Reading with Heart

Yesterday was a pretty good day. My friend and I went to the church and worked on Bible Studies again. After working on Bible Studies we went to lunch. There we talked over different ideas about a Bible study that we are going to do. Last night was really neat. I learned that sometimes we don't find much from the Bible when all we are reading it for is to check it off our list. Instead we should read with an open heart and an open mind, and God will speak to us in ways we can't even dream of. After talking to my friend Scott and Devin last night, I went to bed.

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Restless Leg Syndrome

Yesterday was one of those days where you get up in the morning and are ready to face the day. My ministry partner and I worked on coming up with a topic for our Bible study that we are going to have. The program is going to last for 7 weeks, and there will be one program a week. After that we went to the church and worked there for a little while. Jonathan told me that a lot of people equate us with the mormans because we have a prophet. Yet according to him this is a very unfair statement, because the Mormons do not go by sola Scriptura. Yet we do. The reason for this equation is because we had a prophet in our church, but never mind the fact that she always went along with the Bible. I guess that does not matter too much. I am saying that tounge in cheek by the way. After talking for a while, we went and helped out with pathfinders. There was a storm with lots of wind and rain. I don't like storms, and it has only been God who has gotten me through them. The neat thing was that we were in a basement, and the topic for the study the pathfinders were doing was the weather. We got to see a lot of neat cloud formations in real life. That was really neat, and can you believe it, I am going to be teaching the weather honor next week. I hope and pray that I am ready. That night we had a Bible study for Prayer meeting and I was amazed at how tenderly Daniel was treated in Daniel 8. I guess it just goes to show that we serve a loving and a caring God. After that we went back to the house and I "tried" to go to bed. I say tried because my legs just would not let me go to sleep, and I ended up waking up at about 2:00 am in the morning and going back to sleep. The Bible verse for today has got to be 2 Corinthains 4:7-10

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

Talking on the phone

Yesterday was a pretty eventful day. I got up and continued to work on filling out the contact information into the computer. After that my ministry partner (Jonathan) and I got in his car and headed to the North Vernon Seventh-Day-Adventist church. The drive over was very good, and when we arrived, I made sure that Jonathan was the first one to make phone calls. He immediately drew up a sketch of the different things we would say when someone answered the phone. After he talked on the phone for a while, we went to the chinese restaraunt and got something to eat. When we were done eating we made it back to the church. When we got there, Jonathan was not feeling good so he went and laid down on one of the pews. It was then and there that I knew I couldn't escape working for the Lord. I sat down and began to dial the numbers hoping that no one would pick up. Yet something inside of me said that people were going to pick up and that I should be ready to recieve their answers. To my surpirse about 20 people ended up answering their phones, and we talked. One person told me about their life and the struggles that they were going through. I immediately sensed that this was above me, and that the only thing that I could do was to pray. That is sometimes how it is in the problems that we face in life. Sometimes the only thing we can do for those around us is offer a listening ear and to pray for them. Later that day, turned into evening. When I got back I checked in with a friend of mine, and he told me how he had met his special someone. I immediately felt a sense of lonliness and knew I was missing out on something special. But as I was reminded by Jonathan and my friend Catherine, I am to surrender that lonliness to God. After a nice walk in the great outdoors I came back to my room. I guess if I were going to sum up the day with one point it would be: Sometimes there are things that are just outside of us, and that only God can help with, and that is ok. The verse that sums this day up is:

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."

Hebrews 3:13

A ride on the boat

Yesterday was a very interesting day. It all started out with my ministry partner and I working on putting names into the computer. There are a lot of them, and we are still not done. We have about 30 more to put into the computer. After putting names into the computer for a while we got a phone call and we learned that we would be going for a boat ride that day. Before we got to the lake, I got into the back of the pontoon boat that we were going to ride into the lake. The boat slid into the water and before I knew it, we were off. It was a semi-hot day, but it was nice out. I ate two little debby twinkies. I think I might have had a little too much sugar, but it was good just the same. Taking the boat into a shady area, our driver (Bill) had us drop anchor. I layed on the side of the boat and put my feet into the water. The cooling effect was almost instant. After that I pulled out my pocket Bible and it was sugested that I read something. So I read from John 6. After the reading we discussed the passage that was read. Someone mentioned the story about the Israelites and how much God had done for them, and how they still didn't trust Him. I remembered the time that I had a hard time trusting God by completely surrendering my life into His hands. I struggled with this decision for about 3 years and was sitting in the guys dorm, and decided to put my trust in God. Now back to the journal on yesterday: Sitting in the shade was nice, but when we were in the sun I sweltered. After enjoying a nice boat ride we loaded up and went back to the people who were allowing us to ride on their boat's house. On the way one of the tires had trouble and so we had to drop off the trailer at somebody's house. That somebody was very nice, and allowed us to leave the trailer with the boat on it at his house, until we could get the necessary equipment to fix the tire. While we were waiting we had a nice supper which consisted of Scalloped potatoes, cornbread, beans, a Mexican rice dish and choplets. After supper we talked a while, and then headed back to our place. When we got back I attempted to write this blog, and could only come up with half of it. I decided that I would write the next part down today. If I were going to choose a main lesson for that day, it would have to be "Trust God at all times in life." No matter what the difficulty we can always trust the One who made us.J He promises never to leave us or forsake us. The Bible says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path." Proverbs 3:5,6.

A wonderful Sabbath

Yesterday was a wonderful Sabbath day! It all started out with getting out of bed and having my devotions. After that we went to church and my ministry partner and I played Special music for the church we are working at. At Sabbath school we talked about Hosea and Gomer. After Church we had the fellowship meal. It was one of those meals where you piled all the food on your plate you could handle, and then supported the heavy load to the table. After that we went back to the house andd meditated on God's awesome love. I think that it is important to take time out of a busy day to sit and meditate on what God has done for us. I believe that this helps us put things into perspective. I know it has helped me put things into perspective. Then last night I got to share a few stories where God intervened in my life. After that I went to bed. Remembering what God has done for us encourages and strengthens our faith in Him and in His ability to save us. In Deuteronomy 5:15 the bible says

"Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."

Arrival in North Vernon

When my ministry partner and I arrived at North Vernon, we stopped and ate chinese food. I had vegetable Lo Mein. The food was pretty good, and they had those rolls with sugar on top, and they were very good as well. That afternoon we arrived at our living quarters, and there were two choices of rooms that we were staying in. My friend and I are in the upstairs of a wonderful couple. They have two rooms upstairs that they are allowing us to stay in, and they have DSL, which is really nice considering that I like internet access, and it will also give me much opportunity to keep writing in my blog. I hope to be able to put my journal on here soon as well, but I have not finished copying it. It is absoloutly amazing to think of all the things that God has done for me. I think that when we write them down, they become more real. Now back to the topic at hand. I listened to Pilgrim's Progress, the story of Christiana. Chirstiana is a character in Pilgrim's progress who is in the city of destruction and she gets a letter from the Lord on how to get out of it. When she recieves the letter a friend of hers (Mercy). They all head off toward this gate and when they get there it says "knock and it shall be opened unto you." So Christiana knocks and knocks and finally someone answers and lets her and her children in. (This is a shorter version of the story). After that the door shuts, and mercy is left on the outside, but she knocks and knocks and no one seems to answer. Finally someone does answer the door, but when she gets in, she explains how she felt. She wondered why no one opened the door to her right away. The gatekeeper says that it was the enemy who tried to discourage her, but that if she knocked the door would be opened. I think that is how it is in a lot of our lives. We feel as if God is not hearing us and not opening the door to us, and in reality, He does hear us, but the devil tries to discourage us. Let us not let the enemy have any more ground. Let us keep on knocking on heaven's door. The promise is that the door will be opened. Last night I listened to a sermon on not being a critic. So many people out there criticize and call names, when they themeselves have the same problem that they are accusing everyone else of having. After trying to stay up late and downloading a whole bunch of sermons, I went to bed. The next morning I got up and had worship. While I was having worship, I remembered what I had done in the past when I would have worship. I would read two chapters out of the Bible every morning. Now the truth is that I had stopped doing this for a while, but I felt impressed to read two chapters this morning because of my experience with the story of Christiana. I am starting to realize that we need to be more persistant with God. We need to wrestle with God just like Jacob did. Well that is all for today, check back in tommorow for more:)

He is still there:)

My life has taken a new turn. I am learning that sometimes in life we have to say goodbye to our friends and those we care about because that is sometimes what is best. Yet to my delight, I have a friend who never leaves me through it all. I want to encourage you to know that you have a friend who will never leave you. You may have to make a hard decision in your life, but always remember that Jesus promises never to leave you. He cares about you more than eternal life. After all, He risked it for you:) You are very valuable in His eyes child. Don't worry about tommorow, He will take care of that, and He will take care of you.:)

Psalms 94:14 For the LORD will not abandon His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.