Searching for Who Know's What in West Gahannabus

Confessional Prayer from Book of Common Prayer

kamelot4 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:43:35 +0000

This prayer can be used as a daily inventory when we are reflecting on our day:

Let us confess our sins against God and Our Neighbor.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done (sins of commission), and by what we have left undone (sins of omission). We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, and forgive us; that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life, Amen.

In the first part of the prayer we can list those sins of commission (the choices we make when do something that is outside of God’s will), or the sins of omission (when we choose willfully to disobey and not follow Jesus). As we list these sins, we can then bring them to Jesus and place them at the foot of the cross, and receive his mercy and forgiveness which then frees us and empowers us through his grace to walk (right foot, left foot) into holiness and wholeness.

The Many Barriers To Forgiveness

kamelot4 — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:53:28 +0000

http://www.marriagemissions.com/barriers-to-forgiveness/

An excellent article regarding what forgiveness is and what it isn’t.

Jesus meets us in our mess

kamelot4 — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:10:35 +0000

http://bible.us/n/GRyG Jesus Meets Us in Our Mess

Best of 2011

kamelot4 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:14:38 +0000

It is time to talk about the Best of 2011. These are movies, music, and books that I listened to or read. 2011 was an interesting year on a global scale and a local one. From the capturing and killing of Osama Ben Laden to major sports scandals at Penn State and Syracuse to local scandals happening with Tat Gate at Ohio State where Jim Tressel resigned and the hiring of football legend Urban Meyer to be the next OSU football coach.

Anyway here are my top lists:

Best Music

1. Matt Redman – 10,000 Reasons – Best Worship album of 2011 – Passionate , awesome, music with great corporate worship songs like 10,000 reason (to bless the Lord), the intimate Endless Hallelujah, and Never Once.

2. Hillsong Live - God is Able – God is able is one of my favorite worship songs of the year. It’s all about being an overcomer.

3. Worship Central’s Spirit Break Out – Great catchy songs from some of the UK’s worship leaders including Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon, and Nikki Fletcher.

4. Red’s – Faceless – Overplayed on Radiou, but very hard driving song, and one of my favorites of the year.

5. Icon for Hire – Icon for Hire is my favorite breakout band for 2011. Great punk attitude, catchy hooks and choruses with driving rock. Below is their video for their song “Make a Move”

6. Disciple’s Horseshoes and Handgrenades – Even though this album came out in 2010, their songs stayed in the top rock countdown’s throughout 2011. Hits included “Invisible, Remedy and Dear X”

7. Bethel Church in Redding California’s corporate worship. They are one of Vineyard USA’s worship artists including Jeremy Riddle, Ben Johnson and others. Here is there song “One Thing Remains”

8. Also from Bethel Community Church – Jeremy Riddle’s Furious album. Below is the song “Furious”

9. My favorite hardcore album is August Burn’s Red and their new album Leveler which was released last summer. Below is a video of their song “Empire”

10. Speaking of empire’s, I am Empire’s album “Kings” also had loads of catchy songs such as “Hammers and Anvils, and Saints and Sinners. Below is their song “Hammers and Anvils”:

11. For old school metal, Theocracy’s As the World Bleeds is over the top. Many rockzines, webzines have given them high praise for their latest release.

Books

1. Francis Chan’s “Erasing Hell, What God says about Eternity and What We Made Up. A pretty good rebuttle to Rob Bell’s “Love Wins”.

2. Timothy Keller’s “Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God”. Many leading pastors throughout the USA are writing on marriage since marriage as an institution is being eroded in our culture. For me it was very convicting because he writes a lot about what it means to live sacrificially.

3. Terry Wardle’s “Untamed Christian, Unleashed Church: The Extravagance of the Holy Spirit in Life and Ministry”. Even though this book came out in 2010, I read it this year, and very insightful on the personhood of the Holy Spirit and his role in a Christian’s life and ministry.

Keeping Christmas Well: Remember That Jesus Understands (Devotional)

kamelot4 — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:34:17 +0000

Hebrews 2:10-18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. Hebrews 2:18 Does God understand us How does God regard us when we struggle When we’re discouraged When we’re tempted Hebrews 2:10-18 offers an encouraging answer to these questions. As we saw in yesterday’s Reflection, the main point of Hebrews 2:10-18 is that the Incarnation makes salvation possible. Because Jesus was fully human, he was able to break the power of sin and death over human beings through his death on the cross. The last verse of this passage offers yet another piece of good news: “Since [Jesus] himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested” (2:18). The Greek verb periazein is translated here as “to test.” It can also mean “to tempt,” and this translation is used in some versions (KJV, NIV). In fact, Jesus experienced both temptation (most notably in his encounter with Satan in the wilderness) and testing (most pointedly in his Passion). Thus, he knows what it’s like to be tempted to sin, and he knows how it feels to be tested by suffering. This means that Jesus understands when we are tempted and tested. He knows the magnetic pull of sin, even though he was always able to resist it (Heb. 4:15). And he knows how it feels to endure pain, rejection, and injustice. Thus, Jesus is able to help us when we’re struggling, not by standing apart from us and shouting orders from a safe distance, but by standing alongside us and offering his empathy as well as his wisdom. Keeping Christmas well means being comforted and encouraged by the empathy of Jesus. When we live in light of the Incarnation, we will allow Jesus to help us as life’s difficulties and temptations threaten to defeat us. QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION : When you are tempted, or when you are going through hard times, do you ever think that Jesus understands how you feel What difference would it make in your life if you were to take seriously Hebrews 2:18 PRAYER : Lord Jesus, how I thank you today for experiencing human life. To be sure, you knew many of its joys. But you also knew its sorrows and struggles. Thus, you know today how it feels when I am tempted to sin. You know how it feels to be discouraged and exhausted. Thank you for understanding my challenges and suffering. Help me, dear Lord, when I am tempted. Give me strength to live a holy life that honors you. Help me, dear Lord, when I am tested, when life is painful, when I wonder if you’re there for me. Give me the strength to hang onto you in all things. All praise be to you, Jesus Christ, Word of God Incarnate, because you know what it’s like to be human. All praise be to you because you are able to help me when I need it most. Amen . Author Name: Mark D. Roberts

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHighCallingDailyReflections/~3/USlVY7jXRJE/keeping-christmas-well-remember-jesus-understands

#Bible http://j.mp/s7C6u9

Jesusfreakhideout.com: Blindside With Shivering Hearts We Wait There Must Be Something In The Wind lyrics

kamelot4 — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:04:08 +0000

Here is a link to Blindside’s song “There must be something in the wind” from their latest album “With Shivering Hearts We Wait”.

Jesusfreakhideout.com: Blindside With Shivering Hearts We Wait There Must Be Something In The Wind lyrics.

Christmas Tree

kamelot4 — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:01:04 +0000

My daughter Lily trying to reach lights and ornaments on our Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Christmas Chaos

kamelot4 — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:47:25 +0000

Christmas Chaos

It has been a crazy time in the Sloan family since Thanksgiving. We had a minor plumbing issue that resulted in a minor flood overnight the Sunday before Thanksgiving that produced water throughout the first floor and basement. Two weeks later, one of our dogs Sadie broke her arm which resulted in a major orthopedic surgery.

Despite the storms and circumstances that surround the Sloan household, we have hope that God will restore, rebuild, and repair our lives. Christmas is all about hope, and God with us. This is from Hillsong’s Emmanuel:

Holy holy

I will bow before

My Lord and King

Hallelujah

You have come to us

You make all things new

Emmanuel

Jesus Christ

You’ll never let me go

My Shepherd King

You’re watching over me

Emmanuel

I like the lyrics because it’s all about God being with us, and as he comes to us he makes all things new, never lets us go, and constantly watches over us.

An encouraging verse about rebuilding is found in Amos 9:11 which says, “in that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen, and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old” (NHEB). God is the one that will rebuild our lives despite how tough 2011 was, 2012 will be better.

Another verse that is encouraging is found in Psalm 126 in where David says “Restore our fortunes again, Lord like the streams of Negev… He who goes weeping carrying seed for sowing, will certainly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves” (Psalm 126:4,6). The point is that as we sow in hardship, it will produce a great harvest where our fortunes can be restored. God is in the restoration business, he wants to grow us up if we allow him, and bring us into healing as it is stated in Hosea 6, “come, and let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us, and bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up, and we will live before him.” (NHEB – Hosea 6:1-2).

Renovating the Heart

kamelot4 — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 04:15:44 +0000

http://bible.us/Jer33.6.MSG “But now take another look. I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings.

Walking Up The Mountain

kamelot4 — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:09:27 +0000

One time many years ago, a friend of mine and I were travelling home to Columbus from the foothills of the Smokey Mountains in South Carolina. We decided to stop near and hike up from the base of a mountain to the Appalachian Trail near Crosby, TN. I thought I was in pretty good shape, but boy was I not. It was 5 miles up the mountain. My chest, my legs and my back ached. Lana, Zeke, and Buddy, my friends German Shepherds, kept checking on me to see how I was holding up. Just like hiking the Appalachian Trail, so it is living the normal Christian life. It says in 1 Peter 5:10:

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10)

John MacArthur says that “God is working through the Christian’s struggles to produce character.” His grace is there to restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us as we allow him to work through our struggles. Just as I struggled walking upto the Appalachian Trail, the Spirit kind of like Lana checking on me to see if I wasn’t passed out on the side of the trail, God is there at my side as I struggle through the mountain of life. Just as MacArthur says, he uses our struggles to grow us into maturity.