A Really Cool Music Website

For all of you music lovers, I thought you would like to know about http://free.napster.com/.

It is an awesome site where you can stream a whole lot of music and can choose to look them up my artist, album, or track. For me personally, they even have Hillsong, Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, David Croward, Celtic Woman, and many, many more.

Soli Deo Gloria

A reflection on James 1:2-3

Recently James 1 has been a big part of my life, so here are some thoughts I have on the chapter.

Verses two and three

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Something someone told me recently when I was venting about something, "Congratulations, God won't give you more than you can handle." We need to count it joy when we face trials. Facing trials is part of the Christian life. And why do we face trials? To refine our faith. Recently I heard the illustration of trials being like the refining process of gold. In order for gold to be refined, it must be heated; however, if it is heated too much, it will evaporate. That is how God is with us. He will not allow us to go through more trials than we can handle. 

An example we see is Job. When Job was tempted, Satan had to ask God permission to tempt Job. So, in order for us to be tempted, Satan must first ask God. And when Job was tempted, what was his response? "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, Blessed be the name of of the Lord." We need to rejoice in trials. Now, that is easier said than done. But, God grace is enough!!!

Now, another reason for trials is to produce steadfastness. And steadfastness, or it could also be translated "perseverance," is so that we can be more like Christ, perfect. Now, we will never be perfect; however, we can, as Paul puts it, "strive for the masteries." Also, so we can be laking in nothing. Christ needs to be our everything. He needs to complete us, so that we are complete. And trials bring us closer to Christ.

So, those are some random thoughts on James 1:2-3. In future post, I will continue my thoughts on the rest of the chapter.

Soli Deo Gloria

What have I been up to.

Ok, wow, I have not posted anything in like forever. So, what has happened since then? Glad you asked. Over Christmas I went down to Rockford, Ill. to spend Christmas with my family who live down there. It was such a wonderful time, Jason, my oldest brother, hosted Christmas at his house. His two oldest, Bethany & Briannia, were so cute on that morning. As we were waiting to open presents, they came up to as I was sitting in a recliner and said, "Uncle Josh, can I sit on your lap because I love you." Well, that of course just melted my heart (my nieces have a way of doing that to me) and they sat on my lap until it was time to open presents.

After that, we came back on Sunday, I spent two days home and than left for The Break at Lake Ann. I went up with nine other people from my church. We had such a great time up there.

Bobby Huteck and I took second place in doubles foosball tournament. And I was able to get a free t-shirt from it. 

We also were able to enjoy a New Years Eve concert by Audio Adrenaline, which was amazing. On Thursday night, there was a Praise and Worship service that was amazing. One song we sang was "Mighty to Save" which is one of my all-time favorite worship songs. 

So, that is a brief overview of what I have been up to. In future post I will go into what Tony Tice was speaking about and how that impacted my life.

Soli Deo Gloria