Temptation

James 1:12-15 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

1. THE ROOT OF TEMPTATION v13-15
A. We invite temptation to exist- it’s not temptation if we don’t want it
B. The best way to stay away from temptation is to stay full of God
C. We should work on doing what is right instead of worrying about doing what is wrong.

2. THE REASON FOR TEMPTATION v12
“We can stand up under the test, be approved”
A. Temptation is a chance for us to choose.
1. We prove our love by our choices.

Why does God test us? To see what’s in us? No, he already knows.
He tests us so that we might know what is in our hearts. John Bevere, A Heart Ablaze, pg. 49

B. Temptation shows what’s in our heart.
1. Our private life is the real us
2. 1 Timothy 5:24‑25 The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.

3. THE RESULT OF TEMPTATION v12
A. Some people fail the test.
1. Sin is choosing something over God
2. When we disobey God we harden our hearts
a. Hebrews 3:8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert

B. Temptation makes us stronger
1. The devil brings temptation to destroy us, but God turns it around for good.
a. Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
b. Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
c. 1 Peter 1:7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
d. Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
2. So why does he try? He’s willing to take the chance that we will mess up

4. OUR REACTION TO TEMPTATION v12
A. Use the Word of God
1. Jesus did- Mt 4 “It is written”
2. Ephesians 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
3. John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

B. Treasure your relationship with God.
1. Psalms 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
2. You don’t want to do anything to disrupt the clean and open relationship you have with him.

C. Look for a way of escape
1. 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
2. If you get stuck in a situation - run
a. Genesis 39:12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
b. 1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality

D. Don’t think you are above temptation
1 Corinthians 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

E. Never give up
1. If you fall
a. Proverbs 24:16 for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.
b. Micah 7:8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
2. If you don’t feel anything
a. Habakkuk 3:17‑18 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Just a few thoughts.

1. What a great day at Christian Center Assembly of God yesterday!

2. We officially changed our service schedule to two services.
I never knew going to two services could be so much fun!

3. Congratulations to our friends Angel and Jason.
I had the honor of officiating their wedding Saturday night.

4. I am beginning to realize how hard blogging is!
Coming up with fresh, insightful and interesting stuff to write is harder than I thought.

5. Looking forward to this Sunday, when we get to do two services again!
Yes this will become the normal thing at CCAG.

6. Making more room for people to be impacted by the Gospel of Christ!

7. Let Love Live.

8. Love Wins.

Hunger

Read this post on hunger. It was written by a friend of mine. Good stuff Michael Fleming!

http://mdfleming.wordpress.com/

I hope you are challenged by Michael's post!

Lessons From Disney World - Part 3

3. Dream Big

Many times I read the story about when they first opened Disney World in Florida. The story says that someone there said something like, "I wish Walt Disney could have seen this." To which someone else replied. "He did!"

I loved visiting Disney World and experiencing Walt Disney's dream.
Guess what, God has a big dream too. And He wants us to dream big.
If your dream is not unreachable, chances are it my not be from God. God wants us to dream big, He wants to accomplish great things in and through our lives.
One of my favorite worship songs lately has been "God of the City"; there's are part that says, "greater things are yet to come." Man I believe that.
Greater things are yet to come for me, my family, my church my city, and out nation.
We just need to dream bigger dreams and by faith follow God as He leads us in fulfilling those dreams.

And the truth be told... you don't have to go to Disney World to learn to dream big. All you have to do is read your Bible and you realize how amazing God is and how much He is waiting for us to catch His dream for our lives!

Lessons From Disney World - Part 2

Here's another lesson I learned while visiting Disney World:

2. Focus on kids and mom and dad will come!
Everything at Disney is kid friendly and done with excellence.
Imagine if Walt Disney had built a church! It would have world class children's ministry and probably world class youth ministry.
Why is it that we in the church world today have a tendency to spend most of our resources on the adults while children and youth ministry seems to get the "left-overs"?
Seems to me that God's desire for building His Kingdom and His church is first of all excellence. I get tired of seeing people and churches do things half-way.

What if Christ only half-way provided our atonement on the cross? What if He only half-way forgave your sins? Or half way provided for your needs?

What ever you do, do it all for the glory of God! The means do things with excellence.

Remember, excellence is doing the best you can with what you have!

My desire is for the church to have quality children's and youth ministries. I have learned that the parents will follow.

Remember Jesus' words:

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matt 19:14-15 NIV

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."Matt 18:3 NIV

Lessons From Disney World

Lately I've noticed many of my contemporaries are posting lessons they learned while visiting Disney World. I too visited Disney world while in Florida, so since it seems to be the common theme in the blogging world, here are my lessons from Disney World ...

1. It's a small word after all!

Right now the words to the song are most likely playing in your head! You're welcome!
As my family worked it's way through the massive crowds at the Magic Kingdom, I realized that no one knew who I was. Sometimes this can be dangerous. Let me explain.
When we find ourselves in a place where we think no one knows us, we are tempted to lay aside our integrity and character. We reason, "Well no one knows me so it doesn't matter what I do or how I act."
Remember, character and integrity are best defined, "Who you are when no one is looking."(Thanks Bill Hybels for writing that book!)
If I am really a person of charter and integrity, I am going to do the right thing and live a life worthy of a Christ follower, even in a strange city and a large crowd where chances are no one knows me.
And for the record, there's always someone who knows you, every where you go!
On day three of my visit to Disney World, I ran into a friend and his family also enjoying Disney.
I may have been on vacation from being "Pastor Joe" but I wasn't on vacation from being "Joe the Christ follower!"

So the lesson is, be real and be who you're supposed to be no matter where you are.
It's a small world after all!

The Cussing Pastor

Here's a post from Ed Young Jr's blog.
Makes you think about the things that come out of your mouth!

The Cussing Pastor

Blocking "HolyGod"

A friend of mine send me a link to read this blog post of one of his friends. It was too good not to post here for you to read.

The following comes from http://www.jenniferstair.blogspot.com/

Enjoy. Hopefully next week I'll get back to posting my own stuff!


Friday, June 26, 2009

Blocking "HolyGod"

About a year ago, I finally caught up with the twenty-first century and joined Twitter. For those of you who have been living under a rock, or perhaps are not technologically inclined, Twitter is a social messaging website where you post short updates (140 characters or less) that can be viewed by your “followers,” people who have permission to be included among those who are able to receive a regular feed of your posts.

At the advice of Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson and cutting-edge business leader, I began viewing my Facebook and Twitter accounts not only as ways to keep up with my friends and family, but also as opportunities to begin building an online “brand.” In his blog on the subject, Hyatt reveals, “By the way, I accept all friend requests on both Twitter and Facebook. Period.”

A few weeks ago, I took Hyatt’s advice and began accepting all “follower” requests on Twitter. The results have been fun! I’ve discovered many other people involved in the publishing industry, church planting and ministry, and families just like ours. I’ve also accepted follower requests from marketers, real estate agents, life coaches, and completely random people I have nothing in common with. And you know what, it’s been fun to read their updates and begin to get to know these people in a casual way.Now, I’ve gotten a few bizarre follower requests along the way, but the one I got yesterday tops them all. Literally.

Yesterday, I was contacted by “HolyGod”—who requested to follow me on Twitter.

Huh?

I checked out the Twitter profile, and sure enough, it’s someone who is pretending to be the Creator of the universe. He (she?) tells people when to expect rain, gives status reports on his ongoing fight with Satan, etc. Surprisingly, in the post-Christian Twitterverse, “HolyGod” has more than ten thousand followers.

Before I go any further, let me assure you that I do have a sense of humor. I don’t take myself too seriously, and I appreciate tongue-in-cheek biblical humor as much as the next person.

But to me, what “HolyGod” was posting on Twitter crossed the line. It wasn’t just satire; it was sacrilege. (Note: this is my own opinion; I am in no way criticizing anyone who does follow HolyGod on Twitter. Please, no irate e-mails.)

Fortunately, Twitter has a function that allows you to “block” people from being your followers. So instead of hitting “Follow” (in return), I simply clicked the option that says “Block.” After being prompted by a screen making absolutely certain I want to block this person (yes, I did), I then got a bold, large message scrawled across the top of my Twitter page:

YOU HAVE BLOCKED HOLYGOD.

I couldn’t help but snicker at the irony of the message. And then I thought…

How many times in my own life do I actually block Holy God? (The real, almighty Creator of the universe, not the Twitter version.)

When I sense God’s nudging to pray for someone or call a friend, do I act on it—or do I “block” Holy God, thinking I’ll get to that later, when I have more time?

When I have the opportunity to share the gospel or help someone in need, do I act on it—or do I “block” Holy God from using me in that way?

When I have the time to study God's Word or deepen my faith through our church's growth groups and Bible studies, do I joyfully take advantage of these opportunities—or do I “block” Holy God from growing my faith through these outlets?

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. So here’s my challenge to you (and me) today:

Today, and in days to come, when you sense God nudging you,
will you “block” Him, or will you “follow” Him?

Change. Change. Change.

I really like this recent blog entry from Ed Young at Fellowship Church in Grapevine.
Liked it so much, I decided to post it on my blog.
Enjoy!


EdYoungBlog
Change. Change. Change.
Posted: 07 May 2009 12:20 PM PDT
If it ain't broke, break it.

In other words, change. Just to change. That may sound like an odd statement, but it's vital. Why? Because change is the guts of creativity.

We all want to be creative. But to do that, in any venue of life, we have to be willing to change. Something. Anything. And we have to do it before we need to do it.

One of the biggest pitfalls we find ourselves in is the inability, or unwillingness, to change. We lock ourselves into a style, a look, a time zone. And after a while, everything we do and say looks and sounds like circa 2002.

When you drill it down, the lack of change is all about fear. Many people and leaders resist the need to change because of the resistance of change. But there's a spin cycle of success when it comes to change.

Change. Conflict. Growth.

If you want your life and your leadership to reach the level God wants it to, you have to change.

At Fellowship Church, we change all the time. There's a running joke that FC stands for "frequent change." But it's true. We've discovered over the past 18 years that when we change, yes, we face conflict. Yes, people do the push back. Yes, some people even leave the church! But as we stick through the changes, we also discover tremendous growth on the other side.

So what does change really look like here?

Change Your Preparation
I don't always prepare my messages the same way. I vary the books I read, the articles I research and the people who help me craft the weekend messages. I even change the places I study.

If I stick to doing things the same way, I fall into a rut. And there's no less effective place to be than in a rut.

Change Your Worship
Over the years, we've blown up the entire dynamic of our worship department. And not just once.

This is one of those areas that, when it's "working," people are afraid to change. But it's one of the greatest ways to keep the church on its feet with its arms raised in worship rather than folded in familiarity.

Change Your Style
I'm not talking about just your clothes (though, yes, please change those as the years go by). I'm talking about the style of your leadership. In other words, change the people you have in leadership positions.

Even as I write this, we're in the process of changing the entire leadership scheme of Fellowship Church. Because we've discovered that new perspectives, new viewpoints help elevate our church to heights we never dreamed possible.

Don't be afraid of change. Instead, be afraid of what could happen if you don't change. Be willing to face the conflict change will bring. And get ready to experience the growth on the other side!

Come Home - part 2

Just a quick update on my previous entry. This afternoon around 3:00 the two teens who were missing were found hiding here in town. They are both safe and sound.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for these kids and their families. Please continue to pray for the families as they work through the past 24 hours.

Nothing's Too Hard For God!

Come Home

Did you ever stop and think about how great God's love is for us?
I always love reading and teaching from Luke 15:11-32, the Parable of the Lost Son.
I always get choked up talking about the part of that story where the Father runs to his son and welcomes Him home.

Last night as I stood outside the home of a family whose teenage daughter had ran away. I couldn't help but think of that story. I watched as the desperate Father kept looking down the street, waiting for his daughter to come home. She never did. We're still looking for her and a friend, believing they are both safe and will return today! Please keep these two family's in your prayers.

Anyway, as I ministered to this family, watching as they were waiting and watching for their lost child to come home. I couldn't help but wonder what it must do to the heart of our Heavenly Father when we walk away from Him. He loves us so much. Scripture tells us that "while we were still sinners Christ died for us". John 3:16 reminds us that God has so much love for us that He gave His One and Only son for us. That through his sacrifice on the cross,we might have eternal life.

We're still waiting for these two teenagers to come home. And if you've wandered away from home, your Heavenly Father is waiting for you to come home too!

Stop running. Go home. He loves you. He created you, not because He had to but because He chose to create you as an expression of His love!

Think there's no way you could go home? Think you've done too many things, carry too much baggage? He's waiting to welcome you home. He offers forgiveness to everyone who asks.
Stop running away, turn around and run home. You Father is waiting for you!

Big Storms

Big storms rolled through our area last night and early this morning.
At least they sounded big. The lightening was bright and the thunder was loud.
I woke up when my six year old came and crawled in bed with me. As the Thunder continued my daughter soon began to holler for "mom"! As the third round of storms rolled through, I noticed it was just me and Andrew in the bed, Jennifer had to get in Bonnie's bed!
As the thunder boomed loudly I could tell Andrew was awake and scared. I reached over and pulled him close and assured him everything was alright.

As I lay there with my arm around my son, comforting him during a storm, I couldn't help but think again about my heavenly Father. I'm so thankful for the times when He has pulled me close and assured me everything is going to be alright.

Wouldn't it be nice if we never had to face storms and hard times in our lives. But storms come, sometimes often, into each of our lives. I think God wouldn't trade our storm moments for anything. Because during the storms of life many of us have a tendency to move in close to Him. The stormy times of life produce some very intimate moments with our heavenly Father.

Maybe your in a storm now. Move closer to your heavenly Father. He's waiting to comfort you and to assure you everything will be alright. During storms I often think of a song I heard that said, "Sometimes He calms the storm and sometimes He calms His child." Either way we know God is in control!

Storms are coming, it's alright He's waiting for you to move in closer to Him.

Are you connected?

What a great time we live in. You can always be connected to everyone all the time!
We have internet, cell phones, ipods, text messaging, instant messaging, facebook and for the cool people myspace (I am not cool enough for myspace!) and now twitter.

I am not using twitter. Not sure why though. I mean does anyone really care what I am doing every moment of every day? It's fun learning something new though.

Twitter got me thinking about my relationship with God (it's what pastor's do you know!).
Anyway, imagine if we stayed as connected to God as we do with each other. I remember one time Jeanne Mayo made a statement, she said, "Short prayers are adequate when you're close to the Throne." What a great statement. When we stay close and connected to God we are in the right place.

Are you connected? Can you hear Him when he whispers your name?
Take some time toady and disconnect from your world and connect with God, you'll be glad you did!

Father's Heart

Right now I'm sitting in my office at home working. Can't help but overhear my 4 year old daughter as she is in the next room listening and singing along to a kids worship CD. She is having her very own little worship service!
As her father, my heart is encouraged to hear my child worshipping God.

I was just thinking, "what must our heavenly Father's heart feel like when we take time to worship Him?" Does His heart leap for joy because His children are calling out to Him and loving Him? Or does His heart ache because He longs for us to spend intimate time with Him?

Take a minute today and acknowledge God in your life. He created you, He formed you. Not because He had to, but He chose to create you as an expression of love.

"God my I continue to live a life that brings honor to You. May my children continue to learn how to worship You, how to honor You, how to love You as they see me doing these things. Let Your love live through me today. Thank You for Your amazing love, grace, and mercy. Thank You for calling me Your child."

Let Love Live.
Love Wins.

Great Day!

What a great day.

Got to have lunch at my favorite place (Chipotle) with a good friend I haven't seen in a while. He was such an encouragement. I'm glad we were able to meet and catch up! Thanks RbJ!

Tonight I had the privilege to speak in our youth service. I was blown away by the response of our teens tonight. We have some students who have a passion for God!
We are blessed with awesome youth pastors (easy to say since they are also related to me!)
I am so blessed to get to pastor an amazing church and work with a first class team.

Just wanted to brag on my church for a minute!

And yes I still believe "Greater Things are Yet to Come!"

Greater Things?

Whew! What an amazing weekend. We have just finished celebrating our Risen Savior.
Easter weekend 2009 has been totally amazing.

On Saturday, we hosted the 4th annual Christian Center A/G Easter Eggstravaganza. This year was definitely the best yet! We had a record attendance on Saturday. I'm told we had around 700 people in attendance. Close to 8000 Easter eggs, we cooked 700 hot dogs, gave away hundreds of drinks, chips, cotton candy and snow cones. Plus there were so many prizes and give-a-ways that it's hard to count! Watching the kids faces who won bicycles was a priceless moment.
Thank you to all my Christian Center friends who gave of themselves to serve our community. Thanks to Kelli, Amie, Tanya, Tina and all the others who helped make this years eggstravaganza a huge success. I believe Greater Things are yet to come!

Now let me reflect on Easter Sunday!
God is so great and amazing!
We had a record attendance! We broke a number barrier that has never been broken in the history of CCAG! But the greatest moment today was praying with individuals who came forward to receive Christ. I'm so excited to see how God is changing lives!
Greater Things are yet to come!

For the Love of the Game

What a great day today. Beautiful weather and baseball.
Today was opening day for Krum Little League Baseball. I am coaching an 8 and under team that one of my sons plays on.
Baseball is such a fun game. I love being outside throwing a ball around or watching two teams square up and play hard!

I was thinking about a Pillar song that I heard on the radio recently called "For the Love of the Game". Can't remember all the lyrics but what stands out in my mind is "We live our life for the love of the game."

That's how Christ wants us to live. Not boring, stale lives. But lives with passion for the Love of the Game! Remember what Jesus said in John 10:10, "The thief comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. But I have come that you may have life more abundantly."

That abundant life Jesus was talking about is life to the fullest. Living life with passion, pursuing the dream and the destiny God has for you. Finding His purpose for your life, and then living out that purpose. That is living life "For the Love of the Game!"

Just a little something to think about!
Let's Play Ball!

Convoy of Hope

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted here since January.
I wish I had a good reason. The best I can come up with is I've been busy!

Last weekend our church participated in Convoy of Hope in Denton. What a great experience. It was a cold March morning, but I was so proud to see over 570 volunteers come out and serve the community of Denton.

I know that Convoy of Hope has made a lasting impression on many in the Denton area, volunteers and guests who enjoyed everything that was offered.

If you served at Convoy. Thank you. We appreciate your willingness to "let love live" in our community.

Do you have a plan?

Wow what a great day at CCAG!
We are truly blessed with an awesome, anointed worship team.
The new song they introduced was great... it's still bouncing around in my head (if only I knew all the words!!!)

Thank you Gary Paschal for blessing us with a great message today. (If you missed it you should get the CD!)

Here are the notes I took from Gary:

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

4 Principles for life:

P - Please God with your choices.
We should ask ourselves about everything in our lives, "God is this what pleases You?"
We must be above what culture is demanding and seek to please God.

L - Let the Spirit Lead Daily!
Are you Full of the Spirit? This is not just for the ability to speak in tongues!
When you're full of the Spirit:
1. You'll be a witness for Christ.
Tell people about the New Life you've been given through Christ.
2. What spills out?
You can tell what you're full of by what spills out!
What spills out of you when things fall apart? When your Full of the Holy Spirit,
He spills out of your life!!!!

A - Ask Somebody.
There is wisdom is a multitude of counselors.
Truth spoken in love brings freedom.
God call us in the Body of Christ to accountability!

N - Never, Never, Never Give Up!

What's the most important decision in life?
Accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior.

What's the second most important decision in life?
What are you going to do if you stumble and fall? (will you get up and brush your self off and keep going, or will you just quit?)

God's plan is for you to receive His grace and keep moving forward.

Awesome job Gary.
Alright all you CCAG readers, get out there in your world and let the love of Jesus live through you! God's got a plan for your life. Nothing's Too Hard For God!

Do you Pray?

Just wondering, how often do you pray?

Tonight we started a study based on Philip Yancy's book, "PRAYER - Does It Really Make A Difference?"
In the first chapter, he states, "According to Gallup polls, more Americans will pray this week than will exercise, drive a car, have sex, or go to work. Yancy states that nine in ten of us pray regularly, and three out of four pray everyday."

This got me to wondering, do you pray? How often?

A little further into his book, Yancy writes, "There was a time, Genesis informs us, when God and Adam walked together in the garden and conversed as friends. Nothing seemed more natural to Adam than to commune with the One who had made him, who gave him creative work, who granted his desire for a companion with the lovely gift of Eve. Then, prayer was as natural as conversation with a colleague, or a lover. At the moment of the fall, for Adam and for all who succeeded him, God's presence grew more remote, easier to doubt and even deny."

So do you pray? When you pray is it anything like Adam communing with God?
Can you imagine the intimacy they must have had. Each day Adam had an appointment with God. Genesis says they met. "in the garden, in the cool of the day".

I think it's time we start making daily appointments with our Creator, the One who formed us and desires for us to know Him intimately.

Do you pray, the answer should be yes, often!

Weekend Reflections

Wow! What a great day at Christian Center Yesterday.
If you weren't there, we missed you and will be looking for you next week.

Here's a few of my thoughts about Sunday:

1. I love pastoring this amazing church. We had another day of great attendance. As I look back over the last almost 2 years(my 2 year anniversary as pastor at CCAG is coming up April 15) I am truly amazed at what God has allowed me to be a part of.

2. We are so blessed to have the musicians and singers we have.

3. Yesterday's prayer time was very powerful. It always humbles me when people come forward for prayer. Yesterday was no different. I can't wait to see how God answers the prayers we prayed yesterday! Nothing's Too Hard For God!

4. Speaking of Nothing's Too Hard For God. I'm exited to see how many of you are excited about our new campaign. I am believing that we will reach a lot of people this year as we focus on a few areas where we need to be reminded that nothing is too hard for God! (If you'd like a yard sign of a NTHFG wristband let me know. We have ordered more and can place another order if we need too!)

5. Yesterday we had our monthly Board meeting. I was reminded again how God has blessed this church with some great, godly leaders.

6. Hey did you notice this Sunday reflections post was posted on Monday??? At least I made a new post!

7. Have a great week and let love live through you!

Still Trusting!

This has been as busy week! Which is obvious since I haven't had a blog post in several days. Sorry about that.

This past week, I have had many conversations with people who are going through tough times.
I still can't stop thinking about Psalms 73:25 look how it reads in the New Living Translation: "My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever."

I don't know what your week has been like, but one thing I know: God is STILL God!
No matter what comes or way, no matter what happens to us, God is faithful and in control!
When your health fails, He is your healer. When spirit grows weak, He is your strength. When your finances seem to be getting worse and it's harder to make ends meet, He is your provider.
What is it you need? God can provide. Nothing is Too Hard for God!

Are you still trusting God?

Strength

This weekend I preached a sermon out of Psalms 73. One verse in this incredible psalm stands out to me still (even though I forgot to mention it in the sermon!!!)

Psalms 73:26 My Flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

As I continue to think about this verse, here's what I come up with:
All that I have may fail, my health, my relationships, my ministry, everything, but God will still be my strength. If I put my trust in anything besides God, I will be disappointed.

But when I trust in God, He is always faithful. When I turn to Him to be my strength, He strengthens my health, my relationships, my ministry, everything!

God is my strength, without Him I am nothing!

Grace Flood - Part 2

Still be thinking about James 4:6 which reads, "But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'"

So here's the thing... God has a great supply of grace and He readily makes it available to us!

Grace is not "the big cover up". Grace is the ability of God in me.
John 1:17 says "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

God continually provides His grace to us to empower us to live in obedience to Him and His Word. We need His grace to make through each and every day. Without His grace we are hopeless.

So each day our prayer should be, "God give me more of your grace, enable me to live my life today in complete obedience."

Again, just something to think about!

Grace Flood!

This morning during my time I regularly call "having coffee with Jesus", which is my prayer time, I was reading in the Book of James when verse 6 of chapter 4 stood out in my mind.

James 4:6 But he [God] gives more us grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

God gives us more grace. God gives us more grace. Yes that is not a typo, I typed it twice. Read it again, God gives us more grace.

Think about it, God has a never ending supply of His grace to see us through any situation, trial, temptation, or whatever we may be facing. When it seems like we can't go on, God gives us more grace. When we feel like we've failed Him again. God gives us more grace. When we can't see through the clouds that seem to hover over our lives, God gives us more grace.

As I thought about this verse, God gives us more grace. I started thinking, why? Why does God give us more grace? Isn't what He's given us already enough?
Then I thought of Paul's writing in 2 Corinthians 12:9; "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"
God gives us more grace, because when our strength is gone we need His. The more we rely on His grace and His strength and His provision, the closer we cling to Him. In our moments of weakness, He is strong.
When we can't, He can! When we think it's over, He's not finished!
Just something to think about.