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Monthly Archives: July 2012

The Honor Code: Part 1 – The Counterfeit Of Honor Is Obligation

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When God began to deal with my heart about the honor code I was not aware of the impact it would begin to have. First of all I went to what my very definition of honor was. The scary part about this moment was when I began to realize that what I defined as being honorable or honoring did not completely match up in its entirety with my actions. In seeking God and praying for answers I began to felt led to share a thought with you.

In its core definition honor it is “to regard with respect or to highly esteem”. In our everyday lives without being fully aware we often tend to only give respect to those that we HAVE to show it to. A great example of such a type of honor is rising when a judge walks in a courtroom; it is a form of honor that though you may not have within you but yet display it. You may also find another example of this in the workplace when people show honor to someone (i.e. their boss) and yet despise the thought of doing it. One type of honor that has began to fade with the newer generation is the honor or respect for the elderly. The lack of honor or its counterfeit has also found its way into the home as well, with children losing respect for parents and guardians.

Has this got you thinking too? It got me in deep examination when I began to consider the lack of honor that is occurring towards God. First off I will start off boldly by saying it is very evident based simply on behavior alone that attending church has fell far from honoring God and now leans toward the fulfillment of the obligation to be there. And even when you see a church with great numbers there is often times a great lack of honor through worship and exaltation by the humbling of self and art of what I will describe as “in-the-moment worship”. Pastors, worship leaders, teachers, deacons and other leadership are starting to reach disturbing levels of discouragement as the lack of honor has creeped in within the body of Christ.

In attempting to answer the question of “what do we do to change the lack of honor” the first part of this answer is to begin to address what is replacing honor. Consider the definition of obligation:

  1. An act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment.
  2. The condition of being morally or legally bound to do something.

I will be just as plain as I can about this: doing something in obligation without love is a counterfeit of honor. It is not only a poor replacement but will fail in its purpose to actually to demonstrate being genuine and caring towards others. You see, obligation is fulfilled regardless of care simply because we feel like we “have” to.

So in wrapping up part one of this word I simply ask all of us to evaluate our points of honor and to see if we have replaced genuine respect and high regard for obligatory commitments. If you take the time to really think and pray about it I assure you that you will begin to understand why God is leading me into this message.

Stay tuned for part 2.

What are your thoughts?

The I Am Is The Substance That Makes You Great

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With perhaps an excessive habit of doing so I continually am examining the “whats” of life desperately hoping for a solution for most if not all scenarios. Most of the time I come up short and trust in God’s plan, however there is one ‘what’ that I am going to address that we actually have an answer for:

What makes me great? Well, that’s God.

In reading and studying in great depth about a lot of God’s greatest servants there is one thing that is very evident to me: in the close relationship God spoke confidence to their obedience by helping them understand the great attributes of God. Some references refer to power and authority, while others refer to the closeness and love. At either rate I know based on what I study that it took these sorts of assurances for man to walk boldly and to do the great things we preach, teach and sing about today.

Living in the day that we do now there seems to be a struggling battle for keeping confidence and the true sense of God’s purpose more than ever. I want to remind you to begin to examine where your confidence and assurance lies. When we actually examine ourselves in the fullness and truth we usually find our REAL trust in things other than our faith in God. This sort of broken relationship we have keeps us from doing great things and seemingly prompts us to go through the motions or “just get by”.

Great things begin to happen in your life when God is first. Great things in you blossom when you are selfless (and not self-centered!). People begin to notice the great things that you do when you begin to dedicate your life to God and are not continually advertising yourself. Remember this nugget of knowledge from the word: every good thing is from God! So if you are in a lack of confidence or are wondering why you are working strenuously with no great results, hear this: God is the part of you that you need to not only complete you (bring life) but to fulfill you for more than what you even comprehend you can do (and it more abundantly).

Keep yourself encouraged and let the attributes of God flow to lead you to not just fly through life but to leave a mark that defines you and glorifies God!

What Makes The Fire That Burns In You

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Matthew 5:14-16

[14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
[15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

A light in its natural form is caused to flame by 3 sources:

  1. The oil, the substance that is burned, the spirit of the Lord

A light does not continue without a substance to continue it. The immediate desire to obey will not continue without a continuing presence of God.

Leviticus 14:25-32

[25] And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:
[26] And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:
[27] And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD:
[28] And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:
[29] And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD.
[30] And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;
[31] Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD.
[32] This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

The oil of the spirit and blood of Christ cannot be separate!

  1. The flame, the source that ignites the oil, the burning fire of the Holy Ghost

A light may have the proper amount of substance to burn but without a firestarting source it cannot begin. Without an abundance of the Holy Ghost the spirit within you cannot come alive and consume your life.

Isaiah 50:7-11

[7] For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
[8] He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
[9] Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.
[10] Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
[11] Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.

The worlds ‘sparks’ will go out eventually, leaving the comforts that they bring to fade quickly.

  1. The light burns when the oil and flame are joined together. As the Holy Ghost produces the fire and the spirit brings the oil, there must be something to combine it or mix it: a willing heart and a made up mind.

So what (or should we say who) is the vessel that this substance is held in? You!

Leviticus 6:9-13

[9] Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.
[10] And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.
[11] And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.
[12] And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
[13] The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

Always remember that the flame of God is to consume your sins, not to condone it.

Winning The Battle Over Evil

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Matthew 12:39-45

[39] But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
[40] For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
[41] The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
[42] The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
[43] When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
[44] Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
[45] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

This speaks to those who have heard God’s word and have outward reformation of self but on the inside have not converted to being a true follower of Christ. An evil (or unclean) spirit will allow for windows and seasons of time between its residence; however without the power and dominion to conquer and put to flight the behavior changes that come from it kill us spiritually.

The heart is swept by attempting to be reformed and holding trust in the outward self. If we could only begin to realize that this form of trust in self and not in God shows pride and still allows a person to be subject to many evils. This alone and more often than not makes us a direct enemy of the truth in God’s word.

Unless you are a temple of the Holy Ghost by faith in Christ evil spirits will still have an ability to take residence in your life (temptation, provoked to wrath, irrational decisions, violence, blasphemy, the list goes on and on).

Colossians 4:2-6

[2] Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
[3] Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
[4] That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
[5] Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
[6] Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Ephesians 2:8-14

[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
[9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
[10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
[11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
[12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
[13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
[14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

I am glad that we were crafted out of God’s workmanship, tried and proven with the authority of the power of the comforter (Holy Ghost) that provides an authority over every circumstance and vulnerable place evil attempts to dwell. Allow God to promote this power within you and truly unlock the phrase that “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”!

WLAF Radio Interview And Live Studio Performance: Listen Here!

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We just wanted to say that we had a blast hanging out with John down at WLAF radio. We hope to come back sometime soon to continue with our ministry partners in furthering the message of the word of God and the healing power of music! We have posted the interview with live songs all in between.

The songs include:

  • All I Really Want
  • Didn’t I Walk On The Water
  • Give Him The Glory
  • My Home
  • Shout To The Lord

We also talk a little bit about how it all began and the history behind the ministry that God started in our family long ago. In addition to that there is also a bit of information about our ministries new book, Using God’s spiritual Glue: Becoming a Stronger, Spiritual Self and Sticking To It. Enjoy!

God’s Promises For Your Every Need

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When it comes to reading there is one thing that works the best for me: it has to be short readings at a time! With that said, I finished this book in roughly 8-10 days. I love the way that the chapters are laid out in it. For example the header says for the first chapter that “Jesus Is Your…” followed by a list of subsections like “Savior” and “Security”.

If I had to pick a section that I loved the most it would definitely be the chapter that talks about “What the bible says about praise”. I am always looking for scriptures and teachings to better help the promotion of praise in the church!

I recommend and hope you can find a copy to enjoy as well!

And always remember when you are done with one, pass it on or recommend! That helps the ones who work so hard to write them!

Check out: God’s Promises For Your Every Need – ISBN 978-1-4041-1377-0

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Shake The Dust Off Of Your Feet And Don’t Be A Dust Thrower!

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Feeling rejected? Wondering what the deal is with your ministry? Been discouraged by others recently? At some point I believe we have all been in that moment before. We have all had things that have presented themselves as very humbling experiences, right? Trust me, I have seen it all. While singing and speaking in times past I have had people in full blown conversations, texting on their cell phones, sleeping, leaving, shaking their heads, eating, posing an intentional distraction. I’ve had people turn down my microphone on purpose, get up and leave and return when I was finished, tell me to my face that I preach too long, and inform me that I would never preach at their church because I was too radical. I have had people inspired (all of a sudden) to have their personal bible study and not pay attention for the entirety. I have even been cut off right in the middle of exhortation simply because some were afraid of things getting a little too exciting. I wish I could say that one of these were my personal favorite experiences that helped me grow, but the truth is that at the time it really hurt to feel! I am happy to know that as I have grown that God has given me the wisdom in this area and I am going to share some concepts with you that have helped me stay effective.

When it comes to being effective in your ministry, one thing will always be clear in relevance to growth: in order to be a successful worker for God you must be able to continue in spite of facing rejection or a lack of support. The bible gives reference to the perfect scenario: “And whosoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.” This passage in Luke 9 opens up a very interesting thought and question I have today. Consider when you attend your own church and do your absolute best that you can and feel rejected. Does it mean that if you were not received that you are a failure and that its time to hang it up? No, in fact this should begin to allow you to understand the difference in the rejection of the word that you bring versus a rejection of just you.

A rejection of the word of God is often times perceived to be the dislike of a person. Think about the passage that refers to the bible principle that “light has no fellowship with darkness”. I send a word of encouragement to tell you that everyone does not despise YOU, but the word that is WITHIN you. If you are continually waiting for the perfect fellowship with people that you know need to hear a strong word then you are going to be waiting forever. I’ll be as bold to say that you will never have the FULL support of any church no matter where you may roam. Why? Because if there are those that are not walking in the will of God or have a relationship then a natural fear of change from their sin or unwillingness that simply cannot accept the word when they choose not to. So when we say to shake the dust off your feet as a testimony “against them”, it is simply saying to show others that you will not be moved from the call or the obedience that the call brings. Remember that Jesus was not even received in His own country and how you may not be either. You may just have a situation with a very simple solution: people that know you and grow numb to the value of your call need to see a strength within you that shakes off the bad when they ignore you!

Are we going to begin to dust ourselves off to show the strength of God? Do we realize that it is God’s word that conflicts with people and not a personal issue against us? If we can begin to grasp these concepts there will be so many church services everywhere that we all go that will be saved, salvaged and actually promote the strength of the God’s people to draw others!

The other contrast of this thought that I leave you with is to not be the person that throws the dust upon another. You may have a church where you just have a few that attend and know each other on a personal level. If you do and you find yourself almost getting “bored” with others, I speak with a spiritual urgency to start drawing closer to God for a greater love than what is on the surface. Being bored or complacent in church shows a lack in breaking down self. Remember that we need each other and that one day you will miss the worth of those around you when God moves them to another chapter in life.

He Is A Good God

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Psalm 95:1-8

[1] O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
[2] Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
[3] For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
[4] In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
[5] The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
[6] O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
[7] For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
[8] Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

“I just praise the Lord that He is so great. He’s greater than what our eyes can see. He’s greater than what our minds can comprehend. You know, He knows all. He’s created all things. He knows the inside and outside. He sees us and who we are. He knows the bad things about us. He knows the intentions of our mind and our heart, and I praise His name that He still loves us. He still loves us. I don’t care what situation you’re in; He is worthy of our praise. If you are alive and you are breathing and you are here, He deserves to hear from you. I praise Him for all that He’s done in my life. He’s a very good God.”