Posts Tagged ‘heaven’

Pride vs. Humility, You get to choose…

Posted: May 10, 2011 in Heaven Bound
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If you’re like me, the older I get, the more I learn, and the                                                                                    more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know…but that’s another blog…This article is about my continuing revelation of how God constructed this whole “personal relationship with Jesus” and why I think it’s so hard for men to stay consistent. Newsflash, yours (and mine) personal relationship with Jesus Christ must begin with humility first…Yes, I said Humility. But the problem is that “being humble” works directly against how we feel about ourselves while we live on earth. Face it guys, it is tough to be humble, not to mention you and I see pride and ego exhibited everyday of our lives. A baseball player hits a monster home run and he just stands there and admires it as it leaves the ballpark…A body builder stands in front of the mirror and just stares…at himself…I could go on and on…

We live in such a “Me, all about my ego” focused world so as a result, it’s very easy to assimilate into that culture as Christian men because that is what we are surrounded by. Honestly guys, if you get up each day and don’t think about your relationship with Christ and just plow into your day with you at the helm, I can truly say you will find yourself falling victim to prideful behavior. Listen to how The Message translation of the Bible talks about this in Proverbs 16:18, First pride, then the crash – the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. That is pretty self-explanatory isn’t it?. God doesn’t have any place for pride or egos in His Kingdom. It’s all about HIM.

What you and I see around us here on earth was NOT the plan God had in mind for us…sin got in the way and it corrupted everything from early on (Genesis 3 to be exact). As hard as this may be to grasp, pride is NOT from God. It was NOT created by God, rather it is from Satan and he is the one selling that crap to all of us through things we see on television, or online, or at the gym…Its everywhere conditioning you slowly…Pride IS a wall keeping you from a relationship with God and blocks your ability to communicate with Him. Once you reach a point that you are so full of yourself that you don’t think you need God, then he has you right where he wants you…and Guys, if you have read Revelation, that is NOT a place you want to be.

Why am I writing about this? The main reason is I care about you guys. Remember the Bible also tells us in James 4:10 to Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. As I have told you before, NOW IS THE TIME to get right with God Guys! You can see the signs all around you just as easily as I can. The time is short and Satan is working overtime to pull as many men and their families down as he can. Where do you plan on spending eternity?

I am NOT being melodramatic about this topic either. The signs are clear if you take the time to read and understand them. PLEASE…Do not let your ego be the reason you walk away from what I am telling you. You maybe very good at something…your job, or a sport, or something else..but that skill is a gift from God and if you thank Him for it rather than act like it came from you we just might be playing a pick up game on that Heavenly court in the sky…I’ll meet you there…

You are Not Alone…

Posted: April 16, 2011 in Father, Husband, Inspirational
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I had lunch with a friend of mine this past week because we hadn’t seen each other in a couple of months and we wanted to reconnect. I knew this particular friend has had a tough go of things lately. He had been in and out of jobs for the last 4 years due to no fault of his own. He was in a business that was simply more susceptible to the economy than most. What struck me though, was how far this guy had fallen. Just so you understand, my friend has a way about him that is infectious. He is FUN to be around and we both enjoy teasing our older kids. Our families enjoy one another…He is an all around great guy however, the guy I had lunch with this week, was NOT the same man. This guy was broken and he is angry at God for constantly being out of work. His children are grown up and away at college so he finds himself alone most of the time which only make matters worse. He told me he still goes to church on Sundays, but he doesn’t listen anymore. He feels as if God has abandoned him…

I know there are a great deal of men, just like my friend, who feel this same way. They continually ask themselves, “whats the point?” “Why am I going through this?”, “ I AM ALONE”.

Guys, as one who has walked in the valley of the shadow of despair at the loss of my only daughter Kylie, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! God will never leave you or forget you! You DO have someone to hold onto during your storm and his name is Jesus Christ. The purpose of this article is to remind…and to encourage you if you happen to be in this place also.

Lets start with the Bible, Gods Word, here on earth, given to us. I’ve heard guys say, “those are just words, what can they do for me right now when I’m in the middle of this?” Trust me, they are not just words, they are power and strength you, and your family, can tap into during the tough times.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 tells us to:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

What these verses tell me is their will be things that happen in our lives that we won’t understand…It wont make any sense. Can you tell me why God decided to take my beautiful 12-year-old daughter? I don’t get that and I never will but I’ve come to realize that my trying to understand why?…that is NOT my job. My job is to completely trust in Him…even though I don’t understand why. Do you remember the story of Peter when he got out of the boat and started walking on the water to meet Jesus? (Matthew 14:29-30) He was actually walking on water until he took his eyes off of Christ and then what happened? He started sinking fast…and what was his reaction? He cried, “Lord save me!” which is exactly what we are supposed to do…

But maybe that is the crux of the problem. We are guys and we don’t need any help…Isn’t that right? Well I can tell you that David, one of the greatest warriors that ever lived in history, he didn’t feel that way. In fact David ran for his life for over 10 years because Saul was out to kill him but yet he still said this in Psalms 31: 13-14:

For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”

What I am saying is this…Now is the time to set your eyes on Him. Don’t waver. Look up to heaven and say “Lord, I do NOT understand any of this crap that is happening to me. I am struggling mightily with all of this everyday…But I know this, You are on the throne and You don’t make mistakes and even though this (whatever “this” is for you) makes no sense, I am going to keep my eyes fixed on You and my trust completely in You so that whatever happens, we are in this together and we will get through this…together…

Guys, I’m not an evangelist or a Bible scholar who teaches in a university…I’m just a regular guy, like you, trying to make my way in this world. My answers are not scholarly, they are from my heart from reading God’s word and they have helped me during my own pain on this earth. I know many of you out there are hurting and please understand that my words are meant to encourage you. You can make it through this and I will continue to pray that God draws near to you during your time of need…

Be strong my brother…”weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning”…

Yep, you guessed it, David said that too…

Let me leave you with one more thing:

Satan! Is that all you got?

Posted: February 12, 2011 in Tough Times
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My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness… 2 Corinthians 12:9

 

These are Christs words to Paul as he wrestled with his “thorn in the flesh” which many scholars believe was bad eyesight. Even though Paul pleaded with God 3 times to remove this deficiency from him, God refused which is when we see Jesus make reference to the verse above…

 

I think we can say that the “weakness” Christ refers to here are the low points or the difficult times we experience along life’s path. I hope this isn’t a surprise to you but accepting Christ into your life doesn’t negate hardships. In fact, I believe we are presented with more challenges or “grace opportunities” as Christians simply because God wants us to learn to trust Him during the times we need him the most. I don’t know about you, but I have a tough time with trust sometimes. How do you handle adversity when its thrown your way? You see I am one of those people who have written about and believe that our Lords desire is to surround himself in heaven with people who understand and practice God’s power being made perfect in my weakness. In other words I believe, God, wants to hang out with the folks who stood toe to toe against Satan during life’s battle and said, “Is that all you got?” Frankly, I have to admit, so do I…

 

But back to business; if you recall, the first part of this same verse talks about Gods grace being sufficient; Sometimes I have struggled to understand what grace really was to me? Is it a “get out of jail free card?” Or is it just a friend helping me back up when I fall? Then I read recently an easier way to think of grace. Grace is truly the “presence of God” in our lives. Try substituting “presence of God” next time you read grace and you will see what I mean. Grace is God’s physical strength from heaven given to you and me when we call on Him. I like that a lot. When I call on him, you can bet I am wrestling with something and need His help. Isn’t it encouraging that in our weakest points ever, God’s strength is made perfect in us? He is there! We are NOT alone. His grace, or His presence, is there to see us through the difficult path.

 

I truly hope you can be encouraged by these words. Those verses have changed my own life forever.

 

I pray for God’s grace in your life, each and every day…

Is my Salvation assured? Am I going to Heaven?

Posted: January 9, 2011 in Heaven Bound
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In this day of Blogs and numbered lists about how to improve my abs, or save money from home, I thought I would create the same thing for what I think are the most important questions any of us should be asking ourselves…

Is MY Salvation assured? Am I going to Heaven?

I think it is a very safe bet to assume that if I asked you if you want to go Heaven your answer would be yes. I mean, who wouldn’t? As Christians, we became believers with the promise of Heaven in our collective futures.

Some of you have been Christians for your entire lives and are still banking your eternal future on that single experience when you were 5 years old. If that describes your circumstance, then you are making a grave mistake.

What if I could provide you a list of 9 points, that if followed, you would be assured of eternal life, would you be interested?

Here they are for your review and consideration;

  1. Believe in the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 1 John 5:13 – I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life.
  2. Honor Christ as Lord of your life and obey His commands. 1 John 2:3-5 – We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him.
  3. Love God the Father, and Jesus the Son and overcome the influence of the world. 1 John 2:15-16 – Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.
  4. Consistently and persistently practice righteousness. 1 John 2:29 – If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
  5. Love our brothers and our sisters. 1 John 3:14, 19 – We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.
  6. Be aware of the Holy Spirit within us. 1 John 3:24 – Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
  7. We must strive to follow Jesus and live as He lived. 1 John 2:6 – Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
  8. We must believe, accept and remain in the Living Christ. 1 John 2:24 – See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.
  9. We must possess a true longing and unwavering hope for Christ’s return to receive us into heaven. 1 John 3:2-3 – Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be, has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 

Reference: Full Life Study Bible, NIV, copyright 1988­

So here they are, all in one place for you to read them and memorize them.

Having read through them myself a few times and understanding the “heart condition” required to maintain them effectively…I can tell you this, follow these few points and I will get to see you in Heaven.

Looking forward to it…

Seriously…The snares of death?

Posted: December 19, 2010 in Devotional, Heaven Bound
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The alarm just went off…time to get up…time to start your day…

When we actively seek God FIRST, each day, the Bible tells us in Matthew 6:33 that “all these things will be given to you as well.” What are “these things” Jesus is referring to in this verse? I believe they are the many different “nuggets of knowledge” that God chooses to give us as we move through the journey of life. Another word for these nuggets might be just plain old experience.

To clarify from personal experience, I have learned a better understanding of the humility necessary to seek God. In James 4:10 we are told to “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up”. When we are truly humble before God, we have as I call it, a “condition of the heart” necessary to seek Him.

We cannot approach God with pride or arrogancs. It will not work, I know, I have tried it. Just about the time we think we are so very good, God knocks us down a few notches and reminds us who He is and that pride goeth before the fall.

He will lift us up but that requires true humility, something that we are taught in today’s society really isn’t necessary. Take a look at Proverbs 22:4 where it says “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life”…that kind of sums things up.

A consequence of that “condition of the heart” I referred to earlier is recognizing the necessity of fearing God. Not the sheer horror frightening type of fear they show us at a haunted house during Halloween, but rather a glimpse of how incredibly amazing the creator of our universe is. That is the kind of reverent fear God requires of us.

We are told in Proverbs 14:27 “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.” This may seem like a contradiction but the fear of God I spoke about earlier is the key to this verse. By keeping our eyes focused on Him…First, we receive a Fountain of Life, which can be interpreted in many positive ways for a Christian man and secondly, the fear of God turns a man away from the snares of death because true Holy Fear…frankly…keeps us from sinning.

Take a look at Exodus 20:20 where Moses said to the children of Israel, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning”…

Guys, this was not meant to be complex at all, it’s God’s word, simply meant to encourage you by reminding us that God requires humility from us everyday and with humility comes the Fear of God which will keep us from sinning and save us from the snares of death.

That, my friends, is your ticket to heaven…

Until next time guys-

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