Monday, June 27, 2016

That's Important To Me

Joey and Rory Feek said this very well in their hit song of that name, That's Important To Me/  If you haven't taken the time to listen and hear the words, do so, No Excuses.

Everything in today's world is built around keeping it easy to do, find, search and all that entails.

I carry my Bible with me cuz it's on my phone and I never leave the house without my phone....otherwise my excuse might be I didn't have time to look for, find...or no where to carry...No Excuses....if it's important to us, we'll find a way.

AND

You Are Important to HIM


Sunday, June 19, 2016

Celebrate Your Accomplishments



Ezra 6:16....And the Israelites -- "the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles -- "celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Exodus 34:22..."You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
Exodus 12: 14......Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.

**You have done great things....
You have done great things..
.big or small...celebrate them all**
Philemon 1:7...Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Psalm 27:6....Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD

Sunday, June 12, 2016

From Saul to Paul Spreading the Gospel

A wonderful message today at Union Congregational by Steve Daniels.

the story behind stained glass windows and how they came about to minister to many of the early congregations that could not read...so they put the stories in their windows in a beautiful way...taking broken pieces of colored glass and told a marvelous story.

“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.” 
― Vance Havner

After the death of Stephen, Saul was fanatical about destroying this new sect. Saul launched a holy war against the Church, scattering the believers....When word came that these followers of Jesus had spread into Syria, Saul requested permission to go to Damascus....As Saul and his colleagues came near Damascus, suddenly they were flooded with glorious light. It was like looking into the sun from only a yard away. Saul fell to the ground and suddenly a voice emanated from within the light. The voice was both terrifying and soothing at the same time. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”.....Saul began to tremble...“Lord, what do you want me to do?”

Jesus replied, “Arise and go into the city...”.....this former Pharisee so embraced his calling to minister the Gospel to the Gentiles that he forsook his Jewish name, Saul, and forever adopted the Greek name for which he is remembered  … Paul
How could he have been so wrong? But then he remembered watching the life ebbing from Stephen, and hearing those haunting words, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”...this former Pharisee so embraced his calling to minister the Gospel to the Gentiles that he forsook his Jewish name, Saul, and forever adopted the Greek name for which he is remembered  … Paul

Acts 8:4..Those who had been scattered preached the words wherever they went.




To escape the persecution they ran away and wherever they went they told the gospel, turning the bad to the good news of Jesus.

Keep in mind why God chose and used Paul. It was because He knew Paul was capable of remaining a faithful servant to the end: “…He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15).

And God says
I’m gonna turn it into something different
I’m gonna turn it into something good
I’m gonna take all the broken pieces
And make something beautiful like only I could
So put it all in the hands of the Father
Give it up, give it all over to
The only One who can turn it into
Something beautiful
Something really beautiful

Monday, April 18, 2016

Strength For The Day






Today it is about strength for:
...the continual rain we've been having
...tomorrow perhaps the unwanted bill
...and perhaps eventually each and everyday of pain




each difficult to bear alone...we are not alone.....

"As your days—so shall your strength be." Deuteronomy 33:25

But it Won't Rain Always

Precious Lord Jesus, as all the promises were confirmed by your blood, are deposited in your hand, and are made good through your intercession; enable me to rely on you, walk with you, and openly honor you, by believing always, and under all circumstances, that as my days—so shall my strength be.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Real Wisdom



Remember that when hardship hits, wisdom is not the ability to piece together the puzzle of your shattered life; 
 "Real wisdom is the ability to trust God even when the puzzle pieces don’t fit, and especially when lots of those pieces get lost"



 "But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out there tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!" (2 Chronicles 20:17 NLT)  




What God tells Jehoshaphat in this passage and what he would remind us of today is this: "The battle is not yours; it's mine. You don’t have to fight in it." It's Mine


Tuesday, February 23, 2016

You Are Perfect!

    Just the Way You Are
    Don't go changing to try and please me
    You never let me down before
    Don't imagine you're too familiar
    And I don't see you anymore
    I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble
    We never could have come this far
    I took the good times; I'll take the bad times
    I'll take you just the way you are
    Billy Joel's words remind us that we are Perfect...made in God's image..uniquely created by God himself...indeed a miracle...short and tall...round and square...little or no hair...blonde and brunette...feisty or calm....

    It is He who has created us, Just the Way We are, 
    ....God did not make us on a mass production line. He took great care in making us who we were meant to be. He had a purpose in mind for us even before we came into being......He knew we would sin and be helpless to live up to His expectations. He knew we would fall. He knew we would fail, but he gave us a chance. Even though we have failed Him, He has provided us with hope and a way back to Him.
    Psalm 199:3, "Know ye that the Lord is God; it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people, and the sheep of his flock."
    .....You may not feel like a masterpiece. There are times when we feel anything but! Living life here on this planet is not always easy. But the Lord wants us to know how much He loves us and that He is with us even in times of despair.
    If you feel abandoned today, please know that God is there. He may be just waiting for you to call on Him

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Seasons of Struggle


Eat healthfully. My mood is much more stable when I say “no” to the lie that says I’ll be happy if I eat this treat or indulge in this fatty meal. Eating junk does seem to make me happy for a short period, but it’s not worth the crash that eventually comes after the initial high. Not to mention the shame over my gluttony. Eating with nourishment in mind bears physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits that far surpasses the fleeting pleasure of indulging my sweet tooth........
 Let in natural light. Light is a proven mood-booster, particularly natural light. It also has other positive effects on your health, including keeping your body clock regulated so you sleep more soundly at night. So throw open the curtains and let the sunshine in!
Be flexible. Wait…what? Didn’t I just advise establishing a schedule and a routine? Yes, having a schedule and routine as a general guideline is helpful; but holding on to them too tightly increases stress.  Life isn’t going to happen the way I plan, and acceptance of that truth brings a lot of peace. The desire of a Christ-follower is to pursue faithful stewardship of her time, while staying submissive to the God who gave us each moment of our days in the first place. If He allows an interruption in our plans or a delay in our schedules, it’s for a purpose, and embracing it as a divine appointment frees me to focus my efforts away from my frustrated plans and onto fulfilling His plan for my day.
................. I’m thankful that God has equipped our bodies, our minds, and our spirits to fight against feelings that our enemy hopes will consume us and render us ineffective for God’s kingdom.

We are not always in control of what happens to us, but we can always control how we choose to react. In those moments when I choose to stop  to give thanks to God for the good in my life and stop with all the complaints,  the parts that seem bad begin to be less significant. Choose a positive attitude and thankful heart regardless of the blizzard raging outside your door!

2 Corinthians 1:9  “Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Oh How He Loves You and Me


Oh How He Loves You and Me

1 Corinthians 13:7-10J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

7-8a Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.

All gifts except love will be superseded one day

8b-10 For if there are prophecies they will be fulfilled and done with, if there are “tongues” the need for them will disappear, if there is knowledge it will be swallowed up in truth. For our knowledge is always incomplete and our prophecy is always incomplete, and when the complete comes, that is the end of the incomplete.
There is No Greater Love
But the question is not just IF God loves you.
The question is, How much does God love you?

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
He never gave up. He never abandoned the search. He never called off his angels.
He searched until he found us.
When he found us, and saw our pitiful condition, he didn’t back away and leave us in our sins.
The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell;

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Unity in Church Music

First I'd say..anyone singing and praising their Lord and Savior through song isn't singing a bad song when it comes from their heart. If you started singing and remembering a melody, repeating it over and over in your mind, eventually you may get to understanding the verse and meaning and that's when the story comes to life!


…..God created music. He created sound and our ability to hear it and create it. He created our imagination, our fingers, our dexterity and all that's required ot produce an amazingly diverse array of sounds, and he created our ability to enjoy it, sometimes to the point of reaching a feeling of indescribable jay. Of course the ultimate expression of the gift of music is in praise of our creator…..
…..Instead of shoving the older people out into the old chapel out of sight, let's all be real Christians and go for unity, fellowship and love…./20/what-should-church-music-sound-like/http://nickyfisher.com/2013/01/20/what-should-church-music-sound-like/



.... ancient hymns accomplished something that the new songs weren't. While contemporary worship seemed to take the listener on an exciting and emotional rollercoaster, the old hymns engaged the mind with deep and glorious truths that when sincerely pondered caused a regenerated heart to humbly bow before its King.....
.......I began the practice of singing one hymn each week. There were times where my peers would teasingly ask what an "Ebenezer" was. What I found was that when I gave them a basic definition of these seemingly obsolete words we were singing, their response was usually something akin to, "Oh? Cool. I never knew that!" I think when they asked, they half expected me to say, "I don't know! Weird word, huh?" Instead they were being challenged to learn, not merely a new word, but how to ponder the things of God deeply when we sing His praises.

Hymns have begun to take precedent in my song selection for two reasons
               First, hymns have been sung by the giants of the faith who have gone on before us over the last two millennia.....When we sing A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, we join with Martin Luther who wrote it, and with Calvin and Spurgeon and Edwards who invariably sang and cherished it. 
               Second, the content of hymns is almost always vastly more theologically rich.
Rather, the theology in the hymns is typically more sound or healthy than much of contemporary worship music. As I said earlier, contemporary songs engage our emotions more often, where the hymns engage our hearts by way of the mind.
....................By way of example, one of the top ten contemporary songs being sung in American evangelical churches right now is called One Thing Remains. While there is nothing in the song particularly bad (in fact, much of it is pretty good), it seems to me that the purpose of the song is to work the listeners into an emotional state. The chorus is:
"Your love never fails / It never gives up / Never runs out on me / Your love never fails / It never gives up / Never runs out on me / Your love never fails / It never gives up / Never runs out on me / Your love / Your love / Your love."
With the repetition of a simple lyric like that, it isn't a stretch to say that the composers' goal was not to engage the listeners mind.
................So I make this plea to my fellow ministers, do not neglect these milestones from ages past.    http://www.dancogan.com/home/my-journey-away-from-contemporary-worship-music

Friday, January 22, 2016

I Am Weak But He is Strong




We live forward and understand backward... When we accomplish and come through with victory we start to see why. Sometimes we have to backtrack or try a different fork in the road or rest our feet when the way is full of stones..but then we tell others of our journey....and it goes on...faith in His promise..

                   Patience while I wait.






But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) 





God Always Has A Way to Get You Through Your Stuggles

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Hope in God

Indeed! The best sermon you can preach yourself this week may be only three words long: 
Psalm 42:5, “HOPE IN GOD!


                                     

A confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.
    Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future; it expects it to happen. And it not only expects it to happen; it is confident that it will happen. There is a moral certainty that the good we expect and desire will be done.


      In (my) life — and I think it is the intended biblical pattern — hope is like a reservoir of emotional strength.



      excerpts from: 
      John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

      Friday, January 1, 2016

      Celebrate Hope






      I feel the reason we celebrate the New Year is because of Hope...continued Hope to maintain what we'd accomplished or gathered through the year...or the Hope that things will change and we will rise higher than we thought possible...

      "Happy New Year's Day! A new year is upon us which means it's time to look back on our accomplishments and think about how we can continue growing as individuals on the year ahead. Sometimes life can be hard and stressful and we forget about all the small strides we make because negativity overpowers us. We might have taken a step back, but the idea is to take two steps ahead and confront the challenges life presents us and overcome it with a positive attitude and having hope that everything will turn out all right" by Armando Tinaco. 

      "Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish." (Michelangelo)

      Romans 8:24-25New International Version (NIV)

      24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
      25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.