Squirrel

There is a movie out right now that has a really funny line in it. As the animals are talking and concentrating on this intense conversation, a squirrel passes and and suddenly all the attention goes to the squirrel.

Sometimes I think our attention span is just like that. We can get sidetracked so easily by the things of this world. In the 1st chapter of Joshua we are exhorted to not look to the left nor to the right but keep our eyes straight ahead.

I challenge us all this week to not be distracted by the squirrels and keep looking to the Author and Perfecter of our faith....Jesus

Have a great week.

pb

Peace

The world cries for peace constantly. Thoughts of fighting for it, manipulating situations for it, and creating false peace abounds. But how can we really have peace from the war that rages inside of our minds?

Well, I never want to give simple Sunday School answers to anything, but in this case it is as simple as that. Philippians 4:8 tells us how to usher in the God of peace. In this verse we are told that whatever is true (Jesus), whatever is honorable (Jesus), whatever is right (Jesus), whatever is pure (Jesus), whatever is lovely (Jesus), whatever is of good repute (Jesus), if there is any excellence (Jesus), anything worthy of praise (Jesus), dwell on these things. It goes on to tell us to practice these things and the God of peace will be with us.

Jesus is the answer to all those things. He is the Truth, the honorable One, is always right, always pure, truly lovely, is of good repute, is excellent, and certainly the only One worthy of praise.

So I guess...it all comes back to Jesus.

Think about it,

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Blessings

There are thousands of things that I enjoy from the Lord. One of the coolest things is how the Holy Spirit works things together. I probably should be used to it by now of how wonderfully he orchestrates things, but I think I will always be amazed. (which is probably a good thing)

Romans 8:28 comes into play quite often as I see God doing really cool things. If you were in the morning service yesterday, you noticed that Anthony was not there. He is on a little vacation. Of course Genny is with YCAM. So I played which of course I love, but the real blessing was my accountability partner Scott Weckerly from Nashville, was in town the same weekend I needed a drummer. I was also blessed to have Christian worship leader and artist Rory Partin. So I was able to use him for offertory. Of all the places these two could have ended up, they were playing for a wedding the same weekend at Fort Worth Presbyterian Church which is a mile from Wedgwood. I couldn't have put that scenario together better myself. It is amazing.

So then I get to the airport this morning to fly out to San Diego. The flight was overbooked and I was able to give up my seat to another person. I got a voucher that will enable me to aid in my Dad's move from Nashville to Fort Worth. I wil still get to San Diego in time to meet the group for tonight. Pretty cool! On top of that my old youth choir from Sulphur Springs was at the airport to catch their flight to New York for their choir tour. I am still very close to a lot of those kids and parents and was able to see them off. Again pretty cool.

These are the things that I know that the Lord Himself just says...hey my child, let me do something extra for you.

Have a blessed day.

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WHJL?

WHJL…Where has Jesus landed?

You have heard me talk time and again about the definitions of Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength. The heart is the center of the emotions, the soul being the center of your personality, the mind, the center of comprehension, and of course the physical body that is to love the Lord…

I want to go back to the heart and emotions. Scripture in 1 Corinthians 8:1 says that “knowledge puffs up.” Many have taken this verse and built a doctrine on it that says that we are to be about doing more than learning. One could reason that the more knowledge one has, the possibility of more arrogance will be displayed. Although I certainly know some people that this describes, I don’t think Paul was saying don’t learn. Rather he was saying don’t let it stop there.

If all we have are facts about God that we can spout back when called upon and we haven’t allowed Him to take hold of our heart (our emotional center), then we are missing a great blessing of connection. It affects everything in our lives…from how we see ourselves and others, how we interact with others, and most importantly how we interact with the Father.

So simple question today…Where has Jesus landed? Is He stuck in just facts in our head or has He landed in our hearts and we are emotionally attached as well as filled with the knowledge of Him?

Think about it!

pb