Thursday, December 29, 2011

Jesus...


I was just thinking about Jesus and why he is the best gift that anyone could ever receive. Total forgiveness is one reason and wow what a miracle forgiveness really is..... Any wonder that the bible declares that, "ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Just think about the liberty in being forgiven. Have you received Jesus? Have you received total forgiveness, the kind of forgiveness that doesn't accuse you or want you to feel guilty about your sin? I used to think that God was following me around with a magnifying glass looking at all my faults and failures so he could point them all out to me. Now that I've gotten to know the God of the bible I've come to learn that He's not that way at all. Always remember this, the God of the bible is not a religion. All God wants is a family and as long as I look at God like a loving father it helps me to better understand his nature. In the new testament Jesus said if you've seen me you have seen the father. You will never find in the gospels were Jesus ever did anything but good. Every parent who loves their children only wants what is best for them and no parent wants their children feeling guilt and shame. The greatest gift in the world; no doubt about it for me, it is to be 100% totally forgiven all the time because of the sacrifice of God's son!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Wisdom Of God (Humor)...

This picture reminds me of a funny joke I once heard. There were three missionaries at the bank of a flooded river they needed to cross. At the bank of the river the first missionary knelt down and prayed asking the Lord to give to him the necessary strength to cross the river, instantly his arms popped out with big muscles and he dove into the river. He swam and swam against the strong current almost drowning three times, but finally reached the other side.

The second missionary watching this thought, I need to do better than the first missionary seeing how he almost drowned three times before he reaching the other side. So he knelt down at the bank of the river and prayed. He said Lord, give me the strength and the tools I need to cross this river. Instantly his arms popped out with big muscles; and to his amazement a row boat with oars inside floated up to the bank of the river. The missionary climbed safely inside and rowed with all of
his might, when suddenly about half way across the river he almost capsized and drowned. Finally after much fatigue from the hard rowing he reached the other side.

The third missionary watching all of this, said to himself, I have got to do better than those two, they almost drowned. So the third missionary knelt down at the bank of the river and prayed; saying: Lord give me the wisdom I need to cross this river, instantly he was changed into a woman who then reached into her pocket and pulled out a map which showed a bridge fifty yards up stream. She then proceeded to follow the map to the bridge and safely crossed over to the other side......... If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him....James 1:5

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Perfect Love Cast Out Fear...

Have you ever thought about all the insecurities and fears that most of us have? Most of our fears manifest as worry. You know, the kind of fear that worries about whether or not the bills are paid. Maybe it's the kind of fear that causes you to lay awake at night because a loved one is late getting home. We usually don't think of things like these as being fears and yet they are. There are a thousand and one things that can cause...

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Advantage In Life...


Do you ever wish that you had some kind of advantage in life? You know... the kind of advantage that would cause you to benefit from the answer; as opposed to keeping your mind focused on the problem??? Well, God has given us this advantage. He knew there would be circumstances which would push.....

Monday, September 5, 2011

Amazing Love...

I am still in awe of the reality that God really loves us more than anything, and to find a verse in the bible that tells us that God wants to... (fill us with himself) in order that we might have all his fullness is almost to good to be true, but here it is Ephesians 3:19

And to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge, THAT YE MIGHT BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD.

Friend the prerequisite for being filled with all the fullness of God is found in the previous verses which instruct us to be rooted and grounded in love, not just any love, but Gods love. It's sad that most people know very little about how much God loves them. They seem to be.....

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Iniquity Of Us All...

I Can still remember the day when I was driving to work and the Lord showed me in one sweeping motion how he took the iniquity of us all and laid it on Jesus at the cross. He reached back into the time of Adam the first man and reached forward into the future as far as he could go to the last person, took all their iniquity, laid it on Jesus in a supreme act of love.
Until that day... I struggled with forgiving others, but when God shared with me this verse from Isaiah 53:6... at that moment I gained a little more insight into how much God loves me.
You can only love others with the measure of love that you have received from God, but once you receive the limitless love of God that forgives you of all your trespasses, then and only then, are you able to truly forgive others of their trespasses against you. The Love Of God is so amazing in its ability to change us (for the better). Friend in the mercy of God their is forgiveness for un-forgiveness. If you struggle in this area...just remember that God has forgiven you (all your trespasses) and is holding nothing against you. Receive his great mercy and abounding grace for help in your time of need and experience his amazing love that will fill you to overflowing!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Simple Pleasures...

Truly the greatness of our God can be seen in natures beauty and the simplicity of a small girl and her favorite fishing hole!

Moments like this are what makes life so special to the heart of a family.
Cassie... heard you had a great time with your dad. (By the way)... "nice catch!"

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Grace Defined...


Great explanation of Grace
 
Jesus + Anything = Nothing.
Jesus + Nothing = Everything.
 
(Andrew Wommack)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Dedication Of Parker...

 A wonderful service this morning as we dedicated our precious grandson Parker to the Lord. This dedication was special, because not only was Parker dedicated to the Lord, (but his entire family). You can always trust God with what He has committed to you (children.)  Jack and Stacie experienced great joy as the blessing of the Lord was upon them...It was truly a special time of fellowship for us all.... We believe the best is yet to come for Jack, Stacie, Olivia, Ethan and Parker.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

JESUS SAID!

Go ye into all the world, and PREACH THE GOSPEL to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:15,16

Below is a video of people obeying these scriptures and being blessed as they are baptized. I believe it is worth the watch, click and enjoy!

Easter Baptism 2009

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Thursday, July 7, 2011

Can He Be Touched?

Of course the He that I am talking about is Jesus. Do you ever wonder if he really feels what you feel? Or if he really can be touched with the part of you that may be buried so deep you may not even be able to verbalize it. There are some hurts so deep you can't even put into words how to describe it. How can a person describe being so lonely that they would want to take their own life and yet we know that it's possible to feel that way. Again I ask you, Can Jesus be touched with what you feel to the same degree as you feel whatever it is that you feel?

Jesus, in his earthly ministry was not afraid to walk among the people, people who were diseased, people that were demon possessed. Jesus was not afraid for people to come up to him and touch him, as a matter of fact the people SOUGHT TO TOUCH HIM that they might be healed and made whole.

Is it not amazing that the God of heaven would come to earth and become so available for all to touch. Jesus took a body of flesh and blood, his death on the cross demonstrated that he did not come to earth to be super human and to isolate himself from hurting humanity, Jesus walked among the people and they touched Him. The Bible tells us that even now Jesus as our high priest in the heavens can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; because he was in all points tempted as we are, and yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Friend Jesus can be touched with whatever it is that troubles you. Come to him boldly and honestly tell him the way you feel. Share with him your pain and his response will be mercy and grace to help you in your time of need. Jesus knows exactly what you are facing and the pressure that comes with it and Jesus has the supply of grace that will cause you to conqueror. Come to Jesus and boldly touch him with your faith!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

MADE UNTO US WISDOM!

I Corinthians 1:30 states that CHRIST JESUS IS MADE UNTO US WISDOM. Every time I need wisdom whether it be practical or spiritual, I just remind myself of this scripture, Jesus has been made unto me wisdom.

There is no problem that you have that is going to catch God unprepared. He has already supplied the grace of wisdom for every problem that we will ever encounter. God knew that we would face challenges that are beyond our ability to handle, that's why God extends his grace to us in the person of wisdom. We can trust God for the answer, no matter how small or seemingly great our problem. God loves to bring to us the answer as we fellowship with Jesus casting the whole of our care over unto him and by faith receiving the answer of wisdom. We don't need to know how to do everything we only need to know that Jesus is our wisdom.

My wife and I just experienced the very thing that I just mentioned. She personally needed some answers to help her manage some things that unexpectedly came her way. She needed answers and quick. So we got our bibles looked up this verse, read it out loud, and then gave thanks for the wisdom that's available to us. Just like God promised things begin to fall in place as wisdom begin to be the order of the day, wow praise God.

Friend you to can receive the wisdom you need to accomplish the task at hand. Whether it be help with raising your children or how to manage a schedule that suddenly has become unmanageable. Open your mouth and begin to declare what this scripture says. Say out loud with your mouth that JESUS HAS BEEN MADE UNTO YOU WISDOM AND BEGIN TO THANK HIM FOR THE ANSWER! Jesus loves to fellowship with you in the answer to your problems, He will show you what to do because He has been made unto you wisdom!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

HOLY "ARE YOU KIDDING ME"

I mean, I know myself better than anyone and the one way I would not describe myself is "HOLY." And yet I think this is the way that most of us think about ourselves when it comes to being holy. We often think that holiness is attained to by keeping religious rules or some kind of behavior modification that makes us a better person. Some people even believe the way you dress of the way you wear your hair is what makes you holy, and yet none of this is true at all.

The offering of the Body of Jesus is the only way that you and I could be made holy. God has sanctified us (set us apart as Holy) by the sacrifice of his son on the cross. It is impossible to attain unto holiness outside of the finished work of the cross. The power of Jesus blood has separated us unto the Father, and we are sanctified by one offering and forever perfected by the offering of the body of Jesus, Hebrews 10:10--14. Wow, can you believe that? Takes all the self-righteous works out of it when you only believe!

I am still amazed at the love of God when I read verses like these which reveal another aspect of Gods redeeming Grace. Who would ever have thought that a person could attain to holiness by simply receiving what God has done through His son Jesus. You and I received holiness when we received the Lord Jesus, The bible declares "That he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit"
I Corinthians 6:17, the Bible also declares That Jesus was declared to be the son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, Romans 1:4.

If it is the spirit of holiness that declared Jesus to be God's son, it's the same spirit of holiness that declares us to be Gods children. We are separated unto the Father by the spirit of holiness. It is a work of Grace and we can only enjoy the blessing of holiness through faith. Just believe Gods word and thank Him for the privilege of being holy by simply being joined unto the Lord! When were you joined unto the Lord? When you received as him as your Lord and Saviour and was born-again. Yes as Gods children we are a royal priesthood, an Holy Nation, a peculiar people; that we should show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light. I Peter 2:9

Monday, May 16, 2011

THINGS TO COME

Many times we as Christian are concerned about future prophetic events which the Bible prophesies to happen in the near and distant future... In our generation we have seen many prophesies already fulfilled which are pointing to the coming of the Lord! However did you know that the Holy Spirit wants to help you with things in your own personal life that are going to happen.....like tomorrow or maybe....... a year from now! Things that will bless you and prepare you for whats coming. Jesus said the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth when He is come, He will show you things to come.

Often the Holy Spirit has shown me something that was going to happen in order to prepare me for what's coming! This is part of His ministry to the believer. You don't have to be a preacher or a prophet or even someone super spiritual for God to show you something. You just need to love the Father and his son Jesus and be willing to fellowship with them through the person of the Holy Spirit. God knows what's going to happen to you in the future and will show you things to come that are relevant to you and his purpose for you. The Holy Spirit wants to get involved with us in personal way that He may guide us into all truth, this is a promise from Jesus!

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth
is come, he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak; and he will show you things to come
John 16:13

We can never predict what tomorrow will hold, but we can certainly walk with the one who holds our tomorrow, and as he has promised us in his word He will show us things to come that we may both be blessed and be a blessing to our families and those around us. This has been a tremendous help to me personally over the years as numerous times I have been shown things that are going to happen and been able flow in the divine purpose of God. It's amazing to see the future unfold before your very eyes, Truly God knows our future and is willing to show us things to come as we receive the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.



Friday, March 25, 2011

JOYFUL EXPECTATION

Faith in Gods word will always release a joyful expectation in our heart as we look forward to the promise of God being manifested in our life. Faith is like a seed that carries the promise of a harvest, you can't see the harvest at first because all you have is the seed. However if you look far enough into the future to the end of your seed you will see the harvest in sight and this my friend is what God wants you to see! Seeing the harvest will release the joy of the Lord in your heart and cause you to endure the circumstantial changes of life that try to cause you to abort your faith while you are waiting on the promise to manifest. Look to the end of what God has promised you in his word whether it be salvation for a loved one or healing for your body, see your harvest coming in and keep that image before your eyes as you worship the Lord for what he has promised you. Doing this will release the fruit joy in your spirit and cause you to experience Gods supernatural strength in a way that will sustain you while you wait on the harvest to manifest, it will manifest. So go ahead and let the JOY OF THE LORD BE YOUR STRENGTH while you anticipate the coming harvest. You know the harvest is yours, already it exists and belongs to you because you have the seed which is called faith. The seed is enough to receive the harvest so why not worship the Lord as if the harvest is already here because truly it is.

Monday, February 7, 2011

THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB

Living under the shadow of the cross the blood of a barn-yard animal such as a lamb could deliver a nation "Israel" from death, poverty and sickness...... How much more the BLOOD OF JESUS that it has delivered us also from the same and SO MUCH MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glory to the LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD............ We are living in the reality of the FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS AND NOT THE SHADOW. We are living in the LIGHT OF THE NEW COVENANT AND NOT IN THE SHADOW OF THE OLD!!!!!! Praise the Lord forever........................................

Monday, January 24, 2011

FORGIVEN - EMPOWERED TO LIVE VICTORIOUS

How every heart longs to be free from habitual sin........ and yet if it were only possible to be free! Jesus believed it was possible and proved it........... when He forgave a woman taken in adultery whose accusers wanted her to be stoned according to the law of Moses. The woman and her accusers had come face to face with the one who held the power to condemn or forgive....... and yet Jesus forgave her. His next statement to the woman is astounding "GO AND SIN NO MORE". Jesus knew the key to overcoming habitual sin and living a victorious life was in knowing that you are truly loved and forgiven by him! Love conquers all and knowing that you are forgiven empowers you to walk in a grace that is triumphant over sin.......... John 8:3--11. Friend God loves you and sent his son Jesus into the world not to condemn you, but to love you and forgive you. Receive his love and forgiveness right now......... and then you too will experience his grace for victorious living!

Monday, January 3, 2011

EATING THE LAMB - DIVINE HEALTH

“…Dad I knew the Lord Jesus would forgive me of my sin when I ask him, but I didn’t know he would HEAL ME AT THE SAME TIME!”

But that’s exactly what happened when our youngest son who was in drug rehab, called one night with the good news of his salvation. His body had been wrenched in pain from years of abusive drug behavior that almost destroyed his life. But, now he was free; free from death, free from addiction, free from pain!

I was almost ready to add my next post when I felt impressed of the Lord to share with you the foundation for why I believe in divine health. The reality of my sons conversion and many others like it have caused me to look deeper into Gods Word in search of the truth concerning what the Bible has to say about health and healing. To some people, even many Christians, it’s almost foreign to think that we can overcome physical infirmity and yet good health should be commonplace among believers. You say it sounds TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, I'VE OFTEN SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN and yet healing like forgiveness is in the Bible; if it were not, we wouldn’t have any substance for believing this truth. But, because it is, we can have substance for health and healing. It is my utmost desire that you be blessed and healthy as you search the scriptures on this matter!

Most of the time in scripture there is a connection between, ‘the forgiveness of sin and the healing of the body’. Jesus demonstrated his authority to forgive sin by healing the sick; notice:

MARK 2:9--12

(9) Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, arise, and take up thy bed and walk?

(10) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

(11) I say unto thee, arise and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

(12) And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion before.


Jesus demonstrated his love for people by forgiving their sin and healing their body. This is one example of many that we find in the New Testament and yet one of the most powerful scriptures pointing to the fact of healing is also found in the Old Testament!

PSALMS 105:37

He brought them forth also with silver and gold: AND THERE WAS NOT ONE FEEBLE PERSON AMONG THEIR TRIBES.

The event referenced here, is what the Bible refers to as “The Passover,” the night when the children of Israel were set free from the bondage of Egyptian slavery. Four hundred years of captivity and rigorous labor imposed on them by Egyptian rule had no doubt taken its toll on the people of Israel and now there were many sick among their tribes. But, God had a plan of deliverance and healing. After dealing with Pharaoh through Moses to let the people go, Pharaoh refused to heed the warning of the Lord. So, God gave very specific instruction through Moses to give to each Jewish family that they might be liberated and walk free from the oppression of Egyptian slavery.

God told them on the evening of their deliverance they were to take a lamb and to sacrifice it, take the blood of the lamb and strike it on the two-side post and on the upper doorpost of their houses. Next, they were to take the flesh of the lamb roast it with fire, AND THEN EAT IT, ALL OF IT and let nothing remain of it until morning. If anything remained they were to burn it with fire. God told them to eat it with their loins girded and their shoes on their feet and with their walking staff in their hand, they were to eat it with haste, Exodus 12:1—11.

Now, you know as well as I do, that of those millions of Jews brought forth from Egypt, there had to be some sick and feeble among them before they left Egypt, and yet the Bible declares there WAS NOT ONE FEEBLE PERSON AMONG THEIR TRIBES. What a miracle of healing; something happened when they ate the lamb. Not only were they set free from Egyptian bondage, but also they were healed of all their diseases. I believe as they ate the lamb they begin to receive faith in their heart and health in their bodies! Wow, what a word of encouragement to know if God provided healing in the Old Testament under the type and shadow, how much more has He provided healing under the New Covenant, which is ratified by the blood of his Son? Not only has the cross-rescued man from his sin, but also from the harsh reality of sickness and disease. And though sickness may attack us, there is power for us in the redemptive work of the cross to conquer.

The Passover Lamb is a perfect type and shadow of the offering of the body of the Lord Jesus on the cross. His blood and sacrifice has truly set us free from the bondage and captivity of spiritual death. When we receive him, we pass from death unto life and are no longer slaves to sin and the death nature; but, also in connection with our liberation from sin, is a total healing for the physical body.

BUT, WE MUST EAT ALL OF THE LAMB. This simply means we as Christians can receive the full measure of Gods redeeming Grace, which includes healing. But, we must first ingest the whole message of redemption to fully benefit from the work of the cross. We must eat all of it, THE MESSAGE OF GRACE, and leave nothing out. It’s sad to say but many preachers have left out healing which is a vital part of the gospel message.

I was overwhelmed with joy the night my son called with the good news of his salvation, and to hear that God had healed his body and set him free from pain only confirmed the power of the gospel to heal. His healing was “icing on the cake”, so to speak. That has been many years ago and he is still free, preaching the gospel. The same gospel that set him free from addiction healed him and it will do the same for you!

This is why I personally resist disease from a place called healed, not necessarily because of my son’s experience or anyone else’s, but because the word of God declares that I am healed and I believe it. Notice the sure foundation on which we can stand:

I PETER 2:24

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Every time I look at this verse it says the same thing, even when I feel bad and something like arthritis is trying to invade my body. I used to get mad at God because I couldn’t get him to agree with me that I was sick. I would try to convince him that his word wasn’t enough for me and that my pain was more real to me than his word. I would tell him how bad I felt hoping he would pet me a little and maybe come around to my way of thinking, but he never did, no, not one time. Every time I read his word it would say the same thing “by whose stripes ye were healed”. It has taken me a while to learn this lesson, THAT GOD BELIEVES HIS BIBLE, and so I now agree with him instead of the pain and the misery accompanied with sickness. If the Bible says that “ye were healed”, then that means ye were healed.

This gives me and anyone else who believes a firm foundation on which to stand as we can resist sickness and all of it buddies from the finished work of the cross, which is more than enough for our deliverance! Thank God for the blood of the lamb and the privilege of believing the whole message of the gospel. We can eat all of the lamb, THE WHOLE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL and receive the blessing of health in our bodies. I pray that you will begin believing God right now and let Him be your healer as well as your Savior as we begin this new year.