Love & Dating

Love
Becareful that you understand love before you start dating someone. Love is not self seeking. If the person you are dating puts you in a situation where you are doing something you don’t want to do, that person is not loving you. In fact – as soon as a boyfriend or girlfriend puts you in a situation where you will be giving something away you don’t want to give, your boyfriend or girlfriend is getting ready to dump you. They have lost interest, and respect. Love always wants what is best for the other person, not for self. Love always wants to meet someon elses needs, and not your own. It isn’t self seeking. God spends a lot of time in the word asking us to save ourselves until we are married. We would be smart to follow this advice., and if the person you are dating is willing to put you in a situation where you are sinning against God, then that person does not love you, for love by its very definition would never do that! Love can wait. So did Jessica Simpson. Love is patient. Make the person you are dating love you. Demand it up front. And stay away from situations where temptation could strike, like dark rooms, or houses where parents aren’t home. When my wife and I were dating she wouldn’t comeover to the house unless my parents were home. And when I lived in my own apartment, she would not come over. Now that’s the kind of girl I wanted to marry, and I did.

Have Faith in God.

Ask yourself today, what do you believe? What is your faith. Jesus said “Have faith in God.” Faith is the ability to believe in something you have not seen with physical eyes. There is a world spouting doubt, teaching fear, and attempting to disprove God. A world that is often waiting to see God before they believe. But Jesus said to his doubting disciple Thomas, “Greater is he who has not seen, but believes.” Our faith in God is our first step towards greatness. What you believe has got to become the foundation of who you are, not just something you say, but something you live. Not something you put on you, but something that you put in you. Not just to believe that God exists, but that he rewards those who diligently seek him. My grandpa told me the car he had when he was a kid was yellow. I never saw the car, but I believe him. Faith is not something you believe because you saw, it is something you believe because you heard. Have faith in God. His word is something you can believe. And if something happens to you that doesn’t agree with God’s word, then what you see is wrong, cause God’s word is always right.

The Right Armor for your Battle

When David was going to take on the giant Goliath they had him try on King Sauls armor and Sword. But it wasn’t right. Nothing fit. David couldn’t use someone elses armor and sword for his battle. He needed to find the weapon that would suit him, for his situation. He used a sling and some rocks, and Goliath took one in the head. You have giants to fight in your life. And quite often, someone who means well will attempt to tell you how they would handle it, and they will proceed to try and give you their armor and sword. But it probably won’t fit quite right. You need to do like David. Go to the word, and let God arm you with the armor of the Lord, and the sword of the spirit. God has the perfect solution. Then when you trust God and come out victorious, you begin to trust God more, instead of trusting in the advice of man. There is wisdom in council, and David did etleast try on Saul’s armor, but if you find it doesn’t fit, don’t give up. Go to the bible. David found out in the word that a man who blasphemes God must be stoned to death. Hence, death by rock. And Jesus is our Rock. He can defeat your giant. God wants to give you victory, ask him, go to the word, and you will find the weapons you need to win.

"Come all you who are thirsty"

Isaiah 55 says come all you who are thirsty. Are you thirsty. God has just what you need, so that you will thirst no more. Jesus tells a Samaritan woman in John 4 “whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst again.” We run around trying to fulfill our desires with what the world has to offer. The problem sometimes is that you can quench your thirst with the worlds ways, but it will only last a moment. You can buy moments of joy by getting a new car, a new girlfriend, or getting wasted, but it’s not going to last. You need to eat and drink what Jesus has for you. His spirit and his Word will fill you up, and instead of leaving you empty and lost (which is where drugs lead) you end up better than before. God wants to fill you up to overflowing, so that you can pass on to others the joy and peace has given you. So instead of passing the Gonja, pass the word of God on over. Experience fulfillment with God, and you’ll never go back. There is no greater joy that can be felt than the joy you will get you finally step into a full service relationship with God, one that gives him your heart.

Love God, and Love others.

Okay, so what’s with all the rules for everything. A million rules from don’t drink to don’t chew gum in class. From don’t murder to don’t hate to don’t walk on the grass or smoke it. No wonder we keep on sinning. Adam and Eve had it pretty simple. Hang out in a perfect garden with God. There was no beer to worry about, it didn’t matter how long their hair got, there wasn’t even a dress code. Just one simple rule. only one rule. Easy enough right. Don’t eat of just one tree. Lots of others trees you can eat of, just not this one. But they blew it. Isn’t just like us to want what’s forbidden. It really doesn’t matter how many rules there are, God shows us in this story that it is impossible for man to live without sinning. Only one man ever pulled it off, and that was Jesus Christ. The son of God who died for our sins, so we can stand righteous before God despite the fact that we keep messing up. Our job is to believe in Jesus, confess our sins, and God is faithful and just to forgive us. Now Jesus gave us 2 new rules to focus on. Love God, and Love others.

Get free and be expressive to your God.

Psalm 149 says that we should praise God’s name with dancing. In Psalms 98 Shout to the Lord, Psalms 138 says to bow down to the Lord. 150 Psalms in all speak of lifting your hands, clapping, jumping and expressing your praise to God. At first when you see people in church expressively worshipping God you might think, that’s a little weird. But it isn’t. You go to basketball game and people are raising their hands and jumping. No one thinks this is strange. Go to the dance club and you’ll see people dancing everywhere. No one thinks this is abnormal. But if people in church get excited, raise there hands, jump, or dance, then they are weird. Come on, lighten up. God gives more life than your favorite football team scoring a touchdown, and God is way more fun than some rave techno music. Or whatever. We are expressive people, we express ourselves when we talk, we like to be close to people we love, we hug and shake hands in greetings, so it shouldn’t strike anyone as odd that when you worship your creator, and the son who died for your sins, that you would be expressive. Get free and be expressive to your God.

Tell Your Story.

How do I tell others about Christ? This can be an awkward conversation to get into, so many avoid it. And randomly yelling at people who walk by to tell them they are going to burn isn’t quite what Jesus had in mind. I talk about this subject a lot cuz its important to you. IN Acts 22 Paul is arrested, and as his being hauled away he talks the commander into letting him address the crowd that had gathered. And the guard lets him. That was a miracle in itself. When you purpose in your heart to tell the gospel to others, God will make a way, and Paul takes the opportunity to preach, but what does he tell them? Does he just tell the story of Christ? No, he tell’s his story with Christ. He tells them his personal story of how Christ changed him on the road to damascus. Jesus has changed you, what is your story? People want personal testimony. They want to know how it worked for you! Paul told his story well. He was obviously ready to tell it, so that it would be full of impact. Your story is a great one, and its yours. You tell stories all the time about stuff that has happened to you! So be ready to tell others how you came to know Christ, how it felt, and what changed. Remember that the Spirit of God will not only help you with what to say, but will begin to work on the heart of the person you are talking to. You don’t have to get all mushy or weird with it. God is real. So be real. Tell your story.

Sowing and Reaping

I’m sure you’ve heard it said, well you reap what you sow… So lets talk about sowing and reaping, seed time and harvest Genesis 8: As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. A farmer will tell you If you plant corn, you will grow, corn. Well what does this mean to you. Whatever you currently have growing in your life, there is a good chance you planted the same thing some time ago. If all your friends have betrayed you and are talking bad about you, maybe you can go back to a time when you did the same to someone. If you got a ticket for speeding, you probably were speeding If you want love, give love. If you want friendship, give friendship. If you want hate, give hate. It’s all up to what seeds you plant. Galations 6 says “a man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life.” Hmmm, that’s a tough one, destruction/ or eternal life, destruction, eternal life…Lets all go with eternal life. So ask God, what can I sow today that would be pleasing. What are you going to sow today?

The Only Thing You Have Complete Control of is You.

Have you ever been cruising through a great day and someone comes in and ruins it. It just takes someone to come along and talk bad about you or to you, wether its your close friend, or some grocery store clerk and you are suddenly miserable. The problem that you need to see is that you cannot control everything that goes on around you. Your environment has many variables in it. The only thing you have complete control of is you. So don’t give people the power to make you feel bad. I don’t let anyone make me feel anything. I can’t control what people say, or what people do, but I can control what I decide to do with it. And if you find out someone is bad mouthing you, just go to them and ask what’s up. If you ask people things in an unthreatening manner, you will be amazed what they’ll tell you. If you start by yelling at someone, you’ll get nowhere. Control yourself, and say, “hey, this is what I heard, I don’t think your like that, but I thought you should know what’s going around.” Make friends, not enemies, talk good about others regardless of what they say about you, and you will find life will begin to have far more ups than downs, and good days will end in a train wreck less often.

Take on That Impossible Dream with Vigor!

The crowd Jesus had been teaching was hungry, and it was getting late, so Jesus told his disciples to feed them. Well, there were 5000 men, plus women and children. The disciples were overwhelmed by the task. Did you know that God has very big things for you to do. He has tasks that are prepared in advance for you to do, that are too big for you. So Jesus asks the disciples, “what do you have?” 5 loaves of bread, and 2 fish. We’ll maybe if you cut them into little pieces. Jesus wants you to use everything you have to accomplish the task in front of you. Try everything, give it all, run the race marked out for you with perserverance, bull dog tenacity, the inability to quit. What do you have, if you will use it, God will do the rest. Jesus had the disciples pass out the food to the crowd, and there was so much, that the people couldn’t even eat it all. There were 12 baskets left over of bread and fish. God will give you more than you can contain. But you have to step out, choose to believe him, and take on that impossible dream with vigor. Give God your all.


Announcement: Jason Anderson's new series "Your Life Incorportated" is amazing! Come see for yourself at the Living Word Awhatukee church located at 14647 S. 50th St. Suite 165 Awhatukee Az. 85044. It can be heard also at the main campus Living Word Mesa at 3520 E. Brown Rd. Mesa 85213 at the 1:00pm service!

We Are All One in Christ.

Society separates all of us into little groups. The world tries to separate us by color, income bracket, political beliefs, and even the way we dress. But Paul writes in Galations “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” Boys rule and girls drool, sure, but in Christ, Neither rules or drools. And can we stop seeing different colored skin, please? This generation is the closest man has ever been at being color blind, and not seeing one race better than another, but we still have a very long way to go. You might find yourself putting down the poor saying “well go get a job”, or judging the rich saying “you should’ve sold that and given it to the poor.” Or thinking that men are better than women…And that goes for everyone thank you very much. So there is neither black, nor white, nor brown or polka dotted, nor people with tattoos or without tattoos or piercings, or green hair, or homeless, or Guy nor Girl but we are all one in Christ. God looks at the heart, and that is something we cannot see.



Announcement: Pastor Jason Anderson will be starting his new series, "Your Life INCorporated" October 3rd at Living Word Awhatukee 14647 S. 50th St. Suite 165 Awhatukee AZ. 85044. It's all about "Before you can lead others, you must first learn to lead yourself" Don't miss this life changing series!

God Wants to Fill You Up to Overflowing!

In II Kings a woman’s husband dies, and leaves her in a lot of debt. Unlike today where a person might lose there house or car, she is about to lose her two sons as slaves in order to pay off debt. She asks the prophet Elijah for help. So he says what do you have? God is looking for you to use whatever you have to the best of your ability. Well she had a little oil. Then he said go and get as many jars as you can, ask all your neighbors. She did this. Then he said, pour the oil into each jar that you have. And by a miracle of God the oil kept flowing until every jar was filled. She sold the oil, and paid the debt. You may find in your life you sometimes run out. Run out of whatever? Ask God to help. God wants to fill your jars with whatever you need. But how many jars can you believe God to fill? It seems to me that in this story God would have filled as many jars as she could’ve gotten her hands on. She should’ve gotten a gjillion jars. God doesn’t run out! If you believe God wants you to have just a little, that’s how much you will end up with. God wants to fill you up to overflowing. Just like when Jesus fed the 5000, and there were baskets left over. What do you need? Peace? Joy? Health? Wealth? Get a bunch of jars, a gjillion of them if you can.

"What would you have me do Lord?"

Jonah ran from God’s purpose for his life, and ran into a lot of trouble. He got himself and those he was traveling with in a tight spot. A storm blew up on the boat he was on, and it nearly drowned all who were around him. He was tossed overboard and got swallowed by a big fish. If life is crashing down all around you, and you find yourself pulling others down with you, or you feel like you’ve been swallowed up by this world, it may be that you have not embraced your purpose from God. You may be running from what God is calling you to do. Now I realize that when life gets rough, we have an opportunity to learn perserverance through the test, but lets make sure we haven’t strayed off of the path that is his will for our life. Sometimes the mess is simply something we got ourselves into. God would never desire to destroy you. He loves you, and wants what is best for you. He wants to clothe you better than King Solomon, and bless you like he did Abraham. Our God is a good and just God. But when we leave god’s will, like Jonah, life can really blow up like a storm all around us. So ask God today, what would you have me do, hear I am Lord, send someone else… No send me

"Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

In Matt 10 two blind men kept following Jesus around asking for mercy. They wanted to see. So Jesus asks them… “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes Lord,” they replied. Then Jesus touched there eyes and healed them. There are areas in your life both spiritual and physical that might be in need of a little healing. Wether it be cancer or depression, a common cold or alcholism, or even a mean hangnail. We can learn a lot from the story of the two blind men. First, they had to ask for healing. We also must start with asking for healing. Next, realize that Jesus is asking you a question. “ Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Well do you? Jesus died for our sins and our sicknesses. Lots of people don’t believe in healing….. but do you? Remember that Jesus could do very few healings in his own home town because the people there did not believe. So ask Jesus for your healing, and believe that he is able to heal you, believe that you have received and you will have it. I’ve seen with my own eyes a lot of people miraculously healed of things. My Mom was healed of Rheuma Tory arthritis, a disease for which there is no cure. You can be healed too.

Bad stuff happens, sometimes to good people.

Bad stuff happens, sometimes to good people. It’s a rough world out there filled with all kinds of evil. But great people who do great things in this world have one thing in common. They have failures and tragedies in their past, just like you. The trick they will tell you is what they do with their past failures. Paul said it like this in Phillipians 3: “One thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Paul’s past included hunting down Christians and arresting or even killing them. It’s good to see that Paul didn’t say that he forgot what was behind, but that he was still in the middle of forgetting it. He was trying. It’s hard to forget failures, and hard to forget bad moments in life. It’s not like a light switch. But people who live in the past become has beens and used to be’s. they cannot move on. Don’t look for problems, look for solutions. Don’t look behind and how bad things may have gotten, but look ahead to how great things will be. God’s got a great big race for you, but you can’t run fast if your looking the wrong way. Look straight ahead, and run hard. Starting right now… go.

90% of America claims to be Christians

90% of America claims to be Christians, but only about 14% go to church weekly. Hmmm. Not that church is the beat all end all to being a Christian, but why do so many not go. Well many say, “I got burned at church.” And then they have some great sob story that is horrifying to everyone. Okay, here’s a different way to look at it. If you have values that the church needs, then bring them to the church. Help change what it is that hurt you. Help the church become more relevant and authentic. Society keeps changing, and although the moral values of church cannot be compromised, the way the word is communicated must change. Out of the side of Christ the church was born, Jesus is the head of the church, and the church itself is the body of Christ. Christ needs to get some stuff done, and as long as you have church at home in front of the TV, you become the knee cap that won’t bend on the body of Christ. Church isn’t for you and what you can get, its for others and what you can give, it doesn’t reach inward, it reaches outward. I got burned cooking waffles the other day. I’ll still cook waffles. I’ll just be a little more careful. I went and saw a football game the other day. The sound was horrible, the parking was impossible, and no one talked to me. But I’ll still go watch football. So buck up little Christian, and plug in.

Power of God

When the soldiers came to arrest jesus they said “we are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus says “I am He”, and when he said that all the soldiers were thrown backwards and hit the ground. Now that’s what I’m talking about. You know that same power that Jesus has he gave to us. The very same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is in us when we accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives! The power is revealed in our lives when we begin to understand who Jesus is. You see when Jesus revealed himself as “I am He”, the power of God was revealed. We have that same power and authority when we show others the Jesus in us. So the next time life tries to mess you up, instead of thinking about how you can handle it, think about how the Jesus in you can handle it! Where you are weak, he is strong, and he became poor so that you could be wealthy, and he became sick so that you would be healed, and he came that you might have life more abundantly. Jesus said “greater things will you do when I am gone.” So go in the strength that he provided and do something!

Invest in your mind!

How important is your education? Should you continue on in college, or go back to college? Your mind is one of the most valuable tools you have. God has given you a mind, but its up to you to use it, and to invest in it. In the parable of talents Jesus tells of 3 people each given different amounts of money. The two who invested the money were rewarded, but the one who did nothing with it, the one who buried it, got in trouble.
God has given us a mind, and we need to invest in it, and take care of it. Moses was chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses, having been the only Israelite not raised as a slave in Egypt, but raised by the Pharoah’s daughter in the palace, was probably highly educated. The apostle Paul was highly educated, having spent his life studying under the great Hebrew Philospher Gamaliel. (acts 22). If he had not gone to schooling, and known how to read and write both the languages Greek and Hebrew, he would not have been able to write so much of the new testament. Most of the people in that time could not read or write. God needed to use an educated man to carry his Gospel, and to proclaim Jesus Christ’s righteousness to a people yet unborn. So whatever you decide, college, medical school, or bible school, your brain is a valuable tool. Don’t ignore a tool God has given you.

Fix our eyes on Jesus

What are you here to do? Hebrews 12 says Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us That’s right, God has a specific purpose for your existence. A race that he’s marked out for you. But how do you know what that is? Where are the markers? The passage goes on to say… “let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Our purpose can be discovered by allowing Jesus to author and perfect our faith. An author writes a book. Jesus wants to write your faith, and perfect it. We keep our eyes fixed on him, even though he’s invisible. We can do this by reading the words he said, and following his example in the way he lived. You see John 1 tells us that Jesus is the Word of God. So fixing your eyes on Jesus can mean studying God’s word. We need to be sure of what we believe before we can live our purpose for God. In studying and learning, and allowing the Word to author and perfect your faith, that is, what you believe, you will infact begin to clearly see the race that has been marked out for you. Now all you have to do is run your race with perseverance, and with that, I need to quit now..

So what are you waiting for?

A lot of people are planning on getting there life together and really making a decision for Christ and a new lifestyle, but not just yet. Why is that? Somewhere along the line the world has gotten the idea that a Christian life is boring and stuffy. Not mine. In a world of reaping and sowing, a Christian life is way more fun and fulfilling. Cuz sowing goodness reaps goodness. A cheap thrill in the world is just too short to last, and not nearly as thrilling as you thought it might be. The worlds joy lasts for a moment, and must always be topped. Like when you finally get that car you’ve always wanted, and you thought that would make you happy. It did, but only for a little while. Then you’ve gotta have something else. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy. Don’t get me wrong, God wants to bless you, he wants you to have nice things. But Don’t try and draw your happiness from things. Draw your happiness from serving God. God’s joy is complete. Don’t wait to give yourself to God. There’s no better time than right now to say to God, “Okay Lord, here is the rest of my life, use me how ever you see fit.” Then get ready.

Who's the Boss?

Before we try and lead others, we must first learn to lead ourselves. Leading yourself is the preparation part of learning to become a great leader. And preparation takes time. Jesus started his ministry by going on a 40 day fast. That means he didn’t eat for 40 days. Now why would he go and do something like that? When we don’t eat, we are sending a message to our body and its desire, that it is not in charge of us. Your body has lots of different desires, but you need to show it whose boss. Your mind as well likes to wander, and may end up thinking about things it just shouldn’t be thinking about. Once again, you must remember that you are in charge, and you can tell your mind what it should be thinking about. Sometimes your emotions might tell you your in a bad mood, and that just makes everyone around miserable. But you can control your emotions. Remember, you’re the boss. And as you learn to lead yourself, you will no longer be tossed around in life by temptation. After Jesus fasted he was tempted. But Jesus was prepared, and he didn’t listen to the devil. Instead, he quoted the word. As you prepare to be more successful follow these two examples. First, send your body, emotions, and mind the message that they aren’t in charge. And, second get more of God’s word inside of you to help you overcome temptations when they show up.

Praise, a Mighty Weapon!

The Israelites have a big battle to fight, and they are greatly outnumbered. The king, Jehosaphat, sends out his worshippers first. He tells them to praise and worship God. Well that seems a bit confusing, sending the musicians ahead of the army. Who sends the band out ahead of the soldiers. People must have thought he was crazy, I’ll bet the band was a bit freaked out by it. But it works, as they begin to worship the Lord, thanking him for his goodness, and singing about his love, the enemy is defeated without the Israelite army having to raise a finger. You have and will have many battles to fight in life. A key to being a winner, and employing God’s help, is to Praise and Worship God in the midst of trouble. Its easy to be thankful to God when everything is great, anyone can do that. Being thankful when it looks like all is lost, and your really freaked out about something, that’s what I’m talking about. Praise and Worship doesn’t exist just to start off a church service, or for your musical entertainment (I didn’t like the music in church today, it wasn’t my style). Praise and worship is there to help you, and to have God help you. And who wouldn’t want help from God. So the next time you are in a battle, try worship, and watch everything clear up, God style.

Matt 28:19 Go and make disciples of all nations

Hmm, what to do today. What to wear? What time do I have to get up? And I have to make disciples of all nations to? Our lives are way to busy for us to stop and think about making disciples of all nations. Attempting to change the world, that is a bit overwhelming, might even seem impossible. Lucky, nothing is impossible to God. You can change your world, by starting in YOUR world, that is, the people and places you are around. Start there. So how do you reach the people in your world? Start by inviting those people to church. Which means, ofcourse, you have to have a church. Next, begin to pray. Its very important to Pray for your family members and friends. God will make himself just as real to those you know as he has made himself real to you. Last, don’t be afraid to tell your story, how did Jesus change you? We are all concerned about our unsaved family and friends, but it’s not enough to want to share the gospel with others, you’ve gotta do something about. I’m inspiring you to come up with a plan of action, and take action. It shouldn’t just be something you think about in passing, it should be part of your daily focus.

The devil just needs you to believe one lie

Gen. 3: Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals –That’s right. The devil is sneaky. And he starts talking Eve into eating the fruit that God told Adam that they were not to eat. Well Eve seems to know the rules, but the devil convinces her, saying “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you be like God, knowing good and evil” Hmm. First of all, Adam and Eve were made in God’s likeness and image, which means they were already like God.
But its also important to see that the devils temptation to Eve was more like bent truth, then a straight up lie. And that’s what makes the devil so sneaky. He just needs to get you to believe one lie. He just wants you to think its okay to get just a little drunk. Or he might tell you … that hey, the bible doesn’t say not to do drugs. Or he might try and convince you to get in the car and drive home just this one time, even though you’ve been drinking. Premarital sex is the cause for the continued rise in teenage pregnancy, which is also the number 1 driving force behind abortions. He just needs you to believe one lie. He wants you to think that these things could never happen to you. Eve eats the fruit, and gives some to Adam, and it cost mankind 4000 years of bondage. Remember, if temptation comes, ask yourself, is the devil trying to trap me? Cause the answer is yes. Say no to immorality of any kind. Decide that you will be different!

You are not an accident.

You ever wonder if you were an accident. If your parents hadn’t ever met, where would you be? Eph 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. First of all you need to know something. You are not an accident. Even if your parents had never met - you were destined to be here at this time, and God has a specific purpose in mind for you. Before God created the world he planned your existence. You have been made holy and blameless as a result of the sacrfice Jesus made for us, taking all sin, past and future, to the cross. When God sees you, he sees righteousness. You can boldly stand before the Lord without shame. Psalms 139:15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to pass. You are not the result of chance, like some sort of pull on a slot machine. Your existence here was planned by God at the same time he was planning creation of the world. What you do with the days that have been ordained for you, well that’s up to you. God has stuff for you to do, but you’ve gotta step up to it.

Fear

Jesus is out walking on the water – well that may not surprise you anymore, but it freaked out the disciples. They saw some dude walking on water and got scared. So Jesus says..”Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” There are a lot of things a person could be afraid of. Living in fear of bad things is not Jesus plan for you. Jesus is saying “Don’t be afraid” Well Peter steps out into the water and tries walking on it. But when he realized that people don’t naturally walk on water – he got scared, he began to sink. Jesus caught him. Jesus will catch us when we are sinking, but Jesus plan is for us to have no fear of this world and what it has to offer. Instead we are to trust in the Lord with all of our heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Your understanding is that people sink in water. With God all things are possible. But Fear can mess it up. Since fear starts with our thoughts, then we can stop fear by taking our thoughts captive. Phillipians 4:8 Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praise worthy, think about such things. Every time you sense fear creeping up on you, you start being afraid, replace your thoughts with something good. Having a scripture memorized can be just the trick.

Sowing and Reaping

I’m sure you’ve heard it said, well you reap what you sow… So lets talk about sowing and reaping, seed time and harvest Genesis 8: As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. A farmer will tell you If you plant corn, you will grow, corn. Well what does this mean to you. Whatever you currently have growing in your life, there is a good chance you planted the same thing some time ago. If all your friends have betrayed you and are talking bad bout you, maybe you can go back to a time when you did the same to someone. If you got a ticket for speeding, you probably were speeding If you want love, give love. If you want friendship, give friendship. If you want hate, give hate. It’s all up to what seeds you plant. Galations 6 says “a man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life.” Hmmm, that’s a tough one, destruction/ or eternal life, destruction, eternal life…Lets all go with eternal life. So ask God, what can I sow today that would be pleasing. What are you going to sow today?

Fix Your Eyes

What are you here to do?  Hebrews 12 says "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." That’s right, God has a specific purpose for your existence.  A race that He’s marked out for you.  But how do you know what that is?  Where are the markers?  The passage goes on to say… “let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”  Our purpose can be discovered by allowing Jesus to author and perfect our faith.  An author writes a book.  Jesus wants to write your faith, and perfect it.  We keep our eyes fixed on Him, even though He’s invisible.  We can do this by reading the words He said, and following His example in the way he lived.  You see John 1 tells us that Jesus is the Word of God.  So fixing your eyes on Jesus can mean studying God’s word.  We need to be sure of what we believe before we can live our purpose for God.  In studying and learning, and allowing the Word to author and perfect your faith, that is, what you believe, you will infact begin to clearly see the race that has been marked out for you.  Now all you have to do is run your race with perseverance, and with that, I need to quit now..

Let's Talk About Church

Eph 1:22 God placed all things under Jesus his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, his body. So Jesus is in charge of the church. This tells me that church is incredibly important to God. Can’t I just have church at home, I mean, going to church can be such a pain…And maybe I don’t always like everything I see going on at church…Well what does Jesus have to say about it? After all, he’s head of the church.. John 15:5 If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. How do we remain in Christ except to be connected to his body, which is the church. Going to church is a charge of inspiration from God’s word for personal growth. It makes us better. Pastors can get from God a message that is specifically for the congregation. What an advantage those who attend church have in life. When you attend a church there might be people and things that you don’t agree with. I wonder if that’s Jesus way of teaching you how to love unconditionally, how to serve, how to forgive, and how not to be judgemental. Remember, it’s like a family, and who doesn’t fight a little bit with there brothers and sisters?