Psalm 66:16-20

Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!

Psalm 66:16-20

Not too long ago the popular form of distance communication was a radio allowing only one person to talk at a time. You had to get out what you wanted to say and wait for the response of the other party. With the world changing so much, the invention of cell phones, emails, texts, we do not have as much a problem with lag time in conversation. It seems sometimes we are still living in the past because we will not quit making noise so we can just listen.

God wants us to be silent before Him, for He is both Holy and He wants to speak into our hearts. We have cried out with our hearts to Him, we have sought His face in the sanctuary. When we have not done these things we will soon notice we are missed. Too often the loudest and most troubling disturbance in our conversations with God is our own heart. We are the ones full of so much pride we lose sight of His Glory. We are so selfish we do not hear who He wants us to pray for. Our own sins in our own hearts cause too much interruption. And He is ever patient.

You are the workmanship of Jesus. He has made you and is forming you more and more so every day. Every trial, every circumstance, nothing comes your way without His command. Through His hands your life is filtered. Blessed is God who does listen to our prayers. Begin such prayers with the words of a humble heart, asking if there be anything in our lives hindering us from a fresh encounter, the Lord remove such problems. Come and hear.

Psalm 66:6-15

8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard, 9 Who keeps our soul among the living, And does not allow our feet to be moved. 10 For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. 11 You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. 12 You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment. 13 I will go into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows, 14 Which my lips have uttered And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, With the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats. Selah Psalm 66:6-15

So sweet it is to look behind you and see the vast distance you have come. Each journey is designed to bring us closer to the Father, closer to Him with every breath and beat of our heart. It is on those meditative moments we can lean close to the Father and thank Him for getting us down the long and difficult road.

Maybe the road of hardship is just beginning, maybe you are in nearing the end or just getting through it is all that you can even see. What matters most is tucked away in the message of this Psalm. It is a reminder that God is God and He is the one who lead us. We are also advised to hold true to whatever promises we have made to the Lord in the midst of the fire. You know the ones I am talking of, you will pray more, read the Bible more, and do more for others if only the Lord would spare you now. Repay those vows as they were made to the One who has walked you through.

Whatever the case may be, whatever you are dealing with in this life, He is faithful. Maybe now is a joyful time and things are well, rejoice for the Lord has given these moments to you in order to encourage others! He gives no pain without purpose or pleasure without a plan. He loves you and will remain faithful to the promises He has made in the Word to always be right here.

Psalm 66:5-7

Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
Psalm 66:5-7

Remember when…? Our Lord always seems to point to the exodus of Israel and the parting of the Red Sea as one of His crowning achievements.
Yes it was a simple act for the Lord to defy both gravity and the properties of water in order to cause a dry ground for thousands of Israelites to walk, but He makes a point to bring it up throughout the Old Testament.

Our Lord delights in remembering how from one man came forth a nation. It only makes sense then the Lord knows what is going on in this world moment by moment, no nation or Kingdom is ever built or destroyed without His knowledge or allowing such. He cares about the big things of this world, but He is also interested in the smallest things, even the simplest things in our lives.

What we do not want to find ourselves doing is asking the Lord what kind of cereal He would rather have us buy. If that is the deepest our prayers ever get we need to keep swimming. He is observing us, watching over us, desiring to take an active role in our lives. He did in truth give His own life so we can live, how much more than should we give our lives back to Him.

One home, one to go

September 8th was Kenneth's big discharge day. Holly and I went up to the hospital and watched as our baby boy was officially unhooked from all the heart monitor's and everything else. Strange suddenly not having him so attached, and free. Pretty amazing. Holly's friend Charity came up to see us off which was a blessing. Always nice to have company to celebrate the moment. We hope soon we can have the same with Erin. As of today she is 4'4.5 so she is getting there. Hoping to have her home next week!

Kenneth made it home safe and has been doing great ever since. He is not a very cranky baby unless he is hungry or doesnt want to be changed. Otherwise my little boy is home and there is nothing quite as exciting! Also very tired, going to be even more so once Erin gets home. Holly's friend Lindsey came over when we got home with Kenneth to help get him settled into his new world. Little Avery of course bouncing off the walls with excitment, been a long time waiting for the little ones. She is full of joy over her siblings.

Last night a few breif stop by visits from Holly's mom and sister, and friend Joni. He did well last night again, keeping mommy and daddy very active and wishing our bedroom was bigger as we have the pack and play stuffed into the small space between the bed and the dresser. Going to have to upgrade soon. So far so good. Just waiting to see what the Lord has in store in the coming months. Going to be tired, but going to be fun.

How did my baby Avery turn into a preschooler already? Four years is not long enough, my little girl is growing up. Both of them are actually, but more on that in a minute. You would have thought it was Christmas morning as excited as our big girl was about getting to school. This was a whole new experience, new teachers, new friends, and after the crazy summer she has had a nice change. Now here she is little miss sunshine of our lives ready to take on the world, at least after a twenty minute wait in the parking lot. Finally out little Nemo was ready for the big ocean. Upon dropping off Avery, we got lots of pictures and made sure she was settling in well. Thankfully she did seem to get along with the other kids and even told mommy she knew how to be a good girl, she was going to be fine, and told mommy to leave. Guess that means she was ready to grow into the big sister shoes and be a big girl. Love my darling Av and look forward to seeing her education progress. Baby Erin had her first bath this evening which was a real treat. She handled it pretty well, not nearly as loudly as her brother. Think she was more just enjoying the scrub down gently as possible.

Our precious darling, just wish she was coming home along with her brother.
Providing his sleep test goes well tonight, little Kenneth will be making his way home! We are of course thrilled as could be expected. But even now my darling wife is ever so gently pulling me from the blog world to get the house cleaned as it really desperately needs help. So more on this later.

Happy Dance

Weekday nighttime NICU nurses seem to be more fun and energetic. At least the ones we have had today and this evening seem this way. Holly, Avery, and daddy went to dinner after being at the hospital for all afternoon. It is good to get out every so often, though it seems like we pretty much eat and live in the city these days. Just have to be close to our babies.

Little Kenneth is doing so well, the doctor even said he was making fun of the system. Guess he is taking all of his food by bottle and has been good with his heart rate for the last several days now. He is a good 5lb 8.6oz at measurements tonight. Wish we had a little gram scale at home, we will miss knowing these numbers once we get them home. He may actually be coming home this week in fact, just a few more days. Having him home will make things interesting at the Bowlby house, sure hope we are ready for baby.

As soon as we got in this evening we were excited to see our little Erin reach the four pound mark! She is 4 and .4 ounces. Never thought it would make me smile so much to see 4, but the Lord has been so good to us. He is providing and watching over us. So we did the happy dance as we always do, I know the nurse loves to watch us when we get into the room. It is good to see some uplifting when so many babies take a long time to struggle and get there. Still a ways to go with her, but she will get there. She’s more of a diva they call her, she milks attention then goes back to sleep. She mostly likes to sleep in the day and be awake at night, which unfortunately is the opposite of her brother. He likes to eat when he’s hungry then go back to sleep, but he is awake more in the day.

Little Avery is heading to preschool for her first day tomorrow. She is of course very excited. I am looking forward to hearing how it goes. School is going to be good for her to have this in the midst of the new babies and all, since it something belonging to her and her alone. So happy tears as we see both our little girls growing up, happy dances too.

Psalm 66:1-4

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.
Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious.Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah
Psalm 66:1-4

Praise be on your lips, in your heart, and always flowing through your mind. A shout of joy to the Lord of all is the key of this Psalm. Psalm 66 may allude to a victory Israel experienced over Assyria as is referenced in Isaiah 36-37. We see the whole earth being told to praise the Name of the Lord of Israel.

All of the earth is told to praise and sing joyful shouts to the Lord. He is the God of Israel. His title of God of Israel will stand for all eternity; it is not one which is replaced by the Church in anyway. Both Israel and the Church have separate origins and destinies. It is important to know the Word of God, and know the plan God has for both Israel and the Church. His mission and work with Israel is not complete; it did not get taken over by the Church.

Jesus Christ will always be our Jewish Messiah, Lord and King over all of Israel and the world. He is currently on His Father’s throne but will one day return to sit in the throne of David and rule from Jerusalem. Everything in the Word of God points toward His reign. So we sing praise now just as we will then, and may the whole world continue to sing praises to His Name.

Acts 1: Waiting for Jesus' return

They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. Acts 1:9-14

What would you be doing in light of Jesus’ soon return? The disciples wondered every day if Jesus would return during that moment or later. Centuries have passed and we are all still looking up to the sky for that return. But we must not just sit around and wait without doing more. The disciples lead the way in prayer as they gathered with all the disciples and the women who followed Jesus closely. Together as brothers and sisters we are called into prayer and being one mind. By being one mind we are to be unified under the same banner of Christ and all that He did for us. Our prayer lives are not just something else we should do, it is something we have to do. Therefore get together and pray often, and don’t stop.

Wouldn’t you want to stand and stare after someone you loved departed or took flight? The disciples were probably wondering where Jesus was going and how long He would be before returning. But the disciples did not remain on the hill discussing the many theories of Christ’s return, nor did they speak about who the beast of Revelation might be. The Lord had other plans which were to move them off of that hill and into His purpose for the Church. So many of us are still standing on the hill, looking up to heaven, trying to figure out just when He might return. We think we have it all figured out as soon as a few people throw some bombs at each other and declare war. It is important to be paying attention to the signs of the times, but not as important as it is for us to be a sign pointing to Christ. The Lord did not put the Church here so it could sit on a hill, but so it could be the light to nations to the grace and love of God.

Jesus will return, do not let anyone take that one thing from you. Rather than just sitting around looking up we should remember the race we are to be running which is to bring all men to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, for the time is short before He does return.

Zoo day

We spent some time at the zoo today to see the Elephants celebrate one of their own's 60th birthday. Pretty much everyone in town was there so it was a little crowded. All in all good. I took Avery and one of her friends, Lahna (sp?). So my almost four year old and her almost six year old friend made a good pair running around crazy. Some stranger gave us their wagon which was great, made for an easier trip around some of the zoo. What a day. I am so very tired. My darling wife spent all day with the twins, watching over them just like a good momma. She takes good care of them. The only trouble is getting my little Avery to sleep even though its midnight she has way to much get up and go drive.... ahhhhh. Is all i can say. What a weekend this is already turning out to be.

Cheerleader

Thessalonians 5:11 (New American Standard Bible)
“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

Is it as obvious to you as it is to me, we all are in need of some encouragement today. In a world which seems bent on pulling us down and putting us out, any bit of joy would be a positive help. Apostle Paul speaks about encouraging each other constantly with the hope we have in Jesus, both as Redeemer and Creator. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be our comfort, our encouragement, our cheer leader. When we say cheer leader the first thing in your mind is probably a group of high school girls dancing around a field in routine fashion designed to uplift the players. But it is not the players on the field the cheer squad is speaking out to, it’s the bench.

When you are in the audience you watch the game and the cheer leaders. But how often are you being led to follow along and cheer? How many people in the stands are following the leadership of the cheerleaders? Think about the word. Think about how important it is to the players to see people in the stands cheering, or encouraging them.

As it is in the football or sports arena, so is true in life. We are involved in the game one way or another. The Holy Spirit is our cheer leader. He is there to constantly make us aware of the joy set before us in Christ Jesus. He is there to spell out V I C T O R Y every day to us. He will be way more dramatic than any group of high school girls ever will be. Plant this imagine in your mind during the upcoming football season. Listen to the leaders as they cheer on the crowd. Listen to your Leader as He encourages your Spirit and you in turn encourage others in the same manner.

Psalm 65:5-13

By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;
Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might; Who stills the roaring of the seas, The roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples. They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth. You water its furrows abundantly, You settle its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth. You have crowned the year with Your bounty, And Your paths drip with fatness. The pastures of the wilderness drip, And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing. The meadows are clothed with flocks and the valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Psalm 65:5-13

He is Creator… not of a big bang, but of a cosmic universe far beyond our understanding or comprehension. Science has gone a long way over the centuries and the true marvel is how far they will go to explain things in a way to promote their own preconceived notions. Every time I see the term millions of years ago, especially in my four year olds books. Denying the Creator is ultimately denying responsibility. And yet the irony is we teach about saving the planet which ‘accidently came into existence.’ He is the one who calms the roaring seas. Now fast forward to Jesus calming the Sea when the disciples were out in their fishing boat, Jesus once against proving to be the same God of the Old Testament and Creator. Psalm 65 is all about the Creation and the Creator. So often we stop to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings without pausing to dwell on His beauty. We forget, because we forget.

Shout for joy over your Maker, your Designer, your Creator. He made the earth and the seas and He loves all which He has made. All things in heaven and on earth created for a purpose, including you. He is the hope of all mankind from this side of the world all around. Every Nation will hear and be glad when they turn and acknowledge their Creator, their Savior, their God is Lord.

Up close: David McDaniel

Up close: David McDaniel

If I had to rank my relationships and friends it is usually based on how they relate to God and how much love they have for the Word. Those whom I consider the closest and dearest are those who I have been able to share my life with and gain wisdom and insight. They say everyone comes into your life for a reason and we can and should grow from every encounter we have. So we should pursue friendship, social groups, and close bonds which can last for a lifetime.

Wednesday evenings at our Church we have a youth group, proudly bearing the name ‘Driven.’ It is a great group, wonderful worship, good leadership, and truly the place to hang out for all Jr. high to high school students, and your occasional adult who is there to bless the kids in any way possible. I am drawn to the youth as it brings up so many pleasant memories of my own high school youth group back in California. Water of Life had the youth group and the place to be every week for good time in the Word, and awesome worship. Also had a man who I have chosen to highlight in this issue of my ‘Up close’,

David McDaniel. David, or Dave, or little Dave as I call him has always been one of my heroes. Since I met him he has shown me what passion of Jesus is all about. I have watched him as he lead our group during the four years of high school, he struggled with the struggles of the kids and loved everyone of us. He displayed the kind of leadership you want to see out of a youth Pastor. He is hilarious as well. He always had the greatest stories to tell which would get you laughing hard, than he would hit you with some serious points which made you cry because the Holy Spirit would at that point being talking to you.

The Lord is greatly evidenced in people’s lives when they are truly selling themselves out to His service. Dave does just that. He left the Youth Group along with his family to pursue ministry in Japan with Discipleship training. He, his wife, and their three darling children all live in Japan now and are serving the Lord. Dave is a man who loves worshipping the Lord and spends all of his time introducing people to Jesus. The work he does is incredible and inspirational. Like so many great ministries, David and his family do live day by day by faith in the Lord to provide for their needs. Prayer is the most import thing, but if the Lord would call you to help further or you would just like to get to know them a little more. Here is the link to their webpage. David and his ministry to the people of Japan is a continual source of encouragement to me as he continues to reach out in the Name of Jesus to the lost.

http://web.mac.com/damare50/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

Psalm 65:1-4

Psalm 65
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God,
And to You the vow will be performed. You who hear prayer, To You all men come. Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You forgive them. How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You
To dwell in Your courts We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple. Psalm 65:1-4

No matter what the depth of trouble you may have gotten yourself in, the Lord is always able to rescue you. He delights in His children and loves all those whom He created. He made all things, and He holds all things together. This is why He alone is able to forgive the sins of man. Jesus forgives every one of our sins, when we come to Him and lay them down before His throne.

Christians will reign with Christ as kings and priests in the heavenly Kingdom. He has not only redeemed our souls from death but also given us share in the inheritance waiting for us for eternity. It is going to be amazing. There we will find the rewards for the things we have done for Him. Nothing we do on earth can earn salvation, for that price has already been paid. But we do have the responsibility to do good works as His children for He made us to serve.

Forgiveness and Christian service should be mutual in their relationship. We have been forgiven, so we should be forgiving. He has given us mercy and grace, so should we to others. Our Christian walk should not be based on how many good works we can do to make our reputation look better, but how much more we can glorify His Name. In His temple we will be satisfied. In His house we will be forgiven.

Life of David

One year ago I set out on a journey through the book of Psalms, as King David has always been my favorite Biblical hero. Psalms is the longest book of the Bible so it does take some time to dig through, and when you want to go deep it takes even longer. My Word of Truth messages have always been centered on verse by verse commentaries of Scripture. It has been important for me to never leave anything out and go over even Scripture hard to understand, there are a lot of those.

I am now approaching Psalm 65, halfway through the book and so much has already been learned. David had such an extraordinary life and career. The lessons we learn from him are good for our teaching, wisdom, and help us to know how to relate to God better. He is a big God and knows our every need and want. He is able to do all things.

David dealt with himself throughout the Psalms, with his heart toward both God and people. He struggled over his personal issues, his sin, he hated the things which God hated. He was a man who from the beginning wanted to have a relationship with His Lord, and continued to seek God’s heart. There was never room for religion, no room for empty sacrifice. He had to be real with the Creator and Savior. David always put his heart out on the line, always had compassion, and was always real. Those things got him into trouble often as well.

Personally this past year has been a struggle. Undeniably God has had me in Psalms for the very reason they would help me through dark days and give me praise for the wonderful gifts He has given. Just like King David, I have had my moments, but they always end in praise. David could go into a great deal of poetic verse about the enemies and stress he felt, but there was always an end of praise and exultation in the Lord. He never knew what was ahead for Him, but He knew if He followed God with all His heart He would be safe. - I too Praise Him!

As for our personal progress reports: Miss Erin is up to 3'12 she gained 40 grams- almost to 4lbs hopefully this weekend and Mr. Kenneth is up to 5'3 he gained 24 grams, just looking at the positive for the day. Holly is going to bring them a colorful balloon for their beds this weekend to celebrate their growth plus being a month old coming up. Keep praying for Kenneth as his biggest problem is bradycardias. He is taking his feedings completely with a bottle now though. Miss Avery starts preschool next week! She meets her teacher today so that should go well, i hope. Thank you for your prayers. Keep them coming.-

Psalm 64:1-10

Prayer for Deliverance from Secret Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who will see them?” They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded. He will make them stumble over their own tongue; All who see them shall flee away. 9 All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.
Psalm 64:1-10

Our Lord is not concerned with the many rumors and malicious talk going on about himself or his children. He does not get shocked by the misdeeds of man, or the amount of gross behaviors of which we are capable. He does not get bothered because He already knows what is inside us all. He knows the darkness and the sin which plagues us from birth.

David all through his life faced people talking about him both bad and good behind his back, or even to his face. During his childhood his brothers showed distaste for him as evidenced at their reaction when he faced Goliath. He had to deal with Saul for a great many years, and even after by several of his own appointed counsel. But God was never surprised, and was always there to help David through every challenge.

Remember who you should be listening to in this world is not those who are in the world, but the One who made all things. Your Creator, Your God, He is the manufacturer of your soul and knows how it works inside and out completely. Do not believe lies, malicious talk, rumors, gossip, all those things are of the enemy. Be glad and trust Him. Be upheld by what He has said about you in His word. Study the promises, for not only did He die for you, but He is alive for you now.