We decided to change the colors of our theme, and are happy with the result. The last layout was alright, but a bit cartoonish, so this one is a tad bit more mature.
This is my new Video of the Week. It's of a Russian baritone singer (Eduard Anatolyevich Khil, by name) that was posted on Facebook by an old buddy of mine. It's kinda catchy!?

Sometimes, when I feel like I totally suck (or want to feel that way), I'll search for a nice uplifting Paul Washer video. He's a little hardcore for me, but I love him anyways.
This is a great message, though, 'Get off the computer, and sell ourselves into slavery for the Gospel!'

Last weekend was the annual Malagash Men's Advance weekend. I have attended this weekend in '06, '09 and this year. It is always a time of gluttony, timely preaching, but most of all, great fellowship. I get to know the guys more on these weekends than the rest of the year, and it has proven to consistently impart a hunger for more of the manifestation of God in our lives. 

Every day I realize more and more that everything is so meaningless and vain without God. Without his grace we are completely hopeless. Without his mercy we have only the expectation of unending torment. I am constantly amazed at how God has used me these 8 years; how he has taken someone that hated Him and turned his life around. I love much because I have been forgiven so so much.

I have been reading the New Living Translation a lot lately and have been impressed at how readable, but accurate, it seems to be. I have been wrestling with the book of Romans the past few weeks. It boggles my mind. I come up with way more questions than answers during my times of study, which is the way it should be, I suppose. God is more interested in developing our character whereas we are more interested in perfecting it. We always tend to want to get the end result as fast as possible, whereas God is in no rush, He already knows the outcome and He delights in seeing us develop.

This time on the Island has been sweet so far. We are splitting our two Bible studies into men's and women's groups starting in June. This will allow us to grow and include more people. We are also praying about what God would have us do regarding the youth of Faithworks Centre.

We are still excited about the prospect of Russia, or even Tyndale, but for now, we have enough on our plate to keep us busy without relying on the secular to fill our schedule. That is a blessing we are so thankful for.

James 1:1 
James, the slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends greetings to the twelve tribes who are scattered throughout the world.

At the very beginning of his letter James describes himself by the title wherein lies his only honour and his only glory, the slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Withe exception of Jude he is the only New Testament writer to describe himself by that term (doulos) without any qualification. Paul describes himself as the slave of Jesus Christ and his apostle (Romans1:1; Philippians1:1) but James will go no further than to call himself the slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are at least four implications in this title.
     (i) It implies absolute obedience. The slave knows no law but his master's word; he has no rights of his own; he is the absolute possession of his master; and he is bound to give his master unquestioning obedience.
     (ii) It implies absolute humility. It is the word of a man who thinks not of his privileges but of his duties, not of his rights but of his obligations. It is the word of a man who has lost his self in the service of God.
      (iii) It implies absolute loyalty. It is the word of a man who has no interests of his own, because what he does, he does for God. His own profit and his own preference do not enter into his calculations; his loyalty is to him.
     (iv) Yet, at the back of it, this word implies a certain pride. So far from being a title of dishonour it was the title by which the greatest ones of the Old Testament were known. Moses was the doulos of God (1Kings8:53; Daniel9:11; Malachai4:4); so were Joshua and Caleb (Joshua24:29; Numbers14:24); so were the great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Dueteronomy9:27); so was Job (Job1:8); so was Isaiah (Isaiah20:3); and doulos is distinctively the title by which the prophets were known (Amos3:7; Zechariah1:6; Jeremiah7:25). By taking the title doulos James sets himself in the great succession of those who found their freedom and their peace and their glory in perfect submission to the will of God. The only greatness to which the Christian can ever aspire is that of being the slave of God.

William Barclay (commentary on James 1:1)