The Cross

Have you ever notice as you driving or riding in a car, how often you see a Cross. I live in a small town in Ohio and often as I'm driving the country roads I notice the Cross. It may be on a billboard, out in the middle of a field, painted on a barn, on top a hill with light around it to illuminate it at night, or standing tall on a church steeple. But one thing is sure the Cross is everywhere. Like it or not it has become a symbol of America. As I read scripture I also see the Cross, but there is a difference. The Cross of the bible is not just a symbol, it is by Jesus death on the Cross that we have victory over death. In Colossians 2:13-15 it states
(When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the Cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross.) So although the Cross often times is very visible in our culture, it is the power of the Cross that is missing. For the Cross was never meant to be just a symbol, but it was to show us the Savior and turn us to Him. For without the death and blood of Jesus Christ the Cross has no power to save. So don't just look at the Cross, remember why we have it. God use the Cross to save those who would turn to him, by giving his Son Jesus Christ as a payment for our sins. So the next time you see the Cross, stop and take time to thank God for the Cross.

One Life Taken One Life Spared

The past week has been a difficult one as we at Off The Wall Ministry were reminded how quickly A life can be lost, while on the other hand how gracious our God is in protecting another life. In the span of a day we found out a dear friend, a young man 19 years old was involved in a car accident. The car was traveling at 70 mph and it struck a telephone pole, he walked away unharmed. The young man was very shaken but his life was protected. Less than 24 hours later we received the news that another young man that many in our ministry knew was involved in a single car accident, he however did not walk away. As I sat there I asked myself why one life was taken and one was spared. Both young men knew the Lord as their savior, and for the most part we would say were good young men. So why would God make such a decision, was one family more important than the other, was one young man of more value than the other, or was one situations more out of control than the other. As I thought through the questions, the only answer i could find is that God does what God does. It is not that one is better than the other, our of more value than the other. It is only that God give and takes life as he sees fit, and for his glory and our betterment. One young man is now in the present of his savior, while the other has the chance to share the story of his Gods grace over his life. One young man will never have to suffer again, while one young man must continue to fight the good fight of faith for his Lord and his God. Why God did it this way I do not know, but I know that in both cases God was good and gracious. Now some may say,how is death ever good or gracious. I want you to know that I never said that death was good or gracious, I said God is good and gracious even in death or in life. And we as His children must always remember that. We should grieve with the family that suffer lost, and rejoice with the family that was spared. But through it all we must know that God will be God and that he is always good and gracious even when we don't understand.

God Will Be God

Well Its been awhile since I wrote, life has been busy and God has been teaching me much. I am often taken back by the lessons that i constantly forget. But thank God that he is willing to teach me all over again. One of those lessons is that no matter how hard life is, how unfair life may seem, how life might not workout how you want, God is still God, and God is still good. You see, God does not have too make life good as we perceive good, he does not need our permission and he will not ask for it,He will always be God and he does what he pleases. But for those who have given their lives to Him, he always is working for their good, even when they can't see it. Another lesson I have been reminded of it that blaming God for all the issues that I or we create will not change how he deals with us. Our sins has consequences God is not obligated to make everything right, he often times allowes the consequences to teach us something that we need to learn, the question is are we willing to learn? Yes the more I think about it I am thankful that no matter waht happens that God will always be God. It is upon that truth that we can put our full trust in Him always.Thanks you for being a God worhty of all our trust.

Have Faith in God

As I sit here at KALADI BROTHERS COFFEE, in Anchorage Alaska looking at the mountains and reading the bible, I’m overwhelmed by the presence of my Savior. I know in my heart how sinful I am, yet I also know how much I want to be more like Jesus. These are the times that I wish would never end, times when I just sit with My Savior and I crave more of Him. I want to be done with this life of sin, of pain, of sorrow, and lost. I want the God of the universe to come and bring peace, and hope, and contentment. I want my friends to all know the saving power of my Savior, and to fall at His feet and worship Him. I want all I know to put their FAITH IN GOD so that they can enjoy Him forever. Today my prayer is that my God and my Savior would move in the hearts of many; bringing them to faith in Him. I pray for those I know and love, that they would bow to the God of the universe and fellowship with Him, coming to understand His love for them and His desire make them whole. My savior and my God I have faith in you and you alone, would you move today and change the lives of many who do not know you by bring them to faith in you. Would you also work in the hearts of those who have placed their faith in you, but today feel far from you? Touch their hearts. Also move in my family and my friends, causing them to have faith in you God.
You’re Bondservant
Don

The Fog of Unbelief

There May be no great weapon, that can be used against the people of God than unbelief. In Matthew 9:24 Jesus is talking to the father of a young boy that had an evil spirit in him,” Jesus asked the boy’s father how long has he been like this? From childhood, he answers. It has often thrown him into the fire or water to kill him, but if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us, if you can? Said Jesus, everything is possible for him who believes. Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, I do believe help me overcome my unbelief! I think about that, he was a father fighting for the life of his Son and the God of the universe was standing right there and he still doubted. Often times Jesus says the same thing to us, “If I Can” Our problem is that we don’t get it there is nothing impossible for the God who made everything. I can see it Jesus standing there and looking at the man saying if I can, do you know who I am that when I speak the worlds came into existence. We I speak that storms are stilled, the dead are raised, the death hear, the lame walk and the lost are saved. So If I can is not the question, the question is do you believe. How can it be that we trust so much in ourselves, but so little in that God that made us and gave his life for us because he loves us. So when you feel like giving up on your faith in God, or wondering If you can trust in God, stop take a moment and ask yourself this what could be too difficult for the God who holds the worlds in his hand.So just as the father of the young boy did we should exclaimed I do believe help my unbelief.

Shower

This morning a friend of mine sent me pictures from a slum in Africa, as I looked at the pictures I was taken aback by the conditions, in which some people have to live in. There were so many questions that flooded my mind. Why do we allow people to live like this? How can they carry on? And why does God not intervene? My heart was broken for those people and then I realized that God has worked in my heart through the pictures. He caused me to see people how He sees them. I want to go and do something, to do anything to make a difference. Later as I was standing in the shower I just thanked God for the ability to take a shower. I know that many in the world don’t even have clean water to drink, and here I am clean water running over me and God reminded that He cares for those in the slums of Africa. He reminded me that one day He would make everything right. He reminded me that He is a God that sees and hears the cries of all those that are suffering. As I stood there he also reminded me that he has given us the duty to care for the poor, and to take the message of hope to the lost. I don’t know how, but God used pictures to speak to my heart and to challenge me to not forget those that the world has forgotten. So this morning I am thankful to God for a shower, I am thankful that for me God has seen fit to allow me to enjoy hot water running over me. I’m also thankful that God did not just allow me this morning to take for granted this gift, this shower, this feeling of enjoyment. This morning God used my time in the shower, to speak to me, to hopefully change and to give me a heart like His. So yes, I am thankful for a Shower.

Reference Point

Dennis Kin law in his devotional book (this day with the master) states
“Contrary to much modern thought, the key to self is not in the self. Without an external point of reference point of reference that will not move, we simply wander and lose our touch with reality”

I am taken back by the time in my own life that I have lost touch with reality. I have made life all about me, what I want and what I deserve. I convince myself of how important I am and my own point of reference becomes myself. The problem with my reality is this, when life becomes too much for me to take, when I can’t win the battles that war inside of me, when my own self caves into the pressures of life where can I turn when I am not enough? If my reference point is internal, when I’m defeated there is then no hope for me. So to have a point of reference that is outside of myself, and strong enough to do that which I cannot, becomes of the utter most importance. If I cannot save myself then logic tells me I am in need of a savior. This is the truth that so many have rejected, they know in their hearts that they are not able to rescue themselves, but are unwilling to turn to the only true God who can do what they cannot. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:1 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. “ So if we were dead we needed someone to make us alive, someone to save us, and that is what God did for us. In Ephesians 2:4&5 the Bible states But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ. The reference point is God for he alone has the power to make those who are dead alive. He has given us the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ, and by doing so we choose life. We come to understand that this Jesus is the only reality that can save us from ourselves. So take a moment look to Jesus and ask him to save you, you will find at that moment you have life everlasting.