The Gospel According to Garth

Garth Brooks is probably one of the best known country artists of the last twenty years. I happen to love Garth Brooks and today I had a song of his stuck in my head. It's a song called Unanswered Prayers. The chorus goes like this:
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talking to the man upstairs
That just because He may not answer doesn't mean He don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

Have you ever prayed for something and didn't get it? I know I have. I'm sure we all have. And sometimes its just like the song says, it's the one thing we wanted, the one person we wanted for all time, it's the promotion we wanted, or it's the job we wanted. The common denominator in all of this is that it's stuff "we" want. It's not always what God wants and "we" want it in "our" time not His.

Think about those things that you have asked God for and the prayers that have gone unanswered and ask yourself if things worked out better or worse than what you wanted. I bet if you really think about it you will see that things did work out better and I bet you might just thank God for unanswered prayers. Peace and God Bless

Farming your faith

Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. (Ecclesiastes 11:4 NIV)

Farming is something that I do not understand. I was born in a city and grew up in a city. What I know about farming comes from movies like Son in Law and For Richer and Poorer. But I do know that farmers work hard seven days a week, 365 days a year. There is always something to do on a farm from feeding livestock to planting and checking crops. The work begins early and ends late each day and its hard, like really hard.

Farmers don't wait for the perfect weather to do their work. They work in the rain, sleet and snow because they have to. They don't watch the wind of the clouds to know what to do. Just as farmers don't watch the wind to plant or the clouds to harvest, we should also not watch the wind or the weather for the perfect time to share our faith or plant the seed of God in others. It should happen everyday no matter what. If we wait for the perfect weather to plant our faith it will never happen. We have to do it in the rain, sleet and snow. In the darkest of night and the brightest of days. Are you watching the wind and the clouds? Or are you farming your faith. Peace and God Bless

A Lamp Unto My Feet

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it,
that I will follow your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:105, 106 NIV)

Have you ever tried to walk in the dark without a light? It's pretty hard to do. I mean sometimes you might find the right path and sometimes you might walk into the coffee table. When we are walking down this path that we call life we need a lamp and a light otherwise we might take a wrong turn.

God is the lamp and the light. He is the way we need to follow. He is the one who can help us on this path.

I read a tweet recently that said, "in God we trust literally means trust yourself! There is no one out there to help you." This bothered me because I realized that this tweeter didn't have a lamp or a light. He was banging into the coffee table and he didn't even know it. I wish this story had a happy ending but sadly when I tried to reach out to this person it was met with hostility. I sent a DM to this tweeter and reached out trying to show them that there was someone out there to help and that someone would help no matter what and would always be there. Sadly the response was not good. But I will continue to pray for this tweeter and everyone else without a lamp or a light. Peace and God Bless

A Son Is Born

As I sit here in the hospital with my wonderful and beautiful wife waiting on the arrival of our child I am reminded of how life is beautiful and wonderful and how the gift of life, the gift of eternal life was given through God's Son. I am reminded of the wonderful story of Jesus birth, of the glory that was brought into this world that starry night, of what Mary and Joseph must have felt, the great awe of having a child and the wonder of the life that had been created.

Isaiah 9:6 says, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Today, hopefully, my son will be born and I know that God has a wonderful plan for him, He chose him before he was in the womb and He will do great things through him. I pray that my son will be an example for others of how to live, I pray that I will be an example for him of how to live, I pray that He will be a guiding force for him. Join me in the blessings that God has given us today. Peace and God Bless.

A Christmas Conundrum

I know, I know it's still October and I am talking about Christmas. But I work in retail currently and we have had Christmas set up for over two weeks, so it's been on my mind. And what's been on my mind is what we really treat Christmas as. Is it a holiday or is it a holy day?

I think the world at large has turned Christmas into a retail free for all. The world at large looks at trying to sell you things you think you really need. But do you really need a new XBox, PS3, Wii, bike or whatever else the retail giants try to make you think you need? Nope you don't really need those things. I know when I was a little kid I really wanted a nintendo, then I got it and all I asked for was new games for it. Not really a bad thing but I didn't really need those things. Even today there are a lot of things that I want but very few that I need. I want a new mountain bike, I want some new camping equipment, I want a new backpack with a nice laptop sleeve. I really only need food, shelter and minimal clothing and I have those. Plus I have the most important thing I could ever want or need, eternal life in Jesus.

This Christmas I want people to give to those less fortunate, to charities that are working for Christ. This Christmas lets remember what's most important. Let's remember that Christmas isn't a holiday, it's a holy day. It's Christ's birthday and He gave us the best gift of all. Peace and God Bless

The Number Game

We all deal with numbers. It's one of the first things we learn as child. We learn to count and add, subtract multiply as divide. As adults we deal with sales numbers, profit numbers, costs of things we want and need, the list goes on and on.

The Bible deals with numbers too, and I'm not just talking about chapter and verse numbers. The world was created in 7 days. There was 1 man and 1 woman created. Noah saved 2 of every kind of animal from the flood. There were 12 tribes of Israel and 12 disciples that Jesus called.

Maybe it's because we are a number driven society that we, as Christians, tend to think that it matters how many people we save. The numbers game. I think we get caught up in our number driven world and feel the need that in order to please God or in order to be a good Christian it matters how many people we personally lead to Christ. The numbers game.

I think that when we are thinking in numbers we start to lose sight of the greater purpose in front of us, honoring God and bringing glory to Him. That's what it's all about folks. Brining glory to God in whatever we do. God wants that from us, He desires that from us. We should give it all to Him, who created us. He gives all of us a purpose and we need to fulfill that purpose. When we get to heaven I doubt our merit will be based on the number of people we personally led to Christ. I don't think He will say, "John you led 155 people to Me so you get to come in but Jim over there didn't lead but 1 person to Me so nope he's out." I think it's so much more than a numbers game. Not saying we shouldn't witness and disciple just saying God's not interested in the number, just that we love Him and glorify Him and live according to His purpose for us. Peace and God Bless

The Mighty JC

I am better than you. I know this because, well, because I am. My nose is held high in the air. My clothes are better, my car is better, my house is better and my faith is better.

Now that I have your attention, NONE of the first statements are true. I not better than anyone else, my nose isn't high in the air, my clothes are just clothes, my car is a car and I live in an apartment. I am not better than you or anyone else. I am me, for better or worse and I am what I am.

Have you ever met someone who thinks they are better than you or even worse knows it in their own mind? I have. I think we all have. I am an avid reader of several Christian blogs. I like all of them equally. What struck me today was the fact that while each of them had a different message, each of them had comments from what I want to call the mighty JC...not the JC you are thinking about either. I am talking about the Judgmental Christian. The one that knows they are better than you, that their faith is stronger and that their belief is the right one. This troubled me greatly because what if a non Christian happened to stumble upon that blog today and see those comments.

I have many friends that are not Christians and many that are. When I have asked some of my non Christian friends what they liked least about Christians many have said The Mighty JC (judgmental christians). When I have asked some of my Christian friends what is the one stumbling block in witnessing to non Christians that you would like to change, the answer is again The Mighty JC.

I think that we as Christians need to think before we speak or comment in these cases. We are all guilty of being the mighty JC at one time or another and many of us don't mean to and some don't realize that they are. We have to be conscious of what we are saying and how we are living because we have to be the example. What example are you portraying? Are you a mighty JC or does the real mighty JC, Jesus Christ, live through you? Peace and God Bless