BACK FROM AFRICA!!!!

I hope to be able to share the details of this incredibly exciting trip to Diepsloot, just outside Johannesburg, South Africa! There is just SOOOOO much to process and spit out! We saw over 400 people give their life to the Lord this past week. We saw a Wednesday morning church service that had 32 people answer the altar call at the end of the service. I have never witnessed some of the things I saw this week.....and I thank God that I got to see them!!

Stay posted for details!!

God is good
All the time

The rumors are false!!

I have not died or fallen off of the face of the earth nor have I been sucked into a swirling vortex!! I am living a life that is moving a million miles an hour!! Full time employment, full time student, wife and two kids........my time runs a little (A WHOLE LOT!!!) thin!! Of course in the world of no excuses that does not fly!! So my buddy Stacey called me out on my lack of execution on the blog yesterday......so here I am! I hope to post some of the cool things that have went on recently in my life!....but for now I will keep slinging some poetry at you!

BEAUTIFUL FEET

O how beautiful are the feet
That have on mountains trod
The foot soldiers of Christ
Messengers from God

Blessed be the ones who come
Delivering God’s Word
For if no one comes to preach it
Then no one will have heard

But who is there to preach
If no one is ever sent
Now put your faith in action
And be blessed because you went

Faith comes by the hearing of the
Word of God they’ve received
How can they call on Him
In Whom they have not believed

Blessed are they who bring the Peace
And share with all the Good News
Sharing the story of salvation through Him
To all, both the Greeks and the Jews

Therefore in that day
My people shall know My name
That I am He who speaks
'Behold, it is I; Our God reigns

We must keep handing out invitations
To the banquet we will see
And never forget the beautiful feet of my Savior
That He had pierced for me

<><

Romans 10:12-15
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

Isaiah 52:6,7
6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: 'Behold, it is I.' " 7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

God has me SO busy in this world because He is SO busy in mine!!

Stay blessed!!

IF YOU CAN READ THIS PLEASE PRAY!!

For today I will just post my pastor's blog (pbcvoice.blogspot.com) on here since this is what I would have been putting on here anyway!!


If You Can Read This Please PRAY!
This past weekend we found that some missionary friends were going through some serious health issues. Due to their place of ministry I will withhold names and location but the people of PBC know of whom I am speaking.The wife had to have an emergency appendectomy this past weekend. Today I have found out that she has some type of infection. Not sure if this is due to the surgery or if the appendix had actually ruptured and wasn't treated properly.The couple is searching for a way to get good medical treatment. I don't have any particulars as to where they plan on going. More than likely will have to fly out of country. Please pray that God will enable them to find the medical care they need. Please pray for their funds during this process as I am sure that it will push them to their limits.One other note: The wife is pregnant so we ask that you pray for the unborn child as well during all of this.The God we serve is faithful to bring healing to this lady. He is Jehovah-Rophe.As soon as I find out more, I will do my best to update everyone on her status. Until them keep this family in your prayers.Pray - Pray - Pray!Thanks.

Just enjoying the ride!!

I'm so glad that I am not the one having to hold on to the wheel and drive. Allowing God to be the pilot in my life, allows me the opportunity to enjoy this life in a way that would otherwise be impossible! I am still unemployed (though I don't think I am for long) and this is causing no stress in my life. I know that the God who created me and the rest of this universe is the One who is in charge here. As long as I let go of my control and submit all of my life to Him, He will provide!!

Example: I am about to go to a job which will require me to drive and my truck is (badly) in need of some repairs. I do not have the means to get it done, but it really needs to happen and happen quickly! Friday, instead of worrying about me and my situation, I was very blessed to get to go with my pastor to a family's home where, by the time we left, the daughter had excepted Christ! What a blessed day!! On my way back to town from such a spirit growing experience, I had a man call me and tell me he was going to present me with some employment options today to see what would fit my situation best. Later that evening, I had someone (who didn't know the scope of what I needed) hand me a $400 check for truck repairs because they felt lead to do so! This morning I got the quote for my repairs. The quote was $391.26. In light of my obedience and submission to Him, He provided for me and DID NOT NEED MY HELP!! Our total submission and full obedience to Him is our greatest form of worship ever! I gave me to Him and He took care of EVERYTHING else! Who would want to try to sort this life out for themselves and fight this fight alone? NOT ME!!

He has been teaching me to be still and wait upon the Lord for nearly a year. 10 months ago God reavealed to me His direction for my life. He defined it more clearly for me in March. I had my pastor discuss with me the other day that God brings every member of the body (church) in for a reason. He said he was trying to figure out the reason God brought me there. We decided to pray about it. When I prayed, the info given me in March immediately came flooding back to me. Now because of the nature of what it is; I will not share what it is. I will wait (and trust completely) upon the Lord, and when it is time, He will reaveal it to my pastor. Now my pastor has been given a little insight on it by God.......which is Who will give him the rest! It will be so awesome to watch God continue to unfold His plans in front of me! I must always remember to be still and wait upon the Lord.

So of course for me, this all lead to a poem. Here it is with the verses of inspiration!

Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint

Be Still and Never Faint

Be still and wait upon the Lord
And your strength He shall renew
This flows from who He is
Unconnected to what you do

Rest in Him and enjoy your drink
From His ever flowing fount
Showing patience in His perfect timing
And on the wings of eagles you’ll mount

It’s a marathon not a sprint
So delight yourself in the Son
Never shall you grow weary
No matter how far you run

He has a plan for our lives
Yes the sinner and the saint
So when you walk with Him
Walk with Him and never faint

<><

Stay blessed!!

News Update

I would like to share that as of Monday I am officially unemployed. Yesterday I interviewed with a guy who is a real class act! I didn't know that they still make them like him! Join with me in prayer about this union and how God wants it to fit together. I firmly believe that God has moved mightily in this situation to put us together, now we are leaving the details up to Him! All praise to mu God who answers prayers even if it isn't the way that seems right to us....because His plans are MUCH bigger and MUCH better than anything we could plan for ourselves!

Thank you, Abba!!
scot

more poetry

I would like to share that Jessica Jessup has set up a page on facebook called Psaulms (the name is explained in the info tab) and it contains poetry and devotionals. She is posting some of my stuff on there. Please feel free to check it out and become a fan if you like!!

on to the poetry:

It's all about taking up your cross DAILY to follow hard after Him!!

Take up your cross -
My child and follow me -
Not just on occasion -
No it must be daily -

To gain the whole world -
But lose your soul still -
Not worth it, Die to yourself -
Submit all of you to His will

Here's another one:

His Strength

I can do ALL things through
The strength Christ provides
Because it is in my heart
That my Savior resides

Since He has already conquered this world
As well as death, hell, and the grave
I can march on under His banner
In light of His Victory, standing brave

Whether I’m staring at the mouths of lions
Or having to be thrown in the fire
I shall walk in the Light of this world
Until the day He moves me higher
<><

Daily Bread

Did Jesus pray for God to provide for Him a weeks worth of bread? Nope! Just His daily bread. If you're anything like me, it's tough to only see "the daily bread"! We want that reassurance of knowing that there is a reserve in case of an unforeseen emergency. Where God is standing, looking at our lives, there is no such thing as an unforeseen emergency. We panic while He says trust in Me and I WILL provide for you! So pray for me as I try to accept the fact that God is providing daily bread, which is hard for me though it IS His plan, and quit getting in God's way with all my "great" ideas. In Him lies all my faith and love!

Daily Bread

Give us this day our daily bread -
And the Peace that comes from You -
Lean not on your own understanding -
Acknowledge Him in all you do -

Now cast upon Him all your worries -
All your fears, your pain, your doubt -
Commit your life to worship Him -
And allow your King to work it out -

Holy Spirit/ God's Will

This is a poem about the Holy Spirit as our guide to do God's Will!

Thy Will

Not my will but Thine be done
On earth as it is in Heaven
I’ll send for you a Comforter
You said as You left to Your chosen eleven

He comes to teach and convict us
As well as to guide
He’s that burning desire
That indwelling Fire, living inside

He shows us the path
That Abba would have us to take
Not the one marked self-serving
On that path it is Him we forsake

On the Creator’s path
Not always smooth, it’ll be rough
But by clinging to His will
Says He is always enough

By living life in His presence
You lean on Him for each and every need
Worship Him with your song, your dance
And your life, in word and also in deed

Africa

In response to preparing to go to Africa again this year I have a little piece to share that starts with last year's trip through to this one. Enjoy!

Africa

It is the continent in which
Parts of my heart will forever remain
Squatter camps and the Lion Park
I remember beautiful lightning and rain

I went there so God could use me
To reach people, their lives to change
Instead mine was forever altered
Now it can never be the same

To share the Gospel with those in need
A distributor of Hope and Love
Telling the story of the sacrifice
Made for all of us by God above

Entering into the stronghold of darkness
Defeating it with the Light
Inviting my new brothers and sisters to Victory
For He’s already won the fight

To look into eyes so empty
In great need of the cleansing blood
Only to see them brighten so
Hope and Love like a rushing flood

I count each of the days until
I return to collect my scattered heart
My bags are packed full of Good News
Patiently waiting until I depart

Forever grateful that God was so kind
To allow me to come and join Him
To share his Hope, Grace, Love, and Mercy
And to get to love Him by loving them

Thank you, Abba
Siyabonga (One who is grateful)

Could it really be happening to me???

Today I got to register for my classes at Liberty University! I want you to know that it is an answer to prayers! I asked God to allow me to go to Liberty, and He has answered!! Now as I prayed about this, I said I would go for whatever He wanted me to (assuming that the degree in religion I had planned was His plan as well!!) and He is opening the doors for me to go. Now here's the surprising part, He picked a different degree course for me. He picked Psychology with a Christian Counseling Specialization as my major. A curveball from what I thought, but His will nonetheless. I am so excited to get to go! I have completely embraced His choice of majors for me, because I know it is part of His plan for my life.......which will supercede anything I would have picked for me anyway!

So I ask everyone to join me in a prayer of praise for God's goodness, and seeking Him for His continued help as I finish up the financial aid process!

Thank you Father, I am not worthy!!

prayer

here is a devotional on prayer. Oh, and don't be afraid to "break the glass" when there's not an emergency! Enjoy!

Broken Glass

In case of emergency, break glass. How many of us have seen that phrase printed somewhere? We usually find it on a boxed-in area containing a fire alarm or fire extinguisher. Outside of a mischievous moment here and there, none of us would think about breaking that glass unless there was a real emergency. We are content to function normally without breaking the glass. In that same spirit, most folks do not give a second thought to their spare tire until they hear that ominous sound that only can be made by a flat tire. Unfortunately, most Christians function in the same manner with God.

We don’t have the time to spend in regular prayer with God, but fully expect Him to have time for us when we are finally calling out to Him due to our perilous situation. God is seeking a relationship with us. A relationship requires regular maintenance; not a sporadic, needy, greedy request. Think about it like this: what if you only ate whenever you could find time to invest in prayer first? I believe that Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig would be headed for the unemployment line. In much the same way as our physical bodies would be starving at that point, our spiritual lives are starving for that time with our Creator.

We were created to worship and spend time with our Maker, not chase dollars and sinful self-fulfillment. At what moment do we stop to realize that as we stomp through our day not bothering to give God a second thought or just a moment of prayer, He is still blessing us beyond what we will ever deserve? For a moment of reflection, consider this: what if God only blessed us when we deserved it? How short and miserable our lives would be. Fortunately, for all of the undeserving sinners in the world, (that’s everyone who breathes) God treats us far better than we earn. He gives us life, salvation, family, friends, and everything else that has true value. The only thing He is searching for from us is a small slice of our time spent getting familiar with who He is through His word and speaking and listening to Him in prayer. That doesn’t sound like a very even relationship. He gives, gives, gives, and sometimes receives while we receive, receive, receive, and rarely give. I have heard it stated that inadequate time spent with God is not a time management issue-it is a lack of love issue. You will never be able to love Him back like He loves you, but don’t stop trying. He’s earned your time…have you earned His blessings?

Go ahead, break down and invest some of your life in prayer without it just being a “spare tire” plea for mercy. Don’t mistake prayer for your turn to step up and give God a divine “to do” list. Prayer is sharing all of you with Him, while listening to what He has to say to you. So today I say: dare to be different! Break the glass when there is no emergency. You would make His day if you did. And besides, He’s already made yours!

The lady in this picture is a hero of mine. I do not know her name, but I know her story. Our mission team met her when we were in Ukraine in late June/ early July this summer. She is someone who has been a christian for over forty years. Now that's quite an accomplishment even in this country. Not everyone can say they have followed Christ for forty plus years. But what makes her even more remarkable is the fact that she has done it in Ukraine the whole time. In 1991 Ukraine gained its independence from Russia. Up until that point, Ukraine had been an eastern bloc nation for the Soviet Union. Under the communist regime, Jesus was not welcome there, but he was welcome in this lady's heart! She has had to run from the militia on numerous occasions. She has had to jump trains to get away from them. In this picture you see her leaning on a cane. The cane was a "gift" from the militia due to one of her run ins with them. They ran over her and broke her back because of her being a christian. Even still, she is leaning on this cane as she is listening to the traditional Ukrainian hymns that some of the church members are playing and singing outside the church. They tried to break her body but they couldn't break her love for God! We live in a country where there is no opposition to our christianity (until emporer obama's terror regime is finished with us), yet we are still afraid to proclaim the name of our Almighty Creator! Why? Nobody is going to run over us and break our back for saying YES! I love Jesus! So why are we so timid and afraid? Jesus loved us enough to give His life for ours, yet MOST of us can't even give him a minute! Now, the "funny" part about that is when this life is over and we must stand before God in Judgement; then everyone will be ready to wave the Jesus banner! But it will be too late! People have this crazy idea that giving their life to God means they have given up on life. That everything is over. All fun and enjoyment in life is all but gone. Nothing could be farther from the truth! There is a song I have been listening to on a new (to me) cd by a group called Big Daddy Weave that says to be held so tight (in the arms of God) I have never felt so free! That is the truth my friends! There is a freedom in the grace of God that can not be found ANY where else! Now does it mean that you will live a life that is a bed of roses? No. Look at the lady in the picture. Her life was not a bed of roses, but she wouldn't trade away anything that she went through in the name of God. When she walked into the room, she lit the room up! The joy that flowed from this beautiful person was astounding. Knowing her story, and then to see her and hear her speak, absolutely uplifting. God doesn't tell us that a life lived in Him and for Him is an assurance that our life will never have a bump in the road again, but that it would have far more meaning than it ever could have otherwise.

The sad fact is that most of us are not strong enough for something so easy! I think about the salmon when I say this. We have all seen pictures of the salmon fighting and struggling and giving every ounce of effort in their bodies to get upstream. Even though at the end of this fight they must still lay their lives down right there, they give everything they have to accomplish this mission. It is what their whole life is about. The days they will spend swimming upstream, only to get to their destination and die. The christian life can be like this. We can give everything we have for the cause of Christ, but still have to lay our lives down once we reach the goal we were fighting for. But just like the salmon, their life doesn't matter until they swim upstream and spawn. Ourlives won't matter if we live them selfishly for ourselves instead of comitting them fully to the cause of Christ.

How many of us are strong enough to swim upstream when the whole world is washing away, downstream? How many of us have what it takes to give up selfish pursuits and commit our entire being to the One who has already given His life for ours?

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Can you be strong enough for Him.......through Him?

Words I heard

Lord burn me up with Your unquenchable fire
The Spirit of Your heart, Your overwhelming desire
Flooding the world with the Love in Your Word
Until You come back or until all have heard

How many times have we heard people say I'm not called to missions? That tells me a few things:
1. They are not reading their Bible for themselves.
2. They do not have the walk with God that they should
3. They do not value the sacrifice of Jesus Christ enough to go and tell EVERYONE

Matthew 9:37 says:
37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

AND

Matthew 9:38 says:
38 "Therefore pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Ok. let's call it what it really is; some people can't go elsewhere on mission (health, home/ work situations, etc.) and some won't go (usually citing that they're not called to that particular endeavor), but the truth is that there is more to it than just leaving to go and share the Gospel. Let's take a look at some other options:

1. Take care of the children of the ones who can/ will go.
An example of that in my life is my mother. Due to her health, she would virtually be detrimental to the mission team in the field. But her contribution is, when my wife and I partake in a mission, local or foreign, she will take care of our children. This is invaluable to us, as we know that are children are safe while we're gone. In our church there are numerous examples of this. When we send out a mission team, usually there are married couples on the team. This is only possible because there are people that will step up and take care of their children while they're gone. VERY IMPORTANT!!

2. You can financially support the mission team members.
Let's face it, there is nothing free in this world, especially traveling. As most of us have heard, there is such a thing as offering beyond our tithing. This offering can definitely go to support those who will go. If you can't/ won't go to tell everyone that Jesus loved them enough to die for them because there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun, then support someone who is going to do this.

3. Make your life a mission for God.
All of us, whether we do any sort of organized and/ or corporate type of mission or not, need to make it a point to show the love of God to those around us. What does that entail? Living out your new life in Christ before a watching world is a great place to start! If you think about Jesus' ministry, He demonstrated His love for those around Him at all times! Take for example the time that he fed the 5,000. That is the only one of His miracles recorded in all four of the Gospel's. It starts with Him preaching and sharing God's Word (doing the work of His Father!)with those in attendance which we have known many to do. But then as it got late and He sensed the need that was present in the crowd for food, He switched gears immediately from evangelist to Provider. How many preachers, how many of us in general would have followed the same path as the disciples did? We can't possibly feed them all so we must send them all away. It's not fair if we can help some and not the others, so let's send them all away. But Jesus, making a point to make His entire life a mission for God, decided to seek God's help in showing the entire crowd the true love of God. He never saw it as an impossibility, instead He saw it as an opportunity. So following the example set by Christ, not only do we need to share the Gospel with those around us, but also look to meet their needs when they are made known to us. Just as Christ did, prayer on the subject should be step one. But then ACTION is the next step. There will be people in your life that you can share the Gospel with a thousand and one times and never reach them, but by demonstrating the love of Christ to them, you can tear down walls that would otherwise not come down. For some of the places that our church goes on mission trips, this fact has been proven to us over and over again. From our Alaskan mission team going out on the ice in Alaska to help the natives with their fishing (bait, giving them fish, etc) to our Ukrainian mission team doing eyeglass clinics, we use service to reach some otherwise very unreachable people. Since I have not gone to Alaska yet and I have been to Ukraine to see the eyeglass clinics, I will tell you what I saw there. I saw people that were born into and raised up under communism. People that are so distant and that refuse to open their hearts and minds to the Gospel in any regular situation; but not in this situation. I'll explain "eyeglass clinic" real quick; the missionary (Bruce MacDonald) that we work with there, arranges a location (often times a church) where people get to come in and have a free eye exam and then recieve a free pair of glasses. The eye glasses are donated by different churches and individuals and given to all who come. Now to you and I in America that's not that big of a deal. To those in a place where health care is more of a luxury item, this is priceless. While they wait to see the doctor, we go around and share the Gospel with them. When their exam is complete, we use the New Testament in Russian as their "test" to see if their glasses are working for them. Now because there is a service attached to this message and not just idol words, there is a HUGE response. We are able to have their attention as God's Word is being shared and then we also provide a service as well. We have watched God work some absolute miracles in these settings (remember: it is not us working, instead it is us being available for God to work throught us!) including this past year when we met a medical student there who had been born into the very idolatrous religion of Hinduism. Exodous 20:3 tells us "You shall have no other gods before Me" so we know that it's not right; but it is all consuming religion/ lifestyle so they rarely if ever leave Hinduism. But this young man came to the eyeglass clinic looking to receive an eye exam and a pair of eyeglasse, and he left with a brand new knowledge of Jesus Christ. This man was open to hear what was being shared while at the eyglass clinic and ended up accepting Christ as his personal Savior. That's how service and sharing can go hand in hand. If you need to find people in need, just look ANYWHERE around you. The needs are as varied as the faces you're looking in. Look for opportunities to serve and share; don't wait for opportunity to come and punch you in the face to get your attention! The King of Glory came as a servant to show us how to serve others and share the Gospel with them simultaneously. By doing so we are making our lives a mission for God.

....and I saved the most important for last

4. Pray!
As we see in Matthew 9:38, Jesus Himself is saying for us to pray for more laborers. We also HAVE to pray for the laborers that we have! No man can accomplish God's task on his own. Each and every one of us must rely on the strength that comes from God through prayer and the prayer of others. In James 5:16 it tells us very specifically to pray for one another. When Jesus was in His final hours before going to the cross, where was He? He was praying for the disciples. Intercession is imperative! God is looking for those will step up and take on the burden of praying for all of those who need it! We can all step up and fill that position. Will we? We can pray for God to share His heart with us. But can we?

2 Chronicles 7:14 says
14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

It is the job (mission) of all believers to not just say "woo hoo I'm saved and going to Heaven" and leave it at that. We are to intercede for everyone. We are to intercede constantly. We are to pray without ceasing. Remember, prayer does not have to be a formal thing. You can pray anywhere at any time and He will hear you! You do not have to be in church at the altar to pray and have it heard. Just seek the Father and you will find Him!

Don't think that you're not called to be on mission with God. Christ gave Himself for all of us, now we must give ourselves to Him to get His word out! As we learned Sunday, in Corinthians 12 we find out that the body of Christ is like our own bodies. It's made up of many parts, each with their own function (you can't have an eye that hears or an ear that smells) and even though the functions are different they are all important! The body of Christ has many parts each with our own function; now we must go do our parts!

hodge podge

It really does seem like it is taking a month to catch up from being gone to Ukraine. It felt like my sleep was never going to be right again (thank you Advil PM). My heart has not recovered from leaving all of the children in Ukraine behind yet. I am trying to prepare to go see all the African babies in Diepsloot again, but I can't get my head and heart out of Ukraine. During this time I am also trying to register for school (pray for me that this works out!!) so I can be a full time student, full time employee, full time husband, full time dad, and full time follower of Jesus Christ trying to take His love and His message of hope to the world. I don't know how many of you remember the old commercial that said this is your brain and showed an egg and then said this is your brain on drugs and cracked the egg and poured the egg into a hot skillet. My brain is feeling like that little scrambled egg only with no narcotics to get me there. I feel like I am under attack from the enemy on all fronts and he's using every available tactic. My wife and I are going through a VERY difficult season right now in a lot of respects, but our marriage and relationship are doing better than they have since.....
Weird how that can happen. When my wife was lead to Christ by my uncle, he showed her a triangle and said that the point at the top was God and the two bottom points are my wife and I. He traced his fingers up the sides of the triangle and said as these two points (my wife and I) get closer and closer to the top point (God) the closer they come to each other. It is now 9 years since he shared that with her (he has gone on to be with God) and we are now starting to live out this seemingly very simple principle. We have had times in our lives where the surrounding circumstances have been much better but our relationship was terrible. We were not striving to get closer to God and thus we were not getting closer to each other. One of the leadingcauses of divorce is money problems. I believe it is number two actually (second only to marriage which is the leading cause of divorce). Too many families are split by money issues these days. Now that is only one of the ways we are being attacked by the enemy but it's a big one. Yet when by the world's standards we should be drifting apart, we're coming closer to each other and closer to God even though the pressure is DEFINITELY on! For that, all praise goes to God! I can tell you it is truly not of us! Thank you, Jesus!

Hopefully soon I will return to normal, but until then, may God's blessings pour down on you like rain!

More Than Conquerors

Ever notice that it seems like when we leave work for a week it takes us a month to catch up! I apologize for my delinquency in posting. We should be back in the saddle on Monday. I am looking forward to sharing about our trip to Ukraine starting then! Until then, here is a newer poem:



More Than Conquerors

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies
We’re in His command
On all of God’s promises
In Victory we’ll stand

If anyone is in Christ
They’re a new creation
Old things have passed away
Standing firm on a new foundation

We’re marching through this life
With our King victorious
Till we leave behind this old house
For one so glorious

Traded in the house on sand
For one built upon the Rock
And until I see my Jesus
I am never going to stop

Not wanting to condemn the world
But to save it through His Son
That by His grace and not my works
My new life has begun

I’ll fight the fight
I’ll run the race
I’ll live in Victory
Until I see Your face

We are more than conquerors
With the Savior King
We are more than conquerors
His praises we’ll sing
We are more than conquerors
With Jesus above
We are more than conquerors
Because of His love



Thank you Jesus for making us more than conquerors!! True victory in Jesus!

What's in a name?

Apparently for the little children that I met in Ukraine last week....it was their hearts! It only took a few moments of remembering their names and they acted as if their world was now complete. How simple a task; how great the result! I thought I was headed there to show them the love of Jesus; instead they showed me what love Jesus must have for all of us. Their love was unconditional and overflowing! From the kids at VBS to the kids in the hospitals, they have had an everlasting effect on me. The next time I post I will go into more detail about the children. I just had to share something about these beautiful creatures that I was blessed to make the acquaintance of.

MAY GOD KEEP THEM ALL SAFE IN HIS HANDS!!

Thank You, Abba!

Appreciation

I just wanted to take a few moments and express some appreciation. I'm appreciative of the fact that God allowed me a front row seat as 4 people had their hearts and lives changed forever. I'm appreciative of the fact that I go to a church that allows more forms of worship than the traditional 3 hymns before the sermon. All forms of worship are encouraged....THANKFULLY!!

I write worship poetry. At no time in my life (I grew up in church) have I ever attended a church that had that as part of it's corporate worship time....and why? David was a man after God's own heart, whose specialty was song and poetry (ever read the book of Psalms?). So why do we not see more forms of worship in our churches today since we as the church are supposed to reflect the heart of God to a watching world? How did the people worship in Daivid's time? Song, dance, and poetry are just a few of those ways. Do we see those types of worship in most churches today? NO!

Poetry - no
Dance - absolutely not
Songs - yes.....with restrictions

Now here's a good question; what kind of music is acceptable to God? Is it your traditional hymns? Is it your modern praise and worship music? Now about the spontaneous song of praise that flows from the heart of someone who has a real intimate knowledge of and love for God. Well, while the first two choices are both excellent choices, it's the third one that really reaches the heart of God. You style of music doesn't matter, it's the heart that sings the song that matters! There's where the real worship comes from. So in my case, there's no music attached as I offer up this form of worship to my Wonderful, Loving Heavenly Father!

More Than Conquerors

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies
We’re in His command
On all of God’s promises
In Victory we’ll stand

If anyone is in Christ
They’re a new creation
Old things have passed away
Standing firm on a new foundation

We’re marching through this life
With our King victorious
Till we leave behind this old house
For one so glorious

Traded in the house on sand
For one built upon the Rock
And until I see my Jesus
I am never going to stop

Not wanting to condemn the world
But to save it through His Son
That by His grace and not my works
My new life has begun

I’ll fight the fight
I’ll run the race
I’ll live in Victory
Until I see Your face

We are more than conquerors
With the Savior King
We are more than conquerors
His praises we’ll sing
We are more than conquerors
With Jesus above
We are more than conquerors
Because of His love

UKRAINE

As the day approaches that we leave for Ukraine, I can't help but to get in mission mode. Today I am sharing a poem that is born out of the heart of missions. Until you go, you may never understand this. If you've gone before, this will probably put the picture of a child you've seen on the mission field in your head. I know for me, there are numerous faces that come to mind when I read this:

Window to the World

A loving hug, a tender touch
They ask so little, they give so much
Ever looking, seeking God’s love
The kind that comes from the Father above

You see their hurt, you see their pain
You see their joy when you know their name
You see the darkness, their misery
You see without Him, their lives are empty

Go and tell all the nations
Tell them they were bought, He paid the price
Making disciples, teaching His word
Sharing the Good News of His sacrifice

They live without love, without a home
They live in this world, but they’re all alone
They feel forsaken, no hope for them
They can know His love if they’re told about Him

For God so loved the world He sent His Son for you and me
Not that anyone would perish but worship Him for eternity
Jesus loves them all, every boy and every girl
You can see their need for Him in their eyes, their windows to the world

The eyes are the window to the soul, so our society deems
They’re the soul’s window to the world is how it really seems
The world stands there looking in, to decide what you’re about
But it’s the broken heart, the searching soul, that’s really looking out

They’re all His little children, each and every one
To love Him is to love them, just as He has done
Jesus died for us, finally providing us our worth
He did this while we were yet sinners, even before our birth

You’re forever blessed with a broken heart, at home and while away
Though your body may be forced to leave, your heart will always stay
Pieces of your heart, forever scattered, like chaff thrown in the wind
So happy to get home, but never complete, till you return again

Once you go you will never be the same. Thank God for that! If you start to feel like they will just take from you, you could never be more wrong. They will give to you more than you will ever give to them!

The Great Physician

Today I have a praise report!

My brother's mother-in-law was hospitalized last week with a sinus infection, pneumonia, and a stroke. Today she WALKS out of the hospital! Yes I said she is walking out of the hospital today.

Now who has ever heard of someone in their sixties, entering the hospital already taxing their body fighting pneumonia and a sinus infection, to see them WALK out of the hospital a week after having a stroke? I never have seen somebody beat those odds in grand fashion like that! Never!

How did this happen? A miracle of modern medicine maybe? NO! The healing hand of Jehovah-Rapha or Rophe (Hebrew name for the God who heals us)! All thanks, all praise, and all glory goes to our Creator who heard the cries of many on this woman's behalf.

She will tell you herself that she is getting a second lease on life and will not waste it. This stroke could have very easily killed her. God saw fit to spare her. Why? We don't know yet, but His purpose for her will be revealed in His time. This is a woman that walked with God at one point in her life,only to walk away from Him.

When we walk away from God, He will do WHATEVER it takes to get us back! He is more concerned with our end result, with the building of our character, and most of all with our relationship with Him. God will do anything it takes to have that relationship with you (remember: He sacrificed His own Son so we could be in fellowship with Him)!

What does the statement (WHATEVER) look like in action? In her case, her left side may not regain full motor function, but her life was spared so she could regain the fellowship with God she once had. He is not limited to just affecting our health. He may affect the health of those around us (kids, parents, spouse, etc), he may cause us to lose our job, it could be a car accident, an accidental pregnancy, a natural disaster, an act of violence, or ANYTHING else it takes to get our attention! If you walk away from Him because of some form of hidden sin (only from man, not from God), He will put the spotlight on that sin for you.

Now you may be thinking; would God really cause me to lose my job resulting in the loss of my home and many other possessions? Yes! Would God allow my daughter to have an accident on her jet ski and be hospitalized, never making a full recovery? Yes! Would God allow my mistress to become pregnant which would just rip my family apart? Yes! In all of these situations and many more like them, God is allowing something that looks bad to us as humans to happen. But in any one of these situations, the affected persons may need just that to get their attention, to bring them back into the right fellowship with God, or to get help with a problem or an addiction that they may have never otherwise allowed to be fixed. It may be a parent that is no longer setting that Godly example for their children and/ or spouse. It may be a person in ministry, that if they're not doing right by God, they may be destroying the very people they are charged with helping. It may be somebody that is carrying the "christian" banner and the devil's baby at the same time. He will remove whatever idol or "god" you put before Him. Check the ten commandments, He warned us already!

I have a devo that is dedicated to this subject. I will leave you with that, today. But remember, if you're not living the way God says you should, and you know it, repent today! If He has not brought judgement against you yet, thank Him heavily as you get your life back on track, but know this; if you continue walking away from the Lord, He WILL do whatever it takes to get you back.

None Before Me

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. This is a rather familiar phrase, easily recognizable from the Ten Commandments. Most of our children have heard it and can give you a brief synopsis of its meaning. Yet how deep does that answer go?

In Ukraine (Summer 2008) I heard two ladies giving a testimony about their lives. These are two very godly women that had a story to share. Each one had a story very different from the other; yet the message that the Holy Spirit was giving me from the two was the same. One tells how her husband had a very successful job making more than enough money and how they lived very well. She knew God, just not very well. She had been babied in her early years by her dad and then her husband took over that position. She had full faith in her husband, his job and his relationship with Christ, but little regard for her own relationship. God decided to increase His efforts to draw her near; so in one evening, she lost her husband and his job. All the things that she had faith in disappeared instantly. She now had a husband that was incapacitated; his person, his job, and his faith were removed from her all in the span of a couple of hours. The result though, was that she did (eventually) gain that personal relationship with Christ that she needed to have all along the way. The whole time I was hearing her share this, the Holy Spirit kept saying there shall be no other gods before me. Fortunately they are both serving the Lord now in full time ministry.

The second lady shared the story of her life and how it was dominated for so many years by her mother. She had spent a lifetime worshipping her mother and having the kind of relationship with her mother that should have been focused on God the Father. As she would share the little bits of her faith with her mom that she could, she was met with laughter and ridicule. This would cause her faith to shrink and her relationship with God to suffer greatly. God had plans to use this woman to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. But before she could share with people her relationship with Christ and how they could have one, hers needed to grow exponentially. Unfortunately for her, because of her priorities being out of alignment, God took her mother. This was very difficult for her to swallow. Honestly, she spent more than a year being mad at God. With the drawing power of the Holy Spirit though, she did come into an incredible relationship with God. God was then able to use her to reach a lost world. She has an awesome burden for the lost and Christ-like love for children. Once again, as I heard her story unfold, the Holy Spirit kept reminding me that there shall be no other gods before me.

Now, what do you have in your life that is being that “god that is before God”? Do you have a souped up muscle car that you take to car shows that sometimes fall on Sundays? Do you play softball for teams that have you away from church on Sundays? Do you have a boat that you take fishing on Sundays because you can’t get out there on Saturdays, or worse yet, Saturday is just not enough. Do you take your little princess to pageants that happen to only fall on Sunday? Dog Shows? Sports of any type (played or watched)? Do you have anything that causes you to put your relationship with God in second place? When God gives us a command, He means it! When He says no other gods before me, when He says don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together…He means it! As He continues to draw you back to Him, He will remove whatever we put in His way. He does not do this to punish us, but because he is most concerned with our character and has our long term benefit in mind.

We must learn to prioritize.; God said to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, not keep it selfishly for ourselves!

He will do anything, removing any person, place or object of affection to have a deeper, more personal relationship with the people He created. We were created to worship the King and not our things!

heart, life, or both

When we hear the Good News of the Gospel and choose to respond to it, should we give our heart to Christ, our life to Christ, OR BOTH? The answer is both!

Some people give their hearts to the Lord but they decide to keep the lifestyle for themselves. They show up in church and say YES I am a Christian, but their lifestyle reflects that of someone who has never given their lives to Christ. This causes people outside of the church to view the church as a den of hypocrites. They want to know why is he/ she living the same way I am, but he/ she is going to Heaven and I’m going to hell? This “religion thing” must be bogus and made up. Remember, we as the church body, represent Jesus to the world. How well are we representing Him?

Some people give their lives to the Lord, but they decide to keep their heart for themselves. They attend all church functions, their on committees, they sing, they teach, they go on mission trips, and sometimes they even preach. They may even have the “Jesus fish” on the back of their car next to their Christians aren’t perfect, they’re just forgiven bumper sticker. But they have a fence around their heart, so they can feed it whatever they want to. Pride, anger, lust, envy, gossip, arrogance, jealousy, selfishness, and worldly ways are some of the dangerous things that can be fed to the heart that is kept away from God, even though the life has been given to Him. Even though their life looks so religious, it may still be in trouble. Remember, religious people had Jesus put to death so they could go back to watching for the Messiah. Talk about not seeing the forest because of all those trees in the way….wow!

For me personally, I want to be a full moon for God. Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun to the whole earth, I too, want to reflect the Light of the Son to the whole earth. The Christians described above, can be anything from a waning moon, to a half moon, or worst of all a new moon. Now I have had times where I was nothing more than a new moon for Christ, but I pray He will eventually use me as a full moon.

The best example I’ve heard is: if you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you. Just as an apple tree would be convicted of being an apple tree by the fruit it bears, we too would be convicted or found “innocent” of being a Christian, by the fruits we bear. Unfortunately, I believe the day where we will be put on trial for being a Christian in America is not that far away! We are to be in this world, but not of this world. We are to be a people that is set apart! Are you set apart or just camouflaged in with the rest of the world? Do you look and sound like the world, or have you given your everything to your Creator?

The hope of this world does not lie in the lost, it lies within the people of God! We are their only hope of coming to know God personally. We are the ones charged with praying for this world. A true change can only come about when we pray and allow God to work! Repentance means a change in direction, so if we are going to see a change in the direction of the lives of those around us and in our country, we (God’s people) must first repent and seek God.

I am including some verses that go with today’s entry, but I am also posting (see below) a piece that I have posted before, that I think goes with today’s entry.

Matthew 5:10-12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

2 Timothy 2:12
12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.If we deny him, he will deny us.

John 15:20
20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

1 Thessalonians 4:7,8
7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

2 Chronicles 7:14
14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

It says right there in His Word that His people are to repent and pray. It says we are to live holy lives.Not my words but His! Are we hearing Him?
Selah

Real Living Translation

Real Living Translation

King James Version, New King James Version, New International Version, New Living Translation, Amplified, Holman Christian Standard Bible, The Message, and on…and on…and on. There are almost too many translations of the bible. The debates rage on over translation validity. “King James Version is the only true version!” I have heard that statement at an excessive level. Numerous times I’ve heard it said any other version can’t be a real version because of the time in history they were translated or the fact that they are not translated from the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is an impossibility since the King James Version was first published in 1611 and the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery process took place between 1947 and 1956. As a matter of fact, as of 2007, two volumes of the scrolls had not even been translated yet. This is one of many misconceptions that are keeping families apart from each other and from God. I’ve heard a couple of discussions recently where long time, strong Christians, that stick strictly to the King James Version, missed certain details because of the fact that it is written in Early Modern English. This means it is structured very differently from how we speak in our era. One of these people actually prides himself on reading the bible through numerous times but has missed things due to translation. However, in these discussions, their knowledge of what they were reading was enhanced as people shared with them from other translations which delivered it more clearly. On the issue of time period: the same Holy Spirit that guided men to translate texts in the 16th and 17th century, was just as powerful for the 20th century translators. Or if someone is convinced that they could not be lead by the Spirit as well in the modern era, that’s more of a testament to their own relationship. Personally, I think if you don’t read multiple translations (King James Version included) you are cheating yourself; but most of all, you are cheating those you share the Word with.

Let’s take the four gospels as an example. Does God need to repeat Himself? No. But in His Word, we have the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four books of the bible have the same central theme- the life of Jesus. Each one of the Gospels are telling the same story with a slightly different perspective, yet it’s still the same story. As a matter of fact, Jesus feeding the five thousand is the only one of Jesus’ miracles that is told in all four. So as we see, God uses the different perspectives to best teach us. In that same way we can use different perspectives on individual verses and passages to gain or convey a deeper understanding. Here are a few examples that may help. If you were going to share the Gospel in Nigeria, where English is their second language, it may be a better idea to use the New International Version. It is written in more of a formal English that they would better understand, hence the word international in its name. If you were going to read Paul’s letters to the churches, and you really wanted to read it as a letter, (which is how it is written) you may get more out of the New Living Translation for that. If you wanted to read a passage with the understanding that the original Hebrew listeners would have had, then the Amplified would help you with that. If you were going to share the Gospel with the Zulu people of South Africa, who have only an oral and not a written history, you may want to use The Message. Because of their affection for a story to be told to them, the story-like paraphrase of The Message may help you share the Word with them in a way that reaches them better. You may want to use the King James Version for its poetic nature or at other times for its heavy handed, “thou shalt not” approach, depending on what you are trying to convey. Do they each tell us that God created us for a love relationship with Him? Yes. Do they each tell us Christ died for us to pay our sin debt? Yes. Do they each have a Roman’s Road for us to “follow” to salvation? Yes. They tell us all the same things from creation to the life of Christ to the return of Christ for His bride. But each one gives us an extra piece of the “understanding” puzzle so we can eventually see the big picture God has given us in His Word. I have seen God glorified by people’s salvation under at least four or five of the different translations. Apparently, God can use any translation, because they all have their purpose; He just can’t use silence.

Tragically, there are broken families that could be transformed by God’s healing hand through a caring church fellowship, but remain broken because of a bible translation conflict from within the marriage. The translation that keeps more people out of church is one I like to call the Real Living Translation. That is the life you live in front of the world on a daily basis. We, as the church, are to live a life that is “set apart”. If we do not carry Christ’s light into the world, then are we promoting darkness? Don’t misunderstand me; any Christian can fall. Nearly all of us will, to some degree, fall during our walk with Christ. It’s not a surprise, nor is it permanent. In the event someone falls as we see in Proverbs 24:16 where it says, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again…”. The key phrase after the “fall” is the “rise again” part! Christ did not expect us to be perfect and never fall. Instead, He expects us to rise again after the fall and rejoin the fellowship! This is not a place where I point fingers from behind a “holier than thou” banner. I, myself, have had those days where I did not appear to have any connection to God. I realized that when one of my buddies that I was closest to at the time said “What? You go to church? I would have never guessed that! Are you sure?” I realized at that point that I had gotten as far away from God as is humanly possible. My Real Living Translation was speaking volumes about the sinful life of one who had fallen. But thankfully God extended His hand, full of grace, raised me back up, and walked this lost sheep back into the fold. Just know that no one is above it!

I would be willing to stake the claim that nearly all of us know someone that says they don’t want to go to church because it is full of a bunch of hypocrites. We, as the church, are giving them that excuse by living for God on Sunday and living like the world the rest of the week(side note: the “hypocrites” excuse will not stand when we stand before God. He seeks a personal relationship with each of us, not one based on another person’s walk, or fall. We are all sinners saved by God’s grace). We have to step up and be Christians even when it’s a little uncomfortable, or if we have to make sacrifices (as Christ did for us). You may be the only bible someone ever reads! Do you want to be the reason that someone falls into an eternity without God?

Once, there was a lady who knew a Christian man who lived the Christian life in front of her. Throughout his journey, there was always something wonderfully different about him. He went on to become a preacher and later a pastor. The day finally came that the lady decided she wanted some of what he had. She wanted that same Jesus in her life, because of the Jesus she saw in his. That lady is my mother. I recently heard another wonderful story of how a teenage boy came to know Christ because of the life lived and the love shown to him by an elder pastor. The circumstances that he grew up in would not be considered ideal, but God used that pastor’s life to reach that young man. By the way, that young man has grown up to be my pastor. You don’t know, and may never know the impact you can have on the lives of others if you live the life Christ would have you to live. On that same note, you may never know how many lives you can ruin by refusing to live the life God has ordained for you. We are blessed that God is always watching; but are we being a blessing or a road block to those watching our lives? What is your Real Living Translation saying to a watching world- especially if you go, or went, to church?

You should know this: it is not hard to live the Christian life. God has given you an excellent reference manual with 66 love letters in it. Why would you not want to read the bible if you were viewing it this way? Especially if you accept the fact that it is not designed to limit your life, but to show you how to live like one who has been set free! Now we have a choice; live as the world, weakly…Or live in victory in Christ, weekly!

Spare Change

I recently (finished it Monday) wrote a song that is geared towards believers. It is a celebration of just a few of the things that God has done and continues to do in the life of all believers. I only list a few, but they're definitely some things that I as well as other believers are very thankful for. So this song is written as a way to praise and thank our God for His presence in our lives. I can not wait to hear what it sounds like with music put to it and the voices of my brothers and sisters lifting it up to our King. Enjoy!

Spare Change

Our lives are like water
Spilled out on the ground
Never to be gathered up again
Sands through the hourglass, pouring down

God poured out all of His love
Cracked and broken vessels He fills
Yet His love we could never pen down
With a thousand scrolls and quills

(chorus)
GRACE – though we don’t deserve it
MERCY – for which we’re yearning
SALVATION – though we can’t earn it
FORGIVENESS – keeps us returning
PEACE – far beyond our learning
LOVE – He’s not reserving
God gave us His best
So our all to Him we bring
Sing your praises to the King

All praise to the God who never changes
But who’s always changing me
He changes me from the inside out
With a change the whole world can see
Back to chorus

We push away the Father
Don’t know why He would even bother
To continue to draw me near
And provide peace to replace my fear
Back to chorus

Repeat last 3 lines after last chorus 3 times

loose lips

loose lips sink ships
sometimes those ships are relationSHIPS

This is an old saying with timeless truth to it.

We must be careful in what we speak with our mouths. Our tongues are the toughest 2.7 ounces we will ever do battle with. Paul tells us in his writings that we are to use our words to lift each other up and not destroy each other. I want to take a look at what God's Word has to say about loose lips:

Proverbs 20:19
A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don't hang around with chatterers.
Proverbs 25:10
Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation.
Proverbs 25:23
As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!
Proverbs 26:20
Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.
Psalm 41:6
They visit me as if they were my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.
Proverbs 16:28
A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.
Proverbs 17:4
Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander.
Proverbs 11:13
A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.
2 Corinthians 12:20
For I am afraid that when I come I won't like what I find, and you won't like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.

The last one here, is Paul expressing his fears about what he is AFRAID he would find when he returned to Corinth. The things listed, were the worst things he could find in the church body, should they be present at the time of his return. Paul, who was stoned, beaten, and improsoned was more afraid of finding these qualities in the church than anything else he faced. Along with all the words of wisdom from King Solomon and King David about the subject, Paul shows the loose lips as one of the worst things he could encounter.

Proceed With Caution: A flaming tongue can be used to burn bridges unnecesarily.

Now what can we do with people who qualify as one with loose lips? Forgive them (forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; Jesus in Matt 6)! Leave their punishment, conviction, and education to God. He's better at it than we are anyway.

What should we do if we are guilty of loose lips? Ask God for forgiveness first and foremost and then seek the forgiveness of those who have been our victims.

Going forward, we should use all of our words to praise God, lift up our brothers and sisters, and teach the world about Him!

Jesus told us in Matt 6:33 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness......
If we are doing this, our words will be what they should be. If we are doing this, as well as following the rest of God's will, we will not be able to have loose lips. We will not be able to have our focus on the affairs of others if we are wholeheartedly focused on our Creator as we should.

Use your words to bless and not curse. Be a blessing to those around you and not a curse. Paul said in 1 Cor 8:13 .....for I don't want to cause another believer to stumble. Don't do things to cause your fellow believers to sin, the enemy does a good enough job at that, that he needs no help from Christ's followers.

I'll leave you to day with what Jesus said was the answer to the question "What is the greatest commandment?" and see how loose lips apply here.

Matthew 22:37-39
37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
Selah

WOW! God delivers right on time!

WOW! Yesterday, I said that I felt like God was about to pour out a blessing on me. He did yesterday. He answered a prayer that I have been praying for 14 months. It's step one of three, but it was the big step. Now it's out of the way!

Thank You, Father God! Thank You for counting me worthy to be sifted, grown, and then blessed outrageously! You gave me more than I could ever repay when You sent Your Son to die for me. Then to this you add even more blessings that could only come from You! All praise to Jehovah-Jireh! All of my praise to my Almighty Creator!

Thank You, God! From you're ever unworthy servant blessed to be covered by my Savior's blood, blessed beyond anything I'll ever deserve!

the face of a blessing

What does a blessing look like? Is it a neat and tidy little package, gift wrapped with a pretty little bow on top? It can be, but is it usually? NO!

Now take for example my buddy, Ron. He and his beautiful wife Sarah just received a wonderful blessing in the form of little Miss Chloe (2 1/2 weeks old) which is easy to see as a blessing. She is beautiful and as perfect as a baby could be (crying all night long and everything). But did that blessing come with no pain? No. There is a tremendous sacrifice on the parts of both parents, but the end result of the blessing is worth it.

God's chosen people, Israel, had been promised the land of Canaan. This would be a near paradise on earth. After He had demonstrated His power through numerous plagues and countless miracles, when they got to the threshold of Canaan, they still fell apart on God. They were looking for the gift wrapping and the bow, but instead, they found the land inhabited with giants. God told them that they were to engage the Canaanites in battle and that He would give them the victory in the battle! After He had already parted the Red Sea and allowed them to cross on dry land while crushing the Egyptian army for them right before their eyes, they still doubted. God was going to show the world His power through the victory of the Israelites while growing the character of all of Israel at the same time. Because they couldn't go through the growth phase of receiving their blessing, their blessing was delyed forty years and the ones who were alive at that point would not live through the forty years to enter the land of their blessing, but their children would receive it instead.

There will be times in your life that God will have a blessing that He is wanting to pour out all over you, but you will have some steps to go through to grow your character so that you can handle receiving God's blessings. Just like Israel, when we find out about the blessing to come, we are not quite ready to receive it. We have to grow first and then receive. By the time Israel got into their promised land, they were t hen ready to receive it.

God has been carrying out this principal in my life for quite awhile now. He has revealed to me that there is a blessing that He wants to pour out on me, but He has had to grow my character quite extensively over these months to prepare me to receive. Growth doesn't come from puppies and pillows and everything fun and comfortable! Think of it as a raw piece of iron being turned into a usable tool such as a sword. That piece of iron would be put in the fire and under the hammer NUMEROUS times before it could "grow" into that usable tool. We grow the same way! It is the difficult, the uncomfortable, the unplanned, the seemingly overwhelming, and the usually unwanted events in our lives that generate that increase in character. Not the days that go smoothly according to plan.

Now for the part that comes after the growth has taken place. You are to praise Him for what is to come, because once God has said it, it is so. Then after you have received His blessing, you are not to just sit and bask in the glow of what you have received. You are to continue to praise Him, continue to seek Him, and always look for occasions to bless others as well. You will never fully receive until you have given.

I believe I am in the final stages now. I continue seeking ways to praise Him for what is coming. I am here to declare before the whole world that I thank you Lord for the blessing you have said will come. I believe You when You say that you will provide, so I give all I have to You. All my love, all my appreciation, all of me I give to You, Father. Thank you for being the One who was and is and is to come! I thank you Father for counting me worthy to be grown for use in your Kingdom. Because I know it is not any worth that I have accumulated, but the value placed on me by the shed blood of Jesus Christ! Thank you, Father!

Thank Him anytime He counts you worthy of being grown, even though the growth process will not seem like it..........it is a blessing in itself!

time to catch up

I have been very negligent at posting lately. Hopefully there will be no more long lapses again.

For today I'll leave you with a poem about prayer. It addresses how most of us pray versus how we should be praying. Remember: God isn't just looking for a "to-do" list from you. He wants to hear what is on your heart as well as sharing with you what is on His. So listen closely while you pray to what God wants you to know!

A Parable of Prayer

Our Father which art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
We thank you for your blessings
And your son that came

I know that you are God
And I respect you as my Father
I hate to even ask
I don’t want to be a bother

But I’ve got some things
That I need to ask you for
A brand new house for one
And more and more and more

You don’t understand Lord
How hard it is for me
Because of your perfection
My pain is hard to see

I struggle with my house Lord
My kids, their school and such
We have a few nice things
But it isn’t very much

By the way, my Mom is sick Lord
How could you; why ME
This just isn’t fair
How can you not see

And what about at work Lord
The promotion that never came to be
I’m looking for an answer
To the question: why not me

Don’t you understand Lord
I have so many needs
I think that I’m a good person
I believe I do good deeds

Why me, why not me
Do for me and give me more
Now let’s talk about the blessings for me
That you have in store

-----------------

I gave to you my only son
And that was not enough
For YOUR sins HE had to die
Yet you think you’ve got it tough

Even from the beginning
I gave man a garden minus one tree
A life of pure perfection
Still you turned your back on me

I had to destroy the earth with water
Because man’s sin became so
I said I wouldn’t do that again
I promised with a rainbow

Man has been given lots of chances
Still he throws them all away
Yet he has the Father’s love
And forgiveness every day

We live inside God’s mercy
But we put God’s will to the test
And he continues to remove our sins
As far as the east is from the west

-------------------

Now I see that my selfishness
Was not the way to go
I know I serve almighty God
The greatest love I’ll know

Dear Lord I’d like to thank you
For the blessings I receive
For all the help you’ve given me
And the burdens you relieve

You’ve done so much for me already
Despite the way I’m livin’
You died there on that cross
So I could be forgiven

I am asking for forgiveness
For the sins that I have done
I thank you for your power
And the victory you’ve won

I need to do the Father’s work
And do so urgently
Lord I make this offer
Here am I, send me

Father God in closing
I’m so thankful you’re always there
Pouring out your love for me
Speaking and listening, while I’m in prayer

Amen

Prayer is simply a conversation. And since we have two ears and one mouth, I believe we should be listening twice as much as we speak. Selah

Recovery

I took a recovery class through our church last year and I believe it was one of the best things I have ever done. At the beginning of the class, we all had to verbalize what we were there to "recover" from. Mine was: I am looking to lay the past to rest, clean the skeletons out of the closet, and then move on with whatever the Lord had planned for me.

As I went through the class I found out how messed up I really was. I learned a lot about me and about how to "break the addiction", no matter what the addiction is. You must remove yourself from the situation that contains your particular addiction.

I'll use alcoholic for my example because most of us know at least one, not because it is any worse than any other self destructive addiction. They ALL can kill in one way or another.

If you're an alcoholic and you've decided to lay your personal demon to rest, you must live a different life than what you did before. You can't go run around with the same guys and go to the same places and watch them drink and have them offer it to you and ever expect to get away from that demon. You have to change your habits, your surroundings, and yes, sometimes even your friends. Now real friends will respect your decision to change, and understand what you are having to do differently to win the battle over your addiction. Some of your "friends" will not. Those people are not your real friends any way. A real friend is going to want to see you succeed and not hope you'll continue to wallow in your addiction with them. Some friends will say they're helping when they're only feeding the problem. Beware! It is that well intentioned friend that can do the most damage. They are not like the ones who call you names for wanting to change and really let you know they're not interested in helping. Instead they say (and often think) they are helping. ex: I will show you that you can have just one or two drinks and stop. You'll be fine. I'll help you. That is deceptively destructive, and worst of all, they have the best intentions at heart. They don't mean to push you back off the cliff again, they just do.

But there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother that can facilitate change for you.

Now my first (and only) recommendation on life change is to accept Christ into your life (He's that friend). I have never seen anything work like that. He will change you from the inside out and He will provide instructions on your next step and the next and so on. Trying to change yourself just because you woke up with a really bad hangover is not the most effective way to change. That would be like a tiger waking up one day and deciding it wanted to be spotted instead of striped. Through the guidance and instruction of God's word and the Holy Spirit, you will know what is right and wrong. If you want to justify that something is right to yourself, after having Christ in your life, it's real easy; ask Him! He will let you know that what you're doing is right or wrong. JUST ASK HIM!

Now he gave us a wonderful collection of love letters to reveal to us who He is and what He views as acceptable and unacceptable so we would have some guidelines to function by. If you think your addiction is ok, ask Him, He'll let you know. And if you really want to change, ask Him, He'll come in to your life and make changes that you won't even be able to believe you were capable of.

So stop struggling alone! Give your life to God and let Him help you change......for good!

God I would like to thank You for tha changes You have facilitated in my life! I truly couldn't have done it without You and those You provided for me, to come alond side me. Thank You!

Are you a christian?

If yes, are you a part-time or full-time christian? Do you want God to be there for you part-time or full-time? Did your answers for those two questions match? Shouldn't they?

What is it that God will allow us to put in line in front of Him? Everything in the world; for a season. Man was created to have a love relationship with God. If we are not giving our entire being to the One who gave us life and then gave His life for us; we are omitting the whole reason we're here. Because of the purpose God has for each of us, He will allow us to run our lives until we run them in the ground. Or He will allow us to put everything else we "love" in front of Him. But He will continue to draw us to Himself. He does this because it is through this love relationship with Him that we are able to know the Father's will. This relationship is fostered through time in His Word (getting to know Him and His character), time in prayer (learning to hear what is on the Father's heart while sharing with Him what is on yours), quiet time with the Father (learning to hear Him speak), and time in worship, both private and corporate. God is willing to do anything to get to that point where we are in a love relationship with Him.

The Bible says in Romans 5:8
8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!

That relationship is so important to Him that He was willing to die for it! He is also willing to allow us to go through WHATEVER we have to, so that we get to that point as well. He removes whatever stands in the way of your relationship with Him, not because of some vendetta against you, but because He has a perfect love for you and has your long term benefits in mind over your current pleasure.

Below is a devo that reflects this concept:

None Before Me

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. This is a rather familiar phrase, easily recognizable from the Ten Commandments. Most of our children have heard it and can give you a brief synopsis of its meaning. Yet how deep does that answer go?

In Ukraine (Summer 2008) I heard two ladies giving a testimony about their lives. These are two very godly women that had a story to share. Each one had a story very different from the other; yet the message that the Holy Spirit was giving me from the two was the same. One tells how her husband had a very successful job making more than enough money and how they lived very well. She knew God, just not very well. She had been babied in her early years by her dad and then her husband took over that position. She had full faith in her husband, his job and his relationship with Christ, but little regard for her own relationship. God decided to increase His efforts to draw her near; so in one evening, she lost her husband and his job. All the things that she had faith in disappeared instantly. She now had a husband that was incapacitated; his person, his job, and his faith were removed from her all in the span of a couple of hours. The result though, was that she did (eventually) gain that personal relationship with Christ that she needed to have all along the way. The whole time I was hearing her share this, the Holy Spirit kept saying there shall be no other gods before me. Fortunately they are both serving the Lord now in full time ministry.

The second lady shared the story of her life and how it was dominated for so many years by her mother. She had spent a lifetime worshipping her mother and having the kind of relationship with her mother that should have been focused on God the Father. As she would share the little bits of her faith with her mom that she could, she was met with laughter and ridicule. This would cause her faith to shrink and her relationship with God to suffer greatly. God had plans to use this woman to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. But before she could share with people her relationship with Christ and how they could have one, hers needed to grow exponentially. Unfortunately for her, because of her priorities being out of alignment, God took her mother. This was very difficult for her to swallow. Honestly, she spent more than a year being mad at God. With the drawing power of the Holy Spirit though, she did come into an incredible relationship with God. God was then able to use her to reach a lost world. She has an awesome burden for the lost and Christ-like love for children. Once again, as I heard her story unfold, the Holy Spirit kept reminding me that there shall be no other gods before me.

Now, what do you have in your life that is being that “god that is before God”? Do you have a souped up muscle car that you take to car shows that sometimes fall on Sundays? Do you play softball for teams that have you away from church on Sundays? Do you have a boat that you take fishing on Sundays because you can’t get out there on Saturdays, or worse yet, Saturday is just not enough. Do you take your little princess to pageants that happen to only fall on Sunday? Dog Shows? Sports of any type (played or watched)? Do you have anything that causes you to put your relationship with God in second place? When God gives us a command, He means it! When He says no other gods before me, when He says don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together…He means it! As He continues to draw you back to Him, He will remove whatever we put in His way. He does not do this to punish us, but because he is most concerned with our character and has our long term benefit in mind.

We must learn to prioritize.; God said to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, not keep it selfishly for ourselves!

He will do anything, removing any person, place or object of affection to have a deeper, more personal relationship with the people He created. We were created to worship the King and not our things!
<><

All I can say is: He gave you the best He had (Jesus), can you say the same?

God didn't say: I'm going to go have a little fun, a little "Me" time, and then you guys can have the rest of what's left of my time. Why do you?

God first
everyone else second
ourselves last

Who is He?

I would like to share a poem I wrote just to give a brief overview of who God is to me. I felt like I could have continued to write into eternity but I cut it off with a few of the highlights. Enjoy my God!!! I do!

Your Name

My Almighty Creator’s name
Is a name above the rest
The name that began creation
The name through which all are blessed

To me He’s more than a name though
He’s my Father, Counselor, and Friend
He is the Alpha and the Omega
He is our beginning, who will be there in the end

He is the Vine of Whom
I, the branch do belong
He’s my cornerstone, my foundation
He is the source of my new song

He’s Jehovah-Jireh
My God who provides for me
He’s my Bright and Morning Star
The Light of my life that you see

For me, He’s Jehovah-Shammah
The One who is always near
The Peace surpassing all understanding
The Peace that replaces my fear

My Rock, my Fortress
He is my Strong Tower
My blessed Savior, He’s the source
Of my life’s resurrection power

The Resurrection and the Life
The Truth, He’s the only Way
Only begotten Son of God
The Dawn of every New Day

Sacrificed and buried, raised up
In a new body, so glorious
The Lion of the tribe of Judah
The One who reigns victorious

He is Jehovah-Rapha
Healer of whatever ails
Author and Finisher of my faith
The God who never fails

He’s the Bread of Life who
Feeds my soul, its hunger ending
When what you see becomes marred
He’s the Potter’s hands mending

He’s the Living Water
When my soul thirsts, He satisfies
When I’ve fought the good fight
He’s my Wonderful prize

He is my Jehovah-Shalom who
Quiets my storm and brings the peace
He’s my Bridegroom coming to get me
When He splits the skies in the east

I strive to know the many facets of
His character, in whole or in part
Of one thing I’m forever sure
Jesus, I love you, with all of my heart
<><

In this I used some of God's Hebrew names (ex. Jehovah-Shalom) because I love the different facets of God's character and these names are usually direct reflections of who He revealed Himself to be to different people down through the Bible. I also give the meaning of that name in the next line, so we can all enjoy who He is!

Today I am looking to create a new name for God based on how He reveals Himself to me. I know who He has been in my life to this point. TODAY our relationship goes to what Ed Young calls the HNL (hole nutha level) and I am looking forward to naming this day and this time as it is a spiritual marker in my life!

As I leave you for this post, know that I am singing "Come, Lord Jesus, come", so as to invite Him in. I invite Him to show who He is to me!

2 Cor 12 8-10
8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.9 Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.10 That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Selah

delinquent

I have been rather delinquent with my next posting this week. I have spent more time reading other people's blogs than I have posting on my own. I have been reading some from a group of people that are in Uganda sharing the Gospel as well as other jobs such as medical, kids ministry, etc. This is of interest to me because I know that God will be sending me to Uganda at some point, so I am trying to become acquianted with Uganda ahead of time. One of them had a post on their blog that really struck a cord with me. I have always been a little hung up on the fact that God chooses to play to my weaknesses to show His strength. I always want to play to my "strength". Luckily the two do not even compare. His strength is infinite. Mine is very finite. But I have comfort knowing my life verse:

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

ALL THINGS! That is a very broad statement. I would like to include an excerpt from the blog to show you what effected me.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is this. We read this in a book at orientation and it caught me then, but I re-read it and all of a sudden it really made sense to me:

"I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me." -Hudson Taylor

In other words, what He calls me to do, I want to obey and do His will. He doesn't need my gifts, my abilities, or my dreams. If he calls me to do something, He will equip me to do them. He will give me the gifts to do it. He will give me the ability to do it.

Maybe it's the fact that in the states, so many people are thinking about who they are. We are all trying to figure out our self esteem and make something of ourselves. We are all trying to "be ourselves". Have I been hanging onto self too tightly? Are we willing to lose even ourselves for the sake of Christ?"

WOW! Pretty heavy! He doesn't need my strength. I do, however, need His. He doesn't need my gifts, talents, abilities. To be quite frank, He doesn't need me. He can accomplish His will with or without me. If it is with me, then I receive the blessing that can only come from being the tool that God uses to accomplish His will. If it is without me, then I miss out on the blessing, but He still accomplishes the job through someone who then receives that blessing. WOW! So He doesn't need anything I have to offer, but I CAN accomplish anything that is His will through His strength! What an awesome God! I am humbled by my Creator!

Heavenly Father, I ask you to please continue to help me get me out of Your way! In Jesus name, Amen!

Defeat or da feet?

How are you living your life these days? Are you living a life of defeat? Are you defeated by the trials of life? Why? You can go to da feet of Jesus and live a victorious life! His death, burial, and resurrection are our victory! God will allow some bumps and bruises in your life to ultimately grow your charcter to where He sees fit. He is often compared to the potter molding clay in His hands. Now if you imagine what the clay "feels" like as it is getting molded, we could see that being painful. But I want to give you a better comparison. Let's look at one of our country's most famous landmarks, Mount Rushmore. I have seen video footage of the creation of Mount Rushmore, they used dynamite blasts, heavy duty drilling, hammers, grinders, etc. Now that is rather uncomfortable sounding, but now we all stand in awe of the new creation. What was once a broken and jagged granite rock face, is now a creation with little to equal it. Was it a bed of roses transforming a cliff into four men's faces? No. Is it a bed of roses being taken from that very rough lump of clay and being molded into a vessel that can be used by the Master? No. Is it worth it? Yes! It says in Isaiah 53:5 that by His stripes, we are healed. In our individual lives, by our own stripes we are grown. He uses His stripes to heal us and uses our own stripes to reveal us to the world as the greatest creation we can be. We have to make sure not to quit because it hurts, it's hard, it's uncomfortable, it's not what I had planned, it's not the most glorious thing I can do, it's not fun, it's not my forte or because it's where you're at your weakest.

2 Corinthians 12:9,10
9 Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
10 That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Allow Him to show His strength through your weakness; it will make you stronger!

You see, as long as you live at da feet, you'll never have to live in defeat. He'll meet you there.....He'll teach you there.

By the way; you should know that this is the lesson God is teaching me in my life right now! He is allowing me the blessing of seeing His power through my weakness. He is growing me, molding me, making me a more usable tool for the Kingdom. I am suddenly reminded of a previous post with a little tehilah in it (see below). Here is the excerpt I am thinking of:

Bend me, shape me
anyway You want me

Mold me, make me
anyway You want me

Send me, Use me
Your blood has bought me

He must have heard the same song.......hmmmmmm......THANK YOU LORD!!!
May I always live at da feet of my King rather than in defeat! and you?

Portrait of the Father

In the book of Genesis it tells us that we were created in God's image. God has more traits than we could ever know in this life. He did however give us a way to see what some of His traits are like. A mother's love, a father's discipline, a mother's caring nature, a father's protective nature, and so on. We can see a multitude of His qualitites through His creation. I wrote a poem for my mom for Mother's Day that is reflective of that parallel between our moms and our Father. Here goes:

The Greatest Gift

The greatest gift given us by God
Is a risen Savior and an empty tomb
This Gift was sent to us
Through a virgin mother’s womb

Faith, hope, and love are more
Great gifts from above
But the greatest of these gifts
He gave us is love

What has God sent to show us
That love is above every other
He sent us unconditional love
In the form of a mother

We’re made in His image
The Creator’s reflection
We learn of His love
By a mother’s hug and affection

Her kiss, her smile
Seem to be bathed in Son Light
She grew us into men and women
Teaching us wrong from right

He’s our Rock, our Shelter
Our protection from the storm
Her lap, her love
Always feeling safe and warm

God’s love is never ending
It goes on for an eternity
But to give us a glimpse of it
He sent a mother to you and to me
<><

Don't forget your mothers on this Mother's Day!!

free verse

a lighter view from the dark side

only from the darkness
can we truly see the Light
resist the enemy, cling to the Lord
only He can make it right

His blood was shed
His body was torn
and through His stripes
we're forever reborn

It speaks for Itself

James 4:7-10
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Romans 12:12-16
12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
13 When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.
15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.
16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all!

2 Chronicles 7:14
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

1 Timothy 2:1-7
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle--I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying--a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

For this post I'll shut up and let the Word of God speak for itself!
Selah