Intimate Fellowship

One of the true realities of my Christian life has been my inability to maintain my spiritual strength when I try to do it on my own. Think about it, for me the harder I try to focus on not sinning the more I sin. The more I try to love people the more people bug me. The more I try to be humble, the more prideful I become. So I ask myself the question, why is it that when I fight harder I seem to suffer more and more defeats. But wait a minute, how could I miss it. Look again at my words. The more I try, the harder I try. Where is Jesus in all of this? How could I think that my efforts alone could bring me victory? Its like I forgot that I need to keep my eyes on Jesus, that a close intimate fellowship with Him is needed. For greater is He who is in me that he who is in the world. Unlike all the other challenges we face, spiritual challenges can only be met and overcome, by the one who has overcome the world. No matter how hard I fight in my own strength, until I am walking in close intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, I will not have consistent long-term victory over sin in my life. I will not be able to live a life that is useful and effective for God unless I am walking with Him closely. Today Lord help me to walk with you as a friend walks with a close intimate friend.

Ex-nihilo

When you think of creation, how everything came into being! What you believe determines so much of your personal worldview. What ever you believe about the creation of the universe, random chance, intelligent design, or somewhere in between, your belief about how the universe was created will determine your worldview on creation and on God for the most part. The Greek word (Ex-nihilo, which means to create out of nothing,) gives you insight to my worldview. Being a firm believer in God as defined by the Bible, I believe that God being the only person that has always been, without beginning or end created all that is out of nothing, (Ex-nihilo.) Most people feel that this is a naive or UN intelligent worldview . I have often been asked how can I believe in a God that has no beginning? A God that spoke the universe into existence, or created out of nothing, how could I believe all of this? My response is simply this, I believe because God says so. I have come to understand that I am not here to prove God. And even if I wanted to, it would be completely impossible for me to do so. How does anyone prove that which is beyond our comprehension? Now I’m not saying there is not any evidence of the existence of God there is, and if you want to know more about that there are many Good books on the subject. Such as The Reason for God by Timothy Keller, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, just to name a few. But what I am saying that when it comes to creation all worldviews end up being an argument in faith. I can’t prove it absolutely but for me there is enough evidence to know that God is the creator. The Universe did not happen by random chance, but by the intelligent design of an all-knowing God. And he created Ex-nihilo out of nothing.

Rich In Mercy



I love music and one of my favorites bands is a band called POLEN Band. They are a Christian worship band, and as I have gotten to know them, there is no doubt that they love the Lord Jesus Christ. Check out their website, www.polenband.com their song Rich In Mercy has captured my heart. In the song they state, “because of His great love for us, God who is Rich In Mercy made us alive in Christ even while we were dead” I can’t get that out of my mind. Often time when we think of rich, mercy is not one of things that we think about. What does it mean to be rich in mercy? To love someone enough, even though you have the right to deal with him or her with Justice, you choose to deal with him or her with Love. You see that’s what God did. He and His Son Jesus Christ dealt with the punishment, that would have been our, so that God could offer us mercy. Being Rich in Mercy does not mean to forget the offence, but paying for the offence yourself so that the ones you love will not have too. If you are someone that believes that God is unloving, just look at the cross. He loved us so much, as did Christ that Christ died so that we might have life. Why would anyone not want to accept the Mercy of God? I know there are those who say how can a loving God kill His own son, but your missing the point, God did not kill his son Christ gave his life that we might have life. And then God raised Christ from the dead saying I accept you sacrifice and give you the name that is above every name, So that all who turn to you and put their trust in you will have life also. That is a God who is Rich In Mercy!

The Ultimate Thing

In his book Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller states "Despair however is inconsolable, because it comes from losing an ultimate thing. When you lose the ultimate source of your meaning or hope, there are no alternative sources to turn to. It breaks your spirit." So often i have found that most peoples ultimate thing, have very little hope of really fulfilling them, because it has not the power to meet their true need. People have turned to things like money, power, sex, alcohol, status, drugs, children, family, religion, to fill the deep desires of their heart. I find that quite odd. Think about it... how can things ever fill your heart? How can people or even religion ever claim your soul? Can anyone but an all knowing and all loving God ever be able for such a great task. The task of healing the pain and filling the hopelessness that often comes with this thing called life. Don't get me wrong, there are desires that these things can fill and places that they should fill, but no one or no thing other than Jesus can be your ultimate thing, because he created you and knows you and is able to meet you were nothing else can meet you. He alone has the answers to those questions that matter most to you. he alone is the source of Hope and Life. And he alone you can never lose.

Holy Encounters

There are times that have much more significance in our lives than others. Moments that God is doing something, these times are called Holy Moments. They can be Holy hours, or Holy days or Holy seasons. Dennis Kinlaw in his devotional (This day with the Master) writes about these moments. In the Bible we see these moments, Moses and the burning bush, Peter walking on water, Paul on the road to Damascus, They are the moments that changed the course of peoples lives, and we should pray that God would give us all a Holy Moment, or hour or day, or season. Yes we all need encounters with God that are so impactful that everything changes. When was the last time you asked God for a Holy Moment? Have you put yourself in a situation that allows God to interact with you in such a way that would cause a Holy Encounter? The one thing about these encounters is that they all happen when people where looking for God. Even Paul thought he was serving God, and yes God have to correct his understanding of God and what it meant to serve him. But what are we doing, are we willing to get out of the boat and try to walk on water. Or are we willing to stand for God even if we might have to face the fiery furnace. Yes Holy Moments are waiting for all of those who are seeking God, If only we would seek God with all our hearts. Today is a good day to ask the God of Creation for any Holy moment, hour, day, or season. To ask for an Holy Encounter

One Small Step

Often I find myself overwhelmed by all I want to do and been in life. Often times every decision I need to make seems to have so many challenges. Nothing seems easy and the road ahead appears to be too difficult for me to travel. Why is it that the things of God always seem to be the hard things to do? Why is it that good things are often time hard things? I know that Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” But why does it always have to be so hard. I know that often time I want more than anything to love God and follow Jesus, but as soon as I make that choice, it seems something happens that pulls me away from Him. Whether it is my own sin, or the busyness of my life or worries, or something else it seems that something happens to pull me away from Him. And because of my inability to love God with my whole heart, I then ask myself did I really even mean what I said? do I really want to love Jesus. That when I must trust the God of the Bible and the Lord of my life. Yes I will have those times when I think and feel that it’s too hard. Or when I feel I'm just not good enough, but it's at that moment that I must take One Small Step of Faith and trust what I know to be true. “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Yes Life is hard and following Jesus makes it harder, but it also makes it worth living. So when you feel like giving up, just ask God for the strength to take the One Small Step, the step of faith to keep on fighting.

For to me, to Live is Christ

I’m sitting here with friends, it is Christmas morning the gifts have been opened the coffee has been poured and the egg casserole was good. But still in me there is loneliness. I know that I am loved in this place, but for some reason I feel alone and that loneliness has been growing the past several months, even as I read the word of God I still feel alone. I now must face my deepest fear, the fear that even though I am loved, this love my not be enough to comfort the pain of my heart. I now understand what Paul meant when he wrote in the book of Philippians 1:21-23 (For to 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.) You see there is no one or no thing that can replace my desire to see Him, my God, my Savior, my Lord. After many attempts to find someone or something to fill the void in my heart, I have come to understand that no one or no thing can do it, that the void can only be filled by the one who made me. It is God alone that can make me whole. I love this life only but I now know that one day I will see Him (Jesus Christ) and only then will I have the peace and joy that I so desperately seek. Yes this Christmas morning I have come to understand that I not only need a savior, but I want to be with him. I am only in this world to tell others of what he has done, to share with them His great love, and to encouraged them to turn to Him. I am not here to love the world more then Him and with that I now can say as Paul “what than 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.” But for now my heart also feels God has much to do with me here. Both to work on my own self, which there is so much too work on and to encourage all of you all to do the same. So that we will complete what he has for us here, for His glory and our betterment.