Question of the day ??

What was Jesus first words as a child?

Thought of the Day !!

Again, you have heard that the law of Moses says, Do not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say, don't make any vows!

Just say a simple, `Yes, I will,' or `No, I won't.' Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.
Matthew 5:33 & 37

Some people feel that they have to swear by God, a stack of bibles, their momma's grave or something to show that they are serious. This shouldn't be. Christians are called to be people of integrity. Our yes should mean yes and our no should mean no. We shouldn't have to go any further for people to believe us.

It's hard for us to be seen as people of integrity by a world that reads about priests who preach against sin and then molest little boys...or people who go to church to worship a God that they profane later in the week...or Christians who talk about love of God and neighbor and then go on to speak in judgmental or hateful ways about others' particular sinfulness.

The problem with us Christians in today's world is that so many of us have lost our integrity. No one person can fix the problem totally. But we can begin with one person...and that's each one of us. Just think, if everyone of us decided to make our word mean something and to act the way we speak, Christians would be seen as people of integrity. And we might just have an easier time getting non-Christians to listen when we try to share the Good News of Christ with them.

Commit today to being a Christian of integrity.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

What's the most important lesson for any church to learn?

Thought of the Day !!

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).
Mark 4:35-36 (NLT)

Jesus not only left the Jewish side of the lake where he was with friends, he also left the crowd behind. This was the crowd that was, at least at this point, very favorable towards him. He’d been healing and doing other miracles, and they liked him.

It’s easy to be seduced by popularity. And it can be very difficult to walk away from a favorable crowd. But the Bible says that Jesus left the crowd behind. He didn't stay there where ministry was easy and where he could be the popular prophet and healer. He left to do the harder job that God had sent him to do.

It is easier to stay in either physical or figurative places in our lives where things are always favorable. But God sometimes has other plans. We can try to take the wheel of our lives, sort of speak, directing our own lives to those places that aren't too difficult. These may be places where we call ourselves doing God's work, but actually only at the bare minimum, or at our own choosing.

Or we can throw up our hands and say “Jesus, you take the wheel and guide me where you desire. I'm your humble servant.”

We all have to make some hard decisions in our lives. What is God calling you to do or change about your life? Are you trying to live this life your own way? Or do you have the courage to let go? To let God take the wheel?

In the love of Christ,
greg

One Man Selling his Soul

I've heard of people who have been accused of selling their souls to the devil, but this is just plain weird. A guy in Tampa is trying to literally sell his soul...or maybe more appropriately...his life. I still think God has dibs on who gets his soul.

Check it out at Win My Soul.

So, what do you think?

Thought of the Day !!

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:23-26

Know that this life will fade away one day. But the thing that will always be there is God. He made you...He will sustain you...He desires to live out the rest of eternity with you. If you're not already living with Him in your heart and by His instructions, begin doing so now. And the journey of eternity will begin. So when this life does fade away, there will be another one that is like nothing you can ever imagine.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Email List

I had two people last week subscribe to my "Thought of the Day !!" email list that had bad email addresses. When I tried to email them, they did not go through. Please leave me a comment with your email address or try again if you signed up and did not receive the devotion today.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

Who ate too much last Thursday?

and

How was your Thanksgiving holiday?

Thought of the Day !!

And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)

One purpose of being a Christian is to be a reflection of Christ. After we are born again from the Spirit, or come into the "New Birth", as John Wesley puts it, we take on a life with Christ. This is a life where Christ abides inside of us, glowing for others to see.

The question today for each of us to think about is this. If we were to open ourselves up, what would we find inside? The answer should be Christ and His love if we are truly Christians. But sometimes people forget what they are supposed to be reflecting and allow themselves and their own selfishness to take over where Christ once supposedly abided.

This life is not about you or me. It is about love of God and love of each other. If our lives begin being all about what we can do or what we can earn or what we have accomplished, then our reflections will be of ourselves.

If, on the other hand, people see in us kindness, humility, unselfish behavior and the other aspects of the love of Christ, then we are reflecting Christ. Which will you reflect today?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Announcement about next week's messages

I will be out of town next week spending time with family. May everybody's Thanksgiving be happy and blessed. And don't forget to give God thanks for all your blessings.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

What do you have to be thankful for?

Thought of the Day !!

As they (Elijah and Elisha) were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between them, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.
2 Kings 2:11 (NLT)

Then Elisha picked up Elijah's cloak and returned to the bank of the Jordan River. He struck the water with the cloak and cried out, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" Then the river divided, and Elisha went across.
2 Kings 13-14 (NLT)

We see here where Elisha succeeds Elijah. Elisha had been following his master Elijah for some time, but he would have never done so had he not been called by God.

Actually, as the story goes, Elijah is out walking one day when he sees this farmer out plowing in his fields. Being led by God’s Spirit, he passes by him, throws his cloak, or outer garment, over him and walks on by. In doing this, Elisha (the farmer) sees it as a sign from God and chases after Elijah and becomes his servant. Kind of like a prophet in training.

Notice that Elijah found Elisha by Divine direction. He’s not found in the schools of prophets, but in a field…Elisha is not reading, or praying, or sacrificing…but plowing. He’s a farmer. But what made this ordinary farmer special was that he gave it all up to follow his calling by God.

So here’s Elisha and Elijah at the end of Elijah’s days on earth. Elijah’s calling is up, but Elisha’s is really just about to begin.

There’s something intriguing about being called to the ministry. However, the call to ministry is not confined to religious leaders. God calls each of us. God calls doctors and nurses. He calls lawyers and teachers. He calls accountants and waitresses. He calls farmers like Elisha. He calls us all to ministry.

What is the ministry that you're being called into?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

What does the devil look like?

Thought of the Day !!

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?.. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:35-37

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

Do you believe in demon possession, or can these things be explained away today?

On a similiar note, do you believe that Christians can be demon-possessed?

Thought of the Day !!

Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:17 (NIV)

It's not that our actions save us. It's that our faith produces actions. So if we have no actions, we don't really have the faith that we thought we had.

What kind of actions has your faith produced lately?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

Next week I will be going home to spend Thanksgiving with my family. For me, that is the best part of Thanksgiving. What is it for you? The food? Football? Time off? Hunting? What?

Thought of the Day !!

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

Jesus never promised to fix things so that this world would be problem-free. As a matter of fact, he told us to take up our crosses and follow him. Our crosses can get heavy sometimes though, can't they? These crosses that we bear, or burdens, are not for us to carry alone though. Christ is with you always. He is there through the power of God's Holy Spirit. He watches, encourages, reprimands and even sometimes carries you. So when things are getting pretty hard to take and those burdens are getting heavy, go to Him. He will give you rest. And He will see you through anything.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Week ??

My wife and I have almost saved enough money to buy a new TV. I have read so much stuff that my head is spinning. Some say Plasma won't last. Others say that I will have to buy a $250 bulb for an LCD TV every 2 or 3 years. Some say this brand, while others promote another brand. So I ask my more technologically sound counterparts these questions?

1. Do you recommend Plasma or LCD (not LCD projection, but LCD)?

2. Samsung seems to be everywhere now, but is it any good?

3. Do you recommend any brand or not recommend any brand?

4. To save money do you think it may be worth getting a good tv that is 720p over another not so good brand 1080p or 1080i? (if you understand this question, I know your good)

5. Should I just go back to black and white and forget the whole mess?

Thought of the Day !!

[Jesus says,] "You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name."
John 15:16 (NLT)

This morning as I read this passage I hear a couple of things. First of all, we are all chosen by God. This is not predestination by the way. We are not chosen to pass or fail. This happens by our choices. We are not chosen to go to Heaven or hell. These too are caused by our choices.

We are all chosen, however, by being given an invitation into the Kingdom of God. We are all chosen to be disciples of Christ. We are all chosen to be with God and the saints in Heaven one day. We are chosen, but we must accept the prize that we're chosen to receive in order to get it. And then we must repent, or make a change from bad choices to good choices.

Let me quote (or at least hopefully not misquote too badly) John Wesley. He believed in predestination. He would say that we are all predestined to the way of salvation. In other words, we are all predestined to receive the calling from God on our lives into a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. The key to this calling is whether or not we accept.

The second thing I noticed from this passage is that we have a mission. That mission is to produce fruit. We are the gardeners of this world who are called to spread the seeds of Christ and His love. God has equipped each of us with certain gifts for this job. We don't all have the same gifts. But then again, not all the people we will see will need the same things. But the one gift that we all have once Jesus is in our hearts, abiding in us is love. The love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit resides in us, and is to be used to plant seeds in God's Garden in His Kingdom.

So how's your planting been going lately? May it be blessed this week.

In the love of Christ,
greg

JOHN WESLEY - Chapel Linebacker

Love the Lord like John Wesley, FOOL!

Global Warmings

I found this on Revfife and thought it was hilarious. It don't matter whether you're Democrat or Republican, you gotta laugh when you see this. Have fun!

Question of the day ??

Who's gonna help me reach the 10,000 mark on my blog?

Thought of the Day !!

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
1 John 4:9

This is how God showed His love for us. How have you shown your love for God lately?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

What do you see as the Biblical view of wealth?

Thought of the Day !!

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6:24 (NIV)

To me the biggest heresy of this age is prosperity gospel. God does not make people rich and healthy if they give more money to Him through a donation to this or that preacher. The people preaching that we can get whatever we want because God wants us all to be happy and to have good health and lots of wealth, which simply comes by having enough faith, will be judged much more harshly in the Judgment.

Jesus never promised us a rose garden. I recall times where he mentioned denying ourselves instead of getting for ourselves. He mentioned something about a cross that we should carry, which meant suffering. And if people just had to have enough faith to have the wealth of Job or the health of a young athlete, then many of my mentors and saintly shepherds must have been just illusions because they had their share of suffering.

Don't ever let money guide any part of your life. Never let wealth become more important than a means to get by...or even a means to enjoy life some out of a little excess. If our decision-making and our attitudes are guided by the principle of wealth instead of being the cross-bearing servant of God, then we become doomed.

Remember, money in itself is not bad. And spending some on ourselves should not bring about guilty feelings. But the love of money and the placing it above all other things is the root of all evil though.

"Earn all you can (or work very hard to make as good a living as you can without being lazy). Save all you can (not putting all in Cd's or 401k's, but not spending frivolously). And give all you can (Give away all you can to help others in need)."
* my commentary in parenthesis

John Wesley not only made this statement, but he lived it. I cannot promise I will be as good as father Wesley who died with only a few coins in his pocket, even though he received lots of money over his lifetime for his writings. But if we will be guided by this principle instead of our love of prosperity, God will be pleased.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question / Thought of the Day !!

Are we really supposed to tithe? This must be a question on many folks minds. I say this only because I read that "Research demonstrates that the vast majority of Christians not only do not tithe regularly, but many give little or nothing at all." (Hank Hanegraaff, The Bible Answer Book)

So what is your take on tithing? Is it just one of those Old Testament things that was washed away when the New Testament and Jesus? I seem to remember Jesus being asked about whether or not we should pay taxes to Caesar and him responding with "Give Caesar what's his and God what's His". Of course you could say that Jesus means give money to Caesar and our life to God. But is not money a very big part of our lives?

Randy Alcorn, in his book Money, Possessions and Eternity, states that "tithing may well be regarded as the training wheels of giving." This is where we start. With this giving of a little, we learn how to give more and how to give cheerfully, while being blessed at the same time.

I've always thought of tithing as the starting point. Once we master this, and giving what God requires becomes second nature to us, we can go on to making true offerings. These offerings consist of giving of our money, of our time, of our words, of our abilities, of our actions, of our attitudes - basically summed up as our lives.

So, are we really supposed to tithe? Here are a few Scriptures to help guide us.

so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
Genesis 28:21-22 (NIV)


Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
Deuteronomy 14:23 (NIV)

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Malachi 3:8-10 (NIV)

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Matthew 23:23 (NIV)

(What Scripture can you think of that compels us to tithe...or give in general?)

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? — Satchel Paige

Thought of the Day !!

When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.
Acts 17:13

The first thing that should be said about this Scripture is that it is not anti-Semitic. There were Jews that were believers and those that were not in all the places that Paul went. Also, in the Gospel of John when the word Jews is used, it is used to mean the Jewish leaders. I am figuring on the same here.

Secondly, and most importantly for us today is this. The devil, through the use of other people, followed Paul wherever he went and tried to cause havoc. He does the same with us today. There are those who truly give their lives over to Christ. And then there are those who allow the devil to use them. These are the ones who seek revenge...who allow anger to control them...or who simply get a kick out of causing trouble.

But how do we respond to these people? Do we allow them get under our skin and thus become like them, retaliating with unkind words or gestures or actions?

Remember that there are always going to be people around you ready to cause trouble to some degree. There will always be someone out there that will smart off or be condescending because they're a moody person. There will always be someone who doesn't like to be disagreed with and will throw temper tantrums. Just don't let these kinds of people become who you are. And when you encounter them, remember that Jesus teaches us to be patient and humble. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (not as they've done unto you).

In the love of Christ,
greg

Thought of the Day !!

Today I have a morning funeral so I will share the devotion from BibleLeague that I receive daily.

James 1:3 -- For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. (NLT)

You never really know what you stand for until someone or something tries to push you over. You never really know what you believe until it costs you something. Give God thanks for the tests in your life. How has your faith been tested? How did you do in the test?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

What's worse, a lazy pastor or a non-caring congregation?

Thought of the Day !!

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:46-47 (NIV)

These are the original members of the Church. They started the Church under the guidance of the Apostles and the Holy Spirit. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from them.

First of all they continued to meet together. How many Christians today find other things to do on Sunday mornings or other times of worship?

They broke bread together. They shared meals together. They were sincere. They praised God and enjoyed the favor of others. Even when we do meet there may be those of us who are not sincere in our love for each other. We may half-heartedly praise God, all the while looking at our watches to see how long before the service is over.

Let us learn true worship from the earliest Christians. True worship is about sharing and showing love for each other. It's about coming together for God's glory and gladly giving Him our time and efforts.

May we come to see God as an awesome and powerful, yet gracious and merciful Lord. May we all realize that worship is about Him being glorified. May we all seek Him steadfastly today, much like the believers of old.

In the love of Christ,
greg

All Saints Day - A note from my Bishop to the clergy of Mississippi

Nov. 1, 2006
"Saints, All"


I want to be in that number,
When the saints go marching in.

Samuel Wells, dean of Duke Chapel, observes that the word saints is consistently plural in the Bible. There is no reference to a solitary saint.

John Wesley taught us that “there is no thing as a solitary Christian.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer urged that, wherever we experience Christian community we offer thanks. Christian community is not to be taken for granted; it is always God’s gift to us.

Today is the day of All Saints, a day to celebrate our shared life in Christ. This life has great expansiveness, breadth and depth. Encompassed in this great company of God’s people are those who now live in heaven and all who love Christ now in this life.

We are a grand company indeed, unique yet unified, diverse yet drawn in together. Let us count ourselves in that number, not from hubris but from humility. God gives to all God’s beloved a place in the great company of saints.

With gratitude for your share in the ministry of Christ,

Hope

Forgiveness

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”