Enjoying His Extravangant Grace!

Jesus Christ Became God’s Substitute … The Redemption Price For Us … Very Costly Have You Been Redeemed?

2012-02-18T07:50:00.002-05:00

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Numbers 3,4; Acts 25

Jesus Christ Became God’s Substitute …

The Redemption Price For Us … Very Costly

Have You Been Redeemed?

Scripture

Numbers 3

⁴⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. And take the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me; I am the LORD. ⁴⁶ There are 273 more firstborn sons of Israel than there are Levites. To redeem these extra firstborn sons, ⁴⁷ collect five pieces of silver for each of them (each piece weighing the same as the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs). ⁴⁸ Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the extra firstborn sons.”

Observation

As you read through the book of Numbers you can easily get lost in all the details of the elaborate organization that God had for the people of Israel and the care and use of the tabernacle. Every tribe seemed to have a specific task involving the tabernacle. The Levites were singled out as especially belonging to the Lord. They were the priestly line and they would serve in the tabernacle itself.

This passage in Numbers three caught my attention because of two key words that the Lord used in his instructions to the Levites about the first born males and the first born livestock: substitute and redemption. Are those words important to you? If they aren’t they sure should be. It is the theme that runs through our entire Bible.

I will share a few examples of how important these two words are to God and His eternal plan for us:

“Of all the people of Israel, the Levites are reserved for me. I have claimed them for myself in place of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites; I have taken the Levites as their substitutes. Numbers 8:16

^“knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18-19

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) Galatians 3:13

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,” Revelation 5:9

With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Hebrews 9:12

The word “redeemed” or “redemption” means to buyback or repurchase and that is exactly what Jesus did for us. Jesus bought us back with His very own blood as He sacrificed Himself on the cross in our place.

Application

I will give thanks to the Lord today for my salvation. He has redeemed me. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus Christ to die in my place. I deserve to go to Hell, but because of Your great Mercy and Grace I am not going to get what I deserve.

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If You Were On Trial For Being A Christian Would They Find Enough Evidence To Convict You?

2012-02-17T07:22:00.000-05:00

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Numbers 1,2; Acts 24

If You Were On Trial For Being A Christian Would They Find Enough Evidence To Convict You?

Scripture

Acts 24

¹⁴ “But I admit that I follow the Way…”

Observation

If you were on trial for being a Christian would they find enough evidence to convict you? Would you deny that you were a follower of Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul was on trial for his life and as he spoke in his defense the one thing that he would not do was deny that he was a follower of the “Way”.

It is easy to say that we would not deny Christ, but what if a gun was placed at your head? What if you had already watched six other people get shot because they wouldn’t deny their Savior?
This doesn’t happen in our country but it does happen in other places in our world. People are dying for their faith every day in places like China, Sudan, across the Middle East and in Africa and many other places in our world.

So lets take every opportunity to share our faith and be bold in our witness while we have the chance!

^“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” I Peter 3:15

“Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2 (Amplified Bible)

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. Romans 1:16

Application

I am not ashamed of the Good News about Christ and I will boldly share my faith with everyone that I can.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, don’t let me ever deny You. Give me the boldness to always share my faith. I pray for the opportunity today to share my faith. Give me the right words to say and prepare the heart of the person I plan to share with.

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Our Choice Today – God’s Blessings or God’s Punishment What Will Your Choice Be?

2012-02-16T05:14:00.000-05:00

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Leviticus 26,27; Acts 23

Our Choice Today – God’s Blessings or God’s Punishment
What Will Your Choice Be?

Scripture

Leviticus 26

³ “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, ⁴ I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land.

⁶ “I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. ⁷ In fact, you will chase down your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. ⁸ Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword.

Observation

You would think that after the children of Israel read Leviticus 26 and the promise that God makes to them that they would always live in obedience and always live under God’s blessing. Nope, somehow they missed focusing on this chapter and ended up receiving God’s punishment and correction. He spelled it out so clearly to them. If they didn’t obey Him here is some of what He would do to them:

¹⁴ “However, if you do not listen to me or obey all these commands, ¹⁵ and if you break my covenant by rejecting my decrees, treating my regulations with contempt, and refusing to obey my commands, ¹⁶ I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you—wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will plant your crops in vain because your enemies will eat them. ¹⁷ I will turn against you, and you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will run even when no one is chasing you! Leviticus 26:14-17

Don’t think that we are much different today than they were back in the days of Moses. We too choose to be disobedient rather than obeying our Lord. God promises to bless us if we are obedient too just like He promised the Israelites.

Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:16

And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. I John 3:22

And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” John 3:36

But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:26-27

God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near. Revelation 1:3
Obedience is a choice. Will you choose to obey God today?

Application

I am making a choice right now to live out this day to obey God and His Word. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that when I am obedient to You I come under Your Divine protection and I will receive Your Divine blessings. Don’t let me sin today. Don’t let me walk in disobedience. Help me to please You. Guide me through this day and keep me from sin. I want to obey You and Your Word. Help me to do just that! Amen.

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Praying Scripture Back To God Haven’t Tried It …Why Not Try Praying Psalm 25 Back To Your Heavenly Father!

2012-02-15T04:28:00.000-05:00

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Leviticus 25; Psalms 25,26; Acts 22

Praying Scripture Back To God
Haven’t Tried It …Why Not Try Praying Psalm 25 Back To Your Heavenly Father!

Scripture

Psalms 25

¹ O LORD, I give my life to you.
² I trust in you, my God! …

⁴ Show me the right path, O LORD;
point out the road for me to follow.

⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.

⁶ Remember, O LORD, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.

⁷ Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O LORD. …

¹¹ For the honor of your name, O LORD,
forgive my many, many sins.

¹⁴ The LORD is a friend to those who fear him.
      He teaches them his covenant.

¹⁵ My eyes are always on the LORD,
      for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies. …

¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy,
      for I am alone and in deep distress.

¹⁷ My problems go from bad to worse.
      Oh, save me from them all!

¹⁸ Feel my pain and see my trouble.
      Forgive all my sins. …

²⁰ Protect me! Rescue my life from them!
      Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge.

²¹ May integrity and honesty protect me,
      for I put my hope in you.

Observation

It is 4 AM and I am up because I couldn’t sleep! I was wide-awake at 3 AM, and finally decided to get out of bed at 3:30! Getting enough sleep is still an issue for me, but at least I slept pretty good until three!

As I began to read Psalm 25 this morning I realized that it is a perfect scripture to pray back to God. Read it slowly and see if you do not agree. This Psalm was a prayer of King David. It took a long time to write. This Psalm is Hebrew acrostic poem. Each verse begins with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet. There are several Psalms that are written in this same manner. He didn’t sit down and write this in a couple of minutes.

It is a prayer of David’s total faith and trust in his God. Have you taken time to read it slowly? Why not take time to read it right now? In fact, why not read it slowly several times and as you read it make it a prayer to your Heavenly Father!

Application

This is my prayer to my Heavenly Father this morning!

Prayer

O LORD, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God! … Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Remember, O LORD, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O LORD. …

For the honor of your name, O LORD, forgive my many, many sins. The LORD is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. My eyes are always on the LORD, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies. … Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins. … Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you. Amen.

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We Serve The King Of Glory! Who Is The King of Glory? The LORD, Strong and Mighty; The LORD, Invincible In Battle!

2012-02-14T01:51:00.001-05:00

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Leviticus 23,24; Psalms 24; Acts 21

We Serve The King Of Glory!

Who Is The King of Glory? The LORD, Strong and Mighty; The LORD, Invincible In Battle!

Scripture

Psalms 24

⁷ Open up, ancient gates!
      Open up, ancient doors,
      and let the King of glory enter.
⁸ Who is the King of glory?
      The LORD, strong and mighty;
      the LORD, invincible in battle.
⁹ Open up, ancient gates!
      Open up, ancient doors,
      and let the King of glory enter.
¹⁰ Who is the King of glory?
      The LORD of Heaven’s Armies—
      he is the King of glory.

Observation

It helps to be reminded who we serve lest we forget! We serve the King of Glory! Who is the King of Glory? The LORD, strong and mighty; the LORD, invincible in battle. Who is the King of Glory? The LORD of Heaven’s Armies – He is the King of Glory.

If we were to peek into Heaven we would see Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies – He is the King of Glory. Just take in this description of Jesus that we find in Revelation 19:

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. ¹² His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself.

¹³ He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. ¹⁵ From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. ¹⁶ On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

And this description of Jesus that we find in 1 Timothy 6:15:

¹⁵ For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 1 Timothy 6:15

Application

I will serve the King of Glory with all my heart, with all my strength, with all of my mind and with all of my soul! How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I look forward to the day when Jesus, the King of Glory, returns for His Saints. He will come as a Mighty Victor! He will come to judge this world and redeem His Saints. He is the King of Glory! Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty; the LORD, invincible in battle. Who is the King of glory? The LORD of Heaven’s Armies—he is the King of glory.

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Finishing Well … Making Your Life Count For God

2012-02-13T08:08:00.001-05:00

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Leviticus 20,21,22; Acts 20

Finishing Well …
Making Your Life Count For God

Scripture

Acts 20

²⁴ But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

Observation

The Apostle Paul was coming to the end of his life. The Holy Spirit had been telling him over and over again that what was facing him in the near future would be jail, suffering, and death.

“And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. … “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. Acts 20: 22-23; 25

Yet he didn’t shrink back. He continued to head toward Jerusalem even though the believers along the way begged him not to go.
What is your commitment to the Lord like? Would the above statement by Paul found in Acts 20:24 be a reflection of your life? Maybe better stated, “Would it be a reflection of God’s calling on your life”?

I am nothing like the Apostle Paul but this one thing I know – I want to finish my life well. I want to count for God until the day I die. I want to die on the mission field in some other country consumed with the Savior’s work. How about you?

Do you even have your passport?

Go Online Today To Get Your Passport Application!

You can’t go on a mission trip with us if you don’t get that passport!

Application

I will continue working towards the goal of being a catalyst missionary for an unreached unengaged people group in the year 2012. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me finish my life well. Help me to never give up. Give me the energy, the health, and the desire to continue serving You. I look forward to the future. I look forward to what You have for Kathy and I. You are wonderful. Give me the Apostle Paul’s drive and give me his kind of heart for doing Your will.

Thank You for a great day of worship yesterday. Thank You for all the volunteers that worked so hard to make it such a special day of worshiping You. Thank You for our leadership team and our senior pastor. I pray that Your Powerful Hand continues to remain on them.

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Turn Our City Upside Down

2012-02-12T08:31:00.000-05:00

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Leviticus 18,19; Psalms 13; Acts 19

Turn Our City Upside Down

Scripture

Acts 19

¹⁷ The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. ¹⁸ Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. ¹⁹ A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars. ²⁰ So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.

Observation

Revival … can you imagine the people bringing out their sorcery incantation books piling them up and then burning them in a bonfire. Not just a few books mind you, but several million dollars worth of books.

What if that happened here in Tampa? What if it was pornographic magazines instead of books about sorcery! Wouldn’t that be exciting! Revivals like this can sweep a city. Wouldn’t it be great if it happened in Tampa! It could!

I believe that one day God will raise up a church that will cause the city to sit up and pay attention. I believe that God will raise up a church that will bring revival to our city. I am praying that our church will be that church. I hope that you are praying that it will be your church. God has placed our churches in this city to bring revival. He has placed our churches in this city to turn this city upside down. One day God will raise up a church to do just that!

Application

I will continue to help keep our church outwardly focused - thinking of those living all around us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray that You will raise up a church that will dramatically change our city. I pray that it will be our church. What happened in Ephesus can happen right here! Do a Mighty work in our city Lord. Bring revival and let our church have a big part in all the action. Be Glorified. Be Exalted. You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You are worthy of all Praise!

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Don’t Be Afraid! Speak Out! Don’t Be Silent!

2012-02-11T09:07:00.001-05:00

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Leviticus 15,16,17; Acts 18

Don’t Be Afraid! Speak Out! Don’t Be Silent!

Scripture

Acts 18

⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.”

Observation

I never would have thought that the Apostle Paul would have ever been afraid. By this time in his ministry he had already suffered a lot of persecution at the hands of the Jews. Sometimes we forget that Paul was a human being and yes Paul must have dealt with fear and intimidation.

These are good words for us this morning: “Don’t be afraid. Speak out! Don’t be silent! Jesus does promise to be with us. “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b

Fear is the absence of trust. You can’t trust God and live in fear at the same time. It is one or the other.

Paul obviously was at a point in his life where he needed an encouraging word from God. You and I also need to hear encouraging words from God. If you and I are going to hear words of encouragement from our Heavenly Father then we have to be in His Word on a daily basis.
How many times this week have you started out your day by opening up God’s Word and letting Him speak to you?

I am surprised at how few church - goers actually read their Bibles on a regular basis. Do a survey at your church and you will be shocked.

Application

I will help new believers learn how to have a consistent quiet time so they can live in victory and not in defeat. So they can live by trust and not live in fear.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. It encourages me everyday. Your word guides me it is a light for my path. I can count on Your Word. It is trustworthy. I can walk by faith and not by sight because I have Your Word in my heart. You constantly remind me through Your Word not to be afraid. I pray that our people at Christ Fellowship would be people of Your Word. Give them a hunger for Your Word.

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Wired For Worship! You and I Are Going To Worship Something…

2012-02-10T21:28:00.001-05:00

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Leviticus 13,14; Acts 17

Wired For Worship!

You and I Are Going To Worship Something…

Scripture

Acts 17

²² So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, ²³ for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

²⁴ “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, ²⁵ and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. ²⁶ From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

²⁷ “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ For in him we live and move and exist.

Observation

God has wired all of mankind to worship something. We were created for worship. You and I were created to worship Him.

You will worship something. If it is not the One and Only True God then it will a substitute. For you it may be a boat, a woman, a man, wealth, a car, a false god, but you will worship something. Paul found his self in Athens with people who he described as very religious. They were just worshiping all the wrong things. He found that they wanted to cover all of their bases so they even had a shrine to the unknown God.

It was the God who was unknown to them who Paul said they needed to get to know. Paul shared with them that their unknown God that they had made a shrine for was the only true God. He created the world and everything in it. Then Paul drove home the point that they needed to repent of their sins and turn to God:

“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. Then he shared with them that He would judge all of us by the man who He raised from the dead. (Jesus) Acts 17:30

³¹ For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

Some of the Athenians became Christ Followers that day after hearing Paul speak, but other laughed in contempt.

How do you know what or whom you are worshiping? What dominated most of your time this week? What or whom did you spend the most money on this past week? What or whom consumed your thought life? Your answer to these few questions may let you know who or what you worshiped.

Application

I have someone that I am getting to know who is a practicing Buddhist. She is worshiping, but the focus of her worship is misplaced. Over the next several weeks I will work at sharing with her the reason why trusting in Jesus would be so much better for her than trusting in someone who is dead.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray that many people will find true worship in Jesus this Sunday at Christ Fellowship. I pray for my Buddhist friend that her eyes would be open to the truth about Jesus. Work in her heart Lord. Work in her heart. Thank You for all the volunteers that we have serving at CF. It is amazing what You are doing within our fellowship. We give You all the Praise and all the Glory!

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Paul And Silas Were Thrown Into Jail To Save The Jailor! Bad Things Might Happen To Us So Someone Else Has The Chance To Know Jesus Or Be Drawn Closer To Him!

2012-02-09T23:06:00.001-05:00

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Leviticus 10,11,12; Acts 16

Paul And Silas Were Thrown Into Jail To Save The Jailor!

Bad Things Might Happen To Us So Someone Else Has The Chance To Know Jesus Or Be Drawn Closer To Him!

Scripture

Acts 16

²² A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. ²³ They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. ²⁴ So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

²⁵ Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! ²⁷ The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” ³² And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. ³³ Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. ³⁴ He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

Observation

I love this story! It is one of my favorites. This story is not at all about Paul and Silas it is about the salvation of the jailor and the jailor’s family.

The jailor was the all-powerful person in that jail. At least that is what he thought. He had thrown Paul and Silas into the deepest darkest part of the dungeon and clamped their feet in stocks. The truly most powerful people in that jail began to sing praises to God and all the prisoners were listening.

In response to their praying and praising - God showed up!

A massive earthquake shook the jail down to its foundation and all the locked doors were now wide open. With the doors wide open not one single prisoner left the prison. When the jailor realized what had happened he ran into the inner dungeon and fell down trembling at Paul and Silas’ feet. Then I love what he asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved.” The two disciples replied “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

Paul and Silas were severely beaten with rods and then they were thrown into the very worst part of the jail. After this you would think that Paul and Silas would be spending their time complaining about their terrible treatment and how all of it was against Roman law, but they didn’t. Instead at midnight they began to pray to God and sing praises to Him.

It was a very bad event for Paul and Silas, but it was a wonderful awesome thing for the jailor and his family.

Sometimes God allows bad things to happen to us because it is going to further His Kingdom or it is going to bring Him a lot of glory.

My heart attack was a terrible thing that happened to not only me but also it was also a very excruciating thing for my extended family and especially my wife. Yet some very good things have come out of that very bad experience. It changed our church. Senior Pastor Bruce Moore told me how praying for me and for my wife Kathy brought our church together.

It also taught hundreds of other churches and possibly thousands of believers all over the world the power of prayer and the power of a church that prays together. I will never forget how people filled up the waiting room and lined the hallway in the hospital to pray for me and I remember how overwhelmed I was when I heard about what they had done for my family and me. They brought God so much Glory. I am so proud of them.

Application

I will pray for those going through sickness with the same faith that people had for me when I was close to death and there didn’t seem to be much hope.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray for Jenny who just found out that she has some kind of mass in her colon. I pray for healing. I pray that you strengthen her husband Tom and I pray that You would show Yourself powerful in both of their lives. You are the Great Physician. Nothing is too hard for You!

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What Salvation Is … And What Salvation Is Not How Are You Trying To Get Into God’s Heaven?

2012-02-08T07:36:00.001-05:00

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Leviticus 7,8,9; Acts 15

What Salvation Is … And What Salvation Is Not

How Are You Trying To Get Into God’s Heaven?

Scripture

Acts 15

¹¹ We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

Observation

Have you noticed that there is always someone who wants to add to salvation? We are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus. You would think that would be the end of the discussion, but sorry to say it is not.

There are folks that want to add baptism as a requirement for salvation, or how about the folks that say that you must speak in tongues to be saved. All of these well-intentioned people are trying to add something more to salvation than the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.

When I ask the following two questions to those I counsel at Mission Tampa I generally get a response or an answer that doesn’t include the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus:

If you were to die today where would you spend eternity? 99% of the people respond with a very good answer, “Heaven”.
My second question that I almost always ask them lets me know how they expect to get there: If you were at Heaven’s Gate and God asked you, “Why should I let you into my Heaven what would you say”? The answers usually go something like this: Well you have to keep His commandments – you know keep His word ... I try to do the best I can … I am a good person and I try to treat everybody right.
Some even say things like this: God is a God of love and I just know that He is going to let me in! Or how about this one “I don’t know why I just know that He is going to let me in”!

Salvation is wrapped up in One Person and His Name is Jesus!

There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them." Acts 4:12

If today you are depending on your own efforts to gain access into the place God calls Heaven trust me you are wasting your time.

God saved you by his special favor 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. Ephesians 2:8-9

But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. Titus 3:4-6

Application

I will share the Good News of Jesus with everyone I can. The Good News is that we are saved by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus. Are you saved?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me the opportunity to witness to men and women this week and share with them how they can be saved. I pray for anyone reading this today who is trying to get to Heaven on his or her own effort I pray that they would place their total trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save them.

Open their eyes so they can see and understand the Gospel message!

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Suffering … Hardships And The Christian Life

2012-02-07T07:47:00.000-05:00

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Leviticus 4,5,6; Acts 14

Suffering … Hardships And The Christian Life

Scripture

Acts 14

¹⁹ Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch of Syria

²¹ After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, ²² where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.

Observation

They stoned Paul. They dragged him out of town, thinking that he was dead. What do you think it feels like to be stoned to death or in Paul’s case to be stoned half to death. I don’t know if they used large stones to hit Paul but it seemed like they would have. There must have been extreme pain with each stone that landed on his body. They beat him up so badly that they thought that they had killed him. They dragged him out of the city and dumped him. The scriptures say that as believers got around Paul’s body that he got up and then he went back into the town. He went back into the town after just getting stoned there! Wow!

Can you imagine what Paul must have looked like after he was stoned? Can you imagine the pain he must have felt from all the damage that those stones left after he was struck with them?
After this as he met with believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia he reminded them that they would also experience many hardships for the kingdom of God.

For those of us that have grown up as Christians in the United States suffering for Christ is not something that we talk about or that we experience very much. This is not the case in the rest of the world that we live in. Just take a minute and go to the web site “The Voice of The Martyrs” http://www.persecution.com/ and you will get a glimpse of how the rest of the world suffers for Jesus Christ.

Are you willing to suffer for Jesus? Are you willing to travel to places where Christians are being persecuted for their faith and help them share the Gospel. Why? Why not?

Don’t say that you are willing if you don’t even have your passport!

Application

I will look for opportunities to go to help Christians living in hostile environments and help them share their faith. How about you? Do you have your passport?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we think that the rest of the world lives like we do and we sometimes forget that probably no other country on our planet has the freedom to share the Gospel like we do. I don’t know why that we don’t experience the persecution that the rest of the world does for having a relationship with You. I know that this freedom won’t last forever. One day Christians will suffer here in our country just like they do almost everywhere else. Help us take advantage of this freedom while we have it.

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Salvation To The Farthest Corners Of The Earth.

2012-02-06T07:49:00.000-05:00

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Leviticus 1,2,3; Acts 13

Salvation To The Farthest Corners Of The Earth.

Scripture

Acts 13

⁴⁷ For the Lord gave us this command when he said,
   ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
      to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”

Observation

The Great Commission was given to us to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth. I have noticed that it is easier for churches to make mission trips to the countries closest to them. The countries closest to us would be Mexico, Cuba, and Haiti.

It is not that these countries don’t need the help (I have taken a lot of mission teams to Mexico and Cuba) but in our world today there are countries where people groups are totally unreached and totally unengaged by any church or mission organization and they desperately need the Gospel shared with them.

Yes, the trips will be more expensive. The church and its members will have to sacrifice. In our country today more and more churches are taking up the challenge to take salvation to the farthest corners of the earth. India desperately needs to be reached with the Gospel. India and the continent of Asia have more lost people than any other continent on the face of the earth. People groups that number in the millions don’t have a single church or mission organization trying to reach them.

The Mali People of Central India is a good example.

The Mali (Marathi) of India have a population of 2,987,176. They are part of the Hindi people cluster. The global population of this people group is 8,957,720. Their primary language is Marathi. The primary religion practiced by the Mali (Marathi) is Hinduism, the predominant religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent. There are many forms of Hinduism, each with its own deities and beliefs. Their GSEC status is 1, which means this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

It is my heart’s desire to lead our church and other churches to make the commitment and the sacrifice to see people groups like the Mail people come to know Jesus.

Application

I will work hard at finding churches willing to take salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, enlarge our churches vision to take the Gospel to the farthest corners of the earth. It is so easy to go to countries that surround us, but that doesn’t fulfill the Great Commission. Give us a heart to reach the world. Put on our pastors’ hearts the desire to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

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Can God Do This Today? I Believe That He Can … Read On And See If You Agree With Me

2012-02-05T07:04:00.003-05:00

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Exodus 39,40; Psalms 15; Acts 12

Can God Do This Today?
I Believe That He Can … Read On And See If You Agree With Me

Scripture

Acts 12

⁵ But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

Observation

In this story we find that King Herod Agrippa had just killed the Apostle James with a sword. This was John’s brother. He saw that it pleased the people so much that he had Peter arrested and thrown into prison. Obviously Herod’s plan was to do the same thing with Peter.

Then the miraculous happens … an Angel comes to Peter wakes him up, tells him to get dressed, causes the chains to fall off Peter’s wrists and the Angel walks Peter right out of the jail with Peter still in unbelief.

Why did Peter get rescued from the jail? The answer at least in part can be found in verse five of chapter twelve of Acts, “But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.”

When the church prays earnestly God responds in a big way … in a miraculous way!

I have said it before and I will say it again, “The church is the most powerful organization/organism on the face of this planet.” God wants to do mighty things through our churches, but He will only do them in response to our prayers. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Soon our church will have another “Prayer Rally” where we cry out to God for Him to work within and through our fellowship. It is the most important thing that you and I can ever participate in. Will you attend the next “Prayer Rally”? Will you attend the next prayer meeting at your church? Why not? God wants to do the miraculous through your church and He wants to do the miraculous through my church, but He will only do it in response to our prayers.

Application

I will pray with believers today asking God to do the “Impossible”. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are the same God today who delivered Peter from the grasp of evil King Herod Agrippa. Your same saving power is available to us if we only ask. Help our church realize the importance of prayer. I pray that You would be able to work miracles through us. Show us just how powerful You are!

“Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.” Ephesians. 3:20

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Praying God’s Word For Those Serving Christ Overseas

2012-02-04T08:07:00.002-05:00

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Exodus 37,38; Psalms 19; Acts 11

Praying God’s Word For Those Serving Christ Overseas

Scripture

Acts 11

²¹ The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

Observation

Some of our best friends are in India right now sharing Jesus with folks in the southern part of that country. I have been praying for them asking God to use them in a mighty way and that many people would be saved. I believe that they are doing medical missions in the morning and preaching to the masses in outdoor meetings in the evenings. I went with them to Uganda, Africa about three years ago and God blessed our efforts in miraculous ways.

Millie and Hugh Roberts have been making trips and taking teams to Africa, India, and South America now for quite a few years now. God has tremendously blessed their efforts. I am happy to be able to pray for them over the next couple of weeks as they serve our Lord in India.

As I read God’s Word this morning and discovered Acts 11:21 I realized that this verse is a great prayer for me to pray for them as they witness in India. “The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.” Acts 11:21

“I pray that the power of the Lord be with Millie and Hugh and I pray that large numbers of the lost in India would believe and turn to the Lord.”

Application

I will pray this prayer everyday while Hugh and Millie Roberts are in India.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray that the power of the Lord be with Millie and Hugh and I pray that large numbers of the lost in India would believe and turn to the Lord. I pray for the other team members that are with them that they have good success. Protect them from the Evil One, but more important I pray that You use them to further Your Kingdom in that dark place that desperately needs You.

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Red And Yellow Black And White They Are Precious In His Sight! You Need To Read This To Prepare For Sunday…

2012-02-03T09:06:00.000-05:00

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Exodus 35,36; Acts 10

Red And Yellow Black And White They Are Precious In His Sight!
You Need To Read This To Prepare For Sunday…

Scripture

Acts 10

²⁸ Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.

Observation

Peter had a lesson to learn about people! The lesson is this: God does not show favoritism. Red and Yellow Black and White they are all precious in His sight. Just to come to Peter’s defense a little bit we need to be reminded that the Jewish people were God’s chosen people. Out of all the nations in our world God chose Israel as His own.

What the Jews failed to realize was that God chose the nation of Israel to be a light to the rest of the world. Many times as believers we fail to realize that we have also been chosen but we have been chosen not because we are special, we have been chosen to take the Gospel to the rest of the world.

These are very exciting days at Christ Fellowship! Those attending our worship services are from every walk of life. It is wonderful. It is the way it is going to be in Heaven. I pastored Tampa Baptist Church for eight years and during that time I tried hard to make our church multi cultural but for the most part it remained what I call a “Lilly White Church”.

Praise be to God that with the birthing of our new church, Christ Fellowship, all of that has changed. Under the leadership of our senior pastor Bruce Moore and his wife Heather our church has been wonderfully transformed. It is, if I can use one of Pastor Bruce’s favorite words, “Phenomenal” what is happening at Christ Fellowship.

You and I still have plenty of work to do when it comes to accepting people like God wants us to accept them. At least I know that I do.

Who do you need to reach out to that may look a little different than you, that has a little darker skin color than you, that maybe smells a little different than you, or that speaks a heart language that is different than yours? Why not make an effort to demonstrate God’s love to them like Peter did to Cornelius.

Here are just a few possibilities:

How about sitting with them in your worship service.

Invite them to go with you and your family to lunch after church.

Invite them over to your house for dinner.

Give them and hug and take extra time to talk with them so they know that you value them as a person.

Application

I will intentionally show God’s love to people that happen to be a little different than me. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me accept people the way you accept them. Don’t let me judge people by their outward appearance. Thank You for what You are doing at Christ Fellowship. I pray that our church will be the church to reach this city. I pray that our church would continue to reach people from every walk of life. Keep us on track. Don’t let us miss what You want to do in our city. You are a Mighty God.

For You so loved the world that You gave Your only Son that whosoever believes in You will not perish but will have Eternal Life. Thank You for bringing the world to our church so that we have the opportunity to love them!

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Everybody needs a “Barnabas”

2012-02-02T09:29:00.000-05:00

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Exodus 33,34; Psalms 16; Act 9

Everybody needs a “Barnabas”

Scripture

Act 9

²⁶ When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! ²⁷ Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.

Observation

All of us need someone that will go to bat for us, someone that will stand up for us when life beats us down. God arranged for Saul/Paul to have Barnabas to defend him. I have to admit I would have been leery about accepting Saul into the fellowship since he had spent so much time wrecking the church.
Nobody would believe that Saul had changed, but Barnabas convinced them that there had been a change in his life.

We need to have people in our lives that encourage us but we also need to be Barnabas’ to the people in our lives. Who can you encourage this week? Maybe with an email, a facebook message, a phone call or maybe even a personal note sent via snail mail.

I can think of a few people that I need to encourage. How about you?

Application

I will write some notes today to some people that seem to need a little encouragement right now.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me be an encourager to those around me. Help me be concerned more for others needs than my own.

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Divine Appointments … God Is Preparing Them For You… Don’t Miss Them!

2012-02-01T07:50:00.001-05:00

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Exodus 30,31,32; Acts 8

Divine Appointments … God Is Preparing Them For You…
Don’t Miss Them!

Scripture

Acts 8

²⁶ As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

²⁷ So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

²⁹ The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
³⁰ Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹ The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

³² The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:

   “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.
      And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,
      he did not open his mouth.
³³ He was humiliated and received no justice.
      Who can speak of his descendants?
      For his life was taken from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” ³⁵ So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

³⁶ As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” ³⁸ He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.

Observation

God has set up some Divine Appointments for you and for me. There are people that God will bring across our path that need Jesus. He will prepare their hearts and He will have them ready to hear the Good News about Jesus.

Phillip had a Divine Appointment with the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. This powerful and influential man was returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship. He would be the one to take the Gospel to Africa.
God prepared the eunuch to receive His message and God prepared Phillip to share it. He will do the same thing for you and me today.

Do you think the person that led Billy Graham to the Lord knew then that Billy Graham would become one of the greatest evangelists of all time? Do you know the story of how Billy Graham came to Christ? It started with a Sunday School teacher Edward Kimball who led Dwight L. Moody to Christ in a shoe store where D. L. Moody was working. D.L. Moody lived from 1837 to 1899. He greatly influenced Rev. Wilbur Chapman. Wilbur Chapman had a great influence on evangelist Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday influenced evangelist Mordecai Ham. Billy Graham was moved toward a relationship with Christ during the 1934 revival meetings of evangelist Mordecai Ham.

My point in mentioning how Billy Graham came to Christ is that it all started with an obedient Sunday School teacher that was teaching a bunch of young teenage boys. These were all Divine
Appointments.

You and I will also have Divine Appointments that God has arranged and He has already worked out. It could be a neighbor, a co-worker, a family member, or someone working in a store that you frequent often. We don’t know when and where these Divine Appointments will happen but if you are a Christian I can assure you that God will set them up.

Application

I will be looking for a Divine Appointment this week. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to be ready to share the Good News of Jesus with the people that You bring into my life. Don’t let me miss a Divine Appointment. You are constantly working in the lives of those around me just as You are working in my life. Give me the boldness and the love to share Jesus with those that You bring my way. Give me Your compassion for the lost. You are Worthy of all Praise.

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God Is a God Of Magnificent Detail! …

2012-01-31T07:31:00.002-05:00

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Exodus 28,29; Acts 7

God Is a God Of Magnificent Detail! …

And He Did It All Just For You!

Scripture

Acts 7

⁴⁶ “David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But it was Solomon who actually built it. ⁴⁸ However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

⁴⁹ ‘Heaven is my throne,
      and the earth is my footstool.
   Could you build me a temple as good as that?’
      asks the LORD.
   ‘Could you build me such a resting place?
    ⁵⁰ Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’

Observation

Our God is a God of extreme detail. As I read this morning in Exodus 28 and 29 I was amazed how God wanted the priest to be dressed. Here is an example of what I read:

Exodus 28

² Make sacred garments for Aaron that are glorious and beautiful.
³ Instruct all the skilled craftsmen whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom. Have them make garments for Aaron that will distinguish him as a priest set apart for my service. ⁴ These are the garments they are to make: a chestpiece, an ephod, a robe, a patterned tunic, a turban, and a sash.

⁵ So give them fine linen cloth, gold thread, and blue, purple, and scarlet thread.

⁶ “The craftsmen must make the ephod of finely woven linen and skillfully embroider it with gold and with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. ⁷ It will consist of two pieces, front and back, joined at the shoulders with two shoulder-pieces. ⁸ The decorative sash will be made of the same materials: finely woven linen embroidered with gold and with blue, purple, and scarlet thread.

¹⁵ “Then, with great skill and care, make a chestpiece to be worn for seeking a decision from God. Make it to match the ephod, using finely woven linen embroidered with gold and with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. ¹⁶ Make the chestpiece of a single piece of cloth folded to form a pouch nine inches square.

¹⁷ Mount four rows of gemstones on it. The first row will contain a red carnelian, a pale-green peridot, and an emerald. ¹⁸ The second row will contain a turquoise, a blue lapis lazuli, and a white moonstone. ¹⁹ The third row will contain an orange jacinth, an agate, and a purple amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row will contain a blue-green beryl, an onyx, and a green jasper. All these stones will be set in gold filigree. ²¹ Each stone will represent one of the twelve sons of Israel, and the name of that tribe will be engraved on it like a seal.

This is just a tiny part of the instructions that God gave them as to how He wanted the priests dressed.

When I read the section about how all of the precious stones were to be placed on the chestpiece I thought of John’s description of Heaven in the book of Revelation and all of the precious stones found there.

If God was this detailed on what someone was going to wear that came into His presence here on earth can you imagine what it is going to be like in Heaven? Oh my goodness…

Stephen’s next statement was what got him stoned to death, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ⁵⁶ And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”

I used to pray and ask God to let me see into Heaven. After my heart attack and after dying multiple times while I was in the hospital that is not something that I think that I am going to pray anymore. (By the way … I don’t remember getting to see Heaven any of the times that I quit breathing and they had to resuscitate me)!

Heaven is going to be glorious. It is going to be beyond our wildest dreams. It will be beyond all that we can imagine or think! God is so good. I don’t need to see it ahead of time!

God is a God of magnificent detail! Just look around today at everything that His Hands have created.

Everything that you see today that God created was created with you in mind. He did all of this just for you.

Application

I will praise God for His wonderful creation as I go through this day. How about you?

Prayer

O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place—

What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.

You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority— the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.

O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Psalm 8

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Grumbling and Rumblings READ About How To Deal With Them…

2012-01-30T07:47:00.001-05:00

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Exodus 25,26,27; Acts 6

Grumbling and Rumblings

READ About How To Deal With Them…

Scripture

Acts 6

¹ But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent.

Observation

Every church before long experiences rumblings of discontent, but how we deal with the problem(s) is the difference between church growth and church decline. The Twelve apostles chose seven men to take care of the problem. These were not just any seven men these were men who were well respected and were full of the Spirit and wisdom. It would do our churches well to follow this pattern for correcting problems and issues within the church body.

The Apostle Paul wrote letters to many churches and in most of his letters he was addressing problems within the church. Sometimes it was something seemingly very insignificant like the two women that were at odds with each other in the church at Philippi, but other times he wrote blasting the church for their immorality (like the church at Corinth), and other times it was for their drifting away from sound Biblical doctrine (Galatians).

Churches are going to have issues and challenges. I can confidently say that because I know that the church is made up of a bunch of sinners. Most of those attending hopefully are forgiven sinners, but sinners just the same. We are not going to see eye to eye on every detail on every situation that faces the church. That is why God has placed godly men, men that are well respected and full of the Spirit and wisdom in every church.

Can you pick out the men in your church that fit that description? I sure can in ours and I am glad that they meet with Pastor Bruce and support him the way they do. It is one of the reasons why our church is growing the way it is – godly laymen supporting their pastor!

Application

The next time I hear a rumbling in our church I will seek out those godly men in our church to work on solving the problem.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that we have Your Word that gives us guidance and strength every day. Thank You for the godly men that You have placed in my life and for the godly men that we have in our church. I pray that Your Hand would remain on our church. I pray that You would continue to be glorified and honored with everything that happens within our fellowship. Thank You for a wonderful day of worship and fellowship yesterday. Thank You for the army of volunteers that made it so successful. Thank You for the generosity of people within our fellowship that provided the “Bar-B-Q" for our entire church. God You are so good. You are Worthy of Praise!

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Can We Demand Our Rights? As Believers Our Rights Have Been Yielded Over to Jesus Christ …

2012-01-29T08:53:00.003-05:00

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Exodus 23,24; Psalms 14; Acts 5

Can We Demand Our Rights? As Believers Our Rights Have Been Yielded Over to Jesus Christ …

Scripture

Acts 5

⁴⁰ The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.
⁴¹ The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. ⁴² And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”

Observation

Persecution does not stop the work of God in our world today. In fact, in many places in our world where persecution is the worse more and more people are coming to put their faith in Jesus.

If you ever have a chance to go on a mission trip to Cuba or China you can experience this first hand. Hopefully not the persecution part but I would hope you could see how powerful God’s church is in those hostile countries. I haven’t been to China yet, but I have read a lot of books about how the underground church continues to grow there in spite of severe persecution.

We live in a country where we are not going to be flogged or thrown in jail for teaching and preaching the message that “Jesus is the Messiah”. In fact, we have almost total freedom to go house to house in our neighborhoods sharing the Good News about Jesus. Yet, for the most part, we aren’t doing it.

Maybe things need to get worse for believers here in our country before we share our faith like we should. I heard someone say the other day, “Christians need to stand up for their rights; our country is in the shape it is in because we don’t take a stand.” My response to the comment even though I didn’t say it was this, “Christians don’t have rights.”

We have yielded our rights to Jesus Christ. We are slaves to Christ. Yes, I think we should take a stand on moral issues, I think we should take a stand for what we believe, but we aren’t able to demand our rights because those rights have been yielded over to Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:20 comes to my mind when I think of my rights as a Christian, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I know that this is an election year. Florida is bombarded right now with politicians. I am sure that you have your favorite person that you believe that should be in the White House. Let me just encourage you to maintain a balance in your Christian life and remember that sharing the Good News of Jesus should always be our number one priority.

Application

I will look for people that need to hear about Jesus this week and share with them.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray for the right person to be elected to lead our country, a person that has strong moral values and that is honest. I would pray that it would be someone that has a personal relationship with You so that he would be able to call on You for help in leading this great nation. I pray that You give me the opportunity to share Jesus with someone this week. You are a Wonderful Savior. Be glorified today as we worship You in our churches.

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God’s Great Blessing Was Upon Them … God’s Great Blessing Can Be On Us Too!

2012-01-28T02:19:00.000-05:00

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Exodus 21,22; Psalms 12; Acts 4

God’s Great Blessing Was Upon Them …

God’s Great Blessing Can Be On Us Too!

Scripture

Acts 4

³² All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. ³³ The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. ³⁴ There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them ³⁵ and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

Observation

This is the very First church, 5,000 men strong operating like a church should operate. We don’t know how long First church was able to enjoy that special moment. We don’t know if it lasted for several weeks or maybe even for several months but we do know that by Acts chapter 5 people began to mess it up. But we don’t read about that until tomorrow!

Prayer Rallies like our church had this past Wednesday help unite believers in heart and mind.

I would love to be part of any church that comes close to modeling what we find described in Acts 4! Our church is getting there … how about yours?

Application

I will pray for our church asking God to move it to be more and more like First church, the church we read about in Acts 4.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray that Your great blessing would be on our church. I pray that our people would be united in one heart and mind. Help us to be as generous as those folks that made up this very First church. Amen.

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REPENT … One Of The Most Positive Words In The Bible

2012-01-27T10:29:00.000-05:00

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Exodus 17,18,19,20; Acts 3

REPENT … One Of The Most Positive Words In The Bible

Don’t Believe Me … Just Take a Minute To Read And Find Out Why

Scripture

Acts 3

¹⁹ Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

Observation

You might have thought that the word “repent” was a negative term. You may have seen someone with a sign at a busy intersection with the word REPENT in big letters, or maybe someone at a football game in the end zone with a sign telling everyone to REPENT. They are using saying to the crowd or to the passing traffic, “Turn or Burn!”

These are well-meaning individuals and God may use their signs to get a sinners attention. But I think you and I will be better off explaining to people that the word “repent” is one of the most positive words in the Bible. In fact unless you come to understand the word “repent” you will never be able to enter into the kingdom of God.

A good definition that I can understand for the word repent is this: changing of your mind/heart that causes you to turn from selfish living and turn to God. It is a changing of your heart about God and who He is. When you make that change and you turn the direction of your life in God’s direction it is easy for you to trust God through the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of all your sins.

Everyone person on the face of this planet is a sinner. You are either a forgiven sinner or an un-forgiven sinner. The difference depends on whether you have heard the Gospel, whether you have had a change of mind/heart, and whether you have turned to God for salvation.

Salvation is a totally free gift. You can’t earn it. You can’t feel sorry enough for your sins to merit it ... Only God saves!

Have all your sins been wiped away? Have you changed your mind/heart from selfish living and turned to God and trusted in Him for your salvation?

Application

When I share the Gospel I will be sure to explain the term “repent” so people understand what it means.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I would have like to have been there when Peter preached this message to the people. What a response to Your Gospel! I pray that we would see the same thing happen here in Tampa. I pray that people would understand the Gospel and that they would have a change of mind/heart and turn to You and trust You for their salvation. I know that only You save. I pray that You would use our church to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to thousands in 2012.

Acts 4:4

“But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of believers now totaled about 5,000 men, not counting women and children.”

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Your Church Can Be This Exciting … Honest It Can!

2012-01-26T08:58:00.001-05:00

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Exodus 14,15,16; Acts 2

Scripture

Your Church Can Be This Exciting …

Honest It Can!

Acts 2

⁴¹ Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

⁴² All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

⁴³ A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Observation

I love reading Acts chapter two. It might be the most exciting passage in the New Testament next to the resurrection of Jesus!

How much is your church like the first church, the one we read about in Acts 2? Do you feel the excitement when you walk into your auditorium’s foyer? Is there fellowship? Are people being saved every week? Are you praying together?

Can you imagine a church growing by 3,000 in one day? Then by chapter four of Acts the church has grown to 5,000! Wow!

Church should be like what we read about in Acts chapter two. Don’t settle for anything less. If your church has lost its vision and excitement to reach people for Jesus then you need to be the one to change that!

What are you doing to make sure that when people come on your campus they feel loved and accepted? Are you being intentional about how you treat first time guest.

I love what we are doing at Christ Fellowship!

We want people to know that we care about them and it is our goal to make sure they know that just as soon as they arrive in the parking lot. Our teenagers greet people every Sunday the moment they turn into our parking lot. In fact, our students greet people every Sunday as they drive by our campus letting them know that Christ Fellowship is a very special place.

When people drive on to our campus they are met with an army of smiling greeters in orange shirts. Their first impression of our church is so important to us because we want them to feel accepted and loved so they will want to come back.

We experience a little of what the first Christians experienced at Pentecost every Sunday morning at Christ Fellowship! I am amazed at what God is doing! I am delighted to be a small part of this movement.

Application

I am going to make sure that I do my part to make people feel loved and accepted at our church. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, may Your Hand continue to stay on our church. Don’t let us lose the excitement of seeing people saved each week. Help us to do our very best at making people feel loved and accepted about our church. Give us Your heart for our city. I pray that You will continue to receive the Glory and the Honor for everything that is happening at Christ Fellowship!

Exodus 15:18 “The LORD will reign forever and ever!”

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Prayer Rallies … It Is The Early Church Started Out!

2012-01-25T21:07:00.002-05:00

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Exodus 12,13; Psalms 21; Acts 1

Prayer Rallies … It Is How The Early Church Started Out!

Don’t Miss The Joy and Excitement Of Being A Part Of The Next Prayer Rally

Scripture

Acts 1

⁸But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

⁹And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

¹⁰And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

¹¹Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

¹²Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

¹³And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

¹⁴These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Observation

Our Pastor, Bruce Moore issued a special appeal for our church to come together for a Prayer Rally and that happened tonight at 7pm. I normally would have read my Bible and had my quiet time this morning but I wasn’t able to do that because I spent the night in the hospital. It turned out to be nothing. I was having chest pain but after lots of tests they ruled out that it had any thing to do with my heart. So I am a little late writing my blog.

There was excitement tonight at the Prayer Rally. Our youth came to pray. Our children came to pray. Everyone came together to ask God to do mighty things in our church and transform the lives of those that attend.

As I read this passage I couldn’t help but think that this was first Prayer Rally of the early church. God gives birth to the first church in Acts chapter two, but in chapter one of Acts we can feel the excitement of the disciples as they gathered to pray. Can you imagine what it must have been like to watch Jesus ascend into Heaven? As they gathered together for prayer it must have been a glorious event. I left church tonight anticipating the movement of God this Sunday because the church gathered together to pray.

In Acts 1:8 we read that we have been given dynamite power through the Person of God’s Holy Spirit. The Bible says that we have received the same power that brought Jesus back to life.

God’s Power resides in us.

The church is so powerful. When we come together and pray God will work and God will bless. I am so looking forward to see what God does this Sunday. I hope that you are just as excited about what God is going to do in your church as we our in ours!

Preparation for a powerful Sunday begins with us. We need to be praying together and asking God to work!

Application

I will participate in every Prayer Rally that our Pastor calls and I will do it with great joy and excitement.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I enjoyed praying tonight to You with a group of friends. Now we anticipate great things for this Sunday. We will anticipate miracles. We will rejoice over those whose lives are transformed. I pray for people to be saved this Sunday.

I pray for many people to make commitments to serve in our church. You are the Great Healer. I pray for those that are sick that need Your healing touch. I especially pray for Jene Williams who is in the VA hospital that You heal him.

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The Most Powerful People On The Face Of The Earth … Believers in The Lord Jesus Christ

2012-01-24T01:46:00.000-05:00

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Exodus 9,10,11; Luke 24

The Most Powerful People On The Face Of The Earth …

Believers in The Lord Jesus Christ

Scripture

Luke 24

⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Observation

Have you been clothed with power from on high? Do you know what Jesus is talking about when He makes this statement to His disciples right before He ascends in to Heaven?

When you and I accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior something very significant happens to us. God Himself comes to live within us! That’s right God’s Holy Spirit comes to reside in us. He sets up house right inside our heart.

He has given us the task of being His Hands and His feet to reach this world for Christ. And to make sure we can accomplish that task He comes to live inside every Christ follower to make sure that we are successful.

You don’t believe me? You don’t have to believe me but you do have to believe the Word of God. Here are just a few verses to show you that you and I are capable of accomplishing some very big assignments:

But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 1 John 4:13

And God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world's spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:12

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. Romans 8:26

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17

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

… And he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment of everything he will give us. 2 Corinthians 1:22

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

Application

Because God Himself lives within me I can do anything that God places on my heart to accomplish. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that You want to use us to take Your Gospel message to every people group on this earth. You live within us. We have no excuse. Help me to be the witness that You want me to be. Give me Your Heart for people. Help me to have Your compassion for those around me that don’t know You. We have been empowered by Your Holy Spirit to do great things. Use our church to be a light to the Nations. Use our church to reach the Tampa Bay area. Thank You for taking up residence inside of me.

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Salvation Is More Than A Prayer!

2012-01-23T08:25:00.001-05:00

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Exodus 6; Exodus 7; Exodus 8; Luke 23

Salvation Is More Than A Prayer!

Scripture

Luke 23

³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Observation

Don’t think that by mumbling, saying, or repeating a certain prayer that you will be saved. The words you say or repeat do not save you.

You must be born again.

The criminal on the cross did not use our standard salvation prayer that we commonly have people repeat today, but in that moment on the cross that criminal passed from death unto life. Jesus told him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.

So if it is not the words that you say to God that saves you then how is a person saved?

Romans 10:9-10; 13

For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. For "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

John 3:3

Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God."

As we preach the Gospel we invite people to express what has happened in their hearts. We do that by encouraging them to pray what we call the sinner’s prayer. If they have not believed, or more accurately, if they have not by faith trusted in their hearts that Jesus is the Son of God, if they have not repented (turned from sin and self and turned to God) of their sins, then they are not born again.

How do we know if someone has truly been saved? We don’t. Should we stop extending an invitation at the end of our worship services … absolutely not! We share the Gospel … then we ask people to respond ... Only God saves!

If all the people that make decisions at the end of the service are not saved then why do we extend an invitation. For some that come forward during the invitation it is the first step towards God. We have the opportunity to counsel with them so they can better understand the Gospel and move even closer to God. It may be a month, year, or several years before that person truly understands the Gospel message and is saved.

God pursues us. God saves us.

The one thief on the cross died and went to Hell. The other thief trusted in Christ for his salvation and will spend eternity in Paradise with Jesus. Both heard Jesus’ words while they hung on the cross, one repented and trusted in the Messiah and the other did not.

It is our job to make the Gospel message as clear as possible. It is God’s job to save those that hear the Gospel message.

Application

I will continue to share the Gospel. I know that those that turn from their sins and trust in Christ for their salvation will be saved.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray for a movement of Your Holy Spirit like happened at Pentecost for our church. I pray that many will be saved. I pray that they would follow their decisions with baptism and I pray that they would grow in Christ and find a place to serve. I pray that You would move in a Mighty way in the life of our church. I pray that Your Hand would remain on our church and that it would continue to reach our city for Christ. Amen.

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Moses…”What Is That In Your Hand?” How God Can Use Us To Do “God Size” Task!

2012-01-22T08:52:00.000-05:00

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Exodus 3,4,5; Luke 22

Moses…”What Is That In Your Hand?” How God Can Use Us To Do “God Size” Task!

Scripture

Exodus 4

¹ Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”

² Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.

³ The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. ⁴ Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

⁵ “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

Observation

Moses had plenty of excuses why he could not do what God told him to do. It is so easy to think that we can’t do what God has asked us to do. It is easy to make excuses.

Everyone one of us have talents and abilities that God wants to use. The truth is though that none of us can do what God wants us to do in our own strength. God showed Moses that all he had to do was to allow God to work through him and he could accomplish this God size task!

Moses was a shepherd. His staff was used for many purposes. He was probably skilled at using it to protect the sheep. When he put what was in his hand (his staff) into God’s hand it became an unbelievable force.

What is in your hand? Are you a skilled musician? Maybe you are a good administrator or successful in business? Some of you are very good at construction and some of you are very good with children, or with youth, or with preschoolers.

Here is what has to happen before God can use you to accomplish a “God Size” task -you have to take that skill or talent out of your own hands and give it to the Lord.

God has made you a 10 in some area! You excel in some area and God wants to use that talent/skill to further His Kingdom. Think about it. Don’t make excuses. Give your talents, abilities, and skills to the Lord and watch what happens.

He will use you to complete a “God Size” task!

Application

I will take my abilities, skills, and my talents out of my hands and give them to God. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I love the story of Moses. It helps me realize that You can use any of us that are willing to give You what is in our hands and let You use us to further Your Kingdom. I pray that You would help me not make excuses for why I cannot serve You. I have no excuse. You can and You will do incredible things through me as long as I am yielded to You.

I pray for Pastor Bruce today. Use Him to further Your Kingdom. May Your words penetrate hearts as He shares them and I pray that people would be saved today! Amen.

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Extravagant Giving!

2012-01-21T09:21:00.000-05:00

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Exodus 1,2; Psalms 88; Luke 21

Extravagant Giving!

Scripture

Luke 21

The Widow’s Offering

¹ As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ² He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³ “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴ All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Observation

Have you ever thought about this story very much? Here is a poor widow that is giving her offering but instead of giving a part of what she owns she gives everything that she owns and when she leaves the temple she is totally broke. Jesus praises her for her sacrificial gift.

What motivated her to give everything she had?

Would any of us do that today? She was a poor widow. She wasn’t getting to get a check from the government the next week. She may not have had any family that was taking care of her. Yet, Jesus said that this widow gave more than all of the other rich people because she gave everything that she had while the rich gave out of their wealth. When the rich people gave their offerings and left the temple they were still rich.

Are you and I more like the rich people in this story or are we closer to being like the poor widow? When we leave church on Sunday after giving our tithes and offerings has it been a real sacrifice for us. Does it hurt? Or are we just tipping God? The rich people in this story were just tipping God. They gave out of their abundance.

Church is tomorrow. How will you give? How will I give?

I think the widow must have known the secret about giving and that is why she gave everything. You and I would be more generous toward God if we just knew and acted on His promises about giving. Let these two verses sink in:

Malachi 3:10

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Luke 6:38

If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you."

Do you believe the Word of God?

God says, “Put me to the test.” He only says this about giving. We only believe what we practice! Lets pray today about how much we should put in the offering plates tomorrow.

Application

The next time I give I will think of the poor widow and how she gave everything and I will seek to be a lot more generous in my giving.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to trust You when it comes to earthly possessions. You own it all. I don’t really own anything. Help me to be generous with people and with You. I know that I cannot out give You.

I pray for those that are struggling financially. Many of them need to learn the lesson of the widow’s mites. I pray that You help them even though they have robbed You and have spent most of their money on themselves. Show them how to be generous towards You so that they can receive Your blessings.

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Why Are People So Important To God?

2012-01-20T09:10:00.002-05:00

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Genesis 49,50; Psalms 8; Luke 20

Why Are People So Important To God?

Scripture

Psalm 8

    ¹ LORD our Lord, your name is the most wonderful in all the earth!

   It brings you praise everywhere in heaven.
² From the mouths of children and babies come songs of praise to you.
   They sing of your power to silence your enemies who were seeking revenge.
³ I look at the heavens you made with your hands.
   I see the moon and the stars you created.
⁴ And I wonder, “Why are people so important to you?
   Why do you even think about them?
Why do you care so much about humans?
   Why do you even notice them?”
⁵ But you made them almost like gods
   and crowned them with glory and honor.
⁶ You put them in charge of everything you made.
   You put everything under their control.
⁷ People rule over the sheep and cattle and all the wild animals.
⁸ They rule over the birds in the sky
   and the fish that swim in the sea.

⁹ LORD our Lord, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

Observation

Maybe you have wanted to ask God the same question that King David asked Him in this Psalm, “Why do you care so much about humans?”

I have wondered that myself. Why does He put up with us? We have messed everything up. We don’t deserve His Love or His goodness that He lavishes on us. Just think He has put us in charge of everything on earth. He made the entire Universe, the Sun and the Moon and all of the stars and all of the planets just for us! He has crowned us with glory and honor and He has made us like Him.

Even children and babies sing praises to God.

The Bible is a love story all about how much God loves you and how much He loves me. Over and over and over again He tells us in His Word just how much He loves us. Can you think of some verses that speak of God’s love for us? You probably immediately thought of John 3:16, maybe even Romans 5:8, or how about Romans 8:37-39

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us”. Ephesians 3:20

LORD our Lord, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

Application

All day today I am going to Praise the Lord for loving me and blessing me so much. I am going to praise Him for His creation and thank Him for creating it just for us!

Prayer

LORD our Lord, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

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Jesus Came To Find Lost People and Save Them!

2012-01-19T10:02:00.001-05:00

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Genesis 47,48; Psalms 10; Luke 19

Jesus Came To Find Lost People and Save Them!

Scripture

Luke 19

¹⁰ The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”

Observation

Luke 19

¹ Jesus was going through the city of Jericho. ² In Jericho there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a wealthy, very important tax collector. ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was. There were many others who wanted to see Jesus too. Zacchaeus was too short to see above the people. ⁴ So he ran to a place where he knew Jesus would come. Then he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him.

⁵ When Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, he looked up and saw him in the tree. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today.”

⁶ Zacchaeus hurried and came down. He was happy to have Jesus in his house. ⁷ Everyone saw this. They began to complain, “Look at the kind of man Jesus is staying with. Zacchaeus is a sinner!”

⁸ Zacchaeus said to the Lord, “I want to do good. I will give half of my money to the poor. If I have cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times more.”

⁹ Jesus said, “Today is the day for this family to be saved from sin. Yes, even this tax collector is one of God’s chosen people. ¹⁰ The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”

Zacchaeus was a sinner. He was a tax collector. To the people of that day being a tax collector was worse than being a prostitute or at least just as bad. Tax collectors worked for the Roman government collecting taxes from the Jews. Because tax collectors were usually dishonest and they would charge more that what they should they were very well off. Zacchaeus was very wealthy which probably meant that he was not totally honest when he collected taxes from the people.
Jesus found Zacchaeus up in a tree.

The little guy wanted to see Jesus and that was the only way he was going to have the chance because he couldn’t see over the crowd. It is important to note that Jesus came to Zacchaeus who was up in that tree. He called him by name and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today.”

Sometimes we think that we are the ones that seek out God but the truth is that Jesus came to this earth to find the lost and save them. God pursues us and not the other way around.
Salvation came to Zacchaeus and his family not because he or his family deserved it. They were saved because Jesus found them and saved them.

Are you saved?

Have you repented (turned away from) of your sins and have you trusted in Jesus Christ to save you? Jesus wants to save you just like you are. You are a sinner. He came to find and save “sinners”

The Bible says that once we are born again that Jesus Christ comes to live in us. He will use us to find the lost and save them.

Who do you know that needs Jesus?

Have you invited them to church?

Why not?

Do you go out of your way to spend time with them?

Why not?

Jesus went to eat at Zacchaeus’s house. He went to spend time with him. Jesus wants to do the same thing through us.

Application

This week I will look for people who are lost and witness to them. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Jesus shocked the religious leaders by going to the house of a sinner. Help me to be willing to do the same thing. Give me your heart for the lost around me. Show me who You want me to witness to and show me who You want me to spend extra time with this week. I pray that You would guide and direct me. Help me to be sensitive to the leading of Your Holy Spirit.

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Pray and Never Give Up Hope

2012-01-18T08:53:00.002-05:00

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Genesis 44,45,46; Luke 18

Pray and Never Give Up Hope

Scripture

Luke 18

¹ Then Jesus taught the followers that they should always pray and never lose hope.

He used this story to teach them: ² “Once there was a judge in a town. He did not care about God. He also did not care what people thought about him. ³ In that same town there was a woman whose husband had died. She came many times to this judge and said, ‘There is a man who is doing bad things to me. Give me my rights!’ ⁴ But the judge did not want to help the woman. After a long time, the judge thought to himself, ‘I don’t care about God. And I don’t care about what people think. ⁵ But this woman is bothering me. If I give her what she wants, then she will leave me alone. But if I don’t give her what she wants, she will bother me until I am sick.’”

⁶ The Lord said, “Listen, there is meaning in what the bad judge said. ⁷ God’s people shout to him night and day, and he will always give them what is right. He will not be slow to answer them.⁸ I tell you, God will help his people quickly.

Observation

Have you prayed much lately? If you answered, “Yes”, what has been the focus of your prayers?
Jesus is teaching a huge truth here about prayer using the story of a bad judge who didn’t care anything about God or people. A lady came to the judge asking the judge to help her because someone was mistreating her. She kept bothering the judge until he finally gave in and helped her. He didn’t do it because he feared God or even liked people he did it because he realized that they lady was going to continue to drive him crazy until he said he would help her.

The point of the story is that we have a Righteous Judge who wants to help us. He cares about us and wants to answer our prayers. Jesus says that we should pray and never give up hope. He was reminding his disciples and he is reminding us that we have a Good Heavenly Father who wants to answer our prayers.

If you spend most of your prayer time praying for yourself and your own personal needs I think you are going to be disappointed? I am not saying that God will not answer your prayers, but I am saying that there is more to prayer than praying for our own needs. Why not pray for everyone else that comes to our mind first and ask God to work in his or her life and then mention your own needs to God.

God knows that my heart is damaged and I would like for Him to fix it, but I am not going to spend all my time praying to God about my own health. God puts on my heart other people that need healing and I pray for them. My focus needs to be off of myself and I need to pray for those around me. Plus I know that I have lots of people who are praying for me everyday and they are asking God to heal me.

Application

I will pray today for those that need healing and those that are going through very difficult situations.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me keep my focus off of myself and help me think more about the people around me and the needs that they have. I know that You are going take care of me. You are the Great Provider. You are the Healer. There is nothing too hard for You.

I pray for those sick and in the hospital today: Jene Williams and Myrtle Varnes. I pray that You give them strength today and I pray that you heal them. I pray for my friends that are facing huge legal issues I pray that You would come to their rescue.

I pray for our pastor and our staff today. I pray that You bless them, that You give them the desires of their hearts, that You would answer their prayers and that You would make their plans successful. Amen.

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What You Do When Someone Hurts You … You Give Them “The Gift of Forgiveness”

2012-01-17T07:42:00.001-05:00

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Genesis 42; Genesis 43; Psalm 5; Luke 17

What You Do When Someone Hurts You … You Give Them “The Gift of Forgiveness”

Scripture

Luke 17

“If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, warn them. If they are sorry for what they did, forgive them. ⁴ Even if they do something wrong to you seven times in one day, but they say they are sorry each time, you should forgive them.”

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”

Observation

I know someone that most of his children won’t have anything to do with him because of the way he mistreated their mother and how badly he hurt them. It has been years. When he tries to send Christmas presents to his children and to his grandchildren the gifts are refused and returned. Recently one of his children and her husband spoke to him and forgave him. They are now beginning to rebuild their broken relationship … How beautiful is that!

The children of this person are all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. I grieve over this because I know that it hurting his children even more than it is hurting him. Since they are holding a grudge and refusing to forgive him they will suffer way more than he will. It will affect all of their relationships. They will never get to enjoy the Christian life in a way that God intended as long as they refuse to give him the Gift of Forgiveness!

Forgiveness is not something that a person earns. Sometimes we want to set down rules for the person who has hurt us and tell them that they have to do this and that and then we will forgive them. Jesus says, “If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, warn them. If they are sorry for what they did, forgive them. Even if they do something wrong to you seven times in one day, but they say they are sorry each time, you should forgive them.”

When you and I get hurt by someone our human tendency is to get even with them. Resentment builds and before long it blinds us to God’s truth and we begin to rationalize why we can’t forgive the person. Peter asked Jesus once, “Lord, when someone won’t stop doing wrong to me, how many times must I forgive them? Seven times?” Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question was, “I tell you, you must forgive them more than seven times. You must continue to forgive them even if they do wrong to you seventy-seven times.

Did you notice that the Lord used the word “must” when He responded to Peter’s question about forgiveness? Forgiveness for believers is not something that is optional. We must forgive. They don’t deserve it, true, so we must give them forgiveness as a gift.

Who do you need to forgive? Who needs your gift of forgiveness? Why not forgive them right now and let them know that you have forgiven them. God is all about reconciliation. There is nothing more important in life than relationships and keeping them healthy.

It doesn’t depend on the other person that has wronged you it depends on you.

Un-forgiveness is so unlike our Heavenly Father and so uncharacteristic of His children.

You can’t lead a godly life if you refuse to forgive someone. It is impossible.

Application

When I am wronged I will try to quickly respond and give the gift of forgiveness. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you know how my heart hurts for this father who desperately wants to be reconciled with his children. How he wants to be a grandpa to his grandchildren. I pray for Your divine intervention into this situation.

I pray that you will change the children’s hearts toward their father. Help them to be able to gift him with the gift of forgiveness. I am so glad that you have given me this wonderful gift. I am so glad that I won’t get what I deserve. I am glad that You quickly forgive my sins and don’t hold them against me!

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When You Are In Hell … It Will Be Too Late… There Is Urgency To The Gospel!

2012-01-16T07:12:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 39,40,41; Luke 16

When You Are In Hell … It Will Be Too Late… There Is Urgency To The Gospel!

Scripture

Luke 16

¹⁹ Jesus said, “There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest clothes. He was so rich that he was able to enjoy all the best things every day. ²⁰ There was also a very poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus’ body was covered with sores. He was often put by the rich man’s gate. ²¹ Lazarus wanted only to eat the scraps of food left on the floor under the rich man’s table. And the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² “Later, Lazarus died. The angels took him and placed him in the arms of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ He was sent to the place of death and was in great pain. He saw Abraham far away with Lazarus in his arms. ²⁴ He called, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to me so that he can dip his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am suffering in this fire!’

²⁵ “But Abraham said, ‘My child, remember when you lived? You had all the good things in life. But Lazarus had nothing but problems. Now he is comforted here, and you are suffering. ²⁶ Also, there is a big pit between you and us. No one can cross over to help you, and no one can come here from there.’

²⁷ “The rich man said, ‘Then please, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house on earth. ²⁸ I have five brothers. He could warn my brothers so that they will not come to this place of pain.’
²⁹ “But Abraham said, ‘They have the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to read; let them learn from that.’

³⁰ “The rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham! But if someone came to them from the dead, then they would decide to change their lives.’

³¹ “But Abraham said to him, ‘If your brothers won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen to someone who comes back from the dead.’”

Observation

This story tells us quite a bit about the place called Hell. First we can be sure from the story that Hell is a real place. It is a place of torment. There is fire in Hell. The person can get no relief from the fire. The rich man desired to have just a drop of water to cool his tongue.

This story about the rich man and Lazarus also lets us know that Hell will be a place of regret. Here we find the rich man in hell and all of a sudden he thinks of his five brothers. He desperately wants to warn them so they don’t find themselves in the same place but it is too late.

Who in your family still needs to be saved?

Have you turned from your sins and surrendered your life to Jesus Christ. Now is the time because one day it will be too late. Now is the time to share with your family members because one day it will be too late.

Lazarus in a way experienced a little of “Hell” on earth, but the big difference between his situation and the rich man is this, Lazarus only suffered while he was on earth, but the rich man has to suffer forever and ever and ever.

This story also stresses the urgency of the Gospel. We never know when we will die. Once we die then it is too late to share the Gospel. Once we die it is be too late to give our lives to the Lord. We need to share with those around us now. We need to get right with God now. Don’t put it off!

Application

I will order devotional magazines from LifeWay for each one of my nine grandchildren this week. I want them to grow up knowing all about Jesus. I want them to be able to put their faith and trust in Him.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me be the witness I need to be for my family, for my children, for my grandchildren, and for my extended family. Let them see Jesus in me. And help me to verbally share my faith with them. I don’t want any of them to go to Hell.

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What Causes Joy In Heaven? … What Causes Joy In Your Church? … What Causes Joy In Your Life? Take a Minute To Read This Before You Go To Church Today!

2012-01-15T07:56:00.001-05:00

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Genesis 37,38; Psalms 7; Luke 15

What Causes Joy In Heaven? … What Causes Joy In Your Church? … What Causes Joy In Your Life? Take a Minute To Read This Before You Go To Church Today!

Scripture

Luke 15

Joy in Heaven

¹ Many tax collectors and sinners came to listen to Jesus. ² Then the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain, “Look, this man welcomes sinners and even eats with them!”

³ Then Jesus told them this story: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has 100 sheep, but one of them gets lost. What will you do? You will leave the other 99 sheep there in the field and go out and look for the lost sheep. You will continue to search for it until you find it. ⁵ And when you find it, you will be very happy. You will carry it ⁶ home, go to your friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep!’ ⁷ In the same way, I tell you, heaven is a happy place when one sinner decides to change. There is more joy for that one sinner than for 99 good people who don’t need to change.

⁸ “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins, but she loses one of them. She will take a light and clean the house. She will look carefully for the coin until she finds it. ⁹ And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, it’s a happy time for the angels of God when one sinner decides to change.”

Observation

What is your church like?

Do you celebrate when someone gives his or her life to Christ?

Is the focus of your church reaching the lost for Jesus?

We have a few people that get very excited about our music but not excited in the best sense of the word. A few of them come in late and a few of them leave early because they don’t particularly care for our praise and worship time. But the vast majority of our folks love what is happening at Christ Fellowship and at the end of the worship service celebrate with those that give their lives to Christ!

The ones that leave early – or the very few that choose not to even attend worship - I wonder if they even care if someone gets saved or not? They must not have read Luke 15 lately!

One of our older saints who just turned 80 has one of the best attitudes of anyone in our church and it is an attitude that all of us need to have, he says, “It is not my kind of music, but that is OK because I am so excited about all the new people and all of the people giving their lives to Christ!” I don’t want to miss what is happening in our worship service. (Eddy paraphrase!)

He has learned how to rejoice like the Angels do in Heaven! If you and I were up in Heaven right now, and remember I came very close to being there, we would hear continuous praise and celebration all over Heaven over all the people that are repenting of their sins and that are trusting in Jesus.

How does God feel about you when you repent of your sins and turn to Him for salvation? The next story in this text from Luke 15 is usually called the “Story of the Prodigal Son”, but I think it is better titled the “Story of the Prodigal Father!”

The story is really about our Extravagant Heavenly Father and how He lavishes on us an abundant life here on earth, how He pours out on us so many blessings it is impossible to count, and how He promises us that we will spend forever with Him in a place called Heaven, a place that He has specially prepared for us. And we don’t deserve any of it.

We are sinners. We deserve judgment. We deserve punishment. We deserve to go to a place called Hell. But because we have a Prodigal (Extravagant) Heavenly Father we are not going to get what we deserve, but rather we are going to get so much that we don’t deserve! Wow! What a Savior!

Application

I am going to focus and join in on the celebration at the end of the service when someone gets saved and I am not going to critique or fret about what is wrong about the worship service.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me rejoice over what makes You and the Angels happy in Heaven. Guard my heart so that I don’t become someone who is critical and mean. I pray for people to be saved today in our worship service. I pray that our church really rejoices at the end of the service with the people that have found a new life in Jesus Christ.

I thank You for Pastor Bruce and his commitment to bring people to Jesus. Nothing is more important to him. It is his focus. I praise God for that! You have been so extravagant to my family and me. I am overwhelmed at Your goodness. You are so good. We are not worthy of such Extravagant love!

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Don’t Lose Your Influence – Tim Tebow Has A Unique Platform And So Do We!

2012-01-14T09:05:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 34; Genesis 35; Genesis 36; Luke 14

Don’t Lose Your Influence – Tim Tebow Has A Unique Platform And So Do We!

Scripture

Luke 14

Don’t Lose Your Influence

³⁴ “Salt is a good thing. But if the salt loses its salty taste, you can’t make it salty again. ³⁵ It is worth nothing. You can’t even use it as dirt or dung. People just throw it away.

Observation

Are you following Tim Tebow? No matter what you think about him there is one thing for certain and that thing is this…God has given him a unique platform to share the Gospel and influence people. God has also given you and I unique platforms to share the Gospel and influence the people around us.

What we have to watch and what Tim Tebow has to watch is that we don’t lose our influence by doing something stupid. You might ask, “Well what stupid thing could I do to lose my influence with those around me?” Here are just a few of the stupid things that we could do that would cause us to fall: adultery, dishonesty, sexual immorality, lying, and pride. In other words…SIN!

So how do you and I maintain our integrity and keep from falling. How do we keep from losing our influence? You and I need to establish boundaries.

To keep from falling into sexual sin I have set up some boundaries for my life; here are a few:

1. I don’t ride in a car with alone with a woman unless it is Kathy or one of my children or grandchildren.

2. I will never share a meal alone with a woman except for Kathy.

3. I will not counsel a woman more than once and when I counsel her that first and last time I make sure the door is open and my secretary knows that she is in my office.

4. I do not look at bedroom scenes or Victoria Secret commercials on television or anything else sexually inappropriate for me.

Have you established boundaries? Does your spouse know them and do you hold each other accountable. Too many of my friends have lost their influence with those around them because they did not set boundaries with the opposite sex. And they did something stupid!

Another way we could lose our influence on those around us is if we begin to think more of ourselves than we should. Christians that are professional athletes, other Christians that may be celebrities, and even pastors that stand in the pulpit each week run the risk of starting to believe that they are more than they are. Once they begin to receive the glory from people then it is all over … they have begun to lose their influence. They have become salt that has lost its salty taste.

My prayer for Tim Tebow is that he will always give God the glory. My prayer for my pastor Bruce Moore is that he will always give God the glory. My prayer for you and I is the same thing that we will always give God the glory. God wants to use us to bring those around us to a personal relationship with Him. And He will use us if we remain people of integrity.

By the way, even if Tim Tebow and the Broncos lose tonight they are still winners!

Application

I will stay in God’s Word everyday and I will stay close to Him. I will maintain my boundaries with those of the opposite sex. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I do pray for Tim Tebow today. I also pray for my pastor Bruce Moore. I pray that both of these men will continue to bring You glory. Keep them from doing the stupid things that would cause them to lose their influence. Help them to set up and maintain boundaries in their lives.

I pray that you would use the leadership in our church to continue influencing those that are coming every week. I pray that Your hand would remain on our church and that we would continue to see lives changed. Don’t let our church lose its influence on the city of Tampa! Keep us salty Lord. Keep us salty! Be gloried in us and through us today!

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Divinely Favored – Do You realize How Blessed You Are Today? Get Your Chin Up!

2012-01-13T06:58:00.003-05:00

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Genesis 31,32,33; Luke 13

Divinely Favored – Do You realize How Blessed You Are Today? Get Your Chin Up!

Scripture

Luke 13

³⁵ "Look, your house is left empty. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.' "—(Psalm 118:26)

Psalm 118

²⁶ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the temple of the Lord we bless you.
²⁷ The Lord is God.
He has made the light of his favor shine on us.

²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you.
You are my God, and I will honor you.
²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.

Observation

As I read the daily Bible reading I noticed that Jesus quoted from Psalm 118. Have you read Psalm 118 lately? Why not read it right now! It will only take you a couple of minutes. It is one of my favorite Psalms. Jesus took this verse to share His heart about how He felt for those that rejected Him in Jerusalem. It is also the way Jesus Christ feels about those that reject Him today.

Luke 13

³⁴ "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you.

Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. But you would not let me!

³⁵ "Look, your house is left empty. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.' "—(Psalm 118:26)

The word “Blessed” means Divinely favored. Jesus Christ God’s Son is “Divinely favored”. Do you remember what God the Father said about His Son when John baptized Jesus the Baptist or what He said about His Son when Elijah and Moses visited with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?

Matthew 3

¹⁶ So Jesus was baptized. As soon as he came up out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷ A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him.”

Luke 9

^34-35While he was babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they found themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of God. Then there was a voice out of the cloud: "This is my Son, the Chosen! Listen to him."

When you and I share the Good News about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with people we are also “Blessed”. God also Divinely favors us.

Just look with me at Psalm 118:26-27

²⁶ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the temple of the Lord we bless you.
²⁷ The Lord is God.
He has made the light of his favor shine on us.

If you and I are living for God today then we should have our chins up.

We should have big smiles on our faces because God favors us. The light of His favor is shining on us! Wow! This truth alone should make our day!

Application

I am a Christ Follower. I am blessed because I go out in the name of the Lord. I will thank God today for allowing His favor to shine on me. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, this is my prayer to You today found in Psalm 118:23-24; 28-29

²³ This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. ²⁴ This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

“²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, and I will honor you. ²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever. Amen.

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I Tell You, Do Not Worry!

2012-01-12T21:24:00.001-05:00

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Genesis 29; Genesis 30; Luke 12

I Tell You, Do Not Worry!

Scripture

Luke 12

²² Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. He said, "I tell you, do not worry. Don't worry about your life and what you will eat. And don't worry about your body and what you will wear.

²³ There is more to life than eating. There are more important things for the body than clothes.

²⁵ "Can you add even one hour to your life by worrying? ²⁶ You can't do that very little thing. So why worry about the rest?

²⁸ If that is how God dresses the wild grass, how much better will he dress you! After all, the grass is here only today. Tomorrow it is thrown into the fire. Your faith is so small!

³¹ "But put God's kingdom first. Then those other things will also be given to you.

³² "Little flock, do not be afraid. Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

³³ Sell what you own. Give to those who are poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out. Put away riches in heaven that will not be used up. There, no thief can come near it. There, no moth can destroy it.

³⁴ Your heart will be where your riches are.

Observation

Worry…Worry…Worry… Jesus tells us not to worry! Does worrying add one hour to your life? Jesus says that if by worrying you can’t even add a single hour to your life then why worry about anything!

In the Old Testament it was assumed that if you were rich that you some how were blessed by God. In the New Testament we see that accumulation of stuff here on earth is not a real smart idea. Jesus says the better idea is to send your riches on ahead of you to Heaven.

Why…because your heart will be where your riches are. He uses the story of the Rich Fool to show how foolish worrying about storing up riches here on earth really is. Just in case you didn’t read it I am going to cut and paste those verses right here so you have the chance to see how foolish this man was!

Luke 12

¹⁶ Then Jesus told them a story. He said, "A certain rich man's land produced a good crop. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, 'What should I do? I don't have any place to store my crops.'

¹⁸ "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my storerooms and build bigger ones. I will store all my grain and my other things in them. ¹⁹ I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things stored away for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink and have a good time." '

²⁰ "But God said to him, 'You foolish man! This very night I will take your life away from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

²¹ "That is how it will be for anyone who stores things away for himself but is not rich in God's eyes."

Application

I will not worry about my life. This year I will seek to put the Kingdom of God first in my life. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, it is so easy for me to worry about bills and about our future, but You tell us over and over again not to worry. You say don’t worry about anything but we should pray about everything and your peace will keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Worry is the absence of faith. Help me be a man of great faith. Help me send our riches on ahead to Heaven. Don’t ever let us store our riches down here on earth. I want to be rich in Your eyes.

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God Wants To Answer Our Prayers - So Keep On Asking, Keep On Seeking, Keep On Knocking!

2012-01-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 27; Genesis 28; Psalm 4; Luke 11

God Wants To Answer Our Prayers - So Keep On Asking, Keep On Seeking, Keep On Knocking!

Scripture

Luke 11

¹ Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

² Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
   “Father, may your name be kept holy.
      May your Kingdom come soon.
    ³ Give us each day the food we need,
    ⁴ and forgive us our sins,
      as we forgive those who sin against us.
   And don’t let us yield to temptation.

⁹ “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹³ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Observation

All of today’s daily Bible readings have something to do with prayer! In Genesis 28-28 we find Jacob being blessed by God and having a vision of a stairway to Heaven with Angels coming up and down and with the Lord at the top of the stairway. The Psalmist in Psalm 4 makes this declaration about His God hearing his prayers, “You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.”

I hope that you have taken time to read God’s word today before you began to browse Facebook or consume yourself in some other busy activity. Have you let God speak to your heart? Have you taken time to meet with God so He can give you direction for this day?

Some answers from God come quickly, but others take time. God’s word to us is that we are not to give up. I am praying asking God to heal my heart so that I can serve Him again 100%. His answer has not been to miraculously touch my heart and instantly make me well. He could do that if He wanted to do so. I have to trust Him. He knows what He is doing.

I have to remind myself that there are more important things to pray about than praying for my own health. God has given you and I the ministry of intercession. It is more important for me to pray for those around me than to pray for myself. God knows my needs. He is going to take care of me.

Application

I will pray and not give up. I will pray more for others more than I do for myself. I will believe what the Psalmist says in Psalm 4, “You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, may your name be honored. May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.

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Missions 101 … A Lesson For Those Who Want To Reach People For Christ!

2012-01-10T08:26:00.002-05:00

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Genesis 25; Genesis 26; Psalm 6; Luke 10

Missions 101 … A Lesson For Those Who Want To Reach People For Christ!

Scripture

Luke 10

¹ The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. ² These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.

⁵ “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ ⁶ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. ⁷ Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

Observation

Here are two very important principles; lessons or truths that you need to know if you are going to be a missionary. Understanding these two truths can help you be a missionary to your neighbors, a missionary within your city, or a missionary on the foreign mission field! Don’t ever forget these two important truths.

The first one is this: No matter where we are at in this world the “Harvest is great”! Jesus didn’t say that the harvest is great only in China or only in Cuba, or only in this part of the world. Where ever you go you need to go knowing that the “Harvest is great.” There are always plenty of people ready to accept the Good News of Jesus Christ. The problem is that there are not enough workers to bring in the harvest. Jesus says that we should pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send more workers into His fields.

As Kathy and I plan to serve in one of the most spiritually darkest countries on our planet it is very good to know that the harvest there is great and the only thing lacking is enough workers to bring in the harvest. That truth about the harvest is enough to motivate Kathy and I to get churches praying and going to reach the unreached people in that country. Jesus said the harvest is great but the workers are few.

Here is another truth that we find in Luke 10 that should encourage every Christian that has the desire to see people come to Jesus. God has already prepared the hearts of people all over this world to accept us and accept our message. All we have to do is go out and find them. They are called “sons of peace”. There is not a country or nation on the face of this planet that doesn’t have “sons of peace” waiting for us to knock on their doors.

So if the harvest is great and it only lacks workers. If Jesus has already prepared people to accept the Gospel when we knock on their doors - what are we waiting for?

Application

Kathy and I will do everything we can to mobilize churches and teams to pray and go and reach an unreached people group(s) this year.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You have done everything for us. We just need to pray and go. We know that You are going to go ahead of us. You will prepare those that we are going to reach. I pray to You the Lord of the harvest that You would send laborers into the harvest into these last nations that so desperately need to hear the Gospel. They are waiting for us. When we get there we will look for the “Sons of Peace” that You have already prepared to welcome us.

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Don’t Take A Pat On The Back Unless It Is Way Down Low!

2012-01-09T08:21:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 23; Genesis 24; Luke 9

Don’t Take A Pat On The Back Unless It Is Way Down Low … One of Dr. Waylon Moore’s Important Lessons to Me on “Humility”

Scripture

Luke 9

⁴⁶ Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

Observation

Peter, James and John got to go with Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration and they actually saw Elijah and Moses. They saw Jesus in all His Glory and the scripture says that Moses and Elijah were glorious to see! It was an awesome experience! Did the experience cause some of the disciples to think that they were more important than the others? I don’t know if it was that or not but sometimes when God does a mighty work in our lives we can be led to think that we are more important than those around us.

I look forward to going to our leadership meeting this afternoon at noon. I have not actively been serving our church since I had my heart attack on October 24^th. I am more than ready to start helping out again! God has brought together a great team at Christ Fellowship. God is doing some amazing things in our midst. Everybody on our leadership team is equally important. There is no one that is more important than the other. When one person does their job well it affects the life of our entire church.

Pastor Bruce is the Senior Pastor who leads our team, but he is not more important than the person responsible for our “First Impressions Ministry” which includes our food ministry, inside greeters, those that help greet in the parking lot, and those that usher inside the auditorium. He is not more important than those responsible for our preschool and children’s ministries. Remember… If any of these ministries are neglected and don’t go well then Pastor Bruce will not have anyone to preach to.

“But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

Humility…it was a problem for the disciples and it can also be a problem for us.

Pastor Bruce gave a tremendous illustration yesterday in his message that should challenge all of us who are seeking to serve the Lord. He shared that a very well known Christian leader was talking to him at a conference as they were both heading to the restroom. As they were washing their hands and getting ready to leave the restroom this famous Christian leader told Bruce, “I will be out in a minute I need to do someone first.” This leader got down on his hands and knees and began to clean the paper towels and trash that others had thrown on the floor. Bruce couldn’t believe it. Here a man of his stature, someone so important, humbles himself to clean a restroom. Pastor Bruce said that it was something that he would never forget. What a lesson in humility!

Are you willing to serve? You can’t be worried about how gets the credit? I challenge you to volunteer to serve somewhere in your church. Make a 30-day commitment and try it out! After the 30 days you discover it’s not for you then make a 30-day commitment to serve somewhere else. Pastor Bruce said yesterday, You serve God by serving others.”

Application

I will serve the Lord and not worry about who gets the credit. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, it is easy to think that we are more important than we really are. I am glad that You have a way of humbling us to keep us on the right track. I pray for our leadership team today. As I think about them and I think about how You have used them it brings me tremendous joy. Help us stay out of Your way as You grow our church. I pray for Pastor Bruce that You give him tremendous wisdom as he leads us. You are a Mighty God.

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Don’t Be Afraid. Just Have Faith! Do You Need Some Encouragement Today?

2012-01-08T07:35:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 20; Genesis 21; Genesis 22; Luke 8

Don’t Be Afraid. Just Have Faith!

Scripture

Luke 8

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”
⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.”

Observation

When I had my heart attack this past October my wife Kathy had no good reports for at least the first four or five days. Every report seemed to indicate that I was going to die. In fact, after the 14 hour surgery the hospital staff asked Kathy and my children to come into the room so they could see me. What they were saying without actually saying it was that your husband and your Dad is about to die so we want you to come in and see him one last time. The surgeon had just told Kathy that I had less than a 5 percent chance of surviving the trip from surgery up to the ICU floor.

Kathy shared with me a few weeks ago that it was during those first days of the bad reports that she had to release me. She had to be willing for the Lord to take me if that was His will. But at the same time, she knew deep inside not to give up, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and he will be healed.” God also provided Kathy and army of people that surrounded her during those days and they prayed for God to save my life.

Faith is not faith unless it is tested. Do you really have faith? Will it stand the test? Jairus had faith to go get Jesus. His faith was then tested when he was told not to bother Jesus that his daughter was already dead.

In Genesis chapter twenty-two in today’s Bible reading we also find someone else whose faith was tested. Abraham was one hundred years old when he finally had his son Isaac. God had kept His promise to Abraham and Sarah. Then God asked Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son to Him on top of a mountain. It was the ultimate test of faith! Abraham took his son Isaac, built an altar, and then Abraham tied up his son Isaac and placed him on the altar. He was getting ready to sacrifice his son with a knife when God called out to him and said, ““Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” ¹² “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

Do you have faith? … It will be tested.

Are you being tested today? God wants to you to have faith. The situation may seem totally impossible. God says, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

Application

I will not be afraid. I will have faith. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, the Christian life is all about faith. In fact, it is impossible to please You without it. Increase my faith. Help me not to doubt You. Help me trust in all of Your promises. You always keep Your Word. Thank You for giving me a wife who has tremendous faith in You. Thank You for all the people that prayed for me and never gave up. I am overwhelmed even today when I think about how they prayed for me. I know that 2012 is going to be a tremendous year to serve You. Thank You for healing me. Thank You for helping me to get better every day. No one compares to You.

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Would This Woman Be Accepted At Your Church?

2012-01-07T10:10:00.001-05:00

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Genesis 18; Genesis 19; Psalm 3; Luke 7

Would This Woman Be Accepted At Your Church?

Scripture

Luke 7

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. ³⁷ When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. ³⁸ Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.

⁴¹ Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. ⁴² But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

⁴³ Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. ⁴⁴ Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

⁴⁷ “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
⁵⁰ And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Observation

I wonder what this woman looked like. Everyone knew that she was an immoral woman and evidently she was well known by the Pharisees. They were outraged because Jesus had allowed her, a sinful woman, to wash His feet and anoint them.

Does your church reach out to sinful, immoral people? Are people accepted at your church no matter what they look like, how they talk, or what they smell like? It is easy to accept someone that is all dressed up and gives us a good first impression. But what about that person whose language is rough and they don’t have good clothes on and they don’t smell good at all. What is our attitude about them? Do they fit into your church? Do they fit into our church?

As you read the Gospels you will discover that Jesus reached out to the outcasts, the lepers, the blind and the crippled, tax collectors, and immoral people of all kinds and the question for us is this, "Are we following His example"? Are we treating people the same way Jesus did?

I heard a comment the other day from one of our church members about one of the people that attend our church who doesn’t smell good at all and dresses pretty weird. And the comment was this, “Do you think people will not come back to our church because this person smells so bad?” It reminded me of the comment by the Pharisees, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

Thank goodness for the most part our church is very accepting of every person that walks onto our campus. Looking back over the past nine years that I have been at the church I am so glad that we didn’t give up on people. I remember visiting one of our men that was living in one of the cheap hotels on Florida Ave. He was strung out on drugs and alcohol. I couldn’t believe how bad he looked. Today he is one of our most faithful and active men in our church. If you met him for the first time today you never would have thought that he could have ever lived such and immoral and sinful life. He is one of my best buddies!

Application

I will reach out to the people on the fringe who society and lots of churches have pretty much written off.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me Your heart for the people around me. Never let me get to the point where I don’t accept people because of their outward appearance. Help me to reach those that need You the most, the people that really need Your forgiveness. Give me Your compassion for those around me.

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“Spiritual Sandpaper People”

2012-01-06T08:29:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 15; Genesis 16; Genesis 17; Luke 6

“Spiritual Sandpaper People”

Scripture

Luke 6

²⁷ “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. ²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. ³⁰ Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. ³¹ Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

³⁵ “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. ³⁶ You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Observation

God always places “spiritual sandpaper” in our lives! What is spiritual sandpaper – PEOPLE! You might even call them “enemies” just as Jesus as done in Luke 6. Think about the people in your life right now and ask yourself, “Out of all the people that I relate to on a regular basis who drives me crazy?” They are your spiritual sandpaper.

I had someone in our church that was very upset with me. Every time I tried to greet her during the worship service with a shake hand she would turn away from me and leave me with my hand extended in her direction dangling in mid air! Talk about an awkward moment for the pastor! But I didn’t give up and every time she was in the service I would still try to greet her just like I greeted everyone else.

I saw her in a worship service not too long ago and I once again went up to greet her and I extended my hand and this time she didn’t turn away but she took my hand and she let me know that she had been praying for me.

God places difficult people in our lives to smooth out our rough edges. They are our “spiritual sandpaper”. If we don’t learn how to handle our relationship with them and we don’t learn the lesson that God is trying to teach us then you can be assured that God will bring more “spiritual sandpaper people” into our lives to get the job done. His goal is to make us more Jesus!

Jesus said…

I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. ²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. … ³¹ Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

Application

I will continue to love the difficult people that God brings into my life. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to love my enemies. Help me to do to others I as would like them to do to me. I desire to be more like Jesus and if it takes “spiritual sandpaper” in my life for that to happen then I welcome those difficult relationships. You are Worthy of Praise. You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Mighty is Your Name!

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Fishing For People

2012-01-05T09:01:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 12; Genesis 13; Genesis 14; Luke 5

Fishing For People

Scripture

Luke 5

The First Disciples

¹ One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. ² He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. ³ Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

⁵ “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” ⁶ And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! ⁷ A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

⁸ When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” ⁹ For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. ¹⁰ His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” ¹¹ And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Observation

Peter, James and John were professional fisherman. They had evidently fished all night and had not caught anything. Jesus gets Simon Peter to take Him out in his boat a little ways off shore so he could speak to the crowd of people from the boat. After He had finished talking to the crowd He said to Simon Peter, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

Of course, Simon being the professional fisherman protested and said, ⁵ “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” He could have reminded Jesus that fisherman fish with nets at night and not in the daytime and if they didn’t catch anything at night when you are supposed to catch fish then you sure aren’t going to catch fish in the daytime. But Simon Peter replied, “But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.

There was a huge lesson that Jesus was teaching His disciples and there is a huge lesson that He is teaching us through this story today. What lesson was He teaching them? What lesson does He want to teach us?

Here it is:

On our own we can do nothing, but with Christ we can do everything. Fishing for people on our own will yield “0” results, but fishing for people with Christ directing us will yield huge results.

We could say that “fishing for people” on our own is just “fishing” but fishing for people with Christ directing is “catching people for Christ”.

I love to go “fishing”, but Kathy says that I am like Jonah. I go fishing but I hardly ever catch fish. But I still love to go fishing. I remind her of what someone once told me, “That is why they call it fishing” and not “catching”!

All of us are to be “fishers of men”, but we are also expected to be more than “fishers”, as Christ followers we should be “catchers of men”.

So how can you and I be successful at “catching”? The answer is easy. We must stay close to Jesus and depend on Him. We must obey His commands. When He speaks we need to listen and we need to act. He can make us successful fishers of men.

Application

I will stay close to Jesus so I can be a “catcher of men”.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Jesus said, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. Help me to follow Jesus closely because it is my desire to be a fisher of men. I want to help bring people to salvation this year. I want to help them know Jesus in a personal way. Give me the ability to communicate the Gospel clearly. Give me opportunities to share Jesus with lots of people this year. On my own I know that I will have “o” results so help me to depend on You. You are the Mighty God. Nothing is too hard for You.

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The Urgency of the Gospel…

2012-01-04T08:51:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 9; Genesis 10; Genesis 11; Luke 4

I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too

The Urgency of the Gospel…

Scripture

Luke 4

⁴² Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. ⁴³ But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴ So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

Observation

Every Christian has been called to take the Gospel to the lost around them. The Great Commission is a command for every believer. But God has called some to take the Gospel to those who live in other countries, who have different cultures, and who speak different languages. These folks are called cross-cultural missionaries.

As Kathy and I make plans to once again begin working with an unreached people group in some other country I know that the response from some in our church or from some in our family might be, “Eddy, there are plenty of people right here in Tampa that need to be reached, why don’t you stay right here and be missionaries to them.” I appreciate that they love us and don’t want us to leave; we can see that Jesus had the same situation in Luke 4. His response is our response, “I must preach the Good News of the kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.”

The Apostle Paul is our Biblical example of a cross-cultural missionary.

That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.” Acts 23:11

“I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God…” Acts 26:20

“…The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.” Colossians 1:23

“Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews.” Galatians 2:7

"My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else." Romans 15:20

"By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News." Ephesians 3:7

Application

Kathy and I will do all that we can to fulfill God’s call on our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You have called us and we want to be obedient. We don’t know how to do what You have called us to do so we must depend on You. You are our Mighty God. I pray for those who will partner with us to take the Gospel to those who have not heard about Jesus. Give us wisdom. Give us the resources. Give us people that will come along side of us to help us. I pray for our church that they would embrace the idea of reaching an unreached people and that they would commit to seeing that people group come to Christ. It is a huge task. We have a huge God! Thank You for answering my prayers. You are Worthy of Praise!

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A God Size Task! In 2012 Will You Do What God Has Put On Your Heart To Do?

2012-01-03T08:21:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 6; Genesis 7; Genesis 8; Luke 3

A God Size Task!

Scripture

Genesis 6

¹⁴ “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. ¹⁵ Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. ¹⁶ Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.

¹⁷ “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. ¹⁸ But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. ¹⁹ Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. ²⁰ Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”

Observation

The first thing that grabs my attention in the story of Noah and the ark was that out of all the people on the earth it was only Noah that found favor with God. Noah wasn’t sinless, but he desired to walk close to God. If God were to destroy everything on earth again by a flood, I know that He is not, but if He did would you be the person that God could pick to build the ark? Would you be the person that found favor with God? Would I? I hope that we would.

This was a God size task that God had given Noah. He was to build a boat that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. If God told me to that today it would be a huge project, but He gave the assignment to Noah who had no electrical tools, no shipyard and no previous training. It took Noah between 75-100 years to complete the task!

So here is the boat in Noah’s front yard and it is finally finished. God then tells Noah that he is to gather up all of these animals and get them into the ark and God tells him to make sure that he has brought onto the boat enough food for all of his family and for all of the animals! Wow! What an assignment!

God does the same thing today! He always gives us tasks that are too big for us to carry out on our own. You may have heard someone say, “I just can’t do this” as they are attempting to do something for God. The truth is God always puts on our hearts things that are too big for us to do by ourselves. God doesn’t intend for us to do them alone. He wants to help us and that is why He always gives us things that are too big for us or totally impossible for us to do alone.

What has God put on your heart to do? Have you put it on the back burner because it is just too big for you to do? The Apostle Paul knew the secret of success when he wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

Moses had to be reminded by God after God told him to rescue the Israelites that he wasn’t going to do it on his own.

¹ But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”

² Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

³ “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

God gave Moses a task that was way too big for Moses but He never intended for Moses to do it on his own.

We could go through the Bible and find example after example of where God gave people jobs that were just way too big for them to do: David, Elijah, Deborah, Samson, Joshua just to name a few!

So what has God asked you to do in 2012? Remember if God has asked you to do something then it will be something “God Size” and it will not be something that you can do on your own. If you and I can do it on our own then we can get the glory, but if we have to depend upon God then He will be the one that is glorified and He will be the one that gets the credit.

Application

God has put on my heart a God Size task for 2012 and with God’s help I plan to do it! How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, as we think about the year ahead of us I have no idea how we are going to accomplish what You have put on our hearts to do. But I know that, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Help me to walk close to You. Help me to depend on You and depend on Your strength and not depend on my own. Help us to be able to finish the task You have given us. Thank You for the examples that You have placed in Your Word that show us what we can accomplish when we depend on You.

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Opposition Shouldn’t Surprise Us!

2012-01-02T07:50:00.005-05:00

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Genesis 3; Genesis 4; Genesis 5; Luke 2

Opposition Shouldn’t Surprise Us!

Scripture

Luke 2

³³ Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. ³⁵ As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Matthew 10

³³ But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

³⁴ “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵ ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
      a daughter against her mother,
   and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
      ³⁶ Your enemies will be right in your own household!’

³⁷ “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. ³⁸ If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.

Observation

I hear Christians all the time in our country complaining that the Federal government or our public school systems, or even our local governments don’t allow Christians to do this or that. I agree that it is very aggravating that we are persecuted in the land of the “free” but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to us. Every time I hear that a school board will not let Christians do this or a local government won’t let Christians do that I think of what Jesus said in Matthew 10. And Simeon in Luke 2 said the same thing as he prophesied about the Christ child. “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. ³⁵ As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.”

When we share Christ in other countries we expect to experience opposition. We don’t expect equal treatment from anyone just because we are Christians. It should not surprise us then when we encounter opposition here in the USA either. I believe that in the future our country will become more and more hostile to the message of Christ. Persecution will only increase for all of us that call ourselves Christ followers. Opposition should only encourage us more to live out our faith and boldly witness to everyone that we can while we can.

Don’t get me wrong it is perfectly OK to fight local governments and the local school boards to put Christ back in our schools etc. If that is something that God has called you to do then knock yourself out, I am just saying lets put the same amount of effort and sacrifice into sharing our faith with the community around us.

Jesus, Jesus, there is just something about that Name!

Application

I will share my faith this year with everyone I can. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, opposition shouldn’t surprise us since it was opposition that nailed Your Son to the cross. Help us to share our faith with more people this year. Give us boldness. Give us the ability to share our faith clearly so people can understand and accept the Jesus that we proclaim. As we go to other countries even the most difficult countries we know that You have prepared people already in those countries to accept the Gospel message all we have to do is share the Gospel enough to be able to find them.

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Need a Verse To Claim in 2012 … How About Luke 1:37

2012-01-01T08:26:00.000-05:00

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Genesis 1; Genesis 2; Luke 1

Need a Verse To Claim in 2012 … How About Luke 1:37

Read more to find out why…

Scripture

Luke 1

³⁷ For nothing is impossible with God.

Observation

Did you take time to read Genesis chapter one and two and Luke chapter one this morning? If you did you might have noticed that the word “nothing” has a huge significance in both books.

In Genesis chapter one and two we have God creating this world and all of creation out of “nothing”. You and I might be able to create something and it might even be something very beautiful but I guarantee you that we didn’t make it out of “nothing”.

I noticed something else very interesting I don’t know if you have ever seen this or not, but in Genesis 1:14-18 the writer says that God created the Sun and the Moon and the stars and He did it just to light the earth! The universe is so big and yet all of it was created for the benefit of our tiny planet. The earth is the focus of the entire universe and God did it just for you and me. Amazing!

For 2012 I think Luke 1:37 should be a verse that we all memorize. I think that we should write it down and put the verse all over the house, we should probably put a copy in our car, and how about at our office too. I don’t know what we are going to face in 2012 but I am sure that some of those things that we are going to encounter are going to slap us against the wall called “impossible”.

God created this universe out of “nothing” just for you and me. He has told us that with Him “nothing” is impossible!

I think this is a very good word from God to start out this New Year! Don’t You?

Application

I will trust God to do the “impossible” in my life this year! How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are the God that can take and create an entire universe out of “nothing” surely You can take care of me! Help me bring You honor and glory in 2012. Help my life count for You!

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Genesis – Revelation … The Never Ending Story!

2011-12-31T07:57:00.000-05:00

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Revelation 19; Revelation 20; Revelation 21; Revelation 22

Genesis – Revelation … The Never Ending Story!

Would You Make a Commitment to Read the Bible Through in 2012?

Scripture

Revelation 21

³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
⁵ And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End.

Observation

Have you had a rough year? Do you wonder how your life is going to end up? Are you facing impossible situations right now? Well, if you answered “yes” to any of those questions then I would very much encourage you to read Revelation 19-20!

Sometimes life has a way of dragging us down and we somehow forget how all of this is going to end. So it is good to be reminded that if you are a Christ follower, someone that has put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, that your story is going to end up very good!

This past year in January I started reading in the first book of the Bible, Genesis and today on December 31^st I finished the last book of the Bible, Revelation! And I can tell you that this truly is a “Never Ending Story”! I can also tell you that God wants you and I to know that we are on the winning team. Every event, every story, every character found in God’s Word has been put their by God to show us that we can trust Him. He is faithful! He will keep His promises!

In Genesis, the story is all about a place called Paradise and in Revelation the story is all about a place called Heaven. Adam sinned and was cast out of Paradise. The rest of the Bible is all about a Loving God who makes a way for all of us to be restored to the Paradise called Heaven.

The Bible is a love story. As you read it you can’t help but see how much God loves those He created. How much He loves you! How much He loves me!

Have you ever read the Bible through in a year? Since 2006 I have been reading the Bible through every year and taking the time to write about something that God showed me that day from His Word. If you look on my blog you can see that I wasn’t perfect when it came to writing something down everyday. But this habit has helped me have the desire to get up every morning and dive into God’s word! I am going to do the same thing next year and the next year and every year until the day I die. You can look and see where I go to read every day. I use my computer to read my Bible daily reading and I use a blog to write down my thoughts. It is 2 links that are book marked in my favorites and all it takes is one click and I am there ready to read. You can do it too! All you have to do is make the commitment and ask God to help you keep it.

You may not want to use your computer and if you don’t then let me suggest that you try a Chronological Bible and have a journal or a notebook close by with a pen to write down your thoughts about what you have just read. Writing something down each day helps you to remember what you have read.

Before I began using my computer to read the Bible through each year I used a Chronological Bible that gives you a Bible reading for each day.

If you do make the commitment to read the Bible through in 2012 why don’t you let me know and I will commit to praying for you!

Application

I will read the Bible through again in 2012. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. It has been a great year digging into all of Your Promises. You have showed me this year that You love to answer our prayers. You have showed me that You love to keep Your promises. Thank You for being so good to my family and me this year! Thank You for blessing our church in unbelievable ways this past year. I pray for our lead team. Bless them. Help them be men and women of Your Word. Help them to be strong! Keep them from sin. Protect them from the Evil One.

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

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Pay Day Some Day! You Don’t Really Want To Get What You Deserve!

2011-12-30T07:23:00.000-05:00

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Revelation 15; Revelation 16; Revelation 17; Revelation 18

Pay Day Some Day! You Don’t Really Want To Get What You Deserve!

Scripture

Revelation 16 “The Seven Bowls of the Seven Plagues”

I. ² “…malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue.”

II. ³ Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died.

III. ⁴ Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they became blood.

IV. ⁸ Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire. ⁹ Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues.

V. ¹⁰ Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish, ¹¹ and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores.

VI. ¹² Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance.

VII. ¹⁸ Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth.²⁰ And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled. ²¹ There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.

Observation

Sometimes we may think that because God is a God of love that He really wouldn’t destroy this earth like the Bible says or that He really isn’t going to send people to Hell, but the truth is that God is totally just and He must keep His word.

Just as He has told us in scripture that those who put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ won’t get the punishment that they deserve because Jesus paid the penalty of their sins with His very own blood God will keep His word and punish those that decide to reject Him.

Revelation gives a horrible picture of how bad it is going to be during those final days of judgment. What is unbelievable to me is that even though the plagues were terrible and obviously from God the people refused to repent and they cursed God with every plague.

Out of all the plagues that God is going to send on the earth the one that really got my attention was the hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds falling from the sky onto the people below. Of course that is not as bad as the malignant sores that broke out on everyone or the plague where everything in the sea died! God will bring judgment on this earth. He has to do so because He is totally just!

Application

I will continue to look for people that need to hear the Good News that Jesus can save them from their sins and that they don’t have to receive God’s severe judgment.

"I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. John 5:24

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for providing a way for us to escape receiving the punishment that we deserve. Thank You for sending Jesus to die in our place and to pay for our sins with His very life. The punishment described in Revelation is terrible and I am so glad that I don’t have to experience Your Wrath. You are my Heavenly Father and all that I will experience is Your Blessings and none of Your Wrath.

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Death Of A Saint – What An Example!

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

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Revelation 10; Revelation 11; Revelation 12; Revelation 13; Revelation 14

Death Of A Saint – What An Example!

Scripture

Revelation 14

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

Observation

In just a few minutes I will be attending the funeral of a Brother in Law’s mother. It is good to read verses like this just to help us realize that death may seem like the end but with God it is just the beginning. She was a saint in the best sense of the word. She loved the Lord with all her heart and she didn’t have any doubt where she was going to spend eternity. I loved to talk to her and with her husband when I got the opportunity because it was always a conversation about what the Lord was doing in our lives and in the lives of other people. They supported an evangelist and they would always tell me about how his ministry was going even though I had never met him. They were very proud of him.

She talked with me about a year ago about her funeral. She was preparing even then for her departure. Today she is celebrating with her husband in Heaven and with all of her other loved ones. She was and still is an incredible lady.

Here are a few passages of scripture that describe her and I hope that would describe you and me when we get ready to die. By the way, I found out the hard way that many times a person doesn’t have time to get ready to die. A heart attack, stroke, or tragic accident could happen to us at any time so you better get ready to die right now! I just went through having a heart attack, dying several times and trust me there was no time to get ready for that experience it hit me in an instance without any advanced warning. Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord? If you are a believer are you holding grudges against someone and unwilling to forgive them because of a wrong that they have done to you? Get that right today!

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14

“O Lord, you alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O Lord, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother's womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long. And now, in my old age, don't set me aside. Don't abandon me when my strength is failing.

O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I have constantly told others about the wonderful things you do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me. Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God”? Psalm 71:5-9; 17-19

Application

I plan to always be ready to be called home to Heaven.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You love us so much and we don’t deserve any of Your love. You take care of us when we are coming into this world and You take care of us when it is our time to exit this world and go to the place that You have prepared for us – Heaven! Help me always be ready to meet You face to face. Don’t let me hold any grudges. Don’t let allow me to harbor ill feelings toward someone else. Help me to be right with You and right with all of those around me. Give me the ability to forgive. Give me the ability to love people even when they do me wrong. There is nothing more important than my relationship with You and my relationships with those around me. Who can compare with You, O God?

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Every Tribe and Language and People and Nation Will Surround The Throne!

2011-12-28T08:54:00.004-05:00

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Revelation 5; Revelation 6; Revelation 7; Revelation 8; Revelation 9

Every Tribe and Language and People and Nation Will Surround The Throne!

Will You Help Us Reach an Unreached Unengaged People Group in 2012?

Scripture

Revelation 5

⁹ And they sang a new song with these words:
   “You are worthy to take the scroll
      and break its seals and open it.
   For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
      from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Revelation 7

⁹ After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were shouting with a mighty shout,

   “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
      and from the Lamb!”
¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. ¹² They sang,
   “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
      and thanksgiving and honor
   and power and strength belong to our God
      forever and ever! Amen.”

Observation

The Saturday before my heart attack Kathy and I had just returned from an International Mission Board Expo Conference where we had decided to serve in India to reach an unreached unengaged people group. The following Monday I had my heart attack.

So what do you do when you know that God has called you to do something but an obstacle gets in the way? Do you just forget about God’s call because now it might be a little more difficult or a little more complicated to answer that call? I don’t think so.

Kathy and I will still target and unreached unengaged people group and hopefully that people group will be in India. If God doesn’t open the door for India then there are plenty of unreached people groups scattered all over this planet that need to hear the Good News.

We will have to raise our own support. We were going to have to do that anyway going out with the International Mission Board under the Master’s program. Raising support will be a challenge for us, but I am confident that our God will supply our needs to be able to serve Him. We have a great church and I know that they will help us all that they can.

One day when we stand around the Throne of God in a crowd too great to count, with folks from “every nation and tribe and people and language” wouldn’t it be great if you and I were the reason that some of them had the opportunity to be in Heaven.

“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Romans 10:14-15

Please pray for us!

Application

I will do everything that I can to help an unreached unengaged people group hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that people who haven’t had the opportunity to hear the Good News are the people most on Your heart. I know that one day every nation and tribe and people and language will stand around Your Throne to worship You. I pray that those that read this blog this morning will be moved by Your Holy Spirit to join us in accomplishing this task.

I pray for people that will lead our church and other churches to join us. I pray for people that will organize a team(s) that will go over with us to build relationships with these unreached people and help them to know our Savior. I pray for the people who will financially support us and for people that will commit to pray for our unreached people group.

“And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9

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What Is Your Picture Of Jesus?

2011-12-27T04:25:00.000-05:00

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Revelation 1; Revelation 2; Revelation 3; Revelation 4

What Is Your Picture Of Jesus?

Scripture

Revelation 1

⁷ Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
      And everyone will see him—
      even those who pierced him.
   And all the nations of the world
      will mourn for him.
   Yes! Amen!

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

¹² When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. ¹³ And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. ¹⁴ His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.

Revelation 4

¹¹ “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
      to receive glory and honor and power.
   For you created all things,
      and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

Revelation 19

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. ¹² His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. ¹³ He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. ¹⁵ From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. ¹⁶ On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

Observation

When you think of Jesus what image comes to your mind…a babe in the manger…a gentle, meek teacher? As we read the Gospels we see and experience the humanity of Christ. I am not saying that we don’t see His Deity too, but we definitely see the man Christ Jesus Who allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross for our sins.

What does the ascended Jesus look like? After He went back to Heaven to sit on the throne next to His Heavenly Father what did He look like? When He comes back again to this earth what will He look like? Will He look different than when He walked on this earth with His disciples? Oh yes, He definitely will look different.

We will see the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords in all of His Splendor and all of His Glory. He will come as Victor just look at Revelation 19:11-16. This is the Jesus that is praying for us.

This is the Jesus that has promised us:

John 14

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. ² There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? ³ When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

John 16

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Hebrews 7

²⁴ But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. ²⁵ Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

Application

When I pray I am praying to the Jesus described in Revelation 19 I am praying to the One named Faithful and True, King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I can come boldly to Your throne this morning because of Jesus. Help me to keep in my mind the picture of Jesus that I find in Revelation. I pray for those who I haven’t seen at church lately. I have already mentioned them to You by name. I pray that You do a Mighty work in their lives and bring them back into fellowship with us.

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

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Stopped Dead In My Tracks This Morning by Three Words: Grace, Mercy and Peace

2011-12-26T08:38:00.000-05:00

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Psalm 117; Psalm 119:81-176; 2 John 1; 3 John 1

Stopped Dead In My Tracks This Morning by Three Words: Grace, Mercy and Peace

Scripture

2 John 1

³ Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.

Observation

Maybe you are like me and most mornings when I read God’s word if I come to something I don’t understand then I just skim over it and keep on reading. Yes, there is plenty in God’s Word that I do not understand. But this morning I couldn’t do it. When I got to 2 John 1:3 I stopped and I had to think and meditate on the three words that John had written. When I finished reading the rest of my daily Bible reading my thoughts were still on those 3 words.

I found that Paul used those same three words when he wrote to
Timothy in his letters, I Timothy and 2 Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:2b

“…May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.”

2 Timothy 1:2b

“…May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.”

It seemed so natural for John and Paul to use those terms and the people must have been very familiar with them.

In 2 John 1:3 John uses these terms almost as a statement of facts, as a gentle reminder of what we have received from our Heavenly Father and what we have received from the Lord Jesus Christ. But in First and Second Timothy the Apostle Paul’s uses these words as a blessing.

All three of these words are used over and over again throughout the scriptures and yet they are not normally part of our vocabulary today. When was the last time you blessed someone by saying, “May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.” I doubt that you and I have ever greeted someone with that kind of blessing, but evidently this was very common in the life of the early church.

Here is a quick definition of the three words in an Eddy paraphrase:

Grace – We are sinners and deserve to go to Hell, but because Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross in our place, and rose again, if we put our trust and faith in Him then we will not get what we deserve we will not go to Hell but instead we will get to enjoy Heaven. We don’t deserve to have a relationship with God we don’t deserve to be adopted into His family as children, but because of what Jesus did for us we are Kings Kids.

Mercy – The story of the Good Samaritan probably best explains this word to us. The Good Samaritan stopped and helped the man that was left on the side of the road and was close to death. The Good Samaritan doctored and bandaged up his wounds then he carried him to an inn. Then he told the innkeeper that whatever expenses the innkeeper incurred that he would repay him when he returned. God loves us so much that He gives us things that we don’t deserve.

Peace – This is not the absence of troubles, trials, or difficulties, but rather Peace is the assurance in the middle of a mess that God is in control and that God is Sovereign. During these past 2 months after my heart attack I have had the peace of knowing that my God is Sovereign and that He is in control. Because of His Mercy and His Grace that I have experienced in my life I have the Peace of knowing that whatever happens in my future He is in control of it.

Application

I will meditate on these three words today: Grace, Mercy, and Peace!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, those three words describe how much you love us! You don’t give us what we deserve – Hell. And you give us so much that we don’t deserve. You lavish Your love on us. You bless us with so much. We are rich. And in the middle of tremendous troubles You give us the Peace of knowing that You are right there with us and You give us the assurance that You are going to handle the situation. I thank You that You are a God of Grace, Mercy, and Peace.

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We’re Called Children of God

2011-12-25T10:23:00.003-05:00

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1 John 1; 1 John 2; 1 John 3; 1 John 4; 1 John 5

We’re Called Children of God

Scripture

1 John 3

¹ See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. ² Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. NLT

1 John 3

¹ What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.

^2-3But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. MESSAGE

Observation

Merry Christmas! This is the day we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. God sent His only Son to come to this earth to save us from our sins!

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if you had been born a child of a King? To be raised as royalty and having anything that your heart desired. Remember Moses had that opportunity only it was not a king but a Pharaoh. Solomon also had that opportunity; in fact, when he became king he became the richest man to ever live.

You and I (if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ) are children of the King. We are not just children of any king; no we are children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
As you open up presents on this Christmas morning, as you stare at your Christmas tree with all the lights and ornaments, and as you enjoy this special time with your children, grandchildren, family and friends, remember that the first Christmas happened because of God’s marvelous love that He has lavished on you.

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! 1 John 3:1

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

“And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory...” Romans 8:17a

“…We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” Romans 8:23

“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.” Ephesians 5:1

As you watch or watched your children and grandchildren open their presents who got the greatest joy – you or them? As our grandchildren ripped open their presents I guarantee you that Grandpa and Grandma experienced way more joy than any of our children or grandchildren. To see their faces full of joy and excitement was priceless. You and I are most like God when we give gifts to others. God loves to shower us with blessings/gifts.

We have a God who loves to lavish gifts on His children even when we don’t deserve them.

Application

I will strive to be a better gift giver in 2012. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for your Indescribable Gift – Jesus. Thank You for Your marvelous love. I don’t deserve it. You are so good. Help me to be like You and help me give myself away. Help me to be like You when it comes to gift giving. Keep me focused on those around me and not on myself. Thank You for my family. Thank You for giving me another Christmas to celebrate with them. Thank You for life. Thank You for sending Your only Son into this world to save us from our sins!

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The Whole Story About Christmas

2011-12-24T07:49:00.000-05:00

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John 19; John 20; John 21

The Whole Story About Christmas

Scripture

Luke 2 – His Birth

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. ⁷ She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

The Shepherds and Angels

⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

¹⁵ When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
¹⁶ They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. ¹⁷ After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, ¹⁹ but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. ²⁰ The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

John 19 – His Death

So they took Jesus away. ¹⁷ Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them.

³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. ³³ But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. ³⁴ One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

He brought seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. ⁴⁰ Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. ⁴¹ The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. ⁴² And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

John 20 – His Resurrection

⁸ Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—⁹ for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then they went home.

Observation

Tomorrow is Christmas! It is the day when millions will celebrate the birthday of the Christ Child. Sad but true, most of those who will celebrate tomorrow will not know and will not understand the whole story about Christmas. The birth of the Messiah is so much more than a quaint little story that most will think about on Christmas morning.

I agree that it is a beautiful story. The description of His birth that we find in Luke 2 is something that I never get tired of reading about or hearing songs about, but that is just the beginning of the story. Most people on this planet will get no further in the story than what we read in Luke 2 and for many the legend of Santa Claus and the birth of the Christ Child have about the same significance on Christmas morning.

If you and I only know about the birth of the Christ Child then we only know a small part of the Christmas story. Jesus did come to this earth from God. And yes He was born in a manger. But he came to this earth for a specific purpose and if you don’t understand why He came then you can’t understand the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus came to this earth to do something for us that we could not do for ourselves. He came to die for the penalty of our sins. He came to provide a way for us to have a relationship with His Heavenly Father. So Christ was born, He lived a sinless life, and then He allowed Himself to be put on a cross and He died a horrible death so that we might live forever with God in Heaven.

Jesus’ birth and Jesus death on the cross are still not the whole story of Christmas! In John 20 we discover that Jesus came back to life. The story of the Christ Child is not complete without his birth, his death, and his resurrection.

So as I stare at our Christmas tree this morning from my recliner across the room I can contemplate the true meaning of Christmas. I can think about the whole Christmas story. And I hope that you can too.

Application

I will take time today to thank Jesus for coming to this earth, for dying on the cross for my sins and for His coming back to life!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help people understand the true meaning of Christmas this year. Use our Christmas Eve services to help them understand that the Christmas story is more that just a babe in the manger. Help them to see and understand and accept the “Whole Christmas Story.”

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A Very Important Lesson From A Christmas Tree!

2011-12-23T09:14:00.000-05:00

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John 15; John 16; John 17; John 18

A Very Important Lesson From A Christmas Tree!

Scripture

John 15

⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

Observation

When Kathy and I decided to answer God’s call on our life, I had been working heavy construction and I was at that time making a lot of money for a young guy. But to be able to go to college I had quit working construction and Dr. Waylon B. Moore (Pastor Bruce Moore’s Dad) created a staff position at the church for me, my title was “Associate to Ministries”. The title gives you a clue as to what my job was my job was helping everybody on staff with their ministries. I went from making $400 a week to making $75 a week. This was probably in 1974. My father in law, Clayton Bearden was very upset about my leaving the good paying construction job and going to work for the church part time. He told me that I was going to starve his daughter to death. A few years later my father in law got saved and he understood why we had done what we did and he would send us love gifts while we were in seminary in Ft. Worth.

It was during this season of our life that we learned a very important lesson about Christmas trees. It was Christmas and we hadn’t bought a Christmas tree yet. I don’t think we had money to buy a tree. So some good friends of ours offered their tree to us. They were going to go away during Christmas and they weren’t going to be able to enjoy it. I can remember that we brought the tree over and we set it up. We were very happy to have a free Christmas tree. I don’t know if it was the next morning or a day or two later that Kathy somehow knocked the tree over and when she picked it back up all the needles from the tree stayed on the floor. A Christmas tree without the needles is worse than a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

In John 15 Jesus refers to Himself as the Vine, and He calls those that believe in Him the branches. He says that as long as we remain attached to Him we will bear much fruit, but apart from Him we can do nothing. Apart from Him we are like the needles that fell off of our Christmas tree. We are worthless.

But if we remain in Him and His words remain in us, we can ask for anything that we want and it will be given to us. We will produce a lot of fruit and we will bring great glory to the Father.

Application

I will stay close to Jesus so my life will be fruitful. I will read His word every day. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, my thoughts went back to those days when You first called Kathy and I to serve You. How You blessed us, as we trusted in You. It seemed crazy to do what we did but it was exactly what You wanted us to do. Help Kathy and I to stay close to You so that our lives will be fruitful. We want to bring You glory. I pray for our children and our grand children that as we celebrate Christmas tonight with them that each one of them would understand the true meaning of Christmas. I pray for our Christmas Eve services. I pray that Your hand would be on our church in such a way that hundreds of people would be drawn to a personal relationship with You. I pray that on Christmas Eve people would put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ.

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DoYou Believe This?

2011-12-22T09:28:00.000-05:00

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John 12; John 13; John 14

Do You Believe This?

Scripture

John 14

¹² “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. ¹³ You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴ Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

Observation

Jesus wants to be sure that you and I understand that what He is getting ready to say in John 14:12-13 is the truth. So He prefaces what He is getting ready to say with, “I tell you the truth.” Now what He says next is not really believed by us or at least we don’t put what He says into practice very often.

I believe that verses 12 –14 of John 14 are just as much for us today as they were for His disciples back when they walked with Him.

So lets look at what He says next; “anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works.” So lets get personal. The phrase “anyone who believes in me” is talking about you and is talking about me if we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says that you and I will not only be able to do the same works that Jesus did but you and I will be able to do even greater works.

So why aren’t we applying this verse? Do you think that Jesus is a liar? Do you think Jesus wasn’t telling the truth? What if we really believed that what Jesus said was the truth? What if we acted on these verses and trusted God to do mighty works through us?

Here is the key, it is found in verse 13, “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” When we pray we can ask anything in Jesus name and He will do it if it brings glory to the Father.

As I pray and intercede for people I always try to ask that God would get he glory and honor from answering my request. God wants to answer our prayers. He wants us to do mighty works on this earth, but He wants to receive the glory. He wants to receive the credit!

So do you believe that you can do the works that Jesus did while He was on this earth and even do greater works than Christ did? Jesus says that we can. What keeps us from seeing this happen in our lives? Could it be Unbelief? Could it be a lack of faith? What else could it be?

In John 16:23-24 Jesus tells his disciples that after the Holy Spirit has come and after the Holy Spirit lives in them that they can directly to the Father and ask Him because they use Jesus’ name. We have the Holy Spirit living in us today. We can go directly to our Heavenly Father and He will grant us our requests because we ask in the Name of Jesus.

John 16:23-24

²³ At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. ²⁴ You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

Application

I believe what Jesus says in John 14:12-14 and so I will pray asking God to do great things for the people that He brings into my life so that He can receive Glory and Honor.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me believe what You have said to me this morning in John 14:12-14. Give me the boldness to come directly to Your throne and ask of You big things. I pray that I would have the faith to ask You to do the miraculous in the lives of the people around me. Do it all for Your glory and Your honor. Thank You Jesus for giving us access to the Father through Your death on the cross. Help our church believe You for big things. I pray that Your Holy Spirit would move the core of our church to do great and mighty things in 2012.

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How Does Jesus Feel About You?

2011-12-21T07:50:00.001-05:00

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John 9; John 10; John 11

How Does Jesus Feel About You?

Scripture

John 11

²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. ²⁶ Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

Observation

This has got to be one of my all time favorite stories in the entire Bible! I have shared this story at almost every funeral that I have ever done. I almost always work it in either as an illustration or as the main text. I can’t believe that after someone reads John 10 and John 11 they wouldn’t put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Take time to read both of these chapters today.

In John 10 Jesus talks about how much He loves His sheep. How He is the Good Shepherd that lays His life down for His sheep and in John 11 Jesus shows how much He loves His sheep. As you read John 11 you can feel how much Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Read these verses slowly and see if you don’t pick up the love and the grief that Jesus had for them:

“When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.” ³⁴ “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Then Jesus wept.

The way that Jesus felt about Martha, Mary, and Lazarus is just the way He thinks and feels about me. And if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ it is just the way He thinks and feels about you. Do you believe what Jesus says in John 11:25? Let me put my name in this verse! I would encourage you to do the same thing!

²⁵ Jesus told Eddy, “I am the resurrection and the life. Eddy if you believe in me then you will live, even after dying. ²⁶ Eddy who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this?”

How did Jesus feel about me when I was I suffering my heart attack? How did He feel about me as I was hanging on to life by a thread? How did He feel as He heard people crying out to Him for Him to save me? I can tell You exactly how He felt. Just read John 11:33-35 and see if you can discover how Jesus feels about you.

“When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.” “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. John 11:33-35

Application

I know how Jesus feels about me and how much He cares about me so I will not be afraid of what happens in the future.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me the compassion that Jesus had for those that loved Him. Help me to feel and help me to be deeply moved and troubled when people around me are going through difficult times. Give me Your heart for people.

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Have you found something in life that you are willing to die for?

2011-12-20T07:03:00.000-05:00

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John 7; John 8

Have you found something in life that you are willing to die for?

Scripture

John 8

¹² Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

⁵¹ I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”

Observation

On October 24^th at around 10 pm in the evening I was struck with a pain so excruciating I thought that I had been hit with a sledgehammer in my stomach. In that same moment all I could see was an intense bright light and as I remember it was sort of bright green. At that same moment the Lord let me know that I was having a heart attack. I immediately thought of my wife Kathy and God gave me a peace that she would be fine. I then thought of my kids and my grandkids and God gave me the same peace about them. I remember thinking OK Lord here we go. I think in that moment I believed that God was taking me home. I remember I was at peace with what ever was going to happen.

My life verse is Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify the Father which is in Heaven.

Some have asked me if God allowed me to glimpse into Heaven when I quit breathing and they had to resuscitate me multiple times. I am sad to say that as far as I can remember the answer to that question is “no”. The only bright light that I remember was at the moment of my heart attack. It could have been God’s glory, but it wasn’t a peek into Heaven.

As I started waking up after being unconscious for over a week I remember my brother Rick asking me to quote Matthew 5:16. He said that most of what I was saying didn’t make any sense and the doctors were afraid that I had suffered brain damage because of having quit breathing so many times. So he asked me to quote Matthew 5:16 and when I repeated the verse back to him he told me later that he knew I was OK.

I remember hearing the sirens and the Paramedics talking to me. They kept telling me to stay with them. I remember thinking to myself or maybe I even said to them I can’t stay with you I am going out! I remember being in the ambulance and I remember the doors at the emergency room bursting open and I remember very bright lights in the ER and I remember seeing Kathy one last time. During this entire time I never once was afraid. I was not afraid of dying. In fact, I thought I was dying. God had given me a peace that my family would be OK so there was not any reason for me to worry.

The reason I was able to have that kind of peace was because I knew that I was not ever going to really die. I knew that if the Lord allowed me to die I knew that I would live forever. Just as Jesus says in John 8:51, ^“I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”

One day I know that I will die. It may be because my heart never recovers completely and I have another heart attack. Who knows? One thing I do know for sure I know that I will die again. And the next time I die I will stand in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This may sound morbid to you, but it is the truth. When I die I want to die serving the Lord in some other country, sharing the Good News about Jesus to people that have never had the opportunity to hear about Him. I want my life to count for Him until the moment He calls me home.

How about you? Have you found something in life that you are willing to die for?

Application

I will go overseas this year and take the Gospel to those who have not had the opportunity to hear about Jesus.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing me a little more time on this earth. It is good to be able to enjoy my family. I know that You allowed me to remain here for a reason. Thank You for answering the prayers of so many and allowing me to come back to life. Help me take advantage of every moment that I have here on this earth. I pray for Dick Whittleton this morning. I pray that you restore him to health. I pray that You give the doctors all the wisdom that they need to be able to treat him. You are the Healer. You are the Great Physician. Nothing is too hard for You .

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