It has been a while since I have posted a blog. Judy and I purchased a house that needed remodeled back in October and have just now finished. One can learn alot when it comes to remodeling. Almost nothing ever seems to go as planned. We were supposed to have moved in by February and finally, here in May we have.
The house we purchased is another corner lot house. The grass had all gone away and weed's and dirt were all that was left. This lead me to pruchase and lay 7600 sq feet of 'New' grass (alot of grass). I do not know if any of you have ever laid sod before, but that is a total of 16 pallets! The grass always looks good when you lay it and you most definitley want it to stay looking great. This requires daily watering for 30 days.
I realized after about a week that some 'Nut Grass' and 'Crabgrass' began to spring up. These two lawn raiders are weeds that will take over a yard destroy the good grass. It did not take long for me to be able to walk throught he grass and identify these pesty weeds. Immediately you go to your knees and patiently pull each weed out in order to get the whole root. This daily process was not very fun, but God began to speak to me through the battle of grass versus weeds.
First we have to realize that weed's only spring up in the weak areas of a yard where the grass isn't firmly planted. Second we have to know that if the root isn't pulled out completely then the weed will continue to grow. So goes life... As Christians we too can allow weeds to spring up in our lives inthe areas that we allow to be weak. As I reflect on my life I can look back and see where I allowed those weeds to spring up and how they choked out my passion and love for Christ. They quickly had me tending to them instead of serving others.
As a father I was always scanning my daughters lives to make sure that no weeds would grow up and choke out their realtionship with Jesus. It wasn't very fun, or even easy when I had to say 'No' to the weeds that were attempting to grow up in their lives.
As Pastor I am always concerned and aware of weeds trying to pop up in our ministry. Jesus even speaks about the Wheat and the Tares in His sermons.
The two weeds I spoke of are almost unnoticeable among the grass. Their beginning leaves look almost like our Saint Augustine grass. It took about 3-4 days of really scanning my yard to get familiar with these weeds and the differences they had between the good grass. After I had pulled weeds for days I could visually see them 10 feet away. I had trained my eyes to recognize the differences, and I trained myself how to pull them out, so that they would not come back. Today only a few attempt to rear their ugly heads as the Saint Augustine is getting stronger and fuller.
How about us? Are we allowing the things of this world (Weeds) to choke out the life that Christ died for? Can we no longer recognize weeds (secular things) in our lives that keep us living the life Christ died for? The only way I can is to stay in the Word which always reveals the weeds. I constantly have to be sharing with others and serving them daily in order to keep the weeds at bay. The the things of this world will always come our way. If we do not tend to them then they will eventually take over our love for Christ and others. We cannot just pull a little sin out, but we must grab it up by the root and be finished with it. If there are any weeds in your life today, then pull them out. The Bible is pretty clear that 'Sin' (Weeds) will seprate us from God. Seperation from God is death, but godliness is life~
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Godly Intentions/Awesome Friends/ God's Amazing Love
God is amazing! Last year after Judy and I had the blessing of going to Africa to see our daughter and son-in-law. On the way we read a book titles 'Radical' by David Platt. The experience of the two left us desiring to make some more radical changes in our lives. Almost as soon as we returned from Africa a good friend of mine called and asked if Judy and I would like to go to Israel. He said "Won't coast you a dime, I want you to go with me and my dad!" What a blessing! On this trip we read two more great books titled 'Not a Fan' and 'Red Letters.' The experience in Israel and these two books left us overwhelmed and willing to do even more radical things in our lives for the glory of God.
About fifteen years ago I purchased and 'Icthus' ring from James Avery. Everyone always comments on it, and James Avery had discontinued them shortly after I purchased mine. When we went to Africa Judy left all of her jewelry behind in Corpus. The Lord placed it in my heart that I should see if James Avery would make her one like mine, and we could replace her wedding ring with it. I contacted the office of James Avery and they told me that in 'rare' occassions Mr. Avery would do an out of production item for those who wrote to him with their request. I quickly typed out a letter to Mr. Avery and sent it off to see if he would produce one more of the discontinued rings so that Judy and I would have matching wedding rings. This might seem like a great idea to most, but I was not sure she would give up her wedding ring after 30 years of marriage for any other ring. Approximately three weeeks later I recieved a letter from Mr. Avery stating "This one time I will make an exception and make one for her, but only once." All I could think was "Thank you Jesus!" I placed the order and began praying in earnest that Judy would understand and that this idea the Lord laid on my heart would be her heart also. Several weeks after ordering the ring we finished 'Not a fan' with our church. Judy came in my office before a Bible Study and said she needed to talk with me. She looked at me and said "Would you mind if I take my wedding ring and have the baggets and bands to the jewler and just keep the gold band?" As I listened to her my heart was truly leaping. She also said that she wanted to 'sell' all of her other jewelry and send the proceeds to people in need in Africa (We were raising money to send to a Pastor in Kenya who in return purchased food with 100% of the funds to give to the refugges). After sharing this all with me she said "What do you think?" I simply turned ny chair around and printed out the letter I sent James Avery, and then the letter he sent me along with order. It was a glorious night! The ring came in about four weeks and she has proudly worn it ever since.
Before Judy's wing came in she took all of her jewelry to a jewelry store to palce on consignment. Judy shared with her story about her new ring and what we intended to do with the proceeds from the old with the young sales girl at the store. She was blown away, and God received the glory. All of this sounds good, but almost a year later only the least exspensive piece had sold.
Over the past several months Judy and I were discussing whether or not we need to take the jewelry to another plac eof consingment. As days past we forgot until last Thursday. Judy told me that the young lady had called her and said "All your jewelry has sold, you have a check for $4,500.00 here waiting for you!" We were elated to say the least.
Yesterday Judy went and picked up her check finally. Around 3:00 she received a phone call from some of our dearest friends asking us if we would like to go to dinner with them at 4:45. Judy said 'yes' of course and we anxiously waited for our friends to arrive (we don't get enough together enough and we always look forward to seeing them. When they arrived they told us that they had a house warming present for us. They carried a box in and placed it on our table. She quickly pulled out some awesome air freshener, and other items for the house. The she also handed Judy a new purse and said "This is totaly Judy with all the colors." She told Judy to open the purse because she had a few other things for her. The first box had some beautiful pearls, and the next, beautiful diamond earings, and Judy began to cry (Got pretty emotional). As she continued to open each box she realized her dear friend had been the one who purchased all of her jewlery, and wanted her to have it back. Every peice of Judy's jewelry were pieces that I ha pruchased for her over the years. Each one had a story behind them and a special purpose and meaning on our lives. Her friend loves the Lord, and loves us too... She did add that there was one other catch though "Judy could not sell them."
You see, God is amazing. I am not sharing this story for any reason except that God gets the glory. God knew that every piece of jewelry had significant purpose and meaning in our lives. They were all special gifts that will always have meaning of our journey in life together. One example of significance was that her diamond earrings were for her first year of sobriety. God in His foreknowledge knew that our hearts would be willing to give up monitary things with sentimental meaning to help those who were less fortunate. Without Jesus neither of us would have. God also knew that a good friend would take us to Israel as part of softening our hearts to prepare us for sacrifice. And God also knew that through our dear friends He would show us the love of Christ, and their love for us as we willingly surrender our lives each day for Him. God is faithful~
About fifteen years ago I purchased and 'Icthus' ring from James Avery. Everyone always comments on it, and James Avery had discontinued them shortly after I purchased mine. When we went to Africa Judy left all of her jewelry behind in Corpus. The Lord placed it in my heart that I should see if James Avery would make her one like mine, and we could replace her wedding ring with it. I contacted the office of James Avery and they told me that in 'rare' occassions Mr. Avery would do an out of production item for those who wrote to him with their request. I quickly typed out a letter to Mr. Avery and sent it off to see if he would produce one more of the discontinued rings so that Judy and I would have matching wedding rings. This might seem like a great idea to most, but I was not sure she would give up her wedding ring after 30 years of marriage for any other ring. Approximately three weeeks later I recieved a letter from Mr. Avery stating "This one time I will make an exception and make one for her, but only once." All I could think was "Thank you Jesus!" I placed the order and began praying in earnest that Judy would understand and that this idea the Lord laid on my heart would be her heart also. Several weeks after ordering the ring we finished 'Not a fan' with our church. Judy came in my office before a Bible Study and said she needed to talk with me. She looked at me and said "Would you mind if I take my wedding ring and have the baggets and bands to the jewler and just keep the gold band?" As I listened to her my heart was truly leaping. She also said that she wanted to 'sell' all of her other jewelry and send the proceeds to people in need in Africa (We were raising money to send to a Pastor in Kenya who in return purchased food with 100% of the funds to give to the refugges). After sharing this all with me she said "What do you think?" I simply turned ny chair around and printed out the letter I sent James Avery, and then the letter he sent me along with order. It was a glorious night! The ring came in about four weeks and she has proudly worn it ever since.
Before Judy's wing came in she took all of her jewelry to a jewelry store to palce on consignment. Judy shared with her story about her new ring and what we intended to do with the proceeds from the old with the young sales girl at the store. She was blown away, and God received the glory. All of this sounds good, but almost a year later only the least exspensive piece had sold.
Over the past several months Judy and I were discussing whether or not we need to take the jewelry to another plac eof consingment. As days past we forgot until last Thursday. Judy told me that the young lady had called her and said "All your jewelry has sold, you have a check for $4,500.00 here waiting for you!" We were elated to say the least.
Yesterday Judy went and picked up her check finally. Around 3:00 she received a phone call from some of our dearest friends asking us if we would like to go to dinner with them at 4:45. Judy said 'yes' of course and we anxiously waited for our friends to arrive (we don't get enough together enough and we always look forward to seeing them. When they arrived they told us that they had a house warming present for us. They carried a box in and placed it on our table. She quickly pulled out some awesome air freshener, and other items for the house. The she also handed Judy a new purse and said "This is totaly Judy with all the colors." She told Judy to open the purse because she had a few other things for her. The first box had some beautiful pearls, and the next, beautiful diamond earings, and Judy began to cry (Got pretty emotional). As she continued to open each box she realized her dear friend had been the one who purchased all of her jewlery, and wanted her to have it back. Every peice of Judy's jewelry were pieces that I ha pruchased for her over the years. Each one had a story behind them and a special purpose and meaning on our lives. Her friend loves the Lord, and loves us too... She did add that there was one other catch though "Judy could not sell them."
You see, God is amazing. I am not sharing this story for any reason except that God gets the glory. God knew that every piece of jewelry had significant purpose and meaning in our lives. They were all special gifts that will always have meaning of our journey in life together. One example of significance was that her diamond earrings were for her first year of sobriety. God in His foreknowledge knew that our hearts would be willing to give up monitary things with sentimental meaning to help those who were less fortunate. Without Jesus neither of us would have. God also knew that a good friend would take us to Israel as part of softening our hearts to prepare us for sacrifice. And God also knew that through our dear friends He would show us the love of Christ, and their love for us as we willingly surrender our lives each day for Him. God is faithful~
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
'Saved'
Every since I surrendered my life to the Lord in 1992, I have never quit seeking 'Truth.' All of the things I was taught throughout the years became 'Dim' as Christ was using His Word to show me 'Truth' versus what I had grown up being taught and believing about Christ and Christianity. Until the Lord comes back, or He takes me home, I will be seeking His truth in His Word and sharing it.
I will never forget growing up in a church and being taught one thing, and then running into others telling me something different. I never shared this with others at the time, but I do always now. To put it plainly "I was confused!" This may have been the very reason I did not want to pursue Christianity, or seek a better life. A righteous life.
In my teenage years I was introduced to the big word 'Saved!' People were always asking me if I was saved, or if I wanted to be saved and have eternal life. Being 'Saved' was always the key word to being a 'Real Christian.' It was explained to me that by getting saved and making a profession of faith that no matter what I did in the future I wold be 'Saved.'
Did you Know that no where in the scripture does it elude to the fact that being 'Saved' is a one time thing? I did not until I sought the Lord for direction and clarity on this word. Many love to say "Anyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." Okay, saved from what? The scripture clearly states that it is from ourself and sin. It does not say forever. If so, then there would be no need to repent, go to Bible Studies, Church, or produce fruit. Common sense tells us that if we sin we must repent and therefore be saved from the sin we committed.
People over the years have confused themselves, and lead others astray by the msiconception that being saved is being born again. No, being born is explained by John in this manner "No one born of God will continue to sin, because they have been born of God" (1 John 3:9). John also says the same thing in 1 John 5:18. So where did this word 'Saved' get so far out in left field?
Today I do not go around stating "I am saved', but that I am a servant of Jesus Christ. One might have said the prayer (By the way "The prayer is not in scripture) in second grade, but that does not mean they are etrenally saved. They were saved from their sins at that moment. If they have sinned from that moment, then they need to be saved again for any sin that they have.
The word 'Saved' is probably the devils greatest tools of all. If he can convince us that we are saved and that we can continue to in, then apathy and lack of faith will lead to a sin filled church, people and body of so called believers. Do not take my word for what I have written. I encourage you to do a word study on this topic and keep things in context when you read this scripture~
I will never forget growing up in a church and being taught one thing, and then running into others telling me something different. I never shared this with others at the time, but I do always now. To put it plainly "I was confused!" This may have been the very reason I did not want to pursue Christianity, or seek a better life. A righteous life.
In my teenage years I was introduced to the big word 'Saved!' People were always asking me if I was saved, or if I wanted to be saved and have eternal life. Being 'Saved' was always the key word to being a 'Real Christian.' It was explained to me that by getting saved and making a profession of faith that no matter what I did in the future I wold be 'Saved.'
Did you Know that no where in the scripture does it elude to the fact that being 'Saved' is a one time thing? I did not until I sought the Lord for direction and clarity on this word. Many love to say "Anyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." Okay, saved from what? The scripture clearly states that it is from ourself and sin. It does not say forever. If so, then there would be no need to repent, go to Bible Studies, Church, or produce fruit. Common sense tells us that if we sin we must repent and therefore be saved from the sin we committed.
People over the years have confused themselves, and lead others astray by the msiconception that being saved is being born again. No, being born is explained by John in this manner "No one born of God will continue to sin, because they have been born of God" (1 John 3:9). John also says the same thing in 1 John 5:18. So where did this word 'Saved' get so far out in left field?
Today I do not go around stating "I am saved', but that I am a servant of Jesus Christ. One might have said the prayer (By the way "The prayer is not in scripture) in second grade, but that does not mean they are etrenally saved. They were saved from their sins at that moment. If they have sinned from that moment, then they need to be saved again for any sin that they have.
The word 'Saved' is probably the devils greatest tools of all. If he can convince us that we are saved and that we can continue to in, then apathy and lack of faith will lead to a sin filled church, people and body of so called believers. Do not take my word for what I have written. I encourage you to do a word study on this topic and keep things in context when you read this scripture~
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)