BOOK REVIEW--TITHING

TITHING

By Douglas Leblanc

When I first looked at this book, I thought it might contain quite a bit of theological teaching on the subject of tithing. Everyone knows that anything more than five pages of theology on any one subject could be the best sleeping pill man has come up with. It had one hundred and fifty two pages of teaching on the subject. However, the teaching came from the actual life experiences of individuals.

Not all of these individuals were born tithers. Some had never been taught the subject within the framework of their church. Some had heard it but had never put it into action. Some had never heard about it all until failure came knocking at their door. However, all of them became successful in their endeavors when they decided to answer God’s only “Prove Me” challenge in the Word of God.

For example, the Mathewes-Greens were tithers. The challenge to their faith came when they entered seminary. Their drop in income brought them to grips with some tough decisions. Their testimony still stands that tithing was the key to their success.

I found some common ground with Jerry and Stacey Kramer. In their story, they admitted that they “worshipped” Blockbuster and Domino’s Pizza. After Katrina hit, they went through some tremendous struggles. Instead of leaving the area, they had the courage and tenacity to buckle down and bring healing to a ravaged area. Tithing, again, was part of their faith that brought them through.

Mr. Leblanc did a great job of chronicling the doubts and fears of several others in his book. I saw them successfully face some of the things that I have faced in my life. It brought me renewed courage as I read this book.

Booksneeze sent me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.



Think God's Thoughts

Phil 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.
Phil 4:9--Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you

Jer 29:11--For I know the thoughts that I think toward you saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

By the end of today's blog, it could be said that I am writing this one for my own self.  You see, two days ago, on Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011, a 2:00p.m., I walked my 28 year-old daughter, Faith down the aisle of Islands Community Church here in Savannah, Georgia.  There, Pastor Doug Patterson joined her and Sonny Sing in Holy Matrimony.
I didn't fall to pieces like I thought I would, although I really wanted to.  My brain was running on overload but my spirit was walking beside the still water of the Holy Spirit.

Not that I didn't have times of ungodly panic.  It was just shortly before Christmas that they came into the house and Faith announced, "During lunch, today, Sonny asked me to marry him and I said 'Yes'."  After a stunned hug and a not-so-hardy congratulation from me, Sonny rushed out the door.  Well, after all, he did have to be at work in an hour and it took an hour to drive to his business in Glennville.  But, when you are in a stunned panic, you don't generally think about these things.

Oh, did I tell you?  Sonny is a citizen of India and had only been seeing Faith for four weeks.  All of my thoughts for years had been for some American-born, raised in the South, and called into the ministry young man would marry my daughter.  I have been in the ministry for humpteen dozen years and just knew that God was going to pick out someone that I could minister with.  That's not all of what the panic was about.

For the past five years, Faith has been recovering from epilepsy.  I say 'recovering' because I believe in divine healing.  Not this "Well, it might be the will of God" woosey stuff.  I believe that by His stripes she is healed.  If God didn't mean it then He would have put a cartoon on that page but He didn't.  Anyway, every evening and every weekend for the past five years, she and I have been almost inseparable.  I made sure that I was where she was so I could be with her in case something happened.  Most of her seizures have been small "sensory seizures" which only involve her becoming somewhat motionless for a few moments.  However, there have been times when she had gone into the "grand mals."  You talk about taking the starch out of your shirt.  Just pray that you never, ever, ever, ever see one of those.  Much less hear someone hit the floor of a locked bathroom and start going into one.  For five years my life has been spent in going through life but listening and watching over my baby girl.  She has been to several doctors and is faithfully taking her prescription and following their orders.  Of course, we searched until we found doctors who looked at treating the cause and not just the symptoms.  She has made some amazing progress but still has some 'episodes'.  It had been my desire to see her through until she was completely healed.  However, God challenged me to give her in marriage. 

You can only imagine my thought patterns for the last two months.  Sometimes they have been borderline "horrific."  I would get into this panic mode and go to God and pray, "God if it's your will for them to be married, bring them closer together and give them a stronger desire for each other.  BUT, if its not Your will, then, BREAK THEM UP IMMEDIATELY IF NOT SOONER."  Or, something to that effect.  As I would press in past the panic mode and into His presence, His peace would press into my spirit.  I had to brush past my own thoughts of the kind of guy that I had thought for so long would ultimately marry my daughter.  I also had to brush past the fear of what could happen if she had some bad episodes.  However, I had to come to grips with the idea that God has already worked out ALL of the things that He is bringing into our lives.  God is faithful to His Word and faithful to His covenant believers.  I had to walk in the assurance that He knows what He is doing whether I have a clue or not.  That is what I meditated on.

As Faith and I would sit together at home or be riding in the van somewhere, I, of course, would teach her God's Word as a matter of our conversation.  That has been my practice with all my children whenever the occaision  came.  By no means am I 'preachy.'  It's just normal conversation.  For the past few months, as we would discuss the coming event, these scriptures from Phillipians and Jeremiah would enter the conversation.  That and Romans 8 where Paul said that all things would work together for our good.  I had to change my 'ungodly panic' thoughts into His thoughts.  God has a plan for both of us that He has not made us aware of.  But, if we think back to the heroes of faith as mentioned in Hebrews, there were many, many times that these heroes had no clue to what God had in His mind.  However, they were content to let Him unfold His will in His time.  Their thoughts were on the end result.  Jesus had to go through arrest, torture, ridicule and crucifixion.  But, His mind was on the "joy that was set before Him" mentioned in Heb. 12:2.  It helped Him through the nasty now-nows that He faced while on His journey to the ressurection.  But, as you can agree, you cannot have a ressurection without a death now can you.  There are things that you just have to 'go through.'

Anyway, the wedding was lovely.  Sonny had a few surprises for us.  He had flown his four sisters over from India to be at the wedding.  They came in wearing their traditional clothing and were absolutely beautiful.  Also, Mama Rita, a lady that had taken Sonny under wing and watched over his Christian walk for the past fourteen years had a surprise for us.  She brought her laptop to broadcast the ceremony to India so Sonny's mother and his other relatives could watch it in 'real time.'  She forgot that we did not have internet at the church.  So, she whipped out the old cell phone and broadcast it from her cell phone.  It was super neat and no distraction at all, that Cheryl, another watchful mother hen that had attached herself to Sonny, was walking around the church and holding the cell phone up so that Sonny's mother could see what was going on.  Of course, after the ceremony, we all got to meet his mother and other family members via the cell phone.  It was a great service.  It was not elaborate.  Other than seeing my daughter and the man that God picked for her being joined together in matrimony, it was just awesome the have the opportunity to meet his mother even if it was via a cell phone.  I know that his mother was just as thrilled to see the events of her son's wedding and to actually see her new daughter-in-law.

And the festivities are not over.  Of course, they are going to Orlando, Florida on their honeymoon.  How American is that?  This summer, Sonny and Faith will be flying over to India for a couple of weeks and having ANOTHER wedding over there.  This time Indian style.  Since this one was so hurried and my relatives did not have time to plan on flying in from Oklahoma and New Mexico, they will have a big "wedding reception" type celebration in November.

Life is always full of surprises.  God has a plan for all of us, no matter what we are going through right now.  Our challenge is to always keep that in the forefront of our thoughts.  Jeremiah tells us that God's thoughts for us is to do us good.  Sometimes it is hard for us to see any good that can come out of the situations we face at the moment.  But, God is not worried about what we are going through.  There is nothing that the devil throws at us that can cause Him any concern whatsoever.  God ALWAYS has a plan to thwart the enemies snares.  Then again, when stuff happens, how do we know that God is not busy preparing us for the blessing He has been working on for quite some time.  Back to the blog on John 15.  If we abide in Him, if we daily seek to walk with Him, the God of peace (Phil 4:9) will be with us.  Ask yourself the question.  What is God thinking about me right now?  According the Jer. 29:11, He is thinking "thoughts of peace and not evil."  I might not know EXACTLY what will happen.  But, I CAN know that God is thinking good and peaceful thoughts about all things that concern me.
Pass this one on.  It can help more than just me and you.

Book Review--Shattered Dreams

SHATTERED DREAMS

By Larry Crabb

Shattered Dreams by Larry Crabb answered several questions about hurts and disappointments that I never thought to ask. In this book, he takes the story of Naomi and describes in thought-provoking detail the ‘shattered dreams’ that she experienced.

One of the points that Mr. Crabb brought out was that people need to fully come to grips with the pain of shattered dreams. In some circles, people are taught to get over it and go on. However, Mr. Crabb explains the necessity of allowing the grief to run its full course. With the help of several examples, he shared that the grieving process was a pathway that could bring us into a greater awareness of God and His love. Sadly, some people take another path. They choose to believe that God has purposely shattered their dreams because He hates them or is punishing them.

Mr. Crabb brought out a point that I had never thought about before reading his book. Some people have a tendency to worship their dreams even more than they worship God. In doing so, they miss a great portion of God’s richest blessings. They run hard after the dream that they have made up and build it into something that God never intended. Therefore, God shatters that dream to encourage them to get back on His right track.

The point that I most enjoyed from this book is that God sometimes shatters our dreams in order to prepare us for a bigger and better dream. Mr. Crabb made this point clear when he described Naomi’s painful years after the death of her husband and her two sons. Like a lot of us, she thought that God was taking her life’s joy away from her. In reality, God was working behind the scenes to fill Naomi’s heart and her arms with a greater vision than she ever imagined. God’s dream for her was for her to be the great-grandmother of King David. Then, down through the ages, from her very own lineage would come King Jesus.

Although I did not agree with everything Mr. Crabb taught, I gained some valuable insight into the heart of God. I, also, found new courage to run harder after Him than I have ever done before.

I received a copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah publishers in exchange for my honest review.

The Fruit of the Spirit

The book I am currently reading is "Shattered Dreams" by Larry Crabb.  Today, I want to share with you a fairly big quote from this book that I found extremely profound.  This quote from page 81 of his book very aptly describes the love of Jesus Christ for us all.  Even more importantly, it describes the hope that He must have developed in the face of much, much opposition, rejection and hurt. 

     Jesus believed God with absolute trust in His Father's goodness.  Jesus loved God (and us) at any cost to Himself.  His faith and love were sustained by His hope in what He knew lay ahead.  The happiness that anchors our soul and keeps alive our passion for God's vision comes from the faith and love that spring from that hope.  And this is why in Jesus, spiritual fruit was always ripe----"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithrulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galations 5:22-23).
     Imagine yourself

• loving a rejecting spouse, a prodigal child, a critical or pushy friend.
• radiating joy in a cancer ward, as a patient.
• knowing peace during a financial catastrophe.
• exhibiting patience in the most tryhing circumstance at work.
• being kind to a needy neighbor when you'd rather do anything but.
• releasing the goodness of God's nature when your nature is screaming for someone to be good to you.
• faithfully following your call to serve when your only results are more weeds
• gently responding to someone who undermines or demeans you.
• exercising self-control by not succumbing to a temptation after a severely disappointing day.

Folks, don't wait to see my review before you make up your mind to get this book. The wisdom and correction that I have received from this page alone is well worth the price.  This page of this book will be the one that gets the most viewing for me.  Wow!  How correctly he nailed what a true believer in Jesus Christ should seek to be like.  Mr. Crabb, I salute you, sir.  May God continually bless you with all of His abundance and goodness.
If anyone knows of any rights I have violated by reproducing so much of his wonderful book, let me know and I will pull this article.  If this is any indication of what lies in the rest of the book-----Holey Mackerel.

Luke 10:19--Let's Learn How to be Snake Handlers

Okey Dokey.  So, if we are going to be going through the valley of the shadow of death and we are going to be hounded by the head snake and his little serpents, we need to find a way to handle them.  (Don't you just love the way I make a turn on words?  I do have my moments of brilliance.  Not that this is one of them but I might have one before we finish.)
Let's ask our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ how He did it.  After all, no matter what the old schmuck threw at Him, Jesus followed His Father's will until He was a blazing success.  The first thing that we have to consider is---Am I doing what God wants me to do?  If you're not following hard after Him in the area that He has called you, why are you surprised to see a snake in your path?  Why are you so surprised when things aren't going right?  When your children aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing, don't you have a tendency to go off on them a bit?  Nuff said?  Let's go on to better things.
Let's say that you are doing what God wants you to do.  Why does yucky stuff still happen?  You would think that after the large amounts of lives that were changed during Jesus' ministry that the religious leaders would have accepted Him with open arms.  You would think that the religious leaders would have been the ones to throw down palm branches in front of Jesus' path and shouting "Hosanna to the King."  But they didn't, so why not?  One answer if jealousy.  The main answer is, the Word of God had already spoken that the Messiah would be treated that way.  Now get this.  This is one of those "BEHOLD" things.  Jesus KNEW that these things would happen and His heart was already prepared to face them.  That in itself is one key.
John 16:33-These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.  Jesus told us in advance that yucky stuff would happen but to rejoice in His overcoming power.  Do you remember after Jesus was baptized and went on a 40 day fast?  When He was weak physically, satan came to him.  However, Jesus did not answer from his weakness, He answered from His strength-----The Word of God.  At every strike of the serpent, the power of his bite was thwarted by Jesus' answer--The Word of God.  That's how He handled the snake.  He handled him with the Word of God.
Go back a few posts and review John 15 where Jesus gave us this formula.  It is found in verse 7--If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  Jesus had spent a massive amount of time in His Father's presence and meditating on His Word.  He didn't face satan with his mind filled with the days' worries and the results of the latest football game or NASCAR race.  The key to being a successful snake handler is abiding in the vine.  Make a daily habit of walking into God's presence.  Train your spirit to be in tune with His spirit.  Then, soak yourself in His Word until you become a walking Bible.  My needs are met--By His stripes I am healed--God loves me--Great is Your faithfulness--Your mercies are new every morning.  Fill your mind with WORTHWHILE stuff, not with what it looks like.
The branch that sticks to the vine begins to produce fruit ONLY when it DAILY sucks in the same "juice" that the vine sucked in. 
Jesus made a habit of being in His Father's presence, not for just a few minutes but sometimes for hours.  Then instead of spouting off about what it looked like, He quoted the Word of God to each situation He faced.  He had to walk through some snake infested areas but He NEVER FEARED.  He had learned how to handle snakes so He was NEVER afraid to be around them.
Let's go branches.  Stay in the vine and draw from His power.

Luke 10:19--Tread on Serpents and Scorpions

Let's take a look at Luke 10:29 for just a moment.  "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
1.  Behold--Has it dawned on you that Jesus did not start EVERY sentence with "behold."  It is obvious that He would like for us to pay a LOT of attention to what comes after "behold."
2.  I give unto you--Guess what give means in the Greek.  It means to give. (I know that's deep but let it sink in.)  Jesus is doing the "giving" here.  Would He "give" something that we couldn't or He wouldn't expect us to use?  Certainly not.  If I bought you a brand new car, would you still insist on walking everywhere you wanted to go.  I hope not.  If I could give you a new car, I would expect you to use it to enhance your life with.  Even though you know the rest of this verse, please take some time to meditate on this very idea.  Jesus NEVER gave us anything that He expected us to put on a shelf or stuff way back in the closet.  He gave us something He intended for us to use to make our lives more enjoyable and easier.
3.  power--Greek word-exousia.  It literally means--the power of choice, the liberty of doing as one pleases, the power of authority and of right.

Let me interrupt this fine liturgical address for a parenthetical comment.

The power of choice is something He gave US.  THAT'S ME AND YOU.

If you will, read Luke 10:18 where Jesus commented that He beheld

satan fall as lightning from heaven.

Is it just me, or does the idea strike you that between us and satan,

we are the ONLY ones given a choice?

Read it as many times as you like.  It will say the same thing every time.

SATAN HAS NO CHOICE!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesus TOOK ALL choice away from him and gave us the authority, or

the right to make a choice about satan.

Let's go a little farther with this.   WE have the privilege of choice, satan doesn't.  We are at liberty to make our choice any time, any place and any way we WANT to.  God GAVE us the right of choice and satan heard Him say it and cannot contradict any part of the statement.  Satan HAS to be obedient because God and all the power of heaven stands in defense of HIS Holy Word.

4.  to tread--Greek--pateo.  It means to trample and crush with the feet.  However, let us realize that to trample or crush anything with our feet, it is necessary to get close to and actually make contact with it.

Of course, we have all heard the Word of God preached from this verse of scripture that it refers to stomping on the devil and his works.  Here's a few things you might not have thought about before.  It would be great if we could pick the day and the hour when we got a group of prayer warriors together and went out "devil-stomping."  You know.  Go out and actually see if we could find a devil some where and if not then go back home and shout and sing for a while.

Yeah, right.  Like that's ever going to happen.  The truth is, satan always seems to be underfoot more than these aggravating cats around my house.  He never comes walking up to you face-to-face in your strongest hour.  Rather, he lies in wait until you are at a weak point and plans a sneak attack.  Then, we get scared and start rebuking him and yelling "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." 

Sometimes satan does leave.  But, what about the times when he doesn't?  What do we do then?  You and I both know that there are times when we walk through the "valley of the shadow of death" for weeks and sometimes for years.  Relief seems like it will never come and we don't have any idea how much longer we can hold on.  King David, when he talked about the "valley" also said that he would fear no evil because God was with him. 

That's what we need to understand.  Even in the middle of the valley and the serpent is trying to swirl around your ankles, you DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF SATAN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE.  Jesus said two times in John 14--Don't let your heart be troubled.  Jesus' heart was troubled the night before He was crucified but He prayed it under control BEFORE He was arrested.  He submitted Himself to the merciless hands of the religious stinkers of His day.  He submitted to beatings, scourging, being nailed to the cross and hanging there for six hours in torment.  BUT, He was not afraid of what was happening to Him at those moments.  He realized that God's kingdom was coming and His will was being done at EVERY turn of events.  He believed it even when it brought pain and suffering.  From the prophecies He had memorized of God's promised resurrection, He knew that what He was going through was NOT God's designated end for His life (Jer 29:11).

Ladies and gentlemen, that's what's called treading on serpents and scorpions.  Yes, bad stuff happens to good people but it doesn't mean we HAVE to be afraid in these moments.  We have a choice to walk through our valley WITHOUT fear, and with a song of worship in our hearts and a word of praise on our lips.  James 4:7 reminds us that when we CHOOSE to submit ourselves to God......satan has NO alternative but to run in terror.

It's our right, our privilege and our choice.  Let's lift up a shout of victory to the Lord our God and watch our enemy flee.

Book Review--Pujols More Than The Game

PUJOLS More Than Just The Game

By Scott Lamb and

Tim Ellsworth

                                                        

There are some good baseball players and then there are some GOOD baseball players. This book is about a REALLY GOOD baseball player. It’s about a hero of a man who is REALLY GOOD for the game of baseball.

Albert Pujols was born in Santo Domingo, the capitol city of the Dominican Republic. By virtue of his birthplace, he had no other option but to grow up loving the game of baseball. What is a national pastime to us in America is an absolute obsession to the citizens of the Dominican Republic. His father was a painter by trade but an avid baseball player the rest of the time.

From the day he first tried out for the Fort Osage Senior High School baseball team until his present duties with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols' bat has spoken volumes for him. He was the first player in history to bat .300 with 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in for ten consecutive seasons. As of 2010 he has hit 408 home runs. This book is filled with hundreds of his dazzling exploits, especially those walk-off home runs. AND, he did it all without the use of steroids.

However, his exploits with  baseball bats almost pale in comparison to the homeruns he hits in his personal life. Albert is a devout Christian. His pulpit? Well, it’s first base, mostly. His question to the opposing player? He asks them do they know where they would go when they die. I do reckon that would be some kind of a conversation starter. Albert says that first base is where he does most of his witnessing.

However, the baseball diamond is not the only place that he lets Jesus shine. He and his wife Dee Dee formed the Pujols Family Foundation. Its main purpose would be to support the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis and Orfanato Ninos de Christo in the Dominican Republic.

In his off season, the Pujols and their PFF team head for his home country of the Dominican Republic. With medical and dental teams in tow, they head straight to the slums and put their Jesus arms around those that are hurting. They supply items from eyeglasses to mattresses to people who do not have any other means to obtain them.

On and off the field, I saw a great and godly man in the things Albert Pujols did. I was greatly encouraged by reading this book. Booksneeze supplied me with a copy of this book in return for my honest review. And, honestly, it was not a hard review to write.



John 15:7-Ask What You Will

John 15:7--If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. If ye abide in Me---When we make being in His presence a priority in our lives, supernatural things will begin to happen.  After all, He IS a supernatural, beyond the normal, way past all we can figure out, God.  I'm not talking about your 2 minute "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayers.  I am talking about waiting on His presence until you know that He loves you and that He is walking with you.  Train your spirit to reach out to His throughout the day and every day.  Change your thought patterns throughout the day.  Instead of thinking about things that constantly irritate, TRAIN your spirit to seek HIM throughout the day.  Train your mind and spirit to sing a worship song or a hymn of praise.  This is foreign to the natural way of living.  But, we are not seeking for a NATURAL turn of events in our lives, we are looking for the SUPERNATURAL.  A branch will wither and die without the flowing of nutrients from the vine.  Even so, without a flowing of His Presence within us on an everyday, ongoing manner, we will produce NOTHING,

TRAIN your mind to meditate on the Word of God instead of what it looks like around you.  Meditate on the scripture that deals with particular circumstances.  "My needs are met according to Your riches.  By your stripes I am healed.  I can do all things through Christ.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He loves me.  He loves my children.  He loves my spouse."  Over and over and over---abide in His Word.  This is a training exercise.  Babies don't naturally worry.  That's why they are all the time smiling.  You are the one that teaches them to worry by your actions pounded into them on a daily basis.  The Word of God never deals in worry.  Jesus said that He would live by every Word that proceeded out of God's mouth.  That's why He could face the cross with confidence and patience.  God's Word was His first priority.  He had trained Himself to ONLY think in line with God's Word.  Because He had trained Himself to think ONLY in line with God's Word, it ONLY seemed normal and natural for Him to expect God to raise Him up the third day----because that is what God said.  As we continually meditate on what He has already promised, that Spirit-breathed Word begins to change our inner man into His likeness----the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  Listen to Proverbs 28:1-The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.  What is God's description of a righteous man?  God said that Abraham was a righteous man because---ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD.

As you train your spirit to walk as much as you can in His presence, as you train your mind to constantly meditate on His Word-----Jesus gave us a fantastic and wonderful promise.  ---Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.--- Here's a different way to say John 15:7--If YOU make My presence your main priority and YOU make My Word your constant thinking process--then you will PRAY anything and it SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU.  In John 15:5, He said that without Him we could DO nothing.  So, in verse 7, you would have expected Him to say that if we lived in Him and meditated on His Word that WE COULD DO stuff.  But, that's not what He said.  Hang on, saint, hang on and LISTEN.  Listen inside to what He said.  He did not promise that we could do stuff------He said that stuff WOULD BE DONE FOR US.  Can you hear Him?  When we put His presence and His Word as our MAIN priority, He puts ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS ---HIS-- main priority.  PLUS, He said ASK WHAT YOU WANT TO.

When God came to Abraham and told him of His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham changed God's mind by asking what he (Abraham) wanted.  Even though there were not ten righteous people to be found, GOD AGREED WITH ABRAHAM and promised to spare the cities.  God got so-o-o-o mad at the Hebrews that came out of bondage that He told Moses to step back because He was fixing to destroy the whole nation and raise up a new nation after Moses.  What was God's Word and Will?  It was to destroy them right then and there.  But, Moses PRAYED.  Remember, he had spent time WITH God and had already proven that he believed God more than what he saw or knew.  When God said step back, His friend, Moses, stepped up.  Moses TOLD God not to blot them out and that if He did to blot himself out also.  Moses prayed and it was done for him.  When Joshua spent time in God's presence and believed God's Word, he too asked for something out of the ordinary.  He was busy fighting a battle and was winning but the sun was going down.  The sun was supposed to.  That's the way God created it.  It was the normal process that had gone on for over a thousand years.  We would have advised Joshua to "Get over it."  But, NO.  Joshua "commanded the sun and the moon to stand still."  Hey, wait a minute, Joshua.  That's a God thing--the sun not going down.  Are you getting it?  Joshua had God's will way down in his heart and Joshua prayed what Joshua wanted.  He wanted to finish the job that God gave him to do.  GOD HAD RESPECT TO JOSHUA'S REQUEST.  If ye abide in me and My Words abide in you, then go ahead and pray whatever you want and IT SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU. 

Jesus turned the water into wine, why?  Because He wanted to.  Jesus multiplied the bread and fish on two occasions, why?  Because He wanted to.  Jesus, his disciples and men and women on down through the ages have done great and miraculous things, why?  Because they made His presence and His Word their Number One priority.  And in return, God made their Prayer request, His Number One priority.  My friends, 2 Chronicles 7:14 says that when we humble ourselves and pray, a great miracle happens, our sins are forgiven and our land is healed.  Let's abide in Him and abide in His Word until God answers our prayer for healing for this nation and for the world.

Good praying my friends.
Love, Henry

Abide in His Word to be His Disciples

John 8:31--Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed;
32--And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Jesus tells His believers to 'continue in My Word.'  The word 'continue' is the same Greek word in John 15 that Jesus uses to tell us to 'abide' in Him, His Word and His love.  It virtually means to--remain--abide--not to depart.  In my last blog, we talked a little about 'abiding' in the Word.  Abiding means---that's where I have chosen to live, this is what I have chosen to do.  We all have a physical place that we call home.  It is where we eat, sleep, and enjoy.  We think about our home a lot, what we will do to it, how we will mow the grass, how we will do this and how we do that.  It is our home. we take no other thought about being in any place else.  It is 'ours' to enjoy.

Jesus means for His Word to be the same way.  His Promises are our place to be, live, enjoy, rest, eat, sleep and think about.  Yes, I do realize that we have times when our faith grasps the word of God and like the seed sown on the stony ground we 'spring up' with joy but fade away when we see that it doesn't come to pass as speedily as WE think that it should.  Abraham believed God for 25 years before God miraculously gave him and Sarah a son.  Abraham believed his heirs would be as numerous as the stars but died after only seeing Isaac, Esau and Jacob.  According to John 8:56, Jesus told the 'religious folk' that their father Abraham 'saw' Jesus' day and rejoiced about it.  Of course, Abraham did not see it with his physical eye, he saw it with his heart.  He saw it because it was a promise of God and that was where Abraham had chosen to 'abide.'  He did so not because it made sense or looked like it, but because it was what God said.

Look at John 8:31 again.  Jesus said that if you 'live, remain, abide in His Word' then you will become His disciples 'indeed' or 'in reality' according to the Greek.  Listen to what He said.  If you make His Word the only place you live; if you believe what He said instead of what you see around you, and if you refuse to be 'moved' from your faith in Him and His Word-----then you have just started to learn.  He only calls people His disciples when they believe 'every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.  And, indeed, you will ONLY START to learn FROM THE LORD when you choose to make His Word your dwelling place and not just where you go visit when it's convenient.  That make a lot of difference, doesn't it.?

We go to church and hear powerful and flowery sermons.  The choir  or worship team stirs us to tears and/or shouts and we live in the glory for a short time.  By Tuesday it is all gone and we are back in the same old drudgery year in and year out.  We are nothing bettered but rather the ravages of an extremely unfair world seem to take their toll on our lives and our fortunes.  In essence, you can go to church 5 times a week and still not know how to be a successful Christian and be heirs of the promise.  Revival never comes.  The lost are not saved and no victories are won.  Why?

The reason is simple.  We have not held on to the promises of God long enough for HIM to teach us anything.  Sit under the greatest Bible scholars all you want.  But, until you live IN COMMUNION with Jesus Christ  and His Word ON A DAILY BASIS, you will only live the life of a nominal Christian.  If you desire growth by leaps and bounds; if you desire revival for your household and neighborhood; ABIDE IN HIM AND LET HIS WORD ABIDE IN YOU.  Spending 15-30 minutes a day in HIS presence will bring you into a lifetime of blessings instead of cursings.  I did not say spend time 'telling' Him stuff He already knows and crying and carrying on.  Spend time in HIS presence until you know that you know that you know you have touched HIM. 

Then, get ready to learn something.  Get ready to come away with more than you came to Him with.  Get ready to undergo a metamorphosis that will amaze you and your family and friends.  And get ready for an encounter of a God kind.  Jesus said in John 8, stick with the Word and learn something.  Stick with my Word and let ME teach you something worth learning.  Let ME teach you how to be MY disciple.

More tomorrow.

John 15:7--Abide in Me and My Word

     At the beginning of the year, Pastor Doug Patterson gave everyone in the congregation a copy of the book "A 12-Month Guide to BETTER PRAYER."  Our job was to read and meditate on one chapter per month throughout the year.  I have found this book to be of great encouragement on the subject of prayer.  It is a compilation of several articles on prayer written by several great men of God.  All of them successful ministers, and especially, all of them successful soul-winners.  It is the fact that they were all great soul-winners that makes this tiny book all the more important to our Christian development.  Soul-winning is almost a lost art in the Christian life today.
     February's chapter centers on a piece of scripture that I had used in some of January's blogs.  It was written by Charles H. Spurgeon.  John 15:7-If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
     The majority of our actions are predicated on the concept of "words abiding" in us.  We meet a certain someone with whom we fall in love with and their words abide in us and cause certain actions.  We meditate constantly  about their love and the sweet words that they whispered in our ears and begin to change the course of our actions.  We sometimes walk around with a silly grin on our face.  If we have had a fight with this person, we will meditate on that and walk around with a scowl on our face.  Depending on our experience of love or anger we will either be pleasant or grumpy.  All because somebody's words are "abiding" in us.
     I have long maintained that modern Christendom has more faith in a Coke machine than they do with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We walk by that Coke machine at work and begin to meditate, "I'm going to get me a cold drink out of that thing in a little while."  We have "no doubt" that our actions are secure.  We don't cry, we don't moan, we don't read the instruction manual again and again to make sure we've got it down pat.  We just "act" on the word printed on the outside of the machine.  If it says to put sixty cents in and make your selection, we ----JUST DO IT.  We don't call the prayer hotline and ask for wisdom, we----JUST DO IT.  We don't get on the internet and search the top 10 sites, we----JUST DO IT.
     I know that this is great and audacious revelation for some of you but you will just have to get over it.  The Word of God is greater than your Coke machine, your job, your sweetheart and even your grandchildren.  (Startling, ain't it?)  Our success as a Christian does not depend on our pastor's blazing message at church today.  It doesn't depend on whether the worship team sings hymns or choruses.  Your success as a Christian depends on how much of HIS Word YOU allow to abide in YOUR heart.  It doesn't matter what your spouse, your pastor, your boss or your children say about it.  It depends on whether HIS Word lives in YOU every day.  Just like the directions of that Coke machine lives in you every day.  The change in YOUR attitude towards the Word of God will cause major changes in your life and the lives of the ones you care about.
     The Word of God had a dramatic effect on Abraham and Sarah's bodies when they were 99 and 91 respectively.  He chose to abide in God's Word instead of what his mind was telling him and his eyes saw.  The Word of God abiding in Moses made him obey God even when he had to stand before the most powerful ruler of the land.  Guess what?  God won.  And, because God won, Moses and the children of Israel won.  All because somebody was "abiding in God's Word" instead of abiding in what they saw and heard.
    More tomorrow.

Book Review--The Next Christians

THE NEXT CHRISTIANS

By Gabe Lyons

For quite some time now, I had known that the nominal church “ain’t what it used to be.” There has not been an ‘outpouring’ of God’s presence like the Welsh Revival and Azuza Street. The focal question in my mind was, “Is the church really dead?”

Gabe Lyons answers that question in his book The Next Christians. As you read the book, you will find that the answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ Church as we grew up with has lost a lot of its impetus. However, Gabe brings out in his book that there are a lot of Christians that have taken a new approach to soul-winning. And, in so doing, the church, or should I say the ‘Body of Christ’ is actually very alive and very productive.

The Next Christians defines a grass-roots movement of individuals that, more or less, call themselves ‘Restorers.’ They’re main desire is to bring back relevance to the idea of a life changed and challenged by Jesus Christ. Gabe tells how these ‘Restorers’ think and act ‘outside of the box’ as bring a loving Jesus in touch with a hurting world.

‘Restorers’ are not bound by the traditional church manner of reaching the lost. For example, in chapter five, ‘Provoked, Not Offended,’ he quotes Michael Metzger, “When confronted with the corruption of our world—Christians ought to be provoked to engage, not offended and withdrawn.” For example, he tells how his friend Mike created an organization to invade the adult entertainment field. These ‘Restorers’ invaded the world’s largest porn event in Las Vegas. They handed out free Bibles with covers that read “Jesus Loves Porn Stars.” This book is full of examples of the ‘behind the scenes’ actions that these ‘Restorers’ are engaged in.

I was highly encouraged by this book. It was a hard one for me to put down. As you read this book, you will be challenged to look outside of your own Jesus box to find new ways to reach the lost. It has changed my perspective on soul-winning.

This book can be purchased at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, Christianbook.com, Mardel Christian & Education, and Borders.com.

I was furnished a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.