All posts by Administrator

Articles about Christianity

What are you Thinking? Is it Stinking?

Leave a comment

ID-10081437Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.

Now, that is a scripture to ponder on.   If we do well, follow the Lords commandments and give our best to him shall we not be accepted?   If we stray from the commandments and give God our leftovers, sin is just outside waiting for an opportunity or a crack in the doorway to wedge its way through.

Let’s back up a bit to the story of Cain and Abel and refresh our memory.   

Gen 4:3-5 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

They often say you need a good theologian to get people confused.  Just sticking to what the Bible says (Yes it’s the KJV) shall we look at it again.    In the process of time, (that’s important to note) Cain brought…. an offering unto the Lord.   And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof.  And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.   Notice the difference?   Abel brought the firstlings and the fat.    It’s probably true, that the fruit of the ground may not have had any fat in it but that’s another message.    

Abel brought the firstlings or the first fruits.  Cain didn’t.  Did you ever wonder why? What was wrong with Cain?  Why didn’t he want to give God the best of the best from his first harvest?   Could it have been some thoughts like?

“Doesn’t matter what I do it won’t be good enough?”

“God likes Abel better than me anyway; my offering will never be as good as his.”

“Able has a flock; I just have fruit of the ground. I can’t give as good as offering as him.”

“I’ll wait until my offering is perfect and then give it to God.”

I suppose we’ll never know what was running through Cain’s mind. Whatever it was, it prevented Cain from doing his best or even wanting to do well.  God knew that and even commented on it.   “Hey Cain if you do a good job and give me your best you’ll be accepted. If you keep falling away, sin is lying in wait to take you out!”

Isn’t that the truth?  If we know what to do and do it well, things go better for us.  For example, the scripture that encourages us to “take every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ.” When we can capture negative thoughts at the beginning we can keep our emotions harnessed and be victorious.  If we dwell and think on things we probably shouldn’t be thinking about… (Shouldn’t take a Prophet or a sign from God on that one… You know what you are thinking about that you probably shouldn’t.)  Well sin lies out there just waiting for a crack to open at the doorway and Booya!!!  You’ve sinned and in some cases like Cain might lose it all.    

Now let’s stop and think for a minute.  Since this whole episode with Cain and Abel happened, Jesus came on the scene and we now have a new covenant.   If we have accepted Jesus as our Lord, he has already redeemed us from the curse of the Law and paid for our sins. Today, we do not have to worry about God not loving us or banishing us if we do wrong.   What we do have to think about is this…

I think the 1965 Bible in Basic English Version of this next scripture said it best.

James 3:16 For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.

That’s what happened to Cain, like the word said and God warned him.  Every sort of evil-doing crept up and took control of Cain and he chose to kill his brother Abel instead of following God’s suggestion to try and do a better job of following Him. 

Probably the thoughts that were giving Cain the most trouble were associated with envy and we see where he failed in taking those thoughts captive and he was banished instead.

What about you?  What thoughts are giving you the most trouble?  What do you find yourself thinking about too much?  If anyone else knew what you were thinking about, how would it make them feel?  Do you find yourself being drawn to certain thoughts?  What triggers those thoughts? Do you secretly enjoy daydreaming about things others would find appalling?  If so….. Now is the time to start taking those thoughts under control.  The Devil is always waiting for an opportunity or “door” to get through to destroy individuals, relationships, marriages, families, Churches, Ministries, and anything else.  He’s not picky he just likes to destroy things.   

Ok I hear you out there moaning  …”OK already you’ve made your point. Now what do I do about it?”

One of my favorite fathers of faith is Jesse Duplantis.   I like how he puts it.  “Admit it, Quit it, and Forget it.” Now depending on your situation you may not want to admit what you were thinking about to anyone but God.  Use wisdom.  If Eve would have kept her mouth shut and not mentioned to Adam what she was thinking… we literally would be living in a different world.    

Use the following scripture to help you defeat the thoughts that are preventing fellowship with God, leading you to sin, or both. 

Php 4:4 Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here.  Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.  Finally, my friends keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.

 In a nutshell, rejoice because the Lord has delivered you.  Don’t worry about not thinking about something.  Instead pray about what to think on that is good and have God show you what the original problem was that made you start having stinking thinking.  Then trust God to give you peace.  Finally, keep your mind on good things, don’t let your mind wander and if certain television shows, movies, songs, video games, books, websites, or magazines are hindering your progress.  Don’t watch, listen, play, or look at them.    

We may not have the same devastating effects that Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel had from not being able to take thoughts captive.   However, some thoughts do lead to some sins and those sins can change our whole world.   Just like Adam’s family, what they had was gone and they were never able to recover what they had lost.   Abel was gone, Cain was banished and…well you know the rest of the story. 

Get rid of your stinkin’ thinkin’ and let Philippines 4:4-8 be your guide. Choose to think on good things this year…God Bless.

 

Image Courtesy of stockimages/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

2014©AccessN2Grace

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

..

.

.

.

.

.

.

Articles about Christianity, Devotional

Does your schedule resemble a game of pinball more than an hourly schedule?

Leave a comment

ID-100123978Pro 8:17  I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

During my morning devotion time.  This scripture made me have an “aha” moment.  I often wonder if God doesn’t go “Yes!!!  She got it!  and has that kind of feeling that a parent of a Basketball player who just made a 3 point basket gets.

It’s true…. life has been wild lately for me and it always amazes that during the that quiet time in the morning how much peace comes from just reading the word, worshiping and fellowshipping with God brings. This is the busiest time of the year for me and my schedule is more like a game of pinball than an hourly schedule.  If it wasn’t for my PODA (Parade of Daily Activities) sheet. I don’t know that I would get anything done.

But this morning was different. Today’s daily Proverb sparked something in me.  I had great peace and things that would normally make me grit my teeth, made me laugh. Starting your day off fellowshipping with God really does make a difference.

So whenever your day starts depending on your work schedule, start it off with God.   You will not believe the difference it makes.

(c) An2G2014

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Worship Videos

An intimate time in worship ▶ Healer by The Pentecostals of Alexandria – YouTube

Leave a comment

An intimate time of Worship…this is the beginning of what can happen when the presence of God is welcomed and the gifts are allowed to flow.  The Pastor immediately takes the service to the next level and people receive prayer because the gifts are in operation and hearts are ready to receive what Jesus paid for over 2000 years ago.

▶ Healer by The Pentecostals of Alexandria – YouTube.

via An intimate time in worship ▶ Healer by The Pentecostals of Alexandria – YouTube.

.

.

.

.

.

…

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

..

.

 

Worship Videos

Having a Heart of Worship.

Leave a comment

Worship has always been an important part of my life.   Whether participating in corporate worship, leading a group, or just hanging out with God and praising him at home or in the car.    There is something about that connection with God that brings peace, empowerment, and just an indescribable bond with all that is holy.

Where I live the weather has been pretty bad and being home has made me realize just how important individual worship is to a Christian’s well being.    I have noticed over the last few years that it is becoming more of a Sunday morning at church experience rather than an everyday lifestyle of Worship.    So when the weather prevents people from holding or attending services, people who wait to only worship on Sunday mornings at church are really set up for a bad week… including everyone they are around. (lol)

One thing I heavily rely on during these weather events is online Worship services.  There are thousands of churches across the world that stream their services live or have them on an archive.  Some of my favorite churches to attend online are Charis Christian Center in Colorado Springs, CO and Lakewood Church in Houston, TX.    Due to the time differences you can practically attend both services.  Those are a couple of my favorites.    However I have a wide variety of actual song services for worship.   Some of my favorites are a little surprising even to me.   That’s the one thing about worship, it doesn’t matter what denomination or non-denomination a person claims, worship is that individual experience that comes from the heart.   That you’re in a room with hundreds of people yet for that moment it’s just you and God kind of experience.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as I get the AccessN2grace YouTube channel up and running with more worship playlists.   These will be playlists that would mimic an actual worship service.  Some include a countdown to worship.    That way you can become familiar with artists and genres of worship available on YouTube.   Some of the videos are live recordings from Churches across the world so you can get a taste of their service and pay them a visit if you are ever in their area.

Obviously there are millions of worship videos available but I’m only going to post the ones that I got a “heart tug” over.   You may be surprised by the variety of genres and styles of worship that I’ve found.   I’m not a big one on sticking with one particular style of worship.   I have attended worship services ranging from the most talented couples like  Charlie and Jill LeBlanc and David and Lorna Creech to Worship services that only use worship videos or CDs.    I’ve attended Church services of various sizes that have had everything from choirs and song leaders to Worship leaders with a Praise team and a full band.   The one thing I have noticed is it really doesn’t matter about the size of the choir or praise team or the most expensive equipment.   You can have a huge choir filled with sour faces or one song leader who loves the Lord.    In my childhood my favorite song leader was named Doyle.  He was amazing and he loved the Lord.    I don’t even know if he had ever heard of a praise team or a worship leader, but He was a worship leader.  He had a Heart of Worship.   That’s what I’m looking for, nothing else matters for without a heart of worship the best equipment and the most talented singers with the highest education in music theory fall flat.

I’m going to add a new category called Worship  look there for posts on music videos for worship.

Have a great day…and if the weather prevents you from attending in person please attend somewhere online that has good worship and a good faith filled word to prepare you for the week.

An2g

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Articles about Christianity

Unmasking a Spooky pooky…What is behind the mask?

Leave a comment

I love the humorous ways leaders can poke fun at a situation to wake us up to the truth about a disorder in the Church.

Ahh… yes… The Spooky Pooky.   I think we’ve all run into one throughout our walk in Christianity.  These are the folks that are so “religious ” they’re down right scary.   They are typically inappropriate not zealous.   Pushy instead of patient.   Or one that I run across that was most impressionable was  a lady that cackled like a peacock and always wore a peacock feather in her hair or hat.  She was too “spiritual” to talk or pray with the others in church.  She wanted to be right down front and on TV so everyone could see how spiritual she was.  Well.. let’s just say everyone noticed how “spooky” she was.

It’s very sad really.. these people do not understand the Love of God.  They do not understand that Jesus has already finished the work.  They think that if they “act” religious enough or find a name, “The peacock lady”, to be remembered by that they can earn whatever they need from God.   Healing, prosperity, peace, joy, etc.  They do not know that everything has already been purchased by Jesus.  We don’t need to perform some kind of works to earn these things.

However the hardest thing to do is to rest in the finished work of Jesus.  This is so foreign to us.  For decades now we have been taught wrong.   The Spooky pooky developed along with this error in teaching.   We must “act” more religious. We must attend everything “religious”.   We must create an image of ourselves that people will remember.  We must speak “Christianese” and act like visitors from Planet “Christian”.

You know there is nothing wrong with being Christ like and wanting to be close to God and follow his commandments.   That is normal.   Reading the Bible, transforming your mind to become more like Christ is the goal.   However I’m not sure how much the Pookys read the Bible because if they did, then they would know not to start gossip, encourage strife, and act weird.    For example:  New people will walk into a church and this person will say….. “Well they won’t be here to long.”  I’ve discerned it.” Then they start pointing their fingers at others in the church and start telling what they “discerned” about them.  If those new people have any kind of radar for spiritual things they will not come back.  Which begs the question why are you there?  If God has called you to that place that is one thing if not, then..get with God turn on your spiritual radar and find out where you are supposed to be and go there.

Ok so we’ve poked fun at the Pookies,  now is the time to add them to our private prayer list and start praying for them to experience the love of God and to remove their masks of religiosity and become more like Jesus.   Just us and God, no other person needs to be made aware of a “spooky pooky” in our midst.    Don’t know what to pray?  Here is a good example from the Apostle Paul.

Eph 3:14-19

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Remember to show these people lots of the God kind of Love.  It can be quite an ordeal to take of the mask of “perfection” and become the real person God created them to be.   Admitting that they were fake is a humbling experience and they will need the true love of Christ coming from his people if they are to survive without their mask.