DAN GOULD

FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Author: dgould77

  • Luke 19:1-27

    “The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.” v. 11

    Verse 11 is an interesting verse to pick out of this passage but it has major importance and connect and transitions two very powerful story’s that give us insight to the Kingdom of God.  Here are some things to understand.

    • Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem!  I Jerusalem He will be betrayed and handed over to be crucified.  He knows this and that is why the next passage is so big for us as Christ Followers.
    • Jesus address with the encounter with Zacchaeus why He came from Heaven to Earth.  But it also reveals what the power of His Presence in ones life can do.  He changes people from the inside out.  Verses 9-10 give us a clear picture of His purpose and ours.
    • The story in verses 12-27 is an example of Gods Kingdom.  It represents the time period between Jesus Ascension and His 2nd Coming.  Jesus is coming back! He has given us (Believers) gift, talents, and resources to advance His Kingdom and He will hold us accountable to how we used them when He returns.

    So what does this mean for you and me?  Well a couple of things:

    1. People need Jesus. It doesn’t matter where they have been or what they have done, they need Jesus!
    2. We have been given a responsibility to advance the Kingdom of God. Jesus has entrusted us with His resources.  He expects us to use them in a way that others can come to know Him and grow in relationship with Him.

    Here’s the question are you using the resources God has given you to advance His Kingdom?  Do you see the people that need Him and are you willing to reach out to them?  Jesus, I want to be this type of person!

  • Stress . . . Can’t do a body good!

    Since Jackson has been born, the stress levels have been high for me.  In January I found out that I had high blood pressure.  Some of that I believe to be the high stress of both ministry and the things going on with Jackson, but most of it I have been told is genetics.

    So I said all that to say this, this week I seemed to hit the climax of what my body can take.  On Tuesday my wife had a doctors appointment and found out that she needed to take a test on Wednesday to determine what the next steps were.  I guess that stressed me out a little too much causing me to experience some chest pressure on Tuesday Night.  I had never felt like that before and it really freaked me out . . . enough so that the next day, Wednesday I made and appointment to see the doctor.  However, I never made it to the doctor on Wednesday because of other circumstance that seemed to culminate at 2:00pm yesterday.

    As I was sitting with Stephanie, who was just coming out of anesthesia, I got a phone call saying that Jackson was given to much medicine and was being taken to the ER.  Also at this time Josiah was needing to be picked up from school.  So needless to say, I needed to be in three places at once.  I left my wife there with the nurses and rushed to the hospital to make sure Jackson got the care he needed.  On the way to the ER I made phone calls to get Josiah and Stephanie picked up.  Thank goodness we had some life lines that were able to drop what they were doing to meet our needs.  The good news about yesterday is that Jackson and Stephanie are both ok.  Jackson never seemed to miss a beat and slept most of the 4-5 hours we were at the Children’s Hospital.  So yeah yesterday was stressful and my body felt it.  The pressure was still there and I was fearful that I might have been experiencing the beginning stages of a heart attach.

    I had already canceled may 3:25 appointment on Wednesday and set up an appointment with the doctor for 8:15 am on Thursday, but Wednesday Night, I didn’t know if I should wait that long, so I called the doctors office and talked to the doctor on call.  I explained my symptoms and told him my levels and he encouraged me to get some rest and get it all checked out in the morning.

    So there I was today, feeling better than yesterday, but still wanting some answers.  The doctor came in and listened to everything, gave me a EKG, chest x-ray, and blood work.  Everything came back normal.  Even my blood pressure today was the lowest it has been in 6 months.  I am still waiting on the Blood Work and think it should be good since it was good just a couple of months ago and I have been eating better.   However, this doesn’t mean I am out of the gray.  He said that by the test everything seemed to be ok.  But with my family history I should watch it.  He thinks that stress is the cause of the problems and pain that I was experiencing.  He also said, and I wish I would have had him put in writing, that I need a vacation!  Lucky for me, Stephanie and I are going to Cali Sunday for 5 days.  It couldn’t have come at a better time.

    Since this morning I have been thinking about the changes that I need to make in order to live a longer and healthier life. After all, my wife and kids deserve to have me around as long as they can.  And I believe some of the best parts of life are ahead of me not behind me!  I will post later what the plans are and how I believe they will help me live with less stress.

  • Jesus is My Friend – Bandwagon I know

    This video has made circulation lately on blogs because of it being played on The Soup and Best Week Ever.  But today I was reading Ben Taylor’s blog and saw that David Crowder did a cover of it also.  Much shorter and a little easier to watch. Enjoy!

  • Mark 10:35-45

    When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” v. 41-45

    It’s easy to want to be recognized for acts of service!  It’s also easy to do stuff to look good in the eyes of others.  In this passage Jesus address the heart more than He does the actions.  When you are moved with compassion by the Holy Spirit, you will do things because it is the right thing to do not for a show, recognition, or other selfish desires.  This is totally opposite of cooperate America and the worlds way, but it is Gods way!  James and John wanted to be at the top, siting next to Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But Jesus told them that true greatness comes in serving other.

    Today rather than seeking ways to have your needs met, look for ways that you can minister to the needs of others!

  • Soccer 101 – We are getting better!

    Last Night was Josiah’s third soccer game, one in which he played three quarters.  He is really becoming pretty good when he stays focused on the game and not playing super heroes with his friend Brandon.  But at 4 years old, what can you expect?  However, I am learning a ton through this process.  I am learning a lot about myself, Josiah, other parents, other kids, and about a game I don’t know much about.

    As a kid, we played soccer at recess but that was it.  In Jr. High and High School it wasn’t even an option.  Times have changed and I don’t have to drive very far to see kids of all ages playing soccer.  This year is Josiah’s first year to play.  We have been working on dribbling the ball, kicking without falling down, and stealing the ball, (this is the simplest since I just tell him to try to get it from me, he thinks its a game).  These things seem to be working because he is getting better.  Words can’t explain how much fun it is for me to watch him have fun on the field. In fact, on Saturday, Stephanie and I even talked about possibly coaching Josiah’s soccer team next year. (scary I know)  Not that we are any better than the Coach that Josiah has this year, but hopefully the learning curve is not to big.  After all, I have a good resource with teenagers who could help us coach and make up for our lack of knowledge!  Could be an adventure!

  • Matthew 20:1-16

    “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage[a] and sent them out to work.

    3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

    6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

    7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’

    “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

    8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

    13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

    16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

    From the NLT Life Application Study Bible:

    This parable is not about rewards but about salvation.  It is a strong teaching about grace,  God’s generosity.  We shouldn’t begrudge those who turn to God in the last moments of life, because, in reality, no one deserves eternal life.

    Many people we don’t expect to see in the Kingdom will be there.  The criminal who repented as he was dying will be there along with the people who have believed and served God for many years.  Do you resent God’s gracious acceptance of the despised, the outcast, and the sinners who have turned to him for forgiveness?  Have you ever been of what God has given to another person?  Instead, focus on God’s gracious benefits to you, and be thankful for what you have.

  • Anniversary

    Today marks the 1 year Anniversary of this blog.  Thanks to all that read, pray, comment, and follow, the things going on from the inside out as I journey through this thing called life.  So far here’s what has happened on the blog

    Blog Stats

    Total views: 12,796
    Busiest day: 804 — Thursday, July 24, 2008
    Posts: 479

    Top 10 Post

    Summer Camp
    Healer – Michael Guglielmucci Confession
    Preacher Faked Illness?
    It’s Official . . . our house is on the
    Mexico Day 2 – Student Perspectives
    If I had a daughter . . .
    Mexico Day 6 – Student Perspectives
    Mexico Day 3 – Student Perspectives
    Weekend Rewind – Student Baptisms
    Prayer for Jackson

  • Mark 10:17-31

    “As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” v.17

    Have you ever asked this question.  If you haven’t it is a question you should consider asking.  In this passage we know that this man had a lot of money and seemed to be a good person because he was doing a lot of good things.  But Jesus tells him it wasn’t enough and that he needed to sell all of his possessions to the poor in order for him to have eternal life.

    So does that mean that all a person has to do is be good and sell all thier stuff?  No.  Jesus explains this later with these verses,

    “’Yes,’” Jesus replied, ‘and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. 31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.’” v. 29-31

    Having eternal life comes from having a relationship with Christ.  Being a Christ Follower, is not necessarily made up of a check list of things I do and things I don’t.  Yes, these things can be good, but being a Christ Follower means that I am completely sold out to Christ.  Being sold out means that nothing stands in the way of my relationship with Him.  The question that has to be asked is this, I am willing to give up everything for Him and the sake of the Gospel.  The way you answer this will tell you a lot about what yourself and your relationship with God.  Jesus is teaching that there should be nothing that stands in the way of a relationship with him! This is what it means to be sold out and that’s the type of person I want to be.

    Today, is there anything you are holding on to that might be getting in the way of your relationship with Jesus?  Are you willing to give it up for His sake and the sake of the Gospel?

  • Jackson @ the Plano Balloon Festival 08

    Jackson video premier.  Here he is at the Plano Balloon Festival watching fireworks and dancing to “I love Rock and Roll”

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    more about “Jackson @ the Plano Balloon Festival 08“, posted with vodpod

  • Plano Balloon Festival 08

    What a night. This was our second year to attend Plano Balloon Festival and we had a great night.  Josiah Jumped on a trampoline with bungee cords attached, we ate carnival food, watched Hot Air Balloons, Sky Divers, and Fireworks, all while hanging out as a family with some good friends.  I think Everyone had fun!