Power with Purpose!

Hold The Line!

robert — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:30:49 +0000

It nevers fails: adversities and adversaries try to creep in. We need to recognize this. Let me explain in terms that I have been familiar with:

In military strategy it is common to test the defenses of the opposition by using a tactic known as "probing their perimeter." The goal of this is not to win any battles or even to hurt the enemy. The goal is to test resolve, readiness, and to find weaknesses in the defenses. Once these weaknesses are discovered, they are probed and tested in order to find out how the advantage can be maximized.

Diligence is one the key to closing up gaps in the line. The other is to look to your neighbors position and have concern for their well being. If a soldier is too busy being concerned with what is going on around his own position he will not see the things that can slip in between him and his neighbor. However, if he develops concern for his fellow soldier and looks to that position as well as his own, then two pairs of eyes are covering the ground in between them and nothing can get by undetected. Do you understand how this works?

Only by developing a genuine concern and love for one another's well-being are we going to be able to press ahead. That means we must expend some of our resources on our partners and fellowlaborers and that's ok. God is your re-supply line and will more than make up for what you use helping someone else maintain a good defense. And when we lock our eyes and our minds together in this way, the enemy can only try his probing tactics, but we are determined to shine the lights on him and expose him so that he must look elsewhere to try and find a way in.

Finally, if we put forth our best effort in this strategy, God's eyes will close any gaps we can't see. If we are right with God, and right with each other, God honors our efforts and takes care of what we cannot.

Be encouraged today. You are in the right place at the right time. The enemy knows that and is still trying to slip in. Look to God and look to each other. That is when any weapon formed against us will fail. God bless...

Original post blogged on Power with Purpose.

God's Mercy (sometimes not what you think...)

robert — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:11:17 +0000

It's been a tough few weeks. I've dealt with heartaches, pains, troubles, betrayal, anger, frustration, and doubt. I have also had to deal with personal sin for which I repented to God and confessed to my wife. Even so, guilt, shame, and all the trash that plagues the thoughts of a “righteous man” when he falls were there at the very fore-front of my mind for the better part of a week. It took God speaking to me to get past the inertia of all this mess and get back on track.

God has never spoken to me in an audible voice but, when he does speak to me, I know it. He spoke to me on June 14th, 1982 when I repented before him in tears. He spoke to me in August of 1993 when I answered His call to complete the first works through water baptism. He definitely spoke to me in September of 1993 when He filled me with His Spirit! And over the last 17 years God has taught me how He speaks, even though I still sometimes forget how to listen.

This latest ordeal did what ordeals normally do to me – they drove me to my knees in prayer (This is part of how I know the Spirit resides within. I usually run from trouble and pain, but God encourages me to stay obedient.). Like a sailor on a hobie cat, I hung myself way out there, tightening the sheet and hiking the beam of the boat until it almost flips overs. It's a risk sailors take to get the most speed out of their craft. I hung myself out on the edge of my prayers; earnestly but passionately letting God know that I was at the end of my rope. I could not go any further and all of this 'mess' was about to tip me over and put me in the brine.

The Lord did not send an angel (or anyone else for that matter), to speak words of comfort, pet my ego, or pat me on the back and give me a cookie. Thankfully, He also did not answer some of the prayers that I prayed (Someone out there knows exactly what I am talking about.). Instead, He lead my to 1 Kings 19...

In this passage, Elijah had just come out of a great victory – and stepped straight into a world of trouble. He ran for his life and then parked himself under a juniper tree and started feeling sorry for himself. God sent messengers to Elijah to feed him. No words or comfort, no “Aww! It'll be okay!” In other words, God did not feed Elijah's self pity, He just fed his body because He had work for Elijah to do, so His answer to Elijah was, “Get up and get back to work! You have a long journey ahead of you and your next task is to go and anoint some folks to be king so let's get started!

I sank back in my chair and gave thanks to God. There was no beam of bright light, no fanfare of heavenly trumpets, and no pacifier. God had just finished telling me that there was a lot of work to do and I had better get about His business. He “spoke” the truth in plain an simple terms that even I could understand.

My emotions are still raw and the struggle to keep them under control is still fresh in my walk this week. But I know God has spoken, so I will do what I have always done when He speaks: I'll pack up my troubles, post-mark them to Jesus, try real hard not to take them back, and move on for God. Sometimes power with purpose is just that simple.

Original post blogged on Power with Purpose.

Moving Forward (Whether I want to or not :) )

robert — Sat, 08 May 2010 11:16:23 +0000

I have been reading and studying about "finding the work the I would love to do." My current job is flowing in a direction that has the potential to pull me away from my relationship with God. Because I have one foot in the job, and the other in the desire to serve God with my gifts and talents - I feel that I am being pulled in two different directions.

It reminds me of the HAL9000 computer in "2001: A Space Odyssey." We learn in the sequel, "2010: The Year We Make Contact," that HAL was behaving and acting strangely because he was given instructions regarding his duties that conflicted with the values and attributes that he was programmed with.

I have been in the IT field for almost 15 years now. I am well aware that a lot of software problems and "freeze-ups" occur because a computer doesn't know how to process something because it is either broken, or conflicts with the computer's basic set of instructions for doing it's job.

I don't believe God put me here to live a confused, powerless life that does not help anyone. The process of "finding my niche" has been a struggle. At times, my self doubt and lack of confidence has really paralyzed me. However, with God's help and the support of my family, friends, folks like David Wood, Dan Miller, Dave Ramsey, and the multitude of other good people that are "here to help," I believe that success is just around the corner.

2010: The Year I Make Contact...

Original post blogged on Power with Purpose.

How Did You Do it?

robert — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:16:23 +0000

Hey folks; a couple of quick questions...

Have you overcome depression and/or fear? Share your story. How did you do it? How has God helped you?

As always, thanks for your prayers and support.

Original post blogged on Power with Purpose.

No Complaints

robert — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 11:29:01 +0000

As I prepare for a great Easter service this morning I take stock over the last couple of days:

* I wasn't betrayed by a friend.

* I wasn't falsely arrested.

* I wasn't subjected to a kangaroo court and found guilty of a trumped up charge.

* I wasn't ridiculed in public and made a mockery of by an occupying army before my own people.

* I wasn't handed off between governments because they were playing "pass the buck" on who should murder me.

* I wasn't humiliated and scoffed at by an entire city of people who; just a few days before, welcomed me into their city with a parade.

* I wasn't scourged and beaten within an inch of my life.

* I wasn't hung on a cross to die a public, shameful death.

But the One who did - rose again and took with Him the keys of death, hell, and the grave: And He did it for you and for me.

I won't complain - Happy Easter.

Original post blogged on Power with Purpose.

I Choose the Lord

robert — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:34:16 +0000

There are a host of angels poised to deliver messages to each and every one of us: and a God and Father ready to take His rightful place in our hearts today. If we will set our hearts and minds on Him and his will - taking the freedom of choice given to us and laying aside - submitting our whole self to Him and becoming nothing, that He might be everything.

He knows all things actual and possible. Let Him have His way in your life today and He will give you - Power with Purpose.

Original post blogged on Power with Purpose.

Wow! What a Break.

robert — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:41:52 +0000

Wow, almost two months since my last entry. Truth be known, I have been writing a lot but it is coming in snippets and fragments. I'm not sure what that means but as soon as something meaningful comes together, you will be the first to know!
In the meantime, have a Merry Christmas, enjoy God, and eat something tasty giving thanks always to the Reason for the Season!

Original post blogged on Power with Purpose.

Only God...

robert — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:14:04 +0000

Fall is my favorite time of year and I like to take a day of at least once during the season to just soak it in.

As I was driving back from from taking Mel to school this morning I noticed the sky was ablaze with color. The reds and pinks contrasted against hints of clear blue along with the different grays and blacks of the clouds was striking! Only God could create such a tapestry. No, not even Bob Ross could do this justice.

But that was only the half of it. As I approached my driveway, I looked off to the left and down field that runs adjacent to our property. It's a small, valley-like landscape with treed hillsides all around. It was the perfect companion to the colorful sky! The colors of the leaves met the sky as if they were holding hands and keeping each other company. The hues blended in a perfect combination of contrast against sky and earth, yet they blended into a perfect snapshot lush, visual richness.

There was a natural sepia tone to the scene that seemed to enhance all of the colors. The reds, oranges, and yellows were so bright: and the greens and blacks were rich and deep.

I loved that it was overcast because I feel that too much sunlight would have made things a little too crisp. Instead I was treated to a sort of muted canvas as if an artist covered his entire work with a smokey wash that warmed the scene to the eye.

To finish it off the mist covered the ground and weaved its way through the trees like a ghost in search of rest for the day. I really wish I knew more words to describe what I saw in that short few seconds before I turned back into my driveway. A google search provided many beautiful photographs and paintings depicting autumn sunrises and foggy fall mornings, but only the human eye, created by God, could have captured what I had the distinct privilege of seeing today.

Only God...

Original post blogged on Power with Purpose.