Looking in the Rearview Mirror.........

Hello everyone! We had a great day yesterday. I was able to go to the nursing home and share the gospel. Then spent the evening with the family. Last Sunday I was talking to a young man and he told me his past is keeping him from being the man he knows God wants him to be. We all have pasts. Probably things we are not proud of. I have a question for you. Do you have things in your past keeping you from being all you can be for God? Are you always looking in the rearview mirror and see all those sins following you? First, if you are born again, asked Jesus into your heart, and to forgive you of your sins. Then they are gone. But, guess what the devil can bring them up to make you doubt yourself or keep you from spreading your wings as a Christian. I want us to dig into some of the good stuff. Let's see what the Bible says about this.

Bible Verse: 1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

I read this story and thought of myself. God calling me to preach His gospel was a big surprise to many. Most of all me! It has been an awesome and hard journey. But, I wouldn't change one minute of all that has happened. Well this young preacher was called out of a life of sin to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. While in the pulpit one day, he received a note in which someone had written all his past sins. In addition it read, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? And you're up there telling people to get right with God!" Do you know what the young preacher did? He read that note, bowed his head in prayer, stood up and said, "Ladies and gentleman I have received a note, and here is what it says." Then, in front of that whole crowd, he read every one of those sins. Then he said this: "Yes, I am ashamed of myself, but I am not ashamed of my Savior!"

Guy's if you are a born again Christian then you are covered by the blood of Jesus. You are washed white as snow. What are some past sins in your life that are holding you back from fully proclaiming God's power to others? Confess them,bury them and don't pick them back up. God forgives. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless.

The Cross.........

Good morning friends! We had a great night at church last night. We announced the upcoming Crusade for Christ. I will have details to follow. Today, I am again going to talk about the cross. I want you to stop reading this and draw a cross on whatever is in front of you. Now, what does that mean to you? Do give me the holy answer. Give me exactly what it means to you. We seem to have lost the true meaning of the cross. Or maybe not lost just have been de-sensitized toward the cross. We wear them, see them, even draw them and don't think about what the cross means. Let's dig into some more of the good stuff.

Matthew 10:39 "He who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me."

We must shout out and be proud of that old rugged cross that Jesus died on for us! The cross symbolizes so much.The crosses wood is not holy but it does represent a truly Holy event, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on a cross! The cross is a dramatic symbol of that event. A large cross being carried makes a profound and unforgettable impact on the mind of the person who sees it. That person years later still remembers when and where they saw the cross being carried. I remember 10 years ago I saw a man carrying a cross through Harriman and I have never forgot it. It was a symbol that was burnt into my mind.

In the Bible, symbols are very important in both the new and old Testaments. The Passover and other events are full of symbols. In the New Testament, the Bread and Wine represent the Body and Blood of Jesus. Baptism and foot washing are other symbols used by believers. In the same way the 'cross' conveys a profound message when it is seen outside the 'normal' place. Out on the road it shakes a person who may have even worn a cross for years around their neck. A person who goes to church sees so many crosses they no longer make an impact, but let the same person leave church and see a person caring a cross and they are shaken. That is what I am trying to show you. The cross should make an impact on your life. We should tie on mind to the cross and what was done on that old rugged cross for us. Let re-focus on the true cross and what it should mean to us. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless.

Pick em' up......

Good morning everyone! I hope today's message finds you with a smile on your face. Life is too short not to make lemonade out of lemons. So, stop and practice smiling. I know some of you probably haven't done this in awhile so be careful. Don't pull or break anything..........Ok! Now that we have that out of the way. I want to share a part of why we are being called to start a Crusade in our area. Let's dig into some of the good stuff.

Bible Verse: Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said unto His disciples, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."

What does this really say to you? Are we supposed to carry our cross to be crucified? Well, back in the day when Jesus walked on this world. Crucifixion was a common method of execution, and condemned criminals had to carry their crosses through the streets to the execution site. So, everyone they passed knew they were a criminal and where they were heading. So, by following Jesus you must have commitment and back then risk death. Even now in some parts of this world people risk death to follow Jesus. Would you follow Him if it meant your life might be taken because of it? That you might be a martyr. We should be willing to die to ourselves and pick up our crosses daily. Matthew 10:39 say's "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Does that necessarily say you must die. I think it can be that the old you dies and you find new life by following Jesus. The more you love all the stuff in your life the less you will love Jesus. But, the more you love Jesus the less you will love all the "things" in your life. You can have no greater gift than eternal life. Why is it so hard to follow Jesus. I don't know if it is. I think when do start to follow Him. It might just simplify our lives. I am not saying you have to go back to making your own clothes and riding a horse to work. I think it simplifies things by making all the "stuff" not matter as much. The plasma TV's, fancy cars, $100.00 pair of jeans, etc. It makes us a better person. We start to care more about others. We start to care more about who we really are. Not the outside, but the inside. Pretty much our values and decisions change.

I want to ask you a question today. Are you a follower of Jesus? Are you really? Do you carry your cross? Are you proud to carry it? No matter who you are around? Or, do you only carry it around a certain group of friends but, not others? Be real today. We must deny ourselves, our pride, our minds, and what some might think about us. If they are your real friends then they will be proud of you and happy for you. So, I ask you are you proud to be a Christian? It is time that you stand on solid ground and declare for once that you are not ashamed but proud to bear the name Christian. It is time we get to pickin' em' up, our crosses that is. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless

Fire of Affliction........

Good day friends! I hope this finds everyone having a great day. I have to share my heart with you today. Lately, my family and I have faced some trials. It seems that the devil has been trying his best to knock us down. I know that God has allowed a lot of these things to happen. See, God will not let more happen to us than we can handle. Do you know what happens to steel when fire is put to it? When steel is forged. It is purified and made stronger. Which leads me to todays Bible verse. Let's dig into some of God's good stuff.

Bible Verse: Romans 8:18 - "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

God wants to build spiritual steel and rock-solid faith into you. And the way He will do this is through the fires of affliction. Why? To test you. The faith that can't be tested, can't be trusted. The times I have grown the most were not when everything was going fine. The times when we go through sorrow, pressure, loss, sickness, and trouble are the growing pains of our lives with Christ. Isn't that true? I read this and wish I knew who wrote it, "I walked a mile with pleasure. She chatted all the way. But left me none the wiser, for all she had to say. I walked a mile with sorrow and not a word said she. But oh, the things I learned from her, when sorrow walked with me." Don't you get it. We should even be thankful for the hard times. They will make us stronger. How do I know? Because the Bible tells me so!

Are you in the fire of affliction? Trust that He will see you through and make you stronger when the test is over. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!

Windows to the Soul..........

Good morning friends! We had a great night at youth last night. I wanted to share with you a bit of my sermon. I think it applies to all of us. I hope this message finds you have a good day so far. Well, let's dig into some of the good stuff.

Bible verse: Proverbs 11:22 As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

What makes a person hot? Or beautiful? Think about that for a second. Is what you think makes a person hot/beautiful what society thinks? Who formed or created these ideas? Is it the media, TV, magazines, billboards, etc.? How much are people judged by these standards? Are you judged by these standards? Do you judge by these standards? Why or why not? Are these standards healthy to live by? Now, I am going to ask you a tough one. What would God think about these standards?What is the average person more concerned about the outer appearance or the inner appearance? That's kind of an easy one. Almost every person that I talk to if they are honest. It is the outer appearance. So, let's look at the Bible verse in proverbs 11:22 As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, First of all back in the day the people who compiled these proverbs were Hebrew and swine or pigs were considered unclean animals. So, putting a jewel of gold or gold ring in a pigs snout was pretty much a waste or just plain dumb!

Look around at a lot of the people that society thinks are hot/beautiful. Some of these people are drop dead gorgeous on the outside, but plumb ugly on the inside. Like they fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch. We so often don't look past the surface. Some may not match the outside. Physical beauty with out character will wear out after awhile. It is not bad to take care of your body and care about what you look like but, it should not be at the expense of your inner self. Let's look at Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:against such there is no law." Guy's, what produces these traits? It is the Holy Spirit. These are the traits found in Jesus. So, if we want these traits in our lives, we must join our lives to Christ and be more Christlike everyday. Have you ever thought which one of these traits you would like to have the most?

I am closing today with this. People and society in general are consumed with outer beauty. But, the bottom line is that God is only looking at your heart because this body of ours is only a shell that we have for a short period. Who you are will last forever! God wants you to invest in your inner beauty.Maybe that is spending more time with Him in Him Word. Maybe you need to improve a friendship. Maybe even volunteer or spend some extra time helping someone in need, Have a great day, I love you and God bless!

Our Minds.........

Hello friends, I hope this post finds everyone having a great day. We are going to be having a Youth Leader Fellowship night at our house today and My wife and I are really looking forward to it! The Lord laid the thought of our minds on me and this is what I have found so far in my studying. What comes in always seems to find its way out. So, let's dig into some of the good stuff!

Bible verse: Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.

Jesus taught a lot about inner purity and attitude. He taught that what comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's minds, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'

An evil action begins when we have a single thought. When we see something or just let our minds linger on a thought of lust, hatred, or maybe revenge. That lingering can and will probably lead to sin. We should turn and flee from those thoughts as fast as we can. Our attitudes have a lot to do with our thoughts. If your attitude is wholesome and loving and you don't focus on evil things. I believe those thoughts will not be in our minds as much. If we can replace the evilness with the things Paul wrote about in Philippians. In Philippians 4:8 Paul said "finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- If anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."

I really think if we flood our minds with such good things, how can the bad thoughts get in. What we put in, is what we will get out. What we watch on TV, read in magazines, read in books, or talk about. those are the thoughts we put in our minds. We have to focus our minds on God and pray to him that to help us to keep our minds on what is good and pure. This is hard sometimes, but with God all things are possible. Stay strong and God Bless.

Sword of the Spirit.......

I spoke to a friend last night and the subject came up about people not saying what they should because they were worried that people would look down on them. I think if you pray about something and you know what should be done then you go forward. I pray as a pastor that I never sugar coat God's Word or my moral's due to fear of how it will be taken. I must preach His Word with authority and keep my sword sharp! Check this verse out and I hope it sheds some light.

Bible verse: Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword".

Have you ever thought about conflict? Do you have conflict with people? Let's ask ourselves a question. Is the conflict or maybe disagreement between a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ and a someone who is not a follower? Listen, there is going to be hard times and conflict between believers and non-believers. There are also going to be the same type of problems between those who are walking with God and those who have fallen away from God. There is one thing we have to remember is that we can look forward to never having conflict one day.

I heard a story that I love and would like to pass it on. There was a pulpit committee that was looking for a pastor. This pastor from another church that they greatly respected told them "I know just the guy for your church. He is a fantastic preacher and has a fiery evangelistic spirit, but he has some health problems and he's kind of old." He continued, "He's also been in jail several times." They committee began to look at one another and say " I don't think this man would be right for us or our church." Well, this pastor looked at them smiled and said "Well, don't worry you couldn't get him anyway. He's already in heaven, and his name is Paul." We shouldn't want a guy who can rub shoulders with the people of this world and not rub any salt in their wounds. It has once been said "Where there is no offense, there is no effect." Have you ever thought of the type of pastor that would best help you grow as a Christian? Is it good to gloss over problems or to bring light to them and a possible solution? We can't be worried about stepping on toes every now and then. We have to ask ourselves what would God have us do? Then we have to do it. Jesus didn't come to this world to sugar coat things. He came to this world with a sword in His hand. That sword is the Word of God, the sword of spirit. Can you do me a favor? Please pray for them men that are in the pulpits or are preaching Gods word that they would not water down God's Word. That they would be strong and tell everyone of it's power. Please say a prayer for them today and everyday. God bless and I love you.

Unity or Bust........

Hello friends! I hope you are having a great day so far. Well, the snow is melting. I am home with my cool son and it looks to be a beautiful day for us to enjoy. I am going to write about a problem I think our country is faced with. It start's in our homes, goes into our churches, then to our work places. All throughout our daily lives we are faced with the lack of unity. So, let's look at God's word for some answers.

Bible verse: John 17:21 "That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me."

I sat back and asked myself how powerful are we alone? Not very. What is a chain with only one link? Look at a football team. What if the quarterback and maybe a wide receiver or two came on the field to go against the defense. Do you think they could pull it off? Have you ever thought about our countries name? United States. How powerful would our country be with only one or two states? We are powerful when we are united. Hey guy's, God's desire for all of His disciples is to be united and become one. Unification would be such a powerful witness. I sat back and asked myself what I was doing to unify my home, my church, and even my friends. Could I do more? Have you asked yourself what you are doing to be unity to your church and home? We can do so many things. We can pray for our fellow Christians. We can avoid gossip. We can build up and not break down. We can work with each other with humility. And the biggest one of all, We refuse to be divided or get off the path of unity and refuse to argue. We unite. We have to be one with God and one with each other. Let's pray for unity for our homes, churches, and also our country. God bless and I love you.