"Don't Waste Your Life"

I read this book when I was in college. Today I found that they have put up a new website and extension ministry of Desiring God to build and encourage people to make their lives count for the glory of God. It was a challenging resource to me, I had to make sure you knew about it!

The task of missions is yours. It's mine.

Dr. Piper says there are three types of people in the world regarding the task of reaching the 1.6 billion people in the world without an evangelistic mission among them for Jesus: 1) Goers 2) Senders 3) Disobedient.

Which are you? What is your role? Begin answering the questions of how you can make your life count, how you can fulfill God's purpose for your life. Dontwasteyourlife.com is a great place to start. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Download the book for free here
Watch the promo video
Listen to the audio sermon


========================================================================

Ephesians 1:3-14

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Opening Day, Applebee's & The Goodness of God

Here we are one day removed from, in my opinion, the 2nd greatest day of the year - Opening Day, the first day of a new baseball season. (I say 2nd greatest, but really it's like 5th with anniversaries and my wife's birthday, although I would rank it ahead of my own.) You heard it here first, the Reds will be over .500 this year, the 6 year skid of losing seasons will end. So now that it is conclusive that God is good...on to Applebee's :)

Had the priviledge of enjoying a boys night out over a nice slab of cow with a couple of guys from our Sunday School class tonight. Kyle & Joey really made my day, it was great to swap work stories and hear what life is like for Joey especially, outside of 2 hours on Sunday mornings. Hearing what people with "real" jobs go through M-F made me realize and appreciate again the agony and struggle we must bear as a result of sin. Most of my stories were from the longest 6 months of my life, aka while I worked at Dillard's (don't!). The goodness of God here is that He loved me enough to put me at Dillard's a year and a half ago. Through this my character would be built and tested and I would further steel my convictions to the desperate situation people are in away from Jesus. Without living through that I may not have the level of desire & want to do what I'm doing today. My only wish is that I can get to the end of my life look back and see very few opportunities that I missed to share the Gospel. If only I could live that out more and do more to reach more today!

So in summary, I can't express how much appreciation I have for what Jesus did on that cross. And how much I still don't get it and how much I live each day like it didn't happen!! I was so desperate for some peace at Dillard's- and can relate to the folks Joey works with and what he does day in and day out. All this just makes me marvel at how far from perfect we are-- how far from God we are, and how far He had to come how low He had to stoop to come to us. People ask why bad things happen and why God doesn't do something about it, something to show mercy and save us. He did, His name is Jesus.

The Secret

Anyone else hear about "The Secret" & The Center for Universal Truth?

"Because of the The Secret, there is renewed interest in the ancient wisdom and principles that are discussed in the film. As the panel of experts in the film suggests, these teachings are available to all who seek them. At The Center for Universal Truth, we learn, practice and live by these principles." (http://www.centerfortruth.org/the_secret.htm)

The Secret has recently been bandied about here at the Krueger household and also with another couple friend of ours as we saw the segment on Oprah about this new craze that people are buying into across the nation.

Here are my thoughts...

2 Tim 4:2-5, "Preach the Word: be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage- with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine (like this?). Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers (say 24?) to say what their itching ears want to hear ("This is The Secret to everything - the secret to unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth: everything you have ever wanted." ). They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist..."

One final word: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness & worldly passions, and live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ," Titus 2:11-13

Knowing the Holy...

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like." ~A.W. Tozer

Your view of God will either add unending hope to your life or neverending desparity. With Him, you have a rock to lean upon, a shelter to huddle under, a defender to depend upon, and a Father to call you Home.

Without Him, life revolves solely around you, a finite being with a longing for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has also put eternity in the hearts of men."). The struggle can be over if as the people in 2 Chronicles 32:24 did you will humble yourself before Him.

What will it be today?

Welcome to the Blog

So, I guess, here goes nothing... Welcome to our blog!

I wanted to get this started so that you our friends & family would have a place to stay in contact with us and hear the latest of life here in Iowa. Hopefully from this, assuming I'm able to keep a good amount of updating done on here, you will go away encouraged at what God is showing us as we desire to "Know Him & Make Him Known". While most updates will be everyday ins n outs, I hope that at some point each post will direct us back to Him. Hopefully this will be a place for you to know Him & us more!

God Bless,
B for A & C