Lets talk loaves and fishes...

In my post "Be Living Water (Part 2)" I mentioned that God had shown me some cool things about “seed, time, harvest” principals and faith. It all started a few Sundays ago when my Pastor did a sermon concerning miracles and John 6:1-13. This is the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with fives loaves and two fish.

As my pastor was preaching a light came on. This is not just the story of a miracle. This is not just a story of Gods supernatural provision. This is not just a story about faith. This is a story of seed and harvest!

I know that typically when we talk about sowing and reaping the first place we turn is Matthew 13:1-8. That’s a great place to start, but I believe there is more. In His explanation of the parable of the sower Jesus describes sowing and reaping as one of the “mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 13:11). He, essentially, then goes on to say that He teaches these mysteries in parables so those who believe will see and hear them but those who are not yet believers remain unable to “perceive”. As we dive deeper into our faith and grow we are able to see more. God will not give us meat if we can only handle milk (1 Corinthians 3:2). He is a loving God and father who takes tender care of us.

This may take a few posts to get through, but I believe there is more meat here in John 6 than first meets the eye. It’s some very exciting stuff and can change the way we look at sowing and reaping. Lets start by just reading the passage so we have a baseline to work from. I cant wait to share the rest with you. Be blessed beloveds!

John 6:1-13 (King James Version)

1After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
2And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
3And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
4And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
5When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
9There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
13Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

He is always with you...

Beloved, Do you know that He is always with you? Even when the night is at its darkest He is still right by your side!

Deuteronomy 31:6 (King James Version)
6Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrews 13:5-6 (King James Version)
5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

In John, Jesus Himself tells us that we WILL face difficult times. In the same breath He tells us that He has already overcome them.

John 16:33 (King James Version)
33These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

He will NEVER leave you or forsake you!

satan, the enemy of our souls, has been given temporary reign over this world and DOES wish us harm.

1 Peter 5:8 (King James Version)
8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

The good news is that he is only allowed to have as much authority and control over our lives as we permit him have. There is no temptation or trial that our loving God has not equipped us to handle.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (King James Version)
13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

God takes joy in bringing life out of death, joy out of suffering and pain, light out of the darkness, etc.

1 Peter 5:10 (King James Version)
10But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

James 1:2-3 (King James Version)
2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

When the time comes, like a loving father or husband, He will rebuke our devourer.

Malachi 3:11 (King James Version)
11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

It is deeper than all that, but here is the gist: God has a plan for us. He stands right by our side as He allows us to act out our free will. He loves us on a deeper level than I believe we are able to comprehend while on this planet. That does not bother me though. The love that we are able to comprehend if we open our hearts to Him is MORE than enough. As a matter of fact it can be down right overwhelming. He knows what we can handle. He tempers Himself out of His love for us. He gives us what we can handle of Him at the time knowing that with His love everyday day we grow stronger and able to handle more. It makes me shiver just thinking about it, His all consuming love and how gentle He is with us. Always patiently by our side. Loving us. Waiting for us to choose Him. Waiting for intimacy with us. Waiting to GIVE More of Himself!

Beloved He is always with you. Turn to Him. Let Him in. He is MORE than enough.

Be Living Water (Part 2)...

OK Beloveds, I'm just getting back from work and am going to try and dig a little more into this putting action to faith thing...

Let's start by taking a look at Scripture. (Always solid ground to start on. :) ) I think it is important to start by acknowledging the true weight of "faith". The bible clearly states we are saved by grace through our faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (King James Version)
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So what does that mean?

God is a true gentleman. Though He desires to be intimate with us so deeply, to the point of what I could only imagine we would best describe as excruciating pain, He will never force Himself on us. He has given His creation free will and allows them to choose. (I have many thoughts behind why this is the case. Really good and exciting stuff! But, we will save that for another post.)

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (King James Version)
19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

God is the same today as He was then. Like the Israelites we must choose salvation. His loving grace (undeserved favor) is what does the saving but faith is the vehicle by which that grace is able to activate. Faith is the way God has chosen to give us free will and choice. How cool is that, right!?! His grace and love is always there, we just need to reach out and grab it.

So now, knowing it is the vehicle to grace and (along with Christ) to our salvation, I think it is safe to say faith is extremely important. Next we need to learn how to care for and activate that faith.
James 2:19-20 (King James Version)
19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Vs 19 clearly states that even devils know God is real! Knowing that God is real, even acknowledging (I would say the devils trembling would qualify as them acknowledging) that He is real, is not enough. There must be action or works in concert with that knowledge and faith. This action is us making the choice that enables His grace. If not, that faith or belief is rendered infective and considered dead. As shown before in Ephesians 2:8-9 without faith there is NO salvation.

Faith is capable of living and dieing. We must keep action to it. We must keep it vibrant and alive. It is the key to salvation. Faith in Christ and what He did on the cross. Faith that His broken body hanging there enabled us once again to commune with our Heavenly Father who loves us. We must put action to this faith by loving our neighbors as ourselves and, when called on to, even prefer them above ourselves.

So once again I say be bold beloved. Don't stand stagnant. Don't be a dead sea. Be living water. Give life to that which is around you. Give of everything He has given you. Time. Talent. Finance. Pray and He will tell you where you are needed and what is needed.  Know that He will never require an "action" of you that you are not capable of. What a great and loving God we have.

There is another piece of this that I would like to get into. It has to do with faith and the seed time harvest principles. Very, Very, Cool Stuff! That might have to be my next post. I feel like it would be a great compliment.

I hope you were able to receive of Him through this. We love you Father God! Thank you Jesus!

Be Living Water...

I am in a Men's CBS (Community Bible Study) group.  This was part of a lesson that really struck me today and I wanted to share...

"Water is scarce in the land of Jessus' birth.  Rainfall is negligible for many months of the year; irrigation is essential to the rich and varied agriculture of the country.  The Dead Sea is the largest body of water in the country, but it cannot be used to water the thirsty land because it is just that- a dead sea.  Water flows into it, but there is no outlet.  Evaporation and stagnation make it polluted and useless.  This is an excellent illustration of what our faith is like if we allow it to stagnate.  We are called to express our faith in Jesus Christ by our works (James 2:17,26).  As we drink from His fountain, His life-giving water must flow through us to touch others (John 7:37-38).  We can know all the right things and even say all the right things, but if our faith finds no expression- not outlet- it is dead.  One of the ways true faith will manifest itself is in our attitude and actions toward others."

I sometimes question if we as a church are that stagnant water.  In difficult times do we still praise Him by reaching out to others, or do we get tied down by our perceived needs.  Be bold beloved.  Put action to your faith.  Let His love and kindness flow through you.  I am a little crunched for time this morning so this is much shorter than I would like.  I may try and expand later.  I feel like there is much more to say.

Letters to Lynn - I won... now what?

I have been trying for a long time to sit down and write this. I don't know why it has been so hard. Finally I have just decided to sit down and write.

Baby, I won. There are so many things I wish I could tell you. There are so many things that I wish I could have shared with you. It’s surreal. Baby, God is calling me out of the holding pattern He has had me in for years. I repeatedly told God that I would trade it all in to have you healed and to have our marriage healed. Through the entire process I was thinking to myself, if I win this thing I will lay it down and go get her. That could be the whole reason behind me winning and I was more than ok with it. I was so prepared emotionally for this that the months leading up to it people would ask me if I was nervous or excited and I had to tell them no. I should have been, but I felt completely at peace. I truly didn’t know which direction God was going to take me and was, for the first time in my life, so comfortable in His hands that I did not care. I was ready to give it up after winning. I was ready to lose. I was ready to walk it out if need be.

I kept telling myself that giving up something this big would be the sacrificial action of love I had never given you before. I thought I would get on a plane, fly there and give you a call. I would say here I am to come rescue you. I would be your Mr. Darcy. Your knight in shining armor. The difficult lover that finally got it right, swooping in to sweep his beautiful and strong willed damsel off her feet into happily ever after. I was excited to have something that significant to sacrifice. There was a problem though. It was me that wanted it. It was the man in me wanting to sacrifice for his wife and heal their marriage. God spoke to me. He spoke to me not only through the Holy Spirit but also multiple witnesses. He explained that He was calling me up to lead. This was a calling for Him and His people. There are so many reasons in the natural that I should not have won. There could be no doubt He is the reason.

But God, I do not want this now. God I want my wife! .... Would I put Him first?

Baby, I give myself completely to our God, no matter what He requires of me. I trust Him with you. I trust Him with us. I will not be in fear. I will follow His voice. I do not believe it is God’s will for the death of our marriage!

I love you so much! I will not give up on you! I am with you. I will not give up on our marriage! I know that God is capable of healing and bringing life out of death. I will be strong and continue to fight with everything I have. I will continue to fight for our marriage, His way, no matter how hard it is or what it looks like. The best way for me to do this is to stay in His will.

This post didn’t turn out the way I wanted. I wanted to be sweet, loving, and emotional. I don't feel like I have accomplished much of that, or at least as much as I would like. There is so much pent up though and maybe this was just a first step in getting it out. I am thankful for that.

I LOVE YOU!

Beautiful to Me ...

This is the song of my life right now. I love you so much God! I love you so much Jesus!

I promise that I will get back to meat and potatoes soon. I have so much that I want to say! Until then, in this moment, this is all I have to offer. It is from the heart. It is of me completely.

Please enjoy the song. While you do, make sure to listen to the lyrics. (also listed below) They are soooo powerful! Be blessed by His amazing love!

It is truly beautiful....



So much I don't understand
That I'd change if I'd wrote the story
How pain could heal and death bring life
How defeat could bring such glory
You didn't hold back one breath
You even gave Your last one
So I'd live

It's beautiful to me
Your holy mystery
I'm standing here in awe
Of how you make everything
So beautiful to me
Someday I will see
How You hold this wounded heart
And make it perfect and complete
And it's beautiful to me
Beautiful

I don't deserve Your suffering
I should be the one who's bleeding
But Your broken body gives
This broken spirit what it's needing
You reach through time with Your sacrifice
Your wounded hands
Holding this fragile life

It's beautiful to me
Your holy mystery
I'm standing here in awe
Of how you make everything
So beautiful to me
Someday I will see
How You hold this wounded heart
And make it perfect and complete
And it's beautiful to me
Beautiful to me

This ache, this longing
This heart that I've been searching
This moment while I'm breaking
You're here
Your plan, Your promise
A pain that has a purpose
I let you in to use it

And just like Your hands built heaven's arms
You're making me so beautiful

It's beautiful to me
Every mystery
I'm standing here in awe
Of how You make everything
So beautiful to me
So perfect and complete
You warm this wounded heart
Someday I will see
It's beautiful to me
It's beautiful to me
Beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful to me
Beautiful to me

Keep Breathing

I Will Be Back Soon :) Please listen to this amazing song.