Pastor Nathan's Blog

2012-01-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

I know it's been FOREVER since I last got on here and posted. But thought I would revive this blog and use it as an outlet to keep you informed of upcoming events at the Creek! God is moving! Recently, we called Bro. Jeff Redding to our staff to lead our youth & worship! He is doing an outstanding job. We will be pounding him with groceries this Sunday! Be sure & bring canned goods, paper products, etc.

Our Youth will be training for the Lifebook Giveaway this Sunday! We are looking fwd to the great harvest of souls that will be reaped as a result of their faithfulness to share the Word of God with their peers!

February 5th on Sunday Night, is the first quarterly Judson Association Church Growth/Evangelism Rally! My dad, Evangelist Terry Wilkerson, will be speaking on Church Growth through Soul-Winning. Bro. Jeff & the PCBC choir will provide music. The Event will be at Parkers Creek!

God Bless and hope to CU Sunday morning - Bible Classes at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 11:00 a.m
BE THERE!!!

Perspective: This Life Only?

2011-01-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

Sitting here in a Memphis Hospital room with many wires hooked up to my little boy's body and an antennae of sorts sticking out of his head, I'm reminded of what Paul said to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15:19, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ Jesus, we are of all men MOST MISERABLE [emphasis mine]." Over the last year especially, God has been using my son and his physical struggles to teach me about his plan and purpose, about people, and about life in general. Here is some newfound perspective that He has taught me.

There are times in life when you think, "Surely this isn't all there is. Surely this isn't what life was meant to be." And the truth is, "It isn't." It is easy to look at suffering in this present life and want to blame God and say, "If you're there, why don't you do something about it." You wring your hands in disbelief and say, "Why me? What have I done to deserve this?" or especially, "What has my child done?" These are the times that try the hearts of men and test our faith in God. When you can only see one piece of the puzzle at a time, it is impossible to see the entire picture. At best we are looking through a glass darkly. There are times of testing when you get mad at God and everyone around and want to lash out, because the pain inside is too great for you to bear. During these times, people simply need prayer, encouragement, and to know you care and are there for them.

Now, I believe it is human nature to want to figure things out and have something clever or insightful to say to help others fix their problems, when sometimes the best thing said is nothing. Sometimes people just need to know you care and that you're there; and they don't want or need a solution to their problem. And there are times when trite cliches just don't measure up to the gravity of people's situations. And certainly people who are going through the trials don't need me to be their judge and critic saying, "If they hadn't done this or they weren't doing that, they wouldn't have ended up in this mess!" I've been guilty of all of the above at times and have now come to realize how insensitive of me it was. I didn't mean to be; after all, I was just trying to help, but I was. And having now lived it for the past 3.5 yrs (past year in particular), I realize that what meant the most was having Christian people that didn't try to come up with all the answers but were simply and continue to be Christ's hands, mouth and feet.

Whether it's the friend saying, "I love you and am praying. If there's anything I can do let me know," or the pastor stopping by and praying for and with my child, or the nurse or volunteer you meet for the first time offering cups of cold water in His name, you begin to see God's plan. The plan that we aren't here to be islands unto ourselves but each life is somehow interwoven into a giant tapestry that is bringing glory to God! Furthermore, each trial and triumph is somehow interwoven and connected to shape us and make us into the image of Christ who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with our grief. He bore our burden, and now we are to bear His burden by sharing and bearing one another's burdens. And somehow, in doing so, we are sharing Heaven with an Earth that so desperately needs to see Jesus!

I don't have it all figured out, but I don't have to. That is so liberating, btw! I don't have to have it all figured out! All I need to know is that Christ loved me enough to die for me, and He's working all things together for my good. I can't always see it with these somewhat less than 20/20 eyes, especially when I'm going through it; but afterward, I can see it. I see it in each one of you who are going through it, each one of you who offer cups of cold water in His name, each one of you who continue to be Christ's Body on earth, and each one of you who continue to love unconditionally those who aren't loveable or lovely. Thanks for sharing Christ with others; and Thanks for letting me share a little of my time and heart with you today! God Bless!

God's plan for Marriage

2010-12-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

Genesis 2:18-25, give God's plan for marriage. You can go here and read them. You will notice several things about marriage and God's plan from these verses. God thought of marriage, because He said, "It is not good for man to be alone." According to Jay Adams, in his book, Solving Marriage Problems, "Companionship is God primary purpose for marriage." Too many couples go into marriage with false concepts about what a marriage is, and therefore their marriages do not survive. God thought of marriage as a way to solve that first problem that entered the Garden of Eden. The first thing God said wasn't good was for man to be alone. So, he caused a deep sleep to come over Adam and made him a woman. He didn't make him another man, and he couldn't find companionship among the animals. It took a woman!

God took a bone from his side, not his head (so she could lord over him) and not his foot (so he could walk on her), but his side. Eve was a perfect companion and helper for Adam. This is what God wants for your marriage and mine as well. Now, you might be thinking, "But my husband and me are completely opposite and incompatible." Notice, God's plan is companionship not compatibility. As I quoted in my last post, according to Adams, "It is impossible for 2 sinners living in close confines to be completely compatible." But we can become great companions for one another! As we yield to the Holy Spirit and follow God, He will transform us into the companion we should be.

It starts by leaving. God said, "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and they two shall become one flesh." While the command is given specifically to the man, it is implied to the wife as well. We are to leave our parents and cleave to one another.

As Dr. Howard Eyrich says, "We are to leave geographically and mentally." In other words, we are to make a complete break when it comes to functionality and not try and recreate in our new relationship what we became comfortable with growing up in our parent's home. We are to leave....

....and then we are to cleave (be glued to our spouse).

We choose to love each other daily and fulfill our God-given roles. Husbands are to be loving leaders who lead with his wife's best interest in mind just as Christ does for the church. He gives honor to her as unto a fragile vase. He isn't to be harsh but gentle with her. And she then is to submit to his leadership and be a helper for him in every way. She submits to his lead and he submits to her need. And working together following the Lord, they show a picture of Christ and His Church.

....then they two are to become one flesh.

They are joined physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, etc. In other words, you no longer see them as individuals but as one inseparable body. This takes a daily commitment to love your spouse and die to yourself. But it honors God. God spoke through Solomon and said that "A man that findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor from the Lord." Let us treat one another with honor and respect, striving to honor God through our marriages! God Bless!

Confronting the Real Problems in Marriages, Part 1: "Using Biblical Terminology"

2010-12-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

We have been talking over the last few posts about child training from a Biblical perspective. Today, I'd like for us to focus on how to confront problems that arise in marriages from a Biblical perspective. According to Dr. Howard Eyrich, counseling professor at Trinity Theological Seminary in Newburg, IN, states, "With Biblical Counselling, Revelation takes precedence over human reason." By revelation, we are referring to the Divine revelation given to us by God in His Word, the Bible. The Bible must take precedence over our feelings and reasoning, if we are to see problems corrected and cured for the glory of God.

It starts by thinking right about issues. We must not fall into the trap that many "Christian" counsellors and counselling books fall into, and that is to apply worldly terms to Biblical and spiritual issues, i.e. calling a "sin" a "sickness" or "disease." According to Jay Adams' book, Solving Marriage Problems, "To tell an alcoholic that he has a disease is less kind than telling him it is a sin," as 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 teach us. Alcoholics Anonymous teaches that an alcoholic has an incurable disease and must tell himself every day that I'm an alcoholic and will always be an alcoholic. This leads to hopelessness. Within the context of a marriage, if alcoholism on the part of the husband is the cause of abuse (verbal and physical), financial difficulties, or some other issue, to tell the wife that her husband has a sickness, will only lead her to hopelessness and despair as well, because there is no pill she can give her husband to cure him of this "sickness." However, if you take the Biblical approach and tell the couple that alcoholism is a "sin," while it is painful to hear, it is more kind in the long run because it simply a behavior pattern for which Christ died to redeem the man from. If he will repent of his sin and truly turn to Christ, he not only can but will be cured! It is true for any other sinful behavior or pattern (adultery, excessive spending and debt, verbal abuse, etc.). If we tell them they have a "sickness," or a problem with "immaturity," this leads to hopelessness and despair on the part of one or both spouses. The problem is that we are sinful creatures. Dr. Eyrich states again, "Selfishness is the cause of the majority of marital problems." And again, selfishness is sin. But all sin can be forgiven and overcome through repentance toward and faith in God!

As Jay Adams further states in the aforementioned book, "It is impossible for two sinners to be completely compatible." Therefore, we must work together each day toward Christian maturity and be willing to forgive one another and repent and turn away from our sin. If we do, marriages not only can survive but thrive!

Romans 12:1-2: "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Training for a Biblical World View

2010-11-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

Last time, we discussed the necessity of training our children as opposed to simply teaching them. While teaching (passing along the right information) is necessary and profitable according to 2 Timothy 3:16, we must do more in order to fully train them so we can release them into the world to do exploits for God's Kingdom. The afore mentioned Scripture states: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable, for doctrine (teaching), for reproof (conviction), for correction (making right what is wrong), and instruction in righteousness (fully training them to stay in the right path)."

We must fully instruct them in righteousness so that as they are growing old, they won't depart from it. In order to accomplish this task, we as parents should set as a goal to train toward a Biblical worldview. What do you mean by this? You might be wondering. I mean training them with the Scriptures so that they develop a biblical worldview (outlook on and in life). There are basically 2 worldviews competing for the hearts and minds of our children. There is the secular humanist worldview and the biblical worldview.

It is interesting to note that as I watched the O'reilly Factor on Fox News last night, O'reilly was interviewing George Stephanaupolis and asked him the question, "Why do you think that the Northeast and the West Coast voted so overwhelmingly different from the rest of the country?" The answer was very telling. Stephanaupolis said, "I think that those regions tend to be more secular and less religious than the rest of the country." In other words, "The rest of the country is more in line with a Judeo-Christian worldview and they are in line with the secular-humanist worldview."

So, what definition can be given to help us better understand the 2 worldviews? I would like us to consider how they would apply to morality. The Secular Humanist Worldview would say that right and wrong are determined by what the individual feels is right or wrong for himself/herself. The Biblical Worldview, on the other hand, would argue that right and wrong are determined by the Word of God, regardless of how one feels. This is so critical to instill while our children are young, so that when they begin to deal with the bigger issues of life (sexuality, marriage, work, etc.) they will have already done as Daniel did in Daniel 1:8 and "purposed in their hearts not to defile themselves."

How can this be accomplished? Begin by training them to think biblically about each issue. If you ask them to clean their room, and they say, "I don't feel like it." You can reply, "I'm sorry you don't feel like it, but the Bible says in Ephesians 6:1, 'Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.' The Bible is God's Word, so in light of what God has said what do you think is the good and right thing to do? (Obey and clean my room) OK, we are also told in James, 'To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.' So, what does God say it would be for you to not clean your room? (Sin)" This will help them understand that their action is not against you but against God and His word. It will teach them that God's Word is the final standard of what is proper, right and wrong. They will begin to have God's standard forever stamped upon their hearts; God's Spirit will use it to bring conviction, and they will be brought closer to God and His saving knowledge. It will also begin to instill in them a Biblical worldview, which will help them stay faithful to God and His Word in the midst of an increasingly secular society. God bless you as you continue to "Train up a child in the way he should go!"

Teaching vs. Training

2010-10-28T23:21:00.000-07:00

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

You will notice that the Scripture doesn't say to "Teach up a child in the way he should go" but "train up a child." There is a huge difference! While teaching is important, it is limited and is not the Biblical command. Training in the New Testament is the Greek Word, gumnazo, where we get our word "gymnasium." It shows the picture of one who works out gradually putting on more weight until his muscles are trained to lift that which was once impossible to lift.

This is how God trains us, his children; and it is how we are to train our own children. The writer of Hebrews shows us the importance of training in this way, when he said, "For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained [gumnazoed] to discern good and evil." ~ Hebrews 5:13-14

This is exactly how we as parents should be training ourselves and our children. We are to be gradually giving them more and more of the divine truth [spiritual food] so that they can "discern good and evil." We live in a day of deception. We can't shelter our children from temptation, IT IS COMING! However, we can train them in such a way that as they are growing older, they can discern what is right and wrong when it does come. In order to do so, we must use the Scriptures. They are profitable for doctrine, for reproof [conviction], for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God might be perfect [mature], thoroughly furnished for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

It is interesting to note that those verses came at the end of a passage on the end times. In these last days in which we live, our time is of the essence when it comes to our children. The majority of society is training children to be disobedient, unthankful and unholy; so we must do as Scripture commands and "Be not overcome with evil, but OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD!" It starts at home. If society is to be changed, we must change the culture at home. We must begin today not just teaching our children but training them. I'd like to end with a brief excerpt on this subject from H. Clay Trumbell's [the founder of Sunday School] book, Hints on Child Training.

It has been said that the essence of teaching is cousing another to know. It may similarly be said that the essence of training is causing another to do. Teaching gives knowledge; training gives skill. Teaching fills the mind; training shapes the habits. Teaching brings to the child that which he did not have before; training enables a child to make use of that which is already in his possession. We teach a child the meaning of words. We train a child in speaking and walking. We teach him the truths whihc we have learned for ourselves. We train him in habits of study, that he may be able to learn other truths for himself. Training and teaching must go on together in the wise upbringing of any and every child."

Let us train our children to become Champions for Christ in these last days!

The Creek is Rising!

2010-09-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I was able to put anything on here. The truth is that God has been moving so greatly at the Creek, that I have been too busy to keep up with the blog. He has truly been pouring it out upon us. Since VBS, we've seen over 40 people make professions of faith in Christ, and we have seen at least one person follow the Lord in Believer's Baptism every week except 2 since VBS, which was in July.

We were also able to be involved in an area-wide Crusade just this week at Restoration Church in Dickson with Bro. Braxton Hunter; and we saw 43 people make professions of faith this week! I am so excited about what God is doing!

We also have some new ministries in the works, which will greatly enhance our outreach and inreach at Parkers Creek, so stay tuned! I was interviewed this week by Bro. Braxton for Trinity Radio, in which we discuss the doctrine of the rapture. You may listen to it, by clicking here. May God bless you as we serve Him together!

Don't Miss Homecoming 2010, this Sunday!

2010-06-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is Homecoming 2010 at Parkers Creek! We will be "Reflecting on the Past and Focusing on the Future!" I am so excited about what God is doing at the Creek! Over the last few weeks, we've discovered that we exist to Exalt the Savior by Equipping the Saints to Evangelize the Sinner! It is so exciting to see Him stirring His people to minister in their world/mission field!

I will be focusing the message on where we've come from, where we are and where we are going as a Church, particularly in the area of evangelism! Don't miss out! I really believe that our time to evangelize our world is quickly passing! Jesus could return at any moment! May He find us faithful when He returns. I've written a new post on http://www.zechariah123.blogspot.com/ concerning the oil spill and our present administrations stand on Israel and how that relates to the end times. Please read this timely message! And again, I hope to see you Sunday for Homecoming 2010 at the Creek! May God Bless!

Join us Sunday and stay for lunch!

Practical Application of our Purpose!

2010-05-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it has been so long since I have written, but you all know how busy a Spring I have had. Since I last wrote, our area has been devastated with flooding. The damage is now estimated in the billions! However, in the midst of this, God has been doing some great things in the hearts of His Church that meets at the Creek!!!

At PCBC, our purpose is simple. We exist to Exalt the Savior through a lifestyle of Worship, Equip the Saints to do the Work of the Ministry, so that they may in turn Evangelize the Sinner!

But how does this work?

At the Creek, we are about more than catchy slogans and memorable cliches! We are about building people, so they in turn can build people.

Ephesians 2:21, 22 tells us that we are being fitly framed together and built into a habitation for the Lord. Then in Ephesians 4:11, 12, he tells us that he gives apostles (missionaries), prophets (those who receive a word from God and forthtell it with power), evangelists (those who spread the good news), pastors (shepherds), and teachers (those who can break the word down so that their students can digest it) for the perfecting of the saints to do the work of the ministry. So it is our duty to train and equip the members of PCBC to do ministry!!!

And here is how that applies practically!

We have and will be having training seminars, evangelistic training, conferences, mentoring programs, new believers classes, and apologetics classes to help equip you to do ministry. Then, we do have and will be having at least 2 evangelistic events per quarter beginning next year, in which you will be given the opportunity put your training to effective use. These will include, but not be limited to, revivals, door to door surveys, missions trips, disaster relief, etc.

How do I get plugged in?

In order to get you plugged in, for the next few weeks in Sunday School I will be passing out a ministry survey. You will be asked to provide your name and a way to contact you, your burdens and passions for ministry, your special skills/likes/interests (nursing, cooking, cleaning, chainsaw operation, sports, music, etc.), and where you would like to serve.

If you have a ministry opportunity or event that you would like to see at Parkers Creek, I have some program/event planning sheets and ask you fill one out. You will just simply be asked to list the program, its purpose, its advantages and disadvantages and your proposal. You may then submit it for consideration by pastor, staff and deacons. This will improve communication, get more ideas on the table, and encourage you as you see the burdens God has placed on your heart begin to come to fruitful ministry at the Creek!

If you can't tell already, I am SOOOOO excited about the future and putting our purpose into practical application. As we serve together, we will see the Lord do miraculous things on the hill at 2327 Abiff Road in Burns! God bless you and let me know where you would like to serve!

God is on the Move, but Satan is too! Look Out!

2010-04-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

Wow! God has been doing so many wonderful things in our midst lately at PCBC! We had 26 people settle things with the Lord and profess faith in Christ during our revival meeting last week with Evangelist Braxton Hunter, and then 3 more were saved Sunday! I realize that these commitments are just by products of the revival that began in our hearts days, weeks and months before. We should never get to a point where souls being saved does not move us and create a joy and excitement in our hearts!!!

However, having said that, we must also beware. Because our adversary the Devil does indeed walk about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour! My friend, Dr. Jeff Laborg, who pastors the great 2nd Baptist Church in Warner Robbins, Georgia, once made this profound observation. He said, "The level of opposition always rises to the level of revival." With God making the move that He is making, we can expect Satan to make a counter attack. And his methods have not changed. He always uses the same one's. No wonder the writer of Scripture said, "We are not ignorant of his devices."

He uses the following weapons/methods in his war on the Saints:

Discouragement - He is the accuser of the brethren. He will accuse to the point where we get discouraged and make everything seem like it is against us. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves thinking that God is even against us.
Deception - He is a master deceiver and masquerades as an angel of light. He will deceive about who we are in Christ, and the authority that we have because of our position in Him. We don't have to take anything off the devil! Sometimes, he'll deceive us about what is most important and get us so focused on the minor issues of personal preference, that we miss the major issues of loving the Lord our God with all our heart, our neighbor as ourselves, and winning others to faith in Christ.
Disease - He sometimes gets God's people bogged down with physical illness to the point that we can't be all we need to be for God's glory. And
Depression - He gets us bogged down with deception, disease, and discouragement; and if we aren't careful we will become depressed and paralyzed with fear!

There are many others that I could mention, but for sake of time I won't. The main point is to be alert! Don't give place to the Devil! Because we do serve a risen Savior, we can and should be steadfast, immovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord! God Bless you!!!

There's no place like home!

2010-03-10T05:21:00.000-08:00

Only got 20 more minutes here, so, I'll make it quick. I'm in London's Heathrow Airport awaiting my flight back to the states. Yesterday, I had a day to myself just to relax, study God's Word and get caught up on some reading. I reflected on the day before and all that God had shown me in the Garden of Gethsemane, Calvary and the Garden Tomb. In case you don't know there is debate as to where Jesus was actually crucified. The Catholics say it was at one place, and as they do erected a shrine on top. I felt nothing but a contrary spirit as I looked at the idol worship in that place...no offense intended. The British, on the other hand about 100 years ago spotted a place to the north of the Temple Mount that looked light Golgotha (the place of the Skull). Very close by, they found a Garden tomb, which dated back about 2,000 yrs and obviously belonged to a wealthy man. They don't claim that it is THE spot, but the biblical facts do support that it very well could be it. The Scriptures say that the things of Scripture are Spiritually discerned, and not understood by the natural mind. All I can tell you is what I felt!

In the one place, I felt dirty and like there was nothing but idol worship going on. At Calvary, I felt the Holy Spirit from the moment I went inside the park. I wept like I hadn't in years, as I looked at the skull in the side of the mountain. I could imagine the Lamb of God being slain from the foundation of the world on that very hillside. I then went into the Garden Tomb. Of course, it's empty! The sign erected on the door as you leave states boldly, "He is not here. He is risen as He said!" HALLELUJAH! When I came out, I heard some people from Africa singing "He is Lord" in swahili or something. I wept again. If they hadn't had a remain quiet rule, I'd probably have taken off on an old fashioned running or shouting spell!

The main thing friends is not even where He was crucified and arose, but that He has been crucified and IS Risen! We serve a living Savior! Praise God! Rejoice in that fact today! See you Sunday! Now, I'm Going Home, b/c there's no place like it! See ya soon!

The Eastern Gate!

2010-03-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

Whew! Yesterday was hectic and tiring, yet very rewarding! We started our day on the Temple Mount, where stands the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsar Mosque. Jesus told us in Luke 21:24, "Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled. I was reminded as I stood there of this verse. This mosque stands there as a testimony to the "times of the Gentiles." While everything is pointing toward the imminent return of Christ, the time of the Gentiles has not fully come in. Yet it will, for during the time of Jacob's trouble, known as the Great Tribulation, the Temple will be rebuilt and at the end Christ will return and do as his disciples asked in Acts 1, "Restore the Kingdom to Israel."

From the Dome of the Rock, we walked around to the Eastern Gate. This is also the Triumphal Entry Gate. In front of us lies the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 14 tells us that His feet will one day touch the Mt. of Olives, half the mountain will go to the North (Right) and half to the South (left). He will then go down a newly created valley and no Muslim Guard (there is one who guards the Eastern Gate) will be able to stop Him, THE KING OF GLORY, from coming in!!! WOW! God's Word is true. EVEN SO COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS!

His return is soon! I'll be reminded of that again today, as we go up to the Mt. of Olives. Just read Matthew 24, Luke 24, and Acts 1 and you'll see some of the great discourse and events that happened there! He ascended visibly, bodily, and quickly into Heaven, and according to Acts 1:11, "He will so come in like manner as you have seen Him go!" There is nothing preventing the Rapture of the Church! and then 7 yrs. later, He will come again all the Way to that Mountain and restore the Kingdom to Israel, where He'll rule and reign in the new Temple for 1,000 yrs. All nations will come at least once a year to worship the King in Jerusalem, the Lion will lay down with the Lamb and Jerusalem, this cup of drunkenness for the nations, will FINALLY be at peace! How awesome it is to be here, and be reminded of these wonderful truths! Woooo Glory!!! Even so come, LORD JESUS!!! God bless!

Psalm 27 in Light of En Gedi

2010-03-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

Today we had another awesome day! God is so good! We started off by stopping for a camel ride and view of the Judean Wilderness, where Jesus was tempted and view of the ancient Jericho road, which would have been travelled by Jesus when he saved Zaccaeus! This was at an Arab Bedouin village. Again, this internet isn't working very well, so I probably won't be able to upload any more pics until I get back to the states, sorry :-(

After this stop, we went to Qumran, the site of the ancient Essenes Village and discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls! These scrolls were discovered in 1947 and translated during the 60's. The authenticate the Bible both Old and New Testament! The Book is True!

After this we went to En Gedi. En Gedi is the site where David hid from King Saul. To kind of describe it for you, it is mostly barren wilderness with rocks and caves in the side of Rock Cliffs. Out of one of the caves flows a spring. Later on in life, David would write Psalm 27, and no doubt he recalled his time at En Gedi. Try and imagine the scene with me for a minute, while you read these verses:

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes they stumbled and fell. (Having seen this place, they no doubt would have.) Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavillion (There are many natural pavillions made out of rocks and boulders.), in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock (Lots of high places in the rocks.). - Psalm 27:1-5"

This Land just makes the Scriptures come alive! I can't wait to get back and share with you messages backed up with the pictures! Tomorrow, we will be going to the temple mount, the Pool of Bethesda, the Via Dolorosa (Way of Suffering/road to Calvary), Old City of Jerusalem for Lunch/shopping, the Southern Steps of the Temple (Jesus would have walked on these steps.)Bethlehem, Shepherd's Fields, Rachel's Tomb, and after supper be going to the tunnel under the Western Wall where the Holy of Holies would have been! If you can't tell, I'm excited! I'm about to shout or cry one just thinking about it! Pray that Jesus will show up and show out in my life tomorrow! You can just feel the presence of the Lord in this place!

To all PCBC people, be sure and pack the house out tomorrow for Bro. John! May God grant you a time of refreshing from His presence as He has me here! God Bless!

Day 4

2010-03-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

Well, we had another great day today in Israel. My facebook photo uploader isn't working right and wouldn't let me upload any photos. I'll try to get them up soon, b/c I saw some AWESOME sights and got some great pictures. Now, to share the day with you...

This morning, after breakfast, we checked out of our hotel in Tibereas and drove to the northernmost part of Israel, Tel Dan. It has Lebanon a few miles to its west and Syria a few miles to its east. It is the sight of the ruins of the capital city of the ancient tribe of Dan. The ruins are located in a nature reserve with the River Dan a tributary to the Jordan running through the middle of it. I got some great photos of the nature as well as the ruins. The nature reminded me alot of rural Tennessee! Just around the bend in the path from the ruins of Dan is an ancient Canaanite gate that dates back to the days of Abraham. It is believed to be the actual gate Abram entered when freeing Lot from his captors.

From there we travelled up the Golan Heights to the ancient city of Caesaria Philippi. We saw the ruins of an ancient pagan temple to the false god Pan. This was the sight where Peter made his great confession, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus went on to tell him, "Upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." When you see the ancient sight which is a pagan temple where people and goats were sacrificed to the pagan god built into the side of a massive rock cliff by throwing them into a spring in a cave, you can almost see Christ giving us this great word picture..."Peter, you're this little rock (as he picks up a pebble from the spring, but I'm going to build my church on this massive rock (pointing to the cliff), and the gates of Hell (Pointing to the pagan temple) will not prevail against it! It is true what the early church Father Jerome said, "The Land is the 5th Gospel!" Being here really makes the Scriptures come alive!

From here we travelled South down the Jordan Valley to Gideon Spring located near the Hill Moreh. It was on this hill that the Midianites were encamped, and this spring is where God downsized Gideon's army to 300. God then used Gideon and his 300 to win a great victory over the Midianites.

We then went past Mt. Gilboa where Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle, and we went to the Beit Shaan. Below the Tel Beit Shaan (sight of the ancient city) lie the ruins of the great Roman Outpost and capital of the Decapolis Scythopolis. It is the largest unearthed Roman City in the world outside of Italy. I sang again at the Amphitheater. It was unbelievable to see the mosaic side walks and marble store fronts. You could almost imagine the magnificence of the original city. Me and 5 others in the group then hiked about 200 stairs straight up the side of a mountain to Tel Beit Shaan. This is the ancient Phillistine city where they hung Saul's body on the wall. It was also conquered by Egypt in the 12th Century B.C. There was a statue of Ramses II and a stone containing heiroglyphics in that city. From the top of that mountain you could see the Armageddon Valley and Jordan Valleys. AMAZING!!!

We then continued South through the Jordan Valley into the West Bank and the City of Jericho. Our Jewish guide had to get out prior to Jericho b/c it's occupied by the Palestinian Authority. Our Arab driver did a great job at the Guard Post getting us into the city, and we were able to see the tree Zachaeus climbed to see Jesus when Jesus went to his house and brought salvation. We also saw the Mount of Temptation where Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and the spring the prophet Elisha cured.

From there we went back and picked up our guide and journeyed to Jerusalem! We ascended the road from Jericho to Jerusalem! I thought of the Psalms of Ascent and how the people of God would quote them as they ascended the hills up to the City of God. "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills. From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and Earth..." Psalm 121:1-2

As we entered through the tunnel into the city, we were able to see the Dome of the Rock on the left. What a sight and feeling! Now, we're here! It is so awesome to see the sights of where it all took place! It reaffirms my faith in the Word of God! It is true and can be trusted! I can't wait to get back and share my trip with you in person! The pictures will really make the Word come to life for you as well! May God bless and pray for my photo uploader! Heavenu Shalom Alechem!

Day 3

2010-03-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

Well we had a more laid back and relaxing day today than yesterday. It was a chance to enjoy God's Creation and drink in from the River of Life!

It started out with me doing the devotion on the bus on the way to the Mt. of Beatitudes. I did it on being called to be fishers of men and how when Jesus calls us, He demands and deserves our immediate response.

We then began our touring of the places where 80% of Jesus' took place. We made it to the Mt. of Beatitudes and Pastor Stokes read the Sermon on the Mount in the prayer garden. It was very moving to just here the Words of Jesus speaking about how our righteousness can and must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, which was purely outward.

From the mount, we went down to Capernaum only about 3 miles just 1 mile straight down. Before we got there we stopped at the place where Jesus performed the miracle of John 21 and called Peter to feed his sheep. I led the group in singing, "Come and Dine." We went on to Capernaum and saw the ruins of the synagogue where Jesus would have taught and the house where He healed Peter's mother-in-law.

Then we went out for a boat ride on the Sea of Gallilee. It was awesome to be out there where Jesus calmed the Sea and walked on water. The wind got up a little. It is easy to see how a storm could quickly and violently blow up on this Sea (Lake 8 miles by 13 miles) which is below sea level and tucked in behind mountains and receiving a strong Mediterranean wind. The boat captain was a converted Jew who has a singing ministry of translating popular praise and worship songs into Hebrew. He sang for us on the boat! IT WAS AMAZING! I about started running, but the boat was too small! :-p

After the boat ride, we went for an interesting fish dinner. If you could get beyond the fish staring back at you, it tasted really well. It was Pan Fried Tillapia and fries. We then went around to the Land of the Gadarenes and saw the hill where the pigs committed sooeycide after Jesus cast a legion of demons into them.

We then ended our day at the Jordan, and I fulfilled a lifetime dream of being baptized in the Jordan River. It was such an awesome day, as I was reminded that He is Lord over Diseases at Capernaum, over dinner on the hillside where He fed 5,000 men + women and children, and over the demons at Gadara. We truly serve an awesome God and a wonderful Savior! God Bless!

Day 2

2010-03-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today was a long but rewarding day! We started out with breakfast at our transitional hotel in Netanya. The food is very Mediterranean with lots of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish. I had tomato & cucumber salad with tuna fish and some scrambled eggs for breakfast. I know it sounds weird, but it was really delicious with freshly (and I mean freshly!) squeezed orange juice.

We traveled after breakfast 10 minutes north to Caesaria by the Sea. You can view pics of it on Facebook! It was a city built by Herod the Great to be a Rome away from Rome. I was asked to sing in the amphitheater that was built by Herod's men. We also saw his palace, which is where Paul was tried by Felix in Acts 22, and this city was the home to Cornelius the Roman Centurion who got saved in Acts 10! The ruins of the inner harbor was also visible which is likely where Paul boarded the ship for Rome.

From here we went to the Northeast about 40 minutes to Mt. Carmel. We saw the place where Elijah called down fire from Heaven and looked off at the Brook Kishon in the Valley where he took the prophets of Baal and slew them.

We then traveled up the Valley of Jezreel (also known as Plain of Megiddo or Armageddon) to the ancient ruins of the city of Megiddo. Read more about this on www.zechariah123.blogspot.com.

From there we went across the Valley to the Hills of Galilee and up to Nazareth! In Nazareth we saw the Mt. of Precipice, which is where they tried to throw Jesus off after they rejected His claim to be Messiah (Luke 4), the place Gabriel met with Mary, and the brook where Mary likely brought Jesus as a young boy to draw water. We also took a tour of a replica village of life in Nazareth during the time of Christ.

From Nazareth we went about 20 minutes East to Cana and saw where He performed His first miracle of turning the water into wine. After this, we travelled about an hour east to Tiberias, which is on the Sea of Galilee and checked into a new hotel.

All in all, today was awesome! As a history buff, I got to see some great archaeological sites from Roman times in Israel. But more importantly, I got to see the Bible come alive before me! History and archaeology are His Story! They prove and don't disprove the Bible! It was like stepping back in time to when it was all happening! You could imagine yourself there during the times of Solomon, Jesus, and Paul! I can't wait to get back and share all my pictures and all that God has shown me on this journey! May God bless you and keep you until tomorrow!

We're in Israel!!!

2010-03-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a nice flight over. British Airways was a great ride with excellent service! God granted us great weather and it was beautiful just to see God's creation from 30,000 feet!

I got to see the Alps for the 1st time albeit from 30,000 feet, the snow on the mountains was awesome. I thought of the Family Von Trapp of Sound of Music fame!

I was able to meet two great people and share my faith with them, Dorrell was from Romania and Ruth was from here in Israel. I was overwhelmed to step foot in Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv! It is a beautiful airport, and probably the most secure in the world.

On the ride up to Netanya, where we are staying by the Mediterranean sea tonight, I got to see God's handiwork as orange trees are full. Something that only happens when His people are in the land. I'll give you more tomorrow as we go in the morning to Mt. Carmel where Elijah slew the 450 prophets of Baal! Thanks for your prayers and God bless!

Greetings from Lebanon!

2010-02-28T21:10:00.000-08:00

Well friends, the first hour and a half of my journey is complete! I am in Lebanon crashing for the night at my in-laws house. I will be giving you updates as the trip progresses! I am so excited about seeing new places, meeting new people, and most of all just watching the Scriptures come alive! Thank you so much Parkers Creek for making this journey possible! We all know and have been convinced that the claims of Christ are true, and this trip is going to even further confirm that truth! Unlike the Book of Mormon and so many other religious books, the Bible is accurate in all points - historically, archaelogically, scientifically, etc. I look forward to walking where Jesus walked, and seeing all the great sights where God showed up and showed out on behalf of his people (Mt. Carmel, Bethlehem, Calvary, the Sea of Galilee and etc.). I also look forward to seeing the places where God will in the future show up and show out for His people (Armageddon, the Mount of Olives, and etc.). I look forward to placing a prayer in the wailing wall and most of all seeing the empty tomb! I covet your prayers for my flights tomorrow, just pray that God would establish my going out and my coming in, knowing that if that is established, it doesn't matter how much turbulence we may have along the way! I love each one of you and look forward to seeing you again in 2 weeks! GOD BLESS!

Wow! What a Day!!!

2010-02-07T23:19:00.000-08:00

God truly blessed us with "A Time of Refreshing" from His presence. Many of us were fasting and praying, and God not only showed up but showed out! The youth did an awesome drama "Set Me Free!" Praise Jesus, He has Set me Free!!! Jason Hughes, Troy Mangrum, Linda Stubblefield and Karen Lampley all blessed us with outstanding singing. The Holy Spirit was evident! and I know that Miracles Occurred today in the lives of His people!

God's people were broken, challenged, comforted, strengthened, encouraged, and everything else you can think of! Jehovah-jireh showed up and supplied some resources to some in need! Jehovah-nissi showed up as a mighty banner over us! Jehovah-rapha showed up and touched some people who needed healing! Jehovah-roi showed up and gave guidance and shepherding to others! Jehovah-shammah showed up and was an ever present help on the Hill today! God is so awesome! He is the One who is, and was, and is to come - THE ALMIGHTY!!!

Praise the Lord that He is still in the miracle working business! He's not the God who heard, but the God who hears. He's not the God who saw, but the God who sees. He's not the God who did, but the God who does! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! If you have been blessed today or recently by the Lord, speak out and share it with us! Our God truly is an Awesome God!!!

How and How Long to Fast

2010-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

What was Jesus saying about fasting?

#1 - You should do it. He didn't say if you fast, but when you fast.

#2 - You shouldn't be hypocritical about it. Don't do it just for the temporary reward of having someone think you're spiritual.

#3 - You shouldn't be rigid and legalistic about it.

The Pharisees were all of the above. They fasted at least twice a week, and when they did it, they made sure everyone knew they were doing it. They would disfigure their faces and go around looking all forlorn and pitiful, so as to entice others to ask them about it. When they asked, they would be quick to tell them how they were fasting to be close to God.

Jesus said it shouldn't be this way! Instead, when you fast, do it unto God and not unto man.

So, what exactly is fasting? You might be asking. Fasting is going without food and sometimes drink to get closer to God. It is coupled with prayer, and it helps us clear our minds of the clutter that often hinders us from hearing God's voice.

So, how long should I fast? You should fast for as long as God leads you. That answer might sound trite, but it is true. Now, for health reasons, you shouldn't go on an extended fast for several weeks, without being under the watchcare of a physician. In the Bible people fasted for all of the following time periods: 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 10 days, 21 days, and 40 days. Again, don't be rigid and say, "I must fast for ________ days (you fill in the blank), and then beat yourself up feeling not as close to God, if you can't make it that long. Instead, take it 1 meal at a time, one day at a time. If you only make it 1 or 2 meals, rejoice in the time you spent with God that day. If you make it 1 day or 1 week, rejoice in that, but don't feel that you have to do it for X amount of time in order to be close to God and see a spiritual breakthrough.

Now, on January 31st, we are being called to a day of fasting and prayer. What I usually will do is start after supper the night before and fast until breakfast on the next day. If you can only go from supper to supper, that is fine. If you are a big breakfast eater, and can only go without breakfast that day, that is fine. Some might want to begin 3 days, or 1 week or 10 days before and fast up through the 31st. Whatever God leads you to do, just spend it getting in His Word and drawing nearer to Him in prayer.

I promise you 2 things, if you will fast at least 1 or 2 meals, or whatever.

#1 - You will be challenged. You might get a headache or have all manner of Murphy break out in your life during that time. Keep your hand to the plow. It will get better.

#2 - You will be blessed. You will see God move in your life. Sometimes, the breakthrough happens during the fast. Sometimes it is after the fast. But God will move. Every time God has made a major move in my life, it has been during or shortly after a period, where He led me on a fast. Just keep praying! Keep fasting! and Keep Trusting for a Breakthrough, and You will receive it! God Bless!

Fasting & Prayer

2010-01-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

"Howbeit, this kind, goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Matthew 17:21

As we continue to progress together toward January 31st and our time of refreshing, let us try and clear up a few things on the subject of fasting. Fasting, simply put, is doing without something necessary for physical sustenance in order to focus on what is even more necessary which is spiritual sustenance.

FASTING IS NOT A HUNGER STRIKE AGAINST GOD TO TRY AND GET WHAT WE WANT! Instead, fasting is saying visually, "I cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I need spiritual food more than physical food.

Fasting is often coupled with mourning. Oftentimes, in the Old Testament they would fast, while sitting in ashes and wearing sackcloth. Oftentimes, this would be in conjunction with a time of grief and/or mourning over sin, such as the people of Ninevah in Jonah's day. Jesus said, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." We must mourn over our sinfulness, our apathy, our sleepiness, our ease, and our complacency, while the world and country around us have died and gone to Hell.

Fasting is a great way to cleanse the body and mind. It helps to clean out the cobwebs in our mind, hearts and lives, where we can be more focused mentally and spiritually on the things of God. It will help to reduce some of the ground noise so we can hear the words that are coming down from above.

Fasting, finally, is a way to add urgency to our petition. It gives the sense that I desperately need God to move on my behalf. It is a way to see God breakthrough in our own lives and the lives of those we are praying for. If ever there was a need for fasting it is now, because we have "THIS KIND" all around us. People are being wrecked and ruined by alcohol, divorce, unbelief, deception, and false teachers. We must fast and pray and seek God, trusting that He will send revival! As Manley Beasley once said, "It is always God's sovereign will to send revival, but we must lay the tracks in prayer." Between now and January 31st, let us lay the tracks in prayer!

Be watching for the next post in a couple of days, which will get more into the nuts and bolts of how to fast and how long to fast. God bless!

A Time of Refreshing

2010-01-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

On January 31st, we will be having "A Time of Refreshing" from the presence of the Lord! We are going to intentionally "do church" differently that day to focus on prayer and fasting. We are going to seek God and ask Him to visit us with His presence and send revival, renewal and a Harvest of Souls.

The verse mentioned above talks about the times of refreshing. Refreshing means cooling. This cool refreshment comes from the presence of the Lord. The word presence can also be translated "face." As we take time to fast and pray before the Lord, we will be asking for a time of cool refreshment that comes when He shows up.

So prepare your heart for this day. Make plans to come and participate. And bring a friend with you. This Psalmist said that when we praise the Lord, many would see it and fear and trust in Him. As we have this day dedicated to prayer and praise, we are expecting God to move and do the miraculous in our midst.

God bless you as you "Bring them in, in 2010!"

Bring them in, in 2010!!!

2009-12-29T12:14:00.000-08:00

"Bring them in, in 2010" is more than just a catchy slogan! It is a challenge. I believe the Lord is challenging Southern Baptists, as our President Dr. Johnny Hunt has issued a call to fasting and prayer on January 31st, to repent and ask God for a Harvest of Souls. I believe, also, that He is challenging us at Parkers Creek to Bring them in, in 2010!

We must do this for several reasons:

1. Time is short. Scripture tells us to redeem the time, b/c the days are evil. Furthermore, our Lord could return at any moment and we want to be found faithful. One man told me Sunday, "Let's not just bring them in in 2010; let's bring them all in in 2010!" Amen! Who knows, the last person to be saved in the Church age might get saved this year, and then the Lord return to rapture His Bride! Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!!! Also, James tells us that our life is as a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanishes away. God forbid that souls would die and go to Hell from Dickson, Williamson, Hickman, Humphreys and Cheatham Co. without us telling them the good news of Jesus and giving them and opportunity to respond!

2. It is our duty to bring them in. In all 4 Gospels he says go! Matthew 28:19 says, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them..." Mark 16:15 says, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Luke 14:23 says, "Go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled;" and John 20:21 says, "Even as the Father hath sent me, so send I you." He repeated it again on the Mt. of Olives just before His ascension, when in Acts 1:8 he promised, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me." WE MUST GO!

3. Finally, it is selfish not to go. If I had a cure for cancer but never told anyone that cure, it would be selfish to keep it to myself. Friends, I have something better than a cure for cancer, and that is the cure for the cancer of sin! It is the dynamite power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is still the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes!!!

Over the next few posts, I will be sharing how we are going to bring them in in 2010! We will be doing specific things to give you an opportunity to reach out with the Gospel in 2010! May God Bless you in the New Year!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-23T15:19:00.000-08:00

WOW! It doesn't seem possible that we're ready to say goodbye to 2009 and welcome 2010! Where did this last year go? This week though, we do pause to celebrate the birth of our Lord with family and friends. Let's work hard to keep Christ in Christmas this year! He IS the reason for this season.

Matthew 1:21 tells us that he would be called Jesus, for he will save His people from their sins.

As we celebrate, let us remember that he came to save us from our sins. This was made possible on the cross. So, let us say, "Happy Birthday Jesus!" And let us be forever greatful for the forgiveness that was given to us on the cross!

As I look forward to 2010, I am tired looking at the calendar, which is already filling up! We have Hallelujah 2010 with One Way Street on January 9th; the Valentine's Banquet will be February 13th, and then, I will be going to Israel March 2-11. JUST 9 WEEKS AWAY!!! Thanks again to PCBC for making this possible! Then when I get back it will only be 2 weeks until our Spring Revival March 28-31 with Braxton Hunter. A week later, April 3rd will be our Annual Easter Egg Hunt, and April 4th is Easter Sunday! That makes for a busy busy busy 1st 4 months of the year. But instead of being overwhelmed, I'm excited about the opportunities to reach people this next year!

OUR THEME FOR 2010 IS: "BRING THEM IN, IN 2010!!!" Let's do just that! Invite, Invite, Invite. There are plenty of special occasions to get your friends and family to come, and I believe if they will come God will do an awesome work in their lives. May God bless each one of you as we serve Him together at PCBC in 2010!

Again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

It's already the middle of November!

2009-11-14T23:46:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it!?! It's already the middle of November. We are only 11 days away from Thanksgiving and a little over 1 month away from Christmas! Where did it all go? It seems just yesterday, we were ringing in the New Year! Time has a way of getting away from us! That is why it is so important to number our days.

Psa 90:12 So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom.

And to Redeem the time!

Eph 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Col 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

It's not that we can buy back time, but we can make the most out of the time we have. Our lives are as vapors, they appear for a short time and then vanish away just as James told us in James 4.

So, how do we redeem the time and number our days? Why not start this Holiday Season! Apply your heart to wisdom and walk in wisdom toward those without. Live for Jesus and display his likeness at your Thanksgiving and Christmas get togethers. Treat others with love and respect. Deal with those past hurts and pains; and release them to Jesus! Make a commitment to love the unloveable...YES, EVEN IN YOUR FAMILIES! Read the Bible, make a list of people you're thankful for and send them a card! Pray for opportunities to share your faith and boldness to do it!

Sure, these are simple things, but it is the little things left undone that spoil and rot. It is the little foxes which spoil the vines. So, let's determine to not let this season go by without not just remembering that Jesus is, but living for Jesus, who is the Reason for the Season! God bless and have a great day!

It is Good to dwell in unity!

2009-09-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

Psa 133:1 [[A Song of degrees of David.]] Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Jhn 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Jhn 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

God is so good and has been pouring our His Spirit in our midst at Parkers Creek! We've been seeing sinners converted, the saints revived, the backslidden reclaimed and both numerical and spiritual growth among our congregation! This is not happening everywhere and I believe we find the reason for it here in John 17. Jesus prayed that we might be one as He and the Father are One! Why? That the World might believe. God is moving due in large part to us being unified in purpose, direction, spirit, faith and love.

God has strengthened our fellowship as we have borne one another's burdens! Let us never fail to do that so we can thus fulfill the law of Christ. God has added souls to our number as we have reached out to one another and accepted one another in love and in the power of the Spirit. God has raised us up as a soul saving station where new babies can be birthed into the Kingdom, because we have been a place of warmth and life! As we continue to guard these simple yet powerful things in our midst, the sky is the limit to what God will do!

We can expect that God will continue to pour out His blessings in our midst as we strive to be like Him in everything we say and do - as we reach out to the community and lost, as we reach in to one another to help those in need, as we reach down to lift up those who have fallen and are less fortunate, and as we reach up to Him in Worship!!!

Continue to pray hard, love loud, and expect much! God is at work and will continue as we are faithful to Him!!! HAVE A BLESSED WEEK!!!

Extraordinary

2009-09-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

"The normal has become so subnormal, that when someone's really normal, everyone thinks they're abnormal." - Vance Havner

"Tomorrow should be so filled with holy expectations that we will be living flames for Him. God never intended His people to be ordinary or commonplace. His intentions were that they should be on fire for Him, conscious of His divine power, realizing the glory of the Cross that foreshadows the crown." - Smith Wigglesworth

Philippians 4:13 - "I can do ALL THINGS through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Watchman Nee said that "the normal Christian life is the victorious Christian life." And certainly when you look at the 1st Century Church in the book of Acts you know that that is the case. Yet, we've gotten to a point where we say things like, "I'm going to sin everyday." "Nobody's perfect." and "I'll gain the victory when I get to Heaven." What if I told you that God wanted to give you victory today? What if "normal" is not being defeated? What if God's normal is overcoming faith?

1 John 5:4 state, "And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith."

I was told recently that "normal is a setting on a washing machine." Everyone wants to be "normal," yet we haven't got a clue what "normal" is. If normal is to be defeated, ordinary and someone not making any waves for God, I DON'T WANT TO BE NORMAL!!! But if normal is overcoming by faith, living for Jesus, and making an impact for his Kingdom, I CERTAINLY WANT TO BE NORMAL!!!

Which "normal" are you? Is it the ordinary, bland, status quo normal that doesn't make an impact? or is the overcoming, Spirit-filled life that is daily overcoming the world, flesh and devil and expanding God's Kingdom on earth? Truly, Smith Wigglesworth had it correct when he said, "God never intended His people to be ordinary or commonplace." He intends us to be Extraordinary for His glory! Help us live an Extraordinary, Supernatural life for His glory! God Bless!

God is Faithful

2009-08-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

Lam 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Lam 3:22 [It is of] the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lam 3:23 [They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness.
Lam 3:24 The LORD [is] my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
Lam 3:25 The LORD [is] good unto them that wait for him, to the soul [that] seeketh him.
Lam 3:26 [It is] good that [a man] should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

Throughout Lamentations 3, Jeremiah is crying out of his affliction and praising God for the good things He has bestowed upon Him. When we do recall the faithfulness of God, we have reason to hope! And God has been faithful to us, even when we aren't always faithful to Him. He doesn't give us what we deserve, instead He gives us more than we could ever ask or think!

It's true individually! He gives us salvation. But not only salvation, restoration. Not only restoration, but reconciliation. Not only reconciliation but joy unspeakable and full of glory! Love and peace! Gentleness and Meekness! Temperance and Faith! He gives us families that love us and children who amaze us! He gives us spouses who love us. And he gives us food, clothing and shelter. He gives us understanding of God's word and freedom in service to Him! Is there anything that God won't freely give to His children whom He loves!?!
It's also true corporately! Over the last month or so, we've seen this time and time again at Parkers Creek! WE'RE DEBT FREE!!! And with the financial freedom has come a spiritual freedom unlike any I've ever seen or experienced before. We averaged over 300 people in worship each Sunday of August. Many new people are being added to our number each week. People are opening up and sharing their burdens with one another, and we are gladly helping to bear them. Souls are being saved and set free to worship and serve Jesus! I was blessed Sunday to look out in the crowd and see a man who was saved recently raising his hand in worship of the King of Kings! WHOM THE SON SETS FREE IS FREE INDEED! We're experiencing services where I can't preach because the Spirit of God is preaching. We've seen God answer prayers for salvation and healing! One man was diagnosed with pre-cancerous cells in his esophagus and came forward asking prayer for healing. The next week, he went back, and they said, well it's so small now we can't really see it. GOD IS STILL IN THE MIRACLE BUSINESS! We do indeed serve a gracious, loving and merciful God who delights in doing good things for His Children!

LET US STAY FAITHFUL TO HIM, B/C HE'S ALWAYS GOING TO STAY FAITHFUL TO US!!! BE BLESSED THIS WEEK!!!

MY GOOD THING!!!

2009-08-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

Pro 18:22 [Whoso] findeth a wife findeth a good [thing], and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

Well, let's see, we dated for 1 year before getting married and as of today, we have been married for 9 years. So, we've been together for a decade! As I look back over the last 10 years, I wonder where the time has gone. Where has the time gone these last 9 that we've been married? It just seems like yesterday that we were living in that little house on Church Street (imagine that :-D) in Watertown, TN. I still remember those bugs crawling out of our first Christmas tree and Jenny calling me all distraught. We had only had this live tree for a few days and there we were hauling it off to the dump. Seems bugs had hatched inside the house. Then we had the trauma of leaving (well I left it) a big 3 wick candle on top of a gas furnace. Bad Move! It melted ran down in the furnace and caught fire. Luckily our neighbor, who was also our landlord had a fire extinguisher! ;-p

Those were the days! We can look back on it now and laugh, but we also must be thankful that God saw us through those trying times. I've buried my Grandmother; we've moved 3 times; saw my dad go through a stroke and heart disease; had 2 boys of our own; suffered a miscarriage in between the 2 boys; and put nearly 1/2 million miles on 4 vehicles since then! But through it all we've (I've) been blessed!

Yes, today I celebrate the goodness of God to me! God blessed me by answering my prayer 10 yrs. ago and sending me a wife. And in my opinion, he sent me the best. Jenny truly is the best Wife, Mommy and Friend ever! She is my good thing, and I look forward to the next decade with her at Parkers Creek! THANKS FOR INDULGING ME THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG!!! GOD BLESS!

"Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her." - Ephesians 5:25

Why Doctrine Matters

2009-08-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

As you can see, it has been a couple of weeks since I did a blog post, and I apologize for this. It has been an extremely hectic couple of weeks. As I sat to type, I've had the subject of the need for strong Doctrinal preaching and teaching on my heart.

2 Timothy 3:16, 17 - "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

We are now reaping the harvest of a crop that's been sown in the Church over the last 20 years, which has said essentially, "Let's not focus on doctrine; let's focus on Jesus." With ecumenical fervor, they have propagated this doctine-less gospel in an effort to get along with other denominations and now yes other religions. The fatal flaw with this is that it has produced a generation which knows not the Lord nor what they believe about the Lord.

According to the latest Barna research, 61% of those who grow up in the church are leaving in their 20's NEVER to return. Many of them have abandoned the faith altogether. Most of them started having questions in Middle School and High School, and those questions, which were left unanswered, led them away from God and away from His Church. For many, it was questions about the age of the earth and origin of man. We must not only teach that God's Word is true but be prepared to show why! Darwin said, when commenting on the missing links which he knew was the major stumbling block of his theory, "While the evidence isn't there as yet, I have faith that they will be discovered." Could it be that Evolution is just another religious theory that must be accepted by faith!?! Could it also be that they have been more convincing, more passionate, and yes, more evangelistic in their faith than the Church has been in theirs!?! I think the results are obvious!

It does matter what we are teaching. We must always be ready with an answer for those who have questions. We must teach boldly the next generation a confident gospel based on man's relation to His Creator. We can't leave the educating of our children solely to the school system. We must study and have an answer from God's Word, to sure up the faith in the young people. If not, statistics show they will leave, and most who leave NEVER return.

Don't get spoiled!!!

2009-07-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

When I think of the words "spoiled" and "cheated," I automatically think of something eitheir decaying or corrupted, and someone being robbed from. Paul is writing in Colossians 2 to combat the Gnostic Heresy that had crept into the churches in Colassae and Laodicea. He said that those churches were going to be spoiled and cheated through philosophy and empty deceit.

You see, in Paul's day, the Laodiceans in particular were placing the philosophy of Aristotle, Plato, and Homer on the same plane if not a higher one than Scripture. And he said this would corrupt them and cheat them. Fast forward 30 years to the time of John writing the Revelation. What did he have to say to Laodicea? "You're rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, yet you're in reality blind, miserable and naked. You're neither cold nor hot but lukewarm, and you make the Lord sick."

Could it be that that is exactly our problem in the church in America today!?! We put the philosopher's of our day ahead of Scripture. When it comes to child rearing we think that Dr. Spock knew best. When it comes to family issues, we think that Dr. Phil knows best. When it comes to spiritual matters and matters that affect every day life, we think Oprah knows best. Ultimately, when it comes to right and wrong, we think that we know best. And what is the result? We too have become lukewarm and have seen no major revival in over 100 years.

What is the hope to see it change? Is there any at all? The only hope is to repent and turn to Jesus. We need to return to Him and the Holy Scriptures with a simple child-like faith. Instead of "interpretting" Scripture through the lens of modern philosophy and philosophers, we need to just read it, study it, believe it and obey it. Otherwise, we will continue to be corrupted, and this will rob us of our joy in the Lord! So, this week, DON'T GET SPOILED OR CHEATED! RETURN TO YOUR SIMPLE CHILD-LIKE FAITH AND WATCH GOD WORK WONDERS AGAIN! GOD BLESS!

Saved and Delivered!

2009-07-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

2Cr 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

2Cr 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

I'm glad that I serve a God who specializes in the impossible! In our church lately, God has been sending us hurting people and helpless people with problems bigger than what they can solve on their own. Just today a man came requesting prayer to be delivered from alcohol addiction. I'll be honest, I can't set a man free from alcohol, BUT JESUS CAN!!!

I believe that nothing is impossible to God. He can make drunkards sober and drug addicts clean. He can wipe the slate clean for the murderer and adulterer. He can set free the porn addict and the anorexic. He can give purpose and direction to those who have neither! HE IS AWESOME! HE'S MY SAVIOR; AND HE'S MY LORD!!!

I ask you, "Are you saved and delivered?" Because whom the Son sets free is free indeed! We used to sing this song at my old church that said, "He is able to Deliver Thee." And He is! No matter how low you've gotten, or how desperate your situation has become, "THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL BUT MIGHTY!"

God wants to deliver you! All you have to do is claim it! Speak to that which is not as if it is, because it is (Hebrews 11:1)! Say to that mountain in faith, "REMOVE!!!" And it will be done (Matthew 21:21). Claim it by faith! And watch God go to bat for you this week!

3 Court Decisions which have Hurt America!

2009-06-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

Psalm 9:17 - "The wicked shall be turned into Hell and every nation that forgets God."

As we come upon the July 4Th holiday in which we celebrate our nations birth, we are saddened as we see how far down America has gone in just the space of 46 years. Over the last 46 years there have been 3 major Supreme Court decisions which have drastically altered the course of our nation's life and history. It is sad that we have ceded so much authority and power to 9 individuals, but that is another post for another time. This week, I'd like to share those 3 court decisions and their impact upon our nation's recent history.

1. Murray vs. Curlett (1963). This is the landmark case that led to the Supreme Court decision which ended prayer in public school. One Atheist Woman, Madalyn Murray sued to get prayer ended. And what was the prayer that was so offensive, which the Supreme Court ruled had violated the 1st Amendment?

This simple and innocuous prayer: "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon you, and beg your blessings on us, our parents, our teachers, and our country."

WHAT? NO MENTION OF JESUS CHRIST!?! NOPE! Just a simple invocation asking for God to bless the students, the parents, the teachers and the country. And what has been its effect? Students now have to deal with school shootings, rape, drug abuse, pregnancy, and suicide at record levels, the highest levels in the Western World! Parents are divorcing now at alarming rates, with over half of marriages ending in divorce, which again has cursed the students, who are growing up in fatherless homes. Teachers are no longer allowed to maintain order and discipline in the classroom, and more and more teachers are engaging in sexual deviancy with their students. And need we say anything about our country that finds itself with a devalued dollar, a diminished standing in the world, and less and less security? I ask you, "If we continue to sow to the wind, will we not continue to reap the whirlwind?"

2. Roe vs. Wade (1973). This is the case that legalized Abortion, or so they want us to believe. Technically, this issue should be decided on the state level according to the 10Th Amendment, because the Constitution doesn't afford, "A RIGHT TO AN ABORTION" per Se as the liberal establishment would have us believe. It was a classic case of legislating from the bench. And what has been its consequences? Partial birth Abortion, infanticide, 1.5 million abortions per year, A Social Security Trust fund that is non-existent, Little to No respect for human life, and Violent Crime has risen 700% in the last 30 years. Again, Scripture says, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap."

And

3. Stone vs. Gramm (1980). This decision banned the 10 Commandments from the classroom wall. In the ruling statement, the justices said, "If they are allowed to stay on the classroom walls, the students might read them, be influenced by them and obey them." This they said would violate the 1st Amendment as well. So, you honestly believe that it would be a bad thing for children and teenagers to obey "Thou shalt not steal; Thou shalt not kill; and Thou shalt not commit adultery?" How absurd! Yet, this is the logical or illogical conclusion of 40-50 yrs. of liberalism and secular humanism being shoved down the throats of the American young people, while the God of the Bible is mocked and ridiculed as an archaic figment of a less enlightened and intelligent generation.

BUT LET ME REMIND THEM WHAT THAT LESS ENLIGHTENED AND INTELLIGENT GENERATION ACCOMPLISHED THAT THEY CAN'T! They defeated fascism on 3 continents. They rebuilt this country from the ground up after WWII, and we had decades of prosperity because of their ingenuity. Yet, the more "enlightened" have been allowed to run our great nation into the ground and feed it to the dogs. And the Church by and large has let them. We've believed the lie that we are never to preach on the social issues of abortion and gay marriage, b/c that's getting "Political." We aren't to stand against sin, b/c that's being narrow-minded, bigoted, and judgmental. And the whole time, God sits on His throne in Heaven and waits until He will tolerate it no more and judgment comes. Isn't it time that the Church quit sitting still? Isn't it time for us to mount the wall again and reclaim our position as the watchmen for this country? Isn't it time for us to repent, turn from our wicked ways, and beg God to have mercy, forgive our sins and heal our land? IF WE WILL, HE WILL! 2 CHRONICLES 7:14

Is Your Flywheel Broken?

2009-06-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

Sgs 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines [have] tender grapes.

If you were at church Sunday night, you watched the movie "Flywheel" with us, or perhaps you have seen it in the privacy of your own home. Anyhow, the whole premise of the movie is about this used car salesman whose life, marriage and religion are going nowhere, because he has let the little things like greed, anger, and pride take control.

He buys this old Triumph, which won't run, but Max, the mechanic, gets to digging and finds that a part called the flywheel which turns the crank shaft is messed up. Once this seemingly insignificant part is replaced, the engine then can run. Jay Austin, the fictitious car salesman, also figures out what Solomon said in our verse, "The little foxes spoil the vines." Most will not go out and get locked up for grand theft or murder. Most will not become rapist and sexual addicts, but those little insignificant sins like greed, anger, worry, discontentment and pride will do a number on you and rob you of the joy that Christ wants you to have.

John 10:10 states, "The thief comes but for to kill, steal and destroy. I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." Christ can give you an abundant life, if you will just let him fix your flywheel! Don't let the little foxes spoil the vines and keep you from God's best this week!!! God Bless!

Make this Summer Count for Christ!

2009-06-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Jer 8:20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

This week, I want to just focus our attention on this simple verse from the prophet Jeremiah, where he says, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." It has been said that this verse represents the cry of the harvest. It is as if the fruit has been left to rot on the vine and no one is left to bring it in. It is almost as if the prophet is saying the same thing that Jesus said in Matthew 9.

Mat 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly [is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few;

It truly is sad to think that their could be souls that could be reached, if we would only go, but we are leaving them to rot on the vine and as a result, they are not saved! Too often, we sit back and blame our lack of reaping on the Harvest, as if it is the fault of the lost that we are not reaching them. I had a few thoughts about the Harvest, I'd like to share with you and may we not let summer end without doing all we can to find the Harvest and reap it.

1. The problem is not with the amount to Harvest. The Harvest is always plentiful and it is always ripe. There is always a Harvest to be reaped. Their are souls all around us that need saving. There has always been a multitude wandering around as sheep without a shepherd, and it is still Christ's command for us to go to them, not for them to come to us.

2. The problem is not that the Harvest doesn't want to be reaped. Can you hear the cry of the Harvest from Jeremiah? Can you hear them saying, "Time is running out! Please come back! Don't go back to the storehouse without us! Please come find us!" And all around us, folks are crying out the same things today! They are saying, "We're still out here in drugs. Don't leave us out here in sexual immorality! Don't ignore us, b/c we don't look like you, act like you, smell like you or sound like you! Please come over into Macedonia and help us!"

3. The problem is always with the laborers. The harvest is plentiful and crying to be reaped. But we who are willing to labor are few. We must pray as never before and work so that no one who could be reached is left unreached.

Now, during the Summer, there is always a tendency to get caught up in living, going and doing that we forget about the Harvest that needs to be reached. Now, we all need to take time to rest and relax and vacate. But we must not get so absorbed with that that we miss the cry of the Harvest. There is a Harvest to be reached this Summer. Let us not miss it, because we fail to listen.

Are You in the Way?

2009-06-03T23:05:00.000-07:00

Act 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: [it is] hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Act 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
Act 9:8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought [him] into Damascus.

In this passage, we find the conversion experience of the Apostle Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus. In Colossians 1:1, he tells us that He is "An Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God." We certainly can see this b/c he had no desire to follow Jesus. He looked at Christians (folowers of the Way) as being blasphemers worthy of death. He was full of threats and slaughter. He had consented to the death of Stephen, and now, he wanted to stamp out any remembrance of Jesus Christ. He was totally intollerant of Christianity. He saw them as being of The Way, but no doubt saw them as being in the Way.

And throughout History, we have been called upon to be IN THE WAY! We are to make up the hedge for the land, that is getting in the way so judgment won't come. We are to be in the way as salt and light, purifying and retarding corruption in the land. Yes, the world looks at us as being in the way, but we are to be in the Way. We're to be getting in the Way trying to keep folks out of Hell.

Just as Saul was trying to get rid of those in the Way, people today are no different. They see us as Intollerant, biggoted, dogmatic, homophobes who just refuse to live in modernity. While they preach tollerance, they live intollerant of anyone with an opposing viewpoint to their own.

Instead of Tollerance being like Voltaire described when he said, "I may vehemently disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for you to have the right to say it," they practice a new tollerance which is intollerance. It can be summed up with the words of a school superintendent in FL not long ago who said, "It is the job of the Public School to not tollerate intollerance." IS THIS NOT INTOLLERANCE?

The truth is we serve an intollerant God. He says, "THOU SHALT NOT HAVE ANY OTHER GODS BEFORE ME." He doesn't tollerate it. So, we must choose. Do we want to live in the way as intollerant or fade off the seen and into oblivion by being tollerant while the world goes to Hell? As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! We continue to preach Christ and HIm crucified and the Only Way to Heaven. If this causes me to be In The Way, so be it. I want to get in the way, so maybe someone can be pulled from the fires of Hell and be saved! I ask you, "ARE YOU IN THE WAY?"

Unashamed of the Gospel

2009-05-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been so swamped the last couple of weeks that I haven't been able to post. I've had just the simple Gospel on my heart lately. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel." The word, "gospel," comes from the Greek word euaggelion, which means "glad tidings." It has come to summarize the entire message and story of our Lord Jesus from His Virgin Birth to His Death, Burial, Resurrection and Imminent return.

I am more convinced today than I've ever been that it is still the simple unadulterated and uncompromised message of the Gospel that will change lives and ultimately change nations. Psalm 9:17 tells us that "The wicked shall be turned into Hell and every nation that forgets God." Yet in Psalm 2:8, he says, "Ask of me and I shall give you the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." So, here we have a stark contrast. The nations are being turned into Hell, because the sinfulness of man causes them to forget God. Yet, on the other hand, if we will pray and turn from our wickedness and seek God's face, He's promised to send revival and give us whatever nations we claim! WHAT A POWERFUL THOUGHT THAT IS!!!

This begs two questions:

1. If the Gospel is the "Power of God unto Salvation," and we know it is, why on God's green earth are we preaching everything but the Gospel in our churches?

Some are preaching a social gospel that is wrapped up in political movements on both the left and right. We think that by electing the right people we can end poverty, abortion, hunger, gay marriage, environmental pollution, diseases, and whatever other social ill you can think of. I say, "Hogwash and Slop!" It's only the Bread of Life, the Great Physician and the Giver of Eternal Life that can end these problems, so to that THE GOSPEL IS THE ONLY ANSWER!

Some are preaching a humanistic gospel saying that man holds the key to overcoming his problems. We think that by preaching self-help pop-psychology that we can rid the world of evil. After all mankind is deprived we say and depressed. Could it be that he is depressed because he's been deprived of the Good Tidings of Jesus Christ! Could it be that he is depraved and instead of reparations he really needs regeneration!?! Again, to that THE GOSPEL IS THE ONLY ANSWER!

2. If the Gospel is the Power of God unto salvation, why aren't we sharing it everywhere we go? The early church saturated Jerusalem and the entire known world with the Gospel in about 50 years. Some churches haven't grown and won very few people to Christ in 50 years. Why? Because the true church is the people, and the people aren't sharing the Gospel.

If America is going to be turned around and saved from becoming and asterick on the annals of human history, the church better wake up! We better get back to preaching the simple Gospel from our pulpits, and those in the pews better start sharing it in public. What is this simple message?

A. We're depraved. We sinful and wicked. We're born sinners and we commit sin.
B. We're doomed. If we get what we deserve for our sin we're going to go to Hell, and we deserve every minute we spend there.
C. God's delight is to give people grace (His favor towards an undeserving people). While we were yet sinners, Romans 5:8 tells us, Christ died for us! As a Southern Gospel song that I heard recently says, "Jesus came to my rescue. When He fought the battle, we won the war." God is not willing that any should perish but all come to repentance. Romans 10:13 tells us that whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Today, if you don't know Jesus and God is dealing with your heart, Repent. Turn from your self and your sin, and turn to the Savior! Trust Christ and Him alone to save you. And if you are saved, share the good news with someone today! Our time is running out because death is certain and Jesus is Coming. Let's get back to the simple unadulterated and uncompromised message that "Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief." Jesus loves you and wants to save sinners.

WHAT A MAN! WHAT A MESSAGE! OH WHAT A SAVIOR! GOD BLESS!

The Gospel Still Works!

2009-05-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Last night, I got home from preaching a revival meeting at the College Heights Baptist Church in Eldorado, Illinois for Pastor David Colvin. I jokingly told people to pray for this unreconstructed southerner going to the Land of Lincoln. But all joking aside, I had full confidence in God and the power of the Gospel as I went. Possibly the Greatest Christian who ever lived was the Apostle Paul. He said this in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

The Good News of Christ's death, burial and resurrection is still the powerful message that God uses to bring people unto Himself! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. That message can and does change people's lives! Whenever it goes forth, it plants and waters; and God uses it to bring the Harvest!

The last several weeks, we were focusing on the Armor of God for the Christian. Christ told us to have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. As we go forth sharing the Good News that Christ died to save sinners, God will use it anywhere. As I was returning from Eldorado last night, my heart was rejoicing to know that the Gospel works anywhere! Ten souls were added to the Kingdom of Heaven in Eldorado this week. Three were added the night of Bro. David's ordination! Is it any wonder that it is referred to as the Glorious Gospel!?! It is so awesome to think that the God of glory so loved us sinful, stubborn and self-willed people that He would send His Son to die in our place on the cross!

The only reasonable thing to do in light of our sinfulness, the reality of Heaven and Hell, and the offer of a free gift of eternal life is to surrender to Christ and His Lordship! I'm so happy that I surrendered to Him when I was 6 yrs. old, and now He is using me to help water the seed and see the Harvest reaped before the end comes! May you make yourself available to Christ to share His Good News! As you do, you will be filled to overflowing with Christ's abundant life! God Bless You!

The Key to Making the Armor Effective!

2009-04-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to "Pray without Ceasing." If our warfare and armor are to be effective without any chinks in them, we must be people of prayer. It has rightly been said, "Preaching moves people but prayer moves God." We must pray everday, at all times, and with one voice.

There should never be a time when we aren't in such communion with the Father that we couldn't ask anything in Jesus' name and not only know that we've been heard, but that it's been done for us! The great revivalist Leonard Ravenhill said, "You can say words and not pray. You can pray and never say a word."

You don't have to get down in a specific posture physically to pray. You don't have to use eloquent words to pray. You don't have to say anything verbally at all. Just communicate from your heart through the Holy Spirit to God. In doing so, we are redeeming the time b/c the days are evil.

* Pray for the lost!
* Pray for Kings/elected leaders!
* Pray for your children!
* Pray for your church leaders!
* Pray for your spouse!
* Pray for the sick!
* Pray for the suffering!
* Pray for those enduring temptation! And if you run out of things to pray for,
* Pray for all men everywhere!

In other words, time spent in prayer is never wasted! Take time, no make time to pray! Talk to God, and experience the power of the Holy Spirit, His fullness and joy in your life! The hymn-writer said it this way: "Put on the Gospel Armor. Each piece put on with prayer!" Fight the good fight on your knees this week! God Bless!

The Armor of God, Continued

2009-04-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 6:17b - "...and take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."

This week, we are getting back into our study on the Armor of God. And we find the second offensive weapon in the Armor. We find the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 - "For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Here, we find that God's word is a sharp sword. It is sharper than even a double-edged sword; and It is able to divide and even discern.

It is also a piercing sword. It penetrates to the very core of who we are. It gets down where we live, where the rubber meets the road. It can discern our thoughts and the intents of the heart. It is a great book to die by, but it is also a great book to live by. It is the blueprint from which we build our lives. It is the solid rock, which we build our lives upon, and when the storms come and the rains fall and the winds blow, our lives will not fall apart. But when we build it on the shifting sand of human wisdom, secular thought and psychology, it will fall flat on its face!

But with all this said, In order for a sword to be an offensive weapon, it has to be picked up and used. We must speak the word in due season! We must use it in witness; use it in edifying, exhorting and rebuking; and use it in prayer! When we use it, it's powerful. When we ignore it, we are powerless! Let's study the word, hide it in our hearts, heed it in our lives, and use it to do great things for God this week! God Bless You!

The Passion of the Christ

2009-04-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

Act 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

I thought I'd take a break from the Armor of God this week, and focus on the cross. Yesterday, we commemorated the death of our Lord on the Cross, and tomorrow, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord from the dead!

Luke, in his 2nd book to Theophilis, writes that Christ showed himself alive after his passion with many infallible proofs. It is an historical fact that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, burried and arose from the dead. Paul said in 1 Corithians 15 that over 500 saw Him at one time. He was on earth 40 days after his resurrection and many saw Him. Today, Christ is alive! He's alive and well, and He is coming again!

But notice that word, passion again. It is an interesting word in the Greek, which the New Testament was originally written in. It means, "to suffer in place of." Christ suffered in place of us. As the hymn writer puts it,

"He took my sins and my sorrows.
He made them His very own.
He bore my burden to Calvary,
And suffered and died alone.

How Marvelous! How Wonderful!
And my song shall ever be!
How Marvelous! How Wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!"

The true reason for this season isn't bunnies and toys and candy, although all of that is fun. THE REAL REASON IS JESUS! He took our sins upon Himself, and in Him, they were nailed to the cross. Jesus died in our place, and offers us eternal life in exchange for His death. If you do not know Him as your personal Savior and Lord, trust Jesus today! Repent of Your sins, and trust His sacrifice and shed blood to take them away! Confess Him as Savior and Lord today!

Jesus really cares for you!

The Helmet of Salvation (Armor of God, cont.)

2009-04-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation,

Many believe the "Helmet of Salvation" to be talking about getting saved. It is not. It is more walking in confident assurance of salvation than it is the moment of salvation. Now, before I go further, certainly you must be saved in order to effectively fight the good fight. If you're not, you're on the wrong side of this war anyway. But there are a lot of saved people who aren't walking in confident assurance of their salvation and as a result never engage in the battle for the Lord.

Paul, nailed this down in his first letter to the Thessalonians. He has this to say:

1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

The word hope there speaks of a confident assurance. It is being confident of who we are in Christ. So, just who are we in Christ?

We're more than conquerors!
We're accepted in the beloved!
We're heirs and joint heirs with Jesus!
We're loved by the Father!
We're not condemned!
We're seated in Heavenly places!
We're endwelt by the Holy Spirit!
We're ambassadors of Christ!
We're not our own!
We're bought with a price!
We're saints!

AND THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON!!!!

Until a person is confident in their eternal position and standing in Christ, they won't effectively fight the good fight of faith!

So, how can one have this confidence?

1. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling! Make sure you are saved!
2. Live out what is inside! Live for Jesus! We are His workmanship created in Him for good works.
3. Give out the gospel. Everywhere and to everyone, share what Jesus has done for you and them. And
4. Speak out for Jesus and the truth of God's Word!

This week, rest in who you are in Christ, and live for Jesus fully armed and ready for battle!

ABOVE ALL (ARMOR OF GOD Cont.)

2009-03-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Now, we come to the piece of armor that Paul says we need to take above everything else, the shield of faith.

Two basic questions:

"What is a shield used for?"

And

"What is faith?"

Well, a shield blocks incoming arrows. Paul calls them the fiery darts of the wicked. Satan and his minions are constantly throwing their fiery darts at us: Lust, Greed, Anger, Bitterness, Unforgiveness, Disease, Hatred, Ungodliness, Doubt, Deception, and you name it, it is coming at us. Anything that will separate us from the center of God's will and fellowship with Christ, they are going to hurl at us to keep us from living up to our God-given potential and high calling in Christ. So, how do we overcome?

That is where faith comes in. 1 John 5:4 states, "For whatever is born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." Faith simply is believing in something we can't yet see, because we know that we soon will see it. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The great Preacher Manley Beasley used to say that faith was not praying God give me, but God open my eyes to see that I already have it! True faith is seeing what is not their, as if it is there, because it is there!

AND THAT IS EXACTLY HOW WE ARE TO LIVE OUR LIVES!

When it comes to prayer - pray in faith. If it's a genuine and true need, God's already promised to supply it, so believe that it is already on the way.

When it comes to temptation, believe you're going to escape it, and start looking for the way of escape that God promises in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that he would supply!

When it comes to trials and tribulations, start believing to see the good that God has promised to work in it. And in doing so, we will overcome the world, and quench all the fiery darts that our enemy has to throw our way!

This week, let's walk by faith and not by sight. Let us live life to the fullest by faith in Christ!

Get your gospel shoes on (Armor of God, Cont.)!

2009-03-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 6:14 And having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

As we continue our study on the armor of God, we see now come to one of 2 offensive weapons. The Roman Soldier had special shoes with spikes in the soles that would allow them to advance against the enemy regardless of the terrain. Paul, who is writing to the church to show them/us that they/we can win against the Principalities and Powers, encourages them to shod their feet with the gospel of peace. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Now, peacemakers are more than just mediators between two opposing parties. Peacemakers are people who help others to come to a peaceful resolution. The ultimate peacemakers are those who help others make peace with God through the blood of His cross. Paul wrote to the Romans that the feet of them that preach this gospel of peace are beautiful!

So how do we advance against an enemy that hates us in a rugged Christ-hating world? We do it with the Gospel of Peace. Sinful man can make peace with a Holy God through the blood of God's own Son, Christ Jesus! Christ died and shed His own blood to pay for mankind's sin. Through faith in Him, we can make peace with God, and have the peace of God in our hearts.

This week, let us advance the cause of Christ and God's Kingdom against the Principalities and Powers by sharing the good news of Jesus with someone else! Get your gospel shoes on!

The Armor of God, Part 2

2009-03-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 6:14b - "having put on the breastplate of righteousness."

Last week, we talked about the key element of truth in Spiritual Warfare. If we are up against the master deceiver and father of all lies, and we are, we must combat his lies with truth. We must do as we have been talking about on Sunday mornings and earnestly contend for the faith, which was once and for all delivered unto the saints. We saw how that belt of truth holds the whole armor together.

This week, I want us to focus our attention on the breastplate of righteousness. As you may know or can figure out, the breastplate is what guards the heart. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:23-27: "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil."

I believe this is so key to putting on the breastplate of righteousness. The word righteousness there is speaking of our righteous deeds more so than our righteous standing in Christ. We must do the right things and make the right choices, if we are to withstand the onslaught of the enemy. Solomon understood this and understood that when we don't make the right choices, many times it is because we have a much deeper problem, which a heart problem. Our hearts simply put are not in the right place.

We must guard daily our hearts to keep it in the right place. Why? Because if we don't, it's not long until our feet stray as well. When your heart strays away from God, your feet are soon to follow. When our hearts are not in the right place it affects our mouths, our eyes, and our feet. The wellspring of our hearts can get clogged up with the dirt of the world. That dirt will put our fire out and cause us to have congestive heart failure in a spiritual sense.

If we find ourselves with spiritual heart disease, what should we do? We should start by diet and exercise. Begin to nourish yourself with the milk and meat of God's word. Exercise by being a doer of that word. And let God's Spirit restore you to good health. If your condition is very severe, you may have to let God's Spirit do heart surgery. Maybe you need to bypass some relationships. Maybe you need to have a clot removed, where the junk of the world is about to choke you and kill you. Whatever the case, give your heart afresh and anew to Jesus! Live for Him who is our strength!

Armor of God, Part 1

2009-02-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

I'm going to begin a series of blog posts on the armor of God. It is highly critical that we put on the whole armor of God in these last days. So many are being decimated and turning from the truth of God's Word. We must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, if we are going to make it!

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,

Paul is urging these believers who were rich yet living like paupers to be strong in the Lord. You see that makes all the difference in the world! We can be strong in our own might and power, and this will always lead to the enemy decimating us. Why? Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. It's not by might, or power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord! We must stand for what is right, but not in our own strength or armor, but God's!!!

He then tells them that the real enemy is not other human beings but the devil and his wiles or methods. He has no new schemes, but he has been honing the one's he has for 6,000 years. Because of this, we must stand in God's power, with God's armor. So what is this armor?

First, he says, have your loins girt about with truth. Why is this so important? Because our enemy is a liar and the father of them! He is a master deceiver, and his minions are as well. 1 Timothy 4:1 tells us that "in the last days, some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been putting question marks where God puts periods. His primary tool is to question the authority of God and His Word.

The Devil wants us to question the authority of God's word to govern our lives. That is why it is critical to have our loins girt about with truth. The Psalmist said that the Lord desires truth in the inward parts. We are to know the truth, possess the truth, and live the truth. Christ and His Word are Truth (John 14:6: 17:17). Do you know Him who is truth? And are you living as a doer of the truth of His Word?

Why is this so key? Because the belt is what holds this armor together! Each Roman Soldier had a belt that would secure the entire armor. If the belt is lost, the soldier is left unprotected. We must study to show ourselves approved unto God. WE must memorize, read, and heed the Holy Scriptures. We must spend time with Christ in prayer. Time is short, and we must be fully clothed if we are to defeat the enemy! May God bless you and help you to put on the whole armor of God today!

You can know for sure!

2009-02-12T22:15:00.000-08:00

1 John 5:13 - "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life; and that you might believe on the name of the Son of God."

Many people are so confused and miserable about their standing with God. They hope they're saved, but when nailed down, they don't know for sure. For many, they never were saved; for others they were, but as 2 Peter 1 talks about, because they weren't adding to their salvation, "They forgot that they were purged from past sins." I don't understand how people can live their lives and face death with something they're only hoping for. And God didn't intend for His children to live this way. Salvation is something we can know for sure. We can have a confident assurance that we are saved and have eternal life.

Romans 8 is a great passage describing the victory that we have in Jesus. And we do have victory in Jesus! Not because of our goodness, but because of His mercy and grace! Verse 1 tells us we are not condemned. Verse 9 tells us the Spirit of God dwells in us. Verse 14 tells us that we are led by the Spirit. Verse 15 tells us that we don't have the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father. Verse 16 tells us that "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." Verses 23 and 24 tell us that we are eagerly waiting for our redemption, which will take place when Christ returns. Verse 26 tells us that Spirit will help us pray. Verse 28 tells us that all things are working for our good. Verse 29 tells us that God foreknew us and predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son. Verse 31 says "If God is for us who can be against us?" Verse 37 tells us we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus! And verses 38 and 39 tells us that nothing can separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord! What an awesome passage of Scripture!

So if you've been struggling with your salvation and where you would spend eternity, here are a few questions to ask based on Romans 8 to help you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling as Philippians tells us to do:

1. Am I on an upward path - led by the Spirit? v. 14
2. Am I afraid of where I will spend eternity? v. 15
3. Does the Spirit comfort me about salvation or convict me? V.16 And
4. Am I eagerly awaiting the return of Christ, or does that scare me? V. 23, 24

If the Holy Spirit is convicting you, then now is the day of salvation. If the thought Christ's return scares you because you don't know that you are saved and will be taken to be with him, now is the accepted time. If you're afraid and unsure, settle it today! Salvation is too serious; Heaven is too sweet; Hell is too hot; and eternity is too long to not be sure you're saved. Call on the name of the Lord and be saved today! God bless you!

Baptism and the Believer

2009-02-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

Acts 2:38 - "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Possibly, no other verse has been misinterpreted and misapplied in all of Scripture than this one. Was Peter saying that you must be baptized in order to have your sins washed away? That is what some denominations teach. Others use this verse to teach that you must not only be baptized in water, but you must also be baptized with the Holy Ghost and give the evidence of speaking in tongues to be saved. So who is right? Are either one right? I believe the answer is no. You must study the Word of God in context as a whole book. You cannot take one verse here and there and build a major doctrine upon it, if you are going to rightly divide the word of truth, as 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us. So what was Peter saying?

First, you must look at the Greek language in which the New Testament was originally written. As is the case also, with Mark 16:16, repentance is in the active tense and baptize is in the passive tense. In other words, the emphasis is always on repentance. Second, you must look at the Greek word, "eis," translated "for." Because this verse hinges on that preposition. The Greek word, "eis," can mean, "in order to," or "because of." Translate it as "in order to," and you get, "in order to have your sins remitted." But translate it as "because of," and you get, "because your sins have been remitted."

If Peter spoke these words, he must have said other things about baptism and salvation. Right? Yes he did! In Acts 3:19, he said, "Repent and be converted," with no mention of baptism. He clarifies the position of the Apostles, which was also the position of Christ, in 1 Peter 3:21. He says in essence that baptism is a picture and is not for the putting away of the filth of the flesh. In other words, "Repent, be converted, let Christ was away your sins; and then be baptized because this has happened."

This is in accord with Titus 3:5, which tells us that it is "Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy He has saved us." And Ephesians 2:9, which states, "It is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast."

Now, is this to say that baptism is not important? Absolutely not! Christ walked 50miles one way to be baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Why? Did he have sins which needed to be washed away? God Forbid! He was identifying with the believing remnant. When we are baptized, we are identified with Christ and other believers. We are saying that our old life is buried and gone, and we are raised to walk in a new life with Christ. It is something every Christian should do, but not to be saved, but because they are. So, trust Christ; repent of sins; accept His free gift; and then be baptized because of it.

Is God's Word at Home in Your Heart?

2009-01-19T05:40:00.000-08:00

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

I heard a saying recently that went like this:

God's Word...

Know it in your head.
Stow it in your heart.
Show it in your life. And
Sow it in the world.

In Colossians 3:16, Paul admonishes us to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." That word "dwell" actually means "to be at home." Paul is saying that God's word ought to be at home in our lives. It means that it can come in the front door and there are no rooms that are off limits.

Last night, when I got home, I came in the back door and before the night was over, I had gone through every room and closet. Why? Because I was at home. However, sometimes when company comes over unexpectedly, we don't have time to clean all the rooms. So, we only clean the main one's and shut the doors to the dirty one's. In other words, some rooms are off limits.

Six months ago we put our house on the market. Now, company can drop by at a moment's notice. So, we have to keep all rooms and closets clean all the time, because we don't know when someone might want to drop by and look at the house. I believe that is how we should be when it comes to the Word of God.

It should be so at home that we're not afraid for it to go into any rooms of our life, because there are none off limits. We often want to compartmentalize our lives, and say, "Well, the word applies to my going to church on Sunday, but this other area, well that's my thing." If we are saved, the Scripture says we are not our own. There is nothing that belongs to us, and if Jesus is Lord, the answer is always, "Yes," to whatever he tells us to do.

The word of God then applies to our thought life, our busines practices, how we treat others beginning with our spouse and children, our appetites, our leisure time (what we do for fun and when we do it; how about what we listen to or watch on TV?), and every other are of our life. God's word and God's peace umpire in our lives. They make the final call on all matters, including where we go, what we do, and when we do it. We abide by their call whether we like it or not!

I ask you today, "Is God's word at home in your heart?" Are you hiding it there, so you won't sin against God? Does it have complete access to every part of your life? If not, start today. Study it; heed it; hide it; memorize it; meditate on it; and let it rule. God has a wonderfully abundant life waiting on us, if we just trust Him enough to do it His way. God bless you!

God granted his Request!

2009-01-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

1Ch 4:9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.

1Ch 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep [me] from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

About 10 years ago, it seemed that this prayer was everywhere. You couldn't go to Wal-Mart, much less a Christian bookstore, without seeing it on books, Bible Studies, Coffee Mugs, Sweatshirts, Tee Shirts, plaques, and anything else imaginable. It was so popular, and everyone it seemed was praying it.

Well, have we forgotten it? Jabez, whose name means, "One who causes pain," called on the God of Israel, and God granted him what he requested. That seems so trite, yet it is so monumental. The fact still remains that we have not because we ask not.

We aren't blessed, because we think it would be selfish to ask God to bless us. We don't have new coverts and ministry opportunities, because we don't ask God to give them to us. We've been beaten down into thinking that only pious and self-centered Christians want bigger churches and more people. Now, if that is the sole motive, just to have a bigger name or bigger church to look good in front of people, then we've used up the reward here on earth. However, if your heart is pure, and you genuinely want to do more and reach more for God's glory and God's Kingdom, God wants to bless you in that way! WE HAVE NOT BECAUSE WE ASK NOT!!!

Furthermore, God has promised to be with us when we're fulfilling the Great Commission. He's promised to fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit; and He's promised to keep us from harm, when we're in the center of His will. So why not ask. Jabez was bold enough to ask; and as a result, he went from pain to gain, from expense to expanse, and from harm to Hallelujah! God delights in you! He wants to bless you and raise you up as a mighty conqueror. He wants to give you victory after victory for His glory! Just Ask, and see what God will do!

God will provide!!!

2009-01-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

Philippians 4:19 - "But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory."

It is so hard to believe that verse at times, especially when we're living in hard times economically as we are today. How can you believe that when you get handed a pink slip at work? How can you believe that when your spouse, who was the primary bread winner, drops dead suddenly at a young age? How can you believe that when the doctor says you have cancer, and it's aggressive, and it's at an advanced stage? How can you believe that when your mate of 20 years suddenly walks out on you for someone else? How can you? You can't in and of yourself!

I heard Dr. Jeff Laborg preach recently and he said, "It's ok to ask God why, just as long as you don't try and answer the question." I believe he was right. When we face hard times, trials and tribulation, it's ok to ask why. But wait on God for the answer, and trust Him that He's right all the time!

Sometimes the answer is that we have gotten away from God, and He's using it to draw us back to Him. Other times it isn't that we've gotten away from Him, but He is using it to bring about good for His glory, either in our own lives or the lives of others. What we must guard against is allowing a root of bitterness to take hold of us. So many believers are miserable because of bitterness. Someone did them wrong. Life was too hard. You prayed and asked God for something, and He chose not to answer it in the way you thought He should. Some people are bitter at everyone else because they're really bitter and offended at God. Things didn't turn out the way they thought they should, so bitterness has taken over. Has God really been so bad to you that you must blame Him and lash out at everyone else? If we're honest, we must say that God has been far better to us, and He's treated us far better than we've treated Him. We caused His only son to die for Pete's sake!

Anyway, what should be our resolve in difficult times? I believe we should be as Abraham when He was going to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, b/c God had told Him to. Isaac asked, "Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?" To which Abraham replied, "God will provide a lamb." And God did. God was simply testing Abraham's faith. Perhaps God is doing the same for you? Can you radically obey the Lord in faith as Abraham did, believing God to raise back up to you whatever it is you're being asked to give up? Can you be like Job who in the midst of losing everything did not sin nor blame God foolishly? We can't again in our strength but in God's supernatural strength we can do all things! Maybe our prayer should be, "Lord give me your perspective, and help me to trust you in the difficult times, and help me to believe you to do great things in my life."

The great preacher Manley Beasley used to ask his staff everyday, "What are you believing God for today?" What are you believing God for today? What need do you have that only He can supply? Give it to Him, and watch HIm work miracles! Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide!!!

It's time to wake up!

2009-01-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

Jesus gave a parable concerning the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 25, where he compared it to 10 virgins waiting for their bridegroom to come and get them. Five were wise and had oil, whereas the other 5 were foolish and had no oil. We know that oil is often used as a picture of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we could say that 5 were genuinely saved, whereas the other 5 had the outward appearance but nothing on the inside. The saddest part of all of this however might be found in Matthew 25:5, which says, "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept."

All of them fell asleep! Not just the 5 foolish, but all of them, even the wise. Now, couldn't we agree that the 5 wise today (the true church and believers) are asleep and oblivious to the fact that Jesus is coming! How do we know this? The Southern Baptist Convention, of which I am a part, recorded the lowest number of baptisms last year since the 1980's. At a time when evangelism ought to be our #1 priority, it is our least priority. We are more consumed with political posturing and debating over the sovereignty of God with Hyper-Calvinists to go out and witness, even though that's what we say we believe in. If the Gospel is a whosoever will let him come Gospel, AND IT IS!!! Then let's share it! Let's wake up, for our time is short. Christ is coming, and we want to take others with us. Let us work His works until He comes! God Bless you!

Shine in '09!

2009-01-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Matthew 5:16 - "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in Heaven."

Often times at the beginning of a new year, we make resolutions. What they mainly boil down to is resolving in your own mind to do better in one or more areas than the year before. The sad truth of the matter is that most of the time, after 1 or 2 weeks, you go back on what you had resolved to do. Well this year can be different.

I love the New Year, because it affords us a new beginning. It allows us to wipe our slates clean and start over. As you face the New Year, I want to encourage you to Shine for Jesus this year! Resolve to be more godly, more joyful, more of a witness, love your wife more, and live life to the fullest this year! Be all you can be in the Lord's Army.

Now, let me warn you. There was a man in the Bible who was very blessed and powerful. His story is found in Daniel chapter 4. He was Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. He was constantly being given prophetic dreams about himself that only Daniel could interpret. Now, this particular dream involved him being brought low because of his pride. He was warned that he only had 12 months (1 yr.) to get right with God. You would've thought that He would've immediately repented and cried out to God for mercy, after all He'd seen God's hand on Daniel in Daniel 1 and 2. He'd seen the Son of God show up in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego in Daniel chapter 3, but how subtle pride is! And how hard it is to break! He had to learn his lesson the hard way. At the end of the year, he stood in the palace and looked out at Babylon with its magnificent Ishtar Gate and Hanging Gardens. He no doubt thought about how he was the gold head of the statue and first major Gentile World Ruler; and instead of giving glory to God, He said, "Look at what I've built." His punishment: he had to graze in the fields like an animal for a time until God had broken Him.

I ask you, which scenario will describe you this year? Will it be one who loves justice and mercy and walks humbly with your God? Or will you be lifted up with pride and have to suffer the consequences? Resolve with me to shine in 09 for Jesus!!!

Prophecy is being Fulfilled!

2008-12-23T15:36:00.000-08:00

There are 108 prophecies concerning the 1st coming of Messiah, and over 500 concerning the 2nd Coming. All 108 prophecies surrounding His first coming have been fulfilled. The probability that 108 prophecies could be fulfilled to the T in one person are mind boggling. The only conclusion is that Jesus of Nazareth who was born in Bethlehem is indeed the Messiah. A few of those prophecies are as follows:

The Place of His Birth

Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.

Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

The nature of His birth

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

The cruel reaction by Herod to His birth

Jer 31:15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, [and] bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they [were] not.

Mat 2:18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

The gift of His birth

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Yeshua Hamashiach Jesus is the Messiah! He is King of Israel and Coming Lord of Glory! As I said, there are over 500 prophecies concerning the 2nd Coming of Christ when he will establish His earthly Kingdom upon the throne of David (Isaiah 9:7). That means God spoke 4 X's more about the 2nd coming than the first. Why? Because He wants us as believers to not be caught unaware.

Zec 12:2
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah [and] against Jerusalem.
Zec 12:3
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

As for our Jewish friends, Jesus is your Messiah as well. As we see Jerusalem becoming the burdensome stone and cup of trembling for the nations in these last days, remember God is about to cut to pieces your enemies and send Messiah back to rule and reign. And as has been prophesied, in these last days many of you are coming to faith in Jesus as Messiah. Over 400,000 Jewish people have converted to faith in Christ during the last 30 years. That might seem small, but it is I believe the firstfruits of the Harvest to be reaped in these last days leading up to the event when a nation will be converted in a day! Jesus is coming! Don't miss it for the world!

Let there be Light!

2008-12-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

Jhn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jhn 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Jhn 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Jhn 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Jhn 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

When I think of the miracle of the Incarnation, which is the Miracle of Christmas, I think of a light being turned on in a dark room. At least, that is what John thought of. Because God became man, we can have life and light.

Now life and light are two very simple and common things, yet they are complex and incomprehensible in nature. We see them all around us, and we know they are interconnected, but we can't quite grasp them. I'd like to focus our attention again on verse 4, which states, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." What was the concept which John was trying to get us to see? Could it be the fact that is only as we respond to the light which Christ gives us that we are then able to experience true life?

The next verse (5) is very interesting. I'm afraid that the King James doesn't do justice to what John was trying to get across. According to Dr. J. Vernon McGee's Through the Bible Commentary, a more accurate rendering of this verse is this: "The light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not overpower it or take it in." I believe that is true. Unlike the physical realm, in which light and darkness cannot exist side by side, in the spiritual realm they can. Paul, tells the Colossians that they are 2 opposing Kingdoms. We are born in the Kingdom of Darkness, and it is only as Christ gives us ability that we can be translated into the Kingdom of Light. What John is trying to say is that there are 2 Kingdoms side by side, darkness and light. Those in Darkness cannot overpower the Light, but they can't take in the light either. That is precisely why they can't seem to see how much they need Jesus Christ! 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that the natural man cannot comprehend the things of the spirit because they are spiritually discerned. Only God can give a dead man the ability to respond to the light and therefore come alive!

Let me just say here that mankind is without excuse, because the light is shining. We have the light of Creation declaring the glory of God (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20). The light of conscience is gripping a man and telling us that we are sinners without hope. Finally, the lights of Christ and Scripture are pointing the way to the Father. Yet, we love darkness rather than light. Why? Because our deeds are evil. John 1:11 tells us that He came unto His own and His own did not receive Him. But verse 12 goes on to say, "But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God." When we receive Christ the light comes on!

Now, that brings us to a final verse, Proverbs 20:27 - "The spirit of Man is the candle of the Lord, searching the inward parts of the belly." Notice that it says the candle and not the light of the Lord. A candle is not the light. It is simply a bearer of the light. As we receive Christ, who is the light of the world, we take in the light. We are then called upon to be bearers of that light and let our light shine before men, so they can see our good works and glorify our Father which is in Heaven.

This Christmas, let us bear that light and not hide it under a bushel! As we get together with family and friends, let us shine that light so others will see it and our world will become a little less dark. Remember, Christ came into the world to save sinners. Unto us is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord!!!

The Miracle of Christmas

2008-12-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Luk 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Christmas story never ceases to amaze me. It is truly mind boggling to think about the fact that God became man. The miracle of Incarnation is the miracle of Christmas. God wrapped Himself in human flesh and dwelt among the creation (John 1:1, 14). Had he not done this, mankind would be without hope. We would have no hope of eternal life and no hope of abundant life.

The simple fact is this: The Christmas Message is the Gospel Message. Mankind is depraved and desperately wicked. Our hearts are deceived and wicked; our minds are deceived and wicked; and our deeds are deceived and wicked. Because of this, we deserve to go to Hell. But God so loved us that he came and sold all he had to get us back.

Mat 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

We are that treasure!!! We were found in Him from the foundation of the world; yet we were hidden in the world and lost in sin. Christ came and gave up all he had in Heaven: equality with God, riches untold, power, majesty and praise. He was stripped bare, mocked, beaten and ridiculed. He suffered and died to buy the field that we his treasure were hidden in. Friends, he went through that for us! Because of his great love wherewith he loved us. Now, we must serve him and go out and find the hidden treasure.

As you think about the Christmas story, think about the great love that God displayed by coming and being born to die. He thinks you're worth it! So live as a child of the king!

Christ Came into the World

2008-12-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

1Ti 1:15 This [is] a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

As we celebrate the miracle of Christmas, it never ceases to amaze me that Christ came into the world. Think about it! God actually became a man! The Creator became part of His creation, suffered and died as a part of that creation, and rose from the dead to show that he was so much more than a created being.

And what an arrival! He was born of a virgin, just like Isaiah had prophesied! He was conceived of the Holy Ghost and brought forth in the fulness of time [AT GOD'S APPOINTED AND EXACT RIGHT TIME], and laid in a manger. Angels announced his arrival, and shepherds and wise men came and worshipped Him! God's glory shone all around, and it was as if all nature was crying out: "THAT'S HIM! AND HE'S FINALLY HERE!!!"

John 1:14 tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The term "dwelt among us" is actually "tabernacled among us." You could say that he pitched his tent beside us. And he took on the tabernacle of human flesh.

Paul puts it this way:

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Do you get by now what Christmas is all about? It's not about the toys and stuff! It's about Christ becoming accursed for you and me. The Creator humbled himself and took upon human form. He was born under the law and condemned to die under that same legal system. Why? Did he do wrong? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! He took your punishment and mine. The law, which is our schoolmaster that brings us to Christ, condemns everyone of us to die, b/c we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God! The wages of that sin is to die and go spend forever in Hell. BUT GOD, who is rich in mercy toward us, He demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!

HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?!

Now, whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13)! This Christmas, remember who it is and what it is we are celebrating! It is Jesus, who bore in his own body the punishment for our sins. He suffered at the hands of his own father the punishment that you and I deserve. He did come into the world! And it was to save sinners of whom I am chief! PRAISE GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT! Have you ever accepted God's free gift of eternal life? If not, let God's Spirit speak to you and surrender to Christ as Lord today!

AM I REALLY THAT BAD?

2008-11-25T18:26:00.000-08:00

Psalm 14:3 states, "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become filthy, there is none that doeth good, no not one."
Romans 3:12 restates it this way, "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no not one."

The Hebrew word translated good in the Psalms in the word towb. It literally refers to anything good ethically, intellectually, sensibly, sensually, or comparitavely. And the verse states none of us have done anything good in any or all of these areas.

The New Testament Greek word for good is "chrestetotes," meaning, "moral goodness, integrity and kindness."

The Old Testament tells us we are depraved in every sense and function of our being. The New Testament tells us we have no capacity to be kind, moral or possess integrity. In other words, we are depraved. We are wicked vile reprobates separated from God and His glory, holiness and beauty. We are ugly, mean and crude. We are sinners and as Ray Comfort puts it in his "Way of the Master TV program," we are "exceedingly sinful."

Now, you're probably thinking, "Pastor Nathan, I'm not that bad!!! That's insulting! How dare you, you little punk! Who do you think you are talking to me that way!?!" The truth hurts, because that is exactly who and what we are. And I do say we. I'm in the same boat. I am exceedingly sinful.

I was reading a book lately by Ted Dekker entitled, Showdown. Basically, it is about what happens when people are left to their own sinful devices, unbridled and unchecked by the rules, law if you will, that God has placed to govern our lives. The end result is always death and destruction (Ref. Romans 6:23; James 1:15). I was talking to a friend about the book whom I knew had read it. They said, "How does Dekker keep everything in perspective writing about such evil." I think though that is the perspective. Left unchecked by the Law of God which the Holy Spirit writes on our hearts, we are as wicked as possible and are capable of doing the most wicked of sins. The reason we get so angry when we are confronted with our condition is because nothing is as repulsive as looking in the mirror and seeing ourselves for who we truly are.

Dekker went on to show that the only way for evil to be overcome was by the ultimate love of the creator being demonstrated to the creation - THE DEATH OF THE SON OF THE CREATOR FOR THE MASSES. Romans 5:8 tells us, "God demonstrated His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." John 15:13 says, "Greater love had no man than this, that a man would lay down his life for His friends." Christ did that on the cross. The only way that this evil can be overcome in each one of us, is for us to allow the love of God to be shed abroad in our hearts. FRIENDS, THAT IS WHAT GRACE IS ALL ABOUT!!! And it is still by grace that we are saved through faith [Ref. Ephesians 2:8, 9]. As Tony Evans once said, "It is only against the black backdrop of sin, that the diamond of God's grace looks so appealing."

Has the love of God ever been shed abroad in your heart? You might be thinking as they were on Pentecost, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter told them to "Repent." Repent of your sins today, and surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Let Him take control. Be saved today!

Do you need to up your meds?

2008-11-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

Jim Cymbala, Pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, once said, "No matter how rich we are, no matter what kind of health plan we have, there are some antibiotics we can only obtain from God's pharmacy." As you know, antibiotics are used to fight infections. There are infections to which only God has the right antibiotic to fight it off. In fact, there are specific spirits which are mentioned in the Scripture, to which we need to apply the antibiotics from God's pharmacy.

Here are a few of them.

1. 2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. In order for us to overcome the spirit of fear, which cripples us spiritually, physically and emotionally and keeps us from fulfilling God's divine purpose for our lives, we must counter it with the antibiotic of love, power and a sound mind.

What is that power? It is the power of God, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whenever the the spirit of fear attacks us with negative and bad news, we need to counter back with the good news of the Gospel. Because Christ died, was buried, raised from the dead and is coming again, we need not fear anyone or anything but Christ. Furthermore, He has promised to "keep them in perfect peace whose minds are stayed on thee." As we discipline our minds and let the Holy Spirit renew them day by day, we can stay focused on the good news of Christ, His love and power; and this will give us a sound mind!

2. Luk 13:11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up [herself]. This woman had an evil spirit attacking her with sickness. It was not until she reached up and took hold of the hem of Jesus' garment that she was made whole. Whenever this spirit attacks you or one of your loved one's, you should immediately begin to press through the crowd to get to Jesus! Reach out and claim His miracle working power in you! HE is still the Great Physician! He is still Jehovah-Rapha (the God which healeth thee)! He is still the Great I Am (an ever present help in trouble)! And it is still by His stripes that we are healed! Plead His blood and claim His power on your life!

3. Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. Whenever a spirit of heaviness comes against you, it might take many different forms. It could be that it will be an accusing spirit trying to weight you down with the guilt of your past. It could be a hindering spirit, hindering your answer to prayer from coming. It could be a spirit of despair and depression. It could be a spirit of bondage tying your hands and crushing you under the weight of temptation and or the cares and burdens of life. Whatever form it takes, the remedy is the same! The remedy is always the garment of praise! Praise God and rejoice that your name is written in the book of life! Praise God that all your sins are gone! They're in the sea of forgetfullness never to be remembered again! They're as far away as the East is from the West! Praise God that the victory has already been won on Calvary! Praise God that there is always a way of escape from temptation! Praise God that you can cast your cares on the Lord for He cares for you! Praise Him from whom all blessing flow! Praise Him for He is worthy!

And when you do, remember that He is inhabiting those praises; and in His presence, demons have to flee! In His presence, there is fullness of joy! Do you need to up your spiritual meds? Why not go to God's pharmacy today (the Apothecary of God's Word), and get some powerful antibiotics that will cure any problem no matter what it is! Remember, "Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world!" God Bless you!!!

From Sitting to Service

2008-11-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

For those of you that were here on Sunday, much of this is repeated; however, I feel that it is something we need to keep being reminded of. If we are going to get people to stick with the church, and if the church is going to have influence and a voice 20 years from now, we must reach the next generation by moving people from sitting to service.

We must go beyond getting them to come and listen to our speeches, and actually involve them in the community of believers and get them connected through service. The Democratic Party understood this in the recent election. Karl Rove was commenting on this after last Tuesday's election. He said, sure, they got young people to congregate in stadiums to here Senator Obama speak, but while they were there, they registered them to vote and got them to volunteer to help in the campaign. They then stayed in constant contact with them and encouraged them in their service. What was the result? We are now talking about President Elect Obama, while the McCain camp is pointing fingers at one another and asking what went wrong.

Could it be that they like the church have relied on their ability to get people to come and listen to their speeches, when they should have been actively recruiting them to serve!?!

The Church must compete in the Battlefield of Ideas. But in order to do that, we must be making an obvious difference in our communities through service! I believe Obama gave young people 3 things, that we as a church better give to them, if we want to keep them.

1. He gave them a cause (ending global warming, global poverty, economic injustice, etc.) We must give them the greatest cause (reaching people for Christ, meeting spiritual needs by meeting practical and physical needs). James says that we must not only have faith, but works to back up our faith (James 2:14-18, 26).

2. He gave them a community (a place where they could be with people of similar ideology and find encouragement). Isn't this what church is essentially about. We must get people into the community by actively recruiting them to join small groups. We must also provide on-line communities, and we have through facebook and other avenues, where people can find encouragement through the week.

3. He connected them to the party and campaign by giving them a job to do. In the church this is so critical. We are so cynical and untrusting that we don't get anything accomplished. WE MUST GET PEOPLE TO WORK AND GIVE THEM A JOB TO DO, WHEN GOD SENDS THEM TO US!!! We must get over our pettiness and quit building our own kingdoms and start building Christ's Kingdom. We must allow people to be creative and not stiffle them when they are being led to serve.

God's Kingdom and our Cause are too big and great for any one of us to be able to accomplish it on our own. We must work with people of like faith, and move people off the pews and into the harvest fields.

Mat 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly [is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few;

Mat 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

A More Sure Word of Prophecy

2008-10-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

2 Peter 1:19-21 "We have also, a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well to take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came in old time not of the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Spirit."

In today's world, it's hard to know what to believe and what not to believe. Especially during political seasons with both sides going back and forth trying to get those last 10% of undecided voters to swing in their direction. Then you have our so-called unbiased news media, who would never slant their coverage to favor one side or another [I say this tongue in cheek.]. Anyway, I digress. The fact remains that it is hard to answer the question, "What is truth?"

And to tell you the truth, that is the wrong question to ask. The real question is who is truth? The Scripture tells us that God is Truth, Jesus is Truth and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus told us that God's Word is truth (John 17:17)! Is it any wonder then that man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God!?! We must read and study God's word in order to discern what is truth.

I love this passage in 2 Peter, because he tells us that we have "a more sure word of prophecy." Now, the prophets if you will in our news media want to predict outcomes, and then there are would be prophets in the world predicting this and that as well. But they are uncertain prophecies, because they may or may not come true. But the Bible on the other hand is sure! It is a more sure word of prophecy. Why? Because holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Paul puts it this way:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

He gives us the insight that Scripture was given by inspiration of God. That literally means that Scripture was God breathed! When you pick up your Bible and study it, you are studying words that came literally from the breath of God. It is a living book. It is a breathing document! That means I can pick it up at any time like I did this morning and hear from God by reading its pages. I can hear from God directly relating to the problems I am facing in my life! What an awesome God we have, and what an awesome book we have!

Now, listen to Isaiah.

Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withereth. The flower fadeth: but the word of God standeth forever."

Now, what did the Psalmist have to say?

Psalm 119:89 "Forever O Lord, thy word is settled in Heaven."

The truth is this: God has honored His Word above His name. Just as you can trust Him, you can trust His Word. The Bible is God's infallible and inerrant word. It is His complete revelation of Himself to mankind. Therefore, we can trust it; we can live by it; we can die by it; and we must follow it. We must hide it in our hearts, heed what it has to say, and herald it everywhere we go. In a world where we don't know what is true and what isn't, we have a book that is forever settled as being true - God's Holy Word! You can trust the Bible!

Therefore...

Read it Privately.

Read it Passionately.

Read it Publicly.

Read it Faithfully. And

Read it Daily!

In our post-modern world, where they say there is no absolute truth and everything from morality to politics to religion is just relative, let us hold fast God's Absolute standard of truth - His very Word! Let us heed the words of 2 Timothy 2:15 - "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth." As we do, let us not forget John 8:32 - "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Be set free by God's word today, and use it to see others set free as well!

The Proper Way to Fast

2008-10-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

Mat 6:16
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:17
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

Mat 6:18
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Is there a proper and/or improper way to fast?

Many have mistakenly read these verses, and said that you are to never tell anyone when you are fasting. I do not believe that this is what Jesus was saying. He was again drawing comparisons to the way that the Pharisees fasted for show and how His disciples were to act. Just as in their praying, where they stood on the street corners and prayed aloud so that everyone passing by could see them and think that they were super-spiritual, the Pharisees also approached fasting in this same manner. They would walk about with long and saddened faces, and when someone asked them why they looked the way they did, they would proudly proclaim, "I'm fasting!" The attention was again on them and not the Lord.

When we fast, it is often impossible to not tell someone. Eating has become such a social aspect of our culture that you may have to tell someone you're fasting in order to decline an invitation to go out to eat or something of the sort. It is also wise to tell your wife, so she doesn't go and cook a big meal for you and then you have to say, "I'm sorry honey, I can't eat tonight." Furthermore, it is wise to get a circle of friends praying for you to withstand temptation during the fast. Also, if you are going on an extended fast, say more than 2 weeks, you need to monitor your heart rate and blood pressure regularly. It may be wise to consult a physician to help you monitor this.

If you go on an extended fast, what can you expect? You can expect to battle the world, the flesh and the devil. You will battle the world who might make fun of you if they find out what you are doing. You will battle with the forces of hell as God opens your eyes to the supernatural and spirit realm. And you will definitely battle your flesh, which will whine, kick and scream making you feel famished, stomach pangs, headaches and faint. These are also natural reactions of your body as it comes down off of its sugar high that it has been on.

The first week, your body is having withdrawals from sugar. The 2nd week, your body is detoxifying. So, these 2 weeks will be an extreme roller coaster ride physically, emotionally and spiritually. However, if you are being led don't let the pain stop you. Continue to say no to your flesh and deny it, taking up your cross. He has promised to show you great and mighty things which you do not know. As the old saying goes, "No pain, No gain!" After your body detoxes, the pain, nausea and ill feelings usually subside.

Having said that, I must make a disclaimer at this point. Some people such as diabetics and pregnant or nursing mothers should not fast as it would be dangerous physically to do so. But most people can fast and be ok.

So, what is fasting? Normally fasting is going without food for an extended period of time to focus on the spiritual man. In the Bible, they fasted for periods of 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 10 days, 21 days and 40 days. The 3 day fast was w/o food and water. Your body can't survive w/0 water for over 3 days, BTW. It can do w/o food for up to 40 days, normally. But you should never go on a 40 day fast w/0 consulting a doctor first.

When you fast, your body will detox on all 3 levels - physically, emotionally and spiritually. You will also discover a greater awareness of all 3 levels that make up who you are. You will see more clearly, think more clearly and hear from God more clearly. It is something that we should do under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Notice Jesus said, "When you fast," not if you fast. There is only 1 period in history where God's people did not fast. That was when Jesus was on earth.

Mar 2:18
And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

Mar 2:19
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

Mar 2:20
But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Now, we do not have the luxury of Jesus physically walking and talking with us. We do have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. As we fast and pray, our spirit man will be able to greater communicate with the Holy Spirit, and we will have his power and discernment released in us in a greater way! Pray and if the Lord is leading you to fast, don't fear! JUST DO IT IN FAITH!

This Kind

2008-10-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

Mat 17:21
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

You may recall the story in Matthew 17. Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John up to the mountain and there He was transfigured before them while talking with Moses and Elijah. They came down from that magnificent experience to find the other disciple struggling to no avail to cast a demon out of a demon-possessed boy, whose father had brought him to the disciples. Jesus immediately cast the demon out. The disciples asked why they couldn't do it, and Jesus said, because of your unbelief, Howbeit, this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.

Now, fasting primarily is doing without food and sometimes water for seeking God's will on a certain thing.

Esther called the Jews to fast (doing w/o both food and water) for 3 days, while she sought to uncover the wicked plot of Haman to destroy the Jewish people.
Moses fasted for 40 days going w/o food and drinking only water. He did this on 2 occasions while receiving the 10 commandments.
Elijah fasted 40 days after defeating the prophets of Baal.
Daniel fasted 21 days while seeking God on behalf of Israel and altered the course of nations.
David fasted.
The Children of Israel were often called upon to fast (usually either 24 hours or 7 days).
Jesus fasted 40 days, while being tempted in the wilderness.
The early church fasted.
We should fast as well for spiritual breakthrough!

Jesus said, "This kind." What did he mean by this? Well, you have to study Scripture in its context. The context is that of the demon-possessed boy. The kind of demon that possessed this child was so strong that only prayer and fasting could break its hold and see the child delivered. Our country has many strongholds that need pulling down, but it is going to take fasting and prayer to see them broken! Perhaps, your family has strongholds that need breaking that only fasting and prayer will see them broken. We wrestle against principalities and powers [that is literally a demonic heirarchy], according to Ephesians 6. If we want to gain victory and authority over them, we must fast and pray.

Fast and pray for revival to come.
Fast and pray for our leaders.
Fast and pray for our homes.
Fast and pray for a national revival and mass turning to God.

Notice, it says fast and pray, not "pray fast." We need to take time to fast and pray, if we will see God move in power. What are some strongholds you would like to see broken? Are you willing to fast and pray to see it happen?

You might be thinking, "I'd die; I would absolutely die, if I fasted." More than likely you won't. We could all stand to eat less and pray more. We won't die from fasting, and science has actually proven that certain periods of fasting can actually be healthy and invigorating, as it gives your body time to rest and detoxify. What fasting does do and say to God is this, "Lord, I can't live by bread alone. I don't want to live without you and your power in and on my life. I'd rather have you Jesus than anything." It's also is a great way to learn how to say no to our flesh and yes to Christ. Are you willing to lay it all on the line for God's Spirit to move in you, through you and around you? Do you want revival and spiritual breakthrough more than anything else? Remember, "This kind goes not out except by prayer and fasting!"

The Upper Room

2008-10-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Act 1:12
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

Act 1:13
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James [the son] of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas [the brother] of James.

Act 1:14
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Act 1:15
And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

The great revivalist of a generation gone by Leonard Ravenhill put it best in his classic, Why Revival Tarries, when he said, "We have too many in the back room organizing instead of the upper room agonizing." When Jesus ascended back into heaven, he gave the the wonderful promise that he would come back. But in the meantime, His disciples were to wait for the promise of the Father [the outpouring of the Holy Spirit] and then work until he returned.

Too often we get it backwards! We want to work, plan and do, and then pray that the Holy Spirit would bless it and empower it. Instead, we should wait upon the Holy Spirit in prayer and then obey what He tells us to do; and then we'd know it would be blessed and empowered!

The reason Pentecost happened was because of the work done by the 120 in the upper room. You say, "Oh no! You're leaving out God's Sovereign Will for Pentecost." I agree you don't get anymore sovereign than Acts 2:1, where it says, "When the Day of Pentecost was fully come." That feast was fulfilled. But we don't want to leave out our human responsibility either. Manley Beasley put it this way, "Prayer is laying the tracks so the locomotive can come...It is always God's sovereign will for the church to be restored to its biblical roots. We must lay the tracks so it can happen. If we don't lay the tracks, the locomotive will not come."

I also do not want us to miss the importance of the number 120. According to E.W. Bullinger's, Numbers in Scripture, the number 120 is God's appointed number for a period of waiting and a number of restoration. There were 120 in the Great Synagogue from Nehemiah's day to the days of Simon the just [110 yrs.]. That Synagogue canonized the Old Testament and restored the law to its original greatness. There were 120 in the Upper Room, and that group restored God's people to their original greatness.

Think of the possibilities of 120 praying and fasting before the Lord!

Our churches could be restored to their biblical foundations and apostolic greatness.

Our communities could be restored to God-fearing, bible believing regions, where God is glorified. We could see another movement like the Welsh Revival where 150,000 were saved in 5 years.

Our country could be restored to its biblical foundation, moral ethics, and constitutional greatness.

My prayer is for God to raise up 120 people to be intercessors! I'm looking for a few good men and women who will stand up and be counted. People who will get on their faces and pray through until the answer comes and strongholds are pulled down! While the day of Pentecost will not happen again just exactly as it did then, the principles and power of Pentecost can and must happen again, if we are to survive as a nation. I believe we need revival for survival, and it has to start with us! Will you be one of 120 who will see the need, rise to the occasion and stand in the Gap? If you will, it won't be easy, but it will be worth it! And you will be blessed. Have a great week!

Let the Church be the Church!

2008-09-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places." - Ephesians 6:10-12

Too, often we are satisfied in the church to never go beyond just a devotional type of praying. It is time for the Church to be the Church! Jesus said in Matthew 16, "Upon this rock [talking about himself], I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." I don't know if you realize it or not, but the church standing and praying in victory is the greatest governing force on earth.

We can move mountains. Matthew 21:21
We can subjugate principalities and powers. Matthew 12:29
We can pull down strongholds! 2 Corinthians 10:4
We can advance God's Kingdom! Matthew 6:9-13
We can have the nations as our inheritance! Psalm 2:1

Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world!

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is living in us!
All power has been given to Christ, and we are found in Him!
Christ is in us! Colossians 1:27

In the Garden of Eden God gave Adam dominion over the earth. He told him and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over it. However, he gave that up, when he disobeyed God, committed the original sin, and all creation fell with him. Satan then became the god of this world. However, God is still God! The earth is still his, and throughout the Old Testament, when His people prayed, repented and called on Him, He intervened and sent revival! On the cross, Christ (the 2nd Adam) won back all that the first Adam had lost/given up. When we confess Christ as our Savior and Lord, He takes up residence in us, and we are found in Him. We are declared righteous, and victory is ours for the claiming!

TODAY, WE AREN'T FIGHTING FOR VICTORY! WE ARE STANDING IN IT!

We must fight the good fight of faith, and work the works of Him while it is day! Our time is short, friends! But as long as the Church is in the World, THE CHURCH MUST BE THE CHURCH! We must claim what is rightfully ours through Calvary and stand in that authority. We can see America turn around and back to God. We must call on Him and let Him show us great and mighty things, which we do not know!

The next 10 days on God's calendar (the Jewish Calendar) are called the Days of Awe. The ancient Jewish Rabbi's taught that during these days, the windows of Heaven are open and God is literally setting His agenda for nations for the next 12 months, depending on their repentance. These 10 days lead up to Yom Kippur/the Day of Atonement. I believe the Church needs to cry out to God in prayer like we never have! We need to pray for the soul of our nation, and against the principalities and powers that are taking us further down into a moral abyss. We need to call on Him, knowing that He will answer us and show us great and mighty things which we don't know. Matthew 17:21 says, "Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." WE NEED TO NOT ONLY PRAY, BUT FAST AND PRAY! Seek the Lord while he may be found! And trust God for great victories this year!

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

The Importance of Old Testament Feasts

2008-09-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I wanted to do a blog post concerning the Feasts of the Lord. There were several feasts that God had Moses to institute for the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai nearly 3,500 years ago, all of which have major significance for the church today. There are 7 major feasts in all - 3 take place in the spring, 1 in the summer, and 3 in the fall. All 3 which take place in the spring and the one which takes place in the summer have been fulfilled already by an act of the Messiah Jesus Christ (Yeshua in Hebrew).

The 3 Spring and 1 Summer feasts and their fulfilment are as follows.

Passover was fulfilled when the Passover Lamb was slain at Calvary. It takes place on the 14th of Nisan in the Jewish Calendar (March or April in ours (ref. Lev. 23:5)).

Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15-21) speaks of Sanctification. Messiah's body was set apart and would not see corruption (Lev. 23:6).

Firstfruits (Nisan 16 or Sivan 6 (March/April or May/June)) speaks of Jesus' triumphant resurrection, which took place on the 3rd day after he was crucified (Lev. 23:10)!

Pentecost (Sivan 50 days after Firstfruits) was fulfilled with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church (Lev. 23:15-16; Acts 2).

The first 4 feasts have been fulfilled literally by Jesus Christ while they were going on! Therefore, we can assume that the next 3 (Fall Feasts) will be as well!

The 1st Fall Feast and next one to be fulfilled is the Feast of Trumpets. This feast begins on Rosh Hashana, which marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. It takes place on Tishri 1-2, which is in September or October of our callendar. It takes place at sundown on September 29th of this year! It is marked by the blowing of a shofar/trumpet. A trumpet was used to warn of impending judgment and announce the arrival of the King (Lev. 23:24-25).

It will be literally fulfilled when Christ returns to rapture the church and judge the world. The trumpet will literally wake the dead. This event is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which say:

1Th 4:13
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

1Th 4:14
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

1Th 4:15
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

1Th 4:16
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17
Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Th 4:18
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Obviously, no one can foretell when this event will occur, and this feast be fulfilled, however, it could be soon. It could be this year! No other sign has to be fulfilled before Jesus returns to rapture his church. This event will signal the beginning of Daniel's 70th week of prophecy concerning Israel. That week of years (7 year time period), will be a time of trouble such as has not been since there was a nation, according to Jeremiah. It will be a time of Jacob's/Israel's trouble. As we see Jerusalem becoming the cup of trembling and Israel's annihilation being called for by Ahmedinijad, it ought to make us realize we're close to our blessed hope! Lift up your head, Jesus is coming soon! Don't miss out, be prepared.

For info on how to be saved go to: www.parkerscreek.org and click on the "do you know 4 sure" sight.

For more info on the Feasts of the Lord, go to: http://www.endtimepilgrim.org/trumpets.htm

Keep Looking Up, Jesus is Coming Soon! May God richly bless you!

Is Time Ticking Away?

2008-09-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

The Contemporary Christian/Rap Group D.C. Talk, which was popular in the 90's used to sing a song that said, "Time is ticking away, tick, tick, ticking away!" There was another song popular about that same time that said, "It's the end of the world as we know it." I don't know if you feel the same way as I do, but it seems like times are changing and that things as we have known them for so long, especially here in the United States are quickly slipping away. Could it be that the prophetic clock is about to strike midnight?

I don't want to seem like a doomsday prophet, or a prophet of gloom, because I am not! As a Christian, I know that things do not stay the same, and they must change to usher in Christ's kingdom on earth. Certain things have to take place, according to God's Divine plan before Christ will return and set up his Kingdom here on earth.

Paul said this in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5

2Th 2:1
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him,

2Th 2:2
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

2Th 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Th 2:4
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

2Th 2:5
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

Paul said that the "Man of Sin" would be revealed prior to that event. The Man of Sin is another name for the Antichrist, which will come onto the world scene in the last days, enter into a 7-year peace treaty with Israel, break it half-way through and set himself up as god and an object of worship. The sad thing is that most of the world will fawn after him and be doomed forever.

But, I digress. It just seems that with what has been happening with our financial institutions and political institutions, when both Congress and the President have been having record low approval numbers that there's just an uneasiness and unrest in the atmosphere. Could it be that the spirit of Antichrist, also called the spirit of lawlessness and mystery of iniquity, has been emboldened?

Also, what about what has been taking place in nature. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there have been a record number of earthquakes recorded. And how about the hurricanes doing billions of dollars of damage to our coastal states and cities? What about the flooding in the midwest and tornadoes in the South and Southwest? Is it the earth and all creation groaning and travailing as a woman about to give birth to a child, longing for the curse of sin to be lifted? Could it also be a direct consequence to mankind raping the Creation of its natural resources in his unholy thirst for power and love of money?

As we see all of these things, I am reminded of what our Lord said in Luke 21:28.

Luk 21:28
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

When he said, "And when these things begin to come to pass," it actually means, "Begin to occur in rapid succession." We have seen this acceleration take place. In the last 100 years, much has happened. In the last 50 years even more has happened. And in the last 20 years even more. It seems with each passing day, another sign is being fulfilled.

What should our response be to these things? Should we resign from society, stock up on non-perishables, and hold the fort? I believe the proper response is to do what Jesus said to do: "Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh!" Look up! He's Coming! Lift up your head! THAT'S GREAT NEWS! Our redemption draweth nigh! THAT'S EVEN GREATER NEWS! We don't have to look for the undertaker, because the uppertaker is on His way! Let's walk closer to Jesus than we ever have! And let's take as many people with us as we possibly can! HE'S COMING BACK SOON!

The Modern Day Battle of Tours Continued

2008-09-18T23:28:00.001-07:00

This map shows the countries of the world with the largest population of Muslims in the dark green areas. As you can tell, Israel is surrounded on every side by a people who believe in a book that says that Jews are not humans and deserve to die.

The Bible teaches us that the Great Tribulation will be a time of Jacob's/Israel's trouble. It will be a time when Anti-Semitism will be on the rise. It will be a time when the Jews have become a byword among the nations; and it will be a time when the Man of Sin known as the Antichrist will arise on the scene. Those who do not accept the mark of this beast and worship his false image will be beheaded for their beliefs. Now, I cannot say for certain that the Antichrist will be a Muslim. But Fundamentalist Jihadist Muslims do behead those that they consider infidels.

The following is an excerpt from an article on http://www.bibleprophecyinthenews.com/

Ahmadinejad: Iran will support Hamas until collapse of Israel
Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Friday to keep supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas until the collapse of Israel. The news network Khabar quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in a phone conversation with Hamas leader and deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya that Iran considered supporting the Palestinians its religious and national duty and would stay beside the Palestinian nation "until the big victory feast which is collapse of the Zionist
regime."The Iranian president said that the continued Hamas resistance against Israel and the group's achievements would always be "a source of pride for all Muslims."

The Iranian President as you have read has vowed the collapse of Israel. While we know from studying the Bible that God will protect Israel until the end, we know that the Muslims will do all they can to destroy Israel, our main democratic ally in the Middle East. The thing about Muslims is that even the Koran teaches that it is ok to lie in order to get ahead. That is why, as soon as they start getting defeated in a war, they will call for a cease-fire, after which they soon violate that cease-fire when they have regrouped. And this is the type people that some of our politicians have suggested we sit down with in negotiations without any pre-conditions.

Again, if the Lord tarries his coming, we have got to stand up and be counted. AND KNOW BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL!!! The Psalmist said in Psalm 24:1 - "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world, and those that dwell therein." He has everything worked out according to His perfect plan. Today, I was studying further about the Battle of Tours in AD 732, when Martel's French army withstood the Islamic advance into Southern France. That Battle took place on October 1st, 732. That happened to be the Jewish Holiday of Shabbat Shuva, which takes place between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). The Scripture reading, according to http://www.hebcal.com/ that corresponds to this holy day is Joel 2:15-17. Be blessed when you read this!!!

Joe 2:15
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

Joe 2:16
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

Joe 2:17
Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where [is] their God?

Isn't it amazing that at the same time Martel was turning back the Islamic tide in Southern France, the Jewish people were praying for God to spare his people!?! They also prayed that God would not let the heathen rule over them and give His heritage to reproach! They didn't want people to be able to say, "Where is their God?" Today, we face a similar dilemma as did Martel. We can sit idly by while Jihad is waged against us and pretend it doesn't exist, or we can stand up and be counted! God's name is on the line. We shouldn't wage a jihad of the sword as Bin Laden is doing, but we should contend for the truth in the battle of ideas. There two opposite worldviews in conflict here. We must for the sake of our future get involved, and remember Christ has already won the victory on Calvary. We just need to stand in confidence in that victory!!!

Our Modern Day Battle of Tours

2008-09-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

According to an article by the Associated Press carried in the International Herald Tribune, which is the International Publication of the New York Times, back in February of this year, Great Brittain is now making plans to adopt some form of Shariah law and set up separate Shariah courts to oversee them. You are probably asking yourself the question, "What is Shariah law?" Shariah law is Islamic law based in the Koran. They say that they are going to let Muslims go before Shariah courts while non-Muslims will go before traditional courts. They also, said that Shariah law will only have jurisdiction over divorce cases, domestic violence cases, and financial disputes.

So, what does this mean and what affect will it have? Well, for one it will affect the rights of women to be heard in an unbiased court. According to the Koran a man is entitled to twice as much as a woman in a divorce. Also, wife beating is legal under the Koran. If this is enacted, doctors will not be able to report possible abuse when it comes to Muslim women, because their rights are non-existent under Shariah law. Christianity is the only religion in the world where women are to be treated with dignity and respect (See Galatians 3:28 for reference) and where they have equal footing with men.

Another affect will be in law-enforcement. If you have two different and in many ways opposite legal systems, which one will take precedence? Which one will be enforced? If you enforce one, you will violate the other. Next, the Hindu's and Buddhist's will want their own legal code. And what's to stop it? You see, religious pluralism coupled with political correctness always will lead to legal pluralism and ultimate anarchy and chaos.

Those that have eyes to see and can read the hand writing on the wall know that our beloved Mother Land has embarked on an irreversible course. It is only a matter of time before they are speaking Arabic and are considered a full-fledged Muslim nation. And why? Because Islam is as much a political system as it is a religious system and has been since its inception. It is not satisfied with being one of many religions in a multi-cultural society. It wants to rule and dominate and will wage jihad in order to do so.

Because we have been indoctrinated with multi-culturalism and political correctness since the 60's, we are ignorant and oftentimes willfully of the facts. We need to open our eyes. If the Lord tarries His coming, we are facing a moment in history not unlike the Battle of Tours in 732 A.D. In that Battle Charles "the hammer" Martel turned back the Muslim advance into Europe in Southern France in what I believe to be a supernatural act of divine providence. We too, must turn back the tide. We must wage an idealogical war and educate people concerning the true nature of Islam and its prophets. We must turn back the tide for the sake of the Gospel. America is normally only 10-15 years behind England. For the sake of our children and our way of life, we must get involved in this culture war that's raging. Our very freedom is on the line!

Thoughts on 9/11 and the Good Ole U.S.A.

2008-09-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today, I was thinking about the horrendous act of violence perpetrated against our nation 7 years ago at the hands of Muslim Terrorists. While we aren't supposed to remind one another of that fact, they were Muslim Terrorists.

Many of you remember where you were 7 years ago when the news first got to you that a plane had flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center and then watched in horror as the 2nd plane flew into the South Tower. You realized that we were under attack and America was at war. That very night, I called a special prayer meeting at Morrison, First Baptist Church for our nation. Maybe you went to a similar meeting. The following Sunday, we saw record high attendance. But something has happened since then to the Good Ole U.S.A. We've completely forgotten, or at the least been lulled to sleep concerning what that day meant and what it ought to say to us. It should have driven us to our knees; and in many ways it did. The only problem was that we had Oprah leading an inter-faith prayer service, where Allah, the god-consciousness of the New Age, departed spirits and any other thing that happens to call itself god were validated as equals to the true and living God. As a result, here we are 7 years later, and we have Christians being maligned and made fun of by the media elites, like Keith Olberman. We've almost completely forgotten what happened (I had to search hard to find anything on TV last night about 9/11, unless you call the 9/11 Presidential Forum something pertaining to 9/11.). Can't we put politics aside for just 1 day? Anyway, It makes me cry as the Psalmist cried in Psalm 2.

Psa 2:1
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

Psa 2:2
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, [saying],

Psa 2:3
Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

Psa 2:4
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

They may hate us and try to destroy our character, reputation, and families; but God will ultimately get the last laugh. Jesus said they would hate us, because they hated Him. There is coming a day as the Psalmist said, when "The Wicked shall be turned into Hell and every nation that forgets God." So let us use this as a wakeup call and a call to prayer. Let us stand in the gap and make up the hedge for our great country. BTW, it's still the greatest country on earth! Let us intercede for this great land of our's! Let us pray for revival to sweep this land before the Lord returns.

Let us remember what the Lord says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face: then will I hear from Heaven; I will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Let us turn this nation around and back to God one heart at a time before it's too late!

Resist the Devil!

2008-08-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

James 4:7 exhorts us, "Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. Resist the Devil and He will flee from you."

Some quick observations. It says resist not rebuke. We live in a day when Tele-evangelists tell you, "Just rebuke the Devil." My question for them is this, "If Michael the Archangel would not bring a railing accusation against him when disputing over the body of Moses, but instead said, 'the Lord rebuke you,' who are we to do otherwise?" We can't go out in our own power and defeat him by just saying, "I rebuke you." Second, to resist is a defensive posture, just as standing. Paul told the Ephesians, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand...Stand therefore..." We must defend the ground that Christ has already won.

Furthermore, the Scripture exhorts us, "Neither GIVE place to the Devil." The Devil has nothing on his own. It is only what mankind cedes to him. If only the body of Christ could see this! We are seated in Heavenly places! We are in Christ! Christ has already overcome, therefore, we have too! We stand in victory, defending what we already have been given at Calvary!!!

Let me warn you again, in the last days some will depart giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. In the last days, the devil will be cast down to earth and will devour as many as possible knowing that his time is short. In the last days, sorcery will be a major sin (Revelation 9:21; 21:8). Sorcery carries a two-fold meaning: "Witchcraft and Drug Addiction." I could go on and on about the drug culture and harmfulness of it, but you should know that already. I would like to mention the other aspect.

We live in a day when the fastest growing religion among teens is WICCA. Is it any wonder when we allow and even encourage our children to read Harry Potter? When we let them watch movies and cartoons with magic and the curious arts [When the Ephesians got saved, they had a bonfire for their books of magic and curious arts!!!]? When ghosts, goblins, and casting spells are a normal part of TV programming? As the father of a 4 almost 5 year old, I know how hard it is for them to tell the non-fiction from the make believe. I also know that witchcraft isn't harmless make believe. The devil will use whatever means possible to thwart the mission of the church and suck people into his lair. He is a glory-stealer and wants to steal from God the glory that belongs only to God!

Saints of God, MORE NOW THAN EVER WE MUST RESIST THE DEVIL AND NOT GIVE HIM ANY PLACE!!! Don't give him an inch. He's a liar and the father of them. He's a murderer, a thief, a destroyer, a devourer, a deceiver, an accuser, Apollyon and Abaddon. HE'S OUR ENEMY!!! I believe it's time to draw a line in the sand and say, "NO MORE!!!" We have given him too much credit, and too much territory as it is. It's time to take back what he stole, and defend what the Lord has given us!

It's time to say, "No more." No more young people being lost to drugs! No more loved one's going to Hell, if I can help it! No more, no more, no more!!! In these last days, in which we are living, while many are getting sucked in and deceived by the media into worshipping the "prince of the power of the air, Satan himself;" Let us stand firm against him! Resist him, and we're promised he will flee! Again, BE STRONG IN THE LORD AND PUT ON HIS ARMOR! FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH, FOR OUR TIME IS SHORT!!!

Supernatural Strength for the Last Days

2008-08-26T02:31:00.000-07:00

Isa 59:19
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

In these last days, we can expect that the enemy will indeed "come in like a flood." He knows that his days are short. In fact, the Bible says that the last days will be like "the days of Noah were." What were those days like? The sons of God were entering into the daughters of man. Violence filled the earth. And the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. You don't have to read much or see much without realizing that could describe our day and time.

Peter said that the Devil walks about "as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." He's trying to devour people in these last days. You can be sure, he won't bother those who aren't bothering him. It seems that at Parkers Creek, Satan is counter-attacking after the Lord dealt him a tremendous blow at the Camp Meeting and the weeks that have followed. How is he doing it? He's using sickness, discouragement, assault, and accusation. Some of you are dealing with things. Just Saturday he was attacking as some of us went out on visitation striving to reconcile people to God. He's attacking some with financial difficulties and troubles at home. He's mean and he seeks to kill, steal and destroy. Satan knows that his time is short, and he wants to take as many of us down as he possibly can.

So, how do we overcome? The Lord has promised that he will lift up a standard against him. THE STANDARD WAS RAISED ON CALVARY!!! The shed blood of Christ has paid for our redemption, and it's with His stripes we're healed. Plead the blood over whatever situation you're dealing with. Stand in the gap in intercession and make supplication for your brothers and sisters who are dealing with stuff! We need each other more now than ever!

Satan knows that the church's finest hour is now! We are on the threshold of eternity. We are just around the corner from the marriage supper of the Lamb, when the Bride of Christ will be complete and presented without spot and blemish! What a glorious sight that will be. So hold fast to Jesus! We feel the birth pains each day. We see Israel standing at the center of controversy in the world. Jerusalem has indeed become a cup of trembling. There are wars and rumors of wars. The hooks are being set in the jaws of the Russian Bear and drawing her toward the Mountains of Israel. We see these things and can't help but feel our redemption is drawing nigh! Therefore, we must raise the standard of the blood of Christ. If you're not in the lifeboat of the Old Ship of Zion, which is sailing toward Heaven on top of the rising flood waters, get on board now. Trust Christ to give you supernatural strength to make it in these last days! And let's try and take more with us than we leave behind when He returns! God bless you!

Do you feel the Birthpains?

2008-08-20T23:22:00.000-07:00

1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

A woman in travail (labor) is given 2 times as an illustration concerning the 2nd Coming of Christ. The first one in 1 Thessalonians 5 is concerning the Rapture of the Church. The 2nd one in Revelation 12 is concerning the nation of Israel and the Revelation, which will occur at the end of the Great tribulation. The 2 events are separate and have different purposes.

In the rapture, he will come in the clouds and reveal himself to the church. In the revelation, he will come with clouds of people and reveal himself to Israel and the world.
In the rapture, he will come to call His bride away from the wrath to come. In the revelation, he will come to execute wrath and judgment on an unbelieving world.
The rapture will take place prior to the Great Tribulation. The revelation will take place after the Great Tribulation.

Both of these events are dealt with in Bible prophecy, and the events leading up to both are compared to a woman giving birth to a child. Jesus said, "When you see these things beginning to come to pass. Lift up your head. Your redemption is drawing nigh." The phrase, "Beginning to come to pass," actually means, "Coming to pass in rapid succession." As you know, Birth pangs get more frequent and intense until a baby is born. The fulfillment of the signs will get more frequent and more intense until Christ returns.

Whether it's the hooks being set in the jaws of the Russian Bear to eventually bring her to judgment on the Mountains of Israel, Ahmedinijad securing nukes, the persecution of the Church throughout the world, earthquakes in divers places, the Russo-Chinese-Iranian coalition that's forming, the rising inflation, the explosion of knowledge and technology, Israel now in control of Jerusalem, racism, flooding, the church's apathy, widespread apostasy, demon possession and oppression, false Christ's and Messiah's, or the mass deception at the hands of the spirit of Anti-Christ; we can plainly see that the world is in travail for her creator to return and lift the curse of the fall from off of her.

Ezekiel 38 & 39 speaks of a war with Russia and Israel, which is to take place in the latter days. I believe we are seeing the birth pangs. We must lift up our heads. Our blessed hope is about to be fulfilled. Praise God! We truly are living at the most exciting time in human history! Let's lift up our heads. Christ is coming! Our redemption is drawing nigh!

He's in the Midst

2008-08-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

The southern gospel group, the Bishops, used to sing a song entitled, "He's in the Midst." Well, Revelation 2:1 says, "These things saith he who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks." Christ is literally walking up and down in the midst of His churches!

If this is the case, what is he seeing as his eyelids try the hearts of those of us in His church? Does he see us meditating on pure things, Living for him, and making an impact for His Kingdom? Or does he see us as apathetic and more concerned about the cares of this life than eternity.

I believe he is waking up his remnant at Parkers Creek! I believe he is inspiring a group of overcomers that he is going to do a great work through in these last days! I believe that we are on the verge of God opening the floodgates and pouring out his blessings on us in a way we never thought possible! I hope you won't miss what God is doing!

On Wednesdays, we are studying on the Work of Prayer, and on Sunday's we are studying the letters to the 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3 from this standpoint, "The Lord has something to say to His churches!" I hope you will be there each week. If you missed this week, you can listen to the messages @ http://www.parkerscreek.org/ under the "listen 2 preaching" section. May God richly bless you and keep you focused on Him this week!

WOW!!!

2008-08-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Moses told the children of Israel, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." This week, our church was allowed to stand still and see God's mighty hand at work. God is still in control. He is the Sovereign King of the Universe! He sets up kings, and He takes down kings. He sets us naitons, and He takes down nations. He sets up churches, and yes, He can take them down as well.

I really believe that God has set us up at Parkers Creek and opened up a door that no one opened; and therefore, no one can shut. We heard a prophetic word from the Lord through the mouth of His servant, Dr. Jeff Laborg, when he said, "Now is your time Parkers Creek!" God is stirring something in our church, and He is making a Sovereign move.

DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD!!!

Satan wants you to be so wrapped up in the things of this world that you miss the move of God. Don't let that happen! Just jump in the river of God's Holy Spirit's work and let Him take you where he wants to take you! Let God move! He is truly an awesome God!

If you would like to listen to the message when this prophetic word was given, go to: http://www.parkerscreek.org/ and click on the "Listen 2 Preaching" link and listen to the message by Jeff Laborg.

WARNING: YOU WON'T BE THE SAME AFTER LISTENING!

Rebuilding the Walls, Repairing the Foundations

2008-08-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

I apologize that it has been over a month since my last post. As most of you know, July was a crazy month for me, my family and the church. We had VBS, Aaron's 2nd Surgery, and many more church members in and out of the hospital. When you add getting ready for Camp Meeting on top of it, you can see that it adds up to a very hectic month.

With that said, we are now a little over 36 hours away from the beginning of Camp Meeting 2008 @ Parkers Creek. PCBC and Terry Wilkerson Evangelistic Association are partnering together to bring this exciting event to the Dickson Area. When dad and myself sat down to think up a theme for this 1st ever Camp Meeting, we wanted to come up with something that would speak to the state of the church in 2008, not just ours, but the church in general. What the Lord kept speaking to us over and over was this: "Rebuild the walls and Repair the foundations."

2 verses that come to mind are Nehemiah 1:3 and Psalm 11:3.

Neh 1:3
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province [are] in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also [is] broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

Psa 11:3
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

In Nehemiah's day, the wall around the Holy City were broken down. Let me just remind you that that was God's City and God's people. Walls are a source of strength, separation, and salvation in a sense. In our day, the spiritual walls within the church have been broken down.

The joy of the Lord is to be our strength (Neh. 8:10). But Christians aren't joyful. On the contrary, they are often discouraged and giving up. They are damaged emotionally, and as a result, physically and spiritually as well.

The doctrine of Holiness and Bible separation are forgotten in the average church as well. We are to come out from the world and be separate unto God in our actions, attitudes and motives, yet too often, we look more like the world than Christ's Church! And

Even the wall of the preaching of the true and genuine gospel has been broken down and forsaken in the church of 2008. Instead of preaching that we've all sinned and need to repent, we are telling people to just try and do better and get a better self-image. While it's true that we need a new vision of who we are in Christ, the average person is no longer willing to admit their utter helplessness and hopelessness w/o Christ, which is necessary for salvation.

As for the Psalmist's day, it was a time when the basic fabric of what had made Israel great was coming unraveled. The very foundations upon which their society was built was crumbling. Saul was trying to end David's kingdom before it began. He was spreading rumors, plotting against David, and forsaking the true and living God to consult with witches. Is it any different today?

As in David's time, the foundation of truth is being undermined! The idea of Absolute Truth in general, much less that the Bible is Absolute Truth is scoffed at. This is no coincidence when it is the truth which sets us free!

Again, as in David's time, the foundation of the sanctity of human life is being undermined. We've now murdered over 40 million in the womb. We're debating euthanasia and mercy killing of the elderly, feeble and sick. Is it any wonder that there is no regard for human life in the home with physical and sexual abuse, at school with school shootings, and in the work force with work place violence, robbery and the like? GOD HELP US!!!

Finally, as in David's time, the foundation of true religion and faith in God is being undermined. History is being rewritten. Our founding fathers were mostly Christians, who wrote our Constitution and Declaration of Independence on Biblical and Christian principles. Yet, we are being told by the ACLU and Liberal elites that they were mostly Deists, which believed in a supreme being which had no dealings with mankind. While it is true that Benjamin Franklin was a deist, most were Bible-believing Christians. They founded a Christian nation and according to one founding father, "staked their survival on their ability to follow the 10 commandments with all their heart." But these very Commandments are being taken down and disregarded in the name of "Separation of Church and State." CAN'T YOU SEE THE FOUNDATIONS BEING DESTROYED RIGHT OUT FROM UNDER US?

So what can the righteous do?

1. Declare the Truth. Truth isn't to be defended and debated as much as it is to be declared! Truth stands alone in itself. So declare that Jesus is the only way to Heaven (John 14:6)! Declare that the Bible is Absolute Truth (John 17:17; Psalm 119:89)! Declare that there is no other name except Jesus, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12)! Declare the Truth and stand on it!

2. Live the Truth. Love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And Love your neighbor as yourself. Fulfill the Great Commission. Live in light of Christ's Imminent Return.

3. Preach the Truth. Speak the truth IN LOVE! Lovingly, take a stand for what is right! And Finally,

4. Pray and Expect God to Answer. God still says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from Heaven, will forgive their sin and heal their land." GOD WANTS TO USE US TO REBUILD THE WALLS AND REPAIR THE FOUNDATIONS!

This week, please come to Camp Meeting and be encouraged and strengthened as we fight the good fight of faith! GOD BLESS YOU!!!

Healing for Damaged Emotions

2008-06-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

As I sat to write this post, I was thinking of the song, "People Need the Lord." There is a line in that song that says, "Everyday they pass me by; I can see it in their eyes. Lonely people filled with care, headed who knows where." I'm seeing more and more people just filled with pain and suffering because they have damaged emotions. They are people just like you and me. As Casting Crowns sings, "Is there hope for every man?"

Pro 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he...

The writer of Scripture could never have been more correct as he was right there. It is so vital that one think the right way, if he/she is to live the Abundant Life in Christ! Here lately, we've been doing a series of messages on Sunday on "Healing for Damaged Emotions," which the thought for came from a book by the same name written by David A. Seamands. Sad as it is to say, there are many, YES EVEN IN THE CHURCH, are damaged goods, if you will. But Christ came that you might have life! Christ longs to set people free. After all, he came to "seek and to save that which is lost." He wants to not only save us, but to set us free from the guilt and condemnation of the past! He wants to deliver us from the pain that so many live with each day. And it all begins in the mind.

The Victorious Christian life, which Watchman Nee said was the "Normal Christian Life," is won or lost in the mind. And so many are bound in their minds by emotions which are damaged. Perhaps the damage is due to an abusive parent or spouse [After all how can a Heavenly Father who I've not seen love and care for me, if the earthly father I have seen beats me?], or maybe an overbearing parent, or perhaps it is the false guilt of perfectionism and legalism. But you just can't seem to ever measure up in your mind and emotions to this false reality, which you have either painted for yourself or let others paint for you. Many stay condemned due to weight issues, because the media has portrayed the perfect looking person and a certain image that everyone is to strive to measure up to even though they can't. Let me let you in on a secret, "This is only a marketing ploy to get you to purchase whatever shiny thing they happen to be selling at the moment." Furthermore, if you achieved the look, you still wouldn't measure up to this fantasy, and the bar in reality keeps getting a little bit further out of reach. Many stay depressed and anxious with fear due to these same issues. The Devil then accuses the individual and assaults them into shame and condemnation, which he knows will lead to a fatalistic attitude toward life and a desire to give up and quit in the Christian race.

Rom 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.

Rom 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

So, what is the answer to all of this? Is it even possible to be victorious in life in the day in which we live? YES! You can be victorious! The answer is to daily let the Spirit of Christ renew your mind. Present the whole you, body (physical), soul (mental/emotional), and spirit (spiritual) to the Lord. Let His healing hands touch you. Let Him heal you from the inside out. Have your mind renewed to where you can see yourself as He see you.

He sees you as someone He loves. John 3:16

He sees you as a saint and not a sinner. Ephesians 2:3-5

He sees you as already seated in Heavenly places. Ephesians 2:6

He sees you as His child. John 1:12

He sees you as His workmanship. Ephesians 2:10

He sees you as an object of His grace. Ephesians 2:8, 9

He see you as justified and glorified in Heaven. Romans 8:29-30

We could go on and on and on and on and on.....without end! He loves YOU! You are His pearl of great price! You are His prized possession. He wants to give you healing emotionally, so he can bring about the healing spiritually. WILL YOU LET HIM?

Somewhere in the Middle

2008-06-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Lately, I haven't been able to get away from the Casting Crowns' song, "Somewhere in the Middle." It's track #7 on "The Altar and the Door" CD by the way. I especially can't get away from the line, "With eyes wide open to the differences; the God we want and the God who is; will we trade our dreams for His? Or are we caught in the middle?"

Too often, we are caught in the middle. Somewhere beyond where we were, but not nearly where we need to be. Too often, we want only a god that we're comfortable with. But the reality is this. Until we surrender our dreams, plans and goals to His, we will never be fulfilled, content or live the abundant life. We'll always be miserable. But it takes faith to live the Christian life. It takes faith to trust that God's dreams, plans and goals for our life are better than our own. It's hard, but when we finally do surrender, we find that He was right all along and His ways were best!

Jer 29:11 states, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." God is thinking good thoughts towards us! He wants us to be prospered and in good health. He wants to bless us and not curse us! WE MUST TRUST HIM!!! Don't settle for the Devil's counterfeits, when God wants to bless you with the real thing! Don't be caught in the middle this week!

Remember, Romans 1:17 - "Therefore, as it is written, The just shall live by faith!" Don't settle for a "deep-water faith, in the shallow end!"

Is this the Bible or the Newspaper?

2008-05-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Mat 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Mat 24:4
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

Mat 24:5
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Mat 24:6
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Mat 24:7
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Mat 24:8
All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.

As I read this chapter of the Bible, where the disciples were inquiring about the time when Christ would return and restore the kingdom to Israel and the end of the world, it is as if I am reading today's newspaper! Jesus said that there would be wars and rumors of war. In the 20th Century, we were involved in some war or conflict almost every year of that Century. We were involved in WWI & WWII, Korea, the Cambodian Conflict and Vietnam. How about the Desert Shield and Desert Storm to name a few. Now, we are engaged in an international war on terror with no real nation state as our enemy. But even that is fulfillment of prophecy!

Notice what Jesus said in verse 7a: "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." The word for nation is an interesting word in the Greek, in which the NT was originally written. It is the word, "ethnos." Where we get our word, "ethnic" or people group. Strong's Concordance gives the following as possible meanings.

1) a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together
a) a company, troop, swarm
2) a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus
a) the human family
3) a tribe, nation, people group

Isn't that exactly what we are fighting against in the terrorist organization Al Qaeda? We aren't fighting a nation state per se, but we are fighting a multitude of individuals with the same nature, to destroy innocent human life. The word for kingdom is also interesting. It is the word, "basileia." It is describing two spiritual kingdoms at war with one another, more so than two physical kingdoms. Notice how Strong's interprets this one.

1) royal power, kingship, dominion, rule
a) not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom
b) of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah
c) of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah's kingdom
2) a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king
3) used in the N.T. to refer to the reign of the Messiah

Friends, we are engaged in an intense battle against the forces of darkness! And Jesus taught that this battle would increase in intensity up until the time He returns for His bride. Why? Because, "The kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force!" No wonder, Revelation 9:21 says, "They repented not of their sorcery!" When we see Wiccan and other occultic sects growing in popularity, especially amongst our teens, we must only believe that Christ is coming! When we see school shootings and terrorist bombings, we must conclude that Christ is coming! When we see the violent nature of crime increasing, we must conclude that Jesus is coming! Even so come quickly Lord Jesus!

He went on to say that there would be earthquakes in divers/different places. We had one in our own nation's heartland measuring 5+ on the Richter Scale. There was one in China killing 10,000 people just this week, which measure 7+. We see the violent upheaval in nature with cyclones, hurricanes and tornadoes, and we must conclude that Christ is coming! How, I long for His return, even tonight as I write! He is my Lord! I ask, "Is Jesus Christ the Lord of YOUR life?" If He were to return, would you be taken or left behind?

Larry Norman wrote a song years ago, entitled, "I wish we'd all been ready." That song had a line in it which said...

"I wish we'd all been ready. There's no time to change your mind. How could you have been so blind? The Father spoke. The Demons dined. The Son has come, and you've been left behind."

Are you ready to meet Jesus? Have you surrendered yourself to Him? Have you repented of your sin and trusted Jesus to save you? If not, do that today!

Rom 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Rom 10:10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Rom 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

If you haven't, CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD, and be saved today!

For more info., Go to http://www.parkerscreek.org/index.cfm?page=17

Jailbirds for Jesus!!!

2008-05-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

Eph 4:1
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Eph 4:2
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Eph 4:3
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Eph 4:4
[There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

Eph 4:5
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Eph 4:6
One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.

In verse 1 of chapter 4, Paul uses an interesting title for himself, "The prisoner of the Lord." Paul knew what it was like to be a prisoner, especially for Jesus Christ!

He was imprisoned in Ephesus.
He was imprisoned in Philippi.
He was imprisoned in Jerusalem.
He was imprisoned in Rome.

Everywhere he went, there was a riot; he was assaulted; or he was thrown in jail. Why? He dared to preach a different King - one Jesus! He realized that compared with Christ and winning Him, EVERYTHING ELSE WAS DUNG/RUBBISH! But the verse doesn't say, "Paul, a prisoner FOR the Lord." It says, "Paul, the prisoner OF the Lord."

He realized that while the Roman Government, the Jews, and everyone else might try to imprison him and keep him from freedom. They couldn't! True freedom came from being the prisoner of the Lord! He was Christ's bondslave!

Tts 1:1
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ,

Christ had truly set Him free! Because he was a prisoner of the Lord - Rome, the Jews, and no one else could stop Him or enslave Him! Sure, they might imprison Him, beat Him and leave him for dead! But they couldn't silence him, and whatever they did for evil, God turned it into the good of the furtherance of the Gospel.

Now, he says, "I beseech you, walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you were called." That brings us to the 2nd word of our trilogy in Ephesians: Sit, Walk and Stand. We are to sit in Heavenly places and rest in our position in Him. Then we are to walk worthy of that calling! The old-timers call it "fleshing it out." The Bible calls it "working it out." Anyway, if we are truly saved, we can't keep what's on the inside, inside for long. Eventually, just as cream rises to the top, what is on the inside of us has to make its way out to the outside! WE CANNOT KEEP IT IN! PEOPLE WILL SEE IT! We are to daily walk in a manner worthy of Christ and His name. When we are his prisoner, we do whatever he tells us to do. According to these verses, when we are Christ's prisoner, we forbear one another in love and endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit. WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM AS BELIEVERS! Christ is the Head and we are His body. We are members one of another! We love one another, and we work in unity one with another! We pray for one another and bear one another's burdens! There's a weight that can only be carried by sharing it with a brother or sister in Christ. So let us remember that there is just One Lord, One Faith, and One Baptism! So, walk on, in unity with the Lord and other believers. Walk on, walk on for Jesus as His prisoner!

You hath he quickened!!!

2008-05-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

Eph 2:1
And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Eph 2:2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Eph 2:3
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Eph 2:4
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Eph 2:5
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Today, I want us to notice what he says their in verse 1, "You hath he quickened [made alive; brought to life]." We were born dead - stone cold dead - in trespasses and sins. Now, we are all familiar with the word "trespass." We've all seen "No Trespassing" signs. Each and everyone of us have trespassed on territory that only belongs to God. God's word gives us at least 10 great land masses in Exodus 20 that we "shall not" trespass upon. Yet, we have.

We have had other God's before Him.
We have made graven images. We have devoted our lives [our time, talents and treasures] to others and other things besides God.

We have taken God's name in vain both literally and symbolically by how we've lived our lives.

We have not kept the Sabbath day holy. We have forsaken the assembly and not taken time from our business and worldliness to honor God.

We have not honored our Father and Mother.

We have stolen. We've cheated to get ahead.

We have murdered. You might be saying, "WAIT A MINUTE! I GOT YOU THERE! I'VE NEVER MURDERED!" Well, let's think about it a minute. Jesus equates hatred with murder in Matthew 5. We have murdered and thought to ourselves, "I'm gonna kill him/her." AND ALL OF US ARE GUILTY OF MURDERING THE PRECIOUS SON OF GOD!

We have committed adultery. Again, Jesus equates adultery with lust in Matthew 5. Whether youve actually committed the act or not, you've desired it in your heart.

We have borne false witness. We've told untruths. And

We have all coveted the possessions and/or positions of our friends, family, co-workers, acquaintenances, neighbors, and yes, fellow church members. WE ARE GUILTY ACCORDING TO GOD's LAW!

We were dead. We were born that way! The original sin of Adam had been passed down from generation to generation, and we have sinned (Romans 5:12). Think about being dead for a minute. When you're dead, you can't do anything. A dead fish is carried along by the current and can't swim against it. A dead fish is diseased, rottening, decayed, and stinks. THAT'S HOW WE WERE BEFORE CHRIST CAME IN!!!

We have been quickened. Christ interrupted our world. He invaded our space! He touched us, and brought us to life! He is making something of our lives. We just need to rest in Him and surrender to His touch. Then we need to start living in light of that touch! We now have a new life both in time and eternity! We have a new quality of life that is abundant (John 10:10) and eternal (Romans 6:23). Have you been born again (John 3:3). Have you been freed indeed by the Son of God? Do you possess this quality of life?

My favorite 2 words in all the Bible are found in verse 4 of our text - "BUT GOD!"

We were dead - but God!
We were lifeless - but God!
We were hopeless - but God!
We were helpless - but God!
We were sinners - but God! We are now saints! Are you a saint or an ain't?

We are now alive and full of it [LIFE THAT IS!]! We now have hope in Christ; we have the help of the Holy Spirit! We are no longer sinners but saints, already seated in Heavenly places! SO REJOICE EVERMORE! LET THE JOY OF THE LORD BE YOUR STRENGTH! AND REST IN WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST TODAY!

The Storm is Past!

2008-05-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, once again storms swept through the Middle Tennessee area. It has become so common to have, not just storms, but violent storms and tornadoes, that whenever Ihear that storms are approaching, I sit up late and see what the intensity is and wait until they have past before going to bed. Then after the storm, there is a calmness and cleanness to the air, and it is much more peaceful to go to sleep.

I've noticed that during storms, my 11 month old (Aaron) usually sleeps right through them - thunder, lightning, wind and all. My 4 year old (Andrew), on the other hand, usually wakes up and wants to come in the room with me and Jenny. If we're laying down, he'll crawl up in between us and then goes on to sleep.

Isn't that like our lives? When we first get saved, we're babes in Christ. We can sleep through anything, because we still have that childlike faith. Then as we get a little older and life becomes more uncertain, we need more assurance. Hopefully, we mature then to where they don't unnerve us as bad. In the same way, the storms in life drive us to get closer to our Heavenly Father. God wants to use these storms to mature us, so we get less afraid each time. We can sleep if we realize that the Father is staying up!

Then after the storm passes, we find the air around us a little bit fresher, cleaner and a calmness comes to our soul. God wants us to get back to that childlike faith we had when we first got saved. He wants us to realize that He's in control no matter. So, just rest in who you are in Him. He wants us to be able to rest, even in the midst of the storm.

The last couple of blogposts, we've been looking at truths from the book of Ephesians. And that is exactly what Paul was saying to the church at Ephesus. They were born in the storm. They had the false cult of Dianna persecuting them. They had been called out of a pagan and polytheistic culture to serve the true and living God. And Paul wanted them to realize that in Christ we can rest. In fact, we have to learn to sit down and rest before we can walk and stand. Watchman Nee wrote a book about this entitled: Sit, Walk, Stand. We have to sit up and realize we're seated in Heavenly places. Then and only then can we walk and certainly stand our ground against the principalities of Hell.

BUT TAKE HEART!!! Christ went through the storm for us on Calvary! We were in the storm of sin and iniquity but Christ called us out. He picked us up! And now, he has caused us to sit down in Heavenly places! Some are never able to effectively stand their ground, because they have not first realized that Christ wants them to sit down. REST IN WHO YOU ARE IN HIM! Then go out and live for him and fight the good fight of faith. Too often in the church, someone will get saved and in order to harness their energy, we immediately throw them out there to teach a class or something. THE THING THEY NEED MOST IS JUST TO SIT AND REST IN THEIR NEW REALIZATION OF CHRIST! They need to be seated first, then they can be strengthened to walk and stand.

If you're weary, just sit down! It's ok (in this sense) to sit down on God! It's ok to take time and rest at Jesus' feet. For you child of God, THE STORM IS OVER! Just rest in HIm today! Let Him fight your battles for you! STAND STILL AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD!

We Wrestle Not (The Ultimate Wrestlemania)

2008-05-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

Eph 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

I never will forget as a 20 year old reading the Christian Classic, Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill. BTW, you can hear sermons of the now deceased Leonard Ravenhill on http://www.sermonaudio.com/ . I never will forget the convicting power of the Holy Spirit as I read the title of one of the chapters, We Wrestle Not. He said that most people who claim Christ as their Savior, in order to be honest, would have to quit reading the verse after the first phrase, because we aren't engaged in the battle.

Whether we like it or not, or realize it or not, when we got saved, we did not become part of a social club. The Christian life is a battleground not a playground! We must always be sober and vigilant, always be instant in season and out, and always aware of what the enemy is doing; or we will get completely blindsided and knocked down, if not out.

Shortly after I surrendered to preach at the age of 15, I was asked to prepare a message to deliver in children's church. I was immediately drawn to this verse and entitled my message, "The Ultimate Wrestlemania." We are involved in the ultimate wrestlemania! Our match is not in a steel cage or square ring; it is in our everyday walk of life. It is not against the Undertaker but the Underworld! It's not against the Rock, but our feet our planted on the Rock! And unlike the WWE, IT'S REAL, AND IT'S FOR KEEPS!

But take heart! On the cross, Christ forever planted His heel on the head of the serpent. He was bruised and beaten for our transgression and iniquity. BUT HE MADE A COMEBACK! On the 3rd day, He arose! When he said it is finished, IT WAS! So, this week, quit fighting and rebuking in order to obtain victory! INSTEAD FIGHT FROM VICTORY! SIMPLY DEFEND THE TERRITORY CHRIST HAS ALREADY WON FOR YOU ON THE CROSS!

He won our peace on the cross, just rest in Him.

He defeated sin on the cross, just realize you are crucified with Him, nevertheless you live; and live for Jesus.

He defeated Satan on the cross, just resist him and watch him flee.

This week, realize that your weapons are not carnal but mighty. You can pull down strongholds! You have already won. JUST STAND!!! GOD BLESS YOU!

Stand Your Ground!

2008-04-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

1 Peter 5:8 - "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour."

We are in a real battle, and the stakes are very high as to who will win. Multitudes are in the valley of decision. Souls hang in the balance. We mustn't cede any ground to the enemy. Jesus Christ fought for and won the victory on Calvary. Therefore, we don't have to take any ground, we must simply STAND OUR GROUND.

Eph 6:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Eph 6:11
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

Eph 6:13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

3 Times we are told to STAND! Standing is a defensive position not an offensive position. If you stand around on offense, you're going to lose. We are told to stand our ground. We need not give the devil an inch. Why should we fight to gain what Christ has already taken? Christ fought for the ground on Calvary; He was buried and raised from the dead! When He said it is finished, IT WAS! Christ accomplished all that we need. Because it's His, It's ours, because we are in Him! Just claim His victory each day!

This truth was first brought home to me, when I read the book Sit, Walk, Stand by the great missionary Watchman Nee. As Christians, we are to Sit still realizing our eternal position is settled. We are seated together with Christ in Heavenly places. We are to walk in a Christlike manner because of this position; and then we simply must stand.

We don't have to picket, protest, lobby, or legislate; We simply are told to stand. We're not told to rebuke the devil, but simply to resist him steadfastly in the Lord. Why? Because the victory has already been won! Christ won, therefore, we too have won! We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. So, simply stand up, stand up for Jesus this week! Stand in Christ's power and might; Stand with your armor on; and Stand your ground for His glory! LET'S NOT GIVE THE DEVIL AN INCH OF TERRITORY THIS WEEK!

Who are you looking at?

2008-04-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 12:1, 2 - Wherefore, seeing we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us. Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

One of the sad things regarding the ministry is to see so many people rejecting Christianity because "there are just too many hypocrites." You feel like telling them, "You're to look to Jesus and not people, and quote the above mentioned verse." However, on second glance, that verse was written to us Christians. We are to be looking to Jesus. The lost world is looking at us! We are exhorted time and again to walk in a godly manner, because we are "encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses."

The lost are looking at us!
Our children are looking at us!
Our co-workers are looking at us!
They are looking at us and testing us to see if our faith is genuine!

So, what are we to do?

Eph 5:15
See then that ye walk circumspectly [in a right manner] , not as fools, but as wise,
Eph 5:16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Eph 5:17
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is].
Eph 5:18
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

We should walk in a Christ-like manner. We should lay aside the hindrances and besetting sins. We should be filled with the Holy Spirit. And we should redeem our time for the glory of God. Furthermore, we should not give the enemies of Christ an opportunity to blaspheme.

Col 4:5
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
1Th 4:12
That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and [that] ye may have lack of nothing.

And if that wasn't enough, Paul exhorted for others to be followers of him.
1Cr 4:16
Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
1Cr 11:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also [am] of Christ.
Phl 3:17
Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.

The fact of the matter is this. People are going to watch us; they should watch us; and we need to be conducting ourselves in a Christlike manner so they will get a good picture of Him.

Now, as for us who know Jesus. WE ARE TO BE LOOKING TO HIM and not to each other. The lost are not going to look to Jesus on their own, but they will look to us. But we who are saved are to look to Jesus. So many people are miserable in the Christian faith, disgruntled in church, and upset with other believers. Some need to build some bridges and get over some things! All of us should get our eyes off the other body parts and look to the head of the body, Jesus Christ. He has called each of us to our own ministry, which is unique from anyone else. So, let us just do what He has called us to do to the best of our ability for His glory! And look to Jesus for strength, encouragement, comfort, healing, and whatever else we need. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ever ask or think, according to the power which is at work in us. So, let's fall in love with Him afresh and anew. Live for Him, and watch Him do the impossible in us, to us, with us and through us! He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith! Praise be to Jesus!