A Poem (author unknown)

I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.

So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease…..

All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They’d laugh at me I’d fear.

No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die

I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God Held a book;
It was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said
“Your name I cannot find
I once was going to write it down…
But never found the time.”

Kind of gives you a perspective doesn’t it?  Take time today for God . . .

According to a  google search, “Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution….” Persecution involves the act of pursuing another ”in a manner to injure, grieve, or afflict; to beset with cruelty or malignity; to harass; especially, to afflict, harass, punish, or put to death for adherence to a particular religious creed or mode of worship; To harass with importunity; to pursue with persistent solicitations; to annoy.”

All those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. – 2 Timothy 3:12

When I read this Scripture, initially I am upset, and depressed. Here we are, mere humans, trying to follow Christ, and God tells us we WILL be persecuted! Well that doesn’t sound fair? After all, we are the ones who are TRYING to live godly lives. Why should we be punished “harassed,” systematically mistreated, or “punished?”

Well, I believe the reason is to help strengthen our faith. For we know that we WILL overcome them. We have been persecuted in the past and have made it through. God reminds us through Timothy that we will endure:

What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from them all – 2 Timothy 3:11

What you may not have noticed in these passages is the order of the Scriptures. I have listed them purposely in reverse order. The correct order flows from the bottom Scripture to the top Scripture listed. Why did I do this?

Simply, I wanted to remind everyone that it is important not to remove Scripture from its context. Many times, especially this week, I was reminded by others about “Bible truths.” However, when I was told the “truth,” I was only told a misrepresentation about the truth.

For example, you may have heard the old adage “money is the root of all evil.” This is in FACT written word for word in the Bible, as is “There is no God.” HOWEVER…the first Scripture actually reads “THE LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil – 1 Timothy 6:10″ and the second scripture actually reads “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ – Psalm 14:1″

So when you are living your daily life and somebody attempts to harass or persecute you through the use of Biblical Scriptures, don’t fall for trickery and deception. When someone presents you with a supposed Bible “truth,” investigate it fully, pray about it, and allow God to rescue you from doubts and questions. He will strengthen you through the harassment if you allow Him to do so.

 Matthew 23:13 - “you shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.”

I don’t know of a better illustration than that.  We can open the door to Heaven BY TELLING OTHERS ABOUT GOD, or we can hold it shut.    .  .  .  It’s our choice.

My question to you is will you OPEN the door or hold it SHUT? Unlock the door for others TODAY, don’t wait! Tell them about God today!

For a musician, it’s the most lucrative Starbucks location in the
world, I’m told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you
play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right
chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a
fun, low-pressure gig – I was playing keyboard and singing backup for
my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion
instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the ’40s to the ’90s with a
few original tunes thrown in. During our emotional rendition of the
classic, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” I noticed a lady sitting in
one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat
and singing along.

After the tune was over, she approached me. “I apologize for singing
along on that song. Did it bother you?” she asked. “No,” I replied.
“We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up
front on the next selection?”

To my delight, she accepted my invitation. “You choose,” I said. “What
are you in the mood to sing?”

“Well. … do you know any hymns?”

Hymns? This woman didn’t know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth
on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our
guest singer a knowing look. “Name one.”

“Oh, I don’t know. There are so many good ones. You pick one.”

“Okay,” I replied. “How about ‘His Eye is on the Sparrow’?”

My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on
mine again and said, “Yeah. Let’s do that one.” She slowly nodded her
head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center
of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing.

Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?

The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling
noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what
they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.

I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free.
For His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me.

When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to a deafening
roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall.
Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, “Oh, y’all go back
to your coffee! I didn’t come in here to do a concert! I just came in
here to get somethin’ to drink, just like you!” But the ovation
continued..

I embraced my new friend. “You, my dear, have made my whole year! That
was beautiful!”
“Well, it’s funny that you picked that particular hymn,” she said.
“Why is that?”
“Well . ..” she hesitated again, “that was my daughter’s favorite song.”
“Really!” I exclaimed.

“Yes,” she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause
had subsided and it was business as usual.. “She was 16. She died of a
brain tumor last week.”

I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence.
“Are you going to be okay?”

She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. “I’m gonna
be okay. I’ve just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his
songs, and everything’s gonna be just fine.” She picked up her bag,
gave me her card, and then she was gone.

Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that
particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence
that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular
shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just
happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter,
who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it. God has
been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of
time, and it’s no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a
coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a
revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and
singing his songs, everything’s gonna be okay.

The next time you feel like GOD can’t use YOU, just remember…
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer…
AND Lazarus was dead!

No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides
you aren’t the message, you are just the messenger.

Well, today’s survey says…

Thank God! The answer is Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 7:25

Now, you may be asking: what is the question? Well, in many cases, the question is irrelevant. Why? Because Jesus is the answer! Without Him, we have nothing, we can do nothing, we are nothing, and unfortunately…we will be nothing.

I have the opportunity to talk to a lot of people in my job and through my weekly travels. While many people know Jesus, it is amazing how many people still do not know Him. Why? Because we haven’t told them about Him.

We go to church, we have Sunday School, we may even read our Bibles daily, but how many people tell others about Jesus?

That’s the real question we should be focused on answering today. How better and more often can we tell people about Jesus?

Survey says…you make the call – tell others about Jesus!

How many of these are true stories?  That’s for you to decide. However, we do have one story from beyond the grave that we can trust: Jesus came back to visit many people following his gruesome crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. He didn’t come back to describe Heaven, or to tell us what to expect when we get there. He came back with a message. As he was visiting the disciples:

Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” – John 20:21

Why is this important? It’s not important because it’s a message from beyond the grave. But it IS important because of who it came from and what it means.

Jesus, THE SON OF GOD, commanded His followers to be like Him. Pure and simple, He showed us how to live, setting the perfect example, and then commanded us to follow in His footsteps.

During Jesus’ life on earth, His mission was to find the lost, tell them the gospel, and disciple them into followers of Christ. That too is OUR MISSION. It’s a message we cannot fail to accomplish. God didn’t put us here on earth just for our own Salvation, but to aid in bringing others to God. Pray to receive a spirit of obedience today, and follow in Jesus’ example of preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth!

I’m NOT saying we shouldn’t rejoice, but le us remember what the Bible says:

“This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24

We should rejoice EVERY day. The Lord has given us one more day to help grow His Kingdom here on earth, we should use that day and be a witness for Him.

I challenge each of us this new year to use EVERY day for Him and help others seek Him.

Remember, Jesus said that:

“I have come that you may have life, and that you may have life more abundantly”. – John 10:10

As I mentioned in the previous blog, making a decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior is VERY important. However, the most important thing you’ll ever do is bigger than that.

You see, making the decision above only affects you. While something that affects more people should obviously be more important. So what can you do that’s more important than your Salvation and affects more people?

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. – Mt. 28:19a-20a

Jesus’ departing words to us was a command to tell people about Him. We are to go into ALL nations and TEACH people about God. When we do, we have accomplished Jesus’ ultimate goal for us – the most important thing we can ever do.

If you’ve been saved – you know how good it feels to know God cares for you. But when you have the opportunity to help someone come to know God, the feeling is indescribable. Knowing that you have personally been able to help lead someone to God is awesome.

By living your life as a witness to others, sharing your faith with them, and helping to disciple them is the most important thing you’ll ever do!

God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

I initially began this blog with the intention of asking people to Stop being ”RELIGIOUS,” and to start living a life that displayed a true personal relationship with Jesus.

I looked up the definition of religion and found:

a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion)

If religion is merely a set of beliefs that “usually” involves devotions and “rituals” then we have totally missed the point! God showed us His love in order that we might show His love. A recent church message board said “Christians should be the windows that the light of Jesus may shine through.”

God’s love was given in order that we might have life. But unfortunately, many of us enjoy that love only on Sunday, and then wake up Monday as if we never knew God. We start our week with the “gloom and doom” Monday morning face and tell everybody at work how we wish it was Friday.

Why not have a change of heart this week and show the love of Jesus! Let His light shine through you. Be positive and let people know how happy you are to know Jesus and share His love with others.    …Sure, it’s Monday, but that gives you 5 days to share His love with your co-workers. Saturday we can rest, and then on Sunday we can re-fill our hearts again. For those who know best, you’ll also get your heart ”topped off” with His love on Wednesday night at church. 

You see, the more heart (love) you give during the week, the more you’ll come back to get.  Share your friendship with Jesus with others around you. There’s plenty of Jesus to go around!

Stop being religious, and start showing His love. God never says that X or Y religion can save you, but He does mention how Jesus can save you!

Mark 16:15 repeats this “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’”

Yet, how many of us do this? Well, I’m happy to say that Sunday night, 4 students took some steps forward to do this. I was honored, and I’m sure God was too, when some students came forth and gave their testimony during church.

Public speaking is probably one of the hardest things to do, next to witnessing to someone. And this weekend gave me great hope in the youth of our generation as they came forward not only to speak, but to speak about God. They are taking the first steps toward speaking out TRUTH in our nation. 

In the news today, there are so many anti-Christian remarks and rulings that makes me wonder what happened to the country our forefathers established in America. What happened to our Freedom of Religion? Or Freedom of speech?

Just today in the news is an “outrage” concerning a Penn State T-shirt that may resemble a cross design on the front (see http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569665,00.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r5:c0.076740:b28529225:z10 for the story).

“It’s just sad to see that in this day and age, the most offensive thing on a shirt can be what people see as a religious symbol,” said Stephanie Bennis, a senior at the school who designed the shirt.

Think about this:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Well, there it is in black and white. We want to secure the blessings of liberty! It was said a long time ago, I just wish it was still true. So, how do we continue to secure these blessings? By speaking out to the government. I think too many times that we Christians sit down and are quiet because we fear it is wrong if we cause an “uprising” to support our cause. Well, every other non-Christian group is speaking out, so it is now our turn to speak out.

Go and Tell! Tell the world (and our nation) that we believe in God and that we want our religious freedom back. We want our liberty! Without liberty, democracy is in jeopardy. Without democracy, our government may become communist or a dictatorship!