Burdens

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."  – Galatians 6:2

God places people in our lives for two reasons: that they may learn the depths of His love through us, or, that we may learn the depths of His love through them. He is aware of what they lack, or what we may need. God does nothing by accident. When He places you, immediately go to Him in prayer, “You put me here for a reason. You knew this was going to happen. What do want to do through me that would help this person become closer to You?” 

Recognizing a need in someone’s life can be one of the greatest invitations from God you will ever experience. Allow God to help you see beyond the obvious, to the things He wants to accomplish, and the lessons that He wants you to learn. 

Is God blessing you financially? It may be He is developing a “depot” through which He can provide for others. Has God granted you a strong, family life? He may need your home to minister to a hurting family. Has God’s peace comforted you in a time of sorrow? It may be that He has opened you to experiences, so that you can now go and carry the burdens of others.

Have you ever asked yourself, "why have I been so blessed?" Watch this short video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko_VSKn1DAE

Yours in Christ,

Dean

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Doing or Being

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  – Galatians 5:22-23

All too often, we are measured by what we do for a living, rather than measured for being who we are. How often do we (especially men) embrace the qualities of the Fruit of the Spirit?  Not often. Because these qualities don't fit in with the world of competitive sports, business or other measures of success. We think / we are taught that our value is determined solely by our achievements and measured against the standards of the world.  

What are you teaching your children and grandchildren?  Are you reinforcing the world's view of success, or the Biblical view?

Following and Seeking,

Dean


You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Blessed Nation

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance." – Psalm 33:12

Name a single nation who's God is Lord?  Christianity in Europe is all but dead. Asia, South America, Africa, Southeast Asia? The Jews are unbelieving in Christ.  So who is the "nation" that David wrote about? I'd like to claim America, but the majority of our country does not attend church. We are far from "one nation under God."

No matter how powerful a nation, no matter how much prepared for war - it does not impress God. World affairs are not decided in Tehran, Moscow or in Washington. Men may think they can ignore God, but God has overthrown nations just as powerful as America. So who is the nation?

1 Peter 2:9 says: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

All true Christians are chosen; they make one family, a people distinct from the world: of another spirit and principle; which they could never be, if they were not chosen in Christ to be such, and sanctified by his Spirit. We are called out of darkness into the light.

The nation is the Church, the body of Christ.

Following and Seeking,
Dean

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Grace

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:7-8

Have you received God’s grace but missed His lesson?. Do you free people from the wrongs they have done, or do you hold them hostage? Do you encourage or discourage? Do you point out faults or strengths?

Tom Landry the former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was a man who lived under God’s grace, and was a respected man of quiet dignity. Woody Hayes, former coach for Ohio State, on the other hand, was very difficult to please, had little tolerance for failure, and was known to cross the line when disciplining his players. Fired after punching a player from the opposing team during the 1978 Gator Bowl, reporters mercilessly piled on and hounded the humiliated coach into hiding.

Coach Landry was to attend a prestigious banquet in New York, and instead of taking his wife, he took Woody Hayes. Landry’s act of grace lifted Hayes out of his shame and silenced his tormenters. When asked why Hayes, Landry said, “I figured that since everybody else was beating up on him, he needed somebody to put an arm around him and tell him he still loved him.” 

Seeking and Following,
Dean

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Pride

A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor. 
– Proverbs 29:23

The life of Jesus Christ was all about humility.  Where he was born. How he lived. His ministry. His death and his resurrection.  Jesus, the Son of God, was never prideful, and never boasted.

Pride motivates us to do things that are not Christlike. Pride was at the root of the Pharisees’ anger toward Jesus. Pride was the reason the disciples argued over their rank in the heaven. Pride lead Tiger Woods to believe he was entitled.  And pride drove Ben Roethlisberger the edge of ruin. Pride is our relentless enemy. 

Humility, is pleasing to God. And to the humble, He will honor. If pride has found its way into your life, pray to Him and ask for strength to overcome, before it robs you of God’s will for you.

Seeking and Following,

Dean

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Humility

"And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." – Matthew 23:12

To be boastful and prideful is to be sinful. While it is our nature to be proud, it is the Spirit of God in us that brings humility. Perhaps the best way to understand humility is to imagine Jesus washing our feet. What must it be like to be looking into the eyes of the King at that moment, and still feel entitled to anything. 

12 Ways to Humble Yourself

1.   Routinely confess your sin to God. (Luke 18:9-14)

2.   Acknowledge your sin to others. (James 3:2, James 5:16)

3.   Take wrong patiently. (1 Peter 3:8-17)

4.   Actively submit to authority…the good and the bad! (1 Peter 2:18)

5.   Receive correction and feedback from others graciously. (Proverbs 10:17, 12:1)

6.   Accept a lowly place. (Proverbs 25:6,7)

7.   Purposely associate with people of lower state than you. (Luke 7:36-39)

8.   Choose to serve others. (Philippians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Matthew 23:11)

9.   Be quick to forgive. (Matthew 18: 21-35)

10. Cultivate a grateful heart. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

11. Purpose to speak well of others. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

12. Treat pride as a condition that always necessitates embracing the cross. (Luke 9:23)

Seeking and Following,

Dean

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Laminin

"He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." – Colossians 1:17

"...and in Him all things hold together." Give me just 9 minutes this morning, and I promise to jump start your day... and perhaps change your life.  Louie Giglio is one of my favorite preacher/teachers.  Sit back and let him teach you about Laminin.  If your reaction is like mine, the hair on the back of your neck will stand up. 


How Great is Our God  –  http://vimeo.com/9091627

Seeking and Following,

Dean


You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Guidance

"Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path."  – Psalm 119:105

The lamp is the Spirit that provides the light that we need to find our way. In using the word "light," David is describing God's Word as a "guide" to living. Guidance. According to Merriam Webster, the word means, "the act or process of guiding." Dennis recently sent a message to me entitled, "Dancing With God," that defines "guidance" with a little different twist: 

"When I meditate on the word "guidance," I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word "guidance." When I saw "G," I thought of God, followed by "U" and "I."  God, You and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.  My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies are upon you on this day and everyday. May you abide in God, as God abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting Him to lead and guide you through each season of life."

Seeking and Following,

Dean

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Hope

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died  so you will not grieve like people who have no hope – 1 Thessalonians 4:13 NLT

Those who do not know Christ, experience the realization of death without hope. For them death is the end of the road. But for us, death is the beginning of our road to eternity.  While we experience the sorrow of losing someone we love, we also have a peace that comes through the promise of the Resurrection. Jesus conquered death.  And we know death cannot separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38-39).

There are several on the BND list that have said goodbye to a loved one this year.  My prayer for all of you is, that your grief has given way to the hope and joy of the risen Christ. Our goodbyes are only for a little while.

Today Marcy's family is remembering her life.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Seeking and Following,
Dean

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.

Mansions

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  – John 14:1-6 NKJV


What I love most about the New King James Version is the poetic beauty of the translation. I find these verses among the most beautiful and comforting. Here, Jesus assures, that through Him as the Finisher, we are delivered to the our Father, the Beginner.  Jesus is the way to the Father.  He is the living truth of God's promise.  And through Him, we are given everlasting life.  Wow!

Seeking and Following,
Dean

You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you, wherever you are, God has put you there; He has a purpose in your being there. Christ who dwells within you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.