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for June, 2009.
By pastorbillwalden
We all want progress.
But progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.
We have all seen this when doing arithmetic. When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start over again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pigheaded and refusing to admit a mistake.
And I think that if you look at the present state of the world, it is pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistake. We are on the wrong road. And if that is so, we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1943 Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
All of what we do is a reaction to something.
I am hungry, so I react by eating. 
I am sad, so I react by eating. 
I am bored, so I react by eating. 
O.K., that’s not exactly the case with me, but I say that to get you laughing, and to illustrate my first point: We live lives that are full of reactions.
Reactions can be immediate, emotional, and irrational, or they can be measured, under control, and thoughtful.
Let’s establish some working definitions. This is what I mean to say. Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
The above title represents what I believe all Christian are called to.
First, we need to be true to God, meaning, that we need to obey Him, follow Him, and be sure that we are listening to Him. We need to have His Word buried in our hearts, and we need to surrender to the work and leading of the Holy Spirit in our own life.
Following that, and linked very closely to it, is the need for us to be true to the convictions that God has given each of us. If we are Christians who are actively seeking God, and walking with God, then we will have convictions that are part of the fabric of who and what God has made us to be. None of us should ever allow anyone to move us away from the convictions that God has placed deeply within our hearts. We should never bow to peer or public pressure, and we should not be moved by the hope of avoiding conflict or the quest of enjoying self preservation or self promotion.
Martin Lloyd Jones speaks about Christians that have opinions and Christians that are opinionated. He draws a clear distinction between the two types of people. Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
Water cannot rise above its own level. Neither can a Christian by any sudden spasmodic effort rise above the level of his own spiritual life.
I have seen under the sun how a man of God will let his tongue go all day in light and frivolous conversation, let his interest roam abroad among the idle pleasures of this world, and then, under the necessity of preaching at night, seek a last minute reprieve just before the service and by cramming desperately in prayer try to put himself in a position where the spirit of the prophet will descend upon him as he enters the pulpit. By working himself up to an emotional white heat he may afterward have reason to congratulate himself that he had much liberty in preaching the Word. But he deceives himself and there is no wisdom in him. What he has been all day and all week is what he is when he opens his Bible to expound unto the people. Water cannot rise above its own level.
Men do not gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles. The fruit tree is determined by the tree, and the fruit of life by the kind of life it is. What a man is interested in to the point of absorption both decides and reveals what kind of man he is; and the kind of man he is by a secret law of the soul decides the kind of fruit he will bear. The catch is that we are often unable to discover the true quality of our fruit until it is too late.
A.W. Tozer- from The Root of the Righteous
By pastorbillwalden
I have a new friend whose name is Randall Slack. He pastors in Harrah, Oklahoma. I “met” him online during the time I was posting on the Phoenix Preacher.
We have since become friends, and we talk and email. We are branches from the same tree (Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa), and God has brought us together via the internet and phone to encourage each other, and to pray for one another’s families, and for each other.
Randal and his daughter Rachel suffer with differing degrees of depression and mental illness. They have chosen to write about their struggles, for which I commend them. Their hope is to encourage others who struggle with depression or mental illness, and to enlighten “healthy” believers about the struggles of some of their brethren.
I know that there are some within the Body of Christ who will seek to medicate themselves in order to avoid having to face the “normal” struggles of life, whether it be through cheap wine or medical prescriptions. I believe that that choice is to avoid trusting God, and instead, to deal with life in an ungodly manner.
I do believe that some within Jesus’ Church need medication to counteract that which is chemically lacking within their bodies.
I have no medical or psychological training. I am a pastor, but that means that I have been able to be around lots of people for the last 27 years. I have noticed a few things, and do have an opinion.
I am often nervous about some people’s experiences with medication, and I have witnessed what I believe were mis-diagnoses. I have seen other folks respond wonderfully to medication, and wholeheartedly encourage them to stay on it.
Some have suggested that some forms of depression are self induced: a result of one’s unrelieved guilt over sins and failures. I believe that that may be true for some. If that is the case, their best remedy would be a saving, healing relationship with Jesus.
I believe that with other folks, it has nothing to do with their sins at all. It is simply a biological problem.
As with all of man’s efforts, I would say that psychiatric medicine is an imperfect science, subject to wins and losses, but praise God for the wins.
You can read Randall’s thoughts at http://okiepreacher.blogspot.com/
Rachel’s thoughts can be found at http://notesfromthewell.blogspot.com/
To Randal and Rachel: Thanks for sharing. I hope the image posted above doesn’t misrepresent your struggles, but it caught my attention, and I would believe that some who read here will relate to the painting.
1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
By pastorbillwalden
This image doesn’t completely represent my sentiments right now, but the folks at WordPress, the ones who power this blogsite, have made some unhappy changes that are affecting us, the users.
According to their FAQ pages and their user forums, they have a 98% “I’m not happy” rating right now re. some changes they have made.
Ergo, my Bible study notes will not be current until either I break their secret code about how to do what used to be incredibly easy, or until they go back to how things used to be, or something in between.
BTW, this is my SECOND ATTEMPT at uploading this post. WordPress, if you are out there…well…I’m praying for you. Rrrrr…
By pastorbillwalden
The first image is that if a Triqui (Tree’-kay) Indian girl. The Triquis comes to the Vizcaino Valley to work in the fields. They live in migrant worker camps. They have a very meager existence. They come from the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.
The second image is of a Triqui mother and her kids, sitting in their migrant worker housing.
The third image is of a woman who lives in Las Sierras de San Francisco. The people there live very simply, and make their living of raising goats, and selling the meat and cheese.
We, the missionaries we support, and other churches reach out to these people groups with the love of Jesus, with food, clothing, with gospel presentations, and with medical outreaches.
Click on the thumbnails above to enlarge them.
Images by Laura Vitale, who attends Cornerstone, Napa.
More of Laura’s work can be seen at http://www.richard-darge.com/artists/Vitale/vitale.htm
By pastorbillwalden
Hi folks,
I just discovered a web page that shares both reflections and photos of the Medical Outreach that took place in Vizcaino, and which was accomplished by pastor Tony Scotti and the saints at CC Pasadena.
Since we are on the theme of Mexico Missions, I wanted to share the link with you guys. The saints from CC Pasadena do a great job with Medical Missions. Read their reflections on the trip, and check out the photo gallery.
Blessings…
http://www.calvarychapelpasadena.com/medical-outreach2008.html
By pastorbillwalden
Hey folks,
Gary & Keri Goo are two of our missionaries in Vizcaino, South Baja, Mexico. They have an online photo album which includes photos of our recent trip. It also includes photos of their day to day ministries.
Photo albums of our trip include a Wednesday night service, yard work and laying pipe, and construction photos.
So if you have a few moments, take a look at what the Lord is doing in Vizcaino.
I’ll try to have some video up soon.
Blessings…
http://dosgoos.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!9B140543C093A6B8!278/
