Author Archives: oneminuteministry

Heart Agenda

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

My world, and my load in my world is crazy right now. We are approaching Easter, the most Holy week of the year in Christianity, and that weight is heavy on my heart and mind. My cooling business’s floodgates have broken from their hinges. My work load is incredible, which is a true financial blessing from God. Even when I laid down to sleep last night, my mind continued on at warp speed leaving me with a night of broken rest. When I finally got up this morning, my mind was still going at it. Don’t we all have times like that too?

I had talked to God this morning. I thanked him for all the blessings he was pouring out on me right now. I prayed for wisdom; I prayed for His words to be spoken through me both here and at church. It is hard to describe the pain that comes in Paul’s words above; to preach and teach about Christ, and hardened hearts not respond. My heart hurts for the lost that are outsiders, but my greater burden is the lost that are among us; those that think they are saved but are not. Do you proclaim Christ? Do you know that you are saved? It is never about a head knowledge, it is a matter of the heart. Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. When you live your life with a love for Him as this, you will be secure in your salvation and secure in your eternity with Him. If you know you are lacking in this level of love for Him, I am sure you are feeling doubt in your security right now. What is holding you back from committing your life to him completely? Why do you focus on things here that truly do not matter? What is on your agenda for today that has eternal implications?

We watched a movie last night as a family called “My name is Paul.” It is a modern day play on the Apostle Paul’s life; it was really good and made you think about your focus in life, and your willingness to die for your beliefs. Are you; would you? What about when you kneel before your Lord one day feeling secure in your religiosity? You prayed the prayer, and went through the motions, but you never loved him with all your heart? What could he say? Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ What possible excuse do you have for today for not living your life for him today? What is on your agenda that has eternal implications? What does that say about your heart?

Rope for climbing

Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided.”

Abraham had been obedient to the point we cannot imagine. Abraham had taken his only son on top of the mountain to offer him in an obedient act as a sacrifice to God. God had let him go all the way in His test of his heart and obedience; 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. We know the story, the Lord provided the perfect sacrifice of the ram stuck in the bush in place of his son. At the last minute, possibly the last second, the Lord came through with what was needed in the Lord’s perfect timing of any and every situation. He will ask us and let us go much farther than we would ever choose, to test us also in matters of our hearts and obedience. Do we fail, or do we see and experience God at work in a mighty way? Do we only know the level that He provided for us? It is in these matters and tests of faith that we grow much more intimate with our Lord.

I am experiencing the loads of life, the stresses of life, on an elevated scale these days. I am no different from you; the pressures of the world get to me too. My air conditioning business is what puts bread on my table, and requires an incredible amount of hours in the summer season. With the duties of where God has me at Lakehaven church as pastor, my time management scales are weighing down on me greatly. This is likely to be the toughest summer I have ever experienced. I could go down so many roads in the details of this, but it is all part of God’s plan for my life, and I only see to draw closer to him, and to give him all the glory throughout all the highs and lows I experience through each day.

He has provided for me in this OneMinuteMinistry for the last 2.5yrs like you cannot imagine. He has provided for me through the last six months as “Preacher Mike” on a level that only He and I know. I know that throughout this day, each day, The-Lord-Will-Provide. We are told in the Bible in Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Whatever mountain you find yourself climbing today, look to God in prayer and his Word for the strength to face just today. He will provide all you need to face any thing and every thing you need.

Sermon Link

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8d2a90l4yzd30lm/Lakehaven%20Sermon%20Notes.pages

More than religion

John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

We have started our Experiencing God study; I had forgotten how good it really is. The opening week just speaks so much about the heart that truly seeks God; seeks to know his Will for our lives and how to know when we have joined Him there. A spine of the study is going against what we as Christians tend to do. We tend to pray and ask God to join us where we need help at in our lives. Then we wonder why we haven’t felt right about our relationship with Him; we wonder why we don’t feel his blessing in what we have been doing. Simply put, we asked God to come join us in our work, when we really should be going and joining Him where He is already at work around us. The way to truly know where he is already at work, is a heart that truly desires Him in daily prayer and his Word (Bible). You are NEVER going to find God, much less God’s Will for your life, in just one day a week.

Christ had stood up and made this proclamation at the Feast of Tabernacles; this feast was a Jewish religious festival that was steep in tradition. It was steep in religiosity that many felt themselves to be close to God because they honored and participated in the festival; it was a part of their Sunday or Sabbath system of religion. Christ was challenging their faith right at the pinnacle of the festival; commentaries speak of how when the water was poured to commemorate when the water flowed from the rock in the desert from God, Christ may have made this proclamation. What He was truly proclaiming to them was the gift of the Holy Spirit that would come to those that believed in Him. 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

You can go to church every Sunday, you can try to read your Bible, you can do many things to feel religious, but you will not find heaven in or through them. You must come to understand that religion is not a key to heaven; only Christ holds that key through a humble repentant heart. 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. When you repent and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, his gift to you is the Holy Spirit that will reside in your heart. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches you the Word of God, and draws you closer to him. It all begins with a heart that seeks God, more than just religion.