Prayer Service 6/29/2014

Good Morning,

Sunday morning and it looks to be a very hot and humid day. Ladies don't worry about your hair in the humidity as you attend church. God doesn't care how your hair flopped today. He just wants to hear from you and see you. My coffee this morning is Door County Cherry Crème. I am nursing a headache and I have the cup placed on my forehead in between sips of this tasty grog.

We will be entertaining family today with a cook out in the back yard. It is a brat and burger day along with other goodies. Strawberries are easy to come by now. So one of the big treats of the day will be strawberries and a whipped dip that tastes a lot like cotton candy. I had a war on my hands last night keeping the Mrs. from sampling the dip after it was done.

Our church has a 5:00PM Saturday evening worship service each week. Once a month after the service we invite people to stay for prayer. Last night was one of those nights. The prayer service only had eight people in it last night. I have seen more in attendance and a lot less. It is always held on the last Saturday of the month. I must say that I wouldn't have traded that experience for anything else last night. It was the sweetest time in the Lord. There were no agendas. Most of the prayer that was experienced was intercessory prayer for others. Many people were prayed for. You could feel the love in the room. The prayers that were said were truly directed by the Holy Spirit.

I am very worried that corporate prayer is becoming a thing of the past. Or it is combined with other things that make gathering more attractive. Last night there wasn't any food to be had. There wasn't any game time or fellowship. This was prayer at it's best, directed by the Holy Spirit. If it takes potato chips and game time to attract people to corporate prayer it will always take a gimmick to keep people praying together.

Friends, join in on a prayer service. Don't miss the experience of devoting an hour or two to prayer with others. Certainly, have your own personal prayer time. Live prayerfully. Pray with your families. But take time to gather with others just for prayer. Take time to prepare your hearts for corporate prayer. If you are running around making strawberry dip to take for fellowship and fixing your hair, prayer has already been made number two for the evening.

Matthew 18:20

New International Version (NIV)
²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Jesus does attend fellowship gatherings, I will not disagree. But last night with that small group, He was the main attraction.

God bless, Pray today!
Marty

When God Sends A Message 6/28/2014

Good Morning.

My coffee today is Door County Hazelnut Crème. Saturday and a lot to do today. heading out with the guys for a little clay target shooting and competition among a few churches.

I want to share a little something with you all today. God does speak through His word the Bible. He may also share a word to us through Scripture that someone else shares. No matter by messenger or by reading ourselves and being in prayer, when God speaks one would be advised to follow the message. People can and do bring a world of hurt and calamity on themselves and others by not listening. At the root of it all is a strong will that wants to have their own way or wants to hang on to their sin. "The sins we like to keep"!

God clearly warns us.

Hebrews 4:7        
Again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

We are not to harden our hearts. God clearly expects us to listen.

Nahum 1:2-6    
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

I guess we have been warned.  I wonder if we are smart enough to heed the word?

God bless,
Marty

Help For Depression 6/27/2014

Good Morning,

I have a busy day ahead with much to do. My coffee this morning is Door County Red Velvet Mocha. The weather is dreary and not much of a pick me up.

Dear Friends, I think that from time to time we all suffer our bouts with depression. It would be real easy to write a blog today and say "suck it up it's not that bad". But that would not be fair and really not realistic at all. We all have our own paths to follow in life. At each turn there can be something that has an impact on us that causes us to wonder if it will ever end. For some one turn in life leads to a barrage of circumstances that are lined up and just seem to be too much to handle.

For many of us depression sets in and we start to take count of our life and wonder where God is in all of this? We even question our existence.  I have made the mistake of saying "what's next"? Not looking for a reprieve but almost wanting another tough blow.

Since from time to time we have all been there in the depths of depression, it should be easy for us to spot someone who is fighting with depression. Then it is our duty to reach out and offer a smile, an ear, a prayer, and some comfort. I can't be with all of you today and you can't be everywhere either. But God can be and He does speak through His word. I have placed below some Bible verses that reassure us that God is with each of us and that we can turn to him and say, "Lord this is getting the best of me. I hurt and need you to comfort me". He will not let you down.

Psalms 34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psalms 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

God wants to help. Let Him in for a good cry. He will stay right there through it all. Most of all. remember that whether I know you or not, I will pray for each of you who reads this today in a general prayer. You are loved.

God bless,
Marty

Beautiful Rest 6/26/2014

Good Morning,

I must learn to pack coffee along when I travel. I will have some coffee later with breakfast. I wish I had packed some Door County Peanut Butter Crunch Coffee for this morning.

Genesis 2: 2-3 “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Exodus 33:14 “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

I will be the first one to admit that I do keep a hectic schedule. But for the past couple days I have been at rest. I have been blessed to be able to work for an employer that gives us personal time to use for vacations. I was able to take three days off this week and it allowed me to spend time with our grandson and also visit my dad in Michigan. It's been three days of early to bed after some great meals and sleeping in just a little bit. I am a creature of habit and am an early riser. But these last couple of days found me grabbing an extra hour of sleep in the morning. I will say that after this extra rest I do feel pretty good and have recharged a little. Our pace for activity has been slow. I will return to work tomorrow and the pace will pick up. But I know this I will think about this rest and the good it has done. I will be looking forward to the next one.

Friends, God has designed us in such a way that we can go a long time on short sleep, perform long hours of labor and make a difference by doing so. He has also designed us to need sleep and rest. This is a gift that God has given us. During my down time I actually found that I can spend a little more time in prayer with God. There are two benefits rolled into rest. Rest and God.

Take some time, enjoy a nap. Drink a slow cup of coffee. Watch the sun go down. Miss the sunrise once!

God bless,
Marty

Pizza The Common Thread 6/25/2014

Good Morning,

I find myself in a small cabin in Upper Michigan without any Door County Coffee today. But if I was able to make a pot it would be Door County Cherry Crème. I am enjoying some time with my Dad and grandson. My first thoughts were of prayer for  friends of mine who are out on short term mission trips. Two in South America, one in Haiti and one in Pennsylvania. My prayers are with you this day. Hopefully our agenda will be to haul some fire wood home for Grandpa and then practice some clay target shooting with our shot guns. I know one thing for sure dodging mosquitos will be number one on the agenda. Oh my they are bad here!

My Dad will be 82 this year. I am 57 years old and my grandson is a whopping 13. All three of us carry pocket knives, all three actually wear our pants pulled up and none of us have piercings. All three of us like to hunt. So except for the generation gap in age, we have a lot in common.

Last night we went out to eat to a supper club on a big lake. This club makes pizza that is excellent to say the least. All three of us had our fill of pizza before going off to watch a baseball game on television. But while dining I noticed that there were other tables also eating pizza. They too had many years of difference in age sitting at their tables. Everyone seemed happy to be eating pizza.

My thought is this. We have the techno age group. We have the good fortune of still having some of the folks raised during the great depression, and then us baby boomers. Here's an example of one difference that I noted. All three of us have cell phones. One never turns it on. "It is for emergencies only." One of us turns it on and uses it but has no idea what half of the applications are for. The last one has a cell phone also, and knows what all the applications are for and needs them just to figure out what 25% of our bill was so we can leave a tip. The other two had it figured out in their heads.

But all three of us agreed that the pizza was great. We really enjoyed our time last night. So here is the key. Pizza is a common thread that can be used to have generations get together for the good of learning from one another. The table then becomes a comfortable place to talk about anything including our Lord. Yes we discussed a little church and the Lord last night over pizza. I believe God gave us pizza as a tool to be used for good. Praise the Lord and pass the pizza!

Acts 2:39

"For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself

Ok, find the best pizza place and enjoy a night of conversation. Pizza will be the bridge to any age gap. Jesus will be the dessert.

God bless,
Marty

Jesus The Son Of God 6/24/2014

Good Morning From Wisconsin.

My coffee this morning is Door County Highlander Grog. The term grog seems to match the weather and my state of mind. Another foggy, rainy day. If this were only duck season I would claim this as the perfect day. But no complaints here. I am blessed to be off from work today and to be able to spend time with our grandson Dominick. No matter what we do today it will be nice just to have the whole day together.

John 3:16-18(NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

The Bible verses above are a mouth full. They explain the gift God sent to  you and I that we might have eternal life in heaven. These are beautiful words with an out of this world promise. But yet there is a section that should strike fear into anyone. "but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

There are two promises within these passages both deal with eternity. One is heaven and one is hell. God sent His one and only Son to complete the task and give the invitation. Through Jesus the Christian church was established to carry on the message under the power of the Holy Spirit. God did and does so much to let us know that we are loved enough to have His Son Jesus die on the cross for us. He raised Jesus up so we would never have to doubt. Jesus showed us victory over the grave and then invites us to follow Him home to live. The other, not so nice. Without Jesus we are condemned.

These are some of the most memorized verses, ones seen the most on television through sporting events. Yet I believe these verses are also taken for granted because we tend not to appreciate the true price paid for our eternal life.

Think about it for a moment. Most kids really never know what price was paid for a gift given to them by their family. Some without means don't know that Dad's work shoes are held together with glue while they ride a new bike. Or how many mothers don't eat so the kids are fed. They just know that there is some food or a bike. We tend to forget what this gift cost God and Jesus.

Today's thought is this. Be thankful for the gift of Jesus. If He never ever did another thing for you didn't He already do enough?

God bless,
Marty

Cleaning the Car 6/23/2019

Good Morning,

Monday again and it will be a very busy day. It was a very nice weekend and my coffee today is a salute to next weekend. I am drinking Door County Hazelnut Crème. One does have to set personal goals. Next Saturday our church will participate in a sporting clay competition with four other churches. We all look forward to the fellowship and just a little "smack talk" among friends.

Yesterday afternoon the weather was kind enough to let me clean the car. I had help from my able bodied number one grandson. The foggy weather along Lake Michigan cancelled our outing to the Milwaukee Air and Water Show. But it was better to the West.

Well my Jeep really needed a cleaning from top to bottom. Time constraints being what they are hadn't allowed me to really clean that monster since hunting season. We found plenty of feathers and some muck left over from one of the many marshes we trod in October and November. I really had let this go too long. I could tell exactly what my grandson was thinking. " And you tell me to clean my room"??????

We all need to take time to set good examples. On this one, I missed the boat. I knew we were in trouble when he asked "does this thing have back seats?" Young eyes are upon us at all times.  I need to do better on this one. Teach them right. We only have one chance.

Titus 2:7 (NIV)

⁷ In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness

Hey the Jeep smells good now! God Bless your day!

Marty