Sunday synopsis

By way of review for my own meditation, here's my notes from yesterday's sermon by my pastor, Barry York:

The Deceitfulness of Sin from Hebrews 3

We can harden our hearts by allowing sin in our hearts.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.

1) We should heed the scriptural warning. - let no one deceive you, God is not mocked, for whatever you sow, you shall reap; be careful about who you keep company with.
Our own self deceives us - be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Every sin that you commit starts with deception; sin pulls away from the simplicity of devotion to Christ; we're warned in scripture about the power of sin; Satan hid the consequences of sin from Adam and Eve.

2) The subtle follies of sin. - we are drawn away, we are enticed, then our will kicks in and commit ourselves to do the sin, we even talk about the sin, then finally we do the act.
We are drawn into sin by abusing the grace of God.
We should be sensible and righteous - but we think lightly of what God has done for us. If you, think about sin lightly, you are living loosely. Don't push boundaries beyond where they should go. Sin deceives us that we can handle it - we can filter out the bad stuff.

Become sensitive to sin in your life.
1) Humble yourself
2) Keep your soul constantly in God's presence - that is your protection, that is your safeguard
3) Beware of lawful things becoming idolatrous things - this happens when they become the center and focus of our existence.

O Lord, help me to actively seek You throughout the day. This is my safest haven from sin. This is my greatest joy. Amen.

Vacation from a foot's point of view

It's high time that we honored the real troopers of the camping vacation - the feet. It's the feet who carry us everywhere. It's the feet who sweat and get all hot and bothered. It's the feet that keep us going. Well the next several blogs are written with the feet in mind. Let us take on their perspective for once.

We're not going to have any pictures of bear boxes -

















or brownies about to explode from the altitude -


















or cute little chipmunks.
















Nope, this time we'll see ruggedly shod feet gazing at picturesque Colorado cliffs -
















We'll see feet resting comfortably in their favorite tennies in front of a Colorado mountain range.
















Yes, let's consider for once, how things look from a little lower down.

4th of July in Colorado Springs then off to the Grand Canyon

Alright, this is what I'm talking about. Take off the shoes, lay back on the grass, look at Pikes Peak, and wait for the fireworks show for a few hours.
















Three hours later ... this is great!
















Hiking in the Canyon requires a lot of breaks and the feet need to air out, right? And there's time for a self-timed photo with the camera positioned on a rock.
















The hiking boots are very important - look at all that weight ... well, I better not go there.

















Excellent view from the tent along the bottom of the Canyon. That's a knee, not a foot, in case you were wondering.

Freaky ped views

That's right, let those feet breath along the trail. We used to have another name for those flip flops ... well, never mind.
















The Colorado River! We made our destination!
















On the bridge over the river, someone felt kinda woozy in the heat.
















We met someone a little more light-footed than us.

















Aw! Quit whining about the swollen hands! What about the feet?

Feet in the Canyon

Ah ... lay back in that tent and enjoy the view after that long hike. You deserve it.
















This is nothing new, us feet are always looking up.
















If I were running the show (get it?), I would have set the focus on the people or on the canyon instead of the nearby rock, but nobody asked me.
















I'll trek thru here anytime!

Creek

In the Grand Canyon, when feet get hot, feet get to the creek.

Serenity

The camp in Colorado. Some are working, some are not

Ben's pre-Birthday Celebration

This is Ben's birthday celebration week. They started Sunday when he was honored at Fellowship lunch with the premier place in line. Then he was honored before dessert along with David Morgan and John Spiegel as this year's Sycamore graduates. He got to go first for dessert too.

Then today, he received quite a surprise at SCA with a birthday cake and the singing of the traditional birthday song by his fellow classmates.

The cake which an unnamed mom got for him had a cute baby picture and a snazzy action picture as seen here:

















Here you can see how he was filled with amazement and awe at our astounding surprise:


















Here's a close-up of the snazzy eatable action image which Adam Dinkledine ate. Mr. York asked him if it tasted sweaty:
















Here's a close-up of the cute eatable baby image. He's so cute you could eat him, and we did:

















Here is the traditional candle blowing out ceremony with on-lookers:
















Ben and Andrew shortly afterward on the computer, of course.

Gate of Beautiful

Sometimes aren't we just like the poor soul waiting at the Gate of Beautiful?
We can't get around.
We wait for handouts from the world.
We remain beggars in our helpless state.
We need a little pocket change to make it through another day.

Then something surprising happens.
Another person comes along.
This person is just like us.
This person has failings.
This person has needs.
But they speak about wholeness.
They speak about God.
They speak of an other-worldly love.
They don't have any silver or gold to offer us.
They offer what they have.
They offer the Word of God to us.
The Word reveals the reality of God.
The Word reveals the power of God.
The Word reveals the sacrifice of God.













The Word reveals the Person of God, Jesus Christ.
This name they hold as sacred.
This Person they unashamedly worship.

Our hearts burn.
Our legs burn.
Our hearts and bodies are transformed.
We can get up.
We can move forward.
We have hope.
We aren't stuck anymore.
No choices.
God's strong arm holds us.
And we want to be held,
if you call that a choice.
We have been captivated.
We won't turn away.
Where else would we go?
The Beautiful Gate is beautiful indeed.
There we left the memory of an old life.
There we started anew.

I listened to this song from my youth ...

Love That Will Not Let Me Go

by Steve Camp

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God"
1 John 3:1

In this weary world, chasing after dreams, just left me back where I started. I couldn't see my way. I found it had a place for the broken-hearted. You spoke softly to my soul, with one touch I was made whole!

Now I know that there is a love that will not let me go. I can face tomorrow, because you hold me forever. Stronger than the mighty winds that blow; I'm safe within your arms... love that will not let me go.