Everything We Need....Unleashing the Power! 2...Revisited!

My apologies for yesterdays literary/technical fiasco. I have no real clue as to exactly how things were published like they were, so I will retype and republish yesterdays blog....with a few additions.. It has been one of those types of weeks.... you know what I mean don't you...

Well, I hope you spent some time thinking on the truth we covered yesterday. To understand that God has provided all we need to live a godly life and even has given us the power to do so, is AWESOME! Jesus said it in John 10:10... "I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly." God's purpose to both reconcile sinful man (and woman, I am an equal opportunity kinda guy for you ladies) to Himself and then give them the power/ability to find life...true life, which HE called abundant life.

That statement alone stirs me. The CREATOR of the Universe, the Earth, the Animal Kingdom, Plant Life, Humanity and even life itself says.. HE has come so we MIGHT have .... LIFE, and have it MORE ABUNDANTLY. This would be defined as life outside of the realm of our own abilities, desires and understanding. We often believe that God simply uses the gifts that we already possess and talents we already exercise to glorify HIMSELF... but not entirely so dear believer. If godliness were attainable by HUMAN effort or work, then we would already be there... but it is NOT. True godliness equals true life. An interesting study....

Our treasure today continues to be found in 2 Peter 1....Read verses 3-11 again as we focus a bit on this passage...

Now lets highlight verse 4...

...and because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.

Two key phrases that mark the beauty of this passage... vs. 3 GOD has given us... and again in vs 4...he has given us great and precious promises. Here the wonder of God's grace is revealed.... He has given us all we need to live a godly life and HE has given us promises that enable us to share in His divine nature and which will then lead us to escape the world's corruption...

He has given us His goal (godliness or godly life) and the means (power/ability) to get there. It is His promises that are the means of His getting us to His goal. Scripture, God's written revelation to us, IS His instruction book in greater measure than we could ever imagine. It is there He introduces us to HIMSELF. Who HE is. What HE plans. How HE works and so on...

It is estimated that there are some 10,000 promises in God's word. He acts in accordance to it. So for us to attain godliness (His goal), we will only do so as HE reveals Himself, and His ways to us and then performs His work in us! Each and every situation in life (our life) is brought to Him and filtered through His word. We submit these situations to HIS plans and purposes by engaging HIM in all of them.

Bible reading and prayer is key to engaging HIM in every area of life. Acknowledge His plan and purpose in every area of your life. It is freeing to do so. I know from personal experience in life. May I share a bit of our personal life with you? Here it is.....depression, job loss, cancer, fire in family business, business failure, foreclosure, long and deep financial difficulties, sickness, and sudden death and these are all that came to my mind.

This is the record of our life in the past 25 years. Sounds like fun doesn't it. How can this be abundant life??? You may ask that questions legitimately, and I will tell you that if you look only at the circumstances you will not see nor understand it. But look past the big C and understand that my precious wife and I both surrendered our lives to HIM decades ago. So each circumstance was and is under HIS control. We stayed in His word and lived each day in HIS presence. HE gave us the power to get through it. Our lives have been humanly tough but spiritually blessed. We are sooo blessed!!!

I must say that HE does give us life and give it to us more abundantly. In our passage we have learned the goal, as well as the power to attain the goal so what is left? Well , this is where our role comes in... What is our role in the whole scheme of things here? Verses 5-7 holds the answer...

In view of all of this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

I will leave today with us considering the portion of verse 5... Make every effort to respond to God's promises.... Is that true in your life??? Are you (and I for that matter) making EVERY EFFORT in our relationship with God? Is our relationship with HIM the MOST IMPORTANT relationship we have? Is HE above all people and things in our lives? Are we giving HIM the time each and every day that is necessary for us to adequately engage our hearts to HIS? How about our attitudes and actions to HIS plans for us? For the vast majority of American Christians, our relationship with HIM pales in comparison to our own agenda, our families, our jobs or our fleshly desires. We will never know the beauty of Abundant Life without Loving Him with ALL our heart. HE IS OUR PRIORITY!!!!

If we want to unleash the power of the Supreme God in our lives we must come to HIM, His way and using HIS method. It is not 92% HIS way and 8% ours but 100% HIS way! HE IS GOD! Have you forgotten??? HE is the Absolute Authority in Life as HE is Life. Is that proven out by your life? He has so much planned and purposed for us, yet so often we don't even scratch the surface. Saturate your heart and mind in HIM today. Don't just do it for one day or two, May this become your life's goal, to have and enjoy the godly life HE has planned. Let nothing and no one keep you from lining up at the table of God's provision. Life is at stake. Yours, mine and other's lives. Anything other than a life lived in harmony with HIM and in love with HIM is a powerless example of Christianity and a public tragedy.

He has provided all we need! It is Done! Believe it! Receive it! Act on it! Read His promises, claim them as your own, base your life on what HE has said....

You'll be glad you did!

Blessings

Bruce

Everything We Need....Unleashing the Power! 2

Well I hope you spent some time thinking on the truth we covered yesterday. To understand that God has provided all we need to live a godly life and even gave us the power to do so is AWESOME! Jesus said in John 10..."I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly." God's purpose to both reconcile sinful man (or woman...I am an equal opportunity kinda guy for you ladies) to HIMSELF and then give them to power/ability to find life....true life which HE called abundant life. That statement alone stirs me. The Creator of the Universe, the Earth, the Animal Kingdom, Plant life, Humanity and even life itself says HE has come so we MIGHT have.....Life, More Abundant life. This would be defined as life outside of the realm of our own abilities, desires and understanding. We often believe that God simply uses the gifts we already have and talents we already exercise to glorify Him..... but not entirely so dear believer. If godliness were attainable by Human effort or work then we would already be there.... But it is NOT. True godliness equals true life. An interesting study.... Our treasure today continues to be found in 2 Peter 1.... Read verses 3-11 again as we focus a bit on this passage.... ...And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. vs 4 Two key phrases that mark the beauty of this passage...... vs. 3...God has given us... and again in vs. 4 ...he has given us great and precious promises. Here is the wonder of God's grace revealed....He has given us all we need to live a godly life and He has given us promises that enable us to share in His divine nature and escape the world's corruption.... He has given us His goal (godliness or godly life) and the means (ability/power) to get there. It is His promises that are the means of His getting us to His goal. Scripture, God's written revelation to us, is His instruction book in greater measure than we could ever imagine. It is there HE introduces us to HIM. Who HE is. How HE works. What HE plans and so on. It is estimated that there are some 10,000 promises in God's word. He acts in accordance to it. So for us to attain godliness, we will only do so as HE reveals Himself, and His ways to us and then performs His work in us! So now we have the goal as well as the power to attain the goal so what dynamic is left? Well, this is where we come in.... What is our role in the whole scheme of things here? Verse 5-7 is our answer.... In view of all of this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and with patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. I will leave today with us considering the portion of verse 5.... Make every effort to respond to God's promises...Is that true in your life. Are you (and I for that matter) making EVERY EFFORT in our relationship with God? Is our relationship with HIM THE MOST IMPORTANT relationship we have? Is HE above all people and things in our lives? Are we giving HIM the time each day that is necessary for us to adequately engage our hearts to His? Our attitudes and actions to HIS plans for us? For the vast majority of American Christians our relationship with HIM pales in comparison to our own agenda, our families, our jobs, our fleshly desires. If we want to unleash the power of the Supreme God in our lives we must come to Him, His way and using HIS methodology. It is not 92% HIS and 8% mine but 100% HIS way. HE is God. HE is the Absolute Authority in Life as HE is Life. He has so much planned and purposed for us, His creation, yet so often we don't even scratch the surface. Saturate your heart and mind in HIM and in HIS word. Don't just do it for one day or two. May this become your life's goal, to have and enjoy the godly life HE has planned. Let nothing or no one keep you from lining up at the table of God's provision. Life is at stake. Your's, mine and other's lives. Anything other than a life lived in harmony with HIM, in love with HIM is a powerless example of Christianity and a public tragedy. He has provided all we need! It is done! Believe it! Receive it! Act on it! Read His promises, base your life on what HE has said..... You'll be glad you did! Blessings Bruce

Everything We Need....Unleashing the Power!

Imagine a life without need. Life without hunger. Life without financial burden or even physical handicap. That's hard to do isn't it? Mainly because all around us we see so much of it. We are used to it, as it is everywhere in life. Life as it really is.....tough.

In our spiritual realm, we also find that our understanding and application of truth falls short as well. Take a moment and look in the spiritual mirror for a sec. What do you see? A faithful servant in love with Jesus Christ? A devoted follower of Jesus who loves others as Christ does? One who is reflecting a sacrificial heart in all areas of their life, (time, talent and treasure)?

Honestly, we all struggle with both the understanding and application of truth in life. We desperately need direction and help in fulfilling HIS purpose in our daily life.

Now if you are one of those Sunday only Christians, you are not even in the ball park of what we are studying today. Your relationship with God is being so limited by your limitations (fear, pride, control, etc...) that you can't even imagine what we are going to study today. Our hope is you will find the Christ of the Bible. A true relationship with HIM permeates EVERY area of a life, not just Sunday's.

Our Treasure today is found in 2 Peter 1... Read verses 3-11.... Take time now to do so. .... Now, I personally like the NLT on this one ( wipe that smile off of your face you NLT lovers)... We will start with verse 3...

By HIS divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

There are several things here we need to note as we study this together....

1) We have all we need to live for HIM! Contrary to what some of us believe, His word clearly teaches us that HE has provided all His children need to live a godly life. To be freed from sin, from emotional bondage, from lying thoughts and even guilt of the past. How you may ask can this be? I still struggle so much. I can't seem to get past it. It always seems to win. This leads us to the second truth in this passage...

2) It is by HIS Divine Enablement or Power!!! This answer is found in the first 4 words. "By HIS divine power." We are able to rise above the power of sin. My beloved friends, "No, despite all these things (the test and trials of life, sin struggles.etc) overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." Romans 8:37

We have all we need. That's what He said. So if there were no Christian book stores, internet blog sites, facebooks, emails, even churches...could you make it? According to God's precious word, ABSOLUTELY! He has given us all we will ever need the moment we trusted Him to save us. Think on that a bit. All we need. No Lack! No Deficiency! No shortfall! (I wish congress would get this!) All we need, we already possess.

For me however, as I encounter believers everywhere, why is it that we continue to look for and want more. Many believing that we somehow lack all we need. I believe this is due to either a lack of biblical understanding or lack of proper application. Both can be due to satan's deception. No matter the root cause we have a serious conflict. GOD'S WORD SAYS.....WE HAVE ALL WE NEED!

Do you believe that? You need to consider this powerful truth as this is foundational to your victory. If you do then we can go on and learn the process of application. If not then we can't go any further. You are stuck in a pseudo rut!

Kind of like you coming home from work and your spouse is cooking a meal for you guys to enjoy together. The pot is on the stove, the food is in the pot. Salt, pepper and butter has been added. Your spouse looks at you and says....I don't know what is wrong but this is not getting hot and cooking as it should. The butter isn't even melting. You check and it is plugged in to the power source, you check your breakers and they are all in the on position. You know that power is at the house cause the kitchen lights are on..... MMMMM, you look and what do you see.....she hasn't turned the knob on the stove to the on position. All the power she would have ever needed was right there to accomplish her task but to no avail.... she hadn't availed herself of that power!!! Many Christians are just like that! Living day by day in cold, lifeless drudgery, all because they have not "turned on" the power.

You are stuck in UNBELIEF. This is deadly to your walk of faith. You must decide whom or what you are going to believe. Self (or satan as he is the author of unbelief) or God and His word! This fundamental ( I love that word as it makes many squirm, but it is GOOD) is necessary to a strong Christian life. You must own it and it must own you. YOU HAVE ALL YOU NEED! NOW! Not later! But NOW!!!

Spend time today meditating on this wonderful truth. Spend some time in prayer, thanking God for His provision for you daily walk, your daily victory. As we study this passage in coming days, we will see how HE plans to UNLEASH HIS POWER in US! But we must first believe that HE has given all we need.

Do YOU Believe???

You'll be glad you do!!!

Blessings

Bruce

The Blessings of Following God's Truths...

Well, we've reached the conclusion of this passage today. For the past several days we have been carefully and simplistically examining principles that would bless our lives. These truths were tucked in neatly in Deuteronomy 17 where God was giving instructions for future Kings of Israel. Today we will look at what the blessings are from application of and obedience to these beautiful truths.

If I were to ask you what does it mean when we say blessings of the Lord, what would you say? Some would say O that we would have good health. Others may say financial security and still others happiness in life. But is that what God considers His blessing? We may be a bit surprised by what HE promises to those Kings who follow His truths in life.... I believe these will reveal a bit of what true blessing is.... Let's read our passage again...

When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way....vs. 18-20a

There are four things that show us the blessing of the Lord....

1) He would properly relate to the LORD his God....
2) He would be prevented from becoming proud in his heart before God...
3) He would be protected from acting as if he were above his fellow Israelites....
4) He would be preserved from turning away from God's truths, even in the most minute way...

Wow! What a list of blessings. Is that what you see? Do you see what a blessing is, in the eyes of the Lord? Let's reflect a bit on what God has just told him ( the king) and us by principle....

1) He would learn to properly relate with God. The term HE uses is fear. Now most of us fail to catch what this means since we live in the age of grace and mercy, but to the OT saint they understood the Holiness, Righteousness and Justice of God. They grasped that HE was AWESOME, AUTHORITATIVE and ABOVE ALL! We often times fail to meet God at that level. We have lowered HIM (in our minds and hearts only) by our carnal view of HIM and not a scriptural one! To properly related we must understand that HE is God and we are NOT. Now for some of us that is the rub.... We do not like the fact that HE rules and reigns, and yes, even today!!!! Spending daily time in His word and with Him will help us beat back the deception of our own worthiness and elevate HIM in our hearts to HIS proper position as God and King and Lord and Savior....

2) He would learn by constant, daily communion with Him in His word that God is God. This truth in itself will keep us from pride. We must exchange our Self centered thinking with TRUTH thinking. (Romans 12:1-2) That will only happen as HE works in us via His word and HIS Spirit on a continual basis. We must GET the fact that our old nature desires to rule us as it has in times past but the Holy Spirit coupled with HIS Truth pulls us the opposite direction. (Gal 5:17) God hates the proud heart before Him. It represents the epitome of the Carnal Nature. HE even says that pride goes before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction. (Pro 16:18) So when we apply HIS principles to our lives and attitudes we will come before His throne with a humble, meek and submissive spirit. He delights in that spirit.. (See the Beatitudes in Matt 5)

3)He would also rightly relate with his fellow Israelites. This too is important to our Great God. His children are HIS possession. For a King to in any way think he is ABOVE one of his fellowmen is sin. God calls him to lead and serve his fellow countrymen. In the church today that same principle is true. Look into 1 John and read all the references to loving your brother in the Lord. God often says that to hate one's fellow christian is to deny the reality of their own personal salvation. Think on that a bit. To love is to prove the reality of their own salvation. That tells me that His Spirit is the one that brings this to pass in us as we yield to Him and His word. This is powerful....we will rightly relate when we spend honest and priority time with HIM in HIS word.

4)He also would be doing all within his own power to maintain his own personal relationship and standing before God. He would be kept from error and deception by His time with God and in His word. How many problems would be prevented if we would have only stayed near and dear to Him in the Word. Families, Marriages, purity and power are all at stake....

So are you enjoying the blessing of the Lord in your life? It isn't because He hasn't done all that is necessary for us. WE are the one's who walk away and even run at times. So spend some time today with HIM. Reflect and rejoice in His provision for you and His plans to bless as we draw near to HIM.....

Then you may realize the BLESSING OF THE KINGS.... in your personal life....

You'll be glad you did...
Bruce

Principles to Bless Your Life... part 3

Well here we are again. I trust you are enjoying a blessed day in fellowship with our great God. He so longs for His children to spend time in His presence, so in the midst of your busyness and clutter be sure to prioritize your relationship with Him. Today's treasure is a continuation of the past few Blogs regarding applying principles from Deuteronomy 17 to our personal lives and seeing the blessing and benefits in our personal lives. Read the passage again with me....

When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way....vs. 18-20a

Now remember, the future Kings of Israel had to 1) Copy the instructions personally and do so in public.. and 2) He also had to keep a copy of those instructions with him at all times... (memorize for us) and then today's treasure from the word of God is....

3) Read it daily, as long as he lives..... Wow, think about that. Once entering the office of King, taking this powerful position as leader of God's nation, he was expected to read his (God's) personal instructions daily. Don't we all pray that our leaders in our great country would learn this tremendous principle.

For our application it certainly shows us the blessing of reading God's word each and every day. If God instructs his Kings to do so how much more blessed will His children be if we do the same. In fact, I was just encouraging one of HIS children this morning to fill his tank (heart and mind) with the word of God more than ever before. He then testified to me that he was already doing that this year and shared a personal scriptural testimony of what God had blessed him with as he read God's word.

Is reading God's word a priority to you? Yes you say! Then how often are you reading? Now I am not counting devotionals as reading God's word. They are indeed a blessing but are not a substitute for us (His children) being still before Him and reading His precious word...

So let me encourage you to make it a daily priority and practice to read from the book of ages, each and every day! We will study the benefits on the morrow. Then, once you have done so, you will begin to see how HE uses this daily practice to bless us and benefit others.....

You'll be glad you did!

Blessings

Bruce

Principles to Bless Your Life part 2

Today's treasure if found in Deuteronomy 17...read it with me,....

When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way....vs. 18-20a

Let me remind you of the context of our passage.... This portion is the record of what God was instructing Israel was necessary for them to enjoy Kingdom living with HIM. The specific passage we are studying is HIS instructions for the future Kings of Israel.... The first principle we have seen is that he was required to copy the God's instructions for himself by himself under the observation of the Levites. This meant he (the King) would do so privately and publicly. This provided his personal involvement and public accountability to God and the children of Israel. This is much like the beauty of the church. It is both a private and public commitment to God. Many today want some sort of detached relationship with both God and His church but this is not scriptural. We saw that last week. Now today's principle is....

2) God's instructions were to be with him at all times. MMMM, interesting isn't it. God knew that the Kings would be subject to their own natures and the persuasion of others so HE instructed that they ALWAYS keep a copy of HIS words with them.

Think of this, a King, sitting on his throne and a situation comes up that he does't know what to do. He reaches into his Robe pocket and pulls out a copy (handwritten by himself) of the word of God to seek wisdom and direction. How powerful would that be!!!

How about if our President would do the same! Wouldn't that be incredible? It sure would. Seeing the one holding the highest position in the land turning to God and His word for wisdom and direction. That would be refreshing and may I add, safe. O that those in authority over us today would heed these instructions.

But on to us...How can we keep a copy with us now, today. Well, we have more copies of the word of God than any other people group in human history. And yet we know so very little. This is a tragedy beyond measure. Too much has brought us to too little. One thing I often recommend is that we set ourselves on a regular reading of God's word. Daily is best and beneficial to us all. But I also recommend that we memorize His word. Hide it in our hearts is what the Psalmist calls it.

Psalm 19:11...I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

I once had a senior citizen from another church try and tell me that our children's ministry of teaching our kids to memorize God's word was not right nor good. It was this very passage that I used to enlighten him regarding the beauty of memorization and to rebuke this lying deception of satan in him. To hide God's word in us that HE might guide us and instruct us and protect us. It is a great principle for us all.

So are you memorizing God's word. Are you preparing yourself to keep a copy of His word with you at all times. What will others think?? Who cares what others think... what we should be saying is... what will God think?? So put yourself on a regular schedule of learning and memorizing His treasure...

Try one verse per month. Once that is achieved then go to one every two weeks. Before you know it you will see the benefits. God will bring it up and out just when we or others need it the most.

Where do I start you may ask. Start in your daily reading. When you find a verse that speaks to your heart. Underline it, write it down and write it out. Purpose to memorize it before the month is out. Go over it often throughout the day and before you know it.... you will be finding the blessing of Kings of years past and of saints of today....

God loves you and wants us to know His plans and purposes. This will bring us to rightly relate with HIM and others....

Apply this principle in your life today...

You'll be glad you did!
Blessings'

Bruce

Principles to Bless Your Life

In today's society where we are seeking to better, enhance, educate, enable and improve ourselves, why is it that so few think of applying that mindset to our spiritual walk? Many times we relegate our "spirituality" to only on Sundays or when we are at Church. This is far from Truth....We should seek to grow and place ourselves in position to see God work in mighty ways in us. What are some ways to do that....

Today's treasure was found in Deuteronomy 17 in a passage where God is giving out HIS instructions to the children of Israel for kingdom living. He came to a portion where HE gives them specific guidelines for a king. It is in this portion of scripture we find today's nugget.... (I like treasure hunting don't you???) Here are some of HIS instructions for the future kings of Israel...

When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way....vs. 18-20a

Do you see the beauty of this passage? It is filled with powerful truths and principles that will bless the king and all the people of Israel if applied. I also believe that there are great principles to bless you and I if we apply these we will see that come to pass.

Notice the first portion....

1) He had to copy the instructions personally and publicly. This accomplishes several things. This assured the accuracy of his instructions. It also held him accountable to a higher authority. It was not done in secret but was a public profession of his willingness to abide by God's standards and instruction for himself and all the children of Israel.

I believe that just as God gave a standard for the children of Israel, He also gives us a standard of instructions for the church and Christian. Of course, it is the Bible. As many of you know, we are seeing phenomenal growth at our church, with people being saved and families coming to join the fellowship of believers. One of the important things we do is ask folks to read our church constitution, by-laws and doctrinal statement. They must do this personally and then when they desire to join, they will do so publicly, acknowledging their agreement with and to what we have agreed is HIS instruction for us all to follow. We also give them a questionnaire they must fill out and sign stating their agreement with us also. If they will not then they are not afforded the privilege and responsibility of yoking with us. This protects the church and encourages commitment.

When you join the church fellowship, it means we all have agreed to yoke together under the authority of Christ and His word (as our Constitution, by-laws and Doctrinal Statement comes from there). It also means we have agreed to be under the authority of His leadership as that is His prescribed method. Our public profession at the joining of the fellowship is our statement of agreement with and submission to HIS plan for us, as leaders and believers in the church.

What I am finding today is there are many who want the blessing of the fellowship but without the commitment to and accountability of the church community. This is not good but most importantly....Not Scriptural. God expects us to be under the authority of HIS word and His church. This is not popular today in our independent, self centered, selfish culture....but never the less it is still right. Lack of commitment is lack of obedience no matter which way you look at it. Lack of obedience is lack of surrender to HIS will and plan for your lives.

Our first principle to bless our lives is are we committing ourselves to and surrendering to His plan for us as a body of believers. If not, before anything else, examine why you are NOT committed. What is holding you back? What is your excuse? You can blame it on many people, places and things but sadly we need only look in the mirror to see the root of the problem. Confess the sin as it is..... the commit yourselves whole heartily to HIS plan IN HIS church.......

Part 2 tomorrow...

You'll be glad you did!!

Pastor Bruce

Weight loss can help us grow spiritually???!!!

Morning Everyone.....I trust that this day finds you busily about the Father's business. On one of my journey's this week I was challenged by a business sign that I noticed. And the more I thought upon it the more I realized it's significance... The sign was actually above a weight loss & work out center. As I thought about it I saw that if we simply follow the same plan for weight loss in our spiritual life we will also not only lose weight but also grow spiritually. "What's the name of the sign" you say..... well the sign read,...FOCUS...

To lose weight and get in shape physically it really takes focus in life. You cannot lose weight without that being your daily, moment by moment focus. Every meal, every activity, every snack is determined by the FOCUS on losing weight... Practice this and you will lose weight, don't and you will simply play at it with very limited results....

The same is true in our spiritual walk. Play at it and see very limited results if any at all. But FOCUS your mind and heart on growing spiritually and you will!!!

Proverbs 23:7 says... as a man thinks in his heart so is he.

The word "thinks" in the Hebrew means "estimates, or considers" Teaching us that what we consider, estimate or FOCUS on is what we do or accomplish. As I reflected on the FOCUS involved in growing spiritually, I thought how many of us really plan to grow. Because it is termed spiritual, we think that it is all GOD's responsibility. We fail to grasp that we must be intentional in our walk with Christ.

We teach and have for several years Dave Ramsey's course "Financial Peace University" at our church. I highly recommend it to everyone who hasn't been though it. But one of the principles he teaches is that we be intentional in our financial life. IN Our savings, our spending and our planning. This is also true in our walk with Christ. Be Intentional. Be Focused.

How focused are you in your walk? How intentional are you in your actions? What changes have you made? What plans have you made and goals have you set??? None? Few? Well sadly, you are a normal American Christian. But let's understand this..... being normal is NOT good!! We need a moving of God in our midst like we've never seen. It will not happen if we are normal or typical?

So what is really wrong? Why aren't we focused on our spiritual growth? I believe it is because we are satisfied! Content with things as they are. A good word here would be comfortable..... Comfortable is good in many areas of life but in regards to our spiritual walk.... It is not good!

Have you ever ran a race or joined in a walk for some event or charity. I ran (I use that term run loosely) in a 5k at Mountain Heritage Day in Cullowhee, NC. I had planned, prepared as best I could and when the day came, I ran and finished my course. My focus throughout was to FINISH the race. To make it to the finish line. Which I did by the grace of God.... You know big men aren't designed to run for longer distances! So it was by HIS grace I did!!! I crossed the finish line and celebrated along with many others.

For a growing Christian....where is the finish line???? Is it being saved? Is it being baptized? Is it joining and serving in a local church ( a great thing)??? Is it reading the Bible through? All of these are great ideas and we should do them but NO they are not the finish line...... HEAVEN is the finish line for true believers. Only when we cross over have we completed the race..... How should we run our race???

Philippians 3:14... I press toward the goal....

The Greek word for PRESS means to pursue like we were chasing someone on foot. Imagine you and your family are out on a family getaway having a picnic. All your family is there including the smallest member of your family. In my case it would be Hadassah, my 3 month old granddaughter. Imagine that while we were enjoying our family time that a stranger ran up and grabbed her and ran off into the woods. What would be my response? I would run as fast, as hard, as determined as I could to catch them. I would not be deterred by anything trivial. I would not quit, give up or cease until I found her and dealt with him. My goal would be to catch and rescue my precious granddaughter. How hard I would pursue them is exactly the word God uses to describe how we should press toward the goal of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Is that how you are pursuing Him in your spiritual walk? With all your heart, soul, mind and strength? I think not! Most of us have room to improve in this area. With so much to distract us and keep us from focusing on our spiritual walk and growth, we so easily lose our focus!!!

The first step (the rest will follow in future blog's) is to admit that you haven't arrived at the goal or finish line yet! Confess your complacency, satisfaction, contentment, laziness or whatever you choose to call it. Recognizing the need is the first step to finding the right FOCUS!!!! Spend some quality time allowing God to bring to mind each and every area where you have lost your focus. It could infect your family, marriage, finance and many others areas of life! Confess each one as the sin that they are! Prepare to make changes..... Follow through!!!!

You'll be glad you did!

Blessings

Bruce

The Benefits of Worship

In a day when so much is competing for our time, I uncovered a beautiful passage that reminds us to choose wisely. It is found in Deuteronomy 12...

...you must seek the LORD your God at the place of worship He himself will choose from among all the tribes-the place where His name will be honored.....There you and your families will feast in the presence of the LORD your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the LORD your God has blessed you... vs. 5 & 7...

The children of Israel are being instructed in what God has planned for them, if they follow His prescribed method of worship. Note a few things from our passage today...

1) God would determine where the people would meet with HIM..They would find the Lord at the place of worship.

2) God was the one who would determine (dictate) where worship would take place.

3) God also would determine what worship would be or accomplish...

If you have any sense of discernment about you, it is clear that God is in charge of worship. HE sets the standard for all of it. Now to be bluntly honest this flies in the face of our God belittling, God trashing culture. We (humans) like to be in charge and to think that we determine all the perimeters of our lives, sadly even in worship....

Having cruised around this old world for some 5 decades now, I certainly have seen some dramatic changes in American Christianity....aka the American Christian. It has been years since our Christian culture has seen the need and even the blessing of faithfulness in worship. We have largely relegated our seasons of gathering to worship to merely 1 hour a week.

This is not only tragic but also a sad testimony to the weakness of our walk and the size of our God. I often call this god the pocket god that is pulled out (much like a credit card) to be called upon only in time of need. We give him 1 hour a week if nothing else is pressing and then "feel" good about ourselves erroneously thinking we have "encountered" him in some meaningful way....

I believe we need to reconsider the truths surrounding worship. A few of them that are nestled in the passage we have here. I often have heard this comment from those who have abandoned corporate worship... "I can worship God anywhere.." While the basic truth of that is accurate, the vast majority of those who hold such a position do NOT worship HIM at all. They think that by staying home and watching a TV preacher or evangelist that this fulfills what God has in store for the gathering of His saints. Now I am not speaking about shut-ins, handicapped or others who have some debilitating disease but healthy individuals and families that work each and every day.

This actually shows an ignorance of the beauty of "fellowship" as God has determined it. This position robs the individual of the sharing and partnership that God desires for His children to enjoy. It is God who has birthed the church into the world and I for one, love the true church. While denomination, factions and sects are man's doings, church is God's. Where two or more are gathered together, HE is in their midst.

HE is the one who determines where He will be worshiped. Another interesting scriptural sideline is found in Romans 12.1-2. Here we learn that worship comes where sacrifice is offered. In Church, He see's our sacrifice of time, talent and treasure as forms of worship. While much is being made of "worship" in music today, the most biblically accurate form is when men and women come together and offer themselves to HIM is loving adoration and worship. What better place to find a place to sacrifice ourselves than at the Church. Brothers and sisters needing us to give lovingly to help them in their journey of faith.

It is precisely here that I believe that the true rub comes. You see, when we limit out worship time to just one hour a week or a service or two we actually limit our exposure to the needs of our church family and the call of our community. This is actually a form of self love. We so plan our lives that instead of each and every day being centered around loving and serving both God and man (not ourselves) we spend our most precious commodity (time) selfishly on ourselves. This is THE indictment on the American christian. SELFISH, SELF DRIVEN, SELF SATISFYING, SELF LOVING...

Two illustrations... I have found that in 20 plus years of pastoring that those who often demand the most time, most often give the least. One family that was a part of our church years ago, I had personally counseled at least 14 members of their family through the years. When the mother was asked to step aside for a season due to unfaithfulness in her position, to allow time for heart healing, the whole family left heading to another church. Instead of submitting to pastoral leadership, which they had agreed to do when they joined our church family, they ran away. ( I have seen this soooo many times) Sadly missing the mark when it comes to true worship. God looks for us to follow HIS prescribed method of worship....

Another time I told a family to wait on God, regarding a specific concern they had voiced with me, they "were not happy" with my response. So they left....running not to the Lord but from Him. Often times using the cover that we are praying what God would have us do.... Yet HIS word is clear, submit yourselves to those in authority over you. (Heb 13.17, 1 Peter 5.1-6) They don't need to pray but to submit to HIS will and plan for their lives.... but....Self love is Deceptive.... True worship in this case would be to trust God by following HIS under-shepherds loving instructions . Relax, wait on HIM. HE can be trusted and will work in ways we cannot imagine. But not so with the selfish Christian.

I love the benefits of true worship.....HIS wording not mine...Our families will be feasting in the presence of the Lord. We will be filled with rejoicing in all that is accomplished because HE is the one who is blessing HIS church.

Where ever self sacrifice is taking place for the glory of God, He is being worshiped. When we sing with hearts surrendered to HIM in celebration of Him, He is worshiped. When we simplistically obey His word and humbly follow the inner promptings of His Spirit (and godly scriptural counsel of His leaders) we are manifesting the heart of worship. Loving Devotion to His Majesty on high....

Rise up O church of God.... surrender your stubborn will to the one who loves you so. Die to your selfishness and let's offer our lives in humble submission to HIM. Then you will find the beauty of His presence. You will be filled with the Joy of heaven and see the phenomenal glory of the LORD!

You'll be glad you did!

Blessings

Bruce