Jun 20, 2013 |
Comments Off on Retweeting Jesus Book 15 Sec Commercial
Comments Off on Retweeting Jesus Book 15 Sec Commercial
Jun 19, 2013 |
Comments Off on If I were an Old Man…
Comments Off on If I were an Old Man… If I were an Old Man…
I was up early this morning to spend time with the Lord, abiding in Him and allowing Him to teach, lead, comfort and direct me. God is so good. He always does what is best for us…and that, sometimes, doesn’t feel good. I mentioned in a previous post about how crazy-fast this past year has gone. In fact, time seems to fly like never before. On this day there are only 188 days until Christmas. I’m not trying to be morbid, but If I do the “math of average” and I live to be the average age of a person who dies in the U.S. 87.7 years…then that means I have 45 Christmas’s left before I join the Lord. At first that seems like a lot, but when I begin to think about my kids and grandkids and how many of those future Christmas’s I might or might not spend with them…45 doesn’t seem like very many. I would think that I would be sad about this…I’m not sad, but it does cause me to mourn. God never intended for life to be like it is today. Life can be so very harsh. There is a lot of anger in people. There is a lot of craziness going on in the world. There seems to be a great panic in our culture for something we can’t fully describe or attain. A fight for being on the right team. A fight for the “top.” A fight for self gratification. I don’t want to be all bad news. My goodness, there is a lot of good going on right now too. So many people serving others, opening doors, standing for good, sacrificing so others may be blessed. We live in a world of polar opposites. Good versus evil. It’s all simply called life.
I read a verse this morning in my time with God. The verse is found in the Bible at 1 Kings 20:11. I have read the Bible many times and yet I do not ever remember reading this verse in those past journey’s through the Bible. The verse reads, “A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”
This verse caused me to contemplate many things. The ancient wisdom in that verse is deep and wide. Reading the verse made me feel very young. Then, the creative side of my brain made me think of myself as an old man sitting with a young lad, telling him about how to live his life. I imagined myself sitting and talking about my life’s experience. I imagined myself hoping this young man would listen to what I was saying and hopefully take some of my personal experience and learn from it. The good and the bad. Here are some things I think I would tell him. 
Young man…(obviously, ladies, you will have to read this as if it were speaking to you in the feminine.) What I’m about to tell you is what I’ve learned over my life…It’s not everything I’ve learned in life, but what I’m about to share is deeply important. I hope you will listen to it and learn from it. I hope we can meet regularly and that you will allow me to speak with you often about other things I’ve learned that I’m not going to remember today. What I tell you is my experience…it may not be the same for you. The road I paved is not the same road you will travel. But, learn from this old man and then pave your own road.
I heard a really good man say, “Heaven is real, the Bible is true and God loves you more than you’ll ever know.” I love that phrase and it is as true as truth gets. Build your whole life around that phrase.
I know you are hoping that life is going to serve you well, fill you up, and give you great success. It might, but I have found that life won’t think about you, only God can fill you to full, and success must be earned and is never guaranteed.
If you do earn success, it can be gone tomorrow. Don’t count on it to make you happy.
Happiness, by the way, is something you are never entitled to or deserve.
Finding the right woman to marry will make you or break you. When you find her and marry her, her whole family is included in the marriage. Your whole family too.
Sex is great, have it only with your wife.
Every year you live, it will go by faster.
Stuff will never make you happy, but you will be tempted your whole life to think so.
You will never be free from temptation, so don’t pray for protection from it more than you pray for strength to resist it.
Most people in your life will betray/hurt you in some form or another. Be very grateful for the few who do not. And no matter what happens, don’t let bitterness and un-forgiveness reside very long in your heart.
Live your life working very hard to not hurt or betray the people in your life. You will not be perfect in this endeavor.
Resist taking anything for granted. Your family, your church, your job, your success, your money…anything. There is no guarantee that it will be there for you tomorrow. The only person/thing that is guaranteed to be there for you is Jesus Christ.
Do not let fear hold you back from anything.
Every job situation will look great from the interview…you will know the truth once you accept the job and get into the job’s reality.
When you swim in a cesspool long enough you will get used to the smell. So…if you ever notice you are in a cesspool, get out immediately.
There is a lot to think about in the wisdom line I just shared above.
Do not let concern for what people think influence your decisions.
God will ask you to do things that will make no sense at all…do them anyway.
Do not believe for one second that God is interested in your comfort more than your character. God uses pain to refine character. If you don’t like that fact, it won’t do you any good to get mad at God about it.
You are going to hurt people. Do not do it on purpose, ever. When you do hurt people, say you are sorry and mean it.
The phrase, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Is true and it’s a choice. They really are just words.
Hurt people….hurt people. So…when someone hurts you, think about what has hurt them that causes them to now hurt you. It will help you forgive them.
If you promote the progress and purpose of others, you will look back over your life grateful and fulfilled and spent.
When you promote the progress and purpose of someone else, don’t expect them to do the same for you.
The size of the dream you have in life and whether or not you accomplish it, is directly correlated to how much pain and suffering you are willing to endure.
A majority of people will never win the lottery, or have even 15 minutes of fame. Don’t live for that hack dream. Remember, that anything worth having will never comes easy.
If something is worth doing, it is worth doing…even poorly.
If you are not good at something you really should do, keep practicing. You’ll get better. Someday you’ll be an expert at it.
If you have children, they will bring great joy into your heart.
If you have children, they will squeeze your heart with worry and fear.
If you have children, do everything in your power to make them successful. They will be here long after you are gone.
Try to have children. If you cannot, then adopt or foster.
Travel to a 3rd world country as soon as you can and spend no less than 4 days serving those who live there.
Never forget the people who live every day in 3rd world countries where you only visited.
If you become successful, do not let other people write what you should say.
If you become successful, do not purposefully have a public relations spokesman speak on your behalf.
If you become successful, do not prevent all bad news from getting to you…If you only let good news reach you, you will live a life starved of the truth about yourself.
Your wife knows you better than everybody except God. Listen to her unless she tells you different than God.
Do not keep news from your wife. You and your wife are one. You will not be really protecting her when you leave her in the dark about anything.
Do not keep secrets of any kind.
Live your life in such a way that you are not even tempted to keep secrets.
Speak the truth even if it makes your voice shake.
You can raise your voice and get angry without sinning.
Don’t forget the side of love that is loud, hard to give, and delivers pain.
Freedom is always living for and with others. When you only live for yourself, you are not actually free…you are slave to self.
You will never feel like forgiving, but forgive anyway and often if necessary.
Forgiveness does not mean the offender doesn’t face consequences.
You should love everybody. That does not mean you will like everybody.
How you live your life on this earth is your choice to enter Heaven or Hell. Choose wisely because God will honor your choice.
Read the Bible as often as possible. Do what it says, no matter the consequences.
Jesus is the truth and the only way to Heaven. Don’t ever let your doubt about that fact, convince you otherwise.
No matter how unpopular it makes you, never ever disagree in word or action with what Jesus of Nazareth says.
Try to have a sense of humor about yourself. It will be harder on some days than others.
The more you laugh at yourself, the lighter life will be.
You can’t control anything. That’s God’s job.
Who you are is more important than what you do or what you have.
Don’t ever forget how much God loves you.
Life is short. Live in faith, but take risks.
Do not mistake risk with faith. They are very different. Faith is confident assurance. Risk is not.
Always be a learner. The best teachers are those who are always trying to learn something.
The best way to learn is to ask questions and listen.
The next best way to learn is simply by experience.
Learning by experience can be very painful.
The most painful learning experiences may be expensive, but they are still a great education.
When an old man sits and shares with you, it’s always a good idea to have a pen and paper. That’s why I wrote these down for you. Next time, bring your own paper and pen.
When I die…I will be waiting for you in Heaven. Make sure you get there. I’d like to sit with you and have more of these chats.
The next time we sit and chat…I’d like to listen to you tell me about what your life experience has taught you.
See you soon.
Trent
Jun 17, 2013 |
Comments Off on What God CANNOT do!
Comments Off on What God CANNOT do! What God CANNOT do!
I’m not sure if I’m like other communicators in the fact that I have rhythms of communication focus. Meaning, I have soapbox issues that I stand on as a critical focus of my preaching and teaching and thought process. Sometimes the focus/soapbox lasts only for a couple of weeks. The one I’m focused on lately has been one that has been my focus of thought for nearly a year. In fact, I’m not sure it’s a soapbox, and is instead, the central focus of my life and teachings and will remain so. My current focus has been on the fact that God created two laws that everything in life centers on. The laws I refer to are found in Leviticus 17:11 where God simply says, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”
Law One: The life of any creature is in its blood.
Law Two: The life blood must be shed in order for atonement/forgiveness.
God’s entire life system is built upon these two foundational laws. Why? I don’t know…Ask God someday…He created the system. I have found that it doesn’t do me any good to fight God and His ways.
Another critical factor and soapbox of mine about God is the fact that God is described as being both Mercy & Justice. I tend to think that God would argue with Himself a lot because of these two bi-polar traits. Justice and Mercy are opposites…God is both. Makes my head spin.
One other critical factor of God is that He is Perfect thus Pure Holiness to the extreme.
These traits create some “CANNOT” factors for God. There are some things that God CANNOT do. Keep following my thought…
So…as history goes…We all sin and fall short of God’s glory. God says when sin happens, He, in His perfection cannot be around sin, so He has to separate Himself from us. The only way we can be reunited with God again is for forgiveness to take place. God’s law above say that can only happen when lifeblood is taken. Meaning….somebody has to die to pay for the sin so atonement can happen. Did you notice that atonement is At-One-Ment?
This is where God’s bi-polarity of Justice and Mercy conflict. God in His extreme MERCY trait chooses for us not to die to pay for the sin and instead chooses His only Son, Jesus.
With Jesus’s death, His lifeblood paid for your sin and mine. Do you see how God’s Mercy trait is fulfilled by letting us live, yet God’s JUSTICE trait is fulfilled because His only Son died? Mercy and Justice were fulfilled. God’s mercy said, “people can live.” God’s justice said, “Jesus will die in their place.” Then God’s mercy flooded back and God thus mercifully raised Jesus from the dead. God’s justice is going to swing back our way again…how? When God sends Jesus to Judge all of mankind. Justice served. All complete. Mercy to Justice to Mercy and ending with Justice. Every human being given the choice to choose God’s mercy or His justice. It’s your choice. Heaven is Mercy. Hell is Justice. If you go through Jesus, God promises Mercy. If you choose not to go through Jesus, God’s Justice will be served. Both Justice and Mercy are traits of Love. Heaven and Hell will be full of people whom God loves. Love is giving you a choice. You have the freedom to choose the trait of love via Mercy, or you have the freedom to choose the trait of love via justice. Its a pretty simple way of life and it demonstrates a pretty cool God!
Fact…God’s cool and He likes you and He gives you freedom to choose to live how you wish…with consequences of whatever your choice is.
I say all that to make this point. I’ve heard people argue about how incredible God is and they wonder if there is anything that God CANNOT do.
There are some things that God CANNOT do.
1. God CANNOT go against His own law. This would mean that God lacks integrity and therefore would not actually be God.
2. God is perfect…He CANNOT sin.
3. God is love…He proved it by taking the lifeblood of His only Son to prevent you from having to die for your own sins. Thus God CANNOT love you more than He already does…or less. God IS love.
4. Because God is perfect and holy…God CANNOT break His promises.
(BTW…My list of 4…I’m sure is incomplete…so…please add anymore things that you think God CANNOT do in the reply section of this blog post!)
Thinking on these 4 points of things that God CANNOT do…here is a Bible verse to back them all up.
19 God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
Numbers 23:19
What are some of the promises of God…. (The list below is not exhaustive…and by all means you don’t have to keep reading to the bottom…However…If you could use some encouragement on the promises of God…below is just a teasing of the greatness of God and some promises that God CANNOT break! I find it easier to follow God knowing that there are some things that He CANNOT do. 
Thanks for your time in reading to this point. I am honored.
I look forward to running into you someday and speaking with you about any of these things!
God Bless
Trent…
Some OLD TESTAMENT Promises…
God’s promise to bless Abraham and those that bless the descendants of Abraham.
Genesis 12:2-3
2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
God’s promise to break the bonds of slavery.
Leviticus 26:12-13
12 I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.
God’s promise not to lie to you or change His mind on you.
Numbers 23:19
19 God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
God’s promise that if you search for Him you will find Him.
Deuteronomy 4:29
29 But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.
Joshua’s testimony that God’s promises in the Bible never failed.
Joshua 23:14
14 “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!
God’s promise of protection in the Bible
1 Samuel 2:9
9 “He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
God’s promise to judge us by our hearts not our outward appearance.
1 Samuel 16:7
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
God’s Promise that His love never fails.
1 Chronicles 16:34
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
God’s promise to heal a nation.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
God’s promise of fruitfulness and prosperity
Psalm 1:1-3
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
NEW TESTAMENT promises of God.
The promise of power from God
Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The promise of right standing before God
Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.[a] 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.
The promise that all things will work out for good.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
God’s Promise in the Bible of comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
God Offers Comfort to All
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
God’s promise of a new life in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
The promise of every spiritual blessing.
Ephesians 1:3
Spiritual Blessings
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
God’s Promise in the Bible of salvation.
Ephesians 2:8
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
God’s promise to finish the work He started in us.
Philippians 1:6
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
God’s promise of peace when we pray.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
God’s Promise to supply all of our needs.
Philippians 4:19
19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
The promises of Jesus in the gospels.
Jesus promise of rest.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Jesus promise to find purpose in life.
Mark 8:34-37
34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul?
Jesus promise of our names written in heaven.
Luke 10:20
20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Jesus promise of eternal life.
John 3:16
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus promise that He will return for us.
John 14:2-3
2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
Jun 13, 2013 |
Comments Off on ONE YEAR! Really?
Comments Off on ONE YEAR! Really? ONE YEAR! Really?
On this exact week, one year ago, the Renner family arrived in Orlando Florida. We sold our home and moved away from everything we were comfortable with to travel the 36 hour drive from Phoenix. We moved because I was hired to be the Lead Pastor of a Church that confirmed to my family that they wanted to change and grow. Well…let me simply say, this year didn’t go like I thought it would go…
This past year my family and I have experienced wonder and awe, inspiration and depression, joy and tragedy like we’ve never experienced in life so far. In Florida, I have encountered some very amazing and incredibly wonderful people and at the same time some people, that…well…I don’t even want to type it. Let’s stay positive.
One year. It has been the hardest year of my life. Yet…here we are, moving forward and facing joys and challenges that remind me I’m still alive and my heart is still beating and confirming that there is a lot of work to do for the Lord.
I’m concerned about my kids.
I’m concerned about my wife.
I’m concerned about our new Church Plant.
I’m concerned about a lot of things…but…
God is bigger than all my concerns.
So what does a man do? The answer is simple. The answer is good. The answer is not easy… I press on. I keep my eyes on the finish line of the faith. I refuse to be one who stands before Jesus trying to explain why I let life’s circumstances get in the way of my calling to reach those who are far from God.
I don’t know what this next year holds…
But I know who holds this next year!
Bring it on. I will stand on 1 Corinthians 10:13, “13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
I wonder what I’ll be blogging about this time next year?
ONE YEAR goes by so fast.
Ready…Set…Go!
May 28, 2013 |
Comments Off on The Encounter
Comments Off on The Encounter The Encounter
Every day we awaken to the fact that a new journey is awaiting to be traveled. It’s an unwritten personal script. A clean slate. If you are human, that clean slate tends to get dirty earlier than any of us are comfortable with. Our collisions with the world, and the people who meander her paths, are never perfect. The soil, soot and slime thrust upon us might be our own doing, or it is the doing of another upon you. Our response to the collision is our victory or our defeat, and most definitely, our choice. Each encounter is an original collision. The collision could leave us thrilled and impassioned and better. Or, the collision could leave us hurt, wanting, and defeated. Very few collisions leave us neutral. 
Some collisions will be with people who TEST us. These tests will be graded and it’s always good to get a passing grade. These people-tests can make us better or bitter. A test is not a bad thing. If we choose to pass the test, it will leave us better. A test will only make us better, if we, out of sheer discipline, choose the path of better-ness. The people who test us, are those we will be very careful to journey across again, but we will not avoid them. Other collisions are with people who collide into us like PAINT being applied to a rusty old automobile. It’s tempting to like this collision and think it is good for us, but it doesn’t make us better. This type of collision only gives us the facade of improvement. Too much time with these types of people and we end up beautifully painted rust. At first glance we will be tempted to think that painters actually love us, but reality eventually shows us that their paint wasn’t love at all. Another type of collision we will encounter is a USER. This collision will leave us thirsty, malnourished, buckled and bent. This collision will leave us needing the jaws of life to free us. The repair bill that arrives after this collision is higher than we will expect it to be. The effort to recover the lost confidence from this collision will take your breath away. After a collision with a user, the only benefits we get from it, are calloused knees, as we beg for it to never—ever happen again.
I’m confident that we could brainstorm other types of collisions, and I welcome them in the comments section, but I end this Art of Encounter with this. The best collision to have today is with the POLISHER. The polisher is one whom only brings out the best in us. They will be few and far between, but their encounter gives us the stamina to keep venturing out again and again and again. Taking hit after hit after hit. Who doesn’t love a polisher? They are selfless and they promote other’s progress above their own.
Each encounter is a collision. Each encounter is a teacher.
If you are like me, we thought about specific people we have collided with as each type was read above. Do not dwell too much on them. The most important question to ask ourselves is this…Did anybody reading this… think of my name?