Category Archives: Uncategorized

Pastor Wrinkles Sunday Quips & Quotes 11-29-15

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Hey there folks! Here is a new challenge for all my Sunday readers. Every Sunday I will post one quip or quote that struck me during the week. You can join along in the quipping and quoting. Here is what to do.

Publish a post of your own, using one quip or quote that grabbed you during the week. You can add a picture to it if you like or even photograph the quote from it’s source.

Link back to my post

You can include the Pastor Wrinkle’s Q& Q photo in your post if you think my mug worthy of your blog.

Q&Q

Here is my quote for the week.

“When Jesus walks into the room…there is always a response.” Barry Risto

 

The Road Through Romans: What We Have Received Pt. 2

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100_5431Yesterday we began talking about what it is that Christians receive from their Christianity. We receive grace but there is something else too.

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. Ro. 1:5

We receive “apostleship”…a commission…a send off…a release or permission to go and do the things Jesus did.

Did you get that?!?

We don’t need permission to do the things Jesus did. We don’t have to beg Him to do miracles in and through us. We don’t have to pray unceasingly for supernatural power or ability to be better witnesses.

We can fully expect miracles to take place in and around us. We can expect that people around us will start coming to Christ and becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus… because we have been sent off to be miraculous people so the gospel will be proven when we speak.

The only reason this doesn’t happen is because we don’t expect it to. We don’t take hold of it intentionally (which as we said in an earlier post is what receiving really is. If you missed that post find it HERE) . Apostleship is the natural position of every Christian (not being an apostle but being apostle-like).

So have you taken hold of your apostleship? What does that look like?

Thankfulness: Rocognizing the Work Of God In Our Lives

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Philippians 4:4-8 reads,  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.

I shouldn’t shocking anyone out there when I declare no one’s life is perfect. The world is broken and even the best lives experience trouble. In the end life isn’t about what happens to us. It’s about how we choose to view what happens to us.

We can approach life with chronic anxiety, anger or negativity and that is what life will be filled with, or we can choose to approach life with hope, faith and thankfulness and that is what life will be filled with.

In this world two forces are always at work. Good and evil. God and the Devil. Light and Dark. Some day that will change and the Good God who is Light will defeat once and for all the darkness, but winning over the darkness is His job not yours. Your job is to be thankful 

Thankfulness is a conscious decision to recognize the work of God in our lives.

Today is a day we in America set aside to be thankful. Take some time to rest and thank God for His work in your life. It may not change your circumstances, but it will change how you look at them and in the end that is what you are called by God to do.

Happy Thanks giving! JE

 

 

The Road Through Romans: The Son Of God In Power Pt. 2

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100_5431We have been studying the Book of Romans bit by little bit over the last several weeks. Currently we are in verse four of chapter 1. If you have missed any of our discussions you can catch up on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Last time we were discussing the work of the Spirit in revealing Jesus to be the Son of God. Romans 1:4 says,

and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

The NIV says Jesus was appointed the Son Of God by the Holy Spirit, the KJV says Jesus was declared the Son Of God by the Holy Spirit. The actual verb used is “ὁρίζω horizō”, which can also be translated as “defined”. Jesus was defined as the Son of God by the Holy Spirit. I love that!

How did the Holy Spirit define Jesus as the Son of God? It wasn’t through Jesus’ baptism; It wasn’t through His teaching; It wasn’t through His miracles; It wasn’t even through His death on the cross; The Holy Spirit proved Jesus was the Son Of God by Jesus’ resurrection.

The Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead and in that moment all the other defining prophecies for Messiah became secondary. Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, not just because he is the Son of David, not just because He fulfilled the prophecies of Abraham, Balaam, Moses and Isaiah, but because He alone has risen from the dead and now can offer that same hope to any who believe on His name.

The symbol of Christianity is not primarily an empty cross but an empty tomb!

Share Your World 2015 Week #47

Posted on by under For Family & Fun, Uncategorized

share-your-world2I’m a day late getting back into the game this week. I have been trying to make sure I get a full 24 hours off every week and this week I needed it. I slept almost 12 solid hours from Sunday into Monday and then spent most of the rest of my time lying on the couch too tired to do anything. Yesterday I hoped to hop right back into it. I even came in to the office an hour and half before anyone else to get a jump on things. E-mails and paperwork followed by two meetings, a concert and a rehearsal kept me away from the blogosphere for the entire day. By the time I stopped I had little mind space left for writing. The good news is I did get to work on the novel for a bit before the day went crazy.

But here I am once again an hour and a half before the crowd and launching into the blogosphere by SHARING MY WORLD. Cee’s questions are below and as always you can find a diversity of answers to them by clicking on the underlined link and launching yourself into Ceeland.

In your native language which letter or character describes you best?  Why?

“J” of course because that is my name. Well actually it is Joseph but I am the 5th in line and my son is the 6th so we all have nicknames: My great-grandfather was Joseph; My grandfather was Joe; My father was Jack; I’m J, and my son is Joey.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I am not a very extravagant person. I guess it would have to be eating out. I really like Italian food. Going to the movies is a close second. Oh, I suppose you could put travel in there somewhere. I try to go on a trip every couple of years.

Do you prefer exercising your mind or your body? How frequently do you do either?

I would rather exercise my mind than my body. I try to do both every day. I always get some mental gymnastics in. If I exercise physically three times a week right now I consider that a success

List at least 5 things that makes you laugh.

My kids100_1033

My sister100_1786

My dogs

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My Pastor Christmas hatr 5

My church family100_3866-001

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful that last Friday I got so much time to write. This week I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and my birthday! The kids are coming and we are having turkey dinner and cake. What could be better?

The Road Through Romans: The Son Of God In Power

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, Uncategorized

100_5431Today we move into verse 4 of Romans chapter 1 in our study through the Book of Romans. If you have missed any of this study you can find the posts on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power[b] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. rO. 1:4

I want to begin our study of this verse by studying the one who appointed Jesus to be the Son of God in power. That would be the Spirit of holiness, the πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνη, the Holy Spirit.

In Christianity we worship the Triune God, the Trinity. That is not three Gods but One God expressed in three distinct personalities. You might not totally get that, and that is O.K. There are lots of things we don’t totally get about God, like the balance between sovereignty and free will (we will get into that in our study of Romans chapter 9). The trinity is one of those things that can be explained but still defies explanation. I just accept that in faith. That said what I know is that each member of the Trinity has a different part in the plan of salvation. Each part is intrinsic to the plan and if at any place the whole Trinity did not work together the whole plan would fall apart.

The Father’s Part: To Create the plan of salvation

The Son’s Part: To Execute the plan of salvation (to die and rise from the dead)

The Spirit’s Part: To reveal the plan of salvation to the recipients of salvation (that would be us humans).

Of the Spirit of Holiness Jesus said, very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16: 7-15

So according to Jesus it is the Spirit who reveals the need for salvation and it is also the Spirit who applies the power of salvation to our lives. Jesus made that final point clear when he told the Pharisee, Nicodemus, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” John 3:6

So let me conclude this portion of our study with two questions:

Do you think the Holy Spirit reveals the “truth” to everybody?

If so why doesn’t everybody come to Jesus?

 

Pastor Wrinkles Sunday Quips & Quotes 11-22-15

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, Uncategorized

Hey there folks! Here is a new challenge for all my Sunday readers. Every Sunday I will post one quip or quote that struck me during the week. You can join along in the quipping and quoting. Here is what to do.

Publish a post of your own, using one quip or quote that grabbed you during the week. You can add a picture to it if you like or even photograph the quote from it’s source.

Link back to my post

You can include the Pastor Wrinkle’s Q& Q photo in your post if you think my mug worthy of your blog.

Q&Q

“LIberation is dangerous. It’s costly. It’s high drama and high stakes. It calls for enormous risk, superhuman effort, steely nerves. There’s an enemy in the way, a vicious enemy, heavily armed, not to be trifled with. Of all the words we might use to describe what Jesus does here, work isn’t one of them.

Setting free isn’t work.

But being set free can be.

You have to want to get well.” Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God p. 156

The Road Through Romans: The Seed Of David

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100_5431

 “regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life[a] was a descendant of David,” Romans 1:3

Jesus was a descendant of David. That’s important stuff. If Jesus had not been a Son of David he could not have been Messiah. He would not be qualified to take the throne of Israel.

David was arguably Israel’s most famous king. It was to him that God made this promise, “The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” 2 Samuel 7:11-13

Solomon may have built the first temple but that temple fell. The king of David’s line who was prophesied to come, will build a house for God’s name that will last forever.

That is why Matthew makes the first chapter of his book a genealogy of Jesus.

This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Ma 1:1-15

It is why Luke offers another genealogy (thought to be the genealogy of Mary) in the third chapter of his book.

What writer in his right mind starts a book with a genealogy? No one that’s who. No publisher would publish a book that started with a genealogy, except of course God. The genealogy is of first importance here because unless Jesus is a son of David we have nothing further to discuss. Further unless Jesus is THAT son of David we also have nothing further to discuss.

In Romans 1:3 Paul is not just saying Jesus was a son of David. There were literally thousands of sons of David roaming the earth at that time. Paul was declaring, “2 Samuel 7:13 is fulfilled in Jesus. He is not just a son of David. He is THE SON OF DAVID.”

If you have missed any of our previous discussions concerning the book of Romans they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

The Daily Post: Trio

Posted on by under Photography, Uncategorized

This post is in response to The Daily Post’s Challenge: TRIO

Here are some things that come in threes:

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The kiddos!

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Mercedes’ litter: Bandit, Fred and Snug

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Three lamps to light the way.

I had thought of the greatest Three of all, but getting the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all in one photo turns out to be a little difficult for this photographer.