Armor-Up!

Armor-Up!

One of the channels our cable company provides is the History Channel. It offered a fascinating show about the history of armor. It illustrated the various types of armor from ancient to modern times. There are many different kinds and functions of armor. However, there is one central purpose for all armor: to protect and to keep safe. According to Ephesians 6:14-18, God has provided us with armor to keep His warriors safe. He has give us the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Sandals of Peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit. These are our defenses against Satan, to protect us from harm and make us able to withstand the spiritual warfare that we as Christians should be waging every day. Did you put on your armor this morning?
- Author: Jim Davis (from Disciple Magazine)

The Meaning of Forgiveness

I found this unattributed piece on the Internet this evening. In today’s society I fear that many are like the thief in this story, looking to skate by until the next time. How sad each of us should be that there are folks that just don’t understand the scope of not only God’s grace, mercy, and love, but also His hate toward sin and the judgement to come.

The Meaning of Forgiveness
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child,” says William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Well, then, how about a thankless jailbird? If you want an answer to that one, ask District Judge Phillip Killien of Seattle. Recently, a young man appeared before Judge Killien on charges of car theft. The judge saw no reason to keep him locked up while he awaited court action. He released him on his own recognizance. A short time later, Killien’s own car disappeared. Police quickly found the stolen car, and the one who stole it. Then, Judge Killien was in court in a new role, not as a judge, but as a witness, against the same young man he had released, who stood accused of stealing the magistrate’s wheels. A Japanese proverb reminds us that forgiving the unrepentant is like drawing pictures on the water. Ignoring sin may gain the sinner’s temporary gratitude, but makes no lasting impression. A forgiven car thief is still a car thief if no change of character takes place. How about you? Do you seek to escape justice or to be justified by God’s grace and Christ’s mercy? God offers you liberty, not license, in the cleansing blood of Christ.

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. (Psalm 51:17 NLT)

The Infinite God

The Infinite God
The finite can neither see nor comprehend the Infinite. The Infinite has to reveal Himself. Henry Ward Beecher said: “When Columbus drew near to the eastern coast of this continent, he could see that there were mountains, but do you believe he knew what minerals were in them? Do you suppose he knew all the trees, all the shrubs, all the vines, all the herbs there? He knew something about the outlying islands of this great continent, but he did not understand the details that went to make it up. I can understand there is such a being as God, but when it is said that He is infinite, I am so finite that my comprehension ends right there. I cannot understand infiniteness. All things in the natural world symbolize God, yet none of them speak of Him but in broken and imperfect words. High above all He sits, sublimer than mountains, nobler than lords, truer than parents, more loving than lovers. His feet tread the lowest places of the earth, but His head is above all glory; everywhere He is supreme.”

Exodus 3:14 “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

One Man Band

I found this story online today and thought it was a great illustration of how important the gathering of ourselves together really is. That being said, I hope you get as much from it as I did.

Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. (Psalm 149:1 KJV)

One-Man Band
The late Bill Bright told the story of a lone musician-a man who believed himself to be the finest musician in the world and needing no one else to produce the finest music.

Accordingly, when the curtain went up for a symphonic concert, the audience was astounded to see 70 empty chairs, with the appropriate instruments, and only one person to play them all. When the conductor’s baton signaled the start, this man ran frantically from one instrument to another, trying to keep up with the conductor.

“Of course, this is just an allegory,” Bright wrote. “But isn’t that what many Christians are like? They are content to live their Christian lives by themselves without seeking the fellowship of others. There is no possible way that we can exist as healthy Christians without fellowship.

“In the fictional one-man orchestra above, you can imagine what the music sounded like-disconnected, uncoordinated and offbeat. That is what a Christian’s spiritual life is like in isolation from other members of the body of Christ.”

Pastor’s Corner

Pastors Corner 1- 15-2012

The other day my neighbor was working on restoring an old saddle. It had been hanging in a barn/shed for around 20 years and it was not fit for use. The leather was hard and dry and in a few places it was beginning to crack. He was putting oil on the saddle and it was already looking better. After the oil, he put a coat of polish on it while I watched, and it began to bring life back into the leather. The next day I started thinking about this and it reminded me of how God changes a man or woman’s life. He takes someone who is hard and dry and makes them soft and pliable with his Spirit. God calls it becoming a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). Without the oil and polish the saddle would never have been used anymore and with out the Spirit of God we cannot become a Christian. God tells us that his Spirit will make us alive and without his Spirit we cannot be a Christian (Romans 8:9-11). The saddle was made to use, not hang in a barn and people are made to be alive in Christ, not die and be lost.

Pastor Danny

Pastor’s Corner

Pastors Corner 1-8-2012

The other day Rusty, our cat, came to the back door with a half grown squirrel and wanted to come into the house. To Rusty what he had done was neither good nor bad. It was just natural and part of his nature. He did not do it because he was hungry; he did it because the opportunity arose. I think that sometimes people operated like Rusty when it comes to sin in there life. They walk according to their sin nature and see nothing wrong in partaking of sin when the opportunity arises. To them, sin is neither good nor bad; it is just something in life to be enjoyed. For this attitude to change they must first have a change in their very nature. The Bible has various names for this change, born again (John 3:16), new man (Ephesians 4:24), new creature (Galatians6:15) are just a few. In order for this change to occur they must be enlighten by the word of God and that is why it is so important for them to come into contact with God’s word. I would not let Rusty into the house with a squirrel in his mouth and God will not let people into heaven with sin in their life.

Pastor Danny

“You say, ‘If I had a little more, I sho

“You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.” Charles Spurgeon

Billy … who?

Over the course of the past week I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and spending several hours with a young couple. Wednesday night, during what was probably our last conversation, the subject turned toward the Lord and His Church. I can’t recall how exactly but Billy Graham came up in our conversation. The lack of response from them prompted me to ask if they knew or had heard of him; to my surprise, neither of these young folks had. I took a few minutes to pause there and tell them about him and his ministry, even sharing a YouTube clip with them.

All day today, and most of last night, this has been weighing on my mind: How could two bright young people have never heard of this iconic man? I suppose that “we” take it for granted that the next generation knows about great people of the Faith, such as Dr. Graham. We also figure they know basic tenants and truths of God’s Word. In many instances “we” are dead wrong: they don’t have a clue.

The Bible says we are to teach the things of God to our children and our grandchildren. Just because most of the 40+ demographic grew up with at least basic Biblical knowledge doesn’t mean that the ones behind did. In fact, we dropped the ball and are seeing the results of that fumble nationwide, if not worldwide.

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. (Romans 13:11 KJV)

It’s not too late. But we don’t have any more time to waste either. An untold number of souls are on the wrong side of the balance today.

Specialist Divers

Not long ago I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel about divers that specialize in underwater repairs. It started, I think, with a group of Navy divers who were trained to make emergency repairs. These divers had to leave the comfort and safety of the ship to do their job, job that many lives depended upon. It was cold, dangerous work but so very necessary to the fleet, especially during war-time.

We are in a war today: a spiritual war. And as much today as any time in history disciples of Jesus Christ are under attack. The attacks come from all angles, all places, from where we, often, are least likely to look or think about. Like the specialists divers, there are times when we need to leave the comfort and safety of our “boats” and get in the water. Just like those Naval divers, we have to go to the problem even if it’s out of our comfort zone and address it directly. The cargo and supplies and people the Navy protect are very important. But the eternal cost of the lives that our enemy is assailing are so, so much more important.

In this New Year, I pray that we all, the Church, will find the courage, the desire, and the drive to get out of the boat and do the job at hand. The cost of not doing so is just too high to bare.

Last Minute Christmas Gift

This year I was just too busy to make any thing for Christmas gifts. I had so many other things on my plate I decided to forego making any leather craft gifts. That was the plan anyway…

My son took an order for a hand tooled wallet for a coworker. He called and asked me to pick him up a kit from the hobby store, which I couldn’t do: they were out of stock. So, he asks if I can make him a kit from scratch, which I could, and agreed to do. Then a few hours later he calls and says he has to work a double shift and needs the wallet by 6:30 tomorrow morning; can I make the whole thing? I agreed even though I probably shouldn’t have; the design was to include a figure carving of a deer head, which I’d never done before (any animal figure carvings for that matter) and really don’t have the “right” tools to do it. A few hours later and I ended up with a pretty decent project. And having learned a few things to boot!

The entire “kit” was hand cut and after carving and finishing it was hand sewn and laced. I used Tandy Leather products for most of the finish along with a few other items to get this nice rustic look. SuperSheen was my resist, EcoFlo briar brown highlight was next, followed by two spray coats of Krylon clear acrylic satin. I then used my secret weapon: Kiwi shoe polish in brown. This takes the edge off the excessive (in my opinion) shine and warms it very naturally, along with giving a bit more highlight.

I know the deer isn’t perfect but not bad for a first try. And one that was not planned for or had the correct tools to do.

The interior came out nicely I think. I sewed the top edge instead of lacing it as I usually do. This greatly reduced the bulk and make it much sleeker. I painted the top edge with my own recipe of edge dressing: one part acrylic paint (black here) mix with one part SuperSheen.

The lace is goatskin. I like its strength and performance. And I think it’s a great value for my money. It’s a combination of single (on the thinner edge) and double loop lacing. I also found a new-to-me way of ending my lacing. And I’m extremely happy with the new way and how it looks. It’s detailed in one of the teaching manuals I got from TLF, though I can’t recall the title at the moment.

So, he’s happy, I learned a thing or two and I got forced into relaxing for a few hours at my favorite hobby. Oh, and someone is getting a nice hand crafted wallet for Christmas. I guess this one is a win-win-win.

Merry Christmas!