Together is better

We had a sermon on prayer tonight. Our pastor talked about the first church and how they prayed. That got me to thinking about the people in Belize that we met. First of all, we walked this village to pray with people and they were very poor. But there wasn't any prayer requests for any kind of material things, only for relationships and physical healing for others. Not one kind of material thing at all. No trying to manipulate God for this or that. Here are people so needy, yet they were not; they really knew what mattered most.
The second thing I thought about was the Spanish church service that I visited in Belize; where the first thing everyone did when they came into church was to go up front to the alter and pray. Can you imagine what would happen if all of God's children did that? It was a powerful service. I never thought of it before, but if God loves to hear his Children calling out, how does he feel when we do it unified together? I bet He really enjoys it. I'll bet it is like a concert to Him.
Taking it to the street:
1.) Pray
2.) Pray with others.

Pressing On with Excellence!!
Keith

The little things

I wonder why I struggle so much with the little things? I think it's a pride issue. I will give you an example: Say someone I know has gotten into a car accident. They are seriously injured. I may go to the hospital and visit them and feel sorry for them and even pray with them and for them. I may even feel their pain, but really I can't do much for them. I will pray continuously for them because I ultimately know that their welfare is up to God. But I am powerless to do anything for them. I know that and I am content with leaving them in the hands of the Creator. But, say something small comes up, something simple and I don't go to God in prayer. I say I got this and fail miserably, it usually happens with small, insignificant things. I really think that God wants to be the Lord of our lives and wants to be involved in the small things. He loves us and wants so much to be involved in our lives; every aspect of our lives, especially the small things. This is where we can get an intimate glimpse of God and how much he knows about us and wants to show it. But my pride often blocks me off from this intimate time with God. God won't step in if we don't want him to. He will let us try on our own until we have a Dr.Phil moment and ask ourselves "how's that working for you?" For me it doesn't always. I'm far better if I invite him into helping me with the small things as well.

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

Friend

There many names given to Christ. You know the list: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace, just to name a few. There is one that I'm especially thankful for. One that if it were not true, I personally would be finished. Many others would be too if it were not so. That name is Jesus, Friend Of Sinners. If He is a friend of sinners then I am in good company. I can trust that he loves me and forgives me and wants me to be his friend no matter what. Some friends write you off if you hurt them. Not Jesus; He would still have gone to the cross even if I was the only person in the world. Talk about hurting someone, my sin sent him to the cross yet he still wants to be my friend. What is a friend? A friend is someone who you can talk to about anything; a friend knows what makes you laugh or cry. A close friend may even be able to finish a sentence for you. A real friend will listen when you're down, help to lift you back up, and encourage you to keep going even when you think you can't take anymore. A friend knows your weakness and your strengths, your good and overlooks the bad. A friend knows your potential. John 15:15 says, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." Jesus is my friend and he can be yours too! He is a true friend and will never let you down. As the old hymn goes, what a friend we have in Jesus.
Taking it to the street: 1.) Identify some things you can do to become a better friend.
                                 2.) Look for chances to implement those ideas and become a better friend.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Listen

With the last post being about prayer, I thought it might be fitting that I share some of my struggles with prayer. One of the hardest things for me is to do is to take the time to listen. I'm not sure why. Deep down I want to know what God has to say to me, but I hardly give him the chance to speak to me. I think that is one of the reasons I enjoy hunting so much. It gives me the chance to get alone and be quiet with God. Those are two things you need to hear His still small voice. Even when I'm alone and quiet I can still become distracted. I really have to focus my thoughts, push them out of my head and just listen. He doesn't speak to me every time I pray, but if I can get alone, quiet, and focus my thoughts on Him, I have a real good chance to hear Him. On my way to work in the morning is also potentially a good time to practice listening. Once again I'm alone and quiet, although I often get distracted. Wherever you are it doesn't really matter. What matters is making it a priority to listen.
Taking it to the street:
      1.)  Plan a time when you can get alone, quiet, and focused with God. (Jesus did it in the morning.) Check this out: Mark 1:35, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed". I figure if Jesus needed to do this, so do I.
      2.) Develop a habit of focused listening during this time of prayer. This takes practice. Don't give up before the miracle happens.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Prayer

Last week I wrote about beliefs. This week I realized that if my belief in God is real, then why don't I take more things to him in prayer? Why do I try to do so many things alone? Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray continually; Do you pray continually? I know I don't. But when it comes to having the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, belief and prayer go hand in hand. It is pointless to pray if you don't believe that God is going to do something. I think that a lot of our prayers are hindered by unbelief. Why? What makes me pray, then believe that God is not going to do anything? I struggle with that. I hear myself say that He wouldn't do that for me because I don't deserve it. Thanks be to God that I don't get everything I deserve because I wouldn't be here right now. What's the point I'm trying to make? The point is that the way I talk to myself is, in a way, almost a prayer because God knows what I'm thinking. He can tell by my innermost thoughts whether I believe He will answer my prayer or not. We can also listen to our own thoughts and tell if we believe or not. I think we sabotage our own prayers by our negative thoughts and words.
Taking it to the street:
1.) Think about what you're thinking about. Is it negative or God honoring?
2.) Practice continual prayer.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Subtle Influence

So, I have been writing  lately about the Holy Spirit's power in our lives and how we can tap into that power. What I want to point out is that the Holy Spirit's job is to transform us into the likeness of Christ. 2Co 3:18, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (NIV) Are you reflecting the Lord's glory? I know that is a tough question; my answer is sometimes more than other times. Even though I'm far better than I used to be, I still have a long way to go. So, once again this week, I noticed that what you allow into your head affects you and your closeness to reflecting the Lord's glory. I was driving the company truck and I usually change the station, but I didn't Thursday morning. It was on a classic rock station and I allowed myself to listen to some music from the past. I got a song stuck into my head and caught myself singing it the rest of the day; Elton John's, The Piano Man. I remembered most of the words, but I didn't think too much of it. But I did notice that I had a hard time controlling my mouth. But today I listened to the radio and got  the Christian song: Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher stuck in my head and had a much easier going day. I felt more at peace and had noticeably more self control over what words came out of my mouth. I'm reminded again that what you put into your head does affect you good or bad.
Taking it to the street 1.) Be careful of what you allow yourself to listen to or to watch.
                                 2.) Ask the Holy Spirit to control your mind.
Pressing on with excellence!!
 Keith

What's Most Important?

When we look at Jesus's life we can see things that need to be transformed in our own so that we may become more like him. One thing we know is that God is love. 1 John 4:16, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (NIV) Whoever lives in love lives in God. This means love is an action in our daily lives. This is most important I believe. Love makes it possible to get out of ourselves long enough to make a difference in someone's life. Without love we would not care at all. How many times do we take the easy way out and not help others when we see a need? I'm guilty of that. Love is taking time or money out of our lives for others. To many times I'm more focused on what it is going to cost me rather than just doing. Too many times I'm to focused on my own little agenda to even notice someone else is having a problem. Too many times I look the other way when I drive past someone who is trying to collect money for a charity or is homeless. Sometimes I may even think that this man is just trying to get free money and so, by doing that, I judge him. Love does have a price. It will cost you your own self-centeredness. That is one thing that I can do with less of. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. That's what we really need to be transformed.

Taking it to the street 1.)Ask God to put someone in your life this week that you can show them his love.

                                 2.) Listen to people around you and do something to help them with their problem.

Pressing on with Excellence!!

Keith

Time Management

Our pastor brought up a point about Jesus and his day planner. Jesus made a daily habit of spending time with God. I have thought about that before. We have all heard about tithing our money where you give  ten percent to God. What if you were to give ten percent of your time to God? Do you think that would make a difference in your life. That would be 2.4 hours a day or 16.8 hours a week. Time is the great equalizer, what I mean is that rich or poor, skinny or fat, short or tall, smart or stupid, we all get 24 hours a day and it is what we do with that time that will make a difference in your life or others. What would your life look like if you got into the habit of investing some time with God. In prayer, in studying his word, in praising him,and in helping others.
Taking it to the street: 1) Take an inventory of where your time is going and put it down on paper.
                                    2) See where you can make adjustments to invest more of your time with Him
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

New Season

It's coming up on fall and the beginning of a new season. This is my favorite time of year. There are also new seasons in one's life. I believe I am beginning a new season with new responsibilities and new opportunities. We have decided to lead a small group at church. We are also a attending counselor training course at our church. I have been thinking about starting a new book and yesterday put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard on it.The title of this book is going to be On Solid Ground. It will be a book where I use my life as an illustration of how I have been able to change the way I think, how that came about and how it has affected my life. How my relationship with God, others, and myself have changed. Oh, there is one other thing that I'm working on right now. I'm starting a handyman business. So, if you know anyone who needs anything fixed let me know. I'm excited about where I am in life in this new season. God is good.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith  

Wait

Since we have been looking at Acts:8 and how we can have part in the power of the Spirit, I wanted to take a look at Acts 1. Here is, I think, one more key to accessing his power in our lives. The disciples are told to wait for the Holy Spirit's indwelling. During this time they prayed and waited. Why would Jesus tell them to wait? I cannot answer this. I do know time after time in my life God has asked me to wait and it has helped me to grow spiritually. It has taught me patience and how to trust Him, and to seek Him and His will for my life. Waiting teaches me to get me out of myself, and has taught me to not worry or fear. To just be still and know He is God and that He loves me. Waiting is not easy; it can wear you down, but it does seem to produce good results. During the waiting I get to experience the now, which is the only time I can really experience Him. Have you waited on God? What have you learned during this time?
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Pray

One of the last things that I see in the Acts 8 story that we have been studying is the relationship between prayer and the Holy Spirit. Though the people believed and were baptized they still hadn't received the spirit.Then, Peter and John showed up and prayed that they might receive the spirit (vs 15). Later on Peter tells Simon to pray and repent. I wonder if Simon ever did  pray and repent and receive the Holy Spirit. I also wonder how many Christian's there are who are like Simon. They believe and are baptized and still don't have part in the spirit. I think I was one for a while. I also believe that God's grace is sufficient until I figure out what is blocking me from His Spirit and become willing to have him remove that from me. I do know that if you pray and ask God to help you to see what is blocking you from Him, He will show you. It may seem difficult at times, it may seem impossible, but through prayer we invite the Holy Spirit in to help us to change those things that block us from Him. Things that we would be powerless to change on our own.
Pressing on with Excellence!!
Keith

Repentance

Let us review of some of the things that we have found that block us from the Holy Spirit's power in our lives. Things such as pride, bitterness, and focus. Acts 2:38 says, "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (NIV) He say's it again in Acts 8:22. So here's another one we can add to the list of things that block us from the Spirit.To repent means to feel sorry or to have regret for a past action. I believe this is a great first step. We need to realize our mistakes and humble ourselves. This may have been another reason that the people in Acts 8 did not receive the spirit right away. I have been inventorying my own life and I've been pursuing the wrong things. I've been trying to become great in the name of God rather than pursuing his greatness. I wanted to see God do great things through me instead of just allowing him to be great. I've been seeking to become greater. He must become more, I must become less. Forgive me, Lord, for my self-centeredness.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Pray for Moore, OK

I want to take some time to send up some prayers for the folks in Moore, OK. This tornado was devastating to a lot of people and I think they could use as many prayers as possible. Especially for the families that have lost loved ones, and the relief effort, and the workers that are there helping, and those that will be going out to help them. I can't imagine what it would be like. Nature may have had her fury, but this didn't take God by surprise.  He is more powerful and we can trust that he is. Psalm 46:1 says "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." God Bless you all, Moore, OK. We will be praying for you.
Pressing on with Excellence!!
 Keith