GOD'S ENCOUNTERS!

"And Moses said to God, "who am I that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Exodus 3:11. My friend "don't miss the encounters God orchestrated in your life". I have learned sometimes our small encounters are God-encounters that take place when you're busy with other things or on our way to somewhere else. If we are not prepared we will miss a real blessings, a chance to grow, and not recognizing a divine destiny God has already set in motion. See, Moses was in the backside of the desert chasing sheep for his father-in Law. He was eighty. It's interesting to see his share of excuses during this encounter with God. He had five excuses that he threw in God's face. 1) who am I? God knew that he could not do it his own. God's answer: I WILL BE WITH YOU. 2) Who are you? God knew that he couldn't see past his nose. God's answer: I AM WHO I AM. 3) No one will believe me! We like to pass the buck too when God asks us to do something, right? God's answer: I WILL GIVE YOU AND THEM SIGNS. 4) I am not a good talker. Moses is more concerned about his "I" problem. This was his last ditch effort to avoid going back to Egypt. God's answer: WHO MADE YOUR MOUTH?. 5) I can't do it! Now he was running out of excuses , and he was flat out refusing it. God's answer: I WILL HELP. See, Jesus did not set up a throne in each town and say" This is my place and if you want to see Me come here". He went to the market place, went to the boats of fishermen, homes of ordinary people and went through the town preaching Gospel. Hey, whenever your compassion is activated, STOP. To you what seems to be small encounter may be it's God's encounter and will produce results you never dreamed of. How many times you missed your God designed encounters today, this week, last month and last year? Well, how many?

HE WALKED AMONG US!!

"And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived a while) among us...". John 1:14. Oh yes, HE IS AMONG US my friend! He was flesh, bones and blood, and yet He was fully human. The next moment miraculously fed 5000 because He was fully God. Hr was thirsty because He was a human but He walked on the water because He was fully God. One moment Jesus agonized on a cross and died because He was human but three days later He rose from the grave Because He was fully God. The tongue that called forth the dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper probably had dirt under its nails. The feet upon which the woman wept were calloused and dusty. And His tears came from a broken heart like ours. So people came to Him. Do you know Jesus went looking for Matthew the Tax Collector? Jesus was walking down the road- and he stops right in front of Matthew's table. And He says nothing more than: "Follow me". Jesus only had twelve disciples. A lot of people wouldn't have picked Matthew. Now a days there are some congregations who only want 'respectable' people coming to their church. In fact Pharisees saw Jesus eating with Matthew and his friends and they were offended. People came to Him at night; they touched Him as he walked down the road, followed Him by the sea shores, they invited Him to their homes, and placed their children at His feet. Why? He came down from heaven in search of us and to be with us. He refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. HE CHOSE INSTEAD TO BE JESUS!! How about you my friend? Are you like JESUS? REALLY?

HE KNOWS!!!

"But He knows the way I take. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold (pure and luminous). Job 23:10. It is easier to say and done, right? What do you do when you don't know what to do? When He seems distant and disinterested, like He's moved and hasn't left a forwarding address. Yes, He has all the power and provision necessary to alleviate my misery but He doesn't seem to be lifting a finger to come to my rescue. My friend, I have been there and have done it. And still do it. It's at times like this when our faith is tested, our cries for help seem to go unanswered; our thirst and longing for answers unquenched- WHAT WILL WE DO? If we are not careful we can become fearful and disillusioned with God when we are hurting. This morning during my meditation time and was praying and was going through the Bible, He spoke to me. Why did Jesus grow weary in Samaria, disturbed in Nazareth, and angry in the temple? Why was He sleepy in the boat, sad at the tomb of Lazarus, and hungry in the wilderness? Because he knew I would feel them too. He knew during our life journey we would be weary, disturbed, angry, sleepy, grief-stricken, hungry, face severe pain- pain too sharp for any drug, face thirst, abandonment, betrayal, and the list goes on. HE UNDERSTANDS EVERYTHING. Our God is a PRESENT HELP in the time of trouble. May be God is setting us for "double for our trouble". Like Job. He will never fail, never, never, ever.

HE HAS GRACE FOR YOU!!

"Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet none of them will fall to the ground without your Father's leave (consent) and notice. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered". Matthew 10:29-30 (AMPV). My friend why you are thinking and telling "Nobody cares for me"? Bible says our God knows how many birds are in the air and if one of them dies and falls to the ground, GOD KNOWS IT. Bible tells us that God knows exactly how many hairs are on our head. Look around some of us have a lot of hair and some don't have very much. It doesn't matter how much or how little hair we have, God knows how many hairs are on each person's head. Well, here is the genius of Christianity. God cares for me no matter what I am going through my life. He proved it by sending his own Son to die for me. The issue is settled for all time at the cross. Any God who would sacrifice his own Son for a person like me must care for me. When we come to God , we don't have to convince him to hear us. We don't have to chant or shout or burn incense or ring bells or use a priest or offer a sacrifice or go to a mountain or to a temple or walk hundred of miles on barefoot. We come as His children and gladly He hears us. We don't do anything to make God care for us. We start from the assurance, rooted in history, that our GOD CARES FOR US. And on that basis we can unload all our worries on HIM. Bro: If you are confused, discouraged, upset, angry, guilty, and if you feel like giving up and you think the whole world is turned against you, HE HAS GRACE FOR YOU. STOP THAT PITY PARTY. GOD OF THE UNIVERSE IS FOR YOU, THEN WHO CAN BE AGAINST YOU? WHO WHO WHO MY FRIEND??

COMPLACENT CHRISTIANS!

"Amos 6: " V 1;Woe to them that are at ease..v4; They lie upon the beds of ivory..v6; that drink wine in bowls; v6 but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph; v7 Therefore now shall they go captive...(Amos 6:1-14). Amos preached in a time , which was similar to ours in many ways. Complacent in many ways and doesn't need God, right? Here Israel felt that they were greatest nation on earth, people felt secure because of their temple and fortress of Samaria, but they were living to steal, murder, commit adultery, oppress the helpless, and follow other gods. Now a days in our society sin run rampant, abortion has become a way of life, alcohol, tobacco,drug and destructive sinful life is becoming a way of life. People are concerned about material possessions, money, entertainment, the pursuit of pleasure, increased pleasure time etc. Concern about anything but GOD! Life looks rosy to many people. Their work is fulfilling. The house or apartment doesn't need repair, surplus bank account, good health, Good friends. Hey, good times however can be dangerous. Comfort and pleasure can become so important that we give God little or no place in our thoughts FOR GOD. Prosperity can quickly lead to complacency. History teaches us that religious fervor usually declines during prosperous times. Bro: learn from Israel's experience and heed the Lord's instruction, this need not happen to us. LET'S BE CAREFUL THAT WE DO NOT FORGET THE LORD- ESPECIALLY WHEN ALL LOOKS BRIGHT! DON'T BE A COMPLACENT CHRISTIAN. KING SOLOMON WROTE 'VANITY, VANITY, EVERYTHING IS VANITY. ALL THE PROSPERITY CAN GO IN ONE MOMENT. Y'ALL HEAR ME.

MIXED UP PRIORITIES!

"After whom the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea?". 1 Samuel 24:14. This morning God spoke to me about our priorities. Here David is saying "Saul had mixed up priorities, He symbolizes those who waste time and energy. "Saul what are you doing? You're a mighty king. It doesn't make sense for you to waste your time and energy on the likes of me. In that culture, dogs were not highly regarded when they are alive, let alone dead..good for nothing? Fleas are difficult to catch, elusive, worthless when captured. Well my friend, How about your life? Are you going after dead dogs or fleas? Recently I read in a magazine about a survey. People over ninety were asked, "If you had your life to live over what you would do differently?" Three answers were common. 1) I'd spend more time with my family and friends. 2) I'd take more risks. 3) I'd do things that live on after I'm gone. Hey, do you have wisdom to overlook what is unimportant? Petty things steal too much of our time and we finish up living for wrong reasons. The secret of successful and purposeful living is to have wisdom for "planned neglect". Several years ago I read in a magazine 300 whales died mysteriously because they pursued a school of sardines and ended up marooned in a bay. Bro: what is your "most important thing" or "priority" to accomplish your vision? The reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend too much of our time doing second things first. AND DON'T YOU MAKE A MISTAKE OF THINKING GOD IS SECOND THING. Make HIM first. There is never a right time to do wrong thing. Be sure to include the Lord in this process every step of the way. Well that is my take on it. How about you??..Humm...yeah!!

IF YOU CAN SEE THE INVISIBLE, GOD WILL DO THE IMPOSSIBLE!

"Take your son your only son, whom you love- Isaac- and go to the region of Moriah..burnt offering..I will show you". Gen:22.2. My friend, "If you can see the invisible, God will do the impossible". God made bold and daring promises to Abraham. He said Abraham would be a "father of many nations" and his descendants would be as many as the stars in the night sky. Then came a day when same God dared Abraham to throw it all away! Honestly, I wonder what was going through Abraham's mind as soon as the Lord told him to sacrifice his son. Abraham had to believe that God was probably crazy at first, does He knows what He was doing? But Abraham was a man who had the sight to see the impossible things come to pass. You see the Lord stopped Abraham at the final seconds of his hopelessness. Hey why is God like that? Why does He raise the stakes so high? I believe He loves HUGE REWARDS. My friend, if you are hopeless and doesn't know the way out- WAIT, there is still time to bless you, to fulfill His promises, still room for miracles. I know your situation is hopeless and problems seemed larger than promise. Hey, sometimes we have to ignore our circumstances, look past our problems and to have faith beyond the facts. In my life I am learning the lessons of "If you can see the invisible, God will do the impossible". 1) He called you...take the chances, He'll do it again. 2) He blessed your children before..He will do it again. 3) He prospered you before.. dare to prosper again. 4) He anointed you before.. He'll pour out so much you can't contain it. 6) He healed and gave you complete restoration.. the miracle is on the way. I DARE YOU TO TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD AND EXPECT HIS GOODNESS TO COME THROUGH IN THE FINAL SECOND WHEN IT REALLY COUNTS!! YOU'LL HEAR ME!! Yeah Good!!

WORRY HAS TO FLEE FROM A PRAYERFUL WORSHIPER!

"Pray without ceasing". 1 Thess. 5:17, "..always be prayerful". Roman 12:12. "Pray at all times and on every occasion" Eph 6:18. The reason our problem is so big is because we have been facing it in our presence, not in God's. Rather than going into the day worried and filled with trepidation, a prayerful worshiper rises up in confidence and declares: "I serve a God who can do the impossible in my life". NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR HIM!In the midst of greatest struggles, you can choose to: 1) Pray without ceasing. 2) Praise God daily..no matter what others say. 3) Thank Him for the answer..before the answer ever comes. 4) Worship Him for His goodness..in spite of your circumstances. 5) Receive His unfailing love.. even when you feel unlovable. A true child of God cannot pray & worship and WORRY at the same time. Sound burdensome? Are you wondering God will heal? My business or ministry needs a miracle? My children need dinner tonight? My bills need paying? Understand prayer is less as an activity for God but an awareness of God. Hey, let's acknowledge His presence everywhere we go. As you stand in line to pay where you shop, as you wash dishes, in a board meeting, on a sick bed, while leading worship or any other circumstances..Tell HIM "LORD I NEED YOUR PRESENCE. PRAY AND WORSHIP YOUR MAKER!! THANK YOU JESUS.. YOU ARE AWESOME, YOU ARE OMNIPRESENT, OMNISCIENT, OMNIPOTENT GOD!! HE IS SHAMMAH- HE IS THERE ALREADY!!

ARE YOU A SERVANT?

"He rises from supper, and laid aside His garments and took a towel, and girded Himself...and began to wash the disciples' feet.." John 13:4-5. My friend, the world needs servants, isn't it? In these verses, we see the Master doing the work of a slave. Apparently, there were no servants available to do this job for Jesus and His disciples. so Jesus Himself gets up from the table, removes His outer garment, pour Himself a basin of water and begins to wash the feet of the Disciples. Did you realize that Jesus was washing the feet of the very man who would, later that same evening, betray Him to His enemies. His entire life was and example of servant-hood and service. He chose remote Nazareth over center stage Jerusalem, Carpenters house over marble palace, decades of anonymity over a life of popularity, he chose prayer over sleep, wilderness over the Jordan, built an apostles team of common man over angels like Michael and Gabriel. If I were Him, I would choose angels. He picked Matthew, Peter, Andrew and John. When they were afraid of storm-He stilled it, no money for taxes, he supplied it from the mouth of a fish, no wine for the wedding and no food for the multitude, he made both. Bro: we need servants. Stop going for Titles, positions, and power. Are you a servant? Well are you?

WHAT LANGUAGE GOD IS SPEAKING TO YOU NOW?

...but REJOICE to the extend that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be GLAD with exceeding joy. 1Peter 4:13. My friend, I don't think apostle intend to grin-and-bear-it or act -tough-like nothing-happened attitude here. No trace of these attitude can be found in Christ's respond to suffering or in Paul's life. ..Nor is there any masochistic hint of enjoying the pain. Christians should not act happy about tragedy and pain when they feel like crying. Christianity is not phony brother. The spot light should be on the end result. He first needs our commitment of total trust in Him, and the process of giving Him the commitment can be described as Rejoicing. It is imperative to understand the language God speaks to us in every seasons of our life. There is no language God will not speak. Which leads us to a good question. What language He is speaking to us now? I am not talking about an idiom or dialect but to the day-to-day drama of our life. Is it "language of abundance"? Is your tummy full or all bills paid or bought a luxury car or built a house of your dream? Don't be proud of what you have and miss what you need to hear from Him. How about language of affliction and suffering? We don't want to hear that language, do we? But you and I both know how clearly God speaks to us in Hospitals, sick beds, when people falsely accuses us, rejects us, abandoned us, uncertainties, tossing and turning in the nights- sleepless nights, right? Hey, hey, God speaks all languages--including yours...Y'ALL HEAR ME? The question is: What language is God speaking to you now? What..What..what LANGUAGE?

INTEGRITY CRISIS!!

"The integrity of the upright will guide them" Proverbs 11:3. MY FRIEND "INTEGRITY" IS ALMOST VANISHING FROM OUR SOCIETY, AND YES EVEN FROM LARGE NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS. You can call it as "the self serving bias or fundamental attribution error", right? While I was in another country I read in a news paper an example of this. More than hundred thousand high school students were asked whether they were above or below average students. Well, guess what Zero percentage said they are below average and 20% said they are top 1%. If something good happens in our lives we tend to explain it by taking credit for it, But If we fail, we explain it by blaming the circumstances. If I do well in a test, I am smart. If I do poorly because I was distracted. If people like my sermon I am a good preacher, if they don't they are too shallow. If I get a speeding ticket, it's because police needed to fill their quota and they set up a trap instead of catching criminals. How about you are breaking the law? OUCH! What is the solution for our integrity problem? It's the way of repentance and grace. We need God's help to see the truth about ourselves. This can be done in three ways. 1) Through prayer. 2) Through reading and applying God's word. 3) Through people who loves us and knows us well; who don't tell us what we want to hear but what we need to hear. Aligning our life to God's will result in spiritual growth, more meaningful relationships and fewer long term problem. It is how we develop integrity or become blameless before God. Is it OK to post the truth? Yeah yeah?

That's all, folks?

"They were longing for a better country- A HEAVENLY ONE" HEBREWS 11;16 NIV. So are we? Isn't it? We want what's wrong to be put right. We want suffering to stop. We want clean air, meaningful work, honest politicians, clear consciences, ceaseless beauty, and the end of loneliness and war. In another words, we want HEAVEN, right. And the good news is, when Christ is your savior that's where you go when you die!. My friend, what are you doing about it? See, whenever the church loses sight of the fact that she is commissioned as an agent of evangelism, she loses her purpose and is well on the way to spiritual frustration. Oh yes, we have programs for every ages. Christ's church must be dedicated to the task of evangelizing at home and abroad, unsatisfied until the least, the last, and the lost have been reached with the good news that Christ is Lord and Savior. Christians dare not be satisfied with feeble, half-hearted efforts in this most vital of all possible works, for we deal with human souls in relationship with eternity. The late Mel Blan was the voice of "Looney Tunes" characters. At the end of every movie Porky Pig pops up with the same send off "That's all, folks". I read some where after his death the family put on his tombstone "That's all folks". But is it? Deep down we know there is a heaven and eternity is waiting for us all. Are you ready? Is your family ready, friends....world? What are you doing about it? Well...

DON'T FORGET TO SAY THANK YOU!!

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you". Philippians 1:3. During thanksgiving season I heard a story over the radio about a 80 plus years old literature teacher. A successful doctor who remembered his 8th grade teacher wrote her a letter. For that he received a reply from her. "You will never know how much your letter meant. I am 82 years old and living alone. My friends and family are all gone. I taught school for fifty years and yours is the first thank you letter I ever gotten from a student. Sometimes I wonder what I did with my life. I will read and reread your letter until I die". Ironically she was the most liked and talked about at class reunions, but NO BODY TOLD HER THAT. Real Christians like Paul knew the need of appreciation for people. He wrote: "I make mention of you always in prayers". Romans 1:9. "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all saints, do not cease to give thanks for you". Ephesians 1:15-16. Thank you for the saints and leaders who passed away and is with Jesus who led us in the faith and truth. Thank you, senior saints, for generation of prayer and forest clearing. Thank you, Sunday School teachers for the countless Sunday School lessons, prepared and delivered with tenderness, Thank you Missionaries, for your bravery in sharing the timeless truth in a foreign country in spite of unpleasant living conditions. Thank you pastors and preachers, you thought we were not listening, but we were. Your stubborn sowing of God's seed is bearing fruits. Thank you great prophets who are the voices of God who is helping us to have hope and navigate in the midst of doom and gloom news. Hey, don't wait to say thank you until they are in the casket when they cannot hear!! Well, am I right???

SHARE THE GOOD NEWS!!

"Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!". 1 Corinthians 9:16b. Well, the Christmas season is over. We celebrated the birth of Jesus. Far too often our vision of Him has been woefully weak and inadequate. He has been to us the babe of Bethlehem, meek and mild; the lowly teacher of Galilee; the one who would not retaliate even when reviled; the gentle sufferer. But that is only one side of Him. But He is now the Christ this side of Calvary, the empty tomb, the ascension, Pentecost. Bible says "God has "set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and has put all under His feet...(Ephesians 1:20-23). But we are just like Laodiceans, aren't we? Christianity on our terms, the indifferent, half-hearted, shallow, superficial, insipid, tepid, apathetic, non-committed, fence-straddlers who profess great respect but no sacrificial obedience to His commandment and great commission. A mild case of Christianity! Hey, hey Paul said "Woe is unto me, If I preach not the gospel". We are not meant to be idle nor meant to be dumb. Our lips are not meant to be sealed. We are supposed to be detonators for the dynamite of the gospel. The compulsion from above is that Jesus Christ is Lord and He has commissioned us to "preach the gospel to every creature". If you want change this world and turn the world upside down- then preach and share the good news of the gospel of salvation, love, peace, joy and eternal life. STOP BEING A PEW WARMER, Y'ALL HEAR ME!

Lost the First Love?

"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works". Revelation 2:17. Few years back, a NFL player announced his retirement saying "All of a sudden that passion isn't there anymore. He said, I could still do it physically, but it's not like it used to be". My friend, something that once energized you has become a burden? A career can be changed, but the deepest matters of heart , especially our relationship with Christ? The passion for Christ and His great commission?The risen Lord praised the church in Ephesus for their FAITHFUL SERVICE and PERSEVERANCE, but added, "NEVERTHELESS I have this against you, that you have left your FIRST LOVE". In another words, THEY HAVE HEART TROUBLE. The prescription the Lord gave was "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works". Three things, 1) REMEMBER. 2) REPENT. 3) RETURN. Brother, our God is a God of second chance. But not in the world. "It's now or never". "Around here we don't tolerate incompetence". "Gotta get tough to get along". "Not much room at the top". "Three strikes you are out". Here is another one. "It's a dog-eat-dog world". If Jesus is here now, He would say "Then don't live with the dogs". Right? If your spiritual passion has grown cold, remember again the great sacrifice of Christ for our sin (Hebrews 12:3), turn away from grudging service and allow the wonder of His cross to rekindle our love for Him. Hey, hey, It's not everyday that you find someone who will give you a second chance- much less someone who will give you a second chance everyday. YOUR JESUS WILL GIVE YOU BOTH MAN. He is a God of second chance. Did you hear? Try Him, you will like Him. Y'ALL HEAR ME??? Yeah, good!!