A Christ Follower: The Journey

  Firsts Everyone who has done any living begins to pay attention to the various "firsts" in their lives. Rather than list some of these,  I would like you to reflect on your own. As for me, 56 years ago one of my mentors, Brother Gene Dean, challenged me to preach my 1st Sermon.  I was scared to death as I prepared and preached, this message. At the time I shared this I missed out on the primary message. This Scripture found in Romans 13:11-14 is about living according to God's Will. As we approach this new year,  I feel led to inspire you with how to choose to live according to God's will. As you make these choices, your will find that you actually can have life that is described by  Jesus as "Abundant." This Is God's Will For You, Me, and We: WAKE UP  WHEN YOU GET UP: Each new day, the moment that we wake up, God want's us to really wake up spiritually to the fact that our salvation is nearer than the first moment that we believed in our Lord. Thi...

Jesus the Teacher   Looking Back To Have A Future You may notice, as I have blogged about " Stepping Stones For Victorious Christ Centered Living, I have been sharing in reverse.  I started with Jesus in Matthew 7 looking back at all He taught in " The Sermon On The Mount."  You will remember, as He looked back at His teachings, He tells us, that if we hear His words, and actually live by them, we are like people who build our lives on a solid foundation that will withstand all kinds of storms we will face in life; however, if we only hear them, but don't abide by them, we are like people who are living on a quicksand foundation. Therefore, we backed up with Jesus, hoping to provide you with the kind of foundation for your life that will help you have life, and have it to the full, no matter what you are facing in life. And I don't know what you are going through, but I know, if you walk on these stepping stones about which I have been writing, and if you do so b...

  You are the light of the World.   Matthew 5:13 Jesus In this Western Civilization that Jesus teachings declare is becoming like quicksand, we are in trouble because, culturally, we have abandoned Him and His teachings. It is because of our failures to walk the straight and narrow, and because of our failures to abide in what Jesus teaches and because of our failures to abide -- or remain -- in Him that our demise is occurring. The same is true of all other cultures as well; however, we can still experience Rock Solid Living in This Quicksand World!  We can victoriously do so by walking on Jesus's Stepping Stones for Victorious Christ-Centered Living.   Failing to do so brings us to an existential crisis where all our foundations are crumbling. This is why I share this hope filled good news with you. The Important Trifecta The last couple of blogs about stepping stones have been a part of a trifecta of who Jesus says we are: And if we are who we are, a lot of good t...

Being Who We Are To Make A Difference A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Jesus Matthew 5: 14b In Matthew 5 Jesus describes His Disciples 3 ways: We already discussed one that keeps us walking on Stepping Stones for Victorious Christ-Centered Living , and that is we are the "Salt of The Earth."  Sandwiched in the middle is the one that can be missed rather easily. He comes right out and says the other two by declaring who we are, and this one is simply described but does not include the "You are" statement; nevertheless, the importance of this stepping stone is something we do not want to ignore. And it is a fact what He says about this city. It CANNOT be hidden.  When We Were In Italy A number of years ago, we lived in Italy, and sometimes we traveled on the Supra Strada. It was called, by my Italian friends,  "the poor man's freeway." You see on the Supra Strada, you paid no tolls, but on the Auto Strada you paid fairly high tolls.  At any rate, the ...

  The Challenge of Having An Unsavory Life. We live in a world where a whole lot of people are suffering:  Many struggle spiritually. Others,  because of their spiritual issue, have emotional struggles. Still others have relationships that are strained. Financial issues also may be added into the mix; additionally, physical challenges,  or health challenges, are a part of this. Mix a little high pace, and rarely slowing down in life, and you can see something is really going on impacting life in a negative way. In other words  all of these, plus any number of other things experienced in the 21st century, contribute to people experiencing unsavory lives. Jesus Speaking to You and M e Jesus has something to say about this. And He wants each of us to help out by, first beginning to embrace our identity. He wants us "become" so we match our identity, and if we don't, we really miss out and mess up.  Check out what He says, as He expressly tells us who we are. A...

The Conference &   Hurricane Just a few days ago, the Global Methodist Church met in it's inaugural General Conference.  I viewed it by live streaming, and I can tell you it was a great time of joy, celebration and the building of a brand new faith community! The Holy Spirit moved in a very special way during everyday of the General Conference. This was a mountain top experience. Such a spiritual high as this would long be remembered by all who attended. But As the conference was coming to a close, and as these folks returned home, a Hurricane hit Florida, then Georgia, Then South Carolina, Then North Carolina! And the devastation was as bad as any hurricane destruction ever recorded! All over, people were dying, being stranded, and left without food or water! Bridges were washed out! Mud slides occurred! Communication was wiped out! Loved ones were frightened for one another because they could not get back to each other! Nor could they let each other know how they were do...