Good men’s prayer once again.
I Believe So I Stand!
Oct 24
I was preparing for our Praise Team practice tonight, and was swept into the presence of God in total abandon. I was listening, playing, and singing this song called The Stand from Hillsong, and I was overwhelmed with God's Word, God's Love, God's Providence, God's Holiness, need I go any further. I was reminded of when I first heard the good news of Jesus Christ and totally understood it. I was at Bayonne First Assembly of God, and I was in the basement of the 15th Street church in one of the small rooms with an accordian door. I was about 5 to 6 years old, and I was sitting in class, scared to death of everyone.
My mom and dad just decided that it was time to go to church and teach their kids about God. Man, am I glad Mom and Dad decided to walk with God that one day, because I would have been so lost without the admonition and training of the Lord my parents gave me. Back to the story… I was sitting somewhere on the lefthand side towards the back and was nervous, and the thought of this God was too much for my little brain. Then came snack time, and if anyone knows anything about me and food… well I never skip a meal (except for fasting of course). They were handing out juice and saltine crackers, and then they were about to get to me, my stomach churning, I was going to actually eat in Sunday School. The helper stuck her hand in the box and… crumbs, no crackers. Boy, the tears welled up, but I held it together and tried not to cry.
I remember the feeling of being lonely, and sticking out like a sore thumb, the curly haired dork with no crackers! Then our teacher said we should pray for God to multiply the crackers just like in the story of the fishes and loaves we just learned. Oh Boy! I clenched my eyes shut so hard, and I agreed in prayer with the teacher who seemed to pray for a very long time. When our teacher told us to open our eyes, the most glorious thing was in front of me… more crackers. I felt like little David who took down the Giant! Of course as an adult I realize that either someone ran to the corner store or a closet somewhere since God would probably not have bothered with brand new packaging. That day I believed! I believed God could do anything!
Here many of us may stand today in the trials of life, some of us wavering in our faith or even walking away from God. We have tried everything, everything except waiting on God. We can become so impatient with God's timing, and compromise our very souls becuase we think we figured it out. When I came running back to God in 1999, I was not so arrogant to think I had it figured out, I knew better. I was taught by my parents, Sunday School, youth pastor, evangelists, and our senior pastor what it meant to walk with God, and so I had all the head knowledge… enough to stump Christians who would try to get me to go to church while I was in the military. No, my blockade was I felt I went too far… God could not forgive my worthless soul, who tasted the things of God, but like the Prodigal Son decided to go my way anyway.
I was still in the military and I started going to church and helping the youth group with games and media stuff. I was signed up to go to this youth camp with the kids. What was I thinking! It was at that camp that I ran to the altar and committed myself to Christ, it was so real, so authentic! I needed Jesus, I did not care what other people thought, or how it would effect realtionships… I WAS SAVED! I broke off friendships that took me down, I stopped drinking alcohol completely, I stopped cursing, and I stopped running!
So today I stand, not because I can, but I stand because He died for me. I stand in awe of God! When we take the time to talk out and remember all that God has done in our lives and those around us, we can stand and see the God of this Universe is active in our very history. What will your history book say? You see God wants all of us, and when we compromise we rob ourselves of the grace available to us. God will use people to minister to you, but He will often use you to make an impact on others. My youth pastor probably prayed for me and wondered if I would ever turn to God, if he ever made an impact on my life. I know as a youth pastor I have felt that way sometimes, and it seems you are just treading water. My youth pastor made an impact greater than he knew then, and his wife who prayed for crackers that morning helped propel a skinny, awkward, curly haired boy in to a life of faith that will last for all eternity!
God loves you so much, and His grace and mercy extend beyond your sin! Repent, Believe and Stand!
When we read this parable of the marriage feast, it is very similar to Luke 14. This is indeed a different parable though, and we are compelled by Jesus to pay close attention. Jesus just told the parable of the landowner in the previous chapter, the Pharisees already hyper-sensetive to the fact that Jesus was talking about them. This parable was not just talking about the Pharisees and religious elite, this parable entails the purpose of our lives.
Parable Breakdown
· The King – God the Father
· The Son – Jesus Christ
· The Marriage – Jesus taking on human form to save us
· The Marriage Feast – the death and resurrection of Christ
· The Servants – prophets, apostles, teachers of the gospel though some scholars attribute the Holy Spirit to this mention
· First Invite – The Old Testament Prophecies and Covenant
· Second Invite – The apostles preaching the gospel in Jerusalem
· Third Invite – Gospel to the gentiles
This parable was not some illustration of a principle that Jesus was trying to make, but rather a historical and prophetic picture of the kingdom of God. For example, the treatment of the second invitation servants foretells of the coming persecution of the early Christian church. The fact that the king in verse 7 burns and destroys the city of these invitees has a strong prophetic voice towards the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The third invite, being for the gentiles, is a prophecy concerning the gospel being preached beyond the Jewish people once Christ ascended and the Day of Pentecost arrived.
What we may often miss in this parable is not the fact that a man was not wearing a robe once the king came to see the guests, but rather the fact that only the king could tell he was not wearing the proper attire. The King of kings exposes all insincerity! We may think we have fooled everyone into believing we are truly Jesus followers, but if we are not genuine we may find ourselves in a Matthew 7:21-23 situation. As I was preparing a message to our youth group on this very parable I was compelled to do some searching of my own motives and heart.
Obviously the grace and mercy of Christ is available to all who seek Him, but we must always be careful to take lightly the grace of God. Last night I spoke of the grey areas of life such as alcohol, clothing, entertainment, and relationships. I challenged each young person to know so well teh conviction of the Holy Spirit that those grey areas become black and white for them. The Apostle Paul in Romans 14 tells us that we can eat or drink anything, but it must be done in faith as the last verse tells us. Can some the activities we partcipate in truly be done in faith!
Why did the subject of the grey areas of life come out of this parable? As I was studying the parable and the cultural context, I realized this man who was found ill-equipped was offered the right robe. He most likely even put it on as no guest without the right robe would have gone unnoticed, and perhaps he hemmed it, or died the fabric slightly, or ripped it. We often do this with the Word of God, we take a doctrine or solid foundation and we lighten it up. We do the God-thing our own way, and we lift the boundaries we should have on modesty, entertainment, and relationships. We start to build ministries, churches, and movements off of the false sense of freedom we get out of our own desires. May we be like King David who cried out for God to search him… search us O God, know our innermost thoughts, find all that is unpleasing and out of your will!
Tonight I teach on the marriage feast (matt 22). Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter in.
Calling it a day
Oct 19
Calling it a day
I am currently teaching a series to the youth in our church called "Simple Truths". I am putting together this series based on my teachings of all of Jesus’ parables, and I am having a great time studying and making these teachings applicable to young people.
Tonight I will be sharing about the parable of the Lost Coin and the Lost Sheep from Luke 15:4-10. It stands to reason that a shepherd in biblical times was often a disliked, if not abhored individual to the upper class folks. A shepherd was considered one who could not be easily trusted, and their testimony was often disregarded in Middle Eastern court proceedings. So why did Jesus choose such a profession to illustrate the great love God has for His children?
Well, let’s first consider that Jesus was also called the Lamb of God, and the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. I believe that the shepherd was often misunderstood in their own culture, and with every profession comes the few who ruin it for the bunch. Most of the reputation that shepherds possessed came from a simple class issue, they were often poor. Much like Christ was born in the poorest of conditions, so the illustration proves that godliness and God’s character have nothing to do with wealth.
If we, like sheep, go astray (Isaiah 53:6) from our relationship with the Good Shepherd we are choosing to abandon what is good. Just like a sheep, we will face dangers that would have better odds had we stayed in the shepherds protection. Wolves, snakes, and thieves perhaps would stalk the lost sheep, waiting for a moment to pounce on the solitary animal. When we decide to walk away from God, we face dangers that we are not prepared for. The great news is our Shepherd is always there to rescue us, if we just call out to him.
The shepherd will leave the 99 to rescue the one sheep who needs him. What we must realize in this passage is the job of a shepherd. When a shepherd must leave the herd to find the one who has gone off, he will often find the sheep and break it’s legs. Seems cruel, but sheep are dumb-minded and need a painful marker that reminds them not to walk off like that again. We should not despise the chastisement of the Lord, and when we walk away or choose to not follow God the time will come when we will call out to Him. When we do, God will humble us, bring us back and start a fresh work in our hearts. A new spiritually painful marker is set for us to never forget how good God is, and how much we need him.
The closing of each of these parables tells us that heaven rejoices when the precious lamb or the priceless coin of the woman is found. Even though we may go through a painful circumstance or living out a sinful direction for our lives… God is merciful! When we feel most broken before God, heaven rejoices.
A picture forus if I may… While we run to our own wisdom, addictions, and sinful desires that lead us away from God, Jesus ran to the cross and took it all on his own body, mind, and spirit. While were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8), and if we are Christians who decide to compromise our relationship because of selfish desires we are crucifying Jesus all over again (Hebrews 6:6).
Tears flow down my face as I recall what Christ did for me and you, and may we all choose to be in the protection of the Good Shepherd!
I know it to be true that when I bought a tow rope from Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago, that the rope was rated to tow a small vehicle at slow speeds. Having this knowledge alone did not convince me of it’s safety or abilities to perform the tow I needed done. It was when I strapped the two cars together, and began towing the small car that the combination of the tow rope’s advertisement, the common knowledge that people have done this before, and that I got the car safely towed to it’s destination that I believed in the product and gave it a permanent place in my trunk.
C.S. Lewis mentions that a person can easily believe that a rope is strong enough to hold together a small box, but ask that same person to trust in the rope while hanging over a cliff… The small box represents reasoning before faith, while the cliff hanger represents faith coming to good reason.
When people who do not believe in God are confronted with good reason, they still have a moral choice to make, one that encapsulates the entailments of living a Christian life. The apostle John writes that the light has come but men continue to love darkness instead of light because of their evil deeds. Though many call upon philosophy (the science) as their reason for unbelief, the very fact that we are all sinners darkens our minds, and anything short of the Holy Spirit’s intervention and conviction keeps the mind darkened.
I am one who has a cohesive belief that starts with faith and comes to reason. Christianity is a reasonable faith!
Some authors I recommend:
Ravi Zacharias
Paul E. Little
New Website Release: AVCS
Sep 26
I have released a website that I developed for Antelope Valley Christian School this week, as I was contracted for re-design to make the school more appeasing to the internet masses, while equipping the school with greater online tools.
Check it out : http://www.avcs.edu
Dallas Tea Party Gallery
Sep 25
%wppa%
Earlier last week I posted regarding a frustration with Empire Gold Buyers and how we felt my sister was getting the run around.
Suffice it to say, Empire Gold Buyers actually came through, and gave my sister exactly what she requested. I also received a call from a gentlemen there and he was was cordial to explain the process upon reading my post via google. My apologies to Empire Gold Buyers, and I have since removed the post!
I retract my statement regarding Empire Gold Buyers being a possible fraud scheme, and actually I am pleased at their follow-through, reputation, and would recommend them to anyone. As a side note though, I was told that no matter what your retail price of a diamond that buyers market/dealers only value it at about 25% of the retail price.
So my advice is, if you need the cash turn in your rings or jewelry to Empire Gold Buyers, but do not expect more 30% of your original retail price.
