Can you imagine that 3 years ago you would be where you are now, this time 3 years ago you were thinking about possibly moving forward in getting to know a certain someone (referring to herself). Amazing, all the Joy being with you has been my love.

That text message sent me into a glorified whirlwind. I could not believe that at this point in time 3 years ago I was wrestling with the idea of asking this wonderful young lady out. And when I finally did, February 17, 2009, that it would lead to where it is now. I have been able to love my wife with an unhindered and unconstrained love ever since February 27, 2010 and it has been one of the most precious and wonderful experiences of my total existence.

We are now coming up on being married for 2 years and 3 years from the moment that I made my request known and man how the Lord has blessed the time given to us. We have learned to love deeper, cry harder, and forgive more. We have grown deeper in our understanding of God’s own reconciliation with those who have repented of their sins and have embraced that love gift in the person of Jesus Christ on the Cross, whom God was reconciling the world to Himself.

When my wife and I reconcile our differences, we experience a closeness that we don’t experience when times are good. A reconciliation that exposes our love for one another and draws a bond between us that is tougher and grows tougher every time. I couldn’t imagine my life without this young lady.

I never thought that I could grow in love and my ability  to love the way the Lord has grown me. It drives me to the throne room of Grace offering up much gratitude for what He has done, is doing, and is going to do in our lives for His kingdom. Unworthy as I am but God sees beyond my imperfections in my love for my wife and exposes His perfection through His marvelous Son who bore our sins and imperfections and gave us His perfect righteousness. Wow, what a Savior!

Now that my wife and I are going into year 3 then 4 and if the Lord tarries 25 and 40 years of marriage, we can only see our love growing deeper as we experience the grace of our Great God and Savior.

Lord, we look to you for our every need of love and trust that you will provide as we submit our way to you. Amen.

But there has come along one that at first I didn’t particularly care for (because of my history) but the more I give an ear shot to I become more impressed. I praise God for Lecrae and those who are like him. Today hip hop, rap, and pop are the dominate types of music that our teens are listening and its nice to know that there is a godly alternative to the world’s music that is known by its sinful passions.

 
 
 
Also check out Lecrae’s Testimony of how God saved him from his sins.

Suffering is an inherent part of our lives whether it be us or someone we care about or someone in the world. You can’t turn on the news and not see the suffering of the world. From wars to natural catastrophes to broken relationships that ruin an entire family to a simple broken bone. Suffering is all around us and will continue to be (but not for ever… there is a promise we will discuss).

Just recently I was in a discussion about suffering and the after life with my grandmother in law and the thought of different faiths and their view of the after life came up. What struck me was that there is only one faith that brings an end to suffering at the end of ones life; and not just an end of suffering, but an eternal joy.

So what I want to do is compare some different views on the after life and how only one has hope of an end of suffering.

REINCARNATION – Held by Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism.

“Reincarnation describes the concept whereby the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant.” ^[1]

The goal of this “reincarnation” is to work off all the bad stuff one has done, known as Karma, and eventually get to a state of perfection that will bring an end to suffering. The simple problem with the very thought of “bringing an end to suffering through the working off of Karma” is that it doesn’t take into consideration the whole of earth and everyone in it. The world would have to go from being corrupt and failing in order for this to take place. Because that is an impossibility, since the world in only getting worse by the people in it and within its own decay, the idea of reincarnation carries with it only continued suffering “life after life” since the world continues going into suffering dispute anyone’s “reincarnation”.

PURGATORY - Held by Catholics

Purgatory (Lat., “purgare”, to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.^[2]

Here again we see a view of the after life, which isn’t much different than the previous discussed. There is a working off of “venial faults” and a purification process having to take place. Covered in this veil of eventually obtaining to perfection or freedom from transgressions, there will be and end to the suffering. The problem with the concept is that there is no end to the purgatory in a defined manner. It could take all of infinity to be “free from venial faults”, so this idea too has only a propagation of suffering. There is no hope for an end of it and no hope for freedom. Since the concept carries the idea of one having  his faults “fully paid” by this means of purification, who’s to say that the faults are little or large? Is there an end to the suffering in purgatory?

HEAVEN – Held by Christians

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, ⁴ and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”⁵ And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”^[3]

The view held by Christians about the after life is the only view that has a hope of an end of suffering for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation. ^[4] There is a hope that Christians have that they will never, ever suffer again the loss of a loved one, the loss of a limb, ever again have a battle with cancer, never again see a child go hungry, and never again sin against a Holy God that loved them enough that He would die for them a humiliating death, a death on a Cross. Where the others go wrong is there is no account for suffering, which has been brought about because of the sinfulness of man. Murders don’t just happen, they are an overflow of what goes on inside of the heart of every individual.

God has promised a day to destroy all that is corrupted and bring about a “brand new” heaven and a “brand new earth” that will be freed from sin and its consequences of suffering.

Now according to the Bible, there is a heaven waiting for those who are God’s children born by the Spirit above, but there is also an eternal suffering for those who have rejected the gift God has given the world in His Son, Jesus Christ. Hell is a real place and has real suffering. It is inescapable outside of Jesus Christ. But it doesn’t have to be so, for you.

1. ^[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation ↩
2. ^[2] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm ↩
3. ^[3] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rev%2021&version=NASB ↩
4. ^[4] http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/what-is-the-christian-gospel ↩

Much to my surprise, there were about 50 there that evening and it seemed to have been received fairly well. What started out as meditations of my heart turned into an overflow in a sermon. I hope that this one will have an eternal effect on you, not because its me but because God’s word never returns void.

In Him
Bo

But not so with God. My wife is amazing. We have recently started doing Student Ministries together at a new church home where I shepherd the group, which is about 20 students and mostly girls. I asked my wife on many occasions before committing to the opportunity if she was ready, and with shouts of joy she said yes. And since we have been in the group, she has been such a help to me and such a blessing to the girls. Watching how she seeks to know them more and point them to the Savior of our souls moves me and reminds me of who I married.

The way she thinks and plans for the group causes me to depend on her even more, and I think its only right for that to happen. I see that we aren’t just a married couple, we are a team, we are a family.

Aside from the ministry part, the way she cares for our home is something to be recognized. I feel that I am the one who brings the home down when it comes to task around the house, but her desire is to tackle it at once. She has that great desire to nurture our home and be the wife God calls her to be. And what a joy that is for me to be a recipient of her labor.

I know that she will be awesome as a mom, caring for our children and our home, and caring for her messy, unorganized preachy husband. I don’t deserve her.

I love my wife.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

The following video is of his wife’s response 1 year later. May I strive to have this kind of trust in the Great God of the universe.

A Story | Tears of Hope from Adam Kring on Vimeo.

Now fast forward a year later and here I am receiving this letter commanding my presence in Court to be a witness of the findings. On Tuesday, May 17, 2011, I appear in court at 8:30 am and I sit there until noon before the case that I was called in for was dealt with. I sat there listening to case after case and hearing the judge dismissing and sentencing men and woman to freedom or prison.

There were a few cases that I, in my fallenness, felt that he didn’t serve justice and others I thought that he was a bit harsh. But what I began to ponder was this; that this is just a foreshadowing of what is to come, except it will not be an imperfect man making imperfect decisions to bring about justice that is subjective. It will be an all wise God and Judge. And “will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” (Gen 18:25).

My mind began to recite passages such as Revelation 20 that speaks of the Great White Throne of Judgment. The place where God will punish and banish all of His enemies to the Lake of Fire where the smoke always rises up to His nostrils. A place that has no end of its torment, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place that has been set aside for Satan and his demons to dwell forever. But the striking part about the Great White Throne of Judgment is this, it will not be about men who sells date rape drugs, or about men who sold narcotics, or even about women who have prostituted themselves. It will be about bringing justice to the Name of God.

The ones who inherit hell are the ones who have aligned themselves, in the outpouring of their lives, with the devil. The ones who have denied the existence of the one True God and have bowed their heads to “corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” (Romans 1:23) These are the ones who have had no place for Christ in their hearts, and no love for Him in their lives. And this will be God’s justice and it is what is fair. Hell is fair.

But what is unfair is going to be God’s grace. As I was thinking of Revelation 20, I was also thinking of 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. Paul gives a description of what the Judgment Seat of Christ will be like. It is a place where Christ gives to His people rewards for what they did in this life. Things that have eternal value and how they built upon the foundation of Christ and His Kingdom. Deeds that have brought about Glory to God.

These are the ones who have tasted and seen that God is good, and have repented of their unbelief and have inherited Grace from God and not what is rightly deserved, which is Hell. The Grace of God is unfair. It is unfair because God has been treated with contempt and called a liar and has been charged with horrendous charges, all of which are untrue. Who is man to charge the Creator with any fault? Instead, man should look and see how he should be charged in light of the Creator.

But for those who have experienced God’s saving Grace in the face of Jesus Christ will inherit what is unfair, and that is Heaven, that is God Himself.

At the end of the court case that I was forced to go to, the charges were dropped and the case was dismissed. Not sure how I felt about it but can only trust that God will recompense all deeds done in the flesh, whether by judging the wrong doers, or having judged His Son on the Cross.

My prayer for you is that you will receive what is unfair and not what is fair. May you, by faith, live a life that builds upon the Christ and not a life that builds upon the charges God has against you. Repent and Believe in Christ, for their is no other way to please God.

We have a wonderful praise we want to share with you all. It is a grace of God. As some of you might know, almost a year ago Bo got approached by Dr. Greg Harris, professor at the Master’s Seminary, of a possible opportunity at Lake Hills Community Church. It was interesting timing because around this time the Lord pressed on both our hearts the desire to serve in a youth ministry but the time we were looking at was sometime the following year (this year). We began to pray about this desire and BAM we get an email from Dr. Harris a couple of weeks later wanting to talk to Bo about an opportunity at his Church.

So this is when the ball got rolling, after a first meeting with one of elders it seemed like we were not equipped to do this, but after much prayer we were reminded by the Lord’s humbling of us that any ministry’s success does not grow because of the adequacy of the man or woman serving but our sufficiency comes from Christ. The passage that comes to mind even now if 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 …

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly,   therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God had every detail, meeting, and conversation sovereignly ordained and watching it Him unfold it revealed to us that He wanted us there. It was possible that October 2010 was when the position was going to be filled and we realized that would have been too early. We began to pray for God to push it to a later time. We thought we couldn’t take this opportunity until January 2011 then further out to summer 2011. Thinking they would have to fill this position in the fall of 2010, we were preparing ourselves for the Lord to remove the opportunity from us. But the Lord is sooooooo GOOD.

Bo was still the only one considered for the opportunity thus far and that already made it humbling for us. But the current Youth Pastor Intern had been candidating for a full time Youth Pastor Position but alas he hadn’t found one until January 2011. Just this past week it was confirmed that not only was he going to his new Church home and his last Sunday is Resurrection Sunday, but God worked it out so that we are still who the Church elders wanted and would work with us to start in the summer. We cannot express the joy and honor it is to be given this opportunity to be used for God’s glory in the SERVING His Church.

WOW! We couldn’t have worked it out any more perfectly!

So this is to let you know we are ready to move to our new Church home at Lake Hills Community Church in Castaic MAY 1st. And so the next couple of Sundays are our last at Grace Community Church, a church we have called home for so long. We plan on visiting on Sunday evenings when we do not have any commitments to the Lake Hills.

Bo will be overseeing vision and direction for the Children’s Ministry and shepherding as the new Youth Pastor to the Junior High and High School (cannot express again how humbling it is for him to be held accountable for this group now). Bo will continue tracking along in Seminary with an anticipation date of graduation in 2015.

Cybill will do what she does best, being a helpmate to Bo in whatever task, as well as discipling and loving these teen girls

Please feel free to visit Lake Hills when you desire, we would love to see you there. And who knows maybe our paths will cross one day and God could call you to serve at Lake Hills, how neat would that be!

So please, come visit, if not Lord willing we will see you on a Sunday evening soon.

Love,
The Nelsons

By that statement he declared truth to be an irrelevant idea and the that it really is relative.

Well, if truth is relative, then can anyone ever be at fault for anything? Who is to say what Obama is doing in office is wrong? Or let’s say what the Hitler’s of the world have done, was that right? We scream out NO!!! with loud, angry voices that that’s an injustice and demand that they be punished for the heinous crimes they have committed. But if there is no truth, how can one say?

Well, there is a final word on the matter and that is going to be the Truth giver. When we consider what has been written in the Scriptures we see that there is a Divine Standard of Truth. Murder has been wrong from the onset of the fall. Lying has been destructive ever since Eve believed the first lie told by the Devil in the Garden of Eden. And sex outside of the marriage bed has taken it’s destructive tole on the family in many ways than one can truly state in a simple blog post.

The person of Jesus Christ is our standard as He says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” Why are lies so bad? It’s because it goes against the very essence of God, against His very character, against the one where it is impossible for Him to lie. Why is murder so bad? Because it goes against the very nature of God, the very LIFE that He is. Life isn’t just a state of being, it is the very Divine God that Christians worship in Christ Jesus.

So is truth relevant? Absolutely. It’s extremely relevant because God is relevant. Without God life is irrelevant, for men will do what is right in his own eyes and we shall continue to see what that brings about, continual distress. But I plea this, there is only one who will bring about justice for one’s own relative views that have led to many sorrowful lives, and His name is Jesus Christ who is returning, not with any reference to sin, but to judge all who stand in opposition to Him. And on that day, it will not be pretty.

In fact, it will be the greatest holocaust mankind will ever see. All of the nations will rise against him, and they will be destroyed right along with every enemy of Jesus Christ who loved their sin and despised Him. But it doesn’t have to be that way…. FOR YOU!!!

The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxtor is a book that is geared towards those who have decided to go into full time pulpit ministry. He addresses hard issues dealing with how one should conduct himself in this office and not to lose sight of the responsibilities that are demanded of a man who fills it. His main point was a plea not to slumber and be lazy in the work of the minister but to labor vigorously (46) so that the souls that are entrusted and the souls that are left out may not perish (40). Utilizing Acts 20:28, Richard Baxter makes his defense of why one should take this very serious.

This book was a product of a couple of sermon discourses that Richard Baxtor wasn’t able to deliver, and by request, he had them published. Published in 1656 during the Puritan days, this book is a well crafted but dense piece of work. With the use of old sentence styles and deep wording, this book is one that should be read while well attentive.

The structure of the book was well thought out and has a natural flow to it while the author unfolds his defense and pleas. It is broken up into three main sections with multiple subsections that make it easy for one to go right to place of interest which I found very helpful when I wanted to revisit a section without having to place a lot of little bookmarks.

The content of the book was very challenging in its nature. He calls attention to the extreme dynamic of so many being made ministers before they are Christians (222). The point is belabored throughout the book with major emphasis on the front end of chapter’s 1 and 2. One could become quite discouraged if one only read the first chapter and not the last. He does a really fascinating job of challenging the thoughts and integrity of the minister’s or ones who pursue the official office by challenging their own salvation. He gives plenty of reasons why one should not be in the office of overseer if they have these types of habits or lack of certain desires. The approach reminded me of Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven,” and Baxtor leaves no room for doubt as Christ left no room for doubt.

In the second chapter, Baxtor gives great thoughts on taking heed of the flock. He has constant reminders that the souls of men are at risk and that there can be no wasted time given to selfish luxury. He boldly pleas that one is not to give in and give up on the hard ones but to seek them more diligently. He claims the pastor should preach to the mass and go house to house with intimate gospel presentations and carrying the sheep to were they need to be.

In the last chapter, he has great words of encouragement about motivations. At the end it was like one was running through a mile of thorn bushes in 160 degree temperature and finally came to the shores of a pleasant beach where water and comfort await. He really picks up the reader and reminds him that it is not by his labor or craftiness, but by the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit that one would be able to not be lazy and weak.

If one is able to digest a beating of the soul, then one can handle Richard Baxtor. With hard blows to the desires and hard blows to the motives finished with refreshing encouragements, I recommend this book to everyone who has the desire, because if this book breaks you, then praise God you can be used.