Rest without stress is God's best!

When you think of rest, you get nothing but stress, when God offers rest, you get nothing but His best! (Matthew 11:28-30). Most people when they think of rest, are really thinking of the rest they are not getting. Which brings on a state of restlessness or stress. It is not until we can just stop and breathe a bit, do we truly rest and get the relaxation we need to think clearly.

In the bible God offers us His rest, and with that rest a comfort. A rest that reaches deep down into our souls. This is a rest we would love to have, yet stay tired searching for it in all the wrong places. Matthew 11:28 says-"Come to Me, (God) all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I (God) will give you rest. One key word in that verse is will, God without a doubt will give you rest if you give it all to Him!

I hear people all the time talking about, how they wish they could rest. They do not sleep well, they wake up more tired then when they went to bed. The question I ask them, how did you, and what did you take to bed with you. Meaning what are you thinking about, or wrestling with when you try and go to sleep? Most times it is work, spouse troubles, and even still money issues, that threaten a peaceful evening.

This is an area where the serenity prayer comes in handy and is very helpful for getting our focus back on what God wants to do for us in our rest life! God, grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. This prayer has been a comfort to many people over the years, and has helped get their thought life focused.

What prayer does, it takes the focus off us, and what we cannot handle, to God and what He can, and wants too! Take time, take a moment just to get quiet, to truly try and turn your worries and stress over to Him. He wants them, and promises to give us rest and to make our burdens lighter.

Trusting or just saying the words?

You, will never know how much you help anyone, until you stop trying to convince yourself you cannot! (Phil. 4:13) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Is a verse continually quoted and probably believed less! What I mean by that is, people use that verse quite often for encouragement. Yet, they quote, and usually go with what they cannot not do, over what they can do in Christ!

Too quote a verse is one thing, to allow it to come alive in your life by faith, is another. We can quote many verses of scripture,  but if we do not have the faith to live it out, or expect God to do what it says He will. Generally we come up empty and we become discouraged because God has let us down. His word is living and powerful, and means just that, it is alive and works.

We have to strengthen our faith by waiting on God, and allowing Him to work in His time and not ours. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17. It takes more than a quote to see God work, we need to be in the word God and allowing it to come alive in us! If we live out His word, at least as much, as we do our feelings and opinions, the power we could have, and the help we could be.

We can never be a genuine help to anyone, if we do not believe that God can, and will honor His word. Remember it is not by our strength, it is by the faith and strength we get in Christ. Ephesians 6:10 says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might! We have to come to the place, trust that God honors prayers by faith, and will do what He says He will.

Then and only then will we be the help we can be, never talking ourselves out of helping, because we are built up in our faith. When we trust God completely, when we can truly stand on His promises, there is nothing we cannot do! This is not the power of positive thinking, this is the power and faith in God's word, active and living! We become doers of the word, and not hearers only!  

Are you a tender or pretender?

If you truly care for people you take time. When you act like you care for people, you find ways around that time!! (John 21:15-17) There are many who may disagree with me here, but if you are called to be a pastor, you are called to care for the flock. Today so many people feel that growth in the church comes in numbers. Not so at all, it is the quality in those numbers that is important!

As shepherds we are responsible for the flock no matter the size, we will stand before God and give an accounting. (II Cor.5:9-11) This is speaking of Christians in general, yet it has no less meaning for pastors! James tells us that we will, as teachers, be held to a higher standard vs.1. If we truly search the scriptures, we will see without a doubt, we have a greater responsibility!

The term shepherd is used in many ways from Jesus too the epistles, they are to care for, nurture, protect, the flock from any harm! They are to leave the 99 and go after the 1. They cannot do that if the flock is too big to handle or they are expecting everyone else to do what they have been called to do! You notice I used the term called? I feel today that has been lost in translation somehow.

Ministry, is just that ministry. It is not a job, it is not a position we attain too because we are popular! It is a calling of God to care for His people. We are to be an example of Jesus, touchable, sensitive, compassionate, and most importantly someone who has time for them! If we are the senior Pastor of a congregation, we are no less responsible for that congregation.

Though we may need help, we are still accountable for what is going on in the body of Christ! We still need to meet with our leaders to be brought up to speed, and to still handle the more difficult situations. If we indeed look at it as a job, a position to the next level we are missing the point and God's intention for that office.

I love the challenge of Jesus to Peter in John 21:15-17-So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord; you know that I love You. He said to him, feed my lambs. 16-He said to him and second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? He said to Him, yes, Lord; You know I love You. He said to him tend My sheep. 17-He said to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me? Peter was grieved because He said to him a third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, feed my sheep.

We are either tending His sheep or pretending to be, no matter, the tenders are called, and the pretenders are doing a job! God and the flock know the difference, do you as a shepherd? Why, if you are truly called, would you not care or be concerned, and take the time to know, what is truly going on in your church. Don't just take peoples word for it. Go, show them you care enough to take the time. Be the filler in the cracks they are falling through, and see if that will not make the difference in just growing numbers or growing disciples!

Just keep praying!

When it seems like God is not answering prayer, it does not mean, He is not answering prayer, it just means, He wants us to continue to pray! I Thessalonians 5:17-18

Lord I can go no further!

Just when you feel you cannot take one more step, do one more thing, or help one more person, that is exactly the place God has you, to show true strength! (II Corinthians 12:10)-The Apostle Paul had gone through many things in his ministry, and probably did not need to face another. Yet God had a plan to show Paul that he was not running on his own power, but the power and grace of God!

Paul was told, it was in his time of weakness, that God's strength is revealed. When we feel we cannot go any further, push any harder, that is where God can use us best. Especially, if we continue our focus on Him and His power in our lives, and not focus on our circumstances! Jesus told Paul that His strength was made perfect in weakness.

Paul understood at that point how God could use him completely. Paul had to surrender all himself, and realize that God can and will use any situation to His glory. Paul found release and contentment in this, as we see by his response in II Cor. 12:10-Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Why? Because he became completely dependent upon God for all his resources, for all his needs. How about us? Where do we seek our resources to accomplish the things for God we would like? Is it in our all for Him, or His all in us? There is a difference for sure! Sometimes when we are giving our all for Jesus, we tend to do a whole lot on our own, and when we get to the burnout place in ministry we become defeated.

When we come to this place, that is where we can be the most use to God, if we surrender and humble ourselves. If we come to the throne of grace, and seek mercy, we will find exactly, the help at just the right time of need. When we truly come to the place when we understand, that His grace is sufficient for us, then we will be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us!

Quiet is good and healthy!

One day being still, one day being quiet, means one day of truly listening and hearing what people have to say! Listen and learn! (Proverbs 1:5). It's not how much you say, or the answers you give, sometimes just an ear that people need! Proverbs says, a wise man will hear. That means a wise person knows when to be quiet. Knows when it is just best to listen.

Though counselors and pastors are learning this more each day, it is still a struggle for most, not to have an answer for the questions asked. Well, that is not what folks need sometimes. All they may need is an attentive ear, and a humble heart. If we are truly listening. if we are truly hearing, what they are trying to say, then when the right time comes we will be ready to say to say what needs to be said. We will know that without really trying at all

We as counselors and pastors learn, is with our ability to listen, that Proverb says, a wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.

Quiet is good and healthy why? Because in it we learn, we gain wisdom ourselves, we attain or acquire wise  counsel ourselves. When we do this we gain the ability, and resources to help, and have the right answers at just the right time. Because wisdom leads and knowledge guides, it helps anyone think before they feel, and before they have to act!

Worth a mile to get a smile!

It is worth the mile that you walked by their side, when you bring a smile to someones heart! (Micah 6:8)-He has shown you , O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. It becomes so worth the effort and sacrifice to walk beside someone, especially when you see God's lesson of life for you.

The reason being, one day it could be you that needs a smile, or someone just to walk with you on your journey. Coming into a place of loneliness was never God's intention for us. Doing it all by ourselves was not either. First and foremost, we always have Him by our side, and secondly, even when we do not see it right away, He has put that one special person there also.

It is not until we walk in someones shoes, as the expression goes, that we learn to appreciate a smiling heart. It is not until we see, as we exhort and encourage, instead of correct and direct someone, that  we really understand the journey a person may be traveling. Just the right time, as you are holding their hand and walking by their side, that a warmth overwhelms you.

Going to the Sunday Breakfast Mission is just such a place to experience this type of smiling. Not what we may have to offer them, but what they do for us when we are genuine. When we are not there to pity or feel sorry for them, but just love them in Jesus. A warmth greets you as you walk through the door as they light up with smiles, call your name, and greet you with a hug!

That is when you realize the walk was worth the journey. It is then you understand by humility, the phrase, walking in their shoes, because it come alive by their reaching out to you. Their encouraging words to you, when you have come to encourage them. Wow what a reversal of roles, what a change of plans God has in His time and His way!

It is only when you are humbly willing to walk beside, instead of ahead or behind, that we come to understand the rewards of a smile. The warmth that comes along with that smile, because you were willing to put on another persons shoes for a time. To walk for a while in the discomfort that comes with shoes that may not fit because that is exactly what God did for you!

Worth a mile to get a smile!

It is worth the mile that you walked by their side, when you bring a smile to someones heart! (Micah 6:8)-He has shown you , O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. It becomes so worth the effort and sacrifice to walk beside someone, especially when you see God's lesson of life for you.

The reason being, one day it could be you that needs a smile, or someone just to walk with you on your journey. Coming into a place of loneliness was never God's intention for us. Doing it all by ourselves was not either. First and foremost, we always have Him by our side, and secondly, even when we do not see it right away, He has put that one special person there also.

It is not until we walk in someones shoes, as the expression goes, that we learn to appreciate a smiling heart. It is not until we see, as we exhort and encourage, instead of correct and direct someone, that  we really understand the journey a person may be traveling. Just the right time, as you are holding their hand and walking by their side, that a warmth overwhelms you.

Going to the Sunday Breakfast Mission is just such a place to experience this type of smiling. Not what we may have to offer them, but what they do for us when we are genuine. When we are not there to pity or feel sorry for them, but just love them in Jesus. A warmth greets you as you walk through the door as they light up with smiles, call your name, and greet you with a hug!

That is when you realize the walk was worth the journey. It is then you understand by humility, the phrase, walking in their shoes, because it come alive by their reaching out to you. Their encouraging words to you, when you have come to encourage them. Wow what a reversal of roles, what a change of plans God has in His time and His way!

It is only when you are humbly willing to walk beside, instead of ahead or behind, that we come to understand the rewards of a smile. The warmth that comes along with that smile, because you were willing to put on another persons shoes for a time. To walk for a while in the discomfort that comes with shoes that may not fit because that is exactly what God did for you!

What to do when sadness abounds, PRAY!

With the sadness that surrounds us, we need to look beyond us, hold onto and love those who are close to us, AND PRAY! (Phil.4:6-7) I have many people in my life who mean so much to me. They all hold a place in my heart. Yet if I do not take the time to pray for them, to lift them up in their time of need, or not, how much do I truly care?

I am part of a ministry that is built on prayer. The Way Ryders, a motorcycle ministry. These folks have a heart for God, and they are on call for prayer duty 24 hours a day. When called upon they respond. I cannot always go, but they know I am praying with them. The point here is just that, though we cannot always go, we can always PRAY!

Instead of sitting at home, thinking of what we cannot do, we need to stop, pray, and ask God to do what we know He can. Sometimes we feel, if we cannot do what others are able, we are not doing much. It is only when we fail to pray, and pray believing with thanksgiving, that we fall short of our goals for service, and see nothing happen. Prayer should be such an important part of the Christian life.

I believe the only wrong way to pray, is not to pray at all. God does not need fancy words or many words, as Jesus taught us in Matthew 6. He wants us to commune with Him, have fellowship with Him, spend time with Him. When we begin to do this we will begin to see things happen in and around our lives. We want victory, we want healing, we want to see lives changed, PRAY!

We tend to see the worst of things because we stop believing God for the best of things He has to offer. We need not to worry or be anxious, we are to ask believing, with thanksgiving, and His peace will overwhelm us! Take time today and pray, take time today and spend it with God expect Him to change you.

When people are experiencing what they are right now, today, the sadness that surrounds them. They need to know there are people of faith out there. They need to see and hear how you have won victory over these same feelings and facts. How when you went to God, you were able to see beyond yourself and your situation, and reach out to the hurting in their time of need and bring them the peace that passes understanding!

What to do when sadness abounds, PRAY!

With the sadness that surrounds us, we need to look beyond us, hold onto and love those who are close to us, AND PRAY! (Phil.4:6-7) I have many people in my life who mean so much to me. They all hold a place in my heart. Yet if I do not take the time to pray for them, to lift them up in their time of need, or not, how much do I truly care?

I am part of a ministry that is built on prayer. The Way Ryders, a motorcycle ministry. These folks have a heart for God, and they are on call for prayer duty 24 hours a day. When called upon they respond. I cannot always go, but they know I am praying with them. The point here is just that, though we cannot always go, we can always PRAY!

Instead of sitting at home, thinking of what we cannot do, we need to stop, pray, and ask God to do what we know He can. Sometimes we feel, if we cannot do what others are able, we are not doing much. It is only when we fail to pray, and pray believing with thanksgiving, that we fall short of our goals for service, and see nothing happen. Prayer should be such an important part of the Christian life.

I believe the only wrong way to pray, is not to pray at all. God does not need fancy words or many words, as Jesus taught us in Matthew 6. He wants us to commune with Him, have fellowship with Him, spend time with Him. When we begin to do this we will begin to see things happen in and around our lives. We want victory, we want healing, we want to see lives changed, PRAY!

We tend to see the worst of things because we stop believing God for the best of things He has to offer. We need not to worry or be anxious, we are to ask believing, with thanksgiving, and His peace will overwhelm us! Take time today and pray, take time today and spend it with God expect Him to change you.

When people are experiencing what they are right now, today, the sadness that surrounds them. They need to know there are people of faith out there. They need to see and hear how you have won victory over these same feelings and facts. How when you went to God, you were able to see beyond yourself and your situation, and reach out to the hurting in their time of need and bring them the peace that passes understanding!

How we handle our difficulties will determine our hope!

How we handle difficulties that come our way, usually will determine our outlook on life! We can use them as tools to grow, or our lives to control! (II Corinthians 12:1-10). Difficulties come in many ways, from the world's woes, to financial problems, to loss of loved ones etc! These are life events that will, and do happen.

Most are out of our control, yet how we allow them to effect us, is how they control us. I have heard it said, what ever you give the most energy or importance, is what will determine your day or even your life. There are folks who hold on tight to some life events, even to the point they find no enjoyment or comfort. They are stuck in a sorrow or a loss mode feeling like they are being punished. They take it personally!

Though at times it may seem personal, it is not. Some events happen that have nothing to do with us, yet we take it on as our problem to deal with. Some sicknesses come, that we cannot understand, hits someone who has lived a good life a wonderful, helpful person! We spend more time trying to figure out why, or how that could happen. We just do not understand and get gripped with sorrow and remorse.

Instead we could use these situations as valuable tools to live, tools that push us on instead of keeping us down. There are three wonderful folks that have inspired my life in many ways! Steve, Kelly, and Phyliss all three have or has had cancer. Each one could have given up been defeated or took it personally. They did not, though it was a fearful event in their lives, they used it to live.

I will not say they did not hit some bumps in the road, but they always have a smile or a word of encouragement. They all three exhibited their faith that God had a plan, and they were part of that plan. They could not explain always, they just knew! Phyliss has gone home to be with the Lord, but she left behind joy and victory in how she lived her final days with her family and friends.

I remember going to pray with her when she could no longer attend church, we went, as all faithful folks, to encourage her. What we found was encouragement, though in pain, she encouraged us she was alright. I had never gotten a bigger hug and a smile of life as I got from her that day. We went to encourage her and we left with a sense of awe! She did not have the death of cancer around her as we may think, but a glow of life that overwhelmed us. She went home with a smile a few days later.

Kelly has a wonderful gift of song, and as Phyliss a very uplifting spirit about her. One day found out she had ovarian cancer. A young new grandmother she could have given up and lost hope and missed out on wonderful time with her new grand baby. Yet, though a shock to her and her family, she put that fear of uncertainty back into her faith.

She did not allow the uncertainty of her illness to control her life. Instead it gave her a reason to live, a reason to take what time she may have and love her family and new grandchild. Kelly has been cancer free now for a couple of years and has since began singing again and always has a big hug and a beautiful smile of encouragement for everyone she comes in touch with.

Steven, a young man who never smoked, drank, or lived a life on the wild side,  found out he had esophageal cancer. A young man with a young family and long life ahead, now faced with uncertainty in that life. Though going through all the tests still, Chemo, oblation surgery, etc. he still finds hope. He has not had good reports always and his answer to prayer has not been what he may have expected. But he holds to the fact that God is in control, his prayer is how his life will reflect that.

All three of these wonderful lives had a few things in common, cancer, a desire to live life to the fullest, to leave a legacy of hope to those of us who may one day have to face uncertainty. These folks lived and are living life as the Apostle Paul, in the hope of God's grace being sufficient for them. When Paul prayed and asked God please take this thorn in the flesh away, God's response was "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

When I feel down, when I feel like life is handing me a bill of goods! I think of Phyliss, Kelly, and Steven and no matter what is going on around me, or how I may feel, I think of them and it makes me grateful. Most folks have no hope because their faith is based  on feelings alone and the dispares of life! They need to look beyond only what they see, to the One who is able to restore their hope, Jesus the author and finisher of our faith!

How ready are we really?

How ready are we really, to face the uncertainties that are before us? (Matthew 24:1-14) Fear and rage are never a good foundation to build on! Even as Christians, we get caught up in the worlds thinking. How do we handle this, or what do we do next? When we shed this doubt in our own lives, what are we truly saying to a lost and dying world?  A world that needs a hope we should be sharing with them and not agreeing with their hopelessness!

We as believers, have been given the answers to the world's situations all through scripture. A hope that we are warned, not to be deceived, not to get caught up in worry and fear. Why? Because these things must take place, and yes, they affect us all in so many different ways. But as believers, this should be an encouragement not a discouragement. This should be the open doors to share our faith not agree with the world's lack of!

When we fear as the world fears, we are sending a message, that we are uncertain in the God we say we trust with our lives and souls. We are giving in to the questions of doubt and confusion that the world in many cases looks to us for some comfort and confidence. When we speak of these uncertain times as unbelievers do, we are helping them build their case for unbelief!

If we truly believe we have been saved, and we believe that God is in control, and His word is truth, we need to stand on that, and show the world a faith that will overcome these days of uncertainty. Give them hope of a future that God has control of. That these times are a warning for them to see they have need of a Savior!

Matthew tells us not to be deceived, have we been? It tells us not to worry, because these things will happen, do we? It tells us to endure to the end, are we? If we are asking all these, if we are as troubled as the world and fear is our guide. How ready are we really? We need to get back to our faith, we need to get back in the word, and we need to get back into prayer!

The world needs hope, if not from us who? If we as believers say we love people, why are we not giving them the hope that we have been given? Jesus is coming back, if we believe that why are we not living that kind of life. A life that says what can man do to me? (Hebrews 13:5-6) We are His and no one can pluck us from His hand what a promise, what a Lord, what a Savior!

John 10:27-30-Jesus speaking--My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28-And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29-My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater that all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30-I and My Father are one.

Our up time depends on how we spend our down time.

Sometimes when you are down, that may be where God has you, so you will look up into His glorious face. (Psalm 27:7-10). Many times we feel that because we are down in the dumps, that is not a good thing. We may be just a little off in that thought. If we think about it, in a prayerful and quiet manner, we may find, we are just where God wants us, at just that moment.

When we are up and full of energy and praise we tend to forget. It is just as important to have some down time, some quiet time to hear God! For some it is a time of humbling. For others, a time of refreshing, and yet for others, it is a time of re-introducing themselves to God! The key to down time is spending that time with God, and not fretting or trying to figure out what is wrong.

Thus allowing God to do a work in us, to teach us and help us understand, His way in our lives. It is more than being on top of our game, more than being excited in worship. Down time can be just as much worship, as up time. The Psalmist were never always up, but they always pointed us to where their strength came from. The end result of their quests, the answer to their prayers, always resulted in a closer relationship with God!

That is the real purpose of down time, it is a time to look up to the One who can give us results. It is a time, when we may discover, nothing is wrong we have not sinned. God has us right where He wants us so we can clearly see His plan for us, and we can receive the answer we so earnestly desire. Our up time with God is a time best understood, when we learn to appreciate our down time with Him also.

I don't write to agree!

I don't write so people will always agree with me! I write because I care about people and I want nothing but the best for them! (I Timothy 2:1-4) As a Pastor you have to care. Care enough, to be completely honest with folks. Sometimes that does not go down well at all. Especially, if you do not agree with their philosophy of life.

But, we as Pastors' preach and teach the Bible, which we believe by faith it is the word of God. A book that has the words of change, healing, and deliverance. A book of transformation, in which we have been transformed by faith. We are what we are to the world because of our faith, not because we agree or disagree! And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God! (Romans 10:17)

As a Pastor, I had the opportunity to go to a motorcycle event that a former Employer had put on. Full Throttle weekend was the title of the event. You always hope that when the time comes to leave a place of employment you leave a little something behind that people will remember you by. Not you necessarily, but who you represent, in this case Jesus! 

You hope that your character and integrity had been the best Christian example it could be. By the reception I had gotten, I was humbly overwhelmed! Every person that I approached hugged me and welcomed me. I was greatly missed by employees as well as customers. It felt wonderful. Yet my hope was, they had seen in me, who I most wanted them too, Jesus!

Without His transforming in my life, I would not be who they all had come to trust and respect. Jesus was never hidden from my life. I had always remembered people saying, once you use the word Christian, you immediately are put under the microscope. And I had been, but much to my surprise it was a positive reception.

Not always agreeing paid off with most of these folks. Standing fast on my faith and living what I believe is what impacted them. A dear friend, who is Jewish, told me how she read the blogs I had been posting. Though she did not always agree, she was getting something from them. She said 90% of the time she got a life example she could chew on. She does not accept Jesus as Messiah and Savior yet but I have faith.

Another dear friend, the executive assistant for the company has started introducing me as her Pastor. In the beginning, she would talk to me about aliens and such. Even at one point, she said she was going to convert me. I had shared with her, for the past 30 years or so, Jesus had not let me down, and I was going to stick with that. It made an impact in her life. I did not agree with her, but she felt the caring and sincerity of my statement.

So, as Christians, we need to be more concerned about who we represent, than whether we agree or disagree about the ongoing issues of life. People need to see Jesus. The one who truly cares for them, coming out of our lives. When they see we genuinely care, and we are living what we believe by faith, they will be attracted to the life we say we live! We need to catch them and let God do the cleaning!

When freedom, costs freedom!

Freedom does come at a cost, but it should not cost us our freedom! I Corinthians 8:9-But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. We are cautioned in scripture that we are to consider those who are weak in the faith. We are to consider our freedoms and determine what is more important us or them?

The big cry today, "Are rights and freedoms". We live in a country based on those two words. A problem that has come to light though, who gets these rights and freedoms? When you listen to one group, they have the freedom to be who they want to be. Yet the other group, who does not have the same freedom to disagree! When some have freedoms, they feel others should not have, is that not the cost of freedom?

The same goes the other way, when we as Christians, say folks have no right to make certain decisions because they are contrary to scripture, are we not forgetting we were once in that same place in our lives? Have we forgotten that it took a Savior to change us into who we have become? Do we not tend to make excuses for our sin because we are under Grace?

We take those liberties, forgetting we may be doing more harm than good, because we feel we have the freedom to do so! We need to think that through a whole lot more! The scriptures are very plain in this area, we are never to use our liberties or freedoms to rob a weak person, and in most cases a lost person of freedoms!

Freedom is, to be able to choose a Savior who can make them free indeed! When we get caught up in the cleaning business, instead of the catching business, we forget. We are to be an example of true freedom, because we know the truth, and that is what set us free! (John 8:31-36) We are to be fishers of men, not cleaners of the fish! 

Folks out there need to see that the freedom we talk about in Christ, is not a freedom to rob them. It is a freedom that will set them free indeed! Whether they believe it or not, they have lost more freedoms than they know. They need to see Jesus in us. People are going to choose what they think sets them free, we need to be that pathway for them to true freedom.

As history repeats itself, and it is, their fight for freedom of choice, will cost them freedom, believe it or not! Someone will come along with a freedom they feel is right, and it will not match how they feel, because it goes against their principles. It will affect what they believe, and thus the battle for freedom begins, because they will feel they have lost theirs.

Being right can be oh, so wrong!

Being so adamant about being right can turn out to be so very wrong!! (Proverbs 14:12)-Says, There is a way that seems right to a man, but it's end is the way of death. There is, at times, a cost to our being so right!  I have heard it said so many times, People say, I an not hurting anyone but myself. The sad truth here is, that is self deception. Our lives no matter what we think effects all those around us.

The sad end and result of our being so right and everyone else, even society, being so wrong can be costly. It can take us to a point of no return. It takes us to death, as the scripture points out. As many can attest to this fact. Why is being right so important? Why do we go to the lengths we do, to be right all the time? Why, do we feel everyone else is wrong because they do not agree with us?

Many questions are asked why people are like this? I have only a couple of answers as to why we feel that right is something we have to be all the time! 1-Pride. Pride tells us that if we are wrong, we must be weak and we must be stupid. 2-Control. If we are wrong, we are putting someone else in control of our lives.
3-Misconception. If we are wrong, we believe this makes us insecure and unable to make decisions.

Now I know those are just a few reasons, yet something for you to think about. If we truly stop and weigh the cost of being right all the time, we are not deceiving ourselves. No one is right all the time, and if they, are they are headed to certain disappointment and even possibly depression or worse! Being both, right at times, and also wrong at other times, is healthy and gives us genuine clarity of life!

I am giving you some food for thought. What we need to run through our minds, and think about, just a little,   being wrong, every once in a while, can be the new right. Though it may seem right at the time, if we think it through and weigh the options presented us. Is it worth being so right that it could cost us more than we are willing to pay?

Mondays got you down?

Monday is a day like any other, it is how we enter the day that will determine the outcome.
 Psalm 6:6- I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with tears, How many times have our weeks begun just that way?

We enter the weekend with joy, already lost to the coming Monday blues. The difference comes, depending on the source of comfort we seek. Some choose the temporary affects that just deaden senses for a moment, and gives a reprieve only until Sunday evening. The other gives the eternal affect, without the guilt and loss of memory, of true freedom and release that lasts.

We continue to trust what the world offers as a sedative to reality. A temporary, yet most times a sedative that adds to our problems. We need to trust in the fact, life is life, and no drug, or alcohol, no matter how much we consume will change that fact! The one thing we can change is the control we give this sedative over our life.

We need to know we are better than that, and deserve better than that! Why not come to the One who offers you better than that? A life that you can look back on and remember? Not a life of forgotten moments hidden in a bottle or a pill that will come back and haunt you! But a life of hope and freedom, a time of building memories without regrets or embarrassments!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. I Cor. 5:17. If your way isn't working Come to Jesus by faith and He will give you a way that does.

We do what we do because?

The reason I do what I do for people, is because someone did what they did for me! You will never know the difference till you try and make a difference! (II Corinthians 1:3-4) When you have genuinely received help from someone, in most cases, you cannot resist the urge to share that same help with others.

Anyone who has been set free from sin , when they feel that true freedom, that release from guilt, They cannot be held back from sharing the good news of their victory! They also cannot help but share about that one special person, God put into their lives at just the right time. That one who took the time to love them through whatever was destroying their lives!

I remember in my own life a man named Bob. He had become my sponsor in AA. This man gave his time, and efforts, in order to help me through some very low times in my life. Even after I had gotten saved I still struggled. I went to him one night feeling low and struggling with my self value. It was that night I experienced true love and compassion. True forgiveness, something I was still struggling with.

That night after sharing how low and terrible I was, Bob, who was about 6'5" looked down at me. With tears in his eyes, he wrapped his arms around me, picked me up, and looked me right in the eyes and said, I love you. It was at that point, at that very point in my life, I understood the love of my Savior Jesus Christ! From that time on I have not stopped hugging and telling people I love them.

People out there need to feel the love of our Savior. They need to see the love of the Savior, by a willingness from us to share that love because we are grateful. Because we have been set free from the guilt of sin, that controlled us. A hopelessness that had been turned back to hope because someone took the time to love us as they were loved! No matter what your situation or what you have done, Jesus died for you.

Jesus, is waiting with His outstretched arms, to pick you up, and look you in the eyes and say, I love you! It is for you I died! It is for you, that Jesus sent someone into your life to represent Him, at just the right time, at just the right moment. To let you know you are special and have value and you were so worth the sacrifice of  His love. That is why we do what we do for people because someone did what they did for us!

Starting out right is the key!

How you start your day, will determine how your day will go, and how you will treat yourself and others! (Proverbs 15:1) The first thought you have, the first look in the mirror and what you see. That will determine the start of your day. If you wake up somehow in a bad mood from not resolving some issues carried over from the day before, believe it or not can dictate how you feel and how you will feel about others.

Other things that throw us off, getting up late, alarm clock did not go off, traffic jams etc.We have no control over those happenings. Yet they can tend to throw our whole day off. What I have learned over the years, and still learning, to control those things I cannot control! What I mean is this, the electric going out, clocks not going off, traffic jams, I cannot control those things, but what I can do is control my attitude towards those things.

When we accept the fact, we cannot control anything or anyone but ourselves, when we can change our thinking and come to the place where we choose to be a certain way, that will make a tremendous difference in how we face ourselves, others, and the day as a whole. Things happen, things go wrong, but that does not mean in any way, that it is against us personally.

If we can, no matter what, just smile in the mirror, take a little breath, and say, God's got this, and start out a little more grateful for who we are. Our perspective of the world and what is going on around us, and the people who come into our paths, look so much better, because we are encouraged. We started the day with a sense of value instead of trying to make sense of the day!  

When we do this, we just tend to shrug at the rudeness of people and situations because we understand control a little better. We tend to be encouraging and not discouraging, because we know it is not personal, people have bad days. They probably did not get up right, so I am going to treat them how they really deserve. Exactly how I treated myself when I started my day! Something to think about!

Actions speak louder than words!

Being a great husband is more than bringing a paycheck home, it's the time you take with her when you get home! (I Peter 3:7). I have learned over the years, it is time taken that makes her feel special. Even if she seems like we are intruding on her space. That may be just saying, how far is he willing to go, just how important am I to him?

There are times when she needs her space, yet some of those times she definitely wants you there. When we as husbands, or even boyfriends, show we are willing to go to any length. We are willing to get out of ourselves, and sacrifice a bit. She becomes just a little more willing to sacrifice back. Why? Because as a husband, you have shown her she is worth going beyond the norm, treating her as well or even better than yourself!

I Peter 3:7- Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. God takes our relationships seriously. He wants us to go beyond whats expected, but not without reward. If we honor and love our wives as He does, and love them like He loves us the rewards are endless!

Even when times may appear bad, you see light, because she knows you are together. Even when times are good, they seem better, because she knows you are both involved. It is all in how we care, how we show our love and commitment. It is the action we put to the words, it is the action by just doing, without having to be constantly reminded.

Always remember, if you are giving them the same time you do that special car, or motorcycle, or sporting event, they will be less apt to protest those things. When she is made to feel more important then those things we love, she very well could end up loving them with us. And if not she will be at the very least, supportive! This also applies to ministry, push your wife out of your ministry, you may just get pushed out!

Take some time to evaluate your relationship with her today! Does she seem contented with your life together, or does she seem a little more distant? Take the time to sit her down, and ask her, how she thinks you are doing as a husband? What could you do better? I know that sounds dangerous and scary, but if we truly love them, we will take their suggestions. Not as put downs or negatives, but as growthful, and enhancing.

The amazing thing you may find in doing this, is how much closer you will become. When she sees and hears how you want to do better, and with her help! That is love in action. That is putting feet to your words. This is being the husband God intended you to be, an example of Him. A willingness to lay your life down for her not by words alone, but by your actions toward her, as living proof!

When trouble come what to do?

What gets us into trouble can be anything.What keeps us in trouble is usually pride! Proverbs 13:10-By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom.

 There are three things that keep us from asking for help in times of trouble. 1-embarrassment, 2-trust, and 3-pride. Yet I feel and have experienced that the third one, is most times the one that keeps us down.

It is usually ourselves that feel one of the three above. But do we truly ask the question, what is most keeping us down? Yes, it is embarrassing to have problems, and yes, we have been hurt in times past when sharing with someone who felt it necessary to tell others. But most times if we are really honest, it is pride that keeps us from asking for the help we need.

Pride deceives us into thinking we are the only one going through this particular sort of problem. Our pride tells us we can handle this on our own. Our pride tells us since we had been burned once we cannot trust anyone. All those thoughts and an unwillingness to get the help we need usually comes down to pride. One major thing we can do to break this pattern is, humility.

First, if we have been hurt by someone, do not go to that person whether a good friend or not.  Secondly if we are embarrassed remember others are going through troubles also. You are not alone. Thirdly, what would you rather do with your day? Believe you have control and struggle. Or suck it up and get some relief? Most people want the relief, and break from the worries and stresses from problems not dealt with!

So remember with pride comes strife, stress, and worry, which in no way can bring comfort. But searching out the right people and getting healthy advise, we gain the tools we need to solve most anything. So take time and re-evaluate your situation. It may be worth a little embarrassment. Taking another shot at trust, and swallowing our pride to get us through, and see some light at the end of our tunnel! 

When you say I love you?

When you say, I love you what exactly are you saying and what are your intentions? (I Corinthians 13) When I counsel couples for marriage the first question I ask is, why? Most inevitably the answer I always get is, I love her, or I love him! My response most always is wrong answer! From that response I get some peculiar looks.

I then go on to explain the reason for my response. Most relationship beginnings are not based on love but infatuation. Am I saying that love does not eventually come into play? No I am not, but love is not a feeling as they come to learn! They learn through a series of questions that love is learned and not earned.

Most time love is thrown out there as a tool for what works best and meets ones needs the most! But as we all learn that is not true love. True love comes into play when true commitment comes into play! That takes time and some self sacrifice. When the husband and or wife starts thinking of their spouse first knowing that their need will be met. This is a commitment that takes time and some work!

I start out couples with what I call a 10 and 10. It is a list of 10 things they may dislike and also 10 likes they see in their intended spouse. I get all kinds of looks and some even say they will not be able to come up with 10 of each! Yet when they come back the following week, they have a completed list! I always just smile and then begin our discussions.

What I have found in doing this, if people are willing to do this work now they will tend to do the work it takes in marriage. They learn to communicate and discuss issues they may not of otherwise done. They begin to discard some unwanted baggage they need not carry into their relationship. They soon discover as they discuss and work on these issues. They may be starting out liking one another more than loving one another!   

Yet they also learn that love is on the way. When they show, the one they care about, is so worth the effort and work it takes to genuinely care. When they see that they are worth taking the time to talk and listen to one another. When they start out actually helping each other through these issues, by sharing them openly and honestly. With no hurt or accusations intended. A sense of security develops and trust begins. 

Thus begins the journey towards love, a journey meant to last a life time. A journey that takes them to a place, where they understand love is not just a word to be thrown around. Love is something learned by giving more and expecting less. When they say I love you, what they are truly saying, I will walk with you wherever and through whatever! When you say, I love you, what exactly are you saying and what are your intentions?