Be Still

Hide me now

Under Your wings

Cover me

Within Your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with You above the storm

Father you are King over the flood

I will be still and know You are God

[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/h/hillsong_united/still.html ]

Find rest my soul

In Christ alone

Know His power

In quietness and trust

When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with You above the storm

Father You are king over the flood

I will be still and know You are God

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/h/hillsong_united/#share

It has been a while since I have heard this song and once again the Lord has used it to keep my heart calm and my nerves settled. The first time I heard this song was when life was just spinning so fast and it seemed that there was no way out; that was 10 years ago. Today, life is much different than 10 years ago, however, there are still many factors of this life that can seem too heavy to carry. This song reminds me that I do not have to carry any of it. I can trust the Lord with my yesterday, my today, and even my tomorrow. Though we are in a good season of life, this week started feeling heavy and a bit strenuous. I am pleased to know that there is nothing that I have to make happen, there is truly nothing that I am in control of, and there is absolutely nothing that I can mess up so bad that God doesn’t know what to do with it. This realization causes me to climb back into the hands of the Lord and to simply be still; trusting that He knows all of the answers to those questions and is aware of each step I should take in this life.

Be encouraged today!

BE STILL.

Contentment

This week the Lord has placed a contentment in my heart that is different than I have ever felt. It is a feeling that consistently brings me joy when I focus on it. The funny thing is that nothing has shifted in this life that would bring this feeling. There has not been new experiences, extra money, or great fulfillments. The Lord has simply reminded me that He is walking with me and is the giver of life. This contentment causes the people and circumstances that are surrounding me to shine in a new and spectacular way. It reminds of when sunshine flows over a person and they take a breath of relief and soak in that moment of peace. It is at that moment everything seems like it is going to be OK.

If you feel that your life is overwhelming and you can’t hold it all together, I encourage you to quit trying to hold it together. Quit chasing after the idea of success and simply love and appreciate the daily blessings that the Lord has placed in your life. Contentment will not be found by looking to our past, our by chasing the unknown possibilities of the future. It will be found when you are willing to simply be thankful for the Lord’s presence. Rest in His grace, in His truth, in His amazing ability to provide the sustenance needed to live a life of joy that will transform the world surrounding you. Contentment is one of the great gifts from the Lord.

1 Timothy 6:6-7

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

A Reflection for 2011

If we are not careful, a year will pass away and a new year will begin without taking the time to realize how amazing it truly was.

• ·      This year, the Lord consistently was present and showed us that He is more powerful than any situation we might face
• ·      This year, the Lord allowed His favor to shine and open new doors
• ·      This year, the Lord gave us new obstacles to overcome, new moments of faith to grow
• ·      This year, while the world was distracted by what they might lose, the Lord was focused on whose heart He might win
• ·      This year, the Lord gave the world many opportunities to repent and surrender before His imminent return
• ·      This year, God healed the broken hearted, set the captive free, and gave hope to the hopeless

These are all things that I personally am a witness to in my own life and in those lives that surround me.

This year, I am thankful for my relationship with the Lord and His unwarranted, undeserved, and incomparable love He has for me.

This is the same love He has for you! 

May 2012 begin as a year of surrender to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is the only way to find life.

John 14:6-7

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

A Disciplined Godly Life

This title has the potential to either cause you to stop reading this devotional or possibly challenge you to evaluate who you are and what you are doing. My true hope is that this devotional is more of an encouragement for you to live out a practical life that honors the Lord and the people that He has put around you.

For me, a Godly life begins at 5:30 AM. This does not mean it has to be this way for you, however, it is a crucial element to honoring the Lord in my life. When I get out of bed at 5:30 AM, I get into my running clothes, tie up my shoes, get my dog leashed and ready, and go for my morning run. This a Godly discipline that is crucial for my cholesterol count, but also gives me the time I need to think through my day and make decisions of who I am going to be. Then after my run, I sit on my patio and read the Bible or one of books that point me towards the Lord and who I am supposed to be. When I finish reading I take a few minutes to pray for those people that come to my mind and heart and ask the Lord to be in charge of my day.

This routine has helped me organize and discipline all of the other areas of my life. This life can truly be an amazing journey for those who turn over the control to the Lord. He not only has the ability to strengthen and guide you, but He also has an amazing way to give me a great joy that is purely and overflow of my time with Him.

I encourage you to find your routine, on a daily basis surrender to Him, and daily strive to find moment-by-moment ways to live a life of honor to the Lord. This means that what you do outside the four walls of the church is as crucial as what you do inside the church. The daily integrity of serving the Lord is and always will be the most important part of this life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

A Witness To My Life

Looking over the years of this life brings many emotions all at once. It has been a life full of laughter, purpose, new adventures, God’s provision, at times pain and tears, miracles, hope, peace, and joy. I am not only thankful to the Lord for walking with me each step of my past but securing my tomorrow. He also gave me a precious gift that I will cherish for the rest of my days. He gave me a friend that will be a witness to my life. In truth, I can say that we have seen each other at our best and our worst.

The gift from the Lord is not just to have this friend in my life, but that He has given us the grace to weather the storms of this life arm in arm. This friend of mine has been walking with me for half of my life. She is not perfect and yet perfect for me. Melissa and I are coming up on 18 years of marriage this June.

Melissa,

Thank you for being a witness to my life. I love you girl. I have no idea what doors this graduation will open for us. However, I do know that it doesn’t matter as long as we are walking through that door together. Thank you for believing in the goals the Lord has placed on my heart.

Love,

Kristopher

At Rest...

At rest and pressing forward…

The Lord has continued to bring a deep rest to this heart of mine. The more I press into who He is and what He is doing in my life today, the less I need answers for yesterday. It is a wild concept to be at rest, though life is not slowing down or affording me to take my eyes off of the goals ahead. I am finding rest in what I will call simple trust. This simple trust is actually profound. It stems from the realization that I can only control who I am and I must allow the people around me room to breathe and learn. I will simply trust that the Lord will continue to guide my steps and faithfully protect me from the assault of the enemy when it comes. It is a natural response to be worried about explosions when you have walked through them. However, if one is not careful, the explosion of the past will dictate and control the future. This must not be, as there is too much life to live and too large a purpose to live for. Instead, it is better to simply trust that because of where I have walked, I am now wiser and though explosions may still be a part of this life, it won’t be caused because my eyes are shut to the dangers or the path that led to those atrocities.

Though I still look around and at times don’t understand…
And though some mornings the questions that loom are unanswerable…
And though at times all is too quiet and faint memories of war can be heard…
Instead of allowing these conundrums to control me…
I simply smile, trusting in this simple phrase…

My God is good.

And I am at rest once more…

Psalm 116:12
What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me?

Decision by Decision

As I walked out of my room this morning I was greeted by a man child with a deeper voice than mine, who had shaving cream on his face, preparing to meet his high school world. I had to stop and take a double take. My brain was incapable of computing how it is that my son had grown up so fast before my eyes. He is an amazing young man, but he is as tall as I am, driving, and dreaming of a future of college, career, marriage, and one day children of his own. All of these dreams of his do not include me in his life on a daily basis. When did this happen?

I believe this happened day by day and decision by decision. Just yesterday, I was approached with a dilemma of being at my youngest son’s basketball game or in a meeting that was important and was part of my responsibilities. I am happy to say that the wise decision was made and I will be at my son’s basketball game. As I evaluate my life and look at the places where I cannot be replaced, there are very few. No one can have the relationship with my God for me, be a husband to my wife for me, the father to my children for me, or build the relationship with my friends and family for me. If I am not careful, decisions will be made to be at those meetings, run those events, and give away those precious moments that can never be recaptured.

At this point in my life it is with clarity that I can see how quickly a couple of years will go by and my children will have grown and be off and running on their own journey. I pray with all of my heart that the Lord will give me the wisdom to say yes to the right things, as it pertains to the precious time given to me. I hope to walk forward with my eyes wide open and capture every moment given to me with those people in my life that I cherish.

This is a good scripture reminding us to keep our focus on what is right and allowing the Lord to take care of the other needs in our life.

Matthew 6:19-33

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Greatness

What does it really mean when we say, “God is great!”

Does it mean that He has somehow decided to listen to us and do things according to our opinion? Does it mean that we silly humans have stopped hurting each other and ourselves? Does it mean that we have finally attained everything that we think we should somehow have or deserve?

OR does it mean that we have surrendered our opinions and admitted that we are short sighted and myopic in our views?

OR does it mean we have decided to not allow the roller coaster called life and life situations to dictate our faith in God?

OR does it mean we have come to the conclusion that we need to walk in thankfulness instead of deservedness?

It is only when we purpose to disconnect from the things of this world and put focus on who and what God promises to, will we be able to stand firm in the face of adversity. God is an amazing and mighty God with our without our approval. He is the one who spoke this earth into existence and is the one who intersected our lives with hope, peace, and joy.

How long will we choose to allow this world and the people in it to decide our worth and what goals we should run after? God has called us worthy and has an amazing journey in store for those who call Him Lord. I am challenged today to lay aside my own ideas of what this life should look like and allow the Lord to redefine my motives, my goals, and my ultimate destination.

Saying God is great means that He is big enough and awesome enough to lead and guide me. Saying God is great means that I don’t have to be anything but His child.

Deuteronomy 3:23-24
At that time I pleaded with the LORD: “Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?

It is 5:30 AM

It is 5:30 AM and I am sitting here thinking about the more important things of this life. The Lord is my #1 thought this morning. He has walked with me since I have been a child teaching me how to best navigate this life. He has stood by me when I have walked down wrong paths and embraced sin and temptation- loving me, healing me, and placing my feet back on the path of truth. He has also placed a barrier around me of peace when the nuclear warheads have attempted to blow up my life. In truth, the scars are very real from some of those bombs that have went off, but as the destruction was set in motion, so was the Holy Spirit’s guiding, leading, and healing touch. As with anyone who lives through life trauma and the dying of something, there are questions that may never be answered, but where I am sitting now, I am thankful for the presence of the Lord. One of the greatest things that has happened in my life in these last years is the ability to find God’s fingerprints where He is working, and at times even get to see Him in action. Today, as I think of my life that is filled with the joy of marriage, children, friends, a purposeful ministry, and a fulfilling job- I am at peace.

Thank you Lord for being the faithful and consistent healer and life giver for my life and family.

I am not sure where this devotional finds you this morning. You may be in the midst of suffering the consequences from your own personal life decisions, possibly facing the ramifications from someone else’s decisions, or at a time of peace from the worries of this world. Whichever situation you are in- be encouraged! Your Lord and Maker is actively present in your life and longs to be invited to draw near into your situation. He has jumped through all of the hoops, built the bridges, and created the paths for you to be able to have a life giving relationship with Him. All you need to do is choose to sit at His feet and surrender.

In Joshua 4, the Bible tells us of a time that Joshua was leading His people across the Jordan and the Lord went before them and made a way for them to walk on dry ground. Though it may seem impossible that God would move in your life like this, He can, and He will. Take the first step to seeing a miracle and turn to Him. He has an amazing way of taking care of His children.


Dear Lord,
It is time for me to start my day and I choose once again to ask the Lord to go before me and guide my day. Please be with my wife and my boys. We need you to be present and active in each of our lives.

Amen

Be Strong- Be Courageous

I have to first apologize for not writing a devotional in a few months. The Dahir family has been through quite a few changes and the time factor has become a little difficult to manage. We have started a new church in the Sparks area called Freedom Fellowship in Spanish Springs. The Lord has been bringing us wonderful people to touch and transform our community. I have also become the Vice Principal of Excel Christian School and help run the sports program, teach, and administrate. It has been a blast to be a part of the faculty at this school and get to know the students that the Lord has put in our care. On top of that, I will graduate in May of 2011 with my Psych degree and a minor in Christian Counseling from Liberty University. I share all of this to catch you up on my life and to lead into today’s devotion.

It is easy to look at all of the work, all of the difficulties, all of the despair and become overwhelmed with the work that is at hand. The idea of being strong and courageous sounds wonderful for about an hour and then when the flood of this life does not begin to recede, become taken by worry and fear. The idea of being strong becomes a dismal dream and any hopes of being courageous are a play-write at best.

Joshua 1:7-9
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Over the years when I have read this scripture, I would try to use it as a steroid boost in order for me to be stronger and face my life. When Melissa and I read this for our morning devotional there was a totally different message that was being clarified for me by the Holy Spirit. God is not telling me to toughen up and quit complaining! Though that is a good idea. He is saying to stand firm in the truth and keep your eyes on Him. Nothing that Joshua was being asked to do was going to happen because Joshua made it happen. God was telling Joshua to be strong and courageous and watch what He, Yahweh, was going to do for the people He loved so much. This is such an important message for each of our lives. When you look at your life and believe there is no way you are strong enough to face what is before you. I have to agree that you are probably correct. However, you are strong enough and able to stand as a disciplined child of God and watch God, who is strong enough, take care of you and the people surrounding your life.

I hope you are encouraged to be STRONG and to find your COURAGE. God can and will do wonderful things in your midst. You can trust Him!

God Values You

This week in church I taught about how God values you as an individual. He does not look at you or me and decide that we are too messed up, broken, or beyond repair. He looks at us and believes we are just as valuable as the day he chose to send His son to this world to take our place. Jesus does not for a moment wonder what compelled Him to step out of the Garden of Gethsemane and accept our place on the cross. There are days that I feel He should have sold the whole lot of us and start over. That brings me right back to the part o the story that I get on my knees and thank my Jesus for sparing me and loving me in spite of myself.

Have you thanked the Lord today? Have you noticed that He is not surprised by who you are? Not the facade you allow everyone to see but the true you. He sees you and values you!

This is why we need to be careful to not allow our personal views of each other to get in the way of how God sees things.

If there is anything I want to leave you with today is that God has such love for you and that alone should inspire you to show that same love to the world around you.

Think about this today.

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Because God made us in His image and in His likeness should that fact alone cause you to treat the person next you a bit different?

Blessings- PK

Judge Not- Grace only

Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

What a difficult and freeing scripture. Depending on if you are the one that did the hurting or the one hurting will determine how much you either enjoy this scripture or disdain it. What has helped me walk forward in forgiveness and bring my judgmental attitude to a lower level is to take my life and look at the whole picture and not only my immediate surroundings. Maybe the person who has wounded me has truly been a worse friend than me today. However, take the picture of my life from as far back as I can remember to the present day and it is far simpler for me to see that I am just as rotten and diseased as any amount of evil this world has thrown at me. On the days where the memories of the wrong doing are too difficult to handle or the pain is still distracting, I take a walk on the wild side and imagine what my life would be like if I stopped following the Lord and ignored the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is when I can see who I really am and at that point, it becomes very easy to extend grace and mercy to the people in my life.

When we get to heaven and stand before the Lord, He is going to ask me why I did the things I did, adopted the attitudes that were expressed, and walked in judgment towards the people He entrusted in my life. At that point I could try and argue my point of view, but I have a feeling that there is not an excuse that is going to matter. I am responsible for my actions, attitudes, motives, and each and every word spoken. One day I will give an account to the Lord for me, and I pray on that day, that this scripture helped guide each and every moment that He has left me here on this earth.

Lord,
I truly thank you for allowing me to be your representative on this earth. I choose to walk forward with my eyes focused on you and my heart loving each and every person you put in my path. I am only a mere man and have no right to judge another. Please help kill my pride and give me the eyes to see what you see. Instead of brokenness, you see them healed and complete. Instead of despair, you see them beaming with joy. Instead of using drugs, fame, sex, or success to bring fulfillment, you see them robed in your righteousness with a peace on their face that only comes from finding hope in you. I love you Lord and thank you for forgiving me and allowing me to experience your grace. Help my daily life truly represent who you have been in my life. Amen and Amen

True Worshippers

Why is worship so confusing for people?

For those of us who grew up with the concept of singing songs at church it seems to be natural but depending on your background, depending on your gender, depending on your experience, it will have different meaning and may bring a nuance of fears.

As you read through the following scripture I encourage you to ponder the thoughts and questions in bold that I have inserted. Worship truly is one of the main avenues that the Lord speaks to me, calms my heart, and gives me direction. If you need a touch from God, I encourage you to set aside your pride, your preconceived ideas about worship, and take the time to fall on your knees and surrender to Him. He is always faithful to show up.


John 4:4-42
4 Now he had to go through Samaria.
5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”

(For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.
18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

1. People will always use their differences in worship to deflect truth

21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

2. What must be done to worship in spirit and truth?

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
27 ¶ Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no-one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

3. Religiousness will always distract from the heart of worship

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
30 They came out of the town and made their way towards him.

4. Worshipping the Lord will bring empowerment

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.
37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.
38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.”
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

5. We Worship That Which Seems Most Powerful!

40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.
41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”

6. Worshipping the Lord as a lifestyle is the best witness

__________________________________

This is a wonderful song that reminds us to come to God as we are. He loves us more than we can imagine.

Just Come As You Are
By Pocket Full of Rocks

Come as you are
He’s not mad at you
And He’s not disappointed
His grace is greater still
Than all of your wrong choices
He is full of mercy and he is ever kind
Hear His invitation
His arms are open wide

You can come as you are
With al of your broken pieces
And all your shameful scars
The pain you hold in your heart
Bring it all to Jesus
You can come…
As You are
As You are

Louder than the voice
That whispers you’re unworthy
Hear the sound of love
That tells a different story
Shattering the darkness
And pushing through the lies
How tenderly He calls you
His arms are open wide
Oh you can come as you are

You can come as you are
With all your broken pieces
And all your shameful scars
The pain you hold in your heart
Bring it all to Jesus
You can come as you are

As You Are

Jesus is about bringing freedom!

Luke 4:14-20
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."


Do you notice that it does not say to pull yourself out of your poverty and then come?

Or get free of your depression, your addictions, your habits, your self destructive tendencies, your sadness, your chains, and then come….

Or heal yourself of your brokenness and then come…

Or overcome the oppression you are feeling and then come…

Instead it is clear that Jesus took care of it all.

Roman 5:6-8
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This is important for our own lives and as we share the gift of faith, grace, and hope with others.

For those of us who have heard this for years it is very easy for us to believe and even possibly quote these scriptures, but have we taken the time to realize how this truth should change how we think, how we act, and who we are?

Here are a few points to ponder. Ask the Lord to speak to you through His scriptures and as you read these questions.

1. How does this affect us?

2. How should we approach God?

3. How should we approach life?

4. How should we approach others?

A Dream Come True

As most of you know my wife and I were pastors in Las Vegas for many years. Then after 15 years of marriage decided that we must take a step back and take a break from the treadmill of ministry. We moved to Virginia and pretty much disappeared from the world that we grew to love for so long. While in Virginia, the Lord began to heal many parts of our heart that were shredded through years of ministry, personal issues, and relationship deterioration. While we were in Virginia we met some great friends, sought the Lord for our future, and started to discover what next steps the Lord would have for us. During one of the weeks while we were praying and fasting, I awoke from a dream where I was preaching at a church. When I was finished preaching, I went outside to figure out what church I was at. The name of the church was Freedom Fellowship. I then looked to see who the pastor was and came to a startling realization that I was the pastor. I woke up and told Melissa about this crazy dream and then just stored the dream in that place where I ponder the crazy possible ideas that God might be asking of me. Through prayer, good counsel, and seeking the Lord we ended up Reno, NV, where my brother and sister live with their families. We began working at Hillside Foursquare Church with our friends Pastor Louie & Joni Locke and served in whatever capacity was needed. It was during this time that I had the same dream where I was preaching at a church that was called Freedom Fellowship, where I was supposedly the pastor. I did not see how this was going to happen, so once more I shared it with Melissa and a few close friends and then left it alone. In February, the Lord opened the door for me to go back and teach at the church that I pastored at for so long in Las Vegas, NV. I knew that we needed to go back, say thank you, and allow the Lord to seal that part of our life. This was a difficult but healthy process. While we were there, the Lord did wonderful things in our hearts and we truly had a great time with our Las Vegas church family. Do not get confused, there were a lot of tears and difficult situations for my heart and mind, but it also was a time of freedom for both Melissa and I. We love our church family in Las Vegas, but we also know that it is no longer where the Lord is asking us to serve. It was during our time there in Las Vegas that the Lord made it very clear that we were to begin the church I dreamt about. Melissa or myself have never hoped to or thought about church planting. In fact, we would had told you that you were out of your mind if you had told either of us that not only we were going to plant a church, but that we would be excited about it.

There are so many messages sitting in this testimony that will surface over the next many years of teaching. The message that I want to focus on for this blog entry is that God will always bring health and direction. I think of Elijah when he got scared of Queen Jezebel and ran. The Lord met him in the desert, fed him and took care of him, led him to a cave for shelter, and then told him to get back to work. I do believe that leaving Las Vegas was an important step for both Melissa and myself. Many times I felt like I was stranded in the desert licking my wounds and was as lost as I have ever been. But it was during that time the Lord was feeding us and bringing us both back to a place of health. He led us to a place of shelter and rest and now we are standing, refocused, and are looking to our future with expectancy. I personally have never been more sure of who I am and what the Lord is asking of me. Which brings us to the next step of God’s love- He is giving us new directives and asking us to get back to work. We are listening to God’s voice and stepping out into the unknown.

Psalm 27:5
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

We do thank the Lord for each and every one of you who have prayed for us and believed in God’s plan for us over the years. If you find yourself in Sparks, NV, on a Sunday morning please plan on stopping by. The dream that God gave is coming to fruition. The church will be called Freedom Fellowship, and when you come I will be teaching God’s promises for today’s journey.

Any Where... Any Pulpit!

This weekend the opportunity presented itself to go to Las Vegas and teach at a friend’s church. I was very excited to see him and his family and to share a message about the seeds that we sow in our lives to his congregation. I did two services for their church. The first service would be what he called “Street church” and the second was a more traditional church in side of a building. I had no idea what to expect for the street church but my son and I got in our car and drove down to Home Depot to wait and see what we would be doing for that day. Pastor Alex and some of the members of his congregation went around and invited people to come and hear God’s word and eat with us. As the people gathered I was looking for a place to put my notes and bible so I could teach. One of the congregation members said he would be right back with my pulpit. This is when he came running up with a shopping cart and turned it up on its side and created a pulpit for me. We had a wonderful service and I had the opportunity to pray for many people to allow the Lord to soften their hearts and make their hearts fertile for God to grow good things.

As my son and I were leaving we both felt very satisfied and joyful that we were able to take part in this service. This time of teaching reminded me of the scriptures that I read about Jesus and how would walk somewhere and teach along the way. Wherever He found Himself, He pointed people to His Heavenly Father. The evening service was also a neat time of seeing the Lord move, however, the people that we spent time with in the morning keeps coming to the surface of my heart.

Here are a few things that the Lord is showing me through this experience.

1. Do not wait to make a difference. You do not need a building or the ability to pay for electricity to share the truth of Jesus’ word. Simply be available to share those truths that the Lord has shown you.

2. It is important to meet people where they are. If people have to come to church they may never hear about the amazing gift that Jesus has given.

3. The best pulpit just may be a shopping cart. I have spoken for many different styles and sizes of pulpits over the years. I have to say that the Lord did something very special in my heart that morning that we took a shopping cart, God’s word, and shared the truth.

Question for the day
What pulpit has God put in your life that He is asking you to use to share His truth?

Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

Reflection

I had the opportunity yesterday to hang out in downtown Reno, feeding the homeless, giving away waters, doing dramas, and praying for people, with a group of students from a local Christian school here in Reno. I was so proud of them. They each stepped in there and let the Lord use them.

One of the main conversations that we kept having is how this type of outreach is more of a lifestyle of kindness and availability than something that must be planned as an outing. By the end of the day, it seemed that many of the youth truly understood and were ready to see how God might use them on a regular basis.

As I was teaching and sharing about being an ambassador for Christ, the Lord reminded me that I needed to make sure that these are not just words to share but a life to live. Am I being a good reflection for others as I stand for my God?

Here are a few qualities of an ambassador…
#1 Ambassadors treat others the way the person they are representing would

#2 Ambassadors make decisions that honor the person they are representing

#3 Ambassadors understand that each thing that is said affects more people than just the people in their life- they affect anyone that is somehow tide to the person that is being represented.

#4 Ambassadors take great honor in the role they have been given

I pray that as we walk forward and live for the Lord that the world that is looking for a Savior can look to our lives and see a true understanding of how much their Creator loves them.

2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.