Under severely freezing weather conditions, small amount of water vapor freezes into ice crystals, forming thin stratospheric clouds - these are called Polar Stratospheric Clouds.

When I think about the LORD
How He saved me, how He raised me
How He filled me with the Holy Ghost
Healed me to the utter most

When I think about the LORD
How He picked me up and turned me around
How He set my feet on solid ground! It makes me want to shout!

Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!
You are worthy of all the glory
And all the honor and all the praise!

Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!
You are worthy of all the glory!
And all my honor! and all my praise!

Inspiring People/Having A Servant's Heart

Many people seek to be successful, but few people take the time to notice opportunities given to them at their current 'appointment,' or circumstances.

I’ve been thinking much about missionary work. Why, I wonder, am I so looking forward to Christ’s ministry overseas when I have perfect opportunity for doing ministry here in Canton? Honestly, I haven’t given more than an ounce of effort or discomfort into it.

Of those who notice current circumstances, many are too selfish to deny themselves and 'take up' the (selfless) lifestyle of a man or woman of God, when nobody will see their deeds. False humility and false hearted-action are two of my greatest pet peeves… also two of my greatest tormentors.

The Bible says to have a servant’s heart – not a servant’s occupation. I pray that one day I’d have the character of a spiritual giant; so to joyfully serve, even while performing the filthiest of tasks, without hope of recognition, but assurance in glory being given to my God.

Thank you Mom and Dad
Thanks Aunt Janice and Uncle Steve
You too, Matt Frye
(and many, many others of you who may be reading this that I haven't mentioned..)

...for inspiring me with your lives, by living with a true servant's heart

God Wants to Walk WITH You

The two main things I want to communicate to you tonight are these:
1. Your role in living for God is as essential as His role is. Although, His role is much greater!
2. There is no need to ‘hurry up’ to be righteous or holy. Do your best to obey God's Word, yes! However, the only ‘hurrying up’ needed is for you to get in good communication with God. A relationship is what He wants to have with you, not some business transaction.

Like a coach training a football team, God wants to train you. Like an athlete, you must have the willingness to be trained. (Otherwise the coaching would have been done in vain) If you are willing to be trained and you seek Him out to train you, then you are good as gold… right? Well, sure... except that the efforts given by the athlete are ultimately what determine his or her success in the area of training. In other words, you can ask God to train you all you want - but nothing will happen until YOU begin to hear Him and YOU decide to put effort into living in righteousness.

God accepts you the way you are, and for a reason. He doesn't merely want to change you; He wants YOU to change, too! What I mean is that our relationship with God is a mutual relationship (that means that something is needed to come from both ends in order to fulfill the reason for coming together in the first place). This is similar to the relationship between a coach and an athlete. The coach needs to teach and guide while the athlete must listen and act on what the coach advises. It takes effort from both people in order for the athlete to get better. (1 Corinthians 3:8)

James 1:22 gives incredible account for the athlete: "Do not merely listen to the WORD and so deceive yourselves, do what it says."

For the athlete, this reads: “Do not merely listen to the coach, and in doing so waste your time at football practice, do what the coach tells you to do!”

God could always flip a switch to make you righteous and holy when you ask Him to... but this would make your relationship with God more like a business transaction than a personal relationship. If He did flip a switch, what effort would we have given in order to become holy or righteous?

God wants to spend time with you. In your walk with God, He has a place He wants to bring you to. Holiness – Righteousness – SALVATION. More than simply arriving at that place, however, He wants to walk with you the whole way. I believe that God desires to walk with you just as much as He desires for you to arrive at your destination.

(Think of it like this: A man and a woman who are in love take a walk. What is their intent: to arrive at some destination, or to be with each other? Likewise, God isn’t in a hurry on our walk)

(Or like this: When I’m a father, I will hope for my son to grow up as an honorable dude and to one day be a godly husband and father. By no means will I want to skip his childhood! I want to take life as it comes, teaching him the importance of kindness, love, respect, black forest gummy bears, and the endless other lessons he will learn, as well as laughing with him and enjoying his company. In the same way, God wants to have a relationship with us – taking time to get to know us - not to be our taxi driver!)

So, the two main things I want to communicate to you tonight are these:
1. Your role in living for God is as essential as His role is. Although, His role is much greater!
2. There is no need to ‘hurry up’ to be righteous or holy. Do your best to obey God's Word, yes! However, the only ‘hurrying up’ needed is for you to get in good communication with God. A relationship is what He wants to have with you, not some business transaction.

The Assurance of Heaven

Here is a small reflection I wrote on my dad's phone while on my way home from East Liverpool on Sunday 1/25 (where the finale was at for mid-winter retreat).

At the end of the service, I was able to see a number of friends I haven't seen in months, some I haven't seen in years!

I was most excited to see this one elderly man in particular. This man is one I hadn't seen in years. He came across to me just as he had the last time I had seen him. Though, aged and seeming ill, the most humble and glad man I am yet to meet.

Already blessed, what was most interesting was what he said next. I had to go get some things done and said goodbye, to which he replied, smiling, "I'll see you again."

After years having not seen him and not knowing if I will see him again in this life, the assurance of heaven was evident through his words. This assurance echoes in my heart tonight.

The Challenge of Today

I get so wrapped up in thinking about who I am supposed to be tomorrow that I seem to disregard who I am supposed to be today. I pray often that I would be a man of God, pointing my future family straight to Christ. That I would be a godly father and husband.

It is good to be aware of who you once were and it is also good to be mindful of the person you are becoming; unless this mindfulness has caused you to be less concerned with today.

Perhaps the single question in the majority of children's heads is this: "what do I want to 'do' when I grow up?" Why, I wonder, don't they ask "what should I do today?" I asked that question.. my answer was to make people smile.

In Salem, I was about 10 or 12 years old when I began developing a method of smile-making (lol). There was an older woman named Libby. She was having a bad day, so I went up to her and said in a loud voice: "Oh, LIBBY! I looooove you! You know that? We should totally get married!" It worked then, so I had done this to four or five others in Painesville as well. Needless to say, it caught many people off guard and laughter did occur! For the remaining year or three in Salem, I continued to call Libby my wife. Her twenty year old daughter even called me dad!

As stupid, weird, or really weird this small action was, it really made people laugh. At the age of 10 or 12, making people laugh was what I felt God wanting me to do.

MORAL OF THE STORY :)
You are not alive today so that you can become something greater in order to do something magnificent tomorrow. Although, you may do enormous things in your lifetime, you are alive today to be successful in the opportunities given to you and the convictions stirring up within you TODAY.

James 1:12

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promises to those who love Him." -James 1:12

I find the bold/italicized words especially interesting.

Under trial - bearing the weight of it. Not necessarily putting effort into anything but being a recipient of its weight or its burden.

Stood the test - more than bearing its weight, to stand takes muscle activity and strength, putting a great deal of effort to lift both one's own body weight, and the weight of his or her burden.

There is an enormous difference in 'bearing weight' and 'lifting weight.' For instance, when me and Brennen are around a lot of kids, we tend to play and wrestle around with them. It never fails that either myself or him winds up on the floor with five or six kids directly on top. For me, it is easy to lay on the ground while having the weight of five children on my back. It is much more difficult to put effort into standing up, lifting all of my own weight and all of theirs.

"Blessed is the man … who is UNDER trial. … he will receive the crown of life that God promises … when he has STOOD the test."

How heavy are the things being laid on you? Surely, to overcome these obstacles in life, it will take a great deal more pain and effort to overcome them than it will take to 'get through' them. Face it! it is useless to rely on your own strength to overcome life and its obstacles.

How heavy IS your yoke? Do you know what a 'yoke' is? Not the egg yoke. A 'yoke' is like a trailer hitch used in the old days. Instead of a truck, they used horses, and instead of a metal trailer, they used carriages to carry people, or wooden trailers to carry food and probably other stuff. When a horse would pull things like carriages or trailers, the yoke was a wooden device that was placed on the back of the horse (or the horses). It was connected to the trailer or carriage so that most of the weight that was put onto the trailer or carriage was held up by the horse. A lot of times, this 'yoke' was a very heavy burden to hold up while walking/running.

How heavy is your yoke? How heavy are the burdens inside of your 'trailer of life' that you are trying to pull?

I'm not sure that everyone can see the true weight of life's burdens upon their lives. However, let me assure to you this truth in my life: the yoke in my life that is so much bigger than me, and seems much too heavy for me to BEAR (survive), let alone CARRY (overcome). To anyone who realizes this as truth in his or her own life, here are the spoken words of Christ:

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." -Matthew 11:30

I am no match for my circumstances when I do not allow Christ to carry my burdens. I have no ability to overcome or to get the best of circumstances when I am on my own. However, when I PUT EFFORT into prayer and reading the Holy Word(s) of the LORD, the strength of The Almighty suddenly embodies me, the hope and light of Christ Jesus become my vision, the Holy Spirit convicts me and keeps my mind, and I find myself looking forward to the carrying out of James 1:12 in my own life. Here it is again:

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promises to those who love Him." -James 1:12

May you be overwhelmed with the LORD, and allow His mighty hand to do good things inside of you. Carry out those good things inside of you in your life. (If you have a light in your heart act on the convictions of that light to share its radiance with the world.)

The Smallest Of Things Can Cause The Greatest Concern

I posted a short thought not long ago about Casting Crown's "Slow Fade." Well, this post is sort of a second version of that. Slow fade says that WHO we are in character is developed by a series of actions over a long amount of time. Well, this post is more about those actions and less about the amount of time. Here goes:

Get this, even within the context of a tiny particle, there are microscopical particles. Just like a piece of dust in Who-Ville, the town which is floating upon a snowflake. What I find most amazing about these extremly small particles is that they are, perhaps, MOST harmful to our bodies.

What decisions are so miniscule that you are very rarely mindful of them? For me, my use of time and my use of the mind are two things that I am never constantly aware of. I notice that these are weighing me down, and I want to gain control of them. They can act like an unending domino effect: the lack of mindful (or of wise, beneficial, good) thinking may be causing poor use of time; on the contrary, the poor use of time may be causing my mind to become (or to remain) lazy. When in the end, I want to use time effeciently in order to grow nearer to the heart of God, do well in classes, and to have some hope of a social life.

Scripture (James 4:17) says, concerning the person who knows the good that he or she ought to do, if he or she does not do it, for that person, it is sin. Be aware of your decisions! Both obvious ones and ones that generally are not a concerned; the decisions that seem to be too small to even be a worry (be assured that some decisions may not matter to many, but each one makes a difference to all). The Lord sees all sin equally. He sees the intent of our hearts (which is not always the same). Is not our heart's intent different when we 'ignore' doing good from when we mindfully reject temptation (James 4:14-26)? We can be free of lying for a lifetime, but even the man or woman who keeps from committing lies will not feel content or at peace until every decision to be made by them is under careful control. We must not do the things that the Bible communicates that we shouldn't do. We must do the things that the Bible communicates we ought to do!

To follow in Christ steps the best that we are able to we must be constantly mindful of our lives, Jesus' place in the center of them, and our place in the will of God

• Every Word - to speak with truth and intensity, and not with hollow words to fill in time. That is, in the cafeteria, at work, in a hallway, in walmart, AT HOME. We must be constantly mindful of our lives, Jesus' place in the center of them, and our place in the will of God.
  
• Every Thought - instead of staring lazily into the lighted buttons or floor numbers while on an elevator, be mindful about even your state of mind. Recite Scripture in your mind, think a prayer to God. Be free to wonder, and allow God to bless you and convict you by ways of imagination, and by some simple thoughts. We must be constantly mindful of our lives, Jesus' place in the center of them, and our place in the will of God.

Our everyday decisions are much like the smallest of small particles. The smallest decisions, which we have no choice but to confront, often-times have the most extreme results in our lives, both mentally and spiritually. Further, many people (maybe you) are not aware of these decisions. Chemists know the very detailed information on the 'particle' issue, but the general knowledge that normal people have of chemistry, I assume, is very ignorant to the danger of the tiny particles. Likewise, those of us who are seeking Christ diligently have a conviction to devote our WHOLE lives as living sacrifices to God. See Romans 12. Looking upon the general church of the day, including The Salvation Army, not too many have this knowledge of the danger in 'small' decisions. Not too many people take into account the seriousness of the matter, atleast. Holiness is a rare quality among the people who know and profess to believe that it is something worth striving toward.

Who are you? God knows us Completely (Psalm 139). He has one very powerful microscope.. what sorts of things will He see when He focuses in on the most miniscule particles of your life? I ask myself: how can I better make use of my mind, and time? In what ways can you better make use of those things which you have recently forgotten all about?

Finally, will you do it? Please share your thoughts.

James 1:9-11

James 1:9-11 (NRSV)
"Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will dissappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away."


James 1:9-11 (NIV)
"The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.
In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business."


I've been wrestling to understand the comment about the rich. If being brought low, for the rich, means that they will 'pass away like a wild flower,' 'its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed,' 'the rich man will fade away even while he goes aboubt his business...' BUT the rich should boast in being brought low. The difficulty a rich man has entering Heaven is spoken about in Scripture. Is that what this passage is saying? That the trials of a rich person will be for them like the scorching sun upon a flower? Why does this verse foretell the destruction of the rich man as if the temptations of pride and selfishness are not something he can overcome? "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

Is it the arrogant of which this passage speaks? Proverbs 20:18 says that God will richly bless the obedient, but the one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

Insights, anyone?

faith, trust, and believing in God's promises

James 1:2 talks about how we should have joy in times of trials 'of many kinds.' Verse 3 continues with the words "because you know."

In verse two, what question do you think James is trying to answer? I can imagine the dialogue going something like this...

James: "Consider it nothing but joy, brothers, when you face trials and hard times of many kinds."

(Because James is speaking to other Christians, I think they would assume 'why' they should consider it joy. It is natural assumption of a Christian to do ANYTHING for the glory of God.)

People: How?

James: Have trust in God and faith in the truth that you know.
(You already know "that the testing of your faith develops perserverance.." You can have joy in any circumstance when you BELIEVE in the hope that Christ brings you.)


Think of the things God has promised you..

Psalm 91:1: "Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." - If you are one to dwell in the Word of the Lord, and in Prayer, than He promises that you will rest in 'His shadow!' Trust in His promise!

Psalm 125:1 "The Lord's people are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever." - If you take hold of the new life Christ offers you, than the only harm that may come upon you is to your body, which has no effect on your spirit. That is, if you BELIEVE that God will keep His promise.

Jeremiah 29:11-14a "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me, and will come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord."

You will never cease to have purpose on this earth, Heavenly purpose, if you Trust in the Lord, and have faith that He will keep His promises.