Four Days Late

Blog post

I have really enjoyed this rental vehicle we have during our stay here in Maryland. One thing I have really enjoyed is the satellite radio it has. I found a wonderful Southern Gospel music station the other day ~ XM34. Anyway, yesterday this song came on called "Four Days Late" by Karen Peck. That has become my latest favorite song. It tells the story of Lazarus dying and Martha sending Jesus the message and Jesus waiting four days before getting there. But the final words of the chorus were the ones that really grabbed me. "But His way is God's way, not yours or mine. And isn't it great, when He's four days late, He's still on time." Wow! How many times have we gotten discouraged because we don't have an immediate answer to our prayers? But think of it! God works on His time, not ours! His ways are perfect, and even when He's four days late according to our timetable, He is always right on time. Praise God!

Vacation

As many of you know, our family is currently on vacation in Maryland.  I thought you all would like to know that I'm posting pictures I take with my iPod onto an album on Picasa as often as possible.  I'm embedding a slideshow of those photos below, so make sure and check back every once in awhile to view them!  Or you can click on this link to view them on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/joelcsutherland/MarylandVacation?feat=directlink

A sheep's testimony

The Lord is my Shepherd; I don't think that I will ever be in want...  You see, He makes me lie down in the greenest of pastures and leads me beside the clearest still water.  All of this restores my soul.  He even gets me into the paths of righteousness, all because I claim His name!  I'm really enjoying life right now.  But I just happened to look ahead.  It looks really scary!  There's a valley up there that has the very shadow of death hanging over it!  Can I trust the Shepherd to lead me safely through?  I suddenly realize that I have no other option.  I realize that He has shown His love to me and He will never let me down.  I throw myself at His feet and promise to follow Him even through the valley of death.  So even as I walk through that valley, I am not afraid!  The Shepherd Himself is with me, and His rod and staff comfort me.

Now that my love and confidence in the Shepherd have grown and He has proved that I will follow Him wherever He leads me, He is able to prepare a banquet for me, right where all my enemies can see it.  He anoints my head with oil and fills my cup of joy to overflowing.  Goodness and mercy follow me for the rest of my life and I dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Friday Night

Here's a video I did on Friday night.  If you want to watch it in HD, you'll have to watch on Vimeo rather than here...


I just had a bug to shoot some video this evening, so I pulled out my Canon PowerShot SD980 IS and did some filming.  Then I went to the keyboard and recorded the music for it.  Hope you enjoy. :)



Instrument samples used in this recording are from the Garritan Personal Orchestra.

Truth and Error

We've been getting firewood for the last few days on Ft. Greeley.  It's burned over wood, so it is very hard and dry and burns very well.  Anyway, Mom pointed to two trees to cut down, and I cut down the first one and then turned to the second.  But Mom made motions to forget that one.  Wondering why, I looked up and realized that it was scarcely 6 inches taller than me!  Looking down towards the bottom where I would have been cutting, it looked like any other tree, but as I looked up, I realized that it was very short.  I immediately thought of a practical application.  The Bible warns us to be ware of false teachers.  But how can you tell who speaks truth?  A lot of things people say sound logical, but as we compare it with the Word of God and look up to Jesus, truth shines forth and falsehood stands out in all its bitter ugliness.

Later on, we were on the other side of the tree and I noticed something else.  The tree which looked so solid on the other side was actually hollow.  This reminds me that we should be careful that we don't just appear like good Christians while on the inside we are empty and worthless.  Let us each pray that God will fill us with His love and grace.  He is the Author and Finisher of our faith and will perfect us each until we are fitted to enter heaven.

Thoughts on trust...

"Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,

      Trust Him when thy faith is small,

            Trust Him when to simply trust Him. . . 

                   Seems the hardest thing of all."

                               ~ Author Unknown

Set Me Free

This is an original skit performed by Delta Christian Drama Association, based on the songs "Set Me Free" by Casting Crowns and "It's a Beautiful Sound" by Geoff Moore.  It powerfully portrays a simple yet all too common story of bondage and yielding to sin that everyone can relate to, and yet at the same time brings to view the spiritual side that most people are totally unaware of.  There ARE demons and they ARE strong, but we have a Savior Who is stronger than all the demons put together!!!!



WARNING: Due to graphic portrayal of the battle between good and evil, this video is not recommended for young children to watch.  Parental discretion is advised.

Reminiscings...

I untied my belt and slid out of my robe for the last time, then hurriedly began taking down the curtains that make up the backdrop for the stage.  The "Set Me Free" skit was in the past.  We had performed it six times in front of a life audience at the fair and then filmed it 7 times.  But now it was over.  But yet, it wasn't over.  My mind went back over the priceless memories I had had over the last couple of months of rehearsals.  The fellowship that we as a cast had had.  The times when things were looking good and the times when Mrs. Hosier was close to pulling her hair out.  The time Philip demonstrated how to laugh using body language and had us all in tears we were laughing so hard.  There was the time Mr. Hosier had all the demons practice slinking around and cowering like scared dogs.  And the time that Caleb was in his hippy wig and stood behind the door scaring people as they came to practice.  Heidi running over to me every single time, grabbing my hand, and dragging me over to be ready to make our entrance a full ten seconds before we had to.  And then my famous line to Bekah as I handed her the keys for the next time through - "Here are MY keys I'm loaning to you".  The mad rushes back stage while everyone was struggling to get out on time.  These memories and so many more flooded my mind as I put everything away for the last time.

And then there's the message of the skit.  No matter where we come from or what problems we may have, God does not deem us as hopeless.  In fact, He will empty heaven to guard us from the demons that are constantly at our heels and to protect us from Satan who is always snarling in the background.  This is love, that God should send His only begotten Son to this earth so that whosoever should believe in Him should be saved.  “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:17  This is the message of the entire Bible, the scarlet thread of redemption making it's way from the Garden of Eden clear through to the time when Christ Himself shall ride down the heavenly passageway attended by countless millions of angels to take His children home.  And that is the message of this skit.  It will live on and on until soon, very soon now, that day will come.  May He find us each faithful.




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If anyone is interested, this film should be uploaded to Vimeo and YouTube in the next couple of days, so keep your eyes open for a link.

Contrasts

For the last week and a half, our family has been on a trip through Canada and Washington.  Today we were driving through the northwestern part of Oregon and into Walla Walla, Washington.  As we were driving, the landscape drastically changed.  From tree-covered slopes and beautiful grassland, it changed to the brown of the high desert.  Now this is my favorite type of scenery.  I absolutely love the high desert, with it's sand and scrub brush.  As we were driving through it today, I was trying to figure out why I like it so much.  Is it just because it reminds me of warmth, and cowboys riding horseback and watching the cattle on the plains?  Or could it be the contrast that the brown has with the green?  I can't think of anything that looks more picturesque than a large, southwestern house, with large, beautiful, vibrant green lawns surrounding it, with sprinklers watering it, and beyond, the dry, brown, scrubby brush high desert.  It makes the green seem so much more green, the lush seem so much more lush, and beauty seem so much more beautiful.  That is probably the reason why I love this type of landscape so much.

And as I was thinking about this, something else came into my mind.  The world is so barren, so stark and dry and ugly.  But because of it's "brownness", because of it's death, because of it's ugliness, it makes the Christian stand out all the more.  It makes the "greenness", the life, and the beauty of the Christian so much more apparent and appealing.  And that's the way it should be.  We are called to be lights, set on a hill.  What makes the light so inviting but the blackness of the night all around?  So it is with the Christian.  The blacker the night, the more barren the landscape, the more brilliantly we will shine forth.  When the people of the world will see us, they will "take knowledge of (us), that (we) have been with Jesus".

God Alone

Dear friends,

For worship this morning we were reading the story of the children of Israel as they journeyed from Egypt towards the promised land.  As they were nearing their destination, suddenly the cloud turned South and led them towards the Red Sea ~ and away from the land of Canaan.  The people murmured, but God had a lesson He wanted to teach them ~ and us.

God changes our plans, leads us in the "wrong" direction, and brings us into a hopeless postion so that we can learn that He is our shepherd, our leader, and our deliver.

He wants to make the situation so hopeless that He, and He alone, could have delivered us.

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17

Of Runways and Faith...

Knowing that I am interested in flying, a friend recently forwarded an e-mail to me with pictures of some of the most challenging runways in the world. The pictures reminded me of my own experience as a 4 year old flying into the old Hong Kong International Airport. It was night as I recall, and I remember sitting in the 747 as we made the final approach. The pilot banked the plane sharply to the right, the wing nearly touching the skyscrapers below us. I don't remember much else from the landing, but one thing that I have remembered is the fact that it was one of the most challenging runways in the world. I actually just looked up some information about it, and stumbled across a newsletter and pictures from a pilot who used to fly into that airport. He says that the runway was incredibly short and that you had to do a hard bank to the right and dive. That's about how I remember it. :) But one thing about it, we had to have confidence in that pilot. Almost all of us have done it at one point in our lives or another. Even when we can't see the outcome, we still have to ahve trust in the pilot.

This whole topic has made me think about how we need to trust our heavenly pilot. Even when we don't see what the outcome may be, we need to trust Him. He knows what is best in our lives. And even when we are so banked in with fog and clouds of doubt, He is still leading and guiding us, and we will make it to the other end safely. God had promised that He will not lead His children in any other way than the way we would have chosen ourselves if we could but see the end from the beginning! What a blessed promise! So even if we're struggling with decisions that will affect our futures, we can rest assured, knowing that God is leading and working everything for our best good, and someday, someday soon, we will be able to stand on the sea of glass with the redeemed of all ages, and falling on our faces before Jesus, thank Him for guiding us safely home! What a day that will be!

Keep courage, my friends! The end is just in sight!

A day well spent!

The sunset was painting beautiful pink hues on the clouds as I settled back in my seat for the two hour drive home.  As I sat looking out the window, my mind relived the events of the day.  We had left home at 8:00 and driven the two hours to the mountains to sled and snowmachine with some friends.  I remembered the tedious snowmachine ride from where our friends' travel trailer was to where we went sledding.  Caleb at first tried to ride in the pile of sleds behind the snowmachine, but because of the bumps, he kept spilling and we'd have to stop and wait for him to catch up again.  Finally, we all just piled on the snowmachine and I held the pile of sleds behind my back - a very uncomfortable position to say the least.  Then there was the first sled ride down the mile-long slope we had just come up.  I will admit that I wiped out quite a few times on the way down, but it was so much fun!

There was the time that we were riding the snowmachine up the hill, and it tipped over on me...  That kind of hurt, but I survived. :)  The other thing that scared me at first was when we'd go up these hills that I didn't think we could go up without flipping over backwards, and then as we'd get near the top, Mr. Ueeck would give the snowmachine a little more gas and bring the front end up.  My heart would jump into my throat, but I finally got used to it. :)  And then there was that inner tube.  Heather and I attempted to slide down this extremely steep hill on it several times before we figured out a way to stay on.  And then Heidi, Charity, Heather, and I piled on it so we could be pulled behind Mr. Ueeck's snowmachine...  And then he got too close to the other snowmachine and the inner tube popped, making those of us riding on it hit the ground pretty hard.

And then after supper we decided to go on a snowmachine ride way up into the mountains.  It was so much fun standing on the summits of several of them, where we could see for miles in every direction.  Oh, the beauty and glory of God's creation!  Then on the way back, getting the snowmachine that I was driving sort of stuck.  Mr. Ueeck came back to help, but on the way, he tipped his snowmachine into a creek.  Then, when trying to see which was the best way for our snowmachine to go, he buried his in snow that was up to my waist.  So we had to spend a little time digging it out.

I smiled to myself as I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes.  It had been a wonderful day.  What would I do without my friends and family?  Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled forward as Seth slammed on the brakes.  My eyes popped open, and I saw a moose crossing the road just in front of us.  Just then her baby started crossing the road as well.  I could hear our tires squealing as we skidded to a stop just inches from the moose's back legs!  God had protected us once again!  As we began driving again, I again thought about the day.  Yes, we were all very sore, sunburned, and exhausted, but it had definitely been a day well spent!

Welcome Spring!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything!!!  Time has flown by!  Spring is finally here I believe, although winter's been trying to convince us otherwise for the last couple days.  It's been getting close to 60 degrees during the day for a week or so, but then 2 days ago it started snowing again...  But thankfully the sun has always been able to melt all the new snow by evening.

We've been working on shooting a short film over the last month or so.  It's been a lot of fun.  If you'd like to hear more about our progress on that, check out the official Revised Register blog.

We have been very busy with the Delta Christian Drama Association as well for the last month and a half or so.  I am playing the part of the villain of the story, the Irish mayor Seamus Kelly.  It's kind of a terrible part, if you ask me.  But I guess every story has to have a villain.  And I get hung (not shown, but implied) so at least justice is done!  But it has been a lot of fun, and the play will be a blessing to many people, I am sure.  It's a Zacchaus story set in the ficticious town of Jericho, Nevada circa 1876.  It is about the transforming power of God, which is an amazing theme!!!

Well, I guess this hasn't had much of a theme to it.  It's been kind of a scattered post letting you know that I haven't fallen off the edge of the Earth yet!  But with spring here, it reminds us of new life springing forth after the hard, cold winter.  A good friend and I were talking the other day, and she was mentioning the fact that the sun is shining, melting the snow and warming the earth, and making new life spring forth.  Just like that, we should be allowing the Sun of Righteousness to shine on us, melting and warming our hearts, so that the fruit of His Spirit can spring forth in our lives!  What a promise spring has!  I pray that each of you will join me in allowing Him to cause His grace to grow in our hearts.

Worthy the Lamb!

My family bought me the latest CD by the Gaither Vocal Band, "Reunited", for Christmas.  I absolutely LOVE all the songs on it!  Today I was listening to my iPod as I was outside cutting wood (something that makes it somewhat bearable in 0 degree weather). :)  It played the song "Worthy the Lamb" from the new album, and that got me thinking.  The song describes the hopelessness of Satan's captives, kept in chains that have no key.  And the question is asked, "Is there no one worthy to set us free?"  Then the song describes the glorious scene presented in Revelation chapter 5.  Jesus Christ is found worthy, and so the anthem swells "Worthy, worthy, worthy the Lamb that was slain!"  Then the scene switches to that glorious day at the end of time, when the angels and the saints, holding their crowns in their hands, swell the glorious anthem again.

Can you imagine that scene?  Standing in the Holy City before the throne of God Himself!  Around us stand an innumerable company, the redeemed of all ages, our friends and loved ones from earth; and beyond them, the angels, cheribum and seraphim, greater in number than the sand of the sea and the stars of the universe put together.  Trillions upon trillions of them.  And beyond them, the surpassing glories of the New Jerusalem.  Gold and silver in abundance, reflecting the dazzling glory of God.  Then suddenly, we hear music.  The great angelic orchestra playing music sweeter than we have ever heard.  Then the voices of that inumerable throng join together singing "Worthy the Lamb that was slain!"  The music swells as the voices and instruments reach the climax.  "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"  And then the refrain, "Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain!"  Oh what tongue or pen can tell of the glories that we shall experience!  As the last echoes of the beautiful music fade, the entire company casts their crowns at His feet and bow in worship.  As they try to recall the troubles and heartaches of earth, they seem so small and insignificant in comparisan to the eternal weight of glory all around them, that they shout "Allelujah, heaven is cheap enough!"

Very soon now, Jesus will be coming to take us home.  How often we get discouraged by the things of this life, but rest assured, heaven will be cheap enough!  If we would ever keep in mind the sufferings of our Saviour and the glories of the home above, we would never fall to temptation!  We must look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, "Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."  He is there now.  He is preparing a place for us!  Won't you join me in a commitment to keep our eyes on Jesus, count the things of this world as rubbish, and press toward the mark of our high calling?  If so, I'm looking forward to joining you in that chorus, "Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain!"