UNDISTRACTED ATTENTION!

Posted on June 22, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air

I have been working with group of middle school students in a science camp this week. We are learning many things about science, technology, engineering and math as we get ready to launch a weather balloon into the atmosphere to collect data. However, if you teach you will get this, it is summer. With summer comes students who are eager to learn, but easily distracted by all the equipment we have. We want them to focus on the main goal of the project which is building their experiments and secure them to the payload for flight today. It took all that was in us to keep them focused!

So, when Peter talks about stay alert, focused and ready for the return of Jesus with “undistracted attention”…I get it. Why? Because, I, too, am easily distracted. I throw myself into whatever I am passionate about, sometimes missing the big picture. We must stay focused, undistracted by worldview, uncompromising and listen to the voice of God speak to our hearts, getting us ready for His return. THAT is the big picture. Everything else comes second. When we think in those terms there is peace in our hearts as we go about our work in this world. Our lives reflect more of His Light in our eyes. For our gaze is eternally on Jesus Christ who saves us.

2 Peter 3, The Message
1-2 My dear friends, this is now the second time I’ve written to you, both letters reminders to hold your minds in a state of undistracted attention. Keep in mind what the holy prophets said, and the command of our Master and Savior that was passed on by your apostles.

3-4 First off, you need to know that in the last days, mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their puny feelings, they’ll mock, “So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything’s going on just as it has from the first day of creation. Nothing’s changed.”

5-7 They conveniently forget that long ago all the galaxies and this very planet were brought into existence out of watery chaos by God’s word. Then God’s word brought the chaos back in a flood that destroyed the world. The current galaxies and earth are fuel for the final fire. God is poised, ready to speak his word again, ready to give the signal for the judgment and destruction of the desecrating skeptics.

The Day the Sky Will Collapse
8-9 Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.

10 But when the Day of God’s Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.

11-13 Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we’ll hardly notice. We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.

14-16 So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master’s patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don’t know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it.

17-18 But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!

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Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for salvation. Thank you for Your Holy Spirit that consistently brings our focus back to You. Thank you for Your Presence in our lives, even we don’t notice because we are distracted for a few moments. Continue to teach us. We look forward to Your coming!
In Jesus Name, Amen

And I’m singing…

The sky shall unfold
Preparing His entrance
The stars shall applaud Him
With thunders of praise

The sweet light in His eyes
Shall enhance those awaiting
And we shall behold Him
Then face to face

O, we shall behold Him
We shall behold Him
Face to face in all of His glory

O, we shall behold Him
Yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face, our Savior and Lord

Read more: Sandi Patty – We Shall Behold Him Lyrics | MetroLyrics

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BULLIES PREY ON THE WEAK

Posted on June 21, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air In the animal world, the strongest will prey on they weakest. Grandpa Lacquement had a farm and on that farm he had some chicks. Are you singing e-i-e-i-oh yet? Serious…

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BULLIES PREY ON THE WEAK

Posted on June 21, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air

In the animal world, the strongest will prey on they weakest. Grandpa Lacquement had a farm and on that farm he had some chicks. Are you singing e-i-e-i-oh yet? Seriously, he taught me a good lesson one day while watching a bold, brazened poultry chase around and peck on one of the other weak chicks. He moved the weak one away from the “bully” so that it could live and get stronger. The bully just went after another chick.

It happens on playgrounds in elementary schools or in the hallways of older students. As one gets older, you realize bullies also are at the workplace and in your church. Inside, bullies are probably the weakest of all. Realize that, as you deal with bullies. They are being led by the spirit of evil. They are so entrenched by satan’s tool of destruction that they don’t see who is really in control…and it’s not them! So they to seek control of others. And evil has a heyday.

Peter warns us about this and minces no words so that it is clear that God is incensed by leaders who are bullies.

2 Peter 2, The Message
Predators on the Prowl
10-11 God is especially incensed against these “teachers” who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don’t hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. Even angels, their superiors in every way, wouldn’t think of throwing their weight around like that, trying to slander others before God.

12-14 These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl. In the very act of bringing down others with their ignorant blasphemies, they themselves will be brought down, losers in the end. Their evil will boomerang on them. They’re so despicable and addicted to pleasure that they indulge in wild parties, carousing in broad daylight. They’re obsessed with adultery, compulsive in sin, seducing every vulnerable soul they come upon. Their specialty is greed, and they’re experts at it. Dead souls!

15-16 They’ve left the main road and are directionless, having taken the way of Balaam, son of Beor, the prophet who turned profiteer, a connoisseur of evil. But Balaam was stopped in his wayward tracks: A dumb animal spoke in a human voice and prevented the prophet’s craziness.

17-19 There’s nothing to these people—they’re dried-up fountains, storm-scattered clouds, headed for a black hole in hell. They are loudmouths, full of hot air, but still they’re dangerous. Men and women who have recently escaped from a deviant life are most susceptible to their brand of seduction. They promise these newcomers freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, for if they’re addicted to corruption—and they are—they’re enslaved.

20-22 If they’ve escaped from the slum of sin by experiencing our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ, and then slid back into that same old life again, they’re worse than if they had never left. Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back, repudiating the experience and the holy command. They prove the point of the proverbs, “A dog goes back to its own vomit” and “A scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud.”

What do we learn?
–God will take care of bullies.
–Bullies are weak seeking to bring others who are weak into submission.
–Seek to bring a bully back to Christ. Pray for them to see Truth.

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Dear Heavenly Father, We pray that you will help us not to be bullies, but generous people of Your love, grace and mercy for others. We repent for falling for this trick of satan’s to bring us into his plan to destroy what You have created. Help us to show mercy to bullies at all times, realizing the weakness they have inside. Thank you, Lord for times when we had to face bullies, tell the Truth and deal with the consequences. This isn’t easy…but You know that.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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OH, BE CAREFUL LITTLE EARS WHAT YOU HEAR…

Posted on June 20, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air Oh, be careful little eyes what you see Oh, be careful little ears what you hear For the Father up above Is looking down in love Oh, be careful little eyes what you see…

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OH, BE CAREFUL LITTLE EARS WHAT YOU HEAR…

Posted on June 20, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air

Oh, be careful little eyes what you see
Oh, be careful little ears what you hear
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see

This childhood song rings in my memory. At different times, both Grandma Lacquement and Grandma Kellerby taught our Sunday School class. I might even still have the ten commandments bracelet that they gave when we learned to say the ten commandments. The EXACT Word of God was very important to them. Making sure we were alert to what was going on outside our sheltered homes and church walls was important to them. We not only sang the song but where told what it means…many times. For that I am grateful.

Now I am a grandma. I still sing the song. The world is not better outside our protected, sheltered lives, than it was in Peter’s day and time. So, be careful, warns Peter, about what you hear and see. People will lie to you! What? Yes, now in and out of the church, many are out to tell you what you want to hear. We have to be even more careful, check out all we are told, and lean heavily on the Truth of God’s Word. No compromise.

2 Peter 2, The Message
Lying Religious Leaders
2 1-2 But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers among you. They’ll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They’ve put themselves on a fast downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can’t tell right from wrong.

2-3 They give the way of truth a bad name. They’re only out for themselves. They’ll say anything, anything, that sounds good to exploit you. They won’t, of course, get by with it. They’ll come to a bad end, for God has never just stood by and let that kind of thing go on.

4-5 God didn’t let the rebel angels off the hook, but jailed them in hell till Judgment Day. Neither did he let the ancient ungodly world off. He wiped it out with a flood, rescuing only eight people—Noah, the sole voice of righteousness, was one of them.

6-8 God decreed destruction for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A mound of ashes was all that was left—grim warning to anyone bent on an ungodly life. But that good man Lot, driven nearly out of his mind by the sexual filth and perversity, was rescued. Surrounded by moral rot day after day after day, that righteous man was in constant torment.

9 So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day.

What do we learn?
–God WILL take care of liars.
–Are we telling the Truth?
–Judgment Day will come.
–God will set things right.
–It’s God’s work, not ours. But we are to tell His Truth, always…and LIVE it.

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Dear Heavenly Father, We want to see the best in people and then the lies are evident. We want to trust what others say, but we must be so alert and studied so that we are not fooled by evil. Help us in this daily battle for Truth. In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE ONE LIGHT…

Posted on June 19, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air Peter is not just a powerful speaker, called of God to proclaim His Word. His testimony we trust because Peter walked with Christ, was trained by Him, saw with his own …

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THE ONE LIGHT…

Posted on June 19, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air

Peter is not just a powerful speaker, called of God to proclaim His Word. His testimony we trust because Peter walked with Christ, was trained by Him, saw with his own eyes the glory of God in Him on a mountain top. Yes, Peter was there. We trust him to tell us the Truth because he walked with Truth, the Person of Jesus Christ. Peter was one of the three closest to Jesus when God walked this earth. Listen to him with this in mind. See who God is through the passionate words and emotions of Peter.

2 Peter 1, The Message
The One Light in a Dark Time
12-15 Because the stakes are so high, even though you’re up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, I’m not going to let up for a minute in calling you to attention before it. This is the post to which I’ve been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders—and I’m sticking to it as long as I live. I know that I’m to die soon; the Master has made that quite clear to me. And so I am especially eager that you have all this down in black and white so that after I die, you’ll have it for ready reference.

16-18 We weren’t, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out before you regarding the powerful return of our Master, Jesus Christ. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our own eyes: Jesus resplendent with light from God the Father as the voice of Majestic Glory spoke: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of all my delight.” We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.

19-21 We couldn’t be more sure of what we saw and heard—God’s glory, God’s voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You’ll do well to keep focusing on it. It’s the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts. The main thing to keep in mind here is that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private opinion. And why? Because it’s not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God’s Word.

What do we learn?
–We can trust Peter.
–We couldn’t be more sure of what Peter saw and heard, too!

“Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

I believe.

Jesus invites

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the person called Peter who walked with You, talked with You and messed up a few times. He still believed in You, though he did some dumb things out of human fear and wondering. He lived his life for You with You living in Him. He pointed us to You and for that we are grateful. We go to worship this Sunday morning with a bigger picture and a grateful heart. Be with us, still…as we are still before You.
In Jesus Name, Amen I believe.

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DON’T LET THE GRASS GROW UNDER YOU FEET!

Posted on June 18, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air The other day, while driving to a grandson’s ballgame in a small town, we saw a man feverishly mowing his country lot. There was threat of rain that evening, so w…

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DON’T LET THE GRASS GROW UNDER YOU FEET!

Posted on June 18, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air

The other day, while driving to a grandson’s ballgame in a small town, we saw a man feverishly mowing his country lot. There was threat of rain that evening, so we could feel the urgency of his mowing. This mundane task caught our attention because of how he mowed. There were stacks of junk all over the yard. He quickly mowed all around them. The grass and weeds were tall around the junk where the mower would not reach. I suppose he would come back and weed wack around the junk. Then I had another thought…how about getting rid of the junk? Mm. It would make mowing a lot easier, wouldn’t it?

Do we mow around the junk that piles up in our lives? Do we even spruce up our junk by trimming around it, planting flowers in front of it, just to make our junk look better to others? Guess what? God knows it’s still junk. Let it go, says Peter, you have a new life! Your old life has been wiped off the books. Don’t let the junk of sin lay around with grasses and weeds growing up around it. Get rid of it. Our landscape to God’s beauty will be seen much clearer and in focus. We will get to know God more intimately! Yes, replace the junk of selfishness with ___________________. Peter fills in the blank…read on.

2 Peter 1, The Message
1-2 I, Simon Peter, am a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. I write this to you whose experience with God is as life-changing as ours, all due to our God’s straight dealing and the intervention of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master.

Don’t Put It Off
3-4 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

10-11 So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

car with weeds

Dear Heavenly Father, We all have junk in our lives that needs to be gone. Help us to rid our hearts and minds of all of it so that we see, hear and feel You more intimately still. Thank you for your Word that teaches and disciplines us. In Jesus Name, Amen

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SPOILER ALERT!

Posted on June 17, 2016 by randscallawayffm

Peter, A Breath of Fresh Air You’re in the middle of a great movie of suspense, unexpected plot twists, full of action with dark characters lurking around. The good turn bad and the bad look …

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