This Past Year #2

God has done amazing things this past year in my life. Yesterday I highlight some of the blessings that God has given me this year as gifts to enjoy and new ministries to serve Him in. God has also taught me many different things throughout the year and challenged me in some of the areas of my life. Today I want to highlight 3 of the biggest lessons that Go has show, taught, and reminded me of this past year.

#1-Confidence, use, and power of His Word
This past year I read the book, Reverberation, which showed me the power and purpose of the Bible. As a new pastor I found myself trying to grow, change, and equip my new family faith to serve God in my own power to many times. The Word of God is the only power that I need. God's word created the universe, sustains it as functions, and creates life every day in the people of this world. God's Word is the most powerful force in existence and it is a power source that I can read, learn from , and apply everyday to my own life. God taught me that I needed to rely on this power in my ministry and in my life to function health and lead well. God showed me that all I need is His Word and I am successful. God also reminded me that I need to read His Word everyday and apply it to my life and let His Word change me to the core. My confidence and faith in His Word has also grow as I have seen the power and felt the power in life as I trust it more. God has changed me in my view and understand of His word. So in 2015 I will be reading through the Bible in a year, with my faith family, and I will be blogging many many days on what I am learning from God's Word and the change that reading through and relying on His Word will bring.

#2-Humility
As I have stated yesterday, one of the biggest blessing that God has placed in my life this past year was placing me as a "little shepherd" in HIs church under the Chief Shepherd. This has brought much humility to my life. Every day I find challenges, problems, questions, and situations that I have no answer for. God has shown me that He placed Godly men in my life that have helped find answers and He has also shown me from His Word the answers I need when I need them. God has taught me to live humbly and rely on Him, His Word, and wiser men in many situations that I come to every day. Humility is the best way to lead, love, and serve others. Humility is a character trait and fruit of the Spirit that has been sharpened and through the power of the Spirit has grown in my life as I try and lead and love in ministry that I need God and His Word for to accomplish. God has shown me that when I am faithful to Him, He will be faithful to me every time and give me the strength and wisdom form His Word and others to what I need. God has reminded me to live and walk humbly before Him and He will exalt what needs to be exalted.

#3-I am living His Story
6 years ago, God stripped my life, work, and desires to the bone. For the next 5 years I sought and found a new direction for me to live my life and love my Savior. This past year God has reminded me even more and much deeper that I am living God's story in my life. God has placed me in a house that is no different than the one I have lived in the past 6 years and I find it even more beautiful and homely. God has placed me in a new exciting ministry that 3 years ago I would have laughed at, yet today I do not want to me anywhere else. God has kept showing me this past year He is in charge and nothing has happened He was not prepared for. God has reminded and shown me that He is ruling the universe and my life all the same and that I need to live in faith knowing this life I am living is His to rule. God has whispered some days and other days has yelled, "Hey wake up, you are right where I want you". I have felt closer to God the more I have surrendered and that just shows it is His anyway, why do I hold so tight? I am truly sole living the story of Jesus in my life and it is His story He is writing.

These are 3 of the biggest truths God has taught me in 2014, what has God taught you?

This Past Year Part #1

So I have been thinking all day about God and His great blessings to my life this past year. It is hard to imagine that over a year ago I was in the middle of 3 different interviews with churches and now I am serving, loving, and leading the one God has placed me in. I am amazed at the fact that last year at this time I was full of fear at the fact I was not sure I was ready to pastor a church and be a little shepherd for Jesus. I know now, a year later, that I should not have been scared and full of fear and can trust and know God is faithful to me and guides me and supplies all that I need each day to lead and love His church. God has brought a great new and exciting church family into my life this year that has stretched and challenged me in many ways. God has blessed with me with many new friendships and given me 3 great partners in His ministry and leadership at Zion. All the while God was placing new people into my life, God was also strengthening and taking current relationships deeper and supplying me with greater friends and confidants in my life.

Not only has God blessed me in new and old relationships but God has blessed me with many new gifts also. God has given me a house and fixed my cars when I needed them. God has sold the house I lived in for the last 6 years and supplied the needs to help take care of my moms house when it needs it. God has provide answer to how things work now financially and materially in the ministry and has even blessed in the health insurance and retirement area. God has given challenges this past year but also solved them for me when I just simply trust and obey what He says. God has blessed me more this year than any other year as He has given me less and taken things away. God has been the great provider and sustainer of what I need.

Not only has God taken care of my material needs, He also ahs blessed with good health. Having 4 children can be stressful when it comes to sickness but God provides. God has kept our family clean and healthy most of the year and when we have been sick, God has provided the energy and patience that my beloved and I have needed. My God has blessed my mother with a year of cancer and then cure as He has walked with us and we have walked with her. God has placed physical challenges before us and has walked with us during the answer and recovery. And knowing all this, I know that even now some of the uncertainty about healthy will be answered and taken care of by God. God has been the great healer in 2014.

And now comes 2015....I know with everything God has blessed me with in 2014, 2015 will be a year full of blessings and even if it is my last year, God will be faithful and full of love, mercy and grace for me. Praise be to our God, forever and ever.

 Tomorrow I would like to share some of the things God has taught me this past year.

Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies-Review

I am a huge Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fan. I love J R R Tolkien as an author and his imagination. I also appreciate his Biblical imagery in his stories. The Lord of the Rings carries much more imagery than does the Hobbit but the Hobbit was my first story entering the World of Middle Earth. Peter Jackson has done an excellent job bringing the world of Tolkien to the big screen. Yes Jackson took many liberties in the Hobbit story and added characters and expanded some stories and themes in the movies. But Jackson also stays true to many of the Biblical images and even expands upon some of these in the films. As a lover of Jesus, keeping your eyes open and the bible in mind many theological points can be scene and discovered.

One of my favorite pictures that Tolkien shows clearly in all of his books and does very well in the Hobbit is the theme and topic of sin. The ring many times in the LOTR shows what sin is and what it does to a person. In the Hobbit, Thorin deals with the sin of pride and greed. Greed and pride in Thorin is shown very well by Jackson in the movies and some of my favorite pictures of this is done very well with Thorin arguing and getting mad at his family and friends. Then later the result and consequences of these sins are shown very well in the book and carried over to the big screen very well by Jackson. For the case of spoilers I will not spoil what happens in the plot, but when you watch any of these movies look for the Biblical themes and topics to be shown. I would recommend any of these movies for anyone to watch but especially if you love Jesus, love be reminded in story and picture form of the grace of God and Biblical themes and love a great story.

Some final Christmas wrapping

We are now past the Christmas day celebration. I have been focusing my devotional reading on some of the passages that deal with Jesus right after His birth. Yesterday I read over the text from Matthew about the wise men who came to bring Jesus gifts and in those gifts foreshadowing the life of Jesus including His death. Today I read from Luke 2 the story of Simeon and Anna and their response to the new born baby, God in the flesh.

The response from Simeon struck me today in a deep and touching way. Simeon responds to seeing Jesus stating, "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel". Simeon was prepared to see Jesus. He was waiting his whole life for the coming of God into the world as a baby. Simeon knows now that he can die in peace because he has seen God entering the broken world and preparing His way for salvation. Simeon was prepared and ready for the coming of God. This thought got me thinking in 2 different ways.

First, am I ready for the return of Jesus coming in the clouds? God has promised in Revelation and other places in the Bible that He will one day send Jesus back to earth for His bride, except this time on a white horse with a powerful word. Am I ready for this moment? I believe that God is giving us this info so that we can do our very best to be ready for His return. Have I told everyone I know about this coming day and the grace waiting for them in Jesus? Have I lived my life to inspire others in the church to yearn for this day and be prepared for it too? Have I lead my family and raised my children to also be prepared for Jesus return and helped prepared their souls to meet their creator? Is my life in order for a return to my true home waiting for me to spend eternity with my Savior and have I any regrets that I can set strait now? Those are the questions that got me to think am I prepared to see Jesus like Simeon was?

The second thought I have is, am I prepared to see Jesus work in the world now? Jesus enters the world everyday and makes His presence know. Jesus is working in His church through His chosen people. Jesus, even through my life can make Himself felt. Is my life today prepared for His entering the world? Am I spending time in prayer continually talking with my Savior opening myself to Him and making His name great? Am I saturating myself in the word of God so that I know what to say and how to act so that God will get the praise and glory? Is my life in tune with the Holy Spirit so that I can walk step in step with Jesus and be His presence in the world today? Jesus is making a name for Himself in the world today with or without me, am I prepared to work for Him in the process? Those are some of the questions I had to ask myself when I think of being prepared for Jesus entering the world today.

Jesus is coming back someday and He is daily entering the world through His people. Are we prepared for it like Simeon was prepared for the birth of Jesus many years ago? Simeon could die in peace, can we enter eternity in peace knowing we were prepared for Jesus to?

Quotable Friday

"Bombastic strategies (to win others to Jesus) may rid the world of its pagan or religious external symbols-but whenever Christians adopt such strategies, they fail to win the minds and hearts of those who live and walk among the idols" ~ David Helm

Advent #25-A Christmas Prayer

Oh Holy Father
What an amazing Father you are.
I could not ask for anything better and you seem to meet my needs even before I tell you
I cannot help but think on a day like this how much an amazing Father you are.
I sit here watching my children, a gift you have given me, open their presents
and I think of your greatest gift, your perfect Son, Jesus, my Savior

I think about Him coming so many years ago as a baby born to this cruel broken world
I thank you for the rescue gift you have given me, in Him
Oh what a perfect gift you have given me that I should never deserve
Thank you for the perfect present that I seem to forget every day.

I cannot help but think of the other gifts you have given me too.
Thank you for the present of a earthly wife who has taught me so much about You and about myself
Thank you for my parents and the gift they have been to me over these 30 years.
Thanks for the gift of an earthly brother who challenges me every day
Thank you for the gift of 4 amazing children who make me laugh ever day
Thank you for my truly powerful friends, Seth, Jesse, Matt, and so many more
Thank you for the present of a  faith family I have that inspires me to grow every week
Thank you for the material blessings that I truly do not deserve
Thank you for the gift of a job I have
Thank you for the gift of 4 grandparents that taught me about You

Father there are so many gifts that you have given me I can not name them all
Oh Father I praise you tonight because of all the gifts You give me
while I still spit right in your face daily as I trudge through this broken and fallen world
Father, thank you for the gift of eternal life so I can spend more time with you
Thank you for the reminders this time of year of your amazing unconditional love

Father help me to tell others more this coming year about your Son born in the manager
Father, help me to glorify you more as I reach those who are lost
Thank you for those who you will bring across my path
and help me to reach them for you

Merry Christmas Holy Father and I praise you for your Son Jesus just like those shepherds did
so many years ago
Jesus, thank you for coming and dealing with that birth in a manger in front of smelly animals
Praise be to God and His son Jesus for this greatest gift
And thank you father for the reminders each day.

Advent #24-Advanced Messangers

Normally, we think of the gospel story as it begins with the birth of Jesus at Christmas. The angles are there with Mary and Joseph. The manger is in our minds eye along with some shepherds and the three wise men from the east. But Mark, 1:1-3, skips over the birth stories and starts with John the Baptist. Mark compresses the gospel story to its essentials.

For Mark, the gospel story begins with a messenger, a voice crying in the wilderness, "everybody get ready for the Lord! The Lord, the Savior, the Messiah, the very Son of God is coming! He is the all-powerful and all-worthy one. Get ready for Him. Admit, renounce, and turn from your sins and misdeeds. He will be your Lord and fill you with the very Spirit of God. This good news, great news, for our cultural and spiritual wilderness".

There was only one John the Baptist, or course. But all of us also have our own "advance messenger" roles to play in today's wilderness. Who can I speak to and what shall I say to prepare the hearts and minds of those in my circle of contacts for a positive, transforming encounter with Jesus during this Christmas season?

Advent #23-The Word

Each Christmas season I use John 1 many times to highlight and show the importance of the coming of the Word into this world. This passage shows the mystery of the Incarnation and give us 3 important pieces to the mystery.

First, we read of God coming to us with skin on: the "Word became flesh". This is a rare, Christian concept. Most world religions work the other way; people know God only by becoming like God. Here God reverses this by sending His Word, Jesus, in a form we could see, starting as a newborn baby.

Second, in this Incarnation, God comes near. He came and "dwelt among us". Not on Mt. Olympus but near us. This is a feature of Christmas which opens the door to God's nearness to us. Likely you will sing, "Be near me Lord Jesus I ask thee to stay, close by me forever and love me I pray".

Third, the coming is with the fullness of "grace and truth". Only Jesus can tell us the full truth about this world and our lives and yet do that with grace. May the stunning news of Advent amaze us in a way that God comes to us at Christmas.

Advent #22-4th Sunday of Advent

Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent. We participated this Advent season in our church family with the readings and lighting of the Advent Candles. Here are the 4th Sunday readings that we read in church today.

The fourth Sunday readings remind us of the angels. Angels proclaimed the first coming of Christ to the shepherds on the hillside. One day they will proclaim His second coming. At that time, the whole universe will hear it.

Revelations 7:9-12
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb"
All the angles were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever Amen!"


Prayer
"O Lord, raise up, we pray, Your power and come among us, and with great might succor us, that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, Your bountiful grace and mercy may help and deliver us, through the satisfaction of Your Son our Lord, to whom, with You and the Holy Ghost, be honor and glory, world without end. Amen

Advent #21-We Three Kings

Christmas is now days away. Over the last month I have taken a look at 3 different Christmas carols that we sing. Tonight I want to look at the lyrics of my favorite Christmas song.

"We Three Kings"

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

Born a baby on Bethlehem's plain
Gold we bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to rein

Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Pray'r and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high

Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Heaven sings hallelujah

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb

Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

I love this song. I love the words in this song. I love that it highlights what each gift given to Jesus was for and foreshadows. I love the theology of this song and the fact it tells of the true reason for this season. Next time you hear this song and sing it as a carol remember that the baby born in the manger so many years ago came for a bigger reason than the manger and a celebration. Jesus came to earth as a baby to die for our sins, in our place, so that we can spend eternity with Him. This song shows Jesus came to give us a free gift.

Advent #20-Quotable Friday

"Pride is the carbon monoxide of sin. It silently and slowly kills you without you even knowing."

The greatest act of humility took place 2000 years ago in that lowly manger by the greatest normal baby of all.

Advent #19-Pre-Sermon thoughts-Love

 This time of year is a very significant time to have joy, fight to keep it, and then show it to others. Another quality or state of being to have as lovers of Jesus, especially this time of year is love. We all want love. We want love from someone or from something in our lives and this time of year those feelings are compounded 100 times. But we only truly need 1 love in our lives and the definition of it is defined in the one being who is truly love. Lets let the Bible explain what I mean.

Romans 5:8
BUT GOD demonstrates His own love for us in this; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I love this verse and I love the "But God". We were God's enemies and because of our sin we deserved and called for God's justified wrath poured out on us. But God sent His Son in the form of a human baby in a smelly barn with crowd of animals in the small backwoods town of Bethlehem to make us His sons rather than His enemies. God's love for us put Jesus in that barn screaming the birth of a new life. God's love for us had Jesus worshiped by the city outcasts, shepherds, on the first night He was born. God's love for us sent Jesus in the flesh to pee and poop on himself while learning how to walk. God's love for us sent Jesus to stub his toe and smash His finger with a hammer while helping Joseph. God's love for us is the reason Christmas is the time of celebration and joy. God's love for us is all that we need and that love is the definition of love especially during this time of year. But that was not the end of God's love given. Look what Romans says a few verses earlier.

Romans 5:5
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

God's love gave us the same love to share with others. Now during this time of celebration and advent more than ever as we struggle to find the love we desire we should realize that as those who love Jesus we need to give God's love in us to others. That is what this time of year is about. Finding our joy and then sharing God's love in us with others. We have been given the greatest gift ever on the tree now we need to give this same gift in love to others. This should be the time of year that others see our love more than ever and then we are given the chance to share it with them. Do not let the struggle for love affect the showering of love to others. Be filled with the Spirit of joy and love not just during this time but all the time and shine that bright light to the lost who have no idea of God's love for them as they struggle to find the love they know they need

Advent #17-Christmas quote

"The inn was full. No one would release a room to this pregnant women. She had to go to a cow stall and there bring forth the Maker of all creatures because nobody would give way. Shame on you Bethlehem! The inn ought to have been burned with brimstone, for even though Mary had been a beggar maid or unwed, anybody at such a time would have been glad to give her a hand. There are many of you in the congregation who thinks to yourselves; 'If only I had been there! How quick I would have been to help the baby! I would have washed his linen! How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manager!' Yes you would! You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you would have done no better that the people of Bethlehem. Childish and silly thoughts are these! Why don't you do it now? You have Christ in your neighbor. You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighbor in need you do to the Lord Christ himself."~ Martin Luther

Advent #16-Joseph

Tonight I wanted to take a look at a man we do not know much about, Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. We do not know much about Joseph. The Bible does not cover him in to much detail. We know Joseph was living in Nazareth at the time of Jesus conception. We know Joseph was from the line of David and that is why Jesus ended up being born in the stable in Bethlehem. We know Joseph was a carpenter and used his hands to make his family money. And we know Joseph does not seem present at the death of his son 30 years later. But that is about all we know of Joseph the father on earth of God.

So knowing all this and not really at the same time knowing anything I began to think so what can I take away from Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, from the Bible? What can I learn from the life of Jesus earthly father? As I was pondering this and in turn thinking about Jesus birth and the celebration of Christmas I found 3 small truths and important examples that Joseph can show me and inspire me to be like him. All 3 of these examples comes from Joseph's few verses in the book of Matthew particularly chapter 1 verses 19-25.

1) Joseph was a "righteous man". What does that mean? Well first it means he is a follower and a man that lives for the One True God, Yahweh. It means he does what is right in the eyes of God. He followed the Torah, His Bible< our Old Testament>, and let the Torah dictate his life. Joseph did right business practices. He loved his fellow Jews and took care of the poor. Joseph looked out for those around him and was generous with his time, treasures, and talents. He was a worshiper of God and devoted his whole life to following what God commanded him to obey. He was faithful in going to synagogue, church, and gave a tithe to the church. He was a good employee and would someday be able to take care of his family. He was a good son and looked out for his parents and other family members that needed help. Joseph was a mans man. He might not have been the strongest, smartest, or fastest but he was right in the sight of God and that is all that matters. Joseph was a righteous man which should be the description that ever man, husband, and father of God should strive to be. Which then leads to the other 2 things I noticed about Joseph.

2) Joseph was a man of true, unconditional, no matter what, love. Joseph was full of what I would call agape love. Mary, his fiance is pregnant. Joseph could have hauled her before the town and disgraced her and made a fool of her but even in spite of not understanding what Mary is up to he loves her to the point he wants to hide her and let her go quietly so that she will not be humiliated. And that is when the Angel intervenes. Then Joseph takes that love to the next level. In human thinking Joseph must have still been confused and not understood what he was seeing and hearing about Mary and this baby. But Joseph loved Mary so much that he obeyed and took Mary home and did not have sex with her until Jesus came. Joseph's love for Mary caused him to not only not publicly humiliate Mary but instead be humiliated with her as others in the town now ridiculed them both. Imagine how the town of Nazareth for 9 months would ridicule both Mary and Joseph as they stood for what they were told and took the public laughter. No one but Mary and Joseph understood what God was doing. So Joseph loved Mary so much he stood beside her and even protected her with all the shame they felt together. Every man who loves Jesus should strive for this same type of love to all others just like Joseph. This leads me to the 3rd thing I noticed about Joseph.

3)Joseph was a many of obedience. He listened and followed  God to the exact command no matter what happened to him.  First Joseph obeyed God to the point where He did not have sex with his wife so has to defile her and the baby. Just thinking about that one act of obedience make me stand in awe a little of Joseph. Then Joseph obeyed God in his love for Mary, taking her in, protected her and doing all that the angel asked without ever seeming to doubt what all this was to mean. Joseph stood for his God and took Him at His words and followed.  Joseph followed God against the cultural norms of his day. He obeyed God when everyone else around him was saying the exact opposite. Joseph stood for what God said and did it when he was the only one and was even feeling the pull in the opposite directions. O how every man after the heart of God should be just as obedient to God's commands.

Just looking at these 3 traits of Joseph, the father of Jesus, makes me realize he was a great man to lead the earthly family of God. Joseph shows me what a leader in the home looks and acts like. It also makes me realize how far I am of being like Joseph and being a "righteous man". I pray that this coming year I can grow to be more like Joseph as I ever try and be more and more like my Savior Jesus. That is all that Joseph was trying to do also, be more like his Savior, his Son. But I think Joseph gives us a great example and place to start as we chase after the image of Jesus, the baby in the manger.

Advent #15-O Come All Ye faithful

Last week I looked at the Christmas Carol Go Tell It On the Mountain. That got me thinking about the point, words, theology, and application of some of the famous Christmas Carols we sing every year. So I decided to look this week at the carol O Come All Yea Faithful. Here are the lyrics.

O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant 
Oh come ye O come ye to Bethlehem; 
Come and behold him born the King of angels; 
O come let us adore him Christ the Lord. 

God of God light of light 
Lo he abhors not the virgin's womb; 
Very God begotten not created: 
O come let us adore him Christ the Lord. 

Sing choirs of angels sing in exultation 
Sing all ye citizens of heaven above; 
Glory to God in the highest: 
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. 

See how the shepherds summoned to his cradel, 
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh with lowly fear; 
We too will thither hend our joyful footsteps; 
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. 

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; 
Jesus, to thee be glory given; 
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing: 
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Wow, this song teaches us about the faithfulness of a true lover of Jesus. It shows that Jesus is God and teaches us part of the Trinity theology. It also shows that Jesus deserves the glory and praise and is a great reminder during this advent season the point of it all. Even though I am not as big into Christmas time as my lovely wife I true can appreciate the importance, power, and impact the songs we sings during this important and celebrated time of year. Taking this look at some of the carols we sing has really brought me appreciation for the songs we sing to celebrate Jesus birth.

Advent #14-Pre-Sermon thoughts-Generosity

During this advent season I have looked at a few attributes that seem to come to the forefront during the Christmas celebration. I have taken a look at the fight for joy and the contention for peace. As those who love Jesus these are attributes that we must exhibit not only during the Christmas time but we must show them and have them all year round. Tonight I want to take a few minutes to look at the battle for generosity.

 I would like to begin by highlighting 2 verse from the Bible about being generous.

1 Timothy 6:18
"Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

 Psalms 37:26
"They [righteous] are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed"

So first, being generous is a command in the Bible and something that those who are righteous and godly will exhibit in their lives. That is an important truth to remember. Being generous and giving to others, not just during Christmas but all year long, is something that those who love Jesus can and should not escape.

But where does the generous spirit in our lives come from. This is the most important point and if you remember anything from this post this is it. We are to be generous because God and Jesus were generous to us first. Jesus loved us so much He gave us everything when we were His enemies. Jesus came as the baby, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, generously first for us so that we might have life. The generosity in our life must come from that fact. We are to be generous because God was generous and still is everyday for us. That is where the generosity must first start.

Then the generosity must flow from us. Being generous is not something we do or an act we preform but it is something we are. Being a generous person is a state of being. Giving our treasure, (money, possessions, stuff, even family) talents, and time are the ways and areas that we must pour out into others and more importantly pour into God's service. Being generous is a life that is continually building up the kingdom of God rather than building up the person's life. Being generous is selfless and others focused with everything we are. Being generous is about being more and more like Jesus and being less and less like the world and the selfish culture of it. The culture will even tell you to do things for others because it can make us look good. That is the least generous idea out there.

Lastly I want to say that being generous is not easy, it is a battle and struggle. Being generous and pouring your all into others, even to the point of feeling it, takes hard work. Being generous is a fight against the sin nature and flesh. Too many times we wake up in the morning thinking about how much money we will make or the treasures we will gather in the day and instead we should be waking in the morning thinking about how much more we can give away of what we have and who we are. And this is a daily battle for our soul and our testimony.  Remember that the world will see Jesus and His generosity through our generous spirit. It is a battle that we must win to the glory of God.

So during this time of celebration of Jesus most generous gift, his birth and death, battle each day to be more generous in spirit and make it a battle that can be won all year round.

Advent #12-Still waiting

God promised to His people in His Word that the Christmas story and redeemer baby would be born,
Here are some of the verse that tell us this promise.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

from ancient times.

Even though the birth of Jesus is in the past to us we still have a promise from God that we to can look forward to and wait for in anticipation.

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

We as His people today are waiting on His promise to.

Advent #11-Fulfilling the Promises

One of the excitements of this time of year, especially in children, is the anticipation of Christmas day and the joy and blessings of gifts under the tree. We as lovers of Jesus know that Jesus is the greatest gift we have ever received but sometimes we forget there was a promise and anticipation for Him for not just 30 days but thousands of years. Jesus was promised way back in Genesis 3 and for many years people were anticipating His coming as their greatest gift, not under the tree but on it. Here are some of the verse talking about the promise of His coming.

Genesis 3:15 "I will put enmity between you and the women, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel".

Genesis 12:1-3 "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'go from your country and kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed".

Here is a list of a bunch more passage from the Bible that show the promise of Jesus first coming to be the true redeemer.

Ruth 4:13-17
2 Samuel 7:8-16
Psalms 2
Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 9:2-7
Isaiah 11:1-9
Micah 5:2

So Jesus was promised and the people looked forward in anticipation of the greatest gift of all. But we are just like those people thousands of years ago. We too in the world today are looking forward to the promise of the greatest gift coming back for His church. We, just like our children, have something to anticipate and look forward to anxiously. The 2nd Coming of the greatest gift, Jesus.

Advent #10-Go tell it on the Mountain

Here are the lyrics to a Christmas Carol that we defiantly need reminding of. During this time of year we need to remember to share with others the joy, peace, and love that Jesus birth brought to the world. This should be the time of year that Jesus lovers should be shouting from the roof tops what and why He came to save us. This is one of the easiest, most important, and greatest times of year to tell others about Jesus. Please go tell it on the mountain because if we do not tell others Jesus and worship Him, the rocks and trees might just start doing it for us!

Go Tell It On the Mountain
While shepherds kept their watching
Over silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens,
There shone a holy light:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Saviour's birth:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And God send us salvation,
That blessed Christmas morn:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

When I am a seeker,
I seek both night and day;
I seek the Lord to help me,
And He shows me the way:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

Advent #9-The innkeeper

When I was growing up I was part of a Christmas production as a shepherd. In most Christmas productions there is always some sort of innkeeper that tells Mary and Joseph that there is no room in the inn for them to stay. As an adult now I find this character, in our Christmas productions, very interesting. When you read the Christmas story from the book of Luke, there is no character the innkeeper. Luke simply records for us, "she...laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn". See there is no recording of an innkeeper telling Joseph that he has no room in his inn but Joseph can stay in the stable in the back. This has become a 21st century add to make the story more interesting and help us to feel bad about Mary.

But I guarantee there were a bunch of inn keepers in Bethlehem that night, the night that the King of Heaven was born. And I bet these innkeepers were busy guys filled to the full with guest. The decree by Caesar meant that a lot of people were moving around in Judea that day. Many different people would have been coming and going in Bethlehem because they all had to follow Roman rule. Which means that all the inns and places to stay were full of people and very busy. The inn keepers in Bethlehem that day were probably stressed out from all the people. I bet the inn keepers were also happy men as their pockets of money got full from all the guest. These men would have been focused on their jobs, dealing with the stress of the day, and thinking about everything taking place in their inns. And yet, these men were so focused on their work and income that they probably all missed the young pregnant women and her man walking through town. The inn keepers thought about their guest and all the money and missed the extraordinary events happening just down the road in a barn. These men were so focused on their lives and their little worlds that they missed the greatest even to happen up to that point in history. And just like these men, with their inns, are never mentioned in Scripture, they probably missed it all and the events of Jesus coming that day.

But we are just like the inn keepers. We think about our own lives, our jobs, our income, our busy schedules, the stresses of life, and even the people coming and go in our lives. And we, just like the inn keepers, miss Jesus coming into our worlds. We get so self-focused that we miss God working next to us and sometimes even miss God working in us. And we do not even have any excuse. Jesus tells us that He is with us and has give the power of the Spirit to work in us and we still miss it. The inn keepers missed Jesus first coming that night in Bethlehem. God is calling us now, so that we do not become so self-focused that we miss Jesus in our lives every day. Because if we miss seeing Jesus work in our lives every day, will that mean we miss His second coming?

Advent #8-Final Sermon thoughts-Joy

Joy- it is an important character trait or state of being, during this time of year. It seems that most people are either filled with joy during the celebration of Jesus' birth or they are lacking joy completely. So over the last week as I began to prepare for the advent of our Savior I began to formulate some actions that I can do to fight to keep this joy in my life. As lovers of Jesus and His witnesses to the world we need to continually be filled with joy so a fight to keep it in our lives is paramount. So here are some of the actions and mindsets I have come up with that we can put into practice first during this advent season and secondly all year round.

1-Joy is a gift. We need to realize that ultimately joy in our lives is a gift and blessing from God the Father. We cannot have joy in our lives if first Jesus did not come and die in our place. Then we need to realize that in reality that is all the joy we need to sustain us in this life, the joy in Jesus and His death for our freedom. But above all that God then gives us joy in our lives as a gift to carry us through all of life and its moments.

2- Joy tied to faith. Where our faith in God goes so goes our joy. If we rest steadfastly in God and who He is and what he has done then joy will spring from deep within us.

3- Joy is connected to sin. I have come to realize that my level of joy is connected to the sin or level of sin in my life. If I am open to the prodding conviction of the Spirit in my life driving the sin out of my life, He will then allow and guide my level of joy to increase as the sin leaves my being. The more sin in my life and the more confessed and unrepentant sin in my life the less joy I will have.

4- Joy in the Bible. The more we read God's word and mediate on what it says to us the more joy we will have. The deeper I dive into what God is telling about Himself or the plans He has for me the more filled with joy I become. I realize the depth of His love from His words and how much He reveals to me drives the engine of joy.

5- Joy from Prayer. I find and I do not believe it is coincidental that the more I pour out to God the more He gives me joy. When we spend time in prayer to God the level of joy in our lives will increase. The longer we pray and the frequency of our prays will sustain us in the fight to keep our lives filled with joy. The level of joy in our lives goes up and down with the level of praying we do and the closeness we stay with God.

6- Joy in friends. When my level of joy is low and my tank of joy is empty I go to my close friends to get a fill up. When we find that the fight for joy is waning we need to find those in our lives who can fill us up with joy.

7- Joy in generosity. This one is very simple. When we think of others before our own self and when we pour our lives into others around us, especially those around us in need, our level and fight for joy will overflow. The opposite then is true- want to have less joy in your life? Then think only about yourself and be self focused.

8- Joy sustained by health. This is an important one to remember and realize during this time of year as we eat a lot of food, party with family, and struggle to get exercise. The level of joy in our lives can be effected by the diet or amount of food we eat. It can be effected by the rest or lack of it we get. And joy can be effected by the exercise we take. Remember that a fit more healthy body will affect the mind and soul and then our joy in turn.

As lovers of Jesus we need to be filled with joy and during the advent season joy is a huge character trait we must be showing to others.

Advent #7-My greatest earthly gift

The greatest gift I have ever received in my life, Christmas or not, was my beautiful beloved. Today we celebrate 11 years of amazing covenant love. God has truly blessed me beyond words that I can say, by bring me into a relationship with my beloved. Here are some thoughts about us and Christmas and how it all changed forever when I said I do.

Thinking over the last 11 great years of marriage I can say without a doubt my Christmas mindset and understanding changed forever. My wife loves Christmas and has the spirit of the season in her heart all year round. She puts her heart and soul into the celebration of Jesus birth. Since we have been married we have started new traditions as a family and I have watch more Christmas movies and different versions of the carols than I ever knew existed.

 Christmas changed because I never realized the joy that my kids would bring to the season. Watching them open their gifts and the joy in their faces as we sit around as a family and celebrate the season is a treasure that I will never forget. Staying up all night on Christmas eve building their gifts.  Even watching them as babies play with the boxes rather than the gift is wonderful and a blessing to me.

But I will never forget my first Christmas with the love of my life. It started to snow on Christmas eve to the point where I ran over a stop sign with her car on the way back to her parents house from a party. Then my car got stuck in her parents driveway and we had to drive her car to my parents house. That night while sleeping in my sleeping bag in front of the fire a spark flew out and burned right threw my bag and into my leg, waking me up.  Then on Christmas day I spent at least 2 hours in the car with my sister-in-law to be and her husband listening to Christmas in the Caribbean because it had snowed so much we could not drive my beloved's  car. But through all of that I realized from that year on how my Christmas season would never be the same.

And the biggest thing I realized is that my Christmas season would never be the same because of others in my life. That is the reason for the season, others and bringing joy and blessings into their season. Jesus came to bring us joy and blessings with His life and that season I realized that that is what my Christmas season should be about from then on. Do for others what Jesus did for me. Make others more important than myself and bless others through my life. So honey, turn on the next Christmas movie and lets cozy up and watch it together because you have changed my Christmas ideas, traditions, and thoughts forever.

Advent #5-The Baby Ruler

With the advent season now almost a week in, I have been thinking a lot about Jesus and what His birth actually means. During the Christmas season we tend to think most of the time about Jesus in the manger and the story around His physical birth. Some others of us will realize that Jesus physical birth to Mary happened so that He might then 33 years later have a physical death to save His people from their sins. Some others will even contemplate about the fact that His physical birth in the manager sets the stage for His physical 2nd coming on the white horse with His people mentioned in Revelation 19. But I have been reminded of an amazing truth that I seem to forget about Jesus and a verse from Hebrews that goes along with it.

Hebrews 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.

I forgot an important truth that this verse points out. Jesus is one person with two natures, divine and human, such that He upheld the world by the word of His power while living in His mother's womb. The baby born in the manger with the physical blood and screams of a new born was at the same time caring for and loving them, in His powerful sovereign way, the women and man present as His birth. The baby being born was at the same moment in supreme control of those events. Wow. The incarnation of Jesus is an amazing mystery that we should be praising God for everyday, because without those divine truths we are all hopeless. The baby that was born those many years ago, was the same being that whispered the stars into existence. The Creator of the universe chose in all humility to come through the birth of a women. Christ and His two natures was in full effect from the moment of conception. Praise be all glory to the King of the universe in that manger.

Advent #4-Greatest Christmas thought

Today I would like to share my favorite quote on the advent from C.S. Lewis. C.S. Lewis, who I consider the most influential theologian of the 20th Century, had many good things to say and reminds us of during this important time of year. This quote is what I believe to be the most powerful and important thought on the celebration of of the coming of God into the flesh.

"In the Christian story God descends to reascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still, if embryologists are right, to recapitulate into the womb ancient and pre-human phases of life; down to the very roots and seabed of the Nature He has created. But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world with Him. One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden. He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders". 

I pray that we never forget why Jesus actually came into that manger so long ago. Without the manger we would not be able to have the cross.

Advent #3-Mary did you know?

It is the Christmas season. Which means in my house and in the car with my family, it is Christmas music all the time and all the time there is Christmas music. Which then leads to the songs being stuck in my head. Well today I have one stuck in my head to the point I can not stop singing it. As you probably can tell from the title, what the song is. I find this song interesting and thought provoking. First, what did Mary actually know? The angel told her who the baby was, but did she know enough of her Bible to realize the depth or width of this child's life? Did Mary realize and rejoice like Eve did when Eve had her first child after the fall? We know that at some point Mary must have forgotten something because she is found later in the story tracking down Jesus with her other sons, thinking he is mad or crazy or something that He is actually not. So at what point did Mary know? So read over the lyrics to the song and realize that on the night of the babies birth, Mary, with the little knowledge she did have, was hold God in the flesh.

Mary did you know?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will make a blind man see?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the mute will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

Advent #2-Family Time

With the holiday season upon on, we are probably going to spend some time with our family. Spending time with my family has got my mind pondering my faith family also. My faith or church family has become very important to me over the last few months and I have discovered that sometimes my faith family is even closer and more important to me than my real family. The New Testament is full of commands and words for the faith family. Jesus and the New Testament writers tell the members of the church to act and do many things for the other members of the church. These commands are sometimes called the "one another" passages. I want to take a look at some of these commands to remind myself as family times happen during this season there is also actions I need to be doing for my faith family.

care for one another- 1 Cor. 10:16
love one another- John 13:34-35
host one another-1 Peter 4:9
receive one another- Romans 15:7
honor one another-Romans 12:10
serve one another-Gal. 5:13
instruct one another- Romans 15:14
forgive one another-Col. 3:13
motivate one another- Hebrews 10:24
build up one another- 1 Thes. 5:13
encourage one another- 1 Thes. 5:11
comfort one another- 2 Cor. 1:3-7
pray for one another- James 5:16
confess sin to one another- James 5:16
esteem one another- Philippians 2:3
edify one another- Romans 14:19
teach one another- Col. 3:16
show kindness to one another- Eph. 4:32
give to one another- Acts 2:45
rejoice with one another- 1 Cor. 12:27
weep with one another- Romans 12:15
hurt with one another- Romans 12:15
restore one another- Galatians 6:1-5

Listing all of these commands out in a list has made me realize I have a long way to go until I am truly fulfilling my duty and role in my faith family. I pray that as we spend time with our family and our faith family during this coming time of celebration of Jesus' birth, that we will remember the importance of our actions to one another as a faith family.

Advent #1-Peace-Sermon afterthought

Peace, it is one of those words that is tossed around during the Christmas season. "We need to find our peace and discover it during this time of rapid activity", is what some would say. Others will state "that it is overrated and will never be had during this busy time". Some will shout "how can we have peace when there is war, famine, and world wide poverty that is killing millions each week". Peace, it is the controversial word that always comes up during the advent season. But for me I always go back and start first at what the Word of God says about something so lets take a look at a verse that talks about peace.

1 Timothy 2:1-2
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for everyone...that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness"

So Paul is urging us to live peaceful lives. So I would say then that a life full of peace should be found and chased after. We as lovers of Jesus know that this side of eternity true peace will not be found completely. There will always be wars, famine, poverty, and strife that stops peace because we live in a broken world full of sin, evil, and the work of Satan. But that should not stop us from living lives full of peace which is connected to godliness and holiness. OK so there is the ground work and starting point, we need to live lives of peace.

I will be the first person to tell you living a life of peace is a battle. Peace just like joy, love, and generosity are states of being that must be fought for and battled to keep in our lives. Peace does not come easy. Look at all the distractions, evils, and temptations that will keep us from experiencing true peace. But that is why we need to contend for peace and keeping it in our lives. The media, culture, world, others, and even ourselves will continually be telling us peace in our lives cannot be grasped. But the Bible says it differently. Peace can be attained and even kept in our lives but not without a fight. The battle for peace is a battle that takes place each day. It is a war that is fought hour by hour and even minute by minute but it is a fight that we need to contend as lovers of Jesus.

And look at this one verse from Timothy. Peace in our lives leads to godliness and holiness. These are 2 amazing things to have in our lives and descriptions to have of our character. Godliness and holiness are the most sought after and desired traits to have in one's life who truly loves Jesus. Peace in our lives will truly have amazing results. As I have been pondering the idea of peace I started to think of a few people I know that seem to keep winning the battle for peace. Peace in our lives will show to others. Others will know we keep winning the war for peace and then desire it in there lives also. Contend for peace, win the battle, keep it in life because it will have far reaching affects for the kingdom.

So winning the battle for peace is essential but again I will tell you, along with I think my wife, that I loose the battle for a peaceful spirit a,lot in my life. But here are a few things that I think will help in the contention for peace in our lives and Paul lays it right out for us in the verse above. First, a prayer life that's connected to God will grow and in effect bring peace in our lives. When we are continually taking what we are experiencing back to God and laying it at His feet to deal with, peace from that will come to replace some of the anxiety. A life of thanksgiving is the second step in the contention for peace. When we are thankful to God for what He gives us we will forget the current struggle and distraction in our lives. When we are thankful for the blessings God graciously gives in Jesus everything else pales. And I think a third step in battling for peace is, in saturate yourself in the Words of God. When we hear what God is telling us in His word, it will fill us with peace and draw us closer to His heart where true peace can be found.

A peaceful spirit and life of peace must be contended for and this time of year can and will magnify the desires for it but it will also hinder it and stop it more. We must contend, fight, battle, and even struggle for the life and spirit of peace because others will know and we will show what the true reason for the celebration is in Christmas. When we daily win the war for peace others will desire to be more in love with Jesus just like we are. I pray that you will experience some of the peace of God during this time so others will know about the baby and why He truly came.

Thanksgiving leftovers

Psalms 118:21 "I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation."

I pray everyone had a blessed thanksgiving and that we were all able to reflect and be thankful for the amazing God who loves us and lets us know He loves us. As I was pondering the holiday and then the fact Christmas is now weeks away I started to think about the correlation between thanksgiving and hope.

I shared a few days ago about what the focus of our thanksgiving should be. I believe that most Jesus lovers are very thankful people. Those of us who love Jesus truly are thankful for the ways He loves us. We are thankful for the blessings and gifts that God gives us, like our friends, family, material blessings, and spiritual blessings. We are truly a thankful people for how God showers acts of grace on us, His children. But has I pointed out in that post, we tend to miss a lot of the time that it is God that we should be thankful for. Yes, be thankful for the things He give us, but it should be focused primarily on who God is. Be thankful for the fact of God as the creator, sustainer, and Being we can have as a Father. To truly be thankful to God we must enjoy and bask in who God is and all that means. Be thankful for the blessings but more importantly be thankful for GOD and JESUS.

As, I was pondering the Christmas season coming up I began to think about hope also I am finding out in my life and the life of other Jesus lovers, we can fall into the trap of hope and the focus of hope the same way as thanksgiving. What should we hope in? I find in my life sometimes I am hoping in what God can do for me. I am hoping in the fact God can provide me with a better financial state, or a position in the ministry, or even little things like a better car. But when I am hoping in what God can do or change for me I miss the point. Yes, when I pray I should hope in what I am praying for and hope in God doing something for me, but I should be hoping in God. When I hope in God I should hope in who God is with all His attributes and qualities. I should hope in God and His love for me, His power to help me grow, His provisions for me, His answers for me. I should be hoping in all that God is and let Him do for me and my prayers what He desires. I find if I hope in what God can do, what happens when He sees it differently and acts differently then my hope? Hope in God so that my hope will never change or be crushed.

I find a connection here between my thanksgiving and my hope. Yes, it is good to be thankful and hope in what God can do, BUT WE NEED TO TRULY JUST BE THANKFUL AND HOPEFUL IN WHO GOD IS FOR US. That is a lesson and reminder that I need to preach to myself daily because then in all that God allows this life to throw at me, I will always be thankful for everything and hopeful in all of life.

I pray as we approach Christmas, our hope in God and in the power of His Son will grow.

Quotable Friday

"Sin is unwillingness to trust that what God wants is our deepest happiness"~St. Ignatius

Thanksgiving Assesment

1. Do you find it easier to complain than to give thanks?
2. Are you easily irritated and quickly impatient?
3. Do mundane hassles get under your skin?
4. Would the people who live nearest to you characterize you as a thankful person or a complaining person?
5. Do you look at your world and find many reasons to complain because things aren’t going your way?
6. Do you look at your world and find yourself blown away at the many reasons you have every day to give thanks?
7. Do you view yourself as one who has been constantly short-changed and neglected?
8. Do you view yourself as one who has been showered with blessings?
9. How often do you grumble “If only I had _____” or “I wish that _____ was different”?
10. How often do you whisper thanks to God or communicate thanks to those around you?

Here are 10 questions I was asked this week and have been praying about as I think of my thankful heart.

Thanksgiving desert

Colossians 2:6-7 "So then, just as you received Jesus Christ as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness".

So I have often wondered, in a somewhat sinful way, how can I recognize a thankful person? How do I know if someone is thankful for what they have or not? As I ponder these questions, I think the real question that I am asking is, what is the result of thanksgiving in a person's life?

I think there are many ways a thankful person can reveal himself or herself to others. But I would like to focus on 2 important ways that a lover of Jesus will show others they are thankful in their heart. I want to highlight 2 results of thankfulness.

The first result that thankfulness brings into the life of a person is joy. Someone who is truly thankful for blessings from God, whether it is people or stuff, is the person finding great joy in what they have. If I am truly a joyful person, even if I have very little, I am thankful for it and find joy in every circumstance or gift given. A thankful person realizes that God is the great giver of gifts, starting with His Son, and they will find joy in everything that their Heavenly Father and loving Lord does and gives. Joy in a thankful person will emulate everywhere if they are thankful.

The second result of a person being thankful is generosity flowing from them. A person who truly is thankful for what they do have wants to share those gifts and blessing with others. They want to share with others next to them that might not have as much blessing and gifts A thankful person is also always looking to pour into others around them and shower them with the great blessings and gifts they have been given and ultimately share the thankful spirit with them. The flow of a generous spirit is always started at the fountain of thankfulness.

Both of theses results are also a great way to check the thankfulness level in our hearts. If we are struggling in the joy factor and are not feeling generous to others maybe we should start to be more thankful deep from within and let that thankfulness flow out for others to see in our joy and generosity.

Tomorrow I will have 10 questions for us to ponder on the Holiday! Enjoy and God bless this thanksgiving season.

Thanksgiving side dishes

Hebrews 12:28 " Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, "

When we truly stop and think for just a few moments we have a ton of things to be thankful for.

We can be thankful for our health; whether we have come through a trial this year, have not had any health problems this year, or are feeling good right now even as a health struggle is going on.

We can be thankful for the relationships in our lives; like a great friend that encourages and strengthens us, or a child that might bring us great joy, or even a spouse that loves us even in our worst moments.

We can be thankful for the material stuff in our lives; like a warm dry house, or a car that can take us places, or even a refrigerator that keeps the milk cold and the ice cream frozen.

We could be thankful for the job that drives us nuts sometimes.

We could be thankful for the church family the showers blessings on us.

We could be thankful for our freedom and the privilege it is to live in this time and place.

We can even be thankful for the small things in life; like I am thankful for the A I just received on the past essay test I took.

We have a lot to be thankful for and it might only take a few moments of thinking to come up with a dozen or more.

But what should be the true focus of our thanksgiving? God and God alone.

Who gave me the A on that test, or gave me the great friends, wife and kids? Who provided the job and gave me the house and car? Who's money is it that bought the tv or food I just ate? Who ultimately is providing the turkey and deep fryer to cook it in for Thanksgiving? God and God alone. Every blessing I have is given by God and He is the source for all I have. Yes, be thankful for people and things but God should be where the thanksgiving starts, stops, and always be.

So this Thursday as we are thankful for a ton of thinks and people, remember that God should be the focus of all the thanks we give because without Him and more importantly Jesus death, we have no reason to be thankful for anything.

Thanksgiving Turkey

Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Being thankful is a command in the Bible so over the next few days leading up to Thursday I want to reflect on a few things about thanksgiving and the spirit of being thankful. Tonight I want to focus on the purpose of thanksgiving and why the reason behind it is so important.

There are many reasons behind the idea of thanksgiving. There are many factors that can contribute to it and a lot of reasons we are commanded to be thankful. Being thankful will create a joyful people, it will stir in our hearts a love for God and others around us. But one of the biggest reasons for the command to be thankful is the perspective it brings.

When we are thankful for life, others, blessings, and the many great things we have, it will keep us in the right perspective. When I am thankful for the blessings from God it keeps me humble to realize what He does for me and what I could never do for myself. When I am thankful for friends and the joy I find in them, it keeps me in the right frame of mind where I cherish them and do not feel arrogant towards them. When I am thankful for family (especially my beautiful beloved) it keeps my mind focused on their needs and my perspective is set on them and not on my own life. When I am thankful for my health and the amazing life I have in this country, it keeps me in awe of the greatness of others in medicine or those who gave me my freedom.

What I believe is the correct perspective for thanksgiving is humility. To truly be thankful first we must be humble, it is a prerequisite. I find this to be true in my life. When I am arrogant, prideful, and focused on my own stuff, I am never thankful. But when I am stripped down and humbled, then and only then am I truly thankful for everything. When I am humbled to the point where I ask, "Why me", I find I can be truly thankful for the blessings that I do have. The less I have the more I seem thankful for what I do have. I have truly discovered that humility leads to truly being thankful.

So the purpose and command for being thankful is to drive us to our knees and be humble. Next time we find it hard to be thankful, first check the level of humility in our lives.

Worship

The gathering together of the church for worship is an act of reversal; it is an act of reversing our loves.
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “We don’t go to church to worship, we come to church already worshiping.” Our days are not marked with worshipless moments. We are always giving our hearts in worship towards some end — like running water that must move and wind around and fill up, worship is ever flowing out of us. When sin entered the garden, Adam’s and Eve’s worship wasn’t diminished, it was simply redirected.

Augustine defined sin as disordered love. Sin has everything to do with love. God created us to worship him as an end in himself, and he designed us to love people and this planet in a way that would magnify his goodness and greatness. Such a disposition would create the deepest happiness in our souls. But sin entered our hearts, and those loves became reversed. We now love the world and ourselves as an end, and we view God as a means to that end.

Our hearts have a God-designed relentless propensity to cleave and unite to God himself. But because of sin and its distortion of our loves, we glue these transient things to ourselves and perpetually tear our souls apart. However, when the Spirit of God awakens us to see our Father’s faithful love in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he enables us to see Jesus as our glorious Savior. This divine gift of grace begins the reversal process in our souls, and everything we do from that point on is a progression of love and enjoyment and delight in God as the end for which we were created.

Gathering together as the church is one way we fight for ordered love in our hearts. When we come together, we prompt each other, “Look up! Behold our God!”

Spiritual Discipline

Most people already live according to an informal rule of Spiritual growth, especially those who desire and want to grow more in love with Jesus. But most people do this informally and do not have an intentional thought process in the growth of becoming more like Jesus and less like the world. Many years of my Christian walk with Jesus were spent like this, growing or desiring to grow but without any intentional thought to it. This resulted in not much growth or transformation into the image of Jesus. Thanks to three mentors and an accountability partner, now I have begun to understand what it means to grow more like Jesus and do it intentionally. If we are to grow more like Jesus we are to act like Him and speak like Him.  Jesus did everything intentionally. The intentional disciplines and rules in my life include the following; accountability partner, community, confession, prayer, devotional reading, Communion, mentoring, prayer partner, Sabbath, unity, family, silence and solitude, stewardship, and finally worship.