Pray

"As council members listened to Stephen, they became noticeably furious. But Stephen was of the Holy Spirit. He looked into heaven, saw God's glory, and Jesus in the position of authority that God gives. So Stephen said, "Look, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man in the position of authority God has given him!"

But the council members shouted and refused to listen. They they rushed at Stephen with one purpose in mind, and after they had thrown him out of the city, they began to stone him to death. The witnesses left their coats with a young man named Saul.

While council members were executing Stephen, he called out. "Lord, Jesus, welcome my spirit. Then he knelt down and shouted, "Lord, don't hold this sin against them." After he had said this, he died." Acts 7: 54-60

Stephen is considered the first martyr of the church. From that day to the present, millions of followers of Jesus have had to make the same stand as Stephen made. Most of us sit in the comfort and safety of our homes and rarely think about those who are being persecuted and killed for their belief in Jesus. We live in countries that allow this freedom of faith, and since we don't experience the persecution first hand , we tend not to think about it.

I encourage us all to pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world. A good source to find news about what is going on with the our persecuted believers is the website Persecution.org. Bookmark that page and go to it often to pray for those who are truly living a persecuted life.

May the Lord Jesus come back quickly and may we remain faithful as we wait for His return.

Fast & Pray

There is a great revival going on in America and across the world. Starting Memorial Day and going for 40 days to 7/7/07, believers are called to fast and pray. For those of you who have never been a part of something like this, I would challenge you to take part in it.

The ending day will be a time of worship and praise and will be held in Nashville at LP Field, home of the TN Titans.

Fasting can be anything from 1 meal a day to the full 40 day fast. "Pray without ceasing" is the call from the apostle Paul. I hope some of you will consider to be a part of this. This has nothing to do with the call to any particular "denomination" but a call to those who love and believe in the Lord...the Church! Visit this site to learn more: http://www.thecall.com

Saul becomes Paul

From Islam to Christ. Khalil, A radical Egyptian terrorist changed from a murderous "Saul" to a forgiving "Paul" after Jesus Christ visited him in a soul-penetrating dream. This hater of both Christians and Jews set out to discredit the Bible, but instead, he was transformed when Jesus appeared to him and changed his heart.

http://dreamsandvisions.com/

That's My King!

"Rev. SM Lockridge describes the King of Kings with a stream of superlatives and adjectives, powerfully and majestically - He's Indescribable! (more)"

Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, San Diego CA
from 1953 - 1993

I found this on one of the websites I visit often. http://www.notjustnotes.ws

You will enjoy this!

Jesus in China

May we all desire to follow Jesus. Should you take the time to view the videos below...it will change your heart and give you more of a reason to stand strong in your faith.

For more information on those who created these films: ChinaSoul

Seeds of Blood - Episode 1 of "The Cross - Jesus in China"



The Bitter Cup - Episode 2 of "The Cross - Jesus in China"



The Spring of Life - Episode 3 of "The Cross - Jesus in China"



The Canaan Hymns - Episode 4 of "The Cross - Jesus in China"

Whatever you do...DO IT!!!

"Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Jesus Christ." Colossians 3:23-24

One of the things I try to do in my job, is go beyond what any one expects me to do. I learned this from my dad...but I have a long way to go to be considered like him. He was an extremely hard worker and even though he was a minister and teacher, you would often find him in the fields of Korea helping farmers, in villages working on homes, picking up trash along the roads we walked, serving the poor as he found them or they found their way to him...and in our own house he was mopping the floors, washing dishes, raking the lawn, or fixing things that were broken. He was always whistling or singing a hymn and everyone around him knew that life was good no matter what circumstance you might find yourself in at the moment. They knew that he knew the Source of life.

Though I am sort of like my dad in the physical aspect of work...I am not quite like him in the spiritual part yet. For some reason, maybe it's my generation, or maybe it's my lack of love...but I am always judging others at how lazy and inconsiderate they are for not caring about their work! Not all people...but mostly the ones who claim to be believers in Jesus and say they desire to walk in His ways.

It makes me sad that this has become such an issue with me. I tend to think about this a lot these days and I keep trying to figure out why I do...and why I care so much about this!

Since another situation came up this week with a "believer" who seems to not care that what was done (or should I say, not done) has affected so many others who were depending on her to do her job, this has been a week of anger for me. I want so bad to confront...but at the same time I have been beaten down for so long with those who seem to not care, that I want to just ignore the whole thing and never allow myself to be a part of this persons life.

Prayer is an option here. I can pray and pray and pray, and maybe one day this person will finally see that when she doesn't "work as you're serving the Lord" you make a bad impression on those who don't know the Lord, as well as, the ones that do know the Lord and were depending on her. Or I could pray and pray and pray, and maybe one day the Lord will break my heart and allow me to see that we've all got problems and I need to take the log out of my own eye before I pull the splinter out of someone else's eye!

I hate it when I write and something like this comes out! I just want to be angry and a bit self-righteous! I want to be right and kick a little dust and shake my fist at those who don't have it together...and could care less that they don't have it together!

Oh well, I really do want to be like my dad. Sing and rejoice as I work and give my all to those I come in contact with. I hope I can do that one day. But honestly, I hope all of us believers will want to be that way...it sure would help our stress level and I would imagine it might change the world a bit.

Walk with Jesus folks. Whatever you do, work hard and give it your all. Just like you were doing it for the Lord. Remember, so many will only see Jesus when they see you.

Judas - friend or foe?

"Then Judas, who betrayed him, asked, "You don't mean me, do you, Rabbi?" "Yes, I do," Jesus replied." Matthew 26:25

"One disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, was near him at the table. Simon Peter motioned to that disciple and said, "Ask Jesus whom he's talking about!" Leaning close to Jesus, that disciple asked, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "He's the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I've dipped it in the sauce." So Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. Then, after Judas took the piece of bread, Satan entered him. So Jesus told him, "Hurry! Do what you have to do." John 13:23-27

The National Geographic own the rights to the "Gospel of Judas". This was recently released for public reading and viewing and has already had quite a few scholars write books about the text.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/document.htm

I spend a lot of time reading and researching what "scholars and theologians" are saying about the scriptures and other writings relating to the Christian faith. Many of them are so involved in trying to find reason to not believe in Jesus...that at times, it's comically sad to read their thoughts.

http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/?ml_video=85406

I do understand why it's important to research these writings. Just knowing how "Scripture" was deemed "Scripture" should make us all desire to study and research the writings of the past. Just look at all those "who believe" and we see that our understanding and our translation of "Scripture" is based on how we have been taught to believe...or how we've been taught to translate languages into our own language.

There is one thing that we can count on as we grow in our faith. Jesus didn't leave us completely on our own to figure it all out. Jesus said, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper who will be with you forever. That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it doesn't see or know Him. You know Him, because He lives with you and will be in you." John 14: 16-17

I believe God has given us the "Scriptures". I believe the "Spirit of Truth" confirms this in our hearts...even when we don't understand or agree. Certainly Paul and Peter had their arguments!

Won't it be great when Jesus comes and we will all see and understand!

Keep looking to Jesus and trust the "Spirit of Truth".

Pursuing the faith.

"But these miracles have been written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that you will have life by believing in Him."
John 20:31

I love to read and study the Scriptures. I am constantly learning and seeing how the Lord continues to change my heart and mind as I pursue a life that is a reflection of Him. I don't do a great job at being a reflection of my Lord and Saviour, but I hope that one day I will be like Him.

Beside reading Scripture, I read a lot from those who have also pursued or are pursuing their faith. I read the writings of people who are in nearly every denomination, and faith. I want to understand how they came to their conclusions since most of them read the same Scriptures that I read. It's a strange thing to know that we all read the same scriptures...yet, we all have our slant on what the scriptures say!

Having walked in the faith of Jesus Christ for many years now, I have come to a place where I realize that those who love and follow Jesus are doing exactly what I do. They are pursuing their relationship with God and desiring that God reveal His Truth. Why we all come to different understandings? I have no clue! But I pray that we continue to seek Jesus and live as people who love and desire fellowship with those who believe, and desire to love those who don't believe and be an example of Christ to them.

One day we will all see clearly. We all will understand. But no matter who you are, what church you attend, whether you have no faith or a ton of faith, keep pursuing. For those of you who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, I could never give you or teach you to believe. But I do know Jesus can and will.

Good Friday & Easter

"At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud vocie, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"...Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died." Mark 15:33,34,37

I have always found the term "Good Friday" to be strange words for what was to have happened on that day 2000 plus years ago. Traditionally, Jesus was to have died on "Good Friday" and I assume that was "good" because with His death, life would be given to mankind. The thought is "good" but how he was tortured and hung on a cross, certainly doesn't bring the word "good" to my mind!

I also have been at odds with the tradition of the "church" in how it has become truth that Jesus died on Friday and rose on Sunday. I'm certainly not a theologian, nor a mathematician, but Jesus made it clear that he would die and 3 days and 3 nights later, he would rise (Matthew 12:40). Tradition teaches Jesus died Friday afternoon, buried before sundown, Saturday, then Saturday night, and then He rises on Sunday morning. Two days. Sort of.

When I studied this many years ago, I came to my conclusion of this strange tradition. Since the newly found state/church under Constantine, many traditions and newly created doctrines started to not only be taught, but forced on the people to help control and bring peace...or "fear" to keep people in line and give them reason to live under the newly formed government/religion.

Simple reading of scripture and other materials available from that period, you find that at the time of Passover, an 8 day long festival, Jesus was crucified in the middle of Passover and rose from the dead at the end of it. So many pictures of this throughout Scripture!

So does this matter at how we look at this day? I personally think it does. Bad doctrine is bad doctrine. This particular doctrine has become truth to many...and the only way it has become that, is that certain "religious wise men" have decided that the "Scriptures" are flawed...but after years and years of examining the Scriptures, I see more and more how God doesn't make mistakes in presenting His Truth. I may not understand all of it...but, I believe God is much bigger than man.

Easter Sunday:

"The angel said to the women, "Don't be afraid! I know you're looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He's not here. He has been brought back to life as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Then go quickly, and tell His disciples that He has been brought back to life. He's going ahead of them into Galilee. There they will see Him. Take note that I have told you." They hurried away from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell His disciples."
Matthew 28:5-8

There were many witnesses to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. I believe the witness of the many. I believe them not because they witnessed and knew Jesus personally, but I believe them because now I know Him personally.

He has risen! Hallelujah!

What would Jesus do?

"Always do for other people everything you want them to do for you. That is the meaning of Moses' Teachings and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

I was talking to a gentleman the other day at our baseball training center. They have been coming for a few weeks and seem to be enjoying the progress they are seeing with the instruction that they are being given. The father was in a talkative mood and as we sat watching one of my trainers teach his son, he started talking about all sorts of things.

Because we have a scripture on our business website, most everyone who walks in the door know that we are believers in Jesus. We don't push our beliefs on anyone...but many that come, after a few weeks will start asking questions about our faith. They seem to see a difference in the way they are treated and feel comfortable that we are not the typical "christians" pushing an agenda.

Anyway, in my conversation with this man, I asked him what he did for a living. He was in construction. A type that mainly folks who have more money than the average would call on.
Without any other question than that, he said an odd thing. He said something like, "It's a great business and I've done well, but one of my biggest problems has been working with all these "born again Christians" with their Lexus, Mercedes, BMW 's that have that fish on the back of their cars. They scream the loudest, always try to get me to come down on the price, and then when I complete the job I have a hard time collecting my money." I knew exactly what he meant. I spent 25 years in the "Christain" music business!

Isn't it sad that this type of conversation has become common among people? Maybe it's not so bad outside the "Bible Belt"...but here, right in the middle of it all, I hear, and witness this type of attitude toward believers in Christ. How sad.

My encouragement to all of us who believe...love your neighbor. Respect them and give them the honor due to them. Show them Jesus.