Trent's soap box

Celebrating freedom

2008-06-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Next week many of us will get together with friends and family and have bbq, home made ice cream and all the other foods you're not supposed to have. By the way why is it that everything that tastes good is bad for you - surely there is a conspiracy there! Anyway back to freedom. As I prepare for Sunday - God is causing me to rethink what freedom is and how to celebrate it. I began with looking up freedom. You wouldn't believe how many definitions there are for freedom. But most of us think freedom is the ability to do what we want and when we want. That is mostly right. I think it goes deeper. It is also about choices. That is having the ability to choose what is best. So that assumes that you have all the choices at your disposal. We believe that the American flag is a great symbol of freedom. I agree whole heartedly. I truly love my country. But I think the best symbol of freedom is the cross! I believe that it is because of God's work through Jesus on the cross that we even have this great country.

It is the cross that gives us all the choices. You see before the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross we didn't have real freedom because we didn't have all the choices. Jesus opened the way for a relationship with God the father by paying for our sins on the cross. Without that we don't have the best choice of a forgiven and holy relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So now that we have all the choices and the best being a relationship with God, how do we celebrate this freedom? A couple of things come to mind. Let me explain them this way. What do folks do when they find a truly awesome restaraunt or a fantastic deal at a store? They tell their friends about it so they can experience the best too. So we as free followers of Jesus have found the best - lets tell our friends so that they can have the best too.

Freedom also should be celebrated by being the best! Dana and I have gotten to be in a few other countries over the years. In the countries where there is no real freedom - folks do their best not to stand out. If they stand out - those in charge will be quick to investigate and bring them back in line. Where there is real freedom - there is the ability to be creative and stand out and be your very best without fear. I have complete freedom without fear because of the relationship with Jesus. So I can celebrate (by the way that is what worship is - celebrating freedom) my freedom by being absolutely the very best I can, realizing that God has created me special and has equipped me to shine for HIM! So my celebration and being my best becomes an everyday act of worship. Not just worship in a church sanctuary from 11am to noon on Sunday!

I pray that you become free through Jesus and celebrate that freedom!

Sorry - I'm not dead!

2008-06-22T15:56:00.000-07:00

Some may think that my lack of blog updates would point to my death. Not So! As the old man being carried off in Monty Pythons Holy Grail would say - I'm not dead yet!
No I'm not dead - just lacking creativity. I've had lots of thoughts and read lots but had nothing I was dying to share.

This evening I'm preparing for a funeral. This gentleman was a true believer and follower of Jesus. I'm tempted to tell folks I don't believe in Christianity! Now pick up your teeth. What I mean is I don't believe in what many call Christianity. Many folks in American say they are Christians. When they say this - it sometimes shocks their co workers or even family members. They look at each other with unbelieving stares and mouth "really". The gentleman who passed would not have had that problem. No one would have been surprised by his proclamation of being a Christian.

You see his everyday committment and trust in God and His Son Jesus was evident all the time. His faith was apparant because of his actions and his words. He looked and sounded like a committed follower of Jesus. I have folks that live in the area that say they are Christians but their faith shows very little. Their committment and love for Christ shows rarely! Surprises are fun sometimes, but honestly I hope I don't surprise anyone when I say I'm a Christian.. No I take that back - I'm not a Christian. I am a follower of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I'm working on the Lord part. You could pray for me on that.

Trent

Peace? Are you kidding?

2007-09-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about Peace alot. You may have read my previous posting where I talked about rest. Related item here! Let me share my thoughts in a few points.

1. Peace is the thing that is supposed to be one of our best tools to attract non-believers to Jesus. Peace, along with love, is something that everyone seems to crave. In fact the thing that many will point to in someone's life that really caught their attention is peace in tough times. You'll hear something like "they just seemed to have such a peace about ____" or "I don't understand how they handled that with so much peace."

2. Christians in the US don't usually exhibit peace. We must think its ungodly to relax and have a semi sane schedule! I am proposing that we learn to have margin in our lives. Time and money that are uncommitted so that we can be at peace and then ready to give our time or money when God directs.

3. We do this to ourselves. Let's give credit where credit is due! When it comes to a crazy schedule or screwed up finances we need to look in the mirror to find the culprit! We do this to our selves, but we place the blame on everything else around us.

So here's the plan

1. Begin to think about those things you do that make the time fly. Those are the areas that you are gifted in - so focus on those!

2. Weed out your calendar - its hard to begin with but you have to say no to some things.

3. Begin to obey God with your finances by tithing! He gives you everything - and only asks for 10% back.

4. Put margin in your finances by getting out of debt. I can show you how or you can go to daveramsey.com

If we did just these 4 things, it would amaze us all how peaceful our lives would be! Give it a try and let me know the results!

Rest in God - yeah right!

2007-08-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

I am surrounded by folks that seem hurried and harried. Followers of Jesus seem to be some of the worst. We even claim being tired and overworked and stressed as a badge of honor that we wear with pride! OOOOOOPPPPS!

If you hear yourself saying I'm just worn out and stressed. Red flashing signs out to be going off in your head. This does not equate with all that Jesus called us to as his followers.

The ability to rest in God is a spiritual discipline that I believe is very misunderstood. Unfortunately some believe that if you are to rest in God you have to sit like a monk and wait for God to work out every issue in your life - then at some preappointed time, aka aligning of the planets, you'll get up and live a happy stress free life.

NOT!

Help - I'm resting and I can't get up!?

Scripture tells us to find rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30). We are also told to cast all our stresses or anxieties on Him because He cares for us (I Peter 5:7). I've been studying and praying and asking God to help me in this area. I've heard folks say in what seems a very glib way "just give it to God". So I pray and tell God that I'm giving it to Him but then can't quit thinking (in reality worrying) about it.

God has been teaching me a bunch about this.

Here are a couple of major lessons

Worry verses Worship

1. Worship reminds us who is in control.

If I am spending my time worshipping God, then I am giving glory to God and telling Him how much He means to me and how much I trust Him.

If I am doing these things in worship then I can't also worry about other issues. On one hand I'm saying "God I trust you." On the other I'm saying "excuse me God I've got to get back to dealing and stressing over some life stuff." Isn't that the double minded life that God tells us not to get caught up in? (James 1) It also leads me to think that my worship is not real because in some way I am lieing to God. Do I really trust Him? So the deal is this worry and worship are mutually exclusive.

I need to be reminded every day that God is all powerful, omni-present and all knowing. I'm like a leaky bucket - my trust drains away and so I need to be worshipping God every day to be reminded that He is the one who can handle my life better than I can.

Ok so Christians should never have things they are concerned about?

No that's not the issue. The issue is what we do with those concerns and "worries"

2. God gives effective directions.

I believe that God is a very efficient God. Worry is very inefficient! Worry is a non-active response. John 5 tells us that both Jesus and the Father are always working. If we are to be sitting and chanting - that doesn't seem to me that we are being like Jesus. But we are to efficient in what we do.

We are to give our worries to God by asking Him which ones we can do something about. Then the ones we can change, we are to obey God in what He says to do. The ones we can not change we have to quit worrying about them because there is nothing we can do.

A real big problem for me and many others is that when God shows us what we are to do about an issue, we don't like the answer and so we just sit and worry. Then sing about trusting God! OOPPS! we are lieing!

The old hymn Trust and Obey gets it right. Take some time to read it. I think you'll find the writer nailed it!

Trust that God loves you and is in control.

Obey directions He gives rather than sitting and stewing about things!

Still learning

Trent

The "us against them" mentality

2007-05-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was struck by the use of the term "world" in Christian circles. We typically use the term world in a very derogatory way. "Don't give in to the world" "Don't be part of the world" etc. Well I understand that we are not to give in to temptation and I know I am to be living a life that reflects Jesus in righteousness.

More thoughts today are that its hard for us to get excited about witnessing and sharing Christ with the "world" when its really us against them. We preach one Sunday that the world is our enemy and the next that we need to be reaching the world. I can't shift gears that fast!

I would like to propose that we put faces to our words. Lets talk about people! There are approximately 6.7 billion folks on this planet as of today (May 14). There are some folks who have made good decisions and folks that have made bad decisions. There are folks who have received the salvation that only comes from God's grace through the shed blood of His only Son Jesus. There are some who have not. They are still people!

We've mixed up the enemy! The people aren't the enemy - they can't be and we still have a desire to share Christ with them; weeping over them dying without Christ. No Satan is the enemy in a very real war. Jesus calls him the prince of this world. That prince has an active fortress in this world. Some folks have become slaves to this prince - some by decision, some by default. Many have not had the opportunity to know there was another option. "Jesus is the answer for the world today - above Him there's no other Jesus is the Way!" as the song goes.

I believe its important to know the real enemy here. That knowledge changes the way we fight the war. I would encourage you to study how Jesus fought the war with this enemy. Not with political statements but with love and prayer.

You see we get upset with people for their decisions. We expect folks who are not believers and followers of Jesus to make decisions like they are followers of Jesus. That's ludicrous! They have no basis for deciding like a Christian. They decide based on what they know of. They don't know of Jesus - so duh!? They make non- Christian decision.

What do we do? Realizing why people make the decisions they do - we love them and serve them and pray for them in order to share with them about Jesus so that we might earn the right to lead them to Jesus - the other option.

Thats all my thoughts about that today.

Learning to love

Trent

I've been robbed

2007-04-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

I'm struggling with something and so I have to write it down in order to vent a bit. Recently a friend was accused of inappropriate behavior. I believed it to be a false accusation and the police and DA seem to be concluding the same thing. Thats great and it makes me feel better, but unfortunately it has not helped my friend. He has recently resigned and is planning to move.
I have to say I HATE THAT. This accusation has ruined his life, and the more that I think about this and look at the losses to our community and school system I want to scream

I'VE BEEN ROBBED!

Now our community has been robbed of my friends talents and skills. We are losing a contributing member of our community - someone that I feel added lots to our community.

The person who made these accusations has robbed our community of a great deal. That makes me angry. I know that as a Christian I am to be talking about forgiveness. But the way I see this is that I don't have that opportunity. Only my friend and God can forgive. The community is to seek out justice and truth. We as a community should be looking into the possiblity of providing consequences to those who make false accusations. These words can literally ruin someone's life. And the sad part is anyone can make a damning accusation about another and instead of innocent until proven guilty - we have flip flopped it to guilty until proven innocent.

The other side of the coin

Now I have to say here that I believe that there should be very stiff and swift punishment for those who are proven guilty. I want to protect our society and especially children from those who commit these crimes. I just want to deter knowingly making false accusations by providing punishment for those who say things that ruin another's life just because they don't like them.

As a pastor or public servant or public figure you are an easy target for accusations. If you do the crime - then literally you should do the time. But if you are not guilty then the person who made the accusation is certainly guilty of many crimes that unfortunately society easily overlooks.

This is just my thought - not speaking for anyone but me.
Trent

Our Continuing Conversations

2007-03-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks I've been preaching about Revival. One of the main points that I hoped to get across is that personal revival always precedes corporate revival. We have to change things in our lives before we can expect revival to occur in our church. Unfortunately we pray "God please revive my church." But won't change anything in our own lives to help our prayer be answered.

My friend Chris and I have been having an ongoing conversation about this so I thought I'd give you the benefit of our "GREAT" wisdom - try not to giggle!

Here's some of our email

Hey Trent,
Just wanted to say thank you for the sermons that you have done the past two weeks. They have been really good and are words that I have needed to hear. You've talked about personal revival and this past week about how we need to get rid of the junk in our life. I must admit though that the "cold turkey" aspect of getting rid of the junk in my life wasn't real motivating ha ha. But it's the truth.
I also just wanted to share a devotional from Oswald Chambers that I read today. "I claim God's promises for my life and look to their fulfillment, and rightly so, but that shows only the human perspective on them. God's perspective is that through His promises I will come to recognize His claim of ownership on me. For example, do I realize that my "body is the temple of the Holy Spirit," or am I condoning some habit in my body which clearly could not withstand the light of God on it? (1 Corinthians 6:19).
"God formed His Son in me through sanctification, setting me apart from sin and making me holy in His sight (Galatians 4:19). But I must begin to transform my natural life into spiritual life by obedience to Him. God instructs us even in the smallest details of life. And when He brings you conviction of sin, don to "confer with flesh and blood," but cleanse yourself from it at once (Galatians 1:16). Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk."
I just wanted to pass that along, as I really thought it related to what you preached about on Sunday. It's definitely hard to get rid of the junk that we've been holding on to for long periods of time. But it's something we must do. I think the question really comes down to the memory verse for this week. Do we desire righteousness or do we desire the things that keep us from the close walk with God that will fulfill us in ways we can't even imagine?
Sorry for the long e-mail, but I also wanted to throw in a prayer request that God would give me a true desire to get rid of the junk in my life and a desire to get closer to Him.

Chris
Thanks so much for the encouragement. I appreciate it a bunch. I think that God gave us freedom of choice from the beginning in having the ability to choose Him for salvation. But I don't think that God takes away freedom of choice once we receive Him as our Lord and Savior. We still have the choice every day to choose Him as our Lord. If we truly received Him as Savior - God knows that and I believe that it will show, But that doesn't mean that a month down the road when I'm tired and sick that I don't choose against Him. I don't lose my salvation but I certainly lose the fruit of the spirit that could have been mine for that day and the days to come until I decide to return.
I also believe this is why God chose a marriage as the picture of the relationship that He has with us. The bride doesn't lose her mind (although I'm sure there have been some that think they may have in the days following their marriage.) She also doesn't lose her will or identity. She choses to place her will under the protection and guidance of the groom. She chooses to identify with the groom. The book of Hosea shows us that it is possible to renig on that choice but that doesn't cause God to quit loving us or pursuing us. He loves us even though our hearts are far from Him.

The thing that we have to keep in mind is that there are always consequences to our choices. If I choose to be fulfilled and thus satisfied with God and His provision - then there is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, and all the other fruit of the Spirit because we have chosen to let the Spirit work. BUT if I chose to find fulfillment in something else that the Holy Spirit has warned me was wrong - then I will live with a sense of guilt and fear that someone will find out. Because I have a real sense of guilt and fear - that shows itself in a lack of patience with others, no love for others because all my focus is on me and protecting me. I have shut down the Spirit's work in my life.

Does this make sense?
Please pray for me - I'm still very sick and getting very tired of being sick!

Trent,
It definitely (does). Everything is a choice. We consciously or unconsciously in some cases choose what we are going to do and who we will follow. One thought I had after reading your email was how I think we sometimes choose to "fulfill" our lives and desires with worldly things because it is a more immediate fulfillment.
Sometimes we pray for things and God may choose to wait to respond to our requests and petitions. But instead of waiting on God to fulfill us, we find something that will immediately fulfill us. Again though, it's the choice we make. Our Sunday School lesson this week is on the story of Lazarus and how Jesus received word that he was ill, but it was 4 days later before He arrived. Does that mean he loved Lazarus any less or that Lazarus messed up somewhere or that Mary and Martha were being punished? No, but there was a reason why Jesus delayed His response. Because of His delay, He was able to do something greater than just heal a man. He brought him back to life.
If we would just learn to wait on God and not seek our own fulfillment, God will bring us back to life as well.

Gym, Field, locker room as Worship Venue?

2007-03-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

This past month we've been caught up in Play off Fever for our boys and girls basketball teams. Its been great fun and exciting to watch these talented young people. I'm proud of them all. Unfortunately both teams were knocked out last week. I'm sad for them. They worked very hard this year.

In years past I have coached teams (mostly in softball and baseball). Its a tough job. I've never ref'd a game thank the Lord! Both coaching and refereeing a game are tough. I don't envee either one.

Over the past weeks as I've been doing my best to keep my mouth from getting me in trouble at the games, I've been struck by the fact that Parents and adult spectators are the ones that make the game hard to deal with. We throw fits about all kinds of things --- but--- I've never seen any parents using that kind of fervor to pray for their kids! This really shows what our priorities are as parents. We want them to be succesful but not have character. We want them to win but not know how to act like an adult if they don't - - oh wait I just got it! We as adults don't act like adults so we really don't know that we want our kids to act differently.

I have to admit I can be the worst, so know that I am preaching at myself but if others catch this great!

What would it be like to spend the time during warm up at a basketball game or between innings at a baseball game or between events at a track meet - just praying for God to protect the kids and to make Himself real to them. It would probably be good to pray for yourself and your witness too.! Try it the next time you go to a kids game! I think you'll be amazed!

Be the Light - not a dying candle but a bright spotlight!

Love ya'll

Trent

a bunch of bunk

2007-02-26T15:20:00.000-08:00

This morning as I was getting ready to head to the church, I turned on one of the morning news programs as usual. But it quickly became unusual as I caught a story about a supposed new finding. The gist of which was that Jesus' tomb had been found and his bones recovered. Huh? yes you read right!

Well just in case you didn't know this new "finding" promoted by James Cameron among others is total bunk. I would encourage you to see what actual archeologist have to say. ....“The claim that the burial site has been found is not based on any proof, and is only an attempt to sell,” says Israeli archeologist Professor Amos Kloner

Please check out Joel C. Rosenberg's blog with much more info on this and other relevant topics. Be a reader! And don't fall for junk like James Cameron's.

Trent

Lessons from a dead cow hauler

2007-02-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

You may already know this but its been cold here in Colorado this winter. I mean nasty, nose hair crunchy kinda cold! Plus we've had a lot of snow! This is bad enough if you get to go in and warm up but its way bad on our cattle. Many farmers and feedlot owners have lost lots of cattle this winter.

So needless to say I've followed a few dead cow haulers lately. For those who are not from farms that a truck that carries dead cows to the rendering plant. Nasty smelly thing believe me. Even as I type this I can still smell those memories from my childhood.

Anyway while thinking about those cows and what is going on, God showed me some lessons.

Like cows in the winter, we are impacted by our surroundings. We live in what is sometimes a very dark and cold world. It begins to affect us from time to time. In fact the more we stay in it the more it affects our insides. We can get a spiritual cold or even the flu. Sometimes folks get so sick that they are almost dead - no they haven't lost their salvation but they stink! Their spirit needs some serious mouth to mouth revival.

When we've not spent time with our Lord, or memorized His word, or shared with others, or served someone in need. We start to stink like them dead cows! Our attitude stinks to high heaven or hell? (I know that heaven can't smell like that!)

Thankfully we can be revived! We don't need hauled off yet. I do believe that sometimes God does haul off some of his own who stink so much that they drive off others.

Take a sniff of yourself. Do ya stink? Does your attitude bring a pleasant aroma to those around you? Does your love for all come across like great cologne? Or have you been hangin out with dead cows. You know the smell rubs off on you!

Love ya

Be praying for God to revive you and me!

Trent

What do you mean its symbolic?

2007-02-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

This week we will continue answering questions that folks have submitted about our church. Last week we looked at why we don't baptize infants. We also had a great time of communion in the evening service. We will follow that up this week by answering why we don't use wine in Communion and what it means for us. Both of these ordinances are symbolic. So does that mean they are not important? NO WAY! Symbols are reminders, signs to others, and rallying points! We will see the importance of all kinds of symbols this Sunday morning! I can't wait!

I'm also excited about a new tool to help couples. eharmony marriage is something that we have come across to help couples overcome lots of strife! There are lots or great resources at this sight! I will be including this as part of my training for Marriage mentors this summer! Interested?!

Right now you may be like me and just ready for summer. Even as I sit here typing my feet are freezing! Its a whole sun bathing 16 degrees outside and its close to that in my office! Tomorrow should be about 8 degrees! Havin a heat wave a tropical heat wave!

Well pray for me as I prepare for Sunday! I'll be praying for you!

Continuing the thought?

2007-01-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

Yes we have more to talk about in this verse (John 15:5). Yesterday we began looking at this verse because it is my families memory verse for the week. So thanks for joining in with us.
I think that it is very important to check out the fact that God puts us in our place with this verse.
Jesus said He was the vine or the source and we are the branches. You see we are not the source. We are not the vine. We don't need any disciples of Trent running around cause they won't have any real life if they are attached to me. They need to be attached to Jesus. So its important that we are pointing people to Jesus not ourselves.

I need to be more attached to Him. He is God and I am not.
He is my source for life and all the fruit of the Spirit. So when folks give me pats on the back - I need to point to Jesus. Glorify Him!

Swingin for the top deck
Trent

Are you Hiding?

2007-01-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

Are you hiding God's Word in your heart or are you just hiding? My family (encouraged by Trint and Tammy Ladd) have been making sure that we are all working on a memory verse together each week. Last week was I John 3:16. I also memorized Romans 14:8 and now our family is memorizing John 15:5. "I am the vine, you are the branches. If any man abides in me, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me he can nothing."

If that verse is true (which we know that it it) what does that mean for me? Well I know that life and all the things that make me feel alive are to be flowing from the vine which is Christ. Unfortunately I tend to try to let other things make me feel alive at times. But what they are really doing is cutting me away from the vine and the real life I can have in Christ.

Beyond feeling alive there is the issue of fruit. What fruit? I don't want to be fruity do I? Well what fruit does God say He will give us? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control - these are the fruit of life that are promised through the Holy Spirit. So this week lets think about how these affect us and how they affect others. Can I really have these fruit outside of being connected and possessed by the vine of Christ?
Tune in next time!

God bless you
Trent

Am I a supporter?

2007-01-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I attended our State Executive Board meeting for Colorado Baptist General Convention. It was very encouraging. We have a vision for sharing Christ and aren't afraid to put our money, time, talents etc where our mouth is. Way cool.

We also talked about the need to support the cooperative program of the southern baptist convention. The state average for percentage giving to CP is 5.3%. Praise God we as a church give a tithe! We give 10% of all undesignated giving to CP through our state and association. We also designate at least another 10% to missions to be used by our church and supporting projects and trips. Missions are key to church survival and growth. I pray that our church will continue to focus on missions and will continue to increase the amount we give and the amount we serve. Right now we are having to see if we really believe God because we fell short of our budget but some $30,000 this past year. It would be easy to say we will cut back on what we give to CP but I pray that we don't. I need to be stretched in my faith.

My prayer requests are these(beyond the 7 on the website)
1. That God would call out missionaries from our body - especially Mission Service Corps volunteers from our retired folks. They are so talented and have time to serve.

2. That our church would be an encouragement to our sister churches in our association. Pray for creativity!

I memorized Romans 14:8 yesterday in the hotel room in Denver.
"If we live, we live to the Lord. If we die, we die to the Lord. Whether we live or die we belong to the Lord."

May we act like we are His and so be passionate about what He is passionate about.

Trent

Dug out!

2007-01-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Well I must say it is good to be home. We barely got to go see family at Christmas due to a huge snow storm here in Colorado. Then on the way back we got snowed in due to a storm that dumped in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas. Folks are still digging out. I was very thankful for my in-laws who had a well stocked pantry and a generator. I enjoyed visiting but was very ready to get home.

I did learn some great lessons over the holidays, such as always get 4 wheel drive. But the greatest lessons I learned from my extended family and my in-laws.
While at my Grandmother's home, my parents, aunt, uncle and cousins surprised me by all deciding that we were all so blessed and that we didn't need to get presents for each other any more but would now start taking up a collection to help a needy family where ever we were meeting and to help a church do missions. Wow - I didn't suggest this but was so proud of my family.
Then while being snowed in at my wife's folks in Oklahoma I learned about being a better minister. My father in law and brother in law are both deacons at their church in Keyes. Their wives are such great helpers - you could call them deaconesses but we don't do that cause we are baptists. Anyway while all of the area was out of electricity, My in-laws called all their folks from church especially those who were elderly or sick and made sure they were taken care of with food and oxygen for those who needed it. My wife along with her mom and my sister in Law made up plates and drove in the snow storm to deliver food to those in need. Us guys delivered firewood to some and helped dig out others. Lots of other things happened too but you get the idea. I saw a great picture of Jesus from my family.

What did you see over the holidays? What picture did you present to those around you?
Something to think about.

"Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others." Saint Augustine
God bless your new year
Trent

Digging out after being snowed under

2006-12-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

Today was spent digging out after a massive snowstorm here in Northern Colorado. We had at least 16 inches here in Yuma. I am so sore. I think I may be out of shape - just a little. I am so thankful for those who helped get all the snow away from the church today and allowing us to get ready for Sunday Christmas eve.

I know that many folks are feeling snowed under as we approach Christmas. I'm not talking about snow but stress and all the things like bills, parties, gifts, family etc that bring stress. We've been talking about not letting the Grinch steal your christmas joy. Make sure and take the advice of some of the songs we sing at Christmas. Silent night should remind you to take some quiet time alone to regroup. Spend time alone being thankful and worshipful. Remember you are so blessed. Many songs talk of rejoicing. Well make sure you do that - rejoice - joice again. Ha Have Joy. The angels came with good news of GREAT JOY.
Lastly laugh at stuff.
Yesterday when I was trying to go out in the storm I got all dressed in layers and spent the day trying to help folks dig out. Later that day while taking a bathroom break I realized that I had my long johns on backwards. Needless to say It was difficult to take a bathroom break. I just stood there and laughed.
You can laugh at me or laugh at your own family. Whatever just laugh - find those little things to bring you joy. Also I pray that your joy will encourage others and even cause some to have curiosity and want that joy too.
God bless you and Merry Jesus Birthday!
Christmas = Christ the messiah who is Jesus, and mas or worship
so worship Jesus and celebrate Christmas.

Trent

Does Persecution = Christmas Joy?

2006-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have been asking myself that this morning. I just read a news article about a young Pakistani girl who was beaten and placed in forced labor just because she claimed that she was a Christian and lived in a Muslim community. (makes me laugh at those who say that the Muslim religion is a peaceful religion - yeah right) This young girl named Azra and her mother were both placed in forced labor at a brick kiln. Azra's mother was eventially beaten and murdered because of her faith. Thankfully a very brave local Christian pastor intervened with the help of believers in the US. Azra has been purchased out of slavery and is being provided for and encouraged in her faith.

As we approach Christmas day, I can't help but think that Azra may look a lot like Mary. Both endured terrible hardship because of their belief and obedience to God. I would imagine that Azra could teach me a thing or two about having a strong faith. I would also imagine that she will rejoice more in remembering Christmas than I or anyone in my church.

Why is it that those who have received much - rejoice little?
Father forgive me, I am spoiled rotten and take it all for granted so many times.
Please bless Azra and so many others like her who are living out their faith in Jesus in a very dangerous place.

Christmas means more
Ty

Good Monday before Christmas

2006-12-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

Several from our church went to see The Nativity Story last night after church. I have to say that it was wonderful. I think they did a great job of portraying this special event. They even placed the cross in the movie as a forshadow of what was to come for the Christ. I would suggest you go see this movie.

We don't often speak of the cross at Christmas time but if you think of the message of Christmas it isn't complete without the cross. Let me explain a bit more. The message was that He would be Immanuel - which means God with us. Yes Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among men. He was all God and totally human at the same time. Blows my mind. But the reality of God desiring to be with His creation is only partially fulfilled with the coming of the Christ. We were still shackled by sin even though Jesus was born. Our sin brings separation from the one who loves us. In order for that separation to be spanned, there would have to be a sacrifice. Prior to Christ dieing on the cross it was carried out to some extent by a person placing their hands on a symbolic animal which would be sacrificed. This was also shown in the movie.
As we were watching the movie, my wife Dana leaned over and said she was very glad we no longer did the animal sacrifices. I have to agree. But the reason we no longer do them is because of the Cross and Jesus paying the penalty to span the separation brought on by sin.
So as you see the nativity sets around town picture a cross behind it.

God bless you all and live out the message of the angels to the shepherds - Good news of GREAT JOY!

Trent

Get Out!

2006-12-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

Thats what I did the last couple of days. Lee Roubideaux and I were able to take a quick trip to Mission South Dakota. We delivered a trailer load of winter clothes and coats to the folks at Rosebud Reservation. It was great to get out of town and to serve others. Way fun. I also got to know Lee better. What a great guy! We were also able to visit with folks at the Elementary school there and to give out gloves and mittens.

I enjoyed meeting some of Lee's family that live there. They are very nice folks. We were able to take a mission group from FSBC to Rosebud about 3 years ago. So it was great to go back and see what was going on. Pray for Jack Moore and the folks doing ministry there.

Also be praying for our brother Doug Schiel and his family. They are part of our church family that moved to North Platte, Nebraska. God is really using them now at their church in North Platte. We were able to stop and visit with Doug on the way back. What a blessing!
God is good and working all over! I was encouraged by our trip.

This holiday season shift the focus. Get it off of yourself and your kids toys. Serve someone in need and experience the joy of Christmas. It comes from Jesus - the first Gift.

Ok now I really am amazed!

2006-12-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to add to my previous post.
It has been about an hour since I was writing that last post and telling God that the money didn't matter and being reminded how blessed I was.
I just received a very unexpected gift that was way more than what I put in God's hands.
I am amazed at how God takes care of things and blesses when we rely on Him.
It may not happen like this every time but I just want to Praise God who is way more faithful than I am or that I give Him credit for being.

Thanks to my Lord

Smack my other cheek why don't ya

2006-12-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

Ya know its only been about 24 hours since I was preaching about keeping joy in Christmas ( I also plan to preach on this topic for the next 3 Sundays) and here I am letting a gentleman in Texas steal my joy. I ordered something on ebay. I paid for it and everything. It has now been a month and no stuff has come. I have tried to contact the person in a nice way. But now I'm starting to get really miffed. I found myself saying "Don't even try to mess with me bud" this morning.
The Joy sucking has begun!!!!

Practicing what you preach is really hard sometimes.

I read a devotional on the web this morning reminding me that Jesus told us to "turn the other cheek" Matthew 5:39. That's a nice thought but really! Yes really! Sometimes we feel like someone else has kicked all four of our cheeks and so turning another just doesn't seem possible. We'll lets think about what Jesus is trying to get across to us. In this chapter of Matthew (please go read it today) Jesus has given what we call the be-attitudes. Or the attitudes we need to be havin. The cool thing is that Jesus lived them out. But Jesus was a person who stood for character and principles too. He was a man's man. Remember the time He cleared out the temple! Not a whipping boy kind of activity!

So how do I put this altogether? Well let me tell you what I think I need to do. I need to spend as much time praying for this guy in Texas as I do emailing him. I need to pray that God would bless him and that He would have an opportunity to hear about Jesus (not for God to kill him off) I know that having a life changing experience with Jesus is the only thing that can really change folks hearts. I will file the appropriate claims on ebay and paypal but I won't let it eat me up. God says that vengence is His. He'll take care of it. I'll do my best to leave it in His hands. But I'm going to be actively looking around me at all that God has blessed me with. I have so much - a wonderful family, incredible job, terrific friends, two cars, a warm home! WoW! Can my life and Joy be sucked away by $40? Gosh I hope not!
So pray for me. I am learning this lesson. Pray that I'm not real dense!

Be blessed - find Joy!
Trent

Welcome to Sunday Laughing Worship!

2006-12-03T07:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome To Sunday Morning!
Hope you're bright eyed and bushy tailed - yeah right! Some of you look like the Grinch in the morning! Now I'm laughing!

Today in worship we will start our series on Keeping the Grinch from stealing your Christmas. Remember that the news that was being shared with all of humanity was "good news of great joy" (Luke 2:8-11) So if we are believers we have received that Good news that is to be giving us great Joy! That great joy is what will be attracting others who don't have any joy because they have no hope. We have hope in Jesus! YEAH. Also remember that the Joy that the Lord has and that He gives is our strength. So when you are about to get down and the grinch is about to come out - just start laughing! For fun look up Bing Crosby's song Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep.
How long has it been since you just laughed at church? I mean really giggled and belly laughed! Don't hang out with those who say they are Christians but have no joy. You know those folks who have a frown permantly molded into their face! Look like they been sucking on your toe jam! UGH!
My Lord coming is great news of Great Joy! Laughing - full of mirth. You know one of the greek words for rejoice and is used for laugh is gelao -pronounced jellaho! Watch it wiggle see it jiggle! Now you're smiling aren't you! Praise God!

The Hebrew for Joy is Sason which can also mean to "make bright" You know what will make this season bright for those around you? Joy and laughing and smiling and loving!

Go and giggle for Jesus - He has made me glad!

Friday is here

2006-12-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

Dealing with change has been the theme of the day. As we prepare for 2 families to move to other places, we also prepare for new families to come and join us in the ministry that God has for us.

Let me share my philosophy on this whole deal.
1. Send them with your blessings and as a missionary of your church. Scripture says in Matthew 28:18-20 that we are to be discipling everyone. Well what does that mean? Discipling someone means to help them move one step closer to Jesus. Sometimes you have the opportunity to help folks move several steps closer, sometimes you only have a chance through brief encounter to move someone one step closer.
If a person is part of your church, help them to move at least one step closer to Jesus then if God moves them on, cheer them on as they continue in that journey. Also pray for two things. 1. pray for God to bring them a person who will help them move another step. 2. Also pray that the one leaving you is able to help some other person move one step closer to Jesus.

2. Obedience starts with a step of faith. This applies to the person leaving and to the church who is staying. We as the church body need to encourage faith and obedience in those who are being led to somewhere else but we also need to live obediently by letting them go. We have had several families leave to go serve other places, I hate to see them go but I know that God has much in store for us here, I also know that God will supply the resources that are needed to fulfill the mission. So with those two bits of knowledge I look forward to who God will bring to help with the mission. It never fails! God brings new folks who have new gifts and a chapter of excitement begins.

It would be a horrible things to teach on obedience and faith and then get upset at folks for following God in faith and obedience.

I already see it happening. I just got off the phone with a family that is moving to our area soon and is looking forward to being a part of the ministry here! Whew God you already have the pieces lined up! Way Cool!

This is what the prayer of Jabez is all about! We have the boundaries of our influence and our hearts expanded. We have relationships with dear friends literally around the world!
The funny thing is I'm writing this while listening to the Parachute Band song God You're Amazing. No coincidence!

Almost alive!

2006-11-28T14:29:00.000-08:00

Hey I can sort of talk today - I'm starting to feel like Lazarus! Either that or Frankenstein! It is Alive?!
Any way I'm on the road to recovery. So here are some thoughts that I am working through as I prepare for the various events of this week. I don't think they are cold drug enduced. HaH!

If you read this and can respond, let me know some things that tend to steal your Christmas peace and joy. I am compiling a list for my sermon. So let me know your thoughts.

Luke 2:13 and 14 says
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

So do you get the peace of Christmas? God's favor brings peace. Its one of the fruit of the Spirit that we receive. Supposedly!? Well my thought is that the Grinch within us flares up about this time of year because of different things around us. That grinch steals the peace and joy. So what can we do? Good question.
I like Monday Night Football (especially on ESPN now). I really like the part during half time when the commentators show the great hits from the games the day before. They get "Jacked Up". Ok so what does that have to do with the grinch and peace and stuff?
Glad you asked. Stuff is going to hit us this time of year. Colds, stress, strained relationships. They blind side us sometimes and we allow ourselves to get "Jacked Up"

But remember its a choice. James 1:2-4 says
2Consider it(Choose to look at it as) pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I love it when a wide receiver makes a great catch and gets smacked hard but gets up and laughs at his tackler! Yeah is that all ya got? Good job but I can take it!
So enlarge your heart through thanksgiving and even when you get jacked up - get up and laugh in the face of that tackler!

One sick puppy!

2006-11-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood - NOT! I can't talk so I'm typing. I've been sick for about 5 days now. Absolutely no fun and it seems to be getting worse rather than better. So pray for me.
I was amazed at how God took care of things yesterday(Sunday) for our church services. It was great in spite of me - some might say that was usually the case! Hah!
I am very rarily sick but even when I am I usually don't miss church. Folks have asked why I don't take the day off. I guess its because Sunday is not a work day - its a worship day. I always feel better being with my friends worshipping my Lord. Its a blessing to be in church on Sundays!
I can't write much now cause I'm on cold drugs. Pray for this next week as I have a funeral, a memorial service and a worship service to prepare for.

This next week we begin a series on "Enlarging your Heart - Don't let the Grinch steal your Christmas."

God bless you all, especially those who are sick.
Trent

Man stuff!

2006-11-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

Hey its fall and so we have to talk about man stuff! You know hunting, football, eating so much thanksgiving that you have to unbutton your pants in order to comfortably snooze on the couch while watching football. AAAHHH thats the life!

I've recently been reading a book called Why Men Hate Church. It is really making me think. Some of it has confirmed what I had thought for a while. Other parts really catch me off guard. Men are absolutely important to a healthy church. They are also absolutely essential to a healthy family. I know there are some ladies that would dissagree with me on that, but I have seen enough children and adults who are struggling to know that both a mom and a dad are needed for healthy kids.

So anyway back to Man Church. I heard of one church that redecorated their foyer like a mountain cabin and parked a harley inside. I'm not sure I could get away with that. Cool thought though! I wonder if my Honda Sabre 1100 would work? Guys need guy stuff and guy time. We are not women - and women you had better be praising God for that. We are different and enjoy different things. We want to be challenged and be outdoors. Women want to be comforted and heard mostly indoors. I know that is an oversimplification - but hopefully you get the idea.

So Lee Roubideaux and I are planning a Man trip - We are going to take a bunch of clothing to needy folks in Mission SouthDakota. We are going to invite 2 or 3 other guys to go who can take off for a couple of days. We will eat unhealthy food, make noises, laugh, serve and spur one another on to good deeds. Cool huh?

Hey another thing that used to be a man thing but now has gotten Men and Women into bad spots is the craving for a new car. So many will shackle themselves with payments of several hundred dollars this holiday season. But hey make up your own mind. Watch this video. http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/lms/drive_free/player.cfm

Just spurrin you on to good deeds
Trent

Its no turkey of a deal!

2006-11-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

As we approach Thanksgiving, this Sunday we will be taking time to share testimonies of thankfulness in our service. Corporate worship is about praising God and encouraging one another through testimonies filled with thanks. You know, if you have read any of my other postings the last week or so that Thankfulness is such a huge part of worship. We realize that our gifts came at Christ's expense. We are blessed indeed!

So what would happen if you were on the lookout for things to be thankful for throughout the week. Wouldn't it be easier to come to church Sunday and have something to share in thanks as a testimony that would help you worship and help others as well. We are all lead worshippers! We are helping to lead those around us in worship.
When we share Jesus with someone - it is an act of worship. Because we are thankful for what God has done for us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we want to share that with someone else and have them experience the gift as well.

Have you ever thought that this is why we sing songs in worship. Someone wrote a song out of thanksgiving and worship as their testimony. It is shared with us and we are led in worship by their testimony song. A visitor is there in the service and is drawn by the song and our singing to asking more about God.

Wow its all worship!
Think about it as you prepare for Sunday!

God bless your lips - may they worship Him
Trent

I lost it somewhere along the way!

2006-11-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had the experience of starting the day off great. Praying, worshipping and reading God's word. Things go great for a while - THEN BAM - someone does something or something happens and your whole day seems shot in the foot and you're the kicker.

That has been sort of my day. I started off so well but then had to deal with a disreputable business man and a misbehaving child. All of the sudden it was like I dropped my Christian somewhere along the way. I was driving home for lunch and my attitude stunk. Just a couple of hours before it was so great.

God reminded me on the way home and I think I was able (or more accurately He was able) to salvage the day.
He led me to I Thessalonians 5:16-18

16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Be joyful always - yeah right!? No I really think He means it. Tell God you're mad and then look for things to be thankful for. We are all the time praying for God to show us His will. Tada! Here it is - no looking required.

It's amazing how such little things can totally derail my day sometimes. My Joy and my Peace get burned up in a momentary blowup! I think that is why we are to pray continually. I need outside perspective all the time because my blinders start closing in and I begin to think its all about me and everyone is attacking me and woe is poor little me - WAAAAAAAAAAA
Oh for cryin out loud - suck it up! No not everyone is out to get me or ruin my day. Its just that I have let myself lose perspective.

When someone cuts a whole in your pocket and your joy drops on the ground - pick it up blow it off and smile again.

dealin with life
Trent

Monday morning blahs or aaaahhhs

2006-11-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

Ok its Monday morning here at FSBC. I have to confess that many pastors really hate Monday mornings. I'm not sure why exactly but Monday jokes go around almost as much as deacon jokes in Pastor circles.

Maybe you too hate Mondays. Do you have the blahs or the aaaahhs? Again its a decision.

We've been talking a lot about worship and the whole Monday thing goes back to worship. Yesterday I told our folks to do what scripture says to enter His gates with thanksgiving in your heart. (That is not talking about a high cholesterol condition either). Last night in our study I asked everyone what they would be thankful for at 9am on Monday morning. So you have to answer that question. What are you thankful for on Monday morning?

I am very thankful for a warm home to wake up in. I am thankful for food for breakfast. I am thankful for my loving family that gives me hugs in the mornings. I am thankful for a car to get me to work (actually a really big 4x4 pickup -man grunt). I am also very thankful for my church and the fact that they allow me to serve the Lord here in their midst.

I am blessed! There's more I could add to my list but don't have time or space here.

So in the morning when you wake up - take a few moments even before you get up to think of what you are thankful for. Then do the Daily Review! The What? Every morning when Dana and I are getting ready - we talk about what is going on that day. Its our way of making sure the bases are covered. God taught me a lesson that He wanted to have that same kind of time too. So after you have been thankful, talk to God about you upcoming day. What is coming up. What are you worried about? What are you excited about? What are you needing guidance in?
Then get up and read from your bible - you'll be amazed at what He shows you!

Then take a moment throughout the day to be thankful.

God help me make this day sacred - devoted to you in everything.

Choose the AAAAHHHSS !

Help me do the same God

Well its Sunday - said like Eeyor

2006-11-12T06:09:00.000-08:00

Ok I'm sitting here - Sunday morning - way before anyone comes to church. Sometimes we can say in the voice and attitude of Eeyor "Lets go to church so we can worship." But how many times lately have you said "YESSS, we get to go to church to worship." I know there are folks in places that don't enjoy the freedoms we have - that might say that in their hearts!
YEsSSSSS we get to go worship!

Its my choice today Eeyor or cheeleader/pumped up athlete!

I know that if I don't spend time with my Lord outside of corporate worship, when it comes around to Sunday I'll sound a whole lot like Eeyor.

May your day be filled with excitement and anticipation! YESSSSSS, I get to go and worship!

ty

Preparing for worship

2006-11-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

Father help me! Simple and to the point. That is my hope and my only thought right now as I stare blankly at the screen. UGH!

Honestly I need God to speak to me so I am just going to share some random thoughts today. Maybe God will use them and make some sense out of them.

Psalm 40:17b
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

God, I recognize that you are the one who protects and helps me. For me that's a big recognition. Sometimes I'm like a spoiled 2 year old who pouts and says "I do it myself."
But there has to come a point where I realize I can't do it myself. Worship can start at that point.

The psalmist could say "you are my help and my deliverer", he had been to that point. That realization allowed him to write what comes before this in Psalm 40

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The LORD be exalted!"

That is worship! Rejoicing in God. Extolling His virtue and giving testimony to what He has done for me. But I won't get there till I recognize I need help. As they say "Admitting your problem is half the battle." Actually its the whole battle.

I am praying for Pastor Ted Haggard. I've never met the man but I have been to his church for a worship service. Many folks were there and were worshipping the only God. My fear is that many of those worshippers will question everything about the church, their pastor and even their own faith because of Ted's fall. So pray with me for their protection and for Ted's healing.

Ok so what does that have to do with anything. Well it's all about worship. Hebrews 10:22-25 that I wrote about last time says there is encouragement in worshipping together. There can be discouragement when we don't. You know there are folks at every service that aren't worshipping. Sometimes even me. My worry and my prayer is that I would never do anything to hurt my church or my family. That I would never do anything to cause anyone to quit worshipping God.

We all need to remember that we are all capable of anything. Accept for the grace of God, I could be in Pastor Haggard's shoes. Worship is what keeps us at God's feet because we have to remember that it starts by realizing "I need help."

Trying not to wiggle in His grip
Trent

comfortable in a big group?

2006-11-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends in high school had a dad who never would go to church with his family. I could tell that it affected my friend. His dad would say that he was a believer but didn't have to go to church to worship. The sad thing was that I could tell that he didn't worship at all.

So my question today is this: Is corporate worship really necessary in the life of a believer?

I think it is important for us to really think about this and answer it. Is there something about being together with other believers that helps us live for Christ? Is there something about worshipping with other believers that kicks us in the rear to do better? Is there something about worshipping with other believers that helps us worship better?

These are questions that alot of folks who don't go to church are asking? Unfortunately many believers huff and say "how could you ask that you stinking sinner?" They have legitimate questions and its ok for them to ask. My God is big enough to handle the questions.

Let me throw in my thoughts. I want to shout from the top of the mountain a resounding YES! Yes there is something about worshipping with other believers that helps me live better, keeps me going when tempted and helps me worship better!

I was reading in Hebrews 10 this morning and was reminded of something. Take a look -
starting in verse 22

22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. NIV
This is what it says in the Message Translation
Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

So there seems to be a link in "faith without wavering" that comes with being together with other believers. I know that when I am alone my self talk can become negative and I can justify a lot of crap in my life. But my accountability partners won't put up with that. That's the kick in the rear that I need. So what about worship. Remember worship is to be happening all the time. We get together with other believers and testify about how Great is our God ( I love that song by the way) and worship happens - it just spills over and many are encouraged.

I also love to hear big groups like promise keepers or groups of college kids all singing at the top of their lungs - praising God! Way cool - lots of chill bumps!

Last thought
If I were to want to be a professional bowler - I would have to hang out where?

Yes a bowling alley. I can practice there and I can get good tips from other bowlers there.
If I want to be a professional worshipper of God, then I need to be in places where other worshippers are to get encouragement because what Hebrews says is true - we see the Big day approaching. I want to be good and ready to worship my Lord when He comes to get me.

By golly thats a lot
bless ya today
Trent

Reflections after a great day!

2006-11-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, now this is getting out of hand. I mean really - my actually writing and keeping this thing up to date is crazy!

Well I needed to write and put down more thoughts about worship. First of all yesterday was a blast. Thanks to all for the encouragement. This has been a great series for me and Ed has said the same. I appreciate Ed so much. It just wouldn't be as fun without him.
I also appreciated the great discussion last night as we began our series on A life God Rewards. A couple of great questions were asked. One that I have thought about over night and responded to is that God is no respecter of persons. One of our great folks asked about that verse in relation to reward in heaven. I had to look it up and I wanted to share my thoughts here.

First the verse mentioned is in Acts 10:34 Peter is visiting with Cornelius who is a Gentile Centurion. Just prior to this meeting God had given Peter a great vision and now was backing it up with this meeting. The point of the vision and the meeting was that God was no respector of persons when it comes to His gospel of salvation. The good news is for everyone, not just Jews. Personally I really appreciate that! So the phrase "God is no respector of persons" is a comment on evangelism. I think we would be taking it out of context to apply the same phrase entirely to reward in heaven. The idea is that God rewards the works of believers in heaven. -- here me though - not with heaven. Understand? Heaven isn't the reward, because we can't do enough to earn salvation. It is a gift of mercy and love from God the Father paid for with the blood of Jesus. But the reward is for believers and it is something you get in heaven.

Now just because you were a wealthy respected person who is a believer, that doesn't mean that you will receive more reward in heaven. NO. Scripture says that our reward is based on our "works." But what will we do with that reward. Bless Jesus with it! Is this a new principle? NO. Its the same idea for us now. When God blesses us aren't we to give the glory back to God by using what He gives us to bless the name of Jesus?

Ok I'm rambling.

New thought.

Sunday nights when I get home - I'm usually wiped out. But I am also wound up. So usually I don't go so sleep very early. So last night I was thinking as I was trying to go to sleep. I was thanking God for a good day and asking "what next?" God reminded me that I need to be doing personal worship alone with Him and then He would show me. This is a reminder for all of us. Romans 12:2 says that personal worship will allow us to know God's will. SOOOOOOO the point is Corporate worship is wonderful and refreshing but it can't take the place of private personal worship. So worship this whole week and come prepared for Sunday. We'll see what's next.

Love ya'll
Trent

2006-11-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

Wow - consecutive days! No way! WAY! I am continuing to think about worship and the how of worship as I prepare for Sunday morning. Philippians 2:10 says that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. I don't have my Bible in front of me but I believe that is what it says. Please check and read it to make sure.

The idea is that every knee will bow. How long has it been since you bowed? Been a while for me. You know yesterday I was lamenting the fact that we sing songs about bowing but rarely do. That still bothers me. I know that some will say I can't get down on my knees. That's my thought. I had knee surgery when I was much younger - Not that I'm old now. So when I am on my knees it hurts. But I am amazed when I see pictures of old old people bowing down on their knees in other countries. I have experienced this first hand in Guatemala and India. How is that they can bow and we Americans can not?

I recognize that there are health issues. But honestly I believe that more of our problems and for sure my problems come from a heart problem not a knee problem.

Some will say and have said recently "I am worried about what others will think." Well lets think about that response. Who is the focus of our attention supposed to be on? God the Father -Jesus the Son and Holy Spirit the Comforter. If I focus on what they will think - I don't have to worry about what people in my church think. I'll always be right.

Anyway, keep thinking about this and reading your sword!

Trent

2006-11-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

OK ok ok yes I know that it has been at least forever since I did this blogging thing. Sorry. Pray for me to get on the ball with my D.Min. project. Like you, I have about 4000 irons in the fire. That may be a slight exageration - slight being the operative word!

I have been learning a lot about worship these past few weeks. Ed and I have been preparing and praying for our Sunday School class on worship and for worship services after that. One thing that really bothers me is that we sing many songs about kneeling or getting on our knees before God. Yet I rarely see anyone actually do that. Some would say that this is talking about a metaphor or an attitude of the heart. BET ME! I know for a fact that if you aren't willing to get down on your knees before the Lord your heart won't be real low - your heart can't get there by itself!

I think that being authentic is important in our worship. Can we truly be authentic if our words don't match our actions? That is what most folks outside of churches or those who visit on Christmas and Easter call being a hypocrit. OOOHH am I bleeeeeedin?

Think about this along with what I talked about last Sunday in crawling up on the alter in Romans 12. God wants us to be all on the alter. He required that of Abraham - what makes us think He won't require it of us.

Trent

2006-07-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you today the devotional I read when I first came in this morning. I love the prayer and I don't know how folks make it without a relationship with God and with other folks in the body of Christ. The portion about faith in business is so important. Business folks who are believers can develop leadership skills that would cause their co-workers to respect them and thus open a door to sharing faith and implementing it in their business. I have lots of resources from John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, and many more to help our business folks in this area.

Today's Prayer July 25, 2006Dear God, I remember a song from years ago "No Man Is an Island." It was about everyone needing someone. God, we all need You and we all need someone to love us. I pray for those who do not have family. I pray for those who do not have close friends. I pray for those who are lonely or alone. I pray for those who isolate themselves from others. I pray that you will guide them into a circle of friends, connect them to the body of Christ, send the right person to touch their lives, and help them feel Your presence. While a little solitude can be good, You did not create us to go through life alone. I pray for the right companionship for everyone who needs someone right now. Thank You, God, for being with me and hearing me. In Jesus' name, amen.

Experiencing God in Your Business
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. - Hebrews 11:1The CEO walked into the president's office after reviewing his new marketing plan for the next year. It was a well-prepared, thoughtful plan."This will not do!" exclaimed the CEO. "This plan describes how you will achieve these objectives through your own planning. I am certain you can achieve these objectives through normal business operations; however, you have allowed no room for faith in your plan. Now you must determine what God wants us to trust Him to accomplish through this business. You must go beyond what you can naturally achieve."What was this CEO saying? If you and I want to experience God in business at the practical level, we must be willing to trust Him for more than what our natural abilities can accomplish. God likes to show Himself in the midst of unlikely circumstances. This is the place that God receives the glory. God always forced Israel to trust Him for the supernatural. This is how glory was brought to the Father. It is no different in our lives.The world is looking for real faith. Perhaps you are the instrument that He wants to use to demonstrate real faith to the unbelieving business world. It will require courage, faith, and action; also, it will require risk. You may risk finances, reputation, and being misunderstood. This was the risk of all leaders in the Bible. It was a risk worth taking. Are you willing to see God move in your business life? Ask Him what this might mean for you.

One weird Sunday!

2006-06-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday's lesson I learned. We had a great Sunday - weird and funny but great. Read this devotional then after that I'll share what happened. You'll see they go together.

Wow once again today's devotional was just perfect for what I was thinking about - so I had to share it.
Our Counselor, by Os Hillman
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. - John 14:26I was driving down the interstate feeling discouraged from an appointment I had just had. A former employee's company was seeking to displace me, and my company, as their source for our services. It had been one of many difficult events during those months. As I was driving, some words popped into my mind, No weapon formed against you shall prosper. I could not tell you where those words came from other than I knew the Holy Spirit was speaking them to me; I knew they were in the Bible. I knew they were in the Old Testament.When I returned to my office that day, I searched for the key words in my concordance and found the verse. "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you" (Is. 54:17a).Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would remind us of the things He desires us to know. There are times in our lives when the Holy Spirit speaks into our spirit words designed to encourage us or give us what we need at the moment. That is just one of the roles of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The more you know God's Word, the more often you'll recall verses the Holy Spirit will bring to mind for a given situation. Study God's Word and allow the Holy Spirit to remind you of the things He desires you to know.

This is so true! I have to tell you about Sunday now. You see I had felt during the week that the invitation needed to come before the sermon for some reason. God had showed me the song by Matthew West entitled Only Grace. It was perfect, so I played it and showed the words then we had the invitation. All this was before the sermon. God touched hearts - It was way cool. But the great thing was that God already knew what was going to happen. You see the youth were preparing for a spaghetti lunch that was to happen right after the service. Some were cooking during the service. Well some bread was cooking a bit much and the stove billowed smoke. This was all going on while I was preaching what I thought to be a great sermon. We are going through the Roman Road in order to prepare the saints for works of service. Anyway I was close to the end and said that folks understand that we are sinners! Thats when the fire alarm and lights went off. Everyone thought I had set it off for dramatic affect. I didn't! We just ended and I told everyone that meant lunch was ready.

Now you see God was preparing me for the alarm all week. He knew it would happen and so had me do the invitation before the sermon. So if we listen to our counselor - He makes weird things turn out great! Cool huh?

But words will never hurt me . . .

2006-06-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a devotional I read today. I think it goes well with my blog from last week. Who are you listening to. Our self talk believes what others say and then we get defensive because we think that our value lies in what others say or think. Our value lies in the FACT that we are loved creations of the living God. We need to stay vertical and not retaliate horizontal.

Thanks to O.S. Hillman for this encouragement

When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. - 1 Peter 2:23

Have you ever been wrongfully accused? Oh, the need to defend and justify becomes so great. "What will people think if they believe these things are true?" we reason. Imagine what Jesus thought as they hurled insults and threats upon Him. The God of the universe had visited planet earth only to be slandered and accused of blasphemy.Jesus could have done two things in response. He could have used His power to put the people in their place. He could have responded "horizontally." He could have fixed the problem right then. However, He chose to respond in a different way. He chose to "entrust Himself to Him who judges justly." It requires great faith to entrust ourselves to God in the midst of personal assault. However, if we can do this, we will discover a level of grace and wisdom that will be birthed from this experience that we never thought possible. We will discover a freedom in God we never knew before. Whenever we suffer for righteousness without seeking to protect our reputation and rights, we are placing our total faith in the one who can redeem us. This activates God's grace in our lives and enables us to experience God's presence like never before.Ask God to give you the grace to stay vertical with Him. Avoid the temptation of responding horizontally each time some event comes into your life that you want to "fix." Entrust yourself to the one who judges justly. It may be a divine appointment for your growth to another level in grace.

Who are you listening to?

2006-06-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but as I get older - you know 16 turning 17 - ok get off the floor and quit giggling uncontrollably. Thats what my wife and kids do. Anyway as I get older my hearing is starting to do that losing the radio station thing. You know a little less clear and somewhat distorted. Too many concerts when I was a kid you know last year! Sometimes when there is a lot of talking going on or lots of fun happening, I have trouble distinguishing voices. This morning I'm learning that is not just true of my physical ears but also my spiritual ears.

This week we will be starting a look at the Roman Road. D0 you know what that is? It is a name for the passages primarily in the book of Romans that teach us about salvation. Lots of folks use these to help lead someone to placing their faith and trust in Jesus as Lord.

The first of the passages is Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I used to think that most folks didn't get that they were sinners but I am now seeing that for most people it is just the opposite. They not only know that they are sinners, screwups, bad folks but they have trouble moving past that. Its an issue of distinguishing voices! Everyone has what I call self talk. You know the thoughts and conversation you have going on all the time in your mind. That self talk keeps lots of folks from experiencing the grace, mercy and freedom that there is in Jesus. That voice in our heads tells us that we are screw ups! In fact it is so loud that it is hard to hear God. It is that self talk that causes people to say things to me like "I am embarrassed to be in church because of . . ." or I don't have anything to offer to help in the ministry of my church, I'm useless." Is that true? NO! Is it reality? No!

We like to shift the blame for that voice in our heads. We will say Satan is messing with my head, or the devil made me do it. Satan has lots of power and we never need to take him for granted but don't give him more than he has. Satan can't put thoughts in your mind. Satan can't read your mind. He can't make you do something - he can only present opportunities.

Scripture says that we each have a sinful nature. It is that sinful nature that causes us to have that defeating self talk. It also causes us to make decisions that are hurtful. The antidote or hearing aid in this case is Scripture - the truth. Our self talk is giving us lies that are not reality. We have to meditate on scripture. We need to hide truth in our hearts to drown out the other voice.

Clean out your hearing aid! Hear God's voice over your own!

More to come as I work on these sermons!

Do you need a vacation?

2006-06-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here asking myself that same question. We leave for our mission trip to Kentucky in a couple of days and I'm ready to go! I am so very thankful for the awesome folks of our church who are involved in ministry. Fred G. will be preaching Sunday evening the 11th and Christopher M. will be taking the next Sunday night. Bill J. will do an awesome job on the Sunday mornings. It helps me relax to know that God has it all covered.

Over the past 3 weeks we've been talking about the importance of keeping God's commands. We've been making sure we have the 10 commands memorized and Jesus Great Commands memorized. Command #4 is one that gets abused and taken out of context so much. It says remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. Holy means set apart, special. God made the sabbath day as a gift for us. We weren't made for the sabbath. The idea is to rest! Worship is to take place every day and so the sabbath is not about worship. As a pastor I have a hard time remembering the sabbath and keeping it set apart. I rarely take an actual whole day off. That is wrong. I am breaking God's command. My attitude and body and family and church family suffer because of my disobedience.

This morning as I write this I have to say I feel drained - pooped out! I am reminding me to take some time off. I want to remind you to do the same. We should work very hard as for the Lord but we should also take time off every week to rest and be still with God. I also want to encourage you to take a vacation. It will help your attitude! Get away and even visit another church where ever you go. We will be visiting a church outside of Frankfort Kentucky on Sunday morning. I'm looking forward to being refreshed by the words of another pastor!

Remember the sabbath and keep it holy. Remember the day of rest and protect it with all you have!
Trent

New devotional resource for you!

2006-04-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for new devotional tools for myself and for folks at our church. One I recently came across was from a radio program. Jon Courson is the pastor who spoke and really challenged me. I went to the website to listen to the program again. I found that He had a devotional book and excerpts every day on his website. I have enjoyed them all. So I wanted to pass on this resource.
The website is www.joncourson.com
Here is today's devotional from that site

April 27

And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Genesis 45:4–5

“Don’t be upset with yourselves,” he said to his brothers. “Your selling me into this foreign land as a slave was all part of God’s plan.” I love these words of Joseph because they express the heart of Jesus. “Father, forgive them,” He prayed from the cross, “for they don’t know what they’re doing” (see Luke 23:34). Those who crucified Jesus were indeed forgiven. The price was paid. And Peter would go on to declare that it was all part of a divine design, a grand plan, that Jesus would die for the sins of every man (Acts 2:22–24). “I know you are aware of your flaws and failings,” Jesus would say to us, “but don’t be grieved. I’ve forgiven you.” Christianity is unique in that it is not a matter of us cleaning ourselves up and getting our acts together. It is a matter of constantly rejoicing in the fact that the blood of Jesus cleanses us continually, that our sin is washed away constantly by what He did for us on the cross of Calvary. Thus, Christianity is celebration of what He’s done, not condemnation for what we have or haven’t done.“Don’t be angry with yourselves,” Joseph said to his brothers. “God had a plan in all of this.”And God has a plan in everything you’re involved in as well. That is, to make you appreciate what He’s done for you, not so you can boast in your own righteousness, your own purity, or your own holiness, but to say, “Lord, Your forgiveness and kindness, Your goodness and mercy are awesome.”

work place believers

2006-02-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hey I wanted to follow up with my sermon from last week on living out your faith in the workplace. My devotional this morning dealt with this same topic again so I want to share it with you.

"Loose Your Donkey
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman
..."Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them...." - Matthew 21:2-3A donkey was an animal of commerce in Jesus' day. It was used to carry great burdens of goods from place to place and it was known as the "beast of the burden." The donkey in Matthew 21 was surely owned by a village workplace believer. But Jesus told His disciples to fetch the donkey for "He had need of it." This donkey played an important part in Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It was a day that was the culmination of three years of ministry. Jesus chose to use a vehicle of commerce to bring Him into His most important public display.We are entering a time in our own history in which God is saying to workplace believers, "Loose your donkey for My purposes. I have need of it." God is preparing His Church to be a vessel for ushering in a great harvest of souls. He is preparing His remnant of workplace believers, who are like a tribe within the Church, to be a major force in this great harvest."He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk" (Gen. 49:11-12). Is your donkey tied to the living Vine, the choicest branch of Jesus Himself? When we are tied to the living Vine, designed for His use, we will be useful in God's Kingdom. Jesus wants to free us from the bondage of work slavery; He wants us to walk in freedom so that others may see God's grace flowing through us and our place in the work world. Is your donkey available for His use? Today, ask Jesus to allow the Vine to flow through you in every area of your life."

This was great for me this morning and I hope it encourages you to let God use every area of your life - including your workplace!

Its been awhile!

2006-01-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

Yes I know I haven't blogged in over a month. The holidays and my seminar work kept me from getting into the blogging thing much. My appologies. I did turn in my post seminar paper and now get to start preparing for another one this month and two in March. Yeah!...

Things have been going well lately here at church. We had an awesome Sunday and then I got to lead a young man to Christ on Monday - It just doesn't get any better than that. Last night we had a great Bible study and discussion on Colossians chapter one. The implications are incredible.

Today I am meeting with a young couple about possibly performing their wedding ceremony. I have been thinking about this a lot in relation to my final doctoral project. The wedding and marriage are so important. Communication is taught and exemplified in a marriage. We show our beliefs about communications in a marriage. Those skills and beliefs overflow into every area of our lives.

I am learning and praying to become a better listener and a better questioner. I will be asking lots of questions of this couple, such as: Do you both attend a church? If so why are you not wanting to be married there? Do you plan to attend church after the wedding ceremony? If not why is it important for you to have a wedding in a church? It is my belief that a wedding in a church is to say that we have invited God to be a part of this relationship and that we are committing ourselves to God and to each other. If a couple does not want to make that committment, then a justice of the peace will do just fine.

I will probably ask if the couple is currently living together. If they are would they be willing to live apart for a period of time before the wedding? Their answer to that will tell alot about each ones committment. Most often the guy will say no because He's used to the free sex and doesn't want to lose that. The girl will say no because she knows that the guy is not really committed and will only hang around because of the free and convenient sex. This young lady has to have a guy around and especially this guy because she has given herself wholly to him. That is really unfortunate and that is why they will most likely become divorced within a short time. A man and a woman should give themselves wholly to each other but within the committment of a marriage.

I honestly don't know anything about the couple I will meet with and so I am praying for them to be Christians who want to follow Jesus in their marriage. If not I hope that I can share Jesus with them.

If they happen to be living together then pray for me - my goal is never to hurt or discourage a couple. I would much rather they get married than live together. I also want them to have a committed long term healthy marriage - not just a convenient way to use each other.

Well those are my thoughts for the day.
Be blessed and memorize I Peter 3:15 a "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord."
Trent

Keepin it real!

2005-12-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

I am just returning from having lunch with several fellow pastors. During the lunch we had a great discussion about keeping Christmas real. My fear is that many folks see the Christmas story - particularly the nativity as a cartoon by Rankin/Bass and not as a real event. I really enjoyed our discussion and as always I learned a lot from my friends. I pray for their ministries and their churches.

What I came away from our discussion with was this: that if we are modeling Jesus and leading our folks to allow Jesus to be active in their lives, then we will have a better chance of showing someone who is not a believer that Jesus is real and that the Christmas story is not just a cartoon but a real event that happened to real people in love with a real God.

The other night I came home and my kids were watching The Little Drummer Boy. I thought that was cool so I decided to join them. As the story went along (which I have seen several times in my life) I was struck that it was trying to present the Christmas story but not at all accurately according to scripture. The Bible doesn't say anything about the baby glowing or a little boy playing his drum for Jesus or bringing a lamb back to life.

After this show was over then came The Little Drummer Boy 2 the sequel - who knew?! I started watching it and it was even more far out. Now I have nothing against make believe stories as long as we know that is what they are. We need to make sure the we know the difference between fantasy and reality as my friend Bill said today. Unfortunately we adopt what we see in tv shows as our picture of reality or even worse we equate scripture with a cartoon that is not real. I have been convicted that I need to say to everyone I can what is truth. Yes there is absolute truth and I can find it in scripture.

I hope the scripture and those who live by it can be influencers of popular culture rather than the other way around.

Still learning and growing
Trent

Random thoughts on the season

2005-11-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

Well Thanksgiving is over - the kids went back to school and we are back in the regular swing. I have to admit that I am not ready for the regular again - at least not yet. We were able to spend 3 days at a cabin outside of Estes Park thanks to the generosity of a dear friend. It was a wonderful time and I didn't want to come home.
Have you ever had the I don't wanna's? I do this morning. I'm sitting here looking outside at the snow falling and the wind blowing about 50 miles per hour. Its a yucky day! Seems like a good day to curl up with a book in front of a fire. Ok can I go back to the cabin!
Unfortunately I have lots to do. I need to write and submit my final project proposal to my Doctoral committee and I need to be getting things together for Wednesday night Bible study and Sunday too.
I've really tried to focus on being thankful lately. I hope that you are like me and will be taking some time to be thankful for a warm place to watch the snow from. We can be thankful for meals, wheels as well as health and wealth. Maybe if we are thankful we'll not only get off our duff but maybe we'll also be a blessing to others. My question is "What are you giving for Christmas?"
Trent

I survived two thanksgiving meals!

2005-11-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

Wow yesterday was a wonderful time of worship and food. The morning service was tremendous followed by a fellowship hall completely filled with folks enjoying a meal together. But that's not all. We also were able to go to the Wiggins church in the evening for more worship and even more food.

The thing I have been thinking about this morning is that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a celebration. In scripture God always invites others to join in the celebration. He has prepared a table and is wanting folks to come and join Him.

You know what - I hate to eat alone. Maybe I'm weird - ok there's no maybe to it, but I really dread having to stop at fast food places when I'm traveling by myself. What do you do when you're by yourself. Sit there, eat and stare at everybody else. I always try to take something in with me to read or write on so that I at least look like I've meant to be alone and have lots of important things to do. I wish! Sometimes I'll even take it to go and just sit in the parking lot in my car eating rather than sitting by myself in the restaurant. Eating alone is no fun!

As I think about my community, I know there are lots of folks who "eat" alone. Loneliness pervades their lives. As a believer in Jesus Christ who has been accepted into a loving community and has experienced a love like no other, I am supposed to be going out and loving those folks by serving them and inviting them into the community.

This Thanksgiving look around you and see if there is somebody eating alone. They don't like it anymore than you do.

trying to grow
Trent

I am blessed

2005-11-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

During our seminar on relationships we were to share our pilgrimages. Having to write my life story and share it with our cadre was somewhat hard. My life like everyone elses has had some very hard times. We lost our farm when I was 14. I also lost a lot of my posessions when we had the auction at our farm. My parents had to take my savings to buy a new home. So I had to do college on my own. There were times in my life when I became very bitter about those losses.
As I have gotten older I have realized that God was involved in those hard times in my life. He may not have caused those hard times but He has turned them into blessings. I am so blessed today. I also have to say that I am blessed because of those losses earlier in my life. I have grown and have been put into places where God has taught me.
I am blessed, I am blessed!
Thanksgiving should be thanks living!

Can you recognize your luggage?

2005-11-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

Have you ever spent time at a luggage carousel at an airport? I have! During seminary I spent a couple of years working as a chaufer. I picked up lots of folks at the airport and helped with luggage. Since seminary I have been blessed to travel quite a bit and have spent time waiting on my own luggage. One thing that I have watched is that a lot of times people pick up the wrong luggage, mostly because their luggage looks a lot like others. Some bright folks find ways to personalize their luggage. They will put all kinds of tags or stickers on their luggage to make it easy to identify. I try to buy luggage that is unique.

Today in my seminar we were discussing the need to recognize the lenses the we look through when others communicate something to us. In other words people speak words in order to share meaning from their minds to my mind. Those people when they speak words, there is luggage or meaning in their minds attached to their phrase. But when I hear their words I automatically attach luggage or meaning to their phrase. Lots of times our luggage doesn't look the same.

One challenge is for me to take a moment when an event happens or someone speaking to recognize and take ownership in the luggage that I feel and attach. So it is important to our communication to be able to say "I feel . . ." or "I think . . . " instead of saying "You make me . . ." Pick up your own luggage. Others can't make you feel or think a certain way. Maybe that is a generalization, but torture aside, we think or feel something because we have luggage of our own.
Think about how you communicate. What does your luggage look like.

learning today
Trent

My first Blog

2005-11-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to Trent's Soap Box. This is my first shot at blogging and I am excited about sharing my personal journey, what God is showing me and what I am learning in my Doctoral studies. I hope you'll read and share.

the question for today: Have you thought about your spiritual lineage and your spiritual journey? Can you write and share your testimony? Your testimony is so powerful because it is your story of God's leadership in your life. Prepare to share!