Fasting

"This is the kind of fasting I have chosen:

Loosen the chains of the wickedness,
untie the straps of the yoke,
let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke.
Share your food with the hungry,
take the poor and homeless into your house,
and cover them with clothes when you see them naked.
Don't refuse to help your relatives.

Then your light will break through like the dawn,
and you will heal quickly.
Your righteousness will go ahead of you,
and the glory of the Lord will guard you from behind.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer.
You will cry for help, and he will say, "Here I am!"

Get rid of that yoke.
Don't point your finger and say wicked things.

If you give some of your own food to feed those who are hungry
and to satisfy the needs of those who are humble,
then your light will rise in the dark,
and your darkness will become as bright as the noonday sun.
The Lord will continually guide you
and satisfy you even in sun-baked places.
He will strengthen your bones.
You will become like a watered garden
and like a spring whose water does not stop flowing."

Isaiah 58:6-12

Credit Card Ministry

Due to the job I once held, I had to attend a Benny Hinn meeting quite a few years ago. I sat through it and figured out quickly that this was not what Jesus had in mind. The link below is an article that made my stomach turn...Hinn, in my opinion, is a good reason why so many find Christianity is not an option for them.

Lord, come quickly.


http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2360893,00.html

He is not silent.

"The LORD spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, "Go to the potter's house. There I will give you my message." I went to the potter's house, and he was working there at his wheel. Whenever a clay pot he was working on was ruined, he would rework it into a new clay pot the way he wanted to make it. The LORD spoke his word to me. The LORD asked, "Nation of Israel, can't I do with you as this potter does with clay? Nation of Israel, you are like the clay in the potter's hands. "At one time I may threaten to tear up, break down, and destroy a nation or a kingdom. But suppose the nation that I threatened turns away from doing wrong. Then I will change my plans about the disaster I planned to do to it. "At another time I may promise to build and plant a nation or a kingdom. But suppose that nation does what I consider evil and doesn't obey me. Then I will change my plans about the good that I promised to do to it. "Now say to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem, 'This is what the LORD says: I'm going to prepare a disaster and make plans against you. Turn from your evil ways, change your lives, and do good.' "But they will answer, 'It's useless! We'll live the way we want to. We'll go our own stubborn, evil ways." Jeremiah 18:1-12

Here in America, we see our leaders are drifting farther and farther away from God. History shows that God's Word is true. He is not silent in making us aware of the consequences of our desire to turn away from Him. When will we learn? We talk about repenting...but, that seems to be all it is. Talk.

May we all come to a place that we desire to repent. Desire to seek God. Desire His will over our own. I need help in that area. I assume we all do. Pray the Lord has mercy and gives us a new heart and mind that desires to love Him, honor Him, and give Him our all.

Creation

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

It seems there is a huge push within the Christian world to accept that evolution as being taught by the scientists is a fact. I guess it's kind of like how global warming as Al Gore is pushing is a fact even though there is evidence to the contrary.

I realize there is an evolutionary process in our world. But it still comes back to who created that one thing that set the process in motion. I find the idea that God create a little atom and then boom we, the planets, the stars, the universe...simply evolved. To even think we could take a monkey in this day and age and evolve it into a human being seems comical. We know we can't do that. Or better yet, a fish evolves into a man.

What is it about Christians wanting to disregard the creation account? Why does it seem that evolution makes more sense than the creation account? Both "theories" take faith to believe. My problem is that it takes so much more faith to believe in evolution and yet, so many wise theologians have fallen into the camp of evolution and are trying hard to change the mindset of believers.

What a world.

The power of God

Pope in Yankee Stadium

AP Photo - Frank Franklin II

I am not Catholic but I have been watching the mass on TV today and really have been moved by the commentary as well as the service. Even though I have a lot of issues with the doctrines of the Catholic church, I am very aware that Jesus' name is being proclaimed around the world! That in itself is a blessing to the nations. May today be more than a service. May it be a beginning of hearts wanting to change and know Jesus the Lord.

This coming Saturday, April 26th please join the nation again for a day of repentance and prayer.

ReignDown USA

Timeless treasures

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5

"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights." Proverbs 3:11-12

"The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day." Proverbs 4:18

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." Proverbs 9:10-12

"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses." Proverbs 10:12

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid." Proverbs 12:1

"The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice." Proverbs 12:15

"He who guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin." Proverbs 13:3

"He who despises his neighbor is a sinner, but happy is he who is kind to the poor." Proverbs 14:21

"The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may avoid the snares of death." Proverbs 14:27

"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble." Proverbs 16: 3-4

"To get wisdom is better than gold; to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver." Proverbs 16:16

"A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17

"A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed." Proverbs 19:17

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established." Proverbs 19:21

"A man's steps are ordered by the Lord; how then can man understand His way?" Proverbs 20:24

"The spirit if man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts." Proverbs 20:27

"He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor." Proverbs 21:21

Peace on earth, goodwill to men.

"Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written; "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:19-21

We have heard it said that we are at war with evil. I have heard from many believers in Jesus that we need to fight and destroy those who are trying to destroy others and need to protect the innocent. It's a hard thing to grasp when coming from Christian believers that we need to attack "evil" before they attack us. How do we justify this? What does scripture say? What does your heart say?

We reap what we sow. That goes for individuals as well as nations.

...but the greatest of these is love.

"So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Our friend and brother, Jackie Street, has passed away from this life. In my fifty plus years on this earth, there have been only a few people that I remember to have lived or are now living the life that all believers in Christ are called to live. Jackie was one of them.

Jackie never said much. In fact, over the passed twenty plus years that I have known Jackie, and if I had recorded everything he said in my presence, which was many, many, many days in our lives, I probably couldn't give you more than a day's worth of him talking. But the things he did say were always meaningful to me even when I couldn't understand him. He loved God and His laws and he loved America and it's laws. He always had mounds of books and papers with him and he could quote many laws and show you how America had strayed so far from our beginnings. Then he would remind you of God's laws, and more importantly, God's character. He would remind you that in all of the mess we have made within the context of church or the context of government...LOVE was the most important thing to know and to abide by.

There are many teachings on what it will be like with the coming of Jesus. How He will come to reign on earth for a thousand years. I believe that He will come and I am looking forward to that day! In fact, I believe that day is very near and I pray that all of us will live to see Him come.

Something that the apostle Paul wrote, makes me think that when that day comes, my friend Jackie will rise from the dead. Paul writes in Romans 8:19 - 21; "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing (literal - unveiling) of the sons of God; for the creation itself was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of HIM who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God." And the apostle John wrote in Revelation 20: 4-5; "I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended."

In my understanding, many will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Those who are raised at the first resurrection are those who had committed their lives to Christ and refused to bow to the system (the beast or image of the beast) of this world. They are the ones who took seriously the words; "I have been crucified with Christ! It's no longer me that lives...but Christ who lives in me!" Galatians 2:20

Jackie taught everyone he met, not with words, but with his character. He humbled himself before God and man and lived a quiet and servant filled life. He never asked anyone for anything. He never took anything from anyone but gave generously when no one was looking so that he would not bring attention to himself. When hundreds came together to remember him this week and tell their stories, each person knew they were Jackie's closest friend. He would spend hours contacting each person he loved by phone, text messaging, or in person. I never knew the commitment he had with so many...I just thought he contacted me because I was a special friend to him. And I was....as was hundreds and hundreds of people around the world.

This servant of God lived in a manner that now makes me ashamed of whom I have become. With all that I do and how I try to live my life as a servant, I have never impacted those around me by being a man that was truly committed to love. To love unconditionally. To love without wanting something in return, to love because Jesus loved. To love because God is Love. Jackie knew he was created in the image of God and that was enough reason to love. He knew by reading the Scriptures that his genealogy went all the way back to Adam...who was a son of God. (Luke 3:38) I believe that Jackie's ministry was to help us all see that we are God's children and we need to live and act like His children. What an amazing thought! If only we believed we could.

You may have never had the privilege of meeting Jackie Street face to face, but you have heard his silent voice many times. If you have ever turned on your radio to listen to music, or bought a CD, Jackie could have very well been the one that laid down the foundation that made the song you cherish come alive in your heart. We will see Jackie again...but he will be in his new and improved glorious body, and I believe will be leading us in learning the righteous ways of God. He will again show us that the greatest gift of all is Love.
Jackie Street

	June 17, 1959 ~February 17, 2008 Goodbye sweet Jackie, we will miss you! Thank you for showing us what we all know you knew so well............. "The greatest of these is Love"! A memorial service for Jackie Lane Street will be held Saturday March 1, 2:30 PM to 3:30PM at the Belcourt Theatre Nashville TN Please visit: A memorial page for Jackie @ Textured Artists

A gift from God

"You were once dead because of your failures and sins. You followed the ways of this present world and its spiritual ruler. This ruler continues to work in people who refuse to obey God. All of us once lived among these people, and followed the desires of our corrupt nature. We did what our corrupt desires and thoughts wanted us to do. So, because of our nature, we deserved God's anger just like everyone else.

But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us. We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God's kindness (grace) that saved you.) God has brought us back to life together with Christ Jesus and has given us a position in heaven with him. He did this through Christ Jesus out of his generosity to us in order to show his extremely rich kindness in the world to come. God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. It's not the result of anything you've done, so no one can brag about it. God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. Ephesians 2:1-10

I gave my life to the Lord. I was baptized. I am a member of the church. I have faith. I believed. I repented. I...thankfully, know that none of what I just wrote is true.

I love the scripture above. It puts everything in perspective about me. I have nothing to do with my salvation and I love knowing that! Because if it was me and the power I have to change my self by believing, repenting, confessing, or any works, I would never have changed.

We want so much to brag about our walk with God...or should I say, I want! I love doing good things for the Lord, but I know in my heart, I always seems to wonder if I do good enough, will others like me more or will God bless me more for being good. Will God see that I am a capable servant and warrior for Him? Will He stop what He's doing and call the angels and say..."Look! Look at that guy! He's really making things happen by being so good and choosing all the right things to do! He is the perfect disciple! He repented and believed and gave his heart to me!"

It's a hard thing to understand. We know we have choices to make. To repent. To confess. To steal or not to steal. Yet, Scripture clearly shows us that God is the one who chooses to make us a good vessel or a bad one. With warts or with perfect skin. Yes...HE is the potter and we are the clay. So, how do we take the Scriptures that say..."repent, believe, confess, and justify them with the Scriptures like the one above that says...YOU don't have anything to do with it! Being saved is a gift from God. All I know is that by faith, I believe my choices are only the result of the gift from God.

The translation I used above is the "God's Word" translation. I love the line they translated as; "God saved you through faith as an act of kindness." Now the questions for you and I to search for is "Whose faith? Yours? or God's?"