Rembrandt and The Cross

A long time ago, I posted on this picture and a couple of songs we did on sunday reminded me of it so I wanted to just share this again to the people who haven't heard it. It is a painting done by a man named Rembrandt. I love this Picture because Rembrandt actually painted himself (with his painters cap) putting up the cross of Christ! He saw that it was he had put Christ on the tree, and it reminded me of the passage in Romans 8 that says that we were enemies of God! When I think of an enemy, I think of hatred.. We hated God! But Christ showed us mercy and it says in a few verses before that God demonstrates his love to us by what he did on the cross! His' love is still being demonstrated to us by what he did on the cross two thousand years ago! But my point is that Rembrandt saw himself as a enemy..a hater.. of God! I think when we see who we were, and what God has done, the gospel becomes that much more glorious to us!

All For His Son's Glory!
-Kole

New Media Player

I took the liberty of programming a fancy, custom media player for OurLifeSavior.  Check it out and let me know what you think!  The other one was messed up because it didn't work on the internet browser Safari and it didn't allow you to see the name of the song directly in it.  With the new one, you can see the title of the song right on there, and it just looks better.

Try it out and let me know what you think!  I'd be glad to add features if you have suggestions.  You can click the play button to start it.  Generally, it should say the artist and title of the song once it's ready to play.

In addition, I put the song "While You Were Sleeping" in the media player--the song that Kole, Kade and I will be playing for Candlelight Service.  We still need votes on our name--don't forget to vote, if you haven't already!

Edit: I've added a function for the media player.  Right click it to access it.  It is "AutoStart," which makes the song start when you enter the page (without hitting play).  Unless you have it blocked, it will save your preference for next time you visit.

Edit 2: I added a loading display.  When the song begins, the area behind the song title will be gray.  While the song is loading, the background will show a progress bar from gray to red, and when it is fully red it is fully loaded.

God bless!

Luke

Vote Now!!...And Hurry!!

Luke, Kade, and I (without Nick because he moved...sad...) will be performing a song called "While you were sleeping" by Casting Crowns, and we were wondering what our band name should be. So we are asking that you post your vote on the sidebar and tell us which one you like best! If you have a name suggestion, comment the name and we might put it up as an option! Thanks!

-Kole

Our Head of Gold

Hey everyone.   It's been awhile since I posted, eh?  Nick was tricky enough to get me to change the song, knowing that I would be unable to resist posting.

Today, I'll just share a bit from my Morning and Evening this morning.  It compared Nebuchadnezzar's head of gold in his dream to our Head of gold--Christ.  While Nebuchadnezzar's statue had other, weaker and less desirable parts, such as the feet of iron mixed with clay compared to the head of gold, Christ's body has been glorified to match the glorious Head.

And after this, Spurgeon said to pause to think--just try to contemplate the amazing glorification we as Christians have and are being sanctified toward.  How overwhelming and awesome is our Head of gold!

God bless you all!

Luke

Does it Pay to Pray?

Hey guys! It has been a while since you have heard of me, but the other day I was reading Why Pray (I will give you the authors name later, can't remember it now), and the very first 'day' was very good and I want to share the point of it with.

The title of it is "Does it Pay to Pray?" The author says that he is a pastor and he decided to hold a prayer time every morning. He writes that at first just about every pray was answered very quickly, but later it seemed as if God wasn't answering any more of their prayers. Soon, one of the men in the group comes up to him and asks 'does it pay to pray.' The pastor responds, "I guess it doesn't!" Well, he then writes that later he was thinking about it, and he said that if he could answer the man this day, he would say, "does it pay to talk to your wife? What do you talk to her for?" Meaning, if we just talk to God for our gain, what good does that do? We need to talk to Him expecting that His Will will be done, not for what seems good to us.

I would write more, but my time on theis library comp. is about up.

Nick

Isaiah 53-

"Surley He has borne our griefs carried our sorrows; yet we esteem him stricken
smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crush for our iniquities... and with his stripes we are healed." Isiah 53 4-5.

The song that Seven places does is very good, and I encourage you to listen to it.

My favorite of the song is part is "with his stripes we were healed." Very profound, it's amazing what Christ did for us!

-Kade

Election Day!

I love elections! Maybe that's partly because I want to do politics as a side job. But I just wanted to get on and encourage you to be praying for the elections today. Remember God's choice is the winner!

All For His Son's Glory!
-Kole

Reformation Fair

Well, Kade and I got back last night from a trip to Illinois for a Reformation Fair that we went to. We had a great time and I was able to make a bunch of new friends and even see some old friends from the men's retreat back in February. We had a "bouffer" war in which we used swords, knives, bows and arrows, spiked Shields, and poles which were made with pipe that had insulation on it. My family had a delicious lunch of cheese, meat (beef jerky), bread, and wine (sparkling grape juice).

We had a couple of great performances from Nathan Clark George, and, I don't know your convictions on this, but I went dancing with a friend I meet that day. Now it wasn't a one-on-one type of dancing, it was like the old English country dances when you would dance with a lot of different people. But I could still see how others might not agree with that. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we made it back safely, and I will try to post more often.

All For His Son's Glory!
-Kole

Hey guys! Nick here. I am currently sitting in the library of F. E. Warren AFB (Air Force Base), and have been asked by Kole to post about what I am doing and to give more specifics.

Ok, my family and I headed out from Arkansas on Saturday at 3:00 PM. (MUCH later than we had hoped). That night we got to St. Joseph, Missouri, and spent the night at a hotel (can't remember the name). We headed out that morning (Sunday) and reached our first destination around 7:30 PM. That would be at the Brumbaughs who live around Cheyanne, Wyoming, and that is on the other side of the state than we will be moving (North Central part). We are still with them, and will be with them until Monday, the 27th. We then head out to Hot Springs, South Dakota, where we will be visiting with some friends there. We then head out to the Grand Tetons! We will be at the Park on November 2nd or 3rd.

Also, keep Kole and Kade in prayer as they travel too. I don't know all the details, so I will let them fill you in later.

Thanks for your prayers, they are appreciated!!

Nick

Nick is leaving...

That's right, Nick is leaving us... Moving to the 'Grand Tetons' (say it with me: oooo aaahh:).

Why is he moving?: Well... I'll tell you: I don't know. :)


No, just kidding, I know. But I'm not going to just throw it up there.


Nick and his family have really been encouraging to our family and to our church. We'll really miss them. They came to our church maybe two years ago, and they have just jumped right in there. :) Been a huge blessing!


A Memory: first of all, Nick is a really big outdoors person. Me, not so much. One day while we were at his house getting ready to air-soft in his backyard, he said that he had to go inside to get something... When he came back out he was wearing thick baggy pants, and a puffy hunting jacket! I don't know how good he thought my gun was, but he was ready for anything! (p.s. He had the best gun, and I was in a t-shirt!) -Kade

The good news is he will still be part of the Life Savior, and maybe he'll post more!

-Kade and Life Savior

Love is Here- Tenth Avenue North

I foung this song first on a friend's blog, and ever since then I've loved it! The song 'Love is Here' really speeks to me about how Jesus satisfies, so listen to the song; read the lryics, they're good.

Come to the water, you who thirst and you'll thirst no more.
Come to the father, you who work and you'll work no more.

And all you who labor in vain and to the broken and shamed:

(Chorus)
Love is here. Love is now. Love is pouring from His hands, from his brow. Love is near, it satisfies. Streams of mercy flowing from his side. Cuz love is here.

Come to the treasure, you who search and you'll search no more.
Come to the lover you who want and you'll want no more, no.

(Bridge)
And to the bruised and fallen, Captives, bound, and broken hearted.
He is the lord He is the lord, Yeah
By his stripes he's paid our ransom From his wounds we drink salvation
He is the lord He is the lord...

-Kade

Tagged Here Tagged There...

We won't tag anybody else because almost every blog we read has already been tagged!
Oh, and Kole and I can't post our "six random things" right now, for a number of reasons.

We were tagged by Mesheay at http://readyalways.wordpress.com/ and Nikki at http://wwwnikkisnotes.blogspot.com/

Nick said:
1. I collect animal skulls. (What!?!)
2. I like 'original fruit chews' star-burst candy.
3. I hate potato salad.
4. I like spearmint gum.
5. I hate rap music. (Or at least that's what he says):)
6. I'm a pyromaniac.

Luke said:
1. I can tuck in my ears. (What !?!)
2. I hate cream puffs.
3. I'm a computer geek. (I agree, he's brilliant!)
4. I wear contacts.
5. Breakfast is my favorite meal.
6. I have blue walls in my room.

Hope you enjoyed reading this!

-Kade

Theology from a Three-Year-Old

A conversation with my little sister:

Me: "Hey Clarity? What is the gospel?"

Clarity: "Je'dus died on the cross by da' sinners, for our sins, so dat' we won't die."

Now, how profound is that? The total gospel right there, you don't even need to add onto that!
Sometimes we don't renew our minds with the gospel, but that's it, right there! The pure gospel from a three-year-old! If you think about it, it's really amazing how Christ loved us.

'Jesus died on the cross for our sins' was the best thing that ever happen on this earth, but many times we tend to use it as a cliché! Is that was Christ deserves? Obviously not. We need to renew the gospel in our minds, and try to comprehend how deep that really is.

-Kade

p.s. We were tagged by somebody, and we'll do a post on it next.

Our New Blog Pictures

Last Sunday we took some pictures at the church and we wanted to share some with you guys.

These last pictures we actually took Thursday night, but we had some problems and I like the next ones.

Having fun looking dumb! I have no clue what we were doing or trying to acomplish by scratching our chins!

Nick thought it would be funny to be different! Everyone was laughing when we found out what he did!

Everyone liked the position of this pic so we took a couple of them on the stairs, including the following.

There was some confusion on that picture in where to face.

I like this picture because it looks as though Luke is trying to kick me and I'm just looking at his foot.

This (above) I think we would say was our favorite, and it looks rather band-e like a picture you would find in a cd cover.

And this last picture right below is a "thank you" to all the readers who read our blog!

Thanks and enjoy!

-Kole (and the other Our Life Savior members)

Grace will Lead Me Home

I'd like to share some thoughts from and about Morning and Evening (Charles Spurgeon) for September 22 Morning.  It struck me the other day, so I wanted to share it with you now.

"When my heart is faint...lead me to the Rock that is higher than I."

- Psalm 61:2

The central focus of Spurgeon here was on Christ "leading" us to Himself, the "harbor of weather-beaten sails."  He comments that "the helm does not answer to our puny hand; [God] alone can steer us over the bar between the sunken rocks and safe into the fair haven."

That made me think about something that comes up a lot in my godly conversations--the fact that man, on his own, cannot choose or come to God.  Along with what Kole was just talking about in the last post!  Man is incapable--he has a "puny hand."  Man needs God to lead him heavenward.

This is true in the sense that man needs God to call him to Himself initially (salvation), but it is also true for people who have already been saved.  Christians still need God to lead them toward heaven--without Him, our "puny hand" would allow the sea of the world to pull us into the rocks and drown us in its depths.

Just a few profound thoughts from Spurgeon.  I recommend his writing, especially the twice-a-day devotional Morning and Evening.  It is thought-provoking and is well worth the read for the Spiritual benefits it provides by pointing to God and His word.

On the non-spiritual side of things, I'm having computer problems that will end today by me sending my computer to HP.  This is nice because my computer problems will go away.  This is bad because I will be without a computer for two weeks.

What is a guy like me to do?  I do school on the computer, I entertain myself on the computer, I make money with the computer (making websites and Flash applications/games), I make music on the computer, I even exercise on the computer (I run Dance Dance Revolution through the computer).  Pray for me.  This is God's way of saying "stop relying on the computer, you geek."

I might have small windows of time at least every other day to check my email and reply to comments, but nothing beyond that.

Well, that's all I've got.  Comment!

Luke

By Faith

For the last couple of days I have been talking with someone about predestination and how only those who have been chosen will be saved. Instead of just writing a comment I thought it might be good if I posted on the subject and address this persons position. If I misrepresent your position comment and tell me.

First, this person said, "He offered the gift of life and salvation to everyone (or you might say He chose all of us)." I believe it is offered to all, but only the elect (those who God has chosen to save) will be saved.

This person then said, "(Romans 6:23) He offers it to us, and then it is up to us whether we except or not. He puts the ball in our court, per say. God gives us the choice to choose between Him and Satan, just as we have a choice to choose between doing right and wrong. When Jesus said, in John 3:16, “For God so Loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life”, do you think He would have said “whoever believes” if it was not their decision alone (Same thing in Romans 10:9-10 & 13)?" God give everyone a general call to repent and believe; but the elect recieve a effectual calling which cannot be denied!

John Piper says this, "Finally, believing (Faith) is a work of God, not mere human initiative.
This does not nullify what we have said already—that believing is a human act of the mind agreeing with truth and a human act of the heart being satisfied with Christ. That is true. But the Bible teaches that the human mind is blind to spiritual truth; and the human heart is hard to spiritual pleasures. So how shall anyone be saved?

The answer of Jesus is given in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." In John 6:37 he says, "All the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out." In John 6:65 he says, "No one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father." (Cross references. 1:12–13; 8:47; 10:26; 18:37.)

Here are other verses that show that we do not have the will to chose Christ: Romans 8:7-8, Job 14:4, Jeremiah 13:23, and 2 Corinthians 3:5. Eph 2:8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God least anyone should boast." Great verse! God gives us faith! It's not even ours!

Please, if there are any questions and I will try to address them.

All For His Son's Glory!
-Kole

P.S. Kade passed the US History II Clep test today!

A Hard Lesson Learned

Well, today Kole and I learned a hard lesson.

We we're going to paint our room later this afternoon, when I got a "brilliant" idea... Why don't we draw in permanent marker all over the place and later we would cover it up with the paint? Not good. We realized when we started painting that the marker was still showing through! We went into a long task of scrubbin' rubbin' alcohol to get some of it off.

But over-all I learned my lesson, I'll never draw on a wall again. :) Boy does that make me sound childish.

You can kind of tie this in with life. We all make mistakes, yep even me but every time we do, it's a time to learn and grow.
~Kade

p.s. I put up a new song on the side-bar on Rush of Fools' new album.

Free Will

Some people say that we have a "free will" that is not enslaved to sin. I believe differently and I wanted to post on the subject. Just a few verses that would contradict this belief are: Ecclesiastes 9:3, Titus 1:15, and 2 Timothy 2:25-26. These are all really good but my personal favorite is John 8:44 which says, "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires." It is so simple. This is great because it shows not only the depravity of man, but it also makes you realize how the act of salvation is all about God doing the work. It makes the gospel that much more amazing, and all the more glorious!

All For His Son's Glory!
-Kole

Masculine Women - Feminine Men

One thing that I hate in our culture today is how women are acting more like men, and men are acting more like women! God made two different genders, for two different reasons! Men have a different role then women, and women are supposed to help them do that! I think that our society today is getting a little confused!


Here's an old song from the 1920s:

Masculine women, Feminine men
Which is the rooster, which is the hen?
Girls were girls and boys were boys when I was a tot,
Now we don't know who is who, or even what's what!
Knickers and trousers, baggy and wide,
Nobody knows who's walking inside,
Those masculine women and feminine men

And just think how much worse it has gotten since then!

-By the way that we act and dress, that we show who we are and what God has made us.
And if God has made us for one purpose, who are we to say different?!

~So my encouragement to you men is to, "Be a man."
~And to the ladies, "Be a woman."
Simple.

Anything to add?

Kade

Aliens? UFOs?

Hey guys! Sorry I have not posted in a long time (and this is not really a post, but a question), but I am curious, do you think that aliens contradict the Bible? Please leave comments and tell us, and I will tell you all what I think later in a comment.

Nick

~Is it Right for Christians to Listen to Secular Music?~

Just a short question on this post. I have a debate class at my home school group, and the topic is, "Is it right for Christians to listen to secular music?" I'm arguing that is is not right for Christian to listen to secular music. I did some research and got a couple of Bible verses that might contradict listening to secular music, but I want to hear your thoughts.

~Kade

The Five Points of Calvinism

Lately, I have been discussing some theology with someone on the Internet who is a catholic, and I has really made me realize how little I know of God's word and how to defend my beliefs.

But yesterday I got a book from my Dad called, "The Five Points of Calvinism", written by three guys whose names are: David N. Steele, Curtis C. Thomas (who I've met, and I personally know his brother. We go to the same church), and S. Lance Quinn (who is Curtis's pastor).

I have only started the book and I love it! You see in 1610, one year after the death of James Arminians, his followers drew up an article of faith with five points and took it before the State of Holland. They insisted that the Belgic Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism be changed to their beliefs. This meeting called the "Great Synod" came together and put it up against scripture and convened 154 times.

During this time, they came up with the "Five Point's of Calvinism" and condemned Arminism as heresy. And one thing I love about this book is that is puts the five beliefs of Arminist's on one side of the page and the Calvinistic beliefs on the other side so you can compare the two with ease. I am about to get into a section that talks about the similarities between Arminism and Pelagius' beliefs; and Calvinistic belief with the beliefs of Augustine. It's fascinating.

I would recommend this book to everyone! Arminian or Calvinist!

All For His Son's Glory!
-Kole

P.S. I'm a Calvinist just in case you didn't know!

The Greatest Demonstration....

Tonight, in our family bible time we read 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. And two other passages we went to were Romans 5:8 and Galatians 2:20. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Notice "demonstrates". It's present-tense. Means that it's happening now. We can know we are loved because He laid down His life for us. Becuase of what happend then, we can know we are loved now.

Also, it says at the end of Galatians 2:20, "Who loved me and gave Himself up for me." This word "Loved" speaking of the cross! Not that he doesn't love us now, he does; but that the greatest demonstration of this love was on the cross!

All For His Son's Glory!
-Kole

Psalms

Sorry I havn't posted lately! I want everyone to tell me their favorite Psalm. Mine is Psalm 51.... although I also like Psalm 61 also....Oh, well! I like a lot! But what are yours!

-Kole

P.S. I'll try to post on wendsday (tomorrow) if I can. Thanks!

Rightly do they Love You

This morning's devotional from Morning and Evening (by Charles Spurgeon) was on Song of Solomon 1:4, which says, "Rightly do they love you."

In the devotional, Spurgeon speaks of the Christian's love for God, and quotes Samuel Rutherford: "Oh, for as much love as would go round about the earth, and over heaven..."  Spurgeon goes on to say that "our longest reach is only a span of love, and our affection is like a drop in a bucket compared with what He deserves."

As I thought about this, I came to realize the coldness of my love for Christ. Since God deserves so much more love than I can give--infinitely more--how can I withhold from Him all the love that I am able to give?  The Savior of my soul deserves such great love--love that I can never give--but that must not hinder me from giving Him all my love, small though it may be.

Further on in the devotional, Spurgeon says that the Lord judges "our love by our intentions."  In the eyes of God, it doesn't matter that our love is small--what matters is the intentions of our heart.  This brought to my mind the widow from Luke 21.  She only had "two small copper coins" to offer God--that was "all that she had to live on"--but she offered them, irregardless of the meager amount.  Though the amount was small in monetary value, the intention of her heart was worth far more in the eyes of God; in God's eyes, she had offered a great offering that was pleasing to Him.  Christ commended her, saying, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them." 

I encourage you to examine the love you give to God.  While it is certainly not as much as He deserves, you must give what you are able to give.  If your intentions are pleasing to God, it will be a great offering in His sight.  Even if you only have "two small copper coins" of love, give even that to God.  You must give God all your love, for He deserves much more than that.

"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."

- When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Peace be Still

We'll, as many of you guys know my Mom is not feeling well and has been in bed the past week, and that my Dad is not home. That means that all the chaos and everything goes to Kole and me. Everything is under control, but it's very stressful for me to keep the house clean and everybody in line, etc.

But one thing that has helped me through this time is a song called "Peace be Still," by Rush of Fools.

The song should be up on the side-bar soon.

All Christ,
~Kade

Update

Hey, guys. Just wants to say thanks and give you an update on how my mom's doing. She got out of the hospital Wendsday morning and has been slowly regaining strength, praise the Lord! She is doing a lot better, but I would ask for your continued prayers this week, because my dad is going out of town tomorrow and won't be back until friday. So just pray that this week would go smoothly and that nothing else like this would happen. Thank you all for your prayers!

-Kole

Prayer Bar on the Right

We have put a Prayer Request Bar up on the right side of the Blog. We will continue to update it and will try to keep you posted on how the outcome is. If you could include these to your requests, we would appreciate it a lot.

-Nick

God's Providence (please read)

This last Sunday my mom was rushed off to the hospital. It was unexpected for me, and I was woke up in the middle of the night and told that an ambiance was coming to her up. After they had left I went downstairs and just started weeping, praying, and reading my bible. My four brothers and three sisters where upstairs asleep because my Dad hadn't wanted them to wake-up.

While I was praying and reading I saw an extreme example of God's providence. My Dad was supposed to leave that night at six for Houston and not be back until Monday night, but his flight was delayed until Monday morning so he came home and planned on leaving the next morning. That night my mom was rushed off to the hospital. If we hadn't had our Dad it would have really been a nightmare. God's providence has been everywhere the past few days my mom has been at the hospital. I read my bible for two hours before falling asleep from my wiriness.

God really tried me that night, but by going to the word I was able to find encouragement and rest in God's word. Also, one thing that has really encouraged me the past couple of days, is a line from a song by Phil Wickham called "Cannons" and during the bridge he says, "All Glory, Honor, Power is yours amen!" I am actually listening to it as I write this.

I would ask that you pray for my Mom, she lost the baby for those of you who knew she was pregnant, and she still is bleeding but she's gotten better. Please be in prayer!

"All Glory, Honor, Power is Yours (God's) Amen!" -Phil Wickham (and somewhere in the Bible!)
-Kole

My quote

Hey guys, a while back I made a quote that I want to share with you:

"Anything good, done with wrong motives, is bad."
-Kade

So if I serve somebody just for them to see me... that's a wrong motive. Or if I write a good post just to get comments, that's a wrong motive.

We not only need to do good deeds unto others, we need to do them with right motives or else they aren't "good" deeds!

~Kade

All the Way My Savior Leads Me

Hey, guys. Just wanted to post a song that we sing and I like real quick. It's called, "All of the Way My Savior Leads Me."

Verse 1

All of the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy, who through life has been my guide?

Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know what'ere befall me, Jesus doeth all things well!

Verse 2

All of the way my Savior leads me, and he cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for every trial, and he feeds me with the living bread,

Though my weary steps may falter, and my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me, Lo! A spring of joy I see!

Chorus

And all the way my Savior leads me, Oh the fullness of His love!

Prefect rest to me is promised in my Father's house above.

And when my spirit, clothed immortal, wings it's flight to realms of the day,

This my song through endless ages: Jesus lead me all the way

This my song through endless ages: Jesus lead me all... the way

Just a very encouraging song that I love to hear over and over again.

All For His Son's Glory!

-Kole

Quick Quote

Just want to share this quote that I heard:

"Nobody ever drifts to Christ."

~Kade

The Body of Christ

I wanted to share something that came up in our Bible Study a while ago.

1 Corinthinans 12:14 says, "For, in fact, the body is not one member, but many." (NKJV) Later in 1 Corinthians (next few verses after v.14) It goes on to say that if the foot says to the hand, "Because I am not a hand I am not part of the body", and if the eye says to the hand, "I have no need of you", there would be no body. The Body of Christ (the Church) is not just an 'eye' or just a 'foot', but it is made up of all sorts of people who have different abilities, or gifts, than others. Do you know anyone who, because they are Christians, say they don't need to go to Church because they are already saved? Well, Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (NKJV) Does that mean sit around at the house and pray for other believers and yet not meet them in person? No! We are called to do that also, but we are also told here to go and stir up love and good works. You can't do that if you don't fellowship with one another. Also as the Body of Christ we are told not to look down on someone in the Church. If someone's gift happens to be lower (in our minds) than every one else's we must give that person greater honor (1 Corinthians 12:23).

-Nick

God Controls the Heart

Proverbs 15: 11 says, "Sheol (meaning Hell) and Abaddon (meaning Satan) lie open before the Lord, how much more the hearts of men." I read this verse and I think I've heard a few commentaries saying that this means that God sees what's in the heart or something along these lines. But I just wanted to share a thought I had when I read it today. When reading this verse, I thought about this, "God is in control of Hell and the Devil, how much more the hearts of men." This may not mean what I am saying, I am just sharing a thought I had. But God can do whatever he wants with Hell and the Devil, and he can do what he wants with men's hearts. It also made me think of how much we're in control of peoples hearts. That's one thing to think on when sharing the gospel. It doesn't matter if you don't present it right. Or if you don't know passages well enough to recite them. Nothing you can say is going to save them. Only Gods working in their heart can.

-Kole

P.S. Kade and I are going on another trip today and won't be back till Friday night, so don't expect us to post until Sat.

Caleb and Joshua- The Bigger God

Wow, guys, what happened! Where have I been? Well yes, I do have some excuses, but I'm just going to take responsibility for it. I've been off for a while.

I've just got a little story for you guys: Today I taught our Sunday school on Kaleb and Joshua. Now, ya'll know the story ,but I'm going to give you our big idea: THEY'RE BIG... BUT GOD'S BIGGER. Of the twelve spies who went out to Canaan, they all said that they were big, strong, giants there. But Kaleb and Joshua said that God was bigger; God had delivered the Canaanites into their hands, all they had to do was go and take it. They didn't.

Punishment for not believing: Forty years in the dessert, and they wouldn't even get to see Canaan; only their kids. (Joshua and Kaleb went, though).

Well, it's pretty much all there: Kaleb and Joshua had faith in God and His promises, and they were blessed by God for it.

All Christ,
~Kade

p.s. To all you who were at Project 61, I hope to see you guys next year, keep serving Christ for the glory of God... go Team Nine!

Serving Christ

Hey, guys! Just got back this morning from camp (Project 61) and we had a great time serving and meeting new kids and friends. It's kind-of sad that it's over for now, but I learn a lot and was able to learn about some other beliefs from some of the other guys, and it really challenged me to know where things are in the bible. Just wanted to share something that I learned at camp. We went through the passage about the sheep and the goats and how we are serving Christ when we serve these kids. You might be a little less hesitant to serve next time knowing that you are serving Christ!

All For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

P.S. Listen to the song on the sidebar. It is currently my favorite song!
P.P.S I had told three people that I would mention them on the blog so just wanted to say hi to Colby, Rachel, and Brittney! The same to others like Jp, James, Rilley, Matt, Chris, Malichi, Sam, Paige, and any others I didn't name!

VBS

Well, Vacation Bible School has started and has gone on now for three days at our church! It is great! We are doing the Answers in Genesis Amazon Expedition and the kids are learning a lot from that. It is based on the 7 C's of creation, I am still trying to learn them. I think Creation is a great way to spread the Gospel. I myself LOVE animal science and Creation so it is really exciting to me. We are teaching kids (and ourselves) about the lies evolutionists believe and are making clear to them what really happened. I can't believe some of the things I hear about evolution! Evolving from Apes?!? Come on! If it happened then why doesn't it happen now? It is a very wrong belief with NO truths.

-Nick

Project 61

Sorry guys! I haven't posted in a long time! I've been pretty busy, but that's no excuse!

Anyways, Kole and I are going to an inner-city ministry called Project 61. Kole has done it once before, but this will be my first time going.

We're going to take kids from the projects in Tulsa, share the gospel with them, and teach them how to play sports. Because there is a better chance that they will stay in school if they are involved in sports.

Check out the church at: http://www.springsofgrace.net

~Kade

-Hey, guys! One thing that I really enjoy about this camp is that it is very focused on service and it's not just about doing fun things. Now, there are a lot of fun things that we do, but I also love the emphasis on the word. We're consistanly in the word. I'm serious. You do a personal Bible reading in the morning, one Bible study in the afternoon, and two at night. There is great fellowship and I would recommend this camp to anyone. Be praying that we might reach people with the gospel and that God might open people's hearts that he might save them and use them for his Glory!

All For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

P.S. I want to say thanks to those who prayed for me; everything went over well.

Cats and Fireworks

The title of this post refers to two separate stories that have both happened recently.

First, cats.  Last Thursday, one of my favorite cats died.  She was getting old, so it was expected, but it was still hard (for those of you who know her, it was Tea).  Well, over the past few days, my favorite cat, Bistro (a.k.a. "The Beast" or "Beasty") has become sick and is about to die as well.  It was unexpected and was (and is) very hard.  I'm going to miss him.

Second, fireworks.  Yesterday, on the 4th of July, I shot lots of fireworks and watched even more from Jim Rollo and Jase Samuelson.  It was great.  I got giddy and excited--I love fireworks.

Now, how they relate.  When I was laying in bed last night, I thought, "fireworks excite me--how much more should Jesus excite me."  I prayed that God would remove the callus that has built up to prevent excitement about God and Bible Study.  Then I thought again about my cats.  I thought, "my favorite cats dying disappoint me, and it makes me sick and sad--how much more should sinning against my Lord and Savior disappoint and sadden me."

Just another viewpoint on things.

So, when you face trials that cause you grief, remember that you should despair over your sin (but don't stay despairing--ask God for forgiveness and move on).  The despair is a good deterrent to prevent doing the same sin again (although it often doesn't prevent it either).

And when you are excited about something, remember the excitement you should experience when you think about Jesus.  If it is not there, pray that God would remove the callus of your heart and give you genuine excitement for godly things.

Luke

RE: What to pray for?

Hey, guys! I am soooo sorry! I've been out of the blogging world a lot lately, and that's not an entirely bad thing, but it's really hard to get back in it! Just wanted to share something real quick. Today, I was reading Luke 6 and in this chapter Jesus selects his disciples, but there's one thing that I hadn't noticed before. It said that Jesus was up all night praying. Jesus was praying to his father. And I want to ask you, what you think he was praying for? I'll share my thoughts on this same post at the bottom after some discussion.

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

Sorry Guys! Fell off the horse again. I think he was probably praying like we should, asking God for Wisdom; not the answer.

P.S. Please pray for me tomorrow, I have something big going on!

In God's Word

Sorry guys. It's been a crazy week. We've had people over everyday this week, so after having one group over, we would start preparing for the next. I don't have anything that I really want to post on, but I've been going through a Bible study lesson and it has really been talking about God's word and how important it is. I was wondering though, what are you currently reading in the word. It's great to read other books by other Christian people, but we also need to be in the word constantly. Also, If you are memorizing anything, I would love to hear about it!

-Kole

1 Peter 1:17

A while back, my Dad did a Bible time on this passage:

"If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on the earth" 1 Peter 1:17

We talked about the last line: during the time of your stay on the earth. Hmm, that kind of sounds like we're temporarily staying here... hmm... But we are! It's right, this is not to be our home! We are temporarily stayin here! Ok, now that we've gone through that, what are we supposed to be doing with our time on the earth?

Then it says conduct yourselves in fear.

Ok, I'm going to open it up for discussion, tell me what you think it means to conduct yourselves in fear. Does it mean to live today like you're going to die tomorrow?

All Christ,
~Kade

Age of a Man

Hey guys, I just noticed that it's been a while since I've posted. But here we go:

The "Age of a man" was something practiced a long time ago. It was a ceremony when a boy became a man. It was time for him to take on responsibility, get a job, and be ready for marriage. A boy who was of a priestly race would become a man at age eight. A warrior's son, age eleven. And a laborer's son, age twelve.

But in our day and age,(to the world's standard) you must be at the age eighteen or twenty-one to be a man.

But I say to you.. a man is a man when he is a man!

(Let that sink in)

Talking about being a man, please pray for me right now, I'm trying to get a job (or internship) at an architecture firm. I've tried a couple different places, they said no. But I'm not giving up. So pray.

Be the man,
~Kade

The Standard

I just posted that last one just now but I wanted to share something else I gained from a family bible time I had tonight. We were reading Philippians 3 verse 12 to the end of the chapter, and in verse 16 it says, "However, let us keep that standard to which we have attained." And that standard is Christ. But right after he says that, he says this, "Brethren join in following my example..." Isn't that messed up? First he says follow Christ, and then he says follow him? What's up with that? And my Dad explained that there is a difference between a standard and an example. An example is just someone else to follow, like following Paul who is following Christ in this illustration. It says later in that last verse, "and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us." It is good to look to others for an example, but Christ should always be our standard.

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

For the Whole World...No

"Jesus Christ, our savior. Who is the propitiation, the satisfaction if you would, for our sins and not just for our sins but for the sins of the whole world." Is this true? I found this error while listening to this song I have on the sidebar, and I thought, "Is this true? For the sins of the whole world?" The answer is no. He didn't. If this were true than everyone's a Christian! Christ only died to pay for the sins of those who would repent and believe in Him. Everyone else is under judgment. I just wanted to make this clear for you. This was the mistake that I metioned if you came from the Rebelution.

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

New Music

Hey guys! I put some new music of the side, and were hoping to be more dillegent changing it up. Enjoy!!

-Kole

Sacrifice an Abomination?!

I was reading Proverbs 15 just now, and I read something that I hadn't noticed before (as always). In verse 8, it says, "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight." I thought about this, and I thought, "God enjoys it more when I pray then when some unbeliever gives millions of dollars to a charity?! Not only that but it's an abomination!?" And the answer is yes, and I think it's because when we pray we show that we are trusting in him more than we are trusting in our money or material things.

-Kole

Resiste`

Once there was a girl, along with some thirty or forty ladies who were told to recant their faith. They said no, and were put in a high tower for thirty-five years. All they had to was recant their faith, and they would be let out. But they never did, they died there, but everyday they were there they carved the word "Resiste`" into the wall. Resiste`: "to resist."

~We all have our sins that tempt us. And they might tempt us forever, but all we've got to do is resiste.` So when you're tempted to sin, just say the word resiste.` And do it.

~Sometimes we'll say "Oh, I'll sin just once, then I'll be satisfied." Have you ever said that? Well, don't, because when you feed your flesh all it does is make it want more. The sinful flesh is never satisfied.

So my challenge for you today is to "Resiste`."

All Christ,
~Kade

My Self-Righteousness and the Pride After

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while! I just noticed I hadn't posted since last Monday!? :0
Anyways, I just wanted to tell you about something I've been thinking of lately. About three years back my family and I took a trip to Arizona, and while there I heard a sermon about how it says in the bible that everyone is building a temple either of sticks, hay, and wood; or with silver, gold, and precious jewels. And that everyones deeds would be evident because it would be refined with fire. Now I had just been saved by God's Grace about a week or two before, so I was a brand-new believer. And when I heard this I thought of the people before me or others who had been Christians longer than I had (which was a lot since I was just saved) and thinking of how my house was made of the worthless things and just feeling very humble. And recently I felt like I wasn't felling like this enough, and that I would find self-righteousness in my own works or even this blog, Like, "Wow, look at all the people I'm helping on the blog. That's got to be at least six ounces of Gold!;)" Maybe not really like that but I felt like too often we find things to have self-righteousness in. And I thought I would rather be humble and have nothing to be proud of except Christ than to have a huge temple of gold that one half on the place is roting because of my pride in my own works!

-Kole

Working hard to the Glory of God

Well guys, I've/we've been working really hard lately. Kole and I are trying to make money to go to an inner city ministry in Tulsa. And I've been thinking, how do we work hard to the glory of God? So I got a few points:

(1).Have a good attitude when you work, serve joyfully. (I really struggle with that). God even gave the Israelites over to their enemies, because they did not obey joyfully. "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;
therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you..."
(2). Be grateful.
(3). If you do get paid for the job, use the money in a way that would bring God glory.

These are just three things, and there are many more. So what other things can we do to work to the glory of God?

All Christ,
~Kade

Two Q's

Ok guys, I've been reading "Don't Waste your Life" And I've got a few questions to ask yourself to see if you are/are not wasting your life:

"You don't have to have good looks or riches or come from a good family or a good school... instead you have to know one great all-embracing thing... and be set on fire by it." -John Piper
Q: Do you know one all-embracing thing, and are set on fire by it?

"We waste our lives when we don't pray, think, dream, plan, and work toward magnifying God in all spheres of life" -John Piper
Q: What are you doing to magnify God?

All Christ,
~Kade

Rash Words...Rash Decisions..

I think you all have heard stories of Saul in you classrooms in Sunday school or at least about David. But today I wanted to tell of a story of Saul and Jonathan that a story in my Literature book that reminded me of the this story in the bible.

In 1 Samuel 14 Saul is facing the Philistines and he says "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies." And later when Saul asks if he should go fight the philistines and God does not answer he knew that something was wrong; and said though the fault lie with Jonathan he would be killed. And this ends up getting him in trouble when his son Jonathan (who had not heard this) ate some honey.

You can read this story and find out what happens at the end. But Saul was a man who made rash decisions and said rash things. I just wanted to encourage you to not be rash, and just say things that you will regret later, but wait on the Lord.

-Kole

Time is tick'n

If you are a young person, you need to read this post:

I've been reading "Don't waste your Life" by John Piper lately, and the main thing to do to not waste your life, is to "...glorify God in your body..." and enjoy doing it.

Many times as young people we ask, "what do you want to do when you grow up?" Or what are you going to do to glorify God?" But I ask you, what are you doing now to glorify God? We are in our "best years" what are we doing now to glorify God, hmm? Are we being servants? Are we sharing the gospel? I also have to ask, what am I doing to glorify God? So instead of putting it off, "oh, when I have a job I'll glorify God," 'when I am married, I'll glorify God." No! We need to do it now! Do something! Go serve some way! Time is tick'n guys!

All Christ,
~Kade

In the Fullest Measure

1 Peter 1:2, "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood.  May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure."

As I was memorizing, reading, and studying 1 Peter, I noticed the phrase Peter writes at the end of chapter 1 verse 2: "in the fullest measure."

Grace in itself is full.  Grace is love that stoops.  Grace is God's act of love toward sinners that keeps them from His holy wrath and gives them eternal life.

The peace is peace with God.  Apart from this God-given peace, we are all His enemies.  With this peace, we are adopted as sons.

Not only does Peter pray that these people receive grace and peace, but he adds "in the fullest measure."  This reminds me of that song--"dayanu."  You remember, the one at seder?  "Da da yanu, da da yanu, da da yanu, dayanu dayanu dayanu."  You get the point.

It's Hebrew for "it would have been enough."  Put it this way:  it would have been enough if God had made peace with us so that we would no longer be enemies.  Dayanu.  But, in the fullest measure, God has given us peace by adopting us.

It would've been enough if God had given us grace so that we would not experience His eternal wrath.  Dayanu.  But, He has given us grace in the fullest measure--He has given us eternal life with Him in heaven.

Praise God, who gives us grace and peace--in the fullest measure!

Luke

Note: Sorry it took so long to post.  I just kept procrastinating.

God with Us

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Deuteronomy 31:8 "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Yesterday, at our youth-group we went through 1Samuel 23. It was about David running from Saul. And God always provided a way for David to escape. God was with him.

Today, in my school book Light and the Glory it told the story of how Washington escaped Howe's army of twenty thousand during the night by small boats, when they surely would have been wiped out. God was with them.

God promises to be with those who are his... so even though we may not see Him, feel Him, or hear Him.. He is there. And when we go through trials we might think; where is God? Well for one, God gave us that trial, two, He's in control, three, he might have giving us that trial to make us come running back to Him, four, He promised He will never leave us. And God doesn't lie, bub.

All Christ,
~Kade

Determination

Today I had my three little sisters on my bunk-bed with me. (Probably not the smartest thing, but I was on the outside, so they were safe)(but I wasn't, they sometimes push me off, even though they're young). Anyways, my littlest sister, Covey (who is 1) had got hold of a small tooth-paste box... and was determined to get it open. She pried and tried, but couldn't get it open. She then threw it on the ground, pressed on it, and it came open! She looked in and found her prize... the tooth-paste bottle.

Another thing that I think of when I think of determination is a race. I've ran a couple of three-mile races, but I don't really rely on my physical condition. I rely on brain power. Also called adrenaline, or determination. And I don't do so bad.

So just as my little sister was determined, and my determination in running, so should we be in life. That's something we really need in our Christian walk, we need to be determined to live for Christ, and excel in Him.

All Christ,
~Kade

This is the most emotional...

Hey guys, this is Kole. Right now..... I'm quite..... overwhelmed. Out of all the posts I have done previously I think this is the most emotional. You must read this. Some of you may know that I went to a wedding yesterday and it was very exciting because we were able to see a lot of our old friends from Texas because the bride was our pastor in Texas's daughter. I saw many people I haven't seen in over nine years! Anyway, we had a great time and on the way back, I was thinking about the wedding and I was like, 'who will I marry? How will I know who's the right one? What if I ask and she says no because she might be older than me, or she likes someone else, or I am to small or...or... whatever!?' I have some time had other experiences like this about what job I'll have or whatever, but I thought of something I hadn't thought of before. You have probably heard this before but it was just what I needed to hear right then. "I don't know what the future holds... but I know who holds the future." God has planned it all to turn out for my Good because he has changed my heart and turned it towered him! And I know that HE IS IN CONTROL! And you know, I don't know where you live... but I know that if he has saved you and you love him he will work everything out for your Good! Let Him be Priased!

Fervently Loving the Brethren,
and ALL for His Son's Glory!

-Kole

P.S. I want to dedicate this post to all of my Texas and Oklahoma friends! Thank you guys so much for your friendship with me. You are all an encouragement to me! Call me anytime!

Why we Forgive

Why do we forgive people? Why don't we hold a grudge?

Well, the main reason for the saved is... "Forgive just as your Father in heaven forgave you." The only way we can really realize God's grace and mercy, is if we realize how much God has forgiven us. And if we really know how much God has forgiven us... why shouldn't we forgive others?

You probably know the parable where the a man had a humongous debt, one that he could never pay... but yet, the king forgave him. However, when the man went away... he choked one of his servants for ten-cents! And that's how we are when we don't forgive others.

So if we really know how much Christ has forgiven us, we can forgive anybody for anything!

All Christ,
~Kade

Prayer Request

Hello readers. I have a prayer request for all of you concerning Steven Curtis Chapman (Contemporary Christian Singer). His youngest daughter, Maria Sue Chapman, was killed by a car yesterday evening at about 5 P.M. Her brother was driving the car and apparently didn't see her. She was rushed to a hospital via helicopter but she did not survive her wounds.

Please pray for this family and especially for her brother as he is probably having a horrible time right now dealing with this.

- Nick

Like it Never Happened

"Like it Never happened"-Seven Places

(Bridge)
You've taken all my mistakes and put them anywhere but close
(Chorus)
They have gone away (away)
from the east to the west and height any depth that's where it goes,
From the ground to the sky from low to high that's where it goes,
You act just like, like it never happened

(Second Bridge)
deep, wide, low, high my sins are gone away
and if I'm up, down, or all around I can hear you say,
"They have gone away"

All Christ,
~Kade

Survivor

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while! The trip to Cal was fun, and we were able to see a lot of our old friends. Anyway, Today I was reading my bible and in Proverbs 21:14, and it talks about "bribes behind the back", and it reminded me of some thing that happened a round Christmas last year. I think everyone has seen the TV show survivor and my dear Dad bought the game for it. You have to complete physical or abilitical skills and when a team gets beat three times they have to vote a team member off. Sad to say, but I have always been the first to go out. But it got to the point that my team was down to three people: my Nana, my brother, and my Cousin. My Nana and my brother were going to vote each other off, so it was up to my cousin to decide. Both Nana and my Brother try to bribe him and my cousin was only six so of course he would be persuaded. There was no strong wrath I'm glad to say. But I just wanted to tell you this story.

-Kole

Communication:Conversation

I can't tell you how many times adults have been shocked that I held a conversation with them!People don't expect that. It is a very powerful thing, conversation. People think, Wait, aren't you supposed to be one of those lazy teen-agers who do nothing but have fun and hang out with your girlfriend? I've never seen this before. And before you know it, they love you!

How do you hold a conversation with an adult?
(1). Be friendly.
(2). Ask questions. (It's good to have a couple questions in your head all times: "What's your job?" "Have any kids?" "Do you go to church? Where?"etc.)
(3). Be mature. (Meaning: look them in the face, shake their hand, etc. (for all you guys, it had better be a firm hand shake! Or else...)

When I think of this I think of the Proverb "Even a fool who is silent, is considered wise." Well this is the opposite! "Even a fool who can hold a mature conversation with an adult is considered wise."-Kade (You can quote me on that one:)

All Christ,
~Kade

The Power of Our Influencce

Most of us probably have younger siblings, or are involved with little kids somehow. And all those who do, have a power... it's called "Influence". The only question is; how we are influencing them? Are we influencing them in good ways, or the opposite?

I'll tell you a story: A while back we had a couple of kids from the neighborhood come over to our house. We were playing a game when I said the word stupid. After a little while, I heard one of the kids say stupid. Now, I'm pretty sure that he didn't know that word because he was very young. When he said it, it broke my heart. It felt so bad, that I taught him to say that! Afterwards I went over to him to ask for his forgiveness and I told him that it was not a good word to say.

But we can also influence them in good ways: One day we had a day with our home school group. But this was not a regular day. Because this was not a regular day... there was no child care. So in one of the big back rooms there was about 25 to 30 kids. No parents, no teens older than myself, nothing to do, nice. But even with that I made up at least five games to play, everybody was under control, everybody had a good time. Even me. And because I influenced them, they cooperated.

Our power of influence on younger children is very powerful. Use it wisely. Influence them in good ways.

~Kade

(Leave a comment if you can relate)

Discouraged & Darth Maul

I am here in California on vacation guys. It's going well. Hav'in a lot of fun! I haven't been able to post for a while, but tonight, I can!

A couple of days ago something happened and I was feeling really discouraged. I kind of got into a "dopey mode" which sometimes happens with me. I thought what do I have? Well, I have Christ. Then I thought, if somebody saw me, would they see Christ? And is this what God has done with my life? Certainly not! God has done so much! So why ruin it? I instantly changed my attitude. So that's a good thing to carry about when we have bad attitudes. To steal a quote, "Would God allow us to carry His victory banner, and then look like we have been beaten back by the enemy? No Way!"

Alright now, I want to tell you a little story of my vacation so far, listen, it's funny: We went to Disney Land yesterday, and there they had a meet-and-greet for some of the Star Wars characters. As we approached Darth Maul, I was a little freaked out. He looked like... real! Horns and everything! I boldly went up to shake his hand... he knocked it away. I then said, "Oh, is that not cool?" (No answer) Freakier. With my heart beating, I softly punched him in the chest (just to know that he was human). Then I said, "So what is cool?" He made the motion, "cut-off-head-with-light-saber." I then have him a friendly slap and said, "You need the Lord."

Afterward I was like "That's awesome! I got to share the gospel with Darth Maul!"

All Christ,
~Kade

Quick, Meaningless Post

Hey, everyone, this is Luke.  I'm posting this from my personal blogger account, so it signs "Luke Godfrey" instead of "LifeSavior" at the bottom of the page.

I have thought up a post for you, stay tuned and I'll get it typed for you soon!

Experiences

I am going through a study and I will (try) to post about it at least once a week.

When we do something in life over and over again, we tend to use or own experience at it, right? SO when someone who is new to it needs advice, he goes to you or someone else who knows more about it than he does. Well, when we sin, and we try to stop, we tend to use our own expriences than asking for God's help! And that is impossible. We can't do anything without Him. We must NOT let our own experiences be our guide, or we will end up in a big mess. If we lean on our own experiences for our life, we are walking on some thin ice. But if we look to the Bible for answers, and pray for God's will to be done, we can never go wrong. Now, you can go wrong if you are looking for answers to a wrong question. I you are trying to seek out how to make a lot of money in a short time, you won't find the right answer! I like how Henry Blackaby and Claude King (the men who wrote the study I am going through) put it. They saud that we can't ask, "What is God's will for my life," but rather, "What is God's will?" We must find God's will first, and then conform our life into that.

-Nick

What is the "Fear of the Lord?"

We have talked about being wise and we said that the "Fear of the Lord" is the beginning of wisdom, but what is the fear of the Lord? If you read Proverbs 8 you will find out what it is. Read it and share your thoughts! I'll answer the Question directly from Scripture later today.

-Kole

P.S. Tomorrow I will be leaving with my family to CA. I will try to post when I have time out there, but we will be driving tomorrow and Saturday. Please pray that we would have a great time fellowshiping with people we haven't seen in a long time, and that the trip would be safe. Thanks!

Favorite Song

Alright guys, here's what we're going to do; everybody tell us your favorite Christian song by a Christian artist. That way, everybody will get a chance to check listen to some new music!

Personally, my favorite song is "This is Home" by Switchfoot. And my second favorite is "Spirit" by Switchfoot, so check them out!

~Kade

Hard neck to Reproof

Today, I refereed a game. In it there was three red cards and one yellow! And we ended the game early because the teams were so at each other! There was also a fight that broke out, with fists flying. Over-all, it was a terrible game.

Afterwards, the center-referee went to talk to a lady from the stands who had almost caused another fight. And she wouldn't listen! She kept yelling and yelling and was so stubborn, she wouldn't listen to reproof!... it was bad.

I feel sorry for her. Because you know what Proverbs 29:1 says: "A man (that also means a woman) who hardens his/her neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy." Broken beyond remedy! One of these days, she will be broken. It's sad, pray for her. Moral of the story: have a soft neck to reproof.

All Christ,
~Kade

No Correlation?

I was reading that book "Ancient Wisdom" and the Author was talking about wisdom and he made this statement, "There is absolutely no correlation between age and wisdom." And I thought about this statement. Is that true? What do you think? Please comment and share your thoughts!

-Kole

Prepare for Battle

"Preparation is only possible when it is not currently necessary."

In our battle with sin, preparation is the key.  If we are not prepared to face the enemy, the enemy will overwhelm and destroy us.

I found that the idea of two armies battling is a great example.  You don't begin learning to use a gun when you are out in the midst of the battle.  In the same way, preparation for our battle with sin is necessary before sin has drawn up in battle array against our souls.

So, preparation is necessary, but what exactly is preparation?  In preparation for a real battle, you need to have the weapons, and you need to practice with them.

Having weapons and armor.  The first things you need are weapons and armor.  In Ephesians 6, we find our weapon is the Word of God, and the armor consists of salvation, righteousness, and many other virtues.  So we must first be granted salvation and establish these virtues through the Word of God in our hearts.

Practicing with the weapons and armor.  Now that you have the armor, you must use it.  Before a soldier goes into active service, he learns how to use the weapons and armor he has been given.  Exercise your God-given spiritual gifts at every opportunity.

In the army, discipline is huge.  Soldiers are strictly trained and disciplined to be ready as soon as possible.  Soldiers in an army that is waiting for the inevitable attack of the enemy (and the attack of sin is inevitable) do not sleep or "entangle [themselves] in the affairs of every day life," but they are prepared "for action" and "sober in spirit."  They are on the alert for any hint of the enemy.

So I encourage everyone who professes to be a soldier in the active service of God to do these three things.  Make sure you have the weapons and the armor, make sure you practice with them daily (at every opportunity), and finally, make sure you are disciplined to watch for the enemy.  You should always be prepared to battle for your Lord.

Luke

Do Hard Things Photo

On the Reb. blog they asked for pictures of their book that are interesting or funny. Here's ours. Cool huh? Yep, It was pretty hard. And no, I did not use my Jedi-powers to get on Kole's shoulders, I would have liked to... but... well, we used a ladder instead, ok! :)

~Kade

"Give, Give"

Proverbs 30:15 "The leech has two daughters; "Give" and "Give" they cry."

Now, this isn't talking about the song by Relient K "Give, give, give, until there's nothing left." No, it is talking about greed. I looked the word up in a dictionary and the only antonym for the word was generosity. And I thought, am I generous with what I have?

Well sometimes, when I feel like it! But generosity doesn't just have to do with possessions, it also has to do with how we spend our time. Like, by serving my family, I am being generous, you know what I mean? So sometimes, as teens we don't have a lot of money or stuff, but we can be generous with our time!

Another thing, praying does a lot more than giving, because God does a lot more than we. So pray. But by all means! It is very good to give, because what has Christ done for us? Given all! So like the Relient K song we need to, "Give, give, give..."

All Christ,
~Kade

p.s. Tell me some things that you do, or that you can do, to be more generous.

Donut-Man Song!

Last Sunday, pastor taught about serving and how Christ served. And immediately I thought of a song on one of those kiddy-DonutMan-bible-movies...

"James and John were hanging around, fighting over who was the best, and Jesus said "You want a crown on your head? Well, this will be the test: (listen carefully) If you want to be made great by the Lord, well then you've got to be the servant of all!"

Pretty cool, huh? And yes, sometimes I watch those "kiddy movies" with my sisters.

Did you know that Christ had the same life-goal as we do? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. And we should strive to be like Him. And just as He was a servant, we should be too. "Whoever wishes to become great, shall be your servant... just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve!" Same with us!.. but sometimes we get carried away and think we are the ones who are to be served!:)

All Christ,
~Kade

Small Hard Things

Oh Yeah!!! Nick's last post put us at our 100th post and this one will break 100!!! I just wanted to post really quick about what happened to me yesterday. I was going to help out with something our church was doing, and I was ok with everything, until I found out that I had to wear a long-sleeved white collared shirt! Looking back, this was quite ridiculous, but I was upset because I only had one white long-sleeved shirt and it was pretty much brand new and it was expensive! Not like my other consignment store shirts! I was sent to a room to pray and when my mom walked in she asked if I was ready to serve. She also told me to "Do Hard Things". And that struck me. I had been ready the book the night before and learned about the "small hard things" like: cleaning your room, for me: washing my face, or things of that sort. This was one of them. Things that seem like they're not that important. But we need to take everything and do it as best as we can, for God's glory!

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

Answers in Genesis

I watched a video a few nights ago made by Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis and he was talking about evangelism. He based his message on two different aspects, the Jews (Acts 2) and the Greeks (Acts 17). He was saying that when missionaries go and spread the Word in a country with 'Greeks' (I'll get to that in a minute), a lot of them start with Jesus dying for our sins. Well, people with no Biblically based backgrounds don't know much about the Bible, so they don't get it very well. When Paul was teaching the Jews in Acts 2 he didn't have to start from the beginning because they knew the same God he was preaching about. But in Acts 17 when he was preaching to the Greeks, he had to start from the beginning because they didn't really know which God he was talking about. But we in America are starting to get that way as well. Fewer and fewer people these days know about the Bible. They think of it as a storybook. A book for little kids to learn at Sunday School. People don't take it seriously anymore. Our country was built by godly men, but now they are slipping away from the Bible.

I would recommend getting Why Won't They Listen: Reaching a Lost Culture. This is the video that this post is about.


- Nick

Book Recommendation

Hey Guys, I just wanted to recommend a book I am currently reading called "Do Hard Things". It was written by twin brothers named Alex and Brett Harris, the authors of the blog "The Rebelution". It is a great book that will challenge you to "Do Hard Things" and raise the standards for your life. Get the book as soon as possible, if you can!!

-Kole

P.S. Their older brother is Joshua Harris, author of a book called "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" and others.

Approach God in Humbleness

So sorry I haven't posted in a while guys! I was on vacation for a couple of days, and yesterday I was sick... so... anyways...

Proverbs 25:6 "Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence, and do not claim a place among great men; it is better for him to say, "Come up here," then for him to humiliate you..."

Hmm... That's a great verse, I was just thinking about how God is the King. And we need to come before him in humbleness. God will say "come up here', and he will exalt us. "Humble thyself the the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." ('higher and higher" ok sorry, just had to say that)

Have you ever tried to lift yourself up? Do it right now... ...wasn't it ridiculous! It's the same when we try to lift ourselves up instead of God praising us, it's pitiful! So we need God to do it!
:)
All Christ,
~Kade

We're back

Hey Guys, just wanted to say that we got home safely today, and that I'll post tomorrow, Lord willing. Thanks Guys!

-Kole

What we enjoy...

I was reading a great book by John Piper, and I knew that I needed to post on some of what I’ve read so far. At the beginning of the first chapter he talks about God’s justice and His love. And how we have turned to other things to fill us with joy, and how we were told, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.” (Deut 6:5) Piper says, “We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn’t God” I thought about this statement, and I thought of things I might enjoy more than God: sports, reffing, music, guitar, books, food… the list goes on. But I thought about how Jesus found his most enjoyment in his communion with his father and the Holy Spirit.

So, I ask you, what gives you the most enjoyment? Jesus’ enjoyment was in glorifying the father, and we need to follow his example and ask God to help us find us most enjoyment in Him, that we might glorify him!

For His Son’s Glory!
-Kole

Sword of the word

Be on the Alert! Alert against whom, you say? Satan. Satan does everything he can to undermise God, but instead of him going strait out to God, he attacks us! Remember when Christ was tempted by Satan, well, what did he do? In Luke 4 (I believe) Christ used the word to "fight off" Satan. So should we.

But, we need to do all this in gentleness... "A soft answer..." Sometime when we answer hard, mean words, it just makes it worse! So... gentleness.

I like what Michael the Archangel said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you!" We totally can't do anything, but we can ask for the Lord.

All Christ,
~Kade

p.s. Kole and I will be going on a vacation, so we probably won't be able to post until Tuesday.

Setting Standards

Last night as part of our family bible time, my dad told us about how proud he was of us completing the test. But he told us about how Paul told the Thessalonians that they were doing well, but they should excel still more. And how we should not set our standards to those of the the world. How even if we ace this test, we shouldn't set our standards to that of the world. As two young men I know, who have a true passion for Christ, when it comes to the world's standards they say, "The roof is where the floor should be." Meaning, the world's best should be the minimum. "The roof is where the floor should be." What a great line! Where we think we're doing our best that's where the floor should be. So I encourage you, excel still more! And don't forget to give God the glory!

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

God cares about the...

Well, today I tested... How did it go? I probably did ok. Afterward, my Mom was a little late in picking us (Kole and I) up, so we helped a couple of ladies move some tables, chairs, etc. And they were really blessed by that! And even if we didn't do so well in our testing... We still had a good attitude, and we were being a servant. And you know what?! God cares about the heart! He is pleased with that!

But we should always do all (even test) to the glory of God. And if we all got F's... do you think that would bring God glory? No. So we should try to do well. (By the way, I made this cheer, "Do your best, in the test, and let God do the rest!" cool, huh?(I kind of stole a little bit from somebody else, sorry) In a song that I really like, the guy says "It's the heart that really matters in the end!" And that's right! And our actions will reflect what is in the heart!

Alright now, I'm going to steal a saying that my Dad's friend says all the time, "Saved to Serve." That's awesome! That's why God saved us! We are saved to serve!

All Christ,
~Kade

Preparation

This afternoon, I am taking a state test and I didn't prepare myself very much. Some people might be worried in my situation, but I'm not; and it's because of something my Great Dad told my brothers and I, and it was this. He asked, "How long have you been preparing for this test?" And the answer he told us was, "All your life." You see God has been preparing us for this moment all our life, either to do well or poorly. I just wanted to say, that any thing that happens today, or five years from now, God has prepared us for it. Remember, he never gives us more than we can handle.You might not think he did at the moment it happens, but He prepared you!

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

A Soft Answer

Tonight I have games to ref, but tonight is a little different. I will be reffing in the center of the field and I will be reffing u-8 kids. Now last week there was this guy who came over before a game that my brother and I were going to ref, and he went nuts! Apparently he didn't like a call one of the refs had made and was upset. We talked respectfully to him, but he started getting annoying because he was delaying a game that we had to start. Later that night after all the games were done we told our Dad about this guy. He asked us, "you know what to do if you meet that type of person, right?" And he told us this verse in chapter 15 of proverbs. It says, "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." I was a little worried that I might meet this guy again, but I remembered this verse and now I know what to do if I meet him.

Moral of the story: "A soft answer turns away wrath"

-Kole

'It is finished"

On Sunday, pastor taught about "Famous last Words." When it was time for Christ to die, He was concerned for others, not himself. But pastor didn't really touch on Jesus' very last words, "It is finished." So I'm going to talk about that. What was finished? What did He do? Well obviously, the easy answer is that He died for our sins... But I'm going to try to go a little bit deeper...


I think a couple of things were started and ended when Jesus said, "it is finished." These are some: (1). We no longer needed to make sacrifices, because Jesus made it! (2). We could pray, and we wouldn't need priests and stuff. (3). Our sins were paid for. (Hallelujah) (4). His suffering was over. (5).His "life purpose" was fulfilled. (6). etc. (In the etc part, make a comment and tell me something that ended or began when Jesus said "It is finished.") There are definitely a lot more things that are all wrapped up in those three words.

All Christ,
~Kade

Much More

Hey guys, I know that I haven't posted lately. But here is a song that I wrote called "Much More."The music to it is really cool, but I can't really get it to you, you know? Anyways:

Much More
~I feel the brokenness all around me,
~We are saved in a world that's lost,
~This generation's in need of help, much help.

~But I... know... that we... can do... much more than this...

~We've got to share the word ,
~Yes we've got to share the word of God,

~We need to come to the front,
~To show those who are in need of Him,
~That He is able to to save us all today.

~And I... know... that we... can do... much more than this...

(Repeat Chorus)

~Kade

p.s. Even though you don't know the tune... the chords are Am-F-C-G. So just play around with it if you want.

The Lamp

Today, in Matthew 6:22-23, I read this, "The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness ..." I read this and I thought 'We (Christians) always talk about guarding our eyes, but I think we say it out of habit too often.' This needs to be serious. If our eyes are clear we will be full of light. People can see this light! If we call ourselves Christians and then go out and watch a bad movie, they won't see the light! They'll see darkness! That is not what we want them to see in people who have claimed that they have been saved and changed by Christ! Guard your eyes not only for your own sake, but for Christ's name and his glory!

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

Why in the World?!

Hey guys, I've kind of been out of it. So sorry. I'll make what I have to say short. Today I was reading Matthew 4, when Jesus calls Peter and Andrew to "follow him" and he would make them "fishers of men." Now, if someone I didn't know, came along and told me to follow him and he would make me a fisher of men, I'd think he had lost it!! or maybe I had lost it.... WHy in the WORLD would I follow him?! Then he calls to James and John, and they follow! I have a question for EVERYONE and I would like you to comment and tell me what you think because then I get a couple different views on it. Tell me why you think they would follow?!

For His Son's Glory,

-Kole

Behavior & Attitude vs. Skill

Let me tell you a little story:
A couple of weeks ago, Kole and I were going to start ref'ing some soccer games for money. (We took a test and passed). And when we showed up to ref' our first game there was a girl there... We call her "Goth Girl." (Because of the way she looked and dressed)... Anyways, she was very silly and disrespectful. And Kole and I were the opposite, we had good attitudes, we were respectful, and we did our job. So what do you think the "Ref' Manager" is thinking now? Yep, you guessed it! We are getting all the jobs! We may not have been the best ref's (in skill), but we were the ones with the best attitude!

James 3:13 "...By his good behavior, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom."

1 Peter 1:15 "but as He who has called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct."

1Peter 2:12 "Keep your behavior among the Gentiles honorable...that they may see your good deeds and glorify God in the day of visitation." I love that! We need to show our good behavior among the unsaved, to bring Christ glory!

All Christ,
~Kade

p.s. Kole and I aren't that bad of refs :)

Every move I make

Today I was playing the song "Every move I make," I don't know why, I usually don't like that song, but anyways... I thought about when it says "every move I make I make in you." Hmm? Is that true? Do we always walk in God? No.

But maybe it means something else... maybe it means that whenever we walk, it's because God gave us that step. Hmm, I don't know. But what I do know is that we don't always walk in Christ. We mess up. Humph.

But what do we do when we mess up?:

(I know I've said this quote before... but... I really like it!) "It's not about how hard we can hit, it's about how hard we can get hit, get up, and move forward!" -Rocky Balboa. I take it to mean that we repent, get back up and go on.

Psalm 7:12 "If a man does not repent, God will whet His sword; He has bent and readied His bow."

All Christ,
Kade

The Sin of Omission

Last week at my homeschool group, I remember going into the mom's room, and meeting this gentleman who was in there getting ready for a presentation. I had finished what I was doing and right before I left the room I hear something and looked back at where he was, and saw that he had spilled a small cup of water. I walked out of the building and started to enter another building when I stopped...and stood for a little while. I thought 'I should help him. He doesn't know where any paper towels. I don't even know where some paper towels are.' I stood there for about ten seconds, debating if I should go back and help. I didn't. And I fell bad about not helping him.

Yesterday in our bible reading in James 4, the last verse in the chapter, the last verse, made me think about what happened. Verse 17 says, "So whoever knows what is right and does NOT do it, for him it is sin. This is called the sin of omission, the things you don't do that you know you should. We need to be careful about this type of sin, because it is very sneaky. We need to look out for it.

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole

Seek after Wisdom

Want to know how to be wise? Well:
Proverbs 2:4-6 "If you seek for her as silver, and search after her as hidden treasures; than you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding."

So, we find wisdom by seeking after it, simple. But how do we do to seek after it? What do we do? Well, one, by correcting ourselves... when we are being foolish, we repent, and by doing this we are wise. Because wisdom repents. Hey, that's cool, point one: Wisdom repents. Point two: God gives wisdom. So another thing that we can do: pray. Because God gives wisdom!

All Christ,
~Kade

Instruction and Teaching

Today in our bible reading I read Proverbs 1, and in verse 8 and 9 it talks about the instruction of our father and the teachings of our mother. But read verse 9, it says, "Indeed they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck." It may not seem that way right now, but in the future (for those who are still younger) it will make a big difference. We will be able to handle situations differently (hopefully better). Homeschooling will also make a big difference and help us get a good job. But the instruction and teaching of our parents will be, and are, a graceful wreaths or ornaments. We enjoy IT!! Or we will! Others see it and think it's wonderful! Listen to your father's instruction and your mother's teaching, and LOVE IT!!!

-Kole

Christmas Presents

No doubt your probably thinking, "What is Nick talking about Christmas for?" Well, a while ago my pastor was saying why we give presents at Christmas time. I know some who don't do presents so they will keep their eyes on the real reason for Christmas. That is ok, but when we give presents, we are 'echoing' what God did for us. You see, what did God do on Christmas? He gave us a 'present', Jesus! Now, I'm not saying that that is what Christmas is for. It is about the birth of Christ. But I never knew why we gave presents.

-Nick

Slaves

We're all slaves! Some people don't like that fact, but we are. We're either slaves of the devil, (and our passions) or we're slaves to Christ. Romans 6:22 "But now that you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves to Christ..." So there you have it, right there. But here is the cool part, even though we are slaves to Christ; if we are truly in Christ, we will want to do his will, and obey His command.

Do we fail?... Well... yes, we do, but when we do, we: repent, ask for forgiveness, get back up, and keep going.
One of my favorite quotes says, "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit, get up, and go on."-Rocky Balboa.

One last thing: Romans 6:16 says "...you are slaves to what you obey..."
So what or who do you obey?

All Christ,
~Kade

Responsilbility or Broken Necks

Yesterday, I was weed-whacking before I had to leave for the parenting class I help with. I usually work with kids or the sound system. Anyway, I left the whacker outside and it rained last night. When my parents asked me if I had put the whacker away, I respond with a few excuses. (Notice "FEW"). I was upset and angry about being corrected, and I "hardened my neck". Two minutes later, I was having a bible time with my family and talking about hardening our necks from Prov 29:1. Verse 1!!!! Right off the BAT!! Verse 1 says, "A man who hardens his neck after much reproof, will suddenly be broken beyond remedy." I later asked for forgiveness from my parents and siblings (for setting a bad example), and took responsibility for the weed-whacker.

For His Son's Glory,
-Kole