Taste and See

Once in a while we have that special moment when we get to experience the many blessings of God.  Events where we get to see those blessings unfold are the birth of our child, their graduation from High School, and eventually their wedding day.

This couple that I know well are excited to enter the journey of marriage.  Their meeting one another was by chance a few years ago.  However their relationship began less than a year ago.

As their story unfolded, they dated and soon determined that they were to be married. The couple attended pre-marital classes at church and at a culminating event the future bride and groom's parents met for the first time.  Both sets of parents shared how they had been praying for their children's future partner.  And both shared how wonderful it was that God had answered their prayers.  The sweetest story of the day was told by the bride's father.  He shared the moments leading up to the groom asking for his daughters hand in marriage.  The father explained that he had a dream in which he heard God's voice tell him to Taste and See that the Lord is good.  Later that day the groom asked if for permission to marry his daughter.  He knew instantly that this was good and gave his blessing.

On January 30, 2016 this wonderful couple will be married.  I wish Mark and Sarah many blessings and a life filled with HIM.

Taste and See January 28

Psalm 34:8 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man that trusts in Him”.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid...One thing have I asked of the Lord; that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple. For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will lift me high upon a rock…I will sing and make melody to the Lord…The Lord is my strength and my shield.” From Psalm 27.

According to Matthew 5, those who hunger and thirst after God will be filled.  It is God’s desire to commune with His people, to show His mighty power, love, grace, mercy, and righteousness. Being made in His image, the moment He quickens (makes alive) our spirit we sense the kinship of God and our spirit leaps with joy in recognition.  He makes us, by a touch, hungry for more and creates an insatiable thirst for water from the fountain of Life.

The spiritual world is all around us, enclosing and embracing us altogether.  It is within the reach of our inner selves waiting for us to recognize it.  God is waiting for us to recognize His presence and walk in the sweetness of His unending love and dwell in the shadow of His wings while He heals our wounds and prepares us for all of life’s troubles and triumphs.

The scripture tells us that if we seek Him with our whole heart He will be found by us, He will make Himself known to us in ways that we will only understand as we move beyond the veil of our natural minds and into His presence by the Spirit.

Taste and See Shane and Shane Video

Consumer or Consume Me

You all know that person that is totally consumed by work, school, or in the worst case scenario, themselves.  Regardless of what consumes them, they are all in!  This can be healthy if it's the right thing.  But totally unhealthy if it causes them to lose balance in your life. 

But for those who achieve that balance and are totally consumed put all of their energy and resources into their passion.  Malcom Galdwell, the author of the book "Outliers", details the activities and actions of those who put everything into their passion and came out ahead.  Their total consumption with their passion got them to the next level.  Not just the next level, the top level.  He details the journey of the brightest, most successful people in the world.  These people were so consumed that they were and many still are the most successful people of our time. 

Pastor Joyce shares what being consumed means in the Christian faith.  Let them consume you!



Consumer or Consume Me January 27

In our culture we have perfected the consumer mentality which always asks the question, “What’s in it for me?” The consumer is more concerned with being fed than being led into a deeper relationship with the one who is the bread of Life.  The Bible says in Mark 10:43-45 “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Even though Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords He came to earth to use a towel, not a throne. When He knelt to wash feet, He was exalted to the highest place at the right hand of God.  The towel will always precede the throne or a crown. 

The Consume me mentality always asks,” what can I do to help the growth of my church or the spiritual growth of my neighbor?”  They become more and more selfless and give themselves away for the needs of others.  This isn’t just waiting on someone hand and foot…it is about attending, participating, and encouraging others by praying, giving and being involved in services and events other than Sunday morning.  Those who grow the fastest spiritually are those who are attending Bible Study groups and offer their insight into the teaching.

God will swing the doors wide open in order to consume the gifts He has designed in us if we are willing to be consumed by Him.  He intends for His gifts to be used for helping others attain their destiny.   For the perfecting of the saints, equipping the church for ministry, and speaking His word to the lost. It’s time to dig ditches!

Blessing and Cursing

Have you ever heard the saying, " Karma's a B...."?  Well you know what it says.  There are several other sayings that mean the same thing, " what goes around comes around", "you get what you give","you reap what you sow" and so on.  

I can't count the number of times I've heard these phrases in my life.  Each time they are uttered it's because someone has acted like a jerk.  One time one of my nephews was talking about a man who was abusive and often acted stupidly.  He said, "and he got Karma'd"  I chuckled at the saying.  I hadn't heard that before.  But isn't it true.  Eventually life returns to reward us with whatever it is we have coming to us.  

Have you ever wondered about how your words impact others?  I will be honest and say that I have given very little thought to the words from my mouth other than swearing (cussing if your from the South), yelling, or being abusive.  Since these are not extreme concerns regarding my speech, I never considered anything else to be of issue. 

Then, dun, dun, dun, I read Pastor Joyce's word for the day.  She provides a little bit of insight into how our words impact others.  Enjoy as you read blessing and cursing through a new pair of lenses. 

Blessing and Cursing

As born again believers we must realize that we are one with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, existent in two worlds; the physical world and the spiritual world.  Our spiritual man came to life when we believed the Gospel message and took it into our being. Jesus took back the authority the enemy had in our life and we were born of the Spirit.

Everything we do is indicative of what we believe to be true, and the most telling evidence is what comes out of our mouth.  In chapter three verses 8-10 James says, “No one can tame the tongue; it is restless and evil and full of deadly poison.  Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.  And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely brothers and sisters this is not right.”

We must understand the power of blessing and cursing.  A curse of intimidation comes from words spoken over us, they may come from an innocent remark by a person meaning no harm but they wound our spirit because we have become expert in refusing the blessing given by God, or God’s spokesman toward us.  The enemy’s forces then use the words to rob us from the destiny of God’s plan.

The words from our mouth make a declaration in the heavenliest and either angels or demons are dispatched to bring into existence that which was spoken forth into the atmosphere.  So be careful what you say about yourself or others.  And take authority over the curses spoken over you or by you. Authority can reverse any curse by saying a prayer like this. “In the name of Jesus I renounce all curses I have put on myself or others, my family, my body, my business, or your kingdom and I thank you for setting me free.” Say it again and again until it sinks into your spirit.cC

He Will Direct you Steps

January 25, 1967 the sun rose and shone brightly through the beautiful ice crystals that hung from the trees.  The winter was one of many ice storms across the country.  The ice was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.  As she looked out the window and admired the glistening branches, she held her future in her hands as she was reflected on the last 12 hours.

 Shortly before midnight labor had begun and her baby would soon be born.  There would be complications and the possibility that the baby would not live. She and her husband waited for the doctor to arrive.  He was on call but could not get to the hospital because of the treacherous roads.  An intern with came to assist and explained that he would be helping to deliver the baby that evening.  However what happened next was horrifying.  The nurses began to administer anesthesia, which was common in those days.  Because her doctor was unavailable, the nurses were unaware of the adverse reaction she had to anestehsia.  As they began to cover her face with the mask she swung her arms and knocked the nurses down in the process.  The nurses strapped her down and continued to administer anesthesia.  Which caused a delay in the baby's birth and further complications. 

Joyce was unable to think in order to deliver the baby.  The contractions delayed and she was having a difficult time staying focused.  The intern quickly entered the waiting room to tell Juan that the baby may not make it, and if they do not take the baby by cesarean section both Joyce and the baby may not live.  The medical staff quickly prepped Joyce for the cesarean section.  She was in and out of consciousness from the anesthesia but she understood what was going on.  She tried one last time to push, and instead of a cesearan section, the baby was born naturally at 7: 18 am.  At first everyone sat with baited breath.  The baby was blue, she wasn't breathing.  The intern smacked her on the bottom and rubbed her back and she began to cry.  Joyce was relieved and her first child was born.  

There was clearly a destiny for Joyce.  She would go on to have 2 more children.  As a mother and wife she would go on to follow her passion and teach everyone she could about the love of Christ.  Today as you read her words, let God direct you toward the path he has chosen for you.  

He Will Direct Your Steps January 25

Every person ever created was filled with a passion that defines their purpose and ultimate destiny.  Everyone is unique and designed with God’s plan written inside of their DNA.  Too often life takes us on a journey where we lose sight of our true passion and find ourselves settling for less than God’s best. This then becomes an existence without life.

When we travel down the wrong path, even though it is good and seems to fulfill us, deep inside there is a yearning toward something more.  Things that should completely satisfy us leave us empty and we inadvertently find ourselves drifting along with the status quo.  We force ourselves to become content in the world and lose our expectation for the greatness created within us. 

That is not God’s original intent; He built in us a desire to know Him and to do His will, to make a difference in the world around us and take dominion over our own life. When we seek Him, He will be found, and by His Holy Spirit He will direct us in the way that we should go.

The only way we can impact our world for righteousness is to become totally submitted to God.  When we yield to Him in every way we will begin doing what we love and love what we do.  The Lord’s greatest pleasure is to bless His children with every good and perfect gift.  Psalm 145 says, “The Lord upholds all that fall, and raises up all that are bowed down…He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing. The Lord is near to all who call upon him and He will fulfill their desires.”

The beautiful thing about developing a relationship with the Lord is that it is never too late to get on the right track. Proverbs 5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your steps” …and your latter days will be made to be greater than the former. 

Speak to Yourself

Muscle memory has been used synonymously with motor learning, which is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition (wikipedia). When we practice we need to practice correctly or we make errors in our form.  There are other things that can cause us to have incorrect form such as injury.  

An injured runner will favor the injured leg or ankle and, if done too long, over time will change their stride.  This change in stride can cause further injury.  If you have ever had a coach work with you when you are injured, he/she would tell you to rest and strengthen so that you don't further injure yourself. Sometimes we ignore what our coaches say resulting in the "look" followed by an "I told you so".  When this happens, we have no one to blame but ourselves.  

On the other hand a runner with a perfect stride will run an excellent race.  Every runner seeks that flawless race, earning them their personal best.  Or better yet, they run so well that they are the overall winner.  Today's piece by Pastor Joyce has very wise words for us when it comes to keeping that perfect stride.  And in the end.... WE are the victor!

Speak to Yourself January 23

In order to live a victorious life we must align ourselves with the will of God.  We become aligned through warfare against external forces that tempt us to succumb to fear and doubt.  But another enemy we face comes from within.  This enemy is our emotions; when we allow our emotions to control our words and actions we quickly get out of alignment.

Physically if the body is out of alignment it becomes susceptible to injury.  The same is true of the emotions.  If our desires, which are triggered by our emotions are not in sync with the desire of God for our life, we become wounded leading us into fear, depression, anger, self-pity or an array of other abnormalities.  All of these become faith robbers.

The only way to truly be filled with faith is by the Word of God; Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”. There is an interesting study that has been done on the brain that explains how the brain can be reprogrammed (renewed).  It is accomplished by speaking something other than that which is currently encoded.  It doesn’t happen by someone else speaking because the internal mechanism responsible for the systems encrypting only responds to the brain’s own voice.

We will believe all the negative stuff that comes out of our mouth until we change our vocabulary and begin speaking the Word of God to ourselves; then we will understand what Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “…Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God.”  And in Ephesians 5:19 he says, “Speak to yourselves in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart.”  Speak the Psalms out loud to yourself every day and watch your faith rise.

Language

Have you ever been around a group of non-English speakers and taken the time to listen to them.  It feels rather like you've eavesdropped on them, but really didn't understand what they were saying.  Sometimes the words being exchanged have the most beautiful tones and nuances.  One might say their language is absolutely beautiful.  Other times the language of other countries sound angry and terse.  Regardless of how it sounds, deep down inside you just want to understand for a minute what they are saying. 

Maybe you have studied another language in high school.  You may have been around other non-English speakers and been able to understand some of what the people were saying.  I personally studied Spanish for 4 years.  I am far from fluent, but I understand enough to be slightly dangerous. I kid.  But if I were immersed in a country that spoke only Spanish, I would likely be able to survive and revive my own ability to speak and understand.  It would be absolutely clear however, that I am not a native speaker.   One of the things I remember most about learning Spanish is that the placement of adjectives and nouns was much different than in English.  

Another language that I studied briefly in order to speak with one of my students was sign language.  I did not take 4 years to study sign language and thus I am the equivalent of a non-native English speaker.  I have a friend with whom I speak when we run.  My sign is so bad that I often make errors when I am trying to communicate.  I think he is amused by my errors.  But in the event I say the wrong thing I could really mess up the meaning. 

Language is such an awesome thing to study.  Even the language of the bible.  To date many of the things we read in the bible are completely non-translatable from the original language.  Pastor Joyce has chosen a word that is very much confused.  She discusses the word "violent" as we see it in scripture.  

Let’s get Violent

Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” This talks about the kingdom of heaven suffering violence and then says the violent take it by force.  Violence actually is not an accurate meaning in the context of original text.  Words spoken in Hebrew, written in Greek, translated to Elizabethan English and read in American tend to lose their intended impact.  Thank God who by the Spirit can reveal, to the seeking mind, what was meant in His words and sayings! 

Perhaps for such a time as this God allowed those things written in His Word to be so easily be miss read and miss interpreted.  It certainly makes us search for meaning from the only one that can give it to us straight.  Deuteronomy 29:29 states, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed to us and to our children forever…”

In deep search and study then, the possible meaning of Matthew 11:12 (don’t take my word for it, seek it for yourself also) may be; in the days leading up to the arrival of John the Baptist the Kingdom of Heaven was overpowered by the soul (man’s will and self-appointed explanation).  But NOW the alive, energetic and enthusiastic ones move in stealthily to take back all power, authority and dominion.

We cannot passively sit back and allow the enemy to deceive us into thinking there is not some action required to march into possession.  All the promises of scripture are ours to possess but they are not automatically laid upon us, we have to put on the full armor of God and develop a powerful offense in order to take back and restore what the enemy has stolen from us.

This is War

I imagine you read the title of today's post and wondered about it.  Maybe you were thinking this would be a post regarding the war on ISIS.  NOPE! Though I have political opinions, this blog is not a political blog and is not intended to be one.  The one political statement I will make is that Christianity and politics are not friends.  You can be a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian (yes I said Libertarian), or even a completely non-partisan person and still be a Christian.  The beautiful thing about Christianity is that it is a "no political affiliation" religion.

Speaking of that, did you know that Christianity is one of the few world religions that is not a theocracy?  There's a word.... Theocracy: A form of government in which God (or a deity) is recognized as the king or immediate ruler, and his laws are taken as the statute-book of the kingdom, these laws being usually administered by a priestly order as his ministers and agents; hence (loosely) a system of government by a sacerdotal order, claiming a divine commission; also, a state so governed. Christianity is actually about relationship.  Simply put, it is not about power, prestige, or fame.  The entire faith is based on Jesus Christ's merciful loving grace.  Your entire responsibility is to serve him by loving your neighbor, providing for the poor, having mercy on the incarcerated,  serving your fellow man, and worshiping the Prince of Peace.

We so often hear about Christianity as a religion of hate or intolerance in the media.  But I will argue that those who make the news are hardly followers of Christ.  To really know Christ is to study him, his word, and his life, and to make a commitment to let him be your Commander in Chief.  Pastor Joyce explains the battlefield of the Christian. 

This is War January 22

Paul said he fought a good fight and told Timothy in chapter two, verse four, “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” Jesus made the statement in Matthew 11:12, “From the days of John the Baptist, until now the Kingdom of God has suffered violence and the violent take it by force.” Another statement of Jesus is in Matthew 10:34 saying “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Yet, He is the Prince of Peace.

We all want peace but the terms in the statements above sounds a lot like war.  These seemingly contradictory assertions indicate that in order to have peace we will have to win the war by doing violent battle.  Without dissecting every term let’s think about the battlefield where our greatest victories must be won.

Every path leading to an advance in our life begins in the mind.  If we do not control our minds and conquer our brain’s focus we will surely become defeated.  We are instructed to take every thought captive (another war term), and be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We can only obtain and maintain peace when our mind is fixed on Him.

Fixing our mind on God is a continuous battle but one that can and will be won in the Spirit.  When our will is submitted to the control of God’s Spirit the soul man falls into its rightful place and the will of  God manifests itself in victorious procession.

Think about what thoughts now control your course, are they bringing you joy, understanding, and an overflowing abundant life?  If not gird up your loins, stand up like a man, and prepare yourself for war.