Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. ---Matthew 24:12-13
Consider if you will the postage stamp. Its total usefulness consists in its ability to stick to one thing until it gets done. I have not looked looked it up, but has the word, commitment, been deleted from the dictionary? Even postage stamps are useless without commitment, or as I like to call it... stick-to-it-ivity. I don’t see much of that today.
You may have heard the story of the hen and the pig walking past a country church one day. There was a sign in the yard that said: Ham & Egg Breakfast Sunday, 7:00 a.m. The hen said to the pig, “Sounds good, to me. Why don’t we drop by and make a contribution for the breakfast?”
The pig replied, “It may be just a contribution for you, but for me, it’s total commitment!”
Where have all our heroes gone? What ever happened to our role models? Where are the men and women of courage, character and commitment who forged ahead against overwhelming opposition to clear the way for others to follow? In the past, there were a few willing to make the sacrifice for the good of others. Today, there are practically none. Why?
In 1945, there were no Blacks in major league baseball. A young Black man of extraordinary talent and intestinal fortitude began to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Branch Richey of the Dodgers took the young man aside and gave him the following prophecy: “It won’t be easy. You’ll be heckled from the bench. They’ll call you every name in the book. The pitchers will throw at your head. They’ll make it plain they don’t like you, and they’ll try to make it so tough that you’ll give it all up and quit. But you won’t fight back either. You’ll have to take everything they dish out and never strike back. Do you have the guts it will take?” (Hal Butler, Sports Heroes Who Wouldn’t Quit [New York: Simon & Shuster, Inc., 1973], p.46)
Jackie Robinson did, indeed, have the “guts.” Not only did he survive, but he surpassed many of the game’s greats. In 1947, he was the National League’s Rookie of the Year, and in 1949, the Most Valuable Player. He is now a member of the Hall of Fame. Because Jackie was willing to “take the lick” to open the door of opportunity, many players of all races and ethnic groups are professional athletes today.
There was another young man several hundred years ago that was born in humble beginnings. His parents were slandered in the rumor mill because His mom was pregnant and not officially married. He carried the stigma of being an illegitimate child the rest of His life. He was born in a smelly stable among sheep and cows. He grew up with dirt under His nails and splinters in His fingers serving as a carpenter’s apprentice with His dad. He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man until He entered the ministry at the age of thirty. Then He was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil for forty days. When He came back in the power of the Spirit, the religious establishment slandered, mocked and tried to kill Him for over three years. He was misunderstood, ridiculed, mocked, mistreated, betrayed and ultimately crucified. And He never did a single thing wrong. While nailed to a cross, He even lost sight of His Father God. Nevertheless, He hung there. He never entertained the thought of coming down. For you see, it was not nails that kept Him on the cross. It was love. The first cousin of love is commitment.
Jesus could have called it quits and ended His suffering, but He was totally committed to His Father’s will as well as to you and me. He blazed the trail.
Watchman Nee once said,“Every suffering Jesus bore ripened into the fruit of obedience. No suffering of any kind was ever able to stir Him to murmuring or fretting.” Jesus never griped much less entertained thoughts of giving up.
How about you? What things in your life are most important to you? How committed are you to them? Are you willing to die for them? Is there anything that means everything to you? There are two kinds of people in the world: trail blazers and pathfinders. Those who take the road less traveled and those who take the broad way. There are those who make a difference, and those to whom it makes no difference. Which one are you?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Graceline
This was written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio. Ms. Regina said: “To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more.”
This common sense, down-to-earth wisdom is too good not to pass along, especially since it stands in such stark contrast to the world gone brain-dead in which we find ourselves these days.
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you are loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
I’ll add one more of my own.
Why are you still keeping score when God stopped keeping score at Calvary?
Blessings to you all who read The Graceline. I appreciate your listening to ramblings of a sojourner who’s trying not to miss the joy of life while searching for it. Carpe diem, Beloved.
This common sense, down-to-earth wisdom is too good not to pass along, especially since it stands in such stark contrast to the world gone brain-dead in which we find ourselves these days.
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you are loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
I’ll add one more of my own.
Why are you still keeping score when God stopped keeping score at Calvary?
Blessings to you all who read The Graceline. I appreciate your listening to ramblings of a sojourner who’s trying not to miss the joy of life while searching for it. Carpe diem, Beloved.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Graceline
Do you know how much Jesus loves you? Do you really? I don’t think anybody can comprehend fully how much He loves us.
Ponder with me for a minute. Shame is a primary obstacle to our relationship with God. Guilt is different from shame. Guilt says I DID something wrong. Shame says I AM wrong. Shame leads to hopelessness. Shame is a deep feeling of contamination, uncleanness and yuckiness. Shame causes you to feel like you don’t belong; like you’re not supposed to be here. A feeling that you have to work twice as hard to get ½ as much accomplished. Shame makes you feel like a caterpillar in a butterfly world.
Shame comes when the important people in our lives curse our identity. This brings on a fear of abandonment, of being all alone, and of not being taken care of. Shame comes whenever you have been held accountable and have been made to feel wrong for things beyond your control. Shame is what Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden when they believed the lie of satan. He told them that God cared nothing for them, and they believed the lie. Mankind has been running from God ever since and hiding behind the fig leaves of hypocritical masks and false pretenses.
We all suffer the effects of shame to some degree, some more than others. When you grow up in a shame-based family (which we all have to some degree), the following unspoken rules are in effect:
1. Always remain in control of all behavior, feelings and circumstances.
2. Always be right and do it right. Never make a mistake.
Perfectionism rules the family, and there is no room for a learning process.
Nothing can be tainted, spoiled, flawed or outside the plan.
3. When rules #1 and #2 fail, and things get out of control, get angry and BLAME
someone (others, God or yourself).
Children are held responsible for the parent’s anger.
4. Deny everyone in the family 5 basic human experiences. It is wrong to:
• FEEL. (It is wrong to feel sad, lonely, fearful, etc.)
• PERCEIVE. (What parents say is right... period!)
• NEED. (Always be self-sufficient. Don’t bother anyone with a need.)
• BELIEVE. (Parents, or other important people, tell you “truth.”)
IMAGINE. (You have no right to imagine anything. A lifestyle of stuffing and denial of every “wrong” experience deep inside is established.
5. Always maintain secrecy regarding anything wrong.
6. Never acknowledge a mistake or make yourself vulnerable to anyone.
7. Don’t trust anyone. Relationships are erratic and unreliable.
Have you been shamed? There are two basic manifestations of a shame-based identity: a feeling of worthlessness, or a need to be independent and self-sufficient.
Worthlessness is manifested in the following ways:
ü Anger when circumstances seem to be out of control.
ü Fear of emotion. Fear of experiencing feeling, or getting out of control.
ü Difficulty saying “NO” to people.
ü Fear of failing. Fear of trying new things.
ü Frequent depression.
ü Compulsive sin or addictive habit.
ü Need to succeed in order to be accepted.
Self-sufficiency is manifested in the following ways:
ü Isolation and difficulty making close friends.
ü Avoidance of getting into a position of need or dependence.
ü Great difficulty in asking for a favor or help.
ü Being a much better “giver” than “receiver.”
ü Being fearful or uncomfortable being part of a small group without being the leader to control the group or withdrawing and not participating at all.
ü Feeling tolerated rather than chosen.
ü Having been the recipient of a gift, feeling the need to repay.
Do you remember the song that goes like this: “When a man loves a woman, she can do no wrong. Turn his back on his best friend if he puts her down?” When you are in love, you never see the faults of your beloved. She is the most beautiful, wonderful, blessed thing in the universe. Don’t you remember what it was like to be in love?
Beloved, as a child of God, you are the BRIDE of Christ. He is crazy in love with you. He only has eyes for you. He loves you so much he laid down His life for you. But you don’t believe that, do you? If you did, the realization of such fantastic love would transform your life and turn you into a butterfly instead of a worm. You have believed the lie of the devil and you’re crawling around in the dust of shame trying to keep from getting stomped. How’s that working for you?
Don’t you think it’s time to start believing the TRUTH? What do have to lose except your shame. Feel the exhilaration of your soul as you listen to the TRUTH:
Hebrews 13:5 AMP--- For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not,[I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down ( relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]
Jeremiah31:3 MSG--- GOD told them, "I've never quit loving you and never will.
Expect love, love, and more love!
He’s talking about YOU, you know. Can you think of anything more frustrating than to love someone with all your heart, and they just won’t let you love them? It’s true. You can only be loved as much as you allow someone love you, no matter how much they love you.
He’s waiting to love YOU, Beloved. What are you waiting on?
Ponder with me for a minute. Shame is a primary obstacle to our relationship with God. Guilt is different from shame. Guilt says I DID something wrong. Shame says I AM wrong. Shame leads to hopelessness. Shame is a deep feeling of contamination, uncleanness and yuckiness. Shame causes you to feel like you don’t belong; like you’re not supposed to be here. A feeling that you have to work twice as hard to get ½ as much accomplished. Shame makes you feel like a caterpillar in a butterfly world.
Shame comes when the important people in our lives curse our identity. This brings on a fear of abandonment, of being all alone, and of not being taken care of. Shame comes whenever you have been held accountable and have been made to feel wrong for things beyond your control. Shame is what Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden when they believed the lie of satan. He told them that God cared nothing for them, and they believed the lie. Mankind has been running from God ever since and hiding behind the fig leaves of hypocritical masks and false pretenses.
We all suffer the effects of shame to some degree, some more than others. When you grow up in a shame-based family (which we all have to some degree), the following unspoken rules are in effect:
1. Always remain in control of all behavior, feelings and circumstances.
2. Always be right and do it right. Never make a mistake.
Perfectionism rules the family, and there is no room for a learning process.
Nothing can be tainted, spoiled, flawed or outside the plan.
3. When rules #1 and #2 fail, and things get out of control, get angry and BLAME
someone (others, God or yourself).
Children are held responsible for the parent’s anger.
4. Deny everyone in the family 5 basic human experiences. It is wrong to:
• FEEL. (It is wrong to feel sad, lonely, fearful, etc.)
• PERCEIVE. (What parents say is right... period!)
• NEED. (Always be self-sufficient. Don’t bother anyone with a need.)
• BELIEVE. (Parents, or other important people, tell you “truth.”)
IMAGINE. (You have no right to imagine anything. A lifestyle of stuffing and denial of every “wrong” experience deep inside is established.
5. Always maintain secrecy regarding anything wrong.
6. Never acknowledge a mistake or make yourself vulnerable to anyone.
7. Don’t trust anyone. Relationships are erratic and unreliable.
Have you been shamed? There are two basic manifestations of a shame-based identity: a feeling of worthlessness, or a need to be independent and self-sufficient.
Worthlessness is manifested in the following ways:
ü Anger when circumstances seem to be out of control.
ü Fear of emotion. Fear of experiencing feeling, or getting out of control.
ü Difficulty saying “NO” to people.
ü Fear of failing. Fear of trying new things.
ü Frequent depression.
ü Compulsive sin or addictive habit.
ü Need to succeed in order to be accepted.
Self-sufficiency is manifested in the following ways:
ü Isolation and difficulty making close friends.
ü Avoidance of getting into a position of need or dependence.
ü Great difficulty in asking for a favor or help.
ü Being a much better “giver” than “receiver.”
ü Being fearful or uncomfortable being part of a small group without being the leader to control the group or withdrawing and not participating at all.
ü Feeling tolerated rather than chosen.
ü Having been the recipient of a gift, feeling the need to repay.
Do you remember the song that goes like this: “When a man loves a woman, she can do no wrong. Turn his back on his best friend if he puts her down?” When you are in love, you never see the faults of your beloved. She is the most beautiful, wonderful, blessed thing in the universe. Don’t you remember what it was like to be in love?
Beloved, as a child of God, you are the BRIDE of Christ. He is crazy in love with you. He only has eyes for you. He loves you so much he laid down His life for you. But you don’t believe that, do you? If you did, the realization of such fantastic love would transform your life and turn you into a butterfly instead of a worm. You have believed the lie of the devil and you’re crawling around in the dust of shame trying to keep from getting stomped. How’s that working for you?
Don’t you think it’s time to start believing the TRUTH? What do have to lose except your shame. Feel the exhilaration of your soul as you listen to the TRUTH:
Hebrews 13:5 AMP--- For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not,[I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down ( relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]
Jeremiah31:3 MSG--- GOD told them, "I've never quit loving you and never will.
Expect love, love, and more love!
He’s talking about YOU, you know. Can you think of anything more frustrating than to love someone with all your heart, and they just won’t let you love them? It’s true. You can only be loved as much as you allow someone love you, no matter how much they love you.
He’s waiting to love YOU, Beloved. What are you waiting on?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday Bible Study Returns
On Wednesday, November 4th, we will have Bible Study in the sanctuary from 6:30 to 7:30 pm like we used to have it. A lot of people have not CONNECTED with a small group yet. So many people are missing the blessing of being a part of a GRACE Group. I will continue to help you get CONNECTED. Call me anytime and let me help you find your group.
Supper time at the church is later now... from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.
We will be studying Romans 5 thru 8. PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BIBLE. There will be no notes. Bring your Bible and a pen to write notes in your own Bible. See you on the 4th.
Supper time at the church is later now... from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.
We will be studying Romans 5 thru 8. PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BIBLE. There will be no notes. Bring your Bible and a pen to write notes in your own Bible. See you on the 4th.
The Graceline
I performed a wedding ceremony this past Saturday at the same time my Clemson Football Tigers were playing the Miami Hurricanes. Of all the blessings Papa has given us in this technological age, TiVo has to be the best of them all. I recorded the game and planned to sit down and watch it after the wedding. My daughter, Kia, called me right before the ceremony began and asked if I was watching the game. I said, “No! I’m at a wedding and don’t tell me anything about it. I’m TiVo-ing it. I don’t want to know the score!”
“It’s really exciting!” she said.
“Thanks, Kia. I appreciate that,” I responded sarcastically.
We arrived home later that evening. We usually leave the TV on to keep Gracie company. As I take my coat off and head to the closet, I hear a sports announcer say: “What a game down in Miami this afternoon! Clemson pulls it out in overtime, 40 to 37!”
My heart sank. Watching a sports event after you know the score is a little bit like kissing your sister… not very exciting. Nevertheless, Wanda and I decided to watch it anyway just to see how them mighty Tigers survived the hurricanes down in Miami. Via the blessing of TiVo, we ran thru the commercials and the time between downs. We would watch the play and then fast forward to the next. It was great.
In the overtime, Miami got the ball first and kicked a field goal. Miami 37, Clemson 34. Clemson’s first two plays net them a yard loss, and it was third down and eleven on the twenty-six yard line. I looked at Wanda and said, “If I didn’t know we had already won, I’d be a little bit nervous right now.”
In this exciting game, there were like eight ties and/or lead changes. It was back and forth. You know, kinda like life. Sometimes you’re ahead, and sometimes you’re behind. Sometimes the breaks go your way, and sometimes they go against you.
In the game of life, I’d be a little bit nervous, too, if I didn’t know that because of Jesus we had already won the game. Jesus overcame sin and death on the cross and rose from the grave to assure our final victory. I don’t care what the score is now. The final score will be in favor of those who put their trust and faith in Him.
Sure, there are times when I look at the scoreboard and get discouraged. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever catch up with all the bad breaks and busted plays going against me. That’s when I remind myself that the victory is already won. When it’s all said and done, we will stand with Jesus in His victory. He will wipe away every tear and right every wrong. And then as the Clemson Alma Mater says: “Then the Tigers roar will echo o’er the mountain heights.” Or should that be, the Lion of Judah? Either way, we don’t need to get nervous since we already know Who wins the game.
“It’s really exciting!” she said.
“Thanks, Kia. I appreciate that,” I responded sarcastically.
We arrived home later that evening. We usually leave the TV on to keep Gracie company. As I take my coat off and head to the closet, I hear a sports announcer say: “What a game down in Miami this afternoon! Clemson pulls it out in overtime, 40 to 37!”
My heart sank. Watching a sports event after you know the score is a little bit like kissing your sister… not very exciting. Nevertheless, Wanda and I decided to watch it anyway just to see how them mighty Tigers survived the hurricanes down in Miami. Via the blessing of TiVo, we ran thru the commercials and the time between downs. We would watch the play and then fast forward to the next. It was great.
In the overtime, Miami got the ball first and kicked a field goal. Miami 37, Clemson 34. Clemson’s first two plays net them a yard loss, and it was third down and eleven on the twenty-six yard line. I looked at Wanda and said, “If I didn’t know we had already won, I’d be a little bit nervous right now.”
In this exciting game, there were like eight ties and/or lead changes. It was back and forth. You know, kinda like life. Sometimes you’re ahead, and sometimes you’re behind. Sometimes the breaks go your way, and sometimes they go against you.
In the game of life, I’d be a little bit nervous, too, if I didn’t know that because of Jesus we had already won the game. Jesus overcame sin and death on the cross and rose from the grave to assure our final victory. I don’t care what the score is now. The final score will be in favor of those who put their trust and faith in Him.
Sure, there are times when I look at the scoreboard and get discouraged. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever catch up with all the bad breaks and busted plays going against me. That’s when I remind myself that the victory is already won. When it’s all said and done, we will stand with Jesus in His victory. He will wipe away every tear and right every wrong. And then as the Clemson Alma Mater says: “Then the Tigers roar will echo o’er the mountain heights.” Or should that be, the Lion of Judah? Either way, we don’t need to get nervous since we already know Who wins the game.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Parenting GRACE Group
Our final Parenting Class, Loving Our Kids on Purpose, will be held in the sanctuary this Sunday evening, October 18th, from 5 to 7 pm. Mrs. Linda Cripps, a family counselor will be with us to answer specific questions you might have. Don't miss this opportunity even if you have not attended thus far. Please join us.
I know I shouldn't be disappointed, but I am saddened by the lack of response we've had. We have had at most 24 parents and grandparents attend. This is really good stuff. We had quality childcare and we have fed them every week except week one when we had 18 kids.
I really thought we would have 100 people attend this class. The parents who have attended have testified to the benefit of this series. Maybe you didn't know about it. Maybe we did a poor job of advertising. Maybe the time was not conducive. I don't know.
Anyway, I would like to hear from you as to what you would like for us to offer in the way of Discipleship and Bible Study. If we offered more on Parenting, would you be interested? I look forward to hearing from you.
I know I shouldn't be disappointed, but I am saddened by the lack of response we've had. We have had at most 24 parents and grandparents attend. This is really good stuff. We had quality childcare and we have fed them every week except week one when we had 18 kids.
I really thought we would have 100 people attend this class. The parents who have attended have testified to the benefit of this series. Maybe you didn't know about it. Maybe we did a poor job of advertising. Maybe the time was not conducive. I don't know.
Anyway, I would like to hear from you as to what you would like for us to offer in the way of Discipleship and Bible Study. If we offered more on Parenting, would you be interested? I look forward to hearing from you.
The Graceline
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. --- 2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV
Once upon a time, a man was walking along the beach when he came upon a cave. As he explored the cave, he found a pile of muddy globules each about the size of a golf ball. They were rather lightweight and brownish in color.
Intrigued by his find, he gathered them in his shirt and continued his walk along the beach. As he walked, he decided to see how far he could throw the balls out into the ocean. Having thrown a dozen or so out to sea, he dropped one. The ball cracked open revealing a precious gemstone inside. Hurriedly cracking open the other balls, he discovered each and every one contained a precious gem of great value. He was ecstatic. However, the joy of his discovery was quickly dispelled by sorrow as he began to imagine the fortune he had unknowingly cast out into the sea.
As God’s children, Christ Jesus is our very life. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20 NIV). Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Not only does God live in us who trust Him by faith, God has molded each and every one of us into a unique, one-of-a-kind masterpiece of His own design.
“Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God — You're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration — what a creation! You know me inside and out, You know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before You, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day” (Psalm 139:13-16 MSG).
If God loves us that much, why do many people feel so badly about themselves? I think it’s because most people do not know how much God loves them and how beautiful they are on the inside. The world lauds and praises the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
Jean Vanier said: “Love is to reveal the beauty of another to themselves.” Do you look for the gem inside of people, or do you inspect and criticize the clay that houses it? Why are we so critical of others? Could it be that it is easier to pull people down to our level by fault-finding than to celebrate the masterpiece God has created in them? When you walk into a room of people, does your presence bring joy and peace, or anxiety and tension? I have a sign in my office that reads: “Everyone brings joy to this office. Some when they enter. And others when they leave.”
We talked this week in our parenting small group about the reason kids act obnoxiously. We came to the conclusion that kids (and we are all kids to God) need a safe place to live. A place where they can be accepted and loved no matter how they act. We all need that kind of place because we all act ugly at times. What makes God so great is that He is our safe place where we can safely hide from the harshness of life.
God is the only One Who loves us for nothing. He needs nothing from us, so He can love us without condition. If we truly understood that God loves us like that, we would have no need to point out one another’s flaws and weaknesses. Instead, we would be celebrating and pointing out one another’s unique beauty, gifts and abilities. God intends for us to be a blessing, not a threat.
As you interact with people this week, look past the body… the clay vessel, if you will, and look for the hidden treasure within. Remind others of the blessing they are to you. Treat everyone you meet as a precious gem created in God’s image. Let’s make this world a better place by pulling out the best in one other. Don’t be like the man on the beach and throw away a fortune.
Remember: We have this treasure in jars of clay. Priceless treasures are often found in cracked pots.
Once upon a time, a man was walking along the beach when he came upon a cave. As he explored the cave, he found a pile of muddy globules each about the size of a golf ball. They were rather lightweight and brownish in color.
Intrigued by his find, he gathered them in his shirt and continued his walk along the beach. As he walked, he decided to see how far he could throw the balls out into the ocean. Having thrown a dozen or so out to sea, he dropped one. The ball cracked open revealing a precious gemstone inside. Hurriedly cracking open the other balls, he discovered each and every one contained a precious gem of great value. He was ecstatic. However, the joy of his discovery was quickly dispelled by sorrow as he began to imagine the fortune he had unknowingly cast out into the sea.
As God’s children, Christ Jesus is our very life. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20 NIV). Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Not only does God live in us who trust Him by faith, God has molded each and every one of us into a unique, one-of-a-kind masterpiece of His own design.
“Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God — You're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration — what a creation! You know me inside and out, You know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before You, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day” (Psalm 139:13-16 MSG).
If God loves us that much, why do many people feel so badly about themselves? I think it’s because most people do not know how much God loves them and how beautiful they are on the inside. The world lauds and praises the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
Jean Vanier said: “Love is to reveal the beauty of another to themselves.” Do you look for the gem inside of people, or do you inspect and criticize the clay that houses it? Why are we so critical of others? Could it be that it is easier to pull people down to our level by fault-finding than to celebrate the masterpiece God has created in them? When you walk into a room of people, does your presence bring joy and peace, or anxiety and tension? I have a sign in my office that reads: “Everyone brings joy to this office. Some when they enter. And others when they leave.”
We talked this week in our parenting small group about the reason kids act obnoxiously. We came to the conclusion that kids (and we are all kids to God) need a safe place to live. A place where they can be accepted and loved no matter how they act. We all need that kind of place because we all act ugly at times. What makes God so great is that He is our safe place where we can safely hide from the harshness of life.
God is the only One Who loves us for nothing. He needs nothing from us, so He can love us without condition. If we truly understood that God loves us like that, we would have no need to point out one another’s flaws and weaknesses. Instead, we would be celebrating and pointing out one another’s unique beauty, gifts and abilities. God intends for us to be a blessing, not a threat.
As you interact with people this week, look past the body… the clay vessel, if you will, and look for the hidden treasure within. Remind others of the blessing they are to you. Treat everyone you meet as a precious gem created in God’s image. Let’s make this world a better place by pulling out the best in one other. Don’t be like the man on the beach and throw away a fortune.
Remember: We have this treasure in jars of clay. Priceless treasures are often found in cracked pots.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Alaskan Cruise
Wanda and I always wanted to go to Israel. In February, 2007 our dream came true thanks to some very special friends. Israel was wonderful. The trip of a lifetime.
NOW, we are planning a trip to Alaska to see EAGLES, grizzly bears and salmon. The trip will be August 7-20, 2010. We plan to make this a GRACE Group excusion, too. We will have time to talk about our God Journey and do some Bible study. We want a big group of friends to go with us.
Linda Murfin is organizing the trip. She can give you all the details and particulars. Call or email me if you're interested. We would love for you to go with us on our second trip of a lifetime.
NOW, we are planning a trip to Alaska to see EAGLES, grizzly bears and salmon. The trip will be August 7-20, 2010. We plan to make this a GRACE Group excusion, too. We will have time to talk about our God Journey and do some Bible study. We want a big group of friends to go with us.
Linda Murfin is organizing the trip. She can give you all the details and particulars. Call or email me if you're interested. We would love for you to go with us on our second trip of a lifetime.
Kenny's Books
Several people have asked recently about the books I've written and how to obtain copies. I don't have big supply of them on hand, but you can obtain copies of Waterholes in the Wilderness and Jesus, My Final Answer from Amazon.com.
I am also passing along my reading list that God has used to help me on my journey with Him. They have been a blessing and I know they would bless you as well. You will find the list in the left column. I'll be adding books as God gives them to me. Enjoy.
Let me know of books that have blessed you as well. We need to share the good stuff.
I am also passing along my reading list that God has used to help me on my journey with Him. They have been a blessing and I know they would bless you as well. You will find the list in the left column. I'll be adding books as God gives them to me. Enjoy.
Let me know of books that have blessed you as well. We need to share the good stuff.
The Graceline
One day a lawyer came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, which command in God's Law is the most important?”
Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: Love others as well as you love yourself. These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them” (Mattthew 22:36-40 MSG).
Ever since I came to trust the Lord as my life and my salvation from sin and myself, I have tried hard to love Him with all my heart. For a long time, I tried to demonstrate my love by doing stuff FOR Him. I lived to sacrifice myself to Him by serving what I believed to be His purposes and by serving people. I was miserable. My son even told me as much one day. He said, “Dad, I have never known a man who has served God more faithfully than you, but you have been miserable doing it.”
What he said was like a dagger in my heart because he was right. I was miserable because I really didn’t understand a vital principle. Before we can love God, we must first be loved BY God. “This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us… We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:10 & 19).
Truth out of balance is heresy. Grace without truth is license. Truth without grace is legalism. See what I mean? I have come to realize that I was lied to about God. I don’t mean that pastors, teachers and churches intentionally lied, but some gave me an unbalanced perspective of God. For example, “it is better to give than to receive.” I interpreted that to mean giving was good. Receiving was bad. There was no balance. In reality, you cannot give until you receive, or else you have nothing to give. Understand?
I was trying to love God without ever receiving His love for myself because I believed receiving was wrong. I was out of balance in the giving department for so long that I felt unbalanced when I began learning how to receive. At times now I don’t feel like I’m loving Him enough because I’ve slowed way down on doing things FOR Him and have just been allowing Him to love ON me. That brings me to another overlooked part of our Scripture passage that no one seems to talk about.
Jesus tells us to love others as well as we love ourselves. I contend that most people do just that. They do love others like they love themselves because most people do not love themselves. The world, the flesh and the devil constantly remind us of how inferior we are. Think about it. Doesn’t advertising thrive on making us feel less than okay? It tells us we need such and such to be better, thinner, stronger, prettier, healthier… most everything we think we are not. We are constantly made to feel that we don’t measure up and are therefore unworthy of unconditional love.
Jesus tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that we are precious in His sight, that He loves us with an everlasting love, that we are the apple of His eye, that He is just crazy wild about us. Zephaniah gives us a glimpse of how God feels about us, His Beloved. “Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid! For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song” (Zephaniah 3:16-17 NLT).
At the risk of sounding simplistic, I agree that what the world needs now is love, sweet love. If God loves us the way He says, why do so many people live as if they were unloved? Could it be that we have believed the serpent’s lie in the Garden of Eden? Satan told Adam and Eve that God was not good and could not be trusted. He told them that God didn’t want them to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because they would then know as much as God and He would be jealous. They believed the lie that God could not be trusted, and we all have pretty much believed it, too.
After Adam and Eve ate the poison fruit, they hid in the bushes. Why? Because they were afraid. They didn’t trust God and fear consumed them. But the Bible tells us, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18 NIV). The apostle John said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it” (John 3:16-17 NLT).
Question for you: Can you trust someone you don’t love? Sure you can. You trust a doctor you don’t love to perform surgery on you, do you not?
Another question: Can you truly love someone you don’t trust? I don’t think so. Adam and Eve didn’t trust God when He told them that eating the Tree would kill them. What was the result? Fear. They ran and hid from God. Did God love them any less because they didn’t trust Him? No. But because they didn’t trust God, they would not allow Him to love them.
Last question: Does God have a problem loving us, or do we have a problem trusting God? You think about that!
Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: Love others as well as you love yourself. These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them” (Mattthew 22:36-40 MSG).
Ever since I came to trust the Lord as my life and my salvation from sin and myself, I have tried hard to love Him with all my heart. For a long time, I tried to demonstrate my love by doing stuff FOR Him. I lived to sacrifice myself to Him by serving what I believed to be His purposes and by serving people. I was miserable. My son even told me as much one day. He said, “Dad, I have never known a man who has served God more faithfully than you, but you have been miserable doing it.”
What he said was like a dagger in my heart because he was right. I was miserable because I really didn’t understand a vital principle. Before we can love God, we must first be loved BY God. “This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us… We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:10 & 19).
Truth out of balance is heresy. Grace without truth is license. Truth without grace is legalism. See what I mean? I have come to realize that I was lied to about God. I don’t mean that pastors, teachers and churches intentionally lied, but some gave me an unbalanced perspective of God. For example, “it is better to give than to receive.” I interpreted that to mean giving was good. Receiving was bad. There was no balance. In reality, you cannot give until you receive, or else you have nothing to give. Understand?
I was trying to love God without ever receiving His love for myself because I believed receiving was wrong. I was out of balance in the giving department for so long that I felt unbalanced when I began learning how to receive. At times now I don’t feel like I’m loving Him enough because I’ve slowed way down on doing things FOR Him and have just been allowing Him to love ON me. That brings me to another overlooked part of our Scripture passage that no one seems to talk about.
Jesus tells us to love others as well as we love ourselves. I contend that most people do just that. They do love others like they love themselves because most people do not love themselves. The world, the flesh and the devil constantly remind us of how inferior we are. Think about it. Doesn’t advertising thrive on making us feel less than okay? It tells us we need such and such to be better, thinner, stronger, prettier, healthier… most everything we think we are not. We are constantly made to feel that we don’t measure up and are therefore unworthy of unconditional love.
Jesus tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that we are precious in His sight, that He loves us with an everlasting love, that we are the apple of His eye, that He is just crazy wild about us. Zephaniah gives us a glimpse of how God feels about us, His Beloved. “Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid! For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song” (Zephaniah 3:16-17 NLT).
At the risk of sounding simplistic, I agree that what the world needs now is love, sweet love. If God loves us the way He says, why do so many people live as if they were unloved? Could it be that we have believed the serpent’s lie in the Garden of Eden? Satan told Adam and Eve that God was not good and could not be trusted. He told them that God didn’t want them to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because they would then know as much as God and He would be jealous. They believed the lie that God could not be trusted, and we all have pretty much believed it, too.
After Adam and Eve ate the poison fruit, they hid in the bushes. Why? Because they were afraid. They didn’t trust God and fear consumed them. But the Bible tells us, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18 NIV). The apostle John said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it” (John 3:16-17 NLT).
Question for you: Can you trust someone you don’t love? Sure you can. You trust a doctor you don’t love to perform surgery on you, do you not?
Another question: Can you truly love someone you don’t trust? I don’t think so. Adam and Eve didn’t trust God when He told them that eating the Tree would kill them. What was the result? Fear. They ran and hid from God. Did God love them any less because they didn’t trust Him? No. But because they didn’t trust God, they would not allow Him to love them.
Last question: Does God have a problem loving us, or do we have a problem trusting God? You think about that!
Monday, September 14, 2009
FYI...
We will continue our study of the main characters and events in the Book of Genesis this Sunday, September 20. We will be studying chapters 11 and 12 about the Tower of Babel and God's calling of Abram, better known as Abraham.
PLEASE bring your own Bible with you to church so you can mark it up. A Bible that's falling apart will keep your life from falling apart.
GRACE Groups
Thanks to all who have helped with the launch of GRACE Groups. Many have worked behind the scenes to get everyone CONNECTED. I want to especially thank Kim Boyd and Christina Watts for all their help is publishing the catalog.
If you are not in a GRACE Group, you are missing out on a real blessings. If you want more information, don't hesitate to call or email me.
The Parenting Class
We had a great start Sunday evening, 9/13. We had 26 parents and 18 kids. WOW! It's not too late start this week if you happened to miss the first session.
Parents, please drop your kids off at the LIFE CENTER this week at 5 pm. We will have snacks for the kids this week. They will have more room to play over there.
Parents, please take time to thank the ladies who care for your kids while you come to class. It is a labor of love for them, but everyone needs to hear that they are appreciated. Special thanks to our child-care givers: Jackie Quinn, Susanne Williams, Christie Galeota and Christine Kramer.
REMEMBER: We meet each Sunday in the sanctuary from 5 to 7 pm thru October 18. Come for any and all sessions. Invite your friends.
Kenny's Stuff Friends
If you sign up as a friend of Kenny's Stuff, you will be notified each time there is a new post. I hope to get back to posting a lot more often with exciting upcoming events and stuff that Papa is teaching me along my journey with Him. I'd love for you come join me.
You all are a real blessing to me. Love you all.
Wanda's Birthday!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 15, is my Sweetheart's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Baby!! I love you lots.
PLEASE bring your own Bible with you to church so you can mark it up. A Bible that's falling apart will keep your life from falling apart.
GRACE Groups
Thanks to all who have helped with the launch of GRACE Groups. Many have worked behind the scenes to get everyone CONNECTED. I want to especially thank Kim Boyd and Christina Watts for all their help is publishing the catalog.
If you are not in a GRACE Group, you are missing out on a real blessings. If you want more information, don't hesitate to call or email me.
The Parenting Class
We had a great start Sunday evening, 9/13. We had 26 parents and 18 kids. WOW! It's not too late start this week if you happened to miss the first session.
Parents, please drop your kids off at the LIFE CENTER this week at 5 pm. We will have snacks for the kids this week. They will have more room to play over there.
Parents, please take time to thank the ladies who care for your kids while you come to class. It is a labor of love for them, but everyone needs to hear that they are appreciated. Special thanks to our child-care givers: Jackie Quinn, Susanne Williams, Christie Galeota and Christine Kramer.
REMEMBER: We meet each Sunday in the sanctuary from 5 to 7 pm thru October 18. Come for any and all sessions. Invite your friends.
Kenny's Stuff Friends
If you sign up as a friend of Kenny's Stuff, you will be notified each time there is a new post. I hope to get back to posting a lot more often with exciting upcoming events and stuff that Papa is teaching me along my journey with Him. I'd love for you come join me.
You all are a real blessing to me. Love you all.
Wanda's Birthday!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 15, is my Sweetheart's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Baby!! I love you lots.
The Graceline
Once upon a time, a farmer found an eagle’s egg and put it in a hen’s nest for it to hatch. The eaglet grew up believing he was a chicken. He would scratch the ground for worms, cluck and cackle, flutter a few feet and fall back to the earth.
Years passed and the eagle grew old. Looking up in the sky one day, he spotted a majestic eagle floating effortlessly among the clouds. “Who is that?” the eagle asked his barnyard mates.
“Why that’s an eagle, the king of birds,” a hen responded. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth. We are chickens.”
And the eagle believed it. He lived and died as a chicken, because that is what he thought he was.
“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7). We are what we think we are. That’s why the Bible speaks so much about the importance of what we think.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
“Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (Philippian 4:8 MSG).
Satan tried to deceive Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He is not stupid. He knows that “stinking thinking,” believing a lie, will wreck and ruin our lives. The eagle believed he was a chicken never realizing who he really was. He completely missed his destiny.
Think about this. God originally created us to be happy, to live carelessly in the care of God completely depending upon Him to provide everything we would need to enjoy life to the max. After Adam and Eve’s poor decision to trust themselves rather than God, we were all inherently influenced to swallow the lie that God is not good. The lie that says we need to look out for number one because God doesn’t care about us.
God created us to depend upon Him for all our needs. If we don’t trust Him, we have to find alternative sources in which to have our needs met. We have been programmed by our families, society, culture, religion and education that we cannot find happiness and fulfillment in God alone. We’ve been told that we need certain other things to make us happy, such things as money, fame, houses, cars, physical appearance, and relationships apart from God. That is a lie.
God gives us freedom to be who He created us to be. For me to be me requires no effort. To be what someone else wants me to be is exhausting. God created us to mount up with wings as eagles, not grovel in the dirt scratching out a meager existence. We please God when we stretch our two wings called TRUST and OBEY. When we do, He becomes the wind beneath our wings, and we soar over all the little annoyances that would rob us of the joy of living life wide open.
Eagles fly. Chickens flutter. Are you gonna fly, or are you gonna mutter? You’re the only one choosing for you. Don’t miss out on your destiny, Beloved. Choose wisely.
Years passed and the eagle grew old. Looking up in the sky one day, he spotted a majestic eagle floating effortlessly among the clouds. “Who is that?” the eagle asked his barnyard mates.
“Why that’s an eagle, the king of birds,” a hen responded. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth. We are chickens.”
And the eagle believed it. He lived and died as a chicken, because that is what he thought he was.
“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7). We are what we think we are. That’s why the Bible speaks so much about the importance of what we think.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
“Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (Philippian 4:8 MSG).
Satan tried to deceive Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He is not stupid. He knows that “stinking thinking,” believing a lie, will wreck and ruin our lives. The eagle believed he was a chicken never realizing who he really was. He completely missed his destiny.
Think about this. God originally created us to be happy, to live carelessly in the care of God completely depending upon Him to provide everything we would need to enjoy life to the max. After Adam and Eve’s poor decision to trust themselves rather than God, we were all inherently influenced to swallow the lie that God is not good. The lie that says we need to look out for number one because God doesn’t care about us.
God created us to depend upon Him for all our needs. If we don’t trust Him, we have to find alternative sources in which to have our needs met. We have been programmed by our families, society, culture, religion and education that we cannot find happiness and fulfillment in God alone. We’ve been told that we need certain other things to make us happy, such things as money, fame, houses, cars, physical appearance, and relationships apart from God. That is a lie.
God gives us freedom to be who He created us to be. For me to be me requires no effort. To be what someone else wants me to be is exhausting. God created us to mount up with wings as eagles, not grovel in the dirt scratching out a meager existence. We please God when we stretch our two wings called TRUST and OBEY. When we do, He becomes the wind beneath our wings, and we soar over all the little annoyances that would rob us of the joy of living life wide open.
Eagles fly. Chickens flutter. Are you gonna fly, or are you gonna mutter? You’re the only one choosing for you. Don’t miss out on your destiny, Beloved. Choose wisely.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Catching Up!
I've been busier than a one-legged man in a rear-end kicking contest lately. Just wanted to catch you up on Kenny's Stuff.
We've all been consumed with Libby Claire McGarity who fractured her skull from a fall on Friday, July 10th. She and her family were vacationing in Tampa, Florida. She has been at the All Children's Hospital in St. Peterburg ever since. She almost went Home on 3 different occasions, but God blessed us by keeping her here. Today, she is making great progress toward a slow, but prayerfully full recovery. Keep praying for her, Matt and Elizabeth and the kids.
Kia graduated from PA school on July 19th at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. We are so proud of her. She is now back in Charlotte preparing for her boards and seeking a job. Pray for her, too. It's great to have her back in God's country.
Clay is in Pensacola, Florida as a golf professional. He is working on his game so he can hopefully stay within shouting distance of his dad's superb golf game. Pray for him, too. He is my boy, and I'm so very proud of him. I wish he was closer home. Pray for that, too.
We are trying to get GRACE Groups up and running at the church. Everyone needs to get CONNECTED with God and one another. Small groups are great for both. Pray that we can get EVERYONE involved.
I hope to post some pictures and good stuff to read and look at more often in the days ahead. Thanks for checking in. Blessings to you all. Keep in touch.
We've all been consumed with Libby Claire McGarity who fractured her skull from a fall on Friday, July 10th. She and her family were vacationing in Tampa, Florida. She has been at the All Children's Hospital in St. Peterburg ever since. She almost went Home on 3 different occasions, but God blessed us by keeping her here. Today, she is making great progress toward a slow, but prayerfully full recovery. Keep praying for her, Matt and Elizabeth and the kids.
Kia graduated from PA school on July 19th at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. We are so proud of her. She is now back in Charlotte preparing for her boards and seeking a job. Pray for her, too. It's great to have her back in God's country.
Clay is in Pensacola, Florida as a golf professional. He is working on his game so he can hopefully stay within shouting distance of his dad's superb golf game. Pray for him, too. He is my boy, and I'm so very proud of him. I wish he was closer home. Pray for that, too.
We are trying to get GRACE Groups up and running at the church. Everyone needs to get CONNECTED with God and one another. Small groups are great for both. Pray that we can get EVERYONE involved.
I hope to post some pictures and good stuff to read and look at more often in the days ahead. Thanks for checking in. Blessings to you all. Keep in touch.
The Graceline
I grew up in a church where every year we would have “Homecoming.” It was a like a reunion where all the people came back together to catch up with those who had moved away over the years. There would be a sermon followed by “dinner on the grounds,” which meant gluttonous over-indulgence of homemade delights that was so good it would make you smack your mama.
We had this lady in our church named Ollie Bagwell. She used make a chocolate layer cake that if there was anything better on earth, God must have kept it for Himself. It was to die for. The cake was so moist, it had little golden beads of sweetness in every bite.
All the ladies in the church would bring their food and put it in the gym before the service started. Some of us would watch to see when Ollie brought her cake in so we could hide us a big old slice before the crowd came and scoffed it all up.
Whenever we would ask Ollie for the recipe, she would say, “I just put a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It’s no big deal.” She never told anyone her recipe. I told her on many occasions that it would be an unpardonable sin for her to go to heaven without letting someone know how she made that cake. Lo and behold, she went Home and took her recipe with her. I suppose the Lord still let her in. Why wouldn’t He, especially if she’s up there making cakes for Him.
Ollie had a recipe. I’m sure it included flour, sugar, eggs, flavoring, etc. I’m sure she mixed them in proper amounts. But what made Ollie’s cakes so wonderfully different was the special touch she added to it. Oh, she could have given me the recipe, and I could have baked the cake, but it would not have come close to Ollie’s masterpiece. Her cakes were uniquely Ollie.
I see Scripture as the recipe for life. I see Jesus making the recipe delicious. Scripture without Life doesn’t cut it. We were never meant to worship the recipe. We were created to live life… His Life. The recipe directs us to Jesus. Whenever we trust Him, He makes life deliciously wonderful. I can follow the recipe to the letter, but if Jesus does not make it come alive thru me, then it’s just another imitation of the real thing. Kinda like a cake mix in a box.
God made everyone of us unique and special. The recipe, the Word of God, is the same for all of us, but God creates each of us with a special touch that makes our life one-of-a-kind delicious. There are many people who know a lot about “the recipe,” but they have never tasted the Cake. Maybe that’s why the Bible says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in Him!” (Psalm 34:8 NLT).
Whenever Ollie would walk into a room with her cake, the sweet fragrance would make your mouth water with anticipation. You just couldn’t resist it. The Bible tells us that when we trust the Lord, the fragrance of His presence irresistibly draws people to Him. “Through us, He brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance” (2 Corinthians 2:14 MSG).
Beloved, is your mouth watering?
We had this lady in our church named Ollie Bagwell. She used make a chocolate layer cake that if there was anything better on earth, God must have kept it for Himself. It was to die for. The cake was so moist, it had little golden beads of sweetness in every bite.
All the ladies in the church would bring their food and put it in the gym before the service started. Some of us would watch to see when Ollie brought her cake in so we could hide us a big old slice before the crowd came and scoffed it all up.
Whenever we would ask Ollie for the recipe, she would say, “I just put a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It’s no big deal.” She never told anyone her recipe. I told her on many occasions that it would be an unpardonable sin for her to go to heaven without letting someone know how she made that cake. Lo and behold, she went Home and took her recipe with her. I suppose the Lord still let her in. Why wouldn’t He, especially if she’s up there making cakes for Him.
Ollie had a recipe. I’m sure it included flour, sugar, eggs, flavoring, etc. I’m sure she mixed them in proper amounts. But what made Ollie’s cakes so wonderfully different was the special touch she added to it. Oh, she could have given me the recipe, and I could have baked the cake, but it would not have come close to Ollie’s masterpiece. Her cakes were uniquely Ollie.
I see Scripture as the recipe for life. I see Jesus making the recipe delicious. Scripture without Life doesn’t cut it. We were never meant to worship the recipe. We were created to live life… His Life. The recipe directs us to Jesus. Whenever we trust Him, He makes life deliciously wonderful. I can follow the recipe to the letter, but if Jesus does not make it come alive thru me, then it’s just another imitation of the real thing. Kinda like a cake mix in a box.
God made everyone of us unique and special. The recipe, the Word of God, is the same for all of us, but God creates each of us with a special touch that makes our life one-of-a-kind delicious. There are many people who know a lot about “the recipe,” but they have never tasted the Cake. Maybe that’s why the Bible says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in Him!” (Psalm 34:8 NLT).
Whenever Ollie would walk into a room with her cake, the sweet fragrance would make your mouth water with anticipation. You just couldn’t resist it. The Bible tells us that when we trust the Lord, the fragrance of His presence irresistibly draws people to Him. “Through us, He brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance” (2 Corinthians 2:14 MSG).
Beloved, is your mouth watering?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Graceline
Aging has a way of mellowing you out. I don’t get near as bent out of shape over stuff that doesn’t matter as I once did. It’s sinking into my hard head that only one thing really matters. Jesus said so Himself.
As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed Him and made Him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word He said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. "Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand."
The Master said, "Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it — it's the main course, and won't be taken from her" (Luke 10:38-42 MSG).
A renown theologian was once asked the greatest revelation he had gleaned from all his years of study. He smiled and said, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” That is the only essential… allowing God to love us unconditionally so that we can love Him back and love one another. We love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:19).
What does it mean to love someone “unconditionally?” I don’t know about you, but I’ve never experienced it. I know in my heart that God loves me unconditionally, but my mind has a very difficult time wrapping itself around that concept. No human being is capable of loving another person unconditionally all the time. Oh, we may get a glimpse now and then and may even do it ourselves, but we don’t have what it takes to sustain that kind of love. Only God IS love.
The degree to which I let you love me is the degree to which you can love me, no matter how much love you have for me. The deciding factor is TRUST. I cannot let another person, or even God, love me unless I trust them. And the world, the flesh and the devil strive to destroy our trust in anyone other than ourselves. That’s why the middle letter in SIN is “I.” I trust no one but me. People who are unable to trust God and people will never experience unconditional love.
Love transforms people. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. God demonstrates His love for us by entering our world and being empathetic with us. He is the only One Who truly knows how I feel. He understands. I won’t allow God, or anyone else, to try and fix me until they understand where I am and what I’m feeling. God is the only One Who can fix me. When He loves me unconditionally, even when I won’t let Him fix me, my trust increases and my chances of experiencing His love increases proportionately.
The world’s love is so conditional. The world will love us IF… God’s love has no “if’s, and’s or but’s.” He loves us… period. Wow! What a God He is to take such a great gamble. We could take advantage of His goodness and grace and go wild. God knows that grace is risky business, but He also knows that trust comes only through unconditional love and grace. And grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God.
In essence, God says, “What if I tell them who they are? What if I take away any element of fear in condemnation, judgment, or rejection? What if I tell them I love them, will always love them? That I love them right now, no matter what they have done, as much as I love My only Son? That there’s nothing they can do to make my love go away? What if I tell them I don’t keep a log of past offenses, of how little they pray, how often they’ve let Me down, made promises that they don’t keep? What if I tell them they are righteous, with My righteousness, right now? What if I tell them they can stop beating themselves up? That they can stop being so formal, stiff, and jumpy around Me? What if I tell them, even if they run to the ends of the earth and do the most horrible, unthinkable things, that when they come back, I’d receive them with tears and a party? What if I tell them that if I am their Savior, they’re going to heaven no matter what--- it’s a done deal? What if I tell them they don’t have to put on a mask? That it is okay to be who they are at this moment, with all their junk? What if they knew they don’t have to look over their shoulder for fear if things get too good, the other shoe’s gonna drop? What if they knew I will never, ever use the word “punish” in relation to them? What if they knew that when they mess up, I will never “get back at them?” What if they knew the basis of our friendship isn’t how little they sin, but how much they let Me love them? What if I tell them they can hurt My heart, but that I will never hurt theirs? What if I tell them I like Eric Clapton’s music, too? What if I tell them there is no secret agenda, no trapdoor? What if I tell them that it isn’t about their self-effort, but about allowing Me to live My life through them?” (excerpt from True Faced by Thrall, McNicol and Lynch, NavPress, pages 51-52).
If we really believed that, nothing else would matter, would it?
As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed Him and made Him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word He said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. "Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand."
The Master said, "Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it — it's the main course, and won't be taken from her" (Luke 10:38-42 MSG).
A renown theologian was once asked the greatest revelation he had gleaned from all his years of study. He smiled and said, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” That is the only essential… allowing God to love us unconditionally so that we can love Him back and love one another. We love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:19).
What does it mean to love someone “unconditionally?” I don’t know about you, but I’ve never experienced it. I know in my heart that God loves me unconditionally, but my mind has a very difficult time wrapping itself around that concept. No human being is capable of loving another person unconditionally all the time. Oh, we may get a glimpse now and then and may even do it ourselves, but we don’t have what it takes to sustain that kind of love. Only God IS love.
The degree to which I let you love me is the degree to which you can love me, no matter how much love you have for me. The deciding factor is TRUST. I cannot let another person, or even God, love me unless I trust them. And the world, the flesh and the devil strive to destroy our trust in anyone other than ourselves. That’s why the middle letter in SIN is “I.” I trust no one but me. People who are unable to trust God and people will never experience unconditional love.
Love transforms people. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. God demonstrates His love for us by entering our world and being empathetic with us. He is the only One Who truly knows how I feel. He understands. I won’t allow God, or anyone else, to try and fix me until they understand where I am and what I’m feeling. God is the only One Who can fix me. When He loves me unconditionally, even when I won’t let Him fix me, my trust increases and my chances of experiencing His love increases proportionately.
The world’s love is so conditional. The world will love us IF… God’s love has no “if’s, and’s or but’s.” He loves us… period. Wow! What a God He is to take such a great gamble. We could take advantage of His goodness and grace and go wild. God knows that grace is risky business, but He also knows that trust comes only through unconditional love and grace. And grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God.
In essence, God says, “What if I tell them who they are? What if I take away any element of fear in condemnation, judgment, or rejection? What if I tell them I love them, will always love them? That I love them right now, no matter what they have done, as much as I love My only Son? That there’s nothing they can do to make my love go away? What if I tell them I don’t keep a log of past offenses, of how little they pray, how often they’ve let Me down, made promises that they don’t keep? What if I tell them they are righteous, with My righteousness, right now? What if I tell them they can stop beating themselves up? That they can stop being so formal, stiff, and jumpy around Me? What if I tell them, even if they run to the ends of the earth and do the most horrible, unthinkable things, that when they come back, I’d receive them with tears and a party? What if I tell them that if I am their Savior, they’re going to heaven no matter what--- it’s a done deal? What if I tell them they don’t have to put on a mask? That it is okay to be who they are at this moment, with all their junk? What if they knew they don’t have to look over their shoulder for fear if things get too good, the other shoe’s gonna drop? What if they knew I will never, ever use the word “punish” in relation to them? What if they knew that when they mess up, I will never “get back at them?” What if they knew the basis of our friendship isn’t how little they sin, but how much they let Me love them? What if I tell them they can hurt My heart, but that I will never hurt theirs? What if I tell them I like Eric Clapton’s music, too? What if I tell them there is no secret agenda, no trapdoor? What if I tell them that it isn’t about their self-effort, but about allowing Me to live My life through them?” (excerpt from True Faced by Thrall, McNicol and Lynch, NavPress, pages 51-52).
If we really believed that, nothing else would matter, would it?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Me & Kevin Fishin'
Me and Kevin went fishin'. Or should I say, I watched Kevin fishin'. Next time, I'm gonna get him. Maybe I wasn't holdin' my mouth right. 
Monday, June 15, 2009
Catching Up...
Seems like I’ve be away forever. On May 31, 2009, I had the enormous privilege of teaching four sessions of a Family Emphasis Day at Rice Memorial Baptist Church in Greenwood, South Carolina. Pastor Alvin and Debra Hodge are two of our most treasured friends. Alvin gave me my first opportunity to serve in ministry after I committed to go into full-time ministry in January, 1983. We were together for 3 ½ glorious years until we both went off to seminary. Wanda and I have not seen them is about 12 years. We took up right where we left off. That’s what good friends do, isn’t it? Boy, we had a great weekend together. Alvin and Debra have done such a great job leading that church family. All the church just loves them so much and rightfully so. So do we. The church family received Wanda and me with open arms. They made us feel right at home. What a delightful weekend.
On Thursday, June 4, 2009, I flew out to Owasso, Oklahoma to visit with our good friends, Hugh and Arlene Bryant. Hugh invited me out to do a Lay Aside Every Weight Seminar at his church there in Owaaso, Freedom Church pastored by Dr. Andrew Rankin. I have not spent any time with Hugh and Arlene in several years as well. They were so gracious and hospitable. We took a couple of tours of Tulsa. My favorite site was Southern Hills Golf Club which has hosted a U.S. Open and a PGA Championship. Tulsa is a really great town. Hugh knew all the good place to show me. I got to spend some time with Hugh and Arlene’s family. They have great kids and grandkids.
Freedom Church was a wonderful Family. They were so receptive to the seminar and so kind and gracious to me. I made some good friends there. The seminar went really well. Papa did some good stuff in all of us. Pastor Andrew and Lori were a delight.
I had two really great weekends sharing Papa’s goodness, love and grace. Now, I’m back home. I’ve missed my RHCC Family. We started our series on THE SHACK on June 14, 2009. The title was: What Really Happened at the Cross? Next week is Father’s Day. Fatherhood: Protect and Serve is the title of the message. We will be taking at look at Mack’s relationship with Missy, Mack’s relationship with his own dad, and Mack’s relationship with Papa. You won’t want to miss it.
Hopefully, I’ll be a little more consistent keeping in touch with you as things slow down a little from traveling. We have some big things planned for the 9:15 service this summer. Hope to see you Sunday. Have a blessed summer. Be safe. Love your family. Let Papa love you. Enjoy life to the max. Don’t worry. Be happy. Love you all. Blessings.
On Thursday, June 4, 2009, I flew out to Owasso, Oklahoma to visit with our good friends, Hugh and Arlene Bryant. Hugh invited me out to do a Lay Aside Every Weight Seminar at his church there in Owaaso, Freedom Church pastored by Dr. Andrew Rankin. I have not spent any time with Hugh and Arlene in several years as well. They were so gracious and hospitable. We took a couple of tours of Tulsa. My favorite site was Southern Hills Golf Club which has hosted a U.S. Open and a PGA Championship. Tulsa is a really great town. Hugh knew all the good place to show me. I got to spend some time with Hugh and Arlene’s family. They have great kids and grandkids.
Freedom Church was a wonderful Family. They were so receptive to the seminar and so kind and gracious to me. I made some good friends there. The seminar went really well. Papa did some good stuff in all of us. Pastor Andrew and Lori were a delight.
I had two really great weekends sharing Papa’s goodness, love and grace. Now, I’m back home. I’ve missed my RHCC Family. We started our series on THE SHACK on June 14, 2009. The title was: What Really Happened at the Cross? Next week is Father’s Day. Fatherhood: Protect and Serve is the title of the message. We will be taking at look at Mack’s relationship with Missy, Mack’s relationship with his own dad, and Mack’s relationship with Papa. You won’t want to miss it.
Hopefully, I’ll be a little more consistent keeping in touch with you as things slow down a little from traveling. We have some big things planned for the 9:15 service this summer. Hope to see you Sunday. Have a blessed summer. Be safe. Love your family. Let Papa love you. Enjoy life to the max. Don’t worry. Be happy. Love you all. Blessings.
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Graceline
Jesus was a friend of sinners. Do you ever see Jesus getting upset with sinners? No. Jesus understood that sinners act like sinners. Do you know why sinners act like sinners? Because they are sinners. He never expected them to act differently.
The only people that ever ticked Jesus off were religious people. People who were sinners but refused to acknowledge the fact. People who believed they were more righteous than others. Religion, in my most humble opinion, is the greatest hindrance to the abundant life Jesus came to give us. And religion can be very dangerous.
Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit priest, tells the story of an Italian couple that was getting married. They had reserved the parish courtyard for the reception, but it rained. So they asked the priest if they could have the celebration in the church. They said, “All we want to do is have a little cake, sing a few songs, drink a little wine, and then go home.” The priest reluctantly agreed.
Everybody was having a great time of fun and fellowship. And like all life-loving Italians, they ate a little cake, drank a little wine, sang a few songs, and drank a little more wine. But the priest was all agitated over the noise they were making in the church. The assistant pastor, noticing how uptight the priest was, said, “Father, I see you are all tense.”
The priest: “Of course, I’m tense. Listen to all the noise they are making, and in the House of God, for heaven’s sake!”
The pastor: “Well, Father, they really had no place to go.”
The priest: “I know that! But do they have to make all that racket?”
The pastor: “Well, we must remember that Jesus Christ was once present at a wedding banquet.”
The priest: “I know that. YOU don’t have to tell me that Jesus Christ was at a wedding banquet! But they didn’t have the Blessed Sacrament there!!!!” (from the book, Awareness, by Anthony de Mello).
With religion, a lot of times the Blessed Sacrament, or the liturgy, or the denomination, or whatever religious observance becomes more important than Jesus Christ. When worship becomes more important than love… when the church becomes more important than life… when holding on to our concept of God becomes more important than loving our neighbor… religion becomes very dangerous because it puts a basket over the very light that could save the world from darkness.
Did not Jesus, Himself, tell us that human beings were much more important than the Sabbath? To Jesus, a transformed life was far more important to Him than worship. And if that ticks you off, maybe YOU are a little too uptight. Lighten up!
You think about that…
The only people that ever ticked Jesus off were religious people. People who were sinners but refused to acknowledge the fact. People who believed they were more righteous than others. Religion, in my most humble opinion, is the greatest hindrance to the abundant life Jesus came to give us. And religion can be very dangerous.
Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit priest, tells the story of an Italian couple that was getting married. They had reserved the parish courtyard for the reception, but it rained. So they asked the priest if they could have the celebration in the church. They said, “All we want to do is have a little cake, sing a few songs, drink a little wine, and then go home.” The priest reluctantly agreed.
Everybody was having a great time of fun and fellowship. And like all life-loving Italians, they ate a little cake, drank a little wine, sang a few songs, and drank a little more wine. But the priest was all agitated over the noise they were making in the church. The assistant pastor, noticing how uptight the priest was, said, “Father, I see you are all tense.”
The priest: “Of course, I’m tense. Listen to all the noise they are making, and in the House of God, for heaven’s sake!”
The pastor: “Well, Father, they really had no place to go.”
The priest: “I know that! But do they have to make all that racket?”
The pastor: “Well, we must remember that Jesus Christ was once present at a wedding banquet.”
The priest: “I know that. YOU don’t have to tell me that Jesus Christ was at a wedding banquet! But they didn’t have the Blessed Sacrament there!!!!” (from the book, Awareness, by Anthony de Mello).
With religion, a lot of times the Blessed Sacrament, or the liturgy, or the denomination, or whatever religious observance becomes more important than Jesus Christ. When worship becomes more important than love… when the church becomes more important than life… when holding on to our concept of God becomes more important than loving our neighbor… religion becomes very dangerous because it puts a basket over the very light that could save the world from darkness.
Did not Jesus, Himself, tell us that human beings were much more important than the Sabbath? To Jesus, a transformed life was far more important to Him than worship. And if that ticks you off, maybe YOU are a little too uptight. Lighten up!
You think about that…
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
What's Coming Up...
- On Wednesday evening, May 13, 2009 at 6:30 pm, we will try to finish our study on the Book of Revelation before Jesus comes back to get us. If He does come back, we won't meet.
- Wanda and I still need some people who are passionate about small groups to be a part of a strategy development team to help everyone get CONNECTED to some small group. If you have the desire and the time, please contact us immediately.
- We will need some volunteers to help with the Red Cross Blood Drive held at RHCC on Thursday, June 18. The time is 3:00 pm to 7:30 pm. Call the church office if you can help. Thanks.
More Ponderings with Papa
I’ve been sick with the croupy crud for the last few days. I don’t normally get sick. Wanda says I’m too mean for germs to live in my body. She’s probably right. Anyhow, I’ve had to sit around and do nothing since Sunday afternoon. I preached Sunday morning and can barely remember what I said. Most of the people who listen to my sermons have the same experience. Maybe that’s a good thing, especially this past Sunday.
Wanda cleaned out the medicine cabinet. She brought out four or five different cold and flu medications, and I took them all. I still feel like a zombie. Not much different than usual, huh? Nevertheless, this forced inactivity has given me some time for reflection. I’ve had some time to just ponder with Papa. He didn’t give me any answers. He seldom does. What fun would that be to have the answers? It’s the journey that’s enjoyable, not the destination. It’s the search that’s stimulating and challenging, not the discovery.
Here are a few things I’m learning on my journey (Keep in mind that I’m hung over on cold medicine.):
Ø Control is an illusion. I have about as much control over my life as a leaf in a tornado. I can’t control my health, my wealth, my friends and family, what goes on at work, much less the circumstances I encounter everyday. I can’t control whether I get a raise or lose my job. I can’t control how you interpret my ideas in this writing. I can’t control whether you like me or not, but I sure as heck try real hard to make sure you do. Therefore I measure my words carefully so as not to offend any of you. That’s why I feel frustrated most of the time. There are things in my heart I would love to share that do not make much sense, but I’d like to talk about them to someone who would listen. But then, I would be giving that person control of who I am, because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. So I choose to be frustrated because I think I have to be in control. And control is the Matrix. And the Matrix is not real.
Ø What time is it? The time is NOW. I am what I am at this moment. I am not what I WAS. I am not what I SHALL BE. As Popeye says, “I yam what I yam.” God is pretty much like that Himself. He calls Himself, the Great “I AM.” He does not call Himself the Great “I WAS.” Nor does He call Himself, the Great “I SHALL BE.” He is and lives in the eternal NOW. God is not trapped by time as we are. Everything that has ever happened, is happening and will happen, God is experiencing NOW!!! Wow! If we are made in His image, maybe we should be living in the NOW. It’s all we have. The past is gone, and tomorrow is not here yet. All we have is this moment. Do we really want to waste it by fretting over the past and worrying about the future over which we have no control?
Ø Who am I? You will have to look fast because I am constantly changing. Life is dynamic. It never stays the same, and neither do I. God keeps stretching me, making more room for Himself inside of me. He keeps showing me more and more of Himself. And the more get to know Him, the less I know about Him. Knowing facts about Him was the way I tried to stay in control. I figured if I could understand God, I could be in control of how I wanted Him to play out in my life. I could manipulate Him into being and doing what I wanted. Then I would be happy.
Ø God created me to be happy. God wants me to be happy. Then why am I so miserable? Because my happiness is found only in total dependence upon Him. To be dependent upon Him means I must give up control. Therein lies the rub.
Ø The world lies to me, and I believe the lie. The world tells me that there are certain things without which I cannot be happy. These things are called ATTACHMENTS. Until I let go of my attachments, I will never be happy. Oh, if I get my attachment, I may experience momentary pleasure or a sense of fulfillment, but it will be fleeting at best. Because once I get my attachment, I’ve got to worry about how to keep it and that kicks me out of the NOW into worrying about the FUTURE. It is a vicious cycle. Believe me, I know.
Ø Do you have any attachments? Do you have anything in your life that you believe you could not live happily without? Ask God to make you aware of what they are. AWARENESS is the key to true happiness that never fades. Once we see attachments for what they are, we simply drop them. But we cannot try to drop them on our own. That would put us back into the control cycle that leads us back into bondage. We simply have to ask God to drop them FOR us. If we stay attached to Him, then we can be happy regardless of how life changes, because He never does. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Beloved, it’s time to DETACH! You think about that…
Wanda cleaned out the medicine cabinet. She brought out four or five different cold and flu medications, and I took them all. I still feel like a zombie. Not much different than usual, huh? Nevertheless, this forced inactivity has given me some time for reflection. I’ve had some time to just ponder with Papa. He didn’t give me any answers. He seldom does. What fun would that be to have the answers? It’s the journey that’s enjoyable, not the destination. It’s the search that’s stimulating and challenging, not the discovery.
Here are a few things I’m learning on my journey (Keep in mind that I’m hung over on cold medicine.):
Ø Control is an illusion. I have about as much control over my life as a leaf in a tornado. I can’t control my health, my wealth, my friends and family, what goes on at work, much less the circumstances I encounter everyday. I can’t control whether I get a raise or lose my job. I can’t control how you interpret my ideas in this writing. I can’t control whether you like me or not, but I sure as heck try real hard to make sure you do. Therefore I measure my words carefully so as not to offend any of you. That’s why I feel frustrated most of the time. There are things in my heart I would love to share that do not make much sense, but I’d like to talk about them to someone who would listen. But then, I would be giving that person control of who I am, because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. So I choose to be frustrated because I think I have to be in control. And control is the Matrix. And the Matrix is not real.
Ø What time is it? The time is NOW. I am what I am at this moment. I am not what I WAS. I am not what I SHALL BE. As Popeye says, “I yam what I yam.” God is pretty much like that Himself. He calls Himself, the Great “I AM.” He does not call Himself the Great “I WAS.” Nor does He call Himself, the Great “I SHALL BE.” He is and lives in the eternal NOW. God is not trapped by time as we are. Everything that has ever happened, is happening and will happen, God is experiencing NOW!!! Wow! If we are made in His image, maybe we should be living in the NOW. It’s all we have. The past is gone, and tomorrow is not here yet. All we have is this moment. Do we really want to waste it by fretting over the past and worrying about the future over which we have no control?
Ø Who am I? You will have to look fast because I am constantly changing. Life is dynamic. It never stays the same, and neither do I. God keeps stretching me, making more room for Himself inside of me. He keeps showing me more and more of Himself. And the more get to know Him, the less I know about Him. Knowing facts about Him was the way I tried to stay in control. I figured if I could understand God, I could be in control of how I wanted Him to play out in my life. I could manipulate Him into being and doing what I wanted. Then I would be happy.
Ø God created me to be happy. God wants me to be happy. Then why am I so miserable? Because my happiness is found only in total dependence upon Him. To be dependent upon Him means I must give up control. Therein lies the rub.
Ø The world lies to me, and I believe the lie. The world tells me that there are certain things without which I cannot be happy. These things are called ATTACHMENTS. Until I let go of my attachments, I will never be happy. Oh, if I get my attachment, I may experience momentary pleasure or a sense of fulfillment, but it will be fleeting at best. Because once I get my attachment, I’ve got to worry about how to keep it and that kicks me out of the NOW into worrying about the FUTURE. It is a vicious cycle. Believe me, I know.
Ø Do you have any attachments? Do you have anything in your life that you believe you could not live happily without? Ask God to make you aware of what they are. AWARENESS is the key to true happiness that never fades. Once we see attachments for what they are, we simply drop them. But we cannot try to drop them on our own. That would put us back into the control cycle that leads us back into bondage. We simply have to ask God to drop them FOR us. If we stay attached to Him, then we can be happy regardless of how life changes, because He never does. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Beloved, it’s time to DETACH! You think about that…
Monday, May 4, 2009
Papa Ponderings
Have you ever been addicted to a TV show? I watched “Lost” for a couple of seasons until it got to be really weird. You would think that a handful of survivors from a plane crash trying to get off a desert island could only last a couple of seasons, right? No. They have escaped and then returned to the island to get “lost” again for several seasons now. What’s up with that? And the island has all this mysterious twilight zone stuff going on like a whispy dark cloud-like doomaflitchy that kills people and polar bears on a tropical island. Wow!
I’ve been wondering why the show keeps people hooked. Then I realized that my journey with Papa is a lot like “Lost.” I know there is an “answer” to all His mystery, but I can’t quite get a handle on Him. Just about the time I think I’ve got Him figured out, He upsets my apple cart. Why would people who think He doesn’t exist have lots of money and perfect health while people who have faithfully served Him struggle to make ends meet and suffer from cancer? If Jesus is the only way to Papa, then why does God allow all these other religions to deceive people and lead them astray? Why is there suffering in the world? Why do children starve in some parts of the world and in other parts they die from obesity? Mysterious, huh?
“Some things are hidden. They belong to the Lord our God. But the things that have been revealed in these teachings belong to us and to our children forever. We must obey every word of these teachings” (Deuteronomy 29:29 GWT).
Mark Twain once said, “It’s not the things in the Bible I don’t understand that bothers me. It’s the parts I do understand.” I understand that He is God, and I am not. I may not be so bold as to say I want to be God, but I sure do like to give Him advice on how I think He should do things. I know I should love everyone, but I don’t love like He does. I know I should forgive quickly and fully, but I don’t always do so.
I would like to put God in a box so I could control Him, but I haven’t found a box big enough yet. I can never quite get to the place where I give up hope than I can get a handle on how He works, and so my pursuit of God continues. Maybe that’s the way Papa wants it. Maybe in my quest to squeeze Him into my box, I learn a little bit more about Him. Maybe the next bit of information will be the key that unlocks the treasure that He is. Maybe that’s why Papa is okay with my questions and doubts. Maybe that’s why people are so enamored with “Lost.” The thrill is in the pursuit. What would be the fun in having Him all figured out?
Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost” (Luke 19:10 MSG). Maybe in our search for Him, He finds us, not the other way around. Maybe He has a sequel for “Lost.” Maybe He will call it “Found.” And there’s no maybe about it. That show will last for eternity.
I’ve been wondering why the show keeps people hooked. Then I realized that my journey with Papa is a lot like “Lost.” I know there is an “answer” to all His mystery, but I can’t quite get a handle on Him. Just about the time I think I’ve got Him figured out, He upsets my apple cart. Why would people who think He doesn’t exist have lots of money and perfect health while people who have faithfully served Him struggle to make ends meet and suffer from cancer? If Jesus is the only way to Papa, then why does God allow all these other religions to deceive people and lead them astray? Why is there suffering in the world? Why do children starve in some parts of the world and in other parts they die from obesity? Mysterious, huh?
“Some things are hidden. They belong to the Lord our God. But the things that have been revealed in these teachings belong to us and to our children forever. We must obey every word of these teachings” (Deuteronomy 29:29 GWT).
Mark Twain once said, “It’s not the things in the Bible I don’t understand that bothers me. It’s the parts I do understand.” I understand that He is God, and I am not. I may not be so bold as to say I want to be God, but I sure do like to give Him advice on how I think He should do things. I know I should love everyone, but I don’t love like He does. I know I should forgive quickly and fully, but I don’t always do so.
I would like to put God in a box so I could control Him, but I haven’t found a box big enough yet. I can never quite get to the place where I give up hope than I can get a handle on how He works, and so my pursuit of God continues. Maybe that’s the way Papa wants it. Maybe in my quest to squeeze Him into my box, I learn a little bit more about Him. Maybe the next bit of information will be the key that unlocks the treasure that He is. Maybe that’s why Papa is okay with my questions and doubts. Maybe that’s why people are so enamored with “Lost.” The thrill is in the pursuit. What would be the fun in having Him all figured out?
Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost” (Luke 19:10 MSG). Maybe in our search for Him, He finds us, not the other way around. Maybe He has a sequel for “Lost.” Maybe He will call it “Found.” And there’s no maybe about it. That show will last for eternity.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Papa Ponderings
Job 1:8-11 NIV--- Then the Lord said to satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
"Does Job fear God FOR NOTHING?" satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
I have been pondering satan’s question to God for sometime now. It haunts me. Do I fear God? Do I love God FOR NOTHING? If God was not so good to me, would I still love, respect and serve Him?
Wanda ate a piece of leftover flounder this past Sunday afternoon before we left for Lay Aside at church. A rather large bone, about ¾ of an inch, pierced her tonsil and would not come out for love nor money. She held her tongue down with a depressor while I shined a huge spotlight down her throat and probed around with a pair of tweezers. It was a sight. Funny turned to panicky after about fifteen minutes.
Finally, it dawned upon me to pray. What a novel idea for a preacher. Sometimes I still think God doesn’t need to be bothered with “small stuff” that I can handle on my on. Sunday reminded me that I couldn’t handle the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff to God.
Papa whispered in my spirit. “We are going to get this thing out. We can do this… together.”
I told Wanda that we were going to get it out. When I said that, there was amazing sense of peace and confidence that filled my soul. I knew we were going to get that thing. So one last time she pressed her tongue down as far as she could, and I could see the bone clearly sticking out the bottom of her tonsil about ¼ of an inch. My hand and the tweezers blocked my last visual of the bone, but I probed where I had last seen it. Then I pinched the back end of the tweezers as hard as I could and pulled them back. There it was, firmly grasped in the jaws of the tweezers! I held it up in triumph like a trophy in front of my Bride. The thrill of victory was sweeter than the breath we had been holding for half an hour. We were going to be okay.
In the moments thereafter, my mind began to ponder. What if I had not been able to remove the bone? What if we had taken her to the emergency room, and they couldn’t remove it? What if it caused an infection that spread throughout her entire body? What if she had died as a result of a stupid fish bone? Would my love for God been any different in that scenario?
I was once again reminded of satan’s statement: “Does Kenny love, respect and trust You FOR NOTHING?”
Satan told Adam and Eve in the Garden that God was not good… that He couldn’t be trusted because He was a selfish old coot that cared nothing for nobody but Himself. Most people still buy that lie today. We think God is good when He’s good to us. But when things don’t go our way, we think God is out to get us.
I believe God made mankind in His image, and mankind returned the favor. We made God in our image. Think about that. I tend to think God is like the people I know. No human being has ever loved me FOR NOTHING. Oh, I have some who say they do, but I don’t think that even the very best human being has the capacity to keep loving all the time in the face of constant betrayal, abuse and rejection. I know, because I’ve been looking for that person all my life. And I have been bitterly disappointed. There have been a few times when my hope was high as I narrowed my search to a handful of promising lovers, but they, too, couldn’t pull it off and love me FOR NOTHING.
Because people are incapable of loving me FOR NOTHING, I’ve developed a faulty belief system that believes God is like that, too. I cannot fathom the fact that God loves me PERIOD, whether I’m good, bad or ugly. No one else loves me like that. But maybe that’s why He is God and we are not. God knows we don’t have it in us to love to that capacity. That’s what makes Him so special.
I’m learning to trust Him more everyday. It’s difficult shedding all these layers of false beliefs that I’ve used to put God in a box so I could control Him and figure Him out. But I’m finding that He is so far beyond all of that. I don’t understand Him at all anymore, and I’m surprisingly comfortable with that.
He does love me FOR NOTHING. God gets nothing from me that He really needs. If I cease to exist, He is still God, and yet He loves me FOR NOTHING. Think about that.
That’s why I love that old song, “It’s My Desire to Live for Jesus.” It says: “If you could see where Jesus brought me from to where I am today, then you would know the reason why I love Him so. Now you can take this world its wealth and riches. I don’t need earth’s fame, ‘cause it’s my desire to live FOR HIM.”
I love Him FOR HIM because He loves me FOR NOTHING.
You think about that…
"Does Job fear God FOR NOTHING?" satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
I have been pondering satan’s question to God for sometime now. It haunts me. Do I fear God? Do I love God FOR NOTHING? If God was not so good to me, would I still love, respect and serve Him?
Wanda ate a piece of leftover flounder this past Sunday afternoon before we left for Lay Aside at church. A rather large bone, about ¾ of an inch, pierced her tonsil and would not come out for love nor money. She held her tongue down with a depressor while I shined a huge spotlight down her throat and probed around with a pair of tweezers. It was a sight. Funny turned to panicky after about fifteen minutes.
Finally, it dawned upon me to pray. What a novel idea for a preacher. Sometimes I still think God doesn’t need to be bothered with “small stuff” that I can handle on my on. Sunday reminded me that I couldn’t handle the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff to God.
Papa whispered in my spirit. “We are going to get this thing out. We can do this… together.”
I told Wanda that we were going to get it out. When I said that, there was amazing sense of peace and confidence that filled my soul. I knew we were going to get that thing. So one last time she pressed her tongue down as far as she could, and I could see the bone clearly sticking out the bottom of her tonsil about ¼ of an inch. My hand and the tweezers blocked my last visual of the bone, but I probed where I had last seen it. Then I pinched the back end of the tweezers as hard as I could and pulled them back. There it was, firmly grasped in the jaws of the tweezers! I held it up in triumph like a trophy in front of my Bride. The thrill of victory was sweeter than the breath we had been holding for half an hour. We were going to be okay.
In the moments thereafter, my mind began to ponder. What if I had not been able to remove the bone? What if we had taken her to the emergency room, and they couldn’t remove it? What if it caused an infection that spread throughout her entire body? What if she had died as a result of a stupid fish bone? Would my love for God been any different in that scenario?
I was once again reminded of satan’s statement: “Does Kenny love, respect and trust You FOR NOTHING?”
Satan told Adam and Eve in the Garden that God was not good… that He couldn’t be trusted because He was a selfish old coot that cared nothing for nobody but Himself. Most people still buy that lie today. We think God is good when He’s good to us. But when things don’t go our way, we think God is out to get us.
I believe God made mankind in His image, and mankind returned the favor. We made God in our image. Think about that. I tend to think God is like the people I know. No human being has ever loved me FOR NOTHING. Oh, I have some who say they do, but I don’t think that even the very best human being has the capacity to keep loving all the time in the face of constant betrayal, abuse and rejection. I know, because I’ve been looking for that person all my life. And I have been bitterly disappointed. There have been a few times when my hope was high as I narrowed my search to a handful of promising lovers, but they, too, couldn’t pull it off and love me FOR NOTHING.
Because people are incapable of loving me FOR NOTHING, I’ve developed a faulty belief system that believes God is like that, too. I cannot fathom the fact that God loves me PERIOD, whether I’m good, bad or ugly. No one else loves me like that. But maybe that’s why He is God and we are not. God knows we don’t have it in us to love to that capacity. That’s what makes Him so special.
I’m learning to trust Him more everyday. It’s difficult shedding all these layers of false beliefs that I’ve used to put God in a box so I could control Him and figure Him out. But I’m finding that He is so far beyond all of that. I don’t understand Him at all anymore, and I’m surprisingly comfortable with that.
He does love me FOR NOTHING. God gets nothing from me that He really needs. If I cease to exist, He is still God, and yet He loves me FOR NOTHING. Think about that.
That’s why I love that old song, “It’s My Desire to Live for Jesus.” It says: “If you could see where Jesus brought me from to where I am today, then you would know the reason why I love Him so. Now you can take this world its wealth and riches. I don’t need earth’s fame, ‘cause it’s my desire to live FOR HIM.”
I love Him FOR HIM because He loves me FOR NOTHING.
You think about that…
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
FYI...
ATTENTION!!! New Stuff!!!
JOY Class Moves
Our JOY Sunday School class will begin meeting in the KidZone room in the church life center beginning this Sunday, April 26, 2009. Don’t walk across the street. You’ll have to turn around and come back. See you Sunday.
S-Group Development Team
I need help. (Be nice. You know what I mean.) I need some help getting people CONNECTED in S-Groups. If you have a passion for S-Groups and would like to team up with Wanda and me to brainstorm some ideas and ways to get people involved, PLEASE call or email Wanda (wandalashley@bellsouth.net or (704)477-6590). I have asked Wanda to head up this team. She is a great organizer and idea gal. I have some books and material I’d like for us to study to get a broad range of ideas and concepts to really get S-Groups up and running. We need YOU!
Disciple Bible Study
We need some facilitators for Disciple Bible Study. DBS is a 32-week survey study of the entire Bible. You will learn the background, theme and overall view of every book of the Bible. If you would like to take the course, or if you will like to LEAD a group, please contact me (kenny@rhcconline.org).
NO KENNY WEDNEDSDAY BIBLE STUDY THE NEXT 2 WEEKS
Wednesday, April 29th, I will be in Atlanta with the rest of our staff attending a conference.
Wednesday, May 6th, we will enjoy a concert featuring The Sometime Singers and The Music Men.
We will RESUME Bible Study on WEDNESDAY, May 13th, at 6:30 pm.
COORDINATOR NEEDED FOR RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE
We would like to have a Red Cross Blood Drive here at RHCC on June 18th. But we still need a COORDINATOR to register people and make appointments. If you would like to serve in this capacity, please let me know. The more help we get, the easier it will be. Thanks in advance for your willingness to serve.
Publicize YOUR S-Group
If you have a group that is open to adding new members, publicize it on this blog. Tell a little bit about the group. Give the time and day of your meeting. Send me a picture of you so people can put a face with your name. Also give an email and/or phone number for people to contact you.
The best way to do this is by posting a comment with all this information. Keep promoting S-Groups! Thanks for the help.
Lay Aside Every Weight
LAEW continues this Sunday, April 26th from 6 to 8 pm. Notebooks will be available this week. If you missed the first session, no problem. We will review and catch you up this week. Invite a friend. For those of you who don’t know what LAEW is, here you go:
Ever feel lonely? Disconnected? Depressed? Angry? Discouraged? Joyless? Kinda like you have a cement block on your chest? Like you just ran a marathon and they tell you to keep running? Having trouble sustaining harmonious relationships? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?
Well, Papa God invites you to “lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset you.” Come and experience the healing, loving grace of God for those wounds and heaviness you’ve been carrying around for years. He never meant for you to be burdened down with the weight of past hurts and experiences. This event will positively change your life. If you are ready for that, call the church office to sign up. We’ll be expecting you. Invite some friends as well. Don’t put it off. Just do it!
Lay Aside Every Weight Seminar Information
Five Sunday evenings beginning April 19 thru May 17, 2009.
Time.......................... 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Cost........................... FREE!
Place.........................
JOY Class Moves
Our JOY Sunday School class will begin meeting in the KidZone room in the church life center beginning this Sunday, April 26, 2009. Don’t walk across the street. You’ll have to turn around and come back. See you Sunday.
S-Group Development Team
I need help. (Be nice. You know what I mean.) I need some help getting people CONNECTED in S-Groups. If you have a passion for S-Groups and would like to team up with Wanda and me to brainstorm some ideas and ways to get people involved, PLEASE call or email Wanda (wandalashley@bellsouth.net or (704)477-6590). I have asked Wanda to head up this team. She is a great organizer and idea gal. I have some books and material I’d like for us to study to get a broad range of ideas and concepts to really get S-Groups up and running. We need YOU!
Disciple Bible Study
We need some facilitators for Disciple Bible Study. DBS is a 32-week survey study of the entire Bible. You will learn the background, theme and overall view of every book of the Bible. If you would like to take the course, or if you will like to LEAD a group, please contact me (kenny@rhcconline.org).
NO KENNY WEDNEDSDAY BIBLE STUDY THE NEXT 2 WEEKS
Wednesday, April 29th, I will be in Atlanta with the rest of our staff attending a conference.
Wednesday, May 6th, we will enjoy a concert featuring The Sometime Singers and The Music Men.
We will RESUME Bible Study on WEDNESDAY, May 13th, at 6:30 pm.
COORDINATOR NEEDED FOR RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE
We would like to have a Red Cross Blood Drive here at RHCC on June 18th. But we still need a COORDINATOR to register people and make appointments. If you would like to serve in this capacity, please let me know. The more help we get, the easier it will be. Thanks in advance for your willingness to serve.
Publicize YOUR S-Group
If you have a group that is open to adding new members, publicize it on this blog. Tell a little bit about the group. Give the time and day of your meeting. Send me a picture of you so people can put a face with your name. Also give an email and/or phone number for people to contact you.
The best way to do this is by posting a comment with all this information. Keep promoting S-Groups! Thanks for the help.
Lay Aside Every Weight
LAEW continues this Sunday, April 26th from 6 to 8 pm. Notebooks will be available this week. If you missed the first session, no problem. We will review and catch you up this week. Invite a friend. For those of you who don’t know what LAEW is, here you go:
Ever feel lonely? Disconnected? Depressed? Angry? Discouraged? Joyless? Kinda like you have a cement block on your chest? Like you just ran a marathon and they tell you to keep running? Having trouble sustaining harmonious relationships? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?
Well, Papa God invites you to “lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset you.” Come and experience the healing, loving grace of God for those wounds and heaviness you’ve been carrying around for years. He never meant for you to be burdened down with the weight of past hurts and experiences. This event will positively change your life. If you are ready for that, call the church office to sign up. We’ll be expecting you. Invite some friends as well. Don’t put it off. Just do it!
Lay Aside Every Weight Seminar Information
Five Sunday evenings beginning April 19 thru May 17, 2009.
Time.......................... 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Cost........................... FREE!
Place.........................
River Hills Community Church
104 Hamiltons Ferry Road
Lake Wylie, SC
(803)831-1615
104 Hamiltons Ferry Road
Lake Wylie, SC
(803)831-1615
Seminar Instructor: Kenny Ashley
kenny@rhcconline.org
Serendipity Bibles
A Serendipity Bible is the greatest tool in the world for S-Groups. Every passage in the Bible has icebreakers, discussion starters and questions in the margins. It also has topical studies for men, women, singles, marriage, parenting, youth, recovery, special needs and many more.
I have a few of these Bibles left. You can purchase one for a mere $16 each. What a deal! It is a “gotta-have-one” if you are leading an S-Group in Bible study. Email or call me to reserve your copy.
kenny@rhcconline.org
Serendipity Bibles
A Serendipity Bible is the greatest tool in the world for S-Groups. Every passage in the Bible has icebreakers, discussion starters and questions in the margins. It also has topical studies for men, women, singles, marriage, parenting, youth, recovery, special needs and many more.
I have a few of these Bibles left. You can purchase one for a mere $16 each. What a deal! It is a “gotta-have-one” if you are leading an S-Group in Bible study. Email or call me to reserve your copy.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Red Cross Blood Drive at RHCC
Kathy from the Red Cross informed me of a dire need for sites to host blood drives. The need for blood is escalating. She has a date of Thursday, June 18th. I would love for RHCC to host one. BUT we need volunteers to solicit and sign up people in the church and community to give blood. The more we have the better. Would you be willing to help coordinate this most worthy cause? If so, please email me… kenny@rhcconline.org . Thanks in advance for your help. Blessings.
Lay Aside Every Weight
Lay Aside Every Weight is off and running. We had a great start this past Sunday night, April 19, 2009. It’s not too late to start. We will meet next Sunday, April 26th from 6 to 8 pm. We will review and catch you up. There is no charge for the seminar. You may purchase a notebook for $20 if you so desire. Just let me know so I can reserve you a copy.
Are You in an S-Group?
ser•en•dip•i•ty 1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.
Word History: We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that "this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word." Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...." (Dictionary.com)
Serendipity is what happens when two or three get together and share their lives and the Holy Spirit does something beautiful when you least expect it.
God created us… you and me… as well as the entire universe for ONE purpose and ONE purpose only… RELATIONSHIPS. For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever would trust in Him should not perish but have eternal LIFE.
LIFE is about RELATIONSHIPS. Mark 3:14-15 MSG--- “He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with Him, and He would send them out to proclaim the Word.”
Jesus called people to follow HIM… to learn what life is all about by being WITH HIM and watching how He lived and related to people. Proverbs 27:17 MSG--- “You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.” We glean from one another treasures of life whenever two or three are gathered together to just BE WITH ONE ANOTHER. Just get together and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. I promise. Try it and see.
One of the best ways to get started with an S-Group (serendipity, share, small group… “S” for short) is to have a Round Robin group with 4 assigned meetings once a month, or more often if you desire. You will have 8 people in your S-Group. You will meet just to have a meal and get to know one another. One person, or a couple, will take the lead and call the place and time of the first meeting and make assignments as to what to bring to eat. The other three meetings will be a group decision as to time, place, what to eat, etc. when you have your first get together.
Wanda and I have been a part of several Round Robin groups. We didn’t even know some of the people in our group when we started. Today, they are some of our most treasured friends. It is amazing how much you can learn about one another and how quickly you can grow to love one another in such a short time.
After your four meetings, you may decide to stay together and do some Bible study, or a book study, or do a hobby together, whatever you like to do. Or you may want to join another S-Group to get to know more people. The KEY is getting together and sharing life together.
If you are not part of an S-Group, you are missing one of the truly great blessings of life. Please get involved. Just do it. You are not going to make me beg, are you? Okay, I’m begging. I can’t stand to see you miss out on such a great blessing.
Here’s what I want you to do:
Make a decision and commit to being in a S-Group.
Email me with your name, family members name including children and their ages, your email address, and best phone number to reach you.
My email is kenny@rhcconline.org .
Sheila Fife has graciously consented to help you get connected. She will contact you and set you up in a group with which you will have the most in common.
If you have any questions, call Sheila or me.
What are you waiting on? Life is passing you by and so are the blessings. Do it NOW!!!
TESTIMONIES of S-Groupers
If you have been a part of an S-Group that has been a blessing to you, would you please post a comment on this blog for all to see. We want EVERYONE in a S-Group. Thanks in advance. Love you all. Blessings.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.
Word History: We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that "this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word." Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...." (Dictionary.com)
Serendipity is what happens when two or three get together and share their lives and the Holy Spirit does something beautiful when you least expect it.
God created us… you and me… as well as the entire universe for ONE purpose and ONE purpose only… RELATIONSHIPS. For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever would trust in Him should not perish but have eternal LIFE.
LIFE is about RELATIONSHIPS. Mark 3:14-15 MSG--- “He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with Him, and He would send them out to proclaim the Word.”
Jesus called people to follow HIM… to learn what life is all about by being WITH HIM and watching how He lived and related to people. Proverbs 27:17 MSG--- “You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.” We glean from one another treasures of life whenever two or three are gathered together to just BE WITH ONE ANOTHER. Just get together and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. I promise. Try it and see.
One of the best ways to get started with an S-Group (serendipity, share, small group… “S” for short) is to have a Round Robin group with 4 assigned meetings once a month, or more often if you desire. You will have 8 people in your S-Group. You will meet just to have a meal and get to know one another. One person, or a couple, will take the lead and call the place and time of the first meeting and make assignments as to what to bring to eat. The other three meetings will be a group decision as to time, place, what to eat, etc. when you have your first get together.
Wanda and I have been a part of several Round Robin groups. We didn’t even know some of the people in our group when we started. Today, they are some of our most treasured friends. It is amazing how much you can learn about one another and how quickly you can grow to love one another in such a short time.
After your four meetings, you may decide to stay together and do some Bible study, or a book study, or do a hobby together, whatever you like to do. Or you may want to join another S-Group to get to know more people. The KEY is getting together and sharing life together.
If you are not part of an S-Group, you are missing one of the truly great blessings of life. Please get involved. Just do it. You are not going to make me beg, are you? Okay, I’m begging. I can’t stand to see you miss out on such a great blessing.
Here’s what I want you to do:
Make a decision and commit to being in a S-Group.
Email me with your name, family members name including children and their ages, your email address, and best phone number to reach you.
My email is kenny@rhcconline.org .
Sheila Fife has graciously consented to help you get connected. She will contact you and set you up in a group with which you will have the most in common.
If you have any questions, call Sheila or me.
What are you waiting on? Life is passing you by and so are the blessings. Do it NOW!!!
TESTIMONIES of S-Groupers
If you have been a part of an S-Group that has been a blessing to you, would you please post a comment on this blog for all to see. We want EVERYONE in a S-Group. Thanks in advance. Love you all. Blessings.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Kenny's Sermon for Sunday, April 19, 2009
Leaks and Landing Strips
April 19, 2009
Ephesians 5:18 NKJV--- And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.
Ø The Greek implies that we are to be continually being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Ø If we are filled one time, why do we need to be continually filled?
Ø Because we LEAK.
Ephesians 4:30 NIV--- And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ø Grieving God means He is saddened that we are eating garbage when we could be feasting at His banquet table.
Ø It does not mean that He is disappointed with us.
Ø Whenever we choose to SIN… act INDEPENDENTLY living in our own strength apart from dependence upon God… we LEAK and the Holy Spirit is pushed aside by our self-willfulness.
The Power Struggle
Galatians 5:16-17 NLT--- So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.
Ø As long as we live in this fallen earthsuit, there will be a struggle with who is going to control your life… the FLESH or the Holy Spirit.
Ø Don’t beat yourself up because you feel conflicted. It is what it is.
Ø If the Apostle Paul, the greatest Christian who ever lived, struggled, what hope is it for you and me not to.
Romans 7:15-20 NLT--- I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. 16 I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.
18 I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. 19 When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. 20 But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
Ø Paul is not copping out here and blaming his struggle on sin.
Ø Sin is like gravity pulling on us 24/7.
Ø The Holy Spirit encourages us to trust Him and let Him overcome sin FOR us.
Ø The FLESH argues with Him that “I” can handle this on my own which is the essence of SIN.
Ø After exhausting himself in his struggle vs. sin, the penny dropped for Paul.
Romans 7:22-25 NLT--- I love God's law with all my heart. 23 But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Ø The freedom from sin Paul sought was found in what Jesus had done FOR him, not what he could do himself.
Ø BUT the FLESH is stubborn. It won’t let go without a fight.
Ø That’s why trials and tribulations are our FRIENDS.
Ø They bring us to a place of giving up our attempts to be in control and let the Holy Spirit take charge.
James 1:2-4 MSG--- Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. 3 You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. 4 So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
Ø Floating in water: If you TRY to float, you will sink. You must give yourself up to the water and the water will hold you up.
Ø The second you think you have to HELP the water hold you up, you sink.
Ø The second you think you have to HELP the Lord control your life, you LEAK.
How Do We Keep From Leaking?
Romans 8:1-8 NLT--- So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent His own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin's control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. 8 That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
Ø Do you see how vital your MIND is to your life?
Proverbs 23:7 KJV--- As a man thinks in his heart, so is he…
Romans 12:2 NKJV--- And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Philippians 4:8-9 MSG--- Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Ø All our problems stem from one basic sin…. UNBELIEF!
Romans 14:23 KJV--- For whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Ø God says that we died with Christ and we are dead to sin.
Romans 6:6-7 NLT--- Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
Ø The sinful nature, the FLESH, is the residue of the OLD MAN.
Ø The old man died with Christ on the cross. He is dead and gone.
Ø BUT when we don’t believe it, he is still alive to us even though he is dead.
Ø ILLUS: Boy who spills his drink at meals.
Ø We plug the LEAKS by choosing to walk in the Spirit.
Ø It’s our CHOICE.
Galatians 5:16 AMP--- But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
Closing Down the Landing Strips of Word Curses
Ø We were created originally in the image of God.
Ø How did God create the universe?
Ø God spoke… “Let there be…”
Ø God has given our word creative power as well.
Proverbs 18:21 NIV--- The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Ø Our words are either ROUND UP or MIRACLE GRO.
Ø Our words either feed people or poison them.
Ephesians 4:29 AMP--- Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.
Ø Our BELIEF SYSTEM is composed of what we believe about God, ourselves, others and life in general.
Ø It determines how we think, how we feel, and how we live.
Ø It is a mixture of truth and error.
Ø God’s Word is TRUTH. Jesus is the WORD. He is the TRUTH.
Ø It is vital that our BELIEF SYSTEM operates on the TRUTH or we will be led astray and miss out on the abundant life Jesus died to give us.
Ø WORDS are the substance of our THOUGHTS.
Ø WORDS also have a profound effect on what we THINK.
Ø Therefore, we need to be very careful about the WORDS we SPEAK and HEAR.
Proverbs 26:2 NIV--- Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
Ø Birds hop around on the ground seldom resting in one place as the look for food.
Ø WORDS are like birds looking for a landing strip in our soul.
Ø Encouraging words do just that… put courage into us.
Ø BUT “word curses” have the opposite effect. They can suck the life right out of us.
Ø How many of us to this day still remember hurtful words spoken to us once upon a time?
Ø But in Christ, we have a blessed promise:
Isaiah 54:17 MSG--- No weapon that can hurt you has ever been forged. Any accuser who takes you to court will be dismissed as a liar. This is what GOD's servants can expect. I'll see to it that everything works out for the best."
Ø satan is called “the accuser of the brethren.” He is a liar.
Ø But if you don’t believe the TRUTH, that lie will worm its way into your heart.
Ø And as you think in your HEART, so are you.
Ø You will become that lie. You must guard your HEART.
Proverbs 4:23 NLT--- Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.
Erasing the Word Curses
Ø Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little tongue what you speak.
Ø Word curses can cling to us like beggar lice so we need to clean them out.
Ø Let’s do it. Pray aloud with me:
PRAYER TO DESTROY WORD CURSES
Lord, I loose the influence and the effects of all word curses (known or unknown) spoken about me, to me, or by me. Forgive me for word curses I have spoken upon myself. I bind myself to the truth of the Word which tells me I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me. I bind myself to the truth of the Word that Jesus has given me His peace which the world cannot take away. I bind myself to the truth of the Word that all things work together for my good. I am not limited by anyone else’s opinions of my life and my abilities unless I choose to come into wrong agreement with such limitations. I loose every wrong agreement I’ve ever believed and entered into regarding negative words spoken to me, by me, or about me. I bind myself to the truth of the Word that I am a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away. All things are new and waiting for me to receive them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Ø Once you kill the weeds, you must apply PRE-IMERGENT.
Psalm 141:3-4 MSG--- Post a guard at my mouth, GOD, set a watch at the door of my lips. Don't let me so much as dream of evil or thoughtlessly fall into bad company. And these people who only do wrong — don't let them lure me with their sweet talk!
Psalm 19:14 NLT--- May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Share YOUR Good Stuff
If you would like to announce some GOOD STUFF of your own, simply post a comment and I'll publish it on Kenny's Stuff. All of you reading this blog, PLEASE OPEN THE COMMENTS to share in the stuff others are sharing. Blessings!
April 19, 2009
Ephesians 5:18 NKJV--- And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.
Ø The Greek implies that we are to be continually being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Ø If we are filled one time, why do we need to be continually filled?
Ø Because we LEAK.
Ephesians 4:30 NIV--- And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ø Grieving God means He is saddened that we are eating garbage when we could be feasting at His banquet table.
Ø It does not mean that He is disappointed with us.
Ø Whenever we choose to SIN… act INDEPENDENTLY living in our own strength apart from dependence upon God… we LEAK and the Holy Spirit is pushed aside by our self-willfulness.
The Power Struggle
Galatians 5:16-17 NLT--- So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.
Ø As long as we live in this fallen earthsuit, there will be a struggle with who is going to control your life… the FLESH or the Holy Spirit.
Ø Don’t beat yourself up because you feel conflicted. It is what it is.
Ø If the Apostle Paul, the greatest Christian who ever lived, struggled, what hope is it for you and me not to.
Romans 7:15-20 NLT--- I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. 16 I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.
18 I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. 19 When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. 20 But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
Ø Paul is not copping out here and blaming his struggle on sin.
Ø Sin is like gravity pulling on us 24/7.
Ø The Holy Spirit encourages us to trust Him and let Him overcome sin FOR us.
Ø The FLESH argues with Him that “I” can handle this on my own which is the essence of SIN.
Ø After exhausting himself in his struggle vs. sin, the penny dropped for Paul.
Romans 7:22-25 NLT--- I love God's law with all my heart. 23 But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Ø The freedom from sin Paul sought was found in what Jesus had done FOR him, not what he could do himself.
Ø BUT the FLESH is stubborn. It won’t let go without a fight.
Ø That’s why trials and tribulations are our FRIENDS.
Ø They bring us to a place of giving up our attempts to be in control and let the Holy Spirit take charge.
James 1:2-4 MSG--- Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. 3 You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. 4 So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
Ø Floating in water: If you TRY to float, you will sink. You must give yourself up to the water and the water will hold you up.
Ø The second you think you have to HELP the water hold you up, you sink.
Ø The second you think you have to HELP the Lord control your life, you LEAK.
How Do We Keep From Leaking?
Romans 8:1-8 NLT--- So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent His own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin's control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. 8 That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
Ø Do you see how vital your MIND is to your life?
Proverbs 23:7 KJV--- As a man thinks in his heart, so is he…
Romans 12:2 NKJV--- And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Philippians 4:8-9 MSG--- Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Ø All our problems stem from one basic sin…. UNBELIEF!
Romans 14:23 KJV--- For whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Ø God says that we died with Christ and we are dead to sin.
Romans 6:6-7 NLT--- Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
Ø The sinful nature, the FLESH, is the residue of the OLD MAN.
Ø The old man died with Christ on the cross. He is dead and gone.
Ø BUT when we don’t believe it, he is still alive to us even though he is dead.
Ø ILLUS: Boy who spills his drink at meals.
Ø We plug the LEAKS by choosing to walk in the Spirit.
Ø It’s our CHOICE.
Galatians 5:16 AMP--- But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
Closing Down the Landing Strips of Word Curses
Ø We were created originally in the image of God.
Ø How did God create the universe?
Ø God spoke… “Let there be…”
Ø God has given our word creative power as well.
Proverbs 18:21 NIV--- The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Ø Our words are either ROUND UP or MIRACLE GRO.
Ø Our words either feed people or poison them.
Ephesians 4:29 AMP--- Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.
Ø Our BELIEF SYSTEM is composed of what we believe about God, ourselves, others and life in general.
Ø It determines how we think, how we feel, and how we live.
Ø It is a mixture of truth and error.
Ø God’s Word is TRUTH. Jesus is the WORD. He is the TRUTH.
Ø It is vital that our BELIEF SYSTEM operates on the TRUTH or we will be led astray and miss out on the abundant life Jesus died to give us.
Ø WORDS are the substance of our THOUGHTS.
Ø WORDS also have a profound effect on what we THINK.
Ø Therefore, we need to be very careful about the WORDS we SPEAK and HEAR.
Proverbs 26:2 NIV--- Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
Ø Birds hop around on the ground seldom resting in one place as the look for food.
Ø WORDS are like birds looking for a landing strip in our soul.
Ø Encouraging words do just that… put courage into us.
Ø BUT “word curses” have the opposite effect. They can suck the life right out of us.
Ø How many of us to this day still remember hurtful words spoken to us once upon a time?
Ø But in Christ, we have a blessed promise:
Isaiah 54:17 MSG--- No weapon that can hurt you has ever been forged. Any accuser who takes you to court will be dismissed as a liar. This is what GOD's servants can expect. I'll see to it that everything works out for the best."
Ø satan is called “the accuser of the brethren.” He is a liar.
Ø But if you don’t believe the TRUTH, that lie will worm its way into your heart.
Ø And as you think in your HEART, so are you.
Ø You will become that lie. You must guard your HEART.
Proverbs 4:23 NLT--- Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.
Erasing the Word Curses
Ø Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little tongue what you speak.
Ø Word curses can cling to us like beggar lice so we need to clean them out.
Ø Let’s do it. Pray aloud with me:
PRAYER TO DESTROY WORD CURSES
Lord, I loose the influence and the effects of all word curses (known or unknown) spoken about me, to me, or by me. Forgive me for word curses I have spoken upon myself. I bind myself to the truth of the Word which tells me I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me. I bind myself to the truth of the Word that Jesus has given me His peace which the world cannot take away. I bind myself to the truth of the Word that all things work together for my good. I am not limited by anyone else’s opinions of my life and my abilities unless I choose to come into wrong agreement with such limitations. I loose every wrong agreement I’ve ever believed and entered into regarding negative words spoken to me, by me, or about me. I bind myself to the truth of the Word that I am a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away. All things are new and waiting for me to receive them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Ø Once you kill the weeds, you must apply PRE-IMERGENT.
Psalm 141:3-4 MSG--- Post a guard at my mouth, GOD, set a watch at the door of my lips. Don't let me so much as dream of evil or thoughtlessly fall into bad company. And these people who only do wrong — don't let them lure me with their sweet talk!
Psalm 19:14 NLT--- May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Share YOUR Good Stuff
If you would like to announce some GOOD STUFF of your own, simply post a comment and I'll publish it on Kenny's Stuff. All of you reading this blog, PLEASE OPEN THE COMMENTS to share in the stuff others are sharing. Blessings!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Just Thinking Out Loud... Again
Just Thinking Out Loud…
Romans 8:28 NLT--- And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
Do you believe that? If so, have you griped and complained this week about the hand that you’ve been dealt like I have? I claim to believe this verse, but my negativity denies it. IF God weaves all the events of my life into a divine tapestry that one day will reveal a complete work of art that will magnify His glory and bless my socks off, then why am I downcast and disgruntled?
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) says “that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” If my thoughts determine how I feel, which they do, then I need to be very careful about what I allow myself to think about. It is so easy to slip into “stinking thinking.”
How do you know what I think? You hear what I say. My words reveal my thoughts. If you want to know what God thinks, you read His Word. Words reveal our thoughts. With that being said, think about this verse: Proverbs 18:21 MSG--- Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit — you choose.
Our words can be like Round UP (weed killer), or they can be like Miracle Gro. They have the power to speak death or life into people. So many people I talk with have been wounded by other people’s tongues. Very few are blessed with special people who fertilize their souls regularly with words of life. And it is so easy to do and costs us nothing.
I heard of a man one time who fell on hard times and lost everything… his family, his career, his self-respect. He ended up sitting on a street corner homeless and selling pencils in order to survive. One day a business man walked by him on the street. The man pulled the change from his pocket and dropped it into the box of pencils and kept walking. Then he stopped and turned around addressing the downtrodden pencil merchant.
“I beg your pardon, Sir. I mistook you for a beggar, when, indeed, you are not. I failed to see the pencils you are selling. May I have my pencils, please.”
A couple of years later, a dapper young man in a fine suit entered the store of the businessman and said to him. “Sir, you do not know me, but I know you. Two years ago, you bought some pencils from me as I sat on the street not far from here. At that time, I believed my life was over and there was no use in my living anymore. But your words of respect kindled in me a spark which fanned into a flame the faith I once had in God and His plan for me. I got up and with God’s help have been reunited with my family and my life as well as my business has been restored. I just wanted to return the favor and thank you for your kind words of encouragement. They were life to me when death was knocking at my door.”
As I write this, my soul is in turmoil. My emotions are a cauldron of mixed feelings boiling inside of me. I can’t seem to get my bearings. I’m uncertain about every step I take. I don’t know whether the ground beneath my feet is solid ground or sinking sand.
I used to have God figured out. If you did good stuff, things that pleased Him, He loved you. If you didn’t do good stuff, or did bad stuff, He was disappointed in you and you had to do more good stuff to get back into His good graces.
Now I know that is not true at all. I know some people who have said the “sinner’s prayer” and gone to church their whole life, and been baptized every which way, but I see no evidence that Jesus lives in them at all. As a matter of fact, some of them are downright mean and extremely self-centered. Are they in God’s good graces just because they’ve jumped thru the hoops of religiosity?
Then I see people who never go to “church,” who would give you the shirt off their backs… who love and accept people just the way they are. They are like the “Good Samaritan” who helped the wounded man in the ditch while the “good religious people” walked on by. Is God disappointed in them because they don’t jump thru the same hoops?
God is blowing my mind and stretching me so much I feel like Gumby (I’m really dating myself with that!) I just know I’ve got to get back to basics. I’ve got to quit “word cursing” myself and others. I’ve got to start trusting God’s heart when I can’t trace His hand. I’ve got to start encouraging myself and everybody else, too.
I could use your help. If you find me spewing Round Up instead of Miracle Gro, please let me know. Thanks for allowing me to think out loud. It helps me because how can I know what I think until I hear what I say.
You think about that…
Beggars Telling Other Beggars Where to Find Bread
Papa means for us to love, encourage and help one another. If you have come across some blessings you could share, pass them along. Write a comment and I’ll post it here so others can share in the blessings.
www.yourneighborhoodproduce.com is a local co-op run by Christine Nelson. She takes up money and buys restaurant quality produce every other week. Pick up is on Saturdays from 8 to 9 am at the Clover Middle School. You pay by midnight on the Monday before the Saturday pickup. We’ve tried it and the quality and quantity of produce is terrific. You need to bring a big sack or laundry basket to carry your food home. It’s great.
If you have other blessings you would like to share, you can write a comment here and I’ll post it. Or email me at kenny@rhcconline.org. Blessings to you all.
Lay Aside Every Weight Begins This Sunday, April 19
Time: 6 to 8 pm
Cost: FREE! You can purchase a notebook for $20 if you desire.
Place: River Hills Community Church in the sanctuary.
Seminar Contact: Kenny Ashley
kenny@rhcconline.org
www.kennyashleystuff.blogspot.com
803-831-1615
Romans 8:28 NLT--- And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
Do you believe that? If so, have you griped and complained this week about the hand that you’ve been dealt like I have? I claim to believe this verse, but my negativity denies it. IF God weaves all the events of my life into a divine tapestry that one day will reveal a complete work of art that will magnify His glory and bless my socks off, then why am I downcast and disgruntled?
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) says “that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” If my thoughts determine how I feel, which they do, then I need to be very careful about what I allow myself to think about. It is so easy to slip into “stinking thinking.”
How do you know what I think? You hear what I say. My words reveal my thoughts. If you want to know what God thinks, you read His Word. Words reveal our thoughts. With that being said, think about this verse: Proverbs 18:21 MSG--- Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit — you choose.
Our words can be like Round UP (weed killer), or they can be like Miracle Gro. They have the power to speak death or life into people. So many people I talk with have been wounded by other people’s tongues. Very few are blessed with special people who fertilize their souls regularly with words of life. And it is so easy to do and costs us nothing.
I heard of a man one time who fell on hard times and lost everything… his family, his career, his self-respect. He ended up sitting on a street corner homeless and selling pencils in order to survive. One day a business man walked by him on the street. The man pulled the change from his pocket and dropped it into the box of pencils and kept walking. Then he stopped and turned around addressing the downtrodden pencil merchant.
“I beg your pardon, Sir. I mistook you for a beggar, when, indeed, you are not. I failed to see the pencils you are selling. May I have my pencils, please.”
A couple of years later, a dapper young man in a fine suit entered the store of the businessman and said to him. “Sir, you do not know me, but I know you. Two years ago, you bought some pencils from me as I sat on the street not far from here. At that time, I believed my life was over and there was no use in my living anymore. But your words of respect kindled in me a spark which fanned into a flame the faith I once had in God and His plan for me. I got up and with God’s help have been reunited with my family and my life as well as my business has been restored. I just wanted to return the favor and thank you for your kind words of encouragement. They were life to me when death was knocking at my door.”
As I write this, my soul is in turmoil. My emotions are a cauldron of mixed feelings boiling inside of me. I can’t seem to get my bearings. I’m uncertain about every step I take. I don’t know whether the ground beneath my feet is solid ground or sinking sand.
I used to have God figured out. If you did good stuff, things that pleased Him, He loved you. If you didn’t do good stuff, or did bad stuff, He was disappointed in you and you had to do more good stuff to get back into His good graces.
Now I know that is not true at all. I know some people who have said the “sinner’s prayer” and gone to church their whole life, and been baptized every which way, but I see no evidence that Jesus lives in them at all. As a matter of fact, some of them are downright mean and extremely self-centered. Are they in God’s good graces just because they’ve jumped thru the hoops of religiosity?
Then I see people who never go to “church,” who would give you the shirt off their backs… who love and accept people just the way they are. They are like the “Good Samaritan” who helped the wounded man in the ditch while the “good religious people” walked on by. Is God disappointed in them because they don’t jump thru the same hoops?
God is blowing my mind and stretching me so much I feel like Gumby (I’m really dating myself with that!) I just know I’ve got to get back to basics. I’ve got to quit “word cursing” myself and others. I’ve got to start trusting God’s heart when I can’t trace His hand. I’ve got to start encouraging myself and everybody else, too.
I could use your help. If you find me spewing Round Up instead of Miracle Gro, please let me know. Thanks for allowing me to think out loud. It helps me because how can I know what I think until I hear what I say.
You think about that…
Beggars Telling Other Beggars Where to Find Bread
Papa means for us to love, encourage and help one another. If you have come across some blessings you could share, pass them along. Write a comment and I’ll post it here so others can share in the blessings.
www.yourneighborhoodproduce.com is a local co-op run by Christine Nelson. She takes up money and buys restaurant quality produce every other week. Pick up is on Saturdays from 8 to 9 am at the Clover Middle School. You pay by midnight on the Monday before the Saturday pickup. We’ve tried it and the quality and quantity of produce is terrific. You need to bring a big sack or laundry basket to carry your food home. It’s great.
If you have other blessings you would like to share, you can write a comment here and I’ll post it. Or email me at kenny@rhcconline.org. Blessings to you all.
Lay Aside Every Weight Begins This Sunday, April 19
Time: 6 to 8 pm
Cost: FREE! You can purchase a notebook for $20 if you desire.
Place: River Hills Community Church in the sanctuary.
Seminar Contact: Kenny Ashley
kenny@rhcconline.org
www.kennyashleystuff.blogspot.com
803-831-1615
We will meet for 5 Sundays in a row. April 19 thru May 17. If you can’t make them all, please come when you can. Everyone is welcome.
GRACE GROUPS
Kenny and Ben’s Tuesday morning Bible Study will meet this Tuesday, April 14th as usual. Our passage this week is Mark 15:1-5. Come join us.
We have 2 more weeks of Revelation… April 15 and April 22… at 6:30 in the sanctuary.
Post stuff about your GRACE GROUP here in a comment. I’ll be glad to post it for you.
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