Faithfullness

Those of you who know me and my church will recognize these hands immediately.  They are the hands of our head musician.  I am told that he has been playing for our church for at least the last twenty years.  You can usually find him at the church during the week working with the choir members.  Sometimes he holds rehearsals for the individual sections.  Sometimes he holds the rehearsals for individual members of the choir.  But he is always working on the music for Sunday morning worship.  He has the ability to pick songs that match the theme of the service even within the midst of the service.  And he is always bringing in guest musicians and singers in order to add to the worship service.  He is a pure musician in every sense of the word. 

Working with him is like working with any other musician that is good at his craft.  Because he is a perfectionist in the way that he wants the music presented, he demands the best from every member of the choir.  If you mess up the song, you will be informed.   You may have to have one quick rehearsal between Sunday School and Morning Worship... just to make sure you've got it right.  But behind all of this is a gentleman that truly has a passion for his gift and the way that he uses it for the church.  He also has a passion for the people of God too.  I have heard numerous stories of him "popping" up a someones house because he didn't see them at service two weeks in a row.  And he is faithful no matter what has happened to him in his personal life.

What do you think would be a devastating event in the life of an organist/pianist?  About five years ago, he had a stroke and lost the use of his right arm.  He was out of action for a few months, but returned to lead the choir again while directing and playing with only his left hand.  He is still demanding.  He is still a perfectionist.  And he is still a better musician with one hand than most people with both.  And by doing that, is has been, and will continue to be an inspiration to others.  Thank you Brother A.

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike

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Father's Day Shout Out

This is just a thank you to all the men that have made an influence in my life.  Some of them taught me what to do.  Some of them taught me what not to do.  But all of them have been a blessing in my life in one way or another.  Here they are in no particular order:

James Thompson Sr., James Thompson Jr., Larry Coppage, Floyd Stinson, Henry Barber, Wilbert Ellis, Mr. McDougal, Clarence Hicks Sr., Harold Clay Sr. , Anthony(Top) Dowell, O.D. Thurman, Mr. Pervis Carter, Otis Mitchell, Kenneth Allen, Larry Anderson Sr.,  Roy Mayfield, Felix Goins Sr. and Jr., Joseph Goins, Robert Lee Goins, Alvin Bradley, Jerry Bawldwin, Leon Martin, A.J. Green, Charles T. Lewis, Joe Henderson, Kevin Harris, Clarence Thompson, Charles Martin, Benjamin Martin, James Keown, James Miller, Clyde McCray, Reginald Wade, Clyde Parker, Willie Culpepper Sr., Al Thurmon Sr., and others.

Time has taken away some of the names from my memory, but I will continue to add names as I remember.  Take time out to think about the men that helped to shape you.  You will be blessed by the experience. 

Peace and Love,

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Behind the Fence

Take one turtle...

Place it behind a wrought iron fence.....

and I promise you that God can make a good analogy out of it.  

So here goes...

I was going to pick up a customer a couple of weeks ago and was sitting out side of his house when I noticed something in the yard next to the house.  The yard was closed off by a wrought iron fence (kind of like the one in the picture above), and there was an unhappy turtle in the yard on the other side of the fence.  How do I know he was an unhappy turtle?  His shell was blue!  Ha ha ha get it? OK... never mind.  I figured that he was unhappy because he was trying his best to get out of the gate.  He was trying to maneuver his body through two of the iron bars, with very little success.  Even though it was obvious to me that he was never going to get out of that fence, he kept trying.  After maneuvering for a couple of minutes, the only thing he could accomplish was to get his head and one leg through the the bars.  His shell was easily twice the size of the space he was trying to squeeze through and it kept banging up against the fence.  The turtle was bound and determined to get through that fence and it was abundantly clear that it was never going to happen. 

As I sat in the driveway watching poor little turtle mcshell trying to escape; a thought flashed into my mind.  I could help the turtle to get free!  All I had to do was turn the latch, open the fence, and let my little hero in the half shell walk right out of the yard.  He would then be free to walk down the driveway and into the street where he would probably be killed by one of our friendly Texas drivers.  As I shuddered at the possibility of his little turtle death, I decided not to free him.  I figured that it would be better to leave him inside the fence where he would continue to be frustrated, but safe.  If I would have had time to do so, I would have picked him up and driven him over to a nearby pond and set him free in a safe location.  But since I didn't have time, I decided he was better off in his current situation.  When my customer came out, I told him about the trapped turtle and he said that he would tell his neighbor to get him out. 

Here's the analogy.  Sometimes we can see right where we want to go and we see the path that we want to take to get there.  Just like my little turtle friend was trying to squeeze through the poles in the fence, we try to force our way into the direction that we want to go.  And God is sitting there the whole time watching us struggle; yet continuing to protect us from the dangers that we don't know are out there.  God has the ability and the desire to let you out of one situation so that you can continue on your journey.  But he also has the desire to see that you remain safe until He can move you to a safer location later on.  Just as I knew I couldn't keep the turtle safe once I let him out, God knows that you will not be safe outside of His protective hedge.  So He leaves you where you are; just like I left the turtle where he was.  I felt bad that I had to leave the turtle inside the fence.  But competing against the bad feelings were the satisfaction that I had in knowing the turtle (though frustrated) was safer inside the fence than outside the fence.  God feels your pain when you are frustrated, and it does grieve Him to see you unhappy.  But He looks over all of that frustration because He knows that you are better off where you are at the current time.  But don't lose heart!  There is a reason that there is a latch on the gate.  It is not God's intention to leave you behind the fence forever.  He is simply waiting for the right moment to free you and put you in the exact place that you belong.  A place where you can prosper, grow, and continue to do His will. 

God places the fences in our lives for a reason.  Just as the turtle could see a better place out there, God allows us to see a glimpse of a better situation than where we are.  And I believe that he allows us to get that glimpse to build a desire in us to go to that next place in our lives.  The fence is different from a closed door.  God places a closed door in front of you to make you change direction.  But a fence is different.  God places a fence in front of you so that you can see through the fence to the place where you want to go.  And once we see that place, we want to get there as soon as we can.  But we have to be patient.  And we have to use this time behind the fence to prepare ourselves for what we have to do when the fence is open.  So for now, enjoy the view.  Prepare yourself for the trip.  God is giving you the resources where you are right now in order to get you ready for when He releases you.  And when he does, you can continue the journey on the path that He has placed before you.

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike

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Every Christian an Evangelist

There is a doctirne in the United States Marine Corps that is known as "The Rifleman's Creed". It states that every enlisted Marine, regardless of their military specialization (MOS), is trained first and foremost to be a rifleman. And every Marine officer, regardless of MOS, is trained as an Infantry Platoon Commander. This doctrine is in place so that no matter what happens in combat, every Marine and officer is prepared to continue the mission to close with and destroy the enemy. This way if a cook is in the kitchen and a fire fight breaks out, he or she can stop cooking, grab a rifle and help their fellow Marines deal with the adversary.  Hoo-rah!!

The Christian should have a similar mentality in life.  We should use "The Evangelist's Creed".  That means that every Christian (whether a Pastor, Deacon, Elder, or Layperson) is first and foremost an Evangelist.  We should all be able to communicate the plan for salvation to our peers, regardless of our age, position, or location in the church.  Evangelism is not just the job of the Pastor.  It is the job of every born again believer to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone that we run into.  We should not only be prepared to witness to the world, we should desire to run into unsaved people so that we can share the good news with them.  Notice that I did not say that we had to convert everyone that we ran into.  It is ultimately up to the individual whether or nor they accept Christ.  But we have to actively expose them to Jesus so that the word of God can penetrate into their heart.  How can we make sure that we are prepared to do this?  We need to know the truth for ourselves.  We need to spend time with God ourselves.  And we need to want the person to receive salvation. 

Just as the Marine is always ready for combat, we should always be ready to witness.  It is the only way that we will be able to defeat the enemy.  Hallelujah!!

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Modesto Manifesto

Do you have any idea who this energetic gentleman is? 

I'll give you a hint.  He is one of the most respected evangelist in the country; if not the world.  That's right.  These are pictures of a young William Franklin Graham Jr. (AKA Billy Graham).  These pictures are from the 50's.  I had never seen them before this week.  It's quite a difference from the gentleman that I remember. 

 

I found this information at the Lifehouse Church website. It is something that I think every Ministry Leader should read.  You can click HERE to to see the information in it's original form. I copied it directly from the website.

Modesto Manifesto
(A plan for holiness)

Perhaps no other leading church figure of the past 50 years commands as much admiration and respect from both the Christian and non-Christian world as does the Rev. Billy Graham. While he has suffered some criticism over the years, no scandals have rocked his ministry - and it has been intensely scrutinized. One of the major reasons Reverend Graham and his associates have avoided pitfalls and scandal goes back to November of 1948 and what took place in a hotel room in Modesto, California. It was there The Modesto Manifesto was birthed.


Graham and his associates, Bev Shea, Grady Wilson, and Cliff Barrows, were just starting to get involved in evangelistic meetings. At the time, many traveling evangelists were crossing the country. And a number fell to scandals - moral, ethical and financial. In a desire to see their ministry remain above scandal, the men met to discuss the problems evangelists faced. They came up with four problems to avoid and ways to avoid them.



1. Money
It was common practice among evangelists to put a lot of emotion and flourish into taking love offerings. This could bring unnecessary criticism - and temptation. The men vowed not to emphasize the offering. To avoid criticism they would always have the local campaign committees oversee the offerings and disbursements of funds - they would accept a straight salary regardless of how high the offerings were.

2. Immorality
Religious leaders especially those who traveled were regularly falling to this temptation. The men agreed continually to pray for God to guard them from it. They also set up some rules to follow. They would never allow themselves to be alone with women - lunches, counseling sessions, or rides to auditoriums or airports. And they would always get their hotel rooms close together as another safeguard.

3. Exaggeration
The phrase evangelistically speaking has been coined to label exaggerated figures of the number attending meetings or the number saved. The men vowed not to fall to this practice. If numbers were mentioned they were the ones generated by the local police, fire departments, or arena managers.

4. Criticism.
Often evangelists would criticize local pastors and churches from pulpits. The men vowed not to do this, nor would they ever criticize pastors who openly criticized them.

Now back to me!  As the article above noted, this Manifesto was written in 1948.  Look at the timelessness of these four simple things.  How many strong ministries have been crippled by Money, Immorality, Exaggeration, and Criticism?  Too many.  I'm going to make sure that I always have a copy of this somewhere.  I would advise the same for any ministry leader. 

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike

A Bike Ride With God

I heard this on the radio this morning and had to share..

Author unknown
Written sometime between 1910 and 1985.

At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like the president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn't know him.

But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don't know just when it was that He suggested that we change places, but life has not been the same since. When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring but predictable ... It was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds, and it was all I could do to hang on!

Even though it looked like madness, He said, "Pedal." I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are You taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I say, "I'm scared," He'd lean back and touch my hand. He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me gifts to take on my journey, my Lord's and mine. And we're off again. He said, "Give the gifts away, they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him at first, to be in control of my life, I thought He would wreck it; But He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, knows how to jump to clear high rocks, knows how to fly to shorten scary passages. I'm learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ. And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore, He smiles and says ... "Pedal."


Better to ride with Jesus than with the mother of Lucy, Linus, and Rerun!




Peace and Love,




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These Things Take Time

Do you have an idea of what your destiny is?  Have you received an idea of what God wants you to do; yet it seem like God is taking a long time to allow you to completely enter that destiny?  Ponder these things...

Abraham
Abraham was 75 years old when God spoke to him and told him to go to a land that He would show him (Genesis chapter 12).  He was around 80 years old when God told him that he would be the father of all nations (Genesis chapter 15).  He was 100 years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5). 

Joseph
Joseph was approximately 17 years old when he told his family that he dreamed of them bowing down to him (Genesis 37).  He was 30 years old when he entered the service of Pharoah (Genesis 41:46).  His brothers came to him to purchase food soon after that.

Moses
Moses was 40 years old when he slew the Egyptian that was beating his fellow Hebrew (Exodus 2:11).  He then hid in the desert for another 40 years until he met God in the burning bush (Exodus 3).  He was 120 years old when he died just outside of the Promised Land after leading the Children of Isreal out of Egypt (Deuteronomy 34:7). 

King David

David was annointed to be the next king of Israel somewhere around the age of 14 to 17    (I Samuel 16). He killed Goliath in battle shortly after that. He did not actually become king until he turned 30 (II Samuel 5).

Jesus
Jesus was thirty years old when He began his public ministry.

Paul
Paul was said to be around his late thirties to early fourties when he had his Damascus Road experience.  He had lived his life up to that moment as a persecuter of the church.

These are a few examples of God preparing individuals for their destiny.  The things that they did before entering their destiny were neccessary; either for preparation or positioning.  God saw fit to reveal a little of that destiny to them.  Yet He also had to get them ready to enter their destiny.  I feel that God has revealed a little of my destiny to me.  I have to remind myself that this is simply my time of preparation.  I had an idea of my destiny in 2001.  It still has not come to pass.  But I am better prepared to enter my destiny now than I was back then.  I'll ask my questions again:

1.  Do you have an idea of what your destiny is?
2.  Have you received an idea of what God wants you to do; yet it seem like God is taking a long time to allow you to completely enter that destiny?

Take heart.  God knows what He is doing.  And you are further along than you think.

Peace and Love,

Rev Mike



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Get Out Of My Way! I'm Going to Church!

Have you ever cursed at another driver while driving to church? Have you ever fought or bickered with a family member while getting dressed for church? We get attacked by Satan constantly and this is a reminder to us all that Sunday morning is no exception. Sometimes you just have a bad day. Sometimes you wake up late and remember that you are supposed to be participating in a special event at church. Then you realize that you forgot the very thing that you needed to have with you in order to participate in the special event. So you have to turn around and go back to retrieve the thing. Now you are really running late so you have to speed in order to make up for lost time. Then the idiot in the car with the loud music cuts you off, and they only cut you off because they are a sinner and they know you are trying to get to church and "you know I'm trying to be nice Lord" and you just want to scream, "Get out of my way! Can't you see I'm going to church?” Trust me; I know it happens.

I'll give you an example. I was going to pick up a female friend of mine for church when I was in collage. The year was 1994 BC (Before Cell phone). The dorm that she lived in did not allow male visitors before noon, so I could not go inside the lobby to call her and let her know that I was there. I sat in the parking lot for a couple of minutes and asked the first young lady that walked out if she would go back inside and call my friend from the lobby phone. I can't properly explain the annoyance in her voice as she told me to get someone else to do it because she was on her way to church. Now I don't know what the young lady was going through. Maybe she thought I was trying to hit on her. Maybe she was running late. Maybe she just didn't want to talk to anyone yet. But her tone immediately told me that she had neither the time nor the desire to help me out. Now I won't tell you what I said about her mother as she drove off. But eventually, my friend did come outside and we drove to church together. We arrived at the church, parked the car, and walked inside. Guess who we saw on the first pew as we entered? That's right! The same young lady that would not help me at the dorm! I went out of my way to give her a huge Good Morning with a side order of sarcasm. She looked the other way. And Satan was pleased.

Every day we have to ensure that we are carrying the love of Jesus with us. It's common knowledge that we are going to go through trials Monday through Saturday. But don't be surprised if you catch yourself going through some major trials on Sunday. Satan attacks you every day of your life. But God is there to shield you from him. Just remember to use your shield every day. Especially on Sunday.

Peace and Love,
Rev. Mike




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A Lifetime of Ministry

This posting is about a friend of mine, one of the associate ministers at my church.  His name is Rev. W.  His favorite name for everyone is "My Dears".  Another favorite phrase of his is, "Alright, alright, alright..."  I must admit that I don't know exactly how old he is or how long he has been in the ministry.  I'll try to give you his resume as it has been told to me, and as I have seen for myself. 

I am told that he was a Pastor of a church in Kyle, Texas for well over twenty years.  When I first met Rev. R.W.  around 1998, he was already the Minister of Pastoral Care at my church .  The minister of Pastoral Care's responsibility is to visit the sick and shut in members of our church.  Rev W. has always been a valuable asset to the pastor because he was able to spend time with those who were unable to attend church on a reagular basis.  Over the years, he has prayed with countless members and their families.  He has been there for weddings, funerals, and baby dedications.  He became such a comforter to the membership that he was usually the first one requested by the family in the event of a crisis.  I can remember visiting older members on the days that he was unable to make it out and having to console them not on the fact that they were sick or shut-in, but due to their concern about Rev. W.  It's a wonderful testimony of his life and his ministry. 

Unfortunately, Rev W. is unable to drive out to visit the members anymore.  He is (I believe) over 90 years old, can no longer drive, and is currently living in a rehabilitation hospital.  He is not one that visits the members, but he is the one that the members will go to visit.  God is not through with his ministry yet.  He is now teaching a bible study class to his fellow residents in the rehab hospital.  He is continuing to be a servant even now, and he is still a blessing to others.

I used to wonder why someone would stay in the ministry their entire life. I wondered what the point was.  I now see I was blessed to watch Rev. W and others serve proudly and diligently for decades, without celebrity status or exceptional wealth.  God has allowed me to see the benefits of serving others and the blessing of seeing them grow and mature as they go through trials and successes.  The blessing comes in seeing someone else grow closer to God so that they can be what He would have them to be.  The second blessing is in knowing that God allowed you to be a part of that growth process.  Rev. W has been a part of the growth process for a lot of members (including me) over the years.  And he has shown me how to be a better comforter as I continue my own ministry.  For that I am eternally grateful.  Thank you Rev W, for helping me to grow stronger in and for Christ.

Peace and love,

Rev. Mike


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You Are A Blessing

I heard "The Starfish Story" a long time ago and always remembered it.  This is something to remember when you feel like nobody is being helped by the things that you do.

The Starfish Story
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.  He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.  One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer.  He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.  As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all.  The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.  He came closer still and called out "Good morning!  May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"  asked the somewhat startled wise man.

The young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out.  If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile?  You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean.  As it met the water, he said,"I made a difference to that one!"

Point of story:

Young Man--- you
Starfish---those that you can influence, help, and minister to.
Old Man---The world telling you that you don't make a difference

You may think that you only have a small audience that you minister to.  You may wonder if it is worth it.  I believe that it is. 

Moral of story:  Help as many people as you can and realize that they will appreciate you for it.  More importantly, God will be pleased.

Peace and love,

Rev. Mike

 
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Money Ministry

Don't look at me that way.  I'm not talking about asking for money for a ministry.  I am talking about something that happened to me on the way to work a couple of weeks ago.  I was reaching for my wallet to pay for my unhealthy breakfast when I noticed that the money had something written on it.  Someone had written "God loves you" on the money.  Now I don't fully know what their intentions were when they wrote that; but I do know how it affected me.  As I stated below, my family and I have been going through a bit of a stretching process over the past couple of months.  To be quite honest, we have been going through the process for the majority of 2009.  So to see that on something as common as a 5 dollar bill made me stop for just a moment and reflect on the fact that God does indeed love me. 

And while I thought about the things that God had allowed us to go through over the last few months, I also realized how God has kept us over the past few months as well.  I received encouragement to go on right there in the drive thru.  And this particular moment of encouragement was brought about because someone wrote "God loves you" on a five dollar bill. 

After I took the pictures of the money, I used it to pay for my food.  Imagine how many times that one five dollar bill would change hands over the next week.  I gave it to the lady at the drive thru window.  She probably gave it to someone as part of their change for a larger bill.  That person probably gave the 5 dollar bill to someone else to pay for something else.  That 5 dollar bill probably passed through the hands of a number of people during the remainder of the week.  And who knows how many people touched it before I received it.  Just by looking at those three words, I received encouragement.  I just wonder how many people were encouraged by just seeing those words as well.  Now I am not encouraging you to write the twenty-third Psalms on all your money!  I'm simply saying that there are many ways to minister to people that are unique and effective.  What unique method can you think of to minister to someone?  Go ahead and put it into action.  The world is waiting to be encouraged. 

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike

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God's Recipe for Your Success

Did you know that God has already given you everything that you need to be successful in life? It's like looking at a recipe in a cookbook. God has given you every ingredient that you need to make the resulting dish of your life. The key to finding peace in this information lies in understanding how dishes are made using a recipe. You have all the ingredients layed out before you. You know you have them, but you have a specific order in which you need to use them in order to be successful. Here's an example of a recipe:

Candy Bar Cake:
(please note all the ingredients are right here before you)

6 (2 ounce) chocolate-coated caramel and creamy nougat bars
1 cup butter softened and divided
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
.25 teaspoons baking soda
1.25 coups buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
creamy chocolate glaze

Instructions:
(please note that the instructions are specific)

Step 1: Melt candy bars and .5 cup butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Set aside

Step 2: Beat remaining .5 cups butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs (one at a time) beating mixture until blended after each addition.

Step 3: Combine flour and soda; add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed after addition

Step 4: Stir in candy mixture, vanilla and pecans. Pour into a greased and floured 12 cup Bundt or 10 inch tube pan.

Step 5: Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Step 6: Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Drizzle with creamy chocolate glaze. Yield 1 ten inch cake.

not actual candy bar cake

Picture taken from The Village Bake Shoppe


Please note that I made a couple of statements bold in the recipe. In step 1, the words Set aside; and in step 4 the words stir in candy mixture. Think of the specific ingredients as the characteristics of yourself and the steps in the recipe as the years in your life. You will notice that in step 1, you mixed up some of the ingredients and set them to the side. That can be viewed as God giving you some gifts and talents, having you take some steps to use them, and then telling you to wait on using that gift or talent for a season. Here's a literal example: You can see a specific ministry that you would like to do. You have the talent to perform that ministry, but you don't have the time to launch that ministry right now due to other obligations. So you have to set it to the side for right now.

Going back to our recipe... step 4 tells you to stir the candy mixture into the ingredients that you mixed together in steps 2 and 3. That's just like our life. Steps 2 and 3 represent the things in life that God wants you to do before you can add gifts from step 1. The things that you set to the side cannot be effectively used until you get the things in step 2 and 3 together. But you can't step go to step 4 if you don't have the items that you put together in step 1 on the side waiting to be used. This represents God not only giving you all the ingredients that you need to complete the task; but the proper order of instructions to effectively use them.

If you follow the recipe that God sets before your life, you too can experience the sweet results like the cake at the end of the recipe. If you decide to skip a step(or not use all the ingredients), then your life's cake will resemble something horrible that looks nothing like the original picture that God planned for you. I pray that your life and your recipes turn out exactly the way that God plans them. Just remember to follow His directions to the letter.

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike







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Hang in There (part I)

I feel as though God is taking me and my family through some things right now.  The reason we are going through is so that we can be better prepared to do bigger and better things for the Kingdom in the future.  I have to tell you that this is not always an enjoyable process.  But God is continuously talking to me through other believers.  I have received several messages of encouragement over the past couple of months and this time I wanted to share a couple with you.  I don't know if you are struggling with anything right now.  But I do know that God is in control and He is right there with you.  The first message I received was from a friend on Facebook. I'll simply post it the way that I received it. I think that you will be blessed by it.


I was lost, but now I am FOUND! Got Jesus?
by Allen Mark Taylor

Matthew 4:1-4 - Man does not live on bread alone
NIV
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
KJ
Notice the Scripture states that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert. In ancient times, the desert is equated with a place incapable of sustaining life. Matthew (with Luke and Mark) is stating that Jesus was going into a place where His only hope would be in God. Notice that the journey into the desert was the first act in the ministry of Jesus after His baptism.

Do you feel like you are in a wilderness? We may think that we are being set up for destruction, but God is training us to live a life of dependence upon Him and not our surroundings. This was the path of Jesus and we should not be surprised that this is a part of our journey as well.





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Hang in There (part II)

I received this one as an email from my brother.  It is a daily devotional called "Marketplace Leaders".  The message is below:

Jehovah Jireh

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2
by Os Hillman

"But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs" (Phil 2:25-26).

I got onto the bus with the other delegates attending a workplace conference in South Africa . It was a season in my life in which I had experienced many losses both financially and relationally. God was stripping away the old wineskin and creating a new one. One of the things He was teaching me was that He - not my skills, not my work - was my provider of financial needs during this season of training.

God provided me the means to attend the conference. One day before the registration deadline, a man came to my office and gave me $2500 and told me I was to go. Now, a man had just placed an envelope into my hand. "Here, God says I'm to give this to you. Inside are 10 crisp American $100 bills - $1000!" The man was from Kuwait .

Every believer needs to come to know Christ as their provider. Jehovah Jireh means God is my provider. When God called the Israelites from their place of slavery they had to walk through the desert. There is no way to earn a living in the desert. So God provided manna each day for them. Sometimes He even brought water from rocks. They had to experience a new way of gaining provision that was not rooted in sweat and toil. God had to demonstrate His faithfulness as Jehovah Jireh to His people.

There were times when Paul's tent making business was not the way God would provide for him. God often uses others as His instrument of provision. So, God sent Epaphroditus to take care of Paul's needs.

Do you know God as your provider? Do you have a need? Place your need before the Lord today and ask Him to demonstrate His faithfulness as Jehovah Jireh.


To subscribe to this daily devotional, click here: TGIF




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KREATIVE BLOGGER AWARD

THE MAN EDITION

                                            
                                               picture credit by:  tdc1767

I am happy to report that I received a KREATIVE BLOGGER AWARD from my friend Anna.  All praise to God for this blessing.  Anna is the wonderful writer behind the Wrestling with God blog. Anna and I just became blog friends over the past week and she has quickly become a blessing to me. She was a little concerned about it being a girly logo, so I made it the "Man Edition"!  I hope I do not offend the original creator of such an honor.  Check out Anna's blog when you get a chance. I know you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award
2. Copy and paste the award on your own blog
3. Link the person who nominated you.
4. Name seven things about yourself that folks may not know.
5. Nominate seven Kreativ bloggers
6. Post links to the seven bloggers you nominate
7. Leave comments on each of the blogs letting them know that you have nominated them!

Here are 7 things that you may not know about me.

1. I am a licensed minister that lives in the San Antonio area. I have been a minister since 2001 and it is my prayer that I will have the opportunity to pursue the ministry full time in the near future.

2. I am a car salesman in my secular job. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? I work for a high-end dealership in San Antonio. Always remember to be nice to your salesmen! There are a LOT of Christians in the business!

3. I am a huge football fan. I am originally from Louisiana, so my favorite collage team is LSU out of the SEC conference. My delima is that I married into a UT (Longhorns)family so I have to cheer for Texas as long as they are not playing an SEC school. So far so good in that one, but may God help us if LSU ever plays UT in the BCS championship! My favorite pro team is the New Orleans Saints (who are 5-0 as of yesterday!). Hopefully they will continue to play well this year.

4. I have been married for 7 years to my beautiful wife and we have a 6 year old son (If you search through the blog you can find out what their names are). I can only imagine what life would be like without them... and it does not appeal to me at all. I do ask that you will pray for us all as we continue to strive to be the man, woman, and child that God would have us to be.

5. I graduated from Grambling State University in Louisiana with a degree in Marketing. Our mascot is the tiger (check the graphic above).  GSU has produced such great football names as Eddie Robinson, Doug Williams, Trumaine Johnson, and the Earnie "the Big Cat" Ladd. GSU is also well known for having one of the best four year Nursing programs in the state.

6. If you want to make me happy, feed me seafood. Give me fried catfish, gumbo, po-boy sandwiches, and dirty rice; and we will stay friends forever.

7. I truly want to be the man, father, husband, friend, and Christian that God wants me to be. It is through the grace of God that I have a wonderful testimony. And it is my prayer that I can share that testimony and God's love with as many people as possible.


Now, my seven favorite blogs. These are the blogs that I check out nearly every day. They are very diverse and they keep me well rounded. Here's my list in no particular order:

1. Different Frequencies...Same Radio. Dan is active duty Navy and full time on fire for the Lord. He is usually the first one to comment on my blog and I always know where I can get some encouragement.

2. I'm Speaking Truth. This one is not for the faint of heart. Truth is an advocate for challenging the church to remember what the true word of God is. Reading his blog reminds me that I have a responsibility to proclaim God's word correctly and live my life accordingly at ALL times.

3. Urban Resurgence. This is a blog that I have recently started following and enjoying. David is my brother from Austin, Texas (just one hour down highway 35). I definately admire his passion for the Lord and his appreciation of quality Christian rap music.

4. The Prodigal Daughter. This is Di's blog. It is best stated in her own words:
"A website offering a safe environment to share about the pain of pastoral sexual misconduct and the hope that exists within the healing journey." Di has given voice to the pain that a lot of women (and men) have felt as a result of trusting those who have proven to be untrustworthy. I keep her on my blogroll because she can help someone that I may not be able to reach because I have not gone through what she has gone through. Her blog is extremely important.

5. Two Common Thieves. Mark and Misty have the wonderful testimony of deliverance from addiction and are living witnesses that you can make it out. I second that testimony in my own life as well. Thank you guys for being so open and forthcoming. Check them out to find out how God changed them.

6. Solus Christus> Rev. Renaldo Mendes is a Pastor living and spreading the word of God in Brazil. His posts are always challenging and thoughtful. He is also a wonderful encourager of "All These Things".

7. Seth's Blog. This gentleman does not need the publicity, but his blog and books are an excellent source of business growth ideas.

Thanks again to Anna for the award and I hope you will go out and enjoy these blogs as much as I do. As always...

Peace and Love,

Rev Mike

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Following My Wife's Spirit

Let me tell you about my wife. She works, takes care of our son the majority of the time, and tries diligently to be the Christian woman that God requires her to be. That can be difficult at times when you are married to a minister/car salesman. She does her best to follow my lead even when it does not make much sense. There have been many times when I have asked her to just "trust me" because I was doing what I believed God was leading me to do. And during those many times, she is able to do that because she believes in God and in me. But sometimes the shoe changes to the other foot.

My wife has a very generous and compassionate spirit. And from time to time she will look at me and tell me that we need to do something for somebody else right now. This has happened at least five or six times over the seven years that we have been married. And every time, I look at her funny because I have no idea where she is coming up with the desire to do whatever it is she wants us to do. Yet, every time this has happened, she has been right. Most of the time, it involves doing something for someone else who is completely unrelated to either of us (meaning a stranger or a distant friend). One such event happened last night.

I was driving home from work when she called me and told me that we had a friend in trouble and we needed to do something to help. I looked at the phone and asked if we needed to do it right then and there. She confirmed that we did. Now, I want you to understand that I did not receive any bulletin from God that we needed to do this thing. But I have been around my wife long enough to realize that she receives messages from God that I don't. And this time was no exception. So what did I do? I told her to let me get home so that we could figure out how we should accomplish the task together. By the end of the night, we had driven to the other side of town, assisted the friend in a way that was an immediate blessing to them, and spent two good hours together as a family with our son.

As we were driving home, I told her the same thing I do every time we have this type of adventure. I told her that every time she tells me that we need to do these types of things, I follow her lead because I know that she is following the direction of the Holy Spirit. It's not for me to understand, but to be obedient to the Spirit as it is leading her. It's happened many times over the years. And it has always been the right thing to do. So if I can give any advice to you from this story, it would be to trust your spouse as they trust and follow God. Believe me... it works.

Peace and Love,






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What is the Unpardonable Sin?

picture credit by chadman0420

Check out this link. There are a lot of people who debate whether certain sins can or cannot be forgiven by God. This article by James K. Bridges does a pretty good job of addressing the issue.

By the way, I'm sorry that I've been away for a while. There have been a lot of episodes of life happening lately. Please pray for me and my family.

Peace and Love,







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Daily Reminder of Death

I work at a car dealership that is located just off of a busy highway in San Antonio known as Loop 410. Less than ten miles away from our dealership is Fort Sam Army base. So we usually see a lot of traffic coming off the highway and along the access road. Most of the traffic consists of your typical crazy road rage driver. But at least once every two days we also see a funeral procession go by. It’s easy to tell when it’s a funeral. You usually see the motorcycle police flying down the ramp with their lights on and they park in the middle lane of the access road so that all traffic has to stop. The next thing that you see is the hearse, followed by one or two limousines containing the family. After that, you see the line of cars that make up the funeral procession. But you have to look carefully to tell which cars are in the procession and which cars are simply traffic coming off of the highway. The easiest way to tell is that the funeral procession cars are typically the ones with their hazard lights on. This is so each car can tell which cars are going to the grave site and which cars are not. It’s not like Ruston, Louisiana where I’m from. Back home, it’s easy to tell which cars are in the funeral because the other cars pull over to the side of the road when a funeral procession goes by.

Whenever I see the procession go by, I always look to see if I can see the people in the cars. Most of the time the traffic is moving slow enough that I can see the expressions on their faces. The drivers are typically leaning forward and focused on the task at hand. The passengers are either helping the driver navigate, or are staring blankly out of the window. And those are the people that I find the most intriguing. I wonder what’s going on in their minds. I have attended many funerals in my life and I know the things that go through my mind during those drives to the grave site. I typically think about the person occupying the hearse, I think about their life, and the things that have been said about them throughout the day. I also think about the day that people will come to my funeral and the things that they will say about me. I know that sounds a little morbid but it’s the truth.

On one occasion, my friend K. and I were outside watching the latest procession go by and he made an interesting observation. I was telling him about people that I knew who were relatively young, but facing some pretty tough odds concerning sickness. I also told him about a twenty-nine year old minister that had recently died of prostate cancer. He was living the life that God desired of him (as far as we all knew) and then just like that…he was gone. I was thinking about that and saying that life was just not fair sometimes. And K. looked at me and said something that I had not thought about before. He said that we get so caught up in thinking that life is the top of the mountain when it is not. The top of the mountain is actually being able to see God’s face. We spend so much time investing in our lives here on earth that we sometimes forget that this is just a temporary mode of travel, not the final destination. Heaven is the final destination. This life on earth is simply the road that we must travel to get there. The important thing to focus on while we are living is to make sure that we do the things that we need to do in order to get to Heaven. And that is making sure that Jesus is the head of our lives.

To be sure, I don’t want to see God face to face just yet. But I don’t want to get so caught up in holding onto life that I forget that my life is only important in regards to what I am doing for the Kingdom. My job is to make sure that Mike is going to Heaven; then to make sure that my wife and son are being led in the same direction that I am. Finally, I am supposed to make sure that as many people as possible are led to receive Jesus in their lives as well. And that helps to put my focus back in balance. So remember what is most important in life. To be saved, and to make sure others know Jesus for themselves. I hope that this little story will help you to appreciate life fully for what it is. Life is our opportunity to get closer and closer to God until we can see Him face to face.

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike






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Sister T. and the Butterflies

There is a lady that attends my church that I will call Sister T. She has been a member at our church for many years. As long as I can remember, she has worn these butterfly pins on her right shoulder. I have often been curious about them but have never asked why she wore them; or even why she had them in such an unusual location. Last week, my brother and I were at church talking when she walked by. We all spoke to each other and my brother asked her why she always had the butterfly pins on whenever we saw her. He said that he had always been curious about them, but had just never asked.

Sister T. smiled and began to tell us how the butterfly was a representation of her life. She said that it reminded her where she came from in God. Just like the caterpillar makes the metamorphosis into the butterfly, she had also changed drastically from the person that she was before she accepted Jesus into the person that she is today. She said that she spent many years in her own cocoon waiting and changing. And although the process was sometimes painful, she felt as though she had emerged as a completely changed person; just as the butterfly is completely different from the caterpillar. She also said that the changing process was painful at times. But she knows now that it was necessary for her to be the woman that God wanted her to be.

I learned some things from her testimony. The first thing was that is good to ask questions. The second thing is that God takes us through conditions that change us for the better. I believe that we are all changing every day. Sometimes those changes are easily seen. Sometimes the changes occur on the inside where no one else can see them. But the really cool thing is that God is changing us for the better. All we have to do is be receptive and allow the metamorphosis to occur. Thanks Sister T.

Peace and Love,

Rev. Mike





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Guess What

Hey guess what? God is still in control. And He will make everything alright. Just a note for you and for me. I know things are hard right now. I know life is unfair. I know you feel like no one cares about your situation and your heartache and your pain and your frustration but you. Just hang in there today. Wait for tomorrow to worry about tomorrow. Today I want you to believe that you will make it. We will worry about tomorrow on tomorrow.

Peace and Love,





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