Thoughts From Richard

Looking Ahead

2011-12-12T15:04:00.001-05:00

2 Corinthians 4:18 “so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.”

Set or focus on something. Look at intently. That is the idea behind the words to fix our eyes. You take distractions out of the way and see with a singleness. Have you ever focused in on something you were seeing in the distance and everything around you went out of focus? You still know other things are all around you but your gaze is fixed on one item.

This is a great faith builder. There is clear instruction on how to obtain faith or strengthen your faith mentioned in Romans 10:17. Basically it states that faith comes by hearing the word. The word is the message of Christ or the good news. So by listening to God’s word faith enters into us.

Notice that faith doesn’t come by listening to just anything. There are a lot of things vying for your time. There are many voices speaking throughout the day and we end up listening to quite a large number of things that don’t benefit our faith at all. As a matter of fact they have the opposite effect of killing our faith and raising doubt to choke out our faith.

So if you are going to have a faith that can move mountains then you need the right source for that to have a fighting chance. Listen to the right thing! Listen to the source of faith. You can’t help finding promises and truths that we need to work in our lives if you read the bible. It is full of good things that honestly we all need. It gives us hope to see and read about all the tremendous things that are laid out in the word of God. But it also begins giving us something to focus on and pursue by faith.

Let’s be real. Most of our time is commonly spent on things that can be seen. So it makes sense to say with all honesty that the greatest influence in our lives are the everyday visible things that are happening in life. We have to determine to fix or focus on things that are unseen. There must be discipline in our lives to set our ears on the invisible Kingdom of God. But the benefits are outstanding. By giving our energy, time, effort, hearing, etc. to the Kingdom of God and His word we are preparing our lives for a windfall blessing that will happen when we least expect it.

So don’t become weary hoping in the unseen. Don’t lose heart because of what you are hearing and seeing daily in the visible world around us. Be bold and believe in what is not tangible and seen. Have faith for what God promises and give yourself to the hearing of those things. Focus your life toward what God has planned for you. His word will remain faithful and God will do and act according to His word.

RELEASE

2011-09-26T16:45:00.000-04:00

Release. we hear that word and it can bring a lot of thoughts to our mind. New release in theaters, release from something, release valve, etc. The list is endless and much longer than the one I just made!

i like that word a lot more than the opposite which would be bound or held. Actually both words are used in one scripture found in Matthew 16. Jesus said to His disciples that whatever they bound on earth would be bound in heaven and whatever was loosed or released on earth would be released in heaven.

Another version gives us clearer understanding of this concept. It is actually saying that what is already released or bound in heaven is our legal right to bind or release on the earth! Now that is mind shattering isn't it! It really makes it a lot easier to understand. First of all we are to carry out on earth what is done in heaven! Secondly we need to know what is finished in heaven before we can finish it here on the earth!! Actually that should be first and the other one second..... OK you get my point. Heaven and earth are interlinked.

Here is the point I am getting to although adding a bit as we go. It is the principle of release. When Jesus healed people he released them from sickness. When he forgave he released from sin and its bondage. When he resurrected he released from death and its power. When he spoke he released power. Actually Jesus released people and still does in all kinds of ways. It should be of no surprise that he is still releasing in us.

Now let me add a thought to this. Most of the time we are looking at being released from something. How about looking at it from another angle. God doesn't just release us from stuff, he releases us into something new! The greatest benefit of being released is not being free. It is being released or free in order to move into something better!! I like that thought. Too many times we only concentrate on what we are coming out of. Well what we are going into is cause for great joy. We should rejoice in our freedom and release that God has purchased and finished in heaven and use it to move into what is awaiting us! Let's declare release in our lives. Add to your declaration what you have been released to accomplish!!

Be Like Jesus

2011-06-11T09:46:00.000-04:00

It is very widely believed that all of us are called to imitate and become like the one we follow who is Jesus. Of course all that desire to be His disciples that is. It is a very safe assumption. so as I think about this concept the first thing that comes to mind is the question, "what is Jesus like?". If I am supposed to be like Him then I need to know what I am supposed to incorporate in my life before I can begin.
We need a pattern to follow. Obviously we do have such a pattern in the life of Jesus we find in our bibles. It's actually laid out for us in living color you might say. Sadly though we still get hung up trying to figure out the what rather the who we are to be like. You see it is not about imitating His deeds, although we will mention more on that in a moment, but about becoming like Him in regards to the person and character of Jesus.
Sounds simple and actually is made much more difficult than it really is supposed to be. You see Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving His life in our place and providing as a result a full pardon, forgiveness, and power to live. It is by grace that we are saved and redeemed. There is nothing you and I can pay to obtain more from God. He has provided it all. Now that is a big idea!! Let that sink in for every area of life that we strive to accomplish in the Lord. We can't add to the work of Jesus. We CAN enjoy and receive all that He has provided. Ok, I know it is still hard.
That is why Paul talked to the Galatian believers about not changing course after having started in total freedom. He spoke and taught them about the importance of living in freedom and not becoming enslaved over again. We need to do the same. It seems to be the hardest lesson to learn in life. Live by grace and yet not be lazy by doing nothing. You see it is so easy to fall on the grace side that we put no effort in our spiritual life and wonder why we always end up back where we started.
Anyway I could keep going on about that because it is a great subject. But let me get back to where we began. Jesus is our example of how to live. We are called to imitate Him. The plan is laid is out clearly in His life that He lived out for all of us to see.
I have been a student of the life of Jesus ever since I first met Him and came into relationship with Him. For me that was the easiest part of the bible. I figured if Jesus is the image of the Father and we are to know the Father in heaven then a good place to start is to know Jesus. So over the years I have spent a lot of time getting to know Jesus so that I could also as a result know the Father. Here is a thought that has helped me through the years: Everything Jesus was and did shows us the nature of the Father.
Here is another thought: There is nothing that Jesus shows us that He doesn't want us to copy! Ever heard them say on a TV show, "warning, don't try this at home" when they are doing something dangerous? Well Jesus has no disclaimers in His saying, "now don't try this for your life, this is only for me, you can't do this". Does that sound like something Jesus would even say??
Rest assured that it is not. In fact everything He did was in order to teach us a lesson and equip us for life. Let's go a step further and say that Jesus showed us how in order for us to do the same! Wow did you get that? Let your spirit catch the possibilities that this implies. Read the stories with new insight and prayerful meditation to see what we are empowered to do in this life.
Here is challenge to think about as you pursue the Lord. What part of Jesus are we supposed to be like? Now that will take time to answer. It is not meant to be answered quickly but to make us think and open the realm of possibilities that God has planned for you and I. All of us choose the parts or aspects of Jesus we doctrinally think we are to imitate. But do you think we can pick and choose which part?
Adding to this idea I must admit that my concept of Jesus and all He wants us to be expands over time. The closer I get to Him the more I understand and the more I want to be like Him. It is important to take the limits off our belief system. Expand the possibilities and the awesomeness of our God towards us. Remember this as you meditate on theses thoughts: He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or think according to His power which works in US!! (Ephesians 3:20)

Fire Inside

2011-04-21T15:59:00.001-04:00

One of the highlights of a camping trip is making a camp fire. There's just something about having a fire in the evening or night. Everybody wants to gather around it and there are usually s'mores or hot dogs on sticks that get put in. Or you just stare at it and enjoy the crackling sounds while watching the flames. Fire is fascinating and mesmerizing. It attracts us. Once you get the campfire going you will attract everybody in the group to get around it.

Okay maybe you can see where I'm going with this. I'm going to talk briefly about fire. It is attractive as well as many other things such as a purifier, and light producer. The word of God speaks of fire often in reference to God and to the Holy Spirit and even to Jesus. There are many scriptures that relate fire to God. One example in particular is when Moses saw the burning bush. He saw a phenomenon on the mountain which was the burning bush and became very curious to the point of approaching it to see what it was. The fire did not consume the bush. But it did attract Moses.

In a similar way God wants to kindle a fire inside of us. Actually, when Jesus comes into our life he starts a fire. That fire in part describes a passion that you and I have for seeking after the Lord. It is the drive that's inside of us that keeps us going after Him and being faithful to Him. Of course many of us know what it feels like to lose the fire or for it to go out altogether. It is important to maintain the fire and to feed it in order for it to grow inside of us. The more you neglect it, the more it will cool and eventually go out.

Now if fire attracts then it also stands to reason that if you have a fire inside of you others will be attracted to the light and warmth of it. I think that is why we like to be around passionate people. They have something that we want. Elijah the prophet said to the prophets of Baal that the God who answers by fire would be the true God. In that story when Elijah finally called fire down from heaven to consume the offering, immediately all of the people present fell down and worshiped the true God. They were not only attracted to the fire, but it got their attention in a big way. It will do the same today. People will go where the fire is burning.

Keep the fires burning. Those were the instructions to the priests in the Old Testament. They were to never let the fire of the burnt offering go out. They were to keep it going perpetually. The only thing they were asked to do besides keeping the fire going was to take out the ashes. In the same way. We've got to remove the ashes from our life and keep the fire burning hot. We have to remove the dross, sin, things that hinder our relationship with God and with others. Let the fire burn in your life and don't forget to take out the ashes.

Prepare Today

2011-03-28T15:53:00.001-04:00

As a think about the life of David in the Old Testament I can look at many aspects. The one that I have been focusing on lately is his ability to fight. Psalm 18 is written by David where he speaks of being prepared and trained for battle by God in order to face his enemy. He says in one part that God trained his hands to fight.

It's interesting that David took down Goliath with a slingshot and one smooth stone. But it is not so hard to believe when you start to look at David's life. For a time he cared for sheep in the desert. He actually told the King that he would face Goliath and conquer him because he had already beaten wild animals in the desert while caring for his sheep. He talked about protecting the sheep by killing a lion and a bear.

A friend shared some thoughts with me about David being out in the desert with a lot of time on his hands. His observation was that David probably used that slingshot a lot target practicing. That is probably how you kill some of the boredom of being out there. But it also trained him to become more and more accurate with that slingshot. David didn't face Goliath using the slingshot for the first time. He was trained and ready. He was confident as he faced his giant.

One of the things I have heard people say as part of learning to use a gun is how they need to relax and squeeze the trigger instead of pulling it. When you're unlearned with a gun the natural tendency is to pull the trigger. This usually causes a jerk and will always miss the target. But when you squeeze it while relaxing you can be a lot more accurate. Confidence is built through the use and practice.
It is very dangerous to send a soldier out who has not been proven with his weapon. Dangerous for his fellow soldiers, not the enemy!

So of course the spiritual lesson in this is how we are trained on a daily basis through life's situations to act according to the word of God and defeat our giants. The training happens on a daily basis. It happens during mundane activities. It happens every day that we act by faith using the truth of the word of God in our life. It happens in daily situations and circumstances. Little by little we are learning how to use what God has given us. And the more we use it, the more we become proficient with it.

All of us go through hard times and hard circumstances. But we’re not always in those circumstances, were not always under the gun so to speak. There are times when life is not so difficult and we can use those times to still apply the word of God and to be trained for a future event. It is a lot easier to target practice rather than face a lion being untried to do so. We need the target practice time. Here is a simple example. If we learn to pray on a daily basis believing God in the little things, then it's not so hard when a big thing happens. For example, with our children as they were growing up we would stop and pray for whatever pain or injury they had. Many times it was nothing and after a moment of prayer they would go back to playing like nothing ever happened. But then there were occasions that we really needed God to come through. And guess what? We already knew how to pray, we already knew how to trust, and so did our children.

Let's not wait for the hard moments in life to come along and then have to trust God in those moments, having absolutely no confidence. Let's learn to trust God on a daily basis in the little things and train for those moments that we don't plan for. Let’s apply the promises and word of God in our daily routines rather than wait for times that force us to believe while experiencing great anxiety and fear. If we train by constant use then when those harder times come along we can stand confidently with God's peace and use the weapons He's already trained us to use against the enemy of our soul. God has called us to be conquerors over the enemy. Practice makes perfect. Practice prepares us to win tomorrows battles!

Where is your faith?

2011-03-02T14:04:00.001-05:00

There were several occasions where Jesus addressed the people after having performed miracles and signs. At those moments, Jesus said basically said that they only followed him because of the signs and miracles. Right after the feeding of the 5000 he also made a strong statement. He asked the people if they followed him because they had their fill of bread.

I think this is a good question for us to ask ourselves today. As we look at having faith in God, what do we really base our faith on? Do we base it on the blessings we have in our lives? Do we base it on the fact that we have all that we need? What happens when our expectations of God are disappointed? What happens to our faith at times like that?

I believe our faith in God has to go much further than that. We need to trust and love him for who he is not for what he does. Although we can say that he is a God that is always good, we need to be careful that we do not use physical blessings as a measure by which we believe God or not. Believe God because he loves us. Believe him because he gave his son in our place to forgive our sins and give us eternal life. Believe him because he is God and there is no other like him.

Our faith will be tried. As a matter-of-fact, James says, count it all joy when you face all kinds of trials because this develops perseverance. We cannot choose to believe God when everything is easy and turn against him when life throws a curveball at us. It is hard to understand this but God actually is closer to us we are going through rough times. When we go through the fire He is with us. Keep your faith no matter what is going on in your life. God will never abandon you.

Isaiah 43:1-2 "But now, this is what the Lord says-he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

Breaking the Dam

2011-02-24T16:31:00.001-05:00

There are some things that Jesus said that really make you sit back and think. There's one in particular where he was addressing the people in John chapter 7:37 and he says "if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

What a great promise! This is not the only time that Jesus talked about being thirsty. But on this occasion he talks about living water flowing from within us. Of course directly after this. The author gives us an explanation of what he is talking about, which is the Holy Spirit that has not been sent as of yet. How desperately do we need those streams of living water flowing from within us today.

I think it is fairly safe to say that streams of living water flowing within us would something wonderful. It would replenish lack that is in our souls. I think it is safe to say that it would also energize us to continue on in this life. Imagine how hurts and damaged areas of our life can be positively affected by the streams of living water. It would replenish our lack of passion, lack of boldness, and so much more. When you begin to meditate on all that these streams can provide in our life, it would be ludicrous not to ask for them. "Lord, send the streams and break the dam that's holding them back.".

See the Lord has provided these streams through his Holy Spirit that lives within us. If we have called on the name of the Lord for salvation then we have access to the throne of God and to the benefits of living in the kingdom of God. One of the greatest benefits is the arrival of the Holy Spirit who helps us and fills us with his power and goodness. The simplest way I know to allow the Holy Spirit to flow with those streams of life is to ask him. Sure, there are many things that we can do to facilitate the spirit moving in us but the easiest to understand is simply asking. God has provided, all we need to do is ask. Once we ask then we allow him to fill us. We break the dam.

We tear down the barriers of unbelief and doubt that so quickly arise in our minds. We allow God to be a supernatural God in our lives and stop trying to analyze everything that he wants to do for us. So many times we fail to receive all that is available to us because we over analyze God's promises. Let the word of God override your thoughts. Let what God says be what you believe. Let the rivers flow in your soul and replenish every dry area.

Luke 11:13 "if you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Ask and receive.

Purpose

2011-01-11T12:36:00.001-05:00

The subject of purpose has really been on my mind for the last couple of months so I thought I would pen a few quotes that I have randomly come across. Here is one from a movie. Don’t ask me which one. I wasn’t even watching it but my wife heard it and repeated it to me.

“Without purpose life is boring.”

I can agree with that can’t you? When you have a sense of purpose in what you are doing it takes the boredom away because you want to occupy your time with things that help the purpose get accomplished. It really does give you direction and help you make decisions. Here is another quote from a men’s magazine article that I happened to read:

“When you are confident of your purpose, you worry less and devote more energy to constructive endeavors”

This is so true. When you are about your purpose you just don’t spend time worrying about things. I really think this relates to several scriptures where Paul the apostle addressed the idea occupying our time with work. There seemed to be a problem in the church at Thessalonica because of the very accurate and real truth of Jesus’ return. It seems that because His return was so imminent the people just became idle in waiting. They did nothing which began to cause many other problems such as becoming meddlers, gossipers, busybodies. Paul encouraged them to work with their hands and be busy. Occupy was the term he used.

Occupy doesn’t mean to just take up space. It means to work. To be busy getting things done. It infers the use of the facilities God has given us in order to carry out the many tasks that are necessary to live. It means to devote energy to constructive endeavors and not just waste time. Purpose helps us focus our energy, abilities, talents, and time. It gives us fulfillment and life.

I believe this is why we feel so good about joining with groups and organizations that share a common purpose. It is very fulfilling to be a part of something that causes us to feel worth in life. So many times we might think we don’t have an individual, unique purpose. That is fine. In reality I believe everyone needs to join God in His purpose. It is the most fulfilling. But it is also very good to be a part of something that gives us purpose. In the end it all serves the same purpose (pun intended!).

Purpose in Life

2010-12-15T17:02:00.001-05:00

I came across this quote the other day by W Clement Stone, an expert on success and positive attitudes, "whenever you discover your mission (or purpose), you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on.".

As I've been contemplating purpose over the last couple months I've realize how important theme this is in the Scriptures. There is a verse that is always spoken to me out of Proverbs 29:18. Basically this verse states that where there is no purpose, there is no direction. In essence, that is what this verse is talking about. It uses the word vision or revelation for which I think we can also include the word purpose. I think it is easy to see that when we purpose to do something we usually get it done. Most people go through life and find purpose in the things that they are doing. Because of this purpose or this driving force inside of them, they are able to accomplish many things in life. We have actually been created with a need to find our purpose in life.

Although this is not always easy to do, it is also not as difficult as we think. I think there is a great correlation between what we are passionate about and what our purpose is life. When we understand that the purpose of our life in relationship to God then we can better understand the reason for much of what we do. And this purpose helps us set short term goals that are attainable. In this way we can understand the why of today in order to reach the purpose of tomorrow. There are a lot of things that we all do that are not always fun but if we find how they fit into a greater purpose. They are much easier to carry out.

It is important to bring into focus a greater purpose for our lives that we can only find in Jesus Christ. Of course, there are many things that are very noble purposes in this world and I don’t deny those but state that there is a greater purpose into which all these things fit.

I'm sure most everyone has asked themselves the question, "why do I exist". Finding our purpose in life answers this question and brings a tremendous fullness to our life. And remember Jesus came to give us life in abundance, not just in existence. So where do we begin to find the true purpose in life? I believe it can be found in the person of Jesus Christ. I believe the Bible will give us all the direction we need to live this life to the fullest and to accomplish the purpose for which we were created.

Let me give one key factor towards finding the answers to these questions. We are God's creation. He made you the way you are with the abilities and talents that are innate in you. God has given each of us the ability to fulfill our purpose on this earth. Here's a quote from a Greek philosopher, "know thyself". That's a valid statement. That is where we need to start.

Can You See?

2010-11-20T13:46:00.001-05:00

It is interesting to read the story of Abraham. It encompasses quite a few chapters in the book of Genesis and is pretty detailed. Wow what lessons we can learn from his stories. Both good and bad.

For the moment I simply want to take one ongoing story that is weaved throughout his whole life story. And specifically I am focusing on the covenant promise God the Father made to Abraham from the very first.

It is now a universal (or global if you prefer) promise that was first spoken to Abraham but now can be claimed by all mankind. “I will bless you and you will be a blessing”.

Of course the Lord expands on this statement by saying to Abraham that his descendants will be so numerous that you won’t be able to count them. What an awesome promise. God spoke this to Abraham. We have it written and can read it but Abraham heard God’s voice over and over saying what He had promised him. He heard a word, promise, from God’s heart to his. And he heard it many times as we look at scripture.

Now here is an important side note. Abraham wasn’t sure how and if this would ever happen. And as a result we can read his life saga of mistakes for not truly believing what God said He would do for him. So it gets a little more interesting because the Lord understands that we need help in order to believe. We probably make believing a lot harder than it really is. I know I do. You know when Jesus says ‘just believe’ and a father cries out and exclaims ‘I do but help my unbelief!’. It is supposed to be easy and it really is. It is just too easy and therefore the paradox of what we are doing when we fight the good fight of faith.

But I am digressing a bit. Let me get back to the focus of what I want to share in this blog. Abraham, same as us, needed a way to boost his faith and cause believing to by faith to become a reality without seeing the actual fulfillment. Because you see the key to faith is that we are believing without having seen what is actually the focus of our faith. So how do we get it to click on the inside that what God says is really true and as a result we are unshakeable in our trust in Him to fulfill it?

Here it is. No more suspense. God told Abraham one night to look up at the stars. He wanted him to see promise of an heir and birthing of nations through the visual of the stars. Impossible to count and so the promise was impossible to fathom. But the stars gave Abraham a visual. It is the same as putting scripture on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror so you see it everyday. Every time Abraham would look up and see the stars at night he would be reminded of the promise God had made to him and would be able to get a mental picture of a spiritual promise.

It actually says in Genesis the verse immediately following the star visual that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. So wasn’t he believing or trying to before now? Of course! But now he had something he could visualize in the natural in order to believe in his heart what God had said. Maybe we should use this as a key to believing the great and awesome promises God has given us. Find your visual to keep before your eyes. Find your star-filled sky to look at.

Here is a verse that really speaks to this in 1 Corinthians 15:46:
The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual (NIV)

So it looks like God had a simple way for us to believe all the time. First the natural: See it with your eyes in the world around us that God created. Then the spiritual: believe that it is done and it is settled in your heart.

Written Words

2010-10-28T20:44:00.001-04:00

Have you ever thought about how words effect you? I think we are not very aware of their power in our lives until we actually hear words that carry an impact on where we are at the moment. I don’t mean where we are in reference to geography but where we are on the inside.

Of course we can talk long and hard about the negative effect that words have on our lives. I think everybody recognizes that. But I want to blog about the positive effect instead. I think this really hit me recently as I was able to hear and read words directed to me that just filled me with an overwhelming sense of God’s grace and love for my life. What a blessing for my life. It is not something one thinks about everyday. What I mean is we don’t go around thinking “I wish people would speak words that build me up today”. And in our society today I believe we definitely lack telling people around us positive things about them. So when it happens it tends to make us sit back and think how awesome it feels to hear positive things about who you are in life.

Words of praise. Did you know that God speaks words of praise to His children all the time? He sure does. Just read what the bible has to say about you. Let me rest my case in the truth that “for God so loved the world (you) that He gave His only begotten Son”. That should be enough yet the bible is riddled with God’s words of love toward us.

Obviously we would all agree that it is important to esteem and bless one another. We encourage our young athletes before they step into the game. We encourage children in our schools that they can do it. Over and over again we employ words and notes to build up people of all ages so that they will achieve more in life as well as have a great attitude.

Here is my point. Everyone is effected for the better as we build them up. Let’s do it more regularly. Let’s make it a point to esteem and edify others in the moment. Not wait for another day or future time. Let’s do it more often. It is a beautiful thing to receive words of affirmation and love that let you know your life is worth living.

Say something good to somebody in your life!

Define Salvation

2010-10-15T12:42:00.001-04:00

What is your definition of salvation? Have you really thought it through? When you hear the word salvation what comes to mind?

Moses said to the people of Israel once, "stand still and see the salvation of your God." The Israelites were blocked in by the enemy on one side and the Red Sea on the other. What did salvation mean to them at that moment? I'm sure it meant something more than what we think. After all, they were at the point of dying and there was no way out. So salvation at that point meant living. It meant to be delivered from the hand of their enemies. And probably a whole lot more.

What does it mean to us? I think the usual answer would be that it means forgiveness of sins. Is that all it means? When we talk about salvation through Jesus Christ, are we only talking about forgiveness? I think we can safely say that salvation is a lot more than forgiveness of sins and a free ticket into heaven.

Jesus came and became a man on earth. He was in every way a man like you and I. Yes he was God, but he was also totally a man. You see Jesus came to show us how to live and how to have life. His message was not one of just how to get into heaven but it was a message of how to live with abundant life. Just think about this for a minute. Jesus died on the cross as a man. He literally took our place so that God's judgment would be removed. He purchased right standing before the Father in heaven.

Even though we could expand on all of this for quite some time I would like to focus solely on the word salvation. What does it really mean? I think we have short-changed the meaning of salvation that Jesus has provided for us. We usually only repeat what we have heard over the years. In the normal response to salvation is is that we are forgiven of our sins. But salvation is a lot more than that. Not to minimize the importance of forgiveness of sins, which is a great miracle and blessing from God. But at the same time we don't need to leave out all that God has provided for us. We need to see the whole picture and embrace the truth of God's word. Salvation is all-inclusive and affects every part of our life, spirit, soul and body.

I believe Jesus came to earth to show us the depth of what salvation really is through his life and actions. So here's an oversimplified way to look at salvation. What is going on in your life today that you need said to be saved from? That you can meditate on that for a while and when you come up with an answer you can cry to our Creator, Jesus Christ, saying, "save me Lord!". You see, he didn't pay the enormous price of dying on a cross only to save you from sin. He made the ultimate sacrifice in order that we might live and enjoy the blessings of heaven on earth. I am purposely not filling in the blanks in this blog. I'm leaving that for you to do. I don't believe I can fully define salvation with a few words. Because I think it takes on a new meaning for each individual and situation we are living. The important thing to see is that salvation goes beyond the saving of our soul to get into heaven. That doesn't change just because we don't believe it. It is still true. We need to change our mindset about salvation in order to change our beliefs of salvation. We need to see the realm of possibilities that God has provided for us through the work of Jesus Christ and not limit all that he did by believing only part.

Breaking The Curse

2010-09-27T15:49:00.001-04:00

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4706741805360354160

I think you will enjoy the above link. It is the testimony of a family that lost a 17-year-old daughter in a plane crash. I thought some of his insights were very good. Hope it ministers to you as much as it did to me.

I have been studying recently about the effect of curses on our lives. My main text has been out of Galatians chapter 3. There it speaks mainly about Jesus becoming a curse for us and freeing us through the price he paid. Redemption. We are purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. We have been redeemed from the curse. Throughout the word of God there is much to be said about cursing and blessing.

One of the outstanding things that I find in the word of God pertaining to cursing and blessing is the fact that we are not to curse. In the book of James we find the example of a fountain that can only produce one kind of water. Saltwater and freshwater cannot come from the same fountain. Nor can blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. We are also told in the book of Deuteronomy that God has set before us the blessing and the curse and it is up to us to choose one or the other. In Psalms 109:17 it states that if we curse we will also be cursed.

The truth is Jesus died to free us from all curses. We must accept the redemption that he has provided for us through his blood. We need to know and appropriate all that he has paid for through his blood. He wants us to live in freedom from all curses. He wants us to inherit the blessings of Abraham. Now that's an interesting statement. The blessings of Abraham. I guess we would have to go through the word of God and discover exactly what are all those blessings. Abraham was known as the father of faith. God performed miracles on his behalf. He also spoke to him as a friend and called him a friend. But the blessings of Abraham go much further than that. The blessings of Abraham include all the promises that God has made to us and for us through his Son. So we should embrace the blessing rather than the curse.

How do we embrace blessing? Simply said, by embracing Jesus and all he purchased. By accepting what he did for us and refusing to wear the curse. We accept His grace for life. We live by faith in all that is provided for us. We believe what we hear in the word of God. You see, to believe God by faith means there is nothing we can do to earn anything from God. That would be imposing a law on ourselves. And if we live by a law then we must obey every part of it. Many times we put obligation, be it religious, social or personal on ourselves and find that we cannot live up to those things. We have imposed a law that we cannot complete. So we need to learn that the righteous live by faith. Simple trust in all that God has said and done for us.

I will write further about this in future blogs. There are several aspects to the subject that I would like to mention. The text I mainly refer to earlier is Galatians 3:1-14. But there are several other texts I would like to speak about. Let me close this session with one more idea. It is found in Nehemiah 13:2 and it states this, "our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing." The God we serve takes all that is against us and turns it into something favorable. He turns the curse into a blessing. What an amazing truth. We live in a world that is under a curse. But Jesus redeemed us from the curse.

Time In Mexico

2010-08-26T09:11:00.001-04:00

I just spent a great week in Mexico visiting churches in the area we lived for many years. It was great to reconnect with our Latin friends and minister to hundreds of people. Actually over 800 strong! There were many salvations, and physical healings that took place. Wonderful times of ministry happened and I returned very encouraged seeing the grace of God continuing to abound in Mexico.

What an encouragement to see all that is taking place. There are many things I could mention and fill up a few pages. It is always great to see peoples lives changed. That never gets old. And even more so was the joy of seeing lasting fruit from our labors over the many years we lived and worked there. Even though I could talk about many things I want to focus on just one.

The one thing that stood out to me (I guess the thing that blessed me more than the rest) happened almost at the end of the trip. It was after seeing all the salvations and healings and ministering to hundreds seeing great results. It was in a breakfast for pastors where I was asked to speak on the last morning of my trip. It was a great time and great food. I believe I was able to help a lot of hurting pastors. What a great time!

But as I finished and we were about to dismiss they let different pastors get up and make announcements for all the churches to hear. The first person got up and before the announcement they began to talk about a time that happened about 1o years ago where I was living and ministering in that city. Her and her husband began coming to some of the services and were greatly helped to the point of their marriage being saved and consequently going on to pastor another church. Presently they are pastoring a successful work in the same city. But God used us to deliver His grace to their lives at a critical moment.

Now the reason this was a highlight for me is because it is easy to see the things we are doing in the present moment but seldom do we see fruit from seed sown in our past. What a joy it was for me to see that God’s grace used us beyond the boundaries we set for ourselves or beyond the sphere of ministry that we believe we have accomplished. It was so moving to hear their testimony. So even though the week was full of good things this one thing made the trip.

Fruit unseen. Fruit beyond expectation. Something lasting and growing. Wow! You know it is so much more fulfilling to see that our lives count for things more permanent than just momentary blessings and great meetings. It’s the stuff that lasts for eternity that makes a difference! All the rest is good but this is better!

Your basic variety of faith

2010-08-12T15:29:00.001-04:00

There were five occasions in the book of Matthew where Jesus used the terms "oh you of little faith". All of the five occasions dealt with situations that we live on a daily basis. They were the following:

worry
fear
doubt
provision
authority

The indication in what Jesus is saying about faith in these different situations is that all of us can have it. We can live believing God in each of these areas. The end result is a much richer life. After all, God has provided all things for us. But we must first believe him. We must have that basic faith of trusting him for the basic things in life. After all worry and doubt and fear are things that just tear us down. They never build our lives. As a matter of fact fear enslaves us. The Bible even speaks of fear as something that torments us. I think we know that to be true. It can actually paralyze you. And prevent you from acting or doing anything in a given situation. The word of God is riddled with God's provision of peace in the place of fear. We need only to trust him on a daily basis. I mean, if you look up phobias, you will find that there is at least one for every day of the year. God wants to set us free from all of those fears through his peace.

In the same way worry destroys us from the inside out. How many times have we been stressed out over a situation that we could not change and yet all our worry made no difference at all. The only thing we accomplished through all the worry in that situation was to feel sicker the normal. God cares about us so much more than all the animals that he created. And yet the word of God talks of him keeping his eye on the sparrow. We are worth a lot more than a spare and God wants us to know by trusting him that he will take your us.

Doubt is another one of those always present ways of thinking that robs us. The number one tool to combat doubt is the word of God. We must come to a place that we actually believe what the word of God says and act on it. In order to have faith in God we must believe his word is true. Then we must listen to his word and trust him to fulfill it. Unbelief, or doubt, keeps us from enjoying all that God has for us. Take a simple step against doubt in your mind. Instead of repeating the doubts you have with your lips quote the word of God. Sounds very silly and simple. But I guarantee you that it works. The hardest person to convince that the word of God is true is yourself.

2010-07-23T14:47:00.001-04:00

So this last week I made a quality decision to write and organize a lot of material that I want to put into written form. I also determined to blog more often and put ink to my thoughts on a more regular basis.
You ask, "how is that working for you?" Glad you asked! Not so well. Why? It seems that the moment I decided to discipline my life in a certain area that work multiplied like never before. (well that might be an exageration but hey this is my blog!)
Doesn't that seem to happen in life all the time? The minute you determine to diet and stop eating certain GREAT foods you get invited and/or are in unavoidable situations where that is all there is to eat! It is inevitable that when we decide to discipline our life in any way that all kinds of obstacles come our way to cause us to fail at it.
So I am writing this to kick back and say that I will carry out what I believe the Lord has put in my heart to do! Why? First of all because when we set out to do something commissioned by our Lord He comes alongside to enable us to get it done. Secondly we make the effort even in the middle of contrary circumstances and find that we are not doing it in our own power but His. But we do need to start.
So many things in life never get accomplish because we are waiting for the right time. When things aren't so hectic, when summer is over, when there are less activities, when, when, when....
I wonder, no I know, that we need to act even in little tiny ways towards those goals and not lose sight of them. So I hope these words help you get focused on what you want to get done. It is helping me just by virtue of writing them. Be blessed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to go forward and realize more of your dreams and desires than ever before!!

Change Your Course in Life

2010-06-10T16:32:00.001-04:00

Jesus didn’t just provide salvation to get into heaven. He provided the power to walk in newness of life and enjoy heaven on earth. We may not think about this very much but many if not all of us walk in bondages of some sort. Many are very subtle.

I am referring more specifically to patterns in life that we repeat over and over again that get us in trouble. Or simply they are things inbred if you will, through our experiences in life which are then mixed with our natural tendencies that create prisons of habitual behavior that keep us from God’s best in our lives.

Ok that was a mouthful. But I think it makes sense. Anyway you look at it we all have baggage. Stuff that inhibits us living a full life. There are fears that we carry that stop us from making decisions that would be beneficial. Sure we don’t always confront our fears but God does and has! There are also things we do over and over again the same way getting the same results: Wrong results, pain inflicting results. How many times have you thought about things you do and afterward you say to yourself, “why did I get trapped into this again?”. Or am I alone?

I believe as I look at the word of God there is hope to change anything in our life that doesn’t lead us into fuller life and success. God wants us to be successful! So what stops us? Maybe I am just raising the questions more than giving answers to this paradox in life but I do believe the closer we walk with the Lord the more HE will reveal those areas that can be changed.

We make choices. If we are too weak to change the choices we make then we must learn to find strength in His Word, in Him! There is no other way. Eventually as we lean on Him and choose to serve His righteousness we become free from the past pattern and create a new pattern that brings life and fulfillment to us and others around us. Could it be that simple? Well yes and no. Yes because He has provided everything we need for life and Godliness. No because in order to appropriate everything we need we must act differently following His commands.

We need to obey the Word (hopefully rightly interpreting the word) which may be contrary to what we feel at the moment. It is a choice of our will to walk in the newness of life. It is not enough to talk about it, we must act on it.

Ok so here is a simple example that I hope will help. I remember years ago raising my children that as missionaries we really didn’t have much money except for our needs. Nothing extra. So when we were anywhere in stores, etc. when our children would ask for something we would say we don’t have any money. Well after a while (years) I realized that even if we had money for something we would still say we had no money. It became a pattern. And at times a lie. Well this didn’t help me say what God says about me. It doesn’t say what I want to see as a new reality. That is having more than enough! So we finally had to change our speech. Now we would say simply we are not going to buy that now. Or buy it! But the point is we had to change the way we thought automatically until the new automatic no longer left us talking like we never had anything. And of course the reality of things changed over time.

I trust that helps. Look at yourself in the mirror. Listen to yourself when you say things. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see what you can’t see. Be willing to be discovered by God! And admit you need to change while asking Him to help you. Walk in a new life! Really!

Where are the Joshua and Caleb

2010-05-10T13:13:00.001-04:00

Today as I look around with natural and spiritual eyes I am reminded of two young men that were different than all the others around them. Of course I am speaking of Joshua and Caleb. The word of God says they had a different spirit.

What a statement. The other men, ten to be exact, that traveled with them on the mission to spy out the land felt different about everything that happened. The bible says they came back with an evil report. Well in our minds the report doesn’t warrant evil but to God it was. It was factual in every way but had a defeatist approach in its reporting. While Caleb and Joshua proclaimed ‘we are well able to go up and take the land’ the others according to their report saw themselves as weak and small in comparison to the task.

The only difference really is that Joshua and Caleb believed God and went after the Lord. They were willing to obey everything God had asked them because they KNEW God. Not just a head knowledge but a heart knowledge.

You see we find some characteristics about Joshua through the time that he served Moses. We find Joshua as a general in one place leading the armies to victory as commanded without hesitation. We find that when Moses went up on the mountain to talk with God that Joshua followed as far as he could and waited. We also see that when Moses would go into the tent of meeting to talk with God that Joshua would linger behind in God’s presence.

You see these two young men didn’t follow the tide of everyone around them. They went after God with abandon. They were willing to be counted among the few that stood for something. They walked with conviction and faithfulness to their Lord.

I believe there is a generation that needs to rise up and be counted like these two were. A generation that will not know the God of their fathers but their God. They will make the sacrifices to seek Him with their whole heart and stand upon convictions because of walking with God. Not somebody else's convictions. They will seek the Lord in order to hear His voice and not wait to be bottle fed by others to hear the voice of God. They will be among the few, the chosen. They will find the Lord as they go through life and the hand of God will be strong on them to lead their generation into victory once again.

Where are they? They are here, we just haven’t seen them yet. Maybe you are one of them. Are you going hard after God in spite of the tide of culture pulling you another way? Are you examining the Word and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to you? Are you taking time to spend in the presence of God when it is not convenient? Are you following in obedience?

There is a generation that God is calling to and waiting. I am with HIM looking for that generation.

Special Grace

2010-03-29T15:11:00.001-04:00

There are times that we need special grace in our Christian walk. And God has provided this special grace through his Holy Spirit that he is sent to us. It is three times the Holy Spirit comes upon us in a supernatural way that we are able to overcome in situations.

It is so awesome to know that God puts his presence on this in such a way to carry out tasks that we could not otherwise carry out on our own. As I look through the word of God at some of these special instances it has been refreshing to know that it happens very often. Peter in the first part of the book of acts when he stood up to preach. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God. The disciples came together after being attacked for their preaching and once again in their prayer time it says the Holy Spirit filled them and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Stephen was chosen as one of seven in acts chapter 6. And it's interesting to note that the apostles asked the people to choose seven men among them who were known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. How do you know someone is full of the Holy Spirit? I think it is more than one thing that distinguishes a person who is full of the Holy Spirit. I think it is a life that shows the fullness of God and it.

But still it does say they were known to be full of the Holy Spirit. This means that people recognize the Holy Spirit's fullness in the seven men as opposed to others not having the fullness of the Holy Spirit. So there was a marked difference between people follow the Holy Spirit and people that were not. I think God's Word gives us a simple answer about the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is something that is available to everyone of us just for the asking. He, the Holy Spirit, is available in a greater measure to help us in life. Not that he is not with us from the moment Jesus comes into our hearts. But the idea that we can be full of Holy Spirit even after being saved indicates that there is more that God wants to give to us at special moments of me. That is why we need to ask on a daily basis that he fill us with his Holy Spirit so that we would have the grace to walk through our circumstances. The grace to speak the words that we need to speak, to affect the situations that we live in, to touch the lives that need something from the Lord, etc.

After seeing numerous instances of the Holy Spirit coming on different ones with a special fullness it is clear that this is something available for us today. I think all of us know there are moments that we need a supernatural or divine aid in order to overcome what we are facing. That is why we have an opportunity to come to the throne of grace and freely ask for help when we need it. Then we will see the Lord fill us with his Holy Spirit and act through us with his power to accomplish his will and our lives.

How do I get help?

2010-03-10T12:07:00.001-05:00

So let’s talk for a minute about getting help from God in our daily lives. Great subject. We all need help. So there is where we start. Recognizing that we need help. Hopefully we are already there. If not just keep living day after day and there will be a time that you are not able to take care of everything that is going on in your life. Or you don’t have an answer for what is happening. Maybe things are happening in your life that are totally out of your control.

In other words you didn’t cause it and have no control over its outcome. Especially at those moments all of us are in need of help. And we cannot do anything to change the situation without outside help. It is out of your hands.

So it is in life that all of us will live moments that we recognize a need for help. Now as Christians this is easy because we know we need God and more so every day. Life is not easy. We need divine intervention throughout our existence.

We ask Him for help. There are many promises in the Word of God that address this basic human need. Lord have mercy on us is a common cry. Daily we look to get closer to Him and be more Christ like in every way. This is a goal in life. It is not only a goal but it is the will of the Father that we be like His Son.

Once again the way we get help is to ask. Now let me focus for just a moment on what I just said. We ask! Nothing more is required. This seems to be something that is so simple yet very profound. Just ask. But I have to do something to get what God has for me. Or there needs to be proof that what I am asking for is mine. Why? Is it biblical to ask something of the Lord that He has already promised and then expect some sign or have to perform for it to be ours? Really? Isn’t it as simple as ‘ask and you shall receive’?

The correct answer of course is that if we ask He is faithful to answer. He will give us what we need. Now specifically if we ask for help God will supply help. Ask for the things He has clearly stated in His Word that He wants to give to us. Don’t hesitate and don’t wait for something spectacular to indicate that He has answered.Trust that He is true to His Word and is answering just as He said He would.

2010-02-15T10:42:00.000-05:00

Darlene and I have completed 21 days of fasting! What a great experience. We know that we will see the spiritual results for quite some time to come. But we also are more aware of God's purpose and will than before. It is so liberating to stop eating! Not fun! But liberating.

I believe the art of fasting as a spiritual exercise has been all but forgotten. It is still a very viable spiritual weapon to wage warfare against the enemy of our souls. One of the things I will mention that has happened during the fasting time is the fact that we have become more aware of things that we need to pray about specifically and have been able to pinpoint how to pray. It has been great.

Here is a scripture someone shared with me that has great impact. It's meaning was more pronounced while fasting as we realized that God had already prepared the answers to our fasting long before we planned to fast! This is an amazing truth. God knew and prepared exactly what He was going to do in response to our fasting and prayer long before we purposed to seek Him earnestly! Here is the scripture:

Isaiah 65:24 - "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear."

Isn't it great to know that He has prepared to do for you and I things that we haven't even asked for yet!!! That just causes my faith and love in God grow immensely. He is so awesome!!
Have confidence, ask and seek Him for whatever is going on in your life! Let Him wow you with the answers!

2010-02-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

Since last writing Darlene and I along with our church family began a fast. We are now in the fifteeth day consuming only juices. What a great experience. We are convinced by God's Word and experience that fasting has great benefits. The most important are spiritual but there are physical rewards as well. And remember Jesus says in Matthew 6 that when we fast our Father will reward us openly or publically. In other words we are going to see the results.

We are not making God do anything. But we are walking in obedience to His Word and Will. Jesus fasted 40 days before beginning His ministry and also before any miracles took place through Him. That is a strong enough case for me to consider fasting an important part of our walk in the Lord.

So back to where I started. We are planning to complete 21 days total. Feeling great! Has it been hard? Of course it is. But well worth it. And I will try to report more on the results later. What are we expecting? Breakthroughs for us and others that we love. Salvation and deliverance in peoples lives. Divine provision for our people. And much more.

We are also praying and believing for God to move on behalf of our children in many ways as well as in our own lives. Did you know that fasting helps to uproot and remove personal bondages? It can help us break strongholds in our lives to grow and mature in the Lord.

Oh and let's not forget least of all but equally as important is the fact that it promotes health and healing in our bodies. Personally my blood pressure was up a bit. Not high or bad but still at some upper thresholds. Already after seven days of fasting I had my blood pressure checked and it had dropped to a very good level!

Fasting has a lot of benefits for life! Try it!

2010-01-25T15:04:00.000-05:00

We just returned from a week long trip to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. It was very rewarding as I taught in a new bible institute during the week and then in 5 different churches both in the city of Merida and Cancun. Yes Cancun needs God too! Of course we were not in the tourist area but with the people that live there year round. The Economic crisis the United States has experienced has effected our neighbors below the border. Tourism has been way down. But they seem to be doing a lot better than America economically.
While there we take in some culture when we have a bit of down time. This trip we saw several cenotes among other things. What is a cenote? Basically I think it is a sink hole since most of the peninsula is limestone. These are generally where you can find fresh, cold water. There is always one or more near ancient ruins. Great source of water.
Two of the cenotes we saw were very close to the ocean. It was amazing to see that fresh water was flowing in these sink holes within yards of salt water. It made a scripture come alive for me more than before. That is James 3:10-12 which says that very thing. A spring cannot produce both fresh and salt at the same time. Only one or the other. And then he says our mouths should only be used to bless and not to curse. You can't mix the two.
Well that is quite a lesson. Because we do try to do both constantly. We curse and bless. We really don't like it when someone does something to us so we speak badly or down at them. Or we speak against people to others. We are supposed to function just like a spring and only allow one kind of water come out.
Hmmm we are to be like a spring. Didn't Jesus tell us that we would have springs of water flowing from within us? John 7:38 So those springs that flow out of us should produce only one kind of water! Water that blesses. It should also praise our God. Wow that is something to think about for this year. Let's work on producing what we were called to produce. Sweet water full of blessing for others.

2009-12-09T12:49:00.000-05:00

In reading the book of Acts of late I have been spending time looking at the not so obvious information that is written. In particular I read where as Paul began traveling back to Jerusalem on what is known as his third missionary journey, there were several extra travelers. This is found in Acts 19 and 20 if you want to look it up.
Anyway with Paul seems to have picked up people that wanted to see the world and have an adventure. Well maybe that wasn't the reason the went along. But for certain they traveled with Paul because they had a desire to serve the Lord in some capacity like Paul. And it is very much as likely that Paul recognized their passion and call to ministry and as a result asked them to join him.

We know they traveled all the way from Asia to Jerusalem because we find them being mentioned in Jerusalem. And we also know that these men were not all Jews. At least one was a Greek. So all of this is very interesting.

The reason it is interesting is because I can see how Paul trained people utilizing everything available. Hands on ministry rather than seminary or bible institute. They were able to ask questions since they had a lot of time while traveling. Not like a 2 hour plane ride today. We don't have the story of what these men went on to do after this time. We only have the mention of them joining Paul on this journey.

So here is where we add conclusions based on other biblical passages that Paul wrote. In particular we can look at both epistles of Timothy. Surely Paul treated these men like a Timothy. he spoke into their lives, nurtured the call of God on their lives, and more. So even though Acts is silent about what they did we can assume a lot of things from these other scriptures to give us a better picture.

What speaks to me on this point even more than all of that is the fact that these guys chose to travel with him. They must have sensed the hand of God on their lives and needed to do something about it. They wanted to learn more and be better prepared. Their love for God must have been the number one motivator in the decision to travel all the way to Jerusalem. And there is no telling what each of them went on to do. One thing is for sure. They made a decision to leave whatever they were doing to follow Jesus. Not Paul, but Jesus.

Here is one more thing that I gleaned as I read this. Paul wasn't the only one called to do it all as the great apostle. There were other people that were preparing to carry on. Another generation was being prepared.

Anyway a lot more could be said about this but I will stop for now. It has caused me to do some thinking and I hope it feeds your curiosity as well.

2009-11-12T10:42:00.000-05:00

I was meditating on one of the most vital things we do as Christians That is the Lord's supper or communion by some. Do this in remembrance of me Jesus stated. Bread and wine(or grape juice by most). Simple elements that hold tremendous spiritual meaning. As a matter of fact these two items represent the blood and body of our Lord Jesus. It speaks of His redemptive nature and salvation. The very core values we believe in.

It is a very important time and one that we should not participate in lightly. We do need to remember His death and resurrection. We need to remember His life as well. Also the body and all Jesus suffered for us and His body whose members are all that believe in Him. There are so many aspects and facets of truth held in what can be described as the 'gospel'. Every time we do it we are remembering what Jesus did for us. But as we remember we are also peeling away layer after layer of truth that is contained in that one act. We are forever learning about the eternal value and completeness of what He has provided for us.

Here is one thought I had in examining the Lord's supper. Actually it has to do with the 'time' in which Jesus instituted this christian tradition. Specifically His first time of teaching was at His last supper but equally important is the fact that He did it before His death. Not after the resurrection when He still walked on the earth for 40 days appearing to the apostles and others. But before He went to the cross. Hmm... This do in remembrance of me.....

Listen to this thought. We always remember His death and yes we are proclaiming His crucifixion or death every time we do it. But He hadn't died yet! Is it possible that we are also to remember His LIFE? Remember how He lived, how He loved?

Didn't He come to show us the Father? He is the manifest glory of God on the earth. He showed us how to live didn't He? And because of the resurrection His LIFE is available for us. I have a renewed desire to SEE how Jesus lived. I believe that I will discover more of how I am to live with His power working in and through me. You see the apostles couldn't remember His death at that moment since He had not yet died. But they could remember His LIFE!

2009-10-13T11:19:00.000-04:00

So I am reading in Hebrews and meditating on the idea of God's rest. Something that we all need to keep in mind as we go through life. Especially as christians because all of us know that you can get too tired and not get the rest you need to function properly.

Anyway I am reading the verses in Hebrews about entering into God's rest and remembering a lot of what I have already learned about it. And I see something that really ministered to me like never before. I will get to that in a minute.

First let me state the obvious. The people of God, Israelites never entered into God's rest because of unbelief or a lack of faith. The Word of God must be mixed with faith in order to work. They were always complaining and never entered rest. So this rest is still available and waiting on those that will learn and endeavor to believe. You see the work we do to enter into rest (by the way you don't need to rest if you haven't worked right?) is all about believing or having faith in God. We learn to trust Him at His Word. We learn to be secure in who He is. Then we will not miss out on His rest. It even says in these two chapters that God worked creating for 6 days and the seventh day He rested from His work. That is where the principle of sabbath comes from. Resting after working 6 days. Boy do we need to learn that right?

So it wasn't sin as we think of sin. But it was still sin which is simply not believing the Lord. We don't think of that as sin but it is because it keeps us out of all that God has for us. It prevents His provision from coming into our lives.

It is as I was looking at this statement that we are to enter into God's rest that He has prepared for us that I began to see it in a new light. Here is what I see: enter into the REST of God! Now you may have missed that so let me say it another way. Enter into more of Him, into the part we haven't experienced yet! You see the more of God we come to know the more we actually can REST. We can rely on, trust in, believe in. We can have peace knowing what God will do and more than that knowing who He is. So the rest of God is not simply stopping and taking a breather but it is knowing HIM better as we believe and trust more in all that He has for us.

Heart Failure

2009-09-29T14:01:00.000-04:00

Hard Hearts Lead To Heart Disease!
I began researching the idea of a hard heart and discovered quite an amount of material. In examining the scripture of course the first person that comes to mind with a hard heart was the Pharaoh in the times of Moses. Actually the word says that God hardened his heart so that he would not let the people of God go and this ultimately ended up in his demise. But it is easy to define from this story what a hard heart is.
Basically we find a hard heart is an unwilling heart. It describes a person that will not listen to reason and mostly basis decisions on what is good for them. They do not consider others but only what is best for them.
Jesus even spoke of people with a hard heart frequently. He made mention of the fact that those that let their heart get hard or callous will not be able to hear or see clearly. That is definitely not the way I want to live. As a matter of fact I believe we can find that many relationships in life are destroyed because of hardness or unwillingness to forgive and love the way Christ loved us. Our stubbornness can actually separate us from the LIFE of God! Wow now that is reason enough to take a closer look at our lives and make sure our heart is pliable, teachable and reachable.
You see our hearts hardened through the course of life over little things that build inside us. We let things get to us and we finally get to a point that we become callous in that situation.
You can lose compassion over time and all desire to forgive or be merciful due to a constant bombarding of similar circumstances. Have you ever said in a situation " i don't care anymore what happens". Your heart has closed in that area. We lose our direction and sight. We lose understanding.
We have to allow the Lord to help us keep an open sensitive heart. Let's not lose hope or faith by letting our hearts stop caring. Let's keep some simple basic truths alive in our life like; repentance, forgiveness, mercy, and love. Don't be robbed of true life by allowing your heart to get hard or stay calloused. Let's fall on our knees before our Father and let Him take from us the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh!
Scripture References you can study:

Mark 8:17-18
Acts 28:26-27
Ephesians 4:17-18
Matthew 13:15
Matthew 19:8
Hebrews 3:7-15

2009-09-11T14:57:00.000-04:00

Darlene, my wife, and I just returned from a ministry trip back into Mexico. What a refreshing time as we revisited with people and ministered that we have known for many years. It brought deep satisfaction to see many lives touched by the power of the Lord. He is such an awesome, real God.

I was reminded of the power of salvation once again during this time. As I witnessed dozens of people give their lives in complete surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ I realized how amazing it can be to come into a personal relationship with the Lord for the first time.

As I watched people receive the Lord into their hearts for the first time I could actually identify the power of God that was flowing into their lives at that moment. You could see it on their faces. The peace and joy that swept over them for the first time. It was real. It is one thing to talk about the bible or Jesus but still a totally different thing to experience it. I could literally see burdens falling off their lives and their countenance change in an instant.

Let's not forget how awesome salvation is. How awesome it is to walk with the Lord Jesus. He really does lift our burdens and bring peace and joy to our lives. it doesn't matter what is going on in our lives, He meets us at that moment and brings eternal life into our being.

I was so refreshed while witnessing the power of salvation once again. It filled my life. And even more so it reaffirmed purpose in life. Too many times we get caught up in things we have to do and forget the eternal purpose for which we were created. Remember He created us and wants to spend eternity with us. Don't you want to spend it with Him for all He has done? And more than that, don' t you want to share such a great salvation?

2009-08-17T11:26:00.000-04:00

Wake up! Hey don't look at me. I didn't invent that statement. God did. He said it numerous times throughout the letter He wrote to us being the bible. In particular He says it in Isaiah 52. He is speaking to His followers, disciples. He is telling us to wake up and be aware. Be prepared.
Here is another way to think about it. God has provided through His Son, Jesus Christ, everything we need to LIVE. We must be aware of not only everything He has provided, but also how to appropriate for our own lives what He has given.
I am reminded of a very strong eternal statement made by our saviour on the cross. Just before he gave his last breath he said "it is finished". Now when he said it is finished I believe he meant exactly that. He had completed the work. He had conquered the last enemy, death. Now everything God wanted to give to us could be ours and nothing can keep us from it. Wake up and begin to see not only all that God made possible but begin believing it for yourself. Begin to know once again the splendor and strength that is yours. Clothe yourself with these tremendous truths. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Remember God chose us to be His own.
Wake up and see His great provision for life. Wake up and hear His Words of hope and faith.

2009-08-10T11:23:00.000-04:00

Most likely all of us know that our minds are where we fight the major battles in life. It is not so much in other things. We have to deal with our thoughts constantly. It is of no surprise then that the Word of God tells us so much about thoughts. One important conclusion that we can come to as we read God's Word is the truth that our minds need renewing. We are in great need of seeing (and thinking) like God does. It takes us out of being defeated or depressed and many other things that effect us daily in life. We can change the way we think to be in agreement with the victorious mindset of the Lord. It is a process and will take time. But we can do it one day at a time.
There is one story where Jesus is traveling and comes into a new area where there is a man that is demon possessed who terrorized the region he lived in. This man is pretty much crazy and violent. His mind is way off. Much further than most if not all of us. As Jesus comes into this picture he confronts the legion of demons in this man and casts them out. The result is that this man is sitting at the feet of Jesus in his RIGHT mind! And all the people that came near were afraid! It is amazing to me that the same people that were terrorized by this man are now afraid because he is in his right mind! Maybe getting in our right mind, God's mind, thoughts, ways, will also cause the enemy of our minds to be afraid. Very afraid!!
Let God's Word wash your mind, thoughts, and all that you are.

2009-08-05T11:16:00.000-04:00

Little by little. That is such a strong principle in life. Things change for the good or the bad little by little. When a crisis or problem arises so many times we wonder how we got to that point. The answer is little by little. It happens in relationships, personal growth, personal destruction, well you get the idea.
you see there is strong principle that the Lord has established for our lives. We are to live by this principle if we want to see true lasting growth. As a matter of fact He teaches us through the Israelites that even when He promised them all the riches and blessings of the promised land that the Lord put a major condition on it. You guessed it! Little by little they would possess the land. Not all at once but bit by bit, battle by battle. They were overwhelmed as they saw the strong fortified cities and strong peoples that they would have to confront. But God didn't ask them to take it all at once. That was too much.
Even though we want all that God has for us it is important that we don't try to get it all in a day. That is how we burn out spiritually so many times. We want to rest in the blessings without breaking a sweat. It doesn't work. We are going to have to fight for all He has prepared.
Lay your hands on eternal life! Go after it. Make an effort to receive by entering into the battles of life.
Our souls are in need of all God has for us. He wants us to have it. But we need to work in conjunction with His power little by little taking possession of it all. So start today. Add something to your life that little by little will be seen one day.

2009-07-27T16:00:00.001-04:00

I saw a couple of skits that I thought were worth watching so here are the links. Yes I cried and laughed. They were that good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY God's Chisel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Pju_bjlWo Coffee for Dad

We Are Able

2009-07-27T12:35:00.000-04:00

We are able. That is what Caleb said to the nation of Israel upon returning from an exploratory trip to see first hand what God wanted Israel to have. With the exception of Joshua, the other 10 princes had a different opinion. You see they were only able to see who they were and what they were capable of doing. They left God out of the equation.
Don't we do that often in our lives. Leave God out of the equation. We work and do in our own ability. It is only when we see an impossible task that we consider the Lord in the situation or we attempt to include Him. But in general we base our future on our ability.
If we could only understand a simple truth. Well actually several simple truths. But here is the first one. God doesn't show us what He doesn't want us to have! And along with that if He wants us to have it then the ability to have it does not lie in our strength.
That is what Caleb understood. He knew that whatever battles or difficulties they would encounter would be met because God was giving them all they saw. The Lord didn't tell them in Numbers 13 to go check out the promised future(land, benefits, goodness, etc.) that He had provided to see if they could take it. He already gave it to them! He just wanted them to taste and see!
We are able. Listen to that phrase with the understanding that it is we with God! Not just in our power but in His. We are able to conquer. We are able to be set free. We are able to succeed. Be set free, change, have victory over sin, live in peace and joy, etc.............
Stop counting on yourself and thinking it is up to you. Start trusting in what God has provided and enter the battlefield to take possession of all He has prepared for you. It is time to acknowledge that we are able!

2009-07-10T14:59:00.000-04:00

Here is a thought: Why did Jesus walk on the water? He could have gone in the boat with the disciples. There doesn’t seem to be any great spiritual meaning to Him walking on water except to catch up with the disciples and go across. Why didn’t He just get translated? The result of Him walking on water was Peter walking on water! Such a frivolous adventure. But what an awesome and unforgettable experience Peter had!! Matthew 14:22-31

Not everything Jesus did can fit into our box of religion. He showed us the Father and His glory. Maybe with all of this He showed us that God cares about more than our basic existence. He cares about our enjoying life further than obligation will allow us to live. It is alright to enjoy life beyond the just getting by mode. Pleasure is part of life! Walk on water! Lighten up a little!

2009-07-06T12:12:00.000-04:00

We need fresh faith. We need to unclutter our Christian past and awaken a new and fresh faith in our hearts. In the story about the Centurion that comes to Jesus for his servant to be healed the Lord proclaims that this man had great faith. This man was not familiar with the Jewish religion. He was a Roman soldier. But he grasped the idea that Jesus was a man under authority from Heaven. Whatever Jesus said would be dispatched and fully backed by the Father in Heaven. He actually said to Jesus something that was amazing. He said, 'just say the word and my servant will be healed'.

He came with a simple faith that believed Jesus' word. This is the faith we need to have. Uncluttered by all the reasons that it won't work, or by circumstances that negate the remote possibility of God moving on our behalf. A faith that trusts what the word of God says.
Now there is an important note that I see in this story. The Centurion was asking for Jesus to say a word for it to happen. He wanted to hear Jesus say it right then. Something that was spoken for that moment and not the past or future. We know the word of God is alive and powerful. But don't we need the Lord to speak to us today for our situation. Not something from the past. But a now word.

We can have that present word in our lives today. All we need to do is ask Him for it and listen. I believe the bible has a word for every situation. We simply need to open our spiritual ears and listen. Spend time with the Lord by reading His word or praying. The Holy Spirit will speak to us. He will quicken a word and make it alive for our present need. He will bring life where there is death. Let Him speak to you. Then believe what He says. Use fresh faith. Don't let anything in your past interfere with trusting Him NOW!

2009-05-06T15:06:00.000-04:00

Set a date with the Lord. Yes that is right. Everything we do in life happens at determined times. Yes there are some surprises but basically we set our alarm clocks in order to keep appointments. We even do that for church. So we decide we are going to meet with the Lord at certain preplanned times such as Sunday morning church service. We fully expect(hopefully this is your expectation) to meet with the Lord on Sunday morning and have some kind of spiritual encounter. And we are not disappointed.
So why not set times to meet with the Lord without the guilt of thinking we should not and cannot do that. Do we think we will offend the Lord if we desire to meet with Him at certain times? When you sit down to read or pray at specific preset times in your life do you expect God to accompany you? Of course we do. Well then maybe we need to raise our level of expectation in life. Maybe we need to bring future hope of God meeting our needs or showing himself to us into the present.
I think too many times we are looking into the future and expecting some day for things to happen. We should begin to believe in a God that is NOW present. Not future tense. A God that says things to us like He did to Zachaeus in the gospels, "today I will eat at your house". We need to know that faith is NOW.
Sure we can't demand of God to do things. We ask. But we need to ask believing He will, He wants to, and He can. Expecting the Lord to do something in the future is fine. But we can also begin to expect an outpouring of His grace today. Didn't He say today is the day of salvation?? Does that mean when we come to the Lord to receive salvation that He will save us someday? No it means He will save us NOW. How cool is that?
We do not get saved at some future time but in the same moment we ask. Yes I know that many times we need to pray and believe patiently until the answer comes. But even then we are to believe it happens before we ever see it. Right? Check out Mark 11:23-25. That is what we are told to do. So don't believe everything is for tomorrow. Begin to open your ears to hear Him say "today I will come to you", "today is the day".

2009-04-03T12:58:00.000-04:00

We have had a name change at our church! We are now called lifepoint church. It was so hard to explain our other name to people that we decided it was time for change. We are also in a new time for our church. An exciting time. We are very much looking forward to what the future holds. And as we move forward we want to be sure that our community knows who we are.

Three words that describe our vision are the words reaching, touching, and changing. In a nutshell we are passionately going after God and at the same time we want to touch people's lives with the power of God. We are also very much about relationships. Our vision can be found in the book of Isaiah chapter 61. The first four verses speak to us about three different areas.

The first area speaks of the call of God on those of us that love God. As Christians we are called to reach out people with God's grace and love. To bring healing to the broken, declare liberty to the captives, and generally help people to know the grace of God.

The second area speaks of bringing healing and wholeness to Christians. So many believers are hurting or broken in some way that they are not able to help others. God wants to make us whole so that we can in turn help others become whole. The Lord has provided for believers grace to be made whole.

The third area speaks of rebuilding the ruined places. I believe God is calling church to once again bring healing to our society. The family needs to once again be restored. The only way this'll come about is if the church is made whole and therefore able to be a testimony of God's goodness so that others would desire to follow.

2009-03-10T15:34:00.000-04:00

All of us I think understand that life is filled with battles. There are all kinds of battles. Personal battles, relational battles, life battles, etc. There are also spiritual battles that all of us face throughout life. Many times we try to fight the spiritual battles on our own and then pat ourselves on the back when we seemingly win a victory.
But there is a phrase in the Word of God that makes me rethink how I fight the battles I face. That phrase is "the battle is the Lord's".
Actually God asks us to not fight but to stand firm and take our rightful place or position in Him. Let's face it, all of us at one point or another realize that we can't win the wars that rage in our lives alone. And our attempts at doing so are at best temporary if not totally failures. We need the Lord on our side. Well better said, we need Him to fight for us. We are not able to stand up against spiritual powers by just wishing it away or by doing works in life. We need spiritual POWER to fight spiritual battles.
He, Jesus, has won all the battles we will face in life. So why not let Him fight for us. Remember a scripture that says, "greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world"? He is greater! So let's get our strategies from HIM!! Let's wait and see His salvation. Let's learn to turn over more of our life to the one who has already won the victory. Let us enjoy the victory He purchased for us.

2009-02-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

The power and presence of God definitely changes lives! On my journey through life I have felt very priviledged to KNOW the Lord. I mean not just read about Him and live a religious life but actually walk with and in Him. Ministry is not just a job for me. It is part of who I am. Nothing thrills me more than to see lives changed by the power of God.
I received a phone call from a pastor where I spoke a few months ago in a small town in central Mexico. We helped start the church there many years ago but that is another story. On my recent trip in December I remember distictly a couple that came to listen. They have never been to church of any kind before. As a matter of fact he was a 18th degree mason and had everything that goes along with that. At the time I remember that during the whole service they never took their eyes off of me and I was sure at one point that they were going to leave and never come back to a church.
But something amazing happened! God used me to speak a direct word into their lives! Then I gave a call to salvation and they along with 6 others ran to the front for salvation! It wasnt' until yesterday, (2 months later) that I learned how radically God had changed their lives. He has denounced everything else he was ever involved with along with his wife and they have totally dedicated their lives to the Lord. He actually destroyed all the books and things related to his past without anyone asking him to.
Isn't it refreshing to see how God's power impacts and changes lives so drastically?? They were confronted with a REAL GOD who stills visits and transforms lives!!! Isn't that why we love God? I can't wait to see what He will do next!

2009-01-23T17:33:00.000-05:00

Every day we are facing challenges in life. Especially in our individual walks. We also face many battles. It seems that the battles are increasingly difficult as time goes on. But there is help for all of us. I know for myself that I try to do a lot of things like win battles on my own. It is so easy to forget the Lord in the middle of stuff that happens in our lives. But it is vitally important that we constantly call upon Him to help us. Even carry us through what we are walking through.

Here is a simple truth that I return to over and over in my life: Ask! When I have lack or can't find the strength to get through I only need to ask! That is just too simple. There must be more to it. It has to cost me something. After all I have to try to make it on my own first right?

You see that is the problem a lot of us have. We can ask God and He will answer. Not only will He answer but He will provide for us. I think we need to make it more of a priority to ask God in every area of our lives. We may find the help that we need. We may discover the POWER of God working on our behalf. Simply because we asked!!