Have you ever been robbed?

Have you ever found yourself a victim of a mugging, a crime or has anybody in your life stolen something from you? The result of such a deed would make most of us think that justice needs to be served. That some re-compensation has to be made for the victims in the situation. Let's think about some of these Ponzi schemes that we see all over the papers varying from the US to Europe to Asia. Millions upon millions of dollars have been stolen and never to be returned, yet when we put this in perspective of what is man's and what is God's, the argument really seems kind of silly doesn't it? 

Do we rob God of what is rightfully his? Doesn't God own everything in the heavens and the earth? When Abraham rescued Lot he was met by the King of Salem, Melchizedek, and was blessed by this High Priest of God and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. When the King of Sodom saw this, he asked Abraham to give him the persons and keep the goods for himself, but Abraham said, "I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most HIgh, Possessor of Heaven and earth." (Genesis Chapter 14). No questions asked, no justifying himself to the God of Heaven and earth, Abraham did not hesitate and gave 10% of it all to God. 

Who is this King of Salem,  Melchizedek, that Abraham would give him a tithe? Theologians still argue this point to whether He was Jesus or a truly a King of Peace, but no one debates that either man was a High Priest of God. Jesus Christ came to this earth for you and I and paid the ultimate price for our salvation - his death and resurrection. God bought us with a price (his Son) yet for some of us that is not good enough, some still rob him. 

At this point, you may say what if they don't have money, what if they lost their job, what if we don't understand their circumstance - I say let's put this in perspective: Abraham DID NOT HESITATE and he gave 10% of everything and what happened next - GOD BLESSED ABRAHAM! For some people it may never be an issue of money, but rather, time. Some may find that they are too busy to devote themselves to God (Reading the Bible, Praying, Quiet Time, Attending church faithfully, discipling others, becoming mature Christians in which we can decipher good from evil instantaneously...). Whatever the case may be they rob God of time and money and precious resources. The Spirit of God blesses us with talents (spiritual gifts) and we are to use them to the best of our ability, yet, some of us don't. Why not? Why do we move through this life trying to create wealth and security here on earth and build up our earthly treasures yet we have a less priority to build up treasure in Heaven? 

I struggle with this because I wonder what more I can be doing? What more can I do to serve? Am I living God's will for my life or am I robbing God of what is rightfully His? I don't have the answer to this, but what I can do is move closer to reading his word, praying more and serving with a joyful heart, and continue to tithe faithfully no matter what that looks like. What do you think?

Have you ever been robbed?

Have you ever found yourself a victim of a mugging, a crime or has anybody in your life stolen something from you?  The result of such a deed would make most of us think that justice needs to be served.  That some re-compensation has to be made for the victims in the situation.  Let's think about some of these Ponzi schemes that we see all over the papers varying from the US to Europe to Asia.  Millions upon millions of dollars have been stolen and never to be returned, yet when we put this in perspective of what is man's and what is God's, the argument really seems kind of silly doesn't it?  

Do we rob God of what is rightfully his?  Doesn't God own everything in the heavens and the earth?  When Abraham rescued Lot he was met by the King of Salem, Melchizedek, and was blessed by this High Priest of God and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.  When the King of Sodom saw this, he asked Abraham to give him the persons and keep the goods for himself, but Abraham said, "I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most HIgh, Possessor of Heaven and Earth." (Genesis Chapter 14).  No questions asked, no justifying himself to the God of Heaven and Earth, Abraham did not hesitate and gave 10% of it all to God.  

Who is this King of Salem,    Melchizedek, that Abraham would give him a tithe?  Theologians still argue this point to whether He was Jesus or a truly a King of Peace, but no one debates that either man was a High Priest of God.  Jesus Christ came to this earth for you and I and paid the ultimate price for our salvation - his death and resurrection.  God bought us with a price (his Son) yet for some of us that is not good enough, some still rob him.  At this point, you may say what if they don't have money, what if they lost their job, what if we don't understand their circumstance - I say let's put this in perspective:  Abraham DID NOT HESITATE and he gave 10% of everything and what happened next - GOD BLESSED ABRAHAM!

For some people it may never be an issue of money, but rather, time.  Some may find that they are too busy to devote themselves to God (Reading the Bible, Praying, Quiet Time, Attending church faithfully, discipling others, becoming mature Christians in which we can decipher good from evil instantaneously...).  Whatever the case may be they rob God of time and money and precious resources.  The Spirit of God blesses us with talents (spiritual gifts) and we are to use them to the best of our ability, yet, some of us don't. Why not?  Why do we move through this life trying to create wealth and security here on earth and build up our earthly treasures yet we have a less priority to build up treasure in Heaven?  

I struggle with this because I wonder what more I can be doing?  What more can I do to serve?  Am I living God's will for my life or am I robbing God of what is rightfully his?  I don't have the answer to this, but what I can do is move closer to reading his word, praying more and serving with a joyful heart, and continue to tithe faithfully no matter what that looks like.

What do you think?  

Worship - not just a place to gather

Sunday Morning's, if this is the time for you to prepare your hearts to Worship should be a start of a glorious morning. Let me ask you this question, are you going to church to be entertained by great worship music and exciting preaching and fun and clean programs for your children or are you going to church to give God the praise and worship he so rightly deserves.  After all, do you not know that your body is a temple of God, in which the Holy Spirit dwells.  Do we sanctify ourselves one day a week and then spend the rest of the week defiling it with inputs from shameful images, harmful language, unhealth food and the like?  Let me step back to yesterday, Saturday Morning was a time for our weekly men's bible studay and as I found myself rolling out of bed and struggling to move toward the coffee machine that had already made me hot coffee for my transition to the bible study, I was left breathless by the beautiful morning that God had given us.  The Sun was bright and coming up and there were barely any clouds in the sky.  Twenty-some guys gathered and we read various scriptures on the workman of God.  It was an amazing morning and I could not help but gather myself to give thanks to such an incredible Savior who had mercy on me to save me from my sins.  

Whether you attend a mega-church or a small church or a mini-church  that is held in somone's house or a church that gathes outside, plan on coming to give yourself to worship.  Prepare your hearts and collect your thoughts and when you sit in the pew understand that you are there to give God the worship that He deserves and not the   worship/praise that you think you deserve.  He is a Holy God and he wants our full attention and our first fruits.   Can you go and praise like no one else praises and worship like no one else worships and if you serve, serve like no one else is serving.  Do this for God and for no one else and in this you will find true worship.

Grace Based Parenting Video Study

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Summer Fun

Summer Vacations are things that we can cherish all the days of our lives as we grow up and remember are youth.  This past week I was working while my wife and kids were with her family enjoying the likes of a beach, swimming pool, ice cream shop and some good bible time.  Daddy (that's me) was home working hard at his day job and doing project at home by night.  The reason why I wasn't with my family is because I errantly took the wrong week off at work and had the previous week off to have a nice "Stay-cation with the family."

Anyway, enough about me and my life.  As I was scrolling through my wife's pictures I couldn't help but notice this picture as I was struck with the notion of what sin may look like in our lives.  Scripture is clear, in that, you don't read the bible, but rather the bible reads you.  That is, to say, if we are completely honest with ourselves we cannot help but be brought to our knees when we read and are convicted by our sinful nature.  The apostle Paul tells us to "Train ourselves to be godly." (1 Timothy 4:7).  The boy in this picture is my son Trey.  He watches everything that I do and he imitates a lot of what I do as well.  When I am working at home, he has to go to his room and work.  When I am doing projects around the house, he has to go and get his tools to help.  When I am sinning, well you get the picture.

Life as we know can be very difficult at times and stressful.  If you can imagine with me that the boy in the picture resembles the man of God who is trying to move about his life.  He wears the vest (the Armor of God - Ephesians 6) and he knows that he should pray daily and to find quiet time with God.  The wave represents sin that can come as a light swell or a small wave or if we are completely vulnerable can come as a massive wave of destruction.  The thing about the water is that it can be very alluring.  We can feel confident as we get older (more mature in our walk) and eventually get "caught" with are armor off and before we know it we can catch an undertoe that carries us underwater all the way out to sea.  Before we know it, we are drowning and unable to rescue ourselves from the destruction of sin.  

However, we can train ourselves to be godly.  We can read the word of God, and study it, reflect on it, be honest with it.  As it reads us and reveals strongholds (sin) in our lives we can choose to either repent of the sin and move closer to God or we can be carried out to sea by the sin that we have grown accustomed to.  After all, it's just one beer (two, three, four), or it's just a little pornorgraphy honey, it means nothing to me (impure), or (put in your stronghold here).  The point being is the Word of God is living and sharper than any two-edged sword.  It can separate bone from marrow and is good for re-proofing and refining our lives if we decided to let it.  Don't just hear the word of God, listen to it and DO WHAT IT SAYS.

You will be surprised how God will bless you in your life.

More to come on Spiritual Maturity...

Priveleges in life

My wife and her family and their friends have been coming to this place for over 25 years.  Some would call this a beautiful legacy.  I left work early and met the family, who was there all week without daddy, and we watched there program that evening:  Kids singing songs and reciting bible verses that they learned this past week.  It was great to hear the word of God being recited by mere children.  Of course, in John Chapter 3, Jesus tells pharisee that unless we are born again (as children) we can enter the Kingdom of God.  This brings me to the next event that happened that evening, friends of ours (a husband and wife) asked me if I would baptise them in the Lake.  I was both honored and excited in taken part in such a wondrous act of worship- baptism.  

was a rainy night and it looked like the lake was going to be really cold, however, it wasn't.  It was very enjoyable and after asking them if they professed Christ as their Savior, I baptised both husband and wife in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We then walked to the prayer tower and asked God to direct our lives as parents, husbands and wives and to ask him to continue to bless our walks of faith.  Afterwards, we picked up our kids and ate ice cream.  I was amazed to look at all the families that were there- legacies that started and in some just from one family inviting a child who eventually accepted Christ as their Savior and because of that, their legacy continues, in that, their whole family is making this a tradition- a legacy.  As Spiritual leaders it is our OBLIGATION (not just a right) to rear our children into growing up as healthy, moral and viruous children, who have a God-given knowledge of who their Savior is and what discipleship truly means.  The only way that we can expect our children to walk out their faith and for their faith to be real is to engage them.  We, as legacy dads, have to embrace our God-given responsibility as Legacy Dads, and be prophet, priest and king to these children.  The only way that we can raise mere children (still on the spiritual milk) into adult, God-fearing and mature christians is to show them our faith (reading the word, hearing the word and listening and doing what the word says).  Treating others with love and respect, even when they don't deserve it.  Showing them how to work hard and to be content with life and to practice good stewardship (no debt) and to give not just because we should, but to give with a joyful heart and to bless others who are in need, not because it may make us feel good, but because we will bless others.

Will you walk by faith?  

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