Jenny and I are watching Meet the Press tonight on DVR…common place for us on Sunday nights. I didn’t realize that it has been 5 years since Hurricane Katrina. If you have a few minutes, I highly recommend watching the program online here. Brian Williams is actually sitting in for David Gregory for this episode.

Amazing how we time moves so quickly. But as was said on the segment, “That’s tough to look at…it was yesterday…it’s been five years.”  A lot of great guests and smart discussion…sans Brad Pitt anyway.  The footage from 5 years ago is powerful.  Really enjoyed the last segment of roundtable discussion here.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

However, I have been trying to immerse myself in the Word lately to combat the negative thoughts out of my mind.  Several of the tools I use are on the iPhone…pretty cool…and I have it with me pretty much all of the time.

Bible Reading::I am using YouVersion from the LifeChurch.tv guys to read the “Professor Horner’s Bible Reading Plan.”

It is very similar to the 5 Lane Reading Plan I have used in the past.

Hear the Word::Another cool app that I have on my phone to listen to the Word while I am working is Bible.Is from Faith Comes from Hearing.  It is really cool.  There are several versions of audio Bibles that you can listen to through your phone.  I have found that to be a great way to really immerse my life in the Word rather than immerse my life in sports talk radio.  (That doesn’t mean I don’t still get my share of talk radio, however.)

Memorize the Word::A fellow pastor friend of mine showed me this app and how it has helped him so much to really live out the Word and it has been a great thing for me as well.  I am using Bible Verses to memorize Scripture.  There are several different versions out there, but I like this particular app because I can choose which translation and it is also put together like the old Navigators Bible Memory System with different categories, etc.  There is also a cool feature that allows you to make the verse all blanks and you can click each blank to reveal the correct word to help you memorize better.

Reading books::I am currently reading The Land Between by Jeff Manion on my Kindle.  I saw his talk at Leadership Summit a couple of weeks ago and it really resonated with me while I am waiting in this “Land Between.”  It is based on the story of the Israelites and the Exodus.  Great stuff!

We also got a “well-timed” letter from some great friends that was a photocopy of a chapter in A Gentle Thunder by Max Lucado.  One of the key passages in the chapter that really spoke to me was a summary of the Exodus in Deuteronomy 8.

² Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

So tell me, how do you deal with discouragement in your life? Feel free to leave a comment.

Dont let discouragement pile up. Guard your heart – Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise.

Baptism – Gretchen Emch (8/15/10) from North Point Media on Vimeo.

But the beautiful thing about waiting on Him is that he will renew our strength and give us a hope.  Some Scriptures that I have been meditating on this week talk about this hope and the fact that God hasn’t forgotten or left me in my struggles.

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that^[i] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:18-27; 37-39 NIV)

I’m preaching on these verses in a couple of weeks…good stuff.

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

(Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV)

For more information about Forest Park’s missions opportunities and how you can be a part of the Great Commission, simply check us out on the web at carthage.fpbc.net/serve.

100 People from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

Don’t you think that God is maybe a little more concerned with the poor, the sick, the disenfranchised in this world?  I mean, I am just as big of sports fanatic as it comes, but let’s not blame God for the current standings in the NL Central!  The reason for the standings lies central on the players and managers of those teams!

Interesting article on “faith & sports” on CNN.com.  It is definitely a good read.

What do you think?  Does God really care about sports? Have we “trivialized” faith by “blaming God” for wins and loses?  Is this kind of “evangelism” more of a turn-off than turn-on to people?

When did God become a sports fan? – CNN.com.

Saw this quote as a friend’s FB status.  Good stuff.

Wonder what would happen if I would “experiment” with that prayer today?

FB_David Platt from Ronnie Floyd on Vimeo.

The Calling of the First Disciples

¹⁸As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him.

²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, ²²and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Monday is for Missions. . .

I have talked previously about my friend from high school, Matt, that is works for Convoy of Hope in Springfield, MO.  He is currently in Haiti on a exploratory trip for his Convoy of Hope interns going to serve later this summer in July.  Check out this video of him talking about the “capital C” Church “getting it done” in Haiti after the devastating earthquake this spring.

Forest Park is also going to Haiti this summer. Check out more info. here on our website. You can also email our missions pastor, Brock Cummins-brock@fpbc.net for more information about our missions trips this year.