Get into the solution

So I went to a meeting tonight and there was a guy that had gone to a wedding and gotten drunk over the weekend. He had been sober only a month. The discussion took on the usual; things to stay away from, wet places, and how to have a plan of escape. Don't allow yourself to be tempted. The problem is, no matter where you're at you can be tempted with anything. Whether you're an alcoholic or just a regular sinner, temptation comes. So really there is no safe place. The Bible says in 1 Cor.10-13">No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it." (MSG). Even then you still have to have a desire to not give in. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. To the extent that we allow Him to control our mind he will give us the desire to say no. So the solution is to prepare ahead of time by submitting control of our mind to Him over and over again until it almost becomes a habit. Ro. 8:6 says, "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Think about this: when you're being tempted you are not at peace, in fact you're in turmoil. So you will know when you have overcome temptation because you will have peace. The peace you receive when you overcome temptation is real life and the only real solution. 

 Taking it to the street:
          1.) Identify those areas that are your greatest temptation create a plan of escape.
          2.) Ask the Holy Spirit to control your mind.

Happy Easter

I was wondering what people that don't know Christ think about Easter. For them, it's just another day. But do most people know what we celebrate? As a Christ follower I celebrate His resurrection. But what does a non Christ follower think about that. Really, if you think about it, they must think that we are crazy and should be put in the loony bin. Our foundation of what we believe about Christ is that he died for our sins and rose from the dead. Not too many people rising from the dead around here. No offense Walking Dead fans, but it is not an every day occurrence. If Christ did not raise from the dead then we really are crazy. But he did and we celebrate that glorious day when he overcame sin and death and and made us right with God if we believe in him. I'm pretty sure they don't think about what he went through for us. The suffering that He had to endure to pay the price for the sin of the world. This time of the year I'm reminded of this truth and I am so grateful  for what he has done for me.
Taking it to the street: 1.)Ask yourself do you believe?    
                                 2.)Take some time and think about what Jesus had to go through for you.

Pressing on with Excellence,
Keith

The Trick To Loving Others

 Matthew 22:36-39 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (NIV) Jesus said to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and to love others as you love yourself. One thing I have experienced in my own life is that, if you learn how to love God with all of your heart, soul and mind, loving your neighbor is almost a by product of that. I say almost because some people really make it difficult to love them. This is not an option, we have to love them, but how do we do that? This is where prayer and the greatest commandment comes in. If we love God with ALL our heart, soul and mind. He makes it possible to love others and yes, even forgive them, for what they do to us. After all He created them too. Who am I to condemn them? They were made in his image as well. I have to make a decision to love them. It might mean walking on eggshells around them to try to keep from offending them. That is a difficult task at times but God will give us the grace to do whatever it takes to learn to love them.

Taking it to the street: 1) Praise God for every good thing he has done in your life.
                                 2) Ask him to teach you how to love like he loves.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Judge Not

I was reading in James this week and he has gotten me to thinking about judging others. The verse I'm referring to is the one that talks about having a log in your eye and pointing out the speck in others. I've noticed that in my own life. I did my share of pointing out others mistakes or deficiencies. All without noticing the log in my own eye. As a matter of fact, I think the bigger your log is the more that you see others' deficiencies. It is so easy to sit back and judge others. I think it may be because the more I look at them and their faults the less I have to look at myself and see the log in my own eye. Our own insecurities and selfish desires drive us to do so many things. If we find ourselves judging and condemning others, we can be sure that there is something about ourselves that we are seeing in others, something that really bugs us about ourselves. Matthew 7:2 says, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Sounds scary to me.

Taking it to the street: 1) Ask God to convict you when you judge others.
                                 2) Take an inventory of yourself and see if you can see what it is that needs to change in you.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Defeated Christian

With faith, you can be free. With fear you are defeated. I lived a long time as a defeated Christian. I was saved, but I believed only to a certain point. I had corrupted beliefs that inhibited me from being free in Christ. So, I was right where Satan wanted me; defeated, not making a difference in anyone's life, not being able to change anything in my own life. You would hear me say things like...I can't do this, because I don't have any money. Or, I can't do that because I'm not smart enough or good enough or whatever. The truth is, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13).  But, with faith you can be free! When you really believe that the God who created the universe really loves you, you don't have to worry about anything. You can know that he will take care of you, that where you are is exactly where you are supposed to be. You can know that, if you're still breathing, God has a mission for you! You don't have to worry about gas prices or whether you going to have enough to eat or really anything. The way you think about life changes. You are free from that old scarcity mind set. The old things have passed away and all things are new. Now that we are Christians, we have to do away with that old way of thinking or we will be right where Satan want us...as a defeated Christian.

Taking it to the street:

1) Ask God to help you to see the truth.
2) Make a list of 10 things that you are thankful for.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith
.

Belize here we come

Okay, so February 1st was my last blog. It is now the nineteenth and I'm happy to announce that Sunny and I are both fully funded to go to Belize. Is that crazy or what? Two days ago, Sunny was close to half funded and I had nothing. Then, yesterday, a person I know contributed $2000 to our trip. That, plus what Sunny had, put us at 3/4 funded and we needed to have 3/4 by mid-March to get the plane tickets. We were $750 short of being fully funded. Susan had taken this person's check and Sunny's money to the church to turn it in. Before she got home, I was checking my email and found that someone else put $750 towards our trip; making it 100 % funded!
God is so good!! It is hard to put into words how I felt when I received this news. All I can say is that there is no doubt that God wants us to go. I personally want to thank all that contributed and all of the prayers. It is not over yet, so please keep us in your prayers; Sunny and I and the team that we will be going with. Pray for the people we will be ministering to as well. This has been a good lesson for me on the power of prayer. I asked that we would be funded early and we were. What I did not expect is to have it all come in at one time. God still continues to amaze me.
Taking it to the street; 1) Allow God to guide you to try something new.
                                  2) Trust that if he wants you to do whatever it is he will provide.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Try Something New

I wanted to let people know that Sunny and I have been chosen to go to Belize this summer on a mission trip. We are excited and looking forward to trying something different. I would ask you who read this blog to pray for the team, the leaders, and for the people that we meet; for safety, for wisdom and His provision. Also, pray that He would prepare the way for us all that we would be most effective. This is not a vacation as most people think of when they think of Belize. Where we are going is a unimaginably poor area. This is something that I never dreamed that I would be doing. I'm not exactly sure what I will be doing but I want to see what life is like for others. I think we as Americans take a lot of things for granted. I also know that God has been teaching me to be grateful for all that He has given me. One thing I'm looking forward to is seeing how God is going to work to change me and my daughter's thinking about where we are in life and I know He will! When you put yourself into uncertainty and try something new, God has a way of showing up.

Taking it to the street:
1) Ask God to help you to think of something new that you could do that will stretch your faith in Him.
2) Remember to pray for us!

Pressing on with excellence!!

P.S. If you would like to help in financial support for this trip, contact me at 1handymansmitty@gmail.com