WORD up!

The Great And Powerful God! God isn’t a fake like the Wizard of Oz! He really is the great and powerful God! He’s Got the Power Power is strength, force, effectiveness, control, authority, among other things. Look up the word “power” in the dictionary for a greater picture of what is encompassed in such a small word. Note any additional insight into the word “power” in the margin. The Bible is full of stories depicting God’s acts of power. Some of these include creation, redemption, and grace. Read the following encounters, then take a few minutes to record your thoughts and observations about God’s power. (Exodus 14:21-22, Acts 9:1-22, I Kings 18:22-38, Luke 1:26-45, John 11:41-44) Can you wrap your mind around this concept? Take your time. Each of these examples can be overwhelming - like contemplating the size of the universe. The power of God can part the sea to reveal dry ground. The power of God can bring a terrorist to his knees before Christ and make him a mighty evangelist. Th...

Just Do It! God deserves all of our praise. We should exalt Him alone. Our actions, word, and even thoughts should glorify Him. Do you agree? Do you give Him all of your praise? If so, way to go! If not, why? One of my reference materials, The Treasury of David, writes that God should be our only object of adoration. If we give any honor intended for Him to another, it is treason. If we don’t honor Him, we have robbed Him. Do you feel convicted? I certainly do. Although I don’t believe that humans are physically capable of giving God all of the praise that He deserves, to think of this in terms of “treason” and “robbery” leads me to believe that each of us is ultimately responsible for praising Him! To what, besides God, are you giving your praise? We are going to refocus our attention over the next few weeks. We will begin looking for God in unusual places and celebrating Him in unique ways. It is my prayer that this will draw us closer to Him and enhance our relationship with our Hea...

I am so excited that you’ve decided to join me on this thrilling journey of praise! When you truly open your heart to praising God, your life will never be the same. I encourage you to approach each day as a gift from Him specifically to you. I challenge you to look upon each situation and circumstance and try to find His hand in it. Experience your world with the eyes of a child, full of wonder and passion and awe at what your Daddy is capable of! Hallelujah! Before we read through the scripture that will anchor our time together for the next few weeks, I’d like to go over the guidelines for this study. The “Guidelines” If you joined me in the study “Living the Blameless Life,” you’re already familiar with the guidelines. We previously called them ground rules, but, in honor of the Captain Barbossa line from my favorite movie of all time in the whole wide world, Pirates of the Caribbean, I’ve renamed them “guidelines”. If this is our first study together, please forgive my rambling an...

Well, we’ve looked at all of Psalm 15 as well as many other passages. Where do you see yourself, now? Have you made any progress? Have you grown in leaps and bounds? Review Psalm 15. Eulogy Every life must end – even a blameless life. The last thing we leave behind (besides our family and friends) is the epitaph on our gravestone and our obituary. So, at the risk of sounding morbid, I issue a final challenge to you that I pray will open your eyes and inspire you. Take a few minutes to write out what you want your epitaph or obituary to say. Or, if you’re feeling really creative, write out how you would like a friend or family member to eulogize you. Then pray that God will help you live up to what you’ve written. Release Your Burdens It can be scary to be on your own at first. You may not have any idea where to go from here. I urge you to continue spending time with God. Don’t allow yourself to be tempted to give the time you’ve been devoting to Him over the last few weeks to some othe...

Oh, my. The things we do for cold, hard cash! We compromise our values and beliefs. We tolerate bad behavior and foul language. We stress ourselves and abuse our bodies and forsake our families. We turn our backs on our dreams thinking that the American Dream’s emphasis on possessions will make us truly happy. WRONG!!! What have you compromised this week? Will you continue to compromise? Very INTERESTing I can think of a couple of times when I loaned money and never got paid back! But, no, I’ve never charged usury – also known as “interest” – on a loan. However, I can think of a few times when my heart was in the wrong place that I wanted to injure someone who hurt me “with interest.” Look up the scriptures below to learn what God’s Word says about this. (Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:35-37, Deut 23:20, Prov 28:8) As followers of Christ, we should be exceptionally generous. All we have belongs to Him, and His Word teaches that we should care for each other. The scriptures above mention ou...

I was just glancing through my notebook of Bible study notes and came across Ephesians 6. It makes me wonder… I wrote that I saw chapter 6 as a progression from child to parent to bondservant to warrior. I wonder if God folded the Tuesday night Bible study that I was leading so I could become less “parent” and more “bondservant.” The reality is this: in order to have a more fulfilling Christian life, we MUST grow and progress… Not only are we at war RIGHT NOW, but a much greater battle draws nearer everyday. I take that back. The greatest battle is NOW! We need to win souls !!! The battle that is coming has already been WON! Hallelujah!!! We do need to prepare for war. But everyday we allow to pass without growing in spiritual strength is another day that the enemy gains ground… We must stop making excuses – we’re weak, we’re shy, we don’t know the Bible… BAH! Do you know Jesus? If so, you have direct access to God, The Father, The King of the Universe. So quit making excuses and start...

Forgiveness… How difficult is it to do? Before you answer, consider this: The Bible doesn’t say we should only forgive certain offenses!!! WE ARE INSTRUCTED TO FORGIVE EVERYTHING! Think about that… Murder robbery torture rape betrayal incest cruelty lies infidelity treason assault battery Slander abuse neglect sabotage defamation I would have a hard time forgiving some of the above. Jesus doesn’t have a hard time with that. It breaks His heart, but He forgives it all. I recently read “Presumed Guilty” by James Scott Bell. It’s about a mega-church preacher accused of murdering a porn actress. As the story unfolds, you learn that he has had affairs with two women… Could I forgive? I don’t know...