Happy Thanksgiving!

I just want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in my family (biological and spiritual) and friends.

God has so blessed my life with all of you. I've never been more blessed at any time in my life than I am right now.

I want you all to know that I'm thankful for you and to you for who you are and all you do to bless my life.

I'm so thankful to God for directing me and my family to this church and city. It's been the best experience I've ever had and I'm so excited about the ministry God is doing and is going to do in and through us all!

I love you all and am praying God's best over you and your family this Thanksgiving.

I believe in you all! In God's call, gifting, and blessing on your life! I believe in your potential for greatness! I believe in God's specific role that he has for you in advancing his kingdom in Bradford and beyond, in building up his kingdom at Open Arms, and contributing to the abundant life God has planned for all of us to experience together.

God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving!

Service or Serve-Us?

In this self-centered self-serving self-gratifying world system I'm suppossed to be different as a Christian. The love and power of God are suppossed to so change me that I come to the grand reality that life is not about me and my pleasure and my comfort and my happiness. Hmm? Three questions: 1) is this really practical, 2) is this how Christians live, and 3) is this really that great of a life?

1)Oh, it's all too practical. It's so practical that it's upsetting. See, I really am suppossed to honor fellow Christians. I really am suppossed to forgive people that hurt me. I really am suppossed to believe the best of a person. I really am suppossed to give my money and possessions to those in need. I really am to control my anger, my eating, and my spending. I really am to read my Bible, pray, and tell other people about Jesus. And so much more!

Is it practical? Oh yes! Too practical! But see, that's not really the question I'm asking. What I'm really asking is what's in it for me? Will it be comfortable, gratifying, or pleasurable to my flesh, ego, and so on? The answer is not always and most of the time no.

2) Unfortunately not too many Christians embrace a balanced biblical lifestyle. They're great on some points, but those points are few and usually have some connection to the pleasure of their flesh or ego, but for those few gems that you find they truely are a jewel for the Kingdom, beautiful and precious, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of anyone who is in contact with them.

Unfortunately most Christians have a Serve-Us mentality and attitude instead of a Service mentality/heart/attitude.

For this lack in the Body of Christ of selfless, loving, servant-hearted people, we the church must apologize and repent.

3) Few people are really qualified to answer on whether the lifestyle of Self-sacrifice, Self-denial, and service is really worth it all, but from those few we find the granite answer of absolutely YES!

What's the promise of a life of service and sacrifice? Just look at Jesus and the Apostles. All of them gave their lives to serve and sacrifice. Note the power of God being present and active in their lives! Note the miracles, signs, and wonders! Note the supernatural experiences with God and the devil! Note an adventurous, exciting, extraordinary life they lived! And Note that after the ultimate and greatest sacrifice came the ultimate and greatest demonstration of power and promise ever, Ressurrection power and promise!

So, is it worth it to do things God's way? Is it worth it to really live the Christian life of love, self-denial, self-sacrifice, and service? My answer is absolutely yes, but it's something you alone have to decide for you. We need to always remember, it's the action, not the knowledge, that makes the difference.

Ephesians 4:11-12 says that God's intention was for the 5 ministry offices to train/equip the Christians for the work of the ministry/service. It's always been God's plan for every Christian to serve the Lord, both in the family of God (the church) and in the world (among non-Christians), but to embrace this call and mission will require love and selflessness, because a selfish person will not want to sacrifice and work and deny personal gratification.

So the question I, and each one of us, must answer is what is our attitude and mentality toward God, the Church, and people in general, service or serve-us? Only one will lead to the abundant and fulfilling life Jesus said he came to give us. Only one is that narrow road Jesus said we should travel on, but few would find.

What do you choose? Service or Serve-Us?

The art of recognizing good fruit?

An interesting thing has transpired in my life. God has brought me to the place where I do not ever feel the need to judge another in regard to their salvation when they profess to believe and follow Jesus, but don't live like it.

In truth I know there are those who say they believe in and follow Jesus, but really are not saved (1John 2:4), but I also know that Christians can make bad choices and operate in "worldly wisdom" which manifests itself in Selfish Ambition and Bitter Envy which results in disorder and every evil practice (James 3). Also, I know that even Christians can oppose other Christians and the work God is wanting to do, falling into the trap of the devil being taken captive to do his will (2Timothy 2).

Jesus said you'd know a tree by it's fruit. I'm afraid that in the name of Grace or just plain stupidity we Christians have lost the art of discernment/evaluation/ knowing a person by the fruit that they bare.

We often are quick to accept or reject a persons testimony based upon their likeability or how gooey the story they have to tell or how long of relationship we've had with them, but how are we ever suppossed to help one another become like Christ if we never hold ourselves to the standards Jesus gave us? How are we helping by not following the scriptural standards in our own life and how are we helping when we don't hold other Christians to the standards Jesus gave?

Jesus said you'd know a tree by it's fruit and he warned us that there would be those who were wolves in sheeps clothing. They look like sheep, but they are not. How are we suppossed to know? Jesus told us! Look at the fruit! (Matthew 7)

Take the time to learn the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, this scripture has been invaluble to me in my assessment of those we're looking for to lead things. And be sure to contrast them with the previous versus that describe the fruit of the flesh/sinful nature.

When you're dealing with people and problems look at the fruit before we jump to conclusions or judgements. Are we seeing love, joy, peace, patience, kindeness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, selfcontrol, or jeolousy, bitterness, envy, slander, gossip, pride, lying, backbiting, factions, hatred, discord, division, confusion, and so on?

I've learned we need to raise the standard. For far too long churches have simply looked at giftedness and competence and not character. We want Character and Competence! We want servants who have a heart for Jesus and his work!

I've got to say, I've been tremendously blessed to be a part of what God is doing here at Open Arms! I love all the people! I love being here! I've never experienced a more blessed time of ministry in my life!

I am thankful to God and to all of you for all the Lord and you all have done in my life and my families lives and the ministry we've seen accomplished up to this point, but I also want to remind you, this is just the beginning! You ain't seen nothing yet!

I love you all!

could Jesus really be killed, since he was God?

Was Jesus ever sick? No! Could Jesus really have been killed? No!

What brought death and sickness into the world? SIN! Jesus was SINLESS! So, if Jesus had never sinned could death or disease have touched him? No!

I thought Jesus went through everything we go through? No, Jesus was never raped, malested, shot by a drivebuy, or run over by a drunk. The Bible never says Jesus went through everything we go through. It says He was tempted in every point as we are. See the difference?

Back to the original questions... Because Jesus was SINLESS and neither sickness or death could touch him it makes what he did on the cross that much more powerful. Jesus said, "No man takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own free will."

Think about this... Jesus was beaten so severely he didn't even look human, yet when most would've died, he had the strength to carry his cross most of the way to calvary.

What am I saying? When Jesus hung upon the cross he didn't have to die. In fact, he couldn't be killed even at that point. Death couldn't take him until sin could take ahold of his flesh.

So, how would a sinless Jesus end up dying? The Bible says Jesus took upon himself the sin of all mankind past and present. It says he literally became the sin of all mankind. This is why God the Father turned away from Jesus and abandoned him.

This is why Jesus died, not because he had too or because he was a mortal and could be killed, but because he wanted to for our good. Jesus wasn't killed. He laid his life down, sacrificed it, for the good of the whole world.

Jesus lived the perfect life we can not live. Jesus took the punishment for our sins (being beat and whipped). Jesus took our sin upon himself, embracing death seperate from God on our behalf. But, because he was sinless, death couldn't hold him down. On the 3rd day he arose proving that he'd defeated sin and death and the hold they both have on mankind. Now all who embrace his work on their behalf are given that great promise that, "though they die, yet shall they live."

God bless!