Tuesday

PRaP 11-24-2009

“Seeing The Fingerprints of God”

We went to Pedernales Falls yesterday and even though this place has no place in any record books nor is it a massively visited area it has the fingerprints of God all over it.  These falls are a group of cascading falls that is about 2 – 3 miles long.  We climbed to the top of the falls to see the beauty that could only be created through the magnificent plan of God.  It was a long climb for an old out of shape man like myself but it was such a reward to succeed that climb.  I think the most difficult part was finding a place that there wasn’t a 10 ft cliff that we would have to go down because we weren’t exactly dressed or prepared for cliff climbing.  It wasn’t the getting down I was worried about it was the getting back up that I knew would be the problem.  But once we were there it was amazing to see the formations cut out by the years of water moving through this area.  Some of the rocks were dozens of feet high and just sitting there in the middle of the riverbed.  It was an awesome sight to see.  As we got closer to midway we stopped on some absolutely huge flat rocks that were blocking the path of the river and narrowed it to a few feet across and the kids were able to lay on their stomachs and touch the water as it was rushing by.  As I sat and looked around at the cliffs that towered 100 feet above us I begin to feel this peace that I have been looking for.  As I looked down stream I noticed the water looked as though it was boiling and I realized that the rock we were on was only a bridge and the water was rushing under our very feet and just across the river from us there was a flooded cave which brought many thoughts through my imagination of traveling through the cave and as I scanned the cliff face this absolutely huge oval shaped cave came into view and right in the middle was an equally huge rock that was blocking the entrance to the cave.  I could only imagine the forces behind the perfectly shaped hole and how that monster rock got into the face of this cave.  As we ascended out of the riverbed muscle aching and screaming for rest I knew that I had been in the presence of a greatness that only God could have created and as we were leaving there was a picture of what we had just experienced and right next to it was another picture of the river in the midst of a flash flood and I got to see how God created the massive stone movements and the caves my imagination traveled.  The Pedernales Falls now have a place in the record book of my heart knowing it is a place of peace and shear massiveness that only God’s hand could be.  http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/pedernales_falls/

Hebrews 1

Key Verse:

Hebrews 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 1:2-4 (in Context) Hebrews 1 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless,

Pastor Steve

Monday

PRaP 11-23-2009

“Preparing to Give Thanks”

I bet you didn’t know there was a preparation process you needed to go through to give thanks?  Well just like that dinner that will be prepared on Thursday here in the United States there requires some prep work.  OK, here we go first thing you do is make a list of things you are thankful for.  You don’t go shopping without a list because if you do you will get things you don’t need.  Am I right?  Next prioritize your list from most important to least important to you.  I don’t know about you but I have enough knowledge about my store that I prioritize my list by isle.  Lord please don’t let them change the isles I will never get my shopping done!  Now those of you that have a list of hundreds of things for the sake of the people joining you for the Thanksgiving Day feast please narrow it down to like your top 5 and then take the rest to the Lord on your own prayer time.  I mean come on there is food to eat and football to watch and kids to play with and so much more to numerous to mention things to do.  Oh and come on you still have to make the Christmas shopping list don’t you, and no; socks and underwear are NOT the perfect gift to give during a multi-family Christmas get together for your 15 year old child.  Grandma I know you like to give gifts they need but how would you like it if we bought you granny panties for Christmas for you to unwrap in front of the entire family?  Give it to them as a side gift and let them know that it is something you think they will need.  I bet they will appreciate it more.  Oh wait, no I wont go there.  Now this is the season for giving thanks to the Lord for His blessing upon us so be sure you have prepared to give Him glory.

Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22

Matthew 26:17
[ The Lord's Supper ] On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
Matthew 26:16-18 (in Context) Matthew 26 (Whole Chapter)

Mark 14:12
[ The Lord's Supper ] On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
Mark 14:11-13 (in Context) Mark 14 (Whole Chapter)

Luke 22:8
Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
Luke 22:7-9 (in Context) Luke 22 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless you,

Pastor Steve

Friday

PRaP 11-20-2009

“The Benjamin Gate”

Jeremiah the prophet went to his country to claim his inheritance promised by God and was arrested at the gate because the guard accused him of wrong doing that he didn’t do.  He was held prisoner in a dungeon for a long time is what the Bible says, and when the king wanted a message from God he called for Jeremiah and asked for the message.  Jeremiah told him that they would be turned over to the Babylonians as he was instructed by God to tell him but Jeremiah was upset about be arrested for no reason and inquired of the king to give reason for his arrest but the king placed him in the courtyard and was give bread daily.  Now this brings to mind the prayer that Jesus told us to pray daily.  “Give us this day our daily bread”, this is from the Lord’s Prayer for those of you that didn’t know you can find it in Matthew 6.  Come and get it! 

Jeremiah 37

Key Verse:

Jeremiah 37:21
King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Jeremiah 37:20-21 (in Context) Jeremiah 37 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless you,

Pastor Steve

Thursday

PRaP 11-19-2009

“Something Smells Fishy”

Do you have a message from the LORD for the people of today?  Were you given explicit instruction on where you are to be?  Have you been coming up with excuses on why you have not delivered?  Are you putting it off?  May I direct your attention to Jonah?  He too was given instruction on where to go and he didn’t want to do it.  Jonah got on a boat and sailed out into the ocean to get away from his task and then God came along and there was a great storm and after the crew found out it was because of Jonah he was tossed overboard and a big fish swallowed Jonah.  Now I am not here to debate if it was a fish or a whale or whatever kind of animal it was the fact is he was running and God stopped him from running.  When the storm stopped after the crew threw Jonah off they began to be believers and worshipped God from that day forward so even if you get swallowed up by the big fish God will be glorified.  My recommendation to you is to get off your high horse and get busy.  Something smells fishy and it isn’t me.  Time to get to your Nineveh and deliver the message that the Lord has given you to deliver and quit lollygagging around and get moving.  I mean come on; you may be the one to save a life in the process?  What if you don’t deliver and someone gets hurt or worse?  You will miss out on the blessing, is that what you want to do?

Jonah 3

Key Verse:

Jonah 3:10
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah 3:9-10 (in Context) Jonah 3 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless you,

Pastor Steve

Wednesday

PRaP 11-18-2009

More Than Conquerors

 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[j] who[k] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
   ”For your sake we face death all day long;
      we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[l] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thank You LORD I needed that today!  I pray that these words encourage you in your trials as they have encouraged me in mine.  May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you today and everyday until He takes you home to be with Him, in Jesus Name AMEN! AMEN!

Romans 8

Pastor Steve

Tuesday

PRaP 11-17-2009

“Bowling and Parenting”

Bowling and being a parent has a whole lot more in common then you might think.  Depending on your child (ren) you can either run up and sling them down the lane and they get a strike most of the time but like in bowling a strike is great but you have to be able to pick up the spares to be really successful.  Some kids you have to walk up to the foul line and just give them a little shove and they head down the lane in a slow steady roll but no matter if they curve to the left or the right they end up hitting the head pin.  Some no matter what you do they just fall into the gutter.  Well for those kids that just keep hitting the gutter, what do we do?  We put in the gutter bumpers so they won’t land directly into the gutter from the start. Now those bumpers are teachers and Pastors and counselors and principals and assistant principals and cafeteria people and coaches and of course family members and these are so important to make sure our kids hit the head pin every time.  Now a special needs child will need that extra push to get down the lane and you may have to guide that child for the rest of their lives and you have to change out the gutter bumpers and you hope and pray that one day they will not need them anymore to hit the headpin but they will always need you there to pickup the spare.  Those of you out there with special needs children understand what I am talking about.  Zachary is one of those and he goes all over the lane when I give him a shove but recently the bumpers had a weak spot and he fell into the gutter.  Now as his parent I am calling management to complain abut the weak bumper that allowed my child to fall into the gutter because now we have to walk down the lane to pick him up and make sure he wasn’t scratched or worse bruised in the fall.  As a single parent you sometimes have to call in the reinforcements to get the bumpers put back in place so that when you roll the next time that weak point is secured.  Jesus has a special love for the children and many times says that we are to come to Him as little children for it is such as these that will receive entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19

Key Verses:

Matthew 18:3
And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:2-4 (in Context) Matthew 18 (Whole Chapter)

Matthew 19:13
[ The Little Children and Jesus ] Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
Matthew 19:12-14 (in Context) Matthew 19 (Whole Chapter)

Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 19:13-15 (in Context) Matthew 19 (Whole Chapter)

Mark 9:37
“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Mark 9:36-38 (in Context) Mark 9 (Whole Chapter)

Mark 10:13
[ The Little Children and Jesus ] People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.
Mark 10:12-14 (in Context) Mark 10 (Whole Chapter)

Mark 10:14
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Mark 10:13-15 (in Context) Mark 10 (Whole Chapter)

Mark 10:16
And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:15-17 (in Context) Mark 10 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless you,

Pastor Steve

Monday

PRaP 11-15-2009

“Lines In The Sand”

Where do you draw the line?  When Jesus was standing with the woman that was about to be stoned for her sin what is it that Jesus wrote in the sand?  Did He draw a line?  I know what He said to them because it is written:

John 8:7
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
John 8:6-8 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)

I want to believe that Jesus was writing each one of their sins in that sand and when they all realized that He was speaking to them they all began to leave one by one knowing that they had no right to be standing there with a stone in hand.

Moms and dads be very careful of your little ones because there are many out there that are ready to cast stones at your children even if they are just in play time at the play grounds.  A seemingly innocent action by your child can and will be considered evil and you will be dragged to the courts and your children will be labeled a bad kid.  Long gone are the days of innocent play on the playgrounds of America and maybe the world.  Your children are not allowed to use their imagination in the public arena unless you are a movie idol and there has been a script written.  It is even worse when there are different colors on the same playground.  We raise our children to be color blind yet they are persecuted daily for the color or lack thereof of their skin.  The great Martin Luther King must be rolling in his grave to see many of his people committing the crimes of racism that he fought and died to eliminate.  Where do we draw the line?  Well, we aren’t Jesus Christ so to draw that line would not be right.  That line can only be drawn and upheld by Christ alone.  Through Christ alone can these types of things be fixed to where our children can play and use their God given imaginations in the public arena so that they can grow and learn without fear of someone carrying them off to court because of a child’s choice.  Will Jesus Christ use us to draw that line?  Likely the answer is yes but you better be absolutely sure that you are on the side of Jesus Christ when you do because you will be in the fight of your life.

John 8

Jesus Bless you,

Pastor Steve

Friday

PRaP 11-13-2009

“Here I Am Lord”

Here I am Lord waking up this morning.

Here I am Lord getting prepared for the day ahead.

Here I am Lord getting breakfast.

Here I am Lord getting the children ready for their day.

Here I am Lord getting into my car.

Here I am Lord stuck in traffic.

Here I am Lord late again.

Here I am Lord doing my job.

Here I am Lord having lunch.

Here I am Lord talking to a friend.

Here I am Lord heading to pick up the kids from school.

Here I am Lord making dinner.

Here I am Lord getting ready for bed.

Here I am Lord waiting patiently.

Here I am Lord praying fervently.

Here I am Lord weeping myself to sleep again.

Here I am Lord sleeping peacefully.

Here I am Lord dreaming of what You have in store for me tomorrow.

For He is the Great I Am and we are to wait patiently for His return and live our lives according to His plan giving up our free will to follow His will for us each and every day.  But it will come at a price, a price that most are not willing to pay.  But He is always here waiting for you each and every moment.  He is saying to you, “Here I Am waiting patiently for you.”

2 Corinthians 12, Revelation 22

Key Verses:

2 Corinthians 12:10
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-11 (in Context) 2 Corinthians 12 (Whole Chapter)

Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Revelation 22:11-13 (in Context) Revelation 22 (Whole Chapter)

Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Revelation 22:12-14 (in Context) Revelation 22 (Whole Chapter)

Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
Revelation 22:15-17 (in Context) Revelation 22 (Whole Chapter)

Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22:19-21 (in Context) Revelation 22 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless you,

Pastor Steve

Thursday

PRaP 11-12-2009

“A Righteous Man”

“Suppose there is a righteous man
       who does what is just and right.

 ⁶ He does not eat at the mountain shrines
       or look to the idols of the house of Israel.
       He does not defile his neighbor’s wife
       or lie with a woman during her period.

 ⁷ He does not oppress anyone,
       but returns what he took in pledge for a loan.
       He does not commit robbery
       but gives his food to the hungry
       and provides clothing for the naked.

 ⁸ He does not lend at usury
       or take excessive interest. ^[a]
       He withholds his hand from doing wrong
       and judges fairly between man and man.

 ⁹ He follows my decrees
       and faithfully keeps my laws.
       That man is righteous;
       he will surely live,
       declares the Sovereign LORD.

This is from Ezekiel 18 and is speaking of the sin of the son.  Basically it says that a father shall not be held responsible for the sin of the son and the son will not be held responsible for the sin of his father.  We are to be responsible for our own sin and shall not judge the father for the sin of his son and the son shall not be judged for the sin of his father.  I think I am going to leave it at that and you PRaP today what is going on around you.

Ezekiel 18

Ezekiel 18:19
“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.
Ezekiel 18:18-20 (in Context) Ezekiel 18 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless you,

Pastor Steve

Wednesday

PRaP 11-11-2009

“Where Oh Where”

Where oh where are we headed?

Where oh where have we gone?

Where oh where am I supposed to be?

Where oh where should we be?

Where oh where are my car keys?

Where oh where is my wallet?

Where oh where is my cell phone?

Where oh where has love gone?

Where oh where has peace gone?

Where oh where has joy gone?

Where oh where did I put that thing?

Where oh where is my pen?

Where oh where is that pencil?

Where oh where is my backpack?

Where oh where is he going?

Where oh where has my Jesus gone?

Oh there He is He never left.  I just failed to stop, look, and listen.  Be still!

Psalm 37

Key Verses:

Psalm 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Psalm 37:6-8 (in Context) Psalm 37 (Whole Chapter)

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:9-11 (in Context) Psalm 46 (Whole Chapter)

Zechariah 2:13
Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”
Zechariah 2:12-13 (in Context) Zechariah 2 (Whole Chapter)

Mark 4:39
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
Mark 4:38-40 (in Context) Mark 4 (Whole Chapter)

Jesus Bless you,

Pastor Steve