October 5, 2015

We are getting ready to have a HUGE yard sale.

There are lots of “treasures” for sale!
Some of the items came in interesting bags and boxes, which left the fragile items inside cracked.
Seeing that they were not useful, we decided to throw certain pieces away.
Some pieces were salvageable, with a little glue and TLC, they were as good as new.

Did you know that we are like those cracked items?

2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “We now have this Light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (NLT)

We have a choice to make:
We can live like the useless junk, thinking that our cracks make us weak, defeated and too fragile to be any good.
OR
We can own up to the cracks life has given us, KNOWING that if Jesus resides in our life, HIS LIGHT will shine through drawing others to HIM!

The choice is yours!
Live life powerless, or “make it clear that your great power is from God, not yourself!”

September 29, 2015

Thought someone may need to hear this message today…
(Take a quiet moment and listen to the song, linked below.
Allow God to calm you, heal you, love you)

When you’re on your knees and answers seem so far away
You’re not alone, stop holding on and just be held
Your world,s not falling apart, its falling into place
I’m on the throne, stop holding on and just be held

September 21, 2015

We believe that God is the Only True God.
Because He is God…

September 16, 2015

It’s simple, but so true.

But rarely do we take the time to ask ANY questions.
It doesn’t have to be earth shattering knowledge,
we just don’t ask
ANYTHING.

We don’t ask a person how they are REALLY doing.
We don’t ask our neighbor about their new car, that’s really cool!
We don’t ask our co-worker about a job they are working on.
We don’t ask our kids what made them laugh during their day.
We don’t ask God for anything—unless we are DESPERATE!
We don’t ask…
Why?
Time, pride, self-reliance, an “I don’t care” or “ I already know” spirit, simple indifference.

“You don’t know until you ask.”

Something in the asking process makes us vulnerable. We may come across child-like, or maybe “nosy”. Asking a question usually means we DON’T KNOW something… for some, this is a very scary position; they need to have the control factor of knowing everything (pride). The problem with NOT asking questions is that you REALLY don’t learn, you don’t grow, you don’t mature.

Here are a few encouraging reasons to be a person who asks:
1. A person who asks, gets answers…
Ask and you will receive… (Matthew 7:7)
2. A person who asks, becomes child-like…
At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what You were pleased to do.” (Matthew 11:25-26)
3. A person who asks, receives wisdom (working knowledge!)…
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5)
Two quick warnings:
1. Make sure you want to know the answer.
2. When asking questions to God:
1. Ask in Jesus name, and through God’s will for you.
(John 16:24, 1 John 5:14)
2. Believe God, believe in God!
Ask without doubting His power, love, or knowledge. (James 1:6-7)

Go be child-like!
Go be inquisitive!
Go get wise!
Go ASK!!

September 9, 2015

Be honest.
Have you ever gone through library shelves, or bookstore shelves, and had your eye land on a certain cover?
It may not be a book you’d read, but something caught your eye.
It may have been the color, the font, the picture or art on the front.
It may have been the size or shape.
Something about THAT particular item made you stop and say, “Hmmmm, What’s this?”

Did you know there is a BILLION dollar industry wrapped up in what a book is wrapped in?
I’m serious!
Artists and publishers get paid BIG BUCKS to design covers
for books.
Why?
Be honest.
Have you ever gone through library shelves, or bookstore shelves, and had your eye land on a certain cover?
That’s why!
A book needs to “catch our eye” in order for us to pick it up.

Here’s the kicker:
Much less money is spent each year on the content inside that cover.

Humans are a bit like this.
Many of us spend boatloads of our resources to make sure our “wrapper” is perfect, while we take considerably less time on our content.

So what’s a person to do?
Do we forsake our outward appearance only caring for our inward attitudes and emotions?
I don’t think we need to go that far…
But let’s try to strike a balance.

Romans 12:9-21 is a great place to start.
Go grab a Bible and have a look at this list.
If after reading it, you find NO room for improvement in your own life, then by all means go work on your “wrapper”.
But if you’re anything like me, I’ve got plenty of room to work on my “content”.

“Covers can be misleading. Content is revealing.”

(End quote: Michael Catt, from the forward of Jesus in the Present Tense by Warren Wiersbe, copyright 2011)