Rest

Resting requires you to cast down all unnecessary thoughts that come to your mind. 
Resting requires you to be still. 
Resting is what we are supposed to do according to Hebrews 4.
Have you spent any time resting today?
Five minutes seems like a long time to be doing nothing, but God is okay with that! 
300 seconds of rest, see if you can do it! 
Rest knowing that the Father, your creator, is satisfied in you. 

God

The Lord our God is a plural unity.
God the Father, HE Loves YOU!
God the Word, HE Loves YOU!
God the Spirit, HE Loves YOU!
This is necessary to truly believe.  The Father LOVES YOU!

Learning to Slow Down

During the days before thanksgiving, people seem to be "frantic!"  Then, within a few hours, the guests have come and gone and realize that you did not relax.  When is it then, that we are supposed to slow down and relax?  One thing I teach in physical education classes is how to stand completely still and rest in that position.  Slowing down and resting is an action you must learn to accomplish by controlling your body. 
The more practice you have, the better you will become at slowing down and resting.  One of the best reasons, especially for Christians, for learning to slow down is to be still and know that God is God.  Everything is going to continue and in the end, we will be judged by the words that come out of our mouth.(Matthew 12) 

Take a break!  Slow down and stop your activities during the day for a few minutes.  If you dont think you have enough time to stop for four minutes, try two!  Enjoy the two minutes of rest and give God the praise He alone deserves!

Praise God

Acts 20:35 - Matthew 6:20

In the book of Acts in the Holy Bible, the twentieth chapter is where Paul reminds us of Jesus' words "It is more blessed to give than to receive."  Therefore I will encourage you, that whenever you are feeling down, buy something for someone and be blessed when you give it to them! 

Here is a video of how amazing God's grace is in allowing each student and teacher to pray over a box that a child will receive.  We may not see the fruit that this produces in the lives of these children, but we know that we are "storing up treasures in heaven" by giving!  Hallelujah. 

The Father Son Retreat

Praise be to the Father, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost!  This weekend there was approximately seventy souls at the father son retreat.  Soccer was a blast as the sons played against the dads.  Although it was a little hard to convince them to play, they did, and they did good!  The fathers and sons pariticipated in shooting rifles, bow and arrows, multiple rope course activities and then played a kick ball game! 

After the scavenger hunt, we ate dinner and then went to the chapel where we heard a wonderful message.  We heard the truth about having two roads to go down, one may seem easy but leads to death and the other one may be hard at times but leads to life.  We learned that the road that leads to life is traveled by picking up the cross of Jesus Christ and walking with that cross.  Jesus Christ, for those who believe in Him, He becomes our righteousness, our sanctification, our wisdom and our redemption!  (1 Corinthians 1:30)  Praise Jesus.  For those who do not believe in Jesus, they have no true wisdom, nor redemption, thy are not sanctified, and are unrightoues.  I was reminded by God this morning in Galatians 3:10 that we also are under a curse if were not in Jesus Christ. 

There is only one way to be freed from the curse, and that is through Jesus, who became a curse for us on the cross, knowing that it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs from a tree. (Galatians 3:13)   

Anticipation vs. Being Ashamed

Sunday night while I was attending a halloween party as an 80's physical educator, I was anticipating the time I was going to have to speak about Jesus, my Lord and Savior.  Are you anticipating bringing up Jesus in your conversations, or are you ashamed when others do?  This question is one that brings conviction to a majority of Christians and one that needs to be confronted.  Jesus is so in love with you (Jeremiah 31:3b "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.") and as you allow Him to love you more and more, it will be a great joy and blessing to speak of Him to many people, even the stranger! (Deuteronomy 10:19a "Therefore love the stranger")  Sometimes there is a temptation to not speak of Him nor say Hallelujah in a room of "strangers".  Often though, there is someone who is in desperate need of the hope you have within you (2 Corinthians 13:5-6 "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. ⁶ But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.").  More likely than not, one person will draw near to you as you speak of Jesus and will want to learn more.  This was the case with a number of people last night turned their ears to listen to me explain somethings about the character of the Lord to a new friend Jesus allowed me to meet.  He once was a stranger, but now he is a friend.  Once Jesus was a stranger to me and you, but now He is my life!  What is He to you? 

Luke 9:26
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

Luke 9:23
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:24
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 

Luke 9:25 
For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 

 

The Arkansas Revival Services

This weekend was an uplifting gift from the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ and God our Father.  Friday night at eight o'clock, Michelle, Allison, Bob (Rick's Intern) and I, drove to the airport to catch our flight which left at ten o'clock at night.  We were picked up by a friend of Michelle's who was transformed by the power of God in Brazil which transformed his whole families life. 

Saturday morning we spent a half an hour worshipping the Lord and then a few hours learning how to pray for people.  During lunch I had time to walk through the fields near the retreat center on one of the most beautiful blustery days of this season.  Arkansas has rolling hills and open land that reminds me of the country.  People are friendly and the body of believers at Heritage were so kind.  After lunch we went the rest of the time learning about different issues people have been through and how to pray for them.  We were blessed to stay at a house about a mile away from the church who did a wonderful job of hosting the four of us. 

Sunday morning I was able to share my testimony during the traditional service about how God is faithful to those who continue to pursue Him and His Holy Word.  During the contemporary service Michelle was able to share her testimony about the power of the Holy Spirit and at the evening service Allison proclaimed the greatness of God and how no sin is to big for God to deal with.  At the end of all three services, there was a time for people to come up to the altar to receive prayer and I was thankful to get the opportunity to pray for a number of people. 

One person the Lord led me to pray for was a twenty four year old woman who lost her five month old child earlier this year.  The Lord used me to pray for her in a way that touched her deeply.  People were healed of holding unforgiveness and bitterness against others, as well as realizing the true love that Jesus Christ has for them.  Other people were set free from shyness and timidity and the fear of rejection.  There were so many blessings that happened and I am thankful that Jesus allowed us to partake in His Kingdoms work. 

Hallelujah! 

Questions for Junior High

The Junior High students are going on a retreat once again to a wonderful place away from home.  Some of the questions that I have for the junior high students, as well as for you are below.  It is always good to take an hour out of your weekend to dwell one on one with the Lord Jesus.  Can you give Him one hour?

1. What are you looking to receive from the Lord this weekend (hour)?
2. What are you expecting to happen?
3. What do you not understand from the Bible that you would like to understand?
4. What book from the New Testament have you not read?
5. If you could change some things about your life, what would it be? 
6. If you have someone that you have not forgiven... forgive them!
7. How can you personally grow closer with the Lord?

These are a few questions that you can ponder and pray over! 
Comments are always welcome! 
Praise be to Jesus.
Amen.

Family Bible Study

Having six people in a room reading Romans three can be a challenging task especially when four of them are kids!  My family and I try to have Bible studies on monday night to read through some scripture.  The verse that stood out to me today was Romans chapter three verse twenty.  This treasure says "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." NIV.  The law lets us know we need a saviour and the saviour Jesus Christ lets us know we need to do more than just following the law!  In the Old Testament, Jewish people claimed to be right with God because they did not eat pork, they did not work on the sabbath and they were circumcised.  Now, there are those who claim to be in right standing with God because they go to church, tithe and they dont curse.  Going to church, tithing and not cursing does not mean your in a right standing with God.   How would you explain to your pastor, your child, or Jesus that you are in a right standing with God? 

Jesus, The Author of our faith!

Our Faith comes by hearing.  Yes, hearing the Holy Word of God.  As we diligently seek His face, we see words He has spoken and hopefully hear them too.  This gives Him the opportunity to increase our faith!  Do you want more faith!  If you do, all you must do is take time to hear His Words from the Bible.  Pray the prayer that the apostles prayed in the book of Luke, chapter 17, verse 5!  Hallelujah.

The Petit LE MANS

I have never seen Indy cars and Formula One cars go so fast in my life!  VVVVRRRRRRROOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Thirty five cars raced one thousand miles from eleven AM morning to about eight thirty at night.
My dad and I walked all the way around the two point five mile track and I took many pictures and some video clips.   You can find the pictures in the pictures page.  It was loud and these cars went SSSOOOOOO fast!  I hope you get a chance to go to one some time. 
The video does not do justice to how fast they really go, but I believe in this video they may be going around 130 miles an hour.  The video's noise level is also not to be compared to the real sound of the cars.

 

Early Mornings

Matthew 26:41b "...the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Mark 1:35 "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed"
Proberbs 8:17 "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me."
Proverbs 16:16 "How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!"
Proverbs 2:6 "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."
Proverbs 6:9 "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?"
Ecclesiastes 5:12A "The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much..." 

Sometimes it is hard to get up two or three hours before work on a friday when what your flesh wants is sleep!  Jesus, setting an example, shows us to rise up before the sun comes up, go to a solitary place and pray!  The eight chapter of proverbs talks about wisdom and how wisdom loves those who love wisdom.  My experience was not so much seeking out wisdom when I was younger, but since the Holy Spirit has entered and filled me up, seeking out His Words early in the morning has become necessary!  Knowing that wisdom it is better than gold and silver, it comes before my daytime job!  Proverbs 23:15-16 encourages me as well.  The Lord breathed the word of God out of His mouth, therefore the knowledge and understanding is in the Holy Bible!  How long will we sleep if we truly believe our strength is of the Lord?  Labor to advance Jesus' kingdom (Matthew 6:33) and His righteousness is your own life and your sleep will be more sweet.  The Lord says, "whether [we] eat little or much!"   Hallelujah, in Jesus name, Amen.  Hallelujah.

Walking Around

Walking around outside gives me time to explore God's creation.  Looking at the trees and the bushes, the ground and the butterflies passing by is refreshment to my soul.  I pray more people walk around outside and enjoy what God has created for us.  One blessing God has given me is my pocketsize Bible.  I take my small Bible with me on my walks and memorize some of the Psalms.  From two seperate walks, one taking an hour, and one taking about thirty five minutes, here is what I remember from the fifth psalm.

5:1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.
5:2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for unto you will I pray.
5:3 My voice shall you hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto you, and look up.
5:4 For You are not a God that has pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with you.
5:5 The foolish shall not stand in your sight: you hate all workers of iniquity.
5:6 You shall destroy those that speak lies: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
5:7 But as for me, I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy: and in your fear will I worship toward your holy temple.

5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of mine enemies: make your way straight before my face. 

5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inmost part is very wickeness; their throat is an open seplechur...

That is all I can share that is accurate from the King James Version. 
The end of verse nine is "... they flatter with their tongue"
There are three more verses that you must read for yourself! 

Hallelujah.

Flag Football

Our first physical education unit on flag football is going to come to a close next week with the games!  Different grade levels have spent different amounts of weeks on practicing flag football.  The junior high finished their third week with running routes, throwing, catching and blocking.  The second and third graders finished up their first week with flag pulling and blocking!  Square dancing will be fun to practice before our Fall Festival which is coming up quickly on the 9th of October.                                                                                

Please spend some time with your children watching a football game and explaining what position does what!

The Treasure

The beginning of this school year has been magnificent. Although I have only had each classes three times in P.E. this year, it seems like a lot more. One idea that I am sharing with them is the fact that Scripture is treasure.The Bible says "I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great treasure"

The place that you will be able to find that specific treasure in the Bible is by looking in the Book of Psalms, chapter 119, verse 162. An easy way to remember the location is by knowing that Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and that there are 162 games in a major league baseball season!

There is a great piece of treasure found in the Book of Philippians, chapter four, verse four!

Once you find it and receive the treasure for yourself, pass it on to your neighbor!

 May the Lord Jesus Christ Bless You All!