News From Germany

Remember when?

2011-11-28T01:59:00.001-08:00

Take a moment and think... I know, we are often so busy that we do not really take the time to sit in silence and just think. I come from a world (and a personality) that assess and then makes a quick decision and then move on to make it the right decision. Ha, doesn't always work out the best, but you already knew that didn't you? Okay, I am sidetracking. Think! Think back. What are a couple of your favorite memories. Take time to think over that question. Once you have thought of two (I know, it is hard to stop because one remembrance always leads to so many more) take a few moments and relish in those memories. Okay, it is also okay to let you mind wander a bit and think of where those thoughts lead you... How cool is that? God made us so that we could remember. Yea, I know, sometimes it is a bit painful, because we also are blessed to remember the hard things, the things we made mistakes in and the sorrows that we have experienced in life. But, I believe, God in His infinite wisdom knew and knows what is best for us. In other words, to remember even the bad times helps us not to repeat the mistakes we have made. To remember the tragedies in our lives helps us to identify with others who cross our paths that need true understanding, empathy not just sympathy, for what they are going through. As we met with other Christians yesterday I mentioned these things. I shared with them two of my favorite memories being, one my wedding day with Karen. Two or better put two and three, the birth of our children Elizabeth and Maranda. Even as I shared these precious times of my life with these people, painting a picture of why these were and are such incredible times for me, I began to think on even more... the girls becoming Christians, them getting married, Karen and I celebrating our 30th anniversary, the girls have kids... How cool is it that we can remember? I am just saying, it IS COOL! I am glad that we have a Father that made us in such a way that we can do this. I do realize that many of you who will read this have also been on the other side of that fence. What I mean is dealing with someone, probably someone you love very dearly, that is or has suffered from memory loss. How hard, how tragic, how difficult to deal with that situation. YOU know even more than I do how precious memories are. Thank you Father for giving us those memories of the ones that you have so blessed our lives by having them in our lives. Thank you.I am thankful that each and every Sunday, that I have the privilege to meet with fellow Christians and take the time out of our ever busy and hectic lives to take a few minutes to remember Jesus. We remember his birth, his life as a young man, his ministry, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his return to the Father and his promise to return for us and to take us to our home of being with him and with God for all of eternity. I am glad that we take this time to remember Jesus. I am glad that each week we choose to start our week with him in the center of our thoughts and remembrances. We are a blessed creation. We have the ability to remember. From those memories sometimes we learn not to repeat our mistakes, from some of those memories we are saddened by the loss of those we love, sometimes we just sit with a smile on our face and enjoy how incredible it is to have experienced so many special things and people in our lives and sometimes we remember that, because of Jesus, the tough times in our lives we know are only temporary and the great times in our lives will only continue to be greater as we share those memories and our being with our Lord and Father. We have eternal life. We remember Jesus. And all he has and is doing for us as we live on this earth.Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you are encouraged by the things your read today. If so, take a moment and give God the praise and thank Him for His incredible love for us! God bless and have a blessed day! Or as a dear friend of mine always says, "Be good and do good!". (Thanks Sarah!)For Him and with His love,Mark

Something to think about...

2011-10-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things just hit you quite directly. I was meeting with a friend the other day and we were reading in Luke. We were practicing his English conversation. As we were talking about some of the simple points that Luke is making in his short letter, it struck me. I was taken aback a bit. I realized just how much that I accept about what the Bible says, just because I have had the opportunity to read, learn, study, be challenged by it and to grow because of making a choice to believe and follow the teachings of the Bible. Now, I am not selling short AT ALL the power of God and the work of His Holy Spirit in my and your lives. I am just saying that for over thirty something years I have been being influenced by the teachings in the Bible. My friend, very close to my age, has not. What I noticed as we talked was how our basic beliefs in life: how we treat others, how we look at others, how we react to others... is so different. I began to think about the golden rule, Matt 7:12. Jesus tells us to treat others the way we want to be treated. Many in the world will treat those people that are nice to them in a nice way. Some people in the world treat others in a way so that only they themselves will get ahead "in the game". Christians try to live by treating others good, because that is how we want others to treat us. It is also because we are called to be more than just average, more than just good enough, we are challenged to be a light for our Father and our brother Jesus Christ. Okay, this is nothing new, this is just looking at what we know and how we know the world is. But what struck me was how incredible it is to be a child of God. To be molded and made to be the way that God wants us to be, not how the world wants us to be. This is a BIG thing. Okay, perhaps you know me personally and you know that I do NOT always act like God would have me to act. I do not deny it. What I do is rejoice in the fact that even though I do not always act the way God wants or even the way I know I should be acting, I have forgiveness because of Jesus Christ. That makes me want to allow the Spirit to have a greater hold on my life and my actions and thoughts. But it also reminds me of how far He has brought me. I am trying to be a better person. I am trying to be different in a world full of meanness and hatefulness. I am, through God's Grace, a better example of Jesus to this world than I was 20 years ago. I am counting on, that if I live that long, in another 20 years I will be even a better light to this dark world than I am today. That comes because of the Spirit and because of me spending time in prayer and in study of the Bible. It has made an incredible difference in my life, my attitudes and my actions in my daily life. It has CHANGED me for the better. What a blessing it has been to have God's word, God's Spirit and God's love in my life. This might seem like I am rambling to you... but I challenge you to think over these thoughts. Remember the ways that God has worked in your life to make you not only a better person, but a very different one than you were a few years ago. Stop and think about not only the decisions you make everyday but also the actions that are played out in your life each day, because you follow The Master, Jesus Christ. My friend is reading with me in Luke, he has the opportunity to hear how I view the world and its people. He gets to hear how God has changed me as I have walked with Him. He gets to hear about the different way Jesus treated people. He gets to hear the Good News of forgiveness of sins through Christ. And I get to also be reminded of how blessed I am to have, for so many years, the opportunity to spend time in God's word and in His presence on a daily basis. I get the privilege to worship with people who are also striving to be more like Jesus. We are family. I am thankful for these reminders of how incredible it is to be a child of God!May you see this day how our Father is blessing you and using you as a blessing to this world.Mark

What are you looking at?

2011-10-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

Was reading in Hebrews today. Man, is there a lot there or what? As I was reading through the 11 chapter, I ran into this verse:Heb 11:27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt. He was not afraid of the king. Moses kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.What struck me so profoundly was the last part, "...he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible."Let that soak in a minute. I had to. When I think about looking at something, I am so thankful for sight. I can see the beautiful nature God has made, I can see the many people that are walking in the city that I live in and I can see my wonderful wife sitting next to me at the breakfast table who has been my helper and encourager for over 30 years now... When I think of invisible, I think of Harry Potter's famous cape... I think of not seeing something. So how do the two come together, seeing and not seeing?The writer of the Hebrews letter tells us that Moses kept his eyes on God. He listened to God's direction, even when it did not make since to those other people in his world at the time. How blessed we are to have the scripture! We get to see the before, during and after picture of God's plan for planet earth and its people. How cool is that?Before you decide I have totally lost it today, let me make a suggestion. Think over your life. I bet where you are right now you would have never seen yourself there 10 years earlier, am I right? It is true for me. Now, as you think about that, think deeper, think about how God has directly lead you into specific directions that have lead you to this point in our life. Yea, you know they are there. They are sometimes hard to explain, because we don't often get a burning bush in the wilderness talking to us like happened to Moses. But, you know them, you remember them and you are thankful that you can see God working in and through your life. That is us keeping our eyes on the one who is invisible. He is visible in our lives, but mainly through how He chooses to work through us in His world. For me it is knowing, for example, that the people that God puts in my path in my daily life, are not there by accident, they are there so that our paths will cross and I have the opportunity to get to know them, influence them or be influenced by them. Seeing the invisible can sometimes be tricky. Ha, there is one of those statements that is small but says a lot! I think the answer also lies in the same verse. The author tells us that Moses, "kept his eyes on" Him. He was LOOKING FOR HIM. This is a lifestyle, this is a walk this is a way of life, everyday. Moses did not know what his future held, but he did know who did hold it, and Moses sought to follow that guiding. A good example for us. Look for the invisible things that God is doing in your life. Expect God to work in your life and then be bold enough and brave enough to follow that direction. You have been doing it, some of us for a very long time, keeping doing it and strive to look more, to see more and to follow more the directions of your maker, redeemer and friend. How blessed we are to have the scriptures. How much more blessed we are to have a Father that loves us, provides for us and waits for us to spend eternity with Him in His presence!!Have a blessed day.Mark

Encouraged

2011-09-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

As I sit here this morning, in Leipzig, Germany, after just a little over six weeks of traveling, visiting, making presentations, preaching and enjoying time with family that included being there for the birth of our second and third grandchildren, I can say that I have been so encouraged by our trip back to the states. Seeing family and friends is always very encouraging. Being in worship services in Paradise, California, Edmond, OK, Lawton, OK, and in the Little Rock, AR area were absolutely incredible. One of the most encouraging things for me to realize is the overwhelming feeling that I felt that God's people are breaking out of the mold of "doing church" and really seeking to deepen their individual relationship with our Father. This is something that has been on my heart and mind for me personally. As I consider Jesus response to the question of what is really important, ie, the greatest command in Matt 22, I am reminded that Jesus thought loving God was the most important thing that we can do as we live our lives. He expresses that this is done by using every fiber of our being, physical, spiritual and intellectual. Everything that we have and are to love and serve our Father. Jesus said that was what is important. Continuing to develop our relationship, to grow it, to nurture it, to cultivate it, to spend time and effort doing what we can do to deepen it and make it more real and meaningful in our lives EVERYDAY! But he didn't stop with just that thought, he said that we needed to love others also... those in the family of God and those that are not yet a part of the family. The religious expert only asked for one command, Jesus gave him two. Jesus gave him the answer for our lives. He did not just give him an answer to satisfy his need to "do what he had to do". No, Jesus told him the secret of scripture... It is about love, God is love and we as his children love Him and seek to share and show that love with those that we come in contact with everyday, both in and out of the body of Christ. I think it is sooooo easy to get busy doing good things and forget to spend the time we need and aught to deepening our relationship with our Father. Know what I mean? You have a list of things to do, people to help, lessons to prepare, people to visit... and yet no time to spend with our Father. We need time, in His word for growth and direction, in prayer for communication with Him seeking His guidance and direction and developing a deeper awareness of what it means to be His child, and we need time of silence. A time to listen to what He has to say to us. The last is often, for me, the most difficult. Sitting, not letting the millions of distractions of my world interfere with my personal quite time with my Father. Listening to His direction, seeking to feel and understanding the moving of the Spirit in my life. Why is this so hard? It seems quite simple that if I want to have a deeper relationship with another human being, I must spend time with this person, getting to know them and letting them get to know me... but so much of the time I spend my time talking with my Father, but not so much time seeking to hear Him.Sounds a little one sided, yea? I think so. So, I am striving to find more balance in my relationship with my Father. I spend time talking with Him, but I also spend time in quite, just seeking to hear His direction. Talking and listening, it takes both to have the relationship that we both want to have. I said I was encouraged. I am. I see that people that I had the privilege to visit are seeking the same thing. Making it real, not playing church. Not being a part of a club, but being a family. A family seeking to get to know our God and Father in the deepest possible way. Seeking to share what they are finding with those who do not yet know our Father. I must confess, I am not there yet... I guess it is one of those lifelong journeys. But I am encouraged by seeing how His people are striving to serve Him and get to know Him on a deeper and more intimate and personal level. I have a renewed strength as I too seek to explore how to better my relationship with my Father.I have a friend, that generally the first question he asks you after seeing you is, "How is your relationship with God/Jesus?" That makes some people very nervous... he gets right to the point, right to the heart of the matter, right to what is really important in this world... and he puts you in the hot seat, if it is not being a priority in your life. I have seen people squirm when he asks them, I have also seen people not even flinch, because, even though they feel like they would like to improve, they are walking, talking and listening to the Father in their daily lives. How about you? Where are you at today? Are you ready to take it to the next level? Ready to get to know the Creator in a more intimate and intense way? How is your relationship with your God and Father? I think these are questions that we must ask ourselves on a regular basis. These are questions that we need to be asking each other on a regular basis. So, if you are not where you need/want to be... get busy, start making some changes. If you are doing well, look around you, talk to some other people, ask them the difficult questions and then seek to help them improve and deepen their walk with the Father. Love God, love others... this sums up God's plan for man. How cool is that?Thanks for reading, thanks for considering what I am sharing. Got some input? I would love to hear your ideas, responses, even disagreements. May God bless us as we seek to serve Him, love Him deeper and allow His Spirit to make us into the people He intended for us to be. My you be a blessing to someone this day. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life.Mark

Following directions...

2011-07-31T02:53:00.000-07:00

Honestly, not one of my strong points. I tend to try to do something, and when all else fails, read the directions. Did I just say that? Or was that my wife? :-)
Alas... I am learning.
I think about a cabinet that I had bought recently. Here, many times when you buy a cabinet, what we call a Schrank, it is in pieces and you have to put it together. I do love me some IKEA furniture, all the instructions are in picture form. Ha.
But, this cabinet was not from IKEA, so the directions, even though they had a few pics, were mostly words. Ugh. So, Larry was over to help me put it together. We open the box and start to take out all the pieces. Then we start, randomly I must say, to try to fit pieces together. Let's just say that did not last long. We then began to look at the directions. When we followed the directions, well, yes, things went much smoother.

I was thinking about that as I read John 15:1-17 today. Think about these two verses from that section of scripture:

Jn 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.
Jn 15:5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Jesus is talking about being connected to God. We are connected to God through Him, Jesus. Notice that in these two verses he states that we can not grow more fruit, personally or numerically, when we are not connected to God through Him. Then he goes on to say that we can do NOTHING if we are not joined to God through Him.

He talks about remaining IN him. How do we do that? How do we stay connected to God through Jesus? Look at verse 10:

Jn 15:10 When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love.

Jesus tells us how to remain IN him, just like He remained IN the Father... by obeying. If we live following Jesus' teachings and examples, we remain in the Father's love. We remain connected to the Father.

Jesus is the greatest instruction manual of all times. He gives us a picture of how to live. He is our living IKEA instruction booklet! When we seek to follow his example, even though we WILL mess up, we are still connected to the Father. That means we are bathed in His love, His grace, His forgiveness and His guidance in our lives. That my friend is GOOD NEWS and a great instruction manual.

May your life be blessed this day as you allow God's word to work in your life.
Mark

I am back...

2011-07-12T02:11:00.000-07:00

I do enjoying posting on this blog... even though I do not use it as much as I used to. But when I have thoughts just running through my mind and I cannot seem to get them fleshed out... I often turn here just to ramble. So here it goes...
Tonight is English Bible Study in Leipzig, Germany. I am finishing up on my lesson and one thought leads to another... ever had that happen. ha, of course you have.
We are looking at the Sermon on the Mount. Tonight we will look at Matt 5:21-22. It deals with anger, or really, when you strip away everything, it deals with matters of the heart. Where is your heart? If it is in the right place, we will treat others better. I am always going back to Matt 7:12 when I read about how Jesus is telling us the best way to live. It seems to continue to come to me as a backdrop to all of these things... treating others the way you WANT TO BE TREATED. Jesus is always dealing with our hearts. Encouraging us to do what we do because our hearts are in the right place, with Him. Underlying that thought is the two greatest commands ever given, Love God and Love Others.
When we really, I mean really do this... Love God, Love others, treat others the way we want to be treated... we will have arrived. When we are trying to fulfill these things, we WILL BE BETTER PEOPLE AND THE WORLD WILL BE A BETTER PLACE. A little heaven on earth, because YOU are trying to be a better person, trying to be more like Jesus Christ. Many times I focus on my shortcoming, my failures... today, I want me and you to think about the ways we are loving God, loving others and treating other the right way. Pray about this, think about this and strive to not just do better, but acknowledge that God is working in our lives and He is making a difference in this word THROUGH US! It is high time we give our God and Father some credit for working and making a difference in our lives!
I am not saying be satisfied where you are at, what I am saying is look how far you have come... because of God living in your life.
May God continue, not only to bless you, but continue to make you a blessing to others that you come in contact with this day... THIS DAY.
Thanks for taking time with me today.
Mark

July 2011

2011-07-05T03:18:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it has been forever.
I am taking a course through Harding University, called People Helping. In this course I have been reading about how important it is for our relationship with our Father to be where it needs to be, should be, where He wants it to be, so that we are better prepared to help others. I know, seems simple, but how much time do you dedicate each day to enhancing your relationship with your creator? Do not be offended, I have been asking myself the same question.
One of the things that I have been trying to do, and just for the record it is very difficult for me, is taking time three times each week just to be SILENT. I call it my silent time with God. Going into a room, by myself, and taking a specific amount of time (I am starting with 10 minutes) and just sitting there, with my eyes closed, no one else in the room... except God, and sitting in complete silence. At first you will hear every noise that is in the house. You will hear everything that is going on outside the house, it is as though you have been given the gift of super sonic hearing... but you sit, and you listen. God often comes in a whisper. For me that means it is often soft, subtle and I have to listen hard to hear it. It is also a time for me to experience God. God is timeless, He is not in or bound by time... think on that one a bit. In my silent time, I am not bound by time. Okay, I have committed time to sit quietly, but in this time, there is no time. I know, it sounds a bit different, but it is how I feel. Some days I hear God speak, no I am not crazy. Some days I sit the whole time and fight the urge to pray to Him. I can not hear Him if I am too busy talking to Him.
Anyhow, I do know that this time dedicated to trying to listen to my Father's influence in my life is time well spent. It is not easy, to do, to explain and even to understand, but I do feel it is a time, specifically dedicated to God. It brings me nearer to Him. When I am nearer to Him, I am better prepared to Help Others.
Agree? Disagree? That is okay too! Think I am crazy? Perhaps. But I do want to do what I can to deepen my relationship with my Father. How about you? What ways, what disciplines are you trying to do that bring you into closer contact with God? Let me know, I am interested, both in what you are doing and your response to what I am attempting to do. Thanks and God bless. Until the next time....
Mark

A Very Looong time

2010-11-12T02:39:00.001-08:00

The title has nothing to do with today's thought. It has just been a very long time since I wrote something on this blog. What often happens to me is that I have many things to do and so I do not take the time to post a thought on this site. Sort of like not making the time to work on the church Webpage like I want, would like, should do on a regular basis...

So, I was reading today and I came across this verse in John 15. Jesus, having just finished the Passover feast with his disciples and also the washing washing of their feet, continues on in his dialog to them. He is talking about how important it is for them (and us) to stay connected to Him. When we are connected to Him, then we are in fact connected to the Father. Our Father, the creator of the world and ... well, just everything, things we see, know and still cannot grasp or imagine... he is THE CREATOR. So being connected is really important.

I ran on to this verse: Jn 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. As I read that verse, I have to admit, I really liked the tail end of it. ...ask whatever you WISH and it will be given you. Out of the whole verse you see where my eyes went to, or should I say my mind. Hmm, what do I wish for. Perhaps the reason for the draw is because of what time of year it is. Here in Germany it is Christmas Market time. That means tons and tons of little booths with all sorts of Chistmasy things to eat, buy, see and think about for gifts for ... me or someone else for the holidays. I love Christmas time. I wish for a lot of things every Christmas, but I don't get them all. Do you? Okay, digressing here...

As I consider this verse, or I should say reconsider this verse, I notice a couple of things. First, the part that caught my... little boy eyes... is at the end of a sentence. Perhaps Jesus was putting the less important part at the end for a reason. What does he start with? He starts with what I like to call the biggest small word in the world, IF. So, I get the feeling that me getting to ask what I wish for and Him granting that for me is contingent on something. Hmm. I have to remember to take this verse and keep it where it was at, in the middle of a conversation Jesus was having with His followers, about being tied into him and through him being connected to the father, the creator. After the contingency word, Jesus tells us what we have to do. One, remain in Him. Two let His word remain in us. What does this mean for you and me today? This was written 2000 years ago. Jesus has lived, died, been resurrected and has ascended into heaven and we are waiting for his return. How can I remain in him. For me, the two reasons he gave are really intertwined. Remaining in Jesus, is walking with Jesus or walking like we learn that Jesus walked. Being Jesus like. How can we do that, first we do that by letting his word, GOD'S WORD, into our hearts and minds by spending time, not just reading it, but studying it, meditating on it, savoring it and letting it work on our hearts. Letting it change us from the inside out. When we believed what we read in the Bible, and seek to show Jesus that we love him by following what he has instructed us to do, we are remaining in Jesus, we are allowing His word(s) to remain in us. As children of the living God we also have something else, we have the Holy Spirit that lives IN us to help us to grow, help us to understand the things we read, to convict us of those areas that we are not conforming to God's idea of the way to live.

So, as I considered this thoughts this morning, it became quite apparent to me that once I tried to tackle the first part of that verse, when I got the last part, I realized that what I would be wishing for... not a Christmas list from Santa Claus... but the opportunity for God to change me into the person that he wants me to be. To be praying for those people that God puts in my life that do not know him yet, that His spirit will work on their hearts and that he will use me and give me wisdom to be an instrument of his service in these peoples lives.

I am still gonna enjoy Christmas time. I am gonna love getting and giving gifts. But when I WISH for things in my time of prayer with my father through my blessed savior, I am going to ask Him for the things that will further His will in this world. I know what that is, it is simple. It is giving the people of this world who do not know God an opportunity to see him through me. Getting His message of love and grace into a lost world. He wants everyone to come to him, so do I. I want to be up for the task, that is my wish.

God bless you and may you feel his peace in a powerful way this day. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today.

Mark

What comes out....

2010-07-29T03:52:00.000-07:00

I was doing my daily Bible reading today. Came across this scripture in Matthew 15:

What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ” Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”

Now, my mom always told me to wash my hands before I ate something. Hmm. Good idea, I even taught my kids that, but that is not what Jesus is dealing with here. First I find it interesting that the disciple came to Jesus and asked him if he noticed that he had offended the religious leaders. Imagine that! Of course Jesus knew what he was saying! Poor guy, just didn't get it did he? Then Jesus asked them, "Are you so dull?" Really that gives me hope. They were right there with him, listening, following, asking questions and learning from Him, yet they still had trouble grasping everything that he was saying and teaching. But then Jesus gets to the point, it is about the heart. Jesus was trying to get it across to these religious guys that their hearts were not right. Good news is the disciples hearts were right even if they did not understand everything he was trying to tell them. Jesus wants our hearts, not our ability to follow rules. He wants us to want to follow him, to serve him, serve others and to be an example to the world... because we love him and want to do this not because it is a bunch of rule for us to check off our list so that we can do what we do to gain what God promises us...

People are gonna see the way we live our lives. From the outside, they cannot always tell if we do what we do because we love God or because we are trying to "gain" our salvation through the following of the "rules" we read about in God's word. They may not be able to tell, but we can. We know why we do what we do. We do what we do because God showed us the ultimate love by sending His son to this earth to live and to die for us. To make a way for us to have a relationship with Him. We love because He first loved us. We love others because God love them and us. We do the things we do because we love God and want to share that love with those in this world that do not know God and know his unbelievable love for His creation.

We live differently. We act, talk and respond differently to people and circumstances in our daily lives. We do this because of the love of our Father. The hope that we have of spending eternity with our Father and with each other in heaven. It is about the words that come out of our mouths, but it is also about the actions of our lives that show the light of the love of Jesus to a dark world.

I want the things that come out of my heart to be kindness, love, sympathy, caring, patience, joy, peace and all the ways that God our Father is, I want to show the world my Father through the way I live my life. What is coming out of your heart? Fill your heart with the love of the Father and what comes out through your life will be a reflection of the Father. Praise be to His name!

_

TEAM

2010-07-09T03:49:00.000-07:00

What do you think of when you hear the word "team". One thing for me, especially because of the Weltmeisterschaft (World Cup of Soccer) going on right now, I think of Soccer. I think about how these teams work together (or in some cases do not work well together) towards a common goal, pun there, to score a point and eventually win the game and tournament. I see them struggle on the field, not just with their opponents, but also with their own teammates. I have also seen the value in being unselfish. How many times have I seen in the different games where one man is taking the ball to the goal and at just the last minute, when the suspense is just about to kill you, will he shoot, will the opponent knock it down or out of the way... the man with the ball doesn't shoot... he instead passes it to another player because...BECAUSE he has the better shot. Think about how hard that is. Giving the glory to the other person. Literally giving it away. You had the shot, maybe you make it, maybe you don't, but you had the chance... But you are a team. A team isn't about one person, it is about the common goal. During this tournament I have seen so many selfless acts. So many times that someone passed the ball to someone else for the greater good. Seeing the other person getting the glory for a great shot... that they would not have had if the other person had kept the shot for themselves. You know what I am talking about... I don't just mean Fußball (soccer) either. I am talking about God's Family. I am talking about our workplaces, our individual families, our extended families and all those areas in our lives where we interact with other people "working together for a common goal". I must confess... it is hard to be a team player. Ha, no surprise to you there... if you know me. I like to be the one with the great idea. I like to be the one to score the winning point. I like to be the one to receive the glory... But being a part of a team means IT IS NOT ABOUT ME. Hard pill to swallow, ha, it is a difficult pill to even put in my mouth.

Years ago, many more than I choose to count, I worked in a grocery store. Pikewood Food Center. Each year Karen and I would go to a convention with my boss and his wife. This was put on by the supplier of our groceries. Each year there would be a theme. You know the kind, get everyone excited, pumped up so that they would buy a ton of stuff later at this show... you know, all those deals that were a once in a lifetime deal that you just could not pass up... at least until next year. :-) Sorry, I got sidetracked in all the memories. A theme I remember well, was centered around this word TEAM. T is for Together, E is for Everyone, A is for Achieves, M is for More. Together everyone achieves more. Hmmm, think about that. Agree? Disagree? Was it just a ploy to get all the grocery guys to buy more stuff from our supplier?

I would like to tweek that a bit. I would like to suggest that, TOGETHER, EVERYONE is ABLE to do MORE. I guess this comes down to what together means. For me that means that if I am not the center of attention, if I am not the one seeking the glory as I work in a group, then the group as a whole will be better off as we attempt to accomplish what we have started out to do together. Jump back to God's Family. We ARE family, God made us that way, kind of like our own families, we didn't get to choose who is in it, we just love them anyway. God adds us to HIS family. Hopefully we are, want to be, a team. What are our motivations as we would together as a team? What is our goals? Obviously Jesus gave us the ultimate goal... "seek and save the lost"! God's family, God's team, has the opportunity to share the great message of Jesus Christ with a lost world. This my friends is not an easy task, (saving that thought for another day)but this requires every player to play his part. Everyone cannot be on offense, everyone cannot be on defense, everyone cannot be the goalie. Ha, I just got a funny picture in my mind. I thought if all the Germany players decided that they all wanted to be the goalie... you have all of them standing in front of the goal and their opponent having the run of the field... sorry, i am digressing... maybe not. We are a body, Christ is the head, we each play a role in the body, Paul talked about this, this body working together, each part doing what GOD INTENDED IT TO DO, BEING PLACED WHERE HE WANTED IT TO BE... Working together. I am thankful that the body that God gave me works well with itself. I believe we call it cancer when the body turns on itself. I do not want to be cancer in God's family. I really would rather be the little toe and never get noticed for the support I give than to cause death and destruction in something so beautiful as the body of Christ. There are power in numbers, there is power in family. You know this. There is power in working together. We can help each other do better when we put the needs of others above ourselves. I think I read that somewhere...

Love the Lord your God... first command
Love your neighbor as you love yourself, treat him/her as you WANT to be treated... second command
All the rules, all the commands, all the regulations, all the teachings and all the prophesies of the Bible boil down to these two...

Family = Team. God's Family = God's Team. We have a team captain, He is Jesus Christ. I am thankful to be a player on His team. I want to live, breath and work as a team player. Seeking to make YOU stronger, utilize your talents, help you be closer to our Father as we reach out to the lost of our world and ultimately bringing Glory to God our Father through the life and service that we give Him as his family and team.

Thank you for your time this day that it took to read the writings of a person striving to truly put God and His Son Jesus on the throne of my life, then making sure that I am also putting your needs, your concerns before my own. Guess I am not through yet, actually I guess it would be better to say that God is not through with me yet. Thank you Father for the Spirit that you gave to me as a gift, that lives in me and helps me to grow to be the man, husband, father, brother and your son that you want me to be. Praise be to your name. Amen.

Random thoughts this day...

2010-06-20T02:14:00.000-07:00

I was talking with Karen at breakfast this morning. She brought up an interesting point that hit me quite profoundly. Many times I am rather disappointed in myself because of what I have NOT been able to learn or NOT been able to accomplish in the almost 4 years of living in Germany. Come the end of August of this year, we will have officially been in Germany for 4 years. That seems like a very long time. Sometimes it seems very long for me… sometimes it seems like I blinked and it is over. Know what I mean? I think you do. Okay, her point. She made the statement that we have lived in three different cities in the last 4 years. First was Bremen. Bremen is a city of officially about 500,000 people. Add in the surrounding small towns that actually connect to it and you have over a million people milling around that city. Ha, that was our first place to live in Germany. I say ha because we came from a city, Little Rock, that with its surrounding towns probably had somewhere over 200,000 people. Big city for me and then we moved to a huge city. After living there for two years we moved to a city in the eastern part of Germany, it is called Chemnitz. It has relatively the same population as what we were used to in Little Rock, but the difference is that it was a city that earlier, before the wall came down, housed over twice that many people. So the city itself was much bigger than what I was used to, just only having the number of people that I had grown used to. Then our next move is to Leipzig. Leipzig has over 500,000 people and then it has many towns around its edges to make it quite a metropolitan area. Again, like Chemnitz, many of its inhabitants left for the west when the wall came down. Many of the industry was closed down after it no longer had the support of the communistic government to keep it running and staffed. So ultimately my rambling today… Have you ever moved to a new city? I am sure you have. Had your set of problems with that? I know you did. New places, new people, new ideas, customs and even sometimes a different way of speaking by the people in that city are what awaited you. I know. I too have experienced that… three times in the last 4 years. God is good, God is faithful. He has brought us through these moves. He has enabled us to learn and to grow beyond what we could have ever imagined. Does that mean it was easy? I say emphatically, NO! But life is not easy. That is what is so great about the promise that we will spend eternity with our Father. Where everything… EVERYTHING is good, great, wonderful! We all struggle with different things and changes in our lives. It is life. But God is with us as His children. We are not alone, even in a city of close to a million people when I know only a handful of those people. I am not alone! You are not alone! Thank you Father for being with us even in our tough times and also being there in our times of victory and triumph.

Warm weather

2010-06-11T05:11:00.000-07:00

We have so much to be thankful for. I did not believe it would ever get to 28° (80°), but it did! I do have to say, that I still like the heat better than all that snow we had! Okay, it can get a little difficult, or uncomfortable, because there is no air conditioning, but I realize how much Karen and I are adapting to this European climate.

We are in the middle of our LST (Let's Start Talking) campaign. We now have three students living with us that come from the Sam Houston University in Texas. They are meeting daily with people here in Leipzig that wish to improve their conversational skill in English. I am so humbled by seeing how God is working in so many different peoples lives. People coming from many different walks of life, wanting to develop new relationships. It is such a blessing for us to have these students here. On so many levels. I do so enjoy seeing them interact with different people. Talking, laughing, and just getting to know people with different ideas and many times a very different way of thinking.

It has also been a blessing to have them here because it helps Karen and I recognize just how much of the language and the culture we really do know and understand. Have you ever learned a foreign language? Have you ever been to a place where you could actually use this language and speak to someone who spoke that language as a native tongue? Maybe a better question is, have you ever been to a country and not been able to speak, read or communicate with the local people? Yea, it is not so much fun. In a tourist area you will probably find someone you can communicate with. Often, in many foreign countries the people can speak English as a second language, but not always. I think you get the picture I am trying to paint for you. So, it is not an easy thing to do to communicate with someone who does not speak your language. I have been reminded through helping these students read how to get somewhere, understand what someone is saying to them, shopping in a grocery store where everything is written in a language you cannot understand (thank goodness for pictures :-) ) and general just getting around in a city of nearly 3/4 of a million people. It feels very good to be able to help them do these things. It reminds us that we have learned a lot... ha, yes, we have much more to learn... but when we stop learning... well, I guess that is when we leave this earth, yes?

I am thankful for friends. I am thankful that we have a best friend in Jesus and I am glad that we are here and have the opportunity to share the good message about Jesus with the people God puts in our path in this city. Thanks for reading, praying and caring!!

Mark

Summer time

2010-05-14T08:36:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about summer. One it is warm... two it is time for our LST campaign. I must once again apologize for being so bad about making a post. I have no excuses...

We have students here from York College to help people improve their English by reading and talking about Bible verses. We had our meeting this past Tuesday and had over 25 people show up to the meeting to find out how they could take part. 25 people. That is amazing! Only one of those that showed up was someone that we were already acquainted with. The students have their work cut out for them as they seek to build a relationship and a bridge to us, those of us who live here year around, and make a connection so that we can share the love of our Father with people in this city. I am humbled, I am thrilled and I am so excited about the next 6 weeks.

I shot a video of our students playing in a field of Rapps (not sure what we call that in English). It is a crop that is used to make oil to cook with. They have the most beautiful yellow flowers this time of year. Let me see if it will let me upload it... hold on...

So, I think it worked... but I am gonna keep writing till it is finished.

We are having a great time getting to know the students and we now have a building where they can meet and we can also use it as a place of worship on Sundays. Exciting times. Ah ha, it is finished. I think it will work. Hope you enjoy the video.

Enough for now. I hope to add more later. Thanks for you patience...
For Him,
Mark

Change… or not?

2010-02-17T01:19:00.001-08:00

Think for a moment…
1. How have things changed in the way you live, just in your lifetime?
  1. What are three things that have been developed since you have been born?
2. For me that is a little bit easier, I have been around longer :-)
  1. Microwave oven
    1. Consumer use began in the 60's
  2. Color TV
    1. okay they were actually developed in the 50's but no one could afford to have one until the 60's
  3. Video Games
    1. Atari started in the 70's
  4. Personal computers
    1. Yes, we had computers when I was young, but they were the size of a large room and no one had them at home
    2. My first computer was a Vic 20
      1. 5 KB (not mb) of Ram
      2. Came out in 1980
    3. Next was the Commodore64
      1. 64 KB of Ram
      2. Came out in 1982
  5. Handys (Mobile phones)
    1. The first produced for public use was in the 70's
      1. Bag phone
      2. Brick phone
  6. We went from LP records to cassette tapes to cd's to mp3
    1. We didn't have Ipod or Iphone
All changes have not been positive or good changes
1. The worlds attitudes about things have changed
  1. Marriage
  2. Sex outside of marriage
  3. Modest dress
  4. Abortion
  5. Honesty, integrity, ethics
2. Many times I feel like many people in the world call me "square" (uncool) or an "old fogy" (too retro) if I hold to my Bible beliefs
  1. I am not "with the times"
  2. I am not living in the "real world"

So what do we do when the world trashes the good things, Biblical teachings through its change in thinking?

In Psalms 11:3 David talks about the same problem, only many years earlier
1. What would good people do if the wicked destroyed all that is good?
  1. This is the question for us tonight
  2. What will good people, people following God, do about negative changes in our world?
David gives us the solution by revealing 3 things about God here in Psalms 11
1. Let's read this together
2. Focus on vs. 4: (someone read this verse again, please)
  1. The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord sits on his throne in heaven. He sees everything that happens. He watches people closely.
3. 3 important things about God
  1. God is holy
    1. His holiness is unthreatened by an unholy world
    2. His standards set forth in the Bible for Holy living do not change just because people's opinions change
  2. God rules!
    1. Things changing here on earth do not change the fact that God rules in heaven.
    2. He allows things to change here, but all people will give an account for how they lived their lives.
  3. God sees.
    1. He is aware of what is going on
      1. On this earth
      2. In each of our lives
        
        How each of us choose to live
God who is HOLY, and who RULES in heaven over all creation, also SEES everything that is going on in HIS CREATION.

Read vs. 7 again
1. The Lord always does what is right, and he loves seeing people do right. Those who live good lives will be with him.
2. God's way is the best way.
  1. God made a way for us to be with Him, through Jesus Christ
  2. Change will happen, sometimes good sometimes bad
    1. We need to follow God's way

What to do with failure

2009-09-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

Stupid question right off the bat... have you ever failed at something? Have you ever said that you would be there for someone... then let them down, worse yet been in such a place as to leave them hanging when you told them you would be there for them?

Not what we would call best case scenario for living life like we want, huh? This past week I spent at a men's retreat here in Germany. The week long topic and focus of the retreat was AGAPE. I think most of us have heard enough Bible lessons and sermons to know right off the bat that the Greek has three different words for our English word Love. Different types of Greek words for different nuances of our word. So is the order of languages... Ha, you should see the difference between English and German.. :-)

In looking at the word, Agape, it seems the best way to describe this type of love is a love that does the right thing. Treats people the right way, even when it is difficult to do, even when they are not doing the right thing. It is not so much an emotional type of love like Phileo, but a love that is practiced because we have made a decision to do the right thing. I think that much of our Christian walk is actually this Agape love. We are told by Jesus to treat others the way we want to be treated ourselves, this is not dictated by how others treat us but how we wish to be treated. That my friends is not an emotional love but a decision to do the right thing. Not easy sometimes, but a direct instruction from our Savior. I also think that is how we show our love for God our Father. We love Him when we DO what he says. Jesus said if we love Him (and love God) we will do what he has asked us to do. That my friends is a decision. Yes, emotion does come into it, but if emotion is all that is there... it just won't last. We make a decision to follow Jesus and do what he teaches and we are showing our love for God.

I find it quite interesting, Jesus' discussion with Peter at the end of John's Gospel...
John 21:15-17

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

Remember this is the first time Peter would have once again talked with Jesus since he left him to be crucified... deserted him... denied him... looked into his eyes when he heard the rooster crow... guilt, sorrow, frustration, humiliation, anger, pain, disappointment, embarrassment,.... can you imagine the gammit of emotions he was feeling? If your like me, you can. Because you too have let someone down, you too have failed someone, directly or indirectly... I can relate to Peter. Jesus asks him the question, do you love me? He asks him three times... perhaps because Peter had denied him three times, perhaps because Peter was feeling so many emotions about what he had done, he was not really hearing what Jesus was saying. Let me see if I can make any since of what I mean... look at the breakdown of the questions:

[15] Jesus: Do you love [agapao] me? Peter: I love [phileo] you.
[16] Jesus: Do you love [agapao] me? Peter: I love [phileo] you.
[17] Jesus: Do you love [phileo] me? Peter: I love [phileo] you.

Jesus ask Peter the first two times "Will you make a decision to do the things that I have told you to do. Will you show love for me by being a leader and taking care of my followers?"
Peter answers him with "Yes, I have an emotional love for you. You are my friend and I have feelings for you"

Then Jesus asks in the third question if Peter has emotional love for him.

Okay, where am I going with this. Peter failed Jesus. Point blank simple. Perhaps we can really relate to that. Maybe a time comes into your mind when you remember a time when you have failed someone that you love (phileo) or maybe a time when you have failed God (agape)... I think we can all relate on some level, that is why God gives us this example in scripture.

Jesus was calling Peter (and is calling us) to a higher calling. Jesus says that if we really love him we will make the decision to do things his way. As we serve him... ie feeding his sheep... we have to make a decision to love (agape) God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love (agape) others like ourselves. To treat them, to love them (agape), the way we want to be treated and loved. Yes, we are an emotional people, God made us that way, Jesus was that way too. But, Jesus did what had to be done, he was crucified on the cross for us, that was not emotion my friends, that was a decision to do the right thing. That is the highest form of love. That is the same love God had for us while we were still sinners... He decided to send his one and only son to die for us, because it was what was best for us, not what was best for Him. His decision enables us to have a relationship with Him, but it was not the easy thing for Him to do, but it was the best thing for us... He so Loves us (apages us). Praise His name.

Jesus came to Peter... knowing how he was feeling, knowing the thoughts and emotions he was having. Jesus knows how we feel when we let him down too. He knows how we are feeling when we let other people down. Jesus didn't so much focus on Peter's failure as he did focus on where Peter would go from this point on... what would he do now? So, my question for you today is, what will you do from this point on today? Where are you at? Are you at a point in your life where you have just given up and gone back fishing... that is what Peter had done. What else could he do, it was what he knew how to do? Are you at a point in your life where you feel like you have failed God so bad that you have just given up and gone back to your life before God? Then these scriptures are for you. Have you been fighting discouragement because he just seem to be letting God down because you just can't seem to live the life for him you want? Those "little sins" just keep creeping in? Then these scriptures are for you.

Jesus came to Peter. Think about that. JESUS CAME AND FOUND PETER, the very one who just shortly before left him out to dry. Jesus challenged him to make a new commitment to follow him and being a worker in His kingdom. Jesus does not focus on our failures, he focuses on what we can do and what we should be doing and lovingly (agape and phileo) leads and challenges us in that direction.

My challenge for you and me today is to let go of those failures, don't forget them because they are a good reminder for us to stay committed to the decision that we made to do it Jesus' way, but also not to be crippled by our failures. Jesus was helping Peter look to the future. Jesus helps us to look and see the future, of serving Him by serving others. We can learn from our mistakes. They will makes us stronger. Look at the difference in Peter's life. He made the love decision (agape) to do it God's way and because of that we have so many examples of how we can and should live as we serve God. What kind of differences are you going to make because of the decision you make to live and serve God? What kind of legacy will you leave through living your life in love for God and for others?

I know that this one was very long... hope I did not loose you... hope it helps... hope you can think about these things and give me your thoughts on where I was going with this... we are in this together. Thanks for your time and thoughts.

Mark

Who is in control?

2009-08-27T03:24:00.001-07:00

Sorry that it has been so long since I last blogged. Man today is August 27 and I have not blogged since June... Hard to believe, but as you might have guessed it has been pretty busy.

We have folks living with us in our apartment in Chemnitz, Roy and Tiffany Rhodes. The Rhodes are here as HIM (Helping In Missions) workers for two years. Karen and I will be moving to Leipzig next month and they will stay in the apartment here in Chemnitz. It is a stressful time for everyone. Sullivans are looking for a small apartment in Leipzig, the Rhodes are trying to get money transferred and figure out what all they are going to have to buy to live here once we move to Leipzig and take all of our furniture with us, and of course we are struggling with trying to get all the stuff organized for the move, getting the visa stuff all taken care of (which is looking like we will have to get another temporary one and then more paperwork.... then maybe a real one... for one more year) as well as trying to get all the things line out for beginning the work in Leipzig. Ha, okay, I know that all these things are working towards the work in Leipzig and continuing the work here in Chemnitz... I just needed a little time to vent.... Thanks.

Today the Rhodes, Sulllivans and us met together to spend some time praying together, studying Gods word and practice and learn some of the ways to better use the LST (Let's Start Talking) material... Using English to teach the Bible. Larry had a great lesson that came from I Corinthians. What made the greatest impact on me this day is one, remembering that it is all God's work, we are just helpers. Some people excel in somethings others in other things. Everyone is not a great preacher, everyone is not a great singer.... you get my point. But God uses each one of us the way HE SEES FIT. Ever have the problem of having a great plan on how you are going to serve God and then it doesnt work out right? Of course you have. Step back and take a look at "what went wrong with the great plan". Maybe nothing went wrong. Maybe what actually occured was a wonderful thing that you would have never even imagined would have happened. Welcome to God working in your life. I needed to be reminded today... as things are so hectic for all of us, with our plans, dreams, challenges and agendas, that God has a plan and he is going to work that plan despite my best intentions. Relax, I am talking to myself here, enjoy the day God has given you (me) and look for opportunities that are coming our way. Ways we can use the gifts that our Father has given to us as individuals to serve Him in His work.

Jesus said more than once, the two most important things in following God is to love God with everything part of our being, ALL OF IT and the next is almost as important (and often seemingly harder) love others as much as we love ourselves and treat them the way that we WANT to be treated. That is what is really important. When we do these two things, love God and love others, we will be serving God and taking advantage of the things He is doing in this world and in our world.

God is in control. He has a plan, doesnt need our advice, actually doesnt even need our help, but He knows we want and need to help Him as we seek to serve Him. Go out and have a blessed day giving God the praise for Him working in His world.

Psalms 4

2009-06-22T02:22:00.000-07:00

Ps 4:1 Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

Ps 4:2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame ? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ?

Ps 4:3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him.

Ps 4:4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.

Ps 4:5 Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.

Ps 4:6 Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
Ps 4:7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
Ps 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

I have a friend who challenged me to read in the Psalms everyday. It is such an encouragement to me to spend time thinking over what is said in these writings.

It is apparent from the start of this Psalm that David is experiencing some difficult times in his life. He is crying out to the Lord in his time of distress. Evidently he is having problems with other people... sounds pretty much like how our lives go today, huh? For me, yes.

I love vs. 3. David, even though he seems to be stressed at what is going on in his life, still makes the comment that he knows God is in tune with him. He knows that God is listening to his prayers. Even more important, he knows that God is listening, not just to the words of his mouth but also is seeing what is going on in David's life. David finds comfort in knowing that God is there with him and for him.

How do I KNOW this to be absolutely true? Look at the wording of vs. 8. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Think about what he just said. Lie down and sleep.... what do you do when you have troubles that seem far to great for you to handle them? Me, sometimes I worry. I know, Jesus told us not to worry.... but... that is what I do. What David did was give his troubles to the Lord, then he went to bed. He left them at the throne of the Lord and went to sleep, knowing that God is in control and that he would bring the safety that David needed... God would supply the protection that David needed.

God will supply what we need too... so why worry, give it to HIM. When we are experiencing those times of incredible trial and sufferings, when we are going through tough times the best thing we can do is give it to God. Literally, give it to him. Pray to Him, pouring out your heart about your troubles, then letting go of the fears and unknowns and get some sleep. We have to trust that God, the same God that loves us so much that He sent his only son to come into the world to be a sacrifice for us so that we could be in a right relationship with Him, will take care of the problems in our live in the WAY THAT HE SEES FIT. He will provide for us, just as much as he did for David. He just requires us to trust in Him, like David did.

How about some rest. God is in control and He really does care for His children. So, how about you and I both start giving the things rolling around in our head, that seem to keep us up at nights, to our loving, caring, heavenly Father and let Him deal with them and we get the much needed rest that we require to deal with our everyday lives. David did. It is a great example for us to learn from. God bless you this day and may you bless someone else's life this day.

Mark

Endure or enjoy

2009-06-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Karen made a comment to me the other day and it really caused me to rethink some things in my life. She said that sometimes as we live our lives we must endure through the tough times. As I thought about enduring... I thought, it is true, sometimes just enduring and making it through a hard time is sometimes all we can do. Then things get better. I know that is okay for the really hard things... like someone close to you dying or surviving when your mate up and leaves you... but what about the things in life that are not so drastic. What about those things in life that are just not as much fun as other things. Like having to learn a new language, or moving to a new city, or going to some activity that really stretches you and makes you get out of your comfort zone?

What it really made me think of was the many times that I have gone ahead and done the RIGHT THING because that is what I am suppose to do as a Christian... but really on the inside only really was committed to enduring the event or function, just get it done and over with and then move on to the next thing... Well, I have to tell you that I am working on a new philosophy. It is called enjoying these things. Okay, I am not saying that it is easy, what I am saying is it is a mindset. For example, German. It is not easy to go to class and feel stupid so much of the time... Okay, humor me a little, I know that is an exaggeration, but sometimes when we are learning something new, it takes time, a lot more time than we want it to take and it gets old and .... you get the point. That is the point you tell yourself, all I need to do is keep doing it... it will be over one day and then you will be able to speak German fluently... or do what ever it is that you are doing and wish it was over... But how about instead of me having the attitude that I cannot wait to get this over with... I try and ENJOY what I am doing while I am learning. Novel idea huh? But not always an easy one to do.

If you think about it, it really is simple. We make up our minds about the situations that we are in or that lay ahead of us. We make a choice to be happy about it or to be upset or angry about it. When we know something is coming up and we are not looking forward to it, perhaps a good way for us to deal with that is to DECIDE that we are going to enjoy what ever lays ahead. I know, I know. I can hear you now! I realize this cannot work for everything, but maybe it can work for more things that you think it can. Look for the positive in every situation! I would venture to say that if you look, you will find something positive that can come out of almost any situation. Think about how you being more positive will also be an incredible witness to who Jesus Christ is! I hope you can enjoy the different things life gives to you. It will make you more pleasant and will really encourage other people that you come in contact with. God bless you!!

FOOD for thought...

2009-05-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

I was reading I Corinthians 8 this morning to be more prepared for class tonight... in German... and I had some thoughts I thought I would share with you... Look at vs. 9-13

1Co 8:9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
1Co 8:10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?
1Co 8:11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
1Co 8:12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
1Co 8:13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

This is an interesting section of scripture. We don't have the problem so often today that we are in a situation where we have to decide if the meat we eat was offered first to idols before sold to us, and if that violates our consciences because of what happened to it previously.

For us today it is more a matter of how we deal with matters... we sometimes call disputable matters. Those things that we cannot agree on... sometimes those things we cannot even agree to disagree on... so what do we do. I believe what Paul is telling us indirectly through his letter to these Christians is that LOVE is more important that being right. Love is more important that having things the way you want. Love is more important that convincing people that we are right and they are wrong...

Paul tells us we have freedom to do things. But he emphasises the need not to "destroy" other people in the process. It sounds a lot to me like what Jesus told us in Matt 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Instead of tearing each other down, we seek to build each other up. Remember that what we do to others, what we say and how we treat them, we are actually doing to Jesus.

You have to love vs. 13! Paul stresses that for him, it is not worth ever eating meat... for us, ever doing anything to someone else... that would destroy their relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. So, what does that mean for you and me... not an easy answer. Sometimes I know I am right... sometimes I know that I have the right to do and act as I know I can... the hard question is how is it effecting my brothers and sisters? Am I willing to have my way to the point of actually causing someone else to loose their faith, to give up their relationship with our Father, just because I have the right to do what I want? Sometimes it is more than a little frustrating when someone "just cannot get the whole picture"... then it comes down to LOVE! Jesus loved us more than he loved his own body... so much so he gave it up on the cross for me... I believe that is what he has called us to do too. Give up ourselves for others in order for them to come to know him better. Both the lost and saved.

The last question I ask myself when I look at these verses is... when is it that I am not getting the whole picture? I really want you guys to be patient with me when I am the 'weaker' one, because I do not realize that I am... I am still learning. I really want to get it all right... a great goal, but just like maturing from a boy to a man takes time, so does maturing from a babe in Christ to becoming mature in Christ takes time. I want that... I need to give that to others and remember that as a part of the body of Christ we are here to ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER AND BUILD EACH OTHER UP, not just ourselves. Not sure how this all works out in your mind... it is not an easy thing to deal with, at least for me. Let me know what your feelings are and thanks for letting me have a few moments of your life today. May God bless you and give you His peace this day.

Mark

We were... but now we are... and it is all because of what God did for us.

2009-05-15T03:29:00.000-07:00

Karen and I are blessed so much in that most days we start our days together eating breakfast then after breakfast we read God's word together. We read first in English and then in German. Two reasons for this. First, it helps with our pronuciation of German words and is a good practice in our continuing to improve our language skills. Second, it is a great way to compare how the different languages choose to translate the scripture out of the original Greek. Languages don't translate word for word. Generally we have a definate English word for every definate German word... but to be honest, sometimes they just don't have the same flavor as the word in the original language. So there could be a little nuance difference in German or in English. I am just saying that it has been a blessing for us to develop some knowledge of a different language and be able to read God's word in both languages. Recently we were reading in Titus 3 and I thought I would share a few thoughts with you about what we read (in English, of course)

Tit 3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
Tit 3:2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
Tit 3:3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
Tit 3:4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
Tit 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
Tit 3:6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Tit 3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Paul is telling Titus to remind those who are the children of God on how they should be acting and treating other people in their surrounding area that they lived. He is telling us the same thing. He reminds them that they were once people of this world, not children of the most High God. He is telling us the same thing. But I love vs. 5! It is because of God's mercy that we are saved. We can't do anything to save ourselves. We can depend on God for our salvation, in and through Jesus Christ. But what that does for me is to make me want to be righteous, knowing full well that I cannot, but I want to be and I believe God continues to work in me to help make me into who He wants me to be! We, as His children are 'heirs, having an assurance of Eternal life!'

That my friend, is good news in any language! Now go out there and share that good message with someone God puts in your path this day!!

Nur Fotos Heute

2009-05-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

Some different thoughts

2009-04-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

Karen and I are in the states because our oldest daughter will have a baby in the next few days. We were worshiping with our family at Levy in North Little Rock this past Sunday. One of my good friends Clark stood up and shared some thoughts with us before we ate together to remember our Savior at the Lord’s Supper. He shared with us an interesting thought. Normally when someone has some words to share about Jesus before we eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine together, these words will center on Jesus’ death burial and resurrection. This time Clark challenged each of us to take our Bibles out and open, randomly, to some text in the New Testament. It was his idea that in most places that we would open our Bibles to there would be a scripture that would reveal something that would bring alive the celebration that we were getting ready to participate in together. He said that if the first section didn’t directly take us back to what we were celebrating together, that very nearby reading would.
I was game. I opened my Bible and my eyes fell on I Timothy 1 and I read vs. 12-17…
1Ti 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
1Ti 1:13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
1Ti 1:14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
1Ti 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
1Ti 1:16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
1Ti 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
For me this section of scripture became very precious as I thought about how thankful I am for Jesus and all that he has done for me. As we ate this ‘meal’ together, as Jesus had said, doing this in remembrance of Him… I thought this scripture that I had randomly turned to just came alive for me while having this time with my brothers and sisters. Paul is writing to his son in Faith, Timothy. He is sharing with him how thankful he is to God through Jesus for all the blessings he has received through Christ. Look at his words used to describe how he was feeling… mercy, grace, faith, love… in Christ Jesus. Paul lived everyday remembering that his earlier life as a religious man meant that he sought out people of the Way and hurt them and put them in prison. Paul’s focus was not just on his shortcomings and failures of his earlier life… although he did not forget his past, his focus was on what Jesus had done for him in spite of his past. Paul said that Jesus had shown him mercy… giving him forgiveness for what he had done. Yea, we need that. Through Jesus Paul received grace… the forgiveness of his sins, past, present and future. Yea, we need that. He emphasized that these blessings are ‘poured out abundantly’ on him… and on us. Yea, we need that. Faith and love come through Jesus Christ along with this grace. What a wonderful message! As I reflect back on what these emblems that we ate and drank together represent… Christ giving his life, body and blood as a sacrifice for all men so that we could come to the father, I was truly humbled and thankful. I am once again reminded of how reading God’s word over and over never gets old. We just come to a deeper understanding of who our Father is and how much He loves us.

The world...

2009-03-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

Just a thought today...
Was reading in John chapter 1 and trying to get a grip on Jesus and all John shares with us in the first chapter. I was reading in several different translations and it really hit me this morning when I read the ERV version of John 1:11, here it is:

11He came to the world
that was his own. And his own people did
not accept him.

What struck me this morning was that the world that Jesus came into was a world that he created, it was HIS OWN WORLD. Not sure how this is gonna sound... bear with me... I know that Jesus came into the world, as a baby and grew and eventually ended up on a cross to die for my sins, and praise the Lord was raised from the dead and now sits in the heavenly realms until His return. I am not minimizing that. What hit me this morning was quite simply that Jesus came into His world. He was there before it was ever made, he was involved in the making of it, he spent time watching it grow and seeing first hand all the things happen that we read about in the Bible. Now, let me see if I can give you an insight into how it hit me...

Think for a moment of your own home. It may be a house in the states or like me an apartment in Germany. It is your home. You have your furniture, your electronic devices that you have to make your life more enjoyable, you have your articles that you use to cook your food, you have your bed and bedding that you cuddle under each night.... I think your get my point, it is home, it is your castle, your domain, your place that you feel most comfortable. You feel that way because it is yours. YOURS.

Jesus made this world, it was and IS His! Yes, I know this is a physical world and He and the Father are spiritual in nature, but he chose to come into a physical world, that was his own, that he had made, and yet, when he came, those he had made rejected him. He came to what I can only relate to as Home, and he was made to feel unwelcome here. Yet, it was HIS place! What is incredible to me is that when he came and his own creation (as a whole) did not accept him, but actually rejected him, He did not just turn around and go back to the Father and say forget this bunch of losers... He stayed and worked with those who would listen, who would try to learn, be it ever so slowly, and love them and those who had rejected him to the point of dying on a cross.

I do not like to come home to a house that has been invaded by someone who should not have been in my house... a thief... I have had that happen, it is not a good feeling. Not a great comparison perhaps, but one I know personally. Jesus came into this world, his world, and those whom he had created did not acknowledge that this world was his, not theirs. Yet, he attempted and still attempts to teach them and us what real love is all about. IT IS GOD, GOD IS LOVE. And he showed His greatest love for us by coming into a world that was his and living and dying as if it were not His, for us, so that we could spend eternity with Him. What a gift.

Religious Police

2009-03-12T02:31:00.000-07:00

That is how the commentary described the Religious leaders in John 8:1-11. You are not doubt familiar with the story... the woman caught in adultery. I hope this makes since today... I seem to have a lot of thoughts going around in my head this morning, I will try to organize them into something that will be an encouragement to you today...

It started yesterday evening. Some coworkers and I were having a discussion about someone possibly moving into our area. The problem for us was that this person was struggling with some different issues in his faith. I had to ask myself, who isn't asking themselves questions as we continue to read, learn and hopefully grow in Grace and Knowledge? Sometimes though when someone asks questions about things that we feel have already been answered in our lives and mind, it makes us a little nervous, especially if this person could confuse some of the more recent converts that are still growing and learning and very impressionable. Natural concerns. I understand that and I have them myself. So the question is how do we handle this situation? I am sure that you have your own ideas about that and you can leave me a comment if you would like, but I am going forward....

This morning as I was folding laundry (yea, that's me trying to be helpful), I was listening to A Capella. In one of the lines of their song they made reference to the religious leaders and how they were handling the woman caught in adultery. With my mind still thinking over the discussion from the night before I took time out to read and re read this account again. What became quite apparent to me is that in some ways these religious leaders are not the 'bad guys' we make them out to be... at least they better not be, because sometimes I find myself doing some of the same things that they are doing... Matt. 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin.“But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” There are so many levels to this story of the woman... Today I want to ask myself if I do the same thing that these guys did. Do I know "the word" so well that I am going to squeeze everyone into my box of what it means? Do I have all the answers? Have I arrived to the place where I have all the answers because I know what the Word teaches on every given subject? Please know that I believe God's word is true, without a doubt. I just don't believe I have arrived to the point that I can totally analyze it correctly in every situation. I hope I am still learning, that implies that I don't know everything... problem with that is that leaves me open to not have all the answers. But I know I don't have all the answers, I know that no one does, but there is a since that I need to have all the answers, especially if someone has a question... Okay, I told you this was going to be a mess! My mind is racing, I don't want to say the wrong thing, but I am doing a bit of rambling.

It is natural for me to want to protect those who are new born babes in Christ. It is normal for me to want to keep people away that seem like they want to cause problems and divisions. But I want to continue to learn. I want to recognize that God is in control and He is aware of ALL situations going on in not just my life and the people close to me, but your life and the people in your life too! I want to be in a place where if someone is struggling with their faith and what they believe that I can be the person that is so approachable that they feel so comfortable talking to that we can pray together and look at God's word and we can both learn and grow... One of my favorite teachers at Harding (and one of the toughfest on me too) was Dr. Edward P. Myers. He said something in class one day that really impressed me and helped me in my journey to grow and learn more about God's word. He said, "In regard to this set of passages, I am going to tell you my take on it... today. I want to continue to think on it and try to be open to understanding it better. But, this is where I am with it today." It was and is refresing to me that a professor in a university can tell students he is still learning. Yes, he did make us have to duplicate what he told us about that set of scriptures an the test later that week, and if we didn't recall it like he taught it we got the question wrong... :-) Ha, of course, he was teaching a class, but I think you understand why that is important to me to have heard him say those words.

Know what you believe. Continue to study. Be open to growth. Do not be threatened by someone that believes differently than you do... listen, you might learn something. Also, by listening to others, you have a better chance for them to listen to you, it is called discussion. Conversation, it is a beautiful thing, difficult sometimes, but great. I don't want to be a member of the Religious Police. I want to be a simple messenger of Christ. Paul penned these words and I think they are applicable today:

1Co 2:1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
1Co 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1Co 2:3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
1Co 2:4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
1Co 2:5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

Thanks for your moments today... Hope I didn't loose you in my rambling...
God bless you this day. Go out and be a blessing to someone else today!
Mark

Who can serve God?

2009-03-03T01:05:00.000-08:00

I was reading this morning in Luke chapter 1 and was greatly impressed by Mary, the mother of Jesus. Some specualate that when the angel first aproached her she could/would have been only about 12 years old. Luke tells us "God is very pleased with you (Mary)." Words I would like to hear... read with me:

Lk 1:26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
Lk 1:27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
Lk 1:28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Lk 1:29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
Lk 1:30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
Lk 1:31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
Lk 1:32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
Lk 1:33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Lk 1:34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Lk 1:35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Lk 1:36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
Lk 1:37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
Lk 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

What struck me was something I read in the NIV Application Comentary about this passage. Let me share it with you and give it some thought this day...

Mary reflects the person whom God unexpectedly chooses to use. She brings no outstanding credentials to the task and lives on the edge of the nation. She brings nothing on her résumé other than her availability and willingness to serve. But those characteristics are the most basic ones anyone can offer God. So he puts her to use in his plan, taking her through a process for which she has had no training or preparation. He simply promises to be with her in the journey, and she responds by being willing to go on the ride.

I think for me, this is an encouraging story that Luke lays out for us. It reminds me once again that my service to my Father is not about me. Not about how much I know or how great an article I write or lesson I prepare or present. It is about being available and willing to have God my Father use me in HIS PLAN. That often looks quite different than my plan... I know that it looked different than what Mary thought lay ahead of her in her marriage to Joseph. But she was ready and willing to do it God's way... even at such a young age. Today I ask you, are you available and willing to be used by God? Are you willing to do it God's way? A good friend once told me (thanks Don), that when we "let go and let God" we better have our roller skates on, because it is quite a ride. I hope you will be encouraged by these words from Luke today like I was. God bless and be used by Him today!
Mark

Leipzig

2009-02-23T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today Karen and I took a day trip to Leipzig. Leipzig is the city that is being targeted for a church plant by us and the Sullivans in 2010. We spent the day walking around the city, in the rain, trying to get a feel for the city. Leipzig is a little more updated than Chemnitz, where we currently are. Both are cities in Sachsen, Germany. What we really found out today, other than a little bit more about this city that we plan to be moving to in a few short months, is that sometimes we have to be patient. We start dreaming, developing our ideas and goals and then start marching forward. Understand that through all of this we do a lot of praying about the ideas and the actions. But, I also know that even when I am praying about it I am still plodding along trying to do what I can to move forward. Sometimes I am reminded though, just to slow down, keep praying about it, but take the time to listen to God speaking to us. I sometimes get so into making the plan come together that I dont listen to the direction of the One I am trying to serve. Ever have that problem? I read a great verse that says it much better than I ever could: Ps 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him See what I mean? God provides what we need, in spite of my help. :-)

He actaully has managed to run the world quite well without my help... for a very long time. Please understand, I believe with all my heart that my Father uses me in His service. That is the point, it is His work, not mine. I really enjoyed the day today, especially after I just relaxed and tried to enjoy some great one on one time with my wife today and not get stressed out about where we need to live and what size apartment we need and where it is going to be and.... Anyway, when you get stressed about all the things that lay ahead of you, how about giving them to God, also thanking Him for all He is already doing, and take a little time to be still and wait on Him. He WILL NOT leave you out to dry!

Have a blessed day, I sure did!
Mark

Faces along our way in the Usa

2009-02-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

Furlough

2009-02-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

Furlough is a strange word... Webster describes this word by saying it means, "absent, rest and relaxation, to lay off of work..." Well, for us it has meant quite a different thing. We have been busy traveling to about 8 different cities since we arrive in the Usa. We have logged a lot of miles these last few weeks, but man what a blessing to be able to be with so many different church families scattered throughout the Usa. I just have to say.... THANK YOU FAMILIES! We have been so blessed to be able to be in so many peoples homes and to be able to share information about the work in Germany. God is GREAT! It is so much fun to be share some of these stories of different peoples lives and their coming to faith in our wonderful Father and our Savior! My problem is I have a hard time stopping talking about it... I tend to ramble, would have never guessed that would ya. Thank you everyone who has listened, helped us, and partnered with us in this work. May God continue to bless you and your ministry where ever you are. I will give a fuller update when we get home to Chemnitz... we still have days left here and want to make the most of them... still more people to talk with.

It is December...

2008-12-17T07:09:00.001-08:00

I don't know about you, but I can hardly believe that this year, 2008, is almost over. Karen and I are excited about our daughter Elizabeth and our son in law Chris coming to visit us in Chemnitz for Christmas. They will be here tomorrow. Here in this part of Germany, the Erzgebirge, it is so beautiful this time of year. It is so hard to describe if you have not ever seen it before... almost every town of any size at all has a Weihnachtsmarkt. That is a Christmas market. They have lots of lights, lots of decorations, lots of smoker men, lots of hand carved wood dolls and soilders,lots of food, lots of things to drink, and lots of Christmas spirit. It is a different feel. It is a very busy place this marktplaz, but even with so many people looking, talking, and eating it is something that they are doing together. Not the husstle and busstle of a Walmart in the states. It is a refreshing time of family and friends enjoying this special time of year together. It is so encouraging to me to see so many references to Jesus and his birth and his life. I know we don't know when he was born... but we do know that he was born, then he lived, and then he died, and then he rose again to provide a way for us to come to the Father, through Him!! So as you experience Christmas, where ever you are and however you and your family celebrate it, remember that Jesus was born and came into this world for a specific reason, to be the WAY for us to come to the Father. Enjoy your family and friends as you eat, laugh, and talk together as we are able to spend time together and always be thankful for that special gift that God gave us! I hope that you have a wonderful new year!
Mark

Thanks....Giving

2008-11-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

For us here in Deutschland, tomorrow is just another day. In the states, tomorrow will be a big day for families and friends to get together and take time from their busy lives to relax a little and spend some great time talking, laughing and eating together. Karen and I spent last Wednesday celebrating Thanksgiving day with some friends here in Chemnitz. We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and green bean cassaroll. It was truly a time for us to be thankful. One of the things that I was most thankful for was having people who understood what this tradition is all about to share this meal and time together. Karen and I have learned so much about German culture, German ways of thinking, and about living a different lifestyle than we were use to in the states. But there are some things that will always be important, like celebrating thanksgiving day. It is really not about the food... okay the food is incredible... it is about have a time together with people you love and sharing. Sharing food yes, but more than that it is sharing our lives with each other. We are a long way away from our families at this holiday time, but I am so thankful for the celebration that we were able to enjoy last week. I want to be more thankful everyday for all the blessings that God POURS out on us. He gives us so much, sometimes I don't really appreciate all He gives me. God is great and He loves us so much and just like a good father he provides for His children. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed your thanksgiving day... I hope you are thankful everyday.

Taking a trip to Leipzig

2008-11-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today Karen and I took a day trip to Leipzig. As we look to the very near future of moving there and planting a church, we feel it is important to spend time getting to know the city and people. I say very near future because in our lives, as I am quite sure is true in your lives also, time flies by faster than we are ever ready for. Today we spent time walking through the city and trying to get a better feel for the layout of the city. The people are very friendly and quite helpful when you go into one of the little shops. Leipzig has over 750,000 people, man is that a lot of people or what? It is a growing city, with many new buildings being built and a lot of renovation on older buildings. It takes us about an hour to get to Leipzig by train, but we feel so blessed to have such good public transportation. I am going to put in a couple of pictures of the city and then make this post and get to bed... it is quite late here. I just want to say thank you for reading this blog and for keeping us, this work, and the lost of this country in your prayers. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Okay, the pictures are first... I am still trying to figure this whole blog thing out... thanks for the patience.
Mark

God is at work

2008-10-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Often I think that we forget to slow down and see God working. Here me out... God works in His own time and in His own ways, but sometimes we are not on the same page. Take for instance some friends of mine here in Deutschland. Simone has been a Christian now for about a year. But after listening to her "salvation story" I realized that God had been working on her for the last 10 years. He has put different people into her life that have continued to help her get a little closer to God and His son, each and every year. Now her husband Jürgen, has come along in what seems to be a much quicker pace. But when I really think about it, he too was being influenced all along while she was growing. It thrills my heart to hear from Jürgen today with a request for Karen and I to come to Bremen next weekend and celebrate with him as he puts on Christ in baptism. Man, what a great event that we get to participate in. Thank you father for working in so many peoples lives... including mine. Take a few moments this day and slow down and look and see God working... in your life and the lives of those around you, it will give you a great feeling.

How do you limit God?

2008-10-14T03:00:00.001-07:00

This morning as I was preparing for a lesson, an English Bible Study Lesson, on Friday night here in Chemnitz, I ran across a verse that hit me very strong. I was reading in John 11. This is the chapter about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus had waited to come to Bethany even after he had heard that Lazarus was ill. Verse 5 makes special point to explain to us that Jesus cared very deeply for these three people, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. But he waited... Martha is the first to see and talk with him, then comes Mary and she is followed by the friends, neighbors, family that were mourning with her at the loss of her brother. When they arrive where Jesus is, the folks with Mary make a unique statement. Verse 37 says, "But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" It is interesting to me that they at some point had witnessed Jesus healing a blind man. Because of what they had seen they believed that had Jesus been there before Lazarus died he could have saved him from dying. What they could not see was what he was about to do... raise him from the dead. They could not see what he was going to do because they could not imagine that it could happen. See my point? Sometimes we can't imagine what God can and will do in and with our lives because we can't even imagine it. That doesn't mean that it won't happen though. God can see on a much grander scale than us. We have limited sight, we have limited insight, we have limited.... I could go on, but you get the point. The greater point is that God is not limited! Trust in God to use you in ways that you cannot imagine. A friend of mine put it this way, "Let go and let God!" He also said to put on your rollerskates when you do because God will make it hard to keep up with Him without them! This week, don't limit what God can do just because you cannot imagine it happening!

Why difficult times?

2008-10-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

Karen and I try to start every morning by reading our Bible together... outloud... in English and then in Deutsch. It is more than a chance to practice our pronunciation and reading skills. It is a time of reflecting together on God's word, it is a time of hearing how the other one is effected by what we read, and it is a time to see how in different languages we can have a deeper, fuller understanding of what God is trying to share with us. It is truly a blessing for us, what a way to start the day!

This morning we were reading Philippians chapter 1. It struck me once again how God uses so many things in our lives for "HIS WORK". Let me back up a second. How many of you out there actaully like difficult times? How many of you out there relish the fact that at some point or at some time in your life you are going to have to suffer? It may not even be your fault! But it is gonna come. I think I can step out there and say that not any of us like it. Not any of us even want it! The hard thing sometimes is that we often do not understand why those things are happening to us. Sometimes we may even cry out to God and ask Him why these things are happening... or even why He allows or makes them happen to us.

I like Paul's way of looking at difficulty: 1:12-14
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Paul was put in jail because he preached Christ and Him crusified, and the religious leaders of his day didn't like it. Ever been in prision for something you didn't do? Not me. I think if I had I would be feeling pretty sorry for myself, but not Paul. He was preaching the good news of Jesus Christ to the guards! Talk about a captive audience! I think Paul sees the glass as half full, how about you? Not only was he able to continue to preach to those in his reach, the other Christians who knew of Paul's situation were so encouraged that they were even more boldly proclaiming the wonderful message of Christ.

Okay, I know that we all have difficult times in our lives. It is just the way it is. What is different for us as Christians is how we handle it. Do we grip about it, do we whine about it, do we grumble and complain, do we blame God? Or, do we look for the good that can be accomplished in our given situations. Sometimes we may not get to see the immediate effect... but we learn and with that learning we can help, encourage, strengthen someone else. Paul went on to say something that most of us can quote, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain." He was looking forward to his reward, but he was also going to use his every breath to try to bring the lost to Jesus and to encourge those committed to Christ to remain true to Him.

Next time difficulty strikes... oh yea, it is gonna happen... look for the possitive in the situation, LOOK for the positive. It is an attitude, and a very good one! I believe God allows/makes things to happen to us because He knows the BIG picture. It is bigger than me, HIS plan. I am so glad that He uses me in His plan. I truly want to bring Him glory in every situation. How about you?

Kitchen Pictures

2008-10-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the kitchen building project, Deutschland style.

Chemnitz, Deutschland

2008-09-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

What can I say? It has been a remarkable 3 1/2 weeks. First we packed everything that we own up and loaded it into a van that was about the size of my work van when I was a locksmith. Karen, Sebastian and I then drove about 5 hours (a remarkable time) to Chemnitz. I have to tell you that it was pretty great all the help we had in Bremen to help us get loaded up. My thanks go out to Jurgen and Simone, they can pack a truck like no ones business! Once in Chemnitz, we had everything loaded up and in the new apartment in about 40 minutes. Man, that was fast. Karen and I took the next week to put our furniture back together. We had to disassemble it all to get it into the truck. Once the furniture was assembled, next came the fun part of delivering the kitchen. I believe the driver told me that there were 118 seperate pieces. Sounds like alot doesnt it? IT IS! But you have to remember that the only thing in the kitchen... or the room designated for the kitchen... was four walls, a floor, a ceiling and a light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Ha, okay the light bulb is still hanging from the ceiling even though the kitchen is finished. :-)

It took us about two weeks to complete the kitchen. I was able to do everything without hiring any of it done. Actually, most of the applicances were fairly easy to install and wire... a blessing. We now have countertop, oven, stove top, sink and running water. Right after finishing the kitchen I went to a monday through friday mens retreat. I arrived home from that yesterday and then got up at 5:30 this morning to take Karen to the train station for her to go to the ladies retreat till next Friday. Thanks for all your prayers on our behalf. I will write more later and bring you completly up to date... like how it took 3 weeks for us to get internet access. Didn't realize how much I counted on the internet. It is good to be back. Love you all.
Mark

God continues to work

2008-08-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a weekend for us. If you keep up with our newsletters you know who Jurgen and Simone Becker are. If you don't know, email me and I will put you on the list to receive our monthly letter! Simone was baptized back in December. Her husband has been coming to services with her for the last several months. He is also reading through the whole Bible (an encouragement and challenge to me!). He wants to read through the whole Bible before he decides if he wants to be a Christian or not. He is sooooo close... Please keep him in your prayers. A couple of months ago Karen and I invited them over to our house for dinner. We had a great time with them and good discussion. Oh, did I mention, neither one can speak English? It was quite a bit of work for us to talk for about 5 hours in Deutsch. I think it was hard for them too, because they on purpose would try to choose their words so that it would be easier for us to understand. It was a great evening. They were so excited about the time we spent together that they invited us to their home for dinner, now they live about 40 km outside Bremen, so they asked us to spend the night. Wow, was that also wonderful! Then about a month later, they asked us to come back again, that was last weekend. They called on this past Monday and asked if we would come again this weekend because soon we would be moving and they wanted to spend more time together with us. We gladly accepted and went this weekend. On Sunday morning after having breakfast together we ride in their car to services. It is a great time to continue to talk with them. They are wonderful people. They are so encouraging and so full of excitement over all that they are learning about God, the Bible and Christianity. We stayed up last night talking with them till about 1:00 am this morning, then got up at a little after 7:00 am and ate breakfast and then off to services. After services (they went home to take a nap) we went out for lunch with Stephanie and Alicia, two sisters from the Gemeinde here in Bremen. We ate and as is customary in Deutschland, we talked about about 2 hours at the restaurant. We all came back to our apartment where at 4:40 pm another man from the Gemeinde, Frank Zimmeman and his two boys came over for a visit. Everyone went home about 9:30 pm. So needless to say, Karen and I are a bit tired, but feeling very good about our weekend. God is so alive and working in so many lives. I am so excited to be a part of His work. Tomorrow we start back with a renewed zeal and more energy as we continue to dismantle our furniture to get ready for the move. Thanks for your prayers and all of your encouragement as Karen and I are here in Germany. God bless and have a super day.
Mark

Great visit

2008-08-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

We had a super visit from Clint, April and Heidi Everhart over these past few days. These are friends of ours that work and live in Chemnitz. They wanted to take a few days off and visit someplace that they had not been before... Bremen worked out great. I think they took lots of pictures and we probably walked their legs off. We had a chance to play Wii... yea, so much tennis that my shoulders are sore this morning. :-) Ha, I bet yours are too Clint!
It was so much fun to have their baby in our house. She is about 6 months old and she is so much fun. They were here over the weekend and they were able to attend the worship services here in Bremen. I think it was great for everyone. They knew several people from Bremen and so it was a time of getting to see people again that you don't often get to see. It was such an encouraging time for Karen and I. We were able to spend some time discussing the future work in Chemnitz. Probably the best part was just getting to spend some time with them, talking, laughing, eating and playing together. For Karen and I it was such a great break. We are getting ready to really start with the 'big stuff' of our moving experience, so it was great to take a short time just to enjoy some other folks before loosing ourselves in the moving process.
After the Everharts left yesterday, we took apart all the furniture in the guest bedroom and have it all stacked up in the corner, ready for the moving truck. Time marches on.

It's August 2008

2008-08-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

Man, can you believe it? It is August 2008! Karen and I are starting to box up things... books, dishes and glasses that we don't use to often, stuff in the keller Raum (cellar room) that we can start organizing to load in the truck and so on. We have divided the work into days, you know it is better to pace yourself, otherwise you are likely to get ahead of yourself for fear you won't have enough time to get all the things you need to get done actaully all done. Karen has been laboring over the kitchen issue. We must buy a kitchen. We are so blessed that we have the monies to buy it, she just wants to be responsible with the money and get the most for what she is willing to spend. I only have to put it together. This is a lot of fun for me. Please keep us in your prayers as with each passing day we are closer to actaully loading up this moving van and driving across the country of Germany to our new apartment. It is gonna be an adventure. A friend of mine, Don Williams of North Little Rock, Ar, once told that if you ever 'let go and let God' you better have your rollerskates on. Well, I think Karen and I are in for another fun ride. God is good and does so take care of us. He stretches us often, but always provides. More later. Take care.
Mark

Gonna be short....

2008-07-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hey this is going to be a short one, but I just wanted to say that I am so excited that Mark Deal got me back up and running after the changes on the Levy Website. So, I hope that all of you that were reading my posts off the Levy site will continue to follow the link from that site to here and read, comment, and enjoy some of my ramblings. Keep us in your prayers as we are on the 'stretch' for moving. You gotta love moving (not!). Ha, actually in this case we are very excited about moving to Chemnitz! It will be a lot of work, but God has continued to open the doors for us. It is so good to know that you are heading in the right direction. I will try to post a real blog some time later this week. God bless. May His peace rest upon you!
Mark

Home from Chemnitz

2008-07-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a few minutes to bring you guys up to date on what is going on in our lives. Today is Tuesday... yea, hard for me to believe too. Karen and I just spent 5 days in Chemnitz. We had an incredible time... and very productive too. We went last Thursday, we were hoping to take our bikes with us so that we would not have to pack them in the truck when we move... but as circumstances would have it, that was not an option. We made the best of it and had a great train ride without the bikes. We make a train change in Leipzig, where much to our surprise we met up with Larry Sullivan. He was in Leipzig to meet with a young Christian brother, Conrad, for his weekly Bible study. So, we stayed in town with Larry and had a great visit with Conrad. Then we rode home to Chemnitz together on the train and had a great dinner together.
On Friday I was able to help Clint Everhart move from his apartment into the Sullivan's house. We were also able to sign the contract on our apartment in Chemnitz and use the keys for the weekend so that we could measure the different rooms in our apartment. The important one is the kitchen, because we have to buy everything for the kitchen.... sink, countertops, refridgerator, stove, cooktop, cabinets.... I think you get the idea. So it was quite helpful that we could chart out the rooms and measure them. Friday we also had a meeting with all those working in Chemnitz with the church there. This is the last group meeting for the Sullivans as they will be moving for one year to the states to teach at Oklahoma Christian and also try and recruit others to come and work with us in Leipzig the following year. We ended the day with a great pizza supper and a time of watching a movie together.
Saturday was a busy day as we spent the morning setting up tents and tables for the 'going away party' put on by the Sullivans at their home. From about 4pm till... we had food fun and fellowship. It was a great time to get to meet a lot of people. Some of them from the church, some just from people that they have come to know and love over the years. It was great for us to be a part of this celebration of such a wonderful Christian family serving our Father here in Germany.
Sunday was especially moving for me. Larry preached his last sermon in Chemnitz before heading to the states. He did a great job of motivating the family to strive for unity and love as they continue to grow in Christ. Karen and I are really excited about moving to Chemnitz and getting the chance to become even closer with the family there. It will be such a great foundation for us once we move to Leipzig in order to plant a church there. We need a Christian family, one that can help us and one that we can encourage and help grow in Christ. Once we move to Leipzig it will be a slow process as the church in that city grows and it will be so good to have a family not so far away to continue to grow with during this church planting process.
Monday we just helped in different ways to help the Sullivans as they took care of last minute things that have to be done before you can leave for an extended period of time. We also spent a couple of hours in the center of Chemnitz exploring the different shops and areas of the city. Then of course we had a nice train ride back to Bremen, about a 5 hour ride. We got home very late, as the train was a little late and we got back to the house about 1 am.
We did even more than I have written, dont have that much space, but know that it was a great trip and so helpful in so many ways, to many people. God continues to work and move and open doors and show us which way to go. Praise be to God! More later....
Mark

Pictures

2008-06-28T01:48:00.000-07:00

I am going to try and post some pictures from the campaign that we had here in Bremen. We will see if I can make it work.

Opening Remarks

2008-06-28T01:44:00.000-07:00

I have been blogging on the Levy church of Christ website since we arive in Germany in August 2006. Due to some problems the website has been revamped and I am starting a new blog on this website. I look forward to making posts and hearing your comments. I enjoy sharing my thoughts with you and will attempt to post on a regular basis.