There is nothing too painful, too stressful, too shameful that God would not want you and I too throw on to His most capable shoulders.  The word translated to “cast”  bascially means to throw it on something, in this case like a pack mule.   He already knows our fears and concerns and trials intimately, He’s God!  I know that I can’t handle many of the stresses and challenges that I am currently facing these days.  So today I made the choice as these verses came to my mind through the Holy Spirit to cast those cares on Him and allow Him to help me to keep going and to experience His peace.  What a good God we serve as followers of Jesus Christ.

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I know I have very recently.  At the close of every worship service at the church I am a member of, Destiny Christian Fellowship, there is a call to respond.  Generally there is an invitation for both those who would trust in Christ as Savior for the first time, and for those who need to recommit themselves to Christ after backsliding.  This past Sunday I felt the call to respond to the latter of these two.  I am definitely a believer in Christ and committed my life to Him over 20 years ago.  I attend church every Sunday and am part of a home group during the week.  I read my Bible every day.  Yet, my heart has been hardened over the years through small acts of disobedience and rebellion to God’s ways and His will.

I will tell you that I felt the Spirit of God leading me to walk forward and repent of my ways and truly return control of my life to His capable hands.  Did I obey in this small act of obedience this past Sunday?  Sadly, no.  I caved into my fear of embarrassment rather than obey the Holy Spirit.  I am reminded of a verse in Hebrews 3:7-8, “So, as the Holy Spirit says:   “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…” 

 I mentioned earlier I am a believer, yet I can honestly say I am not very good at being a follower of Christ.  That is what a disciple of Christ is to be.  A committed follower of the One who gave His life for me out of love.  It is this lack of following that I am in need of repentance for.  I know that God is faithful and I have the assurance of His word in 1 John 1:9 that I am forgiven of my sin.  Now it is time through this public posting that I recommit myself to following Christ where He would lead me and in the way He would want me live.  Do not be deceived my brothers and sisters.  Don’t buy the lie that you only need God on Sundays and the rest of the week is your’s.  The Church desperately needs Him every moment of every day to accomplish the good and perfect plan of God He has for us.  Do you need to repent of such an attitude, don’t delay.

Now Christians from around the U.S. and the world can once again be blessed by the anointed preaching of the Word of God by Pastor Paul.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,300 times in 2010. That’s about 3 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 5 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 21 posts. There were 2 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 82kb.

The busiest day of the year was January 6th with 28 views. The most popular post that day was Change Through Surrender.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were search.aol.com, mycrazyreader.info, mail.yahoo.com, openbiblelearning.com, and 74.125.67.100.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for praise and worship, call to worship, praise and worship images, praise & worship, and praise and worship pictures.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Change Through Surrender January 2010
1 comment

Interpreting the Bible Correctly February 2009
1 comment

Reasons to Rejoice in the Lord June 2010

About John September 2006

Discovering and Using Your Spiritual Gifts February 2009
2 comments

One of the most quoted and sung about verses in the New Testament is found in Philippians 4.  Paul says in verse 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.” I always thought that he was the first and only one to quote such a command.  But as I was reading this morning from Psalm 32, David said the same thing in verse 11, “So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!  Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!”   I know from my own experience that it is not easy to rejoice in the Lord always.  Sometimes I just don’t feel like it, or to be honest I just plain forget to.  Since David mentions this statement at the end of the psalm I decided to find out if he gives any clues as to why you and I should rejoice in the Lord.

REASON #1: Your sins have been completely forgiven.

Read verses 1 and 2.  It begins with the declaration of the joy we should have when our sins have been forgiven and covered.  As believers in Christ our sins have been forgiven and paid for by the precious blood of our Savior Jesus Christ at Calvary.  God no longer looks at us as unclean sinners.  Rather we have been adopted into his family as His sons and daughters and we have been covered in his righteousness (2 Cor 5:21).  Perhaps you feel the weight of guilt and shame pressing around you.  Perhaps you feel a distant from those closest to you.  Perhaps you feel like God is a million miles away from you.  If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it may be a condition known as “hidingyoursins-itus”.  David felt this too.  David could declare this joy of being forgiven only after he stopped hiding from his sin and rebellion and confessed it to God (Ps. 32:3-5).  We have a similar promise found in 1 John 1:9 for us.  We can rejoice in the Lord because God has forgiven you and I from our sins and there is nothing that can separate us from His love and grace.

REASON #2: God is your refuge

In Psalm 32:7 it says, “For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble.  You surround me with songs of victory.”  When trials, temptation, and troubles come our way we have a solid place to run and find shelter.  It is in the safe loving arms of our Father in Heaven.  Notice this verse does not say, “You keep trouble away” or “You make trouble disappear”.  It is clear from Jesus that even as Christians we will face trouble in this world (John 16:33).  I know for me, even after I have confessed my sins to the Lord I can still feel guilt and shame.  Yet, if I will simply run to the Lord and stay connected to Him, I will find shelter from the nagging, lying voice of the devil trying to tell me, “You aren’t forgiven”.  I love how this verse also says that God will, “… surround me with songs of victory.”  It appears that when you and I will go to God in our times of trouble he will not only be a shelter, but will give us inspiration to move forward through His encouragement.  Not only does God surround us with songs of victory, but verse 10 says He surrounds us with his “unfailing love”.  Now that’s something to rejoice in!

REASON #3: God is your guide.

“The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will advise you and watch over you.’”  Sometimes I wonder where I am heading in life.  I am currently in a season of transitioning from being single to being married.  I have a tendancy to worry, a lot.  This constant struggle to figure things out and find my own way is very draining and discouraging.  It’s clear in this verse that God will direct me along the right paths to walk in.  Yet, how often do you and I decide to take the path that is not as level and smooth as the one that God presents to us?  We can rejoice in the Lord, because He assures us of his watchfulness and his guidance over our lives if we will trust Him.

I am not saying I have this all figured out now.  This passage has definitely given me some instruction on reasons and ways I can rejoice in the Lord always, rather than find excuses to remain depressed and “poopy” as a friend of mine says.  Perhaps you will do as I am, and spend a few days meditating on this particular Psalm.  I hope you will find encouragment from this and keep walking by faith in the One who loves you and gave Himself for you.

For most of us living in the 21st century we have little experience or first hand knowledge of what it’s like being a shepherd caring for a flock of sheep.  Yet, in Jesus’ time the audience he was speaking to would be very familiar with his illustration.  I awoke very early this morning and had trouble getting back to sleep.  This annoyed me since I have the day off and I was looking forward to sleeping in.  In the quiet and the darkness of my apartment, the words to verse 10 of this passage ran through my mind.  Specifically, the words in which Jesus described the purpose of the thief versus his purpose as the good shepherd.  Two very different persons are mentioned in this illustration.  The good shepherd (Jesus) and the thief (the devil or any false teacher for that matter).  Jesus said in verse 4 that his sheep recognize and follow his voice.  I don’t know about you, but I find myself listening to  the voice of the thief and not Jesus sometimes.  What I mean by this is, I listen to the voice in my mind that tells me things that are not life bringing, but destructive.  That voice is the voice of the thief.  It is a sound of destruction, a sound of shortcuts, a sound of condemnation, and a sound of death.  Yet, for me it has been the more familiar of the two.  How about for you?

Jesus offers me and you a better way to live.  He says in verse 9 that by being one of his sheep we will find pasture.  We will find life-sustaining provision in Him.  What does the thief offer?  Jesus offers direction for life (vs. 3).  What does the thief offer?  Jesus offers real life and salvation (vs. 9).  What does the thief offer?  Perhaps I have spent too much time away from the closeness of the Shepherd and closer to the fence where the thief can whisper in my ear.  I am honestly getting very tired living the “Christian” life and desire to move into living the “abundant” life that Jesus offers.  I’m not saying that I want to stop being a Christian.  Rather, I want to stop living this spiritual routine kind of life that I have been settling for.  I think Paul sums it up best,  “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  Phil 3:12

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I recently came to a point of my life where I can say that I surrendered my life and will to God. Yesterday, however was a day where I followed the “misdeeds of the body” rather than being led by the Holy Spirit. Now I know that I am forgiven after repenting and that I am still His child, but I desire to do life His way. The NLT version of verse 12 says, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” As a child of God you and I don’t have to do what our old, natural, sinful self tells us to do. God says clearly that we are no longer obligated to follow its dictates because He has given us an alternative, His Holy Spirit. It is also clear in this passage that God will do His part in helping you and I to live according to His will, but we have to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to say “NO” to our old self. By consistently saying “No” to the flesh, and “Yes” to God we put to death the “misdeeds of the body”. There is now way to live and do the will of God without the power of God’s Spirit to help us. No amount of self-effort or willpower is ever enough. God was telling me this morning that I needed to cry out to Him and ask Him for His power to help me to obey His will and word rather than caving into my old habits, and yes, addictions. Come on now, be honest with yourself. Some of your habitiual sins are to a point of being a life controlling addiction. God says clearly here, that with his power, you and I can put those misdeeds to death. I want to be led by the Spirit of God from now on. ve you ever been surprised to hear from God? I mean you pray and ask Him if He has anything to tell you and then when He does it surprises you. Well, that happened to me this morning. I am continuing to read through 1 John in the New Testament, but afterwards the Lord directed me to Romans 8: 12-14. It says, “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (NIV) I recently came to a point of my life where I can say that I surrendered my life and will to God. Yesterday, however was a day where I followed the “misdeeds of the body” rather than being led by the Holy Spirit. Now I know that I am forgiven after repenting and that I am still His child, but I desire to do life His way. The NLT version of verse 12 says, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” As a child of God you and I don’t have to do what our old, natural, sinful self tells us to do. God says clearly that we are no longer obligated to follow its dictates because He has given us an alternative, His Holy Spirit. It is also clear in this passage that God will do His part in helping you and I to live according to His will, but we have to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to say “NO” to our old self. By consistently saying “No” to the flesh, and “Yes” to God we put to death the “misdeeds of the body”.

There is now way to live and do the will of God without the power of God’s Spirit to help us. No amount of self-effort or willpower is ever enough. God was telling me this morning that I needed to cry out to Him and ask Him for His power to help me to obey His will and word rather than caving into my old habits, and yes, addictions. Come on now, be honest with yourself. Some of your habitiual sins are to a point of being a life controlling addiction. God says clearly here, that with his power, you and I can put those misdeeds to death. I want to be led by the Spirit of God from now on.

I can easily tell when I am not telling the truth to someone else about something.  The phrase, “not telling the truth” is a nice way to say, “You’re lying!”  But, when it comes to recognizing that I’m lying to myself, now that is harder for me to pick up on.  How about you?  Can you tell what “lies” you have told yourself without realizing it?  I think for me it was just easier to float down that all too familiar river.  Oh, you know what river I’m talking about.  The river named “De Nile”.  I have lied to myself that my spending habits aren’t so bad.  I have lied to myself that I can continue to live with this habitual sin, after all God will forgive me.    I have lied to myself that my relationship with God is ok even thought I don’t pray much.  I have even lied to myself about who I am.  I am in debt and there is constantly “too much month and the end of the money”.   God clearly calls me to live in victory and not defeat.  As for my third example, 1 John 2:4 says, “The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”  God also says that I am His child and not a loser.  God makes it clear that we can easily be self-deceived and convince ourselves that things are good, when they are clearly not. 

The question or challenge that this brings up is, “Will you and I pray and ask God to point out any areas of self-deception and help us to make them right?”  I hope and pray that God will lead us in truth and that we will consistently walk in the light.

But God knew I needed something else to lead me to Him.  Now on January 2nd I received a piece of mail with bad news that was the catalyst for a breakthrough that I needed and God desired for me to make.  During a worship time at a meeting at church that night God made it clear that I needed to “know Him” this year.  I was a pastor and preached His word, but I didn’t really know Him.  I was a believer, but I wasn’t trusting Him completely.  So putting this together with the bad news I got, I spent several hours in prayer and in tears.  God gave me encouragement from His word, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”  Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)  The Lord was telling me that I need to know Him and to trust Him even when circumstances are painful and hard.

I have had a peace the past few days that I have not felt in a long time.  I asked this dear friend of mine how I would know if I had really surrendered.  She said if I can honestly say, “Lord not by will, but thine be done.”  I know that I have surrendered and I am enjoying my times of private worship more these days.  If you need to make changes this year, the first thing I encourage you to do is to surrender your life and will to Christ and let Him do what you and I can’t do on our own.  I am so glad that I did and I’m looking forward to whatever God has in mind for me this year.