Let's Go To War...

Deuteronomy 20:1-4 - 1 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: "Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. 4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

The world we live in today is certainly a cruel place.  At any given day you can turn on the news and be overwhelmed by the horrible things that are going on.  Satan and his angels are fighting to keep everyone from hearing the truth of the Gospel. Personally, when I dig into scripture I get FIRED UP when I read about war.  Automatically I make the parallel to my life today.  Sitting behind the locked doors of our homes satan does his best to win this war.  What are we going to do about it? As followers of Christ we have to fight fire with fire.  We need to remember that God is always with us in this battle, and He will fight with us if we let Him.  Christ's power that lives within us is so much stronger than the powers of satan. (1 John 4:4)  With that being said, let's go to war against these evil forces.  The eternal lives of others are at stake here.  In the movie Scarface, Tony Montana said, "You wanna go to war with me, i'll take you to war!"  We can make Romans 16:20 a reality because God is with us...Let's go to war with these cock-a-roaches (satan's army)...

High Wire...- From Everything Counts...

Colossians 3:3 -3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Some people want you to believe that a life as a follower of Jesus is like walking the high wire in the circus.  Nothing could be more wrong.  Walking the tightrope is a better analogy to a life WITHOUT God.  Believers start the long climb up the stairs, and from our perspective the steps at the top look narrow and difficult to keep our footing on.  As we get higher we realize the steps are wider and easier to stand on than they were when we started.  To those back on the ground it looks las though we're in danger of falling backward, but where we are we feel more secure than we ever did before.  Jesus said, "Do not let your heart be troubled."  Once you get into an experience you know is from God, there's no way your heart can be troubled.  It isn't possible.  You'll feel the peace Jesus promised to leave with you.  Stop worrying.  Stop thinking you will fall.  Stop stressing.  You're in the presence of God, and nothing you can do will separate you from that.  From this point on nothing is the same as it was.  Stand firm.  Plant your feet.  Jesus is here, and He is not going anywhere.

Thumbin' For A Ride...

I was on the way to a meeting this morning and I passed a guy looking to hitch a ride.  Honestly, I felt that I should turn around and pick him up.  I didn’t hear a vocal voice from God, but I felt like the Holy Spirit nudged me.  The Bible is clear about the Holy Spirit’s presence in a believer’s life, and I try to obey when I feel it move.  Just for the record, any stories that I blog about are totally God’s doing and I want absolutely no credit.  ALL the glory goes to God.  Anyway, I turned around and picked the man up.  This kat had a beard of Zeus goin’ on and he was rockin’ a jean jacket makin’ no apologies.  (Like any of that matters)  I introduced myself and asked him where he was going and he said, “Name’s Kurt, goin’ to Wal-Mart.”  A lot of people would say, “What the heck are you thinking?  People are crazy these days and hitch-hikers kill people.”  I know as soon as my mom reads this she is going to call me and tell me not to do it again.  I know that advice is because people love me and don’t want to see me hurt, BUT I love Kurt and I don’t want to see him hurt either.  (Eternal Punishment)  Sure, just because you are a hitch-hiker doesn’t mean you are not a believer, but regardless it is an opportunity to help someone out.  Plus, you have a captive audience because they aren’t going anywhere until you take them there.  My fear of being hurt by someone, has been muffled by the scripture (aka THE WORD OF GOD) that I read.  (Psalm 46, 91, 125 - Acts 5:29 - Acts 5:38-39 – 2 Corinthians 1:10)  There is a possibility that I could be robbed, hi-jacked, or killed.  Honestly, a martyr’s death would be an honor.  If someone kills me because I am trying to show him or her the love of Christ, oh well.  I could think of other ways of dying that are just lame compared to dying for Christ.  Besides, one of my Christian friends will get fired up and evangelize even harder because of my death.  People might even accept Christ because someone tells my story.  The glory of God has been shown through the death of others all throughout history, DUH.  Moving on, Kurt said that he needed to deposit some money in the ATM, so I asked him what he did for a living. The ice had been broken so I asked Kurt if he knew Jesus and he said, “No not personally.”  BAM!!!  That was the reason that the Holy Spirit nudged me to pick Kurt up.  He didn’t know Jesus Christ PERSONALLY.  I gave Kurt a quick version of what Jesus did for us on the cross and told him how Jesus had worked in my personal life.  (The ride lasted 4 minutes)  I asked him if he would like to come to church with me sometime and he kind of changed the subject, so I didn’t push the issue.  I don’t know what has happened in Kurt’s life in the past, or what is going on in it now.  One thing I do know is, that Jesus wasn’t picky about who he served!  Jesus WASHED THE FILTHY FEET OF JUDAS, a man that He knew would betray Him.  God calls us to leave no stone unturned, so I want to try to impact EVERYBODY that I can with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Why be ashamed about it.  (Romans 1:16)  If you are calling me radical, then I am guilty as charged.  Jesus was radical, the disciples were radical, and Paul was radical, so I am just following those that have come before me.  I just can’t stand the fact of me crossing someone’s path and them not hearing the TRUTH, if I’m given the opportunity.  Kurt didn’t accept Christ today, and I’m fine with that.  God just used me to plant a seed in his life.  I told Kurt that anytime I see him, I will give him a ride and I dropped him off at Wal-Mart’s door.  I’m not sweatin’ it, because I know that if I see him again that I have another shot at sharing the Gospel with him.  Sooner or later that double-edged sword is going to cut his heart.  How many people do we know that are just living their lives just thumbin’ for a ride, just like Kurt?  I’m not even saying physically thumbin’ for a ride; I’m talking spiritually thumbin’ for a ride.  They need a ride to get to that destination, which is Jesus.  We drive past people like this every day.  We have the car; we have the map, yet they are still left on the side of the road with their thumb up in the air.  Let’s fuel up our cars, highlight our maps, and give someone a ride.  You know where they NEED to go; all you have to do is stop… 

This dude kept it real...

The Keith Green Story...Episodes 1-7 It may take over an hour to watch the whole story, but it is worth it!

WE can do it...

As Americans WE ARE BLESSED!  Deuteronomy 8:7-9 says, "7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills."  Maybe we don't see these EXACT things, but we do see far more.  We live in a land where we turn on a faucet and get running water, we can get wheat and barley etc at the grocery store, bread is not scarce, most of us lack zero of what we NEED from day to day, and the iron and copper have already been dug up all we have to do is purchase them.  There are two groups that live in America today.  Those that have an abundance of resources and lack nothing that is NEEDED, and those that do lack the things that are NEEDED to live.  I want to talk to those that have an abundance.  Deuteronomy 8:10-16 says, "10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you."  Then we are reminded in Deuteronomy 8:18 that we are to remember the LORD our God, because it is HE who gives us the ability to produce wealth.  and in Deuteronomy 8:19 we reminded19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.  Those scriptures are a refreshing reminder with a consequence at the end.  We need to push or pride aside and remember that WE have done NOTHING to earn or deserve the things that we are BLESSED with.  If we aren't giving ALL THE GLORY to God then we are DEAD WRONG [ :o) ], and if we aren't BLESSING the group that lacks we need to pray for direction.  Personally, I think that a lot of Christians lack the guidance of the Holy Spirit bc they don't understand that they have it.  (Acts 1:8)  In John 16:23,  Jesus said,  "23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."  Jesus is referring to the work that His Holy Spirit will do through us, when we ask God for the help.  We cannot harness this POWER anymore.  I always think of the things that the disciples did.  These were guys that society had shunned and deemed as worthless as far as education goes, and Jesus chose them to do many great things.  This makes me think selfish thoughts from time to time, kind of like a kid saying, "He did it, why can't I."  The disciples were human, just like us, so doesn't Mark 16:15-18 speak directly to us.  It was Jesus saying it, so we KNOW it isn't a lie.  If Christians stop listening to the lies that the enemy fills our heads with, start recognizing the POWER that God has given us, start using that POWER to affect other people's lives around us, then the world will be changed.  Acts 4: 32-35 says, "32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."  Could you imagine the things that would happen if we would just apply God's word?  That group that lacks that I mentioned, would be ELIMINATED.(Acts 4:34)  I pray that I will see this Unified Movement in my lifetime.  WE can do it, GOD SAYS SO...

You Got Tha Power...

I'm reminded of a song that came out in 1990, when I was only 8, called The Power by Snap!.  When it was released in the U.S. it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on both the Billboard Hot Rap and the Hot Dance Club Play charts, as well as peaking at #4 on the U.S. R&B chart. Finally it was certified platinum in the U.S.  By worldly standards most would say they had made it.  If your song tops the charts then you are a household name among the fans of your music.  The lyrics go:

Chorus:

I've got the power hey yeah heh

I've got the power

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh yeah-eah-eah-eah-eah-eah

I've got the power

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh yeah-eah-eah-eah-eah-eah

Gettin' kinda heavy 

1st Verse:

Like the crack of the whip I snap attack

Front to back in this thing called rap

Dig it like a shovel rhyme devil

On a heavenly level

Bang the bass turn up the treble

Radical mind day and night all the time

Seven to fourteen wise divine

Maniac brainiac winning the game

I'm the lyrical Jesse James

Ok that is enough, you get the picture.  This guy, "Turbo B" is boasting about his rapping skills.  What if these Kats were rapping about their approach to the lost, instead of their lyrical skills?  The truth is, if Christians would put their time, talent , and treasure (BCoop*)  into loving God and loving people, this world would be a totally different place.  It is our job to get out there and serve others at all cost.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior, WE have the POWER to make a huge impact on the lives of others.  The same POWER that raised Christ from the dead lives within us.  Sadly, Snap! was a one time wonder in America with this single.  I guess "The Power" fizzled, but the POWER of Christ will never fizzle or fade.  It is always going to be chart topping and it will always receive platinum status.  It is still as strong today, as it was then.  A life that is wholeheartedly devoted to Jesus Christ will write the new pages of history documenting the POWER of Jesus Christ.  YOU HAVE THE POWER.  USE IT!  

The last step...

I am going to put a disclaimer on this blog entry for the simple fact that if you are a Christian and you read this, your heart should break, and that should drive you to act.  If you are not looking to be challenged by this or touched, you should immediately go search for images of puppies running through flowers or something.  I had a life-changing experience today, to say the least.  If you know me personally, you know that lately I have been involved in a rescue mission for the homeless in Greenville, SC.  Today I had a meeting scheduled in Greenville with a pastor named Steve Stanley.  He is a master’s student at Southern Wesleyan and he is in my homiletics class.  We share the same passion to reach our community for Christ. I have been thinking about starting a street ministry to meet some of the needs of the homeless people that are on the street, and offer various other things to the community. I was having a look at the property that his church is on, to see if it would fit the vision, and it fit like a glove.  When he gave me a tour of the property my mind was blown.  The property is almost perfect for the vision that God has laid on my heart.  There is a separate building that has a gym, a kitchen, showers, etc, and the facility is barely even used.  You may ask, “Why in the world are you having this vision, or why is a gym a big deal?”  I’ll tell you why, because God’s heart is breaking, over and over again, and those of us that have received His gift of Salvation, through Jesus, are demanded to take the Gospel to EVERYONE that hasn’t heard the good news.  Sure, you may say, “We are in America, it is impossible to live a day without hearing something about Jesus.”  That may be right, but which voice is louder?  Picture a child or adult (ANY color), that hasn’t eaten a nutritious meal in a week.  Is the growling of their stomach louder than the Gospel of Jesus that they are hearing?  Is it louder than their single mother’s frustration that is constantly taken out on them?  Is it louder than the physical, mental, and emotional abuse that plagues the lives of many people?  Is it louder than their addiction to drugs, sex, or alcohol?  You get the picture; the fact is that many of them aren’t hearing the Gospel because the sin that surrounds them is far louder.  You may ask, “What can I do about that?”  I can relate because I have been in those exact shoes.  I am by no means trying to boast about my involvement in the community, but since I have gotten involved, God created a spark in my heart for these people.  The more that I serve these people, the more God breaks my heart for them.  Scripture has started coming alive, my prayers are deeper and far more meaningful, and that spark in my heart has started a fire. God clearly tells us that we can make a difference.  Timothy 4:11-16 - 11Command and teach these things. 12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.  We have to be intentional in our approach to reach others.  Ron Carpenter, a pastor in Greenville, prayed, “I believe there is a generation that is rising up, and taking its place.  Lord we thank you right now that this generation is not hoping for anything, but they have faith, mustard seed faith they hope for nothing, so Lord we decree and declare that this generation will man their post, they will take their stand, they will march forward and take over this Kingdom, a Kingdom Revolution, Lord something that moves full beyond our imagination, and beyond our thinking. God do it in us, do it in us this day, the third awakening is here.”  We can make a HUGE impact, for Christ, on our community and then the world, but it starts right where we are.  Back to the story I was telling.  After Pastor Steve and I met, I went on down the road to the mission that I volunteer at.  There was a 6^th grade singing group there, and some volunteers with them.  There were a lot of extra people eating so that means extra dishes.  I ended up helping another guy wash dishes for most of the shift.  I had talked with “John” quite a few times, and he was a really nice guy.  The first couple times we talked, “John” was talkative and had an upbeat personality, but lately he has seemed troubled.  Double dish duty assures a captive audience, so I dove right into the opportunity.  I asked “John,” So what has been troubling you lately man.  You seem like something is on your mind.”  He said that he had a lot on his mind lately and apologized if I had been offended.  I assured him that I was just concerned about him, and that he had been in my prayers.  As we were talking, dishes were starting to pile up, and then something clicked.  That is the way life is.  Sometimes it is like the world hands us a lot of dirty dishes.  We are weakened by sin and the dishes keep on coming.  That is the way “john” felt at one time in his life, until he found out about the dish washing skills that Jesus has.  I had to remind him that Jesus is on his side, and if he would just cast his burdens on Jesus things would get better.  We continued to talk and he shared a really personal story with me.  This was a hand written account of how God got “John’s” attention.  This is where this blog gets intense.  “John” writes: “I was walking down the street, but I wasn’t on the sidewalk.  I was walking through my misery, loneliness, self-pity, and hopelessness.  I was wondering how I could make it end.  My life felt as if it meant nothing anymore.  I made a plan to walkout in front of traffic to end my life, and end my misery for good.  I was standing at a busy intersection and waited for the best opportunity to step to my death.  When it came, I started to take my final step and a hand, as strong as a vice, grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me from the curb.  When I turned around, I didn’t see a man of extraordinary strength.  I saw a feeble old lady that looked like someone’s grandmother.  It was clear that she had a frail little body, but she was very strong in her spirit.  When she saw my face and looked into my eyes, she lost her glow and her smile left her face.  With her eyes saddened, she seemed to remember something and perked right back up.  She reached into her purse and pulled out a pamphlet.  She took my hand and placed the pamphlet into it and said, “You are just the person I have been looking for today, may God bless you son.”  I thought, why would she be looking for me?  I have never seen that woman in my life, but as she walked away I took a glance at the pamphlet in my hand.  I read, “Let not your heart be troubled!”  I said to myself, “Well she did find someone with a troubled heart today.”  The more I thought about it, it wasn’t her telling me to not let my heart be troubled.  It was God working through her.  I looked up into the sky and made the decision to get in touch with a man I knew from a church.  One week later I was at the mission in the rehab program.  I feel that God grabbed my attention that day by using a little old woman.  I hope and pray that I get through this program, if I don’t, God might not try to get my attention again.”  WOW!  Personally, this really touched me, to say the least.  I was crying like I had lost a family member or something.  I just pictured millions of people in world today that are in “john’s” shoes.   What if that old lady would have decided shuffleboard was more important that day?  We would have never had the honor of hearing his story.   God used a little old woman to drastically change the direction of “John’s” life.  How could he use this generation?  The reality is that YOU know that there are “John’s” in your life.  Everyday we allow them to walk by us without sharing the Gospel or showing them the love of Christ.  They are just a step away from death and we occupying ourselves with whatever WE want to do. Jesus DEMANDS us to reach out to those that don’t know him, and if we don’t, there will be Hell to pay, literally. Matthew 25:40-43 - 40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of the brothers of mine, you did for me.’  41”Then he will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  42“For I was hungry and you gave nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  What are we waiting for? The time is now!  We have to do something!  Lives are at stake.  Eternity is at stake.

Put me in coach...Im ready to play...

What are you passionate about?  Is it music, is it sports? Is it eating ice cream? (Random)... The true definition of passion is whatever a person is willing to suffer for, that kinda changes your answer to the question above huh?...I dont know too many people that would suffer for a bowl of ice cream.  Anyways... "Passion" has a root meaning that comes from the Latin word paserre, which means to suffer.  The word "apostle" means a sent one, or a messenger.  If you put those together you get "Apostolic Passion," which is a deliberate choice to live for the worship of Jesus. This commitment is so strong that it will drive someone to the point of death for the cause.  There have been many people in history that have possessed this "Apostolic Passion."  The fact is that God has called ALL of us to spread His gospel, and we can be assured ups and downs along the way.  These downs will consist of times of suffering for the cause, which is Christ.  We can decide to sit on the sidelines and be "comfortable" with our salvation, or we can get in the game and play as hard as we can.  I want to live my life with an Apostolic Passion to serve Jesus Christ.  Sure, I know there will be times when I suffer, but nothing can compare to the suffering that Christ endured for us.  We should consider it an honor to suffer, so that Christ's name can be glorified.  I pray that all of us can have a desire to suffer for Christ.  If you have received the free gift of salvation that Christ gives to everyone who will receive it, then you are in the game.  The question is, "Are you ready to play?"