Back in the saddle

So I haven't blogged in a bit, I needed some time to sort some stuff out in my life. One thing I will say is that I am being tested beyond belief right now, but my heart is calm and my faith in God is as strong as ever. I came to the conclusion that God is challenging me to "Be Gods man in tough times" as I begin my journey to minister to men about the many challenges we face in life. GOD has really put some great men in my life and I am truly blessed by them all. My thoughts are this as I am challenged:
Live one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
Trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next.

"Be careful how you live , not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lords will is".
Ephesians 5 :15-17

These words of scripture will stick with me for a very long time as this is TRULY what God was speaking to me this week. LORD GOD I LOVE YOU!

Transfiguration

"There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light" Matthew 17:2

My Thoughts: I love this verse, it reminds me of when I see people coming to Christ, the glow they have. I long to see a day when we all are transfigured by the holy spirit. Living a life with Christ is the biggest transformation you will ever experience in life, every thing changes when you give your heart and soul to Jesus, things become more clear, life becomes much more appealing. The purpose of life is a life of purpose through transformation in a life with Jesus.

My Prayer: Lord God, I pray for transfiguration for all who are lost. May they seek you and be a shining light in this world. I pray that we recognize the lost and seek them , transform them to a life of purpose. In your HOLY name. AMEN

HE Knows and Sees it ALL

" These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" Matthew 15:8

My Thoughts: Man I love this verse because it speaks wonders about how we TRULY seek and worship God. We can go to church, share the word and our faith with people, BUT where is our heart ? Do we pray for our friends and enemies, do we serve in our church/ community, do we thank God for the good times and the bad. Do we get convicted when we do something wrong, do we confess our sins. I could go on and on , but the fact is this; Unless we truly honor God in all his glory, give our heart and soul to our KING, Our worship, and love for Jesus Christ means absolutely nothing. Have you ever met someone that you thought had it all, a great unconditional love for God, then you met the "REAL" them, very disturbing isn't it. Lets honor God with all we got day in day out, good and bad times!

My Prayer: Father God, thank you for your unconditional love to us all, good or bad. May we have a heart like yours and give you glory for it all, may our hearts on the inside burn for you. In your HOLY name AMEN

Ged rid of Evil, Let your light shine

" The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him , and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him" Matthew 12:35
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid (DRY, DESERTED) places seeking rest and does not find it. Matthew 12:43

My Thoughts: If inside we bring joy and peace out, we will prosper in life as well as people around us . Evilness and unhappiness will bring self destruction and chaos in your life. Live each day with joy, be not only gracious for the good things, but the bad things in life that make us stronger. Be a shinning light for God lived this through all of his trials, he brought the good out.

My Prayer: Father God, bring the good of me out and let me not be tempted by evil, let me be a shinning light for the world to see, help me to live each day with a purpose to to good. In your HOLY name AMEN

Ultimate Provider

"Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me" Matthew 11:6

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28

My Thoughts: Isn't it great to know that whatever we do good, bad or indifferent, if we truly seek God and know him as our PERSONAL SAVIOR he will provide a way for us, and the way is peaceful and full of love and a rested soul. Matthew 11:28 is one of my favorite versus in the Bible, I can fall back on this verse every time I falter and I am reminded of how much Jesus Christ Loves me.

My Prayer: Lord God, thank you, thank you for providing everything I need in my life mentally and spiritually. Lord I pray that the lost will seek you and be burdened free and have peace through you. In your HOLY name; AMEN

STAND FAST, STAY the COURSE

"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Matthew 10:22

My Thoughts : Stand fast in your faith, hold fast the profession of it, go on in the Christian course, and hold out to the end living each day as it is the last and let it be known your faith as well, and you will be saved, not only with a temporal salvation, as the Christians were at the destruction of Jerusalem, but with an eternal one.

My Prayer: Father God, I pray that you will give me the courage and strength to stand fast and faithful in mt walk with you. Allow me and guide me to live each day for you and live life each day as it is my last. In your HOLY name AMEN

ASK,SEEK, KNOCK

Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find;knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7

My thoughts: Sounds easy right? Well for some maybe; for others not so much, but the scripture tells us these things to be true. If we truly 1. Ask God for forgiveness of our sins, 2. Seek out the Lord in all we do, and 3. Knock on the doors of oppurtunity to serve with a gracious heart, we WILL live a truly peaceful life . As in Job, bad things will happen, but we must give thanks for all good and bad because failure and tragedy is God's way of saying, SEEK I am here, Knock and I will let you in.

My Prayer: Father God I thank you for allowing me to fail, for when I do; I ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK even harder than before and draw even closer to you. Thank you for loving me, and allowing me to share your word. May I always ask, seek, and knock for your glory. In your holy name AMEN

Seek and Destroy

Once we have found Christ it is not the end of our seeking but the beginning. Usually, when we find what we are looking for, it signals the end of our searching. But when we “find” Christ, it is the beginning of our search

My Thoughts: Don't get comfortable once you have found what you are looking for. Challenge yourself, change , advance , and seek and destroy. Grow in faith and new things, serve, serve serve...

My prayer: Father God I ask that you will never allow me to stop seeking and searching. Help me grow and continue to serve you in every way that you have for me. Let me seek and destroy, seek your word , and destroy all evil and temptation in my life. Lord may the churches in the world never get comfortable and never stop growing. In your HOLY name AMEN

FEARLESS

Fearless living is achieved by making the choice to partner with God. Only then will our faith become stronger than all our fears. If you and I want to be rid of worry, we must first stop trusting in the things of this world. Instead, we must learn to put the weight of our burdens and cares on Christ who died for us.
Secondly, we need to refocus. Self-centeredness breeds anxiety. In truth, worry and stress are really symptoms of self-sufficiency and a lack of trust in God. When we take the focus off of ourselves and place it on God, it makes all the difference. Our troubles look small in comparison to our great God.
My Prayer: Lord, Jesus, come into my life and take control. Forgive all my sin and save me. I'm placing my trust in You alone. Thank you, Lord, for saving me, forgiving me, and filling me with Your peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Matthew 5:14- "you are the light of the world
My Thoughts: Live fearless for God, go light the world with a spirit that is earth shaking, FEARLESS

Hit me like a ton of bricks

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18

My thoughts: Often times what we see is not the real truth, only a fraction of what we see is reality. In my life I am a very visual person, however I need to realize the unseen is worth more than the seen. My wife for example does way more of the things I don't see than the actual things I see, but I always just give credit for what I only see, not the unseen.

My Prayer:" Lord help me to see the unseen, infect my soul with a joy for the things that I cannot see in my life and rid me of the perception is reality mindset. I pray this in your HOLY name. AMEN"

Get Motivated

One can only be inspired if one is willing to take action and seek inspiration. Like the Nike ad that insists, “Just do it,” pushing yourself and taking action gets results. Ask yourself this question, “How do I get inspired?” Think of past inspirational moments. What were you doing? Where were you? Was anyone with you? Inspiration can come from almost anywhere, at any time and often from unlikely sources. The lady that cleans my office everyday inspires me because she is so motivated and genuine, it comes from everywhere, just look for it.

prayer for today

Lead me , O LORD in your righteousness because of my enemies- make straight your way for me.

Psalm 5:8

• My thoughts: Stand your ground, remain Godly and act according to the word, at work, at home, anywhere and everywhere, and the path will lead you straight.

Daniel "the chosin one"

Daniel was a great example of being God's man in tough times. As I read the scripture I asked myself, how much could I or would I put up with to really be the man that God wants and expects me to be. I believe that in order to achieve victory we must stand OUR solid ground, as in Daniel 6: 1-28 he stood his ground and stood up for his belief's . As men we should stand up for what we believe in and always set the example for other men to follow.If all that others can point out as a flaw within us as a MAN is our faith, well then the battle is half won.

http://biblestudy.crosswalk.com/mybst/default.aspx?type=bible&reference=da%201:1&translation=niv