Having exuberance faith
Well it all started when Griffin came downstairs. He was super excited he couldn’t contain himself. He just had to tell my mom, what a great ride he’d ridden at the carnival at the park across the street. He described every aspect of the carnival ride the way he felt climbing the stairs. The way he set the canvas bag down on the slide, the way he sat down on the slide and the way, just the way as when the man let go of his little canvas sack. He went zipping down the slide…
It reminded me of the exuberance that we as Christians should have in our relationship with the Lord. Too often times we get wrapped up in what’s not going right in our lives, what challenges were facing, and what battle scars we have. But we need to really sit back and thank God for all the things he brought us through. Remember we are on the greatest journey, the greatest adventure of our entire lives. You and I have the opportunity to live for the King. Wow what an exciting truth that should be. The truth of the gospel is that we are forgiven and free in Acts chapter 13 it says quoting from the second Psalm “as it is written. You are my son. Today I have become your father, I will give you a holy and sure blessing promised to you…” the fact that we can enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ and experience all of His blessings, share in the promises of truth. It is quite frankly, phenomenal to get to be the King’s kid.
I want to live my life with the exuberance of knowing that these things are true. I want to hold tightly to the truths found in the Word of God. And I want my life to be a shining example of what it means to be a true man of God. So how do we go about that work? About letting our light shine in the midst of the turmoil that we might face in our life? We need to believe what God has to say about us and about our situations over what we feel, feelings will mislead you. Joyce Meyers in her book the battlefield for the mind talks about the fact that if Satan can control your thoughts. He can motivate your feelings, and once you feel down trotted. Then you’ll begin to live that way. But she also states in her book, that we can turn our thought life around by reading and meditating on the word of God that our faith will be built up. And that our feelings will begin to line up with the Word of God. We as Christians should not be lead by our feelings anyway. We should as strange as it might sound; we should be lead by the Word because when you’re led by the Word and your feelings line up with the Word. Then, you can experience true victory, but you’re never going to know the Word unless you spend time in the Word spend time reading about the blessings and the challenges that those who were strong in faith have gone through before, and see how God was faithful to them. This process isn’t going to happen all at once. You’re going to have to have discipline. Not be moved by your feelings or your emotions but to be moved by the truth and the Word of God. And sometimes it can be hard to even get up out of our depression and funk to read the Word but when that happens, you just pray and pray and then pray more then as an act of your will get up and read. No one said this would be easy and discipline is never fun. But that’s what it takes. And as you’re faithful to do that, God will be faithful in his promises. We have to remember we’re not just here to abide our time. We are sent here; once we have the saving power of Jesus Christ in our lives we have the power and ability to change history. What is our purpose, we have to remember what God’s Word says in Acts chapter 13 He says “I made (in form and fashion) like for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to them and to the ends of the earth” our purpose here… is to be about our Father’s business sharing the love of Jesus Christ with those we come in contact with. With our lives being the main vehicle of our witness, they will see in us something that is real something that is different and has purpose and then finally by the Word of God and the wooing of the Holy Spirit. They will come into right relationship with God. Now then what should our response be…? HELP them grow!!! By helping get to a place where there under the Word of God and have people around them who care about them and who are willing to commit to discipling them. And then the process starts all over again, this is what being a Christian is exuberantly all about reproducing ourselves in the lives of others are allowing the Holy Spirit to be our guide and trusting in him that he will take care of the rest.
Understanding the looking glass of Faith
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command.
Faith what does it mean to truly had faith and not just have at the lived it out daily in your life I’ve had many opportunities to speak on the subject and to share what I believe the Lord is wanting us to get from this passage of Scripture. But in all of my studies in my entire sermon preparations there is just one thing that always had escaped me. The truth of the matter still remains the same. What does it mean to have faith, how can I as an individual have faith. How can I trust in the God that I cannot see how can I believe that he is in control of my life? And if he desires to be in control of my life out of why give you complete and utter control. How do I stay out of the way of God’s purpose in plain in my life? I.e. not get in the driver’s seat, but allow him to have complete control. I think it goes back to the fact that we have to realize, the God earnestly desires us to have relationship with him in the passage of Scripture in Hebrews 11 we see a whole litany of men who by their own choice, chose to put their trust in God, and we see the results of that that they were blessed that they were watched over that they were cared for the most important that they heard the voice of God clearly speaking to them in the stillness of their hearts.
Why is it so hard for us as modern-day Christians to have that same sort of faith? Why do we pull away from a God that we know, because His word says it. We know He has a plan and purpose for our lives. I think part of it is that we are too comfortable. We haven’t had to go through the struggles and trials that the early church had to endure no matter what your social status is how much money you make most of us don’t have to daily trust God for the necessities that we need for that day. And I believe that what happens is, is that it keeps us from that place a brokenness before God. We proudly believe that we can handle a situation on our own, that Oh yes God is the creator of the universe and he does literally have the whole world in his hands. But I’d rather strike out on my own. I’d rather do it my own way at this point is shorter reminiscent of the story of the prodigal son. He wanted to get his treasures now. He wanted his blessings now, so that he can go out and handle it himself. Well, we see where that got him, and we can see how he humbly had to come back to the father’s house. When we don’t allow God to have control we lose out on the blessings God has for us. It’s as if we’re walking out of the house. We have her little bag of blessings. We know just enough of the word to get us by and we need before where mature before were mature enough to be sent. We slip out the back door, how do we remedy this. How do we come back into the father’s presence and humbly accept His called grace? We do it the same way the prodigal did we take the long road home. We admit where we’ve been wrong. We apologize for our pride and jealousy and instantly, the love of Jesus Christ envelops us. This is what it means too truly have faith… to know that God will never leave us nor forsake us and to understand that his grace reaches us all.
In Him,
Tim
What Does 2 Timothy 1:1-10 Mean to me?
For me, this passage of scripture decisively relays that God speaks to and uses a family to minister one to another. This God ordained call and responsibility to the family is why it so important for whole families to be grounded in Christian faith and discipleship. A family’s Godly heritage is always significant in reaching the next generations as they pass on what Gad has called them to be and do. Children and grandchildren are influenced by the example of their “mothers’ and grandmothers”: the past generations of those who have practiced sincere faith and a new generation coming to realize the persuasion of that faith also resides in them and is there for them to take the step to with Christ to make it personally their own. It is like the difference between mentally understanding the idea of Christian faith and knowing and owning that faith because it is familiar and personal. Timothy recognized that he had faith because he had seen the faith passed down through generations to him, it was familiar and real to him. He understood the truth of the gospel because he had seen it operating in the lives of his mother and grandmother. Often times first-generation Christians struggle so much with self-doubt. They become paralyzed in their relationship with the Lord because they have no generational history in the Lord to draw upon. That is why the church must be wise to disciple, mentor and rally support through teaching and prayer for new converts to the Christian faith. But just as strongly I also believe it’s true to the Word that God meets each and every person where they are in their walk of faith and will prepare a way for them to grow and mature in their faith; however, there is still something exceptional about passing down through generations the love, anointing and ministry of God. Paul encourages Timothy to be strong in his faith and to remember the commitment he has to God, a commitment that goes generations back in his family. I believe, in this passage of scripture, God is showing Timothy that he is part of a call on his family just as we see strong love for the Lord and ministries being handed down today from parents to children. We see this same principle at work here in Timothy’s life. But also, Paul realizes that Timothy is young and all through the book of Timothy Paul is encouraging him to put away childish things , to “grow up” and strive for maturity in the Lord. Timothy is encouraged to be faithful in his public ministry and to demonstrate that faithfulness and maturity in his personal life. This same principle is true when we talk about how a family needs to come together in a unified relationship with the Lord in the home. If we want our young people to be strong in their relationship with the Lord we must incorporate teaching throughout the church family of the necessary influence and example a Christian home foundation has in passing on faith to following generations. The responsibility of family member to minister one to another is priority because God can always find someone else for any other responsibility but family ministry can only be done by family members. Even church ministry will never be as effective as the perception of Christ and the adherence to the faith that is taught in the home. Ideally, the family has to both minister and receive ministry as one entity if we are going to see generational ministry take place. Paul encourages Timothy to rekindle a freshness in his faith and the gift of God that is within him, apparent because of the faith and mercy God has shown his family. It is our responsibility as part of the family of God, to encourage this in the parents of our young people and in the lives of our youth. Too often the church wants to segment ministry into sections by age or interest to more comfortably minister to a particular subset of the family. I’m not saying that this is wrong, but it must be tempered with teaching and ministry to the family as a unit. I believe it is through this approach the family will live a victorious life unashamed of their relationship with the Lord because they experience it as the strength and glue and common ground of the family. As we minister to young people at their level and need we also need to be about encouraging the family to live out the truths of the Gospel so that they can draw their strength an hope from their relationship and walk with the Lord
Which List Will You Make?
“Why did you bring the LORD’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!“ (Numbers 20:4-5)
With no water to drink, people get scared. Unless something changes, they’re about to die — or, at the least, to suffer a huge economic loss when all the livestock die. It’s hard to blame them for being frightened.
It’s easy, though, to blame them for doing what we all so often do — making the wrong list. When faced with a disaster — or even just a lousy day — we always have a choice about what list to make. On the one hand, we can make the “last straw” list in which we itemize how this new bad thing fits along with all the other bad things in our lives.
For example: “I’ve got no car. My mom is mad at me. I just flunked that English test. And now I get dumped! Great! That’s the last straw, God. I give up!”
Or we can make the other list, the one where we remember how God has provided for us so often before. That’s the list the Israelites chose to ignore at this point: “God has always provided water and food when we needed it. Our shoes have never worn out. As kids, we saw Him part the Red Sea to save us from the Egyptians! Our God is good. Let’s ask Him for water again.”
Think about like this: When faced with something bad, which list do you usually start to make? How hard is it to stop thinking about one list and start thinking about the other? When that happens pray and ask God to help you to remember how He has provided for you and proved His love for you, especially when the next thing goes wrong in your life. And then make your own list of five examples of God’s love, grace, and goodness in your life
Not all original thought some taken from a article from Mark Matlock “Planet Wisdom”
Jesus understands and will work on you part
Jesus was in Galilee and on this trip wanted to keep a low profile because he didn’t want to deal with all the mess in Judea because the Jews there wanted to kill him.
But several of his disciples were pushing him to go to the feast in Judea because from a public relations stand point they felt the people needed to see his miracles and they also wanted proof for themselves. Jesus basically told them to back off, that it wasn’t his time.
Often you and I find ourselves in the same situation, we have people who are good hearted that want to push us into situations we’re not ready for or we ourselves try to stretch our maturity further than we should. Jesus in this example was ready it just wasn’t his time. The people that he was ministering to weren’t ready for the message. Have you found yourself in this situation before, the doors of opportunity swing open and you’re not prepared for the work ahead? Or, you find yourself dealing with circumstances that you’re just not mature enough for? No one likes to admit that, but sometimes it’s true.
But what do you do in those situations is virtually important. Are you going to try to handle it on your own or are you going to face the reality that your need his (GOD’S) help to deal with the situation or circumstance. It shows more maturity to say we need help rather than fumbling the ball on our own. If you look at the rest of the story in John 8, you’ll see that after all the hype was over and he was alone, he made the decision to go to Judea and face the challenges there. But the word is firm in saying that he didn’t go alone, the father went with him. He bathed himself in the presence of God before he made a move. And that’s why he was successful even the Creator of everything took time to prepare. As you and I live our lives it’s important that we follow that example to take the time to prepare, rest in God’s presence and then move forward in the challenges that lay ahead. When we’re faithful to do that, that’s when the solutions come, we are empowered with His strength and he’s able to receive the glory for the work that he has done in our lives. Whenever your circumstances look overwhelming, take the time to prepare for the battle ahead. Not just when your back’s against a wall, but all the time. If you do that you’ll be amazed at the peace of God that will reign in your life.
In Him,
Tim
The Freedom Quest
One of man’s greatest quests in life is the quest to be free. After years and years of searching for freedom, the truth is revealed in this passage of Scripture, that the truth of Jesus Christ will set you free. Freedom is something that has to be experienced for oneself. Truth will set you free. Slavery can come in many forms, actions, and strongholds in your life; basically anything that keeps you from experiencing a life full of the blessings of God. Sin is a trap of a dead end life. It’s the barrier that keeps us from the fullness of a life experiencing what God has for you. A slave is a transient who can’t come and go at will. Jesus, the Son, has established through the power of the Cross, a high position, the run of the house. The word says if the Son has set you free you are free through and through. Addictions can’t keep a stronghold on you anymore. The question is how do we walk in that freedom? How can we experience it first? You have to really believe it. Then you must be sold out to the fact that the redeeming power of Jesus is enough to bring freedom. Once you are there, then the next step is to live that out. Live as you are free to operate your life as you are walking in freedom. When challenges come, which they will, do your best to withstand them with the help of Christ. Sometimes you’ll find success, other times defeat will be on your doorstep. But if we are faithful to meet each challenge, then over time (think of it as a caterpillar changing into a butterfly) the temptation will shrink in light of your faith. Never give up. God’s strength is perfect and He will lovingly pull you through if you don’t quit. God’s grace is sufficient for you.
In Him,
Tim
The Great Discovery
This is Tim…Hey, I want to tell you a little about discovering God’s purpose for your life. I want to know how some of you finish this sentence…”My purpose in life is…” I know it’s a hard question to answer and it can go in all different kinds of directions, but what do you think is your sole purpose in life? In Philippians chapter 1 verse 6, it talks about being confident. The fact that God has done a good work in us and he will carry that out to completion. God wants to carry us through our life and wants to complete the work that He has started in us. God’s purpose—God wants a love relationship with you. In Matthew chapter 22 it talks about the fact that the greatest commandment of all is to “love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and mind.” This is really what we need to do with our lives, is to love God with everything we have. Our relationship with God starts from the beginning, like we talked about last week about having a salvation experience with God. But the process of growing in a relationship with God and carrying out that relationship with God is through daily living and through desiring every day to have a relationship with God. Just like several examples in the Bible, we have a tendency to rebel against God and to do what we know is wrong. To do that, it’s called sin. It severs our relationship with God, it breaks the bond you and I can have with God and it causes us to have to come into a restoration relationship with God. How do we restore fellowship with God? In I John 1:9 is says, “if we confess our sins, he is just to forgive us our sins and purify us in righteousness.” Confession restores relationship. What does it mean to confess our sins? It means two things. It means to agree with God that it is sin and is wrong. Whatever the situation is, whatever the circumstance is, you’re agreeing with God and saying, “God, I messed up and it was wrong.” The second part of confession is to stop doing that which God has convicted you of. When God speaks to your heart and tells you that you have done something wrong, it’s our responsibility at that point to break the cycle of sin and to make a determination in our hearts and say, “God, I want to turn away from this.” If we do that, we can maintain a relationship with God. It holds true in a dating relationship, it holds true in your fellowship with Christ, that if you don’t continue to communicate, that the relationship falls apart. The more time you spend with God and getting to know him, the deeper your relationship grows and the deeper the fellowship with him will be. In Hebrews ch 4:12-16 it says that the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, it penetrates into us. Talking to God through prayer we can come into the presence of Him and speak our petitions and requests to God. As we communicate and listen to God through his word and prayer, His purpose becomes even more evident and clear to us. He wants us to grow and mature to become more like Jesus. In Romans 8:29 it says that “those God foreknew, he also predestined to conform to the likeness of his Son and become like him.” Basically what that is saying is that when you were still in your mother’s womb, God desired and put a plan in place for you to come into relationship with him. It’s our responsibility to follow through with that relationship and to continue in our relationship with God. Why should we want to grow and become more like Jesus? In Matthew 3:17 it says that a voice from heaven said this is my son, whom I love and am well pleased. We want to grow so we will please God. In John 15:11, I’ve told you this so that my joy will be made complete and that I may pour out my joy on you. Why do we want to grow more in our relationship with God? So we can have a sense of fulfillment in our life. Success is fulfilling your purpose in life. For example, a pen is successful when it writes. You and I are successful when we find our purpose in life, by allowing His spirit to move through us. That is how we move towards the goal of being more like Him. Romans 12:2 says to not be like this world, but to transform. Just like in the movie the Transformers, it means to be reconditioned, to be renewed, to be evolved into something that is good and pleasing to God. He wants us to be transformed into something pleasing to Him. In Romans 8:28, 29, we know that all things work together for good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. God has called you and I and he desires for us to use everything in our lives, the challenges that we face as well as the things that are good in our lives, he wants to use them all so we can be made for the purposes of Him. His purpose is to also help others find the great new life that you have found in Christ. Mark 1:7 talks about making you fishers of men. It’s our responsibility to share what we have found in our relationship with Him with others we come into contact with. How can you help others find new life in Christ? By showing Christ to them through your changed actions. In Matthew 5:14-16 —you are the light of the world, a city on the hill cannot be hidden, in the same, let your light shine before men, let them see your good works and praise your father in heaven. As we share the love of Christ and the joy, peace and fulfillment that we have found in a relationship with Christ, that’s what truly brings other people to a relationship with Him. Finally, it talks about the fact in II Cor 9:16 that our faith grows and the best way to show others is to share that faith with others. The more you share with others, the more your faith will grow. Share with them how they can come to a relationship with Him. You have to do this through your actions, not just your words.
Loving others
Today’s topic boys and girls is loving. Loving in relationships. Now before you get all hot and heavy thinking this is going to be on relationships and not dating, I want to back it up and let you know that it’s not talking about loving exclusively in a dating relationship, but in all relationships in your life. In Hebrews 13 verse 1 it says keep on loving each other as brothers in the Lord. In the Greek, it means to keep on loving each other as family. One of the things that I’ve began to realize since I’ve been in Pen Argyl is that God wants me to extend my Christian family. What do I mean by Christian family? I mean that He is allowing me to see my brothers and sisters in the Lord as part of my extended family and that I need to treat them with the love and respect that they deserve and to encourage them to keep on going in their daily lives. The Word of God says that love keeps no record of wrong. We need to have that attitude, especially in our Christian relationships. We must begin to think the best of people in all situations. We have to change our negative thinking. Not think what is this person trying to get from me? How is this person trying to manipulate me? We need to think the best of this person and think how can I bless this person? We need to continue to love each other. When we have the kind of attitude of how can I love this person, then we begin to see ways to minister to that person in our daily lives. It’s easy at that point to put others first and to pray through the situation. Loving one another isn’t an easy task, but it has been demanded on us by God. We need to continue to strive to love others. This is Tim and this is my blog.
Loving others
Today’s topic boys and girls is loving. Loving in relationships. Now before you get all hot and heavy thinking this is going to be on relationships and not dating, I want to back it up and let you know that it’s not talking about loving exclusively in a dating relationship, but in all relationships in your life. In Hebrews 13 verse 1 it says keep on loving each other as brothers in the Lord. In the Greek, it means to keep on loving each other as family. One of the things that I’ve began to realize since I’ve been in Pen Argyl is that God wants me to extend my Christian family. What do I mean by Christian family? I mean that He is allowing me to see my brothers and sisters in the Lord as part of my extended family and that I need to treat them with the love and respect that they deserve and to encourage them to keep on going in their daily lives. The Word of God says that love keeps no record of wrong. We need to have that attitude, especially in our Christian relationships. We must begin to think the best of people in all situations. We have to change our negative thinking. Not think what is this person trying to get from me? How is this person trying to manipulate me? We need to think the best of this person and think how can I bless this person? We need to continue to love each other. When we have the kind of attitude of how can I love this person, then we begin to see ways to minister to that person in our daily lives. It’s easy at that point to put others first and to pray through the situation. Loving one another isn’t an easy task, but it has been demanded on us by God. We need to continue to strive to love others. This is Tim and this is my blog.
