.
What would I do if I had minor children in my home today?
Come, Thou Fount by Robert Robinson (1758)
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 redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here 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;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, 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.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
I’m looking forward to the arrival of the new pastor at NorthRidge Fellowship in Jerome, ID. Jeff Norton and his family are actually en-route to Idaho as I pen these thoughts. I’m looking forward to this brother’s friendship as I have all the men God has brought through this fellowship over the 12 1/2 years I’ve pastored in Twin Falls. May the Lord bless His people with a faithful proclaimer of the Gospel.
I’m also grateful to the Lord for opportunities to get to know many of the new pastors who have come to the Utah/Idaho area. As I get to know them better, I’ll be introducing you to them. Until then, let me post some resources many of these men are making available to the church at large.
I think you will find all of these resources encouraging and informative. May the Lord bless the going forth of the Gospel. It’s a good day to be the church.
Don’t forget that there are archived posts going all the way back to 2006 of theBridge HERE. I will be beginning new recordings of the book of Proverbs to be ready by January 1, 2013 and new recording of my Haiti Journal by February 2013.
The Lord says to the church that the gates of Hell will not prevail against her, and yet when is the last time your church had to bring in extra chairs for prayer? Most likely the last time your church had to call in extra chairs was for a concert, block party, preaching service, Christmas Eve service or a pot-luck dinner. But when is the last time the church called on her members to move over and make for more room for the prayer meeting?
Charge for a weekend event with a popular speaker and see what may come. They’ll come from far and near. But announce that your church is gathering to ask and seek the face of Christ… and you may be all alone. The One who commands through His word that all men everywhere are to pray, and this praying shakes the gates of Hell. And what do we do? we brag about how many balloons we paraded in front of ourselves. We talk for months about how funny that skit was. We worry ourselves sick that a visitor may come in and find us doing what we are commanded to do. They may not come back if they don’t laugh.
Jesus was sickened at the sight of His Fathers house. It had become a circus. It had become a business. It had become what all secular people wanted it to be. Secular. Our Lord, the Lamb of God, was not happy with what He discovered.
He charged them of being thieves. “MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ DEN .” (Matt 21:13).
There is a multitude of people who don’t want a funny skit to motivate them. There are women who don’t want another craft bazaar with hot-glue. There are men who don’t want another wild-game night with lessons on duck calling. There are children who don’t want another movie night to show them how to act like the world.
Don’t get me wrong; there’ll be a survey out this coming year that will convince some pastor somewhere of a new trendy way to gather a massive group of people. And he’ll spend all of his energy working up his people to spend all of their energy to accomplish it. And at the gates of hell, all who hate God will be laughing at the foolish hearted people who call themselves the church.
But, there is a people, a church of the redeemed, who want to shake the gates of Hell. They will do it unlike all in their community. They will do it by obeying the Lord. They will humble themselves and pray and seek His face and repent of their sins. And the Lord will heal their land and all those at the gates of Hell will be shaken.
I’m not in the habit of reading any of Anton LaVey’s writings. Nor would I recommend them to anyone. In some research for sermon preparation I did read Wikipedia’s bio of LaVey in search of what I understood to be The Nine Satanic statements. They are everything opposed to righteousness or godliness.
LaVey, claims that “Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!” Satan is not the best friend the (true) Church has ever had. As a matter of fact, Jesus tells Peter; “I will build my church and the gates (or forces) of Hell will not prevail” (Matthew 16:18).
I could agree that Satan is the best friend the [false] church has ever had and is why he longs to keep it in business. Keeping a [false] church in business makes sense if the enemy wants to mislead all who would join on an emotionally charged false conversion.
But the Lord’s church will prevail! She will not be overcome or over powered by that which is false. And this is why she must stand on the alert. Guard the Trust. Persevere through the end. Advancing the Gospel banner. Dispelling the lies of the enemy, always!
To be clear: Satan is no friend of the church. It’s a good day to be the church!