When I started out with this it was fueled by my word for this year “REAL” as I prayed I heard the Lord speak this Scripture

‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ~ Luke 10:27

I wrote last week about loving God with all your heart…. today I will begin with Love the Lord your God with all your SOUL….

So the question I ask is “how do I love God with all my soul”? This is a huge question. In my last blog I wrote about loving God with all our heart, while loving the Lord with all our heart has to do with affection, love the Lord with all our soul has to do with devotion.

The biblical definition for soul means life, personality, the inner self and our identity. It’s were we make our decisions and choices and ultimately decide our lifestyle and behavior.

To love the Lord with all of your soul means to love Him in the way you live, in the choices you make and in the behavior and lifestyle you adopt.

LOVE THE LORE WITH ALL YOUR SOUL BY PURSUING A LIFE OF HUMILITY IN ATTITUDES AND SPEECH.

When Jesus is our Great Treasure then our affections are captured. This is how we love God with all of our heart…. When our affections are captured then choices become god-centered and a lifestyle of humility.

LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR SOUL BY MAKING GODLY CHOICES.

We do what we value!! If we treasure our relationship with the Lord our choices will simply mirror the Treasure. Choices flow from what we treasure most!

LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR SOUL BY PURSUING OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD.

We live by every Word that proceed from the mouth of God, we are tangibly expressing our love for the Lord.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart……”

I don’t want to live a “normal” or passive life, but like all people I want to be filled with excitement. I want my heart to be consumed, on fire for something. God put this desire in every person, just think about all the different things people sink their lives, their time, their energy… from hobbies to interest to relationships.

I want to be captivated just like anyone else in this world. Here Jesus lays down the MOST IMPORTANT commandment for mankind and He starts our with loving the Lord with ALL of your heart…..

So if we are told to Love the Lord with all of our hearts that we should pursue it’s meaning. What does it mean to love God with all our hears and how do we go about doing it?

1. UNDERSTAND THAT OUR AFFECTIONS DETERMIN OUR DEVOTION

To determine where our affections actually lie, we have to discern what occupies our time, what motivates our actions, what shapes our dreams and what comprises their reward. Affections wait to be captured. They long to cling to someone or something. Wherever these affections are found so will our hearts be.

2. UNDERSTAND THAT OUR AFFECTIONS FOLLOW WHAT WE TREASURE.

The devotion of our hearts is determined by wherever we find value as our greatest treasure. Matt. 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” Jesus just gave us the answer on how to love God with all our hearts. The HEART loves what it treasures!! The treasure comes FIRST and the heart comes SECOND.

For the heart to love Jesus completely, it has to treasure Him supremely. Our affections are the outcome of what we treasure. When we truly encounter the Lord in His glory and worth, loving Him with all our hearts will be the end result.

3. THE GOAL IS TO MAKE JESUS YOUR GREATEST TREASURE.

Jesus was the treasure of Paul’s life…NOTHING else mattered compared to gaining Christ.

⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ~ Phil. 3:8

⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, Eph. 3:8

The glory of Jesus is so amazing and so satisfying that once discovered, all else pales in comparison. When we divert our attention away for the Lord, our love will begin to grow cold. IT’S THAT SIMPLE. It’s true in our personal lives as well as in the church.

4. SPEND TIME WITH THE LORD….

⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. ⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2Cor 4:6-7

ONLY through the persistent gave on the face of the Lord and His glory does the light pierce our hearts — the same lights the keep the Seraphim consumed before His throne….

⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

 

My word this year from the Lord is “REAL” ya I know kind of a strange word to get, to be honest I’m not sure of everything that He means by this word. I know it’s to “be real, or get real” before God and man in ALL aspects of my life. This is FOR ME!

As I was praying about this a scripture came to mind……

‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ~ Luke 10:27

To love Him with with our HEART – SOUL – STRENGTH – MIND and then Love your neighbor as yourself….I am going to take each area and break it down on how to “Get Real”  in our heart, soul, strength and mind.

Keep your eyes open as I write and post about these things…..I must say I feel as though I know the answers to these, I feel like I have them down pretty well and I try to practice them daily in my life…..haha and as I write that last statement the Lord gently and joyfully nudged me with a sweet little whisper “pride son pride” lol

So I am off and running to see and hear what He wants to show me.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

I will speak of your statutes before kings
    and will not be put to shame,
for I delight in your commands
    because I love them.
I reach out for your commands, which I love,
    that I may meditate on your decrees.

Psalms 119:45-48

Usually soon as we become a Christian we hear that we need to love God and obey his commands (Word) and that is such a big set up for failure, shame, hidden sin, and a relationship with the Lord that is weak and always up and down if we are not taught “how to Love God, how to obey Him”

Here he writes that he delights in God’s commands, he reaches out for God’s commands….. I don’t know about you but that sure was not me for so many years on my walk with the Lord. For many years I was up and down, in and out, and had so many things that I tried to hide from Him and all those church people around me.

So how is it possible to live in a way that you LOVE God’s commands? The writer says he reaches out for them, he meditates on them… bottom line KNOWING them. Most people only know what they are told about God’s commands and decrees, but I want to tell you to dig into them, study them and soon as you go deeper and deeper you will find the very heart of God, and once you find the heart of someone that’s when you fall in love with them. IF you fall in love with the Lord you WILL FALL IN LOVE with His commands!! You will find strength in His word, boldness in His word (I will not be put to shame).

These three little verses hold much power and truth. As always KNOW HIS WORD, study His Word and soon you will find yourself a God follower with a clean heart and clean hands.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today!!!

 My comfort in my suffering is this:
    Your promise preserves my life.~Psalm 119:50

No matter what I go through His promise is the one thing I hold on to. He promises to preserve my life. I have confidence in His word, I have confidence in His promises, I have confidence in my relationship with Jesus. Because of this confidence I can find comfort in my suffering! AMEN!!

The word “preserve” means:

My soul is weary with sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word. ~ Psalm 119:28

There are so many things in this world that makes our soul weary. Relationships, family at times, finances, job situations, a death of a loved one, school, our health, just living life can bring us a weary soul and much sorrow.

Some turn to alcohol, drugs etc to just get some relief and not have to think about things, others turn to counselors or psychiatrist, others turn to reading self help books, others turn to some other type of addiction just trying to get some relief and some peace. Some end up bitter and angry all the time, some lash out at others and some even just drop out of society….it’s life and it happens.

And God says He will and can strengthen us with His Word. His word is LIFE, His word is POWER, His word is STRENGTH. How is this so? The words on the page become alive through the power of the Holy Spirit. Reading and knowing the Word is the most important thing you can do as a God follower. It is your strength, your wisdom, your life.

Now go read the Word of God… take your time….chew on it…meditate on it…. and have an EPIC day today.

I have been praying and asking the Lord where in the Word I should spend these 21 days during the Mission City Fast. Without doubt I have been led to Psalm 119, I am not sure why yet but I know that I’ve never really taken any amount of time in this chapter. I have preached out of it, taught out of it and used it as reference in sermons but I have never studied it. … So here I am.

Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
    and obey it with all my heart. ~ Psalm 119:34

The first 33 verses are all about asking God to help him open his eyes, open his ears, protect him so he may serve Him, help him get it… all great stuff and here is verse 34 this jumped out at me…. “GIVE ME UNDERSTANDING…..” here it is in black and white people the answer on what it takes to walk in obedience, love and holiness.

There are millions of Christians who never get it, they call themselves followers of God but live in the flesh, go to church but live in the world. In actions and deeds and then wonder why. Sometimes Sunday after Sunday you make a commitment to be a “better” Christian, go deeper and never open the Word, do notpray. Part of this is the churches fault by making too easy to be a Christian, to walk in His ways. Lack of training, teaching and knowing the Word.

We will NEVER have understanding of who God is, what His heart is, what His laws are. We will never walk in His ways and we will NEVER obey Him with our whole heart if we DO NOT KNOW HIM!! And like it or not the way to KNOW GOD is through his Word with UNDERSTANDING!! It’s very simple and yet it’s very deep and complex. WE need the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us the Word of God but the Word of God is GOD!!!

Now go out and have an EPIC day today!! #mccfast

The challenge was to seek a word from the Lord, a word that would describe what He wants for our lives, wants to do through our lives in 2016. I think this is a fantastic idea not only in the spiritual but also in the natural. You know for everyone! How this can drive a life is limitless in love, family, friends, school, work and well all area’s of life.

For me it’s spiritual and I found it hard to reach deep enough to hear the word the Lord wanted to give me. I am in the best place spiritually I can ever remember, I am feeling strong and alive in my spirit. My life is good, I have a great marriage, great children, I have a great job and a wonderful church. So I searched and asked for this word from God and the only thing I kept hearing was “REAL” and I would shake it off. What the heck does that mean? After a week of this I finally heard the Lord say to me “REAL” with this added to it…. “your pride is exposed as I try to speak this to you”. With that I humbly accept the word “real” for my life this year. I’m not completely sure what it all means but I’m OPEN to it and ready to hear it.

Here is what I do know….. The other day I’m sitting in a meeting with my 2 sales managers and 2 of the owners of the company. The meeting is about the job I do for them. Not a bad meeting but trying to find ways to do a better and more effective job. I was asked my thoughts on the way we are doing things and I responded with how I do them and why I don’t do certain things. In my mind I’m thinking I’m giving a great speech as to why expectations are not being met. In the middle of it all my boss chimes in with…. “well let’s get real here……….”

What does that statement mean? Allow me to tell you… you are about to hear the truth of the situation, not what you think it is or what you wish it was but what it REALLY IS.

Yesterday in church our pastor is preaching away, hitting it hard and on fire. Then all of a sudden he kind of stops and says “can I get real with you?” What does that mean? He was getting ready to tell us reality, not out of a sermon but out of his own life… REAL LIFE. Not what we think it is or should be but the reality of how it is.

I can think of a situation in the Bible when Jesus uses this statement, although its not said that way its the same thing…..

¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

What Jesus said here was “let’s get real” —-

So today my prayer is asking God to say this to me in every situation in my life. Day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute. One thing I do know and understand is that being transparent in this world is a POWERFUL thing. My relationships, my marriage, being a father, grandfather, worker, church member, preacher, teacher whatever I do or am in this life I MUST be transparent before the Lord and people. NOTHING EVER HIDDEN.

It’s going to be an EPIC year

The leadership of my church has called a 21 day fast this month, it’s the same every January. This is well known in many churches, to call a 21 day fast the first month of the new year, have the congregation along with the leadership fast with the purpose of the coming year when it comes to the body. Renewal, strength, purity, holiness, evangelism, growth, finances and bold leadership.

So, how are we to fast? This is very different than a personal fast although it’s still very personal. We are seeking God as a body so we are all connected in this 21 days of fasting. In the word it says for us to fast in secret, don’t boast, don’t let others know, don’t make a show of it…. of course it is talking about “personal” fasting and this is very right. But many times in the Bible they were called to a community fast, to join together and seek God.

When we are in a corporate fast we need to share what the Lord is doing in our lives, what he is speaking about the body life of our church, where we are in Scripture. I personally believe that God will speak to a body that is in unity and seeking His face together, if you hear what he is saying to individuals you will find a common thread running through each testimony. It’s important to share what is happening during this time. It’s important to have specific area’s that we are fasting about.

There are always people within the church that will say “I’m not fasting unless the Lord tells me to” and bottom line that is NOT scriptural at all and it’s rebellion. They need to be taught. Fasting is a lost discipline within the church. I have often thought of the amazing power of a church if the entire body understood, embraced and followed through on a fast.

Here are some reasons why to fast in the church…..

Fasting was seen as an inportant part in deciding how to go about the work of the church. In Acts 13:1-3 we find that the church was “worshiping and fasting” when the Holy Spirit instructed them to set aside Paul and Barnabas for the work of God. In similar fashion, we find that elders were decided upon in Lystra in conjunction with prayer and fasting in Acts 14. It seems fitting that when decisions for the early church were to be made, and guidance from God was sought after, fasting was involved.

TO EXPRESS REPENTANCE

Whenever a genuine and passionate cry for repentance is offered up by God’s people it is usually evidenced by a time of fasting. That is, fasting outwardly portrays the subjective emotions of the repentant believer. A proper example is found in Daniel 9 where Daniel prays a beautiful prayer of repentance on behalf of Israel. Here is a sample of that prayer from Daniel 9:

“Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land…To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him ¹⁰ and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.”

TO UNITE GOD’S PEOPLE IN WORSHIP TO GOD

When corporate fasting is described in the Bible it usually places focus on a unified single-mindedness toward the holiness of God. Fasting expressed in a practical way, the desire to acknowledge the folly of man and the perfection and power of Yahweh. In Nehemiah 9 following the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, the people of God assembled together and participated in a corporate fast (9:1). Later on the text describes that upon reading the Law of God, the people confessed their sins and worshiped God (9:3). The early church also connected worship to God with fasting in Acts 13:2. Fasting therefore, appeared to be a response to God’s perfect holiness. It’s as if those we read in the Bible saw fasting as a declaration of their total dependence on God’s provision and grace.

So, how does all of this apply to the church today? While fasting seemed routine in the Bible, does it have any relevance in the today’s church? I think it does. I believe fasting draws our attention away from the cares and desires of the flesh and points us to the purpose of our existence, to glorify God.

It is so easy for us in today’s culture to lose sight of the mission and purpose of the church. Fasting, as a unified body, helps direct us back to that purpose, to reestablish the reason we were called out in the first place. It outwardly portrays the subjective emotions of the repentant believer, and places focus on a unified single-mindedness toward the holiness of God.

Embrace the fast that has been called and let’s set this city on fire.

As this 2015 closes out what does 2016 hold? That is the question everyone ask and would love to know.

We really do not know what the next year will hold, what the next month, week, day, hour, minute or even what the next second will hold. If it is good, bad or ugly we have NO control over, but what we do have control of is how we will react, how we will stand, and how we will come out the other side when something unexpected happens in our life.

We are not even promised another breathe after the one you just took. There are no promises in this life except we are promised it will end one day as we know it. So in sickness, in health, in a loss of a loved one, loss of property, loss of job, or anything else this world wants to throw at you it seems to me the best thing for you and me is to prepare how we come out the other side. And how we come out the other side of pain, hurt, cancer, financial problems or anything else depends on how we view the other side.

Spend your time this year developing a view of the other side of life. For me I believe we should always prepare for our last breath on this earth, we should live for it, anticipate it and come to a place of joy in that anticipation. This is called “peace”.

When disaster or anything else hits your life with the proper perspective you can even smile in the midst of it, it’s not always easy and it should not be easy but it’s a promise. This life is a time to prepare for eternity… as for me “I LIVE TO DIE” – don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my life on this earth, my family, friends, work, church but my life is NOT about any of these things…my life is about showing all of those in my life that their is eternity to look forward to….. when its all said and done nothing here really matters, our anger and unforgiveness, our money, success or failures, our disagreements with friends and family….the things we stress about here in the flesh will all come to an END one day. We should live for this.

Just my thoughts for the new year.