HIDE THOU ME!

The words to this song really speak to me!   Sometimes I feel discouraged!!  And I think my work is in vane!  I'm tempted oft to murmur, to grumble and complain! 

Why, when the CREATOR of the Universe is my father, do I complain because I have a few worldly problems?  I tend to get my eyes off of the PRIZE and starting focusing on the problem!!  I need to focus on HIM and HIS blessings!  

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev5tqgvYlEA

Where did all of this come from?

When one thinks of how this ALL began, one has to consider that GOD allowed, permitted, desired a RELATIONSHIP with humans so that we can give HIM glory!! HIS design of man is so complex that doctors have no concrete evidence of how our “BODIES” work. When my younger sister was in the hospital 15 year ago, one of her doctors was trying to explain to me how she could have 23 biopsies come back NEGATIVE and yet they were convinced she still had GASTRIC CARCINOMA or Stomach Cancer. Her response was “Mr. Nelson, that is why we call this practicing medicine.....we don't have it all figured out yet!” I thought that was a cop out at the time, but we will NEVER figure it out! Scripture says in Psalms 139:4 that we are “fearfully and wonderfully” made. GOD made us so delicately that doctors and scientists have no idea what causes cancer, or any number of other diseases.

One only has to listen to Louie Giglio and his talk on LAMININ to realize how uniquely we are created. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0-NPPIeeRk) Realizing that JESUS CHRIST is the “GLUE” that holds everything together is not something that one can file away with everything else one has learned since the 1st grade science class. Colossians 1:15-17 gives a pretty clear indication of where/how “ALL THINGS” came to be and how everything holds together.

I realize the skeptics say there is no GOD and that is fine. But our loving GOD allows me to choose to believe and them to choose to not believe............ and choices DO HAVE CONSEQUENCES!

WARNING!!

While mad is not what I am feeling, it is with a sense DISDAIN that I find myself in.  Today I came across this post on the internet.  It is out in the open for all to see, so our leaders in Washington D.C. can see it!  We must learn from history.  GOD is NOT playing games with the American people!  HE allowed the children of Israel and Judah to be destroyed and HE can sure allow the USA to be destroyed!  Folks, we have been warned!

The Book of 2 Kings

2 Kings continues the story of the nations of Israel and Judah. It is a history book, from the Old Testament of the Bible. In these history books, the Bible contains many important lessons for us today (2 Timothy 3:16).
2 Kings describes how the kings of these nations refused to obey God's law. The kings and their people did not respect God. Instead, they served evil gods. And the behaviour of the people was very wicked. However, there were a few people who truly served God. And God sent his servants (called "the prophets") to warn the evil people.
But the nations of Israel and Judah would not obey the words of the prophets. God allowed enemy nations to attack. These nations destroyed Israel and (later) Judah. And the soldiers took the inhabitants of Israel and Judah to distant countries. But God still cared about the people from Israel and Judah.

Where we have gone wrong.

From a post of mine a few days ago....

"The SAD thing is that MOST Americans do not realize that the problem is NOT President Obama or his failed policies or ideas! The problem is, we the people have turned our backs on GOD! Until we realize that the USA is great only because GOD allows us to be great, WE ARE DOOMED FOR FAILURE!!"

The human race in America needs to come to the realization that our GOD is a jealous GOD.  HE will NOT continue to be drug through the mud as we are doing.  We can blame the leaders of our country all we want, but scripture says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) that "If MY PEOPLE, which are called by MY NAME, shall humble themselves, and PRAY, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

We all have our own lives to live, our own problems to face, our own challenges to overcome.  But until we come to the realization that our only hope is to put our FAITH back in Almighty GOD then we are going to be lacking in our country. 

I was speaking with a friend of mine yesterday and he reminded me that our problems started as a nation when we started trusting in our MONEY and STRENGTH and not the ONE who blessed us with our wealth and POWER! 

GOD IN HEAVEN, grant us mercy where we as a nation have turned our eyes to the blessings you have blessed us with instead of keeping our eyes on YOU!

WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!

About five years ago, I experienced a medical condition that caused me to be put into a "Drug Induced" coma for a number of days.  When I came out of the coma, my brain was slow to react.  My "word recall" was "NOT RECALLING"!  Even now, I cannot find the word that I would prefer to use in a situation.  Frustration has never been so great as knowing what point you want to get across, but not being able to find the words to communicate it!

Through this ordeal though, one GOOD thing has developed.  I have become a LOT more deliberate with what I say and KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT more.  I am sure my wife would argue that I am not "deliberate" enough! 

Proverbs 18:21 says "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit."  They say that the tongue is the most powerful muscle in the body per square inch.  But, the damage that can be done with one's tongue cannot be measured.  We must give thoughtful consideration to what comes out of our mouth.  Luke 6:45 tells us you paint a picture of what is in your heart when you speak.  Make sure that people are seeing JESUS when they see you speak!

DOOR MAT THEOLOGY!

The sermon last night at my church was delivered by our Associate Pastor.  A tool used of GOD is someone who is totally dependent on HIM for the results.  I appreciate him being willing to be used of The LORD!

While speaking to us, the term "DOOR MAT THEOLOGY" was used by our Pastor.  Door Mat Theology is the premise of being used BY HIM to GLORIFY HIM!  The main thing is for GOD to get GLORY out of a situation even if we have to be used as a DOOR MAT for that to happen.  We should never use the DOOR MAT THEOLOGY to abase or make someone small!  Door Mat Theology is a self administered does of medicine.

As previously stated in another post, being from poverty,  it is hard for me to debase myself and LET people be more than me.  It is like giving up something you have worked hard for and letting someone get away with getting one over on you.  I have to be reminded that it is not I who they are getting something over on!  I am dead in Christ!  It is Christ who they are dealing with.

Sometimes I have to go back to my funeral and remind myself that I am dead!  I mess SO much up when I try to "COME BACK TO LIFE"  and run the show!  Galatians 2:19-20   "For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Can the U.S. fight poverty with policy?

I saw this posted on Facebook and I had to stop and ponder the magnitude of the question. Can the U.S. Government give enough money to eradicate poverty completely? The answer is not simply a yes or no.

The government can appropriate monies to assist people in need and help them through difficult times. But I am not convinced the government can be a replacement for a brother helping another when there is a need. Jesus directs us assist the poor. In Luke 14 HE tells us to invite them to eat with us when we have a FEAST. YET, in Mark 14 he tells people to make sure they have their priorities in order. HE says that we will “ALWAYS” have the poor with us. Could it be that some want the Government or the RICH to do what GOD has instructed “US” (not the U.S.) to do?

Could it be that, in an effort to do what is perceived as good, the government has tried to do what it can not? Sometimes “We try to be more than what GOD intended for us to be.” A pastor friend of mine shared that with me almost a year ago and never does it ring more true. We can not make the poor's problem's go away by giving them money. “The poor is hated even of his own neighbor: but the rich has many friends.” Proverbs 14:20. Your poverty is a RUT that only you can decide how long you stay in. CHOICES we make have inevitable consequences.

Scripture is infallible. Being rich and being poor is subjective. To a Millionnaire, I am poor. To a Billionaire, I am a peasant. To a person living in POVERTY, I am rich! My mom and dad divorced when I was four years old. My dad moved to Canada and did not pay any child support. My mom was left to raise three children on her own. For a while, we lived in a house with no running water in the bathroom. We did not stay in poverty because we had a desire to do better.

I believe the desire to do better is part of what makes a person a success. You may not ever have a billion dollars but IF you still have the desire to do better, to improve, then you are achieving something. The children of Israel watched when GOD parted the Red Sea for them. HE did not carry them across the Sea! HE even dried the land for them, but THEY had to walk across the dry land.

Being in POVERTY when I was four years old did not mean I was there forever. I am not where I need to be yet. I have a DESIRE to be better! But, if the government tries to assure that POVERTY stricken people will not stay in poverty, then it will be like trying to make the children of Israel WALK across the RED SEA. You have to WANT to succeed in life! If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got!!

Are you listening?

Do you ever get to the point to where you NEED a word from God and it seems HE is nowhere to be found?  Does it seem as though GOD is playing "Hide and Seek" with you?  Regardless of how hard you pray, it seems as though the "call has been dropped"! 

GOD ALMIGHTY has such an interest in YOU (and me) that HE left the MAJESTY of HEAVEN to make a way for us to come to be with HIM!  In order for us to get to where we can understand what we need to do, our thoughts are directed by HIM!  All through the scriptures it is recorded of how HE knows our thoughts. Since HE knows our thoughts, HE must be aware of our circumstances and what we are dealing with. 

Why then does HE allow us to "STRUGGLE" at times?  Why do we have to go through some things?  Could it be, that just as in Genesis 22:13, GOD already knew that Abraham was going to OBEY HIM and had caused the sheep to be caught in the bush.  Abraham needed to know that GOD would provide a sacrifice for him.  Abraham had to go through the turmoil of going up the mountain with no idea of what his sacrifice would be, but GOD did provide for him!  GOD loves us just as HE loved Abraham.  HE has provided a lamb for us.  We just have to walk by FAITH and depend on GOD to provide!

USE ME!

No words......just a song!    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPhAlDBzOI0

GOD'S GLORY!!!

This morning, I was sitting here trying to get in the correct mindset to WORSHIP. Without explanation, I picked up my computer and one of the windows I had open was the ESV bible and it was on Exodus 14. I had recently shared the 13th and 14^th verses where GOD was telling the Children of Israel to “BE SILENT” and let HIM work! Don't get involved in MY GLORY was the message being sent!!!

Today it was as if GOD was telling me “I can cause, and do, ALL to do accomplish MY WILL”. Although we “idolize” Moses for the miracles that GOD performed using him, GOD is the one who caused the RED SEA to open up and allowed the nation of Israel to “go through the sea on dry ground.” The didn't have to fight the mud because GOD made dry ground for them to walk on! Then, God hardened the hearts of the Egyptians so that they would go into the sea chasing the Israelites and covered them with that water!!

Exodus 14:15-18 ESV “The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

And GOD got GLORY over Pharaoh and all of his host! All Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD!! GOD IS TO BE GLORIFED!! HE does not have to do anything more to prove it......TO ME!! I glorify GOD, not only out of fear, but mainly because HE LOVED ME! 1 John 4:19 ESV says “We love HIM, because HE first loved us”. The Creator of the UNIVERSE loved me (and you) that HE provided for our salvation through JESUS CHRIST! Now THAT is the correct mindset to WORSHIP!!

YOU ARE NOT GOD!!

Sometimes I get so caught up in doing things for people that "I THINK" needs to be done that I forget to pray about whether or not GOD wants me to help.  Just because a man is poor and has no money and I may have a dollar or two to help DOES NOT MEAN that GOD has plans for for me help! 

EXODUS 14:14 records a time when GOD just needed the people of Israel to "be silent" and let GOD be GOD!  It says "The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”. GOD did not need the Israelites to do ANYTHING but watch!  HE was working!

Lord, help me to remember that YOU do not need me to accomplish your work!  You "ALLOW" me to be a part of your work from time to time!  If I see a homeless person on the side of the road and I stop and help him, it is not so he can have a few dollars that I may have, it is so I can be blessed by the One who allowed to have those few dollars.  Sometimes GOD allows me to be used of HIM!  Sometimes "you have only to be silent!"

It's not me!!!

Colossians 3:2-3

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

We are so caught up in "our lives" that we sometimes seem to "muddy up" what it is that GOD would have us do! Remind me LORD, that I am "hidden with Christ in God"!

Philippians 2:9-11

Philippians 2 states "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 

I do not need to help GOD write scripture, but it does not say "at the name of Jesus, and Allah, and Joseph Smith, and Harry Krishna, and every other entity that you can dream up or imagine will get you to heaven!  It says as the name of JESUS!  To add any name to the list would say that JESUS was not enough!  It must take HIM and some other being to accomplish redemption.  

I am so glad that JESUS needed no help on the cross!  When HE paid the price for my sins it was HIM and HIM alone that hung there!  All of HIS disciples even abandoned HIM. IT WAS HIM!  No Buddah to help HIM defeat Satan. JESUS IS ALL I NEED!!

Todays a bad day!

Todays a bad day!  

This is posted on my FACEBOOK wall today by a friend.  Everyone see's things differently.  One FB friend just got married and today is her birthday.  Another is fighting cancer!!  Another is having marital problems.  The dad of a friend just went to HEAVEN!  

We have a CHOICE!  Today can be filled with trouble or opportunity!  We can let our problems over SHADOW our entire life or we can choose to live our lives in VICTORY!  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says " Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  I CHOOSE JOY over strife and turmoil.  I choose JESUS over death!!!

Who am I?

Job 33:31-33  (ESV)

   "Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;
        be silent, and I will speak.
    If you have any words, answer me;
        speak, for I desire to justify you.
    If not, listen to me;
        be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Sometimes I find myself with nothing to say!  No sense of direction to address the issues that face me or the world on that day. Why do the problems that face us seem SO HUGE?  The "PROBLEMS" we face are not what we make them out to be.

My HEAVENLY FATHER is sitting at the control panel of  the whole universe.  But, He also has time for me!  My seemingly busy, convoluted existence is more than I can fathom at times.  Yet, GOD is vast enough to handle all of my issues, and the other 6.5 BILLION people who live on earth, all while desiring a personal relationship with me!! 

I have a picture on my office wall of President George W. Bush with my family while he was campaigning for office.  I have always wanted to visit with President Bush and us share with each other how JESUS had brought each of us through the difficult times in our lives while drinking a large glass of "sweet tea" after cutting firewood on his ranch in Crawford, TX.  Then I realize that I have a close, personal relationship with the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE!!!!  Meeting with George W. Bush will not hold a candle to getting to sit down with JESUS and talk with HIM about how HE brought me through the darkest times while I was a visitor here on this EARTH!

Sometimes, I just have to be reminded WHO I AM and WHO HE IS!!!

WEATHERMAN!!!

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me a number of times, you are a weather man.:)”

This was posted on my Facebook wall recently. The really sad thing about this is, it is SO TRUE! How many times does the weather man on the local news totally miss what is going on with the weather? It seems as though there is a FORCE beyond their figures or calculations that is driving the wind.

Where does the wind come from from? What causes the trees to move, the leaves to fly, the birds to soar? In Genesis 8:1 scripture points out that “GOD made the wind to pass over the earth”! Shouldn't the CREATOR of the universe have control over what HE created? Why do tornado's occur? Why do hurricane's happen? Why does HE allow for natural disasters to happen? Why, if HE is such a loving GOD, does HE cause or allow a tsunami to wash away thousands of people who seemingly have NO CHANCE?

Isaiah 55:8 (KJV) says that “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 55 goes on to explain that just as heavenly ways are higher than earthly ways and HIS thoughts are more than anything we are capable of thinking. Sometimes we will NOT have the answers for questions in life! We are not GOD and we will not be like HIM so that we understand some of these things, until we are transformed to be like HIM!

So, don't get frustrated with the weather man if he misses his forecast! Perhaps if GOD were giving forecasts HE would be more accurate! But, we would have to listen to HIM better than I do!!