National Dog Day - August 26th...

Forgot to share this with you... 

Exodus 14:14 (NIV)...

Footnote from NIV Application Bible (v.14-15):

We should understand v.14 in the context of the Israelites' faithlessness in the light of what God has done. Why is it, after the Israelites cry out in v.14 and Moses rebukes them for their lack of faith, that Moses is reprimanded by God for crying out?  There is a close identification between Moses and the people he is leading.  He is the mediator who connects the people to God (e.g., 32:9-14).  Their guilt becomes his.  

Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV)...

Footnote from NIV Application Bible (v.7-8):

Moses publicly passes the mantle so that Joshua will be seen as the divinely chosen successor.  V.8 offers Joshua the grounds for courage: Yahweh goes before him and guarantees his presence.

Week 1 of A Jesus Shaped Life...

This week I learned this:

Christoformic Orthopraxy = a way of right living that is rooted in our transformation into the likeness of Christ.

    

    Broken down into roots:

       Christo = Christ or Christ-centered; Formic = form

Christoformic (adj.) = refers to the ways in which we are shaped into the likeness of Christ. 

"If our pursuit of biblically orthodox theology doesn't ultimately have a Christofromic effect on us thereby drawing others toward Jesus Himself, then our pursuit is at best shallow, at worst sabotaged by self-serving movtives."  ~Lisa Harper 

So Why Theology?  Theology is unique because it is NOT something meant to be studied in a way that is disconnected from our lives.  It IS meant to TRANSFORM US!

Our Bible is a collection of 66 books, comprised of Old and New Testaments.  Each of these books points us toward the character of God and tells the story of God.  

The Bible is a grand narrative that points us to Jesus as the ultimate embodiment of God Himself.

The Bible is an incredible, rich story of pursuit, love, and redemption we just can't compare to anything else.

The Scriptures illuminate Jesus for us!

"More often than not, the phrase 'word of God' in the New Testament isn't used to describe a physical Bible; instead, it's referring to Jesus."  ~Lisa Harper

Bibliology = a field of theology all about the Bible; the study of one's belief about the Bible.  Theological study of, or conversation about, our collection of holy books known as the Bible.

• Biblio = from the Greek (Gk) work biblios meaning "scroll" or "book" (from this root we also get the English word "bibliography")
• Logy  = from the Greek (Gk) word logos, meaning "word" or "study"

The study of Scripture is a wonderful Christian spiritual practice that can draw us deeper into relationship with Jesus and is a way we can participate in our own spiritual formation.

Theology, a conversation about God, is an invitation to deepen our relationship with Him as we grow in our knowledge and experience of Him in our lives.

Biblically orthodox theology:

• Biblically = rooted in Scripture
• Orthodox =from the Greek (Gk) roots orthos (straight) and dosa (belief or opinion), in other words, something that is grounded in correct Christian faith and tradition
• Theology = a belief system and worldview based on the promises and parameters found in God's Word

Biblically Orthodox Theology refers to developing our own theological views that are 1) rooted in Scripture, 2) grounded in historical Christian truth, and 3) based on our study of God.

"As we dive deeper into biblically orthodox theology, it's likely that most of us will have to jettison theology we've inherited along the way and sincerely thought was true."  ~Lisa Harper

Jesus, as the true vine, is the source of all of our nourishment and allows us to flourish.  If we are able to see theology as an invitation into relationship, we can remain connected to Jesus, the true vine, and we can bear spiritual fruit.

In John 15:9 (and you'll have to look that up) the invitation into relationship is infused with the love of God.  Remaining in the love of Jesus, then, is vital to our theological study.

And that's all from week 1's study.  I'll share week 2's study with you soon.  

Isaiah 26:4 (ESV)...

Leveled Up ⏫ Today...

He leveled up ⏫ today. He’s looking forward to driving alone. Me not so much😳😢😭. Going to the Wendell DMV was a much better experience than going to Goldsboro. They were so much nicer. We had an 8am appointment and we were driving home by 8:35. Now that’s how it should be done at the DMV. We were in Goldsboro for 5 1/2 hours with an appointment and had to walk away because Tim needed to get home so he could get to training. It should have never taken that long with an appointment.

Word of advice: MAKE AN APPOINTMENT & BE NICE, ALWAYS BE NICE!

Next stop for Tim will be his full Class C when he turns 18 in May of 2026.

#wendelldmv4thewin.

Bardominium Ideas...

We ultimately want to rebuild on our land and put up a Bardominium.  Here are a couple that I really like:

Of the three I like the first one the most.  I totally love the layout of it.  I also love the layout of the second one as well.  I like the third one but I don't know if we will ever actually own an RV and I'm not totally loving the layout of it.  They all have very nice floor plans though.

A bit of History...

 

Every American should put this bit of history to memory.  

The democrats are the ones that want to enslave the people.  They want total control.  The very thing they harp that the republicans are after is what they are after.  They are yelling it from the rooftops blaming the other party when it's their own party that seeks to destroy our nation from the inside out and turn us into a communist country.   If we keep playing follow the leader with the left that is just what will happen if not worse.  Remember Hitler and the concentration camps.  That will be us if we allow it.  

A history that is not taught or remembered is a history that is doomed to repeat itself!

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)...

Footnote from NIV Application Bible:

The God of all strength can give his people exactly what they need at the right time, whether to "soar", "run", or "walk".

The Bible gives us hope for transformation when we surrender our lives to God's purposes.

Romans 12:12 (ESV)...

Footnote from NIV Application Bible:

If the three exhortations in v. 11 (and you'll have to go read it) all relate to service, the three exhortations in v. 12 combine to encourage believers to "stay the course" in their fight against the influence of the world.