[ Taste And See ]
Smiles & Victory at Every Turn!No Sad StoriesTo Tell
2007-02-23
This is not original. "No sad stories to tell" is a statement that a man has been making for years. He is someone you can really look up to in God. There are no sad stories to tell in God. There is only positive, forward moving, progressive, loving stories to tell.
The prophet Balam was asked to curse the children of Israel. Balam knew that the only way to be cursed was to turn away from God. In God, in Jesus, there is no curse. There is only light. "and in Him is no darkness at all." but outside of God is darkness.
Hard times come to all but the Christian is assured that Jesus "will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Look at every saint throughout history. Every true believer has had the presence of God with them everywhere they went. Noah faced the flood just as everyone else did but God gave him an ark and preserved him. Abraham roamed the countryside fighting to keep kin alive and safe but God kept him everywhere he went and brought His promise of a son to pass. Only positive stories in God. Isaac married and carried on the lineage of Abraham facing the same jealous people but God kept him. Jacob had to run away from home but God increased his substance and crowned him the Prince of God "Israel." Did any of these men have easy lives? No but they all had positive lives. They all had good lives. Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob was made a slave. When he made a stand for God, one would think, he would be promoted. Not so, he went down to the dungeon and was made a prisoner. This same Joseph became the ruler of the known world under Pharaoh in Egypt. God had a good story to bring about in Joseph.
Good stories, positive stories, victorious stories. Did they all appear as good? What about the children of Israel who were led captive into Babylon? Three young men refused to bow and worship the image the king had erected. The king, furious in his wrath, commanded that they be thrown into a furnace that was seven times hotter than it was ever known to be. My home oven can get up to 400 to 500 degrees, so seven times that would be 3500 degrees. Steel melts at 2750° F. I would assume the furnace was hot enough to melt steel. My dad worked at a steel mill and I had heard stories over the years of a man who fell into one of those pots of molten steel and just disintegrated. The Bible says it slew the men that threw them in. These men were seen to be standing up, walking around and low and behold Someone was with them. That Someone is Jesus. There are no sad stories in God. Difficult, impossible times make for supernatural miracle times in God. The Hebrew men were promoted and rightly so. How's that old saying go, "you don't mess with mother nature." No, you don't mess with God and His people. God controls the natural and the supernatural.
Marching onward to victory, the people of Israel marched silently around the walled city of Jericho and the walls of that city supernaturally came down. Facing a battle, facing an enemy in a fortified position and they just walked around. I spent a few years in the army. It is taught that you never attack an enemy position unless you outnumber them 3 to 1. All these men did was march around but at the end they blew the trumpets and the walls came tumbling down. The enemy was positioned IN that wall, so, with that wall, fell the enemy also. The strongholds of the devil fall down at the foolish things God commands His people to do. If God wants you to dance in the church, you dance and watch the walls of the enemy fall down. If God wants you to jump up and down and the only thing you can think of is how silly you will look, just remember how silly the Israelites looked as they silently marched around those walls. Positive, powerful, wall destroying stories.
The stories can go on and on. There are no sad stories in God. People with cancer being cured. Blind men seeing, deaf men hearing, lame men walking, people's lives being turned around in a moment of prayer.
In World War I in the days of darkness, it was shared for the allies, Marshal Ferdinand Foch (later the combined armies commander) was pushed back to Paris by the seemingly invisible Germans. Nothing could seemingly be done to stop them. It was at this point in history that Foch sent this immortal telegram, "My center is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I shall attack." And our battle cry as Christians in the midst of constant enemy attack should be, "the situation is excellent, I shall attack!"
God Bless!
A Funny Army A Positive Army
2007-02-21
I came across these looking for real commercials, they were very funny. But the ones that moved my heart were those that were real. Please watch as many as you can.
FUNNY ARMY COMMERCIALS: These make me laugh, I hope they do you too.
Parody of Army Commercial, if you haven't seen the original, here it is. It makes the spoof even funnier. This one take a second place.
Extreme Army, I laugh every time I see it.
REAL ARMY COMMERCIALS: These really warm my heart. They are the heart of being a soldier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9a8xMo4x5s real army commercial
This will bring a tear to your eye. Welcome home!
Cut from the same cloth. A great commercial
I am the Infantry Follow Me! Oh yeah, this is bad.
God's of War. A reporter was disturbed that the soldiers were listening to Metalica on their insert into Bagdad. What are they going to listen to? Bach or Beethoven?
Great Reads
2007-02-17
I'm a big time reader. Here's a list of some of my favorite reads. I hope you enjoy them:
>>>>EASTERN EURPEAN READS<<<<
"Return to Ukraine" A. Savage: This is a wonderful story of this ladies trip/return to Ukraine. Born there but as a child right before the war she came to the states. I love eastern European stories with a westerner's eye.
"Soviet Laughter, Soviet Tears" C & R Dull: Another great story of Americans in contact with Ukrainians.
I love real life stories of westerners in Eastern Europe. If you know of any good reads please leave a comments.
>>>>PRESIDENTIAL BIOGRAPHIES<<<<
"Nixon, A Life" J Aitken: You may not like the man but this is a great book just for its readability.
"When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan" P Noonan: This started as a speak she wrote for a group of speeches on presidents called "Character Above All." It's a great read.
"With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln" S.B. Oates: A great biography of the man.
"Truman" D McCoullough: I listened to this on tape. Wonderful biography of the man.
Know of a page turning presidential biography. Let me know.
>>>>RELIGIOUS LIFE<<<<
"The Hiding Place" C. Ten Boom: Real Christians, real miracles, real persecution.
"God's Smuggler" Bro. Andrew: A man who smuggled Bibles behind the iron curtain. Real miracles.
"The Bitter Road to Dachau" J Wise: Fiction based on true accounts. Absolute great read.
Currently reading: "The Cross and the Switchblade" D. Wilkerson: Real people, real ministries, real miracles. I love it.
This list could go on and on. Other topics I'd like to cover:
- - Military
- - Computers
- - Self Help
Maybe a part two.
Being a friend
2007-02-17
"He who sews courtesy reaps friendship and he who plants kindness gathers love." Apples of Gold
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." Pro 11:30 KJV
"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Pro 18:24
There are many opinions out there. It's very easy to offend someone because you do not agree with their point of view. I have been one to really let people know what I thought and I have run a lot of people off. One man used to call me "Mr. Tact" because I had none. It's easy to find fault in someone. Part of the error lies in a bad self esteem. With bad self esteem a person sees themselves in a bad light. When they see others in a worse light they despise them, for they despise themselves. When a person sees the value that God places on them, this should create worth in a person. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." God loves you so much that, despite your failure, He gave up His very best. Actually, He gave up His very best for your failure.
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Mat 19:19 Jesus said, "as thyself" How can we love others if we do not love ourselves first. Loving ourselves does not mean giving ourselves whatever we want. Love is care. Care for others as you care for yourself. Be courteous to others as we are courteous to ourselves.
It's easy to get mad at someone. Arguing gets you nowhere. Are there opinions that I absolutely disagree with? Yes. Do I want to argue about them? When I got saved there was plenty in my life to find fault with. One of the things that I remember about the church I got saved in was the love. People genuinely cared about me enough to overlook my faults and failures and to be patient with my growth. Now, I know, that I have not been patient with others and that's troubling. It's not excusing sin but caring about someone to pray and be nice to others despite their lack of understanding or pace in God. I can just imagine where I would be today if someone always made a comment about my political stance when I was first saved. They wouldn't allow me to be saved. I am somewhat criminal of this also.
My prayer is that God helps me to be more positive, friendly, and helpful.
God Bless!
A Real Testimony - God is Real!
2007-02-16
I was working at a place and my boss's wife had cancer. I mentioned to him what a man mentioned to me in seminary. "The 'C' in Christ is bigger than the 'c' in cancer." This was years ago but I thought I'd share it here. Here was a message I received from him after I left shortly after this:
Chris, I hope everything is going well with you and your church. Things have gone alittle wierd since you left. Last Tuesday, HR made their big announcement about the (XXX) moving to North Carolina. It is now official, after the first of the year. The only kink, I wasn't invited to go. As of last Tuesday, I am no longer employed with (XXX). I was't the only one picked on, Alan and John XXXXX also got the boot. I was just a tad bit bitter Tuesday, but with God's help, I am passing through that stage pretty well. Tuesday night was probably as low as I could go, along with Barbara's cancer. I know the Lord won't put on you more than you can bear, bit I was on overload. Barbara had a Dr's appointment the day I was layed off to determine what type of cancer she had.They thought it would be a good idea to see what they were up against when the surgery took place. We already had the plastic surgeon and the other surgeon scheduled to do the surgery. They had to take a core sample of the lump to find this out. Wednesday afternoon, the Dr called and told Barbara they couldn't explain it. but the cancer was gone!!! Barbara told the Dr you can't explain miracles. I remembered what you told me, the C in Christ is bigger than the c in cancer. The Lord was faithful to our prayers and healed my wife. Prayer meeting at our church will never be the same. There was some shouting and praising the Lord going on that night. You remember my verse I had on my whiteboard, when I left the building that morning, I wrote beneath it "God will provide" as my parting shot. I'm not sure what direction I will go in now, but I know if God can handle cancer, a job is a piece of cake. Keep us in your prayers, as I do you. God Bless you, Tom
August 31, 2002
Since moving here back in June 2001, we have gone though many changes. July 2001 I had a hysterectomy and in December the same year I had breast surgery. Glad to be in another year, we thought the hard times were behind us.
It was six months since the breast surgery and my doctor had me go in for a mammogram on my right breast to see if it was healing correctly. What we found was another lump. After a needle biopsy was performed our worst fear came true, it was cancer. They thought it was a rare form and that it was probably in the early stages. With surgery set at August 5th,, and having a consultation with the plastic surgeon, we thought we were prepared for the mastectomy.
On July 16th, I was scheduled for another mammogram on my left breast to make sure there were no suspicious lumps there. That is a day we both will never forget. After 25 years with the company, Tom was laid off. I can tell you we were very low. We prayed and had all our family, friends, and many church's praying for us. We couldn't believe our world was falling a part. We had a daughter starting her second year of college, and now we we're having to look at everything so different. Tom met me at the breast clinic that day. At the clinic they decided to perform a plug biopsy to determine what type of cancer it was so they wouldn't have any surprises during the surgery. They would let us know the next day the results.
Tuesday night we didn't get any sleep. We prayed and prayed. We knew God said he wouldn't put anything on us that we couldn't handle, but we felt our backs beginning to break along with our hearts. We knew He must have something better for us. Little did we know how much better.
Wednesday came and Tom had to go an all day meeting. That was the longest day. The doctor called about 3:00 and said she couldn't explain what had happened, but there was no cancer. The first biopsy showed cancer and now the cancer was gone! Praise the Lord! Crying and laughing, I said you can't explain miracles. I could hardly wait to tell Tom and everyone. While I was still on the phone with the doctor, Tom called in on the other line, I could hardly talk. We were crying and thanking God. It was a miracle!! From that point on we knew if God could cure cancer, a job was a piece of cake.
During our devotional time we starting changing our prayer to giving thanks for everything and prayed everyday:
God, we don't know why You're causing, or allowing this hard thing to happen, but we're going to give thanks in it because You ask us to. We're going to trust You to have a purpose for it that we can't know and may never know. Bottom line, You're God----- and that's good enough for us. Amen
Since then, our daughter started attending Tennessee Tech, I had the surgery to remove the lump (for the doctor's sake). NO CANCER! Tom has accepted a position with a new company, and I might add, he accepted this job before he knew what his salary would be. Of the companies that wanted him, he knew God had this one just for him. He got a raise in pay, plus commission, and a company car.
We would like to thank all of you for your words of encouragement, your support and especially your prayers. God still does miracles and He is good all the time!
Tom and Barbara
Pressing on in Success for God
2007-02-16
There's a radio personality that says, "bringing you broadcast excellence." Well, there was a poster that I remember for seminary and it went like this, "The goal: perfection, excellence will be tolerated." God is constanly working on me, I need a lot of work but I'm pressing on and excelling by His grace. Another man put it this way, "getting better every day in every day." To use this statement it must be quantified. How am I getting better? How did I improve? What did I do better today than I did yesterday? These are tough questions.
The deffinition of success is somewhat personal. The best definition I can think of comes from a song. It goes like this, "Only one life and soon will be past, and only what's done for Christ will last." It's a truth, this life is short and the pleasures in this life are not the focus (thank God for the pleasures!) There is a judgment, and everyone will stand and give an account, I want to do more. Jesus spoke of that place where there would be weeping and nashing of teeth. People really go there and my prayer is, "God help me help someone make it to Heaven, and help me make it there too."
God Bless!
A Real God
2007-02-15
Lots of things have been happening on this blog. I like the way you can interact and read other's sites etcetera. Along with this is the fact that you might read things that you rather had not. Nevertheless, people are real and have real problems. I've read people's anger, sorrow, fiercness, failures and other things. I had this little bird incident in my home and I was thinking about bad things happening to people. Now, I've been serving God for a little while and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God cares and that all things work together for the good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. Well, in service tonight, the pastor read his text, Job 2:10 "But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips." Then he read from the gospels, Mat 26:39 "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." First, "Easy Road leads to Rotten Row." Things always going our way doesn't always benefit us. Also, receiving the Good and the Bad. Do bad things happen in God? Yes. Does this change God and His will? No. The great thing is how God is right on time. I didn't mention any of my blog to him or what has been going on. God knows. God is real and He cares about everyone whether they want Him to or not. I'm very thankful, even in the hard times, that God is real and cares.
Birds in the House
2007-02-15
Well, today was weird. I knew a bird got into my place but it didn't make much of a mess so I cleaned up. I couldn't find the bird but I found a hole where I assumed it got in at. I went to the hardware store got a piece of sheet metal and a tube of liquid nails and covered the hole.
On my way to work this morning I was running late and on my way out the door I hear something in the kitchen! That's right, the bird. Someone told me it was a starling. To me it was a pest! I closed all the room doors and commenced to chasing it out. He left quite a mess. I guess this'll force me to clean my place (LOL.)
God Bless!
The Need For Jesus Christ
2007-02-15
I'd like to share some messages I have preached. Feel free to use these in your ministry.
"The Need For Jesus Christ"
or
"You Can't Do It On Your Own"
Bible Reading: John 3 (1-21)
Text: John 3 (18) "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Introduction: Jesus and Nicodemus.
A meeting at night. Night, darkness, not wanting to be seen.
- Is our life for Jesus a covert one?
- God wants us to shine as lights to a lost and dark world.
- Not a church Christian and a worldly world person.
Nicodemus says that Jesus is of God.
- Acknowledging the reality of God.
- The reality of God here.
- It is not enough. Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus was of God but he still didn't accept all that He was saying.
- Jesus told him that he did not receive their witness. 3(11) "ye receive not our witness."
- You see the reality but you don't receive the witness.
- There is a need to not only realize that God is here but that what is said is needful in your life. That it is APLICABLE.
- Seeing people come in, the preacher not knowing anything about their life, and by the Spirit of God he preaches on something THEY are doing. They hear it, they acknowledge that it is from God BUT they don't apply it to their life.
Jesus straightly tells him of his need for a new birth.
- Jesus was saying in a way, "OK, so you believe, then this is what you need."
- If you believe that we are preaching the truth then this is what you need to do: YOU NEED TO BE BORN AGAIN.
- There is a need in every single human's life to be born again.
Nicodemus does not understand.
- He sees it in a carnal way (being born again from the womb.)
- People try to put God's teachings, God's way into a carnal way. AND IT DOES NOT WORK.
- Jesus explains that it is a Spiritual birth
- The first birth just doesn't do it.
Nicodemus further shows his ignorance of spiritual things
- How can these things be? How am I supposed to live for God. Am I just supposed to accept these "spiritual" things?
- Belief in God requires FAITH. That absolute trust.
- Trust that allowed Abraham to almost sacrifice his son.
- Resurrection faith. That was the faith that Abraham had. It was the faith that Nicodemus needed and it is the faith that you need to make it to Heaven.
Jesus chides him for not understanding "Art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things?"
- Are you a teacher of the law and know not these things?
- Are you one who knows the law and your inability to follow it and not know the need for a new life?
- There are a lot of religious people who don't know God and the reality of serving Him.
- Doesn't the fact that you realize, that on your own, YOU CAN'T SERVE GOD.
- Man is not able to serve God of his own ability because he is born in sin. "shapen in iniquity" Psa 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
- David understood his need to be born again but he didn't have that option.
- You do.
Conclusion:
Cool Software Trials & Free Stuff
2007-02-14
I really just got started on home computing (I've been working with computers for a while just not home computing.) I've been surfing way too much. Here's a list of my favorite trial software downloads:
Expression Web 30 day trial: Create web pages. It's Microsofts new update to frontpage. I didn't have a clue how to work it. Watch the video, it helped me.
Microsoft Office 2007 30 day trial: You may have to sign in to your hotmail account (if you don't have one you'll need one to get this download) It's beyond me right now. They moved everything. It'll take me 30 days to find everything. Nevertheless, it's cool.
Microsoft Money Essensials 90 day trial: After you used it 90 days you'll be stuck. LOL but it's like a 90 days same as cash.
Adobe Creative Suite 2 30 day evaluation: This one's not a download. You have to order a disk. I really don't think I'll purchase this after the 30 days. It's the complete creative package including Photoshop, Go Live and others. It's jam packed!
HERE'S SOME LINKS TO SOME COOL FREE STUFF:
e-sword The free Bible Program: This is a great study tool. The key to making the most of this is to download the accessories. Just click on the combo box on top of the screen and download away!
Powertoys for Windows XP: Lots of cool stuff to beaf up your Windows XP. I especially liked the Tweak UI program and the Sysinternals Process Explorer. Tweak UI lets you tweak your user interface. The Sysinternals Process Explorer is a Windows Task Manager on steroids.
Cute PDF: Free pdf creator. It's the fastest one I've found yet. The creator is no strings attached but the PDF tools program is adware crazy. I use both though, their great tools for free.
McAfee Siteadvisor: This is, to me, an indispensable web search tool. When you search for something on google, yahoo, msn this tool shows whats good and bad before you go to the site. This is a great freebe and for me, a life saver.
Adobe essensials: Most of these are necessary just to surf the web. You probably already have them. You can actually download a trial of Acrobat 8 but most people only need the reader.
These should keep any enthusiast busy for a little while.
God Bless!
Which way will you go?
2007-02-12
Rober Frost wrote a poem about a path with a fork in the road. http://poetrypages.lemon8.nl/life/roadnottaken/roadnottaken.htm It's a beautiful poem about the choice one makes in life. The part I really like is that the author says that he chose the path less trodden and that has made all the difference. It's the well trodden paths of life that are so sad and unfulfilling. It's the paths that seem to be unpopular that lead to success and happyness. It's the same way in God. The paths that we take can either take us closer to or further away from God.
The Bible says that the way of the transgressor is hard. It's a hard life to wake up in sin every day. It's a painful life. I remember a man at work who would show up every morning with a hangover. It was hard enough for me to just get up for work but this man had to get up with the woes of drinking all night. It's a hard life in sin. There's no mercy in sin. There's pleasure in sin for a season but once that season's gone things become very bad. When the party's over then there is pain, woe, failure, grief and on.
The same Bible says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father but my Me." There's good news tonight. God loves you and He made a way for you to be in fellowship with Him and that way is through the blood of Jesus Christ. The wages of sin is death, the bible teaches, but the gift of God is everlasting life through Jesus Christ.
God bless!
Keeping a Positive Mind
2007-02-12
Php 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
There are lots of positive self help books on the market but the most positive book in the world is the Bible. Some may disagree with this by saying, "But it speaks about hell, and death." In God, there is no contradiction. There are consequences for sin. Else, Jesus would never had to die on a cross because sin had no consequence. But sin has a consequence, Paul by the Holy Ghost said in the letter to the Romans, "the wages of sin is death." The ultimate outcome of sin is eternal separation from God. God and sin can not dwell together but God made a covering for sin and that covering in the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son.
Positive. God is positive. There is a lot of negative influence in our world. That is why it is so important to surround ourselves with every bit of positive influence we can. That is why God instructs us by His Word to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb 10:25) He said to exhort one another, to urge, advise, caution one another. People get down through out the day, let alone the week. We need to be around others who are like minded to be urged to continue, advised on how to approach something, and cautioned when heading in the wrong direction. People need direction and fellowship with the right crowd to succeed.
God is positive.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Everything good comes from Him. He's absolute light and there is no bad thing in Him. He is the absolute positive.
Paul admonished the Philippians to keep their mind on certain things. One of the biggest tools of the enemy is distraction. Getting your mind on something that it ought not to be on. The devil is in the business of getting people to worry, fear, doubt, and second guess God. But Paul said, "Think on these." and he listed them. Let's take a look at them.
Whatsoever things are true: What is truth? Pilot when examining Jesus said, "What is truth?" Saddly, he did not recognize that he was looking at the Absolute Truth, Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" Jesus is truth. There are a lot of things that claim to be true but there isn't much you can believe. I've heard it and probably read it and you have probably heard it: you can't believe half of what you see and only a percentage of what you read. Why? Because it's from man and man is falible, failable. God never fails, Jesus never fails. Why? Because He's perfect, absolutely perfect. When we are seeking for the truth the first place to turn is Jesus. Asking Him, "What is the truth in this matter?" Reading the Bible and praying are the key to knowing the truth.
Whatsoever things are honest: Sincere, honorable, genuine, uprightness, fairness, respectable. We've probably all been asked something along these lines, "if you received $100 too much from the bank teller would you return it?" Most folks would answer yes. Thinking about things that are sincere. That word sincere is from the latin sincērus which means "without wax" The merchants would cover blemishes in garments with wax. When an item was shown to be solid, clear and of good craftsmanship they would place the word "sincērus" over it. "Without Wax" It's real, not fake, no problems with it. There's a lot of fakes in the world, expecially the church world but Jesus is real. When you get Jesus you get the real thing.
Whatsoever things are just: guided by truth, reason, justice and fairness. Equitable. The lady justice has in one hand a scale. The scale is a tool for measuring weight. On one side the item to be weighed would be placed and on the other the precision weights would be placed. In the old testament God spoke of how He hated an unjust weight (Prov 11:1) and how He established just weights (Prov 16:11) God is justice, God is equitable in all that He does. God doesn't dish out too much or too little but He's always right on the mark.
Whatsoever things are pure: Latin hagnos from the word hagios meaning Holy, sactified, clean, separated for God's use. There are many references to holiness regarding the temple and priesthood. The priests were separated, they wore special clothing that identified them as such, there were perfumes that were specifically for worship and anyone who used something the same or similar were cast out of the congregation and disfellowshipped. These things were holy. It's the same word used in regard to being a saint. A saint isn't someone who get's a special title by the church, it's someone who has been separated by God for His use. Everyone who get's saved is a saint. Numerous times the Bible refers to the saints, to the holy ones, the separated ones.
Whatsoever things are lovely: This is better defined as a close friendship. The Bible says there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Prov 18:24). That friend is Jesus. He promised that He would never leave you nor forsake you (Heb 13:5, Duet 4:31). When he physically left the disciples he told them that He would send them a Comforter, the Holy Ghost. Jesus is the most intimate friend you can have. Jesus will not let you down, He will not fail you, He will not run when things are going bad with you but He will stick close you and be right by your side.
Whatsoever be of a good report: A good saying, fame. A different word is used for the message of Jesus Christ called the gospel this means good message. There's a song I like to listen to and a couple lines go like this, "no news is good news when you're reading your newspaper, no news is good news when you're watching your tv, the only news worth hearing you can find right in the Bible, it's the good news of the man who came and died for you and me." While at work a coworker in the break room was watching the news and the only two stories I got to hear of was of a man breaking into a house and raping a woman and the other was of a man's barn burning down. You are not going to find a good report on the evening (or morning noon or night) news. The good news is in Jesus Christ. The news that Jesus loves you and wants you to repent and be changed. That's good news!
If there be any virtue: Manliness, strength, valor. Contrary to weakness, effeminate, cowardice. Girting up your loins as a man. Being strong and facing the opposition. The devil will fight and he loves wet noodles. If you notice in all the armor that God provides in Ephesians 6:11-18 there is nothing provided for the back. God said that if a man turn away from looking straight forward he was not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. When leaving Samaria for Jerusalem to face this crucifixion the Bible said that His face was as a flint. He was locked in and going forward into the fire. When the three Hebrew boys were given another chance to bow before the king's image in the book of Daniel they said, "We are not careful to answer thee in this matter" There is a story of an event in early Christian history where there were a certain amount of Christians forced into fridged freezing water to die. As one of the soldiers who guarded watched on he noticed crowns decending upon their heads, one for each Christian in the water. One of the men waivered and ran screaming out of the water and quit. When the soldier saw this, he took off his clothes and quickly joined the dieing saints to receive that crown that he saw. Valor, strength, manliness.
If there be any praise: laudable, for a commendable thing. Deserving praise. I've heard them shout at the game when someone makes a touchdown (or even a first down). They all rise and raise their hands shouting for their team. The same people sit in church sanctimonious. Who deserves the praise? Who has done the thing most worthy of our attention and love? We hear of the stories of people who have sacrificed their life for their fellow man. Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus is worthy of all of our praise and worship and love.
He needed to go
2007-02-11
Text: "And He must needs go through Samaria." John 4:4
Bible Reading: John 4:1-42
Introduction: Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem but he needed to make a detour on His way. A detour through a place that was not likely to others.
The Samaritans were part Jew and part from other nations. They were not full blooded Jews. This didn't go over easy with the Jews. They were prejudice against them. When on trips, Jews did not go through Samaria to get where they were going. Most towns have what people consider a "bad side" of town. Well, to the Jews, Samaria was the bad side and even if it was a shorter distance, they would go around.
I lived in a town that had an area that was known to be bad. As teenagers we would purposely go through just to show off. We were obviously of the wrong color and folks on that side didn't really like us being there. Prejudice was an obvious factor.
Jesus went through because... God wanted Him to. "I must be about My Father's business" In verse 34 Jesus said, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." So, this trip, this detour was part of God's plan.
God sometimes goes through the bad side of town because He has a need to reach someone there.
Here He was sitting at this well. It was the 6th hour, or noon, and it was probably hot. Along comes this woman. Women didn't get water in mid day because it was hot, they came in the cool morning, but here is this lady coming to get water at noon. Maybe she was avoiding the other ladies because of who she was. Later Jesus revealed it to her that He knew who she was and what kind of life she lived. (Jesus knows who you are and what you do.) He asked her for something to drink.
She straight way lets Him know that Jews don't have a dealing with Samaritans. Maybe this was a statement such as, "so what do you really want mister?" or "so why then are you asking me for water, is there something you want?" Jesus keeps the conversation on the track that God wanted it which was Spiritual and not worldly. He said to her, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." Hey lady, if you only knew who you were talking to, you would stop this crazy banter and ask for Him to give you what you need. Not another man but Living Water. What this lady needed wasn't a rendezvous with some guy but a meeting with The Life Giver.
This lady in turn asks a question, "Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?" She was saying, So Mister, just where are you coming from? She goes on, "Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?" What makes you so special? Are you claiming to be something beter than our great forefathers? Here's the well, you're talking about Living Water and you don't even have a vessel to draw with. Where are you getting this "Living Water"? What credentials do you have to convince me that I need to keep listening because from what I see, you don't have anything?
Boy, was she wrong. That's a big problem with people and their superficial understanding of Jesus. He's more than a story or a name but He is the Living God.
Joh 4:13-14 "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: (14) But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
This didn't stop Jesus from getting to the point. He was telling her, you see the natural, you see this earthly well but I'm showing you a Spiritual Well that will fill your spiritual needs. You drink from this life and you are not satisfied but when you drink from the Life Giving Water you will never thirst again. You won't want what the world has to offer anymore because you'll have it all on the inside. It'll be springing up, bubbling over like a geiser in your life.
Joh 4:15-16 "The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. (16) Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither."
Ok mister, you're talking, but now it's show time. Why don't you just give me this water that you are claiming to have? That was her attitude. You talk a big talk but can you walk the walk? Here is where Jesus lets her know who He is. He tells her to go get her husband.
Joh 4:17-18 "The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: (18) For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly."
That's right, you don't have a husband lady, you've had 5 of them and the person you are with now you aren't even married to. Now you are talking the truth lady. Now Jesus is getting down to business. He must needs go through Samaria and talk to this lady and let her know that God is watching, that God is still interested in what is going on in this lady's life. A lady that had been married 5 times and right now was shacking up with another guy, God was interested in her. You may be messed up in your life right now but you need to meet the Man who knows you better than you know yourself.
Joh 4:19-20 "The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. (20) Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."
Now this lady gets religious. Isn't that how some people react to God dealing with them. If I haven't heard it a thousand times, I would ask people if they wanted to come and pray and they would just brush it off and say, "I'm already saved." and you know sure well that they are living in open sin. This lady starts talking religious with Jesus, "I perceive that you are a prophet" There wasn't any other conclusion you could come to other than the fact that this Man is a Prophet of God. He just showed up from no where and told this lady her life story. God does that, he tells you your life story, he knows where you have been and what you have done. He knows everything about you and still loves you and wants you to come to Him and be changed. She starts talking religion. Hey, you Jews say we should worship there and we worship here. What's the big difference?
What's the difference in what church I go to preacher? There's one right around the corner from me that I grew up in. But did you get saved? Is there fruit in your life to back up your religion?
Joh 4:21-24 "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. (22) Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. (23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
Lady, I have a need to go through Samaria to let you know something! This mountain or Jerusalem doesn't matter because you don't even know what you are worshiping. It's all a flesh show, it's all just something you make your body do, go to church, sing a little hymn, listen to a sermonette (the one that those christianettes listen to, that smoke them cigarettes) and go home unfulfilled. You need to worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. YOU NEED A REALITY! The Father is looking for people who are fed up with religion and want a reality in God. People who are fed up with sin in their life and want to be filled with Jesus, the Blood of Jesus and a reality. They want something that will cause them to live right. Jesus is coming through the Samaria of your life and saying it's time for a change!
Joh 4:25-26 "The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, he will tell us all things. (26) Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He."
Jesus revealed Himself as a prophet but now it's down to brass tacks. The lady says something that Jesus has been waiting for. "When Messiah comes, He will tell us, us Samaritans and you Jews, all things." This Messiah will come and straighten out the race card. This Messiah will come and fix everything. It was in her heart that even though she was in a rotten place doing rotten things, she knew that the Messiah was coming and could help her.
Jesus reveals that HE is the Messiah. Hey, you can't tell people about their life, show them God, and then say something like this without it being real. He revealed her heart and now she realized that this was the very thing she had been hoping for. The Messiah that would come and heal the nations. He is still healing the nations. He is still saving souls. He is still passing through the Samarias of our time and He is still meeting the needs of men and women with His Living water.
God Bless!!
Message 02/10/07
2007-02-11
What sparked this message happened while I was at the food court of the mall. I was passing the food stands and one of the girls at the Chinese restaraunt was calling out "You taste." She was handing out a toothpick full of Chinese food to passerbys. Some ignored her or waved her on, some stopped and tried and some after trying bought something from her. I thought it was a very ingenious way to get people to buy from her store. I used this real life illustration as the conclusion of the message.
Taste of the Lord!
Bible Reading: Psalm 34
Text: Psa 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
Introduction: King David is in the camp of the Philistines feigning to be a madman. He writes this psalm after he leaves Abimilec the king of the Philistines
I. God made promises to them that trust in Him.
A. Promises of goodness
Blessings, health, prosperity
B. The promises are to them that TRUST HIM.
Those that put their absolute trust in God
Those that lean on Him and not their own understanding.
***It is not to them that do not trust.***
To those that have disobeyed him OBEDIENCE IS TRUST
C. Trusting in Jesus
In who He is: The Lord of Lords, the absolute ruler of everything
In what He teaches: Obedience to the Lord and His ways
What are His ways?
In what He did: The sacrifice He made on the cross.
II. Taste and See!
A. Do you really know that the Lord is good?
Do you really understand, have you tasted
How can you know until you have tried?
Mayonnaise on French Fries, Kimchi (oh, it smells!!)
B. The failure of seeing only the bad side.
The devil always magnifies a lie of the hardship of serving God
"The way of the transgressor is hard"
You need to give Jesus a chance!
It's only by FAITH that God is going to bless you.
God is not going to let you down.
There are times when God tries you but God is ultimately working all things for your good.
C. The taste buds know what they are talking about.
1. Nathanael was prejudice but he found out that the taste buds don't lie.
Joh 1:46 "And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see."
Nathanael was prejudice. Nathanael didn't think that something good could come out of the city of Nazareth. Nathanael was wrong.
Philip knew, he witnessed Jesus for himself. Nathanael was a religious man but when convinced to try this "Jesus" out, he found that He was everything they said he was. Jesus revealed his heart.
YOU NEED TO FIND OUT THAT JESUS IS INTERESTED IN YOU.
2. The woman at the well. John 4
The people were convinced to come and see Jesus by the woman who was at the well but after they saw Jesus for themselves they said,
Joh 4:42 "Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."
That woman had something to say to these people, she believed!
But these people found out for themselves that she was absolutely correct.
I can tell you until I am blue in the face of God's goodness
Of the benefit of serving God, paying tithes, living righteously, being born again, being filled in, with and of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and receiving the fire of God.
But none of it will do you any good UNTIL IT IS REAL TO YOU.
III. It's your turn to taste.
You need to step up and taste
You need to try it out.
You need to acknowledge that God is dealing with you.
B. Are you going to sit there in your seat and put your feet in the mud?
Or are you going to get up and say, "I need what Jesus is offering."
Jesus is passing by and I say, "Taste and see"
Conclusion: The Chinese Girl at the food court.
Just like that Chinese girl. Jesus is using men and women to speak out to you.
"You taste!"
I ALREADY KNOW IT'S GOOD, NOW YOU COME AND TRY IT.
Sitting in your seat and leaving unfulfilled is not the answer.
You have to step forward and acknowledge that God is speaking to you.
Sharing My Love For God
2007-02-10
Obviously, the springboard verse for this blog is Psa 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
I'm really excited about the opportunity to share and exchange the great blessings of God. There is just so much that can be said and shared and I would like to do some of it here.
It's hard to find where to start. Maybe if I started from the beginning it would help. I joined the army out of high school. My first duty was in Germany. I was a kid just like everyone else, living life trying to "be an adult." I spent a lot of money on a sad life. I would go out and drink and spend my whole pay on such. It was a very sad introduction to being on my own. I really liked my peers but it was really unfulfilling. To add, I was somewhat religious. I remember trying to talk to others about God and, to no surprise, I was not very successful. Let me add something that I believe was a start of my conversion. There was guy in my unit who told me, "you're not a Christian, I've met real Christians." It really didn't strike me then but now, looking back, it was very instrumental in me really getting saved.
I finished my time in Germany and then moved to Kentucky. When I arrived there was something inside of me that really wanted to do something different and better. Some men came along and asked if I wanted to be in their special platoon. I thought that this was my break into doing something special so I decided to go along.
These men really wanted to impress upon us that what we were doing was special. We went through a thirty day initiation. They made it pretty difficult. At the end a few men were weeded out but I made the cut. Now I was part of their unit.
This part of my life was also very instrumental. I joined this unit thinking that being in a special unit would make thing better. I was in a group of different people with a different attitude towards the army. I started hanging out with these guys, bar hopping and such. With all of this I started to realize something. Nothing was different. I was still the same, and I was living a sad unproductive life. I started asking myself questions like, "isn't there more to life than this?" Getting drunk, playing army just didn't cut it.
Being religious, one night I was reading the Bible. I read the Bible from time to time but it never had the impact on me before like it did this night. I read a verse in Exodus, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." I may have read this verse before but that night it struck me like a lightning bolt. I remember telling myself something like, "I use the Lord's name in vain" and "God is not holding me guiltless, God is holding this against me." I felt the conviction of my filthy communications and it was heavy.
I went on but not long after this happened a couple of guys came along and invited me out to church. (One of them that invited me told me years later that they determined to walk around those barracks one more time, Thank God for One More Time!) I went out.
Was I in for a shock. I didn't drive so they picked me up. They drove me out to a storefront church. I remember one of the ladies coming up and introducing herself with a very friendly attitude. My first thought was that she was interested in me. I didn't realize, until later, that it was her husband that invited me out.
It was clean and neat but not my idea of a church. I came in wearing my tight jeans and carrying a Bible. I sat down in one of the back pews. When they called service to begin they all rose and raised their hands and started praising God out loud. It was something I never saw before and I just stood there looking around. Needless to say, I didn't raise my hands. Then they began to sing. They all sang loud and happily. I was used to songs like "bringing in the sheaves" but these folks were singing upbeat hymns. It was not the reserved church I grew up in. I wasn't going to leave because they drove me out and it was a long way out so I was there until it was over.
I'll never forget the man that got up to preach. He started out like most preachers I knew of but as he went on he got louder and redder in the face. He preached and he preached with fire. I remember asking myself, "why does this man have to get so loud?" but there was another voice that was speaking and it said, "but he's preaching from the Bible" that same Bible that I had been reading in my barracks room. It was true. I told myself, "if it comes from the Bible I'll believe it." It was all from the Bible. I could not find fault and it was all at me or at least that's the way it seemed back then. The preacher didn't know me from Adam but God was speaking through him. He was dealing with my life and my dreaded condition and God's saving grace.
I was asked to come up and pray but I said no. I told them that I was already saved but deep down I knew I wasn't really saved. I went back to my barracks that night but I had encountered something great. They asked me if I wanted to come back out and I agreed to.
I came out a few times in a row and the conviction grew every time. I never prayed in church at that time but one night I returned to my barracks room. When I got in it was just me in our four man room. I was shaken by my conviction. I got down on my knees and I prayed something like, "God, I am a sinner and I need this salvation." I didn't feel anything different. I kept going to church and after that night of prayer I started going to the alter at the church and praying earnestly for God to save me. God saved me the night I prayed in my barracks room, but somehow, in all of it, God wanted me to pray at that alter.
I'll never forget my first pastor, how I love that man and the men he trained to reach others. Later on I came up to the alter to receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. I was raised a Baptist and this was very contrary to Baptist teaching. I remember that that same voice kept saying, "If it's in the Bible then how can you resist it?" or "If it's in the Bible, I'll believe it." It was and still is in there. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost was the answer to my need for power to live for God and it is still the answer today. I went up front and prayed for the Baptism and after a short while the Spirit fell on me just as it did on the Disciples on the day of Pentecost. I spoke in tongues and I felt the fire of God flowing and rushing through me. I was so on fire that I walked to the back of the church and told a guy, who had started coming out with us, that he needed to go up there and get the Holy Ghost too! (He's a faithful minister in our church organization right now. He eventually, in his time, received the Holy Ghost also.) It was something so amazingly great that the next day I called a girl I knew and told her all about it. I told my friends at the barracks and none of them could say anything to the contrary, they knew looking at me and the way I spoke of it all that this was not some hoax. They knew how sincere I was.
After this my life really changed. I was going to church all the time. I was no longer the invitee but the one inviting. I got a car because I wanted to pick people up for church. I was harassed by some of my fellow soldiers. One of them kind of gave me a hard time. It didn't matter. I knew how real God was to me.
When it was my time to leave that duty station in Kentucky one of the guys in my unit came up to me to ask a question. He asked something like, "What happened to you? One day you were out partying with us and the next thing you know you stopped and just started going to church." I was sad that I didn't get him to come out and now he was telling me, as I was leaving, how he noticed (he harassed me also from time to time, you really don't know how much of an impact new Christians have on their peers.)
I moved on to Korea and then back to Kentucky but I knew God had called me into the ministry and I had delayed too long already so I went to Seminary.
Today I am helping another minister. It's my goal to be a full time minister and God has me called and I know that these callings are without repentance.
I preached on a message tonight, "Taste and See" and I felt that I should share these thoughts with others in hope that they too will "taste and see" that God is good to them as He is to me.
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