Shindig Messages....Continued

"Marriage Responsibility"   -Nathan Pearl

-Your responsibility is not just to your spouse, it is a responsibility to God.
- You won't stand before God and give an account for your spouse's conduct, you will give an  account for your words, your thoughts, your deeds and how you carried that responsibility.
- A wife's unwillingness to submit to and reverence her husband is really an unwillingness to submit to and reverence God. (Ephesians 5)
- We act in accordance to the Word of God because it is the Word of God.
- A wife's submission is an act of pure worship. It brings a crown of honor to God. James 4:6
- Humility is when you come to God and say, "God, you are right and I am wrong." It requires faith. It requires understanding that God is more important.
-1 Peter 5:6
- We don't get to pick the time when God will exalt us, but it will come.
- These thoughts completely alter the way we look at marriage. It is not a formula. It is saying, "This is my job and I am going to do it before God."
- Does God deserve your respect, honor and submission?
- Christ extended forgiveness and love to those who crucified Him. This is God's challenge to us- extending His love no matter what.
- We don't get a list- we get concepts, "husbands love your wives," "wives, honor your husbands."
   Matt. 22:36
-The #1 commandment in marriage is LOVE.
-Let's get past the "I don'ts" in marriage. "I don't run around on my husband!" "I'm not unfaithful to my wife!" "I don't throw things at him!" "I don't beat her!"
-Let's start keeping the "I Do's" of marriage; you know, the commitments that were made on the wedding day?
- An "I Do" list to get the thoughts flowing : )
       - patience 2 Tim. 2:21
       - gentle
       - it takes time
       - leadership ( for husbands, Gen. 3:6, Job 2:9)
       -joy (this is #1 for the wives) -the best barometer for the house is the wive's forehead! Have
        some joy! -Ten minutes of joy will change the next 5 Hours!
       - thankfulness. There is nothing more marked in a home than the spirit of thankfulness.     Thankfulness is a sacrifice to God, it is why we were created. John 2:9, Heb. 13:15
       -peace. Peace does not just happen, it is established by words, easy to be intreated, no         bitterness.
       -hopeful. -Looking forward to something with expect. 1 Cor. 13:14. Build hope or you will   build anxiety and fear. Having hope gives you the ability to minister to those who have no hope.
- Your responsibility in marriage is not just to your spouse, it is a responsibility that you committed to before God. It is meant for life. It is an expression of worship. It is not about you, it is about loving service to God!
- If you want to be used of God in a mighty way, if you want to bless others, then understand this in your marriage and commit to this responsibility before God!

                     

"Serving God in Your Youth" 

                                    

-Panel discussion given by Nathan Pearl, Shalom Brand, Debi Pearl,  and Joshua   Steele

-Unless God does something drastic in your life, if you aren't interested in the things of God today you won't be interested in serving Him later! (How's that for an opening comment? :)

- You start serving God when you are young, where you are at and to who you are around.
-God has given you an opportunity to serve him by obeying your parents (and other authority figures that He has placed in your life).
The story of David was discussed and used as an example of a young person who was faithful in the little things and therefore received much greater things later in life. He cared for the sheep, protected them, fought for them. He quickly obeyed his father in going down to the battle carrying cheese for his brothers. He didn't know that God would use him that day to accomplish a great victory for God! He was just doing as he had been told to do.
-After David had killed the lion and bear he could have hit the road talking about how to overcome the lions in your life, but he didn't. He stayed and did his job.
- After slaying Goliath he could have hit the road talking about how to overcome the giants in your life, but he didn't. He returned to do the job that he had been given. He was faithful to do that which he knew needed to be done, waiting on God to give him more responsibility as a result of his daily obedience and walk with God.
- There was something in David bigger than himself!
-Until God calls you to do something specific do what you know to do.
-Some examples from those giving this discussion: Joshua Steele says that from the time he was fourteen he wanted to be serving God. God convicted him of submission to his parents and having a clear conscience; he addressed those issue in his life. He passed out gospel tracts and Bibles, knocked on doors with his friends, and went on mission trips. He determined that nothing would hinder him from serving God completely, to the point that late one night he carried the video game he was addicted to out to the garage and broke it into little pieces with a hammer to show God that he meant what he said! Shalom (Pearl) Brand shared about how she served her family, helped her Dad with the ministries they were involved in, served other busy mothers, and passed out tracts with her siblings. Nathan Pearl recounted some of the adventures he and his sister had while working in a mountainous village of Papua New Guinea translating the Bible into a never-before recorded language. Before that he did much the same as every other person, being faithful in the things that seem little.
- Debi Pearl shared about how hard it was as a mother to let her children go out and pursue the vision that God had given them. She said that alot of parents raise their children to be 15, 16 years old and then they want to close the door and keep their children close and safe. The children then never have the chance to make a difference in the world for the glory of Christ. Parents, don't shut the door when God calls your young person!
-God likes pathetic things. He's not concerned with quality, He's concerned with the heart of the person behind the pathetic, little thing. He wants to see a heart that desires to serve Him and honor Him in what they have  been given to do. That is a person that God will take not of (as he did with David) and can use for great things in the future!
-If you are unwilling to follow God in the little things then you won't be ready for the big things!

Today, there are still lions and giants that need to be slain, battles that need to be fought, victory that needs to be proclaimed, great tasks that need to be accomplished for the glory of God. But if you and I will have any part of this we must begin today.......serving God in our youth, doing what we know to do.  The Lord is still looking for those that he can use, those who are committed to following Him no matter what, those who are not willing to let anything get between them and God, those who carry His message of saving grace, those who seek to honor and please him in every aspect of their life. Will you be that one?

                       Hotel Moments!

 Here are a few snap-shots from five days of hotel-living! Ten people, one room, one queen-sized bed, three twin-sized bunk-beds and several piles of suitcases, coolers, back-packs, 'survival gear' and various other belongings all added to the fun of the week! : )

The "Royal Gorge" was where we stayed

Coloring one evening before lights-out!

The boy's side!

No, She isn't really sleeping :)

Liberty and I shared this particular bed

Michael?

It's either early morning or late night....

......not sure which!

Dressed and ready for church!

Lots of restless feet!

No Greater Joy Shindig Messages

           Number One:

                     "I'll Follow Jesus!"

                               -Nathan  Pearl

  Luke chapter 5 tells us the story of the man who was sick of the palsy that came to Jesus and was healed. This man immediately "rose up before them , and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today."
  We also read a story in this same chapter of a man named Levi who was sitting at his money-making job when Jesus passed by and simply said, "Follow me." Of Levi we read, "And he left all, rose up, and followed him." Levi then made a great feast and invited a great company of sinners that Jesus might eat with them and share Himself with them just as Levi had experienced.

The very first mark of a man that truly follows Jesus is that he wants to tell you about Jesus. (This       would apply for a woman that truly followed Jesus, too :)

When you follow Jesus you don't get to take Him to your program. We don't get to pick the field         that God sends us too.

The first step to following Jesus is this; "Jesus, I love you."

The great thing about following Jesus is that we have a destination, a goal that needs to be reached.     And here is what it looks like. Ephesians 4:32-5:1, "And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted,     forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. And be ye followers of God     as dear children."

Revelation 19:13-16, "And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called       the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon whipe horses, clothed       in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should           smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the           fierceness and wrath of Almighty God, And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written     KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." This is the One Who we are following! the King of     Kings, the Creator of the Universe, the Word of God, the One Who has saved us by His precious         blood! Why should we not want to follow Him?

 

    Some other scripture passages to look at for further study; Matt. 4:18, Luke 14:26, Matt. 19:20.           John 21.  

                     

            Number Two:

                    "Active Forgiveness" 

                          -Joshua Steele



Ephesians 4:31, 32, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

• In Matt. 18 when Peter was asking Christ how many times he should forgive his brother, "seventy times seven?" he was not seeking to forgive, he was looking for the soonest possible time to condemn that brother and have a reason to justify his own hurt.
• Passive forgiveness is NOT forgiveness!
• Heb. 12:15, Bitterness usually starts in the heart of just one person, but then spreads until it effects the entire group.
• James 3:14-16, The devil has many ways to cause destruction in a group of believers or in a ministry and bitterness is a big one.
• Psalm 15:2, "speaketh the truth in his heart." We may try to excuse our anger or bitterness, or any other kind of sin, but what we really need to do is to be honest with our own hearts and admit our sin for what it really is.
• Romans 5:6-8, Remember what God forgave us of and what it cost Him to do so. With this perspective what we have to forgive others of will seem very small indeed.

Four Steps to Active Forgiveness

           - It's not about the steps, it is about a willingness to obey the Word of God and do what is right.

                1. A commitment to follow God's Word no matter what. Obey!

                    -Pr. 16:3, You're going to win when you commit your works to the Lord.

                2. Remember the danger and destruction of having bitterness in your heart, what starts as a    

                    secret in your heart will spring up to hurt many. (Heb. 12:15)

                3. Focus not on how much you have suffered but on how much you have been forgiven by

                    God and how much He suffered in order to forgive us. (Romans 5:8)

1              4. Seek ways to actively bless that person who has hurt you. (Matt. 5: 43,44)

                    -Active forgiveness is doing good to those that hate you because it is right and it is what God

                     did for you.

                   - The expectation is that we should do more for those who have wronged us than what a lost 

                      person does for that person. ( Matt. 5:46)

                   -How can we practice active forgiveness in our own life?

                       1. Make a list of all those who have hurt you and against who you hold bitterness.

                       2. Seek how you can actively bless each of the people on your list. (i.e. sincere 

                           compliments, thoughtful gestures, a gift, going out of your way to speak to them or

                     help them with something.)                                                                                                                             

No Greater Joy

Smoky Mountains Shindig
September 10-14, 2014

This past week our family had the privilege to attend No Greater Joy's annual Family Conference. We had an incredible time -along with around 2,200 other people- attending the incredible sessions, fellow-shipping with other families who also loved the Lord and were seeking to serve Him, eating delicious food, playing volleyball and other organized activities, meeting other families and being inspired and challenged to press forward serving God in whatever ways He has called us to do so!  

It will take several posts to capture the week's events and even then I know I will not do it justice! We praise the Lord for the wonderful time He gave us together as a family and for the great work He is doing in and through the ministry of No Greater Joy!

North Carolina, Here we come!

Beautiful scenery as we drove....

The shindig was held at the 

Ridgecrest Conference Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

The weather was beautiful!

 We stayed in the "Royal Gorge."

The campus was large enough to accommodate

 3,000 people so we spent a lot of time......walking!

Practice sessions and impromptu jams 

were happening everywhere! We enjoyed 

pausing to listen as time permitted :)

                                                                              The Family!

Call us silly- but several of us enjoyed 

catching rides on this nifty little thing!

The main auditorium.....

......now packed with some 2,200 other people!

Amazing Speakers:

 Nathan Pearl-

 (M.C. and Keynote Speaker)

"Look! It's Mike Pearl!!"

Joshua Steele

Missionary to the Ukraine

 Special Music:

The Rodriguez family

on their way to the mission field of Mexico

The Meggs family

of Roanoke, Virginia

Mike Pearl playing his "saw"

(yes..this is a hand saw and fiddle bow)

The Keen children playing their violins 

and reciting scripture passages

The "soggy britches boys"

of Cane Creek, Tennessee

The children's choir practiced every day 

to sing for everyone on Sunday!

And Liberty was brave enough to join them!

(Lower left corner :)

And a World-Championship Knife-Throwing and Whip-Cracking Act! :

Mike Pearl has won several awards and gold cups in  

international knife-throwing  contests. He also won the 

gold cup for tomahawk-throwing in 2012! 

With a promise of more posts to follow........