When My Heart Is Overwhelmed

This is a sermon, by a pastor discussing how he is dealing with the fact that his daughter now has cancer. I greatly encourage everyone to watch it. The things he says are things we all need to hear.



When My Heart Is Overwhelmed from Reality on Vimeo.

Almighty

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.'" Rev. 1:17-18

This week remember our God's amazing power. He holds all things and is above all. In Him we have nothing to fear.
Keep Christ above everything in your life. For He is supreme and worthy of all praise. And remember "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Rom. 8:31

Repent and God's grace be with you.

The Word of God breathes Hope.

Here is something that helped me recently, I hope it is a blessing to you. I encourage you all to stay in the Word of God

Eph 2:1-10 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)

Peace and Grace to you. Be blessed.

Deny yourself and take up your cross

^{Mark 8:34-38}
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

Do we really understand what it means to follow Jesus and deny ourselves? To be Dead to ourselves? I don't understand how anyone could read this and think they didn't have to give EVERYTHING up to follow Christ. I think we should all pray and ask what is holding us back, and ask for help to give it up.

But more so, I'm coming to see, if it isn't helping you grow, it's not worth holding on to. It's hard enough to follow Christ as is, why waste your time with things that aren't helping you grow? Maybe when Paul said all things are permissible but not beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23), He was calling us to rid ourselves of all things that aren't beneficial. not just what hinders us, but what doesn't help. Why waste time with it?

I urge you to pray about all this. I will be. and feel free to let me know what you think about it all.

Romans 12:1
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

Matthew 13:44-46
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."

The Cross

"The cross is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men. The cross of Roman times knew no compromise, it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good. It spared not Christ, but slew Him the same as the rest. He was alive when they hung Him on that cross. and completely dead when they took Him off of it. That was the cross the first time it appeared in Christian history.

"With perfect knowledge of all this, Christ said, 'If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself take up his cross and follow Me.' So the cross not only brought Christ's life to an end, it also ends the first life, the old life of every one of His true followers...this and nothing less is true Christianity. We must do something about the cross, and there's only one of two things we can do - flee it or die upon it!"

-A.W. Tozer

Forgiving the Unforgivable

(Corrie ten Boom tells her story of forgiveness when approached by one of her concentration camp guards.)

"It was in a church in Munich where I was speaking in 1947 that I saw him--a balding heavyset man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat, the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones.

Memories of the concentration camp came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister's frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment of skin.

Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland. This man had been a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent.

Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: "A fine message, fraulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!"

It was the first time since my release that I had been face to face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.

"You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk," he was saying. "I was a guard there. But since that time," he went on, "I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein--" again the hand came out--"will you forgive me?"

And I stood there--and could not. Betsie had died in that place--could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?

It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.

For I had to do it--I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses."

Still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling."

And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

"I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!"

For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.

With Corrie's willingness came God's power to forgive her former captor.

When you and I are willing to see our need for God's forgiveness, He is willing and able to forgive our sins. The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 3:23; 6:23). But it goes on to explain that "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)."

We could all learn from this.

What fruits are you producing?

Sitting on the porch the other night, I talked with my dad about many things, as we sometimes do. We were talking about how you can never know a man's heart, only G-d can. Then, I brought up that we could know a man by the fruits he produced, as the Bible says.

To this my dad replied with something that dumbfounded me... "What fruits have you produced?"

I didn't know what to say... I was racking my brain for something... anything... I eventually named off a few things I could think of and we continued our conversation. However, this stuck with me. I think it is a question that we should daily be asking ourselves. "What fruit am I producing?" and maybe even with every action, "what fruit will this produce?"

The Bible says "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew5:14-16) and 2 Corinthians 5:20 calls us "Christ's representatives." If we are looked at as representatives of Christ, we need to be aware of what fruit we are producing and showing to the world.

I found myself at a lack of words with this question and realized, a plant producing no fruit is just as bad as one producing bad fruit, both are worthless and will be pulled up. I could eventually think of some fruit I had produced, but I realized this is not something I have ever had to think of before.

Remember to ask yourself "What fruit am I producing?"

John 15:2
"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes"

Matthew 7:15-20
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

It's not how much you make. It's how much of it you give away.

There is a lot of talk of how much money Christian's make and even some presumptions on whether a person is a so-called "true Christian" by how many zeros are on his paycheck. But I submit that it not how much one makes but how much of it one gives away that shows where their heart is. Money is not the root of all evil, but it can be held and used very selfishly.

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” G-d says in Job 41:11 , “Everything under heaven belongs to me.” Haggai 2:8 says, “'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.” Psalm 50:10-12, “All the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. Every bird of the mountains and all the animals of the field belong to me. If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.”

It's pretty clear G-d is saying, He owns everything. It is all His. It's not a new thing for people to forget this, in the first chapter of Isaiah G-d says, “The ox and the donkey know their owner, but my people do not know who owns them.” Obviously as Christians we believe that G-d created us, and if that's not proof enough of His ownership then, think of Jesus and the price He paid for us, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says “You are not your own. You were bought at a price”

So G-d owns everything, including us, but we're only expected to give a tenth and then we're good right? Wrong. G-d owes us nothing. As a matter of fact we owe G-d a debt we can never repay. The Bible says we are to pay a tithe (10% of our income) This is to be a representation of our submission that all we have is G-d's. When we make money, it is a blessing, a gift from G-d. He blessed us with the job and the ability to do it, then He blessed our employer with the money to pay us. We are to be stewards of G-d's money that He bestows upon us and be in constant prayer over what He wants us to do with it.

G-d could bless a person with a million dollars and that person could give it all away, wisely praying about where to give it. He could then give another person twenty dollars and that person could go buy beer, cigarettes and gamble the rest away, without a thought or prayer of what G-d wants. Who do you think is in the right? The Christian who brought home a million or the one who brought home twenty dollars? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” I believe this means, we should always be prayful about what we do with all our resources, dying to ourselves and our desires. For everything we do, we should do for G-d by His good and perfect will.

I leave you with a passage in Mark, where the opposite side of the story is seen, but the same lesson is taught. It's not how much you make. It's how much of it you give away.

Mark 12:41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Thoughts on Dating

So these thoughts are from my experience and beliefs, I encourage you to pray and seek what G-d's truth is in the matter, as I continue to do so.

People (myself included) seem to date for two main reasons:

1. They are lonely, and want someone to fill this lonely void they have.
2. They have lustful desires and want to vent said desires.

Let's look closely at these.

1. This lonely void needs to be filled with G-d, not other people. We need a relationship with G-d, our souls cry out for it. To fill this void with a boyfriend or girlfriend is a temporary and unsatisfactory solution to a eternal and very critical problem. Relationships (marriage or friendships) will never work without G-d, we need to be strong in our walk with G-d before we take on the responsibility of taking care of another (like marriage demands). People can not fully help us, they are, like you and me, imperfect and will let us down. Seek relationship with G-d.

2. cuddling, nuzziling, holding hands, kissing, making out. All such things come with the territory of dating. Most people find no problem with any, or most of these. But it's pretty plain to see that they are a vent for lustful desire. Lust is a sinful problem that needs to be overcome, with help from G-d, not vented with others, this will just feed the desire. Jesus said to look at a woman lustfully is to commit adultery. How much more cuddling and making out? You do not know that you will marry this person that you currently like. How many failed relationships have you been in? I urge you to abstain from venting you lustfull desires with what will most likely be someone elses wife/husband. Think about the fact that your future wife may be making out with her boyfriend,and thinkof how that makes you feel.

Paul said all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial (1 corinth10) why do something if it doesn't benefit your walk with G-d? Can you honestly say, that your walk has ever benefited from a dating relationship? I can't.

I've also heard it argued "how can you get to know a person to know if you should marry them, without dating?" I think you can know just as much about close friends as someone your dating. I know more about my best friends than anyone I've dated. And you've got to ask, do you really trust G-d? If you do, you don't need to worry, He will bring your mate to you.

These are just a few of the reasons I've come to beleive that dating is wrong for followers of G-d. Focus on G-d, not on this earth and the desires of your flesh.

1 John 2
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Let me know what you think, and feel free ot ask me anything you want.

The Gospel... told in Genesis 5

My friend Sara showed me something that I want to share with everyone who reads this...

Check out Genesis 5 and the names recorded within it.

Here's a translation of those names:

Adam = man

Seth = appointed

Enosh = subject to death

Kenan = sorrowful

Mahalalel = from the presence of God

Jared = one comes down

Enoch = Dedicated

Methuselah = dieing he shall send

Lamech = (to the) Poor and Lowly

Noah = rest and comfort

The whole Gospel story told in name translations in Genesis 5. Pretty neat.
I did a little research to make sure this was accurate and from what I found it seems to be.
But if anyone wants to dig deeper and find out for sure, I urge you to, and I would ask that you would let me know what you find.

Encouragement

We fight an on going battle in two worlds.
The sinful world and the resurrected life in the Messiah.

Somewhere along the way we gave up. We decided grace from sin was all that we needed.
Forget not, that we are to continue running the race and fighting.
We are commanded to be Holy as He is Holy.
Be separated. The bar is set high and we should not stop and find comfort, but ever run towards G-d's will in faith, a faith that comes through fear and trembling.

Take every thought and action into careful consideration. Your words can destroy lives or bless them, your thoughts can imprison you if you are not careful and your actions may produce devastating reactions.

Don't take any word lightly, but through all things try harder in faith and in prayer, be cautious and prayerful. Don't give up, and don't settle in.
The race is not finished until you can no longer run.

Messiah lives in you, and will help you to run, when your legs become weary.