daddy4ms

READING IN TODAY’S NEWS, One of the 29 people trapped in a New Zealand coal mine is a teenage boy who’d only been on the job for an hour when an explosion rocked the mine. Joseph Dunbar had celebrated his 17th birthday last Thursday, according to news reports from New Zealand. His mother, Philippa Timms, told the New Zealand Harold that she and her son had recently moved to the area on New Zealand’s southern island to get a fresh start in life. "We moved here for Joseph, to give him a different life, a better life," the Herald quoted her as saying. Her son’s top goal soon became getting a job at the mine, she said. Can you imagine? The boy moves to a new place to get a fresh start, and after ONE HOUR on the job, he gets trapped in a mine? Over the last year, while speaking to various audiences, I have often shared a prayer God has given me to say over my family every morning. Although it is very simple, something about this prayer has resonated in many peopl...

Today, during my study and reading time at the Perk, I walked through several verses on the Holy Spirit. After Paul Richardson's message on Sunday, I wanted to see what Scripture said in relation to walking in the Spirit. This led me to pull out my concordance and look at every mention of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. If the verse was similar, they were combined. I hope to do more study into specific themes, but that will come in the future. Here is what I have so far, the Holy Spirit . . . gives life (John 6:63, Romans 8:11, 2 Corin . 3:6; 1 Peter 3:18) is within us (John 14:17; Romans 8:11; 1 Corin . 3:16; 2 Corin . 5:5) will teach/remind us (John 14:26) counselor (John 14:26; 15:26) testify about Jesus (John 15:26; 1 John 5:6) convict (John 16:7-8) guide into truth (John 16:13) tell what is to come (John 16:13) bring glory to Christ (John 16:14) make known "what belongs" to Father/Son (John 16:15) filled with/spoke in tongues (Acts 2:4; Ephesians 5:18) pro...

There seems to be a theme in my life right now. What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Within the church, there seems to be two major extremes. One that abuses the idea of being led by the Spirit (i.e. God told me to tell you to give me money) and the other that is so afraid of the other extreme that it in the process squelches the movement of the Holy Spirit. Does anyone else feel this tension? I am the first to admit that I have at times waffled between the two. Early on in my spiritual growth (college years), I was a little leery of "being filled with the Holy Spirit". This journey came to a head during a missions trip to Amsterdam where I came face to face with missionaries from another group who were very Spirit filled (speaking in tongues & being slain in the Spirit). One might expect that I quickly went to the opposite extreme. However, I was challenged because I had worked with this group for weeks and knew their hearts and desires quite well. I could ...

It has been awhile since I posted some quotes from the books I am reading. Currently, I am reading Collaborate, Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys, and A Certain Risk. Here are a few quotes to make you think: From Collaborate (multiple authors) " What the church can do best is communicate and execute a clear strategy that equips both parent and church to fulfill their God-designed roles." "Find a way to build a common path for church and home for the sake of the next generation." From A Certain Risk (Paul Richardson) " He was confident that if God had given him a dream to reach those kids, then God would also provide the means to reach them." "Be assured that for every barrier you encounter, He has already created a solution." "As the Spirit opens our eyes, the everyday course of our lives becomes an adventure of innovation." "Grace dares us to open our eyes and dream greater dreams. Dreams that are born in faith and that cha...