His View

Somewhere in the midst of all our busy religious duties, that we think are godly expectations, I think we’ve missed His view. Let me, explain it to you this way; we think there are two parts to be a Christ follower. First is being a Christian, second is being a disciple. This is our view, not Jesus’. Jesus’ view is that being a Christian and a disciple is the same thing. Jesus was very clear about His expectations of us being Christian disciples. See, we so often think that being a Christian is one step and being a disciple is another. This is not so in the generation we live in, many have been more concerned about making crowds, than making disciples. Jesus was always about separated, halfhearted, half committed people. See, discipleship does that, discipleship demands your best. Crowds will come and go, but disciples will stand steadfast. Remember Matthew 28 starting in verse 18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” In verse 19 Jesus tells us the first thing to do is to make disciples. So my question is whose view do you take?

Hungry

Luke 1:53 “He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.”

The Lord taught me a principle this summer that I had never acknowledged or experienced. Bear with me as I explain. As many of you know in the month of July, I lost both of my parents within 17 days of each other. Yes, I had total peace that they are in Heaven and that God had called them home, but letting them go was and has been difficult. One of the reasons for the difficulty was that I had moved them both to Georgia to live with me and Tonya full time and was excited knowing we would be in charge of their caregiving because they will be going to live in our home with us. The Lord began to teach me this principle on July 3^rd, the first night my mother was in our home. My son and I prepared the supper meal of things that she had always enjoyed eating. The table was full, the smell of the food was great and I found myself being moved with the feeling of hunger, but my mother, though she had requested these foods, would state over and over, “I have no appetite, I’m just not hungry, nothing tastes good to me at all.” From the 3^rd day of July to the 8^th day of July, my mother made the decision to take no meds and we could not even force food down her. She would reject it, curling her little face and saying “It just taste’s so bad.” Here’s the point that boggled my mind. How can a person starve to death with a table full of food and loved ones encouraging them to eat, yet they still refuse to eat to meet the physical need of nourishment in their body? I know that part of this is the process of physical death, but God revealed to me it is also the process of spiritual death. Every day we are given a spiritual buffet from the Word of God to feast upon but many of us refuse to partake if what the Lord has prepared and provided to sustain our lives spiritually. Therefore, depression, sickness and hopelessness can obsess our lives to the place that it can also cause physical death. So, let me ask one question, how’s your appetite, are hungry for the Living Word of God?

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Do you remember the old adage of a young person, possibly a male or female sitting in the middle of a beautiful meadow with possibly a daisy in their hand picking off the petals one at a time saying, “He loves me” as they pick one petal, and as they pick the second petal, they would say “he loves me not”. The part of this game or better yet, this old superstition is the truth of the process would be found in the last petal in their hand, he loves me, he loves me not. For most of us we might try the best two out of three, until we got at least two that landed on “he loves me”. The truth is we want His love but for some crazy reason we still believe we have to earn His love. 1 John 3 gives us proof we never have to question whether He loves us or loves us not. It also gives us proof that it is not based on superstition but based on the words of God the Father, which is love.
1 John 3: 1-2 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:9-10 “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”

The love of God is such an awesome flower that blooms and the fragrance of it which we breathe in not only lets us sense the favor of God, but it implores us to share it by living and loving as the Father has loved us.

It’s Not Always Best to Face Your Problems

We hear the statement “the best thing to do is just face your problems not run from them”. Everyone knows that, but for those of us that are trying to move in the Supernatural favor of God to our advantage for His holy glory, I must suggest another way to deal with the problems. Have you ever gone toe to toe with a problem and it blew up in your face? Here’s the issue, sometimes we stay down in the mud of self-centered thinking and faithless strategy and try to handle the problem from our perspective and not God’s perspective. Remember John, the Revelator? His battle was being placed on the island of Patmos as a prisoner and one who had been deserted, but in Revelation 4:1 Jesus gives John a simple step, He says to John, “Come up here”. See, Jesus knew something about John that is just as pertinent to you and me. If we get up to where Jesus is, we will see what He sees, we’ll know what He knows and then we will be empowered to do what He has called us to do. So take the high ground, by first taking the low ground, finding our knees and calling out to Him for His heavenly perspective about earthly situations and watch the problem spiritually be defeated and dissolved.

Do It Anyway

So, what do you do when you do the best you can to live the life Christ has called us to live, no, I mean really try hard with all your ability to be like Him, and you begin to experience immense pain? Come on Pastor, when we follow Jesus, we are not to experience pain are we? On the contrary, pain will become a companion in your walk, but it’s how you handle the pain. Do you accept it as something that has defeated you or do you see it as a constant source that you can walk through and over by the power of the Holy Spirit? People often say to me I’ve been hurt more by Christians than by people lost and in the world. I have to answer that by saying, yes, I also have experienced more pain from Brothers and Sisters in Christ than the lost in the world. Many times this is why, Jesus said if they done it to Him, they will also do it to us. Let’s just make it real, have you ever washed 24 dirty feet? And then in less than 3 hours later all 12 of your closes companions have forsaken you? Have you ever been denied, betrayed, given up as a sacrifice? Ok, you say, I got the point, but what is the point? Be like Jesus, do it anyway.

A Weary World Rejoices

A Weary World Rejoices

I don’t know about you, but for me and many others the question may be what do you mean “A weary world rejoices?” First, let me discuss weariness. Anybody just wore out by life, bills, sickness, economy, getting older, dreams being broken, and pressures of life, more difficult than ever? Got the point? Weariness, but in the midst of this weariness how can a world rejoice? Only by knowing and holding to the precious gift of Jesus. I can rejoice in what Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” And so shall we. So many people have said to me this year “I just don’t’ feel like celebrating Christmas.” I relate, it has personally been a very different and difficult year for me and my family. But, how can I not celebrate the greatest gift that was ever given, Jesus, who is the Savior for all the people. As long as I keep this in mind and not all the other pomp and circumstance, I have reason to totally celebrate. To use an old phrase that fits, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”

Christmas Again

Christmas Again

It is the largest celebration around the world each year. Most holidays are celebrated only one day of the month, but Christmas is emphasized for an entire month, one twelfth of every year. During this season, billions of people change their normal routines, such as decorating their homes, sending greeting cards, purchasing gifts, attending church services, singing Christmas songs, watching Christmas TV specials and driving long distances to be with their families. This entire month, we are caught up in the sights and sounds of what we relate to the Christmas event. Let’s face it, part of our economy depends on it, people’s careers depend on it and some look forward to it, praying they will feel hope and excitement just this one month out of the year. To be honest, when Christmas comes, you can’t miss it, sad to say, most of us do miss it. It’s not about all we perceive or sense in the pomp and circumstance of the commercial holiday season, it’s about much more… Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Hope For Christmas at Bethany

Hi everyone,
I am on vacation but I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on Hope for Christmas.
I am super excited about what God is going to do at Bethany on Saturday, December 10.  We are hosting a Christmas event for over 200 families and I want you to be a part of what is going to happen here.  I believe you will truly be blessed by participating and giving of yourself to those in need.  We will have a Christmas Party with a lot of activities for them to enjoy, the children will get their pictures made with Santa in the North Pole, and get to pick out a gift for their parent in the Santa Workshop area.  Each family will receive gifts for their children and a bag of food for a Christmas meal.

To make this happen here is what we need:

850 volunteer opportunities (460 just on December 10)  We have a huge need for hospitality, parking, and Elf Travelers

Click on this link and look at all of the opportunities http://2011hopevolunteers-bethanychristian.eventbrite.com 

500 + cans of corn, green beans, gravy, boxes of stuffing, macaroni & cheese, candied yams, cranberry sauce, and boxed desserts.

Toy donations for children 0 to 18

Secret Santa donations so children can get a gift for a parent

Here is a link for a detailed list of suggested donations, http://hopeforchristmas.com/help/

What a great opportunity to have an impact on 1,500 people’s lives

Life Does Not Have to be a Struggle

Ok, I know what you thinking, you’ve already read the title of this blog and you totally disagree because you feel life is a struggle. The point is, yes, it may be, but it doesn’t have to be for those of us who have given up our life to Jesus, so that He might live through us. Ephesians 6:12 says it best, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We sometimes try to make the struggles we deal with earthly, but as we are told in Ephesians, truth be told, our struggle should not be with anything in this world. How can that be, you may ask, because Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me..” Therefore, if our Lord has been given all authority, let us live under His spiritual authority and not the struggles against the flesh and blood. Ephesians 6:10 says “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Let me remind you, the very power that raised Him from the grave, lives in me and in you…JUST SAYING

 

Who Am I?

Sometimes in this crazy world, with all of its busyness, hustle and bustle, expectations and demands, you may have caught yourself asking the question, “Who Am I?” I’ve felt like that before, how about you? In the midst of this wonderful life we sometimes let the things that are not so wonderful affect this God given life that we are blessed with. Just like a storm coming in, the clouds, the expectations and demands can cover the SON’s ability to shine in our life. In Luke 11, Jesus explained in teaching us how to pray, that the Father’s will would be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Do you get it? We are put here, to have Heaven on earth. It’s our choice and it was our Lord’s prayer for us. You may say “Ok, I still need help, who am I?” Here’s who we are and don’t ever forget it, if you are a born again Christ follower, you are a new creation! 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”