Dear Lord? Can I get a redo?
Religous, conservative Godly realistic opinion.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Monday, May 6, 2013
Regret? No Regrets.
I had the pleasure of visiting an
old friend and mentor at his church this last Sunday. The day was awesome. You
could feel Yahweh’s Spirit in the entire service. It was truly a blessing. Bro.
Brad was Shelly’s and my high school principal back in Utah. And some of the
best memories of high school revolve around the year that I was under his
teaching. I learned HOW to study the Word from Brad Strand and the
responsibility that goes along with what we learn.
A couple of things that Brad shared
with me over me this last week came from his sermon Sunday and from a text he
sent me earlier in the week. In the text he shared:
Don’t let everything that pops into your
head……be said. Prov 10:19.
And in the Sermon He shared:
Ecc 11:4 He that
observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not
reap. (I think he enjoys stepping on my toes.)
Now the first one came after a week
of dealing with consequences of “being rude to a customer”. This is something that I repeatedly have to
answer for. I come across to many as intimidating. This is actually rather funny
because I have spent the better part of my life up being intimidated in one
form or another. I was scrawny and week. I was kind of nerdy and naive. I had a
hard time fitting in. And I always seemed to say something that would cause me
to be made fun of. I am not making excuses for myself nor am I here to shift
blame. I do tend to be rather stern and/or abrupt in my words. This is not a good thing.
The second comes after many, many
years of not following after The Father’s will, but my own. I have made so many
mistakes in my life with my children, marriage, work and my church. My family
and friends have watched me wallow in the pig’s mire of this life and
accomplish my selfish feats. The seeds that I had sown have caused so much
damage. However, that being said, I KNOW I am forgiven. I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded, that He is able to keep that which I've committed
unto Him against that day. And this really is the main issue, Regret. If we spend our days dwelling on
regret, we miss out on what is happening today. Personally, I think we need to
remember where we came from so we don’t return to Egypt. But the point is, if our God Yahweh forgives us, who are we to keep rehashing it?
Now this all being said, I was sitting
there last night and rehearsing my week in my mind. And James 3:1-2 (kjv) comes
into my thoughts:
My brethren, be not
many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in
many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect
man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Maybe this is a little obscure for
us. Let’s try a different translation:
Dear brothers and
sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach
will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we
all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be
perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. (NLT)
There is a higher standard for
those who KNOW what the Father’s commandments are then for those who have not
learned yet. Numbers 15:29-31 tells us:
Ye shall have one law
for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the
children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. But the
soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a
stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord
; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath
despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall
utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.
As we grow from new born babes in
Christ to mature Christians, we learn truth, or at least we should. That truth
takes us from our darkened, ignorant past down a pathway of Light. We begin to
learn what our God desires. We learn what He hates and what He loves. Just as
we teach or have taught our own children to be upstanding members of society,
the Word teaches us how to be the children of God. All we do or say should be a direct reflection
of what His Word is doing in us.
We are to put off the things from
our past lives striving to “be Holy, as He is Holy” because “we know better”. Ah! That is something our parents told us and
we tell our children, correct? How many times did my mom, my dad, tell me “you
know better than to act that way….. I have taught you better than that”? Well
Yahweh tells us that as well. Once we didn't know what we were doing was sin.
Once what we did with our friends was just about having “fun”. Now as we grow
in the Spirit, we “know better”. And if “we know better”…..
Eph 4:17-32 tells us:
This I say therefore,
and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in
the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated
from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over
unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not
so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by
him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore
putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are
members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon
your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more:
but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that
he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed
out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may
minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Ruhroh! If we
are to live with “No regrets” as my dear friend was preaching, we need to
refrain from doing the things that bring that regret. Plain and simple, ‘nuff
said.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Now what do we do?
Wow! What a night! Trust was put in a leader that would take us from bondage to liberty and now our backs are against the wall. There appears to be no way out and the enemy is closing in on our rights and privileges as Americans. This is not a new story and certainly wont be the last story. You see, a few thousand years ago, Jehovah God began calling His children out of Egypt. And The Father, in doing so, didn't make it easy. After all the convincing, plagues and now the journey, the children of Israel were up against a wall literally and figuratively. If researchers are correct, and I believe they are, the people crossed the red sea at Nuweiba after traveling through a Wadi that is now called the Newaba-Taba Hwy.
They were faced with Pharaoh at their back and the Red Sea before them. And we know from the story in Exodus 14 that God intervened in a miraculous way. But before He did so, He instructed Moses to speak to the people, and this is the point I want to share today:
13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 15And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go FORWARD:
We may not like what has transpired in this 2012 election season, but we as Christians have so much more to look forward to. First we need to humble ourselves and realize that the the world does not revolve around us or our wants and desires. Put aside the material hedonistic philosophies that are plaguing our world and move FORWARD!! The Father is about to do some marvelous things while allowing some severe hardships to cross our paths. Now is not the time to whine and cry for Egypt, but to move FORWAD!. Now is not the time to question what has happened, but to move FORWARD!.
There is no "Hope and Change" outside of following God's commandments and ways. There is no "New World Order" for the Christian. There is only living righteously before the Lord. No matter what happens in the near future we must remember what Job said in chapter 1:21 ....Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
They were faced with Pharaoh at their back and the Red Sea before them. And we know from the story in Exodus 14 that God intervened in a miraculous way. But before He did so, He instructed Moses to speak to the people, and this is the point I want to share today:
13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 15And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go FORWARD:
We may not like what has transpired in this 2012 election season, but we as Christians have so much more to look forward to. First we need to humble ourselves and realize that the the world does not revolve around us or our wants and desires. Put aside the material hedonistic philosophies that are plaguing our world and move FORWARD!! The Father is about to do some marvelous things while allowing some severe hardships to cross our paths. Now is not the time to whine and cry for Egypt, but to move FORWAD!. Now is not the time to question what has happened, but to move FORWARD!.
There is no "Hope and Change" outside of following God's commandments and ways. There is no "New World Order" for the Christian. There is only living righteously before the Lord. No matter what happens in the near future we must remember what Job said in chapter 1:21 ....Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Be strong and of great courage and move FORWARD!!!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Stand, by commitment!
I have not written in a while. Sorry, I had
to marry my first high school sweet heart. But alas, this plays a big part in
what I plan to bring in this session of “Stand”.
As I stated before, I have spent a large part
of my life chasing my hearts desires. Ironically, Psalm 37 is my favorite
chapter in the Bible. It speaks of trust, commitment, delight, rest and what
comes from following this formula. I know it, I believe it and yet I have had difficulties
following it.
This world is filled with so many things that
distract us and bring us little bits of happiness, but all this world has to
offer pales in comparison to what the Father wants to bestow upon us. The
little bits of joy and happiness are short lived and usually come with
consequences that we can do without.
I am reminded of sermons from the pastor of
my youth. He would speak of hedonism (the doctrine that pleasure or happiness
is the sole or chief good in life). It is so easy to fall into this thinking when
our hearts and minds are not set on Christ. Whether it is social, spiritual, psychological
or physical, we as humans want to feel good. We wake each day and seek whatever
it is that makes us feel better. A cup of coffee, a kiss, our favorite foods,
exercise, books, TV or any number of things, the issue does not lie with any of
these things, it is in what we are trying to fulfill, what we are “committing”
ourselves to.
I love a good steak and a salad, in my mind I
believe I could be happy having such for every meal. However, I would grow
tired, eventually of the same old thing for every meal, every day. I love
physical contact, but seeking this outside of God’s plan can bring, and has
brought, many consequences and pain to myself and those close to me.
During our “courtship” time, my now wife Michelle
ready The Resolution, she the one for women, I the one for men. Shelly had seen the movie courageous but I had
not at that time. But I believe the Spirit of the Lord was directing us to read
the study the movie is based on. We also wholehearted committed ourselves to abstinence,
not only from sex, but from kissing as well. You see, I had never kissed her.
Michelle and I met at a Christian school
where there was this “six inch rule”. Boys and girls were not allowed to touch
each other in order to prevent us from “going too far”. It may seem old-fashioned,
but if we practiced this more, we would have less “social issues” than we have.
In following this commitment, we both have
experienced something that neither of us thought would be possible. I can’t go
into detail, but I will say it was well worth the commitment, resolve and the wait.
And this has also confirmed what we learned in the Resolution and have read in
Psalm 37.
God wants to give us more than we can fathom
just as any parent would. He just asks us to “commit” ourselves to Him. In
doing so, He will give us our hearts desires. But before you get carried away,
these desires will not have their roots in our humanistic, hedonistic side, but
God will actually place the desires HE wants us to have, in our hearts. That’s right,
by trusting in, resting on and committing to the Father, God will place His
desires in our hearts and they will become our desires.
It is plain and simple. Jesus said “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the
first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Stand, by commitment
to God!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Stand!!!!
Stand
up!
If you know me on a personal level, you know
that I served in the military and later served in the ministry. I am very proud
to say I served this country and not so much about my service to God. You see,
I have made some major errors in my life that have affected my walk with God
and the Godly walk of others. Thank the Lord for forgiveness! Without it, I
would still be in a terrible mess. I spent several years living after my own
heart and not after the heart of Christ. In doing so, I allowed the devil to
walk through my life and the lives of those close to me.
Now that I am back on track, I see the
consequences of my actions. I see how I was so far away from God, even though I
thought I was on track. I was following after my own heart. However, I am not alone. There are many in the body of
Christ who are following after their hearts desires. Within the church there has been a great
falling away from the foundations that the Father would have us base our lives
on. Our country has turned its back on sound principles and values. We are on a
fast track to socialism and those of us who call ourselves patriotic Christians
are more of the problem than the solution. Over the next few blogs I will spell
out in depth how to turn around our families, churches and nation. Here are
some basics to start with.
If we want to ever see our families, our
churches and our nation return to the values that made us who we are, then it
is time to make a stand! How do we make a stand? First, we kneel, 2 Chron 7:14 If
my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Give up our selfish, devilish
desires, humble ourselves and repent!
Next, we need to prepare ourselves.
2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew
thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.
We do this by following this
formula:
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be
strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. When we arm ourselves as described above, we
can grow stronger.
When I was in the military, I noticed that
the more weapons and gear we had, the braver we became. This is true in our
Christian based lives. The more we equip ourselves, the stronger and braver we
become. Let’s take a look at some of King David’s men.
1 Chron 11:11 Here
is the record of David’s mightiest warriors: The first was Jashobeam the…..leader
of the Three—the mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his
spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. 12 Next...Eleazar
son of Dodai,...13 He was with David in the battle against the
Philistines at Pas-dammim. The battle took place in a field full of barley, and
the Israelite army fled. 14 But Eleazar and David held their
ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines…..
David and Eleazar made a stand, even when all
their friends fled and ran from the difficult battle. Jashobeam was courageous
and fought off 300 with just a spear. (Hand to hand combat obviously. That means
“in your face” battle)
God asks us to stand up and be strong when
all seems impossible. To do our part, “be strong and very courageous”, and let
Him fight ahead of us. We can’t see God’s mighty work if we don’t get into the
battle.
I have heard it said that “God doesn’t ask
much of us”. I disagree. God asks ALL
from us. Not part way, not on our time, not tomorrow. He wants ALL of each one of us, everything,
right now!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Love, tolerance and socialism
Love, tolerance and socialism
In today’s society and propagated in all aspects the media,
we are finding a push towards an equality that rivals the views Stalin, Lenin
and Marx. Everywhere I look I see a
degradation of values, an infiltration of hedonism and a total disrespect of our
elderly. And that’s just in my own mirror.
All joking aside, I was raised to love, trained to defend, reminded to
be thankful for and encouraged to pray over daily; this great nation my forefathers
shed blood over.
Currently, our political temperature is that of tolerance. I
am supposed to accept every point of view even if I disagree because everyone
has the same rights that I have. If these other rights conflict with mine, that’s
ok as long as my views don’t conflict with theirs. I have to love everyone else’s
views and try to incorporate them into my life. If I don’t accept these other
views, then I am labeled a hater and I am encroaching on their civil liberties.
My tolerance is to be encapsulated in
love because “That’s what Jesus would do”. Everything I work for is supposed to
be shared with the “less fortunate” people and I am not to complain on how they
use it. “We are all created equal and deserve to have the same advantages as everyone
else.”
I strongly disagree! This is not the Spirit of Christ but
instead the spirit of an anti-Christ.
It has been rumored for years that former
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev stated before a visit to America:
“We cannot expect the
Americans to jump from capitalism to communism, but we can assist their elected
leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism, until they suddenly awake
to find they have communism.”
What is currently happening in our nation not a new concept
and or strategy. It is a concept that can be traced back to Adam and Eve, as we
see in Genesis 3.
1 The serpent was
the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked
the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees
in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the
garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in
the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must
not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” 4 “You
won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that
your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God,
knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw
that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the
wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she
gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
God the Father was trying to teach man early on that not
everything belongs to man to have. And that there is a reason for this. That reason
is that it is not good for us.
We as humans have an insatiable hunger for what we can’t
have, an overpowering jealousy of others’ possessions and an adulterated desire
to get it “all”, no matter what. And the more level the playing field, the better we think we will all be. This kind of thinking produces a socialistic outlook. And this outlook has impregnated our country, our school, our homes and our lives. We are no longer drifting away from sound biblical doctrine, hard core patriotism and Godly values; friends, we are running from them. We are padding our lives with "tolerance" and "love" and forgetting to "eschew evil" as Job did. If we don't stop this obsession that is plaguing our lives, grab a knee and pray for forgiveness, healing and leadership of the Holy Spirit; this country will fall.
The late pastor Dr. Peter Marshal stated it correctly: "if we don't stand for something, we will fall for anything". Its time to make a stand for Truth!
Exodus 32:26 "....who is on the Lord's side.........."
Micah 6:8 … the LORD has told you what is good, and
this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with your God.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Faith of Megan
This week has been a sad one. Little Megan went home to be with
Jesus after her family was involved in a tragic accident. Now I don’t know
this young lady outside of knowing her family and watching her get baptized
this last Christmas morning. What I have been told is that she asked Jesus into
her heart after watching a preacher on TV. He gave the invitation and she asked
her savior to save her. Some may say this is ridiculous for a child at such a
young age and would dismiss it. But Megan from that point on desired to live in
heaven with Jesus. I also know that on 25 Dec 2011, that little spirit touched
the heart of a man who was sitting on the front row. I cried that day. I have
never cried at a baptism. But you see, I saw faith that day. I saw a young lady
exhibiting faith.
So what is faith? Faith according to Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence
that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things
we cannot see. NLT It states in James 2:21 Don’t
you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his
actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his
faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And
so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God
counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the
friend of God. NLT
Faith
is more than believing. It is more than trusting. Faith pure and simple is the conviction of truth that leads to
obedience. You can believe all day long that something is, or that it will
be. But if you sit around and do not pursue the truth, obey the truth; you have
a dead faith if any at all.
Megan’s
faith was alive! She had faith that Jesus saved her. She wanted to make Him
happy. She desired to be with her Jesus. And I truly believe that the Holy
Spirit was trying to share something with me on Christmas morning. “By faith,
Megan accepted a more beautiful sacrifice then those around her. By faith, she
followed her Savior in believers’ baptism after accepting Him. By faith, she
walked a path pleasing to God and it was counted unto her as righteousness.” I
know that’s not a verse in scripture, but it sure ought to be.
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