Ripples Ministry

Driving home, the traffic comes to its usual evening halt and looming over me is a large billboard. A beautiful woman stares invitingly down at me with the proclamation “AdultCon” is coming to town. You can’t help but notice the sign. It is referring of course to the adult convention that is coming. It is a week when our resemblance to Sodom and Gomorrah have probably never been closer. All of the lusts of the flesh are covered. There is promise in her smile.

Finally! I think to myself, truth in advertising.

You see, whether they realize it or not, they are for once being truthful – for it is a con. The con is that somehow this indulgence will make you happier. The con is that somehow the things of the flesh will bring you happiness. It is simply not true. Sex outside of the marriage bed is a shallow substitute for what God meant to be a beautiful thing. We fall for this snake oil in droves and lives are shattered.

Truth in advertising has not, unfortunately, spilled over to the church these days. Snake oil and promises abound. For instance, there is the one about God just wanting you to be happy. Then another that God just wants you to prosper. Or, that God just wants you to be healed – the list goes on and on. While there is some truth in some of these things, as God can provide each and every one according to His plan, it misses the point of why we come to Christ to begin with. Apart from Christ, we are all condemned. I know that is perhaps a hard message, but it is the only reason for us to turn to our Savior. The “you are going to hell” message does not make for an attractive welcome to the church.

If you have come to God so that your life will be better, you will be disappointed. If you have come to God for physical healing, at some point you will feel betrayed. And if you come to God for prosperity, you have purchased a lie that may cost you your very soul. So what do we do?

When you realize that by God’s holy standard that you have fallen short, only then do you see your need for forgiveness. God tells us in His word that “all have fallen short” of His glory. You are in good company. Every last one of us is a wretch – myself  a four-star general among them. But God holds out a gift to us, not a con.

The gift is that we are pulled from our wretched state by the righteousness of Christ and His once-and-for-all sacrifice on the cross. This is a gift without equal and beyond our ability to pay its cost. All of the rest in our brief lives here, money, power, health, or whatever else you are seeking, pale by comparison.

Perhaps you have come to Christ with a “feel good” message and are disillusioned. Maybe you find yourself dissatisfied with Christianity because it has not met you needs. Then perhaps it is time to examine your heart and find the real reason for coming to Christ. It will revolutionize your faith. No longer will faith be dependant on prosperity, health or feelings. It will be lived in undying gratitude for what a loving Savior has saved us from. Eternity waits for the rest, when we will no longer fight ourselves, but for now, we need to come to God for the right reasons, not the con of the easy life.

Maybe you have never heard the message of God put this way before. You finally realize that you are in sin, separated from God, who will have no choice but to judge you when you stand before Him. Dont wait another day, don’t wait another minute. Make it right now. Let Christ into your heart and begin His healing work. How can you help but live a life of gratitude from there out – after being saved from what we all deserve?

Yes God loves you, but until you can see your need for forgiveness, He stands as an awesome and terrible promise. He is knocking. Will you answer the door? Go to this page to see how.

If I can pray for you – please email me.

Blessings upon Blessings

It starts small, unnoticed, beyond prying eyes. Deep within, hidden from light, a change begins. We continue our lives as though nothing has changed – It has. And if we knew what was happening, we would be dealing with it now.

But we don’t.

A cell that was once normal begins to change. We don’t understand all the reasons for this change, but it occurs nonetheless. Slowly, it begins to spread to the cells around it and the change gets a life of its own. We don’t notice it yet. It hasn’t interfered with our lives. We continue as if the world was glorious and our whole lives stretch before us – It isn’t and the end is closer than we know.

Of course I am speaking of cancer and its insidious entry into our lives that changes everything. But I could just as easily be speaking about sin.

Sin starts off in very much the same way that cancer begins in our bodies. It starts off small, unnoticed, and hidden. Perhaps it is a thought that crosses our mind and rather than turning it over immediately to God, we allow it to settle for a moment, to gain a small foothold in our heart.

Galatians 5:7-10 tells us…
“⁷You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. ⁹A little leaven leavens the whole lump. ¹⁰I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.” (Emphasis mine)

A single cancer cell turns into many. Caught early the chances of survival are good. Ignoring the signs and symptoms can be disastrous.

Cancer is divided into stages. These stages are a corollary to our place with sin in our lives. Wikipedia defines the staging of cancer in this way – “The stage of a cancer is a descriptor (usually numbers I to IV) of how much the cancer has spread. The stage often takes into account the size of a tumor, how deeply it has penetrated, whether it has invaded adjacent organs, how many lymph nodes it has metastasized to (if any), and whether it has spread to distant organs. Staging of cancer is important because the stage at diagnosis is the most powerful predictor of survival, and treatments are often changed based on the stage.”

Cancer Stage I – This is where the cells are localized and therefore treatment is relatively simple. The affected cells are removed, along with surrounding healthy tissue to ensure that none have escaped detection. There is some pain of course, but treatment almost always has some pain involved.

When our sin is small, such as a thought which we have been dwelling on, treatment is relatively simple. If we confess our sin to God, turn it over to Him, He is faithful to forgive us (John 1:9) and the ramifications on our lives are small. Confession does not come without pain however. We must realize that we have, yet again, fallen short of God’s holy mark for our lives. Unfortunately, too often we do not deal with our sin at this point.

When cancer reaches stage II it begins to get complicated. No longer is the disease process confined to a single place. It has begun to spread. It now affects nearby organs but is still usually treated with great success. The pain for treatment and recovery are elevated from stage I though.

Sin that has progressed passed stage I in our lives is sin that has begun to be acted upon. Perhaps there was someone at work you were thinking about – even though you are a happily married. It begins with innocent flirting and playful contact that may appear innocent on the surface, but in your heart there is something darker driving it. It is sin. It is a disease to your soul and if you continue, it will surely destroy the holiness God has called you to.

Sometimes this can be the toughest stage to deal with. We convince ourselves that we really haven’t done anything yet. We are only playing on the fringes of sin, but realize that this is a lie. Jesus tells us that if we have committed something in our heart that we are already guilty (Matthew 5:27). We still however make excuses for our behavior and this is most often why we move quickly to stage III.

Stage III cancer begins to get very serious. For now the tentacles of the disease have spread to neighboring lymph nodes and are in danger of spreading to the entire body. This stage is much more difficult to treat, often involving very invasive surgery and possibly chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Your odds of survival begin to drop rapidly at this point and you wish you have heeded the warning signs when you first saw them. You may miss work, not to mention the financial and emotional strain on you and those you love. There is still hope however.

Unrepentant sin also mirrors this stage of cancer. Now our sin has spread from us to others. We are now, either directly or indirectly involving other people in our sin. They are both participating and following us or they are the victims of our behavior. Families and marriages are torn apart. Careers are ruined. Works of a lifetime come crashing down. Witness the recent fall of Tiger Woods for a prime example of sin out of control. God can still restore what the locust has eaten at this point but the treatment may be long and painful and the cost high.

Stage IV is serious indeed. It is often referred to as metastatic cancer, meaning that it has spread throughout the body. Often at this stage, our prognosis is poor and death can sometimes be imminent. Doctors will do their very best, but at this point success cannot be guaranteed.

If you wait until your sin has spread to this point, you are in danger of eternal separation from God. We can allow sin to become so deeply imbedded in our lives, that we cannot see a path to change. Of course we have a surgeon, a perfect surgeon that can fix even this. But we need to ask Him to help, for he will not operate without our permission.

The changes will be costly. You will have to turn from all that has become who you are, to be something that God wants you to be. You will have consequences for your stubbornness, but there will be eternal life… THERE IS ALWAYS ETERNAL LIFE FOR THOSE THAT REALLY SEEK IT.

Sin is like cancer in our lives. I hope that you would seek help if you became aware of a problem in your body and if the doctor told you that you needed surgery, you would get it right away. Doesn’t that seem reasonable? Then why, I might ask, can you not ask for the help you need to remove the sin from your life? What is holding you back? Can you not see what this sickness is doing to you?

One thing about cancer though, it is important to get it all when removing it. A single cell can cause the cancer to return – sometimes more vigorously than before. Sin is no different. If you deal with only part of the problem, then rest assured it will be back again – possibly with devastating consequences. You need to remove all of it!

The example I have given here is only that – an example. Sin takes root in our lives in many ways and just as there is not a single type of cancer, there are many different sins that plague us. Give yourself a spiritual examination and ask if there is the tumor of sin in your life. The more honest you are, the better your chance at catching it early and dealing with it while the consequences are small. If it has gone beyond that point then the time to deal with it is now. Don’t wait until a death sentence is handed out. A loving God wants nothing more than to heal you. You simply need to make an appointment.

The Great Physician is just a prayer away. If you are thinking about sinning, drop to your knees and PRAY! If you are flirting with sin, drop to your knees and ask for forgiveness right now. If you are actively in sin, STOP! Ask for forgiveness and be prepared to do whatever you have to to make it right.

Sin however has another stage. It is Stage V and it is always lethal. Once you have passed from this world there is NO CURE. God has warned us that not to accept the free gift of salvation is to be eternally separated from Him and there is no second chance. So, if you have not accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, then do it now.
Go to this page to see how.

And for the rest of you brothers and sisters in Christ. Treat your sins early and often and you will enjoy spiritual health.

Blessings upon Blessings

Tim

Have you ever wondered what kind of friend you are? Have you ever asked yourself or those around you if you are a good friend? Can people count on you? Are you as good as your word? Is your yes, yes and your no, no? Do you keep your promises? When the chips are down, who can count on your help? Again I ask, what kind of friend are you?

We are told in the gospel of Luke, chapter 5 verses 17-26 about the story of a group of men who so loved their friend who was paralyzed, they went to great lengths to bring him to Christ so that he might be healed.

The first thing we notice in the story was that the men knew where Jesus was and that He had the power to heal. If you are a Christian, think for a moment about all the things Christ has “healed” in your life. Remember where you were before your personal encounter with Jesus. Were you paralyzed in sin, unable to lift yourself from addiction or some other thing that had taken over your life? And now that he has released you from your bondage are you anxious to show others where Christ may be found? It is something to consider.

When they arrived where Jesus was, they found the way blocked. There was such a crowd around Jesus that there was no easy way in. They were carrying their friend and I imagine that he was getting heavy after all that time. What to do? Turn back?

Let’s face it. The gospel of Jesus is under attack and the barriers to bringing people to Christ have scarce been more challenging than today I believe. In the age of “political correctness” those who would follow Christ are labeled “intolerant” and much worse. We are told that bible is irrelevant and the teachings of Christ are a great springboard to more perfect and pure truths. We are mocked and dismissed and made to feel that our devotion to the savior of the world is somehow wrong. Do these barriers stop you at the door? Is the cost for saving the friend too much? Is the burden too great?

In Luke, the love of the friends and their faith in Jesus’ power to heal their friend would not be denied. In fact, they carried him to the roof and cut a hole in it!

What lengths are you willing to go to in order that those you care about are saved? Does the first barrier stumble you or are you determined to help them? The paralytic certainly could not have climbed the stairs himself and without his friends would have been trapped with no way in. How creative are you in bringing those you love to salvation?

Ultimately the men lowered their friend down the hole to Christ. Let me ask you. When was the last time you invited someone to church? Do you pick them up and take them? Remember, they are paralyzed in their sin. Do you care?

Finally Jesus forgave the man his sins through the faith of his friends. What do you believe that those you care about are in greatest need of today? Money? Health? That new car? A healing? God sees our greatest need as fixing that which separates us from Him. If someone doesn’t show us the way, we remain paralyzed in our sin, unable to move any closer to a God that loves us and wants to forgive us and make us well.

Remember the paralytic was one step from death, dependant on others to do that which he could not do himself. Think about your friends. If you don’t carry them to Jesus who will? Can you take that step of love before they are consumed in their paralysis, eternally separated from God? What will it take for you to pick them up?

In closing, have you ever seen you friends in this way? Perhaps it is time to ask God for the strength to carry your friends and family, in love, to Him. Remember, the days are short.

What Kind of friend are you?

And perhaps you are reading this today and you identify not with the friends, but rather with the paralytic. You are paralyzed in your sin, unable to rise from that which binds you and separates you from God. Then consider this your stretcher today and allow it to carry you to the God of mercy and grace. Click here to find out how.

Blessings upon Blessings

Tim

PS- if I may join with you in prayer, please feel free to email me.

The notice comes. It is nailed to the door of a house that a family once called home. “Foreclosed” it may read and everyone is aware that something has gone terribly wrong.

If you talk to the family, they may feign surprise. They may cry about the unfairness of it all. They may act as though they never saw this coming. But in truth, this has taken a great deal of time and there were many warnings along the way.

This time we are looking at Matthew Chapter 721-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

This is one of those difficult things we read in the bible. It is important to remember that it is there because God loves us. It is a warning that we do not fall into this trap.

Foreclosure in the magnitude that we have seen recently in our country probably most often boils down to our greed and short-sighted thinking. Spiritual foreclosure can happen in exactly the same way.

It happens like this – I see a house I cannot afford and decide to buy it based on false promises of the future. For instance – “Don’t worry about it. In a few years it will be worth so much more, you can just take money out and refinance and you will be a wealthy person!” We buy into the lie that the future always gets better and we don’t need to consider the responsibilities of today.

We do this with Christ. We agree to become part of the “Christian Club” so we can have all the benefits of membership, but we never take the costs into account.

If you buy a house, never work, never make a payment, never maintain it – then, my friend, you are not a homeowner… you are a squatter and will be evicted! You cannot expect to be a Christian and never fellowship, seldom go to church, don’t read the bible, pray only when you are in trouble and expect victory in Christ. You may just find that in the end there is a spiritual foreclosure of sorts and Christ says “depart from me!” I can think of no greater sadness than to hear those words.

Don’t get me wrong. You works do not save you. But if there is not a change in your life, then you must evaluate whether or not your conversion is real. When you become a homeowner, you care for it, work hard to make your payments and you live there. Have you been living in your faith?

Just as foreclosure comes with warning after warning before they take your home away, you do not walk away from Christ usually all at once. You miss church here you don’t read the bible there. Eventually, you find you no longer live at the same address as the body of Christ. God will speak to you, send you spiritual warnings that you are in danger of foreclosure – but it is never too late until it is too late.

Perhaps you find your life in turmoil right now. You are homeless, so to speak, outside of God’s will and He is speaking to you right now. Do not wait until you stand before Him and you find you have no home in heaven. Listen to His voice today. Live in your faith and be transformed. God is a gracious landlord. He has already paid the price for your home in Heaven. However, do not think it is without cost here.

Make a payment today on your spiritual future and get on your knees in prayer and seek God’s will in your life. Then do it! Don’t let such a wonderful thing slip through your hands. God will give you all you need to do the things He has called you to.

And maybe today you have never accepted a place in the kingdom of God but He is speaking to your heart right now. In the book of John Jesus said “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

Today is the day to get your spiritual house in order. Today is the day of salvation! Don’t wait any longer.

And if you are unsure how to enter into the family of God – then click on the “Answer For This Life” tab at the top of the page.

If I can join you in prayer feel free to e-mail me!

Blessings Upon Blessings

Tim

This is my first attempt at a podcast. Burdens is a message that I recently gave at an assisted living home in our church’s area. I hope it blesses you.
If I can pray for you, feel free to email me at TimDavies@ripplesministry.org .

Ripples Podcast - T A Davies

“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” 2 Timothy 2:3 NKJV

To hear some evangelists and preachers today, one might believe that becoming a Christian was like going on vacation to the Riviera where every need is met, every whim indulged. However, this could not be farther from the reality of biblical teaching. For God tells us we are in a war – a war for our very souls and the souls of those we love.

Imagine for a moment…

Bobby sits hunkered in a small ditch in the middle of a wet field. His belly rumbles from hunger and his fingers ache from the cold. He can’t remember the last hot meal or warm shower, or quiet rest that lasted for more than thirty minutes. He longs to stand and stretch out his legs, but that would mean certain death. And another bullet whizzing past overhead reminds him of that truth. He doesn’t know why he is there, only that his commander has told him that he must hold his position at all costs – even to the point of his death.

News came yesterday that the battle is being won and that victory is within reach. That bolsters his spirits a little and helps him to endure. But as the bombs explode around him and the days wear into nights it certainly doesn’t feel like victory is close.

Occasionally he raises and fires his weapon. Bobby isn’t sure if he hits anything or not. It is a soldier’s duty. He perseveres and waits – waits for the news that victory has been won and he can finally go home. Home has never pulled so hard or seemed so far away.

Now on the other hand…

Roger is sipping another latte and waiting for the afternoon paper. When it arrives, he reads about the battle raging at the front. “Those poor slobs” he laments. For Roger knows what they are going through. He is a soldier.

He went AWOL (absent without leave) when things got tough. He decided that he would sneak away from his unit and then return when things cooled down. No one would be any the wiser. After all, it was better for him to go home in one piece right? They had plenty of good men fighting and they would be just fine without him. He was only a messenger, not a fighter anyway, what difference could it possibly make for him to wait until the battle was over?

Roger couldn’t wait to get to that hot shower and comfortable bed waiting for him in the safety he had found. Life was not so bad.

Only…

Bobby never got the orders to pull back. They were short on messengers and other critical areas needed to be addressed first. So the message to withdraw never came. Bobby soldiered on until later that night his position was overrun as the enemy made a last grasp to fend off defeat. They would lose of course. Victory now was certain. But Bobby didn’t know that for lack of a messenger. He was brave til the end.

So…

I ask you. Are you comfortable in your Christianity? You might want to check your position. If everything is going along swimmingly, perhaps, just perhaps, it is because you are AWOL. You figure that there are plenty of good Christians sharing the Good News. You don’t want to rock the boat at work or you don’t want to be known as a “Jesus Freak”. Whatever the reason, you are not fighting in the battle.

Do not be mislead. Christianity is under attack in this country as it has never been before. The enemy doesn’t waste bullets on those who do not threaten. If you have not suffered because of your faith at all, if you have not sacrificed anything – better check your position. Have you withdrawn?

Scripture tells us in Ephesians 6:10-13 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” 

Maybe you feel as though you are under attack. You have committed yourself to the Lord and His work and yet your world seems to be crumbling around your. Fear not my brother-in-arms, for that simply means that you are in the enemies’ radar. Gather together with other brothers and sisters in the fight and be encouraged. For the battle is already won! We are “more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.”

It is time for Christians to rise up in fullness of faith and take a stand for God. If you are not doing that, then you are AWOL. Ask Him for the strength to stand in a genuine, uncompromising faith. Put on His full armor daily for we are in a battle for souls and many are dying.

Perhaps you are reading this today and realize you never enlisted on the winning side. You have been fighting against God your entire life. The time has come to surrender to a loving God that only wants the best for you. We know He wins. What are you waiting for?

May you be richly blessed in the good fight. And may God have many honors for you when you see Him in heaven. Until then, fight on! Never give up! Arise prayer warriors arise!

Email me if I can pray for you.

Blessings upon blessings

Tim

Imagine for a moment. It’s late in the evening and you’ve had another long day. You are tired and simply want to relax for a while. So you find yourself a snack in the fridge and park in your favorite spot on the couch and click on the TV to see what’s happening in the world. Just as you take your first bite of that delectable ham sandwich and settle in, the doorbell rings.

Wouldn’t you know it! Precisely at the moment you got comfortable, someone has to harsh your mellow (to use the current vernacular.) Maybe if you sit there quietly, they will go away. No such luck. The bell rings again insistently. Whoever it is appears to be determined to wait until you answer the door. Another soft ding dong rattles your last nerve. With a great sigh and a harumpff, you set aside your haphazard dinner and make for the door.

You are irritated and angry as you approach. This had better be good you decide, or you are going to give whoever is at the door a piece of you mind! After all, they were just about to show the world’s largest Cinnabon after the commercial break. What could possibly be more important than that?

When you reach the door, you immediately sense there is something different about this thing waiting for you on the other side and you hesitate. When you finally open the front door, you are momentarily blinded by a bright light that seems to envelope the handsome man standing on your step. Then like a dream, the light is gone. “May I come in?” the stranger asks. “Of course,” you reply without really knowing why you are letting a stranger in. Something inside tells you it is okay to do so. He moves into the house as though he is floating on a magic carpet.

“My name in Michael” the man says in silky tones, “and I have been sent here to let you know that God almighty, Yahweh, Creator of heaven and earth, will be stopping by for dinner tomorrow night.”

Simple as that.

Your immediate reaction is to laugh at this lunacy, but the chuckle lodges in your throat like a errant chicken bone. Somehow you know this is not a joke. You believed for a long time in God and your heart tells you that this is genuine. “But why me?” is all that you manage to squeak in reply.

“God does as He will.” Michael says simply and leaves it at that.

You turn around for a second to scratch your head and when you look back, Michael is gone. No closing of the door, no fluttering of the curtains, he is just not there anymore. The room is empty as before, but somehow changed. Your first thought is to drop to your knees, but that would just be silly. Or would it?

You nearly convince yourself after half an hour of arguing with yourself that it didn’t happen. “God does as He will” stills hangs in the air and there is no denying.

So what next?

I would propose to you two scenarios. Bear with me please, it will become apparent later, even if it doesn’t make sense yet.

***

Scenario One:

You immediately drop to your knees and thank God for the honor that He is showing you. As you look around the house, you notice how dirty and cluttered it is. The floors are dirty and, when you think about it, there are a lot of things in your home that you would rather not have there when God arrived. You know they are compromises to your faith but justification for these fails when you believe that God will be in that very place the following day.

You dash to your china cabinet and pull out your very best. You are tired of course but there is work to be done and you have been invigorated by the thought that you are doing it for God. You clean the kitchen and dining room. You are a whirlwind of motion, determined to have your place look its best.

When you get to the fridge, you realize that there is nothing inside fit for God. Without hesitation you grab your wallet and head to the market. You buy only the best of everything you can find and plan a meal that you feel God would appreciate. You put the last of the Groceries away, exhausted, yet somehow filled with excitement.

You arise early, something you never do, and spend a little time reading the bible, something you also rarely do. After all, He might ask a question or two. The Word seems to come alive as it has never done so before, but you have never looked at it like this before, hoping to hear from God.

Off to work and you have to tell all of your friends about God. They think you are nuts. You tell them anyway.

Arriving home, you are renewed as you make a meal for God. You sing as you cook and can’t wait to see Him. You hope everything is right. Cutting the meat, you lay aside the best cut for God. In fact, you give Him the best of everything you have. You hope it’s enough.

The doorbell rings.

Guess who’s coming to dinner?

***

Scenario Two:

After nearly convincing yourself that it wasn’t real, you are just too tired to think about it anymore. You know the place is a mess but you have to work tomorrow. The night is a long way off. You will have plenty of time to prepare later.

Making your way to bed, you notice some movies and magazines laying around that you should probably get rid of. You don’t. God will understand. What’s the big deal anyway? Everyone has this kind of stuff. Most of your friends are way worse than you.

You sleep in. You are going to need your rest if you are to get ready for “The Big Guy” to come over for dinner. And of course it is another horrendous day at work. You don’t mention anything to them about the God thing. They will think you are crazy and you have a reputation to uphold. God will understand. He is gracious and all that stuff.

You meant to go to the store and get some better food and clean the place up but man, you know how it is, life is busy. God will understand. There is leftover pizza in the fridge and some milk (you think it’s still good.) God will probably appreciate some day-old pizza… right?

Well, you did your best under the circumstances. God knows the stress your under.

The doorbell rings.

Guess who’s coming to dinner?

***

Which scenario do you find yourself in most? Take a moment to think about it honestly. I do not want you to say “Oh I am definitely a scenario one person” with confidence. Look at your life right now, in this moment. Where are you? If the doorbell rang right now, would you be ready?

God requires that we give Him our firstfruits. The Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, Yahweh, is dishonored when we give Him our leftovers, our “good enoughs.” Proverbs 3:9 says “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:”

What is it that you possess that God did not give you? Talent? Understanding? Wealth? Compassion? Why are you not setting aside the best of yourself in all things for God? We are to honor God with the best we have to offer in all things at all times.

Jesus says that when we ask Him to come into our hearts, He will enter. We do not have to wait for God to announce who’s coming to dinner. Revelation 3:20 tells us “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” 

Are you ready?

Blessings upon Blessings

“Urgency comes when we realize time is short” – Raul Reis CCCV Conference 2009

Many are perishing in their sin – Time is short

The enemy doesn’t want you to succeed – Time is short

Walk in the way of God – Time is short

Listen to the voice of God – Time is short

Do the work of God – Time is short

Do not be a hypocrite – Time is short

Everyone faces a last breath – Time is short

Judgment is coming – Time is short

I am called to go – Time is short

Live for God – Time is short

Read the word – Time is short

Preach the word – Time is short

Repent – Time is short

Meditate – Time is short

Baptize – Time is short

Pray – Time is short

LOVE – God is eternal

Selah

Blessings upon Blessings

In His love – tim

Blame – it’s the battle cry of the 21^st century. Now I must admit that blame has been around from the very beginning. In fact, it was Adam that blamed his sin on the woman God gave him (Genesis 3:12). Through the ages, we have blamed our insufficiencies on others. Never however, in my opinion, has it reached the level we see today.

“Everybody’s doing it” has replaced core values and our mindset now seems to be dictated by the capricious winds of the crowd. We are easily blown to this opinion and that – not because we feel morally compelled to support a position, but simply because “everybody’s doing it.” We have no foundation to rest our morals on and we find ourselves adrift in a sea of conflicting opinions.

One particular opinion seems to be rising more and more to the surface these days. It is a life ring that says you don’t have to take any personal responsibility in your life. After all, it’s not your fault is it? When people treat each other badly after a disaster, it’s because the government didn’t act fast enough. When greed and short-sighted, selfish men ravage our financial institutions, it’s simply because there “weren’t enough controls in place.” When we get ourselves buried under crushing amounts of debts to live a lifestyle we can’t afford, we were merely “taken advantage of.” The culture of blame is so deeply embedded that we don’t even think of it as blame anymore. It’s just the way things are.

Perhaps that is why so few people are turning to real Christianity these days. The very first step is that we must admit that we are a sinner in need of a savior – we must agree with God that we are flawed and take personal responsibility for our poor behavior. It is much easier to follow a watered-down Christianity that says you are basically good, that God just wants you to be happy, healthy, and of course… wealthy. This is hardly the Christianity given to us by Jesus.

Don’t misunderstand that I am trying to say that every time something bad happens it is your fault. We live in a fallen world and there is a lot of evil in it. Bad things do happen to good people. If our lives focus on that one dimension however, we are ripe for the “it is not your fault” lie.

In order to make things better, whether that is financial, taking care of each other, or taking care of this world, it must first start with me. We cannot fix things with people who are want to admit that they are ever responsible for the mistakes they make. It is why we still see so much pain and suffering in this world.

How can I fix me though? I have been this way all of my life and don’t know another way? It is a question that resonates today as much as it ever did. At one time we would turn toward scripture for the answer. Today we turn to a plethora of self-help books which miss the point. The problem is self. Our problem is that we place our own desires and needs above that of anyone else. Don’t believe me? Look at the latest divorce statistics. See how many people are so easily walking away from the debt they happily took and agreed to repay. We never could fix ourselves, so another self-help book is wasted time and money.

Are things falling apart in your life? Take an honest look and ask yourself “what part of this is my responsibility?” I think if you really analyze it, you will be surprised by the answer. You can’t fix it however until you get you fixed. The bible tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) If you think you can fix your life, really fix it without fixing your heart you are sadly mistaken. We are led by our hearts and by their unredeemed nature they are selfish and cruel. How many atheist or self-help groups do you see feeding starving children or helping the homeless?

Maybe you are a Christian but you have been too busy to spend time in the word of God or perhaps you have allowed that selfish nature to take over. Now would be a good time to get the priorities straight. God has bigger plans for you than a big screen for your living room or a big car for your driveway. There are lost and hurting people out there that need to know the love of God. Open His word and hear from Him today. Ask Him to guide you in being part of the solution in a world that is so desperately in need. Be that lighthouse on the edge of the sea of confusion for your friends and family, pointing the way to safe haven.

So, my beloved, has it gotten out of control? Are your tired of blaming your life on something or someone else? There is a better way. There is hope. You can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Salvation is just a prayer away. We are ALL SINNERS in need of a savior. Jesus said “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
(Revelation 3:20) So, again I ask you, what are you waiting for?

Remember, if you grab the life ring of blame, you are still adrift.

In His love,

Blessings upon blessings.

Tim

For the last 10 months I have been in pain. It started out as no big deal. My feet would just hurt at the end of the day. I paid this no mind however. After all, I work 12 hour shifts and spend most of the time on my feet. They are supposed to hurt right?

As the weeks progressed, so did the pain. I am stubborn though and refused to see the doctor. I was sure they would take care of themselves.

Sometimes we deal with our spiritual lives in the same manner. We know things aren’t quite right. Something is missing or we have pain that shouldn’t be there. But time heals all wounds… right?

Wrong.

By the end of the sixth month, the pain was so bad that, after driving home from work, I nearly could not make the walk from my car to the front door. My pride did not want to go to the doctor, but the pain drove me to make an appointment. My entire leg was now hurting and I had trouble walking when I got up in the morning. Even though I had purchased better shoes to remedy the situation, I had not solved my problem.

When I did finally see the doctor, I was sure I had already figured out the root of my problem (part of the reason I had not gone in the first place). I was sure that I had circulation problems in my legs and my feet were dying a little at a time.

Again… wrong!

The Doctor informed me that I had plantar fasciitis. It means that the muscle/tendon in the arch of my foot keeps tearing because of the way I walk and the way my foot is. It is something that happens gradually, but when it gains a hold, the pain is crippling.

How true this is when we are outside of the will of God. We drift away gradually, our walk just outside of where we should be. Then we face pain, but our pride keeps us from dealing with it and we injure ourselves a little more and the wounds reach deeper. Finally we are so outside of the will of God we are spiritual cripples.

My doctor sent me to a specialist, a doctor that specializes in feet. He looked at my feet and told me that I should start by wrapping my feet. But if my feet were ever to heal, I would need orthotics. These were specially-made inserts that would correct the way I walked and would prevent further injury.

His assistant showed me how to wrap my foot. It was so simple I did not think that it would do that much good. My pain was beyond a simple wrap. I followed their advice though. What did I have to lose? I could barely walk as it was.

To my surprise, the wrapping helped and within a week, the pain began to subside. However, it was not gone entirely.

When we come to God broken, The Spirit begins to sooth our hurts as the forgiveness of God washes over us and our souls begin to heal. Asking for forgiveness seems like such a simple thing. How could it possibly help me? You don’t know my pain!

Don’t count out the simple.

Next in my course of treatment was the application of orthotics. These were inserts made especially for me to correct the way that I walked. When I first put them in, I was only able to wear them for a little time. They hurt nearly as bad as the plantar fasciitis that I had been dealing with. I had been warned though. The inserts would change the way I walked and my knees ankles and even hips would hurt for a while as I adjusted to walking correctly. I hated those things! (But I wore them anyway.)

Asking for forgiveness if we are not willing to apply the word of God to our lives is not enough. We will simply to continue to hurt ourselves through sin and compromise and the pain will continue. Romans 12:2 tells us
2- Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God’s will is—what is proper, pleasing, and perfect. If we cannot honestly say to God “change me“, we will never know the freedom from the wrenching pain of disobedience. Our pride keeps us from wanting to humble ourselves and admit that we do not have all the answers.

If I had taken the same approach to my foot injury, my feet would still be hurting. Thank God I got over myself and my pride and sought help. Is it perfect yet? No. But it is getting better every day.

Perhaps, your life, or things in it, are just not making sense. The pain is so great or the distance from God so far, that it seems impossible to be set free or bridge the gap. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We must first realize that we can’t do it without His help. Then we must come to Him and ask for forgiveness. Finally we must apply the word of God to our lives and ask Him to straighten our walk to keep us from unnecessary pain.

Maybe you have been walking wrong all of your life. You don’t even have a health plan. No worries, God accepts all and His treatment is free. Just turn your life over to Him and you will see healing in your life. That is a promise from God.

I still put in my orthotics every day and my feet are healing. I also open God’s word every day and my walk is getting straighter all the time. Things are not perfect, but I have peace and hope – a hope that you can have as well. Don’t be afraid. Don’t spend another day with your soul in pain. Relief is just a prayer away.

If I can pray for you email me.

Blessings upon blessings

Tim