"Grow in grace"--not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have done. Let faith increase in fulness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low, and know more of your own nothingness. As you grow downward in humility, seek also to grow upward--having nearer approaches to God in prayer and more intimate fellowship with Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit enable you to "grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour." He who grows not in the knowledge of Jesus, refuses to be blessed. To know him is "life eternal," and to advance in the knowledge of him is to increase in happiness. He who does not long to know more of Christ, knows nothing of him yet. Whoever hath sipped this wine will thirst for more, for although Christ doth satisfy, yet it is such a satisfaction, that the appetite is not cloyed, but whetted. If you know the love of Jesus--as the hart panteth for the water-brooks, so will you pant after deeper draughts of his love. If you do not desire to know him better, then you love him not, for love always cries, "Nearer, nearer." Absence from Christ is hell; but the presence of Jesus is heaven. Rest not then content without an increasing acquaintance with Jesus. Seek to know more of him in his divine nature, in his human relationship, in his finished work, in his death, in his resurrection, in his present glorious intercession, and in his future royal advent. Abide hard by the Cross, and search the mystery of his wounds. An increase of love to Jesus, and a more perfect apprehension of his love to us is one of the best tests of growth in grace.

I pray this devotional speaks to hearts and stirs hearts, as the heart of this message is in unison with the heart of this blogsite.  Father, I thank you for this message and pray you bless it.  I pray you open the eyes of the many whose hearts are in deception or have grown cold to you.  Place the desire of the knowledge of you in all our hearts, and especially in the hearts of those who claim to know you but do not hunger for you. We love you, Lord, and thank you for your continued patience with us.  Thank you for the Word you have entrusted to us that sets us free!!  Thank you for the Cross!  In Jesus' Name.  Amen!
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Forgiveness 01/19/2012
 
Lord, I love you and pray this message stirs hearts.  Let these words fuel the love we have for you, or rekindle the love we once had or never have realized for you Jesus.  With a sincere heart, thank you Jesus.  Thank you for life, love & hope.  Guide these words as I write them. 

I didn’t join the crowd of facebookers last November in the whole “I am thankful for” day-by-day thing, but there are many things I am thankful for.  I am thankful for the Cross and the empty tomb!  I am thankful for realized forgiveness.   I am thankful for my beautiful wife, Casey, and daughter, Rylie.  I am thankful for our unborn baby that God is knitting together as you are reading these words.  I am thankful for my church family. I know this is somewhat generic, but I am so thankful for my family and friends.  Many of you are in my prayers, daily by name.  I think of you more than you know, and more than I communicate.  I love you all.  There are too many things to name, but all the thanksgiving I have, I give to the Lord; it is in Him and through Him all things have been made.  Glory to God!

Are you a Christian?  Are you a Christ follower?  The label, “Christian,” appears only 3 times in the Bible with the first time in Acts 11:26.  It is likely the term was originally meant in a derogatory way, as the disciples were the ones who first were called “Christians.”  These were men, fully devoted to Christ in every way, regardless of the ridicule and aggressive hostility they faced while preaching the Gospel of grace to the Jews.  However the intent of the label, “Christian,” these men were honored by it.   Let’s not be ashamed of the Gospel.  Let’s not apologize for it.  Instead, we should embrace this honorable title, and not bring shame to it.  For the longest time, I referred to myself as a Christian, but I was never a Christ follower.  I followed my own sinful desires all the while believing I was a Christian.  I didn’t honor the title, nor was I honored by it.  I was still lost.  I knew that to go to heaven when I died, I had to believe that Jesus was the son of God and lived a perfect, sinless life, and died for my sin.  I acknowledged this, intellectually, but had never let this truth travel the distance from my head to my heart.  I saw this as fire insurance.  I didn’t want to go to hell, of course not.  Who would?  If our desire for heaven is simply escaping hell, we’ve missed it.

Forgiveness changes things.  How can we get to the place where we are devoted Christ followers?  I’m convinced the answer is forgiveness.  We have to embrace forgiveness.  Anyone can teach themselves to act a certain way, but we aren’t talking about an act, rather a way of life and a change of mind; repentance.  The forgiveness I am talking about here is the forgiveness that justifies us in the sight of God: forgiveness of our sins.  To fully embrace and understand this, we have to begin by acknowledging that it is our sin that put Jesus on the cross in the first place.  It is my fault.  He was tortured unto death for me and because of me.  Again, it is my fault and acknowledging that transformed my heart and mind.  Think about it like this:  I have a brother that I am really close with.  I love him very much and know that he loves me too.  Now, imagine he took the blame for something that I did, and because of this was brutally tortured unto death.  I should have been the one that faced this horrifying violence and shame, but he did instead.  This would change me.  This would affect me.  My life would no longer be the same.  This is exactly what Christ has done for you and for me, individually.  This is not history.  This is personal!  Don’t let this be impersonal.

The Bible says in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  The Greek word for confess actually means to say the same thing as another, i.e. to agree with.  So, to confess our sins means that we are coming into agreement with God that the sin we are in fact confessing is sinful.  We agree it is a dreadful thing and aren’t simply admitting to God what He already knows.  If we tell God our sin, but don’t actually agree or feel like what we are admitting is actually wrong, then this is not really confession at all.  True confession is powerful.  Whenever we agree with God that our sin is in fact sinful, our minds have been changed and our only response is to repent (turn away from and around; we walk to rather than away from God).  So, if you find yourself in a pattern of sin and can’t seem to kick it, take a deep look into your motives whenever you confess and pray for forgiveness.  If we confess as I described above, understand the promise that He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Are you agreeing with God?  Or are you wishy-washy?  “My sins aren’t that bad…..at least I’m not doing [blah, blah, blah] like so and so.”  Remember the standard which is Christ and His Word of Truth. 

Back to the example I gave you about my brother.  Recall that if he took the blame for me and died for me that it would affect me, and this is in fact what Christ has done for us.  Now take it one step further.  What if I was to tell you that every time you sin intentionally, you are personally hurting Christ.  It is as if you are taking the whip and giving Him lashes on His back as He carries our cross.  You are re-crucifying Him. This is true.  (Heb 6:4-6) 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.  I urge you, Christian, to take sin seriously as this is not a game.  Let’s not hold back the power of God to transform our lives.  Let’s live for Christ!

As we begin to live life clothed in His righteousness, experiencing His forgiveness, and knowing exactly what we have been forgiven of, we can’t help but to worship Christ and see the cross as beautiful, real, and transforming.  God be with you, Christian.  I love you.

Father, we adore you. We wish to follow you and need your strength and power as we aren’t able to in our own strength.  Open our eyes and cleanse our hearts.  Lord we know you forgive us because your Word says so.  You have said that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.  Help us to believe this.  We are not yet perfect, and rely on your grace and forgiveness, Lord.  Help us to truly confess.  Open our eyes to the beauty of Christ and fill our hearts with your incomprehensible peace. IN JESUS NAME. Amen

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Before I begin, I want to tell you all that I love you and have been prayerfully seeking the Lord in the anticipation of writing this message.  I pray that it falls on eyes that may see and ears that may hear the voice of Christ, the Source of all True Wisdom and True Knowledge.  Father, guide these words as I write them.  Let me not communicate anything that does not line up with Your unfailing Word.  Soften the hearts of those that read this that they may see and understand the heart behind it and in it.  Draw me near to you in boldness to say the things that must be said without condemnation, but gentleness.  I love you, Lord, and give my entire heart to you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

It has been awhile since I’ve written a message, so I do not anticipate that many will read this, but God willing, the right person or persons will.  I wish to only write what the Spirit of God is leading me to write, and sometimes that means that my messages will be infrequent while at other times they will be quite frequent.  I’ve titled this message, “Stewardship of Parenting,” because that is what the Bible teaches that we as parents are.  We are stewards of everything that God has given to us, and we will be held accountable to the measure in which we practice good stewardship, especially when it comes to the way we raise our children.  Psalm 127:3 says that “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.”  Whenever we have said, “Yes Lord, I will follow you.  I give my life to you,” we are declaring to Him that our lives are no longer our own.  We are declaring that everything we have is not our own, but a gift from God that we are responsible for using to bring honor and glory to Him.  I’ll be the first to admit that I am not an expert on parenting; my experience is limited to the nearly three joyous years I have spent raising our daughter Rylie.  However the brevity of my parenting, I take my role of parenting seriously.  I strive to live and teach the ways of the Lord to my children.  Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  RAISE THEM UP IN THE DISCIPLINE AND INSTRUCTION OF THE LORD. 

Recently, my wife and I had decided that our family was not going to celebrate Halloween.  This is our own personal decision and a conviction we both had from God.  It’s not my goal to persuade anyone one way or another about Halloween celebration, and we don’t judge anyone that does participate in that day’s festivities.  We pray every day (literally, every day before one or the other leaves to work we pray as a family) to walk and live in the way of the Lord, seeking His guidance with hope to bring honor and glory to His Name.  In our hearts, Halloween celebration would be a compromise of our faith, and because we were both convicted by God, it would be sinful for us to participate.  We’ve been asked several times, “What is Rylie going to be for Halloween,” and our reply simply, “Our family doesn’t celebrate Halloween.”  Most people have been non-judgmental (at least to our faces), but one person in particular was quite appalled that we didn’t participate and asked all kinds of questions about why.  It would have been easy to just give-in and play along with everyone else, but in all honesty and to be quite frank, I don’t care what anybody thinks or says about me or about the way I raise my children.  I know best how to parent the children God sovereignly and righteously appointed for and to my wife and me.  Nobody that has spent five minutes around our daughter questions if she is loved, cared for, intelligent or happy.  I answer to no man, but God alone.  I care what He thinks!  I wish to please Him alone!  We can't allow others' judgment to impact the way we live our lives and care for our children.  I pray for the strength to leave the world behind me in all aspects of my life, not wishing to be normal.  I don’t care to be like the majority.  I care nothing to be like the me I was before I began living for God.  As a Christian, we are called to be holy, or set-apart from the rest.  Our lives should be fundamentally different than that of a non-Christian, but look around.  Can you distinguish between Christians and non-Christians?  Has compromise blurred the line between the two?

As a father, it is my responsibility to teach my children about Jesus Christ.  I am called to be a living example of Christ for my family and the world.  It is not up to anybody else, not even the Church itself, but to us, the fathers, to teach our children about Jesus.  “Well, they’re the experts, they can do it better.”  Nonsense.  Excuses won’t hold up; get to know Christ and study His Word.  Sunday and Wednesday is not enough.  Our children should observe our obedience to Christ.  They should see our desire to know Him with ever-increasing passion.  A Christian family should talk about Christ and pray together.  (Deuteronomy 6:6-9) “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  

A steward is a person who manages the resources of others.  We are called to be stewards of everything the Lord has entrusted to us.  We must begin to see our children as the Lord’s and not ours, and raise them the best we are able in His ways, knowing that we are ultimately held responsible for the influence we have had on them while in our care.  Our decisions and actions should be influenced more so by God than by the world, and expect that you will be ridiculed and condemned for His Name’s sake, if you choose to follow Him. 

I love you all, and hope that this message has encouraged you and motivated you to not worry about trying to fit in, but rather seek to please the Father.  God is good, and His commands are not there to spoil our fun.  His commands are for our own protection and benefit, and I am learning more and more the joys of obedience to God.  I hope you are also.  May God bless you!


Below is a song by Casting Crowns that is really awesome.  The words are powerful.  I hope you enjoy!

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Below is a video from a funny pastor named Mark Gungor.  He teaches a series called Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage.  He's quite eccentric, and possibly a bit ADD, but really says some truthful things about the feminization of the American Christian church.  He makes some great points that go along with the blog I just posted about the folly of making decisions based on feelings alone.   Perhaps you will enjoy this.  I love you guys.
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Choose Wisely 09/13/2011
 
I recently shared that my wife is pregnant with our second child.  God is so good and has blessed us way beyond what we deserve.  We have our first doctors appoint this Thursday and are excited and hopeful to get to hear the heartbeat!  Before I get into my message for today, let’s pray.  Father, thank you for all your blessings.  Thank you for grace.  Thank you for sending your son to die for our sins.  Thank you for sending Your Spirit.  Thank you for your Word.  I pray that this message brings glory to you Father and that hearts will somehow be lifted up and blessed by these words.  We love you Lord.  Amen.

I was recently talking with a coworker about a couple going through some marital problems and on the brink of divorce.  I won’t go into too much detail, but the husband has a history of infidelity and was recently caught in an adulterous relationship.  The woman he was with is also married, and both couples belong to the same Bible preaching church.  The cheating husband was even a deacon at this church.  This is a prime example of why so many people, non-Christians, want nothing to do with Christianity.  Hypocrisy runs amuck in too many “Christians’” lives, and it isn’t just in the congregations, but the leadership as well.  Why is this the case?  Probably the most relevant reason is that many mistake knowledge of God for knowing God.  (Mat 7:21-23)  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23  And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'  Do you have a relationship with Him?  I pray these words above aren’t spoken to anyone that I know.

I want to tell you all that one of the biggest mistakes we can ever make is to make choices based on feelings alone.  Often times, feelings lie.  The battle is spiritual, and Satan and his angels use feelings as a foothold.  Better stated, the enemy tells us lies, and our feelings are often reactions to these lies.  Think about it.  Have you ever felt like you were worthless?  I know I have.  But you aren’t worthless.  I’m not worthless.  We are worth so much that Christ paid the ultimate price for us!  That makes us valuable, but often times we don’t feel valuable.  You can’t trust feelings!  The adulterous relationship I described above stemmed from a man thinking he was in love with another woman.  Lie!  That, my friends, was nothing more than lust and was a trap from the pit of hell!  1 Thes 5:21 says, but test everything; hold fast what is good, which means that we should test our feelings against the unchanging truth of the Bible and make choices accordingly.  I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say, “Well, I don’t think God would want me to feel this way,” or, “God would want me to be happy,” and then justify whatever sinful action they were about to do, whether it’s divorce or pre-marital sex.  All sin begins in our head, and we must take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5), otherwise we will find ourselves living in the lies and walking in the flesh.  People have left spouses for adulterous lovers, and then went on to tell that they believe God brought them together.  LIE. 

(Rom 8:5-8) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

It is time for Christians to take a stand and walk in the Spirit at all times.  It’s time for Christians to live Christian lives.  It’s time for men to be men of God.  Let’s not take the name Christian lightly.  Let’s look to the scriptures for guidance!  Let’s set our minds on the Spirit and take hold the life and peace that only God can provide!  Praise God!

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Good afternoon.  I have some really good news to share with you all about my family, but first, let me tell you a bit about the way God has spoken to me these past few weeks.  I say God has spoken to me, and I had better explain to you what I mean.  I have never heard an audible voice from God, but on several occasions I have “heard” from Him through His scripture.  Two Sundays ago during praise and worship, part of a verse came to my mind: (John 16:24) …and your joy will be complete. 

That particular Sunday, I was feeling especially blessed.  My daughter went into her Sunday School class without any grief.  Our Sunday School class had gone great and we were on to Praise and Worship.  I had my wife on one side of me, my mother and father-in-law on the other side, a sweet old couple standing in front of me, and our best friends on the other side of my wife.  The joy I was experiencing was beyond words.  I was surrounded by people that I love and that love me.  It was a special time.  And then, and your joy will be complete.  I thought God was telling me, “I am giving you a glimpse of what it is going to be like when you are finally in my presence.  The joy you feel right now, is fractionally as good as what you will experience when this life is over and you are with me in heaven.  Keep up the good work.  Continue pressing on.  I am with you and will never leave you.”  This is what I believed God was telling me through this verse, but soon I realized He had a bit more to say that I didn’t get until this past Sunday.  I read the rest of the verse: Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

I have to give you a bit more background so that you will get to understand a bit of the depth and intensity of what was revealed to me, so please bear with me.  Whenever my wife was a little girl, a pre-teen, she had stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  This is the last stage in the staging categories.  It was bad, but fortunately this type of cancer has a really good cure rate.  Her chemo and radiation treatments were a success, but they came with some potential complications.  The doctors told her that she may never be able to have children due to the intensity and location of her treatment.  Casey was born to be a mom.  It is in her DNA.  God made her to love children, so you can understand that this potentiality was quite difficult for her deal with.  God blessed us with our daughter Rylie.  She was/is a miracle to us.  God answered many people’s prayers by blessing us with her.  Last October-November, we had decided to abandon all forms of contraception for good (someday I will explain our coming to this decision).  We were going to leave it up for God to decide when and how many children we are going to have.  We want more children.  I love being a father and Casey loves being a mother. 

A couple months ago, Casey was late for her period, and we had hopes that she may be pregnant, but she wasn’t.  We were beginning to think, “Maybe Rylie is going to be our only naturally born child.  Maybe she was the only child Casey was going to have.”  She half-way seriously asked me to use whatever pull I had with God to make her another baby.  It is funny, I had been praying about our potentially growing family, but my prayers were along these lines: “God, I trust and believe that you will give us a baby whenever the time is right.  I trust your plan for my family.”  After Casey prompted me to “use my pull with God,” my prayer changed.  I began praying: “Lord, I trust your plan for my family.  God, we really desire to have another child.  Please give us a child.  Lord, if it isn’t your plan for us to have another child and you want us to adopt, then please give us a sign.  Somehow reveal to us what you want us to do.”  So, I was praying.  I was patiently waiting for a response.  I was in no hurry, although my wife was; though, I really was ready to have another child.

So, during the first part of last week, Casey was late again for her period.  This time the glorious, magical stick had the news we had been hoping for.  My wife is pregnant!  We are going to have another child (God-willing everything goes well and the Rapture doesn’t occur)!!  The rest of the week, I was so excited that I never really thought again about the verse that God spoke to me though, until this past Sunday.  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.  I realized that God was telling me that Casey is pregnant in addition to the revelation of the joy of what complete rest in Him will be like.  God had waited until I asked Him to bless us with what He already knew our hearts desired.  I got a pretty good chuckle out of when I told Casey what I had just realized and she said, “I told you to use whatever pull you had with God to get me another baby!”  I had forgotten that she had said that those months ago.  God truly has a sense of humor!

I hope that this story brightens your day somewhat.  Most of all, I hope that God’s glory is shown by what He has done for us.  He is so good to us!  God answers prayers.  (James 5:16) Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  I pray that each and every one of you have come or will come to know the peace and joy that come by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  I love you all.  Have a great rest of the week!

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Riding Fences 08/10/2011
 
Hello.  I hope you all are well.  I’ve missed getting to write these messages.  As I’ve taken on more responsibility in the prison ministry, I’ve had less time for this.  I really love writing.  I love sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in whatever means I effectively can.  I hope that these messages may build up and challenge believers, as well as inform any unbelievers of the precious hope we have in Christ Jesus.  Before I begin this message, let’s pray.  Father, first of all, we thank you.  We love you.  You are the only thing that can sufficiently satisfy and we thank you for this satisfaction that comes by knowing you.  May eyes and hearts be opened and your work be done.  Guide these words, father.  May this message be one that builds what needs building and tear down what needs tore down in the hearts of anyone this message reaches.  May hearts be won and spirits be renewed.  In Jesus name, Amen.

As a Christian, what we stand on, walk in and hope to never fall away from is Christ: more specifically, a living relationship with the resurrected Lord.  Christ is the foundation of our faith.  Not only is He the foundation of our faith, he is the foundation of the world and the Word of God.  (John 1) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men….14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.  So, He is our foundation, and to His feet we shall fall on our faces and worship as King!  Master!  & Lord! 

I remember one of the reasons I began writing these messages nearly a year ago, was to help others that may be in the exact place I was before the Lord began tugging on my heart, setting it ablaze for Him.  I was riding the fence of Christianity, teetering back and forth and not able to make my mind up whether I wanted to live for God, or live for myself.  I didn’t even know that a Christian was to live for God.  I just thought Christ was something you acknowledged and believed, “Sure I believe He is the Son of God,” and “Yes I believe He is the only way to heaven.”  These thoughts, beliefs if you will, were only superficial to me and undoubtedly to many others.  You see, if you are from Oklahoma as I am, you are surrounded by a people that nearly all consider themselves “Christians,” making it is easy to lie to yourself and believe that you also are really a “Christian” (I mean, you are like everyone else and they are Christians, right?).  You can’t ride the fence for forever!  I rode it for awhile until I began reading the Word (God placed the desire in my heart….He did it, not me) and became convicted that the way I was living my life was not indicative of a heart that belonged to God (in reality, my heart didn’t belong to Him up to that point; I was holding on tight).  I read the Bible and realized that I myself and the life I was living were no different than that of a non-Christian or agnostics.  I realized that a true Christian is someone that is utterly in love with Jesus.  A true Christian chooses Christ because they love Him and not because they simply don’t want to go to hell!  Can you imagine facing God and Him asking you this question: “Why did you choose to believe in my son?” and then your response, “I just don’t want to go to Hell.”  At first glance, this answer may not sound unreasonable to you, but what does this answer really say about the heart?  Maybe this question illustrates my point a little better:  If heaven were a place where there was no suffering and everyone you ever loved was present, but Jesus was absent, would you want to be there?  If you were to choose between eternity with God or eternity with your family and friends, which would you choose?  I’m not trying to say that eternity with the ones you love is not something to look forward to, rather to show you that heaven is heaven only because that is where God is.  God is the prize and the rest is just icing on the cake.  The reality of Hell is a great motivator in turning hearts to Jesus, as it should be, but after one comes to Christ, over time a growing love for God must become the reason you continue to trust in Jesus. Your heart must shift from, “I don’t want to go to hell,” to, “I want to spend eternity with you, Jesus!”

So, to get off the fence you have to realize that you’re on it in the first place.  (Phi 3:18-19) For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.  Is your glory also your shame?  Think about it.  When you are with your friends, what do you normally talk about?  Are the things you are proud of things that God would be proud of you for?  When you are with the guys (if you are a guy), is the coolest guy the one who has slept with the most girls or can drink the most.  Are your weekends usually filled with attempts to add another notch to the bed post (please excuse me for this crude reference, but it’s important to note)?  Do you spend more time intoxicated than you spend reading your Bible or in prayer?  I’m not asking these questions to make you feel bad, but if making you feel bad turns your heart to the Lord then I don’t mind being the “bad” guy.  

 (Rom 10:9) That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  It is possible to confess what you don’t possess.  Confessing with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” implies an understanding and realization of His lordship in your life.  These words realize their power when they are the outward confession of the inward change of your heart.  You are confessing, “Jesus, you are now my lord.  I will do my best, with your help, to make your way, my way.  My life is yours and I submit my will to you.  I will go where you want me and do whatever you want me to do.  I will follow you.  You are my master!”  Anyone that has given their heart to the Lord will agree with the psalmist when he wrote, (Psalm 40:2) He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of a miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.  If you have given your heart to the Lord, you will notice changes in the way you view sin.  You will begin to recognize sin as sin.  You will have to begin making choices to follow His ways or your own, and in the moments it may not seem like you will be happier by following Him.  You may lose friends and your heart will be broken time and time again, but when you get to the other side of the life you were living before (it is a process and takes time for most), you will come to experience and know true joy.  You will experience freedom like never before: freedom and joy in spite of circumstances rather than because of circumstances.

So, I urge you believers press on with the faith.  Let’s pray for and strive to have our hearts be like that of Paul when he wrote: (Phil 3:8-11) What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Unbelievers and new believers, I encourage you to ask yourself the questions I have written in this message.  Examine yourselves and realize that we are all utterly lost without sincere love for and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I love you all and care dearly for you and think of you in prayers and thanksgiving.

 

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Hello everyone.  I hope you are all doing great!  My family is doing really good.  We can’t complain about anything other than what everyone is complaining about: the heat.  God has been so good to us and all I can do is praise Him.  It seems the more I get of Him, the more satisfying life becomes.  I think that is His point.  So how are you?  How is your satisfaction with God?

Below is a quotation from Francis Chan’s Crazy Love.  I think it is quite a statement, answering a question we all at some point wonder about.
  [Psalm 115:3 reveals, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” Yet we keep on questioning Him: “Why did you make me with this body, instead of that one?”  “Why are so many people dying of starvation?”  “Why are there so many planets with nothing living on them?”  “Why is my family so messed up?”  “Why don’t You make Yourself more obvious to the people who need You?”
The answer to each of these questions is simply this: because He’s God.  He has more of a right to ask us why so many people are starving.  As much as we want God to explain himself to us, His creation, we are in no place to demand that He give an account to us.]

This excerpt begs us to recognize our place in this world.  We are His creation, and we are accountable to Him rather than Him accountable to us.  We have to understand that He is all-powerful and all-knowing.  John 1:3 says, “Through him [Jesus] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  We are a created being, and all things that are created are inherently lesser than that which created it.  We know this.  For instance, if I were to build a book case; would you look at the book case and expect it to be greater than I.  Would you expect it to say, “You know, if you would have built me out of half inch oak rather than three-eighths inch poplar, I could have supported an additional 200 pounds per shelf?”  So, when we look at God and ask Him to explain himself to us, we have to come to the realization that He is right and is far more intelligent than we are.  God is just.  He doesn’t do something because it is right……because He does something, that makes it right.  He is perfect.  He sets the boundaries for right and wrong; not us.  Would we dare act this way to our bosses?  I don’t think so unless we are prepared to find a new job.

So let us begin to understand our position.  Let’s remember Who we are talking to or questioning.  Let us not forget that the God who created the universe, also created little you and little me.  He made everything, yet He loves us: individually.  When you pray, you are actually talking to the creator of all things!  Realize this.  Get excited about this.  How is it that we would get giddy about getting a chance to talk to [insert famous person name here], but don’t also get excited about talking to God.  I’m not pointing the finger without remembering the hand the finger originates from.  I am guilty of this.  I let my prayer life get stale, at times.  I sometimes “lose” my first love and need the wake-up call I am writing this message to give.  We need God to draw close to God!  Sometimes we have feelings of “Why?” but we must remember that just because we don’t understand doesn’t somehow mean He is wrong.  Sometimes we need to pray the prayer in Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

I love you guys and hope your faith is growing.  If you ever need someone to pray with you, for you, or for somebody else, I am happy to help.  I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed week!

Father, thank you for another day.  Thank you for all the many blessings you have given to us.  Thank you for your grace that we all so desperately need.  Father, empower us to bring glory to your name.  Give us knowledge to understand and abounding faith when we don’t understand.  Father, fill us with your spirit and cleanse us.  Change us into people you can use.  We love you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Hello all of you.  I hope you have had a great week!  God is good!  Is that an understatement or what?  Casey and I celebrated our anniversary last week.  I have learned so much about God and myself by being married.  I want to share with you the vows that Casey and I each had written and said to each other in addition to the other vows we repeated to each other after the pastor on our wedding day.

My vows to her:
Casey. 
You are my lover, my keystone, and my best friend.  You are the wonderful dream from which I never awake.  You are truly my soul mate.  You make me feel like the luckiest man on earth even though no luck is involved.  You are the answer to my prayers.  God created me to find you.  You were always a part of God’s plan for me and me for you.   For that, I am forever blessed. 
I promise to love you, to honor you, and to protect you with all that I am for as long as I live.  I promise to comfort you when you are in pain.  I promise to take care of you when you are sick and when you’re well.  I promise to always kiss you goodnight.  I love you and I am in love with you.  My heart beats for you.  My heart is forever yours.

Her vows to me:
Ryan,
For years before we met I prayed that God would prepare our hearts for each other, and direct our steps, so that someday I would find you and be ready for you. You have every quality that I think a man should possess.  Because God gave me you, I’ve experienced what it’s like to depend on and trust a man completely.
Ryan, I promise I will always encourage you.  I promise to always cherish your ambition, your intelligence, your thoughtfulness, and your sense of humor, because those qualities are what make you so unique and wonderful.  I promise to help shoulder our challenges, because there is nothing we can’t make it through if we stand together.  I promise I will be considerate of you, and I will take care of you always.  I promise to take joy in our new life together, because the good times will be so much sweeter with you by my side. 
Ryan, lastly, I promise that in me you will forever have a true and loyal friend.

I read these vows from time to time to remember what I promised to my wife that special day.  I don't know what I have done in this life to deserve a bride as wonderful as her.  I am very thankful for her.  God's love for me and for Casey is what brought the two of us together, and I can't help but to think how similar it is that in God's love, He has prepared an eternal Groom for us all in Christ Jesus.  Much how Casey and I grow closer together, becoming more and more like each other, we, as the bride of Christ shall be becoming more and more like Him.I said I have learned a lot about God by becoming a husband to my wife.  I've learned what it feels like to love someone else enough that I would lay my life down in a heartbeat for that person.  I've learned how to REALLY love and be loved.  1 Corinthians 13:4-84 Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8. Love never fails.

I've learned the joy of the love this verse speaks of, and have experienced the pain that is brought with impatience, unkindness, pride, selfishness, pain, & grudges.  I praise God that the "old man" in me is becoming less and less a part of my life as I aim to be crucified daily that He may live in me and through me.  Praise God that He is patient.  Praise God that He is Kind.  Praise God that the moment we enter into His presence with sincerity, confessing and repenting of our sins, that He remembers them no more.  I recognize my faults and imperfections.  I live for the day that temptation does not stalk, and until then, I must rely on God or I will fall.  We were not made to do it alone.

I know this message is brief, and unlike most that I have written before.  I just wanted to take a moment to praise God for His goodness and loving-kindness in sending me the girl of my dreams and drawing us to Himself.  Praise God.

Before I end this message, I wanted to share with you something my wife had said one time while we were discussing marriage and divorce one day.  We were talking about some how people question whether or not they married the right person when she said, "You don't marry someone because they are the right person; because you are married to them, they are the right person."  This has to be one of the wisest statements I have heard about marriage.

Lord, we thank you for the love you pour out on us.  We thank you for your forgiveness and mercy.  We pray for your empowerment to live lives that bring glory to you, Father.  We love you, Lord.  In Jesus name, Amen.
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"ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner anal jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrillseeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power."
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