What You Looking At?

My sermon for tomorrow morning Is titled "Judge Not And Be Not Judged". It is focusing on the spirit of bondage that traps so many Christians day by day. The truth is all of us, no matter how holy or righteous we are, judge others regularly. It's the one sin that everybody hates yet everybody is guilty. Christ summed it up well in Matthew 7:3-5 when He said clean out your own eye before you try cleaning out someone else's. This may sound strange to some of you 20/20 people out there but every time I try to help someone remove a speck I find myself straining to see past something else that has been blown into my own eyes by the winds of life. It's funny how we can be so quick to judge someone else for some tiny matter and all the while overlook our own mega sized problems in life. Jesus Said it's alright to help them clean out their eyes but just make sure you clean out your own eyes first. Anyway this sermon goes a lot deeper then what I can fit into this blog so I'm gonna leave with this question. What are you looking at? Hope to see you tomorrow! God Bless!!!

Time Off

This past Friday I was injured with a cracked rib in a church basketball game. I have had to be very still to let it heal so I've been laid up in my recliner for the past two days. I knew I was hit real hard but with the excitement of the game and all the adrenaline pumping I didn't realize my rib was cracked. In fact it wasn't till later that night when I started hurting worse and worse every time I took a breath that I realized something was wrong. I could probably push myself and do a little more than what I have been but the doctor says that will only delay my recovery. So unlike usual I've decided to listen to the doctor. I've been watching TV, reading my Bible, praying and sleeping for two days now and I've got to admit the rest has done me a world of good. I'm reminded that we can get so consumed with life that we forget to enjoy it. I encourage each of you to take some time to spend with God, not just at a conference or a church service or even a revival, just some quit time alone with no distractions, just you and God. I pray it doesn't take you braking a rib to realize this simple but important truth. God Bless!!!

Into The Wild

Years ago a man named Chris McCandless decided he would forsake everything and head north to Alaska where he would walk Into The Wild to fulfill the ever overwhelming sensation compelling him to live off the land, be alone, push himself physically and mentally to overcome the brutal conditions of the land. I'm sure that Hollywood has romanticized his story at least a little. However I can understand this misunderstood young man who felt the need to be at one with nature and find himself amongst his struggle to survive. I have often longed to pack up my bag with minimal rations, rifle, sleeping bag, basic survival gear and head off into the great unknown. Fortunately I have been blessed with a wonderful wife and awesome kids that keep me grounded when those thoughts and desires surface. I don't really know what exactly it is that is so mysteriously powerful about the wild but I can't help but wonder "could I exist without all the commodities and conveniences we have come to love and depend on so dearly?". The wild can be a good place and it can also be a bad place. Jesus was lead into the wilderness (wild) by the Spirit, Mark even goes as far as to say "the Spirit drove Him into the wild". There Jesus fasted for forty days and then was tempted of Satan. When He resisted the temptation He was strengthened by angels. He came out of the wild with such anointing that he turned the water to wine, cast out devils, healed many that were sick and preached to the multitudes. So even though the wild can be dangerous and full of scary beast and conditions it can also prove to be a place to refocus our lives and grow in our faith. I think the most important fact the apostles were trying to illustrate to us is that when we are lead or shall I say driven into a scary uncomfortable place we need to keep our eyes on the lord and stay in His word, then in His timing we will come through with a great anointing and a great testimony. Unfortunately Chris McCandless died in his journey into the wild, If he'd been led of the spirit into the wild I have absolutely no doubt that he would have made it out alive. Always remember, where God leads He feeds! God Bless and farewell!

What Is a Witness?

In my most recent series "A Great Witness" I have come to a new understanding of what a witness is. I use to think that a witness was someone who shared their testimony or their faith with someone else who was lost. Now I can see that scripture tells us that a witness is supposed to testify and share their faith not only with the lost but also with the saved. Why? Glad you asked. We take for granted the condition of our christian brothers and sisters so many times. We think that just because they are saved they should automatically know and do everything right. When the truth is, we are supposed to witness to each other as much as we do to the world. Your brother or sister in Christ may be going through something that he or she is ashamed of and your testimony or your encouraging word may be the very thing that he or she needs to overcome their trial. So don't think that you have to go stand on a corner and scream "Jesus Love You" to everybody who passes by the next time you feel compelled to witness. It may be that whoever is nearest you the next time you feel that urge is the person who needs a shinning word of hope and encouragement.

God Is Up To Something

Good morning everyone,

I'm here at the office early this morning, getting ready for Sunday and the more I think about the past few weeks the more I realize that God is doing something here at Unity at Calvary. We have seen people saved, financial blessings, and an overall spirit of unity building in the church. I am anxious to see what God is going to do Sunday. Don’t be left out, come and see what God is doing with your own eyes. Let's have revival that leads to revelation!!! See you Sunday!

Happy new years!!! I hope you find God’s richest blessings in 2011!

Sometimes we allow ourselves to get so consumed by relationships, possessions, and even religion that we forget to put God first. The first commandment says to put no other god’s before our God. We often do this ignorantly by putting God on the back burner while we enjoy the people and stuff life has to offer. This year let us resolve to Put God first in everything we do, our hobbies, careers, friends and family. Put God first and expect revival!

But If Not

I was reading today in Daniel 3 where King Nebuchadnezzar was threatening the Three Hebrews and something caught my eye. The king "said if you do not worship my idol I will have you thrown in the fire and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” And their reply was simple, they said our God is ABLE to deliver us and He will deliver us out of your hand. Wow what faith! They declared that they were going to trust God to take care of them in the heat of the battle. But that's not what caught my attention. The first three words in verse 18 are "But if not". Now wait a minute, they just declared their faith in God to deliver them right? Then why make such a negative statement like "but if not"? You see the truth is that regardless of how much faith we have in God, there are still going to be trials we have to endure. Just because we pray for God to fix our problems doesn't always mean that God IS going to fix them. These three Hebrews said, we believe God is able and is going to deliver us "BUT" even if He doesn't we will not compromise what’s right even if it cost us our lives. Now we all know that God did deliver them but they were prepared to suffer through it if they had to. Now that's faith! Will you be faithful when your "but if not" moment comes? Even if God doesn't heal your marriage, body, or finances, will you still devote your life to Him?

I will be preaching this sermon on January 2nd at 11am. Hope to see you there!

Together We Stand

Over the past few months I have been felling as though great things are just around the corner for the church. And after prayer conference yesterday I feel even more hopeful that the church not just UAC but the church as a whole is about to experience something awesome. Dr. Tim Hill preached an exhilarating word of God with such anointing that people could hardly remain in their sets. However the one thing that stood out to me the most is that our church needs to become unified again and its not a division in black and white or creed and culture it is the division between fathers and sons and mothers and daughters. We desperately need our older generation to embrace our younger generation and vice versa our young need to embrace our older. It’s true that the older will have no future without the young but the young will have no guidance without the old. I need to hear the song of the redeemed; those who have been through hell on earth and have fought the good fight and kept the faith. But the older generation needs to listen to my song of new beginnings to remind them of what God has done for them and will continue to do for them if they will keep their faith of a child. So whether you’re young or old try embracing someone with decades of years difference in age and reap either from their experience or from their passion. Together we will stand!

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

Sometimes things can happen to cause us unhappiness and discomfort in everyday life. We often panic when things go wrong or when thing just don’t go our way. Regardless of what is happening in your life you can always be glad in the Lord. If we were to rejoice in circumstances, people, or stuff we would obviously only rejoice when those circumstances go well, people act right, or we get the stuff we rejoice in. But if we rejoice IN the Lord always and the Lord is always with us then we should always rejoice. No matter if our finances head south, our friends behave like enemies or our stuff gets stolen, we can walk tall with our heads held high and a smile on our face knowing that God is in control and He will cause everything to work together for our good. So the next time fear, anxiety, worry, or depression attempts to steal your joy try directing your attention toward the Lord and rejoice in Him and all the other stuff will begin to fade away and the Joy of the Lord will begin to reign in your everyday life. I hope you find Joy in the Lord today for His joy is greater than any other joy in the world. God Bless!!!

Joy Is Coming

I’m beginning to hear more and more of my Christians brothers and sisters talk about battling the demon of depression. I know that it may be hard to believe due to how happy I always appear but I recall a time not too long ago when I began to battle depression myself. I was so down because of some things that others had done that I just couldn’t seem to get over my pain. I had never felt depression before but after about two days of walking around in defeat the Holy Spirit quickened me and exposed the spirit of depression that had crept into my life. I know that two days doesn’t sound like much but it was a horrible two days. I pity anyone who battles this demon. However I believe I was given an opportunity when the Holy Spirit exposed the depression in my life. I was given a choice to trust God and overcome this or doubt God and remain overcome by it. I immediately rebuked the devil and gained the victory. But I was only able to do that because I am filled with the Holy Ghost. Galatians 5:22 says that Joy is a fruit of the spirit. Now think about this. The spirit will always bear fruit, right? Well if you are filled with the spirit you will experience the fruit of the spirit because the spirit is always bearing fruit. The problem is that we think just because we have the Holy Spirit that comes with salvation that we have the baptism. Wrong!!! We must be baptized by the spirit to posses all his gifts and bear all of his fruits. How does someone become baptized by the Holy Spirit? Well one must surrender everything to God first and through obedience, prayer, and sometimes fasting, yes and even by the laying on of hands. So if the fruit of the devil is all over you and in you, try re surrendering your life to the Lord. Then practice what Jesus did. For Jesus kept His eyes on the Joy that was set before Him and then He was able to endure the Cross.(Hebrews 12:1-2) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Well hello again! It’s been some time since my last blog sorry followers!
Well it’s been interesting this past 20 days. We’ve seen God show up in many ways. I’ve heard reports of the lost being saved, sick being healed, the weak being strengthened and much more. I’m reminded that some things come not but through prayer and fasting. For those of you still holding to your fast I would like to say thank you for it’s because of you that we have been experiencing such great things of the Lord. I pray that God will richly bless you all for your faithfulness.

Ezra 8:21 & 23 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. (23) So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.

Happy New Year!

Well its hard to believe that another year has come and gone. It feels like only yesterday when we were listening to the inaugural speech and here we are at the beginning of new year already. Many of us have made our new year resolutions and face this year with high expectations. I want to warn you though resolutions are worthless unless you put actions to them. Its kind of like the whole faith without works thing. Just setting goals and dreaming about the benefits will not cut it. You have to do something to bring about your resolution. So whatever you may have resolved to accomplish this year start working on it now. Don’t waist another minute because time is precious and very short. God Bless and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

On Fire Again in 2010

I'm excited about the upcoming year that's just around the corner. I look for great things to happen in the kingdom of God and our church. U.A.C. is going to dedicate the first 21 days of the new year to the Lord through Prayer and Fasting. I invite all who will to join us as we draw close to God as a church family. The word says that some things come not but through prayer and fasting. So lets do more than just cover up the T.V. for a little while lets give up as much as we can for the next 21 days to honor God and to surrender to Him all we have and all we are. Maybe you would like to do a Daniel fast or maybe even fast all but one meal a day. Whatever you chose to fast make sure you pray about it first. I would like to see the good old fashioned miracles return to the church this year and I believe that they will happen when the church begin to get serious with God in our prayers and our fasting. Let's get on fire for God again in 2010. God Bless!!!!!!!!!

Follow Jesus

John 21:18-19 KJV Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. (19) This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

In this scripture Jesus tells Peter that he would have to go somewhere he wouldn’t want to go if he was to continue following Him, and then says “follow me”. I find this verse interesting because Jesus had just questioned Peter’s love for Him the few verses before these. After Peter answered His questions correctly Jesus commissioned him to feed His sheep, and then turns right around and begins to tell Peter what kind of death he (Peter) would die. You see it’s easy to be happy when God calls you to do something great like feeding His sheep, but it’s not to pleasant to hear of the trials God is going to allow you to face in order to fulfill His calling. But just like Jesus said to Peter after warning him of the hard times to come Jesus still wants us to follow Him even when all we see ahead is a dark valley. Follow Jesus through all the ridicule, sorrow, pain, tears, and whatever else my come your way. If you do God will take the bad things done against you and turn them around to work for you. Romans 8:28 all things do works together for our good. God Bless!!!!!

Do You Love Me? – Jesus –

In John 21:15 Jesus begins to ask Peter a series of simple questions. I want to look at the very first question Jesus asked Peter. He asked Peter, “Do you love Me more than these”. He went on to ask Peter do you love Me two more times after that. But lets look at the first question. Do you love Me more than these? I wonder how many of us truly love God more than everyone else. If your best friend called and wanted you to go to the movies Sunday morning instead of church would it be easy for you to say no or would you battle with the idea of skipping church to please your friend? Or how about a family member who needs help with something they could have gotten done on Saturday? We like to justify our slothfulness with many different excuses but in the end that’s all they are, excuses. If we truly love Jesus more than anything else in the world we would be more faithful to Him than anyone or anything else. Do you Love Jesus?

Legacy or Tragedy?

My wife's grandmother just past away this morning and to be honest it really got me thinking. What if today was my day to meet Jesus? I know it's not odd for me to think about that question seeing that I'm a pastor and all. But I wonder what people would say about me if I was to leave this world today. We spend so much time trying to make withdraws from life, family, and friends that we sometimes forget to make any deposits. My advice today would be to stop long enough to think about the impact you've had on others and ask yourself how you can make an even greater impact from this point on. There is a quote my wife sends to me every once and a while, we don't remember who it came from but it says "Some people are made to read history, some were made to write history, and others were made to make history". I would like to be the one who makes history because of a courageous faith. Leave a legacy not a tragedy. God Bless!!!

Just Keep Digging

When I read the story of Isaac as he re-dug the wells of his father Abraham in the book of Genisis chapter 26 I’m reminded of the many battles we face today. It seems like every time we find a place where we feel Gods blessings someone comes along and throws dirt in the well we are drinking from. But Isaac teaches us a very simple lesson about persistence. When the Philistines filled in his wells he knew they wanted him to leave and move far away. But instead he found another spot close by and began digging again. When he found water the next time they came and fought with him for it to. But we see that he walked a little ways further and started digging again. The point is, even though people keep trying to steal the water that is rightfully yours, keep digging for sooner or later the Lord will make room for you and give you rest. People may not like it when you start drinking from the wells of salvation and out of jealousy they might kick dirt back into your wells but don’t let them discourage you from digging deeper in your relationship with God. So grab your spiritual shovels and start digging again in prayer, study, and worship. Rest will come in God’s appointed time. God Bless!!!

Family Time

Can you imagine life without family? During the Holiday season we meet with family and friends to exchange gifts and spend time reminiscing. We catch up on so many things we missed out on throughout the year. I enjoy this time of year but often it can become overwhelming. So before you get all worked up about shopping and finding the perfect gift for everyone slow down and remember the real reason for the season. Jesus was born of a virgin to deliver us from sin and to adopt us into the family of God the Father. Now all that are born again believers are brothers and sister in Christ, so reach out to your (immediate and extended) family this year and show them you love them with more than just gifts wrapped in pretty paper. Spend as much time with them as you can and share the hope of salvation with as many as you can.

Spreading The Cure

Have you ever stopped Long enough to pay attention to all the lost people that you encounter on a daily basis? These people are infected with a very contagious disease called sin. We should being doing everything we can to deliver the cure to them but often times we’re too afraid of coming in contact with them and we refuse to get close enough to them to share the cure with them. The good thing is that if we have the blood applied to our lives then we are now immune to the disease they are battling. So get out and tell somebody, anybody, and everybody about Jesus for He is the cure for all their needs. God bless!!!

Prospering Wherever We Go

The Lord spoke to Joshua after Moses died and told him to be strong and very courageous to observe and to keep the commandments He gave to Moses. I’ve often heard the comment made that “Christianity is for the weak” people say that those needing a crutch to get through life need religion. If we were to take a trip through history today we would find that the Christian church has always had to be strong and courageous more so than any other religion out there. My point is that your walk with Christ will have hard times, it won’t always be easy but its then we should be strong and courageous and walk the path God will lead us down no matter what it looks like, and I promise you will come out victorious and with a great reward. In Joshua 1:7 the Lord spoke to Joshua and said that if he would be strong and very courageous to keep His law he would prosper wherever he went. Let’s obey God and watch the blessings flow. Have a good day and God Bless!!!