A Slap in your Faith

When I served in the Navy, I was working on a Satellite dish for our ships GPS. I had to climb 60 feet into a tower to do this. I was tethered with safety lines to the tower with a safety observer on the ground. The way it worked at the time, is every 20 feet you had to adjust the safety line. You would attach yourself to the tower with the work harness; detach the safety line; take up the safety line slack and reattach the safety line. Then detach the harness line and continue climbing.

In that order...

The safety observer has control of the safety line during your climb, so he must pay attention. Any deviation from the process could seriously hurt me through a fall to the steal deck. I never had an accident but I had to trust the safety observer with my life.

Who do you trust?

In our personal nature, we often trust our families, we trust our friends. With public nature, we have trusted our transportation services, we trusted our national security services, and we trusted our military services. What do all of these things have in common? Sometimes they fail our trust.

We have all felt the disastrous results of failed trust within our families and by our friends. Confidences are shattered, tears are shed, feelings are hurt, trust is damaged and bitterness often grows. We have witnessed the devastating results of national failures. Security was breached, planes were hijacked and used like missiles, lives were lost in the thousands, our nation is shaken and stunned, insecurity rises and fear grows.

Who do you trust?

Far too often in life we become completely focused on the trials and difficulties of life and we lose our focus on Christ. When Peter walked on the water with Jesus he was doing well until he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the waves. The same is true of us today. God can get us through the most impossible situations but we must keep our focus and trust on Him. How can we ever expect to find help and healing when we are still focused on our difficulties and not our deliverance?

Check your faith!

Faith is found in our unswerving belief that the God of Heaven will indeed work on our behalf to bring His perfect will for our lives into being. If I were to ask you individually, most of you would very quickly say that you have faith in God but there are times when faith is not so simple. Trusting God is literally against our human nature..

We need to place our trust in something or someone and we do it every day. We trust our cars to get us to our destination. We trust our employers to deliver paychecks. We trust our doctor’s to heal our illnesses. How much more should we trust God?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

In times like these, who do you trust?

You need to trust in God...completely! Or is that a slap in your Faith?

Apple(TM) of God’s Eye

We are in such a time where technology and science have grown exponentially and have given us the greatest time-savers as well as the greatest time-wasters. Science has made it possible for mankind to live longer that he has in thousands of years, but also has made it possible for mankind to suffer longer than he has in thousands of years.
Technology has also given us to means to elevate and expand a virtuous message to billions around the world at lightning speed. It has also given us the means to spread debauchery and evil, the likes of which have not been seen to such a degree ever before. It truly is the Best of Times, and it certainly is the Worst of Times. (Thanks Charles)
I say this only because even the Church is now catching up to technology. Is this a good thing or a not so good thing? I can’t make that decision. Granted, there’s very good reason to keep up with the times. Both in how the word is shared; how we bring the word to the members and we take physical account of things.
Think on this though, look to our homes. In some homes our children are literally playing video games 8 to 10 hours a day; we all are watching TV 4 – 5 hours a day; on the Computer 4 – 5 hours a day and on our cell phones, texting, calling, taking pictures, playing games a lot!
Now look at the church, we Twitter, we blog, we Face book, we email, we chat and we drink our $5 Starbucks coffee. Everything is computerized at church, at home and at work. When is the last time you visually and verbally spoke with someone? With the use of these great communication tools you think we, as Christians, are closer in our relationships.
But you’re wrong; we’ve actually grown further apart.
In my job, technology is a must; I couldn’t do my job without it! The Church needs the technology too. Lately though, God has put on my heart, getting back to the basics. You know, love God, Love Jesus, God first.....
I’m not saying we need to throw our computers, cell phones and games away. Maybe we just ought to take heed to the following scripture:
Philippians 4:4-6
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
“Let’s rejoice in the Lord”....not Technology.
“The Lord is at hand”... not your Nintendo or cell phone
“Let’s do everything in moderation”... not rush to buy or play that new game or software application.
“Be careful” ... technology can lead you astray.
“In prayer making our requests known to God”... not worshipping at the altar of Apple/Macintosh.
Maybe we will find more peace by doing so?
Let’s not be techno wizards or bean counters, let’s Trust in God to do the counting. He’s better at it anyways.
Just my thoughts

His last name doesn’t begin with ‘D’

In the southern Turkey, lives a certain variety of crane. These birds tend to make a lot of noise, especially while flying. All that noise captures the attention of eagles, which swoop down and seize them for a meal. The experienced cranes avoid this threat by picking up stones large enough to fill their mouths. This prevents them from making noise and from becoming lunch for the eagles.

We have issues with our mouths too. Now I’m not telling you to run out and put stones in your mouth but some people may want to give this some thought.

In my work, I’m required to answer the phone in a technical support aspect. 99.9% of the time, these calls, though challenging, are very rewarding! Yesterday, I had one not so rewarding. This lady had the proverbial potty mouth. Listening to her you would think that God’s last name began with ‘D’.

It wasn’t an occasional slip either, every other sentence was a abomination. Okay, she was upset! She made me very upset with putting the Lord’s name in vain. It visibly and mentally exhausted me listening to this person. No other phone call to date has significantly disturbed me as this call did.

I have had people swear on the phone before, but it was the way they talked (not permissive but we pick our battles). ‘Being a retired sailor, this language doesn’t bother me though I’d rather not hear it.

James 3:8-10
8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. 10 Out of the same mouth precede blessing and cursing.

What is Profanity? The dictionary defines it as, "Characterized by irreverence for God, impious, base..., a profane act or utterance". Profanity is usually language that involves taking God’s name in vain. It is vile or vulgar language. It is language that is viciously degrading to others. Does the Bible condemn profanity?

YES!

Matthew 15:17-20
17Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19For out of the heart precede evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. 20These are the things which defile a man...."

Profanity is an indication of what’s in the heart! It’s an indication of the immorality of man!

Continuing in James:
James 3:10-14, 17, 18
10 Out of the same mouth precede blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

I love that!

Sow in peace = reap righteousness!
Speak Love = reap Love!

Maybe you have a problem with your language. The Bible clearly says "no man can control the tongue"!

If you truly want to clean up your language, go to God. What’s impossible for man is possible for God!

Instead of using ‘D’ as God’s last name...let’s use ‘L’ as in Love or Lives.
God Loves!
God Lives!
Those are much better last names!

Don’t be a bench warmer!

I love the game of soccer. I’ve been playing soccer since I was 6 years old and still enjoy playing to this day. One of my memories was of my Coach in High School. I can almost hear him today, “Paul! If you’re going to play with heart, you got to practice the basics!” Of all the basics he tried to pound into my head, being a “Team” player was at the front.

Lee Iacocca once asked the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi what it took to make a winning team.

Lombardi said, "There are a lot of coaches with good ball clubs who know the fundamentals and have plenty of discipline but still don’t win the game. Then you come to the third ingredient: if you’re going to play together as a team, you’ve got to care for one another. You’ve got to love each other. Each player has to be thinking about the next guy. You’ve got to do your job well in order that he can do his. The difference between mediocrity and greatness is the feeling these guys have for each other."

Great teams in sports, in business, and especially in the church, are formulated when the members of the teams love and care for each other.
Behind every great ministry leader is a great team that makes the ministry possible... let me say that again, behind every great ministry leader is a great team that makes the ministry possible.

We all know from reading the Bible that the apostle Paul is a great Christian leader. But we should also know from reading the Bible that he couldn’t do it all by himself. In his letters, he mentions over 100 people by name that has important roles in his ministry.

We have people like him in our church. Some of you love the church so much that you’re willing to help out anyway you can. Some of you spend hours away from home to attend church meetings. To run the sound system, bookstore, safety, parking, hospitality, and children’s ministries; the list goes on and on.

I want our church to be a place where people are welcome to come and rebuild their lives. I want you to know that if you’ve ever messed up; if you’ve ever blown it big time; our church is a place where you can come and repent of your sins. And find solace and forgiveness. You will be welcomed here with a warm handshake and a glad heart. And you will discover that there is still a place for you in the ministry of this church.

I wrote in my blog yesterday that we all have special talents and abilities; we all have spiritual gifts when we accept the Holy Spirit within us. All of you have different backgrounds, different histories, and different gifts. Yet each one of you is an IMPORTANT part of God’s team.

I want you to pray about where your place might be on God’s team.

God has a special place for you on His team.

Put me in Coach, I’m ready!

Don’t make me sick

Some people work best under the pressure of a deadline. I'm one of them. There's a special urgency when you know you only have a limited time to produce. It seems to sharpen the focus of my mind and help my concentration level. I'm definitely more committed to the task at hand. This is a talent that God has given me.
God has given us a unique combination of abilities, skills, and gifts.
1 Peter 4: 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
God has created each of us in a particular way with certain natural abilities and skills. God made you uniquely you, there is no one exactly like you. Even if you are an identical twin, you are not exactly like your twin. Your personality will be different; your abilities will be different because that was the way God intended to create you.
God has given us each differing abilities in order to complement one another. You are able to do things well that I cannot do. I am able to do things well that you can’t do well, but when we bring them together we are able to accomplish what God has called us to do.
I have three other brothers and no sisters (God Bless my Mom!) My older brother, he was the athlete of the family. My second youngest brother, he was multi-talented but a very analytical, funny and intelligent person. My youngest brother, he was the mechanic of the bunch. Me? I was the imagination, the artist (though I can’t draw to save my life), the dreamer.
Separately we do well, but you put us together... we are the life of the party! We are very protective of each other and we love each other dearly. I tell people this because even though we are blood brothers: even though we get along very well, even though we grew up together; even though we are like 4 peas in a pod. We are very different!
This is how God set it up to be! We are created with certain talents or abilities, and we are created with natural abilities. The sad reality is that many people, even Christians, have never really explored who God has made you to be. Sometimes these abilities are there, but are never discovered and never utilized, or we take it for granted not thinking that it is anything special. Most people have not tapped into all the potential God has given us.
The Bible tells us we are given special abilities called spiritual gifts. These gifts are significant to us as Christians because we are the only ones who receive these supernatural gifts because they are given by the Holy Spirit when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. When we believe that Jesus died for us, and we follow him, the Bible tells us we are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit in turn gives us these special gifts as he chooses. God creates every person with natural abilities; however spiritual gifts are given only to those who have faith in Christ.
Some of us look at ourselves and we think, “I certainly don’t have any gifts,” or,”I don’t see any special abilities in my life.” But we need to see ourselves the way God sees us (Rom. 12:3). When God looks at us he sees us for who we are, individuals who are beautifully and wonderfully created and gifted. We know God has promised us that we have at least one gift, when we identify and use that gift(s), we become supernatural Christians.
1 Peter 4:10-11 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms
The Apostle Paul compares the church to a body with many parts. Just as a body has many parts; eyes, ears, feet, which function together in harmony so that the body works the way it should, so the church has many parts, you and I, and each one of us has a part to play by serving one another. When we don’t play our part it affects everyone around us, it is like having a body part that doesn’t function. We call that sickness, the body is sick when even one part doesn’t work right. The church is sick when even one person isn’t using their God given abilities and gifts in some form of service.
If you are not partaking in the body, at Church; if you are not using your abilities, Talents or gifts God gave you, the best way you can; then you are making the body sick. It’s not functioning correctly!

We have a gift to share, are you sharing it?

Or are we still sick?

Don’t Read this...

Don’t read this if the bible is more of a coaster for your drink than a book.
Don’t read this if you have a bible, but don’t know where it is.
Don’t read this if you think the bible is a good book but hard to read.
Don’t read this if you think the Bible is the living Word of some dudes that like to write stories.
Wait!!!
Even if you believe the above statements read this anyways.
Picture this, it’s 11 PM on Christmas Eve, my son is 4 years old. I am putting together a Toy workshop for him. The instructions say, “Assembly required– so simple a 10 year old can do it!” I skim over the instructions some more. It also states “Please read through the instructions before beginning assembly”. Yeah right, like I have time for that! How hard can it be?
2 Hours later, I finish something that looks like the picture on the box. Why do I have all these extra parts left over? The way I see it, they forgot to include one of the parts, a 10 year old! This story may seem funny but isn’t this a great analogy for how we approach the bible? Life is the same way; we lament the lack of instructions that come with life. Yet God has given us instruction for life. It is His Word.
2 Timothy 3:16, 17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Bible claims to be the means that God has chosen to reach out to us in human language, reveal the essence of his relational heart, and relate the good news of his redemptive plan. The Bible is a whole library that we can take with us anywhere we go. It is 66 whole books, written by many different authors. It contains history, war stories, romances, miracles and many other stories.

The Bible is the instruction manual on how we become more Christ like each and every day of our life. That the Bible is God’s love letters to us, and he wants us to know how much he loves and cares for us, and how much he truly wants us to be more like him.
Let me ask you something, how do you get to know God? You will never truly know God, you will never truly know how much God loves you, and you will never truly know all that God has in store for you by learning about God in just that way.

Do you know what two of the greatest president’s said about the Bible?

George Washington said, “It is impossible to righteously govern the world without the Bible as your guide, because without it we would be without God.”

Ronald Reagan said, “Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that we face today-if we will only read and believe.”
The Bible is the bestselling book in the world year after year after year. There are many reasons people don’t read the bible, being not relevant for today seems to be the big reason for not reading it. Yet, the bible is as relevant today as it was a thousand years ago, because when you read it you will find out what the real purpose for your life is. You will find out how to treat your parents. You will find out how and what to do with your money. You will find out what to look for in a friend. You will find out exactly how much God loves you, and you will find out how to live your life the way the God wants you to. So, is all of that irrelevant, I don’t think so do you?
So, don’t read this if your life is....Ok.
Don’t read this, if you have everything figured out!
Don’t read this if your life is perfect as it is!
If you’re reading this now, “Don’t read this” doesn’t make much sense....does it? Not reading the bible doesn’t make sense to me!

God’s call to fools!

Growing up in a Catholic/Episcopalian community, I was very curious about the ordained person and how he figured he was called by God. I can remember watching one of the young priests building a wooden trellis. His intentions were to allow a vine to grow within the trellis. I watched as he took his hammer and was pounding away at the trellis. After a little bit, he turned to me and asked, “Are you trying to pick up some pointers on gardening?” “No,” I replied. “I’m just waiting to hear what a priest says when he hits his thumb with a hammer.”
Why did I recall this event? Yesterday, I had breakfast with my brother in Christ, Steve. (See last blog to observe my interaction with him). Again, we were talking about all sorts of things and I love to talk with him, he inspires me. He seems to really understand my thinking. We were speaking of volunteers and he spoke of what we are called to do.
I thought on this many times yesterday and woke up this morning thinking about the above event. There was a young priest, devoting his whole life to God and giving up on some pretty important freedoms (in my mind at least). Why? What was he called to do? What is it God wants me to do? What are we called to do?
But first...
What we AREN’T called to do:
1. Your Job is Not Your Calling - Most of us change jobs during the course of our life. We may even change careers. If you're in a church ministry, even that ministry can end. We will all retire some day. Your job is not your calling, no matter how much it may allow you to serve.
2. Your Family is Not Your Calling – Don’t get me wrong here, God wants you to have a family and he blesses the families. But how can you have a relationship with your family if you don’t have a relationship with the father? You’re not called to be married.
3. Your Friends are Not Your Calling – Hanging with the Buds is cool. When you do this though... who are you glorifying? God wants to hang with you too!
4. Your Church is Not Your Calling – Going to church is real important but if you’re going to be seen going or think this will get you into heaven, good luck with that! Church is for fellowship; for growth; for praise and worship and for the tools you need once you leave the Church property.
5. Playing Sports is Not Your Calling – God may have gifted you with the skills to play a specific sport but again...who are you glorifying in your sport? Sport!
6. Talent is Not Your Calling – Again, God gave you a talent/skill, are you glorifying him with it? Or are you raising yourself above others because you have something a lot of others don’t? Are you worshiping God or leading people to worship?
7. Quoting Scripture from Memory is Not Your Calling – Satan knows the bible and probably can quote it better than all of us. Knowledge is a good thing but wisdom is a great thing. Memorizing the bible will get you into heaven as fast as memorizing the phone book. It’s not about the works.
I’m sure you could come up with a few.
So now we come to the most important part of this writing, what is your calling? I can’t answer that for you. God does the calling, ask him!
Read on:
How do you know your calling?
What does “the call” feel like?
Is He really calling me?
Three questions rolled into one that many people ask themselves.
Over the last few years in my Christian walk, God gave me a hunger for His Word. I devoured it like a person who had an unquenchable thirst. But the feeling of God’s calling to me can best be described as a feeling of wanting to run with the word. Like a horse ‘chomping at the bit’ there was an inner urge to take the word and run with it. The urge was strong and it’s there more so today than yesterday.
If you have this urge on the inside it’s the Holy Spirit within you giving direction. Listen to Him and you will never regret it—ignore it and it does not go away—because it is His calling.

I have never been to seminary or Bible School and have no credentials that are required to be a ordained Minister. I don’t feel very well equipped. Neither did the early church preachers and the Holy Spirit perform a great job with them.

1 Corinthians 1:20 - 25
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
Paul says where is the world’s wisdom and where are those with all the education? In spite of all their worldly wisdom they did not know God. They did not see Him behind everything that is; they missed Him in all that was created. They failed to listen to His word. They considered the word that was preached to be foolish yet God was pleased to save the souls of those who listened and dared to believe. And some He called to keep this message alive—we are one of those.

1 Corinthians 1:26 - 31
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts... boast in the Lord."

When we were called to Christ we may not have had certificates of education nor were we influential and few of us had a noble birth. But GOD chose the foolish things of the world (again you and me) to shame the wise. He saw their weakness, just as He sees yours and mine.
Today He uses us, whom the world might consider foolish. Jesus chose common men four at least of whom were fisherman, and one a hated tax collector. He chose those that exactly fit the description Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 1
He chose the lowly things, the despised things and used them mightily to spread the Gospel over the entire known world. He chose those who He knew would have to rely upon the Holy Spirit to accomplish this mission. None of them boasted before God of what they accomplished but instead named Him as the source of their wisdom and strength in preaching and teaching the word and they gave Him the credit for every soul saved. Remember those fishermen got to preach to kings and before huge audiences of very learned people who needed to know Christ.
It can happen to you! Want some help? You better...

God called you and He will not leave you unequipped when it is He Who made the call. Doesn’t your heart say “Answer, answer Him? You came to Christ, accepted Christ, became converted, however you want to phrase it and through Christ you will have the wisdom that comes from God, the wisdom will not be your own but will be from the Holy Spirit.
John 14:26
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
The Holy Spirit will aid you and point you to the center of Christianity, Jesus Christ. And Jesus will point you to the Father; the one who made this all possible.
Don’t be afraid to step out for God, He loves you and He forgives those little mistakes that sometimes happen when we are getting started.
The way I see it, you can ask God to know your calling, or you can continue to be foolish.
Your Choice...

NO! You’re not ok!

Why do we do it? Why do we compare ourselves with other believers? I was speaking with my friend; brother and my accountability for my Christian walk today. I just want it to go on record that it was his idea for this blog today, not mine. I had to do a lot of soul searching on this one.
Normally when I write, it’s something that inspired me that day or God put into my head. If God puts it there, I know for a fact it’s something I’m probably a little rusty about. Matter of fact, I think everything I write about is an area that I probably could use some work in.
My friend suggestion was along the line of “I’m not ok”. Don’t read between the lines there, he doesn’t think that I’m not ok but he made a valid point. Am I ok? As we talked we spoke of how we use people to make us feel better. They look around at other believers and say, “I’m better than them because....”.
Why do we do it? Why do we compare ourselves with other believers? Since I have done this once or twice (HA), I will tell you why.
Because...................................
So we can see our progress; to see whether we are moving in our spiritual life in relation to others; we compare ourselves with others around us to see where we fit with those around us—actually a good thing if it spurs others genuinely toward spiritual growth.

Mentors in the Lord are good (I seem to have a lot of them) but the downside is that they are not perfect—they will fail, they will have a bad day sometimes. The danger in this temptation is that our constant comparing ourselves with others helps us self-justify our lack of spiritual growth—after all, one might say, I am not a spiritual giant, but I am not as bad as you—not something we would say out loud, but we do the math in our heads all the time.

So here are the dangers of Comparing Ourselves with Others. We may become self-satisfied spiritually, “I’m alright—as good as the pastor’s wife, as good as the Board members”. When we keep our eyes on other people, we will be disappointed—people will fail us, they will hurt us sometimes.
We may base our attitude of forgiveness on what others do, have you ever met bitter Christians? I have and it’s not pretty. When you and I are self-justifying, we will find any excuse to do what we want to do

One of the biggest dangers of comparing ourselves with others is that we might be tempted to base our level of spiritual growth on the Lowest Common Denominator around us.
In the Scripture, Nicodemus: A Pharisee of the Pharisees and part of the Sanhedrin.
In John 3 When all the other Pharisees wrote Jesus off as one who was dangerous to Judaism, Nicodemus sought Jesus out. He didn’t look at what everyone else was doing; he listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and went to Jesus. He risked in faith, and Jesus told him more clearly than anyone else, that if you want to know what God desires, you have to be born again.
Jesus told him that with God, we have to recognize we have to start over—as a baby—helpless except for the hands of a loving Father. Nicodemus didn’t compare himself with the other men of the ruling council and say to himself, “at least I’m as holy as them”—he risked in faith, and Jesus helped him realize what true faith was.

So how do we live in Christian Community yet not compare ourselves with others? How do we not begin to gauge ourselves against others and become spiritually satisfied?
Hebrews 12:1-2
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses -(Those who by faith accepted what God wanted for their lives—those who didn’t compare themselves and became spiritually self-satisfied) Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith…”
Hey! You got issues? We all got issues! I got these i – shoes on my feet! Ok, bad attempt at humor but I said it to remind you to run! Not just run though....with perseverance. That’s attitude! That’s letting Jesus set the pace and RUN! He’s already marked it for us....so RUN! Fix your eyes on Jesus and RUN!
I don’t know about you but I’m out of breath just thinking about all this running were doing!
All this is saying is to look at Jesus...his Character. John 1 tells us that Jesus is God in the flesh, and the fullest manifestation of who God is. He is the model. Leave off your entanglements. The writer of Hebrews says in verse 1, “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”
Leave off the lies of Satan that say, “You aren’t so bad…I mean you are more spiritual than her…I mean you may not be a super believer but you are ok.” Believe that garbage and you’re not OK!
Leave off the lie that says, “take it easy spiritually…don’t worry about growth in Christ—after all you did say a sinners prayer—you do come to church almost every Sunday..”
Defeat temptation; claim the promise of I Corinthians 10:13—that God is inviting you to obedience!
Obey His Leading.
Will you trust him enough to obey?
We can be afraid of what God is asking of us, but will we be obedient?
Will we love others like He asks us to?
Will we Risk in faith like those listed in Heb. 11?
When you and I stand before the throne of God on Judgment day, He will not ask what everyone else did; He will only be interested in you. Let’s kill the temptation to compare.
And no, you’re not OK..... Your God’s Kids! That makes you great!

Your G.E.M. is waiting

I was driving home after spending a good part of the day working. I had taken the Suncoast Expressway to go home like I normally do. They were working on the road and I could see farther up where it went to one lane. As I got to the place where we merge, about 5 cars up I see these 2 ladies in the left lane trying to merge. Just as they are trying to move over this guy in another truck, speeds up to block them from getting in front of them.
I had my window down and from 5 cars back I hear a man’s voice yell, “That’s not very Christian of you”. Since it was a man’s voice I have no idea what the lady’s did or said to him but it made me think. Who says, “That’s not very Christian of you?”
I pondered this all the way home. I was really perplexed about this comment. Since it was the man who yelled it and he actually cut them off, she must have done something....not very Christian. Was it very Christian of him to yell this?
Have you ever seen a program called “Extreme Makeover.” It’s where they take these people who aren’t happy with the way they look, and through a series of operations, cosmetic surgery, dental work, liposuction, hair changes, and other things I won’t mention, they are transformed into a beautiful person.

That, of course is why they called it “Extreme Makeover.”

But the bottom line was these people who have had extreme makeovers were not happy with themselves because of the way they looked. They had defects they wanted to remove or cover up. They had flaws they were ashamed of. And they went through intense pain to correct or hide their blemishes.

The fact is, almost everyone has some flaw or blemish they would change if given the chance to do so. But did you know that God is in the business of giving extreme makeovers? He may not fix your nose, or give you pretty white teeth, or remove your wrinkles, but the Bible says, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.”

I watched one of those makeover shows for the first time about a week ago. I saw them transform someone from the old way they looked into a new look. It’s was amazing to look at the before and after pictures and see the drastic or extreme change that had taken place.

It’s also amazing how God can take an old sinner who is rotten to the core, lived in the pits of sin, wasted his or her life in the cesspool of iniquity, and change them into a delightful child of God.

There was a woman of Samaria who needed an extreme makeover. Her life was a total mess. She had lost all respectability among her neighbors. She was the talk of the town. People avoided speaking to her.
In the eyes of society she was an outcast. She had gone through five failed marriages and the man she was shacking up with now was not her husband. She was a good candidate for an extreme makeover!

One day the master of extreme makeovers came by her town and she was chosen. Jesus gave her something called “living water” and it changed her life forever. She ran into town and began to tell people about her extreme makeover.

I would like to think she regained her self-respect. She now had self-esteem. She had a new look on her face and a new spring in her step. She now had joy instead of sadness, and peace instead of fear. She had forgiveness in the place of condemnation. Yes, she had an extreme makeover at a well outside of Samaria.

There was someone else in the Bible who had an extreme makeover. His life was a total mess also. His life was in shambles. He had lost his family and friends. He no longer could live a life of happiness and peace. For you see he had become possessed by demons and they literally tore his life to pieces.

You could probably hear the screams of this poor man for he was tormented by these demons day and night. He was a candidate for an extreme makeover in the worst kind of way.
One day the extreme makeover master passed by.

It only took Jesus a few seconds to change that good ole boy’s life. He cast out the demons and restored his mind. The townsfolk could hardly believe their eyes when they saw this man worshipping at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

He could now call this old friends and say, “Look at me, I’m not the man I used to be.”
“Don’t be afraid of me anymore, I’ve had an extreme makeover, I’m not like I used to be.”

I have good news for you; Jesus is still in the business of doing extreme makeovers. You don’t have to stand in line. You don’t have to worry about not getting chosen. You are invited anytime to come let Jesus do a work in your life. NO ONE is a hopeless case.

God can take the lowest; the roughest; the meanest; most contemptible; most despicable sinner and change his or her life in the most positive way. God can make a complete change in your life. Your friends will know it, your neighbors will know it, and your co-workers will see a change in your life.

Let them say, “That’s very Christian of you” instead of “not very Christian of you”!

God is into “Extreme Makeovers”!!!

A friend of mine calls her readers, GEMS. I love this perspective! I’m going to take this one step further. God has picked you, your GEM (Godly Extreme Makeover) is waiting. Have you or will you accept it? I think you should!

Scarred for Life!

I received a deep wound to my leg as the result of a joke played by my youngest brother. I still have that scar today as a reminder of the event. Now it hasn’t caused me any other issues in life except the memory of the situation. Although my dream career as a Swimsuit Model probably will never come to pass (Kidding here, I never wanted to be a swimsuit model). Other scars we receive can affect us for the rest of our lives and prevent us from doing the things we once desired or wanted to do.
But I want to share with you that there are some wonderful things about scars.
1.) Scars are a sign that we can heal!

The important thing about wounds is they can and will heal. Our body has this wonderful way of trying to heal itself and in doing so we might not have a good looking scar but we are healed. They show that we have been put back together, made whole again.

2.) Scars are a sign that we have experience
Seldom will we see a new born child with scars. We will experience the nicks and scrapes of sharp objects, of hot stoves, of trees and coffee tables, and all sort of objects jumping in our way. They indicate for all to see that in spite of foolish mistakes we are still here and going on. They remind us in private moments that we need to be careful in the things that we do.

3.) Scars are a witness
Some of us wear scars that bear witness to the great skills of certain surgeons. They bear witness to a body that will not let the nicks and bumps and scraps of life beat us down.

But what of the scars that can’t be seen?
For every scar that shows on your body there are those scars that can never be seen. And not all of them came from same type of trauma.
Not all the scars on the hearts of this world came from a surgeon. Some come from relationships that have gone bad and I think that we all have experienced that first broken heart. All of us know something of what it is to be young and rejected by the person that we just knew had to be the love of our life. And it broke our hearts. But we survived. Some of the memories of experiences in our lives still haunt us. They scar our thinking but we survive... we bear witness.

Our internal scars can be our witness for Christ to Others.
Take Doubting Thomas as he is so often called. He couldn’t believe until what? When he saw the scars in Jesus’ hand; when he felt the scar on Jesus side, he believed. Jesus told him that there would be those who must believe without seeing and feeling the scars, there are Christians today who still want to see the scars.
Have you shown others yours?

Can they see the scars that are left from your life in sin? Scars; healed by a loving and forgiving God; your rebirth as a believer? As a newborn believer you may not have had the skin of a baby but you were made whole again. Can they see the scars on your heart that Jesus healed? Hearts hardened by a life of rejecting Him.

But the real question is can they see the scars where Jesus wouldn’t let go? Some of our wounds are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of our struggles, God has been there holding on to us. Some of the time when we were running hardest away from God, His grip was growing ever tighter.

In my case, I’m so glad he didn’t let go.
I read this story of a young boy, swimming in a Florida lake. His Mom was on the shore watching him. An alligator was swimming in the same lake towards the boy. His Mom noticed and jumped into the water to save the boy. The alligator latched onto to the boys legs and at the same time the Mom grabbed his arms. Now the alligator was stronger than Mom but in her love and heart, she wouldn’t give up. She didn’t let go.
A man driving by in a large truck saw what was going on and shot the alligator.
Of course, the boy was scarred for life and now had to live with these scars. I know the story sounds bad but it’s not. The boy is a Christian and he now gives testimony to how God wouldn’t let go either. He uses the story of the alligator as his witness.

I’m so glad that God wouldn’t let go of me and I’m glad he wouldn’t let go of you. I’m so glad that as the teeth of sin clinched ever tighter around me that God hung on. Scars that show others, I have been where they are and God pulled me through; Scars that gave me the experience not to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. But most of all I am proud of scars that bear witness to the power of God’s love. Scars that I can share with those who still doubt, who still need to see and feel the scars to believe. Scars that testify that I have been crucified in Him and I no longer live but Christ lives in me.

Are you willing to share your scars with those who need to see them? And when you do, will you be like the Apostle Paul and boast of nothing but the cross?

Testify!!!

Volunteer: it’s your serve (The Sequel)

Excuse me for being so observant. I’ve noticed something lately as I have looked around the church for inspiration. Volunteerism seems to be on the low side, yet membership seems to be growing. What’s this mean? It means not enough people are volunteering for God’s service.
Now I could go into a number of reasons why Christians aren’t volunteering and a number of reasons why some have quit there volunteering positions. This would gain us very little if anything.
So instead of being all negative and pointing fingers, I decided to write, “Why I serve!”
I find out that when I reach out to other people, I start realizing some of my purpose. I have found out that when I am going through things, one of the greatest things I can do is serve somebody else going through something else. There is always somebody who’s got it worse. A lot of times when you serve other people, the things in your life just begin to dissipate because you’re reaching out to other people.

Why are we the church that we are -- why do we do the things that we do? Why do we go out and reach out as a Mission both locally and internationally? Why do we nurture the body of believers in Christ?
Joshua 22:5
Be careful to obey all the commandments and the Law that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all of His ways. Obey His commandments, be faithful to Him. Serve Him with all of your heart and all of your soul.
Romans 7:6,
But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by so that we should serve in the newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

I like how God tells us here that we can serve Him in the here and now. We don’t have to serve Him in the old sense of forms and rituals and mere activity, just mere spiritual activity.
Colossians 3:23-24,
Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord not to men. Knowing that from the Lord you will receive a reward of inheritance
One of the great ways to live life is to discover that really in my job, in my school, in my home, with my family, I’m doing it all as unto the Lord. Whatever vocation I’m functioning in, whatever place that God has me in, when I serve, when I work, when I sacrifice, when I give, when I do these things, I’m doing it as unto the Lord.

Have you ever been around somebody who does something because they have to? We don’t want anybody to serve us because they have to. And the Bible tells that we’re not to do it that way but we’re to do it out of responsibility of what the spirit wants, out of the responsibility of what Christ has done for us, out of the responsibility of serving one another, out of the responsibility of the grace of God, the mercies of God.
There is a responsibility within the family of God to serve one another, and to do it in the right spirit.
Can I ask you a question? Are you still glad that you’re serving the Lord? Will people know that you’re still glad about serving Him?
Have you ever seen someone that wants a job and they go for an interview and in that interview they want a job so bad...please, please, please hire me, please hire me.
Interviewer: Well, I don’t have a position for you.
Job Applicant: Please!
Interviewer: Well I know you have some real incredible skills and your resume is high level, but I only have a really low position.
Job Applicant: Please!
Interviewer: It’s not real high paying.
Job Applicant: Please!
Interviewer: Okay, but the only job I’ve got is sweeping, you are going to have to sweep the warehouse.
Job Applicant: I’ll take it! I’ll take it!
Okay you’re excited. You’re excited!! Woo, Hoo!
The first day on the job they’re early, kind of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Good morning! Like 5 o’clock, waiting on the boss to get there. He gets there. You’re just sweeping around the parking lot, you’ve been out trimming the trees, you’ve re-roofed the house, I mean you’re just into it. You’re like so excited about having the job.
Boss walks in, good morning boss, what’s up?
Can you stay a couple of hours?
I’ll stay all night! I’m in! Man they’re so excited about the job.
BUT... a year later.
You’re all bummed out, boss walks in, “hey, can you stay an extra 5 minutes?”
No!! Aghhh.
It’s like we use up our gladness. We are no longer glad about the opportunity. We’re no longer glad about this possibility in our life.

It’s the same with a volunteer opportunity; I’ve seen people do that. Join the Traffic Ministry, the first week in they’re just singing, smiling like they’re the only ones out there. One day, someone almost hits you, or some other negative thing happens. The next day and it’s like...
Aghhh!

It happens! It happened to me. Guess what? It happens to everyone.
I do not believe that’s purpose, I do not believe that’s the plan of God for our life. For these things to happen in a home, in the church, in our workplace, ask yourself, why do we serve?

I’ve done some searching and I just went through some things. You know, I thought about why do I serve?
From the moment I stepped on church property to right this very minute. God was teaching me it’s not about serving for a position; it’s about serving for our Savior.
It is about serving Him. It is never about being seen. He didn’t die on a cross to elevate all of us. He died on a cross to elevate the message of His life and His good news. Our church has always been a place of serving; our church culture is serving. We don’t need a lot of titles and a lot of that kind of stuff. We have to believe the main thing is Jesus Christ and let’s get Him to everybody we can. Everything else is a minor issue.
I want to serve because of what Jesus did on the cross. I want to serve Him in my life. I believe He’s worthy of it; I believe He deserves it. And I want to be dedicated to it and I want to surrender to Him that I can serve. We’re not perfect, we’ve got issues; ultimately the cross will transform you and can change your life to be the servant that Jesus wants you to be. Why do I serve? Because all of the forgiveness Jesus has given me has just been amazing.
Amen?

Overwhelmed: Busy Bodies continued…

How many of us have become so busy and weary that we have lost focus?

Most of us live extremely busy lives, no matter what age we are. Sometimes you have to sit back and wonder how we got to this point. So many things in our lives were designed to save time. Faster cars, faster computers, cell phones, microwaves, fast-food, you name it, it was designed to save time. Time for what, though? Instead of taking that time we’ve saved, instead we end up filling it with more things to do. We fill our lives with so many time saving things and strategies that we feel just…..well….. overwhelmed!!!

I looked up the word ’overwhelmed’ in the dictionary. It means ’to be submerged under the weight of something. Or to be overpowered by your thoughts and feelings.’ How many of you have ever felt overpowered and overwhelmed by all the stuff going on in your life? How many of you have ever felt like saying, "Enough is enough! I can’t take this anymore?!!!"

We can be overwhelmed by any number of things. Some of you are overwhelmed with being busy. You have so much going on at work, and so much going on at home. And so much on your plate that you literally feel submerged under the weight of it. You feel overpowered.

Read 2 Chronicles 20, a great chapter dealing with this very subject. Isn’t God Great!!!

As the story begins, Jehoshaphat is the king of Judah. Ruler over the city of Jerusalem. And like his ancestor King David, he was a godly leader.

2 Chronicles 17:6 say that his heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord. In fact, he feels so strongly about his faith, that when he appointed priests and judges throughout the land, he challenged them.

In 2 Chronicles 19:6, He says "You’re not working for me. You’re working for the Lord. So make sure that you follow Him faithfully with all your heart."

Whoa….that’s great stuff right there!

But not too long after this, the king finds out that the country is under attack.

2 Chronicles 20:1 says that "After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat." Their one unified purpose is to wipe the people of God off the face of the earth! To kill the Jewish people once and for all! (sound familiar?)

And when Jehoshaphat hears about this massive invasion, we read in verse three that he is alarmed. There’s nothing wrong with being alarmed. Sometimes God wants us to be alarmed so that He might get our undivided attention. But sometimes, people respond by panicking.

They say "I can’t believe this is happening! I’m in way over my head! I’m not going to make it!" And then the person either quits their job. Or they run away. Or they try as long as possible to avoid having to deal with the situation. (I have personal testimony on this one.)

Sometimes we respond to overwhelming situations by trying to handle everything ourselves. We say, "If I was the one calling all the shots to begin with, we wouldn’t be in this predicament! I can solve this problem all by myself. All you have to do is listen to me!" And then we start manipulating people. Telling them what to do. Telling them what not to do. We stubbornly refuse to admit that the situation is bigger than we are.

Panicking is not the way to handle overwhelming situations. And being a control freak is not the way to handle them, either. The way to handle overwhelming situations is to do what the king did. He was alarmed, yet he resolves to inquire of the LORD. And he calls upon the entire nation to come together for a national day of prayer and fasting. In other words, the king is saying, "I am determined to hand this entire situation over to God! I am going to call upon the One person in the whole universe who can do something to change our circumstances!" And in verses 5 - 12, the king stands up in the courtyard of the temple. He’s got all the people praying with him.

When we start feeling overwhelmed by the worries of this life, we need to stop trying to fix everything ourselves. We need to stop fretting over the things that are out of our hands. And we need to put everything back into God’s hands.

One thing we learn over and over again in Chronicles is that when the people of God pray, the power of God is on display. God gave them the victory ’because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.’

What happens here in chapter 20. After the king prays, a prophet of the Lord stands up in verse 14. And he says, "Do not be afraid of this vast army. For the battle belongs to the Lord. You will not even have to fight this battle! Take up your positions. Stand firm. And see the deliverance of the Lord!"

In verse 20, they left for the desert and the king gives them one final pep talk. He puts the singers at the head of the army. He’s saying, "I want my military to be led by worshippers, not by warriors. I want God to know that I have so much faith in Him, that I’m putting the singers ahead of the soldiers."

Now if I was one of the singers, I’d be thinking, "The king’s got more faith in God than I do. I don’t know if I want to go through with this! Maybe I should call in sick!"

But the king said, "Have faith in the Lord, and you will be upheld." So the entire army walks into the desert singing "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever." While this is going on, the Lord throws the invading armies into confusion. And they end up attacking each other instead of the people of God.

And in verse 24, the people of Judah arrive at the desert. They see all the dead bodies of the invading army. They say, Praise the Lord! He did it! He saved us!!!"

The way I see it, it’s so much easier to let go and let God. And when I say that, I’m not talking about letting go of our responsibility to live for Jesus a life that is true. I’m talking about letting go of unnecessary anxieties and worries. who cared about me.

It’s a principle of God. Just the act of telling your heavenly Dad about what’s going on in your life will make you feel so much better.

1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast your cares upon Him because He cares for you."

Some of you are thinking, I’ve been praying about my problems for years. Yet after all this time, I still struggle with the same issues I’ve been dealing with since day one! What do I do now?"

You are not the only one who has ever asked this question.

In 2 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul pleaded with God three times to take away his thorn in the flesh. But God told him, ’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

It may not be God’s will for us to be free from every single problem in this life. We need them as tangible reminders of how much we need God’s help every day of our lives. We can put our faith in the One Person who has already won the battle for us!


Let me ask you this: How many problems in your life have become worse than they needed to be because you didn’t hand them over to God in prayer? How many times have you tried unsuccessfully to manipulate your circumstances when all you really needed to do was to give them over to the Lord?

God loves you so much, that He WANTS to hear your prayers! He wants to handle your overwhelming situations. And He wants to have an intimate relationship with you.

Too often when we pray, we spend a lot of time asking God for what we want. And not enough time appreciating God for being the wonderful Father that He is. We need to say, "I praise you because your love endures forever. I praise You for being a part of my life. I praise You because there are certain battles that I will never have to fight. I praise You because You are out there fighting hard on my behalf.

Because we serve such a caring Father, why wouldn’t we want to praise His name? And why wouldn’t we want Him to help us with the overwhelming challenges of life?

Time to pray!!!

Wonderful Father, we come to you having faith in your awesome love. I praise you because your love endures forever. I praise You for being a part of my life. I praise You because there are certain battles that I will never have to fight. I praise You because You are out there fighting hard on my behalf.
You are totally in control and it’s not about us. Thank you for being there for us all the time and keeping that intimate communication with us. Help us to become busy with your work and not ours.
We pray always in Jesus name. Amen

Yada, Yada, Yada

I have been reading a new book this week. “Not A Fan”, basically about not being a Fan of Jesus but being a follower of Jesus. As I read this particular book, inspiration from above is almost to the point of overwhelming me. This is a good book! I don’t normally recommend books for you to read but if your looking for one….read this one!

Now it’s no secret how much I like to read. My bedside table has a stack of books to be read. As I was reading “not a fan”, the author, Kyle Idelman spends a lot of time talking about knowledge of Jesus. Which in turn made me turn into myself and ask, “Was I seeking Knowledge or Wisdom?”

One of my favorite quotes is, “The difference between knowledge and wisdom is: Knowledge is knowing it’s a one way street. Wisdom is looking both ways, anyway.”

It’s good to have knowledge of the Bible and to be able to quote any scripture at the drop of the hat. Does this mean you’re saved? NOPE! Even Satan knows the bible, probably better than any man who walks the earth. That’s scary.

For knowledge to be useful, wisdom must be applied. The problem is that most of the world uses its knowledge based upon the wisdom of the world without God. Man thinks that he is as good, or better than God, or doesn’t believe in God at all.

Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."

The Apostle Paul even warned Timothy that in the last days, knowledge would be ever increasing, but that man would never be able to find the truth because he refused to believe in the source of all Truth. Jesus said that He was the “Truth, the Life and the Way.” If mankind won’t accept that Jesus is Truth, and that God is the Creator, the source of all knowledge and wisdom, then how can mankind ever use what he learns wisely?

2 Timothy 3:1-5, 7
"These know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Knowledge creates within the heart of man a desire for things that he does not understand or need. In other words, it becomes a source of temptation.

Wouldn’t we all have been much better off if Adam and Eve would have been satisfied with the knowledge that they had already? God had given them a beautiful home, an eternal body and eternal life, and a personal relationship with Him. They had it all and threw it away for what:?

Just to know what God knew, and after they knew good from evil, they forever wished that they had never known what God knew again. (Gen 3:5-7)

Last night, at our Singles Small Group we asked each other the question, “If you could ask God any question, what would it be?” This question really had a big effect on me. I would have a ton of questions for him. Later, on my drive home, I thought about this question again. I don’t think I want to know what God knows. I particularly think I probably couldn’t handle the answer…er…answers.

I think just one answer would pop my head like a zit (I apologize, gross analogy). The immensity of the answer and the millions of other questions that would pop in my head as a result.

Yet every once in a while I hear some believer in the church, say that they wish they knew what God knows. If God wanted us to know it, He will reveal it or teach it to us. I know that I have to study to be approved unto God, a workman that isn’t ashamed because of my ignorance of His word and His ways. But I don’t want to know everything for with knowledge comes tremendous responsibility to use that knowledge wisely.

I have discovered that the more we think we know, the more we presume to know more, or know better than God, concerning our own lives and the things we want to do. God knew this would be a problem for mankind that was now caught in the grip of sin.

Genesis 3:22,
“And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:"

Can you imagine the evil that mankind could attain unto if he were to live eternally in his sinful condition? I shudder to think of what the world would be like if no one could ever die!

But still, I rejoice to think of what Heaven will be like with no more death for those who are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb and have been given eternal life as God intends for it to be.


If you don’t know how to repair a car, no one will ask you, but if you let it be known that you can, then there will be no end of people seeking your help and advice. If you don’t know how to cook, no one will ask, but if you say that you are a good cook, believe me, everyone will want to taste your product.
The more you know, and the more you let your knowledge be known, the more you will be in demand. No one will ask a butcher to repair a computer, but if that butcher tells people that he can repair them, then he will soon have two jobs to do. That’s how it works for all of us. I can personally give testimony to this aspect.

Knowledge also increases the risk of a prideful spirit entering into our hearts. How many times have I tried to witness to someone from a different walk of life than I. It sometimes takes a very powerful act of God to get them to realize just how little they really know.

So knowledge is not always a good thing. Sometimes it can even be a dangerous thing. What is it that makes knowledge worth knowing? It’s knowing the source of knowledge in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we come to know the Lord, the knowledge that we attain suddenly has a deeper meaning than ever before. With knowledge, we gain the wisdom to use it through the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

That’s so important I am going to repeat that sentence. With knowledge, we gain the wisdom to use it through the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Knowledge is a good thing!

I want to know more about my Lord. I want to know more about His Word. I want to know more about His ways. But, I must first know Him, as my Lord and Savior, and then that knowledge will be a blessing and not a curse.

James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

(Note: the Hebrew word for know is Yada!)

Won't you be my Neighbor?

I got up very early this morning, about 5 am… not willingly mind you. You see my neighbor decided this would be a good time to discuss the news of the day with his wife. The only reason I know this is because he yelled, “you wouldn’t know the news if it bit you on your butt!” This argument, though I really couldn’t hear the details, went on for almost 2 hours.

As I listened to this, I settled into my easy chair, to read the Word of God. Having just finished the book of Philippians, I was undecided on what to read. As a force of habit, when I am not sure what to read, I go to the last place I read in Proverbs.

I do this mainly for inspiration and Proverbs really knows how to set the day in motion as well. I started reading in Chapter 27, this is where things got interesting. I read about not being Boastful, praise, friendship and then…. I got to verse 14.

Proverbs 27:14
If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning,
it will be taken as a curse.

Whoa…

You know, I could just stop writing this, right here. Of course, though, I have more to say. Since I first moved here in December of last year, I’ve never met any of my neighbors. Most of them are of Hispanic heritage and speak Spanish most of the time. I probably know 2 words in Spanish.

Should this keep me from speaking to them? Probably not!

Then it hit me, This sounds like the “Good Samaritan” parable in Luke 10. It just gets me that the priest and the Levite walk right by that wounded man. And do absolutely nothing! I mean, these guys are ordained Pastors! If you can’t trust a Pastor to help you, I guess you can’t trust anyone.

But for whatever reason, they don’t want to get involved! Kind of like….me?

Maybe the priest said, "Well, there’s a Levite coming up right behind me. Maybe he’ll do it." And maybe the Levite said, "Well, the priest up ahead of me didn’t do anything, so I guess I don’t have to, either." And I’m sure they had their excuse in their own mind why they didn’t get involved in this man’s trouble. (Maybe a Spanish Christian will speak to them!)

You know, when it comes to my new neighbors, I don’t want to get involved either.

Yet, we need to remember that being there for someone may mean sacrificing some of our time, talents and… er… treasure. The following situation may happen to you someday. You’re going to leave church. And you’re going to get something to eat. And there’s going to be a waitress who needs a kind word. Because she’s had a rough day. Or someone’s going to call you on the telephone. And they’re going to need 30 minutes of your love and support. Or you’re going to get an instant message or an email from someone you know who is really hurting right now.

What will you do? Will you seize the moment? Or will you blow it off? And make excuses for yourself as to why you can’t get involved?

I’ve been a Christian for 30 years. Almost half my life. God doesn’t put people in your life by accident. Every encounter we have with a person has the potential to be a divine appointment. A meeting blessed by God.

The Samaritan did 2 things. He invested his time. And he invested his money. He didn’t just throw a few coins at him and walk away. And he didn’t just drop him off at the front door of the hotel and move on. He stayed all night with him. Took care of him. He was a day late to where he was going. And he left enough money for the guy to stay a few weeks.

And I like how he didn’t just leave a whole wad of money. So that the innkeeper could take advantage of him. He left 2 silver coins. Just enough to meet the need. What really blows me away is that he did all this for a guy he didn’t even know! He was a total stranger!

We need to ask ourselves, "What is my Christianity doing for another person? What is my Christianity doing for the people that God has placed in my path? Or in my neighborhood? Or at my school?"

There are many ways that you and I can be Good Samaritans. You can donate blood, you can make a visit to one of the local nursing homes. You know, visit with some of the lonely residents. You can spend a Saturday morning, reaching out to those in need. You can get involved and feed the homeless.

But….you ask me….. why would I want to do these things? Why should I go out of my way to be kind and loving to people I don’t even know? And worse than that, what if I do know them? What if I know them. And I don’t like them? Give me one good reason why I should be a good neighbor to someone like that?" What if I don’t understand a word they say?

HA!

You should be a good neighbor because God has been a good neighbor to you. God has blessed you in so many ways. He’s given you a family. Friends. A job. A supportive community. What could be wrong with showing a little gratitude? What could be wrong with giving back a small portion of what God has given to us?

Wait, wait, and wait…. Paul! but I don’t have a good job or a job at all. Think on this:

Does God come first in your life?
Doesn’t Jesus speak of taking care of the needy?
Do you think, if you take care of God’s children… God will take care of you?

Brothers and sisters… I have proof! I am a living example of God’s blessings. I know your not supposed to test God but I did. I said, “Ok God, I need some serious redirection in my life. I am claiming your purpose and plan for me TODAY! I will put others needs before my own.”

This concerned me at first, where was I going to get the resources to pull this off… DOH!

But I was steadfast, patient and very determined to prove this! God provided for every one of my needs as a result…..EVERY SINGLE ONE!!! And I can prove it!

In the last verse of the parable, Jesus tells us, "Go and do likewise." This is the way we’re supposed to live. This is the standard. Let me ask you: Have you hit this standard every single time? Have you given your time and treasure and your talent to every single person that you’ve ever seen in need? Of course not! We’ve all fallen short of what God would have us to be.

That’s why you and I need a Good Samaritan, also. Our Good Samaritan is Jesus Christ. He is a good neighbor to everyone who accepts him.

So should I break the language barrier with my neighbors? Should I love them? Can I at least pray for them? YES, YES, YES! But before I approach them it might be handy to have a translator with me……Jesus Christ!

Do you have a clue?

It was an interesting weekend, 2 people I know had new births within there family. I can relate to this, see I was born on Labor Day as well. I spent most of the in prayer. Though I prayed over many things, my birth wasn’t a topic. My rebirth was!

Not doubting, nor questioning my rebirth… just evaluating. I took a detectives role in this, I was looking for that evidence of my rebirth.

Acts 4:13
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

This is the first clue: Boldly speaking God’s word! (guilty)

It says, they saw the boldness of Peter and John. Now we should make clear the difference between Holy Boldness and Earthly boldness. Holy Boldness is standing up for what the Word of God says. In today’s society they call that being politically incorrect or being a religious fanatic.

With Earthly boldness there is something different. In the world you can be both bold and wrong. For example at the beginning of the war in Iraq. The president was defiant with the U.N. he did not want another investigation in Iraq to determine if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or not. Our president was bold but he was also wrong because our army never found anything. Bold and wrong!

So Peter and John were bold in what they knew about Christ, and this convinced others that they had been with Jesus.



Acts 4:19,20
“But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

This is the second clue: Conviction no matter the cost! (guilty)

Peter and John are exhibiting their conviction in the word of God. They knew that the consequence could have been severe, but they knew in whom they believed. The religious leaders had just told them not to teach or preach in the name of Jesus. But they did not deviate from their convictions.

They were willing to suffer punishment rather than to stop teaching in the name of Jesus. They were convinced that they were on the winning side although they were not on the side of the majority. They had seen too many things that Jesus had done. They showed a great conviction to God and His word, and in order to truly be born again you must be convicted by how great God is and His Word.


Acts 4:21
“So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for that which was done.”

This is the third clue: Trust and confidence in God. (guilty)

Peter and John were released not because of who they were, but because the name of Jesus made a difference in other men’s lives. You have to realize that the world can breath it’s threats, but if you are a child of the Most High God there is nothing they can do to you.

The religious leaders couldn’t do anything to them because of the people, and the people knew that what Peter and John was teaching and preaching gave them hope, and where the people found hope all they could do was to glorify God. So all the religious leaders did was to give them confidence in the name of Jesus.

All these clues add to being born again in Christ. Are you guilty of performing these facts? What is the ending result of performing these clues/facts?

At the end of this chapter in the 4th book of Acts, we see a direct result of standing on these clues.

Acts 4:32-34
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.”

Have you ever been without a need?

As I finished the weekend, I realized, I need to prove my rebirth every single day. Speak the word boldly, speak the truth and put my total trust in God!

Birthdays are great but re-birthdays are AWESOME!

Has your Relation-ship come in?

It’s easy for me to be unsocial. Too easy! My work, my son and my daily life lately, have been drawing me away from other people. I have been locking myself in my office, at home, and shutting out the outside world. I have released myself from some of the responsibilities and offerings. I am restraining my service heart.

This has strained my relationships with my friends, God and even from developing newer relationships. As a result, I hurt myself and others. Please, forgive me!

Relationships are God inspired but they can also hurt. The closer you get to people, the deeper those people can hurt you. We build up walls because we’re afraid of being betrayed or laughed at, being judged or abandoned. So we avoid real community with other Christians, places where we really let down our guard get involved in the lives of other Christians.

In the first chapter of Philippians, Paul starts right off talking about relationships. That is because relationships are important. If relationships are bad – life is bad – life stinks. If relationships are strained – emotions are strained. Life in itself is difficult enough – but when you add relationship problems into the mix – problems just seem to compound. Problems with people can kill the joy in your life.

Do you enjoy the people you’re around? Do you enjoy the people that you work with? Do you enjoy the people in your family? Do you enjoy the person that you’re married to?

The issue I find is that many relationships are more a matter of endurance than enjoyment. We don’t really enjoy the people in our lives – we tolerate them – we put up with them – we endure them.

This is one of the biggest causes of unhappiness in our world. Conflict kills happiness. There is a daily struggle to live in a world where there is no conflict. Whether it is nation against nation or family member against another family member to live conflict free is a struggle.

How do you handle the conflict? To have a successful business the employees must get along and work together. To have a successful football team the players must work together. To have successful government the congress and the president must cooperate. To have a successful family the members must work together. To have a successful church we must work together. Very little is accomplished in life by yourself. Very little is accomplished without cooperation. When there is unity there is tremendous power and potential. The problem is people don’t always get along – they don’t always co-operate. How do you strive for unity? How do you reduce conflict and increase cooperation?

In Philippians chapter two Paul talks about how to have unity and co-operation with others

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2

Paul says we are to be like minded. We are to show the love to one another – because Christ has loved us. We are to display mercy and grace – because that is what God has shown us. We are to put on the mind of Christ and if we did that we will be like-minded – in unity and harmony.

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Philippians 2:3

All too often we compete with people who are supposed to be on our team. What type of team will ever win if they a busy competing with themselves – rather than working together?

“Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” Philippians 2:4

Don’t just be interested in what is going on your life - but be interested in the lives of other people too. Look out for them.

The Greek word for “look” is "scopos" from which we get the word "scope” – like the scope on a rifle. A Telescope – a microscope – both helps you see things better. Care about the lives of other people. Pay attention to their needs.

Demonstrate consideration of others. Be considerate of each other. Watch out for one another. Take care of one another. Nothing I’m saying is new – but doing it is harder than saying it. Face the facts…

God wants us to enjoy people!

How do we do that? Here are 4 points that God encourages us to enjoy other people:

1) Be Thankful - “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” Philippians 1:3-4
2) PRAY for the people in your life - “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy.” Philippians 1:3-4
3) Be PATIENT with the people in your life - “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
4) LOVE the people in your life - “Above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

Help me out here...

lets work on our relationship in Christ and each other.

Lying around

So here’s the story. When I first started working for this new company in February, I was told to beware. I was told to beware that at least, once a week, I would have a bad day at work. Customers issues would be impossible, calls would be difficult and it would generally be a bad day.

For some reason, I bought into this lie. Since I started, it seemed, every Wednesday I would have a bad day. I work for a Christian based company by the way.

A lot of people believe that all truth is relative. In other words, there is no absolute truth it all depends on your point of view or circumstance. Lies can literally ruin your life. And lies can come from a host of sources. Some of the lies we believe come from our own heads (see above).

Other lies come from the culture around us. They can be called earthly lies. These lies may arrive in the form of advertising, educational institutions, philosophies, media, books, magazine articles, TV shows, movies, music and so much more.

Earthly lies surround us every day. We must learn to guard our minds against the assault of so called earthly wisdom. One of the most pervasive lies in American culture is, “worth is determined by my performance”.

We feel this performance pressure in our jobs or at school. We experience the "keep up with the Jones’" pressure in the neighborhood. We compare our financial success, our family status, and even our spiritual status with people at work, in the neighborhood, and even at church.

I’ll let you in on a little secret, EVERYONE (All people, without exception) falls into this trap all the time. The problem with the “worth = performance” lie is that sooner or later we all come to the end. In this “do it yourself world” you can’t do it yourself. You’ve heard the Home Depot motto, “You can do it, and we can help”?

Welcome to God Depot….”God can do it, with or without your help”

Sooner or later we must focus on an uncomfortable question “Who am I apart from what I do? Am I a human BEING or just a human DOING?”

The most destructive earthly lie is I am what I am – I can’t change – I’m hopeless
This could be called the blame game or like I call it, Name the Shame. It’s what makes someone think, ”I’ve always had a short temper, it’s just how I Am.” Or “I’m hopelessly addicted to Cigarette’s and I’ll never be able to overcome It.” (care to hear my testimony on this one?), or “What they did to me was so bad that I can never forgive them.” Or “What I did was so bad that I can never forgive myself.”

ALL LIES!!!

Christian life is all about change. I feel that way sometimes with my church. I think back … and look at my friends now, “Wow, look how they’ve grown!” We may not always be aware of our spiritual growth. But God sees it and exclaims, “Look how you’ve grown!”

This is the TRUTH of the Christian life. Every day you’re growing more like Jesus Christ, God is transforming you from one degree of glory to another.

Our part is to BELIEVE the truth. The problem is that our conscience can sometimes mess us up. Before you become a Christian, the only thing your conscience could do was to condemn. But when Jesus comes into your life, condemnation is overwhelmed by grace.

Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Replace the LIES of Satan with God’s truth:

1. sins can be overcome
2. addictions can be broken
3. diseases can be healed
4. financial needs can be met
5. relationships can be resurrected
6. God can give you the power to forgive yourself and others

When I was believing the lie of a bad day, Satan was in control. Now, I no longer believe this. When I sit to start my work, I claim, “Today is going to be a great day!” and I start my work day, as well as my mornings, in prayer.