Be a man.

   Dear men, I know that the subject of Love has been twisted and warped, pushed aside, and has come very close to being wiped out from the characteristics of a "MAN". However I encourage you to love, Not meaning that you have to be all mushy gushy all the time... But a REAL love. One that inspires you to do great things. To  stop and assist someone on the highway, carry groceries for an elderly lady, open doors, all of these things are simple and yet great at the same time. Not because of the action itself  but because of the character it creates within you. A strong man is of noble character. Nobility as defined by the dictionary would be this; an exalted moral or mental character or excellence admirable in dignity of conception, manner of expression, execution, or composition. In order to be a man, we must NOT put ourselves first. But if we do it is only that what we achieve will give us the ability to provide for someone else.  It is our duty to look out for others and to protect others. We are not to "go with the flow" or be followers of mediocrity. Stand out and stand tall. We are leaders, but in order to lead, especially in todays time, we need to become men of such a noble character that it encourages others to become leaders and to stand out themselves.   What is the one thing that will drive a man through a battle, torture, and despair, giving him the ability to face all odds in order to get back to those he.... loves. It goes deeper than just a love of family, of a wife or children. But to every single person that you come in contact with. I understand that as men we are naturally prideful. We tend to focus on ourselves, the mission at hand, and the goals that we have set in front of ourselves. But in order to truly be strong, we absolutely have to love. Anyone can go through life and  do nothing, but we are not those people. We are to seek out wisdom and to put it into action, to seek out love and place the love that we have within the grasp of those that need it most. Fortifying them and strengthening them. So I urge you to be  strong, courageous and of a sound mind. look for opportunities to Love and to exercise noble character. Never wait for them to come to you, the opportunities are around you at every moment, seize them. Let love create your character.

What power we have through Christ!

 One thing I find that Christians struggle with today is a full realization of how much authority and power we have over this world. We are the stewards of God's creation.. He has set us in charge of everything, ALL of it! Not only the physical but also the spiritual, the power of God is given to us to perform the impossible! And through the Spirit He guides all things around us to work for us if we simply trust Him and act in His will. There have been many times where I have made a commitment in something in order to be taught by Him from the opportunity he had given me, then Him fulfilling his promise to make things happen for us. One of these instances I began to become worried that I would not be able to make it to the commitment I had made because of my job. We were headed to a job that started at 3pm and would have taken until at least 8 or 9 pm. However, when I consulted with God on what His desire was for me, letting Him know my concern and telling him that I would very much like to make it on time and be able to participate in my previous commitment. Well, when we arrived at the job the plumber had somehow gotten almost all of his equipment stuck and was unable to get it out the entire time we were there... so we could only get a certain amount done.  Making it possible for me to leave, get home, change, and arrive EXACTLY on time.

    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

 We are all as Christians called for his purpose. We may live a godly life as best as we can, giving an example of Christ through our actions, which is good! Yet many of us do not fully step out into the spiritual when the chance has been given. Christ said to perform greater things than he did. The two need to be one, the spiritual and the physical. Walking in his presence which is the Spirit always.  The power Has been given to us to heal, cast out demons, prophesy, and many others.. all we need to do is seek these gifts out. Some are not as gifted as others, but if we ask we will receive! It is a promise.. and I am inclined to believe that God is not one to break a promise. I know the thought of this can freak people out.. the idea seems cool, but to ACTUALLY do it? Well that's just weird... But how many people do you think freaked out when Jesus was healing people? And when He cast demons out? Or even bringing people back to life?  Do we believe part of what God has said? Or all of it..

     If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matthew 21:22

     If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7

  The power we possess through the grace of God is immeasurable, applicable to all things in life.  As long as what we are doing we have committed to Him fully. OK.... NOW LET'S GO BE POWERFUL!


 
   
   


 

Psalm 8

Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
    in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.
 When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

 You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:
 all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
 the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

 Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Faith through struggle

   Everybody falls sometimes, it is in our nature as sinners. However, there is always hope when we recognize what it is we have done to slip away, asking God for strength to overcome this battle we are in. All we must do is lean on him throughout every single second of whatever is pulling at us, praying constantly! Not just for strength or for healing... but praying for others in a form of love that is wholly unselfish. And praising Him for all that he has blessed us with, (Satan tends to hate when we praise in the midst of trouble!) Always remember that it is not God that has brought strife, but Satan... even with Job... He had such great faith in him that He told Satan, yea... go ahead, try your best. Our glorious Father has such great faith in us that He allows these things to happen for our own good, to grow and to rely on Him! A father will tell you that when a child asks for his help with something it is pleasurable! The act of working with them in love makes them happy! So it is with God! He finds great pleasure in helping us when we come to Him! We must have faith in His power to heal and renew us through his spirit though. A confidence in His awesome power, not just saying "oh yea, he will pull me through", then trying to convince ourselves that we are moving forward. When He removes something from our shoulders it is absolutely noticeable! Just letting go of  these things can be a problem for us though.

    Because of this we need to remove our pride and say " Lord take my heart and renew me, it is yours. I submit my mind to you, to be cleansed of all thoughts but those that glorify you." In giving ourselves to Him He removes all that pulls us away from Him allowing us to take yet another step towards Him. Struggle can only be defined by how much we give to our Lord, If we give it all. then It no longer becomes a struggle. The lie that satan tells us is that we have to keep struggling through it in order to learn something. Our purpose is to glorify God! And He has PROMISED to remove our burdens if only we ask... it is that simple! Giving ourselves to Him then allows us to gain a wisdom that is supernatural. God will teach us then, when we come to Him through the power of His Holy Spirit which grants us personal access to Him through His son! So all this being said, I would like to encourage all who read this. That you have no need of fear, or worry. There is nothing you cannot overcome and nothing that can hold you back from what God has planned for you. His plans are great and those that He has personally chosen to do His work are not merely of a regular type, they are mighty sons and daughters of a King. :)

  

To the issue of horror movies and Christianity

   This is such a huge problem and I don't think that most people even realize it! As Christians our entire belief is to shun evil. To do everything in our power to turn away from it and seek godliness. But it seems to me that so many Christians are watching all these movies and not thinking anything of it!  The images portrayed are in fact evil, No matter what the "moral" of the story is, if you are lucky enough to even have one. Why do they go to see them? ultimately it is a form of pleasure. Going to seek out enjoyment in the "thrill" of the scare. So let me put it this way, as Christians we believe in God, the holy spirit and we believe in demons along with Satan. Now since we believe in these things, we believe that possession can happen and that is evil and that there is nothing good about it. If it were happening in real life in front of you, would you sit there and watch? saying " oh my this is so scary, what fun" NO you would be scared out of your mind in recognition of something purely evil. WHY THEN DO WE SUPPORT AND ENJOY FILMS THAT GLORIFY EVIL??? What on earth is so fun about watching some demon tear someone apart? Or murdering multiple people? And causing the victim of possession to go through intense pain and suffering!? My heart is greatly saddened by the realization of how this has infiltrated our body as believers. We are to seek love, kindness, compassion, all things good and what kills me is that it is such an obvious form of evil and yet no one seems to realize it, or even care! We are to guard our hearts from what is evil, not embrace it.

         

Psalm 101:3-4 ESV        

I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
          

Ephesians 6:12 ESV         

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Remain pliable

   As Christians or followers of Christ, we are constantly subject to testing and trials that tend to push us to our limits. Often times leaving us feeling very uncomfortable and vulnerable. Our response to these trials is that we must remain pliable, not limiting ourselves to what we understand or see going on around us. God does not limit His work to one single section of our lives. He is constant in all of it, where we cannot see and where we can see. Though we ourselves have the ability only to see what is before us, we are not to worry about what is going on behind. We just need to maintain our faith in that what we have been learning is for a reason. No matter how hard, or how stressful those days are, there is always a brighter future ahead. God always has our back no matter what battle we are facing. It is our job to take the next step He has put in front of us. However small a step, or however big a step, and more often than not, it is the ones that must take the smallest steps that travel the greatest distance, the ones that face the most hardship that become the strongest. Developing endurance instead of speed, patience over haste, and boldness over timidity.

Psalm 34:19

The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;

    It has always been that satan likes to tear us down when we are learning at our greatest points, or when we feel most comfortable in the Lords presence. Doing everything he possibly can to tear down what God has built up within us. There is no doubt that he will use whatever our weakest point is. This is why we must constantly be in connection with our Father. Always talking, praying and conversing with him our day to day struggle. He will never fail to deliver us through what difficulties we experience. But we must remain pliable to Him for learning, moving past what we may want to learn and focus on what is being taught. I myself can get very impatient when learning something because I tend to just want the answer instead of seeking out the process of the answer. We must realize in humility that we are being taught, and through that lending our lives to His will in trust and fearlessness. letting go of our life and giving it to Him without worry.

What glory is to come

   Today a particular song  spoke to me, I can only imagine by mercy me. The song is about how glorious and awe inspiring heaven will be... not just a place of perfect bliss and happiness, but a place where our spirit cannot hold in the intense feeling of love and joy that we have for our creator. being able to stand directly in his presence in pure amazement of all that he is. When we worship Him here we get just a taste of that presence.. and sometimes even that can be overwhelming!  But to speak to Him and see Him.. what a glorious sight! And what a thought, that we will be so overjoyed at what we see that we will not want to stop praising and glorifying Him!

   This brought me to another thought throughout the day, how well do we know Jesus? What does it mean to know God? To have a relationship with Him? It was said last night at Salt  ( college ministry in Ames)  that the main purpose of the bible is to know Christ, and it is! But after we realize who He is, then we must learn who He REALLY is. The Bible gives us many stories and instruction on how to live life and what we should do in order to pursue Christ's image. How to reach out to others through our example. However, our true relationship with God comes through the Holy Spirit. That is the personal side of our relationship, because of this we then desire to do all of these other things we are asked to do through the Bible. (Just as in a relationship with someone, when we are loved and cared for, appreciated and encouraged, we want to do great things for that person in order to please them in knowing the sacrifices and great lengths they have gone to show us the same love and adoration!) When we pray and converse with God to grow closer, we must pray in the spirit. Laying down and admitting first, all of what we have done wrong in humble respect and gratitude. Thanking Him with praise, and talking to Him about anything, our worries and cares, our ups and downs. He is not only our Lord but also our friend, one who will sit and listen to us whine about some small thing that is on our mind, listening with patience and compassion. The peace that He gives us and the love that we feel  are then His response. But we need to come to Him in complete humility from our heart. If we combine what we are supposed to be doing according to the bible with a request in complete humility, it is guaranteed to be answered. Even in the smallest of things! He knows all the ins and outs of our lives, so if we honestly need a break from something, if we ask Him with respect and realization of His complete authority, then He is sure to grant our request! Likewise, If we are living in the truth from what we are taught in the Bible we should be pouring out love into others unselfishly. Not only through action, but in prayer as well. He will grant those too! Maybe not quite the way that we had thought.. but always being faithful. We should always place the requests for others before our own needs. What we sow, we will reap. living through unselfishness and love. Love will begin to surround you in everyway, and through this all other things fall in place!  God loves to encourage us and give us gifts, however small, we should always be thankful because they are crucial to growing, and realizing how present and personal He truly is in our lives! And to think, how much greater that relationship will be once we are in His presence! All of these things will be magnified infinitely!

Encouragement in knowing what is right

Ephesians 4:17-32 and 5

  So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
 That, however, is not the way of life you learned  when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;  to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.  “In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,  and do not give the devil a foothold.  Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 5    Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children  and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.  For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.  Therefore do not be partners with them.
 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light  (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.  Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.  But everything exposed by the light becomes visible and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.  This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

   Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,  speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,  always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

An observation of humility

    Tonight I had the great pleasure of participating in Royal Rangers. This is very similar to Boy Scouts but with a little of Awanas thrown in, focusing on giving young boys a solid foundation in Christ. We were teaching the boys what we should be learning from the passages that explain the order of creation. one of the boys when reading through his assigned paragraph, was struggling quite a bit. And another of the boys started to correct every mistake he made during this process. When the boy reading would be corrected, he did not get upset, or even annoyed by this. He would simply look up and smile, then go back to reading. This had really spoken to me because I can tend to be pretty bull-headed at times when it comes to being corrected. I will humble myself realizing my ignorance, but not always with a willing and joyful heart. This young boy however, would brush it off as nothing had happened! Joyfully accepting this correction looking to the us for affirmation and moving on. We need to do the same! I admire his ability to do this, something that is so simple yet difficult for many people. There is a proverb that has been randomly popping up for a few situations I have experienced this past week that goes right along with the above example;

 Proverbs 12:1       
     Anyone who loves learning accepts correction, but a person who hates being corrected is stupid.

   Pretty straight forward right? instead of being prideful even when we know we are wrong, we need to always assume at first that we know less than who we are talking to. Willing to learn and in a constant state of absorption. Using the Holy Spirit and a strict set of guidelines from the Word as a filter for what we are to let pass through. And using what we learn in unison with what knowledge we have already gained to check, cross reference, and re-check. To make sure that what is taught is truth.