Thoughts ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZONPRTOFF dateof comment Look Inside Data Conditions:Order: Dateof Comment 10/04/2022 My college and career pastor told me when he dated his wife, Vickie, that they would only come together when they were visible to the public in the light. He said, "The temptation of dating a beautiful woman and doing improper things outside of a marriage, is something I do not want to test. I know that it is imperative to protect both of us from doing something not pleasing to our King. I know that I will not be able to do anything inappropriate while people are watching." So many times people do the opposite. They use the cover of darkness to commit sin. They say to themselves, "Nobody will ever find out." Philippians 2:15 So that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Paul writes that we are being observed and will be discovered in our sins. We need to continue to live free of sin to set the example: 1 Thessalonians 5:5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. 1 Thessalonians 5:8 But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. John also talks about living in the light: John 3:20-21 (New Living Translation) All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” Paul writes that if our light is not real, we will be discovered: 1 Corinthians 4:5 So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. You may not realize how important it is to be a light to the world because it convicts it. Once our light goes out the world becomes completely dark. Sin will become rampant because it will not have a check against it. This is the reason why we need to be bold and come against those things in our own life and in politics that are not pleasing to God. Your light does matter so let it shine brightly and combine forces with those who also are shining the light. We can become that church Jesus Christ is looking for before he can come back. 09/25/2022 My buddy after he witnesses to the gangs, he will go out on the streets of Denver for the people who wandering around all hours of the night. Many are looking for answers and he tells them about the salvation of Jesus Christ. Lately, though people who call themselves Christians are coming up to him and are mentioning the emptiness they are feeling. If we don't totally commit ourselves to our King we are putting ourselves in danger of this happening to us. They are rededicating their lives to Jesus Christ for that fresh anointing. By that grace of Jesus Christ, it is now possible for us to enter into the kingdom of God because of what he did on that cross. It is now our time to show our appreciation to Christ by living a godly life. One of the cool things that happens when you live that kind of life, the number of sins you commit will greatly drop because of your desire to please him. I pray that this is true in your life already. It is true though that we will probably never completely stop sinning. John talks about this: 1 John 2:1 (New Living Translation) My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. When you do not sin you never have to face the consequences of what that sin would entail. This makes life pretty darn good. But now we are representing Jesus Christ. Satan is extremely upset whenever we try to please God. He is going to bring every circumstance that is around you to try to take you down. Many times, these things will create hardships in your life. Many modern-day churches hide behind their doors to prevent conflict. The problem with this is that you become lukewarm to God. This is what God says about that: Revelation 3:16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! If you are not seeing any spiritual warfare in your life, you may also be lukewarm. This is not a very good place to be in. GET BOTH FEET INTO GOD'S KINGDOM AND LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND. Paul talks more about spiritual warfare to the church in Ephesus: Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Notice the word "fighting" in this verse. It is not a "debate" like the lukewarm want to do. I have watched the mature Christians as they will continuously pray to bind Satan up in their lives to minimize the damage that the enemy has on their life. Even then things can still go against us. Things like sickness, loved ones dying, losing a pet or expensive breakdowns can cause a lot of grief in our lives. God can prevent all this stuff from happening, but he chooses not to. He has a good reason why he lets us go through trials: Romans 5:3-4 (New Living Translation) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. These things let us know if we are willing to stand with our King when things get rocky. I want to be conditioned to be "hot" so that if I would ever be persecuted that I would still endorse my King no matter what may happen to me. Lukewarm makes it too easy to substitute the pleasures of this world for my King. Did you ever think about the value of his gift he gave us and telling him to stick it because I would rather have what the world offers. He loves us just the same, but he will not acknowledge us before our Father where our salvation lies. So, if you are living a godly life and enduring the trials that come after you, you are not alone. If you handle your trials in a godly manner, you are pleasing the King. Rejoice that you are winning against your trials. 09/13/2022 Most people have no desire to grow old because your physical abilities diminish over time. Serving God during your younger years can minimize the effects of old age. You learn a lot of things serving him that bring peace to your life. We all know that stress makes you old quickly. Honoring your parents and authority have God's promise of a long life. Solomon said: Proverbs 20:29 The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old. Do not believe that your age makes your expire like the world thinks we should. We never get too old for God. He is there for us for the long haul. Isaiah confirms this: Isaiah 46:4 (New Living Translation) I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. God will be there to take care of us. He does not want us to retire to live for ourselves but to go out and touch hearts and pray over those younger then we are. Titus also mentions our great value to our King: Titus 2:2 (New Living Translation) Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. We have a lot to teach the younger generation. They are watching and we need to demonstrate to them how to live. If you still think you need to be put out to pasture, read what John said: 1 John 13 13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one. 14 I have written to you who are God's children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God's word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one. If you have been long time in serving Christ this part, "I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning." is for you. Get involved with Christ's body and put your experience to work. You are needed more than you think. I am getting up there in years myself and my King has confirmed that he much more work for me to do. My age has not deterd my King at all from using me. You are not any different than I am. 06/24/2022 Many of us go to work everyday and do our duties. But while we are working, do we ever think about God. Or better yet, do we pray over our job before the work day starts. By praying and giving our job to God, this will happen: Isaiah 40:31 (New Living Translation) But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Many of us face job burn out when we leave God out of the equation. God will change your situation if your attitude is cool. He may bring someone into work that you can witness to. With a good attitude he can bless you at work and even at home. When you read this verse from Paul, he confirms this: 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (New Living Translation) But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. Both verses have one thing in common in that you will be strengthened to be able to handle the days tasks. Isaiah quotes "those who trust in the Lord" and Paul quotes "the Lord is faithful" When it is all said and done, trust in the Lord and he is faithful in strengthening you. Let's make burnout a thing of the past. Leave burn outs to muscle cars. There it is cool. 06/22/2022 Most of us never think about this but have you ever thought about how many times the true God has protected us from calamities while we serve him. I have even seen him protect others in their younger life because of a calling our God has over their life in the future. This verse proves this: Psalm 121:7-8 (New Living Translation) The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. Once we release ourselves to Jesus Christ, the Freedom and peace begins.This means serving God but the power of this verse begins here: Psalm 91:1 (New Living Translation) Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. God is the same today as he was yesterday and these verses are as true today as they were in King David's era. 05/11/2022 Many of the problems in the church today is lack of confrontation of sin. This verse says one thing that needs to be done about it: Matthew 18:15 (New Living Translation) “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. Of course eveything needs to be done in love. We also don't want to embarrass people when we do it. 1 Peter 4:8 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. If the person you are confronting is a true believer and your accusation is not from jealousy or being offended because your position was rejected, you have a good chance of bringing them back. Outside of the church we still need to take a stand against sin. The dumbest thing the church fell for is the separation of church and state. This does not exist in the Constitution at all. The Constitution prevents government from messing with the church. We can mess with government any time we want and bring godly principles to the government. The best way is to vote for people who best represent God. This is what God desires from us anyway. The 2020 election should teach us something. We had a godly platform from one party and demonic one in the other. Many Christians voted for the demonic one. If you did not know which party was demonic you need to do more research. Jesus would vote to get a representative who would better represent the values of the Father. We better be voting for the same guy he would to help eliminate sin in our nation. When you read the Old Testemant the leaders determined the fate of the nation. Nothing has changed.
