A Paradox

O What a Paradox I Feel — Don Fortner and D. M. Blake


1. Two armies war within my soul; —
Both flesh and spirit seek control.
Both grace and sin resolv’d to reign,
This daily war within maintain.

2. Grace bids me seek the Lord in prayer,
Though sin would drive me to despair.
Sin drags me downward to the earth,
While grace uplifts by heav’nly birth.

3. The spirit truly loves the Lord,
His house, His people and His Word;
But, still, my heart with sin is tried.
The flesh will never step aside!

4. Grace fills my soul with heav’nly joys;
But sin my happiness annoys.
Though sin’s resolv’ed to hold me fast,
Grace shall prevail o’er sin at last!

5. O what a paradox I feel
A heart of flesh a heart of steel
In love with sin, with sin at war
Myself I love, myself abhor.

Be Prepared

On winter days and nights, it is good advice to realize that this warning (seen on road sign to right) should be taken with great caution. If the driver of a car is not careful, he could loose control with the slightest movement.

As we travel on life's journey, we should travel with care. Proceed with caution!

Always be aware of the conditions around us.

Be prepared for any circumstance.

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad

Steps to Success

Local government agencies and area Chamber of Commerce are quick to provide visitors with places to go and thing to do in their location.

Five steps to success:

1. Focus on possibilities, not obstacles.
2. Allow desire to guide you, rather than self-imposed limits.
3. Act as if your success is certain.
4. Have a crystal clear picture of what you want to accomplish.
5. Get out of your own way.

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad


Think of our Founding Fathers in light of these steps. They thought of the possibility of freedom from royal subjection, despite the obstacle of royal subjection. They allowed desire for freedom to guide them, rather than limits imposed by the real threat of death for treason. They fought on the battlefield as though their success was certain (by the powerful grace of God), while all military scholars will tell you that they had no chance for success against the British powerhouse. They had a crystal clear picture of the freedom to govern, worship, ownership, taxation and much more. They had to allow the bigger picture of the United States of America to reign in their minds and hearts, and get of their own way of hindrances brought on by their fear of retribution. These are such important characteristics of success. Do we as a nation still exemplify them? I pray to God that we do.

Choose Wisely

Often we're guilty of applying entirely too much effort on meaningless and useless endeavors.

We waste so much energy doing things that shouldn't be done at all.

There is no point doing well what should not be done at all.

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad


"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams (1735-1826)

Contentment

Discontent can be caused by several things:

-The death of a loved one or friend.
-The loss of estate or money.
-When relationships don’t satisfy our longings.
-When friendships prove unfaithful and distrustful.
-The broken heart for a wayward or rebellious child.
-When coming under great criticism or reproach unjustly. (discontent arising from disrespect savors too much pride—the Lord will use the arrows of another to teach us to have a lower opinion of ourselves than others may have).
-Suffering for the truth. (A carnal man makes more of his sufferings and less of his sins. The one heart cries, take away the punishment; the other heart cries, take away my iniquity.)
-The prosperity of the wicked—while the righteous suffer the loss of earthly things. (Psalm 37; 73)
-The evil of the times—when every mans opinion is his bible. That kind of error is corrupting and poisonous. The devil is the father and pride is the mother of pride—self-esteem and self-regard are two of its children.
-Covetousness—inadequate view of ones spiritual gifts and part in the body of Christ. Desiring someone else’s position, prominence or proficiency. (Jealousy, envy, or coveting the unholy trinity of wrongful desire).
-Burdens for the church. “Cain put the knife to Abel’s throat and ever since the church’s veins have bled; but she is like the vine, which by bleeding grows and like the palm tree—the more weight is laid upon it the higher it rises” (Thomas Watson).
-Fear - the uncertainty of tomorrow (James 4:13-14). -Sin (Psalm 32:2-4).

What is contentment?
Here are a few verses that will help us biblically define its meaning:

1 Tim. 6:6. “But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.”

Heb.13:5, “Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.’” (cf Deut. 31:6, 8; Josh. 1:5)

2 Cor. 12:10, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

We could say then that contentment is knowing that God orchestrates all things for our good and for His glory according to His holy purposes. It is being completely sufficed and satisfied with who God is and with what God does.
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This is a portion of a recent post by Steve Camp. I encourage you to read it in its entirety; click here to do so.

The Sun Always Rises

Whenever you feel low, don't despair.

The sun has a sinking spell every night, but it comes back up every morning.

It's normal to get down and depressed! Just tell yourself at the beginning that you know it's going to happen and don't let it destroy you.

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad


Healing in Your Wings

Though the clouds may hide the sun, it’s always shining
And when the storms obscure Your face, You still are smiling
Here we will have tribulation
But there is one thing that is certain
You never change

You are always good and loving
Merciful in all Your dealings
Shining like the sun
Rising up with healing in Your wings
When the floods are swirling round me, You are with me
And when the flames rise all about me, they don’t burn me
You’re nearer than the air I’m breathing
Promised You would never leave me
You never change

So I will say it’s good that You afflicted me
That I might learn Your holy ways and to trust in You at all times

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

To hear a sample of this song, click here. Select song #8 as found on the Come Weary Saints album.

Horn of Salvation

And his [John the Baptist] father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,
And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David
(As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old),
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
To show mercy towards, our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he spake unto Abraham our father,
To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
(Luke 1:67-75)

Responsibility

This sign informs the general public that the local government is not responsible for the upkeep of a road. Whenever there are improvements required, it is the responsibility of the developers and/or owners to correct the situations.

My first thought when I saw the roadsign was the condition of your room. While it is true that your mother does attempt to clean your room, ultimately, that responsibility is your own.

Likewise, each of us has the responsibility of our own lives. All of our actions have some sort of bearing upon ourselves.

Be careful to maintain good and beneficial actions!

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad


This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou rooted up, and be thou planted in the sea; and it would obey you. But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field, Come straightway and sit down to meat; and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded? Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.
(Luke 17:3-10)

Congested Area

Often we claim that we're so busy that we say that we do not have time to do...

A card that I have in my office offers some great advice:

-TAKE TIME TO-

Work - It is the price of success
Play - It is the secret of perpetual youth
Think - It is the source of power
Read - It is the fountain of wisdom
Pray - It is conversation with God
Laugh - It is the music of the soul
Listen - It is the pathway to understanding
Dream - It is hitching your wagon to a star
Worship - It is the highway of reverence
Love & be loved - It is the gift of God.

Have a good day!
Love,
Dad

Apology

Things have been quite busy outside the 3M blogosphere. Please accept my apologize for the lack of postings lately. It is my intent to increase the number of postings to the blog over the coming weeks. I trust it will be an encouragement to you. As always, feel free to give me any feedback on the content.