PRAISE AND PRAYER REQUEST 2012

The one thing that has struck me the most over the course of the journey over the last year has been one word, PRAYER. It has been a major theme of much of what I have read about. It has also been a constant on my mind and even in my writing. So as I begin this new year in just a few more hours I would like to bring up to all of you some things that you can thank the Father for us about as well as prayer request that we have.

Things that we praise the Lord for.

1.       For allowing us to be a part of the ministry at Reeves for almost 12 years.

2.       For a place for us to stay during this transitional period in our lives as a family.

3.       For the temp work that I have been able to work at that has helped provide for us.

4.       For Calvary Community Church and their love offering and above all a church that we can call home while we are here in Lincoln.

5.       For the many calls and prayers from so many of you. Many of you have gone out of your way with words of encouragement and love. Your friendship, love and gifts have meant the world to us and we thank the Lord for the fellowship.

6.       For the increased readership to our blogs: thebearsandmybible.blogspot.com and theartofwalkingslow.wordpress.com  This month we are knocking in at close to a 1,000 views. Thanks for reading.

7.       For how God has provided for Hannah to be able to go to Frontier School of the Bible without any debt. She is truly growing in the Lord and we are so grateful.

8.       For Hadassah as she is now halfway through her Junior year and is talking about going to Bible College.

9.       For our family members both here in Lincoln and in Arkansas who have gone out of their way to show their love towards us in so many ways.

Things to pray for us about.

1.       That the Lord might provide for us a full time ministry soon. I miss sharing His Word so very much.

2.       For my testimony to my co-workers that I will have a clear testimony to all that I come into contact with during these days. (God has allowed many good opportunities already.)

3.       For Julie as she and Haddy deal with this transition time as well. Pray as they continue to go forward with Haddy’s schooling.

4.       Pray for safety for Hannah as she goes back to school this month.

5.       Most importantly of all pray that we might learn to love Jesus even more this year than ever before.

     Once again brothers and sisters thank you for all that you have done for us and may our Father make 2012 your best year in service for Him ever.

ALIVE AND KICKING

    Well here I am sitting on one of the couches in the middle of the week. I had to come back home as our boss with the temp job finally succumbed to one nasty cold. I wanted to tell all of you thanks for praying as I was able to get a temp job doing inventory work for one of the local companies here in Lincoln. The Lord was very kind in allowing me a job that so far I have been able to understand and be faithful at. I like the guys that I am working with as well. Pray that I might keep a good testimony.

     Julie has been able to spend time with her mom, dad, sisters and her brother Lyle. Haddy has taken full advantage of spending some weekend time with her aunts and has had a blast. (One of her highlights was getting a ride on her uncle’s Harley all the way from Omaha to Lincoln.)

     We have been going to Calvary Community Church since we have arrived here. This is the church that Julie grew up in. We have been so grateful for the kindness shown to us by the pastors. (Pastor Carl has been with the church as their founding pastor for around 38 years.) Julie has also been able to visit with old friends and loved ones who impacted her life for the Lord.

     As of right now we will be leaving for Grand Rapids on Friday the 11^th – 14^th in view of a call to the pastorate there. I have been at the church already one time and this time Julie will be going with me. So as usual I ask that you might pray for us that the church and we will be sensitive to the Lord’s leading. I so badly want to preach again but more importantly I want to do what He would have us to do.

     The weather here is starting to cool down and Hannah has told us that she has had a snowfall of about 6-8 inches. She is doing great and we are so proud of her as she is enjoying her classes. I think she said that she got about a 3.2 on her mid-terms. We are planning on seeing her for Thanksgiving.

     My quiet times have been great here of late as I have been going through II Kings and studying the life of Elisha. I am amazed at a man who is constantly called a man of God through all the passages. Many times his name is not even used but the term man of God is often used. One woman who knew him well says to her husband, “A holy man of God passes by our way continually.”

     I think the above is true because Elisha had a constant awareness of the presence of God. One of my favorite passages about Him dealing with this issue is found in II Kings 6. The king of Syria has had enough of Elisha being told by God about his plans against Israel. The king’s solution is to seize Elisha with an army. Think about it an army with horses and chariots to just bring in one man. There were so many of them that they surrounded the city of Dothan.

     I wish that I could say that I had Elisha’s awareness of the presence of God. I am afraid I would have acted like his servant who in seeing the situation with only his physical eyes asks, “What shall we do?” There is where I get into trouble. I want to know what I CAN DO about the situation. The Lord though wants us to get to the point of there is nothing that I CAN DO. It’s His battle and not mine. I need to shout out at times, “Open my eyes that I may see.”

     The situations, moments of desperation and fears will never be larger than the God who surrounds us.  When the servant’s eyes are open he sees God’s army has filled the mountain side with horses and chariots of fire surrounding their enemy.

     Elisha’s servant eyes are open while the King of Syria’s men are blinded. The one who just moments earlier was to be a captive is now the conqueror. Isn’t that just like God? He wants to show Himself strong to us. He takes joy in setting the captive free. I believe that it thrills Him when we humble our hearts and allow Him to display His glory.

     May we see the presence of the Lord. May we allow Him to show Himself strong in our lives. 

SHE IS SOOOO BEAUTIFUL.

OK. THEY ARE A LITTLE WARPED!!

WHAT A GIRL!

Roy and Gracia

     There is nothing worse than realizing that you have missed your turnoff. I finally realized that this had happened when I could no longer see Little Rock behind me. When I pulled into the gas station I came to find out that the JFK exit was now twenty miles behind me. Bummed, I got back in the car and started to head back. It was my first true vacation on my own as a young man. I truly was country come to town.

     I had gotten to know three of the Persson's boys over the last six months. We had seen the Lord work among some of their teens that had come to Rock Haven Bible camp. Looking for fellowship, and a kindred spirit, I wanted to take a breather and spend some time with them. Heading back to Little Rock I truly could not wait to see them and their parents who I had not met. I had no idea that this trip would cement a friendship that has lasted now for almost over 25 years.

     Fifteen miles to go and I would be back at the exit that I had missed. It was now later in the evening and I was beyond tired. Wait, a second. I began to see steam rolling off the front of my car, and as I looked at the heat gauge, it was now pegged on the letter H. No, went the silent scream into the night. I pulled over, found some water, and the car limped and groaned to Lee Street. I was crushed, the vacation now looked like it was going to now have some good old stress put on it. Yet, I was about to learn that God's plans are not always what you think they are going to be for you. He loves to challenge and make our faith fresh and new.

     I pulled  into the Persson's driveway one defeated little pup. I saw the steam which now was billowing like a forest fire under my Honda's hood. I could barely see at all and I could only make out a shadow coming towards me in the darkness.O.K Lord, now what? The figure now tapped on my window and this is how I would be introduced to Roy Persson. I opened up the door and the first words that I heard were,  "Well GLORY, you must be Mike and it looks like you got a problem here. Pull your vehicle up on that ramp and will try to get it fixed for you."

     The three boys came on out and smiled and took me into their home. Their mother Gracia, introduced herself to me, and after that, asked if I was hungry. A total of five minutes must have passed since I had drove up into their drive. In just that short amount of time what once seemed so desperate of a situation was turned into hope. I did not see Roy come back in for some time. He came back with the report, "Mike, your water pump is out." Before I could say anything I was told by Roy, "Don't worry about it, will try to get it in the morning."

     This is how I was introduced to two of my favorite examples of what walking by faith looks like. The first lesson that I learned from them was showing grace to those in need. I believe that has always been a mark of their lives. (By the way, Roy worked on the water pump with his sons and it was fixed before I left. If that was not enough, grace was shown even more as I never payed for the water pump.) Grace and kindness were a mark of their faith, but it was not only to believers.

     Through those early years I always marveled at how Gracia loved to go to the Laundromat. Yeah, you heard me right the Laundromat. Even though her sons were willing to purchase her and Roy a washing machine she would have no part in it. WHY? What woman on God's green earth looks forward to going to the Laundromat? The answer, Gracia. You see she told me that whenever she went there she looked forward to opportunities to share the Gospel with others. They both not only talked about the lost and the need of a savior. They both actively shared the grace of our savior with all men. There is a lot of talk about how we need to share in this world but little is being done. Not so for Roy and Gracia.

     I learned the importance of prayer in a family. What amazed me was that when I got to know them they only had three of their sons still in the same house. In the morning they would have prayer with them, not as little children but as young men. They had done this earlier in their lives but it still continued on. Whenever they saw me come to their house from my various ministries they would always pray for me. Often the first question would be, "How are you doing Mike?" After I would tell them how things were going, I would hear them say,"Well, we need to pray about that."

     I just got done talking with their youngest son Nate the other day. Nate was bringing up to me how that he believed that one of the main messages of the Bible is that of one simple word, TRUST. I don't know about you, but even after all of these years I struggle with that one. I often feel like the Father who cried out to Jesus, "I want to believe but help my unbelief." I want to be like the hero's of the faith in Hebrews 11 but sometimes I struggle with the simplest of things.

     Herein is the rub, I believe that what Nate said is true. The more I look at scripture the more I see how the Lord just wants me to simply trust Him in all things. Nate had, and still has, two great examples  living before him today. Roy and Gracia from their early days of ministering to the needs of those around them even to now have trusted their savior in so many things. This does not mean, that there might not have been times of doubt, but their lives have been examples to others, of how we can trust Him, to meet all our needs, according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

     What I love about these two hero's of my faith is how that I know that they would not even want me to bring these things up about them. You see they would tell you that all the GLORY belongs to Jesus. I am reminded of an old Cathedral song that would sum up their lives with these following words. "All the glory belongs to Jesus, All the praise belongs to Him, All that I am or ever hope to be, All the glory belongs to Him." Lord, I thank you for the examples of faith you give to us in our lives, not only from the scriptures, but even those who walk beside us daily. Let me walk as you would walk, and give you all the GLORY.

Shout outs, praises and prayers

Hard to believe that we are now 8 days from Christmas and just a little over 2 weeks from 2011. So as I am pondering on the events of this year and looking forward to the one just around the corner. Here are some shout outs to some things that I really enjoyed this year.

1. The new ESV MacArthur Study Bible. What can I say? I love the ESV version because of the translation work and its readability. What a blast to have MacArthur's notes and his fine scholarship with keeping the verses in context. (Then to top it all off you have the layout, the fonts and even the beyond cool blue chapter numbers. Hey, the little things are important!) Seriously though, this study Bible will help any serious student of the Word to get more out of his Bible.
2. A great book for preteens, teens and even old dogs like me is The Action Bible. No it is not a new translation but rather a walk through some of the greatest Bible stories in both the Old and New Testament. It was written and illustrated by a Word of Life graduate named Sergio Cariello. Sergio apparently had worked for Marvel and D.C. Comics and it shows in this beautifully illustrated book. If you have a child who loves comics and you want them to get into the Word. Buy this book up and start reading to them.
3. I think my favorite CD this year was put out by above all people, Aaron Neville. The CD is called," I Know I've Been Changed." As far as I know this is Aaron's third "Christian" CD and by far  his very best. The album has some great Christian spirituals and Hymns on it.  This is how Gospel music should be sung. From a Christian pop perspective Addison Road's, "Stories," is a true delight with its hooks and harmony. For the old schoolers this year, it was hard to beat, Third Day's, "Move" as they went back to their southern roots. Still yet, I am also going to shout out from last year the CD, "God and a Girl," by Joy Whitlock. Her lyrics are scorching in dealing with our walks and her voice is one of the true finds of the last decade in Christian music. I have brought her up once before, but trust me, she is just that original and just that great. What a voice!
4. Last year my wife for Christmas, bought me 2 great Bible study helps. For someone who wants to know Biblical background of a passage pick up Zondervan Bible Background Commentary by Arnold. Easy reading and great in dealing with history and customs. Of course, it was also great, to get one of my favorite guys of all time, Warren Wiersbe's complete Exposition Commentary. The thing that I will love about Warren more then anything is how he can explain to anyone the deep spiritual truths of scripture.

There were lots of things to praise the Lord about this year.

• My daughter Hannah and her graduation and seeing her finishing up her first semester at our local community college. She has been a good testimony at her school as well as at work.
• Hadassah, who is halfway through her sophomore year. I am beginning to see her concern for the lost as well as a heart for her saved friends to walk with the Lord.
• Julie, the rock. For those of you who know me and her you understand that statement. I am still amazed after all of these years that she would even put up with me. (Even when we fuss, she still loves me.) She has been for all of us, the one who  keeps us going when we do not want to carry on.
• Some of our closest friends who we know are still praying for us after all of these years. We can never repay your kindness.
• Our church family here at Reeves who still minister to us in so many gracious ways.
• For our mothers who are still faithful to the Lord after all these years and for God allowing my mother-in-law the joy of a new husband.

In this upcoming year we need your prayers in so many ways.

1. Pray for us, that God might lead us to the church, that we will best fit in as a pastor and family. We are still looking and praying for his guidance in this area. Pray for our willingness to heed to His voice and direction.
2. Pray for us, as we continue to serve here in Reeves. Our church has been so kind to us, in allowing us to continue, to minister in this wonderful work. We want not only to be faithful but fruitful in this vineyard.
3. Pray for Hannah as she is now considering going to Frontier School of the Bible during the fall semester.
4. Two things that I have been impressed upon by the Lord is the need for Revival not only in our ministry but even in our own lives. I want to see revival in the lives of others around me but first of all I need and want it in my own life.  Secondly, the Lord continues to burden me to learn and grow in the area of prayer.

I know this was a different kind of blog then normal but I wanted to be able to share with you some of the joys and burdens of our heart. If you would please leave a comment every once in awhile as we would love to hear from any of you. We appreciate your prayers for us. May the Lord continue to draw us near to Him and may we look forward to His great appearing.



Julie and I died during these pictures. Everytime the photographer told us to look into each other's eyes we cracked up!!



AN APOLOGETIC ON READING

We live in a world that is all about being busy. We run from one job or activity to another and are constantly on the go. The old saying is true we run around like a chicken with its head cut off. (Which for a young boy was in its own way a funny thing to watch.) We find little time to as Vance Havner wrote, " learning the art of walking slow." We are often way to busy for our own good.

We as a people should be reflective throughout the course of the day on our relationship to the Lord. I do not want to be so busy that I do not take time out of my day to draw close to the Lord.

In saying the above I feel somewhat dumbfounded when it comes to believers who do not open up the Word of God to read it. I will see Bibles left at our church or at home that are not opened up once during the week. It breaks my heart that the Bible has become more of a symbol then anything else to its people rather then the living and breathing Word of God. It has become a trinket that we own and pull out only at certain times when others are watching.

I don't know how often I have heard the following excuses, "I'm just so tired I'll read it later," or  the worst, "I'm just so busy." Paul has some harsh words for people that are lazy in II Thess. 3:6-15 and are not busy with the work that God has given them to do under the sun. We are to be known as a people with a great work ethic. Yet, for all of this type of talk and preaching I believe that when it comes to the reading of the Word of God there are many people who are great with their work ethic but lazy in their reading habits of the Word.

I, like other pastors truly do have an incredible job when you think about it. I get paid by a group of people to read and study the Word of God. Did you hear me? Paid for reading and studying the Word of God. Yet, here is the real truth of the matter I would still read it daily paid or not. Why do I read it? Just like many of you because I want to know Him. I want to know this God who loves this world that is gone mad.

It's important that we as a people are reading books that deal with the Word of God and who He is. We should be known for reading devotionals, commentaries and dare I say it in a world that now days  makes so little of it, THEOLOGY. (It amazes me how people make so little of theology today and yet they themselves make up their own teachings, traditions, and by doing so they make their own theologies with no biblical basis.) I wonder what the church Fathers would say about all of this.

OK, OK, I know baby steps. Well now let me even say something wilder. I believe that we as a people should read outside of the Biblical realm as well.  Hang in there for a moment with me. When I read Paul in Acts 17 as he stands in front of the men of Athens he will quote the Cretan poet Epimenides in verse 28. He will also quote him in Titus 1:12-13 and in verse 13 will say that his statement is true. In the book, Think Biblically, one of the chapters written by Grant Horner correctly brings up how that Augustine, Calvin and Luther read secular philosophies and writings of their times.

Like many we should be cautious when we enter into the realm of non-biblical thinkers. When I read these guys I want to do so through Biblical lenses. While I read I must according to I John 4:1 do the following. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." (ESV)  I read with the command of I Thessalonians 5: 21, " But test everything ; hold fast what is good." (ESV) Read with the acid test of Philippians 4:8 in our mindset.

I read for tons of reasons but here are just a few.

• Read, because we should be known as a people who are constantly learning.
• Read History as we see the frailty and courage of those who have gone before us. We can learn lessons from them and how they thought. ( One of the great history books that was written in recent years is Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals. Trust me if you work with people who do not agree with you look at Lincoln and how he dealt with his cabinet. This is a great book for pastors.)
• Read Poetry, simply because of the beauty of it all.
• Read Shakespeare, OK, I know that I have lost half of you on that one. Why? No other author other then God with His Word can tell us so much about the human condition. (Still can't read him because of the old English, get copies of his works in the No Fear Shakespeare editions. Simply written but true to the text.)
• Read for the sake of just enjoyment.Yes, we do have a Father who truly does want us to take some time out of our busy schedule to just enjoy life.
• Read so that we can understand the unsaved world better so that we can reach them effectively. (Once again with a word of caution read with Biblical lenses.)

One of my prayers for my girls and others is that they would have a passion to read. Read well, read often, reflect on what you read, think through what you read and may we all read with the greatest of passions the Word of God that alone can save a dying world.





Julie and I at the Colorado National Monument



Various readings, endings and interesting things.

Well, today has already been a day of phone calls, prayer and tons of little things that I need to get done before our youth meeting  tonight. On the nightly reading schedule I have been doing a lot of catching up on my Ted Dekker stuff. So far in the last 2 1/2 weeks I have read Burn and Immanuel's Veins and about a third of the way through on the book Kiss. I don't always agree, but I love how Dekker writes and keeps me entranced by his story lines. Very few Christian writers esp. those of the fiction kind write as well. (I  also finished up the book 101 uses for a dead cat and finishing up on a book dealing with the Will of God.)

I'm getting close to finishing up our series on the Life of Peter as we are dealing with the resurrection accounts. I love Peter and his fire for the  honor of the Lord. When I look at him I am reminded of how the Lord wants to use us even though many times we are own worst enemy. After we finish that series up we will once again get back into the book of Matthew.

It's hard to believe just how beautiful the weather here is right now. This is the time of year that I love about Louisiana the most. The beauty of a nice warm day, (note warm not hot) and the coolness of the night.

One of the interesting things I have noted in many of the churches that we have looked into in our search for a new ministry is under their qualifications just how few put in their qualifications he needs to be a man of prayer. As noted earlier I struggle with being constant in prayer so I humble myself when I say these words. I also though believe that this is where we are sadly lacking. We as pastors can have all the education, (which is needed) all the study tools, and all the speaking ability in the world but without prayer we will never have the power of God resting upon our shoulders and within our lives.

One last thing, I looked at one of my old teen's facebook sites and he quoted this great quote from C.H. Spurgeon that I have always loved. "Oh my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and no madly destroying themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

So we begin

I am starting to write Salt and Light to encourage other believers in their walk with the Lord as well as to encourage those who do not know Christ to come into a relationship with Him. I have been on this journey since 1979 and would have it no other way.
I hope to just let you know where I am in the journey in the days ahead, through my thoughts, failures, dreams and even poetry. (Yeah, it will probably get a little weird at times.)
By the way I will also give tons of shout outs to my favorite team in all of the world. The Chicago Bears.  Long time since I have heard those words 2-0. (The sad part though is my oldest loves Green Bay. Where did I fail?)

This picture was taken right after my oldest Hannah graduated. Yes, she is the shortest one of the group. (Wait a second, I think we are all pretty short come to think of it.) Left to right: Mike, Hadassah the youngest in 10th grade, Julie the Babe and Hannah.) What a great day this one was for all of us.