Thoughts From the Right Brain

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Thoughts on Romans - Day 2

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
¹¹I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— ¹²that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
¹⁴I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

^{How do you view fellowship? We get a glimpse into Paul's view of it in this passage. He is constantly praying for a group of believers who he has never met, who he didn't lead to the Lord. He spends time thanking God for them (how much of my prayer time is devoted to just thanking the Lord?), and praying that he can see them. Why? So they can mutually be encouraged that this path of faith we are on is not only true but worth all the death to self that we talked about yesterday.}

^{Do we see fellowship this way? I'm afraid not. A.W.Tozer wrote an essay on This World: A Playground or a Battlefield, where he states that we view life through the wrong lens. Paul says to Timothy, "A good soldier does not get involved in civilian affairs". Do you think our soldiers in the middle east are using their weekly pay to buy land over there so when their tour of duty is up they can live over there? No way! They are sending their money home to ensure a better life when they get back to their real home. A preacher friend of mine once said, "We have been called to be fishers of men but we have taken our boat and gone water skiing." Why do we do this? Here in America there is very little persecution of Christians. We can be wealthy and be a Christian. We can run for president and be an outspoken Christian (winning is another matter). Why would we need to meet together to encourage one another in the faith? Our encouragement tends to be along the lines of ,"Oh, I'm so sorry your child got runner up".}

^{We need to meet with fellow believers more often and not just to watch sporting events, though there is nothing wrong with that, but when we meet we need to remind each other that we are harvesters with a limited window of time. We need to pray for each other, hold each other accountable, and ask how can I help you accomplish the unique ministry with the unique gifting that God has supplied you with? And if there has been any persecution, ridiculing, ostracizing because of their faith - patch them up and send them back in the battlefield.}

^{I know this sounds harsh. I know this sounds like obligation and duty rather than freedom and grace and joy. What about where Paul also says to Timothy, "He has given us all things for our enjoyment"? That doesn't sound like a battlefield. That sounds like water skiing. I guess it is just in our mindset. Are we living with eternity in our mind so we hold loosely to the things of this earth or are we living like this earth is our home? We tend to live more like the latter so a harsh reminder is often needed. Actually, that is the point of fellowship, to refocus our eyes on our true citizenship and say, "Yes He is the Truth, Yes He is the Way, and Yes He is the Life"}

^{Lord, help me encourage fellow Christians today that this world is not their home and Jesus will be coming back soon. Help me to boldly proclaim the gospel today and encourage others to do the same. And please, let me see a harvest. Bring about revival}

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Thoughts on Romans - Day 1

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ²the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Rom. 1:1-7

" FREEDOM!!", yelled William Wallace as he was about to be martyred in Braveheart. "God Bless America" we sing in the 7th inning on Sundays and on the 4th of July and we are warmed inside as we think about the freedom we attained from the evil Brits. As a British Comedian said on our cruise last year, "Congratulations on being free from our taxation ... how is that working out for you?" The fact is, we can never be free. The Bible says that we are either slaves to Satan (who is just as happy if we are slaves to ourselves) or slaves to God. Look at the wording in this passage. Paul is a servant who by someone else's plan was set apart for a job he didn't pick. He now belongs to that Master and must be obedient to that Lord. Not only that but there is nothing special about him, he is just one of many who are identified as "His holy people".

What is freedom? We tend to think of it as autonomy - no rules - no one telling us what to do. Freedom actually is not the absence of rules but rather living under the right set of rules. What would a pick up basketball game be without rules? Chaos and no fun! What would Black Friday look like without rules? Dangerous!! A fish is free in the lake but if he leaves the water to live on the land, free from his restrictions, he dies.

I can't rule out freedom to choose here. There is freedom to make a choice. On one hand, you can continue to be a slave to your own desires or you can be slaves to Christ - it is your choice. Paul, in some versions refers to himself as a "bond-servant". The OT talks about this as a slave who was given his freedom but instead chooses to remain with his master for life. Why would anyone do this? Probably because they had a good master who was kind, took care of their needs, kept them safe and warm, allowed them to have a family, in fact everything except gradually working their way into the job of master.

You see, this is your problem... this is my problem. On one hand I want to be a bond servant of Christ. I know He is Good. I know He is loving. I know He will meet all my needs. I know He has put me in with a bunch of wonderful fellow servants. YET.. I want to call my own shots. I don't want to be told what to do. I want to stand out. I want the ability to say "No, Lord". And this is my sin nature I fight with daily. Just think what a difference you and I could make for God's kingdom if we would finally totally surrender to His Lordship...

Lord, help me today to realize that submitting to You is so much better than following my own way. Help me die to myself and my pride. Thank you for how much you love me and that You have my best interests in mind and know what is best for me better than I do!

Friday, January 1, 2016

My Top 33 CCM Songs of 2015

                  My Top 33 CCM Songs of 2015

   It's always interesting how 2 people can listen to the same album and come up with a completely different favorite song. I would think everyone would prefer my song because it is obviously the best. Anyway, that is the way music is. Here are my favorite CCM songs, all of which I feel are distinctly "Christian". Most of them weren't played on the radio (a few exceptions) and I included a fair number of worship songs.

33. Nothing Better   by Jon Guerra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZCQgA94XDQ
32. Come Alive   by Populis   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlxD9EPiBso
31. The Good News   by All Things New https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH-Wmqpj8Dk
30. The Cross Stands by Tim Hughes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhpuXSBz5nk
29. Into Your Arms by Capital Kings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_0B7POXzSQ
28. Bring the Dead to Life by Disciple https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At02zrZ9SXU
27. House Divided by Josh Wilson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8AGNS_zfHk
26. Bring it On by Kutless   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXsaZQFjzkA
25. Born For This by Matthew West https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlKiyYJtGS4
24. Only the Brave by Tim Hughes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq8SBBxt3jo
23. The River by Jordan Feliz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maT4phfTXR4
22. What if We by 3 for 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ym5p1oeL-M
21. Standing on It by Tree 63 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfobGiuYo1Q
20. Move by TobyMac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX1G71WK-FA
19. Los Angeles by Mat Kearney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB7o1ZHVNn4
18. Your Freedom by New Hope Oahu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVgcOSq3ZIU
17. Love Feels Like by TobyMac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reWLIs51e2Y
16. He is Jesus by Seth Condrey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2rhJJCvQ0Q
15. Speed of Love by Jeremy Rosado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKEqTN8pU6U
14. One way to Heaven by Brandon Heath https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akf4PnOKcNU
13. Billion by Mat Kearney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rOVVakVqx4
12. Found in You by Gateway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCDnvuY5vS4
11. Can't Hold Me Down by All Things New https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l6GZNlZqVs
10. Different Drum by Blanca https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cTRSDSXaBc
9. Love Broke Through by TobyMac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD7Cu-qYAyI
8. This is not a Test by TobyMac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy1vjNWnDlM
7. Bright Lights by Jeremy Rosado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEY9i7ljYtY
6. For Real by Jeremy Rosado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mxotUvU9rE
5. Just One Touch by Planetshakers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDQRgncjcvw
4. Alone by Hollyn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpk9PfOVFQk
3. Until My Voice is Gone by Travis Ryan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAl-bvztGMg
2. Trust it All by Brett Stanfill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMVcJIrcWlk
1. Lean on Me by Consumed by Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD99sEFtqXo

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

My Top 10 Christian Albums 2015

                      My Top 10 Christian Albums 2015

     Every year I do this, I have to start with a few qualifying remarks. First, everyone's taste in music is different - that's why this is MY list. Second, I try not to include EPs although sometimes they are so much better than full albums out there that I have to. Lastly, if an album is done by Christian artists but you can't tell they are Christians by listening to it I don't usually include it or drop it down a lot. So let's go!

    Honorable mention; Andrew Ripp, Tyrone Wells, Rend Collective, Fireflight, Brandon Heath, Tree63, North point, Passion

   #10

     I guess I would consider them a K-Love band but they had some catchy songs that surpassed the Mercy Me's, Casting Crowns, 10th Ave. Norths, Big Daddy Weaves this year

   #9

      Some good songs here in the R&B hip hop genre. Nice 1st effort

   #8

      1/2 of Group 1 Crew showed she is ready to go on her own.

#7

A few highs and many lows but the highs were very high!

#6

One of those albums I was talking about that is amazing but just not Christian enough to go higher on my list. Very innovative. Like nothing else out there

#5

Enjoyable album in the same genre of Toby Mac, Capital Kings , Jonathan Singh, Jeremy Rosado

#4

Comeback artist of the year. (Last album was bad) Best worship album of the year topping Passion, Chris Tomlin, Crowder, Matt Redmon, Gateway, Hillsongs, etc

#3

Best album of the year by far if it would just be bolder for Christ lyrically

#2

Every year my #2 comes out of nowhere. This year is no exception. A digital only album from a 13th place American Idol guy blew me away. I could listen to this over and over!

#1

Yay Toby, you never disappoint. This is the real thing

Monday, October 19, 2015

Five Minute Devotionals to Give - Candles

       Hold this up and ask people "what is this used for?" The men will no doubt focus on giving off light. The women will focus on fragrance or romance. I commented that I would have never known that candles were for anything other than giving off light - in fact in science, light strength is measured in terms of candle power. However, we are going to say the women are right today and this candle, since it is scented, is for giving off a nice aroma. When you cooked, garlic, or onions, or fish these are helpful. However, the best treatment is a fan, vacuum, or opening the windows and removing the smell. The candle just masks it and quite often you will end up with strawberry smelling fish odor. At our house at the edge of the woods, we have mice problems. Several times a year we will have mice die in our ventilation system and our house stinks for a month. We light candles which mask the smell but when we blow them out, the smell is still there. If we could just find the dead mouse and remove it, the smell would be gone but, alas, in the vents it is inaccessible.
     The Bible says that we have a sin problem - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Rom.3:23. We could probably say that sin makes us stink so bad that God can't be in our presence. Since we are created FOR God's presence, this presents a real problem. What we try to do is light a spiritual candle and try to trick God into thinking that we smell good. We do this by going to church, giving money, saying prayers, being kind, etc. but all this does is add odor to our stench! The Bible says that all our good deeds are like filthy rags or fuel for the fire. We are incapable of taking sin away. We are like men who have lost their way while driving who step on the gas and drive faster but in the end are getting further from their destination. Who can free us from this sin?
     Jesus can! "He who knew no sin became sin for us" 2 Cor. 5:21 "He bore our sins on His body on the tree" 1Pet. 2:24. He removed our sins as far as the East is from the West. Jesus takes away our sins if by faith we admit we are sinful and can't remove them ourselves and humble ourselves before God and say" please remove my sins through your Son's death on my behalf". Then you know what happens... He puts the candle inside us after removing the stink so no longer do we carry around the odor of sin but rather the aroma and light of Christ in our lives! And speaking of romance - we become the bride of Christ!
     So next time you light a candle, remember the light of the world, the forgiver of sins, the abundant life giver, and our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ!

Monday, September 7, 2015

Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects 2016

Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects 2016

Here are my list of top prospects for the Milwaukee Brewers based on 2015 stats. I haven't seen most of them play, so these are based simply on the line stats on MiLB.com. I apologize to all those statistic geeks who know so much more than me. I'm old school and still think RBIs are good and K's are bad. Haha .I will list my best per position.

Pitchers based on 13 man staff

SP/LR

RH Rodrigo Benoit - 21 y/o in DSL 6-1, 2.10 ERA, .92 WHIP Great numbers! My only fear is he came out of nowhere after 2 bad years. Late puberty? 0 HR in 73 innings!

RH Carlos Luna - 18 y/o in DSL 4-2 1.46 ERA, 1.01 WHIP

RH Jorge Ortega - 22y/o in Brevard to AAA, A winning record from anyone not in Biloxi is impressive. 2.38 ERA, 1.06 WHIP

RH Carlos Herrera - 18y/o DSL 4-2 3.26 ERA 80 IP 68H 13BB 73K 1.01WHIP .228Avg.

RH Jorge Lopez - 22y/o at AA 12-5 2.26 ERA, 143 IP 137K, .205 Avg, 1.10 WHIP. Southern league pitcher of the year and certainly Brewer's minor league pitcher of the year. What's not to like except that this is the first year he has performed anywhere near this well. Lets hope he can keep it up!

LH Josh Hader - 22y/o at AA 2.94 ERA 33IP,44K, .195 Avg., .95 WHIP We may regret getting rid of Melvin after this trade!

    RH Hiram Burgos - 28 y/o at AAA mile high Colorado Springs ERA 3.34, .222Avg., 1.17 WHIP. Former top prospect had surgery and fell off our radar. Give him another chance!

    RH Daniel Missaki 19 y/o A 34IP 31H 5BB 34K 1.04 WHIP Injury ended season

     RH Bubba Derby 21 y/o A 34 IP 19H   45K avg.161 WHIP .84

others to watch Wang, Ventura, Houser, Peralta

LH Brad Kuntz - 21 y/o in ROK and Helena 2-0 .88 ERA Avg. .184, WHIP .93 , 0 HR in 41 innings.

LH Shawn Clowers 22 y/o in ROK 2.00 ERA, .172 Avg, .78 WHIP

RH Cody Ponce 21y/o Low A 2.29ERA 2-1 .244Avg 1.10WHIP

RH Damien Magnifico 24 y/o closer at AA with 19 saves. Approaches triple digits. 1.20 ERA, .208 Avg.

others to watch Farina, Olczak, Terry, Chapman

C - Carlos Leal 24y/o LH hitter .309/.367/.397 at Low A. Consistantly over .300 all year on a team that struggled to hit. Apparently injured the latter half of the season

      Dustin Houle 21y/o RH hitter at High A .308/.360/.451

     Jacob Nottingham 20 y/o RH at A .316/.372/.505 17 HR

3B no prospects. Going to have to move Segura or Arcia

2B George Iskanderian 21y/o RH at Helena .328/.367/.403

        Blake Allemand 23 y/o at Low A .293/.341/.361

        Nathan Orf 25y/o RH at AA .274/.378/.368 His .378 OBP is consistant every year. Walks a lot which is what the Brewers desperately need.

   SS Orlando Arcia 21y/o RH .308/.349/.457 at AA

         Isan Diaz 19 y/o LH .360/.436/.640/1.076 at ROK

    1B Garrett Cooper 24 y/o RH at AA .311/.375/.454 at 6'6" probably play here rather than 3B

    OF Trent Clark 18 y/o LH .313/.426/.438 Going to be our best 1st round pick since Braun

         Joantgel Segovia 18 y/o RH up to ROK from DSL continued to get on base. .331/.392/.347. Suffered a season ending injury

        Brett Phillips 21y/o LH at AA .309/.374/.527 Bring back Doug Melvin!

players to watch Taylor, Roche, Harrison, Oriomyole

I am more encouraged with our farm system than before. We are better than last year with the off-season trades but still will have a losing record throughout MILB. My two favorites this year - Kuntz and Clark.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

5 Love Languages - Physical Touch - Lesson 5

As we discuss the last love language, physical touch, (sorry I am not going to do acts of service as I was on a mission trip to Brazil that week) let me do a quick summary.

If we don't speak the love language of our spouse we are like these poor ESL students who are totally clueless to the message given because they don't speak the language. Those languages are Words of affirmation (encouraging them by focusing on their positive attributes in words, letters, texts, etc.), quality time (spending and giving complete attention often where they feel heard) , gift giving (tangible expressions that you thought about them during the day) , acts of service (doing things for them that are important to them), and lastly physical touch.

Jesus was the master of all of these and if we follow His example given in the Bible, with the Holy Spirit's help who is inside of all believers, we can speak these love languages fluently. We see his affirmation of Peter as he renamed him "The Rock" and His affirmation of Gideon as He called him "mighty warrior" in the midst of his fear and insecurity. We see in the book of Mark that the disciples were specifically chosen to spend time or be with Jesus. John 3:16 tells us Jesus gave His life for us, the gift that keeps on giving. We see Him showing the full extent of His love in John 13 by serving the disciples as He did not come to be served but to serve. Lastly, we see that the infinite God who is spirit, put on a body so that He could be touched and touch others. That is what the incarnation is. Jesus touched the leper who was unclean in physical and societal terms and healed him even though He could have done it without a touch. The deaf mute was healed by putting His fingers in his ears and touching his tongue even though He could have healed him without touching. The blind man was touched on the eyes and made to see even though God spoke eyes into existence without touching. The lame were made to walk and fevers were cast out with touch. This is extremely significant also when you consider that the Old Testament was all about not touching things. Even in the famous parable of the good Samaritan we see the priest and the Levite not helping the injured man possibly because of the warnings against touching and the mandatory decontamination protocols. This is why Paul says in Colossians 2

"Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: ²¹“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²²These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. ²³Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Jesus fulfilled the law and He took our uncleanness on Him so we can be touched!

Why is touch so important?

Lets get scientific for a bit. God made us with proprioceptors in our skin which sense touch. Even from birth, babies need touch. Studies show that preterm babies in the NICU that are frequently touched and held gain weight faster (even with the same number of calories) and have better developmental performance than babies who aren't touched. When you stimulate pressure receptors in the skin you lower stress hormones and release oxytocin (cuddle hormone) which enhances a sense of trust and attachment. Studies show that people who have 10 or more meaningful touches a day live longer. There is a whole branch of medicine dealing with massaging and treating pressure points. If someone is under stress you can often see them self-touching to relieve stress. Certain mannerisms seen in this situation are flipping of the hair, massaging the forehead, rubbing hands together, and stroking the neck. Couples that touch more show that they are satisfied with each other, but the true indicator of a healthy long term relationship is not how often you touch but how often your spouse touches you back in response to your touch. Couples get so familiar with each other's touches that studies show that 70% of the time they can distinguish between the following emotions conveyed only by touch - anger, fear, disgust, gratitude, sympathy, happiness, and sadness

Gary Chapman gives a good account of a couple named Maria and Joe who worked through the problems associated with not understanding this love language in the section headed "Marriage is not supposed to be this way".

Let me end by giving you a few assignments on touching.

1. Sit next to each other while watching TV

2. When you experience quality time, i.e. dates, shopping, movies - hold hands

3. Kiss spouse goodbye in the morning or give them a hug when they come in the door

4. Give them a massage

5. If your spouse is occupied with a project, go into the room and touch them, then leave

6. Pray together holding hands

7. Get a smaller bed - king size beds are terrible for touch!

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