What is Cool about Sunday

I love Sunday's always have and always will.  Before I came to know Christ it was a day to sleep in and chill after I came to know Christ it is a day to set aside for worship and fellowship.  I love church and everything about it.  I love the worship, the friendships I have made, the word and its presentation.  I even don't mind it when I am preaching.  Even though my son Ryan has told me that from time to time I have grown stale in his ears.  Sunday is not for ourselves, it has never been.  It has always been a time set aside for God.  When Jesus rose from the dead, Sunday became for the church a day to celebrate His resurrection.  I think it is sad to see so many Christians mishandle this day.  They go to church if they feel like it but if something is more fun or important the House of the Lord becomes second.  I feel sad to think that one day everyone of us will have to stand before the Lord and give an account of how we viewed this day.  God has only required one day to be set aside for the purpose of worshipping Him in a corporate sense and we ignore it or only do it when something more important has not come up.  It is time to get our priorities straight and return to His house.  I can measure a person's commitment to Christ by their attendance to church.  Harsh you say.  No three decades of being a Christian and pastoring have shown me this.  Those who stay committed to church are the one's I see their relationship with God is strong.  Those who don't go to church on a regular basis are not. Common sense tells you this.  But then these days a lot of people do not have common sense or I and other pastors would see them in church.

Saturday a Day to Reflect

For someone such as myself.  Saturday is a day of preparation for Sunday.  This morning as is my habit I went to the church to pray for Sunday morning.  I made my declarations and prayers.  Something I have done for over a decade and during that time I also pray in my heavenly language.  I always find these times so focusing.  Prayer is the path in which one receives divine direction and help.  In prayer I receive my marching orders for the week.  Every Saturday since Sept 25, 2005 has been my time to pray for Revival.  I try to spend at least 1 1/2 hours in prayer each Saturday on this issue.  Revival is the only thing that is gone to soften the heard hearts of any people.  The church can have hard hearts.  We can easily become distracted and even cold toward the things of God.  Revival is God's answer to an apathetic, apostate and lethargic church.  Which unfortunately is by and large the testimony of the church in Canada.  Not all churches or people are this way but enough that we need a whole sale revival.  I pray that the revival starts with me.  Gypsy Smith was asked one time was the secret of revival and he said, "Draw a circle around yourself and so not leave until your revived and the revival has started."  Good plan.  Start today in your own heart.

Weekend is Coming

For many the weekend is a time to kick back and have some down time.  For me it is quite the opposite.  I spend hours in prayer gearing up for the weekend.  Sunday is the big day for me.  It is where I get to share the word of God with Cornerstone and worship with the believers.  I love church and the people.  One thing I have never struggle with is going to the house of the Lord and here is the reason.  For five years during my teen years I never went to church.  My mom when I was 13 told me I could make my own decision concerning church so I chose not to go.  I enjoyed sleeping in and doing my thing but never did I think that I had made an eternal choice.  From the time I stopped attending church God no longer was on my thoughts.  It was all about me.  When I came to Christ at age 17, God convicted me about my lack of attendance of His house and I made a commitment to never miss if possible.  That commitment led to enjoyment and even to desire.  From the time I came to know Christ I can hardly wait to get to church.  I love to sing, worship, participate in the word, whether I am sharing or not.  I love the fellowship and beng with the people of God.  It breaks my heart when people tell me they struggle with Sunday worship or it does mean something to them.  They are missing the point.  It is not about us and what we can get out of it.  It is about meeting with God, and with His people.  It is about worship, the word and being part of something greater.  So this weekend go back to church, Sunday Worship and ask God to show you His perspective.  I did and it changed my life forever.

New Year New Opportunities

I am amazed how fast time flys when you are having fun.  The last couple of days I have been on a study retreat.  I have prepared messages until the end of April.  Today I will be doing more of the same.  I am hoping that by the end of the day, I would have finished enough messages till the end of June.  It is in these times of intense study that I receive some of the best advice and help I could ever receive.  I have learned for example that when a person is in the centre of God's will that you do not have to drum up opportunities they just come.  Recently the Lord has been dropping one opportunity after another into my lap.  I have actually had to say no to some or put them on the back burner.  My exhortation to you today is to seek God's kingdom first and then all things will be added unto you. If you are stuck in a rut, which by the way is a grave with both ends kick out, then seek God.  Seek Him and ask Him to open doors and use you.  You will be amazed at what will happen. My answer to any slowdown is prayer.  By nature and disposition I am an action kind of guy.  I love to keep busy.  One lesson I have learned though is this.  When things slow down, this is the time to seek God and position yousrself for the next time things speed up.  When ever you have down time, resupply, rearm and redeploy using military terms.  Get the house in order and then when the next opportunity comes you are ready.        

Direction for the New Year!

With the new year it is great time to get direction and make right choices.  Here is a simple five fold plan to help you get started.  First, decide where you want to go.  Hosea the prophet says that without vision people perish.  As part of your vision for the future decide where you want to go.  Include God in every part of your plans.  Secondly, decide your priorities.  For me it is simple, I want to do, say and be, what God wants me to be.  Through prayer, the word, and mature counsel decide what it is important and be realistic.  Thirdly, make a plan and clarify your routes.  Know where you want to go and make adjustments through the year as you travel.  Remember you can get off course so course corrections are essential.  Lastly, enjoy the trip and see what you can accomplish for yourself and God.

The assurance of salvation.

   I have been talking this week off for study and preparation for 2012.  I was working on my sermon`s covering the book of Roman`s which I will be presenting to Cornerstone during late January and early February.  Paul makes it clear that we can have assurance of salvation.  The question I ask myself today is why so many do not have assurance?   I have been in the ministry for more than 3 decades and I have been surprised how many times I get asked about this question?  A great deal of the problem is that many have failed to grasp the reality of salvation and the assurance it can be bring to a troubled heart.  God's salvation is complete.  When you get saved you have everything you need.  Nothing has to be added to it.  God has promised to never leave you or forsake you and Paul reminds us in Roman's 8:35-39, that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  When you received salvation it is intended for eternity.  The problem is not on God's side but ours.  This last statement is not designed to bring condemnation but an encouragement to stay as close to the Lord as possible.  In doing this you will always have assurance.  The Lord has made you complete in Christ.  My exhortation for you today is to live in this reality.

Focus, Focus, Focus.

Focus is a easy word to say but a much harder word to do.  I have been described by some as a driven person. I try to do as much as I can in the minimum amount of time.  This of course comes my world view which is, that Jesus is coming back soon so I want to reach and impact as many people as I can while I can.  Another fact that I know about myself is that for many years I focused on many of the wrong things.  I spent far to much time on things that were time wasting.  I played video games, watch to much television, sat around doing little saying I needed this down time because of my busy schedule.  Truth be told, I just wasted to much time.  One day the Lord spoke to me and said He was pleased with how much time I dedicated to Him, my family and ministry but I was wasting to much of my life on the wrong things.  I then asked Him the dangerous question.  Where Lord am I wasting my time?  He showed me and I have tried to correct that.  I try to live a focused life now with the proper priorities.  Am I successful, not always but I am trying.  I could spend some time listing them but I did that already in another blog.  So my exhortation for you is to try and get focused in your life this year and touch as many as you can in your world.