EmbraceGrace – Stars Really Do Sing!

I blogged all about it over at EmbraceGrace.org.  Basically, God said in Job that the morning stars sing.  Sounds like either crazy talk or metaphor, right?  Wrong!  Scientists have discovered that not only is our own star musical, they have now recorded it!

Read all about it at EmbraceGrace.org

Be it Resolved in 2010 – The Ultimate Hike

I want to try this in 2010.  I’ve climbed Pusch Peak a couple of times and Picacho Peak once, although it’s been a couple of years since I’ve done either.  I’d say at my current fitness level, I’d be looking at a couple of months of pretty intense hiking.  Assuming I got serious about this right away, I could try it this Spring.

What am I talking about?  Hiking from Catalina State Park (2,700′) to the top of Mt. Lemmon (9,080′).  Looks like an all day hike with wonderful scenery and a quite a leg burn.  Read much more about it here.  I’ve already hiked to Romero Pools numerous times including a few days before Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas.  Here’s a nice map of the trails leading out of Catalina State Park.

April sometime would be a good time to make this hike.  Plan B could be November, which would give me all year to get ready.  I’ll let you know!

I Shot a Deer!

With my camera, but still.

I decided that today would be a great day to start a morning hike along the Linda Vista Loop, just a couple miles up from the apartment (actually, I decided yesterday was a great day to start, but since I didn’t, today was a great day to start).  It was warmer than it’s been thanks to a nice cloud cover, but the wind was kinda gusty.  I figured I would warm up once I got on the trail. Turns out I was right.   50 degrees is kinda refreshing when you are huffing and puffing.   (the trail has a 300 foot vertical climb and I started out at a brisk pace… plus I am not in my best shape yet)

I was probably a little past half way around the loop when I heard some crashing through the bushes.  Two White-tailed Deer bounding by about 50 yards in front of me!  They keep trucking until they were out of sight, but then I guess one doubled back.  He was maybe 75 yards in front of me just sorta posed.  He gave me enough time to zoom in with my camera and get off a couple of shots.  I grazed him on the first shot, but the other two were dead on!  I feel like God rewarded me for getting off my lazy backside and getting out in His creation!  It was a great way to start the day, for sure.

Click on the pics from this morning’s hike for larger versions.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

As in right here in my apartment.   It’s a bit odd that I don’t feel that bad about it.   I DO miss my kids and grandkids in Texas, but there is just no way I can swing a Christmas trip this year.  Other than missing them, I am good with laying low this year.

I have friends locally that are going to ask, “What are you doing for Christmas?”  and they might invite me by ’cause they feel sorry for me.  I appreciate it!  But honestly, I am good with some alone time.

It’s not usual, I guess, but I do very well in a crowd, one on one, and by myself.  When I first took the Myers-Briggs personality test when I was a teenager, I was right down the middle extrovert/introvert.  This surprises people I know, because when I am with people, the extrovert comes out.  However, I really need my alone time or I go a little crazy.  Of course, I need my hangin’ with the peeps time too or I go a little crazy.

I am looking forward to the two or three Christmas gatherings I have yet to attend in the next couple of weeks, but I am also looking forward to watching a little football Christmas Day and making some phone calls.  I’ll be home for Christmas.  Celebrating with my Savior on His Birthday observed :-)

What Christmas is All About

God’s Wrath?

(I have posted this here and at www.LoveForTheTruth.com)

A very respected pastor has made a dire prediction.  That many of the nations, and the worlds, cities will soon be infernos.  Pastor David Wilkerson is quoted in a World Net Daily exclusive:

David Wilkerson, author of “The Cross and the Switchblade,” a book about his ministry to troubled New York street kids that was later made into a movie starring Pat Boone, tells readers of his blog this weekend that he is “compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message” about his prediction.

“An earth-shattering calamity is about to happen,” he writes. “It is going to be so frightening, we are all going to tremble – even the godliest among us.”

He goes on to say that it will be God pouring out His wrath in judgment on sinful nations.  This is where I feel compelled to interject.  While I don’t disagree that some horrible disaster might be on the horizon, I do NOT believe it will be God’s wrath!

We live in a fallen world and we have an enemy.  Satan and a third of the angels have been cast out of Heaven.  Revelation 12:12 says:

¹²“For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

Yes, the devil is not happy.  He hates you.  You are made in God’s image and he wants to destroy God.  Since he can’t, he’s after you and your testimony.

Now don’t get me wrong.  God hates sin and He has, is, and will, deal with it.  Just not the way some people think.  First, God dealt with sin on the cross.  He poured out His wrath on Jesus so He wouldn’t have to pour it out on you!  If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior than the Bible says that you are redeemed from the curse of the law.  That’s good news!  That’s THE good news!

Abraham knew God and He knew God’s character.  The LORD and a couple of His angels were on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham made a plea on Sodom’s behalf.  You can read the whole thing in Genesis 18, but here’s a revealing snippet:

²⁵“Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

²⁶So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”

Abraham knew that God wouldn’t deal with the righteous unrighteously!  God only found one righteous man in Sodom and he got Lot and his family out first before He destroyed the place.  God’s character hasn’t changed.

After 911 many pastors said God was judging America for our sins.  Same after Hurricane Katrina.  Do you think there were 10 righteous believers in those planes that hit the twin towers?  In the Pentagon?  In New Orleans?

Prepare for hard times?  Sure.  It’s good to recognize the season and the times we are in.  Blame God for it?  No.  I’m gonna blame our enemy and use uncertain times to tell people about a loving God who died for them so they don’t have to. A God who wants to make their future solid in Him!

Work Pays Off

Funny.  I can’t seem to get motivated.  Will I have to jog 3 – 5 miles a day for the rest of my life so I can be fit and trim and avoid dying of a heart attack?  I think I’m starting to think I am more of a hiker bike rider than the runner I used to be.  It’s harder than I remember!

Then there is this.  My junior year in high school I returned from my Summer vacation in San Diego.  I had spent the Summer goofing off at the beach and sneaking joints when I could.  (I was pretty lost back then.  No focus.  No vision.)  I reported for two a days in bad shape.  I struggled through the first game and then quit so I could party.  It’s one of the biggest regrets of my life!  If I had to do it over again, I would have stayed home for the Summer, worked out with the team, and been the stud on the football field I should have been.

How does that relate to now?  True, I don’t have anything to prove on the field.  That’s for men younger than I.  However, there is a life lesson for me.  Press through.  Set a goal and trust God to help me achieve it.  I can’t let my laziness of the past few years keep me from good health now.  It will be hard.  I will want to quit.  But if I will persevere, there will be a reward.  The Bible says that work pays off:

1. Proverbs 10:4
   Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
2. Proverbs 12:24
   The hand of the diligent will rule, But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.
3. Proverbs 13:4
   The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat.
4. Proverbs 21:5
   The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.

You get the idea :-)

So, this morning, I am going to jog.  I signed up for www.everyoneruns.net, a 5.5 mile run on April 14th.  Ambitious considering I am having trouble running 2 miles right now!  But, with persistence I can do this.

I wanted to climb to the top of Pusch Peak today, but I don’t have the 6 hours it will take.  Even better, I want to climb to Finger Rock.  The vertical climb is the same, but since the trail starts higher, it ends higher!  Awesome views from up there, I’m sure.  Plus I’ve yet to climb to Finger Rock.  Maybe on Monday…

Sacrifice of Praise

Hebrews 13:12-16
¹²Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

¹³So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

¹⁴For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

¹⁵Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.¹⁶And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

I was hiking the other day.  Actually, I’ve been hiking a lot lately.  I signed up for a 5.5 mile run on April 11th and I am going to be ready!  However, actually getting ready is WORK!  As I was huffing and puffing my way up the steep slopes this concept of “Sacrifice of Praise” came to mind.  I believe the Lord showed me something.  I’ll share it with you and you can decide if God is speaking to you too.

I know I don’t look like it so much these days, but in high school I was a pretty good athlete.  A sprinter, football player, one year of soccer even.  Games and meets and matches were fun.  Practice, not always.  It took work to get in shape, to train the God given abilities to be able to perform at a high level (hopefully) on game day.  Some of those practices were grueling.  Another set of intervals when you were ready to throw up.  More wind sprints after a hard practice with the coach blowing his whistle and barking at us to move it.  Needless to say, there were days I would have rather been doing other things.  The payoff was;  being in great shape, and running a good time in the 100, or making a big play to help win the game, etc.

As I was huffing and puffing up Pusch Peak and I was noticed that I really wasn’t in the mood for a hard hike.  I was tired.  It had been a long day.  I almost turned back, but I decided to press on.  To make a sacrifice!  With a payoff in mind;  get into great shape (someday, with consistent training), and be ready to run 5.5 miles on April 11th.  I was offering a sacrifice of hiking!  I ended up making really good time compared to just the week before.  My workouts were paying off!  But I don’t always feel like working out.

God started showing me the parallel.  Sacrifice of working out when I don’t feel like it builds discipline in my life and rewards here on Earth.  Spiritual sacrifice builds discipline in my life and rewards here, and in Heaven!  A win win!  That is so like God.

How many times in tough circumstances do we run to the TV, or comfort food, or our favorite sin, instead of thanking God in (not for, but in) the circumstance.  This is where the sacrifice of praise comes into play.  Instead of running from God, or ignoring Him, when the tough gets going, this is the time to run to God!  Consistently.  Especially when you don’t feel like it!  He is always there.  He loves us soooooo much!  He is close to the brokenhearted!!!  He desires for us to rely on Him and to trust Him all the time, not just when life is going well.

When we run to Him we receive all of His benefits.  We cry Abba Father to the caring Dad who has already met our needs forever through His Son Jesus and longs to meet them now!  Why do I cry in my beer when I can cry on His shoulder?  Especially when alcohol is a depressant!  No.  It’s the sacrifice of praise that will build spiritual discipline.  Not so much because our hard work brings us closer to God, but rather, the closer we stay to God the more His presence can change us!  Discipline is a fruit of the Spirit.  We can only bear fruit when we are connected to the vine.  Still, staying close to God can be a fight!

If working out brings a benefit, how much more spiritual discipline.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25
²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Next time you are feeling down.  Like God has forgotten your name.  Run to His loving arms.  Praise His name for giving you life!  For giving you His Son as a sacrifice!  He hasn’t forgotten your name.  He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you.  Take Him at His Word, even though sometimes the going is very hard.

Psalm 126:5 & 6
⁵Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
⁶He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Keep sowing good even when it feels bad.  It will pay great dividends!

Craziness Around the Globe

and in the Boston Globe. Seems that anxiety is on the rise as some in the worldwide media hype so called “Global Warming.”

Last year, an anxious, depressed 17-year-old boy was admitted to the psychiatric unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. He was refusing to drink water. Worried about drought related to climate change, the young man was convinced that if he drank, millions of people would die. The Australian doctors wrote the case up as the first known instance of “climate change delusion.”

Yes, this an extreme case, but the article goes on to say that nervousness over

“extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, cyclones, and hurricanes, can lead to emotional distress”

is on the rise.

OK. I have documented again and again that “Global Warming” was really Solar Warming and now the Sun is getting quieter, the Earth is now cooling. Still, the Boston Globe says,

“Climate change is expected to create about 200 million environmental refugees by 2050, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the international body established within the United Nations to evaluate causes and consequences of global warming.”

Even if this were true (which it’s not!) Jesus said, DON’T WORRY!

Matthew 6:33-34
³³ “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Does the Bible have anything to say about “Global Warming?” A couple of things indirectly. In Revelation it’s clear that it’s will heat up dramatically for a short time:

Revelation 16:8-9

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.

⁹ Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.

Look closely. Even when God will pour out His wrath on the planet, it will be solar warming! No mention of CO2 or methane gas here.

Still concerned about “Global Warming?” Consider what God says in Genesis 8:22:

²²“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”

I guess Dick Cheney was right when he said he believed in global warming. It’s called Spring and Summer!

Obedience

That’s a tough word.  Especially in this, “instant gratification isn’t fast enough” culture of today.  Marketers are taught, if you want to sell your product you have to convey to the customer, “what’s in it for me if I buy your product.”

That’s what I love, and hate, about Christ.  Jesus is always there to challenge the worldly culture and our selfish desires.  I hate it because I want what I want when I want it.  The world tells me, “Yeah.  You should have what you want when you want it.”  The problem with my selfish desires is they are selfish!  Someone else usually gets hurt.  In the long run, I usually get hurt too.

I love it because God knows best.  Duh!  He’s God!  He knows that to the degree that I’m able to obey Jesus, there is great benefit in it!  Not just for me, but for the people around me that I end up serving rather than hurting.

Jesus is our example and even He obeyed His Father all the way to the cross.

Hebrews 5:8 & 9
⁸  Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

⁹  And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,

Jesus is leading us into obedience, not because He is on a power trip, but rather, He knows there is great blessing for us when we obey.

In the Garden of Gethsemane before Jesus was taken captive to be crucified He was talking to His disciples.  Those last moments with His disciples are so key.  The things that Jesus had to say about His ministry on Earth, His Father, The Holy Spirit that was coming, and His prayer for believers are so important for followers of Christ today.  It’s all there in your Bible starting in John 14 through His capture in John 18.

In John 14, Jesus talked about the benefits of obedience.

John 14:21-23
²¹  Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

22  Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

²³  Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  ²⁴  He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

Obedience is hard.  I guess if it wasn’t, everyone would do it.  It’s tough because it takes faith in God.  We have to trust Him and not ourselves.  To be able to trust Him that if we do what is right it will turn out right.  Ever have pressure from a friend or a boss to do what you aren’t supposed to do?  It takes courage to say, “You know, I might be risking my job, or our friendship, but I have to do what s right.”  Jesus says if I love Him I will obey Him.  He won’t leave me or forsake me when I don’t, but depending on what I choose to do there may be consequences.  The Bible says that God disciplines those He loves.  But when I do obey, because I love God and I want to do what’s right, through that obedience He will reveal more of Himself to me.

Ever hear the Holy Spirit urge you to read the Bible when you get up in the morning?  There have been so many times that I have not obeyed that voice and logged on to Facebook instead.  Does God still love me?  Absolutely!  Is He still with me?  Sure.  But what would He have said to me through His Word if I had obeyed?  I would have been encouraged and better equipped to face the rest of the day!  Instead, in my disobedience, I don’t get encouraged.  That could lead to giving in to temptation, or not seeking His direction in an important decision, etc.  Disobedience quenches the Holy Spirit.  Instead of listening and obeying, I end up doing what I think is right, or sometimes, what I know is wrong.  When I listen and obey, I end up doing what God thinks is right!

As I obey, I become more like Jesus.  That’s an eternal benefit worth investing in.

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