Reflections June 28-July 3

Reflection

June 28- July 3-- ME, NY, NJ, PA traveling from Maine to PA

            Reflection is a good thing. I like to reflect on the lessons I teach, the ones I hear, the books I read and my spiritual walk. While on the motorcycle the past two days, I have not read any books. I have spent many hours looking at the beautiful scenery God has created in these Northeastern states and many hours allowing God to speak to me about the lessons I am working on for The Journey to Hope and Peace. Many times I let the distractions of the world interfere with my time alone before God. Being alone with Him gives Him time so speak through His Word and His Holy Spirit. And, it allows Him to reveal to us the spiritual truths we need for this time. I want to share some of what God gave me those two days, about our trip and spiritually.

            Trip Reflections:                                                                                 

            States traveled through and didn’t spend the night:  North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia, New Jersey

            States spent time in:  New York, Vermont, Maine, and Pennsylvania

            Miles traveled since June 2: 4,412

             Mountains seen:  Adirondacks, Poconos, Acadia, Green Mountains, White Mountains 

   I am amazed at what God has created in our country. So interesting to note the difference in the Mountain ranges. 

            Sites:

Virginia- Roaoke is one of only two towns in the US with a mountain within the city limits

Pennsylvania- Lancaster County and the Amish Country- Samson (a Christian Broadway Show); Yoder’s Restaurant; Green Dragon, Kettle Village, Canning Company, National Toy Train Museum; Lots of beautiful Pennsylvania countryside; Valley Forge

New York: Niagara Falls, Cruise called Maid of the Mist (goes under the falls), Fort Niagara, Lake George, Baseball Hall of Fame, Farmer’s Museum, Pocono Museum

Vermont: Burlington: Shelbourne Museum

It is amazing how God has gifted men and women over the ages to come from farm plows and carriages to where we are today. Praise Him!

Maine: Bar Harbor cruise of lightouses; Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, Belfast Harbor, City of Bar Harbor

Bible study: God gave me some ideas about my Bible Study during this time too. I am changing the name of the last lesson from The New Normal to Changes. He showed me how to use scriptures in the studies for emotions, scars, and changes. He also began to give some ideas about the prologue and how to tie in my personal testimony into each lesson. I will add On a Personal Note to each study. In addition, I am going to revise the Who Am I in Christ studies.

Spiritually: I need my quiet time and prayer time on a regular basis. It is so easy to get busy with the day and not spend time in the Word and prayer. Satan often distracts us with the “good” we are doing to keep us from getting God’s best. Also, it makes us weak and open to temptations. Back to the basics.

Friends: Spending time with our friends has been very good. They have just retired from being National Evangelists for the Christian Motorcyclists Association. We have shared many stories of things that have happened to us while in leadership. God uses all the “lessons” in leadership to grow us up into maturity. Those situations keep us in close contact with the Father for wisdom and guidance in how to handle them.  The flesh wants to do one thing and the Spirit says another. We must stay closely connected to stand firm.

Church’s lesson today: We must desire to have the vision of God. In order to that we must have a heart for God. To have the vision we must have:

1. Desire to know Him John 1:37..
2. Desire to obey Him Jn. 14:15, 21, 23
3. Desire to share Him and His love with others—if He shared His love with me, a mess, then who am I not to share Him with others
4. Something’s wrong if we don’t want to share His love with others after what God has done for me.  Good food for thought.
5. Are you sharing the love of God with the unlovable?

            The ones the hardest to love are the very ones we need to love. Each one of us has been there—having the need for Christ! Therefore, we need to be mindful of those we find offensive because those may be the very ones God is asking us to minister to!!

The Two B's

The Two B’s

June 26, Bucksport, ME Family Bible Church AM Service

            The message at the Family Bible Church in Bucksport, ME was very interesting.

A.     The pastor began his message with the first B- Brexit. It has been in the news the past few weeks.  Points to think about:

1-- It is the fact that the British people have voted to leave the European Union. He mentioned that he usually doesn’t talk politics in the pulpit, but he definitely does when it coincides with biblical prophecies. 

2—Be on the lookout for Article 50, with is the legal process a country takes to leave the European Union. It would be the action Britian would take to finalize their plans to leave the Union if they do it. This could take up to two years. Already there is a petition with two million signatures to have a re-vote because many don’t want to leave the Union.

3—Correlated to Scriptures:  Daniel was given the gift to interpret dreams, and this he did for Nebuchadnezzar

            Daniel 2:32 says, “the head of the statue was made of pure gold; its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.  While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.  Then the iron, the clay,  the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.”

God showed Daniel types of governments/political systems there would be until when Jesus returns. 

      Interpretation:  2:36  Gold- Babyon    silver- Meads/Persians   Bronze-  Greece and iron-  Rome    All of these have been fulfilled through verse 40.

4- In Daniel 7/8 and in Revelation 16 it refers to the ten-nation power structure. That structure is believed to be the European Union. Many thought when it hit ten countries, Jesus would come back and begin His rule. That did not happen. The European Union now has 28 countries. With England pulling out, if it does, it could set the stage for others to pull out too and set the stage for Jesus’ return. We must keep an eye on England because it has a great spiritual heritage.

B.      Believers                                          Old vs. New   Romans 7:18-25

In these verses Paul refers to the sinful nature and being a slave to God’s law.

Some things to think about:

1-    If you are a believer you have two natures.

There are some questions to answer about these two natures.

	Old	New
What is it?	Opposed to God	Longs for and lives the things of God
Where does it come from?	Inherited at birth Psalm 51:5	Received at salvation
What’s it seek to do?	Control through the suppression of the new nature	Allow the Holy Spirit to crucify the old Is a process Victory is possible !!

I believe this is what Paul is referring to in Ephesians 4:20ff

Vs. 22	Put off old self	Be made new  (vs. 23)
Vs 23		Put on new self
		Created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
Vs 25	Put off falsehood	Speak truthfully
Vs 26		In anger do not sin
Vs27		Don’t give devil a foothold
29	Unwholesome talk	Build up others
30-32	Bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, every form of malice	Kind, compassionate, forgiving

This is our journey to maturity and being like Christ.

God has worked on so many areas of my life as I have turned them over to the Holy Spirit. Then the Holy Spirit can work it like a muscle being exercised- giving me

opportunities to crucify the old habits and grow the new ones to be more like HIM!

Guard Your Seeds and Soil

Guard Your Seeds and Soil

June 23 Ride to Ellsworth on back roads

Matthew 13 …’A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had not root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop- a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear…. In verse 18 he begins to explain the parable: when anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’

            The roads we took from Orland, Me to Ellsworth were all two-lane highway back roads.  Many of the fields along these roads were full of large rocks. Norm and I discussed how hard it would be to farm the fields that had those huge rocks.   We all know that it takes good soil, good seed, lots of water and an attentive gardener to make a farm work and expect a good crop. It’s interesting to note that having good soil doesn’t’ just happen. The farmer must rid the soil of all the rocks and the weeds. Then he must till the soil under and many times has to add fertilizer so the soil has the ingredients a particular crop might need. Once he gets the soil ready, he then adds the seed and that is the beginning. He has to make sure the birds don’t come along and snatch up the seeds before they can take root. Afterwards he must keep the seed watered and the weeds and thorns cleared out so the seeds can grow.  Then he will produce a good crop.

            What did I see? The weeds, the thorns and the birds snatching the seeds are the distractions of the world we face all the time. They come along when God has planted a seed or revealed a truth to us and they try to snuff out or grab up the truth that was planted to keep us from bearing fruit. What do you do with what God sends your way as “seeds” of truth or knowledge? How do you protect them as your grow spiritually?

            Tips to guard your “seeds” and “soil”:

            1—Stay in the Word.

            2—Pray daily. Keep the communication lines open with the Lord.

            3—Stay connected with fellow Christians--attend church and get involved in small groups

Two Opposing Views

Two  Opposing Views

June 24 Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME

            Acadia National Park is a beautiful place. It is full of gorgeous scenic mountain-views looking over the Atlantic Ocean. There is a 20-mile loop road that takes you all through the park. There are several scenic overlooks where you can stop and see different view of the ocean. On this trip we were looking at some of the same sights we had seen from our Boat tour on Wednesday. We saw the lighthouses, the sandy beach, thunder hole and Cadillac Mountain. Many of them didn’t look anything from the overlook like they did from the boat. One especially didn’t- that was the Thunder Hole. You experience the thunder of the sea against the rocky shores of Maine. On calm days you may wonder what all the fuss is about! But wait until the waves kick up a few notches. They say the best time to go see it about two hours before high tide. It is a small inlet, naturally carved out of rocks, where the waves roll into. At the end of the inlet, down low, is a small cavern where, the rush of the wave arrives, air and water is forced out like a clap of distant thunder. Water may spout as high as 40 feet with a thunderous roar! Hence the name: Thunder Hole. There was a walkway leading down to where the waves crashed into the cavern so you could see and experience what happens there. It was pretty amazing. Not the same as the view from the boat.

            As we were riding along the park loop road and seeing things from such a different perspective, I began to think of the Christian world view vs a secular worldview.  The Word says in Romans 12:2 “and do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  That is working towards living from a Christian World view. What is a world view? It reminds me of looking through a “grid” to make decision about how to live your life.  Webster’s defines worldview as a particular philosophy of life or conception of life.

  The chart below will give you an idea about the difference between Christian view and the secular view in thinking and how you view life:

Christian view	Secular view
Reduce your sense of self  Lk. 9:24-26 Decrease our sense of self-importance and measure ourselves against Jesus Phil. 2:2-4	Improve your sense of self
True knowledge is from God I Cor. 3:18 We can share knowledge and experience with others. God sees the big picture and has a plan for us. True wisdom comes from God and is written in His Word, the Bible.	Knowledge is from human thought
Getting ahead is losing self Mt. 6:19-21 I John 2:15-17 True success is accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior Goal is finding humility and grace	Getting ahead is money and power Based on the premise that the more earthly success we achieve, we gain as individuals. Success is defined by fame, riches, and power.
Narrow is the way to heaven Mt. 7:14-15 The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ as our Lord.	Wide is the way of tolerance Within each person’s power to get themselves to heaven through good behavior
Serve others first Mt. 21:16 True success in serving others as Jesus served. His example of humility in Phil 2:5-11 is our example for putting others first.	Serve self first Having others serve you is a measure of privilege of power, wealth and success.
Jesus makes you good I Jn. 1:9 Jesus died on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven. If we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we shed our sinful self and become a renewed being.	Good deeds make you good

Little is Much

Little is Much

June 22, Bar Harbor, ME

            Today, we were scheduled for a cruise of Bar Harbor to see five lighthouses and hear about the rich history of Mount Desert Island and the city. On the way there we discussed where we were going to park because free parking is at a premium. They have parking along the streets and a large parking lot at the harbor. But, there is a catch- you can only park for 2 hours along the streets for free and for 3 hours in the harbor parking lot for free. After that, they fine you $ 15.00.  We had parked in the three hour lot yesterday and were there the right amount of time. Today, we were kind of concerned because we would be gone longer than the three hours. When we got down there, there was a parking spot right in front of the place where we had to board the boat. There were no signs that said a limited amount of time was free so in we went. We did decide that if there was a fine, we would just be happy for the parking place and pay the fine.

            When we got off the bike, I told Norm. little things mean a lot. Even in parking spots. We don’t often think of them as meaning much, but we had a pastor’s wife one time that told us she prayed for a parking every time she went to the store. Hmmmm, she said that two-thirds of the time she got a spot up close.   When we came back from the cruise there was no ticket on the bike. Thank you, Lord!

            There are two applications I want to mention:

1-       Positive: You are worth a lot to the Lord. He gave His ONE and ONLY Son for you.

Mt. 10:29-31 says, “are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care? And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Rise up and be counted! You are worth more than rubies and gold.

2-      Negative: Even a little bit of sin in our lives can have severe consequences. Sometimes, we try to whitewash our sins by saying.. well, I only did this..it’s not that big of a deal, or so and so did this…or it doesn’t say specifically in the Bible I can’t do this or that…sin is sin

I was reminded of this story heard long ago:

Two teenagers asked their father if they could go to the theater to watch a movie that all their friends had seen. After reading some reviews about the movie on the internet, he denied their request.

“Aw dad, why not””  they complained. “It’s rated PG-13, and we’re both older than thirteen!”

Dad replied: “because that movie contains nudity and portrays immorality, which is something God hates, as being normal and acceptable behavior.”

“But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie! That’s what our friends who’ve seen it have told us. The movie is two hours long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film!  It’s based on a true story, and good triumphs over evil, and there are other redeeming themes like courage and self-sacrifice. Even the Christian movie review websites say that!”

“My answer is no, and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and watch one of the good videos we have in our home collection. But you will not go and watch that film. End of discussion.”

The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the sounds of their father preparing something in the kitchen. They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, “Dad must be feeling guilty, and how he’s going to try to make it up to us with some fresh brownies.  Maye we can soften him with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go the movie after all.”

The story goes on and the father brings out the brownies? The brownies looked mouth-watering. The dad tells the teens he has a mystery ingredient in them. They don’t have to worry because it came from their back yard and he only put a little bit in the brownies.

The boys wanted to know the mystery ingredient.  The dad insist the portion is small and won’t make any difference in the taste.

It’s organic the dad tells them. And, he finally says it’s organic…dog poop.

They drop the brownies and the dad begins to make the analogy—the amount of poop was very small compared to the other ingredients—and they have the same consistency.. go ahead and eat them.

The teens say NO!!!

That is the reason I won’t allow you to go watch that movie. You won’t tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should I tolerate a little immorality in your movies?  We pray that God will not lead us into temptation, so how can we in good conscience entertain ourselves with something that will imprint a sinful image in our minds that will lead us into temptation long after we first see it?

 What are you watching on TV and the movies?

What are you reading?

Does it have a little bit of “doo”?

Have you noticed a change in your thought patterns after reading that book or watching that movie?

Pray and ask the Lord to reveal anything you might be reading or watching that has a little bit of “doo” in that would cause you fall into temptation later on down the road? He is faithful… He will show you.

Using or Losing?

Using or Losing?

June 21, Bar Harbor, ME

I Corinthians 12 ….1-31

            Bar Harbor, ME is a beautiful place to visit! There are lots of tourist shops, restaurants serving lobster in any way you can imagine and the Atlantic Ocean.  The tourist shops and restaurants are somewhat like those in Charleston- geared to the specialty of the area. Charleston serves its seafood and the shirts all say Charleston, SC. Here in Bar Harbor, they serve the lobster and their shirts have Bar Harbor, ME on them.

            One big difference I have seen here is in the beaches. Charleston’s beaches have the beautiful white sand that’s hot to the feet this time of year. Bar Harbor has large rocks and a gravelly area that’s tough on the feet too. The Charleston area has its harbor cruises that take you out to see the beautiful homes along Battery Park. Here in Bar Harbor they have cruises that take you out to see the gorgeous lighthouses they are famous for and Mount Desert Island. Both areas are beautiful in displaying the grandeur of our Lord in how He created this world to be so different yet all a part of the same Earth!

            God did that with us too. He created to be different personalities, with different likes and dislikes. He gave us different talents as stated in Corinthians 12 and in Romans. All of these talents are to be used for His glory to further His kingdom. No one talent is more important than another.  I Corinthians 12:11 says, “ all these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”  He goes on to say that all the many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. We are NOT made up of one part but of many. In verse 26 He says, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.”  We are not to be jealous of others who have one gift and we don’t have gift. We must responsibly use the gift God has given us. When we do we will be at our most contented state in our spiritual lives.

            What are you gifts and talents? How are you using them to the glory of God?

            Pray and ask the Lord to reveal your gifts to you. Or, go to Pastor Aaron at the church and ask to go through the Place Class, or ask me and I can give you a Spiritual Gifts inventory that will guide in your quest to find where you belong in the body.

Green,Green, Green

Green, Green, and more Green

June 20, VT, NH, ME

Ephesians 2: 1, “you were living in your sins and lawless ways”…verse 5- “He gave us new life because of what Christ has done”    8-10 God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it. We are God’s creation. He created us to do good works. Long ago God prepared these works for us to do.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, new things have come.”

            Mountains and trees, mountains and trees, mountains and trees! We have seen many beautiful mountain ranges and trees throughout New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

            Adirondack- Northern New York. Protected area spanning millions of acre of mountain peaks, sparkling lakes and wild spaced. It has seven distinct regions that come together to create one epic vacation destination. Trees include sugar maple, American beech, and yellow birch.  All of them are rich in color during the spring and summer seasons.

            Green- Vermont. It runs from south to north and extends approximately 250 miles from the border of Massachusetts to that with Quebec. The trees here are called the Hemlock-Northern Hardwoods- the sugar maple, the yellow birch and the Beech. Sugar Maple is probably the most common.

            White Mountains- New Hampshire.  They cover about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine. They are part of the Appalachian Mountains and the most rugged mountains in New England. The lush green leaves begin to fade in late August, signaling that trees have made enough chlorophyll, which gave them their rich green color.

            Appalachian Mountains-Maine and all down the east coast

            Everywhere you look you see green, green, and more green. Riding through New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and into Maine, we have seen the rich green colors of all the mountain ranges. It is amazing how deep the colors can be and how thick the forests are. Each state has its own type of trees that cover the mountain ranges. It is hard to say which of them has the prettiest site to behold.

            What makes those trees so green? A green pigment, called chlorophyll. It is necessary for the plants to make food for themselves using light energy and carbon dioxide.

            As we were riding and looking at all the green, a thought came to mind. Green signifies new life and growth. For the trees, it is a way for them to stay alive by being able to produce the food they need. 

For Christians, it means we are becoming more and more like Christ. Our journey begins at salvation and we become a new creature. Our slate has been wiped clean and we are a baby once again. Remember when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and told him he had to be born again? Nicodemus couldn’t understand what Jesus meant.  We must be born of the Spirit. After we are born again, we begin our life in Christ. I believe we go through stages just as we do after we are  physically born.

Baby stage—we need to fed milk by everyone around us. We are usually very needy during time.

Toddler- we are beginning to eat some regular food, but still need strong guidance. We will make messes for others to clean up for us. Most begin to try eating on their own, but still need help.

Child- we are somewhat past the messy diaper stage, but there will be times when we make messes and will need help cleaning them up. We should be eating more of a variety of food and be able to feed ourselves.

            Teenager- We think we know everything there is to know. We find ourselves not wanting anyone to tell us what to do or give instructions.

            Adult- hopefully we reach the mature stage. Not meaning we don’t keep learning, but we are more open to the encouragement and instruction of others and willing to hear it. Our growth in Christ never stops. It is an ongoing process until we meet Him in heaven.

            Think about your own spiritual life.  Which stage are you in ? Pray and ask the Lord to reveal where you and what you need to do.