I find myself, once again, back in Ephesians...and once again, reminded of how much I love this book of the Bible. There is so much to glean from this one book of the Bible, that it reminds me of a Reader's Digest Condensed Version of the Bible itself.
Before I began reading Ephesians again, this time, I read the intro to the book of Ephesians, found in my "Promise Keeper Men's Study Bible". The author of this intro helped me see how many times the words, "in Christ" were used in the book of Ephesians. So, as I read, I found myself intentionally looking for all these references to being "in Christ", or other forms of the same thing, such as "in Him", "in the Lord", "in the One he loves", "in the Lord Jesus", and "in his mighty power".
After reading the whole book of Ephesians, with this theme in mind, and looking for the references...it reinforced how important it really is for us, as Christians, to not try and live this life in our own power and by our own means. It is truly only in Christ that we can ever be what God wants us to be, or do what God wants us to do. It is ONLY through Him, and His power that we can do all things (through Christ who strengthens us) and gives us the ability to do whatever He might have us to do.
Otherwise, all our efforts are in vain, futile, non-productive, and a complete waste of time...a waste of our very life, amounting to nothing.
BUT, in Him, we are able to be the very hands and feet and voice of God Himself. That is an amazing thought, if you actually take a minute to think about it. God, the One and only God, maker of everything we know, author of life itself...can allow us to act, speak, do things on His behalf and for His purposes. A mind boggling thought if you dwell on it. But, the important point is the realization of the fact that we can ONLY do anything in His power...nothing of our own...except maybe allowing Him to use us, and asking Him to use us.
Well, I know this is not real deep, nor is it a new or unique thought. What it is though, is a reminder to myself, and maybe to anybody else reading this, that as a Christian, I have to continue to realize my utmost dependence upon God, and come to Him daily and let Him know that my devotion to Him is for real, that my dependence upon Him is huge, and that without His presence in my life...I can do nothing of any true and lasting value. But, as I seek Him daily, and as He extends His presence and power into my life, my work, my family, my efforts, my friendships, my communication with others, my interaction with anyone and everyone...Life becomes fulfilling, blessed, worth living, with purpose, and everything it should be.
I am often moved emotionally by reading the Bible...but, I am also often moved, maybe even more, by music that speaks for the Bible or from the Bible. So, I share this same thought, in music.
In Christ Alone - Owl City youtube (Owl City)
In Christ Alone - youtube video (Phillips, Craig, and Dean)
May God Bless,
Chuck
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
A Father's Day to Remember (which is why I blog in the first place...to remember such events)
For the last 2 or 3 years I have been keeping my eye out for a fishing boat. I am really liking the idea of quiet, relaxing times on the water and am hoping to get good at frying fish, and hoping even more I can become a decent fisherman. With these desires running through my head from time to time, I have had a hard time driving past fishing boats that are for sale along the road, but at the same time, most of the boats I have seen over the last few years have been out of my price range. So, about a month or so ago, I drove past another fishing boat that was for sale as I was on my way into Jackson. I must have been in a hurry, so the first time I saw it, I just made a mental note to stop the next time I came by.
Well, the next time I came by, I was already past it before I even saw it or remembered it...and once again, must have been in a hurry to get wherever I was going...because once again, I did not stop, but hoped to stop and check it out on my return home from this very trip. It did not happen. I went home a different way after my running around town.
Finally, on a day when Emily, Caleb and I were all heading to one of Zack's last track meets, I told both of them I wanted to stop real quick and get the phone number off of this fishing boat I had passed twice and failed to get any information on. So, we planned to stop. As I approached the area I had seen it, I slowed down looking for it, and became a little confused because I could not find it, and finally realized it was not where it had been...and must have been sold already. I was a bit bummed. We kept driving and I decided it must not have been meant to be.
Unbeknownst to me, the boat had been sold two days earlier...and also unknown to me, Caleb is in the back seat of the van as I am searching for this boat...trying to keep a straight face and playing dumb. He, Rene', and my father-in-law, Art had all been involved in purchasing the boat for me...for Father's Day, 2 days earlier...and they did not even know I had been wanting to look at it.
Skip ahead now to Father's Day (a month or so later)
We had decided to celebrate Father's Day on the Saturday before Father's Day this year, due to an anticipated crazy Sunday anyway, with the start of our first youth camp at Somerset Beach. So, Rene' let me sleep in on that Saturday, and I woke up just in time to sit down to an awesome "new french toast recipe" breakfast she had prepared...and Zack had already taken my coffee order the second I woke up and said he was heading down to the A-frame to get it for me. Now I should have known something was up here, because Zack never runs to get coffee for me, and is rarely as chipper and energetic as he was at that hour of the morning (except maybe Christmas)...but I had only been awake a couple minutes and was fairly brain dead, so I had no idea anything was brewing.
After the great breakfast, a couple gift bags came my way. I opened the first and it was a gift certificate for permission to buy new work boots. I was happy. I needed new work boots. The second was a bag containing Chips Ahoy Cookies, Pay Day candy bars, and a bag of suckers....along with a card. I was very happy for the snacks. I almost forgot to open the card, and was reminded not to forget to open it...so I did. On the front of the card was a guy lounging on the bow of a boat. I immediately said, "Now that's what I want!" I was speaking of wanting the lounging most at the moment, due to the summer schedule already taking a toll, and didn't really even take note of the boat. Then I opened the card and there was a little hand made note that I thought said, "Look Inside". I jokingly closed my eyes and (Looked Inside)and dreamed of something tranquil, restful, a vacation. I was quickly corrected, because the note said, "Look OUTSIDE". I was quickly told to cover my eyes and was led by Caleb and Zack towards the front door and out onto the front porch. I was told to keep my eyes closed and not to peek...which I did. They continued to lead me down to the end of the porch until we got right to the very end, and side of the house. They told me to open my eyes. I did. I saw trees, I saw the campground, and then I looked out into the backyard, and sitting next to the trampoline....was a fishing boat. I quickly felt like I was in a dream and everything kinda went into la-la land where I didn't really know if this was real. Thoughts were running through my head like...WHAT? This is not a Father's Day present...this is like Christmas and Birthday combined on a year I had been exceptionally good...or something like that. Like I said, I had only been awake for 15 minutes or so...and had not even finished 1 cup of coffee...so I am hardly even alive...and I am still thinking, .... this just might be a dream.
I soon realized it was real, and there was a big blue bow on the side of our new fishing boat, and my family had been pretty sneeky in keeping it a secret for over a month. They had fun telling me all about their sneeky-ness, how Zack had already been up since 6:00 that morning going to pick the boat up over at my father-in-law's barn, how they had purchased it 2 days prior to my thinking it had been sold...and about the guy they bought the boat from. Bottom line on that guy: He wanted Caleb to be his son-in-law...and was ready to have his daughter marry him, right there on the spot...had she been there. It seems they had struck up a conversation about their churches, their love for the Lord, etc...and this guy just cut right to the chase. He told Caleb he felt kinda funny doing this, and he had never done it before, but then ask Caleb if he wanted to come into the house and see a picture of his daughter. I still don't know how Caleb made his way out of there...but somehow he did...and I don't think he is married yet.
I really like the boat...but I love my family a whole lot more and their efforts to pull off this Father's Day surprise were truly appreciated. I immediately realized this was a gift the whole family could appreciate. The boys could hardly wait to get the boat in the water. Rene' can hardly wait to eat some fish. And Emily can hardly wait to read my latest blog post about what an awesome family I have! I am blessed! Thank you family! (and thanks Emily for taking the pictures to capture the moment!)
Well, the next time I came by, I was already past it before I even saw it or remembered it...and once again, must have been in a hurry to get wherever I was going...because once again, I did not stop, but hoped to stop and check it out on my return home from this very trip. It did not happen. I went home a different way after my running around town.
Finally, on a day when Emily, Caleb and I were all heading to one of Zack's last track meets, I told both of them I wanted to stop real quick and get the phone number off of this fishing boat I had passed twice and failed to get any information on. So, we planned to stop. As I approached the area I had seen it, I slowed down looking for it, and became a little confused because I could not find it, and finally realized it was not where it had been...and must have been sold already. I was a bit bummed. We kept driving and I decided it must not have been meant to be.
Unbeknownst to me, the boat had been sold two days earlier...and also unknown to me, Caleb is in the back seat of the van as I am searching for this boat...trying to keep a straight face and playing dumb. He, Rene', and my father-in-law, Art had all been involved in purchasing the boat for me...for Father's Day, 2 days earlier...and they did not even know I had been wanting to look at it.
Skip ahead now to Father's Day (a month or so later)
We had decided to celebrate Father's Day on the Saturday before Father's Day this year, due to an anticipated crazy Sunday anyway, with the start of our first youth camp at Somerset Beach. So, Rene' let me sleep in on that Saturday, and I woke up just in time to sit down to an awesome "new french toast recipe" breakfast she had prepared...and Zack had already taken my coffee order the second I woke up and said he was heading down to the A-frame to get it for me. Now I should have known something was up here, because Zack never runs to get coffee for me, and is rarely as chipper and energetic as he was at that hour of the morning (except maybe Christmas)...but I had only been awake a couple minutes and was fairly brain dead, so I had no idea anything was brewing.
After the great breakfast, a couple gift bags came my way. I opened the first and it was a gift certificate for permission to buy new work boots. I was happy. I needed new work boots. The second was a bag containing Chips Ahoy Cookies, Pay Day candy bars, and a bag of suckers....along with a card. I was very happy for the snacks. I almost forgot to open the card, and was reminded not to forget to open it...so I did. On the front of the card was a guy lounging on the bow of a boat. I immediately said, "Now that's what I want!" I was speaking of wanting the lounging most at the moment, due to the summer schedule already taking a toll, and didn't really even take note of the boat. Then I opened the card and there was a little hand made note that I thought said, "Look Inside". I jokingly closed my eyes and (Looked Inside)and dreamed of something tranquil, restful, a vacation. I was quickly corrected, because the note said, "Look OUTSIDE". I was quickly told to cover my eyes and was led by Caleb and Zack towards the front door and out onto the front porch. I was told to keep my eyes closed and not to peek...which I did. They continued to lead me down to the end of the porch until we got right to the very end, and side of the house. They told me to open my eyes. I did. I saw trees, I saw the campground, and then I looked out into the backyard, and sitting next to the trampoline....was a fishing boat. I quickly felt like I was in a dream and everything kinda went into la-la land where I didn't really know if this was real. Thoughts were running through my head like...WHAT? This is not a Father's Day present...this is like Christmas and Birthday combined on a year I had been exceptionally good...or something like that. Like I said, I had only been awake for 15 minutes or so...and had not even finished 1 cup of coffee...so I am hardly even alive...and I am still thinking, .... this just might be a dream.
I soon realized it was real, and there was a big blue bow on the side of our new fishing boat, and my family had been pretty sneeky in keeping it a secret for over a month. They had fun telling me all about their sneeky-ness, how Zack had already been up since 6:00 that morning going to pick the boat up over at my father-in-law's barn, how they had purchased it 2 days prior to my thinking it had been sold...and about the guy they bought the boat from. Bottom line on that guy: He wanted Caleb to be his son-in-law...and was ready to have his daughter marry him, right there on the spot...had she been there. It seems they had struck up a conversation about their churches, their love for the Lord, etc...and this guy just cut right to the chase. He told Caleb he felt kinda funny doing this, and he had never done it before, but then ask Caleb if he wanted to come into the house and see a picture of his daughter. I still don't know how Caleb made his way out of there...but somehow he did...and I don't think he is married yet.
I really like the boat...but I love my family a whole lot more and their efforts to pull off this Father's Day surprise were truly appreciated. I immediately realized this was a gift the whole family could appreciate. The boys could hardly wait to get the boat in the water. Rene' can hardly wait to eat some fish. And Emily can hardly wait to read my latest blog post about what an awesome family I have! I am blessed! Thank you family! (and thanks Emily for taking the pictures to capture the moment!)
This was the Father's Day card I talked about
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