Happy Anniversary Baby

I would love to say that I've got it all figured out...that I'm the best husband...yaddi yadda yaddi. And that's how our marriage has thrived for these many years. What I have learned is there is always more to learn. I'm the best husband when I've died to self. Amazing, just what the Bible teaches (Eph.5). A man is to sacrifice for his wife as Christ sacrificed for the church. I didn't say I do that all the time. I said, life is great when I do actually do that. My wife is awesome, but we are completely different people. (on almost every issue known to man...haha, but true). So, we'll have discussions periodically in the marriage when our differences rise to confliction. (I know that's not a word, but it fits.) And we'll both work on being different...being what the other person needs. And just like clock work, if I'm really trying or she is really trying, then the other one will push the buttons. You know the buttons that just ... well you know. ---What I'm saying is marriage is work. It is love mixed in with a whole lot of commitment. There is no plan B or D for that matter. When you make that kind of commitment, you have to work things out. Happy Anniversary baby, and thanks for sticking with me on this crazy ride. Let's keep on keepin' on and one day we'll figure it out. I am blessed to take this journey with you. Love ya.

How do I focus in prayer for 30 minutes?

How do I focus in prayer for 30 minutes?

1. You need a quiet place, because you don't want the regular distractions that come from noise and traffic.(sight)
2. You can certainly do this with your eyes open. Praying with your eyes closed is kind of a western culture thing. It's good, but not necessary.
3. Calm your spirit, because you do speak to the LORD, and He speaks to you spirit to spirit. (1 Cor.2)
4. Read a Psalm. Sometimes that can be calming. Ps.46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God."
5. Have pen and paper ready for when God speaks. Just write it down, don't worry about figuring out what it means. Pray for discernment. If He lays the name of a person on your heart then pray for them. Sometimes I will send the person a note or call and let them know that God put them on my heart and I prayed for them. (Sometimes they will tell you why or just thank you.)
6. Since this is a new habit, you might have to stand up or something to keep you from nodding off. Certainly don't attempt this at bed time. Be fresh we you spend time with God. Don't give Him the scraps of your day. (He knows!)
7. Don't hog up the prayer time. Pray what is on your heart, and then shut up and listen for God.
8. Talk to Him as face to face.
9. Don't be discouraged. Satan will throw every distraction your way to keep you from praying like this, because he knows the power of prayer. Stand firm!

God's Groove

It was tough, but I took a little break from writing while on vacation. Teresa and I had a great time on a laid-back "no-shoes" vacation. It was simple and perhaps boring(to others), but we both enjoyed this time. Listening to music was one of the constants. Funny that one of the most spiritual moments came while listening to a Michael Jackson song. I don't even remember the song (listening to Pandora), but it was recorded live. It was really cool, because the audience was getting into the song and he just shut up and you could hear hundreds (probably thousands) of people singing his song. I commented to Teresa on how cool that must be. The previous week at church I could actually hear the audience singing (almost over the band) which is tough to do at the sound-unfriendly cafeteria (worshipatorium). I digress. Anyway, Teresa had great insight (or lucky, we'll give her insight) she agreed it was cool, but she said "How do you think the writer/artist of the song feels when a large group of people sing their song in unison?" Bam! ---All this time, we've been talking about God being the artist and us being His masterpiece (Eph.2:10); and she has been working with the Kidz during church all this time. She's so smart! ---Imagine that: how does God feel when we are singing His song? I think He smiles. Come on. His song is on your lips. Sing it. You know it. Sing the song we all know loud and together. Get into God's groove.

Take the Long Way

Satan took Jesus up on the peak of a mountain to lie to him...I mean to tempt him. No I mean lie to him, because that's what he does. He gets us a long way from something, where we can't necessarily hear or see the truth and he either suggests stuff or flat out lies to us. If he can get us all wound up with anxieties before we meet with other people or deal with a situation he has succeeded. Anxieties, worries and fear often stem from believing the suggestions of doubt that Satan throws at us when the distance of time or place stand between us and the event or people. Discouragement is not from God. He will also take us to the peak of the mountain lying to us about what he will give us. What he's really doing is distracting us from doing God's will. He talks short-cuts and God's people like everyone likes a good short-cut. Yet, when we take short-cuts we circumvent God's will; and this usually leads to a longer way. Message: don't listen to the lies, the distractions or promises of short-cuts. Take the long way, instead of an even longer way laced with trauma and assorted flavors of junk. God doesn't use short-cuts. He knows we need the character building that takes place on the long way.

The Real Real World

Something just snapped. I just read an article where two politicians (President&TeaPartier) got into heated discussion and name calling and didn't really have a fruitful discussion. This is the epitome of what has gotten this country into a quagmire. Two sides who believe passionately different things would rather engage in name-calling attempting to discredit the other's right to even have an opinion. Thus, real conversation, which could lead to answers and actually solve critical problems, never takes place. Consequently, our nation is held hostage.---In the real world we have to talk things out. I remember back in my retail sales days, when customer satisfaction was #1; I felt our company went too far. I remember having to give a sure-enough crazy lady a set of mag wheels for free, because the company didn't want to argue with her (she was way wrong, but I submitted to the man). On another occasion, I remember a man coming in mad, because the tire he just bought had blown out. (FYI: tires don't just blow out.) I was polite and calmly inspected the tire and showed the man (who showed his rear-end) the nail that punctured the tire. He said, that it was still my fault. I turned my head, took a deep breath and exhaled. That's what you do in the real world. You can't just call people names and discredit them and not deal with a situation. I asked the man, "Sir, what do you think I should do?" He said he wanted a free tire. The showdown took place in a packed showroom. The man made a real jerk of himself, and I could feel the compassion the other customers had for me "just doing my job." I didn't say a word. (I was torqued, but didn't show it.) As the manager, I knew the buck stopped with me. We weren't calling the home office on this one. I went outside, worked my tension off by doing a little manual labor. I handled it and told him to have a nice day. He looked slightly embarrassed, but still hot. ---Sometimes you have to lose to win in the real world. Honestly, I hoped that guy went to my competitors next time. But I had a packed showroom of customers that would be loyal to me. You see, in the real world we have to deal with stuff. We can't call people names. Washington has totally forgotten who the customer is, and has no idea what customer satisfaction is! I think it would be pretty cool if they used my crappy insurance for a year. In the real world, we pay high premiums, high deductibles and monthly doctor bills. I just wished they would get together and talk about it. Every time, EVERY TIME, I ever had my assistant manager come get me and tell me we had an angry customer at the counter, I had to talk to him/her. Do you know what I did? First of all, I listened. Secondly, I assumed that perhaps it was our fault. Even if I thought it wasn't because we were good at what we did; I always gave the customer the benefit of the doubt. Because if you assume something, well you know how that ends. Anyway, EVERY time, because I had the right attitude (here's the attitude: the cash register belongs to the customer.) I listened, empathized, and asked what it would take to solve their problem. And EVERY time, I dealt with it. You see, I had learned my lesson. If they call the 800Number, I'll be giving them the farm! But, it didn't have to be that way, if I just listened, and helped a brother out. It would pay off in the end. In the real world, we have to live together. We have to get along. ---This whole politician thing is played out. Get in a room, listen to each other. And for goodness' sake use just a little common sense. At this point, the American citizen couldn't give a rip which of you is right or wrong, we need somebody to do something. Do the right thing! Don't worry about getting re-elected...it probably ain't happening anyway! Be the hero, to your customer...the public.

"We're Trying to Do Something Around Here"

Excerpt from Neh.4 Devotion: "Determination"
Nehemiah was trying to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. The first step was the wall. It was hard work (major understatement!). The city walls had been reduced to rubble, and the city had been burned down by the enemy. They had detractors and lived among the enemy. However, the people came together for a common cause for the LORD their God. They couldn't leave the job site. They could hardly rest. They held a weapon in one hand and a tool in the other hand. The work was very spread out so they had trumpets to call for help. They worked sunrise to sunset. During this time they didn't even change clothes. IT was hot, stinky, hard work but it had to be done. ---It was a season in life. They had to suck it up. Determination triumphed over an extreme situation.
Our church and other churches (led by faithful pastors) are trying to do something around here. We're trying to lift up the name of Jesus by doing what we do. Have you even broken a sweat doing the work of your church? Can you do more to lighten the load on another? Or can you step your game up to fill a current need in the church? Try to say "yes to the what", and not say "no" so quickly when called upon to serve. We're trying to do something here. We're trying to rebuild the relationships of men with God. It's called the ministry of reconciliation (2Cor.5). That's why we do what we do! Live with determination.

Barefoot and Baby

I just drove past a cute teenage girl who was walking barefoot and carrying her beautiful baby. She looked 17-19. It's like 105 degrees outside. A few thoughts ran through my mind. Where's the daddy? Did her car break down? I looked ahead and saw no car. Could I give her a ride? But that thought was quickly dismissed. I would have been considered a perv. Plus, I didn't have a car seat, and that would have been illegal. All signs of the day that we live in. ---But back to where is the daddy and why is she in that situation? At 105 degrees this was no leisure walk, this was a had-to-get-somewhere walk. Dang it. Somewhere along the way she let some guy say what she wanted to hear to get what he wanted. Maybe her mom and dad ignored her, or since they were split up she was unsupervised or lacking limitation/boundaries. Obviously, I'm speculating. Her teenage husband could have had their only car while he was working hard at the Subway. Maybe I just wrote this to say, "Girls save it for marriage. Guys will say or do anything to get the sexual gratification they desire. Perhaps 1 of 10 won't, and that's the one guy you want. Teen pregnancy is a top reason for poverty in America. This kind of poverty is preventable, so save it.

Judge Not or Judge?

Often people will say that the Bible says not to judge people. These people have not read the Bible. It does tell us to not go around wagging our finger at people. There's an old saying "if you're pointing your finger at a person, then you have four more fingers pointing back at yourself." While that is not a Bible verse, it is pretty close to the biblical principle about not judging others. But the Bible does tell us to judge our selves and test ourselves to make sure we are in the faith (2Cr.13:5). But back to judging others. In 1 Corinthians 5 we're told that it is not our responsibility to judge those that are outside the church. These are people that are not saved, they are not Christians. ---I don't judge these folks at all, because sinners do what sinners do; and sinners will be going where sinners will be going. I am not even judging by using the name sinner. It is what it is. I used to be unsaved, lost, sinner, whatever word you want to use. I love folks that don't know Jesus, and I pray for them to come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But now I've been saved, I've been set free in Christ as a believer! And as a believer, part of my responsibility and your responsibility is to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those outside the church. Now, I don't go around, nor do I care to go around pointing out people's sins; but I've come to find out that many Christians will blatantly sin in public, and that is where the problem is. So, I'm saying you don't have to go looking; it's right in front of you. For example, when people know that you and your girlfriend are both Christians and you are living together (I use this example for it is not hypothetical, but sadly prevalent in America today) your friends know about it. No one has to point it out. And if people know you claim to be a Christian then you are dragging the name of Christ through the mud. Consequently, why would your lost friends want to come to Christ when they can live like you without Christ. Also, when you come to church (while living this lifestyle) you're bringing unholiness into the church. It hinders the growth of the church. We're not talking about "goof-ups" and "slip-ups", but blatantly living against God's Word. LIFESTYLE. Yeah, I'm going to tell you about it if I know about it; because I'm supposed to. Better yet, your Christian friends have that responsibility as much as the pastor. So, don't chicken out and make the pastor go do it. In fact, that's gossip. If you know about it, go tell them, "Hey, if you say you're a Christian you ought not be doing that (whatever that is). "
Hear my heart. I love people and want to see all come to Christ. I hate it when people that claim to be Christians think they have some kind of deal with God and can live against God's Word. Also, I despise it when people come telling on someone to me. If you're a Christian, it is your responsibility to go to that brother and sister and ask them to step out of the church if they want to live a lifestyle against Christ. 1Cor.5:12,13- It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, "You must remove the evil person from among you."---Don't come gossiping to me. Deal with it, and when I see it, I'll deal with it.
The purpose of this should be obvious. Believers are to live in Christ. If they are not living in Christ, then it is confusing to those that are not in Christ yet. It could turn people away from Jesus. Our talk to our brother and sister should be to try to restore them into the fellowship. But we must also protect the holiness of Christ's church. Finally, I know the church isn't perfect on any given Sunday; because it is filled with hypocrites. Yet, our goal is to see the justified become sanctified. Admittedly some cleaning up has to take place. That is a constant. So, be slow to judge, but help a brother out. Call him/her out. Hopefully, they will turn around and thank you later. God bless.

Our Town

The church should be a blessing to "our town." Praise the LORD! We are seeing more and more of that. Some churches have been working steadily under the radar for years. This past week I saw more and more churches getting out of their building and loving on the community via ministry. Amen!---It's cool to see God work in mighty ways when people get out of their comfort zones or just die to self for a day. Check this simple story out and follow the money.
This is just one chapter of the $100 Challenge.
So a single person who has just a month or two left on their job (and currently seeking gainful employment in a crippled economy) gives the $100 which goes to one of our small groups. The small group leader checks with a local agency to get some new ideas that maybe haven't been done. They get connected to the Council on Aging which is about taking care of the elderly (which is what the church ought to be doing, hence a natural partner.). So this small group takes the $100 and bargains with retailers to get 7 fans. Meanwhile, the mother of one of the group members (who doesn't even go to church anywhere) hears about this and buys a fan making the total 8. Upon delivering the fans, the group finds out that this was a greater need than realized. The elderly folk showed up right away to get the fans. So we put a note about the need on the Living Truth Church facebook page to see if people would bring fans to church on Sunday. It was also part test. We wanted to see if people read the page and respond. One person brought a fan. [We showed that fan, and briefly mentioned the need. Of course, one could always say there are greater needs; but I encourage you to hold that thought when people are actually doing good.] Anyway, it looks like folks are responding to that need today. Atleast, 3 more fans are heading that way today and possibly more. At this point, probably 12+ fans will be given to elderly folks during this heat wave because people cared and responded. It's time to wake up America and take care of "our town". Let the church be the "hands and feet of Jesus" to our town, not the government. If you think you can't do much follow the money. $100 from one person has led to 12 fans and I don't think we're done yet. What if it were 50 fans delivered? ---And next time it's not fans, but another need that God's people can meet in "our town." You have to get involved before you care, and you have to care before you respond. But you have to respond or you didn't really care.

Twinkies at the Entrance

Made a quick trip to the grocery store for just a few items, and got hit with a desire for twinkies and such at the entrance. Perhaps it was because they were in my face at the entrance. Oh, they looked so good, but I hung in there and walked on by. I then encountered the diet and "good-for-you" snacks. I wondered if the people that make the "fat" snacks are also responsible for the "diet" snacks. As I was able to muster enough courage to walk by both and chase down what I went for, I thought...What if America is beginning to catch up to the FAT lie we've been fed for years? What if we started eating right? What if we started exercising? What if we quit spending so much money on things we don't need? We would be in better shape. [period]---I'd love to bring this into a spiritual lesson, and could, but I'm just going to leave it right there. America needs to wake up. We're stupid. ---

Hall of Fame

The NFL Hall of Fame is not something I would normally watch. I'm not into any kind of award's shows. But I got caught up listening to some former athletes that were pretty good speakers. So when I saw "Prime Time" (Deion Sanders) coming up I waited to watch. Wow! He didn't disappoint. He started off thanking all of his spiritual mentors which was a long list.---But what got my attention was this: he thanked the coach that kicked him off the team in high school for disciplinary reasons. He also thanked his agent who would tell him the cold, hard truth.---More of us need to look at the truth and discipline we encounter in life with a thankful heart. ---While affirmation and encouragement are needed and we should be passing that out liberally, many of us need to embrace the abrasiveness associated with the truth, even when it may not be total truth. (Deion said he didn't do what he was accused of in high school, but realized how the discipline taught him life lessons that made him the man he came to be.) What doesn't kill you will make you stronger. When you get knocked down get back up. Your reaction is more important than the accusation. Listen to the truth and adjust in life.

Gotta Get Out More

Wow! I haven't been to the cinema in a while. I haven't had that movie theater popcorn, $5 Coca-colas or cushy seating in a while. But the thing that got me was the movie trailers. I don't know if it's just me, the preacher in me or what. As I watched each trailer, it was the same old story...the world needs a Savior. Oh, Hollywood reshapes the heroes, but it's the same ole same ole thing unless it's a comedy or horror flick. It was just a reminder that God has hidden within mankind the need for a Savior. And each hero in the movies requires us to give a little bit of faith. Have you noticed that? How did the bullets miss the hero? How come the bad guys can never shoot straight? We have to cut the hero some slack and say "it's just a movie." They all fall short. I'm thankful that my true Hero didn't fall short. ---Pretty awesome reminder. These guys are cute and entertaining, but far from the Real Deal.

Too Much of a Good thing

I know it's really hot now, but I love living in Florida. There is fun in the sun. There's the beach, the lakes, rivers, baseball, football, even shopping. But let me remind those who claim to follow Christ, not to get too much of a good thing. If you're not careful before too long you will find yourself worshiping the created versus the Creator. That's really a bad thing to do if you know your Bible, and God will cut you loose to do so. Before you know it, you are way down stream wondering what happened. Be careful on putting all those weekends together away from God and His church. Repent. Recommit to God first and "me" second. After all, God did make that beautiful weekend. :)

The Whole Body

We hear and read a lot about the Apostle Paul and his exploits for the Kingdom of God. In his farewell (Romans 16) he sheds some light on many of the faces in ministry that served behind the scenes and out of the limelight. Here are some words that described these people: teachers, leaders, host homes, hospitable, risk-takers, prisoners for Christ, hard-working, fellow-workers (good teammates), lovable, convert, tested and tried, women who worked hard, some that worked even harder, chosen to be there for him, mother-to-me, brothers, and saints.
His only warning: stay clear of those that cause division.
His final words: The revelation of the Gospel through Scriptures is so that all men might believe in Him and obey Him.
<>It takes a bunch of people and a variety of people to do all that it takes to reach the world for Christ with the Gospel. Just be faithful in doing your part right now, right where you are. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
*It takes the whole body!