Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008

TWG - June 24, 2008

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TWG - June 24, 2008
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Exodus 29: 22-46; Psalm 41; Acts 4

Today is June 24, this is time with God, I’m Pastor Dennis - I’ve been waiting here for you. Welcome to our life transforming community. This is your invitation to take one step forward every day in your relationship with Christ. We invite you to do something unbelievably radical. We invite you to deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Jesus

I woke up this morning with a sore throat… I don’t know why except perhaps that I’ve spent too much time talking to pastors and wives at the convention… or else picked up some kind of social bug. Yesterday morning was a business meeting… there was some talk about the “gay marriage” ruling in California. The main way for a church to protect its purity, membership and property is to add a proactive statement to its doctrinal section in its constitution. I had to move a sound system from the first floor to the twelfth in about 15 minutes for the ladies… didn’t do too bad except for the one loud squeal that blew out my ear drums! You would think I would have been smarter than the machinery. Later I took a tour of Harvest House books… an impressive facility. And they publish some pretty good books. Last night Alex Montoya spoke on the character qualities needed in Church Planters and Pastors. Excellent message, well worth getting. I will see if I can get it and make it available if you want a copy. Let me know. One thing that has impressed me over the conference… I need to spend more time discipling men and more time reaching our community. It must be a priority. I put a picture of Dave working on the IFCA sound system with Dennis Finnin on the blog at timewithgod.mypodcast.com. check it out.

This week’s theme verse is Jeremiah 29:11-14 “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD”

Why don’t we completely, all out, trust God? Why the lingering suspicion that if I give in to God I will have to give up a life of fun, my highest hopes, most sought after plans and deepest desires. Why do we think that we can do it our way and be happy or do it God’s way and be miserable? There seems to be an almost universal fear that God is going to mess things up for me if I surrender everything to Him. Nothing could be further from the truth. Look at this passage. God has plans for me and they are good plans. He wants to prosper me! He wants to give me hope. He wants me to have a future. And most of all he wants to be found by me! And here in black and white God makes the promise… honest Abe, boy scouts honor, fingers uncrossed… I do not have plans to harm you! God said that! “Do no harm!” Hey, let’s settle it once and for all; God has my best interests in mind. Let Him lead you and good things will happen. I’m not much for the “health, wealth and prosperity gospel,” which teaches that if you trust God you will be healed, get rich and have only good stuff happen to you… it just ain’t so! This verse must be balanced with the truth that “all things work together for the good of those who love God.” Bad things will happen, perhaps even poverty and sickness, but they will work out for my greater good! God is more concerned about my character than my comfort. He is more interested in my holiness than my momentary happiness. So the difficult things actually make me more prosperous in the long run! And the greatest prosperity of all is “soul prosperity.” And more important than wealth or health is hope! And the better inheritance is not earthly but heavenly. Having said all that, God does have plans to prosper you and to give you hope and a future here and now. And while you can depend on that applying directly to your character, you can also count on Him blessing your short stay on planet earth. Like getting a wonderful ice cream treat to enjoy on the drive to Disney world, God plans to throw in some frilly earthly “stuff” to enjoy during the ride to our heavenly paradise.

My Dear Father. I know you have the best in mind for me. But I have fears. I don’t want to let go of the reigns. I am afraid of loosing what I have. I have a hard time leaving the mud pies of my own making for the wonderful vacation at the coast that you have planned for me. I choose to believe today that you know what’s best for me. I’m going to rest in the hope and joy of a life well lived for you!

“Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”-

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