Faith in the First Place

Last night in our cell group I hit upon an interesting thought. First the details, then the thought.

We use the ALOVE UK Cell Outlines and we were on the third week of March. The passage we were looking at was Exodus 4:1-17. During the discussion, Dave mentioned a situation that happened to him many years ago- he was asked to do something, but he let someone else do that something. The guy totally tanked and he has felt guilty all these years for not doing what he was asked to do in the first place. Sounds suspiciously familiar to Moses and Aaron's situation.

As I thought about it, I wondered if the way the Exodus played out (plagues, anger, death, etc) was God's second best- Aaron tanking, because Moses shied away from what God wanted him to do. What if Moses had done what God asked of him without excuse? Would the whole situation have played out much differently? Perhaps showing God's glory and power in a way to actually win over the Egyptians? Wouldn't that have changed the way we look at history?

I'll certainly ask God that question some day.

But the real issue is not that we look back with regret for all our past mistakes. Rather we look forward to the next time God asks something of us- that we do it without question, hesitation or fear, knowing/trusting God has the best plan in mind; believing that he won't have to pull out his second option because we had faith in the first place.

That's huge!

That's where I want to be. Anyone want to join me in a pledge to be obedient the next time? And the next time.

And the next . . .

A Bible Puzzle for You

There are 16 books of the Bible hidden in the following story. Can you find them all? How long did it take you?

- - - - -

Once I made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu! It kept people looking so hard for facts. For others, it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized. But the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others, it was a real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help them. I quickly admit it usually takes a minister to find one of them and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea so she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, for there really are sixteen names of books in the Bible in this little story.

A preacher found 15 books in 20 minutes, but it took him 3 weeks to find the 16th one. See how well you can do!

(Hint: in the first line- "re-Mark;"” 15 to go!)

Black White

There is an interesting new reality TV show that just started a couple of weeks ago. It's called "Black White." Here's the gist: two families switch race and share their experiences with us via hidden cameras that follow them. As an unofficial "raceologist," I was immediately drawn to this show. I have not been disappointed, but I am getting into plenty of great race/culture discussion!

The hour long show is on cable channel FX (Wednesdays 10 PM Eastern), so I realize not everyone will be able to watch it. However, you CAN watch the first episode to see what's going on, how they "do the changeup" and whet your appetite for more- maybe when they release it on DVD.

Click below to go to an internet site and watch the WHOLE first episode. You MUST watch from Internet Explorer (sorry, no Firefox).

{Black White}

Then come back here for some more discussion!

I've got plenty to say about this issue, so I'll probably write more in future blogs.

Help me Out

Blogging and discussions herein recently about emotions and stifling the Spirit has got me thinking. What are the things that quench the Spirit?

If God warns us against this practice, then we should know more about it so we don't do it- at least by accident. And if he has to warn us about it, then it must be something that we can easily fall into.

I would think the Pharisees were good (bad?) at this. Jesus often agonized over their lack of understanding God and how they could be so "religious" and yet miss God's Spirit over and over again.

So help me out. What things do we do/not do that quench the Spirit?

Game Time!

Okay all you gamers out there here's your chance to get famous for that hand-eye coordination. Well at least on this blog!

Go to the site listed below, play the quick little game (maybe a few times) and let me know what your best (longest) time is.

Red Square

They say if you last 18 seconds you're doing brilliantly. I got to 19.5 seconds . . . so far!

Emotion is Often God's Presence

I got one of those "revelation moments" recently. I was in a service and someone was speaking about some experience important to them. They paused and you could see in their face a telltale rush of emotion was passing over them. You could also tell they were fighting against "losing it." Very quickly, they pushed it down and continued.

End of story? I don't think so.

As the person moved on with relating their experience, I got my revelation, because a similar wave of emotion has swept over me many times. I have discovered that these moments are clues we should be looking for. Here are my thoughts about this sensation:

When I think back to when Holy Spirit has spoken to me powerfully, I realize he often does so through my emotions. When I was first saved it was an emotional experience. When I was sanctified it was an emotional experience. When I was called to be an officer in The Army it was an emotional experience. I could go one here for quite a while, but you get my drift- Holy Spirit can and does speak through our emotions.

If this is true then we need to carefully examine our emotional "outbursts" to discern whether it is God speaking or not. If not, I say: "Push it down" if you like. If it IS God speaking, why in the world would you want to quash him? Perhaps "quench" him would evoke a more powerful response? You following me?

I believe many of these emotional waves that come over us (especially in worship) are Holy Spirit trying to get through to us about something. I "Push them down" at my spiritual peril!

Emotion, then, can be God manifesting himself IN us.

I have come to know God's presence and I desire more of it! Therefore, when he gives me even the faintest scent of himself, I perk up and take notice; I look for what he is doing and what he is trying to say in that moment.

David told his son Solomon, "God is found by those who seek him" (1 Chronicles 28:9). If we are seeking God, we must not ignore or hold back the ways he chooses to make himself known to us. Rather, we should be looking for those little clues he gives that tell us he is near.

Did You Know?

Did you know? As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view . . . it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

Did you know? As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

Did you know? As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!

Did you know? There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.

Did you know? James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement:

"We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

Did you know? Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Did you know? Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

Did you know? Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.

Did you know? Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law, an oligarchy- the rule of few over many.

Did you know? The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said:

"Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?

- Andy Rooney

Wedding Report

Taking a step away from some great blog discussion, I herein offer my first-hand report of the weekend Ivany/Burr wedding (from a father of the bride's point of view).

Where do you begin?! I could write my longest blog ever if I tried to include all my thoughts and experiences from the past weekend! Let's see . . . there's all the things that happened, there's my thoughts of giving away my little girl, there's seeing family and friends, there's my experiences with God throughout the weekend, etc. I guess no one needs a running diary, so I will try to express the four most important things as I see them (Heather asked me what I thought my 3 highlights were going to be over the weekend and I could only come up with 2 at that moment).

4) I was very impressed with the whole event (not just the wedding) which took place over the weekend. Jenn & Josh had planned more than a few hours- they organized a few days for people special to them to experience family and community. It wasn't an up tight kind of time, rather very relaxed and informal. Trying to be as "unprejudiced" as possible, I enjoyed this wedding more than any other I can remember. Well, maybe my own, but I was so tense, I don't remember much of it (good thing we taped the ceremony)!

It was also one of the longest I can remember (the whole day's event, not the ceremony), but because Jenn & Josh were a part of it from start to finish (they didn't leave until it was all over), it was a wonderful celebration of friendship, love and covenant-commitment.

3) I loved seeing so many friends and family all in one place! Since the wedding was a bit of a distance outside of our country, only people who really wanted to be there were able to make it. I was worried things would be a little lopsided with all these "Canadian/Ivany" friends and not many "Burr/US" friends there. But I was surprised at how few people I did not know. I am blessed to know most of Jenn's good friends as my own friends. Because of this, I was especially pleased to see Jenn celebrate with these trusted people. God has truly given me a larger family than I ever imagined!

2) After the ceremony and the reception, we adjourned back into the chapel for a time of worship and "speeches." It was awesome to worship God at such a time! Jenn & Josh have certainly based their relationship firmly in God's hands; he is the foundation. How blessed I was to witness the truth of this foundation and KNOW God has such a prominent place in their lives. It is awesome to see God's promise to me fulfilled:

My Spirit who is on you and my words that I have put in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says Yahweh. - Isaiah 59:21

Hallelujah!

1) People call me Doug, Major, Mr. Burr and a few other things (maybe not fit to print). But on the day of Jennifer Lauren's wedding, as the above picture shows, the title I was most proud of was: "Father of the Bride!"

Without a doubt, that was #1 for me.