One Man's Walk with the Lord

Todays Walk - Knowing God's Will in our Daily Life

2011-02-24T04:01:00.001-08:00

Good Morning,

I have struggled with understanding what God wants for me to do in my life. From what I have read and those I have spoken to, this is a common concern and challenge.

A few days ago, during my prayer walk, (walking our dog Bo) I was praying on this concern when a thought entered my mind.

I have heard thought this before, and overlooked it for its simplicity. In fact, I think many of us overcomplicate understanding what God wants for us.

The thought is, before I do any action, I simply ask myself, “Do this bring Glory to God?” If the answer is no, then don’t do it. If the answer is yes, then do it.

· Does walking the Dog bring Glory to God. Yes, as I fulfill my stewardship role to my family and in my care, I honor God.

· Does doing a good job at work bring Glory to God. Yes, as I show my love for the Lord by doing my best for him, and give the world an example of Christ-like behavior.

· Does looking through the swimsuit issue of sports illustrated bring Glory to God. No. It puts our attention on the lures of the world, rather than on HIS kingdom.

Now that I got that down, my next step is to actually stop and ask these questions more often during the day.

Enjoy!

Sanford

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk with the Lord - My Jewish Roots

2010-12-12T12:42:00.001-08:00

Good Morning,

Yesterday I had the chance to share my testimony with another person who is also Jewish and looking seriously at accepting Christ to be their Lord and Savior.

I was pleased to be able to share my history, testimony and what I had to overcome to make the transition to Messianic Jew.

My biggest fear was to botch up Christian theology and get my scripture messed up and since we had one of the church’s pastors with us, I expected to get frequent elbows to the ribs or kicks to my shin.

The Lord filled me up and I shared my testimony fluently, and shared resources which could help this person make the right decision. I surprised myself on how the Lord used me and the knowledge I shared.

Only once did the pastor hint that I shut up, and I needed that so that my head did not explode.

I pray that this person accepts Jesus soon, and that the Lord continues to use me to help with His kingdom work.

Enjoy!

Sanford

Sanford Berenberg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN_DKPCFrJ4

www.berenberg.net

Today's Walk With the Lord - Preparing for Rain

2010-11-19T19:46:00.001-08:00

Good Morning,

I read a lot, I have read over 60 books this year, and averaged over 70 for the last four years. Included in this is the daily reading of God’s word, a devotional or two and some theology.

Over the last five years, I have spent a lot of effort investing time to read and learn, and every now and then I am asked why.

I have found that I am preparing. I am not sure for what, although I know it entails helping others in some fashion or another.

My goal is to prepare myself for what the Lord will task me to do.

One of my inspirations and a reminder of why I do what I do is a scene from the movie ‘Facing the Giants’.

I hope this reaches you too.

Prepare for the rain.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

100% Possibility with God

2010-10-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

One of my daily devotionals is the book 'Blessings and Battlefields'. On Day 300, is the description of Patriot General Nathaniel Greene retreating his southern army from British General Cornwallis. What stuck me was that in this retreat Greene had to cross two different rivers, the Yadkin and the Dan.

The rivers were more than a week's march from each other. At the first river, the Yadkin, Greene was able to get most of his troops and supplies across the river by the time Cornwallis arrived. He lost some baggage carts, but no men.

Cornwallis was going to ford the river in the morning and bring the battle to Greene, but during the night, it rained. Rained hard and the Yadkin swelled and was unpassable for short while, giving Greene and his army a chance to make some distance between him and Cornwallis.

Weeks later as Greene and his army crossed the Dan river, Cornwallis had caught up to him again and was going to ford the river the following morning. Once again it rained hard, and once again, the river became unpassable for a short bit.

What is the likelihood that these two rivers on these two days could both be saturated by heaving rains causing each to swell enough to make them impassable allowing Greene to avoid a costly battle?

If God is with you, then it is a 100% likelihood.

I like those odds!

Enjoy!

Sanford

Sanford@Berenberg.net
www.berenberg.net

Today's Walk With the Lord - The Hiding Place

2010-10-19T22:11:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

As I am resting at home after my leg surgery, I have had some additional time to really dive into some reading. One of the books I recently heard about was Corrie ten Boom’s ‘The Hiding Place’. I was not very familiar with it other than people making vague references of a Christian themed version of ‘Diary of Anne Frank’.

In reading this book, I was dragged in fast. I simply could not put it down. I read about the ten Boom family and what happened to them during World War I, and then II, and the prison camps, etc. And seeing this all laced with Christ’s love and direction to make something wonderful out of these horrific events just sang to my soul.

I have often touted the book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ by Viktor Frankl as a Psychologist finds the positive to survive in a concentration camp. This is a very powerful book.

With the Hiding Place, I found that Christ is the Victor in the concentration camps. That His love can do so much more than help one survive.

In life, I know I can change my attitude to survive better in any environment, but I also know that by relying on God, handing those things too big for me over to God to handle, that I can thrive while fulfilling God’s plan for my life.

Lord thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book, and if you have never read it, please do so.

Praise the Lord!

Sanford

Today's Walk With the Lord - The Lord Brings Us Near

2010-08-26T04:23:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

As I was doing my prayer walk this morning, I realized that the Lord drew me nearer to Him over these last few years. Nearer I have come to Him, the more sanctified my life has become. I look forward to further growing closer to the Lord and the life I will lead for Him, through Him and for Him.

What was suprising to me in this realization this morning was that the Lord called to me even though I had lived a life of sin. That I was involved in magical rituals, the occult, Scientology, tarot and other practices which the Lord considers disgusting and sinful.

That through all that I was, and what I did, the Lord peered through it and called me to come to Him. And as I journied to Him, my life as a Christian blossomed and sinful nature, activities and behaviors of my past have been dropping away.

Again I say, I am not the man I know the Lord wants me to be, but thank God I am not the man I used to be.

Praise the Lord!

Sanford

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk With The Lord - Racing to What End

2010-08-12T03:19:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Over the last four or five years I have felt the need to make up for lost time. This need has been met with going back to college, twice, and with a focus on learning. I read, I listen, I interact and more recently, I pray.

This morning as I prayed to the Lord I asked him show me the finish line.

I feel like I am charging hard in a race car, moving faster and faster, and with each book read, cd listened to, seminar attended, that my car is stronger, faster and more reliable. The one question I have though, is where am I racing to?

What is the end, the finish line the Lord wants me to cross.

I know that is presumptuous of me to expect that the Lord will show me where the finish line is, because so long as I live, there will be another challenge, another test, another goal to fulfill.

As my faith in Him improves, I know my purpose is to bring glory to Him, to praise Him in all of my actions and endeavors.

My focus has been in helping others, through sharing wisdom over the web and via email. I also mentor others when I have the opportunity, when the world does not get so much in the way.

For the last year I have felt the calling to some sort of ministry and to share my testimony of the different places I have been in life, so I see a goal ahead. The Lord wants to use me to bring others into His family.

Now I have have to obey.

As I learn and grow daily, teach and empower others, I must also Do.

That is the finish line of this current race I am in.

When I get there, I know another race will begin, but I will leave that to another time.

Marching orders received.

Thank you Lord!

Enjoy!

Sanford

One Man's Walk With The Lord - He Knows How to Reach Me

2010-08-08T11:14:00.001-07:00

Good Morning

Songs of praise to the Lord reach us. So do hymns and music. Different styles of music appeal to different people. Like in the movie 'Awakenings' each of the patients had different music which had an impact on them.

As I have continued my walk with Jesus, and the sanctification of my life progresses, I have been cleaning house of those things in my life and past which are not Christian or Christ-like in nature. While I have come a long way, I know I still have a long way to go.

One challenge for me has been music. I am a headbanger at heart. I love Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rammstein and similar groups, but as I get closer to the Lord, there are some songs which I have trouble even playing now, knowing the words promote something that I just don't believe.

I was a bit fearful closing the door on my hard hitting chords and pounding drums, but I would do it if it meant getting closer to Christ.

Then, one Saturday morning, my buddy and accountability partner, Justin, had finished having breakfast at a local restaurant and walked to our cars. He pulled out his cell phone and showed me some new music his brother had showed him. It was metal and it was Christian.

The name of the group was Skillet, and I chuckled at the name. The music sounded okay, but cell phone speakers just don't do rock justice.

So that evening I went onto YouTube and started listening and watching some Skillet songs, and within a week I had purchased my first CD (my car speakers are a bit better than the cell phones). As I was listening to it one day in the car, my daughter asked if that was Skillet and if she can borrow the CD to put some songs on her IPod.

I have since become a huge fan of Skillet, purchased a second CD from them and listen intently throughout the week.

I praise the Lord for worship music which reaches me. Now don't get me wrong, the songs we sing at Church are very powerful and I enjoy listening to KLove and our local Christian station, WJIE, but when I really want to get into the zone, a good hard hitting metal song is what I need. And the Lord gave us Skillet and other Christian Rock bands.

Praise Jesus!

Sanford

One Man's Walk With The Lord - The Lord Almighty is in my heart

2010-08-04T18:52:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Recently my wife, Karen, and I had the opportunity to visit the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

It was my hope in this trip that I would be able to strengthen my relationship with the Lord.

I knew that the problems with our relationship, the one between me and the Lord, were all because of me. I just did not know what barriers I put or allowed others to put there.

I prayed a lot and I opened my eyes, my ears and my heart.

At the end of this trip I realized the Lord was with me each and every day, on the good days and the bad days. That no matter how large the barrier, He was always right there.

All I need to do is to look to Him, to call to Him, to praise Him and to pray to Him.

He is always there. No matter how bad life gets, He is always there waiting for me with open arms.

And as I am nothing special, I can assure you, whomever is reading this, that He is waiting there for You too, with open arms.

The Lord loves us.

Praise Jesus!

Sanford

http://www.familychristian.com/shop/product.asp?prodID=125473&name=Red+Letter+9+Inc-Thank+God+Tee

Getting Right with God

2010-06-14T17:09:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Recently while looking through a Family Christian advertisement, I saw a T-Shirt that said the most powerful message.

On the front the shirt says:

I’m not the man I ought to be but,

on the back the shirt says:

Thank God I’m not the man I used to be.

Amen to that!

And for those interested in this shirt, you can find it here:

Enjoy!

Sanford

If we can learn from history...

2010-05-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

During the American Revolutionary war, a Methodist preacher in England said the following about the people of England as they engaged in putting down the rebellion in the American colonies:

"In this hour of tremendous danger, it would become us to turn our thoughts to heaven. This is what our brethren in the colonies are doing. From one end of North America to the other, they are fasting and praying. But what are we doing? Shocking thought! We are ridiculing them as fanatics, and scoffing at religion."

and

"If the colonists thong the houses of God, while we throng play-houses, or houses of ill fame; if they crowd their communion-tables, while we crowd the gaming table or the festal board; if they pray, while we curse; if they fast, while we get drunk; and keep the Sabbath, while we pollute it; if they shelter under the protection of heaven, while our chief attention is turned to our troops; we are in danger-in great danger"

And here we are some 234 years later, and the tables have turned. The Americans are now the ones who are forsaking the house of God and ridiculing religion.

As our culture moves away from God and his word, we too can find ourselves on the losing end of an event that we should not have lost.

I take this warning seriously and look to the Lord for guidance, to get back into the house of worship and to get right with him each and every day.

It is my hope you will too.

Sanford

sanford@berenberg.net

Today's Walk With the Lord - Being Christ-Like

2010-03-28T10:36:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

In some of my readings over the last few months I have come across a topic which kept speaking to me. This topic is how all Christians are urged to follow a Christ-Like attitude and behavior in how they live their lives, with the caveat that different people have a different veiwpoint of what Christ was like.

It appears that there is a range of beliefs of how Christ conducted his life, as there is a range of behaviors which people are displaying in the name of being Christian.

I am still relatively new in my walk with the Lord and I have been doing an extensive amount of reading on the subject, as well as talking to various 'professionals' in the field to better understand the incongruities that I have been seeing.

To give you an example, I have encountered people who were very strong in their faith who also felt the need to be better than others. I have also encountered people who acted as if being a Christian was an exclusive club where only a few were welcome to join.

In the word and in many of the texts that I have read and reviewed, Christ never came across with a 'Holier than Thou' approach to those who were fellow believers. The fact he IS God gave him every right, but he remained humble. The Lord has asked us believers to spread the Gospel to all parts of the world. This does not mean exclusive parts of each part of the world, but to everyone. In our attempt to be Christ-Like, we might want to make sure that we have a better understanding of who Christ is and what his attributes are.

I only hope that I am doing the Lord proud in my walk, where I hope to learn more each and every day. While I have learned a lot, there is so much more to know.

Thank you!

Sanford Berenberg
sanford@berenberg.net

Today's Walk With the Lord - Opportunity

2010-02-02T04:10:00.001-08:00

Good Morning,

With all the doom and gloom in the world with disasters and the bad economy, please realize that while there is still GOD, there is still Opportunity.

Look to the Lord for help in the most troubling times.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk With the Lord - Temptation, More Than We Think

2009-12-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

Good Morning,

My current read is 'The Spirituality of Jesus' by Leslie T. Hardin. In this book the author covers 9 different Spiritual Disciplines that Jesus exhibited during the years of his ministry.

One of the disciplines is avoiding temptation. While we know that Jesus was tempted by Satan after He was baptized and received the Holy Spirit, there were other temptations that He resisted.

Jesus was asked to stay in places he was popular and he chose not to. He also sent away the masses and His disciples so He could pray in solitude.

These actions were to keep Jesus away from the crowds trying to annoint him King and more importantly, to keep him focused on fulfilling his mission and the Father's will.

Temptation can come in more forms than just the lore of the flesh, and of money and material things. It can be for our time and our thoughts as well.

Something to think about.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
sanford@berenberg.net
www.berenberg.net

Today's Walk With The Lord - Everything Went Wrong - Just the Way The Lord Had Planned

2009-12-04T18:10:00.001-08:00

Good Morning,

Earlier this week I was scheduled to be at a church service for St. Andrews day and the service started at 6 pm. I left the office shortly after 5 pm and made the run to the church. Traffic was bad as it was raining and one think led to another: the GPS kept giving me the estimated time of arrival of 5:50, 5:55, 6:00, 6:05, etc.

There was a train crossing a major thoroughfare at 6 PM rush hour. I knew someone, somewhere was laughing at the impact to rush hour traffic, but that day, it was no me.

I made a few wrong turns followed by course corrections, and ultimately, I made it to the Church by 6:15 pm. It was pitch black with a few lights, the road glistened in the lights and I found a parking spot just at the edge of the parking lot. I then went up to the Church and hoped the service had been delayed but there was joyous singing going on.

I then contemplated turning around and leaving, but I did have my full Prince Charlie and Kilt on, and I was not that late.

So after the song ended, I walked in and found a spot behind my fellow Scottish Society members. While I missed a portion of the service, I was able to enjoy and rest and even participate.

Everything turned right side up from that point forward and the whole event turned into a wonderful event, just like the Lord had planned.

What I realized is that as things were falling apart in my eyes, that God's plan was well in the works, and it all ended just fine.

My perception was skewed. I kept trying to tell myself that this is okay, the Lord has my back, and it will all work out. The longer I tried to hold onto my plans and how I wanted or thought things should be, the more upset I got. When I let it go and accepted what was placed before me, it turned out even better than I had originally hoped for.

Praise the Lord and his God-sized plans!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk with the Lord - Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

2009-11-21T14:54:00.001-08:00

Good Morning,

In my growing knowledge of Scripture and Christianity, I am putting together a puzzle in my mind of what it means to be a Christian and how to live a life which brings glory to God and pleases Him.

Many of the books I have read, you can review my Books Read list on my main website, www.berenberg.net, have given me bits and pieces of the life of a Christian who is faithful, humble and obedient to the Lord.

Like all things that we learn, it is not so much the knowledge which makes us successful or wise, but the application of the knowledge.

Doing the right thing, then, is the important part of walking with the Lord.

At first I found it hard to keep my mind off the lurid thoughts of my past and stop doing the things that the Lord finds displeasing. I had a growing sense of what was right and a growing prayer list of things I needed help with.

In each instance, I have noticed that my actions and thoughts have moved away from the sinful past and toward a more humble and obedient path, praising the Lord. My mind is full of songs I hear on my new favorite radio station, KLove and the words from sermons I hear tied to the daily reading of the Gospel have helped me put my money where my mouth is.

I have a long way to go to be where I need to be, but I am happy to say that I have traveled a long way from where I started.

The Lord is so good to us. The blessings keep coming and the fears of this world continue to subside, knowing that the Lord is looking out for his beloved children.

Enjoy!

Sanford

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk: Knowing Joy

2009-11-06T08:43:00.001-08:00

Good Morning,

I have been angry for most of my life, a family trait which I have focused and funneled into the activities I do. Many have marveled over how much work I can accomplish, but few understood where the energy came from.

Over the last few months I have found that I have a growing inner peace. This growing inner peace has increased with the amount of prayers I do every day, and the amount of Bible and Christian readings I do daily as well as listening to Christian music and sermons.

This morning, I was not feeling well and struggled to do my morning Bible readings.

When we are down, it is often harder to fight off the temptations which seem to never be too far away from us.

The temptations lost out, as the songs in my head are from my new favorite Radio station, KLOVE.

I could not get the name Jeremy Camp out of my head, and as I sat in front of the computer with my Google Home Page up, I sat for a few seconds wondering what to type into the search engine.

So, I put in ‘Jeremy Camp’ and have been listening to his songs for the last hour, and while waves of love and happiness swept over me and my tear-filled eyes, I knew I did the right thing. And I know something going on my Christmas list, Jeremy Camp CD’s!

My growing in the Lord, in understanding His Word and reading Systematic Theology, and listening to sermons and the Christian Music, have helped give me an inner happiness which has helped me face up to the dark times of my past and replacing anger and temptation with love.

Lord I thank you for Your Grace and Love because I am knowing more and more Joy every day.

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk With The Lord - Pray for Wisdom

2009-09-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

I have been growing in my prayer life, where I spend increasing amounts of
time in prayer throughout the day. In the mornings, I walk my dog Bo, a 75
lb Pit Bull Terrier. Besides giving me a physical work out, I get a
spiritual one as well.

In my prayers I do the normal process of praising the Lord, thanking Him,
confessing my sins to Him and then I go into prayer requests for many
people, organizations and situations and end up with requests for myself.

These requests are generally for health, prosperity, guidance through a
tough time, healing, for people to find Jesus and supporting the efforts of
the organizations I am affiliated with.

In reading the book "Just Do Something" by Kevin DeYoung, I found a bit more
direction for my prayers.

Kevin DeYoung suggested we should pray about more than these common: health,
wealth and happiness requests.

He suggests we pray for wisdom for ourselves and others. That we pray that
the Lord will help us open our eyes to see the bigger picture wherever we
are in life. Often it is our own myopic (small) view of the situations we
find ourselves in that cause us the most problems, and with the Lord's help,
we can step back and see more of what is going on.

Kevin DeYoung also suggests we pray for faith, understanding and giving us
the energy and confidence to get up and do something. That is, to take
action rather than wait for the right sign or message from the Lord of when
to act. Waiting for the right sign may months or years if it comes at all.

By praying for wisdom, faith and confidence in ourselves, we are able to
bring more glory to God through our actions.

It is a self perpetuating circle of events.

Pray for wisdom, faith, and understand, and we will see more of what the
Lord wants us to see and can act appropriately.

Enjoy!

Praise the Lord!!!

Sanford Berenberg
sanford@berenberg.net
www.berenberg.net

Today's Walk With The Lord - God is the BEST Realtor!

2009-08-30T16:06:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

As some of you may know, my family and I recently bought a new house, moved into it and then prepared and sold our former house. This was completed in a difficult real estate market and we prayed often.

When we found the new house, we fell in love with it and prayed for what to do. We felt led to purchase it, but as soon as we put in our offer in January, we found the house was going to be a short sale and it could take months to find out if the banks will allow us to buy the house at our offering price.

Throughout the end of January, all of February and part of March we prayed for an answer from God to whether we should continue to pursue this house or let it go.

Then on Friday the 13^th of March, in my daily Bible reading I came across a passage which jumped out at me. It was Mark 13:13 which says:

“All people will hate you because you follow me, but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.”

My daily Bible reading also included reading another book which I read a chapter a day from. On that Friday, my reading ended on page 313.

That afternoon our realtor, Jenny, called and she told us that we had the house and we could work toward the closing (which happened within 2 weeks of that call). We moved into the new house at the end of April.

I was amazed with how God answered our prayers, but He was not done with our real estate needs. We had to put our other house up on the market and it needed some work. It was then that life blindsided us with many challenges including my Mom getting sick and passing away.

Our goal was to have the old house up for sale in May, but that quickly became June and before we knew it, we were back into July. Each month cost us about $1,000 to carry both houses.

We continued to pray to God to help us sell our house.

In all the mayhem, we were able to get the old house up on the market in July and shortly thereafter we had many showings and then a contract on the house a short time later. It was then, as I thought about the selling of our house that the following jumped out at me.

Our old house went onto the market on Monday, July 13^th.

We had an accepted contract on the old house in 13 Days.

This real estate deal zoomed through the banks and the inspections and just this last Friday, August 28^th, we closed on the house.

In our lives, 13 is a lucky number. It is the number that shows us the God did what we prayed for, he helped us get a new house that we love and helped us sell our old house fast.

And the Lord was not done there.

The new buyer simply loved all the work Karen and I put into the house. He plans on keeping the flowers as they are and enjoy the fruits of our efforts. The closing ended up like a bunch of old friends and family having a great time visiting. We were sharing information about the house, the homeowner’s association, and the gardens.

Everything on the purchase and sale fell into place. Just what you would expect when God runs the show!

Now how about that for God being a Realtor!

Praise the Lord!!!

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk With the Lord - The Lord Provides

2009-08-23T04:17:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

The other day I reached out for help on turning my life over to Jesus, and within a day, there was an odd occurrence.

While working online I saw an image of a book for merely a second and it was gone.

The book is called:

“I Can’t See God Because I’m In The Way: Getting Beyond Self-Centered Religion to Passionate Faith”

I looked it up on Amazon and shortly thereafter picked it up and it is next on the reading list.

It is amazing the way the Lord responds to our prayers and requests. It is fitting that my request be answered with a book, with the volume of books I read.

It is also comforting to know that I am not alone in my quest for greater faith and understanding in the Lord.

The Lord does provide!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk With The Lord - Knowing How to Turn It Over To the Lord

2009-08-18T19:19:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

I have been growing in my faith over the last few years and have achieved some amazing milestones in my walk with Christ.

It is hard to put into words, but I feel more comfortable in life, happier overall (there are still rough days), but overall life is better.

I have found that the more I turn over to Christ to handle for me, the better my life has been, but I seem to run into challenges in giving everything over to Him.

All my life I have been the one to step up and help, and in the past I have had hard time letting others help me. Due to life situations I have gotten pretty good at letting people help me, and I have gotten better at letting Christ take over, but at times I come up against a wall.

Like ‘Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus’ I have learned to stop running in and trying to help when others share their problems (especially my wife, Karen).

Yet, there are some aspects of my life where I cannot fathom letting another take care of. I know it will come with time and prayer, but I am not there yet. I do know, though, that the more I give over the Lord, the more I will get back.

Please pray for me to help get me over this hurdle.

Thank you!

Sanford

Today's Walk With the Lord - Walk Humbly or Else 'LOOK OUT!!!'

2009-07-19T13:02:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Over the last year I have worked on being a more humble person. In years past I have been an arrogant and vein person, often wrapped up in what I thought I was and what I could do for the world. I am sorry for the pain I have caused others through these errant ways.

I have also seen that when God wants to talk to us, he will do so. He will get our attention even if it means dropping a building on us. Which, in fact, happened to me.

Back in 1995 I was intending on going to the Society of Creative Anachronism’s (SCA) Pennsic Wars. I had been a member of the SCA for some time and had various challenges getting to this huge event. In 1995 I drew a line in the sand and said to anyone who would listen that ‘I would be going this year. Nothing and no one could stop me. Not even God could stop me from going!’.

What an arrogant thing to say.

Well, the Lord had other plans.

Four days before I was supposed to leave for the event I was involved in a construction accident where a building we were working on collapsed while I was in it. I ended up breaking both of my legs and being rushed to a local hospital.

While I was in the hospital I started thinking that maybe I could still go to the event even with a 70 pound hip to toe cast on my leg.

The Dr. told me he had no interest in letting me out of the hospital anytime soon.

The day I was to leave for the Pennsic War came and left. And then the time I was to stay at the event came and went, and while I stayed in the hospital for a full 15 days, the event ended and I did not go at all.

I have since looked back at this time in my life as a ‘Wake Up Call’.

My arrogance was punished, and I deserved it.

Today, I try to be a different person. I try to walk humbly every day.

I also try to listen to the Lord daily, so that he does not have to drop another building on me to get my attention.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

sanford@berenberg.net

www.berenberg.net

Today's Walk With The Lord: Psalm 85:8

2009-06-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

Psalm 85:8 says: “I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints.”

Dear Lord,

There is so much anger and hatred in this world Lord. We need your help, more so than ever.

Please Lord, please help stop this anger and the violence that comes from it.

Please Lord, please replace anger with love and show the world again Your Grace and Mercy.

Please help speak peace to Your beloved children so that they will hear and understand You.

Please speak peace into their hearts and souls and fill them with Your love so that they overflow with Your peace and love.

Please replace their fear and anger with Your love and peace.

Praise the Lord for Your peace.

Amen!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

sanford@berenberg.net

www.berenberg.net

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Todays Walk With the Lord - Exodus 10:27

2009-06-11T05:53:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Exodus 10:27 says “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.”

Through all of the plagues called upon Egypt, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he did not let the Israelites go until the first Passover.

Imagine all the people in Egypt experiencing each of these plagues as they happened, and being powerless to do anything about them. Their magicians and priests could not counter God’s power.

Then imagine all the Egyptians living through these plagues and seeing the Israelites in Goshen, being totally unaffected by them. That is, no frogs, or locusts, or darkness, etc., when all the rest of Egypt was suffering.

Then imagine seeing the one man who could end all of this, their king, the Pharaoh, not doing anything about it. He refused to let the Israelites go while his people suffered. The Egyptians may have asked each other, how their king could allow these terrible things to happen.

They happened because our Lord hardened his heart. The end result was the Israelites left Egypt.

Now, fast forward to today and all the scary and terrible things happening in our world today.

We could be and are asking the same questions the Egyptians may have asked. Why is this being allowed to happen?

The answer may be that our Lord is hardening the hearts of those who can do something about it for His purposes.

What could be His purposes?

His purpose in Egypt was to free the Israelites from 400 years of bondage.

What His purpose is now, I have no clue, but I do know that He is in control and this is part of His purpose.

I do find comfort in that.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

sanford@berenberg.net

www.berenberg.net

Todays Walk With the Lord: Proverbs 17:12

2009-05-28T04:12:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Proverbs 17:12 states: “It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to meet a fool doing foolish things”.

This scripture caught my attention due to the blatant nature of the words. The message is saying that it is better to meet a bear who will most likely attack you and try to kill you because they are searching for their cubs and are very upset than to face a foolish person doing something foolish.

A foolish person doing something foolish could have many different outcomes, but I feel the intention of the message is that we have no clue what a fool will end up doing and what may happen to those around them when they are doing foolish things. Sadly, often the fool, themselves, has no way of knowing how the outcome is going to come about.

That is, it is potentially more dangerous to meet up with someone who is doing what they know to be foolish, and doing it anyway than to face an angry animal who you know is going to look to hurt you.

Knowing that you will be attacked gives you a chance to prepare your actions and responses. With the fool, you have no way to prepare because you have no way to know what may happen.

It is then safer to avoid them and the chaos they bring to our lives.

And if you are the fool, being foolish, maybe it is time to stop, if not anything more than to save yourself from the hardships you give to yourself and those around you.

I know in my past I have done some pretty foolish things, some downright mean things. I am happy that the Lord has forgiven my sins, but in addition, I am happy that the Lord has allowed me to be a more learned man and spend less time being the fool, doing foolish things.

Learning is a great tool to defeat the fool in us all.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk With The Lord - Look to the Lord

2009-05-11T03:44:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

I have always wondered why Moses was truly denied entrance into the Promised Land.

Over the course of my life I had learned it was because he hit a rock with his walking staff, and God became angry with him. This just did not sit right with me. After all Moses did for the Israelites, I thought there would be some wiggle room given to Moses for over 40 years of service.

Part of my daily Bible reading is reading ‘Experiencing God, Day by Day’. Henry and Richard Blackaby have been great guides to help me get closer to God.

On the May 11th reading, it was explained that Moses had repeatedly not followed God’s commands and after each time, he had a price to pay. When he told God he could not talk to the people, he disobeyed God and as punishment he had to speak through Aaron. After 40 years, he continued to have to speak through Aaron.

Moses was frequently frustrated by the Israelites and their stiff necked, hardened hearts. Even after seeing God in action, the pillar of fire, the walls of water, the plagues, etc., these people still had doubts and fears.

Instead of looking to the Lord at these times, Moses gave into his temper and acted on his on, and in not in God’s way.

I now understand why Moses was denied entrance into the Promised Land.

More importantly, I understand where I must look whenever I get frustrated. When I get angry I should not vent, but rather take it to the Lord and look to him.

In looking to the Lord is the answer. I felt this truly last Saturday when I prayed for 30 minutes straight. I was floating on air at the end. I never realized the power of Prayer on me as I prayed for others.

It all makes sense, we need to look to the Lord for everything!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk: Colossians 3:23

2009-05-01T03:53:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

Colossian’s 3:23 says:

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”

There are times in my life when I really do not want to do something or the task at hand is dragging and I just want to get it over with. I suspect that I am not alone in those feelings.

Maybe if I just cut a few corners and shave off a little time, no one will notice. I used to think that and even though I know God and his nature, I would forget that while there was no one watching, God was watching. When no one seemed to care, God was there caring.

If I am going to do a sloppy job, then God will know.

If I get that feeling of trying to push something off to the side and do less than my best, I will stop and remember that I am doing this for the glory of God, not just for my boss or someone other person.

God deserves our best, and we should strive to give it to God each and every time.

It is hard to perform at our best each and every day, but remember, it is our intentions and desires which fuel our activities. If we intend to short change someone, then we intend to short change God. If we intend to give our best, then we do this for God and He will know.

Also, doing our best does not mean nose to the grindstone all the time, 110% effort, running around with your head cut off insanity 24/7. It means, right here, right now, what is the best you can do? Give it our best, but don’t push it over the line where we risk a heart attack, pulled muscles or migraine headaches. Our best is not a static level of performance, it is the best we can do at any given moment. For example, when I wake up, my best is not nearly as good as when I am wide awake in the afternoon.

Doing our best is a combination of physical, mental and spiritual effort which is intended to glorify God.

So when you next think to slack off. Remember who is watching.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Bible quotes from ‘Experiencing God Day By Day’ by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby.

Today's Walk with the Lord: Luke 16:30-31

2009-04-23T04:09:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Luke 16:30-31 says:

30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

Some people are hard to reach. You can share facts with them, you can show them statistics and charts, and you can who them proof of your point and they just will not accept it.

Some people need to learn from their own experience, and even then, some do not get it. Like touching a live wire you will get shocked. Some people will go and touch it again and again. Some touch it for the ‘thrill’, some touch it for the rebelliousness of it knowing you will be wincing when they feel pain. Some will do it because they forgot that it was live, and still others will touch it not having even heard you the first seven times and go ahead and touch the wire.

I find this with my walk with Christ. Different people have different experiences, and add to this the different versions of the Bible with different takes on the same Gospels and texts, and then there are the different forms of Christianity.

When I was first in Hebrew Sunday School, I learned stories, and only read from the Torah short passages, and then in Hebrew only. I did not get much of what was said or meant. Partially due to this, I did not hear the big message of Judaism, and that following me into my other religious experiences.

I would not listen and repent no matter who said anything. I was invited to Walk with God by many, and I turned away at all times. I turned away from teachers, friends, priests, and even the teachings of those who have departed, and while enticing at times, it did not call to me.

It was not until I started reading the Word of God myself that I repented and started my Walk with God.

When I see confusion in the landscape of faith, I now turn to the Word and it helps, every time.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naajYZSbWdw

Bible quotes from www.BibleGateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord: Psalm 49:5

2009-04-20T04:28:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Psalm 49:5 says:

Why should I be afraid of bad days? Why should I fear when evil people surround me?

I find this intriguing because I know there are two sets of answers. There are answers from those who do not know the Lord and those who do. If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, then you should not be afraid of bad days. They will come, but Jesus is with you.

If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then when you are surrounded by evil people, the Lord is with you.

The Holy Spirit will help us. We may get the right words to say, we may be given a thought of what to do, not matter what the Holy Spirit does, we know that we are not alone.

Bad things do happen to good people, and part of this is God’s plan in our lives.

I have still a lot to learn in my walk with the Lord on how to better prepare for and embrace these days, but I know with the Lord, everything is possible. This fact alone is a great step forward, for years ago, I felt that I was an island, that I could do it all myself. While I was successful at many things by grinding it out and pushing, these are nothing to what the Lord has been doing through me these last few years.

Believe in the Lord and know that He is there, loving and protecting us, and the bad days will not seem so bad.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

sanford@berenberg.net

www.berenberg.net

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord: Luke 11:52

2009-04-15T03:47:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Luke 11:52 states:

How terrible for you, you experts on the law. You have taken away the key to learning about God. You yourselves would not learn, and you stopped others from learning, too

If people know one thing about me it is that I love to learn and like to help others learn also. This scripture touches a huge button with me. Those who try to change the truth to fit their viewpoint of life are actually trying to stop others from learning, and have started to indoctrinate others on a limited field.

To be able to learn means that we have to be open to what is out there and not limit ourselves by shutting the door on different kinds of information which is available. From researching, studying and learning we can then find that information that is God inspired and make our own decision on how to apply this to our lives.

By keeping this information from others, we keep them from being able to learn, and they loose the ability to reach their full potential.

The tighter the lid that is kept on knowledge and the narrower the approved learning materials are, the less people who try to learn from it can become.

Let the Holy Spirit guide our learning and open the doors to wherever we are brought to, and let our learning be spirit-filled.

With the doorways open, we can better become what God has designed for us in our lives.

Don’t be hindered by those, like the experts on the law, who control what others can read and learn, and in addition, don’t be like those experts. Share your information and witness to others, but do not limit what others can experience.

Of course, there are exceptions to this, like parents and children, where the children do not have the faculties to make these decisions for themselves while growing up, but when they come of age, they should be their own people, and they will be…(those with teenagers know what I mean).

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

sanford@berenberg.net

www.berenberg.net

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord: It's Friday, Sunday's Coming

2009-04-10T18:21:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Happy Good Friday!

This is the best message for the day:

It’s Friday, and Sunday is coming…..

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Today's Walk With The Lord - Deuteronomy 31:16

2009-04-06T04:20:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Deuteronomy 31:16 says:

And the Lord said to Moses “You will soon die. Then these people will not be loyal to me but will worship foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will leave me, breaking the agreement I made with them”

How great is God’s love for us?

He knew that even after he led the Israelites into the promised land that they would betray and leave him, yet he still led them in.

Think of it this way. Your son or daughter asks for your keys to the family car to go to college or some promised destination. You know, I mean, you KNOW that when they drive off that they WILL get into an accident.

Would you give them the keys? Could you?

God did.

God knows that we will have times when we are not as faithful as He would want us to be, and yet He is still there waiting there for us.

How great is God’s love for us?

I am so happy that He does love us this much. We need it!

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord: Luke 5:38

2009-03-31T08:01:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Luke 5:38 states:

New wine must be put into new leather bags.

New wine is not like aged wine. It does not taste good and it must be aged to be of value.

Old leather bags hold old wine, the bags have held their wine as it aged and matured. New wine placed in old bags will not shorten the aging process. The process must follow its course. Aged leather bags eventually fall apart, and this will cause the wine to spill out.

New wine must age to be good and thus it needs to go into new leather bags to come of age.

People are similar to wine. You cannot put on the clothes of an experienced person and expect to get their wisdom and experiences through osmosis. You can learn from them, and hear their tales, watch their actions, but this does not mean that you gain what they know. You must experience it yourself to ultimately know.

No, you must put on your own clothes and learn and grow on your own (no matter how fast you learn). You must gain your own experience and you must do your own learning.

It is at that time that a young person will age like fine wine and be of value.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

sanford@berenberg.net

www.berenberg.net

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord: Proverbs 12:26

2009-03-31T07:54:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Proverbs 12:26 states:

Good people take advice from their friends, but an evil person is easily led to do wrong

Friends are there, in part, to help us. They have a vested interest in our success and we in theirs. They want what is best for us and they are willing to stand up to us and for us when they know we are making a mistake or taking the wrong path. Friends love us and care about us. And we should love and care for our friends as well. We should be there to help our friend up or be stern with a friend when they need it.

While no one is truly perfect we can do far worse than listening to the advice of our friends. For one thing we can gain the benefit of their collective wisdom and experience. When we are faced with taking on a task, but are not totally sure how to proceed, we often think of which friend may have that knowledge to share with us. It is natural.

What happens when we do not look for advice? We often learn the hard way. Learning the hard way is fine, so long as the consequences are not life endangering. It is at those times that we need the help of others and should get past our pride and ego and try not to go it alone.

To go it alone, to shun the advice of others, to feel and act as if we were an island and totally self-sufficient is foolhardy at best and can set us on a path of destruction at worst.

Why risk avoiding all the wisdom for the sake of our pride.

In the end of the day, you cannot have dinner or a cookout with your pride and ego. Why feed into them?

They will lead you down the wrong path if left unchecked.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord: Luke 4:24

2009-03-29T05:34:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Luke 4:24 states:

Then Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, a prophet is not accepted in his hometown.”

People remember the experiences they have with those they grow up with and spend a lot of time with. They get to know who they are, what they do, how they think and act, etc.

When people hear a calling or successfully change their lives, they change who they are, what they do, how they think and act, etc.

Those people then, who knew them before the change or before they follow the calling often miss the changes and see what they know in the person prior to these changes. They only see these people for what they were in the past, what they did, how they thought and acted.

These people from the changed person’s hometown often miss out on the gifts and wisdom these folks who have changed now have because they choose to only see the changed person in the past tense, prior to the change.

Some will never let go of the small boy who used broke my window while playing baseball, or the girl who charged me too much for girl scout cookies and miss out on what these boys and girls turn out to be later in life.

This is why I believe why people who change themselves or follow a calling will not be accepted in their hometowns after the change.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord: Proverbs 12:17

2009-03-27T04:20:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Proverbs 12:17 Says:

An honest witness tells the truth, but a dishonest witness tells lies

Honesty is still the best policy, even if it is brutally honest. Also, as we are commanded not to bear false witness (lie about others) we should strive to be honest in our lives.

This also means to be fair and honest in our words about others. To speak the truth.

Even if the truth is painful, it is the truth.

We can be dishonest when we try to lighten the burden of the message we are to give. We sometimes call it ‘sugar coating’ the bad news when we fear that it is so bad that others can not take it. We forget that the Lord will not give us anything that we cannot handle. Again, when we feel that we need to sugar coat something, we are limiting the size and power of our Lord by limiting what we feel He can do. God follows his rules, and we must continually learn not to limit Him with our point of view.

Looked at another way, when we mean to do well, but ‘sugar coat’ the news, we deprive others from being able see what is happening and make their own judgment. When we hear something that is watered down or an outright lie, we act off of falsehoods and often make mistakes.

Even though we only tried to help, we hurt. Maybe there is where ‘help becomes betrayal’ because we mean to help, but by giving white lies to sugar coat the truth, we are in fact betraying our friends and loved ones….

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord - Psalm 37:16

2009-03-26T04:20:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

Psalm 37:16 States:

It is better to have little and be right, than to have much and be wrong

Being right is not an arrogant statement, rather it is about knowing the truth. Since the truth will set us free, being truthful, and living in the truth are the correct way to live. Otherwise we are living a lie, even if it is only a white lie, or shades of gray.

Knowing and living the truth is the key to a successful and prosperous life.

Imagine you are driving to a destination where you have never been to before. You are using a GPS on your dashboard to help you find the location. If the GPS is giving you truthful directions, unless the maps have not been updated in the GPS, then you will get to your destination. If, on the other hand, the GPS is giving you UN-truthful information, what will happen? You will get lost, or try driving down roads that the GPS says are in front of you, but in reality are not there.

Also, it is not about riches and plenty, it is about the truth. Even if you have little, when you live in the truth, you have the ability to do wondrous things. I bet you know many people who live ‘modest lives’ and have the ability to achieve amazing accomplishments. They live in the truth, and they do with what they have, and still get the job done.

When you are wrong, you are living outside of the truth and this almost always to troubles. I remember back in my college days at the University of Buffalo Engineering Program. I was told that after I finish my 4 year degree (which I did not, I dropped out back in 1988), I could get a job at an Engineering Firm who would promptly send me BACK to school to learn what I really needed to learn.

What was that about? If I was not learning what I needed to learn to do a job, then why was I learning it in the first place?

Even with riches, being wrong will not help you keep them. We hear “A fool and his money are often parted” and to avoid “throwing good money after bad”. Each of these indicates that no matter how wealthy you are if you are not living in the truth, eventually there will be problems.

Keep your eyes open and accept what is real and live in the present and life will be more enjoyable.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Bible quotes from www.biblegateway.com

Today's Walk With the Lord - James 1:2-5

2009-03-23T19:59:00.001-07:00

Good Morning,

James 1:2-5 states:

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

It is amazing what we can accomplish in life when we allow the Lord into our lives. But, it is deeper than that. We have to allow the Lord to be the Lord and not limit His ability with our standards. If our belief in the Lord is the size of our fist, then how much can he do? If we allow God to be the vast being that He is, what he can do is so much more. We must remember to not put our limits on Him.

For example, if we have faith in the Lord that He can help us out through a tough time, like when we are sick, or injured, than He will be able to do His work in our lives. If our situation is made more difficult, like having financial or marital issues on top of the injury and we lose hope, we have just limited God. To say that He can help us when our problems are small, but not when our problems are big is to put our limitations on the most unlimited being in the universe.

When tough times come, God is testing us. When the going gets tough, the tough continue to have faith.

Another aspect of this is patience. There is very seldomly an overnight success. Most successes come after long periods of study, practice and hard work. This takes patience and perseverance. When God works through us, He works through His time, not ours.

To put a time limit on how long we must wait for God to work in our lives is again putting human limitations on the Lord. How long did Abraham have to wait for God to deliver on His promise of Abraham and Sarah having a child? It was over 20 years wasn’t it?

We must have faith that whatever situations we find ourselves in God will help us if we remain faithful and patient for Him to work in our lives on His timetable.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg