Bite and Devour!

This is not the sight you want to see after recovery that big deer you shot. There is nothing more depressing than finding your trophy only to see that it has been tore apart by wild beast. I am sure this is what Christ thinks about when he see His church tearing apart one another. The Apostle Paul reminds his readers of this in Galatians 5:15. The churches in Galatia were struggling with legalism (man made religion that takes the focus off of God and on to man) Paul has reminded them several times that there is no other Gospel other than that of Christ. Often times we in the church forget what we are doing. We have great programs and we draw a crowd, but we forget Christ. In Revelation 3:20 Christ says "behold I stand at the door and knock" what he is saying is that the church has put him on the outside! He is standing outside knocking to come back in. To often we turn from the cross and turn to ourselves. Paul warns us here that if we do that we will only eat one another! This is what he says "If you bite and devour one another beware lest you be consumed by one another." This is a warning for all of us, what ever we do in the church or in your home do it because you love Jesus and you desire to see His Kingdom expand. If you do it for selfish gain then before long you will turn on those around you. No hunter wants to see his deer consumed by wild beast, and Christ does not want to see His bride (the church) consumed by His people.

Comeback Kiddos

Being a father is one of the most important things in my life. I am the proud dad of 4 boys, and things are always CRAZY. In the fast pace of life that goes on today we as parents tend to let the T.V. raise our kids. It is the easy way out, we sit with them and play video games and pass that off as "quality time." One of the most rewarding things to do with your children is to get them involved in the outdoors. Take them camping or fishing, introduce them to what God has given to us. Too many dads are not involved in the raising of their kids, they simply take the back seat to mom and allow her to teach the boys how to be a man? How involved are you? Why not take some time during the week to turn off the T.V. and spend some real quality time with your kids. This will be a tuff time for some of us because we have allowed the T.V. to take over for so long, and the kids will complain and get bored, but hang in there and take back your children.

Running the Race!

I know that I have written about this before but I think that it is imperative that we understand the need of the running! Here recently I have jumped on the ban wagon of the newest fitness fad around, P90X. Does it work? You better believe it does, but it is hard and takes commitment in order to see results. Just simply getting the videos does nothing, you must push play and make it a part of your life in order to see the changes you want. So far I have lost 22lbs! I am determined to change my lifestyle and to run the race the best that I can.

The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." In this verse we can see a few important steps to take in order to run the race.

1. Surround yourself with godly people.

This is very important, because these are the ones that are going to motivate you and keep you running. My lovely wife works out with me in the P90X program and tells me how good I am doing.

2. Shed the hangups that keep you from running. This I think will help you run better and faster in this godly race. The things we need to shed are the sins "that so easily entangle us." How can we ever run if we are tangled up? Have you ever tried to work out with jeans on? It is very hard to do. Get rid of those sins that are keeping you from God.

3. Don't Quit! "Run with perseverance" that means in spite of the ungodly world we live in, don't stop running. Things are going to "pop" up to slow you down, but we must push through.

Be encouraged all of you! Verse 3 says "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and loose heart.

God Bless!

Snake in the Grass!

I can remember when I was a boy and my father would take me deer hunting at Table Rock Mountain in NC. We shared some great memories on that mountain and one in particular stands out in my mind today. It was the morning hunt and it was early Sept when the temps are still high enough for snakes to be out. Dad and I had walked to our stands. His stand was first so I had to make the next 400-500yd walk on my own. (when your 10 and 11 it was scary walking alone in the dark!) I came to my tree stand and climbed in. At lunch time I always met my dad and we had lunch before the evening hunt. As I was walking to dad's stand the thought of my ham sandwich was on my mind when the ground below me came to life. I froze mid step and noticed a large copperhead snake at my feet.(The copperhead snake is very poisonous) I only had a bow and arrow no gun so I did not know what to do. After what seemed like 20mins I just ran, I passed my dad who joined me running because he though a bear was chasing me. When we got to the truck both of us were breathing hard I told dad what had happened. We still laugh about it to this day. I say all that to say this, we never know when the devil is going to try and attack us. Sometimes we are just walking along thinking of a ham sandwich and boom were are in his trap. The bible tells us that the devil is like a "roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Keep your eyes open and be ready for the snake in the grass.

Get Busy!

Lots of times through our day to day walk with Jesus we get side tracked with our own priorities. I once heard "if God answered all you request in your prayers would you see a difference in your world or in every ones world?" Time and time again we are told in the Scriptures to be people of action or what James calls "doers". Do you do things for others with nothing in return? What a joy and blessing it is to serve others. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:10 that "each has received a gift, use it to serve one another." What Peter is saying is that every person has a gift from God, a talent, maybe its baking or singing whatever it is God has given it to you. Peter goes on to say that we serve others "so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." Enough said! Get Busy!

The Only Way In!

I had spent the entire summer scouting out a new hunting area and I could not wait till fall. As the leaves stared to change colors I knew it was getting time to go to that spot where I had scouted earlier. One afternoon I was able to take off early and hit the woods. As I pulled my truck off the road I loaded my treestand on my back grabbed my bow and started thought the woods. As I got closer the woods got thicker and thicker until I could not go any further. I needed to get through all this thick stuff in order to get to that perfect spot so I tried to walk around it with no luck, I tried to go through it but it was impossible with the treestand on my back. The only way I was getting through was leaving all my stuff behind and crawling through.

This is the way Christ explains entering into the Kingdom of heaven, He says " Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and few find it." (Matt. 7: 13-14)

Christ is making it clear that only a few will find the narrow door and that we must strive to enter through it. This means that its not easy. A rich man asked Christ how he could enter and Jesus told him to sell all that he had but the man could not do it. He wanted to enter in with all his "stuff." We need to set our own "stuff" aside and let Christ conform our lives.

Who Do You Worship?

Did you know that we are created to worship? When God created man He created him to worship and obey, and not only that but God told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply"(Gen. 1:22) meaning to fill the earth with worshipers! Did you ever look at it that way? We are to have children and to make disciples of them, talking with them about God "when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deut. 6:7b) In other words what we say and what we do show our kids how much we love and trust God. What does your actions say? Getting back to the point, we are created to worship and most of us worship without ever knowing it. We choose to worship ourselves by chasing money and fame and our lustful desires and put God on the back burner. If you are living a life of self worship you are called to repent (change the way you are living) and worship God only! Stand up like Joshua and shout out "as for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!" (Joshua 24:15b) Now is the time to start and its never to late to return, run to King Jesus and choose to worship Him!