Studying for a sermon to preach tomorrow and an instant message came in from a young lady that was in a youth group a few years earlier with my wife and I. As she ask questions and revealed how much she loves people even if they challenge her every step in belief, of the one true God, I realized the answers for her were in the very scripture I was currently studying. This may not excite some but it just lets me know God is always prepared and will prepare us as we seek His guidance. I may have been surprised to hear from her as she lives in another state now, but God was not surprised, and already had scripture/answers prepared before she ever ask. This young lady is very special and has a heart for others just in a situation she cannot control. I have included the conversation below with her permission as it may help others in the same situation. Please pray for her, her family, and those around her. Also, do not forget to always reach out to those around you as you may be the only Christian they ever get to talk with. When this young lady started coming to youth group we picked her up along with some friends and took them home every week, all we were doing is planting seeds, and I am overjoyed to hear she is still looking to God for help and still growing.

Young Lady: I need a question answered please……..You have answered this for me before but I can’t answer it…….the question is—If God is so great, why are people, abused, raped, homeless, have cancer, and such??

Answer: Because Adam and Eve brought sin into the world and we have failed as a world to turn back to God. This is also the reason Jesus suffered and died for us. The bible says in Matthew 5:45 the just and unjust will suffer and prosper. The difference being that with God you have peace and hope because we realize this is only temporary. My dad has Alzheimer’s and will die but I know God is in control and there will be a glorious day coming. See I know the hope and love of Christ in the good and bad times of my life. If we as a country would glorify God in all things we could get through the bad more easily. Without God we just create more bad for us and those around us.

Young Lady: I live with people that question my faith every day…….They don’t believe in what I believe in……they all put God down……I argue with them and try to give answers but they still chose to not believe……. But even though they are like that, I still believe and I still talk with God I don’t let them get to me and make me stop believing

Young Lady: Like just now, I was told that what I believe in is quote “bs”……. He said it’s all just a figment of our imaginations……I got frustrated and went to my room…….I can’t argue with them anymore……I can only argue so much

Answer: One thing to remember is the gospel and Jesus do not need defending. You live the gospel and let people see Christ through how you handle life. When things go wrong for those that supposedly don’t believe they will seek out someone they see living a Christian life and ask for prayer. The Holy Spirit will eventually touch them and you will have an opportunity. Stay in the Word to show yourself approved and hide the gospel in your heart to be revealed when the time comes.

Young Lady: That makes since…….I miss going to church…….i miss worshiping God with others who believe……. I do it on my own everyday but it would be nice to talk with people about God

Answer: Well for sure Ms. Becky and I love you and your family and you are in our prayers. Don’t stop believing. God will make a way He always does.

Young Lady: Thank you I love y’all too…….I will always believe……I believe in Him and what he does

Answer: Will be Praying for you and we love knowing you are praying for us as it helps us. You are a special person never forget that and you have talents God has given you

Young Lady: Thank you…….

Answer: I have a few scriptures for you. Acts 7:54-60 8:1-3 Chapter 9. See here was Saul (Paul) stoning the man of God to death or at least approving of the actions and one chapter later God gets ahold of him and he becomes the greatest evangelist this world has known spreading the gospel to all he met. Pray for those that persecute you like Steven did in his death and you never know what God may do with them.

Young Lady: So pray for those who don’t believe?

Answer: Yes and those that persecute you as well. This is a tough lesson and difficult to follow through but well worth it as God will honor you heart.

Young Lady: I’ve prayed for them for this reason before but I will do it more

Answer: Pray without ceasing never give up on others as Jesus never gave up on mankind. I write a blog can I use this conversation I will not use your name.

Young Lady: Yes of course

Answer: Your heart felt care will help others.

Young Lady: I hope so…….may I know the name or your blog? I’d love to read it

faithbeyondreason.com

God Bless You All,

Brett

My hands came down from the cross, rough, and torn apart,

At that moment, I reached out, straight from the heart.

A tear in my eye, pain in my voice,

I still care and I had a choice.

Reach out, go through me,

For you, I chose to be nailed to that tree.

I have no grudge and want to give,

Say a small prayer, and with me, in eternity, you will live.

Oct 98’

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins…Mark 2:10

AS 2015 comes to an end and I reflect on my Christian walk, I must ask, have I grown spiritually? Christian’s should endeavor to continually grow more like Christ every day throughout their life. Comfort can become a hindrance by way of job, house, church, etc. When this happens we tend to have our priorities aligned incorrectly to what God desires. An understanding that God has planted people around us, to be nurtured daily, through our spiritual walk and we should strive to water these souls with the true, unadulterated gospel of Christ. Although, reality is we tend to intervene with our set of thoughts, agendas, and beliefs or at least some version of the gospel with our earthly morals attached. God provided a spiritual water with the everlasting preservative already added, which is, Jesus Christ death and resurrection. If we attach requirements to the gospel we allow souls placed around us to die of thirst in a drought stricken world as we hold a running fire hose of truth, hope, and love. We do not further the kingdom by adding things to a perfectly completed work. During 2015 God has broadened my understanding in ways that I cannot even pen down on paper as I am still trying to grasp it all. But I will give you a glimpse of some items He has dealt personally with me about.

During the past 6 months God has allowed my heart to be broken as He moved me out of the comfort of a Pastor I love dearly and a youth group that is better than any other in the world (I am biased, maybe) and that I love as much today as I ever have. This type of transition is more painful (and still is) than I could have imagined yet I know in obedience to God I will find direction and peace as His plan was in the works the whole time. I understand through the pain that you cannot move from mountain top to mountain top without passing through a valley. This transition has stretched me in ways I did not even know I needed stretching with regards to my faith, beliefs, and His Word. If you are in a comfort zone and cannot accept people that may not look like what the red brick wall church says I caution you to look to the Bible and Christ example. When the church is likened to a chain and you eliminate the links you do not approve, of instead of including what God approves of, the chain will be shortened and the kingdom of God will not be expanded. The struggle and comforts called life will cause us to impose our thoughts and beliefs on those around us without a Biblical basis to stand on; here in lies the struggle. But we must always remember the keys to spiritual growth lies in questioning every action in light of the Bible and Jesus Christ. So next time you see someone in the church that is saved with maybe long hair, a tee shirt, or holes in the jeans, do not discount their heart or ability to serve within the four red brick walls because remember red brick walls are not the church after all.

Below are two quotes from a Preacher friend of mine to encourage some self-reflection.

“The church is not a place we go but something we are.”

“Have you submitted to Jesus name but not His mission?”

J. Edwards

God Bless You All,

Brett

I realize there is a God,

He was there from the start.

I cry dear Jesus, I do believe,

You took death and hell now you hold the keys.

Though I am a sinner lost and alone,

I beg forgiveness, compassion, and a home.

In an instant I feel relief,

as God shows mercy and gives victory.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Today began trying to climb the mountains of junk somehow accumulated, no fault of my own, when I immediately stumbled upon writings from years earlier in my Christian walk. Perfect, a great excuse to stop scaling this mountain and take a reading break. As I started to read, still at the foot of this mountain my wife had instructed me to rid the house of, it quickly became apparent I didn’t understand fully what I was writing in the past. Sitting amazed and convicted as I read thoughts put down on paper as solid as a chiseler would place words on stone, I realized, God had given me ideas as a mom gives her baby a bottle. Even though the baby doesn’t realize what is in the bottle, just that it fills a void within, I didn’t realize what these thoughts contained at the time; just that they felt good. With this realization in mind all I can say is my past writings appeared to be back to the future in relation to what God has been showing me.  This can be stated matter of fact, because as recent as last week God had His toolbox open repairing broken areas of my heart with not a tool left untouched. Cleaning them up, white washing them, sometimes even with a scrub brush, and the cleaning is far from over. Breaking free from ideas I allowed man to tie-dye my heart with isn’t easy and can be very confusing at times. Now I must face ideas as to how a Christian lives and ingrain God’s thoughts into my heart as I struggle with some of the minutest things you can imagine. Let’s get to the older writings and as God sees fit I will try to understand along with everyone currently reading Faith Beyond Reason in regards to loving every man, woman, and child not only outside of the church, inside of the church, in service, and out of service as we all travel different but similar roads to glory. We will start back in 2002 with a few nuggets I found very helpful, although to be transparent I do plan to edit some wording but not the main theme and thoughts.

In today’s world it appears without a doubt Christians are more concerned with outwardly appearance in regards to offending people rather than how we appear in pleasing God. This type of follow the leader Christianity has become very popular in today’s culture allowing us to not offend the saved or the lost yet without any thought of offending God. It is has become acceptable to give others permission in determining our path to God like living instead of giving God rights to our heart. In doing this we are proclaiming to the world we would rather fit in to the norm of church buildings and society than to God’s ultimate design for life. Not quite sure how we get trapped in this vortex of indoctrination but God is the only one we should feel compelled to please with our Christian walk. As we allow God to shape and mold us the walk we are on will include the proper love for others and personal growth in ourselves. My experience has been God desires a relationship with each of us and will lay a conviction on our heart if we are traveling in the wrong direction as an obvious indication of right and wrong. With that being said I sometimes get the feeling things are wrong but upon further inspection it is only something I was taught as a kid growing up. These items are purely from good teaching by my parents and others placed around me by God. These things are good and honorable but I cannot judge others that do not follow these same personal convictions because they are not biblical only respectful in my own eyes. As the Holy Spirit draws our hearts and gives us salvation through Jesus Christ he starts us on a path of growth to become what He knows we can be. He doesn’t rip things from our grasp all at once as some self-righteous people like to believe or maybe even require as our God is much wiser. He allows us to grow just as a new born baby grows laying things down one at a time while seeing God’s miraculous changes in us along the way. I actually prefer it this path because I get to see each one of these miraculous little growth moments daily making my walk with Him grow sweeter day by day. To close I must say we need to listen intently as God speaks within our hearts. If things are to taught, written, or said they must contain knowledge brought down from above and bathed in humbleness with no duty to self, The faintest sound usually is the most important.

God Bless You All,

Brett

Christians experienced in the Word must stand up and teach what is right and acceptable in the eyes of God to our community through actions. Only attending church, then living like the world, will reveal within us a personal shortcoming of caring for ourselves and will not reveal the love your neighbor as yourself portion of scripture. Without a doubt, everyone that knows Christ personally would love His return to be at this very moment in time. But have we stopped to ponder how many people (family & friends) would enter hell if that were to happen? Our love for others as Christians is to attend the church building while living the Word of God amongst our communities as Christians thereby allowing us to be apart of grabbing hold to those that do not know Christ and pulling them from the grips of hell. To be truth in the eyes of the world debunking the myths and lies satan has sold as truth to those around us. We must be part of the solution as Christians in spite of the persecution that may (will) come.

Image found on dumpaday.com

Christians today are inundated with lies taught through media, schools, and colleges. These lies are drizzled with hints of truth that fool those with little or no knowledge of the Word of God. With this realization, how can we as Christians influence those around us to not only see the truths hidden under the cloak of darkness but also show that God is the answer? Attending church is a good start for our growth but our personal walk with Christ will affect those around us to the utmost. Our neighbors will not see us in church, studying our Bibles, or praying but they see us for who we are in life and how we treat people. If your coworkers were quizzed about how devout a Christian, you are what would be their response? As Christians, we may not participate in every activity or trend but these difficult decisions are when the mark of Christ is placed on the hearts of those around us. This mark most likely will not be for us to see but only a seed sown through faith in the almighty.

Self-Reflection Minute:
• How would coworkers describe your faith?
• How would strangers perceive your faith?
• How many seeds have you sown in your daily walk?

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 2nd Corinth 9:6

Challenge Minute:
• I should not believe what the world says but verify through the scripture.
• My daily walk as a Christian is a ministry to others.
• I cannot participate in everything the world deems as acceptable.

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 1 Timothy 2:15

God Bless You All,

Brett

Every Christian can Serve God with Confidence by Observing What God Knows and Where God Is.

AS I studied this Psalm and started trying to put into words what it meant to me while hoping my interpretation would help someone else I noticed a couple of words that made me want to take a run around the house and this was only verse 1. Let’s us take a look and see what jewels of hope we can find:

Oh Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Ps 139:1

The first thing I notice is God searched us this was not a task that He took lightly and delegated to an angel or some other heavenly being but took it upon Himself. Normally speaking if I can delegate I do, unless it is so important that I have to see for myself and then it becomes personal. We are important enough to have the God of Heaven looking for us. As if that wasn’t good enough what type of looking did God do? He “searched” the meaning here is “pierced through”. It is like we say in today’s terms I see right through you well God actually does see down to the truth of who we are and even when He gets there it doesn’t stop as searched in this context is like searching for treasure. Get this point He can see or pierce through our hearts to the basis of who we are and does this as if searching for treasure. He loves us beyond what we can comprehend.

Below are the incomplete notes to the sermon on Psalm 139. Sorry they are incomplete but normally I try to jot a few things down and let God lead from there. Hope these few words help you with embracing a closer walk with God.

God Bless You All,
Brett
Psalm 139
Every Christian Can Serve God with Confidence by Observing What God Knows & Where God Is
1) Gods Omniscience: The quality of knowing all things. Unbounded and infinite
i) God Knows Me: Ps 139:1-3
(1) V:1 Searched literally means Pierced Through:
(a) Sometimes we speak of seeing right through someone but God is the only one that can really see through us. Into our being as a person.
(b) When I got saved God pierced my heart and peered into my soul to the very core of who I am and He loved me anyway.
(2) V:1 Searched carries with it the idea of searching for treasure
(a) God was looking for what He could claim as His treasure he cared enough to acknowledge, accept, and adopt me into His family
(3) V:3 Compass-est My Ways
(a) Compass:
(i) To stretch around, encircle, grasp, embrace
(ii) To enclose on all sides
(b) “EST” Not only does He compass us but notice the “est” as it transforms compass to the
(i) Superlative
1. of the highest kind, quality, or order; surpassing all else or others; supreme; extreme
ii) V:2 My Thoughts Go with me for a minute not far back but just this morning have you had a thought that you feel God would not appreciate? Maybe someone at a store or someone that didn’t smell, look, or act like you and you didn’t take an opportunity God gave you to witness.
(1) Just remember God knew your thoughts!!!
iii) V:4 My Tongue OH BOY this is not an easy one for anyone

• God’s desire is not to be on a shelf like an inanimate object to worship.
• God’s desire is a Living, Loving relationship with each of us. (A Personal relationship)
(i) Have you searched for someone to show God’s love to and compassest them lately as God did for you?

2) Gods Omnipresence: Present in every place. Unbounded
a) God Is With Me: Ps 139:7-10
i) V:8-9 Distance
(1) No matter where you go God will be with you to help and guide
(2) How many people have wanted to witness at work or when getting gas etc. yet were scared or fearful? God was there.
(3) Look at Verse 9 I can’t go from the East (morning) to the west (uttermost parts of the sea). To loose God’s presence He is there. Fear is Satan’s way of you not witnessing
ii) V:10 Guidance
(1) To Lead or Guide
(2) To Hold or grasp
(a) He rides with us and is there when we arrive
(b) He not only leads us but Holds us in His grasp

(i) He knows me as I am and still loves and adopts me how much more should I love others that He has called me to?

3) God’s Omnipotence: Unbounded Power
i) God’s power is always available in times of need.

To sum it all up:
God knows us
God is with us
God helps us
God loves you. You’re rebellious, you cheat, you commit immorality, you’re selfish, you sin, but God loves you with an intensity beyond anything I could describe to you. He loves you and He loves you so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ to die on a cross and the thing that kept Christ on that cross was love, not the nail. Billy Graham
In light of His love for us:
God wants us to know others
God wants us to be with others
God wants us to help others
Love and God’s Will
Our love of God must not be gauged by the passing of feelings we experience that are not controlled by the will, but rather, we must judge them by the ending quality of the will itself. For loving God means that we join our will to God’s will. It means that our will consents to whatever the will of God commands. It means that we have only one reason for wishing anything, and the reason is that we know that God wills it…. Anonymous