Decisions and the Devil

Just yesterday I had a person come up to me and say they had finally been able to forgive a person for something they had done. This person had been offended personally without a doubt. It was a huge step forward in life to be able to come to this point. My last word to this person was to remember that the devil would do everything possible to bring it back up in his mind. I saw this same person just a couple of hours later and it was amazing how quickly the devil acted. When this person got home they received a call. The person on the other end of the phone was unknown but wanted to let this person know that they knew who had offended and that it really did happen. Now, how does a person who does not even know a person call and bring something like this up in a conversation? The adversary is at work. Scripture tells us “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12, ESV). The devil wants to but barriers in your way when you make a decision for Christ. This decision can be for salvation, restoration, reconciliation, forgiveness or any direction God leads you. You must know that you will be faced with opposition in these areas of your life. We must remember “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom 8:37, ESV).

Warren Wiersbe gave a great study of the Strategies of Satan in his book by the same title. The devil is going to:

1. Lie to you to make you ignorant of God’s will (Eve).

2. Attack your body to make you impatient with God’s will (Job)

3. Lift your pride to make you independent of God’s will (David)

4. Accuse you to make you indicted by God’s will (Joshua the high priest).

Your defense is:

1. The Word of God

2. The Grace of God

3. The Spirit of God

4. The Son of God.

This is why we must wear the armor of God (Eph 6). It is not to look like a Christian. It is to be ready for battle. Are you ready?

Don’t Let Anyone Look Down On Your Youth

Matt Barkley is a young man of that has been thrown into the light of college football. He has been under scrutiny as the starting freshmen quarterback for one of the nations most powerful teams – University of Southern California. Pete Carroll has been questioned and second guessed for his move to start this season with a freshmen quarterback. He has enjoyed several years of highly successful quarterbacks such as Sanchez, Booty, and Leinart. It appears from the first two weeks that Matt Barkley is ready for the challenge of his high profile position. Youth has not been a barrier in his, his coaches or his team mates eyes, but the outside world sees it as an issue.

Paul had a young man in a high profile position that faced the same battle. His name was Timothy. It is evident that people were second guessing young Timothy being in a key leadership position. Paul in his letter to Timothy wrote: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” Paul put high expectation on a young man in a high profile position. Timothy was the lead pastor of the Church at Ephesus.

It seems that in today’s society instead of encouraging and placing young people in high pressure, high profile positions we water down our expectation. We send the message that they are not old enough or experienced enough to be what God wants and do what God wants. Let us be the ones who raise the bar. Train up our children to lead. Let us not hold our youth and young adults back. Let’s put them in the game. Yes, we will be second guess and questioned, but I believe they are ready for the task. Will they make mistakes? Yes. Will they need mentors? Yes! But so do we. I would rather follow the lead of a young energetic leader than someone who is older and has become jaded by the world and church. Give me young people who love God and want to serve Him and we will see God make a huge impact on our church, community and society.

Matt Barkley was able to rise to the challenge and I believe that our nation if filled with young people with the same tenacity.

I Pee In Pools

My son has a t-shirt that reads, "I PEE IN POOLS". I mean it is right across the front and yes I did just use the word "pee". I remember the first time I saw his shirt. I was kind of taken off guard. How could anyone be so honest and just proclaim it before the world. Now, I know many of you have never peed in a pool but most folks have (I always am scared that they are going to have some kind of chemical in the pool to make all the water around me change colors.) I think each of you have at least thought about peeing in a pool.

Yesterday I was listening to The Nines and one of the presenters told the following story and I hope I get it right. He said that while on vacation and sitting by the pool and reading a book (what pastors do) his son came up to him and said, "Daddy, I have to pee!". To which his father, deeply engrossed in his book said, "Son, just go pee in the pool!" Then he went back to reading his book. Shortly after everyone got quiet around the pool except for a few laughs. He looks up to see what is going on and you guessed it. His son is standing beside the pool peeing in the pool. He then runs over to his son and ask, "What are you doing?" to which the son replies, "Daddy, you told me to pee in the pool!".

Another of the presenters told this story. He had asked a man what do you pray for everyday. To which he replied, "I pray that I would hear the voice of God and have the courage to obey what He says." Wow. That is one great prayer. So now I want to bring this prayer and peeing in pools together. "Daddy, you told me to pee in the pool!" The son heard his father and obeyed his father. The son did not consider how crazy, stupid or humiliating it would be. He just did it. "Hear God and obey".

I want a t-shrit that says, "I PEE IN POOLS". Why? Because it now has a different meaning to me. It means I will do WHATEVER God tells me to do. It mean that I will listen to him and immediately do what He says. And yes, I believe if we all would just hear God and obey God everyone will stop and look. Some will grow quiet. Some will laugh. But regardless, we would be doing what God has said do. Today, will you pee in the pool if God says to. What has God told you to do that you refuse to do because you do not PEE IN POOLS. Pee in a pool today, obey God.

For all those who are offended, forgive me this is a pool God told me to pee in.

Decision for Your Own Destiny

The dreams and visions that God has been giving me this week are quiet amazing. I do not believe God will give you a vision for which He will not provide, but how does He provide. Visions in the Bible seem to always include committed people and resources. So, I have to pose a question. Does God's vision depend on His people, including me, living in faithful obedience? I believe it does. He has set leaders in place to bring people into a commitment to the Lord and His vision. Getting a mass of people on the same page is no small task. We have the current Health Care issues that Pres. Obama is trying to get everybody on the same page and it is not going too well. Now, this is probably not a good comparison, but is that not the battle God's leaders face. Everyone has an opinion about where we should go, what we should do and how we should do it. Let's take this to the work of God. Does God give an unwavering vision to His leader that is challenging and misunderstood? Again, I say yes. God called Moses to the promise land and the vote was 10 NO and 2 YES. It is interesting that the people were actually voting on their own ticket. The 2 made it. WOW!! They did not know it at the time but their vote was on their own destiny. Joshua and Caleb made it. Joshua led it. Was it easy NO!!! Was it worth it? YES!!!! So when a Godly leader cast God's vision for His people consider how you will follow. Your YES or No could be your decision for your own destiny.

The Importance of the Resurrection

We might forget the importance of the resurrection of Christ in living out our Christian life. It is critical to who we are, what we believe and how we live.

Paul in writing to the church in Corinth wrote: "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain...And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1 Cor 15:14,17)

So, if Christ would have live a sinless life and died on the cross and never was resurrected all Christianity is in vain, it is futile. If the resurrection did not occur we (all of us) are still in our sins that brings death. Therefore, Christ would have died in vain. So, that is why Easter is such an important day in the life of a Christian. Yes, we celebrate the resurrection each Sunday but Easter is different. It is like if you are born on a Tuesday all Tuesdays are a celebration but there is one time a year that marks the date. This week is a hard week for me. One year ago this Friday (Good Friday) my mother died. If the resurrection of Christ did not happen then I have seen the last of my mom. But I refuse to believe that. I do no totally understand how it all works, but I believe the Bible even when I do not understand. Paul told those in Thessalonica that we are not as those who are without hope. Today, I praise God for the resurrection of Jesus Christ of which I do not totally understand. I praise Him for I know there is eternity. I know I will spend eternity with Him. I know I will see my mom again. My life is not in vain. My preaching is not in vain, BECAUSE He is alive. Rejoice, praise and celebrate this Easter like never before. God bless and have a wonderful holy week. 

Who Should We Help?

Helping others is something we all can agree on. Everybody should help somebody! But the question that always arises is, "How do we know who to help?" Well, my easy answer has been that we should help those that the Lord tells us to help. If the Holy Spirit directs you to help someone you should help. Well, I totally agree with that, but what about everybody else? Luke 6:29-30 says, "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you." If someone takes from you give them more? So, that would mean that if someone steals from you give him more? So, if someone on the street tells you a bucket full of lies and cries a bucket full of tears you should help him. Right? Where does it end? I think it ends at the end. Each of us should help who we can. Whatever you have means to do - do. Stop when you do not have the means to do it. So, if you have a dollar to give, give it. Quit trying to figure out if they are sincere or not. If you are so concerned with that, just give it all to your church and let them give it away. Give what you can and leave the result to God. I would add this. Give the message of God's love when you are the blessing of God's love. Never make the mistake of walking away with a quick, "God bless you". Light and salt are a huge part of God's blessing. You are the blessing. You are the help to the hurting. I have never had a dollar bill fall out of the sky when I was in financial need, but I have had God's church meet that need. Let us quit trying to justify our selfishness and be givers. Tell me what you think. 

WHO REALLY NEEDS CHURCH?

I have been a Christian since Dec 15, 1985. During the years since, I have spent most of that time on church staff. I have had great experiences with church and some really hard experiences. Now, understand that when I use the word church I am talking about a local body of believers. There have been times when I have had great faith (trust) in the church and times that I almost lost my faith (trust) in the church. It has been a vacillating relationship. Right now I am having one of the best times of my life in my relationship with the church and especially with Lord of the Harvest. This week I have been building my sermon for Sunday and guess what my topic is - CHURCH. I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the local church during this study. I have a couple of quotes that are part of my sermon I want to share. 

J.F. Powers wrote in Wheat that Springeth Green, "This is a big old ship, Bill, She creaks, she rocks, she rolls, and at times she makes you want to throw up. But she gets where she is going. Always has , always will, until the end of  time. With or without you."

Archbishop William Temple said, "The church is the only cooperative society in the world that exist for the benefit of its non-members."

Brian Kay in The Relevant Church wrote, "It is impossible to be a follower of Christ and not be part of a local church."

St. Cyprian put it this way, "No one can have God as FAther who does not also have the church as Mother."

These are very high opinions of the church. We all know that Christ had a high view of the church as did the Apostle Paul. They saw the church as a living organism not an organization with its rules and codes. They did not speak of denominations or divisions in a positive nature. The body of Christ is His way to reach and teach a lost and dying world. A world in an amazing amount of hurt, uncertainty, confusion and chaos. The Church should be bringing answers to a world that has many questions. Answers of hope and future. Not answers of despair. The Church has a high calling. Let us, all churches and especially Lord of the Harvest, be Christ to the world. Your world is your sphere of influence. Let us work together to create and enable fully functioning followers of Jesus Christ. 

Who really needs church? Well, for one, I do.  

Belief Systems

It is amazing how some things are so connected that one cannot sustain itself without the other. Consider what I call the 7 Intrinsic Truths: God, Bible, Sin, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Church and Christian Living.

God loves you so He gave you His word, the Bible, which reveals our sin for which He sent Jesus Christ to die and be resurrected from the dead and He gave us His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) so that we can be His church and live the Christian life.

This is the system that God put in place so that each of us can achieve all that He has planned for our life. If your system of belief is off it affects everything. If your view of God is wrong nothing else is right. If your view of the Bible is wrong, nothing else is right. If your view of sin is off, everything else is off. If you view of Jesus is wrong, nothing else is right. If your view of the Holy Spirit is wrong, nothing else is right. If your view of church is wrong, nothing else is right. If your view of Christian living is wrong, everything is affected.

We all should take the time to make sure our belief system is right. 

HisSpace

It has occurred to me that god is seeking space that He can use for His will to be accomplished. He wants MySpace. On the social network MySpace promotes itself as a place for friends. One can publish just about anything about anyone on MySpace. It is all about the person. What if MySpace (all that is mine) was His Space. What if my job, my house, my spouse, my kids, my cars, my money, my whatever was HisSpace to do His will? There has been a show that was entitled Changing Spaces. What if we just allowed God to come into MySpace and make it HisSpace? His Space to do His will! What changes would He want to make? What would He want to move around? What would He want to throw away? What atmospheres and environments would He want to chnage? Do we just come to God and stay in control of all that we call MySpace? It is clear that God loves you, loves you unconditionally, loves you as you are, but does that mean that He does not care about what MySpace is really like? I think He does. What do you think?

Dry Spells

It appears that more and more people are determining that they are in a dry spell, valley or some uneventful place by some other name. Life is about highs and lows, good and bad, easy and difficult, dry and wet or happy and sad. Many seem to think that when life is not full of exciting emotion that everything is bad. But is it? Is it not in these times that one looks more insightfully into their past as well as their future. Realizing that some decisions in the past might be the reason they are experiencing this particular valley. Realizing if something does not change then nothing is going to change. During these times we seem to have a heightened sense of where we are. Are these not the times when God is most findable in who He really is? Are these not the times when we really realize where our hope is found? Are these not the times that determine who we really are and who we really trust? It is not the emotions of Christianity or life that I put my trust. It is in Christ and the truth of His Word that I have to trust no matter how I feel. Is there anything else one can trust 100%? Valleys are separated by mountains, so if one wants to get to the next mountaintop you have to go through the next valley. Keep your head up and climb my friend. (Read Psalm 42 and 63)