Category Archives: Blog

Can You Love The Unlovable?

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God loves EVERYONE.

God loves EVERYONE.

The ethics of some say that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. God doesn’t see it that way. In fact, He will leave the many and go after the one. What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? (Luke 15:4)

I wonder how many men would do that. God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Tim 2:4) He is amazing in His overwhelming love to save everyone.

This should affect how we look at people, every single one of them. No one is expendable in the kingdom. God wants us all saved. We were all lost before, and it is only by grace that we ourselves are saved, so we should extend that same grace to everyone, even the ones who reject it.

Ask God to open up your heart to see the lost as His precious ones. He can do what no man can, so don’t assume that salvation is beyond anyone. Don’t let angry words or violent actions dampen your compassion for people. God loves us all.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Lead Us Not Into Temptation Is A Serious Request

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Lead us not into temptation.

Lead us not into temptation.

Jesus gave us some very practical models to follow to keep us out of trouble. He said, Lead us not into temptation. (Mat 6:13) Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it! Keep me away from temptation and I won’t be lured into doing something I know I shouldn’t.

It’s like taking practical steps to stay healthy instead of trying to cure what is diseased. If we are guarded against attack, we won’t have to rebuild walls after they fall down. If you know you are weak in an area, then stay away from that area! Jesus said it was better to get rid of what you know you have problems with than hold onto it and go to hell.

That goes against our natural selfishness. But I don’t want to inconvenience myself! I don’t want to give up something that I know is probably bad for me. (Here’s where we start justifying to ourselves. We know every well it is bad for us.)

That attitude is a clear indication that we don’t have a true vision of God. If we really had the love of God radiating in our heart, we wouldn’t do anything that would grieve Him. True love will bless and not justify.

God is here to help us live righteously, because we can’t do it on our own. All we have to do is ask.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Understanding The Kingdom Of God Here Should Prepare Us For Heaven

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I don’t know about you, but when I started getting revelation on what the kingdom of God was all about, it changed how I look at heaven.

The kingdom of God is all about loving each other.

The kingdom of God is all about loving each other.

For some reason, I guess I was more influenced by cartoon images of heaven than I thought. I didn’t really think I’d become and angel and sit on a cloud playing a harp, but it wasn’t far off. I did feel as if my experience of heaven would be about me getting my well deserved rewards and being blessed by God. I wasn’t thinking about the other people who would be there. I never thought about how “we” would interact.

But the more I understand about the kingdom, but more I realize that it’s all about community. It’s about loving God and loving people. It’s about showing compassion and kindness and giving where it’s needed. It’s selfless, where I was thinking completely selfish.

Then I realized that the model of the kingdom that Jesus was showing us here is to prepare us for heaven. Heaven is community too. It’s the life that God initially planned for us before the fall in the garden. It’s not about God and me, it’s about God and us. So get used to people. Learn to love than and bless them. We’ll be together for a looonnnnnggg time.

Your Faith Will Bring In Your Daily Bread And So Much More

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Give us this day our daily bread.

Give us this day our daily bread.

We are instructed to ask for our daily bread. Like manna, it’s a daily request. Are your hours being cut back at work? Is there a layoff on the horizon? Do the kids need shoes? Your daily bread is everything that you need to live — your income, your home, your car, etc.

Trust God to take care of it. If the layoff comes, relax. That’s what faith is all about. If you knew what God knows, you wouldn’t need to have faith. But God doesn’t operate like that. He wants our dependence to be on Him all the time. God promised to take care of you if you trust Him.

That trust is wrapped up in the command to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then everything you need will come to you. That means that you have to ask for all things of God in your life — forgiveness, grace, peace, love. Those things must be more important to you than where the money comes from.

Trust God and relax. He’s got you covered, but that covering only works if you look to Him first. Asking God for help and then stressing about it is not faith. Just believe. It’s going to be ok.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

What Does It Mean, Thy Kingdom Come?

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Sometimes familiarity is bad for us. We rattle off the Lord’s Prayer because we know it so well. We barely take time to think about what we’re saying.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Mat 6:10)

What does it mean, Thy kingdom come? Jesus often commented that the kingdom of God has come near. What does that mean?

Thy kingdom come.

Thy kingdom come.

The kingdom of God is not a place really, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a way to live. He gave the Lord’s Prayer after giving the Beatitudes. He described how to live in humility, peace, and righteousness. Forgive everyone. Bless those who persecute you. Go the extra mile.

It’s a lifestyle of caring, giving, and selflessness, so opposite of our natural inclinations. Not only does our sinful nature get in the way, the evil one works against us as well. The kingdom becomes a difficult place to live if we try to do it on our own.

But that’s the thing. We can’t do it on our own. We can only live in the kingdom after we’ve received salvation through Christ. Only then do we get the presence of God in us to live as we are called to live. Only then can we have Thy kingdom come.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Forgiveness Is Not An Option, It’s A Command

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Forgiveness is not an option, it's a command.

Forgiveness is not an option, it’s a command.

If you stop and think about anyone one you are mad at or annoyed with, what name(s) come up? How long have you felt this way towards them? Can you forgive them? More importantly, is there anyone you don’t think you could ever forgive? Some hurts go so deep that forgiveness seems to impossible. The pain is too great.

But forgiveness does not mean that you condone what has been done. It just means that you will no longer hold onto it. You will no longer be controlled by that anger and resentment. You will finally let it go and not pick it up again.

Forgiveness is not an option, it is a commandment. What happens when we have unforgiveness in our hearts? It blocks God’s presence so we can’t hear Him. He’s trying to guide us to safety, but until that blockage is cleared out, we’re wandering around blind to danger. And it’s very dangerous out there. There is an enemy wandering around looking for someone to devour. Don’t let it be you.

Not only should you be forgiving anyone who hurts you, you should be blessing them. Ouch! That’s harsh! But true. Unforgivensss is sin. You will feel so much better when you let it go and ask God to forgive you for holding onto it.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Your Success Is Not As Important As You Think It Is

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Your success is not as important as your love for God.

Your success is not as important as your love for God.

Your success in life is not as important as your love for God. Ouch! Does that sound wrong? It does by world standards. But what if your love for God comes through personal failure? What you gain is far more valuable than any economic or social success.

God is far more interested in your heart than your status. If you want success in life more than you want God, then your priorities are upside down. Put God first and let Him help you with your goals. Let Him give you better goals.

With God, it’s not the destination it’s the journey. How you get there means more than if you get there. If we want what He wants, then and ups or downs along the way won’t bother us as much. That’s a hard message to embrace in light of our very competitive culture. We can’t worry about saving face if we are living humbly before our God. Just get over it. The world isn’t going to understand.

It’s not that God doesn’t want to see you successful. He’d love to see you successful, if He can trust you with it. It’s that He’s concerned with how you get there. Love God with all your heart. You won’t lose your dreams. You’ll get blessed dreams.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

God Has Better Ideas, So I Want What He Wants For Me

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It feels like it’s been years of me telling God what I wanted. I wasn’t asking to be rich and famous. I just had an idea of what I wanted for my life and would lift it up and press God to answer my prayers. I actually made very little progress seeing those answers come. In fact, it felt like taking one more trip around Mount Sinai.

I want what God wants for me..

I want what God wants for me.

But recently, I’ve  begun to see things from another prospective. What if I stop asking God for what I want and start asking Him for what He wants. He’s always going to want the best for me. He can see things that I can’t and knows me better than I know myself, so trusting His desires seems a lot better than trusting mine.

As I look at my life, I can see what He is doing in me through circumstances and time. I never would have asked for that myself. No one asks to be put in difficult situations just for the fun of it. but we want the positive affects that come after.

This is my plan going forward. I want what God wants for me, even if that means going through pressure to make me more like Him. I’ll take the pressure over the easy life any day if I get to be more like Jesus.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

God Will Shine Out Of You In As Many Ways As You Let Him

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God will shine out of you in as many ways as you let Him.

God will shine out of you in as many ways as you let Him.

There are so many aspects of God’s Spirit that He put in us that I like to think of it as a disco ball. Almost. A disco ball reflects light, and what we have in God shines out of us. But imagine that each ray that shines out is a different part of God’s Spirit.

There are times when you are needed for comfort. The ball rotates and comfort shines out. There are times when you are needed for healing. The ball rotates again and healing shines out. Encouragement, peace, joy, humility, love, patience all have their own rays of light.

God’s presence in us provides us with His God-filled assortment of responses for those around us. When we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we flow with Him and respond with that aspect that He wants to shine. We are not always joyful. We should be what He needs us to be.

Every aspect of God is available to shine out through us, we just have to be open to being changed in our hearts. The more you allow God to change you, the more different rays that will be opened up to shine out. The more light that shines, the brighter the kingdom.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

If You Can’t Be Humble, Then Let God Change Your Heart

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Humility is central to the gospel of Christ.

Humility is central to the gospel of Christ.

The humility of Christ is absolutely central to living in the kingdom. Peter was horrified at the thought that Jesus would wash his feet, because he didn’t understand the message that Jesus was trying to teach. The Lord made it very clear, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. (Jhn 13:8) If you do not lovingly embrace humility, then you completely missed the message of the kingdom.

That humility can only happen when you deal with your own demons. You have to be very honest with God about wanting to be free of selfishness, anger, resentment, fear, and every attitude that does not come from God. Allow Him to show you the evil that you are holding onto and repent. Forgive where you need to. Rebuke the enemy from your life. Don’t hold onto a thing that hinders your full acceptance of God’s work in you.

Be filled with the goodness of God. Be filled with His love so it will shine out of you. Let your automatic response be humble and kind, no matter what you come against. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. (Mat 5:44)

Don’t think for a minute that you can’t change. That’s what God does best.

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart