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Each day I find my passion for Jesus growing. I have by no means arrived. But I know where I need to go and it points to Jesus. I am awed by His creation! I am moved by His generosity! Most importantly I am eternally grateful that I am not going to Hell. By the grace of God and His mercy on me I have been bought. Oh how sweet this sounds as I write it. To know that I will be spending eternity with Jesus. Praise you God for all that you have done for me. I could not in a million years give you enough thanks-but let me simply give you praise in this moment. Is not our God worth every ounce of our energy? I know He is and I know many of you know He is. So with that said let me just vent for a moment.
I want to share certain words with you. Yet I am not sure if these words would be considered vulgar and foul or just simply holy indignation. Since I am not sure I will simply tell you the situation which dumbfounds me.
Several days ago I was asked to speak at a church to be their missionary speaker. The woman who I spoke to wanted me to share about our Work in Liberia Africa but she wanted to make me aware of the time restrictions and other arrangements. Now I am fully aware and respectful to time restrictions. I think some people speak to long and bore us all. Some people should not even be allowed to get up and speak(Sorry-just my unholy side). Yet as she shared with me about these time restrictions, she did so to remind me that their were those in the church who would not come to church if they knew it was a missionary speaker. Matter of fact they were going to cut the typical greeting time where someone reads something funny or heart warming they found on the Internet just so they could give me a little more time. Well that is certainly generous of them. Throughout our conversation this woman apologized to me that some in the church might be upset that the “preacher” was not preaching that day. Of course they would be. Many of those faithful saints have given their two dollars each week(none towards missions of course) and by golly they deserve to hear the guy they hired. Oh and the guy they hired had better be done in 20 minutes and or less.
I wish I could describe the whole telephone conversation for you. But in a nutshell the creator of the Universe had 1 hour and if I could cut it down to less that would help since their were some who don’t come to church to hear a missionary speaker. Good thing they were not around 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul would not be welcome. Really though this is not the sad part to this who situation. The sad part is that the leadership does not have the fortitude to simply stand up and call these non-believers to task. Oh I am sorry let’s call them members. I would not want them to be offended.
Well okay I got this of my chest and I am sure that you have room to be critical of my heart and thoughts. Although we need not to look too far to find that we have many churches with people we are afraid to call to task because we may lose our job or reputation or who knows what. By golly if Jesus needs 1 hour and 15 minutes than he probably will not be invited to this church.
My family and I just got back from our spring break vacation. We traveled to see my parents and my childhood home. I certainly enjoyed the trip and especially had a great time showing my kids where daddy hung out when he was a kid. The time spent with family was great but as I returned home my heart was overwhelmed by the effects that sin have had on so many I have loved and known over the years. Here is just a sampling.
While speaking to my Aunt I asked her about her five children. Growing up I had spent time with her kids. It was hard to hear the stories of my cousins lives. 4 of the 5 have had multiple marriages. Several were facing the pains of child support and separation from their children. As I began to make contact with my friends who I had grown up with I found that each one of them also had their sad stories. Many of them had failed relationships as well as problems with drugs and alcohol. Yet the hardest and maybe most difficult thing to bear was yet to come.
Before I left I was compelled to speak with my step-father one more time about Jesus. In years past I have shared about how much Jesus loved him and had a plan for his life. Always I have been met with rejection. But I decided to try again. The result was like all the other talks. I would start talking about Jesus and he would try to change the discussion. He did say that he hopes we all get to heaven. In which I responded “there is a way that we can know”. Even my daughter chimed in by saying, “grandpa I want to see you in heaven” Yet this was not enough to break through the pride that has built up over the years. It is hard to think that he is going to miss out on eternity because of a prideful heart.
I now know why God hates sin. It is so devastating. It destroys lives. It not only blinds people to the truth but ultimately will send a person to hell. I certainly do not want to end talking about everyone’s struggle with sin and forget my own. As a believer I am amazed at how much I allow sin to work in my life. I do not have to look far to see that sin is still a constant battle in my life. Yes I know Jesus has saved me from my sin but sometimes I cannot believe how often I sin. The things I allow to enter my thought life are many times downright wicked. Yes I hate sin because it distorts the life God has intended for me.
I do not want to end on a sad note. I have seen the effects of sin in others as well as myself. But I am reminded about God’s redeeming power In my brokenness Jesus has saved me from my sin of the past as well as all future sins. Praise be to His name. I am hopeful that my parents will one day claim Jesus as savior. I am hopeful that my other families and friends who have been devastated by sin will also turn to the great healer of their souls. I know my own struggle with sin has been defeated. And for that I give praise to God. Yes God is to be praised. Sin is devastating But God is Good!!!
I have just returned back from Liberia, Africa. It has been a wonderful trip to see how God is moving in other places around the World. Liberia is a country that has recently come through a 14 year civil war. It is true “war is hell”. This is the case for the country of Liberia. This country rich in natural resources has been knocked into the stone ages. 85% of the people are unemployed. The average salary for a year is $450 dollars. Not much for any place in the World. But Liberia’s true poverty goes a lot deeper. It is nation that is not only in desperate need of God but it is in desperate need of seeing God. It is hard to see God when you physically are starving. I guess this is where I come into the story.
I have been to Liberia on 3 previous trips. On two of these trips I had the opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I enjoy sharing Christ with people. I am a firm believer that there is no hope outside of Jesus Christ. Yet this last time to Liberia God seem to impress on me not a new message but a more complete message. On my airplane ride home(plenty of time to think on a long flight) God seem to overwhelm me with this key thought. Basically this thought evolved from some things I really enjoy. I enjoy clean drinking water. I also enjoy going to church and not getting rained on. I enjoy the opportunity of working hard and earning a income to take care of my family. And now this is where God comes in. I heard his voice. It was not audible. But it was certainly clear. “David” he said, “You enjoy these basics of life, don’t you think that others especially in Liberia would enjoy these as well?” That’s when it hit me. God said to love my neighbor as myself. I enjoy the basics of life. If I enjoy these things why would I not seek to do what I could to help those who did not have access to these things enjoy them as well. If I truly love my neighbor I would seek to take care of Him.
This may not be a huge revelation to you. It certainly is not new to anyone but God certainly reminded me that He put me on this earth to love others not only with words but to take care of them physically as well. And so here is my dilemma. I have come home and am back to drinking my filtered water and worshipping in my climate controlled church and eating foods that do not make me sick while thousands of miles away my brothers in Christ are struggling to find these things that I take for granted. And so I am burdened, maybe even passioned about seeking to find away to do something about this matter. Since I have come home I have shared with my church that I want us to go back next February and build a church building that does not have a leaky roof. I also want us to bring over a water system that will clean their contaminated water. I want to simply love them in the name of Jesus. The project is huge. It is of goliath proportions. The building itself may cost over $60,000 US dollars. The water system is several thousand. Some may say just do a little at a time. But why is it that we here in the states have to have our satisfaction taken care instantly while others wait. By the way this is not an indictment on our culture as much as it is a reason to be more passioned to somehow help the church in Liberia sooner than later.
I do not know where God is going to lead me or my team going to Africa next year. I do not know where resources will come from. But I do know that our Father has all the resources he needs to take care of his people. So I guess I am simply asking you to pray for the work in Liberia. Pray for me that I will know how to go about putting together a project such as the one i have mentioned. Pray that God will send people my way or resources my way so that we can love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.
Thanks for hearing me. God is so good. If you want to know how you can be a part of what God is doing in Liberia please let me know there is so much work to be done. God is good!
Lord, do we really love you? I know we say we do with our lips. We even sing great songs of worship to you every Sunday. But how far does our love go. A young couple (and many times not so young) say they love you but they are sleeping together and they are not married. We say we love you but we will date non-Christians and even plan to marry them thinking that one day they will become a Christian. Do we really love you?
Lord can we love you when we really do not make being with God’s people a priority? Yes in the name of doing family things we will miss services throughout the summer because of camping, or sports or some other good activity. What message do we send Lord to our children every-time we say you are a priority but than we forgo being with you in worship. Do we really love you Lord when financially we control our money? If how much we gave to your work was a sign of our true love for you-would our love even be apparent.
Lord do we love you when we treat our pastor/preacher like a hired hand rather than a man called by God to lead us spiritually? Lord if I can not trust the leading and guiding of my minister can I really trust you? Lord I am saddened because I see so many churches who have abused, mistreated and destroyed so many godly men all because they cannot let go of their pride. Can it be love when I want the church and the minister to make me feel good rather than to simply honor what makes you feel good?
Lord how many minister really love you? We preach sermons not based on your Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit but we preach what people want to hear. Lord forgive us for we have sinned.
Can it be love when we are more concerned about something in the church building, or a style of worship, rather than simply glorifying you? Lord the World dies and goes to Hell each day because in our pseudo-Christianity we are so consumed in loving ourselves rather than you. When all is said and done, I believe my way is right rather than yours. Lord forgive me of these thoughts. Allow nothing to come in between you and I. May I always seek to die to myself. Lord it is not about me. It is always about you. Lord I love you.
a sinner, now saint desperate for God’s love
Lord it is true, I want to Praise you. You are so good. Yesterday I celebrated 43 years of life. I have so much to give you praise for. I can praise you for a wonderful family. I can praise you for a godly wife. I can praise you for spirit filled children. I can praise you for an amazing and loving church family. I can praise you for the fact that today I ran 6 miles and probably could have gone more. I can praise you for the journey you have for me in this life.
Even though I can praise you for all these things today, I want to give you praise because I have life. Not the life that comes from beathing in the air,(although I do thank you for this) but I praise you for the life given through your Son. I do not share this with you lightly. To know that I will spend eternity praising you is an awesome thought. Thank you Jesus for loving me so much. You are worthy of all praise because in a million years my journey with you will have just begun. Glory to God in the highest. He is worthy of all our praise!
The calls were made early Sunday. “Church has been canceled” I said. The weather that morning was white-out conditions. The snow was blowing hard and we did not want anyone to try and get out for services. Although to say that church was canceled is really not all true. Our family decided to have church.
It first started with my daughter Kaitlyn. She asked if she could prepare communion and do a meditation. I said yes. We had some old crackers in the house that she broke up. She looked for grape juice but we had none. So she got creative at this point. She found freezer pops. She melted it down and put it in all five glasses. I must say that this was the first time I ever had orange freezer pop juice for communion. BTW it was probably one of the most spiritual moments I have had in communion with the Lord.
Our little service opened up with my teenage daughter welcoming all of us to the the service.(their were 5 in attendance plus our black lab champ. Although champ kept barking during singing so we kicked him out.) Ashley announced to the crowd that she knew God had a purpose for us being here in service this morning. We knew he had a purpose as well. After welcome my wife started up the praise songs on the CD player. It was a great time as we sang our hearts out to God. No instruments, no song leaders or praise bands just the CD player and our voices. After communion we sang a few more worship songs. Than dad shared from Jeremiah 29:11. I talked about how God wanted to bless us and give us a future. After about 5 minutes of this the rest of the family began to share scriptures that they really liked. I was moved as each one shared from the bottom of their hearts. My middle daughter who also did communion wrote down our prayer concerns and praises. Our praises that morning out numbered our prayers. I think this is how it is suppose to be. Finally my son closed up the service by sharing the announcements. He let us know that all events the rest of the day at the church were canceled. No youth groups or bible studies. Everyone was to stay home and just enjoy each other.
Yes it was an incredible time worshipping with my family. I am certain that this is how God intended it from the beginning.
Lord thank you that worship is simply praising you. Thank you that your church is not confined by a building or an address. Yes Lord we love you and we look forward to having church next week either by the fireplace or in some other location. Praises to you.
I remember the first time I flew to Liberia Africa. I was amazed by the love of the people but astounded by the poverty. Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the World. It has been ravaged by 15 year civil war that ended just several years ago. Inflation an unemployment is high. Sometimes I wonder what can be done to help a nation like this. Than I am reminded that we can pray. If you are reading this and looking for something you can pray for would you pray for these things which I have listed below.
Pray for:
1 The message of Jesus Christ to penetrate the lives of the people of Liberia.(Even though many Liberians would call themselves I have learned from first hand experience that their Christianity is mixed with all kinds of tribal garbage that continues to keep them in bondage to Satan.
2 The Liberians need teachers of the word who would be willing to train nationals. The nationals who are completely sold out to Jesus and his word are few. They need more who are willing to partner with them.
3 Good clean drinking water. Jesus said when we give a cup of water in his name that we do it as if giving it to Jesus. Not only do the people of this country need water but they need clean water. You and I are so used to drinking good water that we do not even think about how it keeps us from getting sick. Yet many of the Liberians drink water that literally is killing them prematurely. They need filters and ways to clean their water.
4 Reconciliation is such a huge thing for the people of this small West African nation. They have killed one another for many years. Right now there are attempts to reconcile the different groups. It is a hard task because many have a hard time forgiving those who have killed their family members. This is why Jesus is so desperately needed in this African country. Only he can heal.
5 Pray for Tom, Jon, and myself(david) as we will be going to Liberia in February of 2008. We are going to do some preparation work for a team that will be going the following year. While we are their we will be training some locals how to operate a portable saw mill which has been donated by a church. We also will be assessing what we can do to help in their spiritual and physical needs. Finally pray for our group that we can raise the resources necessary for this trip.
God is so good. “Lord I want to thank you and praise you that you have not forgotten your people in Africa. Sometimes World events look to more popular places but you have loved all of us. Lord be fore we help anyone help us to be completely surrendered to you. Thank you Jesus that you died for me and gave me life I love you so much. your servant dave”
Here is a link of a recent trip to Africa Liberia Mission Trip 07
We are all aware of the abuses that we commit to the body. Some of us have been guilty of immoral sexual activity. Others have abused our bodies with drugs and alcohol. Others have been addicted to nicotine. Certainly most of us would see why God would want us to refrain from such activity. It is harmful to his temple. It abuses the body He has given us to glorify Him. Now I have committed many of these atrocities that I have mentioned. Yet maybe there is an abuse which does not surpass these abuses but certainly is every bit the equal.
What would you say to an abuse that kills thousands each year, maybe even millions. Would an activity that shortens the life span of believers be something we should take notice of. What about an activity that many in the church have made their god. Should we ignore this abuse? Should we continue to live in such a way that we make excuses for a behavior that is destructive and cost society billions? What is this great crime against humanity that the church has been silent about?
This sin is something I have struggled with for years and many of you struggle with as well. The sin in a nutshell may be called gluttony but it can probably fit under other categories as well. Many of us are guilty of abusing the very temple’s God has created for us. We live in a society in which we put many harmful things in our body. Things which will hurt the very temples God has created for His glory. For years I ate what I wanted and how I wanted. Many of you are like this as well. We devoured and devoured and we continued to devour. We would mask our sins by calling it a fellowship meal. We would excuse our behavior believing that all things are permissible. We wrongly accused the the drunk of his sins of not being able to control the substances he put in his body and yet we could not control the food that came into our own bodies.
I share not as one who has mastered this but as one who knows that I have not treated God’s temple with the respect that it deserves. I am guilty of eating more than I need. I am guilty of eating things that have no value to God’s temple. I am guilty of bringing others along in my wicked lifestyle. Some would ask: “is wicked too strong of a word? ” Maybe but what else can I call something that has been my god for so long. I pray that my confessions may help others who are abusing their temples as well.
“Lord, forgive me for not bringing all areas of my life under your control. Lord forgive me for making food my God and not you. Father forgive me for eating things which are addictive, which do not help my body, which are loaded with known poisons. Lord God forgive me for trying to lose weight so that I might look good. Forgive me for going on diets because I wanted to glorify my health rather than glorify the God who created my health. Lord you simply want me to please you with all areas of my life. Convict me in doing what is right. Help me Lord to have the power to change and the grace and mercy to be patient with myself and others. Lord I love you.”
I have found myself many times making fun of the drug addict or the alcoholic for looking for satisfaction in the pill or the bottle. I have known for many years that it cannot be found in these things. For many years I searched for satisfaction in these things. Like Solomon who held nothing back for his pleasures I too held nothing back I indulged myself on the bottle like their was no tomorrow. I dove into the white powders of cocaine. All of these things I realized never brought me true satisfaction. My prayer so many years ago was, “thank you Lord for saving me from these drugs that have left me empty” Oh how thankful I am to be so wise now to know that these things leave me empty. And so I look down on the guy strung out on these things who looks for his satisfaction in something I know will leave me empty.
Yet as I laugh in my smug little Christian World the heavens cry out to me. They are seeking to get my attention. The creator of the Unverse shouts clearly to me. “You have judged your brother for getting his fix on a pill but you have forsaken me to get your fix on your family, your minstry, you activities, your—-”And we can go on. Yes Lord I have sinned. I am no different than the one strung out on drugs. Yes my sin looks nicer to society but to you it is still the same. I have gone down that same road. Forgive me Lord for trying to find my satisfaction in my family, in my ministry, in my health, in my friendships. Lord I have looked away from you. I have carried your name as if somehow I could bring satisfaction by just having you a part of my life. I have sinned against you. I am desperate for you. No longer do I want to look for anything to satisfy my soul but you.
Lord I love you because you never give up on me. You look through my thoughts and actions hoping that one day I will finally give all to you. Today Lord let this be the day. Let this be the day that I find satisfaction only in You. Life itself holds nothing for me without you. I love you Lord! I love you! Thank you for satisfaction
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runningwild77
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