In the year 1900 a dream was born, and it was a grand dream, unlike anything before it.
The White Star line commissioned the construction of two luxury liners far larger and grander then anything else on the sea. Both ships were built simultaneously, right beside each other, both would be famous and both now rest at the bottom of the ocean.
The two ships are the Titanic and the Olympia.
We have all seen the movie and we know the song, the Titanic is a bigger then life story about the perils of pride and ignorance.
The Titanic cost 7.5 million dollars in 1912, that is a lot of money and still substandard rivets and faulty steel plating were used.
The design of the Titanic was state of the art, and still it sank.
No expense was spared on this ship and in the end the seat that everyone wanted was on a life boat that cost $200.
Sometimes we see something and it looks awesome, it is wonderful and grand but the truth is if you buy into that thing it will kill you.
Money is a funny thing, and Jesus talks about it throughout his ministry. There is nothing wrong with money, I’ll take all I can get, but you must be the master of money. You can never let money be your master of it will kill you, you will chase after it and every time you get your hand on a bunch of money, it will be gone.
Jesus said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, then for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:24
Money is the currency of the earth, but faith is the currency of God.
Sometimes you have to look past the logical, because the facts are not the truth. Truth is often difficult to find and doesn’t always make sense.
Tithing does not make mathematical or financial sense
If you give God 10% of all you earn, how do you end up with more money than you started with. Tithing is about letting go of your control and having your faith built as you trust in God to provide for you in a supernatural way. Until you learn to let go of things you are subject to their power but when you let go you are free to live a powerful faith filled live.
Anyone on the Titanic that didn’t want to leave the false safety of the BIG ship, that didn't let go of the railing and get in the Lifeboat, they drown. Those that let go and even lept off the side of the sinking mamouth into the icy water and swam to the lifeboats, they were saved.
Let go of the fears and powers that are holding you back from living a powerful, fruitful life in God. Put your trust in Him and he will lift you up and protect you.
Have an awesome week,
Talk to you soon.
Steve A
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Beautiful you
Life is Beautiful!
What is beautiful?
Is it a painting by one of the great artists, like Michelangelo?
Maybe it is a summer sunrise over the oceans in Hawaii?
How about a single delicate flower blossom in the middle of a desert?
Is it the way a mother cares for her newborn baby?
Is the Gospel beautiful?
Is God beautiful?
Is the Sacrifice of God bloodied and shredded and hung on a cross, is that beautiful?
Listening to most of Christian radio and watching Christian TV you would think that God expects us to get ourselves cleaned up and straightened out before we could ever come before Him. That could not be further from the truth
If you have children and have had the blessing of being part of a birth then you will understand that beauty is often not what we would expect, if you have not seen a birth I’ll explain.
Birth is nothing like you see on TV, even the “real birth Shows” don’t do it justice.
Birthing is messy, it is bloody and can be loud. It has the potential to be very scary, very inconvenient, emotions run wild. Birth is painful and requires an enormous amount of energy.
Birth is not for the weak of heart.
Birth is Beautiful!
You have been birthed by God.
Before the foundations of the earth were considered, before God hovered over the great abyss that would become the earth, He thought of you, everything about you, your hair color, your skin color, how tall you would be, what gifts He would give you, who your parents would be, everything about you.
You are part of His plans for mankind.
God knew you before sin had entered the world.
He made us to live in a perfect world, to walk and talk with Him everyday in an intimate relationship.
That opportunity is still available to us.
Reach out to God and know He made you and He loves you. Walk with Him and Talk with Him as thought you were in the Garden with Him today
Life is messy and bloody and it can be painful, at times the world can get loud and try to drown out the voice of God. There will be inconveniences and scary moments, But God will be there with you and He will get you through anything that you come up against if you hold onto Him, trust in Him and put your faith in HIM. You will see all that mess; blood and pain turn into a beautiful relationship with God
Life is Beautiful.
You are Beautiful.
God is Beautiful!
Ephesians 1:
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Have a beautiful week, talk to you soon
What is beautiful?
Is it a painting by one of the great artists, like Michelangelo?
Maybe it is a summer sunrise over the oceans in Hawaii?
How about a single delicate flower blossom in the middle of a desert?
Is it the way a mother cares for her newborn baby?
Is the Gospel beautiful?
Is God beautiful?
Is the Sacrifice of God bloodied and shredded and hung on a cross, is that beautiful?
Listening to most of Christian radio and watching Christian TV you would think that God expects us to get ourselves cleaned up and straightened out before we could ever come before Him. That could not be further from the truth
If you have children and have had the blessing of being part of a birth then you will understand that beauty is often not what we would expect, if you have not seen a birth I’ll explain.
Birth is nothing like you see on TV, even the “real birth Shows” don’t do it justice.
Birthing is messy, it is bloody and can be loud. It has the potential to be very scary, very inconvenient, emotions run wild. Birth is painful and requires an enormous amount of energy.
Birth is not for the weak of heart.
Birth is Beautiful!
You have been birthed by God.
Before the foundations of the earth were considered, before God hovered over the great abyss that would become the earth, He thought of you, everything about you, your hair color, your skin color, how tall you would be, what gifts He would give you, who your parents would be, everything about you.
You are part of His plans for mankind.
God knew you before sin had entered the world.
He made us to live in a perfect world, to walk and talk with Him everyday in an intimate relationship.
That opportunity is still available to us.
Reach out to God and know He made you and He loves you. Walk with Him and Talk with Him as thought you were in the Garden with Him today
Life is messy and bloody and it can be painful, at times the world can get loud and try to drown out the voice of God. There will be inconveniences and scary moments, But God will be there with you and He will get you through anything that you come up against if you hold onto Him, trust in Him and put your faith in HIM. You will see all that mess; blood and pain turn into a beautiful relationship with God
Life is Beautiful.
You are Beautiful.
God is Beautiful!
Ephesians 1:
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Have a beautiful week, talk to you soon
Sunday, June 1, 2008
A Gift for you.
FOCUS
FOCUS!
FOCUS!!
If it was only that easy.
FOCUS!
FOCUS!!
If it was only that easy.
If every one who followed Christ with a bit of passion and determination would focus on the task at hand, the entire world would be transformed into a planet full of Christ followers in a matter of months.
The Whole Earth!! ……WOW!!!
So why after 2008 years of Ministry Team building, Church Building programs and Stirring preaching are we (Christ followers) still battling to convert and awaken the occupants of the Earth to the truth and power of our God.
Paul has revealed the simple answer to this simple question in his first writing to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 3:6 (The Message)
5-9Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working.
Most people struggle with the gifts they are given, they either don’t see them as gifts or they misunderstand the gifts they have and dismiss them as insignificant.
For example compassion is a powerful gift, it is a quiet gift and is often over looked; however without compassion there is no salvation. It is because of Gods compassion and grace that we are saved.
Ephesians 2
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
So, how powerful is compassion, when balanced with the wisdom of the spirit of God it is as important and powerful as any gift.
For a moment think about the job of a parent. A parent must perform many jobs and do all of them well. It is impossible to do everything “the best”, yet as a parent we must try our best to do our best.
God doesn’t ask us to be gifted at everything; He empowers us with a few gifts for a specific purpose.
Your children and family are your first mission field. They should be your first priority, and then go out into the world, the work place and your school.
Think about the impact you can have on people around you once you discover your gifts and start working in them as true spiritual gifts, not just as something you are good at.
Cultivate your gift, meet with a trusted leader of you church and see how you can fully apply your gifts in the work of ministry.
Compassion is just one of many gifts, they are all important and all are vital to the work of the Kingdom of God. Discover your gift and move in it!
Finally I want to encourage you with the words that God spoke to Joshua just before and again right after Moses died. These words are as powerful and relative today as the first time they were spoken. Take them and make them yours.
Joshua 1 (New International Version)
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Focus on your Gifts and use then for the work of the Kingdom of God.
Be Blessed,
Talk again soon
The Whole Earth!! ……WOW!!!
So why after 2008 years of Ministry Team building, Church Building programs and Stirring preaching are we (Christ followers) still battling to convert and awaken the occupants of the Earth to the truth and power of our God.
Paul has revealed the simple answer to this simple question in his first writing to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 3:6 (The Message)
5-9Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working.
Most people struggle with the gifts they are given, they either don’t see them as gifts or they misunderstand the gifts they have and dismiss them as insignificant.
For example compassion is a powerful gift, it is a quiet gift and is often over looked; however without compassion there is no salvation. It is because of Gods compassion and grace that we are saved.
Ephesians 2
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
So, how powerful is compassion, when balanced with the wisdom of the spirit of God it is as important and powerful as any gift.
For a moment think about the job of a parent. A parent must perform many jobs and do all of them well. It is impossible to do everything “the best”, yet as a parent we must try our best to do our best.
God doesn’t ask us to be gifted at everything; He empowers us with a few gifts for a specific purpose.
Your children and family are your first mission field. They should be your first priority, and then go out into the world, the work place and your school.
Think about the impact you can have on people around you once you discover your gifts and start working in them as true spiritual gifts, not just as something you are good at.
Cultivate your gift, meet with a trusted leader of you church and see how you can fully apply your gifts in the work of ministry.
Compassion is just one of many gifts, they are all important and all are vital to the work of the Kingdom of God. Discover your gift and move in it!
Finally I want to encourage you with the words that God spoke to Joshua just before and again right after Moses died. These words are as powerful and relative today as the first time they were spoken. Take them and make them yours.
Joshua 1 (New International Version)
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Focus on your Gifts and use then for the work of the Kingdom of God.
Be Blessed,
Talk again soon
Steve
Friday, May 16, 2008
Is love blind ?
Is love blind ?
I ask this in the nicest possible way of course.
Think about it, when you first fell in love with that special someone, didn’t you want to tell everyone?
Did you show everyone their picture and tell the whole world about the wonder of all they are?
I bet you wanted to spend every moment with them. When you were away from them you couldn’t stop thinking about them.
When we are in Love we have endless energy, we are happy, full of joy. Things that normally drive us crazy seem to be less bothersome.
The people who are written about throughout the Bible share one thing in common. They are in Love with their God and have an unquenchable passion and thirst for His presence in their lives. The knowledge that God loves them even more than they could even love Him is what gets these men through the challenges they face throughout their live.
No one in their right mind would endure half of the pain and torment that Moses and Joshua went through. Peter and Paul were both murdered, Stephen was beheaded.
Everyone will face challenges in their life, some will be bigger then others. Difficult times do not mean that God is not with you. Usually it is quite the opposite. God brings us through a challenge to transform us into the Men and Women of God we need to be, to accomplish the purpose He has for us.
Fall in love with God, dive right in to His presence, read His word and drink of His spirit and watch how God transforms you into a new person.
You are called to a great purpose!
Deuteronomy 6:5
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Have an awesome week, talk to you soon.
I ask this in the nicest possible way of course.
Think about it, when you first fell in love with that special someone, didn’t you want to tell everyone?
Did you show everyone their picture and tell the whole world about the wonder of all they are?
I bet you wanted to spend every moment with them. When you were away from them you couldn’t stop thinking about them.
When we are in Love we have endless energy, we are happy, full of joy. Things that normally drive us crazy seem to be less bothersome.
The people who are written about throughout the Bible share one thing in common. They are in Love with their God and have an unquenchable passion and thirst for His presence in their lives. The knowledge that God loves them even more than they could even love Him is what gets these men through the challenges they face throughout their live.
No one in their right mind would endure half of the pain and torment that Moses and Joshua went through. Peter and Paul were both murdered, Stephen was beheaded.
Everyone will face challenges in their life, some will be bigger then others. Difficult times do not mean that God is not with you. Usually it is quite the opposite. God brings us through a challenge to transform us into the Men and Women of God we need to be, to accomplish the purpose He has for us.
Fall in love with God, dive right in to His presence, read His word and drink of His spirit and watch how God transforms you into a new person.
You are called to a great purpose!
Deuteronomy 6:5
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Have an awesome week, talk to you soon.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Keep it Simple
Keep it Simple!
Easy to say, but not so easy to do.
Life is so busy, it’s not just now, suddenly that things are busy. Life has been busy for a while. It’s true that the modern man has more things to distract him, but really it boils down to the decisions that we make.
Everyday decisions that seem so mundane are actually having life long and life shortening effects on us.
From the moment we wake we are setting up our future, with every choice we make.
Should I get up 15 minutes early and spend a couple of minutes praying about my day ahead? Or should I sleep in a little later and rush around trying to get ready.
Should I eat a healthy breakfast? Or should I eat one of those 1000 calorie muffins from Crispy Cream ( Yes I know they taste good.) … ( But you know they kill you the rest of the day.)
When your children or friends are sick, do you reach for the Tylenol, or do you reach out your hands and pray for them?
When you are asked about your faith, do you tell people how you really feel about God, or do you shy away from the conversation?
I spent about 2 weeks out of this past month on my back with the Flu and a nasty stomach virus. It is amazing how simple things can get when we are forced to slow down and take it easy.
There is nothing that God has planned for you that you will miss out on.
But their will absolutely be a time in your life that you will question God and wonder if he has forgotten you. You will be sure that you should be doing something or should be somewhere, and you will not be happy.
These are the most important moments to remember to simply trust God.
In the book of Daniel, Daniel is walking along with some friends and is probably wondering if God has forgotten him. Daniel has been praying about something big and has gotten no answer from God. Suddenly a man appears in front of Daniel and his friends. Daniels friends don’t see the man, but Daniel does.
Daniel’s heart and mind were set on seeing an answer from God, even though the circumstances around him said God had not heard his prayer and that he was seeing things, his heart told him to continue to believe for an answer from God and that, yes indeed there was a Man standing in front of him and his friends.
Having faith is not about blindly expecting things from God, simply because you want something and can’t figure out how to get it on your own. God is not a magic genie.
Faith is the belief in a truth. Faith comes and grows when we see God move in our lives and in the lives of those around us. It starts small and grows according to how much it is exercised.
Trust God with something small and see how simple life can get when you say, God I trust you with this “thing”. I can’t do it without you. Help me grow my faith in you.
Then trust God, Pray and read the Bible.
Have an Outstanding week!
Talk again soon.
Steve
Easy to say, but not so easy to do.
Life is so busy, it’s not just now, suddenly that things are busy. Life has been busy for a while. It’s true that the modern man has more things to distract him, but really it boils down to the decisions that we make.
Everyday decisions that seem so mundane are actually having life long and life shortening effects on us.
From the moment we wake we are setting up our future, with every choice we make.
Should I get up 15 minutes early and spend a couple of minutes praying about my day ahead? Or should I sleep in a little later and rush around trying to get ready.
Should I eat a healthy breakfast? Or should I eat one of those 1000 calorie muffins from Crispy Cream ( Yes I know they taste good.) … ( But you know they kill you the rest of the day.)
When your children or friends are sick, do you reach for the Tylenol, or do you reach out your hands and pray for them?
When you are asked about your faith, do you tell people how you really feel about God, or do you shy away from the conversation?
I spent about 2 weeks out of this past month on my back with the Flu and a nasty stomach virus. It is amazing how simple things can get when we are forced to slow down and take it easy.
There is nothing that God has planned for you that you will miss out on.
But their will absolutely be a time in your life that you will question God and wonder if he has forgotten you. You will be sure that you should be doing something or should be somewhere, and you will not be happy.
These are the most important moments to remember to simply trust God.
In the book of Daniel, Daniel is walking along with some friends and is probably wondering if God has forgotten him. Daniel has been praying about something big and has gotten no answer from God. Suddenly a man appears in front of Daniel and his friends. Daniels friends don’t see the man, but Daniel does.
Daniel’s heart and mind were set on seeing an answer from God, even though the circumstances around him said God had not heard his prayer and that he was seeing things, his heart told him to continue to believe for an answer from God and that, yes indeed there was a Man standing in front of him and his friends.
Having faith is not about blindly expecting things from God, simply because you want something and can’t figure out how to get it on your own. God is not a magic genie.
Faith is the belief in a truth. Faith comes and grows when we see God move in our lives and in the lives of those around us. It starts small and grows according to how much it is exercised.
Trust God with something small and see how simple life can get when you say, God I trust you with this “thing”. I can’t do it without you. Help me grow my faith in you.
Then trust God, Pray and read the Bible.
Have an Outstanding week!
Talk again soon.
Steve
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