Are things tight at your house? They are at mine, and getting tighter. This is such a hard time of year for the economy to be in a freeze as it is. . . Christmas is coming up & it makes things hard on everybody.
But you know what? I'm still thankful. . . thankful to have a wonderful, healthy family, a roof over our heads & food on the table. We may not have to much, but we have what we need. My house might not be fancy & big & people may not think it's much, but it is home to me & mine. I sit reflecting on what the Word says about tough times ahead, & I fear many Christians have bought into a bill of goods. Most T.V. preachers claim "money cometh" to the righteous, but I fear their error will be the undoing of many a Christian.
Cotton Mather, the 16th century Puritan minister once said "Religion begat prosperity, and the daughter devoured the mother;" how true a statement. Why bring this up? With the coming dark days ahead, I'm afraid many people have been sold a bill of goods & are not prepared. Many of today's preachers say that "Gods going to bring wealth to the righteous," but what is wealth? Websters list it as "abundant supply:" I have healthy children & a wife who love me unconditionally, parents, sisters, brothers, friends who love me, I AM WEALTHY! Better, than that, I have a God who loves me, & pours His loving kindness on me in more ways than I even know. God's Word tells us in Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." He will supply or need, not always our wants or to maintain our lifestyles.
Things might be getting tight, but God knows right where we are. He knows our need before we even ask Him; He knows what our rent or mortgage payments are, He knows how many mouths we need to feed, He knows these things before we even ask Him. We all need to learn to trust God again, who will never leave us hungry or in need. Things might be tight, but God knows how to take care of His own!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tis the season. . . .
I really hope folks remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas. The "giving & getting" so many times overshadows the true meaning. . . . I don't want talk of Santa & all that stuff to be the focus of Christmas to my kids. Logan reads his childrens bible all the time, & I plan on reading to him the account in the Gospels of Christs birth.
Not much of a blog today, but it was something I was thinking about. I know it is VERY cliche', but we really do need to remember the reason for the season. . . I know I will. God Bless!
Not much of a blog today, but it was something I was thinking about. I know it is VERY cliche', but we really do need to remember the reason for the season. . . I know I will. God Bless!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Sometimes, it is just hard. . . . .
Proverbs 3:5 & 6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
You know, sometimes this is hard to do. This is a portion of scripture I try to live by, day to day. But sometimes it is HARD. Trust is an issue for a lot of folks, & some would tell you that trusting God is easy, but I question whether they have truly been through much. God has brought me out of some tough times, always been faithful, & will continue to be faithful, even when I am faithless, but sometimes, trusting becomes hard to do.
Matthew Henry puts it this way: "By faith. We must repose an entire confidence in the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, assuring ourselves of the extent of his providence to all the creatures and all their actions. We must therefore trust in the Lord with all our hearts (v. 5); we must believe that he is able to do what he will, wise to do what is best, and good, according to his promise, to do what is best for us, if we love him, and serve him. We must, with an entire submission and satisfaction, depend upon him to perform all things for us, and not lean to our own understanding, as if we could, by any forecast of our own, without God, help ourselves, and bring our affairs to a good issue. Those who know themselves cannot but find their own understanding to be a broken reed, which, if they lean to, will certainly fail them. In all our conduct we must be diffident of our own judgment, and confident of God’s wisdom, power, and goodness, and therefore must follow Providence and not force it."
What else is there? I can't make it on my own. Maybe you can, but not me. I have no other choice but to trust totally in God. He knows my tomorrows better than I know my yesterdays; but man, it is still hard to do. But, no matter how hard it is, I still trust Him. Job said it this way, & I believe him; Job 13:15 -"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him." I believe I can say that I trust Him even that far. He knows me, knows what is best for me, & not just me, but my family.
I love the Lord too much not to trust Him. He has always come through, just when I needed Him most. All I know to do when times get tough is anchor myself to His Word, reflect on times past & know, His credit is good with me.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
You know, sometimes this is hard to do. This is a portion of scripture I try to live by, day to day. But sometimes it is HARD. Trust is an issue for a lot of folks, & some would tell you that trusting God is easy, but I question whether they have truly been through much. God has brought me out of some tough times, always been faithful, & will continue to be faithful, even when I am faithless, but sometimes, trusting becomes hard to do.
Matthew Henry puts it this way: "By faith. We must repose an entire confidence in the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, assuring ourselves of the extent of his providence to all the creatures and all their actions. We must therefore trust in the Lord with all our hearts (v. 5); we must believe that he is able to do what he will, wise to do what is best, and good, according to his promise, to do what is best for us, if we love him, and serve him. We must, with an entire submission and satisfaction, depend upon him to perform all things for us, and not lean to our own understanding, as if we could, by any forecast of our own, without God, help ourselves, and bring our affairs to a good issue. Those who know themselves cannot but find their own understanding to be a broken reed, which, if they lean to, will certainly fail them. In all our conduct we must be diffident of our own judgment, and confident of God’s wisdom, power, and goodness, and therefore must follow Providence and not force it."
What else is there? I can't make it on my own. Maybe you can, but not me. I have no other choice but to trust totally in God. He knows my tomorrows better than I know my yesterdays; but man, it is still hard to do. But, no matter how hard it is, I still trust Him. Job said it this way, & I believe him; Job 13:15 -"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him." I believe I can say that I trust Him even that far. He knows me, knows what is best for me, & not just me, but my family.
I love the Lord too much not to trust Him. He has always come through, just when I needed Him most. All I know to do when times get tough is anchor myself to His Word, reflect on times past & know, His credit is good with me.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Heaven
My wife bought me a book the other day that I am reading. . . called "90 minutes in Heaven." So far, it is an excellent read. . . I highly recommend it. I woke up this morning thinking about heaven, what it really means & what it will be like.
Thayers Lexicon had an interesting entry on heaven . . . . "to cover, or encompass." That last word caught my eye; our good friend Mr. Webster describes encompass as "to form a circle about - to go completely around. The thought of heaven should literally encompass our everyday thinking. I not sure about you, but I don't like this planet we live on. It's beautiful and all, but it is terribly flawed, the end result of sin. I'm tired of war, poverty, pain & suffering. I long for the fullness, the encompassing of heaven. Peace, love, & joy will permeate that great city; no aborted children, no suffering elderly, no more dying, no more tears. Oh how I long for no more tears, no more sorrow. I'm a weepy person anyhow, but sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night weeping & praying for my babies, thinking about the world they are growing up in. I long for heaven. . . .
The first part of August, Logan came into the bedroom crying & a wee bit disturbed. He asked me if he were to die. . . he's five BTW. . . if he were to die would he go to heaven. Now, I was about to give him the typical responce a parent would give, "Why, you would go to heaven son!" But before I opened my mouth, the Holy Spirit prompted me that this was an open door for me to share salvation with my darling baby boy. I opened the Bible & shared the "Roman Road" with him in a way his little mind would comprehend. Long story short, we prayed, he asked Jesus into his heart, said amen, looked at me & said "Thanks dad, I feel much better!" He went to bed & went sound asleep, knowing he was bound for heaven.
At five, Logan was thinking about whether he would go to this place called heaven he's heard his daddy preach about. I remember at his age, looking out the car window up at the sky, thinking about the same thing. Twenty-nine years later, I still think of this place, those who are there & are awaiting my arrival, kissing the feet of that Nazarene who died on a cross for me, my sweet Jesus. . . . . Oh I long for heaven, how sweet it will be. . . . .
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
Thayers Lexicon had an interesting entry on heaven . . . . "to cover, or encompass." That last word caught my eye; our good friend Mr. Webster describes encompass as "to form a circle about - to go completely around. The thought of heaven should literally encompass our everyday thinking. I not sure about you, but I don't like this planet we live on. It's beautiful and all, but it is terribly flawed, the end result of sin. I'm tired of war, poverty, pain & suffering. I long for the fullness, the encompassing of heaven. Peace, love, & joy will permeate that great city; no aborted children, no suffering elderly, no more dying, no more tears. Oh how I long for no more tears, no more sorrow. I'm a weepy person anyhow, but sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night weeping & praying for my babies, thinking about the world they are growing up in. I long for heaven. . . .
The first part of August, Logan came into the bedroom crying & a wee bit disturbed. He asked me if he were to die. . . he's five BTW. . . if he were to die would he go to heaven. Now, I was about to give him the typical responce a parent would give, "Why, you would go to heaven son!" But before I opened my mouth, the Holy Spirit prompted me that this was an open door for me to share salvation with my darling baby boy. I opened the Bible & shared the "Roman Road" with him in a way his little mind would comprehend. Long story short, we prayed, he asked Jesus into his heart, said amen, looked at me & said "Thanks dad, I feel much better!" He went to bed & went sound asleep, knowing he was bound for heaven.
At five, Logan was thinking about whether he would go to this place called heaven he's heard his daddy preach about. I remember at his age, looking out the car window up at the sky, thinking about the same thing. Twenty-nine years later, I still think of this place, those who are there & are awaiting my arrival, kissing the feet of that Nazarene who died on a cross for me, my sweet Jesus. . . . . Oh I long for heaven, how sweet it will be. . . . .
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Casual Christianity
Casual. Webster describes it as "feeling or showing little concern," nonchalant as it were. Casual Fridays are a common thing (I work in a bank, so I love it), & even the dress code in church has loosened up. It still happens today, but I remember when you got looked at funny if you walked into a church with jeans & a t-shirt. Now I have never had a problem with how people dress when they come to church; correction, if they are decent I don't have a problem. I have seen times as a Youth Pastor where teens came in with pants on so tight they looked like they painted them on! But as far as the style of dress, (suits, dresses, jeans, t-shirts,etc.) I could care less. I've heard people say, "I think you should wear your best to church;) Who's to say that isn't their best? Who are we? But that is beside the point. . . . this world is becoming way to casual. It's okay to become casual with each other, but too many are becoming casual with God.Jesus said it this way in Matthew 24:12 "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold." (NASB) Is this hard to see? Really, when you will go to jail for mistreating a dog & they MURDER 4000 babies a day in this country, SOMETHING IS WRONG! It's not rocket science. I see dogs that have pups & show them more love than human mothers do their offspring. Why does this happen? We have become casual with God.
I listened to a pastor talk about this the other day, that's why I guess I'm hot on it right now. Jesus said because lawlessness, SIN has increased, the love of many have will grow cold. The KJV says "will wax cold" like the hot wax on a lit candle will harden after the heat is taken away. People just don't love God the way they should; I mean, there are some who want His name off our money, out of our Pledge of Allegiance, out of our schools, I could go on & on. So it is easy to see where peoples love would grow cold. Christian people have even moved away from a fervent love of the Lord. Church has become a social gathering, a place to mingle & chat with your friends. There are churches, in our town & abroad, that serve coffee, DURING service! People sit & sip on their coffee while the minister talks to them about having a positive attitude & how Gods will is to make them millionaires & take all their worry away! I remember when you didn't dare chew gum in the sanctuary, much less drink coffee, & you heard about hell every week! But I ask, was that so bad? I mean, it didn't hurt me at all to walk out of church thinking about how I live my life & if it was in line with Gods Word! Today, churches are seeker friendly, not wanting to offend, toning God down a bit, making Him casual, approachable.
Jesus said it this way, & I believe HIM: John 3:3"Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Born AGAIN, changed from what we were into what HE intends for us to be. NOT Him conform to us, but we are to conform to HIM! We need to change! He is the same, yesterday, today & forever! Romans 12:2 says "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." We are to come into alignment with God, changing the way we think of things, in light of His Word, not try to make God change to our standards.
I dont want to ever be casual, nonchalant when it comes God. I know we sing the song "I am a Friend of God," but He's God! He holds the wind in his fist, let alone my very existance! He is still the one who spoke, & this world we live on was created. Gods holiness hasn't changed & will not change. No matter how many men stand & say "You're okay, just think positive! God's a good God, He loves you just the way you are!" Listen, God is good, but He is HOLY! Heloves you & me, but we must be changed, set free from sin! We can't just look at Him as some cosmic bellhop in the sky; He is the ruler of all! I don't want to be casual toward Him, my sin, or ANYTHING that pertains to His Kingdom. Casual is okay, just not toward God.
I listened to a pastor talk about this the other day, that's why I guess I'm hot on it right now. Jesus said because lawlessness, SIN has increased, the love of many have will grow cold. The KJV says "will wax cold" like the hot wax on a lit candle will harden after the heat is taken away. People just don't love God the way they should; I mean, there are some who want His name off our money, out of our Pledge of Allegiance, out of our schools, I could go on & on. So it is easy to see where peoples love would grow cold. Christian people have even moved away from a fervent love of the Lord. Church has become a social gathering, a place to mingle & chat with your friends. There are churches, in our town & abroad, that serve coffee, DURING service! People sit & sip on their coffee while the minister talks to them about having a positive attitude & how Gods will is to make them millionaires & take all their worry away! I remember when you didn't dare chew gum in the sanctuary, much less drink coffee, & you heard about hell every week! But I ask, was that so bad? I mean, it didn't hurt me at all to walk out of church thinking about how I live my life & if it was in line with Gods Word! Today, churches are seeker friendly, not wanting to offend, toning God down a bit, making Him casual, approachable.
Jesus said it this way, & I believe HIM: John 3:3"Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Born AGAIN, changed from what we were into what HE intends for us to be. NOT Him conform to us, but we are to conform to HIM! We need to change! He is the same, yesterday, today & forever! Romans 12:2 says "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." We are to come into alignment with God, changing the way we think of things, in light of His Word, not try to make God change to our standards.
I dont want to ever be casual, nonchalant when it comes God. I know we sing the song "I am a Friend of God," but He's God! He holds the wind in his fist, let alone my very existance! He is still the one who spoke, & this world we live on was created. Gods holiness hasn't changed & will not change. No matter how many men stand & say "You're okay, just think positive! God's a good God, He loves you just the way you are!" Listen, God is good, but He is HOLY! Heloves you & me, but we must be changed, set free from sin! We can't just look at Him as some cosmic bellhop in the sky; He is the ruler of all! I don't want to be casual toward Him, my sin, or ANYTHING that pertains to His Kingdom. Casual is okay, just not toward God.
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