Love?

Sometimes you think you are getting along pretty well in your relationship with God. I mean you may actually think you're on the super highway to making progress when all of a sudden you will read a verse and you experience a spiritual blow out. When this happens you have to stop, pull over and replace the tire you have been traveling on. You replace it with the spare tire. One that you knew was in the trunk but you didn't really pay much attention to it. That is what happened to me today. I came across a verse that I knew, kind of like knowing where the spare is, but I had not really studied it. Had no need to because I was traveling on the tires that I knew about. Well, when I came across the verse this morning, I had a blow out. I had to pull myself over and change tires, so to speak. What am I talking about? You have a concept or idea from something you either read in Scripture or were taught. You filed this idea away and have tried to live by it. You felt like it was truth and you desired to make it a part of your life. Well, my blow out forced me to take the spare (which was the real truth of God) and put it in place of the tire that was flat.
I Thessalonians 4:9
But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are TAUGHT BY GOD TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
I highlighted the part that blew my tire out for effect. Concerning love, we are taught by God to love. I had the notion that it was simply something I was called to do. You know....love everyone. Well how has that been working out for me? Not to good. Oh, I put forth the effort but you know, you just run into people who are, how shall I put this? Unlovable.

When I came to this verse, I found out that the category of "unlovable" does not exist. I only put people in that category because I don't know how to love them. Oh, I can say it with words and it sounds all flowery and good and spiritual, but the truth is, I don't love them. If this was the end of this posting or thought, it would leave us in a precarious place, but praise be to God he didn't leave us stranded on the side of the super highway with out a spare.

I have read the verse from I Thessalonians multiple times but never saw or made the connection that God teaches us to love. Of course He does! That is the fruit that Holy Spirit brings forth that we read about in Galatians 5. I hear many people teach and talk about the fruit of the Holy Spirit but they do so under the mistaken idea that fruit is "multiple" as in many fruits. But if you read the verse from Galatians, it says "fruit"...singular. All the character traits that follow the word Fruit of the Holy Spirit are different shades or types of love.

Galatians 5:22
But when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, or controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: Love
Joy - This is love that is excited

Peace - This is love that is at rest. Love that is at peace with everyone around us.

Patience - Love that waits. We are always in a hurry. Hurry to do this or that. Hurry to see something happen that we have prayed for. Love is patient.

Kindness - Love that responds gently. Love that does not repay evil for evil.

Goodness - Love that gives away and is not based on what it can get in return.

Faithfulness - Love that trust and carries out the duties and calling of our heavenly Father without question.

Gentleness - Love that is balanced. Love that suffers with no thought of revenge.

Self Control - Love that is restrained. Love that is tempered with the heart of the Father and does not run without purpose of direction.

When will I get through my thick religious skull that the highest calling God has given us is to love. I think I will chase this today and see what happens.

God on you........
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Do You Receive?

I Thessalonians 2:13
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

I was taken by the last part of this verse which says "The word of God which also effectively works in you who believe."
We are called to let the word of God into our hearts when we hear it. For too many, they set guard over their hearts their own ability to decide what is right and what is wrong. What is for them and what isn't. We don't have that luxury. We do not take power away from God to declare his rightness or wrongness as we see it. We are called simply to let the truth "richly" dwell in us.



Colossians 3:16 reads:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another......"
We need to always receive what we are taught and what we read in Scripture. To let it take root deep inside our hearts and become the fertile ground that the Holy Spirit produces fruit from.

No pastor or teacher should ever stand before a group of people and teach what he thinks they want to hear. He should realize that he answers only to God and only God can give the true word needed to be heard for the moment. The word of God is not sent out to receive the accolades or praises of mankind.It is spoken forth for correction and discipline. To open our eyes to the what is lacking in our lives so that we can repent and move on with Christ.

The verse from Colossians says that the word of Christ should dwell in us. The word of God takes up residence and makes a home in our hearts. The word dwelling in me will drive out and remove false ideas and attitudes and behaviors that are not from God.

What or who is dwelling in your heart today?
God on you.........
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Touchy Touchy

I Thessalonians 1:4
Knowing, beloved, your election by God.

We tread dangerous ground today. Well, it's dangerous only if we make it that way. "What," you may ask? Why the "E" word. Election.
Also tied to the "P" word.....predestination. I want to throw those two words aside because they actually point to a greater word. Sovereignty. As in the sovereignty of God.
Websters Dictionary defines sovereignty as supremely powerful / possessing absolute authority within a given sphere/ Superior to all rivals.
That would define who we think God is, but not really what God does. We have trouble believing in a God that truly is sovereign and rules according to his wishes and plans especially when it comes to intervening in our daily lives. We have no trouble in believing God orchestrates the natural world around us. But we have great difficulty grasping the fact that God indeeds rules our very lives. Why do we have trouble? Because we want to be the measure and last voice that decides what is fair and what isn't. We have no trouble running to God when things don't go our way but when life totally collapses on top of us, we blame God and become angry and spiteful toward Him.

How sovereign is God? Let's take a look.
I didn't ask to be born.
I didn't ask to be born a male.
I didn't ask to be born to the family I was born into.
I didn't ask for the parents I had.
Yet, God was sovereign over it all. He chose He placed. He gave. He leads and continues to do so on a daily basis and my only task. The only thing He expects from me is to obey. That's it. Obey.

I spent the evening last night with a young man who is very angry.
He is angry at people who have wronged him.
He is angry because he is getting ready to re-enter society and he feels like he doesn't have everything he needs to be successful.
He is angry because he chooses not to forgive others.
He asked me, "What do I do Brother Mike?" It wasn't what he wanted to hear but I looked at him and said, "Obey."
Our sin have made us little "gods". We want only the blessing of God and not the rule of God. Not the expectations that He has for us. That would crimp our style and put a damper on our fun.
We want to be the sovereign ruler of our life. Well let me ask you one question. "How has that been working out for you?" Not to good, huh.
Obeying God is too simple a plan for some. It doesn't fit into their lives or hearts. There has to be something else. No, there isn't anything else. God is sovereign. He has lead all of us to this point in time, June 28,2009 and today our choices will reflect whether we truly believe that God is sovereign or that we deny this fact.

Our churches are filled with people that unconsciously believe that somehow God works for them. Or that they are God's special project and that God's job is to keep them happy, keep them from harm and keep them from losing their lifestyle. What a bunch of bunk.
God is God in spite of what I do or do not have.
The plans of God do not come to a grinding halt because my 42 inch plasma flat screen television went on the fritz.
We would do well to understand exactly who we have been called to worship.
This is not the God of the Sunday School flannel board.
He is the Lord God Jehovah. Creator and ruler of all we can see, touch, taste, smell and hear.
Yet within all that He is, His heart is to have relationship with us.

Hebrews 1:10-12
You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment,
like a cloak You will fold them up,
and they will be changed.
But you are the same, and Your years will not fail.

God on you....
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He Will Listen to you

I just finished attending the first meeting of our 40th Anniversary High School Reunion. The thing that caught me was the list of names of the people I graduated with and the word "deceased" by their name.
It was a very sobering reminder that today is given to me by God to worship Him in every facet of my life. I draw great comfort from the fact that God, will indeed, listen to me. Not only that, He will speak to me and direct me.

This is one of my favorite songs by a man named Mark Heard. Mark has since left this world, shook off the mortal coil we call a body and gone to be with Jesus. I am so grateful that Mark's voice and guitar still proclaim truth.

I have posted this video here before, but felt the need to revisit it. Thanks for humoring me.

God on you......
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Death....The Final Frontier

Psa 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

This has been a week for the death of celebrities. First there was Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick from the Tonight Show. Farrah Fawcett, heart throb of kids back in the 70's. Then yesterday news was reported of the death of Michael Jackson. It seemed as thought the entire force of News outlets were focused on these three individuals. In no way do I wish to demean or speak ill of them.

Perhaps I should look at the way the world looks at these three. As with anyone, we seek to put people in the best light as humanly possible. We want to forget and forgive their past indiscretions and mess ups. We want to focus on their contribution to the arts and mankind at large. But their death only serves to highlight what Scripture says. It is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. We have a tendency to elevate those of celebrity status beyond the reach of God himself. That these people are the untouchables. We are such a fickle bunch. We revel in their success and at the same time, we relish their downfalls. Maybe we are more responsible for their actions than they are? No. We all stand before God on our own to answer for the things we have done and the decisions we make. We don't really want to believe these things. We want to believe that we are a byproduct of evolution. A creation by chance and by being so, there are no limits or boundaries to hinder our expressions of who we have been created to be. There is not God or gods who can tell us what to do or how to live. After all, we are a by product of chance, therefore we hold no responsibility to our actions. Oh, my friend, how contrary to the Word of God can you be. Your very existence, your next breath, the beat of your heart only continues because God Almighty has decreed it to be so. He needs not your belief to exist. He doesn't need your opinion to form the basis for his decisions and plans. We need to fall on our faces and give thanks that He has not returned yet to bring His people out, thus sealing the fate of those who have rejected Him and His offer of salvation.

My prayer is that each of these three found the truth of Jesus before they passed from this life to the next. Death is merely the vehicle used to transport us. It is here on this side of death that we make decisions for or against the offering of eternal life Jesus has extended. He doesn't beg, he doesn't cajole, he simply says, "All who are weary and heavy laden come to me and I will give you rest."

In the death of celebrities, the world seeks to hold them up and remember them in a kind of false view of their lives. We seek to find the good in these three in an effort to not look at ourselves. Those we thought would never die have succumbed to the curse of Adam, that is death. No one escapes, no one cheats it, we all enter eternity this way. Society seems to somehow view these three celebrities collective talent and success as the measure of their spiritual goodness and worthiness. Society has lifted them beyond responsibility for the things they did here on earth.

We will all give an account of our life here.
We will all stand before God.
The unbeliever for why he rejected Jesus.
The believer for his works here on earth.
I do not wish to place a mark on those who have recently died, I only want you to consider the truth of God in the light of what society says is right.
God wins every time.
Find Him today for yourself....

God on you........
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The Word.....Plus

Have you ever gone to a conference where some well known Bible teacher or speaker is going to be?
Have you ever gone to a Worship conference where a well known worship leader was going to sing and play?
Have you ever gone to the Holy Land, Israel, and walked and viewed the places we have heard about all our lives?
What did you come away with?
The feeling was tremendous.
"I could sense the presence of the Lord."
Well let me ask you a question.
When is the last time you read the Word of God and was blown away just like when you attended conferences and meetings?
Never?
Why? Why is it that we view the Word of God as dry and something that we are required to read? We sometimes treat the Word of God as though if God himself did actually reveal to us some truth, we would label that among miracles.
Why do we have a disregard to the power of the Word of God?

I know that we are not called to live our lives searching for the next spiritual high or the Hallelujah fuzzies, but we seem to be a generation of Jesus junkies. Not the Jesus of Scripture but the pre packaged, glossy, fun Jesus. One that blesses without regard to the status of our hearts. We want the glitz and glamor but please don't make us read that book.
We can quote page and paragraph of THE SHACK.....
But we are ignorant of the Justification of God.
We have prayed JABEZ's prayer until we are blue in the face.....
But we couldn't tell you one thing about Sanctification.....
We can sing the latest worship hit from the Time Life Series......
But we are hard pressed to tell what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.
We are an ignorant people when it comes to the Bible.
Ignorant doesn't mean we are stupid. Ignorant means we don't know.
Yet it is this incredible Word given to us by God that is the fore most vehicle through which He speaks.
Hebrews 4:12-
For the Word of God.........His communication with us, his creation... Word means we listen and take in. We don't engage in conversation as to what God was REALLY saying. The Holy Spirit in us, teaches us the wisdom and knowlege of God.

Is living and Powerful.......If it is alive, then it is relevant to every generation and every situation that we may face.

Sharper than any two edged sword...........what is a sword good for? War..defending yourself and at the same time, it can cut open and reveal what is inside.

Piercing.............nothing can stop the sword from going deep inside even the division of soul and spirit. It is the battleground where God prevails every time.
and of joints and marrow.

And is a discerner of thoughts ......................The Word of God uncovers sinful thoughts which lead to transgressions (deeds and actions)

And intents of the heart..............The Word of God actually is preemptive in that it deals with our sin while they are still just thoughts and intents. We actually haven't carried or acted upon them yet. God intercepts them before we have an opportunity to put them into practice and they become deeds. He saves us from the deed bringing consequences that may harm and follow us for the rest of our lives.

Read the Word of God today.
Ask God to increase your hunger for it.
Become a lover and student of His Word.
It brings health to your soul and strength to your body.

God on you..........
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Salvation

I grew up in the church. I can't remember a time when I wasn't at church. My Mom taught girls group, the G.A.'s, short for Girls Auxiliary, as well as a Sunday School class, so if the doors were open, I was at church.
My Dad, on the other hand, had no time for church. He spoke many times about a salvation experience he'd had as a young boy and laid claim to being a Methodist. We became staunch Southern Baptist eventually coming to rest at Gallant Baptist Church.

I remember that the pastor of Gallant Baptist, Bro. Lewis Woods, came to our school one Friday to lead our morning devotion. He was an older man, early 70's, slight of build but burned with passion for Jesus. He spoke of sin and hell and other things that I was just beginning to understand. I was in the 4th grade. Bro. Woods, at the end of the devotion, began to talk about what "being saved" really meant. As he spoke, I will never forget that my heart began to do strange things. It would beat really fast and I had all these thoughts racing through my 4th grade mind. Sin? Am I a sinner? I mean I had stolen that piece of candy from Pawdy Moore's store, but Mom had made me go back and apologize for my actions. She also made me sweep his store every day for a week, but was I a sinner? Bottom line..........I was. I may not have killed anyone. I may not have been public enemy #1, but had I died that day, there is no doubt in my mind that I would have received hell as my reward.

I remember Bro. Woods asking if anyone wanted to be saved. It was a blur, even to this day, as it was like having an out of body experience. I found myself slipping from my desk and walking to where Bro. Woods was. He shook my hand and hugged me along with others from my class who had come forward. He took us all into the cafeteria and spoke to us about what it meant to be saved and the decision we had just made. I felt light and new and free and different. I couldn't explain what had happened but I knew something had. I couldn't wait to get home to tell Mom and Dad.

My Mother, the daughter of a Baptist minster, was excited and she cried when I told her what had happened. "Your Grand daddy would be so proud of you," she told me. I remember that night, taking our family Bible to bed to read. I was partial to Daniel and lions den. I had to ask Mom to help me find the story. I remember lying there in bed, reading and looking at the picture of painting that help to illustrate the story. There was Daniel standing among 8 lions, hands folded in prayer, face turned to heaven. The thing I remember most about that picture was the look on Daniels face. Peaceful and without fear. "There is a real man," I thought to myself. Any man who could spend the night in a den full of lions and look like that had to be o.k.

Little could I have known where this one act in early 1960 would lead. How could I have known that the little boy in the 4th grade would be lead by the God who saved him into a life of work with people in recovery and addiction. Today I am grateful for everyone who spoke life into me.
Bro. Lewis Woods / Mr. and Mrs. Vivian Phillips / Rev. Don and Venita Gentry / Rev. and Mrs. D. E. Hendrix/ Rev and Mrs. George Creel / Jim Bentley / Winston Kennedy / John and Marilyn Bruce / Lanier and Linda Ellis / W.A. and Geneva Lutes / Charles and JoAnn Bryson / My Mother, Florene Bynum / John Wimber/ Keith Green / and countless others that may have slipped my mind this early morning. I am who I am today because of the grace of God and the people he put in my life at different points, to speak to me and point me in the right direction.

God on you.......
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