Hi Everyone!!
It has been a while (again)! As with everyone else, we have been busy this year. I have been busy with my work at the mill and Kathy's health has been up and down. She might be facing some more surgeries but we are praying for God's healing touch to be manifested in her natural body. No matter how much she goes through everyday, Kathy is always an inspiration to me and to so many others.
This past week I had the pleasure of attending an AIM (Alliance International Ministries) summit in Maryland. It was Wednesday through Saturday and it was outstanding! I was able to see and hear first hand on all this ministry does here and through out the world. I met a number of people and made new friends. It was exciting to worship and hear all the testimonies of what God it doing. There were representatives from 11 continents and what was shared made an impact on my life.
I took over thirty pages of notes and I know I will have to get the CD because of all that I missed!
So what did they all have to say??? Well, I will have to share sometime in small portions because I there is so much to share! And we ate really well to!! ( back on WW)!!!
I am on vacation again this week and we are hoping to go and take some pics of the fall foliage that is so awesome at this time.
Which brings me to remember how awesome God is in His creation! Please take time each day to have a look around and admire all the beauty that He has "painted" in the mountains around this area!! We take so much for granted and I for one is sometimes complaining about the cold season coming up. We live in such a fast pace society and we just don't take the time to "chill".
So enjoy the time spent in looking at the area we live here in the Adirondacks! And if you don't live here, come to enjoy what we see every fall!
God Bless!!
P
Monday, October 6, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
MY GOOD FRIDAY MEDITATION TIME!!
Hi all!! It has been a while but I hope what I am about to share will make us all think more about what this day means for us.
I woke up this morning with the thoughts of the Temple curtain of veil being torn is two when Jesus gave up His spirit. So, here I go a-studying!! (Please exscuse the spelling!!HAHA!!)
Here are my notes as I wrote them in my journal. (yes...I still actually take hand written notes!)
Matthew 27:50-51 THE TEMPLE CURTAIN
When Jesus was on the cross, darkness came over the sky.
Critics say it was due to an eclispse of the sun but that is impossible because the Passover occurred at the time of a full moon.
the darkening of the sky started at the sixth hour -- noontime.
At that very moment, the High Priest Caiaphas, began the procession into the temple to slaughter a pure, spottless Passover lamb.
The darkness lasted until the night hour--3pm.
Thats the moment the High Priest would be making his entrance into the Holy of Holies to offer the blood of the Passover Lamb to cover the sins of the nations.
At that moment, Jesus yelled out "It is finished". His assignment was complete!!
Just then, the veil or curtain that seperated the Holy of Holies from the "outside world" was torn from the top to the bottom.
There were two veils or curtains inside the temple. One at the entrance to the Holy Place and the other at the entrance to the Holy of Holies.
Only the High Priest was allowed to pass through the second one once a year.
The second veil was sixty feet high and thirty feet wide and as thick as a man's hand.
It took 300 hundred priest to move the curtain.
When it ripped apart it must have made a huge sound. And here was Caiaphas standing there and what must have he had thought when he was able to see clearly in the Holy of Holies and the Presence of God was not there!
When Jesus was lifted up onto the Cross, the Cross became the eternal mercy seat on which the blood of the final sacrifice was sprinkled.
It was no longer needed for the High Priest to continually make sacrifices year after year.
++JESUS' BLOOD HAD SETTLED IT FOREVER!!
Eph.2:14, "...has brokendown,destroyed, abolished the hostile dividing wall between us."
++JESUS HIMSELF REPLACED THE TEMPLE--(26:61)
++JESUS BECAME THE HIGH PRIEST!!
Think about this; meditate it as you spend time today and maybe this evening at your church for Good Fiday service.
Jesus paid it all.....once and for ALL!!!
God Bless!!
Paul
Hi all!! It has been a while but I hope what I am about to share will make us all think more about what this day means for us.
I woke up this morning with the thoughts of the Temple curtain of veil being torn is two when Jesus gave up His spirit. So, here I go a-studying!! (Please exscuse the spelling!!HAHA!!)
Here are my notes as I wrote them in my journal. (yes...I still actually take hand written notes!)
Matthew 27:50-51 THE TEMPLE CURTAIN
When Jesus was on the cross, darkness came over the sky.
Critics say it was due to an eclispse of the sun but that is impossible because the Passover occurred at the time of a full moon.
the darkening of the sky started at the sixth hour -- noontime.
At that very moment, the High Priest Caiaphas, began the procession into the temple to slaughter a pure, spottless Passover lamb.
The darkness lasted until the night hour--3pm.
Thats the moment the High Priest would be making his entrance into the Holy of Holies to offer the blood of the Passover Lamb to cover the sins of the nations.
At that moment, Jesus yelled out "It is finished". His assignment was complete!!
Just then, the veil or curtain that seperated the Holy of Holies from the "outside world" was torn from the top to the bottom.
There were two veils or curtains inside the temple. One at the entrance to the Holy Place and the other at the entrance to the Holy of Holies.
Only the High Priest was allowed to pass through the second one once a year.
The second veil was sixty feet high and thirty feet wide and as thick as a man's hand.
It took 300 hundred priest to move the curtain.
When it ripped apart it must have made a huge sound. And here was Caiaphas standing there and what must have he had thought when he was able to see clearly in the Holy of Holies and the Presence of God was not there!
When Jesus was lifted up onto the Cross, the Cross became the eternal mercy seat on which the blood of the final sacrifice was sprinkled.
It was no longer needed for the High Priest to continually make sacrifices year after year.
++JESUS' BLOOD HAD SETTLED IT FOREVER!!
Eph.2:14, "...has brokendown,destroyed, abolished the hostile dividing wall between us."
++JESUS HIMSELF REPLACED THE TEMPLE--(26:61)
++JESUS BECAME THE HIGH PRIEST!!
Think about this; meditate it as you spend time today and maybe this evening at your church for Good Fiday service.
Jesus paid it all.....once and for ALL!!!
God Bless!!
Paul
Thursday, March 21, 2013
This is a copy of the post I put on my church's worship website this morning. Thought it might be good to put it on my blog for others to read.
This morning, the devotional that my wife and I read each day had a scripture that I had gone over a long time ago at a worship seminar. It is 1 Cor.14:40:"But all things should be done with regard to decency and propriety and in a orderly fashion." Amplified version. This scripture is a part of the section in the chapter that is intitle in some versions as:"A call to orderly worship". Now, there is a lot of stuff in the section but what I want to draw your attention to is what God was speaking to us about our worship time.
Lets look at the word "decently"--Greek, means to do something honestly or to walk honestly; to do something properly, with good intentions. How does this fit into our worship? Without getting into the types and styles of worship, lets begin with the heart of worship. I am talking from a position of a musician stand point but this goes for all of us. "God is more interested in the condition of our heart then the style of worship we use at chuch". In other words, what is our intent or motivation for being a part of leading the congregation in worship when we get together? I am reminded of someone asking me, "Have you ever sat down and read the words of a song that you like to sing all the time?". I said, " of course I know the words!" but he said, " I know that but do you really know what the words are speaking to you?". That kinda hit me like someone dropped a brick on my head!! How much thought goes into selection of a song? How much prayer? Have we really sat down and read the words and prayed through the song? What is the condition of our spiritual heart? Has it been a bad or busy week that we grab the songs we know and just go for it? Or do we take the time /invest in the time, and spend it with the One who is the center of our worship and allow our hearts to be ministered to by the Holy Spirit?
These are the questions I sometimes forget to ask myself when I am preparing songs for worship. God wants us to worship Him from a pure heart and with our entire being! That is the call for all of us to have weither it is during our own worship times or with other believers!!
God Bless!!
This morning, the devotional that my wife and I read each day had a scripture that I had gone over a long time ago at a worship seminar. It is 1 Cor.14:40:"But all things should be done with regard to decency and propriety and in a orderly fashion." Amplified version. This scripture is a part of the section in the chapter that is intitle in some versions as:"A call to orderly worship". Now, there is a lot of stuff in the section but what I want to draw your attention to is what God was speaking to us about our worship time.
Lets look at the word "decently"--Greek, means to do something honestly or to walk honestly; to do something properly, with good intentions. How does this fit into our worship? Without getting into the types and styles of worship, lets begin with the heart of worship. I am talking from a position of a musician stand point but this goes for all of us. "God is more interested in the condition of our heart then the style of worship we use at chuch". In other words, what is our intent or motivation for being a part of leading the congregation in worship when we get together? I am reminded of someone asking me, "Have you ever sat down and read the words of a song that you like to sing all the time?". I said, " of course I know the words!" but he said, " I know that but do you really know what the words are speaking to you?". That kinda hit me like someone dropped a brick on my head!! How much thought goes into selection of a song? How much prayer? Have we really sat down and read the words and prayed through the song? What is the condition of our spiritual heart? Has it been a bad or busy week that we grab the songs we know and just go for it? Or do we take the time /invest in the time, and spend it with the One who is the center of our worship and allow our hearts to be ministered to by the Holy Spirit?
These are the questions I sometimes forget to ask myself when I am preparing songs for worship. God wants us to worship Him from a pure heart and with our entire being! That is the call for all of us to have weither it is during our own worship times or with other believers!!
God Bless!!
Friday, March 15, 2013
REFLECTIONS IN THE MIRROR
Wow!! I haven't posted anything on this site in quite a while!!! So, lets begin with what is going on right now!
We are in the Lent season before Easter. Our church has been having some great teachings in regards to a lifestyle of abundant living according to Godly principles. During this time, my wife and I have experianced such a great time of prayer and revelation of the Word. I would like to share with you what God was showing me last night. I seem to get so much out of my quiet time in the evening than any other time!! So here it is.
During this season of Lent, we want to take away the things that would keep us from a closer walk with the Lord. It might mean going without chocolate, tv, facebook, twitter, etc. There is a lot of stuff in our lives that we can choose from and it doesn't have to be only one thing either!
What ever we decide to take out, we want to make sure we keep our prime objective, which is to draw closer to the Lord. By taking some of the stuff out of our lives, we can replace it with more prayer, worship, reading the Word, fasting, serving others, etc. It can be a time of refreshment and joy in our lives if we don't focus on what we are missing and but focus on what we are gaining....and that is a stronger fellowship with God. To be able to progressively grow in the spiritual awakening that we so long to have.
It takes effort on our part to be able to look into the mirror and see for ourselves the sometimes hideous and dark secrets that can polute or has poluted already our lives.
By casting out those things and surrender our inner most being to our God, our journey can develope into a oneness with God that can far surpass all our expectations!
To humbley come before Him and let go of those things. It is a daily chore. I don't know anyone who is perfect and has everything all together. That's why we need Him in our lives. For when we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He fills us up with that life giving water that we so desperately need. Our thoughts are no longer filled with the desires of the world but we see more of what God wants us to see.
That's what we have been focusing on this season of Lent. But we need to continue it past Easter and onward every day. God desires three main things from us: repentence, obediance, and love. With those things we can overcome the daily distractions and difficulties that want to overtake us and drive a wedge between our relationship with Him.
Let us all begin to look into the eyes that reflect back at us in the mirror desire to see what God can see.
God Bless.
Paul
We are in the Lent season before Easter. Our church has been having some great teachings in regards to a lifestyle of abundant living according to Godly principles. During this time, my wife and I have experianced such a great time of prayer and revelation of the Word. I would like to share with you what God was showing me last night. I seem to get so much out of my quiet time in the evening than any other time!! So here it is.
During this season of Lent, we want to take away the things that would keep us from a closer walk with the Lord. It might mean going without chocolate, tv, facebook, twitter, etc. There is a lot of stuff in our lives that we can choose from and it doesn't have to be only one thing either!
What ever we decide to take out, we want to make sure we keep our prime objective, which is to draw closer to the Lord. By taking some of the stuff out of our lives, we can replace it with more prayer, worship, reading the Word, fasting, serving others, etc. It can be a time of refreshment and joy in our lives if we don't focus on what we are missing and but focus on what we are gaining....and that is a stronger fellowship with God. To be able to progressively grow in the spiritual awakening that we so long to have.
It takes effort on our part to be able to look into the mirror and see for ourselves the sometimes hideous and dark secrets that can polute or has poluted already our lives.
By casting out those things and surrender our inner most being to our God, our journey can develope into a oneness with God that can far surpass all our expectations!
To humbley come before Him and let go of those things. It is a daily chore. I don't know anyone who is perfect and has everything all together. That's why we need Him in our lives. For when we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He fills us up with that life giving water that we so desperately need. Our thoughts are no longer filled with the desires of the world but we see more of what God wants us to see.
That's what we have been focusing on this season of Lent. But we need to continue it past Easter and onward every day. God desires three main things from us: repentence, obediance, and love. With those things we can overcome the daily distractions and difficulties that want to overtake us and drive a wedge between our relationship with Him.
Let us all begin to look into the eyes that reflect back at us in the mirror desire to see what God can see.
God Bless.
Paul
Sunday, May 27, 2012
It was a relaxing and busy day today. We had a great time at church in the morning. Did a new Paul Baloche song that went well. Kathy and I went to Saratoga after lunch to get some stuff. After that, Kathy was tired out so I let her rest and I went to a family picnic up to my sisters. Had a great time there even though I couldn't stay long. I love the summer months when we can get together outside to enjoy this beautiful weather in the Adirondacks.
Now, as I am sitting at my desk in my " Upper Room" , I was reading a section of scripture about the apostle Matthew. It is in Luke 5:28. It says how when Jesus called Matthew (Levi) to follow him, he left everything and became a follower of Jesus.
Think about it. He was a tax collector for the unpopular Roman government. The Jews hated them and most of the collectors were crooked because they would sometimes over charge the Jews and pocket the difference. But here was Jesus looking at this one tax collector and He must have saw something in him to call him into a partaker of His ministry. What was going through Matthew's mind at the time? Did he know who Jesus was? Right there, I believe, he looked into the Savior's eyes and saw something and heard His words and was willing to leave everything behind. I mean everything! The money he had been collecting, his job with the Roman government, his security with that job, maybe his family, etc. In seconds, he had a huge lifestyle change that would change his life forever!!!
As I think about that, I have to wonder about the repercussions that must have accured from that decision. At one minute, to be a representative of the Roman government and the next to be a follower of someone who would be turning the world upside down!!
Now, think about that in our own lives. Have I heard the call of God? Have I gotten up without questioning it and acted upon it? A radical change in my life that would maybe not the most popular thing to do? Some would say something like,"Well, that was different. We don't have anything like that today." . But we do!!! I know of a lot of people who have received the call of God in their life and they have had huge lifestyle changes. Let's look at the example of coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Now that is not a real popular choice in our day! But, when you have experienced it, and I mean really experienced it, it is a radical change! Sure, you are still a work in progress but if you follow His "footsteps" of life, it is an AWESOME life!! Doesn't mean your life is easy, but you realize who is walking with you!
Something to ponder about....Matthew was obedient to the calling of Jesus....Are you and I???
Later!!!!
Now, as I am sitting at my desk in my " Upper Room" , I was reading a section of scripture about the apostle Matthew. It is in Luke 5:28. It says how when Jesus called Matthew (Levi) to follow him, he left everything and became a follower of Jesus.
Think about it. He was a tax collector for the unpopular Roman government. The Jews hated them and most of the collectors were crooked because they would sometimes over charge the Jews and pocket the difference. But here was Jesus looking at this one tax collector and He must have saw something in him to call him into a partaker of His ministry. What was going through Matthew's mind at the time? Did he know who Jesus was? Right there, I believe, he looked into the Savior's eyes and saw something and heard His words and was willing to leave everything behind. I mean everything! The money he had been collecting, his job with the Roman government, his security with that job, maybe his family, etc. In seconds, he had a huge lifestyle change that would change his life forever!!!
As I think about that, I have to wonder about the repercussions that must have accured from that decision. At one minute, to be a representative of the Roman government and the next to be a follower of someone who would be turning the world upside down!!
Now, think about that in our own lives. Have I heard the call of God? Have I gotten up without questioning it and acted upon it? A radical change in my life that would maybe not the most popular thing to do? Some would say something like,"Well, that was different. We don't have anything like that today." . But we do!!! I know of a lot of people who have received the call of God in their life and they have had huge lifestyle changes. Let's look at the example of coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Now that is not a real popular choice in our day! But, when you have experienced it, and I mean really experienced it, it is a radical change! Sure, you are still a work in progress but if you follow His "footsteps" of life, it is an AWESOME life!! Doesn't mean your life is easy, but you realize who is walking with you!
Something to ponder about....Matthew was obedient to the calling of Jesus....Are you and I???
Later!!!!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Hi All!!!
Been a long time since I wrote anything here. The year is almost half over with already. Kathy and I have been busy with her recovery from all the surgeries and we are seeing God work things out. Today we celebrated 31 years of being married!!! We had a nice day. We went up to my sister's camp up north and spent the afternoon just sitting around and enjoying God's creation. And I did some fishing. Didn't catch anything but it is still fun! It is amazing what you can see and hear when you just take the time and be still and not worry about your cell phone, facebook, twitter, etc and take in all that is around you. We have been through a lot over the years but we are so thankful that we have each other. I am the luckiest man on the earth!!!
Been a long time since I wrote anything here. The year is almost half over with already. Kathy and I have been busy with her recovery from all the surgeries and we are seeing God work things out. Today we celebrated 31 years of being married!!! We had a nice day. We went up to my sister's camp up north and spent the afternoon just sitting around and enjoying God's creation. And I did some fishing. Didn't catch anything but it is still fun! It is amazing what you can see and hear when you just take the time and be still and not worry about your cell phone, facebook, twitter, etc and take in all that is around you. We have been through a lot over the years but we are so thankful that we have each other. I am the luckiest man on the earth!!!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
After the Holidays....
Hi Everyone!!! Well, the holidays have left us. I hope everyone had good ones. It was good to have our son home with us from Colorado. It was a huge blessing to have him play guitar with me for our Christmas Eve service. We are so proud of him and all that he has accomplished over the years. Hopefully, we will be able to visit him out there in Colorado sometime this year.
Kathy's recuperation has been going slow but good. Until New Years weekend when she had to be hospitalized. She had gotten a virus and it got the Leukimia going. She stayed in there for three and a half days so that was good. Her system can't fight any sort of viruses out there. The simple cold will knock her system out. We are believing for her to have a full and complete healing!! And we are not going to let things get us down!!. Yeah, we have our bad days but we are so thankful for all we have.
At this time of year, we like looking back and seeing all that has happened to us. 2011 was a tough year for sure and this one didn't start off to good!! But, we are excited for all that God is doing in our lives and the opportunities that He has given us!! Just looking at this weather we are having here. Right about now we should have two and a half feet of snow around us. It is raining and in the thirty's. The few inches we have are going away. I have never been a big fan of the snow but this is where we live and we like our four seasons.
I have been doing a lot of studying in the Word lately. Different topics and word studies. Good stuff to get into if you can make the time. I really need to get back to playing my bass guitars more. It has been hard to fit in good practice time with everything going on. But, I just have to rearrange things better.
Our time. We all have the same twenty four hours but we choose to fill it with what ever we want. I always like making a list to go by on my daily notepad but it one thing comes up that is not on the list, I get upset. I have to learn to just chill and do the best I can. Sometimes we make plans in our lives and then our world gets turned upside down and we wonder what happened. We have to take one day at a time and not get uptight when things don't go our way. Easier said than done!! We sometimes have to say "no" to some things so that we can have that quiet time with God, our families, and get some stuff done that we have been putting off. I know that I have to be aware of this all the time. That's why I haven't been updating at all for the blog's. It is interesting how sometimes I can do a lot of "nothing" and wonder where the day has gone!
So, in saying that, I better get going and doing something! Maybe the first thing for me to do is check my list....or look for it.....now where did I put that list??!!
God Bless!
Kathy's recuperation has been going slow but good. Until New Years weekend when she had to be hospitalized. She had gotten a virus and it got the Leukimia going. She stayed in there for three and a half days so that was good. Her system can't fight any sort of viruses out there. The simple cold will knock her system out. We are believing for her to have a full and complete healing!! And we are not going to let things get us down!!. Yeah, we have our bad days but we are so thankful for all we have.
At this time of year, we like looking back and seeing all that has happened to us. 2011 was a tough year for sure and this one didn't start off to good!! But, we are excited for all that God is doing in our lives and the opportunities that He has given us!! Just looking at this weather we are having here. Right about now we should have two and a half feet of snow around us. It is raining and in the thirty's. The few inches we have are going away. I have never been a big fan of the snow but this is where we live and we like our four seasons.
I have been doing a lot of studying in the Word lately. Different topics and word studies. Good stuff to get into if you can make the time. I really need to get back to playing my bass guitars more. It has been hard to fit in good practice time with everything going on. But, I just have to rearrange things better.
Our time. We all have the same twenty four hours but we choose to fill it with what ever we want. I always like making a list to go by on my daily notepad but it one thing comes up that is not on the list, I get upset. I have to learn to just chill and do the best I can. Sometimes we make plans in our lives and then our world gets turned upside down and we wonder what happened. We have to take one day at a time and not get uptight when things don't go our way. Easier said than done!! We sometimes have to say "no" to some things so that we can have that quiet time with God, our families, and get some stuff done that we have been putting off. I know that I have to be aware of this all the time. That's why I haven't been updating at all for the blog's. It is interesting how sometimes I can do a lot of "nothing" and wonder where the day has gone!
So, in saying that, I better get going and doing something! Maybe the first thing for me to do is check my list....or look for it.....now where did I put that list??!!
God Bless!
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