duh

if only life was this simple. truth is, it could be. you see this label should attached to every baby along with a copy of God's Word before they leave the hospital. that is life's instruction book.

too many times we forget to read the instructions and go off willy-nilly on our own. and we wonder why life is so hard. duh... we forgot to read the instructions!

this is becoming ever more prevelant in my life as I continue to follow my Lord. right now it is in the area of women. true last time I totally messed things up; but I've realized that if God is first BEFORE things start, then I'm headed in the right direction. hence reading the instruction book! I've already decided that should God choose to give me a wife it will only be because she is needed in my ministry and we can perform that ministry more completely together for our Lord. should she not be needed then I am willing to do the minstry alone.

right now, I am testing a certain female that I am interested in at church. the Father, through the Holy Spirit, impressed me to ask her out to soulwinning night... and SHE CAME TO IT. just so you know I'm kinda stoked about it. I will ask her again this Sunday night and it would be nice if she says yes. the Holy Spirit has mentioned to have no expectations just in case she refuses. the Lord MUST be first in this arena should it proceed any farther. if He is not, then any relationship will fail. by placing God first, and reading the instruction manual, it will allow God to have His will in this matter. God must get the glory for my life, including this.

making the grade

I know, I know two posts real close together. all I can say is that God is still on His throne and is blessing. AMEN!

today our church went soulwinning. we call it Sowing & Reaping. it is the perfect title as #1: it is a biblical command and #2: not everyone wants to talk while witnessing. every soulwinning-Reaper needs a silent partner standing there praying. mine is a short-statured, aged man whom I know God loves dearly. he and his wife have been saved longer than I’ve been alive and I’m certain that God has them both in the crevices of His mighty hands. while we walked he mentioned that he didn’t feel up to coming, yet he came anyway. his walk was slower today but he didn’t stop, even when I suggested he should. I know God will bless him, if not here then in Heaven.

last Monday God showed me I was being tested. of course only He knows when it will end. today I read in Deuteronomy 8:2, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”

yes, God is continuing to humble me. He did today. now He is onto proving me. true He knows my heart but He wants me to see what is in my heart. what will stop me from moving forward with Him as the leader? in order to prove something or someone you put them to the test. will they make the grade or will they fail? God is the ultimate teacher and His tests are only for our good (Deut. 6:24).

but how do you pass one of God’s tests? the same way you live for Him. placing all your trust and faith in the one true God. how do I know this? I saw it today in a short-statured, aged man walking along side me while Sowing & Reaping. may I become as faithful in keeping His command. may I make the grade.

the word is resort

Deuteronomy 1:42b, “Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.” this post accompanies combined heartache and joy. the heartache is not even a drop as to what my Lord experienced on the cross.

as previously posted, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I believe God called me to the mission field. along with my salvation, I am certain of the call. this is the 2nd time He has called me to missions with the 1st being at age 15. now here is the heartache. it is NOT for the foreign mission field (although He revealed to me the place I could have served). that I traded in for what the devil had behind door #2. I vividly remember the moment I resorted to that life instead of the one God called me into. a chilling thought.

along with the aforementioned verse, I base this fact on the qualifications given for a pastor in I Timothy 3:1-6. the qualifications of a missionary are the same. the three that disqualify me are thus: not blameless, sexual immorality and the lack of good behavior. my sincerest apologies to my readers.

now here is the joy. what I thought was to foreign missions is actually to the town in which I live. God needs men, and women, to serve Him in the church just as much as on the field. both sets are called to live Godly lives. the things in which God has shown me to increase my faith need to be implemented in every Christian’s life. whether pew or pasture, God does not differ the guidelines to live a holy life.

now I have exuberant joy as this too is the will of God. true it is also a consequence but there are a multitude of those He should have given. thank God for His mercy! thank God I no longer have to resort but instead yield to Him.

hate in the harshest sense

I hate the devil. I hate what he does, what he stands for, how he destroys lives and how he uses the simplest of tricks to accomplish his deeds. I thoroughly hate the devil. it's the only time God will allow you to reference yourself as all other times it must be to Him. yet even then it is He that gives you that hate for the devil.

this past weekend was a milestone in the path of God's direction for my life. I made it public to my parents and church family that I have surrendered to God's calling to the mission field. do I know to where God has called me? the answer is yes... where ever He wants me. right now it's my hometown, the surrounding towns and the state. no place like home. but what many times we fail to realize is we are all called to be missionaries. if to no other place than our own hometown.

that's exactly the same place where the devil wants to stop you. see if he can stop you there then he knows you won't go where God wants you. this is no more evident than in Genesis 25:34 when Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob. and for what, a bowl of beans? no. he sold it to curb an appetite. one that could never be satisfied. and where did it happen? AT HOME! it wasn't at a conference in the next city, it wasn't in the next state and it wasn't in the Bahamas. it was at home. the exact place where the devil knew he could curb his appetite.

God has opened my eyes to see that I have a huge bullseye directly above me with the devil aimed and ready. and he's begun in my own comfort zone. exactly where he knows I can curb my appetite. so how will I make it to where God wants me? by realizing that, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power (II Timothy 1:7)” and relying on that,“Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4). that's why I hate the devil.

my eternal Priest

I am Baptist. like died-in-the-wool, born and raised, till death removes me from this earth Baptist. the main reason I am of the Baptist faith is that it is the only one that I am able with which to align my beliefs. I've tried several evangelical churches but none that stay entirely true to God's word. the topic of today's post is one many have fallen away from.

Hebrews 7:15 & 16 states, “And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” feel free to study this guy Melchisedec, or Melchizedek, as he was the recipient of Abraham's tithes. in Jewish tradition, sins of the people were absolved by the sacrifices made daily by the Levite priests aka commandment from Moses given by God. once Christ died on the cross, those sacrifices became null and void as He paid the once for all sacrifice for our sins. HALLELUJAH! hence He was the priest after the order of Melchisedec and not a Levite.

verse 27 states it quite clear, “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.” because the payment on the cross was the final sacrifice, I no longer have to rely on an earthly priest to absolve my sins through an animal sacrifice. Jesus Christ is the Eternal High Priest so only He can absolve my sins, whether committed already or those to be. this cuts out any earthly priest and any earthly form of sin removal. no human can wash away my sins, see I John 1:7.

I thank God that I can go directly to Him and ask forgiveness for every sin that I commit. trust me, I sin daily and the Holy Spirit convicts daily which means confession is daily as well. though God already knows my heart, “He is faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness” I John 1:9.

a whosowhat?

Its plain and simple. Children can understand it. Teenagers have given into it. Adults of all ages have chosen to accept it. From tribes in the depths of Africa to the cold streets of Russia and even across the deserts of India people have realized this one prevailing truth. Jesus Christ died and rose again for everyone's (yours and mine included) sin. Romans 10:13 states, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” At the age of 14 in a Baptist church in Kokomo, IN, I became a whosoever. Now I had been raised in this church yet I never could actually pinpoint a time when I accepted Christ as my Saviour. Yes, my mother told me I had done it at the age of seven. That didn't make me saved. So I took that step of faith, realized I was a lost sinner, and asked Jesus to take away my sin and come into my heart.

Have you become a whosoever? Could you actually say there was a time in your life when you chose to accept Christ's payment on the cross for your sins? Not what the church, your parents or even your neighbor told you was the way to salvation, but what God Himself told us is the ONLY way to salvation. I wish you would accept this gift. It will truly determine where you spend eternity. First you must realize you are a sinner. The bible says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This includes everyone even myself. Next, Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” Death? Yes, as punishment for our sin we will die. Not just an earthly death but if we do not accept Christ's payment we will die a spiritual death in hell. Now I don't want to go to hell, do you? Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” What was that? While we were yet sinners... we weren't even born when Christ died. True, but God did know that one day you and I would be. So He made provision for that day by sending His Son to take our place and pay for our sin. I know I could never pay for all my sin, could you?

Now if at this point you have realized you are a sinner, you agree that you will one day spend an eternity in hell as payment for this sin, and you believe that Christ paid for your sins on the cross then there is only one thing left to do. What did I mention was in Romans 10:13? “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” Yes, simply say either out loud or to yourself: Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I know that my punishment is hell but I accept your payment for my sin on the cross and I ask you to some into my heart. I accept you as the only way to heaven and life everlasting.

Now if you prayed that prayer then you are now a whosoever! Praise God! I might never see you here on this earth but one day in heaven I will.