Amen and Amen!

Psalms 89:52
Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

What do you think of God this morning? Some people like to refer to Him as the "Big Man Upstairs" or they often say that there is a God up there somewhere. He is so much more than that folks. He is not just a magical genie that we call up when we need money or help. He is not just the last resort to go to if everything else falls through. He is God. He is not even "a" god, but He is "THE" God.

Compare Him this morning to every other so called god. Isn't He better? Isn't He the only true one? Compare Him to all of your possessions this morning. Isn't He greater? Isn't He of more value? Prophets in the Bible have asked, "Who is a God like unto thee?" I cannot think of any greater god than the God that I serve.

Stop for a moment and think of how blessed you are to know Him. Think of how blessed you are for His love to be shown in your life. This should stir an excitement inside of you. It should cause you to draw closer and closer unto Him. Because of His love, I can love others. Because of His death, I am alive. Because of His leading, I can help lead others unto Him. The songwriter said it much better than I could have ever said it...

Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone.
Because I know that He holds the future, my life is worth the living just because He lives.

Bless the Lord O, my soul and all that is within me bless His Holy Name!

Why don't you try sharing some of that today? Put your discouragement and negativity away and share just how blessed you are by knowing the Lord. Amen and Amen!

Sing this to Him right now before you go about your day...

Because YOU live I can face tomorrow, Because YOU live all MY fear is gone.
Because I know that YOU hold the future, MY life is worth the living just because YOU live.

A Use for Cotton

Proverbs 17:27-28
He that hath knowledge spareth his words:
and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:
and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

I must immediately tell you this morning that I do not like cotton. It's some kind of phobia. You know the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard or the screeching of a fork gliding across your plate? That's what happens to me when I hold cotton in my hands. Aaaahhh!

When I was a kid, I would get swimmers ear every summer. It seemed like it would come every week in the summer. The pain would get worse and worse. Mainly because I didn't want the dreaded cotton in my ears. When I would go to bed mom would put in the drops and shove that stinking cotton into my ears. (She didn't shove it, just seemed that way to me...)

I know you probably think I'm crazy but I couldn't stand it. I would complain over and over again. My mom would say, "You want it to get better?"  I hated it! There were times she looked as if she was gonna take the cotton balls out of my ears and stuff them in my mouth.

Just the other day, believe this or not, I wished I had some cotton in my ears so that I could have stuffed it into my mouth. Sometimes we all should just be quiet. Truthfully we should just shut our mouths. I desire that excellent spirit our scripture talks about. I am learning more and more daily from God and His Word of how to have this spirit. The Bible teaches me that even a fool is wise when he shuts his mouth. So there is hope for me and you.

Lord please help me to be quiet when I should. Help me to speak when you lead me. Help me not to be a fool that speaks foolishness but help me to close my mouth and wait patiently on you to speak through me. I pray that you never have to take the cotton out of my ears and put in my mouth. I'll be quiet now... in Jesus' name. Amen.

What's that on your Shoulder?

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:2

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Psalms 55:22

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee:

he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

God speaks to us. There are times where He uses His word to do it, but at other times it seems as if He clearly and plainly speaks aloud. As I was driving to church on Sunday, God seemed to speak loud and clear to me. He said, "Don't let the burdens on your shoulders become chips."  I thought, Wow!  How awesome are you Lord. He wanted me to understand that my burdens I carry could have the potential of becoming chips on my shoulders. I could choose to become bitter about my burdens or become joyful and at peace about them. 

Look at our scriptures this morning. The first one tells us that we must bear our own burdens. The second tells us that we should bear one another's burdens. The last tells us that we should cast our burdens upon The Lord. So what should we do with our burdens?

Some of them we are capable of carrying. Some we are capable of sharing. But some we are only capable of giving to Jesus. If we don't understand this application of burdens then we are in real danger of becoming bitter and allowing these burdens to become chips on our shoulders. 

Rest in the peace of knowing that our burdens are for our betterment. They are to help us and not hinder us. So, what's on your shoulder?

Healthy Ambassadors

Proverbs 13:17

A wicked messenger falleth into mischief:

but a faithful ambassador is health.

What does faithfulness mean?  The dictionary says, "The quality of being faithful/dependable". This seems to be an almost lost characteristic of today's people. Not necessarily in the youth of today, but people of all ages. Dependability is not on the list of priorities. 

Scripture teaches us that faithfulness is a valued treasure. When you find faithful people, you have found gold that will not fade away. When a husband has a faithful wife, he is rich beyond measure. When a wife has a faithful husband, she is blessed. As parents, if we have children that are faithful we are rich. Also think of the blessedness of an employer that has faithfulness in his employees or a church with faithfulness in its membership. These are so blessed!  

But what happens when we put faithfulness on the back burner? It hurts those who depend on us. What if Dad's stopped being faithful to his spouse, family and jobs? Not only does Dad suffer from it but his family will suffer also. If he is not faithful to his spouse, then divorce could come. If he is not faithful to his family, he could lose them to the world and its teachings. If he is not faithful to work, his family will suffer from poverty and starvation. As this is, so is the man who is unfaithful God, church and ministry. If a man isn't faithful to God, how could he be productive in church?  If he is not faithful in the church, how could he be fruitful in ministry?  If he is not faithful in his walk and devotion to Christ, how could he be beneficial to any of these?

You see, our faithfulness most always requires discipline. Being faithful is not an option in the package of Christianity, but it is one of our major teachings that we should follow. 

Look at what scripture teaches about these two scenarios...

Faithfulness brings health...

Proverbs 13:17

A wicked messenger falleth into mischief:

but a faithful ambassador is health.

Unfaithfulness brings pain...

Proverbs 25:19

Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble

is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

Send Reinforcements

Psalms 12:1

Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth;

for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

The more I attend church, the more I live in this present day and the more I search and search, one thing seems to missing. Our lives are filled with the so-called heroes of today. People who are lifted up to a high position because of their rebellion. Have you ever stopped me looked around at our society? The one who does wrong is glorified and the ones who do right are put down. Ball players that sleep around, fight, do drugs, and are rebellious seem to get all the love. Even through movies and television every girl likes the bad guy. 

The differences in our society and that of our grandparents alone are huge. Just the other day I was in a class about dealing with children. My instructor was teaching about the disobedience of children and how to address it. This instructor told of how they handled things back in their day. It was told how those children respected them and obeyed. But after every statement of how they used to do things, the instructor would say, "But you can't do that now."  I almost felt like someone was trying to get me to dig a hole while handing me a handle to what was supposed to be a shovel, but the shovel not there. 

We truly need help. The Godly men are ceasing because they are deceasing. Will you pray today, right now, that God will raise up some Godly men? You men that are reading this today, will you commit right now to be all that you can for he cause of Christ? Ladies, will you encourage those men in your lives to faithfulness in Christ? Lord, most of all, will you send the help we need? Send reinforcements Lord.

I am thankful for some men and women today that are heroes in my book. The Pastor and preacher who stays on their knees begging for the Spirit of God to forgive and restore. The mom and dad that have brought a child into their home and treated them as their very own. The soldier that I met last night who was wounded 18 times in a 38 hour battle but never stopped his mortar firing so that the enemies would not have a chance at victory. The final hero, Jesus. Who endured all pain and suffering so that I could be saved. The truest definition of a soldier, Savior and friend that I could ever know. 

Shoot the Ball

Ephesians 5:16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.


This morning scripture tells us that we should redeem the time. This means take that shot. Take that opportunity for the glory of God. 


This summer my son Jacob was playing in a basketball camp. This is his first year playing basketball for the school. He has played park ball for a few years before this, but now he is playing at a higher level. He has a good team with some really good players. He is not a starter for the team during this summer camp, so he is patiently awaiting some playing time. Well once he gets in he is pumped!  I'm pumped! Mom is pumped!

He is so nervous and because of his nervousness, he will not shoot the ball at all. He plays his position and passes it to a person in a better position. This game passes and it's on to the next one. I asked him if he was nervous or afraid. He immediately said no, but I knew better. I encouraged him to play hard and look for an opening or open player. I told him to play as a team and give 100%. He said, "Yes sir."

The time for the next game was at hand. Wow, He was on the court as a starter. A little bit of relaxation was in his face now. He received the pass turned, looked and then drove to the goal!  I begin to feel the rush of excitement as he dribbled the ball closer and closer to the goal.  Then it came... He drove, stretched and shot the ball! It seemed like it went through the air for ten minutes (could have been this long as it rolled around the rim, hahaha). Then the ball fell in and down through the net. Immediately I begin to cheer!  I said, "There you go!"  All he needed was to take the shot.

Our scripture says to redeem the time. Take an account of the fact that we won't be here forever. The game of life, and the clock is ticking away. Second after second is coming off the clock. And besides this, we need to redeem the time because the days are becoming evil. You may be nervous about sharing the Gospel with someone today. You will never know what will happen if you don't take the opportunity.

Shoot the ball!  Drive to the goal, and shoot the ball!  Share the Gospel! Study the Word and share the Gospel! When Jacob scored this summer at a basketball camp. The emotions that I felt were overwhelming. I wonder how our Father feels when we share the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ?

Box Seats

Luke 11:43

Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

When I read the word Pharisee in the Bible I always think of someone who can "fairly see". The Pharisees were religious leaders who depended more on keeping laws and not a relationship with God. Keeping laws are important, but a right relationship is most important. Keeping laws can be done without a relationship. The rich ruler said that he kept the law from his youth up but he lacked a relationship. Having a relationship with Christ will not be without keeping His laws after you have fallen in love with Him. His word tells us, "If we love Him, we will keep His commandments". 

These Pharisees tried to keep the law but could only "fairly see" the true things of God. Jesus, the Son of God, was standing in front of them and they still couldn't see Him. They thought by placing people under the bondage of law, that they were fulfilling the word of God. They were actually imposing burdens upon these people. While they were placing the noose around the necks of others, they were filling themselves with pride. 

You see, the more they imposed laws, that they were attempting to keep but really couldn't, they were measuring themselves by those who didn't uphold the law. This caused them to look at people with arrogance. How easy is it to become this "fairly seeing" Pharisee?  It had become such a problem that they wanted the box seats in the church, and even felt like they deserved it. Shaking hands with those who would benefit their cause or wallet. 

Religion can be a destroyer of relationship. It can ruin and spoi  the person trying to walk in a relationship with Christ. It makes them compare themselves to those they walk beside instead of the one who walked before us. If you think this morning your salvation and right standing with Christ is because of what you do or where you sit let me tell you that you're wrong. You can only "fairly see" Jesus for who He really is. 

Drop the pride and lay aside the arrogance this morning. Put away the lawish religion and walk in the liberty and righteousness of Jesus right now. Get up out of your box seats and fall on your knees in humility. You'll find a relationship that will last through all eternity.