Asking the Tough Question

What is God doing when we are in a bind?

Does God care?
I am sure that I am not the first one to wonder this.

 

As a matter of fact, I heard Paul say; Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the trouble we suffered in Asia. We had great burdens there that were beyond our own strength. We even gave up hope of living.What do you think?

 

What is God doing when we are in a bind?

 

Here’s what I think:

He fights. “He steps into the ring and points us to our corner and takes over.”

                        Exodus 14:14 You need only to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you.

           

His job is to fight. My job is to trust, not direct, not question, not take over.

 

Just pray and wait.

Nothing more is needed…….. or necessary.

 

In the Bonds of Calvary,

I Know My Gender

This blog entry is being written on the heels of a dumb decision that was made by our community yesterday at the polls. In essence it says that a man may use the ladies restroom facicilty if he is unsure or undecided about his gender. While I think that there is a hidden agenda it was being promoted as an effort to be un-biased and fair…….Stupid!

 

I’ve often heard it said that a person who doesn’t stand for something will fall for anything. We live in a time where taking a stand has become unpopular. To claim absolutes with regard to salvation, morality, and God’s Word is no longer fashionable. We live in a world that just wants everyone to go along to get along. But it is in this very time, in this world, that the Church of the Living God must be prepared to climb up on top of the Rock with our mind made up and take our stand. The preservation of our community, indeed of our world, may very well be dependant upon the church being willing to be the church, in season and out of season. In Ezekiel 22:30 God said, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”

We live in a day where the foundational truths of God’s Word are being challenged by men and women who once stood for the truth. We live in a day where morality is nothing more than byword, and standards of righteousness have been reduced to each man doing what is right in his or her own sight.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we are in a war. It is not against flesh and blood, it is not against the abortion doctor, the right wing bigots, the politicians or even so-called terrorists. No this is a war “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” This is a spiritual warfare and the only agency on the face of the earth that is equipped to wage this spiritual war is the church. So where in the world is the church? Where are the men and women who will step up and stand in the gap for the salvation of the city? Where is the voice crying in the wilderness? Where are the men and women willing to take up their cross and follow Jesus? Where are the pastors and the laity who sincerely seek to know Christ in the power of His resurrection, in the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable even unto death?

It’s time to take a stand. It’s time to be the church. It’s time fill the gap. It’s time to put on our armor, get up out of the trenches and rush the gates of hell.

 

In the Bonds of Calvary,

I Believe in Miracles

The Bible is a book of miracles. In fact, the very existence of the Bible itself is a miracle.

 So, why is the subject of miracles so controversial?

 

In April, 1995, Time magazine reported that 69% of Americans said they believed in miracles. The articles goes on to say, “Yet when the faithful are so eager to embrace the possibility of miracles in every day life, prominent American theologians are working furiously to disprove the miracles of the Bible.”

This just proves one thing: The people in the pews are smarter than most of those in the pulpit.

 

WHY I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES

I believe in miracles because I believe in God.

Psalm 77:13, 14, What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

I believe in miracles because I believe God’s promises are true.

Romans 4:21, God has the power to do what he had promised.

I believe in miracles because I believe Jesus hasn’t changed.

Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

I believe in miracles because I believe in prayer.

James 5:16, Pray for each other that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 

I believe in miracles because I believe faith works.

 

I believe that I am a miracle because of the greatness God!

 

In the Bonds of Calvary,

God is not an American…

 

 I just returned to Gainesville after a week in Guatemala on a mission’s trip.

 

As I began to reflect on some of the things that transpired this past week I was reminded of the statement that one of our young lady team members made. She said, “God is not an American!”

I think I knew that but this time it struck a brand new chord.

 

Throughout the days that followed that statement, I began to watch more closely so that I could help to prove that God has not limited Himself to America.

 

Here are some things that I learned:

When a baby or small child cries in Guatemala, though I don’t understand the language of that country, I understand that the child is not happy.

When young children giggled, because we gave them a baloon, a stuffed animal, a ball or candy, I understand that a moment of happiness has entered their life.

I learned that even though many children are hungry they may still have dislikes. I watched a little boy remove the carrots from the soup because his taste buds didn’t approve. He shared them with another child so they wouldn’t be wasted.

I learned that people get sick and have pain and though I don’t speak the language or know much about medicine I could sense their pain and discomfort.

And when I saw the God that I met in America  begin to move in the lives of the people in the villages….when I saw the delight on the faces of those who accepted the Lord…….when I saw children name the Name of Jesus………when I prayed with a woman for salvation who feared that her husband would throw her and their six children out, and she accepted the Lord….I knew that Meghan was correct.

 

“God is not an American!” He is universal in His love, His grace, His mercy, and His Healing.

 

I am so happy about that.

 

In the Bonds of Calvary,

God has a certain way of doing things.

 He has a way of preparing us.

God blesses us, breaks us, and give us.

First, He blesses us. He has taken us out of the world… Blessed us with the Holy Ghost… Blessed us with so many things… Talents, Abilities, Ministries…

Secondly, God breaks us. It seems as if He leaves us… He doesn’t hear us like he used to… He doesn’t anoint us like He used to… But the reason He does this, is so that the last step can be performed.

Thirdly, He gives us. To our family, that we might be an example. To our friends, that we might be a witness. To a lost and dying world, that somehow they might be saved!

But in order for the last step to take place, there first must be a breaking process! The breaking process is not easy. And sometimes we curse this process, but you must understand that before we can be given, we must first be broken!

 

In the Bonds of Calvary,