Thoughts

December 19, 2009

This post starts with my confessions of being completely unfaithful to my blog.  Without looking at my last post, I couldn’t even tell you when I last posted on my website.  For those who check, which I’m not sure who does, I’m very sorry about that.  I could list a number of excuses…and I might…later.  But now I just need to write and say hi and share some thoughts.

It is only a few days before Christmas and I heard a statement on Fox News today that disturbed me.  The comment was geared towards our economy.  Right now the mid-Atlantic region of our nation is being hammered with a big winter storm dumping feet of snow in different regions.  I’m getting calls and pictures from family & friends in Richmond, VA showing well over a foot of snow.  Living now in Montana, I kind of laugh at it simply because of the reaction but the infrastructure over there isn’t use to the snow like it is here.  They won’t even close schools here unless its a winter Armageddon.

Anyhoo, the comment was that because of the snow storm that people wouldn’t be able to get to the malls to shop and that our economy would be destroyed as a result of this inability to shop.  People! Seriously! Why in the world do we celebrate Christmas?  I can tell you why Christmas is so important in America.  Because it supports our economy.  Wow, its a good thing Jesus came to earth.  Otherwise I don’t know what we would do today in our economy.  Sorry…a little sarcasm there.   Everyone, Christian and non, is trying to find hope and reason to live during this season.  It will not be found in good sentiment or emotions.  Hope will only be found in the life given by Jesus Christ. For most people this season is defined by what you have and what you get.

Jesus tells us in the Gospels, “Anyone who desires to save his life will lose it, but anyone who loses his life for my [Jesus'] sake will find it.  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world but in the end lose his soul?”  For me this truly sums up what Christmas is all about.  Jesus left his position in heaven to join us here on earth.  The famous nativity was just the beginning of God’s plan to redeem mankind through the work of Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection three days later.  Christmas isn’t about what you get.  Its ultimately about what you give.   It is in giving that true life is actually found.  Jesus gave us life for Christmas.  Who are you giving your life for this season?

More thoughts to come….hopefully sooner than later.

Filed under: Christianity, Christmas, Hope, Politics, Purpose, The Family | Comments (1)

Moving Forward with Faith

October 3, 2009

This past September 25th, Cara and I were set in as the new Lead Pastors of New Covenant Fellowship right here in Kalispell, MT.  Little known fact about Kalispell, MT, but we are the home of many vacationing celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Phil Jackson, Drew Bledsoe, Jim Carey, just to name a few.  Anyway …We love our valley and we love our church.  I want to say a special thanks to Pastor Frank Damazio (who spoke and set us in), Pastor Marc Estes, Pastor Ken Malmin, Pastor Jack Louman, Pastor Ben Malmin, Pastor Poncho Lowder, and Pastor Steve Stells (who has been my pastor since I was born).  They all came and served, prayed, prophecied, and really made the weekend a special occasion for Cara, me, and the church.

This whole process over the last few years has been such a faith builder.  When I say faith builder, what I mean is that I can look back on tough decisions I’ve had to make and decision that I made with blind faith (the best kind) and now that I am where I am, I can look back and see the hand of God leading me through those times.  It has also given me a better perspective of being in the perfect will of God.  Things don’t always play out the way we think they will but if your heart is pure and your desire is for God and you are under authority, God will always lead you in His perfect will.  I know that where I am is in the center of God’s perfect will.

Faith builds upon faith.  The Bible tells us that faith comes from hearing the Word of God.  That is the foundation of faith and you have to start there.  You can’t generate faith through strength, determination, or will power.  You must build it from the ground up on God’s Word.  I really believe that as you begin to exercise the faith you receive from God’s Word, then you will experience faith victories.  These are victories that can only be attributed to God’s grace and favor He gives as a result of your faith in Him.  Victories build momentum, momentum build progress, progress builds success.

This has been the process I have experienced in my life so far and I plan to live this way the rest of my life.  I encourage you to live this way also.  Don’t put your hope in yourself, your abilities, your knowledge, your strength.  Your hope can be put in a God who cares more and knows more about your future than you do.  Trust Him.  Embrace Him.  Follow Him.  Read His Word.  Put your faith in Him.  It will build true success in your life.  I know that as Cara and I move forward as the Pastors of New Covenant Fellowship with our faith firmly secured in Jesus Christ, we will succeed.  Our church will succeed and our mission will be accomplished.

Take time to reflect from where you have come.  Take time to see where your faith in Jesus Christ and His Word has brought you through tough times.  You need to move forward but allow that success to come through Faith in Jesus Christ.  –Blessings

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Successful Relationships

August 1, 2009

Thanks for reading.  Sorry for the delay since my last posting.

One reason why life is so great is that we get to share our lives in relationship with people around us.  Relationships are never easy because they take work and selflessness to succeed.  I wanted to briefly share something I’ve learned that has helped me to be more successful in my relationships.  In my life, I have a wife, three children, parents, in-laws, siblings, friends, staff, mentors; I’m a pastor and public figure so I have many different relationships at many different levels.  I don’t relate to the general public like I do with my kids.  Each relationship you have must carry different expectations.

One of the best ways to successfully manage your different relationships is by looking at the expectations you have for these relationships.  When you are learning to be a parent sometimes you think that your children should be able to do something that they really aren’t ready for.  With inappropriate expectations, this can turn to frustration and unnecessary disappointment.  Now that I have three children I have found myself having unrealistic expectations of my oldest son, who is now five years old.  These expectations were leading to frustrations and stress in our relationship.  Once I learned to manage realistic expectations and to just love my son without an agenda our relationship has launched to a whole new level.

The same is true in marriage or in any relationship you have.  As a leader of a group, organization, business, church, or a family, your responsibility is to generate realistic and reasonable expectations of those in relationship with you.  This is an important first step but you don’t stop here.  Once you establish realistic expectations, you must communicate these realistic expectations.  In communication, you will find out if the people you are in relationship with agree with the expectations and if they understand them.

I know for myself in ministry life, its important for people to have realistic expectations of me as a pastor as well as me to have realistic expectations of others roles in relationship with me, whether family, friends, staff, volunteers or church members.

When realistic relationship expectations are clearly communicated you always create an environment for success.  Relationships are part of what makes life so great so do everything in your power to make your relationships successful.

God bless you and see you next time.

Filed under: Christianity, Friendship, Leadership, Parenting, The Family, marriage | Comments (1)

Wanna Be A Leader?

May 13, 2009

One of my favorite authors is John Maxwell.  He is a former senior pastor and now travels the world talking to churches and secular businesses about the principles of leadership.  Many would refer to him as a leadership guru of sorts but he has simply taken what the Bible has to say about leadership and broken it down to simple practical principles for every person no matter what walk of life you may be in.

Maxwell says, “Leadership is Influence; nothing more, nothing less.”  In this post, I would like to elaborate on this principle; by no means change the definition, simply elaborate.  Leadership, like most things, gives you the opportunity to be a good leader or a bad leader, a positive leader or a negative leader.  Your leadership can create positive impact or it can create negative impact.  My goal would to be to motivate people to dedicate themselves to being strong leaders who are creating a positive impact with their influence.

The definition I would like to give simply elaborates on Maxwell’s definition.  A great leader is one who faithfully uses their strengths and personal giftings in a way that honors God, inspires others, encourages others, serves others, and influences others in a positive direction. You will notice this definition does not mention the personal benefits of you being a leader.  Yes, there are many benefits to yourself if you live this way but the focus of a great leader is always on those around you.

Here are some pitfalls to avoid in your desire to be a leader:

1. Don’t try to be what you are not.  Too many people look at others and assume that is what they are suppose to be or they wish they could do what someone else does.  Being a leader doesn’t mean that you get the title, the spotlight, or the acclaim that others may seem to get.  Being a leader is simply you living out the given definition above.  On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) there are some people who are  1 leaders, some who are 5 leaders, and some who are 10 leaders.  If you are not a 10 leader, it doesn’t mean that you are greater than someone who may be a 5 leader or 1 leader and vice versa.  Our culture has been plagued with the disease of self-comparison.  We are not to compare ourselves to others, but only by the standard of God’s Word and the truth of who we are created to be.  We are to be who we were created by God to be and be excellent in who we are.
2. Don’t try to be the boss.  Leadership is not about power.  If leadership is influence, then you measure your ability by the level of influence you have, not by the amount of power you can wield.
3. Be Relational.  Authority without Relationship = Dictatorship.  Just because you have position does not mean you have the ability to lead or that people will follow.  Take the time to serve others and build relationships where you are trusted.  Invest in others.  People will follow those they trust.
4. Make others successful.  The greatest leaders are those who raise up other leaders.  I believe the greatest compliment to a leader is that you raised up someone who surpasses you.  Philippians 2:4 says “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”  I can’t stand the leaders who think everyone is there to make them more successful.  Great leaders should always be looking for ways to train, equip, and release people into their calling and gifting.  Dedicate yourself to helping others advance.  You won’t regret it.

This is by no means an exhaustive study on leadership.  But I want to challenge everyone to be a leader.  Everyone is capable of leading in some capacity but if you are faithfully using your strengths and personal giftings in a way that honors God, inspires others, encourages others, serves others, and influences others in a positive direction than you are being a leader.  A great resource for finding out your strengths is the book Strength Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath.  I would also suggest the leadership material by John Maxwell.  Be a leader.  Serve God, your church, your company, your friends, your family.

Filed under: Christianity, Holy Living, Leadership, Purpose, The Family, Wise Decisions, local church, marriage, youth ministry | Comments (4)

Youth Ministries that Last

April 3, 2009

There are so many ideas of what youth ministry is suppose to be.  For some people youth ministry is a stepping stone for their ministry career.  For some people its just a matter of helping the church out by hanging with the teenagers because no one else will.  For others youth ministry is a passion and a way of life.  I believe that anyone in life, regardless of what you do and what you believe, wants to be a part of building something that will last longer than themselves.  Youth ministry really should be no different.  If you are involved in youth ministry of any kind, I want to encourage you to be passionate about what you are doing and strive to build something that will last.  Being successful is much more than just being about having a great week with a great message and great attendance.  Success in youth ministry is determined by lasting fruit…more importantly, lasting good fruit.

The key in building Youth Ministries that Last is to build a solid foundation.  This is true in building anything from homes to families to organizations.  There are other aspects of building strong youth ministries such as cultivating fertile soil, saturation principle of prayer, presence driven worship, discipleship through small groups, and more.  But unless the foundation is poured correctly and with quality materials, then what is built will not last.  The foundation is God’s Word. It is the only way to build a solid Youth Ministry (or anything for that matter) that Last.

Building on a Solid Foundation

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

There are too many youth ministries that are being build on entertainment, secular music, compromise, shallow preaching, and events.  Those groups may have high peaks but will crash quickly because they are not build to last.  Solid youth ministries that last are never “add water and watch it grow.”  The key is faithfulness to teaching the truths of God’s word, preaching the truths of God’s Word, ministering the truths of God’s Word, and discipling the truths of God’s Word.  This is the foundation.  Build it deep and build it wide.  Once you establish this in your Youth Ministry you can add all the extras.  I believe in lights, fog, bumpin’ sound, games, events, pizza, coffee, video game nights, make-over nights (for the ladies )…but unless you have that foundation built the rest will simply fade away.

Filed under: The Family, Uncategorized, youth ministry | Comments (3)

Cradled Compromise

March 8, 2009

This topic has been on my mind for quite a while now.  I’ve been thinking about it and going to the scripture about it.  No Compromise is a way of life that I believe God’s Word demands of all Christians.  There is a standard that God desires his people to live.  I think that many have become confused and walked away from God’s true standard.  Although this teaching can be applied to everyone personally, I would like to place this challenge on the Youth Ministries of our nation.  Let’s lay some scriptural foundation first.

Psalms 119:1-3, “Joyful are people of integrity,  who follow the instructions of the Lord.  Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.  They do not compromise with evil,  and they walk only in his paths.” (NLT)

2 Corinthians 6:17, “So leave the corruption and compromise, leave it for good,’ says God.  ‘Don’t link up with those who will pollute you.  I want you all for myself.” (Message)

Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behaviors and customs of this world” (NLT)

Ephesians 4:11-14, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s  Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.  Then we will no longer be immature like children.  We won’t be tossed and blown about every wind of new teaching.  We will no longer be influenced when people try to trick us  with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” (NLT)

2 Corinthians 10:12, “..But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement.  How ignorant!” (NLT)

Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.  It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”  (NLT)

Recently I was at a regional youth event promoting abstenence of sex until marriage.  The major theme of this year’s event was encouraging young people to “do it the right way.”  So apparently, they wanted to communicate the message that it isn’t just about not having sex.  True love waiting is more than that.  I thought to myself, this is pretty good. I agree with that.  Then a video was played of two young people who decided to “do it the right way.”  These two 16 year old teens who were dating described how they were “keeping God first” in their relationship.  Video clips of them walking romantically holding hands and gazing into each others eyes romantically played in the background.  They described how they did devotions together and only went into each others bed rooms to hang out if they kept the door OPEN!…blah blah blah.  My heart sank deep into my chest as I watched the message being preached to 1000 teens at this event.  I watched. I listened.  I observed the youth watching and listening and the youth pastors watching and smiling in approval of their success in preaching this message of compromise.  It hit me like a ton of bricks.

God’s Word has challenged us, especially those entrusted with 5-fold ministry calling, to hold up the high standard of God’s Word; to set ourselves apart from the world, to operate in a different set of standards and values than the rest of the world lives, to challenge youth to live for God and not for themselves or the world,  to achieve their destiny and to preach a message that echoes these very aspects.  But we have failed!  Either through our impotent, heretical, non-Biblically based, two-inch deep theology or through our lack of communicating God’s Word at all, we have sinned by missing the mark.

Many youth ministries of America need to get on their knees and repent.  Ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness for preaching and teaching generations to Cradle their Compromise.  Instead of No Compromise, we have preached Compromise Management.  Instead of communicating clearly what God’s Word says, we have taught generations of youth how to keep God first in the midst of their compromise.  God’s Word does not challenge us to keep God first in our compromise but to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).  We cannot simply teach youth to sprinkle some weak principles of God’s Word on whatever world and life philosophy they have chosen to live.

4 Priorities of Healthy Youth Ministries:

1. Prayer – make it a part of what is seen and unseen in your youth ministry; in your services, meetings, sermon preparation & delivery, team building, leadership, personal life, counseling, etc…
2. God’s Word – The Bible. Surprisingly, the vast majority of youth ministries do not even preach the Bible or use the Bible in a given week.  Stories, games, fun, positive messages, activities, retreats do not change lives and claim destinies.  Only God’s Word will give life and produce good fruit.  One powerful scripture in proper context will do more than 1000 great stories about good living.  If you want to see fruit in your youth ministry, then plant seeds with God’s Word.
3. Preach & Teach- whenever you come together preach & teach the Word of God. Do something that will produce eternal fruit.  Why don’t youth stop sinning?   They just don’t seem to get better and you are getting frustrated.  Then preach the Word.  Watch God work.  If you don’t know how to preach then find someone who can or talk to your senior pastor and ask.  If you do nothing else, give them one powerful scripture.  Let the Holy Spirit work with something.
4. Praise & Worship – John 4:23,24 tells us that God is actively searching for true worshipers who worship God in spirit and in truth.  As a youth pastor or leader you need to know what it means to worship God this way.  Teach young people how to worship corporately even if you have to put a Hillsong United DVD on to watch.  Worship is a lifestyle and not a service but something prophetic and powerful takes place when young people learn how to actively worship together.

What’s missing from this list in your mind? Games, activities, retreats, skiing, skating, basketball, fundraisers, small groups, outreach, cook-outs, theme nights, etc…All these things are great but without those 4 Priorities nothing else matters.  If you have these 4 Priorities down, then everything else you do will be great and will be icing on the cake. Go for it.  I’m all about games, small groups, fun, retreats, camps, outreaches, campuses, and basketball. But if we are not (as youth pastors and leaders) praying, communicating God’s Word, Preaching & Teaching, and Praise & Worshiping God then we might as well go home.  We can no longer teach this generation to Cradle Compromise.

You can do it.  NO COMPROMISE! Let all your streams (ideas, creativity, vision, passion, and standards) be found in our God. Psalms 87:7 (Shout out to Pastor Donna!)

Filed under: Christianity, Leadership, local church, youth ministry | Comments (7)

Help Protect Christian and Conservative Voices on TV & Radio

February 3, 2009

Well, not to get too political here but there is an issue on the forefront of the new administration’s list.  It has been referred to as the Fairness Doctrine Act, which would put government restrictions on TV & Radio networks that play Christian programs or Conservative programing.  This is nothing more than an attempt for the far left wing liberals to silence the voice of reason and put a choke hold on any view that disagrees with them.  The liberal wing wants to silence the voices that promote Christianity, pro-life, conservatism…you name it.  We have to take action here and let our Congressmen know that we will not stand for this as Americans. At the end of this post, there is a link to a petition that you need to see and sign.

The Fairness Doctrine Act would legislate that any network that plays these Christian or conservative programs must, by law, grant equal time to programs with opposing views.  This would pressure Christian programs to air non-Christian programs with differing views.  If Focus on the Family plays for one hour, what would play the next hour to contradict what James Dobson is saying?  You get the picture.  Feel free to study this issue for yourself.  You will see that this is not a right wing conservative scam.

The ACLJ, American Center for Law and Justice, is circulating a petition to have a preimptive law passed that would protect the freedom of speech on TV and Radio so that the Christian and conservative voices cannot be silenced.  The liberal goal here is not to create equality on the air waves but to slowly push the Christian and conservative voices completely out of the way so this liberal mindset and socialist system cannot be questioned.  Not to get to “conspiracy theory” but this is just the first step in creating the socialist government controlled environment in our nation to remove the freedoms of those who would hold fast to Christian and conservative values.  Please go to this link below and sign the petition.

https://www.aclj.org/Petition/?ac=1&sc=3404

This is not about supporting or not supporting our President and his administration.  This is about being Americans and standing up for the freedoms that we have.

Filed under: Christianity, Leadership, Politics, The Family, Wise Decisions | Comments (2)

Overcoming – Part II “The Presence”

February 2, 2009

In my last post I talked about “Overcoming In the Face of Adversity”.  Most of the world is being overcome with adversity but it is important for you and for the world to realize that we can be the overcomers and not the overcome.  God’s people are chosen to be the head and not the tail but most of the time because of our lack of faith and our lack of knowledge and obedience to God’s Word we end up being the people that are overcome the most.  I need hope.  You need hope but hope will never come from any man or any program or any government.  True hope that bears fruit only comes from the one true God.

This one true God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the example of how to live and to be the ultimate sacrifice for your sins and for mine; for the whole world.  This freed us from the power of sin and gives us hope for eternal life in Heaven surrounded by the very presence of God.  But that is not the only aspect of this hope.  Acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior not only gives you hope for eternity but gives you hope for this life.  Since, in Christ, we are freed from the power of sin, then we are freed to live the life we were created to live and fulfill our destiny in Christ.

But here is the starting point for you and for me.  We will never begin to overcome adversity outside of the Presence of God.  Psalms 91 is a great chapter that gives us great hope for being covered and protected by the Presence of God.  It tells us in verse 1 that we are covered in the shadow of His wing.  Being in the presence of God protects us and keeps us.  That protection helps us to overcome adversity.  Throughout the Old Testament we see God telling his people that he would go before them to destroy the enemy and prepare the way for his people to move forward.  Abiding in the presence of God still does the same today.  One of the biggest mistakes Christians make is thinking they can just take the Biblical principals and go do things on their own strength.  You will be no more successful than the Philistines were when they captured the presence of God.  They mishandled the presence of God and it brought destruction to them.  Abiding properly in the presence of God and following the direction of his Spirit and his Word (Spirit and Truth) will guide you to overcoming.

There is a contrary wind that is blowing against the church and God’s people but adversity has never stopped God before and it will not stop God, nor his people now.  Abiding in the presence of God will be the first step towards becoming an overcomer instead of being the overcome.  Moses prayed to God in Exodus 33:16 and said, “For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”  We cannot move forward unless God moves first.  The blessing that comes on the people who abide in the presence of God will be the light that shines for the world to see in these days of adversity.  So we can either give in and be overcome or we can dive into the presence of God and allow Matthew 5:16 to be true in our lives.  Our ability as Christians to shine in this adverse time will be what draws the lost.  The hope that the church has and lives in will be the tool we use to go out and harvest the lost.  So stop doubting and wallowing in depression and get yourself back in the presence of God and know that “You have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Revelations 21:7, “He who overcomes will inherit all things”

Filed under: Bible Study, Christianity, Holy Living, Hope, Overcoming, Purpose, faith | Comments (0)

Overcoming in the Face of Adversity

January 26, 2009

Pick up a newspaper or turn on the news channel and it won’t take you five minutes to realize that we are facing difficult times in our nation and across the world.  For many people you don’t even need to read or hear about how tough things are because you are personally living it.  Maybe you have lost your job or your insurance or the rising cost of everything has you in a tight situation.  Whatever the case may be, there are not many people who are not feeling the crunch of the world’s economy.  But we must realize that money is just the beginning of the problem.  The lack of jobs or the rising cost that eats away at our bank accounts creates financial strain.  Financial strain creates stress and personal stress usually carries over into all areas of life.  So today, it isn’t just the wallet suffering, it is our marriages, families, children, retirements, our churches (because many are withholding money instead of giving tithes and offerings), our future plans, and for many, our dreams.

Suicide has been on the rise, depression is on the rise and it seems that we are simply losing the battle; the battle to live, the battle to succeed, the battle to simply survive.  But I want to share with the world the secret to Overcoming and Succeeding in the face of adversity.  You can be successful if you do what is laid out for us in God’s Word.  Its time to take back our lives, our marriages, our families and our futures.

Revelations 3:21 gives us one of God’s amazing promises that is for all of us.  It says, “Those who overcome will sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat with my Father on his throne.”  There is victory for us and it is available to all who overcome.  Can you be an overcomer?  Can you be one who endures to the end to receive that salvation for which we all so desperately wait? Yes you can!  Sounds simple in thought and it is.  Let me explain how you can overcome adversity.

1. We Overcome Adversity through the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6; 1 John 4:4)

• Step one to overcoming is realizing that you don’t have what it takes in your own strength to overcome adversity
• It is not by our own strength or power but by the Spirit of God that we will overcome.
• 1 John 4:4 says “greater is He that lives in us than he who is in the world”.  You already have the Spirit of the Overcomer in you if you have Jesus Christ as your Lord.
• Face the truth and admit that you can’t do it on your own.

2. We Overcome by Allowing God to Go Before Us (2 Samuel 5:24)

• God is the fighter of your battles.  He never expects you to fight the battles alone because he knows that you need the power of his Spirit.  You will never be your own Savior.
• 2 Samuel 5:24, “When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on alert!  That will be the signal that the Lord is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.”
• The Old Testament is riddle with hundreds of passages that describe our God going before us to fight our battles and to prepare victory for us in advance.
• Don’t get ahead of God.  It is so easy to get caught up in your own short-sightedness and lose sight of the big picture.
• Trust God and allow him to work his timing because God has a plan.  But God will always go before you and prepare the victory so that you may overcome all things at all times for the glory of His name.

3.  We Overcome by the Blood of Jesus and the Word of our Testimony (Revelation 12:11)

• The Blood of Jesus was shed for all mankind for our sin, our sickness, our adversity.  The cross was for real but also represented the adversity of mankind.
• Jesus defeated death and the cross; Jesus defeated adversity before you and I ever had to face it.  Our victory has already been won.  The battle has been fought.
• Our response of Faith in Jesus Christ is what takes us through adversity to the other side.
• I know the way I’ve described God going before us paints a picture that life should be easy and we can just walk through and have no problems.  But we obviously face problems and adversity.  But that is why we need Faith.
• Our Testimony is the second weapon we have to defeat the enemy.  We build a Testimony by responding to Jesus Christ in Faith.  Every action of Faith is an action to Testify of God’s love and Power to Overcome which leads to our last point for now.

4.  We Overcome Adversity through Faith (Hebrews 11:1)

• Did you physically see Jesus go before you and overcome the adversity in your life?  Probably not.  But does that mean that he didn’t.
• Christianity at its core if about Faith; Faith that what God said is true is true regardless of what our five senses tell us.  This fact is “foolishness to those perishing, but to those being saved it is the power of God unto salvation.”  Its the only thing George Micheal ever got right; “You gotta have faith.”
• Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen.”
• Some say, but I need proof, I need evidence.  With God, Faith is the evidence and our Faith response to God is what brings His results to the surface for all to see.
• That Faith response is what builds our testimony; it builds the real physical stories of what God has done in our life and our Testimony is what gives hope and life to those who are being overcome by their adversity because if God can deliver you, then maybe God can deliver them too.

So yes, God has already gone before you to overcome your adversity but what determines you receiving that victory is your Faith response to God to believe that the victory is yours.  Yes, the victory is yours in the Name of Jesus.  With this hope, you can look adversity in the face and speak the truth in faith that it will not overcome you but through God’s power you will Overcome!

Filed under: Bible Study, Christianity, Hope, faith | Comments (2)

The Big Dig

January 2, 2009

In 1991 the state of Massachusetts began a massive transportation project called the Big Dig.  It is a series of roads and massive tunnels that would make travel easier and more efficient for Massachusetts travelers.  It was and still is a massive project.

Today I experienced my own “Big Dig”.  For those of you who don’t know, my family and I have relocated to Kalispell, MT where we are the youth pastors at New Covenant Fellowship.  Previously in Virginia we never really experienced much snow and when we did, life just shuts down.  Just the prediction of snow will send people into a panic that empties grocery stores of all bread and milk.  Well, here in Montana snow is just another part of winter life and people just keep going.  This year just happens to be way above average for snow.  Maybe its just to welcome us and break us in quickly.  It has pretty much not stopped snowing since we’ve been here except for maybe a few days here and there.  We already had a base of about 20 inches or more.  Then the forecast called for a (and I quote) “real snow event.”   Well they were right.  When I woke up there was an additional 20 inches on the ground and by the end of the day we had added another 8 inches to that.  It was absolutely ridiculous.  Beautiful, but ridiculous.

As I sit here typing, I am very tired and sore.  I experienced my own Big Dig today probably spending over 3 hours of  shoveling 3+ feet of snow.  I’ve been experiencing the snow removal work out already but today was much more intense.  Our van got stuck and I had to dig it out of the snow and get it back in the garage.  We bought a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get around in this stuff and those are invincible, right? I was coming back to my house from having some work done on the Tahoe and saw the snow in our alleyway to our garage.  “I can handle this” I thought to myself so I went for it.  I made it about 100 yards before I piled up a wall of snow in front of my Tahoe that I could not surpass….I almost couldn’t open my door because of the snow depth and the snow was up to my waste…I’m 6′7″ so you do the math. That is at least 36 inches.  I have been blessed with an awesome neighbor who helped me dig out from my ignorance and as we were shoveling for hours I had a thought.

How often in life do we get ourselves in a bad place as a result of a bad decision.  It would be so easy to just give up and walk away but there is always a way out.  It may take time and it may not be easy but there is always a way out.

God has big plans for our lives and our destiny is so much more important than our circumstances.  The biggest tool to remove ourselves from the mess we’ve made is a tool we don’t even deserve and that is God’s grace.  It is like a giant snow plow that comes to dig us out when we get stuck.  Hopefully we learn from that mistake and don’t return to it but God’s love is bigger than our faithfulness.  Today I spent hours digging my vehicles out of the deep snow but I didn’t give up, allowed some help and succeeded.  You too can succeed in whatever circumstance you find yourself.

So I wanted to encourage you from my mistake today and hope that you realize that no matter what mess you are in, just don’t give up.  Make right choices, work hard, allow others to help who offer and make room for God’s divine provision.  God is faithful regardless of our lack of faithfulness and no mess is too big for God.

Now I’m going to take a couple of advil and watch ESPN.  God bless!

Filed under: Christianity, Hope, Wise Decisions, faith | Comments (6)