The Time Has Come

Many of us use this time of year to celebrate the birth of the gift which God placed inside of Mary, perhaps now is the time for us to also celebrate the birth of the gift which God has placed in us.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” James 1:22-25

"Go out and feed some sheep today!"

God, Are You Listening?

Ever wonder if God is too busy to hear your prayer? Or maybe because of your past He’s just not listening to you?

You’ve prayed and waited but heaven is silent and the chaos continues in your life. One mess after another, always bobbing up and down in the storm, hope somehow stays just out of reach. You quote scripture after scripture, “He’ll never leave me nor forsake me, No weapon formed against me shall prosper, the prayers of the righteous availith much, I have mustard seed faith, mountain be moved!” When you’ve done all you can do, the billows still role with a vengeance.

Somehow everyone is getting through to heaven but you, how long will it take, why won’t He listen to you? There are many who have found themselves at this place, lonely tired, drained. It’s like hitting a brick wall with a snowball.

Finding myself facing the immoveable and wondering why, caused me to be still and listen. It allowed me to see that I was always asking and never waiting for an answer. I couldn’t hear from God because I wasn’t listening, always getting off of my knees and trying the next thing hoping it would fix the problem. What would make the cycle spin faster was my propensity to blame God when my next great idea failed. I even used the same flawed method with fasting, giving up something as a sacrifice and filling that time with earthly business rather than with the Lord.

My lesson became clear, God heard me but I wasn’t listening to Him. I finally understood what the disciples must have felt like when they tried to cast the spirit from the little boy and failed. When they asked Jesus why they had failed, Jesus responded “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:29. Fasting is the intimate time that we spend with God so that we can hear what he has to say to us not to fill the time with things to keep us busy. “The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord.” Faith comes by hearing!

Clearly a lesson I needed to learn and I hope that sharing it will bless you!

“Go out and feed some sheep today”

Yes, I am different!

If I were a painter, I would have an eye for colors, shades, hues, textures, blends and brush strokes because it would be a part of who I am. Perhaps you are a carpenter:  you would notice a door hung slightly off track, molding that does not butt quite together, the counter top that should have been planed a bit more to make it level or maybe you would offer advice to me about the type of wood needed to cover my basement floor. As a doctor, you would probably feel compelled to suggest something for the nagging cough I have, or share a thought about the pain in my back which seems to point to my herniated disk.

Why is it then, as Christians, we shy away from sharing the Holy Word, laying on of hands for healing or praying with authority for the manifestations of those things needed in the body of Christ? Why do we have a difficult time studying and sharing the Word? What is the reason we can meet for a movie, go shopping or spend 20 to 30 minutes on the phone talking about people and things which add nothing to our lives and can’t get together for a Bible study?

I confess to being a believer and I can quote passages from scripture so well that you will raise your eyebrows in amazement. But step on my foot or hurt my feelings and watch your hair stand on end as my head begins to spin around while I spew forth glimpses of my past pre-saved life!

I should be different… what I say I am should permeate from deep within and radiate around me.  My actions should be loud and my voice gentle.

“You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” James 2:21-24

I am a believer; look into my eyes and see my compassion, hear my voice speak the essence of life into your situation, touch my hands and feel the anointing of healing power that flows through them, feel my Spirit for the abundance that is offered to all of us by the Holy Spirit dwells within its depths, allow my heart to surround you with the agape love of Him who sent me for it is a just a small glimpse of what He has in store for you.

Yes, I’m different because He who holds me in the palm of His hand is different and He’s waiting for you, come and you’ll never be the same.

"Go out and feed some sheep today"

Looking the other way

In what category do we place the word of God that we’ve just receive?

Just a lesson to consider?

A great message from Pastor? Can’t remember all that was said, but it sure was good.

Do you hear the message and focus on what you’re not doing and how much more work you need to do on yourself?

Acts 12 tells about Paul and Silas’ visit to Berea.

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. Acts 17:10-12

The first lesson from this passage I’m sure many of us have heard even though we may not practice it. Bereans examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. We take what was said and run with it, many times failing to check it first, which allows us to sometimes harbor and spread false doctrine. We've heard it many times so we belive it to be a true statement and when look for it sometimes it's not even biblcal.

The second message in this passage say’s that they received the message with “great eagerness” a sense of excitement I guess you could say. Are you excited by the word or does your focus make the word hard to receive? If you’re looking backwards it will be hard, but if you’re looking forward eagerness has an opportunity to grow.

I once was lost but now I’m found, doesn’t matter that I was lost, today I’m found. There is no good in this flesh, Christ died that my flesh may be buried with Him so that I am risen in the law of the Spirit. There is no good thing in man, because of the resurrection of Christ, God has created a dwelling place within me where the Holy Spirit resides so now there is greatness in me. Christ has restored us to kinship, we are sons and daughters of the King and through Him we’re seated in high places. I’m feeling some eagerness coming on! We receive new mercies each day, this means if we get it wrong we have another chance to get it right. Now I’m eager to examine the word, and I can’t wait to hear what it says about me next because I’m looking forward.

"Go out and feed some sheep today"