Pastor's Blog
This page is nothing more than an area for me to express thoughts, views, and opinions about controversial and possibly uncomfortable parts of the Bible. Everything written about is open for discussion. Please use the "Contact Us" page to email me any thoughts or views. This is not a "Christian" only discussion. My prayer is to somehow affect peoples lives with this page. Thanks, let's have some FUN!!!
FREE AT LAST...... FREE AT LAST! July 2011
Wow! It has been a while!
In just a few short days we will be celebrating our Independence. A day in which we broke the law under which we were living and committed high treason. (I'm not upset we did this, I'm glad we did, but I want to keep this thought in mind as we go along.) There was something deep down inside of our fore-fathers that said what we were living under was wrong and there was something greater in store than anyone of them could imagine, but the cost was higher than anyone ever thought. War was fought and many lives were taken but they never backed down. They could have easily surrendered and went back to the way it was and in the end lost there life anyway, but they took a stand and we are now reaping the benefits of that.
The same is true when it comes to God. You see, before we come to know Christ we are living under a dictator, who wants nothing more than to rip us off of the joy we can have, to steel our hopes and dreams, and to keep us imprisoned for eternity. Satan is the dictator and today is the day we commit high treason! Today is the day we declare our Independence from the evil he had in store for us, but know this, we are waging war! The cost is high, lose your friends, loved ones, possibly your job, or "status" you have worked so hard to get. Just as our fore-fathers declared, it will be better in the end!
Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Christ was the life given for our freedom. He has fought the battle for us and came out victorious. We must stand firm though, not wavering in our faith or fighting on both sides of the field. Either we are all in or not at all. Lately I have been hooked on "Majority Rules!" If the majority of our life doesn't look like a follower of Christ, then guess what? Yep, we're probably riding the fence and if that's the case the Bible calls us VOMIT, and MANURE!
John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." You want the truth? Here it is. If you have not accepted Jesus into your heart you are a "child of wrath" in other words, on satan's team. Romans 3:23 "For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God." All means you, me, that person sitting in the front pew at church and the person beside you in the checkout line. Here is some awesome truth, 1 John 1:9 "If we CONFESS our sinS, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Talk about some sweet truth! The last S in sinS is large for a reason, we can't just admit to being a sinner, everyone is that, but we must confess the individual sins, it's plural not singular. Today is your day of Independence. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and make it a holiday, let off some fireworks (if it's legal in your area) it not light a sparkler and dance in the streets! God Bless! - Pastor Josh
Money, Money, Money, Money.....MONEY! Dec. 2010
What's mine is mine, and what's yours is MINE!!!
Sales are up, the government is overcome with joy, but yet we are still unhappy! Why? The pursuit of nothingness! We believe we obtain something, a t.v., a new vehicle, the latest phone, but come the middle of January we are left with that emptiness we thought we had gotten rid of. I'm going to let you in on a life changing discovery that can fill the void, that can bring you lifetime happiness! (but you're gonna have to wait till the end of this! haha)
My wife and I love to go out on Black Friday, not for the deals but just to laugh at the hustle and bustle of the world. We have never seen a fist fight but have heard stories of just missing one. This year my cousin and his soon-to-be-wife went out for their first Black Friday adventure, around 6am he sent me a text and asked how we were doing, everything was fine our way, plenty of laughing and actually found all three gifts for our boys. I ask him if they had gotten everything they were wanting, his reply "Yep, Megan got a bruise." Megan is his soon-to-be-wife. I almost fell over laughing! I got to thinking about that comment and thought how fitting it was. Most of us come into this season looking for joy and peace but leave bruised and injured. Most of this is brought about ourselves.
" Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Have you ever seen someone throw fists in the air? Eyes closed, head tilted back to the left, arms flopping out in front of them. Most likely they are gonna hurt themselves! This is what we look like during this holiday season. Throwing something out there looking to make contact, and we end up bruising ourselves. We are creatures created to give praise to God, when we start giving praise to ourselves or anything other than God we are negatively affecting ourselves. We buy and give gifts that really aren't needed, and make resolutions that we can't keep after a week. All of which is our pursuit of happiness. In my life I have found that happiness takes discipline. I can wake up grumpy and go through the day unfulfilled, or I can decide it's going to be a great day no matter what, giving praise to the One who created me.
Jesus became the baby in a manger for us to have the happiness we are trying to achieve. He came to fill our void. He came to give our lives purpose! He came to give us joy! Give yourself the perfect gift this year, Jesus. Make a meaningful resolution, to know Christ as your savior, your joy, your life. Discipline yourself to read His words daily, to speak openly to Him daily, and to worship Him daily. He will turn your emptiness to fulfillment, your sadness to joy, and your bruises to His atoning Blood! God Bless- Pastor Josh
When Christmas Makes Me Wanna Vomit! Oct. 2010
As we head full steam into Advent I can't help but feel a knot in my stomach knowing that myself and everyone else in my direct contact will MISS IT COMPLETELY! Going about our day to day barely throwing God a hint of acknowledgement, let alone worship for what has occurred on the behalf of the entire world.
You know that feeling in the back of your throat when you feel it coming? You start to swallow hard, palms sweating, maybe you pace back and forth, rub your stomach while wiping the beads from your forehead. Then comes that point of no return when you just want to get it over with. You think it will just last a second then it will all be said and done........ but it just keeps coming, and coming, and coming. The worst, at least for me, when it comes out your NOSE! BLAH!
So your asking.... Advent, Vomit, Christmas, and Nose Puke? How is this relative and at all Biblical? Glad you asked!
In the book of Numbers chapter 11, the Israelites are getting tired of Manna (bread made from seed that fell with the dew over night) and are whining about not having meat to eat. They want to return to Egypt just because of the food they had to eat, even though they would return to slavery, but that didn't matter. They whined and cried so much it ignited the Fire of the Lord. So, what did He do? Gave them the desire of their heart! He gave them MEAT! God told them "... Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat...." Numbers 11:18. When God wants to do something He does it large, "You shall not eat one day, or two, or five, or ten, or twenty days, but a whole month...." Numbers 11:19-20a. (Here is where it starts to come around full circle) "until you are satiated and VOMIT it up violently and it comes out of your NOSTRILS and is disgusting to you." Numbers 11:20b
Americans are crying out, "We need more stuff, more things to fill the void in our lives, more money to give us happiness, a big man in red to take our attention off who it should be on and raise our children in a fantasy world that will soon be destroyed when they get old enough to realize the world and their family have been lying to them for years destroying everything they thought was truth, we need everything while forgetting the rest of the world, I want it all to be about me!" Guess what God is doing..... giving us the desire of our heart! We spoil our children to the point of disgust, while never thinking that the $300 toy we bought them was built by a child the same age as ours working in a sweat shop in another country making $2 a day.... wow, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Time to take our thoughts and actions back to the simplicity of the manger. God is with us. God has made Himself available to us. The advent should be spent on our knees in humbleness to the King of the Universe. Bringing the best we have to be given freely to Him, to be given FOR HIM! Try something different this year, instead of giving a meaningless, thoughtless gift. Give YOURSELF.
Jesus did this exact thing, born into a sin filled world, died OUR DEATH, took OUR PENALTY, so that we could except the perfect gift.... Eternal Life Through Him. Accept HIS gift this year! God Bless! - Pastor Josh
