There is Never a Vacation from God

I have been down in Maryland spending the Thanksgiving festivities with my family and friends. Usually when I get into town, I call my friends and family and make plans to see them and hang out. I always make sure that I have time for everyone, but the one person I tend to leave out of my plans is God. This is not done on purpose, but seems to happen often. I have just been reminded by the Lord that the time I spend with him in my daily routine always gets put on hold when I am out of town or on vacation. Its definitely not that I don’t love the Lord, I do pray regularly and give him praise, but I don’t read His Word as I normally would if I wasn’t on vacation. It seems that I have created a routine with God and when I am not doing my daily routine as I normally do when I am in NY; I tend to take an inadvertent vacation from God.

There is no such thing as a vacation from God. I don’t know where I would be if God took a vacation from me. I don’t know about you but I don’t really want for God to take His eyes off me for a nanosecond! I have been reminded that I need to be the same way. God is always with me, He said it in His word. I need to acknowledge and respect his presence at all times.

I don’t know if you experience this or not, but if you are sometimes like me, I pray that we keep God in focus. I pray that we remember that while we can take a vacation from school, work and the hustle and bustle of our lives, that we never take a vacation from God and His Word. He is our strength, provider, healer, friend, father, councilor and so much more. I pray that we include him in all things.

Share and Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and this is one of my favorite times of the year. Getting together with family and close friends, eating good food, eating more good food and did I mention eating more good food. Thanksgiving always makes me happy and besides New Years, this is one of the times I really sit down and think about all the blessings that God has given me and my love ones.
I know it is very cliche to say it is the time to give thanks but it is so true. I thank God everyday for the life that He has given me and the love that He showers upon me. He is so good and He does not know how to be anything else nut to be good. God is Good and enjoys blessing his children.

Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the LORD be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” Psalm 35:27

Thanksgiving is the best time to see what God is doing in the lives of those you care about. This is the best time to encourage one another and praise the Lord for giving you life. Not just physical but spiritual life that will never die. This is also a opportunity to share with friends and family who are not saved how accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior has impacted your life. Your testimony is a powerful way to evangelize to non-believers.
So when you are around that table getting ready to tear up that turkey, mac &c cheese, baked ham, candy yams and whatever you find delicious, remember who made it all possible for you to enjoy a day like this. Also everyday is a day of thanksgiving.

Psalm 100

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

¹ Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
² Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
³ Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
⁵ For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations

Happy Thanksgiving and Many Blessings to you and yours.

Let's Be Honest

Hebrews 4:13

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

I was looking through my Bible and thinking about what to write and I came across this verse which was highlighted. I think at times, we as Christians, feel the pressure to be perfect, to put on a good face for others, yet there is one person that we can not hide from; and that is the Lord.

Even though I came to the Lord when I was really young, I didn’t start seriously walking with the Lord until after college. Since I knew the Lord and His Word and didn’t follow His will, it was hard for me to admit my short comings to myself and to God. You ever notice how when you backslide and then come to church that the Word that comes forth always seems directed to you and your situation? Well this seemed to always happen to me. Every time I came to church I felt like my pastor had been watching my version of The Truman Show (Jim Carrey movie where his life is tapped for everyone to see but he doesn’t realize that his life is a show). Then the alter call; oh that alter call. I had such a hard time with the alter call. I felt like the alter call was so public and I didn’t want for anyone to know that I was struggling. If I couldn’t admit that I had problems to the Lord and myself, how could I ever admit it in front of a large congregation? As far as I was concerned, the alter was something that I decided would just be at my seat. That seat represented a safe place where I was invisible, a place where if I stayed there, people would assume that my walk with God was right where it was supposed to be. And although I knew I heard the Lord tell me that I needed to be at the alter, I convinced myself otherwise.

One Sunday, the pastor spoke about the Holy Spirit and it spoke so deep to my heart that I could not stop crying. I had always wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit and I knew that I was lacking that personal experience with God. And just like clock work that alter call came and just like times past, I weighed my options. Then the pastor said, “If you are worried about your dignity, just let it go. If you have a choice between your deliverance and your dignity, choose your deliverance; you can always get your dignity back.” That was all I needed. I got up from my seat and went straight to that alter and my life has never been the same!

That alter, which used to represent a sort of shame to me, now represented a safe place where I can run to God and say here I am. Flaws and all, take me and change me. I am not perfect, but oh Lord, your work in me will prove perfect! We can hide all we want, but we will never be able to hide from God. He sees what we do in secret and what we do in the open. I don’t have to give an account to anyone except the Lord and at some point you have to be honest with yourself and God! We can’t hide anything from him. I can say that there is no one better to be vulnerable with than the Lord.

The alter is just an example, other things might be sitting in a prayer group and not being honest about what you need prayer about; another could be your testimony. You can fool everyone, but you can’t fool God. So let’s learn to be honest with ourselves. I am not saying to go run and tell all your business, but what I am saying is that we need to keep everything real with the Lord and with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a wonderful thing to have other saints pray with you and stand with you. A few extra people praying with you can never hurt. When we are open and honest our lives, ministries and testimonies will never be compromised but will show the extent of God’s grace and mercy towards us. Let’s all just be honest.

"I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me

Last night at The Gate (a youth service at Times Square Church in NYC) there was a powerful message that was preached. After the alter call the praise and worship team sang "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me. I know the song all to well but it touched and filled by heart with so much gladness. The words are so powerful and amazing that my spirit had to sing.
Can you really imagine how it would be when we get to heaven? What would you do? What would you say? This life is so full of uncertainties but one thing is for certain that we who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior will live forever in his glory.
Many of you have been through so many trails and tribulations and it seems like it is never ending. But instead of thinking about what you are going through right now, think about how wonderful it is going to be when we meet our Savior. Tough times won't last long and you will not remember a single tear, heartache or loss you have ever experienced. Keep on riding the storm and remember what the prize is at the end of this race.



I Can Only Imagine lyrics

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in honour of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
When I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

[Chorus]

I can only imagine [x2]

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship you

I can only imagine

True Stormriders: Church bombing in Ukraine

Here is an article from Voice of the Martyrs website. It is about a church that was bombed in Ukraine last month. Please keep the pastor and his family in your prayers and all those who are persecuted for spreading the Gospel.

UKRAINE - Church bombed in Ukraine

On Oct. 14, a homemade bomb was thrown into the Calvary Chapel church building in Kaharlyk, Ukraine, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. The building is also the residence of Pastor Wayne Zschech and his family.

At 7 a.m., Pastor Zschech's wife awoke to the smell of smoke. Fire officials put out the blaze which caused minor damage to the building. The six people asleep in the church at the time of the attack escaped without injury. The assailants spray painted "Out with Sects" and "OYH," an abbreviated name for a Ukrainian Nationalist movement, on the church wall. Pastor Zschech later said, "We pray that the Lord would call people to salvation and that he would build up his body. We rejoice in being chosen worthy to suffer for the sake of our Lord and his Gospel. We do also pray for safety but hold this prayer out with open hands."

Thank God no one was hurt in this attack. Pray that the perpetrators of this attack will be brought to justice and come to faith in Christ.