Tuesday, December 13, 2016

"How to Have the Best Christmas Ever"

As I think about what Christmas means to me and others, I am reminded that some people are very sad at this time of year.  Is there anything wrong with that?  Absolutely not!  Sadness, depression and anxiety are sicknesses and can not be snapped out of -- I know from my own experiences.

Grief is another misunderstood emotion.  Grieving is a process that can't be rushed.  Being thankful for things doesn't lessen the pain of losing something or someone.  It doesn't work that way.

Is Christmas a time to "suck it up" and put on a happy face?  No, but it is a time to lean upon the Lord as never before.  Finding the joy that only comes from God is the only way to get through the rough times that inevitably come.

What about gifts?  Is that what's important?  If you've ever seen "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" you'd know it's not what it's all about.  Celebrating Christmas is about having a giving heart and receiving the love of Christ.  A lot of people give and receive gifts but have a hollow, meaningless day.

Christmas is when we celebrate the gift of God in the form of a human baby.  He came in the most humble fashion -- born in a smelly barn -- to a young, unmarried lady and her fiancee.  He came to die that we might live forever.  He only asks for our heart in return.

Merry Christmas!!!

Philippians 2:6-11

6  Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death
        even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

My Reasons to Believe

Do you believe in God?  If so, do you know why?  If not, why not?  Quite simply, here are the reasons why I believe:

1- He answers prayers!
My mom prayed for a husband and the Lord spoke to my dad and told him he was going to marry Phyllis Kellar!

2- He provides for our needs.
God has sent people with food when we were hungry or given money at the exact right time.

3. His Word is True.
The science in the Bible is correct and the prophecies contained therein have come and are coming true.

4. You can feel His Presence.
If you pray and seek Him, He will show Himself to you through a feeling that can't be explained.

5. He speaks through promptings. or a "still, small voice". 
It's not all the time but sometimes if we listen really closely we can hear something deep inside telling us something we need to know.

6. Protection
There have been times where an accident was avoided by a second or in the case of my family: one time my mom was upset about not getting a particular house... a week or two later it burned down!

7. Healings
My dad shouldn't be able to walk (since he was injured as a teen).  The eye doctor told me I shouldn't have an eye and that I "must have a guardian angel". My brother died three times and shouldn't be as smart as he is.

8. Inexplainable Peace
Simply put, there is a wholeness and completeness that only comes from a relationship with the Lord.




Thursday, October 27, 2016

Remember Lot's Wife! (Luke 17:32)

We are living in the last days.  I know we have heard this over and over again, to the point that many don't take it seriously.  In reference to the coming of the Lord we are cautioned to remember Lot's wife. 

Lot lived in the land of Sodom.  Sodom looked appealing but ended up being an ungodly place, characterized by homosexuality.  Lot and his family were instructed to leave, but his wife looked back, and ultimately ended up destroyed.  What does Sodom remind you of?...

America was once a thriving, godly land that is now characterized by all kinds of ungodliness.  God continues to bless America because of the remnant of His people and for those who pray as Abraham did for Lot and his family.  Abraham prayed, "Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25)

These days other countries are sending missionaries to America and praying for America's salvation or revival. I pray that we are apart of the coming move of God....

When I was growing up I would hear stories of how it was in my parents' day, of how the fire of God came and consumed the house of God. People were changed, healed, delivered. Even as a child things were different than they are now -- people would seek the Holy Spirit and be filled; there would be dancing and no one would want to leave after service.

But now are we so used to living among and around ungodly people that we don't really want things to change? When God is moving us more towards Him and what He wants for us to do are we willing to sever our ties with our ungodly, unfruitful ways? Are we making a difference or simply surviving?

It's time to enter our prayer closet, be immersed in His Word, and live out our faith everyday. It's not time to shrink back and give in to the culture around us. It's time to stand up for what's right, in love.