The Sound Word

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. A sister in the church shared the verse above with me yesterday. I have been intrigued by it ever since. God spoke to her through this verse, and I guess it’s now my turn. To me that verse is so telling of how our relationship should be with Jesus. Yes, He can lead us in so many ways: We follow Him because we recognize his voice We follow Him because He sets the example We follow Him because He instructs us But this verse takes it deeper. It tells us that He will guide us with His eyes. Having owned and hunted with dogs for a good part of my younger days, I would equate God training us, like we train dogs. Voice commands work great, and that’s how you start training a dog. Teach your pup the basics. Don’t give him too much 9information too soon, or too fast. Give him just enough training to build confidence in you as a leader. The next step as you build a relationship with your dog, and...

II Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God... This weekend has been a cold one. We woke this Sunday morning to dusty snow covered icy roads and chilling child in the low 20’s. None the less, God provided safe travel for all, and a day and message that spoke to all of our hearts. We spend our time in the Word studying the Holy Spirit, and reviewing scripture that defines who He is as a person, within the Trinity, His office and works, and role for/in us today. Despite the cold, and some people not being able to make it, we had a wonderful time together in fellowship. The service ended, and we all went our own ways, a little more slowly than usual, and attended to the rest of our daily activities, which for our family included some time playing in the snow for the kids, getting ready for the week of homeschooling for Mom, and for me, building a fire and just relaxing and staying warm. Round abo...

Even in our lowest lows and wowest wows, we have much to be thankful for. I know this post comes after Thanksgiving and the Christmas Season has officially begun, but there is as much to be thankful for in review, as there is hope in anticipation of Christmas Day. We could spend much time discussing family holidays, and how they can be feared and loved at the same time. We all look have forward to them so much, and then remembered that time that old Uncle Billy did that thing that he does and just ruined everything. We all seem to have that Uncle Billy or cousin or newphew or in-law of some sort that somehow always figures into the finished product of our holiday memories in a bad way. Sometimes it is a different person every holiday, and sometimes it is rare. But most, if not all of us, have experienced the Holiday Horror at least one time in our lives. But that is not my story. Holiday Horror is not the title to this post, it is Thanksgiving Thanks. Here's why: The food was great...

Judges 6:11-14 11 Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” 13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” The story of Gideon is perhaps my all time favorite in all of scripture. As I was pondering our nation this the week that we celebrate Thanksgiving (come on 4-day weekend!), I began to pray for our nation...

Psalm 119:41-48 41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD— Your salvation according to Your word. 42 So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word. 43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances. 44 So shall I keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. 45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts. 46 I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed. 47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. 48 My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes. Unfortunately, many of you reading this probably do not know that this date, 19 November, is the 145th Anniversary of the original reading by then President Lincoln of the Gettysburg address. At this event, the dedication of a National Cemetery on the grounds of the Gettysburg battle field in southeastern Pennsylvania, President Lincoln gave an address ...

As a Combat Veteran who served in Desert Storm, my deepest thanks, honor and appreciation go out to all others who have served, and to those at home who prayed for them, and continue to pray today. As a Christian, I am also a patroit, soldier, and lover my country. I still cry every time I hear the National Anthem played. Although violent and disturbing, I feel it is necessary that our children see images of war so that they know of it's horrors, and respect the soldiers of this nation that fight those horrific battles in far away lands so that they do not have to be faught here. I feel they need to have a solid historically accurate (i.e. not the stories they are taught in public educational/indoctrinational institutions...) knowdge of and understanding of the wars faught particularly by the soldiers of this great nation, but of all history. Those who do know know and understand history, are detined to repeat it. Thank you to all Veterans, past, present and future. There is no gr...

I have a self imposed policy. I allow for anonymous postings on my blog. I want people to feel free to express themselves. However, take responsibility, (be accountable) for what you say. If you want to share an opinion or a thought, great! But if you want to be critical (an action in and of itself that is not necessarily evil), do not post anonymously. Stand up for what you feel, and do it in a respectful manner. Honest and true people can agree to disagree, and do it with respect for one another. I work in an industry where brand loyalty brings people to verbal blows constantly. The ‘mine is better than yours’ statements are totally moot when it comes to opinions. If it is “my cars engine in more powerful than your cars engine”, than we have something that we can draw empirical data from. There is no empirical data in an opinion, just egos, and I have no room for that. Sound Off! But not from behind a tree for cover, stand on your soap box and be seen and heard. Be proud of who you a...

Luke 16:2 'So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ The topic of accountability came up between my wife and I this morning, and I felt it worth exploring today. The verse above comes from the parable of the talents. Obviously, the message is clear that we are accountable for what God gives us. If you do a word search for the word ‘accountable’ it makes for an interesting study. God makes it clear throughout scripture that we are accountable for our actions. Not only to Him, but to others as well. King David said in his famous Psalm, “ I have sinned against you, and you alone”, and of course this is true, but you can easily cause an offense to anther, and held just as accountable to God for that. When God gives us something (salvation, growth, a spiritual gift, a friend or spouse, children, our right to vote in this nation, even our very life), we owe it to Him to be accountable for the ...

I woke up to face this day with perhaps the worst feeling ever in the pit of my gut. This feeling is not because our President elect is open to abortion, gay marriage, legislating from the bench, and so on. It is not because he is friends with a convicted felon and domestic terrorist, or because his house was purchased with the support of another convicted felon under nefarious circumstances. This feeling is not because I know that the plans of the President elect will raise my tax burden - and the tax burden of all people -, or even because he is a pacifist seeking to emasculate the military of the United States by slashing the military budget by 25% or more during a time of war. My feeling did not come from the fact that this man is a confessing Christian who has a foundation of 25 years of teaching under a "pastor" whose message about the "US of KKK-A" are nothing more than a fascist mantra designed to get people to believe in racial power struggles and to hate t...

Deuteronomy 25:7 But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ Sort of a strange verse to use as a devotional, I know. But there is something that I want to concentrate on being that this is our national election day. My topic has nothing to do with Jewish law or the responsibility of kinsmen redeemership. But the verse fills the purpose that I need it to. Today we have an opportunity to choose our leaders. We concentrate so much on the Presidential race, but the Presidential powers are limited, and our Constitution is written in such a way to balance the powers of the executive and legislative branches. We will also be electing new Senators and Congressional Representatives as well. Some states are voting on some very important propositions that will effect right to life/aborti...

II Chronicles 7:14 14 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. Probably at some point or another in the last 6 months or so, you have seen this verse come up in discussion in Christian circles regarding our national elections. For me, I have seen it so much it seems almost clichéish. But it’s significance bears attention, and oft repeating until at least 8:00 PM tomorrow. There is much talk and unrest among the US populace with regards to our Presidential Election. In some there are critical issues on the ballot that pertain directly to a Biblical World View, as well as specific issues of biblical morality. Tomorrow is the day we vote on these issues all across the nation. When we enter the polls, we need to go in their humbly before, and vote not our fleshly conscience, but our spiritual one. Our vote is important to our natio...