BEING ON THE CUSP

Hi there everyone! I have had several of you ask about Alaska updates. I'm going to direct you to Pastor Neal's blog www.pbcvoice.blogspot.com to follow his thoughts and reflections of the mission. Since Neal was there and I was not I figure it best to let him tell the story than me try to recant what I've only heard and not experienced. Please check it out over the next few days/week or just daily!

I have to say that I'm a bit at the edge of it all. Sarah is right there at the brink of having the baby and yet she's not having the baby. We are so ready for Chloe to arrive. I have had EXTREME nesting. Everything that can or needed to be done at our house over the last 8 months has been done in the last two. I'm worn out from thinking and doing to be honest. I need Chloe to come so my brain can relax for a second. In times like these I get very task driven and it DRIVES me insane...just ask Sarah.

Of course, I can't imagine how Sarah's feeling right now. She makes me miserable to see her try to turn over in the bed or even walk. Her poor little feet are puffing up like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man. She looks like she just wants to pop yet she keeps a very positive attitude through it all. On my facebook page we're taking guesses as to when we think she will arrive. My guess is Sunday 5/3. Some go up through 5/13...don't tell Sarah!

So we are on pins and needles waiting for Sarah...or Chloe really. I'm also on the edge as I sense the Lord wanting to do something big in my life on the spiritual level but I don't know exactly what. Perhaps I do know and I'm afraid to embrace it or maybe I just think I know? Okay...you're right...I don't know!

Do you ever just feel like you're right there on the cusp of something and you know that something is about to happen. I feel that way. Even with all of the excitement and life-altering thoughts about the baby coming, I believe it to be beyond that.

Our church is growing quickly. Some of the people within the church are also "growing quickly" on the spiritual side and are really plugging in and looking for ways to serve. It's funny - they aren't waiting for me or Neal to CREATE ways to serve; they look for ways to serve HIM. When we have a love relationship with the King of all Kings we will serve and worship Him out of that relationship. I am excited to see what will happen with this body of believers as they grow and engage themselves with not the pastors but with the Savior! I believe our church is on the CUSP of the next level...whatever that means.

BEING ON THE CUSP is hard. It means you have two choices in how you respond to your position of standing at the cusp. 1) You can choose to stand there look out past the cusp and say, "I don't know if I'm able to move beyond this place that I stand. I am afraid. I don't know if I have the abilities to do this." or 2) You say, "I'm here at the cusp Lord. I lean totally on your ways and acknowledge your leading in my life. Give me the courage and the faith to walk in your ways and move forward. Guide me through the unknowns of the next steps with your Light."

How do you handle the cusp moments? Do you wilt like an impatient flower on a hot day in the sun and heat or do you blossom and thrive as your faith trusts in the Almighty?

AIR FARCE ONE

I'm trying to stay out of politics but this has nothing to really do with political issues, just politicians! It seems the Obama Administration has once again proven just how much they really care for our great Americans. Yesterday they thought it would be a great photo op for Air Force One to be circling around the sky-line of New York City and the Statue of Liberty. Yes that's right a huge 747 jetliner flying low around the city...gee I wonder what it might remind people of? 911? NO WAY!?! Thousands evacuated buildings and flooded onto the streets in panic as they watched a air force fighter jet tailing Air Force One. I'm posting one of the stories from the New York Daily Post so you can read all about Mayor Bloomberg's outrage and the frustration of the citizens. Regardless of what you think about the president, good or bad, one must admit this was just STUPID, thoughtless and insensitive to an already shaken and on-the-edge city...by the way I read that neither NBC or CNN covered this event...go figure...Here's the article...

OBAMA PLANE PHOTO OP STARTLES NEW YORKERS
By DAVID SEIFMAN, MURRAY WEISS and JEREMY OLSHAN

Air Force One photographed over Staten Island.Last updated: 10:45 pm
April 27, 2009
Posted: 3:33 pm
April 27, 2009

A jumbo jet being chased by a F-16 fighter jets buzzed Lower Manhattan this morning, panicking New Yorkers, many of whom were forced to evacuate their office buildings.

Have Photos of the Stunt? E-mail them to photo@nypost.com or Upload Them Here.

It was not a terrorist attack, however, but a photo opportunity for Air Force One, sources told the Post.

President Obama was in Washington at the time, but the low-flying 747 circling the Statue of Liberty was one of the planes used as Air Force One, sources said.

The NYPD and the city were notified of the planned flight, but did not share that information with Mayor Bloomberg and other New Yorkers, many of whom said they were terrified.

MORE: White House Apologizes For Air Force One Photo Op

Hours after the incident, a furious Bloomberg called the photo-op "insensitive."

"First thing is I'm annoyed - furious is a better word - that I wasn't told," he said. "Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center catastrophe defies imagination. Poor judgment would be a nice ways to phrase."

Bloomberg said federal officials notified the NYPD and another city official, whom he declined to identify, of the flight plan.

"Had I known about it I would have called them right away and asked them not to," he said. "The good news is it was nothing more than an ill considered, badly conceived, insensitive photo op - with the taxpayers' money."

Dominick Caglioti, who works at the Mercantile Exchange, thought the worst as he saw the jets hurtle toward his window just after 10:30 a.m. After learning it was all a photo op, he was furious.

"It's so stupid because they tell you about every fire drill, but they didn't tell us about this," he said.

The planes flew over the Verrazano Bridge, buzzed the left ear Lady Liberty and then continued up the Hudson past Jersey City and then circling back toward Staten Island, federal sources told the Post.

Thousands flooded the streets downtown as buildings called evacuations.

"There is situation outside. We don't have any further information," went one announcement at the Embassy Suites downtown.

After hearing it was all planned, many of those in the streets complained New Yorkers should have been warned.

"You don't do this to people down here after all we have been to," said Jillian Pizzarello, who also works at the Mercantile Exchange.

According to the Department of Defense, that Presidential Airlift Group began its aerial photography mission at Andrews Airforce Base.

"This mission, involving the VC-25 and an F-16, was conducted in conjunction with normally scheduled continuation training for assigned aircrew members," officials said. [END OF ARTICLE]

RON RETURNS...I found this from the White House...
The director of the White House military office, Louis Caldera, took the blame a few hours later. One of the planes was a 747 that is called Air Force One when used by the president. "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," Caldera said. "While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

THe only other thing I wish to say is that if Bush had of done something so insanely STUPID the press and the world would have called for his head on a platter...Obama gets a pass, as usual, and the world will turn her collective head and pretend that the great one really is as great as they wish to believe.

Ron

DAY OFF

Well good Monday everyone. I'm taking today off...Yes my phone will still ring a thousand times and my e-mail will still light up like a Christmas tree, but I'm taking the day for myself...while I still can...all too soon little Chloe will be shaking up our routine...and we can't wait.

Our Alaska team is in Seattle and on their way home. Continue to pray for safety and also pray for their health as the Swine Flu can be easily transmitted on airplanes.

Have a super week and enjoy the weather if you are able!
Ron

ALASKA PRAYER REQUESTS

Hi everyone! I just heard from our mission team in Alaska and they have a few requests that are in need of prayer.

First, let me say that everyone is doing great and everyone is very focused on the missions and tasks at hand. There are a few challenges that the team is encountering that are amazing opportunities that the Lord can use to get glory.

Part of their big outreach is an ice fishing event. The deal is the team goes out onto the ice and catches fish and then brings it back, cleans the fish and serves it to the community. Yesterday was a bad day. They caught no fish and no one from the community showed up. The locals believe that the team isn't catching any fish because there are no "natives" with them. So we all know that superstition is just irrational thoughts that people see as real and rational. Let's pray that the team will see a massive fish haul without having natives standing beside them, and that God will be revealed as the Provider that He is! Today they will be fishing on the frozen Artic Ocean directly in front of the church so another opportunity for God to show Himself to the people.

Also Pastor Neal asked that we pray for the other events...women's outreach specifically as our women are prepared to minister to the locals, but again, only one person turned out for the first day. Naturally it's disappointing to the team but we must trust God in this and ask Him how we can join Him in spite of the absence of people. The thing to remember is this...we are to be obedient to His calling first...the team did this and they are there. We are all too happy measuring results but sometimes we need to step back and see that results may be refreshing someone that's there...or ministering to just one kid...or something smaller and even more simple.

Let's also pray for a woman named Aida. The church has been working with her for sometime and she hasn't made any profession of faith so we are hopeful that the Lord will use the team to be a part of that.

Now our team is very ready to share the Gospel. Yesterday they walked around on the streets and shared Christ with several of the townspeople. I'm so excited that they feel prepared and that they are so willing and feel equipped to share Jesus. Now let's pray that they do not get discouraged as they seem to run into these little walls that seem to keep their events from happening.

Saturday will be a big day and we are praying for Tom as he will be specifically leading the evangelistic portion of the fish fry. Pray for a boldness of the Holy Spirit upon him and pray for readied hearts among the listeners...and don't forget to ask for the fish to be drawn to those little holes in the ocean...may God be glorified in all things!

Ron

SAFE HARBOR (Wednesday)

I wanted to update you a little on our friends Pastor Thom and Penny Cooper. Thom and Penny live in Johannesburg, South Africa and have been there for the past two years. They are doing a great ministry in the country and have faced many challenges as they seek to get the Word of the Lord out to the area. Their mission focus has been to EQUIP pastors with God's Word so that the pastors can go back and share with their congregation. God has done some amazing things through this approach and there is much fruit coming from the work. I'll share this one exciting testimony from one of their meetings in January..."we witnessed two healing miracles – one a lady healed of TB and couldn’t walk (from AIDS) and hadn’t eaten since January and she “ran” and said she was now hungry. And the second was a little boy 15 months old who hadn’t walked or talked and he was healed and got up on his own and walked and then said dada." ....see God still does miracles!

Their ministry is called SAFE HARBOR (name of the Bible school) and they have asked me to share some prayer requests with you via the blog. Please pray that:
1) That they will be able to train people to carry on with the preparations of Safe Harbor Conferences and the School of Ministry and the funding will be there for the people to do it.
2) That they will be able to create, duplicate and copy all the material necessary to be able to set up satellite schools throughout South Africa...if you remember much of their stuff was stolen in a home break-in so it all has to be recreated.

I (Ron) would also like to ask you to pray that the Lord will give them clarity in their direction as they seek Him over whether to return to the USA at the end of this year or to stay in country.

UPDATES

Hi everyone...brief updates here on some of the things we've been asking for prayer over... The Alaska team should be arriving in Kotzebue this morning around 11am. I heard from Neal late last night as they were in layover in Seattle, Washington. The team is very excited and ready to hit the ground running once they do get there.

Well I think we're ready for baby Chloe. Officially we're only 19 days away from her expected arrival! Sarah is very very ready to have her now! We've finished her room, installed the car seat and packed our bags for the hospital...all that's missing is her! I'm in a bit of a nesting/panic mode. I just feel like everything I've ever wanted to do to the house has to be done NOW and I'm constantly organizing and sorting. I need Chloe to get here just so my mind can have a break.

I also want to report that my mom's eye is starting to do better. Thanks for the prayers. It's been a long couple of weeks for her.

Well we have a very busy couple of months coming up in the PBC ministries that also need your prayers. Our Community Park Day will be one month from Thursday. We expect to feed 1000 people and have a day of fun and entertainment for the community. We also hope to seek and save the lost!

We're also going to be hosting a Disaster Relief Training so that people can be trained to respond to local, state, or national disasters. This will be the 29th of May. I responded to the Hurricane Ike disaster last year and it was an experience that I'll never forget. I saw God provide for people that literally had no food and I was able to see just how personal a relationship He really does have for us.

Our praise team will be singing the FCHS Baccalaureate Program on June 3rd and Pastor Neal will be preaching...another great opportunity for the Word to go out from PBC!

June promises to be even busier with a Creation (Genesis) Conference on June 6th/7th, VBS on June 14-18, a possible youth mission to Norfolk to help inner-city kids grow gardens "God's Way," and finally our mission trip to Ukraine on June 26 - July 4th!

As you can see there's plenty to occupy my mind over the next two months...and most of them are on my shoulders to organize/plan and execute so while you're praying please pray for me as well that I will stay sane and grounded...and still be a good daddy to a little girl name Chloe, my Katie and a great husband to Sarah!

Have a great Tuesday!
Ron

WAY UP NORTH>>>TO ALASKA!

Well I met our Alaska mission team at the church building this morning and said my goodbyes. They are now on their way to Kotzebue to minister to the natives and build relationships.

It was really hard to send off a mission team and not be on the going team. I just love going on mission trips. They are an experience like no other and my soul longs to go more and more frequently. I have found our outreach experiences to be deeply moving and challenging to my faith...in good ways. Being in another culture forces me to view and understand from a different perspective. It's not so easy to adjust our worldview on things but eventually you figure out that "your ways" are not always the right ways. It also helps me to grow as a Christian and helps really give me a bigger and bigger heart for the lostness of the world. If you've never gone on a trip, you really should consider it. I promise you that it will change your life and your heart forever...you will never feel at home again...you'll never look at things the same again!

Yes our cultures are very different and yet the need for a Saviour full of Grace and Mercy are common everywhere. It doesn't matter what continent you're on or what form of government you may be under the rule of because sin abounds everywhere...but Grace abounds so much more. How many people will never hear of Jesus? How many will slide into eternity never hearing or knowing because we stayed behind in our comfort zones and never stepped out. It is a sacrifice to go. It means leaving family, daily comforts, and other things behind on the "altar" and going because He has commanded us to "go." We must CHOOSE to GO until HE says STOP...until He says stop we go always forward, always sharing, always seeking to build on the foundation of Jesus!

Please keep the team in your prayers as they depart and begin their ministry. Their outreach activities will probably begin sometime around lunchtime tomorrow!

I DREAMED A DREAM

So yesterday I caught this amazing clip of a woman on the show "Britain's Got Talent". The show is similar to American Idol but with a bit more innocence. Contestants from all ages can come out and perform a talent and they are either booted or put through to the next round by AI's Simon Cowell and 2 others. The winner at the end of the show will get to do their talent live in front of the queen. So here's this 48 year old single and unemployed woman preparing to sing on stage.

STOP RIGHT NOW and copy and paste this link to watch this and then we'll talk...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRmM1J1sfg&feature=related

Don't read this yet until you watch it....Now what did you think of that!?! Amazing and inspiring. How sad yet that this woman who just looks like any other middle aged woman was written off and laughed at just because she said she had a dream of being like the Broadway star Elaine Paige. Eyes rolled and people glared at the complete impossibility of her being anything other than "plain and ordinary."

I read an article that she has taken care of her ill mother for many years and her mum died in 2007. Since then she's lived with her cat, Pebbles, and always dreamed of being a singer. She actually started singing when she was 12 and then even produced and recorded one song. Then she eventually gave up everything to take care of her mom.

I also read somewhere that she started relaxing once she saw that people were receiving it well. She had been picked on as a child because she was just a little different. You can see it in her too. I watched her face as she peered into the audience of folks that no doubt were judging and casting impressions of her worthlessness and NOW she's a shining star. Her video got 20 million hits yesterday on YouTube alone and she's been booked on Oprah. Yes this woman whose talent was masked and hidden to the world that scoffed and made fun of her has now had her chance to shine. She dreamed a dream that life tried to take away and people tried to discourage away from her and yet she persisted.

It's a great story! An inspiring way to end the week and reflect on how we look at others and treat them that may not be just like us.

Have a superb day!

REMEMBER...ALASKA MISSION TEAM DEPARTS MONDAY FOR THEIR OUTREACH...PLEASE BLANKET THEM IN PRAYER and ASK FOR THE GOD TO BE GLORIFIED AS THEY TAKE THE TRUTH TO THE CAPTIVES!

THE EYES HAVE IT...OR NOT!

First off, let me start off with a brief update on my mom. She went back to the doctor yesterday and she apparently has a serious eye infection. This infection has "compromised" her cornea and she has to return to the doctor every day for 2 WEEKS...yes everyday. She is still in a lot of pain and is in need of some relief beyond what the medicines can do.

It's bizarre to me...Me and my dad go to Texas on a mission to feed and minister to the victims of Hurricane Ike. In less than a week or two after our return, my father "gets" something still unknown in his eye that has caused to virtually lose the vision in his right eye. Doctors are all over the place as to what "it" is and all 4 opinions are varied and different. Dad still can't see very clearly out of his eye.

My mom goes to the homeless shelter to serve. She goes in suffering from an allergic reaction to eye drops she had gotten from her dilation at the eye doctor the previous day and walks away with some infection that manifests itself in about 24 to 48 hours later. Now her right eye is also compromised and she can hardly see.

So my parents go on missions to serve the Lord and to serve others...to be the reflection of Christ and His love that lives in them and they walk away with a loss of vision in their right eyes? Seems strange doesn't it?

What does it all mean you may ask? Is God punishing them for serving Him and others? NO. NYET. ABSOLUTELY NOT. God is not punishing them. I believe that this is indeed a spiritual attack from the devil. I believe for whatever reason and divine purpose that our Lord has allowed the enemy to come against their vision. I also believe that in due time He will make all things new and restore to them what has been lost. What is God wanting us to "see" through all of these trials? I don't know. I just ask that you continue to pray for my parents and bring their vision issues to the feet of Jesus. Perhaps He wants to remind us to rely on spiritual eyes more than physical sight? Perhaps it's something more. I can't say, but I can say this...in all things...we trust Him...yes indeed we trust Him!

Thanks for your prayers and petitions
Ron

PRAYER NEEDS and "THE WATER"

THREE ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE IMPORTANCE: 1) Pray for my mom...she'll kill me for posting this but she is having serious vision problems in her eye. The doctor says it's now a virus in her eye (this after making up several other possible diagnosis). In other words the doctor doesn't know and we're very concerned about my mom and her eye. My dad still can't see clearly out of his right eye (this happened after our Hurricane Ike relief trip to Texas) so I'm not sure what's going on. All I know is that God is bigger than these things and I trust Him. Please agree with me in prayer over my parents' vision issues. 2) Sarah has dilated 1cm!!! Just a few more weeks to go! 3) The Alaska mission team is leaving on Monday afternoon. Please remember our 9 trailblazers in prayer as well as the people they will be ministering to.

NOW ON TO THE BLOG...On Sunday I had the opportunity to witness 8 adults being baptized. It was a great joy to watch these new believers come up out of the water clapping their hands and demonstrating an excitement about their profession of faith!

One of the adults being baptized was a guy that teaches at our local elementary school. After nailing down his salvation just a few months ago he decided he was ready to be baptized. As he made his way down the steps a bunch of our kids that were seated in the floor near the baptistery started clapping and saying "YEAH!" These kids were kids from his classes at school.

As I listened to their applause and cheers and I watched his face my heart melted. It's hard to write about it even without getting a little chocked up because it's just so cool to think about. His students were cheering him on in his faith; they were standing behind him and lifting him up and encouraging him -- their mentor, their teacher. Some of these kids had already been baptized months or even years ago and now there they were rooting this new believer on! Oh I'm telling ya it was awesome to see and hear! Praise God for kids!

That's all I have today. I just couldn't get those things off of my mind and wanted to share with you that neat little story!

Have a great day!
Ron

"RANDOM THOUGHTS"

I have a variety of things to talk about today so I'll get started. First off make sure you check out the blog from yesterday on our great Crossroads Outreach.

Now...I want to direct your attention to my buddy Scot's blog... www.randomthougts-scot.blogspot.com. Scot is a member of our church and one of my best friends at PBC. Scot and his wife Amy love the Lord with all their heart! I had the privilege of working alongside of Scot and Amy in Ukraine last year. While there I saw two believers get twisted up and totally messed up for the wonderful world of missions...they've never been the same since. Now they are the ones I turn to and count on when going on international trips and I know they are ready and willing to serve the Lord NO MATTER WHAT! I'm thankful the Lord has placed them in our body and I trust that He will continue to shape and mold them to His perfect plan...anyway check out his blog and enjoy his writings. Scot is going to be part of our upcoming "Songwriter's Circle" and he's already penned several great songs!

DISNEY...now I'm switching gears...did anyone happen to notice just how devilish Disney channel has become. "Twitches" and "Wizards of Waverly Place" are just two of the shows that they proudly show that teach the anti-Christ stuff. Well I'm outraged at their latest jab at Christianity. On Easter Sunday Disney decided that they were going to celebrate "Halloween in April" and let's all guess which day they started...that's right on Easter Sunday afternoon. Can it BE anymore obvious of their agenda? I mean why not show TV shows about witches and harry potter than on the afternoon that we celebrate the risen Saviour? Might as well...let's go ahead and throw Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street into the mix too. WHY NOT!? We do live in an anti-Christ world and there has to be a point at which we stand up and demand it stop.

It's sad that our society has come to this point. On the other hand maybe it's just a sign that we are getting closer and closer to the end of all things....Jesus promised He would return soon and as the world hates the things of Christ more and more that means we should be watching for Him more and more as well.

Well I'm done. Stay passionate...stay informed...stay tuned...and keep looking up! He's coming!

WOW! WHAT A WEEKEND!

Hey there everyone! It was a great Resurrection Weekend for our family! Friday night we attended the "Passion of The Christ" and then took communion together as individual family units. It was one of the most powerful and moving communion events of my life...and I'm not just saying that. It was nice to take our time with the elements and pray together somewhere in the building with just our family. Too often we ritualize everything in our church services and it was nice to tear away the ritual and add in the REAL!

Saturday was the kickoff of our 2009 Mission Season. Back in January the Lord really began directing my attention to a homeless shelter in our town. Then they just "happened" to call me and we began to talk about some of their challenges. Finally it was obvious to me that God had crossed our paths on "purpose"...HIS!

So we began our first outreach at the Crossroads Shelter. Crossroads is the largest homeless shelter between Roanoke and Bristol. The house 24 people at once and often turns people away. The shelter has sort of been forgotten by our town and many of the churches. I'm not sure why but I don't care. We, PBC, will be working with what many people consider "the least of these" and begin building relationships with the residents. Let me start off this great praise with the news that one of the residents did recommit his life to the LORD! We are very excited about this news!

PBC had 42 of her members show up and participate in this event. At the end of the event we put in more than 310 man hours, donated 24 new pillows, and filled a freezer with more than $1500 in beef and fish products! We saw the shelter appearance transform in just a few short hours. We covered up the bright bright blue paint with "weeping willow" and completely renovated one of the resident's rooms with new flooring, quarter round, paint and curtains! We replaced the hot water heater elements, removed old food products from the food freezers and the basement, re tiled the laundry room floor, moved cabinets, and repainted the women's bathroom ceilings!

It was a great outreach event and I'm so proud of the response from our church body! I'm even more excited about the opportunity to serve our great God and get on His agenda for missions in our own "Jerusalem."

Please keep Lori, the shelter manager, in your prayers as she seeks to get this shelter back on its feet and make it more ministry-focused. She's been on the job since November and faces some big challenges, but I know that our God is bigger and that He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly all that we could ever hope or imagine!

Be blessed today!
Ron

THE WEEK...TUES and WED...

Sorry that I failed on my commitment to bring you a day-by-day in the life of Christ leading up to Resurrection Sunday. I posted a blog earlier on our prayer meeting so check it (scroll down now!)!

We left off at Tuesday so let me cover this. At the end of this sad day we will see the Jews assembling at Ciaphas' palace and plotting to kill Jesus. Satan will enter Judas and he joins this plot for 30 pieces of silver.

Jesus begins this day however by challenging the Pharisees concerning the source of His authority. They demand that He tell them the source and He agrees to do so but first wants to know if they feel that the source of John's baptism came from man or God. The Pharisees immediately realize they have a problem. If they answer, "From God," he will doubtless say, "Then why don't you believe him." If they answer, "From men," The people will attempt to stone them, for John is their hero. The Pharisees cannot answer His questions and He, therefor will not answer theirs.

There are many many activities and teachings that take place. Jesus tells of the parable of the vicious vine keepers and a wedding guest with no wedding garment among many others.

He is confronted by the Pharisees and Herodians concerning the payment of tribute money - a Roman tax on every Jew (Matt 22:15-22). He is also confronted by the liberal Sadducees concerning the resurrection in which Jesus reminds them..."He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living..."

Some of the scribes, who had divided the whole law into 613 precepts asked about the greatest commandment and Jesus gives them the great commandment that we still teach on today (Matt22:34-40)...Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and then your neighbor as yourself (on these two commandments hand all the law and the prophets). Interesting that he teaches on the importance of love just a few days before the hatred of Him would lead to his death on the cross.

Jesus also did a sermon that indicted the Jewish rulers on 12 counts...to name a few here...1) They dressed proud and sat high 2) They made a mockery of prayer 3) They weighed men down with their vain traditions 4) They shut up the kingdom of heaven against men...check out Matt 21:1-36 for the rest. He also preached on the coming tribulation that day.

At then end of the indictment of the leaders of Israel, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem ...and it's during this time that Israel is set aside for the duration of the church age. The way is being prepared for the Gentiles!

Jesus also witnesses the poor widow giving her all (two tiny cooper coins) to the Temple offering chest.

He is rejected by many Jewish rulers even though they believe his message (John 12:37-43). They did this out of a fear of men's approval more than God's and because they were afraid of excommunication.

After this the parable of the fig tree and the future is spoken in which Israel is pictured as a fig tree and when Israel begins to show signs of life tremendous things will occur...the kingdom of God will be near at hand!


Interestingly enough there is silence in the Bible when it comes to the events of Wednesday...I'll do Thursday and Friday tomorrow so stay tuned!

BEING STILL

Tonight at our prayer meeting we did something that was well needed. We put on some amazing piano/spontaneous worship music, cut down the lights and just came before the Lord in a time of prayer. We didn't waste time talking about ourselves or our concerns, we just got right down to business in bringing our hearts before God. The Holy Spirit moved upon the handful of people that were there and the Lord was truly there in the stillness and quiet time of our prayers. We were scattered around the entire sanctuary, but the Lord knew where each one of us were. Our pastor's wife was even lead to leave the meeting as soon as it was over and go share the gospel with someone she knew was lost...this person accepted Christ! Yes God was there...good thing we were too!

You know sometimes the best thing we can do is turn off the cell phones, tvs, computers, and yes even the lights and just get alone with God and seek Him. Too often prayer meetings become a time about praying for someone who is traveling or our grandmother's big toe. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we shouldn't go to the Lord over these types of issues, but I believe there is a deeper place in prayer that we can go and be in if we seek out the Lord...

Lam 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.

I still marvel that so few people come out to pray at prayer meetings...guess the world is great...guess everyone is saved...guess no one needs a job, a child to come back home...direction on the next step in their life, or anything else. No prayer meeting isn't "in" right now apparently. Guess we just don't make it fun enough for our entertainment-happy society. There's no awesome praise and worship music from our praise team and there's no fiery message from our amazing pastor...there's just a quiet time before the Lord at His feet with no other agenda but to SEEK Him.

God has done some amazing things in our prayer meetings from restoring families to opening up at least 2 empty wombs. I had a month-long cough disappear in an instant as someone laid hands on me and prayed that I would be healed. What if I had stayed home that night...might still be coughing...might still be praying for Laura and Clay to conceive...might still be looking for my Sarah!

We may not fill up the time of prayer with "stuff" that draws people back the next week and makes them want to invite their friends, but we seek the Holy Spirit to overflow out of us and pray with us as we pray. Yes we walk in as empty vessels and walk away filled and overflowing...and all we did is pray...hummmn go figure!

Please consider joining us next week!

Ron

SICK and BUSY

Hello everyone. I'm not having the best day today. I'm trying to get sick and I'm fighting hard to NOT get it. I'm going to ask that you keep me in your prayers this week that I will have good health restored before Friday.

It's a very busy week of planning and execution in my world. Friday is of course Good Friday and our church is planning to show Passion of the Christ and observe the Lord's Supper afterwards. Then of course on Saturday we will be spending the day at Crossroads Shelter in Wytheville for our first mission outreach event of the year. Normally we shy away from construction type trips but this need in our community is too great to ignore...and who knows...perhaps we'll be able to witness with some of the residents as we work along side of them to make this shelter more like home! Sunday the fast pace continues with 8am service, breakfast, then 10:30 service followed by a meal with my parents and then a likely evening meal at Sarah's.

IN OTHER WORDS...I don't have time to be sick. Resurrection Sunday is my favorite holiday and I just can't miss it. Last year I was so sick on Resurrection Sunday that I couldn't even go to services...that's pretty bad when you're the worship leader. This Sunday is the most exciting day of celebration and praise and I just don't want to miss out again.

Well that's going to be it for today. I've got a million things to get done so I had better get to it.

ALSO>>> Sarah is going to a neurologist in the morning at 6:45 to have her head checked. She's been seeing spots and floaters the last few weeks and the OB thought it best that we have a specialist check her out. Please keep her and the baby in your prayers as well.

Thanks everyone!
Ron

THE WEEK TO COME

Well this week promises to be one of the most exciting weeks of the year. This is Easter Week and this is the time that Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. As crazy as it may sound or read we celebrate His death as well. After all, there can be no new life, resurrection, if there is no death... that is a sermon all by itself isn't it. I'm not going there this morning, but I will say that there are things that we need to put to "death" so that there can be new life...death to materialism so that we can give freely to the Lord's work...death to addictions and death to heartaches and hurts...there's new life on the other side of the "death" if we'll only let go of the old and embrace the new that awaits...like I said, I'm not preaching this morning....moving on!

So today is Monday...just 5 days before the death of Jesus on the Cross. Let's stop and take a look at the events that were going on in the life of Jesus leading up to this coming Friday.

Sunday had finished with Christ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as the people sang "Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lard! Praise God in highest heavens!"

MONDAY MORNING- Jesus was returning to Jerusalem (Matt 21:17). Jesus was hungry and noticed a fig tree so He went to it to see if there were any figs that He could eat but it only had leaves. Jesus told the tree "You will never bear fruit again." The tree then withered up immediately. At this point the disciples were amazed and Jesus reminded them that with faith they could do anything...even throw a mountain into the sea. The miracle of the death of the fig tree symbolized God's setting aside the nation of Israel. Matt 21:43-44 said that just as the fig tree bore no fruit and was cursed so also was Israel set aside because of her fruitlessness.

THE TEMPLE - Jesus also walked into the Temple on this day and drove out the merchants that were buying and selling animals that Jews could use for sacrifice. He turned over the tables and chairs and declared that His house WILL be called a house of prayer.

THE KIDS - How exciting this is...The leading priests and teachers saw the miracles of Jesus and heard the children in the Temple shouting "Praise god for the Son of David." This of course made the leaders/teachers mad and Jesus reminded them of what Scriptures say "You have taught children and infants to give you praise." (Psalm 8:22). Isn't it exciting to think about how little children can so easily "see" God and even praise Him while us older, more educated and studied adults can just walk right past spiritual things and sometimes even miss Christ?

Well stayed tuned til tomorrow and we shall see what happened on Tuesday...

COLLEGE SIN PITS

The student union at the University of Maryland, College Park, will be showing a hard-core pornographic film this weekend to any willing particapant. This is in an article from DRUDGEREPORT.COM. Apparently the distributors of the film offered it to the student union for free so naturally they took them up on the offer. Now more than 60 students have already signed up to view the 138-minute film.

Now listen, I'm not shocked to read that there's pornography on our college campuses. Unfortunately I'm not even shocked that the student union is being so bold as to show it like it was a regular movie. Universities have always encouraged the rowdy alternative to the Christian lifestyle that so many students are brought up in. It's like these schools and their students are just determined to see what they can do next to shock someone or lead someone into temptation.

Listen to this..."We thought this would be something fun for the students to do, especially since we're getting close to the end of the semester," said Lisa Cunningham, program coordinator for the Hoff Theater, which is showing the film. "We're a college movie theater and we thought it would bring out the students." You think it will bring out the students...oh yeah it will bring them out for sure and what a great way to have some "fun." I cant' believe that we now look at showing xxx pornographic movies to groups of college students as something light-hearted, fun, innocent and something they "deserve" because they are getting close to the end of the semester...what a great reward for 15 weeks of college work eeeh?

FROM THE ARTICLE...University officials acknowledge that the film is "not for everyone" but say the idea was to provide students with an alternative to late-night drinking and other dangerous activities. RON SAYS...so let me get this straight...PORNOGRAPHY is a VIABLE ALTERNATIVE to going out and drinking and other "dangerous activities." Guess the degredation of women and giving young men the wrong idea about sex is SOOOOO much safer and less dangerous...good reasoning there university officials...way to really put the student body first...MORONS!

The more I read the more I'm dreading sending my child to college. Katie's only 8 years away from entering a university and I only have a little time left to try to instill the values and morals that are Biblical and sound. She will ultimately make her own choices, but while I still have her I must be determined to help her understand truth from fiction, right from wrong, and smart from stupid. it's so very important that we raise our children well so they can make educated choices. It's even more important that we raise them up with God as the head of our homes and so that they can be saved and have the Holy Spirit in them so that they can make great spiritual choices as well.

Stay strong parents and remember the best time to fight against the wrong choices of the future is NOW while you're raising them in your home!

Have a great weekend!
Ron

Babies and Buddies

Well we are only 5 1/2 weeks away from little Chloe arriving on the scene. She may get here sooner or later, but she's definitely on the way. Poor Sarah is on the verge of just being miserable. She's done such a good job surviving the challenges of being pregnant. In spite of lots of sickness, she has prevailed with good health! We went to the doctor today and they said everything looks great. Her blood pressure was super too! Sarah just glows to me. I can't wait to see the glow of motherhood on her when Chloe comes in the world. It's a very exciting time in our life. Saturday is my birthday (I'll be 35 years old) and then Sunday Sarah's mom is throwing her a baby shower. Sage, her sister, is coming in from Maine as well so all in all it should be a fantastic weekend for us. It's still hard to believe that I'm going to be a new daddy at 35 years old...that means I'll be 53 when Chloe graduates from school. I'm not going to think too far ahead though. I'm going to enjoy these next years, Lord willing, with my family and friends!

On to other things....Life is so very full of challenges! Sometimes these challenges just seem so overwhelming that it's hard to get through the day. I'm so thankful for a great friends and supportive family that come along beside of us and run life's hard race with us.

On Monday I went to Beckley WV to see my old buddies from my old job. It was an awesome and yet sad visit. God was so very gracious to me when he put Jennifer and Tami and Buddy and yes even Steve (ha ha) into my life during what was a very very dark time. They were there when I needed picking up off of the floor (not from chair accidents) and they were there to knock me around a little bit (or hit me in the head with a baby bag) when I needed some straight talk! I tell you this. I am so very glad that God is the God that I can go to with my prayers and concerns and that He comforts us beyond the level of a friend's comfort, but at the same time I'm so grateful that He allows people to be an important part of a healing process as well.

Scott, Tami, Jennifer, and Nancy treated me to lunch on Monday, and while I enjoyed the free food and the birthday and baby shower gifts (of course!) the best gift to me was their company...just their presence. I sit there and look at their faces and listen to their jokes and our times of yesterday and I wonder in my mind if the Lord could ever truly bless me with such close friends again. It's so great to laugh isn't it! It's so great to be around people that want to be around you because they can, not because they have to. It's amazing to me that God is such a great God that He answered my prayers for great Godly friends like them. It's amazing to me that there are people in this world you CAN trust, you can be YOURSELF with, and you can just ENJOY their company. All too often I think we walk around with masks on so that people can't see who we "really" are. All too often we live in fake worlds with fake smiles and fake laughs. All too often we miss many great opportunities to get to know someone because we are too afraid of being REAL with them.

I know it sounds a little sappy perhaps, but I just so enjoyed sitting there, relaxing and just laughing. Today everyone's so busy blogging, texting, e-mailing, calling, and whatever else that finding someone you can have a strong face-to-face friendship seems just about impossible. I can tell you this...all of the e-mailing in the world won't take the place of being in front of someone and sharing life with them. I encourage you to stop, slow down and take a little time for the people that are so important in your life.

Our relationship with God is so much better too when we are "face-to-face" with Him. Being a faithful church-goer is useless if it's done out of obligation rather than relationship. God is looking for a RELATIONSHIP with us like we have a RELATIONSHIP with our kids. I think in this society, we think the best way to communicate with God is a quick text message of a 2 minute prayer when things go wrong...then we go one with our life and never bother to approach Him again until we actually need something. God wants to be our friend and He wants to SEE us living out His love through an intimate relationship with Him. What if we put as much effort into our walk with Him as we do with our great friends or our spouse or kids...the world, and our own personal world may look a lot different.

Well that's it for the day. I hope everyone is surviving the week and the rainy, gloomy weather...let the light inside of you OUT and change the world around you!

In Christ,
Ron2