WHITEWASHED?

Whitewashed?Many people who read the scriptures forget that "It is how God speaks to us every time we read it." When it becomes convicting they attempt to read into it and interpret it by saying "God is talking to those people then" or, "You have to understand the history behind what is being said." I don't know about you, but the way I know God is speaking to me is that I am challenged and convicted by the Word. God is asking me "Pete, don't you get it? Is this you?"Last night we were reading Ezekial 13 and in versus 10-16 God spoke to all of us through these passages. Here is 10-12 and ou can read 13-16 on your own;"Because they lead my people astray, saying "peace", when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. Whent he wall collapses, will people not ask you, Where is the whitewash you covered it with?"This is so much more than what we read 'If' we ask God to show us what this means for us today. God is displaying His mercy, grace and love to each of us when we recognize that this scripture is a warning for us not to be like them. First I recall what Jesus said in Matt. 10 "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Peace? What is peace? We do live in the last days, and the world is pulling at us all each and everyday. In our quest to find peace we fill our lives with everything we can in order to fill a peace that only Jesus can give.So what about the 'Wall?' The wall is merely who we are suppose to be in Christ. Our 'Wall' is to be our testimony, our lives, our claim of being a Christian. But what have we done with this wall? Have we not 'Whitewashed' it with Christian tee shirts, bumper stickers, icthusus, music, positions at church, etc...? You see God's Word causes me to ask myself "Am I really a Christian, and will my wall stand regardless of what comes my way?" We will all face times of hardship, struggles, and tests in our walk with Christ. When these things present themselves then we will see whether we have just put a coat of 'Whitewash' on, or if we are a wall (a true Christian)standing firm in these situations. We are no different from the Israelites then. Do we have idols in our lives today? People do not like ot look at this but, "An idol is anything we put before God, anything we won't give up for God, or anything we love more than God." If we have idols in our lives then it is best to remove them as soon as possible. If not then we are bellieving a lie and are merely 'Whitewashed' people. Our wall will not stand, and according to this chapter in the end we will be destroyed (I know this doesn't seem pleasant to most, but I did not write the scripture.) Kyle Idleman wrote a book recenlty, Not a Fan, that we took QTM through page by page, and chapter by chapter. Kyle puts it out there and challenges his readers to come face to face with truth "We are either fan's or follower's." I higly recommend each and everyone of you to read it. Oddly enough Ezekial is exposing the same thing to each of us today. We are either a strong wall of Christ in us, or a 'Whitewashed' want to be with and unpleasant eternal in our future. For me, I am going to be the 'Real Deal' fro all to see, in the good time, and the bad. My wall will always stand no matter what~

THANKSGIVING

I cannot help but to be drawn to Philippians 4:4-7 when I hear the word 'Thanksgiving.' It says "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:

Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ."

We all have alot to be thankful for. Another day, a great family, our health, the breath of life, food on our tables, etc... Paul gives us these word's of encouragement in order to stay encouraged. In order that we will continue to focus on how good God is, and has been in our lives. I don't know about you, but I need to guard my heart everyday.

Last night I took a young man to the nursing home in order to let him see that he has alot to be thankful for. It seems that over the past several years he always gets on his pity pot because things don't work out the way he thinks they should. As we walked the corridor's and talked with those who have little hope, he began to get the picture. He realized that he has his health, he has his freedom, he has a home that does not smell vile, and that he has taken alot for granted. I too am reminded about why everyday should be a day of Thanksgiving.

Today we have people doing the 'Thirty Days of thanksgiving', and it leads me to wonder "Why not three hundred and sixty five days of thanksgiving?" "Why not give thanks without ceasing?" How about committing to thank the Lord everyday until He comes back, or He takes us home? Now let's give Him thanks~

REBELLIOUS? WHO ME?

Whenever I see this word I remember that 'Back in the Day' one young actor portrayed this word better than the rest 'James Dean.' James did not just play out this role in his life, but he also played it out in death. He is remembered for being the 'Rebel without a cause.'

In Ezekial 12:1-2 we find this scripture:

"The word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people."

Immediately when reading this our flesh jumps in and says "Not me!" We tend to then look around and begin thinking of others that this scripture might apply to, still thinking "Not me!"

Unfortunately for us all the scripture is saying to us. We know the truth, but we have compromised it. We know the Word, but we have maligned it. We kow that we aren't walking in total surrender, and we accept it.

As I read and re-read this passage yesterday it took me right to the source. It took me to me. Immediately I asked "Lord, do I have any rebellion in my life? Am I compromising or maligning your truth because of my rebellious self? Is all sin really that bad?Did yo ureally mean what You said Lord? You see, this is how the Lord speaks to us all, 'IF' we have eyes to see and ears to hear. The people of Israel had all of the promises, all the inheritance, they had God leading the way, but kept rebelling agaginst Him. Are we getting it yet?

In 1 Samuel 15:23 in the King James it says "For rebellion is as withcraft and stubbornous is as Idolatry." I do not about you, but I do not want anything to do with wicthcraft and my stubbornous will only lead me away from God instead of to Him.

Lord, let us all have eyes to see and ears to hear~

Running Red Lights

Each and everyone of us our zealous about what we believe whether we admit it or not. We all become 'Dogmatic' about our belief's and unfortunately our 'Dogmatism' can really reveal the pride within us. You notice I did not say "The pride of Knowing and living as our Savior", but the "pride that lives within us."

One of the things I love the most about the Lord is that when we 'Run Red Lights' He affords us the grace we need to recognize it, and change. If we do not recognize these times then I believe it is safe to say "We aren't in tune with Him." Thats right, I said waht you just read and to be honest we all tend to overide the truth that the Spirit of God is wanting to share with us.

It seems that I am constantly getting into scriptural debates with people who believe in election versus choice. Yesterday a young man deleted me from FB because I shared with him that he is prideful, and that his constant 'bashing' of people who do believe in free-will is only divisive. He quickly deleted me from FB and sent me a message saying that I have slandered him (I am not sure that he undestands the word slander and that there is a huge difference between slander and truth). My message to him was that whether or not one believes in Election or Free-will does not matter. In the end we will not satnd before Christ on this doctrinal issue, but we will stand before Him being accountable for our lives and what we did for the gospel.

Through all of the messages back and forth I realized this "I myself have run alot of red lights." Instead of be zealous for my position on doctrine, I should be praying for the division that these doctrines and beliefs cause. Both sides believe in repentance, purity and holiness. They both believe and profess "Christ crucified and raised form the dead." The Lord showed me that I too can allow a doctrine to take me away from doing His will, His good and pefect will. I have run to many red lights, and am choosing to stay focused on one thing "Christ in me and through me." This is th eonly way that others will truly desire what we have~

Encourgement

Every Sunday morning I have the privilege of praying with my dear brother Dan in Phoenix. We always share what the Lord has done in our lives, and what He is showing us during the past week. After praying it dawned on me that I had not shared a huge praise. When I shared it with him he said "This is what you need to blog! This is extremely encouraging!" So here we go:

Lat Sunday evening I took Jacob (my new son) and Lucas (my Timothy) to see a twenty four year old young man at a Re-hab/Nursing home. On the way I shared with them why this young man was there and what happened to him to be in the condition he is. They listened with great intent and were axnious to be a prat of ministering to a young man who is comotose, paralyzed, and in essence dying. You see, this young man broke into his dad's bedroom and grabbed alot of drugs from chest of drawers. That night he 'OD'd' and life changed for him and everyone else in his family. My boys were truly speechless when they saw the pictures of this young man haning on the wall. Nothing wrong with him, and living life. It was hard to look back at him in his bed after looking at the picture's.

We played our guitars, and sang for over an hour. As we paused between songs, I would speak truth into the young man, and his dad and sister. By the end of the night there was not a 'Dry' eye. God was at work. When the songs were over I shared with the father and daughter that Nick had heard the truth tonight, and that he would be able to make it right with Jesus and become His folower even in the condition that he was in. I also explained that God had allowed this because of this young mans condition, the father and everyone else would actually come to Christ through what happened to this young man.

As we walked down the hall towards the door I looked over at my boy's and asked "What did the Lord show you tonight?" They both looked at me and almost at once said in unison "How ungrateful we are." Jacob also added that he would rather be doing things like visiting people than hangin with his friends.

What about you? Have you stopped your world to love and serve someone else lately. Have you actually realized how blessed you are, and how ungrateful that you have been? The world is full of people that just need to see and hear Christianity in action. Jesus did not say to go out and make converts, He said make disciples. Who are you discipling? You are missing out on God showing you unbelievable things, as you lay down your life for others~

Out of Context

There are alot of scriptures that people take out of context. "Alot!" Probably one of the ones that shakes me up the most is found in 1 John 1:10 "If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives." At first glance one would think "We have and always will sin." But, the very next verse in 1 John 2:1 says "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But, if anybody does sin, we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." These verses seem like they could definitley 'Contradict' each other, but if we stop, listen and learn, we can understand what John is saying.

John by no means is saying "We will always be sinners." He is saying "If you have sinned don't lie about it. Stand up, repent and move on. Then, "Stop Sinning." A person that thinks they cannot stop sinning is a person who does not have faith. Phil. 4:13, 1 John 4:4, and Matt. 19:26 assure us that we can. If we say that we cannot, then there is a huge lack of faith here. How can we say we have faith if we are not willing to live it out, and beleive all what is written.

For years now men have written tracks that take malign God's word. If I have sinned then I need to own up to it. If I have sinned I need to repent and get back in a 'Righteous' state with Christ. How can Joh tell us in one verse that we are sinners, and the next to stop sinning. You see, the context is very important, and many take the Word of God out of context in order to continue to sin instead of rising above it.

My door is always open to the mormon's and Jehovah Witnesses. I ask them in and ask them "What translation of the Bible are you reading?" When they tell me I simply get up and get their translation. I then ask them to share with me why and what they believe. As they 'Skip' around in the Bible attempting to convert me, I simply say "Gentelmen, Let us look at this verse in context. Let us go up at least ten verses, and go past ten verses." Ironically after a time with these folks I always have one or more ask "Can I come back sometime and talk more?"

Don't race through the Bible, camp on it. Allow it to penetrate the very marrow of your soul. Allow the Spirit of God to take you towards Him, instead of others (people who share scripture out of context) away from Him. Teh Word clearly states that we must "Stop Sinning." What will we do with it~

ANOTHER YEAR, HEAVEN IS MY HOME!

Every year that goes by is a reminder to me that eternity lies before me. Every year I realize more and more that I was born to prepare for death. Every I am reminded that "Heaven is my home."

What about you? Are the things of this world pulling you away from these truths? Is there anything in your life that is more important, or that you need to achieve before you die? For those who love the Lord the answer is simply, "No."

When I surrendered my life in 1992 to the Lordship of Christ I would tell my girls "I am ready to go home, to heaven." They would get a little 'ticked' at me and say "That is selfish, we need you." But after all of these years walking and growing in the Lord, I believe they would look up when its all been said and done and say "He finally made it, He's Home."

I would love to be here for my grandchildren, I would love to be on the mission field, I would love to grow even older with my wife (my best friend) and keep sharing in ministry with her, I would love to experience and see the youth I teach weekly finally make the true comittment in their lives to follow Christ 100%. All of this crosses me mind for a second and then.....Well you know the answer by now.

May the Lord bless each and everyone of you as you now begin to prepare for death. It will come, and no one knows when. Heaven is my Home~

A STARK REMINDER

It is amazing today that many people claim to have 'Faith', but there is little evidence of it in their lives. Many do not stop, and meditate on the Word, and therefore think that by faith, what they have been taught is 'True Faith.' Ironically faith has nothing to do with what is taught, and everything to do with reading the Word, accepting it, and living out what it says.

Throughout the 'New Testament' we see 'Reminder's' of the Old Testament. Not only do the writers of the New Testament remind us, but Jesus Himself reminds us of the past, and how God dealt with His people. Why? Because the same principles apply to us today. We tend to be the same rebellious people who still serve the idols in our lives, than peopl 'Sold Out' to God following in total obedience, just as His chosen people did.

One passage of scripture that always talks to me when I read it is Hebrews 3. I am only goin gto share the last part of it, and ask that you go back and read the whole chapter and the beginning of chapter four. Many have not wanted to hear from God on this scripture because they will have to change if they recognize themselves in the same state as the Isrealites of old. Lets us see what the Word of God says "Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those who Moses led out of the desert? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter His rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief."

God has shows me each and everytime I read this passage that I need to reall and truly 'Believe' and that if I do, I would quit sinning. Today many think that this is an unatainable task, but that thought process does not come from God. He gave us His Son and the Holy Spirit in order that we will not sin (1 John). We have not received a 'Get out of Jail' pass when it comes to the final judgment day. Our 'Unbelief' will keep us from 'Eternal Rest.' We all know the Romans 10:17 says "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Does this not mean that it is the Word of God that we should believe, and that we always need to have faith to believe and act on it? I love to read and be enocuraged by James 1 :22 "Do not merely listen to the Word and so be decieved. Do what it says!" Okay, this is going to take 'Great' faith on our part. We are going to have to throw out alot of what we have been taught, or even thought. We are going to have to 'Believe' God and His Word. Are we up for that?

Faith has nothig to do with the quoting of scripture, the denomination we attend, or even the deeds that we do. It has everything to do with being obedient in all things to God. Do we truly desire to enter that rest in the end, or are we willing to one day be left dead in the desert (hell)? Lord let us all live lives in total obedience to You as we continue to die to ourselves~

We Do have Our Part To Do~

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:1 "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and Spirit, perfecting Holiness out of reverence for God." These words of Paul's are not in the Bible to be merely 'Stepped' over. Today, as Believers we do have 'Promises' from God that lead unto salvation. God has, and always will do 'His part.' The crazy thing is that we forget we have our part as well to do.

Let us slow down a bit and really look at this scripture. Paul does not anywhere in his writings (nore the other writers) claim that just because one has come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, that they are now Holy in their future state. All of the writers warn us of falling away, turning from Jesus, and being engulfed by the world again.

Yes, we do have promises from God as believers. The greatest of all promises is that we can have eternal life with Jesus one day. Unfortunately many take that 'IF' word out of the equation. The New testament would never had to be written if salvation had nothing to do with our actions and obedience to Christ. God is going to keep His promises and this is the first step of belief we need to understand. There is another thing we must also believe that all of the writers of the Scirpture share with us "That IF we persist in filling our lives with the world, and IF we do not turn from sin, and that IF we do not walk in obedience, God's wrath will come upon us." This He also promises.

"We must purify ourselves from everything that contaminates our body and Spirit. Is there anything in our lives that contaminate our bodies? Smoking, cussing, drinking, and gluttony are just a few things that come to my mind immediately (trust me there are many more). Is there anything in our lives that is contaminating our Spirit? What we watch on TV, what we watch at the movies, what we read, what music we listen to, etc, (and the list goes on). Are we willing to 'Purify' ourselves from these things? To purify anything is a continous thing. If anything is is unpure, then it needs to be made pure. This is our part in the equation. God is not going to 'make' us do this, but out of love and reverence for Him "We will."

'Perfecting Holiness' is our goal in order to show God and others that we are reverant to the Lord. Many believe today that we cannot be Holy, and this is because they do not want to give up things in their lives that are unholy. This is why the alot 'Bad' teaching today has caused a serious evolution of apathetic, sin enduced, self seeking believers today. They have been taught that when you accept Christ that you are now Holy forever and that he will always be in you. According to the scripture in Hebrews 12 "Without Holiness, no one will see the Lord." The ture hope is that "We can be Holy." If we purify ourselves from the world and the thing sof the world, then and only then will we be able to perfect Holiness. Paul would not write these things if he himself was not doing them.

'Reverence.....' I am not really sure that people know what true 'reverence' is today. True 'reverence' will be seen by others because it will be flowing through our actions. We cannot by in to the lie that we are reverent on Sunday mornings alone, and when we walk out the doors that reverence is left at the door. Being rverent is a daily, hourly and minute by minute thing for a true believer. One cannot be 'Reverent' lusting and living for secular things.....Can they.

Okay, enough chattering and truth sharing. What will we do with what we just read. Will we believe the Word of God and start 'Purifying' our lives of the things that contaminate our bodies and Spirits? Will we sieze the truth and begin 'Perfecting Holiness' in our lives? Last but not least "Will we begin living lives of true 'Reverence' to God? We must do our part in order to receive His promise~

PSALM 119 (HOW TO SUCCEED IN ALL THAT WE DO)

Last year I was drawn one day to Psalm 119. As I began to read it (Stopping at almost every verse to meditate on it, and ask God waht he wanted to show me) It did not take long to realize that this awsome, long chapter, was God's blueprint to a real realationship with Him, and how to maintain that realtionship not just yearly, not just monthly, not just weekly, not just daily, not just hourly, but every second of the day. Every waking momnet of the day.

After finding myself consumed for over an hour reading this awesome Psalm, a thought came in to my mind to lay my Bible down and pick it up tomorrow where I left off. As I shut my Bible and began to walk out of my office, it was apparent God was not done speaking to me. I looked over at my Bible and went back and opened it once again as God beagn speaking to my life once again. This happened tow more times before I finally found myself finished with Psalm 119. Almost four hours later I realized that I had just spent some of the most rewarding time of my life with the Creator of all things.

You see, Psalm 119 teaches us the importance of God allowing us to speak with Him. Age is not a factor here, and even from the first time one really grasps who He is, the answers to having a long, lasting realationship with Him is revealed. He taught me once again how to minister, how to teach, how to know Him, how to be the best husband I can be, the best father I can be, the best grandfather I can be, and the best friend I can be. These are all things that money cannot buy and schools cannot teach. As aPastor I am brutaly honest at times with whomever crosses my path. I let everyone know that I can share the Word with them, I can teach them, but I cannot teach them how to know God and fall in love with Him. Psalm 119 does a far better job than I could ever do.

God wants us to stop, climb up in His lap, seek His face, and give Him all of our undivided attention. He still desires to 'Father' us and help us in all of the areas of our lives. Will we stop all that is going on in order to be taught by our Father? Pick up Psalm 119. Do not place a time limit on when to finish it, or even be distracted by other things. God wants to speak to us all~

WE ARE, OR WE AREN'T (and everyone will know)

There is and always will be a huge debate on who really are Christians and who are not. The scripture is pretty clear here. Alot of people in which I chat with get upset sometimes and say "Are you saying that I am not a Christian?" At this point I just quote scripture and let it do the talking. We have skated around total truth for years now. What is 'Good' and what is "Evil.' Oddly enough it is pretty black and white, "Good is good, and Evil is evil."

Let us examine the Word on this one...

In Matthew 7:13-23 we see the truth of this question and we probably need to really scrutinize our lives as well. Jesus says "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only few find it. First we need to ask ourselves one huge question "What road are we truly on?" You see, many have been to church, been active in church and thaty have been told or assume they are Christians. But truthfully, "Which road are we on?" Do we still think that freedom in Christ allows us to do secular and worldly things? This my friends is the broad gate and the broad road. Jesus goes on and say "Watch out for false prophets. They will come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." We have to be on our guard today more than ever. Men teaching and preaching doctrines that fit their lifestyles instead of the pure truth of the Word and who Christ really is. They agree that all are sinners, and that Jesus doesn't care if abot the small stuff. Instead of calling out sin in peoples lives they avoid the truth so that people will still 'Hit the box' in order to keep their lifestyles going. These next few verses to the ones that are truly seeking the truth will be encouraging, self examining and life changing. Those who are playing will not take these passages seriously, and look at other people instead of their own lives. Jesus says By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Like wise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad cannit bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Okay, "Is there any bad fruit in your lives?" If there is then it must be dealt with. Now, Jesus gets even more balck and white with the rest of His message by saying "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord', will neter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My father in heaven. Okay, whose will are we fulfilling? "Ours, or His?" There is no middel ground here folks. This is not like 'Horseshoes' where 'Close' get us in! Now He says "Many will say to me ont hat day 'Lord, Lord, did we not prosephy in Your Name,a nd in Your name drive out demons and perform miracles?' The I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Wow! Does he really mean thse words? You bet He does! Jesus isn't talking to unbelievers, but to people who claim to know Him. You see, we can feed the homeless, be a Pastor, Argue scripture, Visit nursing homes, Mentor kids, Get involved in many good causes, etc....But If there is any evil in our lives, He said we will be told "I never knew you."

Today there is alot going on where people who claim to be Christians are doing good things. However, they justify their secular activities, espouse that they have freedom to do them, and truthfully have changed the grace of God into worthless words. They believe they are exempt from Holiness, Righteousness, and purity because they have been 'Saved.' I dont know about you, but I see in scripture clearly that true Christians produce 'No' bad fruit. They do not endolge in nay form of evil, and choose to live righteouss live. The fruit then is first fruit. The fruit then is not works, but Christ flowing through them. If true Christians would quit calling people Christians because of what Jesus says, then and only then they might change. I love calling myself a servant and slave to Jesus Christ. I also love saying "I am a real Christian." Why? Because it keeps me changing, heading to the cross, and living like Him so that others will see and desire the same as myself "To be a true Christian."

Proverbs 24:16

In ministry there is a constant onslaught of people who desire to give up, say that can't do it, and that do not persevere. Why? Because they might not have the Holy Spirit within them. Pretty bold statement some may say, but let us look at this scripture, Proverbs 24:16 "For though the rigteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes."

Here we see two different people, the 'Righteous' and the 'Wicked.' I pray that no one even goes to the place where they say "I am not wicked because I make the wrong choices, or that we can still have the Holy Spirit in us when we do wicked things."The key here is that the scripture calls us to be Holy and Righteous. It does not say we are all going to sin, it is okay to sin, but that we all have sinned. So now we can all agree that we all believe scripture to be 'True.'

SO let us take a look at the 'Righteous' man in this verse. Did he quit? Did he give up? Has he made exuses? No! He gets up and gets right back into a righteous state through repentance. Sin no longer masters him. The church and Christians have really blown it when they attempt to encourage people by saying "It's okay, we all sin." "That's okay, God loves you." "Try your best, that is all God desires." For some reason we try to pacify people by not telling them the truth and encouraging with scripture. If God has called us to be righteous (and He has) then why would we tell someone the opposite? Wicked is wicked. Sin is sin. It does nto matter if we stoled the cookie or the cookie jar, it is still sin and sin is wicked.

So, can the Holy Spirit dwell in someone that does not persevere? "No." One of the most important purposes of the Holy Spirit is to turn people from wickedness, and to Righteousness.

James 1:13-15 explains this really well "When tempted, no one should say "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." Now, I hope we all see that wickedness and sin are of our own choice, and not always soemthing we can blame on the devil. If you fall, "Get up!" If you are truly a Christian you will "Get up!" The wicked will always blame someone or something for their fall, and they would rather make excuse than to "Get up!" If we fall, then may we always get up and get right back into that rightoues state with God~

Resolved

I have been reading Jerry Bridges book 'The Pursuit of Holiness.' I love all that he has to say and in chapter 9 he quotes Jonathan Edwards "Resolved, never to do anything which I would be afraid to do it is were the last hour of my life." Wow! This is a powerful quote. The awesome thing about this quote is that Jonathan Edwards did not just quote it, he lived it.

So where does this quote leave you and I today? Will it leave us in the same place we are when we hear some other truth quoted by another Christian influence? Will we merely say "Thats a good one", but not resolve to live by it?

Eternity is real and we all will face it one day. According to the scripture we will be judged for all the good and bad that we have done while we were alive. It also says that 'IF' we repent (turn 180 degrees for the sin and then to God) that the sins we repent of will be thrown into the sea, and never remembered. Heaven is real and Hell is real according to the scripture, and I believe this to be true. It will be a terrible thing in the end to find out that our opinion on who will, and who want enter into Heaven, or be cast to Hell was not right. The clear plumbline is this "Is what we are living for worth what Christ died for?" Was that football game, sitcom, book, magazine, or anything of our pleasure worth our eternity? Jesus said that He will come back as a thief in the night. What IF He comes back this very hour? Where will you honestly be with the decision you have made. We must not 'Try' to do better. We must be 'Resolved' to choose kingdom things over worldy passions and lust. Then and only then will we know that we are His~

Arm Yourselves!

Today more than ever too many people use excuses for not surrendering totaly to Christ. The majority always espouse how hard it is to 'Quit' sinning. They basically throw up their hands and assume that this is going to be okay on judgement day with Jesus. However; the Bible is clear that all who truly die to self inorder to live for Christ, will suffer.

Let us look at the scripture so that we can see and be encouraged by what it says. In 1 Peter 1:4 Peter writes "Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves witht he same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin." You see life here on earth wans't as easy as we think for Jesus either. In Hebrews 5:710 we see that Jesus also had to suffer throughout His life. It says "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverant submission. Although he was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Milchizedek." His focus was different than the rest. His focus was on His Father and 'yes' he suffered being obedient just as we do.

Peter writes a powerful message here by letting us know that we should just go ahead and 'Die' to sin, and then we are done with it. The problem is that in our own power we attemot to die to sin, but go and take it back. Our focus is on us and hte sin instead fo God. Peter is also saying that IF Jesus did it "We can too!" The irony of it all is that dying to these things is the best thing that can ever happen to anyone pursuing the Lord Jesus. It feels great once we have died to it.

Tomorrow we will go to battle just as a soldier goes into battle. The soldier will pack his gear, claen his rifle, and make sure that he has everything he will need to win that battle. He is Armed for battle. How about you? Will you get up and put on the armor tomorrow? Will you pray, read His Word, and walk out of your houses armed for battle? I have heard thousand of excuses for why people allow sin to occupy their lives. The sad thing is that they were not will to arm themselves daily in order to overcome the sin that lies ahead. Every morning do yourself a huge favor and Arm yourself to die from self and live for Christ. Yes, You will suffer, but remember this "It's gonna be worth it!" Christ did, and we can~

The Jacob Project

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27).

Judy, myself, our girls, and our ministry is about to receive a huge blessing. After several years of mentoring at the Juvenile Detention Center our dream is coming true "To open our home to kid's that have never had a real home." I am not sure who is more excited, us, our girls, our church, or Jacob. There is alot of joy flowing through our house after the furlough weekend in which we had Jacob to our home for 24 hours. Can you imagine a young man who grew up without a mom, without a room of his own, without a table to sit down with family, and without 'No' positive role model in his life? A young man who had to fend for himself because his dad had is own agenda (drugs, etc)?

Jacob turns 17 next thursday. He has been a model Cadet an the boot camp. He has goals and ambitions. Jacob was robbed of all these things until now. We, as people tend to do our own thing as so called believers. Judy and I have heard things as "You are going to let this young man come in with your grandaughter in the house?" "You need to be careful!" "Are you sure you are ding the right thing?" from so called Christians. What about faith? What about the scripture? What about Jacob and all the countelss others that can dream and have the same opportunities with just someone to love them, care for them, and help them.

You see, most people do not want to admit it, but they are more 'Polluted' by the world rather than 'sold out' for Jesus. Why are not more Christians allowing kids into their homes? These are the orphans that might have grown up in what seems to be a family, but never knew what family was. The percentage of kids in the Juvenile Center that Judy and I teach every weekend that do not want to go back home is staggering. The Juvenile Center has become a 'Carousel' to these kids because it is safer there than at home. On any given weekend we will ask this question "How many of you do not want to go back home when you leave here?" There is never less that 85% of the kids raise that raise their hands.

I praise the Lord that because of the courage and love of our Judge, that our family will finally have a son, and a brother. Just the right one and his name is Jacob. As Jacob and us prepare for his arrival, I told him "Jacob, you are a pioneer. You are a yong man that can fulfill all of your dreams, and set a standard fro others to follow." Words cannot express the smile that came across his face. He is more than a project to us, and far more than an orphan to us. He is Jacob. He is our son, and our friend. He is a young man that God has allowed us to love, nurture and care for, just as Jesus has done for us. We will be placing him in college this next semester to begin his dream. He dream has gone from wanting to be a welder to wanting to be a probation officer. In his word's "I want to help other kids like me." Please keep him in prayer. He iw worth it~

Where is our Focus?

It has become more apparent to me every year, month and day, that the belief system about Christ and being a Christian, comes from what one has been taught, or heard, rather by the Word of God. One of my favorite question to ask people is "Why do you believe what you believe?" The crazy answers and looks I get are pretty sad (I started to say humerous, but I am more concerend about their souls than humor) empty and yes, "Pathetic!" What has happened over the years? Where has the focus gone? The focus has landed on 'Us' and not 'Christ.'

The demand for self satisfaction has created a false sense of faith, and belief. The scripture is clear that it is not about us. It is about Jesus and serving others. It is about the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and keeping us from a sinful state. Many teach and preach today that evryone that calls themselves a Christian is going to heaven. Does the Word of God say that? many teach and preach today that as long as your trying it will be good enough. Does the Word say that? Many preach and teach that as long as your doing something for Christ that He is good with that. Does the Word say that? Many preach and teach that God wants your best for you. Does the Word say that?

We have lost our focus. We have allowed people to take our eyes off of the truth and we gravitate to some new teaching that fits our lifestyles. You see, If we have our focus on Jesus we would have to change! We could not keep from it. If we had our focus on Him then we will deal with any and every sin that is in our lives. If we have our focus on Him then we will be reaching to the lost knowing that if they do not turn to Him and surrender their lives 100% to Him then their fate will be eteranl damnation. Here is the problem "We don't want to change, but we want Jesus." No one can tell me that IF our focus is on Him that our lives won't change. They have to change because of Him, and our true love for Him. We speak to Him in prayer, and He speaks to us through His Word. Why look elsewhere? There are gret books, devotionals and study material out there, but these should only consume 10% of your time. The other 90% should be in the Word. We have to get our focus off of other preachers, teachers, and leaders, and get it back on Christ. Then and only the will we see revival. Are you humble enough and bold enough to do it?