Monthly Archives: February 2019

Romans 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In prayer this morning the Lord led me to another passage in Romans 10, which led to reading the context of the passage (vs15). It would be impossible to unpack this chapter, this plea of Paul’s to Israel to hear the gospel and believe. The depth of this passage dives deep into the sovereignty of God, yet has the simplicity of the gospel, to repent and believe. Israel was so wrapped up in themselves, in their religiosity, that they missed the Perfecter of the Law in their midst, the answer to all they sought, walking and teaching among them. The Law (the Ten Commandments) pointed to their need for Christ, and God sent them exactly what they needed. Yet the religious stood on their own accolades, and many of them will have eternity to regret their pride (no different from today). Can you see where that same chapter from 2000 years ago preaches to us today? Can you see where spirituality is taking hold, yet it can be in any form to any god, and sadly many will go to Hell because of the Universalism (all religions lead to god) that is being proclaimed? There was even some sort of agreement between the Pope and the leader of the Muslim world in recent weeks, one I refuse to even research because of how it will bother me. This world is turning it’s back on God, and my nation with deep Biblical roots, is becoming so liberal the lines are almost gone. May God have mercy on us all, and may many here come to repentance and believe in the gospel Paul writes about.

Are you proclaiming it to those God has put around you? Are you being a disciple of Jesus Christ? Are you being bold in your faith to coworkers, family, friends, those in your circle of influence? God is smiling on you if you are. 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!” This whole world needs Jesus, and many can go through life not hearing, understanding, or even denying him, simply because someone has not spoken of him they saw every day. How could we not tell of the Good News? The default is Hell to those that do not repent and believe!!!! God is a holy God, and because of his holiness, nothing unholy can be in his presence. It is that simple. The only way you can be holy is to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, something so simple it can be laid out here:

You are a sinner by birth, and must pay the price for your sin.
You cannot pay the price by any means yourself.
God demanded a perfect sacrifice, and Jesus was that for us.
Jesus (God’s son) came to earth, lived a sinless life for 33 years.
Jesus died a painful death to atone (pay) for our sins.
Jesus rose from the grave 3 days later, defeating death for us.
Jesus know lives back in Heaven, and provided you eternal life.

All you must do is believe that is true, and talk to God.
Admit you are a sinner, in need of a Savior, and ask Jesus to come into your life and be the Lord of your heart and life.
It is that simple, and Paul writes of the promise of it here.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

GO SHARE THE GOSPEL TODAY!

Listen, then respond

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

I have been asked many times, how do I study my Bible? Let me give you an incredible example from this morning, of how, and where, and Who to follow to read God’s Word.

I am under great stress right now, especially related to our business, and the finances of it, which naturally spill over into personal strains with them. I am in a season of selling things, for many reasons, but my debtors always loom, and I am responsible for multiple families well being; it is a stress that killed my grandfather, at the exact age I am now, I pray the Lord has different plans for me. This morning I felt the Lord tugging me to spend time with him, and the battle of the mind towards the anxieties of work began very early. I posted Colossians 3:1 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. 2 Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. (MSG) My mind continued to be torn, but I felt the Lord calling me to his Word.

As I drove Dalton to school, I felt the tug I was supposed to write this morning, and God had opened that door with the rain and solitude. As I kept thinking, the Spirit within me reminded me of that Proverbs passage above; it seemed a natural place to go with the reason for my stress (how God works/Romans 8:28). My mind kept going, and I thought of how to communicate it; maybe a life lesson for our youth. I thought of Proverbs being such lessons, and in my case, what would I say? I would tell my boys of my biggest mistakes, the first being drugs, and the next buying things I could not afford. I literally put debt next in line to drugs, for the stress it has put on me for over 30 years is as physically damaging as drugs did for almost the same. That seemed to be a natural way to go with today’s 1MM. I found the Proverb, opened my Bible, and I was floored at how God had worked this morning. The passage already highlighted above it was verse 6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. It was just another example of how intimate my God is; how the Creator of the universe seeks a relationship with me; how he will do the exact same for you.

Do you see the how and the where is central around the Who? Do you see if you will listen to that still small voice inside of you, that it will become clear? Whispers from the Holy Spirit require attention, require action, require a mind that is listening for them through their heart. You likely have heard them, maybe responded to them, sadly denied them, and many times avoided their warnings. My pastor once told me, “That little voice inside your gut is the Holy Spirit pal.” There is great truth in that simple statement. Do you really want to know God, want to experience more of God? Do you really want to live for the next life, and try to just get through this one, or are you focused on all you can get from here, not worried about what comes next? He is inside of you, talking to you, do your best to listen and act upon what He says. Do not delay, for he may not tell you again.

Experiencing God to tears

John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

You are not a Christian, unless you experience God. You may solve equations, find solutions, come to understand what was a mystery, explain great truths through your intellect, even understand the Bible somewhat, but you are not a Christian until God has tugged at your heart. At your core, you must experience God from within, an emotion you might not be able to explain, but you genuinely “feel” God. It is at that intersection, that your life changes, and you are eternally secure if you have repented and believed that it was God pursuing you, and that Jesus gave you the only way to reach him. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. It is through the tug of God upon your heart first, that the need for the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes evident, the weight of sin becomes real, and the path of your life can step from damnation to paradise, all in a humble prayer of thanksgiving to the One who died for you. It all begins with God tugging at your heart, you experiencing God, and your reactions to that experience can (will) determine your eternity (you may only feel this tug once, not given another opportunity). When you feel a move of God upon you, react immediately, without delay, for it is a gift from God.

I grew up Presbyterian in the church, ran from God for about 20 years, after that God pursued me when I was in a Baptist church. I could lay out my grievances with both denominations in a very long letter like Martin Luther, but let me put this simply: One is stuck in religion, one denies much in the way of experiences. One is dogmatic in tradition, one turns their backs on gifts from God. Pentecostalism is another division, another blended sect that has many people abuse it, but understands the gifts of God are still evident for and to us today. Expounding upon these, I am not wise enough to do, but I struggle with all of them, and just choose to follow Jesus and his Word only, not bound by denomination. When I grew up in tradition, I thought you were saved by going to church. When I discovered grace, I was moved by experiencing God from within. When those “experiences” began to grow, not only in his Word, but seeing the evidences of prayers before me, I began to see how intimate God was with his creation. When I went to India, I could see, I could feel, I could testify to the levels of good and evil on a scale that takes me to this day to tears if I truly begin to open up to you about it. India changed me at more core, for I experienced God on a level I did not know possible. Many have heard me describe that trip as God dumping out the box I had put him in. A best friend of mine, a true prayer warrior, once told me, “You cannot be in the presence of God without being in tears.” That is truth, clear, simple, biblical truth. Have you been moved to tears by God? Then have you ever experienced God?

I am including a short clip, the one who prompted today’s OneMinuteMinistry. I pray it brings questions from within, ones that make you respond to that question, that tug from God upon your heart that you may have denied, or you may have acted once to salvation and never to discipleship. Jesus called you to become his servant, his disciple, to go out into the world and preach the gospel to all he has prepared to hear. I pray my Presbyterian friends would experience God, my Baptist friends to not deny the power of the gifts of God, and for you….to experience God….to tears.

7 Days a Week

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

When, Who, through, and why we were created, all by God, and all for God. The depth of that passage is as deep as his sovereignty. Just to simplify it, you were created by God, for God, and he has blessed you with this life to do so, because he loves you. Anything and everything you do in this life can be used to worship God, to draw glory to him in your daily walk through the life he has blessed you with. He loves you so much, he died for you, and wants you to die to yourself for him. So many get hung up right there. The servants heart still struggling with the sinful pride, the reason Satan fell from Heaven too, the pride stops us from living the full life of Jesus’ disciple. The joy found in the servants heart is one of faith in the future, and trust for the day, all to be used by God; the days they walk in communion with the Lord, are as sweet as the honeycombs the Bible speaks of.

This weekend was incredible as my family saw the growth of our  race team. God has brought my testimony full circle, returning to the arena that was once my god, to tell of how we can love Jesus more than dirt bikes. I have been blessed to be able to open a National Race series in prayer, and I told the kiddos Sunday morning, “You can still be a Christian, and race dirt bikes on Sunday.” Kids are simple, and kids are direct. Many of them are likely viewed by their peers as not being Christians, simply because they don’t go to church like them on Sunday. Jesus condemned the supposed religious throughout the New Testament, and repeated how it was a matter of their hearts for Him. Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. God simply wants your heart for him daily, he wants you to walk in communion with him daily through prayer and his Word. When you do that alone, God takes care of the rest, and you see the evidence of God before you almost daily.

We had noticed a lot of people checking out my bike when I had it parked up front when I was praying. I had a guy roll up to me on the starting line, and make a comment about it. We began to talk, and he was so thankful for his 91 year old mothers healing from a broken back. I asked him if I could pray for him right there on the starting line, we did, and I could see the joy of the Lord through his helmet. We went out to eat on the way home, and the encounter I had with an elderly black lady that was truly an encounter with an angel. She spoke to me as a “man of God” the first sentence, and we spent probably 15 minutes sharing our love for God with each other. After sharing business cards, I hope to hear from her again, but it won’t surprise me not to, because “angels” might go back to Heaven. Y’all……you don’t have to go to church on Sunday to be a Christian. You have to understand that Jesus gave you the only way to Heaven, and that you can never do enough work, be super religious, be a good person, not be that bad of a person, or anything else you might think pays your way. Once God helps you understand John 14:6, your life will change, and you will sacrifice this life each day, for the One who sacrificed his for you. Doing the good works is from the heart of love, not of duty, but just spending each day trying to show him how much you love him too.

Democrat Christian (oxymoron)

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

You can’t call yourself a Christian and support a political party who supports abortion, or to be clearer, support the choice of abortion, and be of any or none political affiliation; the political sides are Satan’s greatest tools these days for the division that comes with them. I guess somewhere in me even wonders why this is even debatable, even warrants discussion, it is so clear, so simple a child can understand, why Christians can’t support genocide. Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill. I mean this is in the Ten Commandments, it should be a really basic understanding of life, of things we don’t do. We don’t jump in the pool if we can’t swim, don’t run into burning houses, don’t play in traffic, don’t let babies drive cars…..and ya’ don’t kill each other. But God. He knew our sinful hearts, he knew the evil that lies within us, so he did make it perfectly clear that we are not to murder, and abortion is murder, and therefore it is wrong in God’s eyes, no matter any freedom of choice that falsely excuses it. Abortion is so wrong on so many levels, but you are playing God, elevating yourself to his position, taking life outside of his will to do so. Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Our country is headed to civil war, to anarchy, to some kind of change on such a large scale, that we will not be the nation we were founded on in the very near future. History is being written, and the pages are turning on another great nation that falls, for future generations that will read of us and hopefully learn from our mistakes. We have lost what we stood for, lost the spine to stand for truth, lost the Biblical conviction that made us great, and God is beginning his judgement of sin upon us. We will be like an Old Testament sin judgement, of a Sodom and Gomorrah I fear, for the God whom I fear will not tarry, but return with his sword to claim those who love him, and smite those don’t, those who have rejected the laws of the Bible under any ruse, for God knows their hearts, and we all will answer one Day for all that we have done in this life; that Day is the next time Jesus returns, Judgement Day. Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The good news you ask? You can support abortion, may have even had an abortion, and still go to Heaven. There is nothing you have ever done, no evil that cannot be forgiven, nothing, not even murder, that Jesus will not welcome you with open arms into eternal paradise. That sting you feel deep within you, that is God’s tug to repent of your sin. That pain you feel inside is God calling you, him saying to clear your conscious of sin, the repent and turn from sin, and to know you are forgiven. Jesus Christ paid the price due to Heaven, to gain access into a place so holy, you must be holy to even enter. Jesus came and lived a sinless life, died a painful death, and rose from death, defeating it’s power, and provides you the same power when you believe he did what you cannot do, even through religion. He wants you to live your life here for him, to be his disciple, to stand for truth, to witness of his love and forgiveness to others, to stand where others lie down, to be a light in a very dark world. Jesus wants to call you his disciple, his friend. His disciples and friends would never support abortion……