"Every Man Dies But Not Every Man Truly Lives"

Every Christian is called to live his or her life by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is really just the belief we have about God joined with trust in His character and ability to do what He says He will do. Those times which require faith in God are never easy moments for any of us because they are moments in which we let go of control. Control is security for most of us and to give up a sense of security is unnatural to our human nature. We love the safe and predictable. We love the assurances which come from a predictable routine. However, God has called each of us to live our life by faith in Him.

Many believers in Christ choose to live life attempting to control everything, immersed in routine, chained to predictability and what they perceive to be “safe;” such a life is the opposite of God’s will for our life. We are called to live by faith! Such a lifestyle kills the heart of the true believer. Believers are called to live a life free from the limitations of the mundane and natural. We are called to live a life free from the limitations of what we control!

How will you choose to live? Will you be Peter and get out of the boat to walk on water or will you be the rich young ruler who trusted in the things he possessed and the life he had built for himself? There is really only one choice; will you live by faith or not? There was a line in the movie “Brave Heart” a few years ago which said, “Every man dies but not every man truly lives.” What a tragedy if those who have experienced the eternal life of Christ never truly know what it is to live that life while spending their days here on earth!

Pastor James

Baylor Beats OU...Finally

Every bear fan will appreciate this...

Where To Find Hope In Any Circumstance

We are all looking for hope, an expectation of good. We want to look to our future with optimism. There is a way for such optimism to be a regular part of your life but it requires something of you. Hope and optimism are not for the faint of heart but for those courageous enough to let go of their life and place their trust in an all-powerful, all-knowing God.

One of the most memorized and quoted verses among Christians is one which often loses its power due to its familiarity. We know Proverbs 3:5-6 but all too often lack the realization of its intended impact for our life. "Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Hope, optimism, expectations of good, come to those who can relinquish control, cease trying to be God and rely upon the ability and character of our God. Until we let go and entrust ourselves to Him, we are imprisoned by the limitations, insecurities and weakness of our own estimations and abilities to deal with the uncertainties of life.

The more completely you give your life to Christ, the more hope you will experience in your life! A future filled with great expectations is found in Christ!

James

To My Beautiful Wife...

Today is my second wedding anniversary with my Kim. It is hard to believe we have been married for two years. I am blessed with a beautiful, loving, Christian woman as my wife and am thankful for her everyday. Next to my salvation and relationship with Christ, Kim is the most significant and wonderful gift God has ever given me.

I pray Kim knows how much I love and cherish her. Every man should be concerned that his wife knows how much she is loved and cherished. A woman needs to know these things and a man should feel compelled to demonstrate his feelings in ways which let his wife know with certainty she is loved! A woman finds life and vitality in the relationship she has with her husband if he will love and cherish her well. Many men lament the "coolness" or "coldness" of their wife when she is simply suffering the ill effects of the treatment received from her husband! Love your wife well and you will find the fires of love, respect and passion burning brightly in your home!

Kim, I love and cherish you everyday. I thank God for you and pray He will make me a better husband everyday.

James

Unhealthy Churches And Unhealthy Ministers

Eighty percent of Bible school or seminary graduates will leave the ministry within the first five years of graduation. Perhaps you should stop reading and let that statistic sink in for a moment. These are men and women who have finished their degree! These are the ones who sacrificed, studied and in many cases went into debt to attend school for the purpose of serving Christ in the ministry. Five years isn't a long time but it takes only five short years for 80% of these dedicated men and women to say "adios" to the ministry.

If the above statistic didn't unnerve you then consider a few others found in a recent survey of ministers: Eighty percent of pastors feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastor. Seventy percent of pastors constantly struggle with depression. Fifty percent of pastors say they would leave the ministry today if they could but have no other way to make a living. These are very disheartening statistics!

Ministry is a tough calling from God but it is made all the tougher when the minister is not spending time with God on a regular basis or is himself living a life of hidden sin. Statistics again show a bleak picture of the spirituality of the ministry. Almost 40% of ministers polled in the afore mentioned survey admit to having an extra-marital affair since entering the ministry. Seventy percent of ministers surveyed say they only spend time in the Word of God when preparing for a sermon each week. How can a person be God's man for the church when he isn't even living like one of God's men?

Churches are very hard on ministers in 21st century America and this also leads to many of the statistics we see above. While moral failure is the reason many leave their calling, more prevalent issues lead the majority of those who leave the ministry to do so. These issues include questions of who will control the church, expectations concerning the role of pastor and simple stress. Many churches today expect the pastor to be a master communicator, marketer, entertainer and administrator while finding time to visit or "check on" every church member with a sniffle. These are high expectations for one man, especially when others in the church refuse to fulfill their own ministry calling. The pastor is not the only one called to do pastoral ministry but in many churches he is the only one willing (and expected) to do so.

Only a fraction of those who begin a life of vocational ministry actually finish their "career' in ministry. This is a tragedy for the church and one which must be addressed. The church is in need of spiritual leadership from her pastors, elders and deacons. If there are few healthy men in the role of pastor or elder there will be a trickle down effect to the rest of the church. Healthy churches need healthy pastors!

Healthy pastors need healthy churches! Unless churches clearly define the Biblical role for the position of pastor/elder and drop the unbiblical expectations from the job description, quality pastors will constantly face depression and the desire to "get out."

Pray for your pastor today!

James

Occupy Wall Street: How Much Wealth is Too Much?

Many Americans are taking to the streets right now in a protest uniformly known as "Occupy (enter city name here). What started as a Wall Street phenomenon has mushroomed into a nationwide protest against corporations and the wealthiest among us. While these protests seem to lack coherency or uniform demands, the fact they exist at all may demonstrate quite a bit concerning our country's collective soul. The existence of these protests begs the question, "What is fair when it comes to how much one may or may not possess?" Roseanne Bar believes she has the answer to such question in the video link found here. Her dream of a maximum wage of 100 million fails to adequately answer our question since she seems to have pulled her number out of thin air; I wonder how close her own personal wealth approaches such a figure?

Scripture is full of men of God who possessed great wealth. Abraham was a very rich and powerful man during his lifetime as was Isaac and Jacob. Joseph was second only to Pharaoh in power and wealth during a time in which Egypt was perhaps the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. Solomon was and is the wealthiest man the earth has ever known. Possessions and wealth are not inherently evil. It is not the possession of great wealth that is evil but the love of great wealth that is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim 6:10). And herein is the beginning of the answer to our question: A person is able to have infinite wealth as long as the possessions themselves never possess him; as long as "things" never take the place of God in his or her life.

God often gives great wealth and power to those whom He may trust to do His will. This does not mean every rich person is a Christian or even a righteous one; neither is it God's will to make every Christian wealthy. But, God often gives great wealth to individuals who have proven they will always turn the blessing back to God in praise, gratitude and obedience. Those who do not have such a capacity are often prevented, by God's grace, the temptation of having more wealth than they could bear. Therefore, as we consider how much is "enough" or "too much" wealth, there is an element of God's sovereignty to consider. You very well may be a person in whom God has determined He can place great resources for His Kingdom work. You may be one who has the generosity and capacity to hold loosely the gifts God has given and for these reasons He continues to bless you with more.

The communist Karl Marx popularized a motto in 1875 which stated, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need (or needs)." Many would champion this ideology as the most compassionate and "Christian" one could hold. In fact, many who are marching in the streets of the United States likely hold to some form of this message. But, this is not the will of God! From the above examples we see it is often God's will to place great wealth, well beyond the needs of any individual, in the hands of those who will be God's blessing and provision for His work on earth. With this in mind, we must admit there are those who have wealth and use it for evil or selfish purposes. Yet, even these self-indulgent individuals are in affect used of God as He directs all things to His appointed end. The wealth of the wicked and the plans of the unrighteous are never outside the purpose and plans of our God. Satan himself found this out when his most crafty of plans, the cross, used to destroy the life of our Savior, was in reality a means in the hands of God for the accomplishment of His plan; the salvation of mankind. Our personal need is never the determinant when it comes to what we may possess. The plan God has for us, is the determinant for what we possess.

How much is too much? For the believer in Christ there is really no answer to such a question because we have no idea the extent of God's plan for our life. We will have all we need to fulfill God's will and purpose for the life we live on earth.

So what about fairness? While the popular cry seems to be for everyone to have the same amount of wealth in order for fairness to be achieved such a notion has never been a part of God's plan for the world. "Fairness" isn't determined by the opinions of actors, politicians or pastors. Fairness is determined by God as He decides what is necessary for each of us to fulfill His purposes. If one receives great wealth in this life he or she also receives with it the great responsibility of using it for God's Kingdom plans on earth.

John Wesley was once quoted to have said, "Make all you can, save all you can, give away all you can." Perhaps this little quote is better summation of what I have written today than I could ever provide for myself. What you have is not nearly as important as what you do with what you have. May all we have and all we do be to the glory and for the purposes of God!

Pastor James

The Road to a Blessed Life: Why Faith Matters

When Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and told she would give birth to the Savior of the world she believed what the angel told her and asked how it would be done. This is in stark contrast to the father of John the Baptist who, when told by Gabriel his aged wife would give birth, doubted the word of the angel and asked for proof it would happen. The consequence of Zechariah's unbelief was nine long months of no talking! God gave proof that the word of the angel was true but the proof was a consequence of his unbelief. This (consequence) is the case when we lack faith in God's Word! Both of these stories can be found in Luke chapter 1 and I encourage you to read them today!

Unbelief produces a myriad of problems for those who doubt God and His Word, the Bible. Often times, we miss out on the promises of God for no other reason than our lack of faith to embrace and realize them in our life. The old adage is true, "God has great things in store for you!" But the "great things" often require great faith! If you lack the faith, you lack the greatness the Lord intends for your life! Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist) was visited by Mary and encouraged her with the words found in Luke 1:45, "Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." This blessing is for you and I as well! Blessed are those who believe what the Lord has said to them will be accomplished! What are you struggling to have faith for today? What have you found in God's Word that you struggle to believe is true for you?

God's Word, the Bible, is absolutely true, perfect and without any mixture of error. These Scriptures are for the building of our faith and what God promises therein is absolutely trustworthy. Pray and make sure you are not looking for signs where promises are already made by the One God who always keeps His Word!

James