He Is Good

Psalm 64:1

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹ Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

What if I really believed that God cared for me?  It would change everything.

   As Christians, sometimes we get tricked into a false humility that becomes a pity party, as if God did not care about our well-being. The heavy burden that the Pharisees put on those of their day still exists, often in the form of religion.  But here is true religion: it’s knowing God. God did not intend for us to walk through life by ourselves. He is there all the way, with you. The question is do you know Him?

   To know God is to taste and see that He is good.  He is very good!  He is good like the rain is good, like the multi-colored sunset after a rain is good.    1 Peter 5:6 tells us to “humble (ourselves)… under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift (us) up in due time,” but who would want to do that if they did not  believe that God was good?  A mighty hand He has, but a loving one too. God doesn’t just care; he works.  Independence from God is pride.  Carrying your own burdens is not just tiring, but offensive to God. Trust Him! 

There is a lie from Satan that tells us we cannot run to God.  If you knew somebody that could help you to do something you could not, would you ask? Maybe. Only if you thought they would help. God will always help “in due time.” He cares and will lift you up.

Troubles come every day. I’ve got some now as I write this. What will you do with yours? Carry them on your shoulders?  Carry them in your bag?  Or will you throw them to God?  Trust Him with your responsibilities. Trust Him with the things that pressure you and with the people that you love.  He is good and He will not leave you wandering alone.

My Prayer:

God, Sometimes I don’t even know where to begin. Never let me forget that You are for me and not against me.  Make me quick to run to You. Amen.

Jesus Makes Us Overcomers

John 16:33

New International Version (NIV)

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

   We have this idea that if God is with us, He’ll protect us from trouble. He’ll work things out for us. When bad things do happen, we think that God has left us. He’s abandoned us. But this is not true.

   On this dark, sinful planet bad things do happen to all people. Jesus promised us this: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

   Jesus didn’t promise us a easy, carefree life. He didn’t come to make us understand suffering, or even to remove it. He came to fill it with His presence. And that makes all the difference. When you know Jesus is with you, walking with you every step of the way, it makes the difference between despair and hope. 

   There have been times in my life when I felt I was losing everything I value: my marriage, my family, my ministry, my health and my job. Then I would hear Jesus’ voice, not out loud but distinctly in my heart,
“Don’t be afraid. I am here and I can handle it. Trust me.”

   Now looking back, I can honestly say it was good for me to experience suffering and loss. It provided an opportunity to experience God in a very real and practical way. I’m a much richer person. Life has a quality it didn’t have before. I can testify that when you have Christ, no matter what you’re going through, you won’t have to do it alone.

Jesus did not come to help us escape our problems, but to overcome them!

WHERE ARE YOU MEN OF COURAGE?

“There are some men who, regardless 
of the mistakes we’ve made in the past, 
regardless of what our fathers did not do for us, 
will give the strength of our arms and the rest 
of our days to loving God with all that we are and 
to teach our children to do the same—
and whenever possible, to love and mentor 
others who have no father in their lives but who 
desperately need help and direction. 
“And we are inviting any man whose heart
is willing and courageous to join us 
in this resolution.”


I DO solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife,and my children. 
I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.
I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.
 I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength. 
I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.

I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy. 
I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion. 
I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.
I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged. 
I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God. 
I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will. 
I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.


As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.



So where are you, men of courage? Where are you, fathers who fear the Lord? 
It’s time to rise up and answer the call God has given you and say, 
I will! I will! I will!


It's time to start a revolution with this resolution!  More Godly men are needed to stand up for God's Word, and his purpose for men. 
Make this battle cry. Don't accept complacency any longer.  Make God your priority, instead of things on this earth. If Godly men sit down, Satan has men ready to fill your shoes. Let's claim our families, friends, neighborhoods, for the Kingdom of God!

Cornelius

Cornelius was an officer in the Roman army. Both Gentile and bad guy. He ate the wrong food, hung with the wrong crowd, and swore allegiance to Caesar. He didn’t quote the Torah or descend from Abraham. Uncircumcised, unkosher, unclean. Look at him.

Yet look at him again. Closely. He helped needy people and sympathized with Jewish ethics. He was kind and devout. “One who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always” (Acts 10:2 NKJV). Cornelius was even on a first-name basis with an angel. The angel told him to get in touch with Peter, who was staying at a friend’s house thirty miles away in the seaside town of Joppa. Cornelius sent three men to find him.

Peter, meanwhile, was doing his best to pray with a growling stomach. He saw a vision of a sheet that contained enough unkosher food to uncurl the payos of any Hasidic Jew. Peter absolutely and resolutely refused. “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean” (v. 14 NKJV).

But God wasn’t kidding about this. He three-peated the vision, leaving poor Peter in a quandary. Peter was pondering the pigs in the blanket when he heard a knock at the door. At the sound of the knock, he heard the call of God’s Spirit in his heart. “Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them” (vv. 19–20 NKJV).

“Doubting nothing” can also be translated “make no distinction” or “indulge in no prejudice” or “discard all partiality.” This was a huge moment for Peter.

Much to his credit, Peter invited the messengers to spend the night and headed out the next morning to meet Cornelius. When Peter arrived, he confessed how difficult this decision had been. “You know that we Jews are not allowed to have anything to do with other people. But God has shown me that he doesn’t think anyone is unclean or unfit” (v. 28 CEV). Peter told Cornelius about Jesus and the gospel, and before Peter could issue an invitation, the presence of the Spirit was among them, and they were replicating Pentecost—speaking in tongues and glorifying God.

And us? We are still pondering verse 28: “God has shown me that he doesn’t think anyone is unclean or unfit.”

In our lifetimes you and I are going to come across some discarded people. Tossed out. Sometimes tossed out by a church. And we get to choose. Neglect or rescue? Label them or love them? We know Jesus’ choice. Just look at what he did with us. ~ Max Lucado

A BRUTAL BEGINNING

Acts 5:29-32 (New American Standard)

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. 30 "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 

31 "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

32 "And we are witnesses of these things ; and so is the Holy Spirit, whomGod has given to those who obey Him."

Acts 8:1-3 (New American Standard)

1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions ofJudea and Samaria, except the apostles.   2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loudlamentation over him.      3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, anddragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

   We must not forget that the man called Paul, was a vicious christian persecutor.  We must also brace ourselves for some gruesome surprises.  The first portrait of Paul (whom we first meet as Saul of Tarsus) is both brutal and bloody.  If an artist were paint a picture of him, not one of us would want it hung in our living room.  The man looks more like a terrorist than a follower of Judaism.  To our horror, the blood of the first martyr splattered across Saul's clothes while he stood nodding in agreement, an accomplice to a vicious crime.

Throughout our lives we've naturally adopted an Godly mental image of the apostle Paul.  After all, he's the one who gave us both letters to the Corinthians.  He wrote Romans, one of the most important books, of the Christian life.  He wrote that letter to the Galatians telling them, and us about God's grace.  And he wrote many letters to churches from inside prison, full of wisdom, so rich with relevance.  Based on all that, you would think that Paul loved God from birth.  Not even close.

   He hated the name of Jesus. So much so, he became a self-proclaimed,  violent aggressor, persecuting and killing Christians in allegiance to the God of heaven.  Shocking though it may seem, we should never forget the pit from where he came.  The better we understand the darkness of his past, the more you understand his deep gratitude for grace.

   The first portrait of Paul's life found in Holy Scripture is not of a little baby being lovingly cradled in his mother's arms.  Nor does it describe a Jewish boy jumping and running with neighborhood friends through the streets of Tarsus. The original portrait is not even of a young man, aspiring to be a Godly follower.  Those images would only mislead us into thinking he enjoyed a storybook past.  Instead, we first meet him as simply a "young man named Saul," party to Stephen's brutal murder, standing "in hearty agreement with putting him to death".

Acts 7:58

New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Acts 8:1

New International Version (NIV)

 1 And Saul approved of their killing him.The Church Persecuted and Scattered.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

   That's the realistic Saul we need to see in order to truly appreciate the glorious truths of the New Testament letters he wrote. No wonder he later came to be known as the "apostle of grace."  The life of Paul can be a great example of God's grace to us. If God can use someone like this in such a mighty way, why wouldn't God use you?  He has called us all to a grand, Godly purpose.  Will it take a "blinding" act of God to get you to see your purpose in life, or our you a portrait of God's grace working in our lives everyday?  Will you join me in being salt and light to this dark world, or our you betraying the God you claim to love?  God's grace is waiting for you