Who's in Control of Your Life?

As I worked in my yard this morning, I watched neighbors pass by (walking dogs, pushing strollers & patiently walking w/their toddlers) and my mind began to dwell on this thought...we come into this world under management; we live our lives under management; and we all die under management! Unfortunately too many people live and die under the same management! What am I talking about? The Bible says we are born in sin and from birth we have a sinful nature. But it also says we don't have to live in sin & we don't have to die in sin!
If you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord & Savior, you're no longer under old management. It's because of what Jesus did on the cross that you & I have a new nature and have been placed under new management! This is confirmed in chapter 2 of the Book of Ephesians.

Every now & then, do you find yourself traveling down memory lane, and sentimentally thinking those were the "good old days"? Let's face it, those days weren't nearly as good as we want to remember. We walked around blinded by our desires to indulge the lusts of the flesh, busy having fun with the women/men, drinking liquor and/or doing drugs. Oh, and we had to work hard to make that money so we could spend it on our "good times"! When you really think about it, we were sinful beings who were self-consuming, and if left unchecked we were headed to self-destruction (I'm sure you know someone, a friend, relative or acquaintance, whose life was destroyed by that type of continued behavior).

Thank God for His saving Grace for I am a new creation; old things/wants/desires have passed away & new things have come into my life! Now if you don't fully understand that last statement, maybe this analogy will help: When Standard Oil first started refining petroleum it left a black, sticky, stink residue that no one knew what to do with. A chemist found a solution to the problem & turned the residue into paraffin (a white shiny substance used in candles today). Well, like that chemist, God takes the dirty, sticky, stinking parts of our lives & applies His cleansing agent (the blood of Jesus Christ) to remove the dirt. And for those of us who have gone through this process, we have been cleansed/re-created--- in the past we walked in sin, but in the present we are walking in righteousness--- in the past we were dead in sin, but in the present we are alive in Jesus Christ---and in the past we were under old managment (Satan's) but in the present it's the new management of God which is in control of our lives!
Who's in control of your life?

Who's Winning the Fight Between your Ears?

Christians, have you ever felt the burden of your "walk" weighing heavily on your shoulders? You probably thought to yourself, "My life was so much easier when I was out in the world, living carefree, had it 'going on', and not feeling guilty about the choices I make; but, from the time I made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to live more holy, I'm finding it more difficult each day to "walk in the light"! Welcome to the "club", every Christian goes through those feelings throughout their Christian walk, especially those who have been called to lead God's people!

You must realize that the biggest battles we Christians face occur between our ears...in the mind! Our mind is the doorway into who we are, thus the mind is the area that is most attacked by the enemy, the DEVIL! II Corinthians 10:5 admonishes us to bring our thoughts into captivity, but understand that it's not our thoughts that causes problems in our lives, it's what we do in response to our thoughts that usually get us into trouble.

The devil knows that once he infiltrates our thoughts, he can then infiltrate our entire being. Think on this...the mind works in two modes, replay (memory) and pre-play (imagination). That's why we often have to deal with the thoughts generated by the things we've allowed into our lives. And, much of what we think about is a direct result of the bad choices we've made!

I Corinthians 2:16 tells us we have the mind of Christ. Now think on these things...What if you lived your life with the mind of Christ; would you view the world & your church differently? What if you made it a point of pleasing God & God alone? You must realize that by bringing your thoughts into captivity, you will stop allowing the enemy to hinder your walk with Christ!

So, are you a person who controls your mind

or

a person who is controlled by your mind?

LOVE is the Word!

Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is actually an emotion tha we are called to share with the world...LOVE! We are to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind and we must love our neighbors as ourselves. That last part adds a whole new dynamic to this command.

We Christians should be known by society as people who Love, which leads to forgiveness; Love, which forces us to care; Love, which beckons generosity; Love, which won't allow us to sit by & watch others suffer; and Love, that recognizes what Christ did on the cross for us. And we should feel compelled to share that story with everyone we come in contact with. In other words, we are called to reflect the love of Christ to the world in which we live!

Yet I, like many of you, know other Christians who aren't known for showing love towards others. This is a shame because when Christ walked the earth, it was His Love, His Forgiveness, His Caring, & His Compassion which drew people to Him. And as believers in Him, we should be known for the same.

Now is the time for us to stop being distracted by things that don't really matter in our salvation walk and start focusing in on the commandment that Christ told us was the greatest; we need to stand up to shine Jesus' light to show God's love to the world!

Remember, LOVE is the Word!

It's Time for Men to "Come to Order"!

Although this blog speaks specifically to men today, you ladies will surely benefit from reading it also. I was doing yardwork today and came across some dandelions (a weed-like flower) in my grass, even though my lawn is professionally treated to curtail their growth every month. The dollarweeds have disappeared, but the dandelions continue to spring back up...they just don't seem to die! Immediately my thoughts turned to fatherhood. You see, "good fathers" endure the many hardships of marriage & parenting; yes we make mistakes but we continue to persevere and eventually thrive because of our "never give up" attitude. And that's exactly like the dandelion...it's able to take great amounts of abuse, yet it springs up and thrives in the midst of adversity.

Brothers, God ordained and has given men the responsibility for Fathering and we're to do this by specifically leading our households in worshipping the Lord; teaching & training our children, and setting examples of Godliness & Holiness for our families. But even if you don't personally have children, God has called you to set an example for those you know who need a father figure in their lives. However, the devil has set out to destroy what God has ordained, thus he began his attack on us men, corrupting families in the home, in the church and basically doing all he can to sabotage God's plan. If you don't believe it...

• Who is usually missing in the home? Dad!
• Who is often the most difficult for children to communicate with? Dad!
• What is the weakest ministry in most churches? Men's Ministry!
• And in most churches, the ratio of willing workers between men & women is 1 man for every 3 women!

Now based on these facts alone, it appears that the devil has been successful in corrupting the way many of us men live our lives today, so I'm calling out to all men to step up to the plate & reclaim what God has placed in you from the foundation of the world...I challenge you to take on the role of "leader" in your home and in your church! To do this, order must be established or restored to your life:

1)Your relationship with God must take priority over your home/job. Remember, a child is not likely to find a Father in God unless he finds something of God in his father! (they need to see us demonstrate faithfulness to God by reading our Bibles, praying, attending church regularly & showing love/affection to our wives, as well as them.

2) Next to your relationship with God, the family is your highest priority! And the greatest job in our lives is to teach & train up a child in the ways he should go, so that when he grows old, he will not depart from it. So fathers, take care of business at home and tend to your family (manage the household, and lay a great foundation for your children/grandchildren to follow for they are part of your legacy here on earth).

3) Remember, God first, then family, then the job! Maybe you feel as though you have to devote extra time to your job in order to be blessed, so you put everything else on the backburner to earn 'mo money, mo money, mo money'! Well, you can't side-step the ways of God & find blessings w/your own formula for a successful career. Get your priorities straight....work is necessary, but it's not meant to dominate our lives!

Brothers, when we set our priorities in place, we'll find the stage is set for the Lord to bless us, (our wives will begin to submit & our children will begin to obey) but it all begins with us doing the right thing. Only then will God help us to make a real impact on this world we live in!

You can start today by asking God to forgive you of your past mistakes and to help you set your priorities in order for the future!

Don't be Deceived!

Christians, please be on guard! Just because something sounds good and make us feel good, doesn't mean it's what God wants us to hear. I've been on my salvation walk a long time during which I've seen other believers, once full of zeal for the Lord, led astray. Why is that? As I think about it, it's simple; our sinful nature wants to hear what we like to hear (which is usually not the whole truth). So, if we don't like what the preacher says in his sermons, we usually leave and go where the whole truth is not spoken. Why? Because we're more comfortable there and we won't be faced with being convicted by the Word of God!

Satan is alive and well and he'll try to deceive God's Elect, if possible. But we can protect ourselves from his deception and lies by: 1)reading and studying the Bible for Jesus says that we are to study to show ourselves approved; and, 2) we must pray so that the Holy Spirit will guide us in discerning what is truth and who is false among us!

When you engage in these things, bit by bit, you'll begin to understand the importance of God's message. And His message will oppose the attitudes of this world, and sometimes the attitudes of some church congregations , even some church leaders! That's why as believers, we must carefully examine those who claim to speak God's truth, for it's our responsibility to be on guard against the deception and lies that are designed to mislead and confuse us, thus hindering our salvation walk. Peter's words to the church still apply to us Christians today, "...prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:13).

WARNING!!!

From this day forward, join me in exhibiting self-control, being alert, and being on guard for the tricks of the enemy or

HE WLL GET YOU, TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Message for the Discontent

I'm sitting here thinking about how many times I've been told to take authority over my life. And each time this advice was offered, it sounded good. But as I've matured in my faith I realize that only God has absolute authority over our lives! Yet He allows our lives to be segmented so that different individuals or government officials have authority over different areas of our lives. At home, there's accountability to family members (parental authority); on the job you're accountable to your boss; at church there's spiritual leadership (pastoral authority); and in society the are civil authorities, but none of these have a right to govern our entire lives!

As an adult, have you ever pondered these thoughts: Does God have the right to put me anywhere He wants in relationship to other people? Does the person over me have to be smarter than me, more capable than me, more spitiual than me? Are there certain criteria they have to meet before I submit to them? Why am I not in charge since I'm more capable than the other person? Why was I passed over for that promotion when it's obvious that I'm more capable or more spiritual than the person who was promoted? If you've contemplated these things and decided to rebell, then the root of your rebellion is PRIDE!

Bro/Sis, the Word of God says, "He who exalts himself will be abased but he who humbles himself under the mighty hand of God will be exalted in due time". Don't you know that God gives you favor among those in authority? But by your actions, you can easily lose His favor! So, if you're frustrated and discontent because your role at work or at church isn't as important as you think it ought to be or you're not getting the recognition you feel you deserve, do yourself a favor and start to become more diligent in pleasing the Lord; being faithful and humble in the place that God has given you at this time in your life.

And remember these two things: 1) God wants to bless us and take care of us, but He has to do it His way...and many times He does it through the authority He places over us; and 2) It takes faith to submit to human authority - a faith that can look beyond the person and see a loving God "...working all things together for our good". And in this process God is going to change you or your circumstances, or both!

Are you a Mote Hunter?

Are you or do you know someone who always criticizes and finds fault in others? Jesus said that you who are quick to identify/talk about others' problems usually have even worse problems, and you're just like the Pharisees who saw the sins in others (the "mote" in their eyes) but fail to look at their own sins (the "beam" in your eyes). In other words none of us have room to talk about anybody else because we all have problems of our own!

Jesus never came here to criticize any of us or to find motes(faults) in others...and He is the only perfect being to ever walk this earth. Jesus points out that mote hunters (as I call them) are nothing more than hypocrites who need to do a self-inventory. Sometimes I think that God feels like snatching some of us up by the collar to say, " You are the one who needs to make changes in your life rather than your spouse, your children, your neighbor (who seems to frustrates you), even that relative you can't stand or that friend who tells you the truth about yourself!

Do you ever think that it might be YOU who needs to change? "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts". We must get right ourselves so that we can help others. When Jesus looked upon others He saw them as hungry, needing food; as sheep, needing a shepherd; as sick, needing a doctor; and as sinners, needing a Savior!

So what do you see in others, their needs or their motes?