1/2/08 - Life Journal - The Fall

...she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:6

That's it right there. The death sentence for millions over the ages. The first time man uses his free will to make a decision he screws it up. This one act enslaves us all to sin for eternity and separates us from the Father. Not fair you say? You weren't there? Well that's true but I guarantee you've been screwing it up yourselves, I sure know I have. One bite of the apple and we lost the image of God we were first created in and became just as wicked as the world we are exiled in.

(It's kinda condemning to all us men that Adam was the first to use the old, "Wasn't me, didn't do it, it was her" excuse. I guess it's wired into our system.)

The awesome thing here is that it is all in God's overreaching plan for us. Instead of robots he now has people that can make a choice to be with Him or against Him. A true love between Father and child, not a forced love from our Creator. He knew that second that He would send His Son to die for us and redeem us from the sin that we can't escape on our own. Only through acceptance of Jesus into our hearts and the belief and faith that through Him we have eternal life will we be allowed passed the cherubim and flaming sword and back into the garden to tast of the Tree of Life.

Father, let me be part of your plan in that I spread this beautiful story of loss/redemption, punishment/grace and judgement/mercy. If we could see with Your vision the beginning and the end it would be a no brainer but we can't. That's where faith comes in and where so many of us are lacking.

10/10/07 - Life Journal - I am a Thief

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Luke 22:42,43

Immediate.

Done deal.

No questions asked!

The thief on the cross next to Jesus, by his faith in knowing Jesus would soon be in His kingdom on the right hand of God, was saved from death, seconds from the end, and ushered into eternal life.

I gotta keep this verse on my heart at all time. One of the main objections I've come across from people I'm sharing with is, "...Man, if you only knew the stuff I've done, there isn't any hope for me...". This person, guilty of crimes severe enough to warrant crucifixion, went from death to life in an instant and is in Paradise with Jesus and the Father right now, probably in tears when he hears people use the excuse of past sins for not persuing Christ and being reborn.

Lord, give me wisdom when sharing my story. Let me stress the simplicity of this verse, proof that You and Your Son want that none shall perish, and a simple leap of faith will secure a future with You in Paradise.



Thief - Third Day

I am a thief, I am a murderer,
Walking up this lonely hill.

What have I done? I don't remember,
No one knows just how I feel.

And I know that my time is coming soon.

It's been so long. Oh, such a long time,
Since I've lived with peace and rest.

Now I am here, my destination,
guess things work for the best.

and I know that my time is coming soon.

Who is this man? This man beside me,
They call the King of the Jews.

They don't believe that He's the Messiah,
But, somehow I know it's true.

And they laugh at Him in mockery,
and beat Him till he bleeds.

They nail Him to the rugged cross,
and raise Him, they raise Him up next to me.

My time has come, I'm slowly fading,
I deserve what I receive.

Jesus when You are in Your kingdom,
Could You please remember me.

And He looks at me still holding on,
the tears fall from His eyes.

He says I tell the truth,
Today, you will live with Me in paradise.

And I know that my time is coming soon.

And I know paradise is coming soon.

8/8/07 - Life Journal - The World is His Flock

"I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
John 10:11

In verse 9 before this Jesus said He was the door through which we find salvation. He now explains how, as our shepherd, by sacrificing Himself this salvation comes about. The Good Shepherd would, and finally did, lay down His life for us. He continues later:

"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice and they will become one flock with one Shepherd."
John 10:16

Jesus just explained the Gospel in a nutshell. He is the way to salvation through His death for His flock, those sheep that hear and follow. But not only his "fold" in Israel, but other sheep, the gentiles, would become part of the flock.

Jesus kept his message simple. The use of parables let great amounts of people hear and comprehend His message in a short amount of time. We can teach in a simplified format, like Him, but also like Him, we can't leave out the meat of the lesson.

Lord, bless me with the ability to teach effectively.

8/5/07 - Life Journal - A Hardened Heart

Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come." John 7:33,34

Is this a warning, or what? Jesus was not only talking about the time He actually spent on earth but the time we are on earth spending time with Him. It is an extremely short time that we have to make a decision that seals our fate for eternity! Many, as He states, will never see this. Whether by death or the end of this age, our time to decide will come to an end instantly.

How can we stress this importance to non-believers? They'll say, "How can your loving God let people go to Hell?" Well basically, if we don't live for Him after what He has done for us, we are not His people anymore than the pagan kingdoms of the Old Testament era were.

Lord soften the hearts of this world that we might see you.

8/4/07 - Life Journal - Salvation through Prayer

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them."
John 6:44

When attempting to lead someone to salvation we must remember this; We can plant the seed with our actions, our testimony and whatever biblical knowledge we may posses, but, it is the Father, through the Holy Spirit, that will water the seed and cause the faith to sprout.

The only other tool we have at our disposal to instigate this process is intercessory prayer on behalf of whomever it is that is weighing on our minds.

Lord, let our prayers for those we love be constant.

You can't blog AND close your comments!

Just read through a blog by Perry Noble. I usually agree with what he says but this one disturbed me. Here's the quote that got me:

"…it’s stupid and meaningless and the ONLY churches that say number do not matter are the ones with no numbers.

AND…I find it funny that the same churches that say they do not count their people because numbers do not matter WILL count their offerings. WOW–I guess in those cases money matters more than people. Come on now–if numbers do not matter then stop counting the offering!!!

The reason I am so passionate about this is, well, first of all, I have a biblical view of how God designed the church to grow and reach the world for Him. The more people we reach–the fewer people that go to hell! And GOD HELP the church that just wants to be small and comfortable and, in so doing, neglects sharing the Gospel with those who are bound for hell!!!"

Yes, it's awesome the amount of people that have been baptised at his church but is that really a good number to be proud of? Baptism is a beginning not an end. If a life change hasn't happened it is a dead end! Count the people truly changing there lives and attempting to BE THE CHURCH to their community not be A CHURCH in their community. When we say numbers don't matter we mean it. Everyone is not going to be pumped about our straight forward message. We need ALL churches to group together to make a change.

If people hear our mission and go to another church, super.

If they hear our mission and get it but never come back, instead starting a series of home churches in their neighborhood, great!

If they hear our mission and jump in and partner with us, don't get us wrong, that would be totally awesome.

And if these same people feel called to move on and start a new church or attempt to jump start an existing church, we've accomplished our task with them.

"New" people, lost people, seekers, searchers, whatever word you use, if they came to church, they are looking for something and will see right away if numbers are the bottom line or if truly changing your city is the plan. Spreading the Gospel is one thing, I can do that with a Bible and a street corner, but teaching people what to do with their salvation and better yet, what Jesus wants them to do with his gift is the true mission.

About not counting the offerings, well that's just stupid.

Read the whole post here

I'm so Selfish

Have you ever had one of those days? Me too. The problem is I have them all the time. It hits me when I'm sitting in my gopher hole at work, "WHY AM I HERE?" Then I watch the news, see what's happening to this planet and shudder when I think about my kids growing up here in this world. About now the little voice in my head that I thought I could trust starts yelling, "WHY ARE WE STILL HERE! JESUS COME BACK, PLEASE. IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP THERE WON'T BE ANYONE WORTH SAVING!"

I don't know when the realization started to hit me but that was no angel in my head. I let the trash fill my head and while God was nowhere to be found Satan snuck in the back door. His battle is already lost, he would love it for Jesus to return and sweep all of us (self)righteous people up with him and leave the unsaved for him. To paraphrase that voice in the attic, I was basically saying, "SEE Y'ALL LATER, YOU CAN JUST GO TO HELL" Now do you understand the selfish angle? Some of those people I'm kissin off are, to name a few, my parents, my sister and her family, who knows how many other relatives, friends, co-workers and probably a lot of friends at church. If the "rapture" would have occurred a mere 4 1/2 years ago that list would also have included me and my son Jeffery never would have been born.

For years, the old me I'll call "Saul", would agree with those who'd say that religion was a crutch, a way to get problems of your back, or an easy way out for weak people. The new me, "Paul", now knows how ridiculous that school of thought really is. I have a house prepared for me in Heaven, just waiting on His call, but am still under the covenant paid for with His blood. My part of the deal is to spread the news of His sacrifice for our salvation and His wonderous love for a non-deserving, deceitful, hypocritical, still sinning, SELFISH loser like me.

Does this look like the job description for a sissy Christian boy.........

I have to learn to be excited and let the joy shine out of me at all times, even when I want to lock it inside me.

I have to learn to humble myself and weep for the lost.

I have to learn to be strong for my family in the face of this world, no matter how ugly it might get in the future.

I have to learn to be brave and be willing to be chastised as one of this countries newest minorities, "THE OUTSPOKEN CHRISTIAN".

I have to learn to be trusting, knowing my Father's words will be there for me when sharing my story with others.

I have to learn how to be wise and be able to discern my thoughts, dreams and circumstances to find His small voice in the cacophony.

I have to learn how to be faithful and not put any of these false idols we have created above the Lord, my God and pray for the will power to do this.

I have to learn to be sharing and let others feel the relief of their sins lifted off their shoulders.

I have to learn to be giving and share my blessings with those around me in need.

I need to learn to persevere. This world can be changed. It got to where it is now because the loudest voices won and Christians like me said, "TO HELL WITH THIS WORLD, I'M SAVED, SCREW EVERYONE ELSE." Enough of the "silent majority". If we don't speak up it doesn't matter how big our numbers are, we had better start running and don't look back if you don't like the taste of salt.

Above all I need to learn to be a MAN of God!

That's all for now from this whining, grumpy and selfish no matter how incredibly blessed he is gopher. I'll be in my hole if anyone needs me.

Bring it on Down

I recently finished reading a book by Rob Bell titled "Velvet Jesus". It's and excellent portrayal of his views on the future of the Church and I felt he was speaking of the Bible as a living document that evolves with us and stays as relevant as the day it was written. But that has nothing to do with this blog……….

He said something that really got me thinking. It was along the lines of Sheri's opinion of living as if we're already in heaven. The second we receive Jesus into out heart we also receive the free gift of salvation. Our old self is dead and immediately our everlasting life begins! We are, if not in Heaven, let us say Heaven's foyer. All the things of this world are also dead to us. Worrying about the temporal should be utterly ridiculous compared to the future we have in the eternal. That being said everything we do, say or think, how we react to adversity and who we point the glory to should be bringing down a piece of Heaven to everyone we come in contact with.

On the other hand, if the above is true, than so is the opposite. The lost are sitting in Hell's waiting room reading 10 year old Reader's Digest's with nothing to look forward to in life except for an eternal prostate exam in the next room (sorry about that mental image, just keeping in step with the waiting room theme). Hell is a state of being forever separated from our loving Father. People without Christ are temporarily separated but still have the chance to open their hearts to Him.

We, as God's children, have an enormous responsibility. The super rich man hording his money while children are starving, the Church that quietly forces out people that don't fit there image, the evangelist using his platform for gain and famous preachers claiming God's vengeance against a certain group of "sinners" in the form of hurricanes are all guilty. Not only are they giving Christianity a bad name, they are also bringing up a piece of Hell for non-believers who look at us as hypocrites and are forced farther from the Truth. I'm far from innocent. Every second I spend hiding in my house, windows closed and air on, is time I could be meeting neighbors and helping out where ever I might be needed. Bring Down Heaven! It may seem noble to give to needy organizations or adopt a child from afar by sending some cash once a month but those are still things of our own choosing. Not that they're in any way bad, just still in a small way thinking of self. It makes us feel good. Now neighbors on the other hand, whew, if you're blessed with good ones, congratulations. These people have been plopped down next to you with no consultation from you. But they are there for a reason. We may not like them on a personal level but human emotions are one of those temporal things that we need to ignore. God loves them, so should we. Jesus weeps for them, so should we.

To Light a Fire Under our Collective Bum!

I just happened across this blog from "268BLOG - An Online Community of Passion Conferences" and it nailed me with how urgent our mission really is. The early church worked with an attitude of urgency because they felt that the end times and Jesus' return was at hand. Because of this passion they changed an entire world. No one but the Father knows exactly when the second coming will occur, but that shouldn't allow us to be lazy about spreading the Gospel of Salvation. The world, especially the west, has "backslidden" (I love that word ;). Millions of people are losing a battle of attrition to the enemy and the time for the "Calvary" is now. We, the victors in Christ, need to mobilize with as much fire as the church fathers. Time is literally of the essence.

Read the blog:

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