gary

Aug

2010

Double Sunrise and Band of Brothers

I saw the sunrise twice this morning!
How did you manage that, you ask? No, I wasn’t in a plane; I didn’t pass through a time warp; It was a clear morning. I was on my way to Band of Brothers in Irvine, CA.

Before I explain how I experienced this priviledge let me share a few of the quotables from this morning’s Band of Brothers:

A visiting missionary to Muslims said: “Many people know we are Christians, but few know why we are Christians.”

Sam Parsons, in his prayer: “You are Lord and we are not. It’s taken some of us a long time to figure that out.”

Pete McKenzie:
“We live in a honkin-at-your-own-tail-lights culture.”
“‘Hanging in there’ is good theology.”
“Lord, help yourself to my life.”
“Winners take responsibility. Losers blame others.”
“The bad thing about a pity party is that God doesn’t show up.”
“When the crisis comes and courage is required, God expects His men to have such confidence in Him that they will be the dependable ones.” (Oswald Chambers)

OK – the Double Sunrise: Traveling south down the 405 freeway, passing by John Wayne Airport I noticed the sun rising just to the north of the Saddleback mountains (Santiago and Trabuco Peaks). From my perspective as I continued south, the sun set behind Saddleback, rising a second time along the south edge of Trabuco Peak. So I got to experience the sunrise twice this morning. Cool, huh? (Well I think so.)

Aug

2010

New Links

I’ve just added a new category for Men’s Ministry with links to two sources of discipleship ministries for men.
Patrick Morley, (Man in the Mirror), has a weekly Bible Study that is broadcast every Friday morning. Past videos and audio files are available through the link.
Band of Brothers is a Friday morning gathering of men who meet for fellowship, worship and a message from Pete McKenzie. If you are a man living near Irvine, California and are available on Friday mornings between 7 and 8, I would like to encourage you to join us. Directions are available on the website.

I’ve posted a link to the Band of Brothers site (Influencers West) as well as a direct link to an index of messages given by Pete.

Jun

2010

A god We Want, and the God Who Is

“There is a God we want, and there is a God who is and they are not the same God. The turning point of our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is.” – – Patrick Morley

Mar

2010

Growing?

Ray Kroc, as he was building the McDonald’s empire, is quoted as using the slogan, “As long as you’re green you’re growing. As soon as you ripen you start to rot.”

Lord, keep me fresh and green!

Jan

2010

Generations

Young people: Yours is not the first generation in whom the Holy Spirit has worked.
Seniors: Ours is not the last.

Nov

2009

Paralyzing Introspection

While we need to strive for pure motives, we must be careful that our introspection doesn’t keep us from action. It is possible to be so concerned about untainted motives, so focused on why we would do something, that we fail to respond to God’s leading or delay until an opportunity is missed. When we are prompted to action we need to proceed, being careful not to let over-analysis of our motivation hold us back. If we use the excuse that we weren’t properly motivated, we can develop a sense of sinful pride – claiming that our restraint is actually good because we didn’t proceed for the wrong reasons. Or it may simply be an excuse for laziness.

Our concern should be for the needs of others, whether we feel the right to be blessed by what we do for them or not. When we have the capability to help and we don’t, simply because we don’t think we are properly motivated, we sin. We need to stop over-analyzing and just do it.

Oct

2009

Understanding Each Other

Last evening Lynda and I had the privilege of hearing Ryan Longnecker, (intern working with Bethany’s high schoolers) speak on post-modernism and the emerging church. One of several significant points he made was a quote from his room-mate’s dad.

You can’t even say you disagree with someone unless you can state their side in terms they agree with.

What a simple, yet profoundly important statement! All too often we insist on our own definitions of what others think – as if we are better qualified to tell them what they are “really” thinking and what they believe than they are. But then it actually takes work to listen without latching onto part of a statement and occupying our mind at building a rebuttal rather than hearing the rest of what is being said. We want to be ready to jump in at a pause to speak our mind – not ready to let what has been said sink in. Silence in a conversation? Egad! How scary! We may never get a chance to express the most important side (ours). We need to get away from the fear of silence in a conversation and train ourselves, individually and as groups, to allow time to consider and digest what has been said so that we make sure we are understanding it. But we are not comfortable with silence. We feel that something is wrong – that everyone is at a loss for words, and we have to fill the time with something. We need, we must, get over that and really think about what is being said! We need to be sure we accurately understand before we let our minds work the pros and cons.

Oct

2009

The Greetings of Paul

Romans – “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
1 Corinthians – “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
2 Corinthians – “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
Galatians – “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians – “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
Philippians – “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
Colossians – “Grace and peace to you from God our Father!
1 Thessalonians – “Grace and peace to you!”
2 Thessalonians – “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
1 Timothy – “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!”
2 Timothy – “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!”
Titus – “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!”
Philemon – “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”

Oct

2009

Recipients of the Apostle Paul’s Letters

A glance at the recipients of the Apostle Paul’s letters:

Romans – “to all those loved by God in Rome, called to be saints.”
1 Corinthians – “to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their lord and ours.”
2 Corinthians – “to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in Achaia.”
Galatians – “to the churches of Galatia.”
Ephesians – “to the saints in [Ephesus], the faithful in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians – “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with all the overseers and deacons.”
Colossians – “to the saints, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ at Colossae.”
1 Thessalonians – “to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians – “to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Timothy – “to Timothy, by genuine son in the faith.”
2 Timothy – “to Timothy, my dear child.”
Titus – “to Titus, my genuine son in a common faith.”
Philemon – “to Philemon, our dear friend and colaborer, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your house.”

Oct

2009

The Apostle Paul’s Credentials

Here’s a quick listing of the way Paul identifies himself as he opens his letters.

Romans – “From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel …”
1 Corinthians – “From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God …”
2 Corinthians – “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God …”
Galatians – “From Paul, an apostle (not from men or human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead) …”
Ephesians – “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God …”
Philippians – “From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus …”
Colossians – “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God …”
1 Thessalonians – “From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy …”
2 Thessalonians – “From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy …”
1 Timothy – “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope …”
2 Timothy – “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God …”
Titus – “From Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ …”
Philemon – “From Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, …”

(All quotes are from the NET Bible – http://net.bible.org/bible.php)

Recent Posts