The Strong Man

Have ever considered how powerful and strong the Devil truly is? Take some time and look around you. Can you see how he is controlling people's minds and actions. you would have to be pretty mighty to be able to do that. I think this is one of the reasons Jesus essentially calls Satan the Strong Man in Matthew 12.

In spite of this great power his fate is sealed. His possessions will be taken with ease (Matthew 12:29). He will be become like tinder and left to burn without ceasing (Isaiah 1:31). He will be cast in to the fiery abyss. In the end his power is only superficial when compared to awesome power of God. As a born-again believer we have that same power in our possession. There is no stronghold that Satan can place around us that cannot be destroyed. The battle may seem hard at times but we must take hold of the fact that in the end we will win and will overcome. The greatest of all strongholds, death, had been defeated so it would only serve to reason that the rest will also fall.

If you are battling with a stronghold in your live I would encourage you to not give up. The power of God can remove those things which hinder you. It may not always be easy and some times God allows us to wallow in our sins before He pulls us out. I know from personal experience God can and will remove those strongholds from your life. You job in this is to continual seek His face and allow Him to do the rest in His timing.

Praise Worthy

I just wanted to share one of the praise songs that has been particularly meaningful to me lately.

What to do? What to do? What to do?

One of the hardest aspects of what I do right now is that on Sunday mornings I have to concentrate so much on the timing of the worship slides that I find it difficult to worship. So much of Sunday morning service is work and not rest for me. This has been a personal struggle of mine for a number of years. I have been intimately involved with this kind of ministry for a number of years now. In so doing I have found myself away from my family and feeling as though I am away from God and have not worshiped Him. Satan has taken these feelings to make me feel guilty about my relationship with God and how I must be doing something wrong or that I am making god sad by not worshiping Him. In my head I know that worship is more than songs yet I also know how much a part of worship is in my life. Music is one of the best avenues for taking me and my heart into the Lord’s presence.

With this as a back drop I have been seeking someone to come and take over at least some of my roles on Sunday morning. With this though I have always thought it seemed selfish of me to do that. I did not want anyone else to be in the place(s) that I have been. Today, my perspective has changed. I guess really what has happened is that my heart now understands what my head has known for a long time.

I can and should worship God by running the music slides. By doing the best job possible. By having the timing work, the backgrounds look good,and the words in the correct order I am worshiping my God. So to all of you who find yourself working on Sunday, I encourage you to work as hard as you can and to have that be your act of worship.

Look At Him Grow!!!

Dash more than tripled in size in one week!! Wow. He went from .33 cm to 1.09 cm!! How cool is that!

Small Disclaimer

No, the baby will not be named Dash. That is just the current nickname. :)

More Dash

Here is a 6 week picture of Dash.

Today

Well in few minutes we will be begin another Sunday AM service here at UBC. This one though is unique for me because it will be the first one without Kelly as my pastor. This fills with such mixed emotions. The hardest of which to deal with the is knowing that such a dear friend will not be here this morning. Kelly was more than a pastor to me he is dear friend. I also miss the sounds of his family in our halls. I miss hearing Vicky's laugh carrying through out the church. I miss hear Moriah's feet as she runs. I miss hearing Gabriel voice as he tells me about some animal I have never heard of. I miss these things and more.

I know in my heart of hearts that given the situation that Kelly was in that resigning was the right thing to do. I am just sad that it had come to that point. I know God has great and mighty plan for all of this. I look forward to the day when I can look back and see that mighty plan. That day is a great day to long for.

Separating the Sheep and Goats

Today I was reading the book of Jude and it raised a question in my mind. If we are to know someone's heart by their fruit (Matthew 7:16) then what do we do when we see someone whom we 'know' to be a born-again believer yet we see them consistently acting in ways that are not of God? Add to this thought that we know the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of sin. We see in Acts 7:51 that those with uncircumcised heart can resist the Holy Spirit but can a believer?

I understand that we all continue to sin after we have sought the forgiveness of God. I also know that we are called to be without habitual sin after a salvation moment.

So what do you think about all of this? Any thoughts?

New Family Member

Angie and I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family. Everyone say Hello to Dash Bailey!

Arrogance or Confidence?

Have you ever considered the difference between arrogance and confidence? If you truly examine this two ideas you will begin to realize that it is small line that divides the two. I think the difference in the two can be found in the attitude behind each one. If a person is confident then they know what they believe, are at peace with this knowledge, and have no issue sharing what they know with others yet they do not exalt themselves because of what they know. If a person is arrogant then hey know what they believe, are at peace with this knowledge, have no issue sharing what they know with others and they do exalt themselves with pride based on what they know. Unfortunately, I believe that too often in the church we perceive someone as being arrogant when they are in all reality confident about what they believe and understand.

We are called to confident in the truth that we have found. Paul alludes to this calling in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4. Paul encourages the believers in Thessolonica to essentially be confident in what they have heard from him and to not allow words and letters from men to deceive them. I believe the same must be true for us. We must seek to be confident in what we believe while always avoiding arrogance. We are only able to accomplish this task if we are willing to seek the wisdom of God. If our confidence rest in Him then He has promised to send His peace which will guard our hearts. If we rest in Him He will show us when we are wrong and He will be the one who provides the new understandings and insight that we need when we are wrong.

Just remember "It's not about me. It's all about Him, all of the time!"

Verse of the Week

So this week my wife and I have started memorizing some verses together each week. I thought it would be nice to share those verses with you as well. We begin our week on Sunday so I apologize for this week's verse being late. In any case here it is (To see it in a different version simply click on the verse)

Psalm 112:7-8
He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.

Your Destiny

Each of us has one of two destinies. You will either be subject to the wrath of God or you will not be subject to God's wrath. There is no middle ground on this one. The bible describes those without Christ as their Savior as children of wrath. Their are people who will inherit the wrath of God for their sins. However, those who accepted the Son of God as their Savior and Lord are to be spared this punishment (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). For those who have recognized that they have comitted wrongs against a God who is absolutely holy and have cried out to be saved from the penalty of death, to them God has given the great gift of salvation.

If you have never cried out to Him for this gift then I would encourage you to do it today. Scriptures tells us that Heaven rejoices over each of us who accepts this free gift. If you have questions please contact me or check out this website.