Friday, March 16, 2018

Doors

““Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open: “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3:7-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/rev.3.7-8.nlt

Knowing the will of God in your life is not easy. You would think the path of least resistance is the best route. If it’s easy then God must be in it? I think we all know that’s just not true.  Through prayer and a close relationship with the Lord, we have the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide our path. These verses are interesting . It says God opens and closes doors in our lives.. the interesting part about opening doors , we have to be willing to move through them. The Lord opens so many doors for us that we ignore and just walk by. I’m embarrassed about how true that is.

Right now the Lord IS opening so many doors for Stephanie and I. We keep walking through these open doors even though we have no idea where they are leading. We trust the Lord and are excited bout what is in store for us. Do you trust the Lord? Are you willing to go through the open doors to a life filled with love and adventure?

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Science

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/gen.1.1.nlt

Yesterday noted the passing of Stephen Hawking. He was a brilliant scientist who led by example and overcame amazing barriers in his life to flourish as a top scientist. But, I am so sad for him that he did not know the peace of Jesus. He mocked those of us that believe in God and was so critical of faith in any form. I just don’t get it. There is such overwhelming evidence for God and certainly the life of our savior Jesus Christ. It is a mystery to me why there is such a divide between faith and science.
Lee Strobel has done so much to promote the FACTS behind our faith. But, I don’t care. I have faith. Faith means trusting without knowing.

I love  Science and the mystery of this planet and beyond. We do not know even a small piece of the mysteries of life and how our universe works. Our theories and knowledge is constantly changing. We used to think the world was flat and the sun revolved around the earth. We have not always known the magic of protons, neutrons and electrons. Why we think we know it all right now is beyond me. I can’t explain all the patterns of a Life. I do know God exists. He created all things. I don’t know exactly how. I don’t know if it was a Big Bang or a gentle word. I don’t know the age and time of all that has happened in the history of this planet. But I tell you one thing: There is one God. The Bible is the inerrant word of the creator of the universe. God sent his son to die for my sins. Jesus is returning soon and has promised me a home in eternity. I would love to know the wonders of the world. I know I will find out. I just have to wait, patiently on the Lord. I can’t wait!

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Attacked!

“you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭4:25-26‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/act.4.25-26.nlt

We are living in a time of great persecution for Christians. From these verses,  it is nothing new. The Lord has been in battle since the beginning of time. Evil is everywhere and it has never been eliminated. There is so much anger toward the faith. The recent public harassment of the faith by Joy Bahar is just another example of hate towards followers of Christ. It was nice to see her apologize and to call our wonderful VP to apologize for her specific attacks of his stand. But, this by no means means the end of our persecution. We must prepare for attack.

I have noticed the more I draw closer to the Lord, the more I go out and serve, the more I pursue the lost, the more the attacks increase. The only way to counter the earthly attacks is with the heavenly power of the Lord. We are not alone in the battle. God stands with us and the full force of his army of angels is here to protect us. We never have to fear. Just like Peter and the early believers, we have nothing to fear and need to preach in boldness to those that attack us.

The Battle is real but the victory has already been won. God alone is victorious!

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

The happiness advantage

“He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭3:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/act.3.8.nlt

I am not a great person. I get grumpy, I can be moody. I can be mean and I can be a terrible servant of the Lord. Any Christian that tells you or portrays this air of perfectness, they are not living in a real world. They may be great and wonderful people, but they are far from perfect.

I love watching a video on YouTube which is a TED talk from Shawn Achor about the Happiness Advantage. 



He talks about how being happy is completely within our control. Outside influences only affect our level of happiness in a very minuscule way. He mentions in his story about Harvard students. What could they NOT be happy about? It always makes me think of Christians. Exactly why, as followers of Christ, are we not the happiest people on earth. What is it that we could possibly be not happy about? We should all be like this man healed by Peter. We should all jump, leap, and praise God for what he has done in our lives. How could we be such grumpy, unhappy, depressed people when we know the ending. We know we will win. We know our eternity is guaranteed and our place in heaven is secured! Praise God for his love.

If you don’t know that kind of joy, you need to drop on your knees and devote your life to him. Then experience the joy and happiness of life!

Monday, March 12, 2018

There is no debate!

“King David said this about him: ‘I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭2:25-26‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/act.2.25-26.nlt

I overheard a discussion at school last week. I was not a part of the discussion and did not interfere with my colleague discussing the idea of the trinity. I heard a student claim they could not be a Christian because the trinity didn’t make sense. I thought about that while reading these verses. Maybe it’s just an attitude. But the idea of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is so basic to my faith.

To me, it’s easy to reconcile the Trinity. I have heard people and I have tried to explain this concept in terms of our lives. We have compared the trinity to our own different roles played every day. We try to fit God in our human box. There is so much we just don’t know. I don’t understand how God can be omnipresent. I don’t understand how he could exist before time began. Yet, I still believe and I have gotten to the point in my life where I don’t need to know. I can witness to the fact I have known God as father. I know him as Jesus and completely believe he came to Earth and died for me. I also feel his presence in my life every day. That he fills my heart, I sense him, is a fact I can not deny. Exactly how that works is just not clear. I just know it to be true,

I do not need to explain everything about God. He is God. How could I even imagine to know and understand completely his presence. I can only know for certain how God reveals himself in my life. He is real. He is present and he is active in my life. There is no debate. There is no doubt. I am so very blessed to have the creator of the Universe as friend, counselor, and ever present help in times of trouble.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

There is NO BACK UP PLAN!

ACTS 1:8 -- But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Can you imagine being there? These are the last words of Jesus here on Earth! We all think of:

Matthew 28:19 NLT 


I love and live both of these verses. We have our marching orders from our King. Telling us to go, Jesus did not just leave us alone to serve. He promised to be with us and send the Holy Spirit to be our constant advisor. He charged us with our most important task "...you will be MY witnesses". I have heard many of  my fellow Christians say that GOD does not need us. Yes, God has the power to do all things. BUT, he chooses to use US. He could send his Angels. He himself could appear to show his power and might. He chooses to use US, sinners, to demonstrate his love, mercy, and grace.  He has given us the power, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, I do not believe he has a back up plan. We are it!  If we do not go to the world to share his message of saving grace. They will not hear it. If we do not plant the seeds, water, and tend to the needs of the lost, no one will. God has exclusively called us to be his witness. He had charged us ALONE to bring the entire world to JESUS. I don't know about you, but I am entirely humbled by that charge. I am emboldened by the trust the Lord has in me, in us. 






What are you doing to take the GOSPEL TO THE WORLD!?








Saturday, March 10, 2018

Not enough room on the World Wide Web

24This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.
25Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

I just want to testify that the Lord is active and present in this world. I know this because he is active and present in my life. I have been a great experiment in living with the Lord. When I have been close to the Lord, my life flourishes. When I have drifted and taken back my life, things spiral into chaos. My life is filled with example after example of the divine presence of the Lord. This is not just a religion. It is not a crutch to lean upon. It is not just some mystical desire to explain natural phenomena. 
The Lord Jesus Christ is active, I am the product of his powerful and mighty hand. I gave my life to Jesus nearly 45 years ago. I have not ALWAYS been faithful but God has been faithful to me. He has always been there. Many times I have turned to the Lord to help me in times of turmoil. He has always been there. As I have matured, I realize my folly is to only rely on the Lord in a crisis. When I live in his presence, they Lord blesses me in powerful ways. He guides my thoughts, he guides my decisions and my life is filled with and abundance of joy. I feel just like John in this wonderful gospel account. There is not enough room on the world wide web to share the stories how the Lord has brought me to this day. SO, today I give everything to the Lord. I am humbled to be your child and totally commit everything in my life to you.

Friday, March 9, 2018

One way

“Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.””
‭‭John‬ ‭20:21‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/jhn.20.21.nlt

That’s pressure! We are called to the exact same mission as Jesus! We are to sacrifice everything to bring others to the Lord. We are called to a life of love and service to others. When we serve the Lord, we will experience a true peace in our lives.

Peace comes in service to others.

I have seen this to be true in my own life. When I dedicate myself to serving others, building relationships, demonstrating the love of Christ, life is good. I sleep better, my stress level is extremely low, and joy fills each day. When I focus on me, my own agenda, and the things of this world, my life becomes complicated, chaotic, and filled with tension. When I am focused on me, my relationships with others become more about power than service. It’s about using others instead of caring and loving others. Life in Christ, service,  is the answer to the stress filled, contentious world.

We all want peace. There is only one way.

Jesus!

Thursday, March 8, 2018

No rocking chair for us

““Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/jhn.15.5.nlt

Apart from the Lord, I can do nothing!

I am so excited about the path the Lord has laid before me. I am not heading toward retirement to sit in some rocking chair and melt into nothingness. The Lord is calling Stephanie and I. We really don’t know specifics. We trust in him and are working hard to free our lives of restrictions. When he calls we want to be able to go. We don’t want debt, jobs, houses, or geography to keep us from going where we are called.

I praise the Lord for the burden he has placed on our hearts to serve the lost in ministry. We don’t want to minister from a church pew. We will GO. We will go to dark places. We will go to bring light to the lives of those that have lost hope. We want to share Jesus directly with the world. Churches are wonderful. Worship in a brick and mortar building is a key part of my life. At County Line, I feel the spirit and may be the main reason I feel pushed to go out into the world.  But, the lost aren’t sitting in church pews on Sunday morning. If we truly want to change the world we must go to the lost.

Praise God for the future is as bright as the light of the Lord!

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

We are ready!

“After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/jhn.17.1-3.nlt

We are close! Stephanie and I have made a commitment to simplify our lives by eliminating all debt, selling our home and opening our lives to the calling of the Lord. We have no idea what the future holds. Our nearly 40 years of marriage have shown us God is faithful. We truly love serving him and we do not want to be inhibited by debt and the trappings of this world. We have nearly all our personal things given away once our house sells. 

We are ready.

The reason for this commitment is found specifically through these verses. Jesus led a life of simplicity. His complete focus was on the people, their hearts, and bringing them to know the Lord. He sacrificed his entire life. It is nothing to sacrifice our worldly things for him. Praise God for his gift of eternal life. 

Monday, March 5, 2018

Safe in the Arms of the Lord.

“I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17:15-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/jhn.17.15-16.nlt

The Lord is amazing. I am 57 years old. I have felt the protection of the Lord for each of those years. I traveled through trials and tribulations and never felt broken. I have been blessed beyond all I could have ever imagined. I have felt the presence of the Lord and his hand of protection on me and my family. 

Stephanie and I are ready to take a step of faith. Our house will go up for sale soon. We are freeing ourselves of debt and opening ourselves to the guidance of the Lord. We are approaching retirement and awaiting what God has for us next, our “Encore” career. We are not afraid. We are excited for the new adventure because God has been faithful. He has always protected us and we are safe and secure, safely in the arms of our Savior.


Saturday, March 3, 2018

Abandoning the Lord?

John 16:1“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. 2For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.

They laid a great servant of the Lord to rest this week. One of my favorite Billy Graham quotes is:

 "I have never known anyone to accept Christ's redemption and later regret it."

I can't imagine rejecting or abandoning my faith. However, every day I see Christians ACT as though they have rejected their faith. I, too, have rejected the direction of the Lord in charting my own life. The Lord has provided the guiding of the Holy Spirit to help us. Are you listening? If you are listening, are you acting on that guidance?  If you are not, you are rejecting your faith, the Lord you accepted as your savior. 

Rejection of your faith comes in many forms. This week in church I had a thought to invite two different people to two different CMA events. I got busy and didn't do it. By not following the leading of the SPIRIT, I rABANDONED my faith. Our rejections usually come in subtle ways. We do not pray for what we need. WE pray for selfish reasons. Our motivations are not pure. We focus on ourselves instead of serving others. WE JUST IGNORE THE VOICE OF THE LORD. All of these "little" things are rejections of or abandoning our faith. 

We need to rededicate our lives to the Lord. We need to open our hearts to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I am not any different. 

Dear Lord, Forgive me for my rejection of the faith. I Love you and the weakness of my faith disappoints me. I have been a follower of yours for over 45 years. I should not be this weak. I love you and vow to strengthen my service to you. Amen!

Friday, March 2, 2018

What will you do to be liked?

John15:18“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 

It's always possible for someone to hate me. I am not sure why and I can't think of anyone that reaches the level of hate in our relationship. I guess I am glad I can't think of anyone. The thought of someone hating me, bothers me. I think most people want to be liked.

The problem is not wanting to be liked. The problem lies in WHAT WILL YOU DO TO BE LIKED? To what ends will you change your thoughts, words, and/or actions to be liked by the world. In Christ, I will not change. I love being in ministry. I love being "out there" in the world and just loving people. I love trying to be a role model for an authentic follower of Christ. I want to make sure there is no question about where my heart lies. My faith in Christ is number one in my life. It's not always easy to live IN the world and not be a part of it. We can not let the sinfulness of this world and our own sinfulness to overcome us. The temptations of life are always there. The draw and the allure of materialism, power, and pride surround us. We are chosen to be a part of God's kingdom. WE don't have to fight the temptations of life on our own. We have Jesus. We have God the Father and we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I am so thankful to have the Lord on my side keeping me safe, and guide my steps. 

Thursday, March 1, 2018

No short-cuts!

John 24:6Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Our society wants to short cut everything. There are no real short cuts to things that matter. I talk to students all the time that have these amazing dreams and yet they don't have the heart, the work ethic, and the drive to reach those dreams. I hear people complain about the violence in our society. They want a quick fix. They want to ban guns or arm teachers. Neither one of these are PERFECT solutions. Our country will always have crazy people living in our midst. Our country will always have the mental ill. There are no shortcuts in protecting ourselves. We need to attack the problem from all fronts. But, the most important solution is to repair the hearts of men. Until we address the lack of love, the lack of service to others, the lack of Jesus. This world will remain mired in sin and violence.

The tough solution is coming to the Father. The only real answer to the tough problems that face us us to turn to Jesus and bring others with us. You can't legislate it. You can't force it. The world must know about Jesus, but they have to accept him on their own. May I be a part of this REAL SOLUTION.