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The Everyday Word

Where Do You Find Yourself In Meditation To God?

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With life increasing its pace and decreasing the amount of time we have to accomplish all of our goals, there has never been a more dramatic attempt to work tirelessly to meet every expectation. And as we all know, finding this sort of situation for all of us is pretty easy to find: falling asleep at your laptop close to midnight pushing a deadline, hearing the alarm go off and getting up when you know you only slept a couple hours, continuing to perform hard labor even though you are in dire straits of pain, etc. These sorts of visual descriptions should indicate the extremes that you can find yourself in most of the time.

My question for you to think about today: Where Do You Find Yourself In Meditation To God?

My answer? I heard a person a while back preach about finding a secret place early in the day, so I thought I would try it out and dedicate more time for God. The Results? For my own personal life today, one of the few moments I have now to be in silence and open up my mind for God is when I am driving to work in the morning. It is truly a perfect setting for me; for it’s early and light is just breaking on the day. I have no distractions and have not had the weight of an entire day attempting to hinder me. For me there is definitely something special about seeking God early.

The word of God makes reference to being separate and stealing away to a secret place (aka like a closet) to accomplish 2 goals: producing a calming environment for your mind and creating a place where you will not be pulled by temptation or distraction. These factors create an opportunity for you to not only be comfortable in prayer but to present a chance to hear God without all the noise of life!

So where do you find yourself? Where is a place you have dedicated to steal away?

The Honor Code: Part 2 – Honor Brings Divine Favor and Abundant Love

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In the first part of “The Honor Code” we discussed the definition of honor and how that is represented in everyday life and to God. I know that in deep evaluations of where honor is shown in my life helped me to conclude that there is far more work to do! The second part of this that I want us to consider is the actual actions and after-effects that genuine honor brings to any situation. As an example, let us say that I tell a colleague that works in the same field at my employer that they do great work and are very talented at what they do. When I make this statement it first does something to me: it acknowledges that there are other people around me who are capable of doing great things. This in principle is a very humbling thing to do as this takes away from a persons agenda at being the best or ‘above’ others. One of the worst attitudes that a person can attempt to live in is a perspective that “I can do everything just fine on my own”. This is an honor-less attitude. The sad fact is that we often dwell in this attitude without being completely aware of it showing up on us.

Here is a nugget that speaks of in part to brotherly love: you will want to prefer someone over yourself and will not have to give yourself credit to find favor or honor.

Trust me, if you do a honoring thing in obedience to loving your neighbor, God will not fail in giving you all the credit you deserve by the blessings you receive.

Let us consider one more example in Gods word: Jacob and Laban. In the first agreement that Jacob and Laban had there was a person Jacob wanted to be with: Seven years for Leah and seven for Rachel. Jacob was with Laban twenty years in all. Can you begin to imagine working fourteen years for something and not receiving all of what should be honored to you? This sounds absurd before the end of the story, but the part that speaks to me is the honor that was shown by staying there and continuing to work for what he was aiming for. For the last six years Jacob was with Laban his request was for the speckled and spotted among the goats and all the black sheep as his own. He did so, and his own flocks grew very large. In Laban’s honor-less attitude he began to move the spotted and speckled to their own area so the flocks would not continue to grow. In hearing this I am glad to know that even when the enemy begins to work against you that God begins to continue your love by giving favor in situations with impossible odds! You see it did not matter what Laban attempted to do to hinder the prosperity of Jacob because God had come on the scene.

I encourage you to receive with gladness is: when living a life of honor you are strengthened by God’s love and are prospered by God’s favor that exceeds all laws and physics of man.

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!

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.

Wow God, You Are Amazing

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How awesome is the God that we serve? How wonderful has God proven true for us? The amount of victories could never possibly be told. The benefits are excellent considering it is at a minimal cost to us. The joy is unspeakable. The peace is beyond understanding. The love keeps not only you but everyone who believes. When in God’s service your enemies will be caused to be peaceful with you. If you are faithful to see a mountain move it shall get out of your way. Not only are the hairs of your head numbered but your tears are even kept in a jar. The metaphors are speaking directly towards not only God’s knowledge of your life but the know-how to handle everything hard for you.

Not one battle has been lost. Not one time did the comfort of the spirit fail in its intended purpose. Not one moment of suffering has passed that God did not see and understand. Not one is sent away when it comes to having everlasting life. Not one is left behind even when we feel that all has forsaken us.

We not only have references to lead us into tomorrow, but we have the spirit of God to lead us to His perfect will. We not only have the ability to soothe our spirits with singing but will sing a song that the angels cannot sing. We are redeemed. We were purchased for a price that we were not worth. As many as believe in Christ will never taste the sting of death nor be bound for hell. We are a freed, healed and delivered people!

Take a moment to encourage yourself every now and then. You may be surprised with what you get up with after empowering yourself with just the simple thought of how amazing that God truly is!

Who Or What Makes A Miracle?

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Miracles by their definition are surprising and welcoming events that are not explicable by natural or scientific laws and are considered to be divine. When you think about and consider the miracles that have occurred in each of our lives, we often think of why it was a miracle to begin with, right? Maybe you even think about what it was that happened and how miraculous it was…or do you consider the who or whom of the source that brought it to pass?

Some of the greatest miracles that ever occurred in the word of God were when the disparity was great: people that were blind or with leprosy, others that were possessed or overcome with some form of emotion, battles that were won with a few to defeat many, walls that fell down around a city from the unity of the ones who walked about it, etc. All of these marvelous miracles are all sharing a common source and substance that performed it: God of course!

With that said, think about some of your miracles. Is it not amazing to you how that God has been there in each one as the leader, counselor. healer, deliver and provider? It provides great encouragement to me and should to you as well! I thank God for my miracles. I also thank God that I have realized what it takes to move mountains (see miracles happen): Faith in God! Have faith in your source as you pray and serve God and leave nothing to impossible. We can do all things through Christ which strengthens us!

My heart is stirred and my spirit soars in faith to wonder when the next miracle is coming!

The Reason I Go On Is God

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I tend to stray away from writing anything about me, but I feel led to start out with a few thoughts about me to make the bigger point of today.

The bulk of my personal ministry is tied in with my church ministry. In our personal ministry we host a media and message web site, put together a weekly radio broadcast, go to regularly scheduled visits to one of our local nursing homes, participate in a full-time writing and book ministry, as well as going to any church that God leads us to so we can sing and preach. Our church ministry that we co-pastor at is currently in an ongoing building project, holding choir practices, Sunday school, as well as our two regular services every week. And upon getting the call we go and perform house visits or will have group or family prayer nights at least once or twice a week. I add one last piece to say most of our family works full-time jobs and have up and coming families that attend different churches. In a way I am truly amazed, while in another I am brought to a thought.

When I go over this list sometimes it begins to attempt to discourage me simply because most of this does not allow for rest or time off. We have found through the years that helping people spiritually is a full-time job!

So with all of this said, why go on? I am sure you have asked yourself this question at some point in your walk with God.

As for me, the reason I go on is God. People have failed me along the way, but God has never let me down. Circumstances have attempted to destroy me, but the comfort of the holy ghost has came right on time. In summation, when all has failed you God will have opportunities to prove mighty and wonderful. I go on for others that in faith that in time they will come through something that will help them finally realize the fullness of God and the spirit that lives and dwells within them!

So ask yourself today, why do you go on?

Study To Show Yourself Approved….Did We Get It Wrong?

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When I think about studying to show myself approved, I remember hearing the same message through the halls and sanctuaries of many churches. I remember looking back on bible schools that were always set on trying to play games on memorizing the most bible verses. I also remember hearing as I grew up that there would be moments where you would need to be ready to share the text of the word of God. I’m sure that you may have some memories as well that bring you to the remembrance of that phrase, right?

The question I have for everyone today is, did we or have we got it wrong? Before you may jump to a quick conclusion of NO, please consider the reasoning that I share with you today and know that this is something that I not only learned in ideal but in experience as well.

To me, studying to show thyself approved goes so much further than knowing the bible word for word. In fact, attempting to do this would prove to be difficult as there are more versions to learn and memorize than what we even have time for to study! It goes further than learning Gods word to attempt to witness to someone by your head knowledge of the bible. When you think approved, think about the phrase “being pleasing to God”. Think about how that people at all times are watching your life, whether they believe in God or not. The bottom line is this, being approved in Gods word is directly correlated in how you live according to the word that lives in you that you actually use. In other words, we come out from being a hearer and wanting people to be drawn by listening to the true meaning of the word by doing it and letting it be a witness towards others!

Let people see the word that lives in you by your love and faith in how you live! Then in the end you succeed and win others to Christ!

So Tell Me About Your Day

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Have you ever had that moment where you get to talk to your spouse or loved one and you asked them “So how was your day?”. As small as this question seems, it goes without saying that for most of us this may be one of the only moments where you show your concern for their well-being and what they do. Some of us may be saying, “but I do care about them!”, and no doubt that we all do. There is one thought I want to remind you about using this example.

God is concerned about your day. I am so thankful for that. When all else lose concern for how you are or if you need help God is ready to talk. In fact God is ready at any time for you to cast your cares before Him! I know that you may not be cool with sitting at your kitchen table chatting it up with God but there is definitely a means for you to do it: prayer! Prayer is not only for the devotion and worship time we give to God but is purposed as a means to cast our hindrances aside through faith.

Show concern because you want to. For one example, teenagers often do not want to communicate everything openly, but I encourage you to try anyway. When teens get in the years of rebelling or attempting to define their self it appears that they could care less about what you think. The one thing that should not change, regardless of how much a person does, is your love and concern for them.

As God reflects concern for you daily, remember to show it in kind for all. The world needs that love to be drawn to almighty God.