Have you traced His hand lately? ©

1st Corinthians 1:9 "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." God is faithful, HE chose us, and we are a part of His family through His Son Jesus Christ - it is a matter of relationship. Even when we stray, and fellowship seems distant, the relationship remains the same. Today, I have a faltering perspective - but He remains faithful and constant. Perspective – I need a Heavenly perspective today. Lord why is it that I don’t take the time to look for Your hand in my life? Submission must go deeper to grow, yet when you teach me I fail to bury it in my heart. Your word constantly and consistently teaches me that You are faithful and True to Your promises. I need your perspective Lord, help me not focus just on my little corner, give me Your big picture perspective Lord to better understand how today fits into the end game. Up to today Lord, I didn’t look. I have been too busy, too wrapped up in the business of business to look for Your blessings through the course of the day. I thank you every day, but I don’t have a thankful heart or I would see your blessings in the small things as well as the bigger things. Lord, I think I must start with a thankful heart. I must begin by thanking you for the miniscule at first and work the scale upwards as I see your answer to prayer – regardless of the answer. In seeing answered prayer Lord, I can then begin to trace Your hand in my life. Dear Father, teach me to look for your hand in every moment of my life. Help me hear the morning birds and know that is your song to me today. Help me say thank you when I get onto the highway each morning, knowing that you protect me from all things. When the difficult challenges present itself in the meeting today, and you bless with a quiet peace – bring me to a thankful heart. When I end my day in prayer, give me a contrite heart when recognizing my short comings and my failings of this day. With that contriteness Lord, help me be mindful and thankful for your Grace in allowing me to grow from the lessons learned today. The Lord has given me new sight into His faithfulness to us, according to all His promises. Making me ever more the mindful of my shaky faithfulness to Him, watching for the small things first gives me motivation and heart knowledge to recognize the bigger blessings and His continual unending Faithfulness to us. Learning to trace His hand in all things in my life will strengthen my Faith and build my Trust in Him. As we learn to capture the message in His word, and be thankful for His blessings we will indeed learn to Trace His Hand. We will also learn to hear His still, peaceful small voice in our heart. Lord – Help us trace your hand through the valleys, trials, tribulations, joys, victories and blessings. In Christ’s name, Amen

Running the Race to win is the goal... ©

Running the Race to win is the goal, but encouraging the guy beside you to run harder shows a True Spirit and Heart for Christ. As Christians we sometimes get so focused on our own ministry or our own little piece of the Church that we forget the Christian life is a “team sport”. We are to offer encouragement, prayers, support and yes occasionally correction for our Christian brothers and sisters. However; we are also to love those on our path that do not know the Lord. Paul masterfully taught this point in his 1st letter to the Corinthian Church. The 13th chapter has 13 verses, each verse builds on the one before it, teaching us by verse 13 what our heart should, no, must look like upon claiming the name of The Holy and Righteous Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 13 The Excellence of Love (1) If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (2) If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. (3) And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. (4) Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, (5) does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, (6) does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; (7) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (8) Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. (9) For we know in part and we prophesy in part; (10) but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. (11) When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. (12) For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. (13) But now faith, hope, love, abides these three; but the greatest of these is love. "BUT THE GREATIST OF THESE IS LOVE"... I have been accused of having lopsided writings & Blogs, I have been told that I write and speak more on the Love in Christianity than any of the other Doctrinal topics available for me to research in depth. Those critical observations are correct! However; to those folks, I offer these points to ponder. If you have yielded your life to Christ, does not the Holy Spirit dwell in us? If that Spirit is dwelling in our heart and mind, then He is ministering to us, offering correction and balance to our walk. If we Love our Blessed Savior, obedience should not be a topic to discuss, because as a Loving Child of His, we will obey out of a desire to please Him. Just as we seek obedience from our teen children out of Love and Respect for us, should we be any different with our Heavenly Father? We have His Words to Us in this Bible we hold in our hands, where He clearly defines His expectations for us. What; you say you are having a hard time discerning the Spirit in your life? Do you read your Bible daily? Do you pray offering your petitions and requests, and offer Him Praise, Worship and Glorify Him? When you have ended your prayer, do you sit quietly and meditate with Him before going about your business? Does your life reflect the Blessings He has so lovingly showered your life with? Do you seek Christian counsel when you are struggling, and meet your Heavenly Father in your quiet place? Or do you shrug your shoulders or worse yet shake your spiritual fist at Him? Are you approaching the Throne of Grace as a strong willed child? Search your heart, as Paul stated, you must walk in the Spirit. Have you identified your Spiritual Gifts and put them into service – serving Him and the local body of Christ that He has led you to? When you look inward, can you identify His joy in your heart? Do you see true unconditional love in your heart for your neighbors, people at work, congregation members, and your Pastor? If not, I challenge you to start examining your RELATIONSHIP with Christ, not your fellowship, your relationship – for if you belong to Him, He will change your Heart from the inside out! Creating a True Change, you will begin to take on new character traits; you will begin to develop Christ’s heart. That "Change" in your heart is the identity of the Relationship with Him that is the doctrinal truth that a Repentant Heart holds testimony to. This is a process of change, sometimes it happens over night, sometimes it takes a life time, but one thing is sure, True Repentance at the time of Salvation, and submission to His Spirit will bear testimony to “change” in the heart of the believer. This is not to say that there won't be peaks and valleys in our Faith, it is to say that the yielded heart will show an upward climb on the Spiritual Growth Chart. That, while understanding we never arrive this side of Heaven, (there is always room for growth and improvement) we should be reaching for the mark, running the race to win. I am not saying Christianity is all rosy and perfectly pretty every day of your life. Nor am I saying that Salvation is anything but COMPLETE AND ETERNAL, for the Believer! What I am saying is that there will be a dramatic change in your outlook, how you see God, how you see people, the depth of the love you have for people you are close to, all will change. This change starts at the moment of salvation and continues through your entire life, as you read your Bible and spend time with the Lord, you become more like Him. Christ laid some of those inward changes out for us in the B-Attitudes when He said (3) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (4) “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (5) “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. (6) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (7) “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (8) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (9 )“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (10) “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. (12) “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Did you get that, these B-attitudes are characteristics of the Heart in the Christian Faith, walking in and with Christ. Another passage I love is Matthew 5, and verses 43 through 48 where Christ nails it cold. (43) “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ (44) “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (46) “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (47) “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (48) “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Christ told us here that if we are of the Father in Heaven, we will love those beyond our envelope of friends and colleagues. We love the unlovable, we will pain for and show charity to those less fortunate than ourselves. Paul talked about these Spiritual Character Attributes in Galatians 5, the whole chapter is about Walking in the Spirit, and how we are to practice that. He gave us insight as to what we humans look like outside of the Spirit in verses 19 through 21. (19) Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, (21) envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. It’s that whole living too close to the line… Folks I know I sound like a broken record here, but if you have one foot in the world, your other foot is not too far away… Christ wants it all, He wants your whole heart, and He is HOLY!! He can’t follow you into the world. If you truly belong to Him, He will let you go a little while, but you will be miserable, your Heart will ache for what is right. It may even take Him allowing you to have your own way until it forces you to make a decision. That is the wisdom He has placed in my heart, for I was there in the dirt, forced to look into His face when I realized I had messed up my life and some of those around me in the worldly desires of my youth. I was a thrill junky, fast cars, fast motorcycles, boats, and ultimately flying light fixed wing aircraft, a habit that became very costly. Then it was all taken away with a physical ailment that took my flight medical, depression set in, and abuse of prescribed medications followed. My family, my career all was ebbing away, and I was too stupid to see that it all evolved from one cause – and in the end, one purpose. The Cause of my fallen state was walking away from the Christ that I gave my life to at age 13. His Purpose in the end, to teach me that a yielded heart serving the Master meets every need and provides happiness beyond anything the world could offer. Through Christ I realized that I love my wife deeper, that my Children have a new place in my heart, and I saw my parents with new eyes – Christ’s eyes. When you look at the world through His eyes, things are different; as you grow in His Spirit you begin to feel His pain for the condition of this world. That pain creates a desire to reach out and show His love to those that don’t know Him. Occasionally, now that my Spiritual maturity is trying to catch up to my physical maturity, I see my old ways in younger folks in the Faith. Probably much like Paul saw his past in folks he encountered, the difference being, he was bold, and had not been tempered by Political Correctness. Yes, Political Correctness has entered the doors of the Church. Wisely choosing your words, as well as the issues that are worth fighting have become the new challenge for older Christians in the Church. Wisdom to see the Fruit of the Spirit (or lack of) in people and leaving judgment of motive and heart to God is a very thin line today. Partially because we Christians have misused it in the past, and tarnished the value of Spiritual Correction, with wicked fingers of men that were not qualified to offer counsel of any kind. Today, we must look at Galatians 5:22-24 for ourselves, as a Metric in measuring "ourselves". (22)But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23)gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (24)Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. This is how we run the Race, we focus on the Spirit that Lives in us, and nurture that Spirit so that it may bear fruit, and then we share that fruit with those around us. We help our Christian Brothers and Sisters to keep in the race, and to run the race to make it to the finish line and win. We share the fruit of the Spirit with those folks God places around us at work, in our neighborhoods and family that does not yet know Christ. We stay in the race through continual submission to God’s will, ministered to us through the Comforter. We strive in the race by exercising our Faith in Him to care and provide for us. We realize joy in the race as we look over our shoulder to see how far He has carried us in His strength. We communicate with the Head Coach in the race by allowing ourselves to be wrapped in Christ’s Righteousness, and allowing Him to take our prayers to the Father on our behalf. Through the process of running to the finish line, we will KNOW Christ and He will KNOW us. We will understand His Grace and how that Grace paved the way for our Faith in God’s perfect gift in His Son’s shed blood, death, burial and resurrection which generated the trophy to be awarded at the finish line. To run the race to win, well it means you are committed, no matter how many obstacles fall on the course. It means that you don’t have Christ as your co-pilot; it means you have taken the 2nd seat, and put Him in command. That the very forgiveness that He died to offer you, you must now show to all that stand in your path, just as freely, just as willingly and just as completely as Christ did for you. If you can’t or won’t, then re-examine your heart, seek counsel from a solid Christian leader. Pray, Pray, Pray then Listen, meditate upon His Word that is how He talks to us. “Dear Precious Father, Thank You for giving fallen man the opportunity to be restored to fellowship with You through Your Dear Son. Lord, we understand that we are to take up our cross and follow you, in effect running the Race that Paul referred to in his letters. Help us Lord to submit ourselves to Your will, leaning not on our own understanding, but yielding to your Wisdom and Sovereignty willingly, selflessly, and all the while recognizing our subordinate state to You and the Father. Too often Father, I find myself trying to crawl back into the Pilot seat when things are going well. Fill me with the Spirit Father to overflowing, sensing your presence, and yielding my will to Your authority as a Loving child that wishes to please my Father. Touch the hearts of the dear folks that read this work, give them the encouragement and strength needed to run the race for You Father. In all things we bring to You, and all things that You show us and bless us with, let us always be mindful to give You the Honor, the Praise and the Glory for. We offer this prayer to You through Your Precious Son Jesus Christ, Amen.”

Two Judgments! Which do you plan to attend? ©

Two Judgments! The Great White Throne & the Bema Seat... Which do you plan to attend?

(A followup to last weeks Blog - Retirement Plan)

You would be surprised at the number of Christians that get this weird look on their face when you pose this question. My Grandfather taught me this since I was old enough to understand the Gospel. I have used it as an intro to folks that were inquisitive into my faith and why I am the way I am. From time to time at work I am in other co-workers offices for a meeting, a morning greeting or an infrequent social call. Too many times to comment on, I have walked out of a room in the middle of an off color joke or slanted Christian judgment from someone that ask too many questions and didn’t like direction the answers were going. For the most part my co-workers understand my low tolerance for the profane and immoral conversation and do not conduct such activities in my presence. But, the one thing that gets me in a pickle the most is my intolerance of a professing Christian taking Christ’s name in vain. I cannot and will never tolerate that behavior, from a person incapable of articulating the English language without taking our precious Lord’s name. My very soul shutters in those rare moments, I become angry and agitated. Where is the reverence, where is the sense of humility in uttering His name. How can people express their acceptance of His gift and then curse using His name in a foul, vulgar or heated angry setting? My favorite come back has been, “you claim to know Him personally, yet you take His name in vain, you better be careful, or the next time you utter that name you may be staring Him in the Face”! Yep, two judgments – one for those that truly know Him and the sacrifice He made willingly for us. One for those that have deceived themselves into thinking they know the way and keep on marching to the worlds drum. The Great White Thrown Judgment where every man not covered under the blood of Christ will stand before God and give an account for his or her life. Standing alone before the Almighty Creator, with no excuse, no righteousness to stand in before He that is forever Righteous. Not accepting Christ's perfect sacrifice, they will stand before God with no redemption. They will then finally bend their knee by force, and acknowledge He and His Son as Rulers of Eternity. In the end, those men and women will hear him command that they depart from Him. , and enter into eternal damnation.

Those of us that bent our knees and bowed our hearts before Him in this lifetime will face a different outcome. For we that accepted His selfless plan of salvation, truly repented of our sinful ways and turned around to follow Him will see the light of the Bema Seat! If we are growing in His Love and in His Word this is not a judgment to worry or fear. For this light will separate those works in our life that were done for His Glory, from the ones we did for our own glory or gratification. If we want the reward now, it’s only now that you will get it. If you give Him the praise and glory, that reward will follow you through eternity. I still battle daily with pride, but my heart is in the right frame, and He is constantly giving me new chances to improve. Dear precious Father, thank you for the daily reminders to seek your will and exercise humility. Keep me on the straight and narrow path, and I will gladly accept the spiritual scolding when I stray. Help me Father work my faith out giving you and your son all the glory and praise through this sanctification process. The jewels in the crown I may earn, I willingly, lovingly and reverently offer them to you on that day. Amen.

Lessons learned on this Journey with Christ ©

I have tried to help people see God’s influence on my heart, and the constant and total change in my way of thinking. A change that was deliberate and supervised by the Holy Spirit through this long track. All the while learning more about my selfish past and the path of destruction I was on due to a non-obedient attitude and lifestyle. Everyday I learn more about this new path I am on, and the constant desire to seek His face and His approval in everything I do. Why He chose me to be among His children will constantly amaze me and test me all the days of this life. So undeserving, and unfit to call His name, let alone to carry with me everywhere I go is so humbling that sometimes it becomes overwhelming. His blessings abound, His love forever filling, His peace touches the heart when all seems in disarray – His still small voice of the Holy Spirit comforts when I need it most. He is my Best Friend, He knows me best, and He alone I am learning to bow, yield and submit my will to. An unbelievable tale if I had heard it anywhere else. The warring of the Spirit is never done, while I still deal with the flesh and its short comings, I live for the Blessed Hope that is in the first fruits of His resurrection and the change that will take place. No longer will the battle wear on this fallen man, I will finally shed these old war torn clothes of unrighteousness. No longer will I need to stand before God wrapped in His Son’s righteousness – I will then wear my robes of white standing with His Son with the completed gift of righteousness paid for by my Dear, Precious and Blessed Lord Jesus – the Christ of eternity. He has used the people He has placed in my path to teach me and wear away at all those rough spots that I am constantly reminded of. The work in each of us is never done, He is constantly working in our hearts to show us His way, if we yield and submit to His will. Seek His Face! Watch and wait for His return, while running the race to win! Don’t just brush up against those lost souls around you, share the Good News. Let His heart be your heart, love them all, share – He’ll do the rest.