dW 06.01.07

Yesterday I listened to three sermons by Leonard Ravenhill. If this man's preaching doesn't light a fire inside of you then your wood must be wet! I am going to be using quotes by him for awhile so ya'll better brace yourselves.

Visit http://www.sermonindex.net/.

Scripture
Mark 8:38
Jesus said, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels"

Quote
The greatest miracle that Deity can do is to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, to make that unholy man holy, and then put him back in an unholy world and keep him holy. Amen! That is the redemptive work of God in Christ. - Leonard Ravenhill

dW 05.31.07

scripture

Psalm 118:7

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

quote

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
T S Eliot

overseas experience

In the Middle East there are great distances between cities, towns, and villages on long, windy dirt roads. If you remember the story about the Samaritan, you’ll remember that these roads are not safe due to thieves that would hide in the clefts of the rock. The same is true to this day. For safety the military has set up check points where you check in and they telephone ahead so that if you don’t make it within a certain amount of time then they’ll come looking for you. Being that we were Americans they decided that we needed “extra protection”. In our case, their presence was as much about safety as it was spying on our doings. The truck that followed us between check points had two officers in the cab, one solder standing in the bed manning a .50 caliber, and then three men on each side of the bed were sitting on wooden benches. Each of these nine men carried their knives and machine guns while chewing their drugs and watching out for our well-being.

You are not supposed to take pictures of their military. I did anyway. We were driving between check points on a narrow, badly paved mountain road. I got my camera out and slide it up against the dashboard just above the glove box pointing out the windshield to get my pictures of our camo clad friends. I turned the flash option off and got ready. Just before I snapped the picture I realize what was going on. 1) there were three or four vehicles traveling together 2) we are all coming up on a blind turn that is bending to the left 3) the head vehicle is a leaking oil tanker and 4) the military truck has moved to the left in order to pass them. It is a great picture! There’s never a dull, calm moment in overseas mission work. J

dW 05.30.07

scripture

1 Samuel 24:12
May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me upon you, but my hand shall not be upon you.

Luke 6:36-37, 41-42

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven… Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

story

I was driving to work this morning listening to a radio show and the topic was that of Vincent Brothers. This has been a huge case in Kern County. July 6, 2003 was when the murders took place, he wasn’t arrested until April 2004, and he was just convicted of the murders of May 15, 2007. Now this week the sentencing is taking place and it looks like he is eligible for the death penalty. Anyway, back to the radio show. The topic was “If you were left alone with Vincent Brothers in a locked room, what would you do to damage him emotionally and physically to the point that he suffers sufficiently for his crimes?”

thought

Revenge is thought to be sweet waters necessary to recover from wounds inflicted. However, once it is drunk one realizes that it was more like vinegar which parches the throat and does not satisfy.

quote

An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

dW 05.29.07

scripture 

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

quote

Sin: Bait has a lot less appeal when you know there’s a big, nasty hook inside of it. – K. Baher