The GOOD NEWS

God has been asking me some really tough questions lately. Do you really love ME? Do you really believe in My Son? Do you love your neighbors and your enemies? Do you love your family? I kept thinking 'Yes, Yes, why do you keep asking?'

But now I get it.... A friend of mine loaned me a book called ONE THING YOU CAN'T DO IN HEAVEN.
I say I love the Lord with my mouth and I say that I really believe in Jesus and I say that love my neighors and family. But words are easy. If I really loved them like I say I do then I would be sharing the gospel with them.

God has called us ALL to be missionaries whether its across the seas or in our own home. If we have heard and believed the gospel then we are qualified and expected to share it.

If we believe in God and his Son, Jesus Christ, then we believe that what the bible says is true. And if we believe that then we must believe that Hell is a very real place and those that don't put their faith in Christ will go there when they die. If we read our bible we know that we are not promised our next breath. That each breath we breathe could be our last and once we breathe our last breath there are no more chances. There is an urgency to sharing the gospel... it can't wait forever.

I have often bought into the lie of tolerance. And by that I mean to say.. that I felt some how wrong in sharing my faith with others that I presumed weren't going to be open to it. I didn't want people to feel offended, because I believe that their beliefs are wrong. But there is absolute truth and everyone needs to hear it. and who am I to judge who is open to it or not. Only God knows a heart. All I can do is lovingly share the truth that I know with everyone I meet.

Its a scary undertaking to face those people who are lost and present the gospel... especially if its family or close friends. But if we pray for God to open their hearts and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can't loose. If they give their hearts to God... we win. If they promise to think about it... we win (we have planted a seed). If they get mad and stomp off ... we win (I'll betcha they are thinking about what we have said and besides we have been obedient and we can't control others, just ourselves)

So step out and share your faith.... that's what I am going to do.

Good Friday

For so many people the only thing "good" about Good Friday is the fact that they don't have to go to work or school and they get a long weekend. I am so thankful that Good Friday means so much more to me.

I found this quote.......

Does God really love us? I say look to the crucified Jesus. Look to the old rugged cross. By every thorn that punctured His brow. By every mark of the back lacerating scourge. By every hair of his beard plucked from his cheeks by cruel fingers. By every bruise which heavy fists made upon His head. God said, "I love you!" By all the spit that landed on his face. By every drop of sinless blood that fell to the ground. By every breath of pain which Jesus drew upon the cross. By every beat of His loving heart. God said, I love you. ---Billy Lobbs

I am so thankful that my Savior did not come to be served like an earthly king and sit in a castle on top of a hill, gaurded and gated. He didn't separate Himself from the ordinary and afflicted and sinful. He ate with the tax collectors, gave forgiveness and hope to the adulterer, and healing to the blind, lame, and sick.

He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. I am so thankful that even though He could have called legions of angels or literally just struck dead His persecuters at any point He choose to endure the suffering and the shame so that I might have a right relationship with the Father and spend eternity in His presence in heaven where there is no suffering, no tears, no pain, or sickness.

When people who don't know Jesus look at the cross I wonder what they see..... violence, ugliness... I am not sure. But when I look at the cross I am overwhelmed by the love and compassion that the Lord has for all of us sinners.

And although it is a sad day in itself, because our Savior was crucified....we don't have to stay sad long.. because in the famous words of S M Lockeridge, it may be friday now.... but "Sunday's comin!!"

Prayer

The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion.

He laughs at our toil and mocks our wisdom,
But trembles when we pray.

---Samuel Chadwick

This quote reminds me that I can't do it on my own. Alot of times I let the busyness of life overtake me and I wonder why I live so defeated... duh... Its God that makes the difference not my vain effort. God has grown me so much over the past year or so. And the more He grows me the more I see how small and unimportant I am and how amazing and wonderful and sovereign and capable He is. I am beginning to understand Paul when he said... that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. Our inability makes Gods ability that much more evident.

fear

I think that in the society that we live in today it is hard not to be overcome with fear. Everywhere you turn someone is bringing up some new thing that you hadn't ever thought of to be fearful about.

I have quite a few well intentioned friends that send me these 'must read' emails. They are about new ways to be carjacked and scammed. And then there are the ones where someone in some place you've never heard of has some random something happen... but everyone needs to be aware of it. This past Autumn I got an email about a kid that decided to pile up leaves and hide in them and his dad didn't know and ran over him with a truck.

You hear of children being abducted from their own yards.. and of insane people cutting babies out of pregnant women. You watch Oprah and realize that should your minivan wreck into a body of water that you are not prepared to rescue yourself and your kids. You watch the news and they tell you about meth that is made to look and taste like candy. Of course, I don't want some horrible thing to befall me or my family... but my goodness... the knowledge of all of the things that could possibly go wrong is insane. We can't eat spinach, because we might get food poisoning and die.... we can't play in the leaves, because we might get run over by a truck. on and on and on and on.

I tell myself that I trust the Lord with all my heart, yet when I watch Megadisasters or one of those shows about crazy natural disasters that maybe, possilby, might happen and I feel my anxiety level rise and my stress level shoot up.

Life is risky business and in the end.... no one gets out alive. But I think sometimes we should spend a little less time worrying and fretting about what 'could' happen and just live a little. God doesn't promise us that nothing bad will ever happen to us, but He does say that He will never give us more than we can bare, that He can use any situation to make us more like His Son, and that He will always be there with us... no matter what we go thru... to give us His peace and comfort.

So when I flip the channels and see the financial news talking about impending economic crisis or the weather channel talking up the next possible disaster, I just take a deep breath and realize that My Heavenly Father spoke the very planet on which I stand on into existence.... so I am in good hands.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the
Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but
this is what they heard;

'Heavenly Father
We come before you today
To ask your forgiveness and
To seek your direction and guid ance.
We know Your Word says,
'Woe to those who call evil good'
But that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium
And reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and
Called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness
And called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn
and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists
And called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline
Our children and called it
Building self esteem.
We have abused power
And called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's
Possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air
With profanity and
Pornography and called it
Freedom of speech and expression
We have ridiculed the time
Honored values of our
Forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God,
And know our hearts today;
Cleanse us from every sin
And set us free.

Amen!'

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked Out
during the prayer in protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is
pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 Of those
calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international
requests for copies of this prayer from India ,Africa and Korea .

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio Program, 'The
Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program
than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our Nation and
wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one
nation under God.'