How long would you wait?

Before I rolled my lazy body out of bed this morning I had a thought in pop in my head (amazing I didn't think I would be able to function so early, it must be God!).

If your spouse, friend, or anyone promised to pick you up from the airport and after landing you got your bags and you were waiting around... 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 2 hours! How long would you stand there and wait for them to come before resorting to another means of transportation home?

How about if you were waiting for a doctor's appointment, how long would you sit in the waiting room before saying something to the clerk, "Hey where is this guy??"

How about when your on hold trying to get your cable internet working again, how many songs and how long will you sit on that phone before you get frustrated and hang up?

Stay with me here I know I go out on a limb sometimes but this is good...

Read the following verses below:

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him..."
                                 Psalms 37:7 KJV-

"...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
                                 Revelation 2:10 KJV-

"...knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope."
                                 Romans 5:3-4 KJV-   

"Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness."
                                Colossians 1:11 KJV-

So I ask again how long would we wait?

How long would we wait for God's voice to speak to us?

How long would we wait to see God's answer to our prayers?

How long will we wait to see God coming back to earth like he promised he would return someday?

I hope your answer is not hang up, He's not answering, or I'll just call a taxi God forgot about me.

He hasn't forgotten you, your prayers and your heart. He knows us all by name and will reward you for your patience, but sometimes what we think qualifies as patience doesn't even scratch the surface of what God would call real longsuffering and endurance.

So here is my urging to you, don't stop believing, don't stop praying!

Stay diligent He will answer you when the time is right. If we claim to love Him and want to follow Him wherever He might take us then do that.

Follow Him even when its not popular, believe in Him even when all hope seems to be lost. He is coming back someday for His own, just be patient and as the verse above says we will recieve the crown of life!

I hope these thoughts have blessed you richly this day.

May His peace and love and hope be upon you, AMEN!

Amos 8:11-

It is my sincere prayer that this scripture is not indicitive of the current state of the world including those in the Christian faith.

Here is the scripture and you determine for yourself if this fits for our generation:
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD."
                                Amos 8:11 KJV-

So what do you think, are we suffering through a famine for the word of God?

How much of scripture is read in you church services weekly?
How about your bible studies, are they really about studying God's word or do you read someones latest find your purpose book?
How about your daily life, is it filled with God's word or is it filled with Time Magazine?

If after evaluating these questions you answered yes your likely not alone.

I believe we are seeing the beginnings of this famine Amos warned about. Pastors from pulpits are telling you how to make more money, have the life you always dreamed of and are too busy talking about the greatest self-help books to even mention any scripture in their messages. We are afraid to talk about sin, hell or prophecy but we sure can tout Rick Warren's newest book (I personally do not have a problem with this man). We are not feeding the flock the word of God we are feeding the flock the world and we are losing touch with the lost because we allow for moderate worship of our God instead of fervent worship. The American church in my eyes for the most part is starving for the word of God.  If we don't turn from this way in America the church here will surely die from starvation and dehydration. Don't believe this can happen to us, just read a little bit about the church in England and in Europe and you can see for yourselves what happens when the world takes over the word.

There is one thing, however, we can personally guarantee that we won't see this famine at least until Bibles are banned in America, and even then we can find a way. The guarantee is to pick it up, open and read the word daily. Its that simple. Set aside some quiet time to read and reflect, draw near to the creator by reading about him. The only way we can connect, grow and learn to follow our God is to read about who he is, then we can truly know who it is we choose to put our trust and faith in.

So put down your computer and pick up your Bible, I promise it will transform your perspective!

God Bless Friends

The Hardest Command

So do you ever wonder what the hardest thing Christ ever commanded us was?

I certainly do and I feel as though this is the hardest command for me.

No, not love your neighbor, or care for the widow. It is even more daunting than that, at least to me it is.

"...And He said unto him, 'Follow Me.' And he left all, rose up, and followed Him."
                                -Luke 5:27-28 KJV

This description was about the encounter of Jesus and Matthew (Levi) the tax collector. This is the hardest thing I believe our Lord commanded us to do.

"Follow Me."

It seems simple indeed, but when you really look at it, it seems to require so much more, yet again it is simplistic in its idea.

Matthew left all to follow Jesus. This ALL isn't a figure of speech. This ALL is everything he had, owned, desired, everything and everyone he had ever known. That is what makes this so hard. Sure it seems easy to leave it all behind and follow someone you never knew and we assume its easier because we know the stories of the Gospels but think about it for a minute.

How great a sacrifice was this for men, the disciples, to do? Matthew was no doubt paid well enough by the Romans to eat and have a roof over his head. He had a job, family, friends. Yet in one moment in his life he left it all behind to follow a stranger. Amazing!

Simon Peter too in verse 11 of this chapter also followed suit in leaving everything to follow Jesus. What faith and strength!

In today's day and age we have great possesions. Thanks to Facebook and MySpace we have more friends than Tila Tequilla. Money, homes, cars, we have it all. Yet Christ is calling us similarly as he called his disciples, "Follow Me."

How many of us have answered this call? I know I have not fully embraced this. I marvel at the thought of giving it all away. Things I have worked so hard for. The career path I have embarked on. My family, friends and day to day happenings. All left behind because he calls me.

I have left friendships, time with my wife and family, even time spent with my job to pursue ministry at our church, yet I have not left everything to follow HIm. Maybe I am missing the true nature of this statement?

All I know is I am trying to pursue Him where he calls but giving it all away to follow Him I have not done. Maybe there is hope for a confused guy like me. Maybe its the willingness when he calls to leave it all. When he calls me to High School Ministry at our church, do I forgo business trips, family dinners, Raiders games (I hope you continue to read on after you discovered I was a Raider fan, please forgive me, I am a sinner!)? I have to answer that with a sometimes. Business trips seems to be the hardest thing. I do not receive a salary for my work with the church so it is hard for me to justify in my tiny brain missing out on mandatory meetings to serve in the ministry. But maybe God doesn't desire us to loose our jobs for Him, at least maybe not at this moment.

Know this, no matter how overwhelming this verse is to do, when He calls you (I believe it will be unmistakable He is calling) then be ready to leave it all behind. True He has already called us into relationship with Him and today we pursue to strengthen those ties with Him, but when that call comes to Follow Me be prepared to go where he wants you to go and be willing to sacrifice it all for the sake of the cause, no questions asked.

I pray the Lord strengthen us all when He calls us to have the faith it takes to do what He says. Would we all FOLLOW HIM! AMEN!

A prophet is not accepted in his own Country

Hey all,
So this morning I came across this verse in the Gospel of Luke and I wanted to share a thought with you.

"And He said, 'Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.'"
                                -Luke 4:24 KJV

If you are actively sharing your faith with others no doubt you have felt that no one was getting it. People just walked by and shrugged at you or you might have gotten some angry ones as well. The tracts you left for others ended up in the trash or in the gutter on the side of the street. All of this is similar to all those who share their faith and do the work for the gospel.

This verse should let you know that even Jesus himself, the apostles, and the old testament prophets all suffered this same fate we find ourselves in. Prophets were killed in their own cities, and Jeremiah was even put in the stocks in the town square for preaching the prophetic message revealed to him by God. Jesus was crucified by the people he came to save first.

All of these examples and many, many more in scripture shouldn't scare you but let you understand that not everything you say to those on the streets will be received well or be heard deeply. But that's okay, it didn't stop the prophets of old even in the face of death they delivered their message and we too must do the same.

Here is thought, if you aren't having much success around the corner or at the local mall, take your act elsewhere. What I mean is if its not working in your home city take a 20 minute drive to the next town or city and try there. If that still doesn't work the next time you go out of town set aside some time to preach the word to those people where you are traveling. Remember no prophet is accepted in his own country (town, local area), but it doesn't say they weren't accepted in places other than this. Take your act on the road and preach the word.

God luck and Blessings (yes I meant God, not good!)

Do what you learned as a child

Did you remember how fun it was being a child?

Rolling in dirt, playing ball with your friends, having sleepovers, eating all kinds of sugary candies and many many more things we enjoyed.

We are encouraged in scriputre by Jesus himself to become like a child. No this is not some magic time machine nor is it a scene from the 80's movie "Big" starring Tom Hanks. It is a picture by the way in which we should approach God.

Yes we are to be soldiers, we are to be strong, comforting, loving, and disciples for the Kingdom. But if we are to be these things then why did Jesus say also:

"But Jesus called them unto Him and said, "Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for such is the Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter it."
                                -Luke 18:16-17 KJV-

It is fun to think about this. Jesus tells us to do big people things like take the word into all nations and baptizing many. Yet unless we receive the Kingdom of God like a child we can not enter it.

This may take a simpler answer than we all might expect and in my last few words the answer may have all ready been laid down...

Still wondering...

It is simple...

Still wondering...

I just said it!

Children simplify things. They understand things on a much simpler level than you and I do, yet in our complexities we foul up the simple message of the gospel and who it was that sacrificed Himself for our salvation.

As we grow older we gain more knowledge which is a good thing, yet we can become puffed up with this knowledge and in turn forget how basic Christianity really is and we can create our own system of salvation instead of relying on the one that has already laid the foundation for it.


Children wouldn't make that mistake we did right there. They would just trust their elder (God) and know he was looking out for them.

Another reason we should receive the Kingdom like a child is because the one thing most children cannot not do it fend for themselves. As we grow older we learn to rely less on our parents and more on our own self strength and competencies. That is a good thing right, but when we forget where we came from, life as a weak child, we forget the one who provided for us.

This same theory goes for our walks as Christians. As we mature in our walks we put aside the things that nurtured us a babe Christians. Our prayer life suffers, we spend more time reading People Magazine than God's word, we just lip sync the songs in church. We become lazy, and self-reliant. That is why we do not see the need for the Father to continue to provide for us, well except when things go really bad right?

And how wrong is that, we call on God when times get tough instead of all the time. Is he some sort of Fire department or Police force called on when we can't handle that kitchen fire or burglar?

If he is to you please sincerly and quickly reevaluate the God in which you claim you are saved by.

My God is not some emergency backup plan and he shouldn't be yours either. He should be your everything plan. Just like Jesus said about the children and us, become like them in regards to the Kingdom.

Simplify your faith by trusting everything to him. That is your house, cars, job, marriage, children and whatever else you have. Trust it to him and believe he is the only one who can provide that for you just like the way little children believe that of their parents.

Keep It Simple Servant and serve Jesus faithfully!

We are to be good soldiers of Jesus

Today I will breifly cover some verses in the great book of 2 Timothy. Below you will see what we will discuss today:

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."
                                -2 Timothy 2:3-4 KJV-

What a great set of verses. Lets take a look at how these might apply to the believer.

First what does Paul tell Timothy here?

He says that as a good soldier we must endure hardness or better said we must endure pain, suffering, trial, training. These are all true of the faithful soldiers that fight our wars abroad and at home today for the USA.

So as a good soldier of Christ we should expect to suffer hardships much the same as our Commander in Cheif, Jesus himself, suffered.

So why should we do this?

There are two reason Paul tells us above:

1. The first is vitally important in this day and age. We suffer so that we do not become entangled or attached to the things of this world. No doubt Hollywood is all about glitz and glamor of life. The more the better. New Coach hand bag, sure! New Maseratti, no problem!

But to the soldier of Christ these things can cause us to lose our focus in the battle of the gospel. Ask any soldier of our own country if they were to think about things back home in the middle of taking enemy fire would they expect to survive. Almost all would tell they would certainly be dead.

Why?

Simply because in the heat of the battle there mind was elsewhere. They got sloppy, lazy, forgetful and that stray bullet that usually would miss its hidden target found it because that soldier was thinking about home and not more about concealing his position.

The same applies for the soldier of the gospel. If we are all wrapped up in the latest gossip about Jon and Kate Gosselin then we will be less wrapped up in the gospel. That means that the people who most need to hear the word won't hear it at all. Fix your minds on the combat of the gospel and not the world!

2. The second reason and quite frankly the most important spiritually is that when we suffer and put aside the things of this world for the things of God we please Him who called us. If for no other reason you do something do it for the King of all Kings!

I hope these verses give you some perspective on the battle we face as good soldiers of the Lord when spreading his good news to the lost.

Reach out and share it with someone today, God Bless friends!

Defintion of our Faith!

Here is a brief but great definition of our faith from the greatest quite possibly of all the apostles Paul

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manisfest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
                                1 Timothy 3:16 KJV-

God was made manifest in the flesh and we called him Jesus Christ.

He is the maker and sustainer of our faith and lives. This one we choose to follow first chose us to make. This is a precious gift of God and salvation to us who choose to believe upon him and all he has for our lives.

I hope you have a blessed week friends and may you remember this scripture when someone asks you about your faith you can tell them who he is!