Page 29 of 93

Invitation to Our Lord’s Day Gatherings

May 31, 2018 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

If you’ve followed our blog at all, you might probably be aware that we have a YouTube page where we post all our videos.

What you might not know though is that we also live-stream our Lord’s Day fellowship times. Our prayer has always been that they might be a blessing to others perhaps in some way.

And so, we’re just mentioning it in case you weren’t aware, and to welcome anyone who might interested in joining us live. They are also saved on our YouTube channel so they can be viewed at a later time. The next ones are listed under the “Upcoming live streams” section.

Currently, we stream our Lord’s Day sermon and singing time starting at 2:30PM Central time, and then our holy reading time at 5:00PM Central time. Our meetings are very simple and plain, and the sermons/readings given by our elders are always Christ-based, and are usually writings from teachers of the past, like Puritan writers we appreciate, and often emphasize holy living and practical aspects of Christianity.

Lord willing, we should be wrapping up a series on the application on the live of Hezekiah in the first meeting time this Lord’s Day, and then we’re planning on starting a new holy reading from Thomas Manton on self denial, which I’ve personally been through twice already and really believe it should be required study for Christians.

During our acapella singing time, we sing from the psalter we use, and from a home-made hymnal. We have the chat on at this time too in case anyone is following along in the psalter and wants to request one during the request time, and we are happy to send anyone a photocopy of our hymnal too.

Here are the two streams from this past Lord’s Day, the first again from the Hezekiah series, and then the second finishing up a series on Christ’s eternal existence and the dignity of His person, from Thomas Manton. We also put streams that are a part of a series in playlists:

The internet does stutter some at times, but I believe at least the audio is generally steady, and quite frankly, I’m amazed it works as well as it does, given we’re out in the country connected to the tower in town wirelessly. 🙂

Anyway, we’re not trying to sell this to anyone, but I thought we’d put this out there in case someone would like to join us during these times.

We always pray God glorifies Himself through our lives in whatever way He may, and we pray we are good witnesses for Him, grow in His graces and image each day, and that we are of benefit to others in some way!

— David

Elvis’ Venominally Fangtastic Fright!

May 25, 2018 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

Sadly, our buck Rocky now has a pretty bad injury on his leg, which has prevented him from performing his male-goat duties this last goat breeding round:

However, the group graciously allowed us to basically take over “ownership” of a buck graciously given to the group by some very nice friends of the group (all the bucks around here get used whenever needed). His name is Elvis, and he’s Lamancha, which is where we’ve been wanting to go with our breeds, and here he is:

A few weeks ago, I was in the house, and I saw Sue running back with the dogs that she had just taken up to the fields to let go in a fenced area to run around for the evening. She looked like she was in a hurry, so I stepped outside to see if something was wrong.

There was……rattlesnake! It was in one of our pecan tree areas. She had already let the dogs off the leashes, and they were the ones that alerted her to it with them barking at it, but thanks to God she was able to get them leashed up again and her and them out of there.

So, I went up there with a shovel and the shot gun. The rattler was tucked in a tuft of weeds, but finally I could see it. In trying to save a shotgun shell, I lunged at it with the shovel in an attempt to maim it, but all I did was end up covering it with the shovel head. Nice. And so that was that…I aimed the shotgun, and sent him packing.

Here’s brave Sue after carrying it back:

And its rattles:

Thanks to the Lord that all went well!

The next morning though, Sue had noticed Elvis was sitting in the goat shed opening, didn’t get up when she came that direction, but didn’t appear as if anything was wrong. It wasn’t until that evening that she discovered him limping pretty badly.

And then we discovered the cause — snake bite! The leg was swollen, you could see puncture marks, and some blood-stained fur around it. Oh no.

We wondered if it was the one we killed or another.

In researching snake bites, we read that if the goat doesn’t die in a few hours, there’s a good possibility it will live. Well, if he had been bit by the snake we killed, it was nearly 24 hours by then, so we were hoping and praying for the best.

Besides the external betadine, we gave him some activated charcoal in his feed, hoping that might help remove some of the toxins.

Over the first day or two, the swelling moved into his chest, and down his stomach, and on one of those days, he spent the day just sitting in the shed…we figured he just wasn’t feeling very well. 🙂

In the following picture, you can see the bite on his swollen left leg after we had drenched it with betadine:

At this point, a couple of days into it, he had an appetite, which we figured was good.

Today, thanks to God’s graces and mercies, Elvis is doing much better, and there’s only a little swelling on the leg! And we haven’t seen another rattlesnake since here.

Here’s a video documenting a couple days into it, a few days after that, and then almost three weeks after that (the day of this blog post, about 25 days since the bite):

We are very grateful to the Lord for sparing Elvis, and for granting him the healing He did! We pray Elvis will continue to be of benefit to the community!

— David

A House – Update L – Lower Siding, Update I

May 16, 2018 / David & Susan Sifford / 2 Comments

In our last house update, we had started on the lower external siding. Well, God has graciously granted we be able to continue with the process, this time on the west side!

Here it is with the porch ledger board, drip edge, and half the tar paper up:

House West Side Lower Siding Ledger Board & Partial Tar Paper

Another of the House West Side Lower Siding Ledger Board & Partial Tar Paper

And then half the siding:

House West Side Lower Siding Half of the Siding Up

And then the siding complete!

We are very thankful to the Lord for granting the continued progress on the house! And thanks to those who continue to make it possible for us to do this in resources, and thanks to Sue for the help putting up the tar paper! 😀

On to the south side!

— David

David’s Digest: Seeing Your Loved One in Heaven

May 3, 2018 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

I have heard often how wonderful it will be to see our families and friends, or those loved ones we’ve lost, once again in heaven.

And while I believe we will see them, and that would surely be a wondrous occasion, especially after grieving the loss of them here, is that really what heaven is about? Are they on whom our eyes should mainly be focused when considering the joys of heaven?

Puritan Thomas Manton discusses the true joy and satisfaction of the saints in heaven — seeing their loved One — the Lord Christ Jesus — instead of by faith alone, now by sight, forever, and being like Him!

From his sermons upon 1 John iii, sermon iii, which you can read here:

But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. – 1 John iii. 2

Thirdly, The third thing is satisfaction, not mentioned in the text, but implied and supplied from a parallel place; for we having the sight and presence of God, must needs be ravished with it: Ps. xvi. 11, ‘In thy presence,’ or face, ‘is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.’ The fruition of God’s immediate presence must needs exceed all the joy which the heart of man is capable of. If this breedeth not true contentment and felicity, what will?

So our admission into the everlasting estate is called ‘an entering into the joy of our Lord,’ Mat. xxv. 41. There must needs arise an incredible delectation from the vision of God, as also from our fruition of him, or being like unto him, and our possession of the whole estate of happiness thence resulting. Our great business will be to love what we see, and our great happiness to have what we love. This will be a full, perpetual, and never-failing delight to us. The vision hath an influence upon this joy. If the light of the sun be pleasant, how comfortable will it be to see the Sun of righteousness shining forth in all his glory?

Now, when the mind is a little raised in the thoughts of God, what a delightful thing is it! Ps. civ. 34, ‘My meditation of him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord.’ Yet how tasteless to our souls are thoughts of God now in comparison of what they will be then? There is something in us [now] which carrieth us off from God, which liketh not to retain God in our knowledge. Now, when our hearts are more suited and prepared for that sight, our thoughts must needs be glorious and ravishing.

Again, this likeness conduceth to this satisfaction. Take it for holiness, God himself is ‘glorious in holiness,’ Exod. xv. 11. Now to have the beauty of our God upon us is the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon us. When there was a debate in Ahasuerus’s court, ‘What should be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Esther vi. 8, it was resolved, ‘Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head.’ Or take it for glory and immortality: 1 Peter iv. 13, ‘That when his glory shall be revealed, we may be glad with exceeding joy.’

This is the soul’s rest in God, as satisfied with the full and perfect demonstration of his love; it is the best estate we can be in, for we are not capable of a better. It is the end [purpose] of our faith, and hope, and labours. Of our faith, 1 Peter i. 5 ; the end of our hope, Acts xxvi. 7. Now when a man hath obtained his end, then he is satisfied, as being in his perfect estate.

2. It is the utmost period of perfection men can be advanced unto, to enjoy God and be like him. Beyond God and above God nothing can be enjoyed ; with God nothing can make us miserable, and without God nothing can make us happy. If a man should enjoy all the world, there is something without [external to] him and above him that can make him miserable; if the world smileth and God frowneth, what will you do? Ps. xxxix. 11, ‘When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity.’ None can obstruct God’s vengeance, or stop his wrath; as when the sun is gone, all the candles and torches in the world cannot make it day.

3. If a glimpse of God’s love be so precious to the saints, what will the sight of his face be? Ps. iv. 6, 7, ‘Who will show us any good ? Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon us: thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and wine increased.’ If imperfect holiness be so precious, what will complete holiness be?

If you are currently grieving, I am truly sorry for your loss. But I do hope you’ll consider the words above, in this concern with your walk with the Lord.

May Christ be our all now and forever, may our true joy in this life be in seeing Him as He is revealed in Scripture, His loveliness and beauty (in who He is and what He did), and may we desire to be like Him now and in eternity!

— David

Community Singing – April 2018

April 26, 2018 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

Two Lord’s days ago, we were able to gather together to record our next set of Psalms so that we may learn God’s word in this way, and that His praises might be in our hearts more and more! The psalter we use is from Crown & Covenant, and we’re thankful to have these available.

And so, here are the latest:

(If you would like to save any of the files locally to your computer, you can right click on Download and click Save As in the popup menu.)

Psalms 66A-68E

Receive New Blog Posts by Email

Usually only 1-3 a month. We will never share your information nor solicit you.

Archives

Categories