RLC Men After God's Own Heart

Now that you have hope are you prepared?

2011-03-10T13:19:00.001-06:00

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” - 1 Peter 3:15

More about love

2011-02-10T14:50:00.002-06:00

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Mens Advance Lake Geneva 25-26 Feb. 3-4 Mar 2011

2011-02-08T10:12:00.002-06:00

Men we are closing in on the last week for early registration for mens advance you will be saving 10 dollars on the original tickets for both men and students.. if you have any further questions please contact me on my cell number.. I pray God blesses you all .. and I pray that you have the chance to come this year we already have three guys and three students going would love for more to come . and to share some quality time with Mighty Men of God... love ya all brothers. Dan

Love

2011-02-05T20:52:00.002-06:00

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I regret to say that I have not followed each and every one of these things in my life with the ones that I love and I am sorry for that. I hope to change that about myself and I hope others will read this and be inspired to change them in there lives as well.

With God's help all things are possible.

Shouting to the Lord

2011-01-30T20:31:00.001-06:00

⁹ I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the nations. (Psalm 57:9, New King James Version)

Making bread

2011-01-27T14:45:00.002-06:00

My wife Reneé and I started baking bread from scratch this week. Now we had several reasons that we wanted to do this that are not important but in the process we began to learn several biblical principles. Reneé started talking about it and it has really got me to thinking.

What is bread? Bread is a basic staple food of life that gives us nourishment and sustenance. This nourishment and sustenance is something that we all need.

Most of us are familiar with what Jesus said in ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. (John 6:48, New King James Version)

But when we make bread from scratch there are even more spiritual symbolisms that we must consider. First lets think of the ingredients there are only 4 basic ingredients in bread.

1- flour- the flour is us. It comes in all different flavors and colors just like we do. But in the end flour is flour.

2-yeast- the yeast is the Holy Spirit. This is what does the work in us and the bread. It is the action of the yeast that raises up the bread just as it is the action of the Holy Spirit that raises us up.

3-salt- salt is a flavoring we use in life.
¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
(Matthew 5:13, New King James Version)

4-water- 1 Peter 3:21 says-water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now when you make bread you dip flour into the water that is full of yeast and salt and a new thing emerges dough. Now when you are baptized you get dipped into water and the Holy Spirit is activated in you and you are a new thing that emerges from the water. You are now dough.

But just as it is with you this is not the end of making bread. Now you must let the dough be still for 2 hours. You can't do anything to speed this up you must let the yeast do its work. How many times have we all wanted something right away from God only to find out we must be still and let the Holy Spirit do its work.

Now the dough has to rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Again we are asked to be still and wait on the Lord.

Now you have to shape and work the dough. How many times have we thought we were perfect just the way we are only to find out God wants to reshape us and work us into a new form.

Now the dough has to sit again for an hour on the counter. Again we are asked to be still and wait on the Lord. We must be patient.

Now the dough is put into the oven and baked for 40 minutes. How many times in our lives do we feel like we are put into the fire. James 1:2-4 says Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. You see when we are facing the fire of our lives that is the testing of our faith and the perseverance. Now the dough is tested by the fire of the oven and only when it has finished its work is the dough mature and complete and it becomes bread.

Now of course when we eat the bread we get nourished for a time but our bodies need us to make more bread every day to continue this nourishment.

We also know that Jesus is the bread of life when we take of Him our spirit gets nourished forever.

But we also know that we must continue to walk with Him each and every day so that the Holy Spirit can work in us, so that we can be changed and reshaped, so that we can learn to be still and wait on the Lord, and so that we can face the fire of adversity and become something new. This is something if we choose we will do for the rest of our lives. So is baking bread!

Lord thank you for all the bread in my life both the physical and the spiritual. Amen

Our first loaf...

Being lifted up by the Lord

2011-01-26T11:34:00.003-06:00

Lord, I am not worthy of your love and compassion but yet you give it to me freely. I am so grateful for you. Without you I could not continue at all, but with you all things in my life are possible. Thank you Jesus. Amen

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:10, New King James Version)

O Lord how great thou really are

2011-01-25T20:14:00.001-06:00

How great you really are.

Letting your life be built on Jesus

2011-01-24T17:20:00.003-06:00

^{I feel so blessed to have ended the 21 days of prayer and fasting with all of you at RLC yesterday with our special Alabaster Sunday service. As I am moving forward now I have been praying about what Pastor Mike asked of us to fast every Wednesday for the rest of the year. While I was praying about it I read this verse today and it spoke to me about letting my life be built on Jesus. Even on Wednesdays.
^{Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT)}
6} And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. ⁷ Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Rejoice in the Lord Always

2011-01-23T07:00:00.001-06:00

As we at Redeeming Love Church come to the end of 21 days of prayer and fasting I say thank you to all who participated and I say Rejoice in the Lord Always!

¹ Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
² Praise the LORD with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
³ Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
(Psalm 33:1-3, New King James Version)

I'll walk with God from this day on

2011-01-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'll walk with God from this day on
His helping hand I'll lean upon
This is my prayer, my humble plea,
May the Lord be ever with me.
There is no death, though eyes grow dim
There is no fear when I'm near to Him
I'll lean on Him forever
And He'll forsake me never.

He will not fail me
As long as my faith is strong,
Whatever road I may walk along.

I'll walk with God, I'll take His hand.
I'll talk with God, He'll understand.
I'll pray to Him, each day to Him
And He'll hear the words that I say.
His hand will guide my throne and rod
And I'll never walk alone
While I walk with God.

Trials and Temptations while praying and fasting

2011-01-21T07:00:00.002-06:00

For many of us who have been joining in Redeeming Love Church's 21 days of prayer and fasting we have found that we are suddenly facing some difficult things in our life. Be encouraged my brothers and sisters this is to be expected. For as we press in to do great things through prayer and fasting the enemy presses against us to try to discourage us before we reach our goals. We know from the story in Mark 9 that Jesus said that some the really difficult things only can happen through prayer and fasting. So be ready to face your trials and temptations but also be ready for God's great rewards.

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4, New King James Version)

For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul

2011-01-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

¹ Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
² Preserve my life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
³ Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.
⁴ Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
⁵ For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

⁶ Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
⁷ In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
(Psalm 86:1-7, New King James Version)

Mens Advance Lake Geneva 25-26 Feb. 3-4 Mar 2011

2011-01-19T13:31:00.003-06:00

Mighty Men Of God, Mens Advance is coming up fast and just wanted to inform you that my son and I will be heading up this year. We will be going the first weekend. 25-26 of Febuary of 2011 .. Early registration is goes to Febuary 11, 2011 .. you save $10.00 if you register before then.. For further Information about lodging and tickets please contact me, or the church. I Pray for you and your families, and also pray that God blesses you richly.. Love you brothers.. and see ya soon ... Dan

Jesus saves everyone if you let Him

2011-01-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

The Power of Prayer and Fasting

2011-01-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

We are now into the last week of Redeeming Love Church's 21 days of prayer and fasting. If there is anyone out there who hasn't joined in yet its not too late. Start today. It doesn't matter if you choose to do a total fast, a liquid fast, a Daniel fast, a one meal a day fast, a sugar fast, or any other kind of fast there is great power in prayer and fasting. While you will be challenged during the fast you can expect great things from God when you finish. Please join us you won't be disappointed.

Setting yourself free

2011-01-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
³³ They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. (John 8:31-35, New King James Version)

The LORD has heard the voice of my weeping

2011-01-16T07:02:00.000-06:00

¹ O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
² Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
³ My soul also is greatly troubled;
But You, O LORD—how long?

⁴ Return, O LORD, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?

⁶ I am weary with my groaning;
All night I make my bed swim;
I drench my couch with my tears.
⁷ My eye wastes away because of grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies.

⁸ Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;
For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.
⁹ The LORD has heard my supplication;
The LORD will receive my prayer.
¹⁰ Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;
Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly. (Psalm 6, New King James Version)

You are so valuable to God

2011-01-15T07:00:00.002-06:00

²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31, New King James Version)

Feed on His faithfulness

2011-01-14T07:00:00.001-06:00

¹ Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.
¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹² The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³ The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
¹⁵ Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The LORD knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
²⁰ But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the LORD,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
²² For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the LORD upholds him with His hand.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
²⁶ He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.

²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
²⁸ For the LORD loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice. (Psalm 37, New King James Version)

I have victory in Jesus

2011-01-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

[Chorus]
I've got, got the victory
I've got the sweet, sweet victory in Jesus,
Yes I do!
He is our mighty conquerer,
In Him I will trust, all my battles He'll fight.
I've got, got the victory
I've got the sweet, sweet victory in Jesus.
For me He died but He rose on the third day
That’s why I have true victory everyday!

[Verse 1]
Truly I've been through the storm and rain.
I know everything about heartache and pain.
But God carried me through it all
Without His protection I'd surely fall.
I’ve been broke without a dime to my name.
But all my bills got paid ‘cause I called on Jesus name.
You can't tell me that God isnt real 'cause I've got the victory and that's why I’m still here.

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
I'm not worried about material things I dont have
I just rest cause I’m sure in my Savior’s care
Because I know my blessing is on the way
I can't see it right now but I stand by faith.
I've fought many, many battles in His name
I held up the blood-stained banner and proclaimed
That Jesus is the truth and the light:
Believe me when I say He will make it all right!

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Yeah I got the victory yeah
I got the victory yeah yeah yeah
[And if you have the victory sing it with me]
Yeah I got the victory yeah I got the victory
Yeah yeah yeah
[I've got the victory Sing it with me]

[Chorus out]

Fasting and taking up your cross for Jesus

2011-01-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

Reneé and I were talking about fasting and how this year's RLC 21 days of prayer and fasting was going for each of us. It brought up the question of what really is fasting and what does it mean for us here in America in 2011. Reneé had a great observation that for her true fasting has to be uncomfortable and cost her something that she really wants. For example if you are fasting food then the hunger pangs are uncomfortable and they are the cost as you fast.

Below in Isaiah 58:7 we find that fasting that is truly pleasing to the Lord is feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the poor, clothing the naked, and not hiding yourself from your own flesh. These are all topics that Pastor Mike has been speaking about when he talks about taking up a cross for Jesus. They are all uncomfortable and are attained only from us doing something that costs us something. It seems that taking up a cross for Jesus and fasting are much the same.

Isaiah 58:1-9 (New King James Version)

Fasting that Pleases God

¹ “Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
² Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
³ ‘ Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“ In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.
⁴ Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
⁵ Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD?
⁶ “ Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

Why Me Lord?

2011-01-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

Where is your treasure?

2011-01-10T07:00:00.001-06:00

As I reach the one week point of this years 21 days of prayer and fasting I have been reflecting on everything in my life. After reflection this verse that I have read many times before is really sticking with me. Where is the treasure in my life?

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21, New King James Version)

Psalm 130

2011-01-09T07:00:00.001-06:00

¹ Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;
² Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.

³ If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
⁶ My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
⁸ And He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities. (Psalm 130, New King James Version)

Thank you Lord

2011-01-08T07:30:00.000-06:00

When will you comfort me oh Lord?

2011-01-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

⁸¹ My soul faints for Your salvation,
But I hope in Your word.
⁸² My eyes fail from searching Your word,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in smoke,
Yet I do not forget Your statutes.
⁸⁴ How many are the days of Your servant?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?
⁸⁵ The proud have dug pits for me,
Which is not according to Your law.
⁸⁶ All Your commandments are faithful;
They persecute me wrongfully;
Help me!
⁸⁷ They almost made an end of me on earth,
But I did not forsake Your precepts.
⁸⁸ Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

(Psalm 119:81-88, New King James Version)

God's Amazing Love

2011-01-06T00:48:00.000-06:00

We all need God's amazing love...

Do not loose heart when the world seems bleak

2011-01-05T07:30:00.000-06:00

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. ¹ For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, ³ if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:8, New King James Version)

Faces of Persecution

2011-01-04T07:30:00.001-06:00

LORD,

I pray for all of the people in this video and for all of the families who have been affected by there persecution. I pray that you would give them peace even in the very un-peaceful circumstances that they live in. I also pray that you would give the same strength of conviction to all the rest of us Christians who have yet to be persecuted. In JESUS name, Amen.

Encouragement for the New Year

2011-01-03T13:22:00.002-06:00

Dear Brothers,

I am writing to encourage all of you to reinvigorate our efforts about posting on the Men's Blog. The second half of last year I like many others had gotten discouraged by what I thought was a lack of participation in the blog. The fact of the matter is that no one has regularly put up any blogs since last June.

Upon starting my 21 days of fasting and prayer I felt a leading to revisit the blog. I was very surprised to find that GOD has been using our blog even without our help. Since the last regular postings in June we have had 637 VISTIS TO THE BLOG SITE. I feel humbled that people out in the world are still reading and searching our little blog for JESUS. I am realizing that this blog really is about so much more than us here at RLC. I hope that you will join me in reinvigorating our efforts to post messages here regularly for who ever GOD leads to read it.

Blessings to you all,

Jason

Greetings

2010-12-21T12:53:00.002-06:00

I was going to send a Christmas greeting to Dan DuRoss via the blog because I don't have his email address and then I thought why just him. So I want to wish all my brother's a very happy, Merry Christmas. I pray God's richest blessing on all you great men of God and on your families, for Christmas and the coming New Year. Jesus IS the REASON for the SEASON!!! Ken
(I'm sorry I haven't been on for a long time. My only excuse is I totally forgot about the blog)

LONELINESS WILL LEAD US TO RELATIONSHIP

2010-10-05T16:56:00.004-05:00

Just recently I was talking with a brother about his "loneliness" and shortly after our conversation ended I was in prayer for him and others God had brought to my who also suffered from loneliness and before I could finish praying the word "heaven" came to my mind. And that heaven will be all about "relationship." And while we are here on earth we can get a glimpse at the heavenly relationship awaiting us. We can also work at and aggressively pursue relationships while we are here to again prepare for what we'll be doing in heaven! Our Father does not wanting us to be lonely on earth and has given us family, friends, and church FOR JUST THAT REASON. Loneliness should drive us to relationship. Once we have reached our heavenly destination all previous earthly relationships will be I'm guessing strangely dim in comparison to one we will enjoy eternally with the Lord!!! Prepare, prepare, prepare!

Giving honor

2010-08-06T11:29:00.003-05:00

As some of you know my wife and I just celebrated our 40th anniversary..Sharon
is such a blessing and I honor her everyday or at least try..In reflecting on her and other
things , I am reminded how as men do we really honor each other..??I believe some of those
things are as follows:
i.e Putting information or encouragement on this blog is one.. I know I am as guilty
as most of us on not using this blog..we know it is a blessing and we shouldnt just do it
to get any kind of recognition..remember we are honoring each other.

I believe another one is to pray for one another. putting our fellowmen before God daily..I repent
of not doing this as faithfully as I should..I hope you can forgive me..

Another is to honor our leaders..board members..Pastors ..God bless all of you for all
you do..I pray you are blessed and the favor of God will become more apparent to you
each day..

And last but not least,,our fellow Men's breakfast leaders and attendees..Never get weary
in well doing..remember who you are really doing this for and the joy set before you will
always be greater than any small hindrance now or in the future..

I just felt I should say these things..and no one on the lis should take anything personal
but rejoice that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life..WE are all blessed to
know each other and have the fellowship of Jesus with us..God bless you all!!

Be happy??

2010-06-10T10:51:00.002-05:00

Is being just happy good enough for you?..Real joy(not happiness) comes from knowing Jesus
and trusting Him no matter what comes in our lives..Sometimes when we see others
circumstances ours dont look so bad..Know that happiness as a goal is a lesser
expectation than wanting real joy..Why settle for less..People who are great know that
the joy of the Lord is our strength no matter what comes our way..Keep the faith!!

Waiting on the Lord

2010-06-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

I have been pondering what it means to wait upon the Lord?

In today's drive-thru, microwave, instant message, buy now pay later society we don't seem to have to wait for much anymore. In fact you could argue that we are teaching a whole generation of people how not to wait for things.

In Psalm 27 David talks about how the Lord is his light and salvation and whom shall he fear. He then goes on to talk about how the Lord will protect him. He ends the Psalm with this...

Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

I find it very interesting that David doesn't say the Lord is my "INSTANT DELIVERER" he says wait for the Lord...twice

My wife Reneé and I have been waiting on the Lord and praying that He would speed up our adoption of a child from Ethiopia. We so wanted it to happen on our schedule. Instead the Lord had a plan for us and our new son to meet on His schedule.

This last Tuesday 2 years to the day that we started the adoption process we got the call to go to Africa and pick him up. We leave next week. God had this plan for us all along. Maybe He was just waiting on us?

Psalm 86:12 (NIV)

¹² I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.

Rejoice

2010-05-17T09:26:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder this is the day the Lord has made..Rejoice!! Rejoice!! in it
and be glad..Be glad that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life and
know that your redemption is drawing soon!!..That is enough right there to rejoice!!
Be glad in HIM...God bless you all..

Map update

2010-05-14T06:36:00.003-05:00

For those of you who may be wondering the cluster map that shows what country everyone has been in reading our blog has reset itself back to zero. It does this every year. In case you missed it click here are the final map and totals for last year. We had 2169 visits from around the world.

Who do we honor?

2010-05-10T10:26:00.002-05:00

IN lieu of the many words from people in our congregation like Larry Rich and of course
Pastor Mike as recent as yesterday, it seems to me God is really trying to tell us something..
WE must always do our best to honor one another and not to think to highly of ourselves,
and remember we are God's creation and must do what he asks..It sounds so simple, but
if we do these honoring things God will honor us ..like love our wives..dont discourage your
children but discipline in love.love our neighbors.and the list could go on..Keep pressing on
for the highest calling is in Christ Jesus!!..I honor all of you and pray the best for you in
all you are doing .. By the way May is military appreciation month..Thanks to all our military personnel and families of those who have served and are serving..See ya Saturday as well!!

BROTHERS WE MUST CONTEND

2010-04-20T20:44:00.002-05:00

Brothers in Christ please lift up in your prayers and petitions before our God one of our brothers Bruce Axtman. Bruce as some of you may know was in a serious automobile accident about three weeks ago in Maryland (where he lives). Despite returning to work shortly after his accident he has suffered some set backs with his recovery and was recently re-hospitalized again.

Please be contending for Bruce as we are his family back here and he needs our support! Also thanks Larry K. for encouraging me this past Sunday and sharing the burning things that God has placed in your heart my contending energies have since been renewed increased 2 or 3X! Just a thought about contending as I was meditating on this yesterday I was reminded of Micheal (the arch angel) in Jude 9 that even after Moses died a (spiritual warfare) contending (by Micheal) was necessary to negate the enemies plans to destroy his destiny... how much more must we then contend until that great and terrible Day of our redemption!

Life'experiences

2010-04-15T09:58:00.002-05:00

Sometimes little things that happen in life make us very bitter and upset..
I am trying to always show restraint and be patient but not perfect in either
area..I know the enemy wants us to not focus on Him,so any little interruption
or conflict causes us to lose our focus..It is all put into perspective when about
a 100 people come to Christ throughthe Easter production..Our little inconveniences
dont seem as important..However even as I say this God is still very interested
in our our little conflicts no matter how small and wants to help us through them
not necessarily around them..So even life's daily experieinces can cause us to
trust in Him more, and no that in the end of every trial no mater how small
God will always win the battle IF we keep trusting him..God bless you all!!!

Muslims in Africa are coming to Christ in droves

2010-04-13T07:44:00.003-05:00

With all of the great news how God is moving around the world I have been looking to find some of the stories to share.

Here is an interview on the Arab television network about how in Africa they are loosing so many Muslims to Christianity they fear soon there will not be any left. It is now 16,000 per day!

Praise Jesus!

Resurrection Gospel

2010-03-29T20:26:00.002-05:00

As we know the death and Resurrection of Jesus is the Gospel. Romans 6:11 says "to consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." All of Romans 6 Paul is teaching us to personalize the death and Resurrection of Jesus. No life to God with out first death to sin through Jesus. Death to sin is not life. It is not what we don't do that makes us alive, but what we are free to do unto God in Jesus that is life to us. Simple but not easy. As Pastor Mike told us we would be the biggest fool knowing the Lord's love for us yet live like there is no God who gave us this Gospel. Like you, don't want to be a fool.

Easter Week as told by Matthew

2010-03-27T08:18:00.000-05:00

I know I posted this last year but I really love reading this day by day during the Easter season so here we go again...

Please click on the verse links and reflect on the history of each day of this week.

Sunday - Triumphal Entry - Matthew 21:1-11
Monday- Jesus cleans the temple - Matthew 21:12-17
Tuesday- Woman anoints Jesus - Matthew 26:6-13
Wednesday- Judas' plot - Matthew 26:14-16
Thursday- Last Supper - Matthew 26:20-30
Friday - Betrayal & Arrest - Matthew 26:47-68
Trial - Matthew 27:11-31
Crucifixion - Matthew 27:32-50
Burial - Matthew 27:57-61
Saturday- Guard at Tomb - Matthew 27:62-66
Sunday- Resurrection - Matthew 28:1-10

God shows up in a bus ticket

2010-03-26T07:46:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday Dave Medrano was picking up some of the homeless people at the Dorothy Day Shelter in St. Paul. One of the men named La Troy came up to Dave and said "I really need some money to buy a bus ticket to go back to my wife in Chicago." Dave told him he didn't have any money but that he should come to church with him because you never know what the Lord will do. Once at church La Troy was disappointed to find out that the Tzedakah homeless ministry is unable to give cash money to anyone as we would be overwhelmed by requests. Dave said we need to pray and if it is Gods will He will make a way for you to go home to your wife.

After church La Troy came running up to Dave with a huge smile on his face and said "some man here at church just came up to me and said the Lord wanted me to give you $40." La Troy said I never even asked him. Dave praised the Lord and what he had done.

Later I was driving people home to the shelter and I did not know La Troy or this bus ticket story. He asked me if I could drop him off at the bus station and I said sure. When we got there he asked me to wait and then he went in to get his ticket. He came out with a sad look on his face and said the ticket is $58. I felt the Lord strongly moving me so I looked in my wallet to see what I could add to his $40. I had to smile when I looked and had exactly $18 in my wallet. (I normally don't carry any cash) I said to La Troy I think that the Lord really wants you to go home to your wife and I gave him the money. At that point he did not understand the significance of exactly $58 because I found out that he could not count. He just held the wad of small bills in his had and asked me with a tear in his eye is this enough? Yes it is I told him and God really loves you and wants you to go home to your wife. I helped La Troy go in and buy his bus ticket and I am sure I will never see him again but I know God has put him on my heart always.

Let us give thanks to the Lord for through Him all things are possible.

Even bus tickets.

Amen

Terry Bradshaw's testimony

2010-03-22T13:37:00.000-05:00

All The Time In The World

2010-03-16T09:51:00.002-05:00

Said yesterday to to-morrow:

When I was young like you,
I too, was fond of boasting
Of all I meant to do.
But while I fell a-dreaming
Along the pleasant way,
Before I scarcely knew it,
I found I was to-day!
And as to-day, so quickly
My little course was run,
I had not time to finish
One-half the things begun.
Would I could try it over,
But I can ne'er go back;
A yesterday forever,
I now must be, alack!
And so, my good to-morrow,
If you would make a name
That history will cherish
Upon its roll of fame,
Be all prepared and ready
Your noblest part to play
In those new fleeting hours
When you will be today.
---The Pacific

Do you love life? Then do not
squander time, for that is the
stuff life is made of.

Remember how short my time is...
Psalm 89:47

Furious Love- revisited

2010-03-15T16:43:00.004-05:00

For those of you who missed the first screening of Furious Love at RLC good news you get another chance.

Sunday April 11th at 5 pm. The cost is $5 per person or $15/family

Here is your chance to see a Christian film about what God is doing here on earth. How many times have you paid $7 or $8 to go see a secular film filled with things to help you turn away from God? Now for $5 you can see one to help you turn too God. And the popcorn is way cheaper at RLC!

I hope to see you there.

The world is shaking

2010-03-01T15:46:00.007-06:00

There has been lots of discussion among people about what to make of the great earthquakes that have been happening around the world.

There are many verses in the Bible about earthquakes and how they are related to the end times or how God uses them to do His will.

Here are a few of the verses to read and pray about. My personal favorite is Psalm 99.

THE LORD REIGNS...LET THE EATH SHAKE!

⁵ And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁶ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. ⁷ But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
(Mark 13:5-8, New King James Version)

⁶ “For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; ⁷ and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. (Haggai 2:6-7, New King James Version)

¹⁰ Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:10-11, New King James Version)

⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for allthese things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.
(Matthew 24:6-8, New King James Version)

Psalm 99

¹ The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.

² Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.

³ Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.

⁴ The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.

⁵ Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the LORD
and he answered them.

⁷ He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.

⁸ O LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.

⁹ Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy.

Attitude

2010-02-27T08:57:00.003-06:00

If you keep saying that things are going to be bad, you have a chance of being a prophet.

You are snared with the words of your mouth, you are taken with the words of your mouth. Proverbs 6:2

Chuck continually complained that he didn't make enough money, couldn't afford the things he wanted, and therefore, wasn't ever going to amount to anything. A counselor said to him, "You're throwing your energy away complaining instead of using it to get ahead." "But you don't understand. The job is the problem, not me," Chuck countered.
The counselor said, "Your low-paying job may be a problem and your boss may demand too much, but if you are continually that upset, you are causing yourself more harm than either the job or the boss."
"What can I do?" he asked.
The counselor said, "You can't control your boss or the job, but you can control how you feel about them. Change your attitude."
Chuck took his advice. When he stopped whining about his life, people around him noticed. He got a promotion, and with his new job status, he was more marketable. Within several months, he was transferred out of the department into a position with even higher pay and a more supportive boss.
Awful is a state of attitude. A change in attitude will change the state of things! From God's Little Devotional Book for Leaders

It's Not Time, Yet

2010-02-22T08:26:00.002-06:00

A great deal of good can be done in the world if
one is not too careful who gets the credit.

So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do,
do all for the honor and glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 AMP

On their way home from a lifetime of service as missionaries in Africa, an elderly couple found themselves on the same ocean liner as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from a big game hunting expedition.
The couple watched in awe at the fanfare given the President and his entourage. When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet him, the mayor was there to welcome him, and the newspapers heralded his return.
Meanwhile, the missionary couple slipped quietly off the ship and found a cheap apartment. They had no pension, they were in poor health, and they were discouraged and fearful. The husband, especially, could not seem to get over how the President had received such acclaim, while their decades of service had gone without notice or reward. "God isn't treating us fairly," he complained bitterly to his wife.
"Why don't you pray about it?" his wife advised.
A sort time later, the wife noticed a change in her husband's demeanor. "What happened?" she asked. The man replied, "The Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said, 'But you're not home yet!"

Hang in there brothers/sisters we're not home yet either!!

MENS ADVANCE 2010

2010-02-15T17:23:00.002-06:00

Each year men from all the Assemblies of God churches in Minnesota are invited to join together up in beautiful, Alexandria, Minnesota at the Lake Geneva Christain center. This event is typically held in the last weekend of February and the first weekend of March each year. Both weekend events are identical in format and feature the same speakers and same theme. This years theme is simply called 'CONTEND.' If you can attend both days we encourage you to go together. The Friday session each weekend starts as early as 1:00 pm with registration please check the schedule of events I posted below. (If you can't read it you can click on each flyer page and it will blow up automatically) The Advance ends at 3:00 pm on Saturday for both weekend events. Overnight accomadations as well as meals are included in the total cost to attend.

I can attest that this years event will be powerful and life changing because Jayme Montera (Evangelist) will be the main speaker again this year as he was three years ago when a number of us from Redeeming Love were able to witness the incredible annointing that God has placed on Jayme as he gave testimony of how God radically transformed his life and at the same time empowered him to help other (men) who want the same thing Jayme received!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, whether you are going or need more information please contact me, Greg Holmquist 651 762 8288 or Dan Duross 651 491 3126. We need to hear from you, and we need to speak to you as well. Thanks men and Gods richest blessings to you!

How do YOU do the greatest commandments?

2010-02-15T13:54:00.004-06:00

I have been meditating on what it means for me to follow God’s Greatest Commandments from Matthew 22:37-40

37 And He said to him “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets”

I am hoping that some of you as my brothers can help me and tell me what it means in your life.

Please put your answers as a comment to this post. It will help to stir me up and maybe others as well.

Your Brother in Christ,

Jason

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.

TIME

2010-02-15T05:10:00.002-06:00

Good Morning Brothers in Christ!!!!!
Yes, Yes, I know it has been a long time since I have contributed to the blog and for that I am sorry. Has it been on my mind, you might ask? The answer is, oh yes, it has all too often, yet I have put other things ahead of this.
I will be brief this morning as I am readying for work! I miss you guys and Redeeming Love Church; God has been faithful as He has helped me find a good church called Covenant Life. This church is 2 miles away from my home, so it is no problem getting there. Ther is much to tell, but not today.
I continue to pray for all of us each day and I am faithful to the path that God has set me upon and that my friends is good news....
I would ask that all of you who pray often to please keep the brothers of Teen Challenge in prayer, as many have fallen back into the old. The ones that I went to school with!!! Yes, there those that are doing well, maybe 6 that I know of, so that is good.
I am amazed at how big a price was paid by all who were or are attached to those who have gone to TC and yet the value is allowed to slip away. I pray that we all will gain strength for the Spirit that dwells within us, from each other and from the Word of our Heavenly Father today...
Blessings to you all and I hope to be able to contribute again soon...
Bruce

Furious Love

2010-02-05T08:21:00.002-06:00

This film is coming soon and I urge you all to try to see it. Pastor Irene is working out the details about showing it at RLC. God is power and God is Love. We must learn to love him with all of our hearts. Sometimes even with "Furious Love"

Working Together

2010-02-03T18:00:00.000-06:00

Two women who once lived in a convalescent center had each suffered an incapacitating stroke. Maggie's stroke had caused paralysis on her left side. Rachel's stroke had caused permanent damage to her right side. Both women were devastated by what had happened to them, since they assumed they would never be able to pursue a pastime they had genuinely enjoyed throughout life-- playing the piano.
Then, one day, Maggie and Rachel met and began talking about their lives. When they realized they both had an interest in music, as idea emerged. When approached with the idea, the convalescent center's director brought them a piano and helped each woman sit on an elongated bench in front of it. Maggie played the right-hand notes, while Rachel played the left-hand! Not only did they make beautiful music together, but they formed a long and endearing friendship.
God's design for us is that we work together, live together, and have fun together. When we choose to share our time and space with others, we will reap the rewards of joy and peace.

It's amazing what can be accomplished when we work together, don't ya think?

CHARACTER

2010-01-29T09:10:00.003-06:00

IT SEEMS THAT EVEN MORE LATELY CHARACTER HAS BEEN IN THE PUBLIC
EYE FOR ALL OF US TO SEE..HOW DOES EVERYONE SEE US ?? BILLY GRAHAM
SAID" WHEN WEALTH IS LOST,NOTHING IS LOST,WHEN HEALTH IS LOST, SOMETHING IS LOST..WHEN CHARACTER IS LOST ALL IS LOST..GOD HELP US TO BE
MEN OF OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN OUR HOMES, JOBS, CHURCHES AND
WHEREVER WE ARE..MEN CAN SET THE TONE FOR A GOOD ATMOSPHERE.. IF YOU
DONT THINK YOU ARE SETTING THAT TONE MAYBE THE "RIGHT" CHARACTER
NEEDS TO COME FORTH!! I ALWAYS USE THE ANALOGY THAT YOU KNOW HOW MUCH
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS IN YOU BASED ON WHAT COMES OUT..LETS TRY
AND ASK THE SPIRIT TO MAKE SURE IT IS FRUIT BEING PRODUCED..GOD BLESS
YOU ALL!!!!!!

Giving

2010-01-26T19:12:00.002-06:00

I remember from a missions conference the guest missionary sharing on giving. He was talking about some of the best givers in the Bible. He pointed out something about the good Samaritan in Luke Chapter 10. Not only did he cross the social barrier in his kind act, he also put himself on the line in his generous giving. Luke 10:35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you." How great it could it be if we said not only to the Lord but our Pastors and ministry leaders what ever it takes I will help and give. Lord help us dear Jesus.
This is not an out of reach goal but an act of God's grace. 2 Corinthians 8:1

Mens Breakfast 16 Jan 2010

2010-01-25T15:01:00.003-06:00

16 Th Jan 2010 Men's Breakfast

We started off with a few announcements, We are looking for a few good men to help with single moms and looking for men for the "You Were There Play" we have coming up in March and April. Look for Teen Challenge Mentors, looking for at least ten men or so so we can have a training at RLC.. So if you thinking of becoming one or what to be one now please contact me (Dan ) ...

Act 4: 29-30 .. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

Accountability groups we have an opening in our Tuesday Group Tues 600 am for purity and being a prayer force, for our families, church and our state....

Marriage Minute with Frank Bassett.. Frank talked about being FAITHFUL to our marriages...Being faithful in the right the things and not the wrong things,,
Faithful too

God
Given
to the church
in doing the right thing

Thanks Frank..

Greg.. Shared why he mentors for teen Challenge and what he learned and how much they really need us to step up and be Men to theses Teens .. We need to be father to the fatherless.. and then he started to talk about How David Pray with Jonathan and Nathaniel and how they became a FORCE as Stated in 1Samuel 2 and 1Samuel 30-8 and how David prayed to God and asked if he should go to war and the second thing will he win..and how we need to bring our battles to the lord ,, because the battles are the Lords and He wins them all....

P. Mike... Mike shared about how he was being drafted in the military and how we need to become a member of the Prayer Force. We need to listen to those in authority over us as Spiritual Leaders.. And how we need to pray and fast for our families. He talked about the book Shaping History by Derek Prince and it will help us learn to pray..and encouraged us to stand fast, on the Daniel Fast... And Finally Mike talked about Joining the Prayer Force . He Commissioned Leaders to become a force of Prayer... by Knighting and anointing the Men and he said to ...........

Expect radical change-- In appearance, to listen to leaders, and do what they do...
raise up the level of prayer
physical changes
to be in groups of two or more in praying to be shaken the ground
to follow as Christ
to be on FIRE for GOD and not to be luke warm ....

Finally.. As we change the leadership of the men's ministry, I (Dan) Shared from my heart my feeling for the men's ministry.. I Spoke on how Moses had past on (not Greg) and how Joshua was the new leader and how the Israelites were unsure about Joshua, because of the change in leadership.. But God showed Joshua how to take the promise land, that was promise to them... I believe we (as Men Of RLC) we are entering into a new land and it might be scary at first but i expressed my need and love for the mighty men of valor of RLC.. and how we need to be in community with one another .. so we can take the cities and Country God has promised us ... that we need to be accountable to one another and be in community so we know were we need to stand in the gap with our brothers ..and to advance the Kingdom of God... I pray that God Blesses You all and he protects your families and he raises us up to become the Mighty Men we all need to be .... in Christ Love Dan

Prayer for Haiti follow up

2010-01-21T11:06:00.002-06:00

Dear Brothers in Christ,

I wanted to follow up on my last post about Tara and Troy Livesay, our missionary friends in Haiti. The situation continues to be difficult down there as they are working at a makeshift medical tent clinic as well as opening there home for volunteers to sleep in.

I implore you to continue to pray not only for the Livesay family but for all of Haiti. Very soon all of the cameras and media coverage will leave but the desperate situation will remain. I was reading this morning and I came across this verse that kind of struck me like a thunder bolt…1 John 3:17-19

17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence

Below is what Tara wrote this morning on her blog.

If anyone wishes to give to there work in Haiti they can do so through the Minneapolis based organization World Wide Village. http://www.worldwidevillage.org/

Day Nine - Degaje Net

Yesterday (Wednesday) - Troy spent the day getting supplies in the D.R. for whatever reason the big outfits are not helping the little NGO's with supplies and such - so we've been finding stuff ourselves and we've been finding favor. It is clear that politics and things on higher levels are causing a delay in adequate response. While that is totally discouraging - we've been networking together with other tiny NGO's to find a way around being snubbed by the big relief organizations. It is degaje net around here. (Degaje is the Kreyol saying that basically means 'make it work' - net is the kreyol word for 'all the way or alot').

Today we've had a new group of medical people come in. We have a few trying to depart. The organization of the people and learning their skill sets and trying to assign them a position had gotten really difficult. A man walked into my kitchen last night and (staying with another NGO worker that is crashing in our make-shift hotel) and he is a disaster response guy without work. I told him what we've been doing and why it has gotten difficult to administrate and he is now "our guy" and is here at the clinic setting up teams and organization - I have this feeling that he is a gift and I hope that all of our staff end up feeling the same way. We needed a strong administrator that ALSO has experience in dealing with disaster relief. Pray for Ed Lord and for our two head Doctors, Dr. McKnight and Dr. Halverson. Pray for unity and clear minds - this little operation we're running gets bigger day to day and organization will be key to our effect and success.

Our house is set up with room to sleep 20+ when I get home at night I have no idea who might be there. Different people have been sleeping over each night. At one time a few years back I could not deal with little messes without getting all uppity and cleaning it up instantly. Today I have friends and strangers in and out of my house and the place is totally unorganized -- crap everywhere ... but it is not bothering me yet. I let go of all of that need for perfect order and we're getting by without it. Hoping that will be true a week from now too.

Last night Troy walked in very late and one of our guests said, "Hi who are you and why are you here?" Wearily Troy said, "Well, I am Troy and I live here." :) The guest said, "Well then - make yourself at home." It's a little bit crazy. But we're still laughing.

I think we have five or six more coming in tonight to claim a spot at Hotel Livesay. Mints on the pillows optional.

JOIN THE PRAY FORCE TODAY

2010-01-16T19:57:00.002-06:00

The Lord recently brought me back to a conversation I had with a brother a couple of months ago and one of the things that he brought up in our conversation was how David always would pray and ask God if he should go to battle and whether he could win the battle! ( I Sam 23:2, I Sam 30:8, and II Sam 5:19 being some of the examples). So David then knew before he even went to battle that he would win each one of them.
Men, God is asking us today to do same thing as David did...to go to him in prayer regarding our battles. The problem is some of us are going into battles that we are not winning, battles we shouldn't even be in because we can't win. Even more discouraging some of us also are losing battles that we don't even see coming (ambush battles).
Prayer is the solution. We need to seek the Lord ask Him if were going to win, if its not there, wait until it is time. Besides prayer, we need brave fellow soldiers to fight beside us and with us to get the victory as well. That's why we read in Proverbs that a brother is born for adversity! Thank you God for giving us our brothers for just that reason!!!

Please pray for Haiti now!

2010-01-13T09:27:00.002-06:00

Dear Brothers in Christ,

You probably have already heard by now that a devastating earthquake has hit to country of Haiti. As you know from my previous posts I am friends with the Livesay family who lives there full time as missionaries. In the early email reports that they have sent all of the family is alive and safe but the children are very scared and the damage and devastation around the city of Port-Au-Prince is catastrophic. Please pray for them and for Haiti as I fear that God is the only one who can help now.

Here is a copy of what Tara wrote this morning while her husband Troy is out looking for missing people.

The Morning After - Earthquake Haiti 2010

The sun is about to come up. The aftershocks continue. Some more noticeable than others. There is no way to even begin to share the things we’ve heard and seen since 5pm yesterday. To do so would take hours that we don’t have to give right now.Some of them feel wrong to tell. Like only God should know these personal horrible tragedies.

The few things we can confirm – yes the four story Caribbean Market building is completely demolished. Yes it was open. Yes the National Palace collapsed. Yes Gov’t buildings nearby the Palace collapsed. Yes St Josephs Boys home is completely collapsed. Yes countless countless - countless other houses, churches, hospitals, schools, and businesses have collapsed.There are buildings that suffered almost no damage. Right next door will be a pile of rubble.

Thousands of people are currently trapped. To guess at a number would be like guessing at raindrops in the ocean. Precious lives hang in the balance. When pulled from the rubble there is no place to take them for care Haiti has an almost non existent medical care system for her people.

I cannot imagine what the next few weeks and months will be like. I am afraid for everyone. Never in my life have I seen people stronger than Haitian people. But I am afraid for them.For us.

When the quake hit it took many seconds to even process what was happening. The house was rocking back and forth in a way that I cannot even begin to describe. It felt fake. It felt like a movie. Things were crashing all over the house. It felt like the world was ending. I do not know why my house stands and my children all lie sleeping in their beds right now. It defies logic and my babies were spared while thousands of others were not.

There are friends and co-workers that are missing. People whom no-one can account for. People we work with and love. There are more than I can name, but in particular we wait on one single friend who lived near the Hotel Montana – which has reportedly collapsed.

The horror has only just begun and I beg you to get on your knees – I truly mean ON YOUR KNEES and pray for the people of this country. The news might forget in a few days - but people will still be trapped alive and suffering. Pray. Pray. Pray. After that - PLEASE PRAY.

Tara for all of us

PS- We will try to find out answers to many questions, but please know we are doing our best – we do not take your concerns lightly. I cannot guarantee we will find all the answers to things being asked. If you asked about a person and you learn they are safe. Please take the time to report back so we don’t waste or double energy or efforts.

BEING FAITHFUL

2010-01-11T11:31:00.002-06:00

I HAVE BEEN SENSING FROM GOD LATELY ABOUT BEING FAITHFUL
IN ALL AREAS ..WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?/
ARE WE FAITHFUL TO GOD AND PRAYER??
ARE WE FAITHFUL TO OUR WIFE AND FAMILY?
ARE WE FAITHFUL ON OUR JOBS?
ARE WE FAITHFUL TO OUR CHURCH.?
ARE WE MAYBE EVEN FAITHFUL IN DOING UNGODLY THINGS/?
AS YOU CAN SEE THE LIST COULD BE LENGTHY ..MAYBE THIS
SATURDAY WE CAN DISCUSS..COME READY TO PARTICIPATE..
WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER TO HELP US GROW IN HIM..GOD BLESS
YOU ALL..KEEP BEING FAITHFUL TO HIM!!!

There is a difference between knowing about Him and knowing Him

2010-01-06T06:39:00.001-06:00

NEW YEAR

2010-01-04T14:16:00.002-06:00

IT IS ALWAYS AMAZING TO ME HOW WE ALWAYS WANT TO DO THINGS
BETTER IN TH E NEW YEAR WHICH IS A GOOD THING AND A GOOD GOAL TOHAVE..
BUT ONE IMPORTANT THING FOR ME TO REMEMBER IS THAT GOD DOESNT NEED TO
CHANGE TO DO MORE WONDERFUL THINGS ..MANY MORE HEALINGS,MORE PROVISIONS AND YOU GET THE PICTURE..WHAT A GREAT GOD WE SERVE WHO
IS OUR CONSTANT SOURCE OF STRENGTH EVERY DAY NO MATTER HOW OUR DAY
OR WEEK OR YEAR MAY HAVE BEEN..STANDING ON A FIRM FOUNDATION IS A
SAFE AND GOOD PLACE TO BE..I PRAY YOUR 2010 WILL BE FILLED WITH ALL THE
ABOVE THINGS I MENTIONED BUT MOST OF ALL STAY STANDING ON HIM!! HE
NEVER FAILS..EVEN IN THE STORMS OF LIFE IT MAY SEEM BLEAK,GOD WILL
SEE US THROUGH..HE IS THE CALM IN THE PASSAGE THROUGH THE STORM..GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!

The Promise of Christmas

2009-12-23T09:33:00.003-06:00

God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. . . .—Romans 1:2-3
I have always believed in the promise of Christmas. There is something very special, wonderful, even magical (in the best use of that word) at this time of year. And that goes back to my earliest childhood.
With Christmas, we have a sense of wonder, beauty, and anticipation. We look forward to being with loved ones, family and friends, and eating incredible food. It is a wonderful time of the year. It is also a time that is marked, for the most part, by an absence of meanness. There is a kindness that people will demonstrate toward one another, even strangers.
But here is the question: Does Christmas really deliver on its promises? It does sometimes—a little bit here and a little bit there. But for the most part, Christmas doesn't really deliver. In fact, what it does deliver is a lot of difficulty. If you are a man, your blood pressure will go up dramatically at this time of the year. A study was done by a British psychologist who found that Christmas shopping is actually hazardous for men's health, due to its elevating effects on blood pressure. The same study also revealed that women's blood pressure remained unaffected by the holiday shopping ritual.
So what is Christmas at its worst? It is a crass, commercial, empty, exhausting, and very expensive event that drags on for months at a time. And what is Christmas at its best? It is a glimpse of something that is coming: the beauty . . . the wonderful music . . . the adoring angels . . . the love . . . the warmth . . . the promise . . . the hope. Because when you get down to it, Christmas is a promise. It is a promise of things to come. Greg Laurie Daily Devotions

The true meaning of Christmas

2009-12-22T05:37:00.000-06:00

My friends who are missionaries in Haiti gathered all of their children together and made a Christmas Nativity video.

Not only does it remind us of what Christmas is really about but it also inspires us about ways that we can show the world.

It makes me wonder what have I done to spread the word about the true meaning of Christmas this year?

If they can do it with the limited resources found in Haiti why can't I do it living here with the abundant resources we have in the US?

Men’s Breakfast

2009-12-21T16:23:00.002-06:00

Again the boys have out done themselves with a great Manly breakfast. Many thanks. We had a great turnout for this month with over 30 men.

Brother Ken started the meeting with a number of great jokes…I like the one about Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden by car, “in God’s Fury.”

Brother Frank again humbled our current understanding of our marriages; with a word from the Lord and personal experience. Thanks Frank. We are very much striving for perfection, with heavy emphasis on striving.

Pastor Mike announced the great blessing that North Springs Church experienced through their congregation’s giving. God is moving powerfully!

The biggest announcement last Saturday was the passing of the Men’s Ministry torch, from Greg Holmquist to Dan DuRoss. While Greg will still be highly involved, Dan has indeed taken on the leadership role with all its privileges and obligations. We all pray that God leads Dan in all his leadership duties. Thanks Dan for stepping out in faith.

Greg announced the start of a second accountability group on Saturday mornings, starting January 2nd at 9:30AM. Dan expressed how important it is to keep ourselves in the light.

5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin. 1 John 1:5-7

Thanks to all who attended. Please join us next time January 16th. Blessings to you all.

The Lifting Power of the Holy Spirit

2009-12-20T14:54:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, as we were all laying hands on Dan and praying for him,as he was being set in as a co-leader with Greg, God spoke to me and said that we were to be like a hot air ballon. Our linked arms formed the canopy into which the Holy Spirit was blowing and that we were to move to new heights in the men's ministry. I saw in the Spirit, several people climbing into the basket as it began to rise higher and higher. Guys already in the basket were helping other over the rim and into the arms of friends. As I wrote this, I saw a hole open up in the canopy and the whole ballon begin to go down but before it could go down to far, there were a couple of guys that climbed the ropes up to the hole and linked arms with those in the canopy and up we went again. I believe that God is saying that as we link together, we will go higher and higher in Him. It will be through the linked arms of Accountability, our Intimate relationship with the Father and our willingness to Mentor (help-holdup-etc) those around us.

Winter Of Life

2009-12-16T14:11:00.002-06:00

This is really a good discription of the latter years of our lives. I'm not in the winter years yet, maybe mid-way between summer and the end of fall. Only one thing I would add to what the author wrote, the next season is eternal and for me, knowing Jesus as my Savior, well, it WILL be better then the past season's. Enjoy~

(Turn on the Sound)

In case you don't have sound or it doesn't come through, the song that plays throughout the reading is: "Where Have All The Flower's Gone"

And it's winter before we know it....
You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all...
And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams... But, here it is..the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise... How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my babies go? And where did my youth go? I remember well.. seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like... But, here it is...my friends are retired and really getting gray...they move slower and I see an older person now. Lots are in better shape than me... but, I see the great change... Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant... but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore...it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will...I just fall asleep where I sit! And so, now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over...its over....Yes , I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done ,,,,,things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime....So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!!Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for good today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!"Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after.
Make it a fantastic one." LIVE IT WELL!!----ENJOY TODAY!!!!-----DO SOMETHING FUN!!!----BE HAPPY!!!----BE THANKFUL!!!!!

King of Kings

2009-12-14T19:14:00.007-06:00

My son Matthew had come to me and asked if he could write a blog.."ummmm ok" i said ..and Got me thinkn how Jesus taught in the temple, and how the elders were amazed at such teachings that he taught and how open at that time.. Even at a young age, its amazing how God is really workn in him and how God is teachin him to become a Mighty Man of God..... This is in his words ....Praise the Lord....God Bless you all.

Jesus Christ is a great leader, he is also the reason that we do not die because of sin ,he is also the reason that we are on earth. as it's written in John 1:3 : Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. Jesus is also a God head as well as the other two other heads of the trinity. It is also is written in John 1:1 In the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. That Word that John is talking about is Jesus The Alpha and the Omega the First and the Last the begining and the End. (Revalation 22:13) Jesus also has the greatest baptism ,,the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.( Amen) So basicly the point I'm trying to get to is that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and a Almighty King.

BE A blessing

2009-12-14T13:16:00.004-06:00

The BE attitudes speaks volumes about what we need to be..Jesus knew
the full importance of being humble,sacrificing, being obedient and knowing
there might be obstacles along the way..Oh, you mean some persecution
may come.!!!.Know this, that if we fall God will fogive and pick us up, but it is
much better to do as the Word declares in Romans to sin not and dont
fall into a pattern of unforgiveness .Be that blessing you are called to be
and God will work all things out for your good!!...Thanks for all the people
that were blessed on Saturday at our festival..It was a joy to be a part
of this , and thanks to Brad and Katina and others for putting this together..
Keep a smile on your face as much as possible..Remember,your expression
is the most important thing you can wear..In case I dont see each one of you
personnaly Merry CHRISTmas to all of you..2010 will be a great year no
matter what happens in our life because God is Emmanuel" God with us"

Bruce's testimony

2009-12-14T11:10:00.002-06:00

Dear Brothers,

I encourage you to watch this powerful testimony by our friend and fellow blogger Bruce Axtman.

May God Bless you Bruce and may He continue to guide your life.

DON'T LET GO OF WHAT'S BEEN GIVEN TO YOU

2009-12-13T19:14:00.003-06:00

Tonight as I have been pondering the events of today's meeting again another new and dear brother (in the Lord) at our Tzedakah dinner I was profoundly impressed by how much we need to make ourselves available to stand beside and encouragement others. As Pastor Mike alluded to in his sermon (today) that Satan does want to sift us (all) as wheat...(Luke 22; 31-34) and if we allow ourselves to become alienated satan's goal to destroy what God has already done for us is now inescapably easy. Infact this brother's story today was so similar to the one I heard yesterday as I met with my mentee Ryan (some of you met him at one of our recent Men's breakfasts). Ryan graduated 3 weeks ago from Teen Challenge, and pray for him as he now has to adjust to living out side the walls of Teen Challenge, and he is facing huge obstacles each and every day. I am so thankful that God confirmed to both Ryan and myself that I would continue to mentor him in this time of transition. Guys, we can't do this stuff alone that God has called us to! We all need a support system to survive. Seek after accountability and relationships. If you already have some accountability, go after more accountability! We will be starting another accountability group starting the first of year (January) 2010! If your heart is pounding, and you want to know more contact Dan Duross or myself..Hey what have you got to lose ?, other then more of your self. I love how Paul put it (I Cor 15:31) "I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I DIE DAILY."

Is football the greatest thing in your life?

2009-12-06T18:00:00.000-06:00

If a head coach of an NFL team can say that football is not the most important thing in his life and he does not want it to be for his players either...

Then I think that we as fans can take that message to heart especially during this season. I love the Vikings but I love God more and I pray I can always remember that.

For anyone who is interested in this video and others like it the I am second movement is a great campaign and I encourage you to check out there website at iamsecond.com

2009-12-01T11:16:00.002-06:00

Greetings. A great day to be a brother in Christ...then again, every day is a great day to be a brother in Christ. I thank the Lord for you all.

I have been challenging my thought life with all the attention that God has mercifully given me. Many years ago, my thoughts were as fleshy as one could imagine. When I remember topics of the demonically ugly and grizzly thoughts that I once had, I feel ashamed. Terribly embarrassed is probability a better description of my feeling about it today...because I have been delivered from that thought life; thanks be to God. I guess I shouldn't even be embarrassed anymore. Brothers, how should I describe it? It is defiantly a testimony.

I used to look at woman while in the flesh. A terrible and demeaning thing to do to women and as I now realize, to me also. For years now I haven't looked at women that way, thanks be to God. I do however have the historical habit of glancing were my eyes should not be, with no (Craig let’s be honest, rare) ill thoughts. There are only rare fleshy thoughts anymore (99.99% of the time) thanks be to God. Because of God's strength in me, any fleshy thoughts I now have come only seconds before I actively make them captive to the obedience of Christ.

I have been, with God help, trying to retrain myself to control my eyes. I simply have had the habit of looking were I should not. I have found it helpful to ask for my Father's help and think about woman, all people, as either eternally saved or eternally damned. All children of God. My Sisters in God. Sisters I am to protect, help and serve. I know that I cannot model perfection, but I can model growth towards becoming Christ like. I am trying to model honesty in my Christian community in an effort to keep the deceiver from getting a foothold into my thought life. And it is working, ALL thanks be to God.

-Craig: A saint who sins and trying to take EVERY thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Our first Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

2009-11-26T08:19:00.002-06:00

As many people in America try to take God out of this country and its traditions and holidays let us remember where we came from as a country. This is what our first President wrote and said in his first proclamation creating Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

A NATIONAL THANKSGIVING

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and

Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness":

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplication to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, AD 1789 George Washington

BEING THANKFUL

2009-11-25T14:53:00.002-06:00

I AM A LITTLE EARLY BUT TIS THE SEASON..I AM THANKFUL FOR MANY
THINGS AND HERE ARE A FEW..THERE ARE MANY MORE I AM SURE ALL
OF YOU COULD ADD...
KNOWING JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOUR..
RLC FAMILY.
A BEAUTIFUL WIFE
WONDERFUL CHILDREN
DYNAMIC GRANDCHILDREN.A NEW ONE JUST A WEEK AGO..PTL
MY JOB
CLOTHES TO WEAR
GAS FOR THE CAR.AND BY THE WAY A CAR AS WELL
INSURANCE
FRIENDS
FOOD TO EAT//MORE THAN I NEED..
OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY EVEN WITH ITS FAULTS STILL THE BEST
OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL AND THEIR SACRIFICES..
THE FREEDOMS WE ALL ENJOY
A GREAT PASTORAL GROUP AT RLC TO CHALLENGE US
AIR TO BREATHE.

THERE ARE MORE.,BUT SINCE WE ARE SO BLESSED BY GOD THE
LIST IS LONG..I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL HIS BLESSINGS TO ME
AND MY FAMILY..HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING AND BE LIKE
THE ONE LEPER WHO CAME BACK TO THANK JESUS. HE IS WORTHY

2009-11-23T14:53:00.001-06:00

Sorry this is late, but I couldn't get into my post to post.

Thursday, November 19, 2009
Just Doing Our Duty
And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.—Isaiah 64:8
In Luke 17, Jesus told a parable about servants who were given a task to fulfill. At the end of the story, Jesus said, "And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, 'We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty' " (verses 9-10).
You see, true servants of Jesus want to do what God wants them to do. We are just doing our duty. And as God's servants, we need to remember that everything we have is on loan from Him: our lives, our health, our careers, our ministries, our possessions, our families, and our future. It all belongs to God.
So the idea is not finding out how God can bless our dreams and ambitions and goals. Rather, our objective is to discover His goals, His purposes, and then align ourselves with them. Why? Because we are His servants.
Some people just want Jesus along for the ride. But God does not want to be our copilot. He is the Master, and we are the servants. He is the Potter, and we are the clay. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you become His: "You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
We like the fringe benefits, if you will, of being a follower of Jesus. But our Master, the one we are following, is not only a Friend who loves us, but a Potter who is molding us. And the more we know of Him and His plan and purpose, the more willing we will be to do what He wants us to do.

ANOTHER DECISION TO LOVE GOD

2009-11-17T21:41:00.002-06:00

I praise God for another brother(from RLC) has recently committed to internet accountability with Covenant Eyes. This is truly the work of the Holy Spirit as this brother has made a conscious decision to LOVE GOD (and others) MORE according to (Matt 22: 37-39)!!! The only way we can love God is through obedience, so if you have been experiencing a gentle tugging of the Spirit recently yourself check out Covenant Eyes...Jason has provided a link right on our BLOG to check them out! To find out more contact either Dan Duross or myself. Men's Breakfast this Saturday 730 am RLC Cafeteria, bring a guest.

Become A Warrior

2009-11-15T21:32:00.002-06:00

Well lets see I have the privilege of having a blog on a Sunday, especially after an awesome sermon from Pastor Mike. He spoke about becoming a spiritual warrior, with the word of God .. And being on the front lines for the King of Kings and our Lords of Lords....

The question is.... Are We ready for the Front Lines????? We need to equip ourselves with power of Jesus and his word. We are being called to the front lines and are we going to respond? or run? or go AWOL?

I pray that all the warriors of the men's ministry are ready. The time is short and we need to draw our swords(the word of God) and move forward .... This Saturday, we will be calling on the knights of RLC to come together, and if you are not a knight yet, be prepared to become one. For such a time as this, we need to be ready. People depend on us (the men) , to be leaders and warriors of the church. And finally Our King Jesus will be returning soon and the harvest is ready .. Are we ? See you on Saturday morning at 7:30 am . Come prepared. God willing, coming as men and leaving as warriors.

In Gods mighty love and Grace Dan ..

P.S....we need help in the kitchen as Sir Bill John will be gone on a trip. Thanks for all you do. You are all Mighty Men of God and Valor..

A powerful Bible study like none I have ever seen before

2009-11-13T07:16:00.004-06:00

Dear Brothers in Christ I wanted to share a report with you about a small Bible study we have been trying to start as a part of The Tzedekah homeless ministry on Thursday nights. While my wife Reneé, Dave Medrano, and Sue Etienne have been very active in doing outreach and support of many people on Thursday nights the Lord has put it on my heart to start a Bible study. I have been trying for 4 weeks but every time I talked to people about it on Sunday they would forget or something would come up and they would not be around on Thursday night when I showed up across from the shelter. I have been praying for a breakthrough and if the Lord really wants this Bible study to happen that He would make it so.

Last night we got our breakthrough. 5 homeless men came and participated in a Bible study like none I had seen before. Reneé told me to expect great things because we both had very difficult days and I even asked if I should stay home. She said that is a sure sign of the enemy trying to disrupt. She was right.

When we arrived 3 men were already waiting for us ready for the Bible study. A fourth man was standing outside and recognized us from coming to Sunday morning service 4 months ago. I asked him if he wanted to join in a bible study and his face lit up as he said yes. The fifth and final man was Eric. Many of you know him from Sunday mornings as he is a regular attender of RLC. Eric came up to me as said he was sorry but he was giving up. I asked what he was giving up on and he said everything. He was tired of his life and sleeping on a mat on the floor of the shelter and he just wanted to let me know he would not be attending the Bible study. I asked him what had prompted him to get up and walk across the room and tell me that? He didn't know he said I just felt like I should. I said it was his choice but we would love to have him and he reluctantly agreed.

Now Bible study is a loosely used term here I would call it more like a Bible reading and discussion. I am no Bible scholar and these men come from all different backgrounds some are college educated and know the Bible better than I do, some can't read at all and have never read it. The rest fall somewhere in the middle. As we started I was praying God we have a room full of men here with different needs. You know what they are I pray that you meet all of them. The meeting began with Eric ranting about how he was giving up and he didn't need to be here and a very drunk man slurring out the best that he could a verse he wanted me to read(Remember he did not know the bible or its verses he just blurted out a few various names he remembered and some random numbers. I prayed Lord help me here. Then it started...

The first verse he asked for was James 1:2-8

Trials and Temptations

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Everyone in the room looked at each other and felt like the Lord was speaking to him directly me included. After a short discussion the drunken man asked for Romans 8:18...

Future Glory

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Then he asked for Luke 10:2-4...

²He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ³Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

By this time when I would start to read one of the men would yell "shut up everyone he is about to read the word of God!"

Finally another man who rarely ever says anything asked me to read Isaiah 59 here is the beginning...

Sin, Confession and Redemption

¹ Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.

² But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.

³ For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.

⁴ No one calls for justice;
no one pleads his case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments and speak lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

Eric was visibly moved and asked how does the Lord know exactly what I am feeling right now? All I could say was because he is The Lord and He knows us all.

I want to thank my wife Reneé for helping with the Bible study. I want to thank Sue for spending her time continuing to do outreach to other people last night. But most of all I want to thank the Lord for the amazing things He taught us all. Please pray for the continuation of our little Bible study.

God Bless you all.

BE A SERVANT

2009-11-12T10:19:00.002-06:00

I WAS THINKING THE OTHER DAY(SCARY) AND WAS REMINDED AGAIN
OF BEING A SERVANT AS JESUS DID..IT IS HUMBLING AT TIMES..WE DO
TEND TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR SITUATIONS AS SOME OF THE BLOGS
HAVE MENTIONED BUT ULTIMATELY WE NEED TO BE LIKE HIM..LETS THINK
ON PHIL 4: 8.. AND DO OUR BEST TO FOCUS ON THESE THINGS..EVEN A GOOD
REPORT TO YOU MAY BE A BAD REPORT TO SOMEONE ELSE BUT THE
BEST REPORT IS THAT SOMEDAY WE WILL ALL BE WITH HIM.THAT SOUNDS
LIKE THE BEST REPORT TO THINK ABOUT.EVEN IN JESUS DARKEST MOMENTS
HE DID RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANT OF BEING FAITHFUL TO HIS FATHER
AND KNOWING THE THE JOY IN THAT OBEDIENCE MAKES THE BAD SITUATION
LOOK VERY GOOD!!
A SONG CAME TO MIND:;
I WILL SERVE THEE BECAUSE I LOVE THEE
YOU HAVE GIVEN LIFE TO ME
HEARTACHES,BROKEN PIECES,RUINED LIVES
THEY ARE WHAT YOU DIED FOR
SO YOUR TOUCH MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
AND THIS IS WHAT I REALLY LONG FOR AND
NEED..THANKS FOR YOUR LIFE TO ME..

GOD BLESS YOU ALL, AND IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING SOME
TOUGH TIMES STAY HUMBLE AND KNOW THAT GOD IS GOD!!
THINK ON THE THINGS THAT HONOR GOD AND WILL SET YOU FREE...
BE OF GOOD CHEER.. I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!!

GIVING HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE

2009-11-11T19:27:00.002-06:00

Today on this very special day I want to give honor to whom honor is due all the brave men and women who have or are currently serving us in our MILITARY ARMED FORCES. We owe you a great debt of gratitude for your sacrifice and service to us all. I know I can't list every man and woman from RLC, but I want to personal thank each of you individually starting with David Lee, Ken Herlund & Scott Herlund, Kevin Casper, Dan Duross, Clark & Sonia Bechtel, Ray Craft, Ben John, Dana John, Nathan Rinehart, Gordon Szysko, Frank Bassett, Dean Barton, Marv Runge, Lynn Loeffler, Tom Anderson Jr, Jamie Smith, Tom Ader, and Gary Larson. Again, I'm sure I have not included everyone here, but to those whom I have'nt please accept my apology you are no less important than those named above. God Bless America! God Bless our Troops!!!!

2009-11-10T20:07:00.001-06:00

I ask for your prayers today. Our son, Bret, has succumbed to his flesh. He has had one foot in church and one in the world for over three years, until he recently turned 18 years old. Bret has eighteen-itis. Yesterday I was forced by Bret’s behavior to take control of our home and tell Bret to leave for a couple days. I suspect Bret will be gone longer; he is behaving very willfully. Please pray for our family, Kris and especially Bret. Thank you very much.

Far more

2009-11-09T20:27:00.002-06:00

This last Sunday I had the pleasure of worshipping the Lord with my wife as my son and daughter in law led worship at River Valley Church in Faribault. Over an hour to get there, yet for them a little effort for such reward. I am so thankful for Joey's love for the Lord, and Bree's as well. It is such a pleasure to here them sing or here of their plans in following the Lord. Not perfect people but far beyond my efforts of fathering. Joey and Bree are a work that glorifies the Father. That is one thing I tried to keep in mind as a dad. The Holy Spirit is and will be always at work in people. Especially those in His family.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21
Your fellow thankful brother, Joe Mayer

Christian Persecution

2009-11-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Christians are currently being persecuted around the world. Are we ready for this when it happens in America? It's time to stop being comfortable in our faith and time be ready to sacrifice for our faith. Let us not be a seed that has been sown on a rocky place.

^{Mathew 20-21}

²⁰The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

WHO ARE YOU???

2009-11-06T20:42:00.004-06:00

Amen Craig regarding the card board testimonies!!! At the last Men's Breakfast I had planned to tell the guys about this on our blog, and how powerful it is ( I just ran out of time to squeeze it in.) Thanks Craig for reminding me. One of the many things that is so overwhelming about it is not a word is being uttered, yet it seems so much more powerful with out any words! Secondly after I watched it the first time, and watching it again I was impressed by the fact that though other members in that church probably recognized there faces, they now suddenly knew them and the power of their testimonies! It made me think of even our church and how we recognize most of the faces, but do we know who they really are? Do we know the testimony of God in their lifes? Do we know them at all? Men as I have mentioned in the last two Men's meetings I repeat myself again right here, and right now....God is not only going to do something through you (MEN), He is doing something already!!! Freedom is coming, Freedom is coming! Freedom is coming! Don't hold back!, Please don't resist this move of God in your hearts!

I dare you to watch it.

2009-11-05T17:40:00.002-06:00

My wife and I watched the cardboard testimony. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the Youtube video that Jason posted a while ago. Very powerful!!! It 's message is that we are all a mess, but God is in control of our lives. We are no longer our own mess, but Gods. These are real people with real problems that had the courage through God to stand up in front of the congregation and, with a simple message on a cardboard sign, showed how God transformed their lives.

I dare you to watch it.

Our Reputation

2009-11-05T16:39:00.002-06:00

When we accept the gift of God's forgiveness for our sin, He places us "in Christ." Now we have the responsibility for godly behavior that comes with that position. Ephesians 4-6 tells us how to live up to our reputation:

Live up to your position (4:1-3). Walk worthy of your identification with Christ by being humble, gentle, patient, loving, and united.

Use your spiritual gifts (4:7-16). The abilities Christ has given you must be put into practice within the church.

Put off the old life (4:17-19). Reject the futility of the Devil's way of life.

Put on the new life (4:20-24). Decide to live in accordance with your position in Christ.

Love others (5:2). We are to love people sacrificially, as Christ loves the church.

Walk in the light (5:8-9) We do this by manifesting the fruit of the Spirit.

Let the Holy Spirit fill you (5:18-21). Let Him take full control of your life.

Put on the whole armor of God (6:10-17). This will protect you from Satan's attacks.

Pray continually (6:18-20). Let all of your thoughts, deeds, and circumstances become a cause for communication with God.

When you follow these directives and grow in holiness, you will live up to your reputation in Christ.
Be Blessed~

Stop Disguising Ourselves

2009-11-05T12:04:00.004-06:00

Journaling this quote (thanks Greg for encouraging my journaling) I believe it comes from Francois Duc De La Rochefoucauld, "We are so accustom to disguise ourselves to others, in the end, we become disguised to ourselves."

How very true in my life. As odd as it may seem and very circular; the more I walk with my Father, the more I become real to myself and others, the closer I come to Him. I miss you Father, I love and cherish You. Help me keep my flesh at bay and walk with You.

I have been pondering, 2 Corinthians 10:2 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (NIV)

Blessings to you all!

HE COMMANDS US TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER

2009-11-04T21:21:00.003-06:00

As I was reading John 15 the other day I found myself suddenly affixed to verse 17 "these things I COMMAND you, that you LOVE one another." I could not move forward from this verse as the Lord kept revealing to me image after image of examples of people whom I must LOVE or LOVE EVEN MORE than ever before despite any of my circumstances or theirs, PERIOD! These things I am asking you to do Greg are not optional. The next day I was in John 13, and guess what I got stuck on verse 34 "A new COMMANDMENT I give you, that you LOVE one another." Love is the answer, love is what we want, love is what we need! Thank you Jesus for Your Unconditional love THAT you pour out on us daily! Thank you Jesus that You first loved us, so we could love You!

You ready for the front line?

2009-10-31T09:01:00.003-05:00

I Feel Strong leading to repost this Im Pray for y0u guys ...

Luke 12:38 (New International Version)38It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.
My Brothers in Christ, I pray this come out right, this is what I believe the Lord downloaded on me .. I believe we need to be ready for the call from our Master (king of all kings) our Lord Jesus. But we need to prepare for the fight. We need to be righteous and blameless before him. We need to be accountable to each other for so we can be accountable to Christ and those in authority over us. The reason I choose this picture of William Wallace is in his speech he was talking to a line of men not willing to fight, but as he spoke, he talked about a freedom, a freedom that no man can come against.. Just then they became on fire to fight for freedom.. We fight the enemy with the sword of truth and with our testimonies.. What will you do for your freedom? Will you fight or just lay down and let the enemy have its way? I received a a freedom that came from our Lord Jesus Christ that no man will take from me.. I'm willing to fight in the front lines, with Godly Warriors.. but I need to be prepare with being accountable to other Godly men and Leaders..Pray, Read the WORD. And I will stand up and honor my Lord Jesus Christ.. even to death.. I would give my testimony to give one man his freedom and I will be accountable to others, so that WE may fight the good fight for Our King Jesus.. Are you ready for the front lines? You ready for the call from the Master King Jesus? The time has arrived!!! GET READY ,GET READY,GET READY!! As William Wallace Said " Aye, fight...you may die , Run and you'll live, at least for awhile ..What will you do to keep your freedom?" Brothers this may seem harsh, but our Lord Jesus is counting on us , our families are counting on us , our pastors are counting on us, and the LOST are really counting on us.. Rise up men, And I'll meet you on the front lines.... Accountability meetings are on Tues mornings 6:15am , or call me for more details ------FREEDOM-------

Help from God

2009-10-30T04:59:00.007-05:00

²² Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come— ²³ that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” (Acts 26:22-23, New King James Version)

Bible Gateway has now created a scripture embedded passage tool on its website. This will allow you to easily embed and link a scripture passage to the blog.

Here is a link to read how to do it. http://www.biblegateway.com/blog/?p=128If anyone still has questions they can contact me.

Thought Life

2009-10-27T13:46:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I felt powerfully compelled to write down my thoughts and feelings. I was feeling venerable, sad and depressed about joblessness and overcoming the flue. “Just write it down,” I heard in my head. For months I have felt persistent menacing thoughts pushing me into inaction: just sit and do nothing. Over the years I have been successful in two occupations; I have a beautiful Godly wife who I love very much; children who I also love. Intellectually know I am relatively successful, but somehow, I have allowed these thoughts to infest my mind; to pollute myself esteem and corrupt my action.

When I reread my thoughts today I see two messages: one desperate crying out and one hopeful. Nothing is impossible for God. Christ in You [me], the Hope of Glory. Colossians 1:27.

RUMORS

Pain, sorrow and suffering this world has for me. Disillusionment, confusion, and uncertainty along with cynicism, pessimism and out and out fear are surrounding me always. Enveloping my thoughts and action like a plague-flee infested rat I cannot see. This evilness suppresses my actions and obsesses my thoughts with worthless and useless debilitating outlooks; Thoughts undesirable, unnecessary and seemingly uncontrollable.

Trying to control this thought life is exhausting. Using coping actions—eating or drowning in illusionary tube stories only deepens the ugly seditious thoughts and increasing the desecrating inaction.

Now and again I find myself with a passing vision, just a flash and a glimmer of what I could be and a rumored whisper of what I could be pronouncing. To those who would listen I give my full self. Desperately trying to be heard I am; Visions and whispers of someone mightier than me, all gone, faster than arrived. Grabbing hold of the authority as it runs through my fingers like water, never able to keep more than a drop; suddenly evaporating. I’m left with a tearful eye; a sadness, a longing for that Glory I cannot keep and do not deserve.

Moments later, the flash and whisper pass through again tormenting me; another tear. With distraction, I try to forget that which I cannot hold; Over and over again—silent fleeting Glory then tormenting enduring anguish.

Without God and my Godly wife all would be lost. Lost in an imposed capsule of vanished time as life passes by; discarding me like a whispered rumor forgotten faster than arrived.

I hear a thought, a longing to leave my mark on the world. Is this vision and rumor to be me; greater than I? How do I overcome this evilness suppressing my action? I cry out and I hear not. Or do I see the vision and hear the whisper and fear the outcome? I feel unworthy of success; I fear failure and so do not move—fear driven paralysis, a self diagnoses? I have always known and struggled with this paralysis, overcoming at times. Why today, can’t I over come? I do not have the power! Only through God can I over come. Read the Word. Pray. Yet I do not! I feel the evil grip, it comes for me, the exhaustion, the anguish…sadness.

Lord I pray, deliver me from this! I have entered a terrible tangled web of worldly emotions and frailties. I cannot get out by myself, I need You. Your Glory! Your wonder! I love and worship You! Forgive me. I know you have a plan for me. Please help me fulfill Your plan. I want to deserve Your Glory. Break my inaction! Break my fear! Give me powerful tenacity. I want more than a glimmer and whisper! Please I beg of you, please. In Jesus name I pray. Amen Amen, and Amen.

The Ministry Never Ends

2009-10-26T17:07:00.003-05:00

Hello Men of God and YES it is once again my turn to post a few words from: "The Life The Lord Has Given Me!!!"Amen. I am really suffering from a bag of mixed emotions tonight, as I just finished spending the weekend with my son, Joseph, who flew up here from Florida. We had a great time riding mountain bikes in the rain, cooking out, in the rain, having some great conversations about the Lord and then this morning I woke up ready to go to work and do the lord's work, when WHAM, out of the blue a guy from work wants to pick a fight in the parking garage! Then I had a consultation that was all over the road with trying to get a time nailed down, while I am trying to treat a patient at the same time, then wham, wham, wham....I thought I was never going to get through the day with all my fingers and my toes attached. Good news! I did though. :)
I settled it in my heart this way: Every time something goes wrong, I get to choose God's way or the way of the flesh to handle the situation. Larry, you would have been proud, I didn't hit the guy! So as all these things went awry, I just kept growing in compassion for those around me.
Funny thing, I went to the hotel counter and was asking for a roll of toilet paper and yup, you guessed! OUT! But I also, at that very moment, was in ear shot of listening to a mom, with her child standing there, on the phone trying to find a place to stay for the night, while a church was figuring out how to help her. So at the end of the day, I may not have toilet paper, but I have a roof over my head and a God that loves me, so much so, that I can find strength in the things that would of, at one time, set me in prison. I am so thankful that God sees past my flaws and still covets me as his own. Really, I had 20 things blow up in my face today and my heart is deeply in love with my God. Glory to the Father.... Amen.

You ready for the front line?

2009-10-26T16:11:00.005-05:00

Luke 12:38 (New International Version)
38It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.

My Brothers in Christ, I pray this come out right, this is what I believe the Lord downloaded on me .. I believe we need to be ready for the call from our Master (king of all kings) our Lord Jesus. But we need to prepare for the fight. We need to be righteous and blameless before him. We need to be accountable to each other for so we can be accountable to Christ and those in authority over us. The reason I choose this picture of William Wallace is in his speech he was talking to a line of men not willing to fight, but as he spoke, he talked about a freedom, a freedom that no man can come against.. Just then they became on fire to fight for freedom.. We fight the enemy with the sword of truth and with our testimonies.. What will you do for your freedom? Will you fight or just lay down and let the enemy have its way? I received a a freedom that came from our Lord Jesus Christ that no man will take from me.. I'm willing to fight in the front lines, with Godly Warriors.. but I need to be prepare with being accountable to other Godly men and Leaders..Pray, Read the WORD. And I will stand up and honor my Lord Jesus Christ.. even to death.. I would give my testimony to give one man his freedom and I will be accountable to others, so that WE may fight the good fight for Our King Jesus.. Are you ready for the front lines? You ready for the call from the Master King Jesus? The time has arrived!!! GET READY ,GET READY,GET READY!! As William Wallace Said " Aye, fight...you may die , Run and you'll live, at least for awhile ..What will you do to keep your freedom?" Brothers this may seem harsh, but our Lord Jesus is counting on us , our families are counting on us , our pastors are counting on us, and the LOST are really counting on us.. Rise up men, And I'll meet you on the front lines.... Accountability meetings are on Tues mornings 6:15am , or call me for more details ------FREEDOM-------

2009-10-26T06:57:00.002-05:00

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

For the pastors, missionaries, relatives, friends, neighbors, lost and rejected, for our brother's and sister's (the church) and for America!

The Power of God's Word

2009-10-23T06:15:00.001-05:00

My whole life people have been telling me about the power of God's Word. Of course I believe this but it is mostly taken on faith. I mean in my life its not like I actually see the Word of God changing someones life before my very eyes. Until last night...

Last night I was helping out with The Tzedakah homeless ministry at a place called "The Listening House" in downtown St. Paul. It is a place where the homeless can come in out of the cold and sit down rest and watch a movie on the TV. It is open in the evenings until the shelter across the street opens up at 8:30pm for the night.

I was talking with Dave Medrano and Johnny a man Dave has been praying with and mentoring for a while now. As the 3 of us were talking another man came up to us and just started quoting John 3:16 to us over and over again. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Now here is the true power of God's Word. This man was hurting, broken, and drunk. I do not know all of the trials and tribulations this man had in his life but I know that the devil had his hooks in him deep. But yet through all of his pain, suffering, and even his booze breath he could not stop reciting John 3:16. He knew he was a sinner, he knew his life was bad, he knew he was doing things he shouldn't. But someone somewhere had shown him John 3:16. He knew somewhere deep inside that no matter what his life was like if he could just remember that God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Later when my wife Reneé prayed with him and confirmed to him that God really did love him and did not want him to be a drunkard he broke down in tears. He already knew it was true.

I could not help but think that as his life was being pulled deeper and deeper into the pit he hung on to God's Word like a lifeline. And that's exactly what it is. Even just one verse.

Ponder that the next time you are wondering if you should take the initiative to share a verse with someone. Christians and non-Christians alike.

The Lord's Prayer (but not in the traditional way)

2009-10-21T15:53:00.003-05:00

(The pray'er is in BLUE; the Father is in RED)

Our Father Who Art In Heaven.

Yes?

Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.

But--you called ME!

Called You? No, I didn't call You, I'm praying.

Our Father who art in heaven...

Well, here I am, what's on your mind?

But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying
my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer.
It makes me feel good, kind of like fulfilling a duty.

Well, all right, go on.

Okay, hallowed be thy name...

Hold it right there.
What do you mean by that?

By what?

By "Hallowed be Thy name"?

It means, it means...good grief, I don't know what it means.
How in the world should I know? It's just a part of the prayer.
By the way, what does it mean?

It means honored, holy, wonderful.

Hey, that makes sense.
I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before.
Thanks. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on
earth as it is in heaven.

Do you rally mean that?

Sure, why not?

What are you doing about it?

Doing? Why, nothing, I guess. I just think it would be
kind of neat if you got control of everything down here
like you have up there. We're kinda in a mess down
here, you know.

Yes, I know; but, have I got control of you?

Well, I go to church.

That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper?
You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the
way you spend your money--all on yourself. And what about the
kind of books you read?

Now hold on just a minute! Stop picking on me! I'm just as good
as some of the rest of those people at church!

Excuse Me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done.
If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are
praying for it. Like you, for example.

Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you
mention it, I could probably name some others.

So could I.

I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would
like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be
really free.

Good. Now we're getting somewhere. We'll work together--you
and Me. I'm proud of you.

Look, Lord, if you don't mind, I need to finish up here. This is
taking a lot longer than it usually does. Give us this day, our
daily bread.

You need to cut out the bread. You're overweight as it is.

Hey, wait a minute! What is this?
Here I was doing my religious duty and all of a sudden You
break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.

Praying is a dangerous thing. You just might get what you ask
for. Remember, you called Me, and here I am. It's too late to
stop now. Keep praying. (..pause..) Well, go on.

I'm scared to.

Scared? Of what?

I know what You'll say.

Try Me.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

What about Ann?

See? I knew it! I knew You'd bring her up! Why, Lord, she's
told lies about me and spread stories. She never paid back
the money she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!

But, your prayer?

I didn't mean it.

Well, at least you're honest. But, it's quite a load carrying around
all that bitterness and resentment isn't it?

Yes, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even with her. Boy, have
I got some plans for her. She'll wish she had never been born!

No, your won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't
sweet. You know how unhappy you are, well, I can change that.

You can? How?

Forgive Ann. Then, I'll forgive you; And the hate and the sin, will
be Ann's problem, not yours. You will have settled the problem as
far as you are concerned.

Oh, You know, You're right. You always are! And more than I
want revenge, I want to be right with You....(sigh). All right, all right.
I forgive her.

There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?

Hmmmmm, well, not bad. In fact, I feel pretty great. You know, I
don't think I'll go to bed uptight tonight. I haven't been getting much
rest, You know.

Yeah, I know! But, you're not through with your prayer are you?
Go on.

Oh, all right. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil.

Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where
you can be tempted.

What do You mean by that?

You know what I mean.

Yeah, I know.

Okay, go ahead, finish your prayer.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.

Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really
make me happy?

No, but I'd like to know. I want to please You now. I've really
made a mess of things. I want to truly follow You. I can see
now how great that would be. So, tell me...How do I make You
happy?

You just did!!
This sure sounds like a version I would pray and I'm sure I have.
What a patient and forgiving God we serve. Thank you Father~