1 June 2006

Hey everyone,
If you have noticed, we haven't posted in the last couple of days. I am thinking about changing the Blog a little but I would like to hear from all of you. Would you mind letting me know if you like the current format or would like to see something else? Regardless, please either post a reply (you shouldn't need a password or anything) or email me at hadajobonce@yahoo.com. I really would like to keep the blog going but if no one is reading them, the time might be better spent somewhere else.

Remember, Jesus Loves You......
Tony

29 May 2006

1 Samuel 14:1-15:22, John 18:1-24, Psalm 119:97-112, Proverbs 16:8-9

Psalm 119:104
I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

I watched a show on discovery channel one time about a village in Africa where scientists found that the water there was toxic. They started testing because the average lifespan was lower in that area. They told the people not to drink the water and set up warning signs at the water holes but the people just thought they were crazy. The scientists were frustrated because they kept drinking the water and kept dying early. The village people were uneducated in science. Their way of testing water was to drink it and if you didn’t die or get sick immediately, it was safe to drink. The people of the village previously had no way of knowing if it was killing them slowly and didn’t know that people lived longer outside of where they lived. This was the first time they ever heard this type of information so it was very difficult to convince them. They just didn’t understand the long term affect and couldn’t comprehend it.

In the verse above the writer discovered, through obeying God, how bad the paths of the world are. I imagine that he had followed some of those paths in his youth because he didn’t understand the long term affects. I know I did. Sometimes to realize how bad something is for you, you have to stop doing it. The bible is like those scientists warning the people not to drink the toxic water. It is up to us to listen to the warning. How much toxic water is too much?


Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank you for your word. Thank you for showing us examples of the wrong path for our lives. Lord help me to discover the best path. Amen

28 May 2006

2 Samuel 13:1-39, John 17:1-26, Psalm 119:81-96, Proverb16:6-7

John 17: 23
I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

In society adoption is strange to many people. Just last week Sandy met a woman that had adopted two children of a different race. The woman had a few kids with her at the time so Sandy asked if they were in the woman’s daycare class. At that point she explained that some of them where, but the two boys were hers. Sandy was very normal about it and said “Cool!” The woman went home and thought about that very small encounter and the next day approached Sandy again to tell her how she appreciated the “Normal” reaction. Apparently, she isn’t used to that type of reaction. She mentioned that she often gets a disapproving look when people find out. I thought about how distressing it is for adoptive parents when people treat their children in this way because it makes the children feel different. To the parents however, they are no different from a birth child. They hope for them, protect them, invest in them, and love them. They truly become their child. They are part of the family just like a birth child.


The bible says that God has adopted us (Christians). Here Jesus talks similarly in terms of Gods love for us. Jesus wants us to take hold of Gods love. It says in this verse that God loves us just like he loves Jesus. How big is that statement? He says that as Christian brothers and sisters we should be a family. The implication is that family will be a witness to the world because that concept of adoption is strange to the world. If we are in complete unity with other Christians, the world will see God because that relationship is something special and God given.

Prayer: Dear Lord, Help me to get to know my Christian friends. Help us grow closer to each other through your love for us. Help us take hold of the family you have given us. Amen.

27 May 2006

1 Samuel 12:1-31, John 16:1-33, Psalm 119:65-80, Proverbs 16:4-5

John 16:32-33
"But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

A great competitor is able to keep their head in a pressure situation. Sometimes when things seem hopeless however, they completely lose it. They choke and make mistakes despite all their mental and emotional strength. Here in this verse Jesus is explaining that this is not our situation. He is telling us that we are not in a hopeless situation at all. He is saying that the game is in the bag. It’s already won as long as they are on His team.

As I thought about that I thought of a football game where one team has a pretty good lead toward the end of the game. If they make a mistake, they don’t get overly upset with themselves and they definitely don’t lose hope of winning. They just get back in there and play. That is what God wants us to do. Just keep trying.

Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank you for providing us a way to be successful in all our troubles. Help me to hang on to that hope as bad times come into my life. AMEN.

May 26, 2006

2 Samuel 9:1-11:27; John 15:1-27; Psalm 119:49-64; Proverbs 16:1-3
John 15:5 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

May 25, 2006

2 Samuel 7:1-8:18; John 14:15-31; Psalm 119:33-48; Proverbs 15:33
Psalm 119:36-37 – “Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”

May 24, 2006

2 Samuel 4:1-6:23; John 13:31-14:14; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 15:31-32
John 13:34-35 – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”