Pastor Mike’s Blog

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I was incredibly busy studying for my comprehensive examinations. After 2 long days of 12 hours of writing I am finally finished! Praise Him! I'm now working on finishing up this MA thesis so writing seems like more of a chore now. But I'll do better considering I only have about 5 weeks left here.

So, when I got home after comps all I could reflect on was God's love for me. He loves me so much that He gave me the opportunity to live in and explore Portugal:

Me exploring...doesn't Porto look beautiful?

I received...

Sunday (March 13^th) I started a teaching from 2 Kings 18:1-30  This story is about King Hezekiah.  Hezekiah was the King of Judah and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord.  He was a good King and did some key things to establish peace and prosperity in Judah.  For example:

• vs3 “And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.
• vs4 “He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made.”
• vs5 “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel.”
• vs7 “The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went.  And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.”

This is a great illustration of how we can do the right thing, live for God and not ourselves and see the hand of God prosper our lives.  Praise...

I know it’s been too long since I’ve last blog.  But I’m back!  I want to share a little with you since my last blog.  My book has been completed.  Yes “Grouchy Grumpy Grandpa – Goes On Vacation” is finish and on sale at your nearest computer. (smile) You can purchase a copy at www.grouchygrumpygrandpa.com.  This is a major step in my life.  Years ago God spoke to me and said that I needed to write a book.  The problem was, I didn’t know where to start.  He continued to impress upon me to just start, well in 2006 I did and in 2011 it’s done.  I hope it will not take me this long to do everything God tells me to do. 

PM

I just got a call from my daughter, she said she thinks Carli was dead; she saw a post on Facebook and asked me to check to see if it’s true.  My heart drop to hear to the tears in her voice.  I did check and it’s true, Carli Slack went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday night, February 9^th in a Nebraska hospital.  She was 19.   Carli and her family attend CAOG right before she was diagnosed with leukemia.  She was a part of our youth group, “Youth Alive” and a friend of my daughter.  Her father Kevin posted on Carli blog "My baby passed away tonight at about 7:49 p.m..  Kevin and his wife Edith really loved their daughter.  They gave up everything to provide for their child.  We as a church has had Carli on our prayer list since she went into the hospital.  Please join us as we continue to pray for their family as they deal with the lost of their child.

Peace

 Why are we fasting? That's a great question. Too many people start a fast without knowing the full reason they are fasting, and in the course of their fasting hey get hurt because they have to break or quit the fast. I don't believe anyone likes to quit, and when people quit it hurts. (Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge)  Our church is involved  in...