Yesterday I was listening to a sermon on the Cedarville College radio station. I honestly do not remember much about the sermon, but I do remember the minister talking about us having a better relationship with Christ and it got me thinking a little about how our relationships with other humans can compare to our relationships with Christ.
Lets look at some of the things that are common about making new friends and/or maintaining long term friendships. I am going to use some of my current friends as examples ( I hope none of you mind ).
Dave and Robin Hinman, and my buddy Rae!!!!
Last night Diana and I had our Annual get together with the Hinmans!! I guess this is what ultimately got me started on this topic. As we sat there talking to them, and catching up with what seemed like a year and a half of events. It occurred to me that we do not meet with Dave and Robin often enough and that every time we leave our meetings with them it always leaves me wanting to spend more time with them! I have known the Hinmans for over 30 years, and my wife she has only had the pleasure of knowing them for the last 7 of those years, but it is awesome that she shares my appreciation for not only their friendship, but also their Christian influence.
Danny and Danielle Vinson
So a little over a year ago my wife Diana and I had met up with our friends Danny and Danielle Vinson. I had never met either one of them. Danielle had started showing us some houses, and we had been meeting up a couple of times a week to look at houses. After a couple of months had past, we all decided to get together for a cookout. This was the first time that Danny and I had met. Danielle and Diana had known each other since High School. Danny and I became friends instantly. We both have similar interests in careers, movies, video games, education, and most importantly Christ. As we started hanging out with them, we found ourselves wanting to hang out with them more and more, and wanting to know more and more about them.
Fred and Karen Schlicter
Much like Danny and Danielle, Diana and I had met Karen before we met Fred. We had met Karen at Village Christian Schools when Julie was going to school there. A year or so later we were at Julie's soccer practice and ran into both Fred and Karen, and again much like the last couple Fred and I became friends instantly and once again we have been finding ways to hang out with them more and more!
This list could go on and on and on over the last couple of years! Jared and Christine Taylor, Danny and Sarah Simpson, Jeremy and Patty Simpson..... I mean we have made a lot of wonderful friends the last couple of years, but trust me there is a bigger point here than how many friends we have made over the last couple of years.
After dinner last night, I really thought to myself "Man I wish we had more time with Dave and Robin". It seems like 2 hours once or twice a year is a huge injustice to our friendship!
With that said, is that how Christ must feel about us sometimes? That us only spending a couple of hours once or twice a month is such a huge disgrace to the relationship he wants with us?
Jesus gave a sacrifice of Himself that we could never repay in a million lifetimes, yet we often find it difficult to make a conscience effort to just spend an hour a day with him, or maybe an hour every other day.
I find myself often putting off "Jesus time" for either sleep or for TV/XBOX time. Very often to be honest, but as of late that has changed.
The big question is do I do that for my earthly friends? No! If a friend calls and says hey let's meet up for dinner. I say "ok, what time?". That is a normal response. BUT when it is up to me to schedule "Jesus time", I find myself procrastinating more than I do with anything else!
Jesus is THE FRIEND! Jesus is the Friend of all Friends! He cares about you more than any other friend that you know now, or that you will meet in the future! He loves you enough that He sacrificed Himself on a cross for you! He wants you to be close to Him and to know Him better than you know yourself! He wants you to be His friend! He wants a loving committed friendship with you each and everyday and if you have given your heart to Him and asked Him to be the Lord of your life their is a desire in your heart right this very minute saying "Jesus, I want that! I want what Scott is talking about here! I want You to be my friend. I want to be Your friend! I want to be closer to You, can You please show me how to be closer to You?"
This is a new step for me throwing out my phone number on the world wide web, but I am feeling led by God to do so! If you have never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and if my blog has spoken to you in some way and you want to make that committment that will change your life forever, please feel free to call me and I will pray with you and walk you through it. Even if you have already been saved and just need someone to pray for you, I am here for that too! 513-628-3560
Have a blessed day! Jesus loves you, and so do I!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Ministers' Boycotting Buses over Atheists' Banners???
Today while working I was listening to KLove much like any other day, and heard some talk of the buses in Fort Worth, Texas that an Atheist group had bought advertisement space on it to post their logo's. After hearing what the signs said it struck me in an odd way and I wanted to write about them and what I believe not only about them, but about the churchs' and other organizations who are threatning or who have tried to boycott using these bus lines...
Here is a pic of the bus
A closer look at the banner on the side of the bus:
The first thing I have to say about this post is "THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT". Now before you get all riled up and get upset with me, let me explain! They are very right there are millions upon millions of "Good Americans". There are Americans who pay their taxes every year, who donate to many, many charities, who are good parents, good friends, good citizens, and just overall good human beings.
The problem with that is...... good doesn't get you into Heaven.
Jesus says in John 14:6 that "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
I am all for being good, but just being good does not give you eternal life. Only life through Jesus can do that.
I once heard a story of an Atheist who was so upset with the Federal government that he took his complaint all the way to the Supreme Court. As he stood there stating his case he said "Your Honor, Jews have Hannukah, Christians have Easter, and Christmas. Why can't the Atheists have their own holiday". The Judge replied "Sir I am afraid you are sadly mistaken. Atheists already have their own holiday. April Fools Day, in Psalm 53:1 it says The fool says in his heart, There is no God". Oh yea (Happy Birthday Missy) LOL
Outstandingly true! How can people who say the do not believe in God celebrate Christmas? I bet they do not boycott Christmas and all of their gifts for the sake of what they do not believe in!!!! I bet they soak it up just like every other person on this earth.
Let's get to the part of this story that bothered me the most. I read an article on this off of www.google.com that said there were numerous ministers' from the Ft. Worth area that had protested these signs so much to the extent that they planned a boycott of the bus line.
No I don't know about you, but I am quite certain that this would/has set a fire in me! Why the boycott? What happened to being a light? Spreading the Gospel of Christ? Why boycott the bus line? Why not ride the bus with a Bible in hand and have people from your church volunteer to ride the bus and spread the love of Jesus? Why not take up an offering to pay for random citizens bus fares to show how much the Love of Jesus can spread like a wildfire?!?!?! I just don't get why we would give in to what Satan wants? Are we not called to put on the whole armor of God? I mean let's beat em at their own game! I wish I had the email of every quote, unquote Pastor that is boycotting that so that they may be challenged to stand up for God, Jesus, for their beliefs and not back down from someone who is so naive as to not believe that someone somewhere had to create the sun in the sky, and tell it to when to rise and when to fall, that someone created the stars and told them where to hang in the sky every single night! Someone needs to show them the Love of Jesus!
Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
I know God is real. I know that God has healed people I know personally that Dr's have said had less than six months to live. How can an Atheist explain that? It is not unexplainable as the may claim. It is FAITH IN GOD, pure and simple. People prayed believing with all of their hearts that God would heal this person and guess what.....He did! Granted their are times like with my Aunt Betty where people prayed their souls out for her healing, but God did not heal her. The reason that I choose to believe is that my Aunt Betty, a devout Christian woman, lived her life to the fullest, served God with all of her heart, accomplished all that God had designed her to do, and probably then some!
As far as my Dad is concerned. He died 19 years ago as of December 7th. As I have mentioned before my Dad would have done anything for anyone. I remember as a young teenager that my Dad while driving to and from Dayton for work would pick up this elderly lady at the same time every week and take her to do her grocery shopping, and then take her home. He met her by seeing her walking down the road and stopped to ask her if she needed a ride. He did this for over a year. A true expression of the love of Jesus!
Take time spread the love of Jesus, you do not know when you may have someone right next to you who is an Atheist or from another religion who does not know the Love of Jesus! Spread His love!
Here is a pic of the bus
A closer look at the banner on the side of the bus:
The first thing I have to say about this post is "THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT". Now before you get all riled up and get upset with me, let me explain! They are very right there are millions upon millions of "Good Americans". There are Americans who pay their taxes every year, who donate to many, many charities, who are good parents, good friends, good citizens, and just overall good human beings.
The problem with that is...... good doesn't get you into Heaven.
Jesus says in John 14:6 that "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
I am all for being good, but just being good does not give you eternal life. Only life through Jesus can do that.
I once heard a story of an Atheist who was so upset with the Federal government that he took his complaint all the way to the Supreme Court. As he stood there stating his case he said "Your Honor, Jews have Hannukah, Christians have Easter, and Christmas. Why can't the Atheists have their own holiday". The Judge replied "Sir I am afraid you are sadly mistaken. Atheists already have their own holiday. April Fools Day, in Psalm 53:1 it says The fool says in his heart, There is no God". Oh yea (Happy Birthday Missy) LOL
Outstandingly true! How can people who say the do not believe in God celebrate Christmas? I bet they do not boycott Christmas and all of their gifts for the sake of what they do not believe in!!!! I bet they soak it up just like every other person on this earth.
Let's get to the part of this story that bothered me the most. I read an article on this off of www.google.com that said there were numerous ministers' from the Ft. Worth area that had protested these signs so much to the extent that they planned a boycott of the bus line.
No I don't know about you, but I am quite certain that this would/has set a fire in me! Why the boycott? What happened to being a light? Spreading the Gospel of Christ? Why boycott the bus line? Why not ride the bus with a Bible in hand and have people from your church volunteer to ride the bus and spread the love of Jesus? Why not take up an offering to pay for random citizens bus fares to show how much the Love of Jesus can spread like a wildfire?!?!?! I just don't get why we would give in to what Satan wants? Are we not called to put on the whole armor of God? I mean let's beat em at their own game! I wish I had the email of every quote, unquote Pastor that is boycotting that so that they may be challenged to stand up for God, Jesus, for their beliefs and not back down from someone who is so naive as to not believe that someone somewhere had to create the sun in the sky, and tell it to when to rise and when to fall, that someone created the stars and told them where to hang in the sky every single night! Someone needs to show them the Love of Jesus!
Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
I know God is real. I know that God has healed people I know personally that Dr's have said had less than six months to live. How can an Atheist explain that? It is not unexplainable as the may claim. It is FAITH IN GOD, pure and simple. People prayed believing with all of their hearts that God would heal this person and guess what.....He did! Granted their are times like with my Aunt Betty where people prayed their souls out for her healing, but God did not heal her. The reason that I choose to believe is that my Aunt Betty, a devout Christian woman, lived her life to the fullest, served God with all of her heart, accomplished all that God had designed her to do, and probably then some!
As far as my Dad is concerned. He died 19 years ago as of December 7th. As I have mentioned before my Dad would have done anything for anyone. I remember as a young teenager that my Dad while driving to and from Dayton for work would pick up this elderly lady at the same time every week and take her to do her grocery shopping, and then take her home. He met her by seeing her walking down the road and stopped to ask her if she needed a ride. He did this for over a year. A true expression of the love of Jesus!
Take time spread the love of Jesus, you do not know when you may have someone right next to you who is an Atheist or from another religion who does not know the Love of Jesus! Spread His love!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
I don't know much, but I know I love You!
Ok soooooo, soooooooooo much has been going on lately and to be honest I have been so stressed out I have pulled out all of my hair! Ha!!!!
Seriously though, with everything going on most of which stress I had brought on myself I have realized something that I have been told my entire life and it is nice to be reminded of from time to time! God is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS Faithful, He ALWAYS has you back, front, top, left side, right side, and especially your bottom covered!
I know my wife doesn't like me throwing all of my business out there regarding my Child Support situation, but I see this as a huge tool to teach others just how faithful God really is in our lives!
Over the summer Diana and I had been running ragged with things from Church to Soccer Practice to general life exsistence. Needless to say I was BURNT OUT! Tired of running every night, tired of being tired every night. BURNT OUT! I needed a break!
At the end of August Austin's Mother filed a complaint with the court for me not paying "timely" payments to Child Support (not the fact that it wasn't being paid, just not on a weekly basis, my total amount for the year had been paid just sometimes it was all at once and sometimes it was weekly). So on October 25th she had her day in court to complain on this matter. My company that I have been working for failed to pay some of my payments on time as well, which the Judge had frowned upon! So on October 25th, he put me on GPS monitoring! I had never been on this before! Better than jail I suppose.
So for the next six weeks the only place I was able to go was to work, the gas station, and home! That is it! God knew I needed a break, God also knew that during this downtime that I would be spending more time almost daily in His presence!I have honestly spent more time in His presence over the last 6 weeks than maybe the last 6 years, and I am loving it. It has become a habitual thing now, and it will always be a part of me now. Whether I was reading my Bibles', reading the Word on (I love this site), or by reading this amazing life changing/challenging book called "Crazy Love". I have thoroughly enjoyed being on "house arrest". A pleasant vacation! LOL
Anyways today I was released from the GPS, and from any further action at this point "Praise God", and I went out on the town for the first time in 6 weeks with my daughter, and my beautiful wife to see "Tangled". Awesome time tonight.
Anyways like I have mentioned in some of my previous posts I have been inspired to write on some odd topics, and these ideas have been flowing from the weirdest places. So for some reason this song just popped into my head this evening after we got home, and I was like this is exactly how I feel about God. I don't know much about what He has for me, what He is doing in me, but I do know that I love Him in all his wonderful splendor, and that is all I need to know! God is ALWAYS FAITHFUL! ALWAYS! (Did I mentiont that already?)
Seriously though, with everything going on most of which stress I had brought on myself I have realized something that I have been told my entire life and it is nice to be reminded of from time to time! God is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS Faithful, He ALWAYS has you back, front, top, left side, right side, and especially your bottom covered!
I know my wife doesn't like me throwing all of my business out there regarding my Child Support situation, but I see this as a huge tool to teach others just how faithful God really is in our lives!
Over the summer Diana and I had been running ragged with things from Church to Soccer Practice to general life exsistence. Needless to say I was BURNT OUT! Tired of running every night, tired of being tired every night. BURNT OUT! I needed a break!
At the end of August Austin's Mother filed a complaint with the court for me not paying "timely" payments to Child Support (not the fact that it wasn't being paid, just not on a weekly basis, my total amount for the year had been paid just sometimes it was all at once and sometimes it was weekly). So on October 25th she had her day in court to complain on this matter. My company that I have been working for failed to pay some of my payments on time as well, which the Judge had frowned upon! So on October 25th, he put me on GPS monitoring! I had never been on this before! Better than jail I suppose.
So for the next six weeks the only place I was able to go was to work, the gas station, and home! That is it! God knew I needed a break, God also knew that during this downtime that I would be spending more time almost daily in His presence!I have honestly spent more time in His presence over the last 6 weeks than maybe the last 6 years, and I am loving it. It has become a habitual thing now, and it will always be a part of me now. Whether I was reading my Bibles', reading the Word on (I love this site), or by reading this amazing life changing/challenging book called "Crazy Love". I have thoroughly enjoyed being on "house arrest". A pleasant vacation! LOL
Anyways today I was released from the GPS, and from any further action at this point "Praise God", and I went out on the town for the first time in 6 weeks with my daughter, and my beautiful wife to see "Tangled". Awesome time tonight.
Anyways like I have mentioned in some of my previous posts I have been inspired to write on some odd topics, and these ideas have been flowing from the weirdest places. So for some reason this song just popped into my head this evening after we got home, and I was like this is exactly how I feel about God. I don't know much about what He has for me, what He is doing in me, but I do know that I love Him in all his wonderful splendor, and that is all I need to know! God is ALWAYS FAITHFUL! ALWAYS! (Did I mentiont that already?)
Friday, December 3, 2010
A gift that keeps on giving!
Well Christmas is almost upon us. 22 more days as of today, and at this time of the year there are always friends who are in the hustle and bustle of running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off versus taking the time to enjoy the things that absolutely matter the most!
Christmas for me is always one of the most difficult times of the year. In 1991, my Dad passed away 18 days before Christmas. So for me it is sometimes difficult to be in the Christmas spirit. I know this aggravates my wife to no end, but what can I do? I always think back to that Christmas and how I felt and I guess in someways I make myself relive those feelings all over again as a way of remembering him and remembering where I have come from since then.
The Christmas before he passed (1990) away my Mother and I had bought him a very nice NAS Bible and a fancy smancy leather cover for it. He read it quite frequently for the next year and made many signifigant marks insinde of it. When he passed in December of 91, my Mom gave me the Bible and entrusted me with keeping it and I have had it ever since. This is just one example of a gift that keeps on giving. I have many more!
My Dad was the best gift giver I know, aside from God. He taught me more about giving than anyone else ever could have. He loved to give. He gave of himself, his time, his money, his heart, his home, his food, and he would have given his shirt off his back if he needed to. Our house growing up was never empty when I was growing up. Someone was always either at our house for dinner, staying with us because they had nowhere to go, and for a short time my Mom and Dad took care of Elderly people in our home.
I remember as a child I absolutely loved G.I. Joe, more like obsessed about it! I wanted anything I could get my hands on and my Dad supported my habit in a bad way! I mean from 1982- 1985 I had EVERYTHING G.I. Joe. This was my favorite gift as a child:
As an adult I love to give too! I do my best to give in all the ways that my Dad did, and sometimes in even more ways! I like to think that I am as good of a giver as my Dad.
What I truly want to be though is as good of a giver as my Father!
It is hard to accomplish this feat though. He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
I obviously cannot give the gifts that He has given us, BUT I can absolutely share them with others. I believe my best gifts are the the gifts of encouragement, and hospitality. I love sharing my home with people, and I love giving hugs to encourage people and uplifting them! Most of all I can share the Gift of Jesus with others!
Look at this awesome gift He not only gave me, but He also gave it to you, and you and you, and (well you get the picture):
This is the Ultimate Gift That Keeps on Giving! This gift brought Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love to a world that is and was lost without it! This gift brought everyone one of us the gift of Salvation, the gift of freedom, the gift of Compassion, the gift of never ending Grace, bottom line this gift is AWESOME! It keeps on giving too! Jesus is alive in our hearts for us to share him with others, not to keep it all bottled up for ourselves.
Have you shared with someone you love or care about the Gift of Jesus? I mean I would rather have that gift this Christmas than any other gift I could possible get, and you never know....
If you share that gift with someone else you may change their life FOREVER!
God Bless everyone! Have a safe and Merry Christmas!
Remember Jesus loves you and so do I!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Can you let you be free for Him?
Ok so as I have mentioned quite a few times during my blogs, a lot has been going on with me and messages have kind of been flowing to me from all sorts of weird avenues! This one happens to be from the movie Elf, which is one of my favorite Christmas movies! There is soooooo so much you can learn from Buddy the Elf.
First there is the innocence (like a child) of how much excitement Buddy shows over the fact that Santa is coming to the "North Pole" @ Gimbles. It is amazing how Buddy is going nuts because Santa will be there shortly! Man, wouldn't it be awesome if we acted like this every time we knew we were going to experience or witness Jesus at work? I mean I for one love going to church on Sunday's but I cannot remember there ever being a time when I screamed "Jeeeeeeesus!!!!!!!!" I get to go worship "Jeeeeeeeeeeesus!!!!!" Watch this clip and see Buddy's excitement and gauge yourself to this standard and see if you are in the same spot that I am on this topic? I want to be this excited for Christ!
Then next part of the movie that spoke to me is how Buddy is not embarrassed by the fact that he full believes he is an Elf so much to the extent that he offends others by it! Buddy tells everyone where he is from, why he is in NY and who his father. He is not scared one bit by what others may think of him or how they may treat him. He expresses his belief freely and does not look back or regret ever doing it or saying anything. Take a look at this clip.
Much later in the movie Santa crashes in Central Park and needs help fixing his sleigh! Who else but Buddy can come to the rescue. In the process of Buddy helping Santa, Buddy's father Walter runs into Santa and even after meeting him face to face still has difficulty showing Christmas cheer when Santa needs it to make his sleigh fly again.
How many times have you or I experienced Jesus face to face and within minutes or hours have simply found ourselves having difficulty praising Him or even acknowledging Him in anyway! I know I have. We have to do better as a Church of remembering at all times that He is worthy of all of our praise. Not just when we want to, but when He deserves it. Which is every single minute of every single day! I mean isn't the fact that we are still breathing reason enough to offer praises up to Him? Jesus is the King of King and the Lord of Lords, and I want to be Buddy the Elf excited for Him on a daily basis!!!
First there is the innocence (like a child) of how much excitement Buddy shows over the fact that Santa is coming to the "North Pole" @ Gimbles. It is amazing how Buddy is going nuts because Santa will be there shortly! Man, wouldn't it be awesome if we acted like this every time we knew we were going to experience or witness Jesus at work? I mean I for one love going to church on Sunday's but I cannot remember there ever being a time when I screamed "Jeeeeeeesus!!!!!!!!" I get to go worship "Jeeeeeeeeeeesus!!!!!" Watch this clip and see Buddy's excitement and gauge yourself to this standard and see if you are in the same spot that I am on this topic? I want to be this excited for Christ!
Then next part of the movie that spoke to me is how Buddy is not embarrassed by the fact that he full believes he is an Elf so much to the extent that he offends others by it! Buddy tells everyone where he is from, why he is in NY and who his father. He is not scared one bit by what others may think of him or how they may treat him. He expresses his belief freely and does not look back or regret ever doing it or saying anything. Take a look at this clip.
Much later in the movie Santa crashes in Central Park and needs help fixing his sleigh! Who else but Buddy can come to the rescue. In the process of Buddy helping Santa, Buddy's father Walter runs into Santa and even after meeting him face to face still has difficulty showing Christmas cheer when Santa needs it to make his sleigh fly again.
How many times have you or I experienced Jesus face to face and within minutes or hours have simply found ourselves having difficulty praising Him or even acknowledging Him in anyway! I know I have. We have to do better as a Church of remembering at all times that He is worthy of all of our praise. Not just when we want to, but when He deserves it. Which is every single minute of every single day! I mean isn't the fact that we are still breathing reason enough to offer praises up to Him? Jesus is the King of King and the Lord of Lords, and I want to be Buddy the Elf excited for Him on a daily basis!!!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Hokey Pokey is what it is all about because the Bible tells us so!
Ok so in my last blog I hinted that there would be a blog about the "Hokey Pokey", and here it comes!
Listen to the song and get it fresh in your head. I am sure everyone has heard this more in their life than they want to, but one more time will not hurt! But I bet most of you have not heard one quite like this one I am using only for the humor portion of it!
Sorry about the title of the video! Trust me it was better than most of the very funny ones!
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Unfortunately far too many of us do not put our whole self in. We either put ourselves in half way or sometimes we just do not even put our arm or our foot in, we are too afraid of what that might mean. Mostly afraid of what we may have to give up to do what God wants of us or what we feel we should be doing for His kingdom!
How is it that we can accept a Savior who gave His everything for our sins, THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, but we ourselves make it so different to give up little things in our life that has tremendous impact on others.
An example: Many of you know that I am an Ohio State Football fanatic, probably a huge understatement. Nonetheless, a couple of years ago Axiom was putting together a Live Nativity to begin of all days the day of the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. To me missing that game is a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE sacrifice, but in comparison to what God has done for me, it is VERY petty! God put Himself into human form (Jesus) to come to earth be born into a life of persecution and ridicule to save people who rejected Him and to be honest hated Him and blatantly cursed His very existence.
Ok so my sacrifice for me was pathetic. A lot of people would look at it and say WOW Scott gave up the Buckeye game man how could he do that. I am telling you that pales in comparison to what sacrifices I am willing to make to do what God instructs me to do. I believe that God is telling me to put off getting a degree in Business Management to get an education to serve Him. I am willing to do it because even though I may not know what His plans are currently, I believe with all of my heart that whatever God has for me is far better than anything that I could ever imagine.
The Hokey Pokey talks about putting our arm in and the shaking some things up, then our leg and the shaking it up some more, then our head, our booty, and eventually our whole self! What a concept. Can you put your whole self into anything? How about anything that God is leading? God is doing magnificent things in His people on a daily basis and if you are not enjoying His blessing you are truly missing out.
A couple of years ago I started putting myself IN! The problem was that I only put a part of myself in! Maybe a tip toe it an ankle at best, then Satan started filling my head will all kinds of garbage and insecurities that I normally do not have! It cause serious problems with not only me, but the body I was involved in!
In 1 Corinthians 12 it says:
Unity and Diversity in the Body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
This verse is referring to the Church as a body. A body that has to be in ONE UNITY with each other. So if my friend and brother Dan Simpson is the foot and he is putting himself all in or if Jared Taylor is the hand and he is putting himself all in and if someone else was the head and they were putting themselves all in and if I were the elbow and I decide that I can only put myself in when it is convenient for me........how is it going to work unless the WHOLE BODY is in it together. Far too often there are people putting themselves on the sidelines because of fear, and because they let the Devil convince them they are not fit to serve or are not worthy in God's eyes to serve and that my friends is absolute hogwash!!!! God loves you exactly the way you are, faults and all and you know what He knows each and every one of them, but that is why He sent Jesus to Earth....to cover us with His never ending love and most importantly his abundant grace! See it all makes sense now, the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about! Eventually you will have to put your WHOLE self in!
Listen to the song and get it fresh in your head. I am sure everyone has heard this more in their life than they want to, but one more time will not hurt! But I bet most of you have not heard one quite like this one I am using only for the humor portion of it!
Sorry about the title of the video! Trust me it was better than most of the very funny ones!
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Unfortunately far too many of us do not put our whole self in. We either put ourselves in half way or sometimes we just do not even put our arm or our foot in, we are too afraid of what that might mean. Mostly afraid of what we may have to give up to do what God wants of us or what we feel we should be doing for His kingdom!
How is it that we can accept a Savior who gave His everything for our sins, THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, but we ourselves make it so different to give up little things in our life that has tremendous impact on others.
An example: Many of you know that I am an Ohio State Football fanatic, probably a huge understatement. Nonetheless, a couple of years ago Axiom was putting together a Live Nativity to begin of all days the day of the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. To me missing that game is a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE sacrifice, but in comparison to what God has done for me, it is VERY petty! God put Himself into human form (Jesus) to come to earth be born into a life of persecution and ridicule to save people who rejected Him and to be honest hated Him and blatantly cursed His very existence.
Ok so my sacrifice for me was pathetic. A lot of people would look at it and say WOW Scott gave up the Buckeye game man how could he do that. I am telling you that pales in comparison to what sacrifices I am willing to make to do what God instructs me to do. I believe that God is telling me to put off getting a degree in Business Management to get an education to serve Him. I am willing to do it because even though I may not know what His plans are currently, I believe with all of my heart that whatever God has for me is far better than anything that I could ever imagine.
The Hokey Pokey talks about putting our arm in and the shaking some things up, then our leg and the shaking it up some more, then our head, our booty, and eventually our whole self! What a concept. Can you put your whole self into anything? How about anything that God is leading? God is doing magnificent things in His people on a daily basis and if you are not enjoying His blessing you are truly missing out.
A couple of years ago I started putting myself IN! The problem was that I only put a part of myself in! Maybe a tip toe it an ankle at best, then Satan started filling my head will all kinds of garbage and insecurities that I normally do not have! It cause serious problems with not only me, but the body I was involved in!
In 1 Corinthians 12 it says:
Unity and Diversity in the Body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
This verse is referring to the Church as a body. A body that has to be in ONE UNITY with each other. So if my friend and brother Dan Simpson is the foot and he is putting himself all in or if Jared Taylor is the hand and he is putting himself all in and if someone else was the head and they were putting themselves all in and if I were the elbow and I decide that I can only put myself in when it is convenient for me........how is it going to work unless the WHOLE BODY is in it together. Far too often there are people putting themselves on the sidelines because of fear, and because they let the Devil convince them they are not fit to serve or are not worthy in God's eyes to serve and that my friends is absolute hogwash!!!! God loves you exactly the way you are, faults and all and you know what He knows each and every one of them, but that is why He sent Jesus to Earth....to cover us with His never ending love and most importantly his abundant grace! See it all makes sense now, the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about! Eventually you will have to put your WHOLE self in!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Hearing God call you is a scary thing, but it's ok!
A few months ago I was scrolling down through the pages of Facebook like and other traditional day and came across a comment from someone who had left the status "What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?". I dwelled on that saying for a little while and not really sure why but the Lord began to speak to me on how to use that as a way to deliver His word (that topic is coming on a later Blog) as I feel the topic I am posting on today is a little more of a pressing matter than the logistics of the Hokey Pokey, but the do kind of go together! As you will see at a later time.
So after a few weeks started going by I kept getting more and more and even more of these topical (sermon/ministry opportunity) ideas and was not sure what I was to do with them or where I was to share them. Right before all of this had begun I had started looking into furthering my education. I had enrolled in Colorado Technical University and was planning on attending with the idea of getting a Bachelor's degree in Business Management. That was the plan anyways. A few weeks of setting things up went by and one day at soccer practice I was talking to one of the soccer mom's about my education plans and discovered she was going to Indiana Wesleyan University (A Christian College) and I was intrigued and she said they offer the same programs but were a little cheaper. So I went home that night and checked it out and discovered that they offered degrees in Christian Ministries. Now I love serving the Lord, but I had never even thought of doing it full time or as a career, but God in His infinite wisdom may have other plans for me. I started dwelling on that and praying and seeking Him and everything in me kept drawing me toward withdrawing from CTU and enrolling at IWU. I felt God telling me that this is where I want you and this is where I need you and that I have brought you through everything in your life to get to this point so that you can use your experiences to teach others what not to do and what My will is for them.
So I listened. I have applied for IWU and still have a few more loose ends to tie up before Feb 8th when my classes will begin, but I can honestly say I have never been more excited about school!!!! BUT......I have not always felt that way and what I am going to share with you today is a glimpse of how hearing God and wanting to follow His plan for us can be totally different than what we want to do! Think of it like you have a teenager and you ask them to do the dishes for you or take out the trash? Do they ever do it the first time you ask? Do they do it without mumbling or complaining? Most of the time the answer to this question will be NO! Not always but most of the time. I have a 15 year old who tries to negotiate ALL THE TIME, which gets annoying. Just do what I ask when I ask you to, I say. I can just hear God saying that to me as I was fighting Him on this one! LOL.
I used to listen to this old Bill Cosby vinyl (yes I said vinyl) album all the time when I was a kid. It was one my Dad owned and I absolutely loved it. It probably has a lot to do with why I love stand up comedy so much now in my adult life.
Please take the time to listen to this, it will all make sense when I am done!
How often do we respond to God the way Bill portrays Noah to in this clip?! I know I respond this way far more often than I should! Now I know that this probably is not how Noah really responded to the Lord, but it is very similar to the way the Bible describes on how Jonah responds to the Lord. He tried to run and hide from the Lord, see here in Jonah 1:1-3:
Jonah Flees From the LORD
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Jonah's punishment for running: he spent 3 days in the belly of a fish/whale depending on where you read it lol. 3 days! that had to of been the nastiest 3 days of his life! Guess what on the 3rd day when the fish coughed him up on shore. He did what the Lord had asked of him this time! He learned his lesson, I tell ya!
Fact is most people especially Christians do not even act upon God's will for them due to fear! Do not let this be you! In Romans 8 it says if God is for us then who can be against us?
In the Cosby track it shares a point of view from Noah about his neighbors and what they might think of him for doing what God wants (I say who cares what they think), but this is what the Bible says about it!
Isaiah 41:10,
10'Do not (A)fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God
I will strengthen you, surely (B)I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous (C)right hand.'
I was kind of battling with the topic of is this what I am supposed to do? I was letting doubt and the devil get in my head and immeadiately dove into the word to find the answers and this is one I came up with.
In Ephesians 1:11it says: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
Isn't it pretty cool that God says we were predestined for His purpose. Not for our own or our spouses, friends, parents, or neighbors, but for HIS PURPOSE! WOW! I am made to serve God and to do His will on this earth not anything else! Don't get me wrong you can do His will from an job, but the better question would be....are you?
If you're not, it isn't the end of the world! Have you ever heard someone say "God doesn't make junk!" It is true.
Ephesians 2:10
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
There are a couple of keys to success when setting for to doing what God has told you to do!
1. Remember that Christians have each other's backs! If you go off course or are being attacked by Satan (because he WILL attack you) remember that you have brothers and sisters in Christ that will pray for you, fellowship with you, and just generally be there for you!
Acts 18:10
10For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
2. Most of the time we lose sight of the fact that this is God who is calling us to do these things! It is the same God that we believe created every grain of sand piece by piece, that knows the number of every hair on our head. That made every star in the sky and makes the sun rise every morning and fall every night! C'mon people it is God!!!!! He can do whatever he wants to do in you, to you, through you, or your family, your church, to every single detail that you cannot even begin to fathom! It is God!
2 Corinthians 5:7 " We walk by faith, and not by sight"
Would it really be called faith if we could see what God was going to do through us?
So after a few weeks started going by I kept getting more and more and even more of these topical (sermon/ministry opportunity) ideas and was not sure what I was to do with them or where I was to share them. Right before all of this had begun I had started looking into furthering my education. I had enrolled in Colorado Technical University and was planning on attending with the idea of getting a Bachelor's degree in Business Management. That was the plan anyways. A few weeks of setting things up went by and one day at soccer practice I was talking to one of the soccer mom's about my education plans and discovered she was going to Indiana Wesleyan University (A Christian College) and I was intrigued and she said they offer the same programs but were a little cheaper. So I went home that night and checked it out and discovered that they offered degrees in Christian Ministries. Now I love serving the Lord, but I had never even thought of doing it full time or as a career, but God in His infinite wisdom may have other plans for me. I started dwelling on that and praying and seeking Him and everything in me kept drawing me toward withdrawing from CTU and enrolling at IWU. I felt God telling me that this is where I want you and this is where I need you and that I have brought you through everything in your life to get to this point so that you can use your experiences to teach others what not to do and what My will is for them.
So I listened. I have applied for IWU and still have a few more loose ends to tie up before Feb 8th when my classes will begin, but I can honestly say I have never been more excited about school!!!! BUT......I have not always felt that way and what I am going to share with you today is a glimpse of how hearing God and wanting to follow His plan for us can be totally different than what we want to do! Think of it like you have a teenager and you ask them to do the dishes for you or take out the trash? Do they ever do it the first time you ask? Do they do it without mumbling or complaining? Most of the time the answer to this question will be NO! Not always but most of the time. I have a 15 year old who tries to negotiate ALL THE TIME, which gets annoying. Just do what I ask when I ask you to, I say. I can just hear God saying that to me as I was fighting Him on this one! LOL.
I used to listen to this old Bill Cosby vinyl (yes I said vinyl) album all the time when I was a kid. It was one my Dad owned and I absolutely loved it. It probably has a lot to do with why I love stand up comedy so much now in my adult life.
Please take the time to listen to this, it will all make sense when I am done!
How often do we respond to God the way Bill portrays Noah to in this clip?! I know I respond this way far more often than I should! Now I know that this probably is not how Noah really responded to the Lord, but it is very similar to the way the Bible describes on how Jonah responds to the Lord. He tried to run and hide from the Lord, see here in Jonah 1:1-3:
Jonah Flees From the LORD
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Jonah's punishment for running: he spent 3 days in the belly of a fish/whale depending on where you read it lol. 3 days! that had to of been the nastiest 3 days of his life! Guess what on the 3rd day when the fish coughed him up on shore. He did what the Lord had asked of him this time! He learned his lesson, I tell ya!
Fact is most people especially Christians do not even act upon God's will for them due to fear! Do not let this be you! In Romans 8 it says if God is for us then who can be against us?
In the Cosby track it shares a point of view from Noah about his neighbors and what they might think of him for doing what God wants (I say who cares what they think), but this is what the Bible says about it!
Isaiah 41:10,
10'Do not (A)fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God
I will strengthen you, surely (B)I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous (C)right hand.'
I was kind of battling with the topic of is this what I am supposed to do? I was letting doubt and the devil get in my head and immeadiately dove into the word to find the answers and this is one I came up with.
In Ephesians 1:11it says: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
Isn't it pretty cool that God says we were predestined for His purpose. Not for our own or our spouses, friends, parents, or neighbors, but for HIS PURPOSE! WOW! I am made to serve God and to do His will on this earth not anything else! Don't get me wrong you can do His will from an job, but the better question would be....are you?
If you're not, it isn't the end of the world! Have you ever heard someone say "God doesn't make junk!" It is true.
Ephesians 2:10
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
There are a couple of keys to success when setting for to doing what God has told you to do!
1. Remember that Christians have each other's backs! If you go off course or are being attacked by Satan (because he WILL attack you) remember that you have brothers and sisters in Christ that will pray for you, fellowship with you, and just generally be there for you!
Acts 18:10
10For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
2. Most of the time we lose sight of the fact that this is God who is calling us to do these things! It is the same God that we believe created every grain of sand piece by piece, that knows the number of every hair on our head. That made every star in the sky and makes the sun rise every morning and fall every night! C'mon people it is God!!!!! He can do whatever he wants to do in you, to you, through you, or your family, your church, to every single detail that you cannot even begin to fathom! It is God!
2 Corinthians 5:7 " We walk by faith, and not by sight"
Would it really be called faith if we could see what God was going to do through us?
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