Friday, April 20, 2012

Thankful to be alive! Psalm 23:18; Romans 6:11

Good morning everyone,
To be alive is to know that beyond a shadow of a doubt that your future is secure!  If you don't have that security, you may ought to check your pulse.  Psalm 23:18 tells us there is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.  To know Jesus personally on a first name basis is something you should be willing to tell others about.  A lot of folks believe that He is someone that is unreachable.  They think that He is someone that doesn't have enough time for them to deal with their little problems.  Well, I'm here to tell you that He is outside of time.  Since He created time, if He wants to stop the clock, He will do that so that He can squeeze you into His appointment calender.  He is just as excited to spend time with you as you are to chose to spend time with Him!  See, every moment that you are awake is reason to celebrate that you are alive and to be 'alive in Christ' is the greatest victory that you could ever accomplish.  You could question the most famous people that have come and gone, and their dilemmas are all the same.   What did my accomplishments get me if I failed to know Jesus?  The legacy that you leave may be written down for people to marvel at for the next hundred years or so.  A hero one moment; forgotten the next.  To know Christ; eternity with the Savior!  Which path do you want to take?  Romans 6:11 sums it up best for each of us:  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Faith and Trust should go hand in hand! Hebrews 11:1; Psalm 25:2

Good morning everyone,
When we have faith, we are told in Hebrew 11:1 that we have confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  When we trust the Lord to do His work, Psalm 25:2 says that I trust in You; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.  Both faith and trust are only as good as the object in which they are placed.  When we pray for others and expect anything less than a miraculous outcome, then we are selling God short of what He is capable of doing!  See, we are instructed to pray for situations and then we are to let God do His healing (physical, Spiritual, emotional, etc) based on His time table.  When you see individuals around you that are struggling and you pass over them lightly without praying for them, you are choosing to ignore what God is putting in your path!  Why?  Because I have so much on my plate already that I have no room to pray for other concerns. Really!  We get so wound up with our own situations that we fail to see the pressing situations that God puts in our pathway to address right now.  A lot of sick people went to the doctor and 2 doctors started examining the people.  One was a real doctor and one was a make-believe doctor.   Which one would you prefer to be examined by?  Well that holds true for our Creator!  He examines situations 24/7 and yet we think our situations are the most pressing and we trust others to take care of those situations over Him!  If we allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct our thoughts about any and all situations, our actions will speak for themselves.  Ask Him to inject in you a faith and a trust that will allow others to see His pure and perfect will carried out in your life!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Being persistent and consistent! Luke 18:1

Good morning everyone,
There are times when we all feel as though we want to give up whether it be the situation that we find ourselves in right now or the situation that we will eventually go through down the road!  Little things that we normally do that are easy become chores and He wants us to be consistent and persistent in how we handle those chores.  Luke 18:1 says He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.  You may have been praying for a situation that you find yourself in or maybe for someone else and those prayers seem to be fruitless (you've lost heart)!  My wife has reminded me this week how little we really are in control of and how important it is to turn each and everything over to the One who can make all the difference.  See our prayer life should be more about allowing Him to mold us into individuals that have a heart for every situation we encounter.  The next time someone is rude to you or cuts you off on the road, pray for them!  Pray that Jesus changes your heart to have compassion for situations that you would normally lose heart.  Once you've prayed about something, it really is in His hands.  Those hands that were nailed to the cross are the same hands that are ready to give hope to the hopeless!  Prayer makes us more like Him and it changes how we see things.  Just like Deborah has poured out an extra supply of compassion on me these last few weeks, let me encourage you to do the same for someone that you encounter that is struggling.  Psalm 25:5 says, 'Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.'
Your brother in Christ,
p

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Crying out to Jesus! Isaiah 44:2-4

Good morning everyone,
Have you ever felt as though you are present in body but not sure how to do things naturally because they become labored?  Your physical ability doesn't keep you from doing them but you feel as though you are wandering in the desert, searching for water because you've become parched!  You've lost your ability to do simple things and you find yourself making a lot of mental mistakes.  This morning, I find it very difficult to give you anything of value.  Normally I encourage you to spend time with Jesus and a lot of your questions will be answered.  I still encourage that and that works great unless you don't give Him adequate time to work through you.  It is like asking a question of someone and then not listening to the answer.  What is the purpose?  God allows you to be in that parched land so that you will cry out to Him!  Listening to His voice is the key that I've ignored lately.  I've asked Him lots of questions, but then I've proceeded to do it my way!  As you cry out to Him, ask Him to allow you to be still!  Once He has given you the entire picture, proceed with caution!  He wants all of you (me) so that He can work in you and through you so that the results are His!  Isaiah 44:2-4 assures us by saying that the Lord made us and we should not be scared.  That He will pour water on our thirsty souls and the Holy Spirit will bless our descendants.  Reflect on these verses and know that God will never leave your side even when you feel as though you are wearily walking in a parched land! 
Your brother in Christ,
p   

Friday, April 13, 2012

Lost and found! Jeremiah 50:6; Luke 15:5-7

Good morning everyone,
Jeremiah 50:6 says, 'My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains.  They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place.'  For 40 years, Israel had no home except wandering in the desert; lost, frustrated, and ready to give up. They were so close to the promised land but were not allowed to enter.  Do any of you have the same issue that I have in getting lost?  My wife is constantly reminding me to go the opposite direction from which my internal gps wants to go.  Many of you who have driven with me experience the same frustration.  I always feel as though I'm driving in unfamiliar territory.  Fortunately I have tools to help me find my way (mostly Deborah or one of you).  Even though many of you don't have directional issues while driving, there is a much bigger picture about being 'lost' that is at stake.  Unless we listen to His daily directions, we will be wandering around in unfamiliar territory!  Lamentations 3:19 reminds us that with wandering comes bitterness and gall.  Luke 15:5-7 are verses that we should praise God about because all of us were once lost before we were found.  And when He finds it, He joyfully puts it on His shoulders and goes home.  Then He calls His friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with Me; I have found My lost sheep.'  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  We all need to repent!  Ask the Holy Spirit to work in and through you to clean out all the bitterness and gall that you seem to want to hold on to!  Before you know it, the landscape will be cleared and the pathway will be crystal clear!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Getting out of the mire! Psalm 40:2; Psalm 69:14

Good morning everyone,
Have you ever felt as though you can't get your footing?  Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in a rut where my wheels are spinning but I don't get anywhere!  The rut just gets deeper and deeper, until I completely stop what I'm doing and realize it is going to take something extra special to get me out.  When we cry out to God and allow the Holy Spirit to lift us from the mire, then we are able to go forward.  See, sometimes in order to get our attention, He stops us in our tracks to say to us that we are doing it all wrong.  On the surface the rut may appear to be shallow but then we find it to be extremely deep and we bottom out.  Psalm 40:2 tells us that He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  We can fool our self and believe that we can go it alone but I'm here to tell you that only He is able to give you a firm place to stand.  Psalm 69:14 says rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.  Mire reminds me of quick sand.  The harder you fight, trudge and flounder, the more you sink.  Remember to stop the insanity of doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.  Try it His way!  Your way isn't working and He is telling you that He is ready to put you on solid ground!  He doesn't mean for you to give up.  He is simply asking you to listen to Him and try His way rather than do it the way you've been doing it!  When you feel as though you're losing control and people are attacking you for no justifiable reason, ask the Holy Spirit to work through you to deliver Godly results.  Who knows?  Maybe God has 'fruit' written all over that opportunity!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Lord, I'm amazed! Luke 5:26

Good morning everyone,
Are you amazed?  Amazed that He loves you @ any and all given points of your life!  To be real honest, I'm surprised by the way I treat Him, that He gives me a second look.  But because of His amazing grace, He is there when I don't even notice Him.  The minute I get in trouble and I call out to Him, He quickly reminds me that He is still there and He never left me.  Luke 5:26 tells us that everyone was amazed and they gave praise to God.  They were filled with awe and said, 'We have seen remarkable things today.'  Have you seen anything remarkable lately or have you been too busy being busy?  Lincoln Brewster sings the song I'm amazed how You love me.  In one of the lines, he sings how deep, how wide, how great is Your love for me?  We should stand in awe (fall on our knees) and praise Him because of that vastness that He displays for all of us.  Vastness can be defined as enormous or immense.  Even though He created more stars and planets than we can literally count, it is mind boggling to know that He cares more about His relationship with you.  Our God is the greatest 'project maker' ever and His top concern is for your soul!  That tells me I should take time with Him and give Him more than a look in His general direction.  His display of the universe is His gift to you so that you will not quickly forget who He is!  When we don't keep things in prospective and we get too big for our britches, we should quickly check out His creation.  By the way, you are part of that creation and the Holy Spirit is ready to take you on an amusement ride all through that creation that will blow your socks off!  Hold on and let the ride begin and soak in all that He has in store for you and be amazed!
Your brother in Christ,

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

What is the reward? 1 Peter 1:4

Good morning everyone,
Sometimes we get off track when we take our eyes off of the reward or the prize.  We have so many distractions that it is very easy to forget that He has prepared a place for all of us that is so much more than where we are right now!  You can think about the most beautiful, enjoyable vacation that you can imagine and it doesn't come close to what will be for your final stop.  That also holds true for those folks who are experiencing trauma in their life right now!  Everything that you experience is temporary as long as you are physically still here.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 tells us that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build.  1 Peter 1:4 reminds us that our reward is an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading!  Eternal and not temporary!  Imperishable means that it will not rot or become tarnished; undefiled means that it will not become soiled or dirty; unfading means that it will maintain its brilliance and luster.  When you get something new, for a time, you sometimes are enamored by its beauty but that beauty quickly vanishes because of the tarnished, soiled or faded nature of the object.  Don't place too much attention on things that will lose their value and importance.  Instead, invest in the One who has given you a 'guarantee' that no one else or nothing else can give!  See, guarantees are only as good as the object in which they are placed.  Even if you have something that offers a lifetime guarantee, that means your physical life!  His reward is a guarantee that is eternal!  Choose today whom you will serve.  As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Your brother in Christ,
p

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

What does Easter mean to you? 1 Peter 1:3

Good morning everyone,
1 Peter 1:3 says, 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.'  Easter Sunday is a day to celebrate your freedom from death of sin!  No matter how good of a person you think you are, without accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, this coming Sunday is just another day. Honoring Him for what He did for you and I is the smart thing to do.  After all, He died for you so that His resurrection would complete the story!  See even His physical death did not keep Him in the grave just like your physical death is only temporary.  Accepting Him is number 1 because it is saying that you believe He is who He said He is.  After accepting Him, it is important that you acknowledge Him and allow Him to change you.  It is a continual life long process to die to sin daily and allow the Holy Spirit to resonate throughout your being.  Dead to sin and alive to newness of life in Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit forces out sin because it takes over the place where sin use to reside.  I don't know about you, but that should give us a hope which produces a celebration in us that is continual all year long.  Celebrate Him by sharing with others all that He is to you so they too can have the same hope!  If you want to be contagious, there is nothing better than being infected by the blood of Jesus Christ!  Go out today and infect someone else!!
Your brother in Christ,
p