Thursday, September 29, 2011

Are you a Flamethrower??????????

Good morning! I have a question for you. How many of you liked to play with fire as a kid, or liked sitting around the campfire telling stories? Every boy no matter what his age is a pyromaniac and even some girls too! For this article, I want to put a positive spin on the word “Pyromaniac”. I have two things for you to remember after you are finished reading this. One, Jesus is the ultimate and original pyromaniac. And two, Jesus is looking for someone to become His firepower. Do you believe me when I say that Jesus is the ultimate pyromaniac? Well, check this out. Did you know that “Fire” is mentioned over 500 times in the Bible? You maybe sitting here saying, “what is a pyromaniac?” Well, it is someone who has the irresistible urge to start fires. Jesus wants to use you spark a love for Him in others. Remember, we are putting the positive spin on pyromaniacs.


In Genesis 3:23, God sent an angel with a flaming sword to guard the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 19:22, God set a couple of evil cities on fire (Sodom & Gomorrah). In Exodus 3:2, God set a bush on fire when He appeared to Moses. In Deuteronomy 4:24, God’s Word says, “The Lord your God is a consuming fire”. Here is a tidbit of info for you; the only books in the Bible that don’t mention fire are Ruth and Ester. See, I told you, boys are pyromaniacs!!! What I am trying to get at is Jesus is looking for someone to become his firepower. Here is the definition of firepower: “The capacity, as a weapon, weapon system, or military unit for delivering fire, the ability to deliver fire against an enemy in combat; effective power of force.” God wants you to become a powerful weapon that He can use to deliver fire against the enemy in combat. Don’t think for a second that we are not in combat as Christians. So, do you want to become a “Pyromaniac” for Jesus, a “flamethrower” for Jesus who shares the good news of Christ everywhere? Do you have it in you? I know you do. You just have to believe in yourself and in what Jesus can do through you.

Luke 3:16 tells the story of John the Baptist.  John is teaching about the coming of Jesus and he says, “He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” Do you know what fire does? It refines! Let’s get fired up! Let’s let Jesus refine us and make us His firepower. You maybe thinking right now that you are just an average Joe or that you can’t make a difference in this world, and I beg to differ. The Bible is full of average Joe’s making a huge difference for God. If a flaming meteor fell from the sky and landed next to you, burning up everything that wasn’t of God. What would you have left? What would be left of you? I know you are thinking of some things in your life right now that God does not and would not approve of. Why don’t you let God refine you, give them up. He needs His firepower to be strong, and sin is like water that puts out or dampens your fire. Let’s stoke our fire and help it to burn hot and bright! Smokey, the bear says, “Only you can prevent forest fires,” and he is right. Our sin quenches our fire. Are you ready to stoke your fire? Here is the fuel, The Word of God, prayer, and the Holy Spirit. Let’s get to work. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless! 

Friday, September 2, 2011

One............

Good morning friends! Today is the first day of our annual Potter's House Pig Roast. It starts a 5pm and we will have food, 4 bounce houses / obsticle courses, waterslides, games, music, fishing, camping, and lots more too! God has been doing some amazing things through His church. We must be about our Fathers business. Isaiah was asked by God "Whom shal I send?" and these next words give me goose bumps and I pray I can echo them for eternity. Isaiah says "SEND ME"!!! I must share with you about a movement that I am seeing in our area. There have been approximately 20 youth groups from Roane and Morgan counties have came together 3 times over the summer. The emphasis on this event is unity. The name of the event is “ONE”. To be one body of believers coming together to worship God. To bring unity to our youth and to our churches. I looked up the definition for unity and it reads: The state or condition of being one. Something whole or complete. Wouldn’t that be awesome? What does the Bible say about unity? Well, let's dig into the good stuff and see.......

Bible verse: Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

Also in Ecclesiastes 4:12 God’s Word say’s“A threefold cord is not quickly broken. So, what helps us have unity? Fellowship is something that helps us have unity. But, this word fellowship has really lost its value. Let’s look at fellowship or the secret of fellowship. Three word come to mind from the new testament. These words are Agape, Philia, and Koinonia. Agape is that God love. It is unconditional love no matter what. Next, there is Philia. It is the love and care for fellow members of God’s family. And finally, there is Koinonia. It means partnership, fellow worker, or close friend that works by your side. Fellowship is sharing each others joys and sorrows. Rejoicing when one member succeeds and grieving when one member fails. This is fellowship. I can’t tell you how important fellowship is. You man be reading this and saying “brother Tony I am just fine on my own”, “I am a strong person”, “Heck, I am a strong Christian”. Here is why we need fellowship. I am going to shift gears a bit and share about persecution. As Christians if we follow Jesus, will be persecuted. We will be mistreated. Is that easier to deal with as the lone ranger? Or with brothers and sisters by your side. What about your actions when mistreated? Let's see how we are supposed to act. What the Bible saysand dig into the good stuff. In 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. Check this out. Peter is a writing here to a group of Christians that are being or should I say about to be mistreated because they follow Jesus. He's about to give them some guidelines for how Christians can live in an honorable way even when we're going through hard times. He starts out with this: Treat each other right or have compassion for each other. No, that doesn't go far enough. He really says, "Treat each other as family, as brothers." It's easy when you're living through a bad time in your life to excuse meanness. It's easy to say to yourself, "Everyone will just have to understand how much I'm hurting, I don't have the energy to be nice." What Peter is saying is that's exactly opposite. God can make our suffering count for something, especially if we'll live like we're His in the middle of it. So keep getting together with believers. Look for ways to show sympathy to others not just yourself. Be compassionate and humble. Give them "family access" to your heart and look for "family access" to theirs too! I have to ask ya a question. Do you live in harmony with other Christians? When you're hurting, do you get closer or pull away from your Christian family? Why? Ask God to help you to treat the believers in your church the way this verse describes. Now do this for me. Look up the word "harmony" in the dictionary and write down the definition. Let's try to live that way. Have a great day, I love you, and God bless.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Don't turn green.................

Good morning everyone! I pray all is well for you this week. There was a terrible accident in our area a couple days ago that has left a lot of hurt and anger. A mother and three children were killed in an automobile accident two nights ago. We sometimes don't know why things like this happen but, we have to trust in the Lord and take refuge in Him. I would ask you while you read this to stop and say a prayer for the family, all the emergency workers involved, and driver of the other vehicle the their vehicle struck, and anyone else involved. As a cop for many years, when you see stuff like this and an involved in helping. Images and emotions are etched in your brain. Please pray for comfort for them. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what God says about it...........

Bible Verse: Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

I know with the lose of the children and mother. People are saying "Why?" Why did they have to go? They are so young. They haven't had a chance to live. They are angry! And that is OK. Because here's the thing, there is nothing wrong with anger; in fact all of us become angry, even Jesus did. The problem we face is that many of us have no idea how to deal with our anger. And because we don’t know how to respond to our anger correctly our feelings turn into actions we regrettable actions. Whether it’s a harsh word, an inappropriate comment, or doing something we will regret. We need to learn how to deal with our anger in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Sometimes that means we need to have some alone time. Or maybe, we need to surround ourselves with friends and family. Then sometimes we need to talk it our quickly to get it resolved. First, and foremost you need to pray about it. Pray when you start to turn green like the hulk. pray to see the situation through the eyes of Christ. I bet it will change how you view it and respond. I know this is hard sometimes and you want to knock someone out or cry your eyes out. But, take a minute and pray for wisdom. I pray you have a great day, I love you, and God bless.