Life Growing Strong

Jesus, Savior of the World

2011-12-14T11:25:00.000-06:00

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). What a proclamation the angels made on that day in the fields of Bethlehem. The good news being proclaimed was that a Savior was born. The shepherds reacted like any other human would, they were scared. I mean think about it, you are out working and suddenly the mundane, quiet, and otherwise normal evening is interrupted by an angelic being! Not what one would call a normal night at the office.

This very important announcement was made to shepherds. Shepherds in that day were not what one would call blue collar workers. I mean these guys were not very high on the social ladder in society. As a matter of fact, they probably were at the bottom of the ladder. I have to ask the question, "Why would God choose the lowest of low in society to make this very special announcement? After all, does it not make more sense to make such world altering announcement to nobility? What about the local town crier? What about the local gossip club? I mean if this very important news was meant to be spread throughout the country, shouldn't someone other than shepherds be told?

These shepherds were different. As William Hendriksen notes, "They were devout men, probably acquainted with Messianic prophecy. . ." (NTC, Luke pg. 149). This can easily be seen from the reaction they have to the angelic announcement as well as the reaction of those they tell. Although they were shepherds of a different type, they were still shepherds.

So the most important announcement in all of history was given to shepherds. Just like the shepherds in the field, we too have been given an important message to give to the world. That message is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ - Jesus saves today. Although many may feel that they are not worthy to tell the good news, we must tell others that Jesus saves today. No doubt, we will have many different reactions to this message just like the shepherds. However, we must not allow those negative reactions keep us from proclaiming the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

During this wonderful season of Christmas, let us never forget that we as Christians have been entrusted with the greatest story ever told - Jesus Saves! Let us proclaim this message from the rooftops. May God richly bless you during this most Holy season! Merry Christmas!

Is The Pentecostal Church Pentecostal?

2011-11-15T12:14:00.005-06:00

Recently, I read an article on the Patheos website titled, "Rick Warren's Surprising Advice to Pentecostal Churches". Naturally, this article demanded my attention as I pondered what a Southern Baptist pastor would have to say on the subject of Pentecostal churches. Much to my surprise, I found the article to not be a rant about the Pentecostal church but an encouragement to the church. The basic point of the article written by Robert Cosy on November 8, 2011 seems to be the change in the contemporary Pentecostal church from its foundational roots - our Pentecostal distinctives.

Being a Pentecostal pastor myself (Church of God, Cleveland, Tn), I have found myself asking some of the same questions that Crosby raises in his article. Namely, has the Pentecostal church lost its distinctives? Have we as a movement so desired to be accepted that we have lost our distincitve Pentecostal worship all under the guise of relevancy? How can we maintain our Pentecostal distinctive and yet attract visitors to our churches? All of these questions and many more I have pondered through the years. This article awakened my thougths on this and I thought I would write a brief reaction to this article.

First of all, let me say that I am extremely thankful for the academic advancements we as Pentecostals have made througth the years. In my denomination (the Church of God, Cleveland, TN) we have Lee Univeristy that is educating young men and women in thier faith. We have the Pentecostal Theological seminary with some of the best academic minds in the Pentecostal faith training men and women for ministry. Some of the most renowned scholars in the Pentecostal movement are on facutly at our seminary. Men such as Dr. French Arrington, Dr. Hollis Gause, Dr. Steven Land, Dr. Rick Moore, and Dr. Chris Thomas are just a few of the scholars that teach at our school. Also, Oral Roberts University is another academic institution that employs some outstanding Pentecostal/Charismatic sholars. Men such as Dr. Robert Mansfield, Dr. Tevor Grizzle, Dr. Larry Hart, Dr. Dan Thimell, Dr. Brad Young and Dr. Thomson Mathew to name a few. There are several Pentecostal authors that have written renowned academic books. These authors include, Frank Macchia, Roger Stonstand and Veli-Matti Karkkainen along with some of the professors already mentioned. All of this to say, the Pentecostal church has now been taken seriously in the academic world as well.

Now, let me begin by saying how much I appreciated the article writtne by Crosby on Rick Warren's comments to the Assembly of biennial council in Phoenix. Warren is quoted as having said, "You don't need to change any of your Pentecostal practices. Do not compromise what God has called you to do; simply make it explainable." If you have ever been apart of a Pentecostal worship experience, you know that many things occur that from the perspective of a non-pentecostal and/or a non-believer that may be hard to understand. The gifts of the Spirit should be not only that which makes us distinctive but should be in operation in our services. According to this article, sadly, this is not the case in the contemporary Pentecostal church.

The article notes a marked decline in the operation and manifestaion of the gifts of the Spirit in the Pentecostal church. Crosby states, "In many cases, churches and mega-churches have relegated glossolalia and other charismata [gifts] to the Sunday night services or small groups." Although there is nothing wrong with the gifts being operational in these services, they should be operational in our morning services as well.

Crosby notes several reasons as to why this change may have come to the Pentecostal church. I would like to add my thougths on why I feel this has occurred. Let me begin by saying as a Pastor I place some of the blame square on the shoulders of our Pastoral leadership. As the pastor, our job is to feed the sheep. To teach them doctrine. We must educate our people as to the proper public demonstration of the gifts as instructed in 1 Corinthians 14. Paul explains the proper demonstration of the gifts in this passage of Scripture. We as church leaders have failed to educate our people in the proper operatioin of the gifts in the public worship setting.

For years, many things that we have labeled as "spiritual" have only been manifestations of the flesh in our churches with the label of spiritual thrown on it. The proper operation of the gifts of the Spirit will always bring honor and glory to Christ. They should never bring attention to the one who is operating in the gift, but should always point to Christ. The gifts were not given to edify the one being used in the gifts, but they were given to bring glory and honor to Christ. They were given as signs of the power of the indwelling Spirit in the life of the believer. They were never intended to showcase the flesh!

The only way I see to reverse this trend of the decline of the operation of the gifts in the church is to educate both the pulpit and the pew. We need to study the Word of God so that we will be workman that does not need to be ashamed as we rightly divide the word of Truth. Then once the pulpit is ready, we must train up our people in the proper administration of the gifts of the Spirit in the worship service.

Crosby quotes Warren as saying, "Don't lose your Pentecostal distinctive." I too will reiterate this same thing we must not lose our Pentecostal distinctive. Several things can be done to help explain the public demonstration of the Spiritual gifts. For example, one can have literature available that explains the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. One can post on their church websites explanations of the working of the Spirit. Finally when a public demonstration of the Spirit occurs in our services, we can take that as an opportunity to Biblically explain what happened. This can be a very brief explanation but giving the explanation may help people understand better what happened. The Holy Spirit is not the giver of fear and our guests should not leave our services being fearful of what they experienced.

Finally, I would like to publicly say to Rick Warren, "Thank you for your timely message and your admonition to us to maintain our Pentecostal Distinctive." Let us begin to reclaim our Pentecostal heritage and encourage our people to seek after the gifts of the Spirit.

Should We Preach with Authority

2011-09-10T08:40:00.003-05:00

I found this article and although I normally don't post someone elses writing on my blog, this was very good and conveys my thoughts well. Enjoy the article written by Shane Idleman. I hope several of you will comment.

A few years back, I listened in astonishment as postmodern leaders talked about replacing “preaching” with “having a conversation.” At first, I thought that maybe they were confusing individual conversations with how we should speak to the masses, but I was wrong. They felt that we should stop “preaching” from the pulpit, and start being more passive and less confrontational. Never mind the fact that Jesus said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43). But according to many postmoderns, it’s time to replace... preaching with conversing.

Don’t get me wrong... I’m not questioning cosmetic issues such as styles of worship, ambiance, lighting, and mood. I’m challenging the dangerous practice of removing foundational principles — Spirit- empowered preaching is foundational.

I’m also not suggesting that we never converse with people; quite the contrary... We must be slow to speak and quick to listen, but when we are called to preach, a whole new dynamic takes place…the Spirit of God speaks, convicts, draws, heals, breaks, restores,wounds, and rebuilds. In the book, Spirit Empowered Preaching,the author said, “It must be understood that the preacher does not share, he declares… Preaching is not a little talk. It is not a fireside chat. To substitute sharing and discussion for preaching is to risk the integrity of the gospel itself.”

“What does this have to do with me; I’m not a pastor, or a preacher,” you might ask. It has a great deal to do with any Christian regard-less of his or her calling. Let me explain. There is a very troubling trend in the evangelical church, as a whole. Foundational doctrines such as the cross, sin, judgment, and repentance were declared openly in the early hours of church history, as well as in American history—when revivals and awakenings spread across our landscape.

Today, these foundational truths are often neglected, watered-down,or avoided altogether in the hope of “not offending,” “securing an audience,” or being “user-friendly.” Judgment is never mentioned;repentance is never sought; and sin is often excused. This leaves people confused and deceived because they believe in a cross-less Christianity that bears no resemblance to Jesus’ sobering call to repentance. Even though you may not be a Christian leader, we all are called to share God’s Word with others—especially the difficult truths. Then we are also able to offer hope.

“To convince the world of the truth of Christianity, it must first be convinced of sin. It is only sin that renders Christ intelligible”(-Andrew Murray; 1794-1866). In other words, the crucifixion only makes sense in light of the consequences of sin. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Timothy 1:15), yet, we’re not suppose to mention sin, repentance, or judgment?

Again, the good news about Christ can only be appreciated with the bad news as the backdrop. There are times when the saints must be fed, and there are times when the sinners must be warned (-C.H. Spurgeon). Preaching, witnessing, teaching, and so on must be done with God-given authority to truly be effective. When we fail to proclaim God’s Word faithfully, we run the risk of “encouraging sin” and “perverting the words of the living God.”(cf. Jeremiah 23).

False Teaching

2011-02-09T11:53:00.003-06:00

There is no doubt that the Bible is explicit in its warnings regarding false teaching and false prophets rising during the last day. These warnings were placed in the Word for our benefit. They were given as "warnings" and it would be in our best interest to heed these warnings. We need to be so very careful in what we are listening to and allowing into our spirit. Many deceptive teachings have been espoused throughout church history. So, false teaching is nothing new. The Bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun.

Some of those teachings include inclusion theology which says that everyone goes to heaven and that repentance is not necessary, the teaching that we are all "little gods", the teaching that there was no virgin birth, the teaching that God was not fully human and many more. I found an interesting discussion by Pastor Crawford Loritts in a lecture he gave titled, "Truth Matters". In this discussion he gave seven pieces of advice on false teaching that I thought was great. I have posted them below:

1. Be careful of people you don't know who want to go immediately into intimate communication with you.
2. Be careful of people who want you to disclose more about yourself than they are willing to disclose about themselves.
3. Be careful of those who use experiences, special insight and new kinds of information to control you.
4. Be careful of those who promote a teaching or an emphasis not widely accepted by the church or mature believers.
5. Be careful of those who try to isolate you from family and friends through their contacts with you and their new circle of associates.
6. Don't give control of your mind and thought to anyone but the Lord - Loyalty should never be considered to be blind obedience.
7. Never stop seeking true, honest fellowship with healthy and mature Christians who do not practice any of the above.

What I found to be interesting is how the enemy uses "interpersonal" relationships to lure us away from truth. Certainly this should be no surprise since relationships are so important in the body of Christ and that Jesus Himself wants to have a relationship with each of us. I hope you found this to be as interesting as I did. God Bless!!

By His Stripes We Are Healed

2010-10-28T09:42:00.002-05:00

Isaiah 53:5 gives us the wonderful promise of divine healing. Of course, the first person that may enter your mind when you think about healing is Oral Roberts. Bro. Roberts spent his life being used of God to heal the sick. The great healing crusades he conducted throughout our country brought the healing message of Jesus Christ to hundreds of thousands of people. For just a few moments I would like to focus on the local church and divine healing.

I thank God for men like Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn and others like them. However, many healing's occur at the local church level that only those in attendance on that day have the privilege of witnessing. This in no way makes these healing any less significant or miraculous. They are, after all, "power encounters" with the God that heals. Though they do not get the media hype and the recognition of the masses, they are none-the-less just as real and significant as those seen in the mass crusades.

I said all of this because in our Wednesday Evening Bible study last night, a lady that had been suffering with back problems for most of her life received healing. It was the most beautiful thing that I witnessed in a long while. She was playing the piano and the body began to intercede on her behalf. When we were through with the music, she came off the platform and got to the second row in the sanctuary and said, "Dear God, I am raising my feet. I haven't been able to raise my feet for over five years!" She then proceeded to give God praise for the next 15 minutes or so. During this time, many people were being touched by the power of the Spirit that was so sweet and strong in that place.

Although there were only a handful of people there to witness this miracle, it was a moment in which Isaiah 53 came to life right before our eyes. Moments like these in the local church do several things - faith rises, excitement rises, God's promises become tangible, and the church rejoices together. I think if we were to ask those who have been healed by God where their healing occurred, I think the majority would say, "My local church".

This post is not intended to be a slam against healing crusades, but rather it is to celebrate the miraculous work that occurs at the local church. We celebrate with the masses at healing crusades, but lets us never forget the healing that occurs within our local churches. "By His stripes we are healed" - notice there is no location mentioned!

Gossip - A Cancer in the Church

2010-09-07T23:19:00.002-05:00

In 1 Timothy 5:13 it says, "And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not." Gossip eats away at the very fabric of a church. It will if left untreated, destroy not only the church as a whole but individuals within a church. Scripture is very clear about the destructive nature of gossip. It tears down and never builds up. This is why gossip is normally done in dark for if it was truth it would be in the light. The enemy has used the weapon of gossip for years within the church and has been extremely successful in tearing up churches with this weapon.

My concern is that people tend to stereotype a church by the ways some of its people conducts themselves. For instance, how many times have we heard people say, "That church is just full of a bunch of gossipers?" Or worse than than that, "I have been the victim of gossip before and the hurt is still there". What about the pastoral family whose children have become bitter against God and the church because they heard church members barbecue the pastor week after week? It breaks my heart to see people who have been wounded by a Christian who can not overcome gossip.

Don't you think it is time that we learn to live Christ-like lives? Don't you think it's time that we learn to control that unruly member - the tongue? Don't we have enough wounded people walking around due to this terrible epidemic in the church? We need men and women of God who will stand up against this cancer invading the body of Christ. It is time that we say, "I will not allow gossip to ruin one more life and it will not allow it to be a cancer in my church". When someone begins to gossip, we need to be the spiritually mature and tell them in love that we will not be apart of gossip. If the body of Christ does not stand against this cancer in the church, one day we will see the church destroyed because people could not stop the gossip.

Let us come against this evil within the body of Christ and pray that God will close the mouths of those who wag their tongues for the purpose of tearing down. We have a choice before us, will our words build people up or will they tear down our brothers and sisters? The good news of Jesus Christ is all about love. How can we possible love someone as Christ loves them if we are constantly tearing them down? The answer is we can't. There is no way that we can truly love someone and at the same time speak words of destruction to them or about them. Let's eradicate gossip for our lives! Pray and ask God to give us the strength and ability to overcome this cancer that is raging through the Christian church today.

Cancer devours the body. That which once was healthy becomes sick, weak and tired. Gossip causes the body of Christ to be destroyed. It causes the witness of Christ within that body to become sick, weak and tired. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to infuse us in such away that Gossip is eradicated from our lives. God Bless!

The Blessing of God

2010-08-01T23:55:00.002-05:00

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Paul speaking to the church at Ephesus, remind the Ephesian believers that God through Christ has blessed them with every spiritual blessing. In other words, in Christ we have all spiritual blessing that we need.

After our service today, I began to think on the idea of blessing. God so richly blessed us today in our service that I was reminded of the passage in Ephesians. God has provided for our physical healing through stripes on His back, financial need is provided due to His riches in glory and finally through His blood salvation has been provided.

I can't remember a time that I felt so blessed as I did today. We prayed for a four year old child who has been diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. After the service, he came to me and said, "Pastor I am strong because God has healed me". What a blessing to have this child speak for the blessing of God upon his life. He is standing on faith for his healing even at the young age of four. I could not help but think of the innocence of this little boy's confession. I think that we as adults can learn allot from a statement such as this.

Finally, I was reminded this week of my passion for pastoring God's people. I have always held to the position that when ministry begins to be a job and not a calling, then I need to look for something else to do. Satan wants us to throw in the towel and will cause us to focus on our trial rather than on Christ. A young man in our church reminded me of this when he said, "You know, it bothers me when ministry is no longer fun and fulfilling". He said that was the road he was headed down. God wants to remind the both of us, "Don't get weary in well doing..."

What a perfect reminder in Ephesians as Paul reminds us that all Spiritual blessings have been already provided - we simply need to appropriate them.

Change

2010-07-07T00:17:00.003-05:00

There are some times that I wonder why I even write on this blog. Very rarely do I even get a comment on what I have written, but for some reason I do keep writing. Although I do not update it as much as I should, (considering my last post was about Easter and here it is July) I am trying to do some better this year. Oh well, here is another futile attempt at blogging.

The subject I would like to deal with today is "change". Many times change is both needed and necessary. However, there are times in which change just for change sake is not a good thing. In Ecclesiastes, the Bible talks about there being "times" or transitions in our lives - a time to live, a time to laugh, a time to dance etc. Although these times of transitions are apart of life, often we ascribe change to being a "God" thing when in reality it is our own self that desires the change.

I have been in pastoral ministry for some 20 years and have heard this statement more than on one occasion, "Pastor, God has been dealing with me about some changes that I need to make". On the surface this sounds like a great confession, however it usually ends with "God is leading me elsewhere". Why would God lead people away from a particular church just so they could make changes? I would like to submit that many times people use the "God is leading me" card, simply because they want to ascribe something spiritual to something that is a matter of their own free will and choices.

Why not simply be honest and say, "I want to leave because I want to." As a pastor this provides for an opportunity to counsel with an individual on the subject of God's will and listening to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But when the "God is leading me" card is played that shuts the door for any counseling opportunity. So, I simply want to say if it is God's leading then so be it however, don't play the "God is leading" me card when in reality it is our will and God has nothing to do with it.

New Web Site

2010-04-13T22:35:00.002-05:00

Please check out our new website at www.lifegrowingstrong.com and let me know what you think about it.

Easter Reflections

2010-04-08T01:04:00.002-05:00

Easter has come and went and I wanted to make a few comments regarding this wonderful day. God blessed us with beautiful weather on Easter Sunday this year. I always love it when Easter is a bright sunshiny day! It makes the day so much exciting for all.

I have always loved the Easter season, it is a time of beautiful spring flowers blooming, warmer weather and there is just a wonderful sense of life. I also love it when the Spirit of the Lord moves on individuals and they give their life to the Lord. We experienced that miracle on Easter. We had someone give their life to the Lord! The miracle of the new birth on the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! It reminds me of an old hymn we used to sing, "There is a new name written down in Glory and it's mine oh yes it mine. The white robed angels sing the story a sinner has come home!" Praise the Lord on Sunday a new name was written in glory. Praise the Lord for salvation.

We can celebrate the Easter season every day! Jesus is alive He is not dead. Is your relationship with Jesus dead? Do you need resurrection power infused into your relationship with Christ? My prayer is for resurrection power to raise His people into newness of life. May God richly bless you as we spread the "Good News" that Jesus saves today. Please remember pray that we will remain faithful to our mission of Life Growing Strong!

Fighting the Good Fight

2010-02-24T00:05:00.003-06:00

I feel honored to be a pastor. Not to say that I enjoy every single day, but I know that God has called me to pastor His people. I do not take this calling lightly, but enter into it with fear and trepidation. It is an awesome responsibility to preach the Word, but to pastor God's people is also an ominous and rewarding task. I am saying all of this because I have a young man in my church who is 23 years of age. His parents were told that he would not live to see his second birthday. Tonight he is literally fighting for his life.

He has been sick in the hospital for a week as of today. Three different doctors told the family that if he lived through the first night he would not live for more than two days and that he needs a miracle - it has been a week so far! The only explanation that can be given is the healing Jesus has his hand on him. We all are praying for a miracle for this young man.

I said all of that to say, he is an inspiration to me. When I visit him, I see a young man who is fighting the good fight of faith. When I look into the tired eyes of his mom and dad and several other family members, I see what hope truly looks like. I see in their tired,teary and wearied eyes hope and a faith in a God who works miracles. This young man is fighting the good fight of faith and although he is so sick, he brings such inspiration to me and to all who have been touched by this special young man. I can only hope that I have the same resolve he does to finish the race that God has set before me. Please pray for this young man and his family. We believe in a miracle working God and are believing in a complete and total healing for him.

Seasons

2010-01-29T12:39:00.003-06:00

I am so ready for Fall! Yes, I said Fall - not Spring! I love the fall season of the year. I enjoy Spring, but Spring here in Oklahoma means Tornado's! I don't care for the storms either. Now fall, that is a wonderful time of the year - color changes, cool weather and beautiful scenery! Winter - cold, dead, icy and stuck in the house! I know that every season has its purpose and without the changes of the seasons creation would get out of balance.

Although I may not like the winter and spring, God certainly knew what He was doing when he created the world. Without the deadness of winter, spring would not be as beautiful. Without the storms of spring, grass would not turn green and the flowers would not bloom. Without the warmth of summer, we would not dry out from the spring rains. God told us in Ecclesiastes 3:1,"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:" Every season has its purpose - that is the way God made it.

It gives me great comfort in knowing that when the storms of life come, when the deadness of winter come and when the heat of the battle rages God has given us His promise that He is there in the midst of it all! What a comfort to know that Jesus loves us so much that he does not abandon us in the trials and tribulations of life! He is a wonderful God who loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with us! Take the time today to thank God for the seasons of our lives!

New Year New Goals

2010-01-21T21:25:00.002-06:00

Well, as you can see I did not do very well with keeping my blog updated. However, 2010 is the year! I am going to do my best to post on my blog at the very least bi-weekly. So, this is my first post of the New Year and I am pumped to say the least. I believe that this is going to be the best year for Freedom Life Church of God. I can not wait to see what God is going to do.

Since March of 09, my wife and I embarked upon a lifestyle change that would radically change our lives forever. We have - drum roll please - lost a total of 193 pounds! My wife is at 98 pounds and I have lost 95! We did this the "old fashioned" way by exercise and healthy food choices. I would like to challenge all who read this to join us on this journey. Remember we "are the temples of the Holy Spirit". Let's take care of what God has given us.

God Bless!

The Blessings of the Lord

2009-05-17T23:28:00.002-05:00

How awesome it was to be in church today. We had a wonderful service, the praise and worship was great and the Lord was with us in each service. We had a Gideon representative in our service this morning and he gave a wonderful report. He said that the Gideons around the world places a testament somewhere in the world every time your heart beats! Wouldn't it be great if each time our heart beats someone gives their life to the Lord?

I am seriously concerned about the state of the church in America. We enjoy the blessings of the Lord in this country, but we are not doing what God has called us to do. We get so caught up in our programs that we get our focus off of the Great Commission. Jesus longs to see people saved (it is not His will that any should perish). My prayer is that God's people will get a burden for the lost around us. God is calling His church back to prayer and intercession for the lost. Let's get busy seeing souls saved in the House of God. Lord, send revival among Your people and let it begin with me!

Pastor Appreciation

2009-05-01T00:04:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday was pastor appreciation at the church. We feel so honored to pastor such a wonderful group of people. It is our privilege to be apart of each of their lives. Sunday was a wonderful day and what love abounded in the service for us. I think I pastor the best people in the Christian world. This is not to say that we don't have our challenges, but God is so good to us that He helps us get through them all.

I can not wait to fire up the new barbeque grill this weekend and give it a try. It is one beautiful piece of equipment! The love offering was wonderful and a great blessing for us. Pastor Krieger and Pastor Jim did a wonderful job preaching the morning and evening service. Although I have a lot of "preach" in me for this weekend. I can't wait to deliver the message God has laid on my heart this weekend.

Please keep us in prayer as we begin our remodeling project next week! I know that it is going to look absolutely beautiful when we finish. Please pray that God will continue to provide the finances we need to complete the project. May God richly bless you is our prayer.

Discipleship

2009-04-20T21:57:00.002-05:00

God has placed such a desire in my heart for training people in discipleship. It seems that since the beginning of the year, God has placed an even greater burden for this area. I feel that it is absolutely essential for the survival and advancement of the Kingdom of God. God has called each and every believer to be a disciple and to make disciples.

With this burden, I have decided to begin a discipleship class on Wednesday evenings. The class will be called Life 101. I am so excited about this new class and can not wait to get it started. The start up date is May 6. We are going to begin this journey by first defining what a disciple is and then we are going to work on how to disciple others. Please keep us in prayer as we begin this new class.

Finally, I can not begin to say how much God has blessed in our services lately. There has been such a freedom in our worship services and a deeper level of worship by our people. It is so exciting and refreshing. I agree with David when he said, "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord."

Easter

2009-04-13T22:26:00.002-05:00

Easter is such a wonderful time of the year. For Christians, it is one of the most important days of the year. Here in Tulsa, Easter was a very wet day rain pretty much all day. It seems that the weather effected our attendance and the children had to hunt Easter eggs inside the church.

In spite of the weather, the service went very well. People were blessed and the Spirit of the Lord moved in a wonderful way. Just goes to show you that God can move in any circumstances and weather has noting to do with His moving. I know that God has wonderful plans for our church and I am believing that we will be running over 100 by the end of the year. Please pray that Freedom Life Church of God will work toward the mission God gave us - Life Growing Strong.

Being Busy

2009-04-06T00:55:00.002-05:00

Man, does life ever keep us busy. Many times we are so busy that we can not even rest well at night simply from staying busy in our minds thinking about all the stuff we have to do. The sheep we count turn into projects that need to get done or people we need to write or papers we need to get done.

I think that God is not pleased with all the "stuff" we have running around in our minds. The "stuff" crowds out His will and way for our life. He wants us to set time aside to spend alone with Him. He wants us to talk to him (pray) and in turn He will speak to us through His word.

Let's put forth the effort to remove the stuff so that we can spend quality time with our Father. He loves us so much He wants to spend time alone with us, so we He can talk with us. For He told us, "I know the plans I have for you..."

I hope everyone has a wonderful week in the Lord! God Bless each of you!

Blogging Is A Challenge

2009-03-28T22:15:00.002-05:00

Well, once again I have not kept up with posting. I do have a great excuse this time. I have been busy working on an MDiv program. I guess that excuse is as good as any of the rest. Also, I can't seem to get anyone to post comments. It is boring to simply blog to myself. Maybe I need to try that Twitter thing. I am not sure what all is entailed in that, but I have heard allot about it.

I recently joined Facebook and found tons of my high school friends are on there. It is like a blast from the past. I have lots of wonderful memories from my High School days! After all I found the love of my life at that High School. Barbie and I have been together ever since. A total of 28 years we have known one another, we have been married almost 26 years now.

I have found in my MDiv studies, a new love that I love. It is Greek. It has been both a challenge and a wonderful learning adventure. I don't think I would ever be a Greek scholar, but I truly find the study of the Biblical language wonderful! Well, I am going to quit blogging now and call it night. Maybe, just maybe someone will post a comment on here and that will keep me motivated to blog.

Spiritual Journey

2008-10-23T16:06:00.004-05:00

It has been a long while since I last posted. No excuses - just have not kept it up to date. Once again, I am attempting to try.

I thought I would beging this new post with the Spiritual Journey that the Lord has called our church to particpate in. We have been in this special emphasis on prayer, Bible Study and being faithful to the house of God for the past three weeks. I would venture to say that it has certainly impacted all of our lives. We have had some outstanding services over the past three weeks. During a recent evening service, a young man came to be prayed for and the Lord worked a miracle in his life! He was set free from alcohol addiction! I am believing that for the next several weeks as we take this journey together, that God is going to do a miraculous work in our midst!

We are looking for great things to occur during this special emphasis on spiritual discipline. God bless you and if you don't have a home church, come check us out!!

The Love of God

2008-04-03T22:44:00.002-05:00

As you read the Bible, the revelation of God's love for His creation comes to life. When you begin to read about the work that God went through in creation to provide a perfect place for His greatest creation, you can not help but sense His great love for us. He loved us so much that even after we messed things up in the Garden, He still wanted to have a relationship with us. The most amazing aspect of this story is that God was calling out to his creation in the cool of the day even after He knew they had sinned against Him. Of course He knew what Adam and Eve had done - they disobeyed His command. But still He called out to them because He wanted a relationship with His creation.

As you continue to read His word, you find that even though we sinned against Him - He loved us enough to forgive us of our sins. We ask ourselves how he can love those who are in rebellion against him? How can He love me when I have done so much wrong? How could He forgive me for the horrible things I have done? Society screams revenge, justice and let's get even, while Jesus says, "forgive those who despitefully use you", "love your enemy", "love your neighbor as yourself". The scream of society is very different from the still small voice of the Spirit. The voice of the Spirit cries, "Mercy and love". Obviously not because we deserve mercy and love but because He loves us.

I for one am thankful for God's love and His mercy. Can we be thankful for God's love? Can we love the unlovable? Can we be His hands extended? My prayer is that God's love can be seen in my life. How about you?

God's Blessing Of Vision

2008-03-14T16:04:00.002-05:00

We know that the Bible says, "Without a vision the people perish". Many of you may remember last year during Summer camp meeting in Shawnee, OK that God spoke to my heart about seeing 500 in our church. While we still have a long way to go, God is being true to His word. Over the past couple of months God has sent 10 new people to join us in our church. We are so excited about what God is going to do.

I also understand that with growth comes change. Change is one of the most difficult areas we face as a church. Because change is scary, new, and at times even threatening we have a tendency to not like it. However, I know that unless changes are made we will always get what we have always got. I am calling all our prayer warriors together and asking them to specifically pray about the changes we need to make as we continue to grow.

Rest assured that your pastoral staff has been and is continually in prayer about the vision we believe God is giving us. We want you to be patient and understanding with us so that the vision God has given to Freedom Life will continue to come to pass. God is doing fantastic things at Freedom Life and its just the beginning of what He is going to do in our midst!

Victory Mandate In 2008

2008-02-23T18:43:00.002-06:00

God has given us a word for 2008 and it is "Victory". We are believing God for great and mighty victories in 2008. He has already started doing some wonderful things. We have been blessed with several new families at the beginning of the year. And they all are a wonderful blessing to our family here at Freedom.

I must confess I took a too much of a rest from posting on my blog, but I am going to do better this year. We are so excited about What God is doing here at Freedom Life! God has a wonderful year ahead for us and I for one am so excited about what He is going to do!

The fellowship hall is undergoing a major renovation as it is being transformed into "Treasure Cove" which is our Children's ministry name. The children are going to have a wonderful kid friendly room to call home. My office has been moved and the new office is absolutely wonderful! It looks like very inviting and warm. I know this only the beginning of what God has planned for us this year. Look for more news coming soon!

Honoring the Pioneers of the Church

2007-03-27T13:59:00.000-05:00

Well, it certainly has been way too long since I have posted on my blog. I realized that it has been almost two months since my last post. I honestly don't know where the time has gone! We are going to be celebrating Easter in a couple of weeks. It seems like we have just came out of the big chill of winter - which I am extremely grateful for!

Enough of the small talk for now! I wanted to write this article about honoring the pioneers of the church because it is dear to my heart. The Bible instructs us to "give honor where honor is due." Therefore as the pastor of Freedom Life and as a relatively young man myself, I feel indebted to the men and women of God who sacrificed their lives for the Kingdom of God.

It is a great privilege of mine to have several retired ministers and wives in our church. These couples are a wealth of information! It is exciting to sit over a cup of coffee and listen to the stories they tell of days gone by. I love to hear them talk about the revivals of the past, the power of God and the miracles that many of them witnessed as they evangelized and pastored in their younger years.

One of the greatest honors God has allowed me to participate in has been washing the feet of these elderly saints of God. Several months ago, the Spirit of the Lord moved on my heart to have a foot washing during our Sunday evening service (this was not planned as part of the service that night). I will never forget the feeling of kneeling at the feet of these precious saints of God and washing their feet. In my hands were the feet of the men who by the sweat of their brow, by the sacrifices they made and by the many precious tears they shed gave me the opportunity to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ! You talk about a humbling experience! Words can not adequately describe what I was feeling.

This past Sunday night (March 25) I had invited one of our retired ministers who had pastored this church for over 18 years - Bro. Clifford Elliot to be our guest speaker. We had a wonderful service and their were several people here that night. When Bro. Elliot turned the service over to me, we took a few moments to worship the Lord together. It was during this time the Spirit of the Lord impressed me to wash Bro. Elliot's feet. As I knelt down and began to wash his feet he kept saying, "I am not worthy of this". As he said this, I thought you are worthy of this. Because of the sacrifices you made, the labor you performed and the many prayers you prayed we have a church building we can worship in.

As tears ran profusely down my cheeks and as I held his feet in my hands, I realized the significance of the Scripture that says, ..."How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things" (Romans 10:15).

Let us never forget the sacrifices that have been made by those who have blazed the trail before us! Give honor where honor is due!

Power of Heaven in 2007

2007-01-24T15:22:00.000-06:00

We have adopted the theme "Power of Heaven in 2007" as our direction for the new year. We are so excited about the opportunities that God is going to give us in 2007 that we can hardly wait to see what He is going to do!

I am sure you noticed it has been a while since my last post. This was because we have been covered for the past two weeks with frozen sleet! Not snow but sleet! Did I say not snow but sleet! The ice began to fall on Friday January 12 and fell for 2 1/2 days. The high temperatures during the day were so cold the ice was not able to thaw. It totally caused havoc down here. Thank God, we were spared the freezing rain and we did not lose our electricity. But nonetheless, travel was very dangerous.

The travel was so dangerous that I was unable to attend a conference in Cleveland, TN that I wanted to attend due to this nasty frozen junk. We were not able to have church services for two weeks because of the frozen sleet. Even today as I am typing this and we are at a balmy 50 degrees, there is still frozen sleet in several places on our parking lot. This weather thing was absolutely a mess.

You may be wondering, what does all of this have to do with the power of Heaven? I am glad you asked. Although mankind has advanced greatly in knowledge and wisdom over the years, God is still in control. I guess in a very real sense you could say we experienced the Power of Heaven as it relates to the weather. God is still the one in charge and He commands the winds and water and they must obey.

Although we had a mess with the frozen sleet, God had a purpose in sending this our way. What purpose did He have? I do not have the slightest idea. If it was up to me I would skip winter all together! I would extend spring, summer and fall to make up for the winter months. I am sure my idea would have some ill effect on the ecosystem. But I can dream can't I?

So, I am expecting a wonderful move of God in our service on Wednesday and Sunday since it has been so long since we have been able to have service. But even more than that I know God will be in the house desiring our worship! I can't wait to see the Power of Heaven in 2007 (I really hope in a more spiritual manner and not weather)!

Remember freedom only comes through Jesus Christ!!

Living By Faith

2007-01-11T13:16:00.000-06:00

"Living By Faith" is a hymn that many of us have sang for years. The first verse says, "I care not today what the morrow may bring, if shadow or sunshine or rain, the Lord I know ruleth over everything and all my worry is in vain." The chorus says, "Living by faith in Jesus above, trusting confiding in His great love, from all harm safe in His sheltering arms, I am living by faith and feel no alarm." The Scripture says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). As Christians we are to live by faith and this is not always easy for us to do.

God speaks to us at least four times in His word regarding living by faith. Habakkuk 2:4 says, "but the just shall live by his faith." Notice the personal pronoun "his". This makes faith a personal matter. We cannot take a journey of faith on our parents faith or our grandparents faith, we must take this journey on our own faith.

The other three references about the just living by faith on Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. In each of these Scriptures it says, "The just shall live by faith." I for one do not like the idea of moving into the unknown. In order for us to move into the unknown, we have to take a step of faith and realize we are in His "sheltering arms". For if we are attempting our Christian walk in fear of the unknown, we will cripple our walk of faith. Faith and fear can not co-exist.

When fear tries to invade our lives, we need to realize the source of fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." This Scripture obviously implies that fear comes from Satan since it does not come from God. Satan does not want us to live a live of faith because he knows the results that comes when a child of God lives by faith. Remember the words to the hymn "I am living by faith and I fell no alarm [fear]". If we are truly living by faith we will not be fearful of what tomorrow will bring. For we know who holds our tomorrow!

So let us walk according to faith and not fear and by doing so we will defeat the enemy. We will walk in victory not feeling any alarms no matter what may come our way.

Remember freedom only comes through Jesus Christ!
The Power of Heaven in 2007!

New Year Already!

2006-12-28T14:38:00.000-06:00

I don't know about anyone else, but 2006 has ended before I even realized it. They say this happens more and more the older we get. You know - time flies! Anyhow, ready or not, the new year is now upon us. Where did the year go?

The Bible speaks to us about time in Psalms 75:2 God distinctly says: "I choose the appointed time". I love what Psalms 102:13 says: God will "have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come." I feel like 2007 is the year for the favor of God to be shown on His church. Of course, the church is not perfect and she never will be while we are here on earth. We as the church have lots of work to do to get us to the point where God's favor will shine on the church once again. However, this can be accomplished if the church will realize that now is the time for the church to step up and be what God has called us to be.

Many churches have gotten so inwardly focused they can not discern the time. They don't seem to realize (or they don't care) that people all around them need the Lord. People are hurting, hungry and need encouragement and the church seems to have disconnected herself from the communities we are in. God help us to be the church you have called us to be! Help us to realize that our harvest fields are ready to be harvested.

You may be asking yourself why I am making such a big deal about this. The truth is the Holy Spirit has touched my heart and given me a burden to see the church be the church. So as 2007 begins, let us all remind ourselves to be the church God wants us to be. It is my firm conviction that if the church begins to be more community focused and becomes more active in our communities, we will see the favor of God poured out onto the church like never before. God help us to see this world through your eyes!

Remember Freedom Only Comes through Jesus Christ!

The Message of Christmas

2006-12-15T12:05:00.000-06:00

The message of Christmas is one of love, peace and joy. It is one of my favorite times of the year! It is a time when people begin to concentrate more on their family and reflect upon the blessing of family. The one word I use to describe Christmas is Love.

The savior of the world was delivered to humanity in an old barn among farm creatures. The King of Kings the Son of God was born in a barn! The incarnate God, the God who spoke this universe into existence, the God who loves you and me so much was born in the most destitute of places. We can not help but ask why? There is only one explanation and it is love. God loved us so much that He sent His most precious gift to humanity wrapped in swaddling clothes among farm animals simply out of love.

We all know how much of a fuss people make over babies. Everyone wants to look at the baby and make funny faces and talk about how cute they are. I have often wondered as people looked at the baby Jesus if they realized the face they were gazing upon was the face of the Savior of humanity. Did they realize that this cute, innocent, sweet baby would save the world from their sins? This reminds me of the Christmas song, "Mary Did You Know". One line from the lyrics says, "Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God!" Imagine every kiss by Mary and Joseph was on the face of God.

So as we all gather for our Christmas celebrations, let us not forget that the true meaning of Christmas is love. The love God gave to humanity in a stable among farm animals wrapped in swaddling clothes. Have a Merry Christmas for Jesus is truly the reason for the season!

Remember freedom only comes through Jesus Christ!

Washing of the Saints Feet - Repost

2006-12-11T16:24:00.000-06:00

I posted the following on my old blog spot. It made such an impact on me I wanted to re post it here in hopes of getting some feedback.

The “washing of the saints’ feet is one of the three ordinances that we the Church of God practice. The practice of the “washing of the saints’ feet can be traced back to the Feast of Passover. Just before Jesus was to be crucified on the cross, He instituted the Lord’s Supper and the “washing of the saints’ feet” (Matt 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-26 and John 13:1-20).
To begin this particular discussion we must first discuss two terms - ordinances and sacraments. These two terms can be used interchangeably and are a way in which we can visibly testify of the transforming work of Jesus in our lives. Understand that neither the Lord’s Supper or the “washing of the saints’ feet” are required for salvation, they are outward signs that we have received the gift of salvation.

Now, lets go back to the subject of the washing of the saints’ feet. We have all probably read the Scriptural accounts of servants who have washed the dust or muddy feet of a guest. However, when Jesus Christ washed the disciples feet it had a much deeper significance. By washing His disciples feet, Jesus was teaching His disciples of the great spiritual need of people.
French Arrington in his book, “Exploring the Declaration of Faith” notes, “foot washing is a holy ordinance that has deep significance in our relationship with Christ and in our relationship with each other.” He explains, “footwashing points to the cleansing power of the sacrificial death of our Lord. Footwashing summons believers to humble service to God and others.” These two powerful points explain the importance of practicing the ordinance of washing the saints’ feet.

One may be wondering what has triggered this post in the first place. I felt that after our Sunday morning service it would be good to discuss this particular ordinance of the church. My role as shepherd of the Freedom Life congregation is to be a servant to the people of God. In my opinion, there is no better picture of a servant than that of Jesus Christ God in the flesh washing the feet of His disciples. This signifies that He was there to serve others.

With all of that being said, let me personally reflect on the service Sunday (November 12) - specifically the foot washing portion. It was a very moving and emotional experience for me as I washed the feet of the saints of God who have pioneered the Church of God in Oklahoma. As I washed the feet of a retired minister, I was reminded of the scripture that says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of of him who brings good news…” (Isaiah 52:7). I was overwhelmed as I washed this precious saints feet and began to think about the many miles those feet had traveled preaching this glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. I began to wonder how many miles those feet had traveled walking up and down the aisles of churches over the years. How many hospital visits they had made? How many baby dedications had been done? How many cemeteries they had been to? I was overwhelmed as I thought about this precious saint of God.

As I washed the feet of the teenager, I could not help but think that in my hand were the feet that would pick up the mantle of Pentecost and carry it to another generation of believers. I prayed that God would protect these young people as they find there way in the world. When I washed the feet of the child, I just prayed that God would keep his anointing and protection over our children as they go to school and mature in Christ.

When I washed the feet of the young adult, I thought about the importance of young adults being involved in the church and accepting their responsibility to be the backbone of the church. I began to think about how we as young adults get so caught up in providing for family that we forget about service to the Kingdom. We often get so busy providing that we do not take the time to be priests in our homes and fathers to our children.

Finally, I would like to say that I was truly moved as the ladies washed the feet of my wife. She is my backbone in ministry and without her I would be incomplete. She is my help-mate and many times her work goes unnoticed. So thank you for your love for our entire family. Thank you God for my wife, family and church family as we have have dedicated ourselves to serving you.

You will never know how much it meant as many of you washed my feet as well. It was one of the most humbling experiences that I have ever had in my ministerial career. I truly appreciate the love and care that Freedom Life has for your pastoral family. My prayer is that God will continue to pour out His blessings on us as we all labor for Him!

Remember, Freedom only comes through Jesus Christ!

New Blog

2006-12-07T17:02:00.000-06:00

This is an attempt to try to make our blogging a better experience. So, I have tried to make this easier for you to make comments and for me to enter my blogs. So feel free to comment and let's see how this new one works.

Blogging is the new craze in the cyberworld. In my humble opinion, blogging is nothing more than journaling on the computer. I myself have not been blogging for very long, but I have started to enjoy it. Of course, I enjoy writing. Remember to post your comments and let me know what you think of this new program.

To post on this blog, simply click on comments and follow the directions. Your comments will not appear immediately. I have set the posts to come to me first to view as a safety precaution. Lets have fun blogging.