Friday, February 27, 2009

Redefined

I have been thinking and praying about our theme this weekend. "Redefined" My friend Pastor Lee from Atlantic is going to be preaching about it. I am excited to see where the Lord leads us. God really is all about redefining. Not that he changes and has to redefine his rules or who he is, but instead we need to be redefined. God needs to redefine who he is when we doubt him. We need him to redefine us when we feel worthless and unloved. We need him to redefine our circumstances when they seem hopeless. God always seemed to redefine David and his situation. So many psalms start out negative, and end up redefined and hopeful at the end. I think when God redefines, he is simply revealing the truth. I am praying that lives will be changed this weekend. Redefine our lives Lord and help us to know the truth about you, ourselves, and our situations!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Righteousness = Power and Effectivness

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. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

I want to be effective in my prayers, and I want to able to call upon the power from our almighty God. Elijah was obviously a righteous man, you can tell by the power and effectiveness of his prayers. I want the healing/renewing rain of God to come. If God will bring rain for the crops, how much more will he bring a rain that falls on the dry souls of this world. I am praying that those we interact with today would be rained upon and would have an encounter with Jesus that will change the outcome of their eternity!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Any Day Now

I was reading in Leviticus 9 today. It is after the 7 days before the Lord, and they are to prepare by offering sacrifices because they were told "For today the Lord will appear to you" Any day now the Lord will appear to the people. He is coming back! Have you accepted the sacrifice that was made for you? Jesus Christ died for you sins, so that when he returns you are prepared to stand before him. Anyone who walked into the holy of holies in the old testament, and was unclean would die in the presence of God. He has given us this time of grace and mercy; this time when we can choose to restore our relationship to him. We must not let this time pass us by! We cannot earn our salvation, we cannot find a loophole. We must accept Jesus as savior! "For today the Lord will appear to you" Any day now.... People get ready. Jesus is coming!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

7 days before the Lord

Reading in Leviticus today; chapter 8. It talks about the ordination of Aaron and his sons. They were being prepared to be the spiritual leaders of the Israelites. They put on the priestly clothes, made a sacrifice, and anointed them with oil. Then they had to stay at the entrance of the tent of meeting for 7 days and do everything the Lord told them to do. Today as we lead a church, a small group, or our families it is not necessary to sacrifice an animal or wear special clothes, but it is crucial that we spend time; just us and God. As we lead what is most precious to God -(His People) we must be in tune with him. That time is so valuable, and crucial to our success. before we get wrapped up in doing the things of the ministry, let us get wrapped up in the presence of our Lord, so we know who it is we are serving and how best to bring him glory!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Kingdom Mindset

We talked in youth group last night about how we can understand Gods love more than we do. I believe that it takes sharing God's love in order to understanding it at a deeper level. Typically, to get more of something it would make sense not to give it all away. Once again God does things differently than the rest of the world. I love that, but at the same time it makes it difficult to change our mindset. God provides an overflow of love when we have someone around us to overflow into. What good is love if it is not shared anyways? The rules of the kingdom are different. To be first we must be last, to gain we must count all we have as loss. I have found it hard to change my mindset on things. I want to show a Godly love, but even though sometimes my actions or words are good, I have this little thing inside of me going, what am I going to get out of this?? How can I benefit? Ahhhh! why doesn't that just die! Lord, change our mindsets to be kingdom mindsets so we can turn the world upside down (or maybe right side up) for you!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Effectiveness of the Sacrifice

Leviticus 5:17 17 "If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible.

When I read this verse this morning, I found myself thankful for all that God forgives me of. Even things that I do unintentionally, that I don't even know are wrong, I am forgiven. It is just amazing how complete his sacrifice was! I also had a powerful thought yesterday when I was reading other verses in Leviticus. In old testament times those that needed to be forgiven put their hands on the head of the animal to transfer sin from them to the animal. As their hand was on the animal, it was killed and sacrificed. Can you imagine placing your hand on the head of Jesus as he was wiped, or as he was crucified, or as he took his last breath! WOW! Then to think that he wants you to do that! He wants us to bring everything that is evil, and un-holy to him. That is some crazy love. (that isn't out of the book by the way) As I finished in Leviticus I jumped over to psalm 8. "who am I that you are mindful of me" check it out and have a great day!

Psalm 8:1-9 Psalm 8:1 For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Pure love vs. Impure love

I challenged our teenagers last night to keep there eyes open for love of all types, and try to tell the difference between Pure love (Like God) and Impure love (Love that falls short of God's standards). One thing that we learned last night is that pure love is not always nice... Pure love is willing to say and do the hard things, no matter what. One key to pure love is that it is truth. It never lies. As we talked last night I felt so inadequate in the way I was trying to describe love. Can it be done?? I know the English language is really pathetic at using this word. For instance, I love steak, and I also love my wife. Same word, really different meanings! :) I do know this. God is love. I think to know love we must know God, and to know God we must know love. I am anxious to read more of the "Crazy Love" book. God is good. oh, and God is love.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Pushing the Limits

I got to spend a lot of time with Cyrus last night and it was great! We rolled around on the floor and played with toys. He is always pushing the limits and trying new things. I love that! That curiosity and willingness to do things we have never done before seems to be built inside of us. As he began to grab a hold of furniture and tried to pull himself up to his feet, I was encouraging him not to give up, without just doing it for him. Of course I was there to catch him if he fell, but eventually he was able to make it to his feet on several items in the living room. He did great! Somewhere along the way we can find ourselves not pushing the limits anymore. Maybe we think we have done everything we can do. Perhaps we get to scared to fail. We need to remember that God is there to catch us if we fall, but deep inside of us is a yearning for something more don't deny it! If it is a God thing, go for it!


Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Installing the King

Psalm 2: 6-9 -I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. he said to me, "You are my Son today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."

The part about installing the king jumped out at me this morning. Made me think of the inauguration. The one who was chosen will rule right? It is interesting that he says that "you will rule them with an iron scepter" This is another passage that shows us the servant leadership of Christ. We make him our king and we reap all the benefits it seems! Jesus is made king of our lives and we get an instant stimulus package. The difference between America's and God's is that God can afford what he gives out, and there are no hidden agenda's no special int rest groups. It pure and holy. Wow! OK, so there are about 4 or 5 blogs I could do out of these verses. Here is what I am gathering out of these few verses: God considers us a son, or daughter. He enables us to do great things. He teaches us to serve by serving us. And we must chose him and install him as king, and proclaim his decree!

Lord, help us to live with you as our installed king today!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Praying When things are going good

I was convicted this morning about a part of my prayer life. It is a pattern I have followed many times and I would like to break it. I forget to pray for people when their lives are going good. I have found myself committed to pray for people when they are going through a tough time, then when things are better I stop praying for them. We need Gods grace in our lives everyday, and it kinda seems like the Israelites when God blessed them in the Bible and things were going great, then they forgot about him. They forgot where the blessings come from. I do believe there are times to turn up the heat and increase our prayers, but I am going to take a little time today to pray for those who God is blessing today and that He would continue to be obviously active in there daily lives.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Knowing Love

I read in Mark 15 this morning. God once again ties together different parts of my life into a central theme. The theme is pure love. Valentines day this weekend, my brother in law and his wife are renewing their vows this weekend, I have had an increased number of talks with people about relationships, I watched Fireproof last night (which is a powerful movie about a fireman who fights to save his marriage), and now this morning I read about the Crucifixion of Christ. Oh, and not mention that I have this book that was recommended to me called "crazy love". gee God are you trying to get my attention??? :) The big theme that God seems to be placing in my heart is that we must truly know his love in order to properly love others. He is so selfless, and he is God. He is the only one that actually has the right to be self-centered, and yet he is not! As I read about the people mocking him on the cross, I realize it was the pure love of God that kept him on the cross. He could have become the Lion of Judah, but instead played the role of Lamb of God while he hung there. God help me grow deeper in your love today!

Monday, February 9, 2009

ahhhh....

Wow, what a week last week! I didn't even get a blog out on Friday. sorry about that. I was working hard towards getting all of my studying done before the Friday night. This weekend, I completed the last class needed to become a certified minister, and also finished up my internship, which is also a requirement. As, I walked out of class on Saturday afternoon this sense of relief was there. All of my requirements have been met. It is just sending the paperwork to Springfield, MO and waiting for the official documents to come back. It's exciting, it has been a long road and a lot of time has been spent, and it has all been worth it. now I get a couple of months of break, and then back to classes to get the next level! I looked at the stack of books that I have gone through for these courses the other day and the pile of books is much larger than the size of brain, and I am not sure how all that fit in there, but anyways it did! God is good and he has taught me a lot through my studies, and I am anxious to get into some more intense learning... after a little break that is!! Have a good day!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

The Last Stand of the Flesh

I was reading in Mark 14 today and I noticed the prayer at Gethsemane. This will kind of tie into my Monday post as well. This is where Jesus prays not my will but yours be done. This is perhaps the most vulnerable and human that we see Jesus in all of his ministry, other than perhaps on the cross. He knows that death is coming, and every part of his humanness is fighting it. Jesus says:

Mark 14:33-36 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

What an amazing passage! Jesus' desire does not line up with the will of his father, yet Jesus realizes this, and saves the prayer by ending with "not what I will, but what you will" He suppresses the desires of his flesh at the end of the prayer, as his spirit gains victory over the situation. It was the final stand of the flesh. Satan's most powerful attack on Jesus, because from this point forward the decision was made and their was no negotiating. Oh, how I pray that my spirit will gain victory over my flesh today! Not my will, but your will father!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The Living & Dynamic Word of God

Have you ever noticed how when you read something in the Bible once, and then go back to it again, you get something totally different out of it? How amazing is God, that he can give us these physical words on a page and cause them to come alive in our spirit! And then to come alive in different ways. I, for some reason still have those times when it is like, yeah, yeah, yeah, David and Goliath; I know how this goes... Then you read it and study it and something new comes out. It is kinda like the rock hit me in the head instead of Goliath! lol. I was reading in Mark chapter 13 today. (those of you who read this regularly may be noticing a pattern :) ) I was encouraged by the fact that as things get more difficult and times get tougher, we can look more expectantly towards the return of Christ. This is where our hope comes from, and this is one of the things I love about God. His plan is such that if times are good we can praise him and enjoy those times, and when times are bad, we can still praise him and look forward the time to come, because it is near! I guess you can't keep a good christian down! OK, now this is the part that was new to me. He talks about the twigs on the fig trees in the winter getting tender, and as they do they begin to bloom because summer is near (v.28) As we are injured our wounds our very tender. I am referring to physical and emotional. My prayer for us as believers is that we will begin to bloom when we are tender, in the blessed hope of Christs return!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Not far from the Kingdom of God

I was reading in Mark chapter 12 today and verses 28-34 caught my attention. One of the teachers of the law asked Jesus what the greatest command was. Jesus replies and says to love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind. and the second is love your neighbor as yourself.
The teacher of the laws response in verses 32 and 33:

Mark 12:32-33 "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

The interesting part is Jesus responds back and says "you are not far from the kingdom of God" This man was on the verge of something great. He was almost there! What was lacking? had he chosen to follow Jesus yet? did he need to apply what he had just learned? It seems that he had a great revelation. like everything that he had studied just made sense, after Jesus said that! In the other book that I am reading on prayer it talks about how we need to grow to the point of loving Jesus deeply. I can remember being thankful that he had forgiven my sins, then developing friendship has he helped me overcome shortcomings in my life, and as our relationship grows deeper as I worship him and he guides me, and works in me, I love him more and more. I'm anxious to walk in his kingdom today!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Not My Will, But Yours Be Done

I wonder how many times I have prayed my will instead of Gods this past week. In this book I am reading; "With Christ in the School of Prayer" by Andrew Murray, I have found myself diving into the in's and out''s of prayer. During breakfast this morning Pastor Al and I talked about praying for God's will. It is such an interesting subject. Some people honestly are just seeking Gods will for a situation, others use the line as an escape route in case their prayer doesn't come out the way they prayed it would. In the first scenario, they are seeking the perfect answer from God. I think that is good thing. I mean nothing is more perfect than God's will. On the second scenario, we see a lack of faith. there is doubt in that prayer. All of what is available from God is found with a basis of faith. What a topic! We are to be believing God for great things, yet be in his will, yet not get our will confused with his. Wow... I want what comes out of me to be Gods will! As I pursue my quest of break through in my prayer life and draw closer to him I am still reminded that God hears all our prayers and he knows our hearts. I'm simply hungry for more! Have a great day!