Ther Honeymoon Diet

The Honeymoon diet

That’s it, it’s over…the honeymoon has ended! Now you may think I am talking about marriage and in a way I am.  In marriage the honeymoon always seems to end to soon yet the honeymoon should never end. Marriage should be categorized by a love that is always fresh and always filled with passion. Not just physical passion though but a heartfelt passion (mental and spiritual).

This honeymoon applies to the spiritual life as well. When we first accept Jesus into our heart it’s like a honeymoon…there is passion, zeal and enthusiasm. But like marriage, this “Love” can diminish and often does.

This happens every day and it even happened in the Church at Ephesus. Jesus said they left their first love!

Revelations 2:1-7 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolai tans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

They had activity without intimacy. They were an active church but Jesus said they had "left their first love." Sometimes we are so busy doing activities but we lack intimacy with Jesus. The church at Ephesus had been faithful in the midst of many trials and faced many false teachings. They did not give in to these pressures. Jesus commended their faithfulness but criticized their lack of passion.

Jesus acknowledged this church for standing firm against false teaching. They took a strong doctrinal stance but lacked intimacy and spirituality. It is so easy to stand strong against doctrinal impurity but lack a love relationship with Jesus Christ. This is true of many people who claim to stand for "fundamental" beliefs. In many instances fundamentalism is nothing more than being a legal eagle. A legalist is a liberal turned inside out. Doctrine without spirituality is death!

This loss of passion can be a result of neglect. If you leave a camp fire burning and don’t tend to it, eventually it will go out.

This loss of passion could also be due to distractions.  If your garden has a lot of weeds, it will choke out the fruitful plants.

Consider the honeymoon analogy; we should go back in our minds and ‘remember’ the time when passion prevailed in our lives. We need to ‘repent’ from our backsliding. We need to ‘return’ to the first love we experienced. Returning requires we make a diligent effort.

Some of you know that I am a diabetic (type 2). When I was first diagnosed they had me on 3 different pills to control my disease. I hate taking pills! The doctor explained that this was necessary to control my sugar but if I lose weight (I weighed 275Lbs at the time) and ate a proper diet, he would take me off the pills.

I did lose the weight…. I now weigh 195lbs and at 6 foot tall, this is my ideal weight (probably could stand to lose another 10). I eat correctly and with the exception of a DR Pepper issue, I stay away from sugar. The result is the Doctor took me off ALL the pills and my diabetes is now diet controlled.

This took determination, effort and commitment. The same goes for our spiritual life. We need to lose the weight of sin and regret; we need to put ourselves on a diet of God’s word, prayer and fellowship.

Our faith and spiritual lives need to be diet controlled!

 

 

Works:He’s not impressed

 

 

Works: He’s not impressed

 

You know we all have little scripts that we expect our lives to continue along. We will graduate High school, go to college, get a good job with benefits, find a great person to marry, have healthy children, see them grow up and be healthy well-adjusted Christian people who will marry healthy well-adjusted Christian people, etc. We have these expectations and we connect them to God in our hearts. After all we know He loves us, and wants the best for us, so it only seems logical.

What happens when life deviates from our scripts? What happens when the plans and expectations we have of God concerning our life are suddenly radically different? It is a horrible thing to have faith and trust in the Lord for something and then it doesn’t come to pass. What happens when our reality is not changed by prayer?

You ever throw a party or plan something special for someone and have it go horribly wrong? A few years ago, I wanted to start a small group. I went through the training, made a plan, sent out invites and the first night…no one showed up. I was so sure God was going to provide for this small group because it was all about God! Quickly I learned, just because something is good does not mean its God’s will or that He has to bless it. Just because something seems to line up with the principles of God, does not mean that it is His WILL or TIMING or even the WAY He wants it done.

You ever avoid asking for something because you were afraid they would say “No”? I have been notorious for that. I have been a “make it happen” kind of guy many times in the past. God is working on me in allowing God to change me into more of a “let it happen” kind of guy.

God is not some ambiguous Person a million miles away. He is not some amorphous blob of force in the universe. He calls us into relationship, and that relationship fundamentally is Creator to creation.

The Bible is one long story of God breaking into our realities. God is the initiator. Following Him does not mean asking Him to bless what we have set ourselves to do, but laying prostrate before the Lord and seeking His will.

There are times where we lack specific direction in life, and in those cases we make the best and wisest choices we can according to the principles found in His word. But we can get used to that and comfortable and stop seeking His specific will for us, and as a result we stop listening. We stop following and start leading. In effect we tell God to follow our actions and pour out His blessings upon them.

God is more concerned about how we respond to the journey, than whether or not we reach a destination. God is more concerned about forming the character of Christ within us who made Himself of no reputation, but took on the form of a slave.

Have you ever prayed for someone you care about to be healed, but then they got worse and died? Have you ever stepped out in faith with your finances in giving only to find not financial reward, but instead have more bills or even perhaps lose your job? What do you do? Stop believing? Stop praying for healing? Break your commitments? Do you turn away from the Lord and separate yourself from His presence?

This life is full of suffering. We experience it all the time, and when tragedy strikes we find ourselves looking upward and asking “why?” If we are going to live out a relevant faith to this world and even to ourselves, we must be willing to dig deeper than silly little answers that hold no comfort.

I have seen many people through the years including myself, when they slam head on into a wall that shakes them to the core of their being, they fall into the practice of trying to divide up their lives into sections and stuff God into one of those sections. We put up walls when we get hurt.

Men like to compartment their lives.  Kind of like an orange….we segregate the goodness (and not so good) into sections. The Lord wants to have preeminence in EVERY part of our lives. Our lives aren’t like oranges…it’s more like chocolate milk! You stir it all around until there’s no distinction between the milk and the chocolate. We need to stir our lives up so there is no distinction in our walk with Jesus.

We must learn to embrace God even when He says no, even when our expectations are dashed. He is the Lord! If we want to grow up and not just grow as a Christian we must learn to follow HIS lead.

God’s not impressed by your works, He just cares about you. He is more interested in the way you respond to the journey than whether or not you reach your point of destination. He is more interested in forming Christ within you, than in your works for Christ.

Get out of the boat!

 

Get out of the boat!

In a week’s time you won’t recognize my house…I’ve moved. Itwasn’t easy though, I was pretty comfortable where I was at but I wasn’t movingforward. In a rut and I felt like I was sitting in a pool of comfortable andwarm water that was slowly evaporating around me. I didn’t want to be left highand dry. God never leaves us high and dry, only we can do that to ourselves.Would you like to move forward in your relationship with Christ?

Excuse the expression but have you ever got the “crap”knocked out of you? A few years ago I was in a rut; going nowhere fast; anddigging a hole that only God could get me out of. Then God, in love, knockedthe “crap” out of me…stripped me of everything I thought was me. Everything Ithought was holy; everything I thought I was doing right; everything I thoughtI knew; and everything I thought I believed correctly… he took away.

I was in a rut and didn’t even know it… Haveyou ever felt like you’ve been in a rut? Are you satisfied with where you areat? Some people I know have dreams, visions or ministries locked up deep insideof them and don’t know how to get to the next level or are afraid to go. InMatthew 14:22-34 is the famous boat seen. You know, where Peter walks on water,till he doubts? I love this passage and it’s a popular teaching verse. Why? Itdeals with moving forward in our faith; getting out of our ruts and trustingthe father.


Matthew 14:22-34 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get intothe boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed thecrowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself topray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat wasalready a considerable distance from land, buffeted by thewaves because the wind was against it.  Duringthe fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. Whenthe disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's aghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said tothem: "Take courage! It is I don’t beafraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peterreplied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and cametoward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraidand, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesusreached out his hand and caught him. "You oflittle faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And whenthey climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who werein the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

The thing that really strikes me about this passagethough is not the fact that Jesus and Peter walked on water. It’s not the factthat Peter doubted and had to be rescued by Jesus. It’s not just the teachingthat we need to have immense faith in God. It’s the people still in the boatthat really speaks to me. Peter left the boat and walked on water…his faith grewjust by stepping out. The others in the boat didn’t show that type of faith.They huddled on the boat afraid to step out.

They were in a rut…there fear of new adventures, experiencesand stepping into uncomfortable situations kept them in a rut. God can seem tobe a security blanket and in in some ways he is. We have a tendency to thinkthat as long as we pray and read his word God will protect and take care of us…right?Reading the bible and praying are basic needs in our relationship with God butnot at the expense of creating stagnation or causing us to be in a rut.

One of the greatest battles we fight is that of thefamiliar, Even though something or someplace may be dry, desolate, anddifficult once we become familiar with it we become comfortable with it. Onceit becomes comfortable to us, we resist anything that threatens our normalityor our familiar. We must step out of the boat in faith if you want to get outof your rut. You must step out of the boat in faith if we want to get to thenext level.

I am leaving my home at the end of this week, packing up andstarting over again. I don’t know about you but there are some things I amready to leave behind. I’m ready to leave behind some doubts, and fears, anddiscouragements, and disappointments. I’m ready to leave behind some enemiesthat I’ve been fighting; I’m ready to leave behind some traditions that have nopower.

I’m ready to leave behind some excess baggage that’s been slowing me down. Manytimes moving is difficult because you are leaving the familiar, thecomfortable, the normal. One of the greatest motivations for moving to the nextlevel is, “I am more afraid of staying where I am than of moving into theunknown.”


This next level that God is calling you to is going to take a faith step intothe unknown.

Under New Management

Under New Management

I came home last night from visiting a friend and as I walked through the door I realized, I had all the money that my heart could desire; I have the biggest home in the neighborhood; my butler had my bath water ready for me and my son was perfect!

Wait, wrong house! Nobody has everything they want or hope for in this world. This also applies to our current government administration and coming election… it’s driven by hope.

I don’t normally write about politics but in viewing the news; Facebook and other media…How can you not write about it. See the government and elections have nothing to do with experience or ideology. Our current views and prayers are all based on hope; we hope that things can and will get better under new management.

We all hope for a better America; an America with an improved economy and lower unemployment rates. We all hope for peace in the world; and for leaders who will do the right thing for the people’s sakes, not for some political party’s sake. We cannot put all our hopes on a single leader. I hear a lot of bashing and negativity towards our hopeful new leaders. Like everything else we do, we need to see what God says our stand and reaction towards our nation’s leaders should be.

1 Peter 2:11 – 17 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, and honor the king.

The Lord says we are to be submissive to our new leader –‘end topic’. We are to show respect to everyone; not just those we happen to agree with. God is saying that if we are Christians, we MUST show Christian attitudes in what we say about people and how we react to them, especially our leaders.

Whoever is going to be our next president, know that it’s okay for you to disagree with his stance on things; it is not okay for you to be disrespectful to him or bad-mouth him. America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

We choose hope over fear; unity of purpose over conflict; proclaim an end to petty grievances/false promises; stand against recrimination/and old dogmas… these things have assassinated our stand on politics for too long. How can we help to build a better America?

 WE STILL NEED GOD’S HELP AND GOD’S BLESSINGS IF AMERICA IS TO GET BETTER OR START OVER!

God’s very specific about this, he says we need to pray; we must live righteously and we must tell others about Jesus. Ok, so you probably have heard that before. You probably are already doing this. Do you know why he says this…I’ll let God take it from here:

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

James 5:16 the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

We are too focused on condemning other people specifically those we don’t agree with. We see this everywhere not just in politics. Jesus didn’t come to condemn, he came to save everyone. He loved everyone enough to offer them salvation. And if Jesus did not come to condemn others, why do we spend so much time and energy doing it? Wouldn’t a more Godly, and righteous, approach be to care enough about them to pray for them?

Revealing a politicians negative aspects and influences of their past might seem a great way to turn votes but God is bigger than that! If he can turn the heart of a man from torturing and killing Christians (Saul) to the point where he became a powerful leader (Paul) in God’s name, I’m sure he can turn the heart of a politician no matter what his past circumstances. What seems impossible for man is possible for God!

In the face of stiff opposition, we are to be thoughtful and considerate of others. We should be different from the people of the world. We are called to be a shining example of love and kindness.

Soon, our nation may be under “New Management” and it may, or may not be, the management you like. But it is the management that God allowed to be in charge. You can make America better by living a life that reflects the clear image of the Lord to others around you, both in what you say and in what you do.

 

50 and holding…

50 and holding…

I’m getting older…yesterday I turned 50. Er…….but I think I am more like 50 and holding! So the key here would be if I am 50 and holding….I better not let go!

People say age is just a state of mind and that you are only as old or only as young as you feel inside. It was discovered that longevity and happiness in our old age requires a purposeful lifestyle with ongoing
relationships, and sustained involvement. God wants us to live out your life in a meaningful way.
And the single best, the most meaningful way to spend these better years of our lives is by serving the Lord.

You never retire from your spiritual job. You can stay on the front line of the battle, working
for the Master. We may actually present ourselves with the time and opportunity to be of greater service than ever before. Wait, aren’t I too old for that now? God's army has no age limit.

Moses was eighty years old when God told him to go get His children out of Egypt. Abraham was seventy-five years old when he obeyed God's command to leave his homeland and serve Him
in the land of Canaan. We are never too old to serve the Lord, and we can definitely never retire from serving Him. Let me tell you when it comes to work of the kingdom, not one of us have earned the right to say "I've served our time".

This Psalms shows that David never considered himself as retired from serving the Lord and telling
people of God's goodness.

Psalm 71:9 "Do not cast me off in the time of old age"

David is an old man when he spoke these words; his strength was failing him as well and he
pleaded that God not forsake him. David was asking God to continue showing His glory through him as he had always done all his life. David still desired to be used by the Lord.

Here’s a heart stopper, my son asked me not to long ago if I wanted to play a video game with him. I stated, Logan, I’m too old for that.” In which Logan replied, “Dad whenever were you new?”

I tell you this because sometimes we are like this with God. Often our reply to God is, “I’m too old for that.” There was this dude name Caleb (Book of Numbers) and the Lord had sent out 12 Spies into Canaan. When they came back, most brought back reports of fearsome giant people there.
But Caleb had faith and said they should hurry and take the land that God has promised.

The people, however, were afraid and because of their refusal to take the land of Canaan God caused them to wander in the wilderness for forty years as punishment. After their wandering was over, there stood Caleb. He was 85 and do you think he was saying he was too old to fight? Nope, he said he was as ready today to go into the land as he was 45 years earlier.

Joshua 14:12 "Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken."

As he came to his final years, Caleb gave us aging Christians a great mantra, 'Give me this mountain!'"

In our old age we must always seek to be like Caleb and strive for those mountains that God has called us to claim in His name. Don't let your old age steal your witness and make you say 'What's the use?' People often give in to the "what's the use" mentality when they get old and their spiritual gifts become
paralyzed permanently all because of some trial or disappointment they experienced years ago that they haven't given over to God.

After 40 years in the wilderness, wandering, Caleb refused to give into the "what's the use" mentality.
Instead he said "God, give me that mountain!"

Ronald Reagan was the most powerful man in the world at age 75. My Great Grandfather danced up till 3 months before he passed away…at 94! The song 'Ave Maria' was written when Verdi was 85. This idea that life should be winding down at 50 or 60 years of age is crazy. The idea that we can grow too
old to serve the Lord or the notion that we have "served our time for the kingdom" is just as crazy.

God wants you to know today, that you are still of great benefit to Him and He still wants to use you for His glory. If you feel that you have already "served your time" in His kingdom, then God is greatly displeased with your attitude.

I'm not saying that you have to talk about God in every conversation you have, after all even God rested on the seventh day, however what I am saying is no one can ever really retire from serving the Lord. The only ability we really need in order to be of service to God is to know that Jesus Christ died to save us and to declare this knowledge to everyone we meet.

I’m really 50 and holding…

‘Holding’ to God’s grace and promise for my life. I intend to let all people know it till I finally get to go home!

Beauty Secrets

 

Beauty Secrets

If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? I tell this joke to focus you on a problem in our society. We live in a society where sex sells and sells big. Sex is used to sell everything from acne medication to every type of material possession imaginable. Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Vanity Fair and all the rest of those magazines do not desire you to be truly beautiful. Their only goal is to make money.

1 Timothy 5:1, 2 …Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Having served in the Military; attended many different schools and been around the world a few times I think I have a fairly decent idea as to how the average man thinks and how he views women. If you are to be beautiful, you must do it God’s way and thus my contention that “Real Christian Women” are beautiful regardless of their lack of worldly attire or their physical attributes.

1 Peter 3:1 – 6 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husband’s so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

How many have made the mistake of getting into a relationship with ungodly man/woman despite the warning of Scripture and then tried to whip the guy/gal into salvation by nagging and beating him with a Bible? You do not correct a mistake by making more mistakes. Trust me on this, I have been there…it doesn’t work.

Psalm 90:17 says "Let the beauty of the Lord be upon us" not Vogue or Mary Kay’s beauty.

Women (and men) have the favor of God when you adorn your soul. Women (and men) should have a humble and quiet spirit which in the sight of God is of a great price. Do we care more about how humans see and value us or how God values us? Do we want the changing value of men that fluctuates worse than the prime interest rate or the enduring value of God? How do you value yourself? You will be in despair if you use the world’s standards.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in His time."

He created woman and He thinks you are beautiful and will make you even more beautiful if you let Him. Meekness is not weakness or being a doormat. Woman having that kind of spirit shows how to lead your husband/boyfriend/brother/father (etc.) to Christ, leadership and maturity.

So I ask all women…what beauty secrets are you using, God’s or the worlds? Why struggle to achieve the temporal and vain when you can submit to God and gain the eternal and priceless beauty. God made you. He made no mistakes. Who told you that you were not beautiful?

I am blessed to have in my life a beautiful woman of God. We are equally yoked and we both put God first in our lives. She is very beautiful in every way and her beauty starts from her spirit/heart and radiates outwards. We pray together; we honor God together; we hold each other accountable in our relationship and we love and respect each other according to what God says and not the world. She is my princess and I am her prince. She is absolutely the most beautiful woman in the world.

God has said that, "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." Song of Solomon 4:7