Rise Again Pt 2

It's funny how my last post was named Rise Again.  I didn't plan it like that..
You see last night I went to see Batman The Dark Knight Rises.  It was a good day for it.  The last several days have been a fight for a number of reasons which I won't go into.  Yesterday it got to the point where a morale boost was called for.
I would be remiss if I didn't write about the movie because I am after all a writer.  If I'm going to spend time writing non fiction essays I also need to spend time with my first love which is adventure/fiction.
The elements that caught my attention and what made The Dark Knight Rises a memorable story were several.
The main character overcame serious setback time and again in his struggle with the nemesis.  In fact he took such a terrible fall that it appeared to be hopeless for him.
I can recall writing a story a while back for someone.  It was a story about courage in the face of extreme danger.  At the time I felt intense fear.  To say that I wasn't afraid would have been a total fabrication.  In fact I didn't really try to hide my fear in the story that I wrote but indicated that I was afraid and that I was relying on faith to get me through my fear.  At least that's the point I was trying to get across.
That story also included a fall.  Reaping and sowing?  I wouldn't be surprised.
The second thing that caught my attention was the fact that I tried really hard to get somebody to go with me to see the movie but I was rejected.  I recall how it seemed that everyone but me was against the idea.  Even at work last week a fellow employee brought in a box of old movies which seemed to indicate that I was to play it safe, save my money, wait for it to come out on DVD.
But something occurred to me.  Isn't that what I did a few years back?  When The Voyage of the Dawn Treader came out I waited till it was gone from the movie theaters.  And I never got to see it.  Then as today my excuses for not going would have been very much the same.
It basically boils down to the rejection issue.  Because I couldn't find a person to go see it with I assumed that God was against it.
It appears that might not be the case.  Earlier this year I stepped out into what God was calling me to do and I went despite my fears and despite the fact that I went with myself.  That didn't stop God from moving powerfully through me.  It didn't stop God from moving powerfully through me when I got the petition signed for VOM either.  The thing is when it's just you and God it can be a very powerful motivator to lean on God with all your trust.
The main character in the movie was viewed as an outcast by the very people he was trying to help.  That's how it was with the character in my story, too.
It's funny how I just now remembered the ending.  It seemed kind of anticlimactic after all the action but now I realize the importance of it.  :)
By Grace,
Travis

I've

Rise Again

I'm not a failure because I fail.
For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.  Proverbs 24:16.
Caroline G. Benton writes, "So how does a believer overcome the falls since our time here on earth is brief?"
One of the positive things about falls is that they teach us to learn from our mistakes.  I once saw the cover of a book on Scripture where the image was of a rock climber clinging to the face of a sheer precipice.  Actually the picture focused only on the hands gripping the tiniest of cracks in the rock.
How do you think that man got so good at holding on?  I'm sure it must have taken him many falls before achieving such a high level of proficiency.
It's what you do after you have fallen that determines the rest of your life.
For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.  Proverbs 24:16.
Pastor Steven Furtick writes,"And as I speak God's Word to myself, I'm reminded that God's mercy can convert the mistakes of my past into wisdom for my future."
By Grace,
Travis P. Dickerson

The

toxic thoughts - one of the things Craig Groeschel said in part 1 of soul detox helped me out today.  For over week now there has been a towel laying out in the middle of Sardis Road at the entrance of my street.  A couple of days ago it occurred to me that it was like the sign of Gideon's fleece.  That made me think of it in a negative light.
But then as I was pulling out today I saw it and I remembered what Pastor Craig said.  And I was reminded that last year about this time was when I got that petition signed
Building the wall went very well today.  While I was building it I realized what I was going to ask Renea for as payment.  I took some pictures so I can have something to send to Teshale.  I think I might send him one of Tyler.
Mom's washing machine broke and she bought a new one.  My prayers have been answered.

Summoning the Abiezrites

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezerites to follow him.  Judges 6:34.


It's interesting to note that nothing had materially changed about Gideon's situation.  He was still a member of the weakest clan in Manasseh.  (v15).  
It's interesting to note that nothing had materially changed about Gideon's situation.  He was still a member of the weakest clan in Manasseh.  (v15).  
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  John 8:32.
The enemy operates through deception to keep believers from the truth.  The Israelite's in that day were afraid of the Midianites because they had forgotten God.  (Judges 6:10).
Nothing at all had changed about the enemy.  Baal according to John MacArthur was son and successor of El, was "lord of heaven," a farm god of rain and storm, his name meaning "lord, possessor." His cult at Phoenicia included animal sacrifices, ritual meals, and licentious dances.  Chambers catered to sacred prostitution by men and women (cf. 1 Kin. 13:23,24; 2 Kin. 23:7).
Are any of those things fearful in and of themselves?  No!


By Grace,



Travis P. Dickerson

About Midnight Welcome Home Gracie

My mom is weird.  She is weird in a God way.

This morning I woke up out of bed and I didn't really feel like getting up and praising God.  But an ordinary encounter with mom in the breakfast room turned into a spontaneous praisefest.  

I am fully persuaded... 

By Grace,

Travis P. Dickerson  

Journaling 8

There's not enough room to receive it is an understatement!


What an awesome God we serve! 


By Grace,


Travis P. Dickerson 









  

Journaling 7 Marshmallows

This is not the politically correct thing to say about the Colorado wildfires.  

Dear Heavenly Father thank You for the Colorado wildfires.  I pray that You would cause all things concerning the Colorado wildfires to work together for good to those who love God and who are called according to His purposes.  And I thank You for the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keeping my heart and mind through Christ Jesus.  

Thank you?  Thank you for the fires?  

How can you say that?  Why don't you pray for the fires to go out?  

I don't see anywhere in the Bible where God puts fires out.  

I see numerous examples of where God promises to be with us in the fire.  

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:  when thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.  Isaiah 43:2.  

The prince of the power of the air milks the media coverage of events like the wildfires in order to squeeze every last drop of panic and fear out of the minds and hearts of viewers who are powerless over the situation but feel they must react in some way.  So they pay countless hours of tribute to the devastation being wrought while God gets a few scant seconds of worship throughout the day.  

Praise God and pass the marshmallows!  

By Grace, 

Travis P. Dickerson