Good morning everyone,
If I ask you the question, 'Do you have tolerance for other people's pain, what would be your response?' Are there certain days when you have more patience than others? Sometimes I think God presents a situation to me and I simply close my eyes and look the other way. What? Well, I'm in a hurry Lord and I just don't have time to reach out to that person right now. Don't you find that when you are busiest and in a hurry that you go by a situation and you think back later you should have done something different? Has your heart become so calloused that you simply don't give hurting folks a second look? One day I was in one of those hurry moments when the Holy Spirit spoke into my heart and said, 'Well at least you could pray!' See, God wants us to stop, not physically always, but He wants our attention. He understands that we all have more on our plate than we should have or need to have, but He also knows that our attention is what He needs to have from us first. Once He has our attention and we start realizing that people all around us are hurting, then He wants us to look and see their pain through His eyes! Psalm 116:4-6 tells us about a condition that we are all faced with without Him ruling our hearts. Then I called on the name of the Lord: "Lord, save me!" The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, then He saved me. Maybe you ask Him to save you along time ago and God Bless you but we live in a world of hurting people. People that don't understand that they need to call out to the Lord and ask Him to save them. It might just be your compassion that brings them to the point that they realize they need the Savior. See, God puts us in situations to see if we will stop long enough so that He can use us more effectively! When we start giving our heart over to Him, He will show you what you can remove from your plate so that you have time that you didn't know existed! Compassion is a gift from God and the compassion that He has shown you is the same compassion that He wants you to show to others. Psalm 145:9 sums it up well; The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.
Your brother in Christ,
p
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Do you like status quo or are you ready for change? Jeremiah 7:5-6
Good morning everyone,
Are you concerned about the things you can change or the things you wish you could change? Everyday, I try and encourage folks to stay positive about what they experience! My wife would beg to differ sometimes because she sees me at my worst. But more so than not, the reason for my success in what I do is the ability to not let all the distractions determine my output. I have the same frustrations that the next person has, but for the most part, I stay focused on the things that I can do. For those things I can't do, I try and let them go. See, God has given me this 'special ability.' I believe each of you has been given the same opportunity to seize the moment. You may ask me, how? Well, it starts with gratitude with where you are at! Next, enjoy the moment. When you give Him praise and honor for whatever your situation is, His light will shine. It may be a different result than what you expected but it will be a result that will be more of Him and less of you! Mark 12:33 tells us to love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding, with all our strength, and to love our neighbor like we love ourselves. That is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices in the world. Maybe you don't love yourself. Well, the way that starts is knowing that God loves you! If you believe that He loves you, then you can believe that He wants you to love yourself and to share that love with others. See, the core of our being has to be love! He created us so that we would share that love with everyone that He has blessed to cross our path (not just a chosen few) so He doesn't want us to discriminate. Ask God to show you how to love the homeless, the down and out, the ones who have given up, the ones who rub you the wrong way. You were once down and out and you needed a hand. Do you remember the last dilemma you had? Who helped you get through it? You think you did it by yourself? If you believe that, you need to get on your knees and pray. God may have allowed all those broken things to happen in your life so that He could get your attention. Does He have it yet?
Why not? Do you love living in misery? If you don't want to be there, ask the Heart Surgeon to do open heart surgery on you and change that hardened heart. Praise Him, Praise Him, and Praise Him! When God hears us worship Him when we hurt, He knows that we are finally getting it. Life is not a retirement where you live without problems and issues. Real life begins when you see that dilemmas with praise are miracles lived out! The only way that can happen is by allowing Him to change you from the inside out! Jeremiah 7:5-6 says, 'If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and no not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you don't follow other gods to your own harm.' Anything outside of Him is going to be a life of toilsome misery! Start right now giving Him praise and see how He changes you!
Your brother in Christ,
p
Are you concerned about the things you can change or the things you wish you could change? Everyday, I try and encourage folks to stay positive about what they experience! My wife would beg to differ sometimes because she sees me at my worst. But more so than not, the reason for my success in what I do is the ability to not let all the distractions determine my output. I have the same frustrations that the next person has, but for the most part, I stay focused on the things that I can do. For those things I can't do, I try and let them go. See, God has given me this 'special ability.' I believe each of you has been given the same opportunity to seize the moment. You may ask me, how? Well, it starts with gratitude with where you are at! Next, enjoy the moment. When you give Him praise and honor for whatever your situation is, His light will shine. It may be a different result than what you expected but it will be a result that will be more of Him and less of you! Mark 12:33 tells us to love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding, with all our strength, and to love our neighbor like we love ourselves. That is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices in the world. Maybe you don't love yourself. Well, the way that starts is knowing that God loves you! If you believe that He loves you, then you can believe that He wants you to love yourself and to share that love with others. See, the core of our being has to be love! He created us so that we would share that love with everyone that He has blessed to cross our path (not just a chosen few) so He doesn't want us to discriminate. Ask God to show you how to love the homeless, the down and out, the ones who have given up, the ones who rub you the wrong way. You were once down and out and you needed a hand. Do you remember the last dilemma you had? Who helped you get through it? You think you did it by yourself? If you believe that, you need to get on your knees and pray. God may have allowed all those broken things to happen in your life so that He could get your attention. Does He have it yet?
Why not? Do you love living in misery? If you don't want to be there, ask the Heart Surgeon to do open heart surgery on you and change that hardened heart. Praise Him, Praise Him, and Praise Him! When God hears us worship Him when we hurt, He knows that we are finally getting it. Life is not a retirement where you live without problems and issues. Real life begins when you see that dilemmas with praise are miracles lived out! The only way that can happen is by allowing Him to change you from the inside out! Jeremiah 7:5-6 says, 'If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and no not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you don't follow other gods to your own harm.' Anything outside of Him is going to be a life of toilsome misery! Start right now giving Him praise and see how He changes you!
Your brother in Christ,
p
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Safely back in His arms! 2 Timothy 4:17-18
Good morning everyone,
Yesterday morning I got to meet the little 3 year old boy whose name is Felix that was the escape artist who got away from his mother during the night. In a room of 5 people with a stomach ache, Felix used a chair to remove the hasp on the door to go exploring. I suppose in his adventure to soothe his pain, he was rounded up by an employee of the hotel who then called the police and the search for family ensued. After his return safely to his mother, it made me think about our protection that we get from the Father on an ongoing basis. When we think we are alone, we need to remember that His embrace is right in the midst of wherever we are at! Something much bigger than physical protection is spiritual protection that Paul talks about in 2 Timothy 4:17-18: 'But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever, Amen.' Ladies and gentlemen, do you think those verses apply to you? We have the same crowd to tell our story to today. By you telling your story of what God has done in your life, not your will but His will is going to be accomplished! The unbelieving will believe. Who believes is up to Him! You just be faithful in telling your story and He will start to 'unlock' hearts in the Gentiles (unbelieving people) that you encounter. Don't be scared; just be faithful! Let us explore together and find out something a three year old possibly already knows. Look at life through the eyes of a three year old and let God lead and guide you through the adventure that you possibly missed the first time around. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how He can use even you!
Your brother in Christ,
p
Yesterday morning I got to meet the little 3 year old boy whose name is Felix that was the escape artist who got away from his mother during the night. In a room of 5 people with a stomach ache, Felix used a chair to remove the hasp on the door to go exploring. I suppose in his adventure to soothe his pain, he was rounded up by an employee of the hotel who then called the police and the search for family ensued. After his return safely to his mother, it made me think about our protection that we get from the Father on an ongoing basis. When we think we are alone, we need to remember that His embrace is right in the midst of wherever we are at! Something much bigger than physical protection is spiritual protection that Paul talks about in 2 Timothy 4:17-18: 'But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever, Amen.' Ladies and gentlemen, do you think those verses apply to you? We have the same crowd to tell our story to today. By you telling your story of what God has done in your life, not your will but His will is going to be accomplished! The unbelieving will believe. Who believes is up to Him! You just be faithful in telling your story and He will start to 'unlock' hearts in the Gentiles (unbelieving people) that you encounter. Don't be scared; just be faithful! Let us explore together and find out something a three year old possibly already knows. Look at life through the eyes of a three year old and let God lead and guide you through the adventure that you possibly missed the first time around. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how He can use even you!
Your brother in Christ,
p
Monday, March 19, 2012
Are you listening? John 10:27
Good morning everyone,
Have you ever awoken from your sleep in a daze with someone knocking on your door rather loudly? Startled and confused I stumbled to open it to find two police officers looking for the parents of a child wandering the hall ways of the hotel where I am staying. I was instantly brought to prayer to ask God to help them find the missing parent or parents to reunite them together. It also brings up the point this morning; is God knocking on the door of your heart and are you listening? Are you just allowing Him to knock or are you answering the knock? Life is full of what I call attention getter's! Many times He attempts to get our attention but we refuse to respond to Him. We ignore the rapping on our heart strings because we are so busy doing our own thing. When we listen to what He has to say, He more than likely gives us a whole new agenda! See, when we take our eyes off of our own issues and we place them on Him, He gives us a whole new set of things to be concerned about. In John 10:27, Jesus tells us that, "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow me." Another time I was staying in a hotel and I arrived in the evening to find a hearse at the front door. If that has ever happen to you, instantly a cold chill will ensue. In my case, I was brought to prayer, praying for those members of the family that were left behind. What brings you to prayer? Does it have to be something drastic before you have face time with the Father? See, the attention getter's are to remind us that He wants to have more time with us than just emergency situations! Folks, we don't know how much time we have left on this earth so we have to treat everyday like it is the day that we will meet Jesus face to face. He is knocking! Open up your heart and let Him in so that He can do heart surgery and then you will start to see radical change! You may think you are too far gone for Him to listen to you. I beg to differ! Change is hard because it involves doing things differently than what you've become accustomed to doing. 1 Samuel 10:6 tells us that when the Spirit of the Lord comes powerfully upon you, you will be changed into a different person. The older we are, the harder change is to accept unless we say today I am going to listen to His voice! Not tomorrow; TODAY is the day for you to be radically changed!
Your brother in Christ,
p
Have you ever awoken from your sleep in a daze with someone knocking on your door rather loudly? Startled and confused I stumbled to open it to find two police officers looking for the parents of a child wandering the hall ways of the hotel where I am staying. I was instantly brought to prayer to ask God to help them find the missing parent or parents to reunite them together. It also brings up the point this morning; is God knocking on the door of your heart and are you listening? Are you just allowing Him to knock or are you answering the knock? Life is full of what I call attention getter's! Many times He attempts to get our attention but we refuse to respond to Him. We ignore the rapping on our heart strings because we are so busy doing our own thing. When we listen to what He has to say, He more than likely gives us a whole new agenda! See, when we take our eyes off of our own issues and we place them on Him, He gives us a whole new set of things to be concerned about. In John 10:27, Jesus tells us that, "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow me." Another time I was staying in a hotel and I arrived in the evening to find a hearse at the front door. If that has ever happen to you, instantly a cold chill will ensue. In my case, I was brought to prayer, praying for those members of the family that were left behind. What brings you to prayer? Does it have to be something drastic before you have face time with the Father? See, the attention getter's are to remind us that He wants to have more time with us than just emergency situations! Folks, we don't know how much time we have left on this earth so we have to treat everyday like it is the day that we will meet Jesus face to face. He is knocking! Open up your heart and let Him in so that He can do heart surgery and then you will start to see radical change! You may think you are too far gone for Him to listen to you. I beg to differ! Change is hard because it involves doing things differently than what you've become accustomed to doing. 1 Samuel 10:6 tells us that when the Spirit of the Lord comes powerfully upon you, you will be changed into a different person. The older we are, the harder change is to accept unless we say today I am going to listen to His voice! Not tomorrow; TODAY is the day for you to be radically changed!
Your brother in Christ,
p
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Is your hope in the One who can save you? Psalm 25:4-6
Good morning brothers and sisters,
I pray that each of you has the time to spend with the Father this morning and are able to worship with Him. Wherever you are at, please take the time to stop what you are doing and give Him praise and honor! It will make all the difference in the world! When you hear the phrase, 'Savior of the world,' do you think that He is referring to saving you or someone else? Psalm 25:4-6 tells us to ask the Lord to show us His ways. 'Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long. Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and unfailing love, which You have shown from long ages past.' The door is open and He is ready to invite you in so that He can teach you His ways! His ways show compassion and unfailing love and He wants us to share that with the world that doesn't think that He is referring to them. Most folks feel like they are too far gone in order to be saved. Remind them that all have been lost and all have fallen short of the glory of God! Once He teaches us His ways, He doesn't just drop us off at the next bus stop; he guides us and directs us. He continues to approach us with the same love and compassion that He has always freely given even though we may not have accepted that love up to this point! My point is that now is the time to accept Him and know that He has a plan for you. See, He didn't just create you because He had a project in art class. The 'Greatest Artist' of all doesn't need practice! He created us as 'special beings' and the least we can do is show Him honor and praise! It is never too late until the Artist draws the final picture!! Start right now, today, serving Him and Him only! He will show you the Way!
Your brother in Christ,
p
I pray that each of you has the time to spend with the Father this morning and are able to worship with Him. Wherever you are at, please take the time to stop what you are doing and give Him praise and honor! It will make all the difference in the world! When you hear the phrase, 'Savior of the world,' do you think that He is referring to saving you or someone else? Psalm 25:4-6 tells us to ask the Lord to show us His ways. 'Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long. Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and unfailing love, which You have shown from long ages past.' The door is open and He is ready to invite you in so that He can teach you His ways! His ways show compassion and unfailing love and He wants us to share that with the world that doesn't think that He is referring to them. Most folks feel like they are too far gone in order to be saved. Remind them that all have been lost and all have fallen short of the glory of God! Once He teaches us His ways, He doesn't just drop us off at the next bus stop; he guides us and directs us. He continues to approach us with the same love and compassion that He has always freely given even though we may not have accepted that love up to this point! My point is that now is the time to accept Him and know that He has a plan for you. See, He didn't just create you because He had a project in art class. The 'Greatest Artist' of all doesn't need practice! He created us as 'special beings' and the least we can do is show Him honor and praise! It is never too late until the Artist draws the final picture!! Start right now, today, serving Him and Him only! He will show you the Way!
Your brother in Christ,
p
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Have you become 'old' in your thinking? Matthew 18:1-6
Good morning everyone,
In Matthew 18:1-6, Jesus tells the disciples that we all need to be like children or we will not enter the kingdom. (1) At the time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (2) And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them (3) and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (5) Whoever receives one such child in my name receives Me, (6) but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Has your way of thinking become old and stale? Ladies and gentlemen, children need direction that is toward Him or they will fall into the same pits along the road that you've traveled. Unless you humble yourself daily, you may think you have it all figured out, but God needs to remind each of us that our thinking has to be His way or we will end up in a 'lost' way! See, no matter how much wisdom you think you have, you will never know enough to find His way unless you get rid of those nasty 'old' habits that you've picked up along the way. Make your way 'His way.' The above verses tell us that children are teachable and they are humble. Are you teachable or have you got it all figured out? Do you humbly ask the Father to change you on the inside daily?
Children mirror what we do and Jesus is asking all of us to live like Him so that they will follow suit! Remember also that God is able to change us no matter what condition we've become. All you need to do is reach out to Him and ask Him to change you one thought at a time!
Your brother in Christ,
p
In Matthew 18:1-6, Jesus tells the disciples that we all need to be like children or we will not enter the kingdom. (1) At the time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (2) And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them (3) and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (5) Whoever receives one such child in my name receives Me, (6) but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Has your way of thinking become old and stale? Ladies and gentlemen, children need direction that is toward Him or they will fall into the same pits along the road that you've traveled. Unless you humble yourself daily, you may think you have it all figured out, but God needs to remind each of us that our thinking has to be His way or we will end up in a 'lost' way! See, no matter how much wisdom you think you have, you will never know enough to find His way unless you get rid of those nasty 'old' habits that you've picked up along the way. Make your way 'His way.' The above verses tell us that children are teachable and they are humble. Are you teachable or have you got it all figured out? Do you humbly ask the Father to change you on the inside daily?
Children mirror what we do and Jesus is asking all of us to live like Him so that they will follow suit! Remember also that God is able to change us no matter what condition we've become. All you need to do is reach out to Him and ask Him to change you one thought at a time!
Your brother in Christ,
p
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Are you allowing God to clean out the chaff in your life? Psalm 1:4, Matthew 3:12
Good morning everyone,
This is a great time of the year! I always love to see the trees that are bare that have tiny little buds on the end of each limb that are starting to appear. Those little buds represent new growth and a new season. Those little buds represent God giving us new hope and new direction in our lives. You and I both can be assured that He wants to prune us and to develop us into the men and women that He can use for the Kingdom. Growth sometimes hurts but it is vital whether it be a tree or it be your walk with the Lord! The dead in us has to be done away with before the growth can flourish. If you hold onto the dead, there is no room for the growth to take place! All of us have to allow God to work in and through us for the wheat to be separated from the chaff! Psalm 1:4 tells us that the wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. If you allow Him to, He will separate you from the things that are not good for you. There will have to be adjustments in your life but by leaning on His ever lasting arms, He will help you get rid of the chaff in your life. Matthew 3:12 tells us that His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. When you throw a hand full of wheat into the air that has been freshly picked, the unwanted husk or chaff will separate or blow away and the good part will fall down and be gathered! Change is good when we allow Him to separate us from the things that drag us down.
Your brother in Christ,
p
This is a great time of the year! I always love to see the trees that are bare that have tiny little buds on the end of each limb that are starting to appear. Those little buds represent new growth and a new season. Those little buds represent God giving us new hope and new direction in our lives. You and I both can be assured that He wants to prune us and to develop us into the men and women that He can use for the Kingdom. Growth sometimes hurts but it is vital whether it be a tree or it be your walk with the Lord! The dead in us has to be done away with before the growth can flourish. If you hold onto the dead, there is no room for the growth to take place! All of us have to allow God to work in and through us for the wheat to be separated from the chaff! Psalm 1:4 tells us that the wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. If you allow Him to, He will separate you from the things that are not good for you. There will have to be adjustments in your life but by leaning on His ever lasting arms, He will help you get rid of the chaff in your life. Matthew 3:12 tells us that His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. When you throw a hand full of wheat into the air that has been freshly picked, the unwanted husk or chaff will separate or blow away and the good part will fall down and be gathered! Change is good when we allow Him to separate us from the things that drag us down.
Your brother in Christ,
p
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