Good Old Jet-Lag

Good old jet-lag. I woke up this morning at 4:00am and couldn't go back to sleep. I had time to journal, pray, read the Word, pray, sit and ponder the universe, pray, and then pray some more before I got up to take a shower. All in all not a bad way to start out the day. We are staying at the Ebenezer Guest House here in Jinja. It is somewhat like a bed and breakfast, but not. All the tenants eat together and some share a bathroom and it is maxed out with people. We are meeting people from all over the United States that have come here for various reasons.

As we waited on our ride to the pastor school this morning, I asked Julius to give me his testimony and began to tell me a beautiful story of the heart of a woman missionary that came to his butcher shop and shared the gospel with him. He has since started churches and continues to pastor churches today. You never know the difference you will make with just one changed life. That is the very reason why we came.

Once we got to the school the students were in the middle of English class learning about simple subjects and predicates (it was a good refresher course for me.) And then it was time for Pastor Steve to get up and begin his Timothy Barnabus teaching. He had the guys in the palm of his hand. I thought some of them were going to roll out of their chairs they were laughing so hard. Then it was my turn to begin speaking about the call and job of a pastor as it relates to discipleship and the great commission. I spoke for about 1 1/2 hours and then it was time to break for lunch.

While Steve and I were preaching and teaching the girls were out in the village working with the kids and witnessing for The Lord. It was so biblical. They were going door to door, two by two, share the gospel though and interpreter. Steve and I found them as they were leading a 18 year old girl to The Lord and we watch her receive Christ. That was the ninth soul that morning that had received Christ. When the girls got back to the church they could no longer refrain the tears as they pondered how God had just used them in a mighty way to see these people pass from death to life.

If that wasn't enough for the day, we all hopped in the car and drove to a church in the middle of town called the prayer center. They hold a service there everyday at 1:00pm for anyone in the market place that wants to pray. As the singing began I leaned over to Steve and told him I was going out in to the Market to invite them in. (that was something I learned from Ralph Canada in our trips to Juarez, Mexico.) I grabbed the interpreter and away we went. As I was inviting people I was asked to pray over sickness and I was happy to accommodate.

As people rolled into the meeting, Steve got cranked up. He was preaching the hardest I have ever seen him preach and 20 people raised their hand that they had received Christ when it was all over. We rejoiced in The Lord and what he had done throughout the day. We encouraged and instructed the pastors, we led people to Christ in the village and saw more make a decision for Christ in the midday Monday service.

We then ate together and played some spades to finish off the day. Steve and I partnered up against Hanna and Krystal for a guys and against gals match, and...... Lets just say the guys won. If we were to leave and come home right now the whole trip would be worth it and satisfying. And this is just the third day in country. Praise be to the God of gods who has richly blessed this little missions trip.

Posted with Blogsy

Safe in Uganda

When I woke up on Friday morning I just knew that I was in for a trip on a life time. 27 hours later we had arrived at the hotel in Uganda where I was able to finally get a good nights rest. The plane ride was long, the movies were good, and the landings were smooth. As in any long trip it gets to the point that you are done with the joy ride and you just want to get off.

After our one night stay near the airport we got up on Sunday morning to make the three hour trip by van to the churches in which Steve and I would preach. As I looked over the breakfast my mind immediately was taken back to my days in Istanbul and Iraq. Hard boiled eggs, potatoes, and a mixture of fresh cut fruit was start out the morning. There was hot water made with Nescafe at the ready. (I'm always a hit with my Starbuck's via packs.)

Something that morning didn't sit well with my stomach and I found myself by the end of breakfast purging everything I had just eaten. For those you that have gone on missions trips with me, you know that I am a billy goat with a stomach that can handle anything. But not this morning. I started recounting everything I had eaten and drank hoping I didn't somehow ingest some non-bottled water of some kind. Nothing was coming to mind and I felt much better after the purging. As the day when on I had no more problems with food. So, thank you for your prayers. God obviously blessed and took care of me.

We dropped Steve off at the church he would preach and were bombarded by the village kids that all wanted the plastic bracelets Steve had brought. Then we headed to the church that I would preach in another part of town. We found ourselves walking behind homes and shops with half finished concrete walls. We had to step over an open sewage path to get to the small metal building in which the service had already begun. Krystal and I were greeted at the door and seated in places of honor on the stage. We listened to song and testimony of the week long conference they were finishing up. I quickly realized that I was the closing speaker for the conference. I preached a simple message of relationship out of John 17:3 and challenged the people to know God on an intimate level and be empowered with the power of the resurrection. As we closed the service I led them in the sinner prayer but had no one make a profession of faith for the very first time. God knows the hearts. Steve was able to see 10 receive Christ in his Church which was amazing.

After Church we went to see the vision of the missionary in a place he has called the Garden of God. It is a place prayer that all the Ugandan Pastors are excited about as they sanctify this place for the glory of God, train pastors and missionaries, and expand their influence in Uganda.

Then it was time for a nap. I could barely keep my eyes open from the jet lag. After sleeping for a couple of hours I felt so much better. I have a special pillow at home that I use and took me a year and many pillow to discover. I was worried that I would get a good knights rest on whatever pillow I was given, but to my surprise and delight the pillow provided has the same firmness as the one at home. God is so good to me in the little things.

We ended the night by going to a pizzeria that was surprisingly good, and a game of spades with the team. It was exciting but I didn't win. I look forward to all that God has in store for the second day.

Posted with Blogsy

I Have Sinned

David wrote in Psalm 51 after he was confronted by Nathan, "Against you, and you alone have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight." When he wrote these words he had coveted and committed adultery with Bathsheba, killed her husband, cause the death of their new born baby, and covered up the whole thing. But in all of this David knew what sin truly is. Sin is an offense against God.

In our legalistic mindset we equate sin with breaking a law and not breaking a relationship. God doesn't send people to hell because they broke some law, but he does require death for those that break their relationship with Him. When a person sins the offend the King of Kings and The Lord of Lords. God has said the wages of sin is death. If a person choses to offend the King, there is hell to pay.

Paise God that in our defense He sent Jesus to pay that penalty of death so that the relationship with God might be restored and we would have to die. But even for a Christian that has been saved from hell, there is still a need to guard his relationship with the King.

Over the years as I counsel with people I have heard them say. I know the Church doesn't agree with this but ___________________. Although I'm glad they recognize the authority of the Church, the Church is not the one they are offending. They are offending God. It is God who doesn't agree with your sin. It is God that is frustrated with your actions. And even though the church may not know what you are doing, God sees you in your house, at the bar, in your bedroom, and at your computer. It would be better to be concerned with what the King sees more than what the church sees.

This is the difference between having a relationship with God and a religion about God. Is your life an offense to God. Are you in need of repentance. Don't come and repent to the Church. First, fall on your knees and cry out to the one who saves your soul and get things right with God, then with God on your side go and make things right with everyone else. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse use from all unrighteousness."

 

Posted with Blogsy

The Power to Heal

There are so many questions surrounding the gifts of the spirit today. Just as there was in days of Jesus. Remember “Context is King.” When Jesus began his public ministry theLord had been silent for the past 400 years. It wasn’t until the preaching of John theBaptist that the silence was broken. This would mean that it had been several generations since people had seen any kind ofmiracle from God. The Jews had become a superstitious people just as many are todaywho long to see and experience the true power of God.

In Luke 5:17 we read, “And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.”(ESV) You would think this to be a given because we are talking about Jesus after all.Could it be when Christ took on the form of a man that he limited even his abilities asGod and lived like any other man that would be filled with the gifts of the Spirit. Weknow and believe that Jesus was 100% God and 100% Man at the same time for this isone of the seven mysteries of the faith. Another passage to consider is Philippians 2:5-8where it is said of Jesus that He “emptied himself” when he took on the form of a man.The word “emptied” in the Greek is “kenoo” meaning: cause to lose power; emptyoneself. With this understanding it is a lot easier to understand the life of Jesus as heprays to the Father and so forth. He is our example of faith according to Hebrews 12:1-3, which is hard to grasp if He is acting as simply God with skin on. But, it carries a tonmore weight if Jesus had to rely on the Father just as we do today. Therefore the only reason to add this phrase: “And the power of the Lord was with himto heal” would be to illustrate that at that moment he had the ability to heal, and thathe didn’t always have that ability. A careful read of the gospels will show that Jesuswasn’t always healing the sick, but there were times of healing in which he healed themall.

In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 we read a list of the gifts of Spirit and in that list we find the giftof healing. We are also told in verse 11 that the Spirit gives these gifts “individually asHe wills.” The same Spirit that was empowering Jesus for his earthly ministry is thesame Spirit that empowers you for your earthly ministry. When you have a need for agift God is faithful to provide those gifts, but an individual doesn’t necessarily have thatgift all the time. This was true of Jesus’ earthly ministry as it was for the Apostle’sministry as it is for our ministry today. God gifts us as we need to profit the Body andthe Kingdom of God.

Posted with Blogsy

Understanding Fasting and Prayer

We are about to enter into a time of 21 days of prayer and fasting.  I have been reading on Facebook that some of you have never fasted before, so I wanted to take a moment and try and explain the simplicity of fasting and why a person would do such a thing.  I think it is most important that you understand why a person would fast and then understand how you fast.  

Fasting is all about humbling your soul before The Lord.  Prayer in itself is an act of humility as we read in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  God is looking for those that humble and he answers the prayer of the humble.  Let me give you an example.  When I got up this morning my dog was ready to go outside. So we did.  As I was making coffee and watching the news and doing what I do, Zach (my dog) was freaking out because I had not fed him yet.  He didn't care about me or what I needed to do he was just concerned with filling his stomach.  This is the way we are with God sometimes.  We get so self-consumed with our own needs that we forget there are more important things going on around us.  When a person fasts he or she is humbled by caring more about the topic of the fast than filling his or her own belly.  Notice the humility in this Psalm of David, "But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting..." (Psalm 35:13).  

Fasting in the scripture is always about one thing: food.  I hear today of people fasting from all kinds of things (social media, chocolate, gaming, etc.), but the most effective fast is to remove a basic need of life which is food.  There is no set time for the fast.  People fast every night as they sleep which is the reason we "BREAK-FAST" in the morning.  People fast for one day, three day, seven day, or two week fasts.  There are some references of forty day fasts in the bible but this is not common practice.  

Jesus warned about fasting for the wrong reasons in Mathew 6:1-18.  The Pharisees were fasting in front of others to show how "spiritual" they were which is very arrogant and the complete opposite of humble.  Remember, the goal of fasting is humility before The Lord.  We are commanded not be be like the Pharisees.  

When we call for 21 days of Fasting and Prayer, we are not expecting anyone to fast for the entire 21 days but that you pick some days throughout the time frame in which you are fasting.  We want someone fasting the entire time before The Lord.  May God grant you the requests that you seek as you humble yourself before The Lord through the fast.

The Best Day at New Season Church

Last week as we were preparing for the service on Sunday, I received a copy of Pastor Steve's sermon notes.  I get a sneak peak along with the rest of the staff so that we can prepare all of our pieces that fit into the Sunday morning experience.  I knew after I read it that this was going to be one for the history books. We started a new series entitled "Dark Horse Rises" which is a sequel to last year's series on I Samuel.

On Friday night we had a special vision night for the volunteers at New Season and there was such a sweet spirit in the room I could tell the people were preparing there hearts for the message and service on Sunday. There has been tons of spiritual warfare around NSC over the summer, but you wouldn't have none it this weekend.  I woke up this morning and hit my knees in preparation for what God was going to bring us.  I prayed for Pastor Steve that the Lord would just fill him up with all the words and thoughts that I saw on the paper notes.  I felt in complete agreement that God was going to show up in the Worship experience and knock our socks off.   All the staff had been at the church on Saturday cleaning up from the volunteer night and putting the last touches on the stage and classrooms for the kids, so all was ready.

The 8:50 service went a bit long because we had an issue with Steve's count down clock, and at the end of the service I walked out into the hall and there was a sea of people waiting to come into the 10:00 Worship experience.  I was overwhelmed.  They were everywhere.  The kids classes were full.  The auditorium was full.  The parking lot was full.  And I was full up!!

The worship band began the worship set and it was amazing.  I was singing in the midst of God's people with tears in my eyes and a song in my heart.  We sang together, we cried together, we worshiped together.  It was beautiful.  Then Pastor Steve preached the message I had been meditating on.  and it touched everyone in the room.  As he gave the invitation for people to respond to the message, I knew we were going to have a big response.  And sure enough, we had 12 people come forward and receive Christ as their Lord and Savior.  They passed from death to live right before my eyes.  I can't get over it.  I don't want to get over it.  I love it.  If you are dealing with strongholds in your life make sure you listen to the sermon online: www.newseasonchurch.com.

After church I came home rejoicing as I took my normal 20 minute cat nap in my chair and then went to the pool with the family.  We had a great time socking in the sun and talking about God's grace. I met one of the worship leaders at Burnt Hickory Baptist in the pool and we swapped stories of God grace and call on our lives.

It is amazing the way God has the ability to turn something that seems so dark around in a few days or even a few hours.  It makes me know that he has not left us or forsaken us.  He is very much at the helm of the lives of his dear children.  I hope your Sunday was as good as mine.

The End of Summer

Summer is coming to a close and we have barley been in the 90's here in Atlanta.  I'm not quite used to that. I'm more used to 100+ on the thermometer.  So life is good in that since.  Kim and I have been enjoying the porch on the front of our house and the decks in the back.  It's been so nice to live around my family for the first time since I was 18.  I feel like I have missed out on so much.  It's the little things that you don't think about like sitting down for a Easter meal or celebrating my nephew's birthday.  I just think this is how it is supposed to be.

My brother and I worked on my dad's boat this morning and we are just about ready to put it in the water.  We had to change the motor to a new hull that my Dad had purchased.  Even that was enjoyable because it was with my family.

One thing I've learned about the people in Georgia, they are all residents of Florida in the Summer time.  I don't think I've ever seen such a migration on people.  Even I find myself renting a condo and staying for a week, but I go in the off Season in September.  It's not near as crowded and the weather is perfect that time of year.