God is so Good!

How great is God?   Think about it… Think about all the stuff you’ve done that should have really qualified us for gasoline undies and a first class ticket to you know where!  How many times have you done what you wanted to do knowing it was wrong?  How much of the bible do you really know?  Can you define Justification, Sanctification, Substitution and Repentance?  And even if you can, can you live a life worthy of these principles? 

In reality, we are not at all worthy of God’s goodness!  We aren’t worthy of his love!  I alone am selfish in my prayers, often unable (or unwilling) to abstain from sin, arrogant, and too quick to follow my own advice. 

But he still loves me!  He still protects me and elevates me and provides for me!  He is still desperately trying to get me to understand that he is good far beyond my wildest dreams of what he can be in my life.  He has no reason to obligate himself to me.  I mean, I didn’t do anything right, or good.  I am not better than anyone else in anyway.  But if I were the only man on the planet, Jesus still would have died on the cross for my sins.  If your sinful butt were the only human on the planet… Christ would still have died for you.  He even died for those who will never believe in him.  Why, I don’t know, but I’m glad that he did.  He died so to open the door to God to all of us… so that even a hardened Atheist might one day reconsider and receive eternal life! 

If you know that Jesus loves you, please share his love with others.  And if you don’t believe in him, I pray that you will get to know him the way that I am getting to know him.  He is worthy of all of the Glory and Praise.  He WILL change your life.

Song of the Day! 8/24/12

Donnie McClurkin- Stand

Ephesians 6:12-13

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  

¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Song of the Day! 8/23/12

Awesome- Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Choir

More like Song of the Universe!  

Psalm 34 1:8

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

² My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

³ O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

⁵ They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

⁶ This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷ The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

⁸ O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Song of the Day! 8/22/12

Shekinah Glory- The Love Medley

  

¹³ Greater love has no one than this: 

to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command.  

¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to

you.  

¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.  

¹⁷ This is my command:  

Love each other.

-   John 16:13-17 NIV

 

Song of the Day! 8/21/12

Mali Music- Yahweh

How do you keep yourself from focused while teaching 20+ 11 and 12 year old kids?  Play this when they come into the room.  Demons have to flee, lol! 

(Shout out to Christian Schools!)

4 Awesome Bible Teachers on the Go!

My Pastor provides awesome preaching and teaching on Sundays but during the week I get hungry for more!!!  What do I do on the other days of the week?  I turn to these four guys...  

100% of the time; I learn something awesome about God every time!  

1. Joesph Prince
http://www.josephprince.org/ 

 

Joseph Prince - Freedom From Condemnation Leads To Divine Health - 05 Aug 12

Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace!

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!  If you ever doubt God's presence in your life or don't feel like your worthy of his love, Pastor Prince is the man to listen to.  He emphasizes that the entire bible seeks to express one message... God loves us more than we could ever imagine and he extends grace to anyone who believes in his son.

I DVR his messages or catch them on YouTube but you can find Pastor Prince's schedule for your area here: http://www.josephprince.org/broadcast/

2. Alistair Begg  

http://www.truthforlife.org/

Alistair Begg- Half a Gospel is no Gospel at all

Whatever the bible says is what Alistair Begg is going to say... Only he's going to say it in an awesome Scottish accent!  He can paint a disastrous picture of mans ability to screw things up and then a glorious picture of God's grace to fix it.  Whenever he is on the radio, I'm listening.  And when I am done listening to Alistair Begg, I have learned something about God that I won't soon forget!

Radio: 
1160 AM @ 7:30am (Mon. - Fri)
90.1 FM @ 7pm (Mon. - Fri)

 3. James Ford Jr.

  http://treasuredtruth.org/

 

Pastor Ford Compares Us to Superman
The man can make it plain.  He has the insight that comes with a PhD combined with the perspective of a former drug dealer.  He knows firsthand that God offers salvation to anyone regardless of your past or current condition. He's funny, easy to follow, and he speaks in plain English!  Many an evening I have sat in my car outside my house listening and learning from Pastor Ford.  In fact, other people who I didn't think would want to listen to preaching on the radio have stayed out there with me just to hear him.

Sometimes, if I close my eyes, I even think I'm listening to my father again!  

Radio
90.1 FM @ 9:30pm (Mon. - Fri)

4. Greg Laurie

http://www.harvest.org/knowgod/

A Short Biography of Greg Laurie

The first time I heard Greg Laurie I was at the All State Arena.  Some 10,000 people filled the stadium for a concert that ended with a message from Pastor Laurie.  At the end, hundreds of people filled the stadium floor, either to accept Christ or rededicate their lives to him.  Why was he so effective?  I think it's because he speaks in plain language and makes a lot of sense.  It's not the flashiest approach in the world but it's clear, concise, and entertaining.

Radio:
AM 1160 @ 7am (Mon. - Fri)

Who do you like to listen to during the week? 

 

A Life of Dependence

 

Music video for the Praise & Worship song "All I Need is You" from Hillsong UNITED.

 

 I’m a smart dude… I know I am…you don’t have to tell me.  If I really wanted to, I could strike out on my own and probably do some pretty great things.  I am a really good speaker, singer, a decent actor… blah, blah, blah.  I went to a pretty good school and all that.  Have great parents.  I can read and can even count to 10… though not much higher.  I recognize that according to normal world standards there are very few doors that aren’t open to me.  But when I really think about it, where would I really be going?  Is life about making money, or having nice things?  Could I really end war or world hunger?  I guess I just realize that on my own I have a relatively low ceiling but with Jesus the sky’s the  limit.  So I’ll follow him. 

First of all, What does that even mean?  Good question!  As the old hymn goes… I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. And Luke 9:23-25 says: 

²³ “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 

A great explanation of this passage can be found here.  (TAKING UP YOUR CROSS DAILY).  But basically its says that if I am going to choose to follow Jesus, I have to follow him and not my own wants and desires.  I have to make a choice regarding whose opinion means more to me... Mine or God’s. 

Of course this creates several issues, like I said, I am a smart guy and I tend to think very highly of my own opinion.  So how do I resolve issues where my opinion may differ from Christ’s.  The same way Sid the Science Kid does… with a chart, silly!

Since I tend to respect people who have a better resume than me I will compare my list of accomplishments to Christ’s to see whose opinion, if followed, would yield the best results.

JESUS	FRANK	WINNER
1. Created the Universe from nothing (John 1:3, Col 1:16-17)	Created this blog… (about Jesus)	Jesus This blog isn’t that well written anyway
2. Had at least 12 disciples whom he taught for 3 years.	Has 5 brothers and sisters… who don’t listen to me at all :(	Jesus Plus those disciples did miracles! Even Judas!
3. Turned water into wine	Thinks wine is great with pasta!     (In moderation of course)	Jesus If I could do that I’d be eating pasta right now!
4. Healed the sick and raised people from the dead	I’ve had 3 goldfish  average life span 2 days	Jesus He’s better than Aspirin
5.  Never sinned	Is it getting hot in      here?    I’m not even sure   I’m  not sinning right now.	Jesus Not even close
6.   Died on the cross to pay for the sins of the world.	Paid off my credit cards?	Jesus Thanks again by the way!
7.   Was resurrected from the dead and given all power in Heaven and Earth.   - Will return again to cast Satan into the lake of fire - and take all of his followers (whom he calls his brothers and sisters) to Heaven!	Can we stop now?	Jesus

Well, it was close.  But as smart as I am I think Jesus edges me out in the better resume department.  Choosing my opinion over Jesus’ is like telling Kevin Durant that I should take the game winning shot, or asking Tom Brady if I could lead the game winning touchdown drive.   Wouldn’t it be better to just let KD drain the three or to cheer Tom on from the side-lines while Tom does what Tom does?  They’ve got better track records than I do and much more ability to accomplish their missions.   

So, I’ll let 3x Super Bowl Champ Tom Terrific lead the game winning drive.  I’ll let 3x scoring champ Kevin Durant take the shot.  And I have to let the Creator of the Universe lead my life… He created the Universe guys… I think he can help me find some good friends and a decent job.  

“But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.   – Matthew 6:33

And So It Beings

How long do you think you could sit and watch a loved one be held down and beaten over and over again?  Consider also, that you have the power to stop this beating at any moment... so, how long?  a minute?  5? 30? an hour?  Everyday I turn on the television and bare witness to the destruction of millions of people both in America and abroad.  Oil spills in our rivers; uneducated, under stimulated and unchecked youth kill one another over minor disputes; depressed and disenchanted soldiers kill foreign civilians and then themselves (more suicides than combat casualties); deficit; education; War(s); Budget Crisis... need I go on? 

Most times I want to write it off and proclaim, "Its the end of the world anyway!  Jesus is coming back soon and I won't have to worry about all this!" Because as we all know the world will end in 2012 anyway right?  But what if it doesn't?  What if Armageddon has been postponed?  What if Jesus is delaying his return and the Mayan calender was a mistake?  What if humanity will be here for another thousand or even 10,000 years?  How long can we watch as Oil companies turn our water-supplies into oil deposits, as banks turn wealth into debt, and as millions starve over food shortages in one country while another country has millions of pounds of food that it is unable to sell?

Finally... how long can we watch as many of these evils are justified by the only good things we humans have to hold on too... faith in God?  Its one thing to cheat me... its another thing to cheat me and say that God told you too!  Jesus didn't tell us to kill potential enemies, he said to love them!  He didn't tell us to condemn and censor sinners, he told us to be good examples and to love them!  He didn't tell us to punish those who offend us, he told us to forgive!

And so it for me, it begins.  I cannot watch any longer.  I have a voice, a song, and a computer.  I live in a country where my little voice can be joined with countless other little voices, to create one united force that cannot be easily ignored.  I am done watching, now I will try to do something about it!