I have just started reading the first part of Exodus and have looked at what they went through then – we can see that we still go through the same things today..    In the first part of Exodus – Obedience is being stressed to Obey God and his commandments….   If you did not – then God would take his blessings and protection from you and you were on your own – and the worst part was that God was Angry with you.  There were severe consequence when this happened and the results were extremely unpleasant.
So tonight I was talking to my Brother (Mike) about this and the discussion was about his experience when he was in College…    My Brother had an accident and was in a Coma for @ 6 months and was not expected to come out of it….   But he did – sometimes I question whether that was a good thing JJ… but it turned out to be a great thing.  But his testimony is about his Obedience and how he failed….   He would keep Sunday Holy and went to church and had some great friends there.   But During the week was different – he partied allot and the Obedience was no where to be seen.  He will testify that God took his Blessings and Protection away and that is how his accident happened.
Now my thoughts go to me…. Or you….   Are we being dis-obedient in ways in which God has commanded us to do – that would take his Blessings and Protection away from us.   I am still thinking about this one….   — I need to pause and come back with an answer…..
OK – after Pondering this for a day – there are so many things that separate us from God (Sin) and it looks different for everyone.   My Brother has a testimony that he shares because of his disobedience and he has been going forward since then.  Yes there are times we blow it as the Israelites did – but when it requires something as dramatic as my Brothers Car Accident to turn us around – then we need to reevaluate our Obedience.
***I would like to give you the opportunity to share your story about how God has turned you around.
So if you have a testimony to share – please send it to this email and let me know if I can share it on the Web Site…    gmmgodsmightymen@yahoo.com
Bobbyg
 
 
 

I am currently reading the Book of Joshua and it is amazing how God can work through him as long as he is in Obedience, and this took allot of Faith.  When Joshua took God’s people into the Promise land – he was given assurance that they would receive much – as long as they were Obedient.
Joshua was able to over throw many of the other countries as long as he followed God’s Guidance.  There was the one time that they failed to defeat their enemy because one family had taken some of the loot when they were told not to.   When they had repented and taken care of the disobedient family – then they were able to succeed in going forward with God’s Blessings.
Joshua was constantly seeking God’s advice and direction – he would either be asking God what to do or he would be sending people forward to make sure they were doing the right thing.   Many times they were instructed to Kill all the Men – Women – Children and Animals of the opposing Tribe…
So my thoughts are – Do we follow in Joshua’s footsteps as we go forward…    Are we Asking God for advice…..?    Are we seeking council to make sure we are doing the right thing……?    We will probably never be asked to Kill everyone, but God does have a plan for us.    In Joshua 22:5  (But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”)  He is giving advice to the Eastern Tribes that are returning.  If we follow the same advice – then God will be directing our path as we go forward and we will receive his blessings.
So as you go forward this week – Seek God’s Advice and Seek Council to make sure that you are going forward in his will.
Bobbyg
 
 

I was focusing on Obedience and Faith recently and it brought me back to previous Blog I had written… enjoy.  Change is coming….                         Bobbyg
My thoughts have been with Change and what does God require of us in going forward:  I read this saying about              *Obedience Versus Sacrifices:  “God says many times that he doesn’t want our gifts and sacrifices when we give them out without love and obedience.”    — Along with came a few comments, here are a few of them.

• **Obedience is far better than sacrifice:
• **God isn’t interested in penance; he wants a broken and contrite heart
• **God doesn’t want sacrifices:  he wants our loving loyalty.  He doesn’t want our offerings; he wants us to acknowledge him.

So when I look at this – how does that affect the way I go forward in what he requires of me…   We just finished Easter and when I look at this – I ponder about our GMM Theme this year “Activate Your Faith” and what that look liked to the Disciples as they went forward.   Jesus changed the world and going forward was changed – it is now a Love and Obedience requirement instead of a list of rules.   The same is relevant for us today – we must also go forward as the Disciples did and change is required.
Pastor Shaun was taking about Matthew today and Jesus call was to Follow him… and Matthew did – but the verse’s that stood out for me was.                  Matthew 9:16-17   ¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
            In our Changing times we must be willing to change in how we do evangelism… if we do not adjust to what is happening around us – we become ineffective in our ministry.  We must be putting the new wine into new wineskins…   My study bible states it this way:   “The gospel did not fit into the old rigid legalistic system of religion.  It needed a fresh start.  The message will always remain “new” because it must be accepted and applied in every generation.  When we follow Christ, we must be prepared for new ways to live, new ways to look at people, and new ways to serve.”
WOW – this is a challenge that is a must if we are still going to be affective in our times… we may not have chosen the direction our country is going – but God is still in control and he must be working through us as we go forward…    Get ready for the Challenges – as the Disciples went forward, there were allot of challenges that they had to get through – we will have to do the same.

“Activate Your Faith”

 Bobbyg

I was listening to my Wife’s DVD that she uses for her Bible Study and this comment got my Attention….   Does Your Work become Worship?  I had to really think about this one and reflect on what does my work look like.   I have to say that most of the time it does not look like Worship, but normally just something that I am required to do.
So what should our Job look like:   When you really think about a Job – this covers several areas of our lives and they should all reflect Worship – If we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit – People should see Jesus working through us.  I would like to discuss just a few of those Jobs.

1.  Our Work (pay check) – When we are working – we should be grateful in the Blessing that God has given us and it should show by our Actions and Attitude.  What do people see in you at work?
2. Home:  Sometimes working at Home just becomes a routine that we have to do.   This should be an area that when we work at home, I would expect to hear a Joyful noise coming from us because of what we have been given (That includes our Spouse and Kids if we are blessed to have them).
3. Church:  When we volunteer to help at church – do we see this as something that is required or do we actually go into this act of service as a way to Worship.
4. Hobby or what we do in our Spare time:   This one I enjoy using a friend of mine (Nick)…   When Nick Creates his Art – one of his biggest Questions is:  Do they see my relationship in Christ in what I create and do they see the Love of Jesus in me as I present it to others.
5. Sports:   When I use to play Softball – this was a must… that when we played it should be a joyful time whether we are win or lose (we did not win many).   But our opponents should see that we are Christians in our actions on the field – it is a must.

The list could go on……………..
This takes practice and you have to really focus on what it is that we are thankful for and one of the ways that really helps me that is brought out in my wife’s Bible Study is:  We must be looking at the Present Moments that we are in right now – and be giving Thanks for the Blessings that we have been given.     “Fullness of Joy” should be a major act that people see in us.
**Worship in all that you do**
 Bobbyg

God’s Mighty Men have the pleasure each year of putting on our Purple Aprons to serve the ladies of this community.   This is a great service and adventure for those who volunteer to help.   WOW once again put on a Great Conference today (Who RU God?   –    Finding him right where U R) and GMM was there to help serve them in getting lunch set up and to serve it.
I was thinking about WOW’s theme…     “Who RU God?  – And the follow up Finding him right where U R”.    Some of my most recent Blogs have been about – If God is calling you to do something – what are you doing – God is right here where we are.   I have to say the guys that were there to help – followed up on the promptings of the Holy Spirit and let God work through them in being a servant….
One of the greatest things that we as men can do – is to look for those opportunities to be a servant for the Ladies of your community.   This can be something as simple as fixing your wife dinner or looking to volunteer at the church in helping with Mother’s Day.   But we must be looking for areas to show the ladies that they are special and that we are excited in serving them.
So as you go forward this week —   Look around you – Listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit  –   and be a servant…………
 Bobbyg
 
 

I enjoy reading Christian Fiction – at the present time I am reading Sea Scribe by D.I. Telbat.   His writings are usually about Christians in the world who are being persecuted and there is a team of people trying to help them.   Since I have been home for a while recouping with my 2 new knees – I get to do allot of pondering.  So recently while reading this book – I had to ask myself – am I doing anything that would cause me to be persecuted for my beliefs??????  HMMMMM
So I started looking at several areas of my life to see what that might look like for me (and you can put yourself in these situations also).

1.  At Work:   Do the people around me know that I am a Christian?  In the last few years I have been bolder about sharing my faith – I have not been persecuted – but I have been instructed to keep it out of some of my emails J….  But there is no persecution for me at work… maybe some rejection.   The rejection part will keep many of us from letting people know our Faith and I use to be one of them.
2. How about the people around me – such as the clerk at the store – my physical Therapist-  My Neighbor.   This again is something that I have started to do in the last couple of years.
   1. My physical therapist is a Christian and goes to a great church in town.
   2. My Neighbors – I am learning about them – I just moved here in July – but I do know where a few them are spiritually and we have had some great talks.
3.  The Store Clerk – well this one is a little harder – but I have tried to add something in my conversation that will show my Faith.

So am I persecuted as some Christians are for standing up for their Faith –  No –  I may get some rejections but we are blessed to live in a country that allows us to stand up for our Faith.
So the next thing I pondered on was——– am I one of those persons who is there to support a fellow Christian who is be persecuted or rejected????   There are times when one of our fellow Christians will need all the help that we can give them because of their Faith.   So I made a promise that I would look for those moments when I can at least:           *Support and stand beside    *Encourage their stand   *Back them up when there is a need   *Thank them for their courage.
So as you go forward this week – look for those areas that you can Stand Up for you Faith and also look for those moments when you can support a fellow Christian.
Bobbyg

On one of my many mornings since surgery I am up most of the night because I do not get very much sleep — I was listening to a sermon from Joel Osteen at 2am on the Subject of Obedience.   It was a great sermon…..    A couple of his examples were about when you get a prompting from the Holy Spirit to do something – What do you do?
       A couple of his examples were:

1. 1.   Joel and his wife were looking for a home to buy and when they came across this dump – the prompting from God was – Buy It….  They could afford a much better place – but they went forward with it and fixed it up….   
2. 2.  One of the leaders in his church went to school and became a Doctor – but the Spirit prompted him to go into ministry….   So he Did It…      God has used him through his Doctors Degree to do so much more for the kingdom in that area.

***Both of these responses received God’s Blessing in the end and they were rewarded for their Obedience.
    In my readings at the present time – I am in 1^st Samuel — back then God would talk to the Kings and tell them what to do…. Something like when the Spirit talks to us.     What is amazing is that what happened back then can happen to us today if we do the same.   When God instructed David to go forth and conquer other countries and destroy everything – it did not make sense.  David seemed to be always short of Man Power and to destroy everything when there could have been so much wealth – really did not make sense.   But out of Obedience David Did IT….   And was rewarded multiple times for his Obedience.
   Now comes the question again…         What is it that you are being Prompted to do at the present time by the Spirit?   You know it may not be anything that you can put your finger on – but it could be the Spirit is just telling you to go forward and do something.   The story of Jonathan and the Armor Bearer is a great example of this — instead of sitting under the tree with Saul and doing nothing – he went forward and Did something and God Blessed him.    http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+14&version=NIV
        So for this week……   pay attention to those promptings and see what it is that God wants you to do to receive his Blessing.
       So it may be –  Teaching a Sunday School Class –  Find a way to help the church – becoming friends with Neighbor – Make a meal for someone – Smile  –  Pray for someone –  Help someone pick up their leaves –   the list is Big…. 
 
Bobbyg
 

Brother Jim Schamerhorn sent this to me  –  it is a great read……      Radical Obedience in two ways…. can you see it…
Daniel’s Gloves
I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.
As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, ‘I will work for food.’ My heart sank.
I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind.. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.
Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: ‘Don’t go back to the office until you’ve at least driven once more around the square.’
Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square’s third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the church, going through his sack.
I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from
God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town’s newest visitor.
‘Looking for the pastor?’ I asked.
‘Not really,’ he replied, ‘just resting.’
‘Have you eaten today?’
‘Oh, I ate something early this morning.’
‘Would you like to have lunch with me?’
‘Do you have some work I could do for you?’
‘No work,’ I replied ‘I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.’
‘Sure,’ he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?’
‘St. Louis ‘
‘Where you from?’
‘Oh, all over; mostly Florida ..’
‘How long you been walking?’
‘Fourteen years,’ came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his
38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, ‘Jesus is The Never Ending Story.’
Then Daniel’s story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life.
He’d made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences.. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona… He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.
He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God.
‘Nothing’s been the same since,’ he said, ‘I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.’
‘Ever think of stopping?’ I asked.
‘Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me. But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That’s what’s in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.’
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: ‘What’s it like?’
‘What?’
‘To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?’
‘Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments.
Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn’t make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people’s concepts of other folks like me.’
My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned to me and said, ‘Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I’ve prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.’
I felt as if we were on holy ground. ‘Could you use another Bible?’ I asked.
He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite.. ‘I’ve read through it 14 times,’ he said.
‘I’m not sure we’ve got one of those, but let’s stop by our church and see’
I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
‘Where are you headed from here?’ I asked.
‘Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.’
‘Are you hoping to hire on there for a while?’
‘No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that’s where I’m going next.’
He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we’d met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.
‘Would you sign my autograph book?’ he asked… ‘I like to keep messages from folks I meet.’
I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, ‘I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.’
‘Thanks, man,’ he said. ‘I know we just met and we’re really just strangers, but I love you.’
‘I know,’ I said, ‘I love you, too.’ ‘The Lord is good!’
‘Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?’ I asked.
A long time,’ he replied
And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, ‘See you in the New Jerusalem.’
‘I’ll be there!’ was my reply.
He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, ‘When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?’
‘You bet,’ I shouted back, ‘God bless.’
‘God bless.’ And that was the last I saw of him.
Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them…. a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.
Then I remembered his words: ‘If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?’
Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office.. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. ‘See you in the New Jerusalem,’ he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will…
‘I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.’
This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let each of us continue to pray for one another. God bless and have a nice day!
‘Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and those reading this now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus’ precious Name Amen.’

Well it has been about 3 weeks since I wrote my last Blog – but since then I have two new Titanium Knees that are gradually progressing along – but not without allot of Pain…     But God has been with me throughout the whole process and my Relationship is at an ultimate level.   One extra service I got out of the new knees is that I now have 2 weather devices that can tell me when the weather is going to change.
I do need to explain that my surgery was postponed for 2 weeks because of the floods in Fort Collins and this created a very hard decision that my family had to make.   If I went through my surgery – then I would get out on Tuesday and my wife was having Major Surgery on Wednesday.   We prayed allot and talked about what that would be like and could we handle it.  (If I waited it would have been late November before I could get another date for my surgery.)
Well we decided we would both have surgery and depend on God Meeting our needs….    It was a Radical Step of Obedience that has just been overwhelming to us on how God supplied our needs…     We had Family, Friends and Relationships that took us in and blessed us beyond what we could have ever imagined.
So my question to all of you – have you taken one of those Radical Steps of Obedience and let God supply your needs.   Has there been one of those Promptings from the Spirit that said – go forward and do it – not knowing how everything will be accomplished.    Today could be one of those steps of Faith that God is calling you to do and you are weighing out all the stuff that goes with it and holding back.  I would encourage you to take that Step —      God has promised that when you go forward in Faith – he will supply all of your needs…..
Bobbyg
I am going to write another Blog on What Radical Steps of Obedicence looks like and would like some feedback from you guys…        Please send me an email to rogudahl@wyoming.com on what you think.

I had a great lunch with a good friend of mine yesterday (Choe) – he has a ministry of bringing some Awesome Christian Artist to Cheyenne for everyone to enjoy.   During our conversation we talked about what you should experience at a Christian Concert or even one of my Gods Mighty Men’s Conference.   This is just not just going to an event and to have an enjoyable time – but there should be more to it.  But do not get me wrong – you should have an AWESOME time at the event.
These events are not based on any Denomination or for just Christians – they are open for anyone to come and unite in one cause.   Choe has a vision that the GMM team has – we want people to come away different then when they arrived.  Here are a couple of visionary experiences we would like to see happen.

1.  People should come together in unity and drop any denomination barriers and enjoy praising the Lord together.  We should become The Church at these times…
2. At these events you should encounter the Power of the Holy Spirit at work in all the Hearts of the people.   To make one of these events successful to you personally – you must be open to what the Holy Spirit is trying to work through you.
3. One of the major experiences that I believe should happen is that your relationship with Christ would be enhanced to a much deeper level.  When you leave the event – people should see Jesus in you and want to know what makes you glow.
4. Passion:    Your Passion after a event should be so great that it becomes contagious to the people who surround you and your Joy is passed on.
5. I would also like to see people being encouraged to go forward in Faith and be led by the Spirit to get involved in ministry…   this looks different to everyone – it can be just greeting people at church – praying for people – or it can be as big as putting together a Concert or Conference.  But we must go forward with a purpose in passing on the good news of Jesus Christ.

There are some great events coming up – so please check out our GMM Web site or watch for them to be announce through one of the Media Sources and then attend.
Bobbyg
***So as you go forward this week – have lunch with a friend or family member and then go enjoy a Concert….