I Hate Christmas..Love, no I hate, no I love........

I have a love hate relationship with Christmas. I know that I love Christmas time because the entire world practically is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I hate it because everybody seems to get so crazy. Another reason I love Christmas is because I love watching Christmas movies. One of my favorite Christmas movies of all time is a movie called How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Ron Howard directs this film and of course Jim Carrey plays the infamous Grinch. I especially like Ron Howard’s portrayal of this Dr Seuss short story because I think Jim Carrey is really funny and he does a really great job of bringing that Grinch character to the big screen. Anyone who has watched Jim Carrey play other roles knows that he is really good at over acting and I guess, at least for me, that is what makes him so funny.

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched this Hollywood blockbuster and if you haven’t, I’m certain that I can’t ruin it for you. I don’t think there’s a person on the planet that hasn’t heard of this short story originally penned by Theodor Seuss Geisel affectionately known as Dr. Seuss. This story is all about a Grinch like character that hates Christmas and oh yea, some tiny little Who people that are obsessed with it. Ordinarily, a person hating Christmas would be completely understandable but if you reside in Whoville hating Christmas doesn’t seem to be an option at all. Now enters onto the scene Cindy Lou Who. Little Cindy Who, the youngest of Who people, set out to do her own investigation to try and find out exactly why the Grinch, who was the only Who in Whoville, hated Christmas? Of course anyone who has seen the movie or read the book knows that not only did little Cindy Lou learn some things about this Grinch character, she also learned a lot more about the true meaning of Christmas. Now that’s a statement that is loaded with peril.

I'm not going to get on a soapbox here and argue that the Christmas holiday was initiated to compete with a pagan winter festival. Honestly, I won't argue this because I don’t think debating this issue really accomplishes a great deal. Many well-meaning Christians will argue that if you put up a Christmas tree or exchange gifts you are in sin because by doing these things you are participating in a pagan religious holiday. However, I think it would be good to take a hint from Cindy Lou Who and perform your own personal investigation. It’s just better to draw your own conclusion as to why you think it’s good or bad for Christians to celebrate Christmas? If you’ve read this far, not going to disappoint you, I’ll just give you a few things that little Cindy Lou Who learned about the Grinch and more importantly what Cindy Lou learned about Christmas.

Cindy Lou discovered that the Grinch hated Christmas because the people of Whoville were more concerned with receiving gifts than giving them. You remember, all the trash that the Who's threw away some how found its way up the mountain into the Grinch’s layer. Their trash, the Grinch would wear it, burn it or use it as a trash ball to throw against Mayor Augustus' larger than life photo. Whatever the case, the Grinch was on to something. If Christmas was about giving why were the people of Whoville so self-absorbed and mainly concerned with receiving?

The Grinch realized that the Who’s joy was superficial and it was based on getting stuff, stuff and more stuff. So with hate as his fuel the Grinch devised a plan. Armed with hate he dressed up as Santa Clause and he decided to steel everything from the Who’s that remotely reminded them of Christmas. Every Christmas tree, every toy, every candy cane...he stole everything.

So what did Cindy Lou and the Grinch learn from all this? I need to give you some truth to drop into your spirit, don’t want you to get lost in this incredible storyJ.

Cindy Lou Who learned that family and friends are the greatest gift of all. The Grinch learned that there is no greater gift than sacrifice. The Grinch was faced with saving Cindy Lou’s life or holding tightly to his hate for the people of Whoville and as we all well know love conquered hate.

The gift of Christmas is not about receiving gifts but about giving them. Jesus came as a gift to the whole world and the Scripture is clear that whoever receives that gift has everlasting life Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I don’t care about Christmas competing with a pagan holiday. That stuff does not matter to me at all. What does matter is that this is a day on just about every calendar in the world where everyone is making much of my Jesus the Son of God. The whole world recognizes the greatest gift the world will ever receive and that Gift is Jesus Christ...Don't you just love Christmas?

We’ve got help…no really we do!!!!

I have spent the last several weeks investigating and teaching about angels and yea fallen angels too, which by definition a demon is considered to be a fallen angel. Personally around Christmas time my interests seem to peek on the subject matter of the celestial kind. This is especially true as I sit and listen to the different accounts of the birth of Christ being read or retold, usually by some little kid reading from a poem that he/she has had to memorize for their Church’s Christmas pageant. My wife will certainly attest to the truth that I have a very vivid imagination. So, with that being said, whenever I read about angels appearing in the scriptures, whether these angels are singing or relaying messages to someone in particular, my imagination just kicks into high gear. Lets look for example at Luke’s account of the birth of Christ.

Dr. Luke, in Luke chapter 2, records that the Shepherds were in the fields watching over their sheep and the Angel of the Lord appeared and announced to them that Jesus the Christ had been born that day in their part of the country. Now when most people read that, they may just think “oh, how nice some sheep herders spoke to some Angles, wow that sounds pretty cool.” Not me man, remember I warned you earlier about this imagination of mine. I picture this huge gigantic man looking person. Bigger than any man that I’ve ever seen before. Who to look upon was a picture of strength and elegance. I also picture that the Angel himself had a brilliance about him self. I mean a glow or glory that just seemed to emanate from his entire body. Kind of like a radiance that is so bright and dazzling that to look upon is almost blinding to the naked eye. I could go on but I think your getting the picture that’s in my mind. And it’s true…I do think in color. While investigating the angelic activity in scripture I realized that Angels play a huge role in helping the people of God finish the work of God while living here on earth.

Let me explain, check this out Heb1:13-14 “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Now at this point we have learned that context, obviously, is the number one rule to help us learn the bible. So, before we break this passage down let me try and give you the context.

Paul, I believe, is writing to the Hebrews of his day. Of course this should be obvious given the title of the epistle or letter itself. It would appear from the beginning of this letter that Paul was writing with the intent to prove to these Hebrews that Jesus was indeed the messiah that they (Hebrews) all were waiting for. Paul, as part of proving the Messiahship of Jesus explained that Jesus, that young man from Galilee, was active and responsible for creating the universe. Paul also goes on to explain that angels worshiped this Jesus, this man from Galilee. This of course should have been an obvious clue or sign for them that this Jesus was no ordinary man. Their own sacred writings clearly stated that only God was to be worshiped, yet all Jews everywhere knew that this baby was worshiped by angels whenever he was born in Bethlehem.

Ok, now armed with that bit of context, Paul says something about angels in verse 14 that I find very interesting. Paul says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” Now, remember the context is about Jesus, his Messiahship and Angels. Now in verse 14 Paul refers to these angels as “ministering spirits.” Paul is letting us know that these celestial messengers are sent forth to also minister for the heirs of salvation. Heirs of Salvation are those folks who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. So then we need to examine this word minister to fully understand what angels are supposed to do for us, who are the heirs of salvation? Again that is what Angels are sent forth to do. They are sent forth to minister. To minister means to: comfort, to care for, to attend to, to protect and to serve. So then we, that is, those of us who are heirs of salvation, have Super Natural Angelic help to assist us in accomplishing all the purposes of God in our life.

OK, what does this mean? God is very interested in your success. So then as you pray for God’s Holy Spirit to fill and control you, don’t forget to also call on that heavenly host that God has created as a way of providing you the help you need in time of trouble. Now don’t go getting all confused and judgmental on me. I am in no way saying that we should pray to angels because that would be unbiblical. I am saying that your prayers should be for God to give charge over his Angels to come down and help you whenever you need it. It works, friend, it works. Let me tell you what happen to me just this morning.

I was on my way to work. And my car has been running really hot. I don’t have the money to fix it. So I woke up this morning and prayed for God to send his Angels to help keep my car from over heating. I had to get to work on time and didn’t want to be late and my only source of transportation was this car that is constantly overheating. My God came through. As I was driving, the car was starting to really get hot, but about that time I really began to pray specifically for God to send one of his Angels to fix the car and keep it from overheating. Just as I was beginning to pray, the temperature gauge was completely in the red and the car was starting to smell. Wouldn’t you know it, just as I said “Amen?” I watched that gauge with my own eyes, go from red to cool, in a matter of seconds, and I drove that car to work without a single problem. I know this may be hard to believe especially for the skeptical of heart, but it happened. Ask me how I know? I was thereJ.

So never forget this simple truth…you have supernatural Angelic help. God indeed has given to us His Spirit to minister To Us inwardly, but don’t forget, that God has also given us His Angels to minister For Us outwardly.

We are not alone…..

Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? I remember being in high school and there was a song that gained popularity called I always feel like Somebody’s Watching Me written by a group called Rockwell. I personally think that this song gained popularity because so many folks empathize with its lyrics. You may never admit it, but I’m sure there have been times that you were completely alone and knew it and yet you’ve felt the presences of someone else in the room. Well have no fear the bible gives us a biblical explanation for this sort of phenomenon……and here it is…. “We are not alone.”

You have to see this so that you don’t think that I’m making this stuff up. Note Ephesians 6:11-12: 11“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].”

Now obviously, according to the bible, there are things in this world that we wrestle against, that we simply cannot see with our eyes. This passage does say clearly that our wrestling is not against flesh or blood. By this, the Apostle Paul is saying “Listen folks, your fight is not against people.” Then he drops the bomb of truth on us and, by the way, this is the part of the passage where most folks miss it. Certainly the Devil himself is glad that we miss this simple truth. Our war, or fight, is against Principalities, Powers, and Rulers of Darkness and against spiritual wickedness in high places. I think it’s time for us to take our Greek lesson for the day because we get a lot more understanding whenever we look to the Greek form of the English word being used in the text.

The word “principalities” in the Greek is pronounced “är-khā” it means the same as the first order/rank in a hierarchy of demons or fallen angels. So, then Paul wants the Christian to understand that we are fighting against a sect or group of “Fallen Angels”…literally.

The word “powers” in the Greek is pronounced “eks-ü-sē'-ä.” The word exorcism is also derived from this same Greek word. Paul uses this word because he is communicating that we are warring against a dark power that also has the ability to oppress and or posses the human spirit. Christian’s differ on whether or not a believer can be possessed. That is a different discussion for a different day. However, Paul is definitely communicating that these dark demonic spiritual powers have the ability/power to both possess and oppress the people in this world. That is a fact.

The phrase “rulers of darkness” should be broken down into two parts in order to gain the full meaning of what Paul wants to teach us from the text. Now the word “rulers” in the Greek is pronounced “ko-smo-krä'-tōr.” This word means: Lord of the world or prince of this age. We can find other passages in the bible were Satan is referred to as the Prince and power of the air ref Ephsians2: 2. the word “darkness” is pronounced in the Greek “sko'-tos.” It can be interpreted to mean darkness in the sense of the metaphysical or unseen. If you put these two words together, rulers of darkness, Paul is simply saying that we fight against the ruler of this dark unseen world. So, then we know that the ruler of the dark unseen world is the same as the Devil himself. The other phrase that Paul uses in the text is “spiritual wickedness in high places”. By now we should not need to see the Greek explanation behind this same phrase to understand what Paul is communicating. Paul is clearly conveying to us that we are fighting against wicked powers that exist in another realm. Now remember this world can’t be seen with the naked eye. Paul, however, is letting us know from the text that Satan is the Prince and Power of the air that controls this Dark unseen world. I know some of you who are reading this, may be a skeptic but hang on a minute. I would like to run some quick real life stories down the hallway of your mind to deal with the skepticism of your heart.

What kind of power can take over a man and cause him to believe that it was his duty to eliminate an entire race of people because he felt that the ethnic group of people he represented was superior? Before Adolf Hitler’s blind hatred was finished he convinced the entire country of Germany to assist him in killing over 6 million Jews. Let me cite a quote from this mad man and you judge as to what realm his thinking originated from, “Anyone who sees and paints a sky green and fields blue ought to be sterilized.” Hang on, I’m not finished yet. What power would cause two teens to plan the death of several of their classmates and then turn the weapons on themselves? I’m just getting warmed up. What power will make a grown man go to a window were a young girl is asleep in her bed, snatch her out of her window, take her to a designated location, have intercourse with her and kill her? I got one more story I heard just this week. What power would cause a man to go into another man’s house beat and kill the husband, kill the two teen daughters, rape the wife and then burn the house down? I will tell you of such dark power. The master mind behind all this evil wickedness is the arch enemy of God, Satan himself, that once anointed angel who was perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him. His crime was that he thought he knew more than God the creator of the universe.

So the next time you think you’re alone just remember that according to that sacred book….. We are never alone. There is indeed another world. This unseen world is involved in a Holy War and what we see in our reality is in truth a manifestation of a reality that we cannot see. So, the next time that child rebel: that husband or wife steps out, that friend gives you the cold shoulder for no apparent reason or that loved would refuses to offer up forgiveness. Just remember this simple truth your fight is never against people. Our fight is against a foe whose greatest weapon is to keep us thinking and behaving as if he does not exist. The truth is if you are part of God's family you have overcome that wicked one. He may be at present winning the battle in your life but according to scripture the war is already won.

Real Joy Isn’t Always Contagious

Have you ever wished that finding and experiencing joy was as easy as baking chocolate chip cookies? I mean, it’s the "Holiday Season." It comes around once a year and…everyone should be joyful and full of holiday cheer, right? I mean, this is the time of year that families are reconnecting or reconciling, whichever works. Old friends are getting together. All peoples of the universe should be bursting with happiness. After all, Thanksgiving is only a few days away. And nobody fries chicken like my momma!!! (Sorry if you thought yo momma’s chicken is better than mine.)

What if you, somehow, could take a big GI-NORMOUS bowl and mix in some old friends or maybe your favorite set of family members? (Now that might be a tuffy J ) Some good food, some good music, stick them in the oven, and eureka... just like magic, instant joy and holiday cheer.

Well, unfortunately having peace, contentment, joy and satisfaction doesn’t quite come about as easy as mixing together chocolate chip cookies. For many folks this time of year can be difficult.

My father died at the age of 49 in December, 1996. Haven’t thought about this much……. don’t mean to get personal, but transparency is always therapeutic…..anyway, about a week ago I was talking with my son, Drew, who's 11, about my father. Drew has never met my daddy so consequently he doesn’t refer to him as grandpa. We talked about the night my daddy died. His death was a complete surprise to the entire family. At a time when everyone was celebrating and enjoying one another’s company, I was busy making funeral arrangements for my dad.

I was 27 when my dad died and I can still remember the pain just like it was yesterday. Drew, my son, is so inquisitive. He asked me if I cried, which is a reasonable question coming from an 11 year old. He hasn’t seen me cry much, if at all, so I thought, well yea, that’s a good question. I told him, "You know I was so busy making funeral arrangements I don’t think I had time to cry or mourn, really." I do remember crying and mourning some at dad’s services but I don’t ever really remember having much time after or before to mourn my daddy’s death. I think I know why. Allow me a minute to explain…but God.

You know, God has a way of taking our intense sorrows and griefs and turning them into instant Joy and Gladness. Some of you are thinking, “Wait a minute Pastor. You’re telling me it’s wrong to mourn or grieve a death?” No, I’m not saying that at all but what I am saying is that God gives to us, as his children, a guaranteed recipe to having full joy, especially during times of intense sadness. And wouldn’t you know it, God is the best cook ever.

Check out how the apostle Paul explains God’s “secret ingredients" (in my Jack Black voice) to getting and keeping full joy. I’ll pause here for a sec to give you a chance to go and grab a pin. You might want to write this verse down, it’s a gooden: Philippians2:1-8 “If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind.3[Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”

Paul says the key to having full joy is to make your business all about handling the business of God. That word “Fulfil” found in the text means; “to complete or fill up.” If joy, comfort and peace are things I want. Then having these things true in my life will only be accomplished as I began to think like Christ. The text says the same in verse 5, “let this mind, be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Well then, with that being said, it’s fair to ask “How do I get the mind of Christ?” Because again, having the mind of Christ is how my joy cup fills up and runs over. Paul gives to us the ingredients that all people every where need. Run and get your self a GI-NORMOUS bowl, and mix in some: humility, putting others first, some forgiveness, forgetting about your riches and wealth so others can enjoy the riches, forget about your reputation so others benefit. Obey God and His Word, even when following him seems crazy or ill advised.

Ok. The things I listed are what Christ did for us. So when we do what Christ did, we will, at that point, experience full joy.

Ok. Back to my Dad….almost finished bear with me. My Dad remarried when I was eight years of age or so. The reason why it was so difficult for me to mourn my Dad’s death is because my Dad and I were not very close. However, my Dad had a son from his second marriage. I knew my Dad’s son but he wasn’t really a brother. To be honest, he was just like another kid, at least that’s how I saw it. Well, this son, Antwan, was a lot closer to Dad than I ever was. When Dad died Antwan, who was 12 at the time, had a huge void in his life.

God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, began to work in the heart of my wife. And she fell in love with this knuckle head. It was as if she knew something about this kid that I didn’t. Well, long story short, my fathers son, my brother, moved in to our home almost a month after my dad passed and we raised that boy just like he was our own child. It took a lot of sacrifice. It took us not thinking about our reputation. It took some forgiveness on my part for sure. God took all of the hurt and pain and turned it into joy almost instantly. Antwan is now 28 years old, has a loving wife and 5 beautiful kids, and his kids call me Papa.

I didn’t stuff the feelings about my Dad’s death into a corner. The truth is, I really couldn’t mourn his death because so much good came from something so tragic. I know someone is reading this that needs to read this. I am very sorry for writing such a long post but I know from experience that when we get and keep the mind of Christ, genuine joy certainly does follow.

Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind

Have you ever felt like you had two different people living inside your head? You know what I mean, a devil on one shoulder and a sweet little angel on the other shoulder. The devil of course constantly whispering into you’re ears tempting you to do things that you knew were wrong, and then that sweet little angel of course on the other shoulder reminding you to do what you knew to be right.

I remember growing up watching Tom & Jerry cartoons. You might remember that meddling cat Tom was always trying to catch and eat Jerry that sneaky little mouse. I remember watching one episode in particular where Tom had a tiny angel that would popup out of thin air onto his shoulder and remind him how wrong it was for him to try and catch that sweet little mouse Jerry. And on the other shoulder he would have a tiny devil that looked a lot like him, telling him how upset he should be because Jerry keeps stealing cheese and getting him into trouble with his owner. You remember that big old black lady with those big floppy house shoes and that rolled up news paper in her hand armed and ready to spank Tom because he was such a lazy cat. If you remember just about the time Tom would surrender to his tiny look alike angel who had been whispering in his ear. Jerry that innocent little mouse would walk by with a piece of cheese in his hand and poof just like that the angel and the devil both would disappear as quickly as they appeared. And off Tom would go chasing Jerry around the house destroying everything in his path.

This cute little cartoon was created by Cartoonists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and the episode that I described a minute ago really does an excellent job of illustrating what’s currently happening right now in your head. Don’t worry I’m going to give you some bible to help you get this truth down in your spirit.

Ok, what you should do is stop reading right this minute go grab your bible and read all of Romans chapters 7 and 8. The apostle Paul does a much better job of describing this inner battle than I ever will, but don’t panic you’ve read this far so, I wont leave you hanging. I’ll give you a nugget of truth that God gave to me before I’m finished. Ok check out Romans7:22-25 “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Ok, here is the truth behind Tom and those tiny little friends that often fought for his attention on his shoulders. When we made a decision to place our faith in Jesus Christ our inward man is the same as Tom’s little angel. The Greek word used for inward man is “eso” this Greek word means the same as conscience, soul and internal inner man.

Paul is saying that as a God follower my soul or inward man delights in God and his word. But then there are also the desires of my flesh that only seek to please itself. My flesh is not subject to God it only wants to do what makes it feel good. Paul concludes that he is torn from within, he admits that inside of his head his Flesh and Inward Spirit is having an all-out- war. So, then Paul reconciles these two thoughts that are so different in his head. Now listen closely to this because this is the nugget you’ve been waiting for. Paul says whenever he has a thought that drives him away from God that thought was formulated or initiated deep within his flesh. And when he has thoughts that are to do God’s bidding these thoughts are being formulated and initiated from his Inward Man, which he received the day he got saved. Now that’s a thought for another day. This however, explains how a God fearing person can do things that are not very Godly. And in the very next breath do things that are Godly. The good news is that you’re not crazy and you’re definitely not losing your mind. Here’s the truth of the whole matter, you are only………HUMAN. So then, spiritual maturity will come to the one who learns to BE more Godly and less Human.

This is more than I can bear......!!!

I have heard every saying imaginable to men that folks use as a way or means of encouraging themselves whenever they have fallen upon difficult times. Think about what I just said for a minute, whenever times become difficult you can hear these old sayings just drift across the crevasse of your brain; it gets worst before it gets better; you have to go through in order to get to where God wants you to be. How about this one, by the way this is one that I hear most often, are you ready? Okay, here goes, anything worth having is worth fighting for.

I know for me personally understanding and knowing these clichés has proven to be very helpful at times…I think. However, a curious thing that I’ve noticed about these short sayings or clichés is that most of the time these sayings can be traced back to the pages of scripture. Kinda like the saying “This is more than I can bear.” I was visiting with a friend here recently we were sharing our hearts with one another. We were discussing how that the hardest thing to do or accomplish seems to bring about the greatest benefit or change. As we were discussing I thought about the cliché; anything worth having is worth fighting for. However, one of the sad things about these short phrases or cliché is that we use them so often and will not give much thought as to what they really mean or where the cliché itself originated from.

Let me hit you with a definition; a cliché is a phrase or word that has lost its original effectiveness or power from over use. So the saying “more than I can bear” has tied to its meaning, deep biblical truth. And I think this phrase is worth investigating. Let me put some biblical context with this cliché in particular that will help you see the images that pop into my head whenever I hear this commonly used phrase being quoted. Check this verse out Hebrews12:1-2“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” So when I hear folks say, Pastor “This is more than I can bear.” I began to picture the words of this verse flashing in my minds eye. And when I do that, I get a vivid picture of Jesus our Savior enduring the suffering of Calvary’s Cross. Blood dripping from his brow from the crown of thorns pressed into his head. There is also blood spewing from his back and all over his body from the beating he endured from the leather strap, with the metal pieces on the end tip of the strap. I can also see sweat dripping off his body just from the shear weight of bearing this cross, this tree mind you. Dirt and mud was smeared all over his body, because he fell to the ground so many times. Again this cross was heavy even for a man who spent most of his life carving up these same trees finishing up projects assigened to him by his step father. Remember Jesus was raised and trained by his step father who was a carpenter. That tree he carried it with the strength of his back and legs. Remember Jesus was strong and also very physical he was raised on the country side where the belief was if a man didn't work he shouldn't eat. Ultimately this tree would be the tool used to crucify him with. Yet he kept marching up Golgotha’s hill step by step. And get this according to the verse above he did it with Joy……Wow that’s just so incredible to ponder. According to the text, Jesus was able to endure, bear such suffering because of the change his suffering would bring about for himself and also the World. You see his death and resurrection made him Lord of all, and it also made it possible for us to become God’s children. So the next time you find yours self using the cliché “This is more than I can bear.” I want you to ask yourself the following questions;

· Can God be Glorified as I endure THIS suffering: What is THIS for you. Are you suffering because a bad choice you made or a choice someone else made. At the end of the day more important than you and your suffering is God and his Glory. Hard to digest when you’re suffering but truth is often difficult to digest.

· Can other’s benefit from this suffering I am enduring: You see I find it curious that when suffering comes we are so quick to get angry or upset. But Jesus with all the strength in the universe in a single word could have said “Father make this all stop.” But he doesn’t. Why? Because he knew that you and I would benefit greatly because of his shame.

· What areas in my life are being strengthened because of my suffering: I know we are not Jesus. But we are in the process of being conformed into the image of Jesus. So, what is the best way to produce Christ image in us? Suffering.

· Is there a part of my suffering that will essentially lead to greater Joy: God created us as creatures who love to have and experience real joy? Ultimately the best way to get full joy is to put ourselves in positions where we can give without expecting anything in return. Let me give you an example of how this works out in real life. Jesus experienced Optimum Joy primarily because he offered his life as a sacrifice on Calvary’s Cross. You see Jesus was able to do for you and I what we could not do for ourselves. And this caused Jesus Joy level to shoot through the roof.

So the next time you find yourself uttering the phrase “This is more than I can bear...” Just focus your mind on JESUS. I think by doing this, you will have an entirely different point of view of the cliché “This is more than I can bear….”

Got...Jesus?

I consider myself to be a reasonable person. I don’t bungee cord jump off mountains, I don’t watch scary movies after six in the evening, and hmm lets see…..I don’t usually ride my Motor Bike without a helmet. I would say that I am a fairly sensible, logical and fairly practical in my thinking. Of course there are those who know me personally that would disagree.

However, as it relates to my belief in Jesus my logic and reason according to some folks takes a sabbatical. Have you ever stoped to think what we Christians say we believe?

We assert that God wrote the bible and that this bible is without error. Meaning every word and idea is Truth. The stories in this book the bible go far beyond any human logic. I mean to tell you, listen to this; men talk to bushes that are on fire but never burn completely. Seas separate and millions of folks walk through on dry land. These same people live in the dessert for 40 years and God feeds them with food from heaven. He keeps them warm with a fire at night, keeps them cool with a cloud in the day, they lived in a desert people!!!!!! Check this out, their cloths never get old and their shoes never ware out. I mean using the restroom had to be a nightmare.

Here’s one that always struck me as hard to believe a fish swallows a man and that man lived inside the fish for three days. No worries the fish puked him up onto dry-land after the third day and then the guy wised up and decided it was better to obey God. How about this one, bet you thought I forgot about this one didn’t you. God tells his nation of warriors to march around a huge wall for some days and then He instructs them that at the end of their marching just blow your trumpets and the walls surrounding this city are gonna fall down FLAT. Sure-nuff they do it, they obeyed and Lickity-Split, just like that those walls FELL FLAT.

Here’s the best one of all. The bible, the book teaches us that God impregnated a virgin who’s name was Mary. Mary gives birth to the God Man whose name was Jesus. Jesus taught the people of his day that he was sent from God and that he was also God’s Son. Jesus also taught that they, the people did not have to See God. Because when they saw him they were at the same time “Seeing God,” because he and God were one and the same person. This made the religious leaders of his day furious and they plotted and schemed and had Jesus murdered. No worries because according to the book after three Days He Walked Out of the Tomb alive and well. He eventually showed himself to hundreds of people and walked around on earth for 40 more days before he goes back to Heaven, promising to return at some point in the future.

Ok, what’s the point of all this I want you to listen clearly to the alternative. We were not created by God at all. No a thousands time no, In fact nothing was created by God at all. A billion or so years ago somewhere in the outer galaxies things got so heated that an explosion occurred. Well this explosion caused matter to float around in space. This matter floated and eventually a big ball formed because all the matter began to stick together once everything cooled-off. This gigantic ball eventually grew trees and vegetation and what-not. Then the unthinkable occurred a few random cells connected on this floating ball and formed amino acids. These amino acids formed the basis for all life on this ball that we now call Earth. Essentially after a few billion years these primitive cells grew to become what we know now as animals, ocean life, and yea go figure, Humans.

My friend my brain is not on sabbatical at all, anyone who believes that load of hot-air, not only are they not thinking. But it requires more faith to believe that nonsense than it does to simply trust in what God’s Word Says. Not a single one of us will walk up to an automobile and accept the notion that it just appeared. Nor should we accept the notion that we or the earth and everything in it, just appeared. God created us he gave us a book that gives to us the answer and also a road map on how we can have an abundant life. I want to leave you with a verse of scripture that sparked all of this pontificatin, its found in Colossians1:16-17 “For by Jesus were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Jesus, and for Jesus: And Jesus is before all things, and by Jesus all things consist.” Jesus the God-Man is the explanation and the answer. If you have not made him your Lord and Savior do it today. Got……….Jesus?

I Love You

Do you love me? This is the same question that Jesus asked Peter. Peter and his boys were out fishing on the Banks of the Sea of Tiberias and Jesus shows up. Has anyone ever asked you that question, “Do you love me?” If someone was to ask that question of you then, it’s obvious that they have an expectation of you. Meaning they have a reason to believe that you do in fact love them. As in the case of Jesus and Peter, Jesus had reason to believe that Peter loved him.

I just finished the Sermon Series “the Gospel According to Jesus” and I really had a lot of fun teaching through the many different teachings of Jesus. This past Sunday we ended the series with the question that Jesus posed to the Apostle Peter. John21:15 “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” You see there in the verse Jesus is asking Peter point blank “Do you love me more than these.”

I’m not a psychologist, meaning I don’t profess to be an expert on the human thought process, but I believe that it’s true to say that what a person spends money, time and energy doing reveals what they truly love. In other words if I spend lots of money and time on myself or boating, training, working, leisure or fishing then I know based on simple observation what I truly love.

So, Ok Jesus appears for the third time after he has risen from the grave to his disciples and he finds his lead apprentice doing what he loved to do. He finds Peter on the fish bank, fishing for fish. This wouldn’t be a bad thing, but the fate of the entire world was left in the hands of this Apostle Peter. Jesus gave to the apostles, a message that had to be shared. And Jesus was leaving Peter as one of the primary person who would be responsible to ignite a fire that’s still burning till this very day.

Jesus had to be sure that Peter understood what he meant by asking him “do you love me.” I love the way Jesus just makes the difficult so clear. Jesus asked Peter three times do you love me more than these. And the third time the text tells us that Peter became grieved in his Spirit because Jesus asked that same question three times. And Jesus gave the same command each of the three times Peter said "yes, lord I love you. Jesus would say, "then feed my lambs." Now remember, to be grieved means that Peter became agitated and angry because Jesus asked this same question three times mind you. I believe that Peter became grieved because he knew that Jesus was really asking, why are you fishing for fish, because if you loved me like you say that you do, you would be fishing for men, feeding the lambs.

I just finished reading a book authored by a man that God used mightily while he lived. I want to give you a quote from his book “The Pursuit of Man”; I love the way AW Tozer makes the point of what it means to know and Love God. “The man who would know God must give time to Him, He must count no time wasted which is spent in the cultivation of His acquaintance. He must give himself to meditation and prayer hours on end. So did the saints of old, the glorious company of the apostles, the goodly fellowship of the prophets and the believing members of the holy Church in all generations. And so must we if we would follow in their train.”

Jesus ask this same question of every person who professes to name the name of Jesus Christ, lovest thou me more than these. Wait, hold on a minute, don’t answer the question just yet.

What do you spend time and money doing. Are you sharing Jesus with others? Do you spend time discovering the things that the bible teaches? Are you supporting the church financially, Are you actively involved in a healthy local church? Are you feeding his sheep, are you loving people? If you’re not actively doing these things and more of what the bible teaches, then do you really Love God more than these? I Love youJ

Greater works than who ………… Jesus?

I know that some of us are not avid readers and if your not that’s fine. But whether you are, are your not. There is not many folks that hadn't heard of the book written by Pastor Rick Warren titled The Purpose Driven Life. If you haven’t read the book its well worth your time.

Pastor Rick lets us know at the beginning of each chapter that he stole all of his material from the bible. Every Pastor if their honest would have to admit that their richest learning came from pouring through the pages of scripture with out exception.

Now with that being said I was reading this morning through John’s Gospel and I had what I often refer to as an “aha moment.” I’ve been really focusing on the comments and teachings of Christ which is why I am on purpose reading and rereading through the four Gospels. At one point Jesus told his disciples that what they saw him do; they would go on to-do even greater works.

Ok, stop the press, hang on wait a minute. Have mine eyes deceived me. I think I need to look at the Greek to verify if the translators got this right. All kidding aside check this out John14:11-12 “Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”I often quote this passage of scripture but I never noticed that the “He” is capitalized in mid sentence of verse12. Your thinking what’s the big deal about that. Well it’s a big deal because the translators of the version that I am quoting from often capitalized words like him or he, when they were making reference to God as the direct subject of the personal pronoun they were using in place of the name of God.

So look at the sentence again and pay attention to the words that are capitalized in verse mentioned, “12He that believeth on me, ……….. because I go unto my Father.” It could be a coincidence or the translators could be trying to give us a clue here.

Let me tell you why I think "He" is capitalized. When we see “He” capitalized in verse 12, we should immediately get the idea that the translators are conveying to us that the “He” that is doing the mighty works is not “us at all.” It is actually God working through us to do the great works that Jesus did while he was here on earth. Now that I have that understanding, when I witness men/woman accomplishing mighty supernatural works, I should know that what I am witnessing according to John14 is not the work of man but God working through the man or woman that believes in Him.

So, then if it’s “He (God)” that works in “me” that does the greater works. Then In order for me to do the work that Christ did, my life cannot be about "me." I have to make my life all about Him (God). This is where I believe Pastor Rick Warren nailed it. The very first chapter of his book “Purpose Driven life” exact quote “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on the planet, you must begin with God.” Ok, then how does the person think that knows life is not about them? Because this is the mindset you must have if you will accomplish these mighty works that God put you here to do. Keys to accomplishing the supernatural work of Christ

· See Yourself as God Sees you: if God says you can you will

· Make Sure your Goals are God Sized: If God does not do it you won’t and can't get it done

· Make Sure that God is your Senior Partner: Ask yourself Is God directing my steps

· Have more Faith in God than your Resources: IF God truly ordered it He can pay for it

· Make sure that your Plans come from God: Even though you have faith a failure to plan is still lack of faith

· God Centered Goals will Never Grow Cold: A work for or with God is fueled by The Holy Spirit's mighty power

· God gives us assignments but we are still responsible for staying diligent: I am waiting on God should not be an excuse for not being diligent

If we approach life beginning today with the mindset we just discussed. According to Jesus you can and will accomplish greater works than even him. Now get to workJ

Is Jesus going to return…………….huh?

I have been a God follower for many years now. One of the things that have always gotten my attention is to hear folks talk about Jesus coming back to earth the second time. You may have heard it said this way, at least I have, “Jesus came as a Suffering Savior and he will return as Conquering king.” I have to be honest and say, that when I was a kid, the thought of Christ returning to earth brought fear to my heart and a lot of questions. I’ve never given much thought to why the thought of Jesus coming back brought fear to my heart, but as a young boy, growing up in the 70”s it really did scare me to think that Jesus was actually going to come back……to earth. I mean what was Jesus gonna do? What would Jesus change about the world as I knew it? I was 8 years old in 1976 when I trusted Jesus and became a God follower. And I can honestly say that I became a God follower because I didn’t want Jesus to “come again” and not be ready…….and believe me for an 8year old kid “not being ready” meant many things

Ok, so I’m reading through the gospel of Matthew and to my chagrin Jesus is having a conversation with his disciples about wouldn’t you know it; his definite return?

Toward the end of Jesus earthly ministry Jesus reminded his disciples that he was going to die and rise again and that he would go and be with God his father for a while but he would eventually return. Now the disciples were normal folk so they asked what you and I would’ve asked if Jesus had made the same remark to us note Matt24:3“And as Jesus sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

Now obviously from reading the verse the disciples wanted to know a lot more than just, Jesus returning to earth again, because if you read the verse clearly the disciples ask three questions.

· when shall these things be

· what [shall be] the sign of thy coming

· When will the world end

So then we know that what is read from verse 3 on is going to answer all three questions. I want you to notice how Christ answers the question “what will be the sign of his coming.” Because for me I find Jesus answer to that question in particular most troubling. Matt24:36-39 “But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.37 But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

You ever get the sense that though so much truth about God and his Son Jesus is available on; Facebook, the world wide web, ipod, youtube, podcasting, volumes and volumes of books, local missionaries, gospel tracks, radio, television, churches abroad, local churches and the Bible itself and anything else you can think of that I have missed. And people are eating, drinking and giving in marriage. That is what I find so troubling. We indeed are living in the last days because the days are similar or like Noah’s days. Although so much information about Jesus is available many are not responding to the gospel or The Proclamation, “Christ is Coming Again.” As Noah preached we too must not grow tired of proclaiming the good news. That same old ancient message that got my attention in 1976 before the days of internet and cell phones has not changed. Jesus is coming again to receive his own. Are you ready for Jesus the King of Kings Return J?

I AM SOOOOO …………………. TIRED!!!!!!!!

Over the past few weeks we have really been paying close attention to both the conversations and comments of Jesus. So to be honest I have read and reread the stories found in the gospels over and over again. And so I’m reading through Matthew’s Gospel, again, and I have zeroed in on a time that Jesus is praying. And after he finishes his prayer he makes this comment to the multitude.

The comment itself is pretty amazing. But the comment in light of the fact that Jesus just finished praying sheds a whole different light on a passage that I have quoted so many times. The pray is in Matt11:25, check it out, “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. Not to get bogged down in this prayer, because the prayer is not the point of my thoughts. However, I feel that the prayer illuminates the comment that Jesus makes in the very next verse. Ok, so Jesus prays and I’m going to take some literary liberty here just to make it interesting. Jesus prays in my words mind you “Hey Dad, I know you have every thing in this world under your control. I want to give you a big shout out for that. Dad I want to especially thank you for hiding truth from those folks who think that they have all the right answers. And you know Dad, I want to especially thank you for only revealing truth to those who posses a child like faith, because I know that is what truly brings you pleasure.

Ok, now Jesus prays this prayer to his father then he makes this next statement to the multitudes, check this out Matt11:28 “Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.30For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light”

So then, in light of Jesus prayer, the one who submits to the yoke of Christ is the one who has a Child like heart. The infant, the babe at heart he/she surrenders over the controls of his/her life to God. A baby a child has a heart that’s trusting. If you give a baby a bottle it’s not going to test the bottle for arsenic. The child the infant takes the bottle because it trusts the one who gave it to drink. I get the sense from this passage that Jesus wants us to trust him the same way an infant trust it's mother.

God’s burdens are not heavy and his yoke is light because his love for us is the measure he uses whenever he gives us a load to carry. We know this scripture all too well don’t we “God will not tempt us above that we are able to endure.” So if his yoke or will for us becomes hard and his burdens become heavy, then Love is no longer the measure or the weight of my load of burden. I have added on to my load of love, Pride, selfishness, self centeredness and all these make a light and sometimes difficult load from our God seem so very heavy. If you have become tired and weary then listen to a great but simple truth you are bearing a load that God did not give you to carry.

Jesus expects me to be………….perfect

For the past several weeks I’ve been focusing on the gospels during my quite time with the Lord. I’ve been really paying close attention to what Jesus both said and taught. To be transparent the reason that I have focused on the teachings of Jesus because I’ve had this feeling that my idea of what it means to be a God follower are different than what Jesus actually taught and to be honest my suspicions to some extent were correct.

Not sure what goes through your mind when you think of the word perfect, but I can tell you what thoughts of grandeur go through my mind. Perfect to me means: flawless, no mistakes and unblemished you get the picture. I can’t tell you how many times in my mind that I have rewrote a sermon or relived a moment again and again because things didn’t turn out “perfect” meaning the way I envisioned that they should.

However, in my reading this morning I ran across a conversation that Jesus was having with a group of folks and Jesus used the word “perfect.” Jesus used this word to describe what God the Father expects from us as God followers. Check this out Matt5:48“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Ok, did you see that? Now I know context is everything but there is also another part of reading the bible that is as important as context and that’s “language.” So, before you throw your hands up in desperation and say that infamous phrase “nobody’s perfect.” Let’s get the context first and then will look to language.

The context of the statement that Jesus makes is really setup in verse Matt5:43-44 check it out, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Now the reason this is the context is because Jesus wanted his listeners to become or be the person that Loves his enemies and prays for the person that persecutes them.

So then, what twisted kind of individual loves their enemy? Oh hang on, I’m not done yet, what sick or demented individual loves that person who is trying to hurt them on purpose. Well the answer to that question is found in verse 48 where Jesus says “Be ye therefore perfect.”

So then If your like me, your wondering if I road the short yellow bus when I was in school. Well I didn’t, because if I did I wouldn’t know Greek. Let me give you a language lesson in Greek. The word “perfect” in Greek is translated “teleios and the meaning of this Greek word is similar to the English word mature.” So, the people listening to Jesus didn’t hear perfect what they heard was “be ye mature.” I’ve been having a lot of fun making up list, so I’m not going to disappoint you today either. So let me leave you with six things to look for and work toward as you are on that road toward maturity.

· A mature person has learned that they don’t always have to be right

· A mature person is ok with saying “I’m sorry I was wrong”

· A mature person will listen, hear and understand another person’s perspective even if they don’t agree

· A mature person knows how to give Love when what they would rather give is Hate

· A mature person will always seek out Wisdom

· A mature person understands the value of the word “NO”

Now that I have a better understanding of the word perfect, I can honestly say that I am moving toward perfection every day. Are you?