Principles part 2

I remember talking with My friend Clint Humfrey Shortly after I was saved. I remember that conversation like it was yesterday. Believe it or not I was phoning Toronto for fellowship, sounds pretty stupid but at the time Clint ( and I guess his Mom ) was about the only Christian's that I really knew. He was living in Toronto teaching at the TBS collage. Our 1st conversation I think it may have shocked Clint a little. He spent a good part of it seemly trying to talk me out of it, ( I think in total unbelief that I was being for real ) But really that 1st conversation really shaped me into what I am today. He kind of laid out to me what it is to be a Christian, and what was expected of me.
# 1 ; Love God with all of my heart, be sure that Christ is the 1st thing that I think of at all times, God comes before work , family and money.
# 2 ; There is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. Find a church, find other Christians, you need fellowship and prayer.
# 3 ; The biggest battle that a believer will fight with the devil is not temptation, because there is nothing he can tempt a believer with that can even compare with God's love. Time is the real battle. You have to be careful with your time and always besure you have personal time for God, such as prayer, studying the bible, and meditation. It's without our personal time with God that a believer will backslide, and fall prey to his schemes.
To be completely honest with you, I really didn't get what he was saying right at the time. But as the months rolled on they started making sense.
To also be honest the whole time thing was something that I wasn't really worried about, with the cockiness of a rooster, I had no clue how busy I was getting, with work, family, and ministry. My Grandma always told me anything worth doing is worth doing right. You need time to do a good job, really I look at whats going on right now I don't see a whole lot, it's all a blurr, every where! I've been so busy I haven't read my bible in a week! Yet I;m busy witnessing to all that will hear. Almost praying round the clock for everyone but not myself. And I wonder why we all are sick at are house. I need God, I need you Jesus, why am I so stupid! I know what you ask of me isn't all that much , yet I get so wrapped up and I fear I'm missing the mark, Help me please be the man that you call me to be please amen .

Matthew chapter 6 ( niv )

Jesus Teaches about Giving to the Needy

" Becareful not to do your ' acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"so when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus Teaches about Prayer

" And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be hearth because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him.

" This, then is how you should pray:

"' Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Jesus Teaches about Fasting

" when you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their rewards in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so it's not obvious to men that your fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus Teaches about Money

" Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

" No one can serve to masters, Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You ca not serve both God and Money.

Jesus Teaches about Worry

" Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important then food, and the body more important then cloths? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you can add a single hour to his life?

" and why do you worry about cloths? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into a fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying ,' What shall we eat?' or ' What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own.

It still blows me out of the water the wisdom that comes from God and the lips of Jesus. How dare we raise our feeble little hands up against him?

He is our heavenly Father, he only wants the best for us. Her created us he knows everything about us, he knows every hair on our head, and all he wants is us to love him.

And still we are just so stupid to second guess him. Why?

A cowboy worship night

My wife are working on getting a Cowboy Church a going out here in Buffalo.
We are planning for the night of dec 3 rd. First time we've ever tried to do anything like this, and to be honest we are more then a lil' green, and it would be easy to get a hump in our backs. Our friend Alvin is helping us but we could use some help with stuff out here. We have Chris & Sharky comin out to do some singing, and Bryn Thiessen comin to do some Poetry. I think it will be a real fun night, would like to do a kind of kid's program there also.
If anyone is intereasted in helping out please call myself or Elana @ 403 379 2268 or you can email us at trav77nester@hotmail.com. we could use all the prayers you all can muster also.
I'm sorry I've been crazy busy at work, at home, and with this so if anyone wonders where I've gone well that what I'm up to.
Blessings to you all
Trav