A sure way to be blessed!

John 13: 17

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

Our Family Life Conference at WCF concluded last night, and each of the 5 teaching sessions were filled with great revelation.

God’s Word when applied, not only brings freedom, but an abundance of joy.

Each evening, you could see that Dave’s messages were gaining momentum.

You could witness each night, that our attendance grew in number. I guess that’s the power of the Holy Spirit at work.

Could it be, that some people were actually hungering and thirsting for the righteous things of God?

I said it last night, and I’ll say it again; What would be tragic about this whole event, if we just heard the words, but never put them into practice.

How long do we sit in our churches—hear messages of hope, confession and repentance—but still hang on to known sin?

I purposed myself when I left last night, that I am not going to allow these words, to fall upon deaf ears.

What will you do differently today, that brings honor to our great God?

It is all about Him you know—and not at all about us.

If for some reason you missed one or more of the sessions, I challenge you to go to our church web site, and take a few moments to listen.

There might be something there, that might just change your life. 

Now that we know these things, Jesus said, we would be blessed if we actually did them…

Persecution Guarantee!

2 Timothy 3: 12

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…

 

Satan is the ruler of this small world.

God has given him this little, tiny domain, but God is still the great ruler of the greater Kingdom.

 

Every day, the demon of darkness, tries to influence our lives.

Paul is telling Timothy, that everyone, without exception or partiality, will face tough spiritual situations.

Especially the person who wants to live a life, pleasing to God.

 

This is a guarantee, that we will be forever harassed.

Do you ever wonder, why we have to struggle?

 

Some Christians become very disheartened, in part because many of them thought the Christian life was easier than this.

Make no mistake about it my friends—we are in a war!

 

Maybe you did not realize that, when you signed up for the Kingdom of our great God.

Remember this though—the only harm that can come to us in this battle, is only temporary.

 

Real victory—and lasting triumph, is certain.

The Bible says, that it is our inheritance.

 

Stand firm this day my friend—the day of celebration and victory parade, is coming…

Be Positioned Ready!

Matthew 24: 44

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

 

Today starts a brand new week.

Many people expect things to go just as they did last week—good or bad.

Most of you expected the Packers to win last night—and they did.

 

At some point in our lives, or in a generation to come, Jesus will return for His bride—the church.

People will rise in the morning, and expect their day to go just as the one before.

 

But something will be different about this day—it won’t be as normal as the day before.

Jesus will have returned, and no one would have really expected for this day to  come—but it will have.

 

Today, some of you will get the kids ready for a new school day.

Folks are busy getting their yards and homes ready for the winter—but few, are truly getting ready for the return of Christ.

 

If Jesus would have come back last night—I would have been ready—in part, because I was in the best place I could be—in church, with other worshippers,

I want to position myself, in the best way possible.

I’m getting ready for Jesus to come back, and I expect Him to keep His promise—because He’s never, ever lied.

 

I don’t want to be in the wrong place when Jesus comes back.

Like grocery shopping or at Fleet Farm on a Sunday morning—when I could have  been worshipping the One true God.

 

Today I’m getting ready—especially when I know, He could return at any hour…

Pay back!

2 Thessalonians 1: 6 – 7

God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled…

 

I don’t know about you, but does it seem like the world is becoming crazier by the moment?

Violence seems to be the mark of this current age.

We actually have young teen age children, killing their teachers?

 

Did you know that in our “civilized”? society, the suicide rate climbs higher every year.

What a future, huh?

In all this chaotic state, one thing I do know—it’s that the future belongs solely to our God.

 

Many Biblical scholars believe, that Jesus could come at any time.

When He does come—and no one knows when that will be—He will most certainly bring peace with Him.

 

World leaders have been trying to bring peace to the world for centuries, but haven’t had much luck.

I wonder if it’s because, they’re trying to do it without the Prince of peace?

 

The great and mighty Kingdom of Jesus, will be filled with peace.

But until He does come—there’s work to be done—and some of it will be done, in the midst of great craziness and trouble.

 

Relief is coming my friends—to those of us who are troubled.

And God is going to pay back, those who cause it…

Are you a sort of?

John 8: 11

"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Jesus said… “Go now and leave your life of sin.” Another translation says… “Go and sin no more.”

Isn’t that the summation of the Christian life?

Because of what Jesus did for us, shouldn’t we actually do, what He tells us to do?

We’re not sort of a Christian, are we?

We’re not kind of a Christian.

When we obeyed the words of Jesus’ teaching, to walk away from our sinful lives, we became a true, died in the wool Christian.

To accept anything less, would be like saying, we sort of sin—or we kind of sin.

So do we sort of sleep with our girlfriend/boyfriend before we’re to be married?

Or do we only shoplift or steal, in moderation?

I think Jesus is pretty direct in what He expects from His followers.

I think Jesus is going to be pretty direct one day, to those people who were just kind of followers.

You know, the luke warm one’s He spoke about in Revelation chapter 3. And these words are not condemning—there honest.

I can tell you what my wife would say, if I was sort of faithful to her.

It’s the same way for the person that says… “Well, I go to church half of the Sunday’s in a year.”

Call me crazy, but I take the words of Jesus pretty seriously—especially the ones, that call me to die to self…

Correction is good!

Matthew 16: 23

Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

 

I guess you could say, that Jesus was pretty emphatic when he spoke these words to Peter.

I wonder what tone of voice Jesus used, when he spoke these cutting words?

Make no mistake about it, Jesus made it quite clear, that Peter didn’t have any idea what he was talking about.

 

How would we in the church, handle this kind of correction?

Most people would probably leave the church, if they were spoken to in this tone of voice.

 

A friend of mine in ministry told me a few years back, that the church has been way too nice—for way too long.

I wonder if we’d have the societal problems we have today, if wayward people were corrected, like Jesus corrected Peter?

 

This same friend, said they overheard one of their congregants, after a harder Sunday morning message say…. “I’m not sure I can attend a church, that brings this kind of conviction….”

Maybe that’s the problem in a nut shell. I guess if the spiritual shoe fits, maybe we should actually wear it.

 

What was Peter’s reaction? Was he disgruntled? Did he leave this band of merry men? Did he discontinue his membership?

No, Peter took the blows, and it was used to make Peter, the powerful man he became.

 

Maybe if we didn’t get so hot under the collar all the time, when someone spoke honest corrective words to us—maybe it would actually make us a better man/woman?

I’m so glad we didn’t see Peter’s response, as one who was holding a grudge—or one who got ticked off.

 

I wonder how much time do we waste, by refusing to receive the correction we actually need?

Encourage!

1 Thessalonians 5: 11

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

 

Yesterday at church, some of the people there, paid homage to the Pastor and his family.

Frankly, I’m a little uncomfortable with all the attention.

 

There is a couple though, who goes out of their way, to make the day special for us. They have done so for the 11 years I have been there.

It often makes me wonder, if anyone else would even notice, if they had not made this celebration happen.

 

A handful of people sent cards, and one couple even sent a special personal note to each of us, along with a gift card.

But there’s one gift that stood out, over all the best and the rest.

 

One person actually took time to pen a letter of appreciation.

It’s the kind of letter that you store in the back of your Bible, and when you go to open it, it falls out along with all the other treasures stored there.

 

When’s the last time you encouraged someone? When’s the last time you told someone, that they really mattered?

What about the UPS or Fed-X driver that takes special care to deliver your consumer packages?

What about the teacher who labors over instructing your child? When’s the last time you encouraged them?

How about the co-worker who goes to great lengths, to make your load a little lighter? How about building up the receptionist at your local doctors office?

 

We live during a day and time, when we all need words of encouragement, that build us up.

We need people to take the time, to write us personal notes, that tell us how much they care.

 

Sometimes we can be pretty ungrateful—especially me included.

So who will you target today, to send along a word of encouragement? It might just make the difference that person needs, just to get through their day…

Glorious Riches!

Philippians 4: 19

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

 

Isn’t this verse, an unbelievable promise for all Christians?

The source of all that we need is God, and His supply line is inexhaustible.

 

Jesus is the channel through which these riches come to us.

He is more than able to meet our needs, and more than any other source we can name by name.

 

For some people though, Jesus is only given the chance to be our supply, when the check book is empty, or the doctor gives us some bad news.

But I need Jesus every day and every hour. I need Him in times of worship and adoration, as much as I need Him when the chips are down.

 

Did you know that there are just as many stars in the sky at high noon, as there are at midnight?

Just because it’s broad day light, doesn’t mean they’re not there.

 

I happen to believe that when we all get to Heaven one day, we’re going to see all the ways God provided for all of our needs.

Did you know that we all face dangers every day, that most of us aren’t even aware of?

That’s God meeting ALL of our needs…

 

“Father God—I thank You and praise You for the good things You bring into my life.

I also thank You for bringing me teachable moments too. You know exactly what I need—don’t You?

Amen.”

He is Alive!

Acts 1: 3 NAS

To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs,

appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

 

Have you ever given it much thought, of what it would be like to serve a god that’s dead?

What would it be like, to serve a god, who has absolutely no idea what we’re going through?

 

Let me give you a few examples….

There are over 350 million Buddhists in the world.

Buddha lived during about the 4^th century BC. There are no known facts, that he created anything.

Documentation tells us that he died and was cremated.

 

Muhammad has 1.2 billion people who serve him.

This faith was founded about the 7^th century AD.

On June 6, 632, he died and was buried in a grave in Medina, and he still remains there.

So are either of these two gods real? If they are, one thing we know for sure….they’re still dead!

 

Jesus is the only One who knows what we’re going through.

Jesus is the only god who has defeated death.

By the way…He’s the only One, who can give eternal life.

 

So if you’re day started out kind of on the wrong foot, look up, there’s a God who cares deeply for you—and who knows you—and by the way…He’s still alive!!

A call to holiness!

Leviticus 20: 26

You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart…

 

The picture of holiness in my mind, when I was a kid, was an older lady kneeling in prayer, with a rosary wrapped around her hands.

What does the word “holiness” mean to you?

 

I’ve come to learn, that holiness has nothing to do with appearance, but it has everything to do with lifestyle.

Jesus reminds us to be holy, because He Himself is holy.

 

Again, what does it mean to be holy?

Jesus gave us a direct command, to model our lives as an example, that He has set before us.

 

Jesus expects us to be deliberate in our attempt to be holy.

It was God’s original plan for us to be holy, ever since the creation story.

 

Obviously, we live in a world that has been saturated with influences of the dark kingdom.

Some of that has actually infiltrated into the church.

 

As believers in Christ, we must hold our banner high—and our banner should still read…. “Holiness Still Matters!”

Could it be that people have lost interest in the church, because the church has lost its desire for holiness?

 

Ask yourself this question this morning; What do people see, when they look at me?

Holiness, or influences of this dark and dying world…

Peace!

Jeremiah 6: 14

‘Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace….

 

Most Christian scholars of this modern time, say that we live in the day of acceptance, like at no other time in history.

In our culture, almost anything goes, and it’s said that morality is only a relative term.

 

Tolerance today really means… “Don’t preach to me—I don’t plan on changing anyway!”

They’re the same kind of people who say… “Peace—Peace”, but there isn’t any real peace.

 

Don’t you wish that peace would really come?

Some day it will, when the Prince of Peace arrives on the scene.

 

Peace comes when we follow Jesus, and let’s remember that His plan for our lives is an exclusive one.

When we say yes to Jesus, we are faced with a very important, exclusive choice.

 

Deception is alive and well in our world.

Most of the effective plans of deception, even sound very pleasant to the ears.

Just be sure of this—they will never bring any lasting peace.

 

God’s Word brings about peace, and are pleasant sounding words too, but only to the repentant heart, that wants to make a wholesale change.

His peace is for the imperfect person, who is constantly striving to be like Jesus, and who doesn’t want to stay imperfect.

That’s what sanctification is.

 

Then, and only then—will peace come about—especially when there seems to be, no peace at all…

The Other Side!

Isaiah 64: 4

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

 

I went yesterday, to the funeral of a neighborhood friend.

His son David, recounted a story for me, while I was there.

 

As the doctor was about to leave the hospital room a few days before Dave’s dad passed away, his dad had a question.

“Doc, I’m not real keen on this dying thing—can you tell me what’s on the other side?”

The doctor scratched his head, and answered… “I’m not sure I really know.”

 

About that time, Dave’s dad’s dog, arrived at the hospital.

Pugsly, as he’s affectionately known, was scratching at the door, trying frantically to get into the room.

The dog had never been to a hospital before—and he didn’t really know anything else, except that his master was on the other side of the door.

 

Most of really don’t know what’s on the other side of this life, do we?

But there’s one thing we know for sure my friends, we know our Master is there, and I guess that’s all that really matters.

 

We may not know exactly what we’ll find in that glorious place called Heaven, but those of us who know Jesus, know He’s there.

Be encouraged today my friends—even if you’re going through a tough time—we know that our journey will end one day, in the loving arms of our God

Absolute Impossible!

Isaiah 50: 2

When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you?

 

Have you ever figured out, what keeps us from totally obeying God?

What stands in the way, of us turning every single impulse, over to the authority of God?

 

It can’t be that we think God is unwilling to restore us, or offer us forgiveness.

Certainly His power is able to meet every one of our needs.

So why does our faith, sometimes turn into disobedience?

 

We would never question God’s power on purpose—would we?

If someone asked us… “Do you believe that God created this whole big world, and holds it all in the very palm of His hand?”

Our answer would most likely be… “I sure do!”

 

Does the degree of our difficult situation, have anything to do with whether we believe God can come through or not?

We know the Bible says, that nothing is too difficult for Him—right?

What is it about our own personal situations, that causes us to give up on faith?

 

Let’s none of us forget, that we serve a God of the absolute impossible.

There isn’t one single thing that you’ll face this day, that frightens God, even a little bit.

 

Remember, He stands ready to fix anything we can bring Him….so what are you waiting for?

Why not ask Him to fix it right now. Do you have the faith to ask Him?

That’s what He’s looking for—and that’s what please Him—a great measure of faith…

Pay attention!

Isaiah 48: 18

If only you had paid attention to my commands…

 

“If only”…two very small words, but that have drastic, even tragic consequences.

What they really mean, is that things probably would be a whole lot  different, if we did things differently.

 

God’s people could have avoided so much pain and heart ache, if they had did things His way.

I think every one of us reading this, can surely relate.

 

Everyone has regrets—sometimes enormous ones.

That’s just the way it is, as we live and flourish in a fallen world.

 

Did you ever wonder what it might have been, if we had listened to God in the first place?

Sooner or later, we all come to the realization, that life could have been better than it is.

 

The act of rebellion, might lead to the reason that we’re…in debt—why we lost our job—why our family might be screwed up..etc., etc.

If only I had done this or that or the other thing…

 

That’s the wonderful thing about amazing grace.

It never puts us in a position, where God can’t redeem our past mistakes.

 

We can follow Him, and trust that His ways, lead to a life of no regrets…

Commit!

Psalm 37: 5

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this…

 

As I spoke in church yesterday, I indicated that in 1997, I committed my entire life to the work of the Lord.

Since then, God has taken me on some very interesting journeys.

 

I’ve met some, shall we say, very interesting people, and I’ve also learned some very valuable lessons.

I’ve watched God open some doors, that I never thought possible.

 

I think that’s what happens, when someone totally commits themselves to the work of the Lord.

God wants to be in charge, and rightfully so.

Every time I feel like I need to take the lead, things get all tangled up in a mess.

 

Did you know that there are  30 million people who play fantasy football each year?

And that’s what it is—it’s a fantasy—it’s make believe!

 

I wonder what might happen to the Kingdom of darkness, if those 30 million people committed their lives to the work of the Lord?

What if we became earnestly committed, to the work of our God?

 

“Lord God, thank You for allowing me to share in the work of Your Kingdom.

Thank you for allowing me to reach the world with Your truth, through that little Winneconne pulpit.

May the good news of Jesus, and the precious gift of Salvation be found, through the words You lay upon my heart.

Today, I recommit my life to You again, and I’d prefer not living in the realm, of make believe. Amen.”

Daily Choices!

Acts 5: 29

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!”

I went tonight to run some errands, and had to stop at the store for some cough syrup.

In the same isle I was in, were packages of Halloween candy.

This time I chose the cough syrup, but that would probably be the exception to the rule.

When it comes to flavor, I have to admit that short term pleasure, almost always outweighs weightier benefits.

If I always operated in the short term, I’d probably find myself lacking in some way or another down the road.

The followers of Jesus were left with a choice.

They could keep themselves from a good beating and from jail, if they had only stopped telling the truth about Jesus.

For the temporary, the first option would’ve probably been more beneficial—at least physically it would have.

But every day we have the choice of following man’s plan, or God’s plan.

By staying obedient to the call of God, nothing can outweigh the benefits to come.

What have you been choosing lately?

Just remember this—when choosing to obey God, it will always cost us something. Friends—relationships—honor—reputation…

“Father God—give me the strength and will to choose wisely. Help me never choose what’s good for the here and now, but help me choose Your destiny for my life—even if it hurts. Amen

The Eleventh Hour!

Matthew 20: 6 – 7

About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'”

 

Some people have followed Jesus all of their lives.

Some have unfortunately wandered off to see what else is out there, that’s more exciting.

 

I got called to the bedside yesterday, of an old neighborhood friend of mine.

He’s the kind of guy, that when you look up word, “neighbor” in the dictionary, you’ll find Neal’s picture there.

 

Did you ever wonder why, God would give some people until the 11^th hour to make up their mind about salvation?

It’s because God is saturated with mercy and grace.

 

What pleased me the most about yesterday’s visit with Neal, is that someone before I arrived, had led him to Christ.

Neal responded with a sincerely heavy heart about his passed sin, and his name is now written in  the Lamb’s book of life.

He’ll be meeting Jesus at any time, now.

 

I was so glad, that all I had to do yesterday, was affirm to Neal, the decision he made in his heart.

Although we know it was the calling/drawing power of God, that engaged the heart of Neal—and yes, in the 11^th hour of his life.

 

Ya know, I happen to think it’s just amazing, that God never gives up on a soul, even up to the very end.

If you’re still waiting to make that decision, please don’t wait too long…