“Give The Bread Impression of Presence”

 We've all been there before: you snap out of a daze, look around, and realize you've driven all the way to your destination without really noticing it. It's a bit scary when you think about it, but it happens to all of us at some point not giving the impression of being.

All things have meaning only in relationship to God. Therefore, let all of our conversations and questions stay focused on Him with the thought, “all roads lead to Calvary” You see as we join Jesus on his mission our personal focus should always be on the end of the road. It was especially helpful when I was a coach, a teacher or in a leadership role. Ultimately as children of God, we want to direct other disciples’ minds and hearts to Christ, to help them find their strength in Him and in what He has already accomplished for us through His suffering, death, and resurrection. 1 Sam 23:16; Heb 12:2-3

What does that mean? God is most glorified in us when we bear fruit in a desert. God will put us in a hard place to shine for Him, so don’t cheat Jesus in that moment by getting emotional. Be an encouraging disciple for encourage means paraklesis, “to call by the side, a calling to one’s aid” the Holy Spirit. What you do is not as important as the person for whom you do it. Let everything you do be to the Glory of God! Nothing else matters. Thus, with God’s spirit inside us moving us using us as fellow disciples of Jesus Christ.

As I daydream during Group time my mind is on the following: When you want to have a dialogue with someone about certain passages or topic, how do you begin? Do you stand in front of that person and scream and hope they will hear you? Are you aware during those exchanges through “coincidences”? Is your conversation reflective seeing little things that stirs excitement, enthusiasm’? Or is it a deep theological conversation full of getting it right? In a sense, listening is easy — or hearing is easy. It doesn’t demand the initiative and energy required in speaking. That’s why “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” Romans 10:17.

The point is that hearing is easy, and faith is not an expression of our activity, but our receiving the activity of another. But despite this ease — or perhaps precisely because of it — we often fight against it. In our sin, we’d rather trust in ourselves than another, amass our own righteousness than receive or notice another’s views, but speak our thoughts than listen to someone else’s. 

The wise Christian does not assume he or she has attained sinless perfection. Doing so is pride, which is sin James 4:6; Proverbs 16:5 We should examine ourselves continually to see if our ways please the Lord. We can pray with David, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”Psalm 139:23-24. Not on the temporal worries of this life. 

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough. “Matthew 13:33

Jesus uses this story as an object lesson to illustrate the kingdom of heaven.

1.    the kingdom of God may have small beginnings, but it will increase. 

2.      the kingdom of God exerts its influence from within, not from without.

3.     the effect of the kingdom of God will be comprehensive. 

4.     although the kingdom of God works invisibly, its effect is evident to all.

But the practical result of being in God’s presence is joy! Many Christians seem gloomy and dejected because they lack this sense of God’s presence.Let me explain as I talk about bread! I don’t really worry about whether or not I’ll have some to eat; the only question I face is what’s the ingredients,” I will eat”? 

There’s food I suspect most of us eat at least once a day. It’s a slice of bread. I want to tell you something about a slice of bread. Looking closely at a slice of bread, do you see little holes and air pockets in it? Humm. Bread is just full of these. It’s all of these holes that make the bread light and fluffy. You ever wondered what puts those holes and air pockets into a loaf when it is baked. It’s this substance called yeast. When the baker mixes up his bread dough he always puts in some yeast. When the yeast gets warm inside the loaf of bread it starts producing gas that forms bubbles inside the loaf. This makes the loaf rise and becomes nice and fluffy. Without yeast the loaf of bread would be so small, heavy, and hard that you would hardly be able to eat it. 

Yeast almost seems like a secret substance because it works so quietly that you don’t notice it. You can’t see the bread dough rising and getting bigger because it happens so slowly. Jesus says the God’s kingdom is like yeast. God’s kingdom is the good influence and control he has. It’s like yeast in that it influences people’s lives slowly and quietly.

The nature of yeast is to grow and to change whatever it contacts. When we accept Christ, His grace grows in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. As the gospel transforms lives, it exerts a pervasive influence in the world at large. As we “reflect the Lord's glory, [we] are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”. 2 Corinthians 3:18 

It all comes down to this: love God more than anything, and love others sincerely Mark 12:30-31. At the judgment seat of Christ, those who are faithful to the Lord who saved them will hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” No true servant of the Lord could ask for more.

God Bless You and This Ministry!

Word on the Street,” Needs of the world, makes me sensitive?”

 Dear Lord, I remember praying, “what am I going to do?” 

Dealing with the poverty I see, on our cruise travels, is quite traumatic. It is difficult to come to terms with (as I remember after ordering two main dishes most nights at dinner) what you see, to understand it and accept it as you return to your own life. Instantly you promised it wouldn’t happen, but your own difficulties begin to take priority. Back to my vision reality of the “Streets” declaration, are boxes of crap I have not used in years, arguments over trivial matters about a set of guidelines at church, complaining endlessly about traffic and struggling to balance your own pain in your life over your family life’s, are you kidding me? I just want to scream as the ghosts of song play on, “Stump all night in the neighborhood “preoccupy me even more than before. 

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36

But knowing that God, is present everywhere without being any more present in one place than another, still shows himself to be present in special ways at various times helps during these times for the caring process of thoughtfulness. Just like salvation, God’s joy, is a free and perfect gift from God, and we must reach out and accept that gift. 

Sensitivity to the world’s needs is a healthy sign that you are not completely self-absorbed. Pain, hunger, sorrow, and tragedy are regular occurrences in this once-perfect world, now ravaged by the effects of sin Genesis 3:16-19. With the invention of satellite and the internet, we are bombarded by information from around the globe as it is happening, and our responses to the needs we see can range from apathy to anxiety to hopelessness. Apathy is not an option for a Christian, but neither is anxiety or hopelessness. We want to remain sensitive to needs and be aware of the desperate struggles in the world, but we also must learn how to set emotional boundaries for ourselves. Without those boundaries, we may become depressed or angry. We want to be sensitive to needs without being overwhelmed by them. We want to sorrow over the world’s condition without losing hope.

Jesus should always be our model. We can look at His years on earth to see how He handled living in a world filled with needs. His heart was sensitive: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” Matthew 9:36. The Bible records two times that Jesus wept: He wept at the gravesite of Lazarus John 11:35, and He wept over the stubborn sin of Jerusalem Luke 19:41-42. His heart was tender, and seeing the effects of death and sin moved Him to tears. But Jesus did not allow Himself to be overwhelmed. He saw the enormity of the problem, but He did not give in to anxious thoughts or sink into depression. He knew who He was and why He was here. He had come to earth on a mission Luke 9:51. He was not merely sad about the human condition; He had compassion, and He did something about it Mark 1:38. What say You? Can you cover all your troubles for a minute?

Paul is another example of one who was sensitive to the needs around him. He poured out his life as a drink offering for the benefit of others Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6. In Romans 9:2 Paul expresses sorrow over the lost condition of his fellow Hebrews. The Corinthians, in particular, saddened him with their immaturity and carnality, and he expressed his sorrow to them: “For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you” 2 Corinthians 2:4. The needs of the world often caused Paul grief, but it was not an impotent grief. He was called by God to be a preacher to the Gentiles Romans 15:16, and he faithfully did what he could to further the gospel of truth.

It is good to be sensitive to the needs of the world in proverbs 14:21 and 19:17 reminds us:

 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor,    but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy. 

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,    and he will reward them for what they have done.

One of the characteristics of the wicked is their “unfeeling heart” Psalm 17:10. But our sensitivity must lead to positive action. Frosted flakes in my belly, the needs of the world on my mind; as weighty as they are, can overwhelm us when we remain motionless in our sorrow. We journey through stories of misfortune, country after country, feel an ache in our hearts, but do nothing. Because the needs seem so overwhelming, we cannot imagine that we can do anything about it, so we do nothing. However, acting of some kind puts our sorrow to work. By serving, giving, and joining Jesus on his mission’ hands and feet on earth, we can channel inner turmoil into outer productivity.

We cannot solve all the world’s problems, but we can help someone. We may not be able to end world hunger, but we can feed one hungry child. We cannot singlehandedly stop human trafficking, but we can join our resources with ten thousand others to rescue some victims. We feel overwhelmed when we don’t know what to do. “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” Galatians 6:10. We should be sensitive to needs and then allow our sorrow to propel us to action. God does not hold us responsible for solving the world’s problems, only for being obedient to everything He has placed before us Proverbs 3:27, John 9:4. When we do that, we can entrust the rest of it to Him.

God Bless You and This Ministry!

Flash Light

How many of you old school listeners of the Group, Parliament, remember their song “Flash Light”? The opening lyrics goes like this: Now, I lay me down to sleep, Ooh, I just can’t find a Beat, Flash Light (Oh, I will never Dance!) I use to play this song right before conducting my faith experiment while in college. It wasn’t that I had hidden my faith before, but I had come to school not thinking it would ever be a need for me to tell anyone. You see I was afraid of the Dark. Strange that it was this song that motivate me, “I decided to just kind of feel it out, like, how would it be if I just brought it up in random conversations, with people I did not know. You see the song Flash Light was strange and Random.

In the Gospel of John, we are called to be a light and proclaim the love of Jesus Christ to all those we meet. It is our responsibility as we join Jesus on his mission. But how are we to do that when the world may feel like a brood of vipers? How can we be a witness in a politically-correct world that seeks to push us out of the public square and confine us to the pw? How do you share your light of Faith with others?Jesus is called “the true light, which gives light to everyone” (John 1:9).

The Lord is my light and the one who saves me. I fear no one. The Lord protects my life. I am afraid of no one Psalm 27:1

Who’s afraid of the dark? I’ll bet that all of you at a time in your life you were afraid of the dark. At least sometimes. There are times now when we get a little afraid of the dark. Now most adults do not want to show they are scared but there are times in an uncomfortable unfamiliar place we get concerned or are scared of the dark at times. Especially when it’s really dark outside without the moon or stars or any kind of light, lots of people even big people like myself may feel alarmed. 

Once as a kid, my mom and I laid down on the kitchen floor. We close our eyes and pretended that it was really dark. We imagined it was late at night and we’re getting ready to go to sleep. You see as a kid I was really afraid of the dark. She even kissed me and said good night, and said our prayers; my mother was trying to help me deal with the darkness of my life. But I still needed the light on. In my mind I was still just lying there in the bedroom in the dark. I even heard a creak outside of the kitchen window. What could it be? Where’s the flash light I yelled, Whew! This flash light saved the day-I mean night. In today’s world we would have a night light!

Those little light help us to see there’s nothing to be afraid of. The night light helps us sleep.

Lately, I have been thinking about our soul. In the sense of when we seriously are converted to the service of God. We in general, spiritually are nursed and caressed, as an infant by its loving mother, nourishes us with her own sweet milk, feeds it with tender and delicate food, carries it in her arms, and fondles it. As the child grows up the mother withholds her caresses and anoints them with the juice of bitter aloes; she carries the infant in her arms no longer, but makes it walk on the ground, so that losing the habits of an infant, it may apply itself to greater and more substantial pursuits.

The grace of God, like a loving mother, as soon as the soul is regenerated in the new fire and fervor of His service, treats it in the same way. We all suffer. Yet few of us suffer in the way of Job or Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Most of us do not experience a mystical dark night, but we experience the everyday, run-of-the mill dark moment. This dark moment could be the feeling of loneliness, depression, or being unappreciated; it could be suffering from financial difficulty, discomfort at work, divorce, or simply not knowing how to parent a rebellious child; it could be that awful experience of terminal illness, of a broken marriage, or even the death of a child.

About two years ago, I learned about a good Christian friend whose adult son had committed suicide. I know that for a long time they experience many natural dark nights during that time, and I imagine they will continue to have many, many more. The question is how do you respond to His presence, or his perceived absence, in your daily life. 

Do you allow the dark moments to smother your faith, or do you turn to God in prayer, begging for patience, for strength, and for a renewed faith? Is your faith so shallow as to love God only when you get something in return, or do you love Him despite the darkness that comes and goes? These are the questions the saints had to face during their dark nights, and these are the questions that you must ask yourself in your dark moments.

“The night is almost gone, and the day is near Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light”. Romans 13:12

Like a mother who takes small steps away from her child learning to walk, god also steps away, all the while calling you towards Him. He has not turned his back on you. Rather, He wants you to love Him and walk towards him without constant dependence on your own standards of pleasure, peace, and happiness. Only then, when you are employing, can He fill you with His very own pleasure, peace, and happiness. And then you will wonder why you ever questioned Him, why you ever desire anything other than Him, and why you ever hesitated to endure the purgation required to become one with Him.

The Bible tells us God is a night light. Sometimes the light is bright, like when the shepherds were in the fields outside of Bethlehem watching their flocks. Other times God’s light is soft. It’s like a night light. It gives us just enough light to see we don’t have to be afraid.

God promises to be with us at all times. God is with us during the day and in the night. So, we don’t need to be afraid of the dark. Because if God is our night light, what do we have to fear?

For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), Ephesians 5:9

God Bless You and This Ministry!

“Loving Encouragement”

 “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light” Psalm 36.9

A shout out to my old school friend “God”. The Bible says that Abraham was God’s friend (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23). They had a relationship of respect and obedience. This does not mean that Abraham was sinless, but he trusted God to lead where he was supposed to go. When God spoke to Abraham he immediately obeyed. Even though he was obedient to God, Romans 4 makes it clear that his salvation was not earned by works, but through faith in the  promise of God for a Savior.
Lovingly I also ‘holler’ to those of you , from the past and present. Who helps me with the light while in my darkest hours. Often the voice resonated, “Sugar Bear Let your gentleness Shine out of gloom”; as I reminisce on these words, “Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came”. There is no need to walk in the darkness of sin and death; in Christ, we “will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. John 8:12

 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

By itself, light is invisible; and yet everything is invisible until light strikes it. So, it is with God: awe can’t see him, but “in his light” under his loving influence we see and understand his love in all that surrounds us. God’s overwhelming generosity stands in complete contrast to the self-important plotting of wicked humans’ beings.

That is why we should clap our hands preaching the good- good news as we Join Jesus on his mission daily bridging between the City lights, in a distant noise of loud songs of Joy saying:

Proud to Be An 

Christian Alum

Go 

“Jesus is Lord”!

When God said, “Let there be light,” at the creation, and light appeared, it showed God’s creative power and absolute control. The physical light that God made on the first day of creation is a wonderful picture of what He does in every heart that trusts in Christ, the True Light. “I am the Light of the world” John 8:12

You see we as disciples in Matthew 5:14-16 we are shown as the light of the world. Just as the moon has no light of its own, reflecting the light of the sun, so are believers to reflect the light of Christ so that all can see it in us.  Let us maintain a sound and obvious witness in the world, a witness that shows us to be faithful alumni’s, God-honoring, trustworthy, sincere, earnest, and honest in all that we do giving an account of hope we have (Peter 3:15) for that gospel Light for all to see and benefit from, that they, too, may leave the darkness and come into the Light.

God Bless You and This Ministry!

Giving you notice, “Focused on Christ”?

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are one earth.Colossians 3:2

Lately the voice of religiosity has been yakking to me loud and clear; most times during different bible studies and general conversation as I join Jesus on His Mission. You see the term is used to refer to excessive involvement that goes beyond the norm for a person maybe of a similar faith. But it causes me to ask the question often in class, how are we different than the world? 

My question is not based on milk but a reminder, we are not of this World! Usually I get a legalistic Sunday school Confirmation lecture from those true believers. They sound so instructive that centers around a promotion of religion, Not based on “Christian religion” which is “the faithful observance of the teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles.” Is anyone Listening? Let’s be gracious to one another using wisdom with love is my cry: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters” Romans 14:1.

Sadly, there are those who feel so strongly about non-essential doctrines that they will run others out of their fellowship, not even allowing the expression of another viewpoint (making them become silent). Critical spirits are no fun to be around; neither are they fun to possess. That, too, is legalism. Many legalistic believers today make the error of demanding unqualified observance to their own biblical understandings and even to their own traditions and rituals. For example, there are those who feel that to be spiritual one must simply avoid saying how and I, because you forget to include the Holy Spirit (you fill in the blank, etc.). The truth is that avoiding these thingamajigs is no guarantee of spirituality.

So, Is it an individual belief or the content of the actual religion? Though a bit different, legalism is somewhat akin to it and the,” Band does not know it is playing, the same song over and over”. You see have we become creatures of habit both Christians and non-Christians using this,” religiosity” to refer to those who have replaced their God with their religion.

Now I am very watchful here and remind my selves that we do not know the thoughts and intentions of others. While we need to be courteous to one another and patient of disagreement over disputable matters, we cannot accept heresy. We are exhorted to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints Jude 3. If we remember these guidelines and apply them in love and mercy, we will be safe from both legalism and heresy. 

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” 1 John 4:1.

In some of my bible classes we listen to the teacher’s explanation of the why’s (defining that as sin) of the worlds when you ask,” how do we stay focused on Christ”. But for us like minded Christians, religiosity occurs when we focus on church activity, rules that often go beyond actual biblical commands, tradition, and pet doctrines rather than on relationships with God.

Even those who follow Christ can find it tough to stay fixated on Christ. This is when our teachings from the Bible offer to help us stay focused? In Matthew 13, Jesus gives the parable of the sower that includes insight in this area. In explaining the parable, He shares, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” You see the cares of this world and desire for wealth can cause people to no longer be focused on Christ.

So, what can Christians do to steer clear of religiosity? Being active, obedience to God’s commands, traditions, and doctrinal discussions are not wrong. It is a matter of heart. When our motivation to obey or to be involved in religious activity is opposite of who we belong to, who we are, our purpose in life involves looking good to others to earn our salvation, rather than to love God and bless Him, we have bought into the religiosity of “me”.

Focus daily on the truth of the Gospel-that we are sinners saved by grace into a life-giving relationship with our Creator Ephesians 2:8-10; John 10:10. Then we need to join Jesus on his mission wholeheartedly and practice the following: seeking the kingdom, hearing Jesus, doing good in the community and pray as He changes us completely, making us new 2 Corinthians 5:17;1 Peter 1:3 

Why is it so hard to see the world for what it is: a sin-filled place of desperate need. The darker the world is to us, the more clearly the light of Christ will stand out. It’s not hard to focus on a light in a darkened room. “We . . . have the prophetic message as absolutely trustworthy, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” 2 Peter 1:19. Those who stay focused on Christ will find their perspective on worldly things changing. We need to stop wallowing, whining, and complaining and grab onto God’s joy. Just like salvation, joy is a free and perfect gift from Him, and we must reach out and accept that gift focusing on Christ and his eternal Kingdom.

“I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief”. Ecclesiastes 1:16-18

As Helen Lemmel says in her hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, / Look full in His wonderful face, / And the things of earth will grow strangely dim / In the light of His glory and grace.”

God Bless You and This Ministry!

“Allow the Wind of God to Transform You”

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Gal 5:22

I use to often wonder what this means, “The fruit of the Spirit” was it a statement about the moral strength developed by the power of the Spirit? The nine-character qualities are a unity, a perfectly formed Christlike character. Paul in this verse has expressed his desire to see Christ formed in the Galatian believers (4:19). Now he describes what they will be like when that formation is complete. These character qualities are not a new list of laws or moral codes that must be kept; they are the result of living and being led by the wind of the Spirit.

Have you ever put your hand in front of a fan when it was turned on? Did you feel or see a little gentle wind? Thinking to myself! who feels or sees puffs of air from a fan? Wind is invisible. You know you feel it but how can you prove it’s really there to someone who doesn’t believe you? Could a pinwheel in front of a fan help? Putting the pinwheel in front of the fan now you can see that there is a wind because it turns the pinwheel.

Wind cannot be seen, but its effects can be felt and heard — just like the Holy Spirit. The only way you can “see” the wind outside is by what it moves-trees, windsocks, or flags, for instance. When they are moving you know there’s a wind. Did you know that the original name for the Holy Spirit was wind? That’s right. The old Hebrew word for spirit means wind. We cannot see Him, but we can feel the effects of His presence and His power. On the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:2 says, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” If we look at the comparison of wind to the Holy Spirit in this verse we see what can be learned about why the Spirit came in this manner on the Day of Pentecost and what this means to you and me.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you are bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

We read in the New Testament that when Jesus left earth and the Holy Spirit came there was a mighty wind. We also know that when you believe in Jesus and accept him as your Savior, his Holy Spirit lives inside of you. I hope you feel God’s Holy Spirit close to you, loving and helping you. One of the hardest things to do is let others see God in us. How can you and I prove that Jesus is inside of us, that his Holy Spirit is blowing through us? It’s like the problem we had to prove there was a breeze coming from the fan. The moving pinwheel showed there was a breeze. Our actions prove that God’s Holy Spirit is in us. He makes us kind, considerate, joyful, and patient, and will also give us many other good qualities. Even though others can’t see God, when they see these good qualities in us they will be seeing God at work. 

But you, my friends, keep on building yourselves up on your most sacred faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20)

Obedience to God is how the filling of the Spirit is maintained. Ephesians 5:18 commands that we be filled with the Spirit; however, it is not praying for the filling of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes the filling. Only our obedience to God's commands allows the Spirit freedom to work within us. Because we are still infected with sin, it is impossible to be filled with the Spirit all of the time. When we sin, we should immediately confess it to God and renew our commitment to being Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.

Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

Let’s shamelessly speak out that we will not be satisfied until a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit has blown upon us to give divine life and pleasing energy. Without this life, we can only do what human power can do, but when the Spirit blows His marvelous wind upon us, suddenly I/you am empowered to do what we could have never done before. Daily — right now joining Jesus on his mission — I am opening myself to challenge you to join in on the rushing mighty wind of the Holy Spirit.  Acknowledging that we are ready recipient’s, and we are readily receiving a fresh intentional awareness of this divine wind to empower us for God’s service.

God Bless You and This Ministry!

“Power of the Noise”

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Col. 3:17

How much of your life has been spent on performing persistent habits of fitting in for “an insinuated definition of legitimacy”? Lately I have been thinking to what end? Do you have to agree even in wordless silent during the rhetoric of self-righteousness? Especially in those things that give temporary displeasure, release or seem to be the right thing to do while listening to something you agree with but know it’s not loving your neighbor. You see as I have gotten older, I have struggled with the Pharisee spirit in the form of judgment with-In the Christian bubble. Thankfully, a real encounter, as I join Jesus on his mission changed that. 

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[ and hate your enemy. ‘But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, Matthew 5:43-44

While people might not be “Pharisees” anymore, the Pharisee spirit still exists. Sadly, it’s the number one reason why so many people want nothing to do with Jesus or His followers.

Of course, the noise of life seems to be a great gift suitable at the time during a controversy discussion. But is this a happy experience or a Pharisee joyful thing. I’m starting to think that the modern world has transformed the person who listens with “Love” into a minion soul as folks use the “Power of the Noise”. How well they sound with fatal arrogance, pride of being right as the Pharisee; modernity exalts the man who is drunk with images and noisy slogans, while killing the heart of a man” with words focusing on what they hate than what they love.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!    Everything is meaningless. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
    the more knowledge, the more grief”

 Ecclesiastes 1:2;18

Am I the lesser man who listen’s? How much do we listen? Am I dying? I’ve been guilty of this many time myself. I’m writing this because we as Christians are better than this; just a thought, what would happen if we took a twinkling to reflect and ask ourselves if we are being “little Christs” or if we’ve really got it wrong with our defensive words. 

A word is much like toothpaste. Once you let it out you can’t take it back. But if you could try taking a tube of toothpaste and squeeze quite a large quantity out onto a plate and put it back into the tube wouldn’t this be a problem. My question, can’t you just stuff it back in? Well, now I know I’ve asked you to do the impossible but once toothpaste is out of the tube you can’t put it back.

Words are much like this tooth paste. Once we let them out of our mouths we really can’t take them back. This means we should be careful of the words we let out of our mouths. But do we? Even though this means we should be careful of the words we let out of our mouths sometimes the words we use are when we are angry, emotional are during times of prideful debate.

For instance, some of the things we say may be true but are hurtful and are not very nice and we don’t really mean what we say. It’s at times like this that we ask the person we have hurt to forgive us. But even if the person forgives us he or she will have a hard time forgetting what we said. There is nothing you or I can do to completely take back something terrible we have said. It’s like too much toothpaste being squeezed from the tube!

Words are not simply sounds caused by air passing through our larynx. Words have real power. God spoke the world into being by the power of His words Hebrews 11:3, and we are in His image in part because of the power we have with words. Words do more than convey information. The power of our words can actually destroy one’s spirit, even stir up hatred and violence. They not only exacerbate wounds but inflict them directly. Of all the creatures on this planet, only man has the ability to communicate through the spoken word. The power to use words is a unique and powerful gift from God.

There is only One who can control the tongue. Only by God’s Spirit living within us can we hope to gain control over our tongues. He convicts us when we sin with our lips, and that conviction drives us to repent and pray for more filling of the Spirit so we can avoid further sin. As we cling to Him and yield to Him in obedience, He controls us more and more, including our tongues.

What is to be done? Being able to say words and communicate thoughts and ideas is a marvelous gift from God. Let’s not misuse this wonderful ability by speaking words that hurt people. While many people have quit smoking or drinking by the power of the human will, the problem of the heart and tongue cannot be solved by human will power. It takes the power of the resurrected Christ within us to control the tongue, and that power is available only to those who turn their lives over to Him. As with so many things in life, “with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”. Matthew 19:26

The only way to get rid of the “Power of the Noise “spirit, is repentance: A total U-turn of the heart!

• Begin self-reflection and examination on a daily basis.
• Measure yourself to the life of Christ, not just in holiness and righteousness, but in love, mercy, selflessness, humility, service, and wisdom.
• When you see an opportunity to speak into someone’s life, speak into THEIR life; not defensive about them to everyone else. But in Truth!
• Acknowledge that you cannot read someone’s heart and looks can be deceiving.
• Ask for forgiveness from the people you have wronged.
• Accept correction when reprimanded and apply the truth to your life.
• Be slow to speak and slow to wrath.
• Remember that it’s okay to mess up sometimes as long as you learn and grow.
• Most importantly, have a personal relationship with Jesus every day.

“From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit”. Proverbs 18:20-21

God Bless You and This Ministry!

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