13. Do I disobey God in anything?

Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice… I Samuel 15:22a

Obedience comes easy with proper relationship. This morning I was dealing with one of my children with obedience issues… as I was talking to him I looked at this scripture with this question fresh on my mind. Then it hit me like Wow… Listen! If I would have just listened I would not have this heart ache or problem. As my semi adult / teenage children are starting to make life decisions, my wife and I are getting new revelation of the relationship with Jesus and the Father… wow did Jesus have it right as it all comes down to obedience to the Father's will. The old adage, "Father knows best" is such a great rule to live by but man when I was in my early 20's I had no clue to obedience to the father's voice. All I had on my mind was to do my own thing of rebellion. But God… Romans 2:4.

This makes me think of the 10 commandments and how these were given to God's people not to make it hard but in essence to make life easy and simple. When we disobey… we sacrifice! When we disobey the voice of the Father… we get totally away from God's will as simple acts of disobedience brings to light the stubborn, do it our own way attitude, deeply rooted in our hearts. Wow we all struggle with obedience as rebellion to the will of the Father keeps us from submission. I am convinced the more we humble ourselves, submit to God and obey his voice, the less stressful and joyful our life will be.

Lord give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation that light may come from the Father into my heart that I may be obedient!

12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

Structure… I am firm believer that God loves this. I KNOW he wants us to get proper rest as this is one of the vital components of taking care of our body. I have found there are two types of people when it comes to creative times, Early Risers and Night Owls! The importance of going to bed on time sets you in position to start your day off correctly whatever type person you are. Over time I have come to know I am an Early Riser. So this means I need to go to bed early… but the problem is I think I am going to miss something and stay up too late. Now late for me is 10:30pm… which throws me off in getting up or I get up tired. Once you lose the proper rest you need you can't get it back. When I do get to bed at my proper time, I am more productive during the day because I start my day off correctly spending the proper time with my Lord.

I sign my emails with "Daylight's Burning"… this came from my dad who would wake me up as a teenager before daylight to get up and get to the barn for work. He set the stage for work production at our home when I was a boy growing up by getting out of the bed to not to waste daylight hours. Little did I know the WORD… Jesus says we must work while it is day; the night comes when no man can work! My dad is still a wise man as he still gets up early and so do I…

So the early bird gets the worm! Or rather… they that seek me early shall find me!

Will this encourage you to evaluate your daily routine so you can make priority to spend time with God?

#11

11. Do I pray about the money I spend?

The Lord gives us resources to be stewarded and used for his kingdom. I have to admit that I have missed this prayer many times… I have been thinking about this question this morning and I sit shaking my head as I am listening to the Lord tell me he wants to be involved in every area of my life even to the minuet and mundane details! Lord please grant us wisdom to recognize you want to be Lord over every area of our lives including the money you give us!

Money is such an incredible subject especially how it relates to God's kingdom. I listen attentively to people as they speak about money especially believers. I listened to a young man recently tell of his goal to make two million dollars before he turned 40 years old. I was shaken… as all I could see in his life was a drive to make money. This drive is making this man miserable and little by little hardening his heart. Paul wrote, I have had much and I have had little but to be content is the key (Phil. 4:11-12). Jesus was clear about how deceptive our heart can be when it comes to money. The Bible is clear about "the love of money is the root of all evil" and how covetousness is lurking to slip in and pervert our motives.

Now one of the secondary benefits of kingdom living is prosperity. God wants to proper his servants for the purpose of bringing his kingdom to the earth. Jesus was not a poor beggarly man nor was he covetous. He dealt with business leaders and called money people into discipleship, Matthew, Judas, Peter, Zacheus, etc… his purpose was to bring his kingdom to the earth. Jesus family had wealth by God's divine intervention of the wise men seeking out the King (gifts of gold, frankincense, & myrrh). When you seek him you will find him!

The disciple's personal wealth and influence were given to them for the purpose to promote God's kingdom on the earth (make Jesus known to ALL men). When we don't pray about how we spend the resources entrusted into us our tendency is to heap it upon ourselves with bigger and better and throwing moderation to the wind.

Hebrews 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

 

#10

Am I making contacts with other people and using them for the Master's Glory?

When I first got saved my life was in a shamble… I had disgraced my good name that my father had worked diligently to keep good. The folks that ran our local bank frowned when or if I ever came to pay my debts… so when Jesus came into my heart, this incredible process of transformation began (Romans 12:1-2). 1^st to learn humility and the fear of the Lord, then to be responsible and all the while remaining faithful has been the path to be a witness for the Lord he has allowed me to follow. Faithfulness is the key as over time (Gen 8:22) the people you walk before in life begin to recognize how great our God is! These people shake their heads in amazement when they see your faith being walked out by doing exploits for the Lord. Your life is a witness of his Glory!

People like to see faithfulness! I know the Lord has given me power to be a witness (Acts 1:8) to these people as all they see now is a changed life by God's grace. The people we are in contact with are in our lives for a purpose… yes even the ones that we detest! I too chuckle when I am around people that knew the "old Luke"… thank you Lord for your grace and mercy (Micah 6:8).

I recently read in "Mother Teresa's" book on her private writings this prayer she prayed… "Lord remove from me anything that may hurt you or hurt your people." I was in awe as I read these words…then I was nudged by the Holy Spirit with the scripture in Psalms 26:1-2 to remind me that we can pray and ask God to keep us pure in our heart. After reading this book on Mother Teresa I saw again the thread of her witness… remaining faithful!

When our hearts are right before the Lord… his Glory comes with great power!

Lord let my life bring you glory and please keep my heart right!

21 days to a better you… #9

When did I last speak to somebody else with the object of trying to win that person for Christ?

Proverbs 11:30b "He that wins souls is wise."

This is a good one… action! The past few days we have been laying a foundation of prayer but today we move to putting feet to our prayers. Actually telling someone of Jesus' love… his greatest desire to bring lost people to him! Wow I am so happy today he saved my soul… he revealed his glory into my life.

So you may have some struggle with this… I am not one that is shy so I can easily do this but some people just lock up thinking about talking with someone about Christ. My 1^st suggestion is to arm yourself with the WORD… ever heard of the Roman Road? Easy scriptures that can walk someone to Christ…I suggest you to visit them and memorize these scriptures.

One of the highest percentage ways of leading someone to Jesus is to bring them to church. Get ready for excuses and rejections for someone not to want to attend a church service… Prayer will prepare them to receive but we must be diligent in bringing them. Call em up, don't take no for an answer!

Put feet to your faith! Who are you going to talk to about Jesus today?

Romans 3:23,5:8,6:23,8:1,10:13

Question #8

Song of Solomon 4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

Am I enjoying prayer?

Come on be honest now… Prayer can be made into hard work. I think now I have seen some amazing dedication when it comes to prayer… Buddhist flock to the temples by the millions to spin their prayer wheels and chant, Muslims pray five times a day… recently I was on a flight with Muslims clerics and they asked the flight attendant to check with the pilot to find out which way was toward Mecca so when they spread their prayer cloth to bow in prayer and face toward Mecca, Hindus and their strict regime of temple prayers, the wailing wall in Israel, various Christian denominations in prayer… but the question is are we enjoying prayer? Is it a religious duty or birthed by a deep love to communicate with our heavenly Father.

Prayer at first can seem boring… so I have learned to shake it up. Get up, move around, get radical in intercession… then I promise a breakthrough comes and a flood of light and joy. A great intercessor mentor for years would always check on my prayer life. He would keep me accountable as to the blessing of talking with the Lord. He would always walk away saying…"I need the prayer and you need the practice!" I understand more of his direction and care for my soul… Thank you Bro. Les!

Another awesome thing to do is write your prayer request down as this too will allow you to see where the focus of our prayers is pointed. When we get our prayers off ourselves and pointed to others there is a release into our own lives of the Lord's mercy and grace.

Here is another cool thing to do… pray the WORD! You can't miss with this directive… Jesus model prayer is a no brainer then Paul started off most of his letters to the church with specific prayers to pinpoint effectiveness to the believers and express his heaven inspired revelation.

But I will admit the most spiritual prayers I pray are when I focus on praying in the spirit… yes sir the more I pray in the Holy Spirit, the more powerful my life is. Praying like Paul did in Romans 8:26. The more prayer in the spirit, Jude 20, the more of His will in my life come forth. Lord come to your garden as the old hymn sounds out… I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses… just to talk with the Lord.

Help me to enjoy prayer more Lord…

21 Days Question #7

7. Do I give the Bible, God's Word, time to speak to me each day?

Psalms 91:1 I love how the Amplified version put this verse… "HE WHO ^[a]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

Wow that daily time with God… the discipline of seeking him alone in the closet. (Matt 6:6) Time is the only eternal thing we have to give here on earth… Giving God our time is a love relationship. I can relate this to my bride, Sandy. If I don't hear her voice and just sit and talk with her every day, I feel like something is missing from my life. Spending time with God will change your day because we learn to hear his voice when he is speaking to us. Starting the day with the Lord is the best thing I do personally every day. I am an early morning person… my creative juices are rolling by daylight. So to give this to the Lord is so sweet to me. Don't get me wrong I too understand the night watch of waiting on God but there is a reason God made daytime Iight and nighttime dark… the daylight sure makes it easier to see, hello!

God begins to speak and encourage me through his Word as I just sit and listen. Yesterday I got such a peace over some decisions about opening my heart up to some people… then when the heat of the day came and my peace was trying to be robbed, again God spoke to me from a friend who called I normally don't get to talk much too. I know it started in my quiet time with the Lord…

Today is a new day and I can't live off yesterday's Word… the children of Israel were required to get fresh manna every morning to sustain them for that day except for the Sabbath day in which they got to get a double portion. Maybe I need to blog about this principle too… Sabbath day resting. What you think?

Ok, I am going get my coffee and take my place at his feet with my Bible. It is a choice… Enjoy!

One Prayer Series…

WOW the ONE PRAYER Series, at my home church Fellowship Church Zachary, has been participating in has been awesome! Pastor Scott kicked off the series with his message on Lord, make us Fearless. I was in Singapore and got to listen to these messages and get fed from the other side of the world! Is that cool or what? Then, Pastor Craig Groeschel from Life Church. TV message on "ONE" was powerful and convicting. His message struck at the heart of leaders and believers as the competitive spirit from the devil main objective is to divide so the church can loose her effectiveness. What would it take to unify the church? One enemy, one heart and one purpose… Oh if we could get this right what a powerful impact upon the world! Help us Lord be one!

Then yesterday Pastor Chris Hodges spoke on Lord make us authentic… My goodness this struck the heart at how we present ourselves. Are we real? Are we the real deal? Are we authentic? Next week Pastor Jenson Franklin will be on the big screen… is that cool or what? The tool of technology ministering to the body of Christ globally… oh this strums my heart strings!

Come on, if you could pray one prayer what would it be?

21 days #6

6. Did the Bible live in me today?

I mean really, did the Bible come forth into my life today? Am I a hearer only and not a doer of the Word…? Am I a plugged cistern or is this powerful Word of God flowing through me like a river of Life? Oh the joy of knowing God and having full access to the Bible. God's promises to us are "Yes and Amen". The big thing is we can go as deep into God's Word as we want, it is a choice. Isn't it strange we can spend hours in front of TV yet neglect to spend time reading and being blessed with God's Word? I will admit that reading the Bible at times has gotten methodical. So I changed it up, got a new version, started a new Bible course online… just to keep this part of my love relationship with God moving forward. Like my marriage I need to keep the romance fresh! Reading God's love letters will bring such inspiration and joy… I love you Lord for giving me freely your Word and preserving it with great sacrifice for me!

Back to Matthew 5:3 NLT "God blesses those who are poor and realize they have need for him…" I need God and I need his WORD!

I was in a hotel in India and inside the bedside table was a copy of the Koran not a Gideon Bible this always upsets me. What a blessing to see the ministry of the Gideon's to put Bibles in hotel rooms. Be creative in giving someone the Bread of Life… Give someone a Bible today!

Life giving words not a religion that destroys… Take some time to read the Bible today (Rev. 1:3) and if you are real wise, read it to someone else or give one to somebody!

21 days… #5

#5 Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

Wow these questions are not getting easier… they are provoking me to look inside deeply and consider my state. When I think of these words all proceeded with SELF, I think of how for years the devil condemned me of just about everything I ever did in my life. Of course I gave him a lot of ammunition as I like all sinners I was consumed with SELF. I was not good enough or just did not meet the standard… I remembered in high school the part down the middle feathered hair and I had curly hair. What a mess as I tried to be like everybody else. Then the pride of "I am not like those… Pharisee attitude! Trying to keep up with the Jones' mentality… on and on the heart thoughts of what we look like on the outside. Then the devil comes to destroy with thoughts of condemnation on every turn… Spirits of rejection that kept me not thinking I would ever over come my inadequacies. Then I was led to the Cross… this is where I found relief from all! Oh the Cross is where I found new life and revelation of the power of the Bible, God's Holy Love language to us! His Word began the process of undoing all my mess… Wow when I found Romans 8:1 and began this journey of realizing what the price of his blood paid for me. Then to become a full heir to an inheritance via the adoption by the Father, Romans 8:15. This was just the beginning… I remembered the night I read I John 3:20 that God was bigger than my heart… freedom from condemnation and guilt!

So today if you are in the funks of SELF… start again @ the CROSS! Let SELF be crucified and JESUS placed on the throne of our hearts forever!

21 Days to a Better you #4

#4 Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?

4 parts to this question… and all point to bondage. My 1^st take is that we look @ what is on the outside but God looks @ what is on the inside and this makes me know that this is a heart issue again. Who I am trying to please and what is the result of my actions? Everything I think or do is a choice… good, bad or indifferent it is a choice to live for God or to live under the bondage of sin.

Then I start to consider what makes us slaves. Could it be ignorance or just plain bad thinking? What about our attitude? The Word says in II Corinthians 10:3-5 that the battle is in the mind and this can be won only through the blood of Jesus Christ. Take control over our thought life Lord that we might be free in every area of our lives…

I love too what Paul writes in Romans 7… dig into these scriptures and give me some thought on this dilemma.

Jesus came to set the captive free… Free me Lord!

Sri Lanka’s Glory & Desperation

We spent a fast weekend in Sri Lanka ministering after Vietnam. From the airplane straight to a wild 4 hour drive to the deep south of Sri Lanka which is known as a fortress of buddhism. Hambantota, Sri Lanka where the Tsunami of 2004 literally wrecked this city is where we held a powerful Glory meeting. My friends in Sri have been touched with open heavens of signs, wonders and miracles in the midst of desperate times for this war torn nation. WOW it was awesome to witness God open a young girl's blind eye and many other miracles but the most powerful thing was so many staunch buddhist bowing to Jesus to make him LORD! OH I am telling you this was sweet to me… Souls added into the kingdom. We want to thank our friends in Sri and our partners for sending us to the nations and especially our dear Sri Lanka.

21 Days to a better you… #3

3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence? Can I be trusted?

Wow this one is big… I remember the 1^st time I read in Proverbs about being a faithful confidant. I said Lord I can do that… For a long time I did a good job of this and won the trust of many but one time I remember vividly messing this all up with one of my closest friends and brothers in the Lord. I have seen his life flip and flop since the incident and I can justify what I said in most circles. But in my heart… I know I sinned against my brother and let him down. Then what he told me got all misconstrued and all parties involved broke relationship. What a mess and I justified that I was doing the right thing.

Kind of like how people get off crimes they commit in a court room… but God's court room is different. He sees the heart…

As I pondered this question, I have resolved to go see my friend who still loves me dearly which is the miracle and brings the conviction upon me to right the wrong… Take a moment and remember how it felt when someone you opened up too broke your trust. O it hurt and stung… but we can forgive, this is the greatest power of the gospel. If you have wronged someone, go quickly and humble yourself and too if someone has wronged you… invoke the love of Jesus… FORGIVENESS.

Help me be a trusted counselor like you are Jesus.

Name revision…21 days to a Better you!

A dear friend suggested a new name for these 21 questions of blog posting… 21 days to a Better you! I like it who knows this me a book…

Here is ? #2…

2. Am I honest in all acts or words or do I exaggerate?

Do not lie... Wow was I a perpetual liar. As a young kid I would lie because I did not want my daddy or mama to whip the tar out of me... I was ashamed of my actions but I didn't parents upset with me. This was the enemy whispering to me as I did not have any wisdom and would compound my problem with by not telling the truth...

I didn't do it is what I would say...' Kind of like Cain when he killed his brother Abel and as his brother's blood cried from the ground, innocent blood... his response was "I did not do it…" His punishment was banishment from God's presence. Genesis 4:1-16 this story has made me listen carefully to my words that proceed out of my heart and to evaluate why am I doing what I do? Is this for me or for God's kingdom? Are my actions pure? Give me grace Lord Jesus…

Another thought that crossed my mind is what I do or say is it to please God or man… Lord make me a God pleaser!

Are you?

Holy Club Intro - Question #1?

I feel prompted to do a "series" on my blog. A lot of churches we partner with are in the ONE PRAYER (www.oneprayer.com) series for the summer and I am excited as to seeing how the Lord is moving the body toward him in deep intimacy. This intimacy brings deep repentance and extreme power from within as the Lord pours out his spirit… Joel 2:28-23, Acts 2:17-21.

These questions were developed from John Wesley's Holy Club and used to ask themselves for personal devotions. One of the churches we minister in on the mission field of Sri Lanka's east coast is a Methodist church as the 1^st time I looked upon it I thought of the fire of the Holy Ghost that prompts men to give their lives to bring the gospel to others… this fire comes from deep devotion to the Lord and blind acts of obedience.

I think the next 21 days will be a great time for us to really ask God to open our hearts and let the Holy Spirit shine his illuminating light. So each day for the next 21 days I will send out a new blog with a new question... I am going to try to do this @ least. I am in Sri Lanka as I write today and have a tight schedule and will be traveling in between... this may cost me some sleep. Oh well, his KINGDOM come!

Here is today's question... look forward to your comments.

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am a better person than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
   

The Sermon on the Mount was Jesus' blueprint for us as believers to follow. If you never really understood what the first beatitude meant (Matthew 5:3), "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". I would recommend you to ask yourself these questions daily and see how poor in spirit you really are. Every time I read them, I have a rude awakening of how truly poor in spirit I am.

One thing I am confident of is we can't fool God. He knows us on the inside and the out... most importantly it is what is on the inside. Take a look today @ the condition of your heart... what is really on the inside? When I again embraced this question a short while ago, I saw how poor I really was and in self righteousness I had deceived myself. Again I stand in need of Jesus to be Lord of every area of my heart!

It took some courage and a dose of humility to bow myself to the Lord and allow him to enter into areas of my life that only I went too. I don't want to be a hypocrite... My prayer for today is "Lord make us transparent..."

How did God speak to you with this question?

 

More to come? Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka bus blasts kill at least 23

Associated Press,
Fri June 6, 2008 09:45 EDT . BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Bombs ripped through two buses in Sri Lanka on Friday, including one packed with morning commuters near the country's heavily fortified capital, officials said. At least 23 people were killed and 67 wounded. With much of the fighting taking place hundreds of miles to the north, the recent attacks have shaken the south, home to Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority, and left residents fearful of more to come.

 

I am sitting in the airport in Singapore about to board flight to head into war torn Sri Lanka. The latest news can be found on www.theacademic.org as I normally keep up with the news coming out of Sri. The country is in a mess and VERY unpredictable now… Thank you for sending us. Not for our safety but that people will know HIM. You can pray for my family… as a an old intercessor friend of mine told me regularly… "I need the prayer and you need the practice…"

Hope in Vietnam...

We didn't want to communicate while inside of Vietnam and I was about to scream because of all the awesome things HE did and is doing in the closed nation of Vietnam. Jack and Sherry Harris, Steve Smith and myself were so honored to again travel to Vietnam... Jack and Sherry have been going to 'Nam for almosty 20 years as their faithfulness is being honored with thousands coming to the knowledge of HIM. Jack & Sherry have been great mentors and friends of ours for many years now and it is just awesome to hang out in the nations with these folks. This time I got to hang out with Sherry's brother Steve which makes Global Messenger Service a three fold cord not quickly broken. Thank you GMS for allowing me to join you again in Vietnam and for our partners sending us as we are really having an amazing impact in the nations.