Wednesday 26 October 2011

Follow me!

If you have followed my blog at all you have seen this picture - the problem is, if you have never been where this picture was taken you have no idea where you are going.

But I think if you were following me you would trust me to lead and have confidence that I would know where we are going. But there are other problems, to follow me you had to leave certain things behind. You had to leave family, you couldn't follow me if you had to work, you would probably need a horse. If you've never ridden a horse or you were afraid of horses, you just probably wouldn't go. I guess the question is, what are you willing to do to follow me? Susan, the lady who took this picture is a great rider. She was right behind me on this trail. I knew she was there, we talked together, we talked about what was ahead, but she was not worried because she trusted me to lead. She was very relaxed and left a lot behind to follow.

Luke 18 verse 22 says "...Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me." To "inherit eternal life" requires asking for God's grace to forgive us of our sins, but that requires us to give him all. If we are unwilling to give him all we cannot follow him. The rich young ruler walked away because he was not willing to give all.

Giving all is not an option. Its mandatory. Everything I have belongs to God, including my time.
What is most obvious in the picture is overlooked. To be there when that picture was taken required my time and a willingness to be there. Think as you finish this, where are you headed? Are you following where Christ wants you to? Does He have you completely? Is he asking for you to do something? Trust him and follow.

Monday 10 October 2011

A Commandment

When I took Amos trail riding I expected many different things but one thing in particular was total obedience. I never tolerated his not obeying. If he failed in the slightest there was consequences. I NEVER mistreated him, but I did scold him or dug in my heels and he knew my tone of voice as well when I scolded. When I gave a command, either verbally or with a cue from my body, he obeyed.

Obeying my commands were important. If Amos disobeyed and got away with it, it would get worse the next time. ANd, more importantly, if we were in a potentially dangerous situation, I wanted to know he would obey me - and trust me. He could hesitate, question, some of that was okay, but if I urged him on I expected obedience.

God expects the same from us and yet we have the nerve to say no! He gave us 10 commandments, not suggestions. How are you doing? I have been reading the Bible through in a year. I am amazed at how many times I am coming across the word command. Sheeeesh, you would think the children of Israel would catch on - I guess we just keep working at it.

Saturday 1 October 2011

Church Flooded - Endicott, NY

This picture was taken by me on September 22nd. Where the drywall was cut is just above the flood line. The entire church was flooded and had to be stripped like this. The contents of each area had to be removed and trashed - yes pews included. Everything was soaked because of the flood. Water was at least 2' ABOVE the pews. Mama and I stayed till yesterday morning then got home yesterday afternoon.

Please pray this area, Endicott, NY. In the county I believe over 1700 homes plus were flooded, many way beyond repair. It has been declared a Federal Disaster area.