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Monthly Archives: March 2011
The Costs Of Ignoring Godly Instruction
When we accept Christ into our lives, it is such a wonderful thing; for many transitions and lifestyle changes begin to take place on their own without anyone or anything as much as having to say a word. That’s the wonderful benefit of the spirit of God when we choose to listen! Unfortunately, as we continue forward in our walk with God, a lot of the things that we carry out on a normal basis for Him become routine and just “the motions”. The routines and motions begin to simply numb us to what God is trying to say via the spirit directly to you or through people that God has led to instruct you in your local church or ministry.
I would ask all of us to consider the cost today. When we begin to turn a deaf ear to the word of God being sent to us via many avenues, our lives begin to take on more burdens and weights than was ever intended to begin with. And as we continue to go through the motions in this manner, we eventually fall under the weight of sin and simply not being able to handle all that comes our way. It never fails that when these patterns occur that rather than recognizing why it truly happened, we simply want to blame God for “letting us fall”. I wish I could say that was not true, but it’s not the case in the day we live in.
God wants us to be a hearer first, then a doer second. We don’t need to do anything until we hear God. And if we are not listening, we have no real business working out of the flesh. This is a tough topic, but we must strive to follow the will of God and to know what He would want us to do by divine leadership through the spirit. Let’s not ignore the preachers or the teachers, but let us tune our ears closely to what God is trying to say though others! Obedience is better than sacrifice! You can show up to church and sacrifice your day and time to be there, but be obedient in listening! That will serve you as a much greater benefit in the long run of your life!
Face Your Confusion and Worries With God
1 Corinthians 14:33 – For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Psalm 71:1 – In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
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Normally I do not share personal details of this magnitude but I thought I would start this piece out with this: One of the most requested items that people come and ask me to pray for is either direction for their life or outside problems that they are worrying themselves to death over.
It is a big burden to walk around with these concerns on our hearts each day. I also do not think that this is something that people can easily just “shake off” without some assistance either. Luckily, we have something within us that gives us the ability to ward off all of the woes and worries of life. What is it you ask? God of course!
You see, the peace of God surpasses all understanding and will give you comfort when you cannot find it in logic or the facts you have before you. God works in things seen and unseen and goes before you even unto what you do not even know. We can begin each day alleviating our confusion by beginning to obtain peace in our mind! When the weight of burdens attempt to come and be more than we can bear, those are the times when we are to do more than watch. I believe that is why it said to “watch” AND “pray”.
Be aware of things, but don’t let the circumstance pull you down. Pray and begin to let God pull you out of the pits of every single issue that would steer you away from the focus of God’s will for your life!
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Put Into Practice:
I really encourage you to participate in this exercise as we have many things that we are in question of or are confused about. Take one to two minutes and dedicate it to finding something (it will not take long) that is really bothering you that you cannot do anything about. Once you have it on your mind perform these simple steps: humble yourself in prayer, openly admit to God that you do not have the answer, and then openly establish your trust in God by believing and building your faith.
Please do not go past this page before completing this. I encourage you more than anything to get down this very moment and take God at His word to realize we can lay our confusion down and begin to realize a more greater love and trust with our unbreakable Godly relationship!
Put Denial In Its Place
Matthew 10:32-33 – Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
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Denial does exist and is prevalent in the everyday lives of everyone. I could not be more blown away when you consider that the average person will live in denial of at least two or three different things consecutively at a given time. I am not here to try and pinpoint those things for each and every individual, but I want us to begin to try to recognize where our help comes from.
We serve a God who is a God of help. God will reach out to you in your weakness, lift you up, and restore to you from the things that you never thought that you could move on from. God is also a God of understanding. Though many people may try and judge you by your trials, God will not. Bring your issues to God and allow Him to help you change what needs to be! God is also a God of love. Sometimes we will fight so long for the acceptance of popularity or the forgiveness of things from others that will more than likely never come. However, if you pray to God to forgive you, he will wipe it all away and restore your life unto you.
What I am trying to tell you today is to not let your denial overrule your acceptance. Accept that you can pray and repent for your mistakes. Accept that God can help you and do allow anything to let you not deny it. Accept that God can save you from sin and that you can make Heaven your home. There is no better time than the present to stop looking behind you in your past, regretting all of the things you cannot change, and moving on from your denial and stepping into the acceptance of the power of Christ!
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Put Into Practice:
Sometimes the easiest way to recognize denial is in the silliest ones. If you are bold enough to try this example, I encourage you to: find an object that is heavy and will not break under any pressure or weight (like a rock or a bolt) and place it under a blanket. The interesting part is that in your mind you know that it is there and that walking on this would be quite uncomfortable. Try to humor yourself and say out loud “there isn’t anything under there”, and then try to walk on your blanket. If you have made it this far you are beginning to realize the power of denial.
Even though we will have problems that leap out in front of us or will hinder us in our walk with God we have to learn to recognize those small things and be able to remove them so that we can begin to be closer to God! Put denial in its place and do not allow yourself to live with it!
Why Are We Ashamed?
There is one thing that I can take pride in for sure: my work. I feel like that what I do that I do the best that I can to the best of my ability. For that, I am not ashamed of it. I would let it speak for itself to five people or 5,000 people. We’ll do this for things we are proud of, people we are proud of, or even principles or standards that we have in our lives. What I want to ask today is, why are we so ashamed to show God in our lives to others?
Just because people try to force God out by what is considered practical laws and procedures doesn’t mean that you still cannot proclaim a Godly life and live by a Godly example. If you live it close enough, people will know what you stand for. Rules and guidelines about why God cannot exist in a place, facility or group to me is simply a declaration of fear of what is simply misunderstood.
People always make it out to be a battle about your right to carry a bible and shove the word of God down their throats. That sounds harsh, but the truth hurts. It should never be about being prideful in something or the battle for being justified; it should simply be that God is the “I am” in your life, and that you do not have to prove anything to anyone. If they say “you are not allowed to speak it”, that’s fine because you can live it!
Don’t be ashamed of what you have inside, for it’s the only light that draws others to Christ!
The “Do Unto Others” Principle
THE WORD
Luke 6:27-31 – But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I could find a million reasons to be justified to take action upon others simply because they did wrong to me. The society that we live in teaches people that when they are attacked that their assailants should get what they deserve. As we read in the word of God we are instructed contrary to this worldly notion and are to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. If we take this text at face value we would know that we could do anything to people and would feel okay, right? Wrong! Let us take that scripture into a deeper meaning: Say that there are situations where I can control my anger and reactions in turn by doing something charitable. As instructed by God’s word I need to (actually) do unto them what I would want them to do unto me. Through this teaching we must learn to turn the other cheek and show love so people will observe the Godly witness that comes from your act of kindness. I also know that this is a tough subject to swallow. It always seems that there are people that will never change their attitudes and behave differently but just continue to try and cause issues. However, we have to set our standards to the word of God and live by it! We, with the mind of Christ and the love of God, have to begin to perform the unlikely acts of kindness in the midst of a hopeless world. Others must be led by your example!
PUT INTO PRACTICE
When a moment arises in affliction or confrontation, let yourself do for the other people that which you would have them do to you. Do it! Be amazed at the blessings that will follow your kind deed! This act of charity alone is what mostly defines people that are called for quality leadership in our churches, business and communities alike.
What Are We Offering Up?
THE WORD
Jeremiah 33:11 – The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
When I am working on the job I realize there is a Godly life that I must live so that the colleagues that I come in contact with will bear witness of it. When I am in church and am participating in fellowship with other members and visitors, it is a responsibility that I have to offer myself welcoming and receptive. When I sing praise and worship to God, I have to offer the song not just because I have to but rather present a sincere offering from the heart. Take an inventory of all the things that you may or may not be offering to God and consider that there may be more to be done. It is not painful to accomplish; you simply have to do it! And when you do it, please do not offer up something in resentment or a bad attitude. The bible talks in detail about having the tongues of men and angels yet without love it will be of no profit to anyone. To put it simply: this can only be realized in its greatest capacity of course when we finally get out of the way! When the moment finally comes that we are sincerely trying to present to God something genuine then this humble obedience becomes an offering acceptable and pleasing to God and in turn blesses others!
PUT INTO PRACTICE
Try to do this one of the next times that you will be attending a church: be sincere in everything you do. From a handshake to your hands raised, let others feel sincerity from your heart, humble before God, and willing to lead anyone to Christ. This may cost you time and energy at first but is worth the investment to see the growth in others around you!
Delayed Blessings Test Faith
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One of the hardest principles to apply in our lives is when we have to wait for an extended period of time on something that God is moving for us in. I hope by reading some of the scriptures that God gave me that we can see that we sometimes have to remember that delayed blessings test faith.
Genesis 15:2-6 – “A delayed birth of a son.”
[2] And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
[3] And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
[4] And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
[5] And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
[6] And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 21:1-6 – “Many years waiting. “
[1] And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
[2] For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
[3] And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
[4] And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
[5] And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
[6] And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
We find it so crazy sometimes to believe God. We will even go as far as to laugh at the possibility to see it through! You see, God cannot move through our lack of faith; God moves through our practice of faith.
Genesis 22:8-13 – “Faith into practice”
[8] And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
[9] And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
[10] And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
[11] And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
[12] And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
[13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
God will make a way, but we have to follow through sometimes for us to be proven vessels! That even means in church services when we don’t feel like it or have the lack of desire to do anything at all. We have to follow through on our faith. Faith without works is dead, right?
Joshua 6:12-20 – “Faith with works”
[12] And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.
[13] And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
[14] And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.
[15] And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.
[16] And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
[17] And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
[18] And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
[19] But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.
[20] So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
Victory will come with continual and specific obedience. We might find it to be confusing or sometimes crazy with the requirements that God lays before us, but he never puts us out there in a trial without the strength to be able to endure it!
Luke 24:49 – “God gives power”
[49] And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
While we are here, we have power in him! We should not act as though we are powerless! We have to learn to utilize the power we have so that we can learn to help others!
Luke 15:22-28 – “Being faithful to others”
[22] But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
[23] And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
[24] For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
[25] Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
[26] And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
[27] And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
[28] And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
We have to turn from our ways to find our new life and blessings ahead! We can finally lay the old man down, and pick up the new person that God has ordained us to be!
Learning To Be Satisfied
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Philippians 1:3-7
[3] I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
[4] Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
[5] For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
[6] Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
[7] Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
I am satisfied with the good works that Christ has perfected in all of us!
Consider the phrase “so many works, from the first day until now” – Think about it! We should have all the reason in the world to be thankful and to praise God with no matter what we are dealing with at the time in our lives.
God knew us before we ever came to know him! He had already taken care of us before we were ever formed in this world! From this day until now! That should let me know with certainty that I am definitely not alone for sure!
Philippians 3:8
[8] Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
I am satisfied with Christ’s compensation!
I would lose it all to gain him! Nothing else is of worth to keep that even compares to what you can feel through God!
When I really put into perspective what everything is really worth to me in comparison to what God means to me in my heart, all of this stuff in this world does not mean a thing!
Philippians 3:9-10
[9] And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
[10] That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
I am satisfied with Christ’s fellowship!
I want to know him, I want to know more of Him and I want to feel more of the spirit! To actually be in fellowship with the spirit is to be in a place of growth in my life!
I want to make it a goal in my life to be in continual fellowship with God and the spirit of God. That’s the only way my life can be in a ready state to grow!
Philippians 4:6-7
[6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
[7] And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
I am satisfied with Christ’s perfect peace!
It shall keep your minds and hearts if you will allow it to! In all reality, there is nothing out there that will ever keep me per say; it will only ever be the peace of God, because I will never be content with the way things are. God teaches us by the spirit to be content to a circumstance or situation.
Philippians 4:11-14
[11] Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
[12] I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
[13] I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
[14] Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
I am satisfied with Christ’s perfect strength!
God will speak to your situations and circumstances, no matter how grim that they seem to be! He will give you strength to be able to endure them!
Always remember the joy of the Lord is our strength, and without that joy, there is no strength. So I need to remember to surround myself or get myself to a place where joy is abundant.
Philippians 4:18-19
[18] But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
[19] But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
More than anything, I am satisfied know that I will receive from Christ’s supply for my every need!
These things we get from God are according to his riches in glory, and are not limited to what we are in this world. That should say so much to us when we feel like we have so many reasons why we cannot make it or cannot move forward in life.
Singing And Speaking At Sweet Hill Church
It would be safe to say that it was quite the journey to get there from where we all live, but it sure was a beautiful trip there! As many times as we have been on the road, it always gives us times to reflect on all the wonderful times we have shared together going on the road and working the ministry for God. Oh the stories we could tell!
We had a wonderful time at Sweet Hill! We were ever-so welcomed, and it was just a wonderful place to go in and feel right at home. It was so great to see the amount of youth that they had in their church. A lot of places are losing sight of the youth, but this was not one for sure!
We enjoyed the singing as always, but we sure missed Mona! Speaking was great as well, I always enjoy getting out there and obeying God more and more.
I am definitely proud of all those that came up for prayer and want to let them all know that we will continue to pray for everything that was brought to us. Just because we only come one day does not mean you ever leave the burden of our hearts. We hope to come back and visit soon, and we will post the dates when we do!