“Lord I’m Amazed At Your Power To Liberate! “ 1

Thirty-five years ago under the President Jimmy Carter administration, militant students supporting Iran's Islamic Revolution stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took scores of hostages. Ultimately, 52 Americans were held for 444 days. Minutes after President Ronald Reagan took office, those Americans held in captivity were released. Wow, what a great moment of celebration for America.

You may still remember the moment you were liberated from your shackles of sin. Paul says, “I am what I am by the Grace of God” (1 Corinthians 15:10). You and I really can’t take the credit for getting ourselves out of the bondage of sin. There is a great God of power who had a plan of deliverance for you. Have you thought, “Where would I be today if He had not reached down for me?” I could easily today be enslaved with drugs, with alcohol, puffed up with pride, behind prison doors, or even blinded in sin not knowing the slippery road of eternal death.

“But God who was rich in mercy, for His great love He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4).

You may say, “BUT HOW?” Jesus fought Hell itself to save you. When a storm of wind attempted to hinder and sink the boat the Lord was in, He kept going after the man that was possessed by a devil. Not even a wave or wind could stop Christ from His purpose. He rebuked the wind, and set the man free. (Luke 8:22-39) Realize today, Satan cannot stop God's purpose and passion to seek and to save that which is lost.

You may say, “WHEN?” God tells us not to be weary in well doing, for in due season you will reap if you faint not (Galatians 6:9). God knows the day, the hour, and the moment the Holy Spirit will change and transform a life. We’re only responsible to believe, reach, pray, love, hope, and give. We need to show mercy, grace, kindness and faith. Some plant, some water, but God gives the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6)

You may say, “BUT WHY ME?” God saved you by His grace when you believed. You can't take credit; it is a gift from God. (NLT Ephesians 2:8). God had a plan for you before you were ever created in your mother’s womb. Why don’t you come to the realization that God didn’t create you to LIVE IN DARKNESS as a stripper, drunk, drug addict, politician or a lost preacher? God alone has the power to deliver and set you free. “No,” you can’t do it on your own. Like Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).

HE created you for His pleasure and purpose. When will you say, “YES!” to the Masters Voice? “Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:23).

“Lord, I’m Amazed by your Blessings!” 2

Have you been blessed by the Lord? I have watched many people’s perspective become tainted and toxic through a clouded view of where they are in life. I recently read a story that brings out this great truth.

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Oh Yeah" said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to middle of our yard and they have a creek that has no end. We have lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.”
  
“We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.  We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.  We buy our food, but they grow theirs.  We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have.  What is one person's worthless object is another's prized possession.  It is all based on one's perspective.  It makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for the bounty we have instead of worrying about wanting more. Take joy in all you have, but know that friends are the most valuable possessions. (Author unknown).

Why don’t you choose today to say like David, “I will bless the Lord at all times and His Praise shall continually be in my mouth?” (Psalm 34:1). Life only gets better when you see that God is for you and is working all things out for your good.

Feel free to share with me How the Lord has Blessed your life for the good?

"Lord, I'm Amazed By Your Blessings" 1

Ten men were healed by the Lord of their leprosy, but only ONE that was healed returned to the Lord to say, “Thank you.” WHY?  Jesus never tells us why the other nine didn’t return but He does ask, “Where are the Nine?” (Luke 17:11-19)  Is He still looking for those today who will Bless and Praise Him for blessings that have come in their lives?
  

David says, “The Lord inhabits the praises of His people.” Tell me what parents don’t really want a response of “Thank You” from their child when they’ve received a gift or a great favor extended to them. It warms the heart of a parent to hear their child say, “Thank you.”

We live in a society today that seems to be thankless for blessings and favors that are extended their way. Is it that we’re so blessed, that we don’t realize what life could be without those blessings? My wife and I went without water to drink out of our house for six months because the community well went toxic. I whined for six months about picking up six gallons of water a week at the firehouse for our home.  In that same time frame, I went on my first mission’s trip to Honduras. It was there I took note of people who waited daily, two to three blocks in line for one small bucket of water from the community well. I went home repenting I had ever complained about anything.

No wonder David said, “It is good to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing His praises.” Praise redirects our focus off of our issues and troubles and onto our Great Jehovah - Elohim our creator, Jehovah - Jireh our provider, Jehovah - Nissi our banner of victory, Jehovah - Rapha the LORD who heals. There’s many Jehovah names, too numerous to write in this blog, but He is greater than most give Him credit.

We are the loser if we ignore to say, “Thank You Lord, for all you do and have already done.” Start thinking of the benefits of Praising and blessing the Lord at all times.

Praising God causes you to “Refocus your Mindset” on the good things He has done. Paul says, ^“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Phil 4:8) Remember our thoughts lead to our emotions, which leads to our decisions, which leads to our actions, which leads to our habits which leads to our character which leads to our destiny.

One thought can either lead you in an upward trajectory toward God or one thought can lead you to a downward road away from your heavenly Father who loves you. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Choose today to lift your voice in Praise to God who is and has already done great things.

Refuse to be like the nine that Jesus was looking for to receive their gratitude of thanksgiving. Has He blessed you with amazing abundant blessings?  Say like David, “All that is within me Bless His Holy name.”

LORD I'M AMAZED BY YOUR DIVINE CONNECTIONS

Have you ever lost your cell phone or your car keys? Those two lost items alone can cause you temporary heartburn and anxiety. Once you locate your missing item though, there is an immediate sense of relief and liberation to move forward with your day. Connection with God and people can change the way we function in everyday life, but what about when we lose something of great value?

I still think about the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared on Saturday, March 8th, 2014. The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 15 nations. I can’t imagine the grief and sorrow of the families who were in shock and doubt of what happened to their loved ones. Undoubtedly, they STILL deal with a constant gnawing and hurt from their loss. Only God can give one His peace with loss, but people who care can also make a difference.

Your entire life purpose can be summed up in two streams: we are here to be connected to God and People. You cannot fulfill your destiny without it. God is the person who creates amazing connections in the work place, family, neighbors and those we meet throughout life. Each of the Ten Commandments are wrapped into these two streams. We are to, “Love God and Love People.” What does that mean?

Your connection with God brings joy, peace, love, purpose and His favor over your life. Your connections with People should bring them love, light, encouragement, support, joy and peace.

Jesus says, "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.” (Luke 15:4, 5) God has a heartbeat to protect and connect us to His purpose and passion. Satan is the thief that comes to steal, kill and to destroy, but Jesus has come to give us life and give it more abundantly.

It may be your simple phone call, text, and/or visit to stop and say, “How are you doing today?” Mark Batterson tells of a businessman that was asking God to bring about “divine connections” in his travel. A young teenage girl flopped herself down in the seat next to him on the plane. He could tell she was upset. He simply said to her, “I can tell something is bothering you, but if you need a listening ear, I’m here.” It wasn’t long she began to explain how she told her boyfriend she was pregnant. He told me, “Get rid of it and to go have an abortion.” So I stole my dad’s credit card, and bought a ticket to fly to another city to have the abortion. The businessman knew that God was orchestrating this moment. He encouraged her by saying, “I bet if you called your dad, he would understand and wouldn’t want you to lose that baby.” When she got off the plane, she called home and told her dad what happened. He responded, “You come home baby, it’s going to be alright and we’ll get through this together.”

God used one man to make a difference in not only one life but two. Let him use you today. Your connection with God and people does count.

Lord I'm Amazed at your Creativity!

The night sky may be a lot starrier than we thought. A study suggests the universe could have tripled the number of stars scientists previously calculated. For those of you counting at home, the new estimate is 300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That’s 300 Sextillion. Van Dokkum’s findings challenge the assumption of what Ellis said “a more orderly universe and gives credence to the idea that the universe is more complicated than we think.”

Genesis 1:1-3 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.³ Then God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light”. What a marvelous wonderful incredible, indescribable, Supreme God we serve.

The universe "made sense" because it was overseen by a Supreme Intelligence who made mathematical description and prediction possible. Throughout Christianity’s early history, theologians like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas did most of the scientific pondering, and their inquiries were seen as a religious quest. Numerous scientists and inventors were led to believe in the all-encompassing finger of God. There is no question that some of the most famous scientists of all times believed in creation. Ann Lamont has written a book entitled 21 Great Scientists Who Believed the Bible. Kepler, Boyle, Newton, Kelvin, Maxwell, and Werner von Braun, weren’t dummies, and they believed in creation.

What’s more important is to know that Jehovah God not only created the universe, but He also had a plan when He created you. Genesis 1: 26, 27 states, “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” Jeremiah 1:5 states, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations."

You are not what a man may say about you. How crazy to believe that you came from a monkey. David said, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it.” (Psalms 139: 14) Paul states, “For we are Gods’ masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesus 2:10)


Satan is always trying to knock off people from their purpose in life. Three Hebrew men were thrown in a fiery furnace, but God had another plan and they came forth without the smell of smoke or one hair singed. Satan isn’t fighting for your present but where you’re going in your future. He will try anything to keep you from your assignment or purpose in life. Have you lost your way? Jonah thought, “I’ll do it my way.” It didn’t take him long to find out that God’s way is the best way. It took wind, a whale and three days in the bottom of the earth for him to wake up and realize God had a better way to live life. Are you amazed today at His Creative Plan He has for you?

Lord I'm Amazed At Your "Right Turns"

UPS has learned a new way of delivering packages. In 2004 they discovered that 53% of accidents on the highway are caused when making a left-hand turn across traffic. When one makes a right-hand turn accidents are only 5-7% of the time. Not only did UPS cut down on their accidents but they also saved 10 million gallons of gas plus saved on emissions, the equivalent of taking 5300 cars off the highway. They also discovered a left-hand turn takes more time waiting in traffic. The more man-hours for labor were unproductive. That’s pretty amazing, all in routing their deliveries to take a Right Hand Turn.

God’s word is also clear about making right hand turns. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT)

You can avoid yourself grief and pain if you will follow God’s Word that is designed by the creator “Jehovah Elohim” the architect of the world and your life. If you refuse to follow His instruction manual, you will waste a lot of time, get-up-and-go and productivity.

Jonah was instructed by God to go to Nineveh. He was to warn them of a coming judgment, but decided to make a left-hand turn and run from the Lord some 2500 miles. That wrong turn caused him a lot of grief and pain and almost cost him his life. God loved him so much that He sent him a wind; whale and a three-day submarine ride in the deep.

Have you chosen to go left in your marriage by running away from God’s plan? Have you taken a left in withholding the 10% of your paycheck that belongs to the Lord? God says; “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.”(Malachi 3:10a) Spending it on your whims and wants is making a bad left-hand turn from God’s word. The wrong turns will cost you Big Time!

We should all be thankful that God is a God of mercy. Jonah soon woke up to the fact that his left-hand turn was painful and unproductive. God gave him another chance and he changed his course traveling now 5000 miles in the right direction. It’s not to late to do what is right today. Don’t put it off, do it now. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  (John 14:6a)

Momentum in Reaching People

Henry Ford was very passionate about making it possible for the common man to drive his automobile. He worked his car cost down from 850.00 to 300.00 dollars per car in five years. His first year he sold ten thousand Model T’s, but from 1913-1925 he sold 15 million cars in America and Europe. Can you imagine the momentum that picked up every time someone drove their beautiful automobile down the road?

What do other people see when you go about your day at work, eating at restaurants, going to a ballgame, and living your everyday life? Are people attracted to your attitude, actions, and the altitude you live? Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)

The business world spends a lot of energy, effort, and advertising dollars to make a connection with the world they’re trying to reach. Jesus teaches us to make a connection an investment in reaching those who are still lost in their blindness. Do you shine, smile or give out a reflection of God’s goodness, grace and glory?

In Mark 2:1-12, we read the exciting story of four men who brought a cripple man to Jesus.  It was a difficult process. When they got to Jesus, there were so many people there at the home. They had to climb on the roof and take the roof off to get him down to Jesus. When they did, a miracle took place and the man was healed and he began to walk.

How determined are you in getting people to Jesus? God wants each of us to love people right where they are. Jesus never said, “Love people when they get their act together.” Rather Jesus says to Love people regardless if they are a drug addict, drunkard, or a thief. The thief said to Jesus while being on the cross, “Would you remember me when you come into your Kingdom?” Jesus said, “Today you shall be with me in paradise.” Jesus didn’t wait for people to get their act together in order to love and change them. These four men had something unique in getting their friend to Jesus.

·       They had Compassion. Without compassion you’ll never reach those who need Christ. You have to get passed their mess and muddle and see a miracle in the making for their life.

·       They had Determination. There were so many at the house, seemly there was no way to get him to Christ. But, they were tenacious by taking the roof off to get him to Christ.

·       They were Committed. Once these four men started their travel to Jesus, there was no turning back from getting this man to Christ. He is the one who changes lives, not us.

·       They were very Courageous. Fear always tries to hinder us in our getting people to Christ. Their courage wasn’t about to back out from seeing their friend’s life changed

Henry Ford made an investment one hundred years ago that forever changed the world. But there’s no greater investment in life than investing in someone’s eternity.  Is there a co-worker, son or daughter, neighbor or someone God has placed on your heart? You will never regret being tenacious in getting your friend to Jesus. Do it today and enjoy a miracle of Christ in someone’s life before your eyes.