Thinking Allowed

The Love & Respect Experience (book review)

2012-01-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

The Love & Respect Experience is a great devotional book for couples looking to deepen their understanding of one another. It is written as a weekly devotional versus a daily devotion. Many couples might find a daily devotional hard to do, but a weekly devotional more suited to their lifestyle. The whole premise of the book is to help understand that men need respect and women need love. Each devotional uses a Bible verse and a main point to highlight love and respect. Examples are given from the Eggerichs and other real life couples that help make the main point. Each devotion also has questions for the couple for further exploration and discussion. For any couple looking to deepen their communication with and understanding of their spouse, this would be a highly recommended book.

To build this couples devotional, Eggerichs has taken the top concerns that surfaced in a survey of thousands of couples and has developed 52 devotionals around the three cycles that are at the heart of Love and Respect:

The Crazy Cycle

The Rewarded Cycle

The Energizing Cycle

This devotional is very “husband-friendly” as many men don’t like to read. However, even if one spouse doesn’t want to read the devotional, it can be read and enacted upon by just one spouse. Applying the lessons learned will help marriages in many different ways.

This is the second book I have ready by Emerson Eggerichs. His whole premise is that men need respect and women need love. As a pastor, I have found this to be very true in dealing with married couples. I would recommend anything by Emerson Eggerichs. I do not believe you will be disappointed.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers for my honest review and evaluation.

The Ragamuffin Gospel (book review)

2012-01-05T19:49:00.000-06:00

There are very few books that I have read in my lifetime that have had such an impact upon me. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning is one of those books. The gospel of grace is one of the most misunderstood doctrines of the Christian faith. So many Christians say they believe in God’s love and grace but do not live under God’s love and grace. Brennan writes about this grace in his book. The thing that stands out to me the most is the sheer honesty and rawness with which he writes. Some Christian books sound like the author has it all together and is a complete expert on their subject (and maybe they are). Brennan writes as a man still on a journey of discovering God’s grace. The only thing that Brennan seems to be an expert on is being a ragamuffin. Within the pages of this book you will go on a journey of discovery. You will see humanity as God sees them….the very objects of His great love and affection. You will not read about perfect people, only real people on a journey. You will read about broken lives and the God who longs to fix them. You will discover grace and love in a down-to-earth style.

I cannot recommend this book enough. If you struggle with feeling like you are on a treadmill of performance or like you just can’t please God, then read this book. If you feel like you are a failure and just can’t get it together, then read this book. If you feel that you have it all together and you understand God’s love and grace, then read this book. This book should be required reading for every pastor and seminary student. It should be on every “should-read” list. The Ragamuffin Gospel is one of those books that should be read once a year, or anytime someone begins to feel beat up by life. God loves ragamuffins and is in a furious pursuit of them. I have gotten plenty of material for sermons, blogs and articles from this book.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Christ in Christmas

2011-12-20T16:22:00.001-06:00

So many Christians today are up in arms because stores are dropping Merry Christmas for Happy Holidays. So, we post all kinds of signs that say "Keep Christ in Christmas". I do understand the frustration of Christians that look at a culture that increasingly is becoming more anti-Christian and anti-God. However as I have been thinking about this issue, I have come up with the following challenge for Christians:

The best way to keep Christ in Christmas is to act like Christ during Christmas (and throughout the year).

An Overview of the New Covenant

2011-12-04T21:16:00.002-06:00

In this message, I start with Adam & Eve to give an overview of the New Covenant and how it came to be. So many Christians are living in a mixture of the Old & New Testament. It's all about relationship not rules.

With a Lion in a Pit on a Snowy Day (Book Review)

2011-12-01T19:40:00.001-06:00

In this book, Mark Batterson does a great job of challenging the reader to believe that God can do great things through "ordinary people". He takes a very obscure passage of scripture, one that most people would simply overlook, and makes a great case for the amazing things that God can do for someone who would be willing to believe. In this book, Mark gives us seven things that "lion-chasers" need to do:

* Overcome adversity
* Unlearn fears
* Embrace uncertainty
* Calculate risks
* Seize opportunities
* Defy the odds
* Look foolish

This book will challenge your faith and give you courage to face the things that come your way. An opportunity is always in front of you if you will just learn to see it and embrace it. Using stories from his own journey and the journey of others, Mark gives great examples of how to chase lions and be an overcomer.

I had seen this book recommended for a couple of years now and I had been wanting to read it. I am so glad that I did. As a pastor, it is something that every church member should read. As one that is often times afraid to take risks this book gave me courage to go after the lions in my life. Mark encourages the reader to look for opportunities before us that could advance us in our lives. You never know when by chasing a lion into a pit on a snowy day your whole life will change. So, read this book and go chase a lion.

This book is a very easy read. I had a hard time putting it down. I got a lot of great quotes and illustrations from this book. It's one of those books that will need to be reread when one needs a good faith-lift.

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group sent me this book for free for this review - the views expressed are my own.

The Beauty of Grace-isms

2011-11-06T18:50:00.000-06:00

I recently ministered a message entitled The Beauty of Grace. You can hear the message in it's entirity by going to the previous post. I made a lot of statements about the beauty of grace. I've compiled them here. Maybe you have some that you would like to add. I hope you enjoy.

•The beauty of grace is that it keeps you from being defined by your mistakes.
•The beauty of grace is that there is more love in God for us, than there is sin within us.
•The beauty of grace is that God clothes us with Christ, covering up our nakedness and shame.
•The beauty of grace is that it makes us more beautiful than we were.
•The beauty of grace is that God gives us the best covering…..Christ & His righteousness.
•The beauty of grace is that it empowers us to live our lives with all that we need.
•The beauty of grace gives us authority to act as God’s representative.
•The beauty of grace is that God wants us to partner with Him to win the world to Him.
•The beauty of grace gives us wealth (all that we need to be a blessing to others).
•The beauty of grace gives us dignity.
•The beauty of grace is that we are never too far away from God.
•The beauty of grace is that God isn’t ashamed to call us His children.
•The beauty of grace is that the one who bestows the grace is the one that usually takes the greatest risk.
•The beauty of grace is that grace is more powerful than sin.
•The beauty of grace is that it restores us to a condition better than we were before.
•The beauty of grace is that I don’t get what I deserve but I do get what I am worth. My worth is not self-imposed. It is imposed upon me by my Father.
•The beauty of grace is that God doesn’t toss us aside because of our sins. Rather than seek revenge and judgment, He seeks reconciliation and forgiveness.

The Beauty of Grace

2011-11-05T22:31:00.002-05:00

Radical Together (a book review)

2011-11-03T18:41:00.000-05:00

I would not recommend that you read this book UNLESS you are willing to think, examine the way you do things and be willing to be made uncomfortable. This book will cause you to be very uncomfortable if you read it with an open mind. In Radical Together, by David Platt, he takes us a step further from his previous book, Radical. In Radical he challenges our walk with Christ on a personal level. In Radical Together he challenges our walk with Christ together as a community of believers. He challenges us to rethink the way that we act as the Church. He challenges the self-serving mindset that exists in so many local congregations: i.e. bigger buildings, more programs, bigger crowds and budgets. He is not opposed to these things but wants us to think through the question concerning everything that we do: is this the best that we can do with what we have? Is this what God wants us to do? He then proposes six keys to help us think through change.

1. The good things of church can become the enemy of the best.
2. The gospel saves us from work so that we can work.
3. The Word does the work.
4. Building the right church depends on using the wrong people.
5. We are living and longing for the end of the world.
6. We are selfless followers of a self-centered God.

His premise is that God wants to change the world and that He wants to use us to do it. Citing many good examples from the lives of his own congregation, David shows how ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference when they believe they can live radically. Many of the points that David makes in this book will fly in the face of American church-life. The reason for this is that many American Christians are comfortable in their faith and have settled for "safe-church" (all the pleasures without any responsibility). This is what David is countering. He contends that our lives are not meant to be comfortable for our own self-service. They are meant to take the gospel to the world and we must do that together.

This book would be a great read for every pastor and church leadership team. Actually, I believe that all Christians should read both of his books. You may not agree with everything that he says, but they are both challenging enough that it should cause one to examine their faith to see if they indeed are radical. Many people think that being radical is all about how excited you are or how much you know. David defines radical by how well you serve others and give your life for the cause of Christ.

I definitely recommend this book.

Disclosure: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group sent me this book for free for this review - the views expressed are my own.

Guest Blog (by Dr. Stephen Crosby)

2011-10-25T13:38:00.000-05:00

This is one of the most profound, prophetic articles for the American Church today! This was written by Dr. Stephen Crosby (www.swordofthekingdom.com).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The issue of homosexuality stirs a wide spectrum of passion. There is no shortage of indignant outrage on the topic from within organized, conservative, evangelical, Christian religion.

The essence of homosexuality is the desire for the thrills of sexual intimacy with someone sexually identical as one’s self, without the hard work of learning to love someone very different than one’s self, and without the inconvenience of the logical fruit of heterosexual intimacy: children.

Jesus made it clear that before we attempt to extract a log from someone else’s eye, we need to extract the splinter in our own. Western Evangelicalism has a very large splinter: homospirituality.

On any given Sunday, “Christians” will gather with people identical to themselves. We tend to gravitate to those of the same ethnicity, cultural background, socioeconomic status, and values, even though the scriptures say this should not be so.

We also tend to relate with just those who “think like we do.” The basis for denominational association is the demand for identical thought and theology. In some more dysfunctional groups, leaders prohibit individual members from associating with others, for fear of contamination through contact with someone who thinks differently.

We talk much of “intimacy with God.” The bulk of our worship services (especially in charismatic and apostolic/prophetic circles) is specifically designed to facilitate an intimate and personal God-encounter for those gathered. We pay tens of thousands of dollars for sound systems and salaries to enable the “worship team” to “create an atmosphere of intimacy.” (By the way, this a thoroughly pagan concept.).

In the natural, the logical fruit of relational intimacy with someone different than yourself is children. Children are inevitable, if the relating adults are organically healthy and if no actions are taken to prevent conception. Such is the inherent power of life: inevitability.

What is the fruit of “intimacy” in our “services”? In many churches, a new convert has not been seen in years. Not only are new converts frequently as rare as bacon at a bar mitzvah, but the social demographers tell us that our own natural children often grow up to never serve the Lord. “Intimacy with God” has become for many, a theological fig leaf for week after week after week after week of psychic stimulus in a group of people just like me. There is no reproduction—no fruit—no new life. We want the relational ecstasy of intimacy with God, but we are not so thrilled about what is supposed to result from intimacy: children.

So let’s see.

We have relationship with those just like us, we want intimacy with those same folks (and God), but we don’t want to work too hard at getting along, and we certainly don’t want to be inconvenienced with the responsibilities of guardianship for new life.

And we are going to chastise the natural homosexuals? There is as much the spirit of homosexuality in most churches as in the bathhouses of San Francisco.

The issue is not: ‘Homosexuality: right or wrong?” The question is not whether the “church” should speak out on the topic from a biblical perspective or not. The issue is entertaining the same spirit among ourselves which renders our voice spiritually impotent.

I am not arguing for moral relativism or laxity. I am arguing for removing our splinter before their beam.

Judgment must begin in the house of God if that judgment is to be endorsed by heaven’s authority. At the moment, even if our words to the world are “right,” there is no authority from heaven backing them up, which makes them the ineffective clanging gongs of right-wing, moralistic, religious zealots.

Copyright 2011 Dr. Stephen R. Crosby www.drstevecrosby.wordpress.com. Permission is granted to copy, forward, or distribute this article for non-commercial use only, as long as this copyright byline, in totality, is maintained in all duplications, copies, and link references. For reprint permission for any commercial use, in any form of media, please contact stephcros9@aol.com.

Salvation is like the Wind (John 3)

2011-10-01T21:34:00.000-05:00

I continue my journey through John with chapter 3 where the Pharisee Nicodemus is visiting Jesus. Jesus is attempting to explain to Nicodemus that he must be born-again, or born spiritually from above. This is too confusing for Nicodemus. Jesus makes an interesting statement in verses 7-8.

"Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." " (ESV)

Jesus likens being born-again to the wind. The wind is very interesting. One can see the effects of the wind and can even feel the wind but we cannot see the wind. We can even create wind with machines like fans but we cannot see the wind. So, it is with the work of Holy Spirit in our lives. We can see the effects of His work, but we cannot actually see the spiritual work on the inside of a person. It seems to me that some Christians think that everything God does will be the same for all people in all places. However, I have found that since God is relational, that He works with each person on an individual basis.

Think of it like this. The wind is sometimes soft and gentle, allowing us to enjoy the cool, easy breeze. The work of the Spirit is like that at times. He deals with us in a gentle, easy manner. We enjoy the work that God is doing in our lives. But, sometimes the wind is violent, like a tornado or hurricane. It's amazing to see the effects of a tornado and realize the power of wind. It seems that, at times, God will work in our lives like that as well. He comes in and allows things to be messed up and things look disastrous. However, it is simply His working in our lives, allowing things that don't need to be there, to be gone. It's not easy because we want to hang on to some much stuff that we really don't need. Just like someone who has lost things in a tornado, they realize what's important and what isn't. They realize that a lot of stuff can be replaced, but lives and relationships are most important.

I believe that sometimes God "let's the wind blow" in our lives in order to help us see the important things. It's so easy to get attached to things that don't matter. Salvation is about helping us realize the important things in life and to be most attuned to those essential things.

The main point here is that salvation cannot be defined as one simple prayer or act of faith. It's like the wind. You can see the effects, just like you can see the effects of one's salvation, but you can't tell how it's happening. The wind is unpredictable, so is salvation. You can't just define a cookie-cutter salvation experience for everyone. God blows into our lives as He chooses . . . sometimes gently, sometimes a bit more boisterous. However, in the end, our lives are the better for whatever wind He chooses to send.

So, what do you think?

Daddy Dates (book review)

2011-09-28T19:08:00.000-05:00

I picked this book up because I have two girls. I was hoping to learn how to become a better father and understand my daughters better. Realizing the impact that dads have on their daughters, I would recommend that dads read this book. Greg Wright wrote this book, Daddy Dates, out of a desire to not be stupid with his four daughters. He writes with comic style and this book is an easy read. He writes from the premise of what he did when he dated his wife to win her over. He then applies those principles to his daughters. He gives logical reasons for why he has done what he has done with his daughters. He even gives a lot of practical advice in this book. He helps dads to understand the different personality types of people as it relates to their daughters. This can be extremely helpful. I've always said that if a dad would date his daughters to show them how they need to be treated, then when they start dating they would look for someone who treated them as good as their daddy did. Greg Wright took this thought a step further and wrote this book to help dads out. Every father would benefit from reading this book. I recommend this book.
This was written as an honest review from my personal reading of the book. This book was given to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers for my review.

You Are Worth Dying For

2011-09-25T18:58:00.000-05:00

The cross of Christ was the pivotal point in history that proves for eternity that man is loved and humanity is valuable in the eyes of God! In this message, I take a look at the question: "do I matter?" This is a struggling question for many people. We live in a very connected society with Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere. Yet, we are lonely people wondering if we really matter. A Christ-centered view of humanity declares that you are valuable and you are worth dying for!

Cleanse Your Temple Lord (John 2)

2011-09-12T19:40:00.000-05:00

As I continue to read through John's gospel, and make posts concerning my discoveries, I come up to John 2. In this chapter two main stories are told: the turning of water into wine and Jesus cleansing the temple. I want to comment on Jesus' cleansing of the temple.

John 2:14-17: In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade." His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."

Jesus cleansed the temple because they were selling animals for sacrifices to the worshippers who came to the temple. They had turned a house of prayer into a store, a place of business. They defiled the temple by changing it's purpose. It's purpose was to display the glory of God to those who came to worship. It housed the presence of the Lord within the holy of Holies. People were being taken advantage of and God was being maligned. In steps Jesus. He clears out the moneychangers and the sellers of animals. He wanted it to go back to its original intent....a house of prayer that honors God.

As I read this story, I am reminded that I, along with every other blood-bought believer, am now the temple of God. He lives within us. As I read I began to pray that Jesus would look at His temple called me and see if it needs cleansed. Have I allowed things within my temple that have distracted me from my original purpose .... to display the glory of God, to bear His image. I have been asking Him to cleanse His temple .... me. I just hope that He doesn't have to use whips and turn stuff over in my life in order to drive out the things that don't need to be there.

I am amazed that God would choose to dwell within humans as His temple. But He has chosen that. It's my responsibility to keep my temple in order and clean for Him. It's so easy to allow things in that don't belong there, and believe me, things will take up shop just like the moneychangers and animal sellers. I must not allow that. I must remain open to Holy Spirit's conviction when it does happen. If I don't then I pray that Jesus will come in and clean the temple to restore me to my original purpose. I was born to glorify God, be a temple of His presence and display His glory. Jesus, if I need it, please cleanse my temple.

So, what do you think?

God is a Relational Being

2011-09-10T20:47:00.000-05:00

Some more thoughts on John 1. God is a very relational Being. We can see this at the event of creation. The Bible tells us that God spoke and said, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness." (Gen. 1:26). We learn through the Bible that God was speaking of Us as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even in their positions of the Godhead there is relationship: Father, Son, Spirit. We see that in the creation of man there is relationship as God came down to the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3). It's implied that He was coming down to spend time with Adam & Eve. All throughout the Bible we see God interacting with humanity. Abraham is called the friend of God. Moses is said to have talked with God face to face, not through dreams and visions.

When Adam & Eve sinned, why didn't God just kill them and start over? There are many answers to that, in my opinion, but I believe that the biggest answer is that He is relational. We see this relationship in the fact that God covered their sin and made a promise for a redeemer (Gen. 3:15). Now we see John 1 come into play. The Word (Jesus, the Son, the Redeemer) has become flesh (humanity) and made his dwelling among men. He came to explain the Father to humanity. Up until Jesus people didn't refer to God as Father. As a matter of fact, the Israelites wouldn't even pronounce God's proper name. Jesus came along and introduced Him as a Father. This is clearly relational. In John 1:12, Jesus gives power to humanity to become the children of God. Clearly this is relational.

God is a relational being. Relationships are a very complex thing with many components. One thing they are not is a set of rules, principles and regulations. The foundation of a good relationship is love and trust. A relationship is two people communicating and interacting with one another for the good of the other and the good of the relationship. I believe that God finds great value in humanity and that He wants a relationship with humanity. Jesus came to show us that. He came to show us the type of relationship God wants with people.....to be our Father. May we pursue that relationship with all that is within us.

An Awesome Quote

2011-09-08T11:27:00.000-05:00

"Love the sinner, hate the sin? How about: Love the sinner, hate your own sin. I don't have time to hate your sin. There are too many of you! Hating my sin is a full-time job. How about you hate your sin, I'll hate my sin and let's just love each other!"
~ Mark Lowry

The Word: God's reason, mind & revelation

2011-09-08T11:26:00.000-05:00

I am beginning a new series of blogs where I will journal some thoughts as I read through the book of John. I am reading John in order to see God. I want to see God through the lens of Jesus because according to John 1:18 no one has seen God the Father except Jesus, and Jesus has explained Him to us. So, we come to the understanding that as we look at Jesus we see the Father. Another way to put it is this: God is just like Jesus. So, I want to see and know God in a better way therefore I can study the life of Jesus and see God. I start by looking at John 1:1-18.

There is a lot in these 18 verses. What I want to look at is the fact that Jesus is called the Word (Greek: logos). One early Christian defined Jesus being the Word as being God's reason, mind and revelation. I really like that. My spin on it is that we can find out who God is, what He wants and why He does things by "reading Jesus", the Word. Words convey thoughts, motives, intents and purposes. Words reveal character and thought processes. Words reveal emotions and feelings. Words are powerful. Words create. Words reveal. Words heal. Words bring forth direction and clarity. Words can bring forth life. That is what Jesus is. He is the Father's reason, mind and revelation to us. Jesus came to give us a complete picture of the Father. He explains Him to us; helps us to understand Him more.

In becoming born-again one seemingly follows a journey or progression with this Word. First one knows the Word or becomes acquainted with it. Next, they believe the Word. Not all words are believed and not everyone believes this Word. But to those who believe this Word, they receive this Word. To put it another way, they interact with the Word. They exchange thoughts, feelings and ideas. They begin to make the Word a part of their daily lives and they begin to abide in this Word. As this takes place they are born again through this Word. This Word actually makes a person into a new person. They become just like the Word. What they "read" they can become. The Word makes them alive and new. The Word has healing properties and is able to change people. The Word is life.

This Word (God's reason, mind and revelation) is full of grace and truth. This Word gives grace to those who will receive His grace, first realizing that they need His grace. This Word is truth. In an age where truth has become relative, this Word declares Himself to be the truth. This is where we run into an issue. What do we do with this statement? If you believe this Word to be the truth, then you receive the truth and you enter into real, eternal life. However, to reject this Word is to declare it to be a lie, a falsehood. To do that results in the ultimate death, eternal separation from God the Father. Many of Jesus' contempariries rejected this truth because they (pardon the expression) judged the book (WORD) by its cover. They didn't think that Jesus looked or acted the part of what they considered to be the Word of God. Therefore, they didn't receive Him for who He really was: the reason, mind and revelation of God. They wanted a different Word.

Many people today are like that. They don't like the Word that God gave them so they want a different word. They want a relevation of God that doesn't include things like holiness, purity, striving for maturity. They want a word that says that all roads lead to God and you can live however you like and still make it to heaven. But that's not what The Word revealed. He was full of grace but He was also full of truth. All things need to be judged according to this Word.

Therefore, in my attempt to better know and understand God I must look at The Word, who is Jesus. I must look at His life, teachings and actions in order to better understand the Father. In the beginning was the Word!

So, what do you think?

God is just like Jesus

2011-08-15T20:22:00.000-05:00

This is the best presentation of the true nature of God that I have seen or heard. You can hear Brian Zahnd minister more at www.wolc.com. He is one of the best communicators of the gospel today.

The Sin of Comparison, part two

2011-08-08T19:44:00.000-05:00

In an earlier blog I looked at a parable that Jesus told about a Pharisee and a tax-collector. In the parable the Pharisee was guilty of the sin of self-righteousness because he felt he was better than the tax collector. In this blog, I want to look at the other side of this comparison coin: the sin of self-condemnation.

Whenever we compare ourselves to someone, we either think we are better (self-righteousness) or we think we are worse (self-condemnation). The problem is that we should not be comparing ourselves to anyone else. We are uniquely created. We are an original. There is no one else in the entire world like you. Yes, there are people with similar personalities, likes and talents. But no one thinks or feels the way you do, because they are not you. Basically, when we compare ourselves to others we are basing that comparison on our intelligence, money, status, talents, looks or achievements. The problem with that is all of those things are silly things to compare ourselves with. We, as a flawed, imperfect human being are comparing ourselves to other flawed, imperfect human beings. It’s like a parent who constantly compares one child to the other. The results are always devastating.

When you feel like you are less than someone else, then you are committing self-condemnation. Condemnation is from the devil. He is known in the Bible as the accuser of the brethren. He consistently gets us to doubt ourselves and doubt God. When we compare ourselves to others and feel that we come up short, then we are condemning ourselves as not being good enough. But again, you must look at what you are comparing yourself to….another flawed, imperfect human being.

We must learn to look at ourselves as God sees us. In Christ, we are righteous and blameless. We are holy. As a Christ-follower, we are compared to Christ. Guess what? We always measure up because of His work on the cross for us and in us. I know that many people struggle with this because they are so aware of all of their flaws. Christ has taken care of our flaws in Himself. Therefore, we don’t have to compare ourselves to others; we compare ourselves to Him.

Let me give a personal example. Many pastors, myself included, compare ourselves with others pastors based upon how many people we have in our congregation. If a pastor has more than us then we don’t feel as good about ourselves. If we have more than another pastor then we feel better. This is terrible but it goes on all the time. It comes out of a sense of insecurities and a lack of understanding of our completeness in Christ.

Another area of comparison that many Christians fall into is the area of “spiritual maturity.” Christians often time look at each other and compare their spirituality based upon their “works” such as Bible reading, prayer lives, giving, etc. Many people don’t feel as spiritual as someone else who may read their Bibles more, pray more or even be a better public speaker than they are. However, these are faulty measures. We don’t earn God’s grace by being as good as or even better than someone else. We get God’s grace through simply faith. Nothing more, nothing less.

We must learn to stop condemning ourselves because we don’t “measure up” to someone else. Celebrate the fact that you are unique and that you are an original. Don’t fall into the sin of comparison by self-condemning yourself.

So, what do you think?

An Awesome Quote

2011-08-03T10:13:00.003-05:00

The Sin of Comparison

2011-08-01T19:17:00.002-05:00

I hate to admit this but I have fallen prey to the sin of comparison too many times to count. It’s a dangerous sin and one that befalls many in the body of Christ. The sin of comparison is when we compare ourselves to others. As Jesus-followers we are not in competition with each other. We are to compliment each other and honor one another above our own selves. However, we tend to fall prey to this menacing sin because we tend to still rely on ourselves rather than the finished work of Christ. Let’s look at a story that Jesus told and see this sin in action.

⁹ Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: ¹⁰ “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14, NLT)

In this parable, notice the words of the Pharisee. He stated, “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else.” COMPARISON! He compared himself with others. He began to list his moral achievements: he didn’t cheat, sin or commit adultery. Then he goes so far as to single out the tax-collector in the room with him and puts himself above the tax-collector. “I’m certainly not like that tax-collector!” Wow! What a statement to make. But before I get too harsh on the Pharisee, I must admit that I’ve done the same thing before. Too many times, I am afraid to admit. I have looked down my nose at others because of things they have done, words they have used, the way they looked or acted, or for what they believed. I may not have come out and spoken the words, “God, I thank you that I am not like that one…..” but I might as well have because it was in my heart.

This is the sin of comparison. I, like the Pharisee, compared myself to someone else. The problem with that is I, like the Pharisee, put myself above that person. Sure, I may not have committed the same sins as them, but I have sinned (many times over). I have been too quick to judge others based upon my limited knowledge of things. This makes me guilty of the sin of self-righteousness. For that is one aspect of the sin of comparison. When we compare ourselves to others and we come out on the top end of the stick then we are guilty of self-righteousness. I can tell you that God is not pleased with the sin of self-righteousness because it is the same as pride.

James 4:6 tells us that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. God stands against the proud. This is why the Pharisee did not get justified. He was proud. The tax-collector received mercy because he was humble and simply asked for it.

The danger of comparison is that we tend to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think (Romans 12:3). We must realize that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. No matter how long you have been saved, you still make mistakes and mess up. We all do. None of us are better than anyone else. The Pharisee felt that he was so righteous because of his moral standards. Yet, he didn’t recognize the pride within his heart. If we have committed one sin, then that puts us in the same boat with others who have committed at least one sin. And, haven’t we all committed at least one sin?

Our purpose as Christians isn’t to compare ourselves to others, especially when we compare our righteousness with the righteousness of others. As a Jesus-follower, our righteousness comes from Him and what He did. It doesn’t come from our moral standards or how good we live our lives. When we start to compare how “good we are” to how “good others are” then we have committed the sin of comparison and are guilty of pride.

So, what do you think?

The Beauty of Diversity

2011-07-21T21:36:00.001-05:00

I grew up in the International Pentecostal Church of Christ denomination. It was very similar to the Assemblies of God denomination. It was my intention to be with this group after college and for the rest of my life. God had different plans. When I was about 19 or 20, I started attending a charismatic style church. I stayed with this "stream of Christianity" until recently. I am now not part of any stream because streams indicate labels and I just want to be known as a Christian, more importantly as a son of God. With that said.....

I heard Brian Zahnd (www.brianzahnd.com) say the following statement: "The Church must be historical and ecumenical, not short-sided and sectarian." What a sobering and thought-provoking statement. He went on to say that we inherit Christianity; we don't get to make it up. I had the chance to experience this recently. As I stated earlier, I have been a part of the charismatic stream for over 20 years. For 15 years I was a part of a church that was across the street from an Episcopal Church. I got to know the pastor of this church over the last few years and we discussed how it would be a neat experience for both of our congregations if we swapped pulpits. The reason for this is that our congregations worshipped in the polar extremes. His was a very ritualistic, traditional church. Mine was a very contemporary, free-style church. His services last for about 45 minutes. Mine could last for 2 hours. Unfortunately we never took the opportunity to do this since I resigned my pastorate in March of this year.

Being the good friend that he is, he invited me to speak at his church recently (considering that I wasn't doing anything else at the moment). I must say that it was a very neat and eye-opening experience. I didn't know what to expect because I had never been to an Episcopal worship service. He explained the order of service and away we went.

In my experience with this service I saw a very different way of worshipping God. The Episcopal service was all laid out through the Common Book of Prayer. There was responsive readings from the leader and the people. There was a lot of ritual and symbolism involved. There was a rhythm to the service that helped people to focus on God. In the charismatic (and most other non-traditional styles) stream, the emphasis is put upon the worship (singing) and the sermon (message). Communion (Eucharist in the traditional streams) plays a part but not an important part (although I would say that it needs to be a more important element of our services). However, in the Episcopal service, everything that is done leads up to the Eucharist. To me, it seemed to be the main element. Again, there was a lot of ritual and symbolism with it. It was fascinating to observe and participate. My thanks go to my friend, because he allowed me to help administer the elements and be a part of this rich tradition.

Now, back to Brian Zahnd's statement: "The Church must be historical and ecumenical, not short-sided and sectarian." The problem that I have with much of denominations today is that we are short-sighted in that we think our way (our mode of worship style) is the only way. Now some would say, "that's why we are non-denominational". Yes, but you still have an order of worship; its just not written on paper. Many churches feel that their way is the only way and that everyone must see things their way. To think this way is to be short-sided and sectarian. We must remember that the Episcopal church has a much longer and richer history than any of the current denominations of today. We must remember the rich history that Christianity brings about. We inherit Christianity; we don't get to make it up as we go. We would do well to receive from that rich history, all the while seeking God for a fresh wind of His Spirit for today.

Because of my tastes and beliefs, I couldn't attend an Episcopal service every week. But it's something that I can see God at work in and that I can receive from. I really enjoyed my time ministering to these precious saints of God. I can certainly learn from them (and I did) and they can learn from me (which I hope they did). The point is this: let us find what we hold in common rather than look for what we disagree on. Let us love one another and then the world will know that we are truly His and that we are truly one.

So, what do you think?

Jesus, a Pharisee and a sinner

2011-06-20T20:44:00.000-05:00

In Luke 7:36-50, we find a very interesting story. It's where a woman, whom Luke addresses as a sinner, anoints Jesus' feet with ointment and washes his feet with her hair. All this happens while Jesus is eating at the home of a Pharisee. There's some interesting things to note here. The first of them is that Jesus is dining with a Pharisee. These were political/religious leaders of the Jews were very intent on keeping the law of Moses. The majority of them were against Jesus and likewise, Jesus had some of his harshest things to say aimed at the Pharisees. Yet, here He is dining at his home. There's a lesson in that I am sure.

Jesus treats this woman who anoints him with respect and doesn't dismiss her. He doesn't seem bothered by her past actions, nor does He ask her about her background. Considering that Luke says she was a sinner, it's possible that she had a reputation. The Pharisee, host of the party, believes that if Jesus knew who she was (or how bad she was) that he would have pushed her away. Why? Why does it seem that Christians (not that the Pharisee was a Christian, mind you) are so afraid of sinners? Why are most Christians so put off by sinners? Notice that she ministered to Jesus and was commended for it. Yet, in the church, one sometimes has to go through classes, be a tither and jump through other hoops before you can serve. Why can't we just allow people a place to belong before they believe? Why can't we forgive others before they are forgivable? Why can't we offer a place of safety for those needing a shelter.

Simon, the Pharisee, wasn't expecting this out of Jesus. He believed Jesus to be a prophet, and as such would have known what and who this woman was. He thought that Jesus would've responded differently. Don't we do the same? We expect God to act differently towards sinners because they are sinners. We act the same way, if God really knew who and what this person has done, then He would act differently towards them. But God does know who and what sinners are, and yet He loves them anyway (because we are all sinners). He isn't put off by our sin. Since Jesus is the picture of God then we must look at the way that He treated sinners as the way that God treats sinners.

In this instance, Jesus treats a sinner with grace, mercy and forgiveness. He allows her to minister to Him and isn't put off by who or what she is. Her sin doesn't phase Him. It doesn't put Him off. This is part of the problem with the American church. We've been taught that God cannot look at nor tolerate our sin. That's not true. Jesus came to live in the midst of our sin. He came to live in the midst of our mess so that He could fix it through the cross. Jesus hung out with sinners. He didn't dehumanize them (like Christians sometimes do). He treated them with respect and dignity. He didn't point out to them that they were a sinner. Notice that Simon the Pharisee was quick to point out that this woman was a sinner and that Jesus should not have allowed her the opportunity to minister to him. Isn't that what religion does? It divides people into us vs. them. It divides us into the "godly vs. the sinner". It divides us up and makes us forget that we are all in need of a Savior. We are all in need of Jesus.

The Pharisee was quick to point out that she was a sinner. Jesus was quick to see her as one that needed to be found and saved. The Pharisee was quick to judge and condemn. Jesus was quick to offer forgiveness, grace and mercy. The Pharisee was full of pride. The woman was full of humility. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

So, what do you think?

The Next Christians (a book review)

2011-04-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

Every now and then a book comes along that every Christian should read. This is one of those books. Gabe Lyons does an outstanding job of showing us how a new generation (the Next Christians) are restoring the faith of Christianity in America. Gabe lays a great foundation of where the Church is in America and what Americans think of the Church. He then breaks down Christians into one of two groups and further divides them into subgroups. He is spot-on with this assessment of these two groups. He then goes on to show us how to become a part of a third group -- the Restorers. The remainder of the book explores how the Restorers are on a mission to bring the good news of Jesus Christ back into the forefront of culture but in a way that is refreshing, innovative and . . . . actually working!

The Church in America is messed up and broken. It needs fixed. It needs to get back to the total message of God's redemption, not just one or two aspects of it. The Next Christians shows how that we can engage the culture around us without putting people off with our "religiosity" that so many Christians come off with.

We must face the fact that America is not a predominant Christian nation. We are facing the fact that our young people are leaving the Church in large numbers. The American Church isn't (and hasn't been) doing our job of representing God well in nation today. We must change and this book is a refreshing wind of fresh air on what we can do to become a predominant voice in our nation again. The Church can make a difference again in America....if we will rightly assess where we are, where we have gotten off track and how to get where we need to go. *The Next Christians* is a great roadmap for accomplishing that.

Well written, an easy read, and very thought-provoking. A must read for every Christian serious about reaching people.

This book was provided to me free of charge by Waterbrook/Multnomah for my honest review and assessment. These thoughts are entirely mine.

The Principle of the Path (book review)

2011-04-11T20:27:00.000-05:00

Every now and then I read a book that is so full of just plain common sense that it makes me wonder why I didn't write it. The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley is just one of those books. His premise is simple: your direction, not your intention, determines your destination. He then writes this great book based upon this premise, giving real life examples of why people are not where they intended to be. Andy does a very good job of writing simply and engagingly. Reading this book was like talking to a friend. Throughout the book Andy reminds us that if we are going to go where we want to go, then we must check our current direction. In an age of broken hearts, disillusioned people and failed dreams this book is a breath of fresh air. Andy gives us hope that not all is lost if we will just look at what direction we are heading and make the appropriate changes as necessary.
This book is just filled with practical, common sense. The beauty (and depth) of this book is found in its simplicity. Andy has a great style for writing and for engaging the reader. If your life is not where you want it to be then this book is for you. If you are looking for a "step-approach" to reaching your dreams then this is not the book for you. However, if you are willing to look at your life from an honest perspective (even though you may not like what you see) and you are willing to address the hard questions that need answering, this book will help you get to where you want to go, not necessarily where you are heading.

I've always liked Andy Stanley's style of communication. This book definitely didn't disappoint me and helped me to realize why I have ended up in some of the places I've been. I highly recommend this book.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson publishers in exchange for my honest review and comments.

Top Ten Things I've Learned by age 40

2011-04-06T13:56:00.000-05:00

Here are the top ten things that I have learned over my 40 years of living. These are life lessons that my children will be hearing over and over and over and.......(well, if you are a parent you get it)

1. Love & serve God.
Know Him as your Father who wants to have a relationship with you. Put your faith in Jesus Christ and spend time with Him daily.

2. God loves you and likes you.
This one took me a long time to realize. Yes, I knew that God loved me, but I came to the realization that God actually likes me. He's not mad at me and He actually enjoys His relationship with me.

3. Love people unconditionally.
Okay, I know that this one can be a very hard one to do. However, when you learn to look at each individual human being as a person with value, you can learn to love them. Always remember you don't know what someone has been through.

4. Know what you believe and why you believe it.
Don't just accept what other people say. Check things out for yourself. Study things yourself. If you are going to believe something then know why you believe it. And, for those things that have truly become personal convictions in your life.....don't let anyone change your mind, unless they can prove it. Here's my motto: I am closed-minded about the things I truly believe in, but I am open-minded enough to change if you can show me reasons to change.

5. Live by your own heart.
I guess this one goes along with #4 somewhat. However, I have lived for too many years worried about what others thought or trying to avoid conflict with someone that I have allowed myself to not live out of my own heart and desires. I must live by my own heart and by my own convictions, even when they might conflict with those I hold dear.

6. Don't assume anything.
This is a big one for me. I am still trying to master this one. Don't assume anything about anyone or any situation because you might just be wrong. Until you know everything about a person or a situation, don't be afraid to ask questions and admit that you don't know. I've learned that when I assume things, I usually end up being wrong.

7. Life is short.
Because life is short (and my kids are growing up too fast), enjoy the moment. Live for today. Take one day at a time. Don't stress out about tomorrow. Tell people how you feel about them today, while they are alive. Live in the moment and enjoy what (and who) you have right now, because you may not have it (or them) later.

8. Always do your best.
If you always do your best then you will not live with regrets. Your best may be better on some days than it is on others (due to sickness, time restraints, etc), but the point is to always do your best. In everything, make the most of it.

9. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Be real, be honest, be true. Don't say things that you really don't mean because once said, you can't take it back. Mean what you say. Keep your word. The only thing that you really have is your word (your integrity). If people can 't count on your word, then they can't count on you.

10. Forgive (keep short accounts).
Forgive people when they hurt you, even if they don't repent and ask for forgiveness. Life is short (see#7) so don't waste it holding grudges and ruining friendships. People are going to make mistakes and people will hurt you. Forgive them. Just remember that you make mistakes and you hurt people. Give people the grace that you want (whether they give it to you or not). Forgiveness is really for you anyway.

There you have it. My top ten lessons that I have learned from living 40 years. Oh, there is more I could write about (like putting down the toilet seat for your wife) but ten is a good number.

So, what do you think?

Identity, Authority and Motives (part 3)

2011-03-15T22:24:00.000-05:00

As we look at the final temptation of Jesus, we now see that Jesus was tempted in the arena of motives.

Matthew 4:8-10 (NIV) 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Jesus had a purpose in coming to the earth. In one place in the Bible He said that He came to seek and to save the lost. In Psalm 2 we see a prophetic word concerning Jesus. We see that He could ask the Father and that the Father would give the nations to Jesus as His inheritance. We also see through Paul's writings and John's vision in Revelation that every knee will bow to Jesus, that all nations will proclaim Him as the Lord.

Life is full of shortcuts, and people are always going to be willing to take them. However, most of the time shortcuts don't produce quality results. In this temptation Jesus was offered a shortcut. The nations of the world would be His once He was resurrected from the dead. They were His gifts from His father for His obedience. Yet, satan offered Jesus a shortcut to these kingdoms. No death, no cross, no hardships. All He had to do was bow down and worship satan. His motives were being challenged. Was His motives the kingdoms of the world or to obey His Father? In conquering this temptation He proved that His motives were to obey the Father.

How about you and I? What are our motives? Why do we do what we do? Are we looking for shortcuts or are we willing to pay the price, even to the point of death? While I doubt that most of us will have to face death, we need to realize what our morals are, what our limits are and how far we will go to protect and honor those convictions. Someone once said that every man has a price. In others words, every man can be bought. Is that true of you? Can you be bought? Jesus couldn't be bought. I hope that you and I cannot be either. What's your motives?

So, what do you think?

Couples Who Pray (book review)

2011-02-24T19:47:00.000-06:00

I picked up this book because I wanted to improve my prayer times with my wife. I felt that this book would help. It did have a lot of inspirational stories about celebrity couples who pray together. It had some information on the benefits of praying together. It challenges couples to pray together for 40 days, at least 5 minutes a day. They promise that if you do the challenge lovemaking soars, communication elevates, respect rises, and happiness is a way of life. While I do admit that prayer must be a central part of every couples lives, I am not sure that reading this book will help all couples. I believe that mature couples who understand prayer and how to pray will be greatly encouraged by this book. I think that it would have helped if the authors would have put some more effort into teaching couples how to pray, maybe even putting in some prayers for those that struggle with prayer itself.

Some positive elements are the authors give six steps to a positive marriage (which I thought was simplistic, yet really good), and a before and after survey that couples can take to monitor their progress after taking the 40 Day Challenge. The book is an easy read and was encouraging. However, I did feel that the subject matter could have been more tightly put together. I would recommend the book to any couple needing help in their prayer life together.

I received this book from www.booksneeze.com in return for my review. I am under no obligation to post a positive or negative review. This review is my honest opinion of this book.

Identity, Authority & Motives (part 2)

2011-02-21T09:33:00.000-06:00

The second area that I would like to look at in the temptation of Jesus is that of authority. At the end of Matthew 3 we see that Jesus was baptized. God the Father spoke from heaven and said that Jesus was His beloved Son, that He was pleased with Him and that people should listen to Him. From this statement we can see that God affirmed, validated and identified Jesus as His Son. Immediately after this, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for three temptations by the devil. The second temptation deals with Jesus' authority.

Matthew 4:5-7 (NIV) Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Here we see that the devil wanted Jesus to prove His authority by throwing Himself down and having the angels to protect Him. If He truly was the Son of God then the angels would protect Him in His humanity. The devil even used scripture to tempt Jesus. In the first temptation Jesus' identity was questioned. Even here His identity is questioned but now it's about proving His identity through His authority. If you are the Son of God then prove it by using your authority over the angels. Jesus replied that do operate in this manner would be putting God to the test. Why? Because Jesus realized that His authority came from His identity as the Son of God.

As born-again Christians, God has invested authority within us. But we don't have to go around proving that authority. We should walk humbly before people, realizing that we don't have to prove anything to others. Jesus didn't need to prove His authority, He simply walked in it. One time Jesus was asked by what authority He did what He did. Here's the story:

Matthew 21:22-28 (NIV) Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”“I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Jesus didn't bow down to the pressure of proving His authority to the priests and elders. He knew who He was and what His mission was. He simply lived out of that. When we begin to prove ourselves to others we are going to have serious issues. We must learn to live out of our hearts knowing who we are in Christ. That should be enough! Beyond that, we get ourselves into trouble.

So, are you trying to prove your identity or authority? Are you trying to prove what you know to others? Let's learn how to simply live out of our hearts realizing that our authority comes from our identity, and our identity comes from what God says about us. We are His beloved children!

So, what do you think?

Finding Our Way Again (Book Review)

2011-02-17T20:19:00.000-06:00

I recently read Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices by Brian McLaren. I picked up this book because being a person who loves being "a 21st century Christian" I also realize that we need never forget where we have come from. There are 2000 years of Church history behind us and we can learn a lot from those that have come before us. Being a pastor of what would considered a "contemporary" church (versus a liturgical church) I have been interested in expanding my spiritual growth by looking at some "ancient practices" of early Christians. Brian does a good job of opening up the readers eyes to the ancient practices of fixed-hour prayer, fasting, sacred meals, observing the Sabbath, and pilgrimage. He explores the issues of Via Purgativa (katharsis), Via Illuminativa (fotosis), and Via Unitiva (theosis). Being someone very unfamiliar with these practices and terms, it was a very thought-provoking read.

I will admit that there were things in the book that I wouldn't have agreed on theological but it's not necessarily a theological book. To me, it was a primer on the ancient practices of Christianity and the benefit that modern day Christians can derive from these practices. In a world where we are constantly driven, it's a nice thought of just taking the time to focus on our spiritual growth without reading another book on five keys to this, or seven secrets to that. The ancient ways are very simplistic ways to further connect with God. I learned a lot through this book. It was well worth my time to read and even to practice some of these disciplines. This book attempts to help us understand that these ancient practices help us develop character, awaken us to be alive and become more fully human, and help us experience God.

Read this book with an open mind to glean from it. You may or may not agree with everything Brian says but, if willing, your mind and spiritual growth can be expanded by practicing some of the ancient ways.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson publishers in exchange for my honest review. I am not obligated to write a positive review. The opinions stated above are my honest thoughts concerning this book.

Identity, Authority & Motives (part 1)

2011-02-13T18:38:00.000-06:00

In Matthew 4 we see that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus had fasted 40 days and nights and was hungry. The devil came along and brought three temptations against Jesus. There are several different applications to these temptations but I want to look at one application concerning these temptations. I will do this in three separate posts.

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

In the first temptation I want us to look at the arena of identity. Satan tempts Jesus by saying to Him, "if you are the Son of God, then...." 40 days earlier Jesus had been baptized. God the Father spoke out of heaven giving Jesus identity, affirmation and validation (see the end of Matthew 3). Now His identity is being questioned -- "if you are the Son of God." The devil could have said "since you are the Son of God" but he didn't. He posed the temptation as a question. Jesus was hungry and I am sure that that bread would have been very tempting. Jesus had the power and He could have turned the stones into bread. But to do so would have proven His identity in the wrong way. He didn't need to prove His identity. He simply needed to live by what God had said about Him. That is all that matters. What does God say about you? This is your identity.

I've lived for years trying to prove my identity in many different aspects. In essence I have been trying to turn stones into bread to prove that I am a son of God. I've lived in a performance mentality always trying to prove my worth, my goodness, my ability, my (insert adjective). The problem is I always come up short. Whenever I try to prove my identity by what I do, then I run the risk of not measuring up because what if what I do isn't good enough? Then I am not good enough. But when God tells me that I am good enough then it doesn't matter what I do, I am still good enough because God said so.

That's what Jesus walked in. His identity came from what God said about Him, not what He did or didn't do. It's interesting to note that for 30 years Jesus never did a miracle or tried to save anyone. He simply worked as a carpenter. Did that make Him any less the son of God. No. He was who He was because He was what God said He was. You are who you are because of who God says you are.

I once heard the character Madea say that it's not important what people call you, it's important what you answer to. That's a great statement. People and the devil (and you, yourself) will call you all kinds of things. If you are a believer in Christ, God calls you His son or daughter. What will you answer to? What will you allow your identity to be? What you can do (or can't do) or what God says about you. Jesus allowed His identity to come from what God said. We should do the same!

So, what do you think?

A Tribute to Drummond Thom

2011-02-07T20:09:00.000-06:00

Today I found out that one of the greatest men that I knew passed away yesterday. Drummond Thom was a man of God that spent his life preaching the gospel to many nations. He taught me much about faith and simply trusting God. He was one of the most generous men I've ever met. It was nothing to see him give away money to those around him that needed it. I remember many times when I worked for him how he would take the entire office staff out to lunch and pay for every one's lunch. He was a consistent giver and God blessed Him because of that.

I'll never forget how God brought me to work for Drummond. It was 1991 and I was working for a small church in Ohio. My pastor at that time took several of us to a Rodney Howard-Browne meeting that Drummond was hosting in Louisville, Ky at his church. We made the three hour trip and was tremendously blessed. Two weeks later Drummond came to preach at our church in Ohio. Several of us went out to eat afterwards. I was hoping that my wife and I would be able to sit with Drummond but we got there late and sat with another member of the church. As Drummond finished up his meal and was leaving the restaurant, he stopped by our table and said, "if anything ever happens to you, call me and I will take care of you." Now, my wife and I were around 20 years old at the time and we were flabbergasted by this statement. We figured that him and our pastor were over at their table making plans up for us. We had no idea what was about to happen. About six months later, that little church shut down and we were without a job. I remembered what Drummond said so we called him up and he invited us to Louisville to meet him.

We made the three hour trip on a Sunday morning and sat through the morning worship service. We went out to eat with Drummond and his wife, Charlotte. We thought that we would talk over lunch about a job. He never mentioned it. He said to come that night, that he had arranged a hotel for us. We went back to our hotel thinking that this was a wasted trip and that he just didn't have the courage to tell us that he couldn't hire us. We were so worried about what we were going to do. We went to church that night and still no discussion of a job. He asked us to come see him the next morning. As soon as we walked in the door on Monday morning, he offered me a job and had us go looking for a place to live.

The interesting part of this whole story is that Drummond didn't need me and actually had to find work for me to do during the week. The only reason he hired me was that God told him to when he came to our church. He and his wife became such a blessing in our lives. I cannot even begin to describe the impact this man made on me.

Thank you Drummond for being who you were! You will be missed.

Feeding or Starving God?

2011-01-23T17:25:00.000-06:00

Here's a thought on worship: if your worship of God were food, would God be fat and sassy or would he be thin and sickly? Now, I realize that this is a very rhetorical (and unscriptural) question. Psalms never puts worship in this aspect but it is a good question for us to analyze nonetheless. Of course, God doesn't need our worship but He desires it.

My wife is the most important person in my life. I don't ever want her to go one day without knowing how much I love her and how much she means to me. Neither do I want my children to ever wonder how I feel about them. I want to shower them with "worship" or worthiness. I want them to know that they are worthy in my eyes. If my admiration of them were food, I want them fat and sassy!

It's the same with God. I want God to know how much I love Him. I want Him to know that He is worthy and that I greatly admire Him. I want to "feed" Him if you will with my worship. I don't want Him to ever have to wonder what my feelings are for Him. I want to shower Him with my admiration.

I realize that I may be simplifying worship too much for some of you. But I would still like you to think about this question: if your worship of God were food, would He be fat and sassy or thin and sickly?

So, what do you think?

Jesus Has You Covered

2011-01-16T20:16:00.000-06:00

American Christians today have a sin problem. Many of you are probably thinking, "Duh!!". But our sin problem is not that we sin, but rather that we focus too much on our sin. Jesus has taken care of our sin problem by dying on the cross and being raised from the dead. He has overcome sin for us! Our sin problem is taken care of when we place our faith in Him. Far too many of us believers still focus on our sins and believe that God is keeping record of all of our wrong doing. Let me give you an illustration to help you see what I am saying.

Think about having a spiritual bank account. Many Christians believe when they do good works that they make deposits in their bank account. But when they sin, they believe they make withdrawals from their account. The problem with this ideology is that we believe that we live with an overdrawn account because our sins outweigh our good works. Therefore, we constantly live feeling like we are always "owing God" because we are overdrawn on our spiritual bank account. We tend to try to do more good works to make up for the overdrafts that we have incurred because of our sin.

Let me say that this is a terrible practice to live by. If we try to live this way then a couple of things come to mind:

1) We will always be overdrawn because we tend to sin.
2) How will we know if our works over rate our sin?
3) We are saved by grace, not works therefore works will never give us a "one-up" on God.

We need to understand that third point. We are saved by grace, not works. Our good deeds will not ever outweigh our sins. Don't even try that one! Jesus took care of our sins on the cross. He died to deal with our sins. We simply have to embrace the grace that He offers.

Back to the checkbook analogy. Think about this. Some checking accounts offer over-draft protection whereby if you bounce a check by having insufficient funds, the bank will cover your overdraft. We are all overdrawn in our spiritual accounts. Thankfully Jesus offers overdraft protection. His blood has covered all of your overdrafts. No matter how much you sin, or how much you mess up, Jesus has you covered. So now you don't have to worry about being overdrawn with God. You have peace with God through faith in Christ. You are not going to be overdrawn!! You can now just focus on doing good things for others in the name of God. Make deposits of love in your book account, because it is love that covers your overdrafts.

So, what do you think?

When a Sword Pierces Your Soul

2011-01-04T19:37:00.000-06:00

34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35)

One of the things that strikes me about American Christianity, particularly that of the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement seems to believe that as Christians we will not suffer. If we do suffer, it's either God has put something on us to teach us something (not true) or we don't have enough faith (again not true).

Let me say this: Christians are not exempt from trials, tragedies and traumas! Despite what you might hear on TBN, life happens to us all. Life brings about trials, tragedies and traumas. We just can't escape it. Life happens!

Now, don't misunderstand me. I am not all about doom and gloom. I believe that Jesus does want us to experience victory and resurrection life. However, in order to have a resurrection you must have death. When we suffer it does bring about a kind of death. We must learn to die to our pride, our self-sufficiency and our self-reliance. Suffering teaches us that we must learn to rely on the saving power of God. Suffering helps us to realize that we are helpless without God.

What does one do when a sword pierces your soul? Believe me, I've had many swords pierce my soul I allowed some to do more damage than they should have. Others, I learned how to rely more on God. One thing that I have learned about suffering is that when a sword pierces your soul, it will wound and scar you. However, God brings about healing. The scar will be there to remind us of what we went through but it will not be painful to the touch.

When a sword pierces our soul we have the opportunity to rely upon and lean into Jesus. He understands our pain, helplessness and frustration with life. He has been through life as a human and He understands the complexities of life. He understands that life brings forth trauma, tragedy and trial. In fact, He Himself said that in this life you will have tribulation. The Bible never tells us that we won't experience heartache or suffering. It does promise that God will be with us through it all.

To me, that's what so intriguing about God's words to Mary. Here she is with the responsibility of raising the Messiah, God's Son. One might think that God would grant her an easy lifestyle, yet He doesn't. He tells her ahead of time that a sword will pierce her soul.

One point of suffering is to lead us to a better understanding of the love of God. Now we must realize that God isn't the author of our suffering.....life is. But God will use that suffering to show us His love and faithfulness. As we go through our "soul piercing" we learn that God is faithful to His word of never leaving us or forsaking us. I hate suffering, as we all do, but it can and should lead us closer to God because of His enduring faithfulness to us.

So, what do you think?

The Love of God is Freedom

2010-12-07T19:20:00.000-06:00

When I think about the love that God has for us human beings, I think of freedom. Love is very freeing. When we realize that God loves us unconditionally, it frees us to be who we really are. So many people are trying to get God to love them by their good works, their religious activity, or their right living. None of that impresses God. Faith is what impresses Him. He loved us while we were sinners sinning our lives away. After we put our faith in Jesus Christ, why would He stop loving us when we mess up? If Jesus truly accepts us as we are, then why would that change when we put our faith in Him as a born-again believer?

God knows me intimately, inside and out. He knows my weaknesses and knows that I will fail Him. He already knows that I can't live a holy live outside of Jesus living His life through me. So then, why should I expect that I can make God love me because of what I do? I cannot. You cannot. Yet, so many people are constantly struggling with the idea that God loves them even when they mess up.

See, God's love is freeing because I can be me . . ."warts and all". Now don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that I can do whatever I want and get away with it. I am saying that I can be comfortable that I am on a journey. I have not arrived. I still struggle in areas. And God still loves me unconditionally. In other words, I don't have to have it all together for Him to pay attention to me or love me. In that, His love is freedom.

On This Day in Christian History (Book Review)

2010-11-19T09:01:00.000-06:00

I love history, especially church history, so I was very interested in reading this devotional book. Robert J. Morgan takes 365 stories from church history and puts them into a devotional form so that you can read one story a day, plus end with a scripture that relates to the story. Some of the stories are very inspirational as it tells of great feats of faith, trust and sacrifice. However, there are tales that make you cringe as you read of some of the terrible things that people have done in the name of Christianity. Most of the stories seem to come from the Middle Ages but there are some more recent stories as well.

Overall, I was pleased with the book. I always interested in reading the next story. The stories are short, obviously, and I'm sure that there is more to the stories than what the author could fit into the space for a devotional. As I read some of the stories and the sacrifices made, at times I felt that I if compared to these martyrs that I wasn't even close to being a Christian because I have lived a live of relative ease. Many of the people in these stories were tortured and killed simply for their faith in Christ. They all gave their lives without complaint and saw such joy in being a martyr.

This would be a good devotional for any Christian, to simply remind us that in this world we will tribulation and persecution. Many people will lose their lives for the sake of Christ. If you are having a discouraging time, a reading of this book will help you realize that it could be a lot worse.

If you are a pastor or teacher, this book will provide great sermon illustrations and stories. It has an index of selected topics in the back of the book that will proof invaluable.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Knowing Jesus as a Person

2010-11-15T18:05:00.001-06:00

I've been a follower of Christ since I was 12 years old. That was a long time ago. I have been in full-time ministry now for 20 years. I am not a novice when it comes to church life, the Bible, preaching, praying, or anything else that goes along with the Christian life. One thing that I have experienced many times in my walk with Jesus is that every now and then He will take you on a journey of self-discovery. It's an internal journey and oftentimes isn't pleasant. He reveals things to you about yourself that you don't like to see nor care to admit are a part of your life. He does this in a loving way so that you can grow throught it, never in a condemning nor condescending way. I've been on such a journey for the last several months. Throughout this journey I've come to realize how strong my character is (and how weak in spots it is). I've seen what strength I have (and what weaknesses lie within the core of who I am). God has certainly given me some wonderful insights for my life and my relationship with Him, but I've also seen some things about myself that I just haven't liked nor wanted to deal with. Until now.......

One such understanding that I've come to realize is that in all the years I've walked as a follower of Jesus I have never really known Him as a person. Now I know that sounds strange coming from a minister, much less a Christian, especially to those of you that know me well. I love God. I am an avid follower of Christ. I read my Bible, live my life according to it, and spend time in prayer. I preach to others for heaven's sake (pun intended). However, I've realized that what I have been operating on was concepts, principles and understandings of who Jesus Christ is -- as Lord, Savior, God, Healer, etc. But He is a person! He cares for me in a personal way. He loves me in a personal way. He wants to spend time with me personally. He wants to talk to me personally. He is a person.

As mentioned earlier, I understand the concept of Jesus. I love the idea of a Savior and Lord. I love the concept of a personal God that knows me and loves me in spite of my failures. I love the concept of Jesus, but I am beginning a journey of knowing Jesus as a person. Now, please understand, I am a Christian. I have accepted His death & resurrection. I have put my faith in Him. I am going to spend eternity with Him. I am all that, yet I've failed to come to know Jesus as a person.

Let me try to explain this with an example. A person can study the life, sayings and writings of Abraham Lincoln. A person who has become an expert on his life could say, in essence, that he knows Abraham Lincoln. However, this would be a false statement. He couldn't know Abraham Lincoln because Abraham Lincoln is dead. The only way one could really know him would have been to spend time with him personally, sharing intimate thoughts and conversations. I find that many Christians are like the "Abraham Lincoln expert" of my illustration. We have studied the life of Jesus, His sayings, teachings, etc. But until we learn to spend time with Him (and this goes beyond just simply saying our prayers to Him) we will never really know Him.

We get to know Jesus when we allow Jesus to really get to know us! When we allow Him into our innermost areas we will know Him personally. When we allow Him to touch our deepest hurts and offenses we will get to know Him personally. When we allow Him to speak into our lives in the deepest, possible way then we will get to know Him personally. I have discovered through my internal journey that I had walls up against Him and wouldn't allow Him into the innermost parts of my being. But now that I am allowing Him to do that, I am coming to know Him as a person.

I want to be like Paul in Philippians 3 when he said that I want know Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. I want to know Him. Do you really know Him as a person? Or do you simply have concepts, principles, teachings and the Bible down in your knowledge?

So, what do you think?

I'm a Performer

2010-11-11T19:47:00.000-06:00

I've been on a journey of discovery for the last several months. Many things that I've learned about myself I haven't liked. One thing that God has shown me is that I am a legalist (see my last post). Another thing that I've learned about myself is that I am performer. I guess I have been most of my life. It comes from being rejected as a youngster. I've always wanted to please others because I was looking for acceptance. I perform for God as well, trying to get Him to notice and accept me. Let me explain.

By nature, I am a rule keeper. I hate confrontation and I don't like to rock the boat. Rules and guidelines are what keep me in line, and help me keep others in line. My philosophy is "just tell me God what you want me to do and I will do it." I guess a lot of people feel this way. Just tell me what you want and I will do it. Performers, one and all. The problem with this is that God doesn't want me to follow rules.....He wants me to love Him. God is more interested in me loving Him than me obeying Him. Obedience isn't God's primary objective for my life......loving Him is. The greatest commandment isn't to obey the Lord your God. It's to love the Lord your God. Now love can promote and lead to obedience. However, obedience doesn't necessarily lead to love.

My problem has been that I want to be loved, especially by God. And I want to show God that I love Him so I keep "the rules". I perform for Him to get Him to love me. If I just do the right things that God will be pleased with me. He will love me. If I just keep the rules then others will think that I am a good person. If I just stay on the "treadmill of performance" then I will be accepted. The problem with this philosophy is that it is wrong and only leads to legalism. My performance doesn't get God's attention . . . faith does, and only faith does. God simply wants me to love Him, and He simply wants to love me. No performance needed.

I don't want my children to perform for me. I just want them to love me, and I just want to love them. So, as I continue on my journey I am learning to quit performing and just be me.

So, what do you think?

I am a legalist

2010-11-01T19:28:00.000-05:00

I am a legalist!! There, I've admitted it, put it out in the open! I can't be a legalist though because for the past 25 years I have been a part of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement and we've prided ourselves on being Spirit-led and not bound by the legalism that many in the denominational church find themselves in. Yet, I've discovered that I am indeed a legalist. Let me explain. I have discovered that I prefer to live by rules, regulations and ordinances rather than live by total freedom in Christ. Rules are easier.....just tell me what to do. Just tell me God what you expect of me (commandments and laws) and I will please You by following them. Oh, and living by rules makes it easier for me to judge others when they break the rules.

However, I have learned recently that living by the rules is not the live of grace that I have been saved into. It is by grace that I have been saved, not of works so that I cannot boast in my goodness of keeping the rules. It's not about rules, it's about His grace and His ability to help me love Him and others. Jesus set us free from having to keep the rules (and the law). Our only obligation is now to love God and to love others. That doesn't require rules; it requires relationship. Following rules never builds relationships. Love builds relationships. Following the rules doesn't get God's attention (even though I've tried hard for years to do just that). Loving Him gets His attention.

This has been a major eye opener for me and has led me on a very wonderful, albeit difficult journey of discovery. I am now learning to just allow God to love me because I am His creation, not because of what I have done or haven't done. There are no rules to keep. Just love Him. And when I love Him, I will want to do what pleases His heart. Keeping the rules doesn't please His heart.....my belief in Him does.

So, there I've admitted that I am a legalist. Rather, I've been a legalist. I am working on changing that. Wait, there I go again......"I'm working." I am allowing myself to be loved by God, understanding that I am His son simply by my faith in Him, and that I am to just simply be who I am. No more legalism for me. I couldn't keep the rules anyway. I was always breaking one of them anyway.

Some of you will understand this. Others will not. I would love to hear some of your comments and maybe we can have a healthy dialogue on legalism in the church.

I am most grateful to Dr. Stephen Crosby for his excellent work entitled Silent Killers of the Faith for helping me to understand my legalist viewpoints and for helping me to break free from it.

So, what do you think?

Illegals by Darrell Ankarlo

2010-10-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

The issue of illegal immigration into the United States is a very hotly debated topic these days. Darrell Ankarlo has done a great job of looking into this issue from a first-hand viewpoint. Mr. Ankarlo went into Mexico and Arizona doing interviews with Border Patrol Officers as well as illegals coming (or getting ready to come) into the US. He even goes so far as sneaking back into the United States himself to see how easy it really is. He tackles this topic not simply as one against illegal immigration but as one who wants to understand the other side as well. He journeys through the desert as an illegal would and what he finds is simply heartbreaking.

I enjoyed this book immensely even though it broke my heart as I read what illegals go through to get to this country. I couldn't put it down. Anyone wanting to become more aware of this important issue needs to read this book. You may not agree with all of Mr. Ankarlo's ideas, but he does have some very valid points.

He includes two interviews with Senators John McCain and John Kyl, both Senators from Arizona. He also includes a page or two of websites that one can do more research into this very controversial subject. The author gives a lot of statistics as well as presenting a very real dollar amount to this problem.

Overall, this a good book. It's something that all of us need to be more aware of as this is only going to get worse if we don't get a handle on it now.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

We Prepare the Way of the Lord

2010-09-26T19:51:00.000-05:00

We sing this song by Rick Pino quite often in our church service. It is asking God to give us new hearts and minds for His glory. It goes on to say that we prepare the way of the Lord. Everytime that we sing this song I begin to ask myself how we prepare the way of the Lord. I always remember the mission of John the Baptist in Matthew 3 where it says that he was one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. So, John did it by preaching to the Jews living in the time of Jesus. I could say that I am doing the same thing every time I deliver a message to a congregation of people. But what about the Christian who isn't a preacher? Is it only the preachers who carry the responsibility of preparing the way of the Lord? I don't think so. As I sang this song again this morning, the following ideas begin to develop within me.

I prepare the way of the Lord by my actions and my words.
I prepare the way of the Lord to come into my family by my words and actions to my wife and kids.
I prepare the way of the Lord through my kindness and compassion to others.
I prepare the way of the Lord by speaking the truth in love.
I prepare the way of the Lord by calling for repentance and righteousness.
I prepare the way of the Lord by my righteous lifestyle.
I prepare the way of the Lord by living in God's grace and by giving grace to others.
I prepare the way of the Lord by submitting to His ways and will.
I prepare the way of the Lord by recognizing my identity, place and gifting.

By living out the above I prepare the way for Jesus to use me to minister to others. I become a partner with Him in showing and sharing God's love to those around me. My life is a way for Jesus to come and touch people with His love, grace, compassion and mercy.

As you can see, it doesn't really have much to do with preaching. Preparing the way of the Lord has to do with our lifestyle. The ultimate goal is that the way is prepared for others to see Jesus within us and then want Him. This is the responsibility of all believers not just preachers.

Here is a a youtube video of Rick Pino singing this incredible song.

Oh Lord, give us new hearts

And new minds
For Your glory
May Your name be lifter higher
And higher and higher

We prepare the way
We prepare the way of the Lord

Love & Respect For a Lifetime (Book Review)

2010-09-23T18:38:00.000-05:00

Love and Respect For a Lifetime by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs does a great job of condensing down the two most basic needs of men (respect) and women (love). This is a gift book, not the full edition. It can easily be read in one sitting. There are beautiful quotes, scriptures and pictures throughout the book.

As a pastor (and husband) I am always looking to further my understanding on how to help married couples make their marriages better. This book can definitely help. While Dr. Eggerichs doesn't go into great detail about the issue of love and respect, he gives enough nuggets that one could easily adjust their marriage and make a huge difference. Marriage books often times focus on so many areas while this book focuses on the most common needs of men (respect) and women (love). I found many good illustrations that can be used in counseling or preaching. This is definitely a book I would recommend to couples in trouble. I would even recommend this to couples who have a strong marriage as a checkup point for discussion.

The book is well laid out and very colorful. This would make an excellent gift for newlyweds. It is very basic and straightforward in its approach. Overall, I would give this book a 5 star rating.

*This book was gratefully received from Thomas Nelson at no cost in exchange for my agreement to post this review.

Seeds of Turmoil by Bryant Wright

2010-09-11T23:04:00.000-05:00

The subject matter of this book really intrigued me. I was looking to gain more understanding of the deep hatred between the Arab Muslims and the Jewish people. Being a pastor and lover of Biblical history, I already knew of the conflict between Ishmael and Isaac. Seeds of Turmoil starts with that premise but provides much deeper understanding by taking the reader through the Old Testament to show how not only Ishmael's but also Esau's descendants had problems with the Jewish people. Using both Old Testament stories and modern day examples, Bryant Wright shows the reader the depth of the hatred and resentment.

The thing that I liked about this book was the historical overview of the conflict beginning with Ishmael and Isaac. He shows how the founding of Islam plays into this conflict as well as the forming of the nation of Israel in 1948. He helped me to understand the land issues from the Arab Muslims side, which is not something that I had ever really given much consideration to. For me, this was most beneficial.

The only thing that I didn't like about the book was I felt the author restated himself too much. By that I mean he said the same thing in several different places within the book. He may have been merely making a point but I felt that it was unnecessary. It's not a major issue but it was something that I noticed and didn't quite like.

Overall, I am very glad that I read this book. I would highly recommend it to those who want to understand the Middle East conflict in a greater depth. Very well written.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

66 Love Letters by Dr. Larry Crabb

2010-09-01T20:01:00.000-05:00

As a book reviewer for booksneeze.com I recently read 66 Love Letters by Dr. Larry Crabb. I must say that I really enjoyed this book. It is written in a conversational style of a dialogue between God and the author. Dr. Crabb does an excellent job at helping people see God's intention for each of the 66 books of the Bible. It is a written in a very personal style and helps the reader to understand some hard topics throughout the Bible. While this should not be taken as a commentary of the Bible, it is a valuable tool for understanding each of the books of the Bible. The personal style of writing makes this book a very easy read. One would want to take their time through this book to get the fullest effect of the book.

I find Dr. Crabb's honesty very appealing and enlightening. Given his national status it would have been easy to not have put this honesty within the book. However, he lays himself out before his readers as he dialogues with God concerning the hardships of life and how to apply the Bible to our lives.

Instead of approaching all the doctrinal issues and complexities of the Bible, Dr. Crabb writes this book from a love letter status. He boils each book down to a one or two sentence synopsis of what God is trying to convey to us. The Bible is God's love letter to us and Dr. Crabb helps us to understand this love letter. This book would be good for the new believer in helping them to understand that God loves them and how to see that throughout the Bible. It is also good for the mature believer as they study the Word of God. Well done, Dr. Crabb!

God's Really Into You, part 2

2010-06-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

In my last post I started a thread about God really being into you. The concept is simple. God's primary objective for my life is that I would love Him back. Many Christians today think that God's primary objective is their obedience. While I admit that obedience is important, love is more important. Let me continue with my thoughts in this blog by beginning to look at three principles.

Principle #1: God IS love.

Notice that love isn't God's behavior. Love is God's very nature. This is an important principle to get right. It's really the basis for our relationship with God. God IS love. It's who He is....not simply what He does. As humans, we choose to love or hate. We fall in love and out of love. Many of us can sing the Johnny Lee classic hit from the 70's "I was looking for love in all the wrong places." Love is something that we all need, desire and look for. I Corinthians 13 tells us that "these three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love."

God IS love. His love for us is pure, complete, eternal and unconditional. Let's unwrap this:

His love is pure. God doesn't have ulterior motives. Many of us love with ulterior motives. And many times we don't even realize it. We love people because they make us feel good about ourselves or do nice things for us. God just loves us! His love is pure and unadulterated.

His love is complete. His love is really all we need. When we are lonely, He loves us. When we are broken, His love heals us. When we sin, His love forgives us. When we need companionship, His love is there for us. He simply loves us and His love is complete.

His love is eternal. His love for you will never end. I think that one of the worst things about hell, in my opinion and theology, is that the love of God will be there for all the people there. Yet, they will not be able to respond to that love. God's love for you will never end, because it's not what He does....it's who He is.

His love is unconditional. Because God is love and its not just His behavior, He can love you unconditionally. He can love you regardless of what you have done or what you currently do. He can love you no matter what because He IS love!

So, what do you think?

God's Really Into You!

2010-06-14T22:23:00.001-05:00

In this world we all face and have suffered rejection. Rejection is a very cruel thing to have to go through. Because so many of us have suffered rejection, we sometimes believe that God is truly for us but that at the slightest sin in our lives, He is going to reject us because we are not good enough. I have been a Christian for over 25 years now. I know a lot of awesome Christians who love God with all their hearts. However, I also know a lot of Christians who believe that God loves them but they don't live like God loves them. They live under a cloud of condemnation because they just don't feel like their good enough for God or that they cannot measure up to all the "rules" of Christianity.

I know this because I struggle with this myself. My personality doesn't help much because I am a man that likes order. I like rules and guidelines. They give me definition and boundaries. There are some people who live by the motto, "rules are meant to be broken." I was never this type of person. I obeyed the rules because I was too afraid of getting caught. I also grew up in a church system that taught me to obey God's commandments so that I would go to heaven and wouldn't suffer the wrath of God. As a matter of fact, I grew up believing that if I died and had one unconfessed sin in my life that I would go to hell, even though I was a Christian. Talked about scary.

As a Christian pilgrim on a journey of discovery I have learned somethings about what God really does want out of me. A lesson that I recently learned was that God is more interested in my love for Him than my obedience to Him. That was a hard concept for me to swallow. Now before you label me a heretic please know that I believe that it's important to obey God. I know that Jesus said, "if you love me, you'll obey my commandments." But notice what He says first, "if you LOVE me....". I hope to elaborate on this a bit more in this blog post and the next couple of posts. I also would like to see some discussion about this as well.

Just about every Christian (and a lot of non-Christians) can quote John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life." What an awesome scripture. But I think that verse 17 is equally as awesome.

John 3:17 says "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (NIV). Now look at this verse carefully. God didn't send Jesus into the world to condemn or judge the world. Many churches need to quote John 3:16 AND 17. The way some preachers preach God is angry at the world and ready to send it to hell. No, God is in love with humanity and sent His Son Jesus to save humanity. Will He judge the world someday? Yes! There will be a judgment day but it's not today.

We really need to get this concept down. God didn't send Jesus into the earth to condemn people. He sent Him to save them. It's really hard to save someone while you're condemning and judging them. Notice what Jesus prayed on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing. They just condemned Him to death, but He wouldn't condemn them. Wow!!! Jesus is in a good mood. God is a good mood. And He loves you!

As a matter of fact, if God had a refrigerator . . . your picture would be on it!

More to come.......

So, what do you think?

God is "Human-friendly"

2010-06-09T18:56:00.000-05:00

Anthony Chapman, a great teacher from York, England, made a statement recently that was really thought provoking. He said that "God is human-friendly." Wow, think about that. Let that sink in. So many Christians have this concept that God is in heaven just watching us to make sure that we don't slip up. He's like Santa Claus, making a list and checking it twice. We talk about how God loves us and how that He is for us, but we don't live our lives that way. We live in condemnation thinking that we just can't measure up to God.

Yet, God is for us. He is human-friendly. He is with us, even in the midst of our struggles and sins. I can hear some of you already. God can't stand sin. He's a holy God. We must measure up. Well, we can't. That's why we need Jesus. Remember what Jesus was called by the angel? Emmanuael...God with us. He's so human-friendly that He came to live among us. He came to us. He came into our world, our nasty, sinful world. Why? Because He's human-friendly. Our sin doesn't mess Him up. He is human-friendly.

Better yet......He's "YOU-friendly".

So, what do you think?

You Fail Us Not

2010-06-07T09:05:00.002-05:00

I'm in Safford, AZ right now at New Life City Church's annual conference. The worship team has been singing this incredible song by a worship band I'd never heard of. This band is called 1000 Generations and they have a song called Fail Us Not that is one of the best worship songs I've ever heard. It's about the fact that nothing in our lives can stop God from failing us. Here's a video.

The Ice Cube Principle (Potential)

2010-06-06T17:31:00.002-05:00

All of us have potential. I am constantly examining myself to make sure that I am living up to my fullest potential. I know that I am not. My main reason is simple: laziness. To operate at my fullest potential requires effort and sometimes I just settle for good enough. Sad isn’t it? Yet, I know that I am not alone. Many of us never live up to our potential for various reasons.

The Power of Potential

Potential:

possible but not yet realized
expressing possibility
capacity to develop

Potential is a very powerful thing if it is used properly or it can be a wasted thing, if it is not used. Our potential can be hindered by our belief system. What you think about yourself is going to be your reality. Here’s a saying that I use often: “You are better than you think you are and you are greater than you have become.” The Bible book of Proverbs declares that “as a man thinks, so is he.” (Prov. 23:7).

Another detriment to the fulfilling our potential is what I call the “Ice Cube Principle”. Think about a 20 ounce cup. It’s potential to hold liquid is 20 ounces. However, when you go to a restaurant and order a 20 ounce drink you do not get a full 20 ounces. Why? Because they put ice cubes in the cup. Your amount of drink is now determined by how big and how many ice cubes there are. You may have the potential for 20 ounces but now you may only get 14 ounces. Your potential has been diminished by your capacity. That’s the “Ice Cube Principle”. In order to reach your fullest potential, you must match your capacity to your potential. How do you do that? You remove the ice cubes. What are the ice cubes? They can be anything: doubts, fears, laziness, ignorance, lack of skills, etc. Ice cubes are anything that keeps you from fulfilling your fullest potential.

The problem with a lot of humanity is that we see the ice cubes, recognize them as limitations but we accept them as past of our lives. We just think that this is the way we are. NEVER! You can learn. You can grow. You can achieve your maximum potential. You just have to get rid of the ice cubes.

One particular fast food chain in my city uses really small ice cubes in their drinks. When I go to this chain, I tell them not to put any ice in my drink because I want my money’s worth. I believe that with all the ice they put into my cup I am not even getting half of the cups potential. So, I tell them to leave out the ice. You can do the same thing. Recognize the ice cubes in your life and simply work hard to get rid of them. It will take effort and hard work. Some ice cubes, such as laziness and procrastination, will come easy. No matter what ice cubes are in your cup of potential, you can get them out. God created you with potential. You are capable of that potential because God said you were. It is up to you to fulfill that potential within your life. Ask God to help you see the ice cubes, and then remove the ice cubes. You can do it.

So, what do you think?

Don't Forget

2010-06-03T13:54:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday as a Memorial Day weekend message, I preached a message entitled A Day To Remember. I've been giving this some thought since then about how easily it is to forget things in our lives. We forget the sacrifices of previous generations that have gotten us to where we currently are. We forget the gift that our spouse really is to us. We forget to that our children are gifts from the Lord. We forget where God has brought us from and what He has done for us. It's easy to forget because we get distracted.

We have so many thing in our lives today to help us remember.....Blackberry's iPhones, Palms, DayRunners, calendars, email reminders and the list goes on. Yet, we still forget things. I sometimes forget to put things in my Blackberry so that I will remember them. I've learned this one principle the hard way: never underestimate your power to forget. God knew how easily we forget so several times throughout the Old Testament He instructed the children of Israel to not forget what He had done and what He had said. Because of their power to forget God had them establish memorials. There were stone memorials, feast memorials and even clothing memorials. Just type the word memorial into a online concordance and you will see that God was serious about us not forgetting.

Look at some of these scriptures:

Deut. 4:9 (CEV) You must be very careful not to forget the things you have seen God do for you. Keep reminding yourselves, and tell your children and grandchildren as well.

8 times in the book of Deuteronomy alone, Moses warns the people of Israel to not forget the Lord.

Psalm 119:93 (NASB) -- I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.

Proverbs 3:1 (NASB) -- My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,

God warns us not to forget because its so easy for us to forget.

Establishing Spiritual Memorials

It’s good to remember what the Lord has done in our lives. We must always remember where He has brought us from. Remembering where we came from helps keep us focused on the right path in front of us.

In Joshua 4:1-7, God instructs Joshua to establish a 12 stone memorial for crossing the Jordan River. What's interesting to me is that in this passage God tells them that when their children ask what these stones meant to their parents they were to tell the story of crossing the Jordan. This is a remarkable principle. Here's a couple of thoughts:

1. We all face our "Jordan Rivers" at different times in our lives. It represents an impassable, almost impossible feat that lies between us and our Promised Land. We all have mountains to climb and ruts to dig our way out of. There have been plenty of seasons in my life where I was on the verge of breaking through only to come to a flooded river that seemed impassable. Yet, God made a way!!

2. My story can help someone else. We all have a story. That story can help someone else come to faith and realize that if God did it for you, He can do it for them. We all have experiences that we need to share with others. What do these experiences (these memorial stones if you will) mean to you?

3. We have a responsibility to share God's wonders with the following generation. Our miracles are the guiding markers for those coming after us. Our struggles and victories are the path markers for those yet to come. We must have these memorial stones to help guide others in their faith journey.

4. My life is to be a memorial stone. As people look at my life, they should be asking about the experiences I have had because they see God within the experience. The New Testament calls us "Living Stones". We are God's memorial stones to the world.

So, here are a two questions that you need to ponder today.

What is one thing that God has done in your life that was so significant you could establish a stone memorial for that event?
What is one thing that God has done in the life of someone else that dramatically affected your faith?

So, what do you think?

Why God?

2010-05-17T10:06:00.001-05:00

We've all been hurt in life. I've had many occassions where I've asked God, "why did You allow this? Why didn't You stop it? Why did this happen to me?" It's certainly a fitting question. Things happen to us that we don't understand and so we ask "why" in an attempt to make sense of an insensible act. However, I've never really had God answer my question of why.

Back in 2000, my wife and I suffered two miscarriages which were only 5 months apart. The first one I accepted as just life. It happens. I didn't like it but I knew that these things happen. The second miscarriage was what got me. I didn't understand how God could allow that to happen, especially after having one just 5 months previous. I was a bit ticked off at Him and I wanted to know why. He never answered my question of why.

As a pastor I have to help people through difficult circumstances and situations. Many times they are wanting God to answer "Why?". From my experience they haven't gotten their answers either.

This almost makes it seem as if God is mean or cruel. Why won't He just answer the question? He isn't mean nor cruel. He is loving, compassionate and caring -- even when we think that He isn't. Many times our children don't understand our reasons for doing something and they feel we are mean and cruel. But we aren't. Let me give two things for our perspective and learning.

1) If He did answer why and explained to you what all transpired to let up to your devastating situation, would that make your pain any less? If He answered why you lost your marriage, why you were raped or sexually abused, why your best friend betrayed you.....would this make the pain any less? Knowing all the answers doesn't lessen our pain. As a matter of fact, it might make it worse.

2) Instead of asking why, we should instead ask "what". We should ask God what we must do to move on. We should ask God what He is going to do to get glory out of this situation. God can, and will, turn our situation around for our good and His glory......if we will just trust Him.

God never promised that we wouldn't have trouble. As a matter of fact, Jesus Himself said that in this world we will have trouble. He said that He would be with us no matter what. Life is full of disappointments, hurts, and devastations. It happens. Betrayals happen. Relationships break down. People die unexpectedly. Life has its fair share of hurts and disappointments. Knowing all the why's doesn't stop the pain. So, we must start asking all the what questions. What am I going to do? (Because we are responsible for ourselves and our actions). What is God going to do to get glory out of this? What must I do to move forward and not get stuck here?

I hope that all of us find healing from our hurts.

So, what do you think?

LIfe is Good, Not Perfect

2010-05-12T11:37:00.000-05:00

I read an article on Mike Myers recently. Many of you know Mike as the wonderfully funny Austin Powers. In this article he made a statement that just captured me. He said, "Life is good. Not perfect." What an incredible thought. So many of us are looking for a perfect life or at least perfect circumstances. As a pastor, I have had to walk people through many difficult issues in their lives where they were allowing their circumstances to influence their feelings. I have done this. I have allowed my viewpoint of life to be based upon whether or not my circumstances were perfect.

Let's face it....life is messy, unfair and sometimes hard. Hey, at times life sucks. Or does it? Maybe it's our attitude towards life. How is that some people can have terrible circumstances and a great attitude and yet others have great circumstances and a bad attitude? It's our choice.

So, as I realize that today is good, but not perfect, I set myself up for whatever comes my way. It may not be good or pleasant, but my attitude about it is going to be perfect. Life is good, not perfect. My circumstances may not be good, but my attitude is perfect! I choose today to be the master of my life in that I choose my attitude, faith and resolve. Life is GOOD!

So, what do you think?

Flood Relief Fund

2010-05-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

My city, Dyersburg, TN, has been hit by a flood. It's the worst flood in our history. My church, CityGate Church, is receiving donations for help with the flood relief. Right now, the Red Cross is asking for Health Kits, which we are going to be putting together. Any size donation would be greatly appreciated. You can pay through paypal directly to our church. This would be the fastest way. Thank you in advance for anything you can do to help out. There are people here who have lost everything and many didn't have flood insurance.

Below is an aerial view of the flood taken by one of our newspaper's reporters. You can see more pictures and read stories at www.stategazette.com.

Pray for my city

2010-05-04T13:53:00.000-05:00

Here is a video clip of the flooding that is taking place in my city. This is the southern part of Dyersburg, called Southtown. This was taken on Monday. The flooding has gotten worse since then. They show a house with two rocking chairs on the front porch. This belongs to one of my deacon's sister.

Check this lady out!!

2010-05-03T10:59:00.000-05:00

A white, middle-aged woman doing rap --- wouldn't that be considered an oxymoron??? Check her out.

Book Review of Plan B by Pete Wilson

2010-05-03T10:49:00.000-05:00

As a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson publishers, I was given the opportunity to review Plan B by Pete Wilson. This was a really good book. It attempts to look at what you do when your dreams are shattered; when your life isn’t turning out the way you thought; and what you do when you have to turn to Plan B. I’ve been a Christian for over 25 years. During that time I’ve read a lot of books and listened to a lot of sermons on pain, suffering, and unanswered questions. Unfortunately, most of these left me with pat Christian answers that had little depth and did more to make someone else feel good about “helping me.” Life is filled with unanswered questions that leave us scratching our heads asking, “God…..why?”

In a very real and practical way, Pete Wilson delves into these questions. Using real life stories he attempts to help us understand that our “Plan A” usually doesn’t work out and we are left to figure out where God is in the midst of “Plan B”. Pete writes like a friend sitting with you having a discussion, exploring the hard, sometimes unanswered questions of life. There are no pretty Christian answers here. There’s a lot of encouragement and thought-provoking statements. And there’s some “I just don’t know” input as well. He leaves a lot of room for the “mystery of life” that just happens. Life is messy and, as Christians, we often want everything to make sense in the overall goodness of God. But our view of God is often challenged when faced with “Plan B”. Pete does a great job of helping us realize that our view of God and who He really is sometimes a bit different. Knowing this will help us get through Plan B.

This is a book of HOPE!! Hope that you can make it through Plan B, Plan C, even Plan Z because God is with you. That’s the central message of this book…..God is with you no matter what plan you are on. It’s a book that I highly recommend and will be recommending to others. I would put this book on my “must read list” for people.

If you are on “Plan B”, or know someone that is, then I encourage you to get this book!!

The Seasons of God

2010-04-29T09:37:00.000-05:00

I have discovered through many years of walking with God, and much study, that God works in cycles and seasons. As I look upon my life I can see many different seasons that I have endured. Some seasons of life have been awesome; some not so awesome. We can see in scripture that God created seasons at the very beginning of time. He created cycles for the earth, and humanity, to operate in. We have night and day; then we have a week. Each day starts fresh, as does each week. Its a cycle. We have a cycle of one year. The Earth cycles around the sun; the moon cycles around the earth. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, we find that there is a time for everything.

There is a reason for seasons. In Mark 4:26-29 we see that there is a time for preparation, planting, growing, harvesting, and resting. Then the cycle repeats itself. Each stage is important and vital to the overall season.

Its the same for our lives. Many times we describe seasons as "being on the mountaintop" (a good season) or "being in the valley" (a hard season). We describe our journeys as "I feel like I'm in the wilderness" (again, a not so fun season) or we might feel like we're experiencing "breakthrough" (a much better season). The point is that we go through cycles in our walk with God because He prepares us for things, plants things in our hearts, allows us to grow, brings forth a harvest and then allows rest to come. Then the cycle starts again.

Some things to remember if you are going through a hard season is that we must do the right thing for whatever season we are in. When you cooperate with the season you are in, then thing work for you. For example, you can expect a harvest of crops after you have just prepared the soil. There is a particular order (or cycle) that you must go through.

Our problem is that sometimes we get weary in the season that we are in. The thing that we must keep in mind is not if this cycle will pass, but when it's going to pass. It will come to pass, so don't give up prematurely if you are in a season you don't like.

We also must learn to appreciate the season that we are in. I love spring and summer. I hate winter. However, winter is important and there are benefits of winter. There are things that I can enjoy in the winter that I cannot enjoy in the summer. Many times in our walk with God we will not move on from the season we are in until we have learned to appreciate the season (the process) that we are in.

Lastly, remember the following four things about seasons:

1. A shift in season symbolizes change. We must remember to not get comfortable within a season, because ideal conditions never last.
2. Every change brings forth challenges.
3. Challenges conquered produce maturity.
4. Maturity produces fruit. Harvest comes at the end of the growing season. There are no shortcuts to maturity. Seasons are designed to mature us!

Whatever season you are in...appreciate it, learn from it, endure it and draw value from it.

So, what do you think?

Jesus The Reformer, part five

2010-03-30T15:02:00.000-05:00

As we look at how Jesus came to reform, today we will look an often quoted verse. Let's look at Matthew 5:38-42:

38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (NIV)

I have heard many people who want vengence quote the above verse about an eye for an eye. They believe that if someone does something wrong to them then they have the right to do someone wrong to the other person. Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament, but remember that He is seeking to bring us to a higher level of living. He is wanting to reform our standards from good to great. He is looking to bring out of us the very God-nature that we were created with.

In this passage, Jesus is teaching us the principle of turning the other cheek. In other words, when we are wronged we don't do harm back. We look for ways to be non-violent. Now, I am not saying that you can't defend yourself. But we are not to be people of retaliation. We are to be peacemakers. It takes a bigger man or woman to turn the other cheek when we have been wronged.

Jesus came to reform the way that humans were living. He wants us to do our best to get along with each other. We are not supposed to be vengeful and hurt other people. He wants us to get along with others, to the best of our ability.

The reformation point of this passage is that we are to be people of forgiveness. We are to look for non-violent ways to settle things. We are to turn the other cheek and allow God to defend us.

So, what do you think?

Jesus the Reformer, part 4

2010-03-08T10:10:00.000-06:00

This is part four of my six part look at Jesus being a reformer. In the past few blogs we have looked at the fact that Jesus raised the bar for His followers. Reformation requires that we raise the bar. Living in status quo never changes anyone or anything. It is only as we go higher that we actually change. Let's look at the next statement Jesus makes in Matthew 5:33-37.

33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (NIV, emphasis added)

Notice here that people would make an oath and then swear by something to prove their sincerity. It's like we do today when we say things like, "I swear on my mother's grave...." or "I swear on my father's life...". Jesus' point here is that we swear by things that we have no control over. We can't change things to prove our sincerity.

However, He takes it a step higher by simply telling us to allow our yes to be yes and our no to be no. In other words, live by your word. Your word is all that you really have. Your possessions can be taken from you. Your money may not last. But your word....now that is something that cannot be taken from you. Your word is supposed to be your bond, especially as a Christian.

Have you ever tried to get a loan or even open a savings account recently? It's amazing the amount of paperwork one has to go through today just to get money or to save money. A couple of generations ago, one could simply get money with a simple handshake and a signature. What's changed? People failed to honor their word.

The reformation point is that we are to be people of integrity. If you say you are going to do something THEN DO IT. If you say you are not going to do something THEN DON'T DO IT. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Jesus raises the bar here by saying that anything beyond these is evil.

So, what do you think?

2010-03-01T20:30:00.002-06:00

Continuing on with the thoughts about Jesus being a reformer, we now look at a very controversial subject in the American Church . . . divorce. With the divorce rate being about 50% of first time marriages ending in divorce, this is a serious problem in our nation. When you consider that the divorce rate among Christians is about the same, we need some reformation in this area.

Let me make a disclaimer here before I move forward. Divorce does happen and sometimes it is inevitable. If you have been divorced, please know there is no condemnation. However, I will say that I believe this: there is no way that two-born again, Spirit-led believers should get a divorce. Why do I say this? Because if you are truly following Jesus with all your heart then you will do your best to serve your spouse and walk with humility toward each other. Love can overcome any obstacle. The problem with most marriages is simply selfishness, pure and simple. I have counseled numerous couples with marriage problems and the number one problem is selfishness.

Let's look at Jesus' words in Matthew 5:31-32. "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery."

As a reformer, Jesus was constantly raising the bar on our standard of living. As seen in my last post He took adultery from a physical act to a mental action, one of the heart. Here we see that Jesus tells his listeners (mainly men) that they could no longer simply give their wife a divorce simply by giving her a certificate of divorce. He values relationships so He gives the order that we cannot divorce except for unfaithfulness in a marriage. This is the ultimate form of betrayal, the unfaithfulness of a spouse. This would be legitimate grounds for a divorce. However, there is a higher way.

The higher way is that of forgiveness and reconciliation. God is always desiring that we forgive and be reconciled, even when a spouse has been unfaithful. Now realizing that sometimes men & women have a hard time in this area, Jesus gives us the permission to divorce. However, divorce isn't something that should be taken lightly or rushed into.

In our society, divorce is far too easy. Many people enter into a marriage already used to breaking up with others and moving on. In our culture where people cohabitate with others before marriage, divorce has become an easy thing. When two people live together they are for all points and purposes a married couple. This isn't a license for them to live together; I am saying that they act like a married couple, have sex like a married couple, share responsibilities as a married couple, etc. However, they have "an escape clause", as they both know that if it doesn't work out, they can simply walk away without having to go through a divorce. However, when they do break up it's a tearing of the flesh because they have become joined and it hurts just as much. Many people within our culture have had multiple serious relationships and sometimes multiple live-in partners before they finally settle down into marriage. This simply sets up a divorce atmosphere.

Jesus wants us to live to a higher standard. We wants us to live unselfishly with the person that we have committed our lives to. Our vows have meaning and they have weight. They matter to God and they should matter to us. We shouldn't make divorce so easy in this nation.

Jesus came to reform our marriages and our families. If we are to see our nation reformed, then we must start with our families. To have stronger families, we must have stronger marriages. To have stronger marriages, we must be willing to live out our commitments and vows. Divorce does happen but it shouldn't be as easy as we have made it in our nation.

So, what do you think?

Jesus The Reformer_3

2010-02-15T11:16:00.000-06:00

As in my previous post about Jesus being a reformer, I laid the groundwork for this series of blogs. Jesus came to reform us. He came to make us better. He took the Old Testament law, which he introduced by saying “You have heard, but I say to you…”, and raised the bar for us. He took the letter of the Law and showed us the spirit of the Law. To reform something is to change something from its current state to a better state. That’s what Jesus does, and is always seeking to do, in us . . . change us from our current state to a better state. No matter how long you have been a Christian, you can always get better.

Now, let’s look at the second “You have heard” statement. Matthew 5:27-20 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her as already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If you right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Ok, so Jesus tells his listeners, and us, that adultery is wrong. He lets them know that this is still true. However, notice that He raises the bar in order to make us better. He basically says, “Look, it’s not enough to not commit the physical act of adultery, its not even okay to think about it.” He raises the bar for us to go beyond the physical act to our thought life. If we look at the opposite sex and think that we would like to have sex with them, then we have now committed adultery (or fornication for the unmarried) in our hearts.

Here’s the interesting part. No one but God would even know that we have committed adultery in our hearts. Many people silently lust after others and do not think anything about it. Yet God, the monitor of the human heart, knows exactly what we are doing. Jesus tells us to go above and beyond just the Law and live with a clean heart.

Jesus now sets a new standard that says adultery is not just the physical act of having sex with a person who isn’t your spouse, it’s also lusting after someone. Lust now equals adultery. Wow, talk about raising the bar. Jesus isn’t just looking for people who can follow some rules; He’s looking for people who will live holy and pure lives, including their thought lives. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight O, God (Psalm 19:14).

He then goes on to tell us that whatever is causing us to sin should be cut off from us. He makes the extreme illustration by using our own body parts as an example. If your hand causes you to sin…..CUT IT OFF. If your eye is looking at things you shouldn’t look at…..CUT IT OUT. Wow, this is really raising the bar for us. Get rid of anything that will cause us to sin.

Each of these “you have heard” statements have a reformation point. This reformation point is that we must be people of morality. We must be people who live moral lives, not just physically but mentally as well. The point is that whatever is within our hearts is going to come out into the physical world; therefore we must make sure our hearts are clean before the Lord. Proverbs tells us to guard your hearts, for out it flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). We must guard our hearts. Our heart is the origin of every good or evil thing that comes out of us. Therefore, if our heart is evil, then our actions shall be evil. If our heart is good, then our actions will be good.

Two other points must be made. Number one is that relationships matter to God. We must treat everyone as a person of value. When we lust after someone we cheapen their value to that of our source of personal pleasure. Sex is so flaunted in our society that people, men especially, look at women as play things. God wants us to treat other women as sisters. We should look at everyone with value and honor, being made in the image and likeness of God.

Secondly, marriage is a holy thing. We should honor the sanctity of marriage. We should honor the vows of our marriage. We should honor the marriage commitment. Let me illustrate with the thoughts of a friend of mine who is about to get married. I don’t think I would consider my friend a Christian, even though he is very God-conscious. My friend is living with his girlfriend and has been for a good while now. He told me now that he is getting married he was going to have give us his porn. He said that he doesn’t have a problem with lust, he just likes porn. He is so mistaken!!! He does have a problem with lust. If he thinks that getting married is going to solve this issue, it won’t. It will remain the same or possibly get worse. It’s a heart issue. Until he resolves not to do this in his heart, it is going to come out.

Jesus sets the bar high for us in this area. Lust equals adultery. We must become aggressive at getting rid of sin in our lives.

So, what do you think?

Tithing (Book Review)

2010-01-31T18:09:00.000-06:00

Journalist Douglas LeBlanc travels the nation to talk with believers whose lives have been enriched by the ancient spiritual discipline of tithing. This is one thing that initially drew me to this book. I sat down and read in within two days. Mr. LeBlanc does a great job of interviewing people from various denominations and doctrinal stances on the subject of tithing. This is not a theological discourse on tithing. This is simply a book that is full of stories of people who believe in the ancient discipline of tithing. Each story is interesting and held my attention, with the exception of chapter 7, which I felt didn't fit into the book.

Considering this book is part seven of the Ancient Practices series, I was expecting more of a scriptural study on tithing with each person interviewed giving their thoughts on tithing. I was a bit disappointed in that. Each story does declare that the person interviewed believes in tithing but I felt that not all of the stories quite fit the blessings of tithing in with the idea of tithing. Although I enjoyed the interviews very much, I was disappointed that there wasn't more clearly defined examples of the blessings of tithing. Some interviews had this, but others left me wondering.

Overall, this was a nice book for inspirational reading. If I didn't believe in tithing (which I do and am a practicing tither) I am not sure that I would be convinced enough to start. I felt that the author should have at least devoted one chapter to a scriptural teaching on tithing, or maybe even several differing viewpoints. This would have made the book most effective, in my opinion. I would give this book a 2 1/2 star rating (out of five). As a result of reading this book, I would be interested in reading the other six volumes in this series.

This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Jesus the Reformer, part 2

2010-01-25T20:17:00.000-06:00

Jesus brought forth a reformation of love, value and acceptance. Contrary to what some Christians teach, Jesus didn't come to the earth to condemn people and tell them how bad they were. He came to bring forth the love of God to people; to let them know how valuable they were; and to bring forth God's acceptance of people when they accepted Jesus. His mission was to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus makes six statements where He begins by saying you have heard.......but I say. In these verses He takes a way of living among the Jewish people and brings about reformation. Our country, and especially the church, needs a reformation. If Jesus were to address us today I wonder what He would say to the American church. I wonder what we currently do that He would reform.

I would like to look at these six statements, one at a time, over the next six blogs. So, here we go.

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. (Matthew 5:21-22) {Read verses 21-26, especially in the Message}

Notice that Jesus starts off with a terrible crime such as murder. The ancients were told not to murder. As a matter of fact, it is one of the ten commandments. Remember, that we are looking at Jesus bringing about reformation. He was about to take people into a better state of living. He was taking them from just the concept of murdering people physically to a state understanding that our words and actions can literally murder someone mentally and emotionally.

Notice the progression in these verses. He tells us not be angry with our brothers without cause. Relationships matter to Jesus. The way that we treat people matter to Jesus. Getting along with others matters to Jesus. He goes on to tell us not to say to others that they are good for nothing. Lastly, we are told not to call someone a fool. We must remember that all of us have been created in God's image and likeness. Jesus died for every human being in the world. When we put people down, calling them good-for-nothing, then we are actually putting God down because He finds value in everyone. To insult a human, in essence, is to insult their Maker.

We can murder people with our words. Many people have been cut down by the words of others. Many people have emotionally died inside because someone they knew, loved and trust berated them repeatedly with their words. Words have the power of life and death. Jesus knew this. He is trying to bring reformation about in our lives by showing us that it's not just physical murder that is terrible, but it is also murder by words.

The point of the matter here is that we must learn to walk in humility, value others and always work towards reconciliation. Relationships matter to God and they must matter to us as well.

We all know that you cannot murder someone physically. This is wrong but how many of us have murdered someone with our words. May we learn to be swift to hear and slow to speak. How many Christians have "murdered" non-Christians with judgmental words, thereby turning them away from Jesus rather than turning them towards Him. We must learn to value people and relationships.

So, what do you think?

This Is Your Brain in Love (Book Review)

2010-01-23T20:48:00.000-06:00

This is Your Brain in Love by Dr. Earl Henslin is a very interesting book. I chose this book because I am always looking for ways to make my marriage better. As a pastor, I am also looking for ways that I can help others make their marriages better. This book is one that I will be using for help in making marriages better. Dr. Henslin asserts that to have a healthy marriage one's brain must be healthy. While we often think of love occuring in our "hearts", the reality is that our brains play a very huge part in our "being in love".

The first part of the book is interesting as Dr. Henslin sets the stage for his scientific research. Interesting stories and case studies are interwoven throughout the book, which makes for very good reading. The middle of the book covers technical issues concerning different regions of the brain and SPECT scans (based upon the work of Dr. Daniel G. Amen). He describes what happens in different parts of our brains based upon our personalities and past traumas. In this section one learns how to focus the Scattered Lover, relax the Over-focused Lover, cheer the Blue Lover, calm the Agitated Lover, and soothe the Anxious Lover. This part was a bit tedious to get through but was very informative with tests to discover which type of love one might be, as well as dietary tips to help make our brains healthier.

The last part of the book covers How To Have a Lasting Love. This part was interesting and will be very helpful in marriage counseling. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It actually helped me in my own marriage. I highly recommend this book to those who are married or thinking about getting married.

Jesus The Reformer, part one

2010-01-21T21:42:00.000-06:00

Reform: to form again, the improvement of what is wrong, corrupt or unsatisfactory; to change to a better state.

Jesus came to the earth as a human being, in order to restore us back to our original condition before the fall of Adam. Jesus came to restore us to a right relationship with God. He came to form us again (being born again), to improve what was wrong, corrupt and unsatisfactory in our lives, and to change us to a better state (unrighteous to righteous). He came preaching, "repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." True repentance is a state of reformation. We change our behavior from unacceptable to acceptable. We change from a bad state into a better state. Repentance is reformation.

But true repentance isn't just being sorry for something we have done. Being sorry doesn't change us; only repentance does. Repentance is a change of thinking that results in a change of behavior.

In our modern day church culture we teach people to be sorry for their sins (which I believe most are) but we don’t see any true change in them. Being sorry doesn’t change anyone because it’s an emotional response. Think about an abusive husband. He comes home drunk one night and physically abuses his wife or child. When he sobers up and realizes what he has done, he is sorry and says so. He has had an emotional response to the situation. He apologizes profusely and promises never to do it again. However, another drunken episode occurs and he abuses them again. This cycle repeats itself over and over. Because he is only sorry, but not repentive, there is no change. There is no reformation.

An important concept to remember is that we repent from something, then to something. Some examples would be that we repent from lies to truth, from hate to love, from the world to the kingdom, etc. etc. Again, the point is that we repent from something to something.

Jesus wants to reform our lives from bad to good, from unhealthy to healthy, from corrupt to incorruptable, from lost to saved. This reformation begins with repentance.

So, what do you think?

2010-01-13T09:44:00.001-06:00

Test BLOG from my BlackBerry

2010-01-13T09:39:00.001-06:00

a test blog from my blackberry.

God Sees the Unloved

2010-01-13T09:26:00.003-06:00

In my Bible reading today, I read in Genesis 29 where Jacob married Leah and Rachel. Jacob didn't want Leah; he wanted Rachel. But it was a package deal so he had to accept Leah as his wife. But the problem was he didn't love Leah. He had children by her, but he didn't love her.

The verse today that stuck out to me is Genesis 29:31. It says that God saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb and allowed her to have children. What struck me was that God saw that Leah was unloved and He did something about it. This speaks to me that God does take notice of our situations and He moves on our behalf. Now, I know that there are many people in bad situations that don't seem to have God moving on their behalf. It seems they are stuck in a bad situation that seems to get worse. But I do believe that God does take notice of us.

Recently a good friend of mine, who had a really rough childhood, asked me where God was during his times of hardship as a child. I simply replied, with all honesty, that God was right there grieving over my friends situation. Many would ask, "why didn't God step in and stop the abuse?" Others ask, "if God is so good, then why doesn't He stop all the evil in the world?" These are good questions. I don't have the answers to these questions because I am not God. I do know that God takes notice of our lives and He knows what we go through.

He saw that Leah had been unloved. To me, this lets me know that God has not only seen when I have been unloved, but also when I have been wronged, hurt, used, talked about, and persecuted. He notices me.

If He notices me, then that means I have value! I am valuable to God and so are you.

So, what do you think?

Sing & Rejoice or Cry & Mourn

2010-01-11T21:37:00.002-06:00

Recently I was reading Isaiah 54:1-3. As I was studying this passage, I realize that you can either sing & rejoice over what you can have OR you can cry & mourn over what you don't have. It's totally up to you. Many times I have found myself crying over what I've lost or what I don't have. I have found myself being jealous over other ministers because they have bigger churches, bigger budgets, and more staff. They have better facilities than mine. They make more money and actually have insurance. I bemoan to God that it's just not fair.

Okay, so onto other issues. Many people cry over not having this or that. They are in a mental or emotional captivity and they are crying and mourning because nothing is being produced in their life. They know they are capable of more in their life, but they are just merely existing. Most people in "mental/emotional captivity" don't produce anything so they cry and mourn.

However, I want to be a person who is consistently looking forward to what can be. I want to sing and rejoice over what is coming. I want to be like a father expecting his first child. I remember when Dina, my wife of almost 20 years, got pregnant with our first child, Bailey. We were so excited. We had such high hopes and great expectations. This is how we should look at each day . . . with high hopes and great expectations.

I choose to sing and rejoice over what can be, what I can have, what will come. I choose not to cry and mourn over what I don't have, what I can't have or what may not be.

So, what do you think?

What Will I Give Up

2010-01-09T09:33:00.002-06:00

As I was reading in my devotional time today, I read the story of Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. Most Christians know this story well, have heard many sermons on it and understand the story well. However, I was struck by a posing question this morning as I read the statement God made to Abraham . . . "now I know that there is nothing that you hold back from me." This struck me because I had to ask myself the question: "what am I holding back from God, and what am I willing to give up (or unwillingly to give up)?"

Relationships are all about giving. We give of ourselves, our time, our energy, our money, our lives. Relationships get into problems when one person begins to give more than the other, or one person expects more from the other. Relationships are give and take.

Sadly, many of us Christians are expecting more from God than what we are willing to give. We pray for answers to our problems, finances for our needs, healings for our bodies, etc. Yet, when God asks of us, are we willing to give to Him? What in my life is God asking me to give to Him that I am unwillingly to give? My time, maybe? More of my money, maybe? Forgiveness to another person, maybe?

Abraham did not hesitate to offer up Isaac because he knew in his relationship with God, God would take care of him. We cannot outgive God, yet many of us, myself included, oftentimes "undergive" God. We are not willingly to give up something He requests of us.

So, what are you willingly to give up to God and what are you witholding from Him?
What do you think?

A New Year, A Great Year

2010-01-01T18:29:00.002-06:00

Along with most everyone else I have contemplated the last year, 2009, and the last decade. Being born in 1970 each decade is an age bracket for me, so 2000-2009 was the decade of my 30's (40 here I come). As I reflected back today on the last year, which I must say was pretty hard on me, the last decade was pretty good overall for me.

In the last decade:

I saw the birth of my two youngest children, Lily and Toby.
I was blessed with a really nice house with 5 acres for my kids to run and play on (and eventually ride horses on).
I fulfilled the dream of my life by becoming a Senior Pastor, now on to bigger dreams.
I met some of the greatest people on the planet, and I lost some really good friends.
I saw several people not make it to this new decade.....RIP.......Ms. Gloria, Grandpa Butler, Dad, Grandma & Grandpa Wilson, Mamaw, Regina.
I discovered what lies deep within me, and it's a strong man capable of love, forgiveness, strength, and commitment.
I celebrated another ten years of marriage to a wonderful woman of God that loves me very much.
I had a lot of disappointments, hurts and setbacks.....BUT I am still here, still on top and still winning. Even though I had disappointments and hard times, I remember more good times than bad.

So, what did you experience over the last decade?

The Magical January 1st

2009-12-28T20:30:00.002-06:00

With a new year upon us, yea even a new decade, many people are thinking about making changes in their lives. They are making their lists of what to change in the area of finances, weight loss and bad habits. The problem with most of us making resolutions is that somehow we think that January 1st is a magical day. Somehow, in our minds, we think that we are going to go to bed on December 31st, 2009 and wake up different on January 1st, 2010. However, there isn't anything magical about January 1st. As a matter of fact, 2010 will not be any different than 2009 if we don't make personal changes. It must start in our thinking. If we don't change the way we think in 2010, then we will not change our behavior.

So, what needs to change in your thinking?

Rediscovering God In America

2009-12-24T20:49:00.003-06:00

Is God not allowed in America today? Is America a Christian nation? Was the Founding Fathers intent to keep Church and State separated? Rediscovering God in America by Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, is a great look into what the Founding Fathers had to say about the role God played in the establishing and running of America. He takes the reader through a tour of Washington D.C.'s monuments, giving a brief history of each one, as well as detailing various quotations inscribed upon these monuments. Throughout the book he gives quotations of our Founding Fathers concerning God and their thoughts on how Americans needed God's help in running this country. Throughout the book are photographs taken by his wife, Callista Gingrich, of the various monuments and inscriptions.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very easy and short read, one that will become a reference book in my library. This book reinforces the fact that the Founding Fathers did not want a separation of Church and State. More importantly the Founding Fathers believed that religion must play a role in government and the lives of people. One only needs to read the quotations of our Founding Fathers to realize this. Americans are being led to believe in a non-religious America due to a few liberals who chose to write God out of our history. This short book proves that God was involved in establishing America because the Founding Fathers insisted on His involvement.

My Wife's Blog

2009-12-24T09:19:00.001-06:00

Hey check out my wife's new blog site. www.bloggingawaytheblubber.blogspot.com. It's about her journey with weight loss and trying to live a healthy lifestyle. It's really good.

World's Greatest Dad

2009-12-13T18:44:00.003-06:00

Recently I rented World's Greatest Dad because it starred Robin Williams, whom I really like, and I needed a good laugh. DO NOT rent this movie! It was terrible!!! I shut it off after about 15 minutes because it was one of the most vulgar movies I have ever seen. The language in it is terrible. Robin Williams' onscreen son is terribly disrespectful to him and his mouth needs to be washed out with soap. It was very sickening.

The White Horse King by Benjamin Merkle

2009-12-10T20:26:00.004-06:00

The White Horse King is about King Alfred the Great, an Anglo-Saxon king of the 800's. Since I love history I picked this book up with interest. Before Britian became a unified nation, there were several countries within the British Isle. For many years the Vikings came across the English Channel raping, pillaging and killing the inhibitants of the Isle. They were a constant threat to the Anglos and the Saxons. King Alfred rises up and devises a strategy of defending his land, uniting his people and conquering the Vikings. Not only was he a great leader to his people, but he also was an educator. He set educational standards for his leaders and his people. It helped to bring unity within this nation. His thirst for knowledge and his desire for reformation among his people is a great example to follow.

One thing that really impressed me about King Alfred was his love for God, the Bible and his desire to convert the pagan Vikings. In an age of merciless bloodshed, he was a king of mercy and compassion.

I found the book to be a good and interesting read. Throughout the book there are notes in the margins that help explain terminology and ancient traditions. I found these to be very helpful. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone with an interest in history.

What Makes God Thankful?

2009-11-30T10:29:00.002-06:00

Have you ever wondered what would make God thankful? In my understanding of the Bible and the nature of God, whenever God asks us to do something (or not do something) it has to do with His nature and character. For example, He commands us not to lie because God is truth. So when we lie we get ourselves out of alignment with Him. He commands us not to steal because God is a giver. When we steal things that are not ours then we get ourselves out of alignement with God. I could go on with this line of thinking but hopefully you get the point.

So, if God tells us to be thankful, then to me the character of God is one of thankfulness. Now I know that for some of you this maybe a stretch to think of God being thankful for something but I propose that God is thankful for things done for Him.

In Matthew 25:21 we find Jesus giving a parable about the nature of God and His issuance of talents to men. When the two men increased their talents, they were praised. "Well done, good and faithful servants!" was the master's reply. If the master represents God then it stands to reason that God is thankful and glad when we use our talents for Him.

However, I have a better example in the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. Jesus gave this parable after the Pharisees and scribes criticized Him for eating with sinners and tax collectors. He told three stories about lost things and how people rejoiced over the finding of these lost items. Lost people really do matter to God and Jesus was about to show the Pharisees and scribes the true heart of the Father.

In this story a man has two sons and the younger one gets his inheritance from his father and runs off to another country and squanders it all on wild living. Pretty soon he has no money left and ends up working for someone else. He becomes very poor, destitute and hungry. When he comes to his senses he realizes that the servants back home eat better than he does so he decides to go home and simply become a servant to his father. He doesn't feel he is worthy of sonship any more because of what he has done. So, he hopes that he can become a servant and live better than he is living now. He sets off for home.

While he was a distance away, his father sees him, runs to him and embraces him. The son doesn't feel worthy and requests to be a servant in the house. The father hears none of this but tells the servants to bring forth the best robe, a ring and some sandals. And, he orders that the fattened calf be butchered because they are going to have a great feast to celebrate the return of this son.

All the while, the older brother is working in the fields, hears the commotion and finds out that his younger brother has come home and there is to be a party. He refuses to go! He is angry that his father would throw a party for this younger son who squandered everything. He has worked for his father for years and a party has never been thrown in his honor. To him, this must have been a huge slap in the face. The father explains the situation to him that they must rejoice and celebrate because this younger son was dead, but is now living again. Besides, the father tells the older brother, all that I have has always been yours. (Maybe I'll write more on this later).

My point is this: the father in this story represents God and he was thankful that his younger son had come home. He was waiting for him and watching for him. He threw a feast when he came home. He was thankful to have his son with him again. In the two previous stories Jesus makes a comment that angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents. There is rejoicing and thankfulness for a sinner who comes home to the Father. This is what makes the Father thankful....His children returning to Him.

So, what do you think?

Clearance Sale Jesus

2009-11-17T19:55:00.003-06:00

A friend and I were talking recently about the cost of following Jesus. It's not about us working to receive salvation. It's about relationships. Relationships take work. Relationships require commitment and they will cost you. You get out of a relationship what you put into it. When it comes to our relationship with Jesus we must be willing to give up whatever is going to hinder that relationship. Some people want Jesus to be their Saviour, but they aren't quite willing to make Him Lord. The word lord simply means "the one with the power to decide". They want Him to forgive their sin, but not necessarily rule their life. I hate to admit that I've been in this position before. I want forgiveness but I wanted to rule my life. Yet, Jesus wants to be the Lord of my life as well. Not to rule me for the sake of a power trip. He wants to rule my life to make it better.

Some people want a Jesus on sale. They want a "clearance sale Jesus." They want relationship without cost. They want to "pay as little as possible" for a great relationship. Again, it's not about works in our lives. But relationships do take time, commitment and sacrifice. You don't sacrifice to buy a clearance item. That's why you look for clearance items. You want something of value for as little as possible. But Jesus doesn't come that way. He said Himself that if you are not willing to lose your life.....you will not find life. If you don't take up your cross and follow Him, then you can't be His disciple. You can't get a "clearance sale Jesus." He's worth everything. He's worth your entire life. He's worth every sacrifice you will make to gain Him.

Be determined to pay the price.

So, what do you think?

Just Something Funny

2009-10-23T08:55:00.004-05:00

Someone sent me the following though email. I thought it was very funny and decided to post it. Please see it for what it is.....silly humor.

The Pentagon announced TODAY the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the United States Redneck Special Forces (USRSF)

These boys will be dropped off in Afghanistan and have been given only the following facts about terrorists:

1. The season opened today.

2. There is no limit.

3. They taste just like chicken.

4. They don't like beer, pickups, country music or Jesus.

5. They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt.

The Pentagon expects the problem in Afghanistan to be over by Friday.

Holiness

2009-10-05T20:21:00.002-05:00

The word holy is used 661 times in the NKJV Bible and 181 in the New Testament alone. God takes holiness seriously.

Definitions:
Hebrew: Qodesh – a sacred place or thing, consecrated, dedicated, hallowed
Greek: Hagios – sacred (physically pure, morally blameless, religiously consecrated)
-- Comes from a root word meaning clean, innocent, modest, perfect, pure

In it's purest form, holy simply means to be set apart. When God declares something as holy He has simply set it apart for His use. He can take something ordinary and make it holy simply by declaring it to be set apart for Himself.

As a born again believer in Jesus Christ, you have been set apart to God by God for His plans, purposes and pleasures. Anything that God sets apart and uses is, and must be, holy. This is an important concept for us to have as it gives us identity. We have been set apart by God Himself. He has chosen you. He has picked you. He has declared you to be holy because of your faith in Him.

You have been set apart by God. One cannot make themselves holy. Holiness comes from God, through the work of Jesus Christ and the power of Holy Spirit. God declares us holy. He is our maker and creator. He has the right to declare what is holy and unholy.

Remember, as a born again Christian, you have been set apart (made holy) to God....by God. That's an awesome thought to meditate upon.

So, what do you think?

Engage and Defeat

2009-10-03T19:02:00.003-05:00

I once heard Damon Thompson say in a sermon that “You cannot defeat what you will not engage.” This statement is so true. So many of us have things in our lives that need to be defeated. However, as a pastor, I know many people who are consistently living defeated lives because they will not engage these issues in their lives.

As born-again believers we need to know that God has given us everything we need for victory!! Staying defeated is our choice! Read that sentence again.....staying defeated is our choice!!!

In 1 Samuel 17 we read the story of David and Goliath. Each day the Philistine army and the Israelite army would line up in battle formation. Goliath, a giant, would antagonize the Israelites and ask for one man to come fight him. No one would. In fact, whenever he asked for a man to come, the Israelites would run in fear. They couldn't defeat Goliath because they wouldn't engage Goliath. Until David came along. A young shepherd boy was willing to engage this giant because he knew that God would help him defeat Goliath. He defeated Goliath because he was willing to engage Goliath.

In Matthew 4:1-11 we find Jesus’ wilderness temptation. As part of his earthly assignment He had to encounter the devil and defeat him in three areas (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, boastful pride of life). He was willing to engage the devil and therefore could defeat the devil. There are Christians who are afraid of the devil and will never engage demonic spirits attacking them, their families or their cities. If you don't engage spiritual forces then you won't defeat spiritual forces. Remember, God has given you everything you need for victory. Staying defeated is your choice.

In order to defeat something in our lives we must understand four principles:

1. We must see it as it is – simply an obstacle to our growth and our destiny.
Goliath stood in the way of Israel, until David engaged him and defeated him.
The devil stood in the way of Jesus’ destiny, until Jesus engaged him and defeated him. In order to defeat something in our lives, we must not see it as something that can't be defeated. Rather, it is simply an obstacle that we must go through.

2. We must not be afraid of it.
The Bible says in I John 4:4 that "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. Again, we can overcome and defeat anything that comes against us because we have the Holy Spirit within us. Saul and the Israelites were afraid of Goliath. They heard him and ran. They couldn't defeat Goliath because of their fear. Jesus, in His weakest moment, was not afraid of the devil. Whether at our highest point or our weakest point, we still have God within us. He is never weak. We don't have the spirit of fear and don't have to be afraid of anything!

3. We cannot ignore it.
In Genesis 4:6-7 God tells Cain that if he does right he will do well, but if he doesn't then sin is crouching at the door ready to master him. If you ignore sin or issues in your life, they will master you. We cannot simply ignore issues and hope they will go away. They must be engaged, dealt with and defeated. Jesus didn’t ignore the devil and hope that he would go away.
You cannot ignore your problems….you must face them head on.

Ephesians 4:27 tells us "don’t give the devil a place or a chance to work." if you ignore the devil in your life, he will take up residence and rule your life. Don't ignore him, sin or anything that keeps you from living a God-fulfilled life.

4. We must use the Word against it.
Jesus quoted the Word against the devil. You cannot fight within your own flesh. You must use the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword." Any issue in your life in your life can, and will be, defeated by using the Word of God. Many times we simply use our own techniques, ideas or self-help ideas to defeat issues in our lives. While you can do this and many people have, the Word of God can help us not only defeat issues (and spiritually wicked forces), it can completely conquer these issues.

The children of Israel couldn’t possess the Promised Land because they refused to engage “the giants” living in the land. They missed out and had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

You cannot defeat what you will not engage!

You Can't Defeat What You Won't Engage

2009-09-24T20:08:00.002-05:00

In Luke 4 we find the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness by the devil. There are three temptations that the devil throws at Jesus. There are so many applications we can look at in this story, however the one point I want to say is this: You cannot defeat what you will not engage! In other words, if you don't acknowledge what you are trying to defeat, you will not defeat it.

If you are battling an addiction such as drugs or alcohol, you will not defeat it if you are not willing to admit that you have a problem. You cannot defeat what you will not engage!

If you are struggling with laziness, poverty, procrastination, gossip, etc.....you must first be willing to admit that you have this problem, that it is a problem and that you are want to overcome it. You cannot defeat what you will not engage!

Jesus had to face three major issues and areas that all humans have to face. Now I am aware that there are some Christians who believe that Jesus could not have ever sinned. I don't believe that. I believe that Jesus, in His humanity, could have sinned. Otherwise, what purpose would the temptations have been for? It's pointless to tempt someone who can't be susceptible to the temptation. Jesus had to engage these three arenas before He could be victorious in these areas. Notice that it wasn't until after Jesus engaged the devil, and defeated the devil that He was able to perform miracles and save people. He couldn't defeat the devil if He was afraid to engage the devil.

Whatever you need to be free from, you must engage it. You cannot defeat what you will not engage!

So, what do you need to engage today so that it can be defeated?

Celebrating Jesus or Rejecting Jesus

2009-09-21T20:34:00.003-05:00

Luke 8:26-40

In the story given in this scripture passage Jesus delivers a man who was possessed by many demons. This man was in really bad shape. Jesus helps this man and it's interesting to see how the people, who knew this man, reacted to Jesus.

First of all, Jesus reconstructed this man’s life. This man lived in the tombs where people tried unsuccessfully to bind him up with chains. This man's life was in ruins, broken and shattered. He was simply a shell of a man whom had enjoyed a life sometime in the distant past. This man was alone and in a very bad situation. His life needed reconstruction, and Jesus reconstructed this man's life. This is what Jesus does for us. He takes our broken down, ruined lives and He reconstructs them into beautiful designs of God's loving architecture.

Secondly, He gave him his life back. He had no friends, no wife to love him, no children to play with him, nobody that would invite him over for dinner. Had it not been for Jesus, this man's life was over, destroyed by the demons who possessed him. He would have honestly been better off dead than to have lived as a host to a legion of demons. He was being far less than God intended for him to be. Yet, Jesus by a simple command of authority gave this man back his life. He could now go home to a possibly waiting wife and family. If he wasn't married, he could now get married and have children. When we give ourselves to Jesus, He gives us a true life in return.

Thirdly, Jesus gave him a purpose. No longer would he live in the tombs tormented day and night. No longer would he be the talk of the town during gossip sessions. No longer would he be the story of a man who once was. No! Now he would be telling anyone who would listen about how Jesus delivered him, gave him his life and mind back, and gave him a job to do. Tell everyone of the wonderful power and love of God. What a great purpose this man now had. We have the same opportunity. We can tell others about the things that Jesus has done for us. We can tell them how He reconstructed our lives, how He gave us our life back and how He powerfully set us free from our chains of bondage.

I found something very interesting in this story: Jesus entertained the request from the demons. He actually allowed them to ask Him for something (to be cast into the pigs) and He allowed them their request. Now, from what I understand of Old Testament law, the Jews in this region shouldn't have been raising pigs but they were. This may have something to do with this. I just found this interesting.

When the people heard about this amazing event, they were gripped with fear. Instead of being awe struck and praising God because this demonic man was now clothed and in his right mind, they were afraid and actually asked Jesus to leave their area. They wanted Him to leave them alone. Their fear brought about some very strong misunderstanding. Their misunderstanding caused them to ask God to leave them alone. And Jesus granted their request. How scary!

I wonder what about God makes you fear. I know for me sometimes God gets into my business, i.e. He begins to convict me of my sin. There are times He wants me to repent to someone for something I did wrong. I am tempted at those moments to tell Him to leave me alone because I don't want to deal with my issues. He knows the real me. I can't hide things from Him.

Other times I have seen God do some really unusual and powerful things that my analytical mind can't seem to grasp. There's been a few times that I have wanted to back away because of my misunderstanding, that is my lack of understanding.

What I find most fascinating is that Jesus leaves this region after being asked to leave. He goes back across the lake and the Bible says that the crowd welcomed Him because they had been waiting on Him. The first group rejected Him. This group celebrated Him. They anticipated His arrival. Wow. I began to think about all the times that I have went to church, gathering with my fellow believers and saying we were wanting God to show up. But were we? Did we anticipate His arrival? Did we welcome Him when He came? Or did He show up in a way we didn't like or understand, so we withheld our worship, essentially asking Him to leave. I hope that I will always celebrate His presence and not reject Him.

So, what do you think?

The Offense of Jesus

2009-09-09T21:52:00.003-05:00

I am amazed at the number of people who took offense at the ministry of Jesus. I guess I'll have to be honest and admit that I have been offended with Jesus, too. But before I talk about me let me take a look at some who got offended at Jesus.

John the Baptist: Matthew 11:1-6
1After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. 2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
4Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

Here we see that John was questioning whether or not Jesus was the Expected One, the Messiah. He was the one that baptized Jesus and identified Him as the Lamb of God. But now Jesus' ministry is flourishing and John is in prison. He was in prison for preaching God's word and preparing the way for the Messiah. And he got offended. I've been there . . . . been offended because I did what God wanted me to do BUT things didn't go the way that I thought they would.

The Pharisees: Matthew 15:12
Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"

It seems that the Pharisees were always offended over what Jesus had to say. He was constantly saying something that went against their philosophy and religion. It seems to me that they stayed offended at Jesus. How many times have I been offended over something I heard a preacher say, something I read in the Bible or even something the Lord has spoken to me personally? Been there, done that!

The city of Nazareth: Matthew 13:57
And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor."

The people of Nazareth were offended over Jesus and His ministry. It seems that because they knew Him and His family, that He certainly couldn't be the Messiah. Familiarity has a way of doing that . . . it breeds contempt. Jesus had been raised around these people and worked around them, probably worked for some of them as a carpenter. Now He was moving among them as the Messiah, the Miracle-worker, the Teacher. They couldn't receive Him as such and therefore became offended. So many times I have become too familiar with Jesus and lost sight of who He really is and became offended. When I am offended I cannot receive anything.

His disciples: John 6:60-61, 66
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" 61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

In John 6, Jesus spoke some really had deep things to His disciples. They had a hard time receiving these things. They were hard sayings. Many turned away from Him because these sayings offended them. Sometimes the sayings of Jesus have offended me in the past.

I wish I could admit that I have never been offended at God or Jesus . . . but I can't. I have been angry at God for not answering a prayer the way I wanted. I have been angry at God for allowing my wife to suffer two miscarriages within five months of each other. I have been angry at God for not making things happen within my timing. I have to admit that I have been offended.

Now let me say this: I don't believe that God has ever been wrong in my life nor has He ever wronged me. I just simply allowed myself to get offended over the ministry of Jesus. I now fit in with many of the people found in the Gospels. I don't want to be there but I am.

Sometimes we take offense at what Jesus is doing in our lives or in the lives of others around us.
Pastors sometimes get offended at God because another church is growing faster than theirs. Sometimes we get offended because someone is seemingly being more blessed than we are. Sometimes we get offended because someone who hurt us didn't get punished by God like we felt they should. I could go on and on with my list but I think you get the point.

Why do I write about this.....because many people have been, or are, offended by the ministry of Jesus but really will not admit it. In order to move forward and grow in Christ, we must deal with our offense and realize that as long as we are offended with Jesus, we will not receive from Jesus.

Our Response to God

2009-08-08T08:19:00.002-05:00

For my morning Bible reading, I read about the announcement of John and Jesus' birth in Luke chapter 1. The angel Gabriel appeared to both Zecharias and to Mary.

Each had some pretty serious circumstances preventing them from having children. For John and Elizabeth it was old age. They both were past the point of child bearing. For Mary it was the fact that she was a virgin and was not completely married yet. She was engaged to Joseph but they had not come together fully as man and wife yet. Both responded with a question:

John: "how can I know this for certain?"
Mary: "how can these things be since I am a virgin?"

Both were looking at their circumstances. After John's question (of doubt, I must add), he was made mute by the angel because he didn't believe. He should have believed because he was a priest and was a minister before God. He should have believed because he knew the story of Abraham and Sarah. He chose to look at his circumstances more than he looked at God. I can't begin to count the number of times that I have done the exact same thing. I knew of God's faithfulness in the past, both through Bible stories and personal experience. Yet, I chose to look at my circumstances as being bigger than God's power and love for me. Thankfully I haven't been struck mute, but I have suffered because I chose circumstances over God.

Mary, on the other hand, responded to the angel's answer about how she would conceive by saying, "be it unto me as you have said." Wow! That is true faith. Mary was probably about 13-14 years old at this time. She was experienced in the things of God like Zechariah was. She wasn't trained in the scriptures like Zechariah. She had an incredible visitation from an angel, was told the impossible would happen because God willed it. And, she responded in faith and believed God over her circumstances. May I become like that!

Whatever you are facing today, just remember that God is bigger than all your problems and circumstances. He is bigger than anything that you are going through. He is bigger than any pain, trauma, tragedy or financial disaster. He is bigger than any sin or relational problem. He is able to make all things work for your good. The key is how we respond to Him. Don't respond to the circumstance.....respond to God's promises, His Word and His love for you. He is trust-worthy and faithful. He will bring you through.

So, what do you think?

Struggling to Love

2009-05-29T12:09:00.002-05:00

Love is a wonderful thing. Yet, it can be a frustrating thing. When you are loved, its the greatest feeling in the world. When you have been hurt by love, it's one of the greatest hurts known to man. The Bible gives us a wonderful description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Here are some thoughts on how to love others without limitations:

· Loving someone without limitations requires that I have to lose my prejudices and preconceived ideas about people.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I give of myself without expecting anything in return.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I lay down my agendas and plans so that someone else may succeed.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I may have to put my life on hold or allow it to be interrupted.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I commit myself to others.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I look past my own needs and hurts in order to meet the needs and heal the hurts of others.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I let people into my life, who may in turn walk out of my life and leave it in shambles.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I take risks with people.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I be patient with others, realizing that they are as imperfect as I am.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I be kind to my fellow man because after all, we are all in the same boat together.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I rejoice in the success of others and mourn when my enemy fails.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I do not “toot my own horn” to show myself off but I must realize that we are all equal.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I walk a mile in my neighbors shoes so that I will not judge and be critical of them.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I treat others as I would want to be treated.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I seek the good of others, even when they may benefit more than me.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I, to the best of my ability, live at peace with all men.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I keep short accounts with people.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I mourn over people’s sins and that I don’t rejoice and gossip about their downfall.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that, when necessary, I will simply “put up” with people and things for their sake.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I believe in people.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I see the good in people.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I never give up.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I see people as the object of God’s affection.
· Loving someone without limitations requires that I love, value and accept them.

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-05-24T21:04:00.002-05:00

As I sit here at my desk on a Sunday evening, just after a tornado warning has been cancelled, the following things are on my mind:

Today matters: all I have is today. If I waste it is gone; if I use it wisely then I will be better prepared for tomorrow.
Tomorrow never comes. It is always today, therefore I must make today count.
I am so thankful for my church family. They are a great group of people who love my family and are a great joy to work with.
Thinking is good. We all need to be stretched in our thinking. We need to continually examine what we believe and why we believe it.
It was great to see 3 people give their hearts and lives to Jesus today at the morning service. That is always a great way to end one of our gatherings.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I am grateful for all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for my freedom. Thank you, military men and women, for your bravery and courage. You are my heroes.
I am pumped about next week's church picnic and kickball game. What a rush!

Just a few thoughts!

FOXNews.com - Miss California Sparks Furor With Gay Marriage Comments on Miss USA Telecast - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

2009-04-20T09:42:00.003-05:00

Okay, this really bites!! When asked an honest question, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, gives her honest answer and people get infuriated because it doesn't line up with their beliefs. Let me say that I am not anti-gay. I have friends that are gay. I love them and respect them as human beings. I don't treat them differently because they are gay. I don't agree with their beliefs about homosexuality but I also don't agree with adulterers, thieves, liars, etc. My point is that sin is sin. Homosexuality is not the unforgiveable sin and its no worse a sin than adultery. Back to Miss California.....

Why are homosexual activists allow to promote their lifestyle and put down anyone with a Biblical viewpoint of marriage? They preach tolerance and yet are not tolerant of anyone with a viewpoint that is different than theirs. I don't hate you because you are gay. Please don't hate me because I believe in the Bible and what it says.

So, I say....way to go, Carrie, stand your ground and your beliefs. You are entitled to them and I am glad you said what you did.

FOXNews.com - Miss California Sparks Furor With Gay Marriage Comments on Miss USA Telecast - Celebrity Gossip Entertainment News Arts And Entertainment

Hoping Against All Hope

2009-04-19T20:17:00.003-05:00

One of the most intriguing scriptures for me is found in Romans 4:18:
18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

This intrigues me because of the phrase the Apostle Paul used: against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. There have been times in my life where it seemed that all hope had been lost. It seemed that nothing was going to happen that needed to happen. It seemed as if all hope had been lost. The story with Abraham here is that God had promised him a son from his and Sarah's union. However, he was old and seemingly past child-bearing years. He had been given a promise by God of a son when he was 75 years old and now he is 99 years old with no son. The majority of us would have given up hope. However, the Bible tells us that Abraham didn't give up hope in the midst a seemingly hopeless situation. He believed what God had told him.

That's what you and I need to do....simply believe God. Can it really be that simple? Yes, it can. However, we get impatient and we want things now. However, God doesn't move on our timetable. He moves when He wants to. He is able to take a seemingly hopeless situation, breathe life into it and allow promises to be fulfilled. That's what He did with Abraham and Sarah. Their bodies were past bearing children and yet they had Isaac. Not only that, but Abraham had many more children after Sarah died. Wow, what an amazing transformation. But it wouldn't have happened unless Abraham had kept his hope in the midst of a hopeless situation.

Romans 15:13 And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God is the God of Hope. He wants to fill us with hope. We must simply put our trust in Him. Let our confidence be found in Him. He will never let us down.

So, what do you think?

Hope

2009-04-07T19:10:00.002-05:00

With the current economic troubles in the United States (and globally), people are in need of hope. As a pastor I have seen and heard about the number of people seeking financial assistance because of lost jobs. People don't know what they are going to do. They seem hopeless. However, hope isn't hard to find when you look for it in the right place. Many people don't know where to look for hope.

What is hope? The way that we use the word hope in America today is better defined as wishful thinking. An example would be, "do you think you will keep your job?" "Well, I hope so." In this example hope is more wishful thinking. However, the Bible defines hope as an expectant confidence. Our hope is a confidence in what we know. As a Christian, I have hope in any given situation. A scripture that helps me with this is Romans 15:13 And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

From this scripture we can see that foremost God is a Person of hope. God wants you to have hope because He is the God of hope. Secondly we see that He wants us to abound in hope. Again, hope isn't hard to find when you look for it in the right place. Many people are looking for hope in their material possessions, their bank accounts or stock portfolio, or the government's bailout program. All these things can fail. If you put your hope in something that can fail then your hope will fail.

BUT, when you put your hope in God, who never fails, then you can have hope in any given situation or circumstance. I have hope because I know where to look for it.

What is your hope in?

The Nature of Humanity

2009-04-06T21:18:00.003-05:00

My good friend Harold Eberle has started a new online Bible study. Harold always intrigues me with his teachings because he challenges some of our long held beliefs to be sure that what we believe is truly what the Bible teaches. His first one is on the Nature of Humanity. Is man born totally depraved or are we born good with the capacity to sin? Here is the first one. It's a thought-provoking study that I would encourage you to listen to with an open mind. Don't approach it with a mindset of what you already believe. Be willing to think through what he is saying in light of the scriptures he presents! I hope you enjoy.

Here is the link: http://www.worldcastministries.com/online_bible_study.asp

Second Hand Offenses

2009-03-24T21:11:00.002-05:00

Offenses are a terrible thing. They can cause relationships to break apart, friendships to dissolve, and a lifetime of misery. What's worse is when a person shares their offense with another person, such as a spouse or a friend, and then that person takes up the offense too.

Example: Mary and George are married. They get into a fight and he says some very hurtful things to Mary. Mary vents to Sue, her best friend. Sue feels that George was out of line with Mary and gets offended too that he would say such things. This is a second-hand offense.

Now, George and Mary make up and work things out. However, Sue is still offended with George. This example plays out everyday. Second hand offenses are so dangerous. We must be careful of becoming offended over someone else's issues.

So, are you carrying any second-hand offenses? If so, let them go.

Watchman (the Movie)

2009-03-16T19:58:00.002-05:00

Recently my beautiful wife and I went to see the movie Watchmen. DO NOT GO SEE THIS MOVIE! It's terrible. The movie line is slow and boring. There are terrible graphic scenes of violence and way too much flesh! Whatever you do, please don't allow your teens to see this movie. Why Hollywood has to go to such low depths to make a movie is beyond me. They can make a great movie without all the sex, violence and carnage.

Normally, I will review a movie before I see it but with this one I didn't. I regret it. Don't waste your money.

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-03-15T21:37:00.002-05:00

Here are a few random thoughts concerning today and this upcoming week:

Today's service was awesome!! Our praise team did an incredible job and you could feel God's presence all over the sanctuary. I love it when worship is great!
I have really enjoyed giving these messages on Fireproofing Your Marriage. Several people have commented on how much they are enjoying them as well. Its my desire to seek marriages saved and improved.
Yes, I did say that some people have diarrhea of the mouth syndrome today. That is, they continually run their mouth and spew out nasty stuff. Then they have a mess to clean up. We all should be careful of what we say, how we say it and when we say it.
I am so pumped about the church right now. We are growing and seeing new people come every week at the church. This never gets old.
It was amazing to see so many people respond to the invitation today. That always excites me.
David Kent is one of the best BBQ cooks I know.
Brad did an awesome job on the bass this morning. Way to go, Brad!
This week's revival is going to be awesome!!

Well, I'm off to put my children to bed. Hope you all have a great week.

Going Beyond the Hem of His Garment

2009-03-02T19:07:00.002-06:00

In the Bible book of Mark, chapter 5, there is a story told about a woman who had an issue of blood (i.e. a hemorrage of some sort). The Bible says that she tried doctors for 12 years and had spent all that she had in order to fix this condition. Nothing changed. Imagine, if you will, having a major disease or condition for 12 years. Many of you don't have to imagine, you live with pain every day. You live each day fighting off discouragment, depression and hopelessness. Sickness has a way of sapping us of hope and courage. I imagine this woman was at the end of her rope and maybe thought all hope was lost. Until she heard about Jesus.

The Bible says that she thought to herself that if she could just touch the hem of Jesus' garment that she would be made well. That's faith. So, she pressed through the thick crowd in order to touch the hem of His garment. Sure enough, she was healed. It's a great story and a motivator to all of us that faith in Jesus can move mountains. It's a story I've used in sermons over and over in church.

However, I want to look at this story from a different angle. Notice that in Mark 5, the Bible says that Jesus stopped and asked who had touched Him. He said that because He felt power go out from His body and knew that someone had put a demand on His power and anointing. The woman, trembling and fearful, came forth and told Him what had happened.

Here's the spin: why was she afraid and trembling? Was she afraid Jesus would be mad? Was she afraid she would lose her healing? Why was she afraid? Was it simply due to the experience of the moment realizing that she actually was healed?

What's even more interesting to me is the fact that Jesus looks at her and calls her daughter. He doesn't know her. He doesn't know what type of lady she was. We don't know anything about her past or who she was. More than likely, Jesus didn't know her. However, He still called her daughter, a term of endearment.

My point is this: she was looking for a healing and rightly so as she needed one. Jesus was looking for relationship. He was certainly looking to meet her physical need because she had a legitimate need for physical healing. But, she had a much deeper need for relationship. According to the Law, her hemorrhage would have made her unclean. Anyone who touched her would have been unclean. She may have been ostracized by her family and friends. We don't know. What we do know is that Jesus called her daughter.

So, the point of this story is that Jesus wants to meet our needs, but more importantly He wants to establish a relationship with us. He wants to call you son or daughter. That is really awesome. He isn't looking for servants or slaves. He is looking for sons and daughters. Wow, what a powerful, life-changing moment . . . to be a son or daughter of God. She touched the hem of His garment for a physical healing; He touched her heart for an eternal relationship.

So, what do you think?

Connecting Relationally

2009-02-09T20:02:00.002-06:00

We were created to have relationships. When God created Adam in the very beginning of time, He said that it was not good for man to be alone. Thus God declared that man needed relationship. Out of this incompleteness of man, God creates woman and now man has the relationship of marriage. Out of this relationship comes children. We need relationship. We are incomplete without others in our lives. This is important and it's something we call crave yet, many of us are so inept at having relationships because we haven't seen good relationships modeled. I, myself, struggle with relationships because I come from a broken home, have a dsyfunctional family and have been hurt so therefore I am guarded. I think that I just described half of America. Yet, I want relationships. I need relationships. I want good, loyal friends. I want to be close to my wife and my children. I want intimacy in my relationships. I want trust and loyalty. I want mutual satisfaction and giving. This all sounds great, but the problem is that it takes work to create these type of relationships.

To have an incredible marriage, it takes incredible work. It just doesn't happen. To have incredible friendships, both parties need to be incredible friends. Again, its work. Its worth it but it still takes work to make a relationship mutually beneficial. The struggle that I have in having these types of relationships is that I tend to be selfish, as do most of us. To have a great relationship means that you have to give up your selfishness, which can be very hard to do. We all tend to be selfish.

Relationships are vital to our success. More importantly, they are important to our health. We need healthy relationships. We are incomplete without them.

So, what do you think?

Life is short

2009-02-05T12:14:00.002-06:00

This year marks my 20th annivesary of graduating from High School. Wow! 20 years has flown by so fast. My little girl turns 10 in 2 weeks. Wow! 10 years has flown by so fast especially when you consider the fact that my wife and I had to wait 8 years before we could have children due to a medical condition. Time seems to just have a way of flying by before you know it.

A precious, dear lady in our church is battling pancreatic cancer. Gloria is only 62 years old. That's too young to be taken out by cancer. I often wonder if she thinks that 62 years has flown by too fast. The psalmist David in the Bible declares in one of his songs that he was once young, but now he is old. Did he think that his life had flown by?

As I ponder my 20th year of being out of high school and Gloria's battle for her life, I can't help but wonder am I living my life to the fullest? Have I accomplished all I wanted to thus far in my life? Am I happy and satisified with where I am? Could I die tomorrow with few or no regrets?

Life is certainly short. Too short for all the pettiness that we find ourselves engaged in. Too short to be wasted. Too short to hold grudges and offenses. Live life to the full! We only get one shot at this thing and we need to do the best we can with what we have.

Here's a quote I read this week that fully emphasizes my point. Michael Altshuler said: "The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot." So true, Michael, so true. I am learning to pilot my ship of time a lot better since I have been jolted by the thought of time flies.

To all my friends through the years . . . thank you for being my friend and sharing your life with me. Thank you for making me a better man by your friendship. Thank you for taking your time to spend with me.

So, what do you think?

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-01-25T19:54:00.002-06:00

As I reflect back on today, and this week, here are some thoughts:

We had three people give their live to Jesus in today's service!! That just so pumps me up. Since November we have seen at least one person give their live to Jesus in almost every Sunday morning service. This is why we do what we do!
Our drama team, Unleashed, was incredible today. Their creativity amazes me. It was totally awesome.
I have throughly enjoyed preaching on The Dangerous Church. It's been an amazing series that I believe has set us up for this year. Great things are going to happen because we refuse to be a safe church, we are going to be a dangerous church.
Be sure to check out our website to hear the messages on The Dangerous Church.
Can't wait for our FIREPROOF Valentines Day outreach and the messages on Fireproofing Your Marriage. It's gonna be HOT!!!
I am so excited about all the people coming to church right now. I am so blessed with the people who make up The CityGate at Dyersburg.
Pray for me as I have gotten out of exercising and I am going to get back on track this week.
God is good. No matter what happens. God is good.

The Church Welfare System

2009-01-25T19:26:00.005-06:00

A lot of Christians in the American church culture are a part of what I have recently termed as The Church Welfare System. Now as I get into this blog, let me state that I am not against welfare or people on welfare. I am not talking about the American government welfare program. But there are some problems with the government welfare program. The main problem with the welfare system is that it creates a dependence upon the government to take care of people while they do nothing. They bear no responsibility. I realize that not all people on welfare are irresponsible or lazy. There are some that legitimately need the help to get by. However, some on the program are just simply not willing to work. Which brings me to the Church Welfare System.

There are some Christians, and I am talking to Christians in this blog, not those still checking out Jesus or the Church. There are some Christians who come to church every week and partake of the services (worship, children, youth, nursery ministry, the message) yet they never give back in serving in a ministry or help out by giving of their finances. They constantly receive blessings but never give back a blessing. Now, before you think I am saying that people should pay for what they get in church . . . I am not saying that. I am saying that we need Christians to be contributors, not consumers. Far too many people in the American Church are consumers. They go to church with a mindset of "is this church going to meet my needs?" They need to be finding a church where they know for a surety that God has called them to that church in order for them to be able to use their gifts and talents to serve others.

Now, I am not saying that people shouldn't go to church and never receive any blessings. We certainly want people to be blessed when they go to church. But I go to church to give more than I receive. Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Yet, as a pastor, I have seen so many people who simply want to be on the receiving end and not be willing to contribute. The church is described in the Bible as a body. It tells us that each member has an important part to play and that each part contributes to the overall health of the body. When people stay in a "consumer mode" they actually take away from the body rather than give to it. For a human body to be at its optimum health it needs to take in and give out. The church body is the same. We take in through worship, ministry and the message but we give out by serving others and the giving of our time, talents and money.

If you are a Christian, then I challenge you to be a contributor not a consumer. You must lose your life in order to find it. It's more blessed to give than to receive. Your pastor will appreciate your contribution. Your fellow church members will benefit from your contribution. The world will see Jesus through your contribution. And you will be blessed and healthy.

So, what do you think?

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-01-18T20:14:00.002-06:00

As I sit here relaxing on a Sunday evening, here are some reflections from todays service and events this week.

This morning's service was awesome!!! Our attendance is up and we keep seeing new faces. That's awesome.
Today's drama from Unleashed was off the hook! What an incredible first performance from this new ministry in our church. They will be doing another next week called Dangerous. I am looking forward to it.
We saw one of our teenagers give their life to Jesus today. That always gets me pumped up.
Can't wait for Wednesday's service. I am doing a series on The Fruit of the Spirit. It has started off well and I am looking forward to it.

Yesterday I attended the funeral for Corporal Keith Eric Essary who was recently killed in Afghanistan. I must say that it was one of the most moving services I have ever been in. The Army Chaplain gave the best funeral sermon I have ever heard. Watching the community support for the family of this fallen hero makes me proud to be a citizen of Dyer County, TN.

Well, I'm off to eat some pizza and relax some more. Have a good week.