I know it has been a while since I have posted. I suppose that is because I have been very busy lately and not made the time to write something. I would like to say that I am still alive and doing well. I hope everyone else in blog-world is doing great as well. Cross your fingers and hold your breath...... I will endeavor to post something of worth soon.
God Bless everyone!!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Blogger Alert!!
My "little" sister has finally joined the rest of us in blogworld and started her very own blog. She has been a lurker for a while, like most of us were before we stepped out into the great unknown and actually got our own spot on the worldwide web. So check her blog out
I would like to known by the show of a comment. How long were you a lurker before you started a blog? And who has ever used fake names to leave comments? Let me know. This should be fun.
I would like to known by the show of a comment. How long were you a lurker before you started a blog? And who has ever used fake names to leave comments? Let me know. This should be fun.
Friday, March 27, 2009
OZARK ARKANSAS!!
I had a great weekend last week. I was privileged to go visit some of my great friends and also have the distinct honor of being asked to preach Sunday. The Townley's are some of the greatest people to walk the face of the earth. Everyone that knows me, probably knows the great drummer and recording artist Cory Townley. We have probably been to every major conference together. But the trip wouldn't have been complete without Dalayna and Carl Jones in the mix. Thank God for great friends.
We ended up having such a great time with 2 people getting the Holy Ghost and 1 backslider praying through on Sunday, that Bro. Townley asked me to stay Monday night as well. The Lord moved and we had another great move of God, so we're going to do it all over again this coming weekend. There is a great revival and power of God there in Ozark and I'm excited to see what all God is going to do. Please be in prayer and believe with us that great things will happen and a revival like never before will break into that town. AMEN!
Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Besides church activities. I was so happy to do one of my favorite activities. RIDING HORSES! (and mules) I was pretty much born and raised in the city. But I do have some country "Genes." I have attached some pictures of our excursion. I hope you all enjoy.
Getting ready to head out.
Me on a paint TW
Heading out to the great unknown. There were no trails folks. We were relying on Bro. Andy's knowledge of the hills and forest.
An awesome shot of Horse Shoe Bend.
Just an example of how steep the hills were that we were riding up and down.
Bro. Andy and I on the edge of the steep bluff.
Bro. Andy and Cory Townley. LOL. Love the whole 12 year old boy look.
Another shot of the steep ride.
Bro. Andy's little dog Bennji with his catch. A Squirrel.
Crossing the river. In 40 somthing degree weather by the way.
Deep crossing here. If you look close you can see the waterline hafway up Bro. Andy's boot.
Bennji crossing the river with his bad self.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Gains vs. Losses
Gain vs. Loss
I would venture to say that all of us have a fundamental understanding of the concept of gains and losses. Even though we may not completely understand the psychology behind what drives gains or losses we have all experienced it to some extent or another. The fact remains certain that if you are reading this post you are right now in the midst of an exchange between a gain and a loss. While some might opt for sleep, others decline the gain of rest and reach forth to gain an inside look at what Tim Rivers has to say about gains and losses. Every one makes decisions about what we would be willing to give up in order to gain another. However, in every case where there is a gain its predecessor is a loss. You might not agree with that concept, but stop and think about it. For example, if you are gaining knowledge at an accredited College or University you are losing other opportunities that might give way for income during the time your spending reading text books.
The terms gains and losses are very familiar in the field of accounting. They are the very foundation of accounting and economics. The terms gains and losses are also referred to debits and credit. To come up with a balanced account debits must equal credits. Our entire country is build around the idea of gains and losses. We fight wars based on what we are going to gain and what we are willing to lose. We sign contracts that give us a greater gain compared to our loss. Many marriages are sadly built on this comparison concept. Many men and women enter relationships only because of what they are able to gain from it and it isn’t long before they find out that both of them are losing more than they anticipated gaining and thus the divorce rate is sky high. The reality is that gains and losses exist in every aspect of our lives.
Although many say that the concept and use of the gains vs. losses theory is a fairly new idea. In reality this concept goes back to the very beginning of time. God created Adam and Eve in the garden with the tools needed to accomplish extra-ordinary things. The only restriction given to them is that they should not eat of the tree of knowledge and evil. Their gain was that they would be the earthly representatives of God in the earth and their loss was that they did not have permission to eat of the forbidden fruit. However, Adam and Eve chose to eat of the fruit because they were under the influence that to gain equality with God was as simple as eating the fruit and yet the opposite happened. They gained knowledge of their nakedness and lost the perfect fellowship they had with their creator.
This idea of gains and losses is especially prevalent in the New Testament with the powerful, life altering beginning of Christ’s ministry in the earth. The greatest example of exchange is declared in Philippians 2:5-8;
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
What an amazing example of a gain vs. a loss. Jesus’ ministry was constantly calling for the loss of one thing in order to gain another. When Jesus began to call his disciples he didn’t give them a list of benefits and a retirement package, he simply called to Peter, Andrew, James and John to lose their nets and gain an opportunity to be fishers of men. He called Matthew to lose the seat of tax collector to gain the ministry of basket collecting. All throughout the scriptures we find Christ calling for men and women to lose their former way of living and current position to gain fellowship with God.
However, there is a vast difference in the gains vs. losses that we have grown so accustomed to. According to most individuals as long as gains and losses are equal life isn’t so bad. But in reality most people are more aware of the loss than the potential gain. This is why Marketers will spend millions of dollars per year to try and build a great enough need within the consumer that they will concentrate more attention on what they might gain as opposed to what they will lose.
The Kingdom of God is unlike the ways of men. The Bible completely destroys our weak concept of what gains are and what a loss is. The Government of Christ doesn’t run like the so-called democratic political entities of this world. The Bible boldly declares that in order to gain eternal life you must lose your own life. This unapologetic, bold declaration to follow, even called for one young man to sell all that he had and follow after Christ. The catch however, is that the gain is greater than the loss. When God asks for your life, he gives you life that is incomparable in return. That’s why Jesus told the woman at the well that the water which he gives will never run dry.
As you read this post, I hope you are able to think about what you had to lose in the last few weeks and months concerning the kingdom of God. I know that you might not understand God’s process of math, but I promise you this one thing, in God’s books debits never equal credits.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
I would venture to say that all of us have a fundamental understanding of the concept of gains and losses. Even though we may not completely understand the psychology behind what drives gains or losses we have all experienced it to some extent or another. The fact remains certain that if you are reading this post you are right now in the midst of an exchange between a gain and a loss. While some might opt for sleep, others decline the gain of rest and reach forth to gain an inside look at what Tim Rivers has to say about gains and losses. Every one makes decisions about what we would be willing to give up in order to gain another. However, in every case where there is a gain its predecessor is a loss. You might not agree with that concept, but stop and think about it. For example, if you are gaining knowledge at an accredited College or University you are losing other opportunities that might give way for income during the time your spending reading text books.
The terms gains and losses are very familiar in the field of accounting. They are the very foundation of accounting and economics. The terms gains and losses are also referred to debits and credit. To come up with a balanced account debits must equal credits. Our entire country is build around the idea of gains and losses. We fight wars based on what we are going to gain and what we are willing to lose. We sign contracts that give us a greater gain compared to our loss. Many marriages are sadly built on this comparison concept. Many men and women enter relationships only because of what they are able to gain from it and it isn’t long before they find out that both of them are losing more than they anticipated gaining and thus the divorce rate is sky high. The reality is that gains and losses exist in every aspect of our lives.
Although many say that the concept and use of the gains vs. losses theory is a fairly new idea. In reality this concept goes back to the very beginning of time. God created Adam and Eve in the garden with the tools needed to accomplish extra-ordinary things. The only restriction given to them is that they should not eat of the tree of knowledge and evil. Their gain was that they would be the earthly representatives of God in the earth and their loss was that they did not have permission to eat of the forbidden fruit. However, Adam and Eve chose to eat of the fruit because they were under the influence that to gain equality with God was as simple as eating the fruit and yet the opposite happened. They gained knowledge of their nakedness and lost the perfect fellowship they had with their creator.
This idea of gains and losses is especially prevalent in the New Testament with the powerful, life altering beginning of Christ’s ministry in the earth. The greatest example of exchange is declared in Philippians 2:5-8;
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
What an amazing example of a gain vs. a loss. Jesus’ ministry was constantly calling for the loss of one thing in order to gain another. When Jesus began to call his disciples he didn’t give them a list of benefits and a retirement package, he simply called to Peter, Andrew, James and John to lose their nets and gain an opportunity to be fishers of men. He called Matthew to lose the seat of tax collector to gain the ministry of basket collecting. All throughout the scriptures we find Christ calling for men and women to lose their former way of living and current position to gain fellowship with God.
However, there is a vast difference in the gains vs. losses that we have grown so accustomed to. According to most individuals as long as gains and losses are equal life isn’t so bad. But in reality most people are more aware of the loss than the potential gain. This is why Marketers will spend millions of dollars per year to try and build a great enough need within the consumer that they will concentrate more attention on what they might gain as opposed to what they will lose.
The Kingdom of God is unlike the ways of men. The Bible completely destroys our weak concept of what gains are and what a loss is. The Government of Christ doesn’t run like the so-called democratic political entities of this world. The Bible boldly declares that in order to gain eternal life you must lose your own life. This unapologetic, bold declaration to follow, even called for one young man to sell all that he had and follow after Christ. The catch however, is that the gain is greater than the loss. When God asks for your life, he gives you life that is incomparable in return. That’s why Jesus told the woman at the well that the water which he gives will never run dry.
As you read this post, I hope you are able to think about what you had to lose in the last few weeks and months concerning the kingdom of God. I know that you might not understand God’s process of math, but I promise you this one thing, in God’s books debits never equal credits.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Friday, January 9, 2009
True Friend
(Making up for lost time...)
What does the word friend really mean? I hope I’m not being to presumptuous when I say that all of us have been guilty of calling many people our friends who in reality are no more close to us than the man or woman we nod at as we pass by them on a busy street. The word friend has become a word to describe anyone who we have met and pronounced a pleasant person. Our enemies are those we have met and don’t particularly agree with in fellowship.
A friend is someone that holds some sort of meaning to you. A person of interest in your life, if anything were to effect them, you would be effected in some form or fashion as a result of your connection to them.
Jesus noticed many of these types of people in his ministry. The Bible speaks of great crowds and many multitudes that would travel from afar to see Jesus in action. Many people sacrificed their time and energy to see the Lord heal the sick and raise the dead. Often time’s people would call him Master and Lord and refer to him as a great man or prophet. But these were the people who were only a part of a great crusade. They were infatuated with Jesus’ ability to speak and the miracles he performed. They loved the great excitement that could be felt through the crowd as he raised a man who had never walked from his bed and told him to walk. They clapped in great ovation unto Jesus when he said “Neither do I condemn thee…” to a woman caught in the act of adultery. They slapped each other on the back and whooped in support when Jesus drove out the money changers from the temple with a woven whip.
But they were not in love with Christ for who he was. They were only his “friends” as long as he had a show for them to attend. They were in love with the things and not with the one who made the things happen. This group was called “The multitude…”
However, among the multitude emerged another group of people. These people went beyond the normal following Jesus from town to town and from mount to mount. This group involved themselves directly in Jesus’ ministry. They helped people with infirmities come to Jesus. They went and set up the revival grounds and spread the news that Jesus was on his way. They not only applauded Christ when he divided the fish and bread, but they were the one’s that carried the baskets to the multitude and they even picked up the remains. They were the one’s who sat at the feet of Jesus wherever he was and took to heart his teaching and even implemented his teaching into their everyday lives. They weren’t just the average follower. This group was called “The Disciples…”
Among this group called the disciples was another group. If you have read much of the NT you have most likely noticed the names Peter, James and John. These three, although a part of the twelve disciples and also a part of the multitude, were in a very significant way much different than the average follower of Christ. Peter, James and John appear in the synoptics five times: at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37), at the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37), and for the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31) and for Jesus’ “Apocalypse” (Mark 13:3). This is of great importance because there was something about the relationship between these men and Jesus that brings great revelation and insight into how our relationship with God should be.
Peter, James and John are, in a sense, NT counterparts of the OT Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the spiritual ancestry of the OT Israel, from which were born the “Twelve” tribes of Israel. Likewise Peter, James and John represented the “Twelve” disciples and became the spiritual ancestry of the NT Church.
The ironic thing about the whole idea of friendship is that we often relate friendship with a person who is of benefit to us. Such as someone we can borrow money from when we’re broke or a person who would wake up in the middle of the night to come help us change a tire on the side of the Highway. But in reality the measure of a true friend is what one is willing to do for another. Jesus called his disciples his friends but he also called Judas “friend” when he came to betray the Lord. Remember it was Jesus who said;
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
So the real question that we should ask is not what kind of friend is that person to me, rather we should stop and look in the mirror and ask ourselves, what kind of a friend am I to them?
It’s easy to be a part of the crowd and just follow. It’s not that hard to become a disciple and get more involved than the average person. But the difference is made when you step away from the crowd and separate yourself from the disciples and enter into a true friendship. When you go beyond just knowing Christ, but you actually spend time with him alone, that’s when you become a true friend of God. Peter was the one who received the keys to the kingdom. James was among the trio when Jesus spoke to them about the end. John received the great revelation of who Jesus Christ was. A friend is someone who doesn’t worry about what they receive in return, but their goal is to give what they have.
I thank God for all of you who have come into my life. I pray I will be a true friend to you and that God would bless you in this New Year and that your relationship with Him would become the strongest it has ever been. And for those I have never met, I look forward to the day I get the chance. God Bless!
What does the word friend really mean? I hope I’m not being to presumptuous when I say that all of us have been guilty of calling many people our friends who in reality are no more close to us than the man or woman we nod at as we pass by them on a busy street. The word friend has become a word to describe anyone who we have met and pronounced a pleasant person. Our enemies are those we have met and don’t particularly agree with in fellowship.
A friend is someone that holds some sort of meaning to you. A person of interest in your life, if anything were to effect them, you would be effected in some form or fashion as a result of your connection to them.
Jesus noticed many of these types of people in his ministry. The Bible speaks of great crowds and many multitudes that would travel from afar to see Jesus in action. Many people sacrificed their time and energy to see the Lord heal the sick and raise the dead. Often time’s people would call him Master and Lord and refer to him as a great man or prophet. But these were the people who were only a part of a great crusade. They were infatuated with Jesus’ ability to speak and the miracles he performed. They loved the great excitement that could be felt through the crowd as he raised a man who had never walked from his bed and told him to walk. They clapped in great ovation unto Jesus when he said “Neither do I condemn thee…” to a woman caught in the act of adultery. They slapped each other on the back and whooped in support when Jesus drove out the money changers from the temple with a woven whip.
But they were not in love with Christ for who he was. They were only his “friends” as long as he had a show for them to attend. They were in love with the things and not with the one who made the things happen. This group was called “The multitude…”
However, among the multitude emerged another group of people. These people went beyond the normal following Jesus from town to town and from mount to mount. This group involved themselves directly in Jesus’ ministry. They helped people with infirmities come to Jesus. They went and set up the revival grounds and spread the news that Jesus was on his way. They not only applauded Christ when he divided the fish and bread, but they were the one’s that carried the baskets to the multitude and they even picked up the remains. They were the one’s who sat at the feet of Jesus wherever he was and took to heart his teaching and even implemented his teaching into their everyday lives. They weren’t just the average follower. This group was called “The Disciples…”
Among this group called the disciples was another group. If you have read much of the NT you have most likely noticed the names Peter, James and John. These three, although a part of the twelve disciples and also a part of the multitude, were in a very significant way much different than the average follower of Christ. Peter, James and John appear in the synoptics five times: at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37), at the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37), and for the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31) and for Jesus’ “Apocalypse” (Mark 13:3). This is of great importance because there was something about the relationship between these men and Jesus that brings great revelation and insight into how our relationship with God should be.
Peter, James and John are, in a sense, NT counterparts of the OT Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the spiritual ancestry of the OT Israel, from which were born the “Twelve” tribes of Israel. Likewise Peter, James and John represented the “Twelve” disciples and became the spiritual ancestry of the NT Church.
The ironic thing about the whole idea of friendship is that we often relate friendship with a person who is of benefit to us. Such as someone we can borrow money from when we’re broke or a person who would wake up in the middle of the night to come help us change a tire on the side of the Highway. But in reality the measure of a true friend is what one is willing to do for another. Jesus called his disciples his friends but he also called Judas “friend” when he came to betray the Lord. Remember it was Jesus who said;
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
So the real question that we should ask is not what kind of friend is that person to me, rather we should stop and look in the mirror and ask ourselves, what kind of a friend am I to them?
It’s easy to be a part of the crowd and just follow. It’s not that hard to become a disciple and get more involved than the average person. But the difference is made when you step away from the crowd and separate yourself from the disciples and enter into a true friendship. When you go beyond just knowing Christ, but you actually spend time with him alone, that’s when you become a true friend of God. Peter was the one who received the keys to the kingdom. James was among the trio when Jesus spoke to them about the end. John received the great revelation of who Jesus Christ was. A friend is someone who doesn’t worry about what they receive in return, but their goal is to give what they have.
I thank God for all of you who have come into my life. I pray I will be a true friend to you and that God would bless you in this New Year and that your relationship with Him would become the strongest it has ever been. And for those I have never met, I look forward to the day I get the chance. God Bless!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Fun Times at a Youth Night
Piggyback Race
Piggyback continued
The Apex of True Youth Ministry
Let's just say Travis had some issues...
I tried to lend a helping hand..
Some issues just get worse with the passage of Time...
...
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