Gospel Meets The Blues

Don't forget! Tomorrow night at the Church@ Rapha ....
Danny Daniels will be playing and teaching.

You won't want to miss this. Come and be with us!

If You Say Go

No other Words needed.....
Why do we not believe this?
Why do we not live for this?
Why is this thought so far down on our list?

Whenever...
Wherever....
I will....

Will He Really?

We read the words.
We ponder them in our minds.
We long for it in our hearts.
But do we truly understand what is being said?
What you may ask?

Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, "Surely, I am coming quickly."

This is not some random statement that is intended to make us feel good or give us goose bumps. It is true. Not only are the words true, but the intent of the message is true.
Jesus will return.
I do not say these things to elicit a response or a nod of your head, no...I say them so that you may ponder them and hide them in your heart.

Jesus' mother, Mary, is said to have treasured all the things the angel spoke of concerning Jesus' birth, in her heart. She held on to them not to give herself worth, but to give herself hope. She was an outcast due to her pregnancy. She needed hope.

Notice the verse in Revelation 22:
A.) Surely.........
This is certain. It will happen. His return is not contingent on anyone or anything. God the Father holds the key and at the appointed time, he will turn to the Son and say, "Go and get your bride."

B.) I am......
We have heard that name before. I AM.
But here it isn't a name but the declaration of an event.
I am.....

C.) Coming......
To us.
From Heaven.
He will come and if you think now is a strange time, wait until this takes place. Nothing will ever be the same, and I'm alright with that.

D.) Quickly.......
N0t based on earthly time.
According to the Father. He has appointed everything in its own time.

Are you ready?

mb

What's the rush?

This isn't going to be one of the posts that harken back to the proverbial "good ol' days".

But it is about waking up to some simple truth.

Ask yourself......

"Am I driving life.......or is life driving me?"

Do I walk in the peace of God or the turmoil of our society?

I struggle with this all the time.

A call from someone who needs a speaker for a meeting.

A letter from someone wanting you to write a letter or call someone on their behalf.

Friends and family planning things.

Me planning things that I want to do....
Life moving all around me.

When I stop to catch my breath....my thought is, "O God....where are you?"

I don't want my thoughts and my heart become so cluttered that I have pushed God off to the side only for emergencies.

I have him encased in a little glass box mounted on the wall with the words "Break glass in case of emergency."

I have to remember that his concern is not all the busy-ness or the agenda of the world.
His concern is my heart and whether or not I am committed to Him.

In my commitment, I will walk in his pace and in his place that he determines for me.

I need to remember this.

God on you today........

mb

RED LETTERS

Matthew 15:28
Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire."

Jesus is on the move.
A Canaanite woman comes into contact with Jesus.
Desperate.
Funny what you will do when you are desperate.
Funny what you will do when it concerns your children and you are desperate.
When it is about our kids, we loose some of our pride especially when we have run out of answers.
Desperation.

The woman cries out, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!"
I have often wondered where her husband was.
I take it since he isn't mentioned, then he must not be in the picture.
It may be that this woman was even a woman of low stature.
She may have given birth to her daughter out of wedlock. We're not told

She continues to cry to Jesus that her daughter is demonized.
It's not a disease.
It's not a financial matter.
It is a spiritual matter.
Her daughter is under the control and influence of a demon. Demons never mean well or cause you prosper. They have one goal: to destroy you. So the daughter's safety is in question.

Verse 24
Jesus answers her and tells her he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Not Canaan.

Notice what happens:
Scripture says she came and worshipped him.
She didn't take worship lessons.
She didn't draw from her temple experiences.
She did what was in her heart. Probably falling down at his feet
Here is desperation at work.

She begs him, "Lord, help me!"

Jesus responds in a way that we find harsh.
"It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."

This woman was not going to give up. "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table."

Her heart cries out, "I'm not asking for it all, just a crumb from your table Lord for even that is better than any banquet the world could offer."
How many times do I turn my nose up at the little things God is offering to me? I pray not that much, but I fear that I have. It wasn't what I wanted, or it didn't come in the way I wanted it to so I rejected it. God help me to see the error of my ways.

Jesus comments on her faith and tells her that her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Help me to learn today.....

mb

The Prayer Furnace

Friday night I got to lead worship for a meeting that is headed up by James Wallace.
I've known James for a number of years and his heart is for pastors coming together to pray.
James asked if I could bring our worship team from Rapha and lead the worship for the evening.

If you've never been to a meeting like this, it isn't your ordinary service. It has more of a free flow to it as God directs. There are no speakers, no agenda, no list of to-do's.
Just a group of people praying and worshipping.

It was held at Pastor Joe Simmons Church, New Liberty Tabernacle of Praise, in east Gadsden.
God was very evident during the meeting as several came forward to pray for the city, the pastor's of all the churches and for the government of the town. At one point the front was flooded with people, on their faces in intercession. Much crying and tears, many voices crying out to God.

It was an honor to be asked to lead the worship and God was gracious with bringing intimacy to the room. It was good to get lost in the worship and not worry about the time. Not be constrained by anything or anyone but to simply be with God.

You might consider attending the next Prayer Furnace.

mb

We Can Fix It!

Matthew 7:26-27
Message Bible

But if you just use my words in Bible Studies and don't work them into your life, you are like as stupid carpenter who built his home on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.

Storms don't just roll in without any warning.
Storms just don't appear out of nowhere.
Clouds build up.

Winds begin to blow.

All you have to do is look around and see that the weather is changing. Even with the change, we have this misguided belief that we can 'weather' it out. We can ride out what ever comes our way.

Even as the winds grow in intensity and the water starts to rise, slowly and steadily, we continue to live denial. We may even make petty attempts to stem the tide of the storm. We'll drive down to the building supply and buy lumber to cover our windows with. We nail it up and feel good that we have done something. Yet the wind continues to increase and the water is almost to our doorsteps.

We begin to sandbag and stack around the perimeter of our home. Confident that we can out build the flood. We grow weary and eventually give up. It is lost.

We make our way into the house, closing the door behind us to ride out the storm. Trouble is.....you can't ride it out. You can't outlast it. You can out-tough it. It comes with no regard to your efforts. It will destroy all that you have attempted to do to thwart it.

Lets back up in Matthew 7 and read about the smart builder. Once again reading from the Message Bible.

These words that I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit-----but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

Have you checked your foundation lately?
I thought I heard thunder.

mb