Tag Archives: Spirit

appreciation, Blogroll, Evangelism, faith, Family, Fellowship, Friendship, God, grace, Gratitude

Sunday Evening Rewind!

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. -1 Peter 3:15

Today has been another wonderful Sunday in my life and in the life of the congregation that I am blessed with being a shepherd to. I really do love Sundays. I love getting up, getting ready, putting on my “Sunday Best”, going to church, singing the songs, praying the prayers, getting into the Scriptures and enjoying the smiles, hugs, loves and fellowship.

We began our service this morning with Baptism, which is always a very special time of remembering just what it means to be in relationship with God through Jesus. Our sins are forgiven, washed away and we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. What made it even more special this morning was that it was a Mom and her Son.

We then had a great time of worship and let me just say that I really enjoyed myself preaching this morning. I was so excited and fired up in a good way. I was a little discouraged at the end of the service to realize that we are still having sound issues with our videos, but I’m learning I’ve got to do what I can and then let that go.

One of the things that I have been missing on Sundays is getting to eat lunch and have some fellowship with our extended family. We have all gotten too busy, sick or just distracted from making that a priority. I like when our whole family is able to worship together, enjoy a meal together and just let Sunday be Sunday. The older I get, the more I appreciate the small things and realize they were big things.

This evening I had a great time at our Saluda Baptist Association Annual Meeting and got to spend some time before our worship time visiting with some of the ministry leaders from all across the upstate. It was great visiting with some ole friends and getting to make some new ones. The worship was inspirational and the message was challenging.

This morning we talked about BEING AN ON PURPOSE CHRISTIAN/CHURCH and how ENCOURAGING EVANGELISM is the first step in the right direction. To practice encouraging evangelism, we need to always be ready to give an answer to every person that might ask us about the hope that is in us. This week, I will try to bring us some challenge via video, blog and social media to help us to grow in this area of our life and living.

Thanks so much for being my family and my friends. I love you guys and pray that something I say or do is a blessing and encouragement to you! 👣

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Blogroll, faith, forgiveness, God, Growing, Healing, life, love, mindfulness, Uncategorized

Ego Vesus Heart!

Sometimes it seems as if I am in a constant battle with my ego and I know this takes me away from the things I really want, the things that my spirit knows is best for me. My ego is the idea that I am what I do, what I have or what I think other people think of me, and the truth is: I am so much more and so are you!

This battle with my ego often causes my heart to become hard and encourages me to be moody, arrogant and selfish, which is the exact opposite of what I really am and what I truly want to be. I was created with a soft and tender heart that says: “I am peace, humble and giving all wrapped up in supernatural love.”

When I am my real self, my spirit self, the self that God created me to be, then God is able to move through me and it is such a wonderful and amazing experience that words cannot even come close to explaining. This is an experience where self gets out of the way and allows Spirit to shine all the beautiful gifts to and through my spirit’s presence in this human experience.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” -Ephesians 4:31-32

So take a few moments today to realize this life is sometimes a very real battle, but it is a battle worth engaging in and ultimately winning. And to win the battle with the ego, we must focus on doing two things:

1. We must get rid of all, not some of the by-products of ego. We have to take on, take out and get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and every form of malice.

2. We must replace the empty space with kindness, compassion and forgiveness. In others words: We give to others what God has given to us. We cannot give something to someone else, if we do not have it for ourself, so first we must receive the kindness, compassion and forgiveness and then we are empowered to share it with others.

Getting rid of the bad and replacing it with the good empowers us from the inside out and gives us a victory that cannot be obtained in any other way. It is a battle, but it’s a battle worth fighting to get our heart soft, tender and ready for the supernatural seed of the Almighty…

Blogroll, Creativity, Growing, mindfulness, Personal, Uncategorized

What You Were Created For!

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In some ways I am very focused and in other ways it is just so easy for me to lose my way. I used to get really frustrated with myself, but then I realized this is part of the experience of living and growing in this human experience.

The purpose of life is to be happy, to enjoy your journey, to grow into who you were created to be and have fun doing it. Our problem is that we live our lives always trying to get to some place better, rather than taking the time to enjoy where we are.

The world we live in has convinced us through our ego that we are what we have, what we do or what people think of us. The truth is, we are so much more that that and life is more about the journey and less about the destination.

To really live and enjoy life right where we are we need to take care of, focus on and grow in three areas of our life: Physical, Metal and Spiritual. “You have to fix your Spirit if you want to change your mind. And you have to change your mind if you want to heal your body. And you have to heal your body if you want to really live.” Someone said: “This life is God’s gift to you and what you do with it is your gift to God!”

This life, this human experience is an amazing gift and we need to focus on developing and growing in the three areas of body, mind and Spirit. What do you need to fix in the spiritual area of your life? What are some steps you can take today to head in the blessed direction? Don’t just think about it, take the steps follow through and you will discover that spiritual strength give you the ability to take the next step.

If we are honest with ourselves, one of our biggest problems is our thinking, which if we are not very careful, can turn into “stinking thinking“. One of my favorite teachers Wayne Dyer used to say: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” We have allowed our minds to be shaped by the world, rather than encouraging our minds to shape our world. You have the power to change your mind, but you’ve got to use it. Take some steps today to change your thinking into positive over negative and you will be amazed at how it brings healing into your body.

Have you noticed how tired everyone seems to be? Regardless of age, almost everyone seems to be dragging around from one tired activity to another, just looking forward to an opportunity to rest. Our human body is an amazing and complex machine, but it has to be taken care of, and it has to be provided time, space and solitude for healing. What are some ways you can allow your body to rest and heal during the day? Maybe 5 minutes of solitude sitting outside in silence, so you can hear and reconnect with the soul of nature. Perhaps a walk in the park, allowing your muscles a stretch, your blood to flow and your lungs to expand? The important thing is you do something to allow your body opportunity to heal, which it what it was designed to do.

Fix your spirit, change your mind, heal your body and you will really live, because this is what you were created for…