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!