Give Thanks Always

Why should we give thanks always?  Does that mean ALWAYS?  Even when things go wrong?  Even if things don't go as planned?  Even when loved ones die?

We can give thanks always.  God expects us to give thanks always.  Yet, He understands our weaknesses and our thinking. 

The death of Jesus was not something that his followers expected.  Yet, it was a good thing and in fact, it was Gods' will.  We all benefited from His death and resurrection.  We give thanks for that all the time.  Giving thanks to God 'always' is an act of faith, of love, trust and obedience.  It is submitting to His will and trusting that He is in control of all things.  In control of all things when we are living and when we die.  Through life and through death.  He is there for us.  "Though I may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for THOU ART WITH ME".   That is what we can always rejoice about and be thankful for, He is always with is.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  We are in His hands, whether we feel it or not.

When challenges in our lives come our way, and they will, we can always rejoice and be thankful because He is there for us, through life and through death.  Through the storms, not around them. 
"Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord".  What a great promise.  We BELONG to the Lord.  No one, or nothing can take us away from Him.  We belong to Him. 

Keep your eyes on Jesus.  Watch and pray.  He is with us.  He loves us.  We belong to Him in life and through death.  He will not let us go.

Seeking the American Dream

"What am I doing here?"  This is a question that Dr. K.P. Yohannan asked himself as a young Pastor in Dallas, Texas in 1977.  Dr. Yohannan is the founder of Gospel for Asia and the author of the book Revolution In World Missions.  He was convicted by the affluent life style he was living, in comparison to the poor brothers and sisters he left behind in India.  He was convicted that there were so many lost and dying without ever hearing the name of Jesus Christ.  As I am reading his book, I am convicted too.  What AM I doing here?  What is the focus of my life, of each day.  I find too often I am serving myself and am concerned about my own hopes and dreams.  Ah, dreams.  Our American culture has immortalized the perception that 'following our dreams' is the greatest goal in our life.  Or as the Disney movies so often put it, 'follow your heart'.  That is not the message of the gospel.  That is not even close.  Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him lay down his life and follow after me".  He said to lay down your life!  Jesus never said anything at all about following our dreams.  That is a lie from the pits of Hell.  It is self serving and self seeking.  It is a deception we need to weed out of our hearts and minds.  It is a lie we need to protect our children from.

     So, the question is, "What am I doing here?"  What are you doing here?  The way we live our life is an example of our faith and our beliefs.  That is convicting.  I need to repent and follow after Him.  I do not want the 'American Dream'.  That is a deception also.  I have fallen into that myself.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to take care of our families and to work, that is godly, but our focus should not be on pursuing the elusive dreams of our heart.  Jesus said "Life is not measured by how much you own".  Wow!  We can add to that and say that 'Life is measured by how much you give'.  I need to do a better job with giving.  I need to do a better job with putting my focus on the Kingdom of God and not the kingdom of Dan.  I need to lift up my eyes toward heaven and ask God what is important to Him.  I need to give more to those that do not have food and clothes, like the millions in India that are in poverty.

     Gospel for Asia is an excellent group that gives directly to their native missionaries.  They give directly to poor children so they can go to school and have food and clothes.  If you want to check them out go to gfa.org

Love, Do Good, Bless, Pray for, Give....

Jesus said;

• "Love your enemies".
• "Do good to those who hate you""
• "Bless those that curse you".
• "Pray for those that hurt you (or, despitefully use you)
• "Give to anyone who asks".

Jesus said each one of these to us as a direct command, not a suggestion.  Jesus demonstrated these to us by the way he lived.  I prayerfully thougt, 'Lord, you condemned the Pharisee's, how did you show love to them and how did you do good to them', and I felt the Holy Spirit answer me and remind me that Jesus died on the cross for all who are willing to recieve his free gift of salvation.  On the cross, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". 
On the cross, Jesus:

• Loved his enemies.
• Did good to those who hated Him.
• Blessed those that cursed Him.
• Prayed for those that hurt Him.
• Gave everything He had.

We have no excuses.  We are too love our enemies.  We are too do good to those who hate us.  We are to bless those that curse us.  We are too pray for those that hurt us.  We are to give to anyone who asks.

Lord Jesus, help us to follow your commands today, with no excuses.

Love Your Enemies

Jesus is so good.  He is 'the Word made flesh'.  He is the God "I Am".  He came to explain and to demonstrate what all the scriptures are about.  Jesus told the Pharisee's "You search the scriptures because you think you will find eternal life in them, but the scriptures point to me!  But you refuse to come to me to recieve this life".  The Pharisee's had it all wrong, they put the focus on the written word and the law.  They missed the Messiah who was walking right in front of them.  Not only did they not recognize Him, they were intent on killing him and eventually did. 

Jesus said "I only say what I hear the Father say" and "I only do what I see the Father doing".  Jesus said "to all who are willing to listen, love your enemies.  Do good to them that hate you.  Bless those that curse you.  Pray for those that despitefully use you".  That is direct teaching from Jesus, telling us what He heard from the Father.  This is His command.  This is what we must do.  We should not filter and reason with what Jesus is telling us.  We must learn to listen and obey.  I must learn to listen and obey.  He goes on to say, "when someone asks for something you give it to them.  Give without expecting to get it back".  Wow!  That is true religion.  I need to get better at that.  Much better.  Lets all try to read the words of Jesus without filtering them.  To be like Him, we need to listen to Him and follow His commands.  He said "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and not do what I say?"  Lord Jesus, help us to listen and to obey and follow your commands and teachings without filtering them with our own reasoning.

Follow Me

Jesus hated dead religion.  When He came to the World, the World received Him not.  Not only did they not receive Him, the hated Him and killed Him.  The religious institution of His time was the Pharisee's.  They were the 'experts' on the Holy Scriptures.  They were the pastors and theologians.  Yet, they searched the scriptures and still did not recognize the Messiah walking in their midst.  Not only did they not recognize Him, they were so far off, they hated Him and killed Him.  "He came onto His own and His own received Him not".  What a paradox.  Jesus brought a simple message of "forgive and you will be forgiven".  Jesus said simply "follow me".  Jesus said all the laws and all the commandments are wrapped up in these two things, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself".  The Pharisee's made following God a heavy burden.  Jesus said "my burden is light".  The Pharisee's were happy to execute judgement on the women caught in adultry, Jesus had mercy.  We can be glad that we serve a loving Lord.  We can be happy that we serve a forgiving God.  He loves you!  He "came to save", not to judge.  Jesus forgives you and loves you just as you are right now.  Right at this minute, He accepts you as you are and welcomes you into His family.  All you have to do is "follow me", follow the Lord Jesus Christ.  Once you come into His family He will never kick you out. 

Jesus said "I only do what the Father shows me to do" and "I only say what I hear Him say".  He was and is a direct representation of who God is.  When you think of God, think of Jesus.   He came to explain the scriptures and to show who God is.  Do not think of that picture of a giant and mean God in Heaven.  Be thankful that when we wonder what God is like that we can look at Jesus, loving, forgiving, accepting, healing, protecting, against dead religion, for reconciliation and an eternal friendship.  Jesus said "I came to do what the Father told me to do" and now we are to continue that.  Now, we say what we 'hear Jesus saying' (what He said) and we follow Him, and his example.

Lets make sure we are following the example of Jesus and not the Pharisee's.  Lets enjoy this day that the Lord has made.  Lets lift our hands to heaven and thank Him for being who He is.  He loves you.  He loves you right now just as you are.  If you love Him and want to follow Him, tell Him that right now.  Start to follow Him today.  Find a local Chrisitian Church for Christian friendships.  Pray for God to help guide you and bring people into your life who will help you to follow Him and start living your life as Jesus did.

Jesus Said:

I have been reading from the book of John where Jesus kept saying "I only say what I hear the Father saying" and "I only do what I see the Father doing".  As the chapters continue, Jesus starts to say things like "My disciples follow my commands".  He starts with the example of His own life and then as He is teaching the disciples (and us) He turns it to teach us that we need to 'say what He tells us to say' and 'do what He shows us to do'.  Those are two very important lessons for us, what we SAY and what we DO.  I am praying that He will help me to follow His example without any excuses or filtering or reasoning with His commands.

God is good all the time!

The passing of Pastor David Wilkerson

I was shocked and saddened to find out that Pastor David Wilkerson died in a auto accident on April 27th of this year.  He was a spiritual giant.  A spiritual father of sorts for me.

For those not familiar with David Wilkerson, he is the author of the book "Cross and the Switchblade".  All of the information can be found at worldchallenge.org.  They have his whole life story and a video of the memorial service from Times Square Church in New York City.

The school year is over for me and I hope to be posting on a more regular basis through the summer.  It was a challenging and rewarding year at school.

God is good ALL the time!