Monday Morning Living Water

Chew on this

2010-11-23T06:14:00.000-08:00

I read this and had to share it with you

David Wilkerson Today

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2010

THE FOUNDATION OF TRUE FAITH

The only time God’s patience runs out with us is when we refuse again and
again to accept how much he loves us.

Many Christians today have been turned back into a wilderness of their own
making. They have no joy, no victory. To look at them, you’d think God had
forsaken them years ago. No—he has simply turned them over to their own
complaining and murmuring.

Thank God, Joshua and Caleb entered into the Promised Land. And they stood as
green trees in God’ house until their dying days. They were men of power and
vision because they know they were precious to God.

You also are precious to the Lord, in spite of your problems and failures. You
can be a green tree in God’s house just as Joshua and Caleb were.

Simply stand on what God’s Word promises: “He brought me forth also into a
large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me” (Psalm 18:19).

That is the foundation of true faith!

Who's bugging you

2010-11-13T06:24:00.000-08:00

“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”- 1 Peter 2:15-16a

It's interesting that I would stumble upon this today...recently I have been pondering these exact thoughts. Not necessarily this particular verse, however this is what I was thinking about on my way to work a couple of weeks ago. There has been a lot of talk in the media recently about bullying gays, is it wrong YES!, however nobody ever talks about the harassment that we as Christians receive. Which is nothing in comparison to what Christians in the middle east receive.

Working in the trades your going to be harassed regardless of who you are or what you do. It just happens, its part of the initiation with working in construction. How do you as a christian handle the harassment, whether you work in construction, computer programing, or just everyday life. I think the bible is pretty clear on how we're supposed to handle harassment...Jesus said "love your enemy's, pray for those who persecute you." I think that Paul is echoing what is written in Proverbs if you love your enemy's you will heap burning coals upon their heads. HUH??? Look its easy others are going to look more closely at you not just because your a christian, but especially because your a christian. They are going to make fun of you, they will hate you, they will be mean to you, and your response is everything.

I have often said that when someone harasses you or is annoying you, pray for them, is it easy no, will you see change in them, not always. But you will see change in yourself and others will to, sometimes the one who is doing the evil, will get called out because of your response. Others will see that you've been the righteous one and acted like Christ, they just look stupid for the way that they are acting.

Church for the poor

2010-11-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

This is something that I have been talking about for some time...I really hope that the church will step up and get involved and not let the government continue to run one of the greatest things we can do as a church...serve the poor. I admonish you get your church involved, call your local congressman and tell them what your doing, tell them you don't want the government to have to take care of the poor any more.

Entering into Your Priesthood

In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther formulated the concept of the priesthood of all believers. Contrary to widespread misconceptions of this doctrine, Luther did not mean to reduce the supernatural concern of personal redemption to a core or essence of social concern.

In reaction to the modernist-fundamentalist controversy, many evangelicals, zealous to retain the biblical concern for personal redemption, began to minimize or even reject the social agenda of the New Testament. Social concern and relief ministry became identified with liberalism. Ministry to the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the imprisoned was often all-too-willingly surrendered to the state or the liberal church.

This reaction was utterly foreign to and in violation of the clear mandate of Scripture. James wrote concerning the essence of pure religion: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27, NIV).

Coram Deo: Living in the Presence of God

What are you doing to help those around you who are in distress? Are you keeping yourself clean from the world's pollution,, as James admonishes?

For Further Study

Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

James 1:27: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

Micah 6:8: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

The mission, passion and purpose of Ligonier Ministries and Dr. R.C. Sproul is to help people grow in their knowledge of God and His holiness. For more information, please visit www.ligonier.org or call them at 800-435-4343.
© R.C. Sproul. All rights reserved.

Pray and your gonna get???

2010-10-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

Recently I watched a short video on Troy Polamalu and his christian faith...He said something that struck me, the reason that it struck me so much is I have recently over time forgotten how much God wants to have that relationship with us...He wants to talk to us...He wants us to talk with Him. If I'm constantly pushing God to the back burner then, guess what Satan has an open door and we left it open.

Prayer is worship just as singing is worship and reading Gods word is worship...Where is your prayer life headed is it one of those things that you only do when you really need God...you wouldn't do that to your friends or your spouse or girl/boy friend. Really the ultimate goal of prayer is that you would spend time with Jesus...He must be your desire. If He is that He will speak to you in unimaginable ways. Know that Jesus wants to bless you but more than anything He wants to have that relationship with you. I'm not saying that you shouldn't ask God to take care of you, that you should do, because God wants to bless you...BUT more than anything Jesus wants you to have that relationship with Him, He doesn't want to be used like the Heavenly ATM Machine...I have to confess that I forget that from time to time and need to be reminded that I need to just talk with Him like he's my Friend, Father, and King

2010-10-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

There is something to be said of enduring trials. There is also something to be said of falling flat on your face and getting right back up. Both happen, both will happen to you at one time or another, how you choose to respond is the key. Am I perfect will I fail sure but when I fail the after is really going to determine a lot.

Satan wants to get you to believe that your a failure and that when you fail your unworthy to approach the throne room, but did you know that your Heavenly Father desires that more than even when you fail...He wants you to come to Him to seek out His love, His comfort. When you fail I would seek after Jesus, He will comfort you, He will hold you, He will teach you how to defend against the temptation and how to either fight or run from that temptation. I can speak from experience that it's hard but if you ask Jesus will deliver you
Psalm 54:7 (NKJV)

⁷ For He has delivered me out of all trouble;
And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

I must implore you though Jesus wants all of you and if your willing to give it all you need to do is ask and It will be given to you remember your not alone in this and every single christian has this same problem. King David dealt with some of the same stuff that we as christian's deal with today and yet God called him a man after His own heart. My encouragement is that you would relate to King David read the Psalms and remember that when you fall your not to stay down you are to get back up dust yourself off remind yourself and Satan that your a child of the Most High and you are worthy

From my daily devo

2010-08-02T05:12:00.000-07:00

Know when your going through various trials you have an ABBA FATHER who loves your enjoy

David Wilkerson Today

MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2010

“ABBA, FATHER”

The Holy Ghost has a way of simplifying our relationship with God the Father
and Jesus. He is the One who teaches us to say, "Abba, Father."

This phrase refers to an oriental custom of Bible days, regarding the adoption
of a child. Until the adopting papers were signed and sealed by the adopting
father, the child saw this man only as a father. He had no right to call him
Abba, meaning "my."

Yet, as soon as the papers were signed, registered and sealed, the child's
tutor presented him to the adopting father—and for the first time the child
could say, "Abba, Father!" As the father embraced him, the young one cried, "My
father! He's not just a father anymore. He's mine!"

This is the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. He tutors you of Christ. He
presents you to the Father. And he keeps reminding you, "I have sealed the
papers. You are no longer an orphan—you are legally a son of God! You now
have a very loving, wealthy, powerful Father. Embrace him—call him 'my
Father.' I have come to show you how much you're loved by him! He loved and
wanted you!"

Our cry should be one of exceeding joy and thanksgiving. The Spirit in us
literally cries out, "You are an heir, an inheritor of all that Jesus won." And
what an inheritance you have, because your FATHER is the wealthiest in the whole
universe! Don't shy away from him, he's not mad at you. Stop acting like an
orphan who's poverty-stricken, lacking joy and spiritual victory. You are not
forsaken—so enjoy him!

Not only are we not forsaken but the Holy Spirit is there with us during
moments of confusion and suffering.

The Holy Spirit's mission is to comfort Christ's bride in the absence of the
Bridegroom. "He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you
for ever" (John 14:16). "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost" (v. 26).

Comforter means "one who soothes in a time of pain or grief"—one who eases
pain and sorrow, brings relief, consoles and encourages. But I like this
definition from the Greek: "One who lays you down on a warm bed of safety."
During the cold, dark night of your soul, he lays you down on the soft bed of
his comfort, soothing you with his tender hand.

By calling the Holy Spirit the Comforter, Jesus made an infallible prediction.
He was predicting his people would be suffering discomfort, and would be in
need of comfort—that there would be a lot of pain and suffering among his
people in the last days.

The Holy Spirit brings comfort by reminding you that he lives in you with all
the power of God inherent in his being. And that's why you can say, "Greater is
he that is in me than all the world powers combined—greater than all demon
powers!" God sent the Spirit to use all his power to keep you out of the
clutches of Satan—to lift your spirit, drive away all depression and flood
your soul with the love of your Lord.

"We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience….
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:3, 5).

How are you sustained through trials

2010-07-20T05:15:00.000-07:00

James 1:2-4 Count it ALL JOY, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, and lacking in nothing.

In this series I am going to be focusing on trials and how our God sustains us through them. Over the last almost 18 months my family has endured many trials everything from me losing a job and our daughter developing seizures. Thankfully I can say that those things are being rectified. When you are allowed to go through trials you must remember that God still loves you, as I write over these next few weeks know that my family is still enduring trials, a couple of weeks ago my dad was diagnosed with a rare type of thyroid cancer, I can't really say his chances of survival but I must trust that God knows what He is doing and I can say this He has us in the palm of His hand (testing of your faith produces steadfastness). I want to leave you today with one of my favorite poems

Footprints in the sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,

is when I carried you.”

Philippians 1:18-23

So much to write about...

2010-07-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

...Never at any point in my life have I had more to write about than now. I can't even think strait I have got so much on my mind. I really need to process before I sit down and put the words to paper. I will say this I am truly thankful for the prayers that we have received. My God is so good to us and He is sustaining us at every trial. Some of the things on my mind are as follows.
1. How are you sustained through those trials
2. Why? Me? Now?
3. (off the previous subject) Why? are we as the American church fighting about who's right and who's wrong
4. Books I am reading and how God has used them to impact my life

New Books I'm reading

2010-07-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay, I don't have much time since starting the new job, so the posts are going to take a bit longer, I have been doing some really great reading recently and for this post I will be sharing with you what I'm learning. Soon we will get back to the regularly scheduled program.

Fresh Wind Fresh Fire: Basic synopsis. If your not praying you should be, you can't expect anything to happen if your not having an ongoing conversation with God, It starts at home and in your heart. I can't expect my marriage to change, my church to change the crazy stuff going on around me to change if I'm not telling God about what I'm going through...I also need to be specific, not because God doesn't know (He already does) He wants to hear your voice, He wants you to know Him and His heart for you. It's part of having a relationship talking and LISTENING. When it also comes to giving glory I really must give God ALL the glory, I realize that I am talented BUT and that's a really BIG BUT it all comes from Him alone He is the one that makes me talented. I will be hopefully be delving into this more soon (Lord willing)

The other book I'm reading (again) is Wild at Heart I have just started this but I'm convinced more than ever that I need to have the adventure spirit reborn in me. Now that doesn't mean that I can run off but I need to remember that it is a vital part of my manhood and being a husband and father. I should be more like William Wallace than Woody Allen. Every man want's to be real but there is this notion pounded into him from the time he's a little boy that he must quell that adventure spirit. Again I am hoping to delve into this soon too. Blessings for now

Nick

Seasons of Change

2010-06-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

As I'm writing this there has been so much that has changed I needed to wait until now to post, just to give myself a clear picture of everything that has happened.

A couple of months ago I received a call that effectively changed mine and my family's life. I am at this moment employed as an apprentice pipefitter and now on track to being able to provide for my family, just a I am called to do.

We never seem to know why God allows us to go through Job seasons...where is really hard and harder. I guess as Christians those times give us the ability to see when it's really good and when it's bad to long even more for Heaven. I can tell you this I still long to be at home with my Father and off of this stinking earth, is there good here sure but I would much rather be there.

As for this change I tempted you with in the Title, I am having to relearn how to be a working stiff. Its really easy to give time to my family when your with them 24/7 when your working ten hour days, it becomes harder, but your still need to go about your home business just like you do at work. I can tell you even in the mist of the past winter season I was and still am thankful for that struggle I have an understanding of what others are and were going through. Is there more change to come, sure, I welcome it because I know that as we walk through the seasons of life we truly can begin to see the Father's heart for us.

Blessings

"Spring is coming...and Summer follows Spring"

You are not Forgotten

2010-04-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 44:21-22

“ Remember these, O Jacob,

And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!
I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

Over the last few months I have been speaking of how to live in a Job lifestyle. I know that is still hard to understand how to do until your there and in the mist of that. Whatever you might be going through right now I want to encourage you with a little story. There was a group of people who were worshiping Idols creating them with wood and then would take the scraps from that wood, make a fire, cook some food on that same fire and when their belly's were full they would bow down to worship that idol, that same people God decided to send away from their promised land #1 to give that land rest #2 and most importantly because they had stopped worshiping the one true God and were bowing down to pieces of wood that they had made. (Is 44:9-20). The point of the story is the passage at the beginning of our study today. Even though Israel had forgotten their God and part of their punishment was to be sent to Babylon, God didn't forget them we see so often in scripture that even when we are fallen God doesn't forget us (Lk 15:4-7) even when we are in the mist of a trial Our God hasn't forgotten us (Matt 6:25-33)

You see this God of Jacob, Israel, and the Disciples loves you, He allowes us to go through trials, Why? We don't always know but I can tell you this He has not forgotten us and He will take care of us...like a wrote in my last post the whole reason for trials may not be for you but for others to see how to handle it.(like Job) Yes you can learn from them as well...be on the look out for that Seek after the Lord and He will be found run to Him and He will run to you (Lk 15:20) In the simplicity of it all place your trust in Him and I can guarantee you a couple of things, #1 Your trial may not get easier but you will have an everlasting peace, #2 You will be storing up treasures in Heaven.

Blessings

p.s. Next time I will be writing on Seasons of life and the change that comes with each new season

Understanding Trials in your Life

2010-03-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Romans 8 18-21
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Not always do we know or will understand why. But you should know that your Abba in Heaven knows everything that happens to you...He knows all the hair on your head, yep He has each one of them counted. There are days that I look at all that is going on around me and wonder why? is all of this happening to my family we are so cast down...In all honesty I can't and don't have an answer to that question...I can say this it does make my prayers for the Lords return even more fervent. When we leave this shell of a body and are taken up or pass on through death we will receive a crown of glory from our Heavenly Father

I have truly come to understand what Job went through...so many people slam his wife for telling him to curse God and die...I'm not so quick to judge her as I have seen how easy it is to get to that point that you start to feel like that...the biggest difference that that Job was looking for the Savior and was under the old covenant we are under the new covenant...We have Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is that enough, it should be at times it feels like it's not. That's up to the Lord though. Now to the meat...

Understanding why? I really wish that I had an answer for you, what I can answer is that there are times that God wants to take you to the end of your ability to control the situation, He wants you to totally rely on Him and His ability to use the situation. "God works ALL things together for His purpose. (Rom 8:28 emphasis mine) understanding what Paul was trying to say here was that all that you go through is for Gods purpose, sometimes that good will happen here on earth, others it will happen in Heaven where we will receive a crown of glory, if we look at the whole chapter in context we see that Paul was heaven focused and not focused on the trials that he was facing. Paul went through many different trials, he wished for heaven "to live is Christ, to Die is GAIN" and there is not a thing wrong with that he longed to be with Jesus...I think that sometimes the trials are to cause us to long to be with our Father.

Job had no clue as to why God was allowing those trials to happen to him, loosing his kids to death, loosing his crops and home to destruction, his body beat up by Satan, and his friends telling him that he was sinning against God. Job didn't know why? We do because we have the account of the story in our bibles. We can see that God was proving that He knows us better than we think. For me I can see that I cannot handle this on my own and I don't have the ability to get through any of this apart from God. I can also say that having to see my family go through any of this is heart breaking. I long for us to have a rest from this valley to be able to go to the mountain top and truly experience the Fathers presence.

At times I'm sure that people have wondered why for us, I can say this, my God knows what He is doing...I don't know why God has allowed all of this to happen to us. I do know that it is causing folks to pray with a fervency that they may have never before, there are others who are benefiting from our suffering. Would I like to see the Lord do a miracle and fulfill the promises that He gave to us when this first started, I can answer that with a great big YES!!!

Living a Job lifestyle

2010-03-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

When we go through suffering...As a christian we can be reminded that God truly wants all of us and to look at the suffering and wish for relief is not a bad thing but we really need to place our focus on Him not why we are going through the suffering that we are in. There is a strange sense of peace that comes when we place our focus on the Lord.

If your continue to look at your suffering then your placing your eyes on the wrong thing. Easier said than done and through practice you will be able to overcome that...How you do that? Well there are a few ways. #1 Spend time with Jesus, even if that means that you pray while you drive, just pour out your heart to Him, He's there listening to you and wants to hear your prayers, sit in silence let Him speak to you. #2 Worship it is as simple as that, whether you listen to your iPod, just sing a song that you know, or it is with a congregation corporately, you need to worship the Lord (Ps. 42:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.(emphasis mine)
#3 Fellowship with other believers who will support you not just with an encouraging word but with physical help as well.
#4 Read you bible that is essential to your walking this out God will not only speak to you in your prayers and through other people but will also speak to you through His word.

God has amazing plans for you during your time of suffering. Remember the most important thing is that your not alone...your not the first to get hammered in life and you won't be the last...I'm right there too, our family is going through the ringer, is God in control? I can emphatically say YES He is and He knows what He is doing. I'm not completely sure where this is going to lead but God will use this for His glory. I want to encourage all of you who have lost hope "my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness". When your hope is on what you can see and touch remember that material and man will always fail, things burn and man will die. But God will not fail us at times He may seem like He as left us but that is so far from the truth, He may just be using your situation to teach you or someone else something. God is so big and great that there is not even a leaf on a tree that falls that He doesn't notice. He is not to big for you though He being omnipresent is always there.

God Bless for now

From my daily devo

2010-03-01T07:23:00.000-08:00

Taken from David Wilkerson Today

WE CAN HEAR HIS VOICE TODAY

Millions have been converted because one man waited to hear the voice of God.
Saul "fell to the earth and heard that voice" and when he became Paul, he kept
on hearing that voice. The Lord spoke man-to-man with him.

Peter allowed the Savior's voice to come to him. "Peter went up upon the
housetop to pray…and there came a voice to him” (Acts 10:9, 13).

The entire Gentile race was welcomed into the kingdom, along with the house of
Cornelius, because a man obeyed a voice. We are living in the same New
Testament times as Paul and Peter and we, too, must allow His voice to come to
us. "But today, if you will hear His voice...." What God could do with
Christians who learn to hear from heaven!

Instead of waiting for His voice to come to us, we run to counselors and
Christian psychologists, one session or another, and read books and listen to
tapes—wanting to hear from God. We seek a clear word of direction for our
lives and want pastors to tell us what is right and wrong. We desire a leader
to follow, a diagram for the future. But few know how to go to the Lord and
hear his voice. There are many who know how to get God's attention— to really
touch God—but they know nothing about God reaching them.

"They that have ears to hear, let them hear what the Spirit saith..." (see
Matthew 11:15).

God wants to shake the earth once more.

"See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from
him that speaketh from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but now he
hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also
heaven" (Hebrews 12:25-26).

He has promised, "Once again my voice will be heard. Those who hear will shake
the earth, and heaven and earth will be moved. By the hearing of my voice,
whatsoever is loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

To the last church, the Laodicean church, the Lord cries:

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation
3:20).

"I'm asking to be heard. Open up. Let me into your secret closet. Let me talk
with you and you talk with me. Let's commune. That's how I will keep you from
the hour of temptation that is coming on all the world."

Clarification to the Last Post

2010-02-18T19:27:00.001-08:00

I wanted to clarify something that I said in my last post as I have realized that it may have left and open door for the enemy to misconstrue what I was trying to say.

When I said Kelly was the weaker vessel I did not mean that she is not strong...on the contrary she is the strongest woman that I know, in fact she is what a Prov. 31 woman should be. She has been so strong standing in the face of these trials that we have been and are going through. All I was trying to say was as the leader of our household I need to be the one praying and leading us closer to the Lord, I need to be the example of what Jesus is to the church (Eph. 5:19-35) I am called to serve my family (wife) as Christ served the church.

I need to fervently be in prayer and seeking after the Lord and His will for us as a family. As I learn to do this I am going to strive to be that man that Christ has called me to be and to be that man constantly. God bless you and for a great read these books have been profound in my life these last few months; Heavenly Man, Brother Yun w/ Paul Hathaway, Safe in the Shepherds Arms, Max Lucado, and Surprised by the Power of the Holy Spirit, Jack Deere

Until He returns

God wants all of me...

2010-02-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

During this time of trial I am learning to be content with where the Lord has us. I didn't think that we would be here this long, BUT God is allowing it. Your probably thinking why would God allow you to go through so much (or maybe your not thinking that, I have asked that same question about friends when I see their situation). Here's why God has a plan and He is always trying to bring us to the end of ourselves so that He can do His greatest work. (LK 22:62,
JN 21:15-19, Acts 2)

God has and is stripping us down to nothing, so that He can launch us into the next phase of our lives. Last summer my Heavenly Father spoke plainly to us and basically said this same thing He was taking us through the fire to purify us and set us apart for His great work that He has for us. I can tell you at the time I was excited and maybe even a bit arrogant in the fact that God would use me and my family for the Kingdom of God, now my friends I can tell you IF God chooses to use us I am truly humbled, because I know that I am just an unworthy sinner I don't deserve anything and by God's grace I have been made a prince in His kingdom.

I believe that God has blessing for us but He needed to take us to the end of ourselves and through all of the fires that we have been in so that we will be prepared to receive these blessings.
One more thing I have really had to realize is that my wife is the weaker vessel and I need to be praying fervently for her heart that it would be protected for the enemy, he seems to attack her more. My wife is an amazing creature who loves Jesus and needs to be prayed for. I also need to beware of his seduction, some of us for get about that side of Satan, we can handle the pain and suffering and when we see that easy way out, we must always be seeking the Lord to make sure that what the next step that He has for us. Do I like pain and suffering NO but I know that my God is bigger than anything that the enemy can throw at me. I must be seeking God continually and He and only He will revel what His plans are for us. For now God bless you and keep seeking the Lord

Stepping Stones

2010-01-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

These last few weeks I have really been pondering the verse in Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (esv) It is so interesting that a few weeks ago the Lord had a word for us that we were headed in the right direction...we really don't know the end result or destination but we are headed in the right direction, the actual description was swimming in rough waters (our life isn't going to be easy is it)...Anyways my point is that we will get a picture of the path and all we will most of the time know is our next step.

I have never fully realized what this verse meant until I was in the situation that our family is in now. Being unemployed for almost 8 months will do that to you When we started this process we has made the decision that we wanted to stay in the area where we are living now...after much prayer and being removed from our comfort, God has taken us to a place of totally relying on him and his provision. He knows the end result and He opens the doors as we need them opened. I got to the point that I was willing to purse other options...recently I had the opportunity to pursue work outside of the place where I am at and don't have any clue of if anything will come of it but I am really excited to know that God is in control.

If we step out in faith the Lord will reward us for being faithful to pursue Him even if we are wrong about that step, we tried to listen and are in the process of taking that step of faith.

What a Year

2009-12-20T08:24:00.000-08:00

This is the first of many posts...My heart has had a rough year and yet my God continues to amaze me at His provision. So here is a synopsis of this last year I will go into detail later on and share with you (my readers) a more detailed post but I just needed to get out the overall basics.

1. My beautiful daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy in March
2. I lost my job in June
3. We found out that we were pregnant in July and 2 weeks later we found out that we weren't
4. We lost the house that we were going to buy in August
5. Oh yeah did I mention that I'm still unemployed as of today now going on 7 months

Yep it's been a hard year and I would guess that my personal statement for this year would be Broken trying to find joy.

5 Things God Want's for Me to Be

2009-03-29T21:25:00.001-07:00

1. A child of the God
To be a child of God means that I walk in obedience and in accordance to his Word.

2. A Husband
To love my wife and to live with her with understanding. To be that example to my daughter of what a husband should look like. To pray for my wife.

3. A Father
To raise my daughter and to teach her what it means to be a Christian. How to love Christ. To pray for my daughter and Lord willing our other children that we don't have yet.

4. A good worker
Just that at my place of employment, I need to work unto the Lord

5. A servant in the church.

Reflections on 2008

2009-01-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

This past year has been truly amazing. It started out with a wonderful trip to Lake Tahoe to spend New Years with close friends of ours, from there got crazy, I don't think that we even stopped to breathe until after Easter. Other dear friends moved across country to be closer to family, and I changed jobs. As a nation we elected a new president not the outcome that I desired but the one that I am stuck with none the less. I began attending an all day bible study where once every few months I have to take a day off of work just to go, worth it of course, God has taught me so much about who He made me to be, the man that He desires me to be, the Husband and Father that He desires me to be, and the Servant in the church that He desires me to be.

Coming up we are going to look at the 5 things that God wants me to be.

The Everlasting Mercy of God

2009-01-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalm 136:1)

God’s mercy is a monumental theme in Scripture. The English word appears some 341 times in the Bible. The four Hebrew and three Greek words appear a total of 454 times and are also translated by "kindness," "lovingkindness," "goodness," "favor," "compassion," and "pity." Of the 66 books of the Bible, only 16 do not use one of the words for mercy. Even though "mercy" is an important concept, it is somewhat difficult to prescribe a definition for it, especially since "grace" is occasionally coupled with it.

In the first reference where "mercy" is used, Lot has just been expelled from Sodom by the angels of judgment. In spite of the command by the angels that Lot and his daughters "escape to the mountain," Lot begs; "Oh, not so, my LORD: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life, . . . this city is near . . . Oh, let me escape thither" (Genesis 19:17-20). And later, the New Testament saints are told to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). In these and other such passages, the two terms appear to address similar subjects.

However similar they may appear to be, these words are not synonyms. "Grace" is most often associated with the sovereign dispensation of totally undeserved favor, and it is specifically connected to salvation. "Mercy" is more often connected to the withholding of judgment: "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment" (James 2:13).

Set aside some time today to read and meditate on this Psalm. You will find the day less wearisome if you do. HMM III

Taken from Days of Praise, a daily email from ICR

Economic stress

2008-12-11T12:51:00.000-08:00

Don't try and live life on your own. When you try and take on the world with out the Most High in your corner, you will end up between a rock and a hard place.

During this Christmas season remember that it is Jesus that we are celebrating, I know that I am constantly having to check my motives for what I do and what I say. Take some time and look back at why He came to earth. Is there a slow down/recession you betch'ca will we get through it absolutely, you ask how? Will it be hard, sure. I can guarantee you this that if Jesus is your number 1 all of that stress will turn to peace, notice I didn't say that it would be hard I just said you when it is hard you will find your comfort in the most high.

More to come

Matt 6:25-33

I was encouraged by this today

2008-08-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

August 4, 2008

The Brave Friendship of God

He took the twelve aside . . . —Luke 18:31
Oh, the bravery of God in trusting us! Do you say, "But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value"? That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self-sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him "to Jerusalem" ( Luke 18:31 ). And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.

We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God.

As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him. We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again. The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.

Recently

2008-07-24T15:14:00.001-07:00

Just a short update and an encouragement. I have been working with a group called the Mere Christianity Project, to take the book "Whats So Great About Christianity" from small little pockets of excited people to a movement. We are looking forward to taking those statement made by prominent atheists dissecting those statements from an objective point of view and pointing out the contradictions. I will have a Devotional posted soon.

Nick

The Plan and The will of The Lord

2008-07-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

This week we have guest author Clark Vandeventer President and CEO of World Changers Inc. , He is married and has one son. Clark is a public speaker and great friend of mine enjoy.

How am I supposed to know if I am in His will?
One of my all-time favorite movies is Jerry McGuire. In fact, I have thought about this movie and the parallels between myself and Jerry McGuire over the past weeks and months very frequently. On a recent flight from Washington, D.C. I was even reminded of a cross country drive with my good friend Todd Bushong while I was in college. We were sitting in the backyard of the people we were staying with and it was late at night. I told Todd that I thought my own life would sort of play out as Jerry's had. Great success followed by a deep searching. I had no idea--I mean absolutely no idea--how prophetic those words would be. I've applied many lines from the movie to my own life recently, but when I read this question there was a totally different line that came to mind. Jerry and Dorothy are out to dinner for the first time and they're telling stories about their wounds of the heart and soul. And then Dorothy interjects: "maybe love should be easy." What she was saying is that when you love someone, it's easy to love them... because you love them. Maybe God's will should be easy. That's provided that we are walking in the light. I'm reminded of the line in Isaiah where God says that we'll hear his voice saying "this is the way; walk in it." I believe that when we are walking with the Lord He guides are steps and works everything out according to his plan. There's another line in Scripture that reads "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." I know this is true not just because it is the Word of God, but from sheer experience. I believe God loves watching us make our plans. He loves seeing us dream and seek to serve Him as best we can. And then He determines how that actually plays out.

When I take a step forward, have I sought the Lord in whatever step that is?

I think one of the hardest questions we face in life is this: "Is it a test or is it a sign?" Hopefully we do pray about moving forward or in a different direction in life. And we all know that there's something in us giving us little cues that light the path (sometimes the light seems dim). When obstacles come it's hard to discern at times whether this is a sign that we are not going in the right direction versus whether God is testing our commitment to the path we have chosen. And, to make this all the more complicated, we should be aware of the fact that the enemy can open up incredible doors for us. Sometimes, when opportunity knocks, it's the devil. This is why we pray not only when we are about to step forward, but continually.

How do I discern what the Lord's plan is?
The Holy Spirit.

How do I choose my career? Or second career?
The Bible is full of promises, but we should remember that many of these promises have clauses. For example, the Bible tells me that the Lord wants me to have the desires of my heart. And it tells me that He will answer my prayers... provided that I pray according to His will.
Rob Bell addressed this question of career and vocation in one of his Nooma films. He said that in choosing a career people often ask "what do you love" but that an equally good question to ask is "what do you hate?"
When you see injustice do you feel hatred toward that injustice? Perhaps you are the person to bring justice.

How can I effect the World for the Kingdom?
Be in the arena. Teddy Roosevelt wrote that the credit does not belong to the critic, but to the man who is in the arena; the man whose face is marred by blood and sweat and tears. Being a world changer is about bring salt and light to the corner of the world that you live in and living and working excellently. Christians should be the absolute best artists because we know and have within us the ultimate beauty. We should be the best businessmen because we have the ultimate example of servant leadership. Ken Blanchard states that the goal of his company is 6.8 billion people served everyday by leading like Jesus. And I am convinced that the institutional church, no matter how important and how vibrant it is, cannot accomplish this goal. 6.8 billion people do not go to church everyday. Nor can the church led enough missions trips to reach 6.8 billion people everyday. And even if we could, our impact would only be on the surface. But 6.8 billion people live in the marketplace everyday. In America that marketplace may be very advanced but the marketplace exists just the same in every corner of the globe.
World Changers Inc. (www.worldchangers.us.com), for which I serve as CEO, is committed to adding meaning and value to the marketplace. We often say that we're committed to "connecting people to things bigger and more lasting than this world."
We operate on the premise that all men and women have a soul and long to be spoken to at a deeper level, but that so much of the modern marketplace only speaks to the most carnal aspects of our humanity. Is there more to life and sex and designer jeans? We believe that there is. And we believe that it is in meaningful customer experiences that we can take common things and make them sacred by using them to advance the Gospel.

The will and the plan of the Lord

2008-06-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

A thought to ponder, Kind of like a snack before the meal...

I have been recently thinking a lot about God's plan for my life.

How am I supposed to know if I am in His will?

When I take a step forward, have I sought the Lord in whatever that step is?

How do I discern what the Lord's plan is?

How do I choose my career, or second career?

Lastly...

How can I Affect and Effect the World for the Kingdom?

Next time we will have answers to these questions so enjoy pondering for now.

Till then.
Nick

2008-06-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last time we discussed the fact that Simon Peter desired to follow Jesus, even unto death, yet Jesus knew that Simon had to be broken to make that happen. First we will look at the breaking of Simon Peter so that the Lord could take his zelousness for Jesus and use it for His Glory

Matt 26:75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

I want to look at the word bitterly for just a second, from this passage we see that Jesus had to take Peter to the end of himself or break him completely for Peter to be that rock that Jesus had called him to be. Bitterly is is used as an example of the poignant grief of Peter's weeping for his denial of Christ. Have you ever felt so horrible for something that you have done, I know that feeling and it is not really fun. Jesus refers to us as clay and when clay becomes hard it must be broken down to a fine dust then you add water to make is pliable so that you can mold again into the shape that you want. What Jesus was doing here was taking Peter and making him the rock that was to be in the future. After studying Peter and seeing his ferver for Christ it would be easy to say that God truly broke his spirit and how easy could that have been for Peter to say that I'm never going back to that. I'm so disgusted with myself for leaving the Lord like that. Later on in the book of John we see Peter actually goes back to his trade, but as he is fishing Jesus calls Peter to himself. As far as I am concerned this is the greatest passage of scripture in the bible. It truly shows the compassion of Christ.

Jn 21:15-18 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go."

Three times Jesus asked Peter if he love him, each time Peter said yes you know that I love you and then Jesus gave Peter a command to feed His sheep, that is a huge thing. We see that Jesus took the Raw Zealousness of Peter and created him to be the rock of his name. God had made him such a rock that at the end of his life when it was time for him to be martyred Peter was killed upside down.

Are you Zealous for the Lord. Let today be the day that you check your heart and what your Zealous for.

A classic from Charles Spurgeon

2008-06-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

This is a classic that my wife and I read on June 8th it really spoke to me in where is my faith, Remember folks faith is the evidence of things unseen. Where are you placing your faith is it in that which is daunting in front of you or is it in the creator who created the earth in 7 days and raised the dead and made the red sea part. I enjoyed this I hope that you receive and enjoy this as much as I did.

“Thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.”

Numbers 11:23

God had made a positive promise to Moses that for the space of a whole month he would feed the vast host in the wilderness with flesh. Moses, being overtaken by a fit of unbelief, looks to the outward means, and is at a loss to know how the promise can be fulfilled. He looked to the creature instead of the Creator. But doth the Creator expect the creature to fulfil his promise for him? No; he who makes the promise ever fulfils it by his own unaided omnipotence. If he speaks, it is done—done by himself. His promises do not depend for their fulfilment upon the co-operation of the puny strength of man. We can at once perceive the mistake which Moses made. And yet how commonly we do the same! God has promised to supply our needs, and we look to the creature to do what God has promised to do; and then, because we perceive the creature to be weak and feeble, we indulge in unbelief. Why look we to that quarter at all? Will you look to the north pole to gather fruits ripened in the sun? Verily, you would act no more foolishly if ye did this than when you look to the weak for strength, and to the creature to do the Creator’s work. Let us, then, put the question on the right footing. The ground of faith is not the sufficiency of the visible means for the performance of the promise, but the all-sufficiency of the invisible God, who will most surely do as he hath said. If after clearly seeing that the onus lies with the Lord and not with the creature, we dare to indulge in mistrust, the question of God comes home mightily to us: “Has the Lord’s hand waxed short?” May it happen, too, in his mercy, that with the question there may flash upon our souls that blessed declaration, “Thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.”

Peter's foot shaped mouth

2008-06-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

This morning I was reading in John 13 as the disciples sat around the table on the night of the last supper. I have studied this chapter so many times and each time I get something different I want all of you to take a moment and ponder Peter's passion to follow the Lord.

You see he was one one of the disciples that Jesus loved(Jn 13:23-24), that was only said about 2 others James and John, but in this case and for the sake of our devotional for today and the next few posts I want to look at the fact that Peter had a problem with desiring to do and say the right thing but it usually ended up with him shoving his foot and sometimes both feet into his mouth.

(John 13) 36Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later." 37Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You." 38Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.
In studying this passage of scripture I have come to the conclusion that Peter may have wanted to follow Jesus even unto death but Jesus knew that he would bail at the first sign of adversity. Peter had to give the Lord his whole heart and everything about himself. A question to ponder. What are you holding back from the Lord that is keeping you from being used to the fullest? Does God have all of you? You may have a passion for Jesus, but will you bail at the first sign of adversity, personally I wrestled with this this last week. Next week we will Look at how Peter failed and if there is time also how Jesus restored Peter. Till then

Need?

2008-05-26T21:04:00.001-07:00

I wonder some times how I can help others to see that the Lord love's them in spite of whether they see and feel his love. I know that at times I can be a little rough in how I handle things and I do realize that I am not the most gentle person in the world. I want to show God's love to others especially my wife, I struggle showing her that Love the most.

When others struggle the only responce that I can come up with is read your bible and pray every day. The scripture that comes to mind is found in Matthew 7 :7-11 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus made it really simple for us we are to ask Him, seek after Him and when we do that we will find Him; He also made it clear in Ch 6 of Matthew that He would provide for our every need Matt 6:25-34

5 months too long

2008-05-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

OK so it has been 5 months and the few of you that still check on my blog are so faithful I am stoked to know that you still find some value in those words of a broken man. I will say this these last few months have been really like a new beginning for me well actually the last couple of weeks. You see I was not very humble and the Lord decided to break me of that pride that I had in myself I thought that if I was good enough that I could accomplish whatever was put before me. And secondly that pride had caused me to place my faith in the wrong thing. I was in the sin of pride and making sacrifices to God that were not what He was wanting.

Psalm 51
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (esv)

As I spent a week working in Hawaii these verses were running in my mind and as I dealt with being broken I had such a Joy that I cannot even begin to describe what I felt. When someone realizes that they have placed there hope in... and not in Christ, whatever happens to you will not go as planned, it really matters what happens because your hope is in the wrong thing. When we place our hope in the One who has called us and not in... it will not matter what happens. Because our hope is in the One who NEVER fails.

Matt 6:33
Seek First the Kingdom of God and its Righteousness and all these things Shall Be Added unto you. (emphasis added)(esv)

Prayer and Fasting

2008-01-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Jesus talked alot about prayer and fasting, as a matter of fact there is so much talk of prayer in the bible I am surprised that I haven't realized it before, I don't know why I guess that I have been so focused what I am doing that I forgot to have a relationship with Him. Or I guess that it could be that I just don't take enough time to actually talk have a conversation with the God that created the universe. It is kind of funny if you think about it we lowly little humans get to have a conversation with the creator, heck we can't even call George W. Bush and talk with him. I have realized something over these last few months of commuting to SB, that I need to talk less and listen more. The great Elijah had to even figure that one out God wasn't in the thunder, the wind, He was a still small voice. Chew on that for a while.

Thought for the Moment...

2007-12-22T23:18:00.000-08:00

...well actually the 11:15pm thought as my daughter is still awake and my wife is trying to nurse her back to sleep so we can get some rest.

We were away last night and stayed down in Goleta so that Kelly could see her brother and sister-in-law when the came in from NC for Christmas, and what to our pleasure did we find when we came home ants and lots of them we just can't seem to get rid of the little evil insects and what else has happened that caused our stress level to be raised to another notch our daughter has decided that she doesn't want to sleep at night any more and I'll tell you what my wife is exhausted and it is wearing me out to see her not getting enough sleep. Why your asking yourself am I writing about this, let me explain we have been praying that the baby would start sleeping through the night I don't know how anyone goes through this I really think that we are beginning to loose our minds and it is really wearing on our "personal" lives yes we do get away for a few hours at a time but I really don't understand why God is allowing this to continue. This is not a question that I can answer all that I can think is that God wants us to learn to come to the end or ourselves to see Him in all this. Don't get me wrong but I don' t like it and really would like this stage of our lives to come to an end, I want to see my wife get some sleep and feel rested. That is what I am praying for amongst other things.

Now as for the ants, I hate them. I guess that we will have to deal with them untill we can bait and get rid of them. I'm gonna make them take a long walk off a short pier, if you know what I mean. Seriously I think that all of this and all of this stress is directly related to our spiritual lives. Think about it a lot of crap happens and we get a card from a friend that says they are looking forward to serving Jesus this next Year with us. I know that God has some great stuff planned for us. and It is my prayer that we will be able to serve in full time youth ministry this up coming year 1Peter 5:1-5. God Bless and

More to come...

Broken chains.

2007-10-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Those things in my life that were holding me back from effectively ministering to my family and my wife and others are now broken, I no longer have to fear what those things can do to me, God redeemed me a long time ago and I allowed satan to grip me in fear that I would fail at being pure in my marriage, with my wife and to my church, God had begun that work in me over 10 years ago and as I began to heal and allow him to work in me and direct my walk with Him all of those Chains began to break. God has moved us away from that which was binding me Broken those Chains.

Our God is a God that Breaks Chains, I doesn’t really matter how He does it, it is just the fact that He can and will Break those chains of sin that are binding you and keeping you from a truly intimate relationship with Jesus, keeping you from an effective ministry of reconciliation.

God is great and whatever may be binding you right now Porn, Lying, Drugs, Alcohol, an Affair, it doesn’t really matter what it is that is holding your heart captive Jesus can and will break those chains, you see it starts with replacing the bad with the good Psalm 119:15 I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.

God after God and His word the world tells us lies that the junk that it offers is good, it does look good, The bible tells us and shows us that what the word has to offer really is junk and the more that we spend time meditating on the Word of God the easier it will be to over come temptation. I leave you with this Matt 6:33 Seek first the kingdom of God and it’s Righteousness and all these things will be added unto you

Till next time

Opportunity! Part Two

2007-08-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

Last time we talked about the opportunity to live like Christ, to do what He has called us to do. First what is that He has called us to do, well 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 says 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

If you look closely at the text we can see the Jesus dies so that we could be reconciled to God, and He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. You might be asking yourself or just screaming at the computer screen. what does that mean, I sure am, Reconciliation as defined by Webster's online dictionary is to restore to friendship or harmony. As sinners and since the dawn of time we have been at odds with God because our sin separates us from Him, He may be a loving God but He is a just God and cannot allow sin to enter into His presence. So the ministry of reconciliation through Jesus because He is the only reason that our debt was paid in full and that gives us the opportunity to have a relationship with God. We have been given a mission that is to be an ambassador for Christ. We all have the opportunity to share Jesus with others, what He has done and how He restored His friendship and harmony with us (Romans 10:14-15). Once our relationship with Jesus has been restored God will then work on us to place our trust in Him and not in this world, as we talked about last time. It does take time to actually not worry about earthly things and the more that time that we spend with God the more that we will be placing our focus in Him.

Opportunity! Part One

2007-07-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

If you check this blog for new posts I am sorry that it has been a while, forgive me, II will try to do better at getting these up.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.(ASV)
Interesting why Jesus would say this Seek first His kingdom. If we look at the context of the whole passage He is telling us that the animals and the plants don't worry about the earthly things such as food and water God has already provided those things, He has even given them clothing to where. What I believe that Jesus is trying to express to us, is we spend to much time worring about the newest and greatest thing, whether that be a gadget or clothing line, you see even later on we learn that earthly things will not last. Have you ever seen a hearse being followed by a U-haul, didn't think so, or have you ever seen some one buried with their new iPhone, well not yet anyways. We are called as Christians to be like Christ, that's right just like Him, thats what being a Christian is a little Christ. When we are seeking after the Lord the earthly things don't matter much any more and we will not be worrying about the latest and greatest thing on the planet, not that having that stuff is bad but it is not to be our primary focus. God gives us opportunities here on earth to fulfill our call as christians, next time we will look at that call and opportunity.

2007-05-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

As we think on the fact that God created us. I can't help thinking that I got to take part in helping to create our daughter, God is truly the designer of her whole being all the way dow to the amount of hair on her head as well as her personality. Stop and think for a second that a baby has a lot of needs all the way down to the dirty diapers (pun intended). Lets look at these needs. They need to be fed, clothed and most importantly loved. In the same way our heavenly father provides the same for us He gives us the things that we need and even some of the things that we want, (Matt 6:25-32) Here's the deal Our Father in Heaven will provide all of our needs and no matter how hard it may seem we will always be provided for. Next time we will be looking at Matthew 6:33 and how seeking first the Kingdom of God is so important and why it will keep us from freting over worldly worries

New Blog

2007-04-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

This is dedicated to furthering your walk with the Lord. It is my hope that you grow closer to Him each and every day.

Nick