“For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2013

The title of this blog is taken from Luke 6:38 – “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

May God Bless you all in this coming year! May he bless you with good health and prosperity, but I ask him to more importantly bless you with a burning desire to come closer to Him. May the fire of the Holy Spirit ignite in you and truly give you a new life this year!

You see, we always wish each other good health and prosperity for the new year which is good, but so much more important is for us to have a new year filled with a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Your relationship with Christ will define you and the year you have! If you put all your trust and faith in Jesus, He will be with you, He will build you up, He will bless you all throughout the year!

We often ask for things we need and then get mad or disappointed when we don’t get them. But the Lord knows what is best for us, we need to trust in Him. He grants in His time and His way. Many times when we haven’t gotten what we wanted, it was for our own benefit. Many times He denied our request because He knew that what we wanted either wasn’t good for us, was unnecessary or could actually hurt us or someone we love. We may never know or understand why it didn’t go the way we wanted, but we can rest assured that God had a plan, God knew what was best. Friends, trust in Him, He will never let you down.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 26:11

Now I have a challenge for you, this morning’s Turning Point from Dr. David Jeremiah was about tithing was titled “Because it’s His” and begins with this verse:

And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD. – Leviticus 27:30

Let me start this with my journey regarding tithing – You see, all my life when I gave to the church, I would always struggle thru the budget and then see what was left and my Sunday offering was what I felt I could based on what was left. With this method the budget was always a struggle and my offering back to the Lord was always the little that was left.

After my study and reading, I’ve learned that this is backwards, truly backwards! You see everything I have is given to me from God! Every dollar, our house, our cars, our possessions are given to us from God! So why am I so stingy giving back to Him what truly is His to begin with?

Back on a personal note, about 4 years ago, I made the decision to truly tithe, truly give 10% back to the Lord as He asks. This was not easy, this is a total mind set change. I was going to give to God first, He was going to get the first 10% of anything I made. Now my weekly giving was going from the little bit that was left each week to the first large cut out of my earnings! How am I going to make the budget work now? Am I going to struggle more? This could really “really cramp my style”. I was truly fearful and apprehensive on how this was going to work.

Well I can tell you now after 4 years, I’m still tithing. I haven’t gone bankrupt. I haven’t even felt like I was struggling with finances. The Lord blessed me for my faith. I “tested” Him, I “called him out” on this tithing thing. I was a doubter, I said “Lord, you tell us to trust you on this, you tell us that you will reward us, well here goes, I’m all in, now show me”. Sounds like something you’d expect from Thomas doesn’t it?

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” — Malachi 3:10

The Lord is telling us, to bring Him our tithes and He will pour out blessings that we can not contain! What a promise!

Guess what? It’s true! Once I started tithing, the Lord has provided, the Lord has opened opportunities and relieve the stresses of finance. He’s enabled me to have enough to help others in need, He has enabled me to offer more to missional work. The Lord once again continues His promise and continues to amaze me!

My challenge to you all, it to try tithing. Try giving back to the Lord your first fruits, give back to Him first. After all, it’s his to begin with! Challenge Him on this one, and more importantly have faith and trust in Him, you’ll be surprised with the result!

I’ll leave you with this quote from today’s turning point:

“God demands the tithe, deserves the offerings, defends the savings and directs the expenses.”
Stephen Olford

Until next time, God Bless you!

Why do you go to church?

I’ve been observing and pondering this for several months now.  So now I’m going to pose the question to all of my readers?

Why do you go to church?

Do you go because the sermon/message is short?
Do you go because the minister gives a great message that you can relate to?
Is it because the church is air conditioned?
Maybe you like the hymn selection and the singing?
Or even quite possibly, the food! Donuts and coffee before service or maybe the pot luck lunch afterward!

Well, I’m going to challenge you now.  Isn’t the REAL reason for going to church to spend time with the Lord, in worship (songs and prayers) and in the Word?  Aren’t we called to church, not for our physical needs or comforts or likes, but to further develop our relationship with the Lord?

I’ve observed people coming to church or more like not coming to church depending upon who was giving the message?  I’ve seen families consistently not come to church if someone other than the minister was holding service or even if there were a guest minister or a special program.

I’ve also seen families totally stay away from church because they either don’t like the minister or feel his or her service is too long, the message too controversial or challenges their comfort too much, or they don’t like something another family has done; only to return to church once that person is no longer there!

These actions I’m really wrestling with!  I know it is not my place to make judgement, and I also know that we all will have to answer to the Lord for our actions or our in-actions during the time we are given here on this earth, but I am also human and I do notice these things and wonder.

Again, I ask you – Why do you come to church?

Is it for self gratification?  Is it out of a sense of obligation?  Is it to socialize?  Is it to put on the appearance of an “upstanding church goer”?

OR

Do you truly love the Lord and cherish the time you can spend with Him?  Do you get so excited and pumped up to be in the house of the Lord that you really, really want to shout and sing His praises? Do you want to be there to ask forgiveness for something that is troubling you or to put you burdens upon Him as He instructs us to?  These I feel are true reasons to be in His house.  Any other reason, is purely our selfishness!

In my humanness, I find I really do get upset when I see what appears to be personal agendas in how people worship.  It does bother me when there is the appearance that factors outside of a personal relationship the God Almighty dictate whether a person or family comes to church or not.  I am constantly praying for his guidance on this.

As, I return to writing the blogs, I ask you to pray over this issue.  We are at a time in history where we truly need to refocus our attention to God.  We all need to develop a very personal relationship with Him, through His son Jesus Christ, and allow Him to guide our lives.

So I’ll ask you for a third and final time…Why do you come to church?

Just remember, you may get asked that question once you leave this earth, and the consequences of how you can answer may determine eternity!

God bless you all, thank you for your patience, sorry for the delay between blogs and there will be a new post next week!

The Armor of God!

As any of you who know me, you already know where this post is going just by the title!  My favorite verses in the Bible are Ephesians 6:10-18

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Going into this weeks National Day of Prayer on Thursday, I’d like to take a good look at these verses.  Our nations is at a critical time in history with its relationship with God.  The forces of evil are pressing in our her and are making inroads with our government that is pushing God out.  As a nation that was formed with the blessing of God, and now I’m afraid many are turning their backs on Him.

…the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them…

… they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights …

… with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Anyone recognize the above lines?  If you don’t take some time to look up the Declaration of Independence and read it again.

Those who argue the separation of Church and State in my opinion are stretching the intent of our founding fathers.  They all were very aware of the power of Almighty God!

Now back to my favorite Bible verse!

In verse 10 Paul tells us to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”  Do you really think the founding fathers could have made the courageous move and statement of the Declaration without being strong in the Lord and his power?  At the moment they signed that document, they knew there fortunes, their homes, their families and their very own lives were in peril, but yet they knew and had faith that God would be with them.  We need that type of courage and leadership today, we need leaders who are strong in the Lord and will trust in Him and His power, not mans!

Verses 11, 12 & 13, states – Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

The following verses will describe the armor of God, but in the three verses above, in essence Paul is warning us, if we don’t prepare ourselves for battle and the battle strategies of the devil, we are in jeopardy of losing everything.  Our ancestors from the found fathers to our not that distant past, have always had a strong faith and made time every day for time with the Lord in prayer and worship.  In the past this type of faith had pleased the Lord and He has blessed our nation with prosperity and abundance.  Our recent history does not look as nice, God is being pushed out of our government buildings, our courts, our cities and towns.  Even our holidays that originated with Him have dropped Him from mention! The evil one is using every effort and method to squeeze in between the Lord and us.  If we are not careful, God will be erased from all mention in our society and the devil will have won!  We need to go back and make sure we have that armor on and secure!

Let’s now look at what Paul tells us is our armor!

Verse 14 – Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness

We need to stand in the “truth” that is the Lord God, and we must live righteously. We need to be truthful in all our dealings, the Lord despises deceit and dishonesty. We are also to live righteously – that is to act in an upright, moral manor.  Look in the news and form your own opinion; how well do you think we as a nation and a government are doing in these areas?

Verse 15 – For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

I feel we are being urged here to go forward with a peace that comes from knowing the Good News which is our salvation in Jesus Christ.  We are to live the example of Jesus Christ, to be at peace, to spread peace and to love, not just our friends but also our enemies.  He would be very pleased if we could show His peace and love to all the world.

Verse 16 – In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

We must maintain our faith, that is what will protect us from the devil.  He is relentless, in his battle plan – to steal, kill and destroy.  If we don’t keep our shield of faith at the ready, his arrows WILL find their mark.  I pray that somehow our nation will find its way back to the “Faith or our Fathers” – sounds like a great hymn! 🙂

Verse 17 – Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

In all of this, remember to put on salvation, the salvation in our belief in Jesus, as our helmet, and alway have your sword ready!  The sword of the Spirit, the word of God – the Bible!  Spend quality time reading and studying the word.  The Bible is the best instruction book for Life, it has ALL the answers, but we will never know them without opening the book!  The more we know this book, the better prepared we are for our battle with Satan!

If we take God and the Bible out of our nation, the outcome is not going to be good!

Finally, in verse 18, Paul is giving us one final instruction – Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Prayer, such an important item, we need to pray often, persistently and for each other as believers.  We need to stay alert for the temptations and deception of the evil one.

If prayer is missing from our schools, our government, and our workplace, I’m afraid for where we are heading.

I will leave you this week with these thoughts and prayers.

I pray that we as a nation and our leaders, take a hard look at the true intentions of our founding fathers and our fathers and grandfathers.  They had a strong faith, they wore the “Armor of God” with pride and conviction! We need this conviction again!  We need to live the example they have set.

Heavenly Father, I ask that you continue to bless our nation and our people.  May we stay strong in our faith, may we wear Your armor with conviction.  May we stay true to Your word and resist all the battle plans of the devil.  May our faith be an example to others to bring this nation back to You, so that we can continue to enjoy the many, many gifts You have given us.  We thank You for Your loving care and protection. May the example of Your son Jesus, enable us to shine like a beacon to the rest of world. I pray all of this in Jesus name. Amen.

Have a blessed week everyone!

Christ be Beside Me!

I should know better by now, but it still amazes me how we tend to feel good about ourselves when we think we have it all together. When we think and feel like everything in our lives is coming together and things are going to settle down and we can relax and enjoy for awhile.

Guess what, that’s being human!  In reality, that’s when you need to put on the helmet, strap on the seat belt, grit your teeth and hang on, because the road is about to get bumpy and the battle is about to begin!

God’s plan is not for us to be comfortable!  God’s plan is not for man to “feel good” about his situation, God’s plan is for us to worship him!  It’s for us to take him fully into our hearts and allow him to use us as He sees fit, to use us to complete His plans for us.  He wants us to take care of each other, wants us to make a difference in the world by showing others His love and the freedom it brings.

The hard part for us as humans and especially as Americans is that we’ve become complacent in our love and Worship of Christ!  We live “the good life”! The poorest amoung us would be extreemly wealthy in any third world country where survival is the only concern on a daily basis.

We have chosen to remove Christ from our lives, our schools and our government.  When we do this we lose the blessings that He has given us in the past.  We need to wake up and come back to Him, we need to return to the core values of our forefathers.

Our God is a God who is slow to anger, but whose wrath is mighty!  We have been putting His patience to the test for too long and the time may be short before we see his wrath.

The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.  Nahum 1:3

I hate to sound negative today, but I worry where we are heading as a nation.  I worry about what the future holds for my children and grandchildren.  I pray the the Lord Jesus will come into the hearts of our leaders and more importantly into the hearts of all Americans that we turn back to Him.  That we allow him to use us all to fulfill His plan.

You’ve heard this before from me on many occations, when we try to control our lives and the lives of others, I guarantee you we will find a way of messing it up.  When we let God control our lives, when we let Him lead us in our ways, everything works out for the good of all.

21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; 23 who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:21-31

I pray to the Lord Jesus, that He will come into ALL our hearts.  That He opens our eyes that we truly see what is around us.   That He causes us to really let Him work within us, use us to right the wrongs we see, lift up those in need, spread the Good News to all we touch.

Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,

Christ be behind me, King of my heart.

Christ be within me, Christ be below me,

Christ be above me, never to part.

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,

Christ all around me, shield in the strife.

Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,

Christ in my rising, light of my heart.

Christ be in all hearts thinking about me,

Christ be on all tongues telling of me.

Christ be the vision in eyes that see me,

In ears that hear me Christ ever be.

But my greatest wish today is that when someone encounters you or I that they no longer see us as the individual, but they see and feel the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ!

That is my prayer and wish for you this day, have a blessed, Christ filled day today!