Hold on

DISCLAIMER: Hold on if you watch this it's about 60 minutes long and you better start praying now for the words you are about to hear. So strap on your seatbelt and push play.

Father's Day

First off Happy Father's Day to everyone man that is blessed to have children. The Lord has blessed me with two beautiful daughters that I love and cherish with all my heart. The Bible say children are a gift from God. I became a father a little over 4 years ago and since that time I have learned how great of father I have. Ephesians says to be imitators of Christ and as I look back on my life I can say that my earthly father has done nothing but shown me the love of my Heavenly Father. Everyday that passes I thank God that I was raised in a God fearing home that sought to please God over anything else in our family. I know this sound like we have a perfect family and believe me we definitely have our flaws that we need to correct, but my sister and I were fortunate enough in this day and time to have both parents to be there for us at all times. One of the major things I have learned since becoming a father is the love the my Heavenly Father has for me and the rest of His children. When my kids don't act the way they should I now understand the disappointment my parents felt when I screwed up but there is nothing my girls could ever do to separate them from the love of their mother and I. It is the same way when we sin God is disappointed with His children just like we are disappointed with our own children. Romans 8:39 says nothing can separate us from the love of God. So one this father's day 2008 remember to thank God for your dad and thank your dad for being who he is in your life so that you can learn from his good and bad attributes.

MC

No One Ever Said This Would Be Easy

This week I had the opportunity to get away and spend the week at the beach with my wife and daughters. It also gave me time to talk to God more than in a usual work week. I had the chance to read a lot. Also had the chance to lead a spontaneous worship set at a local Christian ministry on the beach which was pretty awesome. One thing I have learned this week is that be a Christian is not easy. It takes work and you have to consciously remind yourselves to walk hand in hand with God. That is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians daily I have to die to myself. As Christians it is easy to fall in with the crowd and just roll with the changes and the punches as they come. A good analogy one day we were at the local water park and my 4 year old and I were in the lazy river and she kept wanting to swim against the current and my response was "that's crazy it's too hard and we will get tired we have to go with the flow that's why the call it a 'lazy river'". Many people I know including myself fall into this trap and end up just going with the flow of life and take it as it comes. As a Christian you have to swim against the current of life and work to show that you are a Christian. You probably know Phil. 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". So when you think the chips are not in your favor and you don't think you have the strength to swim against the current just remember the cross and the price Jesus paid for our ransom. This week I used 2 Cor. 13:5 as my verse for the week which says "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith". This week I learned many things in my life would be considered "lukewarm". I urge you to examine yourself and ask God to reveal things in your life that need to be "burned away". Just remember Col. 3:2 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things".

MC

This isn't a competition

If you know me you may think that is a crazy title for a blog post for someone who is so competitive. If you don't know me to give you a glimpse into how competitive I am I hate to lose a lot more than I like to win. Yesterday morning I came across a video on the Internet that just floored me. It was a pastor that did not agree with the methodology of another church and just totally bashed this church from the pulpit. When I first saw this I wanted to email this pastor and tell him what I really thought about him, but I decided that would probably only fuel his fire and in his mind justify what he is doing. What I don't understand is the reason why this pastor is worried about how another church is operating. Ministry is not an easy business(ask any pastor). I know at my church none of our pastors have time to worry about what another church is preaching or songs they are playing Sunday morning. Nor will any pastor answer to God about what another pastor did or didn't do on Sunday mornings. We have got to stop worrying about other churches and start worrying about souls going to hell. Whether you are progressive church that has lights, lasers, and smoke on Sunday morning or a church that has an organ and a hymn book the mission is the same. We need to unite as Christians and quit trying to steal church members from other churches. After all if they are already in church they have heard that Christ died for them and they are responsible for their own salvation. Let's take to the people in our communities that haven't heard about Jesus. Paul fought this same thing in
1 Corinthians 1:10-17:
10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas[a]"; still another, "I follow Christ."
13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into[b] the name of Paul? 14I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The church today is divided just as it was in Corinth. No one died for the sins of the lost but Jesus Christ, not Billy Graham, not your pastor, not your worship leader. So we need to quit worrying about the church up the street and their way of portraying the Gospel. We need to come together as the church body and work toward one common goal- Keeping people out of HELL!

Mickey