Back to The Basics

Life is busy. Admittedly, no shocker there.

There are times when this busy lifestyle we lead bleeds over onto the sanctuary place we like to call, The Church. We "rush" to church with tires squealing in the parking lot! Rush to our appointed classes, offices or pews! Rush to the program; then through the program, all while hoping somewhere and sometime to feel the presence of The Lord. Shame on us.

First of all - "The Church" isn't a building or a place we gather to worship. The Church is the body of Christ. The elect. The bride. The redeemed! Humanity filled with the Holy Ghost is THE CHURCH!

Secondly - When we do get to the building it should be a place we should find "Sanctuary" in. The Church should always find an altar that ultimately yields safety, peace and love. Some would ask, Safety? Peace?? Love??? Yes, all three. I must say I am thankful for the spirit of SANCTUARY that GTPC offers! But, we must do BETTER.

I have called for GTPC to get back to the basics of living FOR God by giving Him our VERY best in 2010.

"Good Enough" will not do - we MUST offer him our VERY best. As we endeavor to do this, there are some other things that must be done along the way, they are simply, THE BASICS, and they still work! Programs, music, light shows, coffee bars, book clubs, fashion shows and social hours will never replace the POWER OF PENTECOST! (Acts 2) All those things can be good, enjoyable, inspiring, encouraging and helpful - but they are not what brings Pentecost to the Upper Room... Obedience and Unity brought Pentecost...they are basics!

- LIVE in The Spirit! You are called to LIVE for God - not die! Stop trying to survive on yesterday's revivals and experiences. Seek a FRESH touch from The Lord. You will find He is MORE than ready to touch, bless, heal and encourage you! Paul wrote, "Stir up the Spirit within you..." This will require ACTION on YOUR part!

- Prayer. It Works! Put the altar back in your home and in your life! What ever has stolen the altar's place in your life, get rid of it! Get your altar back! There is POWER at the altar! Prayer WORKS! Complaining does not!

- Study The Word! Pray The Word! Live The Word! - It Works! Heb 4:12 For the word of God is QUICK, and POWERFUL, and SHARPER than any two edged SWORD, piercing even to the dividing asunder of SOUL and SPIRIT, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Church is only as powerful as it's dependency on the bread of life! Sometimes when we have lived for God for a long time we can lapse into thinking it's OK to rest on what we "know" and loose the need to know more! It seems to me it's now out of character anymore to bring our bibles to church, after all there's a screen for you... or for regular scripture memorization? Ouch...I know, I know this isn't going to be very popular, but I do know this - IT WORKS!

- Fasting! It works! Jesus himself told his disciples (Mk 9:29) And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

- Your Personal Testimony - It works! Use it! There is only one, it's yours. No one else can communicate exactly what God has done for you and for your life like YOU can. He gave to you YOUR testimony to bring Him glory. Are you? No program or anything else replaces the need and effectiveness of personal evangelism!

- Obedience is still better than sacrifice! It works!

- Unity. Nothing can stop The Church when she STAYS in unity and fervent prayer.

Notice none of these things call for a cool looking bar stool in the middle of a stage with some swirly colorful light show and a cup of coffee... Nor does it call for a pulpit in a grand cathedral. What it does REQUIRE is real, honest, fervent RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ - An Old Fashioned PENTECOST if you will...

Yes, back to the basics - The Acts 2 Message and Method - still works -still yields evangelism, still changes lives and is still necessary! These simple things still WORK! Let's get back to them as fast and as quickly as we possibly can.

I know I will take some heat for this post and that's okay. I'm not saying we need to get out the horse and buggies, shut down our websites and stop e-mailing and the like - I am saying let it all have it's rightful place! Rightful being the keyword. Use media, use outreach programs, use media - but let's not forget to use the first things that work FIRST. This old ship has come along way - she's battle scarred and maybe a little weary and a little rough around the edges, but she's still sea worthy and she will land safely!

Preachers, teachers, pastors and evangelists - PREACH truth and PREACH it UNCOMPROMISING.

Miracles, signs and wonders STILL follow them that believe!

It's Winter Time and It's Cold Outside!

I have been meaning to buy a new pair of gloves since a named brother-in-law, Shawn, borrowed mine several years ago and never returned them. Of course that speaks volumes as to how much one really needs gloves when you live in Houston. Regardless, I began the search at Ross. I didnt want to brave a mall or really pay alot for gloves since I rarely use them. With temeratures to be in the 20's a few times in the next several days and the possibility of ice and sleet on Thursday, this was the time. Ross had no gloves. TJ Maxx had no gloves. Palais Royal had no gloves. Kohl's had no gloves. Accross the way to good old WalMart; no gloves. Did everyone anticipate this "blizzard" but me? I had to get a couple of quick things from Kroger. There near the door was a rack of scarf's and gloves. Granted the gloves werent the best of quality and while the price wasnt a high one it was more than I wanted to pay for those gloves. In other words, I didnt really choose them as much as the need for them did. I dont mind the cold weather. I do mind cold hands and feet. Thankfully both can be remedied fairly easily. Socks and gloves usually do the trick.

What about a cold heart? During heart surgeries (and some others) a sterile ice slurry is used to slow the organ down. This ice slurry is applied directly to the heart. The heart muscle responds to the cold temperatures and will eventually stop beating.

Cold spiritual climates and temperatures can lend them selves to heart failure. There isnt a sock, or a pair of gloves designed to keep your heart warm. The way to prevent spiritual hypothermia is to stay close to the source. The flames of God's spirit will keep you in order! The fire of the Holy Ghost MUST be present in the life of the child of God. When it is absent, the heart grows cold, the muscle weakens, the contractions arent effective and death will ultimately occur.

How long has it been since you have warmed up to the roaring fire of the Holy Ghost?

Stay warm!

js

Did We Miss It?

Thanksgiving was great. Lots of good food. A time to really reflect on all we have been blessed with. The first official time to really slow down and sort of take in the beauty of the season. This year we were even blessed with cool temperatures and real fall like weather. By the end of November people are anxious to get on to December and the rest of “The Holidays”. After all, the shopping malls and stores were already slipping in winter decorations and Christmas ads as early as September.
Black Friday. A newer term we have come to use. The Friday following Thanksgiving day. Some loose all their senses during this mad rush to “shop ‘til they drop”. Then came December 1. Rush. Hurry. Planning. Parties. Events.
Christmas Eve. What happened to the Holidays? What happened to Thanksgiving? The month of December? We rushed. We shopped. We hurried. We “celebrated”. Did we miss it? Just one more day…
Christmas Day. Woke up to a beautiful day. Clear skies. Cool temperatures. Lots of activity, but did we miss it?
December 26. Relief? Exhaustion? Satisfaction? Dread? Regret? A day of mixed emotions. Relief “it’s” over. Exhausted from all of the work of “it”. Satisfaction that we pulled “it” off? Dread of packing up the tree, lights, decorations, return lines? Regretting not making time to see the ones we really wanted to see? Spending more than we intended? Not getting exactly what we wanted? Did we miss it?
New Year’s Eve. December 31, the last chance to get all things done in 2009. A time to celebrate. Another party. For me, another birthday. I really do not enjoy them. I try. I just never have, even as a kid – getting older was just not something I look forward to. Must hurry. Lot’s to do. Did we miss it?
New Year’s Day. The first day of a new year. A new decade. Another celebration dinner. Perhaps another notch in the belt? Another opportunity to reflect. To resolve! To “change”. To do things differently – better of course. A New Year – A New Me! A New Me? Yet, still a looming question somewhere – Did we miss it?
January 2nd 2010 – A quiet resolve – No, I didn’t miss it. I have it. I’ve always had it. We may have lost focus on “it” for a little while – but no, I didn’t miss it. In the hustle and bustle of it all – we managed to keep Jesus Christ the center of who we are. Satan lost again. We helped others. We loved. We reached out. We gave. We were Christians. Be encouraged, you won, AGAIN!
The spirit of the world and the wickedness of it would have you think you have missed it. That same spirit would have you feel less accomplished than you like and would have you questioning things you should never question. You have NOT missed HIM!
Jesus Christ a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Your salvation, your healer, your way-maker, your deliverer, your hope, your peace, your shield and tower is right there with you. He is ready to not only see you through this New Year – but to bless you IN the New Year. His desire is to be closer to you than you have ever been before.
I’m glad we haven’t missed it! I’m glad I have another chance tomorrow to make a difference. There will only be ONE “Inaugural Sunday” for this New Year and New Decade. There will only be one First Sunday of 2010. January 3, 2010 is it. Don’t miss it! Don’t miss it! Don’t miss it! Be in Worship Service tomorrow morning and bless the Blesser of Your Soul! Happy New Year & Congratulations, you didn’t miss it!