Living a 220 life

Kids Corner: Knowing God Better by Josh age 7

I woke up early this morning to have my quiet time with the Lord and spent about 45 minutes in great communion with Him. Then, with gentle little steps, like a sneaking mouse, my 7 year old emerged from his bedroom with sleepy little eyes. I said, “Josh, would you like to read your Bible with me?” He thought about it for a moment and then said sure. I had him read Psalm 1 and then asked what he thought. He responded, “A good guy delights in God’s law.” Rather surprised by his grasp of the text I said, “So what does that mean for you?” Again, he shocked me with, “I should spend more time reading the Bible.” I was rather dumbfounded at this point and told him if he believed this he should make a plan to accomplish it. I’ve scanned his plan and attached it here.

7 year old Josh's plan to know God better

Folks, now this is from a 7 year old. I only helped with the shell but the idea and the plan is completely his. He’s made the decision, since the Bible told him so, to read every day in order to know God better. Let me tell you: If this isn’t convicting to you…it should be. He’s decided he’s going to take real steps to know God better and he has a plan for it. Do you have a plan to know God better? If you do I would love for you to share it. If not, why not?

Friends, let me challange you with the example of a 7 year old. Commit your life to Him and develop a plan to know HIM better. AMEN!

Faith that moves mountains

Friends, how do we experience the miraculous power of God in our lives? I mean, Jesus told us in Matthew 17:20 that if we have, “faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” I don’t know about you but moving a mountain sounds pretty impossible to me. However, Jesus really meant what He said and really meant for us to believe what He said. So how do we get even a tiny mustard seed size faith that is large enough to move mountains? Romans 10:17 says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” In other words, if you want your faith to grow you must spend time in the Word of God. Therefore, Romans 10:17 sets us on the pathway to gaining a miraculous faith able to move mountains by telling us to get into the Word, but the question still remains: What is faith?

In Matthew 6:30 Jesus asks His disciples, “Why do you have so little faith?” Now the guys He’s asking this question to have recently left everything they own to follow Him. These guys certainly believe Jesus is the Son of God. They believe! So why do they have little faith? The answer stems from the definition of faith. You see, faith reflects at least two ideas: trust and belief. Trust is a personal reliance upon the Lord for all sustenance and protection. Belief is an affirmation of truths. So, the disciples believed but hadn’t learned to trust Jesus yet. They had little faith because they had little trust. Ultimately, little faith results from our failure to understand our value to God and the extent of God’s protection of us.

Peter began growing in trusting faith the longer he spent time with Jesus. One of the most incredible stories about Peter comes from Matthew 14. Now remember, Peter was a normal guy who messed up all the time. He wasn’t Jesus, the Son of God. Peter was normal just like you and I. However, in Matthew 14:28 Peter yells out to Jesus, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” Then guess what Peter did…yep, you got it, Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. Wow! That amazes me every time. How do we get that type of faith? We trust Him! As our trust in Him grows our prayers will change. You see, prayer isn’t meant to inform God about our needs, it’s meant to express our trust in His provision.

Friends, if you want a faith that moves mountains you need to trust Jesus to provide the power to move the mountain. When you pray, you must understand that “Nothing is impossible” if you believe and trust. Now remember, faith comes from the Word of God. John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my Word remains in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you.” My dear friends, abide in Christ daily through His Word and then confidently climb over the side of the boat so you can walk on water. NOTHING is impossible for us when we are abiding in Christ! Trust and believe Him. AMEN!

Your shield against deception

It seems deception lies just around every corner in our world today. (pun intended) Everywhere you turn someone is trying to persuade you of something else; and not all use ethical means of persuasion. I’ve heard stories of used car salesmen, insurance salesmen, attornies, and many others who use out right deception to get what they want from you. With so much persuasion and deception all around us it can be very tempting to become cynical of others. So, how do we manuever through a life filled with deception while maintaining a Spirit filled life of trust and love for others?

In 1Kings chapter 13 we’re given a great example of costly deception as well as the antidote to Satan’s deception. We’re given a “man of God” in chapter 13 who prophesies to the king and after word is asked to dine with the king. The man of God responds in 13:9, “For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’” The man of God turned down a royal meal with the king because he understood very clearly what God had told him.

The man of God leaves the king but is chased down by an old prophet from Bethel. A fellow man of God finds him and also asks him to come dine with him. The man of God responds in the same way he did to the king. He knows what God has told him and is being obedient. Then, in verse 18 the old prophet from Bethel lies to him and says, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.” Friends, this is a fellow prophet! Sometimes we are most susceptible to deception in the church where we feel safe.

The man of God falls for the lie and goes back to the old prophets house. He is later killed by a lion for being disobedient to God’s Word. When I first read this I thought, “Wow, the old prophet really got him.” However, I found the old prophet truely morning for the man of God and asking to be buried with him. This leads me to believe the old prophet didn’t lie to be hurtful but rather because he really just wanted to spend time with the man of God. Friends, this is a huge danger for us! We can be on either side of this coin…do we get led astray or do we lead others astray?

The bottom line in this story of deception is that when the man of God took action based on God’s Word he was good. When he followed someone else’s version of God’s Word he fell. Folks, if you are to navigate this world filled with lies and deception you MUST know God’s Word inside and out. The only way to defeat deception is with the Truth. Are you filling your heart with God’s Word every day? If not your simply waiting for the next con-man to lead you to your death. Satan IS seeking to devour you! AND he doesn’t play fair! He will lie, cheat, and steal in order to lead you to your death.

Friends, I beg you, get into God’s Word on a daily basis and fill your heart with His Truth. Only when we stand on His Word are we able to succesfully navigate this world of deception. With your trust in His Word for your protection your able to love and trust other people as the Spirit leads you to do. You no longer need to rely on yourself to constantly fight satans lies, you simply trust in His Word and Truth. My dear brothers and sisters, make time spent in God’s Word your top priority. Your life really depends on it. AMEN!

Are you married to a fool?

In 1 Samuel 25 we get the story about David, Nabal, and Abigail; a story rich with lessons in both marriage and faith. Though the story could produce enough lessons to fill a book, I’d like to focus only on a few. I first need to start with a reminder from Ephesians 5:33, “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Folks, no matter your situation you are to both love and respect your spouse. We love and respect not because they’ve earned it but because we’re commanded to do so.

In 1 Samuel 25:25 we find Abigail explaining to David that her husband Nabal is a fool, “For as his name is, so is he; Nabal”. The name Nabal literally means fool. Now folks, let me first say, when you’re dating someone, if you find out their name is “fool” you might really want to reconsider the relationship. However, if you’re so smitten with love for “fool” and find yourself married to him/her and begin to reconsider I have further advice. 1 Corinthians 7:12-13 says, “If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.” Once you’re married you’re called to love and respect your spouse unconditionally. However, Abigail offers us a great look at a wife who finds herself married to a “harsh and evil” (25:3) fool.

Nabal acts foolishly and offends David by treating him badly. David in turn prepares to destroy the entire house of Nabal. Abigail finds out David is preparing to kill them all and acts quickly. In verse 24 Abigail pleads, “So she fell at his (David) feet and said: ‘On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant.” Understand, Abigails husband, who caused this whole mess, is off getting drunk at this point. (v36) Abigail did not have a great spiritual leader for a husband. Ladies, I understand so many of you desperately want your husband to be the spiritual leader he’s called to be but he just won’t do it. Don’t give up. He may be a Nabal or he may be may be a Saul who hasn’t been transformed into a Paul yet. Continue respecting him and praying for his spiritual leadership.

However, Abigail demonstrates that though the woman is called to follow her husband it’s not a blind following. Ladies, you are NEVER called to follow your husband into sin. NEVER! The only way for you to follow his leadership and to know when to not follow is to be so close to the Lord that you completely understand His will and His Word. Ladies, I encourage you: spend much time in the Word and at the Masters feet that you might be an Abigail to your husband.

Men, are you living like a Nabal right now? Understand, your actions have consequences for everyone when you’re the leader. Nabal’s foolishness created the situation in verse 34, “For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal.” Guys, wake up! We are the leaders of our families and one family at a time, we’re the leaders of this Nation. We can’t afford to live like Nabal. If you’re not leading your family spiritually, if you’re not moving both yourself and your wife closer to the Lord, you need to take a close look at your life. Where are your priorities? Are you Nabal? Ask your Abigail, she’ll tell you.

Friends, if you find yourself in a Nabal-Abigail relationship there’s still hope. We serve an amazing God who acts in mighty ways. I beg you, seek help from other mature believers. Begin walking with mature Christan friends and developing your personal walk with Jesus. As your personal walk grows, your marriage will also grow. If you can’t find any believers to walk with you, contact Beth and I, we’ll walk with you. AMEN!

Understanding the Word

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 This is one of the most well known verses in the Bible, yet few people understand what it means. Since the Bible didn’t exist as we know it before the creation of the world, what is the “Word” that was in the beginning? This scripture implies a difference exists between the Bible and the Word. Let me explain.

If I tell you to think of a dog, what picture comes to mind? Perhaps you thought of a weiner dog. Well, I thought of a golden retriever. The word “dog” therefore is simply a vehicle to transfer a thought I had in my mind. Words and language breaks down to be nothing more than a tool used to package thoughts, ideas, and emotions. It takes a deeper piece of who we are and allows us to share that piece of who we are with someone else. Friends, the Bible is the vehicle that carries the “Living Word”. The Word spoken of in John 1:1 is the heart of God imbedded inside the language printed on the pages of the book we call the Bible.

This is why you can either read the Word and be transformed or read the Bible as a text or history book and walk away unchanged. My friends, you’ll never walk away from the Word unchanged. I promise you, when you encounter the living Word, you’ll be changed forever. Understanding the Bible contains the Word of God, we must desire it more than our daily sustanence. Scripture explains that we should do five things with the Word.

1. Hear the Word (Romans 10:17)

2. Read the Word (Revelation 1:3)

3. Study the Word (Acts 17:11)

4. Memorize the Word (Psalm 119:9&11)

5. Meditate on the Word (Psalm 1:2-3)

Friends, when you pick up the Bible you hold the heart of God inside the pages. You have the opportunity to consume a piece of the Creator of the Universe and allow Him to transform you. With such a mighty work at your finger tips why are you not digging into the Word with a hunger unlike anything else in your life. I pray you’ll come to know the transforming power of the Word and learn the habits of feeding from it daily. When was the last time you picked up your Bible to spend time with God? Do you meet Him daily in the Word in order to fall passionately in love with Him? I pray you’ll learn and implement this vital discipline in your life. AMEN!