Spirit, Faith, and Hope

Sat - April 16, 2005

Mark 6:5-6 Call in a Professional

"6:5 He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people, and healed them.
6:6 He marveled because of their unbelief. He went around the villages teaching."

I was reading in The Gospel according to Mark this morning and came across this passage. It really struck me. The passage above is from the World English Bible and the words "mighty work" reads as "miracles" in other versions.

It would seem to imply that, in order for God to work in our lives, we need to believe. It is almost like we give Him permission to act in our lives, not that He needs to ask for it, but that He wants us to give ourselves freely to Him.

It's hard for me to give over control of much of anything in my life. As I write this, I am thinking about ways to make my web site less dependent on other systems out there. I'd like to host the commenting system myself, instead of having Haloscan do it. I'd like to handle all of the RSS parsing myself. I want to control all of the systems, that I use at work, myself.

I don't like giving up control. In many things, I don't like asking for help. Sometimes it takes me smacking, face first, into a wall to acknowledge that I need assistance.

I guess we are all works in progress. We can either attempt to do the work ourselves or we can call in a professional. God is the one, true professional when it comes to sculpting the human existence. It's up to us to put down the tools that we keep misusing, pick up the phone, and call in a professional to clean up the mess, and finish the job.

Peace, Hope, and Love.
Michael

Posted at 07:35 AM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Sat - October 23, 2004

1 John 1:1-4

1 John 1
1From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in--we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. 2The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.
3We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 4Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

© 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Posted at 09:19 AM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Thu - October 21, 2004

Focus

It constantly amazes me. The fact that anything at all can distract me from God. Writing this blog, which purports to help me focus on God, can distract me from Him. I have a gazillion books that have wonderfully spiritual themes, all can be distractions.

Philippians 4

8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9-Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

We, as humans, can take perfectly good things and distort them. We can even turn God's word into a tool of hate or something that drives our focus from God and onto ourselves.

Focus seems to come easy to some of us. But even the ones who are best at focusing had to learn it. Brother Lawrence , Teresa of Avila , John of the Cross , all of them had great focus, but it took a lifetime of practice. Nothing good comes easily. Even the Apostle Paul, in the above verse, is telling us how much work it takes. And yet, what is the smallest part of my life? The part I give to God. Everything, and I mean everything else, takes precedence over Him. Some of these things are good. There is nothing wrong with me putting effort and focus into my relationship with Robyn, I love her and I truly believe that God brought us together, but she is a much larger part of my life than I acknowledge God to be. I need to include God in everything, He is always there, it is just up to me to acknowledge Him.

I am not sad or depressed as I write this. My life is very full and I am very happy. It is in the happy, full times that I am most easily distracted from God. This, I need to overcome. This, I cannot overcome. Only God can overcome it. And I must be open. So let it be.

Posted at 10:12 PM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Tue - July 27, 2004

John 14:6

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Posted at 08:30 PM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Sat - July 10, 2004

Anonymous

Our lives are a manifestation of what we believe about God.

Posted at 01:21 PM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Sun - July 4, 2004

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

- Words by Horatio G. Spafford, 1873
- Music by Philip P. Bliss, 1876

The words to this hymn were written after two major traumas in Spafford's life. The first was the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially. Shortly after, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of Spafford's daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford's wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram: "SAVED ALONE." Several weeks later, as Spafford's own ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, he was inspired to write these words.

Bliss originally named the tune "Ville de Havre" after the ship on which Spafford's four girls perished, the SS Ville de Havre. Ironically, Bliss himself died in a tragic train wreck shortly after writing this music.

Posted at 08:01 AM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Mon - June 7, 2004

Marching On

I haven't posted here much, but I must give credit to God for all the blessings he has given me. This job totally came from him. It's the kind of job I was hoping to get, but I thought I would only be able to get it if I went back to school. I'm not totally ruling out school in the future, but for now I am just learning as much as I can about this job. God is great!

Posted at 07:30 PM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Thu - May 27, 2004

Slept Well

I did sleep well. I awoke to an email from Ben. He sent me a new version of Refresh Me Oh God. The Original can be found here. The new version is a full band with electric guitar and it's a little faster. I like both versions, but I think I like the newer version a little better.

Today is starting out at the top of the roller coaster. Tonight I'm going to Bible study with Ben. That is totally cool. As much as I enjoy church it just doesn't have the one on one feel of a good Bible study so I need them both.

Posted at 10:05 AM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Why I could never be a social worker or in law enforcement

It's 1/4 till 4am. I can't sleep. I'm still missing Robyn, but that isn't what is keeping me awake. What is keeping me awake is that another friend of mine, no one that any of you know, told me how her ex boyfriend had raped her, brutally. She didn't give me the details, but enough that it's very good that I don't know who this man is. Every time I hear a story like this I pray to God that he will keep me away from the rapists and the child molesters, unless he wants me in jail. She tells me about it and asks me if I'm ok, she's very strong. She's a sweetheart and a wonderful person and she's dealing with it all so well. But am I ok? Isn't it somehow backwards that I feel traumatized by these tales? Shouldn't I be strong and silent, but that's the problem, I can only be silent for fear of breaking down. If I speak to much the words will fail me and the thoughts of the horrors committed against this sweet child of God come flooding in.

My chest is tight. I need to sleep.

Posted at 03:59 AM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Wed - May 26, 2004

Roller Coaster

Some days are a spiritual roller coaster. I'll start Up and really feeling close to God. Then as the day goes on I'll somehow get into the wrong mindset and it's almost like I forget God is there. There are many more days where I know he is there all day. I am so thankful for all he has blessed me with. A family that has always shown me unconditional love. Friends who would do anything for me. Friends all over the world. Robyn, who loves me. Thank you God.

Posted at 09:53 PM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

A Banner

I added a banner and changed the colors some. I think I'm done for now.

Posted at 01:05 PM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Ok, I added comments.

Comments added. Let's see if they work.

Posted at 12:05 PM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Day One

Some days it seems to be a struggle to keep focused on God. Some days it is amazing the way I can feel Him. One of my downfalls is that sometimes my feelings depend on other people. If I can't talk to Robyn I get distracted. If I don't have some uplifting spiritual discussion with say Vikkie or Sherry or Ben then I get distracted. I miss Robyn very much and I only have a few more days to go. Well, 5 more days and these 5 days that have passed have seemed like 10. Today I am trying to stay focused on God all day. I'm listening to the MP3 Bible that Mom and Dad got me for my birthday, but I'm still distracted.

God please help me to stay focused and please help me to not depend on others for my feelings. I have you God, you chose me, you call me yours. Thank you for that. Help me find the joy in your grace every day.

I haven't added comments here yet, but I will I think.

Posted at 09:50 AM in
Click Here To Link To This Post
|

Churches