Are You Wandering

ARE YOU W. A. N. D. E. R. I. N. G. IN YOUR FAITH? © by Pastor Robb

HERE’S SOME WARNING-SIGNS THAT YOU MIGHT BE IN TROUBLE. IF YOU CATCH THEM NOW, IT MIGHT NOT BE TOO LATE:

W. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU INVITED YOUR FRIEND TO CHURCH?

A. ARE YOU A SELFISH CHRISTIAN, ONLY CONCERNED WITH YOUR OWN SALVATION?

N. NEGLECTING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD BECAUSE MYSPACE IS MORE IMPORTANT BEING IN HIS PRESENCE?

D. DO YOU ONLY PRAY WHEN YOU’RE AT CHURCH?

E. “EVERYBODY” IS DOING IT, WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

R. READING THE BIBLE IS LIKE GOING TO THE DENTIST.

I. IRRITATED AT LITTLE THINGS - ALL THE TIME.

N. NOCTURNAL INSTEAD OF GETTING-UP EARLY TO SEEK THE FACE OF GOD.

G. GROWING COLD TOWARD GOD, AND GROPING AFTER SIN FOR GRATIFICATION.

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms you are WANDERING away from God. It’s time to DRAW NEAR and find rest at the Feet of Jesus.

Stop Pushing Jesus to the Side!

Have you ever had someone push you? ‘Didn’t like it, did you? What did you want to do to them? Exacly. In Mark chapter 8 Peter pushed Jesus to the side…

“Peter took Him aside.” [v. 32]

“Uh-Oh!?? Ahh… Peter, don’t you know… that’s a big no-no? Jesus don’t like being pushed to the side!” So, what does “meek-and-mild” Jesus do? HE PUSHES BACK!! …

“He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not mindful of the things of God… but the things of men!”

It’s not that Jesus was all-of-a-sudden CRAZY MAD at Peter. Jesus saw that there was a deeper issue in Peter. Peter was a “Christian” [you could say], but HE WAS BEING INFLUENCED BY THE POWERS OF DARKNESS. And the proof of it is that he PUSHED JESUS TO THE SIDE!! And remember this… if we’re going to push Jesus to the side…. watch out! HE’S GONNA PUSH BACK!!

WHAT DO WE DO? David said in Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me!” Where are you setting Jesus? Behind you? Beside you? Be like David and set the Lord right in front of you! Every day acknowledge His Presence. Bust out your Bible! Let His Light shine on you. Turn your back on the Devil like you did when you dumped one of your old boyfriends!! Go ahead and DO IT!!!

and…. STOP PUSHING JESUS TO THE SIDE!!

The Time is Now!

Get your Bible off the shelf
Dust the cover
And pray for help!!

“I Know No Limits”

Feeling limited? Feeling stifled? Feeling like you are beating your head against a wall? I believe this Psalm contains the secret to living the Christian Life…

“My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits.” Psalm 71:15 NKJV

This is such a powerful Scripture. It speaks of newness, boldness, righteousness, Heaven, and all that encompasses the declaration of the Salvation of the Most High. How in the world can any of us be so courageous so as to proclaim this great Gospel? The last part of the verse gives us the key. “For I do not know limits.” Notice in the original language the word, “their” isn’t even there! I believe this was David’s secret to “the Christian Life”, if you will. He saw himself as unlimited! Could it be that so many of us are not sharing the glorious Good News that God can make us righteous and that His Salvation is available is because we set limits on ourselves? We feel we’re limited by our mistakes, our past, our jobs, our cities. We find ourselves saying, “Oh if only….” David wasn’t like this. He was going forward because he didn’t know anything about limits. If you would have asked David, “But what about the strongholds of the enemies?” He would have said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, anyway God fights my battles!” We need to learn to live without limitations. We must break them off and begin to do what God has called us to do!

A Changed Life

One of our youth sharing a little testimony of how Youth Discipleship changed her life. Enjoy!

How do you see “Jesus”?

This is really quick. Who is Jesus to you? Check out this video. Post a quick comment.

When we go “a whoring”

Never say, “Never”, is the adage. “Not me, Jesus, I’ll never forsake you!!” Watch out!

Judges 2:17 KJV “And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.”

Judges 2:17 MSG “But they wouldn’t listen to their judges; they prostituted themselves to other gods–worshiped them! They lost no time leaving the road walked by their parents, the road of obedience to GOD’s commands. They refused to have anything to do with it”.

It’s this phrase, “they went a whoring after other gods” in the King James Version that really stands out to me. It has such an in-your-face connotation to it. God wanted to bless, protect, and meet every need of the children of Israel, but as they forsook the Lord to go after these other gods they actually found themselves in an unexpected predicament. Isn’t that the way sin always is? Because they wouldn’t listen to the deliverers God had raised-up…

1. They ended-up bowing down to who they prostituted themselves to.
• 2Peter 2:19 They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits—for we are slaves of anything that has conquered us. GNB
• I’m sure the first few times a person uses Crack Cocaine thinks it’s pretty fun, but then he finds himself “bowing down” to it. It has become his new master.

2. They took an unmarked off-ramp to leave the highway their forefathers walked-in.
• How sad when someone has once walked on the road of obeying God’s commandments and then leaves for something, (or someone) else. God’s Word is our “Road map” as we live in this world.

3. Their attitude became a reinforced snobbery of rebellion against God.
• It’s a sad day when a person has gone so far that they thumb their nose at the One who did so much for them. This type of warped thinking doesn’t just automatically happen. It starts with a glance, with a subtle temptation, with a person who’s already done it, and there’s an unexplained attraction. But in the process Satan is sliding on the hand-cuffs, and there will be no escape unless the victim cried out to the Lord from the heart. [Judges 2:18].

When we leave our 1st Love [Rev. 2:4] to go a whoring after other gods it has ghastly results. God’s desire is for us to stay in perpetual communion with Him and to walk according to His Word.

Daily Bible Reading: Judges 1-3

Around the World in 3 Verses

“Lord, please don’t send me to Africa!” is the prayer of many Christians today. But maybe that prayer is twisted for a reason. Could it be that we’re not seeing something?

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 67-68

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 67:1-3 “O God, in mercy bless us; let your face beam with joy as you look down at us. 2 Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind. 3 How everyone throughout the earth will praise the Lord!” TLB

OBSERVATION
1. MERCY: Mercy Comes First. God is always the initiator, and man is the respondent. What a wonderful thing Mercy is! When we ought to be judged, God has mercy!

2. SHINE: Then God’s Face Shines Upon Us. No mention here of us doing anything to make God happy. And yet when we receive His Mercy it thrills the heart of God. No longer is there any barrier. Now we have wide-open fellowship and communion with God.

3. EVANGELISM: The Right Response. Here the Psalmist is so overwhelmed with the Mercy and the shinning Face of God that he says, “Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind!” This is God’s desire. It’s not something we have to conjure up. It’s not that we’ll have a world-wide ministry, but it’s the natural prayer of someone who has experienced God’s Love. How can we not want everyone to know this great Mercy and Love?

APPLICATION
Barriers, walls, sins, strongholds, transgressions, anger and resentment – this is why we need Mercy. Until we humble ourselves and ask for Mercy we won’t get past any of it. But as we do – anything is possible with God smiling over your life! If I don’t have this burning heart for world evangelism and Missions could it be that I haven’t experienced Mercy? Could it be that God isn’t pleased with me? I want to take some time to really pray about my heart today. Because deep down I really want everyone to hear the Gospel, but I am willing to pray that God would literally send me around the world to do it? What kind of sacrifice are we talking about here?

PRAYER
“Lord, how I desire to pray like the Psalmist. But my heart needs Mercy. My heart needs You. Please have Mercy on me this morning. Let my heart burn with a day-by-day passion to see the Gospel declared in all the world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”