The Bread of Life

The daily bread from yesterday was really good, so I would like to share a portion of it with you. ........

Jesus fed a crowd of 5,000 and the next day many searched for Him (John 6:10-11,24-25). He challenged them: "You seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled" (v26). It seems that the food was more important to some of the people than the everlasting life Jesus offered in Himself. He told them He was "the bread of God...who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world" (v33). Some didn't believe, wouldn't accept His teaching and "walked with Him no more" (v66). They had wanted the food, but they didn't want Him and what would be required of them to follow Him. Jesus calls us today to come to Him, not for the blessings from His hand, but to receive the eternal life He offers and to follow Him, "the bread of God". - Anne Cetas

Examining our motives for following the Lord will show if we're authentically believing in His word. - Sper


It really makes me look at myself to see why I am following Jesus. The blessings are a nice thing to have but I think the number 1 reason that I follow Jesus is for the "Everlasting Life that He offers! Then the more I thought about it the more I thought that it was kind of selfish of me. It is like getting a prize at the bottom of a cracker jack box. I get a great gift but what does God get. And then it hit me. God gets us. His creation that He created in love. God loves us so very much that it would be a great gift to Him to get us back forever and ever.

PRAYER

Awhile back I was asked the question "what do you think about a prayer service". This question was directed at a web site that offers a prayer service. Here are my thoughts on that.

First and foremost, we need to be in prayer ourselves. God really wants to hear from us. Don't get me wrong, we can get others to pray for our needs as well, but God still wants to hear from you personally. Prayer gives you the chance to get your requests to God. James 5:13-18 talks about the power of prayer. A prayer offered up in faith will heal and bring forgiveness. It also talks about how the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. Romans 8:26-27 tells us that the Holy Spirit will give us the words even if we don't know how to pray or what to pray for. God knows our heart. By prayer you can grow your spiritual knowledge and your maturity in Christ, Colossians 1:9. The best thing to remember when praying is that God listens to the pure and sincere heart.

Now with that said, it never hurts to get others praying for you or your requests as well. Kind of like the more the merrier. You should or can pray about everything at anytime. By doing this it teaches us to seek God first, which I might add the He likes very much.

My favorite prayer that I like to pray on a regular basis is one of thanks. I like to thank God continually for the many blessings in my life. Before I go to sleep at night I thank Him for the day that He gave me. Before my feet hit the ground in the morning I thank Him for another day to live my life for Him.

So, in closing, you do not need a prayer service to talked to God. I am not saying that it is bad, you just don't need it. God is ready, willing and able to hear all you have to say to Him. You have a hot line to God. All you have to do is dial the phone.

God is always with us, even during our trials

A testimony that God is always with us during our trials. Yesterday my truck broke down and I was able to get it into a parking lot before it stopped running. I look around and saw an auto shop, but, I need to go out of the parking lot into heavy traffic, down the street and then make a left turn against heavy traffic. Then go down a small street and make a left then a quick right into the shop. A quick prayer and I started pushing. When I got to the street, no traffic at all. When I got to the left turn, no traffic. Made it to the shop with no problems. It was like someone had stopped all the traffic for me. God is good.

Got Prayer?

I come to you asking for a big favor. I am asking you for prayer. Not for me but for my grandmother. She is 97 years young and only has a couple of days left. She is in the Filmore Convelesant Hospital. Last week after her and I prayed we spoke about Jesus and she told me that she excepted Him as her Lord and Savior and she understood that it is through Jesus that we have salvation. Before she got sick she said a paper for Do Not Reseitate and only give comfort care. Somehow last week that paper got lost and I was tasked with finding it. I found it and then sat in the parking lot in my truck for 30 minutes with the hardest taks that the Lord had ever given me up to that point. Only to find out later that He would task me with an even more difficult task. I had to call Pastor Martin at Shepherd. After prayer and Martin explaining that it was not for me to decide about this form. This form was between my grandmother and God. So, I sucked it up and delivered the form. At that point all treatment care stopped and they change to just comfort care. That was last week. When I went to see her yesterday she was very happy to see me. She was sitting up in a wheel chair by the window. We talked for awhile and then she need to go to the restroom. The nurses helped her with that. They are the greatest and never get enough reconignition. Anyway, after my grandmother came back we talked about memories. Her dogs, her birds and family. Then, God tasked me with the hardest thing that I have ever been tasked with. We prayed again and then I let her know that it was ok to go and be with God in heaven. Grandpa had gone ahead to prepare a place for her. I told her that God would keep her in His arms. And that God would make sure that she was at peace. I also aksed her to tell my grandpa hello for me. My prayer is that I ask God to take my grandmother peacefully and that He doesn't let her suffer. I ask God to let my grandmother go to be with God, Jesus and my grandfather in Heaven. I know that one day I will see both my grandfather and grandmother in Heaven with God and Jesus. I thank God for the Integrity that He has placed in me as a man of God. I hurt and I am very happy all rolled into one. I hurt because my grandmother is dying and I am very happy because she will get to go and be with the Lord very soon.

I was studying the book of James and wanted to share this with you!

James (New Living Translation)

James 1
Greetings from James
1 This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

James is the writer of the book of James. There is no proof as to which James this is. Many say that it is the brother of Jesus. We do know that he was a slave or servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only his servanthood to the Lord Jesus Christ that matters to him here, for this is the theme of his letter: How shall we live as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ?

And then he goes onto say…
I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
History tells us that this was written in Jerusalem for the Jewish Christian audience around 46 to 48 AD. During this time they were scattered all over the place because of fanaticism (meaning to be a fanatic about something) was tearing Jerusalem into pieces. Meaning that some jews were putting to much into things other than God and Jesus.
Elaborate on the meaning of being a fanatic….
Through out the book of James we see one constant lesson being taught. Patients. Patients under provocation. Patience under oppression. Patience under persecution. Patience in waiting for the coming of our Lord and Savior. The waiting for the coming of the Lord should be the grounds for our patience.
To have faith and endurance you must have patience.
In the book of James we are also taught that there is justification through faith and works and that faith apart from works is barren. The body apart from the Spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.
If you are going to talk the talk you had better walk the walk. We see this with Abraham when he offered his son to God and we also see this with Rahab when she sent the messengers out a different way.
Here we go, let’s start with verse 2
Faith and Endurance
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Do you think that a marathon runner just went out and started running 26 miles one day? Or that an Olympic swimmer just started swimming 8 lengths of the pool right off the bat? Do you think that a weight lifter just started lifting 800 pounds. No. They had to train. They had to work at it. They had to build up their endurance. They had to endure pain in order to strengthen themselves. They also had to have patience in reaching their goal. They had faith that by working hard their endurance would get stronger. They knew that the harder they worked at it the better they would get. There comes a time when an athlete has to push past a point where he just wants to quit. It is like a wall. But if you push past this wall you will get what is called a second wind and be able to continue on until you hit that wall again.

That is the same thing with us and our faith. When our faith is tested we must have patience. There will be times when we hit that wall or times when we are in pain. We must remember that this test, this pain, this trial will increase our endurance. By increasing our endurance we increase our faith. And during all of this we are showing our faith by our works. How we act during the time when we are going through a trial shows a non believer how Jesus can work in their life. It also helps us to gain more love, faith and hope.

So many times in the Bible it actually states that we are running a race and God is encouraging us to win;
Psalm 19:5It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
1 Corinthians 9:24Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!
Galatians 5:7You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?
Philippians 2:16Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.
Hebrews 12:1[ God’s Discipline Proves His Love ] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
In Hebrews 12:1 we see that God has set before us a race and that we must run with endurance. This is another gift that God will give us if we work for it. God will give us the endurance that we need to run the race. Most important, God will help us win. Here we see God’s love for us again. He does not want us to loose this race. He wants us to win. This is not a race to see who actually comes in first place. I believe that this is more like the special Olympics where a parent is cheering their child on to finish the race. It doesn’t matter to them if they won or lost. They are excited to be running the race and to finish the race. It takes great endurance just to finish the race and not quit. If the runner falls, they get back up and keep running. I see God and Jesus just cheering us on like no other parent has ever done. And when we fall, He runs over to us and helps us get back up so that we can continue the race.
1 Corinthians 10:13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.
There is so much more to talk about. I encourage you to study the book of James on your own. Let’s move onto verse 19.


Listening and Doing
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
Wow, quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger…
Man, that says a lot right there.
When was the last time that you really just listened to someone talk. I don’t mean to just sit there patiently waiting for them to finish so you could speak. I mean to truly listen to what they had to say.
If we just slow down and take the time to listen. Then take a minute, the Lord will keep us calm and give us the words. If we truly take the time to listen it will help us to get rid of the anger that might come out if we are quick to speak.
Some times we just need to listen and not speak at all. You might be listening to someone that is going through a lot and just needs someone to listen.
God is a perfect example of this. You pray. He listens. Does he answer your prayer before you get done praying? Does he answer your prayer in His time?
Did he answer your prayer?
Sometimes instead of praying we just need to sit and listen for God. Take some quite time to just let God talk to us.
Onto verse 26
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

In Conclusion:
(I am going to read this just how I got it off the Internet. I tried to put it into my own words but it lost something.)
In this first chapter of the biblical text we have found the thrust of James's entire letter: calling upon Christians to live with moral urgency, serious holiness and unconditional obedience to the word of God. By putting the two halves of the chapter together we also establish the context for the moral earnestness of the entire letter: complete confidence in and reliance upon the grace of God. James is so earnest for moral purity in 1:19-27 because of the theology he has taught in 1:1-18. It is the thorough purity of God (never tempted, never tempting, never changing) that calls us to holiness; it is the generous giving of God (giving wisdom without finding fault, giving the crown of life, giving every good and perfect gift, giving us birth) that moves us to holiness. Furthermore, going back to the very beginning of James's message, this pursuit of holiness is not an oppressive burden but a task of joy, because of the great worth of the goal that God's grace has made possible. God has called Christians to become mature and complete, as first fruits of all he created. This is so high a calling and so valuable an attainment that we may consider even trials along the way pure joy!

Questions:
1. When was the last time that you hit that wall and needed faith and endurance to get you through? Did you grow in faith because of you endurance? Or did you gain endurance because of your faith? Or both?

2. Do you take the time to just listen to God? Share a time when you saw God’s work because you truly listened and were slow to speak?

I believe, help me overcome my unbelief.

"If You can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" Mark 9:23-24

Wow, what a very powerful statement. I do believe but, help me overcome my unbelief. How is it possible to believe but not believe? How is it possible to believe in Jesus Christ, that He died for us, and not believe that He can do anything? Very easy. Have you ever stood at the top of the high dive wanting to jump into the deep end of the pool but can't? You believe that it can be done, right? You just don't believe that you can do it. We just stand there at the top of the diving board looking down at the water. This happens to all of us, just like Peter when he walked on the water to Jesus. As long as he had total belief in Christ and looked nowhere else, he walked on the water, but as soon as he took his eyes off of Christ he lost his belief and started to sink.

So many times we believe in Christ Jesus, that He can heal, He can save, He can cure, He can help, but we don't have total belief. We doubt that He can pull if off so to speak. We have doubts that He will. We know that Jesus can, we just don't think that he will or want to.

The father of the boy in Mark 9 knew that Jesus could heal, he just didn't believe that Jesus could heal his son. I listened to a man on the radio yesterday say that he believed in Heaven but didn't believe in God or Jesus Christ. How is that possible?

I tried to quit chewing tobacco for years and couldn't do it. Then one Sunday, 12 November 2006 to be exact, I put my total trust and belief in Christ. I had just read Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed; for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. There are times when I struggle, but He reminds me of that Sunday back in 2006 and how far I have come with Jesus upholding me.

Is there something that you are struggling with? Is there something in your life that you have not totally given to Jesus? Is there something that you totally gave to Jesus?

Why did Moses lead the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea?
Why did Noak build the Ark?
Why did Abraham take his son to be a sacrifice?

These are all times when these great men had total trust and belief in God. They had no doubts. Did they ever have doubts, yes. But, we see that when they just did what God asked and believed in Him, anything was possible.

I am stopping this here. I have more for this post, but I want you to run with it. Your thoughts, your finding. You finish this with God and Jesus Christ.

I pray and hope that this has stimulated something within.

Trying to make changes

It was February 19th when Wendy had her surgery and now it is April 15th. Just about 2 months. I can't begin to tell you how she is feeling. She has heald very well. She has so much more energy. She looks great. Wow! Let's back up to when she came home from the hospital. Ok, up to this point I have not been a good husband. Let me explain. I didn't do any house work. She did it all. I didn't help her at all. Her being sick really opened my eyes to how bad this was to our relationship. So, I promised God and my wife that I would really work on changing. Help out more around the house. Share the chores with my beautiful wife. The first week when she got home I would not let her do anything. What a shock to her, and me. I cooked, cleaned, did dishes and just really cared for her. I was treating her like the queen God meant for her to be. Ya know, it felt good inside too. I prayed each morning that God would continue to give me the strength to continue to be the man of God that He wanted me to be and to be the husband that He wanted me to be to my beautiful wife. It is not easy changing over night, but with the Lord's help and through Jesus, all things are possible. I thank God each day for my wife. I thank God each day for giving me another chance to show her what she means to me. Sometimes we just need to make changes in ourselves and not worry so much about others. Garth Brooks sums it up pretty good, "Did I show her everyday". Thank you God for this. Every time I recall all of this I start to tear up. It really hits home. Don't just tell that someone special that you love them, you need to show them. I Love You Miss Wendy!

Praise be to God and thank you Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow is not promised to us!

I have been given another chance by God to show my wife just what she means to me. Friday February 19 at 4:30 am I rushed her to the emergency room with what we thought was a ruptured appendix. Well, after about 4 hours of tests they found a Chocolate cyst that needed to come out. It was the size of a softball. They said that the surgery would take about 30 minutes and she would go home 2 hours after the surgery. OK, cool. Wrong! I walked with them down to the operating room and kissed her goodbye thinking that in 30 to 40 minutes I would see her again. No big deal. Wrong. 30 minutes passed, no word. 60 minutes past, no word. 90 minutes passed, still no word. 2 hours passed, now I am very worried. After the 60 minute mark I called Martin and told him that I was scared, very scared. We prayed and he called others to pray for my wife. Finally after 2 and a half hours the Doctor came out to see me. In my good nature I looked at him and said "took longer than you thought, didn't it?". He said "got a minute, sit down". Wow, I just kind of sank into the chair with a lump in my throat. He said that my wife was a lot worse than we thought. She had 2 cysts the size of softballs. One had ruptured and the fluid (like acid) was eating away at her appendix, ovaries and other stuff. This had been going on for about 20 or 30 years. He stated that they could not do this lapiscopic, they had to cut her open to do this and that it would take her some time to heal. This hit me like a ton of bricks. No 50 tons of bricks. Wow, I at that time just realized that I almost lost my wife, my best friend, my lover, my one and only. At that moment God was telling me that He was giving me one more chance to show my BEAUTIFUL WIFE just how much she means to me and just how important she is in my life. Why was God giving me this chance? What does God want me to learn from this? Was God giving my wife another chance at life too? How is God planning on using this for His Glory?

to be continued...........

Coming Clean

Today I did something that has been bothering me for a very long time. Back in 1981 My brother and I started a fund to earn money to buy an ATC (3 wheel motorcycle). We got it up to a few hundred dollars and then the money went missing. When it came time to buy the ATC I just put up the money that was missing and thought that would be the end of that. Well things started getting out of hand. My brother got blamed. My little sister got blamed. At this point I just could not find it in me to come clean and say that I took the money. So, I have been caring this lie with me for almost 30 years. It would have been so much better for everyone if I would have just came clean right away. I didn't.

I am not sure why I chose today. Let me re-phrase that. I am not sure why Jesus picked today to have me come clean to my brother and sister about this after 30 years. I also went public with this on Facebook. I really feel wierd inside right now. Can't tell you in words how I feel.

When I went on my men's encounter I came clean with Jesus of all the things that I have done to offend him. I felt at that time that was all I needed to do. but still, this kept tugging at me. It was as if Jesus was telling me that I didn't need to come clean to him, I needed to come clean to my brother and sister who I have really hurt over the years with this.

I am not sure what I am trying to say to you. I know this, you need to get rid of all your baggage otherwise it will stay with you forever. Bottom line, I hope that they see the change in me and that this change came from Jesus being in my life. I hope that this will help them see that Jesus is the way. The only way. I have been a Christian for 9 1/2 years now and I am not sure why I have not done this sooner. I figure that my faith in Jesus is growing. I have faith and trust in the Lord to make this work for His Glory and Honor. I give all the Praise and Glory to Him. I now fully feel the Spirit of the Lord. And you know that "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, There IS FREEDOM"!

I GOT THE SPIRIT!

GOD IS GOOD!

WOW! Have you ever took the time to stop and notice what exactly God has created for you to enjoy and to be part of. My son and I did just that this weekend. We rode from Newbury Park to Sycamore Beach. It was an 8.5 mile ride through some of the most B E A U T I F U L creations that God has created. We saw birds. Have you ever took the time to really look at the birds. The many different colors, the different feathers, sizes and shapes. We saw where snakes had crossed the trail. We saw wild flowers with some of the most amazing colors. Have you ever noticed the many different shades of green? Try just sitting out in the middle of nowhere and count the many different shades of green that you see. We would not have seen any of this if we did not take the timeout of our busy schedule to go for a ride in God's country. I feel so refreshed this morning. I can not wait until next weekend to see what God has in store for us. He is awesome. He is amazing. He is wondrous. He is glorious. He is always. He is the one. He is the only. He is GOD!

Thank you God for all You have done and all that You continue to do.

Captain Freedom

Is Jesus in the center of your life?

Since I went on the encounter, I have been trying to make and keep Jesus in the center of my life. It has not been easy. I have been through lots of storms. In fact I am going through a storm right now. Let me share one with you that started about a year ago. One day at work during lunch time I blacked out and had to be taken to the emergency room. My blood pressure was around 210/110. That's not good. My heart kept having these fluttering feelings. I was very dizzy. This was December of 2007. They put me on all kinds of medication and had me monitor my blood pressure. In February 2008 I was at the men's encounter and was taken to the emergency room again. Thanks Steve for taking me. My heart was fluttering, blood pressure was around 210/110 and I was very dizzy. I was in the hospital for 3 or 4 days and they ran all kinds of tests only to come back and tell me that they couldn't find anything wrong with me. Even though now my blood pressure would spike real high and then drop real low. So, my doctor put me on disability. Things started to get a little tight financially. In May I was still out on disability and the company I was working for laid me off. In June my doctor said that I was ready to return back to work. It turns out that all of this was caused by a sinus infection because of a bad tooth. Anyway, now I don't have a job and signed up for unemployment. When unemployment checked with my employer, they stated that I had never worked for them. Man, one thing after another. One day in August, I got a call from a Tim Boykin. He somehow got a copy of my resume and wanted to know if I was still looking for work. I said YES!.. We set up a time for an interview. The day of the Interview I was very nervous to say the least. I was at the mirror shaving and my beautiful wife was at the mirror next to me getting ready for work. The Lord put it upon my heart to ask her to pray with me. I looked into the mirror, as if I was looking at the Lord and what happened next was like an Abbott and Costello routine. I said no, she has never prayed with me before and I don't need this kind of pressure today. Again the Lord said ask her to Pray with you. I said no. He said ask her, I said no. He said do you trust ME. I said yes. The Lord said do you have faith in Me? I said yes. He said, then ask her to pray with you. I said ok, ok, ok. So with that, I turned to my very beautiful wife and asked her if she would pray with me about my job interview. What took place next gives me goose bumps just thinking about and it also brings tears to my eyes. She said that it sounded like a great idea and she reached out her hands and held mine and we prayed. Wow. I prayed before I went into the interview. I prayed when I got out of the interview. When I got home I hit my knees and prayed. I got the job. They didn't even interview anybody after me because the Lord wanted me to have this job.
Thank you Lord.
Why did I share all of this with you? My trials were not and never will be anything like Job's. I still have more than many in this world. The Lord has truly blessed me and my family. But, like Job, I did not turn on the Lord while going through these trials. I am not saying that they have been easy. At times they get very difficult and you feel like you can't take any more. But, by keeping Jesus in the center of your life and staying plug in with a bunch of great guys, I have made it through this storm. Will it be the last, probably not. But, Jesus will be right there bringing me through each and every storm and trial that I face.

Like Pastor Shawn stated in this weeks life group series. Keep looking straight ahead and don't look to either side. Look straight at Jesus, the Cross, and He will see us through.

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

By keeping Jesus in the center of our lives, we can and will make it through all storms and trials.

Thank you Jesus!

God Bless you,
Captain Freedom

Cultivate the Soil when planting SEEDS!

I think back to the first time someone tried to share Jesus Christ with me. It was around 1980 or so. I was in the Navy stationed at Barbers Point, HI. Two guys in my squadron would ask if I found Jesus? I would just laugh and say "I didn't know that He was lost?". Sorry Jesus, just trying to be real and transparent. They kept trying to plant a seed on very hard soil and the seed would just blow away. They would just tell me how I was going to hell and how bad I was. I didn't need anyone to tell me that. Another time ( around 1988) I was working on a big house in Beverly Hills. Alan Casden's (not sure I spelt that right) house to be specific. The guy that was laying tile in the showers would ask me if I knew Jesus Christ. I said of course. Who doesn't. I believed in Jesus, I just didn't let him into my heart. He just really left it right there. He didn't continue on. Again, he tried planting a seed on soil that was not prepared to except it. In 1994 when Dudley and Marty started planting the seed, they stayed with it. They cultivated the soil. They didn't judge me they just shared Jesus Christ with me and told me what the Bible says. I know that is when the seed was planted in me. Why do you ask, because the other times didn't bother me or make me think twice. With Dudley and Marty it really got to me. I am trying to say two things here. First, don't get discouraged if you don't see progress right away in someone that you are witnessing to. Second, the best thing not to do is to judge them. The Bible even says that we are not to judge. It will turn them away from the Lord and they won't listen to you. Use the Bible, don't say things like " I believe that this is how it is" or "I would do this or that". You need to show them or tell them how it is in the Bible. The most important thing to remember is this, Once the seed has been planted, don't give up. Continue to cultivate the soil. It is between God and the person the seed is planted as to whether it will grow or not. None the less, we still have to do our part. God will do the rest. Romans 2:11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

God Bless you,
Captain Freedom

Apology to Pastor Dudley

Pastor Dudley, A couple of weeks ago in your sermon you mentioned the men's encounter. When you said men's encounter I yelled out FREEDOM. I apologize for that. I hope that I did not interrupt your sermon. You see, the Holy Spirit entered my heart at the encounter. I thought that I had the Holy Spirit in me before that. Well, He was, I just didn't let him drive. Now when ever I here someone say Encounter (FREEDOM) I yell FREEDOM. It just comes out. I don't even think about it. Sometimes I will be just walking down the hall way and just yell FREEDOM. It really feels good. I guess we have you and Marty to thank for this. You guys started this, and I am glad you did.

Captain Freedom

How Captain Freedom got his name.

In my last post I spoke of the men's encounter for Shepherd of The Hills. (You NEED to go, it will change your life for ever.) Before the encounter I knew a few people at Shepherd. During the encounter I started to yell FREEDOM as loud and as long as I could. I was not sure where this came from. I now know that it is the Holy Spirit inside of me. He is using me in a mighty way to show what he can do for you. After the encounter I started the School Of Leaders. This is where the guys started calling me Captain Freedom, because I just kept yelling FREEDOM at the top of my lungs. I would yell FREEDOM in the hall ways at church, I would yell it in the parking lot. I just felt this freedom that I have never felt before in my life. Before this I would have never done anything that would attract attention to me like this. But now, I didn't care because I was doing it for the Lord. He saved me and I wanted to let Him know that I was happy about that. I started serving on the encounters. I kept yelling freedom. A lot of the guys don't even know my real name, they just know me as Freedom or Captain Freedom. Some even call me Freedom Phil. All I know is that the Lord was using me in a mighty way to get people wanting to know more about Him and I was very happy to help. So, if you are ever at Shepherd of The Hills in Porter Ranch California and you hear FREEDOM being yelled, it might just be me. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says "Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom!"

God Bless you!
FREEDOM

The change in my life I will never forget!

In July of 2002 I got baptized one Saturday night at the 5pm service. Thanks Scott Irwin. Now let's jump forward to November 2006. Up to this point I had been leading Bible studies and attended church on a regular basis. I thought that I had it all. Then one service I saw an announcement for the Men's Encounter. I had heard of this from Kevin and Lloyd in my Mens group. I decided to go to the Encounter in November 2006 up in Frazier Park. WOW! That weekend changed my life like you would not believe. I don't want to share too much about the encounter weekend, in case you might want to go, but it brought me even closer to the LORD. I can share this with you. I had been struggling with chewing tobacco since I was 18. I was 46 when I attended the encounter. I had tried to quit on my own. Friday night on the encounter I threw my can of chew away only to dig it out of the trash can the next morning after breakfast. Sunday morning I got up at 6am and went for a walk in God's country. I starting praying to our Lord and Savior to please help me to quit chewing tobacco. It came upon my heart to open the can and dump it out while I walked in the woods. I did just that. After Breakfast I sat down by the fire place and opened my Bible to where ever it opened to and started reading. It opened to Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." I knew that right then and there that the Lord would help me through this. I had never put my trust in the Lord this way ever before in my life. That was over 2 years ago and I have not had any tobacco since. I continue to put Jesus in the center of my life no matter what the storm is. He will guide us through all storms. More to come later. It only gets better as we trust in the Lord.

All is quite on the western front.

My daughter and her boyfriend have made up and life has return to what we know as normal. I don't know what caused this and if she tells me then fine. I will not pry. Today is a short entry. Tomorrow I will continue where we left off on Thursday. Yesterday and today are very huge stepping stones for all of us. I pray that all of this is and will be for the Glory of the Lord our Father.

My Heart Is Torn Today!

My Heart feels like it has been ripped in two today. Last night my beautiful daughter knocked on mine and my wife's bedroom door. She was crying and she wanted her mom. I was scared. I thought that something really bad had happened. Then at our front door stood two of my daughters closest friends. I guess they had a parent drive them over to our house. It is about 11pm. Wow, something must be really bad. My wife comes and tells me that our daughters boy friend of 2 months had just broke up with her. At first I thought, all this for that? Then I realized that my daughters heart had just been ripped in two. I thought back to when I was young and a girl broke my heart in two. I thought that it would never mend. It did mend. Now I must show my daughter the Love of a father and give her a hug and let her know that I am here for her. As for the boy friend, I'll deal with him later.....Just kidding. I hope that the Holy Spirit continues to grow in his heart. I just called my daughter to tell her I loved her and to have a good day. I do love her. She is just starting her day at school right now. It must be hard being there right now. I wish that I could be there with her. I will pray for her. The Lord will be with her and keep her safe.

Praise the Lord

The Seed is starting to grow.

We started going to Shepherd on a regular basis. Marty Saw me at church one day and he was very excited to see me. He mentioned a men's group that he belonged to that I could come and check out. I went on a Thursday night and met the guys in the group. Steve, Dion, Skip, Kevin and Marty. The group later grew even bigger. When I introduced myself as that I used to be Marty's neighbor, they said the same thing that Pastor Tim said, so you're Marty's neighbor. Here is why I am telling you this. Dudley and Marty not only prayed for me but they had other men praying for me as well. If you have someone that you have been witnessing to and they are being bull headed, don't give up. It might take some time. The Bible explains that we are to plant the seed and the rest is between God and the person that we planted the seed in. Sometimes it takes awhile for the seed to grow. It was about 6 or 7 years before my seed started to grow.

Next post I will share something that changed my life for ever.

Captain Freedom

contiuned from yesterday

OK, let's fast forward to the year 2000. April 2000 to be exact. I started dating this very beautiful lady that had two children. In April of 2001 we got married. Around July of that year I had this urge to go to church. Yes I know, go figure, me at church. Little did I know but I had this seed in me that started to grow. Anyway, I got an even better urge. I said, Let's go to Shepherd of the Hills. We went and listened to Dudley. Man, he must have seen me because the whole time that he was up there it was like he was talking to me and nobody else. After the service I met Pastor Tim and asked if I could say hi to Dudley. He stated that Dudley is busy getting ready for the next service. I asked him if he would tell Dudley that Bill (Marty's neighbor) said hi. Pastor Tim looked at me and said, You're Marty's neighbor? Why didn't you say so, come with me. He lead us to Dudley's office and when Dudley saw me and my family he jokingly said, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY CHURCH? Dudley was actually very excited to see me and my new family.
To be continued..............

The Seed is Planted

When I lived in Mission Hills I lived next door to a great family. Marty, Chris, Mitch, Nic, Kaya and Luke. Marty loves to ride dirt bikes. I blew out my knee so I couldn't ride any more. A friend of Marty's would come over and they would work on their bikes and clean them. One day I just started helping. Then his riding buddy asked me if I went to church. I told him not really. I'm Catholic. He asked me if I thought that I was going to go to heaven when I died and I said of course. I had already made my reservations. I told him that I was a good guy. I believe in Jesus. We would have these big blown out discussions. Oh, by the way, this took place back in 1994 or so. One day Marty asked if he could talk to me. He asked me to lighten up on his friend. I asked why. I told him that guy does not know anything about God or Heaven or even Jesus Christ. This is the funny part. The next thing that Marty said I will never forget and I love him for it. He said that this guy was his pastor at his church. This guys name was ..............Drum Roll Please..................None other than...............DUDLEY RUTHERFORD. Dudley, Marty, I love you guys for never giving up on me. My life will never be the same. I will continue the story later.

Just remember this,
Where the SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS, there is FREEDOM!