Romans 8:31 "If God be for us, who can be against us?"
In December 2010 God spoke to me and told me my ministry time in Union was finished. God had given me a vision for my present church almost 2 years before and circumstances did not avail me to go there at that time. Less than two years later the Lord opens the door again and boom we are here! I know beyond a shadow of a doubt God called me here and God ordained me to be the Pastor of DCOG. But nothing good comes without a struggle.
This has been a very difficult year in many respect because of the past of the church. I have had to try and gain the trust of the people and prove myself as someone who was called here and not using it as a stepping stone. I have had to deal with numerous problems with the physical structures of the buildings much in need of repair. I have also had to deal with attitudes and actions that have been left unchecked for a while which resist change and have no identity. But guess what? I refuse to be defeated.
I will not let Satan defeat me, I will not let doubt defeat me, I will not let fear defeat me, nor any such thing because the Lord is on my side. As long as He is with me and for me I will make it and He will give me the break through that I desire for my church. The power and the glory of the Holy Ghost has equipped me and I am expecting God to show up and show out. Not necessarily in a loud way, but in a way that brings respect and honor back to the house of God.
Refuse to be defeated. I have come to the conclusion if God is for me then no one can stand against me. I am trusting, I am believing, that greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.
The way I see it we have two choices-either give up or keep keeping on. I chose the latter. I refuse to be defeated!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Living with The Choices We Make
I couldn't help wondering last night while watching the Super Bowl why in the world didn't the 49ers draft Aaron Rodgers instead of Alex Smith. You can say what you want about you got to have a good coach, good players, and all the rest of that stuff, but you've got to have somebody that's good enough to lead them down field to win.
Rodgers is a California product, grew up a 49ers fan, but was passed over in the draft because the coach of SF thought Smith was a better prospect. Seven years later we're still at the bottom, while the man they passed over is the MVP of the Super Bowl.
Sometimes it's hard to live with the choices that we make. the good ones help us, but the bad ones haunt us often until our dying day. That's the reason so many people never escape from the shadows they live under from their past. They made bad choices and they are in such a place that if they try and change them on their own the results could be a disaster.
However, that's why Jesus came. He came to help us deal with or to live with the choices we have made in life. He forgives the bad things we have done and remembers them no more. He also helps us to deal with them and not let them haunt or harm us on a daily basis. He is Savior, He is Master, He is Lord. If you let Him He will help you with any choices you have made in your life.
-Ask Him how to deal with the choices that you've made and are living with today.
-Believe that He will assist you in dealing with and making right the things that need to be handled.
-Trust Him and that from this point own the choices you make will be based on His Word and His direction.
Aaron Rodgers proved to the world last night he should have been the number 1 draft choice instead of number 24 that year. Green Bay is happy to live with the choice they made.
How about you?
Rodgers is a California product, grew up a 49ers fan, but was passed over in the draft because the coach of SF thought Smith was a better prospect. Seven years later we're still at the bottom, while the man they passed over is the MVP of the Super Bowl.
Sometimes it's hard to live with the choices that we make. the good ones help us, but the bad ones haunt us often until our dying day. That's the reason so many people never escape from the shadows they live under from their past. They made bad choices and they are in such a place that if they try and change them on their own the results could be a disaster.
However, that's why Jesus came. He came to help us deal with or to live with the choices we have made in life. He forgives the bad things we have done and remembers them no more. He also helps us to deal with them and not let them haunt or harm us on a daily basis. He is Savior, He is Master, He is Lord. If you let Him He will help you with any choices you have made in your life.
-Ask Him how to deal with the choices that you've made and are living with today.
-Believe that He will assist you in dealing with and making right the things that need to be handled.
-Trust Him and that from this point own the choices you make will be based on His Word and His direction.
Aaron Rodgers proved to the world last night he should have been the number 1 draft choice instead of number 24 that year. Green Bay is happy to live with the choice they made.
How about you?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
God Doesn't Need Miracles
One of my former members from Union sent me a Facebook message regarding a local minister preaching that God didn't have to use miracles anymore to reach people. She said that in his sermon he said that we should only preach about grace and the cross and not about manifestations of God through His Spirit. I guess it depends on your definition of a miracle because...
-It was a miracle when my life was transformed by the mercy and forgiveness of God.
-It was a miracle when my past was forgiven and I was changed by the power of God.
-It was a miracle when I called upon His name, "Jesus", and He responded with eternal life.
-It was a miracle when I got up from the altar that He made everything brand new within me.
-It was a miracle that Jesus died on the cross just for my sins even before I was born.
-It was a miracle that through His grace I was freely forgiven and didn't have to earn my salvation (which none of us would ever be able to do).
You can label it anyway you want to, but when you preach the cross, grace, or Jesus you are preaching about miracles. If you don't believe me read John 3:16 one more time. It's the most miraculous verse in the Bible. Amen!
No, God doesn't need miracles to convince us of His love for us, but I'm glad He gave us one in Jesus. How about you?
-It was a miracle when my life was transformed by the mercy and forgiveness of God.
-It was a miracle when my past was forgiven and I was changed by the power of God.
-It was a miracle when I called upon His name, "Jesus", and He responded with eternal life.
-It was a miracle when I got up from the altar that He made everything brand new within me.
-It was a miracle that Jesus died on the cross just for my sins even before I was born.
-It was a miracle that through His grace I was freely forgiven and didn't have to earn my salvation (which none of us would ever be able to do).
You can label it anyway you want to, but when you preach the cross, grace, or Jesus you are preaching about miracles. If you don't believe me read John 3:16 one more time. It's the most miraculous verse in the Bible. Amen!
No, God doesn't need miracles to convince us of His love for us, but I'm glad He gave us one in Jesus. How about you?
Friday, February 4, 2011
Super Bowl of Caring
I do well remember the last time the Super Bowl really was exciting for me. Steve Young three 6 touchdown passes and the 49ers beat the Chargers. Man, I was so excited the next day when I got my World Champion T-Shirt and Ball cap. I've been a 49er fan for as long as I can remember and the eighties and nineties were sweet to us. Now if we had drafted Aaron Rodgers instead of Alex Smith we might have been back again.
But when the quarterback well ran dry (the last guy we had that was real good was Jeff Garcia), my Niners went in the tank. We have really fallen on hard times and every time things begin to look up we fall down again. But I am still filled with hope two days before the Packers and Steelers play in Super Bowl 45 I am still believing for next year. As long as there is hope the dream can stay alive.
That's why this Sunday if your church is having a Super Bowl of Caring service please get involved. Statistics show that most of us are just a paycheck or two of being homeless. There are people living on the street this year that were in homes just like yours last year. In fact many of them never thought they would be homeless today.
There are also children here and abroad that have been abandoned and orphaned during the course of the year. Man, I shudder to think of what would happen to kids I know and love if their parents were killed and then decisions were made about their futures by people who don't know or even care for them. Or what about the widow or widower in the nursing home that has outlived their children? Does anybody really care if they exist or not? That's why so many who have infirmities due to age feel unloved because nobody seems to care if they exist or not.
On this Super Bowl of Caring Sunday make sure you make a vow to God to show concern for the homeless, the orphaned, and the widowed. If your goal in 2011 is to feed the hungry then do it. If it is to help the hurting and alone in a nursing home or those confined to home then do so. If you can help those that are homeless get back on their feet then do it. That's what the Super Bowl of Caring is all about-showing God's love to those who might need it the most.
The Message Matthew 25:41-45 ""Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'
44"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
45"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'
But when the quarterback well ran dry (the last guy we had that was real good was Jeff Garcia), my Niners went in the tank. We have really fallen on hard times and every time things begin to look up we fall down again. But I am still filled with hope two days before the Packers and Steelers play in Super Bowl 45 I am still believing for next year. As long as there is hope the dream can stay alive.
That's why this Sunday if your church is having a Super Bowl of Caring service please get involved. Statistics show that most of us are just a paycheck or two of being homeless. There are people living on the street this year that were in homes just like yours last year. In fact many of them never thought they would be homeless today.
There are also children here and abroad that have been abandoned and orphaned during the course of the year. Man, I shudder to think of what would happen to kids I know and love if their parents were killed and then decisions were made about their futures by people who don't know or even care for them. Or what about the widow or widower in the nursing home that has outlived their children? Does anybody really care if they exist or not? That's why so many who have infirmities due to age feel unloved because nobody seems to care if they exist or not.
On this Super Bowl of Caring Sunday make sure you make a vow to God to show concern for the homeless, the orphaned, and the widowed. If your goal in 2011 is to feed the hungry then do it. If it is to help the hurting and alone in a nursing home or those confined to home then do so. If you can help those that are homeless get back on their feet then do it. That's what the Super Bowl of Caring is all about-showing God's love to those who might need it the most.
The Message Matthew 25:41-45 ""Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'
44"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
45"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Today Is The Day
I am sick an tired of people saying God just doesn't work the way He used to in our churches. He is very much identified as the God of today in scripture. He has not changed one bit, but He is evermore the same.
-He's the God of All-Time!
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
-He speaks on a daily basis, but you have to listen to hear His voice.
Hebrews 3:7 "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “ Today, if you will hear His voice..."-If you want to hear what He says you must soften your heart.
Hebrews 3:15 "...while it is said:“ Today, if you will hear His voice,Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
-He has designated today as the day He will deal with your situation and provide answers.Hebrews 4:7 "...again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “ Today, if you will hear His voice,Do not harden your hearts.”
-Today He lets you know that you belong to Him.Hebrews 5:5 "So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “ You are My Son,Today I have begotten You.”
Today is the day you need to praise Him for what He's done for you. Today is the day that you need to act on his promises.
James 4:13-15 "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
-He's the God of All-Time!
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
-He speaks on a daily basis, but you have to listen to hear His voice.
Hebrews 3:7 "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “ Today, if you will hear His voice..."-If you want to hear what He says you must soften your heart.
Hebrews 3:15 "...while it is said:“ Today, if you will hear His voice,Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
-He has designated today as the day He will deal with your situation and provide answers.Hebrews 4:7 "...again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “ Today, if you will hear His voice,Do not harden your hearts.”
-Today He lets you know that you belong to Him.Hebrews 5:5 "So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “ You are My Son,Today I have begotten You.”
Today is the day you need to praise Him for what He's done for you. Today is the day that you need to act on his promises.
James 4:13-15 "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Pastoral Good News/Bad News
GOOD NEWS: You baptized seven people today in the river.
BAD NEWS: You lost two of them in the swift current.
GOOD NEWS: The Women's Missionary Society voted to send you a get-well card.
BAD NEWS: The vote passed by 31-30.
GOOD NEWS: The Deacon's Board accepted your job description the way you wrote it.
BAD NEWS: They were so inspired by it, they also formed a search committee to find somebody capable of filling the position.
GOOD NEWS: You finally found a choir director who does things exactly the same way you do.
BAD NEWS: The choir mutinied.
GOOD NEWS: Your women's softball team finally won a game.
BAD NEWS: They beat your men's softball team.
GOOD NEWS: The trustees finally voted to add more church parking.
BAD NEWS: They are going to blacktop the front lawn of your parsonage.
GOOD NEWS: Church attendance rose dramatically the last three weeks.
BAD NEWS: You were on vacation.
GOOD NEWS: Your deacons want to send you to the Holy Land.
BAD NEWS: They are stalling until the next war.
GOOD NEWS: Your biggest critic just left your church.
BAD NEWS: He has been appointed the Head Bishop of your denomination.
GOOD NEWS: The youth in your church came to your house for a surprise visit.
BAD NEWS: It's in the middle of the night and they are armed with toilet paper and shaving cream to "decorate" your house.
BAD NEWS: You lost two of them in the swift current.
GOOD NEWS: The Women's Missionary Society voted to send you a get-well card.
BAD NEWS: The vote passed by 31-30.
GOOD NEWS: The Deacon's Board accepted your job description the way you wrote it.
BAD NEWS: They were so inspired by it, they also formed a search committee to find somebody capable of filling the position.
GOOD NEWS: You finally found a choir director who does things exactly the same way you do.
BAD NEWS: The choir mutinied.
GOOD NEWS: Your women's softball team finally won a game.
BAD NEWS: They beat your men's softball team.
GOOD NEWS: The trustees finally voted to add more church parking.
BAD NEWS: They are going to blacktop the front lawn of your parsonage.
GOOD NEWS: Church attendance rose dramatically the last three weeks.
BAD NEWS: You were on vacation.
GOOD NEWS: Your deacons want to send you to the Holy Land.
BAD NEWS: They are stalling until the next war.
GOOD NEWS: Your biggest critic just left your church.
BAD NEWS: He has been appointed the Head Bishop of your denomination.
GOOD NEWS: The youth in your church came to your house for a surprise visit.
BAD NEWS: It's in the middle of the night and they are armed with toilet paper and shaving cream to "decorate" your house.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Knowing Is Half The Battle
1 Thessalonians 5:12, 13 "And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves."
We live in a world today that is looking for the unusual, the different, and the odd thing. It has become very notable in the church without people titling themselves as Apostles and Prophets along with displaying specific spiritual gifts. The problem is so many that seek to show out do so only for their glory and not the glory of God. The Bible has a problem with people who follow every mandate of spiritual leaders that are not proven out by scripture. In other words, knowing who they are, how they live, and why they do what they do can enforce their effectiveness. However following every dictate from the lips of the unproven can lead to disaster.Luke 6:39 says, "And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?"
Here some facts that might upset you, but they show the trends of today regarding the shallowness of people's spirituality:
-If the shoe fits wear it. We like what these folks say so much that we ignore the other qualifications of leadership that the Bible and God require. It just sounds good to us and makes us comfortable so it must be okay.
-Man, that's different. The other side of the spectrum is we want something unique that seemingly nobody else has so we blindly follow every thing we hear and take it as a Word from God.
-He must be a prophet because only God could reveal that to him. Yes, God uses people and he will honor His Word. He even used animals to fulfill His plans in times past. But remember not everyone that says, "Lord, Lord", shall enter into the Kingdom of God.
God wants us to know those that labor among us. Not just by name, but by actions and by lifestyle. Don't take every thing that every "spiritual person" says to you as a prophecy from God. No them that labor among you. See their lifestyle. Make sure they live what they preach, teach, or say. Don't be fooled into being a pawn of the enemy, but stand up and be a soldier of the cross. As I said earlier, knowing is half the battle. The rest comes by faith.
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