Tag: purpose
Seasoned For Your Purpose
Seasoned For Your Purpose
God is a good God. It is His goodness that leads people to repentance. His goodness moves us to walk in His purpose for our lives.
Knowing that His love is everlasting and unconditional. This kind of assurance should propel us forward into a close, and even closer relationship with Him.
I love the Lord, and I love the church. This one, and everyone, that exists to further the Gospel and declare the wonders of God.
It is His story that drives me, not mine. I am not called to promote myself. I am called to shine His light.
I want to share some thoughts titled, “Seasoned For Your Purpose”
Mark 9:38-42 NASB
38 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.
40 For he who is not against us is for us.
41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.
I think what stands out to me in these passages, is the Lord’s complete confidence in those who believe in Him.
Even declaring how important these little, unknown servants are, and the harsh rebuke those who offended them would receive.
In the next few verses, Mark 43-48 there comes a stern warning. I will summarize.
If you hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. If your eye causes you to stumble, pull it out. Better to enter into the Kingdom of God with one hand, or one foot, or one eye. Than to have both, and enter into hell.
Pretty tough. What is He really saying?
I believe that Jesus is emphasizing the importance of three things that occur in our lives, most everyday.
What we touch, where we go, and what we see.
When God gave instruction to Adam and Eve about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He said this. In Genesis 3:3. “You shall not eat from it, or touch it, or you will die.”
He threw them out of the Garden. Commanded them to work the ground from which they came.
What you touch matters. Today it has a much broader meaning.
The Lord told Joshua this.
Joshua 1:3 NASB
Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
Where you walk is your inheritance. Where you go matters.
Psalms 26:12 NASB
My foot stands on a level place; In the congregations I shall bless the Lord.
Psalms 94:18 NASB
If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.
Where your feet take you matters!!
It matters what you see. Jesus said this.
Matthew 6:22-23 NASB
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
What you touch,where you walk, and what you see.
I want to go back to Mark 9 and read the last two verses. The Lord shared these warnings for our good. Following these principles will strengthen our faith and our relationship with Him. Christ ended the chapter this way.
Mark 9:49-50 NASB
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.
50 Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
When we go through trials we are being salted in preservation. Not only for our lives. We are called to share this process with everyone.
When we follow Christ we begin a process. Our lives, thoughts, and actions are being refined. Changed, if you will to align with the will and purpose of God.
That process must also be the catalyst that makes us the light of the world. Sharing our story. The things we have conquered. The things that have preserved us for the Kingdom.
Don’t minimize your story. It will be the salt that changes another.
Our success generates success in others. That is the process of being salted.
Matthew 5:13 NASB
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
Colossians 4:6 NASB
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
“What we touch, where we go, what we see, salts our world with the love and grace of God.”
We are seasoned for purpose.
What about your purpose?
#lovewins #hopelives
“Here Comes This Dreamer”
Here Comes This Dreamer
Purpose is defined several ways but there are two definitions relevant to me.
First, the reason for which something exists. Secondly it refers to determination and resolve.
Bear in mind, as a pastor, I look into the present, and the future. The broader reason you and I exist is to fulfill the will of God. We exist because of His mercy and grace. There is never a question of this truth.
The question is do we know what our role is in fulfilling the will of God?
What also remains a question is our determination and resolve to believe in the purpose of God for our lives.
My purpose as a Pastor is, “To help people access their dreams and, or, maximize their potential.”
For some it will be helping you see the obstacles that hinder you. While others still it will be helping you grow into your ministry. All the while consistently and persistently telling the story of Jesus.
I want to eliminate most of the reasons that cause us to think we have no potential to accomplish God’s will for our lives. I will do so by reading 3 verses from Hebrews 12. You will find that with determination and resolve you can do anything.
Hebrews 12:1-3 Message
1 Do you see what this means – all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running – and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.
2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
For some you need to read these passages over and over until faith arises in your souls. “Here Comes This Dreamer.” is the story of Joseph and what God fulfilled in his life. All of it started with two dreams.
Genesis 37:18-20 NASB
18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!
20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
Let me say something clear and unambiguous. “There will always be someone who wants to kill your dreams.”
If you will read Genesis 37-50 you will see the constant adversity that Joseph faced before his dreams were realized.
Now we know that His dreams were given by God. We know that because it is the past and there is record that we believe the dreams came to pass.
Our dreams often lay dormant in our minds because we can not see how they will come to pass.
For the purpose of these thoughts, a dream is defined this way, “a condition or achievement longed for; or oversimplified it means a goal.”
I have always been a dreamer. Today I dream of at least 2-3 Amazing Life Church locations with pastors raised up to carry the same vision and purpose for the preaching of the Gospel that we have delivered in this house.
I dream of ministries that have faced failure or hurts that have stopped their dreams in their tracks to once again rise up in the Amazing Grace of God and fulfill their dreams and visions that God placed in their hearts. Looking at adversity with faith in Who He is and What He has done.
I have dreams for the people that God has placed in my path.
Purpose that they have yet to acknowledge because they do not believe in themselves and the grace of God in their lives. I see them in their anointing and it is amazing.
Let me share quickly three things that Joseph did that were examples to us.
1-Speak your dreams.
2-Believe your dreams
3-Never doubt your dreams even in your adversity
We do not have the benefit of a magical crystal ball where the future appears with a wave of the hand. The only resource we have is our faith in God. I can share one thing with you that should strengthen your faith and your resolve to move forward in your dreams.
Here it is.
God has already seen you in your future and your success has already been established in His will.
The psalmist David shared this in one of his psalms.
Psalms 31:14-15 NASB
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord, I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
That word times is translated from a Hebrew word which means, “seasons.
The season for the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams took a while but His trust in God never wavered. He walked in his dream before it came to pass.
This is one of my favorite quotes from Oswald Chambers.
“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands; and step out into the invincible future with Him.”
Don’t let doubt and fear fill your heart and mind. When God puts a purpose, or a dream in you, He has already seen it come to pass.
Believe in Him Trust His leading, and move forward. It will most often take a while. Remain faithful, and you will see it come to pass.
#lovewins #hopelives
The Peaceful Transition of Power
“The Peaceful Transition of Power”
This is a phrase I have heard a lot lately. It is a commitment of honor from an administration leaving power. The commitment is to provide the information and help needed for a new power to develop their administration and get familiar with the office they hold.
I know this is a thumbnail of the process, and please don’t think that I am about to write a political discourse. I use this example to share some thoughts, and introduce a transition of power that happened more than two thousands years ago.
Let me share one of the introductions of this world changing event, and transfer of power. These are the words of Jesus.
John 14:16-17 NASB
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
Jesus care and concern for His followers is one of the hallmarks of His ministry. This is an undeniable altruism.
His followers were concerned at Him leaving so He was beginning to comfort them and assure them that He would not leave them without heavenly help and a heavenly connection. One that would be inside them and easily accessible.
I love this stuff. The presence and purpose of God is the strongest force on earth. Utilized for His glory and the care of His people. Those who follow Him, and those who don’t. This global and unified purpose has changed the world for over two thousand years. It’s power has not diminished, yet I wonder if our understanding of it’s use has evolved to something it was never intended to be.
The service of Christ was enveloped in humility. His ministry was not exclusive to those who believed in Him. He reached for and never gave up on those who would not believe. Even reminding them from His time on the cross of Psalms that pointed to Him and what was happening.
The power He transferred to His church and the individual members is all about service, and multiplying. Serving our world in whatever means we can. All the while telling the story of Jesus and His love for all mankind.
Here is His statement shortly before His ascension.
Acts 1:8 NASB
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
These Disciples would very shortly become Apostles. They were given the commission from Jesus to carry His story throughout the world. He knew they would need Divine authority. They would also need Divine help. They gathered together in an upper room along with approximately 120 people. They took care of business and then the transition of power began.
Acts 2:2-4 NASB
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
This may not have been viewed as a peaceful event. People gathered to hear the story of Jesus. Even hearing it in their own language.
This event empowered the small group of people to go forth with the anointing that Christ passed down. The anointing to tell the story of Jesus and confirm it with the miraculous power of healing and Dominion Authority.
It has rattled entire worlds for over 2000 years.
It is amazing the relevance that an event that long ago continues to be the driving force of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This gift has not faded away with faithless theology. It has not been dismantled or invalidated. At least not by the Father.
When you read the scriptures with an open mind I pray you remember the words of the Apostle Paul in His second letter to the church in Corinth.
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NASB
5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
This awesome transition of power is still relevant today. In the hearts of all of us who believe in the Words of God and the life He represented. I would ask you when you pray to pray this way. Pray as our Lord taught us to pray.
Matthew 6:9-13 NASB
9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
I pray blessings and favor for you. Thanks for looking.