Give Him Everything

Colossians 3:17

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

How many times do we pray saying, "Lord, I'm giving this to you"?  Only to pick it right back up when we leave the altar or say Amen. Too many to count probably. 

Long ago a great old preacher man told me something that really helped me. He said, "Steve, when you give God your baggage, ask Him to take the handle off of it". See this way we will never pick it back up. When we pray we should ask The Lord to not only remove it from our lives, but also to take the handle off of it so that we aren't tempted to pick it back up as soon as we leave the prayer. 

Also, how many times have you told The Lord, "I'm giving you everything", but only give Him part of it?  God desires that we totally depend upon Him. He wants us to rely on His strength and not our own. He wants us to lean upon His words and not what we think we should say, or even what others would say. Today, He wants everything about you. Not just some of you, but all of you. 

Have you given Him everything?  Do it right now before anything else. Tell Him... "Lord, I give you my burden, my marriage, my children, my sickness, my love, my heart, my life...Lord, I give you Everything!  

Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do ALL in the name of The Lord Jesus

Just One More Lord

1 Corinthians 3:5-8
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one:and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

I love fishing. I think it would be on the top of my list of favorite hobbies. Bass fishing is fun but also it can be work at times. One cast after another cast, over and over again until you get that strike...! When those bass hit it's just indescribable. The feel of the fight and the thrill of seeing it come out of the water dancing. Not much like it in the world. 

But I also love to crappie fish. This is a little more laid back. You can throw a jig if they are biting good but most of the time I pull up to a bridge and drop some minnows in the water. Most times I'll have about three lines in the water and the people in the boat will have the same amount. Sitting and waiting, it is the best fellowship that you can have. Just talking and waiting for those crappie to move. 

The hardest part about either way I fish, whether it be bass fishing or crappie fishing, is leaving. I always struggle with one more cast or one more minnow. Because if I could just catch one more then it would satisfy me. But every time I catch that one, I need one more. 

Alot of times I begin to pray for "one more Lord". What is funny is that the other ones in the boat could catch that next one and not me. But that's okay, just as long as we catch them. 

Isn't that what God tells us? Some people plant, some people water but God gives the increase. God gives the "one more". So why don't you go out fishing this morning? Pray that God will give you one more. If it's not you that gets the "one more" then what does it matter? They all belong to God! It's His harvest, It's His fish. Just give us one more Lord. 

When Will It Be About Him?

John 3:30-31
He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

I don't like the songs they sing. I don't like the lighting in that church. They don't have a big youth group. I didn't see anything for singles or divorced. I like a small church. I like a big church. I like hymns. I like contemporary music. I don't wanna have to dress up. I feel the need to wear a suit and tie because that's my best. I don't want instruments. I can't sing or worship without music. I like pews. I like chairs. Choirs are so outdated. I love to hear a choir sing.

Over and over these phrases are spewed out like vomit from the children of God. It's not the world talking about the church and its so-called features, no it's the church. We talk of what we want so much that we have even adapted that theology to Heaven. We talk of Heaven and what will be there and many times it ends up be a drummed up idea of what we enjoy here on earth.

When will it be about Jesus? When will it be about the presence of the Holy Ghost? When will our lives and walk with Christ be about Him? Our scripture says that we must decrease and He (Jesus) must increase. He is above it all! He is worthy of it all! When we come together, and it is all about Him, then we will experience true worship. So when will it be about Him?

Lord I surrender today. I ask that you increase in my life. Lord, I desire and ask you to be so full in my life that when people hear me or see me that Steve Abney seems to disappear as they behold who you are. In Jesus' name, Amen

Static Electricity

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

During the winter months the static electricity is increased. When we get out of our vehicles...pow! When we stand from our furniture...pow!  When we shuffle our feet across the floor in order to shock our wife or children...POW! Even when we put our dress clothes on, it clings to us and we can't get away from it. 

The Bible teaches that the Gospel of Jesus is powerful. The word powerful is taken from the word used for dynamite. Just the slightest spark can set it off. What if we were that spark? What would happen if we ignited the Gospel?  God wants us to be that spark. He wants us to be intentional about spreading the Gospel (just like when I shuffle my feet to shock the family, for fun). He wants us to also be unintentional about spreading it (like the way it clings to us and there is nothing we can do to get away from it). Share it when getting out of the car...pow! Share it when we stand from our furniture...pow! Share it when we go to work...pow! Share it when we go to school...POW! 

There is a movie called "Patch Adams". In this movie Patch is accused of "excessive happiness". The board of physicians say that they could only hope his attitude would spread throughout the medical field like a wild fire. What if us Christians were accused of "excessive witnessing" or "excessive Gospel sharing"? 

Are you shuffling your feet? Is the Gospel clinging to you?  What a fire could start! POW! POW! POW!

Back in the Saddle

1 Corinthians 10:12

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm back in the saddle"?  It's an idiom that means you're doing something again that you haven't done for a while. I'm back in the saddle of exercising again. I'm back in the saddle of doing school work. I'm back in the saddle after I healed from my surgery. Sometimes getting back in the saddle can be quick and other times it can take a while. Think of it like this... Some surgeries can cause you to be out of the saddle for a long time, while others not so much. 

I've also heard people use that term in this manner... "I got knocked off the horse but I jumped right back up into the saddle to show him a thing or two." If we lose respect for the horse and mistreat it through pride and selfishness, then that horse can become dangerous to us. A large man is nothing compared to a thousand or fifteen hundred pound horse. He could throw you off in a second. What's amazing is how we will saddle up these animals (horses, bulls, camels) that could really hurt us if they wanted to, but because of our respect and treatment of them they allow it. 

You see, pride will get you hurt every time. If you think you do things because of your strength, you are destined to fall out of the saddle. If you think your pride is what controls the horse, he could quickly show you that you are mistaken and fling you right to the ground. Well this morning read our scripture again. It says we need to be humble about our standing lest we fall and that could happen at any moment. Too many people think it's about getting back into the saddle, but maybe we should see it differently. Maybe we should be humble and respectful to The Lord who directs our steps. We should be respectful of our stand in Christ lest at any moment we fall. Our Lord is telling us that when we are in the saddle and we see others that have fallen off of theirs, we should be humbled and not prideful lest we also are thrown off. No doubt, if we fall we should get right back up in the saddle. But hopefully it will be with a little more wisdom and a lot more humility. 

So, you're back in the saddle? Be careful. Be watchful. Be humble. 

Wonder What God is Doing Today?

Romans 10:21
But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

Have you ever stopped during your day and wondered at what God may be doing at that very moment? I have. In fact I was thinking about it this morning. There He sits upon His throne of glory with His Son beside Him. Watching over the earth and everyone in it. He cares so much to even know the hairs on our head and every idle word we speak.

He could do anything He wanted to right? He's God. But He chooses to think toward us. Even David asked once, "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" I've thought the exact same thing in my life before. I've wondered at what God might be thinking of me even at this very minute.

When I read the scripture this morning I know one thing that He does. Look at it... "All day long..." Not just some of the time, but all of the day God is reaching toward Israel in this scripture. He must be reaching toward us as well. God desires that you would be saved. He wants to save you through His grace and love. He is reaching out right now, and all day.

The last thing that I see and realize is nothing but the grace and mercy that He has. "Stretched forth my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people." He is still doing that for you today. Although you are disobedient and will not listen, God is still reaching today. How? With one more message, one more song, one more testimony. Why don't you place your life into His hands right now?

I Will

Luke 5:5

And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

As a child I remember arguing with my parents about their rules at home. Things like, going to bed early, bathing, only watching certain television shows. I always thought these things were trivial and should be argued. Staying up late never hurt anyone right?  Bathing only improves on the smell and watching the new television shows just helped me stay in the loop with the crowd. 

My parents could see the potential danger of these things. They knew the aftermath of me staying up all night. My exhaustion and temper would be intolerable. Watching those scary television shows would bring fear and confusion into my mind. Now the bathing thing... They wanted people to be able and be around me. 

Many, many of my arguments were about those things that they knew I needed to do, and even I knew I needed to do, but I still struggled with doing it. On the nights that I just obeyed and showered, went to bed on time and avoided arguing about the tv were the most simple and peaceful nights. 

It has taken time, much time, but I have realized if we will do what Christ asks us then peace can be ours. We wrestle with decisions. We grieve over some of the things that He has commanded. What if we would stop the grieving and the wrestling and do what He has told us?  

Peter, a fisherman by trade, started his statement with, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing:". In other words, they had fished all night long and caught absolutely nothing. Peter may have thought that nothing was going to change in just a moment of hours. But Jesus knew better than that. Peter may have known how to fish, but Jesus is the creator of those fish. He knew if Peter would just obey that he would reap the blessing. 

Is The Lord trying to tell you to do something? Are you struggling just to listen to Him? Notice something with me this morning that God shows. Peter argued with the reason of throwing the net but He obeyed in the decision. Although there were others with Peter and Jesus, Peter said, "at thy word, I will let down the net". It wasn't a "we" decision, but a personal decision. What will you decide today?  The choice to obey is yours alone. It may affect others around you, but it will still be your decision. Say it with me..."At your a word Lord, I will".