TRUTH or CONSEQUENCES

I preached last Sunday from the Christmas story.  In Mary's song, found in Luke 1: 46-55, I used verse 53, "He has filled the hungry with good things...".  I then traced the concept of Jesus being the Bread of Life from Genesis all the way to Revelation.  If you remember, in John chapter 6, he told his disciples his flesh was real food and they had to eat of it or have no part with Him.  Look at verses 48-51, "Yes, I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died.  However, the bread from heaven gives eternal life to everyone who eats it.  I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; this bread is my flesh, offered so the world may live." For you and I, that doesn't sound so strange, because we understand that Jesus is the Word of God. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.  By faith, we believe that to ingest the word of God, the Bible, we are eati...

This morning in our Pastor's Prayer meeting, we were asked to reflect on Exodus 19: 1-9 and see what God would speak to us before we went to prayer.  Verse 4 jumped out at me! The second part of the verse says, ..."how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself."  I love the imagery that the scripture presents with eagles.  Sometimes we feel like God is so far away, but if we simply turn our faces to Him, He will bear us into His presence on wings of eagles! Some of my favorite scriptures have to do with the pictures painted by the eagle analogies.  For instance, we all like to quote the above verse, Isaiah 40:31.  He is my hope, my strength.  As I press into Him I will find the strength to always go on! I can keep in pace with my God, for He will give strength to this mortal body with His Holy Spirit dwelling in me.  Pray this prayer with me right now. "Lord, my hope is in You alone. I depend on every word You speak to me, in the...

Second Corinthians 4: 4 tells us that, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." Sometimes I get frustrated with people who don't want to hear about Jesus.  They seem to have all the answers and don't need any crutch to lean on.  I often forget that the enemy of our souls likes to keep them from "understanding" who Jesus really is.  He actually keeps them in the darkness of their own thinking, so they cannot see the truth about who Jesus really is.  I have to remind myself of this as I pray for the people of my city and nation.  He is a wily old devil, who knows how to work with mankind (he has been doing it for a long time).  So I have to remember to ask the Holy Spirit to remove these blinders from their spiritual eyes, so they can see His glory and be drawn to His love. In worship over the weekend, the Holy Spirit reminded me that we h...

Hearing God must be pretty important! Jesus said seven times in his letters to the churches (Revelation, chapters 2-3), " He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches ."  Jesus addressed our hearing issue in John chapter 10 verses 2-4... " The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gates for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice ."  I want it to be said of me that I KNOW His voice!  I often pray, "Lord, give me ears to hear what Your Spirit is speaking. Why do I pray that prayer?  God is at work all around us and has many things on His heart that He wants to share with us.  We are His legs, His arms, His smile, His voice to the people around us.  So it only makes sense that we know what it is He is interes...

Isaiah, the prophet, prophesied about Jesus in chapter 50 verse 7, "Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.  Therefore have I set my face like flint , and I know I will not be put to shame." Luke 9:51 says, "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem."  These two scriptures paint a picture of determined choice! Jesus had made up His mind that He would go to the cross for the good of everyone on the earth, then and now.  He knew He was facing torture and death.  He was born to die.  But He also chose to do it as a man.  He had flesh and blood, as well as feelings and emotions, just like you and I.  He developed very close relationships with people on the earth, shared His life with them.  He was a young man still, only 30 years old.  His whole life was before Him.  However, He did not waver in His choice to restore us to relationship with the Father!...

      I have a staff in my office that I bought several years ago at a Jewish Festival. It has a lion's head on the top and for a long time it just sat in my office.  One Sunday morning, when I was in charge of the service, I was deeply offended by something that happened before service. I had to get up and preach.  I knew that I could not go out and preach if I didn't let this go and have a clear conscience before God.  I had about a half hour before service was to begin to talk to God about what I was feeling.  I saw that staff sitting there and I grabbed it and began to write the names of God on it.  All the names of who God was for me.  It brought me comfort and reminded me of how good He was to me, of how much He loved me.  That staff still sits in my office and reminds me of who God is for me. Recently I heard that a shepherd's staff was indeed a place where a shepherd would record his history with G...

I had a word from the Holy Spirit this past weekend. It was a very simple word, yet impactful for me.  Sometimes we look ahead in our lives and want to make great commitments in our service and love for God.  Sometimes we break these commitments and than feel horrible because we didn't measure up. Sometimes the Holy Spirit draws us to surrender something to God...such as our time, our souls, our worship, our money, etc.  When we consider it in the light of the rest of our lives, it gets scary!  Can I do it or will I fail again? The word is TODAY I can yield myself to you Father.  TODAY I can live for you. TODAY I can worship you with all my heart.  When we think in terms of forever, it can be overwhelming.  But when I get up TODAY I can live for you. Christy Lane sang the song, "One day at a time sweet Jesus" and it has often come to my mind through the years. There is  a lot of truth in what it says. Remember when the Is...

Have you even wondered which verse is the very center of the Bible?  Wouldn't you think that it would be something very important? Wow!  I would say that is a very important scripture for us to apply in our lives. Actually it is a hard principle to walk out every day in our lives. Why do I say that? Because I know in my own life I have often tried to love God while I trusted in the people around me. That was an issue for me over the years.  It was much easier to try to trust the people I could see and be around in their flesh and blood bodies, than to trust God. I had it all backwards for a long time. As a result I was hurt over and over as I put my trust in people, along with expectations of how I wanted them to treat me. I am learning to put my complete trust in God and to love people just as they are. I know I am not perfect.  I must learn to cut others some slack and understand they aren't perfect either. People have always failed me and alwa...

"Jesus loves me, this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so." Do you remember singing this song in Sunday School? Unfortunately, after giving our lives to Jesus, many of us doubt that God really loves us. This morning, with a group of Pastors, we were to pray about "God chose us because He loves us". The room was fairly silent! Why? Because many, many people follow Jesus but don't actually have a revelation of His love for them.  It is one thing to know that "God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son to die for it" and completely another thing to believe that "if I was the only person in the world, Jesus would still have died for me."  Each of our hearts longs to know that God the Father really loves ME. One pastor shared a story this morning, that during a rough time ...

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend "Cultivate Revival", a conference hosted by Global Awakening.  The leader of that movement is Randy Clark, and he was joined by Heidi Baker, Bill Johnson and others.  The common factor for all the speakers is that they are living out what they shared.  Their ministries are walking in REVIVAL.  Everything that was shared felt like a punch in the gut, simply because I am hungry for more of God, and the challenge was great.  These people have made choices to give themselves completely to the pursuit of God. They are seeing signs and miracles, as the Holy Spirit moves in and directs the activities in their lives.  The Holy Spirit is moving in power and lives are being transformed to walk in boldness and courage. The mantra of the conference was, 'Why not here? Why not now? Why not me?' The bottom line is that each one of us must let a hunger for God and His Kingdom consume us. We have to make pursuing His...

I love Psalm 34:8! "Taste and see that the Lord is good."  It creates imagery in my mind of my spiritual taste buds working overtime to savor and delight in everything that God does for me! The flavor of life that Father leaves with me is wonderful. Don't think that I am crazy!  I am just fully convinced and persuaded that my Father is good...all the time! So if He is good, where does the bad stuff come from?  NOT from Father!  We are in a battle every day with our own flesh and its desires; from the world vying for our hearts and attention and from the Prince of this world, Satan.  So I can shout from the rooftop with confidence that my God is good!  As a matter of fact, James tells us in his letter (chapter 1:17) that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father..." Let that sink into your spirit for a moment! Every thing He has stored up for us in Heaven, is available now.  We have a tremendous inheritance just waiti...

Such a good question... what fills your heart? Expressing gratitude every day for the goodness of God, and life, goes a long way in shaping my attitude! You have heard it said, "have an attitude of gratitude" but I say, consciously choose to cultivate gratitude in your life for everything!  We live in a generation that feels the world owes them.  I know that thought is a direct plant from the schemer of the ages!  We are NOT owed anything.  Actually we owe God our love, our allegiance, our very lives!  So we need to be so grateful, remember that, even while we were still lost in our sin, Jesus came and died for us.  That is the greatest gift we will ever receive!  Everything else that comes into my life is a blessing.  Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything YOU NEED." Mature people recognize that everything comes from Father's hand, and consistentl...

Continuing from last week... The third mark of a Christian reaching to attain a mature life is to have a spirit of humility! Humility is a word we don't like in our vocabulary.  A humble person does not think less of themselves, but thinks about themselves less.  The humble heart says God I need you and I need more of you. Humility says I can't do life by myself. Left to my own ideas and desires, I will mess my life up!  I need to know the plans and purposes of God for me!  We had a saying in our family growing up... "You can tell a Valley, but you can't tell them much." You may chuckle at that, but that is a true word over most of us! None of us like being told what to do, how to act, etc. Accountability is a bad word! Our upbringing says, "have it your way". The job of the Holy Spirit is to keep us accountable to the Father and make us responsible to do the will of God. Only a humble heart can really move us to this place. Remember that...

The Holy Spirit continually speaks to us, to lead us into all truth and show us who Father God really is.  He encourages us every day to become more like Jesus! He is looking for hungry hearts that desire to hear God and respond to Him.  In cooperation with the Holy Spirit, there are some things that we need to consider as we mature, or "grow up" in the Lord. First, Father is looking for people who are able to keep long term commitments.  In other words, He is looking for the faithful!  When you read the Old Testament, there are so many who started out following God, and ended their lives living for themselves.  When we decide to follow Jesus we must count the cost!  It is a lifelong decision.  Coming to Jesus and acknowledging Him as Savior is only the first step in our walk with Him.  From that point we must GROW.  Like marriage, time has to be spent and our life entwined with the life of Jesus.  Too many people ...

"God DID NOT give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind!"  Paul wrote this word to Timothy, his spiritual son in the Lord.  In some translations it says God did not give us a spirit of timidity. To be timid is to be fearful, hesitant and lacking self-confidence.  It is someone who is easily intimated by others.  Intimidation persuades me to give up my authority in Christ Jesus.  When I do, my spiritual gifts can no longer operate freely.  That causes me to act and react out of my flesh, not seeing or responding as Jesus would.  Then instead of being offensively ready to walk out my faith, I become defensive and shrink back from any attack.  I step into a self protection mode, choosing to find a place of comfort and safety where I don't have to stand against evil. That is a mouthful, but that is what the Holy Spirit spoke to me this morning.  I never saw it quite as clearly as I do right now.  I rememb...

"The Love of many will grow cold..." I would like to challenge you today to take your spiritual temperature.  Jesus warned His disciples that in the last days, times would be difficult.  Much like our day!  Natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, not to mention political disaster everywhere! In our Christian nation it is becoming less and less popular to actually BE a Christian!  We are in the times when many are turning away from the faith.  Jesus said in Matthew 24: 12-13, " Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved ." In our nation we are seeing an increase in immorality, shamelessness, rebellion against God and throwing off of moral restraint.  If you try to speak into people's lives they call you old fashion and not hip with the times.  They call us intolerant and mean spirited. The problem is there are many Christians who name ...

This verse of Scripture should cause us to think! Our mentality is "it is so much easier to DO something than to just TRUST God".  That is why in the present day we find many more workers for God than workers who cooperate with Him.  The cooperating part means sitting with Him, knowing His thoughts, determining to act as the Holy Spirit leads us, speaking what the Father would say, etc.  To believe in the One He sent is to believe and trust in Jesus; who now uses the Holy Spirit to direct our steps!  Question.  Are you totally convinced that God will do what you cannot do? One of my most favorite stories in the Bible is found in Daniel chapter 3.  It has to do with the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  Raised as good Jewish boys, they are removed from their homeland and taken to Babylon as prisoners, to serve King Nebuchadnezzar.  Even though in the midst of this pagan nation, they, along with Daniel, refuse to def...

The picture of a warring bride! Beautifully dressed with her sword in hand.   This is how each of us should look in our daily life!   Seriously.   We are the Bride of Christ and we are making preparations within ourselves to be worthy to walk beside Him. Revelation 19: 7-8 says " Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him.  For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself.  She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people."    Another way we prepare ourselves to walk at His side is to..." Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put ...

Have you had this experience, ask someone for help to set up, tear down, take a Sunday School class, help with an event and their response is, " I will have to pray and see if this is God's will".  What I see in our churches today is people doing nothing because they don't want to be out of God's will.  Father has plans and purposes for each one of us.  Some of those plans are personal for each one of us...and some are expectations for us all.  For instance, it is God's will for each one of us to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. To look more like Jesus, we will have to be willing to let the Holy Spirit point out what isn't Christlike and help form those things within us that need to be. As I look back over my life I understand that God used everything I did and was involved in and every person I've known to shape me and mold me.  Some of it was good and fun, while other things were horrible to walk through.  I have known great...

The above scripture is one of my favorites!  It was originally prophesied in Isaiah 61: 1. Then Jesus in Luke 4: 18, after returning from 40 days of temptation in the wilderness, returned to Galilee in the power of the spirit, entered the synagogue, picked up the scroll and read from Isaiah.  The scripture says he handed the scroll back to the attendant and with all eyes on Him, announced this scripture was now fulfilled in Him!  Can you imagine how big their eyes must have gotten!  He was announcing that He was the fulfillment of the prophecy.  That He was the anointed one! What exactly is the anointing? Anointing means to "smear or rub in", also to consecrate for office.  The Holy Spirit upon Jesus was smearing and rubbing into Him the image of His Father, the character and nature of His Father and that He was now fulfilling the office of a prophet.  How do we know that?  Hebrews 1: 1-3 says "In the past God spoke to our forefathers t...

Did you sing this song in Sunday School?  "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, they are weak but He is strong.  Yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so." There are many who give their lives to Jesus but don't really have a revelation of His love for them. I know, because for a long time I wondered how God could love me.  A lot of that comes from how we have related to our earthly parents as kids.  If you have had any kind of negative experience in relationships with those who were supposed to love you and protect you, it is harder to accept the idea that Almighty God could love you unconditionally.  I had to come to the realization that my parents were not perfect!  They too were trying to find their way.  Often hurt people will hurt people! We have more understanding today, more openness to talk and be real then the generations behind us.  God wants ...

Hebrews 6: 19 tells me that I have hope as an anchor for my soul, firm and secure!  Have you ever thought much about hope?  Let me define it for you...the joyful anticipation of good! It is when my heart is totally convinced that God is good and is looking out for me.  It reminds of Romans 8 verse 28 where it says that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.  So there is one condition...that we love God.  When I live a life that shows my love for Him, I can depend on Him to work everything out for my good. Hope is complete confidence in God's goodness!  It is when I understand that His desire, His commitment, and His abilities are all in my corner saying "all is well, I've got your back".  Later in chapter 10 verse 23 Paul wrote..." Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise."  Hope is not depende...

In Romans 8 verses 14-16 it says, "...those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by him we cry, Abba, Father.  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." Immediately my mind and heart cry out Holy Spirit, lead me.  Let me hear your voice very clearly.  I want to be a son of God.  (After all, if men have to be the bride of Christ than women can certainly be sons of God!) I am a daughter of the living God!  How do I know that?  Because I have the spirit of God living inside of me and I make every effort to cooperate with him!  I desire to follow him, because I know in my flesh I can still make some very bad choices.  There are many benefits to being a son or daughter of the living God!   I know that God is a good Father, and I know that He will give me the sa...

Shine in the Darkness In camp work and in Sunday School, we always sang the song, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine... let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!"  We are supposed to be shining examples of God's love and His kingdom everywhere we go! I read something this week that triggered the candle idea.  I believe it was in a Bill Johnson book and I wrote it down in my journal.  It said, "Outward manifestations of the Kingdom within, i.e. power, conquest, success, supply, harmony, are all promised.  They do not come as a result of urgent prayer or striving to obtain, but come naturally as light results from a lighted candle." As I pondered that I realized that I am a striver!  I am always thinking IF I do this, than that will happen.  I always have a plan!  I am always at work to earn something.  I remember growing up I heard these words a lot..."If you really loved me, you would....".  So somehow I eq...