Dick Evans Writings

Revelation

2012-01-30T09:16:00.002-05:00

John 14:26
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative-that is, the Holy Spirit-he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. (NLT)

Revelation is defined a something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized. While realization is the act of to grasping or understanding clearly.

The two seem to be blended into one. Often what we call revelation is actually realization. You see, we are drowned in information today. Some from the pulpit, some from conversations with others or even Bible studies, and much from our random searching on the Internet. At some point 2+3 equals 5 and we realize what we have. We realize as a result of what we have learned.

As we open ourselves up to the teaching of the Holy Spirit, revelation bubbles up and we see things we never saw before. This may occur as we listen to someone else preach, It may occur as we are in prayer. Or it may be something new as we read a scripture passage we have read many times before.

It is not the putting together of information from others. The Holy Spirit reveals a new truth to us. It is something new. It is an A-ha! moment.

Willingness to Walk

2012-01-23T06:58:00.001-05:00

We spend hours upon hours listening to Christian preachers and teachers. We memorize scripture and can quote the Bible in about any situation. We attend Bible studies, Men's meetings, and women's meetings. We may even jump at a chance to see a big name Christian speak up close by attending a conference.

We are trained beyond our willingness to walk.

We are constantly looking for more data, more input fill our heads. We even listen to Christian music in the car and perhaps even a teaching CD. We may even buy the pastor's sermon CD's so we can listen again and again to his teaching.

But to what end? Sure, the Bible tells us to study to show ourselves approved. But are we to be stuck in a feed me mode for our entire life?

I think not. Doesn't our Father God want us to have a relationship with Him? And for that to occur we must be with Him. We are not with Him when we have a CD playing. We are not with Him when we are at a meeting listening to someone else tell us about Him. We are not with Him at the Bible study.

These are all relationships, but with other believers. And fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ is important, but not at the expense of time with God, alone.

How can God tell us what we are to do if we never spend time to hear Him? What good is all the things we learn if we do not walk out and use them in our day to day life?

Isn't it time we took what we have learned, listened to God, and then be willing to walk out in Christ to spread the Gospel message?

Power and Authority

2012-01-16T08:41:00.000-05:00

Luke 9:1

One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. (NLT)

When we are in the working world we yield to the authority and power of those above us. On the job that can be our boss, the owner of the company, or even our customers. Although I find little evidence of that old rule that said the customer is always right.

Outside of work we yield to the authority and power wheeled by the government, the military, and the local police force. We allow others the right to instruct us and even to decide how and when these mortal bodies are taken care of and even repaired.

In order to earn the right to have that authority and power, most have to attend years of school and other training. They exhibit diplomas and certificates and have impressive resumes.

As born again, spirit filled believers, we do not need training. Although in the spirit of the world, we yield to the same hierarchy of training in most of our religious organizations. We place man's credentials over Biblical truth.

Matthew 10:7-8

Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! (NLT)

We have the Holy Spirit. What we need is encouragement to step out in the power and authority He has given us. This was a free gift given because we asked.

Let us encourage each other in the gifts the Lord has bestowed upon us. Let us walk forth on the path the Holy Spirit leads us on and use the authority and power He has give us, in the name of Jesus.

No Tricks

2012-01-09T08:53:00.003-05:00

There is a social event happening at church next week. It is a pot luck with all the usual dishes church people seem to make no matter where in the country you attend one. The green bean salads, the mac-n-cheese, the potato salad, the lasagna, the fried chicken, tossed salad, and perhaps even a jello-mold dish. Of course there are plenty of deserts in a variety of cakes, pies, and cookies. All good. All filling. All calories.

This is a wonderful event to get our unsaved friends and family to attend. Perhaps after that good meal and a short message from Pastor, they will say the sinners prayer and come on board. I just coax them along, you think. All they have to do is say the words.

You cannot trick someone into following Jesus. Even if they do say the words, they are only words. They must truly accept Jesus into their heart and follow Him.

Ephesians 2:8-9
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (NLT)

Just because the words were said, there might be a chance, but the words alone do not make someone a believer. See, the word believe is the key. They have to believe the words and desire to have Jesus as their Lord and Savior or the words are empty. The words are said so you will be happy with them and have nothing to do with a beginning relationship with Jesus.

When saved there is no way life goes on as it did before. Things change in our thinking and in our actions. Others notice the changes in us. We are on a journey and God is changing us from the old mortal man into one influenced by the Holy Spirit as He transforms us into the image of Christ.

Are We Willing

2012-01-02T07:13:00.004-05:00

Isaiah 1:19
If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; (NIV)

"If we are not willing to do something different then how can God do something new in us?"

Are we so wrapped up in our lifestyle and what we are "doing for God" that we cannot see the error of our ways? Sure, we try to do everything as to the Lord. We think we try to let Him control our day-to-day activities and even our non-activities.

Then we have our list of "can't miss" shows on the big screen television set and God knows how important that is to us. After all, we do set aside a moment at meal time to thank Him and ask Him to bless the food.

We think about getting into His Word and once and a while do pick it up. We do listen to the Christian radio station whenever we are in the car. That counts, doesn't it? And look at all the things we have volunteered to do for the church?

But it really comes down to us being willing to do whatever we have decided or have been convinced of, not that we have actually heard from God. After all, when do we spend time talking to Him and then listening for an answer?

God wants us to become His friend. He wants to spend time with us, one on one. He wants us to get to know Him by spending time with Him in His Word--and He does not care which translation we use for He can talk to us through all of them.

Let's be willing to give up some of the things on our schedule to do what He has for us to do. As we make the time to listen, He will give us the plan. As we work His plan, He can change us. And as we become more Christ like in our relationship with Him, we will understand true joy.

Being Busy

2011-12-26T09:15:00.004-05:00

While I was talking with God, he shared this one liner with me, "Being busy does not glorify Me." I wondered what it meant and then He cleared it up.

We run our lives using a calendar. Some of us have it on our phone or on our computer. Mine even sends me an email a few days in advance to remind me of my appointments. So I do not even have to remember to look at the calendar. We lead busy lives.

As believers, much of our time seems to be spent with church involvement. On Sunday's we look at the things going on in the church we attend. If we put every one of those things in our calendar we would not have much left over.

James 2:26
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. (NIV)

In addition we think up all kinds of projects that God should approve. We want to always be working for Him. After all, without works faith is dead. But what are those works worth?

Psalm 37:23
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. (NIV)

First and foremost, I believe God wants our focus on Him. He wants our praise and He wants us to have a relationship with Him. The only entry He wants to see in our calendar is a date with Him every hour of every day. If we do that and listen to His voice, He will fill in the slots in the calendar. He will direct our steps to the works He has for us to do instead of the works we think are godly.

You see, busyness is not godliness.

Modern Medicine

2011-12-19T06:28:00.001-05:00

2 Chronicles 16
In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord's help but turned only to his physicians. So he died in the forty-first year of his reign. (NLT)

God gave us a mind to think and create. So we have created modern medicine to heal us, they say. Physicians have been around for centuries, even before Jesus ever walked the earth. As they have practiced their trade, they have become better at what they do. The more test subjects they treat the better they get at diagnosing the problem and suggesting a remedy that works most of the time.

Psalm 103:3
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. (NLT)

But why would God want us to turn away from Him for healing and turn instead to man? Why would he have us depend on man to heal us?

John 14:12-14
"I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! (NLT)

All we have to do is ask, in the name of Jesus and it will be so. If we believe. And yet, man turns away from God to be healed, to live a longer life. Is he turning to just another graven image?

Mark 16:16-18
Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved... They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed. (NLT)

Jesus did mighty miracles and told us that we will do the same works, and even greater ones. He sent Holy Spirit to dwell within us and gave us the authority and power to call forth the miraculous.

Let's stop turning first to man and instead keep our focus on God. He will heal all our diseases.

Turn it On

2011-12-12T08:15:00.002-05:00

2 Corinthians 4:18
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. (NIV)

I remember when we got our first television set. It was sometime in the late 1940's and it was a large, boxy thing with a screen smaller then the one on this old laptop I am using now. The picture was in black and white as color had not been invented. We moved out the old stand up am/shortwave radio from it's living room position and moved in the latest technological marvel.

Unlike the hundreds of channels available today all day and all night, our television would only pick up a couple of channels and only during a rather limited period of time. When the stations were not broadcasting a show, they sent out a test pattern. Anybody remember what that looked like?

When the television is turned off we cannot see anything on it. But when we locate and then pick up that remote control and press the on button all is visible and we have access to anything available.

Perhaps our life in the spirit is similar. We make a decision to believe in God and that He sent Jesus to live amongst us, to live and die for all our transgressions. We turn on our spiritual eyes when in faith we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

He opens up a whole new dimension of life for us. We see beyond the current situations in our lives and on to what is to come; what is eternal.

Before we turned on the switch, the television set was blank. Before we turned on Jesus in our lives reading the Bible was a chore with nothing gained. It was like reading a textbook in a subject we really had no interest in.

After we found Jesus and let Him into our lives, reading became a joy. Unlike TV, there are no reruns! The Bible all of a sudden has hundreds of channels and each time we read it something new pops out just for us, for our current situation, and to propel us into our eternal life journey.

Temptation

2011-12-05T07:32:00.001-05:00

1 Corinthians 10:13
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (NLT)

How easy it is to remember that God is always with us. He knows what we desire and what we are being tempted to do or say. Sometimes we are the author of our own temptations as we listen to the thoughts coming from the enemy. "You have done it before." "What can it hurt?" "Nobody will know."

At other times we fall under the spell of others, often so called friends of ours and even our spouse. They are going off in the wrong direction, a way that we know takes us from the will of God in our life, and we choose to follow.

Another saying popped into my mind when I read this scripture. "God will not give you something you cannot handle." This is quoted often and is a misquote of the above scripture. It indicates that God is the author of temptation, but this is untrue.

James 1:13
And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, "God is tempting me." God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. (NLT)

God is watching our back all the time. He does not tempt us or put us into bad situations. We are very skilled at doing that ourselves. And He does not allow the enemy to tempt us beyond what we are able to endure.

God is faithful to His Word. We are to trust in Him in all things and listen to Holy Spirit as He guides us away from the temptations that come our way.

Sacrifice of Praise

2011-11-28T08:26:00.001-05:00

Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. (NIV)

The Amplified ends with "which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name."

And the Message ends with "Let's take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus' name."

We are no longer under the Jewish law. We no longer offer a blood sacrifice to atone for our sins. Jesus did that for us once and for all.

The sacrifice we are to offer is to openly profess His name, thankfully acknowledging and confessing and glorifying Him by what we say in Jesus' name.

And yet often our time is spent openly with God in that quite place inside, in our own home. We think of praise as what we say in church on Sunday when the praise and worship team leads us through a series of songs in that direction.

Well, that is not enough. We are to take our place outside with Jesus. We are to go outside the four walls of our house and speak His name in what we do, how we act, how we react, and what we say.

We are to be Jesus to the world around us. We are to give Him all the glory and when we reach out and touch someone we do it in the name of Jesus.

This is the sacrifice of praise we are to openly make daily.

His Glory

2011-11-21T08:19:00.001-05:00

I believe "Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" in the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is telling us that whatever His will in Heaven is, we want the same here on earth. And for that to happen we need to be in the Glory Cloud of His presence. We need to be under His anointing.

When that happens deliverance happens. Healing happens. Miracles happen. And all in the blink of an eye. No one has to do anything. God moves and people are set free.

Yes, I believe God answers prayer with or without the presence of the anointing. The difference is in the timing. When we are in His Glory, we are in timeless reality and what could take days or weeks or years to happen in the natural, if at all, happens in a moment of time.

More Glory = Less Time

Now you ask, can someone be in an atmosphere of healing and not be healed? Yes, they can. Where we are physically is not necessarily where we choose our mind and spirit to be. We have the right to ignore the presence of God and as such will not be touched by what is freely available.

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. (NIV)

Praise and Worship can tap into the Glory Realm. It can bring down a strong anointing of God in the congregation of Spirit filled believers. Holy Spirit's presence permeates the atmosphere and people are touched. The anointing is an accelerator. It speeds up the process. The enemy has to flee in His presence.

Psalm 91:1
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (NIV)

We need to dwell in His presence, in the secret place. But, how do we get there? Praise and worship can play a great part in opening Heaven so the anointing is present.

Our music should being with praise--fast tempo songs that make us dance, jump, and shout to the Lord. It should continue until worship comes, not until the program or order of service says it does. Not two fast and one slow song. No, we stay in an atmosphere of praise until worship comes. And the our songs should be intimate, slow songs of love to God.

As we soak in His presence we will begin to feel the thick, heavy presence of the Lord. After the Glory comes down, the anointing, we need to wait. We need to wait for God to move. If we move out on our own we will be ahead of God and miss what He has for us. We need to minister out of God's Glory and not out of our own gift. When Holy Spirit moves, then we move with Him.

On Suffering

2011-11-14T08:14:00.001-05:00

John 10:9-10
Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. (NLT)

Jesus did not come for us to suffer. He came for us to have abundant life, a rich and satisfying life. But that does not line up with satan's plan. No, he comes to steal and destroy.

Yet how often we hear about how we have to suffer for God. And so not true. It is one of the myths that keeps a child of God from receiving a healing touch. They honestly believe the lie of the enemy that tells they they are suffering for the glory of God.

John 9:3
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Some think this man was born blind for the express purpose of having Jesus lay hands on him and give him sight. Yet the works of God were not displayed until Jesus healed him. Our sickness does not glorify God; our healing does.

It is life before Christ that was filled with suffering. We were lost and blindly following the lead of satan. Sickness and despair were a normal part of our lives. We lived from paycheck to paycheck and from doctor to doctor. It was not an abundant life. It was living for the sake of living.

When we found Jesus, we found the only way out of the grip of satan. We found the truth that had been hidden from us, masked by a cunning enemy. All we have to do is put our trust in Him for our daily lives and Holy Spirit will keep us on the right path. And that is the only path that leads to an abundant life here on earth and a path that leads to an eternity in Heaven with Jesus.

Matthew 16:23
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." (NIV)

When suffering tries to come upon us we need to do what Jesus did and command satan to get behind us. He has no authority in our lives and he has not power except for the power we give him. With Holy Spirit in us, we have complete power and authority over satan. It is time we used that power in our daily lives.

Using Spiritual Gifts

2011-11-08T06:58:00.001-05:00

1 Corinthians 12:7
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. (NLT)

It is so hard to separate spiritual gifts from our worldly thinking about the talents we were born with. Natural talent is not a spiritual gift. Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the church, the body of Christ.

We each have things we excel in and things we are not very good at. I am not an artsy person. You can put me in a room of paintings and I will not appreciate them like my wife, Dianne does. She sees the beauty in each and I just see pictures. Put her in a room of computers and she sees a bunch of stuff while I see the differences between them and sometimes understand what they are being used for.

My point is this. I do not have a natural talent to paint pictures. She does and if she practiced she might even be able to sell her work. On the other hand, although she has quite a bit of experiential knowledge of computers, when someone has a problem they do not call Dianne, they call me. Before retirement, I was able to make my living in the computer field because of my natural talent.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice[b]; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. (NLT)

We all have been given spiritual gifts so we may serve others in the body of Christ. Perhaps it is the gift of healing, or the power to perform miracles, or perhaps the ability to prophesy. But how often are these gifts used as a means of income production? The Holy Spirit did not give a gift so we could make money off of it.

And it is not us who determine which gift to have. It is the one and only Spirit. And that gift may be given for all time, for a season, or even for a particular instance where it it needed. When we are laying hands on the sick we may get a word of knowledge about the person we are praying for. We do not move in words of knowledge all the time. But God knows when that person needs a boost of believe to be able to fully receive the healing to come. When they hear that word, they know without a doubt that only God could have known and therefore that God is present.

When the healing anointing is present during one of our meetings, many lay hands on the sick and see miracles occur. It is the anointing that heals, not us or the person praying. It is Jesus. When they leave the meeting, that anointing may linger for a little while, but next week they may not be seeing the same results. Holy Spirit gives the gift in His time for His purpose, not for our benefit.

When books and CDs and speaking engagements revolve around income production, we are off track and using the gifts for personal gain and not to serve the body. Don't get me wrong, the body is served whenever Holy Spirit is present. It is us that are misdirected and as the result of our actions we may cause others to take the same path.

2 Thessalonians 3:10
Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: "Those unwilling to work will not get to eat." (NLT)

Think about Paul. He lived off his tent making business and used his spiritual gifts to benefit the body of Christ. Shouldn't we to do the same?

He Heals All our Diseases

2011-10-31T06:32:00.002-04:00

Psalm 103:3
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. (NLT)

It is important to realize God has NO limitations in what He can do. He does not need mankind to perform miraculous events in our lives and in the lives of others. As born again believers endued with the Holy Spirit we have the authority and power to see the same miraculous events occur through our hands as Jesus did when He walked the earth as one of us, as a man.

There is no reference in my Bible to aches and pains coming at a certain time in life. Yes as we grow older we are mature in life and hope to be mature in our faith as well. Yes old people die of old age now just as they did when Jesus was with us as a man. However, we are to be just as physically healthy then as when we were younger. The body wears out and God calls us home.

Do we get sick? Do we have physical issues that need to be dealt with? Yes we do, but how we deal has a lot to do with who we are in Christ. Do we accept the word of man over the word of God. Do we allow words of death spoken by man to affect how we live? We certainly can and most do. This is exactly what the enemy is working toward. Satan wants us a slave to medicine. a slave to man, a slave to him.

When someone does place their trust in a doctor God does not desert us. He is still present in our lives. Holy Spirit is still in us. But our Faith is not with them. It is with man. When someone puts their faith in man, we still pray for them and pray that the people healing them are doing the best they can and that God intervenes.

If God depended on man to heal, then why does God replace metal in someones body inserted by man with original parts? Why does God replace organs repaired by man? We have seen this happen time and time again.

God is the healer. But He uses you and I, our prayers and our hands to do the healing yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Thoughts on The Church

2011-10-24T10:41:00.002-04:00

Woke up this morning thinking about the church today and how far off we have gone in our thinking and actions. God established a temple for His people to worship Him. In order for that temple to exist there had to be men to oversee it. They came out of the synagogues of that time and were led by Rabbi's. This was the "church" before Jesus came onto the scene and the "church" Jesus was brought up in. In order for this organization to do what God had ordained it to do, the people were instructed to tithe a tenth of what they had to support the established "church" of that time.

Along comes Jesus and His "church" is out in the marketplace and the countryside. It was anywhere He went. The crowds followed Him. They sought Him out wherever He happened to be. Yes, He did preach in the synagogues also. This was where the Jews were and those were the people He was sent to call unto Him. But, most of the stories we read about in the Bible are when He was between destinations, on the journey from one place to another. We are never told of Jesus taking an offering from the people. Although that must have occurred as Judas was the keeper of the coins and those funds must have come from somewhere.

Spring forward a few years and we have Saul, a member of the established "church" hunting down Christians. Then Jesus came to Saul in his travels and struck him off his horse. Saul's experience was so profound that he did a 180 and began to preach the Gospel to the gentiles. He never sat under the teachings of any of Jesus' original followers. No, Saul (now Paul) was given the same Holy Spirit who taught Paul all things.

Paul went on his journey to spread the Good News. Along the way he established "churches" made up of groups of new believers meeting in homes. There was no hierarchy; no persons placed between the church body and Father God. There were no offerings taken to support the "church". Instead they were told to share all they had with each other. There were no handouts, no food stamp programs or disability benefits. They helped each other in their needs as they got back on their feet. And they believed the Scripture that says if a man does not work he does not eat. Even Paul worked making tents.

This new "church", the body of believers in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, did take up offerings to help support other bodies of believers in other areas of the world. You might say this was the first example of supporting missions.

Then in about 300 AD things changed. Man, led by former Jews who had become Christians, formed a formal established church. No longer a body of believers as Jesus and Paul had established, but a brick and mortar one. One that had to be supported because it needed people to run it and it needed funds to maintain it. A blending of the old (synagogue) and the new belief in Jesus.

Instead of passing down the message by word of mouth, which had been working and bringing many into the Kingdom of God, a new order was established. A formal set of manuscripts was created out of the many letters that were being passed around. These were added to the already known Jewish writings and made into the Old and New Testaments we know today. Because of the lack of duplication methods, only the leaders of the new established church had them so they became the teachers. And Christianity was launched into a new era.

While the people were the "church" and sharing this Jesus to the world as commissioned by Him years before, signs and wonders was prevalent with all believers as the Holy Spirit moved both inside and outside of the "church". God's miraculous touch brought people into the Kingdom and took care of those already in the Kingdom.

When man took over, the signs and wonders seemed to have disappeared. But God's order was removed and replace with the new order of the new church. Holy Spirit was replaced by the priests. They took over the teaching of the gospel message to the people. They introduced fear of God to make converts to Christianity instead of signs and wonders. God did not take away signs and wonders. Man moved away from them. They had lost belief in the measure of authority and power given to each believer.

The new church is here today. It is not part of the established church which over centuries of revelation and revolution has splintered into numerous different sets of beliefs. It meets in homes and in the marketplace. It seeks to unite established churches into the one true church, the body of Christ. Signs and wonders abound in this new, Holy Spirit inspired work.

It is time to stop playing church and start being the church Jesus came to have. A church with the full authority and power inherited from Him. A church without walls that takes care of its own members. A church that reaches out to a lost world with the gospel message and with signs and wonders.

What about you? Are you ready to choose a church like the one described in Acts? Are you ready to take a chance and see the kind of change living in the Kingdom of God can make in your neighborhood?

I am not suggesting everybody run out of the established church. I am saying look around and become the church Jesus called us to be. Be the community of believers that reaches inward to each other in need and outward to the community. Be the church that unites with other established churches to do the work of the ministry in your area. One church. One body of Christ. One message for all.

Praying in the Spirit

2011-10-17T09:18:00.001-04:00

Galatians 3:2,5
Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. (NIV)

The Holy Spirit is not a benefit we get for coming to church. It is not a reward. Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead. He is one of the three; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38
Peter replied, "Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

We receive Holy Spirit into our lives as a result of our decision to turn to God, our repentance of those sins we are aware of and an agreement to repent of those we do not as they are revealed to us, and our baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.

Mark 16:16-18
Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.

What is the evidence of that baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit in our lives? The evidence of our being saved?

Jesus says it clearly in Mark when He says that those who are saved will do miraculous signs. And He speaks to four signs that follow the spirit filled believer.

1. They will cast out demons in the name of Jesus
2. They will speak in new languages [other tongues]
3. They will be immune to deadly poisons
4. They will lay hands on the sick and they will be healed

1 Corinthians 14:14-19
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. (NIV)

When speaking about praying, Paul tells us he prays in tongues (his prayer language) as well as praying with his mind (in his vocal language or known words). And he speaks about singing in tongues and singing with known words.

Jude 20-21
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

Jude, the half brother of Jesus, explains that we build ourselves up in faith when we pray in the spirit, in our prayer language. The more we build ourselves up in this manner, the more power we receive from above.

Ephesians 6:18 8
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)

Once again Paul is speaking about praying in the Spirit. When we place those we are praying for and those requests we have into our mind and then pray in our prayer language, we believe our spirit reaches up to God's Spirit and lays those needs at His feet.

So, is having a prayer language evidence of being Spirit filled? Yes, it is. But it is not the only evidence. We are filled when we are saved. We are saved when we believe. We are baptised when we confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.

Evidence of being saved is the fruit of the Spirit visible in our lives. It is the change that only God can make in the person we used to be. It is Christ shining forth to the world around us. It is casting out demons in the name of Jesus. It is laying hands on the sick and seeing them recover. It is being Jesus in the marketplace by showing His love everywhere we go.

Obeying the Law

2011-10-10T07:34:00.003-04:00

Galatians 2:16
A person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law." (NLT)

Law as defined by Wikipedia is "a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible."

The Jewish law caused followers to be a moral god fearing nation believing they became righteous simply by abiding by the laws and traditions handed down over generations and defined in their Torah, "the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts."

Then came Jesus, their Messiah who came to fulfill the law. He came to show them and now us the way to righteousness. He took us away from traditions, special seasons and holidays, and works to obtain salvation.

We are made right simply by our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Only through Him can we be declared righteous. Only through Him do we obtain salvation.

Now I am not saying we are to ignore the Ten Commandments. We are to do what is right and holy in all our dealings here on earth. Even traditions and celebrations are still good for us. But only when what we do is not placed above God. We are to worship Him and not the events we organize and participate in. Only He is holy.

Are we to do good works? Yes, Jesus tells us so, but they alone do not get us to heaven. It is only belief in Jesus that does that.

People Turn Simple to Hard

2011-10-03T08:38:00.000-04:00

It amazes me how complicated it has turned out to become a Christian. And complicated to be one. Let's start with the become part.

John 3:16-17
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (NLT)

To be born again or saved and have eternal life in heaven we have to believe in Jesus. We ask Him into our life and to forgive us of our sin. We ask Him to be Lord of our life. He sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and the past is history. We are a new person born of the spirit and led by the spirit as we give Him permission to do so each day.

And yet, that has turned into a period of convincing one that they would rather be going to heaven than the alternative, hell. Then the saying of a well crafted "sinners prayer" right then and there or, more often, the dragging them to a church service days later so a trained team can lead them through the prayer and line them up with the hours of training necessary to become a Christian, as they understand it.

When we ask Jesus into our heart and begin that relationship with Him each day with the guideline of the Holy Spirit we are convicted of those things we are doing wrong, the sin in our life. And yet many "programs" hand out lists of do and don'ts for "new" Christians to follow. Lists of what is acceptable behavior. This is all wrong. It is not us who judge the world, but God. It is not even Jesus!

Jesus died on that cross for all our sins-past, present, and future. They are all erased. This means that there is nothing we can do that will not be erased. All but one thing; we cannot grieve the Holy Spirit. Father God never sees our sin after we have given our life over to His son, Jesus. This means that when we die in this mortal body and ascend to heaven He judges us on all the good we have done. He has never seen anything else in our life because Jesus took all sin away shielding us from Father God.

Jesus commissioned us to go into the world and tell. We are to speak the truth to people all around us. If they do not believe, we are to walk away and not waste any more time. We are not to argue the Bible or try to manipulate people into saying empty words so we think "we got another one!"

He did not commission us to lead the troops to cancel out sin in the world. No. That is His job, not ours. These we lead to salvation will change if they truly have believed. They will not have to be told of their sin. The Holy Spirit will do that and in the proper order in their lives. he does not use a list from 1-100 of sins to convict them. He does it one at a time as they grow in Jesus. Sure that does mean that some believers will still smoke. Some will continue to live out of wedlock. They may lie, cheat, and use vulger language from time to time. But over time in their relationship with Jesus they will change. And that change will be some of the fruit of their salvation.

There are many things all around us in this world that go against the grain of a committed Christian. But we are not to go about trying to change the world. With God nothing is impossible. It really is pretty simple. We are to reach the lost one person at a time. He will change them.

God First

2011-09-26T06:33:00.003-04:00

Luke 12:21
"Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God." (NLT)

Most have a difficult time getting to the next paycheck never mind storing up earthly wealth. You pray you don't run out of money before you run out of month.

If you own a house--well if you live in a house the bank owns--you are storing up for a time when the bank turns that deed over to you and gives you a "Paid in Full" stamp on your mortgage.

Even though it is a struggle getting to that paid off place, it is worth it when those monthly payments go away. This does not make you rich, but it is earthly wealth. So are the big screen TVs, the iPhones, the cable and Internet connection, the two automobiles, the boat, the one or two vacations a year, and so forth. Don't these things make up our earthly wealth?

How much of our time is spent toward this accumulation of wealth and how much toward our relationship with God?

God wants us to enjoy life and that means accumulation of some stuff. However, He wants us to put our relationship with Him first--before taking time to get more stuff or even to use the stuff we have.

When that relationship is rich, then we will have the time to do all those other things important to us. But, God needs to always come first in all we do.

The Trinity

2011-09-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

Father, Son, Holy Spirit; the three in one, the Trinity. We know about the Trinity but is it part of our reality?

Jesus taught us how to pray when he gave the disciples the Lord's Prayer. Not as what to pray but how to pray. And it was as all his prayers were directed to Father God. Do we pray during the day to the Father?

We all have friends and communicate with them regularly. Without communication can there really be friendship? In our high tech society where communications is no longer face to face, we email, tweet, Facebook, text, and of course talk on our cell phone. And as a result our friendships are not only local they are global.

Is Jesus our friend? Do we communicate with him like we do with our mortal friends daily? In other words are we in relationship with him?

When we are looking for an answer where do we go? Do we go to the source of all knowledge to the Holy Spirit given to teach us all things? Or do we Google instead?

The Trinity is real and desires our involvement throughout the day so let's pray daily without ceasing in the spirit and in the natural to God the Father. Jesus wants a closer relationship with us so let's get our fingers off the keyboard and chat with Him as we go about our day.

And last but not least let's allow the Holy Spirit to comfort us, to guide us through our day, and to teach us all things.

Virus Protection

2011-09-12T07:57:00.002-04:00

Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (NLT)

On our computers we add virus protection so malware cannot find a way onto our hard drives. The protection software filters out the unwanted material before it does any damage.

When I was growing up I could be pretty sarcastic. It was like whatever popped into my mind just fell out of my mouth. Finally I realized what was going on and began to think first, speak second. I added a filter to my mouth. This did not get rid of the thoughts.

When I first was involved with computers IBM gave out these plastic signs that you would place on your desk that simply said THINK. The implication was that before doing something you should think first and act second.

So it is up to us to clean up what comes out of our mouth. The cussing does not just stop because we believe in Jesus. The nasty comments to family and friends do not go away on their own. The verbal reaction to the driver that cuts us off does not stop on its own.

As our relationship with Jesus builds, the times of slipping into unwholesome talks lessons. However, when we are around others not at that same place in their walk, temptation always lurks and we find ourselves having to stop our mouth from taking us in the wrong direction once more.

When we speak, we must consciously build others up according to their needs. Let the Holy Spirit be our filter so only good pours out of our mouth.

Abba Father

2011-09-05T08:07:00.001-04:00

What is your mental picture of God?

Is He that untouchable God on the mountain with Moses when he received the Ten Commandments? Is He only found in a special room where only the select few are allowed to enter and not actually see Him? Is He someone you live in fear of? Are you afraid of what He might do to you if you offend Him? Is this your image of God?

Or is God a gentle, caring, loving, forgiving, daddy to you? Is He the one you can go to at any time and sit on His lap? Your Abba Father?

We have a dog who loves us unconditionally. She depends on us for all her needs. No matter what we do, she still loves us. Now, I and not saying a dog is a god. What I am saying is that our Father God loves us in the same way--unconditionally, no matter what we do.

And what about Jesus?

Is Jesus your friend? Or do you have Him in the same box as God?

In the end we will be one with Jesus--we will be His bride; the bride of Christ.

In earthly marriage we marry our best friend. Although often it goes the other way--after marriage husband and wife become best friends. When those in marriage are not best friends divorce lurks in the darkness waiting to pounce. Perhaps that is a marriage that was a one sided friendship or even just physical with no friendship involved at all.

Father God wants to be our daddy and Jesus wants to be our best friend, our BFF. He wants us to become His bride so He can present us without a spot or wrinkle to Father God in the last days.

Wait and See

2011-08-29T09:00:00.002-04:00

Luke 17:14
He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. (NLT)

It is so easy to take a wait and see attitude to much going on in our life. This is especially true with the political situation no mater what year it is. Once we have voted someone into an office, we then wait and see what s/he does. If we like the results, we vote for them when they are up for reelection, otherwise we vote against them.

But how often do we take a wait and see attitude with God? As we read our Bible, we come across many promises for our day to day lives. All we have to do is believe, and yet we wait and see if they will happen without any action on our part. If it is God's will we say. Well, hello! He put it in His word so we know it is His will.

This story in Luke is about the ten lepers. They cried out to Jesus as He was passing by them. All Jesus said was "Go show yourselves to the priests." Jesus did not lay hands on them. He did not pray a long flowery prayer. He just gave them an action to perform.

The lepers knew they could not show themselves to the priests unless they were healed. They believed and as they walked forth in that belief they were totally delivered from leprosy and healed.

As believers we have been saved from our sinful existence. Our spirit man has been reborn. All the promises of God are yes and amen. What lacks is not God's will, but our belief and action. We do not have to wait and see. As we trust in Him and walk forth in faith, we too are delivered and healed.

Can Christians be Mean?

2011-08-22T17:49:00.000-04:00

How come some who say they are Chistian are mean or easy to anger?

Anyone who says they are a Christian is saying they follow Jesus. However, what that means to them may not be the truth. You can tell a Christian by what they say combined with who they are--how they act and react to situations in life.

And remember that we have both a material (old man) body and a spiritual (born again) body. So someone could be born again, but still dealing with anger and meanness in their old man.

We are to love all our fellow believers, but are not to follow them in all they may do

Bad Example

2011-08-22T09:02:00.002-04:00

3 John 1:11
Don't let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God's children, and those who do evil prove
that they do not know God. (NLT)

People set examples in everything they do. Our parents actions set examples for us to follow. It was not the words out of their mouths but those actions that influenced us. Each of us can look back and see the things our parents said or did and think forward to today and see the effect the actions had on our own behavior.

I know some of our children have remarked about saying things to their own children that we had said to them when they were growing up. They had promised themselves they would never utter those words, but the influence we had on them was too great and the words eventually came out.

Now we are saved and guided by the Holy Spirit. When someones actions tempt us into doing evil things He shows us the right path to take. However, someone appearing to be doing good is not necessarily a Christian.

There are many good people working hard to do the right thing each day. So the appearance of doing good is not necessarily proof of a Christian. But, doing evil is proof of not being saved.

As believers guided by the Holy Spirit, we should be setting good examples for our children, our friends, out co-workers, and everyone we meet in the marketplace.

Were you that good example today?

The Flaw

2011-08-15T08:23:00.000-04:00

2 Peter 1:3
By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. (NLT)

Growing up I was given all I needed. I went to good schools, had many friends and my parents kept me in clothes, fed me, and provided a place to sleep. They brought me to Church where I learned about God and Jesus. They discipled me in life as they knew it.

When God made mankind, He made them after His own likeness. But, he gave us one flaw. Unlike the rest of the living creatures, He gave us the ability to choose the direction we would go. Adam and Eve had everything they needed for living a godly life. What did they do? They chose wrong and everything changed for mankind.

Today when confronted with a choice between godly and not godly, how often do we choose to please ourselves? After all, it is only for this one time. The last time the world chose so poorly, God had Noah build and ark and He drowned the rest of mankind. Hmm, what about all that rain this past spring?

When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior it did two things. It was the key or the password to unlocking all God has already placed in us. And it opened a place in us for the Holy Spirit to reside. We have it all. We have all the knowledge and wisdom we need to build a close relationship with our maker and the Holy Spirit to keep nudging us in the correct direction for that to happen.

The flaw pops up once again. We get to choose. With God's help, we pray our choices are godly ones and that each day our relationship with Him grows.

Not Receiving

2011-08-08T08:25:00.000-04:00

James 4:2-3
You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (NIV)

When I was growing up and asked Mom or Dad for something I did not always get it. Take desert for instance. It was conditional. If I finished what was on my plate then I got to eat dessert. When I turned sixteen and obtained my driver's license, I wanted to use the family car. But that did not always turn out the way I wanted it to.

I was wise enough to realize I could not ask for something unreasonable or to even try when I had not been on my best behavior. Sure they wanted to make my dreams come true, but only if those desires lined up with what our family could afford and did not go against our family values.

However, had I never asked for something how could I expect to receive it? They had no way of knowing my deepest desires. This was evident at birthdays and Christmas when I would receive presents geared to what they thought I might like to have rather than something of a wish list I had provided.

God is our ever loving spiritual Father. He loves us unconditionally. He knows what we desire and what we need; not always the same thing. However He does not just shower us with gifts based on His knowledge. No, He waits for us to ask.

Even then, we may not receive because it is not something that lines up with His purpose for our life. Or it may be a reasonable request, but not the right time for us to have it. There may be some growth we need to attain first. then we will be ready to use it for His glory.

"Father, may my requests line up with your Word and may the fulfillment of them be for your glory, not mine. In Jesus name I pray. Amen."

Correction

2011-08-01T08:38:00.000-04:00

Galatians 6:1
If another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. (NLT)

It is so easy to see the problems other have and want to correct them. Matter of fact often the only problem they have is our perception. They do not have a problem at all. We are simply looking at them as though they were us. God made each of us differently and satan has brought each of us through a different set of temptations. What is wrong for us may not be the wrong thing for them.

Does helping them back onto the right path always mean telling them they are wrong? I don't think so. Others will learn more by our actions than our words. However, words are necessary in many cases.

Is drinking wine a sin? Some would say absolutely, it is. The Bible tells us not to drink. But does it? No, it tells us that drunkenness is a sin. However, some cannot even have a sip of wine without going all the way to being drunk. I believe this is the result of a spirit of addiction they are dealing with.

So if we have had a problem with drinking, smoking, drugs, or even overeating we are apt to come down hard on others who are doing the same. We tell them like it is based on how it was for us.

What is sin is sin, but what we do may not lead us into sin while others doing the same would fall right into the trap of satan. If we know someone is dealing with an addiction like overeating we should not tempt them by suggesting we go out for lunch at a buffet or even by finishing our meal with a big dessert. That would be tempting them to stumble.

Two key words in this scripture are gently and humbly. How often are we guilty of trying to help yet much more forceful in our delivery then we should be? Yet, if we are to do everything in Love as Jesus commanded, how can we not point out they are doing something sinful? And yet we must be careful that our actions are sending the same message as our advice to them.

Obey Your Master

2011-07-25T08:46:00.003-04:00

Titus 2:9-10
Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. (NLT)

We may think it terrible to think about slaves and masters. I know my great grandfather Evans was from Massachusetts and fought in the civil war to free the slaves in this country. But don't we have a similar situation in our workplace today?

We may be free and lead our own life outside of work, but during those working hours we are just as beholding to our boss as those slaves were back then to their masters. Of course the penalties for not obeying were much stricter, even unto death.

We are to show ourselves trustworthy in all we do and be an example to the world around us of the love of Jesus.

The Good Silver

2011-07-18T09:25:00.002-04:00

2 Timothy 2:20-21
In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. (NLT)

When I was growing up my mother had every day forks, knives, and spoons we used for all our meals. Then there was that special set stored in the dining room in a drawer with felt cloths covering them. They were sterling silver and only used on very special occasions like when my father's family would come for dinner.

Before use each had to be polished with a special silver cleaner. For those occasions we also had individual silver napkin holders engraved with our initials that held our cloth napkin and a set of dishes that were not used on a daily basis also known as the good china.

What is our life like? Do we have two sets of "me"; one we take out when around other's we value as Christians and another around our everyday friends? Which set is the real us?

Who we are every day is a reflection of the real person. If our day-to-day lifestyle is not a reflection of Christ, then who really lives in us?

As we allow our relationship with Jesus to grow, it becomes easier to live a clean life. Our everyday "me" will be the reflection of Him and that old "me" will never have to be seen again.

So let's keep our selves pure, so we will be a special utensil for honorable use. For we desire our life to be clean, and ready for the Master to use us for every good work.

Fulfilling the Law

2011-07-11T10:23:00.004-04:00

Galatians 3:10
Those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God's Book of the Law." (NLT)

Before Christ it was easy to know the laws to be obeyed. Think about it; there were the Ten Commandments. All those after Moses probably knew them by heart. And they still could not obey them. As hard as they tried, they fell into one mistake after another.

Then religion came into the act and created more laws. Laws are like rabbits; they seem to multiply at an ever increasing pace.

Today we have so many laws on the books that nobody can know them all. And yet ignorance of the laws of the land is not a sufficient excuse for breaking them. We are guilty of breaking laws each day that we do not even know of.

How about that speed limit sign you missed seeing? The officer pulled you over and you asked why. When he told you about the speed limit and what he clocked you traveling at, you responded that you never saw the sign. Ignorance is no excuse. You were guilty and had to pay the fine.

John 15:12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. (NLT)

Mark 16:15 Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. (NLT)

Jesus came to fulfill the law. He came to take away from us the burden of fulfilling it to satisfy requirements to be made right with God. He gave us one commandment and a commission. Yet, He made us right with God by having us simply believe in Him.

As we live out this Christian life as born again believers, we are not made wrong with God when we fail to fulfill that commandment or miss an opportunity to fulfill the great commission. Once made right, we remain.

This does not mean we have the right to ignore Jesus' commandments or the great commission. We cannot turn our back on them or we are turning our back on Jesus. We have a responsibility to work out our salvation doing what the Holy Spirit leads us into knowing that He will never give us a task we are not capable of fulfilling.

Freedom

2011-07-04T07:50:00.000-04:00

Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. (NIV)

Every day I am thankful for the freedom we have in this country of ours. As much as we may complain there is not another to compare us to. Even just having the freedom to complain is unheard of in other places.

Our freedom is based on the freedom Jesus died for us to have. In our following of God's principles which we read about in His Holy Word, we exercise freedom in all we do and say. It is freedom in Christ it was all based on. This country was founded on Christian principles and as hard as the enemy tries to change it, we continue to be led by His principles laid out over two hundred years ago by our founding fathers.

In freedom we have choice and of course that includes the freedom to choose to follow the enemy instead of God. And we make choices every day that push and pull us off the line leading to truth and eternity with our Father God.

If we truly follow the principles laid out in the Bible and the leading of the Christ within, the Holy Spirit, we will continue to walk in that freedom and our rewards will be great.

But our freedom of choice allows us to step over the line and indulged the sinful nature present in each of us. This is what has us ignore the speed laws, accept payment "under the table", tell white lies, get angry at other drivers giving them the one finger salute, drink and drive, cheat on our taxes, steal cable channels, and more. You know what you do, but may not attribute it to your sinful nature.

"Lord God, help us toe the line. Give us the wisdom to know when we are tempted to cross that line and indulge in sin. Open our ears to the cry of the Holy Spirit warning us. When we mess up, accept our apology and forgive us. In Jesus name; Amen."

Direct Connection

2011-06-27T08:32:00.002-04:00

Galatians 1:11-12
I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. (NLT)

When flying on today's airlines it is difficult to schedule a direct connection between two points. There are major hubs most airlines fly through and that is where you end up waiting for that next connection on your journey. When you can find one, a direct connection gets you right to your final destination the quickest.

In this world of education we spend years learning how others do what we want to do before anyone will hire us. And yet most often we end up as clones of those that came before us. We do things the same as they have been done before; younger hands getting accomplishing the same tasks.

Don't get me wrong. Education is a good thing but there are times when we need to bust through the walls and be creative. Success does not come from doing what we learned from others. It comes from how we used what we were exposed to combined with our God given abilities; our direct connection to Him.

Paul did not run to the leadership, the apostles at that time, to be trained in how to be a Christian. He took time to be with God. His training did not come from man. It came from Jesus. And Paul did not come up with his own teaching program complete with books and DVD's to make others follow his way.

Paul preached Jesus as the Holy Spirit led him to do. And wherever Paul went signs and wonders followed the preaching of that truth. People were delivered, healed, and set free to develop their own personal relationship with Jesus.

Don't let the fact that you have not been formally trained hold you back from what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do, and don't let man stop that which God has placed in motion.

Reflection

2011-06-20T08:02:00.000-04:00

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (NIV)

When I was a boy, we used to play with mirrors; we would use them like a flashlight by redirecting the light of the sun coming in a window to a darkened place. Or even the light from a lamp to a spot not covered by the lamps glow.

That reminded me of focusing the light from the sun through a simple magnifying glass to start a fire with dried up leaves.

Then we would also take two mirrors and place them on the opposite ends of a long cardboard tube to construct a periscope so we could see around corners.

When we look straight into a mirror we see our own reflection. I look at mine and wonder about who I see. The reflection is not the young man I still think of myself as. The reflection shows the reality of who I have become.

And isn't that true with our walk with Christ? We who have been saved are without the veil. The Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ, lives within. When others look at us in our daily life do they see the reflection of He who lives within? Or do they see a person of the world who is hiding the truth deep within?

As we allow God to transform us into His likeness, that reflection becomes the light of Jesus in all we say and do. And like that magnifying glass, we can focus His light on those that need His fire in their lives.

A Typical Day

2011-06-13T08:32:00.003-04:00

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (NIV)

A typical day for most is an early rise getting ready for another workday. It may include an exercise routine and breakfast or at least a cup or two of coffee.

Then, liking it or not, off to work we go. It does not matter what the job is. For some it is hard physical labor. Others sit at a desk or stand at a counter all day dealing with the public. Some stare at a computer screen while keeping their cool solving problems for their caller of the moment.

Some love their work and other despise it. Yet they all do it each and every day to survive in this world we live in. Many are so wrapped up in it that it has become their life. They know more about it and their fellow workers than their own family. Retirement becomes a scary thought because it means leaving that family.

Notice that God has not been mentioned and that is typical. God fits in on Sunday if nothing more important does not come first. After all, He understands all that is expected of us in our day to day life. Plenty of time for God when we get older.

Paul tells us to stand firm. I believe he is talking about our faith, our relationship with God. How firm is our relationship? Do we talk to Him during the day? Do we read His word first thing each morning? Do we pray without ceasing during our workday? Do we stand firm when others tempt us to get involved in gossip, dirty jokes, or inappropriate language?

We are to not let Satan and the temptation he sends us through other people or even those thoughts he gives us make us take our focus off of our Father God. Nothing should be able to move us.

And as we go about our workday giving ourselves fully to God, He opens up doors of opportunity for us to be a shining light to others. No matter the obstacles the enemy tries to erect in our path, our labor for the Lord is never in vain.

Let's give every day to the Lord and let the Holy Spirit guide us in all we do and say.

Five Rules to Live By

2011-06-06T09:51:00.000-04:00

1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. (NIV)

Paul throws this in at the end of his first letter to the Corinthians. In this one sentence I find a lot of important points to remember as we travel on our Christian journey.

We are to be on guard.

We are to be aware of what is going on around us always watching out for the works of the enemy and his temptations. Others we know may be used as his vessels to coax us into things to bring us away from our journey.

We are to stand firm in the faith.

The faith being our belief in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And in our knowing that God the Father loves us and is always with us. That He is a loving God always out for our best interest. Yet like any good parent, He allows us to make our own choices in life while standing by to pick up the pieces when we realize we have taken the wrong path.

We are to be courageous.

The easiest thing to do is stand by and watch the world go by. And in this day and age we can do that without ever leaving our house. Many are worldly and opinionated about what is happening in the world only because of their addiction to television and the various news channels. And courageous is not about running into a burning building to save a child. It is about courage to go where most Christians dare not to find the lost and tell them about our faith; tell them about our experience with Jesus Christ.

We are to be strong.

Although it is a good thing to spend time building our physical body up. And I recommend a daily exercise program either at home or at a local gym, but that is not what this is about. We are to be strong in our faith. We know that we know that we know we are a child of God and we are saved by the blood of the Lamb. In Jesus we are strong and able to stand up against the wiles of the enemy which comes in all forms of mankind. Be strong when our friends and family members come against us. Be strong when even strangers confront us. Know that with Christ all things are possible and it is not our strength but His that we walk forth in.

We are to do everything in love.

And this is the most important of all the five rules. God is love and we are children made in the image and likeness of Him. When we fall into temptation, we take our eyes off of God. We momentarily forget who we are in Christ and that He is in us. We ignore the Holy Spirit within and take off on a side road in our journey. We are to love our fellow Christians, the non-believers we come into contact with, and our enemies. But we must be careful to remember the first four rules and not let our love for others allow us to be drawn away from our journey with Christ.

God Knows Me

2011-05-30T11:38:00.001-04:00

1 Corinthians 13:12
All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (NLT)

How many times have we heard people talking about getting to know themselves? That is not as strange as it may sound.

Others know us as the person we let them see. Often that visible person is not the real us. We hide who we think we are behind a mask of who we want them to see. And yet, who we really are is often hidden deep within and we do not even know who that is.

As we experience life, we learn more about the person behind the face in the mirror. Through the trials we face and our reactions to them we gain understanding of that person within. Sometimes it is a pleasant revelation and other times it reveals traits we are not pleased with.

The good news is that God already knows us completely. He knows who He destined us to become. He knows our potential and waits patiently for us to discover it.

When we become a believer our spirit man is re-born. Our sins are forgiven. The possibility of us becoming all God knows us to be is unlocked and we begin a journey of become Christ like in our nature and our actions.

Follow My Example

2011-05-23T07:59:00.002-04:00

1 Corinthians 11:1
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (NIV)

I remember that old adage "Do as I say and not as I do." I truly used to expect my children to follow it. If I knew how they should behave and I was not behaving that way myself, how could I expect them to not follow my example?

How many of us made our children attend Sunday School every week and say their prayers each night, but failed to set that example for them? Do we set the right example for them today? Or are we still expecting them to listen to our logic over our life examples?

And what about those we work and socialize with? And by socialize I am including face-to-face as well as the virtual world of email, texting, Facebook, and Twitter.

Are the life examples we set consistent with what we "preach"?

Living Power

2011-05-16T08:26:00.000-04:00

1 Corinthians 4:20 The Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power. (NLT)

We all know people who can tell us how to do something. They have an answer for everything. When we get excited about starting on a new venture they can always be relied on to explain why will not be successful at it. When it comes to telling about the Good News to strangers they have the exact message that will bring everyone to their knees and to Christ.

But often it is just a lot of talk. We never hear stories of their successful ventures or about their leading someone to Christ. It is always about "how to do" and not about "how I did".

We can be the most informed person in the world and in the things of God. We can recite Bible verses left and right and argue with the best about what the Word of God says. But all that is just a lot of talk.

My cell phone is a great tool, but I have to plug it in to charge it daily so I can continue to benefit from the apps it has to offer.

In order to walk out in His power, we have to walk and not just talk. As we walk out doing what the Holy Spirit shows us, we not only grow in our faith, we see His power unleashed with increasing levels. When we plug in to Him our batteries are recharged and we get to walk out in the gifts as the Holy Spirit directs.

Obedience to His voice unleashes God's power and grows our faith.

The Power

2011-05-06T08:49:00.000-04:00

Remember that old TV show, "Have Gun--Will Travel"?

Paladin was a good guy with a black hat. His services were for hire. This was one of the most popular shows of the late 1950's. Okay, so you were not even born way back then. Google the show title and watch an episode or two. His Colt .45 gave him the power and those who hired him, the authority to fulfill his missions.

Luke 10:1,17

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit... When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, "Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!" (NLT)

Jesus gave the disciples authority and power to go out two by two. Had they not gone would they have had the power?

If you want to have the power you have to do the work. It comes as a result of the doing. You do not get it first and then walk out. Power comes in the walk. As we walk God directs us onto the right path. But without motion there can be no direction. You just stand still looking around.

Just as in the law of physics that says every action has an equal and opposite reaction, every time we step out to complete the Father's work here on earth another piece is added to our spiritual man. We don't feel it, but we can tell when the next assignment comes along. We are able to recognize it quicker and complete it with an added level of confidence.

As baptized believers we have been given the Holy Spirit along with the authority and power to do whatever He tells us to do when we do so in the name of Jesus.

Superman

2011-05-02T08:08:00.002-04:00

Acts 4:9-10 Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene. (NLT)

We all know about Superman. You remember? "Faster than a speeding bullet..." He was a comic book hero to many of us back in our youth. I recall seeing him first in a black and white serial between two two main shows on Saturday afternoons. He came from outer space and had super powers, but...

The "but" had to do with a particular rock from his home planet called Kryptonite. Whenever he was in close proximity to any of those rocks his powers disappeared and he even became very weak. Of course, one way or another he always made it through the difficult time and came out unscathed on the other side.

After Jesus left the disciples ascending to heaven to be with the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell each believer. We became His ambassadors with authority and power to do what He did and more. He gave us His name to use, the powerful name of Jesus Christ.

When we lay hands on the sick, the weary, the demon possessed we have the power and the authority to use His name. It is His name, the name above all names, that makes it all happen.

Like Kryptonite was to Superman, our enemy is Satan. He drops thoughts into our head making us wonder if we really can heal that person. He temps us into other directions than where the Holy Spirit is leading. He is our nemesis and when we allow him to get in the way, we lose our power.

James 4:7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (NLT)

But all we have to do is resist the devil and he must flee. When we come against him, we regain our power and make it through the difficult time and come out unscathed on the other side.

What is Your Addiction?

2011-04-25T09:20:00.002-04:00

As soon as we hear the word addiction we think about drugs and alcohol. We have heard the stories about family members who have been addicted to either or both and the horrible lives they and their family led. And we have heard of the deliverance from the addiction that has occurred in those who turned their live over to Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:12
You say, "I am allowed to do anything"-but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything. (NLT)

Satan is a subtle serpent. He temps us into many other addictions just as bad as drugs and alcohol. But these may not be illegal addictions, they are things that trap us into a lifestyle further and further away from God's path for us.

"Sure, he must mean smoking", you think. Yes, that is a legal substance bad for our bodies and for our pocketbook. But what about eating, working, television, pornography, gambling, the lottery, sports, speeding, and spending?

Addiction is defined as a condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.

Wow, that certainly covers everything, doesn't it?

Having to be home every Monday night to watch a particular show on television is an addiction. Having to have two cups of coffee every morning to get going is an addiction. Having to watch the news every evening is an addiction. Always looking for something to put in your mouth is an addiction and a health hazard.

Having to do the same thing over and over is a habit and an addiction. What is the difference between the two? I believe it has to do with being able to stop. Can you change or remove that habitual behavior? Can you no longer have coffee in the morning? Can you skip the evening news? Can you stop snacking during the day?

Matthew 22:27
You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. (NLT)

I believe an addiction to anything other than God Himself is wrong. To habitually occupy ourselves with anything else draws us away from Him and He alone is worthy of our complete attention. Are you addicted to Jesus?

Success

2011-04-23T16:49:00.002-04:00

How do you measure success? That is the question I woke up with the other day. You might think it would have an easy answer, but as we look around us we can see many ways success is measured.

From a worldly perspective it might be measured by how much you make; how large the paycheck is each week. Often children are raised to look toward the education that will result in the highest paying vocation instead of aiming at individual talents and desires.

After all, if you are not making enough money, how can you afford the necessities of this life? You know what I mean. They must have things like 50 inch flat screen televisions, the latest SmartPhone, a Kindle, super high speed Internet connections, a big SUV to drive, and the list goes on.

Some measure their success by getting their name in the paper or being on television. How many television shows today allow the average citizen to compete to be the best. From game shows to weight loss shows to reality shows to music people competing to become a household name.

Others spend portions of the little paycheck they get on a chance to win the big one, the lottery. Maybe if they win they can have the big check and be able to have the things in this life that label us as successful. Maybe.

Philippians 4:11-13, 19
I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

As believers we know we already have all we need. We are not in competition with those we work with, our family members, our friends, and especially not with those in our church.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

I believe our true success is measured in fruit. And I am speaking of the fruit of the spirit. Others should see the fruit in our lives not because we tell them but because it is obvious in our day to day lifestyle. We should be walking with Jesus guided in our every step by the Holy Spirit. If we do this we cannot help but bare fruit.

And then as we disciple others in their walk by sharing our lives with them, we should see that fruit multiply and be present in their lives as well. This is the kind of success I am looking for. This is a success that is measured for eternity.

Believe the Message

2011-04-11T07:40:00.002-04:00

Galatians 3:5
I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law of Moses? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

God gives us the authority and power to perform miracles because we stepped out to answer His call. It is not because of who we are are in the world, but because of He who lives in us. And to do His work and see the miraculous signs and wonders we must believe the message about Christ.

It does not say we have to attend a program at a local church or be a Christian for a certain amount of time. It does not even say we have to obey the law of Moses. Quite the contrary as receiving the Holy Spirit to reside in us only requires believing the message about Jesus.

God's path is always easy. Man complicates it. Someone can be a new believer and see signs and wonders occurring everywhere they go while another who has been a believer for years may yet to witness one.

Moving out in God is not about what you earn out of hard work and strict obedience to the law of Moses. There will never be a time while we are here on Earth when we are without sin, without doing the right things all the time.

God calls us righteous because of our faith, not our actions. However, improper action can negate what we have said.

Should we try to follow the Ten Commandments. Sure, they are all good for us. But our righteousness is not determined by our ability to follow them. It is about our following Jesus. As we grow in our relationship with Him, it becomes easier to be like Him.

But our sin does not keep us from God. Jesus paid that price once and for all. We were made righteous the second we accepted Jesus into our heart.

Unbelief

2011-04-04T08:37:00.002-04:00

Mark 6:4-6
Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family." And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. (NLT)

Those we want God to touch first after our conversion is our family and friends. Yet they seem to be the hardest to reach. They look at us and see the person we used to be and not who we have become in Jesus.

Just because we believe something does not mean others will as well. Unbelief is the deciding factor in many spiritual issues. God is sovereign you say. He can do whatever He wants. And I believe that to be true. However, He does not go against a persons free will.

When others tell us their woes, they usually are not looking for us to pray for them or even to tell them what to do. They just want a shoulder to cry on or someone to line up with their side of the situation. They are not interested in a solution. They like it just the way it is.

We can become very frustrated running around attempting to solve the problems of others by laying hands on them and praying to our Father God for them. Better to pray in private for them then to confront them to convince them to believe.

We are asked often if people are sometimes not healed when we lay hands on them in the name of Jesus. The answer is yes. They may come forward after a meeting for prayer because everyone expects them to. They come with unbelief and may leave with unbelief. Does God touch them? Often we see it happen and His presence changes that unbelief to belief and they are healed.

Being saved is the result of reaching out in faith for Jesus. This one act does not remove all unbelief in our life. It is shed from our life as we walk with Him. As our experiences in God grow our unbelief diminishes. And to get that experience we have to take a chance and walk out doing as the Holy Spirit prompts.

Are You Willing

2011-03-28T09:09:00.002-04:00

James 1:2-4
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (NLT)

Years ago I studied Karate and one of the first things we learned was to walk away from conflict. We were taught that the last thing to do was to use Karate to inflict pain. It was only to be used to defend oneself when all other methods were exhausted.

James speaks about troubles coming our way. In Mathew, Jesus speaks to persecution.

Matthew 5:10
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. (NLT)

This does not sound like running away from conflict. This tells me we are expected to defend our faith. We are to step up to the plate whatever the cost.

Are we willing to be persecuted? Do we step out and face the enemy or run and hide the truth?

Hide the truth? Yes, by not stepping out and sharing the Gospel message with others we are hiding the truth from those children of God needing to hear it.

"Father God, give me the courage to stand and tell others about Jesus Christ and what He has done for my life. And the wisdom to speak the words they need to hear so they too may know the Truth that will set them free. Amen."

Money

2011-03-21T09:11:00.003-04:00

1 Timothy 6:9-10
But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Money is one of the driving forces in today's world. I guess that has not changed since the beginning of the civilized world. Here is Paul speaking right to our current issues from two thousand years ago.

When things start to get out of hand, like the price of gasoline, people start to blame big business and question why those businesses need to make so much money. We are close to $4.00 a gallon and it seems to be climbing daily. We blame the US oil businesses when it really comes down to those supplying the raw material who are busy supporting a war in their own country.

It does not matter how much money we are talking about. The spirit of greed can be working in the life of someone making minimum wage as well as the person earning a six figure income. They each want more and will do whatever it takes to make it. And they do it all so that they can have the latest cell phone, the hottest Wii or X-box game, the exotic vacation, or whatever.

I am reminded of the old cartoons of Uncle Scrooge and his huge cache of money that he would dive into. He loved his money and was more interested in just getting more of it than in using it to purchase anything.

To obtain things we need to have money. But it is not the love of new things that is the issue. It is the love of money. After all it is the availability of money that creates the ability to get those new things. Then the cycle starts. We need more and more money to get more and more things. Everything we do involves making more money and before you know it the love of money controls us.

How many go to college pursuing an education to enhance their ability to make large amounts of money instead of using college to further their knowledge in the area they love, the area they are called by God to enter into? Too many, I am sure.

So lets reassess our motive for making money. Is it to sustain us in our God given call or is it to allow us to stand out in the community with all the things we have and do? Do we love God or money?

The Vending Machine

2011-03-14T17:59:00.002-04:00

John 14:12-13
"I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. (NLT)

When I was teaching at the college and had to stay for an evening class I would head down to the vending machines and get a soda or perhaps a bag of chips or something. All you had to do was feed a dollar into the slot, look over the items in the machine, and pick a number. Then the item you wanted would drop out. Success had to do with the condition of the dollar bill. Some went in fine and others were all wrinkled and unable to be read by the machine.

How many times do we treat God like a vending machine? We know what we want from Him, stick in our offering, and press the button of our choice. We don't get to see what we want as a display of products. We speak to Him and ask for it and the "condition" of our prayer does not count at all. Unlike that wrinkled dollar bill that would not work in the vending machine, our pray can be a short plea in our own words or long and filled with scripture and He still hears us. Then we judge God when He does not deliver what we want in the time frame we want it. Wow!

We tend to take verse 13 on its own instead of in context with verse 12. It looks to me like Jesus is saying that as we go about doing the works He did, we can ask in His name and see them finished. Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, told mountains to move, raised the dead, and more.

As we go about doing the works Jesus did, completing what the Father starts, we are to ask for those things in Jesus name. For we cannot do them on our own fleshly merit. But He can do them through us when we ask.

The Same Spirit

2011-03-07T07:38:00.003-05:00

Romans 8:11
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. (NLT)

As believers we know Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live in each of us. He is our comforter and our guide throughout this walk we are on. Paul refers to Him as Christ within. When we are about to do something in the flesh, the Holy Spirit gives us that nudge making us think again, hopefully before we acted. With His help and our yielding our character gradually changes to be more Christ like.

Do we really understand who the Holy Spirit is? It was He who was in Jesus when he walked the earth as man. It was He who raised Jesus from the dead! Yes, the same spirit!

Then why do we let our mortal man, our flesh, have so much power in our lives? We have within us the authority and power from Father God Himself. And all we have to do is listen. But we get so wrapped up in our little worldly things we do not pay attention to that voice within.

Oh, we do listen from time to time. But how often? How many times are we so motivated by our human desires that we put up barriers so we can avoid the Holy Spirit? And yet, when things do not go the way we wanted we are quick to yank down those barriers and ask for His help after the fact.

Shouldn't we ask, listen, and then act on what we heard? Instead we think, decide, and do on our own. Then we complain and ask the Holy Spirit for help to clean up the mess.

If we would only seek first His face. If we would only ask His advice before stepping out each day. I wonder what our lives would be like then?

Received the Holy Spirit

2011-02-28T11:48:00.001-05:00

Galatians 3:2 Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. (NLT)

We have it much easier than the original disciples almost two thousand years ago. No we don't, you say! They got to walk with Jesus. He was right there to teach them.

That is all correct, but... They did not have the Holy Spirit. Jesus was the only man who did and this is where His divine authority and power came from. Before He went off to be crucified and die for the sins of all mankind, He promised His first action when He got to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father was to have the Father send the Holy Spirit, the comforter to live in each believer.

Here in Galatians we see Paul teaching on receiving the Holy Spirit. He does not come to abide in us because of the works we do. There is no waiting period to have Him with us. We received Him the moment we believed the message of Christ; the moment we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior; the moment we became born again.

That moment in time is our Upper Room experience. Our spirit man is reborn and the spirit of Christ comes to reside. We are a new person in the spirit beginning a journey under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 16:15-18 And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved...These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will... speak in [tongues]... They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed."

What we do not necessarily have at this point in time is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The evidence of which is our prayer language. How do we receive this baptism? Let's look at what the Bible says about that.

Acts 19:1-7 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul... found several believers."Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" he asked them. "No," they replied, "we haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." "Then what baptism did you experience?" he asked. And they replied, "The baptism of John." Paul said, "John's baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus." As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied...

Believers have the Holy Spirit and see fruit in their lives. Their character begins to change and what pleased them before is replaced with other interests. Their friends notice the changes and see Jesus in their behavior. Once baptized in the Holy Spirit, as Paul gives evidence to in Acts, they begin a new level of communication with God the Father through their prayer language.

Right Timing

2011-02-21T09:15:00.003-05:00

John 15:16
You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. (NLT)

There are times in my life when I am at just the right place at the right time. Years ago I thought it was just dumb luck. Now I know better. God was in the mix and those things happened when they happened because of His plan, not mine and certainly not dumb luck.

In this passage, Jesus is speaking to His disciples, but I believe His words apply to us as well. His twelve were saved and on their way to eternity with Jesus. But they did not make a logical choice to follow Him. Each was chosen.

Those who know me understand that I am not a sports fan. However, it is impossible to not know about the big games. There is information about them everywhere. I have no desire to sit around and watch a game or even go to one. For me to go to a game takes a decision that involves looking at how far I have to travel, if I have anything else to do instead, and perhaps how much will it cost.

In our country it is easy to know about Jesus. There are books, movies, billboards, as well as people holding up hand made "Jesus Saves" signs on street corners. Someone has to be out of it to not know something about Jesus.

If a friend called me up and told me they had tickets to the big game and wanted to give them to me there would be no choice. I would say "Yes!" The timing was right on and the price was right, even though I really was not a fan.

So when asked if they believe in Jesus, a person can easily think about all they have read or seen or heard and come to a logical decision on their own that they do know Him. But even if they repeat a "sinners prayer" at this point, were they chosen by God or just picked out of a crowd and convinced based on foreknowledge about Jesus? After all they were being given a free ticket. so why not take it just in case?

I believe that first we are chosen by God. He softens our heart making us ready to reach out to Him. Then when we are picked out of a crowd it is not as if we have to be convinced of anything. We are ready and just say "Yes!".

Then we are saved. Then we are in the position Jesus speaks to of when He said "Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name."

Decision Time

2011-02-14T08:49:00.003-05:00

We make decisions all the time and then move forward. We weigh the benefits of going in one direction or another. Does choice #1 get us closer to our intended destination than choice #2? Is there a downside of choosing one over the other?

For those of us that are logical thinkers decisions boil down to choices. To those that use the other side of their human brain the decisions are more in favor of what feels best. This can be a problem when two people are trying to come to agreement and one is right brained and the other left.

John 3:3
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God."

What about the decision to follow Jesus; the decision to become a born again Christian?

This is not a human decision made with thought, logic, or emotions although many try to convince someone in these ways. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is not a choice. It is an opportunity that arrives when your heart has been opened. There is no decision to be made. God has already made you ready. You just have not been told and when someone opens up the gospel to you, you simply accept.

Sure, many are convinced that they need to say the "sinners prayer" and do. Some come forward out of pure emotion at a church service. Was this their opportunity? Only they and God really know that answer.

What if they said it to get you off their back? They said it because everyone else was saying it in a church service? They went forward because of peer pressure and not because their heart was open to it? Are they really saved?

Matthew 7:16
You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.

Jesus said we should know his followers by their fruit. As the weeks go on and they walk with the Holy Spirit (Christ within) changes begin to occur in their very character. They begin to do things and even speak differently than they had before accepting Jesus. It is then that you know the words they said really did come from their heart and they are born again.

The Tongue

2011-02-07T07:45:00.002-05:00

Proverbs 18:21
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. (NLT)

We live in a world of email and instant messaging and texting. But still we forget that once we have pressed the Enter key or clicked on Send we cannot get those words back. No matter what we say next, the words are in cyberspace and not only will reach their intended destination, they will also be out there forever.

Words can hurt. We know that. And once spoken even if they were done in jest they cannot be taken back. They can apologize to us and we can accept their apology, but this does not lessen the effect they had on us. When those words left their mouth they were just like email. They were gone and could not be taken back. And they are with us forever.

The words we speak are so important and yet we says things like "You are killing me" or "I always get a winter cold". And what about the words we speak to people we love like "You can be so stupid" or "You can never get anything right".

We must watch what we say to others and most importantly to ourselves. We can make our self sick by speaking sickness. Now I am not suggesting we can be sick and say things like "I am not sick". That would be speaking a lie over our self.

When we are not well, we should accept the reality that something is not right. But we should then speak forth God's promises over our body parts and speak them into wellness. He has given us the authority and power as believers to do just that.

For the tongue can bring life or it can bring death. So we must watch what we say to others and watch what we say to ourselves because our words do make a difference.

Tradition

2011-02-01T08:39:00.003-05:00

Mark 7:13
And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others. (NLT)

Tradition is defined by Merriam-Webster as meaning an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom). As we have observed many churches over the years, we have seen many different traditions. Three stand out to me as I write this.

The first is the way the minister and the congregation are dressed. Some leaders are in fancy garments; robes for the choir members and a very ornate one for the preacher. Even the congregation is dressed in their "Sunday best" as their parents and their parent before them taught. The woman in dresses and the men with suits and ties.

Then there is the tradition of water baptism. There are those who believe you cannot be baptized unless you are fully immersed in water from head to toe. Others believe you may be sprinkled with water. And some do not use water at all and believe it is a spiritual baptism.

Then how about communion? Some use wine and others grape juice. Some actually tear a loaf of bread in half and pass it out. Others have little squares of a bread like substance while some use little pieces of bread (often stale) or even wafers that taste like cardboard.

When I was growing up my Catholic friends believed it was a sin to eat meat on Fridays. This was not from the Bible I knew, yet they believed because their church had told them so. According to the Word of God, all things are good to eat. Nothing is banned from us now that Jesus has come. Saying they could not eat meat went against the Word that said they could.

It is the Word of God that is the truth and we cannot let our traditions pull us apart from other believers. Nor can we let our tradition overtake what God has said. Just because another believer does something different in their church service does not mean they are not following God. It just means their tradition is different from yours. As long as that does not go against what the Word of God says, celebrate Jesus and do not be concerned about the differences.

How You Live

2011-01-24T09:20:00.002-05:00

Titus 1:15-16
Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. (NLT)

Living in the United States is good. There is no better place in the world as far as I am concerned. Even those who are poor live better than many others around the world. There are government programs available that allow them to live at a standard far above many working class citizens in other countries.

Notice I said our government programs? This is good in that many are helped, but at the same time bad. It has removed us from the need to help. We just let Uncle Sam take care of them and at the same time complain about the taxes we pay and the bureaucracy necessary for those programs to succeed.

We can get so wrapped up in our self, our family, our friends, and the activities at our church that we miss it. The way we live does not extend out to others in the world in which we live. Sure we help out at the local soup kitchen or put a buck in the bucket when someone is asking for donations outside of that store we went into today.

Jesus tells us about the good Samaritan. Remember the story? Religious leaders and others avoided the hurting man by walking across the street. Isn't that denying Him by the way we live?

God sees where we are in our day to day life. The Holy Spirit might even give us a kick wanting us to step out and speak to that person near us, that neighbor Jesus spoke of. Now I am not talking about looking for people in need. I am talking about recognizing the people God puts in front of us. They are the neighbors whom we are to love as we love ourselves.

Does our life walk speak Jesus to the world, or do we look just like everyone else? Do we deny Him by the way we live?

Stand firm

2011-01-17T09:11:00.000-05:00

1 Corinthians 15:1-2
Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you-unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. (NLT)

When growing up I believed in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. These were untruths that I continued to believe until I was steered in the right direction by others when I started to attend school. I am not going to discuss wither or not having children believe these fairy tales is good or bad. You can judge that for yourself.

The fact is I believed something other than the truth. And often we find something we have believed in for a while to be less than the real deal. Perhaps it is a great investment deal that goes sour. Or maybe a secret stock pick that everyone is saying will make it to the top quickly and as soon as we put in our order to buy it, it crashes.

We tend to put our faith in others and their ability to know things. We trust the human judgments of others. We trust the commercials we see and the ads we read forgetting they are in the business of us buying what they have to sell.

The Bible is not a onetime read. Matter of fact the first few times I really picked it up to read I had trouble reading it. It was uninteresting and boring. I would read a section and then wonder what I had read. I was not getting it.

Then I asked Jesus into my heart and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. What a difference that made! Reading the Bible was now exciting and not only did I understand what I was reading, I received new revelation every time I re-read it.

Back to the subject. As we attended church and listened to well crafted sermons, we heard what was told as truth and believed it. We walked out in that truth. But then, as we grew and read our Bibles, we received new understanding and sometime what was once truth to us had changed.

Stand firm in the Good News, the truth. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message.

Trust in Him

2011-01-10T08:51:00.000-05:00

Hebrews 3:14
For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. (NLT)

How many times have we said we would be friends for life with someone? More than a few I imagine. Probably with those friends you had growing up and then with people you were close with where you work. I know in High School I had friends I thought would be with me for life. Just did not happen.

Recently I became very involved with organizing the 50th class reunion for High School. There were seven hundred plus in the graduation class and it is a chore trying to gather them all together. I did have a few close friends way back then, but none that I even spoke to on a regular basis.

I have gotten reacquainted with a few friends and it has been great finding out what has been happening in each other's live in fifty years. And I have made new friends with those classmates I had not gotten to know back then. We did not know each other then, but we share a history together and now a landmark event.

When we found Jesus and asked Him into our heart, we became friends with the maker of all there is. It was an exciting time in our lives. But, we cannot turn away from Him like we did our classmates from High School while we take on the world.

The whole point is to take on less of the world and allow Him to change us. For that to happen we need to stay focused on God. Anything less keeps us from the path He is revealing to us each day as we stay in communications with Him. As we talk to Him, He will show Himself in many ways and we will know what to do.

As we continue to trust in Him, we will continue to share in all that belongs to Christ.

Just Believe

2011-01-03T08:55:00.002-05:00

Ephesians 2:8-9 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (NLT)

Daily I have been entering a contest to win free gasoline for a year. I have to make sure I sign in each day and submit my entry. If I do not do this simple step I cannot possibly get the prize.

At some time or other, we all have joked about wining the lottery. What is really funny is that with all the talk about winning, very few of us actually purchase a ticket. Without taking that step, there is no way to win.

If we go way back into our childhood, most of us believed that if we were good Santa Claus would come on Christmas and lease presents under the tree. The key was that we had to be good for we were told that he would only leave coal in the stockings of bad boys and girls.

Growing up we work hard at getting good grades and graduating so we can get a decent job. Today, without at least a High School diploma it is difficult to find any employment and if you want a good paying position you had better show a college degree.

You better be good. You cannot get ahead in life without a college degree. No presents under the tree for you. If you do not get the ticket how can you win the prize? Everything we want to have depends on work by us at some level.

Then along comes Jesus Christ. Salvation is a free gift from God. We cannot say we worked hard to obtain it. All we have to do is decide to accept it! The only requirement is to just believe.

Challenges Come

2010-12-27T09:08:00.002-05:00

James 1:2-3
When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

How often do we get held up in a long line of traffic anxious to continue on our way. Then only a short distance away we find a terrible crash and realize that had we been a minuter earlier it could have been us. Years ago when I would just miss an accident caused by another driver cutting me off or running a light, I would yell out at the person who put me in danger giving them a piece of my mind. Now I take that opportunity to thank God for the miss.

We all run into trouble or things that come in the way of our perfect plan. Often these are circumstances of life caused by others. Sometimes they are the result of poor choices of our own. But out of every one we have a chance to grow.

The test is in what we do as a result of the misfortune. How do we react? It is easy to sit back and analyze a situation someone else is in and use our logic and our experiences in life to determine the best way to handle things; the right way to react. That is reacting out of our intellect. But what about reacting out of our heart?

God sees it all. He is constantly looking at how much we have grown. The test is in how much we have grown to be more like Christ in how we react. Did we counter with Love or with something else bent on revenge?

Either way, we grow. One way is towards a more Christ centered character and the other takes us the other way. When the later happens, we need to stop, ask God for forgiveness, and pray He helps us react differently the next time a challenge comes our way.

Down a Notch

2010-12-20T10:53:00.002-05:00

1 John 3:16
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. (NLT)

When I was a young child I would go to the Saturday matinee at the local movie theater. There was always a double feature with a serial between them. I do not remember any of the feature movies, but I do remember the serial. It was Superman. He was "faster than a speeding bullet..."

When we read this verse, we might think about jumping in front of a bullet to spare another's life. Of course the bullet would not bounce off of us as it did Superman in those old movies. We would give up this human life to save another.

Our lives are not just this human body. As a matter of fact, Jesus died for us to live. As believers we are already dead to this world and alive to the next. From that new life, we cannot die.

I do not think this verse is speaking about jumping in front of a bullet or any other dramatic ways to save someone from physical harm. He is speaking about our way of life.

Are we willing to step down a notch or two to allow someone else to step up? Will we give up something in our life so someone else might have it instead?

What are we doing this week to help someone else out? Perhaps it is a family without food or shelter or just a person in need of a friend that cares. Would we be willing to drop cable television to give that money to someone in need each month? What about giving up that cappuccino at the coffee shop each morning? Or even going out of our way every Sunday to bring someone to church?

Isn't it time to step down a notch and allow someone else to step up?

Remain in Fellowship

2010-12-20T10:52:00.002-05:00

1 John 2:28
Remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. (NLT)

We have all heard the old adage "Out of sight, out of mind", and how true this is. We leave a job we have had for years, often those we were close to seem to fall off the edge of the earth. We never hear from them again nor do we think to call them. Same happens when we leave high school, college, and even a church we had been involved in for years. We lose contact.

For some this may even happen in the home. Living in the same house with someone does not automatically equal having fellowship with them. Tragically many marriages fall into this trap. The two that became one have become the two that exist in the same house. No longer are they in relationship as it has turned into a living arrangement instead of a loving relationship.

In John 13 Jesus tells us that as He loves us, so we must love one another and that others will know we are His disciples, if we love one another. So if we want to be loved, shouldn't we show love to others?

With the world made smaller with apps like Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messaging, and Texting there is no reason to stay out of touch with anyone. Yet, we let it happen.

Want to get an instant message, then send one. Want to hear from someone you have not talked to in a long time, then call them. Want to get a bunch of emails, then send a bunch-and I do not mean those jokes and chain letters.

Relationships do not just happen. They take time and energy to start and to maintain. The same is true with our relationship with Jesus. He has always been waiting on us. We took the step of accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. That gave us the open door to a daily relationship with Him.

Now isn't it time to be in fellowship with Jesus, to talk to Him and grow that relationship?

A New Chapter

2010-12-06T09:11:00.002-05:00

2 John 1:4
How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded. (NLT)

Over the years we have met many families. Not all have had children that showed God's love in all we saw them doing. Most have been children of this world in their dress, their speech, and their actions. Perhaps this is how others felt when they came into my family when I was growing up. And how do others see me in my current life?

To those who knew us in our past, they may see us differently than those who have just gotten to know us. Our life is an open book, but it is the newer chapters that are the most open. They are the visible portions of our lives others get to see.

God has taken away the old and sometimes worn chapters of our life. He ripped them out of the book when we gave our life to Jesus. He forgave us of all our sin. He wrote a new chapter into our book of life and what is written there depends on how we follow His word.

People of the past still have the old chapters in their "book of us" and they have not ripped them out. As a matter of fact, they often refer back to them as they hold back their love from us. As we make mistakes, as we will always do, in this walk we walk they are the first to point back to those old chapters. They are anxious to find fault in who we have become.

And then he goes on in the next couple of verses to say: "I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning."

It is up to us to remember these verses and love one another. We are all in various places in our new chapter of life. Our pasts were different, so there are things we have to get over and through that others may never have experienced. So we must love all our Christian brothers and sisters as they push through their walk, as we work on loving them through their walk.

Work to be Done

2010-11-22T13:28:00.003-05:00

2 Peter 1:8
The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NLT)

In the previous verses he talks about responding to the promises of God. And he tells us we should supplement our faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

In other words, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to grow us daily into the character of Christ. This is a lifelong quest. Being a believer is not a onetime use of a seed of faith to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It is not just getting the ticket to get on the bus to eternity. There is a price to pay while we are still on this earth.

There is work to be done. We can only do so much with the knowledge we first had after that saving encounter with Jesus. But as we let the Holy Spirit teach us we do grow in our moral excellence. We obtain self-control, patient endurance, godliness, and love for everyone.

As we walk out shining His light to a dark world we open doors for others to step into and as we do so we grow. And as we grow in Christ, so grows our faith. It is an exciting journey!

Owe Nothing

2010-11-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

Romans 13:8
Owe nothing to anyone-except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law. (NLT)

Debt is the one word common to almost everyone in our society. Sit back and think about what your life would be like if you had no bills. The only things that come in the mailbox are cards and letters from family and friends. No credit card bills. No insurance bills. No tax bills. No solicitations.

Can you imagine that? Probably not. We have lived with the buy now pay later mentality all our lives. The idea of saving first and then buying has been long forgotten.

Yet this scripture tells us to owe nothing. We are to be debt free owing nothing except love to one another. Isn't it time to work on getting to that position in life? Isn't it time for us to stop spending more than we are make by not balancing what we are taking in with what we are putting on that credit card?

Would this mean giving up things we like, things we have grown accustomed to having? I am sure it would. We might have to drop the cable connection and even the Internet. Dumb down to a simple cell phone. Remove snack food and for some remove cigarettes and candy and beer and even soda and trips to the coffee shop. We might even have to depend on others for help.

What would happen if we started to live with bare necessities as we paid down those bills? First we would remove the worry about the bills and second we would learn to live with less. Simple steps: give to God, pay debt, and then live on what is left.

With God's help we can do anything. We can even change our lifestyle to obey His word.

Show Me

2010-11-01T11:48:00.004-04:00

Luke 3:8
Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. (NLT)

Show me! That is the unofficial motto of the state of Missouri. We tend to make a joke out of it when we want someone to prove what they are saying. We say "I'm from Missouri. Show me!".

Being a Christian is more than going to church on Sunday and more than reading the Bible. It is not how well we follow the doctrine of the church we attend. It is not how well be obey the Ten Commandments.

We may appear to be following Jesus because of what we let others see about us. We act the part very well because we are focused on doing and saying the right things. But has there really been change in our lives?

How we make ourselves appear to other does not make us a Christian any more than attending a church every week does. When we have asked Jesus into our heart and allowed the Holy Spirit to change us, we do not have to do anything. He changes us from the inside out and others see a new person because of who we are and not because of how we decide to be.

The way we live changes because we have yielded our lives to Him and He changes us and those changes continue to occur as we walk with Jesus each day.

The Living Jesus

2010-10-22T15:30:00.002-04:00

Romans 9:17-18
For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. (NLT)

As believers partaking in the benefits of a relationship with Jesus, we know He is alive today. We see Him working in and around us every day. But others do not know Him as being alive. To them He is may be just a name in a book.

The Word tells us that we are in Jesus and He is in us. Therefore, God’s glory is in each believer. And it is for the purpose of displaying His power to others that they may see Jesus in each of us. It is His light that is to shine though us in all we say and do.

The words out of our mouths should be formed by the Holy Spirit that lives within us and not out of our carnal mind. But it is up to us to allow Him to work through us. As we lay hands on others we can pray with our carnal mind that the Father touch them in Jesus name. And He promises to hear our prayers.

We can also lay hands on the sick and see them recover by letting the Holy Spirit do His work through us directly. The Holy Spirit living in us is the living Jesus for the entire world to see. But it is up to us to let Him out.

Tell Everyone

2010-10-18T09:35:00.002-04:00

Acts 12:16-1717
Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. "Tell James and the other brothers what happened," he said. And then he went to another place. (NLT)

When something good happens we are always ready to tell about it. Like when our favorite team wins the game. We talk about it all day to everyone we meet. We are so excited. Or if we won the prize at the office party. We are quick to tell about our worldly good fortune.

Peter was excited about what had happened to him. He was in prison and an angel sprung him. He was free by an act of God. He went directly to Mary's house to tell them what had happened, but he did not stay. He went on to tell others.

When God touches our lives, it should not be a secret. Yes it was a personal thing when He healed us or spoke into our lives in some way. But we need to not keep it to ourselves. We need to go around knocking on doors and tell.

As we tell the story of what Jesus has done for us we do two things. First we reinforce what He has done in us which diminishes what the enemy is trying to do to take it away. And second we encourage others about Jesus and what it means to have a relationship with Him.

By spreading the good news of Jesus in our lives, we are spreading the Good News to others.

The Plan

2010-10-11T13:36:00.002-04:00

Colossians 4:5-6
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. (NLT)

Most of us have heard the old adage If you fail to plan you plan to fail. So we set out on our life journey with a plan. We set goals for our lives and work our plan. Schooling leads to job opportunities and they set us out on our carrier path with the ultimate goal of a comfortable retirement package.

It all sounds good, but most never make it. The schooling that looked so right did not get us into that perfect job. We either did not end up liking what we trained for or there just were not jobs available in that field. Or the jobs were available, but the carrier path never unfolded. The result was that we did not end up meeting those goals set early on.

Then we met Jesus. These earthly plans we had depended on all of a sudden were meaningless. We now understood that He held the ultimate plan and He would help us meet the true goals of life, if we would allow Him to do so.

In our Bible we read the Great Commission and found ourselves eager to do what He told us. We were so eager we told everyone we met about our encounter with Jesus and how they had to meet Him, too. We set our goals and made our plan, once again. We decided how we could best do the job for God and became a salesman for Jesus.

But He tells us to live wisely among those who are not believers, and to make the most of every opportunity. We realized that it is His plan and not ours that will complete the journey. If we wait on the Lord, He will show us when it is time to tell our story. He makes the opportunities and it is up to us to listen for them and then act in faith on them.

And when we do step out and speak we are to let our conversation be gracious and attractive so that we will have the right response.

Seeing is Believing

2010-09-27T08:52:00.002-04:00

Acts 13:12
When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. (NLT)

Have faith you say. Well Dianne and I had faith to go to that meeting the day she was miraculously healed of Crohn's disease. That was faith to go. We had already been praying and had been seeking all the earthly possibilities we could find.

During that morning we saw things happen in front of our eyes. People were coming up on the platform in pain. You could see it on their faces and in their stature. Then with a quick touch and the name of Jesus the pain left and they could do what they were unable to do before. We saw what had happened.

Our housekeeper had told us about it, but we had not seen. We wanted to believe and had just enough faith to go. Sometimes that's all it takes.

Had we seen healing on television we probably would have rationalized them away as smoke and mirrors. You know those weight loss ads? They show you the before person and then the picture of that same person a few weeks later with a new body. Sure you say and somehow know it cannot be that easy.

But we did see it with our own eyes and heard the teachings about the Lord straight from the Bible. It was so simple when we realized what Jesus had told us in His Word. We are all to lay hands on the sick and see them recover!

When we saw what had happened, we became believers. Then when hands were placed on Dianne she was instantly healed. We saw. We believed. We received. Thank you Jesus.

Abba Father

2010-09-20T07:44:00.002-04:00

Galatians 4:6
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." (NLT)

The verses before this tell us that God sent Jesus to redeem us so we might receive the full rights of sons. As sons and daughters, we have varying ideas of what that means.

It depends on the childhood we had. For some of us it was a loving family life with our Dad coming home from work and loving on us. Vacations were fun as we went away to the beach or on a trip to the mountains. Family meant together.

For others, we had childhoods that were well off, but our father was never around. Our mother ruled with the threat of what our father would do if we got out of line. He worked all the time and was out of town often. Vacations, when we got to take one, were times away from home usually without Dad.

And then there were families where the parents split while we were young. We went to live full time with mom and spent little time with dad. Mom would anxiously await the monthly child support check, but that was the bulk of our involvement with him. He was our biological father, but not much of an influence in our lives.

There are many other scenarios we could talk about and yours might be unique. In any case there are two ways we come to Christ viewing God the Father. He is either a loving, caring Father God or one whose love is questionable or perhaps conditional.

The Spirit of Christ lives within us. He is the Holy Spirit. He calls out to Abba, which is Aramaic for Father or Daddy. But do we feel the same way about our Father God as the Holy Spirit does? Do we give the Holy Spirit permission to accept the Father's Love?

Without fully accepting His Love, how can we accept the full rights as sons and daughters?

In the Spirit

2010-09-13T12:01:00.000-04:00

Romans 8:9
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (NLT)

Jesus told His followers to gather together and wait. He promised to have the Father send the Holy Spirit to live in all believers from then on. As such, we who believe have been sent the Holy Spirit as well.

Wow! We have the spirit of the living God living in us. That is hard to wrap our human minds around. And yet we still sin. We have been brought up listening to man, learning from man, and doing what man does. Unless we give way to the Holy Spirit and let Him speak to us and guide us daily, it is easy to keep on keeping on just as we have always done.

How do we get the Holy Spirit and how do we know we have Him? I believe it happens as soon as we truly accept Jesus into our heart. The only reasons the first followers had to wait was because Jesus had not gone to the Father yet. Since then, He has continued to sit at the right hand of the Father.

In the Great Commission Jesus tells us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Those who believe will be saved and will be baptized. Jesus baptized by fire-the fire of the Holy Ghost. It is then that the Holy Spirit is activated in each believer with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

Later in verses 26-27 Paul speaks about praying in the Spirit, the tongues He has given us. I believe this opens a direct line between our spirit and the Father's spirit. This is how we receive whatever we need from God. This is how we receive power to do the miraculous.

Paul tells us to pray without ceasing and I believe this is about praying in our prayer language. The more we do the stronger in the Spirit we get. Try it!

Complete Harmony

2010-09-06T13:09:00.002-04:00

Romans 15:5-6
May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NLT)

Living in harmony with others seems a day-to-day challenge for most of us. Sometimes we just have to grit our teeth and push through the day. Complete harmony? Are you kidding?

But think about it. Jesus did it. And as His followers we should be able to do the same. So why does it seem impossible?

We are born again but living in this mortal body. As our relationship with God grows and we allow Him to change us, we take on more and more of the mind of Christ. You see, we can try to be that nice person who is in harmony with others, but it is just a mask we wear. We act the way we believe we should while inside we may be screaming. So what others see of us is not who we really are, yet.

It is through quiet time with God that we build that relationship. It is through time in His word and time in prayer coupled with giving the Holy Spirit permission to change us. We can read all we want and say as many prayers as we can, but without giving it all up to Him, we stay the same.

And change does not happen all at once. God changes us over time and in the sequence He knows is best for us. But as the Holy Spirit reveals things in us that may be holding us back from receiving more, we need to give that thing to God as well. When we do, we change a little more.

Did you give something new to God today?

Because I Can

2010-08-30T15:04:00.002-04:00

1 Corinthians 6 12
Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I'd be a slave to my whims. (The Message)

We live in a world of rules and laws. Our society tells us what is right and wrong. Then we know what we know to be right and wrong, but this does not always line up with society. And even worse, our decisions about choosing right from wrong might not line up with God.

What do we do when decisions have to be made? In this day-to-day existence, the easy answer is to follow the letter of the law. We do it on the highway all the time. How fast should I go? Well the sign says 55 so that is how fast we go. Or do we? Technically we can go faster and our logic tells us we can push the envelope a little and not get pulled over so maybe we do 60 or even 65. We feel justified every time we aren't caught.

We know lying is a sin, but we skirt the truth at times because we don't want to get caught. How do I look says the friend as she tries on a new dress. Not wanting to make her feel bad, you avoid saying hideous and instead let different words escape tour lips. And you say "That dress makes you look so slim." It may not have been a total lie, but it was not the truth either.

The laws in some states tell us it is legal for any two persons to marry regardless of gender. This is a big debate across the land. Man says one thing and God's word says another. It is technically all right, but not spiritually appropriate.

God loves all His children. However, I believe His expectations for those of us professing to be believers and filled with His Holy Spirit are higher than those who have yet to meet Him. With the Holy Spirit to guide us in our every day decisions we should be led to follow the right path regardless of the direction society and the current laws of the land lead us to.

It is not about what we want to satisfy our desires. It is about what God has for us to do.

Did you follow your own whims today or His lead?

God is Light

2010-08-23T09:09:00.002-04:00

1 John 1:5-7
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

We are who we associate with. It does not matter how strong we are, we do pick up stuff from others. It might be something as simple as the local accent when visiting a friend in another part of the country. And it could be something that subtlety changes our core values. Satan is a subtle serpent.

Simply put, God is light. Take away light and you have darkness; take away God and you no longer have Truth. In the absence of Truth is found lies. Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

In your mind's eye, picture walking in an underground cave. Perhaps it is an abandoned gold mine in the Midwest. There are old small wattage light bulbs every thirty to forty feet along the way. It is interesting to see where people worked long and hard in the ninetieth century. Then the unthinkable happens. The lights go out! You are in total darkness unable to even see your own hands. You reach into your backpack for a flashlight and snap it on. Those feelings of confusion and fear leave instantly.

You begin to walk back to the surface thankful you have the light. Not quite to the surface your batteries get weak and the amount of light becomes less and less. But even with only a little amount of light, the darkness is gone. Then as you look to where you are heading, you see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. As you move forward toward the light it become brighter and brighter. As you reach the end you step out into daylight.

As believers, we carry the light of Jesus into a dark world. Wherever we go His light removes the darkness enabling those who are ready to take up their portion of light and continue the process. Those who are not ready, who are unknowingly too deep into a relationship with satan close their eyes and ears to the Truth. They block the light and fail to receive.

Like flashlight batteries, our light can become dimmer. The anointing leaks out a little each day.

Many believe it is on Sunday morning at a church service that we are refilled with a fresh anointing from God. This can be true depending on the church and the mix of attendees. Often there is a mix of light and darkness in a large gathering. Just because a person attends church does not make them a carrier of His light. We can come away refilled or even less full depending on what is happening and who we are with.

We need to be in constant relationship with others carrying His light. We draw on each other and our lights shine brighter. This is good, but not the true source of the light. It is our relationship with Jesus, our reading of the Word, and our praise to God that builds the anointing. We can be refilled daily. Then as we go into the world those we meet will see God's light shining bright in our words, actions, and even in our presence.

The Faithful Ones

2010-08-16T07:55:00.002-04:00

Hebrews 10:38-39
And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away. But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. (NLT)

Have you ever been on a team or been part of a group of friends that were always together? I am sure you have. Maybe it was a team in High School. I was on the tennis team in school. That was not like being on a baseball team in that tennis is a one or two person sport. My teammate, the one I played doubles with is still a friend today although we have been apart for quite a few years.

Perhaps you were in a club of some kind. In school I was involved with a number of clubs, one of which was the Ham Radio Club. There were a bunch of us that had our Amateur Radio licenses from the FCC and that common interest brought us together. After many years one of my club members and I have finally got back together. It is fun catching up on the years in between.

Since school, I have been in other clubs or organizations from Sport Car Rallying, to Ham Radio, to a Stock Club, to Computer User's Groups, and more.

What about church? Is that a club or a team? For some it may just be a club. It is a place to gather on Sunday mornings like parents and grandparents have done for generations at the same building. The faces change and new leadership comes and goes, but the same families are still part of the club.

For others it is a team. Or at least the church within the church is a team. That is the remnant that gathers seeking God's face. The ones eager to hear His voice and step out of the boat to do His will.

When someone is part of a club or a team and they turn away from it, the team members no longer associate with them. They are not interested in the new direction the lost members are heading in. They may have tried to dissuade them from departing. But once gone, they have nothing in common any more.

The team we are on with our brothers and sisters in Christ are seeking a deeper relationship with Him. They are seeking His face and His word for them. They want His will in all they do. Those that turn away from the team, from the direction of the Holy Spirit, are lost to their own destruction. The remaining are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

Right and Wrong

2010-08-09T08:11:00.002-04:00

2 Timothy 2:14
Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. (NIV)

Nobody wins an argument, ever. All that ever happens is one person gives in. Sometimes right is wrong and wrong is right. It all depends on which side you are on and what era you are from. What was acceptable behavior in the mid-twentieth century is no longer acceptable in the early twenty-first. That does not make either right or wrong, but what was right fifty years ago is now considered wrong by society.

God's truth was true in the beginning and is still true today. He is the same yesterday, today, and in the future. Truth is truth forever. Throughout history man has changed and society has matured into today's version. This has affected how we live with each other and how we handle what the current society considers wrongs. Even the punishment for wrong doings has been altered overt he centuries.

As believers we were given a mandate to preach the Gospel to the four corners of the Earth. Back then this referred to the four rivers and the tribes of the known world. With today's knowledge of the Earth, we know that means the whole Earth. It means we have the responsibility to tell all we meet about Jesus.

We are to preach the Gospel; not argue the Gospel. We do not have to convince others to believe by manipulating them into agreeing with our words. The Truth stands on its own with no help from us. Those that hear it from us know we believe and will be moved toward us or away. That is their choice and no amount of arguing will change their mind. We can only present them a door. They have to choose to open it.

What Gospel do we preach? If we quote Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John we are quoting "the gospels", but all can be left to interpretation especially by the unbeliever we are confronting. But if we preach our Gospel how can it be refuted?

We tell the story of Jesus in our lives. We tell of the changes that have happened in our own lives as a result of the relationship we have with Him. This is the Gospel message and it is a personal message that lets them know why we know we are on a journey with God that will end in eternity with Him.

The Band-Aid

2010-08-02T09:56:00.001-04:00

Have you ever had a cut? Of course you have. It is easy to misjudge and find our skin cut and bleeding. After yelling ouch, we look for a Band-Aid. But first we clean the cut by pouring clean water in it and even some peroxide.

If left alone, the bleeding will eventually stop as the blood clots. If dirt was in the cut, it is likely an infection will occur and the area will be tender to the touch. Healing will take a while longer and may even require cutting the wound open again to force the results of the infection out. Until the infected area is cleaned out, full healing will not occur.

Isn't it the same in the spiritual? We accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and are now born again. God sent the Holy Spirit to live in us to comfort us to guide us to teach us. He forgave us of our sins, but does not unpack our bags. We have baggage no matter where we came from. That baggage is like an infection that stops the total healing.

Some of that baggage is unforgiveness. Things have happened to us in the past and we hold it against others. We need to rid ourselves of the baggage from our past. As we recognize it, we need to command it out for it is not of God. All this baggage comes between us and receiving from God. As we get rid of it, we close windows into error and allow more of us to be in touch with more of Him.

So let's clean out the wounds of our past so God can have full access to us and we can receive our complete healing and restoration.

The Christian Walk

2010-07-26T09:35:00.000-04:00

1 John 2:27
You have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true-it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. (NLT)

I have learned from many over the years. As long as was with them I always picked up something new. Just watching them work at something would give me ideas to use. Afterwards, I could call on what I had learned for years to come. I often think of things my father had told me and how I still think as he did because of what I learned.

Many of us have been molded by one or more teachers in school. We were drawn to them for whatever reason and what they taught us has stayed with us over the years. I always remember a science teacher from junior high that taught with demonstrations. I still remember him shooting a 22 rifle in class to calculate the speed of the bullet. We could never do that in today's schoolroom!

When we asked Jesus to forgive us of our sins and to come into our heart, we became born again. As promised, He asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to live in us. He knows all things and we can learn from Him daily.

I do not learn from my father anymore because he has gone to be with the Lord. I do not learn from that school teacher anymore because I have not seen him since then. We need a working relationship with someone to learn from them. The same can be said for the Holy Spirit.

We must remain in fellowship with Christ. We must have a personal relationship with Him to continually learn what He has to teach us.

Sure, we can go to classes at our local church. Sunday School is great and fills us with useful information that we should sift through the filter of our Bible. Perhaps what is discussed in class sparks revelation in us and we then can ask the Holy Spirit to tell us more.

The key is a working relationship with Jesus. Without it we do not have a true Christian walk.

Serve One Another

2010-07-19T09:09:00.000-04:00

1 Peter 4:10
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (NLT)

We grow up learning what talents we have naturally. For some it may be a musical gift. Or perhaps they might do well playing sports. Some are good with mathematics. Others might be good at listening.

As little children we use our talents to have fun and enjoy ourselves. When it comes time to decide what we will do in life, we cultivate our talents by pursuing some career that will make use of them to earn an income.

Some make the mistake of deciding on a course for their life based on income potential without regard for natural talents. This can lead to a good job, but not necessarily to a happy life.

And yet real happiness comes when we use our natural talents and our spiritual gifts to server one another without regard for what we will gain from doing so. It comes when our concern is only for them.

It is my experience that the more we give out, the more we receive. And the receiving usually comes from some place far removed from where we gave, but only when the giving was done in love without any thought to getting something in return.

Children of Abraham

2010-07-12T07:48:00.003-04:00

Galatians 3:2-3
You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? (NLT)

According to Wikipedia, perfection is, broadly, a state of completeness and flawlessness. This is an impossible state for us as mere humans to obtain. There was only one perfect man and that is Jesus.

There are many good people trying hard to be as perfect as they can be. They follow a moral standard. That standard might be the Jewish laws still in practice today. Perhaps it is the standards they learned as children growing up in a moral society. Maybe it is simply rules they have been given in the church they attend.

Some just think before they act and wonder WWJD or what would Jesus do in this situation? They analyze and then act.

Yet each of these are all about us changing our behavior according to the beliefs we hold. Does this have anything to do with being an Christian or living by the Spirit? I do not think so.

Galatians 3:5
Does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

I believe He gave us the Holy Spirit to live in us because we are followers of Jesus. The perfect spirit is inside us, but we have to give Him permission to come forth. We can let Him hide backstage watching us blunder through life on our own, in our human effort. Or we can bring Him on stage with us and let Him take the lead.

Galatians 3:6
"Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

And are we not those children? Yes, we are because we have asked Jesus, the son of the one true God, into our heart. We have asked for forgiveness for our sins and confessed our faith in Him whose name is above all names and in Him who is part of the triune Godhead--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The blood relatives of Abraham were not all counted as his children. Blood does run deep. However, it is the blood of Jesus and our faith that makes us the real children of Abraham. Many in his mortal blood line did not become counted as his "children".

It does not matter where the ancestral line comes from. We are counted as soon as we put our faith in Jesus.

Galatians 3:8-9
The Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, "All nations will be blessed through you." So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

So because of Christ, we are as Abraham was and receive the same blessing from our Father God.

Galatians 3:10-12
But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God's Book of the Law." So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, "It is through obeying the law that a person has life."

Because of Jesus who took away all sin on the cross, we are righteous in Him. Because of Him we do not depend on the law, on a set of rules, on works of man, to become right with God. And if we do depend on them, we are cursed because we cannot obey them all. It is only through faith that we have life and life everlasting.

Galatians 3:13-14
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

And so we believe and therefore we have the promised Holy Spirit. The evidence of that are the apparent changes in our life, the fruit of the Spirit evident in us. And as Mark 16:15-18 tells us, the gift of speaking with new tongues, our prayer language, allowing us to pray in the spirit at all times.

The Hard Drive

2010-07-05T08:59:00.000-04:00

1 John 2:27
You have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true-it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. (NLT)

It is easy to become excited about the new computers we see advertised. They have the latest version of Windows and appear to allow easy access to displaying things from one computer to another and even to our wide screen televisions. The ads make us think that purchasing that computer is all we need to do. When we get it, we will have everything we need.

As you probably know, that is not the whole truth. Windows 7 may be a great new operating system, but is it the end all to everything else we use our computers for? No. We can browse the Web with the included software and connect to other computers, but there is more we need. The hard drive is not already filled with everything there is. We have to purchase other applications to use our computer to do things such as word processing, picture editing, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, Web page editing, accounting, and the list goes on.

We are constantly adding to the base computer additional applications to allow us to fully utilize the power it has. As we grow in our knowledge, we add additional applications to use more and more of that power.

Many of us believe it is the same with being a Christian. We have been taught that man has to teach us as new Christians what it takes to walk the walk. They give us a tremendous amount of knowledge to help us understand the Bible as they understand it. We learn what we should and should not do as Christians.

If I read 1 John and understand what he is telling us, I see that we do not need man to teach us at all.

The Holy Spirit teaches us all things. We already have the hard drive filled with all knowledge inside of us. We were given it when we believed. This is the Christ within that Paul speaks of. To know more, we must ask for it to be revealed to us.

There are things we know are on our computer but we cannot find them. So we do a search by typing some key words and let the machine search through all the content to locate the file for us. We even use the Web to do the same thing. We bring up Google and type in a phone number and are taken right to the person's address and a link to see their location on a map.

The Holy Spirit is our search engine. When we need something and ask in Jesus name, He locates the answer for us and brings it to our mind. As we remain in fellowship with Christ, the Holy Spirit teaches us everything we need to know, and what he teaches is true.

Pick Up the Phone

2010-06-28T07:23:00.000-04:00

Galatians 6:3
If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. (NLT)

When we think of someone in need we may think about a homeless person, or someone who just ran out of money before they ran out of month.

How often do we decide to help someone else based on how doing so will affect us? All too often we are "me focused". We tend to think of our wellbeing before others. So we find excuses like we do not have the time right now or someone else would be better suited to help.

We think "Can I afford to send a check to someone in the middle of a tragedy in their life"? But thinking that, are we trusting in God to supply our every need first? As we reach out and help someone in their need, will we trust Him to supply ours? Do we have faith to know He will make a way for our month to end with just the right amount of money left over?

And we tend to think of needs in the form of finances. The reality is that many needs are emotional. People need a friend to talk to. They need someone to help unburden them by just listening. We do not have to resolve their problems. All we need to do is listen to them and then help them pray for divine intervention.

Have you ever thought of someone you have not heard from in a long while? Perhaps they need your help. Maybe we need to make a simple phone call to cheer them up or to let them talk to someone who cares.

None of us is too important to ignore others in their time of need. We need to stop fooling ourselves into thinking we do not matter and someone else can do a better job. We need to pick up the phone and call that person we have been thinking about.

Following the Law

2010-06-21T09:32:00.000-04:00

Galatians 4:10-12
You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles-free from those laws. (NLT)

We live in a world filled with laws. Our government creates new ones daily. Who knows them all? Even the lawyers only know a few. They know the ones they have studied for the practice they have. As new cases are presented to them, they discover the laws that apply.

There are many laws, even some which have been around for hundreds of years that make no sense today. The more laws, the more restrictive a society we live in. We have to wear seatbelts when we drive. Those that smoke have to do it some many feet outside a building. The list goes on. Soon we will not be allowed by law to use incandescent light bulbs as they must be replaced by the new energy efficient florescent ones.

The Jews lived by their laws and were under the impression that strictly following them was the way to heaven. Mess up and you missed it. The fact is, as Jesus pointed out hundreds of years later, it is impossible not to mess up. Nobody except a perfect man could ever live up to all of them, and there was only one perfect man. He fulfilled the law so we would not have to live by it.

Paul preached to the Gentiles about Jesus, not about obeying the law. He did not ignore the law, but he knew it was following Jesus that brings salvation, not the law.

We are not to live encased in a cage of rules that limit our activity. Our life is not to revolve around a building full of believers; it is to be focused on the commission Jesus gave to each of us.

We are to be in the world, in the daily marketplace, letting the Holy Spirit guide us to encounters where we can share the good news that Jesus is alive today!

Follow the Rules

2010-06-18T10:13:00.002-04:00

Galatians 2:17-18
Suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. (NLT)

Paul speaks here with simple logic. If we do not follow the rules man has made it does not have an effect on our relationship with Jesus. Jesus said to follow him, not follow a set of rules or abide by Jewish laws to be saved. If we want to take on some of the old laws for our self because we like what they tell us, it is not wrong unless they go against what Jesus taught us.

Man seems to want to have both worlds. Over the years we have created our own set of rules or laws. No matter which institutional church you belong to, there is a set of rules you are to abide to. Before Jesus became part of my life, I lived under the assumption that if I was a good person and did good deeds for others, I would go to heaven when I died. In other words, my good works would save me.

Jesus came to dispel that theory. He said that to be saved we had to follow Him. So we came up with another rule (law) and that is what we call the sinners prayer. Nothing wrong with it as it fulfills Jesus requirement to follow Him. However, how often do we require it to be said before we believe they are really saved?

Then we look at the various churches in our communities. Each has their own set of laws-their doctrines. Some even decide what they want to believe from the Bible. They chalk up many of the teachings as belonging to the first generation of Christ followers. Yet, Jesus was speaking to all believers. And ALL means you and me.

I guess it comes down to this for me. Following man made laws makes life easy. We memorize them and abide by them and everyone we associate with is happy with us. However, it is the Holy Spirit that I want to follow, not the laws of man. The more I lean to the rules, the less I rely on the Holy Spirit to guide me.

I choose Holy Spirit.

Depend on Him

2010-06-07T07:46:00.002-04:00

Galatians 3:2-3
Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? (NLT)

I enjoy reading. I like to sit back with a good novel and read for enjoyment. I even like to read about history; about things that happened long ago. Sometimes I can get lost for a while in my browser as I look up something and it leads to something else which takes me off in another area altogether.

In school we all learned to read for knowledge. We read to know about stuff. We read to fill our head with useful information-data from the past we may be able to apply later in life. Some of it is useless and I really cannot understand why I still know it! Other bits have been quite useful and throughout my life I have needed to know them.

However, it is as I used that stored data in life that it became real. The application of the information created personal experiences which helped mold me into the person I am today.

When I received the Holy Spirit it was not because of what I had learned from books or from the Internet or from others. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and He came to live in me. I was baptized by fire in the name of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

There was nothing logical about it. I believed the message I had heard and my spirit man was born again. I was a new person in the spirit. However, I was still an old person in the flesh.

My flesh, my mortal man rather than my spirit man, learned all the "rules" about being a Christian. So I set out to become a good Christian. There were things I should do and things I should avoid. There were people I should hang out with and people to be avoided. There were movies good to watch and movies to be avoided. Some things were good to talk about and others not. And I learned new phrases that all good Christians seemed to be using.

If I could just appear to be a good Christian I would be all set. I was trying to become perfect by my own human effort.

I am not saying this was necessarily a bad thing. It just was not changing the real me. It just allowed others to see the person I wanted to be, and this was not the person I turned into under pressure.

Only God can change us and that occurs when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. It is He that convicts us when we drift off the path. As we recognize His voice and ask to be changed, our desires to repeat what He pointed out leave and we are changed.

I no longer want to view those movies, hang around with people using coarse language, gossip about others, or even be fluent in the latest Christianize phrases. Do not get me wrong here. I am nowhere near perfection. I just want to give God all the glory, praise Him in my life, and let the Holy Spirit guide me through this life long journey.

Use Your Voice

2010-05-31T08:24:00.002-04:00

1 John 5:6
And Jesus Christ was revealed as God's Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross-not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. (NLT)

When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist it fulfilled prophecy bringing Him to the next place in His life on earth. It was His rite of passage to begin His ministry on earth on the way to fulfilling His purpose. If destiny was to come to pass, He would have to go from baptism to ministry to the cross.

After the fulfilling of all prophecy about Him, Jesus Christ was ultimately revealed to the world as the Son of God.

When we are baptized in the tradition of John by being dunked in water, or sprinkled, or whatever your tradition is, we are publicly exclaiming our belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We are declaring our faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

When I was growing in my faith I experienced many who proclaimed to believe, but told me their faith was a private thing. Attending church was their pronouncement of their belief. Beyond that they did not wish to say.

I do not believe our faith is so personal that we are to keep it to ourselves. We are to share it with others everywhere our feet tread. If we do not, then we are not obeying the commission Jesus gave to each of us.

We have become complacent in our churches depending on the latest marketing program to entice the lost to come through our doors. We may even have programs that take a few of our members and place them out in society in various ways to reach the lost and get them to come to church Sunday.

Have we lost the voice? We tell about out latest adventures in this life. We are excited about our great new vacation, our big screen TV, the latest deal we got at Wal-Mart, the game our son won on the weekend, etc. What about our excitement about our Lord and Savior and what He has been doing in our lives?

Perhaps we are not talking because we have not been listening to the Holy Spirit and letting Him guide us in all things. Perhaps our communion with God starts and stops with passing the bread and grape juice on Sunday morning in church.

I hope this is not true and that we truly are excited about Jesus Christ, His life and death on the cross for our sins, and His daily work in our lives. As we use our voice to tell others about what the Godhead does in and for our lives others will be touched. They will see the light of Christ shining in our lives and seek Him out.

Temptation

2010-05-24T08:10:00.002-04:00

Matthew 18:7
How terrible it will be for anyone who causes others to sin. Temptation to do wrong is inevitable, but how terrible it will be for the person who does the tempting. (NLT)

There is not one of us who can say; we have never been tempted; nor can we say, we have never given into temptation. But can we be blamed for tempting someone else?

I have been doing real well over the past few months in the eating department. We have changed our eating habits to try to eat healthier. I did not think it would be possible to go without bread and deserts, but I have managed well and even lost a few pounds. Add to that drinking lots of water each day and exercise and the results are obvious.

However, when I go somewhere like one of our great Bible Discovery Group meetings during the week, I am tempted to try a piece or two of the scrumptious looking deserts someone brings for us to snack on. Sometimes I just give in to that temptation and have a piece, ruining my calorie intake number for that day.

Often we get excited about something we have gotten involved in and try to convince others to jump on the bandwagon with us. Yet what is a small investment to us could be someone else's life savings. Our little venture could temp them into overextending themselves causing them to sin.

Our excitement and commitment can be so overwhelming for others that they ignore that still small voice of warning in instead only hear our loud cry. And if we say it is alright, it must be so. Wrong. We are causing them to sin by grieving the Holy Spirit trying to lead them on the right path for them.

So whether it is food or finances or just our lifestyle, we need to be careful we do not manipulate others to our way of thinking. We must listen to the Holy Spirit to guide our day-to-day decisions. We need to let others do the same.

Open Doors

2010-05-21T16:34:00.002-04:00

Colossians 4:3
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains (NIV)

In my past, I thought we were the ones that controlled opening and closing of doors. There was a TV show where the contestant had to choose from three doors. Do you want what is behind door number 1, 2, or 3?

The doors we chose in life were doors we thought would allow us to have fun, to enjoy life.

When we were growing up, we turned many corners in life looking for new ways to have fun. After High School, I looked to the ways of the world. My friends smoked cigarettes and drank drinks like whiskey sours, wine coolers, or rum and coke. So I tried out their ways for a while, but I never really had fun.

In my teen years, I played tennis and spent hours talking on my ham radio. Those were fun things for me. I have not played tennis in years, but did try my hand at it again in Florida a few weeks ago. I was surprised that I could still get the ball over the net. It was still fun.

Ham Radio had been a silent hobby for years. Back in the 80's I taught classes and helped many in Rhode Island learn Morse code and get their Novice license from the FCC. Then life got busy and that hobby took a back seat. Recently I have had the time to dabble a little and it is still fun talking to someone halfway around the world.

Back to open doors. They are all around us. There are doors for us to walk through in this life that will prosper us and doors allowing us the opportunity to complete the Father's work. God uses the Holy Spirit to show us where they are.

It is a wonder every time a door opens and we are able to preach the message God has given us.

Often we miss the open doors because we are not looking for them. We are not open for the Holy Spirit to tell us. It is not His job to shout at us. It is our job to be open to Him and to use those opportunities to tell the story of Jesus in our life.

"Father, open my spiritual ears. Show me the open doors you have for me to walk through. Guide me in the natural to those things I need to prosper. And show me the work you have for me to further the Kingdom of God. In Jesus mighty name, I pray. Amen."

Live Wisely

2010-05-17T07:35:00.002-04:00

Colossians 4:5-6
Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone. (NLT)

How many of us spend most of our free time involved with other Christians and one church event or another? We attend a worship service on Sunday and perhaps an evening service as well. During the week, we have small groups, committee meetings, mid-week service, and perhaps some organized outreach programs to the local food bank or soup kitchen.

On a night free from church activities, we get together for a relaxing evening with a few close friends from church. Except when we are at work during the week, almost all of our time is spent at home or with our church family.

At work, we are around the same people all the time and they are tired of us attempting to convert them. Many shy away from us after a while. They say good morning and are friendly enough about work issues, but do not try to spend any personal time with us.

How are we to reach the lost when we only hang around with Christians and we have exhausted the possibilities at work?

All week long we have opportunities, but we are unaware of them. We are wrapped up in life and all the things we have to do with job, family, and church. We all eat out at times. We stop for a coffee at Dunkin Donuts. We get gas for our car. We go to Wal-Mart, Sam's, or BJ's for weekly shopping or a local store like Kroger, Publix, or Shaws. We are around possibilities every day and let them pass us by.

How about avoiding the drive through for that fast food lunch or that cup of coffee? Park and walk inside where we can see other customers and the employees face to face. Ask God to show us the opportunities and keep our ears open. Give us the boldness to start a conversation with a stranger and give the Holy Spirit permission to fill our mouth. It is amazing what He will do.

With His help, our conversation will be gracious and effective and we will have the right word for everyone.

Christ Like

2010-05-03T09:02:00.000-04:00

Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (NIV)

Notice he does not tell us to wait for God to create those gifts within us. He says to clothe yourself. Does this mean we are to fake it?

As we give our lives over to God and let Him take over, we let Jesus in as the Lord of our life. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to live in us as believers. Paul refers to this as Christ within.

As believers, Jesus is in us and we are in Him. However, this does not mean we change. The act of believing is not a switch that turns us from being who we have grown up as in these mortal bodies to being just like Christ.

Believing and asking Jesus to be Lord gives Him permission to change us. He does this one thing at a time, but with our involvement. He shows us our evil ways and as we acknowledge them to Him and ask for His help, He takes those things away.

Others see the changes in us. They see our nature change to be more Christ like. They witness a new person coming forth out of that old body.

So what does he mean when he tells us to clothe ourselves? We knew right from wrong even before we were born again. While we are allowing God to change us, we need to be aware of our words and our actions toward others. As such, we should show compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience in all we do even before it is our nature to do so.

In all we do, we should be Christ. Others should see His light shine through us.

Conversation

2010-04-26T08:17:00.002-04:00

Colossians 4:5-6
Be wise in the way you act to outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (NIV)

Often in conversation with others, we speak from our own point of view. After all, we know we are right. We may even be only half listening to what they are saying as we formulate a rebuttal in our mind sometimes giving it in the middle of their speaking.

It is not a matter of being right. It is a matter of being Christ like. Listening to others should not be focused on fueling our own thoughts to proving how right we are. It should be listening to what is behind their words and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill our mouth with the proper response.

It is not about being right; it is about relationship. If we are truly right, it will come out in the end. As we let their thoughts unfold, it is not uncommon for them to come to new conclusions. And it is not uncommon, after hearing what they have to say, that we see error in our own thinking and see the right in their point of view.

This applies to believers and unbelievers (outsiders) alike. The subject matter may be different, but how we interact with them should be similar. We listen first, then, letting the Holy Spirit guide our words, we speak with love. When we speak, it should always be with an encouraging word. Our reactions to what they have to say can build a relationship or tear one down. They can open doors or build walls.

With outsiders our purpose is to let the Holy Spirit guide us into sharing the gospel message and bringing them to their own relationship with Christ. We want them to see Christ in us and feel His love in what we have to say. With insiders, we want to always encourage them to be closer to Him and to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them in their day-to-day walk.

As I see other Christians with their blatant tee shirts emblazoned with Christianize, I wonder how they can open doors for the lost. It is easy to start a conversation with another believer when we see their Jesus clothing. What I pray for are opportunities to start conversations the Holy Spirit initiates with people I do not know. They may be or not be believers, but if we let the Holy Spirit lead, we know we can encourage them either to Christ if they do not know Him or in Christ if they do.

So how do we talk with a stranger about Christ? We don't. The Holy Spirit will show us the open door and that is usually the conversation opener. Then we ask questions to find out more about who they are and where they come from. The more they talk the better. They do not want to hear about us. Their favorite subject is them and that is what they know the best. Get to know them. The Holy Spirit will guide the conversation to Christ or to another encounter with them.

We need to trust the Holy Spirit and let Him do the work. If we try to force the conversation to Jesus, we may be putting up walls blocking them from hearing the truth. And if their walls are already up, the Holy Spirit knows it. Just out showing Christ's love to them may be the part we have to play and may leave them open for the next person to chip away at their wall a little more.

We do need to be billboards to the world with Christ as the message. But that billboard is not one that is read with their natural eyes. It is the message we send in the Spirit by who we are in Christ.

Evangelism

2010-04-19T08:43:00.002-04:00

As Christians, when we think of evangelism, we think of tent meetings, inner city events to find the lost and share the Gospel message, and even passing out tracts. However, according to the dictionary it is also great enthusiasm, fervor, or zeal for a particular cause.

As a former New England resident for most of my life, I can understand the zeal others have for the New England Patriots. They are enthusiastic about their team and even come to work with jackets, hats, and other items with their team colors and even its name emblazed on each piece. Some even have screen savers on their computers showing the team.

Do not get me wrong. This kind of enthusiasm is good. They are evangelizing their team. They brag about their victories prophecy their future.

We all know who Microsoft is. They have Technical Evangelists and Developer Evangelists and others. These experts spread the word about Microsoft and their products.

Many Christian evangelize their church and their pastor. They are enthused and let others know about how great they are. They invite them to church and pray their friends will be saved at an alter call. In their initial talks, the gospel message is never brought up; just the church and how great it is.

The fact is that their friend knows what is coming next. After all, it is a church they are going to. Let's look again at the great commission.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)
Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

He tells us to go into all nations and make disciples. He did not tell is to go out and coerce people to come back and meet Jesus. They meet Jesus in us and it is our task to tell others about Jesus in our life and explain the gospel message. Then, after they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, we are commissioned to teach them to obey all of His commands.

Where does church fit into this? Being a Christian is not a Lone Ranger thing. It is important that we gather together with other Christian to Praise God, to hear new revelation, and to experience Him in the signs and wonders that follow His presence. Church is the body of Christ and although this does not mean a physical brick and mortar building, most Christian attend a church of their choice on Sunday mornings and experience the joy of corporate worship.

We are all to evangelize, but this does not mean we wear Jesus tee shirts and hand out tracts. It means we are to be a light to the world through our lifestyle and as such draw the lost into conversation as the Holy Spirit leads. It is there that we introduce them to what a relationship with Jesus has done in our life.

We Judge

2010-04-13T18:27:00.002-04:00

Romans 2:1-4
You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God's judgment when you do the same things? Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? (NLT)

It is easy to read this and other letters about Paul's adventures in the first century and think of it as just that. They are interesting reads and tell us about what was happening way back then. But why it is there? Why were these letters included in the New Testament for us to read thousands of years later? Was it for a history lesson? I do not think so.

I look at each book in the New Testament as a word to me. Those words were placed there for me to read and they are to have an effect on how I live my life. They are words of encouragement and words of correction. What we see in them depends on where we are in our walk with Christ. Since each day we are one step further along, those same words can take on an entirely different meaning. Words read before now jump out at us like a blinking neon sign.

Read the first sentence again. We judge and love to listen to others judging. How many of us spend time during the day listening to the news or talk radio? What is that but judgment or news that lends itself to us judging those being reported about? We condemn others without know them or the facts. We depend on what others tell us on television news stations.

We have been taught to judge. The competition in life places us on the winning or loosing side. We judge people in politics taking sides even after the election is over. And yet the next sentence tells us our sin of judging is just as bad as what we are agreeing to condemn another for.

Sin is sin and God does not like sin. Only He can judge and it is up to Him to inflict punishment on those who do such things. So judging another because of what they do is as bad in His eyes as the sin we were judging!

It is hard for us as human beings not to sin. Remember the first Adam. He was born without sin and yet he fell into temptation and sinned. In fact, it is impossible for us not to sin. Thank God that He sent His Son Jesus to show us the way to eternal life. Thank Jesus for taking all our sins to the cross that day and freeing us from that bondage. We were forgiven at the cross and continue to be forgiven thanks to that one act.

God is love. He is wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient with each of us. And we are to show His love in all we do including how we view others. We are to look past their sin to the child of God inside and love them. We are to love the person not their sin. We are to be Jesus to those around us wherever the Holy Spirit leads us to go.

This Is the Secret

2010-04-05T09:23:00.001-04:00

Colossians 1:27-29
For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ's mighty power that works within me. (NLT)

Many depend on their church service to bring someone to Christ. They work hard at inviting people they meet to church on Sunday. Often they ask them to some event the church is putting on and then spring the "come to church on Sunday" invite. And of course if they are serious about getting them there on Sunday, they pick up the friend and drive them.

All through the service they are praying hard to themselves that their friend likes what is happening. They have introduced them to the friendly people before church and hope the music meets their approval. The pastor gives a great message, but who knows what their friend is thinking about it. Then comes the alter call. The pastor invites those who want to accept Jesus as their Lord and savior to come to the front of the church. They give their friend a look, even a nod, and hope they walk forward.

Now do not get me wrong. This method has been working for hundreds of years. But is it what Jesus asked us to do? He told us to go and preach the gospel everywhere. Those that believe will be saved.

It is not the Bible we wave or the Christian T-shirt we wear. As a matter of fact those things are great ways to meet other believers, but most of the time will turn away the un-believers. It is our lifestyle. It is the way we treat others. It is the way we handle things that disrupt our lives. It is how we react to pressure. It is our character resembling the character of Christ that makes a visible difference between us and their unsaved friends.

We do not have to pressure them. All we have to do is be there for them and not hide the fact that we are a Christian; that we are a follower of Jesus Christ. We need to let go of our worldly marketing schemes to get them saved and let God work through us as He intended.

Yes, when God opens the door for us to bring the Gospel message to them, we must be ready to tell the story. And that story is our story. It is not a magic formula with certain words to say; words to have them say out loud to us. It is a story of how a relationship with Jesus Christ has changed our lives; how it has changed us.

The secret is that Jesus Christ lives in us. It is the Holy Spirit in us that speaks to us in many different ways to guide us, correct us, comfort us, and teach us. As we allow Him to work in us, He reshapes our character to be more and more like the character of Christ.

The fact is that we do not bring someone to Christ; we let them see Christ in us!

Flash Forward

2010-03-29T06:24:00.002-04:00

1 Corinthians 14:5
I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened. (NLT)

We have been watching Flash Forward on television. The show is a takes place after the blackout. During it the entire population of the earth lost consciousness for a few minutes. During their blackout time, everyone had a vision of themselves three months into the future. They woke up remembering their vision and knowing what the future held.

When God speaks through someone else directly to us, it is like He showing us our own Flash Forward. He gives us a glimpse into our future. But this not His only kind of prophesy.

Many Christians today believe that prophecy is no more-God does not speak to His people through prophetic word. They were taught that the gifts went away when the first Apostles passed away. However, we have had firsthand experience with the gifts and with prophecy today and know a number of believers gifted in that way. We have also seen God speak through believers that are not usually gifted in this way, but the Holy Spirit used them as He desired to speak life into another.

As I see it, there are three types of prophetic word -- past, present, and future.

When God speaks prophetically, He may do so to confirm something we have done so we know it was His plan for us all along. Have you ever had deJa vu? This is when you feel you have been there or heard that before. It is like when you walk into a store for the first time and feel you have been there before. We believe that is God letting us know we are in the right place at the right time-we are supposed to be there and this is the time to pay special attention because He has placed us there for a purpose.

Often we are unsure of what decision to make. We pray about it. We create all sorts of logical analysis about it listing the good points and the bad points of deciding. We do everything we know in the natural. We pray some more, but are not hearing for ourselves. Then someone calls us out of the blue and tells us they have heard something from God for us. God speaks to our present situation and gives us clear guidance so we can make the right decision.

Deuteronomy 18:21-22
'How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?' If the prophet speaks in the Lord's name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared. (NLT)

The one we hear about the most has to do with the future. God speaks about things to come. He calls forth our future as an encouraging word of truth for us to hang on to. But how do we know the words are from God?

Of course this is the one that seems to parallel the work of fortune tellers. Can they predict the future? Are they from God? Should I do what they say? Should I even seek them out?

I do not believe fortune tellers are from God. Many are charlatans who have learned to read body language and ask just the right questions to formulate a fortune that will make you satisfied. It like ordering Chinese takeout and after the meal opening a fortune cookie. How many think those words are really about them? Probably the same ones that read their horoscope each day.

Some really to hear things, but not from God. The enemy also sees in the spirit world, but he is not given to encouraging. His task is to knock us down and lead us into temptation. When he gives, he then takes something away. The Bible warns us to stay away from fortune tellers and horoscopes.

So how do we know it is from God? One thing I have found God do is to begin speaking about something only I can know about. This may be something I have been thinking and have not spoken to anyone. It might be something that happened in my past that few if any have heard about. He sets His word up on past truth so I may know that what comes next is from Him.

What do I do with the word after I get it? I write it down and read it over and over to understand what He is telling me. I test the word with the Bible. Is what has been said Biblical Truth? Then I put in on the shelf knowing God has a plan for my life.

As decisions are made and my path changes, I can look back on that word and say "this is that which was spoken". What I do not do is use the prophetic word as a thing to do list. God does not give the word for us to make the plan. We are to listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him guide our steps. The prophetic word encourages us by letting us know where those steps will take us.

So let's embrace the prophetic. Let God encourage us by confirming our past decisions, helping us in your present choices, and encouraging us in our future direction.

Test Yourself

2010-03-26T07:33:00.002-04:00

2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. (NLT)

I am not a fan of tests; even the ones that come in emails for the fun of it. I take them, but do not always do that well. My students in college did not like tests either. As a matter of fact, I cannot say anyone I know really likes them. But we have to take them to show what we know.

I had to take a test get my driver's license. The first time I did that was when I was sixteen. The registry of motor vehicles had booklets for you to study before taking the test to get your drivers permit-the first step to obtaining a license to drive. I skimmed the booklet and figured I knew it all. You guessed it. I failed the test and had to reschedule it before I could get behind the wheel to learn to drive.

Satan tested Jesus and failure would have caused Jesus to fall into sin. The first Adam was tested and he fell. I am tested all the time with temptations to move off the path God has for me. I am tempted to sin daily as I go about my daily life. I wish I could say I never fall, but like all of us I am mortal working out my salvation. Only one man was perfect and He died for my sins and yours over two thousand years ago.

We need to look back over our life and notice the changes. As we do we can see the path God has taken us on. We can see where we veered off that path and how He got us back on it. We can see where the enemy tempted us and how we either overcame or fell into the trap. And we can see how every time God was there to pick us back up.

As the body of Christ, a group of Christians bonded together, we should see evidence of Jesus amongst us. We see the fruit of the Spirit in each other's lives. We feel the presence of God amongst us as we get together and praise Him. If not, perhaps we have failed the test of genuine faith.

Bragging

2010-03-25T08:02:00.001-04:00

2 Corinthians 10:18
When people commend themselves, it doesn't count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. (NLT)

Commending oneself is "patting yourself on the back". It is finding some way to praise yourself so many will notice. Some charities send you a sticker to put on your vehicle so you can brag about not only that you gave, but what level you gave at. The color of the sticker displays your level of commitment in dollars to that cause.

Most areas have a person or more that gives to their community. Everybody knows about them because they have buildings and events named after them. They are not only bragging about their good deeds, but attempting to affix their place in history.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not saying any of these examples are wrong. From societies point of view these are normal ways to act. We all see the bumper stickers that announce that "My Child is on the Honor Roll" at such and such school.

When we became believers, we took on a new position. We became new creatures with new goals led by the Holy Spirit. We were given a commission to go to the unsaved and tell them about the gospel. Those that believed are also saved and go on to tell others.

Nowhere does Jesus tell us to keep score and announce it to the world. He keeps score. He sees all that we do and commends us by the new opportunities He places in our path as we go forth on this journey of life. As we go, we grow.

The more time we spend in seeking recognition from others, the less we are spending listening to what God has for us to do next. We are wrapped up in patting our self on the back instead of hearing from Him.

Be Generous

2010-03-24T09:45:00.002-04:00

2 Corinthians 9:10-11
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. (NLT)

He reminds us here of the fact that God is the one that provides. God has made the opportunities available to us to have the jobs we have. He is the one who makes it possible for us to put bread on the table, purchase that new wide screen television, get that SUV, go to the movies, have cable, put cell phones in every family member's pocket, and more.

Being generous is about being willing to give money, help, or time freely.

All God wants in return is for us to be generous with what we have been given. He wants us to give out of our abundance. The hard thing for most of us is to identify our abundance. We look around and do not see all that we have as abundance. We need the cell phone, the new car, the swimming pool, the vacation to a far off place, and so forth. We worked hard and earned it. There is no abundance to give away!

Find a local food pantry or homeless shelter. Help feed some of those who go without. Get to talk to them and you will find what little we really need to live and be happy. Anything past a roof over our head, food on the table, and clean clothes is abundance.

Sure we need a vehicle to get around; especially to get to our place of work. The TV with the full cable package? The vacation to Europe? The full featured cell phone? These are things we want that are not necessary for our happiness.

Do not get me wrong. These things are not bad, they are just extras. We must not let our wants for these things overshadow our giving to others. And as we are generous with what God has given to us, He will increase our opportunities and show us more places where we can be generous to others.

A Willing Gift

2010-03-23T08:55:00.000-04:00

2 Corinthians 9:5, 7
I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully." (NLT)

We have been to churches that preach a giving sermon once a year. This is part of an annual pledge drive. Everyone decides once a year how much they will give for the year. When the drive is over, the budget is finalized and weekly envelopes handed out for people to place their offering in.

We have seen baskets passed on Sunday morning to collect the offerings during the service. At other places the members are expected to walk forward to place their offerings at the front while everyone watches. Then there are the few churches that have an offering box at the rear of the church and you just have to know about it and place your offering on your way in or out.

I cannot count how many times, just before the baskets are passed, that I have heard "God loves a cheerful giver". How many take that as meaning you will be cheerful if you give something? In reality it means we are to give cheerfully or not at all. If we do not want to give, we should not give just because it is time to do so. God and our heart must be in it or all we are doing is paying another bill.

Then I have heard the thirty minute mini-sermon on giving. They are well crafted to pressure you into digging deep and giving more than you usually do. It is like the salesman that gives you a deal but you have to decide right now. There is no waiting until you can think about it.

If you do not want to give, don't. In order for our gift to be meaningful to God, it must be a gift pleasurably offered. A gift you are giving willingly because you want to support the ministry that is visiting or that you are visiting. The same goes for the place where you are being fed spiritually. It is there that you give your tithe.

Share It

2010-03-22T08:36:00.000-04:00

2 Corinthians 8:14
Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. (NLT)

One of the difficult things to teach a young child is to share with others. When they are an only child, everything belongs to them. When the second child comes along, they do not want to give away rights to their things. But they are told to share by us parents.

As adults we have the same challenge. How many families have his and her vehicles and discourage each other from switching. You drive your car and I will drive mine! And how many homes have one person self appointed to control the TV remote control? You watch what they want because they do not want to share it.

When we have extra, do we find someone in need and share it with them? Maybe leftovers from supper or half of that cake we really shouldn't eat anyhow. No, we use it to get some more things for our collection of things.

I believe God is telling us to make more than a little effort to giving from our abundance to those who are in need. He is not speaking about just anyone. He is speaking about those we are in relationship with-those fellow believers that make up the body of Christ we are a part of.

Give where there is need and when the tables are turned and you are in need, others will be able to share with you.