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During tough times is when we draw closer to Jesus.

A few weeks ago Rachel and I were at the Ridgeley’s house watching the kids for the week. Bethany had a tough week. Being away from her crib and her toys and her home and her schedule stretched her out as a person at almost two years old. Well, with all the crying and the tough times she went through something extraordinary came out of that week, her and I grew closer together. Now, let me explain. One day, probably the hardest day of all for her while we were there, the third day into our stay, Bethany was just having a hard time with everything. She had a tough time at breakfast listening to her mother and I. She had a tough time playing in her toy area. She was having a tough time getting along with everyone. She was simply having a very tough day. So, a little after lunch she did something wrong that I had to give her a spanking for. Rachel and I knew as good parents that we had to let her know that even if she’s in a difficult environment where she feels uncomfortable she still needs to obey her mother and father. Well, after I disciplined her, as always I picked her up in my arms, held her close and prayed and asked Jesus to help her obey and do what is right. Well, after that the most extraordinary thing happened, as I began to put her down, she grabbed the sides of my head with both hands and pulled me close to her and she gave me the biggest kiss ever pressing my face up against hers. With a big smile I put her down and she laughed and I just knew that she was starting to understand that mommy and I don’t want to have to spank her but that we love her so much we want her to learn to do right no matter where she goes or who is surrounding her life.

You see, even when we are in a tough environment as Christians, God still expects us to obey Him and do what is right. And when we don’t He doesn’t give us a pass but He disciplines us. The coolest thing is if we don’t harden our hearts we’ll sense His incredible love through the discipline and it will only make us want to get closer to Him.

How incredible is it to be a child of Gods?

Read 1 Peter 1:6-9 & Hebrews 12:3-12

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In the gospel of Mark 6:34 we see Jesus heart for those around Him who did not yet know God.

Take a minute and read these words of Jesus that reveal His heart. Ask God to make your heart like His toward those who are not yet Jesus’ children.

“And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.”

This is where it starts when it comes to God using you to reach your friends, family and everyone that surrounds you in God’s world.

“Give me your love for humanity. Give me your arms for the broken-hearted. The ones who are far beyond my reach. Give me your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me your eyes so I can see.” -Brandon Heath

Check out this video and let me know what you think.

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What are some dreams, goals, and visions you have for God to do in this upcoming year in your school, family, youth ministry and neighborhood? Don’t just think big, think God.

1 Corinthians 2:9 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard,nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

Alright people, lets think bigger than big.

What does God want to do this year? Comment on it with the great things your going to ask God to do?

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Hey guys, check out this proverb:

“In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.” Proverbs 14:26

Awesome, huh? When we dwell in the fear, respect, humility, and ways of Yahweh, the God of all the Universe, we have strong confidence. It’s not a puffed up shield of false confidence, or pride, but knowing that we’re in Him, loved by Him, protected by Him give us real confidence, real strength to stand, rather than the false confidence of “Oh, I have this such and such…” or “he/she is my such and such…” or “did you know what I such and such can do?…” It’s because He’s the such and such, we can go on being confident without having to worry, because He’s real confidence, because who can unseat Him?
The next part of the verse is rad too, because it says that His children, that’s those who believe In Jesus personally as their Savior, will have a place of refuge. So, when we’re in the middle of a struggle, a hard day, a tough situation, maybe you’ve lost that “such and such”, He’s offering a place of solitude, comfort and strength, by His Holy Spirit, in the presence of Him.

Brad and I were talking about his yesterday, and check out this cool verse that he was reminded of: Psalm 31:19-20

Peace and <3 in Him!

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So, we’ve been talking about the Pleasures Forevermore that God has for us according to Psalm 16:11, ‘at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’ Grab your bible and read Psalm 16:11 for yourselves right now. God is there… wherever you are. Physically? Mentally? Spiritually? He’s there… don’t worry.

Now why do I say all of this. Well, as we’ve pondered and picked at Psalm 16:11 and saw that these Pleasures God has for us are found at His right hand and at His right hand is none other than the Savior King. You see, if you believe what you’ve read in these last few devos then you’ve begun a life of prayer. You’ve started simply getting alone and closing your eyes and meeting and conversating with your Heavenly Father. God may have made our part extremely simple…(the simplicity of it is for a reason) but don’t get confused, simple doesn’t mean without power. Usually the simplest things are the most powerful. Think about it… a small metal object when the trigger is pulled can mean the end of a life when the bullet penetrates. Don’t get confused the simplicity of your obedience to whatever it is God says to you… especially when it comes to prayer is most certainly a deathblow to your enemy.

Enemy??? You might say. What enemy? Don’t miss the fact that there is the most vicious, cruel, uncaring of beings out there who will stop at nothing including boldfaced lies… to bring about the destruction of you and the destruction of me.

1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Now, there are a few things about that verse that I want to point out to you.

1. Every reference to Satan in this verse and in every verse of the bible [except when we use his name because in the English language proper nouns are uppercase] is not in uppercase but in lower case. Why? Only God, the one and only creator is worthy to have HIS NAME CAPITALIZED. There’s more. He alone is God. He has no equal… No one that is even close. Either human being i.e. Bill Gates or spiritual being i.e. Satan [Bill, if you are reading this I'm not putting you on the same level as Satan, yeah right as if Bill Gates is actually reading this]. You see, your God and creator who would rather be refered to as your Father than as your God or you Master is THE MAN. In your terms, He really would kick Satan’s butt and don’t be fooled, He will :0) Revelation 20:1-10.

The other thing is that the one whom desires to devour you like a lion… is, well, how do I say it… he’s toothless, harmless, how do you say it, He’s already been owned by Jesus. He’s not in charge of your life anymore and you no longer belong to him. (Ephesians 2:1-10). Do you get it… it’s hard to understand becasue it’s so simple and you basically have nothing to with it, your Dad Jesus, already fought the devil and kicked his slimy rotten butt. And becasue He’s your Dad… no really, He is; as long as your with good Old Dad you’ve got nothing to worry about. Don’t get me wrong, Satan will yell at you all kinds of lies of the horrid things he’s going to do to you or maybe the opposite; tell you that if you leave your Dad’s side boy does he have some great things in store for your life. Just know this… all he is trying to do is get you to not stay close to your Dad. Hmm. I wonder why that is? Maybe because its next to your Heavenly Father that all the blessings that he passed up by rebeling against God, it’s there where they will flow none stop and overwhelm you until you can only respond and say to your Dad…. “THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU….”

Do you get it… WE WIN…WON…ARE AND WILL ALWAYS BE VICTORIOUS!!!

Don’t take this the wrong way, but why would you ever not want to be on your Heavenly Dad’s side. Do you know what it means to not be on His side… A LOSER. Do you understand. He is the winner so if your not on his side… not on His team, THEN YOU LOSE.

You want to know the end of the story. This isn’t where Jesus won, He did that at the cross. This is where He comes and claims His prize for winning once and for all. When Satan throws lies at you you can remind him about this.

Revelation 20:10 “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever…’and ever.’ [I added the one extra ever becasue he really frustrates me at times. :0)

And the winner is by unanimous decision and the worst knock out blow in history… Jesus Christ!!! Our Dad.

I love you guys and know this, WE WIN because we’re on HIS TEAM.

Pastor Billy

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Open your bible real quick to Psalm 16:11. Read it for yourself before you go on in reading this devo. There is something about reading the scriptures for yourself (Romans 10:17).

Alright, now that you’ve read this scripture directly from God’s word I have a question for you.

Are you interested in enjoying ‘Pleasures Forevermore?’

What if I told you that by taking a hike up a specific mountain in New Jersey… no not New Jersey, how about Vermont, that when you got to the top there was a certain tree that if you ate the leaves from it you would be happy and experience ‘Pleasures Forevermore’ for the rest of your life. Hmm… Would it make you think? Would you consider climbing that mountain? Hmm. I bet lots of people would give it a shot…Why? Because the tree, the climb, the place is in our realm of understanding. They are all remotely within our control and within our ability to pretty much comprehend but when David writes in Psalm 16:11 “In your presence is fullness of joy,” we wonder…’God’s presence?’ To enter into God’s presence would require faith. I’d have to stop what I’m doing and sit still and focus on GOD! Wow… what would that be like? I’ve never seen God but I’ve seen His effects all around me, but to enter into His presence would be…out of my control. It would be far beyond climbing some mountain or being some weirdo leaf eater. Getting alone and praying like David did and spending time in God’s presence would be far beyond me…

Well, this is what a christian does. If you’ve ever looked at a follower of Jesus and said, “I want the joy and peace and glow that that person has!” Well… this is it… “Pleasures Forevermore.” The joy, the peace, the glow, if there was a string attached to them and you grabbed onto it and followed the length of it to its very end you’d end up in this place we’re discussing, “In Your presence” God’s presence, your heavenly Dad’s presence, the one who loves you more than anyone else.

Well, why don’t you go there right now. Close your eyes and spend some time talking to Him. Don’t just talk though…listen. He loves you and has tremendous things for you. Let it just be you and Him for a moment.

Are you interested in enjoying “Pleasures Forevermore?”

Hey guys, on a side note I’ll be writing a devotion based on this verse for the rest of this week. Check it out. Also, my challenge to you this week is to memorize Psalm 16:11. More verses on this subject…John 4.

Pastor Billy Stay in His love.

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Psalm 16:11 “At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

So, finally we’ve gotten to the end of this verse. Have you memorized it yet? Just do it. You’ll be glad you did. So the last blog was about prayer and this one probably will not be much different.

David starts off generally in this verse but then he gets to the core, the heart of the matter.

What is it that is so incredible about the presence, being in front of, in the same room as God the Father. There are so many incredible reasons why being with God and hangin out with God is incredible but there is one reason that seemingly according to scripture stands out above the rest. This reason is actullay given a location, a place, a point to be found.”

My daughter…:-) sorry when I think of her I just can’t help but smile is growing so fast. When I sneak in her room and look stare at her while she is sleeping I can’t get over how she used to look so small in her crib but now she covers almost half of the matress. Well, recently she started walking and the other night it was just her and me in the living room. Now she had walked down the hallway and out of my line of site and while she was walking into the hallway I had a great idea. ‘Hide & Seek.’ Yeah. She’s never played before so I thought, lets do it. So, I quickly jumped out of my chair and simply hid behind the sofa. As she turned around in the hallway and started her way back into the living room, immediately she cuold tell I wasn’t where I was before she had left the room. So, like any daughter looking for her father she began to call out my name (Jeremiah 29:12-13), but I didn’t come out of my hiding place. As she was in the smack dab middle of the living room and basically just spinning around as much as a one year old could she was looking frantically all over for me. WHile doing this she was constantly calling out… Dadda, Dadda… I think I even got a few Papas from her. She really wanted to find me. But from behind the couch I allowed my smile to get bigger and bigger as I could see her but she couldn’t see me (Matthew 28:20b). Finally I burst out from behind the couch with a big grin on my face and my arms wide open for her to run into and run into my arms she did. I lifted her up from her world into mine (Revelation 4:1, Ephesians 2:6) and each loving embrace we enjoy has an incredible influence on her heart but mine as well.

You see, David wrote that at God’s right hand are “Pleasures Forevermore.” So, the question we ought to be asking is… What is at God’s right hand… or really WHO is at God’s right hand?

It’s none other than the most famous, most renowned, most historically relevent person who ever existed…

Who is he that condemns? Its Christ that died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also prays for us.” (Romans 8:34)

If ‘Pleasures Forevermore’ are what you’re looking for look no further. They’re at the right hand of God. If you look to the right hand of GOD you’ll see no other than the person… Jesus the Savior. Bur what will you see if you look at the right hand of Jesus the Savior. You’ll see the marks of love. You’ll see the proof that you’re His son. You’ll see the evidence that eternal forever today ‘Pleasure Forevermore’ is yours… if you want it. It’s up to you.

You see, Bethany knew the place where I was but when she turned and walked into it she didn’t see me right away. What if she would would have turned away. What if she wouldn’t have looked for me with all of her heart (Jeremiah 29:12-13). But, you know what, she did…! And she found me and she was lifted up into my world… away from hers to the protection and affection and every blessing and pleasure and joy that comes with being my daughter.

Go to Him. Go to your Father. Search for Him. “Pleasures forevermore” await. Let Him sweep you off your feet.

Pastor Billy Stay in His love

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Pleasures Forevermore!!!

So, check out this verse.

Grab your bible real quick and open it to Psalm 16:11. Psalms is an incredible group of what are basically artistic songs from a dude who may have been the most passionate artistic brother ever.

Psalms 16:11 starts out, “For you Lord have shown me the paths of life…” Where have you been looking for life?

Bethany, my 1 year old is incredible. Recently, she learned this amazing trick. When she was eating her cheerios snack the other day I went to her and opened my mouth to her as if to say, ‘Bethany, can I have some?’ She looked at me with a mix between a smile and a full blown laugh and then she did the oddest thing. She stuck her hand in her mouth and pulled out some partially chewed cheerio bites. (Many of you would say ewww but if you’ve seen how cute she is you would understand) She pulls them out of her mouth and offers them to me. Now I was amazed. My little girl is so generous I thought. As she brought the pre-chewed cheerios to my mouth, as I opened my mouth to receive it, she let out a little chuckle and then, vooopp, she brought it right beack to her mouth and just laughed at me. Wow!!! I couldn’t believe hat she had just done to me. DID A ONE YEAR OLD JUST TOTALLY GET ME LIKE THAT? I was definitely in shock.

Now, why did I just tell you that story? I had just asked you a question, Where have you been looking for life?

Bethany offered me what was precious to her but then pulled it back. Jesus, He doesn’t do that ever. He says come to me and you’ll find life, my son, my daughter, I’ll show you what life is, what it’s all about.

Next we’ll talk about the rest of this incredible verse, Psalm 16:11,

I’ll show you the paths of life. -Jesus

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OK, so passion d.c. was incredible! we had a great time in worship, hearing from God’s heart about us as His redeemed children, and of course, lots of fun. Nick C, Nick B, Tony, Brad and I even pulled some fire drills at red lights around Fairfax, and even in front of the Washington Monument. You can check out some more pics (other than what’s in the photo section) and some video clips here: http://picasaweb.google.com/timshanley/PassionDC

He definitely relieved a lot of my fears and comforted me through the story of the prodigal son. I always knew God was my Father, but was sort of afraid that He would abandon me or forget about me. But, that’s not true. He will never leave me [or you!] or forsake me [or you!]. I saw God in a new and better way through last weekend, and I’m happy to call Him Father, and to know that I can trust in Him and rest in His arms. God is all that He says He is, and more loving and forgiving and caring than we can ever imagine. He sent His Son to be abandoned and forsaken on the cross so that He can hold us close and call us His sons and daughters. Won’t you take Him up on His free offer to make you His child, and Him personally your perfect Father? Just ask Him, He won’t say no and He certainly won’t leave you!

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” – 1st John 3:1

“… I will not leave you nor forsake you.” – Joshua 1:5c