What Christmas is all about.

I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of the year. The guys that I work with give me all kinds of grief because I start singing and whistling carols just before Halloween (who would guess that a metal shop would'nt be rife with yuletide cheer?). All the songs and the lights and even a few presents are nice, but by themselves it's all kind of empty.
My mind has been filled over the last few days with the the true trappings of Christmas: Jesus and his coming to earth, not just to be a good example or to teach us but the fact that GOD HIMSELF put on flesh and came to earth in the most humble way so that we could have a relationship with him.
Jesus came from Galilee which was a reigion of Judea that was thought to be low-class, he came to poor people who couldn't even afford a lamb for the purification rituals of the first-born child, he was born in a stable because there was nowhere for his parents to lodge for the night and his first bed was a feeding trough.
But he came to save the world. His birth was the beginning of a 33 year journey that was headed for the cross. That was the only reason he was born- to die, for you and for me. The penalty for sin is death and Jesus paid it.
Have you ever got a gift that was just, exaclty what you needed? You did on that first Christmas, so why not unwrap it.

I know its been a while since I blogged but things have been kinda’ hectic around the house. Between work, church, M’s work and The extraction of a few wisdom teeth, its been pretty busy.

This week we have had revival and it has been great! What a privilege to have our old pastor from Casey come down and preach the revival. It’s good to get preached to for a change and to hear Tom once again brought back a lot of memories. Tom is one of the greatest pastors a church could ask for and I hope that a little bit of him can rub off on me.

Last night he spoke about putting God first and it was just what I needed to hear.
The text that he preached from was Matthew 6:33:
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
The “all these things” that this verse is talking about is all of the things that we need.

It makes sense, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and he owns me too so why wouldn’t I want to put him first?

Then this morning on the radio Michael Easley was talking about abiding in Christ. He made the comment that you never see a grape struggling to be a grape, it just happens, as long as it abides in the vine.

I guess God is just trying to tell me to trust in Him and make sure that I am abiding (depending on Him for every nuance of my existence) in Him.

By the way the wisdom teeth thing went just fine. Ol’ doc Fonner plucked them like strawberries (the kind of strawberries that grow out of your face and bleed when you pluck them). No joke, from the first one to the fourth one, it couldn’t have taken more than three minutes.

Anyway, four teeth and two nights of revival later and I am feeling pretty good and my
“spirit tank” is pegged on “F”.

Today as I did my civic duty and voted, I really felt the weight of what I was doing. With each circle that I filled in I wondered: “is this the right candidate to choose for the job?” “have I done adequate research?”. This was a time when I really needed the one thing that is so illusive in an election year – TRUTH.
I believe that truth is absolute. I don’t think that truth is a matter of one’s own opinion, you’re either right or you are wrong. I hear a lot of people say that they can believe whatever they want to believe, and I guess I would have to agree but I wouldn’t recommend it. Somewhere along the line somebody has to be wrong.
To see if truth is subjective try this experiment: The next time you are at a crowded McDonald’s, cut into the front of the line and try to place your order. I would say that at least one person will politely explain to you that what you are doing is not going to be tolerated. When they do, stand up for what you believe – tell them that you believe that your place in the line happens to be at the front. And if they disagree accuse them of being intolerant.
You will find that Truth has once again ruined an otherwise beautiful expression of personal liberty.
Here’s what I’m driving at. Whether you are trying to decide where to stand in line or who to vote for or what to do when you grow up, a standard of truth is absolutely necessary. That standard can’t exist in our own minds because we are all different and whether we admit it or not, sometimes we change. It’s got to come from somewhere bigger than us and our feeble reasoning.
I believe that this standard is found ONLY in the Word of GOD. After all he did speak this universe as we know it into existence, didn’t he. I would say that God can probably handle the simple decisions that we face every day without effort. We just need to consult him. And another great thing about God is the fact that he doesn’t change.
Malachi 3:6-
“For I, The LORD, do not change…”
Hebrews 13:8-
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”
My grandpa always says, as he holds up his worn out old Bible: “the answers to all of life’s questions are right here in this book”. He is right, if you are going to know how to live in this world, you’re going to have to read the manual that the designer wrote.
So if you constantly find yourself standing at crossroads, not knowing which direction to turn- get out the manual and read it. It never changes and it will never be obsolete and it just might save your life (your eternal one, that is)

Day trip to so. Illinois

Saturday Melissa and I had the pleasure of going down south to take in some fall color with our friends Bill and Pam. God gave us PERFECT weather for the trip which provided excellent light for several scenery pics like the one here. This picture was taken atop one of the cliffs overlooking the mighty Ohio river at Cave-in-Rock, IL.

We went to several spots along the way like Pounds Hollow, Rim Rock, Garden of the Gods and One Horse Gap Lake. I would recomend the trip to anyone.

We really got to see a lot in one day. we left Newton at about 7 am and were home by 6 pm. I would say that the fall color will peak in about a week or two, so if you're going you got about three weeks to get it done.

I would also recomend a little greasy spoon in Rosiclaire called Nanny's Place. It is in a little white building just as you come into town and there is no sign except one that says "ICE CREAM & SANDWICHES". Good food, I'm talking deep fried country goodness, big burgers and RC cola on tap.

So if you have a Saturday with nothing to do, go straight down hwy 130 till you get to Illinois 1 and head south till you hit Shawnee National Forest and just get lost down in "God's country", you'll be glad you did.

Tagged...

I have been tagged by the sweetest thing to ever draw a breath of air, My wife and the infamous author of the Blairbunch blog.

GROUNDRULES:

Write 6 random things about yourself on your blog

(or in my comment section if you have no blog)

Tag 6 people at the end of your post

If you are tagged, do it and pass the tag along.



1. I LOVE salmon patties even though they stink up my house.



2. My feet NEVER smell bad.



3. Watermelon makes me sick.



4. I used to have a car named "mango" (the little red neon)



5. I think that the velveeta brand of mac and cheese is not as good as the kraft creamy.



6. I probably think too much about food. 50% of my facts have to do with food. maybe that's why it's getting so hard to tie my shoes.



I, Pastor Ray, being of sound mind and medeocre health hereby tag:

Delbort, Jace, "Nichols News", "The Frey Five", Billy Big FEESH, Papaw Jerry.

Simple but profound...

When my wife and I went into our little boy’s room tonight we discovered that he had placed several small objects into one of the electrical outlets. My immediate response was to launch into what I like to call a “high-energy motivational instruction session” or what my wife affectionately calls “screaming at the kids”.

I was doing my best to help the boy remember never to do that again when he suddenly burst out “I JUST CAN’T HELP IT!”

He often responds to chastisement this way because though he has the desire to do the right thing, the wrong thing is just too appealing. Before I could respond to his dilemma with a three point sermon on self control, my wife interjected with a simple but profound solution.

She said:
“If you feel like you want to do something wrong, come and get me and I’ll help you find something better to do”

I was taken aback at how simple, and at the same time, how Christ-like her solution was. This is the same kind of advice we are given in the book of James for when we are tempted.

James 4:7-8a
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts…

We are all kind of like a little kid sometimes. The desire to do good is in us, but we succumb to the appeal of sin.

Next time I am enticed by the appeal of sin I think I will follow my wife’s advice:
I’m going to call on God and he will help me and show me something better to do.

Man, I love that woman.

Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

This afternoon I was able to get into the woods, something I love to do. And to make it even better I was able to go with my dad who lives in Idaho, and my little boy. We had a great time as we walked through the patch of woods that I hunt and we even got to see a few deer.

Every time I hunt it seems like God always allows me to at least see a deer. I think that this is the best part about being in the outdoors. There’s nothing like being on God’s turf and seeing it operate under his rules. It makes me feel like a fly on the wall in a great big room.

In Job chapter 39 God explains this idea about nature being his territory:
Have you watched as the wild deer are born? Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery? They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring. Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave their parents and never return.

Its scriptures like this that really clue me in on the fact that if I see a deer, let alone if I am able to harvest one, it is because God brought it to me. That really puts things into perspective for me and it makes hunting an experience that brings me closer to the Lord.

This is the way that God has set it up, just like in the book of Acts, God showed Peter a vision in the sky of all sorts of wild animals and he told him to “kill and eat”. God has provided us with animals so that we can feed our families. Now I don’t think that means we are all supposed to hunt or that it is wrong to be a vegetarian, but I have to wonder – if we’re not supposed to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat?

A good day and a chilly lake.

About five years ago I started working at evapco and I met a guy named Billy. My first impression of Billy was that he was a typical Greenup redneck, but as I got to know him a little better I found out that he was a pretty good guy.

One day I decided to invite him to church and when I asked him if he went to church anywhere I was surprised to hear him say that he tried to go to “Sunday school” every week. When I asked him where, he said – CIPS lake. This was the beginning of four years of discussions and questions about things like whether the Bible was true or if Jesus was the only way to heaven.

All through this time I prayed for Billy, that he would see that Jesus was the only way and that he would accept him as his personal savior. I prayed for Billy EVERY day, sometimes many times a day, the same way I do for all of my friends and co-workers. He would often ask me a question and I would give the best answer I could, but as often as I could I would ask him “are you ready to accept Christ yet?” and he’d say “maybe someday”.

Well, to make a long story short I asked him that same old question here recently and I was caught off guard when he said that he had! It wasn’t too long after that that he also expressed the desire to be baptized.

So tonight at about 6:00 pm CST at Sam Parr State Park I baptized Billy and It was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had (it was also my first baptism).

I read a short scripture about a guy in the Bible that wanted to be baptized and the only condition in that story was that the man had to believe in Jesus with all of his heart (Acts chapter 8). One thing I know for sure after tonight is that Billy believes with all of his heart. I’m as sure of that as I am my own salvation.

The great thing about it is that to be saved all that you have to do is believe. Believe that you don’t meet God’s standard of righteousness and accept that you’ll have to get by on the righteousness of Christ. He paid the penalty for our sins when we couldn’t, that’s his gift to us. All you have to do is accept it – BELIEVE it.

That is what Billy did and tonight he was baptized to do what Jesus did and to symbolize the death and burial of his old life and the beginning of a new one. While baptism doesn’t save you, I do feel that it is so important because it is that First step of obedience as a Christian. Billy decided to do this purely out of a desire to please God, I didn’t have to breathe a word about it (that’s how you know it’s the real thing).

Billy You’re the real thing, and I couldn’t have picked a better candidate for my first baptism than you.

Enjoy the pics.

Are you Ready?

Movie Review

M and I just got home from watching the new movie "Fireproof". For starters I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is married or may be thinking of getting married.

In a world where movies have budgets that could solve the hunger problems in a handful of third-world-countries, it is clear that this movie was put together with a frugal budget. But once you get past the sub-professional acting and a few corny lines, you find a movie that is quite entertaining and applicable. In the movie the main character takes a forty-day challenge from his father to try to win back his wife from the brink of divorce.

The plot moves quickly and keeps your attention (which is no mean feat for a guy that thinks that every movie should have a light sabre fight and at least one epic battle). The story line is also quite interesting and really got me thinking about the kind of husband I am. I liked how the movie was pretty real about the issues that married couples face, yet still handled them tastefully. Above all it was a movie that was truly "Family Friendly" - which makes me ask the question: If a movie isn't family friendly is it really Christian friendly? We'll have to deal with that one on a future post.

All in all I give it two exuberant thumbs up, a must see for this fall's movie lineup.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

I was looking over some of the pictures on my computer and I stumbled across this one. If you aren’t sure who the people in the picture are: (from left to right) Mom, Dad, me and a sweet old southern couple named Della and Ron Willy that were friends with my parents.

As you examine this picture (after you finish admiring the adorable little boy) there are a couple of things that the mildly astute person may notice. For one you will see that we are all drinking Dr. Pepper, an addiction of mine that was clearly established at an early age. And you will probably notice that everyone is dressed in their Sunday clothes. If you are a drawer of conclusions you might infer that the subjects of the picture had just returned from church and were enjoying a meal together. Such an observation would be correct.

My love for Dr. Pepper wasn’t the only thing that began in my early childhood. All through my childhood my parents took me to church. I don’t ever remember seeing the ritual as bothersome; It was just what we did. But I am glad that I was taught as a child that taking the time each week to attend church was “just what you do”.

It is funny that I went to church almost every Sunday for my whole life but it wasn’t until I was about twenty-two that I really started to understand why. My parents, probably without realizing fully the weight of this ritual, established a constant fixture in my week that helps me to worship and serve the Lord and be equipped to worship and serve Him better. I can’t imagine a Sunday without going to church in some capacity.

We had Tuesday Bible study tonight and we were talking about how important it is to be in church, not just for the teaching but for the encouragement we can get from each other. Iron definitely sharpens iron and it is easy to get dull in this world.

My hope is that those who are reading this blog get to enjoy the encouragement and spiritual food that they need this Sunday in church. And especially if you have kids, “train them up in the way they should go” it could change their life (for the better).

Why not look up???

I got an email today from my first grade sunday school teacher. I havent seen him for twenty years but a while back he started emailing me.
He always sends me something funny or clever or at least a story or picture running down Barak Obama. (hmmm... maybe his ancestors were Irish - O'bama? anyway...). But today he sent me a short letter and I thought that it would be a good one to put in "Ray"man's terms, so here it is:

THE BUZZARD: If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

THE BAT: The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLEBEE:A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, butpersists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completelydestroys itself.

PEOPLE: In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up. Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But faith looks up!

I don't know about you but I do my share of "shuffling about helplessly".

Thanks "Sarge"... still teaching me, twenty years down the road.

This week I have the privilege of leading the Bible lesson for the first official night of AWANA club. As I thought about what to do the lesson on, I remembered why we have AWANAs in the first place – To reach boys and girls with the Gospel of Christ and train them to serve Him. So the Gospel (or maybe I should say G.O.S.P.E.L.) is precisely what I’m going to teach.

A couple of years ago I attended a “Dare2Share” conference in St. Louis with the youth in our church. The emphasis of the conference was to encourage teens (and adults) to boldly share their faith with the people that are in their lives or those that cross their paths. The keynote speaker gave us a simple way to share your faith with someone using the word “Gospel”-

G – God created us to be with him.
O – Our sins separate us from God.
S – Sins can’t be removed by good deeds.
P – Paying the penalty for sin Jesus died and rose again.
E – Everyone who trusts in him alone will have eternal life.
L – Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever.

My plan is to go through each letter of the word “Gospel” and explain the message of salvation clearly. My hope is that if there is a kid there that doesn’t know Jesus as their personal savior they might see that they need Christ and make the decision to follow him.

I love to share the gospel with people, especially kids. It is something that used to frighten me, but the more I do it the clearer I become on one fact – Telling people the Good News of Salvation in Jesus Christ is the reason I am on this planet.

The last instruction that Jesus gave us before he ascended into heaven was to spread the Gospel. If that’s the instruction that he left us with, then we need to be doing our job.

The Gospel really is “Good News” because it gives hope to us sinners that there is a way to be reconciled to God – Jesus. Anybody, regardless of their background, past or current situation can trust in Jesus, be saved and given eternal life.

If you know Jesus I challenge you to share the Gospel whenever you can (if your not sure of a quick easy way, memorize the GOSPEL method).

If you haven’t given your life to Jesus I want you to know that Jesus loves you and he wants to have a relationship with you and give you eternal life. All he asks is that you reach out to him by believing that he can save you from your sins. Jesus is that thing that is missing in your life. Choose Jesus Today.

This week I was reminded of how thankful I am for pain. I’m sure that a statement like that probably sounds strange - to be thankful for pain, but it’s true. On Thursday I was the proud recipient of my first two cavity fillings.
Now I really hate pain. That is clear to my family who would tell you that I have known about these cavities for about 3 ½ years. During that time the idea of getting a filling was enough to put me on the verge of panic (largely because I previously viewed dentists as sadistic creatures bent on separating me from my money and my teeth). But I finally had to “Man-Up” (as I would have told my boy to do) and go to the dentist.
Well, lo and behold, I found out that my dentist was actually a pretty nice guy, who grew up with one of my work buddies, wants to make sure my visit is an inexpensive one, and he doesn’t like Barak Obama – Who knew!! He’s not an emotionless, human instrument of torture after all! (and a Republican to boot!)
But in the numbing process I became thankful for my capacity to feel pain. With the Novocain in full effect, ol’ saw-bones was able to drill a hole in and grind on a tooth that would previously have made me yelp from a cold drink of water. The numbing shot also effected my tongue, lip and chin. I had to be careful not to bite my tongue or lip as I ate.
Through this process I was reminded that God has designed us with the ability to feel pain, and the basic function of that ability is to alert us when there is a problem. If I hadn’t had pain when I ate something cold or sweet, I would never have known that my teeth needed attention. That pain, in ever increasing doses, was motivation for me to get past my fears and go to the sadist, er Dentist.
I can’t help but also be thankful to God for the capacity to feel spiritual pain. That twinge of spiritual discomfort that comes after doing something that I know is wrong in God’s sight. We’ve all felt it, we say something or do something and immediately we get that cramp in our heart, that feeling of regret that shows us we have messed up. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
In John 16:8 Jesus said of the Holy Spirit:
"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin…”
I don’t like that spiritual cramp that I get on a daily basis from my sin, But I’m glad it’s there because it draws me to Christ where I am able to confess my mistakes and experience his forgiveness. If I didn’t have that capacity for spiritual pain I probably wouldn’t realize that I had sinned, and since sin puts a barrier between me and God, I would go on being out of fellowship with the him. But since God cared enough about me to give me pain, I am able to go to him and the relationship can be restored
So I’ve come away from this undesirable necessity of life much differently than I had anticipated: With an appreciation for pain (both kinds) and a strong desire to floss and drink less pop.

Thank you for reading the first post on my blog.

The purpose of this blog is to vent the questions and ideas that come into my mind, to discuss the things that God reveals in His Word but most of all, its purpose is to point people to His Son, Jesus Christ.

This is a picture of me and my friend "Rosie" the rosebud torch. When I see this picture I am reminded of what the bible says about letting your light shine before men.

Matthew 5:16 says:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

As I read this verse I am inclined to ask the question-

Why shine a light if nobody can see it?

Out in the real world there is always a temptation to hide your light. Maybe out of fear of being different or offending someone. But Jesus told us to let it shine so that people can see.

He said:
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

So I think the best advice for us Christians in the real world is to shine a "basket-proof" light. That way, when we start to put a basket over our light, it catches on fire from the intensity of the light.