My Vapor

It's about time!

2007-03-05T13:57:00.000-08:00

It has been over three months since I last posted anything so I thought it was past time I write another. I have a second nephew now, Aaron Edward Hadley, he has the biggest smile and is such a blessing from YHWH-Tsidkenu!
Lord willing, I will be spending the first week this April on a mission trip with my sister and brother-in-law's church in Los Angeles. I'm praying that the trip will help me grow in Christ and bring Him glory and bless the people down there. I also am seeking the Lord about some other ministry opportunities - I just long to walk in obedience to Christ and serve Him and others!
One of the keys to walking in a close relationship with Christ is dying to myself and letting Him have total control of my life. I found a really good book at the church library yesterday; it is entitled, God Is Enough, written by Hannah Whitall Smith:

September 27
Living In Dying

The only way out of an "I" religion into a "not I" religion, is by a death to self. We must die that we may live. Practically, this means that we are not to care what self gains or what becomes of self but only how God is treated and what brings gain and joy to Him.
The trouble with our religion is its tendency to selfishness. Its first and foremost thought is always for self; and this cannot but taint the whole character. If it is right to think of self first in the most sacred of all things, we naturally feel that it cannot be wrong to think of self first in all minor things. We continually seek to please ourselves and to save ourselves.
Christ saved others, but He didn't save Himself. Christ didn't please Himself. If we are living the Christ-life, we will know that we also are not to please ourselves or save ourselves but to save and please others. How far we are from this Christlike burden bearing. Our own burdens fill the whole horizon for us, and we can scarcely see, much less carry, the burden of others.
This selfishness of our "I" religion taints our views of God. We are so selfish that we are unable to give one single generous or unselfish attribute to Him. We think He must be all the time looking out for His rights and His glory just as we are for ours. We are afraid to trust Him to save us, because we know our own selfish unwillingness to love others. We think He is like us. This is the "I" religion.

We must humble ourselves before God and give Him everything, even life itself; to live a godly life it must be Him living through us by His indwelling Holy Spirit (He must be on the seat of our heart, not self which is so hard, yet so important). With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible!

It was one year ago that I was on a fun trip to Israel with some wonderful people! Great times.

We are nothing...Christ is all!

Saving Faith in Christ Jesus

2006-11-25T22:56:00.000-08:00

All of Grace: "'Be not afraid; only believe.' Trust, and be at rest.
My fear is lest the reader should rest content with understanding what is to be done, and yet never do it. Better the poorest real faith actually at work, than the best ideal of it left in the region of speculation. The great matter is to believe on the Lord Jesus at once. Never mind distinctions and definitions. A hungry man eats though he does not understand the composition of his food, the anatomy of his mouth, or the process of digestion: he lives because he eats. Another far more clever person understands thoroughly the science of nutrition; but if he does not eat he will die, with all his knowledge. There are, no doubt, many at this hour in Hell who understood the doctrine of faith, but did not believe. On the other hand, not one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus has ever been cast out, though he may never have been able intelligently to define his faith. Oh dear reader, receive the Lord Jesus into your soul, and you shall live forever! 'He that believeth in Him hath everlasting life.'" C.H. Spurgeon

Does He feel at home? -Taken from Wuest's Word Studies From The Greek N.T.

2006-11-09T22:21:00.000-08:00

I found this to be both encouraging and convicting at the same time. I pray that it might be the same for you.

"Paul prays (Eph. 3:17) that Christ may dwell in the hearts of the saints. The word "dwell" is from a Greek word made up of two words, one meaning "to live in a home," and the other, literally meaning "down." Paul prays that our Lord might live in our hearts as His home. He is already in us, therefore Paul's thought must be that He feel at home in our hearts. The tense speaks of finality, the word for "down" speaking of permanency. The full translation is, "That Christ may finally settle down and feel completely at home in your hearts."

It is one thing to be in a person's home, another thing to feel completely at home there. Our Lord condescends to live in the heart of a sinner saved by grace. What an honor to have such a guest in our hearts. Do we make Him feel at home? Does He have free access to all parts of our heart life, or is He shut out from this thing or that? Is He our constant companion or are we occupied at times with persons or things that we feel are not consistent with our fellowship with Him? Is He Lord of our lives, the invited guest to occupy the throne room of our hearts? Many have tried to make Jesus Lord of their lives, and have failed because they have tried in their own strength. No man calls Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit. That is why Paul prays that we might be strengthened with might by His Spirit in order that Christ might finally settle down and feel completely at home in our hearts. The secret of the Lordship of Jesus, is a desire that the Holy Spirit make Him Lord of our lives, and a trust in the Spirit to accomplish that for us. " - Wuest

May we all walk in the Spirit's power and let Him make our Savior Jesus Christ Lord of our life - that God may be glorified through us and then allow the world to see and hear of the hope in us!

God's perfect peace to you all.

The things we do with or without the consideration to the brevity of life....

2006-11-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

As I awoke this morning at my sister and brother-in-law's house, in Clatskanie, Oregon, I had the great joy of being greeted by my 17 month old nephew Benjamin. I picked him up and walked around the house a little, talking with him. We went to the front window, because we saw people walking by, and he likes to watch them. As I looked down the street I saw a white hearse, wondering about it I asked Anna if there was a funeral at her church today, she said yes, that a 21 year old girl had been killed in a car accident on Highway 30.
Some things will never make sense to use down here on earth, why the young die, why the evil prosper, why the innocent are victims, and so on. But all of these whys are answered by God in His Word.

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4

Behold, God is my helper; the LORD is the upholder of my life. Psalm 54:4

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made. Isaiah 57:15,16

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14

So that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. John 11:25

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39

It is clear that God is the giver of all life and that He has the power and right to take that life back at anytime He desires. By His grace He has given us a way out of this sin and death cycle - trusting in His Son Jesus Christ alone to save us. As we believers in Christ see both good and bad times, we always have Jesus (His Spirit living in us) and His assurance of eternal salvation (the precious promises - for God cannot lie!!!) as our hope to bring us through all the trails of this short life.
We may not know why God takes that certain person or even why He chooses to save sinners like you and me, but we can find hope in His Word that He makes all things beautiful in His time (Ecc. 3:11), and He does it all for the good of those who love Him. In the meantime, however long that my be (best to think it's short - it will better prepare you for it):

Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1b,2

Moving On

2006-10-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

This past week I came to the realization that God was calling me away from the Conference Center and back to Sacramento, California to live with my wonderful sister and brother-in-law. My hope is to get involved in Arcade Church, find a job, and hopefully finish my Bachalors degree from Shasta Bible College (all as God leads - and I know He will). It has been good here in Cannon Beach, serving at the Conference Center, and meeting so many great people. I will miss them a lot, even after knowing them for only a few short months. Christ Jesus creats such an incredible bond that makes friends out of total strangers in such a short period of time! I thank Him for His many blessing in my life - I know He has something special for me in Sacramento. Sarah and I will be heading down after Thanksgiving.

May the Lord bless you and may you trust Him in all your ways!

"In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind."

Job 12:10

A Great Story Without An Ending

2006-09-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Great stories always have a way of capturing our passions, to put within us a desire to move onto the next chapter to see what happens next. My story is kind of like that, but even better! The reason my story is better is because God is the author, and He is working on a great story here at the Conference Center. Many of us (though many are still loving this world more than our Lord - and I would be also, but for the grace of our great God!), including myself, feel a longing to seek the Lord through much prayer and Bible study, and to simply grow in Him and to make an eternal impact upon our local community and world. Bible studies, prayer groups, prayer walks, men and women fellowship times, and other ministries are forming and I can see the Holy Spirit moving in the hearts of people.
In the book Experiencing God, the main idea is to seek and find where God is working and get involved there, instead of just doing your own ministry for God, but doing ministry with God and by His power. We have seen God working in our hearts here at the Conference Center, we are just not sure where He is taking us, except that we know He is first wanting us to to know Him, love Him, and spend much time with Him. It is fun to watch, and I have a great desire to see what the next chapter holds for us. After all, God is the best author of all - He wrote the Bible!

God bless all and may you seek to grow in Christ by putting away from your life the things that take your eyes off of Him, and replacing them with His holy ways!

"For our God is indeed a devouring fire." Hebrews 12:29

It is so very beautiful today!

2006-09-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I just finished cleaning the guys dorm bathroom, it was a dirty job, but I was thankful to have the chance to serve them - even if I was told to clean it.
I had a lot of fun at the staff retreat this past week, there were great Bible studies, a hay ride, canoeing, basketball, a box full of apples to eat (not at once thankfully), and much more. Two girls (Erin and Rebecca) and I canoed to a small island, which had a house on it and a small, friendly black cat, and across the lake to a Katsop County park. I was thankful for not falling in, since I had the memory of falling in at Summer camp (1996) on my mind.
This weekend there is a men's group of about 150, and two small groups with about 30 men and women. The men seem to be very kind and patient - which is needed for my lack of waiting skills!
I pray that the Lord would give me a thankful and loving attitude, through His Holy Spirit, so that He might be glorified through me. And that I would love Him more and obey Him in all things - because He alone is worthy of all praise and glory and honor!!!!!!!!!
May you all have a wonderful weekend and a blessed time at church (encourage someone in the Lord).

Thanks to my wonderful sister Sarah

2006-09-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

Thank you Sarah for helping me out with this blog, the background is just what I've always wanted! God has gifted you in many ways, keep using all of them for His glory and to bless others.

Question # 1

2006-09-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

From time to time I will ask a question, please feel free to answer if you like, or just for something to think about.

Q. What does it mean to die to self? And how do I know when I'm doing it?

375 Women

2006-09-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend there were 375 women guests at the Conference Center. I did five waiting shifts over a three day period. The women were nice for the most part (one girl cried in back because she felt a table was being rude to her) and it was enjoyable to serve them. One of the thinks I like least about waiting tables is the caring of up to 10 plates of food on one trip - I just don't want to drop anything! Thankfully I never have. Now the women have left and I am off for the next few days as the Conference Center goes North on a retreat in Washington (Monday - Wednesday); a time I hope and pray is very relaxing and peaceful. I would love to have some really good quiet time with my Lord. To just let His Word speak to me, talk with Him in prayer about everything, and to just be quiet and listen to His voice (if He wants to say anything that His Word has not already said).

A verse I have loved for many years is I Corinthians 10:31, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

First Entry

2006-09-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

My hope is to use this blog to share with my family, friends, and anyone else who comes across it, the things my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is teaching me through His Word, prayer, and the many circumstances of life.
At the present I am a Conference Assistant (serving in housekeeping, waiting, and dishes), at the Christian Conference Center in Cannon Beach, Oregon. It's often hard work, long hours, and not real mentally stimulating. However, I'm thankful to be able to serve the Lord and the people here; for what He is teaching me and preparing me for (I have no idea what it may be); and the beautiful Pacific Ocean He created!
With that short introduction, I want to give my personal goal for the next day, week, month, year, and rest of my life: My goal is to walk in daily fellowship with God, by confessing any sin, obeying and trusting Him (even in little things), being often in the Word and in prayer, to walk in the Spirit and not my sinful flesh, daily dying to myself, sharing Christ with the lost through the overflow of love for Jesus, to love all people as God loves them, and to live in total surrender and dependence upon my Savior Jesus Christ who shed His blood on Calvary for me personally and for the whole world! A godly man is what I want to be - therefore I must allow the Holy Spirit (God Himself) to live His life through my surrendered self, because it's not in me!!!

"As newborn babes, desire the pure spiritual milk of the Word, so that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is kind." I Peter 2:2,3