Living among the Dead

Luke 24:5
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? (KJV)

Isn't that a meaningful question?  "Why seek ye the living among the dead?"

There are so many people upset about stores (or politicians) not saying, "Merry Christmas", or for some of them not having a manger scene.  The other day I heard on the evening news that a community in Nebraska wasn't "allowed" to put up a Manger scene this year, but the mayor told the courts they would put it up anyway because they had maintained a manger scene for 225 yrs and they wouldn't stop this year no matter what the courts said.
 It's so sad that the world takes umbrage to the baby Jesus or to the cross of Christ - but, after all, this is an end time period for the church. (Unlike other "gods", they're afraid of Christ because there IS power in that Name!)
The above question takes on such meaning, "Why seek ye the living among the dead.' We who are saved and living in the knowledge and favor of God value the manger and the cross. Why? Because our spirits have been converted...and now, we are the living! We have had a Romans 12:2 experience. We are not conformed to this world, but have been transformed. In that transformation our thoughts and hearts have been regenerated to greater and better graces than our common neighbors.
We are the living, standing among the dead.  The life and light of Christ dwells in us.  Yet, we live in a world that is dead and filled with darkness. When we expect the world to hold dearly to Christmas or to Easter or to a Holy time along with us, we are really seeking the 'living among the dead'.  It just isn't there! And it won't be until the "light of the world"....Jesus....illuminates them and the dead become living! That's our job - to tell them about "The Way, The Truth, and The LIFE"..the Child born in a manger, crucified on a cross and risen from the grave!  Merry CHRISTmas.

One Title

It is a sacred time of year.  So powerful is Christmas that the world is drawn into the sense of the season. Of course the world acts differently than the church does because they are not celebrating the season for its' deeper spiritual meaning, but still, they do celebrate it and are pulled into its sense of awe. I believe there is a spiritual synergy around Christmas time that even wicked devils can't stop. It's as though there were two entirely different meanings (and that might be true to all of us this side of heaven) but to God there is only one meaning.
  There is only one virgin birth for the redemption of mankind.  There is only one time the Magi will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and present their personal gifts.  There was only one star over Bethlehem and only one star leading those Wise men who followed it.  Only one time did the shepherds leave their flocks and have the angels babysit their sheep. It will never happen again that the angels would sing over the manger.  There is only one Prince of Peace who wears a crown fitted for His majestic head.  There is only one Kingdom which has no end. There has never been and there will never be another messenger speak to Joseph about his only love being with child, even though never touched by any man.  Only one time did God leave heaven and enter human flesh for the one and only sacrifice that had to be shed for mankind.  Jesus is the only lamb slain to break the curse of sin and death. There was no other hand that held that horrible cup of suffering that this little baby had to endure to fulfill His once-only mission. There was only one time when the great 'I AM' turned His face from His only Son. And, as all of this has been done, there is only one title for that one and only Savior and it is: 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords,' and He shall reign for one time and one time only, 'forever and ever.'

Christmas Absence

Karen and I enjoyed the recent warm spell last week (even getting a bike ride in!)  We left the bedroom window slightly open while we slept, but what a difference it was from those high energy evenings of summer. In the summer the crickets play their ochestra of active legs, the birds sing till late night, the trees are full of leaves singing that so familiar rustling song as the night wind blows through them.  Summer nights are full of life, but in the winter there is no noise. Its absence is so evident.
The Bible has a truth somewhat like our winter and summer night sounds. There are some things obviously missing and boy can you tell it.  I think of the angel Gabriel. Have you ever noticed that we've had no further encounters with this awsome message carrying angel? His absence tell us that there is something greater.  Mary and Joseph needed the angel to give them their message for direction, but for us today, we have everything we need in Christ and His provision for us.  The absence of Gabriel reminds us that now we have the totally fulfilled word in Christ and through the Holy Spirit.  We don't need the angel today.
Think about Moses.  God said He would send a deliverer...well Moses certainly would be a great guy for that.  He parted the sea, brought all those plagues to humble a nation, got water out of a rock more than once, destroyed the finest Army, tamed a desert, got God to send manna and quail, and he spent 40 days with God face to face. Man, the guy had a great resume. But Moses' time passed away.  His absense is a sign that there is something greater.
Then there's Elijah, the greatest of prophets. He stopped the rain over Israel for 3 yrs, called fire down from heaven,  destroyed hundreds of idol priests, was fed by ravens and prophesed the demise of a King and his wife Jezebeel.  He raised a child from the dead, made oil to never run out, even after filling container after container, which assured a faithful prophet's wife of financial security and sustenance. Wouldn't he be the perfect person to be the deliverer?
Yet God allowed these powerful men of faith to pass thru history.
But think about it reader...would you rather have the law, or the love shone mankind through Jesus?  The sight of Mt. Sinai is nothing but despair, God was revealed in flaming fire and bellowing thunders, but what was there to save the soul? Sinai brought judgment, vengence and punishment to the sinner..and will never surpass Calvary! Think of Elijah.  He prayed and the false prophets were destroyed, but which of us would prefer a slayer of priests to the Savior of men?

You know, there are people who prefer the Moses and Elijah types.  These people are like the people that Elijah exhorted, "If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him,"...they are stuck between a man and Jesus our Savior, still not able to clearly distinguish who to follow. I would like to remind you that there never was a door of salvation to enter into with Elijah. And Moses could part the sea only with the help of God.....they, and many like them, passed away because there was somone greater...Jesus.  Merry Christmas. 

Thanksgiving...at least for us!

Heb 13:3 Don't forget about those in prison. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies.  (NLT)

It's such a joyous time for those of us in America this week.  We share such a bounty with our families and friends that it's sometimes hard to talk about difficult or sad things.  In the middle of the turkey and stuffing and the pleasantries of this wonderful thanksgiving I am still going to  throw a bit of a wrench to keep things in perspective. This week, I got my Voice of the Martyrs calender and it reminded me that we have so much to be thankful for here. 

There is tremendous suffering going on in the world for many people of our faith.  February has a family thrown out of their home for their faith, March shows a young women reading an illegal Bible to her children.  May is so brutal because it shows a young women who suffered severe burns on 40% of her body and face because she wanted to worship Jesus. July tells of a terrified Christian family who was forced to flee their burning neighborhood in Pakistan.  Muslims burned 57 homes in a Christian colony there. (And we are opening the doors for this faith here like they are bring heaps of love and pounds of goodness.) 

I think most of you get the picture that I am trying to paint.  Tim Tebow, a Jesus-loving quarterback for the Denver Bronco's, is always tormented by the "worldly others" because he talks about Christ with such affection and warmth. There is so much to be thankful for if you are at peace right now - wherever you are.  This Thursday, remember that in a world context, we are the very few who really enjoy religious freedom.  There is a reason for that, I think it is called 'the founding fathers.' You know the ones who got the whole thanksgiving thing going in the first place.

sticks

I King 17:10

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.  (KJV) When Elijah came to this little town, the home of a Gentile women, there was no reason to even imagine that it would become the site of one of his great miracles.  When he came through the gate, the woman was out gathering sticks in order to prepare a dinner for herself and her son. It would be a humble dinner and possibly their last dinner together because of the famine.  All she needed was some kindling and sticks for the fire.  Without those sticks there could be no fire, no last meal, no warmth, or light to enjoy some last simple comforts. She had to have those sticks. The fire and the sticks made everything else happen: dinner, heat, light, cooking.

Aren't we like the sticks this woman at Zarepath was gathering off the ground? In life we grow and become more proficient in things. We learn and acquire more talents and skills. These talents and gifts become our sticks.  Then God comes into our life and finds us out working and doing things of self interest in the world. To Him and His purposes, we are just laying around outside the gates of life. He comes along like the women and gathers us up for His purpose, wanting to use our talents - our sticks.  Just like her sticks are no good without the purpose of the fire, warmth, cooking or heat, so it is with us,  God comes along and begins to pick us up, take our talents and skills - our sticks - and puts the fire of the Holy Ghost in us and we begin to burn for Him and His purposes.  We become kingdom workers, evangelists, preachers, servants, lovers of God and are used by God to get something done.  Go burn bright for Him!

Spiritual Visions....when alone!

"This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn." Gen. 32:22-24 NLT
Jacob was all by himself.  Alone to the world, alone in his fears, alone to family, alone to his thoughts.  It was at this time of being alone that we find such an engaging situation with God; a time when God revealed himself to Jacob.
When Jesus took three disciples up onto the mountain they were....alone, (What was that word again?) it was in this time that He brought them into close communion with Himself.  The disciples 'saw His glory'(Lu 9:32-33), and in Jacob's case, he wrestled with God.  When did all this happen? When they were alone.
Ok, lets do more. Peter is in Joppa, he goes up to the roof top, alone, and God appears to him. One time Jesus took the disciples to Mt Herman but most of the time He spent time with them on those sacred slopes of Mt Olives, "alone together".  Daniel had his "alone time" with God as he kneeled and prayed toward the East in his room amid the wicked living of idolatrous Babylon. Martin Luther found an "upper room" in Witternberg, a place that is still considered a sacred place today. The Apostle Paul found his upper room experience on the Street called Straight in Damascus. Ananias was in his place of meditation, alone, when the Lord visited him and told him to go take care of Paul and release him from his blindness.
In the book, "Streams in the Desert' Nov. 8th there is a reference to a man named Joseph Parker, who was an English Congregational preacher of the nineteenth century. He said "If we, as the church, do not get back to spiritual visions glimpses of heaven, and an awareness of a greater glory and life, we will lose our faith.  Our altar will become nothing but cold, empty stone, never blessed with a visit from heaven." And this is the world's need today-people who have seen their Lord.
I want to urge all my bloggers and all my friends that we must seek a place to come close to God. Maybe He will take you to a mountaintop, or the rooftop, a sunroom, or perhaps by the fireplace, a porch can work and so does the kitchen table - they become our 'upper room'. He took Peter who was stubborn, James and John who were the 'sons of thunder, he met Jacob who was deceitful, a treacherous Jew named Paul.
There is no reason why He will not take you.  They became available because they were in a spot where they were alone and they could hear him.  Find your alone place....and find Him.

Can you do this?

I want us to really be honest with ourselves today.  I'm going to ask you to open up and allow the Lord to point out anything that might be hurtful or dangerous to your life.  We're going to dig into the issue of unforgiveness. 

Before we do, tho, I want to establish the baseline of God’s expectations. As Christians, we're given a high standard when it comes to relationships. Romans 12:18 (NLT) reveals God’s mandate, “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”

Live in peace with EVERYONE? Gee, that doesn't give us much wiggle room.

There is no disclaimer, no exception clause, no loophole, and no escape hatch.  I am to do everything possible to live in peace with everyone. 

One day, Peter, that impetuous disciple, engaged Jesus in a conversation around the topic of forgiveness.  He wanted to know where the boundary is.  When has he met his obligation for mercy and forgiveness?  So, he point-blank asks Jesus, “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Now, Peter thinks he is being super-spiritual and going way past the call of duty to even suggest seven times.)

Jesus, the teacher that He is, comes right back at him with a shocking response, “not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven.” And, then He launches into a story of timeless relevance about forgiveness.  

But for us today I want to put it in a 21^st century context. Here we have the

story of a huge, multi-billion dollar corporation.  One day the CEO, a very powerful and shrewd businessman gets a memo from the accounting department.  One of their vendors has run up an enormous debt. The CEO wants to know why this wasn’t discovered earlier.  Being the no-nonsense businessman that he is, he wants a meeting with this vendor, like yesterday! When the vendor gets word that the CEO has demanded a meeting, his heart sinks. He panics.  What is he going to do? He doesn’t have a chance of even being able to pay back a fraction of the debt.  He owes bu-ku bucks and his only chance is to plead for mercy.  But CEO’s like this one don’t get where they are by showing mercy. Anyway, he goes to corporate where he is ushered into the big man’s office.  He is immediately handed a folder detailing the run-up of his debt.  The CEO lets him know that this note is due in full....NOW! No more messing around, no more cat and mousing, no more arrears, he wants it.....Today! Immediately!

The big boss man also lets him know that they plan to come after him with the full force of the law.  They will seize all of his assets, liquidate his property and possessions. They will take him to the cleaners to recover as much as possible.  And, then they will prosecute and have him sentenced to prison.

In desperation, the man falls on his knees before this powerful, corporate CEO and he begs for mercy, for more time.  He promises to pay back every dime.  And, then, the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the unbelieveable happens. The Big Cheese is moved with unexpected kindness.  And in a moment of unbelievable compassion, he takes the file and tears up the debt.  He doesn’t grant him more time, he grants him a complete pardon.  I ask you....isn’t that wonderful.  Yeah, your breathing easier and your smiling uncontrollably, Ok enough....You can stop clapping and sit down.

As the debtor walks away from the office, tears are streaming down his face. The stranglehold of his debt has been released. He has a new lease on life and he can start to make plans again.

But the story isn’t over. As he stops to get gas on the way home, he bumps into a client who has been avoiding him because he owes a few hundred dollars and hasn’t paid him back.  So, that sense of relief and freedom of his canceled debt vanish and give way to resentment and anger.  So, with a sense of righteous indignation he demands immediate pay back of the few hundred dollars. And, he demands it now!  The client, caught off guard, begins to beg for more time and promises that he will pay back every dime.  Sound familiar? This guy will hear none of it.  He presses charges and has the client thrown in jail.

 Now, that story sparks a sense of outrage in us.  How could a man who had been forgiven so much not forgive someone who owes him so little? From this powerful story, I want to remind all of us that we enjoy two very powerful realities in our Christian faith. 

First, we have been released from God’s judgment and

Secondly, we are to release others from our judgment.  Someone has to break the cycle. Someone has to have the courage to say enough. All we are gaining is bitterness toward each other.  It is time for some of you to say ‘ENOUGH.” To utter the words “I forgive you, I release you from my judgment.”

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and discover the prisoner was you!"

Speak Sweeter

The mosquito has a long mouth called a proboscis.  On the proboscis are sharp cutting tools called stylets.  The stylets purpose is to cut open the victims skin. Then she pushes in her long mouth and injects saliva into the wound to increase the blood flow and sucks the victims blood.  She leaves a small wound that starts to itch within two minutes which is an allergic reaction to the mosquito's saliva.
   Our mouths can be even more hurtful than the mosquitoes.  Our tongues can be very sharp and cut deep like a knife.  The effects can last a lot longer than a mosquito bite and they can hurt much more.

There's a beautiful story of 'Speaking Sweetly,' found in Luke 13:10-17. The Bible says Jesus is teaching in the synagogue one day when He saw a woman sitting in the audience. She had been crippled and bent over for the last 18 years, and was unable to stand up straight. The eyes of Jesus locked with hers and his heart was moved with compassion so He called her forward and reached out to touch her. When He does, the Bible says, she was instantly healed. She stands up straight and begins praising God.  What a wonderful moment.  Yet, in the middle of all the excitement and praise, the leader of the synagogue steps forward and blasts Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. When Jesus defends his actions, he references the woman he had just healed,  but this time when He speaks of that lady he doesn't call her "woman," this time Jesus calls her a "daughter of Abraham." He doesn't see her as an elderly, crippled, woman. He sees her as a child of the great patriarch of the Jewish people, Abraham.

I have this picture of her walking home that day...she is standing up straight, feels ten feet tall, and is seeing things she hasn't seen in years. Going through her thoughts, ringing like the sounds of a bell, are those life and value building words "daughter of Abraham." Those were sweet speaking, life-giving words, Jesus spoke of her. 

Verbal grenades and shrapnel have left multitudes of scars on a lot of people, haven't they? They became like mosquito bites and caused us to hurt. You could still be scratching that irritation even now, maybe, huh?!  

 Jesus lesson in that story is so appropriate for all of us today. He spoke life-giving words to that woman and when He did; when He spoke sweetly, those words brought healing.  Now go and do the same!

Someday

Maybe the most dangerous word in the English language is the word 'some day.' Many of us here suffer from the "Some day Syndrome."  Some day I'll make things right with my mom or dad.  Someday I'll take that trip.  Someday I'll have more time for the kids.  Someday I'll build or paint or make that whatever. Someday I'll talk to my friend about Jesus.  Someday I'll go back to school.  In fact, why don't you fill in the blank I have provided for you.  Someday I will ___________________.  Ok. I hear you. If you can't think of what you would do 'some day,' just ask a friend, or spouse to fill in the blank for you.  What do you always say you will do some day?   Maybe for years you have been living with the illusion of 'some day." You sincerely plan to get around to it.  The problem with "some day," is that it can rob us of "this day."
We are all prone to procrastinate, aren't we?  There is a web site called procrastination.  If you type in the web address, when the site comes up, all that was there was a flashing sign that said, "coming soon." Well what can you expect from a site about procrastination?
Sometimes we have to live life with a little more urgency.  Living with urgency doesn't mean living faster or busier.  Frantic does not equal urgent!  To live with a sense of urgency means to live with an awareness
that you aren't promised "some day."  It means being alert to the fact that the clock is ticking.  No matter how careful you are; no matter how good your car's safety equipment is; no matter how much you 'play it safe'" or 'cover your tracks', 'touch all the bases,' or 'dot the eyes and cross the t's', there is still no guarentee. You see, life is fragile, uncertain, and in so many ways, it is out of your control. We need to live for today because tomorrow is not promised to us.  Think about it dear one, we asked Jesus into our heart to cover us from our past, (you know BC...Before Christ) and we have to have God's care and providence to cover our future. So, if our past is covered by God's grace and mercy and our future is covered by his care and providence where should we live life? We should live in the NOW.  We should live in the present, because that is really all we can do anything about. So our challenge is not 'some day," our challenge is to 'embrace today,' to seize the gift of this day, to live for the moments, we need to spend every hour with a sense of full appreciation for the time that we have.  And let us all turn the last page of our life and see that immortal fairytale phrase, "and they all lived happily ever after."

Unjustified Reaction

The beautiful thing about the Bible is that it tells the story meant to be told whether it's good or bad, courageous or cowardly, charming or repulsive, gentle or violent.

Two brothers fight and one is murdered; a man rapes a sister and the brothers devise a scheme to kill all the men in the town; a King looks at a women and decides an indiscretion is better then self discipline; a whole army is destroyed in a sea, Samson is a womanizer, bears come out of the woods and tear apart naughty kids.  It is the same in the New Testament, Herod bloodies some babies of Nazareth. A couple steals from the church and they are carried out dead.  I would be remise if I left out the Apostle Peter and how he cut off Malchus’s ear. It was one of the most magnificent miracles of Jesus before His death. It was the last divine surgery performed by Jesus. The event concerning Malchus was the climax of a long series of beautiful and gracious healing miracles; but still it is a very troublesome text.  An example of an unjustified reaction.

When Jesus did his first miracle at Cana, it was in the most joyous surroundings of a wedding but here in the garden of Gethsemane, this last miracle was done in the shadow of Calvary. It was a time and a place of sorrow, travail and anxiety of the soul.

Just like the comment made with his first miracle of turning the water into wine,(“every man at the beginning sets forth good wine, then that which is worse: but you have kept the good wine until now”, the same can be said about the miracles of Jesus.  He kept the best miracle, until the last.

There are four(4) very nice lessons concerning this particular miracle I want you to consider. 

First, when Peter drew his sword it was a violent response to a difficult situation.  It was the wrong thing to do.  Jesus never preached power through a sword!

Second, Peter made a huge mistake with that sword and Jesus had to repair the damage for that wrong. Jesus has been repairing the wrongs done by us, the church, ever since.  We goof up and still today He is making reparations to manage the damage.

Thirdly, it was an example of Christian forgiveness. Now at the end of His ministry, Jesus gave a perfect example of how men ought to love their enemies. The heaviest burden you will ever carry is the burden of an unforgiving heart. When you have an unforgiving heart it is a burden to which you cannot ask God to help you with because it is so contrary to the Spirit of the Lord.

Fourth, in the book of John, Jesus tells his disciples that he was to drink of, 'the cup of His Father'.  In other words, Jesus would do only what His Father's will was. If He would have picked up that sword it would have been His own will and not the heart of God.

So we see that Jesus had a choice to make didn't he?  What did He do? Jesus healed the soldier's ear and continued on in the permissive will of His Father to the cross. 

Which do you choose to use in response to things that happen in your life? A sword or a cup? 

Beginning to Sink

Matt 14:30 But when he(Peter) saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, "Lord, save me".  (KJV)

There is nothing in this world as tragic as someone who has sunk.  Someone with a world of promise and yet is a public mess, someone with pockets full of finances and yet they're are broke, someone with a body full of talent and yet is it spent. It's one of the greatest tragedies.  You cannot hide the fact that you have sunk. Everyone knows you are at the bottom.  Your clothes are soaked, you have seaweed in your hair, minnows wiggling in your pockets and you couldn’t hide it if you wanted. 

But my blog is not about people in total despair, my blog is about people who are in the "process" of sinking. They might be a working buddy or a treadmill girl friend.  They could be on the song team at church or the boy scout camping committee.  College level or 20 years as a CPA, stock broker or local laborer it doesn’t make any difference, they are sinking. A person sinking is very difficult to identify and yet they may be very dear or near to us. Their shoes are soaked, their stockings may be wet and yet we fail to even notice that in life, or faith, that very near person is sinking. 

In the above scripture, at least Peter was smart enough to yell to Jesus, ‘Save me, Lord.’ There are some interesting factors about Peter and how he started sinking that may help you or someone you love.

First.  Peter began to sink b/c of his personality... like most of us,he had some personality traits that weren’t always an asset to him.  The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:2 that we are to be humble and make allowances for each others faults because of our love.

Second, Peter began to sink in familiar settings....He knew the lake, the surroundings, the people, and he knew his boat, but still the water was rising.  Make sure you look around at those most familiar to you and lend them some love if they are struggling.

Third, Peter was on a permitted path...Jesus was the One who told him to come. Yeah, people sinking are not always rebels. They may be 20 years on their chosen career, their dream job or favorite position. They may have 37 anniversaries behind them.  It is the path they took yet they are sinking.

Fourth, Peter began to sink because of fear. Fear is crippling, paralyzing. If you see someone in a battle with fear take them to the side, help them.
Fifth, Peter was a loyal disciple and he still began to sink. Rookies or veterans alike can sink. There was no doubt of Peter’s great love and loyalty to the Lord. He was no beginner.  He had done yeomen’s service to the Lord and yet, there he was slipping under.

Last, this one really gets me - Peter sank while his friends were near.  Yep! There he was right near his buddies, 11 of them in a boat. There is not one mention in the scriptures that indicate that any of them began to help him when he started to slip into the water.

So, keep a sharp eye out for your friends and buddies or your other partners and pals.  Some of them may be sinking.

Spreading

 This blog is about are you as[preading or trying to spread problems

Beginning to Sink

Matt 14:30 But when he(Peter) saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  (KJV)

There is nothing in this world as tragic as someone who has sunk.  Someone with a world of promise and yet are a personal mess, someone with a pocket full of finances and they are broke, someone with a body full of talent and yet they are spent.

It is one of the great tragedies of life to see someone sunk. It is very difficult to hide the fact that you are sunk. Everyone knows you are at the bottom.  Your clothes are soaked, you have sea weed in your hair, minnows wiggling in your pockets and you couldn’t hide it from a blind person if you wanted.  People who have sunk in life are easy to recognize.

But people who are sinking thats a different story. People who are sinking are very difficult to recognize.  They might be a working buddy or a treadmill girl friend.  They could be on the song team at church or the Boy Scout camping committee.  College level or 20 years as a CPA, stock broker or local laborer it doesn’t make any difference they are sinking. A person sinking is very difficult to identify and yet all the time they may be very dear or near to us. Their shoes are socked and their stockings may be wet and yet we fail to even notice that in life, or faith that very near person is sinking.  In our scripture Peter began to sink and I have to hand it to him he at least was smart enough to yell to Jesus, ‘Save me, Lord.’

There are some interesting factors about Peter and how he began to sink and maybe some or one of them may help you or someone you love or know.

First.  Peter began to sink b/c of his personality...now everybody knows Peter like most of us had some personality traits that weren’t always an asset to him.  The bible tells us in Ephesians’ 4:2 that we are to be humble and to always make allowances for each others faults because of our love.

Second, Peter began to sink in familiar settings....He was a fisherman from youth and he knew his boat but still He was sinking.  Make sure you look around at those most familiar to you and lend them some love if they are struggling.

Third, Peter was on a permitted path...Jesus told him to come....yea people sinking are not always rebels they may be 20 years on their chosen career, their dream job or favorite position. They may have 37 anniversaries behind them.  It is the path they took yet they are sinking.

Fourth, Peter began to sink because of fear. Fear is crippling, paralyzing, if you see someone in a battle with fear take them to the side, help them.

Fifth, Peter was a loyal disciple and he still began to sink. Rookies or veterans alike can sink. There was no doubt of Peter’s great love and loyalty to the Lord. He was no beginner.  He had done yeomen’s service to the Lord and there he was sinking.

Last, this one really gets me! Peter sank while his friends where near.  Yep! There he was right near his buddies, 11 of them in a boat and there is not one mention in the scriptures that indicate that any of them even saw Peter beginning to slip in the water. Keep a sharp eye out for your friends and buddies or your other partners and pals.  Some of them may be sinking.

Might

I want to encourage all of you in your faith to day. There are so many detrimental factors slapping at our faith and love of God.  In Ephesians it tells us to 'be strong in the Lord and the power of His might'.  It doesn't say be strong in yourself, or be strong financially. There is no hint of positioning yourselves in the economy through your mutual funds or to go to the gym and exercise your body for the strength you will need to face the stresses of this world. It really is quite simple what the Good Book is telling us to be strong in. Not yourself, but, 'be strong in the Lord' 
  You are to block out all the things in your life that would replace God as your leaning post.  God is the one that your strength is to be found in. When you nurture your love of God, when you know and understand the power of His Word, when you can say "yes and amen" to His promises and know they are sure and when you can claim the blood of Jesus and all it benefits.....that is the strength you are to have.  Only the Lord can provide that.
 Only God can foresee the future and prepare you for it.  Only God can carry the weight of worldly news and concern. Every other type of strength will collapse. Dollars collapse to financial rumors, bodies fall to sickness and diseases, minds collapse to worry and fear, automobiles collapse to rust and ruin and under the right conditions everything in this world that we hold dear for security will fail us. But God's strength, praise the Lord, gets stronger as the leaning on it gets heavier. (Psalms 49 is an awesome chapter about what to trust in and what NOT to trust in.)
It says the 'power of His might'. To me that is really an awesome statement.   How much power is in God's might? If you told me God has might I would say that is enough to keep me. Yes, He is mighty, Amen...but the Bible adds this adjective - 'power' - to the phrase. That helps you realize the full force of His might...and that's a powerful thought.

Borrowing Stuff From God

John 14:12-17
12 "The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father.
14 Yes, ask anything in my name, and I will do it!
15 {Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit--} "If you love me, obey my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.
17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.(NLT)

Sorry to make the word of God so small.( I feel a bit funny when God's Word is little and what I'm writing is in bigger print!) There are three things in the above verses that I want to blog about, but since the scripture is considerable for a blog, I had to use a smaller font.
I titled this 'Borrowing Stuff From God'  and I mean it. Really!

In this wonderful chapter in the book of John, our apostle explains that we borrow from God Himself three very powerful things.  You might want to look at it another way and say, God lends us stuff to empower our faith levels. Whatever way you think of it, there are three wonderful things.

The First is v.12, we borrow God's Divine providence so that he can work through us...I call it borrowed activity. God himself will work through us to do his will here on earth and more specifically his work in our familiar circle of life.

The Second, thing that we borrow, or God lends us, is "Borrowed Authority" v.13-14. A Christian's true efforts and work is never his own, it is God working in and through him/her.  When we begin to think it's our own, we basically defeat every opportunity of success and sabotage the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Third thing we borrow from the Lord us is a 'Borrowed Presence'.  The Lord lives in us. The apostle Paul said 'filled unto the goodness of God,' in Eph 3:19.  The one who does this is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. The Bible tells us that He will be "another Counselor."  I like the old translation better, the word is 'Comforter', but we should understand it in its original meaning. It comes from the word fortis, that is, "to make strong,' and com means 'with.' someone who stands with you and makes you strong.
So there, you can read the verses on your own, think on these three points and be blessed by God's Word.
As a Christian, the things we borrow from the LORD bring Him glory and fulfil our heart's desire to be used by Him. Awesome, huh?

Vaccum Cleaner

I got home from doing some chores and Karen said the vaccum cleaner was not working. Now if you know Karen she isn't crippled or mostly feeling uninclined when it come to fixin things.  she will give it the once over then the, going over then the parts catalog, say a prayer, then a more meaningful prayer, then she will say a desperate prayer then start rebuking the devil for trying to steal our money by breaking our stuff, then when she has gone through all the binding and loosing she will just plain get on the Lords back and tell him to get it working.  But today the prayer loosed not mechanical motion, the Lord wasn't in it and the vac lay still on the floor motionless.  Karen said there is something wrong with the cleaner.  I don't know what it is it was fine the other day.  So I pugged the lifeless dirt sucker in.  I hit the button and it went on then off.  I checked the plug and hit the button and it went on and off again. I hit the button and took some of its parts apart and then hit the button but there was no life in our vac.  We tallked about how many years we had the cleaner and what a job it had done for us.  I hit the button thinking the compliment would surely draw a performing response...nothing!  We sat there for a minute and I took the bag out.... again, I took the filter off....again, then I turned it upside down and spun the thing that goes around under there and it was free as the wind...the wire was not loose and the plug was still in and there lay are lifeless hoover.....Tornadoless and ruined.  Karen said I shook it and I got it to work, so I gave it a little shake nothing. Livi didn't think I did it right so she came over and showed me how she did it and we gave it a real hard shake...and on came the Hoover like it was Jesus coming out of the Tomb... I turned it off and then I came back and turned it on and it fired right up.  Karen turned it on and on it went sucking dirt and crumbs from off the floor.  We turned it off and came up stairs and then we snuck down stairs and snuck up on the cleaner and I hit the on button and....Wa la.... it came back on again and it is still working since we gave it that great big shake.
Sometimes life and church is like that...We work better after we have been given a good shaken.
The Vac was dead.  We were ready to send it to the big junk yard in the sky.
Sometimes things just need a good shaking!

Rest

Rest and relaxation are so important that God put them in the Ten Commandments. God tells us to rest every seventh day. If you’re not taking a day off every week, you’re breaking one of the Ten Commandments – and you won’t be as effective as you could be in ministry (or anything else you do).

Jesus reminds us in Mark 2:27 that the command to take a Sabbath is for our own benefit: “Man was not given for the Sabbath but the Sabbath was given for man.” God gave us the Sabbath to help us to rest and restore. Our bodies need it.

Jesus modeled this in His own ministry, and we need to model it in our ministries.

*Relaxation: We need to take time to enjoy life.

Mark 6:31-32 says, “Because so many people were coming and going that they didn’t even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to them, `Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’” (NIV). In other words, Jesus said, “Fellows, you deserve a break today. Come to the desert and we’re going to rest.”

Jesus modeled this God-created need to rest and relax. I’m more and more convinced of the importance of balance in ministry. All areas of our lives need to be balanced. There is an ebb and flow in ministry, a time when you give out and a time when you receive, a time when you work and a time when you rest. Ecclesiastes says, “There’s a time for everything in life” – to laugh, to cry, to build up, and to tear down.

The Bible says in Matthew 11:19 that Jesus came enjoying life (Phillips). You don’t hear many theologians talking about that verse. They talk about Jesus the old sourpuss. Have you noticed on TV that the media always shows Jesus with a sour, dour, very serious face? But the Bible says, Jesus came enjoying life. He survived stress by enjoying life.

God wants you to do that. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:17, “God richly gives us everything to enjoy” (NCV). As we use it for His glory, we also get to enjoy it at the same time.

Balance is a key to stress management. I constantly remind myself to --

* Divert daily – Take a mini-vacation every day to recharge. Catch ur breath

* Withdraw weekly – Take a day off every week. you gotta chill.
* Abandon annually – Take an extended period of time off every year. Campfire here I come.

Jesus rested regularly because he knew God designed us to need rest, but also because he was being obedient to the commands of God.
*passing along a note from Rick Warren to the pastors, maybe it will help you.

Hurting or Helping Others?

The church today is under more of an attack than at any time in its history. Its a different kind of attack, though, because we don't see the enemy like they did in years past.  David saw Goliath, Paul saw the "preaching of the church" during his time as an enemy of Christ. William Tyndale had the leaders of the big mega churches of his time....Knox had human enemies that Satan worked through.  They were physical beings with a devil's agenda but still it was seen through the hand of a human enemy.
 Today we don't see Satan's attacks through human beings all the time.  We see many attacks against us  through internet, cable or smart phones, etc....but the attacks are just as ugly, just as real.
 It really doesn't matter how an attack comes, it is how we handle that attack that is important. 
Many times we don't handle them well at all. When this takes place we have wounded warriors. 
There are some things that we should never do, like never outwardly celebrate someone's error/problem, mistake/sin....never help pass that person's fall around, or never add to the gossip of that error. When a person falls, our response as Christians is not to make telephone calls to tell everyone around you.  Our job is not to get on facebook and make leading statements that hint to trouble and continue to stir the hurt. Our job is very clearly stated in the book of Galatians 6:1...We are to do everything we can in a proper and dignified way to bring a brother or sister to a healthy healing.  This involves much love, many hugs and the necessary steps to make a total and complete restoration.
Gal 6:1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  (NLT)

Go ahead and throw it

Safe?

Being safe. Yeah, every one of us wants to be safe.  We have codes on our computers, ADP for our homes, secret numbers to our phones, the list goes on and on and on.  We are all trying to have a bunch of everything - but having all this stuff is killing us trying to keep it from being stolen. I have a book at home with all the codes & passwords I need in order to open different accounts/items/stuff.  (You should have seen K and I trying to remember the combination number to open the bike lock connecting our bikes while on vacation!!!!)
Being safe is a big issue in today's society.
In C.S.Lewis classic tale, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver tell the children about Aslan, a mighty lion who serves as a type of Christ-figure.  Feeling somewhat leery of a lion they ask, "Then he isn't safe?"   SAFE? Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe....But he is good!
Today our churches are so focused on God's goodness that we've forgotten He's a lion.  ?Do any of you know a lion that is safe? He is not safe... not safe at all.
We have made God comfortable in order to make Him acceptable to as many people as we can.  This is not necessarily a good thing. God demands much of us and throws down the gauntlet to the fatal disease of complacency that infects us.  As Christians, we must be reminded that we are a people of faith and that we really are to live our lives in compliance with the will of God. Sometimes that "will of God" forces us out into the scary fields of discomfort and risk.

Symptoms of complacency abound in the lives of those who claim to follow Jesus. Church attendance continues to decline. Sharing our faith has become rare.  Prayer has all but faded out of the daily practice of most Christians. The ethical and moral behavior of Christians doesn't stray too far from that of unbelievers in general, whether we look at divorce rates, pornography consumption, or premarital sex. Churches struggle to get enough members to serve in Sunday school and other ministries.

Worst of all, we've grown comfortable with this.  Its become the norm for the Christian life. We love God, but not passionately.  We change, but with little convictions. We give, but not sacrificially. And sadly, we have relied so heavily on being saved by grace that we've forgotten we're 'saved to do good works'.  And most people think that God rejoices to have us on these terms. God is good.  But he is not safe, and only at our peril do we think of God as a tame lion.*

Jesus came with a radical agenda:  'Transform the world - one soul at a time'. Our job is to meet every sinner around us and infect them with the call of the gospel. And that is not safe!

*excerpts taken from "Not a Safe God" by Tim Riter  (want to read this terrific book? We have it, just ask when at "The SUB".)

Finding Hope in times of Grief

*The funeral is over....the people who temporarily turned aside to grieve with you, to honor your deceased love one...they are all gone.  The flowers have faded, and perhaps pots of dried up stems and leaves sit beside your trash can...

The meals that friends brought have stopped and now even the phone doesn't ring quite so much anymore.

The cards don't fill the mailbox the way they once did either-just the usual bills and junk mail, and maybe, painfully, a piece of mail now and then addressed to the one whose absence saps your strength virtually every moment of every day....and no matter how you feel about it, mornings still come and night still falls over and over and over again, with everyone and everything around you saying, "You'll just have to move on," While everything within you undeniably groans, "But nothing is the same."   What are you supposed to do with this massive load of experience and emotion that has landed on you an now weiths on every aspect of your being?

Are you just supposed to "get over  it"?
Are you just supposed to "move on"?
Are you just supposed to resign yourself to the idea, expressed in the words of the Bibles' book of Job:
Man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward (Job 5:7)
Simply put, can you ever begin to feel better and to see this event that has befallen you assume a place of purpose and value in your life and in the lives of others?
The answer, according to God's Word, the Bible, is a resounding, Yes!!!! there is hope.
Hope is not wishful thinking, or whatever pleasant illusion we may conjure up.  It isn't some fantasy on which we fixate, in order to mystically influence events or, at least, to make ourselves feel better.
True hope is settled confidence based on objective fact and enduring truth. True hope does not give in to despair. It is based on expected and needed grace from God.  It patiently waits and confidently expects good from God-here and now, and for eternity-regarless of the severity of one's personal storm.
God based hope goes hand in hand with joy because it depends on the constancy of the One who holds us in his hand rather than on our own tired, tethered and fickled emotions. In God's word we have a promise we can embrace and draw strength from the promise that God Himself spoke to His people through the prophet Jeremiah: "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'" (Jer 29:11)
God is telling us that if we turn to Him We can count on the risen, living Christ to make blessing and not grief the ultimate summation of our lives.
This article is taken from the book, FINDING HOPE IN TIMES OF GRIEF, by Preston and Glenda Parrish Authors,

God Questions

Many people ask me how to daily follow the Lord or how to live for Christ on a daily basis. 
I've heard a lot of interesting responses. I've also heard a lot of hard and difficult answers. And...a lot of the books some of the authors write to help us in a general sense, don't necessarily make it easier either!
 All of us hear God speak to us in very manifest ways at times in our lives...but it's the normal times that makes it tough to hear God.
Some people say you should fast, or go to a quiet place and wait to hear God.  Yes, sometimes you do hear God that way, but how do you hear God on a regular basis? It really isn't as difficult as people try to make it...sometimes it's right in your head.  
Here are some things "I" do to hear God......I just try to keep my eyes on Jesus at all times....I always ask a lot of questions when I am doing regular life.  I will ask the Lord, ?'Is this what You want Lord?'  I will ask the Lord, ?'Is this your will Lord.'  If it is something I am going to do I really do ask in my mind, ?'Can you bless this Lord.' I don't want to sound paranoid but I really try to keep a 'God consciousness,' a sense that God is where I am, right beside me in the midst of my real life experiences.
 For me, I believe that that most of the distresses, messes and goof's in life come after little decisions have gone bad.  My calamities are rarely the result of a disasterous "big time" decision failure.  My stuff is usually cumulative, low-tier, obscure decisions that somehow blow up into "really bad scrums".
So I have learned to ask God some of the questions that I wrote above.  I continually ask questions.  I do not usually hear some kind of voice or anything like that.  What I usually hear is something on the line of a virtue go through my head.  Like, is that honest? Or, is that kind? Or, would you like that to happen to you?  Many times a Bible story or a character will come to my mind as an answer to the question I asked in my thoughts.  A lot of times I will hear the Ten Commandments as an answer.  And lastly, I have learned that doubt plays a big role in my decisions.  Sometimes I don't hear the above but I WILL have a doubt about certain decisions. I understand doubt and I know doubt when it happens to me, so I rarely if ever miss doubt when that signal goes off.
When this happens I always practice one rule that has served me well: 'When in doubt throw it out.' Yeah, if one of the above takes place in my questioning system, if there is a shadow cast over something I am trying to dicipher, if I doubt something, I discard it.  I do not ever try to talk myself into something.  It is too easy for my 'I wants' to override the 'I wouldn'ts'.  Generally if I do the questions, listen for virtue or one of the Ten Commandments and discard the doubts and don't try to talk myself into something, I usually get it right....

Race Car Introductions

It may surprise some sports fans to learn that successful race car drivers are among the world's highest income-earning athletes. Yes, baseball and basketball superstars earn millions, but their incomes do not eclipse those of big-name race car drivers.  Formula One race car drivers Kimi-Matias Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher have both made the list of the top ten highest income-earning athletes.  Nascar drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson are just a few of the drivers who've compiled millions of dollars in the motorsport BIG MONEY fields.

But think of this.  All those guys in the high income race car driving sport would have to be extremely grateful to the person who introduced them to race car driving.  Somebody took them by the side and pumped them up with the idea that they could be a successful Motor Sport Champion.  That they could win a trophy, survive over 200 mile an hour laps around an oval, or successfully negotiate an Indy car track and not only live to do it again but that they could actually make a buck at it!  Someone was willing to take the risk and help them get started. After all, that introduction started them on the road to fame and fortune.

In the first century, four fishermen - Simon (Peter), Andrew, James, and John were introduced to an exciting life of following Jesus.  They became His full-time disciples.  Unlike high-income race car drivers, they did not become rich, nor were they surrounded by millions of adoring fans.  But they helped change countless lives and also the course of history. Someone took the time to tell them the story  - the plan - and they jumped on board. 

Today, some of the people we will encounter along our life of influence, will be people who don't know the story.....introduce them to it....to Jesus!  Who knows what will happen after that!  But it sure may be interesting to watch them on the track!!

Tomato transplants

A couple weeks ago Karen and I were transplanting our newly growing tomato plants.  We were overdue to get those plants from the seed peat pods into clay pots which would allow them room to shoot up to the size that we need to put in the gound.  K and I got all the pots out, got some really great bio-dirt, miracle grow, tools and we had a great sunny morning.  We could get these things done in about 40 minutes and then get on to the next project for the day.  As we approached the morning project one of our kids needed us to watch their two little darlings and of course being in love with those two little people we agreed, figuring they could help us do the tomatoes and other work around the house.

Have you ever noticed that nothing makes a project move more slowly than having little people "help" you perform it?  Our project turned from something simple into two million heart-stopping, hose running on the floor, spilled dirt, squeezed to death, broken plant occurances.  One of the kids even tried to eat one of the peppers to see if the plant itself tasted like a pepper.

On one of those two million heart stopping moments, we had a fatality when the little one successfuly placed a very strong plant in the clay pot. While showing "Nanny" the good job that she had done, she lifted it up only to have it drop out upside down, crushed on the table.  The life of a hardy vigorous tomato plant can be short lived in the hands of  an excited youngster. It wasn't too long before things got out of control and we had to come up with something else to do quick or risk losing our entire tomato crop.

 

Then I remembered  how I was taught to work when I was little. I always loved to work with my dad. He would always give me a single task to do.  I didn't have to cut the wood and sand the wood and measure the wood. Maybe all he would have me do was to pull the nails, or hand him the tools he needed.  I didn't do much but I did my part and felt like I was helping my dad. This built my confidence and encouraged me to learn how to work and be attentive. I could honestly claim to have helped make that project work because of this.

When we put our hands to God's plow, we certainly can make a mess of some of the things He wants us to do for Him when we "try" to help.  Yet, when we are willing to perform small specific duties according to our abilities, our Father can bring about great results.

Centuries ago, when the members of the church in Antioch heard of a coming famine, they wanted to help those affected by it.  Luke records in Acts 11:29 that , "the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide for the brothers in Judea."  They helped the Lord by doing their part with their specific abilities and gift mix.  Every day we have the opportunity to "help" our Father with His work throughout our own world of influence.  Cooperatively, as we each give of ourselves according to our abilities, and according to the need at the time, we have the satisfaction of sharing in a job well done.

The End of the World.....LOL

I knew right away that the world wasn't coming to an end Saturday at 6PM. Even if the Pope and President and all the major denominational leaders of the world said so.  I'm not using doctrinal or even theological data to base my opinions on, but I do have sound reasoning.  I mean if a man wants to predict when the world is coming to an end and splash it all over the media, then I think the least we can do before we all disappear is to state our opinion on the matter...you know, put what we think out on the table.  I mean why not be as bold in my opinion as he was in his. On top of that, I think my reason for the world not coming to an end on Saturday at 6pm is stronger than that guy's own reason for the world to come to an end. Ok, thats enough of that.

My reason....first and only, and with this I lay my whole rebuttal and all my integrity as a Pastor on this one sole reason.  Its my granny.  Yeah my Granny! She provided me with the reason. You say, "Pastor your granny is gone". I know she is but she left me with some great sound and infallible reasonings.  My Granny always taught me (and she was adamant about it) that after you're done eating, you are to rest and allow your dinner to settle. She would never let us kids cut grass, weed the garden, paint or do a lot of hard or even moderate work right after we ate.  We were to rest and allow our food to settle.  Sure enough, when I heard the prediction of 6pm I knew right there it wasn't happening because from 4 oclock to 6 pm it's the dinner hour.  God isn't going to do some major heavy duty work right after we eat. Right after dinner....is not practical. He would be setting a very bad example. True, it would be a precedent, but God is more predictable than He is precedent setting when it comes to His teaching us.

You might say, 'hey bucko, you're really reaching". I don't think so. Take for example when the Lord gave manna to his children out in the desert...they didn't go to battle or build the tabernacle, or cross the sea right after dinner. No they had a nice peaceful evening enjoying the miracle that they would experience for 40 years till they crossed over the Jordan and camped at Gilgal with Joshua. Jesus fed 5,000 people and again 4,000 people and not once did they go for a big evening event.  He fed them all - every one of them and that was that.  There was no big sha-bang after the meal.

 Look at the big dinner event after Jesus resurrection, Peter and the guys go fishing, they catch nothing and they are hungry. He tells them to have something to eat. Right after they bust a gut pulling in a record 153 fish catch, He feeds them. The LORD doesn't say to them, "I'm going to destroy the world, Jerusalem or at least beat up Herod coz he hurt my feelings - go get your swords. Nope nothing comes of it, nothing, coz Jesus is enjoying his meal too.

Who wants to do something hard right after dinner? I don't! What about you?  I think God might feel the same way to.  Even at the Last Supper when Jesus knew He was about to be crucified, He didn't get all fired up after the dinner hour....no way, in fact where do we find him after dinner? In the garden praying. 

You don't get all fired up after dinner, it's a time to rest and reflect and rub your belly and say "thanks God for today's sustenance".  That guy should have read his Bible!!  Or have talked to his granny. He would have know better.
 Even in the Old Testament, Gideon was found hiding in the threshing floor trying to whittle out a dinner...God finds him there and He tells him what he wants him to do...but he doesn't say.... now
buddy...get going....get a wiggle on it....and he doesn't say right after your done eating, no sir, thats not how God works. When you have a full stomach that is not the time to do hard work!
Come on people....try tying your shoes right after dinner.  When do you loosen your belt the most...right after dinner...?when do you watch the evening news....you got it, right after dinner...when do you feel slumber or a nap coming on?  Yeah...right after dinner!!!!! When is your dogs hair around his face the dirtiest?....Yep. Do you clean old faithful fiddo up at that point?  Of course not...you sit down and let your meal settle, then fiddo goes over in his corner. All you can hear him do for the next hour is lick his face till it's clean. 
 Ever see one of those pictures of a big lion in Africa, holding his head up in a statley fashion? His eyes are bright and his mane is flowing in the African breeze. He is peacful and at rest... Well look under his paw...what do you see...a big juicy carcass...that big smile he is wearing is right after dinner? the only time a lion smiles is right after dinner.

Well that's my reasoning...my Granny learned me right, and I know she was right cause we're still here.  Oh yeah...and when will the end of the world come? In the context of my article, I think the end of the world is going to come when God is really fed up with all that is going on down here and He's hungry...not only can he hear all these people belly aching but his belly is aching.....and that may NOT be very long off!!

Get Up and Go Tell Others!

In today's world, our answer for the nations and their Godless conditions is to send x-millions and billions of economic aide to them. It's the world's answer to keeping a nation in its borders. If they are poor give them money, don't transform them.  If they are politically riotous, give them advise, advisors, and prop them up with diplomatic visits.  If they are suffering calamities, send them cash, volunteers, big time aide. If they are in war, send them NATO or U.S. technologies, air space coverage or military advisors. If they have famine send them agricultural aide, equipment, AG specialists. The politics of the West always have something to send.
 The problem is we are sending the wrong stuff.
The plight of nations will never be satisfied by money, diplomacy, aide, advisors or the good will of nations wishing to help them. No nation has the cure to another nations misery outside of fixing what is the root cause of that misery.  They may have a temporary fix but not the answer. 
The reason is that most nations problems are rooted in their avariance to God, contrasted with trying to help them by fixing what seems to ail them.  The ailments that we send so much money to fix are more the outcroping of faulty diplomatic philosophy's of those nations.  They have been deliberate to make treaties with sympathetic nations but lack the one political connection that can rescue them - that is to have representation in the 'House of God..
Most of the nations of the world are in ignorance of the blessings of God. They are rebels serving idols. They have no favor with God, they have no ear to the Divine. The evidences of the struggles are economic hardship, moral depravity, godless societal programs, hatred, thievery, murder, war, famine (both earthly and spiritual) and heart breaking misery amongst its people.

God's answer to the world of nations which are lost and suffering is to send men and women who He (God) has placed a picture of their desperate condition on their heart. They have a passion, a burden for that nation and a spiritual strength to rescue it from its own depravity.  The answer to every nations misery is men and women of God. They put the trumpet of God to their lips and sound the divine call of action to rescue that country from its divine bankruptcy.
Our Lord has the answers to the needs of the nations. The Holy Spirit responds to the men and prophets He has called and to those He wants to send. He gave us a Scriptural mandate to carry the message of redemption to all men everywhere... With the message of redemption and the changes it accomplishes on mens heart comes 'redemptive lift'.  The lift is what happens when mens hearts are in line with Gods' purposes.....Matt 28:19-20, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

When He says "Go," He means "Go!" When He says "Go YE," he means "Go YE." When He says "INTO ALL THE WORLD," He means "ALL THE WORLD!" When He says "PREACH The GOSPEL," He means 'PREACH THE GOSPEL!"  Surely God means what He says!

God clearly tells us how to influence and save nations....The command is, "Go and make disciples of all nations." The promise (and it is a beautiful one) is "Lo, I am with you." 

Does anyone have the right to leapfrog the command and then hug the promise? It is time for the church to rouse up from its complacency. God will be with you! Go save the nations! Find a larger canvas, catch a wider vision. Dare bolder programs. God will be with You! Go save the nations! Rouse up and go forth to conquer for Christ, even to the uttermost parts and the isles of the sea."

Heathens will be bombing the world forever till we replace the godless, darkened teachings of devil warriors with the transforming message of the love of Jesus Christ. They don't just need aide, they need preaching, and teaching from anointed servants of God. + We must place love and hope in their hearts and begin to compete in their clouded minds for their thoughts, dreams, ideals and their hearts. No devil or witch doctor, Iman or monk can compete with the powerful, positive life changing message of the Gospel.  It will turn the world upside down.  We need to pray for and send men and women to go and do it...NOW!  Go ye!!

In todays world the answer for the nations and the Godless conditions of the nations is to send them x-millions and billions of economic aide. That is the worlds answer to keeping a nation in its border. The plight of nations will never be satisfied by money, diplomacy, or good will of nations wishing to help them. No nation has the cure to another nations misery.  They may have a temporary fix but not the answer.  The reason is that most nations problems are rooted in their avariance to God.  Most of the nations of the world are at war with God, they are rebels serving idols. The evidence of the war is economic hardship, moral depravity, godless societal programs, hatred, thievery, murder, and misery amongst its people.
God's answer to the world of nations lost and suffering is to send men and women who He (God) has placed a picture of their desperate condition on their heart. They have a passion for that nation and a spiritual strength to rescue it from its own depravity.  They put the trumpet of God to their lips and sound the divine call of action to rescue that country from its divine bankruptcy. Our Lord has the answers to the needs of the nations.  He gave us a scriptural commission for us to carry the message of redemption to all men everywhere... Matt 28:19-20, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
When He says "Go," He means "Go!" When He says "Go YE," he means "Go YE." When He says "INTO ALL THE WORLD," He means "ALL THE WORLD!" When He says "PREACH The GOSPEL," He means 'PREACH THE GOSPEL!"  Surely God means what He says!
God clearly tells us how to influence and save nations....The command is, "Go and make disciples of all nations." the promise, and it is a beautiful one is "Lo, I am with you." 
Does anyone have the right to leapfrog the command and then hug the promise? It is time for the church to rouse up from our complacency. God will be with you! Find larger canvas, catch a wider vision. Dare bolder programs. God will be with You! Rouse up and go forth to conquer for Christ even the uttermost parts and the isles of the sea."
Heathens will be bombing the world forever till we replace the godless, darkened teachings of devil warriors with the transforming message of the love of Jesus Christ.  We must place love and hope in their hearts and begin to compete in their clouded minds for their thoughts and ideals. No devil or witch doctor, Iman or buddist monk can compete with the powerful, positive life changing message of the Gospel.  It will turn the world upside down.  We need to pray for and send men and women to go and do it...NOW!

Osama bin Laden

Most of us in America have gladly received the news of this man's death.  Much of the world sees him as a hero but those closely alied to the West see him as a tyrant.....I would like to say something concerning this man as to the way I see him and his demise. 
Osama bin Laden is the by-product of really bad U.S. policy's. He is a casualty of those failed and uncalculated policy's.  Chavez of Venezeula is another man caught in the web of badly botched U.S. policy. Cambodia is an example of a sovereign country that got caught in the vaccuum of failed American policies.  The list really goes on and on and on.  Our government has failed in its leadership and foreign policies and today many existing leaders and emerging future leaders are now afraid to embrace American policies because they are so unstable.  That being said, I want to focus these next few lines on the death of the world's most recognised terrorist.......Osama bin Laden.
First, I applaud our Armed Forces...they are always so spectacular, whether it's as visible as OBL or any of our troops doing their everyday work on a base in planet earth ...they all in some way contribute to US success.
Secondly, I do not look at Osama bin Laden's death as something in the form of revenge.  This man was a murderer. Worse than that, he would kill women, children, elderly or the young in the prime of life, with no remorse. I am not happy that Osama is dead in the sense of a person being killed or shot to death.  I don't think as a Christian I am thrilled about anyone being killed.  It is a sad thing whether it is a terrorist, a public enemy number one, or a person gone berserk who the police have to take down to defend the public; it is a sad thing that someone has to extinguish that persons' life.  GOD HAD MUCH MORE FOR THAT PERSON.  They were not, nor ever meant to be, the resting place for a piece of lead. 
Please do not include me in those who cry for revenge.  I simply wish to see justice, and justice only, to be served.  Osama was a man on the run, not because the U.S. was looking for revenge, because if that was the case then those who love Osama will be ready to get their piece of revenge to feel justified.  No the U.S.A. was simply carrying out the fulfilling of justice.  This individual committed crimes against Muslims, Americans, and the brainwashed "minds" of men destroyed before their bodies meant their end.  The U.S. simply executed a warrant against this man for crimes. Legitimate crimes against human kind.  With his death it is over.  There is nothing more that anybody should do.  The crimes' punishment has been fulfilled. Justice has been served, it is finished.  Anything more is revenge and another crime and that person or government committing it should be held responsible for that occurance as a separate offense, and that offense will bear its own punishment.  Justice completes and closes out a crime, that is called satisfied justice. Revenge is evil, and selfishly continues a crime with an illegal and unsatisfiable perpetuity.  It just goes on and on. The World doesn't need that.
 It is a shame that Osama's death has so polarized the world. His death can do nothing for them or us. Yet in the spiritual darkness of the world, Christ died for all mankind to wash away their sins and remove the reproach off of their lives. Yet many in the world still do not know what Christ has done for them.
It is time to put away the guns and send missionaries...let's start conquering hearts instead of nations.  The British did it and it worked....the sun never went down on the British Empire....They sent missionaries through the London Missionary Society.  Read about Tahiti...no guns, just the mouth of a missionary and the whole murderous island and later all the surrounding islands came to peace!