we made it and GOD can use it…

we made it through hurricane irene.  no damage to us and our electricity was only out for 8 hours. 

romans 8.28 (21^stkjv), we know that all things work together for good (not all things are good but they work together for good.) to those who love GOD, to those who are the called according to HIS purpose   the secret of romans 8.28 is 8.29, for whom HE foreknew, HE also predestined to be conformed to the image of HIS SON.  why do all things work together for good?  in order to make me like CHRIST.

GOD wants to teach you about the fruits of the SPIRIT.  how does HE do that?  by putting us in the exact opposite situation.

if GOD wants to teach you love, HE puts you around unlovely people.  if HE wants to teach you joy, HE puts you in times of tragedy and sadness so you will learn joy in the situation.  peace?  GOD puts you around chaos.  the dinner’s burning, the telephone rings, the cat grabs the dog, the kid’s diper is dirty – that’s where you learn peace.  it’s easy to be peaceful laying on the beach at tahiti.  anybody can do that.  patience?  through times of waiting.

ephesians says, we are GOD’s workmanship – GOD wants to make a masterpiece out of you.  HE wants us to be mature, complete, not lacking anything.  that is the picture of JESUS CHRIST.  that’s what HE wants you to be like.

just a thought from the front porch…

something greater than ourselves…

JESUS said, “i am the truth.” HE said, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. the more you know JESUS the freer you are.

you can change. how do you do it?

you start by establishing a personal relationship to CHRIST. you become what the bible calls being born again. that doesn't solve all your depression but without CHRIST in your life, you won't have the power to change. HE wants to be a part of your life and if you give HIM control, HE will help you.

then once HE's in your life, you ask HIM to give you a new purpose and a new meaning to your life. what we need is something greater than ourselves that draws us out of ourselves so we won't be depressed. you need something greater to live for than just your own self. people who live for themselves are guaranteed to get depressed. you need something greater that draws you out of yourself. that is a relationship to CHRIST that takes you out of depression.

maybe you're depressed because you feel guilty. GOD says “I want to forgive you. I want to clear your conscious. I want to set you free from regrets.” maybe you feel depressed because you think, “I don't even like myself. I don't like myself at all!” JESUS said, “I didn't create you for nothing. you are worthwhile, significant. you're special. there's value to your life.” when you start basing your value on the opinions of other people then anytime anybody criticizes you, condemns you, puts you down, disapproves of you, or simply doesn't express appreciation, you're going to get depressed. that's what elijah did. he said, “i've had enough. they don't appreciate me.” he got depressed.

also, when you base your self-worth on your achievements you're going to get depressed. you're always going to find people who have done more than you. you're always going to find people who are doing a better job than you are right now. you're going to compare yourself and say, "why shouldn't i be like that?" and you'll get down.

what do we base our feelings about ourselves on, then? something that cannot be taken away. i am a child of GOD. nothing can take that out of my life. i may lose everything else, but nobody can take that away from me. if i'm a child of GOD, i'm significant. and GOD, in my life, can help me make the changes in my thoughts so that i don't think like the world does, but i think like the truth. the truth will set you free.

just a thought from the front porch…

a life that GOD blesses...

so how do you live a life that GOD blesses? because the bible is very clear that GOD blesses certain things. if i were to ask you do you want GOD’s blessing on your life i’m sure you would say yes. yet GOD says i’m waiting on you. I want to bless your life. so how does HE do it?

first of all you must receive GOD’s blessing through CHRIST.

everything GOD does for you and to you and through you and with you and in you and by you HE does because of JESUS CHRIST. not because you’re a good girl or good guy but because of JESUS CHRIST. HE does it because of HIS SON. if you want GOD’s blessing on your life you need to learn to love JESUS. because it’s all tied up in a relationship to CHRIST. if you want GOD’s blessing on your life it doesn’t start with a principle, it starts with a person.

ephesians 1.3 (Gw), through CHRIST GOD has blessed us with every SPIRITual blessing that heaven has to offer. notice through CHRIST. all of GOD’s blessings are wrapped up in JESUS CHRIST. HE is the source. this is so important because it’s the exact opposite of what every other religion teaches you.

you don’t get GOD’s blessing through religion. you do not. you don’t get GOD’s blessing through rules. keeping rules. you do not. you don’t get GOD’s blessing on your life by following certain regulations. you don’t even get GOD’s blessing by following certain rituals. if i do this ritual then GOD will bless me. no! yet that’s what the entire world believes. if i just keep these rules or regulations or do these rituals then GOD will bless my life and GOD says, no, wrong answer.

the only way you get GOD’s blessing on your life is through a relationship. a relationship with his SON, JESUS CHRIST. it says, through CHRIST. through CHRIST GOD has blessed us with every SPIRITual blessing.

just a thought from the front porch…

the safest and soundest thing to do…

you may still be under the illusion that you are in control of your life. but one day something tiny is going to happen in your finances or your family or your relationships or your health or your career, and it’s going to get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger until finally you are confronted with the fact that you are not GOD. and you’re not in control of your life. and the safest and soundest thing to do is surrender yourself to your CREATOR and say, “JESUS CHRIST, YOU be at the driver’s wheel. YOU be in charge. YOU call the shots. YOU be the director, the chairman of the board in my life.” i hope you won’t wait until that happens and humble yourself before GOD.

some of you, possibly, have been in church all your lives. and you’re really a “good” person. you’re religious, and you know the prayers and the terminology, and everybody would think you’re a CHRISTian. but you’re not really because you’ve never really surrendered your total life to JESUS CHRIST. that’s why GOD brought you here to the front porch today, so you could do it. there is not a better time than right now to make that surrender. life is so much more focused when you do that. what would keep you from that? only one thing – arrogance, pride. “i’m going to call the shots. i’m going to be my own god.” and that is a fatal mistake. it puts you in opposition with the ONE who loves you, died for you and created you. why don’t you surrender your life to HIM right now?

today, you’ve realized you’ve never really surrendered your life to CHRIST. maybe you’ve even realized there’s a little more pride in your life than you thought. which of these four habits do you need to work on this week? how quickly do you adjust to the needs of others around you? do you give deference to their preference? how eager are you to listen and to learn from correction? do you get defensive? how quickly do you admit it when you are wrong? have you ever done that? it takes courage to be humble. how willing are you to surrender your plans to GOD? GOD says, the people that I treasure the most are the humble. if you want GOD’s blessing in your life, would you pray this prayer?

dear GOD, i want to be the kind of humble person that YOU can bless. i admit that i often do things out of selfishness and pride and what other people might think of me. i ask you to help me this week to practice these habits of humility. help me to give preference to others – their needs, their interests. help me to not always have my own way. help me to be open to correction and even criticism. help me to admit it when i’m wrong. today, i surrender all my life and plans to YOU. i want YOUr will for my life. help me to have a realistic view of both my strengths and my weaknesses. JESUS CHRIST, i turn over the controls of my life to YOU. and i humbly ask YOU to be the director of my life. i want to depend upon YOU from this day forward. in YOUr name i pray. amen.

just a thought from the front porch…

the power of a positive word…

dr. larry crabb, a CHRISTian counselor, and author and speaker tells of as a youngster he personally developed a thoroughly annoying and humiliating problem of stuttering. it seemed two letters were the most troublesome, l and p.

in ninth grade, he was elected president of his junior high student body and during an assembly in front of several hundred students, he was asked to come to the stage by the principle for the induction ceremony.

he said, "standing nervously in front of the squirming, bored crowed, i was told to repeat after the principle the words, 'i, larry crabb of plymouth-whitemarsh junior high school, do hearby promise...' that's how the principal said it but my version was a bit different. 'i, l l l l l larry crabb of p p p p plymouth-whitemarsh junior high school, do hereby p p p promise..."

he said, "the principal was sympathetically perplexed, my favorite english teacher wanted to cry, a few students laughed out loud, most were awkwardly amused, some felt bad for me and i died a thousand deaths. i decided right them that public speaking was not for me.'

a short time later, their church celebrated the LORD's supper in a sunday morning worship service and it was customary to encourage young men to come and pray aloud and it seemed he was pressured by well meaning people to go up front and pray, so he did.

he said, "filled less with worship than with nervousness, i found my theology becoming confused to the point of heresy. i remember thanking the FATHER for hanging on the cross and praising CHRIST for triumphantly bringing the SPIRIT from the grave. stuttering throughout, i finally thought of the word amen, said it, and sat down."

he said, "i recall staring at the floor, too embarrassed to look around, and solemnly vowing never again to pray or speak aloud in front of a group. two strikes were enough.

when the service was over, he said, i darted toward the door, not wishing to encounter an elder who might feel obligated to correct my twisted theology but i was not quick enough. an older CHRISTian man named jim dunbar intercepted me, put his arm around me and cleared his throat to speak.

'larry', he said, 'there's one thing i want you to know. whatever you do for the LORD, i'm behind you one thousand per cent.' then he walked away. "

dr. crabb said, "i have yet to tell that story to an audience without at least mildly choking. those words were life words. they had power. they reached deep into my being. my resolve never again to speak publicly weakened instantly.

and since those days, GOD has lead me into a ministry in which i regularly address and pray before crowds of all sizes and i do it without stuttering. i love it."

just a thought from the front porch…

do you want to feel stressed out and pressured?...

let me ask you, if you are a parent, do you want your kids to feel stressed out and pressured? no. neither does your heavenly FATHER.

the only time you're going to feel stress out and pressured is when HE's told you something to do and you don't do it. that's going to create stress in your life. that's going to create pressure – when you know the right thing to do and you keep procrastinating.

satan drives us compulsively while GOD's SPIRIT draws us compassionately, gently.

colossians 3.15 (niv), let the peace of GOD rule in your hearts...

if GOD is genuinely speaking to you and you think this idea is from GOD, it's going to bring peace to your heart if you follow it. GOD's SPIRIT produces a calm spirit.

worry and anxiety are never from GOD. never. in the bible it says, "don't worry!" we are commanded not to worry. if you get an idea that is worry, it's not from GOD! it's not.

what if? and you start worrying about it, then it's not from GOD. GOD would never give you an idea that HE's commanded you not to have. you need to look for his peace.

one pastor had this lady who every week kept coming up and saying, "GOD told me this!" and every week it was a scolding. every week it was something she was doing wrong. every week it was a hyper sensitive conscious. many of those things weren't wrong, just questionable. she was always beaten up. one day he said, "does GOD ever say anything nice to you?"

some of you have taken the voice of an unpleasable parent and put it in the form of GOD and you think all GOD does is sit around and beat you up and tell you everything you're doing wrong. you don't understand grace if you think that way. you don't understand that it's all been paid for. it's been forgiven.

you want to live for CHRIST not because GOD is constantly beating you up saying "do better". that's not the way GOD treats HIS children. HE says, "i've already forgiven your sins and you're on your way to heaven" so in gratitude, i want to live for HIM.

i want to live for JESUS because HE loves me that much. i want to do it not because HE's beating me up and making me feel bad, but i want to do it because of the peace that comes when i'm in a relationship with GOD and there's harmony between us.

just a thought from the front porch…