I CAN ONLY IMAGINE!

I love to worship the Lord, because it helps me to focus on Who God is! When things are tough in life, I am thankful that I can turn to the Lord who rules and reigns over everything that touches my life. One of the worship songs that I like, is I can only imagine.

I was reading in 1 Corinthians 2:9 and it really encouraged me today with all that is going on around us. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."

As I was thinking and dwelling on that verse, I was encouraged by the thought, that God has a WONDERFUL PLAN FOR OUR LIVES AS INDIVIDUALS. God's plan is so much more than I can even imagine or think about. God has a great plan for our lives, a plan that is intended to bless me, stretch me, use me, for His Kingdom. I must focus on Him and His plan for my life, and realize that if I walk in obedience to Him and His Word then God is going to do supernatural things in my life. I pray, Lord give me Your wisdom so that I follow Your plan for my life. His Word tells us, "He that began a GOOD WORK in you will bring it to completion."

Today, worship the Lord and try to imagine all the good things that the Lord has in store for you!

WHAT IS YOUR DELIGHT?

I was so thankful for the presence of the Lord that was so evident in the sanctuary last night, as we spent time in worship and prayer. As we prayed for many that were in need of finances and jobs, I sense the presence of the Lord that in every PROBLEM, God gives us a PROMISE, and His PROVISION! No matter what you are facing today Jesus is able to meet every one of our needs!

In our study last night, I had everyone journal on Psalm 1 - and God spoke to many out of this great Psalm. I focused on verse 3 - "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever He does prospers."

We need to grow in the Word, read the Word, feed ourselves on the Word, and as we grow in our knowledge and relationship with the Lord we will be by the streams of water where there is growth, health, and nourishment. God wants our relationship to be like a stream not a swamp! God wants movement in our lives not stagnation! And we grow in Him, we will reap in His season. We are in a hard season as a nation right now, but God will bring us through as we grow in Him. God is still a prospering God that wants to bless us because of our relationship with Him!

I encourage you to get into His Word and let His Word minister to you today!

THE FOOLISHNESS OF THE CROSS!!!

Today is Ash Wednesday which begins the journey of 40 Days to the death, burial and the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead. What do people really know about the death of Jesus on the Cross. Is it more than just a story?
I was reading this morning in 1 Corinthians 1:18 - "I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God."
When we look at the media, entertainment on TV, listen to people in the world today, they ridicule, mock, reject, make fun of the message of the Cross, Jesus dying for our sins. This who concept is one that is foolishness to people who really do not know Jesus Christ. We need to remember what the Cross means - submission, sacrifice, surrender, that we are sinners who need a Savior. These words fly in the face of our sinful flesh. People feel that they are their own god, and that we can handle life. That is why so many have a hard time with the cross.
Then we read, "But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God." Those words "Being Saved" spoke to me this morning. Salvation is not just an event that happened when we asked Jesus into our lives, but is a present relationship, daily relationship, that we continue to be saved day by day because of Jesus Christ!
That is the power of the Cross, that I am being saved, renewed, changed day by day!
As we journey to Easter this year - let us remember the power of the Cross!

HOW'S YOUR LIVING?

In 2009, I have started a new way of journaling that I have discussed in an earlier blog. I have been journaling through Romans, and this morning I was going through Romans 16.

I came to verse 19 - "But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to see clearly what is right and to stay innocent of any wrong." Those words jumped out at me this morning.

Does everyone around me know that I am a real follower of Jesus Christ? Am I ashamed of being a Christian? Does my life, actions, attitudes, behavior, habits, speech reveal that I am a follower of Christ? At times, I know that I fall miserably short of walking that way with the Lord. Help me to see clearly where I am going in my spiritual walk, and to stay away from anything that is wrong, evil or pulls me away from the Lord.

I ask you this morning: How is your living?

THE GOD OF HOPE!

Hello! It was great to get away and visit my parents in warm Florida. It was great to be able to go outside and walk for miles and enjoy God's wonderful creation. I would walk over some bridges and I would see dolphins and other animals, even an alligator. It was great to get some good R and R., but the saying is true, it is good to be home.

I was journaling this morning from Romans 15 and the Lord spoke to me out of Romans 15:13 - "So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in Him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

I want to encourage you and pray for you today, that God is the only One who can give us hope in hopeless situations. We are living in a day when we need to stay connected to the Hope Giver, so that we can give Hope to others. When I have real hope, then I will be HAPPY AND HAVE PEACE. Happiness does not come from things but comes from genuine hope, and when I am happy, I will also have peace with God, with other people and with myself. Paul prayed that they would overflow with HOPE.

I pray that no matter what you are going through today, you will overflow with the Hope that comes from the Holy Spirit!

Good to be back!

BE ENTHUSIASTIC!

Romans 12:11 - NLT - "Serve the Lord enthusiastically."

Life can become very routine, boring, humdrum, and wear us down. How many feel that way during this long winter. Think about being inside so much, or a job that becomes monotonous, a relationship that maybe has become humdrum. This same thing can happen in our spiritual walk, when we take our relationship with the Lord as routine or just going through the motions.
Enthusiasm comes from a Greek word which means: "Inspired by God." How can life become humdrum when God is inspiring us? So instead of going around complaining, put a smile on your face and begin to change our attitude!
Sheldon Vanauken said - "The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, thier certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians. When they are sad, sour, self-righteous and smug. when they are narrow and repressive, Christianity dies a thousand deaths." Think about that for a minute.
We should be the most enthusiastic people in the world, because we have abundant life now and a great future with the Lord!
I will be away for the next week, so I pray that God will bless you with His great joy!

IS IT TIME YET?

Time is one of those things that we never seem to have enough of in our lives. How many people are always running out of time and not getting everything done that is required of them. I was thinking about time as I am preparing for a funeral tomorrow, and how time has a way of getting away from us all?

Think about this question: Would you rather save money or time? Many people would probably focus more on money. In reality, how we spend our time is more important than how we spend our money. We live in difficult financial days, but in time you can correct money mistakes, but you cannot go back and get lost time. How many people when they get to the end of their lives wish that they can go back and do it all over again! They would have different priorities in life.

This morning, I want to encourage you to refocus your priorities, because your priorities will determine what you do with your time. Time is very precious!

I read this from John Maxwell concerning the value of time.

"To know the value of one year... ask the student who failed the final exam.
To know the value of one month... ask the mother of a premature baby.
To know the value of one week... ask the editor of a weekly magazine.
To know the value of one day...ask the worker who has 6 children at home.
To know the value of one hour...ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To know the value of one minute...ask the person who missed his plane.
To know the value of a second...ask the person who survived the accident.
To know the value of a millisecond...ask the person who came in second at the
Olympics.

This morning I want to encourage you to value your time!

DEVELOPING OUR FAITH!

How do we develop and deepen our faith in real life? Developing faith is very similar to developing our physical bodies. As you may know, I love working out at the gym and trying to stay in shape. (Even though it is getting harder the older I get.) However, I have to keep at it day by day. If you want to stay in good shape, you need to exercise regularly, eat right and have a right attitude. If you do not keep working out, you will not only not gain strength, but you will begin to lose what you once had. I can tell the difference when I do not go to the gym for awhile.

It is the same way with faith. D.L. Moody talked about how he developed faith. He said, "I prayed for faith, and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the Romans 10 - "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." So I closed my Bible and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible and began to read, study, and faith has been growing ever since."

I want to encourage you to develop your faith in Jesus and through the Word of God! Feed your mind and spirit with the truth of God's Word, and watch what will happen with your faith!

Work out your faith today!

FAITH MATTERS TODAY!

This week we have been looking at why faith matters in our daily lives! As we listen to the news and hear all the negative reports and how bad things are in our world today, we can so easily become fearful, negative and overwhelmed by what is going on in this temporary world. As a child of God, we need to know that faith matters in our daily lives!

Faith will give us a Godly perspective, and will give us strength. Another quality that faith will give us is PATIENCE, and RESILIENCE. How many have heard that statement, "Winners never quit and quitters never win." As a child of God, we will never see victory if we quit, give up, throw in the towel.

I read about Christopher Reeve, who was known for his role as Superman. Christopher Reeve fell from a horse and broke his neck, he was almost ready to give up. But found the strength to go on because his wife and family had faith in him.

Christopher Reeve said - "While he was in the hospital recovering, there was a picture of the space shuttle blasting off. It was autographed by every astronaut down at NASA. On top of the picture it said, "We found nothing impossible." Reeve went on to say, "That should be our motto...So many of our dreams, so many dreams at first seem impossible, and then they seem improbable. And then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. So if we can conquer outer space, we should be able to conquer inner space, too. And that's the frontier of the brain, the central nervous system and all the afflictions of the body that destroy so many lives and rob our country of so much potential."

The fact is - when you believe in something, you have something to live for. And that keeps you going in the tough times. What are we living for? Are we living for the Lord? Are we living for our family? Are we living with purpose today?

Mother Theresa said - "Faith keeps the person who keeps the faith."

I want to encourage you to KEEP THE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!

BENEFITS OF FAITH IN GOD!

As I blogged yesterday concerning faith, and that faith gives us a DIVINE PERSPECTIVE. When we develop our relationship with the Lord, we begin to see things from His perspective. As the Bible tells us - "His ways are not our ways." Many times we will not see and understand His ways, until we go through the situation and get to the other side.

Another benefit that faith brings into our lives is STRENGTH FOR TODAY! Faith will empower us to face challenges in our lives, knowing that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

S.G. Holland, the former prime minister of New Zealand said, - "faith draws the poison from every grief, takes the sting from every loss, and quenches the fire of every pain; an donly faith can do it." Faith gives a person power and strength to go on living. Today, we need His strength to face what is going on in our world!

The opposite is true as well, people that have no faith have no strength and power to face the challenges of life. John Maxwell says it this way - "Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present."

I have told my son for many years now, that he needs to have faith that God is going to help him when struggles come into his life. I would tell him when difficult times come against him, declare God's Word - "I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens ME."

I want to encourage you to experience the benefits of faith today!

FAITH IN A REAL WORLD

Have you ever experienced times when it was a struggle to have faith? Are there times in life when you have a hard time understanding everything that is going on. I think we all experience those times in life. I know that I struggle at times with faith and trying to understand everything that is going on in life. I guess that is just part of being human.

God's Word tells us the importance of faith in our daily lives. In the Book of Hebrews it tells us - "Without faith it is impossible to please God..." I want to please God so I need to live by faith, even when things do not make sense."

Phillip Yancey says, "Faith is trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse." There are just some things that does not make sense when we are going through the situation. Someday the light comes on and we understand why we went through that situation.

People of faith try to look for God's perspective when things come into our lives! When I trust in Him, I will experience His peace in the midst of the storm.

Let us ask God for His Divine Perspective for what is going on in our lives!

HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS?

Can you believe that it is snowing again! I know that I am ready for some nice warm weather. Now that we have turned the calendar to February, how are we doing on those New Year's resolutions that we made? How is the working out at the gym going? Are we doing anything with the goals that we made for 2009? How is our spiritual life going?

I read something from Wayne Cordeiro on Journaling. He is a pastor of a large church in Hawaii. He wrote about the benefits of Journaling and I have started it, and I would like to recommend it to you.

He says - "Journaling is an excellent way to both record and process what God speaks to us. Writing these things down will help us remember, and not forget the blessings that God gives to us now and in the future."

Practical side of Journaling

S - Scripture
When you are reading the Word of God. Take time when you reading to allow God to speak to you. When you are done, look for a verse that God spoke to you out of the reading. Write it in your journal.

O - Observation
What do you think God is saying to you from this scripture? Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and reveal Jesus to you. Paraphrase and write this scripture down in your own words, in your journal.

A - Application
Personalize what you have read, by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now. Perhaps it is instruction, encouragement, revelation of a new promise, or correction in some area of your life. Write how this scripture can apply to you today.

P - Prayer
Begin to pray that God will help you apply and use this Scripture in your daily life. Talk to God and then listen to what God wants to say to you. Now, write it out in your journal.

I hope that this will help you in keeping your spiritual relationship new and growing all year long!

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW I FEEL?

How many have ever felt that way? Does anyone really know how I feel? We can be around a lot of people and still not know what a person is feeling.

Are you going through financial difficulty right now? Jesus knows how you feel. Jesus said that He did not even have a place to lay His head. Do you feel that you have been taken advantage of in life? Jesus has felt that as well, as He went to the Cross for our sins. Have you been falsely accused of something? Jesus feels that pain as well.

Jesus has been exactly where you are right now in life! He can relate and feel the things that you are facing in life.

Hebrews 2:18 tells us - "He...experienced...all the pain, all the testing."

Whatever you are feeling this morning - you can turn to the Lord and He will be there! Ask Him for His help and He will give you what you need to get through the problems!

PS - The Superbowl as a good football game last night. It was a very entertaining game, even if the Patriots were not in it! Just think 2 weeks to Spring Training! Go Red Sox!

Super Bowl Sunday

In a little while the biggest football game of the year will start, and there is not that much excitement about the Superbowl game this year! Maybe it is because our New England Patriots are not playing for another Superbowl. I am not really a Steelers fan or a Cardinals fan, so I might watch part of the game just to watch the commercials.

There is an interesting story that I heard about on ESPN this week, concerning the quarterback of the Cardinals. His name is Kurt Warner and he is a born again Christian. They were interviewing him and members of his team. Many of them said, no matter how you feel about him, he is the real deal! He is a genuine believer. When we get to the end of the day, I pray that people that know us will be able to say that we are REAL DEAL! What a great testimony!

Because of that, I am hoping that the Cardinals can pull off the upset!!! Enjoy the commercials as well!