Prove By The Way You Live

"When the crowds came to John for Baptism, he said, "You brood of snakes!  Who warned you to flee God's coming wrath?  Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.  Don't just say to each other, 'We're safe, for we are descendants of Abraham'.  That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones."

The Crowds asked, "What should we do?"

John replied, "If you have two shirts, give one to the poor.  If you have food, share it with those who are hungry."

(Luke chapter 3)

Wow!  That is very convicting.  Here's John The Baptist talking to a group of people who are trying to do the right thing.  His words cut right to the heart.  To paraphrase, John is saying, 'Don't come here and play the game.  If you mean what you say, if you really want to do God's will then prove it by the way you live.  Give what you have to the poor.  Give them clothes and give them food.  Let your faith be shown by the way you live."

Our words are meaningless if not verified by our actions.  Our faith is empty if not shown by our deeds.  Saying that I care about the poor and seldom giving them anything proves that I really don't care too much about the poor.  We spend too much time talking about our bills and not giving to those in need.  We waste too much time thinking about how we can make more money and not how we can give more.  I'm guilty of this.  I don't give enough.  I have plenty of food and clothes and I need to share it with the poor.  No excuses.  Writing this does nothing for the poor.  Talking about it and even praying about it does nothing for the poor.  If I love Jesus, I must DO WHAT HE SAYS!  Being baptised in water is a good thing.  But John takes it a step further and says don't just get baptized in water as an empty religious exercise, PROVE that you have repented and turned from doing things your own way by doing things God's way.  Give clothes and food to the poor.  This is not symbolic or a nice idea, this is to be taken literally.  I make too many excuses for myself.  I see someone asking for money and I immediately think 'con-man, don't give him anything'.  That may or may not be true.  There are definitely many people in America who are pan-handling and playing the con-game.  But there are also many people in need.  Giving through a church ministry or an established non-profit is the safest way of giving.

I challenge you (and me) to give to the poor today and to be committed to giving everyday.  Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice when He gave His very life.  We need to follow His example and lay down our lives, die daily, and give unto others.

Let me know what you think?  Tell me what happens when you give to the poor.

"Why Did You Search For Me?"

This morning I read the account of Joseph and Mary leaving Jerusalem only to find out later that their son Jesus was not in there group.  They had been traveling all day with their friends and relatives and had to go all the way back to find him.  It took them 3 days to find him.  Like any good parents in their situation, Mary and Joseph were frantic and worried about their son.  Just think of the thoughts that were racing through their minds for those 3 days.  Jesus was only 12 years old and they could not find him.  He was in a big city.  So big that it took them 3 full days to find him.  When they found him Mary said, "Jesus, why have you done this, don't you know your Father and I have been frantically searching for you?"  And Jesus said, "Why have you been searching for me, didn't you know I would be at my Father's House?"

Jesus said, "Why did you search for me?"  For Mary and Joseph, that had an obvious answer.  Any good parent would say "I searched for you because you are my son and I love you and I want to make sure you are safe".  Jesus was being sincere with his answer, he was not being disrespectful with his answer.  But I want to pose the same question to you and me, "Why did you search for me (Jesus)?"  Why did you search for Jesus?

What caused you to search for Jesus?  How did you find Him?  Did you look at his Father's House?  Where did you find Him?  Are you searching for Him today?  Are you looking for Him today?

Lets make it our goal today to search for Him.  We will search for Him today because we need Him, we love Him and He loves us.  We want to please Him, to follow Him, to worship Him, to honor Him.  We will search for Jesus today because, as Peter said, "you have the words of eternal life".  We search for you today Lord Jesus because You are the word made flesh, the first and the last, the light of the World, the Lamb of God, the soon and coming King, the Creator of this World, the Messiah, the only begotten son, God with us, and our Prince of Peace.

Road To The Resurrection

I am posting a link to Pastor Greg Laurie's website about an event they are starting called "Road to the Resurrection".  I heard him talking about it briefly on the radio this morning.  I love listening to Pastor Greg when I am in my car at 8:30 when his show is on 107.9 KWAVE.  I am always challenged and encouraged.

Here is the link for "Road to the Resurrection"
http://www.harvest.org/risen/?utm_campaign=RoadToTheResurrection&utm_source=risen.harvest.org

His idea is to make a bigger deal out of celebrating Easter, our Lords Resurrection.  I think it's a good idea.  Talking about it ahead of time and building the anticipation of it like we do for Christmas. 
Let me know what you think.  I will try to implement this with my own family and get on board with remembering and celebrating this season with thanksgiving.

It will also connect you directly with http://www.harvest.org/ where you can find all kinds of uplifting and challenging material.  It also lists there church service times.

May God bless you today!

Dan

A Father's Perspective On The Wars

The following was sent by Michael Jorgensen (my older brother) in reply to the story "Bring Our Men and Women Home".  His son Matthew Jorgensen served his country bravely with several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Date: Sunday, April 3, 2011, 4:41 AM
 I took some time to think about this
 one. Here's what I came up with. While I think that our
 goals in Afghanistan may have been in defense of our
 country.(Osama and the Taliban) I don't believe they were as
 clear, ever in Iraq. Now as witnessed by the recent events
 in Afghanistan, we need to remember that these are a warring
 people who have been doing that for thousands of years. So I
 doubt that just because we come in and say "Here, try a little
 democracy", will change that. Now we also need to remember
 that there were certain factions in these countries that
 asked for our help. Now does that mean we need to do that?
 Probably not. So after all that, I do agree that it is time
to bring our young men and women home, immediately. I wish
 this was one promise President Obama had kept.

Use Your Blinking Turn Indicator!!!

This is not spiritual nor godly, this is just a rant of mine, stick with me and let me know if you agree or disagree with my observations.
I have had it with people who refuse to use their blinker light when they are making a turn or changing lanes.  I cannot believe how many people do not indicate which way they are turning.  It is very aggravating.  Time and time again, I am sitting at an intersection, waiting to make a right turn , I see a car coming from the left, there is no blinker flashing so I assume they are going straight, then, right before the intersection, they slow down and take a right.  I stare at them, they look back with no idea what is going on.  I can't pull out in front and take a right because that is when the car will be going straight ahead and run right into me.  It is rude.  It is thoughtless.  It is selfish.  What can I do?  Nothing.  In this day and age, honking the horn at someone can get you shot.  I am just dumbfounded.  I know this sounds like a shallow rant, but it is very annoying.  It is unsafe.  Can I call 911 and report this?  Of course not.  I just have to deal with it.  It is teaching me patience.  It is teaching me to slow down. 

I watched cars today and estimated that only 25% of the vehicles I watched were using their turn indicators.

I guess I can concede their are much bigger problems in the World and just deal with it and get over it.  Jesus said pray for those who persecute you, this is not even close to the type of persecution He was talking about.  So, I will do my best to pray for every person that refuses to use their blinkers and hope that somehow they will figure it out on their own.  Until then, Use Your Blinking Turn Indicators America!!!

Terry Jones Should Repent and Apologize

Terry Jones (I will not call him 'Pastor') is an example of someone taking the name of the Lord in vain.  To call yourself a Christian and then do the opposite of what Christ represents and in fact demonstrated when He was on the earth is taking His name in vain.  It is comparable to the Pharisee's, the self-righteous religious fanatics that put Jesus on a cross.  Terry Jones does not speak for Christians and he surely does not represent Jesus Christ.

Terry Jones should not call himself a Christian.  What he has done and is doing has nothing to do with Jesus Christ.  Jesus said to "love your neighbor" and Jesus said "pray for your enemies".  Jesus came to save sinners.  Jesus was sent to save people and not condemn them.  While Jesus was being crucified on a cross, with nails through his hands and feet, he said "Father forgive them for they know not what they do". 

Terry Jones can be forgiven for his ignorant acts of hatred but he should be put in jail for provoking these murders and hostilities.

Bring Our Men & Women Home!

I've had enough.  I'm tired of these wars.  We need to speak up and let our Representatives and our President know that we have had enough.  Bring our men and women home!  Bring our brave soldiers back to the United States, back to their communities, back to their families.  Ten years of fighting is enough!  Ten years of bloodshed and innocent lives maimed and destroyed is enough!

I'm a proud citizen of the United States of America.  I still think this is the best country in the World.  But I'm tired of being lied too and misled.  The U.S. attacked Iraq and Afghanistan in reaction to the 9/11 bombing of the Twin Towers in New York.  It was justified to go after the Terrorist camps in Afghanistan but there was no justification for attacking and invading Iraq.  We were told that they had weapons of mass destruction.  That turned out to be a lie.  We were told our military was going into Iraq as liberators to set the people free, that they would be dancing in the streets.  Well, we know the dancing lasted for a few hours and then the bloodshed continued.  We did not liberate them, we killed their brutal leader and bombed their countryside.  They killed our young men and women and we killed them.

I live in Southern California.  I like going to the coastal cities of Oceanside and Carlsbad.  Recently when I was in Carlsbad, I saw several young military guys walking around with prosthetic arms and legs.  I saw some with scars on their face and arms from their injuries of war.  Young men permanently maimed for their sacrifice to our country.  It made me mad.  I respect the soldiers but I hate the way our leadership has misled our country into these wars.  When is enough, enough?  What is the goal of these wars?  Is it really worth the sacrificing of our young men and women?  I know they have done many good things for the people of Iraq but was it worth the sacrifice of their lives?  Was it worth the permanent mental and physical disabilities many of them will suffer with for the rest of their lives?  We honor them for their brave service and sacrifice for our country.  Now, we should honor them by bringing them all home.

I have heard several well meaning people say "they (the soldiers) are fighting for our freedoms".  I hate that saying.  It is misguided at best and a complete lie at its worst.  They are not fighting for our freedoms---that war was fight many years ago---they are fighting for our government and at they are fighting for the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, and now for Libya.  What freedoms could we possibly gain from these wars?  Lets be honest with each other, these wars are being fought for former President George W. Bush and the congress he had, and now, to my dismay, they are being fought for President Obama, the anti-war President, and the present congress.  President Obama promised to end these wars and bring our soldiers home.  He has given no indication at all that he is going to do that anytime soon.  But we are at fault as well.  In this democracy "by the people and for the people", we are supposed to speak up if we don't like something.  It is time to speak up.  It is time to get mad.  It is time to demand that they bring our men and women back home.  It is time to say 'quit wasting those billions of dollars on war and destruction and put it to use for people in this country.  Quit sending billions overseas to other countries in aide (to buy their allegiance) and spend that money on our country's people'.

Bring our men and women home!