Greatest Fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

--Nelson Mandela

T.F.T.D.

God does not prosper us that we may raise our standard of living, He prospers us that we may raise our standard of giving.--Randy Alcorn
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:10 (New International Version)

Double Take

Have you ever been stopped in your tracks because of God's creation? Has it ever moved you to smile or grin or even thank God for all the beautiful things He has given us? I can definitely relate to a life of non exposure or should I say, lack of interest in the creation. By creation I mean the things created by God. A sunset or sunrise, the crashing of the waves, the wind blowing across your face, the beautiful array of colors that fill the sky each and every night. (Do you know that not a day goes by where it isn't beautiful in some way. It can even be the way the rain falls from the sky, or the way the green hills ripple against the backdrop of a blue sky. True beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We all ewe and awe over different things. Some things are move beautiful to me than they are to you, but some things in this world make most of us drop our jaw when we look upon them. Throughout my life with God I started to notice so much more about this world that He has created than I ever had before. I started to notice, really He started to take things out of my life and let my eyes enjoy what truly is beautiful. Have you every looked at the rolling hills or the way the wild flowers will dance in the wind with their beautiful colors and shapes? Sure I looked at the sun setting in the sky and commented on how amazing it looked, but was I touched? Was I moved to thank God for His beauty, and enjoy this part of abundant life that He offers? Was I taking in the creation for all that it was worth? Was I noticing God's hand on everything my eye could see? Was I amazed at His vastness to never repeat himself? His ability to ewe and awe me every single day? I started to think about this the other day when I was getting out of my car one November morning. As I was getting out of the car I was hit in the face with this beautiful sky. I wasn't intentionally looking at the sky but the clouds were wrapped around me so tight. It looked as if God had decided to do a little shading with his fluffy white clouds against a sea of blue. It actually made me double take. Not the kind of double take where sin is staring you in the face. I'm talking about the kind of second stare (not glance) that you had no control over. It was as if God had pre-programed me to look twice. I just couldn't get over it, it was so beautiful. The crazy thing is, it wasn't the best early morning sky that I have ever seen, it was just a beautiful sky that my Father was sharing with me on my way to work. How wonderful is it that God shares all this with us. The fact that we have our senses. I can actually enjoy food and have my thirst quenched. Have you ever really looked at the colors of our food? The bright shiny red and green apples, the beautiful orange, purples, and yellows? I try to make myself remember that this food has always had this beautiful color. It could be so much more mundane and boring, but it's not. There is life in everything we do and experience. Whether it's kissing my wife and holding her close or thanking my parents for all they've done in my life, I get to feel those things all the way to my core. I get to wake up to a beautiful morning sky and watch how God closes out the day with His every changing setting sun. The smell of the forest or listening to the waves crash against the shore. Watching my nieces come into this world through my own set of eyes. What an incredible God we serve, really what an incredible God who serves His people. Don't miss it! I'm asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I'll contemplate his beauty; I'll study at his feet. Psalms 27:4 (Message)

JTH

Sin-infected

Have you ever been sick to your stomach over your sin? Has it ever made you want to throw up? Have you ever sat there when the Holy Spirit is moving and you'd just try to blow it off and act like it isn't that bad? When do you start to make decisions in your life about what you allow to take place in front of you and what you can't stand to let your eyes see? How unprotected do we leave our heart? How much do we let in? No wonder we struggle. No wonder we have so many problems and are so far away from what God is saying to us. How much gunk and slime does God have to weed his way through, before He even starts to work on our heart? How much have we done to get in the way of our relationship with Him? When is enough, enough? Why do we sacrifice the Heavenly Father for a new friend, or care so much about what you look like? Isn't He more important? Should it matter at all what people think? Why do we care so much about what this world thinks that one day will go up in flames?

We don't take it seriously do we? What sort of leader can you be when you leave yourself wide open to what the enemy is doing? Oh, sure we can turn our heads, but who is it that will take a stand for God? How small have we made the Creator? Seriously, do we revier Him at all? They used to have to wash their whole bodies before they could go into the Temple, and yet we let our minds and bodies be filled with such contamination that it is eating us alive from the inside out. We don't even know how sick we are. We are destroying our minds everyday with all the filth that covers our televisions, and media. Have you ever felt what its like to care more about the things of this world than you do the things of God? Why do we care? When will we do something about it? When will it become second nature the way a sport is or song? How filthy we are? Nothing good comes from us. And no it isn't funny. Its sick. We are destroying the one place the Holy Spirit lives. No wonder we have trouble hearing from the Spirit. No wonder we have trouble knowing what to do with our lives. No wonder we struggle from so many things. We are mentally overweight. We don't train, feed ourselves the right food, etc....It hurts tonight. Sometimes you think your ready for battle then you realize that you aren't even ready to pick up your armor. You aren't even ready to stand, let alone fight. We are so over confident in ourselves that we think were ready far in advance. How arogant. How dumb. When will I base my decisions on my Heavenly Father? When will I stop looking around for answers and finally do what is right? How narrow is this road? Does anyone ever really truly get it? Will I ever be able to stand and pick up my armor? How much more work must be done. We are no different than this world. What will it take? I sugguest prayer. Prayer for help, prayer for the ability to do what what we are called to do. Prayer that we get it. He said it would cost us our life, but how much of us even waste a breath on what is really worth while in this world? Will we ever take him at his word? We live in the world, but we are not of the world, remember. What we sacrifice just for a laugh.

But how angry you've been with us! We've sinned and kept at it so long! Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? We're all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags. We dry up like autumn leaves—sin-dried, we're blown off by the wind. No one prays to you or makes the effort to reach out to you. Isaiah 64:5-7 (The Message)

JTH

Television, is it worth it?

So I'm watching an episode of the oh so popular Fox television show "House" last night and he (House, lead character in the show) makes a comment about half way through the show about Christians. It was one of those things that we usually just laugh off and say oh that's just our world, but tonight it wasn't like that for me. Although I can't recall exactly what was said, he made a cutting comment about "Christians being one of the only things in this world that you still can make fun of." Now was he right in saying that or making that sort of observation? Was he telling the truth that Christians are one of the groups these days that are made fun of with no one caring to stop you? Heaven forbid we say anything about same sex marriage or obesity, but when it comes to Christians it's okay to laugh. I being a Christian take great offense to this stance. Since when has it been okay to watch something that degrades my heritage, my being, my creator? Why is it that we as Christians don't take offense to this? What would Paul do if he saw something like this taking place in the streets of his day? Would he go back on a weekly basis to catch what this person had to say for an hour every week? Do you think he would listen for one second to this persons wisdom or wittiness? I don't think so myself. Sometimes I just wonder how saturated we have become in our culture that we don't take offense to someone talking about our father that way. Our life. Do we really believe or follow? Don't you think that if we had some sort of loyalty or love for God that we would take offense to that sort of comment? It's not funny. It's downright wrong. I find too many times a stance about our faith as meek, slightly less firm, walk all over us, it's okay mentality with Christians today. Don't get me wrong, I believe in gentleness and self control and we live in a fallen world, (see we even feel like we have to cover ourselves everytime we say something about taking a firm stand, ahhhhhh) but do we feel the least bit offended when our King is mocked. What about the celebrities who carelessly thank god (little 'g') about all they have and do, yet turn around and slap him right in the face with there lyrics they won the award for? What about the comedy, sarcasm, and excess thoughtlessness we give Christ in our speech and television viewing? Do we have any reverence for our God? Do we think when he called us his friend, He meant that we could chum it up like we do with our brothers and sisters? Abraham was called a "friend of God" (James 2:23) yet there is a difference of friendship with humans and friendship with a referent God. So I ask, is it worth it? How far will we go until we don't even flinch about comments made about our Savior? (Psalm 78:35-37). How much do we care? Do we care at all? Are we careful about what comes in so we protect our hearts for it is the well spring of life? (Proverbs 4:23) Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16 We must take this seriously, for it could cost us everything if we don't.

JTH

Cry over Salvation

I did something this past weekend at church that I have never done before. My spirit was moved during the sermon which had to do with money. Past Waren was talking about the importance of getting the whole money issue correct. Matthew 6:19-20 states: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Pastor Warren pointed out that you decide where your heart is. It just doesn't go somewhere without you putting it there first. The place where your heart is is where you give. Yes I have sat in church many times before and heard the same thing said. It hasn't been the same as it was today though. God has put me in a situation financially that I can't even begin to tell you what a burden it feels like. Yet he has done such wonderful prying and chipping and shaping of me that I can now start to understand the whole heart thing. How in the world does He do this thing that He does when he turns our troubles, sorrows, and disappointments around for our good and betterment of our future. His way are not our ways and his thoughts not our thoughts. To say all that and that not to be what made me cry. What did it was the fact that I was in church and the pastor was talking about a huge issue in our world today. Money, materialism, greed, desire for more, etc....I was used to sitting there feeling accused for not following this part of God's plan for his people. And yet this time, I agreed. My spirit actually was moved to say yes, I agree. I felt and knew that this was a part of my thinking now. God was doing things in my life and shaping me in such a way that I was making the right (or better) decision to trust God with this area of my life. That is huge for someone like me who is far from a giving person or someone who feels they have enough. I always have wanted more, could never get enough. For the first time, though I knew that God was at work on this area of my life. He actually has been for some time now. And funny it all started with a load of debt. As I'm sitting there in the service, listening to the pastor tell people that they need to pray for such a thing to happen in their lives, I started to thank God for doing this work in mine. I know full well (really I say it but hopefully I come to understand I had nothing to do with it) that God had done this work in my life. How incredible is it to feel the power of your spirit in line with that of the Creators. Thank God. From there I began to cry for I thought about how big of a sinner I am and how much I don't deserve to "get it." He saved me, far greater a gift is that than any part of "getting" anything. Why me? I'm saved, He chose me to understand this big issue in our world today. Do I totally get it? No. Does my flesh and spirit go back and forth trying to battle over this area of my life? Yes. Am I a huge giver? No. Do I pray that the Holy Spirit continues to do this work in my life that I may be the type of person God calls me to be? Without question. Am I deserving of this? No. But He tells me He loves me anyways and because of Him He desires to give me all things. What a God we serve.

JTH