Why not a New Years Resolution?

 Well, it is that thime of year again. The old is passing and the new is coming. For years people have stopped and reviewed their past year and resolving that they need to make changes in the New Year to come. Let us take a moment to think about this and really look at a difference between resoulting and commiting.
  I will begin by sharing this fact with all of you. Throughout my life I alwasy made some silly and some not so silly reolutions. That's what all were taught weren't we? I would always resolve to not cuss as much, quit gambling, stop drinking as much, lose weight, stop spending as much, be a better husband, or becoming a better father. The list could go on even further than that, but for time sake I will stop right there. Have you ever found yourself in the same place?
  Today I do not make rersolutions. Today I make commitments. Many of us feel that they both have pretty much the same meaning, but the truth is that one leads to doing and the other to trying. If a person turly wants to accomplish something they will be doing rather than trying. Trying always leads to a loophole if you do not want to persevere.
  Today many people get offended when I tell them to stop trying and start doing. When someone tells me that they are trying to quit drinking, lose weight, cuss, or anything else, to me it says that they truly don't want to do it. Why would I say that? Because, I too bought into the same thing all of my life until I chose to 'Commit' rather than try. If one tries, thenthey probably wil not give it their all. If one commits then they usually give it their all.
 As the New Year comes in and the old is going out I want to share this important scripture with you all that has changed my life and continues to chnage my life each and every day "Whoever is in Chirst is a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come." I comitted and quit trying after I read this scripture in 1992. I quit trying to live a good life, to live as a Christian, and to live as Christ. I committed to Him once and for all. Each one of us will have to do the same. Each one of us will either commit to being a follower of Christ, or a follower of the world struggling to please ourselves with things, our looks, and our bad habits. We will find ourselves making resolution after resolution to change the things in our lives that we need fixed, and lead us away from the cross instead of to it.
 I do not believe for one second that the Lord cares about whether you need to lose weight, or cast a trivial habit away as a sacrifice to be better. I believe He wants us to stop resoluting and start committing. The greatest committment any of us can make for a New Year is that we will be true followers of Jesus Christ. That we will get rid of anything in our lives that will mar or blemish the work on the cross. That the lost and dying world can have hope of a better life, a life in Christ. Don't resolute, commit~

Last Ounce of Courage

 Last night I had the privilege of watching this great movie "Last Ounce of Courage." My wife and granddaughter had seen it at the theatre and had told me it was great. My sistser had even seen it (I think she is the one told my wife and granddaughter to watch it) and was pumped about the message.
 Several blogs back I put out a similiar message and last night the movie confirmed in me that we can instead of we can't. Lets look for a second at just what has happened since this country we live in became a country. Our patriarchs put Giod first and revered Him over everything else. That not only revered Him, but they feared Him. We go around speaking of our great Nation as if we still had the same morals, fight, zeal and fervor for it and our Creator. But do we? Do we truly love this country in which God has blessed over the years? Let us take a look now, and let be the first one to raise my hand and say "I have been part of its demise."
 Many years ago we sat back and watched a few true Christians attempt to keep God in our country and our schools. We sat back and watched while we attended church and claimed to love God and Jesus. I would venture to say that the vast majority of us said that we would 'Die' for Christ. But did we? Would we? How long will we sit back and watch the few strip us from our what we claim to believe. How long will we be more afraid of men than of God for the choices (or no choices) we make concerning morals, and standards. You see, we all have to look in the mirror and ask ourselves this "Will we fight with our last ounce of courage?" Where is the courage that founded this nation?Where is the courage that says "We are Christians and we will not put up with this any longer? I will be honest, "It was all chatter and no action."
 If our leaders think that its okay to okay same sex marriage and marijuana because of individuals rights, then we have the right to put God back in our schools. We have the right to say no in the masses instead of the few that truly love the Lord. Wake up folks! What are you going to do? Our children and their children are watching us sit back in defeat instead of God's army victorious. Let us rise up and show them that God and Christ is worth fighting for!
 We say we love our kids, but what do we show them. That being a Christian means you have no rights. That what the world has to offer is more important than saying 'No' to immorality? How long will we see Christ being crucified again and again by liberal beliefs and Christain leaders living ungodly and immoral lives?
Being a Christian will take each of ours last ounce of courage. Courage to say "Sin is Sin" no matter what people say. "You aren't a Christian" a to those who live and choose immoral lives and then claim to know Christ. Being a Christian is going to take our last ounce of courage to not be like the world or those who claim to be Christians and by the choices and actions are not. \
 Last but not least I must share this "The Muslim faith is growing rapidly while the Christian faith is declining." They will die for what they believe, will we truly be willing to die also for what we believe in? We need to quit talking and start acting? We need to know that we are called to be more than conquerors instead of the defeated. May 2013 be the year that we get up out of our self righteousness and stand up for our faith. Jesus will be coming back and what will we say if He asks us "Did you stand up for me?"

Christmas and the 'Gift"

 We probably all can remember 'Christmas Day.' Christmas trees, gifts around the tree, and the reminder of Jesus birthday. The older I realize that I had always thought of Christ being the greatest gift, but turly "I never accepted the Gift." The day was full of eating, presents, fellowshipping and gluttony. As soon as the day was over, it was over and I went about my business as usual.
 Today Christmas is a reminder to me more than anything. A reminder that I need to 'Put on' and 'Accept' the wonderful gift that lies before both you and I.Let me share a few scriptures with you all that will help us to understand what I am talking about:
Romans 13:14 says this "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful flesh." In Galatians 3:26-27 we read "You are all sons of God through Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
 These passages really send a message to myself. Think about this, "Have you ever received a gift that you did not like, and then, never put it on?" I have. The giver never knew that you did not like it and you never truly accepted it within. A gift is not about receiving it, but using it. The same applies with us and the gift that God has given us, and the gift from Jesus through the cross. I was 36 years old before I truly 'Accepted the gift.' I always thought that I had because of what others told me. Today I 'Clothe' myself with Christ daily. I put on the gift of Christ daily. I no longer chase after things that money can buy, because there is not enough money in the entire universe that could purchase the gift that only Christ can give. By receiving the gift we must use the gift. We use it by allowing Christ to manifest Himself throughout our daily lives. We will be loving others, praying for others and serving others. We will be like Him here on earth. If we truly accept the 'Gift' then we give our all just as He gave His all while here on earth in death and His resurrection. Are you ready to 'Accept' the gift? Are you ready to use the gift? It is the best gift that we can ever receive and it is one that we can choose each and everyday of our lives. Merry Christmas!

Why Joseph? Why Mary?

 Have you ever wondered why Joseph, and why Mary? Why would the Creator of all things choose these two individuals? By now most of you know and would acknowledge that maybe I am a little strange and some of the things I blog about and write tend to make you question my sanity.
 It has been over 10 years now since the Lord showed me some pretty interesting and benifical mysteries regarding this question. We see in Matthew 1:18 thru chapter 2 that Joseph most definitely had a 'Personal' and 'Special' relationship with God. Today I am convinced that God also desires the same for us. He also desires to use us if we are willing to live as Joseph did.
  Verses 18-19 tell us that Joseph was a righteous man. When he found out about Mary being pregnant he did not go out and tell his friends how wretched and bad she was, but did a very righteous and noble thing "He was going to divorce her quietly." I love sharing this with youth, and adults to get their reactions. Almost everytime everyone will say that they would have responded in a much different way, and truthfully, I too probably would have. I would have probably let her have it, then picked up the phone and told everyone how rotten she was. My oldest sister said yesterday that she would have let her have it because of what she had done to her brother. There would have been no quietness in the way we responded I am sure. Joseph did not want to expose her because he was a righteous man.
 In verses 20-25 we see that God loved Joseph so much that He sent an angel to direct Joseph's thoughts, and plans. The angel also told him that he should take Mary as his wife and that Jesus was going to save His people from their sins. So, when Joseph awoke he did not think about the dream, ask himself questions like whether or not the dream was real, or even when he should make the next move. He got up and went and did as the angel had told him. Joseph was obedient. Joseph, by tradition was supposed to name the baby 'Joseph.' Instead, he named Him Jesus, just as he had been commanded. Joseph knew the scriptures and he also knew the prophecies about Jesus. As all this was happening Joseph was privileged to witness and be part of prophesy being fulfilled.
 In order to keep this short I will simply ask you to read chapter 2. Joseph and the Magi were both obedient to the everything the angel told them. They all were able to see the prophesies fulfilled because of their obedience to the angel.
  God desires, and will use only those who are willing to be obedient. We have all have had times in which we felt deep within us that we were supposed to do something and then thought our way out of it. I am sure that there have been many times in which we have all done things, or responded in un-righteous ways. Mary grew up around the temple and she too believed and acted in total obedience to God. She too believed that God (Through the Angel) spoke toJoseph and herself and she followed and went. What about us? Who and what to we follow? I put it pretty black and white to our congregation yesterday. If you have a dream, or a feeling that you know has to be from God, then act on it immediately. The plumb line is this "If it is taking you to the cross then you know it is of the Lord, so act without delay." "If it is not heading you to the cross 'Now' then it is not of the Lord." We all can be Mary and Josephs. We will not ever have the privilege of being Jesus parents, but we have the privilege of having Him abide within us. The one prophesy that has not been fulfilled is the end of time. Will we be found obedient and righteous, or will we be found complacent and disobedient. Let Jesus be the true King of your life today. It is never too late to change~

Scripture versus Opinion

  If I were to rewrite all of Romans 2 for you then you all would probably not read this post out of boredom, or lack of desire. We tend to think that we all have it right and that we do not need to read anything that might distract us over a two to three minute time span.
  I have come to long for the Word even more each day after being in it for over twenty years, more than ever. Many times the Lord shows me where my thinking may have been in err, and many times He comfirms that I am most definitely right about the insight in which He has given me. The battle will always go on between ourselves and others in which we must come to the point of choosing to believe what the Word is saying and where our interpetation, and opinon lie. Once again I feel led to quote what my youngest daughter said several years back "If you err, it would be best that you err towards holiness." With this in mind, I must admit one huge thing "That this mind set will most definitley lead one to believe what it says, instead of what you want to hear."
  Romans 2 is a mirror to each and everyone of us. It should, and will take us to our knees in humility, meekness, and self examination. I was one who grew up and followed what I was being told to believe about scripture and applied all of my faith by what I was taught instead of seeking the truth on my on. One of the craziest things I bought in to was that by believing I was a Christian that I would immediately be exempt from God's wrath and punishment for the known sin in my life. I thought I had a 'Trump' or 'Get out of jail free' card, because I said a prayer, went to church, or confessed Jesus to be my Savior, while still living in sin. Let us look at a part of Romans 2 and what the scripture states versus our opinions:
  "But because of your stubborness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgement will be revealed. God will "Give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by perstistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the gentile. For God does not show favoritism."
  I do not know about you, but the truth is that God will not show favoritism to anyone. He is just and will judge justly. Just because one has said a prayer, gone to church, been baptized, or done anything else religiously, does not make them or anyone else exempt. God did not spare His own chosen people when they chose evil over righteousness. If we are believers and know (or justify) that we have anything unrighteous in us, that according to the scripture we will be judged by a righteous God who shows no favoritism. Now, we can form and opinion or personal interpretation about what it says, but it does say what it says. We might want to read it seasoned with a little grace, but grace is already at work by God allowing us to read it. Realizing His kindness should lead us to repentance (Verse 4).
  I personally look at the word 'Jew' (for myself) as 'Christian' in most cases, so that the Word speaks directly to me. We are supposed to know better just as the Jews were. Read this in verse 28-29:
  "A man is not a Jew (Christian) if he only one on the outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew (Christian) if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code, Such a man's praise is not frm men, but from God."
  we have read the scirputre and now we must choose it or our opinion. We do not like it when our true hearts are exposed, but it is only by God's grace that we have this opportunity. Knowing now that God does not and will not show favoritism I leave us all with this question "Is there anything unrighteous in our lives that will cause God to judge us by His wrath. There is no middle ground unfortunately in the Word. We must examine and choose. Opinion versus Scritpure? I am standing on the scripture which by His grace judges me, and by His grace which affords me the opportunity to get it right, right now~
 
 

The tragedy... What now~

  I want to begin my blog with a few lyric's from the song 'City on our Knees':
"If you gotta start somewhere why not here, If you gotta start sometime why not now
If we gotta sart somewhere here, If you gotta start sometime I say now!"
  What a tragedy! Questions will arise and people will feel a great sense of compassion for those who were effected by this tragedy. This tragedy send me backwards. My first thoughts go to Columbine and then to the tragic event of 911. As the world witnessed horrific event after horrific event over the years, we have to ask ourselves "What have we learned?" America and the world is responding with the same response for every tragic event that has happened over the years. People pray, people seek answers, Churches will be filled tomorrow, and unfortunately the 'Newness' of this tragedy will erode away and America will once again turn from God, and to the world.
  I may not make any friends with this blog and will probably lose a few. However; we all need to look into the mirror of truth. As Christians we throw the white flag up almost immediately before the smoke clears. We accept the lie of "We cannot make a difference" and sit back on our comfortable couches once again as abortion, sexual immorality, impurity, drugs, atheism run rampant throughout our country. We cannot pray where we want, we have to remove anything that is of the Lord from public places, and we will pretty soon not be able to even say 'Christmas' in public. Christian corporations are sued and told not to do certain things because they are discremnating from the ungodly. "Do we even care? Do you even care? What stand are we making, and what stand am I making?"
  When and what will it take for Christians to make a stand? How many lives will have to be lost because we are more interested in political in being politically correct instead of soldiers for Christ. When the early Christians were being persecuted and martyred they did not give up! What would they have done when these tragic events took place?
  If you are not moved to do all that you can to regain God in our country, our schools, and communities by these tragic events, then we turly need to ask ourselves one huge question "Do we rally care?" All of the lives that were lost in the tragic events were in vain if it has not moved us to start right now, right here, regaining what our country and its politicians have taken aways from us. We all can make a difference in other peoples lives. We can all lobby for prayer to be put back in our schools. We can all make a stand against immorality, impurity, lust, and ungodly things going on around us.  What would Peter, Paul and John being telling us now? Sit back, stay comfortable and mourn for a week or so and then go back to the same complacent and apatheic lifestyle seeing our counrty and the cross of Christ be put to shame. We need to pray, but I must say that prayer is not enough if we are to make a difference. Get involved. Start in your homes with your family. Start in your churches and communities. You can be part of seeing Amercia become a country under God once again. Lets start now and lets start here. Right where yo are sitting you can make the decison to make a difference for Christ. He gave His all.....are we?

Lesson for today in 1 Samuel

 I cannot even begin to tell you all just how awesome it is to have the Word of God, and to have Him speak to me each and every day through it. Today I saw an awesome nugget that opened my eyes to our present time here in the good old USA and to all who are believers.
 In 1 Samuel 12 we read that Samuel is about to leave and giving his 'Farewell' speech. He reminds the people of Israel of their blunders in turning away from God and wanting a different king. Towards the end of the chapter they ask Samuel to pray for them and he assures them that if they serve God with their whole hearts, and chunk their idols, then He would not reject them. Lets see what He tells them that caught my attention:
"As for me, far be it form me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. Be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all of your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."
 Samuel was a truly an awesome man of God even until the end of his life. Samuel's love for God and his people was exactly the kind love we all need today in our lives. Fully devoted and fully comitted. Even though the people of Israel rejected him and God over the years, He still loved them and spoke truth into their lives.
 Let's break this scripture down a bit. When is the last time we considered that failing to 'Pray' for others is a 'Sin?' This was truly an eye opener! So many times I think of someone and in my Spirit know that I should pray for them, but I get distracted and fail to pray for them. Reading Paul's Epistles leaves me speechless also at times. He always shares how much he remembers people and that he prays for them (I don't know how he had the time to preach, write, teach, and so forth with his prayer life).
 Next we see that Samuel commits to continue to teach them the 'Good and Right way.' Today it seems that the 'Good and Right' way gets left behind to Topical preaching and teaching, and not holiness and purity.  The quetion the Word is asking me is "Am I sharing the good and right way, or History and theology?" Today many will say that the love their families and friends, but are afraid to mention the 'Good and Right' way of doing things.
 The lie from the devil is that we serve the Lord faithfully and that love Him and serve Him with all of our heart. "Do we?" If we allow anything else to capture our hearts besides the Lord and His will then we cannot say the we love Him with all of our heart. Our actions depict just how much our heart truly belongs to Him. Another question we must ask of ourselves is "Are we truly faithful to Him?" Truly being faithful has nothing to do with going to Church and everything to do with serving others. "Do we truly love?" A young man in our youth several years ago asked me to define true love is. I found myself blurting out "Going beyond what is expected." What can we say "That we love and serve God with ALL of our hearts?"
 There is no reason for a believer to get down, or out. There is no reason for a believer to not give thanks each and every day for what God has done in our lives. Look back a year, two and even back as far as you can. Has God not brought us through anything we have faced? Has He ever forsaken us? He has been faithful, and we owe Him our all, and not just a trinket. We have the opportunity to serve, to be faithful to, and love an awesome God who has brought us from death to life.
 Last but not least, we need to understand that 'IF' we decide to turn away and practice or partake of anything evil, that we will be swept away. This does have everything to do with eternity,a nd it is our choice. Now take a deep breath and realize this, "He loves us!" Why would we not get rid of anything that hinders are total faithfullness to Him? Good word, good God~

Sin, utterly Sinful

I have been in the Word of God everyday for over 20 years now. It is still speaking stringly to me and it is new every morning. I do not read the Word to become wise in theology, or make a stand for my doctrine. I merely crawl up in His lap and listen to what He has to say. The funny thing is that He always draws me closer to Him and to a life of hoiness, and joy. It is important to us all to truly understand that He is truly the Father we all so desperately need. He will never teach us to sin, condone sin, or do anything that would seperate us from Himself.
Today I can truly say that "Sin is not an issue with me because His Spirit will not permit it." No good Father would allow any of us to blatantly sin, and will always tell us to flee from anything that is not pleasing.  John states in 1 John 4 that our Spirits will attest one to another. This is so true! If the Spirit of God is in us then we all will have the same response, and take the same actions as 'The Spirit' of God leads. Sadly though, the Church has allowed another Spirit in, and another way to Jesus more attractive.
This is what Paul says in Romans 7:13 "Did that which was good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful." It is very important if one desires to grow, to take the sum of the Word and not just the bits and pieces they desire to retain for their own lifestyle. Paul is the same one that said we were no longer under the law, and turns right around an say that the law is good. This is not contradictory, but oneness in the Lord. When we are in our flesh (apart from the Lord) we need the law to expose sin because if we die in our sin we will be seperated from God throughout eternity (According to scripture, and not what man preaches). If we are in Christ, then there is no reason for the law because we will not be doing, or condoning anything that isn't holy and pleasing to Him, sinning.
Sunday night my wife, daughter and granddaughter went to see 'Lincoln.' They were not even there an hour and got up and left. When they came in the house I asked them what was up and they said "They used God's name in vain way too much, so we left!" This was utterly sinful to them. Why? because the Spirit of the Lord would never allow them to have their God's name used in vain. Today we are in a mess as so called Christians. We could probably have two parties (If this was even possible) like politics (and unfortunately people are coming up with more parties to confuse everyone), the Liberals and the Conservatives in Christianity. Now, if sin was utterly sinful to Paul, then how can anyone with liberal beliefs even think they were interpretating scripture correctly?
My heart goes out to all of the people in the world who are having to choose what is, and what is not the right way to the cross and Jesus. I become ill when I think about what my granddchildren and their children will inherit becuase of  sin not being 'Utterly' sinful. If we as so called Christians continue to to compromise and malign God's Word, then the future of Amercia will lead to Sodom and Gomorrah for our ancestors. Is the sin and freedom worth clinging to today for the destruction of the Church and our ancestors? Sin is utterly sinful to al of those who are truly being saved~

Wisdom through Timothy

I am probably pretty wierd to many people. If anyone attempted to figure me out, they would probably spend alot of time in vain because quite honestly "I have stopped trying to figure myself out." I have an awesome brother in Christ and friend that loves the blogs, but openly admit that the spelling and grammar is atroshious (I don't even know if that word is spelled correctly, lol). I think constantly. I am constantly looking forward and rarely looking backwards. I always ask myself this question "Am I making a difference for Christ, and am I changing daily?"
I love looking at the realtionship between Paul and Timothy. Paul was a seasoned 'Vet' who had made alot of mistakes in his quest to honor God. Timothy was a young man in whim had been raised by his God fearing mother and grandmother. When the two lives collided it is obvious to us today that Timothy wanted what Paul had to offer. Timothy wanted to know the Christ that Paul knew. No one can convince me that Timothy would have ever 'Come Up Against' Paul's teaching and beliefs. Some of yo may be reading this and think "That's totaly hypothetical Pete", but I believe that the scripture eludes that Timothy was Paul's right hand man. Timothy cherished Paul's wisdom and walk with Christ.
I have stated in other blog's that my son-in-law had asked me about 8 years ago where I had acquired my wisdom. He blurted out "Because of your age!" At this I stopped and thought before I spoke saying "Not because of my age, but through all of my failures." Timothy obviously accepted the fact that most of Paul's wisdom came from his failures, and Timothy respected that.
One of my constant thoughts is "How has the Church fallen so far away from the truth?" At 56 years old I can assure you all that I have made alot of mistakes over the years. I can say that that by remaining in the Word daily has been the greatest thing I have ever committed to. I also want to say that my 'Forgetting' what I had been taught has been monumental. My deepest regret today is that I had never sought out a truly 'Godly' man, and that I loved my opinion of what the scripture says more so than seeking a Paul. It really is a control issue. We desire to be right, and we desire to get recognition even for our belief's and theology. Unfortunately today I see younger men (15-40) that are seeking truth without Paul's in their lives. They gravitate to what they want to believe, and surround themselves with 'Like minded' people without the wisdom of men who have made the same mistakes. It seems that this is probably one of the reasons that 'Luke-warmness' is so rampant within the Church today and that it seems so many are looking for a different way instead of 'The Way.'
I implore anyone who reads this to seek out someone that is truly walking the walk, talking the talk, living a godly life, and could mentor you from a wisdom produced through their failures. In Philippians 3 Paul talks about his credentials, and also about his wisdom of his koweldge of God and religion. He laid it all down for the sake of knowing Christ. Did Timothy think Paul had some wisdom? Did Timothy have a tremendous amount of respect for Paul? When I was growing up we had a different respect than what I see today. We never questioned our elders, came up against them, or even questioned them. True respect has given way to freedom of belief, opinion and speech.
I will end with this "I do not wish upon anyone the mistakes that I have made in my life, about life, about God, about Jesus, or about the Word." Because of my failures I can say with assurance "Only a fool would attempt to run the race alone without seeking a Paul in their life."