Three Weeks and Counting!

Someone came up to me at Church and asked "What's new?" My response was the typical response of almost every American...I said "Nothing."
NOTHING?! NOTHING?! I can't believe I said that! First of, let's get spiritual, His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Second of all, there are so many new things in our life right now! God has called myself, my wife and our two daughters to a city far far away. We are moving to Jacksonville in T minus 3 weeks!
So what I should have said to this person at Church is "There is so much new! Please pray for us!" We firmly believe the Lord is calling us to serve in this great city of Jacksonville. In doing so God has put many tests in our way, which my wonderful wife has passed with flying colors, me on the hand...not so much! Please pray for our family that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and with the gift of faith.
To encourage you, God has a plan for each one of us, may we walk in the richness of His will, for we know that His ways are high above our ways (Isaiah 55:9)!

God bless and let's walk in faith together!

Advice from a Crazy

John 1:6-7 NLT "God sent John the Baptist to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony."

I love studying the life of John the Baptist, because he was just a completely crazy dude! He dressed in camel skin (last I checked that wasn't name brand) and ate locus (or grasshoppers) and honey! You and I look at that and say "that dude is crazy!" God looks at that and says "That is MY greatest prophet!"

It seems crazy to me that God would use a "crazy man" and give him such an incredible title! John the Baptist was the greatest prophet who ever lived! You see God doesn't choose just the best looking, or the best dressed (he wore camel skin for crying out loud!) or the most popular; no, God chooses those who are willing to do His will! You see verse 6 of the first chapter of John says that God was going to use John to give everyone an opportunity to believe! John was a witnessing machine! He was effective because of his passion to do what God asked him, I mean, he gave up everything to go preach and baptize in the wilderness!

Can I challenge you? What are you willing to do for Jesus? What are you willing to give up? Take advice from a "crazy guy" just live to serve Jesus, no matter the cost, and He will use you in powerful ways!

Daddy's Little Helper

• James 5:19-20 "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins."

  My little baby girl is literally THE BEST! I'll carry my little girl to the mail box and on the way there I'll let her hold the mail box key. I'll ask her "Can you be Daddy's little helper and hold this key for me?" She always holds the key tightly and then gives it to me when we get to the mail box! It's great!

  While it is easy for me to have my little girl help me carry a key to the mail box, I don't have her help me with very important things. Why? Because she would be incapable of helping me...she's a 10 month old baby!

  Thank God He is nothing like that! God allows us to help Him all the time, even though He needs no help! Unlike me and my little girl, He allows us to help with the most important of ALL things: SALVATION!

  The passage above, tells us that God allows us to have a part in turning sinners from the error of their ways! He even says that it will save their souls! God puts a lot of trust in us to allow us to do this, so let me encourage you all by saying "Go out and preach the gospel through words and deeds! Then God will let you have a part in SALVATION! So go out there and be your Daddy's little helper ;-)

Learning to communicate

James 5:17-18 "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit."

This is an incredible story! A great man of God, Elijah, prays for it not to rain and God answers his prayers! He doesn't keep it from raining for a day (not that impressive), He doesn't keep it from raining for a month (a little more impressive), He doesn't even keep it from raining for a year (ridiculously impressive), but He keeps it from raining for 3 years and 6 months!!!!

Now I know that we read that and we say well that is a real great Old Testament story but God could never use me like that. Well that is a lie from the Devil himself! Of course God can use you and me like that! It's not the man, it's the God the man serves!!

I love that the first part of verse 17 says "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours", this is simply saying Elijah wasn't some special person that God can use, it's saying that he was just like us! God can use us as well.

Why was Elijah so effective? Because of what verse 16 says "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." I think, many of us feel that we cannot be effective in our prayers, but that is just because we need to learn how to communicate!

You see Elijah prayed EFFECTIVELY because he prayed the Word of God! When Elijah prayed for it to stop raining, he did so because the nation was turning to a false god named Baal. He prayed this prayer so the nation would turn back to God!

He prayed FERVENTLY because when He asked God for the rain to come back after 3 1/2 years, he went to God 7 times before God showed him a cloud the size of a mans fist!

He prayed RIGHTEOUSLY because He was walking with God!

We too can have a very effective prayer life if we follow Elijah's example by praying EFFECTIVELY (by praying God's Word), by praying FERVENTLY (continually going back to God) and by praying RIGHTEOUSLY (living a life that is honoring to God)! So let's hit our knees and start praying!

There's a God"app" for that!

James 5:13-14 "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the LORD."

I love these verses, because it shows that no matter what we are going through there is a God"app" for that! Here, the Word tells us what to do if we are suffering, cheerful and sick. It isn't something really complicated, its so simple! What do you do if you are suffering? You PRAY! Talk to God about your suffering, ask Him to give you the strength to make it through it.

There's also a God"app" for being cheerful! He says if you are cheerful, sing psalms! Psalms are songs written specifically to or for God.

You want to know what to do when you are sick, well there's a God"app" for that too! He says to come to the elders of the church and let them anoint you with oil and pray for a healing! This doesn't mean that you will be healed, but it sure does mean that you can be healed!

I really enjoy when we see that God is interested in us on multiple levels! He cares about the BIG things in our lives, but He is also very interested in the small aspects of our lives! May we respond to His interest in us, by being VERY interested in HIM!

God is way cooler than Santa Clause

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights..." James 1:17a

What's up guys (or is it better to say people?)? Anywhoo, I am really excited about todays blog, because this is one of the most encouraging passages ever! It's also kinda fun, like Christmas! Remember when you were a kid (who knows maybe you're still like this), and you would wake up before the sun came up because you had all those presents under the tree? Well this is kinda like that. Also we learn that God is WAY cooler than Santa Clause, one could even say He is "THE WAY" cooler than Santa Clause ;-)

This passage is interesting because the two words that are translated as the word "gift" are actually two completely different Greek words. The first word refers to the Giver and not the gift. So it could actually read "The Father of lights is a good Giver and He gives perfect gifts." So here is where we see that God is WAY cooler than Santa Clause, because God is a good Giver! He also doesn't just give gifts to nice kids, He gives gifts to everyone! What types of gifts does He give? He gives perfect gifts! He also doesn't have some elves in a workshop (Child abuse!) making His gifts, He makes them Himself!

So we see that God is a good Giver of perfect gifts. So as Christians this should really encourage us to use these perfect gifts for Him. This leads me to 2 questions: #1 What gifts has God given to you? And a more important question is #2 How are you using those gifts for Him? Guys, People, Loved ones (take your favorite) if we as the Church used God's gifts to further the kingdom, think about the impact we could have. I want to encourage you to pray today and ask the Lord how you can use your gifts for Him.

Love you guys/people!

Another lesson from my little girl

Ok, so it has been a while since I posted, and for that I am truly sorry, but I have to do another post about my little girl! Why? Because it makes me soooo happy to talk about her! :-)

It's been four months today, that my little girl has been on this earth (at least outside the womb)! I really wanted to do an April fool's day blog about not being a fool, but as I was praying about it, God just kept putting a picture of my BEAUTIFUL little girl in my head. So I am going to do a follow up from my blog two times ago and tell you one other very valuable lesson God has taught me about our relationship with Him, through my relationship with my daughter.

Here it is... (drum roll please) God has us go through things that might hurt (a lot!) but is for our benefit. God is reminding me of this just about every day, because this Monday my wife and I are taking my baby in for round 2 of shots! Round 1 of shots was one of the worst days of my life! I'm totally serious about that. But while my baby was crying her beautiful little head off, I knew that I had the doctor (nurse actually) intentionally cause pain in my daughter so she could avoid getting a disease that is much worse than that shot (I know shot's are controversial, but I prayed and prayed and felt this is what God wanted us to do, but I don't have strong feelings either way, so please don't get mad at me :-) While she was screaming, I was thinking that often times this is a perfect picture of us and God. He allows us to experience very painful things, because when everything is said and done, it was totally for our benefit! Are you going through something difficult? Maybe incredibly painful, that makes you wanna cry? If you are a child of God, remember Romans 8:28 (if you don't know...look it up). Just know that God allows us to go through "shot's" for our benefit. May we have peace in the midst of painful times, because we rest in His Grace and Love! Love you guys!!!