Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NIV

My sense of joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment in life is at its greatest when my heart totally surrenders to His will, when I am in the center of His will, and I am sure of it.

Sometimes I don't even realize His will, but even if I don't understand the whole picture, I am delighted to be serving Him.

My life with Christ is a joyful life, and when the storms rise and the lightning strikes, I praise Him even more. I rejoice during my trials, because it is then, when life is the toughest, that I am carried by Christ.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?"
They said to Him, "The Son of David."
43 He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:


44 'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?*


45 If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.



Jesus existed from the beginning (John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God), so this is how David could call Him Lord, even though, on human terms, Jesus was a descendant of David.

God delivered Israel from Egypt; what has He delivered you from?

..."Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you the sacrifice of praise..." Hosea 14:2 NLT

Our words said by our mouths and in our minds are all received by God. He forgives us of all of our sins and receives us so that we may praise Him, for that is why He created us: so that we may praise and worship Him.

Problem is, we are too sinful to be in His glorious presence. Our sin seperates us from God. Our only chance to approach Him is for our sins to be blanketed by something stronger than our sins. Payment for our sins was made by Jesus Christ on the Cross on Calvary. His blood, shed for us, covers our sins, allowing our spirits to be reborn, and enables us to commune with God.

Without Christ, we are lost, and must continue to suffer spiritual death. Only Christ can make our spirits born again, and able to commune with Him.

used to be funny

No one has real understanding; no one is seeking God. (Romans 3:11 NLT)

Make no mistake about it, the world is searching for something to replace God. They are not seeking God like they should, because God makes us see ourselves for who we are. Sinners.

People want to be spiritual. They are seeking light, but they wish to seek light in darkness. They wish to find God, but one that is molded into the image that they want Him to be in.

While waiting for an oil change on my vehicle today a talk show was on the television provided in the lobby for our viewing pleasure and the guest was Sylvia Browne, a woman who calls herself a spiritual teacher offering psychic services. The title of the show was, "Answers to Unexplained Questions."

A home-video produced by one of the members of the audience showed her son pounding his fists on his bed, screaming, throwing pillows, jumping around, and so forth. Browne's response? He was angry because he was having difficulty coming to grips with his past lives.

A second woman talked about illnesses that her mother has faced recently. The answer by Sylvia Browne? A spirit is trying to kill her mother, and only becoming closer to the spirit world may save her.

Playing with various religious systems will not bring peace and spirituality to your life. In fact, such dealings are downright dangerous.

The only way to spirituality is through the being that created spirituality in the first place, God. And the only way to God is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Admitting one is a sinner is difficult. People are unwilling to accept God's assessment of them. They figure if they can come up with another excuse for their actions, they are not guilty. Then they try to do wonderful things to make up for the void they feel in their lives, hoping to work their way into Heaven. They believe they can reach heaven, or paradise, or nirvana, or whatever, by their own merit, by their goodness, and by their own deeds.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Being enlightened by today's standards is like searching for a bed in a automobile warehouse in the dark. You can't see because you've avoided the light of Jesus, and you can't find what you're looking for anyway because your looking in the wrong place.

Jesus is the answer, the way, and the light.

Sylvia Browne is welcome to read my blog, but will probably dismiss my words as rubbish, or the result of a past life haunting me, or something silly like that.

God Bless, and may you always seek Him, rather than what the world offers.

Harvest Crusade was wonderful - below is the greetings page from the brochure welcoming the visitor to the crusade. . .

Harvest Greeting 

The Harvest Crusade at Anaheim Stadium

You are invited to join me at the Harvest Crusade at Angel Stadium. Admission is FREE.The musicians performing at the Harvest Crusade will be:Friday, August 11, 2006 @ 7:00 pm: Crystal Lewis, Todd Agnew, Joy WilliamsSaturday, August 12, 2006 @ 7:00 pm: David Crowder Band, Kutless, Hawk NelsonSunday, August 13, 2006 @ 6:00 pm: Newsboys, MercyMeI plan to hit the parking lot for the HARVEST CRUSADE as early as 4:00 in the afternoon to make sure I get good seats. I already have a dozen people joining me - - why don't you come too? And bring an unsaved friend!God Bless, and I hope to see you there.

Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? John 18:11

Daily we receive heavy burdens that we must bear. "It is the will of God that I must suffer," you will hear some say. Perhaps.

But when we experience difficult roads doing the will of God, and we know it is the will of God, and we continue to move forward, and praise His name as we do, that is the highest form of faith.

Our lives are a result of the decisions we make, and sometimes factors out of our control take part as well. Sometimes we are alone in our struggles. Sometimes health factors set us back. Sometimes it is our faith itself that is challenged by the persecution from others. And in the darkest times, we still turn and praise Him.

That is faith at its highest.

But that kind of faith cannot be reached unless we surrender ourselves to Christ.

He is in control, but as long as we try to use our own devices to solve the matters before us, we are doomed to fail. His will may not be your will, but an entirely different path altogether, but how will you ever know that if you are never willing to allow yourself to die and rest in his embrace?

Place it all in His hands. He desires to take care of you. His will be done.

Acts 2:42,47 NKJV

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers...praising God...And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.


The message of the gospel is that humanity is separated from God by sin. But God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross for us. And three days later, He rose again from the dead. If we will turn from our sin and put faith in Him, we can be forgiven. That is the heartbeat of the gospel.

--Pastor Greg Laurie
Harvest Christian Fellowship
Riverside, California

See you at the Harvest Crusade at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on August 11, 2006 (7PM), August 12, 2006 (7PM), and August 13, 2006 (6PM).

Bring an unsaved friend!