Meet the Need

Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, & He had compassion on them & healed their sick. (Mt. 14:14 NLT)

Here's a great example for us as Christians.  Christ met their need. He was interested in ministering to the crowds & part of that ministry was to meet all their needs.  He had compassion on them. We have reached a time when it's hard to get those huge crowds to the church so it's time for the church to go to the people. The world seems to be showing violence as their soloution & we as Christians need to show compassion & love as the real soloution.  Those are qualities of Christ, who we represent, & we need to show Christ to the world. As Christians, we have a work to do & that's share Jesus with others.  Part of that is our actions.  People are watching to see if Christians are going to be true to who we represent.  Are we going to stand & be counted faithful?  Are we going to show compassion as Christ did?  God will work if we will.

Impossible situations

Today I got the opportunity to preach on Acts 12:6-17.  It was great to have that opportunity.  I talked about God helping His children through impossible situations.  In this passage, Peter was in an impossible situation in which God provided deliverance.  In this passage, God revealed a winning combination.  God did the supernatural, Peter did the natural, & added in was a praying church. When those things work together, impossible situations can be made possible.  Today I want to encourage you that if you are facing an impossible situation, God specializes in those.  Stay in faith.  Keep following God, He knows the way to victory!

Open Door

There is a wide open door for a great work here, although many oppose me (1 Cor. 16:9 NLT)

I have talked to a lot of people lately talking about hopelessness, dropping church attendance, constant flow of bad news, etc. . I have to admit there is a lot of opposition out there to church & Christianity but I also believe as this verse says, that there is a wide open door for us to work.  We need to walk through that open door & get to work.  Right now the world needs hope, peace, joy, love, healing, & Christ like never before.  We have a great message to share & we need to be sharing it.  If you're missing that hope, peace, or one of the others on the list, Christ is your answer.  He can fill that need.  So today please don't focus on the opposition but instead focus on that open door & the work that God is going to do.

Can't stop God

But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them.  You may even find yourselves fighting against God!  (Acts 5:39 NLT)

I was listening to a song today from "Unspoken" , that says you can bury the workman but you can't stop the work.  I've been thinking about that & this verse came to mind.  The reason the work can't be stopped is because it comes from God.  If God is doing a work in you, it can't be stopped.  Gods plan for you can't be stopped.  We need to quit looking at the circumstances & the situations in life & start letting God work through us.  We need to quit talking about people not wanting to go to church & ask God to work in us to reach others.  We can't do it, but Christ can.  It's time to quit relying on ourselves & start relying on our God.  If it's from us, it won't work but if it is from God, it can't be stopped.

Are you willing to follow

Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirits leading in every part of our lives. (Gal. 5:25 NLT)

Several years ago I was introduced to the book "In His Steps". Back then the WWJD bracelets were really popular.  This has been on my mind a lot lately.  What would Jesus do?  That can be a lot tougher question than it sounds.  When you really commit to asking that question before making any decisions, it will absolutely change your life.  As Christians, we are supposed to be asking that question because we are supposed to following the Spirits leading.  If we do that, it will cause some rearranging in our lives.  It might cause us to exchange good for Gods best.  When we really start trying to follow His leading, our focus changes from us & our desires to Christ & His desires.  I think it could be time for that.  How would our lives be different if we asked that question?  How would our communities be different if people started asking that question?  Remember the commitment you made when becoming a Christian.  Think seriously about this verse, about that question, & how your life would be different if you really committed to that.

By Gods Spirit

Then he said to me, "This is what The Lord says to Zerubbabel: it is not by force nor by strength, but by My Spirit, says The Lord of Heavens Armies" (Zechariah. 4:6 NLT)

It seems like more & more people think that it is by force that they should advance their cause.  Or maybe they feel they have been mistreated in some way & they revert to force.  This verse says that it is by Gods Spirit that things will change.  It's not about governing it or passing a new law or many of the other ways we try to create change.  If we truly want things to be different & improve, it's time to rely on the movement of the Holy Spirit.  We need God to move if we expect things to be different.  In order for that to happen, we must turn our hearts back to Christ.  He is the author of our restoration. It's time to return to our Creator & Protector & let His power & love be the change.

Time to choose

But if you refuse to serve The Lord, then choose today whom you will serve.  Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates?  Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me & my family, we will serve The Lord (Josh. 24:15 NLT)

I believe that this applies just as much today as it did when Joshua spoke it.  Who are you following & serving?  Are you going to teach your kids about Christ or are you going to let the world teach them something else?  I also believe that indecision is a decision.  We can't keep waiting & putting it off.  Is God important enough for you to put Him first & serve Him?  Is it lip service or a true relationship?  Joshua remembered Gods faithfulness & he knew who he was going to serve.  I have seen Gods faithfulness & I know who I am going to serve.  The time is now.  I can keep telling you about Gods faithfulness or you can experience it for yourself.  Trust me, experiencing it is a lot better than hearing about it.  So the choice is up to you, there is no room for indecision.

Work Through Me

We each have a work to do.  I totally believe that if you are here on planet earth, God is asking you to do something.  Phillipians 2:13 says" For God is working in you, giving you the desire & power to do what pleases Him".  I believe God gives us the desire to do what meh wants us to do.  I never had a desire for ministry until a couple of years ago.  All of a sudden the desire was there & doors began opening.  And never did I think I would be able to put together sermons & speak in front of people.  The ONLY way I have been able to do that is because of Gods power working through me.  He speaks through me & has done a lot of remodeling on me.  He has removed some things, added others, & built on still others.  He doesn't usually take the most qualified but He will keep working on you to do His work as long as you will be available.  The world needs more people to be available.  I truly believe that God can turn things around if we will step up & say "use me".  He will give you abilities you never knew you had.  And then through you, He can do amazing things.

Are we moved yet

On Sunday I'm preaching about Nehemiah.  He was so distressed about what had happened to his people & his city that the bible says he wept, mourned, fasted, & prayed to God.  As I was studying this passage, it made me wonder if any of us ever get to that point with what's going on around us.  You see Nehemiah was moved to action & God blessed it.  He didn't just get upset, complain, & then say that there was nothing he could do about it.  Sometimes I think that's what we do.  Have we been moved to prayer for our family, church, & country?  Have we been moved to share Christs love with others?  Have we been moved to meet a need in someone's life?  Or are we hoping someone else will do those things?  Maybe we think we're too small to make a difference?  Nehemiah only needed God.  Is it possible that if we followed Nehemiah's example that God would move like that today?  I think He would love to do that.  My challenge for today is if God has moved you to do something, don't think about how small you are but instead think about how big God is, & do it.  Be courageous, step forward, & follow God!  If you will do that, God will do great things through you!

Would He Do It For Me

Why would it for me?  Isn't that what we often ask?  We can believe that God would do it for someone else, but for me?  I think it could be because we know ourselves & our faults, which we somehow think disqualifies us from Gods blessings.  It's that old idea of we have to earn it when we really know we can't.  Hebrews 11:6 says"And it is impossible to please God without faith.  Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists & that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him." It says that God "rewards those who sincerely seek Him".  It doesn't say those who earned it or those who are perfect, but those who sincerely seek Him.  Perhaps the sincerely part trips us up sometimes.  I believe God wants to reward us.  He also wants us to believe in Him & seek Him.  He is faithful.  Are we?  Our responsibility is to do what He asks & know that He will take care of us.  This verse applies to you if you believe & are seeking Him.  If you are doing these things, believe that He will supply your needs & reward you for following Him.

Assurance

On this journey, I really feel like God is working on me on my level of faith.  Do I believe what I write & talk about or when the waters rise is it just lip service.  In Hebrews 11:1 NLT, Gods word says "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." There are always things in life that through natural circumstances we can't see how they are going to work out but I like the word "assurance".  Assurance is much different than possible.  It doesn't mean maybe or could be.  Sometimes when we can't "see it" , we trade assurance for maybe.  I have said for a long time that I believe there is another level of faith.  I believe that we for a large part don't posses the kind of faith it talks about in the bible.  The world has tried to convince us that God doesn't move like that anymore.  I have even had some from inside the church suggest this to me.  I can find no where in scripture that suggests that this is true.  God is the same yesterday, today, & forever.  That means the healing, provision, restoration, revelation, & pouring out of His Spirit, that He did in the Bible, He is more than capable of doing today.  I feel if we want things to be different in our life, family, church, country, & world, we are going to need to find that level.  We must truly BELIEVE that all things are possible with God.  We need to get rid of maybe & find that assurance.  We need to realize that the circumstances pale in comparison to Almighty God!  Start looking through your eyes of faith, you'll have a better view.

Taking inventory

Once in a while, I think you have to slow down & take inventory of your life.  It seems like anymore that life is moving at such blazing speed that we just don't have time to sit down & do it.  Today, Psalm 139:23 &24 came to mind.  It says, "Search me, O God, & know my heart; test me & know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, & lead me along the path of everlasting life." Sometimes we're so caught up in everything we think we have to do, we have going on, & our needs, that we can't see what is in our life that displeases God.  We might even think we're doing pretty good but God wants our best.  It might even be something that we think is not too bad or hurting anyone & we don't really want to give it up.  That thinking keeps us from Gods best.  I want Gods best!  I want for Him to show me what is keeping me from that.  I want to know what is holding back the flood of His goodness, blessings, favor, & what is Keeping Him from working fully in My life.  Fear, unforgiveness, anything that I am doing or not doing that is causing me to offend my God, Who I love, has no place in my life.  I believe God wants us to get rid of the excess baggage in order for Him to fully pour out His blessings on us.  It can be a scary prayer but I believe it's the key to a true relationship with Christ & His true power working in us.