He is Here

If some of you are wondering, this is how my year has ended and what an amazing ending it was.
The sun rise was "under" the clouds.

It was as if the light was reaching out to illuminate more and yet it was inevitable that the light would soon be hidden under a covering, leaving me with the knowledge that the light is there, but I could not see it.

This is how God has left me at the end of 2012.
I know that He is there, and He is reaching out wanting me to see more of Him, but needing me to trust His presence under a covering of Clouds.

What an awesome God to love me so that He would show Himself to me and yet want me to know that He is there, even if I cannot see Him.

I don't know how your year ended, but I know this, God wants us to see Him and I believe that more than ever He will be seeking ways to show us His Light. But it will require faith, meaning that there might be a covering of clouds.

Times when all we have is Faith in the knowledge of His Promises
Times when all we can do is Hope that above it all He is with us
Times when all we see is a simple sign of Love

and as one of my new favorite songs say......
Give me Faith to trust what You say
That Your good and Your love is great

God is reaching out under the Clouds, but lives Above them and by the end of 2013 maybe He will become a little clearer to us and we will know His Love.

1 Corinthians 13:12-13  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

What do I think?

Its been a week since the horrific tragedy in Newtown Conn and the images of those heroic teachers and beautiful children are still rolling through my thoughts. The stories of pain and suffering of grieving families echoing in my mind and aching my heart.

We live in a world that is more than broken whatever that is.

But what makes it worse for me was one statement made by a Conservative ex-pastor talk show host who said that this tragedy was caused by taking God out of the Schools.

Made worse because he is dead wrong. This tragedy was caused by a dark world, one where we as followers of Jesus are called to be lights.

No Mr. Huckabee this is not a God out of the Schools issue, but I would argue that it is a God out of the church issue.

Jesus said that His word would be confirmed, not with more words, but with signs of His Power.

The church stopped believing in Miracles Mr. Huckabee. The Lame stay lame, the deaf stay deaf, the blind stay blind, and the dumb, well they sit in the pew hunkered down singing about Jesus hurrying up and coming back.

We have ceased to be a place where the Power of God is experienced against the demonic but have become a place where we talk about how it used to happen.
Churches and Pastors don't fight with the Devil, we are too busy fighting with bitter church members who complain about the music, the coffee, and decisions that they do not like.

No Mr. Huckabee, God never said He would be in the Schools, but He did expect to be in the Church and that is where I am starting. and maybe by the light of Jesus shining on a broken young man, what happened in Newtown won't happen in Astoria.

One Soul at a Time.

Not Feeling It

As those of you faithful to this blog know, I recently took a few days off of the grid and you know what? I'm not ready to get back on.

I have enjoyed going to see people instead of calling them.
Not having to look at my phone all day is kind of refreshing.
I loved last nights life group more than any I have ever attended as it was filled with faces that I love.
and I'm not ready yet.

I am going to take a blogging break until after the holidays, and I will keep my texts or calls to a minimum. So enjoy the fact that my Internet presence is just one less voice you have to worry about for now........

And come and talk with me. I would love that.

newLife, I love you

Andy