Friday's Fun Fact (Or is it?)

"I'm bored with it all." Winston Churchill's last words before he slipped into a coma and died nine days later on Jan. 24, 1965

Are you "bored" with it all? If so.. Have I got good news for you!

"The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full!" John 10:10

Jesus offers life to the full! Be happy He has overcome death that we might have life... Go ahead and have a great day, you are allowed to!

Remember Jesus loves you! And wants what is best for you!

Prayer for the Day: Jesus let me remember to never be bored with this life because You have so much in store for me to enjoy!

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Thursday's "Thought"

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Are you burdened? Has sin got you down? Do you feel defeated? There's hope for you!

Christ has freed us from the yoke of slavery to sin... Spend time with Jesus, He will strengthen you... He will encourage you... He will lead you away from sin and into the freedom He has provided!

"What can wash away my sin?" "Nothing but the blood of Jesus!"

Focus on Jesus
Fellowship with Jesus
Follow Jesus

Do these three things and you will be free from the burden of life's yoke!

Prayer for the Day: Jesus help me accept the freedom you have given me!

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Wednesday's Wonderings

Worship = Worthship... What's worship worth to you??? The LORD tells the people of Israel: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up of rules taught by men." Isaiah 29:13

Do men make up your rules of worship? The LORD again states: Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish." Isaiah 29:14

Do you ever wish worship would be different for you than the usual... Do you go to God each Sunday and say, "God just give me the usual..."

What would you like to see God do this week at your place of worship? The usual or God show me "the wonder upon wonder" you have in-store if we would only desire it... Let's go for the "wonder upon wonder" this week and see the glory of God this week in our places of worship!

Prayer for the Day: Jesus begin preparing my heart now for worship as I earnestly desire to see the "wonder upon wonder" you have for me this week.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Tuesday's Tidbits

USA Today Headline: Young Adults Less Devoted to Faith...Does this surprise anyone??? 18 - 29 year olds say they are more spiritual than religious... That's like saying I'm cold unless I'm hot... Here are the results of the survey:

65% rarely pray with others
38% almost never pray
65% rarely attend worship services
67% rarely read the Bible
Many are unsure Jesus is the only way to heaven

Wow! you know what.... this sounds exactly like 30, 40, 50, 60and 70 year old people!!!!
WAKE UP!!! Don't point fingers... do something....

Who have you talked to today about Jesus?? Yesterday?? Last Week?? Last month?? EVER??

Who have I talked to today about Jesus??

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of he Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to OBEY everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19 - 20

Prater for the Day: Help me be the witness you want me to be Lord and tell someone about you today."

Keep Lookin' Up!
Brian

Monday's Musings

Went to see Casting Crowns last Friday night.. first time I have been to a concert since Illinois Days with da' youth... It was my children's first concert experience and what a time they had!


Autumn had a friend sit beside her to enjoy her time with God and Nathan stood up the whole concert singing and praising God while Zach stood, sat and thoroughly enjoyed himself the entire evening listening and singing along with the band.


Susan and I laughed and cried as we watched our children experience God through a new medium...worshipping God without boundaries or barriers along with other believers in the coliseum.


Won't heaven be great! We arrive and experience the presence of Jesus and will be totally free to worship Him through any means we have available to us! It will be like experiencing our favorite Casting Crowns (or your favorite group's name here) song throughout eternity!


I can't wait!


"Yes, I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20b


Prayer of the Day: "Jesus, we are praying for your soon return!"


Keep Lookin' Up!


Brian

Friday's Fun Fact

Did you know that velcro was invented 50 years ago? What a great invention for people to use as they attach "stuph" together... The great thing about it is that you can also de-attach "stuph" just as quickly...

With this in mind, coming to Jesus is a lot like velcro... People come and attach rather quickly but after awhile they seem to de-attach just as easily ...Wouldn't it be great if we as Christians would help keep them attached by strengthening the bond the new people have with Jesus...And if they strive to de-attach we're there to make sure they re-attach with Jesus!

"Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith" Acts 14:22a

Prayer for the Day: Jesus help me to encourage those around me to continue in the faith.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Thursday's Tidbits

It's Thursay! I like Thursdays... The weeks almost over but you still have time to get a few more things accomplished that you need to...And you can plan on what you will be doing Saturday...But reflecting on this, our lives are the same way...As some of us have left our 20's, 30's and now 40's or dare I say even 50's (LOL)

"The weeks almost over but we still have time.." Time to plan, beginning today, how we will affect the world for Christ.... How we will affect our family for Christ... How we will affect our neighbors for Christ....

Colonel Sanders knew he had a great fried chicken recipe with 13 herbs and spices... so at the age of 65 he let the world taste his chicken and today there are 1000's of KFC's around the world!
He had a plan and he worked the plan!

"Where there is no plan the people perish" Proverbs 29:18a

Prayer for the Day: Jesus help me plan on how I will affect the world for you.

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Wednesday's Wonderings

One of my Bible students took the initiative today to begin class without me since I was running a few minutes late. He told the class to open their Bibles to II Timothy 2:14. He then discussed this passage with them as I was being seated in the rear of the class.

With the class half - heartedly listening I allowed this discussion to continue... he then had the class read II Timothy 3: 1 - 5 and this brought on a larger discussion with all of the students listening and interjecting their ideas. I was "allowed" to participate also when needed....

The class ended with a discussion of Acts 3: 17 - 19 and what that meant to each person in the class and also other people throughout the world.

What a class! :)

Thanks Zach and all who made this one of the most enjoyable Bible classes I have been involved with in a long time!

Don't let anyone look down on your young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. I Timothy 4:12

Prayer for the Day: Jesus help me be the example you want me to be!

Keep Lookin' Up

Brian

Tuesday's Tidbits

Oh! Be careful little eyes what you see, Oh! Be careful eyes what you see, for the Father up above He is looking down in love, Oh! Be careful little eyes what you see.....

A child's Bible song, but how true for us as adults in today's world...With the advent of the internet, I-Phones, cable television, regular television we have to be careful what we allow our eyes to see....

What we watch can affect the way we are seen by our children and those who are around us... So be careful "older" eyes what you see!

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" Hebrews 12:2a

Prayer for the Day: Jesus help keep my eyes on you and not the things of this world!"

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Monday's Musings

What a weekend! Ready for the new week...SO here we go.. With freedom comes responsibility... or does it? We have freedom of speech today.. if it's the right speech.. freedom of religion.... if it's the right religion...freedom to eat what we want... if it's the right food...

We are growing into a society where we will have no responsibility because our freedom is gradually being eroded away and we call it progress... I talk with kids daily that want freedom but not the responsibility and they are willing to let someone else make the choice for them because they are too busy with their lives to take the responsibility for their freedom...

The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:13, " You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." Our freedom is being eroded away I believe because we do not want to serve.. rather we want to be served... and Government is more than happy to "serve" us right into oblivion.

Prayer for the Day: "Jesus, help me to serve others as you would have me to do to further your kingdom."

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Friday's Fun Fact (Or is it?)

It's been confirmed! Christians don't invite others to church... Barna Research Group found that those who celebrated Easter because of the resurrection of Christ are not particularly likely to invite non - churched friends to worship. "The statistics project to something like 40 million church regulars who claim they are likely to bring someone as their guest... If this actually happened and each brought one adult it would be the equivalent of adding 115 new people per Christian congregation that would more than double the size of the average church...churches could not handle the overflow.." per David Kinneman, Barna's president.

Let's be like Andrew in the book of John after he met Jesus, "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, We have found the Messiah!, (that is the Christ). And he brought Simon to Jesus." John 1: 41 - 42

Prayer for the Day: Jesus help me to be like Andrew and bring others to Jesus!

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Thursday's "Thought"

April 15th Tax day, I trust all have had their taxes completed by now... if not, you have 11hrs. and 35 minutes from now to get them completed and mailed to the government.... I looked back in history regarding this day... April 15th, 1912 The Titanic sank....SO I guess tax day is better than being on board The Titanic in 1912....

It is also a great day to refresh your relationship to the Lord! Back in 1982 the milk council came out with a promotion "Milk the fresher, refresher!" I was in a focus group that previewed this slogan and the ads that were related to it... It was a great campaign for milk.... I believe our slogan for the day and the rest of our lives should be, "Jesus the freshest, refresher!"

Jesus never grows old as the writer of Hebrews states, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever!" Hebrews 13:8

Make it more than a slogan make it your life!

Prayer for the day: "Jesus help me to constantly refresh my life with you daily."

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Wednesday's Wonderings (you need to read this)

I wonder if I actually believe it when Jesus said, "Whoever acknowledges me before men I will also acknowledge him before the Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10:32 - 33

My son Zachary made a new friend last night, And the first thing he did after he knew the little boy's name was to get his Bible and tell the little boy about Jesus. The little boy had never heard about the love of Jesus and yes Zachary led him to the Lord. :) My son the soul winner at 11 years old.... He then went and invited the little boy's family to our church.

What a conviction that puts on me as I go about in life striving to figure out who to tell about Jesus.... YOU TELL EVERYONE ABOUT JESUS!

Thanks Zachary for your testimony! I love you son....

Prayer for the Day: Jesus help me to have the childlike faith I need to tell others about you!

Keep Lookin' Up!

Brian

Two 4 Tuesday

Why is it called Two 4 Tuesday?? And why is it that most of the kids eat free nights are on Tuesday at most restaurants??? Why couldn't it be on Thursday?? I like Thursday a whole lot more than Tuesday...It's closer to Friday...which is closer to Saturday ....which means I get to help clean the house.... Hey... Tuesdays aren't so bad after all are they!

So let's be happy with the day we have today and keep our eyes on Jesus!

"Do not boast about tomorrow, fou you do not know what a day may bring forth."
Proverbs 27:1

Prayer for the Day: God let me be thankful for the day you have given me and for the opportunity to serve you.

Keep Lookin' Up

Brian

Initial "Thot" of the Day

This blog will be dedicated to my rambling bodacious babblings... no topic will be off the table...so if it sounds like I am screaming "Squirrel" sometimes I probably am. But I aim to have fun with this and am looking forward to where this new opportunity will lead in the days ahead.

SO HERE WE GO:

I have had some interesting discussions with a variety of different aged group people in regards to the following question: "How do you enjoy God?" I have been given a plethora of different answers..."prayer", "singing", "reading the Bible", "going to church", "enjoying the outdoors" and while all of these answers are okay... I keep thinking are these acts to enjoy God or acts that help us soothe our conscience to believe we are actually enjoying God.

If we are taught from the time we are born that dirt is good to eat and is quite nutritious, and as we grow older we actually believe dirt is good and enjoy eating it ... is it actually "good" for us? What happens when we have a friend over and invite that friend to enjoy a good bowl of dirt...And that friend tells us,"That's a bowl of dirt.." "Exactly, and how do you want to have your bowl??"

I believe this is a somewhat fair analogy of how we enjoy God. We go through a variety of different "motions", "Motions that we have been taught since we were young... But is this really helping us to enjoy God??? Do not hear me saying not to pray or read the Bible, but hear me saying, "Are the activities I am involved with helping me to enjoy God?"

Psalm 37:4 tells us, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

If you know me, you know I like to eat hamburgers especially good hamburgers. I enjoy eating good hamburgers.... But the one thing I have found is that I also enjoy preparing to eat a hamburger.... Preparing the meat before it is cooked by using spices and other condiments to enhance the flavor I find quite enjoyable.... I also enjoy purchasing the type of bun I will eat the hamburger on...and I enjoy finding my favorite mustard and onions and pickles to place on my hamburger..... while I am cooking the hamburger I really enjoy the aroma it puts off as it is cooking...But what I enjoy most after I put the hamburger all together is eating the hamburger....

I believe this is the way we should enjoy God... Not in a rote mechanical way.... but see everything we do as a step toward when we can culminate our efforts in complete enjoyment in God through worship..."Whatsoever ye do, do it all to the glory of God." I Corinthians 10:31b

Prayer for the day: "God help me to learn how to enjoy you more."

Keep Looking Up!

Brian