(I decided to re-post this from February 6…) If you were at Grace on Sunday you heard me refer to my fear of parallel lines in the message. Kind of a goofy thing to be afraid of, eh? Well, not for the serious Christian…

See, if I want to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, to walk as He walked, then I must walk the parallel lines – the lines of Grace and Truth. He was Grace and Truth in perfect proportion. He knew perfectly when to show Grace and when to speak Truth. He is Grace and Truth. My fear comes from a healthy understanding of these two lines. See, the problem isn’t when they are parallel, that is not my fear. My fear is when one of the lines (or worse yet both) get nudged ever so slightly that they are no longer parallel. In the beginning it is no big deal. It’s what can happen at the end that I am so afraid of…

If you are wired as a people-pleaser, you can share plenty of Grace without enough of the right Truth, and in the long run you don’t end up really helping others. Because the truth can set them free. (see John 8:32) If you are wired as a rule-follower, then you care deeply about sharing the Truth, but you can share it without enough Grace. I don’t have a problem with the Truth being offensive. Truth hurts. But Truth without Grace JUST hurts, and doesn’t heal. And left unchecked, Truth could lead to the Dark Side… (see Luke 18:9-14)

If you would like to know more about these ideas, you can listen to the message from Sunday (February 5) by selecting the Preaching tab above or better yet, get yourself a copy of the Grace and Truth Paradox by Randy Alcorn. Great little book that won’t take long to read, but that you will want to come back and read often in order to keep the lines parallel…

Until next time… FOLLOW THE KING!!! (on the parallel lines)  ~ DrBobF

The photo to the left is one of the reasons I love spring…
Carp Jumping!! I was at Lake Kandiyohi last week just watching the fish jump.

A few thoughts in my head tonight, but too tired to write any of them out. I think I will just head to bed looking forward to the day that I can get a new fishing set-up for my bow (my old one is broken) and go carp fishing with it.

Take a moment soon and thank God for something He created, from wildlife to plants or flowers to people to whatever you are thankful that God created just for you.

Until next time… FOLLOW THE KING!!!

DrBobF

As promised here is the link for the free song download and for information on the Joshua 24:15 declaration…

johnwallermusic.com

Here is the verse quoted yesterday in our responsive reading from Joshua 24:15 in the ESV… “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

We often just remember the parts of that verse about ‘choosing this day…’ and ‘as for me and my house…’ but I want to be faithful with the whole text – and there is a lot more there! Let’s take a look…

Look at the first phrase “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord…” kind of a slap in the face if you ask me! Ouch! Who would say something like that? I mean, it isn’t EVIL in my eyes to serve the Lord? or is it? Keep reading… serve who? “the gods your fathers served” or “the gods of the Amorites IN WHOSE LAND YOU DWELL” How many of us serve the gods of our fathers or the gods of this land? materialism, overeating, chemical addictions, pornography, gambling addictions, dependency on other people rather than the Lord, wealth, prosperity, the American Way, hard work. Things passed down to us from our fathers or things we were taught in order to be successful and happy and fulfilled. Some of these reflections come from my being in a book study right now with some great guys studying the book ‘Counterfeit Gods’ by Timothy Keller. But as this book is revealing to many of us, anything, and I mean ANYTHING, can become a god in our lives if we are not careful… it becomes an idol in our heart. Even the church can wrongfully take His place in my life… Believe me, I know…

Now some of the things listed above are not evil in themselves… remember money is not the root of all evil but the Scripture says “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” in 1 Timothy 6:10.

So what do you love? And more importantly… do you love that (or dare I say them??) more than the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? Only your heart can answer that question. But as long as there is something else taking His rightful place as King in your life, your life will never be what it was meant to be here on earth. Oh I understand, we are under sin and until death I will never be free from that sin nature, BUT I can have a whole lot more life now that I currently have. I know this because Jesus came to give my LIFE and life abundant at that! (see John 10:10) I have tasted this life… and it is GOOD!

So what are you waiting for? As for me and my house… we will serve the Lord!

Until next time… FOLLOW THE KING!!!  ~ DrBobF

Here is an excerpt from a Do-Able Evangelism seminar I have given that contains the Romans Road we talked about on Sunday…

3 STAGE PROCESS…

STAGE ONE

Use Questions That Determine Where God Is Working:

1. Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?

2. To you, who is Jesus?

3. Do you believe there is a heaven and hell?

4. If you died right now, where would you go?

If heaven, why?

5. If what you believed were not true,

would you want to know it?

“YES” – open up Bible

              “NO” – do nothing, stay friendly!

STAGE TWO

Let the Bible Speak

Ask them to read the verse aloud.

Ask – “What does this verse say to you?”

1. Romans 3:23 – “All have sinned.”

2. Romans 6:23 – “Wages of sin is death.”

3. Ephesians 2:8-9 – “Saved by faith not works”

4. Romans 5:8 – “Christ died for us”

5. Romans 10:9-10 – “Confess and believe – will be saved”

6. Rev. 3:20 – “I stand at the door and knock – I will come in”

7. John 5:24 – “Believe – has eternal life”

STAGE THREE

Close with Key Questions:

1. Are you a sinner?

2. Do you want forgiveness for your sins?

3. Do you believe Jesus died on the cross for you and rose again?

4. Are you willing to surrender your life to Christ?

5. Are you ready to invite Jesus into your life?

Be Silent and wait for them to speak first.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to do His work in them.

Prayer

“Heavenly Father, I have sinned against You.

I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and rose again.

I now surrender my life to Jesus Christ and make Him my Lord, so that I can receive the pardon for all my sins and have Jesus come into my life.

Now I can have a relationship with you and be with You in heaven, forever.”

I cannot say “our” if I live only for myself.  I cannot say “Father” if I do not endeavor each day to act like his child.  I cannot say “who art in heaven” if I am laying up no treasure there.  I cannot say “hallowed be Thy name” if I am not striving for holiness.  I cannot say “Thy kingdom come” if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful event.  I cannot say “thy will be done” if I am disobedient to His word.  I cannot say “on earth as it is in heaven” if I’ll not serve Him here and now.  I cannot say “give us this day our daily bread” if I am dishonest or am seeking things by subterfuge.  I cannot say “forgive us our debts” if I harbor a grudge against anyone.  I cannot say “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path.  I cannot say “deliver us from evil” if I do not put on the whole armor of God.  I cannot say “Thine is the kingdom” if I do not give the King the loyalty due Him from a faithful subject.  I cannot attribute to Him “the power” if I fear what men may do.  I cannot ascribe to him “the glory” if I’m seeking honor only for myself, and I cannot say “forever” if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by time. – Anonymous

I found this quote on the internet on Ken Boa’s website. I most likely will use it in the message Sunday on Dependent Prayer. I thought it was profound. Feel free to comment…

Ecclesiastes 3…

Seasons seams to be the theme of the year for Carrie and I. At times it feels like a season will never end, and that can be a sad perspective. At other times in life, we wish a particular season would never end. The funny things about seasons, I know they will come, and sometimes I can even see them coming, but I have absolutely no control of them. None. Zero.

Take our first Minnesota winter… (: Who would’a thunk it? Less than 10 inches of snow total so far this winter season? Last year they got 11 in one day! I anticipated sub-zero temps and FEET of snow! (Thank you Jesus though because I didn’t quite have enough saved yet for a snow blower.) Maybe I can get one on sale in April… (:

I don’t know about you, but for my Walk with Christ I have learned that seasons come and season go to prepare me for Real Life. They cause me to praise Him more! They cause me to trust Him more. We may not like certain seasons, but the thing about seasons is… they come to an end. They change! Now, they do cycle around again… but Winter ALWAYS leads to Spring!

So I don’t know what season you are in right now in Life, but know that “for everything there is a season.” And remember, seasons change. If you are in a particularly tough season, one of the best ways to walk through that season is by taking your eyes off of your hardship, and instead asking God to give you eyes for someone else’s season. In our winter storms we easily become blinded to other stranded motorists. And we complain about others who we think should come to OUR rescue… only to learn later that their car spun off into the ditch, and perhaps they even lost a life in their season. Kinda puts my “hard winter” into perspective.

Carry one another’s burdens. Don’t wallow in self pity. Lift a finger, and you may just find that Isaiah 40:28-31 is true for you too…

Until next time… FOLLOW THE KING!!!  ~DrBobF

He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31 HCSB)
And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:3-5 HCSB)

‘nuf said…

Until next time… FOLLOW THE KING!!!  ~DrBobF

…that used to be the title of my “column” in our old church newsletter. It was a chance for me to reflect each month on life and ministry. I always enjoyed taking that time to reflect and write. And I always wondered who read my column, if anyone? I enjoy blogging now. And I still wonder the same thing… does anyone ever even read this stuff, other than spammers? And then I remembered why I write…

I don’t write (anymore) in hopes that someone reads what I write and is encouraged or convicted. I write from my heart after it has been stirred by the Lord. It is one of my acts of worship. And tonight is no different…

I am just finishing reviewing my Sunday message for the last time at 11:30 on a Saturday night. [FYI - I had it done by Friday, in spite of the week I have had.] I also just got done watching the movie “Courageous” with my family and some friends who are visiting from Iowa. If you haven’t seen this movie, I consider it one of the most engaging movies I have ever seen. An emotional roller coaster at least. It is a movie that demands some kind of response, and even acknowledges that no response is still a response. And so I responded… by reviewing my message notes and slides one last time. And then logging into word press…

If you have been reading my blog site this week, you have seen a lot of prayer requests for my oldest son, Eric. He blacked out in school this past Wednesday and was rushed by ambulance to the hospital and was kept there for 24 hours for testing. So far, everything has come back fine – thank You Lord. But it was a good wake up call to the preciousness of life. Something we should never take for granted, and yet all too often do.

I love how “Courageous” ends, with men declaring what they are called to do, and then calling out to other men. My favorite quote to date is by Mark Driscoll, founder of Mars Hill in Seattle. He posted once on his facebook page, “Men need to see their life as a series of missions their King sends them on. As a soldier, a man should see a hard mission not as an absence of God’s love but rather a high honor. My friend whose wife will die any day now reminded me of this great truth.” When I read words like that, or see a movie like “Courageous”, I feel like something is called out in me as a man. And yet all to often, after the zeal wears off, I find myself [and others] back to the same old same old… unless…

Unless I find and join a Band of Brothers to help me on my Journey. I don’t have one of those here in Olivia (yet) but I do have some very good leads. (: I hope to have one formed again soon. I need them more than they realize, and I hope the same is true for them.

We all need people like that in our lives. People who love us enough to tell us the truth. People who love us enough, that after telling the truth, make the long-haul commitment to see us truly transformed. Sadly, few today will do either of those things for us. What’s a man to do?

From where I sit… its time to gather the troops. It’s time to form my new Band of Brothers. It’s time… Maybe it’s time for you too?

Until next time… FOLLOW THE KING!!!  ~ drbobf