So true…I’m guilty

Cell phone vs. Bible
 

 Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat

 our cell phone?

 What if we carried  it around in our purses or pockets?

 What if we flipped through it several times a day?

 What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

 What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

 What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?

 What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

 What if we used it when we traveled?

 What if we used it in case of emergency?

 This is something to make you go….hmm…where is my Bible?

 Oh, and one more  thing.
 Unlike our cell  phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being
 disconnected because  Jesus already paid the  bill.

 Makes you stop and think ‘where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

Trust in the Lord and *ASAP (Always Say A Prayer)
Have a blessed and wonderful day!

Thanks Vanita!!!

God Bless!

Great Article…

Here’s a great interview with Rick Warren.    He wrote the Purpose
Driven Life,  A highly recommended book.     

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now
having cancer and him having ‘wealth’ from the book sales. This is an
absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,
‘Purpose Driven Life ‘ author and pastor of Saddleback Church in
California   
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: 
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? 
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were
not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. 
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body–
but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions
of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act – the dress rehearsal. God
wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life
isn’t going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just
coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character
than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than
He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of
life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the
toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark
time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe
that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of
like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something
good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something
bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something
good you can thank God for..
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness,
which is my problem, my issues, my pain.’ But one of the easiest ways to
get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and
others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of
thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for
her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened
her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a
testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For
instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million
copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with
before. I don’t think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego
or for you to live a life of ease..
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety
and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide
what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our
lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from
the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace
Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the
sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since
I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be
able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions?
Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or
am I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God,
if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and
love You better. God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do
list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do.
That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings. 
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..

Note from the Sermon on the Mount

 My Bible study class has been studying the Beattitudes in the 5th chapter of Matthew.   Last week we studied Matthew 5:8….take a look at this verse and then the 5 points that follow.   We can see God!!  We can ONLY be pure in heart by the GRACE and MERCY of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 

Matthew 5:8  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

How to Become Wholly Holy

1. Pray regularly  

The Psalm writers often prayed for purity of heart. See, for example, Psalm 51:10, Create

in me a pure heart, O God, and Psalm 139:23-24, 

Search me, O God, and know my

heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

2. Guard tenaciously

Purity of heart is one of your most precious commodities. Realize that all sorts of evil

forces will seek to rob you of it, so take precautions. Guard what your eyes see, what your

mind thinks upon, and what your body does. 

Offer your bodies as living sacrifi ces,

holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). And, Above all else, guard your heart, for it

is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23).

 

 

 

3. Read devotionally

A heart full of Scripture will engage in holy pursuits. Psalm 119:9-11 reads,

 

 

 

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my

heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.

4. Confess Immediately 

When you recognize sin in your life, deal with it instantly. Breathe out a prayer of confession

and commit to make an immediate change in thought or direction.

If we confess our

sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all

unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

5. Imagine creatively

See yourself as a holy person. Think like a warrior-servant of God. Each morning,

mentally suit up in your spiritual armor and envision yourself moving out as an agent

of the kingdom. Use your imagination to your advantage, and be transformed by the

renewing of your mind! (Romans 12:2).

God Bless!

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Verbs

I was challenged on 12-3-08 to write a 3 paragraph poem without using a verb.  The goal was to tap into my creative side.  Here are the results…

 

 

“The cynic’s greatest fear; hell.  A sinner’s greatest gift; salvation.  The
world’s Savior; the King of Kings!!

My greatest strength; attitude.  My greatest gift; family.  My greatest fear;
loneliness.

Fear, gifts, strengths, attitudes; all blessings from God.  Wow!  My Savior; the
Alpha and Omega! “

“Abide In Christ”

I am reading a new book that was given to me by a dear friend.  Andrew Murray wrote “Abide in Christ”  that was originally published in 1979.

Here is a quote that blessed and challenge me this morning.

“…as it was Jesus who drew you when He spoke, “Come”  (Matthew 11:28), so it is Jesus who keeps you when He said, “Abide” (John 15:4).”

Take some time to watch this video, to take these words to heart and to “abide” in Him today.

God Bless!!

I Love you THIS MUCH…

“Did you know that after believers have served God perfectly for ten million years in heaven, not one of them will deserve God’s love any more than they did at the very moment they were saved?  When Jesus Christ died on the cross, God poured on Him the punishment for all our sin — past, present, and future.”

God truly wants to forgive our sin.  Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD.   “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

He wants to forget our sin.  Psalm 103:12  ” as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

He wants to cleanse us from our sin. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

He wants to give us and abundant life in spite of our sin.  John 10:10 “10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

God longs to do all of this so much that He Himself endured agony of hell for every one of us.  That’s how much God loves sinners!!!!

Thank you Father God for sending your son Jesus to die for my sins.

Thank you Jesus for sacrificing your own life for my salvation.

Thank you Holy Spirit for reminding me how much Jesus loves His children.

A Call to “Defy the Odds!”

It’s been a few days since I have journaled.  The annual youth retreat was great this year.  2 students accepted Jesus as their personal Savior!!  We spent Thursday night on the campus at Murray State University ministering to the students at the BCM.  God has been faithful and he is heavily in the business of changing lives!!

Here is a challenge that I read last weekend.  I hope is touches you like it did me…God Bless!

“If you put the U.S. up against the Scriptures, we’re in trouble. I think we’re very close to the judgment of God. The problem of America is not the unbelieving world. The problem of America is the people of God. You see, right now there are just as many divorces in the churches as outside the churches. There are just as many abortions inside the churches as outside the churches. There’s only a one percent difference in gambling inside the churches as outside the churches. George Barna did a survey of 152 separate items comparing the lost world and the churches, and he said there is virtually no difference between the two. So we have brokenness in the churches [and] no reconciliation.

How then should we live? This is a long answer to a short question, but it depends on the people of God. . . . it’s God’s people who hold the destiny of America. Don’t fuss at the world. It’s acting just like its nature. We’ve got to be salt and light again. We’ve got to have an observable difference.

So God’s attention right now is on His own people, and if I gave one statement, it would be, “The future of America rests in our hands.”

Dr. Henry Blackaby, “What do You See as the Future for the United States?” speech given at the Billy Graham Training Center, Asheville, N.C., May 22, 1999

What has happened?

 

 Let’s choose to push past our first thoughts about others.  Let’s choose to have compassion and bring people and their needs to Jesus, the Great Physician!!

Stirred Up

 

Mark 4:35-41

 35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

 39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

 40He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

 41They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

We are living in a day and time when the seas are rough, the waves are high and things are tough. 

I usually do not share many personal stories, but I want to share about my afternoon.

I went to the dentist office to have a tooth filled today.  Jenny can tell you that I am not a fan of the dentist office.

As the chair was being lowered, I literally felt sick.  My heart rate increased, I was short of breath and fear almost totally took over my body.

My fear frustrated me.  This 15 minute procedure should not “stir me up” this much.

As I focused on the true source of peace, my heart rate decreased and my breathing patterns became normal again.

Father God is the source of peace.  Jesus displayed this ability to bring peace in the scriptures.  The same man that calmed the sea, calmed my mind and body.

The wind and the waves obey Jesus.  Therefore, the winds and the waves of our world obey Jesus. 

Our storms may be fears, finances, the election, or the stock market.   Have faith, they must bow down to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Are you stirred up?  Talk to your creator.  Ask for his peace.  Understand your fears and talk to Jesus about them.   Let him rebuke the winds and “BE STILL!”  

It Is Well With My Soul…

Relationship

“My ability to communicate is limitless, living and transforming, and it will always be tuned to Papa’s (Father God’s) goodness and love.  And you will hear and see me in the Bible in fresh ways.  Just don’t look for rules and principles; look for RELATIONSHIP–a way of coming to be with us.”  ‘The Shack, by William P Young’

This is part of a very moving conversation between Sarayu, the Holy Spirit, and Mack, the deeply hurt and seeking character in the very moving book, The Shack.

Where do you see RELATIONSHIP in the BIBLE?

Romans 5:8  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  

Romans 9:16  “It does not , therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercey.”

John 15:9-14   “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

When I read scriptures looking for RELATIONSHIP and not RULES, I see and feel such healing.  Healing from my past, from the lies of Satan, from my imagination of future outcomes that do not and will not come to pass, and from the perception that I need to accomplish something to experience HIS love.

Jesus urges us to, “Come to Him” in Matthew 11.  What does he desire?   RELATIONSHIP!!!

Where do you see RELATIONSHIP in scriptures?  Share the scripture by commenting or emailing me…

May the Love of Christ and His relationship with you be renewed and fresh today!!

Get a copy of “The Shack” and read it, this picture will bless you once you read the book!