On this wonderful spring day as I sit here in my office wanting to be outside but knowing that I have work that must get done I began reflecting back on Palm Sunday and the message that God gave me to proclaim. Again I was stirred by the message not because I thought it was so great and Billy Graham would call be blessed because of it. I was stirred because God spoke again to me about the message. The message was taken from Luke 19:28-41 and the text of the message was verse 41, "As he (Jesus) approached Jerusalem and saw the city he wept over it." God asked me the same question I asked the people that Palm Sunday morning when was the last time you wept over your city, town, neighborhood, friends, and family. Jesus' weeping was not because he was excited about coming into Jerusalem he was weeping because of the judgement that some would face because of their action that would result in Jesus' crucifixtion. I believe he wept because he knew Peter would deny him and Judas would betray him. Jesus wept because he knew some would go into eternity with out God's redeeming love that he wants to give so freely. It is easy to write people off it is easy to say they are not worth much anyway, but God does not think that way Luke 12:6-7 tells us that five sparrows are sold for two pennies and not one of them is forgotten by God. So what does this say to me while my earthly attitude would want to say they are not worth it my Heaven father tells me tp weep over my city because the people are worth it because they afre his creation. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few pray for workers into the harvest field and as Isaiah said in his commission "Here am I send me"
May I weep over my city
Blessings

Holy Discontent

I just finished reading a book that was written several years ago by Bill Hybels titled "Holy Discontent" and maybe some of you have already read this book and if you have I hoped it has challenged you as it has e and I would encourage you to reread it and for those who have not read this book I would encourage you to read it.
As I began reading this book I thought to myself this is not what I thought this book would be about and actually I had no idea what I thought the book would be about I liked the name of the book. The book talked about fixing a broken world doing something to help the homeless, the Aid victims those in poverty and so on. The further I read into this book the more i wanted to read of this book and the more I prayed Lord give me a holy discontent. You see this holy discontent is not just about aids, the homeless the poverty level it is about that which gives you a vision and a burden to do something about it. Just this morning I was talking to a man at a local Hardees and he was telling my wife and I about a time in an airport in which there was a elderly man who was having a hard time with all of the things you have to go through at the airports these days since 911 and the person who was to be helping this man was standing there talking about something to a friend of hers and so this man spoke up and mentioned to this girl about her helping this older man to keep this story short this girl did not like it that this man mentioned this and was not very nice to him as well yuou could say for this friend of mine he had a holy discontent time there in the airport (Bill Hybels calls it a popeye moment "Thats all I can stands...I can't stands no more"). This book got me thinking of my own little world and how I have become comfortable in it and as long as it is status quo then everything is alright. The last chapter of this book was where I had to come to grips with my life and my holy discontent which had become an unholy contentment. Bill Hybels challenged church leader to examine their life and see if they have that holy discontent or not and if not that they should stop what they are doing and get with God and ask him to fill them with this holy discontent. It was again I realized that I needed a refilling of this holy discontent. While the which I talked about was for church leaders it holds true for all of us we need that holy discontent may it be for the homeless, the aids victim those in poverty and what ever it may be to fix our broken world my cry has been Lord help me to have a burden and a vision for the spiritually lost help me to have a holy discontentment and let me reach out to the lost. What is your Holy Discontentment?
blessings

Total dependence Total Trust

Today I got to hold a new baby that was not even 24 hours old and she was beautiful. As I stood and held her she just laid their in my arms not afraid not scared that I was going to drop her or harm her in any way there was total trust as she was in my arms. Later on today as i was driving home from the hospital I was thinking about that total trust and total dependence in our Heavenly Father. You see when Roxanne and I got to the hospital and we entered the room the dad of this new little baby asked if I wanted to hold her and when the dad put that little one in my arms I thought that as how we must be with our Heavenly Father we must place our self in His loving arms and rest in His arms it must be total trust and total dependence. Now on to the total dependence. Just as this little one was totally trusting in me she will be in total dependence of her mom and dad for many years to come and being the parents that I know they will be they will meet the need of that small child. Paul said to the Philippians and my God shall supply all your needs. I know in my life that has been true time after time. So what have I learned from this little baby? My trust my dependence must be in my Heavenly Father I must surrender all that I am and will be to Him each day of my life. I do not know about the future but i know who holds my hand
Blessings

Is there a do not enter sign

Well this has been a great week I am on vacation I am not at home I am not in the office I am with family and spending some quality time with my granddaughter and what a treat that has been especially when she sees me and comes to me and raises her arms for me to pick her up.
But while on this vacation I am still walking and eating right except when it came to Culver's. Since I really do not know my way around the neighbor we are in I try to stay to a walking route that I do know and at the end of one of the streets that I am on the road narrows and it is enough space for one car to go from on road to another. Where these two roads meet there is a sign stating the familiar Do Not Enter words and I have to admit when driving toward that sign I have not paid any attention to it and drove right past it. There has been times I wondered why that sign was put there and why the road was not made at that point to handle traffic from both ways and why do we ignore that sign. Well yesterday was no exception as I was walking a car saw the sign but instead of turning around and going a couple of blocks over this driver slowed down to see if anyone was coming or if police were watching and then drove right past the Do Not Enter sign my thought was how many times have we seen God's Do Not Enter sign and have just kept going the way we were going and wondered why every thing went crazy on us and it did not turn out like we thought it would. God's word tells u that he has a plan for us these plans do not harm us but give us hope and a future. In my devotions today I was reading from an e-mail devotion sent by the Purpose Driven Life organization and Rick Warren said in this devotional that we have to admit that we need guidance from God. That also includes God's Do Not Enter sign even though we do not see God physically he is watching may we become sensitive to his direction in our life and not only see the Do Not Enter sign but may we see all that God has for us as he leads us in our daily life
Blessings

I got a text for my son-in-law William today telling me that I have not posted a blog lately and I needed to do that. For me just to write something on my blog is not easy because I just don't post something to be posting I only do it when I am lead by God to do just that. So I am taking this as direction by God to post something, but this may not always be the case. I was telling the people at church today that i feel like a kid on Christmas eve and there is a package for me under the tree and there is a note on it that says do not open til Dec 25 (which is a cruel thing to do to a child). So what brought me to this point I guess I would say that it was Saturday eve when I was doing my walk I had taken some time when I was done working just to unwind before I came home I went by McDonalds and got a carmel Frappe' (which is not on the diet plan), but it sure did taste good. The after about and hour or so I put on my walking clothes and drove to the place that I am walking right now until it warms up. Many times it is during this time that I spend alot of time talking to God and He talking to me and it is always a good time. It was during this time that I had such a presence of God about my life that I knew he was walking along beside me even at the pace I was walking. I was crying out in my mind Lord what are you going to do I don't want to wait any longer it was then he said to me "Be still andknow that I am God" Then to add to that the message that God laid on my heart for today was 1.The Desire for more 2. The power for more and 3. Faith is more. For this post I want o talk about point number 3 and Faith is more. Faith is more than believing in certain fact it is responding to those even when it does not make sence or sounds logical. Faith is words and action together doing that which God has for us to do. So what are we living by established facts or faith in the God who created not only this world but each one of us
Blessings

I woke up this morning

Many mornings i wake up with a song o the heart and mind and many times it is a praise chorus such as "Now Is the Time to Worship" or it could be "How Great is Our God or any number of songs, but this morning it was an old one (I tell the people at church these are not old songs but traditional songs and we are not old people but traditional people) I think that part of the verse says "I woke up this morning feeling fine but I do remember part of the chorus I've got heaven on my mind." Now don't get me wrong I am not wanting to go to heaven right now and if God would say Darrell you have a choice to go to heaven now or at a later date I would want to say not now Lord but ask me again in about 35 or 40 years. What a way to wake up thinking about Heaven and walking the streets of Gold and seeing the saints that have gone on before us what a great day that will be. But for now I am here on this earth and I must do all that I can to help others to find God or to come back to Him. May your mornings begin with Heaven on your mind
Blessings

Reflection

Just recently I recieved a note on Facebook from someone I had not heard from in more than 30 years and I have to say that it was a shock. Asw much as I could remember it was back in 1973 that I last talked with this person then for some reason we lost contact with each other. Because of this note it has been a time of reflection thinking about old friends and what they are doing now and where they are at. With this time of reflection I thought of a good friend who for some reason knew when I was home from college for the weekend and he would come over and that first night him and I would spend the evening running around together (I know that my parents would have liked for me to spend the time with them) I thought about when my brother called me to tell me he was killed in upstate New York. This time of reflection has also reminded me that when God forgives us he does not remember the sins we have commited and that we start a new with Him. Since I have been on Facebook I have had contact with several friends from my teenage years and there are many who I do not know where they are at are what they are doing, but each of us in some way have taken different roads to travel in this thing called life. One thing we have in common is a God who loves us and wants us to travel this road with Him some have accepted that invitation and others have not my prayer is that many more will begin to walk that road called life with God.
Though out this week I have thought back over my life and there are things I remember doing and I think to myself I wish I would have handled that difeerently or had not said tht or sometime I wish I would have said that, but one thing I know is that I can not change the past and there are thing I would not change like meeting a girl by the name of Roxanne who later became my wife and this year in July will mark our 33 year as husband and wife. I would not change having two beautiful daughter who have blessed us with two wonderful sons-in-law and also 3 grandchildren (who this grandpa thinks are pretty special). I have been blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law (and if she reads this she will say you remember that) a super father-in-law who is with Jesus now and I miss and sometime miss even more when I know he would want to experience what we are doing.
I must mentioned this of all the things that has happen in my life that has been the best, and I know I would not change is that my relationship with God I thank Him many times over for not giving up on me for a church family who prayed for a teenager named Darrell Cox and one lady named grandma Geiger who said I knew God would call you to be a preacher. Times have not always been easy but God has always been there His word tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us
Blessings