Words from a Creeker

Sleepless Nights

2011-10-02T03:53:00.001-07:00

Romans 8:31
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Well it is another sleepless Saturday night. Sleep doesn't often come easy for me. (especially on Saturday) Usually by the time I get to sleep it's late and then it only last for couple of hours and I'm wide awake again. I am a pastor. God has placed it in me to love people and the fact is.... I truly do love people. My pastor friends and ministry partners who have surrendered their lives to God's call feel the same way. The calling to be a pastor is affirmed by the love that God grows in us for people. People are the reason for the calling of pastoral ministry. In my time as a pastor I have witnessed first hand how pastors become overwhelmed and overworked and burned out as a result of their love for people. I have seen them agonize over the fact that someone is upset with them and worry that they may leave the church never speak to them again. I have had these same worries many times over again. Then my thoughts turn to Jesus. He was perfect and sinless. He never made one mistake yet the only time He was popular was when He was healing or feeding people. Every time He started preaching the hard truths such as taking up your cross, "your own personal instrument of death," the masses would leave Him in droves! Oh some would stay behind to try and kill Him but for the most part they didn't like the things He was asking of them. Finally the haters got what they wanted. In the same city and within the time frame of a week. They cried out "blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord," as Jesus rode into town. The very next weekend some of the same people cried out "Crucify Him!" Wow! Can this be true? Can people turn and change their minds so quickly about their leader?.... My answer.... "ABSOLUTELY!" I am not saying this to anger anyone or to guilt anyone in to taking their pastor to dinner, "although that would be a nice thing to do! After all it is pastor appreciation month, hint hint." I am certainly not trying to compare the crucifixion of our Savior to the trials I face as a pastor. I am saying that it is because of what Jesus did for me that I have the incredible call and strength to be a pastor. I know that God called me, hence He is for me! I know that since it is God who called me, it is God who loves people through me. I also know that He is perfect and I am far from it. My mistakes are many, my abilities are inadequate and my knowledge is limited. It amazes me that God uses imperfect people like me to carry out His perfect plan. I know that my hopes are high, my heart is to serve and my motives are pure. In the middle of my imperfection I am equipped by a perfect, awesome, unstoppable God! So I have a word of encouragement to all who have answered this call. Wether you are a pastor, youth pastor, deacon, sunday school teacher, children's minister or nursery volunteer. The bible tells us in Romans 11:29 that the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. He won't take them back. He has called so we have no choice but to answer! No matter what or who may not agree, God is for us! Stand in His strength! If it means facing the devil himself remember that no weapon formed against you will remain. Psalm 121 says, "I will lift my eyes to the hills. From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made Heaven and Earth. My prayer today is that the people of God will stand and not be moved! God bless you all and have a great day of worship this "Lord's Day."

In His service, Pastor Wade

Love and Loyalty

2011-05-19T04:42:00.001-07:00

Love and Loyalty
Luke 9:57- 58
Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
What is the price of loyalty? To say to our Savior that you will follow Him wherever He goes is to say that you have no ties to this world. It is to say that you are in a pilgrimage. To follow Jesus is to have a temporary view of earthly life and to realize that you have a permanent home in an eternal place called Heaven. This place is not make believe or something we just conger up in our imagination. It is the place prepared for all who follow Jesus. It is the very dwelling and presence of God. Heaven has a consistence and existence so real that it is more real than we could ever imagine. We are literally following Jesus to this place when we say that we will follow Him where ever He goes. Heaven is our ultimate destination! It is the ultimate destination not for selfish reasons like seeing loved ones, the perfection of paradise or even the streets of gold, pearly gates or crystal sea that are so vividly talked about. Although these things are all true and will be a great benefit to being in Heaven. It is the ultimate destination because of the one we follow, "JESUS!" How can we presume to love Jesus in Heaven if do not love Him here on Earth? And how can we say we love Him on earth unless we are willing to follow Him on a pilgrimage to Heaven? That is to live life as if Jesus is our ultimate goal. To become like Him, to love what He loves and to be heart broken over the same things that break His heart. To be totally selfless and love the person in front of you no matter who that person is. To be a risk taker and invest in people no matter if they hurt you. To be a God pleaser not worrying about the opinion or attitude of those around us as to weather they approve of our obedience to God or not. To be faith walker knowing that we are in the hands of a loving Heavenly Father. To be a gospel preacher so that others may know the good news of the cross. To be a prayer warrior so that you make your request known to God. To be a church goer so you may honor Him in worship and fellowship. To always place God at the top of the list so that no one or nothing is more important than Him. To be a disciple maker so that others may become the same. Our ultimate goal is Jesus. The riches of this goal are endless, their depth and width are beyond compare. His resources are endless, His love is enormous, His power is limitless and His call is without a doubt suited to all of these things. We can not follow Jesus unless we have a God sized heart for our future home. Let's do it church! Let's follow Jesus like this! Why should we keep a foot in this world while we know that this world has nothing to offer us. Let the foxes and the birds have it. We have much greater and bigger things to do than build earthly homes. We have a heavenly one!

"Jesus Calling"

2011-02-08T06:37:00.000-08:00

Matthew 4:18-20
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them,"Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Is this how it's supposed to be? Jesus calls, we drop everything? How do we know it's Jesus that is calling? What exactly are we supposed to do? How do we even get started? "Jesus calls" Big questions always come behind these two words. The truth of the matter is, it's not that complicated or difficult. It is really about faith and trusting that the Holy Spirit is in the lead. God never gives us all the particulars before we follow Him. He simply puts what He would have for us to do on our hearts. We don't need all the particulars, Proverbs 3:5-7 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct a your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil." God will always be the initiator of His work and He is the one who will show us if we are looking. Jesus told us in scripture that The Holy Spirit would come and teach us and lead us. Jesus has led countless people to radical, faith trying, world denying work for Him. He can do it without programs, seminars or classrooms. Our knowing what God has called us to do; always has and always will come by one way. If we truly want to know what God has called us to, it is as simple as an individual intimate relationship with Him! How can we possibly know what God wants us to do without first knowing God? If we study the scripture we will see that when Jesus called Peter and Andrew this was not the first time they had heard of Him, they had already experienced Him. They had heard Him teach and they had seen Him perform miracles. (Luke5)
We have to know Him as He reveals Himself to us. We have to seek and find. Christ call to a radical life seldom comes to the "Sunday Morning" one hour a week Christian. We have to learn from Him and depend on Him. In Luke 9:23 we read, " Then He said to them all,"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." The key word here is "DAILY." following the call of Jesus has everything to do with a daily walk with Him! Psalms 119:105
says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path."
His word gives us step by step instruction to live and walk by, a lamp to our feet. Jesus said to take no thought for tomorrow but today is enough to worry about. We spend too much time over analyzing, over emphasizing and over amplifying the call of Jesus when He is just saying, "Drop what your doing that is earthly and start working toward things that are Heavenly. What is God calling us to do that is a radical move of Kingdom building proportions? It starts with a radical move of earth shattering denial of self! There is not a program, seminar or a class we can take that will make us do that. It is as simple as obedience. Jesus told the pharisees and the law makers that He desires obedience and not sacrifice. (Matthew 9:13) Our mindless, heartless routine traditions do not impress God but He blesses our obedience to Him! My challenge to every believer today is nothing less than absolute surrender to Him. Be willing, He will not forsake your willing obedience to follow Him. He will guide you in every step of your journey! John 16:13-14 says " When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you." What greater confirmation can we possibly need than this?

Breaking the Silence

2010-12-13T12:10:00.001-08:00

Luke 1:5-7
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.
How do we deal with silence? I believe it is in times when it seems that God is silent that we experience great growth as believers. We must trust and patiently wait for God to show up. We have to trust Him enough not to act under our own power and understanding. Sometimes we try to influence and even force God's hand to work when He just wants us to wait patiently. God is always the initiator of the work! We can not force or create revival. God must bring revival. We can not force or create salvation God must bring salvation. We can not force or create peace. God must bring peace. Our part is to seek and pray. Abraham tried to intervene and force God's promise for a son. You know, he just wanted to help God along.... Like the Creator of the universe needs help creating! That's what we tend to think! However in a way it is natural for us to want to force things along because we have a creative nature. We have an embedded desire to make things happen. God placed that in us. We just have to learn to control that desire and place into submission under His leading. That is why I love the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth. They were faithful servants of the Lord. He was a priest in Israel under the oppression of Roman law. God had not revealed Himself through any one in four hundred years. That's the time frame between the old and the new testaments of the bible. He was silent! He was still working, He was still in control, He was still on His throne, He was still God yet He was silent. It is in the silence that our God will find those who will faithfully serve Him and when God breaks the silence He will use those who faithfully serve Him! Zacharias and Elisabeth became instruments of God's breaking the silence in a BIG BIG WAY! They became the parents of John the Baptist. The forerunner of Jesus. After four hundred years of saying nothing God would send word through His messenger. To preach repentance to His people! Malachi 3:1 says,"Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,"Says the LORD of hosts." This prophesy was written four hundred years earlier and was fulfilled through Zacharias and Elisabeth. The news came by way of the Angel Gabriel as he announced in Luke 1:13-14,"Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. Wow to hear those words, "your prayer has been heard." The silence is over God is at work! He is breaking the silence! Salvation is coming, Deliverance is coming, Revival is coming, peace is coming! Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid in the silence! Stay faithful, stay hopeful and keep your heart open. God always breaks the silence with life changing, world changing purposes. Are you ready? I hope so. May God use us to change the world!

The Greatest Gift

2010-12-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

John 1:2-4
2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
When the worlds were framed and spoken into existence. Jesus was there. He said,"let there be light" and there was light. He formed man out of the dust in His own image and breathed the breath of life into him. God is love therefore God is creator. If you have ever wondered why God created you it is because of His great love. He created us out of His desire for a relationship with us! It is true that He created the angels before He created us but the relationship is different. If they fall out of fellowship with God they have no opportunity for restoration! Lucifer is a fallen angel who will never be reconciled to God. But we who are born in sin, begin life out of fellowship with God. We have an opportunity to love God in return. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love Him because He first loved us." God's love draws us to Him and we have the choice to love Him or to reject His love. God will not force Himself upon us. This is what makes our relationship to Him so unique. We come into a relationship with Him knowing that He is first choosing us so that we might choose Him. This makes for a very special bond. This bond has incredible deep origins. This bond started at creation and has been exhibited down through the ages as God interacted with His people. There have been many defining moments and people in this bond. If we read the stories of Noah, Abraham, Moses, King David, Ester, or Job we will truly see the common thread of a loving God. However the most defining person of this bond is Jesus. When God became a person! No one has ever or will ever compare to Him! His timing was perfect and His mission was clear. Save mankind! Restore the love relationship once and for all! Galatians 4:4-6 says, "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out,"Abba, Father!" Jesus was born to finalize the bond and those who trust Him will be with Him forever! Every time I think of this fact I am always amazed..... How could God love us so much? He made the perfect world, We messed up the world with our sin. He entered the sinful world with a special delivery of personal love and righteousness to all who would receive Him. He gave His own life on the cross for all of humanity. Taking the penalty of sin upon Himself so that we may come into a love relationship with Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, 'For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." He became our sin so that sin could be defeated and in return we can become His righteousness! God wants to trade! You give Him your sin so that He may do away with it. He will give you His righteousness which can never be done away with! Thus sealing bond and becoming a child of the most High God! Our opening verses say that in Him is the life and the light of men. That is who He is and who He must become in every person who wishes to seal this bond of love! This is the season that we celebrate the birth of Jesus! It is not very often that we think past the manger, the wise men and the shepherds! We don't often consider the Creator and His love for us. He created you so that He could love you. That has never changed and it never will. So I invite you to enjoy the greatest gift that has ever been given! It was given on the first Christmas and has been offered and given everyday since! It is an expensive gift, however it has already been paid for. Jesus paid for it with His own blood.
"What's the gift ?" you ask. It is the gift of an eternal love relationship with the one who created you. All you need do is call upon His name, Romans 10:13 For"whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

Satisfaction

2010-11-29T20:20:00.000-08:00

"Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:"
Contentment, easy to say but hard to practice. We always seem to be able to envision ourselves as having a better house or a better car. How about better clothes, furniture! We can always use a better job and more money so we can afford to buy better things. We want more. It is so sad that in our cold hard culture, if we are not satisfied, we just discard the old and bring in the new! This way of thinking has found its way right into our families, our marriages and our churches. Even our most important and vital relationships have fallen victim to our discontentment. It seems that there is nothing to satisfy, no matter how much we have we want more. Our pursuit is truly tireless and there is no end to the chase. More, more, more, we want more! Ecclesiastes 5:10 says,"He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity." God created us to seek Him and to serve Him and to fill our lives with Him. Every person has a vast eternal void and the only way fill that void is to filled with The Holy Spirit of God. Proverbs 14:14 says, "The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above." This is how Paul found contentment and it is how we will find contentment. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit our joy is complete. This means circumstances, material things and even people can not bring us to the point of discontentment. John 15:11 Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." If we find it in ourselves to be discontent it should only be for the reason of our own life and how we live for Jesus. If we are going to go after better things may it be a better life lived in service to Him! Philippians 3:14 says, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." I believe God has placed in us a desire to attain a better and higher objective. The problem comes in to play when our objective of a life in Christ is replaced by things that will never satisfy. I love what Jesus says about our heart. He says, wherever our treasure is our heart will also be. (Matthew 6:21) We put our heart and soul into the things we think to be valuable. Our time, money, emotions and talents are invested in the things that we hold dear. Doesn't it stand to reason to invest in the one who satisfies. We are promised in scripture that He will fill us to the full. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly! (John 10:10) We don't have to look very far to find real contentment. It is found at a place called Calvary. It was carried out on a Roman cross upon which they crucified our Jesus. All the sins of the world were placed upon His shoulders as God the Father accepted the payment of death for sin. It was in that defining moment when our Lord Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" Our debt has been paid! Our sins erased! Our lives forever changed! What more is there to buy? What more is there to own? The riches of Heaven are ours! The joy of our eternity has already begun! And The word "Contentment" can't even come close to describe what we know to be true. Thank You Jesus! You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

The Drama Proof Church

2010-11-22T05:52:00.000-08:00

Colossians 3:15
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful."
I love the Church, God ordained the church, He gave His only Son for the Church and His Holy Spirit indwells the Church! The Church, it seems, is always on my mind. Especially the Church that God has given me the privileged to shepherd. I pray for my church daily and am always striving to be the leader God has called me to be. I know I fall short all too often, and it is in my own imperfections that I find a great solitude and peace. I find comfort and hope. I find refuge! At this point you may be asking the question, " How in the world can a person find all those things in his own imperfections?" The answer is simple. My imperfections drive me to rely on the One who is perfect! "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9) If I am dependent upon myself, I can not and will never be the man God has called me to be. However, depending on Jesus, while recognizing my own weakness and imperfection, I come to realize the source of my ability. Therefore, I find a refuge beyond human understanding as I depend on Jesus. This is how all believers should live. We should let the peace of God rule our hearts and it's this same peace that has called us to unity in one body! There will always be imperfections in the church. There will always be someone who is gossiping or trying to create problems. There will always be "drama!" the larger the church, the more "drama" there is! How do we deal with it?........ How about letting the peace of God rule our hearts. How about the full understanding that in the weaknesses and imperfections of the Church our Mighty God is shown to be perfect! The only way church can possibly work is in the fact that we have a prefect God who rules over imperfect people. He is in charge of His church! Please do not be discouraged. Please don't let strife or gossip worry you, let the peace of God rule over your heart. "Drama" in the church does not surprise God. When Jesus gave His life and paid our sin debt, He knew there would be problems in the church! And even in all of this knowing, He loved His church so very much that He gave Himself for it! There or a lot of nay sayers that proclaim the church is hypocritical and unsuccessful. I say be careful of your words. Jesus did not pay such a costly debt for something that would fail! In Matthew 16:18 Jesus spoke these words, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." My friends His church will succeed in spite of the imperfection that humanity has brought into it! Please be encouraged and let the peace of God rule your Heart. Encourage those who lead and those who follow. Encourage those who gossip and those who love the "Drama." Encourage those who have left and those that stand strong. The Church will accomplish exactly what God has called us to do!

Horses and Heros

2010-11-17T15:27:00.001-08:00

Proverbs 21:31
"The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But deliverance is of the LORD."
Everyone loves a victory! We love it when life seems to be going our way. You know what I'm talking about, all the appliances are working properly. Your car is in great condition, all the bills are being paid on time, every one in your family is healthy. Home is great, church is great and our family is great. I love it when life is great! This very thought leads me to my next thought. What happens when life isn't so great? What do we do when things fall apart around us? What do we do when the car won't start or the washing machine breaks? How do we respond to tragedy or illness? My friends I write this devotional on the heels of a great trying time in the life of my family! I started this devotional three days ago before two of my most cherished family members, Greg and Jana Payne came to my house for breakfast. Its a tradition for us every monday morning. My wife Pamela makes pancakes, I make the coffee, Greg and Jana bring over the bacon and the rest is history! It was at this past monday's breakfast that we were having a great time visiting about Saturday and Sunday's worship service and how awesome our God is. When it seemed like out of nowhere Jana was hit with an attack of excruciating abdominal pain, We went from the breakfast table to the couch then from the couch to the car on our way to the ER in less than four minutes! We arrived at our local small town hospital only for Jana to be x-rayed and careflighted to a larger more equipped facility. From there to make a long story short Jana was in surgery by two pm that day. Three hours later the doctor came from the surgery to report to us that he had removed three quarters of Jana's stomach and along with it a very large cancerous tumor! We were all absolutely floored! He went on to say that Jana had a long recovery ahead but encouraged us that given the proper care that Jana would be cured. My friends I write this to you because I want everyone who reads this to know that I have full confidence in My God who without fail loves His children. We never know what the day may bring? We can prepare and we can make ready, just like the horse is prepared for battle but I am here to testify to you that victory will always belong to God! Jana and Greg are true heros of the faith! They are my heros! I have had the privileged of seeing them grow in Jesus. I have literally watched them flesh out what real faith looks like! Wether it be a car that won't start or the rent coming due. I have watched them trust their God and in turn their God would provide! I watched my God deliver Greg and Jana from a terrible drug addiction, I watched my God restore their family from brokeness to radical Jesus following believers. I stand in awe at the privilege that my God has allowed me to see and experience His mighty work! To some people cancer may sound like an impossible enemy but to my friends Greg and Jana it just means a closer walk with Jesus! This cancer is nothing compared to our God and Greg and Jana know this better than anyone! Ephesians 3:20 says, "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," Greg and Jana know this well! I would ask the reader, "How well do you know it?" What if one day you found yourself in the same shoes? The heros of our story are real people. They love Jesus with their whole heart and have learned to trust Him in their everyday activities as well as the big stuff, like cancer. It was not the tragedy that turned them to Jesus because they where already walking with Jesus when the tragedy came. Their horse was already prepared for battle which will make the victory all the more sweet! Is yours out to pasture or is he saddled up? Thank You Jesus for my family! We are prepared for the fight and Jesus You hold the VICTORY!

The New You

2010-11-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
I just love the word "new." In the Greek this means unused, unprecedented. About three years a go, my church bought a brand new car for me to use in my ministry. I was so excited when I picked it up at the dealership. A brand new chevrolet hhr with eight miles on it! I couldn't believe it! I was like a kid in a candy store when I drove it off the lot. I have been so careful with that car. Washing and detailing it as often as possible. Guarding it from scratches and dents. Doing all I can to preserve it's newness. In spite of my efforts the car has sustained scratches and dents. The interior while still nice is not like it was when it was new. I still love the car but it's not the new car that it once was. God, on the other hand, does the complete opposite when it comes to us. He doesn't try to keep us new, He makes us new. He takes the old broken and used. The unworthy, the stained and dented and makes it new, unused and unprecedented. Every one who comes to Jesus is given the title of "NEW CREATION." Past sin that stained our lives is now gone, Psalms 103:12,"As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us." Our sins are forgiven, past, present and future. The past hurts we have sustained are now healed as if they never happened. God no longer sees us as scratched or dented but as His righteous children fit for His Kingdom. 2 Corinthians 5:21, " For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Our interior, is made new. The Holy spirit has taken up residence in our hearts and has made us new. Not cleaned up but new! Not like new, but brand spanking new! New identity, new outlook, new ability, new love! Every thing is new! We become the complete package, Colossians 2:10, "and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." I write this as a pastor who deals in reality. Christians don't really get this! The hardest thing for us to do is turn loose of the past. We want to believe we are new but we have a hard time making newness resonate in our lives. Might I suggest following the example of Jesus. How did He bring newness to us? Was it not through death and resurrection? Something happened to our sin when Jesus was crucified. Our sin was crucified with Him. Isaiah 53:6, " All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Not only that but the burden and requirement for righteousness also has been nailed to the cross. Colossians 2:14," having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Are we getting the picture? It's not enough just try and leave our past behind us! Our past sin and hurt must become dead to us! We have to kill it! Death means separation and if we picture ourselves as dented, scratched and stained we have not truly severed the tie with our past sin and hurt! This is so hard and yet we understand that this is what God has done for us. Church, I have a challenge for you today, take the next step in your walk with Jesus. Break out the hammer and the nails! Take that past sin of adultery, fornication, addiction, homosexuality, divorce, harsh language or any other sin the devil has been guilting you with, "Nail it to that Cross, walk away and let it die!" Take those past hurts of molestation, verbal abuse, physical abuse, abandonment and betrayal. Nail them to the wood and do it like you mean it! Make every strike of the hammer count! Drive the nails deep! Drive them to stay! They will beg and plead. They will ask for another chance. They are guilty and they deserve the death penalty of the cross! Do not relent! Our Jesus who was not guilty, who did not deserve death went bravely to the cross without a word. He did this for you. To make you new. My brothers and sisters, The book of Ecclesiastics says, "There is a time to kill, and the time is now! Crucify them and walk away with victory. Galatians 2:20 says, " I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." The truth is this, the only way new life begins is when the old is done away with. Then and only then can our new resurrected life begin.

THE CALL

2010-10-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Every thing that God does in the lives of His children prepares them for what God has called His children to do. "THE CALL," what ever it may be, is vital to us who believe. The call is our deepest connection to Jesus. The Call is our purpose on this earth. It' how we bring glory to God! I am a preacher of the gospel. God has called me to be a pastor and evangelist. I was put on this earth to preach. I know this with all of my heart. All of us are called to share the gospel. The the basis of every call is to tell people how much God loves them, however God has given us all many different gifts and talents so that we may reach those who need Him. This is the essence of the call. Simply carrying out the great commission of Jesus. In Matthew 28, Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples. Then He ascended into Heaven. He left the responsibility of this call in the hands of humanity. Jesus went up, the Holy Spirit came down, the disciples went out and the lost came in. He did not leave us alone. The key factor of the call is that the Holy Spirit has indwelled the believer! In Acts 1:8 Jesus said,"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Jesus expressed to His disciples that they should wait on the Holy Spirit before they went on mission to save the world. We can not carry out the call without the power of the Holy Spirit. He is our fuel, He is our teacher and He is our guide. He is the one who draws people to Himself. The Holy spirit convicts us and changes us into an instrument of God's will. I believe when the Holy Spirit touches us in this way that we fall completely in love with the will of God. To carry out our call we must be consumed with the work of God! How can it be any other way. His will is perfect and in Romans 12 we are charged to prove His perfect will, Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." To truly answer the call we must love God's will more than our own! In Our own will we will never be able to answer God's call on our lives, our will is contrary to God's will. In Galatians 5 we are told that the spirit and the flesh are at war. They fight against one another. We have to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. That cross represents the crucifixion of our own ideology, "our will" and to give our lives over to God's will. If we really think about it, as a follower of Jesus there is no greater life. God's will is awesome, in 2 Peter 3:9 we read," The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." He loves humanity in such a way that His will is that all of mankind should come to repentance. How can we not love His will? He has called you to be a part of something great. "The greatest work in the History of the world!" The salvation of man! You are called according to His purpose. Every event in your life up to this point has been molding you for this moment. He has equipped the called and the called is you.

The One Good Part

2010-10-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Luke 10:41-42
And Jesus a answered and said to her,"Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
There I was pen in hand, eyes on the paper. I had been studying and taking notes for days! My sermon was coming together on schedule. My heart was intent, my mind was focussed, I was in the zone! Then all of the sudden I hear this little voice."Daddy, your always busy!" my daughter Taybi exclaimed. She was wanting me to play with her. I have two little girls, both of them have stolen my heart. And I don't mind saying that I have loved being the honored guest at their formal tea parties and the esteemed prince who dances with them at the ball. You see, In her eyes there was nothing more important at the moment than our time together and how she wanted my full attention. The unfinished message that lay on my desk in front of me had no influence on her. She wanted to spend time with her Daddy! The rest of the world had no bearing on this one fact! It was then and there that I faced the dilemma. Should I finish my work, or drop everything and spend some time with the cute little blonde haired girl who stood beside my desk? Should I tell her that she would just have to wait and continue my work? I am reminded of Mary and Martha the sisters of Lazarus who had spent quite a bit of time with Jesus. He had been a guest in their home on more than one occasion. I started this devotion with a passage out of one of those occasions. Martha was busy entertaining all of the guest that they had that day. She was working herself into a tizzy, worrying about pleasing everyone around her! Meanwhile she complained to Jesus that Mary had not been helping. All she was doing was spending time with Jesus. I don't know if Martha liked Jesus' answer or not but I will tell you that the world does not agree! He said Mary had chosen the one good part and it would not be taken from her. I believe, in this day and time, we have a greater need than ever before to be more like Mary. To chose the one good part as often as we can. Nothing will ever be able to replace our fellowship with Jesus, or for that matter, our fellowship with one another! We never will get that time back. Once it's gone it's gone for good. I'm not talking about scheduled time. I have scheduled time that I spend with Jesus every day. I have scheduled time that I spend with my family everyday. I'm talking about those times when the Lord Jesus compels you to drop whatever you are doing and spend some good quality time with Him. I believe that was the very thing that was happening through the heart of my little girl Taybi. My first ministry is to be to my wife and children. God has ways of letting us know when we are neglecting our responsibility. In my case, on that particular day it was Taybi, letting me know how busy I had been. I would like to challenge you today to be ready to drop everything. Be ready to spend some quality time with Jesus. Wether it be in prayer, reading your bible or spending some time with family and friends in His name. Jesus encourages spontaneous quality time. He ministered to the person in front of Him. Remember.... He just dropped everything and went to lunch with Zacchaeus. Not to mention countless others. Oh by the way, I dropped what I was doing to spend some QT with my little girl. That day I was the one who Taybi experienced Jesus through. I was the one who showed her how much He loves her just by being with her. That day we both chose the one good part. I challenge you to do the same!

Foolish Message / Mighty Savior

2010-10-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 1:21
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
We don't understand it. It's a mystery. We can simply tell people what Jesus has done for them and they trust and believe in Him. Being a privileged preacher of the gospel I have been amazed at how God works through the preaching of His word. His word is powerful. His word is Sharper than a two edged sword piercing the soul and spirit. It even discerns the thoughts and intents of our heart. (Hebrews 4:12) God's word shows us who we are, "sinners!" God's word shows us who Jesus is, "God's only Son who loves us and gave Himself for us!" If we try to reason out how God speaks to us through his word we come up empty. God does not convict the heart to salvation through human reasoning.1Corinthians 1:18 says,"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." When the gospel is preached God is speaking to the heart of people who know and realize that they have a need for salvation. There is in every person the desire to find God. There is a curiosity In everyone to figure out life after we die. In Ecclesiastes 3:11 we read, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." We all have a desire to seek out eternity but we will not find it until we find Jesus. We can not rationalize or reason it out. It is as simple as faith. Just believing that Jesus is the Son of God, He paid for your sin on the cross and he rose from the dead. We have to believe in the good news that is preached to us from His word. Romans 10:9 says, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. Even the apostle Paul wrote and said, in 1 Corinthians 2:2," For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." This is the greatest message that will ever be preached. People will be changed forever at this word. That God sent His only Son into the world to save a condemned world. If your a Christian and you read this, please preach the gospel. The person without Jesus is a person condemned to spend eternity in hell. They need to know how to be rescued. Just tell them what the bible says, "JESUS SAVES." If you are reading this and you have never trusted Jesus to save you and give you eternal life. You need not wait another moment to receive His salvation. Just know by doing so you will be claiming Him as Lord of your life and you will never be the same! The Bible tells us that "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." He is waiting for you to cry out to Him. He is waiting to Hear the words, "Lord Jesus, please save me." He is mighty to save. He saved me and He will certainly save you.

Beautiful Church

2010-10-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 4:15-16
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head- Christ- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
God the Father gave Jesus to us. Jesus went to the cross and gave His life. He ascended to Heaven and gave us His Holy spirit. The Holy spirit lives in us and gives us power. And when God calls us to Heaven He will give us an inheritance that will stand forever! God has given us so very much! The funny thing is, in the middle of all of this we find that He takes nothing from us. He just gives us more. He gave us the church. People will often argue that they have no need of church. Some say, they don't have to attend church to have relationship with God. If we consider the problem in that statement we will find the underlying issue. This statement basically says, "I don't belong." The Christian doesn't attend church. The Christian is the church. Believers make up the church! To say you attend church is to view yourself as an outsider. To say you attend church is like saying it's something you turn off and on like a television set. We are the church and whether we meet to worship our great God and King or work together in ministry, we bring with us a missing part! Our opening passage says that the body(the church) is being knit together by what every joint supplies according to effective working by which each part does it's share. The Bible tells us that Jesus loved the church and He gave Himself for it. (Ephesians 5:25) His church is His hands and feet. His church is His how God chooses to operate in the world. We are the Church and every individual takes part in the details of ministry, worship, fellowship and growth. 1Corinthians 12:6 says, And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. Every believer has a significant, detailed part in the church. Not only that but God has a specific place for each believer to serve in,1 Corinthians 12:18 says,"But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased." The church is essential to the Christian and the Christian is essential to the church. The church grows us and helps us to walk closer to Christ. We supply our gifts and talents which help to grow the church. As a pastor, God has taught me to love His church. He has given me a passion to help grow His church. If I could describe the workings of the church In one word it would be "beautiful." How can it be that God would take people from all different walks of life, race, and culture, put them together and tell us to carry out His great commission? How does He take people who have nothing in common and give them a desire to work together? My church is beautiful! It's beautiful because of what Jesus has done in our midst. I'm a part of something beautiful! How could it be that God would take someone like me and bless me in such a way as to place me in His church? My church is not a place I attend. My church is my way of life. My church is my family. It's where I call home. My church is where I receive encouragement, love and support. My church is where I give encouragement, love and support! My church is truly beautiful!

Love is Risky Business

2010-10-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

1 John 3:23
"And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us a commandment."
Wouldn't it be great if love always came first! If we would truly put love above all things and love each other with fervent love there would be no stopping the church. Love covers a multitude of sins! (1Peter 4:8) For God so loved the world that "HE GAVE" His only Son. He did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world but to save the world from sin. (John 3:16-17) God's love will cover a multitude of sins! His love is fervent, relentless and powerful. His love is unconditional, uncontainable and unstoppable. His love is endless, limitless and selfless. He literally moved Heaven to earth to bring His incredible love to us. John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The word is God's divine expression. God showing His love became flesh! Jesus was fully God and fully man. He experienced all things just like us, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) This is how love works God gave us His son because He loves us. We love Him because He first loved us. We love each other because of His love in us.1 John 5:2 says," By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments." We are told in scripture to be imitators of God! In First Peter we are told to love without hypocrisy, to be genuine, and sincere with a pure heart. Wow, If we could just wrap our hearts around this kind of love we could change the world. To love like this is to have no regard for self. To love even without love in return. To love knowing that people will take advantage of you. Knowing that you will be hurt, ignored, cursed and slandered. When you love people like Jesus loves them these things will happen. It is hard to commit to love in such a way as this. Knowing that your just setting yourself up. However there is another side. When we love like this, lives are changed, people are saved and their sins are forgiven! They come into a right relationship with God and receive real life! We must never let the other side harden or callous us. A hard heart will never win anyone to Christ. We must rescue the perishing. People are dying without Jesus. In a crowd of thousands there is always one that is ready to receive the love that we can offer them. That love that covers a multitude of sins. That love that can reach into the soul of a sinner and save them for all of eternity. I wonder how big the crowd was on the day that Zacchaeus climbed that sycamore tree? How many people were on that road? How many people brushed against the Son of God and never realized who they were walking beside? How many people took for granted the miracles that Jesus performed and never truly loved Him in return? On that day it was a little short tax collector named Zacchaeus who became a child of the Most High God. Salvation came to his house on that day and that salvation brought great joy to Jesus. Luke 19:9-10 says, And Jesus said to him,"Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10"for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Jesus sought out and saved Zacchaeus because He loved him with a fervent love. There are millions in the world just like Zacchaeus. They are waiting for Jesus to come walking down their street. They are ready to receive His life changing love. Who will be the one who shows them Jesus? Who will walk down their street seeking them out? It's risky. It's challenging and even heartbreaking. But it's worth it. Please Church, let's not be afraid to love!

Church "SERVICE" or "SERVE US"

2010-10-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

James 4:8
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double- minded."
I have heard them so many times. Those statements people make about there local churches. You know, statements like,"I like that church better because they have great music," or " That pastors preaching is much better than the one at the other church." There always seems to be something. Either the worship services are too long or the people are not very friendly. Maybe there are age barriers or social barriers. There are many things that drive us to leave, or join a church. Whenever I am faced with this as people either leave our fellowship or join us, my thoughts and my words are always the same. I ask, "Have you considered this in prayer? Is God leading you in this direction?" The bible tells us in1 Corinthians 12:18, "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased." God does this so that we can be a working part of that body. The truth is, we are a consumer driven culture! The serve me generation! "What can the church offer me?" Seems to be the greatest question in Christian circles these days. Even churches get in on this. Instead of promoting Jesus many churches are using programs and activities as their primary marketing strategy. Please don't take me the wrong way. There is nothing wrong with programs or activities. They are great! However the church should keep them as secondary to the one who loved the church so much that He gave Himself for it, "JESUS." (Ephesians 5:25) He told us in John 12:32,"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." We need to be inviting people to draw near to Jesus. Not to our ski trips! Ski trips are great but they don't compel people give their life to Christ, they just encourage people to take what they can get. Only Jesus can touch a heart in such a way that they will stop thinking about what the church can do for them and start thinking about what they can do for the church. When did we decide that Jesus was not enough to build a great church? Better yet, "When did we start thinking that we are?" It's His church! He said He was going to build it on the simple belief that He is the Son of God. (Matthew 16:16-18) We call Him Lord so we can serve Him and He created the church for that purpose. We should never walk into a church with thoughts about what the church can offer us. We should walk into the church with a heart to worship and serve our awesome God! We need to have a heart to draw near to God. It is a heart like this that can hear Him. A heart like this is sensitive to the direction of God. A heart like this can be shown just exactly were it can be used in service to God. He may place that heart in a church that on the surface seems to be a very unlikely combination. This is actually a probable scenario, however if Jesus is the leader, the dance will be beautiful! "Thank You Lord Jesus for Your church, may we live to lift You up and bring You GLORY!"

"Daddy"

2010-09-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 20:27
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
Fellowship with our God is most definitely on the spiritual level. We will not find communion with God in our flesh. The flesh is corrupt and dying. The flesh is limited and powerless. The flesh is shallow and has no depth. Our flesh is contrary to God and it is contrary to our spirit. (Galatians5:17) Why would we even think that our LIving, Awesome, and Perfect God even wants to have fellowship with us in our flesh? Once again we are faced with a choice as believers! Do we truly want fellowship with God? If so, then what is the key to this awesome communion that we so desire? The answer is in how we live. Romans 8:8 says," So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." The believer is an eternal being, our hope of all things truly is woven into eternity with God. To live in the spirt is to live in this world preparing for eternity. This is what God is looking forward to! He is longing for the completion of our salvation. He longs for the day when we will fellowship with Him and worship Him without the barriers of the flesh. Without the corruption of sin. In Hebrews 12:2, we can see how with joy our God anticipates this fellowship! "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." The joy set before Him was our salvation. The thought of our heavenly home with Him, brings Him great joy! He has endured so much and paid a great price to make it possible. His love calls us to live in communion with Him. He compels us to and desires us to. We are indebted to Him For what He has done for us. We should feel so compelled as to walk in fellowship with Him. Romans 8:12-13 says, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors- not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." To live according to the Spirit is to live for Jesus. His spirit has entered into every believer. He has come to teach us and to help us to live for Him. He has come to live in us to give us confidence and hope in our eternal fellowship with God. Romans 8:14-15 says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 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." Our spirit of adoption may cry out at any time to our Father in Heaven. We have access to Him, "FELLOWSHIP" has been obtained by anyone who will call on His name and be saved.
Oh, by the way, the word "Abba" means Daddy! How is that for fellowship with Almighty God

Images and Inscriptions

2010-09-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Matthew 22:17-22
Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said,"Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? "Show Me the tax money."
So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them,"Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him,"Caesar's." And He said to them,"Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
What is lawful? Is it lawful to obey ungodly authority? How does the believer submit under government even when government does not submit to God? Jesus answers our question with a question in Matthew 22 vs 20, "Who's image and inscription is on the coin?" It all comes down to images and inscriptions. I am a believer. Jesus is my King! I carry His image and His inscription in my heart. I am called under His authority to give Him my life. In my submission, God has told me to be subject to governing authorities.(Romans 13:1) This means to obey the laws of the land. I am to commit to my government every thing they ask of me as long as what they ask of me coincides with my submission to God. I certainly am not to sin against God even if the laws demand it. Also, I am not to use the law of man as an excuse to sin against God. In other words when governmental law gives me the right to do something contrary to God, I am to remember that I carry God's inscription and image. Therefore I am to abstain from sin. It is also a sin to retaliate against government when they do things contrary to God. This is not our place! Just because our government has legalized abortion it does not give the believer the right to bomb an abortion clinic. This does more harm than good. We are to speak truth, pray and leave the rest up to God. We best represent Him by submission and love even if we don't think it is warranted. We must remember that Jesus witnessed and experienced many unjust acts by the Roman government while He walked on earth. He saw there corrupt practices and never once did He retaliate. As a matter of fact, Jesus ministered to those in the roman government. He even saw them converted. The Roman Centurion had great faith as Jesus healed his servant.(Matthew 8:13) Even Matthew, His disciple was a tax collector for the Roman government. Tax collectors were known for being thieves and yet Jesus loved him. A crooked, rigged trial sentenced Jesus to death, and He never resorted to violence. It was a government ordered execution that put Him to death on a Roman cross and yet He only prayed for their forgiveness. It was at His crucifixion that a Roman centurion recognized Him. In that moment when all of the worlds sin was placed on Him and Jesus cried out to His Father. The earth shook, the sky turned black and the veil of the temple was torn in two. There was no retaliation from Jesus. There was no violence on His part. Only love, only grace, only mercy! The Roman Centurion witnessed how God was saving the world and it was that witness that made his heart change. We read his profession in Matthew 27:54, "So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying,"Truly this was the Son of God!" By submission we are more than conquerers and we show Jesus to the world! Render to the government what belongs to the government and to God what belongs to God!

Depth, Riches and Wisdom

2010-09-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Romans 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
How could we ever truly know the vastness of our Creator? The One who has no creator. God was not born and yet He is and He has always been! He is the God Who was and is and is to come. Wow, the very existence of Almighty God is enough to blow the mind. He just is! When Moses ask Him at the burning bush, "Who shall I say has sent me?" God answered," I AM."(Exodus 3:13-14) The great I AM! To know God is to know He has always been. His existence is so deep that He is unsearchable. He tells the prophet Isaiah, "His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts." His ways are higher than our ways.(Isaiah 55:8-9) We will never fully grasp God's ways but we can certainly be a student of His higher ways. His ways are past finding out but God still gives a desire to try. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." He has put eternity in our hearts. We are born with eternity resinating within our very heart. There is depth even in our own being that seems out of our grasp. This can be explained by the fact that we are created in the image of our eternal Father. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." We can not at this point in our walk with Christ possibly understand the depth and riches of eternal life. However, He has placed it in us and has even given us the curiosity to seek out this treasure. He has told us about it in His word and given us glimpses of it by way of His Holy Spirit. 1Corinthians 2:9-10 says, "But as it is written:"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God." Our eyes have not seen, our ears have not heard, but eternity has been revealed to us through God's Holy spirit. Jesus said that we are blessed because we believe and have not yet seen. We are blessed because God is revealing Himself to us through the work of His Holy Spirit. This is better than sight it is the indwelling of God Himself! There will come a day when our faith will end in sight we will see eternity! We will hear, taste, touch and smell eternity! Life will become more lifelike than we could have ever known while living on this earth. We will experience eternity! But until that day we must pray, seek and knock! (Matthew 7:7) We must be diligent, tenacious and unfailing. We need to follow the curiosity that has been placed in us. The deep things of God are to be sought out. To know Him is to know eternity. To know Him is to know life and love in their deepest sense. He is preparing us for eternity with Him. To live forever is to sit at His feet for a thousand years only to realize time has no place in Heaven. It is to sing praises to God and know that there are no deadlines in the throne room of the ALmighty. To live in eternity with Jesus is to live forever and never completely know every thing about Him. He is truly King of kings!

Strong and Courageous

2010-09-15T22:58:00.001-07:00

Joshua 1:9
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Christian why should you ever be afraid? Why is dismay even in our vocabulary? It is the King of all kings who has claimed us as His own. He is the one who has given us authority and ability to accomplish what He has dispatched us to do. Not only that but the One who spoke the world into existence has spoken to us and said,"Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid." I know why we hesitate and freeze in apprehension! I know why we question. I know why we fear. It is because God will not ask us to do things that are reasonable from a human standpoint. He told Abraham to leave his country and go to a place that He would show him. God did not disclose any other information.......JUST GO! This does not fit into the American dream mentality. We cry out,"But God what about my future?" He calls back," You have no future without Me!" He told Moses to go to the king of Egypt and demand that he free His people from slavery. Moses couldn't even talk right, he had a speech impediment. How was he supposed to demand any thing? Especially from the King of the known world! Sure Moses had lived as royalty in Egypt but it had been 40 years. And when he left, he left as a fugitive. Moses had killed an Egyptian because he was abusing an Israelite slave. He left Egypt on the fly and found a job as a sheperd. Moses had been a sheep herder for 40 years and now God was asking him to march into Egypt with a big stick and march out of Egypt with the Israelites. What about Joshua? God called Joshua to conquer Jericho, a heavily fortified city. Joshua and his army were out numbered and more vulnerable. From a worldly perspective they didn't stand a chance. Even the plan of attack was against logical thinking. God told Joshua to march around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, He was to march around the city seven times and on the seventh time, blow the trumpets and shout. God told Joshua that upon the shout and blowing the trumpets the walls would fall and He would deliver Jericho into their hands. Never in all world history had a battle been won in such a way as this! Never since, has a battle been won like this! What was the difference????? God was with Joshua! He was with Abraham and He was with Moses! He called them, He equipped them and He walked with them. It was impossible for man but possible for God. This is another way He is glorified. He takes the ordinary and accomplishes the extraordinary! He says,"do not fear and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you where ever you go." He will call us to the seemingly impossible and show the world what He can do through an ordinary person. What if, today we were to decide to be completely obedient to God. No holds barred, go all out, every thing we have and all that we are, given over to God! Like Abraham, the direction may not be totally clear, just go! Like Moses, we may feel completely inadequate, just trust! Like Joshua, it all may seem very illogical, just obey! God is not asking us to know every thing, to have gifts and talents or great plans for success. He is asking us to be strong and courageous.

Who's Treaten Who?

2010-09-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Matthew 7:12
"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
We all have an idea of the way we would like to be treated. We all are affected by the way others treat us. Many times the way others treat us will set the tone for the rest of the day or even longer. It could be in a good way or a bad way, at just the right word or action our spirit can soar like an eagle, or we can fall into a pit of gloom and sometimes anger. But the fact remains that the actions of others will have an affect on us. My personal peeve in this subject is encouragement. Because of this fact I give my best effort and make it to be a personal goal to be an encourager. Even when I have to say the hard things, I do my best to say them in an encouraging manner. I love to encourage people it something that God has placed in me. I believe encouragement brings out the best in people. And to be honest I love it when someone encourages me. If it were up to me, "and it's not," any time anyone ever spoke to me it would be words of encouragement! Unfortunately, I live in the real world and that is often not the case. Sometimes what people say is down right discouraging. I'm not saying it is unwarranted. I'm saying it can be discouraging. Though I know I grow spiritually in discouragement, "I still don't have to like it!" I believe it is because of my distain for discouragement that I counter attack by being an encourager. I hope this is making some sense because I think it is the very thing Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7:12, "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them," How do you want others to treat you? Treat others like you want to be treated! It's a counter attack. It is a defiant attitude! It is like saying, " I will not give in! I will not act out! I will treat others with dignity and honor regardless of how I am treated. Believers we need to wrap or hearts around this attitude and embrace it. I have a few things that God shares in His word that may help us with this. #1Whatever we do in word or deed do it as unto the LORD! This is found in Colossians 3:17. The context of the passage is teaching us how to treat others. We need to ask ourselves if we would treat Jesus in a good way a bad way? Would we be encouraging to Jesus or discouraging to Him? The believer has a responsibility to treat people as unto the Lord. #2 Consider our own faults. Matthew 7:3 says,"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" We can be so quick to examine and correct the faults of others and forget our own. I believe it is a good thing to be your own critic and leave the rest of God's people to Him. He is the one who brings conviction and change. Too many times we are trying to do the Holy Spirits job. The Holy Spirit will tell us what we need to change but that change will always begin on a personal level. In other words the only person I can change is me and I need changing. We have plenty to do just working on self! We can start by being good encouragers! #3 Remember everyone is a work in progress. 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;" No one is perfect and no one will be perfect until Jesus comes for His church. We need to remember this about each other. If we can take in consideration that every one needs Grace and Mercy then it sheds a whole new light on the way we view and treat one another. As I close this devotional I would ask you to think about how God has treated us. Not as we deserve, but with mercy and pity. He was thinking of us while He was on that cross. We were not perfect. There was no way we could ever make it to Heaven on our own. He wanted to give us Heaven just because He wanted us to have what we would never deserve. This is what He would do for us. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. And He took the treatment that we deserved, "THE CROSS."

The Big Finish

2010-09-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
What a great lesson we learn from the Apostle Paul about running the race well. He truly did fight the good fight. Thousands of miles traveled in missionary journeys, Thousands of people saved through those journeys, and millions more through his writings in the New Testament. Paul also mentored young pastors like Timothy and Titus. He made sure as he finished the race that there would be someone to take it up where he left off! Paul made sure the gap was filled between his ministry, and the next one. Too many times in ministry and churches today, this is not the case. There is a difference between just leaving or retiring from a ministry and leaving or retiring doing it well. Too many times I have seen people just drop out! No ownership and no worries about how things will get done, they just leave it! I understand when people get tired. I get tired. I take time off and rest. However I do not leave up to others to ensure that my responsibilities are handled. That wouldn't go over too well with my church. I can just picture it, "Sunday morning...... Time for the preaching, pastor is no where to be found!!!!! The phone rings...... " Pastor where are you?????" I answer," Well I decided to take a break today, you guys can handle it!" Needless to say, I would probably be looking for a place to preach the next Sunday. We should not only be responsible for short term absences but long term ones as well. Prepare people now to take your place later. This is what Paul did. This is what Jesus did. He prepared His disciples for three years. He taught them to pray, to teach,to love and to give of themselves. Then He ascended to Heaven gave them The Holy Spirit and sent them out. God has given us an example of how to finish the race. He showed it with Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and His disciples, Paul and Timothy. We are His representatives and we need to ensure our ministry is fulfilled. Wether the ministry itself is ending or it is ongoing. It does happen! Ministries come to an end when God is ready, and when this happens, take responsibility. He has left them in our care. We are to ensure that when God is finished working in a particular ministry that it is wrapped up and closed out in a proper manner. This is good stewardship and it brings Glory to God. He does not leave things open ended with no conclusion or closing. He lets us know what to anticipate will come next. He told His disciples in John 14:3, "And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself. They knew what to expect! This is how ministry is handed down. It's the right way to run the race for God. What about an on going ministry? I.E. pastor sunday school teacher, church musician, We should always be preparing someone to step up and fill our shoes if the ministry is to continue. As a pastor I am trying to prepare others who can take the lead in the church at any given time.We can never become complacent to whats going on in the moment. The moments are ticking away. Time marches on, God is at work and we have a great responsibility to be aware of this. Are we preparing the future Timothy or Titus of our ministry? Who will fill your place in God's plan of the Great Commission when you have finished the race. I think this may have been part of what Paul was talking about when he told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5,
"But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." Let's make sure as we serve the Lord that we are watchful and enduring as we evangelize the world. We need to stay out of the trap of now and look ahead to, "what next?" We need to ensure that no matter what comes in the, "what next?" our ministry is fulfilled and complete

Existence or Life

2010-09-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

Philippians 4:12-13
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
What or Who are you depending on today? So many times we go through life and we are just getting by, merely existing. Tired and weary or fat and happy, they all apply. We can have plenty and still be living in existence mode, breathing in and breathing out. We can have little and be in the same state of mind. Is this really life? Does the word, "numb" come to mind? God does not intend for us just to survive! He does not want us to be in existence mode. He wants us to live in Jesus mode. As the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Paul lived! He lived in great conditions and he also lived in harsh conditions. He wrote these very words while he was in prison for preaching the gospel! And yet the book of Philippians is known as the book of JOY. Why?.......because Paul LIVED for Jesus. A life lived in this way is real life. Jesus Christ is the source of all of life, and therefore, the strength of all life. In Colossians 1:17 the Bible says, "He was before all things and in Him all things consist." In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the LIFE." How can we possibly call it life without Jesus in the center of it? How could we ever expect to have fullness and be satisfied with life if the source of life is not our source of strength? All purpose and meaning are deep with in the One who created us and He has an eternal plan of which He has included us. This is not just existence! The greatest adventure of our life is waiting for us. God wants to show you! He wants to show you how He can fill you with strength, when you have no strength left. God wants to show you how He can fill you with His love when love seems to be in short supply. He wants to show you LIFE OVERFLOWING in a world where real life seems to be scarce. Jesus said in Luke 9:24' " For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." What if we gave in? What if we were to pray and say to our God, "My life belongs to you. I am Yours. Please take my life and use it for Your glory." If this were to happen, how would you change? What would be different? There is a calling in every believer to serve the Lord with their life, (Ephesians 2:10).
If you were to pray and ask God to use your life, how would God use you? My friends, this is our ultimate goal and purpose. Life's fulfillment comes at life's surrender to Jesus, the author of life. Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33,"But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." My prayer for us today is that we will seek GOD and find LIFE! "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength." Praise God for His life and our opportunity for it. Seek Him today and find LIFE.

In His Hands

2010-09-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

Psalms 29:10-11
The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.
God is King and He will always be King. No one or no thing will ever change this fact. Circumstances can't change it, weather can't change it and government can't change it! He and He alone is in control. In Isaiah 48:13 God says, Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the Earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call them They stand up together." With a word from God The stars are held in place, the sun and the moon give us light and the earth sits just exactly in the right place to sustain life. The majesty of our God is great! Everything, and I mean everything is governed by Him. In Isaiah 45:5 He says, "I am the Lord and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. Today we must come to a sobering perpetual fact. Humanity is not in control of anything! We may think so. We may have a high position in our community, our job or even in our government. We may even oversee, and be in charge of people. But the truth remains," God is overseeing us all." Nothing gets by Him! Our every action is either under His control or allowance! He is sovereign! The problem we have is relinquishing that control and allowance. I've heard people make the statement, "Put it in God's hands." This sounds great but it's really impossible. The truth is, everything is all ready in God's hands! Our part is to recognize that everything is in God's hands! The air we breath, the sunshine, the moonlight, the baby in the womb, the newly weds, the crime victim, the cancer patient, the burned out sunday school teacher, the atheist, the pastor, the hurting marriage, The widow, the orphan, and everyone in between. In Matthew 10:29-30 Jesus said,"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are numbered." God knows when the sparrow falls. Not even a little bird will die apart from His will! Nothing happens outside of the will of God. And it is in His sovereignty that He is working out His eternal purposes. He sees eternity, He knows what is best. He is using situations and circumstances to draw us to Him and make us more like Him.(Romans 8:28-29) He is teaching us to know His sovereignty. Prayer is a prime example of this. Jeus told us in Matthew 7:7,"Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Our prayer moves the heart of God. He loves it when we pray to Him. He always has His ear bent toward us. I have personally seen God do incredible things for His children when they ask Him. Trust is another very good example of how God is making us to be more like Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 says,"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." God may not change a situation when we pray! He may call upon us to trust Him through it, and acknowledge His sovereignty in it. It is in this trust that He directs our lives and works His purposes. Another way God shows us His sovereignty is through our obedience. God will never call us to do something, and then leave us on our own to accomplish it. Many times God will call us to do things that we feel are completely out of our ability. This can make us very uncomfortable. We need to remember that God did not call us to comfort but to obedience.Acts 5:29 says," But Peter and the other apostles answered and said:"We ought to obey God rather than men." Even when it makes no sense from humanities' point of view, we should obey God. God in all of His sovereignty loves to make the impossible, possible. He loves to do things that only He can do, and He loves to use us to do them. Even though we maybe ill-equipped for the task. Our obedience will testify to how God is truly in control of all things as He takes His ill-equipped servants and uses to accomplish His purposes. I will close with this statement,"God is in total control! Our thoughts on this, and our belief about this is truly irrelevant. We can either acknowledge this fact or we can go through life with the ridicules presumption that our own hand can save us.Psalms 103:19 "The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all."

The Truth about Mercy

2010-09-06T23:34:00.001-07:00

Proverbs 3:3-4
Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
Mercy and Truth, two wonderful words! Two words that have potential to change the world. Well, maybe not the actual words but the One behind the words. "Our mighty Creator God." He tells us in His word to "bind Mercy and Truth around our neck and write them on the tablet of our hearts." This is first of all to know Mercy and Truth. God is Mercy and God is Truth! To know Him is to find yourself highly esteemed in His eyes. Our God is merciful to us. He will forgive us for our sins against Him if we ask Him. God will not keep a record of those sins. (Psalm 103:12) His mercy is everlasting, just like His love. God's mercy never ceases or fails. God never takes a break from being merciful. He does not change, God is always merciful to His children. Psalm 103:13-14 says,"As a Father pities His children so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust." He has mercy on us because He knows we need Him. We are lost without Him, we are fragile and helpless. Destined for eternity separated from God. Torment and pain are in the eminent future of those outside of God's mercy Psalm 89:48 says," What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?" Isn't it so good to know that God loves us so much that His mercy knows no limits." If I say,"My foot slips," Your mercy O Lord will hold me up."(Psalm 94:18) Our God is TRUTH! We are to bind Truth around our neck, write Truth on the tablet of our hearts. We live in a world filled with lies and lies are the opposite of Truth! The world says, Jesus was a just a good teacher. The Truth says, "Jesus was the son of God!" The world says,"we have no need of God." The Truth says, "Isn't it obvious that we need God!" The world ask,"If God loves us so much how come there is so much evil?" The Truth answers,"I intervened in the evil. I took evil upon myself. I established My love for you in the midst of evil as I gave My life on the cross. "Every one who is of Truth hears My voice." Jesus spoke these words to pilate just before He was scourged and crucified for us. Mercy and Truth have entered our world and we can experience them first hand. Every thing changes when Mercy and Truth come into the picture! That's right, Factor in Mercy and Truth in any situation and the outcome will change. This change is an eternal change. Matthew and Zacchaeus were considered to be worthless tax collectors until Mercy and Truth showed up. They went from worthless tax collectors to esteemed followers of Jesus! Peter and John were just plane ole fishermen. Mercy and Truth walked up and said,"Come with Me and I will make you fishers of men." A few years later Peter preached his first sermon and saw three thousand people come to trust in Jesus in one day. Now that's a catch! The Lord took John on a trip to Heaven and he saw what Mercy and Truth has in store for us. John wrote five incredible books of the Bible. That's not too bad for a fisherman! Mercy and Truth saved a hopeless Samaritan woman and gave her hope. She went from "sinful adulterer" to "Child of the Most High God" in a matter of minutes! Mercy and Truth will never leave us. Hang on to them write them on the tablet of your heart. Bind them around your neck. Let's not forget what we have. Mercy and Truth have brought us into God's favor, changed us forever, and given us hope beyond hope of what great things God may accomplish through us.

Honor

2010-09-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 21:21
" He who follows righteousness and mercy
Finds life, righteousness and honor."
What ever happened to HONOR! The word HONOR means to have a high respect or to esteem. I don't like sounding negative, however in my observation of American society it seems that honor has somehow escaped our way of life! For example; I was in a department store yesterday and this young man walked past me with a "T" shirt on. There is nothing wrong with wearing a "T" shirt but the inscription on the "T" shirt presented a problem! I can't say what the shirt said because this is a "G" rated devotional. However, this offended me greatly! This was very dishonoring to God, himself and every one around him! My children were with me and I was afraid they might see it and read it! I also thought about all the people that would see him and be affected by the obscenity on his shirt. For a moment I was angry. My first thought was to go up to him and rip that shirt right off of him! Hey I'm not perfect, just a sinner saved by grace. Woe, wait a minute! Does this resinate with us? A sinner saved by grace! God loved me in my sin He gave His life for me. He gave His life for that young man in the "T" shirt! THis is the thing that God reminded me of in "mid thought!" While I contemplated literally committing the sin of disrespecting someone that God created. He reminded me that He loves that young man in the "T" shirt. We will never restore honor by committing acts of dishonor! We will only restore honor by introducing people to and living for the most honorable,"JESUS CHRIST" Proverbs 21:21 tells us if we follow righteousness and mercy we will find life, righteousness and honor. The reason our nation is losing its sense of honor is because we are rejecting and loosing our relationship to God.... We are rejecting and loosing His righteousness and His mercy. Honor follows these things. So what is the answer to restoring honor? Can this be fixed? Yes it can but we have to apply honor where honor is needed.
I have several thoughts on this. First, those who follow righteousness and mercy must be more bold. We need to let our passion and love drive us. We are representatives for Christ. We need to be bold enough to stand up for honor. Not in a violent way but in a loving way. I wonder how that young man in the store would have received it if I had told him how much Jesus loves him. In Romans 10 we read that they will not hear without a preacher! We need to be bold preachers of honor. Second believers need to live honorably! Our world needs desperately to see honor in the church. In 1Peter we are told to put away hypocrisy. To be real. We are to leave behind the dishonorable and to pursue the honorable. Why would we as a church expect people to believe God is honorable if we are not honorable. Third we need to honor others. We need to recognize every one around us as created by God. We need to know in our hearts that God's incredible love extends an eternity beyond our human circles of limitation. He loves and honors everyone! His love for us far exceeds the greatest earthly love we can ever imagine.(Isaiah 49:14-16) If God thinks so highly of those He has created don't you think we should love and honor them also. We do not deserve to be held in honor. It is God who chooses to love and honor us. This honor is not earned. This honor is given! It's not about deserving honor, It's about giving and receiving honor. This is the way we should see those around us. I believe honor and respect are contagious. God honors us and this honor encourages us to begin to live up to the standard that we have been called to. In return our lives bring honor to God. So isn't it likely If we honor others, deserving or not, that they may gain some self respect. As they are honored they begin to practice honor. As they practice honor others are honored, gain self respect and respect for others. What a goal, what a dream! To restore honor. Can it happen? All I can say is this, it has to begin with someone. How about me and you.

Oh, "HOW" I Love Jesus

2010-09-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

1 Peter 2:7
"Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,"
Is Jesus precious to those who believe? Is He held in high regard? Do we hang on His every word and live just to live for Him? We are told in 1 John 4:19 "We love Him because He first loved us." Our love for Jesus is a love in return. A love that is deposited at the moment of salvation! Who ever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives and remains in that person. As a result that person will live and remain in God. When the great love God has for us enters our heart we become a channel for His great love. A sort of fountain that is overflowing. The direct and immediate affect of God saving a soul is a love relationship with the one who saved! We can not be touched by the grace and mercy of Jesus, and not be in love with HIM. If we love Him then our actions will flesh out our love for Him! The words "I love Jesus" can come pretty easy! I have heard them said many times. But I must be honest, I have not seen them lived in the same frequency. "I Love Jesus," is an action phrase. It demands that we live out that love as He did for us. In the opening verse we see that to those "who believe, He is Precious." He is adored ! How can you adore Jesus and not have a working love relationship with Him? It's like saying, "I love fishing", and yet never actually fish, or "I love cooking", and never stepping foot in a kitchen! If we say and we neglect to do, then it's only lip service. If you are reading this and your are feeling uneasy or your heart is convicted please don't shut me off. This is a good thing! The next part of our opening verse states," To the disobedient He is rejected. You may be asking, "How can this be good? Are you crazy? There is no way this can be good! My answer to you is this, It's good because you realize it. You know your not right with Jesus and He wants you to make it right! He loves you so much and He is literally inviting you to join Him in the greatest love relationship of your life. I'm not saying you have to live a perfect life for Jesus. I'm saying that if you claim Him as Savior and you are not absolutely in love with Him, Something is amiss! If you are not striving to live for Him every day of your life, something is wrong! If reading this is causing an argument within your very soul, then my friend you have stumbled upon a great opportunity. You are tripping over a great stumbling stone that has been placed with loving care right in front of your feet. If you have fallen, then stay there. You are right where you need to be. You are on your face before a loving merciful God. Call out to Him that He may save you! Call out to Him that He may fill you with His great love! Call out to Him because He loved you first.

What's love got to do with it?

2010-09-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

1 Peter 4:8
"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for"love will cover a multitude of sins."
There are many times in my role as a leader and pastor of God's church that I lay awake at night and wonder about the application of this verse. It is in these times of solitude when Jesus and I have long talks about the words "love one another!" If we could just realize the simplicity of applying love and yet the magnitude of the results. However, to love one another is to lay some things aside. It is hard to love someone else when self is demanding all of your attention. Love and selfishness clash! They are in opposition to one another! There inability to get along cries out now louder than ever before! We live in the society of self service. We are the microwave generation of instant gratification. The I want it yesterday but now will have to do generation! Cost is not the issue as long as I serve me. Wow, the truth hurts but the accrued credit card debts, the high vehicle payments and the unpaid mortgages speak for us! How will we ever escape this whirlwind we have been caught up in? Could it be to have a FERVENT LOVE for others and not self? In 1Peter 4:8 the words "fervent love" mean with earnest intent, without ceasing, to stretch! Earnest intent means to love with a purpose. What is our greatest purpose for life? Is it to love self or to love others? Why should we show love to others? Jesus said that this how Christians are known,"that we have love for one another."(John 13:35) Our purpose for love is to point people to Jesus so that they may come to know Him. The greatest most precious gift a person could ever receive is the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ! Our love for one another introduces that gift. This is an earnest purpose, it's our focus. We are to make a conscience effort to love people to Jesus. Fervent love is also love without ceasing. As disciples of Christ we do not have the luxury of turning our love on and off when it is convenient for us. We have to learn to listen to God. Pay attention when He is speaking to us and be sensitive to the people He is ushering into our lives. I was literally in the middle of writing this devotional when a woman came into my office needing money for a bus ticket. As I talked with her I realized that God did not bring her to me for a bus ticket. He introduced her to me so I could introduce her to Him! She talked herself right out of needing a bus ticket as God revealed His truth to her through His word. She trusted Jesus to save her today. She came here needing Jesus and God allowed me to be a part of that! What if I would have been selfish and allowed my love for God's people to cease at that moment? What if I had told her to come back later because I was busy working on church stuff? She may still be lost without Him! I can testify to you today that I have a new sister in Christ because for once in my life I was paying attention to God's Holy Spirit urging me to love without ceasing. Having a fervent love also means to stretch yourself. To go above and beyond the norm or the expected. To lay aside selfish desires and put our love for God and His people first. This may mean doing something as simple as introducing yourself to someone and sharing Jesus with them. It could be as big as selling your possessions, home, cars, etc. and becoming a missionary. The truth is this. Fervent love is to love so much it hurts. To love so much that you are willing to hurt, to cry, to give and to expect nothing in return! To love fervently is to love so much that no one or no thing can keep you from sharing Jesus with everyone you meet! It is love like this that covers a multitude of sin. To love like this is to love like Jesus. This love overlooks the many faults and sin that is possessed by all of humanity. This love sees people redeemed, delivered and walking with Jesus! Fervent love will not result in earthly riches and the accomplishment of selfish goals. It is only for those who would risk it all to love like Jesus loves. After all, wasn't it Jesus who said, "No greater love has anyone than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."(John 15:13)

Homemade Ice-Cream

2010-08-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-27T13:54:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

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"

2010-08-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-18T22:29:00.001-07:00

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.

2010-08-17T07:00:00.005-07:00

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

2010-08-16T11:22:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-13T09:18:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-12T07:46:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-11T09:17:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-10T06:51:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-05T05:31:00.000-07:00

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"

2010-08-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

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.