2008 is out of here! Let me ask you, is this a
good thing or a bad thing? Well either way you add
it up its over, time to put the past behind us, time to
look into the new year with expectation of God doing a
work that only He can do. I know we have had some
folks go on to be with the Lord this year, some were
just too young for our mortal viewpoint, however, God is
in control and we should have no fear. Sometimes
loss is a good thing, like losing weight or losing a
game of checkers to your five year old. It is all
about perspective. Don't be a victim this year,
put it all behind as the Bible commands "Forgetting the
past I press on toward the goal."
If you suffered financial losses this year, just
remember so did everybody else, did you foreclose on
your home that you worked so hard for? Is your
health failing and you cannot pay the bills? Are
your kids acting out a scene from mutiny on the bounty
with your children doing a pretty good impersonation of
Fletcher Christian? No worries, the Bible promises
that "raise your children in the way they should go and
when they are old they will not depart from it."
We almost forget that some are going to be prodigals...
uhm... I' m one!
Grab a new purpose this year, Pastor Tim recently
preached a message that I was so encouraged because in
the past three years I saw some things I invested my
life into go down the drain. However the verse
Pastor used was "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be
steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the
work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is
not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58. What a
comfort that verse is "your labor is not in vain."
I have labored much to see my real estate career take a
dive-taking my assets with it. But, my labor in
the Lord is not in vain! Sunday school, playing in
the praise band, raising my kids, encouraging my
brothers and sisters in the Lord is not in vain!
So, stand firm, be steadfast, immovable, and always be
abounding in the word of the Lord, after all, it is the
only thing we do take with us! |
Holy Land Experience Today my wife Shannon and I
visited the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida.
My first impression as we entered the "Jerusalem
Market" is that this is not a "Jerusalem Market."
However, once you move past some of the expectations one
has about such places, it was actually a good time (took
about 5 hours total). The highlight was the 55
minute tour of the "Scriptorium" they did an outstanding
job of giving the history of how we have the Bible
today. What was funny for me personally, is that I
just read the entire history a few days ago because I am
preparing for the new class we are starting in January
3, 09.
Anyways, it was really well done and the actual
artifacts that they have such as the ancient manuscripts
of the Bible were very interesting and inspiring to say
the least. This was the highlight for me seeing a
Geneva Bible of the 1500's and ancient writings dating
back to 2200 B.C.!
The last thing we watched was a passion play with the
arrest, capture, scourging and then crucifixion of
Christ. I was really into it when they were
letting Christ down from the cross till the DirectTV
blimp flew right over us in the backdrop. The
crowd cheered when Jesus arose from the dead.
www.holylandexperience.com/
So, go check it out, however, go on your birthday,
you get in for free on your birthday! |
