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John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.   Jesus was otherworldly. He did things that no other human had ever done and said things that no man had said. His wisdom and words were not from here. Thus he was so often misunderstood. He left so many people confused. This aspect of his ministry is blatant in the four Gospels. Though now, as the Holy Spirit has spread the Gospel throughout the world, we understand much of what Jesus was communicating, back then, the original hearers were stupified. Part of this phenomenon is that spiritual things are hidden to some and revealed to others.  As you read the Gospel records you will often hear the disciples say, "Explain to us the parable of the (you fill in the blank)". You will also hear Jesus say, "To you it has been given to understand these things but to those on the outside these things have been hidden."  The disciples were on the inside of Jesus...

What do you see in this picture? A truck? Lots of wires? A rare GREEN light? Posts? A weird traffic sign? I was at a traffic light yesterday and took this shot. There is definitely a lot of ugly here. But what I wanted to capture was the Ipe tree in full bloom. The junk came along for the ride. The Ipe is a lovely and creative piece of God’s artwork. It flowers brilliant yellow eye candy with nary a leaf. The tree itself looks dead with lifeless limbs yet the flowers are spectacular. The first time I saw one in bloom I just stood staring in wonder at God’s creativity. How could something that looks so deceased be so beautiful? I imagine that my life is a lot like this Ipe. Ugly as sin and surrounded by more ugly. On the outside looking lifeless yet with lovely flowers of God’s mercy and grace waiting to burst forth at any moment as I work and wait on God’s creativity. However, when He restores the glory of His creation in me through Salvation, WATCH OUT. There is ...

Yesterday, Tuesday, we had our first Bible study with Marcia (left to right: Dawn, Jonatas, Marcia and Joelma, our coworker). She had informed me earlier that it was her birthday and so Dawn made a birthday cake. She celebrated her ___ years with the FIRST (yes first!) birthday cake she has ever had! Man that is hard for me to believe. I’ve been spoiled with about 56 in my lifetime! During the study she related time and again how confusing her religious past has been. At one point she said, “ I have been in church since childhood and NONE of my pastors have ever told me how I could have the Holy Spirit’s peace until you all shared it with me just two weeks ago !” She also had many good questions about spiritual things. Marcia has four sons. It was her teen son João that got baptized just three weeks ago and we are seeing God begin to move in this family. The oldest, Josué (Joshua), is a big 250 lbs teddy bear and is in my juniors Sunday school class. He just LOVES his teacher and...

Time doesn't stop. It seems to drag, it seems to fly but in reality time marches on one second after another. The Dobis' have been gone only a few hours but it seems like only yesterday that I sent Rich an email about a possible work trip to Brazil. In just a few days Ann will give birth to her and Jackson's first child. In just a few more days he'll graduate, or so it seems. Time is a plugger. It "comes at you fast" like the commercial says. Just the other morning I was reading Jesus' words in John John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work . Jesus knew that His time on this earth was limited and He had many things to accomplish. He is my example. My days are numbered and I need to be doing His work. Plugging along like time. Looking at Rich taking a picture of his work made me think about how often things look so complicated at the beginning of a project. In reality, for me the wiring of o...