Fall is one of my very favorite times of the year. One of the primary reasons is because that means Bible Study Fellowship will be starting up again…the second week in September.

I started in Bible Study Fellowship…otherwise known as BSF back in January 1998. I went at the invitation of Nadine…a friend at work. Nadine was always known as a very godly woman…who loves the Lord. She was always serious and deeply involved and committed to Bible study. Nadine had previously invited me…but I declined…the time never seemed right.
But Nadine persisted and would periodically extend the invitation again. 1998 was a transitional time in my life…and suddenly I realized…I needed to get serious about being a Christian…and studying God’s word.

I had recently moved…and was involved in a relationship with a deeply troubled guy. I had lost a good friendship with a friend who was angry at me over my bad choices. My mom and step dad lived a distance away…and I felt all alone. So God was working on my heart…and I decided to step out give BSF a try. I can say without reservation…it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I had been a Christian for for about 7 years and had attended several great churches. I had been privileged to sit under some great Bible teaching…but had never really seriously studied the Bible. Oh I had read the Bible…and loved church and group Bible studies…but they didn’t demand commitment or an investment in time.

But BSF was different…and that’s where I really started to grow as a Christian. Each week you attend a class about two hours long. The first 10 minutes the full class meets as a group for opening hymns and prayer. Following that the class breaks up into smaller groups of up to 15 people. In the small groups…class members take turns sharing their answers to the questions completed on the current week’s lesson. The lessons have about 30 questions that cover the passage that BSF is studying that particular week. Sometimes the questions are pretty challenging…and other times easier. The thing that’s nice about everyone sharing their answers is that you get to hear someone else’s take or understanding on questions. So the work you’ve done is enriched by hearing other’s responses. You are in the group for about 45 minutes.

Following your discussion group…the entire class meets together again…and hears a lecture from the Teaching Leader. The lecture is also covering the passage you had studied during the week and had just discussed with fellow class members. So the weeks Bible passage and lesson is really reinforced in multiple ways. It’s very rich and rewarding.

When you leave class each member get their new lesson for the week. It includes several pages of notes from passage just studied…and questions for the new week.

It’s great having both new Christians in the class as well as older Christians with a lot of Bible study experience. If someone’s answers a question inaccurately, someone else may have a more accurate answer according to scriptures. Frequently, the questions you were uncertain how to best answer are covered in the lecture for the week.

On an average week…I’d say I spend probably 2 to 2 1/2 hour studying. Maybe a little longer if you’re detail oriented. That may sound like a lot…but not if you go according to plan maybe about 20 minutes or so each day. Everyone uses only the Bible for studying…no outside sources. So everyone is on an even footing with regards to resources.

All the people involved in your local classes from the Teaching Leader to Discussion Leaders are volunteers. They put a lot work and a lot of prayer into doing that which God has called them to do.

So if BSF sounds at all intriguing…I recommend you give it a try. It will help you to grow by leaps and bounds. I went from someone just sitting in church and hearing a message to some studying the Bible. I went from someone who had some knowledge to someone who is more discerning and can spot when I hear a message that is not in keeping with God’s word…and know why or where it’s wrong.

This will be my seventh year…I stopped for one year…but started back up again last January. Didn’t realize how much I needed it and missed it, until I returned.

This years study is in the book of Genesis. It’s an excellent study…that I loved when going through it many years ago. Look forward to covering it again. While I will be studying with the Santa Ana women’s evening class…people in Bible Study Fellowship all around the world will also be studying the same passage.

Don’t be intimidated by the time investment…it’s well worth it. You will grow in wisdom and knowledge of God’s word. Hope to see you there!

Have you ever heard the saying “when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs…the one that barks the loudest is the one that got hit”? I think that saying can be applied to the circus, the very tragic circus with deadly consequences that has occurred in Louisiana in the past week and a half.

Ask yourself…who has been barking the loudest in the group? Two of the loudest are Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. The demagoguery coming from their mouths appears to be a smoke screen intended to cover their actions…or should I more accurately state, their lack of appropriate and timely action.

I believe that as the facts become know about the preparation and planning for hurricanes that would potentially hit New Orleans, and their failure to execute those plans, it will be revealed that Ms. Blanco and Mr. Nagin are key people responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of Louisiana citizens.

This is not an attempt to gloss over or excuse the federal governments painfully slow and inadequate response to persons, in some instances literally dying, as they awaited help from their government. I do want answers as to what caused the fed’s delay. The responses thus far from the Bush Administration, FEMA and Homeland Security are woefully inadequate. I do hope that this situation will be more fully examined so we as citizen, states and a nation can more adequately prepare for disaster…natural or man made.

Below are excerpts from an article by Bob Williams explaining some of what went wrong. To view the entire article, please click on the above link.

As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?

But what isn’t fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible–local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana’s governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city’s mayor, Ray Nagin.

The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters.

The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city.

In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected.

Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.

But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions.

Mayor Nagin failed in his responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans.

The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor.

As I view the scores of pictures from hurricane Katrina…I search any image that will bring me hope or give me some evidence of goodness and love. The above picture captured my attention…and bears witness that there can be goodness even in the midst of bad.

“All of a sudden there were people screaming. I saw people jumping out of the building. Their arms were flailing. I stopped taking pictures and started crying.”

Fatalities
At the World Trade Center, faced with a desperate situation of smoke and burning heat from the jet fuel, an estimated 200 people jumped to their deaths from the burning towers, landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below.

In addition, some of the occupants of each tower above its point of impact made their way upward towards the roof in hope of helicopter rescue. No rescue plan existed for such an eventuality. By some accounts, fleeing occupants instead encountered locked access doors upon reaching the roof. As many as 1,366 people were trapped at and above the floors of impact in the North Tower (1 WTC). None of them survived.

As many as 600 people were trapped at and above the floors of impact in the South Tower (2 WTC). Only about 18 managed to escape in time from above the impact zone and out of the South Tower before it collapsed.

Info courtesy of Wikipedia…The Free Encyclopedia

We all know people in our everyday life that have qualities and display characteristics that we admire and seek to emulate. Those qualities are all the more evident when contrasted by those who lack them…or worse display the opposite.

Whether it be the father leading his family or the boss leading a business or a mayor leading a city in a time of disaster…one of those qualities which critical and severely lacking these days is leadership.

Below are some characteristics that that I’ve witnessed in persons whom I’ve been blessed to know as leaders:

· Have a vision
· Clearly communicate
· Listen…really listen
· Have a plan
· Wade through the muck and mire to get to the other side
· Committed
· Endure
· Persevere
· Not deterred by the critics and nay sayers
· Realize that there will always be those who are stumbling blocks
· Don’t let anyone or anything get in the way
· Find a way over or under or around any obstacle
· Don’t quit…it’s not in their vocabulary
· Build up
· Encourage
· Inspire others
· Speak the truth
· Tell it like it is
· Prefer clarity
· Share the glory and limelight with others
· Humble, doesn’t seek recognition
· Say thanks
· Acknowledge others and their contributions
· Integrity
· Courage
· Selfless
· Ability to acknowledge when wrong
· Apologize

Any one of the above qualities would be worth having and should be sought and developed. Yeah…it would be peachy keen if those whom we need to lead would do so. You bet ya! But when there is a vacuum…first you need to look inward and see if you are displaying and living out those qualities that help make up a leader. If not…pick a few and start working on them.

Are you a better person when you go to sleep tonight, than you were when you got of bed?

Are you a leader?

If not, why not?

If not now, when?

Oh Lord, I am afraid,
Do not fear, for I am with you!

Oh Lord, I am filled with anxiety,
Be anxious for nothing, instead pray and bring your requests to me.

Oh Lord, I feel weighed down and burdened so,
Come unto me and I will give you rest.

Oh Lord, I am overwhelmed with sorrow,
I have taken up your infirmities and carried your sorrows.

Oh Lord, I am weak and weary,
I will give you strength and power.

Oh Lord, my soul is despairing,
Despair not, for I am your ever present help in times of trouble.

Oh Lord, I am alone…all have deserted me,
I will never leave you, nor forsake you.


By Susan Bunts – 9/5/05

Following September 11, 2001, I like so many Americans couldn’t begin to fully grasp or understand what had happened. In an attempt to wrap my mind around and appreciate the sacrifice of so many I rented the book on tape Report from Ground Zero by Dennis Smith. I listened to it every day during my morning walk for about a month.

In the book Dennis walks you through the events of that day, and the days and weeks that followed, through the perspective of the firemen and emergency workers. In some respects I felts as if I was descending into the hell of that day. But I came out with insight or perspective of what the terrorist attacks were like for the brave men from New York City’s Fire Department.

If you want to do something that will help keep the important lessons from September 11th in the forefront of your mind and remember the great sacrifice of so many…I would recommend and encourage you to read Report from Ground Zero. Below is an excerpt from Dennis Smith’s website…from an editorial that was published in the New York Times. Please click on the link to read the full text of this and more works by Dennis.

WORST NIGHTMARE – The World Trade Center – 9/11/01
by DENNIS SMITH – NYTimes September 14, 2001

The second tower has just collapsed. I am at Ladder 16, and the firefighters have commandeered a crowded 67th Street cross-town bus. We go without stopping from Lexington Avenue to the staging center on Amsterdam. We don’t talk much on the bus, and not a single passenger complains about missing his or her stop. At Amsterdam we board another bus, and here the quiet is broken by a Lieutenant who says, “We’ll see things today we shouldn’t have to see, and there will be things we might think we should attend to, but listen up, we’ll do it together. We’ll be together, and we’ll all come back together boys.” He opens a box of dust masks and gives two to each of us.

Philippians 2:15-18 –
16 as you hold out the word of life in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

My beloved Pastor, Chuck Obremski did preach today. His sermon was a challenging one… “Thinking Like a Genuine Servant”. The scripture that came to mind in seeing him today…and hearing him…were Paul’s words about being poured out like a drink offering.

And indeed Chuck continues to willingly offer his life and will over to God and His plans. Chuck recently stated in an interview…for as long as God will strengthen me and enable me to preach His word, I’ll be there. And today…he was there…albeit seated in a wheel chair.

As Chuck had stated in a recent sermon…there are blessings with having a terminal illness like cancer. It helps you to not waste time on the little things that don’t matter. For many of us…it’s made us more cognizant of what a blessing each day is. We don’t take for granted having Chuck preach…we are most grateful to God for the gift He’s given us in our Pastor.

Please continue to keep both Chuck and Linda and the entire Obremski family in your prayers as they continue to battle and ride the cancer coaster.

Notes from Chuck Obremski’s sermon on 9/4/05

1. The Soul has been given to God (Romans 12:1A) – Urge, Brethren, Therefore
2. The Body must be given to God (Romans 12:1) – Present, Bodies, Living and Holy, Spiritual
3. The Mind must be given to God (Romans 12:2A) – Conformed, World, But, Transformed
4. The Will must be given to God (Romans 12:2B) – Prove, Acceptable, Perfect

Romans 12:1-2 – 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will

According to God’s standard, all are guilty before God. We may think we are pretty good…but all fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 1:16 – I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

This is our mission statement. We are to share God’s word with a world in need.

Chuck shared that he is asked, what we will do as a church, when God calls him home. What we will do…is to do that which God has called us to do…and that is to share the Word of God.

God does his finest work when nobody knows what else to do.

Continue to reach those who need it…with the gospel message. God has a plan for the lost in the world. We must walk by faith, not by sight. Fix our eyes on Jesus…focus on him. Know Jesus personally. God has given believers everything that we need to be like Jesus.

Many thousands of believers flock to various places to get that which they believe will benefit themselves. Instead we need to remember that real satisfaction is in giving everything that we have to the Lord. We have to give it all back to the Lord. Therein lies satisfaction.

John 4:23-24 – 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Give yourself 100% to the Lord…a living sacrifice. Ask yourself…do you really do that? Serving God…by serving in his name. We are to offer ourselves wholly and continually to our God.

Our Souls have already been given to God. Paul says, “I urge you brethren”. Urge…encourage you…come alongside you. Urge is a longing command…“I beg you”. Brethren…ones who have come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Have you come to Christ? None righteous, no not one. All are guilty before God…and must seek God’s forgiveness. Once I understand that I am guilty, I can then seek forgiveness. Is that true of your life? Are you one who has not been born again? If not…you can not think like Christ. Only the redeemed have true spiritual life.

Therefore…refers to what went before: Romans 11:33-36 – 33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

The filling…wonders of God’s omnipotence.

Bodies…must be given to God. What’s involved in giving our bodies to God? Our bodies presented as a living sacrifice. Once and for all…period…done! Today…this day, present your body a living sacrifice. People will see through our lives a commitment to God.

Our body is still the center of sinful thoughts and actions. In order and for people around us to see…we need to seek God’s forgiveness. They need to see a real difference in how we live. See how we conduct ourselves, i.e., how we life and think and act. What comes out of our mouth?

James 3:10-12 – 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

What do we listen to? What do we read? The Bible? How do we use our hands? Do we use them to help others in his name?

Romans 6:13 – Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

Stop presenting your body as an instrument of unrighteousness. Start asking yourself what do you do, say, think or hear that is pleasing to God? Do you think good or evil? What do you say…you have the power to put down or build up. Do you use wholesome words? Do you embarrass or abuse others? Do you go to or from evil? Do you go where you should or shouldn’t go? People are watching our lives.

Chuck then told the story of a friend who after becoming a Christian continued on in his old life style. Only after his friends came to him and said that they had been worried that when he became a Christian…he’d be no fun anymore. But since it didn’t stop him from partying, drinking, doing drugs…it wasn’t too bad. Their word convicted him…and caused him to change.
What kind of message are you sending to others? A living sacrifice? The first example was Isaac. He willingly yielded himself as a living sacrifice. Jesus actually gave himself as that sacrifice.

Surrender all your hopes, dreams and plans to the will of God? Do you put your will first, or God’s will?

Do you struggle with what God’s will is? We need to walk by faith, not by sight. God’s got a plan…we need to continue to serve him until he calls us home. Trust him…everything God does is good.

Spiritual act of worship. Mind must be given to him. We are not to be conformed to this world. But instead be transformed.

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

In the Phillips translation…he words it, “don’t be squeezed into the world’s mold”. You have a choice to make…how will you live? The world’s way, your way or God’s way? Don’t let the world system tell you how to think. Some examples on where that’s happening today: evolution…told to believe it, all roads lead to heaven as long as you are sincere, woman’s choice. (A woman’s choice…yes…before she gets pregnant, not after.) Racism.

Chuck then told a story that illustrates how ridiculous racism is. A guy was talking to his friend. He said, “I was born black, when I’m scared I’m black, when I’m cold I’m black, when I’m in the sun I’m black, when I’m sick I’m black, and when I die I’ll be black. Now you on the other hand were pink when you were born, when you are scared you turn white, when you are cold you turn blue, when you are in the sun you turn red, when you are sick you turn green and when you die you turn purple. And you have the nerve to call me colored.

Chuck then continued to illustrate the world’s mode. It’s okay to have protected sex, divorce is okay (God however sees the heartbreak of divorce). Drink responsibly…but God’s word tells us this is dissipation. It’s a waste of time…useless. What does it matter when you turn 21…drinking age? It doesn’t matter if you are doing God’s will. Are you being conformed to this world? You instead need to give God your mind.

But…instead of being like everything else. Be transformed. We are commanded to be transformed inwardly and in turn outwardly. Let God take your life and make it into his will and way.

How do you renew your mind? Through the reading of God’s word. How much time to you spend in the Word of God? It transforms our minds…which in turn transforms our lives. How much time do you spend in the Word of God?

We are to take our mind and saturate it with the Word of God. Then you will know when something is against the will of God. When you see it, you’ll say…what a minute that’s not God’s voice.

We are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We are who we are in our hearts.

Our will…this is the fourth element of the total dedication to God. Offering that is please to God. Remember Cain and Able?

How can we have a genuine mind of God?
1. Give your soul to God. Repent and trust in Christ.
2. Give your bodies to God. Are you still going to the wrong places and doing the wrong things?
3. Give your mind to God. Take every thought captive.
4. Give your will to God.

Below are my notes from Chuck Obremski’s sermon on 8/21/05. It was a follow up message from the prior week…called A Genuine Servant Forgives. It was a most excellent sermon…a message that I always need to reminded about. As good as that sermon was…A Genuine Servant Forgives and Forgets was even more powerful. Very convicting…but in this message Chuck shares the key to being able to forgive…and that is to forgive and forget. Each tidbit is wonderful. My apologies for my tardiness in transcribing these notes. Please be sure to go to the website for Kindred Community Church and download recent sermons.

Notes from Chuck Obremski’s sermon 8/21/05

1. Review the definition of “to forget”.
2. Refuse to keep score. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)
3. Rise above any offense. (Psalm 119:165)
4. Resist developing a judgmental attitude. (Matthew 7:1-5)
5. Remember your own weaknesses. (Philippians 3:12-24)

Ever try to get back at someone and have it backfire? The law of reaction. Often in our desire to get even we embarrass ourselves.

Forgiveness is the lubricant that reduces friction between ourselves and others.

We are to be like Jesus…Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

He is a God who forgives…“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Matthew 5:22-24 – 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

If you have offended someone, stop what you are doing and go deal with it. God’s word calls us to deal with things. Called to be obedient to God’s word. Ask for forgiveness…no matter what the response will be. God’s word requires obedience, not sacrifice.

Live lives of no regrets. We need to be more serious about being doers of God’s word. By time we get to our cars or lunch…we’ve talked our self out of being obedient to God’s word.

Write it down when God speaks to you. Won’t happen without active participation.

We need to continue to forgive people. Peter tried to limit it to 7 times, but Jesus corrected him, no it’s 70 times 7…in other words forgiveness is endless.

Matthew 20:21-22 – 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Resist the temptation to be hypocritical like the servant who when forgiven his debt refused to forgive a fellow servant a smaller debt. Unforgiveness is harmful.

Matthew 18:26-28 – 26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

Forgiveness is only possible when we choose to forget. Forgiveness is The Key. Forgetting is the key to forgiveness.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “I’ll forgive you, but…”? We believe that it is only natural to not forget…and indeed that is natural. However we are not to live naturally. We are to respond as Jesus responds…in ways that are pleasing to God.

We are to write injustices in the dust…and benefits to us in marble.

Forgetting can’t erase the data. Webster’s defines forgiveness as follows:
1 a : to lose the remembrance of : be unable to think of or recall b obsolete : to cease from doing2 : to treat with inattention or disregard 3 : to disregard intentionally :
OVERLOOK — usually used in the imperative 1 : to cease remembering or noticing 2 : to fail to become mindful at the proper time

We are to choose not to remember. Make a conscience decision to not bring something up. We tend to want to bring up past offences that we have already forgiven. Instead it’s the perfect time to choose to forget. We have to make choices. Be careful not to beat that dead horse. Choose to actively not remember. Deny those urges to retrieve the data, even when tempted to do otherwise.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 – 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love…doesn’t take into account or calculate a wrong suffered. Don’t sit around calculating. Don’t sit around figuring out some plan on who to get back. Instead…calculate something different.

Philippians 4:8 – 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

What do you think about on a regular basis? What are you dwelling on or calculating? Instead think about all the good things in your life.

Chuck then reflected on the blessing of knowing how short life can be. If you knew that how much time would you spend dwelling on that which was negative. The little things that don’t really mater any more…they are not important. Blessing of dying…you realize the little things…they don’t matter.

Don’t waste time trying to get even with someone. We create a monster in our head by what we dwell on. We can choose to forgive and forget. Or…we can choose to be embittered as if we’ve been turned over to the torturers.

Matthew 18:33-35 – 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Chuck then relayed a story about a worker in Orange County…a man filled with hate, anger, resentment and rage…who killed six of his co-workers.

You can easily forgive when you make that choice to forgive and forget. Don’t bring it up…let it go. It’s natural to want to get even. It’s supernatural to forgive and forget.

What a terrible testimony when you hang on to an offense, bitterness and unforgiveness. Just think…it must break God’s heart when we act like that. Instead we must refuse to keep score.

Rise Above…we are to rise above. Psalm 119:65 – Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD. Do you love God’s word? If so, you must obey his commandments.

Resist Hypocrisy…don’t be guilty of a sin, yet judge other’s about that same sin.

Matthew 7:1-5 – 1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Remember…I haven’t arrived yet. All are still under construction. Is this true about us? Live in the present.

Philippians 3:12-14 – 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Joseph named his son Manasseh…which means “God has made me to forget”. You have to choose to forget. When we choose to forget we then have the energy to press on to what lies ahead.

Amy Carmichael quote: “If I say, ‘Yes, I forgive, but I cannot forget,’ as though the God, who twice a day washes all the sands on all shores of all the world, could not wash such memories from my mind, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

Live for today…live in the moment. Forget what lies behind. Don’t waste time. Look for opportunities to do that which God has placed before you today.

Father Mychal Judge is known as the first victim of September 11th. The image of his lifeless body being carried from the World Trade Center is forever etched in my memory.

“You know what I want for Christmas? You know what I really want? Absolutely nothing! I have everything in the world.”

Those words of Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., characterize the simplicity of the New York City Fire Department chaplain killed during a rescue mission immediately following the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack. Chaplain to the department since 1992, the 68-year-old died in a hail of steel and concrete as he anointed a firefighter and a fallen office worker. Father Judge became the first officially recorded fatality following the attack.

To learn more about Father Mychal…be sure to click on the above link.

Theresa…mother to Destinee, Emma and Abraham wrote the following.

I was wondering if you can pass this on to the many people you know with everything going on in the South, I received this e-mail from the Red Cross. As you know both Emma and Abraham are blood recipients. California imports 60% of their blood from other states, now that blood is going to the South. Not that I am complaining but that increases the shortage here in California. We have less than a day supply here in California.

We are having a Blood Drive at Emmanuel Reformed Church on October 1st, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, child care is provided for all blood donors. Each pint of blood can save up to three lives. Blood is the gift that cost you nothing and is more meaningful than words can say.

If you are able to donate…please click on the above link to get directions to the Emmanuel Reformed Church.

Miss Zoë is only eight days old…and already has her Daddy firmly and securely wrapped around her little finger. Proud father Peter…reports that he likes Miss Zoë in pink her pink outfit the best. When questioned if he was going with his pals for the big annual fantasy football weekend in Vegas…he responded, “No…and he’d much rather be home with his baby girl”.

I’ll tell ya Peter C., seeing that change gives even this girl hope…that someday I’ll see my own hopes and dreams come true too.

Congratulations to Peter and Tami on the birth of your precious baby girl Zoë!

Welcome Baby Zoë!
Arrived on August 26, 2005 at 11:42 PM

Baby Zoë with her proud Dad Peter

In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina…and the seeming vacuum of leadership, it makes Rudy Giuliana’s example following the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City all the more striking.

The following is from a speech that Rudy Giuliana gave at the 2004 Republican Convention.

“There are times when leadership is the most important.”

“On September 11, this city and our nation faced the worst attack in our history. On that day, we had to confront reality. ”

“For me, when I arrived there and I stood below the north tower and I looked up, and seeing the flames of hell emanating from those buildings, and realizing that what I was actually seeing was a human being on the 101st, 102nd floor that was jumping out of the building, I stood there, it probably took five or six seconds, it seemed to me that it took 20 or 30 minutes, and I was stunned. “

“And I realized, in that moment, in that instant, I realized we were facing something that we have never, ever faced before.”

“We had never been confronted with anything like this before. We had to concentrate all of our energy and our faith and our hope to get through those first hours and days. And we needed all the help that we could get and all the support that we could get.”

You know…I’m not one normally short on words. I always have something to say. It’s not because I don’t care or I’m not interested in this wretched God awful tragedy that I haven’t posted something sooner.

In fact, if anything I’m transfixed by the images coming across the news channels. They take my breath away…the stories, the overwhelming personal human tragedy, I can’t even begin to grasp it.

I’m dumb struck by the damage that Katrina unleashed on New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. More than that, I find incomprehensible the aftermath that just seems to be growing exponentially each day.

When I hear the stories about the suffering and just basic needs of people that are not being taken care of I am appalled. Anger and helplessness…just being to touch what I and so many people are feeling right now.

Where do you begin? Well…first and foremost is prayer…to fall on our knees before a Holy, Righteous and Loving God…and seek His help, mercy, grace, wisdom, provisions and comfort for my fellow Americans. I would also encourage you…if you haven’t already done so to please contact one of the charitable organizations that are bringing help to these desperate people. Feed the Children, the American Red Cross, or World Vision are just a few organizations…where you can donate to help alleviate the suffering of these people. No matter, big or small, please give and make a difference in the lives of the precious hurting people created in the image of God.

Dear Father, I lift up my fellow American’s who are suffering in unimaginable ways right now following the devastating effects from hurricane Katrina. The need is overwhelming…and something that we can not take care of on our own strength and power. God I pray for the provisions that are needed to take care of the people…food, medicine and medical care, hygiene, clothing and on, and on…to get to these hurting and needful people. I pray that civil order will be restored quickly…and that safety will prevail. I pray that all who need medical care will get it.

I pray that you give great wisdom to our civil, government and military authorities as they plan and put into place those plans to take care of these people. I pray that you will strengthen all the people working to rescue people still trapped or bringing them much needed relief. I pray that more people will be in place shortly to help. I pray for a hedge of protection to surround them.

I pray that you will raise up churches and pastors and lay people who will reach out and help these people. I pray that the victims will turn to you and in turn be comforted and strengthened as only you can do. I pray that they will know first hand your grace and mercy to carry them through. I pray that you will work mightily in the tragedy…and bring people that don’t yet know your Son Jesus Christ to a saving faith.

Father…this is much too much for us to bear and handle on our own. We thank you that we can come to you and lay before you our needs. We are comforted and thankful that you love us and will walk with us through this tragedy and the aftermath that we must bear. We come to you in the name of your precious Son Jesus Christ. Amen!

With September 11th just around the corner…each day in September I want to focus on something about that horrific and transforming day in the life of my beloved country. It has impacted American’s in ways we will never fully comprehend.

Today…I’d like to start with a picture that has graced my walls since the day it first appeared in the paper. The gentleman in this photo is named Tony James. This photo was taken at the funeral of Father Mychal Judge…also known as the first victim of the tragedy we now know as 9/11.

I don’t know much about Tony James…except that he was a New York City Fireman…and was attending the funeral of Father Judge when this photo was taken.

This photo has touched me to my very core. This man’s face is so beautiful…the humanity, the pain, sorrow, the overwhelming horror of that day, the loss, it’s toll and the personal impact it made, is visible on Tony James face.

I ask God to bless this man abundantly. He has been the face of September 11th that I treasure each day.