Do you thrive or do you just survive? Proverbs 11:28

Good evening everyone,
Many of us just do the basic stuff that we need to do to get by and I think I do that a lot also!  We don't want to step on toes because we think we need to let people believe what they want, give them space, and let them determine their own destination!  Is that what Christ did?  I don't think so!  He let people believe what they wanted but He never shied away from the Truth!  He didn't shy away from letting people know when they were totally off course!  A song I have on a new cd by Swithfoot has a great line in the words and it goes like this;  Am I here to just survive or do I want to thrive?  Folks, in order to thrive, you've got to be willing to step outside of the box and take a chance occasionally!  It may not always be the right decision, but it may give you the opportunity to see things from a totally new prospective.  I work in sales and occasionally I'll talk to my co-workers when I get the opportunity to share the keys to my previous successes.  First of all, if I'm successful, it is only because He allowed me to have success.  So number 1, the credit goes to the Father.  Secondly if you don't want to make adjustments in the way you do things, don't expect any different results (myself included)!  If you look over the course of history, all of the people that are considered successful, all failed many times before they had success.  Let me suggest that you consider the fact that God has so much more in store for your life than what you may have experienced up to this point.  Never, never stop giving Him credit and before you know it, success will be measured in a whole new way when you look at your life!  God talks throughout the Bible about thriving and in Proverbs 11:28 we are reminded that those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.  Will you thrive or will you just survive?  Pray that God will help you trust Him with your whole heart so that no matter what situation you are faced with, He will give you a new prospective to see it in a different light!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thanking God for you! 1 Thessalonians 1:2

Good evening everyone,
1 Thessalonians 1:2 says, 'We thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.'  When you think about your brothers and sisters in the Lord, can you say that you continually pray for them like Paul did for the Thessalonians?  The power of prayer is better than any gift that you can give to someone!  And your prayer does matter!  It is amazing to me how many times I see my prayer answered before I can even put in on paper or before it even leaves my mouth.  Ladies and gentlemen, God knows your heart and He is capable of answering before you have even conceived the idea of praying!  With that said, I will get an email and someone is requesting prayer!  God prompts me to pray for that individual and at that point, I make a conscious effort to either pray or put it off!  Sometimes when I take the few seconds that it takes to respond, whether in writing or just speaking it, I will go down a few more emails and realize that it has already been answered!  The important thing is when God prompts, don't delay.  His desire is for you to listen and obey!  In the previous verse I would like to say that I love each of you so much as brothers and sisters in the Lord that my desire is to pray for you continually.  I learned a long time ago that when someone ask you to pray for them, if you delay, you will get too busy and more times than not your remembering to pray for that person will sort of fall through the cracks.  If someone ask you to pray, stop what you are doing long enough to shout out to the Lord!  Your Father is always ready to text you back!
Your brother in Christ,
p

What is your favorite scripture? John 3:16-17

Good morning everyone,
When I prepare for the devotionals that I send to you, I usually look at the Bible Gateway website because if I'm looking for topic, I can plug one word in and it will identify a number of different scriptures.  I can also plug in a particular verse and it will show me a variety of different languages and versions.  A great tool to help you with your daily walk.  What caught my eye this morning was an article about the top 10 most searched bible verses from the 8 million visitors who stop by their website each month.  See if one of these verses is your favorite or let me know if you have a different one.

   (10) Matthew 28:19-'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.'
   (9) Philippians 4:6-'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.'
   (8) Romans 12:2-'Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.'
   (7) Proverbs 3:6-'In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.'
   (6) Proverbs 3:5-'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.'
   (5) Genesis 1:1-'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.'
   (4) Philippians 4:13-'I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.'
   (3) Romans 8:28-'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.'
  (2) Jeremiah 29:11-'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'
  (1) John 3:16-'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.'


There are so many favorites of mine but for the moment John 3:17 comes to mind because God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it.  That gives me 'incredible hope.'  Brothers and sisters, get to know your Bible so that you know where to go when you need to and you will find that you will never leave home without it! By the way, it is the Sword of Truth and it will protect you from anything that this world has to throw at you!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Will you recognize Him when He reveals Himself to you? John 21:1-25

Good morning everyone,
It seems simple enough to think that we would recognize Jesus if He were to be in our presence.  Yet those that knew Him intimately, those closest to Him, failed to realize who He was when He showed them how to fish.  Now the story in John 21:1-25 is much bigger than the disciples just catching a bunch of fish.  Jesus was trying to tell them a story to show them how to be 'fishers of men.'  How many times do you know something is from the Lord, but doubt creeps in and makes you wonder?  How many times do we give credit to others when the credit should go to the Lord?  Life is about us being ready to serve the Lord with our whole heart!  It is about us being ready to show compassion to folks that don't know Him as their Lord and Savior!  Think back about your journey and how your being lost equated to You not knowing Him intimately! Not identifying with having patience and compassion for the hurting world!  All that changed or should change when you said yes to following Him.  It is amazing how things become clearer when you take your eyes off of your own self.  When you stop dancing for yourself and you start dancing for Jesus Christ!  He gives us opportunities daily to interact with folks that are down and out.  Will you be ready to be sensitive to those that He sends across your path?  It may be an opportunity for you to entertain angels!  Hebrews 13:2 says, 'Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.'  My prayer for each of you is to show compassion as opportunity crosses your path and you recognize Him when He reveals Himself to you!
Your brother in Christ,
p 

This is just a stop on the way! 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Good morning everyone,
Have you ever wondered why you were created?  Have you ever wondered why your were special enough to actually be one that survived all the possibilities of not being here?  Think a minute brothers and sisters!  This life is all due to the fact that God thought you were important enough to spend a little time of eternity on this planet earth.  In other words, He thinks that you are important enough to be placed here in this temporary home as you pass through to something much greater!  Think of this period of time as your elementary stage in preparation for what is in store.  1 Corinthians 2:9 says, 'But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.'  Something so big that we would not fully understand even if we knew exactly what He has prepared.  Hopefully you are tracking with me.  It is kind of mind boggling to think that each of us have an opportunity to take advantage of what God will reveal to us when the time is right.  Christmas time is coming boys and girls and the present that you are going to open is Jesus Christ himself. This is just a temporary stop on the way to where we are going!  2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says, 'For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.'  All your troubles, all your burdens, all your heartaches, all are temporary because the Present that you are going to inherit is going to take them all away.  In the mean time think of those things that are unseen and dwell on them!  May God richly Bless you as you seek His face and let Him be the Craftsman in developing you like He wants!  Enjoy Carrie Underwoods video about this being our temporary home!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Strong enough! God Bless each of you as you serve Him with your whole heart!

What do you have to offer Him? Hebrews 13:15-16

Good morning everyone,
Lord, You have given us so much!  Why am I willing to give so little?  Lord use me up and help me to give all I have so that I can be a reflection of who You are!  Help me to seek Your face so that Your instructions flow easily to me and not on deaf ears.  When You reach out to me, help me to know You so well that I carry out Your plans.  What I have to offer will never be enough, but what I have to offer is all You ask!  Hebrews 13:15-16 sums it up so well.  'Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.  And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.'  God created you so that you would always praise His name.  Luke 9:26 reminds us to not be ashamed of our Lord and Savior.  'Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.'  God did not make it complicated to worship Him and in fact, He made it very simple.  The simple minded are instructed to worship the same God that the wealthy and famous are to worship.  The problem that the wealthy face is the number of distractions they have in their way while serving Him!  If you happen to fall into that category of wealthy, I pray that you put it in prospective and give the Father the credit because He is the One that allowed you to have it!  If you fall into the category of not being wealthy, praise Him because you have less distractions.  Whether or not you are wealthy, pray to the Father that you are rich in Spirit!  By you giving your all, you give Him the things that makes Him smile!  Go out and have a Blessed day in Jesus name!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Betrayal at the very heart of the matter! John 18:1-18

Good morning everyone,
Most all of us know the story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot!  It is something that goes against everything that we hold as sacred.  It is unimaginable to think that someone so close to the Savior could be a 'turn coat!'  Jesus dined and reclined with the 12 disciples regularly and shared His most private thoughts!  To think that someone would sacrifice their entire being for 30 pieces of silver is mind boggling!  Or is it?  While this was happening, Peter, one of the 12 closest to Him, would deny knowing Him on 3 different occasions.  In Luke 9:23, Jesus said to them all, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.'  It is all very easy for us to say, 'If I was in the same situation, I would follow Jesus without having to question the matter.'  Would you now?  Following Jesus is a minute by minute commitment that we take much lighter than we should.  In order that we don't fall into the same trap that His most trusted fell into, we need to be brutally honest with Him.  The foot of the cross is where we need to lay down our non commitments and where we need to pick up our Sword and Shield!  Denying self is the biggest issue we will face because we are continually bombarded by the things of this world that are distractions from serving our risen Savior!  Jesus is in the business to forgive us when we fall short and is ready to restore us to continue to serve Him.  I say that because if He could forgive Peter for denying Him (one of His closest), why shouldn't we forgive those that are closest to us when they disappoint us?  To show you how close He was to Peter, in Matthew 18:20-22, He reminds Peter that there really is no limit to forgiveness!  We can only get that type of mind set from the One who gives you life and breath!  Connecting and staying connected with the Father is the answer and it is my prayer for each of you!
Your brother in Christ,
p      

Spread the Gospel wherever you can and if you have to, use words! Act 1:8

Good morning everyone,
Much of the time when you think of witnessing, you might think that you have to say something profound!  You might think that you have to say a lot in order to get the job done.  Pastor Bro. said at the 911 anniversary event that we are instructed to spread the Gospel whenever and wherever we can and if we have to, use words!  I feel as though that is so true!  If you really think about it, much of who we are is lived out in our actions, not in the words we say.  In Acts 1:8, Jesus says, 'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'  If we are really honest, most of us freak out at the thought of witnessing.  Yet this verse is so comforting when we think about where we get our 'power!'  It is not something you can do on your own.  It is the enveloping of the Holy Spirit!  Once the Holy Spirit has a hold of you, nothing can stop that power and we should be confident in how we trust our Savior!  He doesn't give you timidity with half knowing what to do when He fills you up.  He gives you what you need and so much more!  He wants us to spread compassion more than anything else that He has given you the ability to do.  Compassion is not difficult to live out if we truly  believe Philippians 4:12-13.  First of all the apostle Paul suffered greatly.  At times he had much; at times he had very little.  Through it all he said, 'I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'  Remember that you can witness greatly by showing compassion to your brother and sister and you really never have to say a word!
Your brother in Christ,
p       

When life throws you a curve, will you be ready to make the adjustments? Philippians 3:13

Good afternoon everyone,
When you run into a wall, you probably are going to fall down!  Will you stay down?  What reason do you have to get back up?  Have you felt as though you need a masters degree to do something that is elementary?  All these questions seem to be bombarding me as I face a lot of unknowns in my life right now.  The blessing is Jesus is Lord of my life and for that I am very grateful!  I work in sales and our business is very slow right now and when I generally have too much time on my hands, I start thinking more than I should.  If during that thinking period, I've forgotten to include my Lord and Savior, He has allowed road blocks that have caught me completely off guard.  Anytime you try to reason out your problems without including Him, most of those times, He will let you flounder until you bring Him back into the picture!  Philippians 3:13 also tells us not to flounder in our current situation, but that we should forget what is behind us and strain forward to what is ahead!  Ladies and gentlemen, you are not always going to have fast balls thrown your way!  You are going to have curve balls sent your way too!  The question is, will you be prepared to make the adjustments?  The fact of the matter is that you have very little control on what choices others make.  You have complete control on what choices you make!  If you include the Lord in those choices, you will hit a home run every time. 
Your brother in Christ,
p

Praising Him Who gives you life! Luke, Acts, 1 Corinthians

Good morning everyone,
If you just look up the words 'Praising God' on the Bible Gateway website, you will find example after example of people being healed and in return, they leave their affliction and go about praising Him who gave them life!  Many times we forget to praise the Father for all the things that He does in and through us.  Instead we focus on the trials and tribulations that we are faced with and we get side tracked so we can't see through the forest for all the trees!  I want you to do me a favor and take your eyes off of your own problems for a moment and look at someone else that is facing something much tougher than what you are battling!  You say you can't think of anyone!  What?  All you have to do is turn on the news or open up the daily paper!  Once you find an individual that meets that criteria, pray for that person.  When we take our eyes off of our problems and we pray for others, our problems become less and less of an issue.  Before you know it, you will see God working in and through your issues for His Glory to shine!  You see, we live a very uncomplicated life when we trust the Man that walked before us!  Jesus has heard it all, seen it all, and been through it all!  There is nothing that you will face that He hasn't already faced!  If you have a 'thorn' in your side like the Apostle Paul had, praise Him and watch it turn into something beautiful.  Acts 3:8 says that he jumped to his feet and began to walk.  Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.  He didn't just go about his daily grind of being afflicted.  Once the chains were gone, he had been set free and he began to show and tell everyone Who deserved the credit!  Go out and praise Him today and see what happens.  
Your brother in Christ,
p

Have you ever wondered why He seeks you? Luke 19:10

Good morning everyone,
Luke 19:10 tells us that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost!  Before we know Him, we are all lost and in need of being found.  Our hope rests in His hands and as He seeks us, may we respond by accepting His invitation to follow Him.  Our soul will never know peace until we know the Prince of Peace!  He is ready to receive us even though we are as filthy rags.  Isn't it wonderful that He is ready to clean us up so that we too can wear the garments that He has prepared for us.  Many of us feel as though we don't need fixing or cleaning up.  You would probably tell me that you had your daily shower already for the day.  Why do you need the cleaning that I'm suggesting?  Well let me tell you that the type of cleaning I'm referring to goes much deeper than anything that soap and water will take off!  We are to put on the 'new self' as we are told in Colossians 3:1-2!  'If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.'  Brothers and sisters, seek His face to find the promises that He has in store for you!
Your brother in Christ,
p