“Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet. For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”   Hebrews 2:8

In my local church is a wonderful woman named Fawn Brents who shares her faith teaching women Biblical Theology. If you are ever blessed with the opportunity to meet her you will find yourself immediately drawn by her warmth and her enthusiasm for the Lord.  She has been an inspiration to me and provided me with a deeper understanding of God’s design and His Word. When I leave her I desire to rush to scripture to seek out more of His promises.  Below is an encouraging item she recently sent to her class that she graciously allowed me to share with you.  It really hit close to home with me as I have a tendency to worry and stress over things.  (STRESSED, by the way, is DESSERTS spelled backward). 

Yesterday we went to the State Fair with our kids and grandkids. Somehow we planned it for the hottest day of the year. In spite of the heat, we had the ultimate fair experience. We ate funnel cakes, snow cones and corn dogs. We petted lamas, watched a goat judging, and saw a mamma pig feed nine hungry babies. It was a wonderful day! But it didn’t start out that way.

Early in the morning I woke up worried. It was one of those reoccurring worries and I couldn’t shake a feeling of doom even after praying about it. I sat down to read my Bible and said to the Lord, “I’m sitting here until I get a fresh word from you—something that I can plant my faith in. –Something that will let me walk away from this worry.”

Since I’ve been spending a lot of time in Hebrews, I decided to start in chapter one and keep reading. And then I saw it… In Hebrews, chapter two God is explaining that everything is under Christ’s rulership. Verse 8 says this: “Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet. For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.” I stopped, read it again…then again. Then I reasoned it through. My thoughts sounded like this—

“I’m worried because I have a problem that I cannot fix. But this verse says that all things are in subjection to Christ. So, when I pray about this worry, I’m talking to the One who has authority over the situation. And that one is omniscient (He knows everything), omnipresent (He is here with me listening and in all places at once). And, He’s omnipotent. (He’s all powerful. Nothing is beyond His ability to fix.)  I’m talking to the right person. I can tell Him what worries me and leave it with Him. So, here’s my choice–I can carry this worry around at the fair all day, or I can leave it here and skip off to eat snow cones.” …I opted for the snow cones.

Try it. Take a worry that you’re tired of trying to resolve. Find a promise in the Bible that lets you know God is in control. Hand the problem over to Him in prayer. (You can’t fix it anyway.) Then every time you start to worry, quickly remember what God said and think about that rather than the problem. Skip away and eat a snow cone. It will be a great day!

Sing aloud unto God…. Ps 81:1

A long time fan of gospel quartet music, I was privileged last night to attend a concert by Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. I last saw Ernie perform in 1999 where he was a member of the Cathedrals and they were making their farewell tour. 

Full of energy, they sang praises to God, laughed with the audience and had everyone on their feet clapping and cheering one minute then deep in prayer and praise the next.   Accompanied on piano by the very talented Gordon Mote we were blessed by this 3 hour concert. Gordon shared a new song to be released in October ,  Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory , which left me awestruck and in tears.

Singing songs from their new album Get Away Jordan I was encourage, excited and felt God’s presence throughout the auditorium. The lights and video enhancements were a tribute to today’s technology. They enhanced the performance by the talented group and kept everyone, from toddler to elderly, focused on the music.

I was most impressed by the bass sound that emanated from the small body of Tim Duncan.  Looking at the group he is not the one I would have imagined had that resonating voice.  The shortest in the group and so slender he entertained bringing that wonderful bass sound that it is strength of any quartet.

If you find Ernie Haase and Signature Sound (EH&SS) coming to an auditorium near you, you will be wonderfully blessed to attend.

Get Away Jordan CD By Ernie Haase & Signature Sound / Emi Cmg Distribution Ernie Haase & Signature Sound returns with this collection of gospel classics, new material, and live recordings, showcasing their wide vocal range and enthusiasm for Southern Gospel music. Get Away Jordan includes a stirring rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” quartet classics “O What A Savior” and “He Made a Change,” and more.     Technorati tags: Gaither, Ernie Haase, Signature Sound, Gordon Motes, Cathedrals, praise, music, Jesus, God, Tim Duncan, Doug Anderson, Ryan Seaton, quartet, gospel

Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right. Heb 5:14 NLT

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Pray without ceasing.     Eph 6:18

Cowboy Poetry

        Jake, the rancher, went one day

        To fix a distant fence.

        The wind was cold and gusty

        And the clouds rolled gray and dense.

        As he pounded the last staples in

        And gathered tools to go,

        The temperature had fallen,

        The wind and snow began to blow.

        When he finally reached his pickup,

        He felt a heavy heart.

        From the sound of that ignition,

        He knew it wouldn’t start.

        So Jake did what most of us

        Would do if we had been there.

        He humbly bowed his balding head

        And sent aloft a prayer.

        As he turned the key for the last time,

        He softly cursed his luck.

        They found him three days later,

        Frozen stiff in that old truck.

        Now Jake had been around in life

        And done his share of roaming.

        But when he saw Heaven, he was shocked–

        It looked just like Wyoming !

        Of all the saints in Heaven,

        His favorite was St. Peter.

        (Now, this line ain’t needed

        But it helps with rhyme and meter)

       So they set and talked a minute or two,

        Or maybe it was three.

        Nobody was keeping’ score–

        In Heaven time is free.

        “I’ve always heard,” Jake said to Pete,

        That God will answer prayer,

        But one time I asked for help,

        Well, he just plain wasn’t there.”

        “Does God answer prayers of some,

        And ignore the prayers of others?

        That don’t seem exactly square -

        I know all men are brothers.”

        “Or does he randomly reply,

         Without good rhyme or reason?

         Maybe, it’s the time of day,

         The weather or the season.”

        “Now I ain’t trying to act smart,

         It’s just the way I feel.

         And I was wondering’, could you tell me –

         What the heck’s the deal?”

        Peter listened very patiently

        And when Jake was done,

        There were smiles of recognition,

        And he said, “So, you’re the one!!”

        ”That day your truck, it wouldn’t start,

        And you sent your prayer a flying,

        You gave us all a real bad time,

        With hundreds of us trying.”

        “A thousand angels rushed,

        To check the status of your file,

        But you know, Jake, we hadn’t heard

         From you in quite a long while.”

        “And though all prayers are answered,

        And God ain’t got no quota,

        He didn’t recognize your voice,

        And started a truck in Minnesota .”

       BETTER KEEP IN TOUCH!

The Lord is my Shepherd.  Psalm 23:1

  I was listening on my headphones to a sermon by Ken Davis titled “Super Sheep”. Ken Davis is an excellent speaker who uses humor and wit to bring to heart the word and love of God.  In one of his scenarios he is saying he doesn’t want to be a sheep. A sleep can’t even run right!! How about a lion, now that is a creature to be. He looked up scripture trying to find better creature to relate to than a sheep and found “lion”. Now there is a powerful animal. So, he read I Peter 5:8 which  “the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”.  Hmmmm, a lion is not a good thing.

While listening to him speak about sheep and being devoured and how Christ is the shepherd that watches over us my mind wandered to a cartoon I used to enjoy. Ralph and Sam, a sheepdog and a wolf greet each other as they clock in to work. The next scenes show them at work. Ralph tiptoes in to the herd of sheep and tries to steal one for dinner. Sam is no where in sight, until suddenly he appears before Ralph, knocks him out, and returns the furry little lamb to the field. Throughout the next scenes Ralph tries to harm the sheep but Sam, ever so quietly, ever so faithfully, sits and watches over the flock. You don’t even notice him. But when Ralph tries to devour one of the flock, Sam is right there to protect them.

Jesus is our shepherd. He quietly leads us to the fields to graze upon the lush green grass. We often forget he is there. He is quiet, he is watching. And He is there to protect us when the wolf comes along. Sometimes we don’t even notice He protected us, perhaps we were held back at work one night for some reason and find later that an accident occurred which you were not in because of that simple little act. 

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. “  I used to think that was so silly, why is the Lord a shepherd that I don’t want. No, there is nothing that I need and do not have because the Lord, my shepherd “makes me to lie down in green pastures”. He provides rest and comfort and all my needs.  Of course, there are those times I feel I can do a better job than He does and I leave the herd to find those things for myself. I always go back, or He comes looking for me I can provide nothing for myself. All I have I have because the Lord gave them to me.

I am a fluffy little lamb enjoying the green pastures provided by my Lord and Savior. I can leave the herd, but I don’t want to.  “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for He is with me, His rod and staff protect me”. 

Where are you? Are you walking along beside the great shepherd? Do you want to?