I did something yesterday that I have never done before in my life! I went to Books-a-million and bought Jentezen Franklin's book "Fasting" and started at 3:30pm reading NINE (9) chapters before putting it down and then I finished the other 8 chapters this morning! I couldn't put it down! I have never read a book, cover to cover, in less than 24 hours!! For that matter, I can't remember ever reading a book cover to cover in less than 24 months! Ha! Oh yeah, I did read "Primal" cover to cover just a few weeks ago (i forgot), "am I turning into a book nerd?" If it glorifies God in my life, it's ok to be a book nerd! Anyway...
One of Jentezen's first comments in his book is this, "When I feel myself growing dry spiritually, when I don't sense that cutting-edge anointing, or when I need a fresh encounter with God, fasting is the secret key that unlocks heaven's door and slams shut the gates of hell." Do you ever feel like you are drained spiritually and your anointing seems to be fading away? I've been in that feeling before and the enemy will try to make mountains out of mole hills when you feel this way. As previously blogged, I have challenged my congregation to join me in a 21 day fast for the new year beginning this Friday at midnight. I'm ramped up and ready to go!
As we begin a new year, I want God's anointing to be "in high definition" in my life so that the "gospel of Jesus Christ can be spread abroad" to a lost and dying world. I'm seeking direction in my ministry as well as for Kempville Chapel. "Lord, what is your will for your people for 2010?" Let's have this question in our hearts and minds as we begin another great year of our Lord!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Understanding
My devotion this morning came from Ephesians 5:1,2 "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." As you read on in this chapter it explains how to be an imitator of God, verse 17 says to "Understand what the will of the Lord is". How do we do this? Prayer and fasting! How do we communicate and cultivate the will of God in our lives? Prayer and fasting!
I Thessalonians 4:3 says "It is God's will that you should be sanctified". A little bit about sanctification for a moment...We were at mom and dad's for Christmas Sunday afternoon and the subject of smoking came up and my mom told us how she stopped smoking ... she said, "You know when I stopped smoking? When I got sanctified!" You see sanctification will allow us to live a holy life before the Lord because it causes us to not want to do the things that we used to do and that are sinful! Verse 4 goes on to say "that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God...". Verse 7 says "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." If we are to understand the will of God in our lives we have to be sanctified, we have to live pure, holy lives before Him. How do we do this ... through prayer and fasting!
Why should I fast? So that "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ... give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might" Ephesians 1:17-19. In other words, "to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him - endless energy, boundless strength!" (message)
In my prayer this morning I asked the Lord to sanctify me! All of me! Yes I did this a long time ago too, but I believe that you can't out ask God! Do you need to "understand the will of God in your life"? Talk to Him!
I Thessalonians 4:3 says "It is God's will that you should be sanctified". A little bit about sanctification for a moment...We were at mom and dad's for Christmas Sunday afternoon and the subject of smoking came up and my mom told us how she stopped smoking ... she said, "You know when I stopped smoking? When I got sanctified!" You see sanctification will allow us to live a holy life before the Lord because it causes us to not want to do the things that we used to do and that are sinful! Verse 4 goes on to say "that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God...". Verse 7 says "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." If we are to understand the will of God in our lives we have to be sanctified, we have to live pure, holy lives before Him. How do we do this ... through prayer and fasting!
Why should I fast? So that "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ... give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might" Ephesians 1:17-19. In other words, "to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him - endless energy, boundless strength!" (message)
In my prayer this morning I asked the Lord to sanctify me! All of me! Yes I did this a long time ago too, but I believe that you can't out ask God! Do you need to "understand the will of God in your life"? Talk to Him!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Weekend Reflections
Yesterday morning's service at Kempville Chapel was somewhat of a mellow sitting, if you will. It seemed like the hype, excitement and adrenaline from Christmas was settling. Our attendance was down quite a bit (other churches reported low attendance as well) due to sickness and holiday stuff but nevertheless we carried on with the Lord's work.
The Lord has challenged me to do a 21 day fast (Daniel fast/partial fast) beginning Jan. 1. I shared this with the congregation yesterday morning and challenged all that were there to join me in fasting and prayer. I shared about what God is calling me to fast for and one of those is direction. I feel the Lord is calling me to seek His will and direction, not mine! He is calling me to seek His salvation for lost people. We're not seeing people SAVED and that's a problem!!! He is calling me to seek a greater desire for Him, a desire for people and a desire to know what will bring people to Him! We have a message to bring to people and sometimes the methods need to change to reach them! Are we in the right direction or does our direction need to change?
We need to seek God for direction in our personal lives as well as the direction of the "church". Have we let "desires for other things" choke our purpose of being Christians? Food for thought!
The Lord has challenged me to do a 21 day fast (Daniel fast/partial fast) beginning Jan. 1. I shared this with the congregation yesterday morning and challenged all that were there to join me in fasting and prayer. I shared about what God is calling me to fast for and one of those is direction. I feel the Lord is calling me to seek His will and direction, not mine! He is calling me to seek His salvation for lost people. We're not seeing people SAVED and that's a problem!!! He is calling me to seek a greater desire for Him, a desire for people and a desire to know what will bring people to Him! We have a message to bring to people and sometimes the methods need to change to reach them! Are we in the right direction or does our direction need to change?
We need to seek God for direction in our personal lives as well as the direction of the "church". Have we let "desires for other things" choke our purpose of being Christians? Food for thought!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
You are thought of
Hope everyone had a great Christmas with your families and hope that "Santa" brought everything that you wanted. It's always a good feeling when you know that you have given to others and they are "happy" because they know that they were thought of. It's good to know that we are thought of from time to time!
I'm glad that God thought of me from the very beginning just like the Bible says in Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee", and also Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end". God thought of us even before we existed! That's awesome to know and awesome to realize, that we serve an Almighty God that loves us and cares for us and wants us to have everything that makes us happy, but we must want Him in order to be happy!!
Be blessed today and don't eat too many leftovers!
I'm glad that God thought of me from the very beginning just like the Bible says in Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee", and also Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end". God thought of us even before we existed! That's awesome to know and awesome to realize, that we serve an Almighty God that loves us and cares for us and wants us to have everything that makes us happy, but we must want Him in order to be happy!!
Be blessed today and don't eat too many leftovers!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas
I want to take this opportunity and tell everyone that I appreciate you reading this blog for whatever reason you get out of it. Hopefully it has been a blessing to you, a since of humor to you, or whatever it is to you. I hope to continue it after the Holidays and seek God's direction and thoughts so I can share with you daily!
I wish you all the very blessed Merry Christmas that you can have and don't forget to thank God for the Christ Child that came to save you from sin!
I wish you all the very blessed Merry Christmas that you can have and don't forget to thank God for the Christ Child that came to save you from sin!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Baby Jesus
"Seeing was believing." Luke 2:17 (MSG) As I read the Christmas story again today I thought about the Shepards when they came to the manger to see the baby Jesus. An angel had come to them in the field and spoke about their Savior being born. I wonder what went through their minds when they saw the angel appear to them? Do you think they may have thought they had been out in the field to long and were now seeing things and hearing things? They acted on the Word of God! Is that not what the angel was speaking to them, the Word of God? Notice what they did, they went straight to the manger to see for themselves this baby Jesus. Does the bible not say that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17). I believe that the Shepards were acting in faith by going to see this thing that they had heard. Can you imagine what they must have felt to see the "Savior" face to face!
Do you remember looking at your baby's or someone else's baby's hands and feet and noticing the size and wonder of God's creation? I wonder what was going through the mind of Mary when she looked at Jesus' hands and feet for the first time. Do you think that she was concerned about him being healthy with ten fingers and ten toes (like we do our own) or do you think for that moment she was trying to figure out how it was all going to play out with him being the Savior of the world? That must have been a great weight upon the mind of Mary knowing that someday those little hands and little feet would change and be a great testament to men, women and children of the world. Those little hands and feet grew so that they could withstand the weight of Jesus as he carried the weight of sin for the world. That makes the manger scene more special to me when I think about it in that manner.
To borrow a phrase from our Christmas play at Kempville: Don't miss the manger!
Do you remember looking at your baby's or someone else's baby's hands and feet and noticing the size and wonder of God's creation? I wonder what was going through the mind of Mary when she looked at Jesus' hands and feet for the first time. Do you think that she was concerned about him being healthy with ten fingers and ten toes (like we do our own) or do you think for that moment she was trying to figure out how it was all going to play out with him being the Savior of the world? That must have been a great weight upon the mind of Mary knowing that someday those little hands and little feet would change and be a great testament to men, women and children of the world. Those little hands and feet grew so that they could withstand the weight of Jesus as he carried the weight of sin for the world. That makes the manger scene more special to me when I think about it in that manner.
To borrow a phrase from our Christmas play at Kempville: Don't miss the manger!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Primal
"Primal - A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity" is the title of a book that I finished reading last night (by the way it feels good to finally finish a book without picking another one up). The author of this book is Mark Batterson which is also the author of two other books, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase (which I will be purchasing and reading both of them). Mark is the Pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC and lives on Capital Hill with his wife and three children.
I was searching some blogs one day and I came across Mark's blog and noticed his layout (I have a link to it on my blog) and it caught my eye and I began to read some of his postings and was intrigued by what he was writing and so I began to be a frequent reader of his blog. One day I read his blog and he was introducing a brand new book by the name of Primal. It caught my attention as well. Long story short, I received a copy of his book from his publishers and read every page and was fascinated by it and I would like to share a little from his book.
The title in itself is eye catching, Primal-A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity, and it is based on the scripture "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) He asked the question to the reader, "Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God?" This really spoke to me because it was a question that really seemed to not come from Mark, but from God through Mark to me personally. I have to admit I needed this question to be asked to me and if I hadn't read another sentence in his book, God was already convicting me on my heart, soul, mind, and strength condition! Right after this question in the book is this statement: "If it doesn't, you need to repent". And so I did!
I could write all day long about this book but you would never look at this blog again, but I do want to tell you some of the high points, or at least I think they are, and cause you to want this book to be the first one you read for the new year.
Mark says that the quest begins with rediscovery, but it ends with reimagination. This is totally true and after you read this book and listen to what God is telling YOU, you will agree with Mark. Our love for God is of most importance. He says that it's a reimagination of the four primal elements detailed by Jesus in the Great Commandment: The heart of Christianity is primal compassion, the soul of Christianity is primal wonder, the mind of Christianity is primal curiosity, and the strength of Christianity is primal energy. The author makes a statement that caused me to look at the love meter that I have for God, he said, "It's not about what you can do for God; it's about what God has done for you." Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. The most primal form of love is not doing things for God. It is receiving with gratitude what He has already done for us. And then reflecting it in our lives! One of the last things that Mark says in his book is this and it's true; "In its purest, most primal form, loving God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength is loving God for God. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else."
This book, and the Spirit of God within me, have shown me that my heart doesn't break enough for the things that break the heart of God and that my wonder of God's creation and his HAND, his TOUCH is not what it needs to be. I could go on and on about the book, but this might be one that you can only be impacted on by reading it for yourself. You can purchase this book and more at RandomHouse.com, so go out before the end of the year and buy this book and let it be the first you read, after your daily devotion with the Word, and let it change your mind, heart, soul, and actions!
I was searching some blogs one day and I came across Mark's blog and noticed his layout (I have a link to it on my blog) and it caught my eye and I began to read some of his postings and was intrigued by what he was writing and so I began to be a frequent reader of his blog. One day I read his blog and he was introducing a brand new book by the name of Primal. It caught my attention as well. Long story short, I received a copy of his book from his publishers and read every page and was fascinated by it and I would like to share a little from his book.
The title in itself is eye catching, Primal-A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity, and it is based on the scripture "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) He asked the question to the reader, "Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God?" This really spoke to me because it was a question that really seemed to not come from Mark, but from God through Mark to me personally. I have to admit I needed this question to be asked to me and if I hadn't read another sentence in his book, God was already convicting me on my heart, soul, mind, and strength condition! Right after this question in the book is this statement: "If it doesn't, you need to repent". And so I did!
I could write all day long about this book but you would never look at this blog again, but I do want to tell you some of the high points, or at least I think they are, and cause you to want this book to be the first one you read for the new year.
Mark says that the quest begins with rediscovery, but it ends with reimagination. This is totally true and after you read this book and listen to what God is telling YOU, you will agree with Mark. Our love for God is of most importance. He says that it's a reimagination of the four primal elements detailed by Jesus in the Great Commandment: The heart of Christianity is primal compassion, the soul of Christianity is primal wonder, the mind of Christianity is primal curiosity, and the strength of Christianity is primal energy. The author makes a statement that caused me to look at the love meter that I have for God, he said, "It's not about what you can do for God; it's about what God has done for you." Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. The most primal form of love is not doing things for God. It is receiving with gratitude what He has already done for us. And then reflecting it in our lives! One of the last things that Mark says in his book is this and it's true; "In its purest, most primal form, loving God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength is loving God for God. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else."
This book, and the Spirit of God within me, have shown me that my heart doesn't break enough for the things that break the heart of God and that my wonder of God's creation and his HAND, his TOUCH is not what it needs to be. I could go on and on about the book, but this might be one that you can only be impacted on by reading it for yourself. You can purchase this book and more at RandomHouse.com, so go out before the end of the year and buy this book and let it be the first you read, after your daily devotion with the Word, and let it change your mind, heart, soul, and actions!
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