New Courage

This past Sunday Dr. Christ Stephens preached one of the most powerful messages I have ever heard.  I have been in church all my life and I have heard a lot of messages, so hopefully you can understand where I am coming from.  

The Apostle Paul wrote in several of his letters of our being made co-heirs with Christ.  I don't think I had ever really grasped that very statement.  Then the writer of Hebrews speaks of how Christ has done away with the need for a priest to mediate between God and man.  Both of these statements give us, as Christians, something no one else has, direct access to God.  The Bible tells us we can "come boldly" to the throne of God.  We are His very own special possession.  

I remember as a child we used to say things like "my dad can beat up your dad".  We had confidence in our fathers ability to protect us.  I find that same confidence now in God through Christ.  God is faithful to fulfill his promises and to guard us according to his will.  Everything He does is according to His mighty plan, and we can have confidence in His power and in His promise.  God does not want us to be afraid, he wants us to operate "with power, with Love, and with a sound mind"(2 Tim. 2:7).  It's time Church, to rise up and take our place along side our Father and perform His will for us through the power He provides.  We need not cower from the enemies threats.  "Greater is He that is in me, the he who is in the world".  Let's make the Journey more fruitful by being obedient through our confidence in God.

Waiting on God

When you read the Psalms, you will find the statement "I waited on the Lord".  That is a statement that, as Christians in this society and culture, we have no clue about.  We live in the most impatient culture in the world.  "Instant gratification", is a phrase we embrace.  We pray and expect God to answer immediately.  When God doesn't answer immediately, we get upset, go to the pastor and ask "why isn't God answering my prayers?".  Somewhere along the way we have mistaken our ability to "come boldly" to God as the right to have our prayers heard and answered in a manner of time that is convenient for us.  David spoke constantly on "waiting" in the Psalms.  

God always answers prayer; it's just that He doesn't always answer yes.  Sometimes He answers "No", not because He doesn't want you to have or experience something, but because it's not what you need.  Sometimes His answer is to not answer.  Sometimes He wants us to WAIT.  There is a lot to learn in being patient.  James 1:2-4 tells us that when we go through different trials and temptation, sometimes it is so that our patience will be developed to a place where you will be "perfect and lacking nothing".

The ultimate place we desire to be in is the place of perfection.  That is our ultimate finish line as believers, perfection.  to be perfect is to be the mirror image of Christ himself.  Waiting on God will ultimately brings us closer to God, and David knew this.  If you have prayed for something lately and you feel God has not answered or maybe he is telling you "no", just wait on the Lord. He has heard you, He just wants you to wait on Him.

Basic Truth

For anyone interested, I started a new Teaching series called "Basic Truth".  The series comes from the books of first and Second Timothy.  Paul is writing to is son in the faith, whom he left at the church in Ephesus to pastor.  He is reminding Timothy of all that he has been taught, as well as, giving him instructions on how the church ought to behave and operate.  below is a link to the audio of the message I gave this past Wednesday night.

"Weight" Lifters

I was thinking yesterday about this particular individual in my life that has been huge of late.  It really got me thinking of all the people in my life that encourage me and pray for me.  Ultimately, it reminded me of the story in the Bible when the Israelites were being led into battle by Joshua against the Amelekites.  While Moses, Aaron and Hur watched from a hill near by(Ex. 17).  As long as Moses held the staff above his head the Isrealites would win, if it lowered they would be defeated.  After a while the weight became too much.  Then Aaron and Hur stepped in to help hold up Moses' arms.

Sometimes in life and ministry, the weight some times gets to be more than we can bear.  The pressure seems too great.  It's at those times we all need people in our lives that we can call "weight lifters".  People who will help us hold up when things seem to heavy. 

Lately there have been a few men in my life who I can call "weight lifters".  To those men I say thank you, for lifting me up when I was down, and for those times to come.  I hope to some that I can be called a "weight lifter".  May God grant each of us what we need.

Peace

New Start!

There are a lot of changes that have been going on lately.  We finally have figured out that Amanda does indeed have Lupus and a very nasty form of Lupus at that.  Our Pastor, Mentor and Father-In-Law resigned and is currently moving on to new ventures in life.  With all of this going on I have been experiencing a range of emotions.  I have not been dealing with all of this the way that I should.  I thought I was, but God kept on pressing me to see the truth.  Then I read a scripture that really hit me.  James 3:17-18 says this "¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. ¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness."

If I want God to use me and be glorified by me, then this verse has to become a vital part of my life.  I want to love peace, not just hope for it.  I have to plant seeds of peace, or else peace will not grow.  I cannot stand turmoil, it makes me tense.  It divides, and drives a wedge between parties.  I pray that God will continue this burning inside me.  Let this desire for peace and righteousness continue to grow until it is a consuming fire that takes hold of everyone I come into contact with.  Let that be your prayer today, let the God of peace place that same desire in you.

Peace