Do what I say and you will live

In my readings this morning, Proverbs chpater seven addresses sexual temptation. From the persepctive of a young man, the seduction of this young simpleton is described in vivid detail. The temptress seduces him. Serving as bookends to this drama, warnings blare. Young people (both men and women) can fend off the Temptress--yes, you can fend off the Seductress. The end of the chapters says,

"So, friends, listen to me, take these words of mine most seriously. Don't fool around with a woman like that; don't even stroll through her neighborhood. Countless victims come under her spell, she's the death of many a poor man. She runs a halfway house to hell, (she) fits you out with a shroud and a coffin."

Sexual temptation seems overpowering. Our culture sells it. Our culture feeds it. Our culture minimizes it. Our culture is saturated with sex. Our culture gives into it. Nevertheless God's truth declares that you can avoid fooling around in that neighborhood.

So how do you fight and win over temptation? I wonder how you wisely live a life that engages and triumphs over sexual temptation. It's not as easy as you may think. Let me know how you try to overcome sexual temptation. Til' next time,

Pastor D

Protect your heart
Proverbs 4:23 says,
"Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. "
One thing I am learning to do is to guard what comes from my heart. The heart is innermost place inside where I truly live. God's wisdom says to guard it like a prison-guard, to protect it as my most precious possession like gold at Fort Knox. I can choose to keep my heart on guard.
Matthew Henry, a man long ago who commented on this verse shares this, "Attentive hearing the word of God, is a good sign of a work of grace begun in the heart, and a good means of carrying it on. There is in the word of God a proper remedy for all diseases of the soul. Keep thy heart with all diligence. We must set a strict guard upon our souls; keep our hearts from doing hurt, and getting hurt. A good reason is given; because out of it are the issues of life. "
His words--"keep your heart from doing hurt, and getting hurt"--is a difficult task to complete. Too often I cannot keep myself from getting hurt and seeking to returning hurt for hurt. I praise God that I am learning how to keep a strict guard on my inner self. I want God's heart where I can love and receive love as God intended. It is possible. Seek God to find deep love. May God help you find deep love in Him.
Pastor D

In the sight of God and humankind
God challenged me to reconsider how I interact with Him and with others. I reflect on my habit to read the Bible everyday and to guide my life according to what I discover. The verses that confronted me are:
"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck. write them onthe tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and humankind (Proverbs 3:3-4)."
Love and kindness in my relationships brings favor and friends. I wonder how many times my words or actions or attitudes have not been grounded in love. I wonder how many people have experienced unkindness from me. Such incorrect habits do not reflect God and His truth. I want more than just guilt. I want God. I want more than just failure. I want God. I want more than just comfort. I want God. May God's love and kindness fill me to show others God's truth. I praise God for His discipline and His redirection in my life. May you respond to God's truth and walk close with Him.
Pastor D

Friday Funk
My son Jeremiah is eight years old today. Even though I called to sing him Happy Birthday, I missed being with him. I love that boy!

God spoke to me as i read from Proverbs 2,

"[God] is a shield to those who walk in integrity guading the paths of justice
(verses 7b-8a)."

I praise God that as long as i walk in integrity, He is my shield. In layman's terms, intergity is "doing what you say you would." I told God at age 12 that I would follow Him all of my days. My life is His. I want to show Jesus to the world. May God empower me to show Jesus through me.

Pastor D

New Month
I am attending a youth workers' conference in Chicago this week. I am being challenged to shift--to change how I do things in light of the student culture. I need to keep God's Word, the Bible as my compass for my life.

In my readings in Proverbs this morning, God showed me again how I need to listen to God's Truth. In verse seven of PRoverbs 1, God says;

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction."

I do not want to be a fool. I want to learn more about reaching students for Christ. I want to respect God in my life and to allow students to come in and join me on my journey. That's why I blog. I want to follow Christ better and to have others observe my journey. May God inspire you to join me on my life journey with God. peace out,
Pastor d

Application

"Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge (Proverbs 23:12)"

Do what God is telling you to do. I find myself often gathering more and more information about a decision, rather than making a choice and doing something about it. In essence, I procrastinate. Although I know my tendency, I still hem and haw about what I need to do. I discover that God wants me to do what I know. I know a lot of things about God and about following Him. Consequently, I just need to engage what I know. There are some things that are no brain-ers. Just do what God says. Here in this chapter of Proverbs I discover the challenges of a gluttonous lifestyle, one where food is the drug, one where riches is the buzz, one where substances are abused to "cope" wiith your life. I would rather seek God and be glad. Sure I may envy those who don't follow God. But in my heart of hearts, I want to serve God forever. It's application. It's putting into practice what I already know or what I only know about God. There is a right path (see verse 19). It's following God's Words found in the Bible. Read it and Live It!
Just living what I know,
Pastor D

Teenagers don't understand credit cards

Teenagers don't understand credit cards

Time to grow
In Proverbs 22:27 God challenged me to think about my life on a whole different level. I struggle with providing for my family. Or should I say, it concerns me that I am responsible to provide for my family. Monetary margin is critical. You need money to care for your loved ones; i.e. pay bills, pay mortgage, pay utilities, tithe (give money to support the church and its ministries), buy groceries, buy clothes, etc. Yet as I considered how I do that, I wonder what I am modeling to my children regarding the dangers of debt. I read that students do not know how credit cards work. I read that students in Australia are in debt by age 17. I wonder if I address the dangers of debt and if I teach how to remain with little or no debt as God intended (see link posted above).

"if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you."

God is in control

"There is NO wisdom, NO insight, NO plan that can succeed against the Lord (Proverbs 21:30 emphasis mine)."

From our Equip session on Sunday night, I am reminded that God is in control of all things. He is the King of this Universe. He created it all. The awesome thing is that He wants a relationship with me. If I am on His side, then nothing can defeat Him or me. As long as I stay with the Lord! I find it so encouraging that nothing can succeed against the Lord. God is in control and I want to be on His side, the winning side.

You can remember this when the challenges of life rise up against you. If you're dealing with difficult relationships, stay close to the Lord--do what is right in His eyes and reassure yourself despite the hard choices that doing things God's way will succeed. If you're dealing with temptations and fail, return to the King of Kings who will pardon and forgive you. He wants you to do what right in His eyes. If you're dealing with boredom and don't know what to do, seek God's ways--ask Him to show you the path, He will lead you (see Proverbs 3:5-7). If you're apprehensive about the future and feel the pressure of other people's expectations, then seek God and ask Him to help you sort things out. He will guide you. Ask Him.

May God walk with you this day and build confidence in trusting more in Him,
Pastor D

Sluggard

In my readings in Proverbs I read these words;

"Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they
look but find nothing (Proverbs 20:4)."

I want to glean at harvest time in my ministry life. So I must plow now. This means hitching up the team to plow or picking up the hoe to cultivate the field. I must engage what God is calling me to do. I do not want to discover nothing at harvest time. No longer slack, but stronger back; this is what I sense God prompting me to do. By putting me back into what God wants me to do, I will glean at harvest time. For me its ministry tasks and opportunities to encourage followers of Christ on their journey. For you? I wonder what God would say to you about the field that He wants you to plow. Now is not the time to be lazy. Engage. Embrace. Take hold of what God wants you to do. Find something at harvest time when the easy thing to do is to do nothing. Take heart and be encouraged. Later, Pastor D

A mindset to pray

God challenged me this weekend to pray everyday by name for a friend who needs Jesus in his life. Rich needs Jesus. I will pray everyday that I can bring God up in a conversation over the next few weeks. I sense that God wants me to pursue my friend and offer him the opportunity to follow Christ for the rest of his life. May God prompt you to pray for at least one friend who needs to trust in Jesus. Ask God to help you bring God up in your conversation. I wonder how its going for you. Please comment. Seeking God everyday, Pastor D.



P.S. Reflect on the lyrics from Casting Crowns, "What if His People Prayed" or download this tune as a constant reminder to pray for your friends by name everyday

What if the armies of the Lord / Picked up and dusted off their swords / Vowed to
set the captives freeAnd not let satan have one more / What if the church, for
heaven's sake / Finally stepped up to the plate / Took a stand upon God's promise / And
stormed hell's rusty gates
Chorus: What if His people prayed / And all who bare His name / Would humbly seek His face /And Turn from their own way

WHat if His People Prayed? Link to ITunes in sidebar

The Power Source for Meaningful Relationships
Tonight at EQUIP we learned that experiencing a fulfilled and meaningful relationship with others is only possible when we recognize our true power source, God's Holy Spirit, and allow the Holy Spirit to live through us. Each person is created with a need to connect relationally to others, but not without our connection with God and direction from Him. In John 15:4-5, the Bible says,

[Jesus said] "Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay atached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can't produce anything without me."

It's not that people don't produce anything. We can still live and relate to others, but God wants you to produce His fruit. Jesus wants you to produce fruit as we are connected to Him. He wants us not only to live in Him, but to live through us to positively impact our relationships. God is passionate about His relationship with you, read what the Bible says in Exodus 34:14;

I demand your complete loyalty--you must not worship any other god!

God longs to get intimately close to you. I challenge you to discover the life God has meant for you to live. Ask God to help you live out the secret to meaningful and lasting relationships with others--stay connected to God. He will help you make right decisions in life. It's what everyone is looking for their entire life--filling the God-shaped void with God Himself and not anything else. Something to pray about. Peace-out, Pastor D

In this mornings reading of Proverbs chapter18 I discover the art of listening. I find it repeated twice in this chapter,

"Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight
in airing their own opinions, verse 2;" "To answer before listening--that is
folly and shame, verse 13;"

The challenge for me is to listen to others, especially to those closest to me. I find that I often hear words but do not comprehend the hearts. I want to improve my listening abilities. I don't want to be arrogant and voice my own thoughts but I want to understand what others say and engage them where they are at. I need God's help to do that. May God help you and I listen better. On the journey with you, Pastor D

I discovered an interesting video clip Shark vs. Octopus that is helping me in my spiritual walk with God. Every Christian battles temptations. We can use the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, and our choices to overcome temptation. For as the Good Books says,

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 We live in this world, but we don't act
like its people (4) or fight our battles with the weapons of this world.
Instead, we use God's power that can destroy fortresses. We destroy arguments
(5) and every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture
people's thoughts and make them obey Christ.

We can take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Every Christian can overpower temtpation. May this footage help you see things as they really are, rather than as we think they are.

I added a links area in order to provide some resources for you to engage God in a better way. The first link is Blue Letter Bible. It is a site where you can get information about the Bible. You can explore the features yourself. I found the audio feature to help me better hear and see the chapter for the day. Check it out!

This morning as I read Proverbs chapter 15, God took my attention to verse 16,

"Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth
with turmoil."

I can't help but feel sad for the baby of Anna Nicole Smith. Here a little baby has no mom, no brother, and many fathers. After years of court hearings and rulings, she may inherit millions. However, I'd rather embrace a little with a reverence for God than battle a lifetime for great wealth and inherit turmoil. God's word is truth. Rather than pursue more money, pursue more of God. May God challenge you as He challenges me each day. Peace Out.

It's early afternoon. I just canceled Hangtime & Gathering. The roads were horrible this morning. I want students to be safe. So i consulted the staff who arrived and I decided to cancel Student Ministries evening activities. A wind chill advisory was also posted for this evening.
Proverbs 11:14 "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety."

As I drove through the falling snow to work this morning, I praised God that I could see another day of life. I arrived at my office and took a few moments to reorient my life around the Bible. On Sunday night I found God challenging my life. When you boil it all down, the Christian life really means understanding why God sent Jesus to earth, why God gave us His Word, the Bible, and why God sent the Holy Spirit into a Christian's life. In sum, my Christlike life is loving God with all I am and loving others from the reservoir of love that God has flooded into my life. I want to experience fantastic relationships with others and live a much ore fulfilled and joyful life. I don't just want the status quo. I want a great life! Only God can help me discover that, as it is recorded in the Bible in 2 Peter 1:3-11;

"Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to
us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.
The best invitation we ever received! (4) We were also given absolutely terrific
promises to pass on to you--your tickets to participation in the life of God
after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. (5) So don't lose a
minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith
with good character, spiritual understanding, (6) alert discipline, passionate
patience, reverent wonder, (7) warm friendliness, and generous love, each
dimension fitting into and developing the others. (8) With these qualities
active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day
will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master
Jesus. (9) Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you,
oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books. (10) So,
friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off;
do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing, (11) the
streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and
Savior, Jesus Christ."

I choose not to put if off. I will engage it now. My prayer is that students would experience the qualities of a close walk with God, one that is active and growing in each one's life, where no grass will grow under his or her feet, where no day will pass without its reward as each student matures in their experience of our Master Jesus. May God strengthen you to know Him better (Ephesians 3:17);

"I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his
Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to
know God."

Christ Up Close & Personal
Tonight I lead our small groups in learning how to make Jesus more close and personal in your life. I wonder if students have really fantastic relationships with others that bring fulfillment and true happiness in life. I am experiencing that more and more in my life as I seek to follow Christ. He is changing me each day. I just need to make practical what He is prompting me to do. Tonight I was challenged to Live a Life of Love (Ephesians 5:1-2). I can't wait to discover more together in this session of discipleship. You are invited to join us. I wonder what I can do to encourage you in your walk with God.

What Jesus did for me Funny how things go!? I wonder how often I forget things. lately i forgot to journal my spiritual journey. Last night I watched the first half of the Passion of the Christ movie. I have read and imagined those scenes in my mind before. I did not have the same images. But I do like the emotive elements constructed in this movie. Emotionally I felt like Jesus agonized over what He was about to do for me and for the whole world. I John 2:2 says in the Message paraphrase
"When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good--not only ours, but the whole world's." What did Jesus do? Jesus put himself on the cross. He did voluntarily. He did it for you and me.
Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom to many (Matthew 20:28). Jesus also said, No on can kill me without my consent--I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right and power to lay it down when I want to and also the right and power to take it again. For the Father has given me this right (John 10:18). Not only did Jesus put himself on the cross, but he also did it to pay for my sins--for your sins. The Bible says,
We--everyone of us--have strayed away like sheep! We, who left God's path to follow our own. Yet God on him the guilt and sins of every one of us! (Isaiah 53:6)Each of us chooses to follow our own path. Yet God's path can be taken only when we choose to believe that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Jesus paid the penalty for sins. He chose to die on the cross for you and me. Jesus' death on the cross proves His power over death. That may sound weird. How can someone who dies have power over death. The Bible says,
...and by being raised from the dead he was proved to be the mighty Son of God, with the holy nature of God himself (Romans 1:4). Jesus was raised from the dead by God Himself. The Bible bears testimonies of His resurrection. Thus he overcame death. Not only did Jesus put himself on the cross, paid the penalty for my sins, and proved His power over death, he prepares a place for me in heaven. The Bible records what Jesus said to his followers, There are many homes up there where my Father lives, and I am going to prepare them for your coming. When everything is ready, then I will come and get you, so taht you can always be with me where I am. If this weren't so, I would tell you plainly (John 14:2-3). Jesus prepares a place for His followers. I am a follower of Christ. He means so much to me. In fact He means everything to me. Now you may not be as convinced as I am. That's okay. Just consider this; Jesus did all these things for you...that's right, for you. He want you to join him in heaven. So what does Jesus mean to you? He could mean nothing, and that's fine. You may need to keep thinking about His claims because this is the first time you've considered what Jesus did for you. Or Jesus could mean something to you. You may have heard some things about Jesus and you need more information. I suggest you read the book of John in the Bible to discover more about who Jesus claimed to be and what He does. Read his story. Think about it. Then decide what he means to you. For me, Jesus is everything. He put himself on the cross paying my penalty for sins and proved His power over death and prepared a place for me in heaven to be with Him. I am so grateful. Let me know what you think. Post your comments. 'Til next time. What Jesus did for me