Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Thoughts: Florida School Shooting

For Christians, this shooting is not another time for you to get hyped up on the gun control debate, this is not about politics. Let the politicians do what they do, Christians, this is a TRAGIC and SAD reminder of where we have once again failed. 

In the lives of young people like Nikolas Cruz, described as a weird, creepy, a loner, once again, where was the church, where were we? He was a troubled kid, his adoptive father had died, single adoptive mother left two raise him, expelled from school, on his own, and where is the church, where are those who are showing him and his family Love, Compassion, Service, Forgiveness, Prayer, Gentleness, Commitment, Patience, Guidance, Humility, where has the church been all this time? 

If we want to get hyped up about something as believers, let's get hyped up about answering our calling to go to the outcasts, the samaritans, the loners, the people that NOBODY else is reaching. You want to make a difference? Start in your own community and allow God to utilize you and have an impact on someone in a dark place, someone struggling with great hurt and pain, be a friend to somebody that has nobody and watch what the Lord will do in that person as well as you. 

If you think I sound stupid or passive, look up the name Nicky Cruz (similar, but not the shooter in Florida,) he was the leader of a New York City gang, he slapped David Wilkerson in the face on more than one occasion when he told him about Jesus, ultimately through the dedication and compassion of Wilkerson, Cruz came to know the Lord, attended Bible College, became an evangelist, converted gang members to Christ, served as the Director of Teen Challenge and continues to reach thousands of people for Christ! Do not discount the impact you can have on a life, get hyped about reaching those who others consider unreachable. 

“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” 
- Matthew 9:37-38

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

He's Been God A Long Time

Did you know that God has been God a lot longer than we’ve been “know it alls” - sometimes I forget that He really does know it all, and that there isn’t a place I’m headed that he isn’t already there waiting on me. Trust the Lord with each and every decision in your life and He will take care of it and you. 

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
- Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

Monday, December 8, 2014

Things Bigger Than Us...

Have you ever had one of those times where you realized you were so caught up in your own "life" or "agenda" that you completely missed out on what God had in store for you?  I've had a handful of things on my mind lately that I've wanted to Blog about. I'm going to try and incorporate two of those ideas into this one blog today.

Children have been on my mind heavily the last week or so, children being mistreated, and I don't mean not getting enough attention or a parent missing a birthday party, but I'm talking about horrible and unforgivable atrocities against children. Stories I've read lately include one child who was tied up to a stake in the ground with a collar around his neck outside in the cold and watching his parents beat his pet dog to death and another story coming out of Scotland, where a 5 year old child from Botswana literally had his heart ripped out of his chest while was still alive for some sort of a "ritual sacrifice." 

 I'll post links to the stories below if you don't believe me. It is absolute horror. I can't begin to fathom what goes through the minds of people, to hurt and even kill a child. These stories make me think of my own 4 year old son, it brings me to tears to think of something like this happening to him. For those of you who are parents you'll know what I mean when I say I would do anything I possibly could to keep my children from having to experience pain. There is no part of me that ever would want my children to suffer. What in the world is wrong with people that would do these kinds of things to children? 
Only thing I can come back to is that there is an absence of true love, the "Agape" love that our Father in heaven has for us.  John 3:16 is one of the most famous and well-known Bible verses. It has been called the "Gospel in a nutshell" because it is considered a summary of the central doctrines of Christianity. The verb translated "loved" in this verse is ἠγάπησεν (ēgapēsen), past tense of "agapaō".
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
—John 3:16, KJV

 Agape received a broader usage under later Christian writers as the word that specifically denoted "Christian" love or "charity" (1 Corinthians 13:1–8), or even God himself (1 John 4:8, ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν, "God is Love").

 The term agape was used by the early Christians to refer to the self-sacrificing love of God for humanity, which they were committed to reciprocating and practicing towards God and among one another. When 1 John 4:8 says "God is love," the Greek New Testament uses the word agape to describe God's love.

 A self sacrificing love, a love that knows that there are thing more important than our selves, things bigger than "us." Children are to be loved, my son's memory verse for this month is, "Jesus said, 'let the little children come to me' - Matthew 19:14 (in his voice he says Maffew, but I know what he means). The stories mentioned above just ripped my heart out at the cruelty these two children had been shown vs. what they really deserved. 
On another level I felt God speak to me about children, we are all God's children, not just kids, but adults as well. I had a man come by the church today, down and out, homeless at the moment, trying to piece his life back together. Just before Thanksgiving we had done some things to help him and try and get him back on his feet. He's still trying, has a job, but just lost his spot in a shelter he'd been staying in. I didn't really have the ability to help him from our "benevolence" account again this month. He asked if I could at least get him some food, I told him I was sure I could manage that. 

 Now, this all came at a bad time for me in my day, I was on an important phone call when he came in to the church and I had an appointment I was trying to make at 12:30, so I was rushing a bit with this guy. I told him, ok let's go and I'll take you to get some food (in my mind, I'd decided that I 'd take him to get lunch at a buffet somewhere, drop him off, pay for it and still have time to make it to my appointment). So we go outside and load is bike, bag of clothes, backpack, tent, and machete (yes a machete) into my Tahoe and I take him to Western Sizzlin, as I'm going through the line with him (ready to hurry up and pay so I can go), I had a real check in my spirit, "Are you too good to sit down and have lunch with this man? My child?" Yeah, at that moment I felt like a dirt bag, nobody in his situation should have to eat alone, I was about to miss an opportunity to do something bigger than myself, I could encourage this guy, pray with him, maybe make a difference. At least show him that someone, somewhere cared.

 Turns out he's trying to get enough money to be able to take care of his wife who is in a nursing home, the right half of her body is paralyzed and they don't really have any other family to help them out. We had a good lunch, he said that his steak was a little too pink, but the fried chicken was good, he was extremely grateful, said that he never gets to eat in nice places like Western Sizzlin. He "snuck" a few cookies into his jacket to take to his wife, and I dropped him, his bike and all his gear (yes the machete too) off at the nursing home so he could spend some time with his wife before going into work, to try and do his best to take care of his family.
There are things in our life every day that are "Bigger Than Us," don't get too busy and miss out on opportunities God puts in front of you. You have the ability to have a great influence on people around you and make a difference in this world, which is full of people that don't know what true Agape love is, you can show it to them. That Self Sacrificing Love that knows no bounds, and is willing to not just give out of abundance but out of need as well.

 "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
- Matthew 25:40

Thursday, November 6, 2014

#TBT: Should You Volunteer In Your Church?

This is a ThrowBackThursday blog post, and you can find this blog in its entirety at the link after this introduction...We are busy with work, family, life, hobbies, side jobs, and needing an occasional rest in between...so why in the world would we or should we even consider devoting more of our time to anything? ...like volunteering in our local church...

 Faith without works is dead...the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few...go into all the world...what you've done to the least of these...

 These are just a few phrases from some powerful Bible verses concerning service. I ask the question, 

 "Should You Volunteer in Your Church?"
Please Read the Rest of this blog HERE

Saturday, October 25, 2014

12 Ways To Turn A Bad Day Into A Better One (Guest Post)

Here is an awesome blog from our Friends over at Christian Personal Finance - 

 "They are inevitable.

 Bad days happen to everyone.

 But, there are things you can do to make them better.

 Here are a few ideas to get you started.

 Hopefully just reading this post will help, but actually DOING some of the things listed below will!  So be bold and take action!

 1. Play With Kids.

 Even if they are not your own, just kid around kids while they are just being kids.

 2. Give Someone A Compliment.

 Not a fake one, but take the time to see something that someone else is doing well.

 3. Sing In Your Car.

 And sing as loud as you can. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to frown while you are singing?

 4. Read Philippians 4.

 And while you are at it, just think about where Paul was while he was writing it.

 5. Bake Your Favorite Kind Of Cookies.

 Then eat some.

 6. Count Your Blessings.

 I mean it. Start a list of all the things you are thankful for. Write until you can’t write anymore. Staple it to the wall.

 7. Watch People.

 Go find a crowded public area, sit down and watch. Allow yourself to wonder what he ate for breakfast, or what her name is, or where he bought that shirt.

 8. Do Something For Someone You Love.

 Do the dishes for your wife, take your neice out for ice cream, take your mom to Starbucks for a coffee.

 9. Pray.

 It’s #9 because you expected it to be #1. What could be more encouraging that talking to the Creator of the universe?

 10. Think Of The Most Encouraging Person You Know And Call Them.

 But don’t complain. Refrain from telling them how bad your day is and focus on making their day better.

 11. Write A Letter.

 A good old-fashioned paper and ink letter. Bonus: write it to someone who has impacted your life and thank them and let them know how much you appreciate their role/impact in your life.

 12. Remember The Truth.

 That God causes all things to work together for GOOD (Romans 8:28)"

 What do you do when you're having a bad day?

 Let us know in the comments section below!

 Follow Christian Personal Finance HERE on Facebook 

This blog originally appeared HERE

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

When God Messes With Your Life Plan

We all go through hard times in our life, some more so than others. We don't always know why, and if God loves us, why do these things happen? The ultimate thing is, if we truly and wholeheartedly trust God...then we must trust God.

 He Knows Exactly What He’s Doing

 The moral of the story? God really, truly knows what he is doing. He usually takes longer than we would like. He often leads us through strange territory. Sometimes he defers, or even destroys, our dreams. But God, our loving, tender, delightful Father, knows exactly what he is doing. He is accomplishing more in you and through you than you could ever think or imagine.
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