Muscle Confusion

I learned a new equation these past couple of days: Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective.

Basically, this means mix things up a bit and it will help you to grow personally or professionaly. This especially applies to leadership meetings or even spiritual growth.

In fact, this equation mirrors the practice of muscle confusion. Our bodies get used to a certain routine of exercise and therefore our muscles stop breaking down and building up again. When we change the amount of weight and the types of exercise, we confuse the muscle into breaking down and building up.

I don't want to get into a routine spiritually, but I certainly want to get into a rhythm.

More about that later.

Transitioning

It's been a long time. Is anyone still following this blog?

Hopefully I will get around to putting something interesting back up here. It's been a crazy three months transitioning from being a youth pastor to being the lead pastor of a different church.

Transitions aren't easy to say the least. They are fun and exciting, but not easy. There's always things you don't think about. But, even so, there's not much you can do either. You just have to recognize that things are changing and ask God for the patience to get through it and to come out better when the anxious feelings pass.

It always takes time.

Three Visits of Holy Spirit

Just like the story “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, this post is about having a supernatural encounter for the purpose of reevaluating your life. You will be visited by ONE Holy Spirit three times. He will show you things so that you will make right choices, change and do good in this world.

The First Visit from Holy Spirit – He takes you to the past.

The Spirit brings you to the time when Jesus walked the earth... (Read Isaiah 53:2-3)

Then he brings you to your childhood or just months ago. Some memories are happy, while others are not. What events have happened that hardened your heart, caused you to be bitter or not care? What have people done to you that makes you hate them and unable to forgive? Who taught you the lessons about how to yell at people or cuss or use sarcasm to put others down? When were you introduced to pornography, drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes? At what point in your past did you get away with lying to your parents or cheating on a test so that you knew you could do it again and again and not get caught?

Holy Spirit shows you these events and you feel uneasy as you watch them. You beg him to take you away from those places...and he does.

But, he takes you back to the time when Jesus was crucified... (Read Isaiah 53:4-7)

Suddenly, you are left alone to think about these things...

The Second Visit from Holy Spirit – He takes you to the present.

Leading you by the hand, you are transported far away to other places where God is working. You see millions of Asian believers, African believers, and Latinos lifting their hands in worship. You see missionaries and vehicles being used to get literature into the hands of Europeans. You see Christians in America, huddling in groups of fellowship, watching movies and playing games, and gathering for Bible Studies at Starbucks.

Then, you are taken to dark places. You see poverty and violence; natural disasters and tragedies. You see hatred, terror, and the faces of hopeless children.

When you finish your trip around the world, the Spirit takes you to a recent church service you attended or a time you were given a choice to surrender your whole life to Jesus and do good. He shows you the things that God has offered you. Is it salvation and forgiveness of sins? Is it a call to preach the gospel? Is it the chance to help a friend, a stranger, or even an enemy? Have you been challenged to give money to missions or witness to others yourself? Are you being asked to give up something you're struggling to hold on to?

The Spirit looks at you and with great seriousness takes out a scroll and reads these words:

“And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because your salvation is nearer now than when you first believed. The night is nearly over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” - Romans 13:11-14

Inside, you are left with the overwhelming sense that today you have many choices to make.

Suddenly, you are left alone to think about these things...

The Third Visit from Holy Spirit – He takes you to the future.

The Spirit brings you to the top of a high peak in the Jerusalem Mountains, far away from where you live. The sky is dark, but then Heaven opens up. (Read Revelation 19:11-21)

This vision is amazing (like watching the final battle in Return of the King) and terrible, all at once. It seems that Holy Spirit brought you here for a purpose, to show you your future. Where are you in the vision? It hits you like a sledge hammer to the chest – there seems to be only two places you could be. You're either wearing fine linen, white and clean, riding a white horse in the army of Heaven, or you're lying on the ground, bloody and dead, birds picking at your flesh.

Suddenly, you are left alone to think about these things...

Conclusion
Today, you are here and you must realize that you cannot undo the past. The things that you have done and the things that have been done to you cannot be altered. They have effected you and formed the way you think and see the world, and respond to others.

You must realize that in the present you are given many choices about how you're going to live your life and the things you'll pursue. You can be lazy or hard working, you can waste time or redeem the time you've been given. You can live for yourself or you can serve others. You can forgive, or you can hold on to the hatred inside your heart. You can believe and trust Christ to save you, or you can write him off as a myth and walk away.

You must realize that your future depends on what you do in the present. The purpose of the vision of the future is to show you the results of the things you have chosen in the present. The past is gone, but the present is an opportunity to let God transform your life and use you for good in this world.

How will you respond to the vision of the future? Will you join me and repent of sleeping through the present? Will you ask God to wake you up? Who needs to trust Christ to save you and give you a new life? Who needs to rededicate right now and ask Jesus to use you like never before?

Like Scrooge did with the ghost of Christmas future, we beg the Holy Spirit to not leave us there. When we wake up, we are renewed and challenged to love the world as Christ did and not as we have done before.

Picture Zoom Game III

OBJECT OF THE GAME: Be the first blogger to guess who this is a picture of.

RULES: You may only guess once, but you may speculate or comment anytime. Your guess will only count when you have clearly stated "My guess is..." The winner will be declared to be "The Most Excellent Recognizer" of 2008. God's speed to all.

The Need To Create

There are so many things rattling around in my brain. Ideas, ideas, ideas. You don't have any clue. I can't stop thinking and I have this intense desire to just create and write.

Right now, I am reading 5 or 6 books at the same time, trying to complete a huge gaming project I began many moons ago, blogging, and diving in to writing a screenplay. And this is all on top of my being a family man, a youth pastor and preacher.

Sometimes I want to just ignore the urges, but I can't seem to. So, late at night I sit at my computer and spend time in the books. I mostly fall asleep that way.

My gaming project is called God's Heroes. I am creating a paper and dice, d20 system, roleplaying game for my group of young adult gamers. We usually get together and play the Star Wars Saga Edition roleplaying game or The Lord of the Rings roleplaying game. After all these years of gaming and game creation, I wanted to give them something God-centered that was just as fun. So, I combined the best of all the roleplaying systems I know and I have only a few chapters to go. I have vowed to finish before Christmas and give each player a copy as a gift. The book will end up somewhere around 200 pages.

In case you're wondering, the game's premise is that during the 1,000 year lock up of Satan in the Abyss, the Lord God has sent every demonic ruler, minion, and beast to a new planet he created, called Fallenworld. In a Job-like challenge, Satan predicts that God's creation could never defeat his forces on Fallenworld in a thousand years. So, the Lord God plucks from the earth heroes. He sends them to Fallenworld and gives them a mission to "Go into all the world and slay my enemies..."

The screenplay I'm writing is based on the book Adam by Ted Dekker. I recently went and saw the movie House based on a book by the same author. I was slightly disappointed with the screenplay and the way the director put it all together. I thought it could have been so much better than it turned out. So, that got me thinking about writing a screenplay for Adam. I don't know if anything will become of it, but more about that in a minute...

You can follow my progress on this by visiting here. This is the message board on Ted Dekker's website. Let me know what you think.

Now, I don't know if anything will ever become of most of what I create, except to entertain and inspire those in my social circle and possible a few peepers. But, that doesn't stop me from creating. I can't stop. It's who I have been made to be and I must be it.

What about you? What have you been made to be? I want to encourage you to find out and do it with all your heart. Remember, there are some successes that cannot be measured until 20 years later or beyond. And ultimately, all our works will be tried by fire.

Getting in trouble again.

All my life I've been plagued with a strong will and the need to stand up for others or myself. I remember many times when I "interfered" with punishments my brothers and sisters were getting and probably deserved, but I didn't like how it was all going down. I would end up getting in trouble more than they would in the end. For as long as I can remember, I have been that way. I don't know why.

I don't like mistreatment. And when I lose my temper with my own daughter, I see it in her too.

I try to remember that is what the world needs healing from. The last thing they need in the church is mistreatment. They need understanding and compassion...and patience.

I pray I can be like Christ and have that tenderness about me.

He Has Plans

Today I memorized Psalm 138:8, which says, "The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me."

No matter what you're going through, remember the Lord has plans for you. And he is working them out. Why? Because he loves you and he made you.

When I think of the great things God has planned for me, I feel giddy, like a kid at Christmas. I don't really know what I'm going to get, but I can dream and imagine. Jesus knows me real well, and he knows the things that I want. Maybe, he'll grant me some of those things...

After all, he helped place those desires in me!

Is this the real church?

Every year our students participate in a state Fine Arts Festival. They perform in category divisions like Music, Art, Drama, Communication, and others. This year we had about 13 different entries from my students. One of them was in the category of Large Human Video Group. Although they did not receive an invitation to the National Fine Arts Festival in Charlotte, NC, they certainly gave the judges some comic relief from all the wild party, violence, and crucifixion scenes they endured all day.

"Is this the real church? Is this the ministry?" is how the song begins. For those of you who grew up in the church, maybe you can relate.

Purity Matters

I like this...hope you do to.

Challenged by C.S. Lewis.

I've been reading The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis and he challenged me personally when he said, "I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to 'rejoice' as much as by anything else."

I must admit that I don't always rejoice. Sometimes it takes work to focus on the good that is happening all around us. The question I have to ask myself is..."Why am I more passionate about the things that disturb me than the things that make me glad?"

What a world it would be, if I would only rejoice in all things, instead of complaining and moaning. What if we always looked for the good and brought those things to everyone's attention? I'm not talking about denying the realities of imperfection, I am talking about how I deal with those realities.

What about you?

It's not what goes in, it's what comes out.

Oh, I don't think anyone will read this blog, it's been so long. But, just in case there are lurkers still out there...here goes.

I picked up a CD Audio Drama called The Word of Promise the other day. It's the NKJV New Testament read, word-for-word, but put to orchestra music and sound effects. The readers are famous actors and such. For example, Jim Caviezel reads the part of Jesus and Terence Stamp is the voice of God and the Holy Spirit. Fantastic work!

As I was listening yesterday on the way home from work, Jesus was talking about how it's not what goes into a man's mouth that defiles him, but what comes out of his mouth. What goes into the mouth is food that passes through. But, what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart.

My first thought is, "Thank God, it's not food that defiles a man. Eat hardy boys!" Huh... No, not the Hardy Boys, sicko. Eat food without worrying about religious regulations of different kinds, etc. Eat for enjoyment.

Then, I think that if it's the stuff in our hearts that causes us to spew out poison and be defiled, we need to exam ourselves a little bit closer and ask God to give us pure hearts. Are we struggling with anger and hate? Are we thinking about good things?

I wish you all a Merry Christmas! The Audio Drama is a great gift for anyone. Especially someone who has a lot of commute time during the week! :)

Letting go...

So, I'm gonna start putting into practice all the stuff I've "believed" about my responsibilities as a pastor. I mean, really put it into practice. I can't say I truly believe something unless I act upon it, right?

I'm gonna let go of control and worry. I'm giving away "my" job as a youth pastor.

For the longest time I've been operating "my" area of ministry with only necessary help, because I couldn't "do it all." That life is over for me. I'm taking a stand and I'm going to refuse to do things that way anymore. I might take some heat at first, but there's no other way.

You may have heard the statement, "Let go and let God." I'm taking it one step further and I'm letting go and letting the people of God.

Through fire and flood.

"We went through fire and flood. But you brought us to a place of great abundance." -Psalm 66:12

I can't even begin to describe the overwhelming feeling I have that God is about to do something incredible in our youth ministry. That verse is the foundation of a new discipleship group we are starting next Sunday night called, "Fire." It will be led mostly by the students themselves.

So many times I have doubted myself and my ability to succeed. Partly because I know there is much laziness in me. I feel as though I could do better. I could be much more diligent and organized.

But, God is reminding me that He brings the increase! I must prepare the fields, He'll bring the rain. Lately, the fields have begun to grow a new crop. Fresh rain is falling. Even some of the old is turning green again.

"You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior." -Psalm 65:5

Last Friday, we gathered with several other youth groups for a pre-See You At The Pole Rally. It turned out to be a smaller event, with around 100 people present. But, God's presence was so big, the size of the crowd didn't seem to matter to anyone. And if you've been around youth lately, they tend to base their opinions on such things.

We didn't invite a special guest speaker or worship team. We used the local church youth band and had a time of open mic. Students freely volunteered to come and share what their vision was for their schools. Then, we passed the mic around the room and heard quickly from every student what they wished would happen in their school.

One of my students got up and the Holy Spirit was all over him. He took a tissue, blew his nose in it, and asked if there was anyone who wanted it. Then, he began to speak about the time the apostle Paul touched handkerchiefs that healed people and delivered them from demons. He said that God told him he could be like Paul. He could be so full of the Holy Spirit that the Lord could even use his shadow to bring about healing in his school.

He preached for about five minutes, and when he was done, his peers cheered for him and for the things he was saying. I haven't seen that kind of zeal since I was a teenager. Others came up too and had wonderful things to say. It was so refreshing to see a genuine and real faith being expressed.

We have been through fire and flood, but Christ Jesus is bringing us into a place of great abundance. Not an abundance of wealth or prestige, but spiritual fruit and a great harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God.

Prayer is our battery, and we're still going.

Things are still going great with our youth group. I am in awe at God's sovereignty. Thinking about things, I cannot think of too much we've done different this year than the past four and a half. We pretty much stayed the same.

So, what is it about summer 2007 that has changed our youth group into a core of worshipers and seekers, ready to learn and serve Christ? What suddenly caused them to be better friends and cling to one another? Was it something I did? No. It was the Holy Spirit and desperate prayers.

Earlier this year we really were ready to quit. Mentally, it was taking it's toll. I was questioning my ability to influence and see a breakthrough. I even told people that this was the year it needs to happen or I can't go on like this any longer. God gave me a vision and it was to be fulfilled in 3-5 years. This is the 5th year. When I told that to a board member, he asked me if I was putting time tables on God. I told him I wasn't. I was putting time tables on myself. Whether I was capable of leading and influencing was my concern.

Then, about 2 months ago, I gave a list of students to our senior adult Sunday School teacher. They began praying for the kids and the youth ministry. This past Sunday morning, the Lord reminded me of this as I was getting ready for church. The faithful saints had been praying, I was desperate, and God answered our prayers.

So, here's my advice to all of you. When you are in need, find faithful people that can pray. Find the kind of people that quietly pray when no one is around. And seek God yourself. Get to the bottom of your rope and get desperate for God to move. When you do this, you'll probably come to the same conclusion I have - you'll realize that you can do nothing without Jesus. You need Him for everything good.

Devil - I'm still here!

The past six months have been rocky and busy. But, I'm still here.

After years of prayer and hard work, we're finally beginning to see a breakthrough in our youth group. Kathy and I have wanted so bad for these kids to have a hunger for the things of God and it looks like they are now.

It was frustrating each time they would be mean to someone else, or laugh at and mock the song service. I would hate it when they discouraged their peers from taking seriously a message or participating in an activity. Sitting with their arms crossed, they often talked and texted, even when they were asked not to. I'm so tired of hearing about "emergency" cell phone calls and "weak bladders."

We went to youth camp over a week ago and God really met each one of them in a special way. Something clicked and stuck. They woke up from their apathy and started realizing that Jesus Christ has a plan for each of us and that we ought to be in love with Him and know Him as much as we can.

They all became better friends during the week through being on the same team during rec games and praying for each other during altar times every night. Some of the older ones took up the mantle of leadership and reached out to the younger. Finally. They started acting like a family that cares for one another.

Now that we're back to "normal" life, they haven't let the fire die. One of them told his mom that he wanted to have family devotional times every week at home. He also organized a student led Bible study and they've already had a meeting on their own, without me! That's never happened before.

While we were at camp we had opportunity to discuss translations of the Bible and how the Bible came to be. They all expressed interest in taking a field trip to the Bible Museum here in the Phoenix area. We're taking that trip this Tuesday.

For the past two Sundays they have come down to the front of the sanctuary to stand and worship together. It has opened opportunities for prayer and encouragement. Even some who did not get to go to camp have caught the new zeal. And this past Wednesday night's youth service was great. They wanted to pray for one another and we ended up staying for an hour beyond our normal ending time.

In my High School Sunday School class they gave $62.50. Let's just say that's a switch. :)

For all who want to quit... For all who are frustrated and can't yet see the light... Don't give up! Stand your ground and keep fighting. Raise your hands toward Heaven and cry out "I'm still here." Though Satan would want to thwart your work, you stand as a testimony to the greatness of God. You tell the old serpent to get lost, you're not going anywhere. For as long as you have breath, you serve Christ!

I first started believing when...

Lately, I've been reading blogs that are asking questions about faith and why we believe. So, I thought it would be interesting if we reconstructed how we all came to believe and perhaps some of the thoughts that convinced us to commit to those beliefs.

But, first, the story of Thomas from John 20:

One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail
wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"

"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway."

We are those who haven't seen Jesus and believe anyway! How did this happen?

Let's reconstruct our story by finishing this sentence: I first started believing when...

I'll go first, and later (if necessary) add to it. Feel free to comment after you finish the sentence too.

It's been awhile...

Sorry friends. I haven't been the most faithful blogger over the past several months. I don't know if things will ever change, but today I wanted to share something from the Scriptures I found to be encouraging.

Luke 5:1-11 tells the story of how Jesus called Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow him. He says, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!"

Fishers of Men by Adriaen van de Venne, Oil on panel, 1614 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

It can be a scary thing to have the Lord call you to a life of people fishing. These guys were commercial fisherman; established, with money in boats and nets, etc. Their contacts folder was probably full and their livelihood depended on selling the fish to those contacts.

Normally, you just don't up and walk away from a business. But they did.

I was thinking about that. Why call them out of their business? Why not keep them there and have them reach their contacts?

Well, Luke records a miraculous incident just prior to Jesus' call. Jesus had them cast nets into a dead spot that had already been fished all night. When they let the nets down, so many fish were caught that it required another boat and both were on the verge of sinking. Impossible!

And that was the point. Jesus showed them that he could make the impossible possible. Why spend time at the grind when, in a matter of seconds, Jesus could just command the fish into the nets and onto the boats? All the expertise in commercial fishing could never match the ability of the Master fisherman and His voice of command.

Their work would never be the same again. Jesus was beginning to reverse the curse. Once men were cursed to work the ground, sweating to produce food, but someday they would gladly depend on the Lord for all their needs, working only out of pleasure and enjoyment.

Through Christ, God rescues us from the fall. He offers us to cry out to Him and depend on Him and not "need" to work again. If we become fishers of men, our work is eternal, receiving eternal rewards and payoffs. Simon Peter and his partners could not stay in their business, because Jesus was calling them to come and learn from Him; come and catch people; come and understand His unlimited supply and the salvation He was bringing. He needed their full attention so that they could continue the message long after He was gone.

I believe Jesus is still calling people out of their "businesses" today. He offers a switch: They stop "working" out of need - and He provides everything.

Not a bad deal. If you've ever felt the call of God on your life, hear the Lord's words again, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!"

Weekend in Sedona.

Hi friends! Thought I'd stop in tonight and post something new. Life's been wonderfully full.

Here are some pics from an awesome weekend we had in Sedona a few weeks back.

The beautiful ladies in my life!

Sedona's rock formations were absolutely amazing.

What a beautiful day looking at God's artwork.

This church facility is actually built into the rocks and the cross stands 90 feet high.

The weekend we spent in Sedona was a much needed break from everything. We hadn't gone out of town and spent time with my in-laws since we moved here 5 years ago. When we lived in New Jersey we did more with them than we've done while living only 15 minutes from them. Isn't it funny how that works?

While we were there, we ate dinner at a restaurant called Relics. Not only was the food fabulous, the service was the best I've experienced anywhere - and I've been to quite a few places. The waiter made us feel so welcome and at home. He even knew specifically how the potatoes were prepared by the cook, and when he described the process, it made me want them even more. When we got up to leave, the waiter and the host shook our hands. I was impressed.

Afterward, I began to think about church and suddenly found myself wishing our greeters and ushers had the same zeal and warmth as our waiter at Relics. Oh, and don't forget the knowledge. Wow! What kind of church would it be if the greeters and ushers had a reputation for "the best service" anywhere?

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your church's "service"?

What we really believe.

"While most of us Christians believe in some kind of hell, we usually just don't bring it up much. It is an unpleasant subject and leads to too many questions about the character of God. Hell is that crazy doctrine that we keep locked in the basement of our belief systems. We all know that it is there, chained to the underbelly of the theology of the holiness of God. We hope that it stays in the shadows and never comes up in conversation. Why? Because if people found out what we really believed they would think we were radicals, extremists, and kooks. If hell isn't real, then maybe we are [radicals, extremists, and kooks].

But if it is real, then why aren't we more intense, more aggressive, more intentional, more urgent? If hell is real (and the Bible says it is) then we should be motivated to keep as many people we can out of it - friends, foes, teachers, classmates, coworkers, teammates, family members, strangers. . . everybody." -Greg Stier in his book Dare2Share

If we could only see the afterlife, we might be less scared of men and their opinions. Why are we scared in the first place?

Here is a quote from a Christian Universalist website called The Tentmaker:

"Many of us who have been subjected to the terrorism of Hell do not respond as emotionally as some of the people represented in the above testimonials. We are more hard-hearted. We have learned to "back-file" the teaching of Hell. We suppress it in our subconscience because if we did allow it to be on our minds daily, we would go crazy. It is those who are unable to bury the teaching in their subconscience whose lives are most severely destroyed by the teaching of Hell. The fact that most Christians believe unbelievers are going to Hell but they do little to no evangelizing proves they are really very heartless people or that they have buried the belief deep in the back of their minds. If average Christians REALLY believed in Hell fully, they would spend much more of their time trying to save the lost. The fact is, only a few percentage points of Christians ever share their faith with anyone."

Do we really believe?

I'm back...meet Oliver Brown.

It's been a long while, but I'm finally returning to blogging. I hope you'll welcome me back.

But first, I want you to meet the newest member of our family...

Oliver Brown

Yep, Jenny has a little brother now. You can see him here, munching on some parsley. And just to give you a little perspective on his current size at around 6 weeks old, here's a shot of his mommy holding him.

We picked this little guy up at a yard sale a few weeks ago! For $12.

We were browsing around looking at an old gumball machine and VHS movies, when I spotted the bunny on the bench, lounging like a tiny puppy. It impressed me that he wasn't trying to get away in the front yard or anything. He seemed very tame and so adorable. Of course, my wife and daughter had the same thoughts, only even more. Jenny begged me to buy it, but I thought, "We can't. We don't know anything about rabbits. What if he he's sick?" He was a little dirty with crust around his eyes.

We got back into the car without the bunny and drove off in discussion. We decided that we shouldn't do it for all kinds of reasons and told my daughter our minds were made up. Once we were out on the main road, we turned at the light and headed west in search of other yard sales. Seeing the next sign, I pulled into the development and followed the arrows. It led us right back to the same yard sale.

Okay. So, I got out of my vehicle, leaving the girls behind, and went to ask some more questions. After about 10 minutes I found myself walking back to the car with the bunny in my arms, along with a small bag of pellets to feed him. No cage, nothing else. The girls were so surprised (and happy) that I actually did it. It was very unlike me.

Needless to say, we are enjoying him so much. I've almost got him trained to bring me his toy. Each time I put it near him, he picks it up with his mouth or nudges it back to me. Too cute.

Which leaves me with these thoughts and questions: God loved us so much that he bought us with his blood. He must look upon us with great admiration and delight, desiring to play with us, feed us, train us, and teach us obedience. Are we cooperating? Do we yearn for his affection? Are we trainable?