Revelations 5

Read it.

Jesus is the answer.

Psalm 119:9-11

How can a young man keep his ways pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 118

In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting me free.
The LORD is with me;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
The LORD is with me;
he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies....

The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Christ Calls

Here I am!
I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Psalm 113

From the rising of the sun to the place it sets;
the name of the LORD is to be praises...

He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes;
with the princes of their people.

St Jorge vs the Dragon

*This is pretty intense and kind of scary. Just warning you...

The Verses the Wesley Benediction Comes From

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages , now and forevermore! Amen.

From an email I got today

"Please, take a moment today, right now, to stop and ask God to give you a hunger and thirst for more of Him and a greater awareness of His plan and what He wants for you and your family this day."

2 John 5-6
I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning his command is that you walk in love.

The night of St. Jorge

The patron Saint of Caceres is St. Jorge. Today is his holiday. So last night there was a big play, depicting the story of St. Jorge and the Dragon. It was in the main plaza and was pretty impressive. Here are some pictures:

The Plaza Mayor packed out.

The processional enters the plaza. (It started on the other side of town.)

The tower scene.

The dragon is coming!

St Jorge fights the dragon.

Dragon loses!

Psalm 85:4-7

Restore us again, O God our Savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger thought all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.

A verse from an amazing woman

Psalm 16:7-8
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

The Story of the Lonely Oakleys

One day I rode home with my Dad in his van. He backed into the driveway as always. I got out and went in before he went into the garage because there isn't much room on that side. I walked in and put my stuff on the dresser in my room. At that point I realized I didn't have my sunglasses. The only 2 things that were in my hand we the glasses and a frisbee. I went out and looked in driveway, the yard, my room, and even the living room just in case. Then I got frustrated. I couldn't find them anywhere. That was 3 years ago. Yesterday my Dad called me and he had found them. They were behind the dirty shoes rack next to the door into the house from the garage. He was cleaning out the garage and they were 1under some grass and dirt.

1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that
is what we are!
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.

Sevilla

I went to Sevilla for the second time this past week end for a student ministry work shop.
Here are some pictures.

The Gold Tower

The Sevilla Football Club

Timon, Paul, and I at the Caceres panel in the Plaza de España

After church on Sunday



Psalm 102:1-2

Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry for help come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.

Psalm 18:30-36

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.

The Word

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have looked at and our hands have touched -
this we proclaim concerning the Word of life

1 John 1:1

The Word that created the world, and everything in it. Lived and breathed and walked the earth. John didn't just see the Word, he touched.

The Word of the Prophets

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty...
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ABOVE ALL you must understand you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture come about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried on by the Holy Spirit

2 Peter 1:16,19-21

Jesus' words have extreme power, obviously. But I think it's important to remember that all Scripture is from God, directly of the Holy Spirit.

Some love for España

It's green now in Caceres!

The main Plaza in Merida

Some Roman ruins.

This was on the side of the Cathedral in Salamanca...

1 Peter 4:8
Above all love each other deeply, because love covers
over a multitude of sins.

True Beauty

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment,
such as braided hair and wearing of gold jewelry
and fine clothes.
Instead it should be that of your inner self,
the inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is of great worth in God's sight.

-1 Peter 3:3-4

Parents and Children

I believe a big problem in the church today is the role that is expected of the church. Many parents expect the church to be the place where their children learn about spiritual things. Not only that, many parents are leading a life they wouldn't want their kids to lead. The problem is that children copy what they SEE their parents do, much more so than what their parents tell them to do. If the parents wants their child to learn how to be followers of Christ, they need to first model that with their own life, and then personally teach their children what a relationship with God really is.

Reading in the Bible, I don't see where it was the priests, or the leaders of the church, that were to teach the next generation how to be godly. That was the job of the parent.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Love the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are
to be upon your hearts.
Impress them upon your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you walk
along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

The Christian life, is a relationship with God that permeates our life, all that we do, who we are. It is a natural thing to teach a child to eat, to walk, to play sports, to ride a bike. It is to be the same with the Christian life. They watch us, and look to us for answers.

1 Peter 1

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, and into an inheritance that
can never parish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you,
who through faith are shielded by God's power until the
coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed
in the last time...

Therefore, prepare your minds for actions,
be self-controlled;
set your hope fully on the grace to be given you
when Jesus Christ is revealed.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires
you had when you lived in ignorance.
But just as he who called you is holy,
so be holy in all you do; for it is written:
Be holy, because I am holy.


Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Psalm 86:5-7,11-13

You are forgiving and good, O LORD,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
Hear my prayer, O LORD,
listen to my cry for mercy.
In the day of my trouble
I will call to you, for you will answer me...

Teach me your ways, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
I will praise you, O LORD my God,
with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me,
you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

James 4:13-17

Now listen, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city,
spend a year there, carry on business
and make money."
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for a little while
and then vanishes.
Instead you ought to say,
"If it is the LORD's will, we will live and do this or that."
As it is, you boast and brag.
Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do
and doesn't do it, sins.


Psalm 85:4-7

Restore us again, O God our savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger
through all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice?

Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh cry out
for the living God...

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Psalm 81:11-14

But my people would not listen to me;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
If my people would but listen to me,
if Israel would follow my ways,
how quickly would I subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.

James 1:25-27

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,
and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard,
but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not
keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself
and his religion is worthless.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

A glorious day

He is risen. He is not dead. He has victory over death.

"Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8

Hebrews 12

"Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

A really good verse that so many know. It's referring to all of the people of faith from the previous chapter. Focus on the race of life. But oh it gets much better if we keep going...

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

That focus we are suppose to have is to be on Jesus. He didn't just face the cross, along with the same that accompanied it (after all being hung on a tree is akin to being cursed), but he did so with joy! He endured this to finish God's perfect plan. To conquer death, and make the unattainable righteousness, available to us, sinners undeserving, yet loved by God.

Then the writer of Hebrews goes on to encourage us, that God will discipline us. Not pleasant you say? But as our earthly fathers discipline us, "and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!"

"Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but god disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time , but painful. Later on , however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

Find Rest in God

Faith. Lord I desire faith. True and perfect faith in you, in all circumstances. I desire faith in you, my Rock, my Fortress, and my Portion forever.

Psalm 62
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken...Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock,, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge...One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

Procession Wed Night fo Semana Santa

Waiting for the Procession

Draw me close to you

Draw me close to you
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear you say that I'm your friend

Help me find a way to bring me back to you

Chorus:
You're all I want, You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want,
Help me know you are near

You are my desire
No one else will do
Cause no one else
Can take you place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way to bring me back to you

Chorus:
You're all I want, You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want,
Help me know you are near

2 Corinthians 12:39
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Psalm 61:2-3
From the ends of the earth I will call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock
that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.