Restored….
1 Kings 19:3-7
3Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
5Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 6He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
7Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
Elijah at this point was a man who had done many awesome things in the name of the Lord. He was a man that jumped when God said jump and really held it down for the Lord. But at this point Elijah is defeated. Here is this awesome man of God sitting under a tree broken. Elijah was thinking that through out all of these awesome things that Revival would come to the land. A revival in which the people of Israel would repent of their sins and turn back to God with all their hearts. When this didn’t happen, and when Elijah was threatened by the wicked queen Jezebel, he felt as though he and his ministry were a failure. Therefore, he ran away from his position, his problem, and his people.
What is so amazing is that even at Elijah’s lowest point. Even when he asked God to take his life. Even when he was walking outside of what the Lord wanted. God still came through. Like Elijah I believe we get so caught up in ourseleves and so focused on what WE contributed to the ministry that we forget that God is orchestrating it all. The beauty of this story is that God came through and restored a fallen man. In that same way God will restore us for his purpose.
LIVE OUT LOUD. LOVE LIKE JESUS. REACH THE LOST
Never too Young
1 Timothy 4:12
12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
As I read this passage I think about our youth. I think about my son Manny and the baby on the way. I think about how my walk with Christ will affect their walk with Christ. For me as a youth pastor I see kids who have a love for Christ. I see kids who understand what it means to have a relationship with Christ. But what I also see is the willingness of parents to start raising their children to Love the Lord. In this verse Paul is focusing on Timothy’s standard for a good minister or Christian leader, who must pursue spiritual priorities and pay attention to their lifestyle and calling. However, These principles not only apply to ministers it applies to all who believe. We as Christians need to be filling ourselves with God’s word, living a lifestyle focused on God’s purpose for our lives, and walking a walk that is pleasing to him. I believe that if we trust in Him and immerse ourselves in his word that the youth of this world will stand tall and be followers of him. So I will close with this; Effective ministry is ministry in which the Word of God is applied to individual lives and to all situations in life.
God Bless,
Pastor Jesse
BEING PUT ON DISPLAY
JOB 1:8-12
God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.”
9Satan retorted, “So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? 10Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can’t lose!
11“But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away everything that is his? He’d curse you right to your face, that’s what.”
12God replied, “We’ll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don’t hurt him.” Then Satan left the presence of God.
Last night I had the priveledge of hearing Pastor Walt Byrd preach on When God puts you on display. I have to admit this was one of the top ten messages I have heard in my life. The reality is when God put Job on display he knew that he would be faithful he knew that there was nothing the Devil could do to make him curse God. My thought for today is how do we react when we are on display. When times are hard do we stay strong and look to God for guidance and direction or do we look to our own understanding. The Bible tells us that Job shunned evil, He intentionaly kept himself away from the things that would takes his eyes off of God. Today I know that if I keep my eyes on God. If I stay in prayer and trust in Gods plan, I will be able to take whatever is thrown at me. The devil can’t win if we don’t let him in….
live. Love. Reach.
one heart…one mind
ACTS 4:29-32
“And now they’re at it again! Take care of their threats and give your servants fearless confidence in preaching your Message, as you stretch out your hand to us in healings and miracles and wonders done in the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s Word with fearless confidence.
The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind!
When we come together as believers with one heart and one mind awesome things will happen. When I read this I can’t help but think about what could happen if we came together NOW and began praying for this Generation of Youth that will soon be leading this country. We need to start praying now for a revolution with-in the Youth of this country. We need to pray that they can stand firm and not fall victim to what society dictates for their lives. How awesome would it be for this generation to go against what the statistics say. Studies show that if things do not change only 4% of the millenial generation will continue to be Bible based Christians when they become adults. I believe that if we come together as Christians and begin to pray for change that God will do what seems like the impossible. Lets come together as one heart and one mind.
Live out loud..Love like Jesus..Reach the Lost