Kneel and See

Good Morning! 1Sam 12:23 Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.In this world we all have trails and tribulations,and each of them is an opportunity to pray. But far to often we Christians close our conversations with "I'll pray for you" and sadly that's the last of it. I know I am guilty of this,how about you? As Christian we need to be true to our word; we need to live by the Golden Rule and actually pray for our brothers and sisters the same way we would want them to pray for us. I want to share something with you today. Most people think that when you are praying for someone, it is all for them. But I have a story I want to share with you. In a city in Scandinavia there is a famous statue of our Lord. One day a man was standing looking at it and he became very disappointed. An attendant at the statue came up and asked the man, "What seems to be the problem" And the man said, "I can't see the face of Christ" The attendant quickly replied, "Sir if you want to see His face you have to kneel at His feet." The man knelt and saw. So often we think praying is always for the other person,and it is. But it is also a way for us to connect with our Lord and Savior for ourselves. So today do you want to see Jesus' face? Kneel in prayer, for others,for yourself, for the world, and for His kingdom. When you do this you will find you are also blessed. HABD!

Who are we to Question!

Good Morning! Job 38:2-3 Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you,and you shall answer me. Back when I was younger I would ask my Mom, "Why this would happen,and why that happened." and she would tell me, "That only God knows and it was part of His plan." Well that's when I would come back with, "Well I have alot of questions for him when I get up there." Well if you read the rest of chapter 38, God asks alot of questions neither you or I or Job would ever be able to answer. And most the questions were about who made everything and who was in charge? HIM! You see that has always been one of my Big problems,I think I'm in charge! I am the one with all the answers. When the real truth is I know nothing and compared to God and His infinite power as shown here in Chapt 38, I know nothing,and am nothing, but dust! What God is telling us here is that He is the one who made all this,and created us and everything in the world. So who are we to Question anything that happens? All we need to do is trust in him, that it is all for our good, and trust that he will take care of us. Just as Job did not understand why the things that were happening happened. So we should not question why things happen. BUT! Trust in God that he knows what he is doing,and that it is all for our good. So today if something is going on in your life that you would like to ask God WHY? Just remember he might have a few questions for you. So today Trust that God is in charge and he knows what he is doing,cause who are we to question! HABD!

Are you a Chicken?

Good Morning! 1Corinth 14:33. For God is not a God of disorder,but of peace. Do you ever have days,or even maybe weeks where you just feel like your running around like a CHICKEN with your head cut off? I had one of those days yesterday. My mom is back from Fla. And we have the 1st Celebrate Recovery BBQ tonight and I was getting the food ready for that. And by the way any of you in this area, please feel free to come join us at 6pm in the fellowship hall at 1st Baptist Church. It will be an AWESOME time. But I felt like a chicken yesterday. Now I am going to throw a couple of AA slogans at you, but if you look at the 12 steps and everything about AA you will see it came out of the Bible. EASY DOES IT!, ONE DAY AT A TIME!, and there are a few more. And they all deal with not getting to rushed in your Recovery. Well it is the same for everyday life. Paul reminds us here that when we get to caught up in the ruckus and craziness of all that is going on around us. That we lose site of our purpose and that is to Glorify God! It is on those days that everything is Crazy, I have to stop, take a minute and regroup. Because I just have no peace! God gave us His Word to give us direction in life. So that we could live a some what organized one. So if your life has gotten to the point where you feel like a Chicken running around with its head cut off. You might want to take a Inventory of yourself. How much time are you spending with God and His Word each day? How much time are you spending in prayer? And how much time are you spending in fellowship with others? These are all things that will help you find peace in life. For our lives should not be ones of disorder.That is why God gave us a Prayer I use oh so often. God grant me the Serenity. Cause he loves us and wants us to have Peace in our lives. Peace to you today and HABD!

ARE YOU READY?

Good Morning! Matt 24:7-8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of the birth pains. If you have a chance today read all of Chapter 24 in Matthew, it is Jesus telling us what to look for in the end times. Jesus will come back for us and as he told us, only the Father in Heaven knows exactly when that will be. But! If you read this Chap you will see Jesus gives us many signs to look for. Not only wars and disasters. But Chistians will be pursecuted for their faith. There will be false prophets who will appear and decieve many people. And because of the increase of wickedness,the love of most will grow cold. (Vs 11-12) BUT HE WHO STANDS FIRM IN THE END WILL BE SAVED.(Vs13) I don't know what you think, but if you ask me,alot of those things are going on today. And in Vs 14 he tells us that, This gospel of the kindom will be preached to the whole world,because every one will have a chance to declare their faith. So I ask you,if Jesus came today would you be ready? I wonder sometimes if I am. And then I am reminded that it is by Faith we are saved and if there is one thing I am sure of it is my faith. I don't always do the right things, but I am trying to. For many it will be a chance to respond to the Gospel, but for me I know I Have! For my life has been changed by it. So today I ask Are you ready? If you are have no worrys about what goes on in this world and the pursecutions we will face. For Jesus is coming back for us one day and when he does, we will be going home. So today let us sit and watch as the world gets closer to its end,but let us not forget the job Jesus gave us to spread a His GOSPEL! Have a Blessed Day and keep looking up,for that is where we will see him when he comes Vs 27!

You are what you think!

Good Morning! 1st pray for my boss Dan, he is having his Gull Bladder taken out today. I probably didn't spell it right. And 2nd there will be no text on Sundays anymore. I am going to take that day to rest and sleep in. And besides you should be hearing the word from where you choose to worship. Today's Vs is from the KJV, Prov 23:7, For as he thinketh in his heart, SO HE IS. Eat and drink he saith to thee, but his heart is not with thee. Today I want to concentrate on the first part of this Vs. What a man thinketh in his heart, SO HE IS! Over the yrs in my Recovery I have found this to be so true, and even in the past before I got into Recovery. When I was drinking and using those were the things that occupied my mind. All I had on my mind was how was I going to get what I needed to keep using all day long. Next was Pornography, when I let this into my mind my whole outlook on women changed. They were just a means for my Gratification. What I'm getting at is we live in a POSITIVE (GOD) NEGATIVE (Satan) world. And what and how we choose to think,dictates how we live. That is why through the Word we must train our minds to think Positive, because left to ourselves we will only think Negative. That is our nature, because we are scum low life sinners. It is so easy for us, especially today with the economy the way it is, people out of work,losing their homes etc, for us to think Negative. That is why I start my day with God. He gets my mind Positive and that closes the door for Satan to get in there and get me Negative. In Phillip 4:8 it tells us to think about things that are True, Noble, Right, Pure etc. And we can only get that Positive thinking from God and His Spirit. And where we find that Positiveness is in His Word. Positiveness is in HIS Word. Sorry I'm a little long today, but I think this is very important. I don't know about yo today but I find it very hard to be Positive in this Negative world today. But Gods Word helps me get there and pretty much stay there. And another thing about being Positive in this Negative world. As people see that, and what greater testimony for Jesus is there than that? HABD being Positive!

Feel the Pain

Greetings! Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, but jiy comes in the morning. And Psalm 126:5 says, They who sow in tears, shall reap in joy and singing. We all know life has its UPS and DOWNS! But sometimes I think we miss what the pains of life are for. We don't like pain and the more we fight pain,the more of an effect it has on us. I know for me I used to fight pain all the time. I didn't want anyone to know I was hurting. I am a TOUGH GUY! But you see we have these pains for a reason. Pain is Gods way to build our character. It is also a way for him to show us that in times of pain, He is there for us. He is there to lean on. Another thing he does is send others into our life we can lean on also. What I have found out about pain and suffering over the yrs is they are learning experiences. So many of us fight pain and we just need to experience it and let it do its job. And then guess what? When we work through the pain, on the other side is JOY!!! The joy of the Lord! Pain is nessasary in life, so God can show His power and Love for us. So today if you are hurting, don't be afraid to show it. Chances are someone else is to, and you might be able to help each other. Or there might be some one that has already gone through what you are going through and they can help. Then you will find the answer to your pain. And once you know answer then you know the TRUTH! And guess what that doe's? The TRUTH sets you FREE! And with FREEDOM comes JOY! So today endure the pain! To get to the Joy! HABD!

The Real Meat and Potatos

Good Morning! 2Peter 3:18 "BUT GROW in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory now and forever!" Amen! You know I find it sad today, that as Christians many of us miss our mark in life. Many of us miss all the things God has planned for us, cause we never get off the milk and get to the meat. We never grow up as Christians. And because of that we miss the WHOLE meaning of Grace! (Gods Riches At Christs Expense) You see we all miss Gods riches (and I'm not talking about material things) Because we don't take the time to grow in his Grace and Knowledge. We don't do the things we need to do to grow up! So many of us fall short of our true potential in Christ because we don't pray, we don't ever study the word and we don't fellowship with other believers. I know this because that's how my life was before. I went to church and meetings and carried my Bible around, but that was it. Once I got home the Bible went on the shelf and that's where it stayed till next week. This Vs here tells us we must GROW in the Grace and Knowledge of Christ if we ever want to quit drinking milk and get to the Meat and Potatoes of our True Meaning in life and the Gifts that do along with it, (DESSERT) GROW in the Grace and knowledge of Christ and to do that we must do the things I mentioned before, praying, getting in the word, and sharing the love of Jesus with others. Milk is good for a little while but Meat and Potato is where we really get fed. So today get your meal in Jesus Christ and Grow in His Grace and Knowledge. Hit the mark God has planned for your life. HABD!