Brian's Blog

Rest, Surgery and Boldness

// August 31st, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Study Thoughts, reflections

Seems like a strange combination of words, but that is the theme of Hebrews chapter four.  Chapter three sets the stage for the first part of this chapter, the theme of rest.  The Israelites spent an extra forty years in the desert, probably within sight of the promised land, because of their disobedience.  Most had to live out the remainder of their lives, toiling in the desert, never able to see the fulfillment of God’s promise to them.  Why?  Because they chose to look at the challenges that faced them in the promised land through the perspective of man instead of through the perspective of God. 

Doesn’t that seem like our struggle too?  We fail to grasp the promises of God because we have the wrong perspective.  God’s perspective is always positive, it is always sees victory and success, no matter the struggle.  No problem is bigger than God’s ability so His perspective sees problems and challenges as small.  Man’s perspective sees problems as larger than ourselves, overwhelming and unconquerable.

So, back to Hebrews 4, I believe the rest that he is talking about is not just what we receive after we die, but a promise for life.  The Israelites failed to enter the rest of living in the promised land, being able to have an abundance, being able to build homes, and all of the other things that come with settling in.  The rest is our ability to live in the promises of God.  What do you think life would be like if we were able to realize every promise of God in our lives?  It doesn’t mean that there will never be giants to fight, it just means that we will see them from God’s perspective and put them in their proper place.

I am reminded of one of the verses from “Standing on the Promises;”

Standing on the promises I can not fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior, as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises allows us to relax and rest knowing that God has everything under control and through His strength in our lives we can overcome ANY challenge we might face.

In verse twelve of Chapter four we see the statement, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.“  This immediately follows all of the admonishment to seek His rest, so in that place of resting in Him and listening to His Word He is able to do surgery.  This surgery is the kind that exposes our weaknesses and removes them.  It helps to change our small human desires into HUGE Godly desires. 

Then in verses fourteen through sixteen he tells us that because Christ understands all of our weaknesses and because He has taken the punishment for our sin we are able to come boldly to throne of God and ask for the things that we need.  Because of the Sacrifice of Christ we are able to stand before the Mighty King of the universe and call him “daddy.”  Just like human fathers, I think that word melts his heart, I think he loves to hear us relating to him as Daddy instead of as an untouchable God, this is the relationship He created us for!

So, learn to rest in the knowledge that “if God is for us, who can stand against us?”  Seek the revelation found in His Word, allow that Word to do surgery, changing you into the person He created you to be, a child of the most high God that can come boldly (without fear) into the throne room of God, crawl up  into His lap and utter the words, “I love you daddy.”

Thanks to my brother Mark for helping me to remember these things!

What is Freedom?

// August 13th, 2010 // No Comments » // Study Thoughts, reflections

Romans 6:22 (NLT) But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

Freedom is often misinterpreted as the ability to do anything we want to, the problem with this thinking is that we “default” to our human nature and end up doing what the “power of sin” dictates.

Sin is addiction; it gets us started small and pulls us deeper into things that we would never have dreamed of doing. A heroin addict didn’t start out thinking they would be doing such a hard drug; it usually starts with something small and progresses to something worse.

Sin may feel good, but it ALWAYS takes a toll on us. Sin came into the world to destroy our relationship with God, and its purpose is still the same. The enemy wants to draw us deeper into sin so that we will be further from God.  We often believe the lie that we need to run from God when we’ve done something wrong, when in reality He wants us to run TO Him for forgiveness. His forgiveness is always free and always available, no matter how many times we have to ask. He isn’t waiting to punish us; He’s waiting to forgive us!

Freedom from the power of sin means that we now have a freedom from the control and authority of sin that we were born into. That freedom allows us to live in a place of relationship with God that creates a desire in us to serve Him.  There was a song years back that said, “You’ve got to serve somebody.” The truth is that we never truly serve ourselves; we either serve the gods of this world or the God of the Universe. Serving ourselves is merely serving the selfish sin-nature that we were born into.

A selfish person is never truly happy, that’s because selfishness goes against the very nature of God and therefore it is sin. But when we look at “self-less” people, we see someone that is generally happy and content with life.

So in my mind the freedom that this passage is speaking of is a freedom from selfishness that gives us the ability to be selfless and serve Father-God. The lie that we often believe is that if we give up that “self-control” to Him we give up our happiness. The truth is that this freedom is the only real path to happiness. You may find some joy in sin for a while, but it will always leave you feeling empty and wanting more. True relationship with Father-God will always leave you feeling complete and content.

I know that I am not perfect, I make a lot of mistakes, but I am trying to learn to always run to Father-God and not away from Him when I make a wrong choice. I have found that I am always the most content when my relationship with Him is right.

True Worship

// July 7th, 2010 // No Comments » // Study Thoughts, reflections

Do you ever stop to think about your reasoning behind certain activities?  It’s easy for us to get into a habit of doing something and then do it without thinking about it’s significance.  Worship is one of those things, it’s easy to get into a routine, especially on Sunday, and forget to really think about what it is you are doing.

So what is true worship?  In His encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus tells her that those that worship God must worship Him in Spirit and Truth.  What does that mean?  How does a person worship God in Spirit and truth?  The amplified bible puts the word “reality” after the word truth in this passage. 

What is reality?  Is it what we see, hear, feel, taste?  Those things are our earthly reality, but not our spiritual reality.  God is Spiritual Reality!  As I was looking at this passage I looked it up in the message version, I like the way he’s translated it:

John 4:23-24 (MSG) But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. "It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

The last line is the key here, “Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."  Our worship needs to flow from our very core, from that person that is in love with Father-God and can’t help but adore Him.  True worship isn’t a song, but it can be expressed through a song;  true worship isn’t words, but it can be expressed in words.  True worship is anything that conveys our deepest love for Him. 

True worship is a spiritual connection with our Heavenly Father, it is the place where our relationship with Him grows.  True worship can be in studying His Word, meditating on Him, talking about Him to others, singing songs from the heart, and many other ways.  Too often we put “rules” on worship; how, where, when, none of these really matter.  True worship should be an unending flow from a heart in love with Him.  It should show up in every aspect of our lives.

We don’t worship to get, we worship to give, otherwise it’s just manipulation.  We don’t get the gifts of God because we worship Him, we receive the gifts because he loves to give them to his children.  I believe that it’s in the place of true worship where God begins to pour out those gifts.  When my kids are in relationship with me I want to give them everything I can, I don’t want to hold anything back from them.  Father-God is the same way, except that he has no limits, He can give us anything He wants to!

Psalms 91:14-16 (NLT) The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.  I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

Notice He says He will do these things for those who love Him, I think we put too much effort into pursuing the gifts of God instead of relationship with Him.  When we truly begin to worship Him, His gifts will naturally begin to be released.  Learn to Love on Him with no more expectation than spending time with Him and everything else will flow from there!

Be Encouraged!

// June 9th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Study Thoughts, reflections

This last couple of weeks has been challenging for me.  We are living in a place of trusting God for our provision, and He has come through for us time and again.  I was speaking with a friend last week about living by faith, it’s easy to say you do when you have a guaranteed paycheck every week, but more difficult when you don’t know how much is coming each week.

Living by faith can be quite a journey, and like any journey, there are challenges along the way.  There are days, when faced with the challenges, that it would be really easy to give in to discouragement, and trust me, I’ve had days when I let the discouragement take hold in my life and thoughts.  Somehow Father God always manages to put someone in my life to encourage me.  I’m reminded Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 7:

2 Corinthians 7:5-6 (NLT) When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

Notice the battles here, battles from without and from within, let me just say that it’s not the battles from without that are the most discouraging, but the battles from within.  Fear can cripple us, cause us to lose sleep, and ultimately get our eyes off of God’s plans and goals. Fear is one of the greatest tools of the enemy to stop God’s work in our lives.

Then those two words that should make us sit on the edge of our seat, “but God.”  Let me translate into my own words, “We were having a tough time, BUT GOD knew where we were and just what we needed, and he sent us the right answer at the right time.”  God has never forgotten about me!  He has never been distracted from seeing my situation, and he has never gotten tired of helping me!  He is my Father, the one who knows me best, the one who cares the most, and the one who wants to help always!  Even when I get off track, He still cares and still wants to intervene in my life and situations.

Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

God is ALWAYS with us!  He is always looking for a way to help and strengthen us. 

Psalms 121:1-2 (NKJV) I will lift up my eyes to the hills– From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

I need to keep my eyes on Heaven, that is the source of my help, It may come in the manner of another person, but ultimately it comes from God.  I have found in the past few months that help has most often come from unexpected sources, those that I wouldn’t have looked for.  When we get our eyes off of God and on man, we limit our ability to see His provision because we may not be looking in the right direction.

Let me conclude with a couple of definitions;

Courage: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.

Discourage: to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit. (2) To obstruct by opposition or difficulty; hinder.

Our courage should come from our relationship with our Heavenly Father, He is our source! He is the one that gives us the power to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear!

Notice the definition of discourage, doesn’t that seem like a job description for the enemy of our souls?  His goal is to deprive us of courage, hope and confidence, to get our eyes off of the source of our courage.

Please understand, I am not discouraged, and I wouldn’t go back and change anything in my life at this point, God is at work in my life and situation and He is providing all that we need!

Where do you need courage today?  Get your eyes off of the situation and on the source of your help, God!  I will lift up my eyes to the heavens, to the One Who created everything and has the ability to intervene on my behalf!

Be Encouraged Today!

Watch!

// April 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Study Thoughts

John 12:26 (NLT) Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

I was in Seattle one time with a group of men for a conference, I was one of the drivers.  We left our housing to go to the Kingdome (yes a few years back), on the way the person I was following suddenly switched from the middle lane, crossed the right lane and went up the exit ramp.  I was talking with the other guys in the van and by the time I saw what was happening it was too late to get over.  We ended up going another exit north which ended up being downtown Seattle.  It took us a while but we finally got to the conference and reconnected with our group.

I did a quick count in my NLT bible this morning, and in the Gospels Jesus uses the words “follow me” 20 times.  Sometimes in my spiritual life I think I am following and then all of the sudden I realize that He has changed course and I failed to notice.  It’s pretty easy to into a routine, put ourselves on “auto-pilot” and forget to keep an eye on His lead.  Just like on the freeway, sometimes it will take a bit of work to get ourselves back “in line” behind Him when we’ve gotten off track.

1 Corinthians 16:13 (NKJV) says, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”  Notice the first word there, watch!  It is important that we keep our eyes on Him! He is always leading, but we need to take care to keep our eyes on Him.  Situations can change quickly in our lives, God may call us in a certain direction for a short season.  I don’t always understand why God chooses to do things the way He does, but it doesn’t matter whether or not I understand, I just need to purpose in my heart to follow knowing that He knows the best way.  When dealing with people, there is always free will, meaning that people have to choose how to handle the direction that God is leading.  In other words, sometimes the choices of others can affect our ability in a given situation.

That doesn’t mean that God removes his call on your life, in fact, Romans 11:29 says, “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”  This means that God doesn’t remove his call on your life, but He may have to change the method in which He makes it come to pass.

This is why it is so important to keep our eyes on Him, if we get our eyes off of Him and on the situation we may miss His leading in a different direction.  We can come up against a wall and, knowing that it is in the way of our call, try to tear it down when God is standing off to the side trying to show us a way around it.  Other times he may be standing there holding the sledge hammer for us while we are trying to find a way around.  We must stay focused on Him so that we know His will and purpose.

I can be a pretty stubborn person sometimes, just ask my wife!  Sometime that stubbornness can serve me, but other times it can cause me to lose time and momentum.  I am doing my best to keep my eyes on Him, to know His direction.  Remember, seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, THEN all you need will be provided.  Seeking means watching, looking for, and pursuing. I follow Him and He provides everything I need to accomplish what He has put in my heart.

Finally, lets be people who can truly say as Paul did, “follow me as I follow Christ.”

Integrity

// March 31st, 2010 // No Comments » // Study Thoughts

Just what is integrity?  Webster’s defines it as:

1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility
2 : an unimpaired condition : soundness
3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completeness

So, integrity could be defined using the three words above, incorruptibility, soundness and completeness.  In our culture today, integrity is getting more and more difficult to find.  Psalms 15 opens with a question, “who can be in the presence of God?”  The writer then goes on to answer the question and in verse five he says, “those who swear to their own hurt and do not change.”  In other words, a person of integrity in God’s eyes is someone who keeps their word even when it costs more than they expected.

When a ship has run aground they will say, “the integrity of the hull has been compromised,” meaning that they can no longer trust this vessel to safely carry people and goods until it is repaired.  The owners would then take the ship out of commission until the repairs could be made or if it is beyond repair, it will never again be used.

Where is your integrity?  Are you the type of person who “swears to their own hurt and does not change?”  I’m amazed as I watch politicians these days who change their positions on a seemingly daily basis.  Integrity is not as important to them as political gain (yes, I’m even referring to the ones I voted for.)  We’ve seen legislators who opposed a bill change their position because money has been offered to their state or district.  Where is the integrity?

It’s not just in politics friends, its all around us.  People will compromise their own morals and ideals for personal gain, or they will “change their mind” about a commitment they have made because keeping it would be more difficult than they originally thought.

Proverbs 11:3 says, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.”  Here is another word for those who lack integrity, unfaithful.   Integrity should be one of our guides in life, it should cause us to evaluate every situation and see that we are not compromising our own standards and morals for ease or gain.

“The perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them,” when someone compromises their own integrity too often, it eventually destroys others’ trust in them to the point that no one trusts them anymore.  This would be a position I don’t ever want to find myself in.

There are times when we will find ourselves in situations that are different then we were led to believe they would be, times when another person has failed to keep their word or follow through on a commitment to us.  If another person has failed to follow through on their word, we need to assess the situation and ask ourselves if we have an obligation to stay in the situation or not.  When a contract is broken by one side, it is broken.  It is our responsibility to make sure our own integrity remains intact, but that doesn’t mean that we have to continue on in a situation that is different than we agreed to.  I will swear to my own hurt and not change, but I can’t allow someone else’s broken word to compromise my own integrity.

Let’s commit ourselves to being people of integrity, not changing our stand even if it costs more than we originally thought.  Being a person of integrity will “buy” you more than compromise could ever achieve.  A person of integrity is known as such, and that is extremely valuable to me.

Putting First things First – Part 1

// January 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Study Thoughts

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Anyone that’s ever taken any kind of time management class has learned the importance of prioritizing.  We’ve learned about the “tyranny of the urgent,” that if we don’t have our priorities straight we’ll be controlled by things that are pressing in around us.

As Christians, we need to learn to prioritize God’s way.  This is laid out pretty well by Jesus in Matthew chapter 6. In this chapter He talks about;

• How to pray, a structure for our communication with God.
• The importance of forgiveness.
• Being Kingdom minded, building up treasure in Heaven instead of on earth.
• Being careful about what our eyes allow into our spirits.
• That we can’t serve two masters, we can’t have one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom of God.

After all of this he talks about not worrying about tomorrow, that God manages to take care of all of nature around us.  If God cares that much about the things around us how much more must He care for us? 

Then comes the statement in verse 33, seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and everything you need will be provide.  In other words, if we put our priority on living in relationship with God and putting His priorities first, everything else will fall into place around us.

Righteousness, simply put, is being in right-standing with God.  We can’t work to be righteous, we receive His Righteousness by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin.  It is a free gift from Him, that means that I only have to receive it and apply it to my life!  living righteously means living in right relationship with Him, making choices based on our relationship with Him.

So, when my first priority is relationship with my Heavenly Father and doing what He has called me to do, everything in my life will fall into place.  This is a principle of God, meaning that it works for everyone!

This week will be our first week of “officially” being pastors at Carlton Assembly of God, I have made this verse my New Year’s resoulution, and already we have seen God do some great things.  Just today God provided us with a bigger, nicer house (in Carlton) then the one we are moving out of, for less money than we are currently paying. He has seen the desires of our hearts and as we put His Kingdom first, He is providing us with those things.

We serve an amazing God!  I want to challenge you to make this your verse for this new year, let God transform your life!

Trusting God through the Circumstances.

// October 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Slovakia, Study Thoughts

James 1:2-8 (NKJV) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

The Greek word for joy here means, “A calm delight.” We should remain happy and calm when we are faced with tough circumstances.

Jesus always calms the storms of life. The storm is not the situation you are facing; it is a distraction from the enemy to keep our focus off of God. We can “delight” in knowing that God is control, delight leads to expectancy, an excitement to see God’s answer.

“The testing of your faith produces patience.” Patience is cheerful or hopeful endurance, constancy.

Every difficult situation holds the possibility of increased endurance in our life. Endurance is the ability to remain strong in adversity, every trip through adversity adds to the solid foundation of faith in our lives.

“Let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Patience is working in us, allowing patience to have control is allowing God to complete His work in us. When I allow patience to work, allowing God to do what He wants, I receive everything I need.

When I am impatient, I am taking control of the situation, not allowing God to do what He wants, but rather doing what I want.

“If any of you lacks wisdom”

Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge. We have only to ask for wisdom, God loves to give! He gives without reproach, even if you squandered it in the past; God never holds our past against us!

Bottom line: God has a plan for our lives. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past, or what others may do to us, God will succeed if we allow him the time and opportunity.

If I want to “lack nothing”, I must be patient, I must wait for God!

Tomorrow

// October 20th, 2009 // No Comments » // Messages, Slovakia, Study Thoughts, Youth Service Messages

I believe that there are 2 ways that tomorrow cripples us…

1. We worry about tomorrow… wondering what will happen, will I have everything I need? Etc…

2. We use tomorrow as a reason to procrastinate, “I can do that tomorrow…”

What does the Word of God say about worrying?

Matthew 6:34 (NLT) “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

These are the words of Christ, Jesus is telling us not to get caught up in worrying about what the future brings.  He isn’t telling us not to plan or prepare for the future; it’s just about not worrying.

Worry will do nothing except distract you from today and ruin your health. Worry consumes time that could be better used in meeting the needs of today.  When we really think about it, worry doesn’t add anything of value to our lives.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

This scripture can be easy to quote but hard to apply to your life when you are facing tough situations.  I am learning right now to really live this passage, I think a key in this scripture is Living in Christ Jesus. We have to keep ourselves in His hands, under His covering.  A friend of mine was recently talking to me about Psalm 91, he said the bottom line of that chapter is this, “God’s got it covered!”  That’s a great thing to recognize, God’s got everything covered, He knows what is best and when it is needed.

We have to apply every step in this scripture for the peace to truly guard our heart and mind.  When I am living in Christ and allowing Him to have control of my life, it is easier to allow Him to hold my worries for me.  When I get outside of Christ and try to make things work on my own, the worry is going to be in my hands.

This doesn’t mean that I sit back and do nothing; it means that I listen for the voice of God and allow Him to direct my actions. If He is directing my actions then I KNOW I am in the right place!

The person that is filled with worry tends to reach for anything in sight. The person filled with peace is able to look at each option and opportunity and decide which ones fit in the vision given them by God.

What about Procrastination?

Proverbs 3:28 (NKJV) Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you.

We shouldn’t be saying this to God either, “Ok God, I’ll go tomorrow.” God is asking us for our talents today, how can He use us today?  That thing that God has put on your heart is something He wants you to work on today!

Tomorrow is an excuse. Tomorrow is either an excuse for laziness, or it is a cop-out for fear.  If it’s laziness, then the only thing to do is start moving, today!  If it’s fear, then we need to deal with that, the fear is usually of not knowing what to do or say.  Look at what the word of God says about this:

1 Peter 3:15, “Always be ready to give an answer,”

Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the 12, he tells them not to worry about what to say, but that the Holy Spirit will give them the right answers at the right time. This was part of their training, they weren’t complete yet.  If we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us we are always ready!

James 4:13-15 (NKJV) Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

We don’t really know what tomorrow holds, today may be our only chance to speak into the lives that are around us.

Tomorrow never comes… we tend to keep saying tomorrow and before we know it a year has passed. If the Lord is willing, I will do this in the future, but for today I will do what is in front of me to do.

2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT) For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

Our God is the God of Today! He gives us what we need for today!  If He doesn’t give it to me today, then I don’t need it today.  If I spend my time worrying about when He is going to give me what I think I need, I won’t be focused on what is in front of me for today.

Today is the day of salvation! God isn’t waiting for a magical moment in the future for us to begin living the way he has called us to… He wants us to start today!

· Today is the day to speak to your neighbor…

· Today is the day to find your place of ministry in the church…

· Today is the day to honor others…

· Today is the day to live the dreams that God has placed in your heart!

The House of God

// March 13th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Study Thoughts

1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV) Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

You are the House of God!  I am writing this from Vienna, Austria where there are some great cathedrals, beautiful buildings built with a passion for creating the best house of God.  In the end, while these are nice places, they really are not the house of God.  God does not choose to occupy a building made of brick and mortar, he chooses to occupy a house made of flesh and blood.

I’m not trying to put down buildings here, it’s great to have a nice place for believers to meet, but we don’t serve a distant God that invites us to come to his house a couple of times a week, we serve a personal God that wants us to invite Him to live in us so that he can have a daily relationship with us.

Wherever God is, His "stuff" is there too!  When you chose a home to live in, you take all of your belongings with you.  God doesn’t just move in with a suitcase to stay a short time, He moves in with all He possesses.  This means that as the house of God, I possess all of Him!

1 John 4:16 tells us, "…God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. So not only does God live in us, but we also live in Him.  This means that on top of having all of God inside of me, I am also surrounded by Him.  So, wherever I find myself in life, as long as I am continuing to live in Him, His Kingdom is there!

God has a passion for people!  He wants to love them through us!  That’s why this verse tells us that as long as we live in love we live in Him.  Living in Him should cause us to exude His Character, those that we come into contact with should experience all of Him.  This is the way lives are changed, not by preaching God’s judgement, but by preaching God’s love.  We were told to preach the good news of the Gospel… that good news is that God loves everyone and wants a relationship with them.

I am the house of God, God chooses to live in me!  I am sufficient because of His Grace, because of the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.  It’s time for us to stop looking at ourselves as inadequate and incomplete, because in Him we are both adequate and complete.  It’s time to stop trying to do His calling in our own power, and begin to access His power and gifts to propel us into those things that he has called us to.

Stop seeing the world through your own eyes, and ask Him to begin to show you the world through His, i guarantee you that it will change your perspective!  When you see through His eyes you will not only see how lost people are, but you will also see how much He loves them and wants to touch them with His Love.  This way of seeing the world should compel us to be His hands and feet, loving people around us with a passion that can only come from our Heavenly Father.