He can handle it...........

Good morning everyone. We had a great night last night. Misty, Joslyn, and I went to Disney on Ice (Princess addition) last night. I have to say it was pretty good. If your into that kind of thing. Joslyn really enjoyed herself. I have received numerous emails over the last few day of people in some pretty hard situations. My question is where is our gaze? Where are we looking for help? Let's see what the good stuff says and dig in..........

Bible Verse: Psalm 89:1 - "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations."

Really what does it mean to "look to Jesus" to have all of our needs met? alright check this out, let's say I borrow $10,000 from Dan, a friend of mine, but then I realize that I can't pay it back. Dan is on to me and says, "If you don't pay it back, I'm going to foreclose on you." So I go over to another friend, Tom, and tell him about my really bad situation and ask for his help. Tom says, "That's alright, Tony, look to me." Did you see that he didn't say, "Look at me." He said, "Look to me." Kind of like, "I'll handle it." This is what the Bible means when it says "look unto Jesus." It means look to Him for whatever you need. Do you look to Jesus for your needs? Or are you big enough to handle it on your own? Who is looking to you to have their needs met today? Are you, then, looking to God or are you trying to do it on your own? We may think we can handle it all and might even be able to sometimes. But, why not let Jesus carry the load. He wants to. He is eager to! Jesus can handle it.....Promise! Have a great day, I love you, and God bless.

The dam is holding for now........

Hello everyone! We had a great leader/chaperone meeting for the SWAT (Spiritual Warfare And Tactics) Youth Retreat last night. It was awesome to see a group of adult that love these young people so much. We have 72 going on the retreat! Yea God!!! Our largest group so far. Going to be awesome. I want to talk about the same subject from yesterday. The second coming of Jesus. let's dig into the good stuff.......

Bible Verse: 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

I have had some people ask me why Jesus hasn't come back yet. Have you ever wondered why? I'll tell you why I think and what I believe the scripture says: because our Lord is waiting on people to be saved. He's waiting on your family member, your neighbor, your co-worker, or maybe you, but one of these days soon, and very soon I believe, Jesus will come. You see, it is God's mercy that holds back the Second Coming of Jesus, but God's justice and judgment require that one day He will come. Even now, the raging waters of God's wrath are furiously pounding against the dam of His mercy. With the way things are going in the world. But, this is nothing new for God. He has been dealing with an ungodly people since Adam and Eve. He so wants us to come to Him before the dam of His mercy gives way to His judgment, and that day He will come back. We have good news our Lord is coming! Does this make your heart beat faster because you anticipate His coming or dread His coming? How is your walk? Is there anything you need to take care of? If you knew Jesus was coming back Friday at noon. What would you do? Who would you take to? Would you share Jesus more until Friday? Would you love more? Would you pray more? We don't we pretend it's Friday and keep pretending it's the next Friday. Watch what happens in our lives. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless. Talk to ya Friday????

What time are you picking me up??????????

We had a great night at youth Sunday night. There was a young man from Morgan county that joined us at you and will be joining us in heaven now!!! What an awesome night. We talked about our tongues and how we use them. It was pretty powerful and what I saw the next day and that night after youth was powerful. People were making things right that they wronged with their mouths. Guy's we don't know the hour nor do we know the day that Jesus is coming back. We should not have things undone when He arrives. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it say's........

Bible Verse: Matthew 24:36 "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

I have heard that Jesus is coming back after 2012 because thats as far as the calendar goes. That the ancient people knew something. Well, I don't buy it. This is real touchy and some would say anybody who sets a date for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ may be crossing the line of blasphemy. The Bible teaches very clearly and very plainly and our Lord taught that no one knows the time. No one!!! Just before our Lord was taken up into glory, the disciples asked Him, "Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power" (Acts 1:6-7). No one knows the day when Jesus Christ is coming again, but guess what? We know He is coming one day. I do believe it is soon or should I say "I hope it is soon!" I wanting to say to Jesus "What time are you picking me up?" Man, what a day of rejoicing that will be for some. It will also be a day of "Uh Oh! I should have listened to all those people telling me about Jesus." Our tongues can be used in a mighty way today. Use yours to share Jesus and think about what encouragement you need to share with someone today? Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!

Bundle of Dynamite.............

What's up guys and gals? Had a good night last night. I went to sit in on our youth initiated/youth led Bible study. My plan was to just stop in for about 30 minutes and come back home. But, these kids started asking me questions about the Bible and were so hungry for God's Word. I shared with them and them got to meet two of the new youth's parents. A good night but, a long one. Today is a big day. We have Fields of Faith tonight at Wartburg High School Football Field. They are expecting 300-500 youth tonight. The Lord has made a way for me to preach it and our own 5mm Youth Praise Band to lift the Lord up in song. Please pray for all who attend and that God's will be done during this event. I want to go back to the Bible study last night. I saw so much hurting and how the enemy was attacking in some of these young peoples lives. Why is there is so much happening all around us. So much evil, so much hurting. But, I have good news. We do have hope and that hope is Jesus Christ. So with that, let's dig into some of the good stuff.

Bible verse: John 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself".

I told these youth last night about the ruler of the world we are in. He is our enemy, he is the devil, he is Satan. An angel that so rebelled against God, that God cast him out of heaven. Well, the devil took up his residence here on good ole' earth. How lucky are we? The devil tempted Eve in the garden, tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and has been tempting us for a very long time. He tempts me all the time. Satan is very powerful. But, we can have victory over him. That victory is in Jesus Christ. Jesus is so much more powerful than Satan. We must draw to Him when we are tempted. I look around and see man, man is afraid of what he knows. Our wits have got ahead of our hearts. We are facing so many things that we have no answers for. Let's look at a few AIDS, all the irregular weather, famine all over the world, the apparent tinderbox or a bundle of dynamite in the Middle East, and all the evil around us. I have heard people say "What is the world coming to"? We don't have to just throw our hands up and give up. We should think about it this way. It's not what is this world coming to but, maybe "Who should this world be coming to"? We should be preparing to meet Jesus Christ. Folks, Jesus is coming back whether some people might want Him to or not. Are you ready? Have you done anything to help others get ready? Our youth and church have an outreach program as do a lot of church's. Go and get involved. Reach out to someone who doesn't know Jesus as their Savior. Tell them about some great news. Thanks for allowing me to share my heart with you. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!

Flip the switch...........

Hello friends! I have a big day today and am praying that God's will be done and not my own. So, if you don't care send a prayer up for me. I would really appreciate it. Alright, I have a question for you. Do you have someone you've been trying to witness to or get to come to church and they just totally refuse? Well, don't quit, but think about it from a different view. Check this out....Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it says about this............

Bible Verse: John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Jesus was talking to Nicodemus and Nicodemus was so impressed with the miracles Jesus had done that he wanted to find out more. He asked Jesus about miracles, and Jesus began to talk to him about births. It's as if Jesus was saying, "Nicodemus, if you want to understand miracles, you're going to have to become a miracle." Now Nicodemus was a pretty smart man. He was a ruler of the Jews. Yet with all of his learning Nicodemus was told, "Except you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God." People simply can't understand spiritual things until the Holy Spirit of God turns the light on in their souls. It is sort of like reach in and flipping the light switch to on! He couldn't understand being born twice. Maybe whoever you are witnessing to or trying to get to come to church does see it yet. That doesn't say they won't one day. Keep on.....Keeping on! Maybe they are over educated! That's a joke for some of you engineers that are reading this. Is it someone who has a lot of education, but no salvation? I challenge you to share this same Good News with him or her today and do me a favor. Have patience with them. it takes longer for some but, that doesn't mean it's not worth it! Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!

"Know So" not "Hope So"...........

Good morning everyone! Boy, what a night last night at youth. It really seemed like the walls were crashing in and a lot of problems were surfacing. I was getting phone calls two hours before youth and having to deal with some real hard things. Then problems with equipment and some personal issues with some youth. I had one of the youth come up to me and say "Something good is going to happen tonight! To much is trying to stop youth tonight!!!" Well, we started off with prayer requests that lasted 20 minutes and little miss Haley started to sing Amazing Grace. It became very emotional and the Holy Spirit went to work. The praise band came up next and sang their guts out for God! God shut my notes and we just talked about their problems last night. We should be ashamed as parents of the things that are children have to deal with way before they should have to. They have so much on their shoulders. Money problems, divorce, gossip, bullying, sex, and bad home lives. I pray that we can always give some of these young adults a place of refuge and they can have a little peace for a while. Now to the awesome news! We had four pray to accept Jesus as their Savior last night. Angels weren't only singing in Heaven last night. I think they were clogging too!!! Super happy! I talked to one of them about have a "know so" not a "hope so" Salvation! She now has a "know so" and that is way cool. Sorry so long today but, lots to say. Let's dig into some of the good stuff.........

Bible Verse: Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast."

If you think you're going to get to heaven by your good works, I guarantee you will always wonder if you've done enough. You will not have a "know-so" salvation. You will have a "hope-so" salvation. Rather than standing up straight in confidence like an exclamation point, you will be bent over and wondering like a question mark. That is, until you understand that it's all by grace. Suppose everybody who wanted to be saved had to run around the block. Some can't run. What if you had to read a chapter in the Bible to be saved? Some can't read. But there is one thing that can make the promise sure, and that is grace. Who can you share this Good News with today? Think of at least one person, and ask God to give you courage and the opportunity to do just that. Good luck and keep your eyes on the prize! Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!

The Judgement Seat.........

Hello friends! Well, the week is almost over. I am totally ready for a few days off. I have been studying 2 Chronicles 34 about King Josiah and I was wondering what legacy I will leave behind when I go to heaven. What will God say I have done with my life? That took me to another verse and I want us to dig into the good stuff and look at it today........

Bible verse: 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

I know this is not what you want to hear this morning but, each of us are accountable to Christ, not to others. Many of us Christians base our moral judgments on our opinion or our personal dislikes, instead of on Gods' Word. Sometimes we judge others and totally forget that God has a purpose for everything and that God is powerful enough to guide his children.

When we are standing in front of Christ at the judgment seat, I don't think we will be worried about what our friends have done or what someone in our church has done. Or I hope not! How many of us will say "I wish I would have done....."?

In Romans 14:12 Paul writes "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God". I can only imagine standing before Christ and Him saying to me "Tony, let's take a look at your life, your works, and your obedience". Does that not scare you? When we were young did we not do extra chores or do our best at school to make our parents proud? Do we do the same for Christ? If we do, then why are we doing these things or works?

In 1 Corinthians 3:12 it talks about revealing our works by fire. Are our works for Christ built of a solid foundation. A foundation of gold ,silver, or precious stone or are they built on wood, hay, or straw. Why do we do the work for Christ that we do? Are we doing anything for him? Do we feel that we do enough? If we know that we should do more and just choose not to. What is that saying to God?

If we know that God wants is to go and witness and we just don't do it, what does that say? All sorts of things happen to me to test my faith and my works. Sometimes I feel like I am standing in waist deep mud and it is a hard slow process to get out. You have to keep pushing through it. You can't just stop and give up. I think Christianity is sometimes like that. It is extremely hard at times to be a Christian at times. Our walk in this life is not always going to be paved with roses. But, if we could just keep our eyes toward God and think about eternity in heaven. I believe we would act and do things a lot different.

In Matthew 16:27 Jesus tell his disciples, "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. I think Christ is not only going to judge us at the final judgment. I think He is already judging us in our lives. I believe Christ will look at how we have handled gifts, or maybe opportunities, or possibly responsibilities. I believe once He has the total picture, then He will determine our heavenly rewards will be. How few or many will our heavenly rewards be? What is our conscience telling us? Just a thought. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!!!

The Tongue.........

Good morning guys and gals! I hope everyone is well. My wife is feeling really bad. She has double ear infections, a sinus infection, and the creepy crude I think. She went to bed at 7 o'clock last night. Please lift her up in your prayers for me. She is a real trooper and doesn't do down very often. Thanks in advance for your prayers. I want to talk about something I've been dealing with pretty hard this week. The topic is probably a problem for everyone. I know sometimes my mouth gets me in trouble.

Bible verse: James 3:5-6 (James teaches about Christian behavior) Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, A world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

In verse 9 James says "with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men. Who have been made in God's likeness.

Our words can damage far more than we probably believe. Once we unleash a hateful or destructive word, it is gone and can't be recalled. Like fiery arrows from our mouths. When we say words out of anger, we may ask for forgiveness and may even be forgiven. But, the scar of the words will remain. A couple words spoken can destroy a friendship that took years to build. Words are like the flames of a fire, we can't stop nor can we take back the damage that they can cause. Now, I must say that we can't expect people to understand this if they aren't Christians. They will unleash nasty and hurtful words at will and as Christians we should bridle our tongues and not shoot those arrows back.

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:9 With his mouth the godless destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous escape. I believe our mouth is one of our most dangerous weapons, but it can also be a great tool. It can destroy or it can build up. It is so much easier to destroy than to build someone up. Why is that? Is it pride? Can we not help build someone up? When was the last time you helped build someone up? When was the last time you said something to someone that torn them down? Our words can make a difference in life. We just have to let God guide our minds and our mouths. We should strive to be difference makers for our Lord. We should stand strong and be lighthouses. Lighthouses, so others can see God through us. Man, don't I know that's hard sometimes. When people say stuff to ya and it is hurtful but, be like water on a ducks back! Let it roll of your back. I pray you have a great day, I love you, and God bless!

Food for thought: If you don't humble, you stumble.....

Judging are we????????

Good morning friends! Was able to spend some time with my little sister and brother-in-law last night. I miss hanging out with them. They are both going to make great parents one day! Have you ever been around someone that is always judging others? How much do you hang around with them? Is it good for you? Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it say's..........

Bible verse: Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

I think our friends and associates can have a great influence on us, very often in small ways. If we have friends that mock what God considers important and we continue being around them, we might sin by becoming indifferent to God's will. I believe this attitude is the same as mocking. Are our friends building up or tearing down our faith? A true friend helps you to grow closer to God. Just like the verse I use all the time Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens Iron........

Do you judge people? Maybe by their actions? Maybe by their words? We must remember that it is not them. it is the sin in them. What is super cool is that God doesn't judge people by their color, where they are from, or if they are a man or woman. God judges people on the basis of their faith in him and their response to his revealed word.

I think those who do their best to obey God's will are blessed. They will be like a healthy apple tree that has a lot of apples and healthy roots. God promises to watch over them.

In Matthew 13:41 The Son of man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. There are true false believers all around us. I had a conversation with one at work two days ago. At first, I started to judge him and thought I can't believe this guy is saying the things he is saying. Then, I began to really feel sorry for him. How he will not be able to inherit the kingdom of Heaven because of his beliefs. Those who say they don't care what happens to them after they die don't realize what they are saying. It is hard sometimes but, we should be sure not to judge others. Jesus Christ is the only one who can judge.

In John 8:3-12 there was a woman that was believed to have committed adultery. The Pharisees told Jesus that the law commanded that she be stoned. Jesus said to them, "he that is without sin among you, let him be the first cast a stone at her." One by one the Pharisees left, being convicted by their own conscience. After they all left, Jesus said to the woman, "neither do I condemn thee, go, and sin no more". If we could all be more like Jesus, non judgingmental and forgiving. I know God will pour out His blessing on us. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!

Train em' up...........

Good morning everyone. Man, my weekend was long and wore me plum out but, it was a good one. We had a youth benefit yard sale Saturday and raised $1600.00 toward our November youth retreat. Yesterday morning we had our baby dedication at church and then last night youth was off the hook. Parent dedicated 17 of their children to the Lord yesterday. Pretty awesome! Then last night 3 young people accept Jesus into their hearts as their Savior. Then one re-dedicates his life back to the Lord in his girlfriends driveway when they got to her house. God is so good! Our prayer requests went on for almost 30 minutes. It hurt me to see how these kids hurt so much and are carrying so much around with them at such a young age. I want to share a passage that my pastor shared yesterday. I believe that this passage in the Bible is a lot more important than some of us may think. Our children are our future and we need to remember what an honor God has given us to have them and to be around them.

Bible verse: Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

All of us have children, will have children, work with children, or will have some contact with children. Teaching and training children should be done by using principles written in the word of God. The Bible is a perfect road map on how we should teach or children. I have read of seven positive principles to help them all the days of their lives.

1. Moral and spiritual values- Deuteronomy 6:6,7

2. A sense of belonging- psalm 127:3

3. Listen to your children- Genesis 22:7,8

4. Develop their talents and abilities- Matthew 18:10

5. Provide quality time with them- Proverbs 17:22

6. teach them to respect authority- Romans 13:1,2

7. Don't start too late.......

The young years of a childs life are the formative years. They are moldable and are open to new things.

Now, I do think that we can't bring all children up or train them the same. We should build up the individuality and special strengths that God has given each child. By us talking to their teachers, other parents, youth leaders, friends, or maybe grandparents. We can learn how to develop the individual capabilities of each child.

Many parents and youth leaders want to make choices for the children, I think that this actually hurts the child in the long run. We can guide them but, not make the choices for them. If a child learns to make decisions on their own, it will be better in the future. We will not always have to watch every move they make. We will know they will do their best to make the right choices.

I believe anytime you are dealing with children, you really need to make sure your heart is in the right place and pray that God will guide us to be a leader to them. Children are very trusting. They will take what you tell them and believe it. God holds parents and other adults who influence young children accountable for how they affect children ability to trust. Jesus warns in Matthew 18:6 "whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea". Our children are the future, we should take time for them. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!

Food for thought: No God = No peace Know God = know peace

A Bible Big Mac????????

Good morning everyone. You would not believe all the stuff that we have at the church for the Youth Benefit Yard Sale tomorrow. There are 3-4 leaders and a couple youth that have been going through all the stuff and everyone is wore plum out! We still need help organizing the stuff and at the sale on Saturday. I was talking to one of our youth yesterday in my office and he asked me how to find time to fit in reading his Bible. He said that he is so busy that he never has time to read it and he knows that he should. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it says about the subject.......

Bible verse: Psalm 119:162 I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure

Let's look at it this way. If God's word was a big mac would you eat it? Or if it was a big juicy chicken sandwich would you gobble it up? If you hadn't ate in two days and someone laid that chicken sandwich in front of you. I would dare say you would inhale it! So, why can't we have the same hunger for God's word. Job said (Job 23:12), " I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." When God's word is as important to us as food, then we are going to grow leaps and bounds in our Christian life. Think about this. What if the dust on our Bibles testifies against us one day! I read this and have to pass it on. "These hath God married and no man shall part, dust on the Bible and drought in the heart." Who wants to stay a spiritual babe? I don't think anyone does. You can do something about it. Pick up your Bible and read this beautiful love story. Learn of someone who loves you so much very much. Let's hunger for God's word together! I hope you have a great day and if you don't care could you say a prayer for our youth group and workers. This youth benefit yard sale has been a lot of hard work and some of the leaders are running on fumes. Pray that God can restore that energy for this weekend. Thanks in advance and God bless.

The greatest event..........

Hello everyone! Boy, Did I have a super weekend! Whoot....whoot! It was amazing! Our 4th annual Potter's House Pig Roast was a success. My hat goes off to all the workers that put in numerous hours scratch that DAYS in preparation for the event. It was all worth it! We saw many come to know Jesus as their Savior and many other decisions made for Him! I believe we had over 750 that came to the event. The speakers did an awesome job too! Misty and I got a true blessing this weekend. Our daughter Joslyn asked Jesus into her heart Saturday night! And on top of that God blessed me even more with allowing me to baptize my daughter. How cool is that! Angels singing in heaven. She was called and chosen, and was faithful to respond to what she felt in her heart. How many of us don't respond when we feel that tug? Let's look at the good stuff and dig in.........

Bible Verse: Revelation 17:14 "...and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."

I was reading something and have to share it with you.When Jesus comes back and He is going to. It is going to be the greatest event of all of the ages. It is one of the biggest truths taught in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Being born again or new birth is vitally important, but it is mentioned only nine times in the New Testament. Baptism is vitally important, but it is mentioned only 20 times in the New Testament. Repentance is mentioned only 70 times in the Bible, as important and needful as that is. But the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned in God's Word at least 380 times. One out of every 25 verses points to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For me, I am ready to go. I know my family will be joining me. I continue to get ready. I know you might be saying to yourself how do I continue to get ready? Just because you are born again doesn't give you a pass. God's Word say He that begun a good work in you will continue until He comes again. We are the only ones that can get in the way. Maybe being to busy with the world! How are you getting ready for His Second Coming? What if He came this very hour? Is their anyone that you would say " I wish I would have talk to so-in-so about Jesus?" Or maybe I wish I would have done more by getting involved in my church. Heck, maybe "I wish I would have went to church more" Are you ready? Or, do you still have some work to do? It is time we get in the game! Game on baby!!! Have a great day, I love you, and God bless!!!