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Jun 24, 2013    |      Comments Off on Hydrate — Winning from the inside 37 (Matthew 7:12) The Golden Rule

Hydrate — Winning from the inside 37 (Matthew 7:12) The Golden Rule

Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the
law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12 NLT

Oh, what an easy thing to say, and seemingly impossible to follow through with. Think about it…there were times when Jesus called people names. A good example of this is when Jesus called the Pharisees “sons of vipers” (Matthew 23:33), “brood of snakes” (Matthew 12:34), and “white-washed tombs” (Matthew 23:27). Another time He used a whip that He handmade and used to whip people out of the temple. He must have been okay with others doing the same to Him or He would not have done these things to others. Strange to think that Jesus was called names and also whipped. This makes me think about what Jesus said to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Peter…put your sword away… Those who use the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).

Do to others what you would like them to do to you.
Now as to whether or not Jesus would say it differently today…I don’t want to open the door of someone thinking that I think Jesus made a mistake here. That’s not my point. I am thinking that maybe Jesus, if He were living in today’s culture, wouldn’t use the Golden Rule, as tweeted above, as much as He might have used what I would call The Platinum Rule. I think the Platinum Rule, if spoken by Jesus, would read, “Do to others what I have done and will do for you.”
Out of the mouth of Jesus, this statement is a game changer. The Platinum Rule seems to squelch all possible neglect and abuse from the speaker of the rule.
The Platinum Rule makes the following comment from Jesus pop! “There is no greater love than this…He who lays down his life for another” (John 15:13). He commands us to give, share, reward, encourage, hold accountable, and even die for each other. These would be things that Jesus did for all of us. These are things that fit the Golden Rule also. Do to others as you would have done to yourself.
If Jesus actually tweeted this to you today: “Do to others what you would like others to do to you,” and you knew it was directly from Jesus, how would you live your life today? Think about the free gifts that Jesus gave you: hope, joy, forgiveness, purpose, etc. Would you give these to others today? And then tomorrow as well? And then…

Spend a few moments and meditate on that.Think about what you should do today in regards to the Golden Rule.
Think about your day and what’s coming. Who do you know that you will encounter today? Make a decision right now to treat them like you would like to be treated. Be prepared. Don’t be caught off guard.
I hope as you live your day that you will dwell on this Golden tweet. Do to others what you would like done to you. If that passage makes you feel guilty about selfish decisions in your past…then ask God and the people you have offended for forgiveness, and move on with your life. Do not let the guilt from your past cripple your present and future. Today and tomorrow are more important than your past.
It’s crazy to think that the Golden Rule sums up the Law and Prophets as the tweet says. The law and prophets include way too many things to actually remember. There are 613 Old Laws from the Old Testament and then all the things the prophets said. Jesus gives us the cliff ’s notes to the Law and Prophets! I like how Jesus thinks. “Do to others what I would like to have done to me.” Jesus had a way about Him in keeping things simple.
So, be like Jesus, and keep it simple. When we start treating others the way we don’t want to be treated…things get complicated.
Focus on this tweet today: Do to others what you would like to have done to you.

It will impact and change how you live each moment. How incredible would it be if you could remember this tweet all day, every minute?
Practice makes permanent.

The above post is from my book Retweeting Jesus, Pages 103-105.
You would like to purchase the entire book, it releases publicly on July 2nd, 2013 at Amazon.com or tatepublishing.com. If you don’t want to wait until July 2nd, I have some books at home and will ship them to you. 14.99 plus 2.92 shipping. Contact me via my email… [email protected]

Jun 23, 2013    |      Comments Off on Hydrate — Winning from the inside 36 (Matthew 7:7-11) Ask, Seek, Knock

Hydrate — Winning from the inside 36 (Matthew 7:7-11) Ask, Seek, Knock

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.Matthew 7:7-11 NLT

This passage from Jesus has caused a lot of wonder in the minds and hearts of Bible readers. I think this teaching of Jesus’s has caused anger in the hearts and minds of those who have begged God for things, but the prayers seemed to go unanswered. If this teaching has caused frustration and wonder in your heart and mind, I hope the following thoughts will provide some answers and explanations. I cannot promise that you will still not be frustrated.

I want to first add a disclaimer. Anytime you and I ask, “Why?” to God…we are more than likely going to be left hanging. I think on rare occasions God provides the answer as to why something happened…but not until the person affected looks back with 20/20 hindsight.

So, it seems in this teaching of Jesus’s, that He is encouraging us to be persistent in our asking. In a Hydrate Devotion to come later, I will be writing in regards to the parable Jesus taught about a Persistent Widow. If you do not want to wait for that devotion, then I encourage you to go ahead and turn to Luke 18:1-8 and compare it to this teaching of Jesus’s.

It seems that persistence pays off. However, if persistence pays off, then why do Children in Africa starve to death everyday? Why does the little girl being abused each evening by her foster parent not get what she is begging for? Why did my family members daughter die of Cancer at 15? I imagine you and I could record a thousand more “why” questions if we worked at it. But I already mentioned that we shouldn’t be asking God why He does some things and doesn’t do other things.

Check out a couple other Bible verses about this subject matter. Hopefully after reading them, you might have a few more answers as to why some things you ask for don’t happen. First let’s look at James 4:2-3. “You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

Also:1 John 5:14
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

These passages provide some answers that help us understand why we sometimes do not receive what we ask for. Wrong motives are a key reason. The other is that we are asking for something that is not in God’s will for us. I hate that reason. But, it’s a biblical reason and thus I accept it.

On a side note, when it comes to this topic, do you have a friend in your life that you can discuss these issues with? A friend who you trust enough to tell you whether or not they think your motives are pure. A friend you trust enough to tell you whether or not they think your asking is in accordance with God’s will. I have found that the only way I can have a friend in my life like that is to first be one. It’s always good to have a trusted friends opinion. If you are like me, then it’s easy to be blind to my own ambitions and will. Having a few trusted friends who are not afraid to share their opinion about you to you will always be beneficial in being self aware about your own motives.

There are no easy answers to this subject. My advice is to never stop asking what it is that you desire. There is no harm in asking. However, if you are desiring a 30 foot yacht to show up in your driveway or for the next 500 million dollar power ball winning ticket to be in your hands when they announce the numbers…you might do well to remember than nearly 20,000 children will die of starvation today around the world. It might help you to understand God’s will with more clarity when you recognize that today there will be about 154,000 deaths around the world. Now think about how many of those souls are going to Heaven or Hell. What, exactly is it, you are begging for God to give to you? With the stats I just shared, does your prayer still have a chance of being answered in the positive?

If you and I get up each day and pray a prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, it will include this line, “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” If you are praying regularly that God’s will be done, you will find your heart and mind being okay with God answering your prayer with the answer of, “No.”

Are you still looking for answers as to why some things you ask for do not happen? Here are some more…do not forget that the Bible teaches that God is not a control freak. Even though God can do anything He wants, the greatest attribute of God is the fact that He is not a control freak. God’s greatest ability is in the fact that He restrains Himself. I imagine it would be really easy for God to simply force every soul into Heaven for eternity. However, would that really be love? Love doesn’t control or force. Love lays down guidelines and then honors choice. Another reason as to why some wonderful things that should happen, but don’t, is because our world has been cursed by ourselves when we sinned. This curse, beginning with Adam and Eve, has brought about death, disease, injustice and heart ache. Is this God’s fault? Of course not, God is love and He gives freedom of choice. In our freedom of choice there are consequences.

Still looking for other reasons as to why you don’t get what you ask for?

Have you considered there is an enemy of God’s who is trying to steal you from God? The devil is alive and strong and is doing everything in his power to disrupt and destroy your heart, soul, mind and strength. If the devil can win in this venture then he wins in attaining your soul for eternity. The best way for the devil to disrupt your life is to get you to blame God for things that God shouldn’t be blamed for. If the devil can get you angry and bitter towards God, then the rest of the devil’s mission is easy.

If you still aren’t satisfied, as to why God doesn’t just answer your prayer requests in the manner you desire, I would like to share one more. When Jesus taught this subject material in person, He was immersed physically in the world of the Hebrew culture. In this Jewish society, prayer life was typically focused on forgiveness, justice, repentance, soul searching, and self improvement in behavior. It is rare to read old prayers from centuries ago where the subject of the prayer was on material goods, riches or other self pleasing desires. Might it be, when Jesus teaches on this subject material of keep on asking that He wasn’t talking about physical and material goods at all? Might is be, that Jesus is suggesting that you can answer many of your own prayers? How? If your prayers are more like the kind of prayers that took place in Jesus’s time, then your prayer focus would be continually asking God to help you be more like Him. If this is the case, then if you continually prayed to be more kind to others, it will seem your continual focus on being kind will actually answer your prayer and you will find yourself practicing kindness. I like to say, you will become what you are becoming right now. If you spend the next week, continually asking God to give you more patience with one of your children…might it be that your continual focus on patience through prayer, will cause you to become more patient? Nowhere in this teaching of Jesus’s does He say, ask and God your Father will wave His magic wand and give you what you ask for. I think Jesus knows that you and I will become what we focus on. Prayer is focus! Many prayers we pray, if our motives are right and we are praying for things that really matter, then many of our prayers/focus can be answered simply because we are focusing on them.

Again, many of our prayers we pray are just not in the will of God. God isn’t interested in your comfort as much as He is interested in your character! But I sense that some of you are reading this and still not satisfied as to why your loved one passed away from a nasty disease when you begged God persistently to heal them. Well, I answer that by asking, was your loved one a believer? If you answered yes, then I believe that God did heal your loved one. Death for a believer is to leave this earth and join the Father in eternity. That is the ultimate form of healing. The prayer may have not been answered exactly like you wanted, but the person was healed and you will see them again, if you too are a follower of Jesus.

I’m sure there are other reasons I could come up with, but my time is up. I would love to hear from you in regards to other things you can think of as to why some of our prayers seems to not get answered.

I would like to close with this twist and challenge.

How many prayers are being prayed by desperate people right now that you can actually answer? Can you answer the prayers of a hungry person? Can you answer the prayers of the jobless person? Can you answer the prayers of someone praying for a friend to come into their life? etc. etc.
How different would your life be, if you lived it in such a way that your actions were many people’s answered prayers?

Jun 19, 2013    |      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!

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?

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!

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