Not My Opinion

Recently I had a discussion with a person who attends our church about visiting another church this weekend with a friend. Since his friend attends our church regularly he was invited to attend their old church. When I found out the name of the organization that the church is affiliated with I made the comment about that organization being known to ordain homosexuals into the ministry. I followed this with the statement that homosexuality is a sin. This comment was made of course in front of his friend, so he quickly added "well everyone is entitled to their opinion". I looked at them both and responded, "that's true, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the Bible isn't mans opinion, its God's word on everything. So whether you choose to accept it or not is a non factor, its true regardless, and therefore because He says homosexuality is an abomination, it is, whether you want to believe it or not." With that they didn't have much else to say, and quickly left. Thinking about this I thought to myself how man in all his wisdom still doesn't get it. We do our best and think we're enlightened because of our acceptance of all things, when in reality we're deceived. I can understand the humanist and the atheist denying the existence of God. For to acknowledge Him would mean that we become accountable for our beliefs about Him and our actions as individuals. I don't need to prove His existence to anyone to get them to believe in Him. He proves His own existence by His creation. The complexity of the human gene proves that there was a supernatural hand in its creation. The alignment of the planets, and of the earth itself proves His existence. The vastness of our solar system, and the billions more that are out there prove His existence. And once you realize He is there, you become accountable for what He has written about Himself, and His opinion, or better yet, His truth. Say what you want about the Bible, but when you study its origin, 40 different authors over 1500 years, on three continents, and when placed together, form a uniform and concise message, that is just about mathematically impossible! Yet, guided by His hand, we have what has been passed down through thousands of years, His message, and we would be wise to find out what He has to say. That my friends isn't my opinion, that's the reality of it!

Why Me?

This morning in church one of our praise team members sang the song, Friend of God. It starts off by saying, "Who am I that you are mindful of me, That you hear me, when I call. Is it true that You are thinking of me, How You love me, Its Amazing, It's Amazing, It's Amazing. I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, He calls me Friend" As that was being sung today, I kept thinking about those powerful words, and asking myself. Why me? Why would God, who created the heavens and the earth, who stood on nothing, reached out into nothing, grabbed nothing, and created something! Then if that wasn't enough, He took some dirt, fashioned it after His image, held it up, breathed into His very life, set it down, and called it man. And that's not all, He would later in the greatest act of love ever displayed, sent His own son to die in our place, my place, within the confines of the most cruel form of death ever imagined and instituted by man, crucifixion. All that for one purpose, one incredible, awesome purpose, that I might be brought into a relationship with this all mighty, all powerful, all knowing being, creator, God, and Heavenly Father! And when I do, He steps back and calls me His friend! I'm reminded when Jesus was eating with His disciples, He looked at them and said, I no longer call you servants, but friends. There is something within every person that longs to make a connection with people we perceive to be important, or influential. When we're in meetings we like to be acknowledged by them, or hope we can catch their attention, it makes us feel important. When I worked at Raymond James Financial, a billion dollar financial company, it made me feel good when the owner would remember my name. For the Christian, we have someone more popular than Hollywoods best, richer than Bill Gates, more powerful than the President of the United States, more influential than the pope, and He calls you His friend! That my friends, is the reality of it!

Getting Rid of The Weeds

What a week! Between revival type services that were absolutely incredible, and working on my new work van for a new area I'll be going after, my week has been quite busy to say the least. This morning I got up at 8am to pull weeds, of which I was able to fill two extra large lawn bags full! I was thinking about those weeds, and reminding myself that I need to run to Walmart to get some weed killer. Its amazing how weeds can show up just about anywhere, even in the cracks of my cement driveway! They have poked up through the rock beds we have beside our home, and even in the minutest cracks where the sidewalk and the foundation meet. Yes, weeds are both amazing and annoying all at the same time! When you think about it, there are other kinds of 'weeds' as well. The kind that find their way into our lives and make things difficult for us. It could be a weed of worry that doesn't seem to ever completely leave us. That weed attacks a lot of Christians. And like a real weed, that you can pull up, and another will take its place a few days later, the weed of worry will go away, but sooner or later will come back if not dealt with properly. There's the weed of anger, fear, doubt, and a host of others that plague peoples lives. Thankfully though, there is a solution! For the weeds that continue to plague my shrubs and sea grass, I plan on digging up the ground, and laying down a weed guard. We also have a weed guard for those 'weeds' that seem to spring up at times in our lives. Its the Word of God, and within it's pages we find means to not only remove the weeds in our lives, but to keep them from coming back also. What's amazing is the time we take to eradicate the weeds in our lawns, yet accept the weeds in our lives when God has provided the ultimate weed guard which is His Word. So the next time your outside pulling weeds, ask Him to remind you of the weeds in your life that He wants you to deal with, and then open His Word, and see what He says you can do about that particular weed! And that my friends is the reality of it!

Change is coming

Today kicked off our annual campmeeting, and what a powerful first two meetings we had with Evangelist David George! He has literally traveled around the world, preaching the Gospel, and challenging the church to arise to her full potential in Christ. My heart has always been to see God move in America as He has been doing in nations around the world. I didn't grow up in church, and as a lover of history, I've always been blessed by our rich spiritual heritage. I've also always believed that one day, I would see in my generation, the things the early Christians experienced. I take the Word literal and when Jesus said we could do the same things as Him, I believe that! I'm blessed to attend a church that is led by a pastor who believes that too, and who surrounds himself with men and women who believe that as well! I love to be challenged, and that's what I get from the messages from our church, a challenge to come up higher. Over the years I've been discouraged at the overall state of the church in America. Watching Christian television sometimes, most times, makes me sick. There is so much hype, and flakiness, and shallowness. And my belief is that with the God we serve, He doesn't need any false advertising, or for us to use our slick worldly inspired marketing schemes to promote Him. He is quite capable of promoting Himself, we just too often forget that. I don't mind bringing in new things, but lets forget thinking that He needs any help with our ideas to promote Him. Fire doesn't need any advertising, it advertises itself quite nicely! But one thing I took from the two messages today, is that God is on the move, not just around the world, but in our nation as well. I see the wind stirring His body. I'm thankful that He hasn't forgotten us, God isn't done with America. Like Pastor Neil said in his blog not long ago, there is a shifting taking place. And such a shifting, that it causes me to pause, and reevaluate my life, and my walk. Change is coming! And that my friends is the reality of it!

Where's the Battery?

I just finished putting a new battery in my car tonight. On my Ford Focus, when the battery dies, everything but the engine shuts down. The clock, the horn, the radio, the gauges, everything stops, but because of the alternator the engine keeps running. I thought about that after replacing the battery. I could of not changed it, and just got a jump in the morning, and still drove it. I'd have the appearance that the car was fine, but inside, I'd know it wasn't for real. Too often, I see that in the American church, we have the appearance that all is well, but when you take a closer look, you see its not real. We've learned to have church without being hooked up to the power source, the battery, which is the Holy Spirit. We appear ok, we've got our colored lights, smoke machines, large screens, and sound systems that rival anything a well planned concert would have. There's nothing wrong with those things of course, I mean they do serve a purpose, they do enhance the whole experience, and in a nation that is increasingly visual, the church needs to stay relevant, but at what cost? I'm reminded of the time that Jesus walked into the temple, made a whip out of some rope, and began running people out of the temple, mainly those who were there selling their goods. It wasn't that what they were selling was a violation, but Jesus reminded them that Gods house is for those wanting to see Him, and the merchant's were stealing God's attention. I long to see God on display, and if within the framework of our lights, smoke, and any other visual aid we add, that can be accomplished, then more power to it. But for some reason, despite all our man made efforts, we still lack the one thing that was so evident 2000 years ago, His heavy manifest presence. I'm sure if it would of helped His message, Jesus could have had it thunder and lightning every time He spoke, but he didn't need any visual aids, His audience was awed not by what they seen, but by what He spoke. Even when miraculous healings took place, He always pointed the people to God who had done the healing, and demanded that they take their eyes off of man. You see, He had the real thing, He was connected to the battery. I thank God for those churches whose focus is set on displaying Christ to the world, and not just putting on a good display. This week at church, don't set your attention on all the visual effects, regardless of how great they are, but set your attention on Him, and you'll find He's there waiting for you. Get connected to the Battery! And that my friends is the reality of it!

God Picks Up Where Man Stops

The other night in church, our associate Pastor, Pastor Neil, who also has his own blog, of which can be located under my links to the right (I recommend you read his blogs, they are very good), was teaching a message on being connected to the right people. The message, as usual was very good, but what caught my attention the most was a statement he made. He said, God picks up where man stops. That statement to me is most profound, because when I think about it, that's what God is waiting to happen. I know what Pastor Neil was talking about when he made that statement, man can only take us so far, and when he does, then God picks up and takes us the rest of the way. But for me, I also see something else. When I can't go anymore, when I'm at the end of my rope, when I've gone as far as Jesse Wilson can go, God picks up where most often, I'm forced to stop. Not stopping because I'm quitting, though I've been down that road before, but stopping because I just can't go any further in my own strength and limited knowledge. Its when we come to that point that God picks up and takes us where we can't go ourselves. I believe Job had to come to that place, he tried to figure out what was going on in his life, even making assumptions about God without really knowing what he was talking about. I love what God says in chapter 40 of Job, He asks, "Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it" Then for the rest of the chapter and all of chapter 41 God says in essence to Job, "If you can do the things I do Job, then I'll gladly step aside and declare your God" Then Job coming to the end of himself, stops and says in chapter 42, "I know that you can do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from you". When he stopped, God picked it up from there! If you wonder what's going on in your life, and where God has been, maybe, just maybe He's waiting for you to stop, so He can pick up where you left off. And that my friends, is the reality of it!

Manifest Destiny

In 1839 a gentleman by the name of John O'Sullivan, an editor with the Democratic Review, coined the phrase, Manifest Destiny, to descibe the vision of the United States stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He felt it was our right and desire to expand, our destiny to become great, and claim what should be ours. While thinking about that today, I thought, how true that is for Christians. We have a divine destiny concerning the things of God. It is our manifest destiny to move forward in the things of God and take what belongs to us. Jesus said in Matt 11:12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." That is what John O'Sullivan had in mind with manifest destiny, it was our right to expand as a nation, our destiny to do so. God's purpose is the same, it is our destiny to spiritually expand, to move forward and take what is provided for us. Jesus didn't have in mind the thought of being militant when He said to take the kingdom by force. He simply meant that the saints must press into the things of God, because there are forces that are attempting to keep us from that objective, from achieving all He has for us. As we enter into the season of His return it will become increasingly more difficult to stay the course. Not impossible, just more difficult as the enemy pulls out all the stops to keep God's people from inheriting the promise, that is why we must walk in manifest destiny, knowing we are destined for greater things, and moving forward, pressing in, to receive it! That my friends is the reality of it.

The cost of Freedom

It was on this day, over 200 years ago that a group of men banded together and declared their freedom from the oppressive rule of England. These men were willing to risk family, friends, and even their own lives for the chance to enjoy, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness! Those three things are the basis of being. I'm reminded that Jesus said in John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" The life Christ spoke about is what our founding fathers had in mind, its a life that includes freedom and the ability to not only pursue happiness, but to be happy. Those things are not found in communist nations, or within man made religions that attempt to bind the individual by an oppressive list of do's and don'ts that can't be followed or maintained. I'm thankful that I live in a nation that embodies what our Creator envisioned when He sent His very own son to die on a cruel cross for one purpose.... Freedom! Yes we have many issues in our nation, but compared to other nations, we enjoy a freedom that far surpasses what others enjoy. Soon, and I believe within my generation, the God who defined freedom by giving His own Son, will come back to offer the world a freedom even greater than what we enjoy in America. I long for that day more than any other, and so as we celebrate our nations freedom today, lets remember the price that was paid for this freedom, not just in 1776, but the inspiration for that freedom, over 2000 years ago, on a hill called Golgotha. And that my friends is the reality of it!

What size fan are you?

Last night I had a dream that I worked for a radio station. In the dream I was asked to get a fan from an individual who supplies them to the employees. When I entered this persons office I didn't see any fans, but the longer I stood in there looking around I'd start noticing them. Soon, she found a fan and brought it to me. I was a little disappointed because the fan was small compared to the others. She had large fans, medium fans, small ones, and of all those choices, she gave me a small one. I took it back to the sound room and plugged it in. It actually turned out to be a good fan and did the job reasonably well. Then I woke up with this dream on my mind, thinking about all the different sizes of fans there had been. I kept thinking that the large fans provided for a lot of wind, compared to the little fans. Because of the size of the other fans, I kept thinking that I had been ripped off until I turned the little fan on and seen that despite its size, it provided an adequate amount of air. I drive a bus on Sunday mornings picking up children, there are two small fans that due to the Florida heat, I use frequently. I always want to rip them off and toss them out the window, mainly because they can't seem to keep me cool enough! I'd rather have a large fan blowing in my face on those hot, muggy mornings. So its not so much the amount of air we can put out, but that we are where we're supposed to be in God's grand scheme of things. When you observe the church world, you see some things that are similar to those in the world. We have many that come across as a large fan, but rather than making an impact, they do nothing but provide a lot of air! You see that with large ministries, you have the head man, then you have the wannabe's running around acting as if they are God's gift to the church. When really, all God is looking for is for all His many fans, large, medium and small to find their place in His office, and do what they are created to do. If in the kingdom I'm a small fan, the worst thing I can do is to attempt to do the job of a big fan, thus trying to be what I'm not created to be. My peace, my joy, my anointing is to do what God created me to do, and not try to be something that God didn't create me to be. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, we read the story of the sower who sowed his seed in different ground. Those who sowed in good ground reaped, some 30 fold, some 60 fold, and some 100 fold. Not everyone is going to do the same things or be the same size in the kingdom, which is why God said that once we get to heaven, its not about what we did, but its about being faithful to what we were supposed to do. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. The least in the Kingdom will be greater than John the Baptist, yet on earth, no greater prophet existed compared to him! That my friends is the reality of it!