from God to me.

Occasionally there are seasons of life that completely show how small my faith just is...this is that season.  After searching God's will for the answer to my question I still found myself anxious and without the peace that Paul promises me in Jesus (Phil 4:6-7).  So here's the message from God, to me.

You know how you spend a summer day working outside and for some reason you neglected to bring a water cooler?  Yeah, that's how I felt the other day when I was going through a great search for God's will in my life and didn't bother to read His Word all day.  Dying of thirst, I finally dove into my Bible at 8:30 that evening and I was lapping up the words like my dog in the water bowl after a long summer walk.  This sounds great and all but for those of you who have children, you know that babies never let you be productive for long without interrupting.  It was just getting good when my two month old, Brandt, broke into song (crying).  Despite my usually calm and patient manner (sarcasm intended here), I grew frustrated that my son wouldn't allow me the peace and quiet to do the very thing I should have done hours ago.  In the midst of frustration I boldly asked Brandt, "Life's not that hard!  Can't you just be content and sit still for a minute?!"

Like an overwhelming thirst quenching flood, God gave me the word I so desperately needed.  "Life's not that hard...be content and sit still for a minute while I do what I've got to do."

Small...but by no means least.

Arkansas population ranks #33 out of 56 states. (Where the hay did 56 come from?)

Arkansas…though you are small some notable people came from you.

-         Johnny Cash

-         Bill Clinton

-         Paul “Bear” Bryant

Cash, Clinton, and Bear!…Arkansas, you may be small but are by no means least!

But you, Bethlehem…though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.  Micah 5:2 (approx. 700BC)

But you, Bethlehem…are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.  Matthew 2:6

The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem put them on the map so to say...small in size but great in significance.

-         How many reasons do we use to justify our insignificant view of our life?

-         I’m this or I’m that, I’m only so and so…It's not like I'm so and so, I'm just me.  :(

Try seeing yourself through this today instead…

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory  Ephesians 1:3, 13

God’s purpose in all this was to use the church (all believers!) to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.  3:10-11

     Jesus’ residence in your life changes an insignificant existence into significant…for today, through faith, in you lives King Jesus, the Babe of Christmas.

Lessons from Mary

Did you ever notice how excited the angel was when telling Mary that life as she knew it was over?  (Luke 1:28)

GREETINGS, YOU WHO ARE HIGHLY FAVORED!  THE LORD IS WITH YOU!

And He’s about to flip your world upside down!

This maybe a different side of the story that you’ve never considered…

-         but it seems as if the angel is either insensitive to Mary’s feelings

-         or knows something that far outweighs the loss Mary will experience

Either way, Mary’s world is shaken and emotions had to run wild…she probably went to Ehow.com to find out "how to hold back the tears."

 "We've all been in a situation where we suddenly feel compelled to cry. Your breathing intensifies, your heart sinks and water is welling your eyes. But no matter the reason why you want to cry, sometimes it's just not an opportune time. Here are some tips on how to hold back tears."

1.      Pinch yourself on your inner thigh.  By pinching yourself, you are moving the focus of your body's pain to another location.  Just don't pinch so hard that you leave a bruise!

2.      Hold your breath. If you concentrate on your breathing, you can literally stop those tears from flowing.

3.      Bite your lower lip. Like pinching, this re-focuses your body's attention.

4.      Let out a ferocious yell.  One way to release those negative emotions is to give a good scream. Excuse yourself from the situation and let it out in private. You'll feel much better.

5.      Start laughing. By forcing yourself to release that sorrow in another form, you'll hold back the tears. However, note that this might not always be the most appropriate action.

Mary was obviously dissatisfied with Ehow.com and instead placed all her emotions into worshiping God in song…

And Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord…”  (Luke 1:46)

In life’s most overwhelming moments, the greatest good we can do to minimize our trouble is to glorify our Lord.

Biblical Salvation

The majority of American's consider themselves Christian...

Many professing Christians think God awards "I'm pretty good" with heaven.

The more I engage people in the Biblical Salvation conversation, the more I realize that many professing Christians are unsaved and have no concept of what Jesus has done.

For those of you who are saved from sin by the blood of Christ...it's time to share the gospel of the Bible with the world.

Here's how...

• Everyone is separated from the Creator of this world because we've chose our way of of life instead of the life God planned, being "pretty good" has never and will never cut it in the eyes of God.  (Romans 3:10, Isaiah 59:2)
• EVERYONE IS GUILTY. (Romans 3:23)
• God never gave up on us!  Jesus took my guilt upon His cross to bring healing to my relationship with God.  (Romans 5:8)
• Jesus died because unlike we want to think, sin is no small problem but it cost us everything.  The payment for sin is death...physical, spiritual, and eternal death in hell...the gift of Jesus is fullness of life now and forever in Heaven. (Romans 6:23)
• Salvation from Jesus is a gift...to accept it all we must do is confess my sinfulness, believe that the Son of God is the One who died and rose again defeats the sin problem in my life, and ask Jesus to be the new leader of my life!  (Romans 10:9-10)
• There is no limit on forgiveness.  No matter what your past looks like, your future can include salvation through the forgiveness of Jesus.  EVERYONE can be saved!  (Romans 10:13)

I spent way too many years refusing to take the gospel of Jesus into the streets, making myself feel better by thinking everyone around here already knows...fact is, they don't.  We've got to quit assuming our neighbor already knows, quit waiting on someone else to share it, and start giving everyone the simple opportunity that everyone deserves...to say yes or no to Biblical salvation.

FACT...FICTION

FACT. 
Life is ever changing and never slows down.
FICTION.
You can plan what you want and have control over tomorrow.
FACT.
You will always seek for something to find pleasure in.
FICTION.
The world always turns your way to fit your flavor of the day.

If there is one thing that I've learned in the past few weeks it is the equation of patience that David spells out in Psalm 37...mainly verse 4, 

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

FACT.
Patience is birthed from the absence of what I desire to delight in.
FACT.
If I learn to delight in the LORD, I will be satisfied no matter my current situation.
FACT.
When we delight in our Father, our Father is enabled to give freely to His children.

1 acoustic guitar + 1 macbook = 1 song

This is one of my favorite hymns that sings from the heart of a life that's completely sold out to Jesus.  "And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."  Luke 14:27.

This is my very first recording of any kind...I just got my macbook a couple of weeks ago and had to see what it could do.  This is completely done with one acoustic guitar and my own vocals...every sound.  I hope you enjoy.

When the lights don't come on?

Many times us Christians become illogical in our thinking about the realities of what Christianity actually is and does.  One of the most controversial conversations in the church and streets today has to do with an age old topic of CONNECTION BETWEEN FAITH AND WORKS.  Here are a couple of possible equations that occur when considering the connection between faith and works.


Now that I have faith...I will go and do good works. 
or
To have greater faith...I will go do MORE good works.  That's how it works right?
maybe...
If I try really hard at doing good works...it will overcome my lack of faith.

You get the picture...they seem quite similar at a glance but if we hold these up to Scripture, none of them are relevant to Christianity.  Below is a diagram that explains what Paul says in Galatians 5:6, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."   And also what James says in James 2:17, "Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action is dead."

The Holy Spirit is a gift from God that is an electrifying power held back in our lives by one single switch...faith.  When faith (correct belief that gives confidence that produces action) becomes real the switch is flipped and the power of God is released into our life.




After flipping a light switch it would be goofy to go smooth talk the lamp until it came on...the existence of electricity automatically energizes light.  The same is true with Christ followers...the existence of faith means the existence of the Spirit, which automatically energizes faith based works (love, patience, self control, etc...check fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23).


Moral of the story...if the light isn't on, check the power.  If the light of "faith based works" aren't shining in my life...don't try harder but work backwards to see where the power was disconnected through a lack of faith.   
 

What do I struggle to believe...why...how can I humble myself in order to receive God's truth?