Don't Be One Of Those People

I've pastored two churches where I had people who would come to the church and try and fill a position, but would never attend regular services or support the church financially with their tithes and offerings. In both of these situations the persons involved complained about not getting a thing out of the services (which they never attended regularly) or anything from my messages (which they never heard on a regular basis because they didn't attend services regularly). They would come late on Sunday morning, go and fill their position, and then I wouldn't see them again until the next week if I was lucky. Finally, I had to deal with the situations and in both instances lost them from the church. Instead of changing their ways and doing what was right to hold a position in the church, they wanted me to bend the rules just for them or be the bad guy. Well, I ended up the bad guy.

It reminds me of a story I read not to long ago that is supposed to be a true story.

There’s a Welsh woman who lived in a remote valley in Wales. She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to have electrical power installed in her home. However, after a couple of months, the electric company noticed she didn’t seem to use very much electricity at all.
Thinking there might be a problem with the hookup, they sent a meter reader out to check on the matter. The man came to the door and said, "We’ve just checked your meter and it doesn’t seem that you’re using much electricity. Is there a problem?"
  
"Oh no" she said. "We’re quite satisfied. We turn on the electric lights every night to see how to light our lamps and then we switch them off again."

Now, why didn’t this woman make more use of her electricity?
-She believed in electricity
-She believed the promises of the electric company when they told her about it
-She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to have her house wired for it
But she didn’t understand the potential of electricity in her home and so she used it’s power sparingly.

So many people have the potential to make a difference in a church, but they allow themselves to squander the opportunites that God has given them because they don't want to live by the rules or be faithful. They never see what God could do in them or through them because the only thing they are concerned about is what they want and how they want it to be done.

Don't be one of those people!

These people treat prayer and the church very much in the same way.
-They believe in prayer and the community of the church.
-They know of the promises God has made and understand the need for the company of believers.
-They’ve even read and heard stories about answered prayers and seen the results in the church setting, but...They pray sparingly and are not faithful, then they blame God, the church, and the pastor for the ills in their lives.

Don't be one of those people!

James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Choose Courage-Don't Be Afraid

Most of us would probably define “courage” with words like “bold,” “fearless” and “unafraid.” However, it seems to me that those traits don’t have a lot to do with real courage. A fearless person needs no courage. Same with the person who is boldly unafraid. Real courage is the ability to overcome fear in order to do what needs to be done.

For some people courage comes quite naturally, while others have it thrust upon them by situations and circumstances. Some are motivated to courageous actions by friends and family. Others take courage from their faith and from cherished values. Still others are inspired by different things in different situations. The important thing is finding the right foundation upon which to build a courageous response and then responding to it without fear or weakness.

-It takes courage to say "No" in times of distress when your world is caving in.
-It takes courage to agree to principles that everyone else says are antiquated and no longer useful.
-It takes courage to stand when your friends and others are in opposition to you.
-It takes courage to live for Christ when everyone else says give up.

Choose courage-don't be afraid!

Stupid But True

-A medical student was working in the toxicology department at the poison control center. A woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. The medical student quickly reassured her that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down, and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants. The student told the mother that she better bring her daughter in to the emergency room right away.

-Seems that a year ago, some Boeing employees on the work field decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out of the plane and home. When they took it for a float on the river, they were quite surprised by a Coast Guard helicopter coming towards them. It turned out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator that is automatically activated when the raft is inflated. They are no longer employed there.

-A motorist was unknowingly caught in an automated speed trap that measured his speed using radar and photographed his car. He later received in the mail a ticket for $40 and a photo of his car. Instead of payment, he sent the police department a photograph of $40. Several days later, he received a letter from the police that contained another picture of handcuffs.

-A woman was reporting her car as stolen, and mentioned that there was a car phone in it. The policeman taking the report called the phone and told the guy that answered that he had read the ad in the newspaper and wanted to buy the car. They arranged to meet, and the thief was arrested.

Friday Laugh Day-You've Turned Into a Mom When...

1. You automatically double-knot everything you tie.

2. You find yourself humming the Barney song as you do the dishes.

3. You hear a baby cry in the grocery store, and you start to gently sway back and forth, back and forth. However, your children are at school!

 

4. You actually start to like the smell of strained carrots mixed with applesauce.

5. You weep through the scene in Dumbo when his mom is taken away, not to mention what Bambi does to you.

6. You get soooo into crafts you contemplate writing a book called 101 Fun Crafts to do with Dryer Lint and Eggshells.

7. You spend a half hour searching for your sunglasses only to have your teenager say, "Mom, why don't you wear the ones you pushed up on your head?"

8. You are out for a nice romantic meal with your husband, enjoying some real adult conversation, when suddenly you realize that you've reached over and started to cut up his steak!

Make A Joyful Noise

Psalm 100:1-5 "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

God never asked us to make a beautiful noise, only a joyful one.

-God doesn’t care about the sound of our voices, the features of our faces, or the cut of our clothes.

-God only cares about the song in our souls.

It is my prayer that you never stop singing your song. We must remember to make a joyful noise all the days of our lives here.

If you are afraid to sing with your voice then:

-Sing with your heart.
-Sing with your thoughts.
-Sing with your feelings.
-Sing with your actions.
-Sing with your lives.

Make your every moment in life a song that delights Heaven with its melodic refrain.

Psalm 98:4 "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise."

My Declaration of Blessing (Part 3)

The Prayer of Blessing that God gave to Moses.

Numbers 6:22-27 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, THE LORD BLESS THEE AND KEEP THEE: THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON THEE, AND BE GRACIOUS UNTO THEE: THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UPON THEE, AND GIVE THEE PEACE. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them'."

Is God the same now as He was then? Then why will not the same blessing work today for each of us. I believe that it will!

 -Say this blessing over your children, your spouses, your friends, your church, and even your enemies. You will see a change.

 -Use your words to bless, not tear down. Lives will turn around. Attitudes will change. Relationships will only get better.

 -If you believe that God is exactly the same today as He was yesterday then you’ll believe the next scripture when God was talking to His chosen people, the children of Israel. We are also His chosen thru the blood of Jesus Christ.

Deuteronomy 30:19 " I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Isn't that powerful? Choose life. Life in Christ, so that you and your off-spring may live. You have the power of life and death just by the way you talk. You can spiritually kill someone or you can spiritually give someone a reason to live. That reason is Christ. Share Christ with edifying words; don’t kill your testimony with foul communication.

My Declaration of Blessing (Part 2)

You can speak blessing or cursing out of your mouth.
Matthew 15:8 "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me".

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

The words we speak should be used for edifying or building up our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to be careful because all the blessings that God has given us can be taken away or as the Bible says our blessings may be in danger of turning to curses.

Malachi 2:2 "If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name," saith the LORD of hosts, "I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart."

It is easy to remember all those that have wronged you, borrowed money from you and never repaid it, seperated you and a friend with false tales, or just harmed you in away that you seem to never get over. But we must learn to speak blessing rather than cursing even over those who have done us wrong if we are truly going to be blessed by God.

Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

I know that is a hard pill to swallow for some of us, to bless and love our enemies and forgive those who hae wronged us. However, if we do, then we will receive those blessings that God has stored up for us and is just waiting for us to ask.

My Declaration of Blessing (Part 1)

(1) Your Declaration of Blessing is in the Word:

Numbers 6:24-26 :The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."

Deuteronomy 28:1-14
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.  “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.  “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.   “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.  And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them."

How Blessed Do You Feel Today?

-Having a bad day? You are blessed!

-Did something happen today that upset you? You are blessed!

-Did an unexpected turn of events take place today? You are blessed!

-Just feel sick? You are blessed!

I have come to the conclusion after visiting the hospitals and nursing homes in the past few days that in spite of all the grief and difficulty I deal with everyday I am blessed.

-I don't need a machine to breath.

-I don't need a wheelchair to move around.

-I am not dependent on a caregiver to watch over me.

-I am not in the ICU or the CCU.

I feel every pain and know that I am alive. Because I know I'm alive I know that I have a Savior who is with me and watches over me 24 hours a day. When I hurt, He hurts. When I am at a loss, He is at a loss. He feels what I feel and knows what I'm going through. The difference is I am blessed in my weakness and in my sorrow, for He is with me in all things and brings me strenght and comfort when I need it the most.

Remember Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Today might not be a good day, but remember you are blessed!

Desire

When someone has a desire it usually means they want to do something. Desire is not something that can be given by anyone else in the real world. Your desire comes from the inside.  If there is something you want to do, it is probably not because somebody is holding a gun to your head. You just want to do it.

If you decide you want to improve, if you want a meaningful relationship or more fulfilling work, if you want a rich spiritual life or a healthier body, then the desire must come from your own heart. Nobody can make you want those things. They can support you and even inspire you, but only you can make it happen.
This is why the Word of God gives us instructions on and about our desires. I believe it is a 4 step process according to the scripture.

(1) You must first respect and honor the Lord.Psalm 145:19 says, "He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them."
(2) You must live holy and righteous in His sight.
Proverbs 10:24 "The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted."

(3) You must have faith when you pray.
Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

(4) You must realize that God knows and has already made provision.
1 John 5:15 "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."

One last verse:
Psalm 20:4 HCSB "May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.^"

If You Want To Live

 If you want to live, then you need to love.

-You need to love God.

-You need to love yourself.

-You need to love others.

-You need to bring some help to a family in need.

-You need to cheer up a sick friend.

-You need to help a neighbor fix up their home.

-You need to hold a crying child in your arms and comfort them.

-You need to offer a word of encouragement and kindness to a hurting heart.

-You need to take the hand of a loved one and let them know just how much you care about them.

-You need to smile and give your joy to everyone you meet.

-You need to do the one thing that makes life worth living-love!

Dealing With Failures

Much of what I know about life has been learned through experience, including experiences of failure.

I have learned not to worry about the things I've done badly. If I paid attention to what went wrong and why, then even my most spectacular failures gave something priceless back – they taught valuable lessons. Sometimes wisdom can't be gotten any other way. Remember, if there are no obstacles on your road to success – your goal isn’t worth it. Life is not an easy ride and failures will come.

So how do you deal with failure?

(1) Write down what went wrong and what should be improved. Once you have it all set, think about what you are going to do now. Forget about the failure in the past and think about the bright future you have ahead of you.

(2) Try again with more passion. Don’t repeat your mistakes, bigger goals, and higher determination. Give it your best shot, and leave the rest to God.

(3) Remember, this is your life, and what others say should not matter. If they really care about you, they will not say hurtful things to you – especially aimed at your failures . People who stay by your side when you’re down will be the ones who will be genuinely happy when you’re high up! Never feel ashamed of yourself because of failure. Failure only means that success is coming next!

(4) Make a plan and stick to it. Cover every detail and strategy and make sure you adhere to it.This will help keep your focus on your goals.

(5) Have faith in yourself. It is very easy to consider yourself worthless and lose hope in everything when you fail. Don’t let that get to you. Motivate yourself. Stay around positive people who lift your spirits. Keep your distance from negative people. Think positive thoughts. Believe in yourself no matter what others say.

(6) Failure can also mean that you’re on the wrong path. It can be an indication that your success lies somewhere else. In such cases, a detour can save your life! Remember quitting doesn’t always mean losing. Sometimes, when you quit one thing and move on to something different and better, it can bring great happiness to your life too. Just don't quit and do nothing-that would be wrong.

You can come out a winner! You can be successful! Just deal with your failures and push forward because tomorrow's prize just might be yours today.

Slow Down

Matthew 10:22b "...but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."


God gave us these lives to learn in, to grow in, and to love in. Don’t rush through them. There is no place that you need to be except where you are right now. You were meant to experience life, to cherish life, and to enjoy life: not to hurry through life. Your life is meant to be a journey of love and happiness not a race to some unseen finish line. Take your time and rejoice in every second that you are given here. Then when you look back on the life you have lived you will see a million moments of love and not a blur of wasted years.

10 Things To Remember Every Day

(1) Happiness isn’t something you find-it is something you choose and you live.

(2) Life here is both precious and brief-spend it well.

(3) Live every day joyously.

(4) Don’t waste a second of it on unhappiness.

(5) Go to work with a smile on your face.

(6) Greet others with love in your heart.

(7) Exercise with pleasure and play with delight.

(8) Pray with both peace and joy.

(9) Learn from your pain.

(10) Grow from your troubles.

Remember Grace

What is Grace?

-It is the unconditional love of God.

-It is the unmerited help of our Heavenly Father in all we do.

-It assists us each and every morning of our lives.

-It desires to make a home in our hearts and minds.

-It is available for us to share it with the world.

Grace is there ready to help us live our lives with love, joy, and peace every single day.
Yes, grace can make your life so much better if you give it a chance. Think about this:

-By grace, you learn to greet people with a smiling face and a loving heart.

-By grace you learn to laugh easily, sing often, and feel your spirit dancing even when your feet don’t.

-By grace you can face life’s struggles, challenges, difficulties, and pains with hope, determination, optimism, and joy.

Whatever you face and whatever you do remember it is this glorious grace that will carry you through and bring you out.

So remember grace-don't leave home without it!

I'm Not As Old As I Used To Be

I'm not as old as I used to be:

-When I constantly worried about my bills and how I was going to pay them. I just trust in God and I always seem to have more than enough.

-When I fretted about my weight and the graying hair. Now I just look in the mirror and smile.

-When my body looks older on the outside, but the soul on the inside feels younger than ever.

-When I was always judging others, being angry with them, or worrying about what they thought of me. Now I just do my best to love everyone and share my joy with the world. 
Remember God made all of us all both ageless and forever young.

-By choosing love, joy, and unity with God you can always keep growing younger and younger on the inside.

-By sharing that love and joy you can give your youth, energy, and vitality to the world.

-By living from your soul you can stop counting your birthdays, start living for eternity, and always know that you will never again be as old as you used to be.

Life I have found is too short to live any other way.

What Do You Expect?

We often expect that something or someone else will make us happy. That is really irrational thinking because nobody can make you happy but you.. That is your job. If you expect others to make you happy or to keep you happy, you will be disappointed again and again.

Many folks expect that life should be, for the most part, relatively easy and problem free. This, too, is irrational because bad things do happen and living can be difficult at various times. If you expect things to be easy, if you expect not to have problems, if you expect to avoid pain and heartache, I know you will be in for serious disappointment somewhere down life's road. Problems are here to stay and it's your job to face them and learn how to deal with them with the hope that things will all work out for good.

I don't mean to share a picture of life as bleak and miserable because it isn't. In fact, I think it is amazingly wonderful. And it's even more wonderful when you don't expect everything to always be perfect. I expect some bumps in the road, but I also expect to find joy everyday. I do not expect others to always please me, but I do expect to be responsible for my own well-being. The atmosphere that I create inside my heart, mind, and spirit is the one that will carry me through the hardest times in life.

So what did you expect?

-To live a defeated life? If you do, you will.

-To live in misery? If you do, you will.

-That nothing good will ever happen? If you do, it won't.

-That God can't change your circumstances? If you do, He can't.

-That you can transform your life into one of productivity and value? If you do, you will!

So tell me, what do you expect in 2012?

Take The Time

I am becoming more aware the older I get at just how short even the longest life here on Earth is. I see children swinging at my granddaughter's school and I can remember when I was that age and did the same thing. I hug my grandson and remember when his dad was that size. I can remember when I would hold each of my grands against my chest while I rocked them to sleep. I drive several times a week past the graveyard where my dad is buried and remember fondly the good times of days past.

It's then I realize that my body too will one day give out and that my time in this life will be over as well. In fact I have probably aged more in the last 10 years than I have in all my life due to surgeries and health problems. But I have made a decision that this year I am not going to take life for granted. I will be 59 in 9 months and I believe that this is going to be a great year for me and mine. Why? Because I am going to seize the day and drain every precious moment out of life that God allows me to.

I have decided that in 2012 I am going to take the time to:

-Do my best not to miss a moment of this glorious life I have been given and urge others not to miss a moment of theirs either.

-Enjoy every day that God in His love has given me on this world.

-Tell my wife how much I love her everyday and remind her of the difference she has made in my life.

-Take my grands in my arms every chance I get and tell them how much I love them and how proud I am of them. 

-Tell my son and daughter-in-law how much they mean to me and how thankful I am that God put them together.

-Take the time necessary to thank God for His blessings and promises in my life.

-Take the time to physically and mentally prepare myself for tomorrow. 

-Take a minute to call other family members and tell them I love them.

-Take the time to write an inspiring blog, message, or just say an encouraging word to a friend.

-Take all of the precious days of 2012 and use them to bring more joy, love, and oneness with God to this lost and dying world.

Life is short and I don't won't to miss a moment of it.

How about you?

Only One Life

Each of us only has one life. So what do you plan to do with it in 2012? Here are some suggestions for you to understand how valuable the life God has given you is.

-Don't waste your life on things that don't really matter in the long run. 

-Remember each of you only has one soul so let’s not lose it trying to gain the whole world.

-God put you here to love each other, to help each other, and to make this world a better place together.

-No house or car will ever bring you joy like living the way that our Heavenly Father meant for us to.

-No amount of material wealth in this world will ever equal the treasures of Heaven.

-Live your life in love, joy, and oneness with God.

-Help others whenever you can especially those that you see are in need. 

-Make this world a better place now for yourself and for your children by enjoying life daily. 

-Life is brief and no amount of money will buy you an extra second of it so take advantage of the time God has given you every day. 

James 4:14 "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

Tuesday Tickles

Three mice are sitting at a table in a pretty rough neighborhood late at night trying to impress each other about how tough they are.

The first mouse turns to the second mouse and says, "When I see a mousetrap, I lie on my back and set it off with my foot. When the bar comes down, I catch it in my teeth, bench press it twenty times to work up an appetite, and then make off with the cheese."

The second mouse replies, "Yeah, well, when I see rat poison, I collect as much as I can, take it home, grind it up to a powder, and add it to my coffee each morning so I can get going for the rest of the day."

The first mouse and the second mouse then turn to the third mouse.

The third mouse lets out a long sigh and says to the first two, "I don't have time for this. I've got a date with the cat."

Challenging The Lord's Prayer

• I cannot say OUR if I live only for myself.
  
• I cannot say FATHER if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child.
  
• I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN if I am laying up no treasure there.
  
• I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME if I am not striving for holiness.
  
• I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful event.
  
• I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE if I am disobedient to His word.
  
• I cannot say ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN if I will not serve Him here and now.
  
• I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD if I am dishonest or seeking things by subterfuge.
  
• I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES if I harbor a grudge against anyone.
  
• I cannot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION if I deliberately place myself in its path.
  
• I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL if I do not put on the whole armor of God.
  
• I cannot say THINE IS THE KINGDOM if I do not give the King the loyalty due him from a faithful subject.
  
• I cannot say THE POWER if I fear what others may do.
  
• I cannot say THE GLORY if I am seeking honor only for myself.
  
• I cannot say FOREVER if the horizon of my life is bounded by the things of today.