Living an Obedience-Based Life
Satan wants nothing more than to gain a foothold in your walk. If he can get you to compromise on any aspect of your life, he wins. When those around you see you are unwilling to stand fast in your beliefs when the going gets tough, it significantly impacts your witness. Instead of being set apart, they see you as no different than anyone else.
We had a website customer come to us a few years back that was starting a clothing line. He wanted things done a certain way with his site. I explained we did not have the skill set to give him what he wanted. He said he understood and decided to change some of his requests. As we got ready to make his site live, in came the pictures of the clothing on models who were inappropriately dressed. No, they were not naked, but the pictures did not leave much to the imagination. I explained we could not use these because of our commitment to keep all of our websites family oriented.
God’s Authority
During my military career, I had several different squadron, group, and wing commanders whom I had to follow. Some where great men and women, others not so much. Regardless, I had no choice but to follow them because they had been place in authority over me. That’s the way it works in the military.
With God, you always have a choice to follow or not to follow His desires for your life. Having been ‘the captain of my own destiny’ for a portion of my life and doing a masterful job of messing it up, I chose to follow His lead on March 3rd 2001. No, my life has not been perfect, sometimes when you decide to go against the grain of society you pay a price. However, 13+ years later I can clearly state I have no regrets for my decision.
Being Fully Persuaded
I can’t help but wonder who the Lord is speaking to with the last few devotionals. Faith, trust, discernment and acting when He tells us is the common theme.
I have found our Father to be faithful in His words and action. When He directs me to do something, He opens the doors and provides the means to accomplish what He is asking me to do. It is my responsibility to ‘get out of the boat’.
Hillsong Young & Free “Alive” LIVE
That Thing – Pastor Steven Furtick
God’s power is unlimited, and as Christians we know there is nothing too big or difficult for Him. Yet, when we call on God, pleading with Him to fix that thing that’s broken or hurting in our lives, we have a hard time believing our own prayers. But God knows our deepest needs, and when He answers our prayers in His way, He does more than change our lives – He heals our hearts. In this sermon, Pastor Steven uses a profound event in Jesus’s life to teach us that, even when our faith is shaken, God is not. And when we bring our most desperate prayers to Christ, His answers are greater than we could imagine.
Making Decisions by Hearing God
As my walk with the Lord has grown, I have learned it is far easier to listen and obey than to try and figure out all God has planned for me and those around me.
We are at the second stop of Motormania TV’s Northern Lights Tour 2014, 7 races in 7 weeks over 7900 miles. As we rolled out of base 10 days ago, I wasn’t sure how the Lord would handle all of our financial needs. Yes, the money was in accounts receivable, but not in the bank. Yet I knew in my heart the Lord would make it all work, just not sure how. Much to our surprise, a customer paid his invoice 2 weeks early which helped meet our needs.
Faithfulness in Our Calling
Arrogance and pride are two attitudes we must guard against at all times. Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” I have watched the mantle of the Lord removed from ministers time and time again because they believed they were above the rules.
I remember a discussion with a few fellow ministers some years ago. We were talking about making mistakes in life and disappointing those we ministered to. The common response was “well I’m human and you just need to get over me disappointing you, it happens.” I was speechless…the arrogance of that statement astounded me. When you start to think ‘you’re all that and a bag of chips’, you are in serious trouble.