UPDATE: See my July 16, 2016 post entitled "Pulling Weeds." I have made edits/comments to the text, below, where I believe the Holy Spirit wants me to make changes. All changes are in the color of this paragraph.
Thank you, Jesus.
The city has been replacing the water supply pipeline and repairing the street in front of our house, and the Holy Spirit has been using the activity to teach me things. One of those things has been that "it is not my project." During my career as an engineer, I worked on projects and often represented my employer's interests. I helped determine the scope of a job and watched for problems as the work was done. This street-repair project was not mine, however, so all I could do was watch, although I did have reason to interact with what was going on.
For one thing, the work was being done on city land which I maintain. I mow, water and fertilize the grass on it, and I own an irrigation system under the grass.
The city's engineer overseeing the project also interacted with me concerning the sidewalk on my corner. Part of the project included reconstructing the sidewalk to accommodate government requirements catering for people with disabilities, and that meant they were going to have to dig out the old sidewalk and change the grade. Consequently, we had discussions, and they took my wishes and desires into account, but it was their project, not mine.
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| Note the dip in the forms in the section on the right. |
That day, there was a rather large gentleman with the concrete contractor who seemed to be directing the crew. I had not seen him before, and in my mind I referred to him as the "big guy." He was there when I went out to confront the situation, and although most of the workers spoke with Spanish accents, the big guy was clearly from my part of the country. I knew this because after I boldly made my case to whoever was there, he calmly said, "Well, you're wrong, and I'm gonna tell you why."
He then explained that the edges of the sidewalk had to flare up to meet the elevation of the street curb, and that the main part of the sidewalk continued to slope down to the street. He said that it was all being done to the government requirements, but they could change it if I wanted.
I immediately was embarrassed because I understood what he was saying, and I felt like a fool. I told him I understood, and that it was not my project. I also told him they had been doing very good work and that I was very pleased with everyone. He gave me a slight smile and I turned to head back to my house with my level. I was cut to the heart because I knew the Holy Spirit had just taught me a lesson.
I went back inside and spent a few minutes confessing to my Lord what I had done, and then I started looking at Facebook. It wasn't long before I saw something that Colin Thompson had "posted," and I clicked on it. It was Jesus' vision for the church - The Pioneer School Lesson 18. I watched it. It talks about Luke Chapter 10, where Jesus sends out the seventy disciples. I had read it many times, but of course, this time I saw something I had never realized before.
I have been waiting for nearly a year to find someone to immerse my wife1 in the Name of Jesus. The message for me on this day was, I should do it!
I have been listening to the rest of the Pioneer School videos, and have been learning a lot, although the Holy Spirit had already taught me much of what the Danish man is saying. I am overjoyed because God has opened up my eyes further, and I am learning to walk more intimately with the Holy Spirit as I go about each day!
I strongly suggest everyone view the Last Reformation videos, and learn to become true disciples of Jesus, and more importantly, learn how to make disciples of others, as Jesus commanded us to do. The full movie is especially good, and is a good place to start.
Thank you, Jesus, for freeing me from my sin, and for giving me true Life. I pray you will do the same for many, many others.
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| The approach going to the right slopes toward the street, as it should. |
By the way, here is what the finished sidewalk looks like. They did not change the forms, and everything is as it should be. I was wrong. I don't know everything. I need to let the Holy Spirit guide me. I need to walk by faith, not by sight.
So,
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His harvest field. Lord, please send out workers into your harvest field, and send me with them. In Jesus' Name!
[I don't believe there is anything wrong with this, although I now believe my initial baptism was sufficient because it significantly changed my life and freed me from sin, as described in Romans 6.]
All glory to God!
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UPDATE, August 5, 2022...
Changed the color of the former updates to make them not so harsh on the eyes.
UPDATE, August 21, 2022...
It is always wise to start from the beginning. Please consider reading through the posts in chronological order to understand their context. Also, reading them all will give you the full picture and help you understand me and where I believe God is taking me. At this time, there are 78 posts so it is not a small task, but I think you will find it well worth the effort. Some amazing things have been happening and I have written about a lot of them. I do not think this is an ordinary blog.
Many posts include updates. I recently gained some insight into my personality and the personalities of others, and I discussed this in updates to my Engineer post. What works for me does not necessarily work for other people. For example, I started using the Socratic Method with my Critical Thinking post and some may have found it useful, but probably not everyone. Realizing logic and impersonal decision-making simply do not work for some people has led me to speak plainly and provide more context in many of my recent updates.
UPDATES, September 4, 2022...
1 I was baptized in a church that encouraged people to share their testimonies with the congregation before going underwater. I had no problem with doing that and you can read what I said here. The thought of doing that terrified my wife, however, and there was no way she was going to do it. It put a stumbling block in her way of being obedient to Jesus.
Several years later, someone else wanted to be baptized before they moved away from Midland, and there were no "baptism services" planned on the church calendar to meet their needs. Consequently, the leadership of our "small church" group arranged to baptize the person on July 11, 2004 (7/11, 7 + 1 + 1 = 9) in nearby Sanford Lake (which no longer exists due to a dam failure in 2020), and several others decided to be baptized, too. My wife also decided to be baptized. I have the videotape, and this is what she said to the group of about fifty people on the beach...
I just want to...ah... be here... be here for God. He's made it very clear to me this week that he wants me to do this. He wants to get on with Rick and I's lives and... I'm his helper and... in order for him to do something with us, I need to be obedient and I need to do this today. I want to follow him.
The man doing the baptizing was one of the leaders of our "small church" group, and he had also recently been made an elder of the full church. He was apparently shown what to do because he tipped the people backwards into the water, as I had seen other leaders do.
My wife was heavy at the time, and apparently did not want to be tipped backwards, probably because she was afraid she would get water up her nose. So instead, the man tipped her head forward into the water, which actually makes more sense to me.
Unfortunately, as the video shows, he only put her face into the water. The back of her head, shoulders, and back remained dry. Frankly, I think they should have been in deeper water. When I watched the video later, I realized she had not really been baptized because she had not been completely immersed. I think this is what actually drove me to get her baptized again, and my concerns about the words spoken were mainly what I had recently gotten from Colin Thompson's opinions and the Last Reformation's teachings. As I said at the end of the post, I do not think the words spoken are important, but full immersion is.
Why do we complicate things? Why do we tip people backwards when simply putting them fully underwater is biblically sufficient? Why do people need to say anything beforehand, other than confirming that they have repented and what they are doing?
I am so, so glad I baptized my love in our recycle bin. I know it was done, and it was done right.
2 The gematria of this date is...
5/13
5 + 1 + 3 = 9
9
UPDATE, May 16, 2023...
Even "The Fonz" admits he was wrong...
Realizing and admitting we have been wrong are the first steps toward freedom.
...Only then can the Truth set us free. (John 8:32)