Monday, January 29, 2007

my crib and my ride

greetings from cabin #2 at the koa in abilene texas! i am hunting for college students to be a part of our summer internship program at the church of Christ in falls church.here is the plane that flew me from national airport (dca) to the dallas/fort worth international airport (dfw)here is cabin #2 with my ride from dallas to abilene in the front.here is my ride for the next few days german engineering is in the house!

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

rocketeering!



me and austin took a rocket he got for christmas up on the hill behind our house to launch his rocket! ashley was our camera girl and she did a great job.

click here to go to sparkyphilms to see our 3rd and final launch of the day.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

losing your salvation!?!

Hebrews 6.4 - .11


Hebrews 6.4 - .6 maybe the harshest and most controversial part of the book of Hebrews. Take a moment and read those few short verses and you will see what I mean. The controversy seems to focus on the fact that someone can lose their salvation. There is a debate as to whether these were true believers or not. To me the most astonishing part of these verses is not that we can lose our salvation but that someone would walk away from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The author of Hebrews reminds the readers what these people have walked away from. First, they walked away from the heavenly gift. Then they walk away from their share in the Holy Spirit. Next they spit out the word of God after tasting its goodness. Finally they leave behind the powers of the coming age. By doing this they once again crucify the SON of God and subject him to all the disgrace he already suffered on their behalf.

They have no means of return. There is no repentance left for them! They have experienced all the blessings that the LORD has to offer us in this world. They had the heavenly gift of salvation that the Son bought us. They had a share in the Holy Spirit, that part of God that lives in each of His people. The tasted the goodness of God’s word and enjoyed it teachings. They experienced the power of the coming age. Instead of remaining faithful and holding on the all this goodness they walk away from it. In doing that they punish the LORD Jesus Christ again. How could someone do this!

This wasn’t an accident, they did not just slip away from their faith on the other hand they deliberately rejected their only hope! The author makes an agricultural analogy to help describe what they are like. (Hebrews 6.7 & .8) It is as if they were ground that received rain daily but instead of producing a useful crop they only produce thistles and thorns. They received the blessings from God and instead of producing a good crop they produced weeds. The blessing weren’t the problem but they were.

But, the author is confident that the readers are not like this! (Hebrews 6.9 - .1 The author looks at their lives and sees them producing a good crop. They are taking the blessings of God and are growing. They have repented of their past sins and are changing the direction of their lives. They received the heavenly gift and walk in it not away from it. They rely on the power of their share of the Holy Spirit, to have the wisdom and courage to live a life pleasing to the LORD. They not only tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the coming age and they are eating it up. They are not humiliating the LORD Jesus Christ again instead they are glorifying him with their lives.

Who are you? Are you walking away from the blessings of God? Are you producing weeds, thorns and thistles? Are you crucifying the Son of God all over again?

Who are you? Are you walking in the blessings of God? Are you producing a useful crop? Are you crucifying your old self and bringing glory to the Son of God?

The choice is yours but after experiencing all the blessings the LORD has shown me I will always walk in the way of the LORD and nothing will cause me to walk away from Him!

Saturday, January 06, 2007

at which table are you sitting

At Which Table are You Sitting?

The Adult’s Table or the Kid’s Table

Hebrews 5.11 – 6.3


At most family gatherings there are at least two tables: one table will be for the adults and parents; while the other table is for the kids. This way the adults can have mature conversations without having to worry about the children interrupting. The kids are able to eat as the please and have immature conversation without parents telling you to stop. If you sit at the adult table you are considered to be mature and old enough to behave like an adult. If you sit at the kid’s table you are considered to be immature and not old enough to behave like an adult. The goal is to move from the kid’s table to the adult table. There are two ways to make this move. First you can grow up and this takes little effort. The second way is to become very mature. This can take a lot of effort but it can be worth it!

Those who first read Hebrews were sitting at the kid’s table spiritually even though they were supposed to be at the adult table! They are still drinking milk and eating baby food when they should be moving on to steak and coffee. (Hebrews 5.12b – 14) Milk and baby food is for infants and spiritually immature who are not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. (Hebrews 5.13) Coffee and steak are for the spiritually mature who by constant use of the teachings about righteousness have learned to tell good from evil. (Hebrews 5.14)

They are warned that they have gotten slow, lazy and have stopped trying to understand. The author wants to teach them about Jesus as the Great High Priest in the Order of Mekchizedek and what this means to them but they aren’t ready for it! (Hebrews 5.11) In fact they should be ready to teach but need a refresher course! (Hebrews 5.12) They are stuck at the kid’s table but should be at the adult’s table instead.

The author wants to move them from the kid’s table to the adult table. The author wants to move them from elementary teaching to some advanced teachings. Using the elementary teachings as a foundation to build on. Leads to understanding the advanced teaching the author has for them. (Hebrews 6.1 - .3) It also leads to them being the teachers they should be.

We face the same challenge. Many in the church have grown lazy and just stop trying to learn when they should be teachers themselves. They do this by stop coming to Bible studies that challenge them to think deeper. They do this by continually going to milk and baby food Bible classes when they should sit down to a big piece of Bible study steak. They do this by not putting the teachings into use and training themselves how to tell good from evil. They do this by not teaching when they are perfectly able too.

Our challenge is to listen to this warning! Don’t just sit at the kid’s table where it is fun and safe. Move to the adult table where you are challenged and learn to use what you learned. Teach others to move from the kid’s table to the adult table. I have been going to Bible classes since I can remember and many of you have too. Isn’t it time to move on and teach or at least sit at the adult table?

Thursday, January 04, 2007

card board man



i got creative with an old cracker box one morning and this is the result! i think i might use the head shot for my buddy icon for ichat.

by the way i am now on facebook so i can be kewl!

i seem to be the only 1990 graduate from north springs high school on facebook