Lottery Winners Of Life

Material possessions have become so important and so valued over the course of history, that today what we have in material possessions in most cases outweighs what we have that was given to us from the King of Kings and Lord of Lord's, our father in Heaven, God. The worst part about this is that people have made their worldly possessions more important than their relationship with God. The people that do this are not necessarily always secular. There are many that are regular church attendees and they claim to have a great relationship with God. My question is, What part of "You can't take it with" you don't they understand? We can only have one master and it's either going to be God or something less.

There was a time in my life that I thought what I had in material things was the most important thing and many of us go through this phase. However at some point and I'm not sure when, I grew up and my thinking matured. Now I realize that I need to have certain things to get by. I need to have the basic essentials including a car, clothes and entertainment for my children. I don't NEED more than that. Anything beyond that goes into the WANT category which I have to be very careful with and not allow that to get out of control. My thought process has indeed changed over the past few years. Now I believe if it is God's will for me to have something, he will make it happen. Otherwise it's of my desire which again needs to be kept in check.

I can understand how easy it is for people to get caught up in material possessions, because it's all over the television, radio, newspapers. It's in your face all the time, the world screaming to you that YOU NEED TO HAVE ONE OF THESE. We hear that so often, that we end up believing it. The same thing holds true with Satan and his menacing ways. If you allow him to speak to you long enough, he'll convince you to do things that will pull you away from God. His persistence is his strongest feature and he wears people down and they give in. Do they realize they're giving in to the Devil? I highly doubt it, but if they think about it afterwards and someone explains this to them, it would be really hard not to see it. Hopefully it helps to prevent giving into future attacks.

Every time I receive a blessing from the Lord, I always feel like I just hit the lottery. I'm the richest guy in the world at that moment and as long as I continue to keep my heart and mind on those things that I've been blessed with, I'll continue to feel that awesome feeling of being a winner of Gods lottery. Just recently I recalled something I said in 1991 when I got married to the most beautiful person in the world to me, my wife Rosalie. I told anyone that would listen at the time, that I felt like I had just hit the lottery. It was a feeling that no material possession could ever even come close to. As a lifelong car lover I'll give a cool example from that perspective. I have driven some of the most exotic cars ever made and cars are right up there near the top of the material things we'd love to have.

You couldn't give me one hundred Lamborghini's in exchange for my wife. She has always been and continues to be a blessing in my life. To be able to say that after 14 years is awesome. That's not to say that neither of us has let our attention go everywhere else but on each other at times over the years, but when we put our focus back on God which is always going to take effort because of the world we live in, we always come back to being grounded and seeing each other as we should. After we got married it took us 5 years to have our two wonderful children. We could have been blessed with a boy or a girl or identical twins, but God did more. He gave us the "dream team" a boy and a girl, Linda and AJ (Adam Jr).

They have been the biggest blessing in both of our lives. They bring us so much joy, that I could never imagine being without them. I hate to even go away for an overnight without them. No earthly possession will ever bring me that kind of joy. What material thing can you buy that can make you feel like the most important person in the world on a day when the world has beaten you up? What earthly possession can we have that will improve our relationship with God? The answer is nothing, no earthly possession can do any of that for us. The best things we have in life are the things that didn’t cost any money at all. Relationships with family, friends and others are the most important things we can have. We need to value those things and keep them in the right perspective. Relationships require work yes, but the benefits are so great that what little work is required of you can seem really insignificant. When Jesus came, he was all about relationships, not religion. He didn’t surround himself with people that were really important that had political power. He surrounded himself with fishermen, tax collectors and sinners.

Luke 5:27-32 (New Living Translation)
Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew)
27 As Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple!" Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 29 Soon Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi's fellow tax collectors and other guests were there. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus' disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with such scum?" 31 Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do. 32 I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough."

The best relationships we can have don’t come from seeking out others in prestigious positions that we might somehow benefit from. That’s not a relationship at all, the best relationships come from people having a mutual respect for one another, and when both parties benefit from the friendship/relationship. Relationships where time is invested always produces fruit in some way. If you have or find a relationship that works like that, you too might feel like you hit “The Lottery of Life”

I invite you to pray this with me

Father I thank you for the friendships and relationships that I have had and still have. Thank you also for the relationships that didn’t work out that I learned lessons from and that made me grow. The lessons learned from these relationships made it possible for me to be the person I am today and to have the productive, open, relationships that can last a lifetime. Dear God, you know exactly what we need in this world and you provide it faithfully all of the time. We just fail to see it often times. Father I pray for the wisdom and discernment for myself and all people, that they would learn from past relationships that may have caused pain in their lives. That they would learn valuable lessons from them and go on to be in successful productive relationships that make them feel like they just hit the Jackpot in the Life.

I ask this in Jesus Precious Name

Amen

God Bless You All.








“The Sharpshooter”

Taking Things For Granted

I think it's a fair statement that most everyone has either been taken for granted or has taken someone else for granted. We have all done this at some point, maybe not intentionally but it happens. The person being taken for granted really ends up feeling bad and the person that took them for granted at some point will feel bad, so it's an absolute lose/lose situation. The fact that a majority of the time we don't behave this way intentionally doesn't usually seem to be of any help for either person. We need to guard against this so that this doesn't happen.

Taking people and things for granted isn’t something that just started happening. It's one of those behaviors that we learn by watching and has been passed down from generation to generation that we need to break here and now in Jesus name. If we don't break this cycle, we will pass this behavior on to future generations and we just can’t allow this to happen. "The only way to better tomorrow is to fix today". If we continue to live as though this behavior is acceptable, not only will we be judged for it but the future generations will be judged for it. I don't believe that any of us want to impose that on our children or their children. 2 Samuel 22:21-23 says that (GOD made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I cleaned up my act, he gave me a fresh start. Indeed, I've kept alert to God's ways; I haven't taken God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works, I try not to miss a trick.)

This is a hard lesson to learn, mostly because we don't want to face the possibility that we have done this. I have an especially hard time with this particular issue when it's brought to my attention that I have taken something or someone for granted. It hurts me beyond belief to hear this. What hurts even more is hearing that we did this to someone and how it made them feel. We need to be very sensitive to others when they tell us that we've done this, because often times we aren't aware of it and the natural response is to try and deny we did it or explain it away. Let's try something new and take a different approach to this by accepting our mistakes, acknowledging we have done wrong, asking for the person's forgiveness and doing better next time. It's not an easy thing to do, but do we want to live easy or live righteously?

We all have good intentions and we mean to do well, but as the saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." It will only be by good actions and right thinking that we will finish this race called life with victory. John 14:6 tells us that (Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me.) In order for us to enter into heaven, we need to be living as Matthew 7:12 tells us to in The Golden Rule (Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.) I know that I don't want to be taken advantage of, and I don't like how it feels when I am. I also can't think of anyone else that likes that feeling either. So if we keep this in mind, it will act as a constant reminder and a deterrent from taking advantage of anyone or anything else.

To go a step further with this, we take for granted that there is going to be a tomorrow. The fact is this, we are not guaranteed a tomorrow. We all need to assess where we are at in our walks with God. Are our souls in a condition that we can feel comfortable if Jesus were to return tomorrow? We should be living life like he could appear tomorrow, because he very well could. Would you be ready if he came back tomorrow? I wish I could say with absolute certainty that I'm all set, but truth be told, I don't know if any of us could say that. Each day needs to be a new effort at bettering ourselves. We should do a self exam each day to make sure we’re in good standing. If God should choose to take us tonight in our sleep have we made right any wrongs in our lives? Have we forgiven others as we should? Have we lived as we wanted to, or as Jesus instructed? Have we loved as much as we could have? Have we given grace where we should have with no conditions? Have we kept our hearts and souls in the best condition possible? God Help us.

I'm going to be paying much closer attention to my spiritual well being. One of the things we can all do to improve ourselves, is to take advantage of the opportunity's we have on a daily basis to do great things. God has given us an intellect unlike any other living thing on the earth. We need to use it for the betterment of ourselves and others. We need to give grace when someone wrong's us. We need to love unconditionally. We need to help those that cannot help themselves. How much harder is it to offer help than to criticize? Wouldn't it be better for our spiritual well being if we didn't let others steal our joy under any circumstances? It's not theirs to take so don't let them. Protect your joy and peace with all that you are. In doing this we will improve ourselves, and the changes in us will absolutely cause a stir in the world around us. Let us all be the light that pierces the darkness in the lives of others.

Please pray this with me.

Dear Lord, I ask for your forgiveness for the times when I've taken advantage of something I shouldn't have. Whether it was intentional or not it was still wrong. Father I ask you to help me to be a better person in every way. I want to be an opportunist for you God. Please help me to take full advantage of every opportunity that is presented to me, to share your love with others and to avoid the things that are not of you Father. I pray that you would speak to each of us today in the way that only you can. Tell us where we need to improve and show us the area's you want us to grow in. As you lead us to the river of eternal life, may we drink of that water abundantly and gain from it the clarity in our vision to see from your perspective how we look to you, so that that we would see the beauty and light in ourselves when we do your will and also how dark we can become when we do things that you do not will for us to do.

In Jesus name I pray

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”

In God's Eyes We're All VIP's

In the business and professional world there is a term used for those that either consider themselves to be ELITE or someone other then themselves gave them this distinction. V.I.P (Very Important Person) this title is normally given when great sums of money are being spent. V.I.P's get superior treatment and pampering no matter where they go or what they do. It's usually way over the top treatment that most of us would never get to experience and if we did it would be like trying to speak a foreign language, it just wouldn't fit.

Businesses that recognize V.I.P's are typically Airlines, Hotel's, Restaurant's, Limousine companies, Travel Agencies. Once you've gained V.I.P status, you receive the red carpet treatment from start to finish. In my line of work, I handle V.I.P's all day long, in all parts of the world, not directly most of the time because they're too important to speak to an average guy like me. These are the people that call and get company owners or managers on the phone to jump through hoops for them. I normally end up speaking with their administrative assistants.

Just recently I got an opportunity to experience what VIP status was all about for a day. Without getting into specifics, I'll just say that it's a marvelous thing to try. It is nice to see how the other side lives. But a lot of these people are alone traveling on business or staying at a hotel and I'd imagine that it can become a fairly lonely existence. The pampering and high end treatment no doubt helps one to deal with the loneliness but at some point in the V.I.P's day they must end up alone.

So that's the V.I.P life in a nutshell. I explained it from my perspective to get us to this point. Many a V.I.P does simply carry around a card that say's they’re a VIP. Those V.I.P's that carry Jesus with them in their hearts are obviously never alone because they have the King of Kings to commune with and here is my point. We are all V.I.P in God's Eyes. He doesn't care how much money we make, or how much we spend. You cannot buy God's love, it s a FREE gift that is given to all of us equally. In heaven there is no distinction between (actor) George Burns & a person that bagged groceries all his life. No distinction in God's eyes at all. He loves them both the same, why? Because there is no money or earthly possessions in Heaven, and those are the things that on earth determine who has what status.

Jesus would be the only V.I.P in Heaven if there were any, but because he is so generous and loving, he would put all of us before himself as he did when he was sacrificed on the cross for our sins. So whether it's a homeless person or Bill Gates, God will treat both the same. That's just a tiny example of how awesome God is to us. He doesn't have a ranking system based on what family you were born into or what status you achieved in this life. He only looks at the heart. God's value system is all about the heart.

Do we love God? Do we love others as ourselves? Do we share God's love with others? Do we help the less fortunate? When we do things are we serving God or our own desires first? These are the things he will look at to judge how we did in this life. We are all V.I.P's in his eyes, because each one of us has a signature talent or spiritual gift that is unlike that of any other person. We each have something to offer the world that someone else can't offer the exact same way. Our talents and spiritual gifts are as unique as our finger prints, no two are alike. Are we using our talents and spiritual gifts to the best of our abilities, or are we hoping that someone else will step up and answer the call so that we don't have to.

Since we are all V.I.P's in the eyes of our Heavenly Father, don't we owe it to him to step up and do everything in our power to change the world around us for the good, to always help those in need and to bring the lost back to him? It seems the least we could do for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Treat everyone you encounter as a V.I.P whether they treat you the same in return or not. Give of yourself like your giving directly to God, because ultimately you are.

Matthew 25:35-40 say's
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

I invite you to pray this with me

Heavenly Father, I thank you Lord for counting us worthy to be called sons, daughters and friends. Thank you Lord for looking upon each of us with equal importance, for in your eyes we are all unique and each one of us is a Very Important Person to you God. My prayer this day God, is that we would all treat each other the way you treat us, with unconditional love, and without looking for what's in it for us. Lord God you do so much for us that we could never in a million lifetimes pay you back if we had to, but all you ask for is our love and obedience. For that we are very thankful Lord God. May we go out into the world and serve you the way you deserve to be served. You provide for us in ways that sometimes we can't even imagine. May we have the desire within us to serve you God, with the same love and compassion that you give to us. You are the Most Important of all

I ask this in Jesus Name

Amen

God Bless You All








The Sharpshooter"

Love Thy Neighbor

FACT: Many Christian's have a hard time believing that God can make the impossible possible.

FACT: Many Christian's don’t believe in miracles unless they have witnessed one.
FACT: Many Christian's would prefer to stay comfortable in their complacency instead of pushing themselves to challenge their thinking, grow their faith, and as a result experience great things.

Over the past year I have seen so much of this that at times I actually had to stop myself from looking at it as it was hindering my spiritual growth, because it’s depressing to watch. It’s really true that the people you choose to surround yourself with will have a huge influence on your life. Of course there are positives and negatives to this. If you surround yourself with people that want to ride others coat tails, or just keep things as they are because they are afraid of change, lazy or deceived. You will surely be the same way in a relatively short time, and once you’re in that way of life, it is very hard to change it. People become oppressed and often times don’t have the faith, belief or motivation to change their situations.

I have gone out of my way over the past few years to surround myself with the best people I could find. I stay away from the negativity as much as possible, it’s not productive and it’s a horrible way to exist. The people I have surrounded myself with all have things in common with me with regard to God. We all want to see more of him and less of this world. We all want his will to be done “On earth as it is in Heaven.” We want to see his miracles and blessings upon all nations in great abundance. Lastly, we all want to see revival hit our church, the country and the world.

So now having illustrated two different types of people, (those that want more of God and those that are fine with the status quo) how do we coexist and not step on one another’s toes? How do those that want to move ahead do so, while they are among people that want to stay where they’re at spiritually? The answer will sound simple but as long as we’re human it probably will never be easy. The answer is the same for those that want to experience everything that God has for us, and for those that simply go to church because they feel obligated to.

God may not be a respecter of persons, but we need to be. We need to love and respect each individual as we want to be loved and respected. If something in the spirit moves you and it doesn’t move anyone else, does that make you better? Absolutely not! It just makes you different. If something in the spirit moves somebody else and you don’t agree with it does that make you right? Absolutely not! In many ways today, we don’t honor different. We don’t always respect different and we need to. Those that want to keep church the same and never change need to honor and respect those that want to go after more of God at any cost. At the same time those that want to move ahead have to respect the positions and reasons that the others don’t want different. After all it is all about God and not about us right?

Even people from the same church worship God differently than I will. No two of us are alike. For instance, some people are more comfortable than others in a public setting and can pray and worship with such freedom that they care not if they are alone or in front of the world, they are giving praise and that’s all that matters. The person that prefers to remain quiet and pray in their own way is doing it right too and we need to be careful that we don’t start picking out trivial differences and making big issues of them. God hears all of our prayers and praise. The key here is to give God praise and thanks, it’s not how but how much.

God takes us where we're at. If we are bold, he loves bold. If we are quiet and are private in our worship, he loves that just as much. The bottom line is he loves us all equally and so we should follow his example and love everyone regardless of whether they love us back. That's not to be confused with like. You don't have to like everyone you encounter and you probably won't, but you do have to love them, Wouldn't Jesus?

Simple principles are all it takes. Matthew 7:1-5 (The Message Bible) offers us “A Simple Guide for Behavior”
1 “Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, and criticize their faults--unless, of course, you want the same treatment.
2 That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. 3 It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. 4 Do you have the nerve to say, "Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt 5 It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

I invite you to pray this with me

Dear God, I ask for your forgiveness Lord for ever judging anybody else for how they chose to give you praise. Lord, help me to see the errors in the things I do. I ask for your help Father in forgiving those that have come against me or people that I know. Lord God, we just want to worship you and give you praise, and we have to realize, respect and appreciate that all Christians will do that a little differently. You love us all not based on how well we pray. You care simply that we do pray, that we do worship you and give you all the glory. Thank you for you graces Lord God. I ask now Lord that you would bring peace and unity to those that don’t have peace in their lives. May they come to know you more and more!

I ask this in Jesus name

Amen
God Bless You All

"The Sharpshooter"

The Holy Spirit In Us

When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we are "Born Again" it is at that time that we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift that is given to us freely by God. His purposes for sending the Holy Spirit to us are to better our prayer life, allow him to work through us to heal, pray, and minister to those in need. Through the Holy Spirit God will perform his miracles, we are merely the vehicles he uses in the physical. The Holy Spirit is not a gift to us that is meant to be kept to ourselves. Like any other gift bestowed upon us by God, if we don't give it away, we will lose the gift. It was never meant to be kept to ourselves.

Spiritual gifts do not depend on natural talents and aptitudes or developed skills, though God gave you those, too. A spiritual gift is something that God gives for the purpose of building up others in a life of faith. It is the experience of Christians over the years that the Spirit usually harnesses one's talents in the service of the gifts that are given. Yet sometimes, the spiritual gifts seem to work against a person's natural endowment. This is, after all, the same God who led his people out of Egypt using a stammerer named Moses, made a shepherd boy/musician named David into a renowned warrior and king, and turned rural fishermen into leaders who left a mark on the course of history. There are examples everywhere of people who don't have training, aren't highly skilled, have no particular knack, but when the time comes for them to benefit the Body, the gift is there. The Spirit takes pleasure in surprises and on turning the tables on the expected. It's wise to leave ourselves open for such action. We develop a talent, but God gives the gift it's meant to go with.

Where there's a gift, there's usually a natural ability and a developed skill that can go with it.

· There is the gift of discernment, and the natural ability of intuition, and the skillful use of a discernment process.
· There is the gift of healing, and there are the natural healing processes and the medical skills to assist those processes.
· There is exorcism, and there are people ridding their lives of those who use lies and trickery, and the skill of making themselves truer.
· There is prophecy, and there is the ability to discover the truth and the skill to figure out how and when to share it.
· There is ecstatic spiritual experience and there are romance and desire and the skills to use them to create bonds of love with your spouse.

God created all people with these natural foreshadowing’s of supernatural gifts. They're good, and are meant to be used for all, not just the faithful. But it takes the Holy Spirit working within the believer to put the natural and the supernatural together with power to serve

Having received the Holy Spirit and being born into God's family, a very simple question needs to be answered. What is the purpose of God's wanting to indwell His children by His Spirit? Some people believe it is just to make the individual feel good. But that can hardly be the reason. Others think they are saved just to go to Heaven, but that is not the primary reason because that will come when life is ended. The only answer that fits the Bible teaching is that we are saved to serve here and now. Isaiah 43:7 conveys that we are created for God's honor and glory. To put it very simply, we were created to fulfill the purpose and plan of God now. That's why we weren't born one thousand years ago. This is our day to live for Him. Salvation is God's way of bringing us into the kind of relationship with Him so that we can fulfill the plan He has for us now.

To perform service for the Lord requires that one be qualified and empowered. It is precisely for this reason that the Holy Spirit gives "gifts." The Scripture passages which name the gifts are Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, and Ephesians 4:7-13. From these verses we learn certain basic truths about spiritual gifts.

There are dangers lurking along the pathway of any Christian believer who is conscious that God has given him a special gift by the Holy Spirit. First of all, there is the danger of using the gift for personal gain and prestige. "Look at me; I am somebody special; God has given me this unique gift, and I am the only one for miles around who has it.'' There are some who get caught in the net of "a good feeling." As with other dimensions of our Christian life, there is the possibility of some trying to exercise their gifts entirely apart from the larger Body. They develop a "go it alone" strategy and set out to build their own little kingdom apart from the church. All must guard against these dangers.

Let us pray

Heavenly Father we thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to us so that we are able to be used as vehicles for you to work through us. Father I pray that you would always make it known to us, when we take the gifts you’ve given us for granted even for a second. Thank you for your endless mercy that provides us with forgiveness whenever we fall short of your will. As we start this New Year Lord, I ask you to change the perspective from which we see, so that we see things we do more as you see them, thus making us able to correct ourselves and one another. In seeing from your perspective, we can better protect ourselves from any & all influences of Satan.

I ask this in Jesus name

Amen

God Bless You All









"The Sharpshooter"