Thinking about Life and the Lord!

Since it is the Christmas holiday season I thought it would be good to maybe give you a few thoughts that might help you have a better holiday this year. 1. Enjoy the moment! There were two buddies who decided to go sailing the week before Christmas. Suddenly they were caught up in a big storm and their boat was blown onto a sand bar. These two guys found themselves standing in waist deep, freezing water with sleet falling all around them and the wind howling out of the north. One guy looked at the other and said, "Boy this is sure is a big mess we've gotten ourselves into. Even if we are rescued we will probably have pneumonia for Christmas." His friend replied, "Yep! We are in a big mess...but it sure beats Christmas shopping with our wives!"  It is easy to get overwhelmed by the Christmas shopping, the gifts, the lights, the parties, and all of the activities of Christmas to the point that we forget to enjoy the moment. We sing "Silent night"...

God is speaking to the men who were supposed to be leading His people. Rather than leading the people, they had abdicated their roles as leaders and started living for themselves. It mirrors our society today. God asks, “Where is My honor?” Today I want us to see what God tells us He is looking for in our lives! First, let's talk about the Place of God in your life! Here is the question all men must ask: " Who is really in control?”                  Men, one of the clear reasons you are so confused as to your God-ordained role in your home, in the church, in our community, and on your job is because you have either never understood or have completely forgotten your role before God. God has ordained that it is men who should take the role of leader in all of these areas. In no way does that demean anyone else. In no way does this mean that men and women are not equal. What I am telling you is that men a...

I have discovered that one of the biggest problems facing American families, business, churches, and children can all be traced back to one common denominator: Men who will not fulfill their God ordained role of being God’s man in this world. The verse that will be foundational to this series of blog posts comes from the book of Ezekiel. God is talking to His people about how the nation is in disarray, it’s leaders are corrupt, its families are falling apart, and how people were pursing personal gain, materialism, and possessions to the point they no longer knew the difference between right and wrong. Then God said this: “I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one (Ezekiel 22:30).”              Today God from Heaven is looking for men who will stand in the gap…men who will repair the things th...

Almost all of us know the name of Alfred Nobel. He is the man behind the highly respected and sought after Nobel Peace Prize. This award goes to those who excel in humanitarian purposes, literature, peace, and other contributions to people throughout the world. Not many people realize how this prize came into existence. Nobel came into fame and fortune as the inventor of dynamite. He was a gifted chemist who was also a pacifist. He soon became troubled to realize that his largest customer for dynamite was the military, who had seized his invention as one of the newest weapons of war. Meanwhile, while his factories were operating at maximum capacity producing this new weapon of war, his brother Ludwig died unexpectedly. A French newspaper, thinking Alfred Nobel had in fact died, mistakenly printed this headline in the paper: “Merchant of Death Dies!”   Alfred Nobel was horrified at the thought that this is how he would truly be remembered by the world at the time of his...

I just have to tell you that I have never been much of a "RULES" kind of person. While I recognize that rules are absolutely necessary in every part of our society so as to maintain order and organization, there is just something about a bunch of rules that makes my inborn sin nature flair up. Yet, what I know is that rules keep me safe. Rules keep me sane. Rules hold me accountable. Rules help not only me, but they help everyone around me. When it comes to a church I have found that people run to one extreme or the other. On the one hand there are those that believe church, the Bible, and God are only all about rules. They look at something like the 10 Commandments which give to us by God to keep order and to give us freedom as something that is nothing but a bunch of unnecessary rules. On the other hand there are those that come into the church and for them "everything goes!" They come to church and do or say things they would never say or do at work or even in ...

We live squarely in the age of social media. A large majority of people in America and in the church have some kind of social media presence. They are either on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, Google+, Vine, or one of many other platforms. Social media is a very unique thing in that it allows people to make connections via the internet, post their thoughts, bring commentary on the thoughts of others, or let everyone know where they are and all they are doing. To be perfectly honest with you many of the things about social media are quite positive. I like looking at pictures of my nephews and nieces who live in Tennessee and South Carolina while I live in Arkansas . I like hearing people’s good news of new born babies, job promotions, vacations, and new cars. I like seeing or hearing how God is working in the lives of people that I know or have known for years. I also like that you can use these social media platforms to present the gospel, promote Christian...