"...Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that [you] may be whole...." I know this might sound a bit unusual, but friends, don't waste your pain. If you’re honest with God and yourself and with other people, God can use the thing, the event, or the circumstance you hate the most, that experience you’re most disappointed with and wished had never happened, He can use it for your growth and His glory. Conversely, if you hide it and hold it back, it doesn’t do anyone any good. It’s as if God says, “You can’t change what happened to you. But I can use it for your benefit and for my purposes” Who's better for God to use than someone who has already been through what another person is going through right now? Who can better help the parent of a special needs child than a parent who raised a special needs child? Who can better help somebody going through a bankruptcy than somebody who has gone through it before? Who can better help somebody experie
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9.21.14 I Need Better Reception. I have the latest state of the art smart phone. It does lots of things well. Providing quality cellular phone service, not so much. I need something better than 4G LTE services to get an improved signal. While in ministry I’ve noticed that I can be a lot like my cell phone. I can multitask, be comfortable, and on occasion, be brilliant and powerful. But too often my reception is spotty – I need to be better at hearing God’s voice. I truly need better reception. I’m going to install some new apps in my spiritual life to improve clarity, starting with these four: 1) Have a seeking and quiet heart. 2) Be a better listener. Hearing God's voice requires one major thing – listening. I’m going to stop talking and listen more. 3) Practice patience, and 4) Obey God. Hearing from God doesn't mean much if I don't obey. Consider this: “…The Lord came and stood there and called… Samuel said, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening.” Just a
9.14.14 “… God has made us what we are…[He] made us to do good works…planned in advance for us to live our lives doing…” “While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. I asked him why? He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I commented that there were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. How could he ever make a difference? He smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Tossing it back into the sea he said, "It makes a difference for this one." ― Loren Eiseley The story by Eiseley begs the question: what am I doing to make a difference? Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful…to be compassionate, to… make some difference…” Are you making a difference? Just asking…Pastor Keith #ministr
8.31.14 It’s All About Me – NOT! In a book called: "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies" (that was published as Copernicus lay on his deathbed), Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the Solar System. What Copernicus did for the earth, God does for our souls. When God’s Spirit truly dwells in us it’s as if He taps us on the shoulder and says: “..You are not the center of the universe, I Am !..” Think about it and repeat after me: It’s not about me. It’s all about Him. This type of thinking often comes to us slowly, stubbornly, reluctantly, but it’s true. Life makes more sense when we know our role, when we accept our celestial and spiritual place. A God-centered life works; it rescues us from a life that often doesn’t. Discover your place in God’s universe...Pastor Keith 8.24.14 Hold on, not yet! Whoa, slow down, hold your horses. But God I want and need it now! Ever said that? If you are discouraged because of God’s de