Speaking in Texas

Welllllllll. I am currently in Flower Mound, Texas. I had the wonderful privilege of being with Dr. Richard Wallace and Temple Baptist Church last night. We had a great service with wonderful music and a great response from the crowd. It was great to see many old friends and to be able to preach in a GREAT church.

This morning I had the opportunity to preach to 5 Christian schools that are represented at the "David Von Erich Basketball Tournament".

Please be in prayer as I preach this evening and twice tomorrow. May God bless you! I covet your prayers! Here is the link for the church I am preaching at. http://www.templebc.org/

don't count the OLD MEN OUT

This past Monday evening we played our annual Staff versus the Varsity boys game. The boys started out killing us! By half time they were up by 19 pts....needless to say don't count the old men out. WE WON! thats all I'm saying. ITS NOT OVER TILL THE BUZZER! DON'T EVER QUIT!

start today

wellllll...2009 is upon us. The first day of a new year. I want to encourage all of you to start fresh today. Maybe last year you had committed to reading the Word and praying on the daily basis and did not make it. Well start today. Take it one day at a time. I am not a big fan of new years resolutions but I am a big fan of having goals and making and keeping commitments. So many "followers of Christ" that I know, are really good at the Sunday stuff...the exterior...the religious aspects of Christianity like going to church, pretending like your praying before you eat ect...I want to encourage each one of you to today to dive head first into a deep relationship with the Lord. The best way to do this is to walk with him. Talk to him. Meditate on His word. Have you spent time with him today? do you have the joy of your salvation right now at this moment? I hope you will not superficially live this life. But you will humbly realize that we are nothing without Him, and can do nothing without Him.

If nothing else this year remember: It's not about me. It's all about HIM. Commit this year not to pleasing some person or some Pastor but to pleasing God. I do this not by my separation from something (rules and regulations) but by my separating to something (the Lord Jesus Christ).

May this year our lives be full of Christ's peace, love, and forgiveness. May we enter each day with the fruit of the spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

something that got me this morning in Luke 1

This morning I was spending some time reading and meditating on the Christmas story. As I read the end of Luke 1 it reminded me once again of the purpose of Christ. (and also how so many "Christians" have twisted his purpose.

Verse 77 - to give knowledge of salvation unto His people
Verse 79 - to give light to them that sit in darkness
Verse 79 - to guide our feet into the way of PEACE

If these were the purposes for Christs coming and his Life....hmmm

Christmas Shopping

I am one of those sick people who waits pretty much last min. to do my Christmas shopping. This past Saturday I was in target looking for a Wii for my wife. Of course the people who worked there laughed at me when I asked if they had any in stock. I googled game stop on my phone and begin to call every one that came up in our area. There was about a seven year old little squirt that was listening to my conversations and was laughing at me. Finally i hung up after calling about 4 or five places. The little punk looked at me and laughingly and said in a baltimorian accent, "man, your crazy they aint got no wii's anywhere!" I don't know why I found this so amusing, but if you were there you would have been laughing too!

Celebrating 7 years of marriage this Sunday (what I've learned)

This Sunday Sara and I will be celebrating our 7 year anniversary. God has taught us so many things over the course of this journey. I want to praise Him and thank my wife for the influence and love she has given me and shown me. Through my wife God delivered me in many ways. When we first met I was a hypocritical Pharisaical ego-maniac who had NO idea who God was or what he was really all about.(not to mention an addict) Through Sara God has shown me who he is and what he is about. He has helped me to realize life is not about religion or rules and regulations but about relationship, freedom, and love. Through this journey he has shown me through her what real forgiveness is. He has shown me what commitment is. He has shown me what love is. He has taught me patience. He has blessed me with a wife that is what God intended a wife to be. A friend. A counselor. A comforter. I married way above myself. I want to thank God for her.

Some other things I have learned:
a king size bed is a great investment. Put the lid down when your done. Snuggling is a good thing (even if it makes me itch). credit cards are bad. you still iron your own close after you get married. wives don't ever answer cell phones. avoid questions about appearance you will not win.

Redemption

One of my favorite words, which has become a cliche' in Christian circles is the word REDEMPTION. This morning I took a couple of minutes to read once again about what it actually means. Here are some of what i found....

"Purchasing of a slave with a view to his freedom."
"to buy up for ones self"
"to release a receipt of ransom"
"to free from bondage"
"liberation from guilt or doom"

if you have been redeemed basically it means you are free. you are no longer a captive, you do not have to live in captivity. you do not have to stay there any longer. you have the freedom and liberty to walk away from the bondage. The choice is up to us. As one great orator stated, "you dont have to live like this!" so dont.