Faith

We act in faith - and miracles occur. In consequence, we are tempted to make the miracles the ground for our faith. The cost of such weakness is that we lose the confidence of faith. Faith is, faith creates, faith carries. It is not derived from, nor created, nor carried by anything except its own reality.

Quote from "Markings" by Dag Hammarskjold

Guitar Hero

Rick Derringer has always been one of my favorite guitar players. His work spans over 4 decades. His most notable hit was "Hang on Sloopy" in 1965 when he was with the McCoy's. He is also known for hits like "Free Ride" and "Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo" with the Edgar Winter Group. He has produced dozens of albums and recorded hundreds of songs with other artist. He's played or recorded with legends like Jimi Hendirx and John Lennon to Barbra Streisand. In my opinion he is one of the all time greatest, he was doing hammer-ons way before Eddie Van Halen made them famous.

From time to time I'll get on Youtube and search a few things just to see what's going on in the world. This morning I did a search on Rick. There are some great videos of live performances out there, had fun watching some of those. But there is also a series of interviews (from Dec 07) with him. I love watching interviews of my favorite people. It helps me understand who they are a person not just how I perceive them to be. One of the interviews is on faith. I thought I'd share it with you. It brings a smile to my face.


http://www.rickderringer.com/

The Enemy

The worst enemy you have is not your neighbor not your bill collector, he is not your severest critic nor your most aggressive competitor. We can identify him without calling in the FBI to determine who he is. In fact, I trust we can apprehend and condemn him very shortly, thus giving you a victory over him. Your worst enemy is sitting in the seat with you at this moment.

The enemy is yourself, as you have probably suspected. He occupies the same skin that you occupy. He uses the same brain you use in thinking his destructive thoughts. He uses the same hands the you use to perform his own deeds, and may I say to you that this enemy - your flesh - can do you more harm that anyone else; he is the greatest handicap you have in your daily Christian life.

Now there are two factors that make dealing with this enemy extremely difficult:

In the first place, we are reluctant to recognize and identify him. We are loathe to label him as an enemy. The fact of the matter is most of us rather like him.

The second problem, or objection, is that he is on the inside of us. If he would only come out and fight like a man it would be different, but he will not. It is not because he is a coward but because he can fight better from his position within.

Excerpt from Ai and I by Dr. J. Vernon Mcgee

Follow link to download Dr McGee's full teaching on this subject.

http://www.thruthebible.org/site/c.irLMKXPGLsF/b.4104243/k.B4BD/Booklet_Downloads.htm

Honor

I turned on the tube this morning as I was putting my work boots so I could leave for work. I only turned it on for a couple of minutes to catch the weather. The national news was on and they were reporting on a Memorial Day event in California. There is a national cemetery in southern California where servicemen have been buried for decades. For Memorial Day they read each one of the names of the service men and women buried there. This went on for 24 hours a day for 8 days. There are thousands that gave their lives for our country buried there. The reporter was interviewing a woman that was one of the volunteers that read the names. Her husband had been in the Korean War and had past away a few years ago. She had the privilege of reading his name along with many others. The reporter made this statement; "It must have been a honor to read his name." Her answer surprised me. She said "It was an honor for him." Wow what a loving response. I excepted her to say something like "Yes it was a honor for me." But she said that it was a honor for her husband.

I think some times I try to do good things for people or do the right things. And I feel good about it and I feel that it's an honor for me to serve or help out. What I need to remember is that the good I do is a honor for Him, Jesus.

Rewind

Every Time I hear this song it reminds me of how I used to be and how I am now. If I look back over my life I can see how God has been there every step of the way, but I was not always walking with him. I thank him every day for my salvation and His love that carried me through all those years and will be with me for eternity.

Rewind by Pillar copyright 2004

It seems just like yesterday
Was the first time that I heard you call my name
Since then so much has changed
I'm still the same man that I was before
Knowing that I could be without anything scares me away from being alone
Now that I know whats going on
I could look back and see you
And I made you wait
As I turned away

If I could rewind
Watch all my life, just pass me by I could see you
If I could rewind
Take back the lies, and all of those times I hurt you

I don't know if I'll ever know, exactly how much that I hurt you
Knowing that hurts me everyday
If I could rewind I would take it away
And not make you wait
And I won't walk away

If I could rewind
Watch all my life, just pass me by I could see you
If I could rewind
I'd take back the lies, and all of those times I hurt you

I wanna take back all those lies
I wanna take back all those times
I wanna show you in my life, that I'm here for you

If I could rewind
Watch all my life, just pass me by I could see you
If I could rewind
I'd take back the lies, and all of those times I hurt you

Errors

Your errors of the past make your relation to others difficult when the present shows you that you might repeat them.

Quote from "Markings" by Dag Hanmarskijold

Glory in your weakness

Paul said, "I am going to boast only about how weak I am and how great God is to use such weakness for his glory."1 Instead of posing as self-confident and invincible, see yourself as a trophy of grace. When Satan points out your weaknesses, agree with him and fill your heart with praise for Jesus, who "understands every weakness of ours,"2 and for the Holy Spirit, who "helps us in our weakness."3

from
The Purpose Driven Life day 35

1) 2 Corinthians 12:5b (LB)
2) Hebrews 4:1a (CEV)
3) Romans 8:26a (NIV)