He’s in a Whisper
The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
Where are you looking for God?
GOD FIRE, Do you have it?
(This is a continuation of the previous post)
I was sitting in church and during the sermon this popped in my head. I had to poke the wife to give me a pen to write this down. It makes sense to me, I just hope it makes sense to you.
GOD FIRE, Do you have it?
GOD
First- preceding all others in time, order, or importance .
Intercession- Prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another; the act of interceding.
Requires-to demand as necessary or essential : have a compelling need for.
Effort- conscious exertion of power; hard work; a serious attempt.
We have to put God FIRST in our lives. We have to get past, go around, get over, put aside, ignore, rebuke, anything little or big that puts God in any other place that first. That means if we have bills that are stretching every penny to the limits we can't spend day and night worrying about this. If giving an offering conflicts with the funds on new stereo system then you best give your offering before putting down money on the stereo. You should keep your mind clear to were every moment you can praise God for what he has given you. If you can't do that right this second then you need to check yourself.
Next we have to be willing to go out and make an intercession with friends, family, and strangers. WITNESS to those people that need Christ. It's not something up to debate. Jesus told us to go unto all the world and spread his word. It was his commandment.
Mark 16:15
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.Marcos 16:15
Y les dijo: "Vayan por todo el mundo y prediquen el evangelio a toda criatura.
God requires us to make a purpose driven effort to spread the Word of Jesus. It is essential for the lost to hear it so they may be saved. We save them from Hell by spreading Jesus's perfect love. Let them know God doesn't want them to go to hell. Nor does He want them to be slaves to his will. There is freedom in Christ and it may be only by demonstration in you that they may find it.
And we must do this with serious effort. It's something we have to be willing to do at any moment of the day. Share when you are in line at McDonald's or sitting down eating lunch at work. You can be sharing God's word from under your welding helmet like my mother did. I found 2 doorways opened to me yesterday with coworkers You have to make an effort to do this all the time. If anything gets it the way you better fix why God isn't first.
Now ask yourself...
GOD FIRE, Do you have it?
Standing in the Fire
Think for a moment. When you stand aside from God you put yourself out of his sight. You make that choice for yourself because God gave us the free will to choose.
Your child looks up to you and if you love them and they love you, they will look to you for guidance. But when you made that choice, to live without God, you also bring your child with you out of God's sight. This is because your child will follow in your footprints. Your child will follow you into the darkness as long as you hold their hand and tell them it's alright. You tell your child, "Stand here Sweetheart, I'm going to let your hand go now. Ignore what the monsters look like, they will be your friends like they are mine." Before you argue age of accountiblity, you already know children are smarter to the world than they was a generation ago. They are heald accountable by God when they know wrong from right. Be it 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
A man throws his child off a bridge into a river a hundred feet below. A mother drowns her kids one by one in the bathtub. Another shoots their children while they sleep and then kill themselves. We see these shocking stories happening everyday around the world. We can't possibly imagine this. It's beyond our worst and most hated nightmares. You know you would do anything and give anything to protect your child. I know I would take the worst the world could possibly offer to protect my kids.
Yet here you stand willingly putting your child into the hands of the one that hates you the most.
Do you really want to chance that?
You have the obligation to give your child the very best of everything you possibly can. Even if you choose not to believe in God, you have to give your child a chance to believe.
Thank God for the parents that give their children this choice even if they choose to stand in the fire.
Harlequin Novels – The Ultimate Romance Story
It was a funny thing the other day. I was sitting in a coffee shop sponsored by the chapel here on base. They have all sorts of books and a nice lounge area to sit down and read while enjoying a free cup of joe. I figured this might be a descent place to meet some other Christians in the military while keeping an informal atmosphere. After some time I noticed none of the people sitting down in here were reading Christian books at all. Actually, all the guys were reading Tom Clancy type books and all the gals were reading novels with men and women embraced in some field off in lala land. They like to read these books looking for happiness and romance. Perhaps trying to fill a void in their lives that they can't seem to find in reality.
So allow me to put before you the Ultimate Romance Book. Filled with life changing story that has damsels in distress, self sacrifice, love, and a man dying for an unloving world. It's readily available now at nearly every local book store. It's called the Bible.
I want you to truly understand the importance and love expressed in this book.
Luke 12:6
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
God even knows when even a tiny sparrow falls to the ground and he shows concern. To God, our value is so much more that he sent his very own son to save us. Would it be even remotely possible to send your son or daughter to suffer for another persons fate? Jesus Christ willingly bore all the pain and suffered for all the sins of this entire world that people carry with them every single day. He took that sin and paid the price of righteous justice that our perfect God requires. We can willingly accept that payment or choose to refused it. God gave us that free will to choose.
Understand- Jesus already paid for the sin. You do not have to be apart from God. You don't have to be lonely or afraid anymore. The check and been signed, sealed, and delivered! All you have to do is hold your hand out and hands opened wide. Are you ready? He is.
i just had then sent to me by a good friend and I added it here for you all.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (New International Version)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
John 6:29
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
Acts 16:31
They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned
Luke 13:3-5
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Acts 17:30
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Matthew 10:32-33
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Romans 10:9-10
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
When everything changes
Look at the time on my watch. I took this photo on August 16, 2008. At 1:55pm CST. That was a Saturday. Little did I know that with in the next 12 hours a pivotal moment in my life was going to happen.
I know there was a reason God wanted me to take a photo of my watch on this day. It was a moment that would only happen once in my life, making a choice at a fork in the roadway of destiny.
In the next 14 hours I fought, with God at my side, against all things out to destroy my marriage. I had built a wall of sin that had divided our lives. Distrust. Dishonesty. Disloyalty. No matter what I said, no matter what I did, this wasn't a wall that I could climb over, crawl under, or push through. I called God for his help and it was then I realized that it wasn't a fight that I could win. God told me I had to surrender my weakness to him and he would take care of the rest. 10 hour after the time this photo was taken I turned my life over to Jesus and the pain of my sins were no more.
Over the next 4 hours I knelt next to my wife holding her hand while I prayed for my marriage to be saved. I know God was there because the weight of my sin was no more. I could feel a new purpose in my life. It was if God was pulling me through a very real fire that couldn't touch me. It was there that I was standing in the hands of a living God.
At 6 am my wife woke up and I broke open my soul to her revealing the very core of my heart. I humbled myself to her and laid every bit of my being on the line for one the final time. God stood there with us and healed our pain and suffering in the blink of an eye.
Thank you God.