Invictus

Invictus -
"OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."

All men are grass

1 peter 1:24-25

"All men are like grass and all thier glory is like the flowers of the field, the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord stands forever."

The words of the Lord stands forever while the glory of men falls and withers like the grass of the field. The Glory of men is fleeting. This has been true throughout all of history. Men's words and glory has died with them. Sure many would claim that great men live on in thier influence but thier glory is unlasting someone newer and fresher comes along with a new different idea. Communism and socialism are two examples of the glory of men fading. Carl Marx for example wrote his communist manifesto which became the "bible" for communism but that has fallen and while some would still argue for it his glory has faded. Even democracy would seem to be fading in its present form. The Glory of men will fallbut the word of the Lord stands forever. You could even use more contemporary examples of movie stars or profesional athletes who are popular today but are easily replaceable.

Peter knew this and warned the early christians not to pursue it, and whats more they had no more need of the perishable glory of this world because " they had been born again not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God" (ch1 v 23) This rebirth had freed them and has freed us from the need for the glory of men and allows us to drink on the "pure spiritual milk" (ch2 v 2) so that we may grow into what God has intended for us.

So then do not yearn for the glory of men. You do not need a promotion, an A, a pay raise, an award or any other recognition. These are not the things that should be driving us. Instead we should be be striving to grow in our relationship with God, to do his work, and to be glorified by him in heaven where we will be given an everlasting crown and glory that does not cease.

Prayer For Renewal

God,
I am struggling, I remember the strength, the inspiration, the power you had instilled in me. I remember the inspiration you had blessed me with. But Lord I am falling now, slipping your presence has left me. Why? I am not worthy but I have trusted in your Grace Lord. Was my Trust misplaced? No you work in mysterious ways Lord, in ways I cannot understand you are working in my and those around me. Whatever it is you would have me do Lord I will do it but right now I do not understand what it is I should be doing. So Lord while I wait and struggle to wait renew your presence in my life instill in me the wisdom again and make me new and fervent again. Take the whole of me and renew it. I want to Live solely for your Lord so do what needs to be done in my life so that I can do that. Renew in me a sense of humility, renew in me a sense of awe, renew your wisdom in me Lord that I may teach others your ways and do your will in this world Lord.
Amen

The Kingdom of Heaven

We are a part of a kingdom. Our King is our God. And as a kingdom we have enemies, enemies that will do anything and every thing to destroy our kingdom.

Matthew 11:12

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

We as a kingdom are under an attack and one of our enemies greatest powers is that we deny the very fact that he is attacking us. God is willing to fight for us but it seems as if most of us are not willing to fight for him. The movie "The Kingdom of Heaven" has a great example of Gods willingness to fight for us. In the very first fighting scene of the movie which takes place after Bailian has killed a priest and run to his father ( am I missing another great illustration there?). The scene takes place like this ; The authorities ride up and demand that Balian be turned over to them. Bailian admits again for the second time that what they say is true but his father is unwilling to give him over to them. A bloody battle follows in which Godfrey (Balians father) is injured in a way that eventually leads to his death. While Godfrey is being tended to he calls Bailian to him, and these are the words I think illustrate Our father Gods feelings about us.

Balian: They had the Right to take me...
Godfrey: So did I

Satan has claim to us  doesent he?

Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
Matthe 4: 5 "Then satan led him up to a high place... 'I will give you all thier authority and splendor, for it has been given to me...'"
2cnd Corinthians 4:4 calls satan the "God of this age"

Many more similar references can be found throughout the bible claiming that Satan has a power over this world. But God was not willing to leave us to our fate even  though we deserved it. "While we were still sinners Christ laid down his life for us" ( Romans 5:8) 

And whats more having laid down his life for us he charged us with a task much life Godfrey does with Bailian , here is that task
Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath.

And in the end of the movie this is exactly what Bailian ends up doing he rescues the entire city of Jeruselam from certain death. This is also what we are chraged with doing is it not?

Matthew 28:19-20

19.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20.and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

We are also charged with saving people from a certain death. So go and make disciples of all nations of everyone you know teach them to obey the words of Jesus. Fight satan in his attacks against you and against other people. Surley Jesus is with you wherever you go

Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews 11:6

“And without faith it is impossible to please God”

With out faith it is impossible to please God.  Faith consists of yes believing thier is a God but it is also more than that. Faith is the power to move mountains, Faith is knowing that there is more out there. Faith is putting your trust in something you have little or no evidence for and living your life in such a way that it is necessary for that faith to be justified.

The last part of that statement is the hard part for people like me and with out a doubt many other people in the world today. We have to live out life in such a way that without our faith being justified by God, with out God stepping in and taking care of the things we left up to him on faith, we would fail. We have to live our life in such a way that without God we would fail miserably.

Now it is true that most people would accept , at least on face value, that every thing we have is from God. But how many of us really believe that. I know I often don't and as a result i take steps to ensure I can succeed on my own. I take smaller risks and protect my self by doing only things I know I can accomplish. this stratagey has actually made me fairly successful in the things I do. I have been elected to leadership roles all my life, I have been praised for the work I do, I am by all measures a successful person. I have not however accomplished anything great, or extraordinary I am a successful but normal person. And it is because I do not live my life based on faith in God instead I live my life based on the Idea that I need to do it on my own and if God shows up then all the better he can give a little boost. That however is not how we are called to live we are called to live in such a way that we need God to do anything. Or to say it another way anything we do should require God inorder for it to work. To do any thing that doesn't require God to be at work is to sell yourself short of the plan God has for you. So take a look at what you are doing with your life, are you living safe? or are you dependent on Godi n everything you do? If you are not take some steps to live you life in that way and when you do you will experience God in a whole new way.

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Proverbs 15:1

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

You ever been just so irritated by the ignorance, the close mindedness of other people; Christians and non-Christians alike? Doesn't it just make you want to snap at them to shove under their nose what is right in front of their face. Did you even think that maybe they feel the same way about you?  Well now you might say that they shouldn't that you are not being ignorantly stubborn like they are. Well perhaps they feel the same way. This I think is often the problem we have with other people. We know what is right and other people are just refusing to see the light. While I will admit that this can sometimes be the case I would also caution that in most cases it is not. Because for the most part people have arguments that they think are valid and that they have thought about and accepted and so to reject those arguments out of hand or attack those arguments as stupid, ignorant or in any other demeaning ways it to do the same thing to the person.

Let me be clear here. You DO NOT have to accept others view points, you CAN argue your own. But here is the catch, you have to do it with Love, your goal is not to win an argument but to WIN A SOUL for Christ. There is a definate difference between the two. When you win an argument the other person will always walk away in defeat, often times having been demeaned and ridiculed in the process. This is not what we are called to do, we are called to accept people with Love not thier ideas or practices but [people, that means anyone and every one; homosexuals' child molesters, thieves, People who annoy us, People of other faiths; islam, buddhism, hinduism. I mean anyone and every one should feel as if they are loved when they are in our presence.

This will be hard, It is hard for me and I fail more often than not. It is however what we are called to do and it is  the wise thing to do if your goal is to fullfill the will of God and win people from the grasp of satan into the shelter God provides us.

Many people you will encounter have had a bad experience with Christians and Christianity, And thier anger about those situations can get in the way of your conversation with them. SO in your dealings with others remember Provervbs 15:1 and be gentle in your dealings with others so as to turn thier anger away and maybe then you will have more success in your dealings with others.

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A Crown for you and me

2 Timothy 4:8

"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

Paul has just finished telling Timothy that has given  every thing he can and he will be leaving soon. And he says this with the assurance of one who knows that have done every possible thing they could to do the Lords will. He says it as one who has an intimate relationship with him and knows what is coming next. This reminds me of the scenes in movies where the old beloved mentor is about to die and next to him is some one who he has taught and who has come to love him. And the dying person will say something along the lines of " Death is not an end, it is the start of the greatest adventure"
Paul knows he has something to look forward to. More than just lying around on clouds playing a harp, but a crown of righteousness, a reward for his life of service. To join God in the epic story of which he is author and main character. Perhaps it was his encounter with God on the road or maybe it was something else or many smaller encounters during his life that gave him this certainty of something more awaiting him. More than just our view of heaven today more than anything anyone else could imagine. And i think that this is what drove hime to let himself be "poured out like a drink offering "( 2 Tim 4:6) and what drove him to do the things he did with the fervor he did them.
If we could find that same fervor, if we would let our imaginations go and allow ourselves to believe that our reward in heaven will be beyond our wildest dreams, maybe then our service would change, maybe then our house would be opened up to complete strangers. Maybe if we truly believed in this kind of reward we would not live for the rewards of this world at all. Perhaps then our house, our car, our clothes would be offered up at any need from anyone, not just those we like or know but if the lady in the back who just joined last week comes up and says she has a need, maybe if we believed our reward in heaven is as big as paul thinks it is, maybe then we would be will to sell our car or our home to meet that need. This is the kind of crazy love the people of the early church lived with. Just read acts. Whenever there was a need and sometime just because they would sell portions of their land and give the proceeds to the church. What if we lived that way today, what if we expected from ourselves and from others to live with this kind of abandon and love, to trust that God would really provide for us and that anything we have could be offered up for his service and for the benifit of his children. Think about it.

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Be Prepared

1 Peter 3:15

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

Always be prepared to answer anyone who asks, give the reason for the hope that you have. This verse makes two very big assumptions in my opinion. The first is that we have and understand our hope. The Second is that this hope is so big and prevelant that people just have to ask how we do it. How do we live the way we do. How are we the way we are... especially in these tough times. In my experience these are very very big assumptions to make. Why is it that today you cannot tell the Christians from the non-Christians. Is it because the world is so much better than it was in the time of Peter. Well certainly we have some different morals which we might consider better than the pagan culture of that day. But we also have some problems that are more prevelant. Or is it that we Christians today are just not doing as good of a job. Perhaps we are not filled with all the enthusiasm that they had back then. I mean after all its been 2000 and some odd years since Jesus ROSE FROM THE DEAD. Whatever you think it is I want you to notice. The verse does not say that that people will ask you about your morals. No it says you will be asked about your HOPE a definate difference. So I have to ask. Are you living you life with hope. If the answer is no then I have to ask why not. What is it in your life right now that is keeping you from living a life of hope. Whatever it is I suggest you hand it over to Jesus and then walk away let him handle it.  If you say your are living a life of hope, then is it such a hope that draws people in and forces them to ask... How do you do it? What is it that allows you to live this way? Becuase let me tell you something you already know. The World is losing Hope. Global warming, Sex trafficing, Hunger, Homlessness, Child Soldiers, Cooruption of Governments and businesses. And in tha face of all these things if you live a life of extreeme hope then others will ask you and be drawn to that hope.

You will notice the last part too. It says to give them the reason for your hope with respect and gentleness. When you offer them the shining light of Hope that is our Lord do so with respect. It is not your place to judge and call attention to faults and failures. This is the complete opposite of and offering of hope. Also do it with gentlness. I said a second ago it is not our place to judge, Keep in mind also that your are offering them the light of the world which no shadow can hid from. When you give them the light od Hope that is our Lord it may feel to them like you have justkicked them out of a black cave where yes they may have been hopless, but at least they could hide that and anything else that they felt was wrong with them. In the Light nothing can be hidden and this can be painfull and uncomfotable for them. Therefore Gentleness is key when Showing them the Light, especially if you do not want them running back into the darkness and hiding there forever, and being consumed by it. It is by our love that they will know us but it is our hope that will draw them to us. remember that as you go out into the world. Find your hope and keep it infront of you always live your lives in such a way that others are drawn to you compelled to find out what it is that is so different about you. Pray that you are always ready to give the answer when they ask. Be ready.

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Trust in the Lord

psalms :16-22

16.No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.17.A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.18.But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,19.to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.20.We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.21.In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.22.May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

No king is saved by the size of his army. ... Despite all its great strength it cannot save. It seems like today we all put a lot of hope and trust in ourselves, or in the things we control. Family, work, money  and countless other things that we have the power to control.  But the Psalmist says these things cannot save us. No matter how strong they are ( or how strong we have built them to be)  they will fail us in the end. But the Lord on the other hand, the Psalmist says that he is our "help and our shield" and that our hearts can "rejoice in him". Most of us will say we believe this but our actions do not back it up. Our actions say ... Ya I believe he could help me, but im gonna do my best to take care of it on my own and then if he shows up all the better.... this is not what putting your hope in the Lord is though. It is trusting it completely to him much like you would when you give someone who works for a you a project. to them you say do this and expect it to be done. While we cannot command the Lord to do what we want we can know he will help us because he loves us. So here is my chalenge to you to day find one thing this week , just one, It can be as big or as small a thing as you like and put your trust completley in him. For me I didnt study for a test, now this was not supposed to happen this way but when I realized I didnt have time I gave it to God anddid not even bother cramming and you know what I passed with flying colors. Now it is your turn to do the same. Whatever it is that you cannot seem to handle this week, whatever it is that you dont have time for. Ask God for help and then leave it to him, and I know you will be pleased with the results.

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Failure

We try so hard to do what is right, I try so hard to do what I should. Instead however I give in to my fleshly desires and often cause others to stumble with me. I am a failure. There is no way around it, no excuse I can make, no way I can reason my way to accepting it. All my attempts to do right end in failure and it seems that I am destined for failure for the rest of my life. Now let me be clear I do not mean failure in the sense that the world would describe. In fact by their standards I am a privileged individual with everything going for me who has managed to achieve a decent amount of success in his 20-21 short years here. But all of their measures fall short of God who is the final Judge. I recall a passage from Romans that illustrates best this feeling


Romans ch7:15-16 "15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.

I do not understand what I do. Truly I have no idea why I am the way I am. I know that sin has no power over me, and that I have the power to rebuke and throw Satan from my presence. But I don't. I just do not do it instead I allow my self to sin and I have no idea why I know the consequences of my sin and I am beginning to understand what I am doing to the heart of God when I sin, but none of that stops me, not my love for God, nor my fear of eternal death.

Paul did offer some hope though. In the following verses 17-20 he tells me that it is not in fact me who is doing the sinning.

Romans 5: 17-20 "17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."

Well that is a relief I have given my heart to God and continue to do so on a regular basis every day, and when I fail it is not me doing it but the sin living inside me. He continues to say that there is in fact a war going on inside between our inner being and our sinful nature. And we have the advantage in that war, we have Jesus Christ on our side though whom we have dies to sin and come alive with Christ so that we might resist that sinful nature.


OK I have to stop for a minute and be honest I began this as a post about my failure but as I have been writing it God has called to my mind these scriptures and has spoken to me as I write to you I entered this in a place of despair over my failures as a warrior for God unable to do what is right in the sight of God, now however God has led me to a place where I have more understanding about what is going on inside of me. God often does that he allows you to fall to a place of despair so that you are willing to be picked up by him and then he will give you what you need to carry on.

I think that many Christians come to a place where they just cant seem to do anything right. perhaps it is a multitude of things or maybe it is one thing you just cant seem to conquer. Obviously at least some of the Christians in Corinth were there when Paul wrote this letter. And most likely we will all get there at some point in our lives if not at many points. God through the writings of Paul has offered me comfort tonight and I pray that when you reach that point or if you are at that point that you allow God to some into that place and, whether it be through scripture, memory or a kind friend, that you are healed in that place and can move on to new heights in your life and a more consistent walk with God

Weakness

2cnd Corinthians 11:30-31

30.If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.31.The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

If I boast let me boast in my weakness. Who of you when being interviewed have ever been asked what your strengths and weaknesses are. I would think every one who has been through an interview process. Any time we are asked that question we probably all do the same thing. Maximize our strengths and try to minimize our weakness. Either that or we answer with a weakness they would want us to have like being "over committed". But Paul here says he would want to boast in his actual weakness. Why on earth would he want to do that? especially at a time when his authority is being called into question. Because as he says later it is in our weaknesses that God shows his strengths. (2cnd Corinthians 12:9-10) And Paul knows that it is not about us. It is not about us being the best at what we do. It is not even about us being blessed with a gift. No it is about us allowing ourselves to be exposed and to let every one know our weaknesses and to know that we are really pitiful creatures, because when everyone knows our weaknesses, they will be amazed at Gods strength when he comes through for us. Now this is not an easy thing to do. Especially if we do not really believe that the Lord will come through for us. Because if he does not then we fall flat on our face in full view of the world and we are made to look a fool. But God will come through for you confess your weakness open yourself up to failure be prepared to be a fool for God and he will come through for you. It could be a test you just couldn't understand the material for. Or a speech you are ill equipped to give. God will be there and in your weakness he will be strong and everyone there will see Him glorified through you.

Love

Galatians 6: 10

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers

Let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers. Oh How important this is.  Often times we are cruelest to those who share our faith. I myself have been called ignorant and dim witted after I had opened up about a personal attack on my faith. Instead of getting support and encouragement I was put down for letting something get to me. This is not what we are called to do. We are called to uplift and support others especially those who share our faith. Too many have fallen away from Christ when their christian family attacked and condemned them. It is a story I have read and heard far to often. So in the coming weeks remember to check your self and if even in doubt err on the side of compassion and love because those are how people are won we are not here to judge but to love so let us love. And if we Love those who do not share our faith how much more then should we love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ building them up so that Satan will not take them away and devour them.

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Prayer for help

Lord,

I did it again I took my time and squandered it away. You gave us 24 hrs in the day more than enough to do what must be done. And yet we allow the world to distract us from what needs doing. Lord you know what I now face because of my lazyness. I know I deserve what is about to happen, but I could use a little help. I know I dont' have to be perfect but I feel that I am often evil instead of just a little messed up. So Lord I come to you now knowing that the consequences of my actions, my willful lazyness, are going to be tough. So Lord I ask for some divine intervention, knowing full well that I am completley incapable of doing one thing right and that only you can save this moment. Please Lord Save this moment glorify yourself here in this moment where I am worthless you will shine through and all will know that it was you and not me. However Lord if you will not glorify yourself here in this moment of my weakness and stupidity. Then Lord at least let me know you are still with me so that I can endure this trial with you in my heart and on my mind.

-Amen_

Wisdom

Proverbs 11:30

"The Fruit of righteousness is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise"

The Fruit of righteousness is a tree of life. I think we all have accepted this if you live for Christ and are righteous ( though his saving grace ) you will inherit eternal life, a.k.a a tree of life. And he who wins souls is wise ... not he who is wise will win souls. There is a subtle but important difference there to me and it changes my concept of wisdom, even biblical wisdom. I need not look for wisdom so that I may save souls but rather I should focus on saving souls and I will be considered wise, and in fact will be wise because, I believe, there is a link between the two parts of this sentence and the implication I think is that the one who wins souls is not only wise but also righteous and the fruit of righteousness is a tree of life. Which means that the one who saves souls will inherit eternal life and that, being the ultimate goal, is what makes him wise. He has figured out the path to eternal life which is winning souls for God.

(insert name here)'s Idol

Exodus 20:3

"You Shall have no other Gods before me "

Ahh the Ten commandments. You remember all those rules you learned in sunday school? Remember honor your father and mother. Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't go around killing people. All good rules to Live by, but as humans often do we put rankings on these rules and impose our own hierarchies to them. Do not kill is obviously more important than do not steal which is more important than do not lie, and so on, every one has their own hierarchies with them as did the men of Jesus time. They pharasees ask Jesus which of the comandments given by God is the greatest, obviously hoping to trap him but Jesus sums up the entire Law in two sentences, with the first and greatest comand being " you shall love the lord with all yoour heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  Perfect. Almost everything in the Law is summed up right there with the loose ends being tied up by " you shall love your neighbor as your self".

That hit the pharasees right between the eyes with something they did not even see coming. And it does the same thing to us today. Even today we get the Idea that Christianity is all about rules or that the only way to show love to God is by observing some set of rules and regulations. GO to Church. Dont cuss. Dont do this. But you have to do that. But GOd reminds us here that this is not what our relationship with him is about. It is about doing everything you do as if it was for the Lord.

Unfourtunatley it is the doing things for the lordthat we have a problem with most of the time. Just like the pharasees our rules and regulations tend to serve our interest just as the pharasees rules and regulation seved them. many people have been told that have to guard against other idols such as money and power and movie stars. Most people however, fail to guard against themselves becoming thier own idols.

This is especially easy in todays society with all the focus on getting ahead and making the most of yourself. Be all that you can be. the Self made (wo)man. But God says to put nothing be fore him and to do everything for him not for yourself. So ask your self now who you are doing things for. Will it advance your own kingdom or the kingdome of God. Because we are not Kings but slaves to Christ, because he bought us and brought us out of the slavery of sin, and now we serve him who grants us eternal life. So serve him in all that you do and place nothing and no one 9evenyourself) before him.

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Prayer for exposure

Lord
     I am a sinner, unworthy of your pleasure, grace and mercy. I have done nothing and can do nothing to deserve what you have given me and yet I take my  blessings and treat them with disdain and disregard them. I treat your gifts as nothing and instead pursue earthy pleasures and praise and success. The words of my peers is what I search for. Therefore Lord remove my successes let me Be seen for what I am so that my eyes will be turned back to you and I will remember you and know that with out you I am nothing, and when you raise me up again The world will see that it is not me but you working in me that succeeds and accomplishes the plans you have made for me. Let the world see me for what I am that they may know you for who you are and in my when my weaknesses are exposed then the world can see you fill them up and be strong there for me and I may boast in your strength Lord and the world will see and know that you are the one true God against whom none can measure them selves. reveal yourself to the world through me Lord.
Amen

Salty Light. Shining Salt.

Matt 5:13-16

 ¹³"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

 ¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Two characteristics of Christians shiny and salty. We have often heard this sermon before. " If you want to be a christian then you have to be salty and you have to be seen. These are things you must do to be a christian." That makes sense right? Well.. not really... at least not to me. Jesus did not say you need to be  the salt of the earth or the light of the world. What he said was you are  those things whether you like it or not. As christians we are the city on a hill we are the the salt of the earth here to preserve it from rotting. now I take two different massages from this section in Matthew. 1 that we are right now the Salt of the earth but we can lose are saltiness and then we arnt really good for anything. 2 that we are the light of the world and that Light cannot, no matter how hard we try, be hidden people will see it. Now that I think about it this is probably one of the biggest reasons the world Hates us. We are the light they just cannot turn off when they want to sleep. Now let me say that obviously there are " Christians " who do not shine a light to the world and who have definitely lost thier saltiness. Jesus did not say that a name made you this way only that when you were a true followed that you would be this way. Jesus in the Sermont on the mount, which these verses are a part of , takes every thign they knew about thier world , and everything we know about ours, and truns it on its head completeley rearanging thier priorities. So how are we the Salt of the world? What makes us the city on a hill? The difference between the rest of the world and ourselves how we live by a different set of rules and standards than they do. I am not talking about the general morals just about every one has come to accept ( do not kill, do not steal) but instead the counter cultural standards of living where the least is first and the servant is greatest in the house hold. These differences are what sets us apart fomr the rest of the world and what causes it to take notice and in the end what draws them to us. One caveat with our counter cultural lifestyle that makes it different from others is that it combines todifferent ideas, one that there is only one way to heaven and we know that way, and Love. most times a revolution will contain one or the other not both, either complete acceptance of every thing or the complet opposite with complete disdain and rejection and hatred of any other way than thier own. And this I think Is where many Christians lose thier saltiness and lose thier way on the Christian walk. They focus either on one or the other accpeting new Ideas into thier beliefs in order to apease the culture or by forgeting love when rebuking the culture. and with out both we will never be able to bring people to Jesus for salvation. So take a look at your stance on the issues today and first look to see if it is supported by the bible, actual verses from the bible, not some one telling you about thier interpretation or feelings about the subject, and then next how do you stand firm in your position in Love. Most christians today believe that thier position is grounded in the bible (but from my reading I have been very surprised by some of the words of Jesus) most however find it hard to stand in those ideas with Love and instead stand there with selfrighteousness and judgement condeming the World to Hell. This is not our place we are not the judges of this world because we were of this world and had to be rescued from it ourselves. Instead we are the salt and the light, preserving and guiding the world to salvation through sound doctine and Love and all who do not recieve the message will be judged in the end not by us but by the perfect one who is sinless and was from the begginning.

Technorati Tags: salt, light, gospel, bible. christianity, Love, Jesus, God, Christianity

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Harmed by the World, Glorified by God

Gen50:20

"You intended me harm, but God Intended it for Good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

We all know the story of Joseph and how his brothers threw him into a well because he was given visions by God of how they would one day bow before him. And then saved by one of his brothers from death he was sold into slavery and rose in regard in his masters sight until his master wife spread lies about him and he ended up in Jail. Frankly Josephs life seems to me like a series of unfortunate events. Sure there were times when He could have used a little more tact, I mean I would not take it well if my brother told me with the look of truth in his eye that a vision from God told him that I would be forced to bow before him. But all in all Joseph is just trying to do the right thing and every time he ends up worse off that before. And isn't this how our life works too after all " everything that can go wrong will go wrong". Every time Joseph starts to do alright for himself something happens and he ends up even worse off than before. He got a nice coat so he get thrown into a well. Works his way up in his masters favor and ends up in jail. Most of us would have just given up and gotten angry at God after all we were doing what we were supposed to right? Joseph certainly did nothing to deserve what he got. There are two reasons Joseph could have ended up the way he did and I imagine it was a combination of both. Reason number one, he was not in the right place for God to use him yet, I mean the reason his dreams came true was because he became second in command of Egypt and he got to Egypt through the evil and deceit of his brothers. So God could have been moving him so that he would be in the right place at the right time. The other reason is that perhaps Satan saw the potential of Joseph and had an idea of Gods plan for him and decided to try and intervene. After all Joseph had his shot at an exotic, beautiful, and powerful women. Who in their right mind would say that this is not a temptation I know many men who if they were in Joseph's place and given what had happened to them so far would not have been able to resist that temptation. And So it is in our life we are often not in the right place for God to work through us so he uses the world to get us there. It could be pride, shame, shyness, money, power, or simply being in the wrong geographical location whatever it is that is preventing us from doing the work of God he will do what he can to change that. And then there is actions the Devil takes to prevent us from doing the will of God after all Joseph could have just tried to get by with being a slave or he could have succumb to temptation, when he was in jail he could have just been discouraged about his fate and given up, but he did not instead he persevered and did every thing as if for the lord and wound up second in command of Egypt saving not only Egyptian people but his own people as well, all because he knew that God could work the evil of this world into good for Joseph and for every one else. So when you feel like you are doing things right, but everything is going wrong remember that what the world and the Devil intends for harm against us God can work for good. It definitely will not be quick and it will often times be painful but if we remain true and faithful working always for the Lord then our God will prosper us and work his plan of salvation and grace through us.

Prayer for Sight

Lord give me the sight so that I can see the plan you have for me. In every situation and through ever person you are working your plan for me. So Lord give me the sight so that I can see that battle raging around me. I know it is there Lord but I just can't see, so Lord give me the sight so that I can see the people around me as you made them to be. Lord because we are all created with a purpose and when I can see the purpose I was created for and the purpose those around me were created for I will not be able to help but love them as you do because they are meant to be great, and they are created to be beautiful, But Lord Satan has not stopped his attacks on us and we are weary and beaten down we are discouraged and wounded. Only though your works will be made whole again and only with your help can we reach the potential you created in us. So Lord give me the Sight so that I can see  the truth that is around me in every person, place and thing, your hand is in every situation so Lord give me the sight that I can see the truth that is around me.

Amen

It only takes TWO.

Matt 18:20

"Where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them"

Have you ever been to a concert or large gathering of Christians and seen People dancing, jumping up and down, or forced face first to the ground? When asked what happen you would expect them to respond with something along the lines of "I was over come with the holy spirit" or "I was filled with the joy of the Lord" or something else along those lines. Whatever it was it was in some way an experience of Jesus in their midst. While this is definitely evidence for the necessity of fellowship and group worship I wonder if it is thought of the same way in small groups of well... two or three people... that is after all what Jesus says it takes just two people in the same place who are there in the  name of Jesus and then he is there too. And we know what Jesus is capable of. It seems, though, that our small groups are not thought of in the same way these large gatherings and concerts are, but they are Jesus does not just show up at the biggest gathering he can find, no, he is there when you are with your friend, your spouse , your brother or sister, whoever you are with if you are with them in his name he is there too. So where ever you go and whoever you are with make it a point ,and make sure they are with you in this, to be there in Jesus name. Because when you are gathered in his name he is with you which means he is working with you to accomplish whatever it is you are there doing in his name.

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Pruning?

John 15

¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful

This verse is often cited in sermons and devotionals and other worship materials. It is most often used in the context of encouraging others to be more fruitful to, though someone should go about doing that is anyone's guess really, the sermon or devotional reading will move from this verse on to verses 5 - 6

⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

And while the message here is an important one what is often over looked is what happens to those who already bear fruit.  Go back up and read verse 2 again.  To those who do bear fruit God prunes them in order that they may bear even more fruit. Most people tend to skip over this part because after all when your doing what God wants you to do everythings peachy right ? Thats not what this verse says though this verse says that as you begin to bear fruit God will continue to strip away every thing in your life that does not bear fruit,  relationships, jobs, hobbies whatever it is that does not bear fruiGod will strip away so that all is left is a fruit bearing vine branching off from the true vine of Jesus Christ.

As I write this I remember  the story of the rich young ruler and Jesus. The rich young ruller desperate to make it to heaven comes and asks jesus what he has to do. Jesus replies that he must keep the commmands of God and pushing still the ruler insists that he already does that but wants more. So Jesus Tells him to sell every thing he has give the profits to the poor and then to come with Jesus and live the life of a homeless man. Jesus gave the man the traditional first steps so that the ruller maybear fruit for God but when he saw that the young man was all ready bearing fruit in this way he looked and saw the things that were keeping him of bearing even more and tried to strip those away but the man could not let go of those things .

This is why so many people do not meet thier potential in Christ because we think that when we begin to do things right and have faith and bear fruit that things will get easier. Some of us may not go that far and acknowledge that as we begin to grow in Christ, Satan will attack us even more. What none of us really expect is that God will make things hard on us. Now I want to explain that the only reason things are hard are because w we want to cling to things that are of earthly importance, but God on the other hand wants us to increase in the kingdom of heaven not in the realm of Satan which the world tends to put stock in because it provides rewards in this life. when we reconcile the pruning that God does to us with our increase in glory in the kingdom of heaven which only God can provide then the pruning does not become hurtfull. will it be difficult ? Absolutely because we have been raised on the standards of this world and to change those and be looked down upon by our peers ( even the Christian ones ) will be difficult and definately uncomfortable. But not hurtfull, unfortunatley that reconciling is all but impossible for us and so the pruning will be painfull in many cases and this is where a lto of christians lose faith and why Athiests and other can not accept that the things that happen to people in this world can be because of a good God. But we know that God is Good so when things that you cling to begin to be taken from your or " pruned"  know that it is so you may bear more fruit for God and increase in the kingdom of heaven.

How strong if your faith?

24So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

Mark 5:24-31

There's something I find very interesting about this passage. Jesus did not take credit for healing this woman. In fact, he says she did it herself. Her bleeding did stop because Jesus layed hands on her, or because his disciples prayed over her. She was healed immediately because she herself touched Jesus's clothes. Does this mean that every part of Christ (including his clothes) contained the almighty power of God? Well, I do believe that's true, but I think what Mark was trying to say in this passage is that this sick woman didn't just think that every part of Jesus was God, she knew it. She strongly believed that if she were to touch Jesus a bit of God's healing power would fall off of his robe, and into her hands. She was healed by her own faith. She knew that Christ was the Son of God, and she knew he could heal her. All she wanted was to touch a small piece of her Lord's robe, and that was it. She would no longer suffer. Can anyone else see how amazing that is?

When Jesus asked who touched him one of his disciples reacted like he was a mad man. There were tons of people all around him, and there's no doubt that all of them were trying (or succeeding) to touch him. But only one of those people were healed. What does that say about everyone else's faith? Maybe they just wanted to touch the messiah so they could tell their friends about it later. Who knows? But this one woman had enough faith in Christ to be healed by touching him. You know what else is amazing about this? Jesus felt it. He knew this woman's faith as soon as she touched him. Verse 30 says that Christ felt that power leave him. Out of the hundreds of people touching him he only felt one.

I know I shouldn't be envious of anyone, but I am envious of this woman's faith. I want to have a faith so strong that I can reach out to Jesus and be healed. I want a faith so strong that Christ himself can feel it. I always ask God for strength in my prayers, I'm sure many of you do the same. But this verse shows that the strength we are searching for is there! We just have to have the faith to reach out for it, and then one great day we will hear the voice of our Lord tell us, "Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

The "Rock"

^{Matthew 16 : 13-20
13}When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

¹⁴They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

¹⁵"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,^b]">[b] the Son of the living God."

¹⁷Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter,^c]">[c] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^d]">[d] will not overcome it.^e]">[e] ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^f]">[f] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^g]">[g] loosed in heaven." ²⁰Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

I have often thought that Jesus was giving Peter a special appointment here telling him that he would be the one to build Jesus' church. And to some extent I think he was but focusing on that as many people do I think misses a key part of what Jesus was saying. First let me say that I know that Peter is very close to the word for Rock in Greek having taken classes in new testament Greek and that I do believe that Jesus was assigning Peter a particular role to play in the building of his church here on earth, just look at verse 19. But I think most people miss something from this verse, at least I know I did for a long time, and that is this; if you stop focusing on Peter as the rock and instead focus on the words Jesus spoke you get the idea that Jesus was instead saying that the rock that the church will be built on is in fact the confession of Christ as the Son of God. This is something that I think the church today misses, it is not Peter who is the Rock but rather the rock is the confession. This should be a great encouragement to all because of what Jesus says about that rock v 18"...and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." The gates of Hades will not over come it. I don't know if you have seen Lord of the Ring: Return of the King but if you have then you will know what it is I picture in this verse. In the movie the entire army of Mordor (sp) Comes out of the gates and as they swing wide Aragorn and the rest meet with an army vast beyond imagining, and definitely much bigger than the group they have brought. But Jesus says the the entire army of Hell, Satan himself and every angle cast down out of heaven with him have no power over the church or its members because of a single confession "Jesus is the Son of the Living God". That confession gives you all the protection you need. Be warned though Jesus says you will nto be overcome this implies that you will infact be attacked, in fact to me it seems that the church is attaked by the entire force of Hell not one fallen angel is left behind but all have put on thier battle gear and are marching out to meet us, with the intent to destroy us. Jesus is the Son of the Living God. Satan is smart he has been deafeated already by God and his angles and knows that he can not win by force but now focuses on us and to separate us from our protection. He does not attack heaven and its angels instead he attacks our link to God. He will try to get us to deny it, or to say that it is not true. If we allow ourselves to believe that Jesus and God himself and all of thier angles are not fighting to defend the church or that we dont matter individually to them then Satan sees his oppourtunity to separate us from the rock and destroy us. So I encourage you brothers and sisters hold firm to your faith and stand steady on the rock because the gated of Hades cannot and will not over come it or you while you still hold firm.

And the heavenes opened

^{Matthew 3 :16-17
"16}As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."


"And the heavens opened up" I have always had a hard time imagining thing scene from Matthew. I mean what does it look like to have the heavens opened up. I think the picture here does that sentence an injustice. I think what really happened was that the people who where there got a glimpse of heaven that day. I think that God that day was there to watch his son begin the path of his destiny the plan he had for his son was finally beginning. And God couldn't have been more happy about it. For those of you who are fathers think of watching your son (or daughter) succeed at a sporting event, or you catch them doing a good deed without knowing anybody is watching. Whatever it is you know the feeling of pride that builds up inside of you until you cannot contain it any longer. For those of you who are sons and daughters think of the look on your fathers face after you have just succeeded. You can see the pride and the joy he has in you. Those feelings are only pale comparisons to what took place between God the perfect father and Jesus the perfect son. Because no matter how good we are or how hard we try we will never be the perfect child that Jesus was or the perfect Father that God is.

Even so. We yearn for that look from our fathers, or to be able to have that pride in our children. How much more then should we crave and long for the same from Our true Father in God. No matter how good ( or terrible ) your dad was. And no matter how proud (or disappointed) you are in your children. We can all have the Perfect love of our father in heaven because while we are still not perfect he has already sent his son as the atoning sacrifice of our sins, So that once and for all we can be taken into the family of God and be called his sons. And even more that one day we can hear his voice saying about us "this is my son, whom I love, and with whom I am well pleased" Oh how I long for that day, and I am sure that you do too. All we have to do is ask, Ask him what his plan is for us and then listen,
listen to what he has to say. Then do it. This is all he asks. Yes it will be tough, yes it may be completely opposite of your plans but If we want to hear the voice of our father ,one day, say " This is the one in whom I am pleased" then we must be open and willing to wreck our lives ( in mans terms) for him, because he has already done it for us by sacrificing his Son for our sins.

Honey to my Soul ( Borrowed from Joe White )

One morning at 4:30 AM in my insanity I decided to get up and run twenty-six miles. Now, I'm an old football guy… worse still, a lineman where running is a punishment.

Twenty-six miles in Texas is one thing; twenty-six miles in the Ozark mountains is nuts! One angry Doberman at mile one and one abusive German shepherd at mile fourteen kept me pumped with adrenaline until somehow I stumbled to the finish (at a 9:00 speaking event at our Kamps). Why do old guys do things like that? Who knows!

One thing I'll never forget about that morning, besides the pain and the dogs, was how thirsty I was. I couldn't stop to get a drink or my legs would have cramped and there was no one out on the road to pass out the Gatorade (again, not good planning!). My body was thirsty! I was dying (literally) for a drink of something!

Crazy as it sounds, my soul gets thirstier than that for God… a lot thirstier!

With all the pressures of college life surrounding you, I wonder if your soul gets dry like mine.

When I was twenty something, and just coming out of a major valley in my life, a guy gave me a challenge (that I accepted) that has poured cool water, Gatorade and PowerAde into my heart ever since. His challenge has made my bad days better days and my good days- amazing days. A day has never passed that I don’t get a drink from this bottomless well.

He simply said, "Hide God's Word in your heart and meditate on it day and night."

As a pre-med student in college, I struggled with memory work. I couldn't imagine enjoying memorizing for pleasure!

How wrong I was.

I'm ADDICTED!!!

Lately I've been hiding Psalms 32 in my heart. Talk about Gatorade! I think through it when I feel down, when I wake up at 2:00 am and can’t go back to sleep and when I wake up and face the day.

It's like a spiritual bath.

"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!
How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away ,Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.
Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the LORD, loving kindness shall surround him.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart."

Another one that's been quenching my soul lately is Psalms 145. What a rush it gives my spirit when I meditate on it!
"I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.

They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in loving kindness.

The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You.

They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power;
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The LORD sustains all who fall And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.

The LORD keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever."

Psalms 1 promises (and this is a God promise) that if we meditate on God's Word day and night, He will bless us in everything we do. We will not get crushed in different circumstances and we will prosper in whatever we do.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

That's a huge promise and has given me an amazing marriage, four "best friend" kids, a professional life that has been indescribably fulfilling and countless blessing throughout my life.

If I could give you one gift, this would be it!

(It just "beats the sap" out of running with Dobermans and German Shepherds.)


borrowed from Joe White at Kanakuk Kamps
Kanakuk Kamps
1353 Lake Shore Dr
Branson, MO 65616

The Splinter in your Mind

Matthew ch27:32-ch28, Mark ch15-ch16, Luke ch23-ch24, Romans 3:21-26 Romans 8:1-10
A battle is raging all around. You can’t always see it, you can’t always hear it, but you can always feel it. There is knowledge in your heart that something bigger than your self is going all around you, but you just can’t figure out what it is. As Morpheus said to Neo in The Matrix

“I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?”

Do you know what I am talking about? Do you know that every day a battle is waged and that every day before you a battle was fought and that every day from now until the end of time there will be casualties in this war? This is not a war over oil or land but a war for our very souls. We are now being held captive and we don’t even realize it. In fact we are so oblivious that the chains have already been stripped away the doors unlocked and the guards unarmed and yet we still sit in our prison. It is as if Neo destroyed the machines that created and maintained the matrix but no one left. They could if they wanted to, but they just sit there instead unwilling to venture out into a new a better world where they are truly free.
God has put the “splinter in your mind” to guide you to him Jesus has won the battle freed our souls and all we have to do is walk out of the cage. Satan will do everything he can to stop that from happening though. We have the power over him now and can command him to leave us but he will do everything in his power to distract and detract us from our power because he is afraid of us Like the Pharaoh and the Israelites Satan will distract us with work and business, with pain and suffering, he does not want us to realize our power because if we do he loses because we have the power through Jesus Christ our Lord to crush him, and to leave nothing, not even rubble of his kingdom behind. Realize your power pray that God show you the power he has given to you and take a chance, use your power, Fight, Win. Be Victorious.

A Story to live

²⁴Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

²⁸" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

²⁹" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "

Jesus often taught by telling stories, many times using them to describe the kingdom heaven but unfortunately he did not always explain them and so many of the people he spoke to did not understand the parable above had to be explained to the disciples a few verses later. And isn't that still our problem we do not understand the story the bible tells us or the one we are living. And that is exactly what Satan wants he wants to live in ignorance of the great story we are a part of now he wants us to think that we are insignificant, because if we are insignificant in this story then we should just stay out of the way and not get involved. In reality however the complete opposite is true we are the major characters of the story. If we don't understand the story though then we can not know our part or how to play it. So today ask god for guidance and wisdom to understand the story ask him to explain it to you as his disciples did and then listen for the answer. Because once you understand the story and know your role in it you begin to live as who you were meant to be.

³⁶Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

³⁷He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴²They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

This Little Light of Mine

Matthew 5 & 6 are two of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Practically every day we live with arguments and debates over what the law says, and in these two chapters Jesus lays a few things out for us. He tells us exactly what God thinks about certain situations, and I love that because it comes straight from Jesus' mouth. It's not a disciple speaking, it's the Son of God. It's comforting to know that this way of life mentioned in Matthew is what God wants, because then I feel like I can do something right for Him.



On that note I would like to share one of my favorite parts of Matthew 5.



This weekend I went to a youth rally, and our focus was on tuning into God. At one point a speaker asked how you can help others tune into God. The answer is given by Jesus in Matthew 5:14-16:

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before men,

that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

You want the world to know Christ? Allow them to see him through you. Our moms weren't kidding when they used to tell us, "Actions speak louder than words." Christ is living in you. He is your light! Allow him to shine through you.

This week and every following week make and effort to show everyone that you are a follower of Christ.

Jesus is NOT a nice Guy

Jesus is NOT a Nice guy

Whatever you have been told or come to believe yourself Jesus was absolutley not a nice guy. Was he a good man, yes, Righteous absolutley, sinless and perfect with out a doubt, but he was not a nice guy.  A nice guy would not call his elders and religious leaders [ignorant fools] or hypocrites (matt 23 : 23-37) a nice guy would not bind a whip out of chords and in a pre-meditated act of aggression chase merchants out of thier stores. Jesus was not a perfect child by todays standards he challenged his parents on multiple occasions the most notable by refusing to see them when he was back in his home town preaching.  One thing Jesus did do however was to follow the will of God. He did not like it all the time ( prayer before crucifixionLuke 22:42) but he was willing to do it. Just as Jesus was not a nice guy niether are you called to be a nice person. You are called to be a a strong person. the world will tell you that if you speak of your faith you are trying to impose it on them and that this is not allowed. They will also tell you that to say that your fiath is the right one is closed minded and bigoted. The world will tell you to let others alone and let them believe what they want. Jesus tells you thati f you do that then they go to hell. In fact he goes as far as to give the great commision and send you out into the world that tells you to leave them alone and make disciples of those people.(matt 28:16-20) 

The world will not like it in fact many of them will hate you for it but that was promised to us by Jesus at the begginning of this journey (matt 10: 17-20) but it is what you are called to do. Let no one tell you that it is not your place to decide what is right and what is wrong we know ,because of our Lord Jesus, the correct path. We are the true guides in this world, but we must show them the way with Love. We can not judge a persons righteousness or if they are worthy of God but we can love them and pray for them and more than that we can rebuke them for thier sins as long as we can be and have been rebuked and have repented of our own sins. It is time to stop letting the world dictate what kind of Christians we are allowed to be the time for being politically correct is at an end now is the time when the world needs Strong and Loving Christians which the world is ,sadly, in a short supply of.  It is our time to fill that need and fullfill the role that we were given here on this earth, to seek and save the lost.

Psalms 59:16-17

16 But I will sing of your strength, 

in the morning I will sing of your love; 

for you are my fortress, 

my refuge in times of trouble.

17 O my Strength, I sing praise to you; 

you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God

We often hear about how God will get us through things but how many of us really believe it? And even if we do believe it how many of us apply it to our lives every day? God cares about us and he wants us to succeed, and he wants us to succeed in a big way. In order to succeed in a big way though we have to overcome big obstacles, each of our obstacles will be different for some it might be a busy week at school with a lot of hard tests coming up, or it could be that our family is going through a hard time, or it may just be that we are having a hard time being a good friend, son, daughter, whatever it is there are obstacles to be over come everyday laid out by the devil in order to trip us and make us fall. If we remember though that God wants us to succeed and that with a little effort on our part we can succeed, that we can in a Christian and Christ like manner prepare and succeed on a test, be a better friend, make it through that busy time of the school year, and even be a more Christian and Christlike child. So this week pay attention to the obstacles you have to overcome and remember to call on God to get you through it and make sure to listen for your answer and just as importantly remember to walk as though God has already answered your prayer. This means that if you have asked God for help in studying then remove the barriers you can that would hinder you from studying, turn off the t.v, and your music ask your family to be quite so that you can study and then really try to focus on what you are doing and when you do that God will meet you where you fall short and help you to succeed. So this week expect success in your endeavors only if you ask God and take yourself to your full ability because that is where God will come and meet you and carry you the rest of the way. Have a Good week every one.

One Body, Many Parts

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

1st Corinthians 12:12

In 1st Corinthians 12:12-26 Paul explains how important each body part is. If we didn't have ears we wouldn't be able to hear, and if we didn't have eyes we wouldn't be able to see (v.17). Each part of the body is unique and different. They contribute in their own way to make up one body. This is obviously true with the physical body, but I believe Paul is trying to say something about the spiritual body of the church. We do not come together for ourselves, and if you think that's what you're doing you're wrong. When you fellowship, worship, pray, or just have a conversation with members of the church you are bringing your unique qualities to the body. You are encouraging others, sympathizing with them, bringing a smile to their face. When we all come together we make one, strong spiritual body that is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. Never believe that you are too young to be a part of the church, or that your presence means nothing. You help make up this church and this youth group. You are important, and it brings God so much joy to see you using your unique traits (meaning her loves it when you act like YOU) to encourage and uplift other members of the church.
Love you TCOC youth group! Have a blessed weekend.

Acts 4:32-35

"All the believers were of one heart and mind. No one claimed any of their property as their own, but the shared every thing they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of our lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy people among them. for from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money form the sales and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone who was in need."

Doesn't this strike you as extraordinary? That is the way I see it looking at it from the context of America today with all of its capitalistic tendencies, and emphasis on getting ahead and accumulating more wealth. The Christians of the early church did not believe that anything they had in their possession was actually theirs. It ALL belonged to God. If any one was in need the members of the church would not simply give out of their savings or extra money they would sell a house or land in order that their christian brother would not have to suffer. This spirit of closeness and family and love is what we should all be striving for, especially in our church families. It doesn't that our human weakness often judges others to be less worthy than some to receive our help or that we often think we earned what we have. In out hearts we must realize that every thing we have is a gift and that none of us could every be worthy or have earned a single thing we have because it has all come from God and none of us could ever measure up to his standards. When you understand that the only thing that will make sense is to give the gifts god has blessed you with so that others do not have to struggle. When this can be understood again we will have regained a piece of the Christianity that draws people in and hold them to God because no where else can the experience such love and caring, and that after all is what Christianity is all about.