Memorial day
These are the thoughts of John Avera only and do not reflect the thoughts of HartBC, the REV or Circle Seven.I would like to wish everyone a very happy memorial day. Also, I would like to thank our troops in the middle east for doing all that they are. I would especially like to thank those who gave their lives to protect our freedom, may God bless their families in all that they do.
One thing that comes to mind when we think of memorial day is, What will my memorial be? Will I be remembered by anyone? Well, I know that I am probably not going to end up in any history books, but I would like to think that I might be remembered by some people. The ones that I may have touched their lives in some way. I hope that my attitude and what my family and I do for the Lord will change the lives of students so that they might grow to be spiritually mature , good-natured young men and women.
I pray that you have the same goal. It seems that our youth need better role models than they are offered in the media and other places. So many teens today have parents in broken relationships, if they were married at all. So many teens are looking elsewhere for that attention that they so greatly seek. Take the time and try to help someone today, it will change your life and even better help to change theirs.
Peace
Miss USA
These are the thoughts of John Avera only and do not reflect the thoughts of HartBC, the REV or Circle Seven.
So, I guess you all have heard by now about the "big answer" in the Miss USA pageant. The question was given to Miss California from Perez Hilton, asking if she thought that all states should follow in the footsteps of Vermont in their decision to allow same sex marriage. When she gave her answer, which is the Christian view point, a.k.a the right view point, she was given a low score. Mostly because the "homosexual" that asked the question did not like the answer that she gave. I would like to say that the Christian point of view is not always the most popular, but it is the right one.
The Bible says:
Matthew 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
John 15:20
Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
And we are:
Corinthians 4:9
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
This guy can say what He wants about the young girl, but Her reward will be greater than any on Earth. Because of her statement, her crown in Heaven will be much better than the one she would have recieved from the pageant.
"I am proud of you and I wish that other Christians would have the boldness to stand up and be heard, for that is what God has called each and everyone of us to do. Thank you so much for not being ashamed to take a stand and especially for not changing your statement after the fact."
Here is a link to the story.
Easter
These are the thoughts of John Avera only and do not reflect the thoughts of HartBC, the REV or Circle Seven.
There are many different views of what Easter is. Some are more comical than others, like the thought of Rabbits laying eggs. Children of all ages will be hunting eggs, recieving baskets from the "Easter Bunny," spending time with family and friends. Jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, those awesome egg shaped Reece's cups, just the thought of it gives me cavities.
Whatever you do this Easter season, remember that we only have this holiday because of one reason, the resurrection of Christ.
Good friday is tomorrow, this is the celebration/ remembrance of Christ dying on the cross for our sins. After enduring multiple unfair trials throughout the night He was given the sentence of death by crucifixtion. Even after Pilot said he found nothing wrong with Him, and offered the let the people free either Jesus or a well-known criminal. The crowd chose to free the well-known criminal, just to see this person, Jesus, be murdered for crimes that He did not commit. Wow. Just wondering, how many of us would have been in that crowd, yelling, "Crucify Him!" ? Would we have stood up for Him? or would we have just tried to fit in and not be noticed? I thank God that I was not there to see this or even be involved in any way. You may be asking yourself, "You mean this guy don't want to see Jesus?", of course I do. That is not what I am saying, think of all the things that we do today just to fit in with the crowd, I am sure they greatly outweigh the things we do to stick out.
The best part is, He did it all for me. I know that just putting my faith in Him that all my sin debt has been paid for. He endured the pain, beatings, torture, and eventual death just for me and I am so grateful for it. But wait.......there's more!
Easter is not about the crucifixtion or the shedding of Christ's blood and death. It is not the picture on every page of the web-site, the crucifix. It is more than that. Jesus is not there, He is not dead! Three days after all this happened when the body of Christ had been laid in a tomb and the tomb closed, Christ arose from the dead, the stone was rolled away. After speaking in the flesh with some of His followers, nail scarred hands and all, He ascended into heaven to sit at the throne of God.
That is where I want to see Him! I want to thank Him personally for what He has done for me. Just a guy, from Kentucky. I hope that is your stance too. If you don't know Christ as your personal Savior, please, see the salvation page of my web-site. It is very simple actually, no man in a box to relay your prayers, no translator, no money, no little pieces of a hanky, nothing extra ..................................just YOU and GOD.
Concert
These are the thoughts of John Avera only and do not reflect the thoughts of HartBC, the REV or Circle Seven.
Me, my family and some of our friends will be attending the Chris Tomlin concert tonight in Knoxville, TN. I can't wait!! I know that it will be a time of great worship because God has blessed Chris with so many powerful songs.
Spring Break
These are the thoughts of John Avera only and do not reflect the thoughts of HartBC, the REV or Circle Seven.
Well, it is almost spring break, and I am ready for it! We will be having a lock-in for the youth at the youth center on Wednesday, which just happens to be April 1st. (Commonly known as April Fool's Day) This just makes it even better than just your average lock-in. All students 7 -12 grade living in the London area are welcome to attend.
We are playing one of my favorite games, Underground Church, the best part about it is the kids love it just as much as I do, and it also seems to take half of the night because they always want to play it over and over. Do you have any good youth group games that you would like to share with me? I would love to hear from you if you do. If I recieve the suggestion in time, we may even try it out next week.
Thanks to all who are reading my blogs.
In Christ,
John
Finally Up and Running
These are thought are of John Avera only and do not reflect the thoughts of HartBC, the REV or Circle Seven.
Finally this web site is up and running. I believe that God has great plans for this site. I hope that at least one person will give their life to Christ because of the content of this site.
I have a new CD out please stop by the products page to buy it. Hope all is well with you and God Bless You All.
-John
