Urgent Message

We had a very heart touching experience last night. We had just attended the Christmas production at Choose Life Church and we were in the car heading home. I must first explain what happened at the play. During the altar call, Brady raised his hand to accept Jesus into his heart. In the corner of my eye I saw him put it up and keep it up. I quietly told him to go ahead and put it down. When we got in the car, he asked me why I told him to put his hand down. I explained that he just needed to put it up and then back down again. He didn't have to keep it in the air. But Ty and I wanted to take this opportunity to poke a bit further. Ty asked him why he raised his hand? Brady responded that he wanted Jesus in his heart. Knowing that he had repeated the salvation prayer before, we explained that when he asked Jesus in his heart the first time, Jesus became his Savior. And from this point on Jesus would always be with him. But at the same time, Ty encouraged Brady to respond to every altar call if he feels the tugging of the Holy Spirit. We as parents, want to encourage our boys to be obedient when they hear God calling. It was a lot for Brady to take in all at once. But he was very quiet and very receptive. A few minutes later we heard Brady say,"Hudson, do you want to ask Jesus to come in your heart?" Hud said, "No." And in Hud language he proceeded to explain that if Jesus came in his heart it would get too big and explode. Ty and I laughed quietly but Brady was distressed. "Hudson, you have to ask Jesus into your heart. Do you love him?" Hud was definitely not on the same page and in part he was trying to aggravate his brother. In complete distress, Brady said, "Hudson, if you say you love Jesus you can sleep on the top bunk." Well, of course Hudson agreed to loving Jesus. For one reason, he does love Jesus and the other is that he loves the top bunk. All was well and Brady took a deep sigh of relief. It wasn't until this morning that I was challenged by Brady's passion. He wouldn't let up with his brother. He wanted to make sure Hudson had Jesus in his heart just like he did. It's that child like mentality that is simple but real that we should all desire. So many people in my circle of friends have suddenly passed this holiday season. Some of them I know are in a better place. Others of them I can only hope and pray they had a moment with their Heavenly Father before passing from this earth. I'm not telling you that I am going to go bananas and drag people kicking and screaming to a relationship with Christ. But I am telling you that as Christians, our message is URGENT! Walk with your eyes open to those who are searching for THE ANSWER. Life is too short and we don't know what tomorrow holds. Be willing to share the TRUTH. Be willing to lead someone to their loving father. So here is my corny phrase for the next year. In 2011, let's lead many to HEAVEN!

The Right Place!

Tonight I listened to one of my favorite ministers, Pastor Craig Groeschel. He spoke a 37 minute podcast on his website lifechurch.tv. Twenty minutes into the message I'm thinking to myself, "Man, I picked the wrong message. This one isn't for me." But I decided to finish what I had started. I continued to listen but I was piddling around at the same time. The last three minutes caught my attention. I literally stopped everything and sat down in front of my computer. His point hit me like a ton of bricks. The statement he made is going to be a future blog so I won't share it with you now. More to come on that later. But what he said was just what I needed to hear. I had spoken earlier with my good friend about this very subject that he "just so happened" to be discussing. I immediately thought, "Wow! God you do know what I need and you know when I need it." About an hour later I got to thinking again. Right in the middle of this message I was convinced his sermon had nothing to offer me. If I had shut the computer off and moved on to something else, I would have missed it. Is it possible that you are in the exact place God wants you and yet you don't see it? Is your situation tough and you feel like giving up? I believe that you could be in the right place, at the right time and the unveiling is right around the corner. Just hold on. Don't give up and don't let go. There is one thing I know for sure, God is right there with you. He can turn a good, a bad or an ugly moment into a God moment. Don't be quick to decide it isn't God. We often think that if our situation isn't a bed of roses it must not be God. On the contrary. Three men went into the fiery furnace but once inside there were four. Don't make a rash decision that could very well rob you of an amazing blessing.

Expect It!

I learned something today that I believe is worth telling. The word "wait" in scripture can be translated as "expect the Lord". Wait is not a passive verb but an active one. In Isaiah 40:31, the scriptures say that, "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." When we sit back and wait on God, we can get discouraged. But if you expect God to do something in your life, you will be strengthened. A few Sundays ago Ty challenged the staff to be expecting God to do something great in our services. He said why would we come every week and not believe that God was going to do something BIG? God is for us and He wants the best for each of our lives. Our vocabulary has to change. It's not "if" but "when". What are you waiting on? Start expecting it to happen. Change your thoughts, change your words, change your attitude and then watch God change your situation. It can't just be a one time confession. We must make a conscious decision to speak faith over our situation. Once again, you must choose. I don't know about you but I want to be strengthened. And I am EXPECTING God to do something great in my life.