Monthly Archives: April 2014

My Fight Isn’t With You

Posted on by under Uncategorized

These are some great bits from an awesome journey!

ourjourneybits's avatarjourneybits

Lately I’ve been asking the Lord to help me in my dealings with those around me. People can be cruel and the Lord showed me that it’s not the people, it’s Satan. Those around me are being used by the enemy to try to distract me from the work the Lord has called me to do.

I’m reminded this is a spiritual battle we’re fighting. Therefore we have got to see people and the things they do to hurt us as it really is. When we begin to see the true battle, our hearts change. Our hearts cry out for them. We pray and accuse Satan as the culprit. We take authority over him in the name of Jesus and cast him down and bind him up.

This battle can’t be fought with fleshly weapons and therefore we can’t attack one another in the flesh. Having this knowledge, we bring…

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In Our Mist

Posted on by under Photography

This post was written in response to Ailsa’s Travel Cahllenge: MIST

To walk into the mists of other people’s creativity go here:

http://wheresmybackpack.com/2014/04/04/travel-theme-misty/

Here is what came out of my fog:

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Whitney’s Pond From Ingleside Winchendon MA

“God is here, right now, at our side. We can see him in this mist, in the ground we’re walking on, even in my shoes. His angels keep watch while we sleep and help us in our work. In order to find God, you have only to look around.”
― Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Eagle Heights, WInchendon MA

Eagle Heights, WInchendon MA

 

“The hill pines were sighing, / O’ercast and chill was the day: / A mist in the valley lying / Blotted the pleasant May.

Robert Bridges

Zaanse Schans, the Netherlands

Zaanse Schans, the Netherlands

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”

― Rachel Carson

Heaven Pt 141: Every Twist And Turn

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

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“God alone knows the way to Wisdom,
    he knows the exact place to find it.
He knows where everything is on earth,
    he sees everything under heaven.
After he commanded the winds to blow
    and measured out the waters,
Arranged for the rain
    and set off explosions of thunder and lightning,
He focused on Wisdom,
    made sure it was all set and tested and ready.
Then he addressed the human race: ‘Here it is!
    Fear-of-the-Lord—that’s Wisdom,
    and Insight means shunning evil.’” Job 28:23-28

    Recently I have been caught up with my own understanding of God’s designs. A while back God gave me a directive to pursue a certain avenue of ministry. I did. I laid out the whole plan. I organized. I vision-casted. I dreamed. And it’s  not going how I thought it would.

Oh, I imagine something will come of it. This thing will bear fruit, but I am beginning to realize the chances of the ministry looking like the picture I drew of it are getting pretty slim. I was stomping around in my heart about that the other night and then God reminded me that He was not surprised by any development I was facing. He reminded me that He was familiar with every twist and turn the road of vision had taken so far. He also knows about a few more twists and turns that are up ahead. Oh and by the way, He’s not sharing!

Today He is reminding me that the results of my work are to be left with Him. In most cases the results I plan are not the results I will end up with because they come from my limited understanding of the way between me and the proposed destination. My job is not to make things happen. My job is to fear the Lord, obey what He says to do and keep my heart from evil when things don’t go “my way”.

Maybe through some circuitous route things will get back on my track and everything will turn out just like I had envisioned. Maybe I’ll strike spiritual gold and the results will be even better than I could have imagined. Maybe the reason God told me to pursue this route has nothing to do with the actual destination and has more to do with what I or somebody else I run across gets out of the journey. Only God knows! And that’s just as it should be.

At The Threshold

Posted on by under Photography

This post was written in response to the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge: THRESHOLD

To see what others have come up with for the “threshold” theme go to

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/photo-challenge-threshold/

Here are my thoughts

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Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view, That stand upon the threshold of the new.

Edmund Waller

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“For many men that stumble at the threshold are well foretold that danger lurks within”

William Shakespeare

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 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Rev. 3:20

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 46

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles
The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

Hey class! We are continuing on with the formation of the early church through the book of Acts. When we left Paul he had just raised Eutychus from the dead. If you want to put your two cents in on that discussion of any of our others just go to the House On Fire page below and check in!

http://wp.me/P39vIx-Gh

Here is today’s discussion topic:

17 But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.

18 When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now 19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit  to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

25 “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. 26 I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, 27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.

28 “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. 29 I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.

32 “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

33 “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. 34 You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. 37 They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. 38 They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship.

In this passage Paul calls the elders of the Ephesian church to his side. He knows from the Lord that he will never see them again.

There is not a whole lot of good news in this meeting. If you were an elder how would you have received it? What emotions would this have created? How do you encourage yourself in the face of bad news like this?

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Posted on by under Uncategorized

So what are you doing?

Ken Knowlton's avatarartistdayapart

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it .  (James 4:17)

Why is it that people tend to focus on the things we shouldn’t do, rather than the things we should?  In The Word for You Today, the authors remind us that a man was put out of a wedding because he didn’t have on wedding garments, five virgins were excluded from a wedding because they had no oil in their lamps, a servant forfeited a talent because he didn’t do more than bury it in the ground, a rich man who failed to care for his neighbor was condemned for it, and a barren fig tree that failed to produce was cursed and died.  These were not bad things that were done, but good things that were not done–errors of omission rather than commission. Christian people are often tagged with the name,

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The Arrogant Pulpit

Posted on by under The Stories

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He could thunder with the best of them, drew crowds from all across the county. His Bible was cracked with the whacking it took upon the pulpit. His fingers were gnarled from curling them heavenward to draw down the fire upon men who drank too much and woman who cackled like hens behind their husband’s backs. His eyes were fixed in that perpetual stare of hard earned judgment that can only come from the self-indulgence of over-fasting.

His posters got the saints to whispering about the coming revival and the back-sliders to mocking about the coming judgment which in the hubris of both parties was really the same thing gone sour on both ends like an overripe banana.

In the end when everyone stood before the judgment seat: The preacher found his sermons were hay; The saints discovered that their revivals were straw;  And the backsliders found that false repentance leads only to the fires of Hell; But one soul…one soul found humility in between the thunder and the gnarly fire. That soul bent his knee. The King Of Ages nodded his head in approval toward that one soul and with the voice of many waters said “Well done!”

 

 

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Phil. 1:15-`18

each one should build with care. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,13their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Cor. 3:10-15

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 1 Cor. 13:1-3

This post was written in response  to “All In A Word’s” writing prompt: HUBRIS

You can find their other contributors here:

http://13thfloorparadigm.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/all-in-a-word-writing-prompts/

 

Crayons and Crocodiles

Posted on by under For Family & Fun

share-your-world2 My answers to Cee’s questions this week are brought to you by the color Green.

 

To read other colorful posts go to: http://ceenphotography.com/2014/03/31/share-your-world-2014-week-13/

 

Here are the questions and my answers:

 

Do you believe in extraterrestrials or life on other planets?  

 

I’m with Larry Norman on this one.  “And if there’s life on other planets, then I’m sure that he must know. And he’s been there once already, and has died to save their souls.” Now if you asked “do you believe in little green men?” I would simply reply “But of course I am one.” 100_3052 What type of pet or pets do not want to have?

I think a crocodile or a green alligator would be not nice.

 

 

The song is a tribute to the new movie Noah (which is just fun if you accept that this newest Hollywood version is the total SCYFY version and undeniably non-biblical)

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green of course.

What type of transportation would you be? Why? I think I would really like a green (meaning eco-friendly) car.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? I am thankful for all the friends who showed up this weekend to help an elderly couple in our church move. I am looking forward to all those who will show up this week to help us move another elderly lady (how’s that for faith?).