Each Day is New!!!

 Wow! It has been a long time since my last post. I had a very busy summer here at the Bible Camp. I had 15 - 20 Summer Staff workers under my command till the first weekend in September. They were employed as Maintenance & Lifeguards for the different camps that attend each year.
 I started each day with a devotional time at 7:30 am. It was a challenge to feed these kids some spiritual food each day, but God gave me many topics and some of the kids gave positive comments and the end of summer. YES!!!!!! We all grew, together, as it should be.
 In August I was approached by my Church's Awana Boys leader to help out as a Listener. I had no idea what was involved. So I said "yes" anyway! I have 5 boys, age 8 & 9 in my group. They work through books, learning Bible verses and truths about God. It is fun & a joy to watch these guys memorize Bible verses. We meet every Wednesday and this will continue until May.....

 In October I took a trip to North Dakota to tend to some property that we own. I also did some Pheasant & Deer hunting too. I enjoy the hunting, and my Brittany, Tess, enjoys it too!!!!
 After returning home late October, it was time to pick up all the fallen leaves. What a job. 2 weeks of leaf patrol and the camp is now cleaned and ready for winter.

 I had decided to slow down on controlling my life. Just let God guide me. I have found that I am much busier now than ever. But my strength & spirit is high. I enjoy life so much more. That's why I titled this short update, "Each Day is New". Each day IS new. A chance to continue serving Him. I am getting more out of each day too. More time to read, more time to share with others, more chances to impact others, and more life. Jesus promised a more abundant life, and He delivers.
 As America continues it downward spiral, I continue to study God's word more. So many people just refuse to see the truth. Blindness, a good topic for next time.....

 John 2:5b, "What ever Jesus tells you, do it!"

The Bond Servant

What is a "Bond Servant"? The Free Dictionary, an online reference, defines it as "A slave; one who is bound to service without wages." Paul described himself as a bond servant of Jesus Christ and he walk the talk. His life is a great example, 2nd only to Jesus himself, as how to live the Christian life.
 Sadly we think of a slave with negative connotations. But it really is someone who is loved by their master, cared for and provided for by their master. Saul, aka Paul, was climbing the ladder of Priesthood as a young man. He worked as a tent maker to pay his way and for his education to become a Priest. He was even doing things to win the favor of Priests hoping they would help him along the way. He went so far as to volunteer to go to Damascus to round up believers of "The Way" and bring them back to prison. But that all changed when Jesus knocked him off his horse with a bright light and blinded him for 3 days. From that point on, Paul was a bond servant of Jesus.
 He began the same battle we all face today. We want to follow the will of God in our lives. We want to to the tasks set before from God. We want to go where God sends us in life. But we wrestle with out worldly mind deciding if what we are doing is the right choice. Here we can debate for hours on how to handle this issue, but really it is a simple solution.

Is the task, will, or assignment set before me draw me closer to God or further away from Him?

Asking that question will save us a lot of time. Time that we can use to further the gospel of Jesus.
 I enjoy "people watching" as much as the next person, but as of late I find myself "soul watching" instead. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging them but rather I watch their actions, how they carry themselves, how they react in certain situations. And I also understand that others are watching me! But this "soul watching" can be helpful in correcting a brother or sister in Christ.
 I now work with youths in a Christian setting. Many of them are heading into service for Christ while others have not yet decided the path to take in life. I am quick to talk with them about my past. I took the wrong path at their age and I wasted 28 years of my life not serving Jesus. I look at others my age who traveled the right path and see the difference's in our current lives. I'm careful not to covet what they have or do, but I recognise what I am missing in my own life. How much more maturing I have to do. How little I really know spiritually. And that is what bothers me. Time.
 Time is unchangeable. A minute is always a minute. An hour is always 60 minutes. A day is always 24 hours. A week is always 7 days. You get the picture. We can neither add to or subtract from time. So I began my bond servant hood late in life. I can only accomplish tasks in the allotted time left to me. Someone said that as long as you are doing God's will you cannot die until you are through. I believe that and trust that God will continue to direct my path each day. I have started the race where I did and there is no sense, wasting time, trying to change that fact.

 So I keep moving forward. That's what Paul did!!

May God bless you in all areas of your life.
Read your Bible each day, spending time with Jesus.
Pray for those around you, praise God for the answered prayers.
And continue to encourage others. 1 Peter 5:8

Knowing Jesus

 This past Sunday at my churches "Breaking of Bread" service, (a service where all are welcome to share scripture, thoughts, hymns about our Lord Jesus), a Church Elder, Patrick, concluded the service with this thought:

 "If it wasn't for Jesus, I wouldn't know any of you."

 Let that soak in for a few minutes. As you do, think of all the people you know, the places you have gone, the lives you have touched, and the lives that have touched you, because of Jesus.
 I would not be living and working where I am without Jesus. My current circle of close friends are because of Jesus. I cannot dispute that Jesus has changed my life and the change continues.
 As I write this, I have 6 young men from South Africa visiting our camp. They are on a one year missionary journey around the globe. They are moving from country to country doing volunteer work for a place to sleep and food to eat. You can check out their story at; www.gcex.org. They are Team WYW. We have had good fellowship this past week, all because of Jesus.
 If you are getting dragged down in your spiritual battle, reflect on what Jesus has done in your life. Then ask others to also reflect on how Jesus has changed their lives. I know I owe all to Him.

Grace & Peace,
 Pete

Encouragement

 Last night I had the privilege to share my testimony to a church I have been attending since my arrival in Canada. It was a time for my wife & I to introduce ourselves to the church and share some of our past. I shared my struggle through life and my experience of accepting Jesus. Then I shared some experiences in my Christian walk and those comments seemed to encourage and uplift them the most.
 Letting the members know that a church split, back biting, and false fronts are not just common to them, but to all believers. It is a long, difficult journey we are on and time is better spent building each other up and working together. We all have the same force working against us, so we need to save our energy to fight it together.
 It reminds me of a cartoon described to me by Pastor Leo. The cartoon shows the planet earth with a large fence dividing the earth into two halves. On one side is "the world" and on the other side are "the Christians". The "world" side is picking up rocks and throwing them over the fence at the believers. The Christians then pick up the rocks and throw them at each other. That's how it really is even though we try our hardest to work together.
 Remember, the church is always destroyed from the inside. Read and study Jude for a closer look at the warnings given to us over 1900 years ago.
 Stay strong, stay on your toes, keep reading your Bible everyday and keep praying.

Grace & Peace,
Pete

The Never Ending Battle

 Wow this Christian walk sure is exciting. As my relationship with Jesus grows He shows me more issues I must deal with. Issues I weren't even aware of. But He is. It's all part of growing and sometimes it is a painful process. But I can always look back on parts of my journey and see His hand upon me.
 In John 15:2, Jesus says, "every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." So let's look at that statement. Have you ever pruned a tree, a bush or any plant. We literally cut off parts of the plant. Then the plant needs time to react, to regroup, to recover from what happened. And over time the plant will be stronger and produce more fruit.
 My life is the same as that plant. As I grow, a process of moving forward, then backwards too, I get pruned; things which are dear to me get cut out, removed, thrown away or burned. Then I feel poorly, dejected, sometimes depressed. But over time I begin to get stronger as that part which was removed is no longer a drag on my walk. It's not slowing me down anymore. I'm free from it and can move more easily. Really, it's the same process as the pruned plant. But it is a constant battle.
 Paul called it Spiritual Warfare. A battle between the flesh and the spirit. And what a battle it can become. One of the first Bible study, audio Cd's I purchased as a new born again Christian was from David Jeremiah. I highly recommend it. Since then I've heard many other talented speakers teach on this topic and all have helped me to stay focused on Christ. I guess it all comes back to the word of God. Knowing what it says and applying it to my life. That is SO important in our lives. I am really saddened by how many people never read their Bible. Reading daily is like exercising our Spirits. And boy do I need to keep exercising....

 Remember to keep it, your relationship with Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit simple...That's how He designed it.

Idol Dangers

Exodus 20:4-5 (NKJV) ⁴ "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
⁵ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

This what God's word says to us about idols. Pretty clear, unless your human. Then we start to interpret this commandant to mean all sorts of things.
 I've heard many a sermon on the idols that we worship. From statues and lifestyles to our jobs. Many consider an idol to be anything which takes the place of OR gets between us and God. But look again at the scripture above. God says, " a carved image, or any likeness of anything,". It sounds like a solid, touchable mass of something, not a feeling, habit or hobby.
 A few weeks ago I had a dream. A normal, can't quite understand it, don't really grasp the meaning of it dream. So I wrote down what I remember of it. I remember that the dream was speaking to me about how I spend my time. It pointed out that things like drugs, drinking, Oreo cookies and even golf can become something of an idol in our lives and push God to the sidelines. The dream stressed that I need to be aware of how a addiction or hobby can consume my time and take me away from God.
 So I meditated on this thought until I began to really complicate the issue. That's what we do as humans. We can't help ourselves. We weigh ourselves down with guilt, rules and regulations until we cannot understand what was really stated. Looking back on the dream I realized that satan was at work again. Drugs, heavy drinking, gluttony were a part of the old me and satan was trying to temp me into going back to them. I still struggle each day to fight these demons, but I know that God gives me the strength to resist them. It is His Holy Spirit, a down payment if you will, of our eternal powers that can help me fight off these urges.
 You can look back at your old self as a measurement of where God is taking you. But don't grieve for that old life. It must be crucified on the cross. Let it die there. Resist the urge to take it down and breathe new life into it. Instead, look forward to where God is taking you.
 In summary, I guess I should reread my last post on what to do when tempted with sin...

God Bless, spread the joy you now have, keep it simple....

Pete

Swimming Up Stream

 OK! So now your saved. Your a Christian. You have a perfect, stress free life with no problems, Right? Wrong. The battle is just starting for you. You have declared Jesus as your Lord & Savior, which means that you are now in satan's cross hairs. Why? Well, before you were headed down stream to destruction with him. Now you are swimming upstream to glory. He doesn't like that and he will do anything to trip you up.
 So what do you do?
 Stay bedded in the Word of God as much as you can. But there will be times when you slip and fall. It is not a happy time. Believe me. I slipped a lot after I was saved, and I still slip and fall but it is getting easier to deal with it. When it happens it's a lot like being lost in the woods. You got there on your own, but how did it happen? Not to worry. Just think back to your younger days and any outdoors class you may have taken that taught what to do when lost. The number one plan is based on the word stop.

S.T.O.P.

S.  Stop! Sit down. Stay calm. Quit moving toward or closer to the sin.
T. Think! Think about the sin you are about to commit. How did you feel the last time you did this sin? Do you really want to repeat this sin again? Do you really want to regret your actions again?
O. Observe! Look  around you. Look at the new you God is creating. Remember what God has done for you and will continue to do for you. Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". He is with you at this moment. Draw on His power.
P. Plan! Have a plan in place. Do you have a someone you are accountable to? Call them and get some encouragement. Or do as Joseph did when tempted by his bosses wife. RUN AWAY!! Get away from the situation as soon as possible.

OK. This may sound too simple. But that's the point. God gives you the power to resist sin. You have to grab hold of it and use it. It is not easy at first. As each victory builds on another you will gain strength and confidence.
 Stay strong out there. satan is always trying to make us stumble so he can accuse us before the Father. Jesus is our lawyer in this matter. He will never loose a case.. God Bless and keep your faith simple.

(PS. You may notice that I have some spelling errors in my blog. I do use a spell checking, but I ignore it when spelling satan. I choose to not give any honor to this creature.)