The power of love.

Now it is a rare event when someone gives up his life even for the sake of somebody righteous, although possibly for a truly good person one might have the courage to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners. Rom. 5: 7,8

Love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not gloat over other people's sins but takes its delight in the truth. Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures. But for now, three things last: trust, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, 13

Dragonball. There, I said it and I intend to use it to make a spiritual point. God uses the people in our lives to make way into our hearts. Through our loved ones, friends and even the people who make our lives less than pleasant, God softens us, teaches us to love and to practice patience. God's love most often comes in the guise of other people. I'd like to look at the best example of character development in the entire Dragonball saga, Piccolo.

In Dragonball, the boy Goku encounters and defeats an evil alien called King Piccolo. Before dying, Piccolo forms an egg filled with his life energy. The egg hatches and Piccolo's son emerges. Junior is stronger and more skilled than his father and has one goal: Kill Goku. He plans to defeat the young warrior at a martial arts tournament and then destroy him and take over the world. The battle between Goku and Junior is fierce and both are severely wounded, but Goku wins the tournament and prevents the alien from taking over. Piccolo, having been shown mercy once, begins to soften.

In Dragonball Z, Goku has a son whom he has named for the man who raised him as a boy, Gohan. We learn, along with Goku and his friends, that Goku is of an alien race called Saiyans; warriors who love the thrill of fighting. Originally, Goku was sent to earth to wipe its population out and make it ready for sale by space pirates. Having become a hero instead, his brother comes calling and kidnaps Gohan with the condition that Goku must begin killing the humans he's sworn to protect. The new threat means one thing to Piccolo: competition. Piccolo will not let anyone besides him take over the world, so he forms an alliance with Goku, planning to kill him later.

Goku sacrifices himself so that Radditz, his brother can be defeated. Piccolo got what he wanted. His competition and his greatest enemy are both out of the way but he can't shake being impressed by Goku's noble sacrifice. Two more powerful Saiyan warriors are on their way to avenge their comrade and destroy the earth and Goku's friends must ready themselves. Piccolo takes upon himself the task of training the young Gohan to fight. During the year of training, Gohan works his way into the villian's heart and Piccolo's desire for world domination fades. He's made a friend and has learned what it means to care for the well being of another person.

Gohan: "What am I supposed to do now?"

Piccolo: "Live, Gohan. Just live."

Gohan: "But I'm scared!"

Piccolo: "Hm. You'll laugh at your fears when you find out who you really are."

Piccolo knows better than Gohan that the little boy posesses great power. Piccolo's faith in the boy's abilities are tested, but Gohan begins to master his strength and, more importantly begins to befriend the green skinned alien. Piccolo's quest to train a warrior becomes a journey into a friendship that defines both characters through the rest of the series.

Selfishness and singlemindeness have a great enemy: Love. The hardened inmate learns to take care of an animal. The wild minded "living for me" young man meets the woman who will be his wife. The career oriented strong willed woman becomes a mother and all those high selfish plans melt in the clear blue eyes of an infant.

The year of training complete, Piccolo, Gohan and the other fighters meet the Saiyan Warriors. Goku has been wished back to life but he's running behind. The Saiyans prove too powerful for the earth's warriors and one by one, they are defeated. Gohan puts up a brave front but falters at a crucial moment. As one of the Saiyans, Nappa, is about to launch the death blow to Gohan, Piccolo steps in the way of the blast, taking the full force of the destructive energy wave. His last words to Gohan are "You were the first person who ever spoke decently to me." All it took to change Piccolo from the evil character first seen in Dragonball was a friend who cared about him. A little love goes a long way.

A person who is not taught to love or who is not shown love from an early age may grow into a very dangerous person. A boy without empathy, without the love of others will harm or kill animals and if left unchecked will most likely become a man who kills people. Love is as essential to us as breathing and eating. Without it, we are hollow inside and that space will be filled with darkness. Our parents whether by birth or adoption give us love when we cannot willfully give much back. Our friends teach us love and patience and tolerance. We choose one person in all of them to share a special love with and that person becomes our spouse. All of these experiences are holding up a mirror to the Originator of love, God Himself.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. John 3: 16

Love sought Adam out in the Garden after he fell from grace.
Love preserved one man, Noah and his family through the destruction of the wickedness that filled the earth.
Love called Abraham to follow The Lord and make a family of decietful scounderels into a holy nation.
Love caused the prophets to call the nation of Israel to turn from her idolatry and evil ways back to God.
Love came down one night and took human form, inviting lowly shepherds and rich mens' advisors to greet a new King.
Love brought tax collectors, fishermen and religous zealots together to follow a new Teacher and learn about the Kingdom of God.
Love led Christ to die a criminal's death though He was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Love conquered death and with it our sin, paving the way for us to be made righteous through the blood of Christ.
When we've been in Heaven for ten thousand years, one theme will usher from our lips: Love.

Blessed are those who believe...

I don't know...Christianity seems a little exclusive with that only way to heaven business and the restrictions and laws and stuff.
Can't we all get along?
Aren't we all going to heaven eventually?
Would a loving God really cast people into eternal torment?
Aren't all religions the same in the end?

The short answers are:
All religions are exclusive by their nature.
No.
No.
We choose to spend eternity in the fashion we lived life; with God or away from Him.
No.

I'd like to take the issues in a little greater length, and this will probably be a multi-part blog. I would like to dedicate this part of the blog to a short Gospel message. We are all sinners in need of a savior. It wasn't this way in the beginning. When Eve listened to the lies of Satan and took the fruit of the tree of Knowledge, ate, and gave the fruit to her husband who also ate, sin entered the world of mankind and the whole of creation was tainted. But, ask many people, what is sin?

Sin is an archery term. It means to miss the target. The target is God's standard: perfection. If you could, from your first breath to your last live a life without violating God's law by your actions, words or thoughts, you could achieve perfection and be 'good enough' to get to heaven. Guess what? You can't because you are related to Adam and have inherited a rebellious nature.

For it makes no difference whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, since all have sinned and come short of earning God's praise. Romans 3:22, 23

"I've never messed around on my spouse, robbed a bank or murdered anyone. Surely God would overlook my quirks if I've never really sinned big." Have you ever looked at someone with lustful thoughts or intentions? Ever stolen anything even very small, like a stick of gum or some small trinket that nobody ever found out about? Ever harbored hatred for anyone or called them an idiot or worthless?

"You have heard that our fathers were told, `Do not murder,'l and that anyone who commits murder will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, `You good-for-nothing!' will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, `Fool!' incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom! "
Matthew 5:21, 22

"You have heard that our fathers were told, `Do not commit adultery.'m 28 But I tell you that a man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. " Matthew 5:27, 28

Any violation of God's standard, His Law however large or small disqualifies us for Heaven. What we earn for our sin is separation from God's love, grace and comfort. We choose Hell. Our sin can only get one response from God: His wrath. If we die in our sin, we will forever exist in Hell subject to God's holy wrath for eternity. Thanks for playing, step to the left please. So we're all doomed, right? What if there was a way for God to have His wrath satisfied and still give us a place in Heaven? What if someone who never sinned could take our place?

For what one earns from sin is death; but eternal life is what one receives as a free gift from God, in union with the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord.
Romans 6:23

Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life. People tried to trap him in logical and legal traps, and he never ever sinned. He was tempted with all the things that the world has to offer and yet he never failed to keep God's Law. He was arrested, tried illegally accused falsely and sentenced to die by crucifixion. Jesus became our atonement, our Passover Lamb, taking the sins of the world with him to the cross, taking God's full wrath. He was buried in a rich man's tomb and was raised from the dead on the third day.


Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be possessed by force. On the contrary, he emptied himself, in that he took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are. And when he appeared as a human being, he humbled himself still more by becoming obedient even to death - death on a stake as a criminal! Therefore God raised him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name; that in honor of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow - in heaven, on earth and under the earth and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is ADONAI - to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:6-11

Ok, that may have been longer than I first intended...but the point is this:

We're all sinners subject to God's wrath and only worthy of Hell.
The only way to get to Heaven is to fully keep God's Law and satisfy His standards.
Jesus did this for us, living a sinless life.
He died in our place taking the punishment for all our sins. He took that sin first to the cross to punish it then to the grave to bury it. He rose again to liberate us from sin and give us eternal life.

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He was crucified, buried and rose again and accept His Lordship over your life and you will have salvation and a home in Heaven.

Moreover, the righteousness grounded in trusting says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend to heaven?'" that is, to bring the Messiah down - or, "'Who will descend into Sh'ol?'" that is, to bring the Messiah up from the dead. What, then, does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart."l that is, the word about trust which we proclaim, namely, that if you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be delivered.
Romans 10:6-10


Be blessed, dear readers. Keep praying! Keep seeking!

YHVH Says....

Everyone (everyone I know anyway) has played 'Simon Says' It's simple, really. Listen carefully, follow the directions, and do what the leader says to do. A child can do it. It's funny isn't it, that we don't follow God's instructions with the same attention to detail.



Most of us look at the life of King Saul quickly on our way to read about David and Goliath, David sparing Saul's life, David and Bathsheba, etc., ignoring Israel's first king as a total failure. I think Saul is a perfect example of a life that could have been much more if only more attention had been paid to God's instructions. Let's recap. For hundreds of years after entering the Promised Land, the children of Israel had been ruled by God Himself through various judges. These men were picked by God to settle disputes, make rulings and lead the army of Israel.



One of the late judges was Eli, from the tribe of Levi. He served as judge and high priest of Israel, while his wicked sons served as priests in the temple. God was so displeased with these sons of Eli that He ultimately destroyed them, but not before informing Eli that his family line would be cut short.



"ADONAI said to Sh'mu'el, "Look! I am going to do something in Isra'el that will make both ears of everyone who hears it tingle. On that day I will do everything against 'Eli that I have said with regard to his family, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I would execute judgement against his family forever because of his wickedness for not rebuking his sons, even though he knew they had brought a curse on themselves." 1 Samuel 3:11-14

Eli had not been paying attention to, or had just ignored the reports of the evil deeds his sons were committing in the temple. Eli was replaced by Samuel, a young man hand picked by God as a baby. Samuel judged Israel for many years, and ironically enough, his sons also walked away from God.

"When Sh'mu'el grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Isra'el. However, his sons did not follow his way of life; they turned off it to pursue riches, so that they would take bribes and distort justice. " 1 Samuel 8: 1,3

The city elders came to Samuel and demanded a king. They told him that since his sons were immoral and he was so old, that they needed a king like the other nations. Samuel called out to God in distress over this, and God told him to go ahead and find a king. Israel had rejected God's rule over them, so He would let them have a king. Verses 10-18 of 1 Samuel chapter 8 record a stern warning that Samuel gave concerning the rule of a king. Israel's people wouldn't budge, so Samuel set out to find a candidate.

Saul was from the line of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel. When Samuel found him, he was a humble man, just glad to be noticed. He was tall (head and shoulders taller than the average man at the time) and handsome and popular among the people of his tribe. God pointed out Saul to Samuel, and he was anointed as king. The Lord fought on Israel's behalf and under Saul the country pushed back the Philistines and kept them at bay.

When we get impatient and jump ahead of God's plan and His timing for our lives, things can spin out of control quickly. Many people hate their jobs only months in because they grew desperate for an income, then a better job that they were more suited for comes up. When the opportunity passes, the job they jumped on seems to be more a burden than a blessing. God won't let you or your family go hungry or the bills to pile up if you keep communicating with Him. Waiting on God does not mean sitting on your hands, but being receptive to His timing and leadership.

When Samuel left Saul for seven days he gave orders directly from God to wait for his return. When Samuel returned, he and Saul would make a sacrifice to God and then face the army of the Philistines. The army grew tired of waiting and frightened at the sight of tens of thousands of enemy troops.

"Sh'aul said, 'Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.' and he offered the burnt offering." 1 Samuel 13: 9

Just then, Samuel returned to the camp. Oops! Samuel had not given a specific time, "Hey, I'll be back by 10:30. Don't start without me!" He had just said that he would return in seven days. Pressured by the sight of his troops losing heart, Saul jumped the gun and made the offering without Samuel the priest there. There are no small mistakes when God gives specific instructions for our lives. These are the times when our faith in God's perfect Will is tested. "Take the job in Oklahoma with the small school there." But it doesn't pay as well as the other school. But my friends and family are here. But I don't teach history. But But But...

When Samuel asked Saul why he had disobeyed God by not waiting, Saul gave excuses; 'you were late, (Samuel was not late) the troops were leaving (Saul was king and should not have bent to human fear) and we needed to make a sacrifice before going into battle (the sacrifice was invalid without a priest present and Saul knew that). For this transgression, Saul's royal line was broken. None of his heirs would be king and his own throne would soon be given to another.

"Sh'mu'el said to Sha'ul, 'You have done a foolish thing. You didn't observe the mitzvah (commands) of ADONAI, which He gave you. If you had, ADONAI would have set up your kingship over Isra'el forever. But as it is, your kingship will not be established. ADONAI has sought for Himself a man after His own heart.'"
1 Samuel 13: 13,14

Jumping the gun on God's timing is telling God that He doesn't know what He is doing. Really. Think about how foolish it would be to say that out loud to God. We wrest control of our lives away from His divine hands and then proceed to walk without Him, and quickly fall. Saul still won victories, but the dye had been cast. He started doing things without God more frequently, and eventually God's Spirit was taken from him. He was given a tormenting spirit that slowly drove him mad. God will not force us to do His will or follow His plans, but if we choose our own path, we may very well be setting up for a long hard fall.

'Simon Says' could be translated to the Christian as "Jehovah Says" Follow the Leader, do exactly as he instructs, and He will bless it. Ignore His will at your peril.

Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened! May Messiah come soon!

Adam 2.0

I've come to a decision, one that I pray God will help me with keeping to. No more political commentary, Mort of the Month, Obama this, Joe Biden that...I want to focus on The Lord. Am I saddened, angered, frustrated at seeing the country I grew up in and believed in grow weak, drown in debt, and follow a leader to a dead end? Yes. But....Obama isn't my enemy, nor is Joe Biden or any world leader. Satan is the enemy.

These things must happen, so let them. Do we really mean it when we pray "Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as in Heaven."? Then we must understand that things will and must degrade further.

Matthew 24:4-13 - Jesus warns that things will be happening in the world around us that will be cause for alarm, but not to His children. He says "Don't be fooled" These things: political scandal, wars in various places, persecution of believers, a general increase in lawlessness, all of it must happen before He returns to establish His Kingdom. Keep focused on Heaven, do what you were put here to do; that is, make disciples as you go through your life.

Our business in this life is not to get rich, run a company, be on TV or even to get married and raise children. Some or all of those things may come along, but our primary calling as believers is to point people to Christ. If we keep our focus on Him and go about the business of showing Christ to those around us, all the noise of the world; politics, financial woes around us, those irritating neighbors, they will all fall into place in the background.

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His Glory and Grace."

If the world must become like the days of Noah when everyone ignored God but one righteous man and his less than righteous family in order for the Church to be taken up and Christ to return, then so be it. If we are going to pray for God's Kingdom to come, then we should probably stand back and let it happen rather than get involved in the sideshow.

God bless you all!

Hazak, hazak,v'nit'chazek! Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!

What do YOU smell like?

In the last few weeks, our Bible study group has discussed witnessing, reaching out to people and shining the light of Christ in a dark world. Jesus gave His disciples the power and authority to drive out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead when it would be useful to illustrate the power of God to the lost.

This authority is, as I've learned through studying The Word, a double edged sword. We have the authority God gives us if we'll tap into it. Seldom do we actually access it, instead we dig deep into our shallow selves and lose heart when an opportunity presents itself. God's power in us not only allows us to display mighty signs as a witness but we have an effect on hardened hearts. Paul said that we have a scent, either a pleasant one or a stink depending on the heart of the person smelling.

For to God we are the aroma of the Messiah, both among those being saved and among those being lost; to the latter, we are the smell of death leading only to more death; but to the former, we are the sweet smell of life leading to more life. Who is equal to such a task?

To the saved, or even the one to whom the Spirit is speaking, we are the sweet smell of life, the aroma of Christ. To the lost soul, the hardened heart, we are the stink of eternal death. If we're in God's will, speaking with boldness the Truth of God, the lost soul will sense the weight of judgement on its heart. When Jesus sent His disciples to spread the Gospel in nearby towns, He gave them the power not only to forgive in His name but to mark towns that rejected the Gospel for judgement.

Yeshua called his twelve talmidim and gave them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every kind of disease and weakness.

He told them to witness to Jews in the surrounding towns, and then told them,

"As you go, proclaim, `The Kingdom of Heaven is near,' heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those afflicted with tzara'at, expel demons. You have received without paying, so give without asking payment. Don't take money in your belts, no gold, no silver, no copper; and for the trip don't take a pack, an extra shirt, shoes or a walking stick -- a worker should be given what he needs. "When you come to a town or village, look for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. When you enter someone's household, say, `Shalom aleikhem!' If the home deserves it, let your shalom rest on it; if not, let your shalom return to you. But if the people of a house or town will not welcome you or listen to you, leave it and shake its dust from your feet! Yes, I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for the people of S'dom and `Amora than for that town!

So, we get our boldness, go around and witness and gladly welcome in the willing heart of a kind person. If we're treated rudely or the Gospel is flat-out rejected we leave (politely) and kick the dust off our feet. I still believe that praying for the hard heart is the best thing and Jesus commanded us to pray for and bless those that hate and persecute us. However, He was also very clear about what happens to those who reject the Message of Truth. The household, or even the town is marked for judgement. When I read that closely, I shuddered at the responsibility and authority that belongs to believers.

Satan would rather trip us up and entangle us with fear of failure before we even start to obey the Great Commission, but when we overcome that hurdle, the real battle begins. In this day and age, miracles performed by believers are rare, although I've heard stories of healing and foreign languages being spoken to further the Gospel and display God's power. I don't know why it's so rare, but maybe the answer is twofold:

1. Miracles are not toys nor are they ours do display at will. (imagine the ability to heal at will, and just how fast we would abuse it.) They must come from God through a Spirit-filled believer in order that the lost may know The One that sent him or her. 2. We simply don't use our faith enough to step out of our comfort zone. God equips us with everything we need to do His work, and when we're faithful in a small task He'll give us a bigger task. Maybe most of us are still doing (or not doing) the simple tasks so we're not ready for the bigger tasks.

So, what do YOU smell like? The aroma of Truth, or do you even smell at all?

Lord, I know You called me to a task, to tell people of their sin and how Your Son, Messiah came to be the sacrifice in their place. I was in rebellion until someone reached out to me with Your Word and You have authorized me and commanded me to shine Your light into the world. Give me Your compassion and make my heart ache for the lost soul. Pour Your boldness onto me that I might speak Truth to people. You know and prepare or harden hearts as You wish to, Lord. If Your message is rejected and your servant is shunned, give me your heart and kindness as I leave. Your wrath is just and Your Mercy is great through Jesus our Messiah. In His name I pray and in Him I can do all you require of me. Amen.

Just watching from the outside...

This blog post was originally posted by me on Facebook under the title: "Ladies, Prepare the Hate Mail.

So, does anyone watch "Bridezillas"? Guys who watch it spend the entire show telling the groom-to-be to run for the hills. If she's that way leading to the marriage, the next months or years before the inevitable divorce will be very bumpy indeed. We see relationships like these in our own lives and shudder, or we should. The way some women act, one would think that the wedding day itself was the point of the relationship, not spending your life with a person and growing to love them more every day. I see girls gushing over engagement rings, making comments like "He really did good this time." or "He gets some great brownie points for that." What's with this keeping up with men's good deeds like we're kindergardeners?

OK, for the record, The wedding is supposed to showcase the bride in all her beauty and mystery, but shouldn't the bridegroom take an equal platform? In the not-so-distant past, the wedding was the capping event that started with the groom making preperations for his bride. He was the hero coming to take the bride to a home he had built. The wedding feast itself could last for more than a week in ancient times. Remember Jesus' first miracle?

On Tuesday there was a wedding at Kanah in the Galil; and the mother of Yeshua was there. 2 Yeshua too was invited to the wedding, along with his talmidim. 3 The wine ran out, and Yeshua's mother said to him, "They have no more wine." 4 Yeshua replied, "Mother, why should that concern me? -- or you? My time hasn't come yet." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now six stone water-jars were standing there for the Jewish ceremonial washings, each with a capacity of twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Yeshua told them, "Fill the jars with water," and they filled them to the brim. 8 He said, "Now draw some out, and take it to the man in charge of the banquet"; and they took it. 9 The man in charge tasted the water; it had now turned into wine! He did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. So he called the bride groom 10 and said to him, "Everyone else serves the good wine first and the poorer wine after people have drunk freely. But you have kept the good wine until now!" 11 This, the first of Yeshua's miraculous signs, he did at Kanah in the Galil; he manifested his glory, and his talmidim came to trust in him. John 2:1-11
The master of the feast, maybe the groom's father or brother, had run out of wine. Jesus, His disciples, and His mother Mary were there. Mary asked Jesus to get involved and He did. He turned over 300 gallons of water into the best wine at the feast. These festivals celebrated the bridegroom as well as the bride, and Jesus made reference to them several times; we are the bride of Christ the bridegroom, waiting for His return to take us to the home He prepared of us. Since the time of big elaborate wedding feasts, particularly in America, I think we've made a bad shift of focus.

In a world where men grow up but aren't mature (we become guys, not men) and where women are told that marriage is simply taming a guy's baser instincts, it's no wonder that all the males at a wedding seem interchangable. We've yielded our status as leaders because, to some degree, we've never learned to truly lead. Some men have learned, either from their fathers or from another responsible male in their life, and for that I am glad. If the women in our lives, from our wives to our girlfriends to whoever it may be, see a lack of leadership and maturity, they will gladly step in. Remember that part of Eve's curse was that she would 'desire her husband', fund in Gen.3:16? What does that mean? Are women cursed to want to be with men? (Some of you may be nodding here)

While the whole meaning of this is debated, I think that the curse is that woman will be envious of man's position. When our first parents fell, it was then that God set up a definate pecking order. Man was the ordained head of the family, and woman would try her best to take the lead for herself. Recently, men have been laxed in their leadership of the family and women have taken the wheel, too often with disasterous results. What am I saying? Are women to just be servants? Should the wedding day be about the groom only? Heavens no! Men who lead put themselves out front, and must then do battle for their families. We have a higher responsibility when we step up and lead, don't we?

Ephesians 5:22-24 is a popular passage with guys. We forget to read on to verse 25.

Wives should submit to their husbands as they do to the Lord; because the husband is head of the wife, just as the Messiah, as head of the Messianic Community, is himself the one who keeps the body safe. Just as the Messianic Community submits to the Messiah, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. As for husbands, love your wives, just as the Messiah loved the Messianic Community, indeed, gave himself up on its behalf.

Husbands must be love their wives, and be willing to sacrifice for them, just as Christ, our ultimate bridegroom, died for us. Are you willing to lay down your life for YOUR bride? If husbands and boyfriends would take this attitude, that of a servant-hearted leader, (but still a leader) then maybe we would get the respect that we often whine about not getting. Ok, I'm done here. Comments?

And now we wait

Yippee! I got seeds in the mail yesterday and set up one of those little seed starter plastic greenhouses. I like to think of myself as having a green thumb although it's probably an olive green thumb. I raise tomatoes and peppers, then make salsa and sometimes pickled peppers when I have enough at a time. This time the seeds are for some very hot peppers, habanero varieties and even the dreaded Ghost Chili from India. I've planted the seeds in good soil and now I have to do that thing that we all hate to do...wait.

I don't witness as much as I should, I don't even look for opportunities and it shames me. Today at church the subject of witnessing came up and we got to discussing how to go out and talk to people about being saved. It sounds simple. Present to a person these things: we're sinners, we can't save ourselves and when we face judgment we'll be eternally separated from God, Jesus died for us to forgive our sins and rose again to give us new life and if we trust in Him, we can be saved. Any newly saved child could deliver that message and yet we who have studied the Bible and memorized scripture fail to approach lost souls every day.

God gives us small simple tasks that weave together into a larger life mission but the Adversary tries to get us distracted with the big picture and plant fear in us. Witnessing is a small simple task, just talk to people. Satan tries to make us think that the fate of that soul is all our responsibility, that if they ignore the Gospel message and get hit by a bus the next day and go to Hell, that it was our fault. God just wants us to explain sin and salvation to people as best we can, to plant a seed.

It is the Spirit's task, not ours, to water the seed. It was the Spirit, not us, who prepared the soil of the lost heart to receive the message in the first place. Being impatient people that we are, we try too hard to make them understand everything that The Spirit has opened our eyes to when they must take the first step to salvation themselves. All we must do, indeed all we can do, is to simply shine a little light, plant the seed, then leave the rest to God. When we pray and keep this in mind, talking to people becomes less daunting. Everyone has to grab hold of Salvation on their own and then begin the journey of making Christ Lord of their lives.

A person saved not a week ago can turn around and start planting seeds because God only asks that we do that simple task. Ignore the Enemy's trick, do not try and take it upon yourself to ensure that the seed is watered, tendered, and sprouts. This will make you afraid to even start because failure would mean so much.

Lord, help me to focus on the small task at hand and to simply talk to people. I know You will tend to the Message planted in the hearts of the lost and You will harvest the souls when the time comes. Block out Satan's attempts to make me timid and fearful of failure. You will bless the Message and the messenger, if I only obey You and Your Commission. By the name of Jesus we are saved, and in His name I pray. Amen