The Victory Is His

This . . .
Two men are in a boat. The boat begins to take on water and sink.
One man starts bailing water, the other man begins to pray.
Sometimes, bailing water is required.
Prayer is always a wise thing to do.
So if you are one of the men in the boat?
I would advise you to pray and bail.
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That being said . . .
I am one who tends to do first and pray later. When something goes wrong; when I encounter trouble; when evil threatens; when I anticipate a storm on the horizon . . .
My natural tendancy is to formulate a list of things I could do to improve my position.
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This is That . . .
What should we do as evil and sin are on the rise?
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God's holy prescription for our diseased state in times of national crisis and moral collapse is in Joel 2, which is a solemn assembly of united fasting and prayer:

"Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.
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Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from His chamber, and the bride from her dressing room.
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Then the Lord will be zealous for His land . . .
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And in II Chronicles 7:13-14
When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
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It's interesting that there is no mention of irrigation or pesticides. That could be the answer to our prayer, but the answer could just as easily be to dance in a dry ditch on one foot as we hoot and hollar seven times with a large bug net over our heads.
The point being, that God wants to be sure that we know . . .
that the victory is HIS.
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Praise On The River

This . . .
A lot of Americans use chop sticks when they go out to eat Chinese food here in the USA.
So do you think the Chinese people use forks when they go out for American food in China?
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I helped Taylor re-roof his front porch last night. Roofing is hard work.
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That . . .
I guess Beruit has a new restaurant called "Buns and Guns".
The chefs wear military helmets, some of the food is wrapped in camouflage paper and their slogan is "A Sandwich Can Kill You."
The restaurant is decorated with neatly stacked sandbags, camouflage nets, defused mortar shells and live ammunition.
The waiters serve the meals while wearing military uniforms with the sounds of gunfire as "background music".
The menu includes a "Magnum Chicken Sandwich", "Potato Wedge Grenades", and the mouth watering "AK-47 Klashnikov Assualt Rifle Sandwich"
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The food is killer, but they charge an arm and a leg.
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This is That . . .
If you live in Little Rock or are going to be there this week-end, here's something you might want to check-out.
There is an event called "Praise On The River" at the Amphitheater by the river next to the "River Market".
It will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 10:00 p.m.
It is not a "Christian Concert", but will be 12 hours of worship and intercession.
There will be a variety of worship leaders there from around the country. "The Burn" will be there. I think they are from the Dallas area??? I can't name any others.
A worship team from the International House Of Prayer in KC will be leading from 7:00 til 10:00 p.m. Saturday evening.
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How Hungry Are You?

This . . .
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A thought for wives.
Let's just say your husband just finished mowing the yard.
What might you say when he comes inside?
Bad Response: "Now you need to weed-eat."
Better Response: "The yard looks great . . .
now you need to weed-eat."
Good Response: "Thank you, I appreciate all you do! The yard looks great" (Good time for a kiss on the cheek).
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That . . .
Pigs are very smart, but they are not very obedient . . .
unless they are hungry.
You can teach a pig to do all sorts of stuff, but he likely won't do any of it if he is well fed. But if he is hungry, a pig is very eager to do whatever is asked with the hope of getting something to eat.
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This is That . . .
People are that way too. The Bible says "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled".
It is not easy to seek, ask, knock, and pray when everything is good. We are more likely to just sit and eat cookies.
When we are desperate, we cry out, and pray, and pray, because we are so aware of our great need.
When things are going well, our need is no less.
I want to stay hungry.
How hungry are you?
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Great Response: "Thank you, sweetheart. The yard looks great (kiss on the cheek), I'll show you my appreciation a little later!
I'm talkin' mowing AND weed-eating to perfection . . .
two to three times a week!

The Way Is Narrow

This . . .
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Non-Dairy Creamer.
Don't tell me what it isn't, tell me what it is?
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I read in the paper yesterday that a Pringles Potato Chip is only 45% potato. I guess that means that it's 55% chip.
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When my great-grandfather homesteaded in Western Kansas they used buffalo "chips" to burn for cooking and heat.
There weren't any trees.
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That . . .
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Most polls on issues are a crock. We act as though we believe that if enough people believe something, then it must be true,
or it must be right.
Wrong.
If a majority of all people believed that a dog was a cat,
would a dog be a cat?
Right is right. Wrong is wrong, Truth is truth.
It doesn't really matter what people "think".
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Truth is an arrow, and the gate is narrow that it passes thru.
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This is That . . .
Today is 7-7-08 - one year after the 7-7-07 Call Nashville.
ReCALL it all here: 7/7/07
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Innertubes, Bottoms and the Millennium

This . . .
My pet, Miller wasn't outside my window Friday night. I think he must have heard about that "smush" comment I made. I didn't mean to upset him, I was just being honest.
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That . . .
I went to Wild River Country yesterday with Nathan, Amy, Elijah and Lucy. Here are a few thoughts about that.
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Lucy is really cute, so I noticed a lot of people looking our way while I was holding her. One little guy came up and said, "You have a cute baby". That was fun.
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Eli and I rode down a small chute in a innertube. It was really two tubes put together. The front tube (for the little one) has a bottom in it. The back tube (for the big one) has no bottom except when I put my big one in it.
The ride down was great, but after reaching the bottom (no pun intended) I had problems. It seems that I couldn't get out.
So I called 911 and said,
"Help! My bottoms in a tube and I can't get out!"
Help arrived and my bottom was most ungracefully removed. There were five or six hundred people just standing around pointing, gawking and laughing.
Eli's response? "Let's do it again".
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We were all in the wave pool for awhile. Lucy was so excited and so happy I figured she might just release some massive, overjoyed, flying luminaries at any moment. Never a still moment and nothing but wide mouthed giggles and smiles.
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I spent most of the time there without having my glasses on which left me about half blind. That turned out to be a good thing. With all the different half naked body shapes running around, being mostly blind wasn't so bad. There were alot of bodies no one would ever want to see, and then a bunch of others that would just be better not to see.
It was all a blur to me.
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This is That . . .
I heard parts of two great messages from the IHOP Fascinate Conference this weekend.
That is a new House of Prayer conference for High Schoolers.
Friday night was Allan Hood - Wow.
Saturday night was David Sliker - another Wow.
The subject was about the 1000 year millennial reign of Christ. If you are like me, you don't have much of a grid for things after this present age, ie the millennium and eternity.
Is the Kingdom of God mostly for now, or mostly for then?
The answer - mostly both.
The hope we have for the "future promises" of God gives great encouragement for faith concerning the "present promises" of God.
Now we see thru a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
It's not just about "going to heaven", but about heaven coming down to earth.

More to come.

My Friend Miller

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This . . .
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There was a moth outside my bedroom window last night.
He was there again tonight.
I think I have a pet moth.
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We used to call moths millers, so that's what I'm going to call him . . . Miller.
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That . . .
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It is good that "Miller" is outside the window.
I have a tendancy to smush moths when they are inside.
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This is That . . .
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I am reading a book called "The Shack". It's about a guy, "Mack" who in the midst of great loss and heartache, struggles with believing that God is good.
In the book, God is a large black woman named "Papa". Jesus is Jesus. Sarayu is the Holy Spirit and Sophia is wisdom.
There is much thought provoking conversation between all the characters.
At one point Mack asks God to forgive him.
God's response, " . . . did that a long time ago. If you don't believe me, ask Jesus. He was there."
Another good quote from Papa on the same page, "My love is a lot bigger than your stupidity."
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This book by William P. Young will likely make quite a run through the body of Christ. It's a good one.

AGGHHH! I need you.

This . . .
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AGGHHH!
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That . . .
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I need you God.
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This is That . . .
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Right by my side. Right by my side.
I could run away, but you will never leave.
You would always stay - right by my side.
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Could that be true? Even if I don't fully believe it?
I pray so.
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Everything I've ever wanted I've found in you.
I love you. I need you.
Though my world may fall, I will never let you go.
My Saviour, my closest friend,
I will worship you until the very end.
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