Blessed be your name

Check out our new website!

2010-02-18T10:58:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone,

I know this blog hasn't been active for awhile, so if you find your way here and are looking for the latest from camp the place to be is pembinavalleybiblecamp.com. There's a link to our Facebook page on the site too.

Blessings,

PVBC Staff

ROCK THE VALLEY 2007

2007-08-14T16:05:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, I dont know how many people check this over the summer but...

ROCK THE VALLEY 2007
Friday Aug. 17
At Pembina Valley Bible Camp
7:30pm

$5 At the Gate
Bring Friends!

Over and out!

Best Friend

2007-05-30T23:12:00.000-06:00

"...my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." -Philippians 1:20

Focus. In Baseball, i order to hit the ball and win the game, you need focus. When writing an exam and there are three precious minutes passing you by, and you still have a paragraph to write, you need focus. When on stage infront of hundreds of people and it's your turn to sing the solo, you need focus. Focus is important. When I started a competetive sport awhile back my coach talked to me about priorities. What are you willing to sacrifice to do the best you can? What are you willing to let go for the ultimate goal? What is your focus? I'm notorious for getting distracted. I wrote a note to my friend the other day, it ended up being 4 pages long. It's not like I had anything really important I wanted to say, I just kept rambling on random things. There are many distractions, things that can keep us from our goals. In a soccer game, a player from another team can distract you and mislead you from getting the ball into the net. What are you distracted with? Is it something good, or bad? Is it keeping you from coming into a closer relationship with God?

My little sister sings a song from church about Jesus being her best friend. Friends are important to all of us and God wants to be your best friend. Don't let anything get in the way of that.

Have a nice day, God bless you,

Tasha

Trust

2007-04-30T22:04:00.000-06:00

Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to Him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8

I read this verse of Tasha's post and it applies so much to what I want to share today. So last week I had the awesome experience of going to Banff with my choir for a festival. I had never seen mountains so it was really neat but besides the point... Before we had left, I had spent 4 hours in the emergerncy room one night because of these pains i was having in my stomach and behind my ribs. These pains were nasty. Since than I hadnt had them so I thought they had cleared up but I was mistaken. The day of preformance rolled around and after getting up in the morning I thought I was going to die. I was in so much pain that one of my friends had to carry me to the bus b/c it hurt to much to walk. At this point I could do nothing but pray. So I prayed that God would clear these pains so I could reherse and preform with all I had. Like no joking around, 2 minutes before I had to stand to reherse all the pain cleared up. It was amazing, I couldnt believe it! I am so glad I trusted God, He is our refuge and our strength. I challenge you all to lean on Him and pray to Him when things get tough. God is huge and powerful, He can preform miricles in your life if you let Him!

God bless,
Cassandra

Let Go & Let God

2007-04-25T18:04:00.000-06:00

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5&6

My soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great
love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:20b-23

I was home schooled for all of my elementary years except two. During those two years I learned a lot about trusting in God. Most people have gone through a moment in their life when they've felt very alone and scared. There are things that happen that we don't understand, things that make us cry, moments that we never forget and changes we're reluctant to accept. Life can feel a little more than overpowering at times, but we never are alone. God is always, and I mean neverfailingly always, by our side. We can't do everything by ourselves, and we certainly can't do life alone (even on the box for the board game it says you need at least 2 players). God knows what He's doing, He'll catch you when you fall and help you stand up again. You can trust Him, go on. Let go and let God.

Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to Him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

God Bless you and have an exquisite day,
Tasha

Internal Makeover

2007-04-13T11:40:00.000-06:00

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Lately I've been thinking a lot about right and wrong and how to figure out what God wants me to do in difficult situations. One thing that I've realized is that in order to become more like Jesus we need to move beyond simply trying to figure out a set or rules to follow or outlining a perfect code of conduct. These things will simply show us where we fall short, like the Old Testament Law. What we truly need is an internal makerover, a transformation of our minds and hearts to begin to think and see situations like God does. Then the right thing to do will become more obvious. There are always times when we can not understand what God is thinking and need to obey interesting commands, but I think God wants to teach us how to look at situations from his point of view. So I challenge you to ask God to reveal to you what you need to see in the hard situations in your life or with the sins you struggle with. What he reveals to you will change your life if you accept it as truth and help free you from things you are a slave to. Trust God's wisdom in your life!

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36

For who has know the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor. 2:16

Rock on for Christ,
amber

Big Number 1

2007-04-11T06:27:00.000-06:00

I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compssion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will aknowledge the Lord.
Hoea 2:19-20

In the book of Hosea you'll find two love stories, one between God and Israel and the other between Hosea and Gomer. In the beginning of this book God tells Hosea to marry an adulterous woman (1:2) because the land of Israel was doing terrible things and was turning away from God (1:3). The two love stories are closely related. If you continue to read this book you'll find out how much Hosea loved his wife, and yet, she turned away from him and concentrated on other men. Why did she do this when Hosea truly loved her? Why is it that when God loves us so much, we make other things more important? It's pretty easy to rationalize what we do and it's very easy to say, "I'll do it tomorrow". There are days when I look at my bible and say to myself, "I'm too tired". Although I sometimes forget Him, leave Him 'till tomorrow and say I don't have time, God loves me and He loves you. He loves us 'cause we're His, not because we do our devotions, but that doen't mean we should forget. Talking, listening and reading the bible are important way to get closer with God. Put God first in your life, in your thoughts, actions and everything else. Don't make petty idols, really, however much you love your TV it's never going to love you the way God does. God's love is forever, He won't ever stop pusuing you, so turn off that TV or whatever else is keeping you from Him.

God bless you and Have a wonderful spring day,
Tasha

Society and Easter...

2007-04-05T16:35:00.000-06:00

Well this weekend has to be one of my favorite ones because it is Easter; The day we got our lives back... It is a really cool to think about the meaning of Easter and this year I have really done that and am still doing that. I had an interesting conversation with people in my class this week, they were trying to figure out why we had Easter? So myself and another friend tried to explain it to them, which got me thinking, Why doesn't Society believe in Christ? Ya, the whole thought of this dude being hung on a cross and who came back to life 3 days later is kinda off the wall. I would admit that if I didn't know of the other incredible things he has done, and can do I would probably doubt it as well. But it is Faith that makes me trust. I wouldn't want to trust in anything else. I have seen God work incredible miracles in my life. It is awesome to know that we have such a powerful and amazing God, who loves us!

"And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."
Matthew 10:30

That is an absolutely amazing verse.. just think how much he must love us to know the number of hairs on our head... I challenge you all to just think about what Easter means to you.

Holding on to Him,
Cassandra

Beer-Lahoi Roi

2007-03-30T10:15:00.000-06:00

Context: Genesis 16:1-16

"You shall name him Isamel, for the Lord has heard of your misery." Gen 16:11b

I just love the story of Hagar because of the name she gives to God after he sends an angel to comfort her. Hagar is Sarai's (of Sarai and Abram) servent and runs away when Sarai begins to mistreat her. The situation is quite complex as you will understand when you read Genesis 16. So Hagar runs away to the desert and sits by a well, miserable and alone.

An angel of God finds her there and reveals to her three important things
1) That she needs to go back to Sarai despite the mistreatment. I find it amazing that God does not allow Hagar to run away from her problem or duty as a servant. God expects us to do the right thing even when it is hard. (Genesis 16:9)

2) God tells Hagar that he will bless her through her son that she is pregnant with. God blesses us when we are obedient, even though obedience can seem costly and painful. (Genesis 16:10)

James 1:25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.

3) God reveals to Hagar that he has heard her and knows the details of her past, present and future. (Genesis 16:9-12) God knows Hagars situation and has heard her cries of misery. More than that, he cares enough to send an angel to comfort her.

Because of this Hagar names the well she was sitting by Beer-Lahoi Roi, meaning Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.

God saw Hagar. God sees you! This is so encouraging to me when I am going through a hard time or facing a difficult problem. He knows and cares about everything going on. He knows what we need to do to make difficult situations right. Go to him and ask him to reveal what you need to do to him and He will guide you the right way and give you strength to obey.

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. James 5:13

Following the God who sees me,
amber

To Be Healed

2007-03-16T08:37:00.000-06:00

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16

No one can forgive you your sins but Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12), but this verse does not say we need to confess our sins to each other to be forgiven, but to be healed. Sometimes there can be a lot of pain left over from past sins or even things that people have done to hurt us. You should not need to try to hide these things from everyone, we need to open up to other believers made righteous in Jesus so they can pray for us.

I am writing this because it is what I am trying to do right now. Usually I'd rather ignore my problem and focus on helping others. God is showing me it is important to talk to others about my struggles or I can not be fully healed from them.

You don't need to tell everyone your deepest secrets. God tells us to watch our tongue (Proverbs 21:23) and to be cautious in friendship (Prov. 13:26, Prov 11:13). Find a righteous, trustworthy person to confide in, and if you don't have anyone like that in your life, ask God to bring someone into your life and if this is what you really need, God will provide it for you.

If we all hide our weaknesses, we only hurt each other because it makes everyone feel like they are the only one with a weakness. I've talked to so many people in emotional pain or who keep making the same mistakes and I'm one of them. You are not alone if this is you and there is Hope if this is you. Wow, I've overcome so much with Jesus Christ and I know he will help you with whatever you are dealing with, but be willing to get healing the way God says we need to heal. He knows the right way and part of it is talking to another faithful believer in Jesus about what you are going through.

God tells us to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice (Rom. 12:15) Do this with others and allow them to do it with you. We are brothers and sisters and need to stick together through the times that rock your socks off and the times that are hard.

God be with you!
amber

Find a Twinkle for Your Eye

2007-03-14T22:41:00.000-06:00

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And let us rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but let us rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance; perserverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. ~ Romans 5:1-5

There is a lot said in this verse. Originally, I went into the back of my bible to find reference for a verse about hope and this verse definitly talks about that, but it talks about more things too, like character, faith and love. Today I had had a rather bad day, not so bad that I was suffering or anything, but bad enough and God cared. I really love it when things happen and I least expect them, it's like when I read a really good novel and end up reading 'till 3 in the morning. When God lets things jump into my day and I learn so many things and make so many connections, it's amazing. It's one of the many things that helps me keep on keeping on. I really like the last line of the excerpt above, "hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts." Doesn't this make you picture a big golden pitcher of pink and red hearts being poured out of the sky and landing on/in people everywhere? It's such a lovely thought. Sometimes it's easy to forget about those magical heart sparkles on top. DON"T! Some days can be really tough but on those days we can still find a twinkle in our eyes if we remember that this day isn't for nothing. Don't forget that God is with you all the time, there's hope yet. God Bless you and have a great day. I'm sorry this post is late, the clock just struck twelve.

Let Him give you Strength!

2007-03-08T16:14:00.000-06:00

My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the

strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26

This post is going to be short and sweet. I am going to share some thoughts I have on this verse. This past week has been extremely busy! I am one of the lead characters in my school's musical and we have rehearsed non-stop all week. (like 330-9 Monday and Tuesday and 330-5 Wednesday) than today we preformed twice, tomorrow we also preform twice and once on Friday and Saturday. This is an intense schedule. I am human, This amount of acting would not be possible unless God gave me strength. This verse says God is going to give us strength in our hearts, even at our weakest of moments. I challenge you all to let God be your strength and your portion this week. It is easier said than done, but when you do, God will give you incredible amounts of strength.

Holding on to Him,

Cassandra

Apart from him, we can do nothing

2007-03-07T09:55:00.001-06:00

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

This past week at camp has been an interesting one. It seems like anything that we want to work doesn't, vehicles, snowblowers, tractors etc. This has been very testing and annoying as we have a lot of snow that we need to clear. As Derek and I were trying to start a push behind snowblower, Derek said something, OK GOD what are you trying to teach me?
On Sunday I heard a fantastic sermon from John 15. This is the passage about the vine and the branches. There are so many illustrations that can be drawn from this but the one that struck me the most, is that apart from him we can do nothing. A vine apart from the root, is just dead and useless. It can't do anything. It may think it has more freedom, more opportunities, but with out that root, it loses it's life.
Some of you have a problem and your first instinct is to pray, for others it's about 5th down on the list. Lately with these mechanical issues, for us it seems like praying is about 35th down on the list. Is this the lesson God is teaching us, probably, but there could be more. With God and with prayer, maybe these things will work, we'll see.
Last week I saw a football movie called "Facing the Giants", Derek and Tracy rented it, they lent it to us to watch. Derek absolutely loved this movie. Much like any Christian movie, the acting was straight out of a high school production. The script wasn't much better. To say the movie was predictable was an understatement. The team was falling apart and losing, they believed in God and they ended up winning. Now, we all know that doesn't work all the time, what if bolth teams prayed to win? who would lose.
To me this movie was a little unbelievable, but what right do I have to say that God can't do something like this. What right do I have to put God in a box. What right do I have to say that God, who created the heavens and the earth, can't give me everything. I have no right. The only thing I have is to be realistic and know that God can doing anything with me and through me.

amen

Trevor

2007-03-02T13:43:00.000-06:00

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 1 Cor. 1:17

I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's power, but on God's power. 1 Cor 2: 1-5

Sometimes we can fear sharing our beliefs about Jesus with people because we don't think we are eloquent speakers or can't defend our statements with clever, philosophical, or scientific arguments. It can be fantastic to have this type of knowledge and God has given us the ability to do so and use it to teach others about him, but we don't want people to rest their faith on our clever arguments. We want them to have faith in God's power. People come to know God through his power, not our own.

This Tuesday I'm going to be sharing my faith and part of my journey with God with some people at school at an evening event. I'm feeling pretty terrified at this point in time and would love if you would pray for this. But I think that is OK. The disciples said they shared their message with fear and trembling! I think the key is to do your part, share, then have faith in God to do his part in changing people and drawing people to him.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire but you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever! Psalm 73:23-26

Rock on for Christ and Trust God,
amber

Prayer

2007-02-28T07:11:00.000-06:00

"Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, 'Father, I thank You that You have heard me.'" John 11:41

"Pray without ceasing..." 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Prayer is very important. It is one of the ways that we can communicate with God. There is no specific where or when you're supposed to pray, God is always there to listen. You don't need to pray only at church or at the specific time of before you go to bed. These are good times to pray, but every time is a good time to pray! You could pray while you're walking, swimming or driving a car (just don't close your eyes!). There also is a time to go alone to a quiet place to pray, like Jesus when He prayed before Judas betrayed Him. If anything, don't make prayer an exercise or a daily ritual, prayer should be like breathing or having your heart beating. Offering up anything and everything to God. When someone sends me a card, or note I always (almost) feel like telling them thank you and continuing chatting about lots of other things. That's one of the ways relationships grow, by communication. Could you imagine for a moment that you're mute, that nothing comes out of your mouth but silence. Besides using sign language, you'd never be able to talk about things that make you happy, your thoughts, your problems or feelings. Talking about things really helps sort things out and God wants to hear about all those things so don't pretend to be mute. He's always listening, the whole world is practically His ear. Many people have talked to God, so can you. In the Bible there are people who pray for guidance, blessing, thanksgiving, other people, confession, forgiveness and so much more. We can tell Him all this and He will answer us. He doesn't always answer us in the way we want but His answers are always perfect. Throughout all this talking, asking, explaining, listening and answering you learn more about your Heavenly Father and He gets to share the experience. Definitly something you don't want to skip out on.

Helping others

2007-02-27T16:56:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine has a fridge magnet which always seems to catch my eye as I walk through his kitchen. “World Vision is a Christian non-profit humanitarian organization seeking to do good in a world of hurt through acts of compassion”. I’m going from memory here, but it’s something to that effect. I always have this nagging question go through my mind, why is it a “Christian” humanitarian organization? To me that just seems to be repeating itself a little bit.

In order to understand why, we all have to ask “why help others in need”? What is so special about humans that we should care for each other? As a matter of fact, why should we care about the environment? Or the animals? What makes it all so special that we need to take care of it all anyway? It never stops amazing me when I here people who blatantly hate God, or at least the God of the bible, and at the same time keep pushing for humanitarian goals, or conservation goals. Here is why. Only in the book of genesis, chapters 1 and 2, do we have a reason to help and be good to the environment. There is simply no other belief system in the world which has the type of foundation which can hold those philosophies up so they don’t come crashing down. To those who believe in some form of evolution, people are nothing more than a chemical accident; people don’t have any value. Those who believe in “mother nature” really don’t have any reason to help after the Tsunami hit last year; in that example the animals sensed something was wrong and went to safer ground ahead of time, they did better than the humans as mother nature desired. God tells us we were created in His image (Gen 1:27). The earth is His and all it’s fullness (Ps 89:11). He created it all with a purpose in mind. As such, He commands us to take care of what He gave us, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. To a Christian, humanitarian efforts make sense! To anyone else, they are either senseless or self contradictory.

Now do you understand why a Christian humanitarian is saying the same thing twice? Just a little food for thought.

Thursday's blog. (aka i can't think of a name)

2007-02-24T14:00:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I'm late, not because I forgot to post, I tried, but well, the internet at school blocks blogger and I couldnt access wireless at the mcdonalds that I am currentl typing at right now. so if we can all just pretend for a second that I actually posted this 2 days ago, I would be extremely happy :D im sure theres a lesson for me to learn in all of this as well, I just don't know it yet.

So I have a story for you. I was driving along between morden and steinbach on wednsday, trying to get back to the school, and as I got closer morris, it got more and more difficult to see where I was driving. at one point the only thing I could see was the yellow lines that were almost beside my car. So as I was driving eventually came across a truck driving ahead of me, and i remembered something a wise man (my father) once said to me. "If your ever stuck in a storm while driving and you find a semi, follow it because it can see over the storm where you in your itsybitsy car cannot". well follow that truck i did, and I got back to steinbach safely.

As I was following the truck mentioned previously, i realized something, if thats true for a semi in a storm, its definately true for God with life. I couldn't see ten feet in front of my face while driving in that snowstorm, but the truck driver could. I (obviously) don't know my future, but God does. He knows whats ahead for everyone. So if it was a bright idea for me to follow the semi who could see in the storm, how much smarter is it for me to follow God who can see whats best for me in life?

An offering to God

2007-02-21T11:11:00.000-06:00

"and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Genesis 22:18

To say that we don't understand God would be a huge understatement. He has a purpose and a plan behind everything he does. It had taken Abraham and Sarah so long to have a child, in fact Abraham was 100 years old. Finally Isaac was born. Some time later God had a test for Abraham. God told Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice. The whole process took three days. Not once did he tell his son what was going on. In fact Isaac asked where the lamb was for the offering, Abraham replied saying that God would provide it. Little did he know that Isaac was the lamb.
They reached there destination, and Abraham and Isaac continued on with out the servants. Abraham made the altar and took all the steps for a normal offering. At this point he tied up Isaac. Now there is no description of what Isaac said or did, but there must to have been fear. Abraham placed Isaac on the altar, took out his knife and was ready to sacrifice his son. Only at the last possible second did God tell him to not harm the boy.
God knew that he feared (respect) him. Nothing was going to get in the way of serving God. Because of Abraham's respect God blessed him. Read for yourself the blessing that an angel of the Lord gave him in Genesis 22:15-18.

Do we have this kind of faith? What are we willing to give up to gain God's blessing. Everything that we have on this earth is not ours. It all belongs to God. Electronics, money, friends, family etc. At any point he could ask for you to give him an offering, are you going to acknowledge obey and be blessed. Or will you ignore and............................

If you follow and obey he will bless you. If you allow nothing to get in the way of serving God, he will bless you.

Trevor

Jesus Weeps With You

2007-02-16T09:50:00.000-06:00

Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. Isaiah 31:13

Is anyone out there hurting today? Is the pain agonizing or have you gone numb to avoid it? Has anyone lost someone to death, feel alone, tired of struggling with the same problem over and over again? Yesterday I mourned with a family so dear to me at the funeral of their father. Where is Jesus when this is happening? The pastor at the funeral shared the story of Lazarus to show us the heart of Jesus in these times.

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" John 11:32-37

Jesus knew the end of the story, just like we know the end of the story for those who follow Jesus in this life. We can boldly proclaim "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:565-57) We know that those we lose in Christ are in heaven and we will be with them one day. We know that our present struggles will be gone when Christ comes back to take us to live with him. We have hope.

Mary also knew full well that there was life after death for her brother. She said "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." (John 11:24) Yet, she wept.

Jesus knew that Lazarus wouldn't just rise on the last day - He was going to rise TODAY! Yet, Jesus does not skip about as he sees everyone mourning for Lazarus, He feels their pain, and was "deeply moved in spirit and troubled" (John 11:33) Jesus wept with the family. He knew Lazarus would be up and moving in a couple of moments, but he always cares when he sees people in pain. He cares about your pain. He reminds you that it will not be forever to encourage you, but while you are going through the trial, I am sure that Jesus will weep with you as he did with Mary. That is what I usually want when I'm suffering, someone to be willing to be with me through it and Jesus promise to be with us always is still true when we are in agony. Take the chance and trust him. Jesus understands pain and knows how to comfort the hurting:

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-5

Resting in his arms,
amber

You've been called!

2007-02-15T10:27:00.000-06:00

I'm guessing that most people know who Bono is??
Am I right?? Wrap around sunglasses, fancy shoes, Irish accent, and a passion for to end world poverty.
Okay, honestly, when you look at a guy like Bono, who do you see??
The world's most famous rockstar??
The guy who dropped the F-bomb on live television at the Golden Globe awards??
But really, I'm sure that if you met the guy in person, you would see that he's made up of the same stuff that we are...
Just recently I was reading a book on the spiritual journey of U2.
There was one thing that really caught my eye, and it was about prayer.
Now, I guess it would be needless to say that Bono has offended quite a few peoplein the past, especially the church... but this comment he made about prayer really rocked people back on their heels!
"Get off your knee's! Stop praying!"
At first glance that looks extremely wrong hey?
But Bono wasn't saying to stop communicating with God, he was saying to stop continually asking God what you should do with your life!
I'm going to give you a scenario...

"Millions of people are dying in a certain country in the world, to famine and disease. While millions of people live in another certain country, running in the rat race... trying to "get ahead" in the world by making money, and storing up treasures on earth."

I hope this scenario sounds familiar to you guys, because it's happening right now, in our world.
It's easy to turn a blind eye to Africa, or Haiti, or any other country in desperate need, and it's easy to say, "Well, there's other people who can take care of that", or it's even easy to say, "Well, God can take care of that".
That last statement is the best hey??
"God's in control, I believe that He'll take care of the situation and make everything better."

What can I say?? It must make God cry when He see's us in Canada living in the land of the plentiful, complaining about being hungry after 4 hours without food, while thousands of people die in Africa everyday, due to a lack of food in their stomachs.

God has called us, to be there for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow.
He has called us, to love our neighbors as ourselves.
He has called us, to go into the world and make disciples of all nations.
He has called us, to proclaim His name unto the four corners of the world.

Do we really need to ask God what we should be doing?
I'm pretty sure we know what's the right thing to do...
My question for you is are you doing what God has called you to do?

¢

Have a Lovely Valentines Day!

2007-02-14T09:48:00.000-06:00

I really shouldn't be writing this. I've never had a boyfriend or any kind of lover like that, so I really find it hard to relate when that topic comes up. Although, I do have a different kind of lover and His love is the best, it's amazing! Whenever I think of Him I can't help but smile and feel wonderful, that's love, isn't it? Even when I have a really horrible day and I do everything absolutely wrong, He's always right beside me. If I feel invisible to the world, there's always One who can see me exactly as I am. Isn't Christ amazing? In Psalm 94:18 it says:

"When I said, "My foot is slipping",
Your love, O Lord, supported me."

Isn't that incredible?! He's always there for you. There's this show called Smallville that I used to watch (maybe too much) and it stars a boy named Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman. Clark Kent is best friends with this other guy who we'll pretend is named Tom. Tom and Clark are super tight, they've been best friends forever. Now that Clark has gotten older and started to defend the world from evil, Tom is burdened with the secret that Clark is Superman (and Clark at the same time). After protecting Clark a million times from people who want to expose Clark as Superman, use him as a lab rat or possibly kill him, Tom gets a little stressed and moves really far away. If I was Tom I don't know how long I could hang in there either, but there is someone who does. God. In Psalm 106 it repeatedly says, "His love endures forever". He means forever. His love isn't something that leaves when life gets tough, it keeps going. In 1 Corinthians 13 there is a very detailed description of love. It's actually called the love chapter in the bible. You should read the whole thing but I'm only going to post a bit.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

and then..

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

After reading this, think about John 3:16.

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It says that "God so loved the world". Right now, you're a part of the world and God loves you so much. He loves you so much that His Son, who was perfect, died so that you and God could have a relationship of incredible love. His love is Amazing! This Valentines day, please remember has special you are and how much God loves you. Think about where you're putting your heart. Thx. :D

My Gift by Christina Rossetti

What can I give Him
Poor as I am;
If I were a shepherd,
I would give Him a lamb.
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part.
But what can I give Him?
I will give my heart.

Happy Valentines Day!

Hard Times

2007-02-07T10:26:00.000-06:00

“If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?”

1 peter 4:18

¹peter 4:12-19 give us a clear understanding of what will happen to us as Christians. We all know what will happen. Everyone who stands up for anything in this world will face persecution, whether it’s Christianity or the Toronto Maple Leafs. Regardless of what you stand behind. The aspect of suffering that we often forget about is found in verse 18. If us as Christians are just barley saved. What happens to those who don’t believe? You think it’s tough for us right now, try an eternity in the smoking section.

The path for the non-Christian can be compared to an interstate. No bumps, no turns, no valleys, no potholes. But were does that path lead. Sure the journey has its good times, if you can remember them, but that path leads nowhere.

However the path for righteous is like driving down highway 32 in Winkler on a Sunday at around lunchtime. It’s hard to get on, it’s not fun on it and you are looking for the first opportunity to get off. That path for us is tough and if you’re new to it, you may be ready to throw in the towel. But please know this, whatever hardships, pain, heartaches, and hurts you have, you have a savior that has been there. Everything you’ve been through he’s seen it ten time worse. We were sinners and he still died for us.

He died for you, he loves you, he is the only way to heaven. He will never leave you or forsake you.

There is a purpose and a reason for everything he does.

Trevor

Give it All!

2007-02-06T11:06:00.000-06:00

"Cast all your anxiety on him
because he cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7

Can words keep a person going? My answer is most defintly! I found this verse awhile ago when one of my friends recommend reading 1 Peter. 1 Peter has to be one of my favorite books in the bible Peter gives us loads of advice on how to deal with the tough stuff; everything from suffering to relationships.

Most of us all have some crap going on in our lifes, it mights be parents splitting up to fighting with your friends. Sometimes life even gets crazy with after school events and chruch events. I know for me, when this happens, I need something to hold on to, something to be able to fall on to, something that remains the same.

Awhile ago, my parents split up and everything was changing. I am not one to handle change very well, like many and was really battling with Satan, the reason it was so tough was that I wasnt giving it ALL to Christ, I was holding on to it. I recieved a card from one of my friends with the verse I included at the top of the page. Read that verse carefully... It says ALL, not just some, but all of your anxieties on him. Is there anything today you are nervous or worried about? Maybe a big change in life or something even as small as a test at school, No matter how big or how small, God wants us to give it to him, Because He cares for us! Our God never changes unlike everything around us.

" In this world of chao's and changes, He will always be the same. God is faithful and never changing. You can always count on him"

Holding on to Him,

Cassandra

Where Are You Fixing Your Eyes?

2007-02-04T10:32:00.000-06:00

I personally enjoy visiting the optometrist. There's one machine where there are different lenses, and then you have to choose which ones make the words clearest. I find it amazing was how clear or blurry the words become just from switching lenses. The words are suddenly in focus and very easy to read. Interestingly, I hadn't really realized that the words were out of focus until the optometrist flips through the lenses.

Colossians 3:1-2 (The Message)
'So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going around Christ - that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.'

Sometimes I thing that is how we live life every day...not quite in focus. Or perhaps we focus on the wrong things. At times, we can be so shortsighted that we miss what is all around us. What are you focusing on? I have found that I tend to head toward what I am focusing on.
Jesus visited His disciples one time by walking on the water. Peter thought that was pretty cool, so he asked Jesus if he could do it too. Jesus said, "Come on, Peter." Peter stepped out of the boat (which must have taken a lot of courage!) and walked toward Jesus. He was doing fine until he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the stormy sea and the wind. When Peter's focus changed, he began to sink.

What are you focusing on? Getting through a challenge? Then you might have to take your eyes off of the wind and waves and focus on what God has done for you. He has seen you through all sorts of tough times. He will see you through this one too! Don't focus on the storm: Focus on God and His promises for you!!

Read Hebrews 12:1-3! Where are you fixing your eyes?

A great book to read that talks about Peter walking on water and deals with overcoming fears is "If you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat" by John Ortberg.

God Bless,

Janine

Glimpse of Heaven

2007-02-02T08:20:00.000-06:00

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1

Have you ever had your body flip out on you and you suddenly started crying for no apparent emotional reason? This happened to me a lot while I was at Urbana, a huge student mission conference, over Christmas break. I've discovered that this is how the Holy Spirit likes to manifest itself in me. At Urbana God totally rocked my socks off and I wanted to share the most awesome thing he showed me while I was there. I prayed a lot that I would not miss the reason God provided for me to go to Urbana. During one of these prayers God led me to Exodus 24:16:

For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.

Notice that Moses sat on the mountain for six days before the Lord spoke to him. I took this to mean God would speak to me on the last day of Urbana, and he did on the bus ride home in the middle of the night! All week God did encourage me and speak to me, but on that bus ride he revealed the main reason he wanted me at Urbana.

I woke up at night, or had been awake, I'm not sure you can call the dozing you do on buses real sleep. I got out some music to listen to and tried not to move as I was squished between two boys in the back row where there are three seats. Suddenly I felt this incredible contracting in my chest, right above my heart, like my soul was being filled with the Holy Spirit, yet it couldn't contain it and it kept overflowing. Suddenly I had tears going down my face and flashes of the Native American dancer who danced unto Jesus at the conference. I just kept thinking how beautiful it was . . . How beautiful that God could use every culture to praise him so uniquely, yet together with everyone else.

At Urbana we sang praises in several languages and saw Native American, Hawaiian, Hip Hop, rap, spoken word and contemporary dancing all being used to glorify Jesus. People from all over the world are serving him! I got to stand next to a French speaking African and a guy from Bangladesh and attempt to sing in Chinese together, it was incredible. Over 130 nations were represented at Urbana; over 22 00o students seeking God together.

I had been prayer to God to show me his power. I wanted to see it so badly and I thought it would come in the form of some miraculous physical healing, but God showed me his power in a far more profound way in the unity he showed me among all these different cultures. There were even two Asian groups of students whose cultures detest each other that reconciled during the conference. That's a miracle. Enemies joining together in love to serve Jesus. I long for that in Canada -true unity among different denominations, the French speaking, English speaking, and Native Americans; not just tolerance. God wants more than that for us.

As I thought about the beauty of this unity and God's people praising him in so many different ways, with my soul still being filled up with the Holy Spirit, and tears going down my face, God revealed to me why he brought me to Urbana. He wanted to give me this vision and experience worshiping with many other nations, this was my Glimpse of Heaven. It makes me long for heaven all the more and makes me even more excited about it!

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." Revelation 7:9-10

I can't wait to worship in unity with all my brothers and sisters from around the world. Jesus can begin to bring this unity now to earth if you let him control your life. Take a risk and get to know someone from another culture, befriend your enemy, get involved in others lives and seek peace between races, social classes, age, and popularity status and especially among Christians who are arguing.

I believe this would rock Jesus' socks off as he spent part of his last evening prayer for unity among believers:

"My prayer is not for them [disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me [YOU], through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Rev. 17:20-21

Breath Peace in Jesus Name,
amber

Merry... errrr....Boxing day?

2006-12-26T20:16:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas! I hope this finds you all healthy and in good spirits during this holiday season. Please share a thought or two with me about the message the angels gave the shepherds during the season of Christ’s birth…

And the angel said to them, Do not fear. For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger (Luke 2:10-12).

I find this interesting. The angels, in bringing news of the birth of mankind’s only savior, declared the proof of their message. The Christ was to be found wrapped in strips of material and laying in a hollowed out stone feeding trough. He was found exactly as foretold.

Fast forward approximately thirty years later. The angels had a very similar message.

And the angel answered and said to the women, Do not fear, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay (Matthew 28:5-6).

The sign that Christ was exactly who He said He was, was an empty tomb which contained the remains of some white linen which had been used as burial cloth. His life ended almost as it began, in a hollowed out stone, with angels declaring “go see where He lay”.

Jesus was born and found in a stone feeding trough, in a place called Bethlehem which means the house of bread in the Hebrew language. In His life He taught He was the bread of life, and anyone who fed from Him would never hunger and never die. In His death, He died to make a way so we would not have to, paying the price of our individual sin which alienates us from God both in this life and in the life to come. To show He accomplished the task He was born to fulfill, we can still see the empty stone tomb, empty because He has the power of life.

At Christmas we focus on the arrival of Jesus. From before the time He was born there were hints as to why he came. At the time of His birth, we see a circular story begin. In Hollywood we watch circular movies, movies which end where they began. It is only a shadow of the original circular story. This is the complete Christmas story I pray no one forgets.

God bless you all during these holidays.
Arron.

HE'S CALLING YOU!

2006-12-15T15:45:00.000-06:00

Reading through various passages from Hosea and Jeremiah, I am struck by three things about who God is and what he wants from his people.

Number 1 - God hates sin. He is very angry when he sees rebellion, injustice, disbelief, idol worship, deceit, etc.

"Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land; 'There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away." Hosea 4:1-3a

God continually mentions how his people are falling away from him by seeking after things other than God to satisfy themselves.

"Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord." Hosea 5:4

Number 2 - God's love, compassion, and and heart gripping longing for his people to come back to him is greater than we could ever imagine or understand. Despite all the sin and corruption in this world, God wants nothing more than for his people to return to him and follow him. He continually calls for us to come back to him.

"I myself said, 'How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.' I though you would call me, 'FATHER' and not turn away from following me." Jeremiah 3:19

"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me." Hosea 11:1-2b

"How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man- the Holy One among you, I will not come in wrath." Hosea 11:8-9 (Admah and Zeboliim were cities that were demolished with Sodom and Gomorrah - Genesis 14:8, Deut. 29:23)

God has reached out to us in the most ultimate way by sending Jesus Christ to the earth to spend time with people, heal and teach them, and die for all of us so that God can forgive our sins. He has given the most amazing, sacrificial gift he could in an attempt to draw people to him.

"And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." - Jesus (John 6:39-40)

"But when I am lifted up form the earth, will draw all men to myself." - Jesus (John 12:32)

Number 3 - No matter what you have done in your life, God wants you to come back to him with full heatedly run away from the sin that was enslaving us. He will receive you, help you change, bless you and give you abundant life! Don't just come back in pretense, give Jesus your whole life. (Check out all of Jer. 3 for more on this)

"Have you not just called to me; 'My father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?' This is how you talk but you do all the evil you can." Jer. 3:4-5

"For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings" Hosea 6:6

"Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unploughed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you." Hosea 10:12

God rocks! I really encourage you all to read through all of Hosea and Jeremiah in the near future to get the full stories to really understand the incredible love God showed Israel in the past and now extends to you! God is calling you!

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelations 3:20

Rock on for Christ,
amber

Which came first?

2006-12-11T17:45:00.000-06:00

I wanted to explain why evolution and God can never be married together in any way by those who trust the bible as God’s word. Evolution assumes that death, disease, and mutation can little by little cause changes in the genetic codes found in all living creatures. If enough time passes by, these changes are supposed to add up to big changes, and the result is that a gecko becomes a geek, a rhino becomes a rock star, a turtle becomes a teacher, and chemical goo becomes you…or something like that anyway. I’m sure you get the point. Let me encourage you there is NO evidence for this kind of bad science, but let’s save that for another time.

As a bible trusting Christian, the problem becomes real big, real fast, if we try to marry “in the beginning God…” with “in the beginning goo…” The problem is death. Romans 5:12 says;

“Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin…”

Before Adam sinned, there was no such a thing as death in the world! Evolution depends on millions of years of death, disease, and mutation to be true. Evolution teaches death first, then sin. The bible teaches sin first, and death is the punishment for sin. See the contradiction? There is no way to explain this away because the bible is so clear in what it teaches. There are many evolutionists who see this and laugh at us when Christians try to compromise by marrying the two.

Why is this so important? If we try to mix these two teachings together, we can’t understand sin properly. Sin then is no longer complete failure to keep God’s commandments. If we change the meaning of sin, then we also have to change the meaning of the death of Jesus to pay for our sin. That is where we end up if we compromise what God clearly says in the bible. Jesus is our everything.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…” (Gen 1:1)

“And, ‘You, Lord [Jesus], have laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the works of Your hands.’” (Heb 1:10)

Grace and peace’
Arron

humility & love

2006-12-07T12:42:00.000-06:00

James 4:7 - So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee for you.

This verse hit me like a kick in the butt the other day. I discovered a couple things with this kick in the butt. First I’m actually learning something in college ...shocker, I know. Second that some of the simplest questions have the most difficult answers.

My question," what does submission really mean?"
" Well come on Shannon, that’s easy, it means to submit to someone, duh."
"But why?"
"...You ask to many questions".

So I thought about it, and this is what I came up with:

I did a word study a couple weeks ago on the word submit, and of the 41 times that a variation of that word shows up in the new testament more that 22 of these refer to being humble or obedient to your God.

Submission is an interesting idea. There’s a fine line between a lot of things in life, and humble submission and legalism is one of them. Think about it for a second. I am angry. In fact I want to swear my face off. What do I do? Option #1, I don’t swear because I know I"m not supposed to . So we’‘re in a small predicament. My mind is now saying, "if I don’t, I’m being fake, I’m not swearing because I know I shouldn’t, not because I don’t want to." Option # 2, I do swear my head off. By doing this I am sinning, and quite possibly making a total fool of myself while doing so, but I’m being "real". So where’s the middle? The happy medium? Humility is the happy medium. James 4:7 states this; " So humble yourselves before God." Humility is introduced. Submission is a form of humility. Un-forced humility is an expression of love. That is the answer to the balance. When you humble yourself before God...as in realize that you are deciding not to sin (or in this case, swear) because you love God, not because you feel you have to, it is considered submission, and it is also resistance to sin, which brings us to the end of James 4:7 "resist the devil (sin) and he will flee from you".

Romans 8:38-29

2006-12-04T13:02:00.000-06:00

I just want to encourage you all today, with this verse:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor death, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Romans 8: 38-39

This, I think, is my most favourite verse. It says that nothing, NOTHING, can happen to make God not love us anymore. Isn't that awesome? We all sin, but God will forgive us when we ask. No matter what we do, God will still love us! In fact, he sent his son Jesus to die for us so that we can have a relationship with him. If others make fun of you, it has no effect on how much God loves you.

So remember, the next time you feel sad, the next time soneone has made fun of you, the next time you feel like you've done something so horrible, God loves you and will continue to love you. He will love you through it ALL. And that is the greatest encourgament there is.

Walking in faith,

Kyla

Spend Yourself

2006-12-01T11:49:00.000-06:00

Who is this robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." . . . For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. -God, Isaiah 63:1b-2, 4-5

There is a lot of injustice in this world. There is a lot of pain and suffering and maltreatment of individuals who are often judged as not worthy of help or love. God loves justice (Isaiah 61:8) and wants us to pursue it and not be apathetic (not caring).

Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen; to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not turn away from your own flesh and blood . . . and if you spend yourself in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land . . . then you will find your joy in the Lord. Isaiah 59:6-7, 10-11b 14

God has put the homeless on my mind lately. Walking home from church the other day, I saw a man walking that I thought might be homeless. I thought about inviting him home for lunch, but this thought did not translate into any action. I ended up at home defrosting some hamburger and praying. I began thinking about what God would want me to do for this person and became scared of the risks it might involve. What if this person stole from me or hurt me? What if they had no place to sleep that night, I couldn't turn them out of my house into -30 weather, but what would my roommates think if a homeless man was sleeping in our living room? What if he never left and ended up living with us?! I have a a pretty fast thought train!

It was then that I realized that I didn't even know if this man I had seen was actually homeless and I was getting ahead of myself. I began thinking about possibly picking up the man and taking him out for lunch, but not to my home. I felt much more comfortable with this. I think part of that comfort was because it would not affect me as personally as bringing him into my home would. This prayer and thought experience really got me thinking about how willing I am to get personally involved in the struggle of others who are treated unjustly, looked down on by others, or are in pain. I was so concerned with what others would think of my action, like my roommates.

And the second [greatest command] is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:38

God asks us to treat others in the way we would want to be loved if we were in their situation. Other people might think it was weird of me to invite this homeless men to my house for lunch, but what would the hungry homeless man think? .What would the kid being pushed around in the halls think love would look like? What would the murdered children in other countries think love looks like? God is really pressing on my heart - How much are you, Amber, willing to suffer to love others and work with me in bringing justice to the world? Am I willing to spend myself on behalf of the hungry? Wow . . . It is something that I think we need to take time to seriously reflect on, and then act on! God promises to provide all our needs when we use what we have to help those is need. (Isaiah 58:11) I've personally experienced this again and again and again with financial and physical needs. God is asking more of me now, He doesn't just want to use my money to help others. He wants to use my life, my love, my time, my emotions, my strength and energy; He wants to use everything he gave me.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, BUT HAVE NOT LOVE, I gain NOTHING. 1 Cor. 13:3

Let's LOVE one another,
amber

Ummm, Surprise!

2006-11-30T07:46:00.000-06:00

Sometimes God just gives us an unexpected present hey? And it's always good, no matter how it appears.
Like, sometimes the surprise may be something like a very sudden reminder that a 10 page book report has to be done by tomorrow, or an unexpected bill to pay, or maybe even your car not starting because it's too stinkin' cold outside.
Now, think of some good surprises God has given you recently?
I got a very cool surprise the other day, ..., God blessed me with a letter from a camper.
It was basically just a note telling me how he was doing, but just the fact that he mailed that letter has basically rocked my socks off.
So, how do you deal with surprises??
Do you just say, "Oh, that's neat.", or are you jumping up and down screaming like a school girl shouting "Wow God that's awesome, thank you so much!"?
People will probably think you're weird for doing that.
Do you hide and forget what God gives you?
Or do you cherish them, and use His little surprises?
It is very easy to get stuck in the pattern of going through each day, facing joy and problems without ever realizing that God is probably wanting to use every situation to make us grow closer to Him.
Maybe try paying a little bit closer attention to each surprise you get, and you will probably catch a glimpse of God working in you!

¢

2006-11-27T18:52:00.000-06:00

Moses isn’t just a pen name…

Striving to give a reasoned defense for biblical faith, it can sometimes be easy to get lost in the arguments themselves and forget why we must all be prepared to give good reasons (1Peter 3:15) for the hope Jesus is and gives.

For the last couple of months I’ve been searching to see if there is evidence which points to Moses being the one who wrote the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) in response to a question I had e-mailed to me. I am so in over my head, but without a doubt the answer is absolutely yes! And there is more than I can keep up with. However, I also have to ask myself why this is so important, I mean, is this even a battle worth fighting?

We read in John’s gospel of one of many attempts to trap Jesus by the Pharisees. On this occasion Jesus confronts them with the reality of their misunderstanding and disobedience of their own scriptures. At this time the only scriptures they had were those of the Old Testament. Summing up his argument into a couple of phrases, Jesus told them “For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My Words?” (John 5:46-47). That explains clearly from the mouth of my Savior why it is so important to answer this question. The real question behind the question is this, “can we trust Jesus?” There are lots of people today who don’t trust Moses wrote, some of them are good Christian people who have been deceived. What we all must realize is that the bible has the First and final word on all things. Defending the bible then is not about arguing for my faith. Apologetics is about knowing my Savior, it’s about trusting my Savior, and it’s about loving my Savior with my mind as well as my heart soul and strength (Mk 12:30). The end result is helping others to know Him, also whenever they believe they have good reasons not to.

I am so thankful for God’s word. I pray you are as blessed as I am when you read it.

Grace and peace,
Arron

The Awakening

2006-11-23T13:16:00.000-06:00

WAKE UP!

Ephesians 5:14 "for it is light that makes everything visible, This is why it is said: "Wake up O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you". (NIV)

Ephesians 5:14 "Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep. Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light!" (MSG)

Fraud, fake, imposter, deceiver. Are these words something you’d want to be described as? No? Me neither, however I’ve been thinking about my life, what I’ve chosen to share with people, and what I’ve chosen to keep hidden. Sometimes the reasons for keeping things hidden are good, sometimes they’re just selfish. But in any case, there are times in my life, even now, that I could be called a fake, an actor, a deceiver.

Ephesians 5:14, describes me, when I am being fake, as spiritually unattractive, spiritually asleep, and if that’s not enough, spiritually dead.

When someone says to me, "spiritually unattractive", "spiritually asleep", or "spiritually dead" I immediately realize that this is not someone I want to model my spiritual life after. This person may be the girl going to church on Sunday’s, youth group of Friday’s and partying it up on Saturday’s. Or he may be the boy who, like the pharisee’s does things to prove to the world they are spiritual, or to look good in front of their church family. These are only a few of the scenario’s that could describe a person being fake.

But there’s hope! In fact the last two sentences describe it! If you are willing to "wake up" from your "spiritual sleep", or "climb out" of your "spiritual coffin" then Christ is willing to show you the light. He will help you turn from your "fake" ways and show you the light, his light.

You are what you....say

2006-11-22T07:42:00.000-06:00

James 3:9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.
10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
12 My brothers, can a fig-tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

A simple thought and a simple challenge for you today. The Bible tells us that what's in our hearts will overflow to what we say and do. Poeple see our words and can see our hearts-a bit scary huh? James reminds us that to take control of our tongue is an important thing. It does a pretty truthful job of telling us where our heart is at. When you are in a stressful situation, or are angry, or stoked, or any extreme, what do you say? Check yourself.
That aside, a simple challenge for you today. Our passage asks how we can speak both praise and cursing, both good and evil. Choose today, to speak "freshwater" words. Choose to encourage some people around you. Simple, right? Say nice stuff, and see what happens today.

Perfectly Flawed

2006-11-20T09:27:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder why we have flaws and weaknesses? Many times during the summer, and even now, I wondered why I wasn't strong enough, or why I wasn't as good at things, like sports or music, as others. I felt weak and because of that I felt like God couldn't use me. I was too flawed. Over the summer, I saw otherwise, and I realized that God used me because of my weaknessess and flaws. There are two reasons for this.

1. 2 Corinthians 12 tells a story of the Apostle Paul. God had given him a thorn, a weakness. The story tells that Paul pleaded with God three times to take it away, but, each time, God said no:

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." ... That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknessess, in insults, in hardships, in persuctions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

- 2 Corinthians 12: 8-9, 10

God's power is made perfect in our weakness. We don't have to be stong, because God will be strong through us. God wants us to rely on Him for our strength, which is what He means when He says, "My grace is sufficient for you." If we were without weaknessess and flaws, we would have no need for God's strength, as we would already be strong. We would have no need for God's grace.

We are weak because God wants us to rely on Him.

2. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says:

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him."

God gave us weaknessess to bring him glory. If I was able to do something miraculous on my own strength, and everyone would praise me because of my strength. This is not what God wants. He wants, and diserves, all the glory for Him. I am not able to do anything miraculous on my own strength. With God's strenght, I am. This way, God's strength is seen in me, and He is praised for His strength.

We have weaknessess and flaws to bring glory to God.

So, next time you feel too weak, or flawed, and feel like there is no way God can possibly use you, think again. You don't have to feel bad about it. Know that God can, and will, use you because you are weak.

Walking in faith,
Kyla

Bridges

2006-11-16T08:09:00.000-06:00

Crossing a bridge is an action which will normally help you get over something that isn't easy to go through... maybe bridge to go over a river or a canyon, or some sort of unpassable... thing.
Now think with me here for a bit... think of your problems as rivers and canyons and valleys of the sort.
Some of our problems seem pretty big hey?
Some are smaller, some we may not even see yet, but we expect them.
Each of us has rivers.
Each of us has canyons.
But another thing that each of us has, ..., is a bridge to cross each of them.
Can you remember that?
If you can remember what your bridge is, and have faith in that bridge, ..., you will have peace.
Peace is a very cool thing... An awesome place to be.
No worries, just fellowship with God, knowing He will take care of you.
So have this knowledge, ..., when you are facing a situation where there doesn't appear to be a bridge, there is one... You may have to get your feet wet in that river a little, but don't look down!

God gave us a bridge over sin when He sent His Son to die for us!
That bridge crosses everything we face today!

In You O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame.
Deliver me into righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline your ear and save me.
Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually,
You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
For You are my hope O Lord God;
You are my trust from my youth.
Ps. 71:1-5

¢

...

2006-11-14T17:38:00.000-06:00

Proverbs 8:36- “…all those that hate Me love death.”

When the holidays come up, I basically never find myself studying bible passages related to the holiday we’re celebrating. It’s not intentional; I’m just not one to follow the holidays in my devotional life. I’m guessing that is why Remembrance Day on Saturday must have stood out to me. We are all part of a generation which takes for granted the price the world paid some 60 years ago. My grandparents survived the war because it was Canada, many I believe who were from here in Manitoba, who liberated Holland. My mom’s side of the family were all born there. I exist today partly because of that. As I sat thinking about it, thinking about the newspapers reminding us to be thankful for the freedom we have, I found my self thankful for another reason. Please bear with me…

The best argument ever reasoned for the existence of God is called the moral argument. Without getting into the long winded explanation, let’s remember what happened in world war two. A nation, led by people who didn’t believe God existed, understood that left the door open for them to make whatever rules they wanted. If God doesn’t exist, than man has the last word on everything which needs to be named good or evil. They also believed that we evolved from monkeys. Believing this lie (there is no proof for evolution at all!), the Nazi leaders thought they would help evolution along by killing all those who hadn’t evolved as strong as themselves. Because they made themselves the judges of what is good and evil, they had the legal rights to do so, but just because something is legal, it doesn’t mean it is good. The rest of the story is actual history now. The places where the most evil acts occurred in the war are still around today so Europe will never forget. I visited Holland, and have seen some of their monuments with my own eyes. Only when you see them with your own eyes can you believe the size of the war cemeteries.

I’m trying to be gentle here; I’m not trying to shock anyone. Just because some believe evolution, or deny God exists, doesn’t make them murderers, but the fact is more people have been killed in the last 100 years because of the idea there is no God (atheism, and secular humanism), than in all the known religious wars of the last 2000 years!

So why am I thankful? First, because God is in complete control, He is holy. His love is Holy love, His mercy is perfect mercy, and His justice is perfect justice.

Secondly, when people mock my Christian values and try to develop all kinds of theories of how to run the world while mocking God’s laws, God has left us in the war the greatest evidence man could ever have that to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength”, and to “love your neighbor as yourself” aren’t such a bad idea after all (Mk 12:29-30).

If there are any comments or questions, I can be reached through carewinnipeg.com

In His holy love, grace and peace,
Arron

Un Viaggio Verso l'Alto

2006-11-13T11:54:00.000-06:00

Hey Brothers and Sisters!

I apologize in advance for the quasi-randomness of today's devo. I am thinking "out loud" and letting you in on it.

Take a look at Romans 5:1-5...

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace
in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character;
and character, hope.

And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
whom he has given us."

What a passage, eh? If you stick this verse inside your head for a few days I bet you'll be amazed at the things that God will show you about what it really means, specifically, in every day moments.

If God is trying to get your attention by something in the Bible, I would like to share with you(s) something I am trying that has helped me quite a bit. I am the kind of person who sometimes likes to be vague and inconcrete when God is telling me something uncomfortably specific. If you are a bit like me, writing out your answers for these questions should be useful. Give it a try sometime:

-What does this passage say to me?
-Where am I falling short?
-Give specific examples
-What am I going to do about it?

These are some truths I have re-learned recently:
-God is willng to give me mercy (not give me the punishment I deserve, see Exodus 20)
-He is also eager to give me grace (give me the gifts of salvation and blessings, John 3:16, Ephesians 1:3)
-Not only has he spared me, he has saved me and blessed me.
-God blesses me so much every day, and I am so thankful because I don't deserve it for a second.
-I have to say "YES!" to Christ when He directs me in the little uncomfortable details in life. If I say "No", I am rejecting God's gifts and not walking in the Spirit. (See Romans 10:2-4, Galatians 5:16-24, 6:1)
-I need and want to be a faithful, cheerful giver. God deserves everything I have and He is even willing to bless me for giving it back to Him. (See Malachi 3:10)

These are the kinds of things God shows me when I am not afraid of facing the truth when He speaks to me.

I have a friend named Thomas who started writing down the things that he thought and read during his morning devotions. That inspired me to do the same. So I have started "journaling" my devos, and it blows me away how often and how soon my prayers are fulfilled. Often I will pray for something but then instead of just praying it and moving on, I will write it down and look back later to remember what I prayed and how Jesus has answered it. It's funny how many prayers God answers when I don't even remember that I asked Him for it.

So, despite what seems to be a randomly organized blog entry, I hope I can challenge you with this:

-Read your Bible, open your heart and don't be afraid to accept exactly what God tells you.
-Pray, write it down, and be prepared for God to open your eyes.

Love in Christ,

Matt

the least of these

2006-11-08T08:40:00.000-06:00

Matthew 25 :31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

I havn't got anything too fancy for you today, just a word from the word. Jesus says that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for him. Jesus loved the broken, the hurt, the sick, the outkasts. Anybody and everyone. Who are we to do any differently? Jesus loves you, in all the ways you feel broken, hurt, sick, and rejected. He also loves you in the ways you are amazing and doing great. Look around you, it's not about your gear, how well you shoot a jump shot or play a guitar; how well you do in school or the money you make. It's about love and loving those around you, especially "the least of these."

James 1:27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

We've said it before and we'll say it again. Christianity isn't about a specific church. It's not about following rules or becoming a boring old guy with a sweater vest. It's about love. God's love for us, and our love for each other. Look for those around you today who need to see this love. You have the chance to show them why there is hope, and as you love the least of these, you are doing it for Christ.

Fish and Bread, a meal fit for a king!

2006-11-07T10:20:00.000-06:00

There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?

John 6: 8,9

Most people who read about the feeding of the 5,00 focus in on the miracle that Jesus performed. But there is so much more behind the story then we can think of.

Jesus approached Philip and asked him were they could buy bread to feed the 5,000. According to my notes there was 5,00 men, that was not even including women and children so there could have been upwards of 6,000 people.

When Jesus approached Philip he knew what he was doing he was just testing him. Philip replied that it would take a small fortune to feed these people and it probably would.

Jesus asked Philip were can we get food to feed these people and all Philip thought of was how he can get the food. Philip was overwhelmed. Jesus asked him because he was from the area, he expected a much different answer.

Andrew saw a young boy who had five barley loaves and two fish. Barley loaves were the poor mans bread. So even with there being that amount of bread it still was not the best kind of bread. I have to imagine the boy gave Jesus the bread but it’s not recorded in scripture.

This was a perfect chance for Jesus to flex his muscles so to speak, this was his chance to prove to everyone that he was the messiah.

Jesus split the bread up and the fish and all were feed, and there was even leftovers. When the people saw this miracle they knew that he was the prophet that they were expecting.

In this story you have the disciples and the young boy who had nothing. Who do you think Jesus had favour with? The boy who had little and gave little, or the disciples who had much and doubted the power of Jesus.

If we offer nothing to God he will have nothing to use but he can take what little we have and turn it into something amazing.

OUR GOD REIGNS!

2006-11-03T14:09:00.000-06:00

"The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb [Jesus]. Each one had a harp and they were holding bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. . . Then I looked and heard the voice of many angles, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and elders. In a loud voice they sang; "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdome and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Rev. 5:8b, 11-12

WHAT AN AWESOME SCENE!!!! No choir or parade I've ever seen comes close to the incredible picture I imagine when I consider the countless numbers of angels worshiping God together. This is the kind of treatment given to a GREAT AND GLORIOUS KING! Our God is the KING adn he rules the whole world. There is not one speck of dust that does not belong to him and isn't subject to his final command.

"The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad . . . the mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth." Psalm 971a, 5.

What should our response be to this proclamation? LET THE EARTH BE GLAD! Also:

"The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble, he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake . . . The king is mighty, he loves justice . . . Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy." Psalm 99: 1,4a,5

We are suppose to join in with the angels and worship our mighty king who owns all the world, trembling and with joy.

"If I was hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it." Psalm 50:12

These verses made me really excited! Do you know what it means for followers of Christ that God reigns over the earth? We don't have to be afraid of other people's beliefs and expectations of how we should behave and what we should think. We do not have to conform to the rest of the world because God is the true ruler of the world and his ways are right! Today, many things are taught as right to the world that God has said are wrong and some of Christ's followers forget that God has not changed his mind about these things. God wants us to obey the government, teachers, and parents, (Rom. 13:1-6) and try to live at peace with all people (Heb. 12:14), but only if doing so lines up with what God commands for the people he created. We are presently God's soldiers behind enemy lines, remember to serve the Lord while you are in enemy territory. (2 Tim. 2:3-4). Remember that even when things are grim, God still reigns and we need to patiently wait on him (Rev. 13:10) Evil will not reign forever. (Psalm 125:3). March on Christian soldier with great Joy as was talked about in yesterday's devo and look forward to the day when we to will reign with God forever! (Rev. 22:1-6) PRAISE JESUS! AMEN!

(More awesome verses to check out about the reign of our God:
Psalm 123, Psalm 102:12, Rev 7:14-17, Rev 12:10-12, Rev 1:18)

><> amber <><

P.S. Thank you so much to everyone who prayed for my roomie who had surgery, she is back at school now and God has spoken to her in some cool ways through this experience, I'm really excited to see what happens in her life as a result.

Joy

2006-11-02T07:42:00.000-06:00

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with a robe of righteousness."
Isaiah 61:10

Where do you find joy??
This is a question which has been bouncing through my head as of late.
I'm kind of a grouchy guy, so it just keeps bouncing even more...
It's pretty easy to say that you find joy in good things, right?
Funny jokes, funny people, $5 on the sidewalk, sleeping in... everybody gets kind of happy when they experience any of these symptoms, am I correct?
Do these 'joyful' things last forever?? Or even for long??
Well then you might say to me, "I just need to have these things all the time, then I'll always be happy!" hehe, ..., (Do you see any greed in that comment?)
Sure, we're supposed to be joyful, ..., but joyful for the right reason!
Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice!"
Do you see any "Rejoice in your money!", or, "Rejoice in the fact that you got to sleep in and don't have to go to school today because it's Presidents day, for some weird reason you don't have school on President's day!"?
Negatory, ..., we are to rejoice in God.
The Isaiah passage at the top speaks of what God has done for us... He's given us life, and He's given us salvation, ..., He gives us grace and love each day, and we take it for granted.
Think of how amazing it is, ..., God cares about us!
So maybe we need to continually work on our attitude, to be a lot more joyful.
God has given us life that lasts forever, ..., wouldn't it be cool to have joy in that?? Forever??

¢

Where, O death, is your victory?

2006-10-27T07:52:00.000-06:00

Well, this has been a very interesting and thought provoking week for me. Last Saturday at 9:22 in the morning my Aunt Betty passed away. The funeral was yesterday. My emotions this past week have been pretty crazy. I keep jumping back and forth between being really sad and being really happy for her. She had a disease called PSP (progressive superneural pulsy, all you scientific people out there feel free to correct my spelling), which slowly took over her body. By the end she couldn't move at all, she couldn't even blink, and so I am happy that God decided to take her home and give her a new body, a perfect body. At the funeral, my aunts granddaughter said that she didn't think grandma was watching this funeral from heaven because she was to busy running and jumping with her new legs.

1 Cor. 15:55-57 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, while a cried a lot, I know God defeated death a long time ago. And so for Christians a funeral is a time of rejoicing for the one that has passed away from this messed up earth, and has graduated to a perfect life in heaven.

Rest for the Weary

2006-10-26T11:42:00.000-06:00

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28

This is this years theme verse at Steinbach Bible College. When I first heard this I wondered why. I don't anymore. With a week and a half until major drama production and just recieving double the lines I thought I had, plus half a dozen other assignments due in the coming weeks, I definitely know what burdened means.

Then theres the lack of sleep, exams just around the corner and making time for personal devotions to worry about weary is definitely a part of my vocabulary. You may think that Bible college is a place to grow in your relationship with God, but a lot of the time your Bible gets treated more as a textbook than God's word. This causes a lot of people to become weary.

And I thought the verses wouldnt apply. How about you? Are there things in your life that are causing you to feel weary and burdened? Is there something that you're struggling to get through? The verses quoted above start out with 3 words " Come to me" God wants you to bring Him your problems, He wants to help you through what your going through, whether its mountains of homework or the fact that your aunt is dying of cancer. This verse goes on to say "and I will give you rest". So if you go to God with your problems, He will give you rest. That to me is pretty simple. Theres no if you come to me and do this or that I will give you rest. All you have to do is go to Him. In a world where nothing is free or easy that is astounding. To be able to give God my problems and recieve rest in return. All i can say is what an amazing God we serve.

be holy

2006-10-25T06:53:00.000-06:00

1peter 1:15-16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;16 for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy.

In the past, whenever I ran across this verse, I've been a bit confused. It seems like God is asking something very unreasonable here. So I looked into it a bit more, and found some thoughts that make it a little bit clearer.

1) I looked in a dictionary, and holy doesn't mean perfect. That was probably my first mistake. It's more along the lines of set aside, purified, chosen, etc. that makes a big difference.

2) Christians are seen as holy by God, through the sacrifice of Jesus. His blood purifies us and covers our sins altogether. Why then is it telling us to be holy? It seems to be telling us to do something, not just sit on the fact that God sees us a holy, but act somehow.

3)We people are messed up, broken, and altogether don't act holy a lot of the time.

4) So, think the call to action in this verse is to bring together the holiness that we are guaranteed by Christ's sacrifice and the actions in our own lives. In essense, it seems to be saying "behave how God already sees you." If we can begin to bring these together, we are movign the right direction.

And isn't this the goal anyway? Salvation is given, and we live to become more like Christ and to call others to follow him. It's not so much a specific doctrine or denomination by any means, but a life dedicated to following in the footsteps of our master. I think this is part of what Paul is getting at in Phillipians 2:12 when he encourages them to continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Work out your salvation....that may be some tricky wording for some. Don't get stuck on that, Paul isn't preaching salvation by works, he is calling us to practice what we preach. Actually walking our faith and striving to live a life set apart is the thing that will show the world what we are all about. If we have not love, we are nothing.

The blind leading the blind

2006-10-24T08:29:00.000-06:00

He also told them this parable:"Can a blind man lead a blind man?Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but every one who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Luke 6:39-30

The other day as I was going into a restaurant and I saw a man guiding his wife, who was blind, into the restaurant. I tried to help as much as I could, but she relied on the guidance of her husband to get her in the door. They made it in and he continued to help guide her to a seat. This brought a couple of interesting things to me.
1-I am very thankful I can see!,
2-How would that situation be if the husband was blind.
3-Jesus is the one who guides through the dark.
4-The husband helped the wife through the door, but he continued to stand by her even when she knew the way.

This parable in Luke 6 is interesting and very true. How would a blind man lead a blind man? it just doesn't work. Even though we are followers of Christ we are still blind to so much. Do we rely on a fellow Christian for help when times are hard, when they can't see what is coming. Or do we rely on the one who can see? Jesus is most certainly the one who can see! We need to rely on him in the dark.

Jesus guides you through a situation, on the other side all is clear and safe. You take Jesus, just like a book and put him back on the shelf until the next situation.

Why do we do this?

Do we ever stop to think that if we had Jesus with us, Would we be in this predicament?

If we truly followed Christ, would we place our self in temptation? We do though!, time and time again, we place our selves in the situation.

He guides us through the door, he shows us to our seat, and he waits for us to make a mistake. And every time we get up and walk into that wall, he points us into the right direction.

Who are you going to rely on to get through the dark?

Trevor

The Right Attitude

2006-10-23T11:14:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you all have heard the phrase, "garbage in, garbage out." Have you ever thought about what it actually means? It means that your thoughts affect your attitude. If I think of negative things, my attitude isn't going to be all that positive. Allow me to illustrate:

Bad thoughts => Meditated thoughts => Decision => Action => Continued action => Bad attitude!

Let's say that I know someone named Finnigan and that I think he is annoying. He might not be, but for some reason, I think he is. This is a bad thought, obviously. The more I think about Finnigan being annoying, the more I believe it and I will eventually decide that he is, in fact, annoying and that I don't want to be around him. So, I decide that anytime I see him, I will avoid him. This will start to come out in my actions towards him and soon, as I continue to avoid and ignore him, I will start avoiding and ignoring his friends because, if they are friends with Finnigan, they must be annoying, too. This will, ultimately, affect my attitude towards Finnigan and I will, quite possibly, have missed an opportunity to make a new friend because of my original bad thought.

Make sense? The good new is, this is the exact same for good thoughts:

Good though => Meditated thought => Decision => Action => Continued action => Good attitude! WOOT!

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. --Philipians 4:8

If your thoughts are good, they will be reflected in your attitude. The simplest way to keep your thoughts good is found in Colossians 3:2:

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Keep your thoughts on God! Think of it this way: "Christ in, Christ out." If you keep your thoughts on Jesus Christ, a Christ-like attitude will be the outcome.

Want the right attitude? This first step is to keep your thoughts fixed on Christ and the good things He does. Then you'll have an attitude that reflects Christ and that's the best attitude there is!

Walking in faith,
Kyla

Jars of Clay

2006-10-20T08:18:00.000-06:00

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Cor. 1:27

A month or so ago I was up late watching TV when a show about a group of mountain climbers caught my eye. I was overwhelmed by their effort and cried with one of the men who reached the top was bawling. Why was this episode so moving? I believe the Holy Spirit spoke a message to me through it. This was no usually group of buff climbers who'd been training for ten years. Their group consisted of a blind man, three people with prosthetic limbs, and most amazingly of all a man who was a paraplegic. He was literally pulling himself up the mountain with his hands. Some of those with lesser impairments gave up before they reached the top, but the man who was a paraplegic refused to quit no matter how much pain he was in or how impossible it seemed to make it to the top before the time limit ran out.

Their journey reminded me of the journey of faith each of us in on, laboring our way through this earth until we reach our final destination and goal of seeing Jesus our Savior, who is the one who gave us the strength to make it. We all have our weaknesses and impairments that differ from one another in severity and description. At this point in time do you feel like you are dragging yourself by your hands in agony up your mountain? Is your faith feeling weak? Are your weaknesses or life circumstances making you want to quit? Is Jesus angry at you for this?

Here is a prophecy about Jesus that is quoted in the New Testament from Isaiah 42:1-4
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope. Mat. 12:20-21

This is saying Jesus didn't come to destroy the weak, but to strengthen and bring them to victory as they put their hope in him. All Jesus needs is a mustard seed of faith to work with and the most incredible things can happened! (Matthew 17:20)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Cor. 4:7-9

Our own weaknesses show that all the power and ability we do display is from God. Our human bodies are the jars of clay and the treasure is Christ in us who gives us the power to go on when we are persecuted and crushed. (see 2 Cor. 12:9-10, Rom 14:4, Heb. 4:15)

Are you feeling strong? Maybe you are more like the guides who were helping those with physical disabilities up the mountain. Another moment that moved me was when the guide offered to get down on his hands and knees and crawl beside the man who was a paraplegic if that would help him reach the top. Isn't this what we as Christ's followers should do for one another? Get down in the grime and suffering of another in order to help them press on.

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good. Romans 15:1-2

I encourage each of you to read 1 Corinthians 1. God is so incredible and always does things differently then we would assume is right as humans. It describes how God has used the weak and foolish things of this world to shame the wise and strong so that no one can boast about the things they have done. IT'S ALL GOD! Press on with your trust in Him!

Rock on for Christ,
amber

oD toN yrroW

2006-10-19T06:54:00.000-06:00

How much time do we spend worrying each day?
We all have situations in our lives where we just don't feel comfortable with how things are going, or how the future is looking in a certain area.
Whether it's the pile of homework, the obnoxious co-worker, or the money that just isn't showing up when we think we need it.

Therefore do not worry saying, "What shall we eat?", or "What shall we drink?", or 'What shall we wear?'. For the sinners seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. For the day has its own trouble.
Matt. 6:31-34

This passage is'nt telling us that God is going to give us what we want, but the stuff that we need.
But you say to me, ..., "I need a car to get around.", "I need the money so I can buy a new carpet in my house, because the old one is so lame and musty.", or you say something like, "I just can't stand how this person acts, and how they everybody".
These are all very valid points, ..., well, maybe not the one about the carpet, but that's beside the point.
There are lots of situations like this that we face. There are so many things that we want, but are all of them going to glorify God?

Now, for this situation with the person with the bad attitude, that you have to spend hours each day with.
Is this complaining about them the right thing to do?
Are we not called to love one another, ..., even the tough ones?
Instead of hoping that they change, maybe try changing your attitude towards them, and just be a good example for Christ.

So, my challenge is this.
Spend more time not thinking.
Don't use your brain at all...
Okay, that last line was sarcasm.
But seriously, ..., the mind fools us, it is deceitful.
I myself personally struggle with focusing at times.
At work I look at the clock quite a bit, counting down the minutes to each coffee break, and the time to go home.
I shouldn't be thinking about going home!! I should be thinking about my work, and my relationship with God and my co-workers! Not about my bed that's waiting for me at home, or the sandwhich that I'm dying to eat.

So, try living with your focus on 5 minutes at a time.
One step at a time, one conversation at a time, one problem at a time.
It doesn't help to worry about the future, ..., it isn't even here yet, and besides, God's got it taken care of already.
So don't be silly, be happy! (Cheesy)

God bless

¢

2006-10-17T15:25:00.000-06:00

"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
Text- Gal 5:16-25

In Genesis, God formed man from the dust of the earth. Unlike anything else God created during the six twenty-four hour days of creation. Having been created in God's image (1:26-27), and having the Holy spirit breathed into man to bring him to life (2:7), man stands uniqely in the universe. It is the breath of the spirit which animated us as mankind in the beginning. It is partly because of that breath that we are set apart and above all of God's beautiful creation.

Due to the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden, we now must suffer physical death, and have become dead to God spiritually. That is why Jesus said " Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)" Just as it was necessary for the Holy Spirit to bring us to life in the beginning of all of creation, it is also necessary for us to be made alive spiritually by the same Spirit. Without it we cannot have a relationship with our creator (Eph 2:18).

If it is only by the Spirit we can be alive to God, in relationship with Him, we must also understand that we can only live like "Christians" each day by the same Spirit helping us. We can't become God's children by our own strength (John 1:12-13), and we can't act like His children by relying on ourselves either. That is the essence of all the apostle Paul had to say about how to live the way God wants us to. We must put our energies into knowing and submitting to the Spirit of God.

Grace and peace,
Arron

Where are your priorites?

2006-10-13T12:02:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had so many things you should do that you don't even know where to start? That is what happened to me this past week. I had so many things I could be doing that I mostly just sat around wondering what was the most important. Of course that didn't help me at all. It only got me further behind, and so once I had finally got them prioritized, I had to catch up on the actual work. This took away drasticly from my time with God. I was so busy writing papers and studying for mid-terms that I forgot to pray, and stopped reading my bible except of the passages I had to read for class.

" Bring the firstfruits of your land to the temple of the Lord your God."
-Exodus 34:26

In this passage God asks for the firstfruits. He wants the best part of your day, not just the leftovers. If your day is so busy that you only manage to fit some prayer time in 5 minutes before you fall asleep, than your priorites are wrong. Give God the first part of your day. For me this is not in the morning, because in the morning I am not really awake and I wouldn't be able to concentrate. Instead I set aside a portion of my day and dedicate it to God. This last week this time with God was pushed to the bottom of my list of priorites, but it belongs on the top.

My challenge for you today is to set aside a specific block of time for God each day, and don't let anything interupt it. No matter how much else you have to do, make God your number one priority.

Treasures

2006-10-12T11:14:00.000-06:00

Matthew 6:19,20 NLT
"Do not store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves cannot break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will also be."

What is your prized possession? I'd have to say mines my car.

Now think about what you would say if someone asked you to give it away. I'm pretty sure I'd tell the they were nuts.

Okay, now think about what you'd say if God asked you to give it away. Would you? The obvious answer is yes, but is it the truth, or just what you know is the right thing to do. Personally I think I'd have a little more trouble handing over my car keys than I'd like to admit.

But God calls us to be unconcerned with our worldly possessions. Take Matthew 6:20, in this verse it states that where your treasures are, there your heart will also be. So if your treasure is your car, or computer, or horse, than your heart will also be concerned with these things. Now these are not bad things to have, as long as they don't consume you or your time. Meaning if God asked you to give your computer to the kid down the street and you refused, what does this imply? That your computer is more important to you than being obedient to God?

By obeying God when He asks, you are not getting ripped off. Mark 10:29,30 states that anyone who gives up riches for Christ will be repaid one hundred times as much. This does not necessarily mean that if you give your horse away when God asks that the next week you will receive 100 horses. It simply means that if you are faithful to God you will be blessed for your faith. However being faithful to God also comes with a price. Persecution. The world hates God, and because of this hates us as Christians. Jesus reminds us of this at the end of Mark 10:30 to ensure we wont follow Him only for the physical rewards.

So what will you do if God asks you to give up something? I hope, for one, that if it comes down to it, I value God more than my car.

prodigal worshippers

2006-10-10T22:53:00.000-06:00

To start, it would be prime if you'd take a quick look at the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, or bring it to mind.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2015:11-32

It tells about son who takes his share of the inheritance, jets off to a different area, and blows all his money on stupid choices- living the "good life" at a high price. After a while he finds himself bankrupt : both money and morals. You know the story. Once he hits rock bottom, he comes to his senses and decides to go home to be a servant. Arriving back he's accepted with open arms by his father who has been waiting for him. awww. etc..
The story is tucked in with two other parables of lost items being found, and tells us how our God seeks to bring us back to himself despite our bad choices. Forgiveness, grace, ---salvation.

I've been thinking a fair bit about worship recently. It's a tough subject to write on because it's a word so often associated simply with church singing. Anybody who's spent much time at PVBC, or talking with staff will know that we've been working together on learning how worship is much more of a lifestyle than an event. We want to bring glory to God in our actions all the time, and when we sing, we reflect these choices in one way.

John 4:23-24
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Our worship is an act of our connecting with God and lifting him up, but also is an act that needs to be reflected as true in our actions. We are hypocrites if we think that we can sing about giving all for Jesus when we still selfishly hold onto our lives like a little kid caught stealing candy.

This is where I find myself in the parable of the prodigal son. I realize it's written about people being "found" for the first time, but we all sin and continue to come back to the father for his forgiveness. It applies to Christians as well, because we are obviously not perfect. Our sin doesn't push God away from us- he is always near. It blinds us to see him and hear his voice. My act of worship is getting up each time I fall and refusing to stay away from a father who loves. It seems stupid really, how often he takes us back. Doesn't he know? But it's true, and that's what makes it amazing- he does know how we fail, and how we will continue to fail, and yet he has this incredible love. A love I can't begin to understand, so big that he looks past the fact that it's the hundredth time this week that I've had to come stumbling home and still is there to welcome me.

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual act of worship.

We worship in spirit and in truth by offering our everyday lives to God- nothing held back. God knows we fail, but our worship comes not just in singing, but in each time we choose to surrender to him rather than hold our own ways. Maybe today that means turning off the TV to spend time in the word. Maybe it means showing kindness, encouraging, or listening when you really don't feel like. Maybe you need to take a look at what it is that's blinded you to his presence in your life, or maybe celebrate the places you do see him. God loves his broken children, his prodigal worshippers. The sooner we can realize that we are each day in the same boat as the prodigal son-in desperate need of our father- the sooner we can get back to worship- as more than just words.

Do we have time for Jesus

2006-10-10T10:40:00.001-06:00

"There is a time for everything a season for every activity under heaven".

Ecclesiastes 3:1

As I look outside I see our creation preparing for winter. The leaves are falling off the trees, and the days are shorter. Inevitably, winter is coming. Even though we live in Manitoba, we still for some reason think we can avoid the cold and snow but it is coming.

Just as the weather goes through seasons, we as humans go through seasons. We have our up and downs. But the cool thing is that God does not have seasons. He does not change. Even though the winter is depressing time for some of us. Let’s rejoice that we have a God that doesn’t have seasons.

No matter what time of year it is he desires to spend time with us. But do we have that same desire? Do we have time for him? If your life is so busy that you honestly don't have a moment to be with him, you need to make some changes. Make sure that your relationship with Jesus comes before everything. If you put God first you will still go through seasons. But You will always know that he is near.

Trevor

Give Thanks

2006-10-09T09:37:00.000-06:00

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

I thought that since it is Thanksgiving day today, it would only be natural to do a devotional on true thanksgiving. But, before we get into anything too serious, what are you thankful for? Here's my top five:

my family.
my friends.
food and water.
shelter.
clothes.

When I look at that list, I notice that they all have one thing in common; they are all gifts from God. When I really think about it, I realize that I could have been born into a completely different situation: I might not know who my real dad is; I might go days without knowing when my next meal will be; I might not have a place to sleep at night. When I think about it, that I have all of these things, I can't help but be thankful to God.

I want to look at two points about what it means to be truely thankful.

1. How can I be thankful times are tough?

I have two answers for this one.

First, check out Psalm 107: 1,

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."

The answer is right there. God is good and His love endures forever. That is reason enough to give Him our thanks. And, because God's love for us never fades, we can be sure that He will provide us with everything we need, even in the hard times.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6: 26

Second, Romans 5: 3- 5 says this:

"Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces persaverance; persaverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."

We can thank God in the tough times because we know that good will come out of it.

Does being thankful mean only in the good times? No! It means that we are thankful in the hard times, too.

2. How exactly can I show thankfulness to God?

The definition of "thanks" is: to show, or express, appreciation or gratitude.

Usually when we thank someone, it is with a gesture, such as: saying "thank you", or giving a card or gift. Just as there are different ways of saying "thank you" to another person, there are different ways of showing our gratitude to God.

We can just say "thank you" to Him through prayer.
We can praise and worship Him, "Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things." Psalm 98: 1.
We can thank Him for everything He has done for us by living for Him in everything we do, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3: 17.

So, I will ask it again: what are you thankful for? Are there all good things on your list? Or are there some hard times on your list now, too? Remember, that when we are truely thankful, we can be thankful for all things, whether good or bad.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Walking in faith, Kyla

Drop it and Follow Jesus

2006-10-06T07:46:00.000-06:00

"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man"
- Jesus (Luke 22:34-36)

The past two days have felt more like a week, as I spent most of them in the hospital with my roomie. She suddenly had pains Wednesday morning so I took her to the emergency and spent most of the day there with her. She came home for the evening and we went back on Thursday at 10am for more tests. I had to leave for an evening class, but came back as soon as it was over and she was in surgery until 11:30pm. Praise the LORD she is okay, but please keep her in your prayers as she's recovering.

I was talking to her mom last night and realized, wow, it was SO EASY to just DROP EVERYTHING that I had thought was SO IMPORTANT to be with my roomie these past two days. I almost always make a t0-do list the night before the next day so I don't forget to do anything important. Both my lists for Wed. and Thurs. were rather extensive and I had been a little worried about how I was going to get all my school work done, but when this emergency came up, the lists went out the window! I skipped class (gasp! Don't worry I talked to my teacher after), told another teacher my assignment that was due was going to be late, rearranged the volunteering I was suppose to begin that day, and wasn't too worried about the fact that I wasn't getting very much of the studying done I had planned. I also had to postpone writing my rough draft for this until 2:30am this morning, but God is incredible and my brain feels ready to go for the day! I just realized that many things that I thought were so important and crucial to my existence to the point of some moments of intense anxiety don't even seem very important in the light of a friend's surgery. How much smaller should they not seem in the light of eternity?

What are you anxious about? What daily hassles are you letting weigh you down and prevent you from going ALL OUT for Jesus Christ. I empathize with you - I'm not saying the daily stresses, school, jobs can't be hard things. We still have to complete our work and put our best effort into whatever we do, but Jesus warns us not to let these anxieties overwhelm us and prevent us from trusting God and living in a way that keeps us ready to meet him! In the long run, what is most important to you? Success in this world, or success in God's eyes? Christ is the way to keep ourselves from becoming over engaged in and stressed out about this world.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:16-18

It was more important to me to show love to my roomie than anything else these past two days. Since I truly do love her, it came out in my actions, I stayed with her and dropped many things that would keep me from being near her. If we truly Love God, it's going to come out in how we live - you won't be able to help it, you'll want to drop the things keeping you from being near him! The thing that has increased my love for God more than anything is His amazing love coming at me and everyone else! His love is incredible!!!! He will be with you through all your daily struggles as you keep going to Jesus with them and focus on the eternal things. Be ready to give up things that you thought were important when God calls you to show love to someone else. Love costs. It cost God Jesus. It cost Jesus His life. But it's blessings never end!

If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves for for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Cor. 5:13-15

Out of My Mind For Christ,
Amber

It's difficult to come up with a title....

2006-10-05T06:53:00.000-06:00

So, I am going to start off the year of blogging with a question...
Since we don't have much time, let's just jump right into it.
Are you a living example for Christ?
Are you doing your job as a Christian?
Are you trying to achieve your full potential?
Okay, ..., so that was three questions, ..., sorry.
But honestly, ask yourself, "Am I living for God?".

"I beseech you therefore bretheren, by the mercies of God, that you present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
Rom. 12:1

Our job as Christians is to show God's love to other people.
It's so easy to be selfish, and focus just on ourselves, and on getting through each day without too many injuries... sometimes we just try to make everybody happy and don't stand out.
Some of the people we come in contact with have some issues, and we know this, so we decide not to affiliate ourselves with them too much, we do the typical smile and nod at the dirty joke, we 'pretend' not to hear the 39 swear words that just got put out.
When people ask us why we don't want to go to their party, and why we don't drink, we beat around the bush.
Is this standing out??
We know these things they are doing is wrong, but do we always realize how much more we could do, rather than remain silent all the time?

This is a challenge for myself, and for you.
Very rarely do I not come in contact with a situation like this each day.
And ever so often I let the opportunity pass by without saying a single word.

So the challenge is, ..., Let people know who you are!
Don't be hiding when a little bit of darkness comes around.
God has given us power over evil, and a command to love our neighbors!

So, this has been brief, but hopefully something to think and pray about.
Next time somebody asks you what that WWJD bracelet on your wrist means, don't tell them it means "Walk Wise John Denver"... 'cause, that doesn't even make any sense!

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers out into the harvest field."
Matt. 9:37-38

Daily devotionals starting October 5th

2006-10-03T14:40:00.000-06:00

Welcome to a new season with blessed be your name. We want to do whatever we can to encourage you the reader to spend more time with the Lord. We will be posting devotionals daily, monday through friday, over the offseason. We welcome your questions and your feed back. New posts will be up Starting October 5th. Enjoy

Trevor