God

Mary did you know?

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To me, it would be amazing to be a fly on the wall when Jesus was born. Seeing Mary holding the Savior of the world in her arms, caressing his head, kissing his face. Not only did she have the joy of having the child Jesus in her arms, but she had the privilege of knowing that He was not only coming to save her, but He was born to save all of mankind.

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

What a promise we have in Jesus. What a joy to know that those who accept Him as their Lord and Savior, have the honor of knowing that not only does His blood cover us, but He is inside of us. That the power of the Holy Spirit is active and alive in each one of us. In this day of Thanksgiving, give to Jesus what you are truly thankful for. The redeeming sacrifice of His blood, and the love of the Father for sending His only begotten Son to die for all mankind, so that we may live in Him and for Him. Blessings

Contend to be a father

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You know after watching the movie “Courageous”, for the third time I can’t help but to keep running this one part in my head over and over again. There was one part that really gripped me since I heard it. It was dialog between a father and his son. One line the dad said to his son, I would say to my son and daughter, and I think every dad should take a moment to think about this.

“I did not start well as a dad, but I would like to finish well.”

My kids, your kids, they all depend so heavily on their fathers, it’s amazing the impact a father can have on a child, both negative and positive. The outcomes are apparent as you see them grow up into the men and women that they become.
I want my son and my daughter to grow, move and become the destiny that God, since their conception, has placed with in them. Not to ever lose out on what God has given them, or has in store for them, because I as a father did not lead them, nurture them, and love them as they deserve to be loved.

I am required as a father to be an example of God’s love on this earth. I have, and will fail, but I am praying that they see me leaning on my heavenly Father, and know that they can, at any time, lean on me. I refuse to allow the enemy to have my kids, and I will war and pray, I will intercede and I will never cease to place my kids before the throne of Jesus.
We are always held accountable, always watched, we are always being corrected. I as a father need to realize that this is not a game, to which the end is when they turn 18, or are married, or have a family of their own. IT’s NOT THAT EASY!!!!! I am responsible as a father til the day I go to meet my heavenly Father.

CONTEND CONTEND CONTEND and I say again CONTEND for your children, and do not let them down. To hard? I don’t know your circumstances? Shut up Frank? None of that changes the fact that I am a father…AND I AM HELD ACCOUNTABLE! Suck it up buttercup and take hold of the honor of being a father.

Grace vs. Karma

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If there’s 2 words that I hate hearing Christians use it’s the words “Luck” & “Karma.” These words simply shouldn’t exist in a Christian’s vocabulary.

karma

The Law of Karma is basically this: If you do good, good things will happen to you. If you do bad then bad things will happen to you. Depending on your religious views it will happen to you either in this lifetime or another, & what happens to you today could be the result of things that have taken place in a previous lifetime.

The idea of Karma is found in many religions, chiefly Hindu & Buddhist. Karma is actually foundational to both systems of belief, and can even be found in Wiccan & other “new age” type of religions.

But karma is not just exclusive to those systems of belief. Many Christians & people of other religions who believe in God or a “god” also subscribe to the belief known as karma. You hear it in the way they talk

For instance ever heard someone ask the question:

“Why does good things always happen to bad people? And bad things happen to good people?”
That, folks, is karma. I think most of us are guilty of thinking that way at one time in our life. Some of us are there right now & that’s why I feel that now is the time for me to address the “Law of Karma” in relation to Christianity.

To get a true perspective of karma you first have to look at it through the perspective of God the Father. The perspective we currently have of karma is through the eyes of man, and unfortunately man’s eyes never have the best perspective.

Let’s take a look at some of the things from God’s word, so that we can get His perspective on it. But before we do, let me remind you what “The Law of Karma” says. The “Law of Karma” says if you do good, good things will happen to you & if you do bad then bad things will happen to you.

Here’s what God’s word says:

“As it is written: There is none righteous. No. Not one.” – Romans 3:10
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23
“The wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23

Ok. If karma is true, then we’re all screwed. If good things happen to good people, & bad things happen to bad people then in God’s eyes we’re all bad (sinners) people and we all deserve death. If karma is true then it’s a merry-go-round that we can NEVER get off because we’re all bad people, and we should expect nothing but the worst from God.

It’s a good thing for us that karma is not a true “law” as some believe it to be. God the Father made a way for us to get off of this merry-go-round & it’s summed up in one little word called “Grace.”

The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
It’s by placing our faith in Jesus (the gift of God (See John 3:16)) that God’s grace is extended to us. It’s Jesus that pulls us off of this merry-go-round of works that Satan spins with his lie called “karma.”
Karma is a lie because in order for karma to be true it would have to be a law established by God, which simply cannot be found in the word of God.

Instead what we find is the law of grace. The Apostle Paul says it like this in II Timothy 1:9 (NLT):

“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it,  but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time- to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.”
From BEFORE the beginning of time….GRACE. Not karma. Wow. Enough said.

What is prayer in western culture?

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Sometimes I have a hard time discerning what is prayer and what is just conversation. I have been to plenty of prayer “meetings”, and they usually turned out to be a round table of people talking about their ideas and thoughts. There was no form of prayer whatsoever. Still others proclaim that this is the place to be, “We are coming to intercede for our nation”, but again, nothing of the sort happens and it turns out to be people on the microphone talking about their personal experiences and thoughts. Again, not the intercession I imagined intercession to be.

Here is my “concept” of intercession. Men and women of God coming together with a like mind and like purpose to lift up in prayer a sitution, an event, a church, leadership, our city and even our nation. That their is a continuous line of prayer, worship and praise being lifted up. That we don’t take this personal time with God to give account of the weekend I had with family or friends. It’s not an atmosphere of sharing my personal beliefs, and the many things I have been a part of. It’s about God. It’s about asking Him to move his hand in an area where only He can make the difference. Not regaling my fellow man with tales of valor and glory at the local supermarket.

Persistent widow anyone? She had a sole purpose and intent when she began knocking on her master door. She had a mind set in stone as to what she wanted. There was not going to be anything that deterred her from her purpose. We must come to God in the same manner. I cannot allow the business of the day, week or month to side track me from the greater purpose I have, and that is to be in relationship with my Savior, and serve my heavenly Father according to His will. How will I know what that will is, if I do not spend time with Him in prayer? How I will know the character of God unless I spend time in His living word?

Don’t get caught up in the hype. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted from the vision that is before you. Don’t lose the foundation of our first love, which is Jesus. There is coming a day, perhaps soon, when God will truly separate the wheat from the chaff. Which of the virgins are you?