Quote of the Day 5-30-08

Lately I have been on this thing about the "church" ... while we are all "proud" of our church, I see that we are pretty much underachievers ... My next few statements may seem harsh and insensitive, but I promise that I am not intending them to be harsh or insensitaive ... I hope you understand what I am trying to say ...

There is a lady in our church that has a tumor on her spine that causes great pain ... I read today that they are giving God praises because the pain has subsided a little because the tumor has shrunk ( not sure if that is the correct word ) and so therefore the pressure is not as great on the spine as it was ... now she can rest ... THAT IS GREAT ... answered prayer for sure

As far as how this relates to church ... when we have "pressure" that causes discomfort don't we pray that God would relieve it ? WHY ? We want to rest ... Isn't that pressure and pain a good thing as far as churches go ? After all, it is the intense pressure that forms diamonds, right ? Why do we run from it ? We rebuke it in Jesus name when we should be EMBRACING it in Jesus name ...

Now for the quote of the day ...

"When the church becomes an institution, people are nothing more than volunteers to be recruited. When the church is a movement, our stewartship becomes the unleashing of our Godgiven gift, talents, and passions."

.... Erwin McManus



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DWC



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Mason

This is kinda funny ... also my first pass at simple editing ...







DWC




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Quote of the Day 5-29-08

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'." ....... unknown



"Unity will change the world" ... TD Jakes



DWC




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Well ... I kept on reading ... Deut 30

Well I guess I jumped the gun ... I should have kept reading before I posted ...

The Choice of Life or Death


11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand, and it is not beyond your reach. 12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ 13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ 14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.

17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This[b] is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”


WOW ... this speaks for itself ... I know that God has made promises that He wants to keep ... but if I am reading correctly ... it is up to me ... and you ( that is if anyone is reading ) ... I CHOOSE LIFE ... or at least I am trying to choose life ... with everything that is in me I CHOOSE LIFE ...


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DWC



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Deut 30

Deuteronomy 30
A Call to Return to the Lord


“In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions. 2 If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. 4 Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. 5 The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!

6 “The Lord your God will change your heart[a] and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live! 7 The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you. 8 Then you will again obey the Lord and keep all his commands that I am giving you today.

9 “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors. 10 The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.

Oh my word ... this is where the Lord sent me today ( after lunch ) ... not sure how I got here except that He directed me here ... couple of points that stand out to me :

V5 The Lord will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors ... I think this means that there are situations and circumstances that I had no control over that have put me where I am today ... generational "sins" so to speak ... I long for the day that those are gone ...

V6 Sold out ... He wants me to be sold out ... I heard a guy say one time that when he was going thorough his divorce that he walking in and just signed EVERYTHING he had away ... he gave it all away to his (soon to be) ex wife ... God wants us to give up every part of ourself ... not just the parts that we think we can do without ... eveything ... even the MOST IMPOORTANT part

V9 Successful in everything I do ... WOW ... wouldn't that be grand ? I read in Monroe's good the other day this quote ...

Success is not measured by comparing ourself to what others have done ... Success is measured by comparing ourself to what we were designed to do

This is a mouthful ... what was I designed to do ? That is the struggle ...

Summary : OBEDIENCE is everything to God


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DWC



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Quote of the Day 5-28-08

John Fisher ...


"David wasn't thinking of being king when he was tending sheep; he was just doing what God sat before him."




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DWC



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Quote of the Day 5-27-08

Reggie McNeal from The Present Future

"The current church culture in North America is on life support. It is living off the work, money, and energy of previous generations from a previous world order."




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DWC




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