Seventh Vessel

My wife and I played at HeBrews Coffee shop in Marshville, NC, last night and it was so much fun! We have a band named Seventh Vessel, but we hadn't played anywhere but our church for quite some time, so it was good to get out and Worship with other believers! We hope that anyone interested will be able to come out to hear us on Saturday, March 20, as we play at HeBrews again! The start time is 7:00 pm. Hope to see you there! God Bless!!!

Are you hindered by fear?

Is fear holding you back? What are we afraid of? Some fears include: swimming, socializing, death, giving a speech (actually number 1 oddly enough), etc... Sometimes fear shows up in unexpected places. The scriptures solve this dilemma for us though. It says in 1 John 4:18: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

Ever heard the expression, "I can forgive you, but I'll never forget?" Aren't we glad God isn't like that? He loves us so much that he sent Jesus to redeem us with his blood, and to take our sins and cast them as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12)

So what's our lesson here? That we have to forget what others have done to us? Well.....Isn't that perfect love? Isn't that what we're striving for? Isn't that what separates us from God? That He has perfect love enough to not only forgive, but to forget! Wanna live a life "FEAR FREE?" PERFECT LOVE=NO FEAR! That's much easier said than done...LOL...But it sure gives us something to strive for...Right? Well...it does me at least!!!!

Superbowl Week

Getting geared up for the Superbowl! GO COLTS! Actually I was wanting the Vikings to play, but Bret threw the interception at the end...Oh well. Anyways, also started a new semester with a new group of students and it's going well! Maybe this semester I won't have to work as hard as last! Church is going awesome as well! God is AWESOME! Just began the Wednesday night teaching series entitled, "When In Rome," which is a study of the book of Romans. Come out if you get a chance. ~Later!

Wake Up!

Wake up! Ever been sleeping really well just to get woke up by something annoying like: the telophone ringing, bird on the window, dogs barking, etc...? We have these squirrels that land on our roof and run across it that sometimes FREAKS me out! The thing is that if I'm already awake it doesn't even bother me. It's the same with Christ! We are spiritually asleep and anytime something small and harmless comes against us it FREAKS us out, but if we were spiritually AWAKE then we wouldn't let us bother us! All too often we find ourselves spiritually asleep, and we need to WAKE UP!!! Revelation 16:15 says, "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." Of course this is coming about the coming of the Lord, but we as the church need to wake up so that we can see all that God has for us! Not only should we stay awake, but stay prepared..."keeps clothes with him"...keep our spiritual armor with us and ready to fight the spiritual battles!

Final Exams

Final Exams are this week for my students, and wow are they stressed...LOL...I remember my final exam weeks and how they would try me...LOL! The thing is though if they would realize that if they would just keep up with their grades throughout the semester, then they wouldn't have to stress as much at the end. Students today though just want to "get by." Wonder if that's how it is with us and God? We care about the tests of life when they come, and we start studying His Word and praying, but all the other times we are just "getting by!" The scripture says in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it." We must be running at all times...Not just when we see the finish line! My prayer is that we would no longer just want to "pass" the exams, but run that we may win the PRIZE!

A New Season

What's that mean? We sing a song in church that says, "It's a new season, it's a new day!" But what does that really mean? Is it fall? Winter? Spring? Notice that with every new season comes a new preparation! With fall you gear up the house for the cold weather! We try to insulate more, cover our outside pipes with insulation, etc. For summer we certainly have to have our air conditioning ready to go! But what about with God? Do we prepare ourselves for a new season with Him? The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." We must get rid of the old stuff that hasn't worked...Let's face it, the same ingredients always gets the same results! Instead we must be open to what God has in our lives! Many times we want to be at a new level with God, but haven't prepared for it. We want the air conditioner to come on, but the thermostat is still set on HEAT! We have to prepare! In Ephesians 6:15 it says, "and having shod your feet with the PREPARATION of the gospel of peace!" Have you prepared today? Are you ready to make those changes? God requires change...It's something that we all struggle with, but ultimately it brings about real relationship with God! Final Thought: Prepare! Pray! Peak!