Up Early

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; -Philippians 1:9-10-





I'm up early getting ready to go on a bike ride, it's beautiful out today... Always is.

Born Again

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

John 3:1-21

The Inevitable Happened

Well as you all know I've been doing some extensive swimming these days. I headed out today to conquer another mile in the deep dark ocean but about a 1/2 mile into the swim I realized my phone was in my pocket. I mean I can understand, it's always with me and naturally wants always to be at my side... but the mile swim was to long for the little phone and it died:( Lost a good companion in the ocean today... so sad.

So if you need to get a hold of me, you can email me at paul.pr.rogers@gmail.com. My new phone will be here on Wednesday of next week so if you could, give me your phone numbers again so I can add them to my phone list.

Thanks,
Paul

Looking Back

I remember writing a friend long ago, saying "I have found it encouraging to write down the prayers and petitions that I lay before God, so as to not forget His guiding hand in my life." Tonight I found myself reading through some of my old posts and I ran across this one that really encouraged me.

I posted this back on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2007


-WHY DOES GOD MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE-

I found this passage very encouraging yesterday...

Why does God at times whittle us down to nothing, making it truly impossible for us to cary out His will? Doesn't He know what we need in order to do all that He asks? Here in Judges we see Gideon, least in Manasseh, and youngest in his father's house, asked by the Lord to go and deliver his people from the hand of Midian. Gideon gathers 32,000 men for the fight and God says "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, 'My own power has delivered me.'' So God whittles the army down from 32,000 to 300 men. God did this for the sole purpose of making them realize that it's not the number that won the battle but the Lord.

When God calls you to do something and dwindles all your resources , don't worry. Learn not to trust in who you are or what you have, but rather in who God is. Not wishing for us to boast in anything but Him and Him alone. He will accomplish His will and He will win every battle that He calls us to fight.

Colossians 1:20
...I labor, Striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

Judges 7: 1-7 (you should read the whole story)

Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. The LORD said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, 'My own power has delivered me.' "Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, 'Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'" So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. Then the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink." Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. The LORD said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midian

-Winston Churchill-

I started reading some of these quotes by Winston Churchill... intriguing.



The first quality that is needed is audacity.
-Winston Churchill-

Play the game for more than you can afford to lose... only then will you learn the game.
-Winston Churchill-

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
-Winston Churchill-

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see.
-Winston Churchill-

The price of greatness is responsibility.
-Winston Churchill-

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
-Winston Churchill-

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
-Winston Churchill-

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
-Winston Churchill-

Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.
-Winston Churchill-

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.
-Winston Churchill-

Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.
-Winston Churchill-

Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.
-Winston Churchill-

Great and good are seldom the same man.
-Winston Churchill-

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.
-Winston Churchill-

I am easily satisfied with the very best.
-Winston Churchill-

I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
-Winston Churchill-

I never worry about action, but only about inaction.
-Winston Churchill-

Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it.
-Winston Churchill-

Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.
-Winston Churchill-

Tarantulas On The Move!!!

So I guess Tarantulas are on the move here in SB... Yeah I know, crazy!!! I did a bit of reading on these things because I almost ran one over on my dirt bike the other day.

...each year, thousands of tarantulas brave countless dangers as they migrate to their ancestral breeding grounds somewhere in northern Santa Barbara county. The journey, which is believed to span some 50 miles across treacherous terrain and several county highways, is one of the most unusual mass migrations. Once thought to be only myth, the Nojoqui Tarantulas have recently been rediscovered and their great migration the source of scientific wonder and amazement....

These things are no joke, they're HUGE!!! This spider was bigger than a mouse... I have never seen a spider so big in my life.

A Safe Pasture

Psalm 37


1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.

9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.

11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.

12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;

13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.

15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;

17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.

19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20 But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.

21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;

22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.

23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;

24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.

26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.

27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.

28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;

29 the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.

31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.

32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;

33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

34 Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.

39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

What I'm up to...

Hey everyone,

I know I haven't blogged in a while and I apologize. I want to say that I have been really busy with editing and moving.. and I have been but I also know that blogging only takes like 5 minutes a day... so I really don't have an excuse:)

Anyway, to update you on whats happening...

1. I'm in the middle of editing the Free To Succeed Tour DVD. It's looking awesome and is going to be great... We even have some funny extra features that are being thrown in there.... Exclusive footage you can only see on the DVD:)

2. I finally moved into my own place... well I haven't moved yet but I'm in the process. I went out and bought a refrigerator, fan, cups, dinner set, toaster oven, and ummm I think that was it. I moved that in but still have to get all my stuff from DJ's over there. It isn't much just my cloths and the computer. Here are some pictures of the place from a few days ago. It looks different now but I think you will get the idea:) I'll worn you though, its not the best place in the world but I like it and it's wonderful for now:)

Sweet!!!


















P.S. I went on a run this mornign:) I normally swim but today I ran because it was cold out:(

Pre Order Your DVD Now!!!

No Jk...You don't have to order a DVD... Although I have to say, I saw the show 8 times while on the road with the "Free To Succeed Tour" and loved it more and more each time. The DVD is well worth every dime:)

Check out the highlight reel, pretty cool!!!

http://getit.davidjay.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=84

I'll update you all more on what's going on in my life later today.

God bless,
Paul