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So you ticked off Satan!

June 10, 2011 in Crossover, Discipleship, Encouragement with Comments Off

Raising kids in a Christian home is not the easiest thing to do! There are dynamics that surround a Christian home that are not found in others, that make it a difficult task to say the least. God has blessed me with two wonderful kids! Garrett who is 11 and Morgan who is 15 (almost). Inevitably as Daphne and I try to teach life lessons of how to make good decisions etc., there will be some tempers that flair and sometimes the children will get mad with us because they only see what is in front of them and can’t see what is driving them. Heck that happens with Daphne and I in our marriage as well! It is much like your willingness to lead others in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. It ticks off Satan!

I know many of you are struggling with battles in your life right now, some of you I know personally. So you ticked off Satan! Now you have come under attack! I am not naive enough nor should you be to think you are beyond his reach. It is inevitable that you will suffer for what is driving you (Jesus). The problem is most of us, like children, can only see what is in front of us (the problem). I want to encourage you this morning as God has encouraged me to take your eyes off of the problem and put them on Jesus. Let me share this scripture with you in its entirety…

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
Isa 30:15-22

When you tick Satan off and you come under attack, remember that in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength! As long as we are “caught up” in the crap that Satan puts in front of us we will be restless. We will run and divide until there is nothing left. BUT AND IF we will recognize the battle and remember what the Holy One of Israel says. We will be unified together in Jesus with the strength to send a loud message to Satan, “Away with you!” and the bible says that he will flee from you, rather than you fleeing from Jesus.

There is much to be said about this passage, but as Satan comes against you, Jesus stands for you and is willing, able, and available, to intercede for you. I encourage you to take your mind and your eyes off the problem that is in front of you and cry for the help of your savior, Jesus! Remember these things…

  •  In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength
  • the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion
  • How gracious He will be when you cry for help!
  • As soon as he hears, he will answer you.
  • Although He gives you adversity and affliction…Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Redirect your actions from what is in front of you to what is driving you and cry for help! IN THE LIFE OF A JESUS FREAK THIS WILL BE A REPETITIVE ACTION!

The Way Out!

March 29, 2011 in Crossover, Discipleship, Encouragement with Comments Off

Recently God has been taking us through a series on Grace. All I can say is WOW! Titus 2:12 says that Grace teaches and I know it does!

I spent some time last night with the kids after youth and they had an awesome night. In reviewing their night with the youth leaders I realized the temptations that bombard them on a daily basis. So much so, that some of them are feeling very low because they are tempted. Which, for whatever reason, I realized all of a sudden that many may be feeling this way and I needed to write this…YOU SHOULDN’T BE!

The bible guarantees the existence of temptation in our lives! It is not something that is always unavoidable, ESPECIALLY, at a young age. However, because of Grace, we are taught to escape! I have always liked this verse and I want to share it with you. My prayer is that someone who needs this will read it, accept it, and find peace to push through their temptations!

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1Co 10:13)

YOU HAVE A WAY OUT!

And for most of you, the reason you are feeling the way you are about temptations is because of Grace! If you have accepted Jesus as your King, then you are surrounded by Grace! In the message this past weekend, we saw many, including youth, give their life to Jesus because they realized their way out. Now, the idea of the message can ring true in our lives:

Grace is the classroom in which I learn to live and my teachers name is Holy Spirit!

You have a way out, STAND UP!

The Hulk!

March 7, 2011 in Discipleship, Personal with Comments Off

The Hulk Roller Coaster, voted the #1 roller coaster by Discovery Channel viewers in 1999, is a monstrous site to behold! Of all places for me to find some answers, it was an experience here that made things clear.

Let me explain…

Last year our family had a unique opportunity to go to Universal on a vacation, thank you Crossover! My son Garrett talked “smack” about how he was gonna ride that thing. Well, the very first day we were there, we went straight to The Hulk! As we walked up to this huge entanglement of steel and tracks that has a deafening roar, Garrett says, “Dad, this is kinda big, I’m not sure I feel so good.” WHAT! the kid that that was all he could talk about is now confronted with this behemoth of a roller coaster and is hesitate about getting on. I said, “Son, all I have heard is The Hulk. Now you are gonna have to man up and crawl on this thing with me.” He did just that! He was scared out of his mind…but he did it! When we were unloading he started hollering, “Dude that was awesome we got to ride it again, and again, and again! He said, “It’s the best ride of my life!”

So what does that have to do with me? Glad you asked! Yesterday I published an article, “Today was Different…“, wondering what was really going on in my Spirit. Well, guess what, today is different!
I have walked up to the biggest, scariest, roaring, experience in my life and I have to decide. Will I man up and get on? or Will I walk away?

The answer I have found is…….I need to ride!

But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
(Isa 43:1-2)
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
(Isa 43:18-19)

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