NEVER FORGET

This morning I turned on the television and it was already tuned to a news channel. On this channel there was a special remembrance ceremony going on for all of those who lost their lives on this day in 2001. The lost were remembered, those left behind were allowed opportunity to grieve their loss and speak about their loved ones. It was a moment for all of us to refresh our memories and “NEVER FORGET” what took place on September 11th 2001.

As I watched this though, one of the television cameras panned the crowd and focused for a second on this man holding up a picture of his brother. On the picture were the words “You live in our hearts”! This single moment struck my spirit in a way that nothing else in recent memory could have. That one phrase was a wink from God reminding me of something. Do we have Jesus living in our hearts as much as we have the pain of what happened to our nation living there?

As we remember the loss that was suffered on September 11, 2001. We should remember even more what took place on a cross at Calvary. The event that changed you and me forever took place. The event that should be the most significant event in all of history took place. Jesus Christ, the only son of God the father was crucified. He did this voluntarily as he knew that he had to do this. He was born for this moment. To die for our sins, and in doing so, wash our spirits clean in the process. This one act of selflessness gave all of mankind the opportunity to have fellowship with God the father again. No longer were animal sacrifices necessary. God sent his own son to die as the PERFECT sacrifice.

Luke 14:25-26 (The Message) say’s. One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self!—can't be my disciple”. We are to love the Lord with all our hearts, all of our minds and all of our strength. We are to cling to Jesus and let go of the things of this world.

My children were only six years old when I began to teach this lesson to them. It was a hard lesson for them to swallow at that time. However at only age 9 ½, they now fully understand that they must love Jesus more than mommy or daddy, more than Grandma and Grandpa, more than their friends, teachers and cousins. I know that if something where to happen to me that caused me to die. I have no doubt that I would surely be missed and it would be sad, but I also know that my children would lean on the Lord Jesus Christ more than on their own understanding.

People ask me from time to time if I ever go to the cemetery to visit my father’s grave. Often to their surprise, I answer with this. No I don’t go there because there is nothing there. I went a few times shortly after he died in 1999, but I was just beginning my walk with Christ at that time and didn’t know what I believed or understood back then.

Many people have a tough time when it comes to this. You have to let go. If we cling to anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ, we cannot be his disciple. There are many who don’t understand this fact and it’s critical that we all do. We cannot talk to the dead. The dead cannot answer prayer. There are so many people that won’t let go. They pray to the dead as if they are as powerful as God because they died. I have a friend who lost a couple of close friends on Flight #11 on September 11th 2001. I know they are with the Lord now though, so as much as I wish that never happened, I know they are in a far better place where there is no terrorism or fear.

Let’s never forget the tragedy of September 11th but let’s make sure that no matter how much the media sensationalizes something that we never allow anything to become more important than what took place a couple thousand years ago on a cross. There is nothing in this world that deserves our attention, thought and prayer more than what Jesus Christ did for us on that day.

Father I pray right now for the families and friends of those that lost loved ones on September 11th 2001. I pray that they would find your peace which surpasses all of our understanding. I pray Lord that they would come to know you more and that their lives would be filled with the joy of knowing you. I pray that they would let go of the things of this world and cling to the things of God. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen

May the grace of god be with you always!

"The Sharpshooter”

Paying The Price

Bills! We all have them; there is no disputing that fact. The cost of living in 2008 is astronomical. Times are really hard and it’s not looking like that will change anytime soon. We all have bills that we pay every month and some are weekly. There’s the monthly credit card bill, the monthly rent or mortgage, the food bill, the car payment, fuel for the car, insurance, unexpected bills and then the occasional dining out bill. We all really have to stretch our finances and our imaginations to make ends meet sometimes.

In thinking about paying bills, I started thinking about how sometimes we complain about our bills. The mail carrier has a tough job these days. He’s delivering bills all of the time. Whatever happened to receiving a letter from someone every once in a while to break the financial monotony?

I can think of numerous times when I have taken someone to dinner. The check comes to the table and I take it and I say that “I will pay it. It’s all set”! Thinking about paying that bill for someone else, evokes a really good feeling in me. I like doing things for others, so I enjoy this sort of thing when I’m able to do it (which lately isn’t often). I recently thought of paying that bill a little more in depth. “I’ll pay the bill”. This made me think about paying the price.

Jesus paid the ultimate price for our salvation. He gave up His life, so that we could have ours. He paid the price that no amount of money could ever pay. You can’t buy your way into Heaven. You cannot buy salvation. You cannot buy peace, love, compassion or blessings; none of it can be bought. In Matthew 19:23-24 (Amplified Bible) Jesus said to His disciples, truly I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven.

This was said regarding a man of wealth who had just spoken with Jesus. The man had followed all of the commandments from his youth and wanted to know what else he had to do to gain entry into Heaven. Matthew 19:21-22 (Amplified Bible) says that Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have riches in heaven; and come, be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me]. But when the young man heard this, he went away sad (grieved and in much distress), for he had great possessions.

When Jesus was on the cross and he said “It is finished”, that also said to me that the price was paid. That selfless act of love by Jesus cost him everything and cost us nothing. When you see a less fortunate person on the street, do you pass them by or do you maybe exchange a pleasant hello or maybe even offer to buy them a sandwich. Where would we all be if Jesus decided not to go to the cross? We all were that person on the street until he paid the price for us to be free. I have a soft spot in my heart for the homeless and the poor. The way I was brought up was to treat everyone the way that I wanted to be treated.

That lesson isn’t often taught today. The mentality in the world today for the most part is to take care of you. There is nothing wrong with taking care of you first, but what about those who can’t take care of themselves? What about them? What would Jesus do? I believe that the poor and needy would be his best friends. The last would indeed be first.

See, when Jesus gave up His life for us. It was the ultimate act of selfless love. He taught us how to love. Yet if Jesus walked the streets today dressed as a poor person, I’m afraid he would be passed by many times, without someone even saying hello. As Christians, people are supposed to see Christ in us. If they don’t see Christ in our everyday lives, how will they ever listen to us when we want to minister to them?

I’ve heard people say things like (I need to be careful around certain people, so they don’t think badly of me). My response to that was if a person needs to put on a mask around anyone, then they have a lot of work to do on themselves. We shouldn’t have to be concerned with who we might run into. If we are living as we should be, all people will see a consistent picture of Jesus in us.

In closing, regarding the bills. It would be in our best interests if every time we spend money on anything, that we recall the price that Jesus paid. It will help us to keep in perspective how small our problems financial or otherwise really are.

Father I thank you for this message. I pray that we would all let this take root, so that we could be fruitful in areas where we may not currently be. Father, help us to see things as you do. Help us to have not only a servant’s heart but a giving spirit. Give us divine visions of how we can abolish poverty once and for all. Lastly, Father, I pray that you would help us to let go of concerns of worldly wealth and to embrace the reality of spiritual wealth and health.
In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.

God Bless You All.

“The Sharpshooter”

“Practice today for a better tomorrow”

We are living in a time when the world is a mess. Work life, home life, even recreational time for many people has become so rushed and stressful that the ability to enjoy the moment, or “Live for today” is being missed. There are so many legitimate concerns that people have today, that you end up planning life six months to a year down the road and this has become a way of life for too long. We need the Lord’s touch in this area of our lives because we cannot in our own strength fix this. How did it get this way one might ask? I can say with all honesty “The devil made us do it.”

We are prisoners of our most precious commodity, time. Both of my parents were fifteen years old in 1940. I always hear about when they were in their teens and early twenties and at that time not many people could afford to own a car. The majority of people walked or took the trolley to work or school and maybe used the family car if they had one for a weekend ride or vacation. It was a simpler time. The newspaper was a source of information and entertainment and not many missed reading it especially the Sunday edition. My dad worked for the major Boston newspapers for a better part of his life. This is how I know this. Today journalism is a lost art and it has become sensationalism that just stresses us out. I have not watched a news program on purpose for over a year because of this. My stress dropped at least forty percent when I let go of that.

As time went on especially in the United States, everything was being made to make things more convenient. We were able to do more things in less time and that was thought to be a good thing, so what did we do, we kept on compressing that convenience until now you can heat up a bowl of soup (organic of course) in about two minutes. Have you ever seen someone almost lose their mind because the soup in the microwave was taking too long? I saw that once and at first I agreed with the person heating their soup, because we’ve all been conditioned by this system of doing more in less time with fewer resources. Then I later thought about it and realized that soup on the stove takes fifteen to twenty minutes easily. How could someone get irritated by two minutes? That’s quick!

We are so rushed today that we have become the most over medicated people in the world. Many folks are just swallowing there problems in the form of a pill or alcohol. There is a better way and that way is through Jesus Christ. The only way that I can truly cope with the stresses of life is when I relinquish control to my savior Jesus. That in itself is not that easy because all of us want some form of control and we have this belief that relinquishing that control means we are out of control.

I’ve often heard people say that this is “The nature of the beast”. Most people that say this have no idea what they said; they just think that it sounds good. However it is the nature of satan to want control. He wants to control every aspect of our lives to the point that he is able to pull us away from God with temptation of what looks like an easier way. Trust me, there is no easy way. The idea of control being lost when we give it over to Jesus Christ is a total illusion created by the enemy of our souls. In fact we are in the most control of our destinies when we give control of our lives over to Jesus Christ, because he’s the one that knows the plan for our lives, we have no idea what the next few hours hold.

We need to begin making changes in our lives that will decrease our stress and improve our quality of daily life. I am making a conscious effort to take the long way through life; I have to break what I call the microwave mentality which is all about short cuts. If we all start to make changes that will incorporate some old school thinking and slow us down, we will better be able to enjoy our today and it’s only through enjoying today that we can have a hope for tomorrow.

If we continue to zip through today, then our tomorrow’s will come and go and we’ll have missed our potential, our purpose and our freedom by being bound to convenience which only equals stress and that is nowhere close to the purpose that God has for our lives. “Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God said that “I have for you a plan that will cause you great stress and strife” On the contrary. Jesus said in John 10:10 (Message) that “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of”.

Won’t you take a moment now and thank God for sending his only son to die for our sins so that we could have eternal life with God the Father?

Father I thank you for all you have done in my life and the lives of those I know and love. Father without you sending Jesus, we would have no hope for redemption and it is only because you loved us so much that you sent your only son Jesus to die on that cross for our sins. I can never say thank you enough, but I can do my best to bring honor and glory to you in all that I do. I know that this is your will for all mankind and if we’ll just step into your will, we will step into our destiny. I pray father that you will bless in double portion all who read this message and help them to break through the miry clay that this world has become.

In Jesus name I Pray

Amen

God Bless You All.

"The Sharpshooter”

yourvictory@gmail.com

The Vines & Root's That Bind Us

Yesterday I had some tree work done and in our yard we have these huge Oak trees. On one of them we were shown that Poison Ivy had grown alongside the tree and had grown to look like it was part of the tree. The bark and every other thing about it blended in like it was part of the tree. This Poison Ivy vine had become close to four inches in diameter at the base and it wrapped all around the tree at least half way up. It was estimated that this Poison Ivy vine was literally choking off this tree for the last forty or fifty years. Limbs at the top were not blooming well and some branches were actually falling off. After this took place the Lord put this message in me.

Just as these Poison Ivy vines grew very slowly over years and consumed this tree, so grow the vines that the devil wraps around our feet. This is only one reason why we have to be so tuned in to the Lord. So that we can have ears to hear and eyes to see in the spiritual to be able to stop the devil in his attempts early on. If we are not hearing and seeing in the spiritual realms, the devil has all sorts of time to have his way with no interference, and the longer he has to work on us, the harder it becomes to unwrap those vines he connects to us to hold us down in sin, oppression, addiction and so many other things.

If I were out in the woods and had an encounter with a large snake, I know it would be much easier to defeat the snake as it tries to wrap itself around my legs than it would be to get it off of my neck. We must all become more aware of the things that satan is trying to accomplish in and around us. There is such a high number of people in this world that are bound up in vines that they need help to get out of. We need to be that help. Many don't even recognize that they are being consumed by these vines, whether it is drug addiction, alcoholism or sexual immorality. These are vines that were placed on God's people by satan to keep them from achieving the plan that God has for their lives. As the salt and the light we need to bring Jesus to these suffering souls so that He can set the captives free. They won't get free without his help.

The biggest problem in doing this though is that many people have had these vines wrapped around them so long, and been in that place so long, that they may not want to let go of what has become comfortable. Father give them eye's that see and ears that hear. Only our Savior Jesus Christ can set the captives free and He can only do that when He is invited to do so. We cannot do any of this on our own strength. We need Jesus and we have to call on Him. We all have a free will and Jesus will not force himself on anyone, saved or unsaved. He wants so badly for each and every one of us Jew & Gentile to call on him and let Him save us. He will un-wrap the vines and free us from anything that the devil has set in our path. He will sever every vine that is on us and cut every root that the enemy has connected to our spirits.

There are many people that read this blog from all parts of the world. I ask you now, if you were to die today. Do you know that you would go straight to Heaven? The bible says that we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Secondly it says that "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." We are all whosever's. If you do not know for absolute certain that if something happened to you today, that you would go straight to Heaven, please say this prayer with me.

Heavenly Father: I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my Sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven and have Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the days of my Life!. Because your word is truth, I confess with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed by the Blood of Jesus! In Jesus Name, Amen.

If you read & spoke the Sinners Prayer and truly believe the words you read & spoke, then Praise the Lord as you have been saved and your name will appear in the "Lambs Book of Life!"
Thank you for reading.

God Bless you all.

"The Sharpshooter"

Open The Eyes Of My Heart

Have you ever noticed that there are times when you are so encouraged by what the word of God say's, but when you go to apply that word to your life you just don't seem to have the power or discipline to get the job done? I have been going through that in many areas as I’m sure many others have. The problem with me though was that I didn't understand my problem because I didn't feed myself the word as I was supposed to. I'm sure some of you have experienced a time like that. Instead of reading the word for myself and saving myself long suffering, I went through all sorts of problems until I heard the word taught to me last night in such a way that it pierced my spirit.

I was at church this past Tuesday night for a bible study on Romans. Pastor Wayne taught with brutal honesty and I learned right then that I was not alone. What an eye opener that was. I found out that I was not going through something new, not at all. Paul and countless others had experienced the exact thing that I have been experiencing, but Paul so eloquently wrote about it. I just didn't have the discipline to read it. There is no doubt that I could have saved myself a couple of years of heartaches and headaches had I simply done what I knew in my heart I was supposed to do, but instead I let procrastination thoughts overtake my heart.

Romans 7:14-25 (Message Bible) say's
“I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me join's in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.”

What Paul said in this passage speaks to so many of us that it had to be repeated. I pray that I will conquer the rebellious side of me on a daily basis because that’s what needs to die. I cannot live totally for Christ if I have not totally died to sin. Jesus never asked us to give him half of our best. He gave us everything and we bring him half. Mathematically that just doesn’t work out. He deserves our very best. I’m amazed that we won’t hesitate to ask the Lord for everything plus increase and somehow we are able to rationalize giving back less than that.

I am so thankful that my eyes have been opened to this. As painful a lesson as this was to learn, I am thankful. I pray that all who read this will get what I got if they haven’t already, and that’s a wake up call that no matter what you’re going through in life. Someone else has been through the same thing before you or something very similar.

I am now equipped to win this battle that is inside of me. I now know the recipe for the destruction of sin in my life. I recently read something that Bill Johnson wrote that speaks to this battle of good & evil. He said that “King David was known for killing Goliath in His youth. Yet there are at least four other giants killed in Scripture—all killed by the men who followed David, the giant killer. If you want to kill giants, hang around a giant killer. It rubs off.” I hang around my Pastor and his family at every opportunity I get, because when I am around them for a few hours, I go home a different person. I pray that everyone would have or find a person they can look to that is a spiritual giant so that the strength and discipline that they need will rub off on them

Father I thank you for this lesson. I pray that you would surround all of us Lord with people that are giant killers, So that we can capture the anointing that they have on them and acquire the ability to defeat the giants in our lives. Sin, discipline and any other areas that we need to conquer.

I ask this in Jesus name

Amen

God Bless You All.

“The Sharpshooter”