You may not know but Kim and I really enjoy the preaching of TD Jakes. We watch him on TV and have bought several of his sermons on DVD. In my opinion, he is one of the best preachers I've ever heard. My thoughts tonight come from a sermon that I watched tonight.
Are any of you going through tough situations, tough battles that you are doing the best you can to do what is right and hold on to Jesus but you just don't know how you're going to finish? You may feel emotionally drained, spiritually used up, and physically just plain tired. I don't know if this applies to you but if you are in this situation now, you should know that Jesus was there too. Mark 1:9-13 briefly tells how Jesus experiences the pinnacle of his ministry where he went from being Jesus to being Jesus Christ. He was just baptized and God proclaims Jesus as His son and then the Holy Spirit descended on him as a dove. So in this moment the three members of the God-head were together.
In an instant, the Holy Spirit that had just came to Jesus like a gentle dove was now driving Him to the wilderness to fast for 40 days. Matthew 4:2 tells us that when the 40 days were up, Satan came to Jesus and tempted Him. So Jesus has just put Himself through nothing less than 40 days of torture preparing Himself for temptation and building discipline for when the devil comes to tempt Him.
Where was God during this time? The bible doesn't speak of God ministering to his Son during these 40 days. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there are times in our Christian walk when God will remove Himself from us.
Have you ever felt like you were at the greatest moment of your Christian walk just to find yourself smack-dab in the middle of the biggest test of your life? God does not temp us but he will test us. How can we grow if we are never tested? What good is a weeks worth of football practice if there isn't a game on Friday? Why go to basketball camps and play AAU if there isn't a game to be played? Most of our time is or should be spent preparing for these tests. But what happens when the test is over?
When Jesus' test was over He was tired, exhausted, malnourished, and a physical and emotional wreck. Do you think Jesus went without food for 40 days and wasn't hungry? Do you think He went 40 days without food and didn't waste away to nothing? Jesus was a human just like us. At the end of those 40 days, He was beat down. But then what happened? Matthew 4:11 happened; "Then the devil left Him and angels came and attended Him".
When Jesus was spent, when he went through the test and came out on top and had nothing left to give, God sent angels to attend to Him. God will do the same for you if you hold on through the test.
Today, I encourage you to hold on and don't give up. You keep fighting and when you don't have anything left just hold on because the angels are coming!
God loves you and I do too!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Life is NOT a Snapshot
I received a call today from someone with a real and immediate need. This person had been betrayed and hurt at a level deeper than most of us can comprehend. I don't want to go into detail but I promise that most people don't know the level and depth of this person's pain. This person called me and before they could get out the first word, all I heard were tears and sobs. They started telling me their story and I began to cry with them. This person is a Christian and couldn't understand how this could happen. And in the midst of our tears while I was giving them scripture that I hoped would comfort, God reminded me of a line from a Josh Wilson song that says "Life is not a Snapshot". This song was written out of a hopeless situation where God brought in hope.
God wants you to know that life is not a snapshot. So often, we experience pain that we can't comprehend and situations that we don't understand and we ask God "why?". In that moment of hurt, it feels like this situation can never be better than it is now. You may think "this is what my life will always be like because I can't imagine not hurting". Like the guy says in the video link above, if we trust God with our eternity why don't we trust Him with our now?
While my friend was crying, I reminded them that God loves a broken and contrite heart and He will be near them (Psalm 34:18, Psalm 51:17) and that Jesus said "...I will be with you always, even to the end of the earth" (Matt 28:20). I also told them that no matter how dismal this very moment seems, it's only a moment in time and God will provide healing; "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). Jesus said "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9).
When we got off the phone, my friend was still crying and still hurting. I couldn't take my friends hurt away just like I can't take your hurt away. All I can do today is encourage you just like I tried to encourage this person. Please click the link above and hear and example of how a family put their faith in God even when everyone told them not to. I believe you will be encouraged just like I was. Please remember that when you are down, alone, upset, and broken God is always with you and He hears your broken heart crying out to Him if you let it.
God loves you and I do too! Merry Christmas.
God wants you to know that life is not a snapshot. So often, we experience pain that we can't comprehend and situations that we don't understand and we ask God "why?". In that moment of hurt, it feels like this situation can never be better than it is now. You may think "this is what my life will always be like because I can't imagine not hurting". Like the guy says in the video link above, if we trust God with our eternity why don't we trust Him with our now?
While my friend was crying, I reminded them that God loves a broken and contrite heart and He will be near them (Psalm 34:18, Psalm 51:17) and that Jesus said "...I will be with you always, even to the end of the earth" (Matt 28:20). I also told them that no matter how dismal this very moment seems, it's only a moment in time and God will provide healing; "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). Jesus said "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9).
When we got off the phone, my friend was still crying and still hurting. I couldn't take my friends hurt away just like I can't take your hurt away. All I can do today is encourage you just like I tried to encourage this person. Please click the link above and hear and example of how a family put their faith in God even when everyone told them not to. I believe you will be encouraged just like I was. Please remember that when you are down, alone, upset, and broken God is always with you and He hears your broken heart crying out to Him if you let it.
God loves you and I do too! Merry Christmas.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Intention vs. Direction
On November 25th I wrote about good intentions. I think we all have good intentions of doing something good. I was talking with Jon Sweet yesterday at lunch and among the many various topics we discussed, Intention vs. Direction was one of them that kept me thinking long after we parted ways.
What gets you where you want to go? What gets you from point A to point B? Is it your intentions? Just because you intend to go to Nashville tomorrow does that mean you will be in Nashville tomorrow? If you intend to buy your best friend a Christmas present does that mean your friend will have a present from you under the tree? No, of course not. Just because you intend to do something doesn't mean it's going to happen.
Now, let's go one step further. If you intend on being a good person today, does that mean you will be? If you intend on getting up early to read your bible does that mean you will? If you intend to do the right thing, will you?
The fact is; you aren't getting to Nashville until you start heading that direction. You won't buy your friend a present until you go to the store (or shop on-line). You won't be a good person today if you don't learn how to be one. You won't get up early to read your bible if you don't set your alarm. You won't do the right thing unless you just do it.
The point is that the saying "hell is paved with good intentions" is true. How many people do you know that intend on going to hell? Now, how many people do you know intend on going to Heaven? See, no one wants to go or intends on going to hell. Anyone that believes in heaven intends on going there. But those intentions aren't enough. There must be direction. Just like our trip to Nashville, if we don't start heading down the path to get us where we want to go, we will never get there.
Therein lies the problem many of us have; getting started. We all have or have had intentions of doing something grand in or with our lives. Are there things that you have intended to do with your Christian life and you just haven't done? I know a lot of people that read this blog are over 25 years old. For those people, have you been the Christian that you "intended" on being when you were 15 or 20?
Luckily, this is a situation that is easily fixed. If you aren't heading where you want to go you simply stop, turn around, and start heading the right direction. For some, this will seem like you are actually going backwards and you are right. Here's a funny story to make my point. Some time back, Jon and I were going to Nashville to meet up with Kim and Brooke. We were heading down 321 and hamming it up as we pretty much always do. Out of habit, I took I-75S...to go to Nashville. Those of you who know how to get to Nashville know that I have messed up. We made it about 15 miles when I realized what I did. Well, there isn't a good shortcut to get to I-40W from where I was so my only option was to turn around and go back to 321 where I started and this is what I did. Once I made it back to where I started, I could continue to I-40W. Its the same way with our Christian walk. When we head down the wrong path, we have to return to our first love before we can do anything else for Him (Rev 2:4-6).
Intentions get you no where without adding direction to it. The Devil will make you feel good about yourself because you have such good intentions even though something always seems to get in the way and you didn't accomplish what you intended. He wants to see you fail and the best way to do that is to make you feel OK about not doing what you want because your mindset is "Well, I intended to do that but....(insert excuse here)".
Decide what direction to go and then go.
God loves you and I do too! Merry Christmas
What gets you where you want to go? What gets you from point A to point B? Is it your intentions? Just because you intend to go to Nashville tomorrow does that mean you will be in Nashville tomorrow? If you intend to buy your best friend a Christmas present does that mean your friend will have a present from you under the tree? No, of course not. Just because you intend to do something doesn't mean it's going to happen.
Now, let's go one step further. If you intend on being a good person today, does that mean you will be? If you intend on getting up early to read your bible does that mean you will? If you intend to do the right thing, will you?
The fact is; you aren't getting to Nashville until you start heading that direction. You won't buy your friend a present until you go to the store (or shop on-line). You won't be a good person today if you don't learn how to be one. You won't get up early to read your bible if you don't set your alarm. You won't do the right thing unless you just do it.
The point is that the saying "hell is paved with good intentions" is true. How many people do you know that intend on going to hell? Now, how many people do you know intend on going to Heaven? See, no one wants to go or intends on going to hell. Anyone that believes in heaven intends on going there. But those intentions aren't enough. There must be direction. Just like our trip to Nashville, if we don't start heading down the path to get us where we want to go, we will never get there.
Therein lies the problem many of us have; getting started. We all have or have had intentions of doing something grand in or with our lives. Are there things that you have intended to do with your Christian life and you just haven't done? I know a lot of people that read this blog are over 25 years old. For those people, have you been the Christian that you "intended" on being when you were 15 or 20?
Luckily, this is a situation that is easily fixed. If you aren't heading where you want to go you simply stop, turn around, and start heading the right direction. For some, this will seem like you are actually going backwards and you are right. Here's a funny story to make my point. Some time back, Jon and I were going to Nashville to meet up with Kim and Brooke. We were heading down 321 and hamming it up as we pretty much always do. Out of habit, I took I-75S...to go to Nashville. Those of you who know how to get to Nashville know that I have messed up. We made it about 15 miles when I realized what I did. Well, there isn't a good shortcut to get to I-40W from where I was so my only option was to turn around and go back to 321 where I started and this is what I did. Once I made it back to where I started, I could continue to I-40W. Its the same way with our Christian walk. When we head down the wrong path, we have to return to our first love before we can do anything else for Him (Rev 2:4-6).
Intentions get you no where without adding direction to it. The Devil will make you feel good about yourself because you have such good intentions even though something always seems to get in the way and you didn't accomplish what you intended. He wants to see you fail and the best way to do that is to make you feel OK about not doing what you want because your mindset is "Well, I intended to do that but....(insert excuse here)".
Decide what direction to go and then go.
God loves you and I do too! Merry Christmas
Monday, December 19, 2011
Layaway heros
I listen to K-love if I'm not listening to my ipod in my truck. One story that they have been reporting on a lot lately is how there are a lot of people across the country that are secretly paying off people's layaway accounts at places like K-mart and Wal-Mart. I thank God that there are people that have the means to help people and they are doing it.
I was thinking about what a great thing these people are doing and something hit me. These people are just obeying God (or simply helping people if they aren't Christians). God has blessed them financially and they are just doing a good work. It's sad that we live in a day and time where people helping people has become so news worthy. Isn't helping others part of "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matt 22:39)? James 2:15-17 asks what good is it for you to pray for someone in need rather than actually doing something for them. Jesus told the rich young ruler that he needs to sell everything he owns and give it to the poor (Luke 18:22). God intends for Christians to take care of people. When we became Christians, we gave God everything which includes our money so it is His to tell us how we should use it. We gave Him our abilities so they are His to tell us who to help with them. We gave him our time so it is His to tell us how to spend it.
And then, of course, this got me to thinking about what I do to help people. Do I do enough with what God has given me to take care of someone simply because it's the right thing to do? Have I turned a blind eye to someone in need? How about you? Are you doing what God wants you to with your money, time, and abilities?
Of course we're not going to discuss what we do here because the bible tells us to not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing (Matt 6:3).
This is the time of year when most people do the most for those in need and I think that is absolutely great. I hope we all take part in these charitable events. I encourage you to look to help those in need all year. Remember, "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17).
God loves you and I do too!
I was thinking about what a great thing these people are doing and something hit me. These people are just obeying God (or simply helping people if they aren't Christians). God has blessed them financially and they are just doing a good work. It's sad that we live in a day and time where people helping people has become so news worthy. Isn't helping others part of "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matt 22:39)? James 2:15-17 asks what good is it for you to pray for someone in need rather than actually doing something for them. Jesus told the rich young ruler that he needs to sell everything he owns and give it to the poor (Luke 18:22). God intends for Christians to take care of people. When we became Christians, we gave God everything which includes our money so it is His to tell us how we should use it. We gave Him our abilities so they are His to tell us who to help with them. We gave him our time so it is His to tell us how to spend it.
And then, of course, this got me to thinking about what I do to help people. Do I do enough with what God has given me to take care of someone simply because it's the right thing to do? Have I turned a blind eye to someone in need? How about you? Are you doing what God wants you to with your money, time, and abilities?
Of course we're not going to discuss what we do here because the bible tells us to not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing (Matt 6:3).
This is the time of year when most people do the most for those in need and I think that is absolutely great. I hope we all take part in these charitable events. I encourage you to look to help those in need all year. Remember, "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17).
God loves you and I do too!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Praise God today?
Have you given praise to God today? Not for what He has done for you but for who He is? God is so awesome and He desires our praise. He said that He inhabits the praise of His people (Psalms 22:3). That means if you want to know that God is with you, simply praise him because he said He'd be there. One thing is for sure, praising God doesn't require talent or even intelligence (not that you don't have both). All it requires is a thankful heart. One of my favorite things to do is to give thanks and praise to the creator of life. There isn't much in life that I'm good at but one thing I sure enjoy is telling my God "thank you".
If you don't know how to praise God there is a great song that can teach you called "Revelation Song". I'm also including a link to an awesome video for this song. If you have 6 minutes, I strongly suggest that you watch it. What I like about "Revelation Song" is that it has nothing to do with me. It is all about God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3LK3wIHnVE&feature=related
Give praise to God today. You can start by singing this song to God:
Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!
Yeah!
Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King,
Yeah
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore YOU…
Come up lift up His Name
To the King of Kings…
We will adore YOU Lord…
King of heaven and earth
King Jesus, King Jesus
Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya!
Majesty, awestruck Honor
And Power and Strength and Dominion
To You Lord,
To the King, to King
To the King of Glory
God loves you and I do too!
If you don't know how to praise God there is a great song that can teach you called "Revelation Song". I'm also including a link to an awesome video for this song. If you have 6 minutes, I strongly suggest that you watch it. What I like about "Revelation Song" is that it has nothing to do with me. It is all about God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3LK3wIHnVE&feature=related
Give praise to God today. You can start by singing this song to God:
Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!
Yeah!
Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King,
Yeah
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore YOU…
Come up lift up His Name
To the King of Kings…
We will adore YOU Lord…
King of heaven and earth
King Jesus, King Jesus
Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya!
Majesty, awestruck Honor
And Power and Strength and Dominion
To You Lord,
To the King, to King
To the King of Glory
God loves you and I do too!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The "Christian Family" Part 2, what God wants
Yesterday I explained in general how I believe that the typical or cliché “Christian Family” lives. I did this because, in my opinion, this way of living is aiding the destruction of Christians today. The reason I believe this is that the devil isn’t in a hurry to destroy you. Yes, he came to kill steal and destroy (John 10:10) but he doesn’t care if he does it today or tomorrow. His ultimate goal is for us to go to Hell. If he can make our lives miserable along the way then that’s an added bonus but that isn’t his end goal. The best way to destroy the body of Christ, the Church, is from within using the family structure. So today I will discuss briefly what I believe that God wants out of our Christian Families.
First and foremost, God wants us to have a personal relationship with him through his son Jesus. He just doesn’t want to hear from us or be on our minds on Sunday. Remember the “pray without ceasing” part (1 Thes 5:17)? This is a big part of that relationship. Think about the most important relationship you have on this earth. It may be with your mom or your dad. It could be with a friend or your kids. If you’re married, I hope it’s with your spouse but if it isn’t, you should at least be honest with yourself for this exercise. Thinking about this most important relationship, how often do you nurture it or how often do you take advantage of it? How many things do you encounter throughout the day that reminds you of this person in a good way? How often do you talk to or want to talk to this person? God wants this kind of relationship with you. If parents have this kind of relationship with God, their children will know it. I guarantee that your children know exactly who your best friend is.
Next, he wants you to be “prayed up” if for no other reason than to have indescribable peace (Philippians 4:6,7). But He just doesn’t want those times of earnest prayer (which He does want) but he also wants those times when something reminds you of Him and you thank Him for it. He wants to be that most important relationship that you thought about earlier. Having a heart or attitude that prays without ceasing is the best way to maintain your daily Christian walk. Now with all of that said, he does desire those times when it is just you and Him and you are pouring your heart and soul out to Him. Maybe it is a time of praise or a time of bearing your soul, but either way He desires that alone time.
God wants us to have great marriages. That’s why He has rules in place to protect it. The purposes for having a great marriage far exceed what I can write about here but the reasons do seem obvious to me but they all boil down to Jesus’ statement that He came that we have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10…again). When you are fighting with your spouse, do you feel like you are living abundantly? Abundantly bad maybe. A solid, loving relationship between husband and wife is the primary basis for what God wants out of a “Christian Family”. Without that true love (not lust, infatuation, or the “in-love” feeling) the “Christian Family” that God wants will become the complaisant family that many see today where husband and wife begrudge each other. One of my most favorite scriptures is Matt 22:36-40;
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
If husband and wife can have this kind of love for each other, the devil CAN NOT destroy your family!
God wants moms and dads to work for him. God not only wants part of your money (tithe) but he wants your time too. He wants you to show Him that you love him through your works; “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Read James chapter 2 and you will see that not only should we have faith but God wants our works or our actions too. He wants us to do everything as though we are doing it unto Him (Col 3:23). He wants us to talk about Him and spread his word (Mark 16:15).
This is what I believe God wants from us. Does it exist? Yes. If you aren’t living this now, can you? Yes. It is never too late to conform to God’s will. If you really want to make a change and have an impact for God, start at home. Start with Matt 22:36-40 and go from there. If husband and wife will love God first and then love each other, I believe God will bring peace to that family and allow them to truly start impacting their community.
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you disagree and let me know if you need more information.
God loves you and I do too!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The "Christian Family", Part 1
On November 29th I promised you “More on this later” in reference to the “Christian Family” attitude. Maybe I should have referenced it as a lifestyle instead. If you read this, you may get your toes stepped on and you may think I’m crazy. You may say to yourself “no family is like this” or “I bet his family isn’t like this”. One thing is for certain, I think I’ll have you at least thinking about your Christian Family and if so, then I’ve succeeded today.
The typical Christian family attitude or lifestyle, what is it?
First, it starts with Mom and Dad. What kind of Christians are they? As most of us know, many of us are “Sunday Christians”. On Sunday, they are at church. As a matter of fact, they never miss a service. Their Christianity revolves around the church service and their walk with God is measured by how much they got out of the service. The problem begins when they take their bible back into the house. It generally will sit, unmoved, until the next Wednesday or Sunday. A “Sunday Christian” doesn’t think to read their bible because they are just too busy during the week. They want to read but they just can’t find the time. Every Sunday they look forward to getting to church so they can finally read their bible when they follow along with the pastor as he reads.
Second, this lifestyle continues with Mom and Dad. They lack a real prayer life. Oh they pray before every meal. They will even sneak in a prayer before bed. But what they lack is that real time with God. They fail to pray without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17), they don’t have an attitude of prayer. Praying is something that they do when they need something from God. A Sunday Christian knows that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17) but so often, they fail to thank God for them. Their children have never heard them behind closed doors interceding for them.
Next, the kids…no wait, still mom and dad. The typical Christian Family lifestyle continues with a lack of relationships at home. Relationships at home tend to be superficial. Mom and Dad are obviously tolerating each other most of the time. The children rarely hear true, heartfelt conversations between mom and dad. Their conversations may be matter-of-fact and revolve mostly around past or upcoming events like what’s for dinner. There is very little discussion of how much each parent means to the other and there is certainly very little discussion about how much God has blessed them no matter what’s going on in their lives.
Now the kids? Nope. In a typical Christian Family cliché home, there is very little “action” concerning God. In other words, children don’t see mom and dad actively doing something for God. Fortunately, even in the worst of these homes, charity still exists so the children at least get to see compassion for those less fortunate. But past that, there probably aren’t many good deeds being done in God’s name. When was the last time this families children saw their dad witness to a waiter or when was the last time that mom asked the waitress if she knew Jesus?
As you’ve probably gathered, the kids play no part in this. The Proverbs 22:6 says “train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it”. The responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the parents. Now, by now, you are probably asking “ok, how should a real Christian family live”? Well I’m glad that you’ve asked. Unfortunately, time has not been my friend today so I will devote my next post to that topic.
Until the next time, God loves you and I do too!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
I'm a Vols fan, why the heck am I cheering for Tim Tebow?
Hey Vol fans, remember when everyone said they hated Tim Tebow just because he played for the Gators? I know I do. He just didn't seem to ever to do anything wrong when he played for Florida. Now he's in the NFL and guess what, he still doesn't seem to be able to do anything wrong. Even if he stinks the first 3 quarters of a game like he did today, he still comes out smelling like a rose in the end.
As much as I enjoy talking sports, it isn't Tim Tebow's play that I want to share my thoughts about. Mr. Tebow is a polarizing person, people either love him or hate him. The ones that love him can't wait to hear him give credit to God again or kneel to pray again or hear a commentator talk about his faith again. Those that hate him can't wait for him to lose or they really pick apart his play. But the haters still have a hard time attacking his faith.
For the record, Kim and I are not Tim Tebow haters. Because of his faith and the way he played, we were never haters when he played for Florida and we both were cheering for him to win his second Heisman trophy. But now, we are full-fledged Tim Tebow fans. Is it because he is such a great QB? No. Tim Tebow is exactly the kind of role model that I want my children looking up to. He is not ashamed of God and gives Him credit for everything. He was an underdog that very few people thought would make it in the NFL but he has proven what hard work and a little bit of faith can do. He showed us how to take a back seat to someone as a 3rd string quarterback with humility, dignity, and grace. He loves his parents and is respectful of his coach.
Can you ever remember a time when the Christian faith has been talked about so much in the media in a positive way? Commentators can't talk about Tebow without mentioning his faith. Of course they say as little as possible about him being a Christian and they certainly don't ever mention Jesus' name. But when they mention Tebow's faith even the most rebellious muslim knows his faith is Christianity. As a Christian, I am proud to have Tebow as an ambassador of our faith.
Does God need Tebow? Absolutely not. Does our society need someone like Tebow? I think so. Do Christians need to stand up and take the same type of public stand regarding Christianity that Tebow has? YES, YES, YES! I believe that Mr. Tebow serves as a reminder to many of us that we can take the same kind of stand at our work. Look at Tebow, he doesn't have the most talent, he is one of the least respected QB's in the league, he probably isn't even the best QB on his team. However, he still isn't afraid to live out loud for Jesus. We all should learn from Tim Tebow and never be afraid to be a Christian in front of our peers.
Be courageous this week and live out loud for Jesus.
God loves you and I do too!
As much as I enjoy talking sports, it isn't Tim Tebow's play that I want to share my thoughts about. Mr. Tebow is a polarizing person, people either love him or hate him. The ones that love him can't wait to hear him give credit to God again or kneel to pray again or hear a commentator talk about his faith again. Those that hate him can't wait for him to lose or they really pick apart his play. But the haters still have a hard time attacking his faith.
For the record, Kim and I are not Tim Tebow haters. Because of his faith and the way he played, we were never haters when he played for Florida and we both were cheering for him to win his second Heisman trophy. But now, we are full-fledged Tim Tebow fans. Is it because he is such a great QB? No. Tim Tebow is exactly the kind of role model that I want my children looking up to. He is not ashamed of God and gives Him credit for everything. He was an underdog that very few people thought would make it in the NFL but he has proven what hard work and a little bit of faith can do. He showed us how to take a back seat to someone as a 3rd string quarterback with humility, dignity, and grace. He loves his parents and is respectful of his coach.
Can you ever remember a time when the Christian faith has been talked about so much in the media in a positive way? Commentators can't talk about Tebow without mentioning his faith. Of course they say as little as possible about him being a Christian and they certainly don't ever mention Jesus' name. But when they mention Tebow's faith even the most rebellious muslim knows his faith is Christianity. As a Christian, I am proud to have Tebow as an ambassador of our faith.
Does God need Tebow? Absolutely not. Does our society need someone like Tebow? I think so. Do Christians need to stand up and take the same type of public stand regarding Christianity that Tebow has? YES, YES, YES! I believe that Mr. Tebow serves as a reminder to many of us that we can take the same kind of stand at our work. Look at Tebow, he doesn't have the most talent, he is one of the least respected QB's in the league, he probably isn't even the best QB on his team. However, he still isn't afraid to live out loud for Jesus. We all should learn from Tim Tebow and never be afraid to be a Christian in front of our peers.
Be courageous this week and live out loud for Jesus.
God loves you and I do too!
Friday, December 9, 2011
John Knight was dead...
While Kim and I were on our way back from Nashville today I had a nice moment with God that I wanted to share with you. Kim was busy cooking up shirt orders with her vendor so I was just listening to the radio when "Alive Again" by Matt Maher came on. As Kim talked on the phone, I just drove and cried because of what God had done in me. This happens to me frequently while driving so I know other drivers think I must look pretty silly praising God and singing like I'm getting paid to do it. But I don't care.
Last Tuesday I wrote about the ups and the downs that we Christians experience. But what happens if we stay too long in the down period? Or worse, what if we turn our backs on God when we're in the down period? Before January of this year, I had allowed myself to reach an all new spiritual low. I had turned my back on God. I had turned so slowly, like the hands on a clock, that no one could see me turning. I had kept God in my rear-view mirror so that I could keep an eye on him to make myself feel better but I had definitely turned my back on Him. I was more or less spiritually dead and no one knew it.
In January of this year, Kim and I went away for a weekend (after a really big fight) to try to figure out what we were going to do. After a lot of soul searching and brutal honesty with each other I had to come to grip with the fact that the marriage problems we were having were because I wasn't where I needed to be with God. That weekend, God "shattered my darkness and washed away my blindness" so that now, I'm alive again.
I got so emotional today for two reasons. First, I was soooo happy that God "called and shouted and broke through my deafness" so that I'm alive again. Second, I was soooo sad that I let God down but more than that, that it took me so long to let Him make me alive again. I wasted so much time while taking so long to allow God to wake me up. This song is very dear to me because I can relate so well to being alive again and it always reminds me to "do what ever I have to to break through" to get into God's presence.
Have you ever had an experience like I had today? Where are you with God today, this very second? Can you go to bed every night knowing that everything you did during the day was witnessed by Jesus Himself and you have nothing to be ashamed of. If you did have something to be ashamed of, are you repenting? I hope so. If you haven't heard this song, you can visit the link above to listen.
God loves you and I do too!
Last Tuesday I wrote about the ups and the downs that we Christians experience. But what happens if we stay too long in the down period? Or worse, what if we turn our backs on God when we're in the down period? Before January of this year, I had allowed myself to reach an all new spiritual low. I had turned my back on God. I had turned so slowly, like the hands on a clock, that no one could see me turning. I had kept God in my rear-view mirror so that I could keep an eye on him to make myself feel better but I had definitely turned my back on Him. I was more or less spiritually dead and no one knew it.
In January of this year, Kim and I went away for a weekend (after a really big fight) to try to figure out what we were going to do. After a lot of soul searching and brutal honesty with each other I had to come to grip with the fact that the marriage problems we were having were because I wasn't where I needed to be with God. That weekend, God "shattered my darkness and washed away my blindness" so that now, I'm alive again.
I got so emotional today for two reasons. First, I was soooo happy that God "called and shouted and broke through my deafness" so that I'm alive again. Second, I was soooo sad that I let God down but more than that, that it took me so long to let Him make me alive again. I wasted so much time while taking so long to allow God to wake me up. This song is very dear to me because I can relate so well to being alive again and it always reminds me to "do what ever I have to to break through" to get into God's presence.
Have you ever had an experience like I had today? Where are you with God today, this very second? Can you go to bed every night knowing that everything you did during the day was witnessed by Jesus Himself and you have nothing to be ashamed of. If you did have something to be ashamed of, are you repenting? I hope so. If you haven't heard this song, you can visit the link above to listen.
God loves you and I do too!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Do you want to have a good day?
Do you want to have a good day today or maybe tomorrow? I don't think I've ever met anyone that would say "I don't want to have a good day tomorrow" and I'm sure you haven't either. OK, we've established that you would like to have a good day tomorrow but what can you do to either make sure that happens or at the very least, increase the likelihood that it happens?
Some people I know can't start their day until they have had a cup of coffee or their morning cigarette. Others I know can't start their day right until they have had breakfast. And there are still others that can't start their day without a chaotic morning filled with getting the kids fed and off to school. Do any of these things really get us off to a good day?
What is a good day to you?
I think that's an important question to answer before I give my advice. You should stop for a second and ponder what is a good day to you. What would make tomorrow a successful day or a happy day for you? Does it have anything to do with God? If things go your way tomorrow, what part does God play in it? Take your time, I'll wait.
At this point, if you are still on my blog, I will assume that God does play a role in you having a good day.
I fully believe that any good thing worth having is worth working for. I bet you've heard that before. I believe if you want to make good grades, you have to do homework. If want to keep your job, you have to go to work. If you have a garden and want good vegetables, you have to tend the garden. If you want a good day, you need to plan for it and you will need to do something to attain it.
My advice is very simple and probably quite predictable; I believe to have a good day tomorrow you should start it with a quiet time with God. For some, this is something you've never done and for others this is something you've known to do and don't. My good friend Jon Sweet gave some very good advice for those that don't know how to have a quiet time. He suggested that you simply make the very first thing you do when you wake up is to bow your knee and say the Lord's prayer. If you can't do this, I suggest you tune in some Christian music in your car and meditate on God while on your way to work or to take the kids to school.
How you choose to do it really doesn't matter, you just need to do it. It is so important to make an effort to spend time with God. Think about it, God is the most important thing in our lives and yet we probably sacrifice less for Him than anything. I dare you to spend some time with God in the morning. I promise it will make having a bad day a lot harder. Good luck!
God loves you and I do too!
Some people I know can't start their day until they have had a cup of coffee or their morning cigarette. Others I know can't start their day right until they have had breakfast. And there are still others that can't start their day without a chaotic morning filled with getting the kids fed and off to school. Do any of these things really get us off to a good day?
What is a good day to you?
I think that's an important question to answer before I give my advice. You should stop for a second and ponder what is a good day to you. What would make tomorrow a successful day or a happy day for you? Does it have anything to do with God? If things go your way tomorrow, what part does God play in it? Take your time, I'll wait.
At this point, if you are still on my blog, I will assume that God does play a role in you having a good day.
I fully believe that any good thing worth having is worth working for. I bet you've heard that before. I believe if you want to make good grades, you have to do homework. If want to keep your job, you have to go to work. If you have a garden and want good vegetables, you have to tend the garden. If you want a good day, you need to plan for it and you will need to do something to attain it.
My advice is very simple and probably quite predictable; I believe to have a good day tomorrow you should start it with a quiet time with God. For some, this is something you've never done and for others this is something you've known to do and don't. My good friend Jon Sweet gave some very good advice for those that don't know how to have a quiet time. He suggested that you simply make the very first thing you do when you wake up is to bow your knee and say the Lord's prayer. If you can't do this, I suggest you tune in some Christian music in your car and meditate on God while on your way to work or to take the kids to school.
How you choose to do it really doesn't matter, you just need to do it. It is so important to make an effort to spend time with God. Think about it, God is the most important thing in our lives and yet we probably sacrifice less for Him than anything. I dare you to spend some time with God in the morning. I promise it will make having a bad day a lot harder. Good luck!
God loves you and I do too!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Needle in a Hay Stack Life
Kim's favorite band, Switchfoot, sings a song called "Needle in a hay stack life". As the title suggests, many of us are or have been leading a life where we are looking for something that is almost impossible to find. Are you? Am I? I can't answer for you but I can confidently answer a resounding NO for me. When I started this blog, I did it so I could share my faith and what's going on in my life at the moment. All of my posts have dealt with something that God had been dealing with me about. Today's is a little different. Today I want to share my blessings with you.
I would like to tell you that my "Needle in a hay stack life" ended when I got saved when I was 6 years old. Unfortunately for me it didn't. That was of no fault of anyone's but my own. Although I was saved, it was years before I really surrendered my life to Christ. I made bad decisions, really bad decisions along the way where I gave the devil strong holds in my life. Sound familiar to anyone? I would like to tell you that the best thing, besides Christ, that happened to me was a good decision I made on my own but I can't. I didn't decide to fall in love with Kim Blankenship, I had no choice. The instant that Kim and I spent time together I knew that she was the one that God intended me to be with and I was instantly in love with her. It was Kim that taught me how to love, how to love unconditionally, and what true Godly love is.
Needle in a hay stack life? Not me! I'm not searching for the impossible. I no longer have a God-shaped hole in my heart and I no longer have a Kim-shaped hole in my life. Has our relationship always been perfect? No. Will our relationship always be perfect? No. But the key for us is that when troubles come, we lean on God and we learn from them. We try to live our life by some simple advice. It's my job to make her happy, and it's her job to be happy when it's obvious that I'm trying to make her happy. That may be a good topic for a post right there!
A lot of people that I know that aren't content and are living that "Needle in a hay stack life" fail to be happy with what God has given them. They tend to focus on any negative aspect of what they have rather than all of the positive aspects. If they are saved, they already have found the needle. The problem is that they don't know how to use it along with the thread they have to sew and patch the holes in their life. Have you ever tried to sew a patch onto a hole without the needle? It would be futile. You must have the needle first. Christ is the answer, period. However, for real and practical living we need to know how to use him. Proverbs 3:5,6 tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all ways submit to him and he will make your path straight." You can't just put part of your trust in Him, you have to trust Him with "ALL" of your heart, not just part of it.
I want you to notice that He didn't tell us that we wouldn't have to travel the path and that the path wouldn't be hard sometimes. He just promised to make it straight.
I wish you all the happiness and blessings that God will allow you to receive.
God loves you and I do too!
I would like to tell you that my "Needle in a hay stack life" ended when I got saved when I was 6 years old. Unfortunately for me it didn't. That was of no fault of anyone's but my own. Although I was saved, it was years before I really surrendered my life to Christ. I made bad decisions, really bad decisions along the way where I gave the devil strong holds in my life. Sound familiar to anyone? I would like to tell you that the best thing, besides Christ, that happened to me was a good decision I made on my own but I can't. I didn't decide to fall in love with Kim Blankenship, I had no choice. The instant that Kim and I spent time together I knew that she was the one that God intended me to be with and I was instantly in love with her. It was Kim that taught me how to love, how to love unconditionally, and what true Godly love is.
Needle in a hay stack life? Not me! I'm not searching for the impossible. I no longer have a God-shaped hole in my heart and I no longer have a Kim-shaped hole in my life. Has our relationship always been perfect? No. Will our relationship always be perfect? No. But the key for us is that when troubles come, we lean on God and we learn from them. We try to live our life by some simple advice. It's my job to make her happy, and it's her job to be happy when it's obvious that I'm trying to make her happy. That may be a good topic for a post right there!
A lot of people that I know that aren't content and are living that "Needle in a hay stack life" fail to be happy with what God has given them. They tend to focus on any negative aspect of what they have rather than all of the positive aspects. If they are saved, they already have found the needle. The problem is that they don't know how to use it along with the thread they have to sew and patch the holes in their life. Have you ever tried to sew a patch onto a hole without the needle? It would be futile. You must have the needle first. Christ is the answer, period. However, for real and practical living we need to know how to use him. Proverbs 3:5,6 tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all ways submit to him and he will make your path straight." You can't just put part of your trust in Him, you have to trust Him with "ALL" of your heart, not just part of it.
I want you to notice that He didn't tell us that we wouldn't have to travel the path and that the path wouldn't be hard sometimes. He just promised to make it straight.
I wish you all the happiness and blessings that God will allow you to receive.
God loves you and I do too!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Why do we try so hard to fit in when we were made to stand out?
I was listening to K-love today when I heard the DJ say that she heard a line in a movie that said "Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were made to stand out?". In the movie, this was said to a girl that was a princess but didn't know it. It's obvious how this applies to our teenagers today. As adults, we tend to focus statements like this toward our teens because we don't want them to fall in with "the crowd". However, we adults are more than guilty of falling in with "the crowd" too.
How many times have you participated in a conversation that, when it was over, you just weren't proud. We give the devil so many tools and strong-holds to use against us that before we realize it, we are no where close to living the abundant life that Christ came to give us (John 10:10). Remember when your mom told you "if you don't have anything good to say about someone, don't say anything at all"? I do. There isn't much better advice than that but unfortunately, talking about people (gossip) has become so easy that we don't know we do it because we are fitting in. We adults have to be just as careful about wanting to fit in as our teens.
Peter said that we are a peculiar people (1 Pet 2:9). Webster defines peculiar as distinctive. To be distinctive is to stand out. If this is the case, why do we think it is so odd when a Tim Tebow gives thanks to the Lord on TV. Many of us are proud and think we would do the same think if we were given the opportunity, but don't we have the same opportunity every day? I find that most Christians enjoy talking about Jesus to each other but when they are around non-Christians or even luke warm Christians they tend to tone it down or stop talking about Jesus altogether. We can all come up with 10 good reasons why we don't witness to people. We can think of 10 good reasons why we don't tell someone that is hurting that God loves them. But isn't one reason to do it enough to overcome all the reasons not to? When we boil away all of our excuses as to why we aren't being a peculiar people, all that is left is fear. We are afraid to stand out, we are afraid of what people will think, we are afraid we won't know what to say....
The bottom line is that you can't mess up witnessing to someone until you first try it. Jesus said that if we are ashamed of him on earth, he will be ashamed of us (Luke 9:26). How awful it would be if after all of the sin that Jesus has forgiven us for, he is ashamed of us because we were ashamed of Him.
My challenge to you is, if you don't witness already, tell someone that you don't normally speak to about Jesus that He loves them. Be the peculiar people that he has called us to be and you will soon see what a positive impact that you can have on others.
God loves you and I do too!
How many times have you participated in a conversation that, when it was over, you just weren't proud. We give the devil so many tools and strong-holds to use against us that before we realize it, we are no where close to living the abundant life that Christ came to give us (John 10:10). Remember when your mom told you "if you don't have anything good to say about someone, don't say anything at all"? I do. There isn't much better advice than that but unfortunately, talking about people (gossip) has become so easy that we don't know we do it because we are fitting in. We adults have to be just as careful about wanting to fit in as our teens.
Peter said that we are a peculiar people (1 Pet 2:9). Webster defines peculiar as distinctive. To be distinctive is to stand out. If this is the case, why do we think it is so odd when a Tim Tebow gives thanks to the Lord on TV. Many of us are proud and think we would do the same think if we were given the opportunity, but don't we have the same opportunity every day? I find that most Christians enjoy talking about Jesus to each other but when they are around non-Christians or even luke warm Christians they tend to tone it down or stop talking about Jesus altogether. We can all come up with 10 good reasons why we don't witness to people. We can think of 10 good reasons why we don't tell someone that is hurting that God loves them. But isn't one reason to do it enough to overcome all the reasons not to? When we boil away all of our excuses as to why we aren't being a peculiar people, all that is left is fear. We are afraid to stand out, we are afraid of what people will think, we are afraid we won't know what to say....
The bottom line is that you can't mess up witnessing to someone until you first try it. Jesus said that if we are ashamed of him on earth, he will be ashamed of us (Luke 9:26). How awful it would be if after all of the sin that Jesus has forgiven us for, he is ashamed of us because we were ashamed of Him.
My challenge to you is, if you don't witness already, tell someone that you don't normally speak to about Jesus that He loves them. Be the peculiar people that he has called us to be and you will soon see what a positive impact that you can have on others.
God loves you and I do too!
Are you brave enough to be accountable?
I was talking to my dad tonight about my blog because he doesn't have a computer. I told him the main reason I do it is for personal accountability. I know that if I keep posting I must hold myself to a high standard (which is the smallest reason to hold myself to a higher standard). It really got me to thinking about how important it is to be strong enough to be able to admit our faults to a friend. Much to your surprise, your accountability partner probably should not be your spouse. The things that you need to be held accountable for may come across as hurtful to your spouse even though sin hasn't yet been produced. The bible says to confess our faults one to another (James 5:16). The purpose for this isn't for punishment, it's so we can be accountable.
Accountability helps keep temptation from growing into sin (James 1:14,15). Are you strong enough to admit your temptations to another? It's hard, I know, but the bible gives us specific instructions for a reason. Proverbs says "as iron sharpens iron, one man (woman) sharpens another (Prov 27:17). Being able to be open with a fellow Christian is important, in my opinion, to spiritual growth. We forget about the spiritual side of our faith and focus more on our deeds (John 4:24, James 2:14-26) but to get closer to our God, our Creator, we must have spiritual growth.
I challenge you this week to ask someone to be an your accountability partner and volunteer to be theirs. Being an accountability partner means listening without judging....good luck!
God loves you and I do too.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Have you drifted but don't know it?
http://sharemygod.blogspot.com/p/christians-prayer-when-you-dont-feel.html
God has been so amazing to Kim and me our entire marriage but this year has been so different. We have grown closer to God than we ever have. I have been in church all of my life and I've seen a lot of things. One thing that I've always observed is how good Christian families live. This "Christian family" cliche is one of the things, I believe that is destroying Christians all over America. This attitude was keeping my family from growing in God until this year. More on this later....
We have been trained that as long as we say a prayer before ever meal, say our bed-time prayers, and go to church every Sunday then we are good Christians. We believe we are pleasing God. I personally believe that that this attitude is the attitude that the devil is using to break up families. We have heard preachers all of our lives saying "if we aren't growing closer to God then we are growing apart from God" and this is true. Now the devil will use scripture against us (like he did with Christ). He will tell you this is nonsense and remind you that nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38,39) and he is right. However, he is taking the scripture out of context.
I believe that God turned his back on Christ while he was on the cross because in that moment on the cross, Christ became sin for us (2 Cor 5:21) and God can not be in the presence of sin. Nothing can separate us from His love but sin can separate us from Him. Our families, yours and mine, have let the attitude of complaisance and stagnation creep in and kept us from growing. I'm not saying our families aren't saved and going to heaven, what I am saying is that this attitude has kept us from abundant living (John 10:10).
God has shown Kim and me the error of our ways and we have committed our family and ourselves to Him the best way we know how.
That brings me to the real topic of this post. In our Christian walk we have up's and down's. We seem to have seasons of victory and seasons of struggle. C.S. Lewis called the down's and the seasons of struggle "troughs". During these troughs, the devil tries to steal our victory. I believe, as does C.S. Lewis, that God will withdraw that "feeling" we get when we are with him to see if we will continue to serve Him. Nine days ago, Kim and I were both on the mountain. God gave me a word of warning for Kim that soon, He would withdraw Himself from her and He wanted her to be ready. By Saturday, Kim was in the valley. She wasn't sinning, she was still praying and praising God but just couldn't feel Him. Sunday afternoon after church, she decided that she was going to spend some time alone and seek God. When she broke through He gave her a prayer to pray that was AMAZING! When she read it to me I was certain she was reading from one of the Psalms. God is SOOOO good to us, He reminds us to never stop seeking him.
I am attaching a link to Kim's prayer that God gave her. Please take five minutes and read it. If you are struggling, read it out loud to God as your own prayer. See if God will do for you what he did for Kim. She isn't a poet, God gave her this prayer as fast as she could write it with no time spent thinking about it. I am so proud of Kim for listening to God's voice.
http://sharemygod.blogspot.com/p/christians-prayer-when-you-dont-feel.html
God Loves you and I do too.
God has been so amazing to Kim and me our entire marriage but this year has been so different. We have grown closer to God than we ever have. I have been in church all of my life and I've seen a lot of things. One thing that I've always observed is how good Christian families live. This "Christian family" cliche is one of the things, I believe that is destroying Christians all over America. This attitude was keeping my family from growing in God until this year. More on this later....
We have been trained that as long as we say a prayer before ever meal, say our bed-time prayers, and go to church every Sunday then we are good Christians. We believe we are pleasing God. I personally believe that that this attitude is the attitude that the devil is using to break up families. We have heard preachers all of our lives saying "if we aren't growing closer to God then we are growing apart from God" and this is true. Now the devil will use scripture against us (like he did with Christ). He will tell you this is nonsense and remind you that nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38,39) and he is right. However, he is taking the scripture out of context.
I believe that God turned his back on Christ while he was on the cross because in that moment on the cross, Christ became sin for us (2 Cor 5:21) and God can not be in the presence of sin. Nothing can separate us from His love but sin can separate us from Him. Our families, yours and mine, have let the attitude of complaisance and stagnation creep in and kept us from growing. I'm not saying our families aren't saved and going to heaven, what I am saying is that this attitude has kept us from abundant living (John 10:10).
God has shown Kim and me the error of our ways and we have committed our family and ourselves to Him the best way we know how.
That brings me to the real topic of this post. In our Christian walk we have up's and down's. We seem to have seasons of victory and seasons of struggle. C.S. Lewis called the down's and the seasons of struggle "troughs". During these troughs, the devil tries to steal our victory. I believe, as does C.S. Lewis, that God will withdraw that "feeling" we get when we are with him to see if we will continue to serve Him. Nine days ago, Kim and I were both on the mountain. God gave me a word of warning for Kim that soon, He would withdraw Himself from her and He wanted her to be ready. By Saturday, Kim was in the valley. She wasn't sinning, she was still praying and praising God but just couldn't feel Him. Sunday afternoon after church, she decided that she was going to spend some time alone and seek God. When she broke through He gave her a prayer to pray that was AMAZING! When she read it to me I was certain she was reading from one of the Psalms. God is SOOOO good to us, He reminds us to never stop seeking him.
I am attaching a link to Kim's prayer that God gave her. Please take five minutes and read it. If you are struggling, read it out loud to God as your own prayer. See if God will do for you what he did for Kim. She isn't a poet, God gave her this prayer as fast as she could write it with no time spent thinking about it. I am so proud of Kim for listening to God's voice.
http://sharemygod.blogspot.com/p/christians-prayer-when-you-dont-feel.html
God Loves you and I do too.
Monday, November 28, 2011
But God, I'm not that strong!
We’ve all heard that God won’t put more on you than you can bear, I’ve even said it. Is it true? Some would tell you that it isn’t true because the scripture has been misquoted. That, indeed, is true. The scripture in question is 1 Cor 10:13 "…He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it". This scripture obviously deals with temptation and not our burdens. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad to be able to refer to this scripture. However, it isn’t always what I need.
A very close loved-one of mine has had a horrible year filled with one disappointment after another, none of which she had any control over. I have often said that "God must think you’re awfully strong" but did I have biblical basis? The answer is a resounding YES!
Numbers 11:11-17 has a very specific example of where Moses was under such a burden that he couldn’t bear it. He basically asked God to fix it or kill him. Verses 16-17 are why I believe that God won’t put more on us than "we" can bear.
16 The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.
The key element here is WE. Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens.
But what about my loved-one? The one thing that I’ve learned is that hurting people tend to NOT ask for help. Human nature is to not want to be a victim. Human nature is to want to be strong, even if we aren’t. Admitting that you are hurting seems like admitting a weakness to the one that is hurting. Even if you aren’t hurting, the last thing most people want to do is to ask for help for something.
Ask my wife how often I ask for help when I’m sick. She says I’m the worst sick person in the world because I don’t let her love on me and take care of me. Being sick is a weakness to me and I don’t want to be weak. Does my pride keep me from being less sick? NO! The fact is that now, not only am I sick but I’ve turned away the best possible earthly helping hand that I could have. How stupid of me. I’m sick, I should let my baby take care of me. The same goes for hurting people carrying a burden they don’t think they can. Hurting is a burden. As a matter of fact, I would say that hurting people make up the largest set of people carrying a huge burden in this country. Have you ever been hurt? Has anyone close to you ever let you down? Did you wish that you had someone to help you carry that hurt. Did you wish that you didn’t feel alone?
Now, that briefly addresses the hurting loved-one but what about me? Did I look at this person as though they were weak? Of course not. Did I look at them with judgmental eyes? No. All I want to do is help everywhere that I can. God has shown in Numbers 11 that he is willing to help let our brothers and sisters bear each other’s burdens but he has two requirements; 1) Someone that is asking for help and 2) some person or people that is willing to help.
It is my opinion that every one of us should be a 1 or a 2. Ask yourself today "Am I a person with a heavy burden in need of help or am I a person with a light burden today looking for someone that I can help"? Once you sign up for this Christian life you lost the right to take a day off. You lost the right to have middle ground where things are just OK and I’m just "minding my own business". It all boils down to loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
As loving, kind, humble, charitable Christians (I could go on forever listing the Christ-like qualities that should be present in our lives) we should we should pray for divine appointments with hurting loved-ones or even strangers for that matter.
Whether you are burdened or carrying someone else’s burden, it is our obligation to love people. This is one of the callings that we all share.
I love you and God does too!
A very close loved-one of mine has had a horrible year filled with one disappointment after another, none of which she had any control over. I have often said that "God must think you’re awfully strong" but did I have biblical basis? The answer is a resounding YES!
Numbers 11:11-17 has a very specific example of where Moses was under such a burden that he couldn’t bear it. He basically asked God to fix it or kill him. Verses 16-17 are why I believe that God won’t put more on us than "we" can bear.
16 The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.
The key element here is WE. Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens.
But what about my loved-one? The one thing that I’ve learned is that hurting people tend to NOT ask for help. Human nature is to not want to be a victim. Human nature is to want to be strong, even if we aren’t. Admitting that you are hurting seems like admitting a weakness to the one that is hurting. Even if you aren’t hurting, the last thing most people want to do is to ask for help for something.
Ask my wife how often I ask for help when I’m sick. She says I’m the worst sick person in the world because I don’t let her love on me and take care of me. Being sick is a weakness to me and I don’t want to be weak. Does my pride keep me from being less sick? NO! The fact is that now, not only am I sick but I’ve turned away the best possible earthly helping hand that I could have. How stupid of me. I’m sick, I should let my baby take care of me. The same goes for hurting people carrying a burden they don’t think they can. Hurting is a burden. As a matter of fact, I would say that hurting people make up the largest set of people carrying a huge burden in this country. Have you ever been hurt? Has anyone close to you ever let you down? Did you wish that you had someone to help you carry that hurt. Did you wish that you didn’t feel alone?
Now, that briefly addresses the hurting loved-one but what about me? Did I look at this person as though they were weak? Of course not. Did I look at them with judgmental eyes? No. All I want to do is help everywhere that I can. God has shown in Numbers 11 that he is willing to help let our brothers and sisters bear each other’s burdens but he has two requirements; 1) Someone that is asking for help and 2) some person or people that is willing to help.
It is my opinion that every one of us should be a 1 or a 2. Ask yourself today "Am I a person with a heavy burden in need of help or am I a person with a light burden today looking for someone that I can help"? Once you sign up for this Christian life you lost the right to take a day off. You lost the right to have middle ground where things are just OK and I’m just "minding my own business". It all boils down to loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
As loving, kind, humble, charitable Christians (I could go on forever listing the Christ-like qualities that should be present in our lives) we should we should pray for divine appointments with hurting loved-ones or even strangers for that matter.
Whether you are burdened or carrying someone else’s burden, it is our obligation to love people. This is one of the callings that we all share.
I love you and God does too!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Hell isn't the only thing paved with good intentions
Hell isn’t the only thing that is paved with good intentions. Has anyone ever started the day, nice and early after a good night sleep, thinking “this is going to be an awesome day” and then the next thing you know, the day went just as planned except something wasn’t quite right.
Yesterday started the time of year that I absolutely love. If there are two people that love Thanksgiving and Christmas more than me and Kim then I haven’t met them. It’s also the time of year that pulls our attentions in so many directions that we have to be careful not to leave our first love (if you are a Christian). For instance, I had a great day today. I started the morning off just me and Kelsi, and then I dropped her off at mom’s house and ate a quick breakfast. I had to take some shirts by HHS so I caught a couple of basketball games and then back to mom’s to get Kalli and Kelsi. I was pleasantly surprised when Kassi and Kim showed up there from a day of shopping that started quite early this morning. We all came back home to finish the day. I had a very good day. The only problem was that I was so busy, I hadn’t spent enough time with God. The only significant prayer I had prayed today was when #12 for MHS girls went down with a knee injury, my heart broke for that little girl when I heard her crying.
I realized all of this around 8:30 tonight when, for no good reason, I got a little testy with Kim. She was right about something and I knew it but for some reason, it angered me. I knew right then this behavior was directly because I hadn’t spent enough time with God today. I got up and left the room and told God that I was sorry and it was amazing how easy it was to have a good attitude after that.
The point I’m trying to make is that we must always keep God first. You don’t have to be “sinning” to put you in a place where you really don’t want to be. We should always be praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and keeping God in the front of our mind. I know the WWJD phrase is so overused but it really is the question that should always be on the top of our mind when any decision is made. And by the way, any reaction you have is caused by a decision to have it. There is a good topic of discussion on that point that I’d be happy to address in the future if any of you would like me to.
I hope your Thanksgiving has been as blessed as mine.
I love you and God does too.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Fear Stinks!
Can you think of a worse feeling than fear? I don't think I can. Fear is such a gripping emotion. When we are faced with a fear, it can over-shadow even the best things in life. For example, I hate spiders to the point of being afraid of them. I know people with much worse fears but decided to spare them and use myself. When I have to kill a spider in the house, I just hate it. My skin crawls at the thought of it. A big spider will ruin any event for me. How about you, what are you afraid of? This crude example isn't much of a fear but it shows that fear can exist and not be present at that moment. If no spiders are around, everything is OK for me. Bring in a big spider and my demeanor changes.
Unfortunately, this type of fear isn't necessarily what the Bible was referring to when we are told to not be afraid. Unfortunately, this isn't the type of fear that the devil uses to keep and beat Christians down. I bet if you stopped to think right now of what you have feared in the last week, you might say nothing. But if you get denial out of the way and really look inside, I think some of you may have a different answer. Has anyone been afraid of:
The devil will use these simple fears, and many more, to build doubt. When you start to doubt then unbelief creeps into your life. When you have unbelief, you begin to lose your faith in God and then let the out of control spiral begin. STOP IT!!! DO NOT BE AFRAID!
Fear will steal your joy so much faster than it took to obtain your joy. I will never forget a time in mine and Kim's life when we were really struggling to make ends meet. We hadn't been married long and I insisted that she not work. Then we got out of church and stopped paying our tithes. We went from living check-to-check to always being a little behind. I will never forget the moment when I had to decide to get a grip on the fear that I had of not being able to provide for my family. I was playing left-field and a routine pop-fly was hit to me. As I was running to the ball, all I could think about was how many bill collectors names were on caller ID. After I caught the ball, I began to weep because I knew that I let the devil use a temporary situation to completely steal my joy.
God has allowed me to conquer all of the fear in my life. He has allowed me to see through His word that it is not His will for us to be afraid. His will for our lives is for us to be strong and courageous (1Cor 16:13). It can be a slow process to rid yourself of fear. Some believe that controlling your fear is all we have to do. I believe that is a start so that you can realize that the fear is not rational. However, true victory comes when you no longer fear.
Unfortunately, this type of fear isn't necessarily what the Bible was referring to when we are told to not be afraid. Unfortunately, this isn't the type of fear that the devil uses to keep and beat Christians down. I bet if you stopped to think right now of what you have feared in the last week, you might say nothing. But if you get denial out of the way and really look inside, I think some of you may have a different answer. Has anyone been afraid of:
· Not being able to pay a bill
· Not looking good in public
· What people will think about you
· Being able to say the right thing
· Getting sick
· Being alone
The devil will use these simple fears, and many more, to build doubt. When you start to doubt then unbelief creeps into your life. When you have unbelief, you begin to lose your faith in God and then let the out of control spiral begin. STOP IT!!! DO NOT BE AFRAID!
Fear will steal your joy so much faster than it took to obtain your joy. I will never forget a time in mine and Kim's life when we were really struggling to make ends meet. We hadn't been married long and I insisted that she not work. Then we got out of church and stopped paying our tithes. We went from living check-to-check to always being a little behind. I will never forget the moment when I had to decide to get a grip on the fear that I had of not being able to provide for my family. I was playing left-field and a routine pop-fly was hit to me. As I was running to the ball, all I could think about was how many bill collectors names were on caller ID. After I caught the ball, I began to weep because I knew that I let the devil use a temporary situation to completely steal my joy.
God has allowed me to conquer all of the fear in my life. He has allowed me to see through His word that it is not His will for us to be afraid. His will for our lives is for us to be strong and courageous (1Cor 16:13). It can be a slow process to rid yourself of fear. Some believe that controlling your fear is all we have to do. I believe that is a start so that you can realize that the fear is not rational. However, true victory comes when you no longer fear.
My favorite scripture on this topic is 1 John 4:18 – “there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” God is perfect love and if you allow Him to work in your life He will drive the fear away, that is a promise.
More to come on this subject later. I want to avoid posts that are too long. I am attaching a page that lists other scriptures about not being afraid. http://sharemygod.blogspot.com/p/do-not-be-afraid_23.html
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The Waiting Game
"Waiting" isn't something that I do very well. I am a very impatient person. When I'm hungry, I want to eat now. If I decide I need something, I go buy it now. If I want to talk to someone, it is difficult to wait until they have time for me. I believe many of the people I deal with daily has the same problem.
If you are like me, you may also have a hard time waiting on God. If you stop to think about it, we have to wait on God for lots of things. We wait on healing, we wait on divine interventions, we wait on our loved-ones to be saved. In our prayer life though, the devil (and our own personalities) tempt us to be impatient with God. The devil will tell you that "God isn't listening to you" or "God doesn't care about you" or the worst for me is "God would help you but remember the sin you committed? God can't help you now, you're not worthy".
Although we all have a finite amount of time here on earth, God doesn't live in time. When the bible said a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day to God, it meant it (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8). Time has never started and will never end with God. He always has been and always will be. We want to put time boundaries on God for our needs because they seem so immediate to us but we must learn to wait. Think about poor Ezekiel that God made Him lay on his side for 390 days, what if God asked us to do that?
Today, wait on God. Tomorrow, wait on God. The next day, wait on God. While you wait, enjoy Him. Worship and serve Him for who God is, not what He is going to do for you. While you wait, here are a couple of scriptures that may help. They've helped me.
Psalm 33:20
We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
Psalm 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
http://sharemygod.blogspot.com/p/scriptures-on-waitng.html
I love you and God does too.
If you are like me, you may also have a hard time waiting on God. If you stop to think about it, we have to wait on God for lots of things. We wait on healing, we wait on divine interventions, we wait on our loved-ones to be saved. In our prayer life though, the devil (and our own personalities) tempt us to be impatient with God. The devil will tell you that "God isn't listening to you" or "God doesn't care about you" or the worst for me is "God would help you but remember the sin you committed? God can't help you now, you're not worthy".
Although we all have a finite amount of time here on earth, God doesn't live in time. When the bible said a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day to God, it meant it (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8). Time has never started and will never end with God. He always has been and always will be. We want to put time boundaries on God for our needs because they seem so immediate to us but we must learn to wait. Think about poor Ezekiel that God made Him lay on his side for 390 days, what if God asked us to do that?
Today, wait on God. Tomorrow, wait on God. The next day, wait on God. While you wait, enjoy Him. Worship and serve Him for who God is, not what He is going to do for you. While you wait, here are a couple of scriptures that may help. They've helped me.
Psalm 33:20
We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
Psalm 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
http://sharemygod.blogspot.com/p/scriptures-on-waitng.html
I love you and God does too.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Are you seeking God or merely looking for Him?
If you are looking for God I commend you. If you have the desire to look for God because you need help, you certainly aren't alone. That's where many christians are today, we need help from God because of a personal situation; our spouse is sick and needs help, our kids are having a hard time at school, my job is just getting on my nerves.... This is a good starting point for the relationship that God desires from us but once we "find" God and He ministers to our problem, we tend to put Him back where we found Him until we need Him again.
I want to encourage you today to seek God. Once you have found Him or once you begin looking for Him, your search needs to change to one where you are seeking His face. The best way I know to put this is to compare it to my marriage. Before I married Kim, I was looking for her. I found many unsuitable substitutes so I kept looking. Once I found her, of course I stopped looking for her. Was that the end of my attempts to get to know her or strengthen our relationship? Of course not. Once I found her I began seeking her. I began trying to discover her likes and her dislikes. I began learning what it was that made her happy and then I did those things. I also learned what didn't make her happy and I stopped doing those things. After all of these years I'm still learning my beautiful, awesome wife. I am in awe of her. Thoughts of Kim bring me to joyful tears because I love her so much. We have an open line of communication such that we know the worst things about each other and its OK ("Meet Joe Black") we still love each other unconditionally.
THIS IS WHAT GOD WANTS FROM ME AND YOU! Once we find God and begin building our relationship (when we get saved) He wants us to be in awe of Him. If we love our spouses and our family the most, how much more should we love God and how much more does He want us to love Him. God wants us to love Him and seek Him because of His love (1 John 4:19) not because of what He does for us.
Today, I encourage you to spend just 10 minutes seeking God's face. Spend 10 minutes loving God the way that He desires. God wants to take care of us and make sure our needs are met but He also wants to know that you love Him and will always love Him even if He doesn't meet our needs.
I love you and God does too.
I want to encourage you today to seek God. Once you have found Him or once you begin looking for Him, your search needs to change to one where you are seeking His face. The best way I know to put this is to compare it to my marriage. Before I married Kim, I was looking for her. I found many unsuitable substitutes so I kept looking. Once I found her, of course I stopped looking for her. Was that the end of my attempts to get to know her or strengthen our relationship? Of course not. Once I found her I began seeking her. I began trying to discover her likes and her dislikes. I began learning what it was that made her happy and then I did those things. I also learned what didn't make her happy and I stopped doing those things. After all of these years I'm still learning my beautiful, awesome wife. I am in awe of her. Thoughts of Kim bring me to joyful tears because I love her so much. We have an open line of communication such that we know the worst things about each other and its OK ("Meet Joe Black") we still love each other unconditionally.
THIS IS WHAT GOD WANTS FROM ME AND YOU! Once we find God and begin building our relationship (when we get saved) He wants us to be in awe of Him. If we love our spouses and our family the most, how much more should we love God and how much more does He want us to love Him. God wants us to love Him and seek Him because of His love (1 John 4:19) not because of what He does for us.
Today, I encourage you to spend just 10 minutes seeking God's face. Spend 10 minutes loving God the way that He desires. God wants to take care of us and make sure our needs are met but He also wants to know that you love Him and will always love Him even if He doesn't meet our needs.
I love you and God does too.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Why the challenge?
When we stop and examine most challenging situations that we are in I think we will find that most are self induced. What I mean is that most of the time we get ourselves into the spot we are in or worse, we have given the devil the tools and ammunition to come against us. I know for me, the worst battles that I have had weren't because God has lowered the hedge and allowed Satan to test me (see Job), it was because my sin gave the devil a stronghold.
The only way to conquer the devil when this happens is only through repentance and just as important, accepting God's forgiveness. Then, when the devil reminds us of our past, we must remind him that a) we are forgiven and b) remind him of his future. Do not allow the devil to steal the victory that your God has given you.
I love you and God does too.....John
The only way to conquer the devil when this happens is only through repentance and just as important, accepting God's forgiveness. Then, when the devil reminds us of our past, we must remind him that a) we are forgiven and b) remind him of his future. Do not allow the devil to steal the victory that your God has given you.
I love you and God does too.....John
Friday, November 18, 2011
It's not the best day but it's got to be close!
Today God broke through like He never has, or at least it's been a long time. My wife is the most awesome woman in the world and the way she allows God to work through her never ceases to amaze me. I love you Kim!
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