Laying Down Your Life

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself , take up his cross daily and follow after me."

Those are the words of Jesus.  People were asking Him what they needed to do to be with Him.  He went on to say, If you try to hang onto your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.  Amazing.  These are the words that I read when I was 22 years old that really made it all clear to me.  Christianity isn't raising your hand and wanting to 'be saved'.  Being a follower of Jesus Christ is a commitment, it is making a concrete decision to surrender everything and follow after Him.  It is giving up complete control of your destiny, of your life.  It is putting all of your hopes and dreams into His hands and saying not my will but yours.

I was in the Philippines in July of 1982.  I went on a short terms missions trip with a group of 22 christian teenagers and four adult leaders that I had never met.  We all signed up independently of each other with a group called Missions Outreach Incorporated in Bethany, Missouri.  We met up with a missionary couple on the island of Panay which is south of Manila.  While there we helped to build a church for the missionaries.  The conditions were pretty primitive but it was one of the best experiences of my life.  While I was there, I made a commitment to God that with the rest of my life I would go anywhere and do anything that He wanted me to do.  Looking back at it, I was surrendering the rest of my life to Him, my hopes, my dreams, my goals, I willingly laid it down for Him to try my best to do things His way from then on.  That has been my goal, although I fall short of that many times.

I have a friend who is a missionary in New Zealand.  He and his family have already served as missionary pastors in Germany for nine years.  They have been in New Zealand for one year.  While there he met the husband of a woman that attends their church.  She is a christian, her husband is not.  Her husband's health is failing and he needs a kidney.  My friend, the missionary, has volunteered to give him one of his kidneys.  I was astounded when I heard this.  I wrote him yesterday and asked if he was really sure he wanted to do this.  He responded today and quoted Jesus as willingly laying down His life for us.  He said that is what has inspired him to do what he is doing, namely, laying down his life for another.  He is giving a stranger one of his kidneys.  This has challenged me to dig deeper and examine my own heart and motives.  I want to do a better job of laying down my life on a daily basis. 

When I surrendered my life to Jesus in 1982, I thought that He was calling me into traditional full-time ministry like a missionary or a pastor.  I had no idea what God had planned for me.  I went to a Bible school in Dallas, Texas, called Christ for the Nations.  I graduated with an Associates Degree in Theology and was ready for ministry.  To make a long story short, this is my 18th year in education.  I am currently teaching Middle School P.E. in Southern California.  God has reminded me time and time again this year to be content with what I have been called too.  God has challenged me to accept what I am doing.  Whether  or not I like it, or understand it, I feel like this is where He wants me to be.  I have approximately 350 students every day in my 7 classes.  I see all 1,500 students every day out on the P.E. fields.  My ministry right now is to do my best to show all of them the love of Jesus.  My challenge right now is to willingly lay down my life everyday.  My challenge right now is to take up my cross everyday and follow after Jesus.
That is my ministry.  That is what God has called me to.  That is where He has directed me to serve Him.

What is your challenge today?  What is God calling you to do?  Are you laying down your life and ambitions to follow after Him?  Are you doing things His way or your way?  He wants you to surrender the way you do things to do things His way.  He wants you to deny yourself and follow after Him.  His way is the way of being a servant.  His way is the way of giving.  His way is to lay down His life completely for others.  His way is to forgive.  His way is to heal.

Laying down our lives is a daily decision.  We choose to live for ourselves or to live for Him.  Laying down our lives is a sacrifice.  A sacrifice includes a certain level of pain or discomfort.  When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane he asked God if there was another way other than the cross.  Jesus was suffering.  He was in such pain and turmoil that He was literally sweating blood.  He saw the huge sacrifice He was about to make.  He chose to submit to His Father in Heaven and lay down His life.  He said Not my will but thine be done.  He made the ultimate sacrifice.  To follow Him, we must be willing to lay down our lives for others.  He is asking us to take up the cross daily and follow after Him. 

When All That Can Be Shaken is Shaken...

What are your thoughts concerning the horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan?  Did you think about the individual people and families that were devastated?  Did you wonder what it was like to be shaken by this violent earthquake that lasted, by some accounts, for over 4 minutes?  Did you think about the helplessness of those overtaken by the swarming wall of water?  It all happened in a moment.  No one knew it was coming.  The Japanese people are better prepared for earthquake safety than any other nation in the World and they still could not withstand the force and destruction of this earthquake and tsunami.  Whole cities were washed away.  Houses were literally blown apart.  All of this happened in a matter of moments, minutes and seconds.   An earthquake, a tsunami and the ongoing tragedy of the nuclear facilities exposing thousands to radiation.  All of this in a matter of moments on a day like any other day.  No one knew this was coming.

For those of us who live in California the question is not 'if that could happen here', the question is 'when will that happen here?'  We seem to have the attitude here that we are too good for something like that to happen to us.  It happens in far away places like Haiti or New Zealand or Japan but not here.  We feel we are somewhat prepared for this kind of an earthquake but are hoping it will never happen to us.  Of course, that is foolish thinking.  We need to be fully prepared.  On a deeper level, the question for everyone is are you prepared for the earthquakes in your life?  Is there a way to really be prepared for this kind of unexpected tragedy in our own lives?

I have heard reports that George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, is convinced that the World will end in December of 2012.  I don't remember the details but I think he is basing it on an ancient Mayan calender that ended in December of 2012.  Usually it is Hollywood that is making fun of people claiming that the end is coming.  They usually show some nut carrying a sign with that slogan on it.  The fact is, the end is coming for each one of us and the question is, are you ready?  The World may not end in 2012 but, the World will end for each of us at some point.  Am I ready?  Are you ready?  There is an excellent website at http://www.endoftheworld2012.net/ that answers all of those questions.  I happened upon it one day when I was researching what I had heard concerning George Lucas and 2012.  I recommend you check out the website for yourself.  It is VERY interesting and very well done.  It includes the fact that Jesus actually said that no one knows when the end of the World will occur, not Him, not the angels, only His (our) Father in heaven knows.

Jesus said the following words which were recorded by his disciple Mark in the 13th chapter and verse 8;

^"8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.^[a] These are the beginnings of sorrows."

The beginnings of sorrows.  It sure feels like that.  There has been an increase of earthquakes, wars and famines during the last century.  Jesus also said that "the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in heaven will be shaken."  He said this over 2,000 years ago.  Are you ready?

Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me."  There is another verse in the Bible that says "Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord (Jesus) shall be saved."  Jesus promises us also "I will never leave you or forsake you".

There is a way of escape from all the calamities in life.  There is a way to be fully prepared for any disaster.  It's not by building stronger buildings or bigger retaining walls next to the ocean.  It's not by storing up canned foods and water supplies.  The only safety is to surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ and to follow Him and his teachings.

The King of Kings

As the World around us seems to be falling apart and Wars continue to rage, we can all look forward to the time when the King of all kings will rule.  The governments of our World will continue to disappoint us with corruption and greed.  There is no good government on this Earth.  There is no perfect form of government.  The democratic form of government is the best this World has to offer and we can all see that it too has many flaws.  Our debt continues to rise, our education system is weakening, unemployment is rising and care for the poor and the sick is lowering.  I don't want to focus on the negative, just on the truth. 

Our only real hope for lasting prosperity and health is the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of all kings.  He is the President of all of the presidents.  As promised in the Bible, one day He will return with the loud sound of a trumpet and with thousands of angels.  This is no fairy tale.  This is not make believe.  This has nothing to do with Santa or the Easter Bunny or other folk tales.  He is the way , the truth and the life.  There is no other name, given among men, whereby we might be saved.  This is called the great and terrible day of the Lord.  It will be great for those He returns for and terrible for those who have rejected Him and mocked Him. 

Jesus is a historical person.  He really existed.  He walked on this Earth.  The World would have you ignore Him or brush Him aside as a religious pretender.  As Josh Mcdowell said in his book "Evidence That Demands a Verdict", Jesus was one of three things;  He was a phony, or, He was deceived, or, He was who He said He was, the only Son of God.  He was not just a great teacher.  Read His own words.  Jesus said He is the Son of God.  Read the Book of John (his friend and disciple) and decide for yourself.  This is too important to just brush off.  Or, you can read Mcdowells book ("Evidence That Demands a Verdict").  Mcdowell used to debate against Christians vehemently until he looked at the evidence and the facts himself and became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The eternal government of the Lord Jesus Christ, our soon and coming King, will be the only good and perfect government that we will ever know.  I want you to be a part of it.

"For God so loved the World, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"   John 3:16



The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Fully Updated To Answer The Questions Challenging Christians Today

The United States of Hypocrisy

Libyan leader Ghadaffi is villainized as being cruel and heartless to his own people.  I agree that he has been cruel to his people.  Yet, the United States is unwilling to examine the acts of cruelty that go on in our country everyday.  Is there another country with more violence than ours?  Is there another country where guns are more easily accessible?  Is there another country that is promoting wars as much as ours?  Is there another country that is selling more weapons for war to other countries than ours?  Is there another country that has legalized the killing of over 50 million babies and given finances to other countries promoting the killing of more babies? 

We need to take an honest look at ourselves.  Being the richest and most powerful country in the World does not justify all of our actions.  We are a democracy...we are in this together.  I am not pointing the finger and putting the blame on others...the blame is on all of us and that starts with me.  It's time to speak up and be honest about where we are at.  I need to change my ways...we need to change our ways.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall turn from their wicked ways and repent, I will hear their prayers and heal their land"

Faith Of My Father

This is the birth of my blog, March 20th, 2011.  I want to honor my birth Father and my Father in Heaven.  I want to encourage others to think and act with an open mind while using the Holy Word of God as our template of truth.

I am appalled at the continual war-mongering of the United States.  I voted for President Obama with the hope that he would do more to reach out to the poor and the down and out and to bring the troops back home.  But, as I write today, I honestly do not see a difference between the last President and this one.  I voted for W. Bush the first term because I believed what he said concerning the unborn in this country.  He did nothing to stop abortion, the killing of innocent babies.  As I write today there have been reports of over 50 MILLION babies killed in this country since it was made legal.  We ought to hang our heads in shame.  We ought to repent individually and as a nation.  God have mercy on us and help us to repent and change our ways.