Tell The World In Faith

Matthew 14:29-31 "Come," He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

If today Jesus commanded us to come to him across the water, would we do any better than Peter did? Having learned about how our faith should be, from reading God's word. Theoretically, we should be able to do far better with our faith. Peter and the other disciples did not have all of this history to learn from. They had to hear what Jesus said and have faith in what he said right then. They had no time to think about it. They either trusted Jesus or they did not.

From Genesis to Revelations, the Bible is full of statements and examples of having faith and being faithful. Being believers and followers of God's word, we should have great faith. I never want it to be said of me “"Oh how little faith you have".” As Christians, the world should see Jesus in us, on us, and through us. Sure they will see our human nature as well, but if they do not see Jesus in us, we could tell people about him all day but it will fall on deaf ears, because people use their eye’s far more than their ears. They believe what they see far more than what they hear.

Do we share the love of Gospels with all people? No! Are we instructed to share the Gospels love with all people? Yes! Why aren’t we doing it then? Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:19. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Jesus also said in Matthew 28:20. “"Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

With a command and a promise like that, how can any of us read that and remain idle? The instruction is clear. We are all to go and preach the gospels to the world. In the United States we have become very comfortable in our belief that this is the job of Pastors, Ministers, and Priests. Many feel that it is strictly their job to evangelize and we can ride on the work they do simply because we attend church. Nothing could be further from the truth. NOTHING!

It is the job of each and every Christian to preach the Gospels to the world so that every person has been given the truth. Whether they accept the truth or reject it is not what we are to be concerned about. Our soul purpose is to bring the truth of Jesus to the world. If they accept Jesus, then we have won a soul for him and what better feeling can there be than that. If people reject the truth once it's been spoken to them, they are not rejecting us personally. They are rejecting Jesus. They are rejecting the hopes of eternal life in Heaven.

Our lives will not end here on earth. We are going to have eternal life and that's a certainty. Whether our eternity is spent in the fires of Hell being tormented or if it's in the Kingdom of God we will have eternal life. It is with the utmost importance that we keep an image in our minds of what Hell is like. It's a place that we wouldn't wish on our worst enemy. It is with this image in mind that we need to get into the soul saving business and stop leaving it for the paid people in the church.

If you were hanging onto a rope on the side of a mountain and your hands were starting to slip, you would stop at nothing to get back to safety right? I know I would fight to my last breath to get back to safe ground. Well being in a fallen world, all of humanity is hanging on that rope and Jesus is the safe ground that we need to get to. With that in mind, we need to do everything within our means to get the job done. I don’t want to think that anyone I know could end up in Hell. I will do whatever is in my power to make sure that they are safe, but all we can do is bring the message and the Holy Spirit will do the work within them if they let him.

So bring the word to the world. Don’t be embarrassed to talk about Jesus with your family or friends. Don’t worry about being judged by them. Worry more about the final judgment, when we stand before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Please pray this with me.

Heavenly Father, it is a privilege to serve you. It is with great joy that we anticipate Heaven. Your word tells us to go out and evangelize, make disciples and baptize in your name. Give us the boldness God that we need to bring this truth to all people. Help us to fight through the whisperings of Satan telling us that people won't listen and that we can't save others. These are lies from the pit of hell and we need you God, to give us the ability and anointed covering that will protect our minds, hearts, and spirit as we go forth bringing your message.

In Jesus name

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”

Spiritual Bank Accounts

There are many Christians that don't realize how much God has placed in their spiritual bank accounts. We can experience spiritual malnutrition because we have not taken advantage of the great storehouse of spiritual nourishment and resources at our disposal. For example, we will pray for things God has already given us. We will ask God to give us more power, yet 2 Peter 1:3 says, As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! Or maybe we will pray for peace, when Jesus said in John 14:27, "I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid." It is not that we need more, as much as we simply need to utilize what we already have.

The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:3, "How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ." Paul was seeking to convey that in Christ, we have every thing we need. We are never lacking in spiritual resources. No Christian has to be spiritually deprived, undernourished, or impoverished, because God's heavenly bank account has no limitations or restrictions. His resources are more than adequate to cover the cost of all of our past debts, our present liabilities, and our future needs. Christians live in two dimensions. First, there is the spiritual dimension. As we walk in the Spirit, we know God in the Spirit. Yet we live on Earth. Therefore, we need to transfer what we have in the spiritual realm to the earthly realm.

Christians have resources in heaven that God wants us to start utilizing here. Some of us need to stop living like spiritual paupers and start laying hold of the resources that are available. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been made "accepted in the beloved". Because of our relationship with Christ, we have God's approval. It isn't necessary to earn it. We are loved by God. We are called by God. As believers, we don't need to doubt our salvation and feel beaten and defeated and unworthy. It is not about being worthy. Rather, it is about Jesus and what He has done for us. We need to understand that and then let it impact the way that we live.

Each of us has been predestined by God to discover His purpose and plan for us, glorifying Him with our lives, with our gifts, and with our talents. Are you utilizing what God has given you? Do you possess your spiritual possessions? If not, you can start doing so today.

I recently heard Bill Johnson speaking about this topic and he was saying that many people live day to day in the natural, counting only on the resources that they have available to them here and now in the natural. That is a very limited source. By counting on just what we have in natural resources, we are limiting what we are able to do and the impact we are able to have on our surroundings. When we count on the unseen, the unlimited resources of Heaven, we have a lot more to give away and here is the Good News. The supply is limitless. When we have an unlimited resource aren't we more likely to give what we have away, knowing what we give away is going to be replenished? If you had a $100 bill in your pocket and every time you gave it away it was replaced, wouldn't you continue to give it away? Sure you would. We need to count on the resources of Heaven and trust God to provide the things we need to accomplish the tasks he has set before us. We know that he never gives us more than we can handle, so we should also know that he provides the resources for us to complete the task.

We need to step out in faith and belief and keep our unbelief in check, so that we may begin to start believing for the impossible to become possible. Our faith is the only thing we need to make that happen. We need to take our minds out of the way, because when we try to figure things out we reduce the power and possibilities of God to what WE think can or cannot be. We cannot comprehend the unlimited power of God. Let us start believing for the miraculous to be an everyday occurrence. Let us start believing for the impossible to become possible. Let’s start making declarations for healing of what seems totally impossible and together let's watch as impossibilities bow to the name Jesus.

Nothing is impossible for Jesus. He made the lame walk. He made the blind to see. He healed the sick and raised the dead. So He can also create new parts for those who need them. He can heal any illness. He can do it all, but the only thing limiting what can be possible is our faith. Have the faith and make the declaration. Somebody has to believe for this, so why not let it be you and me.

Let us pray

Heavenly Father, You and you alone make the impossible become possible. It’s is our minds and limited comprehension that limit what can be done here today on this earth. Lord God we want to see your miracles become everyday occurrences. Help us father to walk in that level of faith. Help us to be bold enough to make the declarations that are necessary to bring about these miracles by our faith. You’ve already made the promises, now we just need to believe. Jesus did things that were impossible and proclaimed that “We would do greater things than these”. Help us God, to increase our faith exponentially, so that we can make the declarations and believe without question that you will invade that situation or circumstance and make it new and perfect.

In Jesus Name I Pray.

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”

Appreciating what we have.

We've all been told at some point in our lives to appreciate what we have and stop looking at what we don't have. In some cases maybe we were told more than once. How come we have such a hard time doing this? It sounds easy enough and it's only two simple instructions. By comparison, if I gave somebody driving directions from Boston to Los Angeles, the directions would have probably 40 to 50 pieces and the person would make it there just fine. So it's not the number of steps in the process that we're hung up on. Often time the reason is that we don't want to stop looking at what we don't have. For many it has become a habit or even an obsession to look at what they don't have regardless of all the things they do have.

This week has been a great opportunity for a reality check for many folks as it became the second rainiest month of May in New England in recorded history. Rivers and streams crested and washed out roads, flooded homes and schools, destroyed cars and property. The city I call home (Peabody Ma) got national attention because it was under six feet of water in the downtown area. Roads and highways had been closed due to rivers being many feet above flood stage. My home happens to be in a higher area of Peabody and we were extremely fortunate that all we got was some water in the basement. There was really no damage in our house to speak of Thank God, but there are hundreds of people in Massachusetts and New Hampshire that have seen their businesses get destroyed by water or their homes get thousands of dollars in damage.

It's times like this we get a HUGE reminder to be thankful for what we have. When you see a person being interviewed on the news and they've lost most if not all of their material possessions but they still have it in them to say, "My family is safe and that's all that matters", that's a huge statement. That tells us that we have no right to be complaining about the things we don't have or the things we can't afford. Money and possessions are not what’s important. We need money to live on but it should be just that, to live on. Unfortunately money has become the most important thing for many people, almost to the point of obsession. This leaves no room for God.

Matthew 6:24 say's that. No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Hebrews 13:5 say's Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

The person I saw on the news had lost his cars, and his home had so much damage that they had to relocate. They never showed one ounce of self pity. The peace that this person had told me that they had their priority's right. They knew that God would provide for them. If only we could all just see this example and have it wake us up. Unfortunately this one example won't do it. Those that have not got their priorities in order need to work on getting them in order and then keep at it until the changes become habit. There are many references to money in the Bible. In many instances people are being told to build something with it or give to the poor. There are no instances where we are encouraged to horde our money for ourselves.

Our faith and focus needs to be on God not money or possessions. It’s all his anyway, we are merely stewards of his money. The better stewards we are, the more we are entrusted with. If we are just doing an ok job at managing what has been entrusted to us, then we will only be entrusted with a little. Those that live on what they need; that tithe regularly; that save well and live modest lives are the ones entrusted with more. I’ve had some folks argue this point with me saying that there are many wealthy people in the world that just do well in business that will run over the next guy to get what they want. This is true, there are financially wealthy people that will do whatever they have to in business to get what they feel is theirs. These people are not spiritually wealthy and their riches don’t last because it’s not of God. They are always looking for more money. They don’t understand that all the money in the world cannot fill the void in their lives that only God can fill. So yes we can get wealth on our own without God, but unless it’s of God and blessed by him, it will not last.

Nothing man has ever made has lasted. However everything that God has made lasts as long as he intends for it to. I once heard Bill Cosby performing and he was referring to the book of Genesis. He was illustrating how awesome God is. He said that God creates and man invents. God made a tree and called it good. Man makes car and calls it extraordinary. God made a rabbit and called it good. Man made a refrigerator and called it amazing.

Well the wheels fall of the car and the refrigerator broke down. The tree is still standing and the rabbit is still running. I think that say’s it all.

Please pray this with me.

Father God, thank you for all that you provide for us. Thank you for your grace which is unending and thank you Lord for forgiving us when we do things opposite of how you would have us do them. Father it is through you that we have all things, on our own we are incapable of doing anything compared to what we can do with your blessings. Lord God please help us. Help us to have total faith and dependence on you. Help those that don’t understand, to know that they need to ask in prayer for the things they need or need help with. They need to do some of the work, but your blessings have to be on what they’re doing in order for it to be fruitful. Father I ask that you bless the people that have been affected by this devastating storm. Help them to rebuild, give them the strength to endure this trying time and I ask for double portion for those that have not wavered through this, because they are counting on you. They are standing on the rock and will not be shaken.

In Jesus Name I Pray

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”

Trials In Life

Have you ever noticed that when times of trial come into our lives, we tend to look back at times in our lives when things seemed far better? I have been doing this for a little while now, not so much living in the past but wishing I had now what I had then. I had the great job with great pay and benefits, my marriage was awesome and my two kids were born, life seemed perfect. That sounds like the fairy tale, the perfect story. Well, reflecting back on that time can be productive and also counterproductive. Here is what I mean. When we go through times of trial in our lives, it is only natural that we look at better times. This can serve as a motivational tool for some and light a fire in us that will make us do what we have to do to get back what we once had, no matter what it was. For others it may serve as a reminder of what was lost, and actually magnify a person's current situation and send them into depression..

Circumstances and situations (the things that we struggle against) can change the landscapes of our lives. Sometimes it's for the better and sometimes it's for the worse. I have read and I have heard what Jesus said in John 10:10. “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance.” I have had to reflect on what that means so I could better understand it, because I don't know about you, but when things are really going wrong, that is all I understand at that moment and getting out of your own way can be very hard.

I have come to understand that when Jesus said this, he was not talking about what we perceive as abundantly. I believe that what Jesus was saying was, "If you acknowledge that I live inside of you (for I am in you, you are in me, and we are as one in God), you will know joy beyond your wildest dreams and imaginations." Stop listening to the voices that deceive and tell you that you "can't." Stop going after the dangling carrots and false promises of the world. It seems we are at times more focused on the pursuit of happiness than we are on simply enjoying everyday life. Look hard enough and you can find joy in every moment. For example I was recently in a store to purchase something and the employee at the store I was in greeted me with a wonderful smile, he had a true interest in what I was looking to purchase and had so much joy and warmth that an ordinary experience became and extraordinary one. Are we willing to do that for other people?

It's not easy to see the greater Truth in every moment. After all, we are human. Expect something wonderful today, and if there is hardship then look to God for the answers. One of the biggest mistakes that I believe we make all too often is in looking to the world for answers, especially when it comes to our self worth. That's a big setup for failure every time. Suddenly we are too fat, or too thin, too bald or too grey. We're not smart enough, rich enough, or we’re too smart or too rich. Our car is too big, or too small. It’s stuff that can make you crazy! Do you remember the phrase, “You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time?” How true that is! But, we can please one person all of the time: we can please ourselves, and be pleased with ourselves.

The only way out, is in. No one in the world knows you like you know yourself except for God. You know your indiscretions and your victories. So does God. Go inside, take a peek around, and be honest with yourself and God. Say things like, “God, I am feeling miserable about my tendency to be judgemental. Please help me to change!” Be willing to step into difficult situations and circumstances that will force that change, instead of living life in avoidance. Jesus Christ knew how he was going to die, and yet he didn't spend his life running from his destiny. He faced it head on, and gave a tremendous gift to the world.

Trusting God can be hard at times, but He’s far more than worth it, and so are you. Live a life that is in integrity with God’s love. Be compassionate and caring towards yourself, and stop throwing pity parties. Know with certainty that although you're maybe not where you’d like to be, you are where you need to be in order to grow. When and only God decides it is your time, you might possibly be able to enjoy some nice things like a vacation on some island beach in the sunshine or on a cruise ship and maybe not. Neither the island or the cruise ship will ever heal your wounds. Only God's love living inside of you and being expressed on the surface can free your spirit and heal your heart. Like I said before, the only way out, is in. Don’t compromise yourself and hide from the world. What the world wants from you is you.

Please pray this with me.

Father: Thank you for this message, for it brings our attention back to the place it should be, and that’s on improving ourselves and focusing on you. Lord God, help us to look within ourselves, into those deep places where we have hidden some things we didn’t want to deal with in the past. Help us God, to find those dark areas and clean them out. In doing this we become a little bit more whole. As we become more whole Lord, we become better equipped and able to help others. I pray that you will help us to always strive to improve our spiritual health so that we can be the light in the darkness that some people are living in daily.

In Jesus Name I Pray

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”