This Life is on Fire!

...the godless are at their wit's end:
"Who among us can survive the firestorm? Who of us can get out of this purge with our lives?"

The answer is simple:
  Live right,
  Speak the truth,
  Despise exploitation,
  Refuse bribes,
  Reject violence,
  Avoid evil amusements.
This is how you raise your standard of living?
– Isaiah 33, 14-16

Who can stand up against God's refining fire? His purification of your life will not stop until it's complete. He will change your life and then you can stand up against anything and everything the world can throw at you. Isaiah lays out the simple answer for those who want to live the Truth:

Integrity – Do your words match your life?
Justice – Do you reject dishonest gain?
Convictions – Do Godly values steer your decisions?
Positive focus – Do you refuse to dwell on the negative?
Purity – Do you discipline your mind to live a clean and pure life?
Security – Are you firmly planted and established in Christ?

If you find yourself being challenged by any of these, ask God to set your life on fire – ask Him to refine your life and to help you become the masterpiece He created you to be. God is faithful to complete His work and you can be confident in the outcome because He IS the Master Craftsman.

Burn up the old you and Light up YOUR life through God's refining Fire! You'll experience first-hand what TRUE POWER is ALL about!

Be Blessed my Brothers and Sisters!

The Confident Prayer

Then let us approach the Throne of Grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find Grace to help us in our time of need.
– Hebrews 4:16

Are you confident in Jesus? Do you believe He is who He says He is? Do you know that He lived and breathed and experienced life (and death) in this world in a time in history when there was no electricity, or running water, or TV, or public transportation (except for donkeys and camels)? Do you understand that He had callouses and blisters and cavities and stomach issues and money problems and that He had to deal with tax collectors and mean people and bad politics and corrupt religious leaders and fair-weather friends? He even experienced being cold and hungry and hot and sweaty and tired and achy and sad and lonely and on and on and on.

Jesus ...our Lord ...our Savior ...THE Creator of all things, was fully man and He experienced everything that a human being can experience, and He did it at a time that was one of the most difficult to live in ...just so that we – His children – could have confidence that He knows and has understanding and compassion for what we face every day on this spinning rock.

Why then, do we (His children), doubt and wonder and question whether He hears us or whether He can possibly understand what it is we are going through? Why do we fail to pray? Why do we ignore Him until we are backed into a corner and have nowhere else to go? Why do we live our lives according to our own limitations and abilities (or should I say "inabilities")?

We need to understand ALL that Christ went through, so that THEN, we can approach the Throne of Grace with confidence ...in HIM. Confidence in HIS Ability and HIS Compassion and HIS Love for us. We need to BELIEVE in HIM at least as much as He believes in us.

I believe that nothing pleases the Father, our Lord Jesus more, than when we (His creation) approach Him with Confidence and with Bold Assurance in who He is. He KNOWS what we need and He's just waiting for us to know - to have Faith - in Him.

Let Jesus know that you know Him today. Prove your Faith with confident prayer and Bold petitions. He is waiting for YOU - His Creation - to approach Him with full Faith, Confidence, and Understanding for every need in your life.

Blessings my Brothers and Sisters!

The Altared Life

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
 – Genesis 12:8

Your worship is a reflection of your heart towards God. How do you approach the Creator of ALL things and the Commander of the Angel Armies? Do you casually prepare (or maybe you don't prepare at all)? Do you show up late to church and half-heartedly join in singing the words on the screen? Do you go through the motions like a kid doing chores so you can "get 'er done"? Or ...do you take a page from Abraham and prepare your altar before calling on the name of the Lord?

Whether your "worship" is singing to and praising the Lord, or jumping into your prayer closet for some much needed quiet time, or giving your best effort at the gifting God's Blessed you with, your Worship should be preceded by very careful preparation.

Abraham prepared by stacking stones to honor God and to commemorate His presence and Providence and Promises – each stone a reminder and an acknowledgement of God's Blessings. Abraham carefully and purposefully selected and then lovingly stacked each stone, yes, to show God he (Abraham) knew who his God was, but also to show off who his God was to the world. He made great ceremony in the stacking of each stone and he chose just the right place to erect his altar. This was Abraham's preparation to begin his worship.

He didn't gather any old stones and dump them in a pile just to get the task done. He din't half-heartedly mumble the words to some old spiritual and call it praise. He didn't rush around out of some sense of duty so that he could get on with his busy life.  No ...Abraham made a day out of it, and I'm willing to bet that after a while, he built some pretty impressive altars (some of which are still standing to this day).

So ...how do you prepare your heart to worship? If you make an honest assessment can you be assured that God is pleased with your worship?  Are you giving God your very best? Because I guarantee that He's given you His.

I'm not saying you need to become a stone mason (in the literal sense), but I guarantee that if, as you examine your heart before worship (as you should do), you remove the stones from around your heart (unforgiveness, jealousy, bitterness, hate, envy, etc.), and carefully and thoughtfully and lovingly lay them at the feet of Jesus, your worship will take on new meaning and your relationship with our Lord will soar to new heights. Your worldly relationships will also flourish and become deeper and more meaningful as well.

So let's start this year off right in the way we prepare and worship our Lord. Build yourself an altar from the blessings in your life and THEN worship God with all that is within you! Call on the name of the Lord and Bless HIM with your heart of worship!

Be Blessed today my Brothers and Sisters!

A Grace for Every Race

"Grow in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
– 2 Peter 3:18

Grace is a word that gets tossed around but that most folks don't fully understand.
– We say Grace before our meals.
– We are saved by Grace.
– We can claim to be Grace-full.
– We can Grace others by our mere presence.
– We even name our children Grace ...but what does it (Grace), really mean?

Today's reading tells us to "Grow in Grace" but how exactly do we do that? How do we grow in something we don't really understand? The secret is in the "and."

You see Grace alone means nothing without the knowledge and understanding of the One who sacrificed everything in order that we might live forever. Jesus is the key. HE is Lord, whether we know Him or not. Whether we acknowledge Him or not. Whether we believe in Him or not...He is Lord and He alone is the giver of Grace.

The more we seek Him, understand Him, come into intimate relationship with Him, the more we grow in the knowledge and understanding of Grace. Not just for ourselves but for ALL people. Yes, ALL people. Even the ones who get on your nerves or don't ascribe to your politics.

Grace is for ALL people everywhere. That means that Christ's Love is for ALL people ...the Jew, the Christian, the Muslim, the Atheist, the Sinner, the guy who cut you off on the freeway, the lady who took your parking spot, the boss who just fired you, and even the extremist murderer. It isn't for us to judge, it is for us to Grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.

The news media is doing a great job of growing us in fear and hate but we have a choice in what we will grow in. We can choose to know Christ and thereby know and grow in the Grace He freely gives to all of us.

Seek the "and" today. Dive into Christ and experience the Grace He has for you. Learn about Your Savior and GROW in Love for His creation. BE Grace-full as Jesus transforms your life and changes your world. It's not going to be comfortable, but you will be Blessed as the Grace that rescued the whole world lives in and through you.

Grace is for EVERYONE.
Be Grace today.

Blessings my Brothers and Sisters!

When A Limp Turns Into A Leap

And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him (David). So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.
- 1 Samuel 22:2

While David fled from Saul he attracted men just like him ...distressed, distracted, discontented, disillusioned, and discouraged. But David pressed on and through it all the Lord was with him and he honored God with his heart and with his life. David led those men into deep relationships with God and he encouraged them to overcome and rise above their circumstances.

Those very men who started out limping with him turned into mighty men of valor, accomplishing great and amazing things. Here are a few examples:

2nd Samuel tells us that a man named Adino slew 800 men in one battle; Eleazar struck down the enemy until his hand grew tired and froze to his sword; Shammah defeated a plot of ground against an entire army.

Impossible odds, insurmountable circumstances, incredible stories which ALL speak to the power of God in their lives ...all brought about via the leadership of one man ...David.

Are YOU in mid-limp right now? Are your circumstances and the outlook so dire and bleak that you can't possibly see how you're going to get through it? Take heart! Be strong! Be courageous! Know that Your God is the God of impossible circumstances! HE is the God who shines light in the darkness and fights for you in the bleakest of times!

YOUR God will turn you into a leader of men if you will only look up (away from your circumstances) and call out to Him!

He will Save you!
He will Raise you!
He will Deliver you!
Because HE Created you and HE Loves YOU so Very Much!

God will turn your limp into a giant Leap and you will be able to encourage others to do the same.

Praise God!

Are you a Many?

12 When Peter saw this, he said to them:
4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
– Acts 3:12, 4:4

Not everyone believes. There are even those who hear the Word but STILL don't believe. And if I'm being completely honest, there are some who "preach" but don't believe – if they did, their lives and their congregations would reflect that belief.

I want to be among the "Many" as described in today's verse. I want to believe in such a way that five thousand people would be moved to believe on their own! I want my faith to speak for me and to arrive before me. I want the devil to throw a tantrum when I arrive and I want heaven to cheer me on as I run my race.

How about you?
Are you a "Many?"
Do YOU Believe?
Are you effecting change by the power of your faith?

You can do it!
I Believe in you!
God BELIEVES in YOU too!

Blessings and much love!

You are Good!

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
– Genesis 1

God made you ...purposefully, perfectly, precisely created to be – in God's eyes – beyond compare. You were created uniquely and wonderfully You! Complete with all your insecurities and self-perceived "incapabilities" and idiosyncrasies. YOU, are God's workmanship, His art and His Joy and His pleasure ...YOU!

Embrace "YOU" this year and see what God will do through your willingness to serve His purpose ...HIS Wonderfully Crafted "YOU."

BE the Blessing ...and be Blessed!