Monday, August 31, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Amazing Grace
Like you never heard it before.
_Amazing Grace featuring Wendell Bell from Kool Bell on Vimeo.
The guitar player is my Brother-In-Laws Father.
_Amazing Grace featuring Wendell Bell from Kool Bell on Vimeo.
The guitar player is my Brother-In-Laws Father.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Freedom From Religion
This subject continually gets pushed too far by those with evil intent. Whether the intent is self gratification, or drawing attention to themselves with attacks of the innocent Christians in the world, the base of these are evil/sin.
Our founding Fathers wrote a Bill of Rights and our Constitution to protect the public from our own government, and any would be attackers(read lawyers) of our everyday pursuit of happiness. Included in this was a separation of Church and State.
To understand the reasoning of the founding Fathers of our Constitution we must look at why this issue was important to them.
In England the head of the Catholic Church had great political power. Enough to "advise" the King as to everyday policies, and even in legal matters that affected the country. Using the prop of the Church's status to do evil, was prevalent in those days.
Knowing these things, our founding Fathers included the separation of Church and State. The intent was to keep any one individual from becoming so powerful as to rule/advise on legislation or law that would effect the the public. They were being awarded the election of Representatives to facilitate self government. There was no reason for a Papal adviser.
The intention was never to keep prayer out of our schools, away from our athletic events, and certainly not to create watchdog groups to tell us when we can pray, how we can pray, or to whom we should pray.
Simply, it was to keep one person from becoming so powerful, that their wishes would become law.
How important an issue was this? It was listed first! My emphasis for this post lies in a simple, yet stern statement: or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
To all those who wish to tell us when we can worship/pray, please leave us alone. If you continue to push us, the fight for our rights will turn ugly. Remember God gave Israel the army to conquer the ungodly and create the State of Israel.
We as Christians know God has not left us alone. It's time you realize that we are not alone, and you really don't want to be found fighting against God.
God bless each of you.
Our founding Fathers wrote a Bill of Rights and our Constitution to protect the public from our own government, and any would be attackers(read lawyers) of our everyday pursuit of happiness. Included in this was a separation of Church and State.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.To understand the reasoning of the founding Fathers of our Constitution we must look at why this issue was important to them.
In England the head of the Catholic Church had great political power. Enough to "advise" the King as to everyday policies, and even in legal matters that affected the country. Using the prop of the Church's status to do evil, was prevalent in those days.
Knowing these things, our founding Fathers included the separation of Church and State. The intent was to keep any one individual from becoming so powerful as to rule/advise on legislation or law that would effect the the public. They were being awarded the election of Representatives to facilitate self government. There was no reason for a Papal adviser.
The intention was never to keep prayer out of our schools, away from our athletic events, and certainly not to create watchdog groups to tell us when we can pray, how we can pray, or to whom we should pray.
Simply, it was to keep one person from becoming so powerful, that their wishes would become law.
How important an issue was this? It was listed first! My emphasis for this post lies in a simple, yet stern statement: or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
To all those who wish to tell us when we can worship/pray, please leave us alone. If you continue to push us, the fight for our rights will turn ugly. Remember God gave Israel the army to conquer the ungodly and create the State of Israel.
We as Christians know God has not left us alone. It's time you realize that we are not alone, and you really don't want to be found fighting against God.
God bless each of you.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
The World Does Not Revolve Around You
Every Sunday that we serve at Church of the Highlands, no matter what campus or what team, the team leaders all have a team huddle at some point during the day. For our Production Team, it happens between our 9:30am and our 11:30am services. Yesterday, I served as the Director for all three of our Sunday experiences. As part of my serve, I have the privilege of leading our team huddle. On Saturday, as I pondered what message I wanted to deliver to our team, the phrase "it's not about me" kept coming to mind. I searched for some scriptures and other information to help make my point, and not make it a "sermon" (given we only have a short amount of time). In Googling information, I happened upon a devotional for the day from Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. His devotion was entitled, "The World Does Not Revolve Around You". I would like to share those words of encouragement with you as well:
“Look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own.” (Philippians 2:4 TEV)
There’s an old Chinese Proverb that says, “Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.” The Bible talks about this as well: “Look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own” (Philippians 2:4 TEV).
That is such a counter-culture verse. Everything in our culture conditions us to think first of ourselves. We don’t think about other people naturally. That’s something we have to learn to do. We naturally think about our needs, our desires, our goals, and our ambitions. As a result we have millions of people disconnected because they’re only thinking of themselves and not anyone else’s needs.
During about a two-hour period when I was recently watching TV, I saw three commercials with the same by-line: “You deserve it.” “Buy this shampoo! You deserve it.” “Buy this expensive car, because you deserve it!” We are taught that we are the supreme value in life.
Let me teach you two very basic truths about life. First, the world does not revolve around you. You’re very special in God’s eyes, and you were created for a purpose—but the world does not revolve around you. If you want to know how much you’d be missed, stick your hand in a bucket of water and pull it out, and see what kind of hole you leave. It fills back up pretty quick!
The second truth is this: God has promised that when you focus on meeting the needs of other people, he will meet your needs. Why? Because he wants you to learn to be unselfish. He wants you to learn to be loving and generous like him. Part of being considerate of other people’s needs is making allowances for their faults and not expecting them to be perfect (Colossians 3:13). You’re not perfect, so why should you demand it of anybody else?
Proverbs 17:9 says, “Love forgets mistakes” (TLB). When you are trying to make a connection with someone, you don’t have to be blind to that person’s faults. You just choose to overlook them. Great friends are good forgetters. They don’t rub it in; they rub it out! They are more concerned with the other person’s needs.
http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/the-world-does-not-revolve-around-you
“Look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own.” (Philippians 2:4 TEV)
There’s an old Chinese Proverb that says, “Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.” The Bible talks about this as well: “Look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own” (Philippians 2:4 TEV).
That is such a counter-culture verse. Everything in our culture conditions us to think first of ourselves. We don’t think about other people naturally. That’s something we have to learn to do. We naturally think about our needs, our desires, our goals, and our ambitions. As a result we have millions of people disconnected because they’re only thinking of themselves and not anyone else’s needs.
During about a two-hour period when I was recently watching TV, I saw three commercials with the same by-line: “You deserve it.” “Buy this shampoo! You deserve it.” “Buy this expensive car, because you deserve it!” We are taught that we are the supreme value in life.
Let me teach you two very basic truths about life. First, the world does not revolve around you. You’re very special in God’s eyes, and you were created for a purpose—but the world does not revolve around you. If you want to know how much you’d be missed, stick your hand in a bucket of water and pull it out, and see what kind of hole you leave. It fills back up pretty quick!
The second truth is this: God has promised that when you focus on meeting the needs of other people, he will meet your needs. Why? Because he wants you to learn to be unselfish. He wants you to learn to be loving and generous like him. Part of being considerate of other people’s needs is making allowances for their faults and not expecting them to be perfect (Colossians 3:13). You’re not perfect, so why should you demand it of anybody else?
Proverbs 17:9 says, “Love forgets mistakes” (TLB). When you are trying to make a connection with someone, you don’t have to be blind to that person’s faults. You just choose to overlook them. Great friends are good forgetters. They don’t rub it in; they rub it out! They are more concerned with the other person’s needs.
http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/the-world-does-not-revolve-around-you
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
First
I am not sure that I had heard this song before this morning, or maybe the words just struck a chord with me today. The song is entitled "First" by Lauren Daigle.
I listened to the lyrics and as soon as I got to work, I Goggled the lyrics because of a phrase in the song. This particular phrase was a phrase that Pastor Alan Pedrum spoke at Day 10 of 21 Days of Prayer (at Church of the Highlands). That phrase was "Before I bring my need, I will bring my heart."
His message was to inspire/encourage us to get close to God so that He would get close to us. If we seek a closeness with Him, our physical needs seem to become trivial. And those that aren't trivial, we become aware that "He's got this!".
Here are the lyrics (**)
"First"
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
Before I lift my cares
I will lift my arms
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
And seek You
First
I wanna seek You
I wanna seek You
First
I wanna keep You
I wanna keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
Before I speak a word
Let me hear Your voice
And in the midst of pain
Let me feel Your joy
Ooh, I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I speak a word
I will bring my heart
And seek You
First
I wanna seek You
I wanna seek You
First
I wanna keep You
I wanna keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
I seek You
First
First
I wanna seek You
I wanna seek You
First
I wanna keep You
I wanna keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
First
I listened to the lyrics and as soon as I got to work, I Goggled the lyrics because of a phrase in the song. This particular phrase was a phrase that Pastor Alan Pedrum spoke at Day 10 of 21 Days of Prayer (at Church of the Highlands). That phrase was "Before I bring my need, I will bring my heart."
His message was to inspire/encourage us to get close to God so that He would get close to us. If we seek a closeness with Him, our physical needs seem to become trivial. And those that aren't trivial, we become aware that "He's got this!".
Here are the lyrics (**)
"First"
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
Before I lift my cares
I will lift my arms
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
And seek You
First
I wanna seek You
I wanna seek You
First
I wanna keep You
I wanna keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
Before I speak a word
Let me hear Your voice
And in the midst of pain
Let me feel Your joy
Ooh, I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I speak a word
I will bring my heart
And seek You
First
I wanna seek You
I wanna seek You
First
I wanna keep You
I wanna keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
I seek You
First
First
I wanna seek You
I wanna seek You
First
I wanna keep You
I wanna keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
First
(** Writer(s): Lauren Ashley Daigle, Paul Mabury, Hank Bentley, Jason Ingram, Mia Fieldes
Copyright: Flychild Publishing, Sony/ATV Tree Publishing O.B.O. Upside Down Under, Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing O.B.O. Open Hands Music, Open Hands Music, Upside Down Under, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing O.B.O. Flychild Pubilshing, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing )Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Mission Statement #Prayers4Players
Our group would like for everyone to know our purpose, our mission if you will.
We came together because of the vision of our leader Christy Guined. Her idea was to pray for the overall well being for all of our student athletes. We started with the Auburn Football team, and rather quickly added every Auburn sport.
Shortly thereafter, we asked via social media for volunteers to join our little group, and the response has been overwhelming. Yet, there is plenty of room to double, triple, our prayer warrior numbers.
The idea is have every school in our country with a prayer group. High School, Jr. High School, Community Colleges, it doesn't matter. Every single one of these kids need our prayers.
Won't you come join us?
Simply contact Christy on twitter @tatershell or email AUTigerBloggin@gmail.com
Our mission statement:
We are a group of people committed to praying for student athletes. We do not pray for victories on the field, but for victories in the students' lives. We are focused on praying for the safety, well-being, health, continued education, and spiritual lives of the student-athletes. We believe that prayer is the best way to support the athletes.
Our focus verse:
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11
We came together because of the vision of our leader Christy Guined. Her idea was to pray for the overall well being for all of our student athletes. We started with the Auburn Football team, and rather quickly added every Auburn sport.
Shortly thereafter, we asked via social media for volunteers to join our little group, and the response has been overwhelming. Yet, there is plenty of room to double, triple, our prayer warrior numbers.
The idea is have every school in our country with a prayer group. High School, Jr. High School, Community Colleges, it doesn't matter. Every single one of these kids need our prayers.
Won't you come join us?
Simply contact Christy on twitter @tatershell or email AUTigerBloggin@gmail.com
Our mission statement:
We are a group of people committed to praying for student athletes. We do not pray for victories on the field, but for victories in the students' lives. We are focused on praying for the safety, well-being, health, continued education, and spiritual lives of the student-athletes. We believe that prayer is the best way to support the athletes.
Our focus verse:
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Stay Grounded in Biblical Truth
These days the news is full of horror stories. From those headlines we see the needless acts of terror. Sometimes it's a religious belief that drives the murder of our fellow man, other times the murders are carried out for greed.
We are killing each other in record numbers when you discount the times of World Wars.
From those that are yet unborn thru every age class, we are slaughtering the innocent.
Jesus told his disciples that terrible times were to come. In those times, his messengers would be hated by those who do not know him and keep his commandments.
He told them to keep the faith and guard against the evil.
We are killing each other in record numbers when you discount the times of World Wars.
From those that are yet unborn thru every age class, we are slaughtering the innocent.
Jesus told his disciples that terrible times were to come. In those times, his messengers would be hated by those who do not know him and keep his commandments.
He told them to keep the faith and guard against the evil.
Yet he left them hope.
Make sure you stay grounded in Biblical truths. Love one another spiritually. Treat each other with kindness and compassion. Most importantly, keep the faith in the face of these transgressors. Your Father in Heaven will reward you at the appointed times.
God bless.
Monday, August 3, 2015
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