God wants you all in...

Whether you played baseball as a kid or you just think back to the game of chase, we all remember the concept of having one foot on base and the other foot leading off ready to run. Even though we know why we did that then, I can't help but compare that picture to our life at times. How many times do we find ourselves with one foot in the world and one foot in your commitment to God. We have such a hard time being loyal to one thing. And which foot are you leading off with? Are you keeping one foot in the world and trying to turn toward God, or are you still holding on with one foot in your Christian life and the other is leading off toward the world? Just waiting for a reason to go back....
But if we look at society as a whole, loyalty doesn't have near the importance that it used to. We are constantly bombarded with reasons to leave what we have and go get something better. If you shop at one store, you should stop and go to another because they have a better deal for you. If you have this, you should get that. If you drive this, you should be driving that. We, as a people, are not brand loyal, or loyal to a manufacture, like we used to be. And every new generation that comes along is grasping this concept more and more. Don't get me wrong, in the world of business, I guess competition and choices are good. But how much is it changing the way we think all together. I mean, if you aren't happy with your spouse, there are now web sites to help you have more choices there too. Really??? Should that be something we treat like our shopping experience? What happened to loyalty and commitment?
And now we take this concept and put it into our spiritual life.....a place where the choice should be easy, but we have a hard time committing.... or being loyal. Don't put God in the category of "something I will do until something better comes along". He wants your 100% loyalty and commitment. It is the only way he can work in your life. If you think you have tried, but have not seen the fruits of God in your life, then I challenge you to think of your commitment level and your loyalty. Are you standing there with one foot on base and the other leading off just waiting for the reason or opportunity to run the other way. If so, try something different...try standing firm with God.....and knowing that nothing can get you to budge. Not temptation....or the bad things that sometimes happen in life.....you are in through thick and thin. Then see what God can do with your life. And then maybe he can use you to change the lives of people around you.

Does God send people to hell?

This question has been in the media lately due to something a well known pastor has said. "Does God send people to hell?" Even though my post won't be known around the world, I felt compelled to write my thoughts on this. And my first thought is.... How can we blame God if we go to hell? The very thought that we would blame God almost angers me. The only person that can determine where you go is YOU. You decide where you want to spend eternity. God is the one who provided a way for us not the have to go to hell. But He will not force you into heaven, and He will not force you into hell. 

If you stood before a judge for a crime that you had committed and he said you are either going to prison for what you have done or you can confess your wrong doing, ask for forgiveness and do your very best to live a better life and stay out of prison....who's choice would that be? If you ended up in prison with a choice like that it would be your fault....you certainly couldn't blame the judge. So how dare we blame God if we end up in hell. He lovingly gave us the choice....now it is up to you to decide where you want to go. I think it is quite arrogant of the world to say "hey God, I know you sent Christ to die for our sins, and you asked us to confess and turn our lives over to Him in order to go to heaven.....but I think you should just let me live life the way I want and let me into heaven anyway". Kind of sound ridiculous when you say it out loud like that, but that is what we are saying when we "expect" God to allow us into heaven despite our own ways.  

If you want to get from the east coast to the west coast there are roads designed to get you there. But if you want to try to get there not using those roads, more power to you. But don't blame the people who designed the roads if you don't make it there. The choice is yours. There is one way to heaven.....if you want to try to find another because you don't agree with the Bible, well, God gave you that choice. But don't blame Him if you don't make it there.

God's love covers all. Let it cover you so there is no question where you will spend eternity.

20 years later...

In 1991 I preached my last message. Not because God was done with me, but because I started running from him in shame. I was 15 when I new that God was calling me in to the ministry and between the ages of 15 and 17 I had preached 7 different times. If you would have asked me at that time, I would have said I was going to be in full time ministry for the rest of my life......Then I allowed satan to open doors in my life and I allowed sin to come between God and me. I then spent the next 15 years of my life running in shame. But God never gave up on me...,,,,,and around the age of 31 I finally got my life straight with God again. He always watched over me and protected me during those years and He waited patiently for me, For that I will forever be thankful!!
So today.... some 20 years later, I stood before a group of people and spoke the word of God again. It was such an amazing feeling to be doing the Lord's work again. I felt like He gave me the words to deliver to the youth today and I just pray those words impacted at least one teen in that room.
Thank you God for your calling 20 years ago. Thank you for showing me the meaning of forgiveness and restoration. Thank you for using my life to show that it is never to late to come back to something that God has called you to. I want to be a vessel that You can use. I want to be Your servant. I praise Your name Jesus and I pray that this is the beginning of new journey that will last way past the next 20 years of my life.

Give Me Your Eyes...

Yesterday's post has put this song on my mind....It is called Give Me Your Eyes and it's by Brandon Heath. I would like to make the words to this song my daily prayer.
If you haven't heard this song yet I encourage you to find it and listen to it.....This is the chorus.

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Impact the world around you...

So how do we impact the world around us. Well if we follow the example that Christ showed us, then we have to ask God daily to help us not be like the rest of the world. When we don't act, or react, like those around us it tends to get them to ask questions. And questions open doors...... The most amazing thing about the way Christ was, is that people were drawn to him. I pray I can have that impact on people in my life. That they might notice a difference in me that makes them ask me...why? Why do you not curse when your mad....Why do you treat everyone with kindness....Why do you give of yourself..... I wish I could say I do this without fail, but I consider my life a work in progress and I am glad I serve a Lord that does not give up on me. Let your daily prayer be to ask God to use you. To mold you into whatever it takes to impact the world. So many people are impacting the world in a way that does not glorify God.....Use me God to make a difference somewhere for YOU. If we could all pray this prayer then we might be able to forget about ourselves long enough to help someone around us.

Through the eyes of the world...

I was saved at a young age, but that doesn't mean I haven't messed up through the years of my life. However, I don't know the feeling of never "knowing" God. So I was wondering what a Christian looks like through the eyes of the world. I was actually thinking about what I hope a Christian doesn't look like.
I hope a Christian doesn't look like they are better than everyone else...instead, I hope they look like a servant. I hope they don't look like they're more perfect than everyone else....instead, I hope they look like they are humble and forgiven. I hope they don't look like they have their "nose in the air"......instead, I hope they look like they are in search of someone to help. I hope Christians don't look like they don't need anyone....instead, I hope they look like they are always looking for someone to love.
All of these things are things I think of when I think about what Christ would have looked like....therefore it is what I long to look like to the world. Loving, kind, humble, serving, caring and generous.....these are the reasons I must die to my selfish ways each day and think about how Christ would want me to be. And without fail, at the end of each day, I must always say I am sorry to God for letting "myself" get in the way of how he wants me to be... again. And it is at the end of that day I have to thank God for forgiveness.
Let every Christian start they day with a prayer asking for help so that we can somehow look like Christ to the world today. If we just go around looking like our messed up selves...why would anyone ever want to get to know Jesus.

Who are you?

I think God wants each of us to look deep inside ourselves and find the things of value that He sees in us. He has a plan for the life of every person on this earth. He wants you to know your own self worth so he can use you. Once we realize what we mean in the eyes of God, we can then realize what others mean and we stop judging them.

Yes, everyone is different, but different is not bad. That is the messed up view of the world….not God’s view. Seeing how different people are makes me think of a game of chess…if you think about the game of chess, there is no way you could play it if every piece on the board looked just alike. They all need to be different so they can be used for their purpose. God sees us just like that. We must all be different so God can use us for the purpose he has for us. Don’t deny God the ability to use you because you don’t like, or want to be, who you are.

Find your identity in God, not the world. The world will let you down every time. Your best friend is going to let you down….even your family is going to let you down at times. But God will never let you down when you let him guide you and discover who you are in him. No one else can tell you they created you, therefore no one else can give you an identity but God.

 Who are you?

To be like a child....

So I found out today that my son has had to stand up to some of his friends at school and say that he didn't want to take part in some of the things they thought were "funny". To be more exact he actually got up from the lunch table and not only walked away, but announced why he was leaving. I can't begin to tell you the since of pride I have in him for making such a decision. To take a stand because you know what is going on around is....well, just wrong!
As I thought about this I thought about how proud God must be of us as adults when we do this.....if we do this. That was the other thought that crossed my mind. How disappointed would I be if I found out that my son didn't stand up for what was right. And how disappointed God must be in us when we don't stand up for the right thing....or stand up for him. This will be on my mind the next time I am in a situation where my beliefs are being tested. I can only hope that I will have the nerve to be like my son, and no matter who is around, and declare that I am not going tolerate the behavior of the "world" any more. Not because I am better than everyone else, but because I am striving to be like the one who is better than us all. Jesus came to this world to be in the world, not like the world. He loved all, but that didn't mean that he didn't try to tell them when they were doing something wrong. And he certainly didn't partake in it. Let us all who claim the name of Christ try to be more like him.

Do we really give God the glory?

Ever notice when life is good we will give God the glory. Sports people will give God praise when they score or win the big game. But what happens when things don't go "our way"? Where is our thankful heart then? God loves for us to give him credit when he helps us. It is a great way for people to see God working in our life. But I think it can have an even bigger impact on people as a witness when we "stick by" God and love and praise him even in the hard time. And we all know life can dish out some hard times. Let's not be the ungreatful child to God. Thank him for life even if your not gettting everything you want or things aren't going the way we pictured them. Sometimes that is happening for our own good and we just can't see it yet. Remember, when things aren't good to our human eye, they could always be worse, and that is what we should truly be greatful for...He is always looking out for us. But again, like I said earlier, sometime life hurts and things are hard to understand. When that happens, thank him for being there WITH you. Because if we have the faith, he can and will carry us through whatever life brings our way.

Life with Christ is not about rules...

Over my years of being a Christian I have had many talks with people who think that a life for Christ is all about following rules and the first thing they think about is the Ten Commandments. I am always surprised at how many people think Christianity is all about a big list of do's and don'ts. But mainly don'ts. It also saddens me at how much they are missing it. Turning your life over to Christ is a very freeing feeling that does not all the sudden confine your life to a list of things you can not do. It frees your life of the things of this world that you no longer feel like you "have to" do to fit into the world. The Ten Commandments are certainly a guideline for how our lives should be. But to me they are the bare minimum. Because if the choice you have made to hand your life over to Christ is real, then it is not a "mind thing" it is a heart thing. And once you start living a life with God in your heart, your mind will follow. Therefore the "list of things you cannot do" are no longer an issue, because the desire to do them fades away. You start living a life that is pleasing in the eyes of God and not the eyes of man. And once you turn that corner, you then want to see others give their life to God, so you live differently so your life can be a witness to those around you. When you come that far in life and you look back at how you used to think and what you used to drive you, you then see how beautiful the choice you made really is.
Living a life that is pleasing to the world is really the one that keeps you trying so hard to keep up with "rules" so you can fit in. But once you give that up and you are free of all of that...that is real freedom. And that is the beauty of why Christ died for us. To free us as slaves to the world, allow us to be forgiven for our mistakes and show us true Grace from a heavenly father who gives us a love and forgiveness that we can't possibly deserve.

It's all about YOU....or is it?

The world today is a very "grey" world. You can fit into many things without being labeled as one particular thing. So people lose who they are, what they stand for and what they believe in...and everything in life become so watered down. It is easier to stand for nothing, believe in nothing and try to fit in everywhere you can. We call this being comfortable......
God does not want you to be "comfortable". He's challenging you to stand out as a Christian, and be different. Noticeably different!! That requires depth in your relationship with God. Time with God! It is much like anything else you do and want to be good at. You either study it or practice it, but you usually have to put forth some effort at what ever "IT" is if you want it to amount to anything. Think of your Christian life the same way. If it means something to you, then it has to be more than about going to church on Sunday. If I only saw my wife once a week and I only spent a couple of hours with her that day, how long do you think my marriage would last? How strong do you think our relationship would be? How well do you think we would know each other? And how many people who know me, would even know I was married? I wouldn't have to go around and announce I was single to get people to think it, I just wouldn't ever have to talk about my wife or being married. Then they would never know. Is this how we treat our relationship with Christ....we just don't mention it in front of others? Why? Are we afraid we won't "fit in" if people think we are a Christian? Just like a marriage is a committed relationship, so must our relationship be with God. Stand proudly for God and let other's see what work He is doing in your life. Each day should be more about him....and less about you.

Are we really what we need to be?

So God has called us to be light to the world....are we? If someone said to you that you need to "be Jesus" to the world, would you say you are trying? If you think about it, you might be the only Jesus that your unsaved friends, loved ones or even strangers ever see. Are you living up to that? Not that we don't ALL mess up from time to time, but do you walk through life trying to display the attitude, kindness, generosity and love of Christ. That's a lot to think about, but it is worth thinking about. If you live your life in the manner that God is the one you are supposed to be focused on, then you will not need to worry about what others are seeing out of your life. Let's try to go through life being a witness to others and not just "witnessing" what everyone else is doing.