On teaching via Lecrae

I taught the boy teens this past Wednesday, this is the text from my lesson, a lot of which was built around the Lecrae song "Don't Waste Your Life"

I know a lot of people out there are scared they’re going to die, some of them think they'll be living in the sky, while I’m here living, I have to ask what am I here for?
waste my life? No I have to make it count. Christ is real so what am I going to do about everything in these verses.
Lets turn here. Luke 12:15-21
15And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God

Let’s pretend that someone said they had decided to deposit 86,400 pennies into your account each morning, starting the following Monday morning. That’s $864 a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year But with one stipulation; you must spend all that money that same day. No balance will be carried over to the next day. Each evening the bank must cancel whatever sum you fail to use.
You’d probably spend the weekend planning what you would do with the money. If you were to start figuring; $864 times seven equals over $6,000 a week times fifty-two. That’s almost $315,000 a year that you have available to you if you’re diligent to spend it all each day. Remember, whatever you don’t spend is forfeited.
Enough pretending now Let’s Get Serious Every morning Someone who loves you very much deposits into your bank of time 86,400 seconds of time—which represent 1,440 minutes—which, of course, equal twenty-four hours each day.
Now you’ve got to remember the same stipulation applies, because God gives you this amount of time for you to use each day. Nothing is ever carried over on credit to the next day. There is no such thing as a twenty-six hour day . From today’s dawn until tomorrow’s dawn, you have a precisely determined amount of time. As someone has put it, “Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you want to, but you can spend it only once.”

Paul said if Christ isn’t resurrected then we wasted our lives, that implies that our life is built around Jesus being alive.
For that reason, everyday we should live to show the world why Christ is more than everything you'll ever try.
Better than pretty women and sinning and living to get a minute of any women that you admire.
We are created for Him, out of the dust he made us for Him, elects us and he saves us for Him, He made us so we could bless Him and to the world confess his resurrection .
I know I’ve got life, matter of fact better man I know I got Christ
but how often do we take the time to share that with others who may not have Christ, do we feel that tug when we meet someone that they might not have salvation, or do we just fly through the meeting without thinking about their eternal life.
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”
The young boy was apologetic. “Please, mister, please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do,” he pleaded. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop” With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. “It's my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.” Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.”
Ashamed, he hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. “Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention! God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.

Remember, Christ hung on the cross, He died for the young and the old
and Heaven knows how many souls are going to hell or to heaven and we have to go and get them
The devil can't handle us if we stand together
Livin' n driven given a vision fullfillin the commission he handed us
What commission?
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
That’s the commission, to spread the gospel to all people.
Jim Elliot was a martyred missionary in 1956. He was a passionate Christian who journaled many of his thoughts and prayers. One such entry addressed his concern about impact. He wrote, “Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” His impact continues on even though he died over fifty years ago at the age of twenty-nine.

It also illustrates that life isn’t easy just because you are serving God, or that you will have a long life.
But God is there to help us with our burdens.
Matt: 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

John Newton said “I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of the year to a great bundle of sticks, far too large for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole at once. He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today,and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for us each day; but we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday's stick over again today, and adding tomorrow's burden to our load, before we are required to bear it.”

William Carey an English Baptist missionary and a Reformed Baptist minister, known as the "father of modern missions." Carey was one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society. As a missionary in the Danish colony, Serampore, India, he translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages and dialects. After he was well established in his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent a printer to assist him. Soon he was turning out portions of the Bible for distribution. Carey had spent many years learning the language so that he could produce the scriptures in the local dialect. He had also prepared dictionaries and grammars for the use of his successors.
One day while Carey was away, a fire broke out and completely destroyed the building, the presses, many Bibles, and the precious manuscripts, dictionaries, and grammars. When he returned and was told of the tragic loss, he showed no sign of despair or impatience. Instead, he knelt and thanked God that he still had the strength to do the work over again. He started immediately, not wasting a moment in self-pity. Before his death, he had duplicated and even improved on his earlier achievements.


Suffer Yeah do it for Christ if you trying to figure what to do with your life
if you make a lot of money hope you doing it right
because the money is Gods you better steward it right
stay focused if you aint got no ride
your life aint wrapped up in what you drive
the clothes you wear the job you work
the color your skin naw we Christian first
people get to living for a job make a lil money start living for a car
get em a house a wife kids and a dog when they retire they living high on the hog
but guess what they didn't ever really live at all to live is Christ that's Paul I recall
to die is gain so for Christ we give it all he's the treasure you'll never find in the mall
Your money your singleness marriage talent and time
they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
That's why it's Christ all the time
my whole world is built around him
I refuse to waste my life he's too true to chase the temptations of the world.
here’s my gifts and time cause I'm constantly trying to be used to praise the Christ
He's truly raised to life then this news should change your life
and by his grace you can put your faith in place that rules your days and nights

The story is told about a group called themselves fishermen. There were many fish in the water all around this group. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were hungry.
Week after week, month after month, and year after year, these who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.
Continually, they searched for new and better methods of fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. Further they said, “The fishing industry exists by fishing as fire exists by burning.” They loved slogans such as “Fishing Is the Task of Every Fisherman.” They sponsored special meetings called “Fishermen’s Campaigns” and “The Month for Fishermen to Fish.” They sponsored costly nationwide and world-wide congresses to discuss fishing and to promote fishing and hear about all the ways of fishing such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait had been discovered.
These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. There was one thing they didn’t do, however—they didn’t fish.
In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. The board hired staff and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee members did not fish.
Large, elaborate, and expensive training centers were built to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years courses were offered on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology, but the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing. Year after year, after tedious training, many were graduated and were given fishing licenses. They were sent to do full-time fishing, some to distant waters which were filled with fish.
Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. But like the fishermen back home, they never fished. Like the fishermen back home, they engaged in all kinds of other occupations. They built power plants to pump water for fish and tractors to plow new waterways. They made all kinds of equipment to travel here and there to look at fish hatcheries. Some also said that they wanted to be part of the fishing party, but they felt called to furnish fishing equipment. Others felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the fish know they were nice, land-loving neighbors and how loving and kind they were was enough.
After one stirring meeting on the necessity of fishing, one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So he quit fishing in order to have time to tell the other fishermen about his experience. He was also placed on the Fishermen’s General Board as a person having considerable experience.
Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who don’t go fishing are not really fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he never goes fishing?

Teaching, for the second time

You didn't think I had abandoned my thirty day attempt already did you?

Well, if you did I can't help you because I'm not giving up that easily.

Tonight I got to teach the boys from the Proteens class. The last Wednesday if each month they separate the class by sexes and sometimes have a special teacher come in.

Tonight it was me.

Now I taught a class before with a mix of ages and about six people including the regular teacher and his wife while omitting myself from that count. And I felt okay about it. I was told I did well. It''s hard for me to gauge how I did because I was in my head the whole time trying to keep from messing up, making sure I wasn't coming across as too nervous.

This time, the age ranges were compressed being all teens other than the regular teacher and totaling nine not counting myself. So a larger group.

The first time I was to teach, no one showed up, literally everyone was out of town. Then I got my second attempt with the small group, and though I had not felt nervous the Sunday that no one showed up, upon seeing the people actually showing up, I started to get really nervous.

This time, that didn't happen. Sure there was a little something there, maybe a worry that I would be boring, or not communicate the message well enough, but overall I was more comfortable this time around.

My lesson text was three pages longer this time as well.

I based it around the Lecrae song "Don't waste your life"

Working in examples of how we should be soul winners for Christ, but all too often we get caught up in the world and miss the opportunities that come our way, in effect, wasting our lives.

And a lot of it is things I am working on in my own life. The other thirty day challenge I want to undertake is from both lesson I have taught.

Rather than ignoring my calling, take thirty days, and each of those days witness to someone, invite them to church, let the light of Jesus Christ shine in me that all men may see it.

Take the blinders off my eyes and see the lost of the world for what they are, dying and going to hell.

To take the dress shoes off my feet and put on running shoes that I might run the race for Christ, telling everyone what God has done for me, of the salvation freely available that one, at least one, might not go to hell.

Thirty days to change lives, to grow, to be a fisher of men.

But I think I know who's life would be changed the most, that of myself. If I were to lead one person to Christ, or in reality if God were to use me to share the Gospel with someone and see them come to salvation, something I have never done, what would that do for me?

As I have been trying to grow in my Christian life for the past year since I got back in church, that is one thing I haven't done and can hardly imagine the impact that would make upon me, to know that God used me.

That though He doesn't need to use me, He chose to use me, with everything I've done in this life to let Him down, to turn away from Him, or even at times to spit in the face of the gift He has given me, the He would still use me. That I am worth something to Him.

It's a shame that Christians are generalized the way we are, but sometimes we need to ask ourselves where these generalizations come from.

We call ourselves Christians, but how many are pursuing the great commission, and how many are leaving that work to the preacher and deacons?

We call ourselves Christians, and we get large groups together to talk about outreach, but how many are reaching out after the meeting?

Maybe it's just me, but it seems the group that mobilizes to outreach in the largest percentage of a class are the teens. I have seen them handing out fliers, water, carwash, cpr class, easter egg hunt, childrens activity day.

But why is that, do we get that jaded once we aren't teens?

Is it easier for someone who hasn't been out in the world as much to still have their heart open for the things God can do?

I don't know the answer to those questions, and don't really need to know the answer. What I do know is that it is far past time for me to wake up and start serving God to the fullest of my ability.

This blog is one way I try to do that, I started it a few months before I posted my first blog to it with the intent to use it to glorify God through my writing, one of the gifts God has given me.

Re-read that, a few months before I posted my first blog to it. That easily I had fallen back again from my desire to serve the LORD.

It is a struggle every day for me, not to serve God, but to remember to do the little things that would glorify Him like talking to a stranger about salvation, or about the things God has done in my life.

I hope that at the end of these thirty days my life will be changed, I hope that I will no longer think twice when I see someone and want to share the gospel with them. I hope that the fear of repercussions will be gone, and that I will view any possible harm that could come my way for sharing the Gospel as worth every second if even one person hears what is said and takes it to heart.

I want to see my life changed, I want to see the LORD move in me, and then through me to others.

When I started this blog I named it A Million Voices, One Light for a reason, because we all have our own voice, we have different ways of communicating, different skill sets that take us different places. We are all those million voices. But I fervently desire to see us turn the light that is in all of us, the one light of Jesus Christ and shine it on the world that they might hear the voice of God rather than our own, and see their way to salvation, and out of the world with all it's wickedness that wants nothing more than to drag them straight to hell.

We need to shine this light.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Commitment to Salvation

First a bit of commentary, since this is first and foremost about commitment. For the next thirty days I plan to write thirty blogs, well, at least thirty. Calling it thirty in thirty.
There is another commitment I am making as well, but I won't go into it yet as it may occupy many of the blogs I post in the next thirty days. I was going to wait until the first of August, just so I would have that easy time line, but decided that since I felt drawn to do this, and I was committed to the idea, then why wait.
Why am I doing this, well to get rid of the fluff, to get real. I have been giving much thought to prayer and how much, or little of my day I spend in it. And I wonder, how real is my prayer life.
I believe it was Brother Rash (sorry if I am attributing that incorrectly) who mentioned being at a church where they just prayed for an hour. And thinking on my prayer life, I would probably pray at first like I normally do, mostly fluff, and that might get me a few minutes into the hour.
But each time I re-examined what I needed to pray for, who needed prayers the most, the fluff would most likely disappear, and those prayers would get real. And so I begin the first blog in this journey, you can count this as July 25th as that's when I started it, even thought the clock is now nearing midnight. I have said a little prayer asking for guidance on this blog, and the ones to follow, that they go where the LORD has directed them.
Commitment to Salvation
Some of the youth that are part of my church family, and a few teens and adults, went off to junior camp this past week.
I remember going off to camp Longridge myself when I was about fifteen. I only went the one year, re-dedicated my life to God there in 1994, forgive me if I'm incorrect, it could have been 1993 and me a year younger. I know it happened because in my old red Bible, you know the one I have hardly ever opened, is a little piece of paper with the date and the details of my re-commitment.
I bring this up because on the last day of camp one of the members of our church accepted salvation.
I remember when I accepted salvation, I was about ten years old.
The pastor at that time sat me down and talked to me over the course of a few weeks, they gave me books to read. He and his wife wanted to make sure I understood what salvation was.
I thought it was great, that me, a little kid could go and talk to the pastor and his wife, with questions of salvation, and be taken seriously, which I needed.
I have always been a somewhat serious kid, most of the time, sometimes I'm silly. I was so serious in third grade, when I was but eight years old, given the opportunity to choose what name the teacher called me by, I asked to go by my middle name. Why, because I felt that my given name was far too childish and would sound childish when called that as an adult.
Guess you could say I had a thirty year plan back then.
One of the first things I remember thinking about salvation was how the adults would always talk about how could would come knocking and you would have to let him in. Well, the silly side must have been winning at that time because I thought that when Jesus came knocking that I would hear in my head a knocking sound, as if someone were knocking on a heavy wooden door. And that I would feel his knuckles on my back as he knocked to be let in.
I got a lot of that straightened out, but before I went to the altar, that pastor died. It wasn't until the next pastor was at the church and we firmly in our new sanctuary that I walked the aisle and accepted salvation.
And it was easy, I had known for a while that I was going to do it. I had been the former pastors buddy, standing at the back of the church, shaking peoples hands as they left and thanking them for coming. I said back then that I would be a preacher when I grew up, still might as soon as I get around to the growing up part.
And that finally brings me back to the commitment part.
There was only five years between me getting saved and then having to recommit my life.
Why?
What happened in those five years that I could so lose my way?
I was a child, the devil couldn't use bills, and financial hardship to turn me from God, true being an overweight kid, he could easily have used vanity against me, but I don't remember ever being called fat or treated differently by those I went to church with.
Where I think the failure came, was at the church level, the Sunday school teachers. And I don't say this to bash them, I believe they did the best they knew how, but I had a pastor I was very comfortable in talking to, and maybe not so much with the Sunday school teachers.
Most of the lessons seemed to be the prepackaged variety, designed to have a broader appeal, I needed some hardcore Bible study to make me strong in the faith. I desired the sincere milk of the word. You can find that little nugget in 1 Peter 2:2
So my faith became someone stagnant, no one was holding me accountable for spiritual growth, it was, here's the lesson, okay times up time for the morning service. More emphasis seemed to be on delivering the lesson, than on ensuring that it made a lasting impact, or increased the spiritual growth.
And some would say, "No big deal, you're in church now."
This is true, but I spent twelve years out in the world, being a "good" person. I didn't drink, do drugs, smoke, wasn't sexually promiscuous. I'm thirty now and back in church for a year, so let's do a bit of quick math.
30-1=29-12=17-15=2
That's right, only two years from when I recommitted my life, to when I went completely out into the world.
And I hold a lot of responsibility for that, I could have taken it upon myself to read my Bible. I could have done a lot different, and probably missed a lot of pain. But I wouldn't have been tested in a fire like I am, my faith would not be where it stands right now, in this moment, if I didn't travel the path I did.
I don't have to worry about my faith faltering if things get hard, they've been hard, that's what drove me to my knees, that's what drove me to the cross, and that's where my Lord and savior Jesus Christ, picked me up, swept the dust off my clothes, and showed me the path I hadn't been able to see. I had been blinded by the world, I hope for the last time.
And I know I have probably rambled, but now I get to the crux of the point.
Remember that child saved at camp from my church. Does he know he can go and ask questions about his salvation? Does he know he can come to the pastor, or even me, or the other leaders in the church? Who is accountable for this boys salvation and spiritual growth?
I wish we had a Bible study just for this, strengthening the core values of salvation. I don't really know if values is the right word, but a place to learn all the basics, where you can ask questions without fear, where what you learn is formed to your needs, rather than a broad approach, which I liken to slinging mud on the wall to see what sticks.
It took me a while to get there. I didn't immediately start going to Sunday School when I went back to church. I was in the men's class, but all the men in there were well versed and I didn't fit in, I could sit and talk with them without slowing down the lesson, so I moved to a new class, one that allowed me to move at my own pace.
A few weeks ago I taught the class, and will be teaching it again in September. It truly is amazing what God will do in your life when you give it all to him, when you truly make that commitment.
And I want to remember that boy and his new found salvation. I don't want to see him get lost in the world because no one was there encouraging in his walk with God, or any other person because it doesn't matter the age, we can get off that narrow path.
Many need this help, but it's hard to ask for that help, we need to encourage one another, uplifting each other in spiritual growth so that not one more seed of our brothers or sisters falls by the wayside, among thorns, where the thorns grow up and choke it until it yields no fruit, or is eaten by the birds.
I was seed that had no root, I was planted shallowly and I withered away.
It took the world covering me in dirt, and my church family watering me until my roots set in, and the Lord fertilizing me with the word for me to start growing, and I want to see what kind of fruit I produce. Mark 4:1-20 KJV

Can't get God off my mind

We've had camp meeting at our church this week. 90 degree heat, sitting outside and listening to songs that praise God's glory, and sermons to touch your heart.
Our pastor made mention that it takes a few days of good preaching to soften the hearts of some, especially if you've been out there and have the world all over you, the word, the songs, it all has to chip away and get in there to your heart before you really start listening.
And I did for five nights, and it didn't really hit me.
On this one song the teens sang, "The Last Blood" It gave me goose bumps when the ladies were in perfect harmony and sang the line, "It's been three days since Heaven
Watched their Prince of Glory die." And then, "But at the grave something is happening
As death screams I've lost my hold."
But other than that, I didn't really feel anything.
Don't get me wrong, all of the messages were great.
Then we did a skit, teens and a few adults, Where one girl is experiencing alcohol, drugs, money, debt, sex, abuse, depression and then finally suicide.
Hope and love try to get to her at different times, but ultimately she tries to commit suicide, then forgiveness comes out and binds up her wrist and tries to get her to Jesus but all of the sins and desires of the world are between her and Christ and in a last try, forgiveness lifts her hand to Christ, and all the sins fall to the ground.
Christ comes out, removes the sins, and gives her a new sign that says saved.
And still nothing.
Maybe it was because I was focusing on the sound, trying not to mess up my part in the skit, etc. and on and on the excuses could come.
Then we went to put things back in the sound room and for a sound check I played the cd of the night, and when it got to that part, the harmony, I got the goose bumps again, and I commented on how good it sounded. And there must have been five or six people that asked for copies, me being one of them.
But still, nothing really, I just knew it was a great performance of a great song.
And so I went home, but that little line kept coming back, and I couldn't hear any more of the song than that in my head, and I finally had to ask on facebook what the song was, and my pastor helped me out.
But before I knew the name, I kept thinking about the song, and knew, there was something important being said in the song, if I could just remember those lines I posted above.
And then I thought about the skit, and thought how I wished it had been video taped since none of us who were in it really got to see it all put together.
And I started wondering what it looked like. What did others see.
And I thought about the part where all the sins were on the ground, and everyone start yelling amen, and I think about what they are seeing, Christ removing the sins from this girl who's life had been reduced to nothing, seeing Christ making all things new, giving her a new beginning.
How she was white as snow, and Christ didn't just take her sins off of her, he put them on himself, he carried her sins, he carried our sins to the cross to the grave, for us, that we might have eternal life.
Then he placed a new sign around her neck, bearing the word, "saved."
I wasn't moved very far there tonight, but the more it sinks in, the further I am moved. I keep listening to the song on youtube, and I wish I had went ahead and made my copy tonight so I could listen to my church family sing it.
I keep having to stop typing as it hits me again and again and again, what Christ did for us.
He knew what kind of person I would be, and he knew the choices I would make in life, where this dark and winding road would lead me and he said, that boy right there, James Lingerfelt, He's one of mine and I can't bare to see him burn in hell, so I'm going to go down there, and I'm going to take his sins for him, I'm going to shed my blood so my boy doesn't have to burn in hell.
And he did it, and I am so grateful, and I know I don't show it enough, heck I probably rarely show it at all, and it's so unfair that he would have to die for me, what am I worth that God's son would trade his life for mine?
He took the nails, the crown, the scars, the pain, the sins, the cross, death for me, A worthless sin filled man.
He gave and continues to give for us, and we turn our backs, and spit in the face of his mercy. We live our lives as if there is no sin, there is no hell and there is no God.
We sit in church on Sunday and take God out of the box we've kept him in all week, and then when the sermon is over we close him back up and head out the door. And if we feel down, or afraid during the week, we open up the box and ask God to help us.
If some friend see's us we tell them there's just some junk we don't really need anymore in the box, we just keep it around, you know, just in case we find a use for it.
Christ died for us, and we ignore him, I guess others will just have to find him on their own.
It's time to stop it, the world is dying, and we're watching it, we have the life saving kit, we have the cpr that breaths life into the lost of the world, it's time to start using it.
We always think of someone being lost just meaning that they need salvation.
Well, just close your eyes and think for a minute, what if you were lost, you are lost, you can't find your way out, you need someone to come and find YOU. Wouldn't you want someone to find you? What if no one had found you, think about that, where would you be if no one had found you and told you about Christ? What would your life look like?
Don't waste your life, find someone and tell them about Christ, time is running out...
I see so much change in the teens in such a short time, I see the Holy spirit awakening in them, he knows how short the time is, he knows he needs someone to take the word out to people who wouldn't otherwise receive it. He's working in these lives.
I want to see him work in my life too.
If you're saying prayer tonight, say a prayer for me.

My first Sunday School class

I taught my first Sunday School class this morning, this is the outline for the lesson I taught, well, it's essentially the lesson with a few changes having been made on the fly.

When you go out to a cemetery you may notice on some stones that between the date of birth and death is a dash.

That dash represents a lifetime. Some use that time for good and some for evil, and others in misguided attempts to fill an emptiness, yet reach their ending unfulfilled.

Job 9:25 my days are swifter than a post, they flee away, they see no good.

Now you may be thinking, a fence post isn’t very fast, but what a post here means is a runner.

1 Chronicles 29:15 our days on earth are as a shadow

In James 4:14 Life is described as a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

We don’t know when they last time we say goodbye to someone, will be the last time we say goodbye.

Anyone that has lost someone that they love can attest to this, whether it be a child barely known to life, a parent or a grandparent, we always wish there had been more time.

Think about your life, how much television have you watched this week, in front of a computer, on the phone? How about arguing with someone?

Now, how much time has been spent in prayer, reading the Bible, in loving fellowship with Christians?

If we had a scale that could weigh these things, which side would be heavier in your life?

Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a psychiatry professor at UCLA who researches how the elderly view death and dying, said people who aren't particularly spiritual or religious often have a difficult time with death because they fear that death is truly the end.

We know better than that, but how much of our time have we spent sharing the Gospel?

When we look back at the end of our days, if we are given that opportunity, we won’t wish we had made the time to watch the last episode of the office, but we might agonize over someone we knew and never shared the gospel with.

I know some feel, this isn’t their job, that’s why we have a preacher, but truth is it is our job too; it is the job of every Christian.


Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Go Ye, and Teach All Nations.

Who is ye, there wasn’t an Asian guy named ye being talked to right then, ye is us and we are to teach all nations.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Ye shall be witnesses unto me unto the uttermost part of the earth.

How many Christians, are just practicing the ritual? Making a show of things on Sunday morning?
Ask yourself do you believe that Christ could return tomorrow? Do you believe that he could split the sky open tonight and call the saved home? Do you believe that an eternity in Hell could be sealed for someone you know tomorrow because they never received the gospel?
I don’t think we really believe, I think if we did we would be on unsaved loved ones front lawns crying right now, tearing at our clothes in despair that they were going to Hell because they were lost.
I believe if we knew the time was at hand we wouldn’t stop to sleep in the hope that we could share the gospel with as many people as possible before Christ came back.
Don’t procrastinate thinking you’ll have another chance to talk to them, you might not.

At a July 4th parade horses ran loose and trampled people killing one.
Melissa Schmidt, 40, of Bellevue, said she was watching the parade with her 6-year-old son Adam and 4-year-old son Aden when she heard the horses running and their chains rattling. She jumped up and, next thing she knew, Aden was lying on his back with his hands in the air. She turned and saw Adam covered in blood.
(Someone you know is covered in sin.)
Schmidt said she screamed, then dropped to her knees and cradled one son in each arm until paramedics arrived.
"I don't think I've ever prayed so hard in my life," she said.
(Someone needs you to pray hard for them.)
But why do we wait until the last moment to pray hard? Do you think this is what Melissa Schmidt thought would happen that day?
Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day might bring forth.

Jonathan Edwards a preacher from the First Great awakening only lived 55 years, young by my standards, and yet he was able to share the Gospel with many people during that short span. Do you think he wished he could have witnessed to more?

Mark 10: 46-49 Tells a story about Jesus traveling near Jericho
And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
48And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.
49And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
Jesus heard the cries of this man in need, so too must we stop and listen to those around us.
Who in your daily walk is crying out for help, who is blind and wishes to see? Can you stand still and ignore the world around you long enough to hear the cries of those in need? Someone is waiting for you to bear a burden, someone is waiting for you to invest in their life. Someone is calling like Bartimaeus, blind, in need of salvation.
We must not miss the opportunities we are given to share Christ with those around us.

A story is told of the devil and his cohorts, devising plans to get people to reject the Gospel. “Let’s go to them and say there is no God,” proposed one. Silence prevailed. Every devil knew that most people believe in a supreme being. “Let’s tell them there is no hell, no future punishment for the wicked,” offered another. That was turned down, because men obviously have consciences which tell them that sin must be punished. The concave was going to end in failure when there came a voice from the rear: “Tell them there is a God, there is a hell and that the Bible is the Word of God. But tell them there is plenty of time to decide the question. Let them ‘neglect’ the Gospel, until it is too late.” All hell erupted with ghoulish glee, for they knew that if a person procrastinates on Christ, they may never accept Him.
Don’t rest in the belief that we have plenty of time

I encourage you to read your Bible daily and engage in regularly scheduled Bible Study time. This will help you to live a more Christ centered life, give you answers that may be asked when you converse with people about God and prepare you to face a sin-filled world each day.
Romans 13:11-14 In my preparation for today I read these verses, I like the poetic pacing they seem to have.
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
It is time to wake up, don’t let those around you sleep their way into Hell.

Patiently Waiting

A year ago I lost my wife to infidelity. And through the trials I have faced since then, I have come closer to, and had more understanding of, and live a life of greater faith than at any time before in my life.
I have focused on so many things in my life, and that's all they were, things. A job, a car, a house, a companion, some good tunes, something to watch on tv, money.
Then the questions, do my friends really like me, do people think I'm weird, why am I so quiet, why does everyone have to point it out, would I be better off if I had more money?
As I have gotten more into the Bible, I have learned that none of this is important. Along with that, the pursuit of companionship is folly.
I thought I had a good wife, I was wrong.
I wasn't focused on the prize, which is Christ, I was focused on what James wanted, and the things I thought I needed.
I hear a lot now, when are you going to start dating, are you ready for me to set you up with someone, I know this girl that would be perfect.
I appreciated the gesture, but the thing is, right now my focus is more on God than it ever has, and if my journey has went like it has, and the purpose of that path is for me to grow closer to the LORD, then I would be wrong to give back in to the distractions that kept me away for so long. Well I kept myself away, the distractions just kept me from seeing God clearly.
Life doesn't have to be wrapped up in the person I am with, or in pursuit of that person, in fact, it is okay to be alone for awhile, to get to know God and enjoy a relationship with him.
So that is what I am going to do, wait patiently for God to lead me, and serve the LORD with my whole heart, and if he leads me to a woman then I will share my heart with her, but until then, my eyes must remain on the cause of Christ, and delivering the gospel to as many people as I can, and if I never meet her, expend my last breath on this earth trying to win someone to the cause of Christ.
There are more important things on this earth than dating, souls going to hell for eternity is high up there.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16