Tuesday, April 29, 2014

ONE DAY AT A TIME BY BRIAN LUKE LEEMAN

How many times as Christians  do we worry ?  

Most likely more then we can count on  our hands !

We worry about our jobs , family , friends .  our country,  the church, and so many other things.
NO!!!!!!!!!

Let's look at what God's Holy Word has to say about worrying : Matthew 6:25-27:

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?"



My favorite verse out of theses verses is verse 26 " Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not much more valuable than they?"


It so True , Birds don't store up food and yet there always food for them.

Sometimes  we let our problems get to us  to point were we forget God is bigger then our worries and us !

Theses last five years  God has showed me that He is watching out for me .
I have never been without , God has always provided for my needs. 
I want make a point , God has Provided for what i need , not what i want . 
Because just because i want certain things or certain things to happen in my life , doesn't mean its good for me.  God Knows exactly what you need !

Here is some more verses on worrying  : 

Philippians 4:6-7


Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


With everything situation in life We need to come to God  and praise him in the good and in the bad.

When Lean God's understanding , we get such a peace that we know God's has our lifes in his hands .

Proverbs 3:5-6: 
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.[a]


When lean on our own understanding  , Things tend not go the right way.

But when we Trust in God's way , our path in life  becomes straight .

I going to leave you with a psalm and a Quote .

Psalms 121

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.



Knowing that God is faithful, it really helps me to not be captivated by worry. But knowing that He will do what He has said, He will cause it to happen, whatever He has promised, and then it causes me to be less involved in worrying about a situation.-
     Josh McDowell
   

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Stay On The Path By Brian luke

This  is s short story of man called thorn , who is at  a cross road's of his life .  He has to decide to which path he will walk down for the rest of his life. Will Thorn choose the easy path or the hard path ?



Thorn is twenty something guy  who lives in the deep woods of  Maine .
 He moved into the deep woods of Maine to run away from his mistakes .
 One day Thorn went into town to get supplies for the month  when he runs to his childhood pastor.

Thorn :  " Hey there Pastor Marcus, its been awhile . "

Pastor  Marcus : "Thorn? Hello there stranger ! how long has it been since we last saw each other ?"

Thorn : Five years , five long years. "

  Pastor Marcus :   " wow that long.   Hey, do you have time to catch up and get a bite to eat ? "

Thorn: ( reluctantly) " sure , sounds good . "

Thorn and Pastor Marcus get into Pastor Marcus's car and head to the nearest diner .

They both  order there food and sit there in silence for a couple minutes .

Pastor Marcus breaks the silence  :  " So who have you been Thorn ?"

Thorn : " i have been doing alright ,  You ? "

Pastor Marcus   :   "Just Awesome ! The church has been blessed with new people almost every Sunday. Did you know your little brother Brock is the youth pastor now ? "

Thorn: " Really ?  Well , to be honest with you , i haven't talked to my brother in five years pastor. "

Pastor Marcus : " Thorn , you know Brock misses you .   He doesn't hold what you have done against you anymore ."

Thorn:  " Pastor , what i did cannot be forgiving ."


Thorn   five years ago  made a mistake that almost costed his life .
Thorn at age eighteen  , was the leader of his youth group and a role model for everyone in the youth group.
 Well One night Thorn and his brother  was invited to a party from a friend in his high school and thorn got  really drunk  . Thorn and Brock left party an Thorn decided he was sober a enough  to drive them both home.    Well Thorn was obviously not sober enough to drive ,   Thorn blackout and crashed the car into tree.  Brock did not have his seat belt on and was thrown threw the windshield.
Thorn only had a broken right arm but Brock was not so lucky, Brock  almost died but mad it threw the night. Brock ended up paralyzed   .
The Last thing Brock said to thorn  was "  I hate you!!!!!!!!!!!  You made me this way !!!! "

That day Thorn with the money he had save up for college , bought a cabin in the deep woods of Maine and left home .


Pastor Marcus:  " Oh Thorn , what happen was terrible but you can be forgiven and has been forgiven .
Let me share a parable that Jesus told. "

Luke 15:11-24: 11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.


Pastor Marcus :" You see Thorn , Jesus died for you sins and has forgiven you !
He wants you to come back to him like the son in the parable  and he loves you so much !"

Thorn begins to sob uncontrollably and says" I don't know what to say ,  never been good with words." 


Pastor Marcus : "Just speak from the heart  Thorn . I will pray with you. "


That day Thorn gave his life to Jesus  and the next day made peace with Brother Brock. 


The message of this story is : Jesus will forgive no matter what you have done , Just give you life to Jesus and Live in Freedom !!!!!