It Is Well With My Soul

PSALM 46:1-11 ... God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah….. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah… Be still, and know that I am God:

We all have days when we’d like to run away from it all. Sometimes our hurt is so bad our spirit throbs inside us.Our dreams fall apart...our hopes fade. Our lives become wearisome drudgery. A marriage goes bad...Health problems develop...Financial problems come up...A loved one dies...And we are tempted to give up.... There is hope because...

God is our Refuge (a shelter or hiding place) and Strength (our security, boldness, might) a very Present (He is always with us) Help (aid) in Trouble (tight spots, misery, distress, agony, suffering).

The word “IN” means not before or after but during, in the midst of. In other words IN all these problems God is our refuge, strength, and a present help.

The words "it is well with my soul" are not found in scripture, But Jesus did say, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and you’ll find rest for your souls Matthew 11:28-29

Our compassionate heavenly Father gives us comfort, hope and peace in his Son Jesus Christ. One day God will wipe away every tear and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

Just a note

I just read a quote from Vance Havner (my favorite preacher). I thought it was good enough to pass on.

"When I pastored a country church, a farmer didn't like the sermons I preached on hell. He said, Preach about the meek and lowly Jesus. I said, That's where I got my information about hell."

To all my climbing compainions - Be blessed!

Jesus Is Worthy.... He who died for your sins, is worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. He is worthy to be believed, He is worthy to be followed, wherever He may lead us. Jesus is worthy to be our example, our confidant, our king, and our all. He is worthy of all He requires, all we can give, all His people have done for Him or suffered in His cause. He is worthy of 100% of our loyalty! Amen

TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

Praise God for His faithfulness! Over a hundred local ranchers attended our 2nd Annual Christmas Eve Service. What a joy!

Last Sunday was incredibly blessed by God's presence.... truly all those who attended were able to say.... whatever my lot.... it is well with my soul!

A New Year's Statement

"I'm Too Blessed To Be Stressed!"

JESUS

THERE WAS A YOUNG VIRGIN,
MARY IS HER NAME
GAVE BIRTH TO A SON,
IN THE MANGER HE LAY

THE ANGELS REJOICED AS THE SHEPHERDS STOOD BY
THE SAVIOR IS BORN, IN BETHLEHAM HE DOES LIE
THE SHEPHERDS AND WISE MEN DID VISIT THE SON
THEY HONORED THIS CHILD JESUS, GODS CHOSEN ONE

JOSEPH, HIS FATHER AND CARPENTER BY TRADE
MOVED THEM TO NAZARETH, AND THATS WHERE THEY STAYED
AND JESUS GREW STRONG, FULL OF WISDOM AND GRACE
HE KNEW THAT THE TEMPLE WAS HIS FATHERS PLACE

WHERE HE SPOKE TO THE PEOPLE AND ALL WERE AMAZED
AT THE KNOWLEDGE HE HAD AT SO YOUNG AN AGE
THE YEARS WENT BY UNTIL A VOICE COULD BE HEARD
PREPARING THE WAY AND PREACHING GODS WORD

REPENT AND BE BAPTISED, AND FORGIVEN OF SIN
WALK ON A NEW PATH WITH GOD WITHIN
JOHN BAPTISED JESUS, AND FROM HEAVEN ABOVE
GOD'S SPIRIT DESCENDED ON HIM LIKE A DOVE

''YOU ARE MY SON, WHOM I LOVE AND AM PLEASED'
'PREACH NOW THE GOOD NEWS, AND SET CAPTIVES FREE
TO THIS CHOSEN PEOPLE, THEIR MESSIAH HAD COME
BUT THEY MURMURED TOGETHER, ''ISN'T THIS JOSEPH'S SON''

JESUS HEALED THEIR DISEASES, THE BLIND THEY COULD SEETHE DEMONS DEPARTED, NO CHOICE BUT TO LEAVE
HE PREACHED THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
HIS VOICE COULD BE HEARD NO MATTER HOW LARGE THE MOB''

LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL, AND MIND
AND REACH OUT WITH LOVE TO ALL OF MANKIND
JESUS WALKED ON THE WATER, CALMED THE WIND AND THE SEA
WITH FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH,THOUSANDS HE DID FEED
THE DEAD HE ROSE TO LIFE ONCE AGAIN
AND MANY WERE JEALOUS OF HIS POWER AND FAME

TWELVE DISCIPLES HE PICKED TO BE FISHERS OF MEN
THEY TRAVELED WITH JESUS THROUGH VALLEY AND GLEN
HE SENT MANY FORTH TO PREACH AND TO HEAL
THEY TOOK NOTHING WITH THEM, NO MONEY FOR A MEAL
FOR ALL WAS PROVIDED BY THOSE WHO BELIEVED

FROM TOWNS THAT REJECTED, HE TOLD THEM TO LEAVE
WHILE OTHERS IN HATE PLANNED TO KILL HIM ONE DAY
FOR HE ATE WITH THE PUBLICANS AND SINNERS HE FORGAVE
THE PHARISEES AND TEACHERS OF THE LAW
WERE ENRAGEDTHEIR MESSIAH HAD COME AS THE SERVANT OF ALL

AND THEIR HARDENED HEARTS HAD REJECTED HIS CALL
THEY WANTED A KING TO BRING FREEDOM IN THEIR LAND
NOT A SHEPHERD WHO SEARCHED FOR ONE LOST LAMB
SO JUDAS BETRAYED HIS LORD THAT DARK NIGHT
AND THEY TOOK HIM TO COURT, HE'D NOT ARGUE NOR FIGHT

''ARE YOU THE CHRIST, THE BLESSED ONE''
''I AM'', JESUS SAID, ''THE MESSIAH, GODS SON''
SO THEY MOCKED HIM AND BEAT HIM AND SPIT IN HIS FACE
AND HUNG HIM ON A CROSS WHERE HE DIED IN DISGRACE
BUT LITTLE DID THEY KNOW
THIS WAS GODS CHOSEN PLAN

CHRIST DIED FOR THE SINS OF EVERY WOMAN AND MAN
ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE TO LIFE ONCE AGAIN
AND ALL THOSE WILL RAISE WHO BELIEVE IN HIS NAME
JESUS WILL COME AT THE END OF THE AGE
FOR HEAVENS HIS THRONE,
AND THE WORLD IS HIS STAGE
AND EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW AND TONGUE WILL CONFESS
THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS IS JESUS.........

LYNNE JONES

The I AM statements of Jesus

The I Am In the Old Testament was whatever man needed He became, he was his all in all. Jesus in the New Testament uses all the examples to show who He is. He is everything to man and the only way to God.

John.8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am (He), you will die in your sins.

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever;

John 8:23 And He said to them, You are from beneath; I AM from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I AM the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.

John 10:9 I AM the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:11 I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 15:1 I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

Remembering Larry Norman (April 1947 - February 2008)

I've been shot down, talked about
Some people scandalize my name,
But here I am, talkin' 'bout Jesus just the same.

I've been knocked down, kicked around
But like a moth drawn to the flame,
Here I am, talkin' 'bout Jesus just the same.

I've been rebuked for the things I've said,
For the songs I've written and the life I've led.
They say they don't understand me, well I'm not surprised,
Because you can't see nothing when you close your eyes.
They say I'm sinful, backslidden,
That I have left to follow fame.
But here I am, talkin' 'bout Jesus just the same.

You wanna talk about my life, hey listen to me,
You got your facts all backwards, one two three
Spreading rumors and gossip is a real bad game
The only name to spread is Jesus' name,
I've been knocked down, kicked around
But like a moth drawn to the flame,
Here I am, talkin' 'bout Jesus brother,
Here I am, talkin' 'bout Jesus sister,
Here I am, talkin' 'bout Jesus just the same.

Philippians 1:3-11

A few good friends can make all the difference in the world. They can open your eyes to opportunity, provide wisdom and support. All of humanity want good friendships.

Keys To Building Friendships

1. Always thank God for the people close to you.

2.Pray for them with joy

What to pray for others.
1. Pray that they will grow in love and knowledge
2. Pray that they will live pure and blameless lives
3. Pray that they will do the right thing
4. Pray that they will live abundantly in God's glory

3. Be patient with their progress.

Remember that God is not finished with us... we are a work in progress.

Don't judge others by how far they have to go, rather rejoice for how far they have come.

4. Love them from the heart. This is possible only if you are filled with God's love.

Why Go To Church?

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.'I've gone for 30 years now,' he wrote, 'and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.'

This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to the Editor' column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
'I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!'

Amen to that!

Here a few one liners you may like....

When you are DOWN to nothing..... God is UP to something!

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!

Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember, Moses started out as a basket case.

A Good Read.... I Corinthians 10

Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God's fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God's wonder and grace didn't seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.

The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did—"First the people partied, then they threw a dance." We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day! We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.

These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence.

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.

I assume I'm addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren't we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn't it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don't we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness—Christ doesn't become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don't reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. That's basically what happened even in old Israel—those who ate the sacrifices offered on God's altar entered into God's action at the altar.

Do you see the difference? Sacrifices offered to idols are offered to nothing, for what's the idol but a nothing? Or worse than nothing, a minus, a demon! I don't want you to become part of something that reduces you to less than yourself. And you can't have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won't put up with it. He wants us—all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?

Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.

With that as a base to work from, common sense can take you the rest of the way. Eat anything sold at the butcher shop, for instance; you don't have to run an "idolatry test" on every item. "The earth," after all, "is God's, and everything in it." That "everything" certainly includes the leg of lamb in the butcher shop. If a nonbeliever invites you to dinner and you feel like going, go ahead and enjoy yourself; eat everything placed before you. It would be both bad manners and bad spirituality to cross-examine your host on the ethical purity of each course as it is served. On the other hand, if he goes out of his way to tell you that this or that was sacrificed to god or goddess so-and-so, you should pass. Even though you may be indifferent as to where it came from, he isn't, and you don't want to send mixed messages to him about who you are worshiping.

But, except for these special cases, I'm not going to walk around on eggshells worrying about what small-minded people might say; I'm going to stride free and easy, knowing what our large-minded Master has already said. If I eat what is served to me, grateful to God for what is on the table, how can I worry about what someone will say? I thanked God for it and he blessed it!

So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are.

I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters;
I hope you will be, too.

NEW BLOG

I know some of you will appreciate the fact that we all need a good belly laugh once in a while. So for your well being and wholeness of mind I started a new blog..... "Church Pew Blues".

Drop by for a chuckle - and hey send me material... ;-)

www.churchpewblues.blogspot.com

News From Africa

The following is an e-mail we recieved from Kroonstad.

HI GUYS

GOD HAS BEEN DOING AMAZING THINGS IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY.HE TOLD ME, IN A VISION, TO GO TO A BIG CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (GRINAKER)I MUST TELL THE PROJECT MANAGER, THAT GOD SENT ME TO LEAD THEIR STAFF AND WORKERS TO THE LORD AND BAPTIZED THEM WITH MY DIGGER LOADER. I ASKED GOD, HOW WOULD THEY KNOW I,VE BEEN SENT BY YOU!GOD GAVE ME A WORD "MY SON MICHEAL"

SO I WENT TO THE PROJECT MANAGER, TELLING HIM WHAT GOD SAID.HE LOOKED AT ME WITH BIG EYES, PICKED UP THE PHONE AND CALLED SOMEBODY TO THE OFFICE. I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO KICK ME OUT. A BLACK MAN, MICHEAL, CAME IN.GOD HAS BEEN TELLING MICHEAL FOR LONGER THEN 5 YEARS TO DO THIS.

MICHEAL IS A CHRISTIAN (SON) AND BEEN TELLING HIS PROJECT MANAGER THAT THEY MUST PUT GOD FIRST IN THEIR BUSINESS. BUT HAVE NEVER DONE IT.THEY AGREED!!!

SO THE NEXT DAY I STARTED DISCIPLING THEM. EVERYDAY 5 TO 6 PEOPLE GAVE THEY HEARTS TO THE LORD JESUS. AFTER 2 WEEKS, GOD HASEBLESSED THEM, WITH MORE THAN 75+ BIBLES, 40+ SALVATIONS, BAPTIZED THEM AND STARTED A CHURCH AT WORK. MORE THAN 75 BELIEVERS MEET EVERYDAY AT LUNCH, PRAISING, WORSHIPPING, PRAYING , HEALING THE SICK AND TEACHING EACH OTHER IN JESUS NAME. HALLELUJA!!!

THEY ARE STILL GOING ON STRONG AND GROWING IN NUMBERS.

VIAAN BOSCH

You Gotta Be Kidding Me

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the WINTER SOLSTICE holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

In addition, please also accept best wishes for a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make this country great (not to imply that this country is necessarily greater than any other country or area of choice), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual orientation of the wishers.

This wish is limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first. " Holiday " is not intended to, nor shall it be considered, limited to the usual Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, or to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community, group, individual or belief (or lack thereof).

Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all. This greeting is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. This greeting implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for the wisher her/himself or others, or responsibility for the consequences which may arise from the implementation or non-implementation of it. This greeting is void where prohibited by law.

Please check with your physician before accepting this, or any other greetings.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!