Memorial Day Thank you

Man what a long day! We celebrated Memorial Day with both sides of our family today and absolutely ate too much (almost to the point of sinning).

 I wanted to say a special Thank You to our Veterans that served for our freedom and also a special Thank You to all of the men and women that are presently serving for our freedom. Freedom didn't come free, it comes because of you!

Memorial Day

I want to take this opportunity and express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the Veterans that lost their lives, to all the Veterans that are still with us today, and all the men and women that are still on the battle field and training field's or other locations that serve for my freedom and the freedom of our country! I have a cousin presently serving and have some other family members that have served as well. To you I say THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU!

Let's pause this Memorial Day weekend and celebrate our men and women of the armed forces that have sacrificed for us!

Nourishment & Refreshment

"The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place." Mark 6: 30-32 (niv)

As I was reading this passage of scripture this morning, I noticed that before the event of feeding the five thousand could happen, Jesus encouraged the disciples to get some much needed rest and nourishment. They had a physically demanding responsibility lying ahead of them and with all that they had already done, they were not in "shape" to press on. So, they went with Jesus, to a solitary place. They had a job at hand, but needed some quiet time, in a quiet place where they could have fellowship and be nourished and refreshed!

How are we when it comes to being nourished and refreshed? I take this passage this morning and call it to be for me, as to my needing to be refreshed in Spirit, to get alone with God and allow Him to nourish me and feed me! Webster's dictionary defines nourish as - to provide with food or other nutriment necessary for life and growth; to foster the development of; to keep alive: maintain.

It is of great importance, that I allow God to nourish me for the necessity of life and growth in this Christian walk. Life eternal and growth in the Spirit. We must allow God to foster the development of our Christian lives with some "solitary place time." We must allow ourselves and put ourselves in a position to be maintained through the power of the Holy Spirit for the nourishment of the power of God. We have a physically and Spiritually demanding responsibility before us to live our lives as vessels for the Kingdom of God and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Are you getting the refreshing nourishment that you need to do your part?

Middle School Graduation

My little girl is growing up! Bailey graduated top of her 8th grade class! We are so very proud of her and was very proud that she gave credit and thanks to God for her achievements in school during her address to the class of 2010. I've prayed for God to have "favor" over my children and this is just an example of God's goodness. NOW I HAVE TO PRAY HARDER - SHE WILL BE A FRESHMAN NEXT YEAR!

Mindful of Him

Have you ever been talking with someone about Salvation and they make a comment like this one, "I can't seem to forget all the things that I've done wrong" or "I feel in my heart that something has changed, but in my mind I can't seem to forgive myself." As I was reading the first chapter of Colossians this morning, I was drawn to verses 21 & 22 "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - "

Paul says that we have the assurance, through Jesus Christ, that we are NO LONGER ALIENATED from God. When I look at the word, alienated, I automatically think of "outerspace", "the far-side", "a great distance away", etc... Once we WERE, as sinners, a long way from God and distanced from God, but through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the resurrection of His body, we have been made "heirs" with Christ and have the presence of God IN US!

I think a lot of Christians today fight the "battle of the mind" and allow the devil to trick them into believing that they are not forgiven. The battle of Salvation has already been won through Jesus, all we have to do is believe that He was and IS and is to come! I preached Sunday morning on Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Whatever circumstance you may be going through today, Jesus is the WAY. Don't let your "mind" tell you any different. A lot of the times we let the struggle in our minds dictate our lives, but the bible says that we are to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God in spiritual acts of worship and to not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by renewing our minds" (Romans 12: 1,2). We can win the battle in our minds by letting God transform us from the inside - out! I have come to know that when I am "mindful" of God's ways, my struggle with temptation, bad attitude, fleshly motives, etc... decrease because I believe what Paul said to the church at Ephesus, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" Ephesians 4: 22-24)

Let's strive to have the "mind of Christ" each day and to live a life that is pleasing to God. Remember, that Jesus paid our sin debt and all we have to do is receive and accept. Our minds may remember "the evil behavior" but God has forgotten our sins and given us a renewed life in Him! May God Bless you today!

Change in Existence

It's amazing to me that when a change is made in like say, changing teachers, change of curriculum, the use of new technology to benefit in and help enhance the way we teach and learn, etc... or just make a change in general, that you find some people actually make a "CHANGE IN EXISTENCE" ... GO FIGURE!

We've got to keep up with the times as we keep the SAME MESSAGE!

Shall NOT Perish

"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 (niv)

On Wednesday nights for the past 5 weeks we have been going through Max Lucado's book "3:16 The Numbers of Hope" and we have been looking at how our hearts and minds have been distorted from a worldly view of things and how God has given us a remedy for our "aldulterated" hearts, the giving of His one and only Son, Jesus.

One of this weeks devotions from the series is "Shall ... Perish". I want to share a little of that devotion with you today and let you know that we need to be a witness of Christ because there is a lost and dying world to be won for Christ. Max says this:

"The hero of heaven is God. Angels don't worship mansions or glittering avenues. Neither gates nor jewels prompt the hosts to sing...God does. His majesty stirs the pen of heaven's poets and the awe of her citizens. Inhabitants of heaven forever marvel at the sins God forgives, the promises He keeps, the plan He executes. He, at this very moment, issues invitations by the millions. He whispers through the kindness of a grandparent, shouts through the tempest of a tsunami. Through the funeral He cautions, "Life is fragile." Through a sickness He reminds, "Days are numbered." God may speak through nature or nurture, majesty or mishap. But through all and to all He invites, "Come, enjoy Me forever."

Revelation 22:17 says, "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."

It's our job as Christians, to seek out those that are lost and tell them of this free gift, Jesus Christ! Will you be a witness today? Will you heed the call of discipleship? Life is fragile, let's show people how to live life with a life of abundance in Jesus! God bless you today.