Watch, Listen, and Learn.

  On my computer desktop screen is a photo of a person silhouetted against a sunset (maybe sunrise) kneeling in prayer. The caption on the picture says "When life gets to hard to stand... kneel".
   This little slogan was put there to remind me to spend time in prayer as I go through this tough financial season I am experiencing now, but it has come to teach me much more about the truth, depth, and possibilities of my relationship with God.
   As I lift my burden to the Lord I have seen his hand and heart revealed in many ways, restoring joy, hope and peace. The financial barrier has not been removed but I am trusting it will crumble soon and from an unexpected avenue.
   As we read His word, God is revealed in many powerful ways. We are hear how he deeply loves and care for his people and desires the best for their lives.
   So day by day we learn from a God, who by personal revelation, guides us, nurtures us, matures us as we step out of our situation into His Kingdom.

Church Life - A Word Of Encouragement

   It is a common definition, in our culture, to think of the church as some place you go or something you do once you get there. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but where that can cause trouble is when it becomes the only definition. By holding only to that narrow view the church is limited only to the building and the activities that are limited to that building.

   In the truest and most biblical sense we are the church. The church is the body of Christ in the world. So yes on Sundays when we gather at a certain building and do certain things we are doing church, but come Monday we are back to doing "life"? If we are the church, if we are the body of Christ, if we are His disciples, doing His work, should not church life be our life?

   God desires a church that gathers in the everyday places of life. Out in the trenches of life where people struggle and dream. People stepping into life and lifting those who stumble, being the guide for someone who needs a map; living life as a follower of Jesus our Lord, becoming his hands and his voice in a hurting world. We do not "go" to church, we are a church that "goes".

Faith is Just a Leap Away

   I have to admit some of the stuff in the bible does seem pretty far fetched and hard to wrap a puny human mind around. But,through the years and with lots of study, I may not have a full understanding of what the book has to say, but I stand by it as a revelation of the person of God and his magnificent love for us. The bible requires you to think and reason and, yes, sometimes just take a leap of faith.
   When I first came to an awareness of my inadequacies before a holy God and my need for Jesus as my advocate to His father, I thought the bible was just a bunch of stories and pretty sayings. But I heard the truth about my sin nature. I heard about my need to turn from a life ruled by that sin nature. I heard that even though I was a sinner God loved me. I heard that because God loved me Jesus, His son, paid the price of that sin so I could be reconciled to God. I heard that I was now a new creation, a child of God. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
   So how does that happen; that amazing leap from dis-belief to faith? In my case I was obviously open to what I heard, but how did I become open?
   I think that my openness to hearing the gospel was that the ones that were bringing the Word of God to me were doing so mostly with the actions of their lives and not hammering me with what I "needed to do". These people put me at ease by allowing me to be myself, they accepted me for who I was and expressed Gods love for me by their very being and let me "work out my own salvation".
   Most importantly, as they brought the Word of God to me, they were also bringing the Holy Spirit into my life in a new and profound way. As I considered, debated, and wrestled with the Word of God, the Holy Spirit began to reveal himself into that opening heart of mine. So as I heard the Word of God I was also hearing "See how much I love you, see how much you need to come to me. Your way has no map. Follow me."
   Faith does not have to be a big thing at the start, it can be the size of a mustard seed, but with time it will grow. That basic seed of faith is the acceptance of the miracle that God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
   Take the Word of God into the world today with the Holy Spirit as you guide. Be honest, be truly loving; love the way God loves. You are a living letter from God; The Word is in you. Those you come in contact with will have the seed of faith planted in their lives. You may not see it, but have faith. It is there.
   

Alter Call

  
  Brothers and sisters, God has shown you his mercy. So I am asking you to offer up your bodies to him while you are still alive. Your bodies are a holy sacrifice that is pleasing to God. When you offer your bodies to God, you are worshiping him. (Romans 12:1)

Step 1: Build an alter to God.

Step 2: Put your life on it.

Step 3: Wait and see what God does with it.

  We are a part of something so large, so awesome, as we follow Jesus. Sometimes it's hard to comprehend the full magnitude of what we have signed up for when we asked Jesus into our hearts. It's enough though to realize that we are apart of something large and awesome and that God's hand is guiding it all. We can take comfort that our lives lived, offered up to him as a living sacrifice, is all we need to do to be a part of this miraculous adventure that Jesus leads us in.
  As we take God's love that He's given us, and share it with the world, we can rejoice that the largeness and awesomeness of God is being revealed through us.
  Wow! A kind word, a giving act and there is God in our midst. And these are no small miracles. There are no small miracles. A hand held out to help is as powerful as a hand held out to heal if it is done from a heart of love.
  So as we step out today, take God's love into the world and give it as extravagantly as he did toward us. Let the world see what God is doing with your life. In so doing we invite others to experience the miraculous adventure of living in God's kingdom. 

Kingdom Living

  There is coming a time when Jesus will return and establish His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. We do not know the time of His return but we wait patiently and faithfully for that day. Jesus also speaks of the Kingdom being in us and around us; a place that we can enter. In all of these the Kingdom of God is the place where God rules. So if God rules our hearts, our minds, and souls; our lives, then that’s were we find the Kingdom of God now. In our hope of the Kingdom to come those in Christ live in the Kingdom present.  
  When a person turns their life to Jesus, receiving his salvation by grace through faith, they become "saved", but possibly more importantly they become a disciple of Jesus in God's Kingdom.
  When we become disciples; Citizens of God's Kingdom, we begin to model our life after the life of Jesus. This is a life of giving ourselves to love and good works. This is a life that becomes a testimony of what we have witnessed Jesus do in our lives and with our lives. It becomes our all consuming desire for all to see the power of the Gospel and the power of God’s grace.

God's Glory

  "... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,". (Romans 3:23 NIV)   Most of the time this verse is drawn upon to point out a persons sin and their need to turn their life to God. And it's true; I'm a sinner, everyone reading this is a sinner, everyone not reading this is a sinner. But I think the optimum word in the verse is "glory".

  It is because of God's glory, his holiness, His majesty, His sovereignty, His supremacy, that we have a reference point to become aware of our sin.
  There are a lot of good people in the world. For the most part we all want to live our lives peacefully and get along with every one else, but held up beside God all our good deeds are nothing. But here's the good news:
  God has shown us grace, a free gift emanating from His glorious love, that through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are cleansed of our sin. We, taking up the righteousness of Christ, can now stand before God in personal relationship.
  And that is the beauty of God's love. He wants us in relationship with Him. Just as He would walk with Adam and Eve in the garden during the "cool of the evening" he wants that personal time with us now. Isn't that glorious?

Prayer as Communion with God

        The Christian life is our present and personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This relationship brings us the wonderful gift of being able to talk directly with God. Prayer. We have this because of what Christ has done for us, creating a sacred union between human-kind and God. We are in Christ and He is in us.

So many think prayer is a way to get what we want. I truth prayer is bringing ourselves into union with His thoughts, ways, and teachings. Christ is the focus of prayer, His work, and His impact on your life. This is what Jesus teaches in the Lord’s Prayer.

(Luke 11:1-4 NIV) 1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

  Prayer becomes our connection with God our way to be in tune with Him and His will. God is seeking to strengthen us; empower us for all we encounter in our lives. This is the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit, who prays for us even when we do not know how to pray. This is just a hint of the depth of which God wants to interact with us in our lives. He desires a moment to moment relationship with us. That is why we are called to a life of constant communion with Him.

We need to recognize and establish the supremacy of God in our lives and an attitude constant communion through prayer helps make that happen. Prayer is probably the most key aspects of a Christian life, Bringing to the fore-front of our hearts, minds and spirits that Jesus Christ LORD.