Learning to Confess

I must confess something.

It was not Brigette who killed our fish..... it was I.

But I believe Brigette is complicit for giving me the bowl to clean.
Apparently, I didn't give the water conditioner enough time to work before returning them to their bowl.
They kinda went crazy trying to get out, then turned over dead.
I don't believe they suffered, it was over fast.

However, God has comforted me in knowing that I will not have to clean out that bowl again. Ever.
God is comfort, Amen?

Comfort During Pain

Well, we got the final word on Thursday; we will not get to meet a little blessing in nine months.

Brigette took the news very well though! Through her faith during this time I was taught by her the application of Romans 12:12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

The girl was constant in prayer; never ceasing to rejoice in the hope that we have in Christ Jesus.

Hope for life. (John 14:6, 11:25.)

So we shared our struggle with our international students. We shared with them the hope and joy we still had in the midst of it all. We shared how the God Man, Jesus Christ, had been pleased to dwell in flesh, so that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 14:15.

We discussed John 11:17-44 with them, which illustrates our God’s intimate knowledge of emotion. He doesn’t simply know it because he’s omnipotent; he understands emotion and pain because He has experienced it first hand.

At that point one of our students from Mexico asked why God turned his back on Jesus while he hung on the cross!!! [Are you kidding me!]

So we got to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. We shared with them that God had to punish the sin of the world and He sent His own Son to be our sacrifice. This means that when God looked at Jesus on the cross he saw nothing but sin. This means that now, when God looks at me He sees Christ' righteousness instead of my sin.

Then in the midst of this, I realized that I was experiencing 2 Corinthians 1:3,4.  That God comforts me in my affliction so that I am able to comfort those in affliction.

The gospel is so good! So thankful for my God singing His good news over me, and proclaiming it through me!

On a completely unrelated note, Brigette killed our two fish. 

Learning to Share

I’ve been encouraged, by my sweet wife, to begin blogging. I’ve struggled with this for a long time because I have a lot to say but don’t really think people care to hear it. Frankly, I don’t blame them. What do I have to say that hasn’t already been said? Very little.
But in an effort to better articulate and process what God is teaching me, I will blog. That’s the main reason I’ve entitled it, “Learning to Know.”
I’m just attempting to know God in an intimate, personal, and life-changing way. The Greek word for this is ginosko. This word is used in some form 220 times throughout the New Testament.
In Luke 1:34, it is used when Mary says she has not known a man.

In John 10:14-15, it is also used when Jesus says, “I know my own, and my own know me. Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”

That is the kind of knowledge I’m seeking. I want to know God the same way that God the Father knows God the Son, perfectly!

So as I learn, I will post; read if you’d like, it’s your choice. I'm just learning to share what God is teaching me, so that others may benefit.