Tuesday, January 21, 2014

God is not Dead

I am going to be honest about something when I was a new Christian.  Aside from what the Holy Spirit was doing in my life, I was believing in a historical Jesus.  What I mean is; I viewed Christ like many other historical figures like Abraham Lincoln.  I knew Jesus lived, died, and rose back to life but I didn't grasp the concept that He was very much a part of this world and life as he was when he was in the flesh.  

I remember times of thinking and even asking God to reveal the physical Jesus.  Wishing I had lived in the past when I could see him face to face.  Has anyone else ever wish there was still Jesus in the flesh in this world? 

Although my desire was pure, it was sad as well.  Pure because I hungered to see Christ face to face.  Sad because I limited who Jesus is by space, time and material.  I had a taste and hunger for the historical Jesus, but did not grasp the eternal, omnipresent Jesus.  I was missing out.  In my own way I was really serving a dead Savior.  That is no savior at all.

Sure living with Jesus face to face in this world would be amazing! No doubt.  It would be limited as well.  Remember God confined himself to space and time in the physical form. He was only in one place at a time.  If I had what I wished for then wouldn't my access be limited to space and time as well?  Remember there was not real time social media back in that day.

Praise The Lord I have a risen savior who is not defined or confined to space, time or physical restraints.  God is not dead!  He surely is alive!  Because of this I had full access 24/7 at any given place to my Lord and my Savior Jesus Chist!  Where is God?  He is right beside you standing at the door and knocking so that you may choose to let Him in!

1 Timothy 4:9-10 this is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10 (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the LIVING GOD, who is the savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.



Monday, January 20, 2014

Our Abba Father, the One and Only

When was the last time you needed advice, comfort or even encouragement and did not know who to turn to?  Or maybe you had no one to turn to.  Was it frustrating? Did it make you feel lonely?  Was it depressing realizing you really had no one to turn to? Did you pray and ask God to put someone in your life?  

Truth is if you are in Christ you are never alone.  You always have someone to turn to.  Sure we all want that tangible relationship with someone we can confide in.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Have you ever stopped to realize that Jesus Christ is greater than tangible?  As a matter of fact Jesus is the greatest relationship we can have He is the best of the best, the greatest of all.  

There is not one person who can out empathize, out sympathize, out advise or out comfort The Lord Jesus Christ.  Sure God allows others to be his hands, his feet, his comfort, his words, his encourager, but there are times when Jesus wants to be the only one.  

I believe there are times when no one else can be found because my savior loves me so much that He wants to be the one  and only that I need. He wants to remind me that he will meet my needs through others but ultimately it is always He who cares for me. 

As a dad there are times when I have to be the one to comfort and care for my kids.  There are times when my kids don't want anyone else but me. Rest assure, when it seems like no one is there, Jesus is.  I'd bet those are the times when our Abba Father wants you to want only Him to be what you need.

1 Timothy 2:5 for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time. 



Saturday, January 18, 2014

Excited!

Have you ever gotten excited when you did something for someone else? I mean really excited to the point you couldn't wait for them to find out so you could see the expression on their face or their reaction.  You were excited because you knew how much more excited they were going to be.

Years ago my wife was getting really down and missing her family.   We lived in Arkansas and they lived in Colorado.  I decided one day to plan a surprise vacation just for my wife.  I called her boss and had her schedule the time off but also leave Carri on the schedule so she would suspect anything.  The day we were to leave I had packed everything.  I packed my stuff, her stuff, all the kids things and had the van loaded and ready to go as soon as Carri came home from work.

I'll never forget the look on her face and the excitement she showed.  It was all priceless and worth every effort.  It was also funny because Carri didn't believe me that it was true.  She kept asking over and over again "are you serious? Are we really going? Are you messing with me?"  This went on for hours until finally halfway to Colorado it hit her that it was all true and I had done it all for her.  She was so happy with me!

Have you ever stopped to realize that we will have that same opportunity with Jesus?  What we do in this life for Him is what we need to be excited about.  Excited because of the anticipation of seeing Him smile, seeing the expression on His face, experiencing the Joy He will express because of what we have done for Him.

One of the greatest gifts we can present to our Lord is who and what we have done to lead others to salvation.  Also who and what we have done to leads others and ourselves through sanctification.  

Who will you present to Christ on that day?  What will you present to Christ on that day?  Will you be excited about it?  I hope so.

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 for what is our hope, our joy, or our crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed you are our glory and joy.

May I encourage you to get excited and start preparing now for who and what you will present to Jesus Christ on the day you meet him face to face?

Friday, January 17, 2014

How do you get the word of Christ to richly dwell in your heart?

How do you get the word of Christ to richly dwell in your heart? 

As for me, I first take time to pray and ask God to speak truth to me, to reveal the wisdom and understanding He desires me to have, and to remove whatever needs to be removed in my life so that I will not be distracted or misled.  I ask for the fullness of His wisdom to be revealed to me.  After I pray,  I then have quiet time to read, digest, and meditate on His Scriptures.  When I finish my quiet time, I then intentionally apply the Lords truths to my life.  I allow God's words to change who I am and what I do.  

I have discovered that the more I intentionally enrich my life with Christ's words the more richly His blessings and promises become.  By this His peace and blessings become so much sweeter, His presence becomes more powerful, His words become much clearer, His will for my life becomes more understanding, His purpose for my life becomes my deepest passion, and my love for Him dwells so much deeper. Everything about The Lord is magnified, glorified and intensified in ways beyond human understanding when the words of Christ dwell richly within your soul.  

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...

May I encourage you to enrich your life with God's Holy word?

#godsword #godspromise #god #bible #bibleverse #scripture #blessings #richly #jesus #jesuschrist #christ #christian #worship #praise #prayer #meditate 

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Finding peace in the midst of trials

Stress, trials and hardships are a given in this life.  To believe that God will wipe them all away is a major misconception.  God's word promises we will face trials of many kinds.  

I understand the pain, fear, and anxiety that hardships produce.  At times the effects can be paralyzing and isolating.  What I mean by paralyzing is that you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually freeze.  You feel stuck and unable to move on.  Isolating, absolutely.  So many times I have felt all alone as if no one around notices, cares or even begins to try and understand. So many trials and hardships can be terrifying appearing as if there is no end in sight.  Without Christ they are.

Do you want to overcome the paralyzing effects of trials?  Do you want to face hardships never again feeling alone?  Yes?  Well you can.  I have and I can testify to what God promises is true.  In the midst of any trial or no matter how swallowed up you may feel during any hardship you can.  God has given us a choice, a choice to surrender to anxiety and fear or to turn and surrender to Him. 

Who and what you surrender to is your choice.  Surrendering to trials and hardships is easy, you just give up.  Surrendering to the promises of God takes effort.  The effort of falling to your knees and prayer.  The effort of calling out to others and asking for prayer.  When on our knees He grants us the freedom to call out to Him for help.  The first thing God offers every time is His peace.  The peace He gives us transcends all human understanding overcoming every fear, worry and anxiety.  This peace gives you the will, motive, and desire to keep your heart and mind focused on the one who assures us our needs will be met according to His glorious riches.

May I encourage you to embrace the peace of God as you face trials and hardships of many kinds?

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 


Monday, January 13, 2014

AWAKEN godly man

It is time to AWAKEN the man of God within! I am sick and tired and heavily burdened by men who in their own rights call themselves men. Inwardly men are motivated by self-righteousness and selfish desires. Men have become lazy and uninv...olved. Outwardly men express themselves in arrogance and selfishness. The effects are broken wives, broken children, broken relationships, broken churches, broken communities, broken politics, and broken nations. I feel like going into a full vent on the failures of men in this world, but I might just come across as a raving lunatic and scare my readers causing them to flee as fast as they can.

I am taking a deep breath………………. Ok, I know there are good godly men out there. I know a few personally and have the utmost respect for the example they set for me as Christians. However godly men are outnumbered drastically. As a youth pastor, I hear about the tragic effects godless men are having on their marriages and families. My heart is crushed with every story I hear, I am spiritually broken with every tear I witness being shed over the hurts and pains broken husbands and broken are fathers are causing in this world. I hear about the shame and guilt that these men are pouring out upon their wives and children because they don’t look good enough, perform well enough, require too much, don’t do enough or tolerate enough or whatever not good enough or too much they can come up with. Godless men have abandoned their families for self-indulged hobbies, habits, and irrational desires. Their selfishness has made it “all about me” as they flee to the deer woods, lakes, rivers, racetracks, sports arenas and man caves. Many indulge themselves on nightly drunken stupors and delusional drug trips. So many men have become nothing more than an embarrassment and shame upon the traditional family of today.

Go to church, go to school, go to children’s activities, go to doctors’ offices, visit hospital rooms, check out volunteer services and what you will see is women outnumber men by drastic disproportional ratios. Time and time again I hear the plea from wives and children “If I could only get my husband to church”, “I wish my dad would go to church with me”, “I just want my husband to be a spiritual leader”, “I wish God was as important to my dad as He is to me”, “I wish my husband would show me he loved me”, “I give anything to hear my dad say I am beautiful and he loved me”, “I just can’t stand the criticism about my looks”, “I don’t want to hear about how fat I am”, “If only he would give up one weekend of man time for family time”, “I just wish for once he would show me he loved me.” ….

Listen up men! Your wives and your children desperately need the godly man within to AWAKEN and step up and be the man God has called you to be. I get it, we are not perfect and many of us don’t have a clue as to how to be a godly man. We have all kinds of excuses as to why we can’t, why we don’t, and why we are not able. But the truth is; they are only excuses and lies the devil wants us to believe. Sin, darkness, and stupid excuses are claiming victory over our marriages, children, occupations, communities, and beyond. There is not one excuse, not one reason why, or any inability that the Lord and Creator of this universe cannot overcome.

So first thing first is to get right with Jesus Christ. I am not going to get all biblical and scriptural in this post. If you don’t know how to get right with the Lord then go talk to your wife, a godly man you know, your pastor or message me. Secondly, be the man you are called to be by God. It is a process and there will be ups and downs, but God will see you through. As long as your hearts cry is to be what God has called you to be then your focus will remain on the cross of Christ. Keeping your eyes on Jesus will always place you on the path that you need to be on. On that path God will always provide the will and the way. Along this path you will find the means, the mends, and even the men that will keep you going along the way.

In the book of Ephesians Paul addresses husbands and how they are to love their wives. I personally have discovered and continue to discover how deep and how true the blessings are when I abide by these instructions. Not only does this apply to my marriage, it applies to my children as well. The deeper I have dug and lived by this simple truth revealed by Paul, the deeper and more blessed my life, my relationship to Christ, my marriage and my family has become.

The scripture I am referring to is this; Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. – Ephesians 5:25-28.

Men we are called to love our wives just as Christ loved the church. Christ did not just love the church in word He loved the church in action. Jesus Christ literally set aside his God given rights and humbled himself as a servant in order to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of people. We must make the same sacrifice for our wives and children. It is time men that we give of our time and of ourselves to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our families. The next thing that really stands out in this scripture is this; Christ cleansed and washed the church with the word in order to make her spotless, holy and blameless.

Men we need to shower our wives and children with the word of God daily. We need to be the spiritual leaders, we need to take on the responsibility of washing, teaching, leading, guiding, nurturing, and growing our families spiritually. Jesus Christ did not just do this with words alone, He did this with action. Jesus Christ proved himself by what He did. He gave all of who and what he was to serve, give, build up, and save that which He loved. He gave up his life on the cross and resurrected from the dead so that we to can give up our sinful lives to live the righteous and holy lives He desires.

I am challenging all men who read this post to AWAKEN the godly man within by accepting Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior. AWAKEN the godly man within by dying to self and living by the power and through the power of the Holy Spirit that God has promised within your heart and soul. AWAKEN the godly man within and become the hands, the feet, the mouth, and the body of Jesus Christ. Go and give all that you are to loving your wives and children as Christ loved the church. Do whatever it takes to shower your loved ones in word and deed to make them as pure, pleasing and as blameless as you possibly can. Get out of the woods and go worship, abandon drug and alcohol stupors and get high on the holy spirit, quit standing on the false promises of pride and fall on your knees and pray, turn your man caves into places of praise, get off your couches and recliners and overtake the church pews, quit standing on the sidelines and get in the game. AWAKEN and take the lead, you will be blessed beyond measure if you do.




 If you agree do me a favor like this and re-share. We will see what God does.