Oxymoron….

An oxymoron is defined as is a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms.

How about a reggae singing hasidic Jew as a prime example. 

Meet Matisyhu Miller (born Matthew Paul Miller) of White Plains, New York.

I came upon his music and I really dig it … Not only is it a groovy reggae beat but it praises the God of Abraham.

Check him out … tell me if you like him.

Grace and Peace

I love the Lord…

I love the Lord,
because He has heard my voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,

therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. 

–Psalm 116:1-2

 Tozer once prayed, “God, if Thou dost never answer another prayer while I live on this earth I will still worship Thee as long as I live and in the ages to come for what Thou hast done already.”

Have you taken some time to love on the Lord today?

Grace and Peace

We must first die…

Offering ourselves to God isn’t easy because it means we must first die to our own selfish will.

Like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, we face our own cross and must cry out, “Not my will, dear Father, but your will be done!”

Dear Father, thank you for sending Jesus as my Savior. Lord Jesus, I want to follow you. I don’t want it to be half-hearted or hypocritical. I want your life to be seen in me. So please, gently show me the areas where my heart needs to be softened and my character needs to be shaped by the Spirit so that I can more perfectly reflect your glory, grace, and character to those around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.What cr

What cross are you facing today?

Grace and Peace

God’s last word

Bet you didn’t know that the last word in the Oxford English Dictionary is Zyxt.

It’s an obsolete Kentish word that is the second singular indicative present form of the verb see.

Do you know what the last word is in God’s eternal Kingdom?

Here’s a clue:

“The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand” (Isaiah 14:24).

Sooner than later, we need to realize that the last word is this: God will always have the last word.

We may think we do, and we might even think that we can change His mind, but in the end, whatever He says, goes.

The best thing for us would be to seek Him with all of our hearts. Then and only then will we find Him and He will bring us out of our captivity to experience the plans He has for us.

The Scripture confirms this in Matthew 15:13. Jesus said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.”

We must do our part and continue living and being fruitful. God’s plan for us might not be on our timing and it will often involve work, obstacles, and detours. When we find ourselves in these situations we must not give up.. We must pray to God and when we do, He will listen. 

“I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “Not plans for your calamity, but for your welfare, so that you may have a future and a hope!” (Jer. 29:11).

 And finally, God does indeed want us to live an abundant life here on earth but the true plans He has for us will be realized when we meet Him.

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”….. (Jer 29:12-14).

Grace and Peace         

 

God bless our troops

Dear Lord,

There’s a young or woman far from home,

Called to serve their nation in a time of war,

Sent to defend our freedom

On some distant foreign shore

We pray You keep them safe,

We pray You keep them strong,

We pray You send them safely home,

For they’ve been away so long.

Bless those who await their safe return,

And those who mourn the lost,

Bless those who serve this country well,

No matter what the cost.

 

 

Grace and Peace

Once in a Blue Moon

I missed Church on Sunday, which is very rare for me. Then, to top it of, I missed work on Monday, which only happens once in a blue moon. You see I was sick and usually I wouldn’t let something like “being sick” hamper me from going to work, but I felt like a truck had run over me a couple of times. What’s worse is that I felt guilty about being absent. I felt that I let down the DL Media Team, David, Bob, Cher, the partners, even Pastor Ken himself. The book of Psalms gives guidance in our experience and expression of guilt.

1 A psalm of David. Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! 2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! 3 When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. 4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. 5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. 6 Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. Psalm 32:1-6 NLT

The psalmists do not deny guilt, but rather acknowledge that admitting it is necessary. They offer it to God, and as a result of their confession and brokenness they receive divine forgiveness and blessing. In the process, their guilt actually becomes worship!

“The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise”. Psalm 51:17 NLT

“Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin”. Psalm 51:2 NLT

The psalmist teaches us that the goal of human life is not perfection, but wholeness. Perfection is incompatible with growth. Wholeness is not. We can wholly love another and still make mistakes. Recognizing our moral weakness, owning our failures, honestly confessing them before God (all actions that arise from, or accompany feelings of guilt) are all vital components to a thriving and healthy relationship with God and others. This is important to recognize, because much guilt arises from perfectionism – either in regard to ourselves or our perception of God. When we expect perfection from ourselves or assume God expects perfection from us, we are bound to experience unhealthy guilt. We are sinners. Our best attempts will be flawed. Likewise, God is holy. God’s love is so strong, that rather than rejecting us at the first sign of sin, weakness, frailty, and flaws, our need for HIM actually draw God to us.

“Brothers, listen! In this man JESUS there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God”. Acts 13:38,39 NLT

Grace and Peace

I had one of those days…

  ”As far as the east is from the west,
         So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103:12 (New King James Version)

Grace and Peace

God’s financial prosperity

ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, YOU ARE FINANCIALLY PROSPEROUS WHEN THREE THINGS ARE TRUE OF YOU:

YOU NEVER WORRY ABOUT MONEY.

“Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” Matthew 6:31, 32

Freedom from worry is available to every child of God who trusts His heavenly Father to provide all his needs.

YOU ALWAYS HAVE ALL THE MONEY YOU NEED.

“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything…” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God promises to keep you financially prosperous – if you are a generous giver.

YOU ALWAYS HAVE EXTRA MONEY TO GIVE TO GOD’S WORK.

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Financial prosperity includes having an excess amount of money to give towards the work of God.

Scripture teaches that God wants to bless His people with financial prosperity.

No, not driving a Lexus or taking Caribbean cruises every year.

But if we live and give according to biblical principles, we will never have to worry about money, we will always have all the money we need, and we will always have extra money to give away.
Grace and Peace

Why Mustard Seed?

In Matthew 13:31-32 Jesus told this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”

The message of the parable is clear. Just as the mustard seed started out small, then grew to an unexpected size, so did the Kingdom of Heaven. Although the Kingdom of Heaven, as represented by either the church or Jesus, started out insignificant, it grew to be a dominant force in society. Its presence cannot be easily overlooked.

This is what I hope to do with this blog.

It will start out small, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, it will grow.

Grace and Peace

This will get better…

This is my first step into the blogging world and it may not be polished like others … but rest assured it will get better.

Hopefully, with my little comments and observations, I’ll be able to make a difference in someone’s life.

I know with Christ Jesus as my co-writer anything … no, everything is possible.

Grace and Peace