Maybe you can answer me a question.  What is the difference between a keepsake and an idol? 

When you are holding on to an object; it could be a coin collection, lucky antique baseball glove, your grandmother’s old sewing machine (and you never learned how to sew or have any desire to start), or anything of value, and yet you are not able to do the basic things in life such as pay your bills, put food on the table, tithe, then tell me, are those things now keepsakes or idols?

How about that brand new television you just bought 6 months ago, of course on credit?  How about that car that you knew up front, you would have to struggle to make the payments?  What about those $90 sneakers you just bought your son, because he wanted them?  And yet you are still trying to figure out, how am I going to pay that electric bill that is about to be shut off…

I am not speaking here from other people’s thoughts.  I am speaking on behalf of my own experiences.  Where do we draw the line?  When do we just let go of things, in order to survive?  When is it OK to hold on to such things?

I would like to know your thought, please send me your thoughts, and hopefully some specific examples.

God Bless you all, know that God wants to help us in ALL of our life’s experiences.  In order for Him to do so, we need to give Him EVERYTHING.

Are you ready?

To God be ALL of the Glory!!!

 What’s the Matter, Cat got your Tongue???

     Did you hear what Pastor Ken did the other day? You will not believe your ears when I tell you.  Keep him in prayer, he really needs it…

      I really had you thinking. You were really looking to get to the juicy stuff quickly, weren’t you?  Well tough luck, you are not going to get nonsense like that from this Blog, or even these lips.

      I am wondering, why if we get an email or hear a story from someone that is of a humorous, scandalous, degrading, controversial, or just down right disgusting, we have no problem telling everyone about it, or sending it on to everyone we can think of without remorse…   

      I look at the flip side of that coin, why is it when you get an email or hear a story that speaks about God’s Word or His Great Commission, we tend to sensor it and only speak about it when and we feel it is ok. If we even say anything at all.

      As we know the GREAT COMMISSION teaches us;

Matthew 28:16-20 (NLT) – ¹⁶Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!  ¹⁸Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

      Jesus lets us all know that He has all of the authority, and He has given us the authority to go and make disciples of ALL nations.  Also, we are to teach these new disciples to obey ALL the commands He has given us.  There is nothing here that says “go forth and spread rumors about anyone or make them feel inferior.”

      Well if you did not know, the Bible also speaks of those who do not take God’s Great Commission and choose to do their own thing.

 Proverbs 11:9-14 (NLT)

 ⁹With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous.  ¹⁰The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed; they shout for joy when the wicked die.  ¹¹Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.  ¹²It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet.  ¹³A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

      Jesus spoke specifically about these things in Leviticus Chapter 19 when he was speaking to Moses, you can click here to read the chapter but here is verse 16; “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.”

      I know that you have heard these things many times. I mention them because it is time to change.  Forgive me, I am not without error in these things, I have done these things and I have to change my way of thinking also.  Let’s look at some modern day examples where this could make a real difference;

      Have you ever heard something at church that could bless someone else, you then think about it and talk yourself out of calling that person?  What did that do for that person?  How would you feel if that person did the same thing to you, and you found out about it, how would you feel?  How much does a phone call really cost?  How much could it cost, if the Holy Spirit placed in your heart to speak to that person?

      What if you heard that a person you know, they do not even have to be a friend, truly has a need and you know about it, and you could help?  What would happen if you STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE and just help?  Doesn’t the Bible say if you sow a seed you will reap what you sow?

Galatians 6:7-8 (CEV)

⁷You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. ⁸If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life.

     I am challenging each of you to step out of your comfort zone and invest some time in people.  You did not hear me say invest money. You did not hear me say give away the ranch. I asked that you invest time into people.  The Bible does not say you have to sow money, as far as God is concerned, whatever you invest, as long as it is for the betterment of His Kingdom, it is worthy of sowing. 

     I am sure you have either seen or heard of the movie; Pay it Forward.  It, sort of, works like the movie.  Look beyond your own desires.  Look beyond your own problems.  Look at the needs of someone else, and bless them with time.  It may be time praying for them, it may be time finding the right people to help them, it may be taking the time to driving them around to wherever they need to go. Whatever it is, INVEST THE TIME.

     You are probably asking, why I am challenging you to Invest the Time!  The answer is simple.  First of all, as God’s Word says, you will reap what you sow.  As a matter of fact, you will reap more than you sow.  The second reason I am challenging you, is because if the person you invest in does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they will see Jesus in you and be encouraged to do the same (Pay it Forward).  They also may be encouraged to ask you questions like; “Hey, why are you doing this?”  This is an open door to share your faith with this person.  Maybe even encourage them to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

     OK enough for now. Who is on board?  Who is up for the challenge?  Who is the first person you are going to invest time in?  I look forward to many comments of people telling their testimonies.  Feel free to share, and encourage others to join in…

 God Bless and to God be ALL of the Glory!!!

This is definitely worth blogging…

Watch the video, check out the words below and share with someone else…

Feel free to join the cause…

BORN AGAIN AMERICAN
By Keith Carradine

Just a workin’ man without a job
It got shipped off to China via Washington, D.C.
And I know I’m nothin’ special, there are plenty more like me
Just the same
I thought I knew the rules of the game
I stood up for this country that I love
I came back from the desert to a wife and kids to feed
I’m not sayin’ Uncle Sam should give me what I need
My offer stands
I’ll pull my weight you give me half a chance

I went up to a congressman and said to him “you know
Our government is letting people down”
He said he’d need a lot of help to buck the status-quo
I said there was a bunch of us around

I’m a Born Again American, conceived in Liberty
My Bible and the Bill of Rights, my creed’s equality
I’m a Born Again American, my country ‘tis of me
And everyone who shares the dream from sea to shining sea

My brother’s welding chassis at the plant
He’s earning what our granddad did in 1948
While CEOs count bonuses behind the castle gates
How can they see
When all they care about’s the do re mi

It’s getting where there’s nowhere left to turn
Not since the crash of twenty-nine have things been so unfair
So many of our citizens are living in despair
The time has come
To reaffirm that hope’s not just for some

The promise of America’s surrendering to greed
The rule is just look out for number one
But brace yourself ‘cause some of us have sown a different seed
A harvest of the spirit has begun

I’m a Born Again American conceived in liberty
My Bible and The Bill Of Rights
My creed’s equality
A Born Again American, my country ‘tis of me
And everyone who shares the dream from sea to shining sea

It’s clear my country’s soul is on the line
She’s hungering for something that she lost along the way
The principle the framers called upon us to obey
That in this land
The people’s will must have the upper hand

I felt the calling once before and took a sacred vow
And faithful to that vow I have remained
I hear the calling once again, my country needs me now
And to her cause I have been re-ordained

I’m a Born Again American conceived in liberty
My Bible and the Bill Of Rights, all people living free
A Born Again American, my country ‘tis of me
And everyone who shares the dream
From sea to shining sea
And everyone who shares the dream
From sea to shining sea
A M E R I C A

This sounds like a simple question………until you ask God to confirm the answer!

I am asking a simple question, with an even easier answer it may seem, if I am asking Christians.  We all should be answering; “My trust is my Lord, Jesus Christ.  After all, the Bible says in John 14:6 (CEV); “I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father.”

Now you may say that this verse says that to get to heaven we need to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  You are correct, but look at the part that says “Without me”.

Just because you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, does not mean that you can just forget Him.

What does the Bible say in:

-  Psalms 37:5; “Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust Him, and He will help you.” 

The Bible does not say to commit

some things, it says commit everything,

Trust Him and He will help you.

-  Psalms 62:7-8 (CEV); “God saves me and honors me.  He is that mighty rock where I find safety.  Trust God, my friends, and always tell him each one of your concerns.  God is our place of safety.”

God is your rock, by trusting God,

He can be your place of Safety…

- Colossians 1:11 (NCV); “God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient.”

Trust in God and experience His Power… 

When your troubles do come, you will learn

to be patient in God’s ability

to take care of it…

 - 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV); ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.’

When you are weakest, by trusting Him,

He can be most helpful in blessing you. 

Are you ready to Trust God? 

Get ready to give your problems to God

and His power will rest in you…

Please enjoy this amazing video,

listen to the words, and

embrace what God can do for you. 

It is not ours to keep,

God wants us to Trust in Him, try it!!!

A lecturer was explaining stress management to an audience.

He raised a glass of water and asked

“How heavy is this glass of water?”

 The answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter.  It depends on how long you try to hold it.  If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem.  If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” 

He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management.  If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.

When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden…”

“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, Let them down for a moment if you can.” 

Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.

Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

†     Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.

†     Keep your words soft and sweet, Just in case you have to eat them.

†     Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be “Recalled” by their maker.

†     If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

†     If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

†     It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others…

†     Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.

†     Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

†     When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

†     Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

†     You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

†     Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

†     We could learn a lot from crayons… Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

How many times have we heard these same words? 

How many times have we said them ourselves?

Do we really believe that God is good “ALL of the time”?

I can hear the overwhelming reply to the above answer as “OF COURSE I BELIEVE THAT!”  It is time to test this question and answer in our own walk with God.

Each of us, as believers, makes a critical decision in our walk with God when we accept Jesus as our LORD and SAVIOR.  Well, at least we accept Him as our Savior.  What do you mean by that you ask, thank you for asking…

Most people, including myself said the prayer of salvation, and we were born again.  We miss one of the most important lessons that we are supposed to learn.  We are supposed to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, not just our Savior.  Do not get me wrong, I did not figure this out at first either, but when I did, it hit me like a brick.

The Bible says in Philippians 2:9-11 (New American Standard Bible)

⁹For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I can see that some of you may be scratching your heads asking; “The Bible says ‘every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’, what does that mean?”

The definition of Lord in the dictionary is; “one having power and authority over others” When we accept Jesus as our Lord, we give Him ALL authority over our lives.  When we are saved, we accept the greatest gift that Jesus has given us; Eternal Salvation.  In return, we are to give Him authority over our lives and everything in our lives.

It is said in 1 Corinthians 10:26 (Amplified)

For the whole earth is the Lord’s and everything that is in it.

Once we recognize Jesus as our Lord, we learn to give everything to Him, good and bad.  We thank God for everything, whether it “feels” good or not.  We finally understand that it is no longer about us, it is always about Him.

Keep you focus on God and not the world and you will be blessed.

Stay tuned for Part 2: It is not too Late…

I am not sure if any of you are Country Western music fans, but I love my country and more importantly, I Love God…

Check out this video, real neat.  2 versions, the 2nd one has the lyrics…

I know that this video is labeled as Memorial day, but it should be seen 365 days a year.

God Bless the men and women who have served our country.

Our Pastors are under a lot of scrutiny at all times.  They are scrutinized by their congregation, they are scrutinized by their peers and they are scrutinized by their closed friends. 

We should all realize that the primary source of our Pastors’ vision is supposed to come from the Holy Spirit.  At times, when all of the scrutiny is placed upon our Pastors, it can really take its toll.

I have been blessed with a wonderful prayer book, Prayers for our Pastor.  Which are available @ http://www.renewalministries.com/store/.

There is a prayer on page 20 that I have been praying for the last 2 weeks.  It is time that we all take this prayer and start praying for our Pastors.

Feel free to comment and share your thoughts and any other prayers you would like to share. 

Insert you Pastor’s name in the blank spot.

Lord, I stand against the enemies of my pastor’s prayer life – “busyness” (Acts 6:2-4), compulsions, compromise (Acts 5), unnecessary phone calls, chronic counselees, fatigue, sleepiness, (Matthew 26:41), appetites, television, late meetings, over-commitments,  and doubt.  Let nothing hinder ________________’s time with you.  Let him/her rise up to seek you (Mark 1:35), pray with other pastors (Acts 1:14) and pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

To God be ALL of the Glory

Sometimes we may say we want God to be able to take over our lives, but do we really? 

Please watch this video, I know it is 9 minutes long, but it will be the best 9 minutes you have spent in a long time.  After watching this, please share your thoughts.