Monthly Archives: September 2018

Talk To Someone

1 Peter 1:8-9   whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith–the salvation of your souls.

You ever have trouble putting your thoughts into words, or as you get older just getting the words out of your mind to your lips sometimes? The stress and strains of this world, the distractions and trials that are before us every day play into these problems. I could take you down countless paths of personal anxieties I am struggling with right now, but I am no different from you. All the woes that keep me awake at night are no greater than yours, and in truth are small in comparison to what I know some of you are battling. The Lord blessed me with a spirit of listening; I know not how to label it, but forever many have shared their struggles with me, opening up to things I do not have answers for, but I continually point them to Jesus, the one who is the answer to everything. I humbly will always listen to someone’s woes, always pray with them for encouragement, and hope God uses me to draw another soul closer to him for eternity. Many times my own testimony, my trials of life before and after Christ come into play, and through all of them I can share how I have become closer to the Lord even when I was struggling.

The first chapter of 1 Peter is of great encouragement at all times to us. Peter was the most zealous of all the apostles, the most outspoken, the one who forever acted before he thought, the one whom I relate to the most, for my mouth gets me in trouble too. I am zealous, passionate, unafraid to speak my mind to anyone, never withholding the truth, many take me the wrong way, and only a few truly know me and my heart. I resemble Peter more than likely anyone in the Bible. That even comes with the failure Peter had, and why the restoration of Peter by Jesus speaks to me so deeply. John 21:17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. You must come to grasp at some time in your walk of faith, the depth of that restoration of Peter by Jesus. You must come to grasp it, because it exemplifies God’s mercy upon the sinner, and the undeserving grace as an example of a love we can’t comprehend; that glimpse of understanding is your heart beginning to understand the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter chapter one is likely the most passionate presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in all of the Bible. The outspoken Peter can seemingly not even put into words what it means to him. You can feel his love for God, his passion rings true with his hearts plea to live for Christ. He talks of how these problems of the world identify us with Christ, of how we are not to expect our lives here to be trouble-free, but to live our lives in reverent awe of God, and to know God is in control of it all. 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” There is nothing in this life that will draw you closer to God that your hearts desire to live for him. A heart that desires to live this life for God, to be used by God, is a heart that pleases God and will reap heavenly rewards. Don’t let Satan take you down roads of despair too far, for God gives you countless intersections to change the course. When you are struggling, God does his greatest work, and the depth of your relationship with him grows. Talk to someone who you see deal with life through their faith, and let them encourage you to do the same. God will then use your testimony to do the same for others, and his kingdom will grow, and we all get one day closer to being there with him forever.

Church open or closed?

Romans 10:17-18 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”

I have watched the streams of social media announcing church closures and openings due to the weather that is upon us with the remnants of the hurricane. I understand the struggles of the pastors, the shepherds of their flocks struggling with the safety of their fold. Each congregation has a different dynamic, and presents a unique problem to their shepherd, and the right calls for safety were made in many instances, or uncontrollable circumstances. A shepherd must look out for the good of his sheep, no matter what the cost. I must also present the question of our motives to both the shepherds, and the sheep though, for I grew up in religion, and the binds of it. I grew up believing you went to church on Sunday, no matter what, and that was where you found salvation, in your church attendance record. Does the pastor even unknowingly proclaim that today? Does the pastor put such emphasis on it, they have slipped back into the old covenant, the one Jesus abolished? It is a tender subject, only answered in our pastors hearts, only between them and the Lord, but one that must be asked. If the pastors motives for Sunday’s are pure, just to see one more soul saved, and to grow the faith of the flock, God knows it and I am thankful for your heart for the lost and building disciples. 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Now to ask the tough question to the sheep; what does Sunday mean to you? What obligation do you feel with church, with taking time out of your schedule to make time for God? It is undeniable that God tells us to gather together; we are not to do church alone or arguably some media based TV or online, for accountability is lost in that entirely. Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Right there, in black ink on white paper as Adrian Rogers said, is the command to gather together, to go to church, and even look at the urgency of it as we see the Day of Jesus’ return seeming more immanent. Church is for encouraging each other, for worshiping together, for accountability in life’s struggles to each other, for building relationships that will last an eternity. It is about hearing the word of God preached, about reaching the lost, and about building disciples to go and do both. Your church attendance record will have nothing to do with your salvation. You must come to understand that, or you will not have the salvation that understanding John 14:6 brings (I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.) Once God opens your heart to that understanding, the binds of religion are lost, the freedom of grace is found, and the urgency to share it proclaimed. You will be excited to join together with others who believe the same, and encouraged to go out into the world proclaiming the gospel to all that God has prepared to hear. Pastors, you made the right call, I pray for the right reason, and may your sheep understand grace even deeper as a result.

He holds your breath, hold onto him.

Job 12:10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

When you are part of pretty much any racing community, you really don’t like to talk about injuries, or much less death. Once the fear of either of them enters the thought process, you have lost your edge on your competition. Many will call it superstitious, many fear the power of the spoken word, not even realizing the Biblical implication. The entire Bible speaks of the power of the words we speak: Here is a great link for a short exposition of that https://www.gotquestions.org/power-of-words.html . This weekend we had a lot of injuries at the race, some bad ones within our circle of friends, and sadly a death of a track worker from possibly a heart attack or a stroke (unknown). He took his last breath, doing what he loved to do, and that was a gift from God in that. Most of us would ask of God to receive that gift, to leave this life, doing what we love to do.

The book of Job is both one of the toughest reads, but one of the easiest, when you rest in the display of God’s sovereignty throughout it. The book of Job seems written to comfort us, yet also let us realize many times our situations don’t seem that bad in comparison. Truly, one of God’s greatest men who walked this earth, had it the roughest for a season. Everything that could go wrong did, by Satan’s hand, all so God could show all of eternity the great faith of Job, and the rewards of such a great faith. God had an eternal plan for Job’s troubles, He sees the past, present, and future all at the same time. Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. God’s plans are so far above what we think is going on, that we cannot see past the pain of the present situation. We cannot see into how what we are dealing with is part of an eternal work of God, always using it to accomplish what He desires, out of a loving heart who gave his own Son to die for us to enable us to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

Are you afraid to die? Are you secure of where you will spend eternity when God takes your last breath? You must grasp that you have no idea when it is time, and you only have the present time to secure your eternity with Him. The default is Hell, because God has given you a lifetime of examples of the proof of his existence, and wired you for the desire of eternity with him. You either spend your lifetime seeking him or denying him, and those seconds determine centuries. Grasping the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gift from God, and the security in realizing you can’t earn your way into Heaven, frees your spirit to live life without fear. Jesus paid the price, and all you have to do is repent and believe in that truth. Maybe God will use you just like Job, to encourage countless others in your walk of great faith. Maybe it will just be one person you encourage, seeing how you handle tough situations through your faith. He holds your breath, hold onto Him.