Why is it that so few of us really get it?  Every day I watch people continue in the same old lifestyles.  Every day I hear people reject good advice & godly counsel.  Every day I see people repeat the mistakes of those who have gone before them.  And every day I see people follow the crowd down the path to destruction.  Jesus talked about it in Matthew 7:13-14 - “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate & broad is the road that leads to destruction, & many enter through it.  14 But small is the gate & narrow the road that leads to life, & only a few find it."  Which do you want to be, the one who does what so many others do, or the one who is different?  It's easy to follow the crowd, but is that what you really want?  Why not heed Jesus' words & follow Him on the narrow road?  Yes, it may be difficult at times & lonely at times, but it will be worth it.  Choose to follow Him today.  You will not be sorry. 

It's been 3 weeks since my last blog.  I apologize for being away for so long.  Sometimes ministry gets crazy & exhausting.  I really am working on being a better communicator.  I ask your help to keep me accountable with that.  On a similar note, I have been working in the Twitter world more, so if you want to follow me there you can, in addition to here:  http://twitter.com/#!/pastorprophet.
So, today is November 1st.  It's a new day & a new month.  I thought today about how we often get bogged down in our emotions or our circumstances.  They often cripple us, & seem at times to have more power over us than God does.  But this is because WE give them the power to do so.  The Bible tells us that God's mercy & grace (which includes forgiveness & power) are new EVERY morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  SO, no matter what we are feeling, His mercy & power are there if we will just reach out & embrace them.  At the same time, the Bible tells us that God wants to do a new thing in our lives (Isaiah 43:18-19).  Are we looking for it?  It may NOT come where we expect it to come, but it WILL come.  Can we see it?  According to Psalm 121:4, God does not slumber nor sleep.  He is always working, always moving, always doing something, & is always present.  Let's ask Him to give us spiritual eyes to see His work & spiritual ears to hear His voice, that we may not live on the unsteady roller coaster of emotions & circumstances, but rather dwell on the ROCK which cannot be shaken. 

I heard tonight of the death of a local teenager.  He was a 17 year old junior at South Western High School in Hanover.  His name was Ben.  I know that sometimes people seem to be taken before their time, but this case was especially tragic.  This young man's life was cut short not in a car accident, work accident, or by sickness, but by the hand of his own father.  In an apparent double murder-suicide, the father shot and killed his wife and son.  Almost immediately I thought of something a guest speaker said yesterday in church:  Far too often the church sits back and says, 'God is in control', while not going to battle for our world, families, or friends.  Prayer changes things, and so we should cry out for God to save our children.  The enemy of our souls is raging in this broken world, and I believe his intent is to destroy the generation that is coming up right now.  Right now in my church, I have young people whose fathers are physicaly present in the home, but offer little support, love, and encouragement, let alone spiritual guidance.  Other young people have no fathers present at all and are being raised by single moms.  Still other young people seem to have no one who cares, and they are struggling desperately to figure out who they are.  My question at this moment is one that may seem harsh, but it needs to be asked.  DO WE CARE?  Do we care that the generation coming up now is being ravaged by drugs, teen pregnancy, absent parents, suicide, homicide, and hopelessness?  Do we care?  Or are we too wrapped up in our own problems and issues to see what is really going on?  I fear that this is truly the case.  While we lament our own problems, the enemy comes in and destroys our children.  People of God WAKE UP!!  CRY OUT to God for our children, for the inheritance that God has given us.  Don't lie down and let satan take our children from us.  FIGHT!! FIGHT for them and for their future.  Oh God, give us eyes to see and ears to hear what is really going on in the spirit realm, that we may be wise and discerning people, that we may advance your Kindgom and push back the kingdom of darkness!!  Help us O God...........        

Far too often, we allow fear to lead us.  We are afraid of offending people, so we don't speak up.  We are afraid of things turning out differently than we expected, so we don't pray.  We are afraid that God's will may not match up with ours, so we don't step into the calling He has for us.  Whatever the situation, fear often speaks louder than God's voice.  And we listen to it's voice more than the voice of God.  Today I want to encourage you, NO, challenge you:  DON'T LISTEN TO FEAR!!  Fear cripples us, while the freedom we have in Jesus releases us.  Don't look back on your life and have regrets because you gave in to fear.  Walk by faith and be free to be all He meant for you to be.  I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul to his spiritual son Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:7 --  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

So many times, we ask the wrong questions.  We ask God why.  Why does this happen?  Why did He allow that?  Why do I have to continue to go through this?  Why?  Why?  Why?  However, the Word tells us that we need to be asking a different question: "Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night?" (Job 35:10).   If we do this, it will change our perspective.  Knowing that God comes in the dark of night & brings a song should give us hope & reason to praise Him.  For more revelation on this topic, check out this message from my mentor & friend Pastor Shane Warren:   http://firstassemblywm.org/pslams-in-the-night/ 

May God give you fresh revelation today.

Pastor
 

Whatever you face, whatever the obstacle, trial, tribulation, or test, worship Him.  The worse things get, the more you should worship.  It is easy to worship when things are good, even the worst of human beings can do that.  But what will you do & how will you respond when things go wrong?  Will you resort to the same old thing that humans have done since the dawn of time:  Blaming others, blaming God, living in the moment, walking by your feelings rather than by the Spirit, not being willing to give EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING, to Him?  Or will you simply surrender, worship Him, & say, as Jesus did, "Not my will, but yours"?  To worship while hell is raging around you is difficult, no doubt, & even contrary to common sense.  HOWEVER, know this:  worship changes the atmosphere.  And, it changes you.  Step out in faith & worship Him in spite of your troubles.  Then watch as He does miracles.  Perhaps the greatest miracle of all will NOT be what changes around you, but what changes IN you.   

How can I help people see what I have seen, or feel what I have felt with God?  God has moved so powerfully in my life & I want Him to do the same for others, especially in my church.  Far too often, people don't believe that He wants to do that, that He wants to move powerfully.  Far too often, people believe that He is some far off deity, sitting on a throne of arrogance, caring nothing for them or their situations.  People so often miss the small things: the beauty of a sunset, the change of seasons, a cool breeze, the birds singing.  To me, these things prove that God is always near, always working, always moving. 

Tomorrow I am conducting a wedding.  Each time I conduct one, I am reminded of how human marriage is a picture of the marriage between Jesus & His bride, the church.  As Paul states in Ephesians 5:32, this is a "profound mystery".  It's strange, especially as a man, to think of Jesus as my husband.  And it's strange as well to think of Jesus as husband to the entire church worldwide.  But in reality, it is really about relationship.  Jesus wants to be the most intimate relationship that we have, even more so than that of our spouses, significant others, friends, siblings, or parents.  He wants to be first in our lives, becoming that all-consuming passion that so often defines our earthly relationships.  Today, I challenge you to give Jesus your passion and your love, more than you give anyone else.  I challenge you to make Him your first love, and watch in amazement how your life changes.

Blessings.

Pastor 

Hey Guys!!  Welcome to my blog.  I am excited to be entering the blogosphere (finally).  My goal is to communicate more clearly with you & share my heart with you.  As my good friend & mentor Shane Warren says, "You can't over-communicate".  I hope to have an entry here every day, something to challenge you, inspire you, make you think, & help you grow in your walk with God.  Please feel free to leave comments, ask questions, or challenge me in return.  I leave you with this Word for today: 

Ephesians 1:15-19 -- "15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you eyes to see & ears to hear what He is doing in your life.  May you go deeper in revelation today.

Pastor Greg