I am leaving in just a few minutes to head to Houston for a Pastor’s Conferencewith Larry Stockstill.  Larry Stockstill is the senior pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  I am looking forward to a time of refreshing and training.  It is always good for pastors to get away and glean from others who are doing great things for the kingdom of God.

On another note: we are watching Hurricane Gustav.  We are not sure yet where it is going but it could come here.  We are praying that it would weaken and dissolve before it makes landfall.  If it is headed this way we will have to evacuate by Saturday.  Hurricane Season is always exciting!  There is another storm in the tropics that will be named after our daughter, Hannah.  It seems fitting.  Hannah is sometimes like a little hurricane or should I say whirlwind:)  Please pray for those affected already by Hurricane Gustav and pray for the storm to weaken and go away.

At the Cheney household we have been working to get into better shape.  There is something about having a two year old later in life that let’s you know that you need to whip into shape.

We have been walking and jogging faithfully now for about a month. So we decided to dust off the bikes and start biking too.  My bike needed a new tube, so I replaced it and we went for a ride.  The next day we went out and the other tire was flat so I replaced that tube.  I was feeling good thinking it was like a brand new bike until Josh and Sonya went on a bike ride.  Josh comes home looking whipped because he had to walk the bike home.  He ran over something and the tire is flat again.  I just changed the tube and now it is flat again.

Life is often like that.  One minute we are pumped up and the next minute we are flat again.  The Christian life sometimes has it’s ups and downs.  We go through life and there are things that trip us up or deflate us.  In times like that, we have to learn to trust the Lord.  We have to lean on Him.  Disappointments come.  Sickness…financial hardships…marriage problems…wayward children.  All these things can cause us to get down.  We must stand strong and keep the faith, no matter what.  The Apostle Paul said, “Having done all to stand, stand therefore.”  Keep standing!

Hannah came by the office today and showed her secretary skills.  She was busy on the phone, talking away, although we do not know what she said.  I have a great secretary now, but perhaps in the future, Hannah will work for me:)

We should, however, beware of conceiving of worship as being confined solely to the realm of thought, for in Scripture it is linked with service.  “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only,” were our Lord’s words to Satan (Matthew 4:10). We should not separate what God has joined.  Worship is no substitute for service, nor is service substitute for worship.  But true worship must always be expressed in loving service.
-J. Oswald Sanders,Enjoying Intimacy With God

I was looking at some photos from five years ago and stumbled across this photo of Josh.  It is him speaking at a Kids In Ministry Night at church.  He was the featured speaker.  It is hard to believe how much he has grown up.  I start to feel old knowing that he only has four more years of school left, but I am thankful for the young man that he is becoming.

I have noticed on many occasions that people who have been married a long time tend to look like one another.  I am not sure why that is but I sure feel sorry for Sonya when we get older:)

Sonya and I have been married almost 17 years and it is amazing how often we think alike.  There are times when I will be thinking something and she will say it.  Other times, we are trying to talk at the same time and I say exactly what she was going to say.  Because of our intimate relationship, we are beginning to be more like each other.  

These are good things, however, what if the one you are becoming like is not the right type of person?  Namely, someone who does not glorify God with their life.  The truth is, we become like those we spend most of our time with.  Good or bad!

Psalm 115 talks about the greatness of God and why we should serve Him and the Psalmist interjects a contrast.  He begins to compare our God with the lifeless idols Israel was making.  He describes the idols and then makes a statement, “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”  He is saying that we become like the things we worship.  If we worship the things of this world and build idols in our lives, we will be like them.  If we worship God and fill our lives with God things, we will be more like Him.

Who are you more like?  What idols might you have built up in your life that you need to remove?  Te truth is, the longer you run after other things, the more you will be like them and less like God.  I am challenged to look into my life and tear down idols.  I want to be like God not anything else.

One more quote from E.M. Bounds, “Too often we get faint-hearted and quit praying at the point where we ought to begin.  We let go at the very point we should hold on strongest.  Our prayers are weak because they are not impassioned by an unfailing and irresistible will.  God loves the importunate pleader, and sends him answers that would never have been granted but for the persistency that refuses to let go until the petition craved for is granted.”

Let’s push through in prayer!

Here is a thought provoking quote from E.M. Bounds, “Our people are not essentially a praying people.  That is evident by their lives.  Prayer and a holy life are one…If, by any chance, a prayer chamber should be established without a holy life, it would be a chamber without the presence of God in it.”