Comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3–5)

 "Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you."   2 Corinthians 1:3–5 NET

 Life Application Study Bible

Many think that when God comforts us, our troubles should go away. But if that were always so, people would turn to God only out of a desire to be relieved of pain and not out of love for him. We must understand that being “comforted” can also mean receiving strength, encouragement, and hope to deal with our troubles. The more we suffer, the more comfort God gives us. If you are feeling overwhelmed, allow God to comfort you. Remember that every trial you endure will help you comfort other people who are suffering similar troubles.

^[1]Life Application Study Bible, Accordance electronic ed. (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), n.p.

"Haiti" Will You Go? Part 4

Hey here is the last post for Haiti in this series. This was the last day and when I started off the morning I was really excited about being able to work all day and put in a good day of work. Ha ha... my body had other plans I did not know about! I did good for the first 3 hours, then I got sicker then a dog.
I went to a small room close to the school to cool down and the next thing I knew I had passed out. I woke up right before lunch and felt great. I took some time, ate some lunch, talked with our Medical staff and went back to work.... Thankfully the clouds blew in and it was cloudy and windy.
The next thing I know, one of the workers wives came running up to us and was in tears. Their baby had a seizure and they did not know what to do.
One of the greatest things that we often forget, and is one of the first things that people of third would countries do first, the workers came around, grasped hands, and started to sing. After a song of intercession, they all started  to pray at once. This went on for thirty minutes. I have no idea what they sung. I have no idea what they prayed. All I knew was that I was there in this circle of men and was a part of what God was doing in their life and the life of that little boy.
It's overwhelming, I remember that my prayer was this, God hear the prayers of these men. I know that Daniel had prayed and the answer was coming but was delayed, so I had prayed with tears in my eyes that a mighty host of angels would be able to deliver this message to our God and that they would fight to come and help deliver His answer for this little boy. That was what was on my heart and in my mouth as I prayed along side of these men.
This is where the video blog picks up, after this time of prayer that I had with them.
I did not deserve to be a part of that time, but yet God allowed me to be a part of those people's lives. If you listen you to will be able to be a part of the lives of other people not your own. My question to you is this: who does not deserve to be used by God and continually are? Will you go somewhere? Will you join in the work God is doing?  Will you Go?

"Haiti" Will You Go? Part 3

Wednesday was a busy day. The California team left, and it was a hectic morning, so I did not get to video blog. I did take several videos of work being done. Again, it started to get hot during the day, it was 100 degrees in the shade and the humidity was very high. I had not worked like this since college really. Or I am just older now and  I was having a flashback to working back in the day... ha ha ha.. Just working slow and consistently seems to be the key. That's what the men here in Haiti do. Here in America we work hard and fast. If you do that in Haiti, you will be picking yourself up off the ground like I did once or twice, or if your not careful, someone else will be picking you up off the ground. You find out more about that on my next post.
God was faithful to provide energy when I needed it. Thursday ended up being our day alone. The Cali team had left and it was just Michael and I. He was working with the clinic and I was working with the workers. It started off a great day with some clouds and showers, and it was a good day, but still very humid.
Still my question to you is, where is God opening the door for you to go? You have to get that passport, you have to challenge your friends to come with you. Don't be satisfied with just being safe. Take yourself outside of the comfort zone and go and explore and see where else God is at work besides just in your home town.
Have a great day and I pray you have gotten something from these posts that help draw you just a little bit closer to God.
Have a great day everyone.
Scotty

"Haiti" Will You Go? Part 2

Hey everyone,
You will hear from me today about it being day 3 for me. What happen to arriving on day one and day 2? Video blogging had slipped my mind, but i did film a lot of the destruction. Those clips are on the YouTube site if you would like to check them out. I had arrived on a Saturday and man, coming to the camp was a 3.5 hour drive and 2.5 hours of that was spent in a heavy downpour in the back of a truck. Ha ha, so there was not much to see there.
Sunday was church day. It was a great time of church, very hot of course, and then they took us out to the beach later that day since there was no work to be done. We got to swim in the ocean all afternoon, saw a huge eel that was over 4 foot long, it was so cool. I found some amazing sea shells to bring back to my boys and my wife. I was able to film a lot of tent cities on the way to the beach and back, and a Samaritan's Purse water purification plant for one of the tent cities we passed by.
I was amazed at how much Samaritan's Purse actually did in Haiti. It was quite incredible. The one really good thing I noted in those 3 days was how much access to clean water the people had. People who have been helping Haiti have made it a huge point to be able to get them  access to much needed clean water for drinking. I sure that has helped a lot.
Enjoy the video blog, and I know the verse I share from is addressing as a verse of salvation, but also at the face value of the story, it challenges us to be open and honest and to do. But please use this as a question to yourself......... Will You Go?

Haiti Will You Go? part 1

Hey guys good morning!  As promised I am sharing my video blogs from day one to Day 8.



This was day one. I was really pumped about getting to go, but the whole purpose of me going is to help  inspire you to come to Haiti, Chili, Mexico, Spain, France, Africa, Canada, or China. There are a thousand places in this world God could ask you to go.  It could be here in your own backyard, state, or even country. The question  today is, “are you allowing God to use you to help others, and even if you have been consistent at doing here in your own area, have you ever asked God to allow you to experience him at work somewhere else in the world?”
In some ways you should explore things, seek them out, and see them with your own eyes. Where did those 2000 boxes of food go? Who is it helping? What does an earthquake in a third world country look like? God please show me, take me out of my comfort zone and really challenge me like you have never challenged me before.
To see some of the work projects that we did be sure and check out some of the other videos I will post. Have a great day as you begin your journey on seeking out what God would truly allow you to do, where He would let you go, and seek what He would allow you to experience.

Scotty

This was our work site and camp site for the week.

Freedom

Yesterday my family and I attended the 4th of July celebration at the Jourdanton city park.  Not only was it fun, but it was a moving, and powerful reminder of all that is great about America.  For today's post I would just like you to consider some of my favorite quotes about freedom. 

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, cannot long retain it.
    —Abraham Lincoln

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it.
    —John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.
    —Thomas Paine

The greatest Glory of a free-born People, Is to transmit that Freedom to their Children.
    —William Havard

No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.
    —Douglas MacArthur

Yet we can maintain a free society only if we recognize that in a free society no one can win all the time. No one can have his own way all the time, and no one is right all the time.
    —Richard M. Nixon

We, and all others who believe in freedom as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.
    —Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better.
    —Albert Camus

A hungry man is not a free man.
    —Adlai E. Stevenson

When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.
    —Charles Evans Hughes

We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in.
    —Thomas Paine

The unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion.
    —John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Freedom suppressed and again regained bites with keener fangs than freedom never endangered.
    —Cicero

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself.
~Thomas Paine

The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree.  
~Thomas Campbell 

Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.  
~Napoleon Bonaparte 

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.  
~Robert J. McCracken 

You have freedom when you're easy in your harness.  ~Robert Frost

Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond.  ~Jeffrey Borenstein

Men fight for freedom, then they begin to accumulate laws to take it away from themselves.  ~Author Unknown   

Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.  
~Harry Emerson Fosdick 

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.  
~William Faulkner 

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.  
~George Washington 


Thank you to all who have or continue to preserve, protect, and provide the greatest gift of all to humanity, freedom.  

Happy 4th of July
Pastor Pete

Is God with us?

With all of the uncertainty in the world today, more and more people seem to be asking this question:  "Is God still with us?" One man even suggested to me the other day that God had departed for good and left us to to suffer until Jesus returns.  The stock market is all over the place, there is oil in the gulf, hurricanes seem to be more abundant and stronger then ever, in the past year there have been numerous major earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters on our planet.  There is major famine in Africa right now that threatens to kill millions in the coming year if rain or aid does not arrive soon.  The world seems to unofficially be at war, with seemingly, every country involved against another in some way.  So I can see why some might think God is no longer with us, but I am certain He is.  My hope is not in the stock market, government, or myself.  My hope is in Christ, therefore despite all of the trouble in the world my hope remains.  Scripture has the final word, and it is abundantly clear that God has not left us and is indeed still present and active in our lives and world.
I read the following devotion yesterday that speaks to a similar point.  It comes from Faith’s Checkbook: A Daily Devotional by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.  It is short but powerful if you take the time to read it.