Praise You in This Storm

This has been a devastating week for my home, and community.  On Friday, October 7th we started seeing the early rain bands of Hurricane Matthew.  This rain and wind continued until Saturday night.  All in all, we received around 15 inches of rain at my house, and some areas around us received more.  Dams have give way, and many of the communities in my county are underwater.  Many have been without power for almost a week now.  Many of our roads are closed due to flooding, and some have even been washed away.  And even more sadly, there have been some in my community to lose their lives as a result of this storm.

With all of this loss, I know many people would ask the question of why these things happen?  Why does God allow things of this nature to occur?  Let me give you my humble opinion to these questions.

#1 - My God is always in control.
It is not my place to question why things happen in this world.  I serve a wonderful loving God who has a perfect will, and a perfect purpose for all things.  And, it is not my place to understand until he is ready for me to understand.  He knows everything in my future, and has a reason for the here and now.  Maybe, just maybe, what I go through now is preparing me for what may come in the future.  And because of this moment, I will be prepare for what He needs me to do when that time comes.

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts."

#2 - We seek the Lord through humility.

Do we really live our lives with the true understanding of who our Lord truly is?  God is not a buddy, nor a relative we only speak of during certain occasions.  He is our Lord, and our Creator.  Regardless of how we may see Him, He is the Almighty.  It is only by His grace that we have the right to His forgiveness, the right to pray to Him, and the right to be His children.  When we come to Him, it should be done humbly, without pride.  I believe that sometimes God allows things to happen to get our attention.  Maybe He is trying to show us how much we really need the peace and comfort that only He can give.  We when become proud and comfortable, we lose sight on our need for our Savior.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

#3 - A chance to witness
One thing I have been amazed of in this time of struggles, is the number of Christians I see reaching out to those in need.  I have seen where many are volunteering to help with damage to homes, offering hot showers and meals to those without power, and others taking their own boats into flooded areas to rescue those that were stranded.  As Christians, we have to understand that our actions are our greatest witness.  Many people can quote scriptures at the drop of a hat, but the real question is, can you show them in your life?  As we said when I was growing up, you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?  Times like these give us a real chance to show the love of God that lives inside of us.  Are we taking the chance to share that with those around us?

James 1:22

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves"

I choose to praise God for this storm that we are living through.  Because I know, that even in the midst of struggle and loss, my God is right there beside me.  He never left my side.  And I know that He has a perfect purpose.  I choose to look for the opportunities He has provided me, instead of looking at all the bad that is around.  I choose to trust in the one who knows what my future holds, and who has ordained all of my steps.  What do you choose?

Thanks for reading, and I pray that God will bless you all!

Modeling

I love working in education.  Now don't get me wrong, there are days that I get frustrated with the woes of working in public education.  The pay is terrible, and the hours can be long.  Many times I have to take work home.  And there are always those students, that no matter what you do, just don't care.  However, each child that comes to me and says thank you, or comes back to visit after graduation just to visit me and ask for help outweighs all of the bad.

Now one of the best strategies that I have for teaching, and coaching, is modeling.  I try to model what I expect them to do.  If it is an assignment, I show them how to work out some examples.  If it is a concept, I give them a chance to create a real life example, or I make up one, to help them visualize.  When I coach, I get on the field and practice with them.  I show them exactly what I want them to do, and do it with them.  To me, this is the best way to learn.  Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a good lecture every once in a while.  But, the best way to learn is by experiencing it.

The same is true with Christianity.  The best way to share it, is to show it.

John 5:36
"But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me."

Here Christ was telling of His testimony, not by words that He had said, but by the works that He did.  That was the testimony of who He was.  As we strive to be more Christ-like, we have to model what we learn in the bible.  It is not just enough to quote scripture.  Anyone can do that, and learn it.  But it is the actual application of it to our daily lives that is the biggest witness to others.  Do they here us and see us live it?  There are a lot of people in this world that are playing church.  As Revelations 3 teaches us, they are lukewarm.  Neither cold nor hot.  They put on a good show to go to church, but do their actions away from church show the same life.  When we model the Christian faith, or live it outwardly, we show the world a true look at what Christianity really is.  And not what they see and hear from TV and some internet counterfeits.

So, the question today is, what are you modeling?  Because, what we model is what we truly believe in.

Thanks for reading, and I pray that God will bless you all!

What Would Your Letter Say?

Hi all!  It feels good to have the opportunity to write again.  Lots of things have been going on that have left me unable to post for a while, but with a small bit of free time, I felt that today would be a good day to begin again.  I have recently begun to question many things about my life.  No, I am not having a mid-life crisis.  That would be kind of sad to think that I would only live to see 60.  But more so, If I could have a one on one conversation with God, what would He say about me.  How would He feel about the way I am living and the things that I am doing.  While reading through my bible, I came across an interesting set of scripture.

Romans 1:7-10
"to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you."

 Wouldn't it be cool to get a letter from one of the Apostles?  Or even better, from God?  The book of Romans is nothing more than a letter that Paul wrote to the church at Rome.  We know that this letter was intended for the church(body of believers) because it is addressed to those called as saints.  In the same fashion as he does with all of his letters, Paul includes a message of grace to those in which he writes.  But the next part is what struck me.  He made sure to let them know that he was thanking God for them!  WOW!  Now there is a way to make a believer feel good.  But why?  Because their faith was being proclaimed throughout the whole world.  At this point in time, Paul was in Corinth which is around 1000 miles away.  And he was getting news of the faith of that church and its spread.  The people were sharing the Gospel and maturing in their faith.  And this gave Paul a since of pride, even though He, at this point, had never been to Rome.

What would your letter say?  Would you be praised for your faith, and all of the good things that you are doing?  What would it say?

Thanks for reading, and God bless you all!

The Real Black Friday

I simply love this time of year.  Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday.  Taking a specific time out of the year, and yes away from work, to do nothing more than to be thankful for all that God has blessed me with.  I also enjoy this time of year because I was born on Thanksgiving day.  It always seems nice to mix the turkey, dressing, and all the fixings with birthday cake!  And as much as I had dreaded my next birthday this year (saying goodbye to my 20's), I felt the need to look at my life and see all the ways that I had been blessed these 30 years.  And with those blessings in mind, look to the future at what God may have in store for me in the next 30 years.  I am truly thankful for all the things that I have been blessed with.  Most importantly, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who is my Lord and Savior.  Now I know you may be thinking, where is he going with this since to post is titled about this coming Friday.

Psalms 95:1-3
"O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.  For the Lord is a great God, And a great King above all gods,"

It is an odd thing to me at what happens this time of year.  Now I will admit that my wife and I do get a lot of shopping done on the day after Thanksgiving.  But we do not let it take away from the joy of this time of year like many people do.  It is amazing that the people in this country that I love will spend an entire day being thankful for what they have, and the next day act like rabid animals to try to secure what they want.  It just seems peculiar to me.  Now I am not including everyone in this, because I have friends that view it just the same way I do.  It is a good chance to get a lot of gift shopping done for a low price.  My wife and I usually make a date day out of it.  A time to enjoy being with each other away from the kids.  But for a lot of people, where is the thanks?  The only conclusion that I can come to is the lack of Christ in their lives.  One who is truly saved has the mindset of the psalm above.  Singing, whether aloud or just in our hearts, for the joy that we have in our salvation through Christ Jesus.  These are one of the things that should be foremost in our minds, not just one day a year in Thanksgiving, and then truly forgotten the day after.  So I would like to turn attention to what I feel is the real Black Friday of Christianity.

Luke 23:33-49
"When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”  It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.” And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things."

I will be honest with you.  I was lead to this idea over Facebook last night.  My wife found a picture on Facebook referring to this idea, and when I checked my own page, I found that quite a few on my friends list had shared it as well. These events that took place on a Friday are the fundamental basis for all that we as Christians should be thankful for.  For if it were not for his death on the cross, we would have no hope of eternal life.  He paid the ultimate price for us as a gift of life.

Romans 6:22-23
" But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Our life no longer belongs to us.  By being declared sanctified, and receiving eternal life through His sacrifice we must become slaves to His will.  Now I know that term "slave" is not a popular one.  However, it is repeated all throughout the scriptures.  Some versions have made it sound nicer by using the phrase bond-servent.  But the original Greek word there in those places is literally translated to slave.  Which, in essence means that we live to serve Him.  It does not matter how it may affect our live styles and the things that we want.  It is all about Him.  And if it were not for Him, we would all go to Hell.  As Paul wrote to the church at Rome above, the wages of sin is death.  Death is the only payment option valid for the sin in our lives.  Jesus paid that price for us.  And for that, we should be forever thankful.  Thankful that we have the opportunity to go to heaven when our time comes.  It is the only way.

It is my prayer that I and those around me will be thankful everyday for this gift, not just this Thursday.  However, I also pray that each of you that read this make it a point on Thursday when you are with family and friends celebrating this time, that you would openly voice your thanks for the sacrifice that was made for you on the Christian Black Friday.  Even if you have family there that are not believers.  What greater opportunity does that provide us to share the gospel with those who do not believe.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you have a very enjoyable and "Thankful" Thanksgiving.  May God Bless you all!

What is My Job as a Christian?

This is a question that I feel that a lot of professing believers may not be clear on.  I have on occasion asked this question to those around me and that I have contact with, and they have a hard time coming up with an answer.  Some have said that their job was to go to church every Sunday morning.  And I think to myself, is that all?  What about Sunday and Wednesday night? (Or whatever other services there are in the week)  Along with this answer I hear a lot of things that are jobs of the church.  They say their job is to be an usher, sing in the choir, or teach a class.  Now, do not get me wrong, we are called to serve.  And all of these things are necessary.  But, how do these things truly separate us from the world?  I am sure that most religions have people that do the same sort of things in their religious meetings.  What makes us different?

What we need to do is come to an understanding of what it truly means to be a Christian.  It needs to be clear every hour of every day of who we are, not by just what acts people see us do once or twice a week.

Philippians 3:7-11
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

One of the biggest things we have to do as a Christian is to show where our priorities lie.  As the Apostle Paul taught in this set of scriptures, he counted everything that he lost as rubbish.  Another word for that is dung or manure.  Paul was a wealthy man.  He was a Pharisee and a Roman citizen.   He gave up everything that he had and was to follow Christ.  And it did not phase him to do so.  Why did he do it?  So that he could "know Him."  How many times do we gladly offer to give up the things that mean the most to us in order to serve our Lord better.  So I would say that job number 1 is to sacrifice.  Jesus paid the greatest price when He died for us.  So what right do I have to put things that I want ahead of what He wants?  What right do I have to take time set aside to worship Him at church to enjoy some other fun activity with the ones that I love or are close friends with.  If they really mean that much to me, I would want them to join me in worship of the Lord.  And this is not just about church meetings.  This is in everyday life.  The marquee at my church read a couple of months ago "What gets more of your time Facebook or the Bible?"  So, do we sacrifice on a regular basis, in order to serve Him better?

John 15:5
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
  
This is a big one.  Job number 2 is to produce fruit.  What are we doing that shows our faith?  What is the evidence that we are who we say that we are?  Are we going out and sharing the gospel?  Are we loving our enemies?  Are we obeying His commands without regard to how we are seen by the world?  All of these are questions that I think that it is good to ask ourselves everyday.  It helps us to keep our focus on Christ.  There are a lot people that can talk about going to church and even quote scripture in a comfortable situation.  But are we actually living it everyday?  Are we looking for opportunities to serve and honor Christ at all times?  If we are, there will be evidence of it.

Matthew 28:19-20
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 

Job number 3 is to witness.  If we truly believe that Christ is who He says He is, then we should have the desire to share the gospel with others.  We should feel the need to go out and share the message of Christ whenever possible.  He did not say to go and get lost people and bring them to the church so the preacher could do.  He said to go and make disciples.  I think that part of this is almost foreign in some churches today.  I have talked to many people who believe that church is for the lost.  And I always respond then why do you go?  You see it is what my English teacher friends call an oxymoron.  There is this stigma that many people are lead to believe that it is all up to the pastor to do it and there is no support for that way of thinking in scripture whatsoever.  The pastor's job is to shepherd the flock.  The flock being the body of Christ, those that believe.  He is the one that is to make sure that we are getting taught the necessary tools to go out and witness.  It is our job to take what we learn at church and apply it to our lives, and to share with others that are lost.  Once that lost person comes to the point that Christ calls them because of the revelation of Himself to them, and they respond, then we bring them to church so they can learn as well.  Bottom line, it is up to us to do the witnessing.  Both by our words and our actions.

These are our main jobs.  This is what we have been called to do.  Many times it is uncomfortable and even scary.  But if Christ truly is our Lord, it will be worth it.  Nothing on this earth can compare to the glory of sitting at the feet of God in heaven when our time is up. We must be willing to sacrifice and even suffer in order to be truly His.

Thanks for reading, and I pray that God will bless you all this week! 

Who is Jesus?

You have no idea how excited that I am that school will be out soon. It is the last week of exams, and graduation is on Monday next week. I do not believe that the students understand how we as teachers need the summer break just as much, if not more than they do. As I prepare for this summer, I am looking ahead to some good intensive bible study of my own. I figure, I will have all this free time, what better way to spend it than to dive into the Word of God. Not just to read, but to study, and break down scriptures to gain a better understanding of the will of God. Now, do I dive right in? No, not really. Just like I do on the soccer field with my athletes, I need a good warm up. As I wrote about last week in my post Unless You Believe, I was involved in a witnessing workshop with a dear brother Marty Minto. From what I learned, I am resolved to change the way I witness. But, in order to do that, I need to spend a great deal more time in the Word. I need to spend more time on the Gospel of Christ and His salvation.

The most important question to be asked is who is Jesus? I know, it seems a little weird to ask this question. You would think that most people have heard of Jesus. But, how do we know? Have we ever really asked that question to someone to see what their answer would be? I did here recently, and here are some of the responses that I got. 1. "He is the guy we learn about at church." 2. "He is the leader of Christianity." 3. "He is a good buddy of mine." 4. "He is the Son of God, Savior, Messiah." Do the first three answers surprise you? Do you think that they "really" know who Jesus is? So, who is He? Let's check the Bible.

Jesus asked the same question in the bible.

Matthew 16:13
"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”"

The following are a list of things people, at His time, thought He was.

1. A resurrected prophet. Matthew 16:14 - " And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”"

2. A carpenter's son with brothers and sisters. Matthew 13:54-56 - "He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”"

3. He was a lunatic. Mark 3:20-21 - "And He *came home, and the crowd *gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “ He has lost His senses.”"

4. He was a good man/liar. John 7:12 - "There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.”"

5. He was possessed. John 10:19-21 - "A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”"

But who is He really? He IS God!
Hebrews 1:8
"But of the Son He says,“ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom."

John 1:1-3;14
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.....And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 5:17-18
"But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God."

John 8:23-24;58
"And He was saying to them, “ You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”.....Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”"

John 10:30-33
"I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”"

John 14:23
"Jesus answered and said to him, “ If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."

And there is so much more! Some of this I learned from my brother Marty, and some on my own research on the subject. But as for the rest, it will have to wait until a later post. This is just the start of my studies. As I learn more, I will share more. It is my prayer that this will aid in your understanding of who Jesus is, and help you in your daily witness.

Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!

Unless You Believe

WOW! What a weekend. I have had a great and exciting past few days. And they could not have been timed any better. With state tests coming the next few days at work, I really needed the pep up. My daughter turned 1 and we had two birthday parties for her. One on Friday, and the other on Saturday. On Monday, we celebrated the holiday with friends with a cookout and fireworks. All of these were great in themselves, but I have to say that Sunday afternoon was the best pick-me-up of the whole weekend.

Sunday afternoon at church, we had a guest speaker come to our church to do an evangelism/apologetics workshop. His name is Marty Minto, and he has a Christian talk show on 100.9 out of Fairmont, NC. He by far is one of my favorite speakers. But in a way that may be different from some. It is not how he presents the Word to us, but how he dissects the Word to give accurate teaching. The name of the workshop is Unless You Believe. And it stems from this verse.

John 8:24
"...for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

Now, I know that I have my issues with witnessing to those around me. But, I was eager to learn his point of view. I thought that I could get a few things to add to my "toolbox" so to speak. I was blown away by what I learned. Almost every time that I try to witness to someone, I spent most of my time defending all the scriptures. The main focus of witnessing should be sharing the gospel. The ins and outs of how a church should be run, and what makes my church different has nothing to do with the gospel. I had taken a man-centered approach to witnessing, instead of a Christ-centered approach. It's not about church, or how we stand on certain issues. It is solely about Christ. Once the gospel of Christ is heard, and salvation occurs, then the rest will come. You see, man cannot understand the ways of God without salvation. And even then, we will never be able to comprehend it all.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25
"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

So, how do I go about now with witnessing to others?

1. I need to understand that the world is lost. At one time I was in the same shape. I did not have the understanding that has been given to me since I have been saved. Jesus died for their sins, just like He did mine. The things people do are a result of the sin in their life, just as I had.

2. I need to understand that those in the world will not understand. There are many people on this earth who have never heard about Jesus. They have never had anyone tell them about them. I cannot expect them to become truly saved after spending two or three minutes with them. And I have to accept the fact that they may not respond the way I think they should.

3. I need to stick just to the gospel. My entire focus needs to be on the life of Christ. I need to share with them about His birth, life, death, and resurrection. That in itself is the gospel message. I do not need to get caught up in other debates, because they will not understand where I am coming from. I just need to focus on telling them who Jesus is. I just need to plant that seed and trust in God with the rest.

4. I need to pray for the lost daily. I need to pray for those that I come into contact with that I know are lost. I need to pray that God will open their eyes to the gospel. I need to pray that I will have the right words to say to them when their path is laid before me.

I have learned so much from this study about how to witness to people. I have also learned once again that I still have a lot to learn. It is my prayer, that I become more effective in my witnessing to others.

Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!

Tapan Kumar Roy: Bangladesh

Keeping with something that I started last year, I am posting the story of a martyr for Christ today. When we read these stories, we get a real since of how the world truly hates what we believe. And, it also gives us true, present day heros to look up to. It has always been my prayer that if something like what happens in these stories were to happen to me, that I would be bold enough to defend the Gospel no matter the cost. Today's story is of a man named Tapan who lived in the Southeast Asian country of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is dominated by the Muslim religion. The story of his witness comes from a journal kept by his sister in which she uses to talk to God. This story may not be suitable for young children, so I caution you as you read. I found this story at www.opendoorsusa.org.

January 12, 2005—Dear God, my friends tell me that older brothers are demanding and arrogant. That may be true, but I have never seen that in my brother, Tapan. Today for my birthday, he completely surprised me by giving me a brand-new necklace! If he made it himself, it must have taken him hours, because he’s terrible with small beads.

March 9—Dear God, I’m scared! Yesterday, a pastor from a church we know was beheaded. He was murder by 10 Muslims, seven of whom are still out on the streets. Because of this, Mother and I decided not to go to church this week, but Tapan still went. I tried to tell him to stay, but he wouldn’t listen to me! He said worshiping God was more important than his safety. I suppose this is true, but I was still too scared to go. But, I did pray for him the whole time that he was gone, and he has come back home safely!

June 18—Dear God, guess what Tapan got a job with a Christian organization. He is so excited. They are called Christian Life Bangladesh, and they do medical work to help prevent AIDS, and also share the “Jesus Film” with others and tell them about Christ. I am very excited for him, but also very scared. People say that the Muslim extremists in our village have a “hit list” and that if you work for a church or Christian group, that you are put on that list. I hope that does not happen to Tapan!

July 23—Oh God, please keep Tapan safe! Today, when I was walking by the madrassa (Islamic school), one of the boys told me that if my brother keeps showing the “Jesus Film” that they’re going to do something to him! I told Tapan this, but he just calmly replied, “God is protecting me. Every day that I am alive, it is because of His mercy, and if I am hurt or killed, it will be for His glory.” God, I wish that I could just hold onto my brother and tell him that he must stay at home, or hide somewhere. But I know that is not what you want him to be doing. Please help me to be able to let him go.

July 29—God, no! No, no, no, NO!! How could they Less than three hours ago, men broke into Tapan’s room. While Tapan and his friend Liplal were sleeping, they began to stab them over and over until they were practically hacked to death. As soon as we heard their cries, we tried to get into the room, but they had chained all of our doors and the neighbor’s doors closed. We could do nothing but bang on our doors and listen to Tapan and Liplal’s screams. One of the neighbors finally broke through their door and the murderers ran off. Someone got a car and we all piled in to drive them to the hospital, but—but it was too late. Tapan was dead by the time we arrived. And so now, I’m sitting in Tapan’s room, only…he’s gone.

October 26—Dear God, I have doubted You so much over these last few months. It has been so hard having Tapan gone. I want to blame You for his death. Sometimes I think to myself, “If only Tapan had not been a Christian, than he would not have been killed!” But then I think, “If Tapan had not been a Christian then he would have been dead in his sins. How much better is it that he was free from guilt and sin and now is alive in heaven.” Yes, I know that is true. But often times a message is harder to cling to than the real, fleshly body of Tapan.

July 29, 2006—Dear God, I still believe in You. One year ago today, Muslim men martyred my brother because he was a Christian. Because of that I have struggled with hatred, bitterness, and depression, but, I have also seen Your love, strength, and compassion. It would be easy to say “I do not believe in the Christian God anymore,” but it would not be better. I can honestly say that I have felt Your presence this year. You are not the God of easy answers, magical fixes, or painless lives, but You are the God who meets us in the middle of our trials. Thank you for being real to me, my mother, and our whole church as we mourn the death of my brother.

Matthew 5:10-12
"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

I pray that we all can have a faith in God as Tapan did.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless you all this week!

Journey of Life

I am forever amazed at all the things in life that I have experienced in my short 29 years on earth. Many experiences have been joyful, and some sorrowful. There have been instances in my life in which everything seemed easy. Likewise there have been times in my life that I did not know how I would get through. And there have even been times when I questioned God as to why He was not there. And then times when I realized that He never left my side. I come to realize that the life I have lived, and the remainder of what is in front of me is a journey that everyone has to follow to it's end. The choices that we make, affect what experiences come about, and ultimately what will happen in the end.

The biggest part of this Journey, has been my commitment to serve God above all else. I have submitted my life to follow Jesus Christ where ever that may lead. And one day I will be home. However, I am not home yet. This place that I reside here on earth is nothing more than a path on my journey. And everything that I go through is just there to show me who I truly am.

Hebrews 12:1-3
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Every bad thing that occurs in our lives is nothing more than a trial. A bump in the road so to speak. How we handle this trial, or twist, helps us to identify where we really stand in our faith. As the scripture above says, run the race with endurance. This means that there are going to be many things to deal with along the way. Just because one tragedy occurs does not mean that we should give up on life, and/or question God as we sometimes do. We need to continue to seek God in those times for strength and assurance. And by continuing to fix our eyes on Christ, we can finish strong. Not only that, but we are able to show others who we really are. Not by the things that we say, but how we continue to praise God in all of our circumstances.

Psalm 23:4
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me;"

I count every trial that I have been through a blessing. That have shown me how strong, and sometimes weak, my faith is. They have taught me to rely on God more than I rely on myself and others. They have taught me to look to God for understanding of situations, and not just asking for help. Because everything that God does, He has a purpose for. And we need to realize that it helps us to grow.

Romans 5:3-5
"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

So how is your journey coming? Do you tend to see more mountains to get over, than valleys to ease through? If so, that's okay. Look for what God is trying to teach you and fix your eyes on Him. Because the journey we are on, is nothing compared to the joy and victory we receive at the end when we finally make it home.

Thanks for reading, and God bless you all!

Unity

Time for another soccer analogy! My team is doing very well this year. Part of it is due to some of the talent that I have, some due to those that have been playing for me for a few years are steadily improving, and thirdly, we are playing more like a team. Everyone has a job to perform. They have a particular assignment on the field. When everyone does their job, we are hard to beat. It is when we have a break down, that bad things happen. Players get to close to each other, their tempers flare, and we give up goals. Usually a good "talking to" at half time is needed to stress unity on the field to achieve our goal, to win. I believe that this is true for Christianity as well.

1 Corinthians 12:11-13
"But all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit."

Each Christian has their own gift from God. Mine may be different from yours, or maybe not. We are different people, but we need to keep in mind that we must work together in unity to glorify God. A good Christian co-worker of mine referenced the tower of Babel to me as we were discussing this topic. All of the people that were constructing the tower were one. They were unified, and thus, there was hardly anything they could not do. Now, their motivation was wrong, and thus their judgement was to be split apart, but there is a lesson to learn there. If we could come together about Christ, in the same manner that those people did about their motives, we could have an extremely positive impact in our communities, schools, workplaces, and even the world.

So how do we do this? It seems that many different denominations have their own ideas as to how things should be. And they spend a great deal of time arguing or picking fights about the things that each group does. For instance, at my church, the ladies wear a head covering during service. We do this per the instructions given in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. And we receive a lot of criticism for it. The point that I am trying to make is what are we allowing to be our guide for Christian living, and are we living by that guide?

2 Timothy 3:16
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;"

We need to let the scriptures be our guide, and we need to follow that guide. Think about a group of men on an expedition. Now, imagine them going to explore a region without someone to guide them. What happens? They become lost. They begin to fight among themselves over what to do and which way to go. The expedition then falls apart and fails. They all tried to lean on their own understanding and interpretation. Many times we do this. We try to understand the ways of God, and insert our own understanding to the point that it is equal with Him, whether the scriptures support it or not. And this is why we fail. This is why we have problems with unity.

James 1:22
"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves."

Not only do we need to let the scriptures be our guide, but we must follow them. We always have trouble when we get away from them. It is not always easy. And there will be struggles. And we will fail from time to time. But, if we honestly do our best to follow what the bible says, easy or not, God's grace will carry us through the mistakes.

In closing, we need to be unified in Christ. We need to let the scriptures be our guide, and we must follow them. Because anything short will cause us to fail at our mission, of sharing the gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless you all this week!

How am I remembered?

Last week, I had a home soccer game against an in county rival. Before the game started, one of my athletes from a while back showed up to watch the game. I had a chance to talk with her about what she was doing now, how was college going, don't you want to put on a uniform and get out here again? As we talked, she conveyed how much she missed high school, and how she wishes she could play for me again. She said that I was different from most coaches. I asked her how, and she replied that I live the way I talk. She said that people know what I believe when they are around me, and that I do not mind sharing that when I have the opportunity. I'll be honest, I had to fight real hard to keep my pride in check. Words like that from someone in the past makes me feel that what I am doing is really worth all the hard times that I go through. This led me to think on what kind of mark are we leaving in our wake. How are people going to remember me?

Hebrews 12:1-3
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Every where we go, we are surrounded by "witnesses". Those that are watching all that we do. Some, we have a direct influence in their lives; through work, church events, extracurricular activities, etc. Some, are just in the background. Those that are just in the crowd or passing us by when we act on something. We are always being watched. Now this is not to cause us to panic and look around us at all times looking for that person that is watching us. Instead, more of a motivation to make sure that we let Christ be seen through us.

The scripture above teaches us to lay aside every encumbrance and sin that entangles us. We are to do that not only for ourselves as we run the race of life for God, but those that are watching the race. By doing our best to live our lives for God, people see that. And if we talk about Christ with others, we need to be showing it in our walk. One of the most hurtful things I've seen, is to see someone who is always talking about Christ, and living just the opposite. Now, they may be talking a good game, but they don't show up to play. It's like I tell my athletes, don't say we are going to beat someone, and not play hard on the field and get beat. People are always watching. If they hear what you say about God, and then watch you live differently, why should they want to seek God as well? Their only example might be of someone who says, but doesn't walk it.

So, how should we go about this? We fix our eyes on Jesus. We do not just read the bible, but we become students of the bible. When we see an area in which we are weak, we make the changes in our lives. We pray for strength and guidance, and then use the strength and guidance given. And we must understand that this is not just a one time thing. We have to run our race with endurance. This means that we will do this to the end. We must constantly remind ourselves of what we are doing, and who we are living for. We must constantly combat the sin in our lives that bog us down, and gives ammunition to those who appose us. And maybe, just maybe, one of those people that are watching, will seek God, because of the faith that they see in us.

How will you be remembered?

Thanks for reading, and God Bless you all this week!

A Lesson in Faith

I am my kids' biggest hero. No matter what may come, they believe their dad can do anything. I love the feeling that I get when they make certain statements about what they are afraid of. For instance, my oldest daughter Morgan: "Daddy will beat up that mean monster if he tries to mess with me." And my son Keith, "My daddy can kick a soccer ball all the way to the clouds and catch it with his feet before it comes back to the ground." Now these are just a few of the things that they say about me that make my head swell with pride. They have so much faith in me. Now, I do not look forward to the day in which they will learn that daddy cannot do all those things. But, for the time being, I enjoy their faith.

This lead me to think on what is faith? How should I show my faith? And, what does faith do for a person. The first answer is easy. Faith by definition is the act of believing without seeing. Do we really believe that God is there, that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day? We were not there to witness these events. But do we choose to believe it anyway? I do. Something so simple as to say I believe, just like my kids do in me.

Luke 18:16-17
"But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”"

We must have this childlike faith. It is not something that we can rationalize. We just have to take it for what it is. Just like our children do when we tell them something. I have found in my little study on faith that there are three things that faith can provide for us. The first, of course, is salvation.

Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;"

Our belief in who God says He is and in His Son, is what saves us. Now I am not talking about just acknowledging that He exists. If you truly believe, you will make Him foremost in your life. You must choose to follow Him. Even Satan and all of his demons believe in God and Jesus, but they are not going to heaven.

James 2:18-20
"But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?"

The second thing that our faith gives us is hope. We are going to go through many trials in our lives. It is not because God does not love us. God is always right there. We just have to look right beside us. Many people talk about a silver lining in their troubles. I say that you will never see that silver lining if you do not look up at the storm and look for God. I have been through numerous trials in my life. And I have always looked to God for answers. And He has always been there. Most recently my 8 month old daughter had a very dangerous virus that usually turns into pneumonia and can be fatal for children her age. After the doctor checked her lungs, miraculously, there was no pneumonia. Two weeks earlier, she had a double ear infection. And she had allergic reactions to both of the medicines they tried. And I prayed for God's help and mercy to find something that she could take to clear it up. The doctor gave her a prescription that he had not prescribed for an ear infection in over ten years. Would you believe that that antibiotic is the number one drug used to treat pneumonia? You cannot tell me that this was not God! We have hope in our suffering.

Romans 5:1-4
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;"

Isaiah 41:10
"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Lastly, our faith grants us power. We gain strength from God in all our circumstances. The way we see that power is to put our faith to work. We must use it every day. All Christians receive a spiritual gift once they are saved(1 Corinthians 12). We need to use it. When we use it, we not only become stronger, but we allow others around us to see our faith in action. And when people see that we live what we believe, that holds more weight than what we say.

Psalm 138:3
"On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul."

1 Timothy 1:12
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,"

So, what is the condition of our faith? Are we living our faith where others can see it? Are we putting our faith to work? I hope you all find this helpful, as it did me.

Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!

Black Friday

I do not believe in my 29 years on this earth that I have ever seen the madness that is evident on "Black Friday." A day when common sense seems to go out of the window, all for the purpose of great deals for Christmas. People stand in lines for hours, sometimes through bitter cold, just to be the first ones in line for the item they covet for either themselves or as a gift to someone else. Our Television sets and internet pages are full of violence surrounding this day. People getting trampled, pepper sprayed, arrested, and even killed all for the sake of what they believe Christmas is all about.

Now I will admit, my wife and I did go shopping early. We got up at 4 am to head down to the stores for some of the sales. And we do save a lot of money. However, you would not see me grabbing, and snatching, and even fighting over specific items. However, my wife and I never take our mind off of what the true meaning of Christmas is. As a matter of fact, one of our main stops this year was at LifeWay Christian Book Store. And I noticed some things that were very encouraging while I was there. Number one; It was the longest line that we waited in to make a purchase. My wife and I had to wait over and hour and a half in line to check out. At Toys R Us, we did not have to wait in line at all. It was heart warming to see all of those people buying gifts with Christian influence for their loved ones. Number two; everyone was in a friendly mood. I got the chance to strike up many conversations about church, Christ, and the true meaning of Christmas. And every person that I talked to was in full agreement. There was no pushing, yelling, or fighting over gifts. Number three; I noticed much love and compassion in that store. Now, when you are in a line that long, someone is going to have to go to the bathroom. Especially since the people working the store were passing out warm drinks for everyone in line. I noticed numerous times, people leaving their spot in line to use the restroom. And the people behind them, held their spot in line for them, and even offered to hold their basket of items for them. It is amazing how the atmosphere can change when you are with a huge gathering of fellow Christians.

Now with all this going on last week, I wondered. What would it be like if everyone put the same effort in to seeking Christ, as they do that gift they want to buy. Many people fight hard and do some of the most amazing things when they find out that they can get something for free on Black Friday. But, why do they not do the same thing for salvation. Salvation through belief in Christ Jesus as our Master and Savior is a free gift. The price has already been paid. Jesus gave His life, on a cross so that we might have eternal life for free.

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Romans 10:9-10
"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

Acts 4:11-12
"He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

Ephesians 1:13
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,"

So, why are people not waiting in line to receive salvation? I think one of the main problems is advertising. Do they know about Christ, and His sacrifice? Do they understand that without Him they are condemned? Do they know exactly how much God loves them? We see all sorts of advertizements on TV, newspapers, and catalogs on all the things on sale. So how do we advertize? We witness to others. We tell them the story of Jesus. We tell them the gospel(good news). And this season is the perfect opportunity. We will come into contact with so many people this time of year, and we should seize every opportunity to share with them the true meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of our Savior. We stand beside them in line. We visit them at family get-togethers. We sit beside them in a crammed food court. There are so many opportunities that we have to advertize for Christ.

Matthew 28:19-20
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Acts 22:15
"For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard."

Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

So I encourage you today, do not let the true meaning of this season be forgotten in all that we do. And make sure to take time to tell someone of our Savior's birth, and the gift of salvation that He brought with Him.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless You all this week!

This person?

I am extremely encouraged today. Last night, one of the young men that our assembly loves dearly came to know the Lord last night. PRAISE GOD! So I will ask you all to keep him in your prayers. Thinking on this topic lead me to think about those that we may think will never get saved. Those that just do so many things wrong that we sort of stay away from instead of witnessing to. And when they do get saved, it is like 'really'? That guy? These situations remind me of a set of scripture in Acts. Acts 9:17 reads "So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” When we sit back and read the whole story of Saul's conversion we see that Ananias was given a vision to go and lay hands on Saul. And that Saul was praying. This news stunned Ananias. He had heard of all the horrible things that Saul was doing. He knew that he was responsible for the death of many Christians. However, Ananias put his trust in God, and went to where Saul was and laid hands on him to receive his sight once again. Saul's name was later changed to Paul, and he became one of the greatest evangelists ever seen. Know I am sure Ananias was thinking 'wait, this guy? are you serious'? This story just goes to show us that God is in control. We may not always understand all of the situations around us. We may not see the path that God has laid before the people around us. Christ Himself told Peter not to worry about what John was supposed to do before He ascended into heaven. We must however be obedient to God's Word. We do not have the right to pick and choose who we witness to. The great commission at the end of the Gospel of Matthew does not say to witness to who we want. It tells us to spread the Word to "all" nations. And when we see this person that has come to know God, who has gotten saved, it is our responsibility to give that person as much support and love as we can. No matter who they were before Christ. Because Christ did the same for us. And if He can overlook the person that I was before He saved me, then I can do the same to everyone else.

Thanks, and God Bless You all this week!

End of Time?

I know that many of you have heard about or seen in the news about this group of people that said the world would end soon. That the rapture would have been this past Saturday at 6pm and the actual "Doomsday" would be in October. Well, I am still here. I have not gone anywhere. The truth of the matter is that none of us know when the world is going to end. Matthew 24:36 reads "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." Jesus Himself does not even know when the rapture is going to be. Only God the Father does. With that being said I would caution you when you here someone say that they have figured it out. What makes them great enough to be let in on a secret from God that He will not even tell His Son? But, one thing that this whole false prophecy has done, is to cause people to think about the end of time. Should we be actively searching the scriptures for a secret that will tell us the exact day? No! Should we be selling all we have and quit working because it will all be over soon? Definitely not. What we should be doing, is carrying on what Jesus told us to do before He returned. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus commanded "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." And if you flip your bible over the the book of Acts in the first chapter verses 7-11, it teaches that the disciples were chastised for watching the clouds. Is the end of the world coming soon? I believe so. But, instead of looking for the end, I feel it more important to witness and share the Gospel of Christ with as many people as possible. The exact day in which I will be raptured, or the appointed time for me to die is none of my concern. That is God's business. My business is to do the best I can with what time God has given me.

Thanks and God Bless you all this week!

How can God use someone like me?

Before I begin this post I would like to thank the Lord for the way that He has used me and this small blog. I have just received notice of people from Canada and Germany taking time to read these small devotionals. God Bless you. I never dreamed that these small devotions would be seen outside of the country. I have learned never to doubt what God can do. This led me to think about why God would want to use someone like me. I have no special divinity degree. I am not a seasoned pastor or church elder. I do not have the experience that some of the church goers that I look up to that have been saved for many years. I know that many of the people that I talk to on a daily basis usually do not have a lot of ways to serve because they believe that they are too young, have not been saved long enough, or do not have the knowledge and experience of others. But things like that mean nothing to God. When we read through the Gospels, Christ did not choose the people who were the big religious people of the times. He picked common everyday people to be His disciples. All He really needs is a willing heart, and someone with faith. If we remain faithful to Him, and trust Him, He can do great things through us. It is not because we are anything special. Acts 13:24-26 teaches that even John the Baptist said that He was not even worthy to untie his sandals. When we have the attitude of service for our Lord, an attitude that it does not matter what anyone thinks but my God. That is the type of person that He uses. Whether it is to preach, teach a class, clean the church, serving in a witness ministry, or to hand out bulletins when people go into the church, God is using you. And our God is great enough to do great things through anyone. Even me and you.

Thanks and God Bless you all this week!

Tough Times

Regretfully I am a little late on this week's post. Circumstances being as they are, have made it somewhat difficult to keep updated. I first of all would like you all to pray for my wife Jenny. She is 28 weeks pregnant and trying to go into labor. The doctors have done what they can to stop the labor and she is on bed rest. Whatever the circumstances may be, the sad thing is some of the comments that I have endured. Many people that spend any time around me know where I stand on God. I am not ashamed of what I believe, nor will I fear the ridicule that comes. My strength comes from the Lord. I have always told people that God has provided for us, and I will not lose hope. I am amazed at the thought of people actually looking for me to break. But I say this to you, My God is faithful. No matter the circumstances, nor the outcome, I will not cease to praise the Lord. King David said it well in Psalm 3:1-6. "O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, God will not deliver him. But you are a shield around me, O LORD; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side." I have always believed that a person's actions are the best witness of what one truly believes. It is one thing to say what you believe, but it is an entirely different thing to act on what you say. Even though there are those around us that doubt us and are waiting to see us fall, we must be vigilant in our trust and faith in the Lord. And maybe, just maybe, some of the ones that wait for us to fall, will truly see a miracle in the way that God is faithful to us, and want to know God as well.

Thanks and God Bless you all this week.

I refuse

These past couple of months I have been blessed to see some wonderful miracles in my life and in those around me. Praise the Lord we have had 8 people saved at our church in the last few months. Prayer really works. We have been actively praying for a long time for our new brothers and sisters. The sad thing is, you just do not hear of people getting saved like we did years ago. It is becoming uncommon in today's society. Many people are in a state of false assurance these days. Back in the 1980's Rev. Billy Graham estimated that 85% of all church goers are not saved. That is staggering! What is the reason for this. I have an idea that I would like you to entertain for a moment. How many of us are actively looking for ways to serve Him and be an active witness for Him in our daily walk? I know that I am guilty of this, being caught up in the worries and happenings of this life. Many times we seem to have our blinders on to God. We do not think actively every day of how best to serve Him. Because of this, the gospel of Christ has become diluted, and somewhat misconstrued by some "so-called" believers. The only way to combat this is to do what scripture teaches. In Matthew 28:19 Christ says "Go and make disciples of all nations...." He did not say when you feel like it, or when you have time in your schedule. He said "GO". In 2 Timothy 4:2-5, Paul charges Timothy "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." We have a job to do. These scriptures were not just for the recipients of the message, but to all of us. I refuse now to stand by and let others be an example for me. I refuse not to take a stand. I refuse to putting other things ahead of my bible reading time. I refuse to not witness based on what others may think of me. I hope that all of you that read this, will join me in a refusal to just stand idly by and "GO" to work for Him before it is too late.

Thanks and God Bless You this week.

How does our speech affect our lives?

Many times we catch ourselves in a moment saying "I really wish I had not said that." Often times we tend to speak before we think. Speech can be very powerful in both good and harmful ways. James 3:8-10 reads "But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way." As believers, we need to be extremely careful of the things that we say. If a lost person sees us saying all the right things with certain people and hear us talking ugly and using bad language with others, it hurts our witness. As James said in verse ten "these things ought not to be this way." We need to remember that all men are created in His image, and because of this, we have no right to curse them. That right belongs to the only righteous judge, Jesus. So, fill your heart with the love and teachings of Christ. Look for every opportunity to use your tongue as a blessing, and not a stumbling block for others. And when the time comes that we do slip up, use your tongue to ask forgiveness and make things right.

Thanks and God Bless You this week