Ready to Reply

So. I got a phone call from an angry mother yesterday evening. The reason for her anger? I had failed to return her phone calls for days. She had called, I was usually sleeping, and I never returned the call. She wasn't too happy about that.

Anyways, where I'm going with this, is are you going to be ready to reply when God calls upon you? There are times in life where God calls upon each and everyone of us. For various reasons and tasks. And the question is, will you be ready to reply?

Genesis 22:1-12

22 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Acts 9: 10-18

10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

When the Lord calls upon you, I pray that you will be ready to reply with "Here I am, Lord." Be prepared to reply and act upon His command. He has designed each and everyone of us for His purpose and will, and has provided all the gifts and skills you will need for it. All that is takes is you being willing to reply when He calls.

I apologize for not posting for a long time then just having a short one. My computer is completely done for. The screen is broken. I can't see anything on it. I have ALOT of stuff to post, but am never by a computer to post it. Trying to work something out. Anyways. Be in prayer and in the Word! Love all of you. Kyle.

Hyperafflictionitis (Part Two)

Now. I know you've all been desperately awaiting for this blog. Time for handling some Hyperafflictionitis. I am proud to present to you the only guaranteed cure to this awful condition. We can just call it affliction, problems, trials, suffering, or any word you wanna throw at it.

So. Back to our story. Let me just quick set the facts and history real quick, and we'll move right along. So, David has gone into the land of the Philistines, and they gave him the city of Ziglak. The Philistines then went to war with Saul, and David and the men of his city went out to war with them. However, before the battle began, the Philistines became worried that David might betray them and fight for Saul, so they made David and his men return to Ziglak. Upon arriving, they find the city burned to the ground, and all of their wives and children taken. David's men, angered by their wasted march to battle that lost them their city and families, speak of stoning him.

So. David in just a very short period of time, marched to battle, was rejected, marched back to his city to find it burned, his wives were taken and his own people want to stone him. Rejected by your allies, wasted time, lost all worldly possessions, home burned, family lost, and his own men now want him dead. All together it makes for some pretty challenging times in David's life. Just losing your wife, or home, or friends, that would be plenty to call it a bad time in life, but David has it all at once. But did David contract Hyperafflictionitis? Lets take a look.

1 Samuel 30:6

"Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God."

There it it my friends. We're told here that David was greatly distressed. Much like many of you and myself are at times. But David did not allow that to overcome him, because he knew where he could find the strength to carry on. Our God is a provider of great strength and comfort for His people in times of need. Through the entire Bible we see Him giving strength to His people, and we continue to see it in the world today.

So whatever you may be struggling with in your life, don't allow it to overcome you. The things of this world are so much smaller than the strength of our God. Run into His open arms and be revived today.

Matthew 11:28-30

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Hyperafflictionitis

Hyperafflictionitis is a common disease that is contracted by most people. It that breaks you down emotionally, physically and spiritually. Nasty stuff right?

Symptoms:

1. Stress

2. Worry

3.Anxiety

4. Fatigue

5. Sadness

6. Hopelessness

7. Loneliness

8. Anger

9. Apathy

(Having one, several or all of these symptoms does not necessarily mean you have Hyperafflictionitis. They are generic and can be found as symptoms for everything from the common cold to trench foot. So nothing to worry about.)

Hyperafflictionitis is the condition of being overtaken and overwhelmed by the afflictions in your life. This happens most commonly when there are several uncomfortable situations in your life at once. It feels like EVERYTHING is wrong. And you just become consumed with the negativity of it all. If this may sound like something you've experienced, read the following text, and keep checking back for the vaccine!

1 Samuel 30

1"And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

2And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. 3So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. f4Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters....."

Now, no reading ahead! Soon I will show you the cure for Hyperafflictionitis, so that all of you can live in the peace of not being a slave to your afflictions!

If you came here thinking Hyperafflictionitis was a legit medical sickness that you could use to get out of an obligation, I brought on a guest star to teach you an easy way to fake sick:

The Shire.

Acts 2:40-47

"40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

Okay. So its not actually the Shire. It's the Church. But you know, they share some similarities. The Hobbits of the Shire are a great community. Much like the Church is called to be. It's a stretch, but I was feeling some Lord of the Rings. Anyways. I shared a quick devotion at a Superbowl party over this kind of idea. Discussing the unity of the Church and the edification that goes with it. The text says "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." I've been to several different churches in my life, and I can tell you that there is nothing more spiritually uplifting than the kind of church described here in Acts. To be able to go into the house of God and be one in fellowship with other believers is an amazing experience. So I just wanted to encourage you that if you haven't found a church where you can enjoy that fellowship and growth, be looking for it. The Christian life was never meant to be walked alone. Each one of us has spiritual gifts that are meant to edify one another. Only by being in the community of the Church can you fully receive that edification. During those times in life when I've been the most spiritually exhausted and dormant, the church has been that support that I needed.

(Is there a better example of fellowship than the Fellowship of the Ring?)

So. Anyways. I didn't have much. I was just in Acts and ran across that. Thought I'd throw it out there. Anyways people. Go fellowship with someone! Go love on your brothers and sisters in Christ today. We could all use the encouragement. Continue steadfastly in fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. I will be in prayer for all of you as well!

A Fiery Valentines Day Circus Act

The "Valentines Day" in the title is reflective of today's holiday, and is in no way the topic of this blog. The title does however accurately describe this blog.Sorry if I got your hopes up! But on that note, gentlemen, I sure hope you're stepping up your game today with the ladies in your life, because I sure am. Anyways, in other news, I have repaired my keyboard, and am now back on task. I apologize for the absence. I was tempted to blog about love today.... But then I started to think about it and realized that its tricky to blog about. I suppose I could throw a 1 Corinthians 13 at you and call it a day, but I won't do that. (I apologize, but the main point of my blog doesn't actually arrive till the very end... I got carried away. Be patient with me!)

I think I will share with you the blog I began several days ago, and never completed because my keyboard. Sorry if its not great. I've kinda lost my train of thought.

Well. Here we are again. Today, I have a bit of an embarrassing story about myself. . . . A few hours ago, I was starting a fire in my fireplace. After about 20 minutes, I had the fire going was decently well, and I went and made myself some food. After enjoying my delicious treat, I decided it was a good time to poke at the fire a bit and get it stirred up. So I go over there and start moving some logs around, at which point.... I put the first completely out. That's right. It went from a blazing inferno, to a pile of hot nothingness in a matter of seconds. I had successfully put out a fire with no water, liquids, or any other extinguishing device. Kind of a touchy little booger wasn't it? Well anyways, I was pretty amazed at the fact that I completely destroyed a perfectly good fire in an attempt to make it bigger. Telling this story makes me sound about 32% less manly. But I'll take that hit. I'll grow a beard tomorrow and make up for it.

Alright, now that that's over the reason I'm telling this story, is I was reminded of someone who's fire skills far exceed mine. God. So the next three or four blogs are going to be covering stories about fire... Particularly fires started by God Himself. They are pretty spectacular sights, and nothing has captured man's imagination and innovation more than fire, which is probably a big reason God used it as a tool to communicate through. So here we go, on a little journey through the fire and the flames.... And not the hellish variety.

1Kings 18:30-39

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

Now. You might think aw, God showed Himself to the prophets of Baal through this miracle, they professed Him as Lord, and their lives were changed. Not exactly. In the verses following this Elijah orders that they not allow one prophet of Baal escape, and he executes every one of them. Maybe it's just a guy thing, but there's something super awesome about that. Kinda like that time Samson killed 1000 men with the jawbone of a donkey? Awesome stuff.

"Then Samson said: 'With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!'"

That's what a man says after he slays 1000 men with a jawbone.

Okay sorry. Back to fire! What an amazing display of God's power. And even more so, what an amazing display of Elijah's faith. How many of us would be willing to make such a bold request of God and do it publicly? Elijah obviously had NO doubt that God would fulfill his request, because He made one heck of a show out of things. First and foremost he stuck his neck out by challenging the prophets of Baal, and then he proceeds to mock them as they call upon their god. And THEN he covers his entire offering wood and all in water, just to top it all of. Elijah was quite the entertainer in my opinion. The guy really knew how to draw a crowd. If I was going to start an Old Testament circus, Elijah would be my ringmaster, Methuselah would be my worlds oldest man act, and Job would be the poor beggar outside the tent because he lost everything, Daniel would be the lion tamer, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego would be firewalkers, and we'd bring the blind Samson out for entertainment at the end (we all know how that ended up. And if you don't know what I'm talking about "blind Samson," go read the story. ) I could go all day, but that's my main act.

Okay. Yet again, back on topic of Elijah and the fire. Man I'm everywhere. I apologize. After so many days of not blogging, I have too much to say for one blog. This should have been separated into two. Anyways, Elijah's faith here is really what astounds me. Of course God can set it on fire. That's no problem for Him. What is incredible in the story are the extremes that Elijah is willing to go to to prove that His God is the one true God. He is so assured of His existence and power that he is willing to call upon Him in front of his enemies fully expecting that He will provide, and He did. Now, I'm not sure if when Elijah saw the flames come down he had a massive sigh of relief, but I sure would have. But okay, before I continue to get further and further away from what I was trying to say, I will wrap this up here. It is my prayer and hope that all of us would have the faith and boldness to live our lives as though God exists. We can claim to believe in Him, we can say it, but do we act as though He does? Are our steps evident of that faith, or do our lives point that our faith lies elsewhere? Elijah's faith was apparent because he openly displayed his belief and LIVED it. And for that, Elijah's request was fulfilled. So just kinda give your life a long look today. Are your daily steps a testament to your faith in God, or are they a testament to your doubt?

Hmmmm....

If anyone wanted to email me a reader written devotion that would be super cool! Give it some thought. If you have something you wanna share let me know!

Set Back

Attention readers. I'm sorry to announce that the keyboard on my laptop has gone completely out. . . I am having to click each letter individually on the on screen keyboard. I apologize for not having a blog up yet. I am doing my very best to come up with a solution! -Kyle