Francis Stamper’s heart burned with a burden that still resonates today. Stepping into the pulpit in Devonshire House in London on May 3, 1694, he delivered a message entitled “Choose This Day.”

Stamper warned the congregation that “the hour of tribulation is coming apace and hastening, it is even at the very door.” The time had come to make choices. Jesus was with them and “willing to help.” He even had said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

But Stamper knew that many were not calling on God or looking to Him. They were like “poor Israel, when they had forgotten the Lord.” They were like the Israelites when “everyone did that which was right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6).

Yet Jesus stood by, ready to hear and answer, to help, protect, and provide. Stamper encouraged, “His voice is sweet and lovely, and pierces the very heart. This voice calls, ‘Open to me My beloved, you that are turned from this world, from the love of vanities and pleasures.’” He reminded them how God told Ezekiel that He doesn’t delight in sending judgment. He wants us to experience His blessings, but the choice is up to us.

Stamper closed by reminding them of the words of Joshua. Realizing they faced many options, he challenged them directly, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” And echoing the declaration of Joshua, Stamper told them, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

Today, make sure that Jesus is Lord of everything in your life. Everything! Commit your life to serving Him!

Leaf fight in the front yard.  What fun!
 

I caught Austin at the right time – lol

We had 18 people for Thanksgiving.  It was a lot of fun.  I’m so happy my Grandmother was able to come.  She’s 97 years old and doing great. 

“Practice?” The coach had challenged his star basketball player about the importance of practice. Before the media, the player argued that practice really wasn’t so important. “We’re sitting here talking about practice, not a game…How silly is that?”

Many people share this attitude toward practice in sports, work, and other areas of life.

In her recent book about teaching piano lessons, Tricia Tunstall observes that many students feel that practice is boring and unnecessary. But she tries to help them understand that, without it, they cannot succeed. Through the process of repetition, bad habits are identified and corrected, so that correct habits can be formed.

But, Tunstall explains, practice doesn’t just mean playing notes, but playing the right notes, in the right way. “‘Play it in slow motion,’ I will say about a problematic phrase.” Then her students play it slowly…until it’s “perfect.”

These same principles apply in our Christian lives. We all are prone to develop habits or patterns of behavior-repeating certain words and phrases, reacting to temptations and situations in certain ways.

Paul reminded the Philippians of “the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.” We may know what to do, but we need to “practice these things.” We must recognize wrong patterns and reshape our actions and attitudes toward the right behavior, applying Biblical truths and doing the right things…over and over again.

Today, remember the importance of practice in spiritual things. Paul promised that, if you practice doing the right things, “the God of peace will be with you.” You’ll have great peace in knowing He’s with you and you’re in the center of His will.

Charles Darwin battled with his publisher. He had written a book, On the Origin of the Species, based on ideas that began forming years earlier during his five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle. Darwin gradually had developed an entire theory of life, based on concepts like “natural selection” and “the survival of the fittest” (a phrase he borrowed from Herbert Spencer).

Finally, his publisher gave in, and on this day in 1859, the book was published. As predicted, a firestorm resulted. Many major scientists ridiculed the conclusions. English astronomer John Herschel called Darwin’s theory of evolution the “law of higgledy-piggledy.” Geologist Adam Sedwick told Darwin, “I have read your book with more pain than pleasure. Parts of it I laughed at until my sides were almost sore; other parts I read with absolute sorrow.” Church leaders rose up in anger, one calling it an “utterly rotten fabric of guess and speculation.”

Many were incensed that Darwin questioned the existence of God and the Biblical story of creation. But gradually, throughout the past 150 years, more people have come to believe his theories, including the mainstream media and much of the educational and scientific community. According to a recent Gallup Poll, a majority of Americans now agree with the theory of evolution. The percentages are even larger in many other countries.

So, has Darwin won the debate on the origins of life? Many might think so. But his theories do not change the facts. The Truth is that God created the heavens and the earth, and He is sovereign over space and time.

This one person did more to change the course of America than any other. 

I always love this time of the year.  I’m exctied forThanksgiving.  I do have so much to be thankful for.  We just make it financially but we have more than we’ve ever had.  I’m excited for Christmas.  I’m so thankful for Jesus being born in the midst of a world that hated him and wanted Him dead.  I’m excited for the New Years.  I have so many new ideas that I can’t wait for the new year to implement em.  I’m bubbling over today with so much life and energy.  -& I don’t drink coffee -lol 

My Daughter is due to have her baby any time now. 

This is the article that I’m putting in the Press & Dakotan for this Friday:

P & D              “Season for Celebration – Dr. Seuss style”  

by Pastor Randy Tramp, Children’s Pastor at Assembly of God

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”  Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss had a way of transporting us into a child’s world.  God the Father gave us a simple message from that realm.

The message God the Father spoke to us was brought to us in the form of a child.  His message was on the level of a child.  We’re entering the holiday season and will celebrate that message on Christmas.  The answer came by way of a manger.  It came by way of a child.

We have so much to celebrate this season.  We have so much to be thankful for. 

I’m so grateful that 25 years ago I met Jesus for the first time.  Oh, I went to church all my life, but it wasn’t until I was in the Navy that I came face to face with my creator.

I had the encounter as my ship was at sea.  A new crew mate was assigned to the office that I worked in.  Vinnie was a new born Christian and spoke of Jesus often.  I had never heard the message he spoke before.  He said I could personally invite Jesus in my heart.  I remember so clearly that night when I followed Vinnie’s instructions.  I didn’t quite know what I was doing but I desired Jesus to enter into my life.  He did and I was alive for the 1^st time in my life.  I felt like I could fly.  I felt so alive. 

The days that followed were so fresh and so filled full of life.  I confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior to many different people.  I set the course of my life towards the Kingdom of God.  I continue to be filled full of life because of Jesus.

(apologies to Dr. Seuss)

“Today I’m fully me, that’s truer than true.  I am alive and you can be too.”

I love Jesus and He’s the best. I love HIS boss and all the rest.

I love my family, I love to say, I love them more and more each day.

I love to work among my peers. I love their leers ‘n jeers ‘n cheers.

I love my city and its location. I love the extreme sensation.

I’m praying for America, I am, I am…I’m praying for you Uncle Sam, I am.

Do the A,B,C’s of Salvation and be full of life.

A – Admit you’re a sinner

B – Believe Jesus died for your sins

C – Confess Jesus as Lord of your life and live for Him

Standards are high for commercial airline pilots. Before being allowed to fly passenger planes, they need a commercial pilot certificate, which requires passing pilot ground school and logging hundreds of flight hours. They must know what they’re doing.

In addition to this thorough training, all pilots must file a plan prior to departure of each flight. This flight plan details the route they will take…from departure to destination. Even as they approach their landing, they must follow their prescribed glide path. This helps to ensure they won’t encounter other aircraft or hazards. Surprisingly, there is little variation in route or altitude, even for the most experienced pilots.

In a similar way, the Bible provides us with a “flight plan” for our lives. We need to follow Jesus, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He explained that the path to life is narrow and difficult. This message is a stumbling block for many, who want to take their own path and live their own way.

In the UK:  The leading cause of women going to the ER is attempted suicides.  Jesus gives us purpose; whereas living for our own self gives us hopelessness. 

“Do not speak of darker days,” he said. “Let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days; these are great days — the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we shall all thank God that we have been allowed, each one of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable. …”