Who is really poor?

This week's promise: God helps those who help the poor
Who is really poor?

And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT


Plow Work

Dr. Roy L. Laurin tells of a Christian businessman who was traveling in Korea. In a field by the side of the road was a young man pulling a crude plow while an old man held the handles. The businessman was amused and took a snapshot of the scene. "That is curious! I suppose these people are very poor," he said to the missionary who was interpreter and guide to the party. "Yes," was the quiet reply, "these two men happen to be Christians. When their church was being built, they were so eager to give something toward it, but they had no money. So they decided to sell their one and only ox and give the proceeds to the church. This spring they are pulling the plow themselves." The businessman was silent for some moments. Then he said, "That must have been a real sacrifice." "They did not call it that," said the missionary. "They thought themselves fortunate that they had an ox to sell!"

When the businessman rea ched home, he took the picture to his pastor and told him about it. Then he added, "I want to double my giving to the church and do some plow work. Up until now I have never given God anything that involved real sacrifice."



From 1001 Great Stories and Quotes by R. Kent Hughes (Tyndale House) p 177

Crazy Times

I know it has been a while since I wrote but things have been very hectic in our lives of late. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still around and that hopefully I will be back in full force soon. My husband and I have been going to the gym and working out and trying to get our lives little bit healthier and of course there is the normal kids stuff. I am still working toward my book and will publish something to the site soon so that you can read. I hope everyone is doing well and I thank everyone who comes out here periodically to see if I have posted anything. Talk to you soon.

A Life in Balance

I believe that God wants us to live a life that is in balance. Everything that is written in scripture points to balance. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13 it talks about love throughout the whole chapter. In verse one it states, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” In verse two it goes on to say, “And if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” At the end of the chapter in verse 13 it says, “But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

God wants us to walk in faith, hope and love, and although faith and hope are great, they are nothing without love. I believe that love is the greatest part of the Christian life and that we are always to show love as God’s ministers. I do believe though that at times we have done things incorrectly because we believe that love means that we are to be sweet and totally submitted to helping people even when they are doing wrong. It is a like a child that will not mind their parents or a person that comes to the church or any minister for that matter for help. Everything should be taken into consideration before you elect to help or not to help. If a child is not minding their parents and they are becoming rebellious and are being disrespectful to other adults, then you as a parent need to love them enough to discipline the child accordingly because in doing so you will save the child from bad behavioral patterns latter on in life that may hinder them on the job or in everyday life. You want your child to be blessed but if you don’t lay down rules and guidelines, how can they be? For instance, you are a child of God and you are doing everything you know how to do right but there are areas that the Holy Spirit keeps convicting you on and you continue to do it your way because you want to? Well, the Holy Spirit knows that if you continue down that path and do not correct your ways that you will never be blessed and it may lead you down a path of destruction after a while the Holy Spirit will discipline you in order to get you back on the right path so that you can continue to hear from God. If we expect this type of guidance from our Heavenly Father, then why wouldn’t we expect to give the same type of guidance to our children?

The same thought goes with the people that come into our lives wanting help. There are several scriptures that point out that we are to guide them in the right way. In one scripture God tells his disciples, that if you give a man a fish that he will eat for a day but that if you teach a man to fish that he will eat for a life time. A lot of times we hinder people not because we help them once but because we continue to help them even after they have proven that they are not willing to work and help themselves. Sometimes they have a mentality that everyone should be in the business of helping them and that is a very unhealthy attitude to have. To love someone is to tell them when they are doing wrong, not to feel as if to say something would be un-Christ like. It is funny to me how many people in this world go by the dictates of others when it comes to their walk with the Lord and they do not follow the scriptures when it comes to dealing with situations in every day life. Simply put, people would rather run to man concerning their problems than to run to God and see what He has to say concerning a situation.

In the case of misbehaving child, God Himself says that He loves those that He chastises. He also says that to spare the rod is to spoil the child. In the realms of someone that is always wanting a hand out there are many scriptures that pertain to that as well. One in particular Jesus says, “If you don’t work you don’t eat.” I don’t recall him saying that He is flexible on this. It also says that Peter was being asked by a beggar for money when he was coming into town and Peter’s comment was, “Silver and Gold have I none but what I do have I freely give.” We don’t know all the circumstances surrounding this but I am sure that the man had been there for a while and I believe that the Holy Spirit told Peter that the man was not in need of a hand out but a way out and that the way out was through a life change with God.

There are many other scriptures in the bible that pertains to these items that I have brought up but I am not going to give the scriptures to you. I want you to study for yourselves what the scriptures have to say. It is not enough to listen to others and assume that they know what they are talking about from a biblical perspective; God says that we are to study to show ourselves approved and I believe that the only way we are ever going to walk in victory is to do just that. For too long we have lived either on the side of Love or the side of the Law. Neither are bad, both - in balance are the perfect equation to a perfect Christian life. You see if we demonstrate too much love then it is not love at all but merely the lack of ability to take a stand and stand on love which is sometimes disciplining. But on the same note, if we are demonstrating nothing but the law then we are putting people under condemnation for things that are taken out of context. It is time to live by the Word of God and to let the Holy Spirit be the convicting voice in our lives. We are to walk out our own salvation with fear and trembling by listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and read the Word of God knowing that when we have fellowship with God and are guided by His spirit that we are more effective witnesses for His kingdom and that we will do mighty things in His name. The choice is yours; will you live a life of balance or a life that will cripple you from being an effective Christian? Today is the day to make a change and the choice is yours.

Choose Life

Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

Also Read chapter 3 of James. The tongue is mentioned around 160 times in scripture and in most of the verses listed it talks about both good and bad coming forth from our mouths. I have listed two scriptures above and could list many more but I will let you look them up yourself. The two that I have mentioned I believe are very important because the more that I seek the will of God and His purpose in my life the more He shows me areas that I myself need to correct and we as Christians need to correct. I have heard a lot of Christians quote... "Life and Death are in the power of the tongue..." I have even done it myself, but one day while studying God took me to Proverbs 18:21 and had me to slow down and really read it. It says, "Death and life, not life and death are in the power of the tongue." I thought it was interesting that it was written that way instead of the way that we generally quote it and I believe that God showed me that it is written that way because we, His people, have a tendency of speaking cursings first and not blessings. We speak death before we speak life.

I know that this is hard to read, especially if you have a problem in this area, it was hard for me too. However, I believe that we have to get a grip on this if we ever plan to succeed in the things of God. God tells us in so many scriptures that we are healed, we are to forgive, to serve, to be kind, to be longsuffering, etc. etc... Even though we are told this, half the time we spend arguing why we are still sick, why we can't forgive and why we can't serve and the list just goes on. Here is an example, which if you have read my blogs for very long you know I love examples. Let’s say someone walks in the church, they haven’t been in church in a while and as a matter of fact they come in and out of the church a lot. They are walking one day with God and the next they are walking in the world. Do you know what a lot of people would say “Oh great here they come again and they are still drinking or still partying, they never stick around long enough to change, I don’t even know why they try.” Let me guess you would never say that, well maybe you would and maybe you wouldn’t but can you say you have never thought it? You have to take those thoughts captive so that they do not turn into words but that is another message for later.

You see if we speak these words about someone then we are speaking death into their lives. God never intended for it to be that way. When God created the Heavens and the Earth it was by speaking it into existence. We are made in God’s image and we have the power to speak death or life into a situation. We have the power to pray and ask God to deliver a person from their bondages and one day see them in church. You never know whose life you will affect by your words. Pastor once said that words, once they are out there can not be taken back. They become part of the sound waves and due to that scientists have proven that those sounds waves from times past are still in the air today. Transmissions that where played back in the 60’s could still be heard today if we had the scientific gadgets to hear them. We can affect change but we need to control the change we affect. We need to speak life into people’s lives. Instead of assuming that a person is going to be that way forever because that is the way that they have always been, why not speak that we see God working in that person’s life and that they are becoming the man or woman of God that God has designed them to be. You never know if your positive words in the air could bring forth the next Billy Graham, Joyce Meyer, Rod Parsley or Smith Wigglesworth. I will take it one step further, you never know what positive words were spoken about you that brought you to where you are today with God. My challenge for you today is this, speak life into people. Guard every word that proceeds out of your mouth and make it word of edification. Bring Glory to God through the words that you speak and ask the Holy Spirit to help guard your heart and your mouth so that what you say will change the world. I leave you with this:
Jesus said in James 3:8-11, “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Let’s us strive together to speak the words that God would have us speak, knowing that through the power of the Holy Spirit we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us.

Is your line busy, or are you disconnected?

Have you ever tried to call someone on the phone and just get a busy signal or find that the line had been disconnected? What if you really needed to get in contact with the person and you could not find a way to get through. Sometimes I think God feels the same way about us. He would really like to talk to us but a lot of times He can't get through because we are so busy with every day life or we just don't recognize His voice. In 1 Samuel 3:1-10 it tells the story of when God called Samuel. Samuel, like many of us, did not recognize God's voice when He called him.

1 Samuel 3:1-10

1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am."
5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.
6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.
9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."


My husband and I were talking about scriptures the other night and one thing popped into my mind, when we want a strong relationship with someone, what should we do? We find out more about them, their likes and dislikes, we spend time with the other person and we get to know them. I believe that we as Christians need to find more time to spend with God. We are all so busy and we get so involved with things that when God calls us, we can't even hear Him. One other thing that I have observed is that when we want to spend time with someone, we will usually lay everything aside and make the time. I would like for each of you to stop and think about something for me. How many times in a day do you start to pray or meditate on something and right when you sit down to do it the phone rings? It is not by coincidence that this message is titled like it is. Or, you sit down to read and someone walks in and starts talking to you, you get a knock on the door and your children start calling. We have to make God a priority in our lives and spend time with Him if we are ever planning to know Him well enough to hear His voice when He calls.

This is an area that we all need to work on. It doesn't matter how long you have been a Christian or a minister for that matter. It doesn't matter how much you have learned over the years. Any good relationship takes time and effort and sometimes crying in order for it to be a good strong relationship that you can count on. When we are in a marriage and we see that other things are taking up all of our time together we go out on a date. I know that I have probably mentioned this before but this is a very important point. The other day my husband got up from eating to go into the kitchen and without even turning around to see what he was doing I said, "Can you bring me some peppers too?" First he laughed and then his comment was, "How did you know I was getting peppers?" I said, "Simple, I know you." Do we know God that well? Do we know what He is thinking and what He is doing? We need to spend as much time with God as possible, whether it is through prayer and fasting or reading. I try to talk to God constantly throughout the day. It is not something that is really hard for me since I have been doing it for years, but to someone that didn't know me and definitely someone that was not a Christian they would think that I had lost my mind. If I am driving down the road I talk to Him and when I am in the shower I talk to Him. I know that He knows everything that is going on in my life but I talk to Him about it anyway and cast my care upon Him. I do have to say one thing though...even though I might have conquered this one area of talking to Him all the time, the one thing that I still struggle with is the listening. See when we are talking all of the time it makes for a one sided conversation and we are not learning about the other person that way.

It's time to hang the phone up (metaphorically speaking) and sit still and wait for God to call us. Let's be quite for a while and listen because it is hardly ever a loud sound like when your phone is ringing. It is usually soft like the wind blowing and unless you are alert and listening for it, you might just miss it. Let's be like Samuel in the end...

Go back to your room and lie down and listen...if He calls to you say, "Here I am Lord, speak, for your servant is listening.

Have You Lost Your Mind?

Have you lost your mind? Are you still trying to figure things out? Are you letting God be your guide or are you still in control?

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."

"But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" Judges 6:12-14 (NIV)

How many times a day do we question God? There are things that God is telling us to do or places that God is wanting to take us but we are always asking how or why. Then there are times when we step out and do what we believe God is telling us to do and right in our path there is an obstacle. In verse 13 Gideon is questioning the angel of the Lord (God): “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” The funny thing is that God did not answer his question because Gideon just needed to trust Him. God is always with us even when we don’t feel Him or see Him. God simply tells Gideon to go, in verse 14 he says “…Am I not sending you?” It is a simple question. Paraphrased it would say something like this: “Why are questioning whether or not I am with you, my word says I will never leave you nor forsake you, if I am sending you then will I not be with you?”

In Mark 16:15, Jesus says “…, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” The command itself implies that God will be with us. We are put here in order to do His will but in order to do His will we have to get out of the way. Our mind is the key to all of our answers or to all of our problems. We can either bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ or we can meditate on things long enough that we talk ourselves out of what God wants us to do. Read 2 Corinthians Chapter 10

Gideon had to walk through a long process after questioning God on what He wanted Him to do. Read chapter 6 of Judges and see how many times Gideon questioned God. Then read chapter 7 of Judges. In chapter 7, Gideon went to battle for the Lord and defeated the Midianites but because he questioned God so much before the battle, Gideon’s faith had to be stretched and he was only able to bring 300 men into battle with him. He had to realize that without God he could do nothing and that it would be God that would deliver the Midianites into their hands and not their own abilities. When God called Gideon a mighty warrior, or as in other versions a mighty man of valor, it was because God saw in Gideon what Gideon himself could not see. God sees in each of us a mighty warrior whether we are men or women and because of that we have to believe and trust what God sees and not what we see. We have to stop questioning how and why but realize it is not us anyway. It is God and God alone that will win the battle and it is God who will take us to where we need to be. He knows who needs to be ministered to and at what time and all we have to do is let Him guide us. If we do that, then many hearts will be won and many will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The time is now and the season is here, will you allow God to use you? Will you be God’s mighty man/woman of valor?

The Easy Way or The Hard Way

So many people make the message of salvation hard in their minds. It is so much easier than we think.

I was recently trying to figure out how to remove hairspray from my marble counter tops; if you’re a women you’ll understand. You can't just clean marble with anything because it can be too abrasive and ruin the marble. I have tried everything and for one thing, it always takes way too long. Secondly, my arm is always aching afterwards because of all the scrubbing. Finally, after all of this cleaning and scrubbing it would come off but it looked like it was scratching my counter tops. So one day I was thinking, how in the world can I get this stuff off more easily and this thought popped into my mind, I don't know if it was me or God having mercy on me in the moment of my frustration. Either way, the thought was, "What do you put on your hair to remove the hairspray?" "Well, I wash it with Shampoo." Guess what, I tried it this morning and you know what? It washed right off pretty as you please. Now I know you are thinking what does this have to do with salvation, well let me tell you. Everyday we are faced with the reality that we are in this world but not of it. We, like the scripture says, are pilgrims in a strange land. We are Christians and to most of the population, we are weird. They see us trying to live our lives according to scripture but are we truly. We try so hard to act like we are Christians that we never really ask the question, are we living it. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The Pharisees and Sadducees were labeled as hypocrites, do you know why? It was because they were so busy preaching the law and laying the hammer down that they never bothered to live the life. If they had lived the life of a Christian then they would have realize the Grace of God and would have recognized Jesus for who He was, The Son of God! Living the life of a Christian has two sides to it. The hard part, this is the part where we do what is right even if it brings reproach from those we love. The part that makes us stand out in a crowd when we won’t fight, cuss, tell dirty jokes or laugh at them and go out and get drunk because it is what everyone else is doing. It is the part that makes even our best friend alienate us because they don’t understand why we won’t do like everyone else. However, the other side is also the easy part, the part that allows us to run to God with all of our troubles. To talk to a God that knows what we are going through because He has been here and done that. It is knowing that we are a child of God and that since God is our Father, like a Father there is only so much He is going to put up with before He runs to our defense. It is knowing that we are loved so much that God would send His only son to die so that we might live.

God just wants us to live the life of a Christian. Living that life is what will draw others to God. No where in scripture does it tell us to go and scream scriptures at everyone that is doing wrong. The scripture tells us to love and when we do wrong it tells us to repent, then go and sin no more. Are there people in your life that you want to see living for the Lord? If we want to see other’s living for the Lord then the first thing we need to do is live for him ourselves. Once we do this everything else will fall into place. God is just waiting for us to figure this out and once we do…you will be amazed at all of the people that He will start displaying you to.