But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ~ Acts 1:8

I do not have to look for “hungry folks” somewhere else. Yes I live in a land of spoiled rotten greedy Americans yet there is a needy person on every corner. The contentment from God is realized when I ask Him to point me to the ones He has prepared. Casting pearls before swine just makes the one casting bitter and angry. Yet it is not the swine’s fault. Their time will come. It is our job to seek God and follow His leading. He knows where to cast the net, sometimes He chooses to catch folks one at a time and some days is by the handfuls. And other days it is crowds. I am thankful it is not crowds daily, although if it was His choice I suppose He would give us the stamina to deal with it.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. ~ Matthew 7:6

One of the most precious women at our church is one who probably doesn’t think of herself as an evangelist, yet she is. She is also a prayer warrior and she probably does as much or more for the Kingdom of Heaven as any preacher in town. She simply obeys what the Lord puts in front of her daily. She shares with her neighbors, her grown children’s friends, her husbands co-workers. She is diligent and persistent. She doesn’t shout from the rooftops but she lives it and speaks to whomever the Lord leads and He leads her to the ones that are ripe harvest fields.

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ~ Luke 10:2-3

What would happen if we tried to harvest apples before they were ripe? We would frustrate ourselves and waste the entire crop. So it goes with those the Lord has us minister to. Look for His leading. Seek Him. Listen carefully. And He will cover you and even protect you from the wolves.

Most folks have heard something about the bible. But sadly enough most have heard wrong. Did you know that many of today’s common scriptures people quote are not in there?

Tell me where it says any of the following.

1. Good people go to Heaven.
2. She or He has a good heart.
3. God says we should unconditionally love each other.
4. God will help those who help themselves.
5. The rapture is coming.
6. All things work out for the best.
7. God loves everyone the same.
8. Come as you are.
9. No one expects you to be perfect.
10. Hell is not a real place.
11. God doesn’t send good people to Hell.
12. We aren’t supposed to judge.
13. Me and God have it all worked out.
14. All roads lead to Heaven as long as you live a good life.
15. You don’t have to go to church to be saved.
16. We are supposed to forgive and forget.

Many of those are outright lies, most have no scriptural basis at all and even the ones that are remotely scriptural are sorely twisted. Yet folks quote them everyday. And most believe them. That is why they have no real relationship with the Lord. I challenge you to not only get in your word but to begin to answer folks with real scripture. I am challenging myself to the same. We need to get back to our roots. We need to strengthen and water our roots. It isn’t enough to just study your bible for yourselves we need to share it.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-8

We need to share real answers with folks not just remix the same ole ones. Because the same ole ones aren’t getting anyone anywhere.

What is on your to-do list this week? If it looks like mine it is full to overflowing. And every item is worthwhile and full of value and even God approved. Yet little of it will matter much 100 years from now.

Even in the busiest of times, and even in the midst of all we do for the Lord, ministering to Him should always take first priority. Ministering to Jesus? How can that be? Why should that be?

Ministering to the Lord is worshiping Him, putting Him first, acknowledging that He is who He is. It isn’t a one time event. If He can make each and every day then He deserves our gratefulness each and every day. And since we are mere men and women we need reminding, daily reminding whom we serve and whom we love and recognize as being our savior. He is God, He doesn’t need it we need it. But He desires it. His love for us is so immeasurable that we cannot even comprehend it. We have no idea the joy it brings Him when we stop and give Him some of our time. Time is not something that can be purchased. What we get is what we get, and none of us knows exactly how many days we have. There are a lot of things in this world that can be put off but giving our creator praise is not one of them.

It is during our time with Him that we hear His voice.

It is during our time with Him that we are healed.

It is during our time with Him that we receive direction.

It is during our time with Him that we recognize our calling.

It is during or time with Him that we are restored.

It is during or time with Him that He is Glorified.

We hear often preached today that we are kings and priests, but few remember the place of the priest, it is face first before the Lord. What a wonderful way to start each day.

I (we) have had someone over the last year inflict more pain and hurt on this family than any I ever remember. It is painful because it is from someone we love so dearly. But whether trouble comes from a loved one or an enemy or just a shear fact of life such as a death, the answer is still the same. Get up, wash your face, and worship God. That was King Davids approach after losing his son because of his own sin.  It is still the answer today. And it is the answer everyday. and if you were knocked down yesterday, start today new. And if you get knocked down today, start over. Because if you stay down you will eventually be buried by your circumstances.

Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped.   2 Samuel 12:20

Let’s look closer at King Davids story.  It looks pretty bleak. He saw Bathsheba, looked when he shouldn’t have, let the imagination grow in his mind, acted on it, and killed to cover it up. He is in pretty deep. So deep that he has fooled himself and even become blind to it. That will happen if you turn your eyes from the truth long enough, you will become so deceived you cannot even see it anymore.  The Lord sends a prophet with a Word to open his eyes. The Lord will not let us perish without giving us an opportunity to see the truth. The light bulb comes on in King David’s spirit and he is aware of his wrongdoing. He repents and is forgiven but there are still consequences of his sin. There is always forgiveness yet there are also most often consequences. David’s own son died because of his sin, even though he was forgiven. Forgiveness does not mean there will be no punishment.

After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. 2 Samuel 11:27

Sometimes our troubles are a result of our own wrong doings and then sometimes they are not. Sometimes they are simply because we have made ourselves available to be used by Him, and He has a bigger plan that we see. Either way the answer is the same.

Get up – don’t wallow in it, seek God’s face, ask what is His purpose, DO NOT argue, this is the creator of the universe who knows all things, trust that He knows more than you

Wash yourself – if there is sin, repent, get clean, it may even be the sin of unbelief

Worship God! – there is no greater calling or purpose on this earth, stay in close communion with Him, proceed with His leading, He has a purpose in all that He does

Know that you can overcome because He overcame all, and has the peace you need.

Be blessed my friends and know that we are praying for you.