"Your doing the right thing."

You ever wonder if what you are doing is the right thing? We are in the Christmas season and we often wonder if we got the right gift or if they will even like the gift we bought.  We wait in antcipation as our loved ones open the gifts wrapped in pretty paper and ribbons.  We wait to see the look on their faces as the gift we bought specifically for them is finally shown.  Then we all sit around and talk about how thankful we are that we have so much and how God has blessed us and our family's.  We even pray that God will continue to bless our families....

You ever wonder if you are doing the right thing?  We are in the Christmas season and we often give of our blessings to others.  You get your angel tree kid or you find a group at church that is sponsoring a child or family.  When you are doing your Christmas shopping you grab an extra toy or give money so someone else can go buy it for you.  Then you question if the children will really get the gift or clothes.  We have even went as far as to take the tags out, so those mean and terrible parents can't take them back and get the money or exchange them....

You ever wonder if you are doing the right thing?  We are in the Christmas season and we often spend more time shopping and getting ready for the thrill of opening presents on Christmas morning than we do focusing on what this season really is.  We give Jesus a prayer and some time on the Sunday we celebrate Christmas at church.  We typically show up in our new clothes and new shoes to let everyone know what we got for Christmas.  I am talking to myself too, folks....

You ever wonder if you are doing the right thing?  We are in the Christmas season and we often forget we can give a gift of life rather than a gift of food, clothes, money, or toys.  What if your family opened up presents from you that had a piece of paper in it that read, "DO YOU KNOW JESUS?  I LOVE YOU AND WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO HIM."  Or would that be too uncomfortable?  Would that be too weird?  Would that be asking too much of us as Christians?

The reason I ask this is because I spent 7 days in Honduras wondering if I did the riight thing.  I wondered from the day I left if I was supposed to be there.  I wondered what I was suppose to see.  I wondered what God had for me in that country.  I am not going to lie, I spent most of the week in Honduras upset because humans didn't care and don't care about what is going on in that country.  I spent most of the week mad because we(CHRISTIANS) say that we love God but don't show His love to the least of these.  I spent most of the week humbled and crying because I felt guilty for everything I had. I can tell you I learned so much about what God needs us to do as Christians, but the real lesson I learned was waiting for me when I returned to my house with my family.  

As I unpacked my suit case, my oldest daughter asked me if I had read her note while I was gone.  I guess she had stuck is way down in the bottom of my suitcase and I never even saw it.  I told her I had not seen the note and I would look for it right then.  As I dug through the dirty clothes and smelled Honduras and sweat all over again, I found a note folded up like it should fit into a bottle.  As I unfolded it, it read:

Then I saw what I was looking for....As I folded the note back up and was going to tell her how much I loved her, I saw it.....

I stood there with tears in my eyes as I read this to my wife and we both just sat with our questions ansered and minds open.  A lesson I had to learn after traveling thousands of miles was taught by my daughter the day I got home.

As adults we wonder if we are doing the right thing.  We wonder about how we should or shouldn't do things....

My 8 year old daughter taught me that when you trust God and follow His lead, "Your doing the right thing."

Being a Christian is not about questioning God....It is about the action of love.  If the Holy Spirit leads you to do something today, don't wait....don't question....just love....without hesitation....

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV)

My Shadow….His Lesson…

As I got into the truck with Shawn to head to Dallas, I was nervous as a cat on a tin roof.  When we arrived at DFW, I was still nervous about what was going ot happen.  What would these people be like?  How would the plane ride be?  Would it be hot there?  Would the people like me?  Would I really see what I sought out to see?  All these questions were running through my mind and I couldn't help but wonder.  Then I started meeting each person I would be sharing this experience with one by one.  I worried about being accepted by the group and worried I would be too much for them to handle.  Boarding the plane was the final straw.  I knew I was going to Honduras.  I was going to leave my comfortable life with my beautiful wife and 4 awesome kids to go serve in a foreign country.

When the plane touched down in Tegus, my life would never be the same.  I had no idea what would begin to happen in my heart and mind.  God was going to make me so uncomfortable in my own skin, it was crazy.

There are so many stories to tell and I will tell them one by one as I learn the lessons God has taught me.

The Dump....

All week long and ever since I decided to go to Honduras, I heard about the dump and how crazy it was.  I heard all the stories of despair, grief, challenge, smell, people, children, cows, vultures, gangs, lawlessness, poverty, and hope.

On the last day of our week, we finally worked it out to go to the dump.  I was amazed as we begin to drive into the dump.  What hits you first is the smell.  If you have ever smelled rotten eggs and dirty feet with a little bit of dead fish all mixed up together, you would not even begin to come close to what the dump smells like.  Driving in on the bus, we were told to make sure we put all our windows up so no one could reach in and take our valuables.  We were then instructed to make sure we didn't leave any of our cameras or phones laying around or they would become property of the dump.  

Walking off the bus will be a moment I never forget.  My eyes gazed at an amazing landscape.  One where dogs, cows, vultures, and humans live side by side.  I looked at the people who work and live in the dump as they formed 2 lines for the food they were going to receive.  I found myself with feelings of anger at the fact they were even there.  I found myself with feelings of sadness that we as humans have allowed this to happen.

 
I held back tears as I saw young children walking to the back of the truck to get a piece of chicken and a fruit drink.  I wondered what their story was or if I even wanted to know.  As they reached for their chicken, I noticed the dirt and filth on their hands and clothes.  I noticed the miss matched shoes falling off their feet because they didn't fit or were just worn out.

I thought about all my family had and I felt guilty.  I felt like I had never felt before.  I stood in the back of a pickup watching person after person lifted their hands, covered in dirt and grime with finger nails black with filth reaching for some food and  I was angry.  I was angry that humans had allowed this…We had turned our back and allowed this to be…I was mad the country was allowing people to live like this and not do anything about it…All I could do was watch and pray…As I walked off by myself to wipe the tears I had falling off my cheeks,  I noticed my shadow in front of me on the ground of the dump.

I was there.  I wasn't sitting in the comfort of my office, home, car, or restaurant.  I wasn't talking about what we should buy my kids for Christmas.  In that moment, I wasn't worried about what I was going to eat for dinner.  I wasn't worried about what pair of shoes I was going to wear.  I wasn't thinking about anything except what God needed me to do to change this type of situation….I wasn't thinking about how I could make my life better, I was thinking of how I could make others life better….

If you have read this far, you will probably get mad in the next few sentences….

1.  You have more than you need.

2.  You have more than you deserve.

3.  You need to give more to others.

4.  You have a responsibility as a human to help others in need.

5.  If you are a "Christian", you have a command from God to treat others better than yourself.

6.  Your children have more than they need.

7.  If your kids can't tell you what they want for Christmas, think about what that means…

These statements are what went through my mind as I looked at my shadow when I was standing in the dump.  Then I looked up and saw the beauty of Gods love.  I saw God in the eyes of the people living and working in the dump for less than $1.00 to $4.00 a day.  You see, I went to Honduras to do what I thought was mission work for others and in the last day, I finally saw what Gods mission for us really is.  He tells us to love others more than we love ourselves.  We get hung up on all the details of music or no music, shorts or no shorts, hymnals or no hymnals, names on church buildings and whether or not they are the right church because they believe the right thing, doctrine, family, how much money we have in the bank, and the list goes on….

Jesus said, "Whatever you do to the least of these, You have done to me…"

What have you done for others…..

"You want to know how big GOD is?"

I am absolutely amazed at how big God is.  All we have been through in the past year and where we are right now is like night and day.  It was about this time last year I finally decided to start a ministry and follow God's call on my life.  It wasn't long before all hell would break loose and God would show me exactly how he needed to use me in this world.  Up until the lowest point in my life, secluded from friends and family, my job, and what I thought was important,  I was going to use God to get what I wanted out of life.  I was going to use God to make a name for myself.  I was going to use God to get riches and glory from man….

I know none of you reading have ever thought that….I just hope lightning doesn't strike close to you….

So how big is God?  Let me tell you…

2 months ago I decided to raise money for kids in the Ada area who do not eat after they leave school.  The only meals they get are at school each and every day.  The schools are aware of the problem and every friday selected kids gets back pack to take home with enough food to last throughout the weekend so they won't go hungry.  I didn't know how, what, or when, but I did know God was calling me to raise money to feed hungry children.  I started reading my bible and praying about how we could do this?  What would it take?  What did I need to do?  One day as I read, I found a story where Jesus fed 5000 people strong.

The disciples were in the same place I was…How, Where, Why….they asked Jesus…He replied,"You go feed them…."

There was no debate…Then I read a little further in the scripture.  It says that Jesus took what they had and blessed it and it fed everyone and there was enough left over for 12 baskets full of fish and bread…

Wow, thats how big God is…

We just decided to go feed them….

Over the past few months, I have seen people donate money, time, energy, and effort they didn't have too for our cause.  I have seen God provide interviews on TV and in the newspaper so we didn't have to spend money and take away form the reason we are doing this.  I have seen God change peoples heart by bringing awareness of the needs in our own town.  I have seen God move in schools and groups of students who are donating time to help at our event.  I have seen churches donate without question of obligation or affiliation.  I have seen young children willing to give up money so they can help their friends that don't get to eat.  On Saturday night, November 23, God is going to bless our efforts to raise money for hungry children in our area…

Thats how big God is…

As I walked out of the Pontotoc County Agri Plex yesterday, I looked across the north parking lot and stopped and stared at the Pontotoc County Justice Center…where just 10 months ago, I sat in a jail cell at the lowest point in my life.  In an instant, I was brought back to how big God is.  How he provided a way for truth to shine through.  You see, God doesn't need any help doing His job…He is the boss, we just need to work…

I challenge you today, to make a difference…I challenge you today, to check yourself with God's word…I challenge you today, to let God take over…..

For more information on how you can help go to www.inoroutfaith.com or you can register for our event @ www.signmeup.com/95798

Truck or Trailer?????

This morning as I read my devotional, it was very interesting.  It talked about LOVE and how we are supposed to LOVE no matter what. It was also the same sermon I heard from Rusty yesterday at church...Weird how God does this kind of stuff.....

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I have to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
1 Corinthians 13:1-3

I went to the gym to work out this morning and I couldn't get the thought of what all this means out of my head....

I thought about all the times I must have sounded like a gong or a clanging cymbal.  You know what I am talking about.  I thought about all the times I have studied to figure things out and told myself I have a desired faith to serve God, but it was about me and not Him.  I thought about all the times we have given things to people waiting to see their response for self gratification.  I thought about all the times I have went through hardship and God has been faithful, only for me to use it to my advantage....

Then it hit me as I was hitching up the trailer after my workout.  Am I the truck or the trailer?  I said to myself, "what if i hitched up God everyday and took Him wherever I went, would I love then, NO MATTER WHAT?"

I sat in my truck wondering this easy question....Truck or Trailer?

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father but through me."

Jesus said to the disciples,"Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

We have sang the words, "I have decided to follow Jesus..."

We have sang the words, "Wherever He leads, I'll go..."

So, I prayed to God and asked him to guide me in my decision.....


Challenge:

Are you the truck or the trailer?

THIRSTY???

As I sat in church today, I didn't realize how thirsty I was.  Not in the physical way, but a spiritual way.  I was challenged by the youth of our church which had just returned from Falls Creek.  The theme was "THIRST", and they spoke about how they were drinking from wells that would never fulfill their thirst and only God can quench that desire.  

I figure many of you are just like me when it comes to comparing ourselves to the woman at the well.  Many of us are or were just like her.  Living in sin and just going from well to well to find what we think will quench our thirst.

I started thinking about all the wells in our lives we are trying to quench our thirst...

Wealth - Fame - Desire - Children - Lust - Friends - Acceptance - Addiction - Rage - Baseball -  Basketball - Work - Reputation - Cars - Mortgage - Exercise - Vanity - Food - Family - Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - Love - Sex - Pornography - Material Things -

I began to think about how much time we spend trying to quench our thirst at other wells?  

I wonder why many of us Christians spend time judging people who are standing at the same well we are?  

I wonder why we think can even quench our thirst on our own? 

 

I wonder what it will take for us to get serious about drinking from the well that will never run dry?

John 4:13-14 says

"Jesus answered,"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water willing up to eternal life."

I, just like many of you reading this, have spent many wasted hours of my life sitting at a well thinking I  could find what I was desiring.  I chased dreams I dreamed up all on my own.  I even fell in love with some of those wells and spent so much time there nothing else mattered.  I have desired some of the wells so much, they became idols to me without me even knowing.  When I look at the list above, I am guilty of spending wasted time and effort trying to quench my thirst at those wells.  

It really is gut wrenching when you think about it.  We go and stand at other wells, wells that do not have living water, and look God in the face and tell him, "You aren't enough..."

Hard to think about it that way.  

We even in the midst of drinking from those wells, say to ourselves, "I am forgiven..."  I will talk to God about it later....

I know none of you have ever thought that...just me...

What will it take?  How many more wells will we dig or try to find?

Today as I rode my bike, this song came on by Casting Crowns.....

Come to the Well...

I have what you need, 
But you keep on searchin, 
I've done all the work, 
But you keep on workin, 
When you're runnin on empty, 
And you can't find the remedy, 
Just come to the well.

You can spend your whole life, 
Chasin what's missing, 
But that empty inside, 
It just ain't gonna listen.
When nothing can satisfy, 
And the world leaves you high and dry, 
Just come to the well

And all who thirst will thirst no more, 
And all who search will find what their souls long for, 
The world will try, but it can never fill, 
So leave it all behind, and come to the well

So bring me your heart
No matter how broken, 
Just come as you are, 
When your last prayer is spoken, 
Just rest in my arms a while, 
You'll feel the change my child, 
When you come to the well

Leave it all behind
The world will try, but it can never fill... leave it all behind

And now that you're full, 
Of love beyond measure, 
Your joy's gonna flow, 
Like a stream in the desert, 
Soon all the world will see that living water is found in me, 
Cuz you came to the well

CHALLENGE:

1.  Write down the wells in your life?

2.  Compare them to Jesus....

We got to be BOLD!!!!

As I read my bible this morning, I was reminded of how bold the disciples were.  I read where Peter addressed the crowd after Jesus went to heaven and over 3000 people were saved.  After I read that passage, I began to think about all the others in the bible and in life that were bold.  I thought about Stephen.   I thought about John the Baptist.  I thought about Elijah.  I thought about the young lady from Columbine who said there is a God.  I thought about my grandmother who has always looked to heaven for direction.  I thought about David taking down Goliath.  I thought about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo.  I thought about how bold it was for Mary to birth the King of Kings.  I thought about how bold it was for Jesus to come to earth to be just like us only to die on a cross for each of our sins.

I thought about all the times I have had the chance to be bold for Christ and I have not took the opportunity.  Why do we, as followers of Christ, not want to be bold every day?  Why do we not want to listen to the call of God on our life?  Why do we not want to let our light shine?  Why do we not want to bring our God to a lost and dying world?

All of us have our own excuses and cop outs to not take responsibility for not being bold.  I know until recently being bold wasn't something I even thought about.  I felt like God was there for me to use to get by daily when I needed Him.  I thought God was there for me to call on when I needed something. Maybe talk to him when something or someone was sick or even died. I thought God was at church and thats where we meet him each week and then we leave Him there and go back home.  I think there are several reasons we are afraid to be bold for Christ....

Here are some of my reasons....

1. I didn't want people to know the real me.
2. I was scared it might not be as cool as joking around all the time.
3. I didn't fear God like I should.
4. I was focused on me.

Over the past few months, God has shown me several things.  One thing He has challenged me to do is BE BOLD!  He has challenged me to tell my story of how He has changed my life and continues to do so.  He has challenged me to be REAL.  He has challenged me to be BOLD about my faith with everyone I can.  He has taught me to fear him.  He has challenged me to focus on others and not myself.  He has challenged me to do something I never thought would happen.  

Start a ministry!!

 I ask you to be bold and pray as Heather and I, along with several others, develop a ministry designed to be the hands and feet of the body Christ to serve a lost and dying world.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."

Hebrews 4:14

We are planning an "Community Wide Candle Light Service" at Kerr Dome in Ada, Oklahoma on Easter evening.  We ask you pray that God will move across our community and teach all of us to be Bold....

Details will follow as they develop....If you would like to help and be involved, please email us @

 In or Out Faith Ministries, Inc.

 

our ways are not His ways....

As I set this morning, I reflect over the past 7 weeks of my life.  How much we have been through.  I think about the emotional roller coaster we are still on.  I remember the initial shock as if it were happening right now.  I can still feel the lump in my throat and the nerves in my stomach just bring me to my knees.  I can remember the loneliness and isolation I felt.  I find myself still dealing with emotions and sometimes wanting to scream out and then immediately turning to tears.  I remember how cold and alone I was as I waited to go home.  I remember worrying about money, pride, home, reputation, job, career, and a host of other things running through my mind.  It was at that very moment I heard God clearer than I have ever heard Him before..."None of that matters..."

Something inside me broke that very instant.  God began to speak to me in a way I never knew possible.  You see, when He is all you have and all you may end up with, He is more than enough.  I laid there secluded from the world not knowing any outcome or what the future held for me.  I knew I was innocent, God knew I was innocent, and my family knew I was innocent.  What God revealed to me in my darkest hour was, He was enough.  I started talking to Him and discussing what did matter.  He began to reveal to me what was between me and Him making Him unable to work in my life.  He began to reveal to me why He needed to get my attention.  It was not pretty.  It was not politically correct.  It was the cold hard TRUTH.  I was a "sinner christian", hypocrite, or just a church goer! I sang the song we know, "I'll go to the darkest places, I'll go to the hurting faces, I'll go to the orphaned children, I'll go to the world they live in..." and then I would GO get in my car and GO eat lunch and GO back to the life I wanted to live and GO back to being a casual christian and GO back to being concerned about my needs and GO back to being what everyone expected me to be...... I had a plan to use God to get what I wanted.  He had a plan to use me to get what HE needed.  I had allowed so many things to get in between me and God, no wonder he needed to get my attention.  The crazy things was, it was every day sin that had become the norm.  I was so callused I had become accustomed to allowing sin to be a part of my daily routine.  I was broken and spill out before God.

My prayer to Him changed in an instant.  I began to pray for my wife.  I couldn't imagine what she was going through.  I prayed for Parker as he wondered why so many people were at our house and everyone was crying.  I prayed for Faith as she had no idea what was going on.  I prayed for Ethan and Emma that they would understand someday how powerful God is.  I prayed that they would depend on God and I prayed that I had been a good enough example for them to know who to turn too.  I began to  feel a peace and a presence I have never felt.

My life has been forever changed.  It will never be the same.  As I set here now, feeling much like Jonah as he was spit up on dry land.  I am pretty sure I know where my Ninevah is, but I know where I'll GO as soon as he gives the word...

My first Ninevah was my HOME....

There are 3 things I now strive to be the most important in my life....

1.  God
2.  Heather
3.  Parker, Faith, Ethan, & Emma

Its weird that my name is no longer on top....It's scary to think "I" stood in the way of my family, myself and what God needed of me.....

This is the scripture that got me through the tough times.  I read it every day for 7 weeks...I read it this morning...It still rings true and will forever....

Psalm 91

¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

³ Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”