Beckoned Call

I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27

I know why God said this to Jeremiah…but it surely applies to us in all things. God is saying,” nothing is to difficult for ME.” Earlier Jeremiah prayed this to God in verse 17.( Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.) God is affirming what he prayed. Some versions say” I Am the Lord, God of all flesh.”

You know, Jeremiah was a true sufferer for the Lord…a speaker of truth in a day of wickedness, one who suffered much and did it alone. Only to continue on a journey to seek HIM and praise HIM in all things.

Lets do that this week, Praise HIM in ALL things. Even after screaming at HIM! HE can take it.

As Heather and I and the family sit and wait on the Lord…you might find us with our eyes closed for a moment, or staring out the window. We might be Praising Him, it does not have to be loud or overly expressive, just from the heart. Sometimes its all we have in us.

My friend at work gave us a CD of Heavens Health Food. (scripture reading ) The spoken word will not return void.

Nothing Is To Difficult For Thee!

Pray that and sing that with us, for you and for me and anyone you know going through a difficult time.

Nothing Is To Difficult For Thee!

~Blessings

They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.s they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved. ACTS2: 46-47

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 JN1: 5-7

I was talking to a friend the other day about these scriptures and reaching the church which ultimately reaches those who don’t know Christ. The last 6 weeks have been quite the roller coaster ride, Emma has not been this sick in a long time, at least not like this…Thank you friend for giving me not only something else to think about but something to apply.

Here is my simple thought on this:

A gathering of people that believe in the power of worship and prayer, fused with the infallible holy Word of God, and in response want to take the goodness of God to the community.

I’ve have my thoughts on what it means to reach the church and the world. What do you think?

Photo Credit:www.lumaxart.com

September is the biggest sales month for the Military Division of the company I work for. I’m the only guy in the division. The end of every September is the Federal Government year end, they either spend whats left of there budget or lose it. What does that mean for me, a busy July, August, September and October if I’m so fortunate. September 30th midnight is the final winning lotto number (if you’ve ever played lotto )
or its all a bust! Please pray that I would remain sane, after all it only makes or breaks my divisions numbers for the year, no big deal right?
I’m not freakin out no really I’m good no but seriouly I’m fine

Thanks Folks!!

Mark

Last night Easton, Eli and I went to a Tampa Rays game, (only 3 games out of the wildcard) Its always a great time for eating……….everything! We arrived about an hour before the game so we could catch some balls during batting practice, it really was dodge some balls at batting practice. But anyway, we consumed, two Sausage dogs, a large Fry, nachos, a foot long hotdog, Beef Jerky, 2 extra large sodas and a bottle of water for good health.

Once the 1st inning was over, Eli wanted more jerky and he wanted to know when he could have ice cream, while Easton wanted Cajun boiled peanuts. (that’s my girl! ) I said “Good grief we have 8 more innings to go! WAIT!” The second inning came and we had more cajun peanuts than you can imagine.

I missed the 7th inning because I was indisposed …Eli was hunched over in the 8th and Easton was still mun-chin on peanuts till the very end.

WE HAD A BLAST!!!!

Things I will truly remember:

1. That my children recognized and told me about the bad language they heard, with concern.
2. Following threw with the promise of taking my kids to a Rays game.
3. Just hanging out with friends and family.
4. Listening to 18-20 year olds being sworn into the United States Military
5. For a breif moment, listening to 20,000 Americans quietly echo the National Athem in unison.

Some things are worth paying for!

Ok! NCAA football fans, here we are another exciting season on the gridiron. Who is going to beat my team in the BCS championship this year. Will it be Florida, Southern Cal or maybe even a sleeper team like Boise State? I’ve been a Sooner fan since before I was born, and like most of you fans out there, it is a love hate relationship for your colors.

There’s about 5 to 8 teams out there who always end up somewhere at the top every year, I remember one year reading an article about the Sooner fan base expectations. It was when they were headed off to a Bowl Championship Series game, the fans didn’t rally at the airport near as much as the opposing team fans and at the actual game they were not near as electric…it was as if it were merely the expected norm nothing more. Is it arrogance or were they just complacent? I know I’m bias, but knowing the humble mentality of most mid-westerners, arrogance is not a typical trait, except for a fewww…well, never mind.

Do you remember when you were a new believer in Christ? It was great, even in those tough moments, God was great, the Lord was with me, I just praised Jesus through it all, etc. etc. etc…It was as if nothing could penetrate the grace that was on you. You since have grown up, and dare I say, all that has worn off. One to many hard knocks, one to many let downs, one to many sermons that sounded the same or whatever. I’m just kind of making my way through the day. Kind of like Eeyore on Winnie the Pooh.

But wait a minute… stop wait. (pause, take a deep breath)

Friends, the grace of God and His merciful touch has never been less than the day He hung on a tree. He wants you to mount up with Him and ride, you are still His little child.

Oh Lord, teach me to have a child like heart, teach me to be undignified.

All of the things we might have praised Him for then He is still doing today in you. You see, back then it was so different because it was new. Kind of like that team, who for the first time arrived at the big game, and for the other team, pretty normal, or expected.

Oh how that has been me way to many times in my journey…I’m ready to approach tomorrow with a sense of excitement, maybe even praising the Lord a little more. Won’t you give it a try with me, maybe we can get Eeyore to see things like Tigger.

“Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The eternal God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth doesn’t grow tired or become weary. His understanding is beyond reach. He gives strength to those who grow tired and increases the strength of those who are weak. Even young people grow tired and become weary, and young men will stumble and fall. Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and won’t become weary. They will walk and won’t grow tired.”
-Isaiah 40:28-30 God’s Word

Just in case, if you have never tasted the Forgiving Wonder of the LORD, email me or post a comment, I would love to correspond with you.

Peace to you,

I can remember growing up in Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas. All these states love the Boomer Sooners…well maybe not, but one thing we can agree on is the summers are usually unpredictable. Some summers would be so dry you only mowed dirt, other summers you couldn’t mow fast enough, summers are always hot, like a convection oven, or a steam bath.

The interesting and understandable thing was the cry for rain. We need the rain, or for it to stop raining. We could have weeks and weeks of no rain, and then the flood gates would open out of the blue. Then the rain would stop and a month later, we need the rain, we need the rain. I don’t mean to take lightly the serious issue of a flood, or the terrible results of a bad drought, I just think it is interesting. Especially now, when I live in Florida…It is really interesting that in our dry season there is still dew on the ground every morning.

Its funny, people from the Midwest will come to Florida during dry season and joke, you think this is dry as they wipe there brow, come see me this summer. Of course the Florida folks would say hang out with me during rain season then you will know hot and humid.

Ok Ok, we get it Mark, what is your point?

You see, I’m kind of a foreigner in Florida, like most of us in FL. we are not native Floridians. But, as time goes by we all eventually sound alike, good or bad. We have all started a new job, moved to a new neighborhood or even started going to a new church. All is well, we like the atmosphere the smell the excitement. You know what I mean, like a new car. Then, Jimmy, Betty or Sue you know them well, drop a little joy bug into your brain, it comes via the ear canal and makes it way to your heart. Oh yes it starts like a simple sniffle no big deal, you move on. Then it moves to your chest and it becomes a bother, yup you are mad at your boss, the pastor your neighbor, your spouse, then GOD!! oops.

It is so easy to let the work of the enemy work us over, up down and into a uncontrollable blaze. You see, when the enemy strikes us with the world and we get sucked in, the world does not see us. We actually blend in, therefore unseen. Kind of like these folks in the desert:

Some foreigners among the Israelites had a strong craving for other kinds of food. Even the Israelites started crying again and said, “If only we had meat to eat! Remember all the free fish we ate in Egypt and the cucumbers, watermelons,leeks, onions, and garlic we had? But now we’ve lost our appetite! Everywhere we look there’s nothing but manna!”(Manna was small like coriander seeds and looked like resin. The people would go around and gather it, then grind it in a hand mill or crush it in a mortar. They would cook it in a pot or make round loaves of bread out of it. It tasted like rich pastry made with olive oil. When dew fell on the camp at night, manna fell with it.) Numbers 11:4-9 (Gods Word)

I mean really, these people were slaves for generations, they cried out to God for freedom! the God that saved them and fed them based on the dew in the morning, and gave them water just by striking a rock, come on, think about it, I would not have to go to my wonderful job ever again. I mean, uhhh, I’m not complaining about my job or anything. But free food and water, cool!

Have you found yourself in this place, I have more times than want to admit.
Q.But what do I do, you don’t understand Mark, you don’t understand.
A.I know I don’t.

What if Jesus had been like us on the cross? No, He simply cried out to the Father, and the world still knows who He is today.

Q. So your saying you want me to stand out?
A. No, I want people to know who you stand for.

I like food, all kinds and I’ve been more than blessed. Many of you are just as blessed. So what if the job or whatever isn’t all it is cracked up to be.
Lets approach this week, lets Praise the Lord for manna(dry bread) from Heaven, and see how HE changes our spirit.

Lord we approach the throne of grace today, we come to you saying sorry for the attitude. (now as the conviction from the Lord has come, rest in HIS arms of grace and peace.) Lord we praise you for Manna from Heaven!
In Jesus name, Amen.

A week in the life of EMMA Grace is sometimes…well a HOLY HOOT! Take last week;
Thursday/Friday I rose from a wonderful slumber to the sounds of “AIDENS a FROG AIDENS a FROG NEMO NEMO HA HA HA!!!” My eyes open, as light is seeping through the crack at the bottom of the door to the living room. I look over at the clock on the cable box, 2:45am. My brain makes my mouth say HOLY HECK (or something like that), remember I’m being dazed by the sound of the previous year of BARNEY songs and DECK the HALLS with falls of folly FAA LA LA LA LAA LA LA LA LAAAAAAA!

So I stumble to the door, open it to her bright blue eyes as she runs to the bed and says in a monotone voice…..”It’s three o’clock in the morning oh my gosh its the middle of the night, time to go to bed!” and climbs the rail of her bed and gets under the covers.

So I end up on the couch shhhing her while saying “EMMA GRACE GO TO SLEEP!” And EMMA SAYS PEDIASURE, GIVE ME PEDIASURE..NO SCHOOL TODAY DADDY NO SCHOOL TODAY. (still in her monotone voice)

4:00am comes along and finally she is asleep, NOT ME!

Did I mention Thursday evening when PAPA was watching her, he called us during worship team practice and requested the shopvac, yup, a whole bag of flour, sugar and buttermilk biscuit mix all over her playroom.

Monday morning my wife straightened up Emma’s playroom/bedroom, After Heather left you could her the basket of little people crash on the floor off of her shelf, of course our first reaction was “EMMA!!” Of course Emma’s first reaction was “DADGUMMIT!! As she sang “Clean Up Clean Up Everybody Clean Up.”

Heather and I just looked at each other, and laughed.

My Kid’s are the biggest gift this side of salvation the LORD has ever given Heather and I. Doctors said EMMA would not even be born, then when she was born they said maybe 24 hours, then it was 2 weeks. Here we are almost 8yrs later. This is the stuff that brings so much joy it makes you smile and even laugh.

A friend of mine calls it a Holy Hoot.

The Lord gave me passage last Sunday during our worship/ministry time:

Paul Writes in II Corinthians 11:23-31:

“Are they Christ’s servants? It’s insane to say it, but I’m a far better one. I’ve done much more work, been in prison many more times, been beaten more severely, and have faced death more often. Five times the Jewish leaders had me beaten with 39 lashes; three times Roman officials had me beaten with clubs. Once people tried to stone me to death; three times I was shipwrecked, and I drifted on the sea for a night and a day. Because I’ve traveled a lot, I’ve faced dangers from raging rivers,from robbers, from my own people, and from other people. I’ve faced dangers in the city, in the open country, on the sea, and from believers who turned out to be false friends. Because I’ve had to work so hard, I’ve often gone without sleep, been hungry and thirsty, and gone without food and without proper clothes during cold weather. Besides these external matters, I have the daily pressure of my anxiety about all the churches. When anyone is weak, I’m weak too. When anyone is caught in a trap, I’m also harmed. If I must brag, I will brag about the things that show how weak I am. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is praised forever, knows that I’m not lying.”

I have nothing to complain about, do you?