Recently we had a missionary to India in our home sharing with us what God is doing in India. It was a great evening, and an eye opening evening on a few different levels. Level 1: people in other countries will live and have died and never have heard of the name of Jesus Christ, the son of the only true God. Level 2: Indians have a hard time understanding that lying is wrong and is a sin.
Hearing the story of how Indians lie all the time, made me think, hmmm, we do that in the United States as well. Some people call it a fib, or a white lie, or a necessary lie, but many of us like to rationalize a situation where we can tell untruth, in order to protect our self or others.
The Bible clearly teaches us to speak truth.
My challenge is this: Speak nothing but truth today. In any situation tell the truth. Be honest. Don't lie to yourself and say it's okay to illegally rip movies off of the internet, purchase illegally produced black market goods, or think you made a pay day when the cashier gave you the wrong amount of money back! Tell the truth today, tomorrow we will start again!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The real inconvenient truth for all, especially Christians.
World: "we don't have to go to church to be close to God."
Bobby: How is that working for you?
God: (via Romans 12:4-8 )
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Bobby: You might be able to be "close" to God without going to church, but how are you going to operate your part of the body of Christ if you don't ever join the rest of the parts? An ear detached from the body is useless. I encourage everyone(even more for those who already believe) to read the bible with an open mind, and to seek God's calling for you in the body of Christ, and then go join the body and begin a new work. American Christians' complacency for the body of Christ pains me and makes me weep.
Jesus: (via Revelation 3:16-17)
So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked
Bobby: Michael Moore has an inconvenient "supposed' truth and it creates a mass following and controversy, and there is another inconvenient truth, lukewarm is not a good status in the kingdom of Christ. Who is willing to follow this inconvenient truth, even if it means being a part of the biggest controversy of all time. (Good VS. Evil)
Bobby: How is that working for you?
God: (via Romans 12:4-8 )
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Bobby: You might be able to be "close" to God without going to church, but how are you going to operate your part of the body of Christ if you don't ever join the rest of the parts? An ear detached from the body is useless. I encourage everyone(even more for those who already believe) to read the bible with an open mind, and to seek God's calling for you in the body of Christ, and then go join the body and begin a new work. American Christians' complacency for the body of Christ pains me and makes me weep.
Jesus: (via Revelation 3:16-17)
So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked
Bobby: Michael Moore has an inconvenient "supposed' truth and it creates a mass following and controversy, and there is another inconvenient truth, lukewarm is not a good status in the kingdom of Christ. Who is willing to follow this inconvenient truth, even if it means being a part of the biggest controversy of all time. (Good VS. Evil)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Self Control..............the all too often forgot about Fruit
This is going to be short and sweet this week!
Many times I feel like people focus on the ends and not the means. I want to retire. I want to lose weight. I want a clean house. I want a successful career. I want.....I want....I want..............
But how often are people willing to do what it takes to get to what they want? I mean do you really want to eat less, eat healthier food, have to cook and eat at home more, exercise 4-6 hours a week....do you really want to lose weight?
For me I started thinking about when I was in high school and I had a list of things that I didn't do that defined my "Christianity." I didn't drink, I didn't smoke cigarettes, I didn't cuss (too often), I didn't.................hmm wait a minute, I didn't pray that much, I didn't share Christ's love that much. I didn't do a lot of things. But there was this one thing, this one tiny thing I Kept in my closet, all to myself, and I didn't want anyone else to know. What my girlfriend and I did behind closed doors, that was my best kept secret. No one could find out I was struggling with giving into temptation, they might think I was a bad "Christian."
As an adult I look back and it wasn't about what I did or didn't do with my girlfriend in high school. One could say, well when I get married I can do the same things and then it will be okay so I will be okay. But that's not true. What I was doing in high school was about self-control, not about premarital sex. Self-control? Yeah. Think about it. How do I stay healthy? I have to have self-control to eat less. How do I stay faithful in my marriage? I have to have self-control to not lust. How do I become a good steward of my finances? I have to have self-control in my consumption.
I was fooled into thinking it was about sex. But it wasn't. It was and is about self-control. Getting married didn't give me self-control. Don't lie to yourself and think that it is about what you do and don't do. What it is about is your fruit. Is the way you live your life fruitful? Matthew 12:33...........“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
What kind of fruit do you have hanging from your limbs?
Many times I feel like people focus on the ends and not the means. I want to retire. I want to lose weight. I want a clean house. I want a successful career. I want.....I want....I want..............
But how often are people willing to do what it takes to get to what they want? I mean do you really want to eat less, eat healthier food, have to cook and eat at home more, exercise 4-6 hours a week....do you really want to lose weight?
For me I started thinking about when I was in high school and I had a list of things that I didn't do that defined my "Christianity." I didn't drink, I didn't smoke cigarettes, I didn't cuss (too often), I didn't.................hmm wait a minute, I didn't pray that much, I didn't share Christ's love that much. I didn't do a lot of things. But there was this one thing, this one tiny thing I Kept in my closet, all to myself, and I didn't want anyone else to know. What my girlfriend and I did behind closed doors, that was my best kept secret. No one could find out I was struggling with giving into temptation, they might think I was a bad "Christian."
As an adult I look back and it wasn't about what I did or didn't do with my girlfriend in high school. One could say, well when I get married I can do the same things and then it will be okay so I will be okay. But that's not true. What I was doing in high school was about self-control, not about premarital sex. Self-control? Yeah. Think about it. How do I stay healthy? I have to have self-control to eat less. How do I stay faithful in my marriage? I have to have self-control to not lust. How do I become a good steward of my finances? I have to have self-control in my consumption.
I was fooled into thinking it was about sex. But it wasn't. It was and is about self-control. Getting married didn't give me self-control. Don't lie to yourself and think that it is about what you do and don't do. What it is about is your fruit. Is the way you live your life fruitful? Matthew 12:33...........“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
What kind of fruit do you have hanging from your limbs?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Mustard Seed..............faith indeed
How many of you have ever shared with someone the fact that you had an illness or a difficult circumstance and their response was "I will pray for you?" On Wednesday, of this week, I was inspired to write this week's blog about the subject of praying for healing. On Friday, of this week, I was informed by a dear friend of mine that his mother was diagnosed with Cancer. Coincidence? Possibly, but I doubt it :)
Let me go no farther and be completely transparent with everyone. Up until very recent, (like this year) when I prayed for someone who had an illness my prayer could be summed up like this: "Father God, you are in control, please give the person comfort and understanding and also comfort the family and friends close to this person, your will be done." Meanwhile, I never prayed for a miracle to take place or a healing, I accepted the fact that many people get sick and many people pray and many people are never healed. I never questioned why healing would be absent for some.
Recently I had a conversation with an accountability partner who is also a dear friend, who worships at a different house of God than I do, and the topic of healing came up because I have a family member who is stricken with severe mental disease and I told my friend that I didn't expect this relative to be healed. My friend shared some bible verses and some perspective that motivated me to research this "healing" thing in the bible. I wondered what was different in the 1st Century, compared to this century, that caused so many miracles of sickness-healing to take place. Was it the fact that the son of God was actually amongst us? Was it the fact that people needed lots of evidence of power and divine healing to believe in the son of God? I don't claim to be qualified to know the answer to my questions, but in research I did find some truths to healing.
Here are two truths what we do know about the 1st century healing:
1. People usually had to do something to be healed. (They Moved, took action)
2. These people that were healed had unbelievable faith.
Here are a few examples of healing where the 2 truths are evident.
1. The Centurion says to Jesus "but just say the word and my servant will be healed." (Matt 8:5-13)
2. The woman simply touched Jesus' cloak because she thought "If I just touch his clothes I will be healed." (Mark 5:25-34)
Consistently throughout the gospels Jesus has taught us that it is by our faith that we are healed. (Mark 10:52, Acts 14:9 just to name a few other places)
To culminate the subject of Faith, my Life Group has been going over the book of Matthew and we came to chapter 17 verse 20 and God spoke to me and said "you don't see healing because you don't have faith."
Jesus said: "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will be moved. Nothing will be impossible for you.
So I am back here to the 21st century and ask myself: "Are we all with such little faith that we are missing the miracles?"
I lied to myself for a long, long time (my entire life) and told myself I had faith. What I have realized is that I had a belief, but lacked faith.
If God heard a guy named Jabez and granted his request then maybe God will answer our requests! (1 Chron 4:10)
Peter walked on water during a moment of faith (he lost his faith and he sunk)
People were healed because of their faith.
But we have responsibility. We shouldn't live carelessly and then ask God to help us out. Why do fat and out of shape men always pray to be free from injury when they are about to play slow pitch softball? Everyone knows that fat and out of shape men pull hamstrings when they try to be something they are not! (18 again!)
Let me go no farther and be completely transparent with everyone. Up until very recent, (like this year) when I prayed for someone who had an illness my prayer could be summed up like this: "Father God, you are in control, please give the person comfort and understanding and also comfort the family and friends close to this person, your will be done." Meanwhile, I never prayed for a miracle to take place or a healing, I accepted the fact that many people get sick and many people pray and many people are never healed. I never questioned why healing would be absent for some.
Recently I had a conversation with an accountability partner who is also a dear friend, who worships at a different house of God than I do, and the topic of healing came up because I have a family member who is stricken with severe mental disease and I told my friend that I didn't expect this relative to be healed. My friend shared some bible verses and some perspective that motivated me to research this "healing" thing in the bible. I wondered what was different in the 1st Century, compared to this century, that caused so many miracles of sickness-healing to take place. Was it the fact that the son of God was actually amongst us? Was it the fact that people needed lots of evidence of power and divine healing to believe in the son of God? I don't claim to be qualified to know the answer to my questions, but in research I did find some truths to healing.
Here are two truths what we do know about the 1st century healing:
1. People usually had to do something to be healed. (They Moved, took action)
2. These people that were healed had unbelievable faith.
Here are a few examples of healing where the 2 truths are evident.
1. The Centurion says to Jesus "but just say the word and my servant will be healed." (Matt 8:5-13)
2. The woman simply touched Jesus' cloak because she thought "If I just touch his clothes I will be healed." (Mark 5:25-34)
Consistently throughout the gospels Jesus has taught us that it is by our faith that we are healed. (Mark 10:52, Acts 14:9 just to name a few other places)
To culminate the subject of Faith, my Life Group has been going over the book of Matthew and we came to chapter 17 verse 20 and God spoke to me and said "you don't see healing because you don't have faith."
Jesus said: "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will be moved. Nothing will be impossible for you.
So I am back here to the 21st century and ask myself: "Are we all with such little faith that we are missing the miracles?"
I lied to myself for a long, long time (my entire life) and told myself I had faith. What I have realized is that I had a belief, but lacked faith.
If God heard a guy named Jabez and granted his request then maybe God will answer our requests! (1 Chron 4:10)
Peter walked on water during a moment of faith (he lost his faith and he sunk)
People were healed because of their faith.
But we have responsibility. We shouldn't live carelessly and then ask God to help us out. Why do fat and out of shape men always pray to be free from injury when they are about to play slow pitch softball? Everyone knows that fat and out of shape men pull hamstrings when they try to be something they are not! (18 again!)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
I'm not Good Enough............
Many times I have heard people say "I am not good enough." I have also heard people say this in regards to their ability to share Christ with others, or lead a bible study, or do something that has to do with their faith in Christ. They don't feel like they know enough about the bible or know what to say.
Matthew 25:36 says......... 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
Can any of you do any of these things? It doesn't take an expert to take care of the needy! If being good enough was the qualification for obeying Christ and fulfilling the great commission, not a single person would have ever been told! None of us our good enough! But guess what?! We don't have to be! God sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us! To work through us! (Acts 1:8)
Are you available? Are your eyes opened wide enough to see the needy, or do you have tunnel vision because your too busy with life to notice your neighbor has needs? Don't lie to yourself and wait until you are ready, more educated, or good enough to do Christ's work! It's an obedience thing, not an education thing!
Matthew 25:36 says......... 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
Can any of you do any of these things? It doesn't take an expert to take care of the needy! If being good enough was the qualification for obeying Christ and fulfilling the great commission, not a single person would have ever been told! None of us our good enough! But guess what?! We don't have to be! God sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us! To work through us! (Acts 1:8)
Are you available? Are your eyes opened wide enough to see the needy, or do you have tunnel vision because your too busy with life to notice your neighbor has needs? Don't lie to yourself and wait until you are ready, more educated, or good enough to do Christ's work! It's an obedience thing, not an education thing!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
It's Been a while.............
Okay, so a lot has happened since my last post. I was on a roll with the once a week posting, and then life happened. I have a lot on my mind and a lot in my heart that I want to share with people. Here is a list of some things that have happened the last 6 weeks.
1. My father spent 9 days in a hospital and my siblings and I have moved him to live with my oldest brother to rehabilitate his health.
2. My wife and I brought Dawson Maddox Michael Reed into the world!
3. I took a 4 day, 3 game, guys only trip across the U.S. watching football.
4. I have realized that I am called by Christ to live every moment of my life doing things that affect the Kingdom of God in a positive way.
I won't get into details about 1-3. There is too much. So I will take advantage of this forum to express what the Spirit of God is putting on my heart.
In today's message Matt T. spoke about how being good at something like a team one must practice to be able to perform at a high level on game day. Every team is only a strong as it's weakest link, ask my friend the chain and see how much it can tow when a link is broken.
I am going to go on a tangent here for a second. Do you know what a major difference between a teaching pastor and a congregant? I have noticed that a lot of teaching pastors out there have notes and an outline, but rarely appear to be reading from them. Why? Because the message of the Holy Spirit is written in their hearts and it is a part of them. They can quote verses and speak messages from their hearts just like you and I can tell a story about our child being born or our first kiss which our significant other.
For me to execute item #4, I must practice! What is my practice? For one, it is to have the word of God in my heart, not on my bookshelf collecting dust. For two, it is to spend time daily communicating with God and listening to his whispers. ( If you didn't know, it seems that God whispers much more than he screams, so if you are looking for a scream from God to hear him, good luck!)
But what does having God's word in my heart have to do with getting ready for the game? Let's remind ourselves what the game is, it is to live every moment impacting the Kingdom in a positive way. So when do we play the game? Every moment of every day. At work? Yes. At home? Yes. Out with the guys on bowling night? Yes.
If someone struggles with lust in their heart, speaking Matt 5:28 can give them strength. Jesus fought temptation by quoting the scriptures. If you think you can be successful at playing the game by opening your bible once a week at church to read along with the message and then another time during a small group and read along, and not put the scripture in your heart (memorizing) and speaking it out in your life, you are fooling yourself. Do you think Michael Phelps or Tiger Woods, the greatest in the world at what they do, only practice a few hours a week by watching other people practice? Of course not! They spend many hours a week with intense training and practice to get ready for their games. They have practiced so much they can do what they do in their sleep!
If you expect to be successful at item #4 without putting the word of God in your heart, you need to wake up. Don't lie to yourself and think you can win the game all alone!
1. My father spent 9 days in a hospital and my siblings and I have moved him to live with my oldest brother to rehabilitate his health.
2. My wife and I brought Dawson Maddox Michael Reed into the world!
3. I took a 4 day, 3 game, guys only trip across the U.S. watching football.
4. I have realized that I am called by Christ to live every moment of my life doing things that affect the Kingdom of God in a positive way.
I won't get into details about 1-3. There is too much. So I will take advantage of this forum to express what the Spirit of God is putting on my heart.
In today's message Matt T. spoke about how being good at something like a team one must practice to be able to perform at a high level on game day. Every team is only a strong as it's weakest link, ask my friend the chain and see how much it can tow when a link is broken.
I am going to go on a tangent here for a second. Do you know what a major difference between a teaching pastor and a congregant? I have noticed that a lot of teaching pastors out there have notes and an outline, but rarely appear to be reading from them. Why? Because the message of the Holy Spirit is written in their hearts and it is a part of them. They can quote verses and speak messages from their hearts just like you and I can tell a story about our child being born or our first kiss which our significant other.
For me to execute item #4, I must practice! What is my practice? For one, it is to have the word of God in my heart, not on my bookshelf collecting dust. For two, it is to spend time daily communicating with God and listening to his whispers. ( If you didn't know, it seems that God whispers much more than he screams, so if you are looking for a scream from God to hear him, good luck!)
But what does having God's word in my heart have to do with getting ready for the game? Let's remind ourselves what the game is, it is to live every moment impacting the Kingdom in a positive way. So when do we play the game? Every moment of every day. At work? Yes. At home? Yes. Out with the guys on bowling night? Yes.
If someone struggles with lust in their heart, speaking Matt 5:28 can give them strength. Jesus fought temptation by quoting the scriptures. If you think you can be successful at playing the game by opening your bible once a week at church to read along with the message and then another time during a small group and read along, and not put the scripture in your heart (memorizing) and speaking it out in your life, you are fooling yourself. Do you think Michael Phelps or Tiger Woods, the greatest in the world at what they do, only practice a few hours a week by watching other people practice? Of course not! They spend many hours a week with intense training and practice to get ready for their games. They have practiced so much they can do what they do in their sleep!
If you expect to be successful at item #4 without putting the word of God in your heart, you need to wake up. Don't lie to yourself and think you can win the game all alone!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Just when you think........
We all experience ups and downs in life. What separates us apart from each other is not money, social status, skin color, or what neighborhood we live in, what separates us from each other is how we handle the ups and downs in life. One could make a correlation to this thought with sports. It is really easy to be a good teammate and say the right things to the media personnel when the team is winning. But when the team isn't winning, it is more common to hear about the "drama" that is unfolding behind the scenes with a team!
In looking at an individual player I find Peyton Manning to be one of the most successful players in NFL history. What makes Peyton Manning so great is his ability to overcome his mistakes. Going into this season Manning has 333 TD's passing the ball, but what most people don't realize is that he has completed 165 passes in his career to the opposing team!( AKA interceptions) 165 times in his career he had to overcome a mistake. My college baseball coach said you WIN and you LEARN, the only time you LOSE is when you don't learn from a game or a mistake. This is an approach I try to use in my daily life. Learn from my mistakes. Learn from others mistakes. Learn, learn, and learn some more. Many people ask God to make them more wise. What they don't realize is usually before wisdom the experience of a mistake or a troubling time appears and this is what allows us to learn, thus making us more wise. Wisdom isn't like an epiphany where you wake up and say "I am more wise today I think I am going to be a surgeon now." There isn't a book out there, "How to be more wise in 30 days." There isn't a DVD program, "Wisdom90X" that teaches us to teach ourselves how to be wise. Wisdom is learned through experiences, good and bad.
Recently I was at a place in my life to where I thought I was treating someone close to me in a way that was beneficial to them. This person has a history of medical problems and a history of making some poor decisions. I thought my role was to give them tough love and remind them of how their decisions had made things worse. As this person began to show signs of "righting the ship" the unthinkable happened. This person's health turned for the worst and was hospitalized. Meanwhile I thought I was doing my part and helping this person by not helping them. I was waiting for this person to "figure out" how to make better decisions and to get their body healthy. What I have realized is, I needed to play a more active role in their daily life and help them with their problems and concerns and make them my concerns. This is what Christ did. He didnt say to the sick, "Here take some medicine or I heard this stuff works," he gave them clear cut help. He healed them, he said their sins were forgiven. Has anyone ever wondered why he would tell someone he just healed that theirs sins were forgiven? Maybe it is because he knows that our sin causes trouble and we fall into vicious cycles of sin and it ruins are lives and our health. Not just physical health, but spiritual health as well.
For 3 years I have been lying to myself saying that I was helping this person in my life fix their problems, when all I was really doing was avoiding the truth and be a coward. I didn't want to help because it wasn't convenient. I didn't want to help because I dint think I should have to, seeing how this person was more than twice my age. So just when you think you are doing the right thing, stop, and make sure you aren't "lying to yourself" and indeed do the right thing.
In looking at an individual player I find Peyton Manning to be one of the most successful players in NFL history. What makes Peyton Manning so great is his ability to overcome his mistakes. Going into this season Manning has 333 TD's passing the ball, but what most people don't realize is that he has completed 165 passes in his career to the opposing team!( AKA interceptions) 165 times in his career he had to overcome a mistake. My college baseball coach said you WIN and you LEARN, the only time you LOSE is when you don't learn from a game or a mistake. This is an approach I try to use in my daily life. Learn from my mistakes. Learn from others mistakes. Learn, learn, and learn some more. Many people ask God to make them more wise. What they don't realize is usually before wisdom the experience of a mistake or a troubling time appears and this is what allows us to learn, thus making us more wise. Wisdom isn't like an epiphany where you wake up and say "I am more wise today I think I am going to be a surgeon now." There isn't a book out there, "How to be more wise in 30 days." There isn't a DVD program, "Wisdom90X" that teaches us to teach ourselves how to be wise. Wisdom is learned through experiences, good and bad.
Recently I was at a place in my life to where I thought I was treating someone close to me in a way that was beneficial to them. This person has a history of medical problems and a history of making some poor decisions. I thought my role was to give them tough love and remind them of how their decisions had made things worse. As this person began to show signs of "righting the ship" the unthinkable happened. This person's health turned for the worst and was hospitalized. Meanwhile I thought I was doing my part and helping this person by not helping them. I was waiting for this person to "figure out" how to make better decisions and to get their body healthy. What I have realized is, I needed to play a more active role in their daily life and help them with their problems and concerns and make them my concerns. This is what Christ did. He didnt say to the sick, "Here take some medicine or I heard this stuff works," he gave them clear cut help. He healed them, he said their sins were forgiven. Has anyone ever wondered why he would tell someone he just healed that theirs sins were forgiven? Maybe it is because he knows that our sin causes trouble and we fall into vicious cycles of sin and it ruins are lives and our health. Not just physical health, but spiritual health as well.
For 3 years I have been lying to myself saying that I was helping this person in my life fix their problems, when all I was really doing was avoiding the truth and be a coward. I didn't want to help because it wasn't convenient. I didn't want to help because I dint think I should have to, seeing how this person was more than twice my age. So just when you think you are doing the right thing, stop, and make sure you aren't "lying to yourself" and indeed do the right thing.
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