Preach The Gospel….And Live It As Well!

Those of us who have felt the calling of God to minister in a pulpit; in a Sunday School class as a teacher; on the streets as an evangelist; or maybe even through the gift of song in a music ministry…we feel led by God to do these things because of what Jesus did for us, and we want to share that with others.

However, sometimes in the world today, things get in the way of our witnessing, and we succumb to the whisperings of our ancient enemy, satan. And then we kick ourselves because we KNOW better, and yet…oftentimes we fall right back into the tempter’s snare.

As Christians, we are constantly watched by others who study us to see if our actions truly portray Christ and His Love…or if we say one thing with our mouths and then do the exact opposite. If we say we love Christ, then we need to SHOW it in everything we do and say, and not just when it’s convenient for us to do–say, like, in church. God knows our hearts, and He wants us to be faithful in ALL things.

Is that hard? You bet it is! Is it impossible? Why, not at all! God can give us the wherewithal to succeed in His Name; He tells us in the Word that all things are possible with HIM. So, we can do it…but it’s up to us to freely give all of ourselves to Him in order for that to happen.

God has really been speaking to me about this subject these past few days; there is an urgency to the message that He wants us to convey to the lost in this world. And that message is, “Jesus loves you, and He wants to have a personal relationship with you…not just on Sundays or Wednesdays or whenever you gather in His house to worship…but EVERY single day.”

And I also ask that you pray for me. I am counting down Lent season early this year with my fasting. Instead of just 40 days, God wants me to go that extra mile…so I have prepared both spiritually and physically; my fast for God started this morning, and goes until Easter.

Fifty-eight days on a juice fast. It’s a long time, but it’s what I need to do to get my mind, heart, soul, and body totally focused on our Lord and Savior. I know it will be hard and grueling and maddening at times, and I know I’ll be a bear for a while to my family and friends until my body adjusts to the fact that I’m not taking in solid food. Yet, I know that as the toxins are slowly leeched from my body, I’ll have more clarity to see things spiritually like never before.

Pray that I will not only truly preach the Gospel…but live it to the fullest as well.

Wassup?!

No, I wasn’t slacking over the weekend if you wondered at the lack of posts; just took some time off to chill with the family.

Weather took a turn with the cold end of the Arctic Circle engulfing us over the next few days, this morning was a brisk 5° above zero with a wind chill in the negative double digits. Snow is possible tomorrow into the evening; no word yet on any kind of accumulation.

Besides that, it a beautiful sunshiny day in northern Missouri; a great day to go ice fishing and enjoy the balmy temps outside. 

A Letter To God

Here’s the way we could picture how our kids talk to God sometimes…and maybe we as adults need to be reminded of these things, too. 

Dear God,

Hi. How are you? Sorry it’s been a while since we last talked. Things here are sure busy. Between doing things at home, going to school, and doing the stuff I like to do, I don’t have a whole lot of time for anything else.

We had a good time in church this past Sunday. I like going and singing those songs that talk about You and listening to those awesome stories about what You used to do in the Bible. It was probably pretty wild to live back in those days. Makes me thankful I didn’t grow up then!

There are a lot of questions I have about things, like heaven and angels and stuff, and Mom and Dad can’t answer them. I know you’re awful busy but if you have some time can we get together and talk? I’d really like that.  I keep thinking about Jesus and Easter and Christmas and sometimes I get everything confused.

Kids at school make fun of me because they say I look funny and act weird and talk about God all the time. I don’t know if it makes them scared or what, but they don’t like to hang around me much. All I want to do is fit in with everyone else, but it’s so hard sometimes. They do bad stuff like smoke and cuss, and it makes me sad.

Well, that’s about it, God.  I hope you have a good day. Tell Jesus I said hi, too.

Just some food for thought on this Friday.