Infusion and the One Thing

I know several people are currently having infusions or considering having infusions done for their health. These infusions are to fight things like cancer within the body. Most are to keep the disease at bay. These cannot be done daily, but as frequent as possible to help the body fight back. —- I could not help to see the spiritual correlation as I spent time meditating over an important passage of Scripture that I was committing to memory. Like sheep, christians are easily distracted (we’re human). So it is important to try to focus, and narrow things down to one thing to rein us in. I’m going to paraphrase this passage that Paul felt was very important. He wrote a lot of important words that have been vital to the growth of the believer. In Philippians 3:10-14 (heavily paraphrased) “Listen, let’s narrow this thing down. I want to know Christ. That is what is essential. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection. I mean, that is where the power is. It is the power that defeated death. I also want to feel what he went through even becoming like him in his death. He died for sin, but I want to die to sin. I want to feel that. Because, though undeservedly so, I want to somehow attain the resurrection from the dead. Now, hang on! I am not being presumptuous in this. It’s not like I have already obtained this or already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I am going for it like it depends on me. Listen brothers, I do not think for a second that I have arrived. Do you want to know what makes me tick? Do you want to know what makes me get up in the morning and get after it? There is this one thing I do: I forget what is behind me. I forget my checkered past. I forget where I’ve blown it. I push ahead with all I’ve got . I press on toward the goal to win the prize. I keep putting one foot in front of the other. I’m not falling in line. I’m not following the crowd. I’m running to win the first place trophy for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”—- I need an infusion everyday of this “one thing” to keep the evil within me at bay. Are you hiding God’s Word in your heart? It fights heart decay. And God is after your heart! We are told to guard the heart, because “the heart is the well-spring of life.”(Prov.4:23b)

Revival or Riot

Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.---Acts 19:32Demetrius, a silver smith, was worried about his idol-making business as more and more people put their faith in Christ. His was a big-business in that part of Asia and employed a lot of people. Give him credit for one thing: he knew that those accepting Christ as their Lord God would have no need for a bunch of man-made gods. He understood that their lifestyles would change upon conversion. Consequently, he stirred up a riot, and we see what is comical and common today. People were screaming and hating on christians, and most of them didn’t even know what they were talking about. —- If the world understood the breadth of christianity, then they would understand that we are FOR people. Consider current events: the abortion business is being exposed. Just watch for the demonizing of christians when they stand up for life. Instead of dealing with those behind this evil business (which includes the silent majority of media and politicians keeping their mouths shut), the initial attack is on the people exposing the dirty business for what it is. —- Yet, there will be a lot of noise from people that have no clue of what is going on. There are two responses to truth in crowded assemblies: Revival or Riot. If we accept the wonderful truth of the Gospel, then we experience a Great Awakening. If we reject the truth of the Gospel, then we continue our rebellion against God. Don’t be like those making a lot of noise, and don’t even know what they’re yelling about. At least listen. Check out the Gospel story for yourself.

#1 Fan

At various and sundry times pastors are under attack. However, God has His ways of letting us know that He is there. It was just another Monday and I was going through some things as I received a call. God spoke to me in only a way that He can do. One of the men in our church called to tell me that he led his first person to Christ last week...it was his Dad! All the small groups, all the men's retreats, all the discipling is worth it when you hear one story like that! He was ecstatic that he stepped out of his comfort zone and was on fire. --- God used this to lift me up too... when I needed it. After hanging up with him, I thought "God, what are you telling me here?" I looked up and saw this foam "#1 Fan" thing sitting above me on a cabinet. I took it as God saying, "Hey, I am your #1 Fan, let's go." --- LORD help me today to strive more to be your #1 Fan. Do not let me put anything or anyone above my attention to you. My worship of You and my service to You should be pure. I love you Jesus.

Premeditated Accident

Things often don't happen the way we planned...especially accidents. So, I have to come clean on an embarrassing moment. My cel phone is currently resting in a bed of rice hoping for resuscitation after it went into the water. The plan was for it to not go into the water, because I was going to be in a boat. The sad part is that the phone didn't go in the water by itself. It was in my pocket. Long story short, we were launching the boat and I fell into the water at the dock. Yeah, I laughed too. Fortunately, a couple of guys were working on the pier next to us and motioned, that as far as fall-ins go, I had a perfect "10." --- It did take me some time to see how this one fit into spiritual application. There are a lot of things in life that we would not have done had we known there was going to be a slip-up in the plan. Before I left the house (twice) I thought about getting a water-proof container for my phone in case of an accident. Even at the dock I almost left it in the truck when I realized some guys had better cameras on board to capture an awesome moment on the Gulf. --- What chances in life are you taking? Is there someone you need to speak to about something before it is too late? Have you thought about something you needed to do a couple to three times, and you still haven't bothered? We don't plan for things to happen that we might regret later. The ultimate question: have you accepted Christ as your Savior or is that something you are putting off. --- My shoes are drying, my wallet has dried, and I am still hoping my phone will come back around; but those are just temporal things. No big deal. Most accidents are preventable. We often get mysterious warnings or just common sense to take precautions. If we ignore the warnings, I guess you could say our accidents are sort of premeditated.

Alien Adventure

Recently I got the chance to have a very interesting conversation with a person that believed we come from aliens. Being an alien myself I thought it good to listen to this person’s belief, and see what God would have me to say or not say. To gain some central ground, I asked what the person believed about Jesus, the cross and the resurrection. The person believed the first two, but said the resurrection was too hard to believe. So I asked for their beliefs only after I complimented their answer saying that one of Jesus own disciples didn’t believe… at first (Thomas). I told them that Thomas’ original disbelief was for us, because the resurrection does sound crazy and hard to believe. Thomas was not naive, nor were the other disciples. They believed because they saw it. —- Anyway, my not-yet-convinced compadre said it was easier to believe in aliens, because the vast universe is silent when it comes to God. To this I nearly choked in disbelief. Are you kidding me? The heavens literally preach the glory of God. —- The conversation was healthy, but I don’t believe for a second that my new friend really believed any of that. —- We live in a world where people want to believe in anything, but the truth, because the truth is inconvenient. My prayer is that he/she would sincerely seek the truth. After we have shared Jesus, that is all we can do.

Pulling Weeds

Our lives can really blossom into what God desires for us. We can be on a winning streak for quite some time. It is possible to live for a while with an uncluttered life with smooth sailing. However, you better pay attention to the weeds. A yard can be looking real good, but it takes maintenance. A beautiful yard is such because it is well-manicured. Someone is paying attention to it. They are mowing the lawn and pulling up the weeds. If we do not pay attention to the “weeds” that can show up in our lives, then they will choke out the good. Having a quiet time with God in communion through prayer and His Word is essential to live a Christ-like life. If that part of your soul life is well-manicured because you have given it top-shelf attention, then you will avoid fall-out and burn-out that can easily set in on the best of us.

Act Like A Man

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her---Eph.5:25 So how does a man love his wife like Christ loved the church today? He loves her by committing to her whole-heartedly. Aside from his personal relationship with God, the man's relationship with his wife becomes top priority as he is willing to lay down his life for her. But a whole host of men do not comprehend this, and we can be sure from basic statistical analysis. So what does it mean for a man to lay down his life for his wife? Certainly God is not counting on the fact that every man will have to physically die for his wife. --- Well first let's establish that a man becomes a man when he becomes serious about life and responsible for himself and those with him. When a man commits to a woman in holy matrimony, he and she are coming out of the public "dating pool" and commit to the journey of life together. So what does it mean for a man to lay down his life for his wife? It does not mean that a man has to necessarily stop hunting, fishing and overall "hobby-ing." It simply means that those things are no longer the high priority they may have been as a single man. The love of your life now is your wife, not Bass Pro Shop. --- Take the example of Christ a step further. Serve her! Christ who is God, came not to be served, but to serve (Mk.10:45) It also means that any carousing, flirting and women-chasing is over. You have made a commitment as Christ made a commitment to the church. He died to sin when he came to the world. The Bible says that he was tempted like every other man, yet he never sinned. He died for the sins of the world on the cross. So God isn't calling for your blood to be shed, but He is calling for you to die to self. You're not a boy any more. Boys play with toys. So, act like a man! While you are living for the One who died for you and rose again, don't mess up God's picture of Christ and the church, for that is what the marital relationship is a picture of in the first place.--- This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church. ---Eph.5:32