Homemade Ice-Cream

Acts 27:25
 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.
 Have you ever believed something to be true in such a way that nothing or no one could ever convince you otherwise. When I was a child we had the best family reunions. Many of my family members were musicians." My "Pa Pa" played the banjo among other instruments and in my eyes he was the best in Texas. They would play that down home blue grass and country music at every family reunion. With the music there was the best Home cooking a person could ever hope to wrap their lips around, fried chicken, mashed taters (that's potatoes for you city people) and gravy, all that "good ole" artery clogging stuff. Then there were those deserts, Oh what incredible deserts we had. Apple pie, Pecan pie, cherry pie, banana pudding, all kinds of cakes. And my favorite....."home made ice cream!" But the ice cream didn't start out as ice cream. As I remember it, it started out as stuff like milk, sugar, eggs and some other ingredients that my "Ma Ma" would mix up and put in the "ICE CREAM CHURN." She would tell me, my brother and my cousins, to crank on the handle and churn the Ice cream. One of us would sit on the churn while the other would turn the handle. We would take turns, as one would get tired the other would take over. As the ice cream became thicker the work got harder. It was almost like an opposing force! But we were determined, we had a goal. We believed what our "Ma Ma" said,"Y'all keep on cranken on that handle and we'll soon have ice cream!" I knew this were true and no one would  ever convinced me otherwise. It had been proven, it was a sure thing. I had seen it before. Our obedience and hard work would soon serve our ultimate purpose "ice cream." I had no reason to doubt what "Ma Ma" said. She knew exactly what she was doing.  Just like Jesus! When He says it, you can believe it.     
 So many times when God starts a work in us, He begins by simply putting us in situations where we see a need. We see an opportunity for someone else to experience the love of Jesus, then we envision how God will carry this plan out through our obedience. Anytime God begins a work in us it is because He wants to save someone for all of eternity or  He wants to equip someone for His purpose of saving someone for all of eternity! (Luke 19:10) This work is most critical! It is a part of God's master plan. Every time these purposes are being accomplished, opposition will come, trials will happen, discouraging obstacles are a part of ministry! That one is worth repeating, "Discouraging Obstacles are a part of ministry!" The fallen nature of man is sinful so it is  second nature for people to oppose God. The earth itself is also fallen. Its not the perfect place it once was. Even nature may oppose the work of God! I'm not saying that the earth has a mind of it's own. I'm saying that it rains on our parade every now and then. This world is in no way perfect. Then on top of all of this we have any enemy and he has a huge army. The devil stands in opposition to what God has called us to do!(Zechariah 3:1) In light of all of this we can have a clear understanding that opposition will happen! We should be encouraged by this fact. We must be following Jesus or there would be no opposition! In Acts 27 Paul is on His way to testify to Caesar about his conversion to Christianity. God told him that he would have the opportunity to tell the ruler of the Roman empire about Jesus!(Acts 27:23-24) God had a plan and Paul was instrumental in carrying out this plan. God will accomplish what He sets out to do. Philippians 1:6 says,"being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" What ever God starts.....God finishes! This brings so much encouragement to me. It like saying the battle is already won, JUST SHOW UP! Be obedient to the call on your life. 2 Timothy 1:12 says,"for I know whom I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to keep  what I have committed to Him until that day." God is able. He ensures us that we will finish His work and He will do this until He comes for us! If God is for us who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) We can believe it just as we were told. God will do what He has said. Every time a goal is accomplished we reap the rewards and benefits and every time God uses us someone else reaps the rewards also. I can only compare the marvelous work of our God to homemade ice-cream in one way. When the ice-cream was finished,"all the churning finally complete." "Ma Ma" would get out the "big spoon," The whole family would get in line for a bowl of that "HOMEMADE ICE-CREAM." It wasn't just for those who churned, It was for everyone who got in line for a scoop! May we keep believing and working so others may experience our Jesus

Noun-perfections

Philippians 4:8 
 "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things." 
  I can find a fault in every person, place or thing that I look at with one extreme exception!....God! Every other person, place or thing on this earth is faulty, imperfect and since we are using the definition of a noun,  (person,place or thing) noun-perfect! It's like non-perfect, just add a "U." I hear about these noun-perfections too. I think sometimes instead of living to serve Jesus, Christians live to point out each others noun-perfections. What's wrong with us? This in no way edifies the church and could never promote the Kingdom of God. Because we live in a fallen world we have many noun-perfections around us. If we focus on these things we are in for a very miserable life. It can literally mean the difference between being joyful and happy or disgruntled and grumpy. O.K., I totally understand that life is not all about sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, but work with me here. Life is a gift from God and He is in control. The things that a believer deals with every day are ordained and orchestrated by God. God is building His character in us. Noun-perfections are opportunities not curses! The next time you have an opportune experience with a noun-perfection, remember it is a person, place or thing that God has entrusted you with. So give yourself a test. Try to see what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. Then meditate on those things. The ability to do this  truly will enable us to serve one another the way Jesus intended. He said, "the servant is not greater than his master;"(John 13:16) This does not sound that relevant until we understand the context in which this is said. Jesus had just washed His disciples feet! He was showing an example that if the Master is willing to serve the servant then the servant should be willing to serve others. Think about this. The Son of God knelt down and washed those smelly, dirty, faulty imperfect feet of His disciples. Even the feet of Judas, His betrayer! Why?....Because servanthood is the heart of God. It is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praise-worthy! How many noun-perfections did God see when He sent His Son to be crucified for the world? How many does He see right now? I wonder how He must strain His eyes as He looks at me. Can He find anything good in me to meditate on? Oh but wait a minute....... When God sees me, He sees me covered in Jesus blood! He sees someone whom  He thought was worth the price Jesus paid! Wrapped in the robes of  His righteousness. That's what He sees! God sees what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report,virtuous, and praiseworthy. He sees Jesus!So if the servant is not greater than the Master, what should we see?  

Critical Thinking

2 Corinthians 10:4-6
" For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 
  There are times in my life when I feel like I can not handle one more crises or make one more critical decision. Sometimes I feel like I may go into over load at any given moment, weak, tired and overwhelmed.  If you have ever felt like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, I would like to join your club! Then we can have a pity party together! I have them often but the truth is, I'm the only one who shows up. I must say that a party of one is not really a party at all! That's why God had to save us, we just don't do well on our own. In Colossians 1:29 the Bible says that we have a power that works in us mightily. This is a power that keeps us going, a power that fuels us and energizes us. The power of the Holy Spirit! If we understand this we will understand that we never really are alone. He is with us in those times of crises and in those moments of critical decisions. He is there when we are weak, tired and overwhelmed! We have this awesome knowledge and witness of His ever present Holy Spirit. However, we see in our opening verses that there is a war being waged against this knowledge. There are powers and principalities that exalt themselves to be higher than the Most High God. There are strongholds of bondage and sin. These strongholds parade themselves around in our lives mocking us, saying we have no power over them. Strongholds of addiction, depression, fear, anxiety, loneliness and a personal favorite to many of God's children,  a complex of guilt. These make us think we are useless and unable to do any thing for Jesus. Our enemy wants us to believe that we are unable. The devil likes it when we are overwhelmed and feeling weak and tired! he would like nothing better than for us to give up and quit. Oh but God has other plans for these whispers of discouragement that ring so loudly in our ears. They enter our thought process and it is then and there that we can shed the light of truth on them. This is a critical step as we fight the fight for the cause of Christ.  We are told to bring every thought into captivity! Wow, this whole concept could change our lives, our ministries, our families and  our churches. This is about being transformed by the "renewing of your mind."(Romans 12:2) Take every thought captive, put it under interrogation, cross-examine and demand a testimony! I picture this whole courtroom drama going on in my head with my thoughts on the witness stand. It's on the witness stand that we will find some of our thoughts in contempt of court. Some lying while others telling a twisted variation of the truth. Some will try to guilt us over a past sin that is now forgiven and forgotten. Some speak directly against what God has accomplished in our lives. Some speak false witness against others and try to discourage fellowship. One by one they come. One by one they are shown for what they are. They are trying to take the place of the one who is Lord of your life. Our next step..... bring them into obedience! Speak who we truly are to them! Children of the Most High God! There is nothing that is impossible for Him. He is King of kings and no one will ever exceed His majesty! He has saved us, empowered us, equipped us and He revives us! Punish that thought, bring it into submission! The weapons of our warfare are not of flesh. They are mighty in God and strongholds don't stand a chance!  

Long Distance MERCY

Psalms 103:11-12
 "For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;  As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us." 
 Have you ever went outside on a starry night and gazed up into the heavens. I don't know much about the stars, other than they seem to be an eternity away. Yet I feel like I could reach out and touch them. If we think about the vastness of space it can overwhelm us! The heavens are endless. I have an older brother who is a school teacher. He loves astronomy. He has a complete fascination with God's beautiful creation. Whenever we have family gatherings, i.e. "Thanksgiving or Christmas," he always brings his telescope. He is always glad to give a period of instruction to his nieces and nephews about the incredible creation of our God. And of course they love it as much as he does. I like it too and I'm always present. I'm the nervous guy who knows nothing about stars but is ever so guarded of the telescope, In deep prayer!...... praying that my children won't break anything! As he teaches them about the stars, I am always amazed. He will say things like, "the light from these stars has been traveling for many years just to get within our sight!" Huh?......What's that supposed to mean?......I had to process this one.... It means that we are not seeing the stars in "real time!" Depending on which star we are looking at, we may be gazing into light that is several years old. Maybe I'm simple minded or just plain simple but this is mind boggling to me! This puts a whole new perspective on How I see God's mercy! "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him." There is no end to the mercy of our loving God. If what we can see takes years to travel to us, just consider what's out there that we can't see. If God's mercy were to be visible, what we could see  would be incredibly vast. But God did not say My mercy will end at jupiter or mars or even pluto. He said "as high as the heavens are above the earth." God has no peak! 
 Next we have a geography lesson, so to speak, "As far as the east is from the west, so far He has He removed our sins from us." Let's process this one shall we? East and West never meet! North and South meet. You can actually travel North until you are heading South but if you travel west you can go west forever. If you travel East you can go East forever. What's up with that?....... Maybe God wanted to put a few examples of eternity right in front of our faces. I love this! He gave us something we can almost wrap our thoughts around without completely blowing our minds. Don't miss the good part of this..... His forgiveness is so awesome that He removes our sins from us for all of eternity. What ever sin you carried around with you before you met Jesus is gone FOREVER! You are clothed in His righteousness and if it's not too forward to say," you look good dressed up in God!" I would like to end this devotion in a prayer. It is not original with me. Although, if the truth is told all originality is in our Creator! This prayer is from the Bible. It is what Paul prayed for the Church of Ephesus. It is also a prayer for us. Ephesians 3:14-20
 "14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the WIDTH and LENGTH and DEPTH and HIEGHT- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,"   

The Ultimate Work-Out

Philippians 2:12-13 
 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
 I'm so grateful to my God for saving me. In the verses prior to these we can see how Jesus literally left His throne in Heaven. He became poor for us. He then gave Himself up to be crucified for us! To be crucified! The most excruciating way to die in those days! The most shameful way to die! To be hung up for everyone to see. A public display of guilt and shame. The son of God subject to humanities'  torture and execution for humanities' sin. This passage goes on to describe how Our Lord Jesus has now risen and is exalted above all. His name is above all names and every knee will bow to Him. Every tongue will confess that He is Lord.
 Our knowledge of this fact should encourage us to strive to be more like Him. To work out our salvation with fear and trembling. This does not mean "work on!" How could we ever presume to try to add to what Jesus did for us on the cross. How could we ever dare to say it was not enough! Our own arm can not save. We are sinners through and through. It is a mockery to try and add to what Jesus did for us on the cross. To think that our works can save us or even keep us saved is to make ourselves to be savior. Salvation is of God. All of salvation, past, present and future! He is the only one who is mighty to save. I heard it best described like this, "It's not my ability to hold on to Jesus but His ability to hold on to me." To work out our salvation is to do so with reverence, love and gratitude,  because of what Jesus accomplished for us. He gave us the gift of a love relationship with Him. We have been connected to "Father God", through the Son,"Jesus Christ" and given the promised,"Holy Spirit," to teach us how to live for Him. Wow, now that's a relationship! Father, Son, Holy spirit and us! But what about the fear and trembling part?.... He is God! He has saved us from our sin! He has such a distain for sin that He refuses to even allow sin in His presence. But, He loves us so much that He Gave His life on that cross. Our sin murdered the son of God! Not only that but He became sin. Second Corinthians 5vs21 says,"For He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Not for fear that we might lose it but that we will give an account of ourselves to God (Romans 14:12). We should live with a reverence for the awesome accomplishment of God's salvation. The bible tells us to be Holy for God is Holy (1Peter 1:16). We should live to please our God. He hates sin and so should we. We bear the resemblance of the one who saved us. We are clothed in His righteousness......Doesn't it stand to reason since we are clothed in His righteousness that we should walk in righteousness! God does not laugh off our sin and say,"humans will be humans." He takes it seriously and so should we. In Philippians 1:6 we read,"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. I will close with some very good news for us. We can rest assured in this fact. The work that we are to do was began by God. He started this whole thing about working out our salvation. This work will also be completed by God. It is His working in us! To will and to do for His good pleasure. So what's our part? Our part is to simply surrender, be obedient and trust the Author of our salvation.

Training Wheels

Philippians 3:13-14
  "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 
 "Let's try again Daddy," my daughter Hannah would say with a smile glittering with excitement! It was a special day. The day we removed the training wheels off of her bike. It was my idea. I knew she was ready. Hannah, on the other hand, was apprehensive at first. Quizzing me as I removed the training wheels," Daddy are you sure this is safe?......"What if I fall?"...... " Will you catch me?" I just kept reassuring her that everything would be alright. I told her she might fall and she may even skin her knee or her elbow but if she was going to be free from those training wheels, she had to try. Then came the moment! The moment when the higher calling of a "bike free of training wheels" overcame fear. Oh what emotions are stirred in that moment! Happiness, anxiety, courage, fear, freedom and captivity! The epic battle that takes place deep inside the soul! Hannah sat up on that bike and it began. She peddled, I pushed, she peddled more. We were off, Hannah peddling while I ran beside her being the hero father who would catch her at the moment she lost her balance. She wobbled, I flenched, for a moment she got it straitened out! Then it happened.........Hannah lost control! The bike crashed to the ground and simultaneously the strong heroic arms of her father,"that's me," caught her! I held her close and cheered for joy at her try. "Wow," I yelled," you did it Hannah!" With a big confident laugh she jumped right back on that bike saying," Let's try again Daddy!"
 So many times as our Father God nudges us to a Higher Call we question what He is doing. We worry about falling. We freeze up at the mere thought of failure! The negative "what ifs" play over and over in our mind like a broken record. We refuse to leave behind that old powerless person we were before we were saved! Let me remind you that you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba Father." The word "Abba" means "Daddy!" Your Daddy loves you so much! He will challenge you, He will grow you and He will catch you when it is necessary. God will not call you to do something and then leave you alone to handle it! It is His plan. He is in control. He will run beside you. He will flench when you stumble ready to catch. He will catch you when you fall. The fall may be a tuff one. It may hurt but you must try. He will be there to pick you up, dust you off and cheer for joy at your try. Then He will put you back on track. There is a higher call for you no matter how high you may think you are. God has no peak! You will never reach the top. The walk with Jesus is a constant climb. It means there is a new challenge every day, an upward call. It's not comfortable or easy. It is where courage and fear collide. Freedom and captivity battle it out and happiness and anxiety go to blows. Christian, there is freedom on the other side! Freedom without limits to serve your God who has no limits. 
 Hannah is now ten years old and can ride a bike like a pro. She still falls now and then. And when she does, I'm watching, I go to her aid, pick her up and dust her off. It just means she gets extra attention from her Daddy. Keep striving toward the upward call, God is always there. His eyes never close in sleep, and He is always ready to pay us some extra attention

Friends and Mercy

Proverbs 17:17
" A friend loves at all times, 
And a brother is born for adversity."
 I sit here today humbled and extremely blessed. In a very early hour of prayer. This morning our Awesome God has pointed out to me, one by one, the special people He has brought into my life. I say special because these are not  your average run of the mill people! They are friends, REAL FRIENDS! They are not just acquaintances. Friends that love at all times. Even when I'm not a very lovable guy. Real friends understand what the word mercy is all about,  they know that every body needs mercy extended to them. They know that MERCY HAS VISION!We all mess up from time to time. The Bible tells us, "there is none righteous, no not one!"(Romans 3:10) In order to be a real friend you have to try and see people the way God sees them, "Imperfect but filled to the brim  and running over with potential." People are like a recipe, the ingredients are all there, God put them there. Everything needed to make us into what He wants us to be. Just add MERCY! Stir them up and they're ready to serve. You'll notice that this mercy is a continual application. God never stops pouring His mercy into our lives. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." New mercy every day, now that's a friend! I praise Father God that He has placed people in my life that have fleshed out an earthly example of His great mercy that does not fail. You'll also notice that mercy is an action word. MERCY DOES! Our Father God acted upon His mercy by sending His son,(Romans 5:8) He new we needed to be rescued and He acted upon it! Wow, I sit in amazement as I remember my friends coming to my rescue. When I'm hurting and in desperate need, there they arrive on the scene. Those Friends, sent by Father God, They are there to comfort, to pray, to cry and to love. It's at these times when the words mercy and friend take on a whole new meaning. What a picture of the love of Jesus! Mercy is also stable. MERCY STANDS! A brother is born for adversity. (Proverbs 17:17) Adversity is where real friendship is tested! As a pastor I can testify that I am no stranger to adversity. If we follow Jesus, If we love Jesus, If we serve Jesus, WE WILL FACE ADVERSITY! Jesus told us this in His word.(John 15:17-19) The world will hate us. We have a powerful enemy who stands in opposition to us. The devil hates us, but GOD LOVES US! He stands with us in adversity just as He stood for Stephen.(Acts 7:55-56) It's not an easy thing to stand with a friend in adversity. However this is the deepest calling of true friendship. Standing with someone in adversity is where friendship becomes brotherhood! The Proverb says, "a BROTHER is born for adversity!" I sit here this morning humbled. I am humbled because I realize I have many, Brothers and Sisters alike! They have stood by me and even carried me at times. They have prayed for me, encouraged me and loved me unconditionally. They have held me up when I did not have the strength to stand and I praise God for them all!  I am truly blessed! And my prayer this early Sunday morning is that you can say the same.

Search Me, Try Me and Lead Me

Psalms 139:23-24
 Search me, O God, and know my heart; 
Try me, and know my anxieties; 
 And see if there is any wicked way in me, 
And lead me in the way everlasting. 
  Psalms 139 is a powerful chapter. It is an overwhelming description of how personally God knows us. He is always with us. He created us in every detail. He always thinks of us. He truly loves us with an everlasting love . There are three things in verses 23 and 24 that call special attention to our walk with the Lord. The psalmist cries out to the Lord, "Search me, Try me and Lead me." This is a prayer of complete surrender. It is to give up and give in to our God and Creator Who loves us! It is to say in reply to His knowledge of us and love for us,"Yes Lord, I get the picture, I belong to You." Search me and know my heart. God already knows us through and through, the psalmist has already made reference to that in vs 1. This is a surrender of self will. It is as if he is saying, Here Lord Jesus this heart belongs to You, You know my heart better than I do. I no longer want control. This is where knowledge turns into a relationship. This is where it all begins. God doesn't need your skill, talent or ability. God is looking for a willing, surrendered heart. He wants to place His skill, His talent and His ability in your willing, surrendered heart. Wow, what God can do with a willing heart! Next the psalmist takes this surrender to a level that is most likely the hardest level of surrender in our walk with Jesus. "Try me" as if to say,"If it takes a trial or many trials to make me more like you, then I am ready to face those trials. God has a goal for our lives on earth. He is making us more and more like Himself,(Romans 8:28-29). The psalmist prayed that God would try him and know his anxieties; and his sin. It is a cry out to be purified by whatever means necessary. This is not an easy part of the surrender, but it must happen in order to experience God and become more like Him. If we will  just grasp the ultimate reason behind our trials our perspective will change. Every time I have the privilege of counseling some one who is going through trials I always say,"Seek God,"(Matthew 6:33). Don't ask,"why," ask,"what!" What are You showing me about myself and about You God. Upon asking that Question we need to be ready for His answer. His answer will show us our anxiety and our sin. Once these are recognized by our own surrendered heart, Our Father God, along with our complete surrender of this anxiety and sin, will remove them. It is through this process that we become more like Him. The final part of this magnificent prayer of the psalmist is for God to lead him in the way everlasting. There is no other place our God will lead us! He will not lead us into the temporary. He will not lead us into low living. God will not lead us into anything other than His Glory, Majesty and Power! Therefore, if we cry out for God to lead us, then we had better be prepared to follow. We had better be prepared to go places that we have never been and do things we thought before to be impossible. The way of everlasting is not the way of the world. It is not the way of limited vision or accomplishment. Every thing accomplished in the way of everlasting, is done so for the way of the everlasting.  Brothers and Sisters may we pray for our Father God to Search us , Try us and lead us because the way of everlasting is the "only way" for us!

"WHATEVER"

Colossians 3:17
 And WHATEVER you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 
 Whatever...... I must admit this word has been one that upon hearing it, stirs up emotions in me that usually are not of Christlike character. It is many times used in the form of a reply that is well adapted to the language of teens and tweens. And I have, on occasion, heard it from an adult. You know what I'm talking about, the "WHATEVER" answer you get in reply to a statement made, or after offering what you believe to be helpful advice. I.E., Telling young man that he needs to pull his pants up because his under ware are showing! The reply to this helpful advice is usually,"whatever man." Being a former Marine, I must admit I don't usually deal well with the "whatever answer!" However, Praise God the word,"WHATEVER," is in many applications a very good word. Like the one in Colossians 3:17. WHATEVER you do in word or deed do all in the name of Jesus. This is an incredible application of the word, "WHATEVER" and very hard to live up to. In my every action I am to execute that action in the name of Jesus! Brothers and Sisters this eliminates some of our actions all together. There are some things that are impossible to do in the name of Jesus. The two simply are not compatible. I could give examples but there is no need. I'll  just say that "no act of a sinful nature can be accomplished in the Name of Jesus!" Every thing else we do we have the honor of doing it in His name. This is not an obligation. It is a way of life, a privilege, It is who we are. Believers if we are raised to walk in new life that new life is a life in Christ Jesus and our every action should express that life. People need to see Jesus and we are supposed to show Him in our every action. This also is a very important part of worship. Our actions Glorify God. Jesus said," as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Whatever the Christian does,(OUR ACTION) has eternal implications! And we must also remember the verse says,"WHATEVER you do in WORD or deed. WHATEVER  a Christian "SAYS" has eternal implications as well. Scripture teaches that our words are extremely influential. There are so many references on the power of our words I believe I could literally write all day just on the subject of our words. However given the fact we may not have time for that today I have chosen one verse. It is found in the book of Proverbs 18:21,"DEATH and LIFE are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." What are we speaking to people? Are we speaking LIFE? The apostle Peter exclaimed to Jesus in John 6:68,"You have the words of life." If Jesus has the words of life and every believer has Jesus then every believer has the words of life. We need to be careful with our words. Speak LIFE! Speak it to your husband, your wife, your children, your siblings, your CHURCH and your friends. Please remember how influential you are. You carry real life. Not the temporary stuff!  The eternal, everlasting stuff! Jesus paid an extremely high price for it. Let's not not tarnish it's value by tarnished words and deeds. Let's change our perspective on the word "WHATEVER."      

Stedfast, Immovable and Motivated!

1 Corinthians 15:58
 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
 We are presented with a challenge today. A challenge that is warranted and backed by the awesome word of God. To be stedfast, immovable. To keep on working for the Lord. Prior to this verse the scripture is teaching of future victory. A victory that is final and forever. It is the victory over death! That's right... I said,"victory over death." In Romans 10:9 the Bible says," That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved." Our belief system of God's grace and salvation is salvation from death. Jesus was the first to be raised in this resurrection and we have claimed to believe it. We will also be raised. We will no longer at that point deal with sin or the result of it,"death!" Our verse this morning deals with our knowledge of this. It opens with, "THEREFORE." As to say,"because of what you know." Be stedfast, be settled in this knowledge. No matter what happens through out this day or any other day we know our victory is secure. We can rest in this hope. We can settle in to this joy. AS we will put on immortality and incorruption, death will be swallowed up in victory(1Corinthians 15:54). Settle in be stedfast live in it,"hakuna matata," as my friends Timone and Pumba  would say! We are also, because of this knowledge, to be immovable. We are no longer to be tossed about.  No one can deceive us! We are immovable! In this I challenge every one to seek the whole counsel of God. God has given us His word that we should know it and apply it. God intends for us to be secure in our knowledge of Him. So that we do not live in fear of our future. I love what we are told in Romans 8:15,"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the SPIRIT OF ADOPTION by whom we cry out "ABBA FATHER." Adoption in Roman law in those days was more legally binding that being naturally born into a family. This is a picture God shows us to make our relationship to Him more clear. As His children we are "immovable." This knowledge helps us as we realize that every thing we do for Jesus has purpose and meaning. We have a part in this wonderful plan of our Father God. Nothing you do for Jesus is for nothing! Your labor has reason and meaning! Others see you. Others are listening. You may not think so but I promise they are! If you are living for Jesus, you are not wasting your life. He is life and life in Him is the only life! King Solomon wrote about this in Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.  

Investment Strategy

Matthew 25:14
 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them."
 I love this story! Jesus tells of a man traveling to another country. Before he left he called his servants together and gave them talents. To one he gave five, to another he gave two and to the third he gave one.
He did not give them these talents for reckless spending and at the same time he did not expect them to hold to them ether. What the master of the estate was expecting was a wise investment. He wanted his servants to take what they had been entrusted with and use it to grow his estate. In the same way our Heavenly Father has invested in us He has given us gifts and talents so that we might invest them into His Kingdom. In Ephesians 4:8 the Bible says,"When He ascended on high, He lead captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." My friends He gave us these wonderful gifts so that we may use them until He comes for us. We are to use them to bring glory to God while at the same time leading others to Christ. As a matter of fact I'll take a step farther. All of our ability comes from God no matter how great or small and He wants us to use them for Him. So my question to you is,"whats your investment strategy? This is important to know because you want your efforts to have the maximum effect as you invest in the Kingdom of God. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says,"If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success. So with that being said lets consider what we can do to make sure we invest wisely to build the Kingdom of God. First, a half way investment is not an investment at all. Why do we expect God to settle to a lower standard? He has never settled,......EVER! When they asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was (Matt 22:36-40) He replied,"Love the the Lord your God with all of you heart, soul, and mind! No where does Jesus say," Oh well I'll take half your heart, soul and mind if that's all I can get from you. God is not asking for warm bodies to take up space in His Kingdom! He wants passionate, sold out investors who love Him. He wants investors who submit to His authority and believe that investing in the Kingdom of Heaven the most important of all. Second, invest without dread. Dread can creep up on us if we're not careful, especially when we overload ourselves. It happens mostly because our investment becomes our god. We  must be careful not to get so wrapped up in the good things only to forget the most important thing,"Our relationship to God." He is the source of our investment, the one who has made it possible. He is our source of strength and JOY. In John 15:5 He said,"I am the vine you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. Third, Invest with expectation. There nothing like seeing the results of an investment in God's Kingdom. However we need to realize that it is the Holy Spirit who compliments, encourages and completes our investment. THIS IS A GOOD TRUTH TO KNOW! Knowing God is at work we realize His mercies are knew every day. We can always expect more, we can always expect new, we can always expect greater. God gives the increase every time.
 In the story of the talents we see that two of the servants invested their talents and were entrusted with more. They were considered good and faithful. Then there is the one who was afraid to invest his talent. He had to face his master with the unpleasant news that he just didn't have the courage.  What could have been a great partnership, would never be. What lives could have been touched, what victories could have been won. What experiences were awaiting the unwilling servant. He will never know!

THE LAND of O.K.

Ephesians 3:19-20
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 
 How many times have you been asked the question, "Are you O.K.?" I have heard this question asked time and time again. It has been asked directly to me or to some one around me almost daily. The answer usually complies with the question. It's either, "yes I'm O.K." or "no I'm not O.K." Any further elaboration at this point is up to the person asking. It may be discussed at this point or it may be dropped. There is normally a casual socially accepted reply and then it' s back to life as usual. My sweet wife asked me this question just yesterday on the account that we have been experiencing a few trials. She is my best friend and she worries about me. She is very protective of her hubby! When she asked me if I was O.K. I replied, " It depends on what the standard is in the in the land of O.K.!" My reply was one that caused me to really think about my own expectations. We get really caught up in "THE LAND OF O.K." We settle in and we live there. We like it there because we can change the standard to fit our lower expectations! However if the truth is known, "THE LAND OF O.K." is not real, it's our own make believe place that we have chosen to run to. We have an AWESOME GOD, whom if we believe in Him, He calls us His children. And as we run to "THE LAND OF  O.K. He calls to us "I have come that you may have LIFE and have it more ABUNDANTLY!"(John 10:10). Turning around is up to us. We have to make the choice to run to Him. To reject mediocrity, low standards and "O.K. expectations." In the verse at the beginning of this devotional we see what could be if we would trust what our Heavenly Father tells us. We would live in the riches and fullness in which is intend for us to live. We would know the LOVE OF JESUS. This love surpasses our own understanding! It is High, It is deep and it is wide! We would be filled with the FULLNESS OF GOD. We would experience the unlimited resources we have in HIM! "He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think!" This is so descriptive and yet so easy to believe about our Heavenly Father. If the truth is told this is a real place, an almost indescribable life. A life way above any earthly expectations of "O.K.!" Oh,.....there is one more part to this. The last part, please don't miss it! "According to the power that works in us." No wonder we feel so out of place in "THE LAND OF O.K." It is a strange place to us. Mediocrity, low standards and low expectations do not abide in us. We are not just "O.K." We are children of the MOST HIGH GOD!  Turn around....! Run to Him today.

Character of God

Colossians 3:12-13
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 
 What an incredible power packed word from the Lord. If we could only learn to apply it to our heart. Notice the list of spiritual characteristics tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness and long-suffering. These are the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5. They are of the very character of God. In other words God wants us to treat each other like He treats us!
And we must put into practice His character to do so. How can we expect to be able to bear with one another in love unless we first have mercy as God has mercy on us. We don't deserve His mercy but it's not about deserving it's about His character. God is love and love exhibits mercy. How can we bear with one another in love unless we are kind. Kindness is ministry at it's finest! To be kind and act out in kindness is to be totally selfless wanting only to serve someone else. To minister in hopes of showing someone else who Jesus is. To be Kind is to bear with one another in love. Humility is not our favorite yet it is so necessary in order to bear with one another in love. The Bible tells us in Phillipians 2 that Jesus was equal with God and yet came in the form of a slave and humbled Himself. He gave Himself to suffer death on the cross. Wow what an example of humility! From King over all of creation to death on a cross for creation. Now that's LOVE! Meekness is next on the list of God's intended Character for us. Meekness is power under control. To know you have the indwelling of the Mighty Holy Spirit of God and in the same knowledge realizing that you are under His control and ready to be obedient as God uses you to show His love to others. This meekness is the characteristic that drives us to go to the rescue of hurting people even if it means we ourselves will be hurt. Meekness is heroic like the obedience of Jesus to go to that cross for us. He knew it would be the most dreadful of all experiences. He agonized over the burden that our sin would place on Him. He knew for the first time He would be separated from the Father God! In this meekness He prayed not My will but Yours be done. In His meekness He saved the world! The last characteristic on the list is long-suffering or what I like to refer to as patients. In 2 Peter 3:9 the Bible says" God is patient toward us not willing that any should perish but that all but that all should come to repentance." Patients is truly "bearing with one another in love." It means to love each other through our faults, quirks, emotions, bad habits, rudeness and selfishness. It means to love even when you are not being loved in return. As the hammer struck the nail that pierce the hands that created the universe, the Son Of God said, "Father forgive them." How can we say we love Jesus, we believe Jesus and we trust in Jesus and not bear with one another in love. How can we say Jesus Lives in us and not have His life pour out of us as we bear with one another in love. May God bless us today as He grows his character in us and may His character in us be all that the world sees.  

FAITH, JOY AND SALVATION

1 Peter 1:7-9
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen a you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith- the salvation of your souls. 
 Three verse with three phrases that should grab our attention and touch our hearts. #1 the genuineness of your faith, Our Heavenly Father loves genuine faith. The childlike faith that comes when we find out that we can't save ourselves, and trust Jesus to save us. The kind of faith that needs no physical evidence. This faith is greater than physical evidence it is revealed by the Holy Spirit and strengthened through trials. Tested by fire and proven to be more precious than gold. And that's exactly how God sees our faith, "PRECIOUS." This precious, genuine faith makes the second phrase easier to grasp. #2 You rejoice with inexpressible joy. These words about joy literally mean, "unspeakable." Joy that is impossible to describe it's like having faith in Jesus who we can't physically see. The joy we have from this can't be talked about! It's impossible! Like our faith we simply experience it. We experience it in our trials when the tears come and our hearts are broken, It can't be explained but there is an over whelming peace that comes over us, "inexpressible joy." We experience watching our children as they come to faith in Jesus. We experience it as God whispers to us from His word to reveal His truths. We experience it as we praise Him in worship or when the pastor has a word from God that is just meant for us. This is "inexpressible joy!" Which of course leads me to the third phrase. #3 The salvation of your souls. This salvation is the underlying reason for "Inexpressible Joy." In this passage it is explained that we receive (present tense) salvation at the end of our faith (#1). Salvation means to deliver or rescue. We are rescued from God's wrath when we are first saved. That is past tense salvation. however it is at the end of  faith in the saving grace of God. We will be rescued when we go to Heaven to live in perfection with God. This is also salvation but it is in the future tense. I will be saved! Here we are dealing with a word in the present tense, "receiving." Could this mean that we are rescued every moment of the day? In every trial as we trust and have faith in God HE IS RESCUING US! We are being saved! Our salvation is guarded and maintained by our All Powerful God and no one can touch it! And at the end of our faith as we trust Him. God shows up and God delivers! This my brothers and sisters produces faith, joy, and salvation that is "PRECIOUS, INEXPRESSIBLE AND FOREVER!"

Press On!

Colossians 1:28-29
  "Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily." 
 There are not many things that please me more than seeing people come to know Jesus. God has given me the heart of an evangelist. I have a deep calling and desire to reach everyone I can with the good news of salvation. Even so, I must admit that I get tired and weary. My emotions rise to the top and I begin to reason in my own heart. My reasoning rarely agrees with what God would have me to do. It is this reasoning that many of us deal with and, if we are not careful, we will talk ourselves right out of doing God's work. We can even make it sound logical and rational to ourselves! We ask ourselves questions or make statements like, " Is what I am doing really worth it?" or "Am I really reaching anyone?" And there is my personal favorite, " I'm not any good at this anyway!" Yes, you can rest assured that you, along with the help of your adversary,"the devil," can talk yourself out of the ministry that God has given you to do. It's at times like this that I think about the Apostle Paul. I wonder how he felt after his times of being beaten, stoned and shipwrecked! Every time he was persecuted it was for the sake of the gospel so someone else might hear about the saving grace of Jesus. I'm sure he was tired, he felt pain and he suffered but it was so someone might hear about about the saving grace of Jesus! I'm sure Paul became discouraged and depressed but he fought through it...... WHY?..... So someone might hear about the saving grace of Jesus! Paul wrote to the Philippian church in Phil 3:14, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
 He knew something about himself. Paul knew that whatever pain and struggle he faced on earth was extremely small compared to his prize in Heaven. He knew that the things he faced were nothing compared to the fact that other people were being radically saved through his ministry and these are great things to know. However, there is one more thing Paul realized that topped the list. It was and still is the greatest driving force in every ministry on the planet today! In Colossians 1:29 he wrote, "To this end I labor, striving according to HIS working which works in me mightily. Like Paul, we need to know that we labor and strive according to the power of the HOLY SPIRIT and not our own. WE need to know that this power works mightily in us! CHRISTIAN, you are not being driven by your own will, you are not being equipped by your own resources and you are not being empowered according to human flesh. You have the indwelling of Almighty God, and He is the power that works in you mightily. If I may be bold for my Lord Jesus, I say to you, GOD has called you and you are not ordinary! You are extraordinary! You are a preacher of the gospel! You can not quit, you can not walk away, you must strive toward the upward call! Press on! Someone needs Jesus, someone is hurting, someone is lost, and you are God's chosen messenger!  Press on

Eternally Secure

John 10:27-28
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." 
 One of the most encouraging doctrines of the Bible is the doctrine of eternal security. Not everyone agrees on this doctrine, although I am confident in what the Bible says about those who are saved. The word "saved" speaks for it self, It means to be delivered or rescued from danger. To be rescued from Judgment! Jesus accomplished this once and for all, for us at the cross. It can not and will not be repeated (Hebrews 10:10). The blood of Jesus is not ordinary. He is the Son of God, He is perfect and His perfect blood has made atonement for us. The book of Hebrews describes His accomplishment for us as "final and finished" (Hebrews 9:11-14). Jesus spoke this in  His own words as He gave His Life on the Cross.... He said, "It is Finished," (John 19:30). For those that know Jesus, these are the most precious words they could ever hear! It is to say I have taken care of your debt. Paid it in full past, present and future! For the Christian, it has never been our ability to hold on to Jesus, who maintains our salvation. It is the power and ability of the King of kings, "Jesus" to hold on to us! Although there are a few key points we find in, John 10:27 that we need to pay close attention to. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice." If we are saved we belong to Jesus we have The Holy Spirit as assurance of that salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14) and in Romans 8:16 we read The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The Holy Spirit teaches us and helps us to walk with Jesus. We hear Him if we belong to Him. 
 Next, we see the most beautiful part of this verse, He knows us. He knows us in the most absolute way. Like Psalm 139 says, "Lord You have searched me and known me".  His own are so precious to Him that He knows everything about us. He knows your likes and dislikes. He knows your tendencies, your quirky habits, your personality, your eye color, your favorite food, your favorite pass time.  He knows when you get up and when you lay down, how hard you work  and where you work. He knows your priorities. He knows everything about you! He knows you because He created you. He loves you and He chose to save you!    
 Last we see something that should call our attention to our walk with Him. Jesus said, "they follow Me." This is a very important part of eternal security. It is not that our walk with Jesus keeps us saved, but our walk with Jesus is a result of being saved! The fact that we follow Jesus is evidence of our eternal security. It is the evidence of a true heart change. To be a follower of Jesus is to be in love with Him and take every step with a desire to please Him. It does not mean that once we are saved we will never sin again. It means we have a desire not to sin and turn from our sin. This is not a prerequisite to salvation or a maintaining of salvation but the result of being saved. We don't even have the power to do this until the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and He comes to live in us upon being saved. It is then, and only then, that we have the leading, teaching and strength to become a follower of Jesus. The conclusion we must come to is this: the saved person hears what Jesus says; the saved person is known by Him; and the saved person follows Him. The saved persons' life reflects all three of these things! So the question is not the fact that you are eternally secure. The Question is....
Are you saved? Have You called upon Jesus to have mercy on you and save you? This is not lip service...... This is a true salvation experience! 
Romans 10:13 says," For whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." Ask Him right now! He will save you and that salvation will be forever! John 10:28"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." If you have known the salvation of the Lord or have just now come to know Him, take time right now, and with a heart of true gratitude, offer Him praise and honor. He is truly an AWESOME GOD!         

Priorities

Matthew 6:33
 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." 
  I wonder what life would be like for Christians if we would decide to finally take God serious and put Him first? Can you picture yourself making your priority list and God being number one every single time?
 The way we start our day would change completely, because our first act of the day would be to honor and glorify the Creator of the day! What a potentially incredible chain of events that would follow if we simply made God  our priority over everything! There would never be a lack of workers at church projects. There would always be overwhelming support in youth and children functions at church. We under estimate the importance of just being there. However, the truth is what is important to you will be important to the children. If everyone would give of their time then no one would be strapped for time. If everyone would give of their resources then no one would be strapped for resources. If everyone would give of their money then no one would be strapped for money. You get the picture!? There would always be more than enough resources, people, money, and prayer. God's church would be the most influential life changing force in the world if we would just get our priorities right. We see a great example of this in the early church in Acts 2:44-45, "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. This is about priority, putting God first above anything else. Jesus loves His church (Ephesians 5:25) and His priorities should be our priorities. Putting God first is also about seeing people come to know Him. We also read in Acts 2:47, "The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Wow can you imagine people being saved in our fellowship every single day? If we would just get our priorities right we could see no less than 365 people a year come to Know Jesus, 365 people who have been saved from hell!
Isn't that worth adjusting our lives and putting God at the top of our list!
 I would like to add that Matt 6:33 is a two part verse. The second part says "and all these things will be added to you." In the passage where this verse is found, Jesus is taking on the subject of worry. He is trying to convince us that there is no need to worry about things like food or clothing. As long as we are seeking God first and His righteousness everything we need will be provided. We need to realize that everything we have comes from God anyway, and He deserves honor, praise and glory for it. How can this happen if the thing provided has priority over the ONE providing it! I love the way this is communicated to us in the book of Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. As I close out this devotional, and as we ponder our priorities, I would like to ask, "Who is better at directing your path? Is it the one who spoke the world into existence, who also gives life and breath to all things, The one who is all present, all powerful and all knowing, or is it you?

The Life Exchange

Luke 9:24
"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."
 These are the words Jesus spoke as He was describing what it takes to be His follower. He has shown us by His own selfless actions and taught us in His word that being HIS follower truly requires something of us. He wants you to make a trade! Jesus wants you to exchange your old condemned existence for a brand new life with Him. He wants us to get rid of our old selves, for "HIS SAKE," or on "HIS ACCOUNT." Considering this, let's take into account what we would be giving up! After all Jesus
did tell us to "count the cost." First, we would be giving up the guilt and shame for our sins against God. We would no longer have to carry the burden of our wrongs. This means ALL of our wrongs: past, present and future. Second we would be giving up a lifestyle. This one is probably hardest for us because we are born with a natural tendency to rebel against God, "a sin nature." Our lifestyle defines who we are and we can  
not have a life style of sin and be identified as a follower of the One who is sinless. Jesus asked, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do the things I say?"(Luke 6:46) Third, we would be giving up condemnation,( Romans 8:1). To become a follower of Jesus means to exchange eternity separated from God for Eternity with God. To be separated from God is to be in a place were there is eternal torment and seclusion. This means, complete separation from anything good, joyful or peaceful. To be separated from God is the most horrific place anyone could ever be and that place is forever! Now that we have considered what we are giving up let's consider what we would be gaining. Let me start by saying the gains are so great that they are truly countless, so I will choose three. The first great gain I would like to consider is God's Holy Spirit, He comes to live in the heart of every follower of Jesus. He seals us with His promise that we belong to God and communicates it to us constantly, (Romans 8:16). He teaches us about Himself and gives us His power to overcome sin. He brings us true everlasting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control,(Gal. 5:22-23). God, through the gift of His Holy Spirit, has made us able to be His follower while we live on this earth. The second gain has to do with those we love, "who are also followers of Jesus." This promise brings great, great joy and excitement to my heart. We will always be together with Jesus. I look so forward to the day when we will see our loved ones again in Heaven. The reunion of all reunions, and together we will honor and glorify our Mighty God and King never to be separated again,(1 Thess. 4:13-18). The third and final great gain we will consider today is to be in the presence of Our Savior and King forever! To have the great honor of being in the same room with Him, to see Him face to face. To finally be able to look at Him, to see His scars and how His power and perfection has made the pain of our own sin, and even sin itself, NON EXISTENT! To be able to fall on our faces in the very throne room of God and say without the robes of doubt and darkness which plagued us so frequently in our past, "Thank You, JESUS! I love You! You, and You alone are worthy!" I know at that moment when everything we have hoped for and prayed for becomes even more real and vivid than we could ever imagine, "WE WILL KNOW!" We will know that the exchange we made was not really a trade at all, it was the greatest most priceless gift we have ever received. PRAISE GOD!
   

What a Friend

Proverbs 18:24
"A man who has friends must himself be friendly,  
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." 
 I have been truly blessed with some incredible friendships in my lifetime.  As I write this devotional page today I have come to realize true friendships are one of God's most precious gifts to us. Our friends laugh with us, cry with us, they stand with us when we face adversity, they hold us at our times of deep heartache, they celebrate in times of triumph and they love us in  all times, even when we make mistakes. Those mistakes may even hurt our friends. True friends will continue to be friends even in difficult circumstances. Friends like this are truly sent from God (James 1:17).
 However, there is only one friend who fits this mold 24/7 and He will never leave you or forsake you. He loves you no matter what you have done. As a matter of fact, your deeds, good or bad, have nothing to do with how much He loves you. He is still your friend! He has proven His friendship to us over and over again because He continues to call us righteous and justified even when we sin against Him, (Hebrews 9:12). The Bible makes it very clear. This one friend has done more for us than anyone else in the history of the world. Just look around and observe our world. There are not too many friendly things going on out there these days. To be honest, when I look at friendship in a worldly perspective it doesn't offer much hope at all. We may have some great friends on this earth but they will not, and can not do for you what Jesus has done. He took the punishment we deserved for our wrong. He not only forgives us, but has transferred our sins upon Himself. He was tried and convicted for our wrongs against Father God. He paid our penalty; beaten, humiliated and nailed to a cruel Roman cross. Then in the darkest hour of human history our sins were placed on Him to bare. The perfect Son of God became imperfect so WE could be called perfect (2 Cor. 5:21). The One who was perfect became imperfect for you and then He declared you perfect before His Father in Heaven. Our friend Jesus stands in the Throne room of God  24 hours a day declaring us to be His friend if we have made Him our friend. This is the friend that is closer than a brother, He has made a forever promise to us and He keeps all of His promises! Have you made Jesus your friend today?  

Don't hold your Breath

2 Peter 3:8
 "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 
 Wow! When I think about the content of this verse it blows my mind.
Our God is timeless, uninhibited and unlimited. He will carry out His plan without the restraints of time.This is great news for humanity because "He is very patient toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,"(2 Pet.3:9). For the lost person this a wonderful truth and for the believer it is a soul stirring fact. We as Christians should never try to out wait God, or think that He is affected or bothered by our refusal of obedience. This reminds me of what a "fit-throwing-child" sometimes does when he doesn't get his way..."hold his breath." For some reason, logic escapes him and he acts like holding his breath bothers everyone around him and the pressure inflicted will be SO great that his guardian will buckle and give in to his every desire! However, if the truth is known and acted upon in the correct manner, the guardian of that child will go about life as normal uninhibited by the child's refusal to conform. The child, bothering no one but himself,will either exhale and begin to breathe again or pass out and begin to breathe again. Either way the guardian's plan is not affected, and the day goes on!
  We need to realize God will carry out His plan, He will do it wether we join in or hold our breath. We can demand that God make accommodations for us and conform to us before we will join Him but He will not! He will go about business as usual saving souls and changing lives and we will miss out on His wonderful work. God saved us to be conformed to Him and not Him to us (Rom. 8:29). By holding our breath we only hurt ourselves..... so exhale! God wants to include you in His plan for the day, He has something great in store for you(1Cor.2:9-10).  I wonder what the next one thousand years holds. Whatever it is I want in, as long as I'm in with Jesus!      

Faith Defined

Hebrews 11:1 
 " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  Our God given faith is so valuable to us. Faith gets us through the day, makes our nights sweet and In faith our souls sore in the presence of God's Holy Spirit. 
 Faith is the surety of things hoped for, what we know to be true; Our Heavenly Father and His plan for us is in fact reality. Reality now, you are a child of God on earth. Reality later, you will be a child of God in His perfect Heaven and live forever. 
 Faith is the evidence of things not seen. YOU are the evidence, living out your life every day in an exhibition of your faith. How do people see you? Would someone recognize by your actions and attitude that you are sure of what you hope for? If we know we have an awesome inheritance through our faith in Jesus this surety should be displayed in everything we say and do. every action of every Christian has eternal implications no matter how small or how great. Believers are eternal beings therefore we have eternal influence. Influence that changes lives forever, Influence that represents Jesus in our ambassadorship of our future Homeland of Heaven (2 Cor. 5:20). 
 What it all comes down to is the fact that your faith is not just for you. The first and greatest importants of faith is to bring Glory to God(1Pet. 1:7).The next is to keep us near God in every circumstance of our lives that we may overcome(1Jn. 5:4). Last is our declaration that Heaven is our home(Heb. 11:14) May our Father God truly grow your faith today

The Throne Room of Grace

Prayer is our greatest and most priveledged gift we have as believers. It is always extremely powerful when a prayer of faith is prayed in the throneroom of our God and King! Yes I said, "throneroom," the bible tells us in the book of Hebrews 4:16 "Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and help in time of need." When we pray we have entered the the "throneroom of grace," what an incredible place to be. Grace is translated favor, favor is what every person who calls on Jesus for salvation receives. That favor for you is now and for ever written in the Lamb's Book of Life! When you fall on your knees at the "Throne of Grace," you are not just another person making a prayer to an indifferent king, you are a child of the Most High God. You are known by Him. He recognizes you and He loves you. When I think of this, my mind drifts to my own children, and how they come to me with humble hearts and simple requests. No request is ever too small or insignificant. Sometimes the request is too big for their Dad to handle, but this is not a problem with Father God. My point is this: I always hear them because I love them. They come to me with confidence because I am their father. I'm not indifferent. As a matter of fact, I'm just the opposite. I want them to come to me. I love to talk with them. When they come, I recognize who they are because they are "mine". I know them by name, their individual looks, gifts, talents, and personalities. We are told in Scripture that God "foreknew us", that is to know us before we were created by Him, so when we come before His throne of favor He is looking at and listening to someone He knows better than they know themselves. God has always existed and there is no way of knowing "this side of Heaven," when He began to think of you! You are His own special creation. He loves what He has made!
I'm not saying that God will grant your every request. He is not your genie-in-a-bottle, He is your Father and He is God. He knows everything and He knows best. We should go to the throne room because of our relationship to Him and because of His relationship to us. That verse in Hebrews tells us we go there to obtain mercy and find grace. We will always find mercy(compassion) and grace(favor) in the throne room of our Father. Friends, we need to go there as often as we can.

fear

The bible tells us in 1John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
Every one deals with fear in some form or fashion, some people contend with fear 24/7. I deal with fear on a daily basis, sometimes I have little fears ie; the fear of saying something stupid or embarrassing while I'm preaching. Sometimes I have not so little fears ie; The fear of a family member getting hurt or ill. Fear is a part of us. It's not of God, but a part of the fallen world we live in. We get advice on how to deal with it like; There is nothing to fear but fear itself, face your fears or put them in God's hands. These are all good, especially the one about God, but they are so incredibly hard to apply. The crazy thing about fear is the fact that what we are afraid of hasn't happened yet. It is always about what might happen or maybe even it's inevitable and you know it's going to happen. Whatever the case may be, the fact is, we are letting fear grip us and keep us from enjoying the "NOW" because of something that may happen or will happen in the future. Fear makes us feel out of control, unable and incapable, which brings me to my conclusion on how we should handle fear.
Return with me to the thought of putting it in God's hands, this is extremely hard and in reality impossible, this also suggest that we do not use logic and caution when we face our fears. If we fear something it's usually because God gave us the good sense to take measures to protect ourselves. A great example of this is seeking medical attention for a life threatening illness. It is not the fear we should place in God's hands....we should place ourselves in God's hands! Whatever God is doing or allowing in the life of a Christian is for a purpose and that purpose is so the Christian will become more like Jesus(Romans 8:28-29). Our way of dealing with fear should be the understanding that we belong to God and everything that happens to us is, in some way, of His allowance or design and He is always present at the time. He was not an absentee God with Job and He is not an absentee God with us. The Bible says, "not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Heavenly Father knowing about it, are we not more valuable than the sparrows?" I've heard it said that if God brought you to it He will bring you through it, and my friends I believe that with my whole heart. I have not only seen it, I have also experienced it.
Once again, I will leave you with a verse of encouragement,It is one of my wife's favorites and if we apply God's word to our lives fear will be present, but it will not be prominent! John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in ME you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world."

People and Pain

I've been a pastor going on eight years now and I know I still have much to learn about how to lead God's people. In my interaction and observation of people I've come to the conclusion that something in our fallen nature loves to either inflict or sometimes even be the recipient of emotional pain. Yes, people like to hurt each other, even in the church. There are times when a situation may be misunderstood and a person gets their feelings hurt completely without intension. It's the aftermath of the situation that proves my point. When emotions are running high instead of defusing them, and every individual has the capability of controlling their own emotions, we carry them to the fullest extent, their maximum capacity, right down to kicking and screaming. I guess we feel that if we have to hurt, someone else is going to hurt also. However there is one major problem with us reacting in such a way as this. It does not exemplify the person and the character of Jesus, complaining, arguing and hurting each other are simply not Christ like characteristics.
I love being a pastor and with the strength and teaching of God's Holy Spirit I welcome the challenges of the position and this one truly is a challenge. People leave churches, quit ministries, and even give up on God and each other because of there inability to keep their own emotions in check! What are we thinking?..... Truth be told we are not thinking at all, God made us in His image and gave us ability to reason things out, He loves us so much and He has proven Himself to us over and over again, God's hand is on us and He will never leave us or forsake us. He loves His church and gave Himself for it! If Jesus was crucified for the church doesn't it stand to reason that we should be able to endure a little pain for His church so that we may see His great commission carried out! Isn't that much more important than anything on our emotional agenda?
I will leave you with a verse of scripture that if we live by it, this will never be problem again. After all, application of God's word is the paramount duty of every Christian. Galatians 2:20 For I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live,but Jesus Christ lives in me;and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who gave Himself for me.

"GETTING READY"

We're always getting ready for something. We get ready for work, for school,for vacation etc. etc. We spend a lot of time and effort getting ready for temporary things that at most last just a couple of weeks, it seems funny to me that we put so much effort into the temporary. Phil.3vs20 says For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. My thoughts turn to what citizenship means, you see, we belong to a nation that is an eternal a place that will never fade away. This belonging should hold our allegiance our obligation and our joy. We should also understand that our citizenship in Heaven gives us certain rights and priviledges that only the believer has, we are God's adopted children, we belong to Him, we have been given eternal life, the Holy spirit of God has come to dwell in us, He has given us His word and the incredible ability to pray freely before His throne of grace. He has established His church here on this Earth and invited us to worship Him all together as one body.
Our great and awesome God has shown us and given us eternal tools to get us ready for eternal life and we are going to spend eternity with God. Doesn't it make sence that we should spend the greatest portion of our time getting ready to be with Him in our heavenly home. I believe the more time we spend getting ready, the more dedicated to our future home land we will become. The more dedicated we become, the more we realize how important our role is in getting ready for Heaven. After all there are people watching us that have no clue as to how to get there or even if there is a Heaven. They see how we spend our time, money and talent, so what do they see you "GETTING REAY" for.

Today

2 Corinthians 6:2
  For He says:"
In an acceptable time I have heard you, 
And in the day of salvation I have helped you."a 
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 
 What a difference a day can make. In a day a life can be changed forever, Relationships can be restored, bonds of slavery can be broken for good and captives can be set free. In a moment someone can pass from death to life, in moment Jesus can save a soul, in a moment true and everlasting joy can enter a heart and that heart will never be the same. 
 We have been graciously given this day and more importantly this moment. God has lovingly called us to experience Him as never before. You see, He will save today, He will change a life, He will break the bonds of slavery and captives will be set free. Everlasting joy will enter some ones heart today and they will pass from death to life! You are invited to be a part of these incredible breakthroughs that are the most significant in all of human history. Say yes and you will know and experience our Awesome Creator God in a way you have never known Him before....say no and you will never know what God could have done with You and through you in this moment of today. 

Masterpiece

Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 
Workmanship, when we admire an object built with quality and perfection we always exclaim....what beautiful workmanship. We usually consider how useful it would be in our possession and how prosperous it would be in serving and overall purpose. Oh the contributions to society this work of art could make if it were only ours to use for our good purposes. However it just sits there useless gathering dust and for what ever reason It is out of our grasp, why, because it belongs to someone else! So we sigh a big sigh and go about our way contemplating how we may attain the incredible work of art we had just so Lovingly admired.
  Imagine how our Father God must feel as He sees those He created, His own work of art, His masterpiece the one He admires and loves. How He thinks.....If they were truly mine oh what wonderful things I could do, Oh how many of My people I would touch through this beautiful masterpiece. How ever it just sits there gathering dust, not being used for the intended purpose in which it was designed. 
 This masterpiece is you, and you make the choice of your own destiny how will our God use His incredible work of art, will lives be touched today or will God patiently wait longing for another day to put His work of art to use.