By Josh Weidmann on Sunday, January 04, 2009 9:58 AM

I didn't set the place on fire. Thank God!

The illustation with the fire went good last night. The onl think that was burn was my arm hair, and I think i can live without that for a while.

I was refreshed to preach the stroy of Moses and the burning bush. It is amazing that God - the great I AM - still knows us completely and calls us reguardless.

Well, now my dad and I are off to breakfast with the youth. Then one more talk and we head down the mountain. It's been great here; now back to life.

Thanks for your prayers.

 

By Josh Weidmann on Saturday, January 03, 2009 7:34 PM

I'm enjoying a weekend with my Dad in the mountains. He's my travel buddy this trip, and here we are loving God creation and doing His ministry.

I'm speaking at a winter retreat. The kids are great and ready to hear the truth. We've had two really great times in the Bible already... thier hearts were so receptive to God's Word, it is so encouraging to see.

I love having my dad here with me too. It is great to see him love on the teens and engage with them in converation that probably won't leave them the same. If you know you dad, then you are well aware of the fact that he seems to have a plan for everyone's life - even if he's only met them for the first time. :) He's great!

Tonight I am speaking out of Exodus 3. As we encounter Moses' story of being called by God, I am hoping to encourage these teens with the fact that they too have been called for a purose. I am going to pull out an illustation that I didn't intend on using again FOR A LONG TIME. (It failed me once, and put a room full of young people at risk - but that is another story for another time.)

I figure it is the best way to illustrate the buring bush (and warm up in these sub-zero tempatures at the same time). Here is picture of hte last time I did this...

...yeah, so please pray! and most of all pray that God will call his children to Himself and His purposes tonight.

By Josh Weidmann on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:17 PM

I’m pretty sure that if you locked me in a room for the rest of my life I would never get bored. My mind goes about a-million-miles an hour, and I have a rare talent of visiting far-off dreams without ever leaving my seat. If my mind goes that crazy locked in a room, you can only imagine how restless my mind gets when the weather is nice outside. In these days of budding summer, I’m struggling to be disciplined.

In an email I receive a while ago from a close friend, he states, "Discipline is delayed gratification.” I have been pondering that phrase for the last 24 hours, and it is slowly beginning to sink in. He was right, if I will just discipline myself now, I will be able to more fully relish in the joys of later. This can be practically applied to work, studies, sports training or even more greatly - our walk with Christ.

I think that’s what Paul was getting at in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”[1] Paul was fond of using athletic metaphors to get his point across. In this chapter he talks about “running in such a way as to win the prize.” When he speaks of disciplining his body and keeping it under control, he is saying that I pummel my body – making it my slave not allowing it to do whatever I feel like, but staying committed to the larger task at hand – glorifying God.

I’m sure that Paul used this term ‘disqualified’ with the Greek games in mind. “At the Greek games, there was a herald who announced the rules of the contest, the names of the contestants, and the names and cities of the winners. He would also announce the names of any contestants who were disqualified.” I’m with Paul; I don’t want my name to be (metaphorically) on the “disqualified list.”

By Josh Weidmann on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 1:39 AM

What makes sin sin is not first that it hurts people, but that it blasphemes God.

This is the ultimate evil and the ultimate outrage in the universe:

The glory of God is not honored.
The holiness of God is not reverenced.
The greatness of God is not admired.
The power of God is not praised.
The truth of God is not sought.
The wisdom of God is not esteemed.
The beauty of God is not treasured.
The goodness of God is not savored.
The faithfulness of God is not trusted.
The promises of God are not relied upon.
The commandments of God are not obeyed.
The justice of God is not respected.
The wrath of God is not feared.
The grace of God is not cherished.
The presence of God is not prized.
The person of God is not loved.

By Josh Weidmann on Monday, December 29, 2008 1:35 AM

2 Corinthians 13

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Paul’s second visit to Corinth was a hard one. It is evident by what we have read in this book that he was frustrated and sick of having to prove to them that he was simply trying to live for God and nothing else. But now at the close of his letter to the Corinthians he is saying, it’s your turn…are you going to pass the test? In verse 5 he tells them to examine themselves and see if they are living in true faith.

This is a good examination for us to go through as well. Today, take some time to examine yourself honestly before God. Find areas in your life where maybe you have a failed, and ask for God to help you. Ask yourself questions like: Do I always live for truth? When do I live a lie? How am I hypocritical in my lifestyle? Do by faith? Do I long for other’s approval more than God’s? What kinds of motives do I have behind my actions? Am I out to be prideful in myself or in God?