Tagger

Libronix (Logos) have created a neat script for your website/blog, called "RefTagger" it is a web based tool, when the script is installed on your site allows visitors to mouse over any scripture reference Eph 2:5 and the scripture will display in a pop-up window. If you are familiar with "InstaVerse" it works on the same principle except it is a web tool that you write into your site, not a program you download.

Another nice feature is the end user control panel that allows your visitors to set their version of scripture they prefer. You will find this tool just to the top left side of this blog.

When you install "RefTagger" you set your version, like mine is NASB, however as for me the coolest thing is, if you own any Libronix Bible Software, the "RefTagger" will actually launch the program, if you look at a scripture reference, like Jn 12:2 there is a lilttle "L" and when you click that it will launch your Libronix Bible Software. What is even cooler, and I have yet to use it or figure it out completely but it appears that if you do a study in Libronix you can also add an icon to any Libronix links that you create manually, that links to most resources and reports.

This is proving to be a very valuable tool for site users and for those who own the Logos software.

Well if you would like to get yours you can get it for free by following the link "Tagger" in the title of this post.

In His Service, For His Glory!

Steven

Happy Thanksgiving

Well it has been a year since our disaster Thanksgiving and in one sense a ton of things have changed but unfortunately in other respects nothing has changed. So my wish for Thanksgiving is best communicated through prayer.

Father God, I come before You on this eve before Thanksgiving to pray that Your Spirit would be poured on Your church and that each an every person counted Yours would begin to live their lives as You will, forsaking all that is against You and counted evil by You, Lord that we would forsake even the appearance of wrong-doing for no other reason than for Your Glory. Lord help us all be ever aware of everything that we have to be thankful for. Lord I pray for those who do not know You, that those who know You would not waste another day in their comfy place and bring Your truth and Your witness to lost every opprotunity that You provide. Father I thank You so much for this life You have given, Lord I thank You for the blessings, I thank You for friends and family, I thank You for Your word, Lord I thank You for trials and hardships. Father most of all I thank You for Your Son, and for Your forgiveness. Jesus I thank You for Your sacrifice for me. Jesus help me this day and every day live my life aware of what You have done and may I motivated to live my life as a sacrifice to You for Your Glory. Jesus it is in Your name I pray Amen!

Happy Thanksgiving!
If you do not know the Lord of Glory may You turn and seek Him know!
If you do know Him, go and make sure everyone you know, understands how much God loves them and the sacrifice He made for them that while they were still sinners Jesus died for them!

God bless you all!


Steve

The 5 Steps!

Well, it has been a long time since my last post and I thought that while I am taking a break from my sermon preparation for this Sunday's message, I would share with you a nice tool that I use for my personal studies, for Lesson planning and for my sermon prep.

We have all heard about 12 step programs for this and for that, and as long as Christ is the First Step, then I am OK with most plans of that sort. However, these 5 steps are not part of a recovery plan, or are they.

This is a tool to help you stay focused on God's Word, and to help you make sure that you are always letting scripture speak for its self and that you are not relying on someone else to give you the meaning of the text. Likewise, this is a great tool to check what you are being taught. Maybe there is just a point of contention; or someone is trying to persuade you to his or her belief and you are just not sure. Well, this tool with elbow grease applied can help.
As you go through each step, it is very important that you do not skip ahead, remember that when one mines for the purest ore or rarest diamonds, there is protocol, procedure, and it requires intentional hard work!

As you work each step in order, you will find yourself getting deeper into the text, in the genre, in the world and language of the Biblical writers. All the while you are getting such an awesome, inspiring, up close and personal view, that not only can, but will change your studies, understanding of the Word and with some time even your life.

Step 1, Survey the Background, this is where you find out, who is writing, where they wrote, to whom are they writing and the like. Here the only intention is to find out information about the players. You might find that Matthew wrote his Gospel before 70 AD and it was likely written in Antioch or Palestine, and that it s genre is a gospel, and that he wrote for primarily a Jewish audience. These are the types of thing your looking for in this step.

Step 2, Examine the Context, this is where you dig in a little more and begin to find out the setting of the passage you are looking at, from the previous step, you may have been looking in Matthew chapter 5, at the sermon on the mount, here you find out Jesus is teaching, He is message is oriented in instructing about life as a disciple, life as a believer in the World, and our personal relationships and how we are to live.

Step 3, Analyze the Grammar, simply put this is looking at the relationship between the words of the text. You are looking for the important key words/instructions, verbs, nouns, phrases, clauses etc.

Step 4, Define the Words, here you get back to the original language whether Greek or Hebrew and find the definitions. Here you will be so surprised how many teachers today will use today's definition, when more times than not, this just does not fly with the "AIM" Author's Intended Meaning.

And lastly;

Step 5, Consult the Commentaries, this is a way to make sure that you or the teaching you are checking on is not out in left field, peddling a message outside the intended message of scripture.

You see, many teachers out there today will try to sell you the easy-believism, the idea that we are just fine the way we are and that all we need to do is, “just believe” or that God only wants to bless you and increase your fortune, if you just sow a little seed of faith. BEFORE YOU BUY, SELL IT OR BELIEVE IT, DIG IT OUT FOR YOURSELF AND SEE IF YOU ARE HEARING THE TRUTH!

My task is not to beat you over the head, my task is to educate you and speak, teach, preach the truth, and that is it, (disclaimer... this is very over stated, my task is much greater but for my purpose here, and to keep this post manageable, this is a sufficient representation of my task.)

Well, time has come and I must return to my sermon, I pray that you will find this tool most useful in your day-to-day studies of the scriptures, and that it will likewise prove most useful in your ability to ward of the flaming arrows of the false teachers, who are already among us.

So, I guess this may just be a recovery program for those who have strayed from the path of diligent study of the scriptures, well may the Lord bless your studies and I will try to share more tools as time allows.

In His Service, For His Glory!

Steven

As I Contemplate…Goodbye.

Thanksgiving 2007 will not be one my family and I will soon forget. As we set out for our home in TN, we drove the 8 hours and 500 miles, to spend the holiday with our friends and family, but it would not turn out to be. On Thanksgiving day after taking one of our children to the emergency room for an asthma attack, we soon realized that we could not stay where we were any longer. With only enough money to get back home or stay in a hotel, the choice was obvious, we had to make it back home, in MO, so we spent Thanksgiving night in our van in a parking lot of the local Wal-Mart. We did not get to spend the holiday with many of the people we had hoped to, other plans prevented that, we did get to see a friend we have not seen in awhile and it was good seeing that his life is turning around in such positive ways. Dave, man, we love you and are praying for you!

We learned a lot this Holiday, about Life, God, Family and Friendships. While in some ways, this is not a huge revelation for our family, it was a tremendous demonstration of the total awesomeness of God, see the most important thing we learned, is that God, is Alive and on His Throne, while we spent Thanksgiving night both in the Hospital and later in a 7 passenger mini-van with six people and two dogs. We spent a total of 20 some hours in tight quarters, we learned, everyone can and probably will let you down or turn on you, but the Love God demonstrates in our lives is priceless and worth whatever sacrifice, that either comes or is required. We harbor no ill will or harsh feelings toward anyone, and just pray that the Lord will guide us all to the place of total surrender to His will.

Well, I guess with the title I have chosen it might be good, to get on with it.
This will be my last post for a long while, after all, no one really reads this anyway, and I have to get more focused on God and living His will for our lives. I have begun my calling as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, proclaiming the Good News to people whom God loves and are without hope. With a wonderful and full family, going to school full-time, working, and ministry, I simply do not have the time right now to keep up four blogs and a website. One might say I am stretched a bit thin. So, as I contemplate, this Thanksgiving past, and Christmas to come, I say GOODBYE!

From Our Family....

From Our Family to Yours!

May you have a Happy Thanksgiving! And May the Lord Bless you richly!