Upward Nights Once Again

Another season of Upward has come and gone and it concluded with a great Awards Night last night. We saw over 550 people at the celebration and our guest entertainers Spin 4 did a great job with the program and in sharing the gospel.

Please keep all the families of Upward in your prayers. The season may be over but the work never will be. Pray that we will have more opportunities with these families to bring them into the life of the church and that they will be saved.

Thanks so much to all the volunteers (all 100 something of you) for everything you have done to see this season through. It doesn't work without you and I pray that the Lord will bless your sacrifice and diligence this year.

New Web Address

The old address for this blog will continue to work, but to make it easier to remember and so that my web address will follow me once school is done, since that will be a in a short amount of time, I have registered my own domain which will get you to this blog and future web pages of mine.

www.colossians129.com

Hope this makes it easier to remember me and hard to forget me

dave m

Moments to live for

Today I was surprised by a visit from my family at the mall where I was working. After talking for a while they decided to go to the food court for lunch. Before leaving however, Solomon grabbed the last bite of dad's taco and poked all of it into his little mouth and then, with mouth still full, he took a sip of my Sprite leaving brown goo all over the end of my straw.

As they walked away it was a picturesque moment as my wife was pushing the strollor with our baby and behind her our ornery 3 year old was jumping every crack in the tile and then skipping only to run into mommy because he was not watching where he was going. Then suddenly he saw the Starbucks counter and went rushing toward it only to be distracted by the fountain and the want of a penny to toss into the water.

Then as fast as he forgot about Starbucks the call of the elevator button called his attention away once again as he left his spot behind mommy in a fit of three year old marathon trainng as he headed to hit the oh so important elevator button.

It is a great joy to be a dad and these are the moments we live for.

What do you think?

Have you ever thought?

In answering that question you just did. Did you ever think of that? Well if not, then what were you thinking about? Chances are it was a quick reminder to yourself of how absurd and confusing these questions are. Then they went back to whatever you forgot to do today, or what is bothering you, or how hungry you are, or....

Ideas rule our lives. They are the stuff that determines what we eat, where we go, how we live, and who we emulate. When someone asks a question that you do not understand you may respond by saying, "I have no idea." Meaning I don't know what to think or where to start. Try defining what an idea is. Just look in Webster's Dictionary and you will end after reading by saying, "I have no idea," even though you just had one while trying to define what that idea was.

Make no mistake about it, the allusive definition in no way changes the fact that how you think determines who you are. For example, I am from a southern state, I would not say the South, but Oklahoma is close enough. Most people in rural Oklahoma would say they like beef. I was raised on a cattle ranch and enjoy my share of a steak or roast. That is how I was raised and that is what I have grown to love. If given a choice between a good steak and a hunk of chicken, well, let's just say that the Chick-fil-A advertisements have no sway on this mind. My "idea" of a good meal is steak. So, when I have the option my "idea" helps me make the decision. Which I might add is a good one.

So, ideas are not only what we think but those thoughts that we wish were, the "ideal" as it were. I can think of the ideal situation and it governs my thoughts and actions. So why does this rambling matter. Simple, your ideas determine who you are and your ideas are usually wrong.

We are living in a fallen world and we have fallen minds. For the believer the Spirit of God is transforming that mind into Christ conformity. The apostle Paul says, "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) Why does renewing your mind transform you? Because your ideas determine who you are and how you behave. Your ideas and thoughts must be brought into conformity with Christ in order to change your life.

This also relates to the scriptures. The authors wrote in sentences, using words, not so we can sit and analyze the words and phrases only, but to communicate thoughts. When you are studying a scripture, search for the thoughts and ideas that are being communicated by the author. What is the point of what he is saying. Take some time to see the "big picture" of the books you read. Why did Luke tell the story of the woman who was healed when she touched the hem of Jesus clothes. What idea was he communicating. When you find that idea you find the meaning. When you find Luke's meaning, you can then begin to think as he. When you begin to think as the authors of scripture, your life is transformed.

Let the Spirit of God change your thoughts and ideas about yourself, the world, God, and others in order to conform your mind to the mind of Christ. There is a mystery involved, I understand, and though some things are hard to define, the truth is, hard things to define are often simple to understand.

I hope this has made you think...

Mission to Brazil

I am excited about an opportunity to work in Brazil this coming June. I will be joining three different churches and some students from Criswell College on a trip to Manuas, Brazil the last week in June.

We will be assisting a Brazilian church in developing a campsite that will be used for retreats for youth and adults alike. It will provide a place for the future work of God through salvation and God's call for more ministers of the gospel. It is exciting to be a part of what God has in store for the people of this city.

Please say a prayer for me as I trust God to provide financially for the $2100 trip and that all the logistics will fall into place as far as tickets, emabassy, visa, langauge barriers, and many other issues that must be cared for.

I was privilaged to go to Tanzania, Africa in the summer of 2000 and learned much of God's work in other parts of the world. I hope this will only give me futher insight and passion for the world mission in which we are to be engaged. I hope that the experience gained will further my opportunities to lead a church towards a world mission passion and mindset in the near future.

For more info on the trip visit the Brazil Mission Homepage.