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Monthly Archives: May 2014

Torn

28 May

Torn

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

Without going into details, without being any different from your details, I have really been struggling over the last month or so. My list is long and growing it seems; even late night phone calls last night with very bad news. In talking to my two best friends yesterday, I experienced the highs and lows of another two lives. My heart grieves and joys for them both. I am mentally and physically exhausted from the strains of life right now; the strains of only six months of bi-vocational ministry is the hardest lesson in life to date. To have a hearts desire for ministry and be torn with secular work is a burden that is hard to bear; but it is the Lord’s will for this season in my life.

This morning in my two favorite devotionals, my spirit was uplifted. One spoke of this passage above; Christ’s encouragement to his disciples when all the news and all their world seemed to be crashing down. Jesus let them know he was in control of it all. Our sin-filled state keeps us an arms length away from the rest found in His sovereignty. Our tough times in life are seasons of our lives where He does his greatest work. He takes us down roads that we would never travel by choice, but at the end of them is His destination; one we desired, but would never have taken the road of pain to get there. The steeper the mountain, the greater the view once ascended.

The other devotional were of the expectation from spending time with God in his Word. Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. I have missed my early morning alone time from the physical exhaustion of late. It was (is) the expectation of hearing from God that gets me up early every day. Yesterday in the midst of struggles with my work load I tweeted; “Satan will use the blessings of business, to torture you with busyness. #toomuch”. The level of spiritual warfare is a subject that demands more than I can expound right now. My prayer is for you to be encouraged in knowing that you are not alone; nothing in life elevates any of your pastors to a level they do not struggle with life too.

 
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Posted by on May 28, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

Sermon Link – Are you a good soldier?

25 May

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ucal78gzpc4e2it/Well%20it%20is%20Memorial%20weekend.docx

 

 
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Posted by on May 25, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

Daily time w/ Him

21 May

Blessed with work beyond measure; time management on it’ highest scale for the three areas of my life. The feeling I can’t ever slow down for the pressures of one of the three areas in my life have a “to do” list commanding my attention. This time of year is always this way, but it was only divided in two. Now with my responsibilities at Lakehaven, it is divided into thirds. I could go down many roads, but this one is of encouragement. I have been struggling the last couple of weeks with getting up at my typical 430am. I have been sleeping in to around 530-600 just from the long hours and demands on my old body. Even when I don’t get time for quality time, I have been trying to read my favorite devotional most mornings; today it spoke to me greatly. You cannot spend daily time with God and remain the same person; He will transform you into the image of his Son. My heart lies in that simple sentence. If you know the Gospel, are you seeking Him daily in His Word and prayer? These last few weeks I must confess have been hard for me, but today’s devo from Henry Blackaby is a great reminder.

A Noticeable Difference

Daily Devotional for Wednesday, May 21st, 2014

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

There is no mistaking a life transformed by God! The disciples had been vain and fearful when Jesus enlisted them. James and John sought to outmaneuver their fellow disciples in order to gain the places of greatest honor next to Jesus (Mark 10:37). Over and over the disciples’ actions showed that they did not truly understand who Jesus was (John 6:7-9; Mark 6:49). Even after three years with Jesus, Peter was afraid to confess Christ before a young servant girl (Matt. 26:69-75). Anyone who knew these men would realize they were not the kind of people on which you build a worldwide kingdom. Yet something happened to them as they were with Jesus. The Holy Spirit transformed them, giving them new boldness and wisdom. Now they could perform miracles and preach fearlessly and persuasively to multitudes. Even their enemies noticed in their changed lives the same power they had witnessed in Jesus. Sometimes we desperately want others to believe that we have changed, that we are more godly, more devoted, more Spirit-controlled. It is not necessary, however, for those who have been truly transformed by Christ to convince others of the difference; the change will be obvious. Don’t become too introspective, always focusing on yourself and the small changes you see happening over time. As you walk with Jesus daily, let the witness of the changes taking place in you come from others and not from you. If you have to prove to someone that God has really changed you, He has not. Those around you will surely notice when your life has been transformed by your relationship with Jesus.

 

 
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Posted by on May 21, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Sermon Link – Guilty or Not?

18 May

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j2mkywg824yz7k1/Guilty%20or%20Not_.docx

 

 

 
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Posted by on May 18, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

Faith with the Impossible

16 May

The pressures in my life are at full speed. The daunting tasks list in all three areas of my life are overwhelming. I am not alone; I heard Dana give her testimony last week and she too spoke of this breakneck speed and how close to burnout we both are. God changed our families path, and we are still in adjustment mode. There is no way I can describe the pressures of both the air conditioning business, and the time it commands; I don’t like giving God my leftovers, and that is what it really is coming to be, which bothers me deeply. I have physically needed more rest and have not been rising up early for over a week now. My life and the pressures of it are just like yours. We could easily start our own pity party, but we all need to just remain focused on the eternal, and remain resting in this devotional that spoke to our family as we read it together this morning. My prayer is that He encourages you in it also.

 

EXPERIENCING GOD DAY BY DAY DEVOTIONAL

Faithful with the Impossible

Daily Devotional for Friday, May 16th, 2014

Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Judges 6:14

In Gideon’s mind, victory over the Midianites was an impossibility, and he was absolutely right! The Midianites, along with their allies, overwhelmed the feeble Hebrews. Yet the moment God told Gideon to fight them, victory was no longer an impossibility!

When Jesus commanded His small group of followers_to make disciples of all nations, was that possible_(Matt. 28:19)? Certainly, if Jesus said it was! When Jesus told His disciples to love their enemies, was He being realistic? Of course, because He was the One who would achieve reconciliation through them (2 Cor. 5:19-20).

Do you treat commands like these as implausible? Do you modify God’s word to find an interpretation that seems reasonable to you? Don’t discount what is possible with God (Phil. 4:13). When God gives an assignment, it is no longer an impossibility, but rather it is an absolute certainty. When God gives you a seemingly impossible task, the only thing preventing it from coming to pass is your disobedience. When God speaks, it can scare you to death! He will lead you to do things that are absolutely impossible in your own strength. But God will grant you victory, step by step, as you obey Him. How do you respond to assignments that seem impossible? Do you write them off as unattainable? Or do you immediately adjust your life to God’s revelation, watching with anticipation to see how He will accomplish His purposes through your obedience? God wants to do the impossible through your life. All He requires is your obedience.

 
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Posted by on May 16, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Abiding brings discernment

10 May

I looked back to a year ago today……I needed this for I find myself wrapped up in the world and pressures of it. I find myself so tired from all of it I am struggling for my early mornings with God. Satan is beating me down with busyness……physically, mentally, tired……I knew this was coming, but I didn’t know how greatly it was going to wear on me so quickly. I need strength to abide.

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Abiding brings discernment

1 John 2:24-25   Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us–eternal life.

John has just written in the prior scriptures addressing the false prophets of the day; they are called the antichrist who deny the deity of Jesus as the Son of God. There were many false prophets of that day, and there are still many in our midst these days. They twist the scriptures to fit their agendas, or they present Christ in many other forms, some even denying that He was/is the Son of God completely. There is no middle ground here; they are antichrists, Satan’s messengers sent to lead people astray. They come as wolves in sheep’s clothing…

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Posted by on May 10, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

Not an enigma

08 May

Not an enigma

Proverbs 1:5-7 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Sometimes I just love going back to the book of Proverbs; tidbits of knowledge in only a few short sentences that the Holy Spirit can speak volumes to me at just the right time. I am always amazed at how Solomon sums up life and it’s complexities so directly. Sometimes I am saddened that I don’t get the simpleness that it states, for my life is twisted into the complexities that sin and this world I live in have pulled me into. Life really doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it out to be; simplicity is found in following these tidbits of truth that Solomon penned for us thousands of years ago that still ring true today.

In the opening of his book, here in only the first seven verses are the prerequisites for everything that follows. If you don’t know God, if you don’t have holy reverent fear for the God of the universe, you won’t understand these proverbs. You can’t rely on your own understanding, your paths and supposed wisdom will lead you astray. If you don’t know God, and you don’t possess his Spirit, you will be blinded to the truths found here. The Holy Spirit is who opens the truths of God to your mind. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

You must understand, you will not understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit living inside of you. You may pick up the Bible for the first time with a heart seeking God, and God do a work that no man can do; you find Him there and repent and believe on the Christ that you read and see and feel there. When you do repent and believe you gain Him living in yourself as the Spirit of God. That greater your respect and reverent fear of Him, the more he reveals to you. 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. Without him the Bible would be just a book, and the book of Proverbs just some good riddles to live by. With Him it is the Word of God and Proverbs is a book of incredible knowledge stated in simple terms; not an enigma at all.

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Sermon Link: Anxiety & Depression

04 May

This might be more like just an outline – way personal sermon I have been struggling with for two weeks.

My only plan is to follow His plan and let go and let God.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r46tmwm6pcwrr01/Philippians%204.docx

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

Pray for our nation

01 May

I wrote this in 2013.

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Pray for our nation

2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God has told Solomon, and even his father David, that Solomon is to build the great temple for the Lord. Solomon has spent seven years building the Great Temple, following the detailed blueprints given to him by God. They had held a great dedication ceremony, and the Glory of the Lord had filled the temple. Fire had come down from heaven and consumed all the offerings they had prepared. They were so moved by this that the dedication continued and they offered 22,000 bulls, and 120,000 sheep. Try to imagine that. When Solomon dismissed them all to their homes, God came to him that…

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Posted by on May 1, 2014 in Daily Devotions