Thankful

As I sit here this morning my heart is thankful, thankful for friends, both far and near.  I am very aware that God has blessed me with people who I love very deeply and love me the same.  I cannot begin to explain to you how God has worked in my life through the people he has placed into it. I have been challenged to love deeper, forgive quicker, try harder, and laugh more often, to give with a heart of abandonment, to hope with a sense of urgency and to believe with a sense of assurance.

I have come to understand that after the gift of Jesus Christ, and without Christ no gift really matters. But after the gift of Christ, the gift of friends is the gift that I hold most dear. And even though I have made mistakes in my past with those I love and had mistakes made against me by those I love, it is still the people that God has brought into my life that makes life all the better.

So I sit here and I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God, how He continues to give to me such blessed friendships, and how He continues to show me through these friends that he gives that He has not and will not give up on me, that his plans for me are to conform me into the image of Jesus Christ and to love me with a love that is so great that my heart, my mind, my soul, and my will are more and more after His.  And the friends that he has placed into my life are being used to accomplish the goal He has for my life. 

So I sit here and I am thankful for the two greatest gifts that a person could ever receive.  Frist, the gift of Jesus Christ, which makes life worth living, and the gift of friends that helps us come to understand how much God loves us, and helps us to understand how better to love.

So to all of you that I have once or now call friends I would say. I am truly sorry and I ask your forgiveness if I have failed you in any way.  If I have failed to be the friend God has called me to be. To any of you that I have not shared Christ with I ask that this Christmas season you would look at Jesus Christ once again and truly ask yourself how your life would be with Him in it. And for you who have stood by me as a friend I say thank you for loving one as broken, but one who is being changed by the love of God and by your love. My prayer this year is that I will be to you all the friend that God has called me to be.

A Time To Reflect

My mother once told me that this life that God has giving us is to be lived with great love for God, great love for people, and a passion that burns for the things of God. As I sit here today, I realize that she was right.

It’s the things that we accomplish for Christ and it’s the love we have for one another that make life so wonderful, that makes life so special. It’s those things that show Christ’s love, and that changes our hearts to love people more that make our time in this life worth living. 

As I look back over my life, I have not always loved people and loved God, as I should, and I now see, it was when I did not love Christ, I was more likely to hurt others. I was more likely to put my needs and wants, my desires above anyone’s. It was during those time that I hurt the people I loved and used people to get what I wanted.

So I sit here telling you that life is bested lived, in love with God. We are better people because of Christ, and we can love people with a true love when we are following and loving Christ.

So as I sit here, I’m thankful that the God of all creation, has saved me, and is transforming me into a person that loves Him and because of that can truly love others. If you take time to reflect on your life, and you are sadden by your past failures, turn to God, love Him deeply and ask Him to give your a heart to love others with a love and passions that comes from Him.

Lessons I Learned…Again!

This week was a time in which God has grabbed my heart again.

A team from our church went to spend time with some of our missionaries serving in a children’s home in Guatemala.  We had the opportunity to serve with them in their everyday life.  I'm taken back by their love for the children and their desire to not grow weary in the work they are doing.  These children are precious and the work is hard.  Most of them come from very difficult situations and need much love and care.  However, this task does not seem to overwhelm or deter these missionaries.

As I was sharing one morning with some of the older boys, my heart was broken.  What could I really do to impact their lives in a week?  No matter how much I served during this week, I would have very little impact on the children.  To these missionaries however, our visit meant the World!  What they needed most was to be loved, encouraged, and poured into by people who love them and what they are doing.  They needed us to see the work they are doing, and share in the difficulties they are facing.

What I came to understand most is how much I needed from them!  I needed to have my heart encouraged by those who gave up so much to follow Jesus.  I needed to see the children and remember that God is working in every part of this world.  I needed to remember the lessons that I have learned about the heart of God.  I needed to have my heart stirred with the Heart of God again so it can once again long for the things of God and the work of God.  

God's heart has not changed.  He loves those who have very hard lives and He has not forgotten them, and we cannot forget them.  We must care for people everywhere and share with them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ so they can be saved.  God loves people and we must be the hands and feet of Christ.

I must remember these lessons and never forget!

WAIT FOR THE LORD!

I’m sitting here this morning thinking about how life has changed over the past few years.  Life has become very busy.   The ministries that God has allowed me to be part of have grown and demand much more of my time.  My friendships have become deeper, my love has grown greater, and my dependence on God has increased because I have come to understand that I can do nothing without Him.

That is where I have found the great need to wait on the Lord.   When life gets going and more things are placed on your plate, we need more of God.  Life is such a complicated process!  It is not something to be lived without the constant presence of God.  The people that God has placed into our lives are precious and I have done more than enough in my past to harm some good friends.  

I can only truly love the people that God has placed in my life if I love them with the love of Christ.  In order to be the leader and friend that God has called me to be, I need to have more of Christ in my own

            I have to get this right.  No matter how much is on my plate, I have to have Christ in the center of it all or it will all fall apart.  So this morning as I was reading Psalm 27, which is one of my favorites, I noticed two things.  First, I need God’s presence. Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” You see the psalmist got it right, we need to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives.  We need to always seek God, to always be near to Christ, no matter what else is going on.  Second, Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” We must wait on God, when more and more is added to our lives we must take time to wait on Christ, to hear from Him and to be lead by Him. 

            In the past when I would rush into things and not seek God’s guidance or pray for Christ to lead me, things did not workout so well.  Because of my own desires, I ended up sinning against my God and those whom I loved.  If I had given God more of my heart and my desires, if I would have waited on the Lord and spent time with Him in prayer, many of my mistakes, my failures, and my sins would not have happened.

             So seek the Lord and wait on Him always.  He is able to with your life great things that you can not do on your on.  He will also keep you from sin, and from hurting those you love and those entrusted to you.  WAIT FOR THE LORD!

Life hurts, but "God is good no matter what"!

Recently, I have been noticing how many people are in very tough situations. When I look at the world with Ebola, ISIS or just looking at my friends and people around me, I can only say life is hard.  Sometimes I don’t know what to say or do.  To just say, "God is good no matter what" seams so un-caring. 

However, as I sit and think about it, there could be nothing further from the truth. You see it is only because "God is good no matter what" that life worth living.  Because of this truth that we should not give up. 

You see this world is a mess and it will only get worst. That does not change the fact that our God is still good. One day, He will put an end to all our hurt and pain. He will put an end to evil, and our hope will become our reality. 

So to those who are suffering, I am not making light of your pain.  To those whose life seems to be falling apart, I am not saying that things will suddenly be great. I am only saying that because "God is good no matter what", that makes all this hurt and pain and all this mess tolerable. It is because "God is good no matter what", that we can still have HOPE. 

So today no matter what you are facing put your hope and trust in God, for without the truth that "God is good no matter what", life would be without hope. 

Madman

Madman

Demonic or evil or none of the two

Would you chose to be mad, would you chose to be you

Freedom or captive or a state in between

A world of illusion sewn up in a dream.

Reality as we see it, only controls and confines

The ability to be free the ability of one’s mind

Are we victors in madness such a lovely sound?

Are we losers in sanity held by chains to the ground?

Is madness a play or just a game

No victor to lose or one to claim

Oh, help me oh help me this is my cry

Oh madness I’m searching where does your lot lie.

My eyes shall be opened I will no longer play

Madman your game must end on this day

Am I free from this struggle I confess not to know?

But Madman your grip you now must let go.

For the freedom I found once in your thoughts

I no longer feel that freedom that I ought.

In reality I feel more controlled by your crime

To rob me of myself and to lock out my mind.

Madman how could you, could one be so unkind

To hide your hypocrisy to validate your crime

Madman, O Madman, you have stolen from me

The joy and the laughter that alone can set me free.

Goodbye to you Madman goodbye to your shame

I no longer desire to remain in your name.

You no longer can control me with freedom as your lie

For my wings have been opened I’m ready to fly.

So goodbye to you Madman goodbye to you again

For although you have deceived me you have been my friend.

I will not forget you, nor the lesson I’ve learned

You have shown me that freedom is not found, but is earned.

Where My Heart Wants To Go!

As I sit here, my heart is unsure of what it feels. I have come to find that lately that my Heart is longing. Longing for Christ and the peace that only He can bring. Life has a way of beating you down, making you feel alone, helpless and defeated.
When I was younger the pleasures of this world, both good and sinful, would be my escape from this place. But now I find no peace in those escapes. I often just want to be at peace and free from the emptiness of this world.
My heart wants to be with Christ. I can’t even put it into words the sense of peace I find in the person of Christ. The more I come to understand what He has done for me, what He is doing in me and what it will be like when I am with Him. I long for His presence. I don’t long to die, I just long for the peace and contentment that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul stated in Philippians 1:21-23, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” Now don’t get me wrong, I am nowhere near the man that Paul was. I cannot begin to compare my walk with Christ to how close Paul walked with Christ.
I’m simply saying that I have a longing in my heart that only Jesus Christ can satisfy. I don’t always have that longing, and I pray I would love Christ as much as Paul loved Him. I pray that I would hate sin as the Apostle Paul hated sin.
I’m far from the man that Paul was, but I do know I have a longing to be in the presence of Christ, much more than I have before. It is the place…. Where My Heart Want’s To Go!