Merry Christmas

My aunt Eleanor Jean Estep is enjoying Christmas in heaven. She passed on last week and yesterday Krystal, Hannah and I traveled on snowy roads to Lansing to be with my Dad and his brother Bill, and Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Dick's family. It was great to pay our respects and to meet up with people that I have had rare occasions to meet. I could recognize cousins but not but one or two of second cousins.
With my dad preaching in other states we did not get to family gatherings often enough to know who our relatives are. Even when I ministered in Owosso, I did not take the time to invest time into my dad's side of the family. I regret that. I think I have treated them with very little respect because they are different that our family. They do not attend churches that we attend. They drink and smoke or they did when I was a kid. Shame on me. As a "man of God" I have not loved my extended family as I should.
A couple of years ago we went to aunt Eleanor's home during Thanksgiving weekend. She was glad to meet my new son and my daughters. She welcomed us with open arms and we left with hopes that we would all return to visit again soon, but we did not.
I should get to know my relatives and be able to love them.
God gave his son a family to be apart of when he was born. Jesus loved his family and died for their sins too. I pray that God will use me to love my cousins even though we are and may even be farther from them in the future. It is my responsibility and I claim it this Christmas season. May God use me to be a blessing to them in 2009.

God showing off

God did it again. A doctor in an ICU area in one of the hospitals in our area told the wife and parents of a man, that he will not be able to do much and to not get their hopes up. The reason the doctor said that was the man had been electrocuted and the shock knocked him off a ladder and in the fall when he hit the ground he fractured his skull and some other bones in his body. The doctors in order to get his brain to stop swelling removed some pieces of his skull, (which they have frozen so they can put them back in him at some time) and put him into an induced comma. Are you ready? Monday morning when his parents went to see him, he was sitting up in a chair and responding to them them and Tuesday he was moved out of ICU. Last week when I was visiting the wife in the hospital waiting room, we talked about what the doctors had said and her confidence was more in God than in the doctor's negative words. I prayed with her family the week before that God would show off to everyone through this man's recovery. I know we do not dare brag about what we have done, but we sure can brag up what God has done. Way to go GOD.

Promoting Ethical Treatment of Animals

Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.
We have a puppy and we have been debating over to get rid of it or keep it. We are not home a lot. The kids love it and the girls have done really well in taking it out, cleaning up it's messes and even our son is learning to be careful around the dog. He will try to pick up the puppy and we tell him "no" and then he just drops it. He loves the animal, but he needs to learn how to love the puppy.
I believe we are into the keeping mod again because it is good for the kids to learn how to care the needs of their animal. I just like playing fetch with him.
We have a neighbor to the church building who does not treat his animals or even people in a good way. He is all into environment but his home environment is worse than any landfill or the treatment of his cats is worse than any hunter would treat his target. His acts of kindness are cruel. It's sad, he needs to recognize the treatment that God wants to give to him through Christ, and will likely only see the treatment from God that those who are wicked outside of Christ will receive.

9/11

In Proverbs 11:7 God's wisdom is seen through Solomon's words:
"When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing."
Those who hijacked the airplanes and became murderers, their power ended with their deaths. Their hopes, dreams, faiths, beliefs, legacies all ended in the twinkling of their eyes. Once they took their last breaths, they would have nothing more to say.
Once their wicked plans were accomplished, the goodness of God took over.
God's righteousness was seen in those whose last acts of bravery will shine through the lives of others forever. Their last breaths were taken while trying to save life. The men and women who rushed into the burning buildings to help people get out before the towers collapsed gave their lives to help moms, dads, sons, daughters, husbands and wives live another day. Those who were rescued, will remember those who died in their wickedness and those who died to save. Those who rescued, their hopes, will live on in their children, because their children will want to grow up honoring their loved one for the sacrifice that they made on the behalf of another.

Very early

In Mark 1:35 it says:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

Most men will get up very early in the morning to fish, or to play golf, or to hunt...but to get up very early in the morning to pray?

We will go off to a solitary place to escape our families, our work and our responsibilities...but to pray?

Jesus the Son of the living God was not doing this to be seen by his disciples. He left when no one would notice. God inspired his writers to record this event to show how Jesus was able to handle his enemies, (he prayed for them) how Jesus was able to handle the pressures of being the leader of the twelve, (he prayed for them) and how Jesus knew the Father's will, (he prayed to Him).

What other things do you think Jesus prayed for very early in the morning when he got up and left the house to go to a solitary place?

You may not...

I have been looking for an outreach idea for next month. We are going to have an Outreach Weekend in April. The teens are going to wash the cars of their peers for free, in the church parking lot. The out part is the teens letting their friends know about it. I wanted to do something for those who have survived cancer. I soon learned that anyone who is alive with cancer is also called a survivor. I like that. I came across a Bible that Brett Farve's wife endorsed. She is a survivor and proceeds from the softcover Bible go to help underinsured or uninsured breast cancer survivors in MO and IL. The idea was to have the congregation raise up money to purchase the Bibles and then when a cancer fund raiser program relayed at our local high school football field, we would set up a table to pass out the Bibles to those who would like to receive them for free. We would also have a DVD to pass out of some of the folks in the congregation talking about how God has been there with them and some of the Scriptures that helped them through. I wrote to the organization and asked how many we would need to buy to be able to have enough. Short version is they will not allow us to pass out any Bibles and they would need to see the DVD before we can pass them out. I wrote that we would not be promoting our congregation, but that we just wanted to give to those who would like, a Bible and some testimonies about God's help.
Now they are going to have someone pray before the rally. They are going to ask God to heal people and give them the strength to walk and raise funds to end this disease. But to pass out the Word of God is too...what!
I am offended that in this country an "Un-reverend Wrong" can speak the words that he has spoken but God's Word can not be passed out to those who need a Savior. Has the United States of America become as anti God as China and Iran?
Do I have to hide the Bible under my sweat suit and sneak them into the hands of those who are in need to know the love of God...and risk being sent to jail for offending a organization that is about life?