Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Disturbed


September 30, 2008- Today while I was praying I had something come over me like I have never experienced before. I was looking at a list of the names of lost people that we as a church have been praying for, and there are alot of names, when I got this burden for all these people. Oh, I've prayed for the lost, and I've had people that I thought I felt a burden for, but this was completely different. For some time I seemed to feel the pain of their families and friends. It seemed as if this feeling were going to crush me. Then I thought of how God must feel when it comes to the lost. God has this burden for all the people in the world. Wow! I'm sure many people feel these, burdens, if you will, but I know it changed something in me. I can't do ministry out of memory. I owe it to God to give my best. I have been disturbed. My prayer is that God disturb all His workers. That we all become disturbed with a burden for the lost and that we become effective through it all. God I want to feel your "Holy disturbance".

Monday, September 29, 2008

September 29, 2008- I had the most wonderful weekend. I don't get to spend much time with my fiance(Meg), and I spend even less with my beautiful mother. But I was able to spend it with both of them. It was terrific. Now I feel re-charged! This week is HUGE!! We have the first service for Celebrate Recovery on Thursday. The leadership team is really pumped. I can't wait to see what God is going to do. I have learned some valuable lessons in the last couple of months that I'd like to share.
  1. We are simply not talented enough for what God has called us to do. It might only be opening doors for people coming in the church, but it takes God to be able to do that or we could be offended when someone comments on our breath, or attitude. We need God!
  2. Our time isn't God's time. This sounds like the norm for Christ followers but it is very tough to put into practice. The funny thing is, when we submit to His time scale, He usually puts ours into overdrive. you know it's like riding in the car with somebody who drives slow. When you stop being frustrated with their driving, you can usually have a good conversation and the trip will take no time.
  3. We don't have to understand what God is doing. My understanding of God's purpose has brought me much pain in the past few months, but finally as things start to fall into place I see that it's not the purpose I need to focus on, but His presence.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

All I need

September 27, 2008- I know you can use too many videos on a blog but these kid's give us a wonderful example of worship unto God. Please check it out. This is Hillsong Kid's with Marty Sampson- Your all I need!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Whatever(Something Heavenly)

September 26, 2008- Saw this video a few days ago and thought I needed to share it. We are kicking off Celebrate Recovery Oct. 2nd and as I was thinking about the needs we would be ministering to I thought of this song. Everyone needs help. God is that help. We sometimes think His ways could be tweaked a little, so here we are to help, and we mess it up. After watching this I saw myself and where God brought me from and where He's taking me to. So God, Whatever your doing? Your name be Glorified. This is Sanctus Real- Whatever your doing (something heavenly)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Amazing Grace

September 24, 2008- Have you ever noticed how passionate or "on fire" someone is after coming to know the Lord? I have. I see this all the time in the ministry I'm involved with. In recovery, people sometimes have this wonderful experience with God that changes them completely. They start to hear from God, they pray all the time, everything they do is all about God and pleasing Him. That is the best feeling in the world! But then something happens. They start to fellowship with older believers. Good huh? I don't know. You see those, Mature Christians say things like,"don't worry,what you are experiencing is cool but it's just a season we all go through." They tell you that the fire dims and you need to have a very realistic faith foundation. Do you know what they do in your life? They quench the spirit of God! Good intentions, but they steal the essence of God in your life. It happened to me in a very short time. I started to believe it and tried to act according, that is , until I started to dry up spiritually. I don't want to live the dead life most Christians live. I choose to live in God's anointing and His power. Don't let people quench the spirit in your life. Know that the feeling you had in the beginning was a feeling of thankfulness for God's grace. Never forget that Amazing Grace.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Progress

September 22, 2008- In the process of life, one of our greatest enemies is progress. Sure that's what we strive for and that is definitely what God has in store for us. Those are principles that should be elementary to us. But we, or should I say I, get so caught up in worrying about making progress that I miss the most important lessons in the process. I think I can tweak things just a little, I think I can make it more relevant. I think? Notice it's all about I. That's the problem that arises with progress. Others don't seem to help either. They think the reason things are moving forward has more to do with who's holding the reigns. Somebody gets put on a pedestal and they are expected to produce. Well that's nothing new. The early church in Corinth dealt with the same issues. 1 Corinthians 3 says that the people were divided over the production of the Apostles. Some claimed to follow Paul, others claimed to follow Appollos. Why? These men of God's ministry had fruit. But Paul told them clearly that even though they each had functions in the ministry, it was God who gives the increase.
So, before I get too caught up in trying to produce for God, I realize that I only play a part in His work. It is God that really brings progress, and only for His glory.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Process

September 19, 2008- I was reading today in Joshua and thinking on things going on in my life and in ministry when I saw what I feel the Lord was trying to show me. You see when the children of Israel started dividing the land promised to them, it was interesting the comments of one man. Read Joshua 14:6-12. Caleb stepped up and brought back to the remembrance of the people an incident that happened in the same place 45 years earlier. 45 years earlier Moses sent 12 men out from the same place to scout the land because the land was promised to them by God. It's interesting that this place(Kadesh Barnea) was to be the place they were to divide the land. But 10 of the 12 came back with a negative report concerning the inhabitants of the land. Only 2 came back confirming what the Lord had said, and one of them was Caleb. Caleb at that time was fully ready to do whatever it took to take the land then, because the Lord was with them. The others however, were afraid and let their circumstances determine their outcome. God was so angry at their insolence that He told them that none of that generation would enter into that promised land, save Joshua and Caleb. Well the Lord kept His promise and we find Caleb 85 years old and back in Kadesh Barnea. The cool thing is that he says that he is just as ready now as he was then to do as the Lord says. He's ready now to take his land, even after this long process. I must stay focused on God that no matter the length of the process, I'll be just as ready to enter into His promise.

Not what you'd expect!

September 18, 2008- This is our promotional poster for our Celebrate Recovery program.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

In the Box

September 17, 2008- This video was created by Rob Wegner, and the creative team at Granger church. The message will no doubt get you thinking. Very powerful message segment on Death.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Perspective

September 16, 2008- Today while studying, God really rocked my world with a common passage of scripture by giving me another perspective on it. You see, we have all heard messages about the woman with the issue of blood. Right? Right. The one I studied is in Lk. 8:40-56. Did you notice that in vs. 42-43 that the daughter of Jairus is twelve years old? Well the woman with an issue of blood has had her issue for, guess what? Twelve years. Hasn't bit you yet, well while this woman with the blood issue was suffering, being neglected, being avoided, considered as unclean(with good reason I might add), as far as we know this little girl was enjoying life as any young child would. For twelve years these two people co-existed in completely different perspectives. I don't really have time to lay all the ground work for this but the little girl had the love and support of her family while the woman with the issue had nobody. Then, the little girl gets sick and is on deaths doorstep. What I saw in this passage is this, faith is a picture that God has painted on our heart. Without this image we run around trying to fix things ourselves when we need an image of God's plan on our hearts. The woman didn't have anyone so the image was personal. The little girl had family(she was under authority)so the image had to invade her family. For this image to be what it should a few elements have to be in place. First is exposure, second is light, third is development, and forth is curing. Anyway, the summary of it all is this. We all go through things that we need God to place an image on our hearts, but we just have the wrong perspective. Don't just pray " God heal me" Pray, " God let me see myself Healed"!!!!!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Wow!

Preparation

September 15, 2008- Bright and early Monday morning. This weekend was great. I am making arrangements to leave New Birth Outreach Ministries over the next couple of months and we are getting a new leadership team in place. This place has really been a blessing of God to me and it's tough to just move on. But ministry calls. God has used all my resources in that area and I really believe He has even greater things in store for the future. You know one thing I've learned in this walk with Christ is, there is never a time of rest. Life works in seasons and a worker never has a season of rest. First lets start with spring. Spring is a season of sewing. We plant in the spring the seeds for the harvest we expect in the latter part of the year. Then summer, Summer is a season of work, of pruning, of shaping and molding. Then comes fall. Fall, as we all know is the time of harvest. The things we've worked so hard for all year come to fullness and fruition in this season. But after all this we see one season that is neglected. Most people think that the other season is a season of rest. But the difference between the good and the great is found in the activity of this season. You see winter is a season when no planting happens. It isn't a time for pruning or of gathering fruit. Winter is a time of preparation. It is a time to break up the soil and get the soil prepared for the seasons to come. The ones who work in winter are the ones who enjoy the greatest blessings of the Lord. While there is still daylight we must not be slack but labor for the harvest is ripe.

Friday, September 12, 2008

I miss Meg :(


September 12, 2008- This is something out of the ordinary for me to do. I don't like getting personal on a spot like this but I have to share what's on my heart. I love this woman very much and I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her. The problem is this. We live about 200 miles apart. That is just not cool. I miss you Meg!!!! I'm really ready for this season of our life to be over and the new one to begin. I just had to get that off my chest because it has really been eating away at me. You see due to the circumstances, with employment we have had to be away from each other alot in our relationship. But now, well I'll just quote a very famous phrase, " When you meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible". Thanks for listening.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Good, Becoming Great


September 11, 2008- A thought for today is, "What am I becoming"? The thing is, we are becoming something. So many of us think all we have to do is polish who we are now, and we miss the process that's really taking place. I'm not who I'm created to be. I am simply the beginning of work God is doing. The encouraging thing about that is Philippians 1:6, "He who has begun a good work in me, will complete until the day of Christ Jesus". In God's creation everything He did was a good work. But when He created man, He saw that it was very good.
What is the significance there? Well not only did He make man good, He made man to become great. Today as the Lord guides us in our walk I pray that we embrace the changes that He urges us to make. That we would become what He has created us to be!!!




Wednesday, September 10, 2008

God's Team



September 10, 2008- Looking forward to the leadership meeting tonight. We are going through some material from Pastor's staff teaching on leadership and teamwork. We are going over 3 Core values in ministry and I just thought I'd go over them for anyone who has a hunger for ministry and leadership.
  • Winning Teams develop Trust... There are two key factors in trust...

a. consistency- being consistent is key because it insures stability.

b. loyalty- Loyalty shows that you follow the vision, hopefully because you know it came from God.

  • Winning Teams have a good Attitude... When the roots grow deep the fruit is displayed outwardly.
  • Winners represent the T.E.A.M. well...

Through...

a. Integrity

b. Character

c. People Skills

d. Growth

I am truly excited about what God is doing with our church and throughout the world by using 21st century apostles that aren't afraid to speak truth. My prayer is that God ignite a fire in me every day for all those who don't know Him!




Monday, September 8, 2008

Ps. 3

September 8, 2008- Today is the 40th day of the fast that I've been on. This has been an absolutely crazy day in my mind. I don't want to dwell on the things that I've experienced but just want to share what I learned. We have something really great inside us. The only problem is that we don't see it. The reason for so much adversity is that the enemy does!! Most times the enemy sees things in us that we don't. He fights our minds in such a way as he is fighting who we are created to be, not who we see ourselves as. But the wonderful thing about that is Ps. 3. The whole chapter is about placing our faith totally in God and He will sustain us.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Leaving the White Dragon

September 4, 2008- Had a great morning. Spent a few hours this morning with a guy named Brett. He is new to our church and his family really enjoys it here. The interesting thing about Brett is that he and I have similar backgrounds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1oXtvqxsAU&feature=related

This video is a short depiction of that lifestyle. The thing is, he is on a different path now, just as I am. So I was thinking about shooting a 12 month documentary on someone going from that lifestyle into a life following Jesus. The growth alone in 12 months would be incredible and also it would be a tremendous evangelism tool for Celebrate Recovery. I'd probably call it, "leaving the white dragon and putting on a white robe".

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The useful enemy

September 3, 2008- We always think of the enemy as something to avoid at all cost. But the enemy plays a very important role in our promotion. Sometimes God uses the enemy( and guys I'm not talking about the red guy with the horns and the pointed tail). It's the people that are used by our enemy that make life uncomfortable for us to say the least. But the very thing meant for our harm, God will use to our good, that many will be saved.(Emphasis Gen. 50:20,mine). Anyway when God has used every possible resource in the arena we are in He will use our enemy to move us to the next. The next promotion. The next place of ministry. The next absolutely wonderful area of our life. Our job is not to avoid this, but to embrace it. Matt. 5:10-11 give us an account that the blessed suffer and are lied on. But Jesus takes the cake when he say "rejoice and be glad". When things seem as if there is an enemy directly appointed to destroy you then remember, my season is about to change.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Great weekend!



September 2, 2008- Man I had a wonderful weekend. Went out with a couple of the guys in the ministry. We basically just hung out and ate the first part of Sat. Really enjoyed ourselves. Then I met Meg in the afternoon to go to the game. We had a blast! This weekend was the most relaxing time I can remember in a long time. I feel ready to tackle some major projects now and I feel God allowed this rest at a perfect time. Thanks God!