Mark 9:17-29, records the account of a boy afflicted with a deaf and dumb spirit. Notice that in the description of what the unclean spirit did to the boy nothing is stated about the boy being deaf or dumb. Instead the description seems to be seizure-like. That’s because the spirit was “Deaf and Dumb” not the boy.
Verse 17, “… my son who hath a dumb spirit”
Verse 25, “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee come out of him”
There were “kinds” of spirits, Jesus says so himself, “This kind can come out by nothing save by prayer”. In fact, Jesus questions the boy’s father in verse 21, “How long time is it since this (spirit) hath come unto him?” presumably to ascertain the “kind” of spirit.
In many instances an unclean spirit would verbally communicate with Jesus… not so in this case… dumb (unable to speak) spirit.
God wants us to know that there is some complexity involved in the demon world. The disciples were not dealing with a “run of the mill” demon.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Updated Prayer List
Prayer List – members
Derick Hickman (Hospitalized)
Jeffie Jackson, loss of grandson, Danny Green
Janet Bickle moved to South Carolina where her daughter lives.
Eunice Espinosa recovering from a c-section
Vivian Meeker (Macular degeneration)
Virginia Lawler
Jean Cave (complications with pacemaker)
Syble Peterson (severe arthritis)
Dan Graf (Sarcoidosis)
Dwayne Murphy (Pemphigus vulgaris)
Liz Graf
Raul Christie (working in Virgin Islands)
Family and Friends
Joshua Fischer (Ian Fischer’s son – open heart surgery)
Cyndia Garcia's sister,Cris, in Pasadena, Ca. (possible uterine cancer)
Sandy Case's cousin Logan – recovering from serious snowboarding accident
Donna Morgan's mother in Oklahoma (heart problems)
Don David (Courtney's father - back surgery)
Maggie Perez’s brother, George Cruz, and her mother, Serafina Cruz (Dementia)
Gennie Washington (Bonnie Davis’ sister battling cancer and recovering from surgery.
Craig Clanton (friend of the Perkins, chemo for pre-leukemia)
Darrell Hymel (work in China)
Jim Vaughan (Joey Vaughan’ father – aortic aneurism)
Lori Carson (Donna Morgan’s niece, breast cancer)
Raul Torres' mother and sister - cancer
Randall Chisamore (Graf friend - fell from a three story balcony. Massive injuries)
Serenity & Michaela (Arlie’s grand daughters – family problems)
Scott Perkins (ask God to help him find his faith)
D.L. Hutchins (spiritual - illness)
Elizabeth Robles (Priscilla Guel’s daughter, spiritual weakness)
Mike Garcia (Lucas requests prayers for his dad - spiritual illness)
Tim and Ben Bueno (Patsy requests prayers for her sons - spiritual illness)
Manuel Perez Jr. (parents ask for prayer - spiritual illness)
Ardelle Sumter (Arlie Cooksey's mom, dementia)
Nelda Davila's mother (Alzheimer's)
Elna Walker (Donna Morgan's mother - Congestive Heart Failure)
Gene Mabry (Amy Torno's dad - liver transplant candidate)
Cyndi Garcia's dad (breathing problems)
George Stan (Julie's cousin) Valerie Yates (George Stan's friend - cancer)
Ofelia Guzman
Nora Phillips (Cindy Graf's mom at home on oxygen)
Derick Hickman (Hospitalized)
Jeffie Jackson, loss of grandson, Danny Green
Janet Bickle moved to South Carolina where her daughter lives.
Eunice Espinosa recovering from a c-section
Vivian Meeker (Macular degeneration)
Virginia Lawler
Jean Cave (complications with pacemaker)
Syble Peterson (severe arthritis)
Dan Graf (Sarcoidosis)
Dwayne Murphy (Pemphigus vulgaris)
Liz Graf
Raul Christie (working in Virgin Islands)
Family and Friends
Joshua Fischer (Ian Fischer’s son – open heart surgery)
Cyndia Garcia's sister,Cris, in Pasadena, Ca. (possible uterine cancer)
Sandy Case's cousin Logan – recovering from serious snowboarding accident
Donna Morgan's mother in Oklahoma (heart problems)
Don David (Courtney's father - back surgery)
Maggie Perez’s brother, George Cruz, and her mother, Serafina Cruz (Dementia)
Gennie Washington (Bonnie Davis’ sister battling cancer and recovering from surgery.
Craig Clanton (friend of the Perkins, chemo for pre-leukemia)
Darrell Hymel (work in China)
Jim Vaughan (Joey Vaughan’ father – aortic aneurism)
Lori Carson (Donna Morgan’s niece, breast cancer)
Raul Torres' mother and sister - cancer
Randall Chisamore (Graf friend - fell from a three story balcony. Massive injuries)
Serenity & Michaela (Arlie’s grand daughters – family problems)
Scott Perkins (ask God to help him find his faith)
D.L. Hutchins (spiritual - illness)
Elizabeth Robles (Priscilla Guel’s daughter, spiritual weakness)
Mike Garcia (Lucas requests prayers for his dad - spiritual illness)
Tim and Ben Bueno (Patsy requests prayers for her sons - spiritual illness)
Manuel Perez Jr. (parents ask for prayer - spiritual illness)
Ardelle Sumter (Arlie Cooksey's mom, dementia)
Nelda Davila's mother (Alzheimer's)
Elna Walker (Donna Morgan's mother - Congestive Heart Failure)
Gene Mabry (Amy Torno's dad - liver transplant candidate)
Cyndi Garcia's dad (breathing problems)
George Stan (Julie's cousin) Valerie Yates (George Stan's friend - cancer)
Ofelia Guzman
Nora Phillips (Cindy Graf's mom at home on oxygen)
Don and the International Students
From left to right; Evy, Don, Jordan and Toshi.
Evy is Vietnamese, Jordan is Korean and Toshi is Japanese. They have finals this week and then they are off until the new semester starts in June. Jordan has a degree in Electrical Engineering and is here for a year to learn english. I asked him what he is going to do during the month of May and he said he was going to stay in his apartment and watch TV. I told him I had some other plans for him.
Helping Ourselves
Helping the poor can be pretty challenging. Why? Because most of us don’t know anyone who is truly poor and in fact if we were in a group of people we generally would seek out the people who we have the most in common with… not the poor.
We also tend to judge the poor. Something like this, “they’re poor because they’re lazy. God doesn’t like lazy people and neither do I”.
In addition, if someone who is poor visits our services we tend to shun them. Why? Because they look like bums and the truth is most of them are bums.
We had a poor guy attend services one Sunday evening recently. He was looking for $65 to buy clothes for a new job he was starting. He had been out of prison for 30 days for writing a bad check.
I told him that we have a lot of bums coming around looking for handouts. He started telling me his story again and I interrupted him and told him all the bums have good stories. I continued by telling him that Parkway was an extremely generous congregation but our primary thing was leading people to Christ through the study of the Bible. I told him if he would attend the services and dedicate himself to Bible study and get to know people that he would be overwhelmed with our generosity. I gave him everything in my wallet… $23.00. He assured me he would be at the next service. That was about four weeks ago and I’ve never seen him again.
I was taken advantage of, that’s OK… they took advantage of Jesus too and for $23.00 I got to give some good advice.
Proverbs 19:17. He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Jesus is going to pay that $23.00 back to me… maybe a little extra.
What tends to happen when we deal with a lot of bums is that we assume everyone is a bum and we try to avoid them or pass them off to someone else. The problem with that assumption is that we may miss out on an opportunity to help someone who is truly needy. Also, you miss the opportunity to teach and give advice to the bum. What’s an acceptable ratio? How many bums do I have to help before I find one person who was truly in need… 99:1? Or do I stop at 3. Three bums and I’m done.
Proverbs 28:27. He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Proverbs 21:13. If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
There are great blessings that God will give us for helping the poor.
Proverbs 22:9. A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
Proverbs 28:8. He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
When we help the poor we are really helping ourselves.
We also tend to judge the poor. Something like this, “they’re poor because they’re lazy. God doesn’t like lazy people and neither do I”.
In addition, if someone who is poor visits our services we tend to shun them. Why? Because they look like bums and the truth is most of them are bums.
We had a poor guy attend services one Sunday evening recently. He was looking for $65 to buy clothes for a new job he was starting. He had been out of prison for 30 days for writing a bad check.
I told him that we have a lot of bums coming around looking for handouts. He started telling me his story again and I interrupted him and told him all the bums have good stories. I continued by telling him that Parkway was an extremely generous congregation but our primary thing was leading people to Christ through the study of the Bible. I told him if he would attend the services and dedicate himself to Bible study and get to know people that he would be overwhelmed with our generosity. I gave him everything in my wallet… $23.00. He assured me he would be at the next service. That was about four weeks ago and I’ve never seen him again.
I was taken advantage of, that’s OK… they took advantage of Jesus too and for $23.00 I got to give some good advice.
Proverbs 19:17. He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Jesus is going to pay that $23.00 back to me… maybe a little extra.
What tends to happen when we deal with a lot of bums is that we assume everyone is a bum and we try to avoid them or pass them off to someone else. The problem with that assumption is that we may miss out on an opportunity to help someone who is truly needy. Also, you miss the opportunity to teach and give advice to the bum. What’s an acceptable ratio? How many bums do I have to help before I find one person who was truly in need… 99:1? Or do I stop at 3. Three bums and I’m done.
Proverbs 28:27. He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Proverbs 21:13. If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
There are great blessings that God will give us for helping the poor.
Proverbs 22:9. A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
Proverbs 28:8. He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
When we help the poor we are really helping ourselves.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Church News
Eunice and Mark Espinosa are the proud parents of a new baby boy...
Jonathan Mark Espinosa. Born April 14, 2010. Eight pounds eleven ounces and 21 inches long. Eunices' parents were at services this morning.
Several helped on Friday morning to help pack up Janet Bickle. We also had several to help Daniel and Julie Ann Baker move in to the area. They come from the Decker Prarie congregation in the Houston area.
Amanda Drum's trip to France was canceled. Something about a volcano.
Jonathan Mark Espinosa. Born April 14, 2010. Eight pounds eleven ounces and 21 inches long. Eunices' parents were at services this morning.
Several helped on Friday morning to help pack up Janet Bickle. We also had several to help Daniel and Julie Ann Baker move in to the area. They come from the Decker Prarie congregation in the Houston area.
Amanda Drum's trip to France was canceled. Something about a volcano.
Praise and Reproof
Once a year we have employee evaluations. When I talk to our employees I identify for them what I think their strong points are and what areas they need to improve on. The strongest asset we have at Tejas Veterinary Clinic is our employees, so we strive to make them better so our business can be better.
The business of the Lord’s church is to make its people better. The church is a self policing organization that builds its members through encouragement and admonishment. Much like a business we encourage each other by identifying strong points and areas that need improvement. It is a mutual responsibility that members have for each other. It is not the exclusive domain of some super class of Christians.
Consider these proverbs…
27:5-6. “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy”.
28:23. “He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue”.
25:11-12. “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances. Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear”.
12:1. “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid”.
If a congregation is ever going to have an impact in the community it’s members have to live sin free lives of service. Praise and rebuke are the tools to achieve this. Don’t neglect them.
The business of the Lord’s church is to make its people better. The church is a self policing organization that builds its members through encouragement and admonishment. Much like a business we encourage each other by identifying strong points and areas that need improvement. It is a mutual responsibility that members have for each other. It is not the exclusive domain of some super class of Christians.
Consider these proverbs…
27:5-6. “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy”.
28:23. “He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue”.
25:11-12. “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances. Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear”.
12:1. “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid”.
If a congregation is ever going to have an impact in the community it’s members have to live sin free lives of service. Praise and rebuke are the tools to achieve this. Don’t neglect them.
Conversation Group
This is a picture taken from our Friday afternoon conversation group. Pictured from the left are Jenny, David, Helen, Evy and Alex. Not pictured is Klaus. These are all Vietnamese students who are at Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the ESL program (learning English). Most of these international students take on American names. A lot of work has been done by others working with International students and introducing them to Christ. So far David, Don, Shane, Jeff C. and yours truly have been involved in this. Please pray for us.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Laughing at Enemies
Proverbs 24:17-18
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and he turns his anger from him (to you*).
I’ll have to admit that I have been pleased at times when I see an “enemy” get his just deserts. So this is a challenging instruction from the Lord for me. Even though it’s challenging the consequences of being happy when someone fails is that the Lord will be angry with me. I can’t afford to let that happen.
What should our reaction be when an “enemy stumbles”? I guess it should be compassion and sorrow. That’s how godly people act. They see someone who has led a horrible life and when they hit rock bottom, so to speak, they have compassion and try to help that person rebuild their life. You can’t really help someone when you are enjoying their downfall.
Laugh at them and the Lord will be angry with you.
Weep with them and the Lord will be pleased with you.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and he turns his anger from him (to you*).
I’ll have to admit that I have been pleased at times when I see an “enemy” get his just deserts. So this is a challenging instruction from the Lord for me. Even though it’s challenging the consequences of being happy when someone fails is that the Lord will be angry with me. I can’t afford to let that happen.
What should our reaction be when an “enemy stumbles”? I guess it should be compassion and sorrow. That’s how godly people act. They see someone who has led a horrible life and when they hit rock bottom, so to speak, they have compassion and try to help that person rebuild their life. You can’t really help someone when you are enjoying their downfall.
Laugh at them and the Lord will be angry with you.
Weep with them and the Lord will be pleased with you.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Church News
Janet Bickle will be moving this Friday to South Carolina where her daughter lives.
Check with Jeff Carr about helping her load up. We’ll miss her.
Eunice Espinosa is scheduled for a c-section this Wednesday.
We’ll have a Song Leaders class next Sunday night after services.
From Ruth Lara…
Thank you all so much for the wonderful Parkway prayers! The hearing yesterday was favorable towards us, and Jonah.We have Jonah for the next 30 days, and this will be a month to month event, since the his biological father is wanting custody. We do have a good relationship with him, and he realizes how important Jonah is to us, and wants us to stay in Jonah's life as well, with frequent visits etc.
Lord willing the threat of placing Jonah in foster care or "the Ark" are no longer being considered, that was what I was most dreading.
Thank you all again, and we trust in our good Lord in taking care of our lil Jonah.Please continue keeping us in your prayers.
From Delina…
Kenadee was born at 8 pm tonight! She weighs 7lbs 14oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. Both crystal and kenadee are doing well! Crystal is extremely tired...she pushed for 3 hrs! Please keep both crystal and kenadee in your prayers! Thanks, Delina
From Jeanne…
just wanted to tell you that Jeffie (sam) Jacksons
grandson Danny Green died at home in his sleep this morning. he was 40 or so and had been sick for a while. no details, just requesting prayers for her and her family.
Jeanne
From Sandy Case…
I 'm leaving for Norman, OK today to watch my nephew, Tim, compete, and I will get to see my cousin, Logan, who was injured in the snowboarding accident a year ago. As a sophomore at OU, he is still wheel chair bound, but slowly making some progress. I will leave for West Point a week from today to watch my nephew compete again, so I'm requesting continued prayers for Logan and prayers for us as we travel.
Now for the bragging part:
My nephew is ranked fifth on the USA Men's Gymnastics team, and he hopes to make the Olympic Team in 2012.
From Laura Yz...
Rob,
This is Laura. I just received word today that a friend of mine, Joe Goforth, is in a critical state. On Friday, he learned he was having health issues which were originally thought to be caused by his liver. Today, we found out that he has a clot in his heart. He is on the list for a heart transplant. He needs one as soon as possible or else it is unlikely he will survive. He is an 18 year-old Christian who is very talented and loved by many. I met him at Texas Camp years ago and it was very hard to imagine him this sick. He is a very encouraging young man. I would like to request prayers not only for him but for his family. It must be harder for them to see a son, brother, and friend dying. Please pass this on to the congregation. Many thanks.
In Christian Love,
Laura Yzaguirre
Check with Jeff Carr about helping her load up. We’ll miss her.
Eunice Espinosa is scheduled for a c-section this Wednesday.
We’ll have a Song Leaders class next Sunday night after services.
From Ruth Lara…
Thank you all so much for the wonderful Parkway prayers! The hearing yesterday was favorable towards us, and Jonah.We have Jonah for the next 30 days, and this will be a month to month event, since the his biological father is wanting custody. We do have a good relationship with him, and he realizes how important Jonah is to us, and wants us to stay in Jonah's life as well, with frequent visits etc.
Lord willing the threat of placing Jonah in foster care or "the Ark" are no longer being considered, that was what I was most dreading.
Thank you all again, and we trust in our good Lord in taking care of our lil Jonah.Please continue keeping us in your prayers.
From Delina…
Kenadee was born at 8 pm tonight! She weighs 7lbs 14oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. Both crystal and kenadee are doing well! Crystal is extremely tired...she pushed for 3 hrs! Please keep both crystal and kenadee in your prayers! Thanks, Delina
From Jeanne…
just wanted to tell you that Jeffie (sam) Jacksons
grandson Danny Green died at home in his sleep this morning. he was 40 or so and had been sick for a while. no details, just requesting prayers for her and her family.
Jeanne
From Sandy Case…
I 'm leaving for Norman, OK today to watch my nephew, Tim, compete, and I will get to see my cousin, Logan, who was injured in the snowboarding accident a year ago. As a sophomore at OU, he is still wheel chair bound, but slowly making some progress. I will leave for West Point a week from today to watch my nephew compete again, so I'm requesting continued prayers for Logan and prayers for us as we travel.
Now for the bragging part:
My nephew is ranked fifth on the USA Men's Gymnastics team, and he hopes to make the Olympic Team in 2012.
From Laura Yz...
Rob,
This is Laura. I just received word today that a friend of mine, Joe Goforth, is in a critical state. On Friday, he learned he was having health issues which were originally thought to be caused by his liver. Today, we found out that he has a clot in his heart. He is on the list for a heart transplant. He needs one as soon as possible or else it is unlikely he will survive. He is an 18 year-old Christian who is very talented and loved by many. I met him at Texas Camp years ago and it was very hard to imagine him this sick. He is a very encouraging young man. I would like to request prayers not only for him but for his family. It must be harder for them to see a son, brother, and friend dying. Please pass this on to the congregation. Many thanks.
In Christian Love,
Laura Yzaguirre
Hannah and Lydia
I couldn't get all the kids. Some of them ran and hid when I started taking pictures..
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Condemning Ourselves
Consider what you would do if on the judgment day the Lord God almighty informed you that you could take one person in with you (who was not among the saved). Who would you choose?
I was thinking about this the other day and a name came immediately to my mind, the name of a loved one who was once a Christian but no longer believes.
Then I thought of someone else, a great friend who is a believer and who lives an exemplary life but attends a denomination that clearly violates plain Bible teaching. Name after name entered my mind and I began to despair because whoever I chose meant rejecting others whom I love dearly.
When I became an employer several years ago the hardest thing I had to do was to fire someone. In fact the first person we fired we gave severance pay to… that’s how dumb we were. It’s a lot easier for me now because when we fire someone it’s because they have violated clear cut rules and in effect I’m not firing them… they’re firing themselves.
God has given us clear cut instructions on how we are to live and if we choose to either not know the instructions or to ignore them, he is not condemning us to punishment we are condemning ourselves.
It’s probably not going to happen, but I wish the Lord would let me pick one condemned person to join me in heaven but if he doesn’t… that’s OK too… after all, as sad as it might be, they only have themselves to blame.
I was thinking about this the other day and a name came immediately to my mind, the name of a loved one who was once a Christian but no longer believes.
Then I thought of someone else, a great friend who is a believer and who lives an exemplary life but attends a denomination that clearly violates plain Bible teaching. Name after name entered my mind and I began to despair because whoever I chose meant rejecting others whom I love dearly.
When I became an employer several years ago the hardest thing I had to do was to fire someone. In fact the first person we fired we gave severance pay to… that’s how dumb we were. It’s a lot easier for me now because when we fire someone it’s because they have violated clear cut rules and in effect I’m not firing them… they’re firing themselves.
God has given us clear cut instructions on how we are to live and if we choose to either not know the instructions or to ignore them, he is not condemning us to punishment we are condemning ourselves.
It’s probably not going to happen, but I wish the Lord would let me pick one condemned person to join me in heaven but if he doesn’t… that’s OK too… after all, as sad as it might be, they only have themselves to blame.
Church News
Janet Bickle will be moving April 16. She is moving to North Carolina to be closer to her daughter.
Joe Shaw requests prayers.
Sarah Ford will be graduating from TAMU-CC this May.
Laura Yzaguirre will be graduating from Moody high school this year and will be attending Texas A&M in College Station this fall.
Megan Turner will be graduating from Calallen and attending Texas A&M in College Station as well.
The last Sunday in August, Joe Fitch will be preaching.
The last Sunday in October, Larry Bilbo (Sinton), will be preaching.
Joe Shaw requests prayers.
Sarah Ford will be graduating from TAMU-CC this May.
Laura Yzaguirre will be graduating from Moody high school this year and will be attending Texas A&M in College Station this fall.
Megan Turner will be graduating from Calallen and attending Texas A&M in College Station as well.
The last Sunday in August, Joe Fitch will be preaching.
The last Sunday in October, Larry Bilbo (Sinton), will be preaching.
Konw Your Parkway College Students
This is Trevor Bynum. Trevor is from the Fort Worth area and is attending Texas A&M Corpus Christi. He is majoring in Theater. Get to know Trevor.
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